and.... we're back.

the first week of school is kind of like trying to jog backwards.  for a moment, you think you've got it all under control and then, just like that, you are flat on your back and the rest of the thirty-thousand students on campus are trampling all over you. not that you mind, really, because it's better than sitting in a classroom and reading syllabi and having no clue what is ahead of you this semester.  and you in no way want to stand back up, because then you have to navigate through the throngs of people darting to their next class.  i do get claustrophobic in crowds, after all.  

but then there's the friends: you greet them with suffocating hugs.  and procedures: the fun nursing procedures like IV and cath insertion.  and the purpose: because if there's one thing i've learned over the summer, it's that we all need a purpose in life. something to do and enjoy, to learn and to grow.  

dear school,
maybe i'll decide to like you after all.

somehow, he is patient with me.

yesterday was a long day for that wonderful husband of mine.  he drove his bro-toss to the airport, went to a bajillion meetings, and sat through three. hours. of. church. {not to mention the four-and-a-half hour long test he took on saturday, or the months of sleep deprivation he endured while studying for it....}  he was one tired guy.  so it wasn't surprising when during sacrament meeting he started snoring next to me.  i mean really, can you blame him?

and then, as i was sitting there watching that incredibly handsome ginger be carried off into sleep-deprivation-church-sleeping bliss, i thought, this man has all the patience in the world.  

he is patient with his job, his frustrating boring lonely number-crunching desk-sitting job.  he is patient while studying for his time-consuming fun-sucking energy-stealing practically inconceivable tests.  he is patient with his days, never expecting too much of the day but always willing to make the most of it when an opportunity comes his way.  he is patient with family, friends, and even strangers. {as i stomp down the aisles in costco in a red-faced rampage of frustration with customers and sample eaters alike, he is smiling and happy and pleasant as can be!}  he is patient with life.  and most of all, he is patient with me.  his neuroticly-driven over-bearing-obsessive-passionate perfectionista of a wife.  who rants about trivial things such as the state of the house, or about the outcome of her latest tater-tot casserole.  

and when i'm acting like a total diva, {as is quite often the case} he just looks at me with a sympathetic, all-knowing smile and i can read behind his eyes a kind of devotion, love, and care that makes me think, what did i ever do to deserve this?  what did i ever do to deserve him?  this amazingly compassionate man who is shy among crowds but hilarious beyond belief.  who loves star wars and lord of the rings, but is always willing to watch a chick-flick if i ask.  who keeps me in check when i'm a diva, but who still tells me i'm the best thing that has ever happened to him.  this man who, even after a long stressful day, will ask me with colossal patience, what can i do for you?  

and as we say goodnight, he muses,  you're my favorite.  

oh, how i love you.

blue plate.

we went here for dinner last night, and i watched monk whilst john studied like a madman.  we would appreciate your thoughts/prayers over the next day or so - the massively horrible no good very bad test is to be tackled tomorrow.  wish john luck!

there's just something about oreo shakes that makes everything better.

a wonderful evening.

john's brother george plays in a band.  they play folk/bluegrass/hymn revival/etc. and they are absolutely wonderful.  they were playing at a fireside last night, and john and i couldn't resist crashing the party to hear their great music. afterwards, we got better batter ice cream: mine with twix, heath, and waffle-cone, john's with cookie-dough, fudge, and oreo.  is your mouth watering yet?  

here is part of my favorite song from the evening.  it was written by louisa stead, who was one day at the beach with her husband and daughter and they saw a man drowning.  her husband went to save the man - who dragged him under with him - and he also drowned, louisa and her daughter on the beach, helpless to do anything but watch their beloved husband and father die in the water.  she wrote this song shortly after.  her words of courage and faith in Christ are absolutely beautiful.  

tis so sweet to trust in jesus // from Paige Brunt on Vimeo.

a new obsession.

i did it.  i did the most lifechanging, extraordinary, magnificent thing so far in my adult life.  {okay, that may be an exaggeration.}  i joined pinterest.  and oh, the wonderful things i am doing, and exploring, and finding, and learning!  oh, i love it i do!  i'm obsessed i am.  it feels like all the opportunities and possibilities in the world are mine.  my potential is endless.  i can bake, cook, craft, design, and explore forever and ever. and ever. and ever. ever. and ever.  i think dr. seuss said it best:

"you have brains in your head.  you have feet in your shoes.  you can steer yourself in any direction you choose.  you're on your own.  and you know what you know.  and you are the one who'll decide where to go."

go here to see all the fun, and here to join in it.

an ebelskiver and shabu shabu saturday.

our saturday was filled with the normal cleaning and studying that it always is.  we made a delicious breakfast of dutch pancakes, {as usual.} but, since we are getting new carpet in the next few weeks, we got to rip out the old carpet to the basement. and what a wonderfully messy job it was!  after john finished studying and a mediocre movie, we sought nourishment at shabu shabu.  let me tell you, it was a very fun and delicious meal.

friday night date.

the best pizza in the world, 

the best frozen yogurt in the world, 

the coolest panda in the world.

ultimately, we had a lot of laughs and a great time.