Promises, promises

Growing up, I was always annoyed by this one poem by mom insisted on hanging in a prominent place wherever we lived.  I remember it most distinctly as hanging in the dining room in the apartment we lived in my last three years of high school.  I see it in my mind in that spot, and I remember the feeling of dislike.  But the words stuck with me, and lately, I've been coming back to them, and realizing how true they are.  So, curious about the poem and its writer, I turned to the Almighty Google.  This is what I found.

The poet was Annie Johnson Flint who wrote numerous poems and hymns. The "poem" as I knew it was really just the 1st verse and chorus of the hymn "What God Hath Promised."  Annie had a really tough life, almost from birth.  She never married, and struggled with chronic illness.  She wrote to support herself and her sister, who was also ill.   "Her life was lived, as someone has said, from hand to mouth, but as she liked to have it expressed, the mouth was hers, and the hand was God’s and His hand was never empty."

Wow.

Intellectually, I know that to be true, and the foundation of my trust in God, which is the very bedrock of my existence, but I want to - no, I need to know it more, deeper, more consistently, every day, every minute, breathing in His grace, His power, His provision for all my needs.... yeah.

So, here's that hymn.  And... thanks, mom!  :)

God hath not promised skies always blue,
Flower strewn pathways all our lives through;
God hath not promised sun without rain,
Joy without sorrow, peace without pain.

Refrain
But God hath promised strength for the day,
Rest for the labor, light for the way,
Grace for the trials, help from above,
Unfailing sympathy, undying love.

God hath not promised we shall not know
Toil and temptation, trouble and woe;
He hath not told us we shall not bear
Many a burden, many a care.

God hath not promised smooth roads and wide,
Swift, easy travel, needing no guide;
Never a mountain rocky and steep,
Never a river turbid and deep.

the First Christmas must be perfect! or not.

In the continuing saga of Sylvia's sinuses and the hunt for a Christmas tree that doesn't offend said cavities, it is Trees, 2, Sylvia, 0.  Sean won't even try a third tree, but when I suggested a fake one, his initial reaction was "speaking of an abomination!"   He has since come around to seeing it as an option.  And so, after Christmas, when they are slightly less crazy-expensive, we will be on the hunt for a tree for next year.  Or we may just get a palm tree - or, maybe an olive tree! :)

I keep telling myself that the tradition of a coniferous Christmas Tree in the house is a rather new one, so I really don't need it.  Still, I deeply, desperately want it.  Why?  Well, in order to hang the ornaments that friends have given us for this First Christmas as a married couple, one of them personalized with our names.  And then, there is a box of ornaments from Sean's childhood, and a small box of my ornaments that I've gradually collected and carried with me across the country...

But here is what has been working: Advent.  I seem able to tolerate a lovely little (real!) advent wreathe.  And when we read the devotional, and light the candles, and re-remember the One we celebrate, it feels perfect.

Originally, this table was just for the advent wreathe, but then it accumulated stuff: the tree-top angel sans tree, some gifts from friends and violin students, and a plant I'm attempting to kill - I mean, rehabilitate!

aaaand.... i'm back!

I just can't work up the effort to start a new blog, so here I am reviving my ol' stand-by.  Again. This time it's for recording the misadventures of the first year of marriage.  Actually, there have been very few - it's been a very good 7+ months!  But yesterday, this happened...
...who knew that the Fraser Fir had it out for me?!?

a year ago today...

it was one year ago today, Monday, April 8, 2013, that i decided i needed to call it all off, end the thing, beacuse he was too nice, too sweet, and he liked me but i just didn't feel enough to date him - not attracted, not interested, etc.  i didn't want to lead him on, and then hurt him.  it was a very emotional and confused and sad day.

makin' it newspaper official

We finally, finally got our act together, got our ducks in a row, got... whatever all put together in order to have our engagement announced in our local newspaper, The Missoulian, picture included. The announcement itself is short and sweet, right to the point. You can find it on page E5 of the Territory section, or here in the interwebs. After today, you should still be able to find it here. Props to Sean's good friend Ryan Hellegaard for the picture.

yup, i'm scheming to "prettify" the bachelor pad

Just some good ideas I want to save and look at more later - silly website! It won't let me pin an article on pinterest, or even make it easy to post it here without a gadget/widget. Annoying! But they have great ideas, so I will just link to it the "old-fashioned" way. Ha!

And to be fair to Sean, it's not that the house looks bad, per se, nor is filled with... machismo decor. It's just very minimally decorated, if not outright bare. So, as we get closer to me moving in, I get to give the house a bit of a minimalist/modern/vintage/feminine touch. :)

the engagement - sylvia's story

I knew something was up when I got the text...

It was a Monday evening, and usually Sean had Kenpo or I was teaching violin lessons, but this week between Christmas and New Years, was different with no lessons for me and no karate for him, so we planned to do another "laundry/dinner/movie night."  (That's when I go over to his house to do my laundry while we eat dinner and watch a movie.)  Then in the afternoon Sean texted me, "I was thinking it would be nice to go for a walk before dinner and then eat somewhere nice.  I'll pick you up at 5:30."  I didn't see this until about 5:00, and right away I wondered if he would propose that night... and suddenly I got jittery and nervous.  "But it's probably nothing," I tried to tell myself. "What if he just wants to 'eat somewhere nice?' "

Since it was off-and-on rainy that evening, I dressed for "taking a walk" in a dress and tall black boots, but I brought nice shoes for the "somewhere nice" afterwards.  When he came up to my second floor apparent, he was in a new-to-me shirt and nice slacks, definitely dressed for the "somewhere nice."  And he carried bouquet of half-a-dozen roses and two irises. "Ahhhh, you did bring flowers." That made me so happy!

We ended up strolling around downtown Missoula, looking at the Christmas lights and decor on the streets and in the shops.  It was lovely, walking arm and arm with an umbrella.  Then we ate at The Depot, where we had our first date in March. But we had eaten there once before, in September, so I wasn't sure it meant anything in particular.  Afterwards, we went to Liquid Planet for tea, which we also did on our first date. But, again, we'd been there a few other times, too, so...?? Still, I'll remember this time in particular because we snagged the little love seat, and sat close, not talking much, just enjoying being together.

Sean suggested we take a drive around town to see more Christmas lights. We would start there in the downtown area, then drive through the University District, and work our way up into the South Hills, where I had mentioned seeing Christmas light-covered houses previous years.  I remember this being a really relaxing time and nice to wander around in his truck.  As we gradually moved south, we drove up Hillview Way, then wandered here and there, and I noted that we were close to Sean's house. We decided to stop there.

As soon as we went in, I turned on the lights of the Christmas tree and stood looking out his back deck door - a stunning view of Missoula and surrounding mountains.  At this point, alone for a few minutes, I was emotionally distraught, "He's not going to ask me, is he??? Or, maybe he will.  If he doesn't propose tonight, I'm going to break up with him!  I can't handle this emotional roller coaster!"

When he came back, we sat on his couch in the half dark, his arm around me.  I relaxed and remembered how much I love him, how much he meant to me...and I just enjoyed sitting there with him.  I noticed, though, that he kept sitting up to check the time in the kitchen behind us. He never checks the time.  Still, nothing else happened, except that I started getting really sleepy, and I told him that I might have to go soon.

A little while later, I noticed his hands were clammy, sweaty... hmmm.  And then, a little after that, he said, "I wrote something for you."

"You did?!"

"Yeah."

And he dug around in the drawer of his coffee table for a little bit - it felt kind of awkward.  Eventually, he came back with a folded up piece of paper, unfolded it, and started to read... a poem chronicling our relationship.  His voice was a little shaky, but as he read, I realized what was happening, and I was more in love with him than ever before.  So when he ended the poem with "will you marry me?," there was no hesitation.

"Yes! Yes!"

And suddenly there was a little box, and a ring inside it, and he was struggling to get it out, and joking, "I should have practiced this!"  Giddy laughter from both of us.  Then, he's placing the ring on my finger...

We took a few pictures of us a little while later.  They're not our best pictures, but I'm so glad we did, just to remember that special night.  Here's the best one.

the ring is on my right hand, in hope/faith that i'll be playing the violin lots again real soon!

stuff you want to buy for us ;)

Today, Sean and I completed a modern rite of passage into marriage - the wedding registry.  And at Bed, Bath and Beyond, no less.  It was by turns fun, confusing, frustrating, exciting, and overwhelming.  But if you want to take a gander at it, or if you can't wait to pick a most extravagant gift for us (yup, a shameless plug!), here is the link.

it's alive!

i just thought this might be a good time to revive the blog... in case you hadn't heard the news already.  :)

i don't feel the need to start a whole 'nother blog, since i don't even keep up with this one! so.... this will be the default wedding/engagement stuff blog for me. more to come soon!