Saturday was the 5 year anniversary to my wonderful husband. Ryan continues to bless my life on a daily basis. We are by no means perfect but I'm so thankful to have him as my husband and best friend. He prioritizes his family even when his schedule is hectic. He tries hard to leave his work frustrations at work (or in the vet truck). He's a wonderful provider. He loves me. He has a killer smile. He seeks to glorify God with his life. He is so many things but remember that I promised to try to keep it short, I'll say one more thing: I love the man I marred 5 years ago.
Friday night and Saturday we attended a marriage enrichment seminar. And to be honest, I wasn't looking foward to using my 3 day weekend in such a way. I wanted to do other things like place flags and crosses on soldier's graves, go out to eat with my hubby, etc. I'm so glad that I did the marriage enrichment seminar. It was such a good refresher on life. How easily I can get stuck in a rut. I so needed that weekend. My poor husband so needed me to be at that weekend where I would be reminded of how to love him in ways that he needs loved.
Friday was good. Friday night at home was tiring. I was up until 3am with Bethany which made for some serious dry eye issues on Saturday. I'm an emotional person, which most people wouldn't guess. I cry easy. So, to say the least, Saturday afternoon was a bit emotional for me and lacking sleep didn't help. But it was good to fill my cup so to speak. Plus, we had some good meals made by two of my favorite food people.
After things finished on Saturday night, we made a quick stop at the house to get our shopping list and check the mail before heading to supper with my family. In the mailbox, we had a very special card. It was from Hugo and Gladys. They are an older couple who five years before blessed us tremendously by Hugo giving us advice during our wedding ceremony. Their card is extra special because they don't send them to everyone, but we get one since they were part of our wedding. Hugo and his precious bride are 94 years now and don't get out much anymore. I mentioned to Ryan that we really, really needed to stop in for a visit as we usually do so every six months or so. We haven't been there since Bethany was born. I debated on stopping on my way to supper since we had time but opted not to because my kids desperately needed naps.
We got up to Decorah, which is a cute little town in plenty of time. Did a little shopping, stopped at the trout hatchery for a bit so Scott could check out the fish and I could feed Bethany. (sorry, no pictures, of either kid). Eventually we met up with my parents and my aunt and uncle for supper. My sweet uncle wanted to treat us to a meal for our anniversary. He was and still is, very thoughtful.
Sunday morning was a refreshing. I was looking forward to enjoying the day without having to think about going to work on Monday. Sunday came to be a bittersweet morning as well. My good friend, Hugo, passed away Sunday morning. He was an amazing man. He loved God, loved his family, loved people and loved to sing. He was a precious and sweet guy. I'm thankful that we did not stop by on Saturday night and see him as he was very near death. At the same time, I'm feeling a little guilty that I never made the time to stop by in the past 11 months and introduce my beautiful daughter to him. Oh, how precious is our time!
Sunday night was a interesting night in and of itself. As we watched the sky grow dark, we flipped on the news. And I hardly moved from there until I went to bed. We watched as the news flooded every local station reporting of the tornados in our area. Thankfully we weren't in or near the eye of the storm. One storm went north of us and one went south. However, our dear friends (the first friends I found in my church here) live in the town that sustained the most damage. I watched and prayed and watched and prayed some more as reports and pictures began flowing in about the small town of Parkersburg. Fortunately, our friends were out of town when it happened. However, they've lost everything. I just can't imagine what they're experiencing. They have a 4 year old, a 2 1/2 year old and a 5 month old. And nothing to call home. The only thing they've been able to salvage at this point is most of their clothes with the exception of the baby's. They still can't find the baby's dresser. Praise God who gives and who takes away that He chose to give them life and only take their "things". As they continue to deal with the aftermath of their own home, they also play a role in many others' hurt and loss as Ryan is a pastor of a local church there and will be giving a funeral service later this week. Oh, that God would bless them indeed in the coming days!
As the long weekend comes to a close, I am so thankful for:
- my kiddos even if they wake multiple times during the night
- my home even if I can't manage to keep it perfectly clean
- my clothes even if I think I need new ones
- my health, my family, my friends
- and for the little things like toothpaste and deoderant as there are many people that have nothing right now as the tornado flattened 1/3 of the town of 1800.
2 comments:
The damage is truly amazing, and it's hard to find the words to describe it.
I cannot even imagine having to endure such tragedy.
On a much happier note...
Happy five-year-versary!
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