The Houses of Healing

Birth Story: The Long Slow Build and Next Best Things

2011-05-30T23:17:00.000-07:00

When we found out that my mom's babies were all right on time or a few days early, Jesse & I joked about having a May Day baby. "Wouldn't it be cool to have the first baby on the board at the Birthing Inn?" When the contractions hit hard around 11.30 PM on April 30th, I thought that we might just have our May Day baby. I decided not to wake Jesse up unless the contractions got closer together.

I sat on the birthing ball we had borrowed from some friends of ours for a while, but every time a contraction hit that I had to breathe through, I would shiver uncontrollably. I just couldn't get warm. I remembered reading or hearing something about water helping with back labor and, since most of my contractions were in my back, I decided to draw a hot bath. It did ease the pain and it helped me get warm. Once I had stopped shivering long enough to think, I started to worry that there was something wrong.

I got out of the tub to try to do some research in my awesome book from the Mayo Clinic. I started shivering again almost instantly. I managed to flip through a few chapters, but I couldn't find anything. I finally shivered my way to the bedroom to wake Jesse up to come look for me. He was very groggy but managed to stumble back across the house with me as I got back in the warm water to get the shivering under control.

He couldn't find anything. Not in the book. Not online. I decided to call the midwife just to be sure that nothing was wrong. I felt bad waking her up (it was now 2.30 or so in the morning of May 1st), but I wanted to make sure that we didn't need to go to the hospital for some kind of monitoring.

She was baffled. She'd never heard of anything like this. She said that as long as I wasn't running a fever or feeling nauseaus, we were probably fine. She advised me to try to get some more sleep.

I had Jesse pile more blankets on the bed & crawled into bed with my cat. There's no better heater than a purring cat. At least I think so.

I woke up in the morning and the contractions had completely fizzled out. Sigh. I guess I'm not getting a May Day baby after all. Which, to a certain extent, I was actually fine with, I had packed that Saturday full and wasn't sure I wanted to try to do all of that while dealing with back labor.

Fast forward to 12 AM Mother's Day (May 8). I had been sleeping and was woken up by more back labor. Jesse was still up working on his guitar (it's a long story, you'd have to ask him). I came out to the kitchen and asked for water. That's the first thing the midwives ask, so I wanted to make sure I had two bottles down before I called or anything. Jesse was watching me breathe and shiver and he said, "I think this is it. I think we're going to have our baby."

These contractions didn't feel any different than the last set, so I was decidedly not as optimistic. I decided to get in the tub again. It's a little hazy, but I think I took two baths through the course of the night and drank lots of water. Since the contractions never settled down into a pattern or got closer together than about 10 minutes, we decided to go back to bed. Somewhere in here I lost my mucous plug & decided to call first thing Monday morning to get an appointment to get my cervix checked.

I woke up still having contractions about 10 to 20 minutes apart. We decided to skip church to get some extra sleep and finally got ourselves up to meet my family for Mother's Day lunch at our favorite Mongolian grill. We laughed with my mom about how surreal it would be to have a baby on Mother's day.

We came back home & took a nap. We figured if we were in labor, it would be best to sleep as much as we could. When we woke up, I wanted to take a walk "in nature" for Mother's Day. Start a tradition, baby or no baby. We looked online & discovered that our metro parks system maintains several nature parks within the city limits. We decided to go check out Snake Lake Nature Reserve. The Nature Center was closed for the weekend, but the trails were open. We walked for almost a mile. By the end of the mile, my contractions were dropping down under 10 minutes apart.

We decided to go get some BBQ (spicy food) to try to keep things going. When we got to the restaraunt, we were informed by our waitress that she was the only one who had 2 other people go into labor at her table. We gave each other a high-five.

By the time dinner was over, the contractions had settled back down so we went home & went to bed.

On Monday morning (May 9), I emailed my colleagues saying that I wasn't feeling well and would stay home. Since I still wasn't sure if these contractions were going to settle into a pattern, I didn't want everyone getting all excited for nothing. I emailed my boss directly and informed him that I thought we were in early labor and I may not make it in again.

I called the clinic and requested a cervical check. My mom's contractions never got steady with her first pregnancy (me), I wanted to get checked and make sure we knew where we were at. As I was getting ready for my appointment, I was thinking, I don't even care if it's much, I'll be happy if we're at 1 cm.

My mom decided to come take me to my appointment in case the cervical check triggered actual active labor.

2 cm and cervix "soft like butter", ready for lots of changes.

I rescheduled my weekly appointment for the next week, went home, and went to bed.

I slept off and on all day.

I was awakened at around 3 in the morning (May 10) with more strong back contractions, accompanied by that blasted shivering. I drew a bath & pulled up my contraction timer app, since it felt like these were closer together.

I timed six contractions at less that 4 minutes apart.

Ok, now we're getting somewhere.

I woke Jesse up saying, "I just timed six contractions at less than 4 minutes apart."

He sprang out of bed sputtering. And followed me back to the tub so I could get warm.

We timed an hour of contractions and called the midwife at around 430 in the morning. She said that since this was the first, she wanted us to wait a little bit longer and call again. We went back to bed and I got some more sleep in between contractions.

We were just getting back up and getting ready to start timing the contractions again when I had a bloody show.

We called the midwife again, and she decided to have us meet the next midwife on call (there's a group of them, and I had met all of them before this point) at the clinic at 8.

I showered and we loaded up our "to go" bag in the car & headed to clinic.

While I was in the changing room getting ready for my cervical check, I felt a warm trickle run down my leg. What the hell? I don't think I peed. Holy crap. I think my water just broke. "Um, honey? I think my water just broke."

Chuckle. "What? Are you serious?"

Then the midwife, Kim Horvath, came in & I heard him tell her. She laughed too. "Well, I guess you're having a baby today."

I got myself sort of cleaned up & got back up on the chair.

7 cm, which apparently is pretty good, since Kim and the nurses were impressed that I'd made it that long.

We headed down the hall for fetal monitoring while Kim & the birthing assistants, Melissa and Susan, got the room set up downstairs.

The sensation of the amniotic fluid leaking was absolutely disgusting. Every move I made caused more of it to gush out. I think I said "Ew" or "Gross" about a hundred times before we got settled into our birthing room. I changed into my labor dress and got up on the bed.

Since I'm Group B Strep positive, the first order of business was to get an IV in. It took Kim a couple of tries to get the needle in, but that's never really bothered me, so I just waited. The tape really bugged me, but that was about it.

I labored for a couple of hours, on the bed, on the birthing ball, and walked a little. I was still shivering pretty badly so Melissa threw some blankets in the dryer and brought them out for me. They were heavenly.

Sometime around 10.30, Kim checked me again and I had dialated to 9 cm. They started filling the birthing tub & pulled all the baby equipment out. I had another costume change to get in the water. Jesse got his trunks on and got in with me.

The warm water felt absolutely amazing. We were so excited. We were going to be holding Panda by noon for sure.

A half an hour later, Kim came in and I had stalled out at 9 cm. I was crushed.

I climbed back out of the tub and changed back into my other labor clothes to start walking. I walked the halls. I lunged up and down the stairs. I sat on the birthing ball and rocked.

We couldn't get the contractions to come any more than once every half hour. My legs were so sore and from all the shivering that it was getting hard to walk up the stairs.

Kim let me go for 3 or 4 hours, and then she said the words I had hoped wouldn't come. "I think we need to transfer you to the hospital. Your uterus has been contracting basically for three days. I think it's just decided to give up."

We cried. Actually, I sobbed, and Jesse held and cried with me. It was so devestating to make it all the way to 9 cm and not be able to finish it out. Panda wasn't going to get her name on the board at all. The credit for the birth would all go to St. Joe's. This wasn't what I wanted.

"Please," I prayed. "Don't let them give me a Cesarian."

Since it had been several hours, Kim gave me the next dose of antibiotics before we packed up and left.

We got settled into our new room at the hospital with all the monitors and the horrid hospital gown. They wouldn't let me wear my labor dress.

I sat in the bed and sniffled while they hooked up fluids and the Pitocin to my IV.

In the interest of keeping this PG, I won't share the words that went through my head when the Pitocin hit my system. But if anyone has ever told you that it's evil, they're right.

Those contractions sent my shivers through the roof. I'm sure it looked like I was having a seziure every time one hit. As the got closer together, Kim came back in to the room and watched me shake.

She talked to my mom and decided to recommend an epidural. I had basically been up for 17 hours and shivering for most of that. She didn't think I would physically have the strength to push. If I got an epidural, I would be at least be able to sleep for a little while.

Jesse and I attempted to talk about it, but I was in so much pain and so tired, I just didn't care anymore. He asked a few questions (which I very much appreciated) and then looked at me. I asked him what he thought we should do and he broke down and cried. Watching me shake like that tore him up emotionally. He prayed about it and felt like we should go ahead with it.

The anesthesiologist came in and started running through his disclaimers. At that point, we both just wanted him to shut up and stick the needle in. They brought Jesse around in front of me on the side of the bed so I could lean on him while the Dr was looking for the right spot.

Several more contractions hit before the epidural kicked in. The last one I felt was the only one that pushed me over the edge and left me completely out of control. Jesse heard me starting to groan and lose control of my breathing. He started regulating his breathing, which was the most helpful thing he could have done at the time. It pulled me out of the pain and helped me to regulate mine.

I started falling asleep before the Dr left the room. I was finally warm. And so tired.

They let me sleep for about half an hour. Then Kim came back in and said it was time to push. It was time to get excited again.

We pushed for 45 minutes and out she came. Jesse's voice cracked, "It's a girl." I looked over to see tears streaming down his face. And then I saw her. And she was beautiful. And purple.

I got a good look at her face and all of her features were just perfect. A full head of dark hair. She had big beautiful dark eyes. A little button nose. The tiniest little fingers. And her mouth. Round. Red. Rosebud lips. Just perfect.

After the cord finished pulsing, they clamped it off and Jesse cut the last physical link between us. She was now her own person. This little life that I had carried for nearly 40 weeks was on her own. It was a spiritual moment.

Then they asked the name. I looked at her & then her daddy and asked:

"What do you think? Do we have our AJ?"

The tears renewed and he nodded.

"Can you do it?"

He shook his head.

I took a deep breath to steady my voice. "Aravis. Aravis Jade."

Aravis Jade Carrigan was born on Tuesday, May 10, 2011 at 7.59 PM during the sunset. She was 6 lbs 10 oz and 19.5 in.

She's ours. And she's here.

34 Week Maternity Shoot

2011-05-07T00:46:00.000-07:00

We had our maternity photos taken by the lovely and super talented Stacy Wagoner.

We went down to Point Defiance park here in Tacoma & had the shoot in front of the pagoda and the Asian garden. A couple of weeks later, the pagoda was burned by an arsonist. We may have gotten some of the last photos in its original state.

Without further ado, here are some of our favorite shots.

This one is me being a goofy Aspergian: "Can I pat him on the head?" Stacy, laughing: "Sure."

The rain finally let up long enough to get some awesome reflection shots.

Confessions of a Vulcan Mama

2011-03-29T10:17:00.000-07:00

"But it's not logical, Jim." - Spock

I hate emotions. They're not logical. Pregnancy is a roller coaster of emotions. Ergo, I hate being pregnant.

Okay, okay. "Hate" is a little strong.

But I do strongly prefer the consistency of logic to the changeability of emotion. In the span of minutes, I can swing from excited to scared to happy to grumpy to sad to downright angry.

I wish I had been more consistent about blogging through the journey of pregnancy, but I've been so tired that it hasn't been a high priority. It doesn't bother me much, I just wish I'd had more energy. (Don't we all?)

A lot of women enjoy pregnancy immensely. I am not one of them. I am blogging so that, if you're like me, you know you're not alone.

Live long and prosper.

PS. Eventually these posts will move over to a blog devoted to parenting, once DLH & I decide on a domain & get the blog set up. Ah, the downsides to having two geeks in a marriage... It takes a lot more work to get anything set up. :D

32 Weeks: You must be getting excited...

2011-03-29T07:27:00.000-07:00

(This was written almost 2 weeks ago. Things are slightly better now.)

... Actually, at the moment, no, I'm not.

If you're only interested in the happy moments of pregnancy, please stop reading now.

This last weekend was rather emotional for both DLH & I. Given our shared proclivity towards black humor, we have jokingly referred to it as early-onset post-partum depression. While neither of us thinks that this is that serious, the emotional adjustment has been rather difficult of late. DLH has been irritable and quick-tempered and I have been alternatively weepy and grumpy.

We realized that we have a long way to go still in just learning to take care of ourselves, let alone adding Panda to the mix. This has led to some "What the heck were we thinking? We're not ready for this!" emotions and conversations. (Are you ever? I don't think so.)

On Saturday morning, as we were heading out to a wedding of all places, I stated, "I don't want to have a baby any more." DLH lovingly responded, "I think you do. Anyway, it's a little late for that now." My emotions have dulled into a state of resigned ambivilence since then. This baby is coming whether I think I'm ready or not, so I'm going to try to make the best of it.

But, if I don't seem all that excited this week, it's because I'm not.

Gender Neutrality and Why It's Important to Us

2011-03-12T22:19:00.000-08:00

Over the course of the last few months, I (Amy) have had several conversations with friends and family about our decision to not find out the gender of Panda. The responses have ranged from "That's awesome!" to "How am I going to shop for you if I don't know the gender?" Since Panda's arrival is nearly upon us, I felt like it was important to talk about what we mean by gender neutrality and why we're serious about it.

What we don't mean
1. That we want to dress Panda in ugly or impractical clothing.
2. That we will never dress Panda in gender specific clothing.
3. That we will switch to gender specific clothing once Panda arrives. (The exception to this is one or two dress outfits. We hope to dress her in colors and patterns that will complement her skin tone & hair/eye color. If she inherits our coloring, this probably means rich, saturated hues and darker neutrals. Neither of which lend themselves to gender specificity.
What we do mean
1. That we don't want to reinforce gender stereotypes. We ourselves do not fit neatly into the gender stereotypes and we do not want to force or reinforce those stereotypes on Panda.
2. That we want Panda's clothing to be practical for her development.
  [T]he infant needs to be comfortable when lying in a prone position. This means that her clothes must be free of big buttons, bows and other ornamentation...Appropriate clothing for the infant allows her to get her knees under her, push off, scoot and crawl, just as soon as coordination and muscle strength make these actions possible. On her upper body, the infant wears layered clothing: a soft cotton undershirt and, if needed, a long-sleeve cotton shirt as well as a lightweight wool sweater buttoned up the back. Her cloth cotton diaper should...[allow] the legs to come closer together for freer forward movement...For the rest of her dress, the infant has bare legs with booties or socks with ankles just tight enough to stay on her feet. If she is going to be on a chafing surface such as a rough carpet or stone patio, she may need a pair of cotton leggings for protection. – Lillard and Jessen, Montessori From the Start
3. That we want to recycle as much of Panda's wardrobe as possible for the next baby. The more of her wardrobe that is gender neutral, the more will be able to be passed on, no matter what gender her sibling(s) are.
What we need from you, our friends and family
1. Support for our decisions, from how we dress Panda to how we choose to raise her.
2. Other gear for Panda besides clothing. We are the first in our family to give birth, and we have no hand-me-downs. We desperately need diapers, swaddling blankets, wetbags and other essentials. Especially the diapers. The start up cost of cloth diapering is quite high and assistance with this would be greatly appreciated. If you are unsure of what is needed, we have a registry.

Examples of gender neutral clothing we already have

Football and How It's Helping Our Marriage

2011-01-31T13:39:00.000-08:00

Over the last few weeks, I have been surprised to find myself in several long conversations about football with my husband. For those of you who didn't know, I'm the sports fan in our family and football has previously been about as interesting to him as a day at Bellevue Square. (Actually, he'd probably enjoy that more.)

He decided that since I'm not going to stop liking football, he should at least learn enough about it to be able to talk about it with me. And boy, did he ever. I suddenly found myself debating merits of quarterbacks, the differences in defense schemes and potential strategies for opposing teams in upcoming games. He took the time to research and became so well versed in the analytics of the game, that I actually found myself having to research to keep up with him.

This is not the only subject that he has done this with, just the most recent. I remember on one trip to the mall, coming out of the dressing room and asking him what he thought. He thought for a minute and then asked, "When you ask me that, what are you looking for?" Which then led to a discussion of fit, style, and generally what I look for in an outfit when a girlfriend asks me for my opinion.

Now ladies, before you go running off to show this to your husband/SO, ask yourself what you have taken the time to learn that is important to him.

For the last five years, I have asked a lot of questions about guitars, amps and recording gear. I can now explain (somewhat) the difference between Strats & Les Pauls. I can tell you that my husband likes PRS guitars, but can't stand their pickups, so if he ever bought one, the first thing he would do is swap out the pickups. I can tell you that he typically prefers the tone of a tube amp to a solid state (and that he's a fan of Trainers and Voxes). I still get lost in the technical details sometimes, but have enough of an understanding to keep from tuning out once he starts talking shop with other guitar players.

Learning about each other, and your likes, dislikes and passions is a life-long pursuit. And, who knows, you may end up actually liking to watch football, if you're willing to give it a try.

Decisions

2007-09-15T18:17:00.000-07:00

We have made our decisions about who our loan officer & real estate agent will be.

We will be meeting with our real estate agent tomorrow to start walking through houses. Yay!

Be Vewy, Vewy Quiet

2007-09-10T15:19:00.000-07:00

We awe hunting howses...

Hubby & I started the serious house hunt this week. We're kind of testing the waters online and will be interviewing real estate agents over the next week. We hope to be actually walking through potentials here very soon.

Our lease is up and we have to move out of our apartment on the 30th of September. Chances are good that we will not have closed by then, so it'll be back to Mom & Dad's for a while. Should be an adventure, what with baby sis moving back in, too. Two years ago, the family in the house went from 7-8 to 3, when we all moved out. In a couple weeks, it'll go from 3-6. Guess it's back to scheduling our showers, eh?

We are very excited about the prospect of owning a home. About being able to change things we don't like. When you rent, ya just kinda gotta live with what's there. >_<

I'm hoping to maybe keep a blog history of this journey, but most of those kinds of ambitions have failed miserably, so we'll just have to see what happens.

We're Buying a Freaking House

2007-09-03T23:09:00.000-07:00

No, we're not sure where just yet. After looking at our options and the current housing market, we decided that there's no time like the present to jump into home-ownership. So, we now have to bed out of our apartment by the end of September. We're in the process of talking to a couple loan officers to to find out what kind of budget we're looking at. And then we have a couple of real estate agents that we'll be talking to about homes in the area.

Started packing this weekend.

Talk about crazy.

Relaxation

2007-08-14T12:31:00.000-07:00

I have been "loaned" from the call center to the internet department for a while. The call center is working on setting up a Web Support desk and so needed to train some of the agents one the back end of the website. The internet team has some larger projects coming up that they needed help with. So... Here I am. It's been fun to be out of the call center.

I have been having a blast being back in a technical environment. When you work with non-techies, it's easy to think that you're the only geek in the world. But not so. If you can believe it, I have actually met someone who is a bigger LOTR fan than either Jesse or I. It's crazy.

One of the biggest changes about being over on the internet team is that I don't have to account for every second of my day. As long as I'm here on time and the work gets done, it's pretty relaxed. It's WONderful.

Jesse's physics class comes to a close on Thursday. After this, he will not have to take a class during the summer ever again. That will be wonderful to be able to have the summers off without the stress level we've been carrying.

In other news, we passed out 2nd anniversary on Monday. I can't believe it's been two years already. It's crazy.

Still Alive...

2007-07-12T17:25:00.000-07:00

...It's been so long since either of us posted anything, I just wanted to make sure y'all knew.

I got the job at World Vision and have been working here for just about 4 months now. It's not my favorite job in the world, but, seriously, who actually likes working a call center? However, I do love working for World Vision and am excited about some other opportunities that may be coming my way. It's such a blessing to come into work everyday and know that I am truly making a difference for someone around the world.

Jesse is in the middle of Summer quarter at GRCC, taking Physics 201 - Calculus Based Physics. In the fall, he will be starting at UW Tacoma to begin his core course work for his Bachelor's degree in Computing and Software Systems. He will be in the program for three years and then only God knows where he'll end up. We're both hoping he can land a job at Microsoft Game Studios (ie. Bungie), because that would just rock.

We are looking into the possibility of buying our first home within the next 18 months or so. We're looking into houses in Tacoma and also condos here around Federal Way so we can be close to work.

That's about all the news. With both of us working full-time, we're pretty busy and tired most of the time. So I'll sign off here, as Kip would say, "Peace out."

Job Search Update

2007-03-02T00:31:00.000-08:00

I had an interview with World Vision for the call center.

Should know by the beginning of next week whether or not I got the job by the beginning of next week. I think my chance are pretty good, but we'll just have to see what happens.

Christmas Tree

2006-12-17T13:25:00.000-08:00

We finally got to decorate our tree last night. We WERE planning to do it Thursday night, but the power went out and didn't come back until sometime yesterday. So, here it is!

Hubsend hanging lights on our tree.

And this is him being cute. :-D
He is putting the star on... It's a long reach because we only have a step stool, and the tree is nine feet tall.

We've made a tradition of buying a new ornament every year. This is last year's ornament.
And this is our ornament from this year.

All done!

Christmas Decorations

2006-12-08T14:41:00.000-08:00

I hung these lights in our front window. As far as I can tell, we're the only ones with lights up.
Our little tree from last year. On Saturday, we are going to get a real tree. I am super excited about it. This will be our first year with a real tree. It's a little more exciting since my family has switched to a fake tree. :-(

Our stocking are hung by the chimney with care... :-D
I'll post some more pictures when we get our tree and get it decorated.

Our Poor Car

2006-11-16T14:47:00.000-08:00

So, yeah...

A while back I knocked the passenger side mirror off. It's a long story, but it involves big orange construction barrels closing a lane that wasn't marked to be closed. So yeah...

Then, on Monday, I had a flat. Then I went to help some people from my church clean out a house that had been flooded.

And on the way home from that, I got rear-ended. Grr....

To top it all off: Now it is dead. We think it's the alternator. So, I am now carless the day before I'm supposed to be driving down to Portland to go to Nightstrike and hang out with some friends. Totally sucks. My parents have an extra car, but Mom said that they're not driving right now cause there's something wrong with it. And my friend's family is being really super dumb and not letting her take HER car to Portland. So yeah, it really sucks. I WILL figure something out. I WILL come to Portland. I promise.

The Only Constant is Change

2006-09-01T09:23:00.000-07:00

We have been in the process of moving into an apartment in Federal Way. We found a totally cute apartment complex, Fox Run, up there. We are completely out of the old apartment in Puyallup and turned our keys in yesterday.

We don't have our internet set up yet, so I'm stealing a few minutes here at work to update. We should have it set up soon (Comcast is working on it). We have some, but not many pictures of the move that I hope to get up here soon after our internet is reconnected.

We absolutely love our new apartment. It's much, MUCH bigger than our last one, which means that we will be able to have more than two people over at a time. When we had all our furniture in the old apartment, four people was about the max number we could have in there at a time. On Saturday (the 26th) we had 14-15 people in our new apartment helping us move and eat pizza, our stuff was every where, and it didn't feel crowded at all. It was wonderful.

We are look forward to being able to have people over to hang out (and play with Jesse's xboxes) as soon as we are slightly more settled.

Jesse has been at WV for a month now. It's seems crazy that he's actually been there that long.

I am quitting my job as a contract office worker and preparing to jump into the world of freelance Web design. OK, so I'm really sort of easing my way into it. My last day at my current employer is September 15. Then, I am hoping to get a part-time job at a nearby Starbucks (there are 10 within a 5 mile radius). In the time I am not working, I hope to hone my design skills and keep my house clean. Both of which are nearly impossible when working full time. I hope to start a blog about my adventures in the design world when I get going. I'll be sure to keep you all posted.

So changes are happening again (still) for the Carrigan family. :-)

Happy Anniversary to Us!

2006-08-13T22:28:00.000-07:00

Wow.

We have already been married for a year. I can't even believe how fast it's gone. One year ago today, we went from two people with seperate lives to two people with one life. It's wild how that changes things. As a single person, you don't really have to think about how your taste (or lack thereof) in music, food, clothing, decorating, etc., will affect anyone else. If they don't like it, well, they don't have to deal with it. Not so in a marriage. Your life becomes someone else's life too, and things have to adjust to fit. Or, in some cases, go out the window altogether.

This year, we've been through 4 job changes, 2 moves (well, one is coming up), 2 car purchases, 1 car breakin, 1 car accident, 1 stolen car, 1 apartment flooding, and all the little things that fill in the details of daily life. It's been kind of nuts, really. And this was just the first year!

I'm looking forward to growing old and gray with Amy. I think we will probably be a very cute old couple someday. :) I love her more than I thought it was possible to love another human being, and I'm thankful that God worked things out for us (I certainly couldn't have planned it).

So here's to us. Here's to our family, our children (someday), our home, our life together. Thank you, Father, for letting us live as a picture of Christ and the church, and give us grace to live it well.

Equal Opportunity Satire

2006-07-20T19:23:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone. I thought I would post something a little lighter than usual. I know that some of you have PCs, some have Macs, and I'm sure that several of you have iPods. I also know that some of you are gamers. Here is some fun for all of you.

First, for the Mac users a little video that imagines what would happen if Microsoft redesigned the iPod packaging.

And then, for you PC users and gamers, a dig at the Apple "Switch" ad campaign. You'll remember these when you see it.

Remember to enjoy in moderation.

First Day at World Vision

2006-07-17T12:10:00.000-07:00

Well, here I am. Pretty weird to be here, after spending a year working in the same place, doing the same thing. Now I'm in a different place, doing a completely different thing. Check out the last post about World Vision (entitled "Whoa! (Part 2)") to find out more about how this happened. I'm excited. So far, it's been a fairly easy, nonchalant day. Also, I don't know a whole lot yet, so there isn't much I can do that's useful other than learn.

Just thought I'd pop on and say hello. By the by, please go to Chris and Jenni's site to find out how you can help them in their time of need if you haven't already. You'll find details there.

Thank you, Father, that their family is safe and they are well. Take care of their needs and walk with them through this time.

Whoa! (Part 2)

2006-07-02T09:08:00.000-07:00

We have a friend named Tad who works at World Vision (the big Christian relief organization) as a recruiter. Last September, he talked to me about a job in their information technology department as a helpdesk person--essentially, the person who gets a call if a computer is not working. There were two positions open, and I was #3. (Kind of like a bronze medal, only not as cool.)

So I've been working at Group Health Cooperative for a year. It's a good job, in so many ways. Really, so far it's the best job I've ever had. I like the work that I do (mostly) and I like the people I work with. I had kind of settled into my routine, gone back to school, all this sort of thing.

Well, last week Tad called. "Hey," he said, "Remember Eric Ness, the guy you met at the interview last year? He asked me the other day 'Whatever happened to Jesse?' I told him that you were working at Group Health still, as far as I knew. He told me, 'Well, we have a position opening up and I'd like to have him come in for an interview.' So he asked me if I could get ahold of you."

That interview was almost a year ago! How did he remember me? Well, I went in for the interview on Friday. It just so happened one of the ladies who was conducting the interview is married to a doctor that I worked with at the Puyallup clinic. The interview went well, but I didn't feel like I had hit a home run or anything. Actually, when I went to work after,
I felt a little silly. "What, did you think they would just hand you the job on a silver platter?" I thought. I kind of figured that it would go the same as last time, except maybe this time I would be #2. (As a euphemism, this is considerably worse than #1. By the way, when you say you have to go #1, how does everyone know what you mean? It's like we all know, but no one ever said anything, no memo went out, etc. But I digress.)

Anyway, that afternoon Eric called. "Okay," he said, "here's the deal. We need someone to start on July 17th. How much notice would you have to give your current job?"

"I have to give 2 weeks notice," I said.

"Okay," he said, "we were going to have everyone come back in for a second interview. But not even counting my evaluation, since I already talked to you before, you scored higher than any of the other candidates. So we're prepared to offer you the position if you can give notice, but I absolutely have to know by the end of the day."

So I talked to Amy, who said "Why not?!", put in my notice at Group Health, and accepted the position at World Vision. I felt almost an equal mixture of excitement and sadness, because I will be leaving people that I really enjoy working with. They were all pretty surprised, since I hadn't even been looking (this whole process took 1 week), but they were all excited for me and sad I would be leaving. It's nice to be enjoyed.

So, God went and changed our plans again. We had a well thought-out, clear, precise plan for moving, school, and work. Apparently it wasn't the right plan. :) He's taking good care of us.

Whoa! (Part 1)

2006-07-01T06:07:00.000-07:00

Long time no see. A couple of REALLY cool things happened recently. Amy filled you in on the car, I think.

I had my final on June 15th for my precalculus class. That was a very difficult class for me, and I didn't do particularly well on the tests. Failed a couple, actually. However, I did extremely well in the homework and a project we did, and so I wasn't really doing too badly--a low B, which is not bad if you're me and you're taking precalculus.

My instructor's policy is that if you do poorly on the final, it won't hurt your grade. It basically gets thrown out. If you do well, however, it will help you. Not a bad deal, all things considered. So I studied hard for it.

On the day of the final, I went in and breezed through most of the questions. (It was multiple choice, but that doesn't really make a precalculus final a whole lot easier.) There were a few I had to work a little harder on. The last one I sat messing with for about half an hour (no exaggeration). It was a very simple triangle problem, and it SHOULD have been really easy. But try as I might, I couldn't get any of the answers provided.

By this time, I was the only one left, and asked my instructor, "Do you want this answer exactly?"

"Yeah," he said.

"Well, it isn't here," I told him.

"Sure it is," he replied.

"Not possible," I said.

Finally he agreed to look over my work, and asked me why I had used a certain method to solve the problem. Then he indicated what the correct answer was according to the key. So, that was it.

I went home in a terrible funk. Amy was all ready to celebrate, and I just wanted to stay in bed all day the next day. Before we went to bed, I decided to check my email, and lo and behold, there was an email from my instructor with the simple subject line, "You were right":

"I am sorry, but I missed another error on your copy of the exam. The answer should have been 8 square root 3. You had the highest score of the class getting 27 out of 30 right. You also get 5 bonus points for catching the error allowing every one else to have the question dropped. ...

Sorry to have caused so much stress on your last day. Nice job overall and good luck on your educational journey."

This is for a guy (me) who always said he didn't understand math and didn't like math. I'm almost ready to cry again, because I cried when I read that. Partly I felt vindicated, but mostly it was from a a feeling of gratitude for what Jesus has done for me to take me this far. I ended up getting a 3.5 (roughly an A-) for the course.

This post is getting really long, so I'll get to the other thing in a little while.

German Engineering in da Haus... Jah

2006-05-27T22:17:00.000-07:00

As of today, the Carrigans are the proud owners of a 2001 VW Jetta. It is Baltic Pearl Metallic (teal-green) and has 22,800 miles on it. The 2.0 liter engine packs a pretty good punch.

We asked God to lead us to the right car and this is the one he led us to. Therefore, its name shall be Samuel, because God heard our prayers. (See 1 Samuel 1:20)

If we pick up a digital camera soon, you can stay tuned for pictures. If not, you'll have to have us over for dinner, or hang out over coffee, so that you can see it. ;-D

Love you all! And thank you so much to all of you who prayed for us during this interesting time!!

Jesse and Amy

The Carrigans' Horrible Awful Terrible No-Good Day

2006-05-19T12:15:00.000-07:00

So yesterday, I stayed home from work because I was very sick. I hate being sick, especially when that means that I have stay at home, in bed, in the dark, all by myself. So the day started off bad and got worse.

Around noon, I woke up to see that I had missed a call from my hubby. I called him back and found out the insurance company had totalled out our car. Which was a major let down after yesterday, them telling us that they might not have to. Fortunately, Hondas keep their value and we're getting almost all of our money back. We'll end up owing a couple hundred on it, but that'll be pretty easy to pay off.

Then, my mom called to let me know that Hannah, my dog, was really, really sick and that she was taking her to the vet to see if they could figure out what was wrong with her and decide if she needed to be put to sleep. I was sick and couldn't even drive out to the vet to see her.

Mom called back a couple hours later and said that the vet couldn't figure out what was wrong with her and they were going to put her to sleep. I cried. She hasn't really been *my* dog for the last few years, but still...

Then my husband had to go to school and take a test so he couldn't even come home and be with me. When he DID get home he was all bummed out because he doesn't think he did very well on the test, due to all the distractions of the last few weeks.

The insurance company was only going to give us the rental car for another five days, but through begging and pleading, we managed to get it until the 30th. Which means that we have less than two weeks to find a new car. Grr.

I'll end this post with a few pics...

I'm going to miss that dog...

And I'm going to miss this car...

Hopefully, I'll get one of these (Mistubishi Lancer)

2000 Civic, anyone?

2006-05-17T08:25:00.000-07:00

Jesse talked to the insurance adjuster yesterday and got a little more information about the state of our car.

Wheels and tires are gone. Stereo system is gone. Steering wheel and column gone.

Other than that it doesn't sound like anything else is missing, and there's no structural damage. So they should be able to fix it.

Which is kind of nice cause that means that we don't have to go car shopping again, just six months after the last time.

Grapevine

2006-05-14T12:28:00.000-07:00

For those of you who haven't heard through the grapevine yet...

Thursday morning Jesse got up to go to work (I was going to *finally* get my name legally changed so I was sleeping in), I heard him leave and then about 30 seconds later he came back in. He threw his shoes and bag, and I knew something was up.

He came into the bedroom and says, "The car is gone." In absolute shock and confusion, I asked, "The Honda?" "Yeah."

I got up and looked out the window, and sure enough. The car was not where we had parked it the night before.

So Jesse called the police, the insurance and the apartment complex. It was 7.30 and the only people he actually got ahold of were the police.

So, now, not only had our car been broken into and hit in a parking lot, it has been stolen. All within three weeks.

The Tacoma police called Puyallup saying they had found a car matching the description and plate number of ours. So they went and positively IDed it. It was ours.

The officer who has been working with us called to say that the wheels and tires were gone and the interior was "pretty well stripped". We're still not sure exactly what that means. We'll probably find out tomorrow (Monday).

So yeah... This week has been a little wierd to say the least. :-P

As You Can See

2006-04-29T17:47:00.000-07:00

There is now a new design to this page. I'm pretty happy with how it turned out. Let me know what you think, or if there's anything that doesn't quite work.

Thanks.

A Public Service Announcement on Comments

2006-04-23T09:39:00.001-07:00

Hi everyone. I'm posting again; must be your lucky week. Don't bother buying a lottery ticket, though, it's a waste of money.

I went to our gmail account today and noticed that there were several comments which we got in our email, but did not see on the blog. I even said something about that last night, viz., "Comment so we know you're reading." Well, apparently you HAVE been commenting. I just didn't see it.

After a little poking around on the help groups, I realized that Amy set up our comments to be reviewed by us before posting. This is because we had a rash of comment spam, i.e. "Your blog are very coole. Cum too this sight I think u will like it." My blog, suckers! Not your personal comment graffiti space! Got it?

Anyway, that's why we're doing it. So, put in a comment just once, and we'll be more diligent about reviewing them. If they're from people we know, they will be posted. Sorry about the confusion. Trust me, I was a little confused this morning. We appreciate that you read, we appreciate your prayers, and we're glad that you are commenting. Thanks for the memories.

Later!

If I Only Had a Brain

2006-04-22T21:02:00.000-07:00

Precalculus beats up my brain like a pack of starving ninjas. I'm ready to become a monk or something so I don't have to think about radians and trigonometry anymore. I suppose I'm sort of committed now. I have to find some way to make more money to pay off the student loans, and longshoring just doesn't sound good to me. I don't have a high enough tolerance for alcohol.

We're down in Portland visiting people. It's a lot of fun, but I feel somehow that I should be getting lots of homework done. That just isn't happening. If anyone out there feels like praying for me, now would be a very good time.

In other news, our car was broken into the other night. Amy was going to work and called me because the dash was all torn apart. Thieves in Puyallup are apparently rather inept, because they managed to get into the car, tore the dash apart, failed to get the CD player, and didn't take anything out of the trunk. If we had lived in Tacoma, we would have lost the car.

Speaking of Tacoma, on our way down to Portland, we stopped to depost Amy's paycheck at a BECU on 38th St. As we were sitting listening to the 5:20 Funny on KMTT, we felt a dull thud. I looked back and there was a blue minivan trying to back up, but its progress was being impeded by our car. I got out and the van had scraped up our rear bumper on the driver's side. I had to laugh; what the heck was that? Really? We have to get our car fixed already, I guess. One more repair won't hurt.

Comment so we know you're reading. So long and thanks for all the fish.

"Rumors of my death have been greatly exaggerated" - Mark Twain

2006-04-01T09:58:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone. Yes, I'm still out here. I would apologize for not writing more, but I have to confess that I think I have had too much on my plate lately to feel very bad about not writing on my blog. Hopefully you'll forgive my lack of remorse. :)

I think Amy has taken care of writing up most of the big stuff lately...sooo...um....Oh, I finished my first quarter back at Pierce. I'm taking prerequisites for the computer science program at UW Tacoma. Since I avoided math and science as much as possible the first time around, that means that I have a lot of math and science to take. This quarter was statistics and precalculus. Next quarter (beginning Monday) is my second precalculus class. Then I will take physics and calculus, and THEN I can finally start on the coursework for my BS. (Which stands for Bachelor of Science, not...well, you know.)

So I'm looking forward to finishing school. Total time will be a little less than 3 years now. Should be interesting.

Stop by and say hi sometime. Bye for now...

Job Update

2006-03-29T13:58:00.000-08:00

For those of you who are keeping track:

I actually have a job at least through the middle of April. Maybe longer, depending on whether or not they decide they need me enough to hire me on.

I really, really like the people here and I would love to work here on a more permanent basis. But I'll leave the planning up to God on this one.

Just keep us in your prayers as we continue to navigate the terrain. Thanks.

Also: We just bought a new laptop off Craig's List and it's lots of fun. It's a Dell XPS M140. It's really pretty. Oh yeah, and it works good too. lol

I Got a Job... Sort Of

2006-03-28T12:44:00.000-08:00

I got the job I wanted even, well sort of.

I got hired on as temporary office help at HighPoint Solutions. I'm basically doing the same stuff I was doing at dB Audio, but not as many different tasks. Which is nice in one way, but in another, I don't feel quite as challenged. But if I got to be creative AND problem solve, I'd love work and that just seems wrong, ya know?

Anyway, thank you all for praying. I have a job for this week. Please continue to pray as I don't know if I'll have a job NEXT week.

Random Events?

2006-03-13T13:17:00.000-08:00

Jesse and I were talking over the events of this last week last night, and it dawned on us. This week was not a series of random events. It's too calculated, to coincitental. We were reminded once again that there is a very real enemy in this world and his mission is to steal, kill and destroy everything he can. This week really seemed like everything went wrong. The leaky ceiling. Our computer working then not working then acting like it might work. My parent's laptop (which we borrowed while our computer was deciding whether or not to flake out on us) refusing to work off our internet connection. Etc, etc. It's just been coming at us from every conceivable angle. We feel a little battered and bruised, but we're alive. It's driven us to the feet of the Father, and more than ever, we feel like that's where our strength and unity is coming from and will continue to come from.

Thanks to all of you sent prayers heavenward after hearing about our flood. Please keep praying for us as we continue to deal with the aftermath. Love you all.

"After me, the deluge" -Napolean Bonaparte

2006-03-08T14:14:00.000-08:00

{Takes deep breath}

Well folks, I've had about the craziest 48 hours anyone could ask for.

Monday night, Jesse and I went to the YMCA for a particularly difficult workout session. Then we went to Wal-Mart for some necessities (TP and ice cream for me). We got home to a torrential downpoar...in our dining room.

Apparently, a valve underneath the kitchen sink in the unit above ours blew out sometime Monday while we were gone, and poured enough water into our unit to leak into the unit below us. Needless to say everything in our dining room was pretty much soaked. As soon as we got home we had to start moving everything. Jesse keeps his guitars and amp in the dining room, but they managed to come out unscathed. We think we might have lost his tuner and his trainer thingy that slows down CD tracks so he can learn them. Thank God he bought the warrenty on them.

Also, the water was coming through the dining room light fixture. And there's tell-tale blister marks on the same line as several of our electrical outlets, so there might be some electrical work that needs to be done. The whole dining room and part of the living room are going to need to be painted and possibly have some drywall replaced or repaired. So we might have to move into a different unit while they're doing the repairs to ours.

We also discovered a blister that was threatening to leak on our computer. So we moved the computer and we thought it was out of danger. However, we have been unable to get it to boot up at all. We're not sure exactly what's wrong with it. We're going to replace a couple things that needed to be replaced anyway, and try to boot it up off the Windows CD to run a repair. That is, if we can find the CD.

If y'all would pray for us and our computer, we'd really appreciate it. It's not like we can go out and just buy another computer, ya know? God bless you all and we'll keep you updated on how eveything works out.

UPDATE:

Thank you, Jesus! The computer works! It turns out that the surge protector did its job and protected the computer, but the surge protector is shot. So I plugged the computer into a different power strip, and it worked! YAY!

Married to a Gamer...

2006-01-30T11:30:00.000-08:00

I found this video online, and while it has never actually happened, Jesse and I laughed too hard to not post it up here.

This is the Austrailian comedy group Tripod. Hope you enjoy.

Update...

2006-01-18T11:31:00.000-08:00

Jesse started back to school this quarter. He's taking two classes, one online and one at Pierce's Steilacoom campus. He is going back to school to get his degree in computer science. Right now he's taking care of pre-req's that he needs to get into the UW Tacoma program.

We finally bought a couch this last month. After 5 1/2 months of not having a couch, it's wonderful to be able to finally have someplace soft to sit. Up till now, we've only had our dining room chairs to sit in. Also, the couch gives us additional seating, so when people come over, they don't have to sit on the floor any more.

We are buying a second car for me. I have been without a car since I left for DTS almost a year and a half ago. I can't believe it's been that long... Anyway, we've been looking at Honda Civics. And we found a really nice 2000 up in Redmond. So hopefully we'll be able to pick that up this week and return the car we've been borrowing.

Jesse's benefits with Group Health kick in the first of February, so we're pretty excited about that.

I guess that's all the excitement I can think of. Thanks for listening.

Insomnia

2005-11-11T02:25:00.000-08:00

It's 2:00 in the morning, during quiet hours in the apartment complex, and I'm awake. So I figure, why not update the blogs that have been so sorrowfully neglected.

Jesse starts working at the Tacoma clinic on Monday. He's been hired on there as a real full-timer, as opposed to the temp he has been. Which means we will now have health insurance, Jesse has paid holidays, sick days, and vacation time. Praise God! It's totally an answer to prayer. He's kind of bummed about having to leave the clinic he's working at, because he really likes the people he's working with, but we also know that this is an opportunity that may not come up again in the near future.

I'm working for someone most of you know, Dan Bunker. I'm working part time (16 hrs a week) as his office manager/anything and everything that needs to be done to keep the business running. ;) It gets pretty crazy, but I really enjoy the challenges this job presents. It sure beats a retail job, especially at this time of year.

With only one car, I've been taking Jesse to work in the morning, because the clinic is right around the corner, but just far enough to be too far to walk. Then I come home and sleep or do housework or whatever. I pick him back up after I get off work. But obviously, that isn't going to work when he's working in Tacoma.

To make matters worse, the beloved Sentra is getting old and cranky. Who's to blame her after 225,000 miles, but we kind of need her to keep running for a little while longer. The clutch needs to be replaced (we think, it started slipping yesterday... er... Wednesday). A new one had just been put in right before Jesse bought it, and it hasn't been replaced since. So it's probably due. Also, the CV joints need to be replaced. The car whines, literally, whenever we turn a corner. And on top of all that, we still need a second car. For right now, we're borrowing my parents' minivan, but we can't do that forever. That's the biggest prayer request we have at the moment. If y'all could keep us in mind, we'd really appreciate it.

The rest of our life is pretty quiet. We're still settling into married life and the responsibilities of owning our own place. There's still quite a stack of boxes, now semi-hidden behind a wonderful bamboo screen that was given to us as a wedding present.

We love our apartment and the freedom to decorate in our style, or my style since Jesse doesn't care a whole lot unless he really doesn't like something. We're coming up on three months of marriage and we still love being married, which I think is a good sign. :D

This is turning into quite a long post so I think I'll sign out now. Thanks for tuning in. Good night all.

Hawaii, but not exactly honeymoon

2005-10-03T09:23:00.000-07:00

Hawaii was a blast! Jesse and I really enjoyed hanging out on the beaches and snorkeling and all that fun stuff, but I think next time we go, we'd like to go by ourselves. We went with my family to celebrate my grandpa's birthday. He turns 65 in October and he wanted to celebrate his birthday in Hawaii, so we all went down to celebrate with them. I got a brithday party out of it, too, so that's pretty cool. I turned 21 while we were there. The bummer part about it was that was the worst day of the sunburn. I guess that's what I get for forgetting my sunscreen. Oh well. Other than the sunburn, Hawaii was great and I can't wait to go back.

Online!

2005-10-01T14:00:00.000-07:00

Well, everyone out there, we're online. We finally were able to take the plunge and get Comcast cable internet. Ahhh...we haven't had it since we got married and consequently haven't been able to update on here much. So, finally, we can talk about what's going on.

We got back from Hawaii on Sept. 21. We were there for a week on the Big Island in Kailua-Kona. Man, was it AWEsome. I don't think I would want to live there, to be honest with you...it's just too hot for me. And humid. But it's gorgeous.

We went snorkeling several times, which was great--I truly couldn't believe all the fish. It was like putting your face in the water and bam, it's Finding Nemo. What a trip. We saw fish just like Dory (tang), and Marlin and Nemo (clownfish), and there was even (gasp!) a drop-off out at Captain Cook. We also got to kayak with dolphins.

On the downside, Amy and I got sunburned and spent two days in our condo not touching (which is a real bummer when you're newlyweds, and probably even when you aren't, I suspect). The good part was that we got to watch the History channel and saw this awesome show called Dogfights, which despite the name was about air warfare (as you may be aware).

We loved it and we can't wait to go back. Next time we'll use more sunscreen.

We'll have picures for you eventually...keep watching!

Moving Blues

2005-09-02T08:09:00.000-07:00

Moving is a PAIN. I say this in love.

We've been married and in our apartment for almost 3 weeks now, and we still have nearly all our boxes packed. The problem is, we don't have anywhere to put anything. We only have one shelving unit and we just got our computer moved over. Sigh. Probably right about the time we finish unpacking, it will be time to move again.

We're looking for inexpensive IKEA-type furniture (shelving, storage), just in case that anyone out there has any. I have a "wanted" post on http://seattle.craigslist.org/ if you would like to send an email (I don't think I have my email up here).

Still working on learning each other and having fun (most of the time). It's still a lot of work.

A Whole New World

2005-08-25T08:21:00.000-07:00

I'm feeling a little Disney today. Why not? I feel a bit like Aladdin...scruffy boy wins the heart of the beautiful princess. :)

Being married is fun. It's a lot of work, too. But it sure is nice to come home and be with the person you love. We never wanted to leave each other when we were together before we were married, and now we don't have to. It's nice.

The apartment is...well, um...there's a lot going on. Unpacking, packing, driving, moving. Trying to find a place for things while we're figuring out where to put others. Lots of cardboard. Eventually, our place is going to look really, really cool. But until then, we just keep plugging away. Once we have things a little more together, we're going to have a housewarming party.

We're learning about each other, figuring out how to live together, and enjoying being married.

We'll keep you posted with more updates. Peace.

I'm a wife!

2005-08-18T16:01:00.000-07:00

It's fun and still a little wierd to say, "my husband." We haven't been married very long, but I'm enjoying it immensely.

I LOVE decorating our apartment. It's a lot of fun to be able to control the style of the house you live in. My mom has good taste, but it's definitely not mine. It's so much fun to walk through stores and figure what would look good in which room. Jesse and I really enjoy our what seems to be turning into weekly visits to IKEA to pick up little odds and ends, decor, bed frames and such. When we get the computer hooked up at the apartment, I hope to be able to post pics for y'all to see our fun little space.

Thank you all who came to the wedding to share in our day. It was totally wonderful to see/meet you. We were so blessed by all of you being there. Thanks again.

WE'RE MARRIED!

2005-08-15T13:18:00.000-07:00

I can't believe it's actually happened. Amy and I are married! Thanks to all of you who made it to the wedding and got to share our day. It was absolutely amazing to see how many people came to the wedding and the reception.

We're so excited...partly that the wedding is finally over (finally, a chance to rest a little) and mostly because we're just happy to be together. Now we get to put our apartment together and finish moving. (We didn't have much of a chance to move, since we got our place the Wed. before the wedding.)

I'm so grateful for the generosity of our family and friends. You all blessed us beyond anything we expected. We feel very loved and we're so thankful. We opened presents last night and it was just...overwhelming. We've been given so much.

Go to Chris and Jenni's blog to see a picture of us kissing. That was fun.

More stories and anecdotes to come...

T minus 22 hours and 2 minutes...

2005-08-12T14:57:00.000-07:00

The wedding is tomorrow.

It seems so surreal to be saying that...my wedding...tomorrow...those words don't feel like they belong in the same sentence. I am marrying the woman that I want to spend my life with, minister with, have fun with, have children with...tomorrow.

We are starting a new life, one that isn't each of us separately but both of us together. It's really a mystery. It's impossible to understand. I am in awe of God creating this way of living, and I am shocked by how good his creation is.

I can barely concentrate on anything. It seems like there is so much left to do...but there really isn't. The only truly important thing tomorrow is for us to make our covenant, and all the rest is just presentation.

Jesus, let this be a picture of your love for your church. We want to display what you have given us for everyone there to see. I want you to love being with us and seeing us on our wedding day! Thank you so much for creating this.

PTL!

2005-08-08T10:45:00.000-07:00

Right now we are waiting for the application to clear for an apartment. We should now by today (Monday) or tomorrow, if we'll be able to move in. We should be able to, we just might have to pay a higher deposit because neither of us has ever rented before. So please continue to keep us in your prayers.

It's a totally awesome apartment complex. It's called Southridge and it's on Meridian next to 512. Thankfully, there's a stand of big trees between the complex and the freeway. The grounds are well maintained, among the best maintain except for the complexes that are stratospherically expensive. There's an outdoor pool/indoor spa. Free tanning. Fitness center. Raquetball court with free equipment. A community center that we can rent for throwing a housewarming party.

The apartment itself is in wonderful condition. Edit: And it's NOT apartment beige. And there was much rejoicing through all the land. "yay" The carpet is grey. Actually, the apartment is beige, they just showed us the one with grey carpet. I guess I'm kinda bummed, but I'll live. It DOES make the apartment seem brighter though, so that's cool. The appliances in the kitchen are stainless steel with the exception of the fridge. There's a full size washer and dryer in the unit. A big walk-in closet in the bedroom. A pantry. A big porch and a relatively big storage area. I'm really, really happy with it. And it's BIG. Almost 800 sq ft. And since we're signing a 12 month lease (when the app goes through), we get one month free rent, which we can take as one month free rent or prorate out for the entire 12 months, which would drop our rent about $40. It's really awesome.

Thank you Lord for bringing us to this apartment. You are so amazingly wonderful. We love you.

Apartment Hunting

2005-08-03T11:11:00.000-07:00

I'd like to ask you all to pray for us. We're having trouble finding an apartment we can afford that close enough to Jesse's work, that isn't infested by fleas or other vermin. The complex we really wanted to get into doesn't have any one bedrooms available. We're running out of time cause the wedding's in 10 days.

Camping

2005-07-25T08:56:00.000-07:00

This last weekend we went camping with Jesse's family. It was a lot of fun. Now I guess I know how Jesse felt those times I dragged him around to my family's camping events. It's kinda funny how different everyone's families are. You grow up around your family and you kinda start to think that everyone's family is just the same as yours. But that's not true.

I really like his family and I think I might just get used to hanging out with them.

Wedding Dress Update:
I go to pick up the real dress today. Hooray!

Wove, twue wove, wiww fowwow you fowevew...

2005-07-22T13:52:00.000-07:00

We're getting married in 3 weeks.

I'm not sure if you realize how weird this is (well, you probably do if you've been married). I never have been, so it's all new for me. I'm so excited, and scared, and generally sort of in disbelief about the whole thing. I'm not getting a tux for someone else's wedding, I'm getting one for my own--that's hard to wrap my mind around.

I mean, I'm not going to be single anymore. I'm going to live with my best friend for the rest of my life. It's weird and wonderful. I've looked forward to this for about as long as I can remember...and now it's actually happening.

The engagement was a lot harder than I expected. That said, I can't say I've had cold feet at any point. There has never been any question for me about whether I am marrying the right person. I'll never find anyone, ever, as perfect for me as Amy. As Forrest Gump said, "We (is) like peas and carrots." What precisely that means I'm not sure, but I like when he talked about chocolate. And I think I get the general idea.

I do know that I'm better with her, and I believe the same is true in reverse. We complement each other; we improve each other's strengths and minimize each other's weaknesses. And despite the fact that we're really, really different (I didn't realize how different until not very long ago), we have lots in common.

And I love her. There's not a lot to explain about that. I just do. I think that's how it should be.

Wedding Dress Fiasco

2005-07-19T14:20:00.000-07:00

I haven't really had much to say lately, but I figure I can tell this story just so y'all know I haven't dropped off the face of the earth or anything.

I got a call from the gal who ordered my dress for me (Dione LaBrow, for those of you familiar with her business) that the discount company she did her ordering through had just filed for bankruptcy. She had gotten a shipping number for my dress, so she was pretty sure it was on the way. So that was good. Also, all of my bridesmaids got their dresses, so that was totally a God thing.

So the package got here yesterday. I was so stoked. I took it upstairs and opened the box. And it's the WRONG dress. Inside the box was a letter saying they were very sorry, but they couldn't meet their financial obligations so they were sending me a dress similar to the one I ordered and they gave me the phone number for Demetrios, who makes the dress I ordered.

My mom called them before she went to work this morning and they'll be shipping the dress soon. It should be here by Friday, Monday at the latest. And it's only going to cost us about $400 more, because they're selling it to us fo 50% off. So I guess I'm just back where I started, paying full price for the dress that was only supposed to cost me 60%. Oh well, at least I'll have the right dress when the day rolls around.

Fast Times at the Houses

2005-07-15T14:08:00.000-07:00

Hey kids. Sorry we haven't written in a while, but I did try. For some reason, Blogger erased my post, or it didn't get published correctly, or something. In any case, I did make a concerted effort. You'll just have to take my word for it.

I'm at work right now. (Shh...don't tell anyone. It's a secret.) ;) Man, I love this job--the people are great, I feel like my work is valuable, I feel competent--I really like it. And I'm making about twice as much money as I did at Guitar Center. God totally knows what he's doing.

The wedding plans are rolling along...if you haven't gotten an invitation yet, you should soon. Sorry about how late they are. We're kind of distracted. The biggest hitch so far has been that 3 of my groomsmen, who I was in a band with, decided that there was a gig that was more important than the wedding. Of course, they decided that on the day we were scheduled to get fitted for tuxes. (Notice I said I 'was' in a band with them.) Very nice.

To be fair, they had scheduled it a while ago and just didn't know exactly when it was (yay for the contact at the gig). But they HATED that gig when they played it last year and didn't want to do it again this year. Frankly, it's pretty flaky and weak. I'm still a little angry about it. But it's good to find out who your real friends are. I just wish it didn't have to go down like that, you know?

But I remember that I was devastated about the loss of a job just a few months ago, and I've been given one that is much, much better. God knows exactly what he's doing.

New Job pt. 2

2005-06-23T10:05:00.000-07:00

Man, no job offers for months, and suddenly I have 3 interviews in a week. Feast or famine. Who'da thunk?

I was offered two jobs at almost the same time. One was the Comcast job I interviewed for in April. Their HR is tortoise-like, it appears. The second offer was from the first contact I made after I left Guitar Center--Erik Mortensen, who is the business manager at Group Health in Puyallup. He wanted to hire me and didn't have any positions open back in March.

So, Erik called on Friday. "Hey, I just got funding for a position and I'd like to bring you on if you're still interested," he said. We talked on Monday about exactly what the position entails and I decided to take it. Funny how God works, ain't it?

We are cared for, we are loved, and we are really grateful.

God is So Awesome

2005-06-15T17:13:00.000-07:00

I got a job one day a week cleaning house for the couple that Jesse's living with and got paid extremely well today. So I'm very grateful.

Also, Jesse got two interviews with Costco and Comcast is checking his references. So hopefully one or both of those jobs will pan out. I'd be happy with the "problem" of having to choose between two jobs.

Please keep praying that God will provide a job with more hours for me. I'm going to need one before long.

Thank you all for your support.

Life Isn't Fair

2005-06-06T08:52:00.000-07:00

My brother is graduating on Thursday. This is a pretty big deal to me, because he's my brother, after all, and we went to the same high school. I want to go, but my job has scheduled me to work that night. And they aren't being flexible about ANYthing. Sigh.

Amy and I prayed last night about everything. Clearly, God has provided this job, and at just the right time, too. He knows what he's doing in situations like this. I just don't have any options right now. It's hard for me, because the things that are really important to me (i.e., not work) are being pushed out by this job. I realize that's the case to a certain extent with any job, but I've never had so much difficulty in the middle of it.

Well, my Father is good. He will take care of it, however he chooses. All I can do is surrender to him and trust him for the best.

It certainly doesn't seem fair, but perhaps there are better things than fairness.

Muchas Gracias

2005-05-26T14:23:00.000-07:00

Thank you all so much for your prayers and support. It's overwhelming to think of how much support we have going into our marriage. I guess that's a good thing. I certainly wouldn't want to start out on this adventure alone.

Based on the opposition we've been facing, as Jesse mentioned, I'd have to say that someone is not very happy about our upcoming marriage. Which leaves me feeling both excited and apprehensive at the same time. Excited about the prospect of advancing the Kingdom, whatever that looks like. And apprehensive about the prospect of continued opposition. I mean the first couple years are supposed to be difficult any way, right? But thank God that he can carry us through anything, including trials and opposition.

Jesse and I have talked a lot about what we want our life mission to be as a married couple and, eventually, as a family. It can be encasulated in the words of Isaiah 61 especially verses 1-3. We believe that mission God has called us to is to heal, restore, and proclaim freedom. In John 10:10, Jesus says that the enemy's main goals are to steal, kill, and destroy. Which means that our goals stand in direct opposition to that. Is it any wonder that he does not stand by silently while our wedding day pushes closer?

More Abundant Life

2005-05-25T20:44:00.000-07:00

First off, thank you so much to all of you who are praying. We need your prayers, and we need God to answer and come through for us. And he is, in so many ways. It's really wonderful. He's taking care of financial needs, taking care of emotional needs, giving us eyes to see what's really going on and the strength to act on what we know is true.

I was reading a book called "The Sacred Romance" today and have been thinking about the battle we face living in this world. God granted Amy and me some respite from it today, which was fabulous. We got to spend some time with each other and talk and be together, and it was truly a picture of heaven to me. Communion. Intimacy. Connection.

And that's really the point of the battle, isn't it? We don't fight just for fighting's sake, because it would be pointless. We aren't made that way. We desire peace. But as King Arthur says in "First Knight" to the evil Prince Malagant, "There's a peace that's only to be found on the other side of war. And if that battle comes, I will fight it!" We fight for life, for intimacy, for connection with God. Christ's agenda for us is abundant life. The enemy's agenda for us is theft and murder and ruin. When those things run headlong into each other, as they do every day all around the world, there is war.

I'm not trying to say something about what's going on in Iraq and the middle east, or the civil wars in Africa, or the unrest in eastern Europe, though I think that has something to do with what I'm talking about. What I'm talking about is the war on our hearts and for our hearts that happens in all kinds of ways whether there is physical violence or no. The far greater warfare is never seen except in glimpses like the book of Daniel.

He has a troubling vision and fasts for 3 weeks, seeking an answer from God. Silence. Nothing. What can we make of that? We know that God loves Daniel. We know God wants to speak to him; God has, on several occasions. What if Daniel had decided, "God must not be interested in my situation. He must not care about me anymore." So many of us have come to that place at one point or another.

Then, suddenly, an angel appears. He briefly explains what took him so long to get there: he was denied entrance to the Persian kingdom by the "prince" of that place, a mighty evil spirit, and was forced to seek aid from Michael the archangel to bring Daniel the explanation of the vision in answer to his prayer.

This is really stunning, if you think about it. I do not believe this is the case with all prayers, that God is looking to answer all of them and the answers are simply being held at bay by enemy powers. But surely SOME are. We have at least one instance here. How many others happen all the time, and we don't even see it?

Satan wants us dead. Jesus wants us more alive than we ever dreamed possible. This is worth fighting for. This is worth the toil and battle that Christ invites us into. Otherwise, why fight? There must be a goal worth fighting for to keep us going, to drive us on. It can give even the worst moments an element of hope, because there is life to be had on the other side.

After You Have Done Everything...Stand

2005-05-24T00:47:00.000-07:00

Wow. We are fighting right now against some amazing opposition. Just saying that kind of makes me feel strange...but it is clear to me that Satan is furious about our marriage. There are all kinds of things: feelings of pressure and frustration, wanting to just bail out, sudden changes in other relationships that are causing stress and anxiety and anger and strain and hurt, trouble with health and jobs and so on and so forth.

I'm tired. I'm angry. I'm weary. We are in need of a canopy of prayer and spiritual covering. I would like to ask those of you who are reading out there to fight with us against the enemy...we are desperate for the life and freedom that Jesus has for us.

God told me something a while ago when Amy and I were struggling with some other issues. He said, "Jesse, this is a small thing. You will face much worse." (God's so encouraging sometimes, isn't he?) But he also brought me back to the truth that Christ has overcome the world, made a public spectacle of the powers that be by the cross, and has given us authority in his name.

So there it is. This is a call for the church: Amy and I ask you to rise up now and be who you are. We can't fight this alone. Stand with us!

Father, I praise you for who you are. You have been good to us all this time. I know that you will continue to take care of us, because you're a wonderful Father. Thank you for the promise of heaven and the fact that we have a home with you. I declare your rule and reign in my relationship with Amy, in my work, in my finances, in my relationships with other people. You are king and God. I want you to be praised and honored by our lives. Accomplish your will in us, the way you have it planned out in heaven. Take care of our needs today--you know better than we do what it is we need. Forgive us for our sin, and cleanse us with Jesus' blood. Protect us from the enemy and teach us what you would have us learn through the situations we find ourselves in.

I also stand against the powers of darkness in the authority of Jesus Christ. Thank you for your work--your cross, your resurrection, and your ascension. I have died with you, Jesus, and my old nature is put to death with all its pride, idolatry, selfishness, and self-glorification. Through your resurrection I have new life, and I live through you. By your ascension I am seated in heaven and have been given authority over the enemy through you. In your authority, I declare all agreements with Satan null and void, and renounce them in Jesus' name. Your covenant, Father, is the only one I recognize. I invite you to be my king and I ask to walk with you.

Thank you, Father, for new life in you.

Wedding Details

2005-05-21T17:48:00.000-07:00

For those of you who have been browsing around and happened upon our little blog, our wedding date is August 13, 2005. That's 84 days.

The planning is going pretty well. A few hiccoughs here and there, but I suppose that's to be expected. Finally getting invitations printed and put together.

For those of you interested in such details, our colors are pink, silver, and ivory. The ivory came into the color scheme after Jesse gave me an ivory veil that he bought in Israel several years ago. (Before he met me--you'll have to get him to tell that story.) We're basing our wedding on the ancient Jewish model, kind of a foreshadowing of the time when Christ comes back for his Bride, the church. In that spirit, I am having ten bridesmaids, following the tradition of ten virgins accompanying the bride to help her prepare every night as she waited for the groom. My sister will also be accompanying me as the maid of honor. I know, I'm crazy for having eleven bridesmaids, but what can you do?

The virgins carried oil lamps to light the way for the groom to come the bride, after hearing the trumpet blast and shouts heralding the coming of the groom. Jesus used this tradition in his parable of the ten virgins. In keeping with that spirit, the bridesmaids will be carrying wine goblets with tea lights in them to light the pathway down the aisle.

Jesse will have six ushers/groomsmen and his best man. They will be "playing" the part of the groom's friends who help him prepare for the big day. LOL Since about half of them are married already, they've already started giving him marriage advice. I'm hoping that out of the seven of them, someone will be able to keep track of the ring and making sure Jesse gets there on time.

We're getting married in the church Jesse grew up in. In keeping with the spirit of the Jewish wedding happening at midnight, we are using candles to comprise most of the decorations, with the lights down low. We're hoping for an ethereal feeling to the ceremony, with the reception afterwards being a celebration of the event.

The reception will be held outside at a park in Puyallup, picnic style. Music, dancing, lots of food and fellowship. We're hoping that this reception will be one of the ones people look back on with fond memories of meeting new friends, catching up with old ones, and eating lots of good food. :D We just to have fun and relax a bit after the ceremony and hang out with everyone who made it.

I think that's about it as far as all the details and stuff. If you have any further questions, drop us a line and one of us will try to answer it.

Changes (Part 2)

2005-05-19T23:17:00.000-07:00

When you post a comment, please sign your name so we knows who you are, precious.

New Job

2005-05-19T22:44:00.000-07:00

Well, kids, I finally have a job. If you've been praying for me, thank you so much. If not, well, God did what he wanted to do anyway, and you just didn't get to be involved. But don't worry - I'm sure there'll be another chance.

This week I've been training to work for Dell Direct Stores at a kiosk in the Tacoma Mall. It's a temp job--I interviewed with Comcast last week, and I'm waiting to hear back from them, but at least I have something to do in the meantime. And who knows? Maybe this is what God has in mind for me. Part of me hopes not--I'm a little burned out on the whole retail thing. But he has provided this, at least for this time, and I'm really grateful.

We just watched "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade". It's the best movie of the three, in my opinion. I mean, for goodness' sake, SEAN CONNERY plays Jones' dad. How cool is THAT?

Changes

2005-05-18T09:33:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone.

I changed the settings so you don't have to be a Blogger to post a comment (but hey, why not, it's fun). Please post--it's nice to just be able to write, but it's also nice when you know someone's reading it.

Thanks!

Fun Stuff

2005-05-16T13:29:00.000-07:00

I've always thought this would be really fun, too. So here's my first post on this blog.

Hi... how are ya? :-D

The bridal shower yesterday was inSANE. I cannot believe how many people showed up for that. There had to have been around forty women that showed up. I guess people kinda like me. It was kind of flattering and almost embarrassing at the same time. Of course, Mom and Kari being who they are, we had to have a time of telling favorite memories or something special about the bride (me). I love hearing that kind of stuff, but sometimes I think I'd rather hear it one on one than in a large group like that.

For those of you who don't know me very well, I'm not exactly the most socially minded person in the world. I am definitely your classic introvert. So I went to a couple of social functions the last few days, so my social energy has been pretty well sapped. It's okay, don't anybody panic, I will recover eventually. I just need a few days of peace and quiet. Ha! Like that's gonna happen at this house. I'll figure something out.

Christmas in May

2005-05-15T21:47:00.000-07:00

Wow. Amy had her first bridal shower today, and I can't even believe how many presents we got. It was compLETEly insane. I'm really overwhelmed at the generosity of our friends and family. Just amazing.

Now the next question is, what the heck are we going to DO with all of it for the time being?

Who am I, Anyway?

2005-05-15T14:06:00.000-07:00

I was talking to God about worship today at church. I have played several times with a group of people who, honestly, I've had some of the best times of worship of my life with. The thought went through my mind that really, the best thing about playing with Dan and the other guys is that we know how to just get out of God's way. But then I reconsidered. I don't want to say anymore that my job is to "get out of the way and let God use me". That belittles and diminshes what he has done in me. It discredits his creation of my life.

Paul wrote that "we have this treasure in earthen vessels to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us." That is true. But that simply means that Christ is everything-not that I am nothing. I am a son, a servant, a warrior, a poet, a musician. Those things all come from him.

I have glory and power and dignity, but none of it is from my own effort. I am created in the image of God-how could be nothing? I have been redeemed, with all the things that entails-how could I take credit? I am who I am because of my Father, and being myself does not diminish his glory. It brings him glory.

If At First You Don't Succeed....

2005-05-15T13:38:00.000-07:00

Well, here I am again. Let's see how this goes this time.

My friend suggested to me that since I'm getting married (to the most fabulous woman who has ever lived, by the way), I should create a blog for us so our peeps can see what we're up to. I already had one, but I thought that was a great idea! So I went back to my blog to start writing again, and lo and behold, it was gone. Oh well. Such is life, I guess.

So, here is my second attempt at a blog. It's pretty sweet. Mostly this will be about us, life, philosophical musings, goofy anecdotes, etc. In short, what we usually talk about with people.

Thanks for reading. Mazel tov.