We're alive. I promise.

reunited

Saturday Lauren, Stephanie, and I were reunited for the first time in three years at Lo's wedding. Ridiculous. Just ridiculous. I hope it never takes that long again. We took a photo together and I just looked through my college photos to find one from back in the day. It's too funny to see them together.

Look at our young chubby faces! I'm not crazy, right? Don't we all look a little cherub-faced back then compared to now? I just love it. I miss these girls!!

Don't worry- I'll be putting photos of the wedding up later. I just had to get this up for now because I love it so.

new york, new york

The most exciting part of our trip was being able to stay in New York for 4 days. Amazingly, I felt great the whole time and was able to walk around a ton and survive. 4 days isn't much when you are in such a big city, but next time (riiiight), we'll conquer more. Manhattan was very fun and there is so much to see and so many places to shop! : ) As much as we loved it, we are definitely not city people. I can't imagine living there. Such craziness! Great place to visit and I have always wanted to go so now I can check it off my list.

Our first stop was a vegan raw food restaurant. It was fun to sit and eat healthy food and people-watch from our window seats. 

Our room was on the 26th floor. Every time we went up in the elevator I felt like it was drop zone and we were going to drop after the elevator stopped- hence the holding on for dear life every time we went in it. I don't miss that thing.

The most exciting place we went was Babycakes, the vegan bakery. We ate way too many cupcakes, but came home with a mug and the cookbook. Next time I bake, it will be vegan. Everything was deeeliiiicious! I miss it. *tear*

We went to a taping of Late Night with Jimmy Fallon and got to sit on the front row. The guests weren't that funny- Whoopi Goldberg and Stephen Baldwin, but Keane and The Roots were great. We also got high-fives from Jimmy. A brush with stardom...

We took cabs everywhere and I am so glad we survived all the rides. I couldn't go in the cabs after eating because it was like a roller coaster. If I was feeling a bit off we'd pray for a good driver and, praise the Lord, He always sent one along. I am definitely not a fan of cabs. Germs and a stomach blender. Blegh. But it was a new experience we'll always remember!

A cool sidewalk in NoHo. Hubby carried my heavy purse around the city. Such a sweetie.

There was beautiful architecture everywhere. I took almost 400 photos- mostly of buildings. Tall buildings. 

At Wicked! It was A-MAZING! And so funny! I didn't know much about it going into it and was blown away by how much I enjoyed it. Now onto the book...

Times Square was insane. There were so many people out at night and those lights! Talk about artificial daylight.

I think my eyes were stuck that way while we were at Times Square.

The revolving door at our hotel. Pretty exciting stuff.

We took a cruise to see The Statue of Liberty our last day in New York. There she is!

It was cold. Luckily we were wearing tons of layers in the attempt to make our luggage lighter, so we wouldn't have to pay for it being overweight. 

The wind kept attacking my layers.

Lunch in Central Park before we had to take a cab to the airport."Next time" we visit, I want to walk through the whole park.

My studly husband in the park.

Conclusion: It was VERY fun and such a blessing and I caught a cold my last day there (probably from a cab), but it was worth it. I'd love to go back, but it makes me love where we live even more- open space, fresh air, being able to drive freely.... Sonoma County is the best.

If you want to see more scenic photos, check out my post at Crooked Shmooked.

pennsylvania

David grew up playing soccer with Justin and we were so excited to be able to travel to their wedding in Pennsylvania. Justin met Mandy when his mom invited her over for Thanksgiving in 2007. She is quite happy with her role in bringing them together as she was sure they were

 perfect for each other- and they are. David and I were both very excited for their wedding because they really are a match made in heaven. We love them both and wish we lived closer, but at least we have a free place to stay when we decide to visit D.C. again! ; )

At the rehearsal dinner.

David and the other groomsmen and best men. Justin is front middle.

David reading scripture during the ceremony.

The adorable couple.

At the reception. We got to sit together which was nice. I was afraid David would be at a wedding party table and I would be all alone!

David and soccer buddies Eric and Austin he hasn't seen in forever.

Soccer buds again, but with the addition of Justin. I think they were supposed to be gangsta'?

Our attempt to get a photo with Mandy and Justin. Ha ha... Mandy was talking to someone.

She finally turned around.

Us and Chris, one of Justin's best men. He was staying at Justin's place before the wedding too so we spent quite a bit of time with him in the days before.

The end of the evening. Justin and Mandy were off to Costa Rica! Sounds nice right now, huh?

washington d.c.

David and I traveled to D.C. a couple of weeks ago before our friend, Justin's wedding. We stayed with him at his townhouse and got to spend a little time with him before the big day. The travel messed with me a bit and I wasn't well enough to do all the sightseeing we had planned, but we made it out for a couple of hours and this is what we got.

Our first stop- the Washington Monument.

We went to The Smithsonian and were only able to be there 20 minutes as they were closing early for an event. BUT we were able to see Stephen Colbert's portrait. So that's pretty American.

Sitting and waiting to be picked up by Justin. I have no idea

 where we were.

The World War II Memorial. I loved it and hadn't seen it before since my last trip to D.C. was in highschool before it was put up.

There were scenes like this around the memorial. Of course my favorite was this sweet one of a soldier returning home.

Us next to the WWII Memorial.

David squishing Abraham Lincoln.

And a little American duckling.

Now onto Pennsylvania for the wedding...

john is married!

David's little brother, John, got married in the middle of last month (May... can you believe it is JUNE?). It was a wonderful wedding- casual and fun and beautifully decorated. David and I got to catch up with lots of friends we hadn't seen in a year and miss. We still can't believe John is married!

Hartlyn, John's beautiful bride - Anna, David's little sis - and me!

some updates to keep you updated

I am hesitant to blog lately because I feel like I have so little to report and it just seems so boring to always being talking about my health, but since that is the bulk of what is going on in life right now, I guess I'll get you up to date.


Dr. Su: I started going to a reflexologist that a bunch of my friends rave about. He was able to feel my foot and pinpoint all of my health issues I hadn't even told him about. He is sure he can help. I'm going in twice a week for acupuncture and I spend my time laying there with needles stuck in me to pray and rest. I'm not sure that I've noticed any big differences, but have been told it will take a while to help. I am going to trust that it is helping and enjoy my weekly visits. Dr. Su is a sweetie and his upbeat personality always raises my spirits.

Juicing: David and I did a week of intense juicing. We had fresh carrot, carrot/apple, or greens juice on the hour every day. At the time, I didn't think it was doing much, but now that we have stopped, I can tell the difference. We are going to start again and I'm looking forward to it.

East Coast: David and I have a trip to the East Coast scheduled for the end of the month. David's best friend is getting married in Pennsylvania and we though we'd go a little early to visit D.C. and stay a little late to go to New York. Everything is set for us to go. I am trying to rest up and take care of my body in the next few weeks so I am as well as I can be. I'll still have to be pushed around the museums in a wheelchair and we won't be able to pack our days full, but I think the change of scenery and time away together will be a blessing. We definitely need a vacation.

Siblings: My sister is pregnant. David's little brother is getting married a week from Friday. CRAZY!

The Little House: I usually write about our remodel on Crooked Shmooked, but since I'm not blogging over there right now, I'll fill you in on here. Our bathroom is totally gutted and the pipes and such things that I know nothing about are being reworked to move the toilet and the shower. It will take some time, but it's exciting to know it's in the works. David and his dad took all the old sheetrock down in the guest room and it's ready to get some new walls, then it's on to the closet for the same treatment. Our living room is painted a light grayish blue and it is so weird to see color in there, but I know I'm going to love it when everything is put together. We are on our way and I'm not even going to guess how long it will take until we can move back in, but things are happening and that makes me happy!

Husband: I know I always talk about how wonderful David is, but you have no idea. He is always cooking me amazing healthy meals and making delicious juice. Today he left me with some romaine/celery/green apple/strawberry juice. It is so good. His cooking/juicing skills are only the start of how good he is to me. Here I am, laying around in sweats with no make-up every day and he does my wife work and hubby work and manages to surprise me with sweet little things and make me laugh... Gosh. I love him.

Encouragement: A couple weeks ago I spent a few hours with a friend who has a chronic disease that puts her in the similar situation I am in these days. It was an enormous blessing to talk to her, get advice, and glean from what she has learned. She said that in one of her devotionals she read that God sometimes asks us to suffer for Him and He chooses people He knows can handle it. She said we have been chosen to suffer for His sake so that we can help others. (That's a really short version of what she said.) I was really encouraged just remembering that God has chosen this for David and I. No matter how long it lasts, He knows we can handle it (only with His help- trust me) and this is His calling for us right now. It definitely helps me to look at it as a calling rather than "this trial we are going through" because it enables me to just live in it and live up to what God has for us and others. I don't know if that makes sense. My head is rather jumbled right now. How about I just say that I am encouraged and even when I am discouraged, the encouragement encourages me. Ha.

Oh dear. I am so sorry for putting you through the length of this post. And I didn't even give you a photo to lighten it. I'll work on getting a photo for next time. : ) Thank you for your prayers. God is good. I'll just end with that.

this is for you, Ang

The most recent photo of us- at a friend's concert last month. I sat in the back and we only stayed for his 4 songs, but it was worth it.

My, oh my, is life strange. Well, I'm still sick and still getting tests done. I had my Kaiser doctor tell me that all of my symptoms could be anxiety (what?!) and went to a Kaiser psychologist only to have him tell me he doesn't think any of my symptoms are anxiety (my thoughts exactly), but rather, something auto-immune. So now I get to go back to my Kaiser doctor and have her actually listen to me and start figuring out new things to look into. I also have a holistic doctor who has diagnosed me with chronic fatigue syndrome, but since that's so broad, I want Kaiser to eliminate some other things before we depend on that diagnosis.

Poor hubby is very busy. Between working for the church, FedEx, and being a househusband, he has very little time left. He is pretty much Superman. Yeah, I think I saw an "S" on his shirt when he left the house this morning.

Wedding season is upon us. We have 5 wedding to go to (David is officiating 2, and a groomsman in 2) between now and the end of June. Only one is local. Pray that I am in good enough health to go to a few of them. One of the weddings is in Pennsylvania and we are going to make it a whole DC/New York trip, so I am reeeeally hoping I start making some progress in the next month so I am well enough.

There's not much else to share about our lives right now. Pretty boring and predictable, yet unpredictable at the same time, if that is possible. We are looking forward to living in our house again, finding out what is wrong with me so we can deal with it or learn to live with it, going to the East Coast, going on dates out of the house, and going to church together again someday, YET, we are learning to live in today and realize God's plans are bigger than ours. 

"For richer or for poorer... in sickness and in health." We forgot to say we'd prefer the first and the last. : )

he cheers me up

David has been an absolute sweetheart while I've been sick. This morning I was laying in bed feeling sorry for myself and he said, "I know what will cheer you up!" He then bent down to pull something out from under the bed and came up looking like this:

Ha ha! Yeah- that cheered me up. And thank you, Christi, for the awesome party favor.

i've been tagged

Thanks for tagging me, Ang. My instructions were:

1. Choose the 4th folder where your pictures are stored.2. Select the 4th picture
3. Explain the picture
4. Tag 3 other people

And here we have the oh-so-exciting photo...

Of all the random photos, you don't even get one of David and I. That's what I get for taking so many pictures of our neighbor animals. These are some of the adorable calves that live next door to our crooked house that we aren't living in right now. I miss being able to look out our kitchen window and see cows, goats, horses, and donkeys. But luckily, I have so many photos to remind me what it's like! Ha...

Let's see... I will tag Erin, Tara, and Jessica (Coello).

what a weird holiday

our Christmas card photo

the Christmas card that was never printed or sent

You probably want a rundown of the last couple of months, hmmm? We went to Disneyland Thanksgiving weekend and then dropped off the face of the planet for the holidays. The end. Not really, although that is what it feels like. The story is that I got sick on Thanksgiving weekend and have been sick ever since. I won't go into all that entails, but the highlights are: 3 ER visits, multiple doctors who don't seem to know anything, being in bed for over a month, an ear infection, hypoglycemia attacks, asthma, some terrible respiratory virus, laryngitis, and lots of other fun things. We think that the doctors have diagnosed everything that needs to be maintained with rest, meds, etc, although it will be a few weeks before we can tell if it's all working. I am starting to get some energy back and was able to go shopping for a bit one day this week and was also able to go to church yesterday. It will take a while to get back to a normal energy level because I am still healing and my body is still very weak from being sick for so long. It has not been a fun couple of months, but the Lord has encouraged me through friends and family and His Word. Even though I lapse back into discouragement here and there, I know that He is being faithful and I can trust Him through it all.

So if you wondered what we did for the holidays- I layed in bed, made an appearance at our family Christmas Eve Eve, layed in bed some more, and then went to the ER Christmas morning with a hypoglycemia attack. We got home around 1, opened presents as a family, and then I layed in bed again. It was a bizarre holiday and I wouldn't wish it on anyone. David and I have agreed that when I am totally well, we are going to celebrate Christmas in our little house- whether that be in February or March. I'm looking forward to it because I love Christmas and was very bummed to not be able to decorate, look at Christmas lights, cook, wrap presents, go on Christmas dates, and all the other fun Christmasy things.

So there you have it- the holiday update. You are all updated and I'll continue to update you as I heal. We appreciate your prayers as things can be tough even in the healing process. I am ready to be 100% well, but know it will take time and I may relapse if I push myself too much. So yes, prayers are welcome. Happy January!