how's married life

the marriage/engagement cycle is one that leads to such cliche questions from everyone around you.  when we first got engaged we were constantly asked "hows wedding planning?"  

of course you always answer like a sweet person and say "ohhh its going well, can't wait for the big day to be here" or something dumb like that that is a huge lie.  if you wanted to answer honestly it would sound something like "its miserable, its not a sweet time, it is completely overwhelming, i'm tired of deciding between twine or ribbon, my head hurts, i can't sleep, i need more xanax, etc. etc."  

so now that were married the common question that comes is "hey, how are you, how's married life?"  and how do we respond "oh its great, really its great."  sure marriage is great, but here's my answer.  my real answer.  my non fluffy answer.

it is great.  jonathan is wonderful.  i am glad we're married.  but more than anything it is an adjustment.  it is a process of relearning someone you thought you knew even after dating for 7 years.  its learning that the way you do things is not the only way to do things.  

ive started to learn that just because i've done things the way ive done them for 24 years doesn't mean that's the only or right way to do them.  i've started to learn that a man just thinks differently than a woman.  i've started to learn sanctification.

marriage is meant to sanctify jonathan and i both for God's glory.  God takes our weaknesses and bad qualities and shows them to us so blatantly clear in our faces and then challenges us to change so we can be the best spouse possible.  marriage is about adjustment and sanctification.

so that's marriage.  dirty dishes, dog crap on the floor, bloodshot eyes...laughing in bed at night until were convulsing and crying, falling asleep on the couch, and leaving sweet notes to wake up to.  that's marriage.

king james version

i don't read king james version of the bible.  i prefer the niv or the message.  they're easier for me to read.  i don't talk in thou's and thee and hast and things such as those.  i like to read in modern day talk.


with that said my husband reads king james version.  he's an old man in a little boy's body.  very fitting.


this past weekend i went to the beach with my family.  it's always good to be with everyone.  there's generally a lot of laughing, tv watching, sunburn, and sleeping.  there was a lot of that this weekend.  some of my very favorite times though are the times i spend with my nieces.


caroline, my oldest niece, is not a fan of going to sleep.  she doesn't like the idea of missing what everyone else is doing.  she also doesn't like to be by herself.  i can relate.  i never slept well.  90% of my childhood i slept on mom and dad's floor.  it just worked better for me.


so one night at the beach it was time for caroline to go to sleep.  there was the usual tears and unexcitement.  she went downstairs, and i went to take a shower.  when  i came back up caroline was on the couch.  hm.  looks like she persuaded her parents she was too sweet to sleep then.  


caroline ended up coming to sit with me for a little.  she found one of those tiny green bibles that the old men pass out in various places.  so she brought that to me and asked me to read.  yes.  you guessed it.  king james version.


being that caroline is little i don't want to shout "hell" or anything negative sounding by accident so i had to choose my passages carefully.  i had to choose ones i knew the words to so i could improvise.  so we flipped to psalm 139.


this was my favorite little time at the beach.  i read some and improvised modern day words for her.  she asked me to say a bible verse and she would say it after me.  you got that right - she asked ME to say a verse so SHE could repeat it.  that's the kind of girl she is.  


we started talking about the part that says i knit you together in your mother's womb.  pretty cool considering her mom has a baby in the womb right now.  it's amazing to me how much caroline gets things like this and wants to know more.  we finished psalm 139 and she was just hungry for more.


she decided she'd pick one more chapter for me to read.  she turned to the book of philemon.  not sure about you, but i don't regularly learn philemon.  i couldn't tell you the theme.  and i most certainly couldn't teach you philemon from king james version.


so we flipped back to psalm, learned some more verses, and caroline went to sleep.


i love that girl.  i love that she loves Jesus already.  i love teaching her, someone so excited to learn about Jesus.  she teaches me.

coffee shop of choice

i'm not a coffee snob.  i can't drink straight black coffee - it needs to have a lot of cream and sugar.  i can't drink caffeinated regular coffee either, because it makes my body convulse.  but i like coffee.  i like the experience even better.


every morning i walk to the cafe at work and get coffee with my work friend.  i love that, because it's part of my day.  and i love a blast of hot drink while my eyes are still shut from lack of 9 hours of sleep.


i've started loving coffee shops too.  i want to start one of my own some day.  i want to play great music and have live music and have buttermilk biscuits too.  i love  coffee shops.


anyways, today i decided to head out after i got home from work to go do my devotions.  confession, i've actually found it more difficult to find time to do devotions since ive been married because i have to make it a point to go and be alone.  so tonight i left to do my devotions.


i ended up at stick boy bread company in fuquay.  my sis in law knows the owners.  it's really great.  the workers are very personable and sweet and willing to give opinions on drinks - which i love.  and it was calm.  perfect for devotions - looking out on the street, quiet, a little music, and an iced coffee.


this is the end of this blog post.  make time for God.  meet with Him at coffee shops - especially stick boy - or anywhere else.

what is he

summer camp has begun.  this is by far the best part of my job.  i enjoy it because of the kids...not the parents.  some parents are so sweet.  some are not.  


anyways camp has begun.  it's hot.  it's slam exhausting.  but it's fun.  and the kids - i've already picked out one that i hope jonathan and my babies look like.  he has dark skin, buzzed head, super athletic, and hes so tiny.  


so the story.  today a kid comes up to me and says, "miss stacey my mom like wants to know if you um got married sometime like recently?"


"yes, marlon i did!"


"well um, mrs. stacey, like who is the husband?"


"his name is jonathan lee."


"well like what is he?"


"hmm im not sure what you mean marlon."


"well like what is he?  is he like russian?  or like north carolina?"


"ohhh right...he's american marlon."


"oh okay, well my mom just wanted me to ask."


nice.  russian or north carolina.  i'm assuming lee made them think i married an asian.  i did not.  i married an american.  though he sometimes looks like an indian.


i love kids.  i love my american husband.

a new little hobby/love

jonathan is a farmer.  duh.  he loves it.  ive always loved it for him - well i shouldn't lie..ive always loved that he's passionate.  i haven't always loved farming.  farming means late nights, blood shot eyes, prayers for rain when i'd rather have sunshine, stress, etc.  oh yea farming is joy too - for him.  really though, i love it for him.

but i haven't always gotten it. what's the big deal if a tobacco leaf gets bigger - that's just life.  BUT...i have big news for you now.

I   GET   IT!!!

about two weeks ago jonathan started me a garden in the background.  at first i was thinking ehhh we'll see, it's whatever.

but now.  i'm obsessed.  really obsessed.  i water it every day, and my feelings get hurt when jonathan does this job instead of me.  i come home every day and let sweet tilley run around with me.  then i get out the garden hose (with multiple settings on the sprayer) and shoot it all over the garden.  jonathan says i give it too much water, but i think the plants are thirsty because its so blasted hot outside.

so here's our garden.  and our puppy.

i'll have tao take pictures of our garden now.  this is just the beginning stages.  we have cucumbers, squash, zucchini, tomatos (yuck), sweet potatoes, cantaloupes, and some other weird things jonny decided to toss in without me knowing.  

so i love it.  grow yourself a garden.  you'll love it too.

if you could change one thing about yourself...

i used to love those online quizzes.  what kind of dog are you?  what color best describes your personality? are you an introvert?  if you could be one famous person who would you be?  


i loved those types of questions and quizzes.  weirdo.


anyways, lately ive been noticing a stark difference between jonathan and my lifestyles.  it's not that one is better or worse, we're just different.  and honestly i wish i was more like him with this one.


my morning starts by waking up to an alarm - i hate it - i get out of bed, wash my face, put on some deoderant, watch the pup (aka run after her when there is silence to avoid a big plop of poo on the floor), get dressed, scarf down breakfast, take the pup out, and run to the car.  i speed to work (only 5 over, don't stress).  


my day at work, especially right now with camp starting monday, is super busy.  i jog from my office to the copy room probably 50 times a day (not exaggerating).  i have to-do lists spewing from all corners of my desk.  my office is a wreck.  work is crazy busy - but i love that.  i hate being bored.


then i come home.  and this is where jonathan and i differ.  he too rushes in the morning.  he too is busy at work.  but when he comes home, he stops.  he slows down.  he does what is relaxing to him.


the other night when i was racing from room to room doing odds and ends, i noticed jonathan wasnt.  he was just watching something on the history channel - snore.  he wasn't being lazy, he was just stopping for the day.  he kept looking at me as if to say "what is chasing you?"


i don't stop.  everything's a race.  even supper is a race.  it's like i've got a time frame set for everything i do and if it doesn't get done by the time decided by my rat race mind, it's a disaster.


so this is my answer.  the question is if you could change one thing about yourself what would it be.  i want to slow down.  i want to stop.  i want to be calm.  i want to stop running when i don't have to.  i want to stop having a clock ticking in my mind for everything.  i want to relax.  just like jonathan.  and Jesus did that too - so i'm going to pray for that.


what about you?  what do you want to change?  all two of you who read this, post a comment and i'll love you.  or don't.  i'm going to stop and go watch tv...while i think of 100 things i could be doing.  jk. kind of.


goodnight

a sick child..or puppy

as you all know we recently got a puppy - her name is tilley and she is ever so sweet.  minus when she bites my hands and makes me get rashes or poops on carpet.  other than that though, sweet.  and she's a pup - what can you expect.

anyways, last night after jonathan and i got home from work we started on some shish kabobs.  yum.  i love veggie shish kabobs - i love meat, but they take too long to grill, so thats why i love veggie kabobs - i'm not one for waiting patiently for hours for food to cook. no.

we fed sweet tilley her pedigree supper as well.  then disaster hit.  i guess you could say fit hit the shan.  first tilley upchucked her supper.  okay that's not all that out of the ordinary.  she's done that before - you know eat too quick and lose her supper.  

thennn about 5 minutes later the vom started.  projectile.  if you don't know me well you may not know that my biggest phobia (yes, i meant to say phobia and it's real) is people/dogs throwing up.  it makes me have panic attacks.  it makes me dart out of rooms filled with children neglecting all safety precautions.  it makes me sweat, feel weak, and ultimately dry heave.  

so tilley gave us our first child-like experience.  luckily, she allowed us to see who would be the parent to treat vomit in the house - jonathan's so sweet.  i ran out of the house with shirt over my mouth and nose - then demanded him to clorox his hands for hours.

anyways, long story short i called my vet friend, and she told me we ought to take her to the animal hospital.  we did, and we were there until almost midnight - but it was all worth it.  tilley ate something that disagreed with her internals, she possibly had/has a blockage, and we are monitoring her closely.  she's feeling much better today and we're praying there isn't a blockage.

we love her.  shes resting upon my hip.  pray for sweet tilley.  and for my sanity.