Why I love my wife!

It's been a little over 4 months since we got married, and I continue to realize over and over again, day in and day out, what a wonderful woman and wife Julia is. Here are some things she's done and said that have literally built me up:

1. She nurtures well. She has an incredible capacity to love and take care of others, especially me, even when she's feeling exhausted. She's tenacious and doesn't give up.
2. She listens well. She is very good at asking how my day was, listening to everything I have to say, asking relevant questions, and giving pertinent feedback. She helps me process what's going on around me.
3. She complements well. She completes me. Pardon the cliche. But she does. I am more of a man because of her.
4. She compliments well. One of my primary love languages is words of affirmation. And she does a good job of encouraging me and building me up with her words.
5. She cooks well! Yummy... enough said! :)

There's a little glimpse into our world.

Flyin' by the Seat of our Pants. :)

Well time seems to be flying by. I honestly didn't feel the pressure until this last week. This is when everyone wants the itinerary, and their money. It has been a bit crazy trying to do the last minute details as well as move into our house in 2 weeks tomorrow!!! It's insane.

Meanwhile, we've been keeping busy - J in Parry Sound, G in Milton, we'll both be in Mississauga next week until we get our house. Can't wait! Then I'll stay there while G sleeps at his parents. I can't wait to officially tie the knot.

My dad and I have been painting pillars, I even wore my Queen's coveralls to Canadian Tire last night. Only in a small town...
and we spread out christmas lights on our lawn to see if we had enough length. We certainly didn't look too "normal", but I can tell you I'll miss being silly, doing projects like this with my pops.

Proof:

Leaving and cleaving - it's harder than it sounds, but I know it's worth it (intellectually). And I'm thankful for such a godly man in my life who loves me the way Christ loves the church.

So in the midst of busyness, I'm trying to remember to be thankful for all I have and count my blessings every day.
Life is too short not to.

Moving IN while moving OUT.

Just to chronicle the wonders of moving, I thought I'd share a picture I took of those who were moving IN when in the final stages of moving out of my house on the Danforth.




It was rather overwhelming, that, and the amount of mouse poo I found under my bed. Apparently it is bad to breathe in, I wish I did a better clean up job earlier.

Alas, here's to keeping a clean house in the future...at least one void of mice.

5 weeks to the wedding on Saturday, 4 weeks to the house tomorrow! CRAZY!

Oh, and God has totally been providing for us in terms of tables and couches. I'm SO thankful for that, and for providing me a place to stay at the Gervais residence this week in Milton. They have been incredibly hospitable and welcoming, and their son is a blast to play hide-and-seek with! :)

Home Sweet Home

The story of how we came to own 914 Gazley Circle...

We had been looking on MLS for many moons, and disregarded the houses that seemed overpriced. This happened for a certain period, until we were like "let's just look at these houses that have been on the market for a long time - no one is buying them, so maybe they will take our offer?". So we did. And we looked at identical houses back to back. One had upgrades, one did not. We went for the one that did not, hoping we could get a lower price if we used the upgrades of the other house to get a lower price. (They were priced the same).

So, we started low, did 2 other offers, and our last offer they accepted! I don't think either of us believed they would, and neither of us emotionally invested in the house. We knew we needed to hold it with an open hand.

Best feature - an already painted baby's room. :) don't worry, it'll be our guest room for a while.

I'm looking forward to setting up shop! We get the house June 4th. I never thought at the age of 24 I'd have a mortgage, but it's quite exciting! We are hoping to stay there until God calls us elsewhere. The house is His, everything we own, really is His, and so we are thanking God for this place.
It is a gift.

Confessions of a Small Town Girl

I never thought I'd say this...but I'm going to. Here is my confession "I am going to miss the city".
Being a northern girl, growing up the city was always "bad", full of smog, scary unfriendly people, and materialism.
I never wanted to live here.

It wasn't until I decided to make the campus a mission field after University that I saw the benefits of going to a multi-cultural place. If I wanted to share Jesus with the nations, what a better place than Toronto?

It was here that I learned to embrace others, enjoyed random moments on the subway cars, walked with large buildings engulfing me while getting lost, found friends at Grace Toronto and on my staff team, and lived beside a McDonald's.

God taught me to depend on him through rough times like when my car got towed (twice) and I dealt with parking tickets. But even still, Toronto has charm. I enjoyed bike rides on Toronto Island, a Raptors game, concerts, an abundance of coffee shops and independent shops to explore and enjoy.

The best part however, were the people, the students I got to interact with and love. They taught me so much - how to live out the gospel, how to love my neighbour, how to seek God for who He was. For that I am forever grateful. They will be missed.
Mooooving (get it?) to the University of Guelph will be a new adventure, and though I "hate" change, I know God is already there, and that life with Him always requires faith.

And though Guelph isn't a large city, and Milton is a cross between small town and suburbia, I know I will come to love it, and the people there just as I did come to love Toronto, and that God can do big things still.

Some pics from my walk downtown yesterday:

Bustles and Smiles. :)

So, they say the last 2 months before a wedding are the most busy. Looks like my life is going to get a bit insane. I can understand it, as I try and figure out the little details, like what type of teeth whitener to buy, do I even get it...etc.

BUT my dress has been hemmed, and it is fitted to my body, and the bustle is wonderful! Who knew bustles could make ones backside look so good! :) the only potential mishap was me feeling quite nauseated while standing there with my legs locked and nothing in my stomach. I hear vomit and wedding dresses don't go well together. Luckily I got some water and sat down in time to prevent anything from going down.

I can't wait to show G what I look like in that dress. And though it won't be when I walk down the aisle (we are taking pics beforehand)...I still know it will be special.

Speaking of photos, we also just got our engagement shots done with our main photographer. Let's just say we had a lot of fun. He and G had a similar sense of humour throughout the shoot. You can check our photographer out at enlightenedimages.blogspot.com. Best thing-he had Laurell Hubick playing when we got to his studio. Amazing.

Our other photographer is going to be my cousin Stephanie - can't wait! check her out at stephiophotography.com/blog/" she's very creative and fun.

Zee Bachleorette

Well I can't really disclose a ton of information, for obvious reasons, but I did feel very cherished and loved by my wonderful friends.

They overwhelmed me with numerous pairs of flannel pyjamas (at least that's what I tell G) and a lot of kind words and memories. We enjoyed fondue, dress up, and photo shoots as well as some interesting rounds of "Things in a Box".

Above you will see a photo of said photo shoot. The theme was "pastors wife party" so we were in our "modest is hottest" mode the whole time. Much thanks to Jen (the MoH), Emily (a bridesmaid), Liz and Dharshini (also bridesmaids) for all their work, and Michelle for hosting!

Was an afternoon to remember for a mighty long time. :) i love you all.