Monday, May 24, 2010

Bon Bini!


Bon Bini means "welcome" in Papiamento - one of the four languages spoken in Aruba.  Arubians speak English, Spanish, Dutch (they are a Dutch province) and Papiamento.  Papiamento is a combination of English, Spanish and Dutch - interesting, eh?  Here are some pictures of our Aruban adventure.  You'll notice some of the pictures are hazy - that's because it is SO humid in Aruba that your camera lense has to 'air out' prior to taking pictures.  It is also VERY windy Aruba - hence the headband I wore every single day (although the wind kept the beach and pool nice and cool!)
The lighthouse restaurant.  Looking over Aruba - celebrating 5 months of marriage :)

Madam Jeanettes - delicious aruban cuisine.

Snorkel snorkel!
Beautiful sunset @ the lighthouse


jeff trying to like sushi.
these lizards were NOT afraid of humans!
we loved the drinks from the bar - they had minimal alcohol and always were frozen. yum.

So, that was our trip to Aruba.  I am constantly reminded how blessed I am to have a husband who fears the Lord.  Jeff works so hard to love the lord, love me and provide for us.  This past week he has really demonstrated the FREE GIFT of GRACE Jesus provides for us by paying off my college loans.  Jeff never took those loans out for school (don't get me wrong, I never took out loans for 'spending' - just to pay for school) but he is PAYING BACK my indebtedness. I feel unworthy of his love, just like I sometimes feel unworthy of the Lord's love and forgiveness. So, thanks Jeff :)

Much Love.



Sunday, May 23, 2010

Last few weeks of freedom

It's true - I start working on June 1 and am REALLY soaking up the last few weeks of freedom. The month I have had off has been so relaxing and has provided restoration.

I went home to Michigan to spend some quality time with family and friends (as noted in my previous post), came back to NY for a few days and then Jeff and I headed to ARUBA for our honeymoon. It's funny how God works - the timing of our honeymoon was so perfect. Jeff and I really got to face some things in our spiritual journeys that we had been ignoring, give grace to each other and receive grace from one another. We are back from Aruba feeling rested and restored.

I'll post more about Aruba once I have access to the pictures on Jeff's computer.

On another exciting note, Pete got into med school! From the beginning of this med school application process, Pete continually said, "Laura, I'm not going to get into Wayne State - it's much too competitive." For some reason, I really felt the Lord telling me, "Laura, he's going to go to wayne state - encourage him to not lose hope." Pete was gradually accepted to several schools, but turned them all down, holding out for wayne state (this 'waiting' and 'denying' process gave my mom a few gray hairs - bless that woman's heart!) In jest, my mom and brothers would say, "Okay laura, talk to God - we ready for this stressful waiting game to be over." Haha - God was faithful and Peter will soon be: Peter Wilton, M.D. Praise God.

On another note, our friends Eric & Sarah Russ (they started a sweet church in Detroit, MI) were in NY last night for a missions conference. Eric spoke, and we got to see him! I have babysat for their beautiful children a few times and they are sort of affiliated with my home church. Of course, seeing them further burdened our hearts for Detroit. Please pray that the Lord would continue to make his plan clear to us as to WHEN we are to head back. I'd like to go back tomorrow :) hahah

Well, we are headed off to church!

Much Love.

Tuesday, May 11, 2010

home, sweet home.

i traveled home to michigan last tuesday (for an entire week!) it was jam-packed with visiting friends, graduation festivities,  my momma's birthday AND mother's day celebration.  sadly, i took minimal pictures - i really wish i would have brought my camera around!

on tuesday evening i went straight to ann arbor, visited with my dear friend lindsay, had dinner at scott & melissa's and slept over at ashley & kyle's home.  i babysat for scott & melissa's daughter, ava, from birth to 2.5 years old.  i really loved (and still love!) her like my own daughter.  she is now 4.5 years old and i can't believe how SMART and beautiful she is.  it brought tears to my eyes to hear her say 'laura' (she used ot call me wawa) and love on her little sister.  mmm! lindsay, ashley and kyle all ate dinner at scott & melissa's with me - which made it even more exciting :)  i was also so excited to hear that melissa (ava's mom) is diligently seeking the lord.  it brings me joy.

spending the night with ashley brought me back to our high school/college/post-college days of trash tv and junk food.  it was fantastic.  as i've shared before, the worst part about living in NYC is being away from my sweet girlfriends.  boo.  i became very sleepy after ashley rubbed my head for about 30 minutes.  

i got to spend wednesday with my dad.  last fall he moved into a little cottage on a lake in howell (see picture to the left - that's his backyard!)  the weather was beautiful, as was the scenery.  we got to barbeque in his backyard and eat lunch outside - it was so relaxing.  i think i cry everytime i leave my dad's house - i hate that he is alone in that house and i really do miss him.  since he lives about an hour and twenty minutes from my mom, i don't get to see him as much as i would like to when i visit home.  i think jeff & i should plan a trip home to stay at my dad's house this summer.  he would love that.

thursday was graduation :)  i am officially a speech language pathologist - i can't believe it.  it was so great to see my entire class, especially jen and heather.  jen and heather are both getting married this summer, but unfortunately jeff & i can't make it home due to time-off and financial expenses.  boo!  both of my parents, grandma and peter attended my graduation - it was fabulous.  



my mom's birthday was on friday.  before she came home from work, i got to spend some quality time with my dear sister, sarah.  sarah has been trying to get pregnant for over a year.  she was even about to have a very expensive surgery next week so her doctor could maybe figure out what was going on in her body.  PRAISE GOD SARAH IS PREGNANT!  my eyes began to well up with tears when she told me (actually, her daughter, Eda, was wearing a shirt that said "im a big sister" -- so, Eda told me :) ) God is so faithful, so powerful.  through sarah's struggle, God has really been changing my heart towards having children of my own.  although i don't want to bear children anytime soon, i am starting to desire it more -- and realize that all children are blessings.  

friday night, peter, zak & i took my mom to a little italian restaurant downtown.  the food was 'ok'.  we later met up with some of my mom's closest friends and sister at a bar in grosse pointe.  it was so fun.  i love to see my mom with her girlfriends -- they have been friends since childhood.  



on saturday, mom & i allowed peter to partake in a very special experience: a pedicure.  yes, it's true, peter got a pedi - and loved every minute of it!  later that day, i went to have dinner with my dad - he made some delicious chilli and i watched 'matrix' for the first time.  good time with dad, good movie.  

on sunday, i went to hope and got to see so many people that i love so much.  later that evening, we barbequed at our house for mother's day with my brothers and my grandma.  delicious salmon, steak and asparagus.  my mom is the best mom in the world - she is so generous and selfless.  i hope i can someday be as good of a mom as her :)  

yesterday, ashley and i met up at the mall.  i bought a few cute dresses for our honeymoon to ARUBA on friday :)  we are so excited!  i had a great trip home, and am a little sad to be back in nyc - i am really hoping the lord calls us back there sometime soon.

much love.