Life

Life is really good. It's really different, but in almost all ways. I guess I will just fill you in on all of the things that take up a normal week of my life.

#1: Youth. I love our youth group, I really really do! They are a fantastic group of kids. There are so many lessons to learn when leading high school students. Trust me, I am learning them. But I am loving it! I have successfully seen my d-group a couple of times which is fantastic as well. They are such a wonderful group of girls. I am so thankful that I get to be in their lives. As the days go on I really feel like they want me to be in their lives. This is great because I have much to give!

#2: Work. So, I have the best job ever! Unfortunately it will only last for a few more weeks. I get to watch two adorable boys all day long two days a week. It pays the bills and I get to play with some awesome kids. Not to mention randomly filling in at the bookstore and babysitting for another wonderful family. I really do love it. I miss my bookstore job though. I look forward to returning in the fall. I have been so blessed. I haven't had a job in about two years that I dreaded going to. I am so thankful for low-stress and fun jobs.

#3: Summer school. It is almost over though! By Friday, I will be done! It's so very exciting. I can't even explain how ready I am to be done with it. I am so thankful I was able to finish 6 more hours of school in just 2 months. One class was only 4 weeks long which is awesome! They have been really good classes, but I am ready for my 3 week summer vacation =)!

#4: Tyler! It's quite crazy how much time we spend together. I guess that's the perk of both of us only working part time. (Although, I am sure you can imagine what the negatives are to that!) We have a nice system of how both of us being part time works and it's working. I love how much time we get to spend together. I can't even imagine both of us working full time. I feel like we will never see each other then! I love it though. Being married is great. We have had such a great summer. I am really glad we got married early in the summer so we could have some time to get used to things and enjoy before school starts. He is a really great husband!

Anyway, that's an update of my life. I am sure there will be more in the next couple of weeks as I have more time, no summer school, and maybe a little more energy!

The Future

I don't know what my future holds. This fact usually scares me, makes me uncomfortable, and even makes me mad. I like to know what's happening, when it's happening, why it's happening, and how it's happening. But I don't know that right now. And for once, I am really glad.

I think it's a common mistake to get so caught up in what is next. This is something I try to keep myself from. I try really hard because I am the first one to worry about the future. But right now I am at complete peace with the fact that I don't know where Tyler and I will be or where we will be going in like, 10 months. I think there is a good chance we won't be staying around Joplin for too long after I graduate. But what is that mysterious destination? I don't know.

I just don't want to miss the now. I don't want to miss what God is giving me here. Joplin isn't my favorite place, but until God clearly calls me elsewhere, I will love this city with Christ's love. I don't want to leave just for the sake of getting out of here. I want to bloom here until God plants me in another place.

It's a real treat to hear me say that I am at peace with not knowing. It might be the first time those words have ever come out of my mouth (so to speak =) ). But it's true. I know God will take good care of us!

Reflections on marriage

Okay, I don't claim to be a pro at this, but I have a few reflections on marriage after my first week of it.

1. Umm it's awesome.

2. It's so nice not saying goodbye to Tyler and leaving his apartment.

3. It's really awesome when Tyler cooks dinner because I want to watch the Bachelorette.

4. Honeymoons should happen once a year. I guess now they are just called "vacations". This doesn't sound as luxurious but oh well.

5. Tyler makes me laugh even more than when we weren't married!

6. I am generally in a better mood because wedding stress is gone and I get to live with Tyler.

Okay, look for further reflections in the future.

Just married =)

Okay, huge sigh of relief. I am glad everything is over and done with- my stress level has reached an all time low... But let me just say. Our wedding turned out only a thousand times more beautiful and more perfect than I ever could have pictured it. I have so many people to thank and will do so soon, but I couldn't have even pictured it better. I didn't even picture it being that good!

I seriously loved every minute of that day. I am so glad that we did the big wedding and had all of our friends and family surrounding us. I just feel like it's a huge testimony to the love and support so many people have for Tyler and I. It was perfect, we are so very blessed.

Cancun was wonderful! It was so awesome have no where to be, just relaxing... and being together. Honeymoons are a great idea. I am so glad we went big for it and didn't settle for just relaxing in Joplin. I think we deserved that vacation. We both work so super hard over the past year to get to where we are. I think it was the perfect reward.

We are home now... working on setting things up which is a BLAST to me! I love organizing and setting up... ah it's bliss =) And to be doing it with Tyler (which I love to say is my HUSBAND!) is such a joy. He is reading his ESPN magazines that came while we are gone (pure bliss for him I think!) and I am unpacking presents and such... such a great day =).

While we were on our honeymoon one of our flight attendants asked if we would have done the whole big wedding and everything all over again (rather than elope)... surprisingly I said yes! I think I asked Tyler to elope just about every week of wedding planning that I experienced. But it was so worth it. I loved every minute of it.

Thanks to anyone and everyone who came, supports us, and has prayed for us. I love you all!

1 Week

My wedding is only one week away, and that is so weird!

This week I got much accomplished. Well, that includes a visit to Joplin in order to relax and set up our apartment... relaxation is success.

I had my bridal portraits this week. That was SO weird. It was so nice to finally see how everything fell together (everything: my dress, hair, makeup, jewelry...). It was all perfect! I had no idea what I would look like, but it ended up being perfect. It definitely made it all more real to me. I looked in the mirror and realized "Oh yeah, you are actually getting married." I got a little nauseated. Not in a bad way, but an exciting way. I am a little nervous... but mostly excited and ready.

There's so much to think about. The part that stresses me out the most is that I have to finish wedding stuff, but also manage to pack and get ready for the honeymoon too... That's nerve-wracking to me. It's hard to get ready for the wedding but also get ready to leave the country on the next day. Well, I assume it will all get done.

I guess that's it from this front. I look forward to the day that my blog will not revolve around the wedding. Really, I am looking forward to the day that my life doesn't revolve around the wedding!

One more week!

Can I Brag?

Okay. I am going to brag for a second.

I made Dean's List. I have never done that before. I have been pretty close. It's never something I have like set out in my mind to do... but I did it. Let's think about this. This semester was my first full semester of being engaged. So apparently when you mix lots of wedding plans, about a billion wedding showers/events, school, and ministry it equals awesome grades. It even raised my cumulative GPA a point! woo hoo 3.5! But I am proud of my semester 3.8. Really proud!

One more thing. I have this thing lurking in the back of mind. I have a feeling that I need to pack for Cambodia. It's super strange. But I honestly feel like I am leaving for Cambodia in a week... It's a strange feeling. In a way it's a let down, but I think the alternative to going to Cambodia is pretty awesome!

Only 10 days !! Woot!

HeeJin Choi

A couple of months ago I received an awesome gift. This gift came from a little sister in Cambodia. She sent me a letter and a purse. I was thrilled to have the opportunity to hear from her less than a year after I left her side. But it frustrated me.

You see, I have this friend named HeeJin. She is probably one of the most incredible friends I have ever had. We had this language barrier going on while she was here, but we had this bond that was not like a bond I had ever experienced. After she left and went back to South Korea, we stayed in touch. I heard from her every few months through e-mail. Suddenly, she stopped writing. It was sometime during my freshman year at Ozark, I think in the fall, that I last heard from her. So I got frustrated by this. I wanted to know that she was okay, that life was good. We had gotten so close but then there was a sudden drop off.

So when I received a gift from a girl who does not have simple means to communicate with me, it got me thinking. She had to send a letter and purse back to America with someone who knew me. But HeeJin has easy ways to communicate with me, e-mail, facebook, etc. But she wasn't communicating. I was really upset. All I wanted was to hear from her. It would be so easy for her to say hello. But I truly gave up. I decided that I probably wouldn't ever hear from her again. I really wanted to be able to send her a wedding invitation, but I had no idea what her new address is in Australia.

This morning I woke up at 8 AM. Not on purpose. I couldn't fall back asleep. So I checked my e-mails. I had a facebook notification informing me that HeeJin sent me a message. Before I could even read it I just began to cry. I am so thankful that God answered my consistent prayer to allow me to just hear from her. He is so good to me.