Fun Recent Event

Photo Credit to Greenhill Humane Society

SO.... Recently (meaning yesterday) two people I love got engaged. 

My brother in law proposed to his girlfriend (now fiancé) Jennelle! The story even made the news! It was all pretty sweet. Hans even got to visit them to help celebrate! All in all pretty fun and wonderful. 

The ring box was hidden on a collar on a cute orange kitty at the humane society. 

Stefan knew that Jennelle would be drawn any orange cat so he picked out just the right sweet little critter to hold the ring till he could surprise her by popping the question. 

The Greenhill Humane Society has been a spot the two frequent where Stefan has seen Jennelle's sweetness and fallen in love with her even more deeply. This place was perfect for those two.

All of this was made even sweeter by the fact that she very happily said yes. 

The two are now planning a late summer wedding. 

Below is the link to the video. I put two just in case one stops working but it's the same video. 

http://www.kmtr.com/mediacenter/local.aspx?videoid=4046338

http://www.videocounty.com/videos/a-purrfect-proposal/

If anyone in the Eugene area is thinking about adopting a pet here is the link to the location. Staff at the Greenhill Humane Society are helpful and friendly. They helped a lot with this sweet romantic proposal. If you want to go to their website here's the link: http://www.green-hill.org

Marriage Can be Hard.

Marriage can be Hard. 

I once had someone tell me that she and her husband never fight. I find that extremely hard to believe so when I found the following picture I laughed so hard:

Photo credit: http://myfriendsaremarried.tumblr.com/post/31991561178/when-my-friend-swears-she-never-fights-with-her-husband

Honestly I think a lot of the time people do not see their own faults or choose to ignore these faults. I got married at 21 and this May Hans and I will be celebrating our two year wedding anniversary. I get that we're not perfect. We fight but who doesn't? But we're also best friends. I am so grateful that I have Hans. I love our adventures together and I think he's worth fighting for and worth fighting with. Hans is my best friend and I am so excited for all our adventures ahead. Even though I've been married I still found a lot of really funny things on this blog called myfriendsaremarried. I know that since I'm married there are some things that I should not like about the site but honestly I think it's hilarious. Hans and I found ourselves laughing about many of the silly picture and statement combinations. I feel like being married does not exclude you from some of the comments she has gotten as a single person. SO to those friends of mine who are single and to those who have a great sense of humor and can appreciate a good laugh (even when it's possibly poking fun at a situation they might be in) check out http://myfriendsaremarried.tumblr.com :)

Being a Doer.

Lately (meaning for a few months now) I have been thinking about the concept of going to things or seeing things rather than doing things. This has really challenged me. You see it all started when I was cuddled up on the couch in a quilt my Great Aunt made for me with a delicious mug of hot chocolate as I watched some old hockey games. At this point in time the NHL still had the season on hold. I was checking twitter on an almost daily basis just hoping to hear the update that hockey would be back! As I was sitting there watching an old Oiler’s game from the glory days of Gretzky and Messier I started to have a challenging introspective moment. I could not help but feel challenged that I have never played hockey; more than that I was challenged about watching life versus being a part of life.

            What am I supposed to do about this? Well I’ll be honest I am probably not going to stop watching hockey or going to start playing hockey. I can only imagine the ways I would be crushed. On top of this I think hockey is my sport to enjoy from the sidelines. BUT this thinking still challenged me. I want to be doing. So I have made some challenges to myself. I will finish the novel I’m writing. I will attempt to get it published. I will finish the art series that I’m working on. I will complete another art series after I finish this one. I will attempt to get my art series into a gallery where other people can see my art and hopefully become inspired to go out and do something. This also challenged me in terms of Hans and my trip to Europe. I loved our trip but my constant concern was will we be going out and doing something or just walking around looking at everything. Our trip was amazing but I have to say I feel challenged. I want to leave earth better than I find it. If I am just watching all the time I will miss out on so many of the awesome things that God has planned for me to take part in. I believe we are supposed to rest in Christ but I think in that new strength and peace we are to go out and truly change the world for God’s glory. Honestly I’m still figuring things out but I am so glad that I have God, Hans, and my family to help me along the way. 

Blessed.

I am overwhelmed by how blessed I am. God is such a gracious, loving, awesome, perfect, and forgiving God... He sent his awesome son Jesus to earth to live and then sacrifice his life for humanity to be able to have a relationship with him and God. That is an overwhelming, awe-inspiring type of love. And then on a very personal level I have to say I am overwhelmed with blessing again and again. God gave me parents that deeply love God and show it through their actions on a daily basis. God blessed me with siblings who also love and trust in God. God hand picked AMAZING grandparents for me too. Then on top of all the those wonderful people I have been blessed with phenomenal and inspiring friends. I have been able to continue my education through college and will be graduating with a B.A. this spring. PLUS through getting that university education I somehow managed to be blessed beyond what I ever could have guessed when I met Hans who is my best friend, love, husband.  Now I am married to a man that is seriously a gift from God and loves and follows and trusts God like crazy. I just wanted to celebrate Jesus because SERIOUSLY He is way better at planning than I could ever be. I am excited to see what His plans are for Hans and my future.

Check out this awesome man!

My awesome husband made homemade taco seasoning then made me an extremely delicious lunch. Blessed!

Amazing People Monday: Dick and Rick Hoyt

Dick and Rick Hoyt

For the second Amazing People Monday I wanted to write about Dick and Rick Hoyt. This amazing father/son duo is an inspiration to read about. The two have completed in over a thousand races! This pair is amazing! The son, Rick, was born with spastic quadriplegic with cerebral palsy and doctors gave little hope that he would be able to live any kind of normal life. Many doctors thought he had no brain function going on. Well thankfully doctors are not always right. As it turns out Rick Hoyt is very smart and a huge fan of sports. As a hockey lover I have to say I appreciate that his first words were "Go Bruins!" because of Lord Stanley's Cup. The process so that Rick can speak requires him to spell out each word through a computer system designed by Tufts University. Since all of this Rick graduated from Boston University with a degree in Special Education. Talk about an inspiration! I am in the process of finishing my undergraduate degree and let me say I am inspired by Rick. What an awesome guy! According to their website Rick initially wanted to join in a run that was a support run for a paralyzed lacrosse player. I feel like he just has a heart of gold. Rick has done even more than this but you can research for yourself! 

Dick is incredible too. He served the United States of America for thirty seven years! On top of this Dick is very involved in his son's life. He has never believed the doctors who said Rick could not do things so many years ago. Dick has become a runner and an extremely impressive athlete in order to help Rick in meeting his goals and dreams. Dick pushes and pulls Rick in the marathons, iron man races and others. What an awesome thing. I can only imagine that doing those races together has bonded them in a amazing way. Dick has truly changed his life in order to help Rick in accomplishing racing goals. According to their website Dick was not a long distance runner at all before Rick inspired him to do so.

This guy deserves an awesome parent award. There are videos anyone can watch and a whole gallery of amazing photos. Personally when I need a bit of inspiration it sometimes helps me to go and see all the awesome things these two have done. This duo has truly challenged me. What a blessing! 

Amazing Person Monday: Hans

Amazing Person Monday: Hans

According to Dictionary.com

a·maz·ing  

/əˈmāziNG/

Adjective Causing great surprise or wonder; astonishing. Startlingly impressive.

Synonyms astonishing - astounding - wonderful - surprising

                    Recently I decided that I want to start giving recognition to some of the truly amazing people in my life and in the world. This being the first Amazing Person Monday I want to give recognition to my husband Hans. I realize this might seem a bit biased but honestly Hans is an amazing human being. 

                     To try and be less biased about this for Hans I thought I would do categories. The first category is him meeting the criteria outlined in the definition. 

                    Causing great surprise or wonder; astonishing. Hans was just my friend when I first met him. He  was a cool guy but I never expected that he would bring me as much joy or intellectual challenge as he has brought. Hans shocked me when I found out that he liked me and then he has shocked me ever since with his wit, commitment, giving heart, and hard work. There are so many more ways he has surprised me but these few I plan to focus on. Hans remembers things I don't even remember telling him. He tells me facts that I never would have guessed he would know and he can carry on in conversations with anyone comfortably. Hans is committed to God and to me. He is extremely loyal and has been an amazing friend to me. I have also seen Hans' commitment to others as he continues relationships with those who he is close with from a distance and takes time and care for friends nearby. He is always willing to help anyone who needs it and tends to put the needs of others before his own. Hans makes it a point to volunteer and to spend time to stay connected with his family who lives far away. 

                  Whenever Hans has an extra of anything he thinks of who he could give it too. He also seems to think of who he could give things to when there are no extras. His heart is huge and holds a lot of care for people. Hans always sees the best in people and reminds me to see that too. Whenever I dislike someone or feel frustrated Hans reminds me about the good in that person or situation. He has amazing eyes in that he can always find what is positive in a person. 

                In Philippians there is a verse that says, "Do everything without complaining or arguing so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God, without fault in a crocked and deprived generation." Hans continually reminds me to seek to live this verse. I am so grateful for Hans. He truly encourages me to be the best person that I can be. I love him sincerely. I could say so much more about Hans but I don't want to get too sappy!