back to the "real world" (well, sort of...)

Jesse and I both begin work tomorrow. It's crazy to believe that these three weeks have gone by so quickly. In one way, I think we're ready to settle into routine and escape our time of painting and remodeling the house, but at the same time, I wish this wonderful time of simply being able to spend every moment together never had to end. We have had so much fun! Setting up house has been a lot of work (I don't know how many trips we've made to Home Depot in the last two weeks, or how many cans of paint we've gone through...) but it has been so rewarding! We are still a long way from being completely finished, but compared to what it looked like in the beginning, it is such a huge change. I can't wait to post before/after pictures! I just have to wait to get all of our "afters" together first :)

We sure have learned a lot about this house in the last few weeks. Like the fact that the back door isn't weather-proof, and that hosing it off from the outside is a reeeeaallly bad idea. Or that one shouldn't turn on the washing machine without first checking to make sure someone else hasn't plugged the utility sink (into which the washing machine water drains) to soak paint brushes and rollers. That poor back entry--those two episodes meant that it was completely flooded twice in one week!
Also, it's important to check what color paint you're using before you paint all the trim in the house with it (it's pretty hard to tell until it dries...) And make sure you're not allergic to a chemical cleaning agent before you scrub with it for hours...

We've grown a lot, learned a lot, and laughed a lot. I'm thankful that those aren't traits we have to turn in once we start working. It has struck us, however, how being married all the sudden has turned us into old people! Jesse commented the other night, "I was driving home from youth group, and I realized that it was already 8:30, and I thought to myself, man, it's late! if we turned on a movie when I got home, it would be nearly 11 before it was over. And that's when I realized oh no! I've turned into an old man!" Yes, times have changed. Gone are the days when staying up until 3am was no big deal!

Tomorrow will be exciting. Jesse gets to move into his new office at the church and prepare for his career as the Director of Christian Education at Hope Lutheran Church, and I get to see what my first day is like as one of the day camp leaders for the summer program for the children at the church. I'm so happy to get a chance to be around kids again! I've missed my preschoolers so much in the past 2 months, and I'm really looking forward to surrounding myself with little ones again for the rest of the summer.

We had such a wonderful day today. We left early so that we could be at church in time for Sunday school. It was Jesse's first opportunity to sit in on what he will be leading next week! I got to join Pastor Terhune's class on Romans, and I am excited that I will be getting to partake in such an in-depth study with other adults every week. After church, the Terhune family invited us to lunch with them, which was a wonderful time of getting to know them better and enjoying lighthearted conversation. I know that we are so blessed to have such a wonderful pastor, and family, and congregation! They have all made us feel so welcome. In fact, the theme for the next Wednesday Night Fellowship Meal is "Meet the Brubakers"--that's this upcoming week, and we are both really looking forward to it!

When we got home from church, Jesse and I crashed on the couch and watched "My Fair Lady" (it's basically a crime that Jesse's never seen it--especially since he even acted the part of Henry Higgins in a scene his freshman year of college!) After that, we enjoyed sitting together and reading some "joy-reads" we picked up at Costco the other day. I think today was seriously the first day we haven't painted a room, or polished a floor, or organized a closet, or dusted a shelf, or unpacked a box since we moved here. Knowing that it was our last day before working, we decided to enjoy it. It struck me today how much I love being married to Jesse. It's so amazing just to be able to spend so much time with him, to laugh over the silly things we do, to enjoy being together, even just to hear him breathing beside me. I love being married to my best friend.

Mr. and Mrs!

We now have 17 days of married life under our belt, and have decided it's the best thing we ever could have done. In fact, we're recommending it to everyone!

June 8th was the most beautiful day of my life. To have so many of our friends and loved ones gathered around us to share in our special day was incredible. We had so much fun!

We married at the Lamos' ranch in Ojai. It was the perfect setting to our "happily ever after." So many dear friends helped in whatever way they could, and we are so blessed by all of the personal touches that were put to our wedding with love! About 230 people attended, ranging from friends from college to church friends, cousins, aunts and uncles, grandparents, friends from church, friends from work, and people we've known our entire lives. How wonderful to share it with everyone!

I could write everything about it, but you know what they say about pictures...

(go check out Jesse's dad's website and see our sneak peek slideshow!)