Bali-More Pictures

These guys guarded our outdoor shower (and there were lots more around the pool/courtyard area):

The two of us (one of us got a lot of sun...the other one of us was at the spa!):

You don't need much luggage when you are traveling without children! We didn't even need this much, but we brought the computer so Andrea could contact us if the kids needed something, etc.

The boys with the pirate ship kite we bought them. I think that might be Caleb's pirate face. Not sure. :-)

Thanks SO much to Andrea, Anna, Tommy, and Jakeb for keeping our boys while we were away. We'll be returning the favor when Tommy and Andrea go to Bali next month, but I'm certain they got the short end of the stick! You guys are such a blessing to us!!

Bali

Justin and I were able to get away to Bali this past weekend (only a 2.5-hour flight from Singapore), just the two of us. It was wonderful to be able to focus on being "Justin and Jennifer" and not being "Daddy and Mommy" every minute. It was a fantastic getaway from the busy city, and we enjoyed not having a schedule at all!

Here are a few pictures of our villa.

Looking from the door of the courtyard toward the villa:

Looking from the villa at the courtyard/private pool:

Breakfast. There was no restaurant at the complex, so they brought the meals to us. They cooked our eggs/sausage/bacon right in our little porch kitchen. We had quesadillas for dinner and they were amazing. Room service means something completely different in Bali!

Justin relaxing! We were only in Bali a little over 36 hours, but it was a peaceful, restful time. It was a great mini-vacation with my handsome man.

8 Years of Marriage

I never could have imagined 8 years ago that Justin and I would be living in Singapore with our 2 kids on our 8th anniversary. But God knew, and He has been preparing our family for this season for a long time. I can see that now, and our lives here are full of His blessings. Justin and I were both in Singapore 10 years ago on a mission trip to SE Asia, and it still amazes me that God used that shared experience to prepare for this time in our lives.

I love you, Justin! You are an incredible husband and father, and we are so blessed to have you as the leader of this little family. Marriage is hard work, but it's totally worth it; you are worth it.


If you're interested in "Our Story" of how we met, fell in love, and how I almost totally ruined Justin's proposal...you can find those posts below. I wrote them a couple of years ago, so they're in the archives.

Part One
Part Two
Part Three

Appropriate

Justin and I are reading 365 Daily Devotions for Couples. Earlier this week we read one that was so appropriate for what we're going through that I laughed out loud. I thought I'd post it here.

"Whatever this year may bring, you do not have to face it alone. You have a partner and a helper to rejoice with and receive strength from in good times and bad.

This gives you an enormous advantage: What one of you cannot do, the other can; what one of you fears, the other does not.

Listen to your partner, discuss every decision together, and give thanks for the varying abilities you bring to your marriage. You will prosper as a team.

Lord, we realize that we are stronger and smarter when we work together on a problem. Please remind us of this anytime we are tempted to "take over" or impose our own ways on each other."

Now that we're several days past this and it's not almost midnight, it doesn't seem quite as funny. I think it struck me funny because we had just been talking about how I'm tired of being the needy one in the family. Between the depression, bouts of anxiety, and now the broken ankle, I feel like I'm always the one who is on the receiving end. That and the fact that "what one cannot do" is pretty much everything these days. :-)

Then the Lord God said, "It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper as his partner." -Genesis 2:18 NRSV


And a totally unrelated picture: My boys rarely watch TV anymore, but the other morning we turned it on and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse was on. They both had to run to their rooms and grab their Mickeys to watch with them. Cute, cute.

I Guess This Means We've Only Got 31 Years Left...

Today Justin and I are celebrating 7 years of marriage. Anyone remember what he said on our 4th anniversary? I do love that man.

While marriage is never easy and difficulties arise just from living life together, it's surely not hard with Justin. (Out of the two of us, trust me when I say I'm the harder one to be married to!) Seven years ago when we got married, we never imagined the path God would have taken our family. We've been through a lot together, and the last two years with my depression and anxiety has been the hardest on both of us. But our marriage has never been stronger, and this time away from everything we are familiar with, aside from our little family of four, is drawing us closer together.

Justin and I have a great marriage. That's due to a lot of grace from God and each other, and a lot of work! Here are some things I'm so glad we've done:

-we did a lot of premarital counseling. I highly recommend it! We read books about marriage, but we also talked to couples at our church that had been married for decades about what made it work. Whether before or after marriage, it's always a good idea to get advice from godly couples who have marriage success stories. Just sitting and listening to them talk about each other and their marriages is enough to make you feel better!

-we say "I'm sorry" a lot. We're not perfect, so we sometimes snap at each other in moments of frustration or unintentionally hurt each other's feelings. We always say we're sorry. Maybe not right then, but always. And we say "please" and "thank you" and are just generally respectful of one another. It helps a lot.

-we don't intentionally hurt each other's feelings. We've been married a while now, so we know exactly which buttons to push that would make the other person hurt. We just don't push them. Justin is the person I love most on this earth, so why would I want to hurt him? It's not worth it. Hurting him intentionally with my words or actions is just out of the question.

-we've centered our marriage on Christ. He is what brought us together and what sustains us still. It's the most important thing. And we're committed to bringing up our children to know and love our Savior.

Justin won't write a post on here, so I wondered what he'd say about me if he did. ;-) Here's what I came up with (because he surely wouldn't be super sappy in front of you all!)

"She has a flair for the dramatic, she's surprisingly good with numbers, she has a crazy good memory, and I love her a lot." ;-)

(Did I do a good job, babe?)

I'm much more wordy than he'll ever be.

So, it's our 7th anniversary and we're living in Singapore. It's a roller coaster, babe, but I'm so glad you're the one on this ride with me.

I think I'll keep ya.

If you're interested in "Our Story" of how we met, fell in love, and how I almost totally ruined Justin's proposal...you can find those posts below. I wrote them a couple of years ago, so they're in the archives.

Part One
Part Two
Part Three

I love that man

My favorite flowers delivered on our anniversary.

5 Years and Counting

Today we've been married 5 years. I can't believe it's been that long, and, yet, it seems like I've known Justin my whole life. We've been through a lot in the last 5 years...the death of my Pawpaw right after we married, living apart for a year for a project Justin was on, becoming parents for the first time, enduring more separation for this current project, expecting our second child in about a month, and lots and lots and lots of laughs.

I'm WAY too emotional right now to do a really sappy post, so I give you, "The Wedding Cake Incident of 2002" in pictures...

Our beautiful cake my aunt and grandmother made for us:

Wedding Cake Incident 2002 begins

Me, shocked that my husband of one hour just got cake all over my forehead and in my hair. Apparently he was aiming for my nose and I ducked my head. Notice the cake on the floor...

"Do you see what you did?" :-)

Close-up

My sweet husband wiping the cake off my face

If I didn't tell you that I started the Wedding Cake Incident, Justin would probably break his record of never commenting on this blog to tell you that I started it. People started booing us after we just fed each other the cake, and I caved to the peer pressure. It made a funny memory, though. :-)

Maybe sometime I'll post the pictures of my best friend, Lisa, snatching the tossed bouquet out of my sister's hand! That was pretty awesome to watch, too. I think Lisa figured since Kimberly was already engaged, she didn't need any more help!

And just for grins, us being pelted by silly string by some unnamed groomsmen

I love you, babe, and I always will. And all the sappy stuff I said last year when I wasn't pregnant and on the other side of the world from you is still true. You are my best friend and the most amazing man I know. Now, come home already!

I'm posting this early and post-dating it because it already is our anniversary in Singapore!

Honoring Your Husband

Several of the blogs I read are taking part in the Honor Your Husband Challenge. I'm not "officially" participating, but reading their posts has definitely made me think about our marriage, and, mainly, my attitude about certain things.

I have a BAD attitude about what time Justin gets home from work. BAD attitude. I have mastered the whole "pity me because I'm pregnant, have a toddler to take care of, need to have dinner ready, and want to eat at 6:00 sharp" thing down to an art form. It's sad, really.

I've been harboring a lot of bitterness about this for some time now. I sometimes treat Justin like it's his fault that his job is really stressful, he's in charge of 20+ people, and there are deadlines to meet. (I'm definitely not living up to that part in our vows where I said I would serve him with patience and love. Patience really is my weakness.)

And don't get me started on how I feel when other people's husbands are home in time to help with prepping dinner or to take care of the kids while dinner is being made. Bitter comes to mind.

So, I really need to work on this. It doesn't do me any good to be bitter about it or get angry with Justin when he's not home when I want him to be home. It's the way things are, and I can't change the facts. I can, however, change my attitude, which needs a serious adjustment.

I'll be working on my attitude and actually being an encouragement and support to Justin instead of being bitter and counting the number of hours he's been gone.

That and actually going to the grocery store and cooking dinner several nights in a row for a change.