Thanksgiving, and the Day After

It's weird being all grown up and moved and away from immediate family. Yesterday, after video chatting with our families, Jorjette and I drove to D.C. to enjoy Thanksgiving with some aunts and uncles.

They live near the National Cathedral. We took a little walk before dinner and passed Homeland Security and walked through American University.

And their row house is fantastic and everything a row house should be.

Today, the Friday after Thanksgiving, we're back in Grantham, moving onto the Christmas season.

We bought a $20 Target Christmas tree and, well, it looks like a $20 Target Christmas tree. But it's cute and  we're in good company.

And Eleanor enjoys the season.

 Alright, that's all. Enjoy the weekend.

From One to the Next with a Little Space in Between

I really do enjoy blogging. It brings a level of order to the potpourri of thoughts and ideas floating around my head that I like to throw out there and can then find closure on the particular subject upon posting. I think it also re-energizes me to a certain level. This past year, I certainly had my time filled with class work, thesis writing, and job searching. These were all things I found value in but may not have necessarily enjoyed. Spending time with my wife, engaging in good conversations with friends, investing in TSO & IFC students, reading and journaling – these were all activities that gave me life and came higher on the priority list than blogging.

But I’m now in transition time. If I were into clichés, I’d say I’m turning to a new chapter. And if I were into Bible clichés, I’m currently in the Selah phase. So perhaps I’ll have time to think and ponder and then blog.

The transition out of the Taylor community has been a difficult one. During my undergrad experience, I became very invested in my small group of friends there. Leaving was difficult but it was 4 years in the making and staying any longer would have felt like hanging out longer than what was healthy. Now, after 2 years in the masters program, it’s different. I wouldn’t feel comfortable staying in class any longer, but the desire to stay is there. I have good friends that are sticking around. I have students and programs that I still feel invested in. I tried to leave with a good sense of closure but it usually ended up in a lot of tears and trying to figure out a way to reverse time.

I just returned from my good friend, Ben Goller’swedding. As it was located in Orlando and Jorje and I decided to drive it, I had plenty of time to think while driving the ever exciting 20 hours of highway located between the panhandle and the crossroads. Along that route, my mind frequently went to the friends Jorje and I had grown close to over the last couple years. Lord knows my prayer life has been spotty this past year and has usually been instigated by a sense of helplessness or desperation. But I decided to lift my friends up in prayer while driving – replacing my helplessness catalyst with boredom/loneliness.

While my therapeutic prayers for friends may not have the best motivations, they are a part of a larger goal to practice some good habits in this next month. I’d like to spend some time reading (fiction!) in a hammock. I’d like to spend some extended time with my wife and brother – most likely watching cable shows or beaching it. I’d like to think about the upcoming school year. I’d like to figure out ways to maintain the friendships I’ve cultivated without living in the past. I’d like to rest and know the Lord is in control.

A Very Independent Concert Night

Jorje and I spent the 4th of July shopping at Edinburgh (too many sales...), scampering around Indy for the afternoon, and then seeing Florence + the Machine later in the evening. It was, as Jorje put it, one of the best concerts we've been to. Florence and the band sounded great, she had a fantastic wavy green dress on in which she loved to twirl around in, and fireworks finished the show off. Here are a few pics from the Touch ... I forgot my actual camera so these will have to do.

White River

Yours truly

Florence + Fireworks!

Dog Days

In case it wasn't obvious...

I got married and it's beautiful and I love my [new] wife and we love that we have the summer to spend together in a nice place.

the proposal

I've been engaged for a month now. It's beautiful, difficult, annoying, and fantastic. When it comes to issues that I care about (my future wife), I don't necessarily like blogging about such things as I would prefer sharing in person. Yet I was filling in some of our "theknot" information (you know you're really planning a wedding when you actively seek out wedding websites) and just entered in our "engagement story". So for those of you I have yet to share with, here's my written account of the proposal:

Well, after purchasing an engagement ring on Etsy (per Jorjette's request) and receiving it on Friday, December 10th, I waited a total of one day to propose.

So, Friday evening (Silent Night for all you Taylor people), I dropped some flowers and a postcard (my preferred "note" medium) off at Jorjette's apartment, asking if she would spend the following day with me. She accepted.

Next, I picked Jorjette up and we headed down to Indy for the day. We began at Patachou, Jorjette's favorite diner spot in Indy. Lunch included French toast for Jorje and an omelette for myself. Despite being seated next to a group of late-20s aged women who enjoyed talking about babies rolling over and hair getting caught in vacuums, lunch was just perfect as we got to spend it together in one of our favorite spots.

After this, we took a little trip to the Indianapolis Museum of Art. We visited the Lily House first, enjoyed its Christmas decorations, avoided the tour groups, and talked to Jorje's middle school teacher who works the front desk. We then proceeded to the museum.

Now I must confess that I had little planned besides taking Jorjette to the museum and proposing. So in just about every room of the museum, I considered getting down on one knee and proposing ... only to awkwardly linger and wait for the perfect moment. The moment did not present itself very well. I decided that I would have to make the moment happen on my own.While exiting the museum, I detoured us around the fountain out front (amidst the ever increasing rain), told Jorjette I loved her about 4 times, said I was just going to "cut to the chase", got down on one knee, and proposed.

After Jorjette responded with an "of course" and I stated how much of a fool I am for botching up important things like proposals, we decided the proposal was just as awkward as we are and thus fit rather well.

The rest of the day was spent with Jorje's family, calling people on the ride back to Taylor, and spending the night with friends.

I am now engaged to marry the love of my life. Nothing could make me happier.

That's my version of the story...

Pictures: A Weekend in Review

Well I don't usually write "update blogs" but I'm more than sufficiently bored and I like the idea of a picture blog detailing the second half of my week.

First of all, Jorjette came to visit (Wednesday-Sunday):

We hadn't seen each other in almost two months so it was nice to have 3 1/2 days to do whatever we pleased. We decided to go to my subdivision's fantastic beach. Besides getting burnt (by the sun) and bitten (by gross lake-bugs), it was a true beach experience.

Later that night, we watched Shutter Island.

Although Jorjie fell asleep, I was spellbound for the first hour and a half. Scorsese is a master/genius movie maker. Although the plot line felt a little tired (especially as things progressed), the way the movie was crafted made the experience (and $1 at Redbox) totally worth it.

On Friday night, Jorjette and I made a little trip to Ann Arbor (our usual hang out spot) and made our first trip to State Theater for the movie The Secret in Their Eyes.

Turned out to be a fantastic little Argentinian thriller/romance/drama/thinker. Thoughts were provoked... and I think that's why indie/foreign movies should be made.

Saturday held my little brother's graduation.

I was impressed with a couple things. Namely: the quantity of beach balls students are able to sneak in, one of the valedictorian's fiddle skills, the elected speaker/teacher's vocal similarities to the Simpson's Mr. Burns, the fact that Green Day is still being played at graduations, and the lack of preparation on the student body president's part while simultaneously able to entertain a few thousand people.

Later that day, the USA's World Cup journey began.

Thank-you Mr. Green. We owe you one.

And today, I finally had a chance to return to Hope Community Church.

While I usually have an internal debate on whether or not to make the trip into Detroit for the Sunday morning service, I always come away encouraged that the body of Christ is alive.

That's my weekend. Oh, listen to this song by The Drums. It served as our melodramatic theme song.