10 years ago today, we said “I do” in the presence of great friends & family and our heavenly Father on a tiny island in the middle of a pond at a quaint country home in the styx of Alabama.  It was a wonderfully non-humid, mosquito-less, sunset ceremony where we encouraged shorts & sunglasses. The reception that followed had some of the BEST food ever presented at a wedding feast due to the amazing talents of our dear friend Deirdre and her great network of awesome foodies. We still brag about the incredible wedding cake, and how we couldn’t wait the whole next year to eat the top of our cake (so we consumed it on our month anniversary instead!). also on that day, we discovered that we knew how to throw a fabulous party together – great people, tasty food and memorable fireworks.

The past ten years have been anything but ordinary. I’ve never quite grasped all that God has wanted us to do, as individuals and as a couple.  But we have been blessed beyond reason.  I could not imagine doing life with anyone other than Jon.  In our 10 short years together, we’ve helped plant a church, bought 2 houses (one which we managed to renovate together), started a small technology services business, and endured several years of unexplained infertility.

While I believe that we have been pretty faithful to the tasks God asked of us, I know there have been several delays and detours in our journey. And while some of those times have been stressful, hurtful, emotional, annoying, saddening, maddening, and draining, I am so thankful to have Jon as a husband, as a partner, as a friend.

We’ve experienced some tremendous changes in our life, some for good, others for growth. We said goodbye to a ministry we helped start and it was like placing a child for adoption  - we had to walk away and watch someone else raise our baby. A baby we shared with others of course, but the decision and separation was excruciating for both of us. We are very thankful that the ministry is still going strong under the right leadership, and our obedience to God was worth the pain.

We had to say “See you later” to several close family members and life-influencing friends. Some were a surprise, others were not. While our cloud of witnesses may have grown, the void of their presence has been noticeable at times. We still miss Grandpa Morningstar, our very own little hobbit who passed away in September of 2005. And just this February, we lost Grandpa Gingerich, whose animated stories never got old.

Two unexpected losses were Patrick Daley and William Pufall, both of Pensacola, Florida. Both men were involved in our wedding. Patrick was our officiant, but he was first our friend, our mentor, and a dear spiritual father. I never imagined that he wouldn’t be around to celebrate our 10^th anniversary. Will played his trusty keyboard for our ceremony. He thought my music selection was a bit odd for a wedding, since I adamantly wanted no traditional songs. But the good sport that he was, and the accommodating musician that he could be, Will twinkled out Darrell Evans’ Your Love is Extravagant with a smile.  My heart still misses both of these wonderful men of God and I am very grateful that both of them played a key part in our wedding day.

10 years seems like forever, but at the same time, it’s like a blink of an eye. And while I don’t expect the traditional gifts of tin or aluminum or the modern gift of diamonds from my dear husband, I know that he still loves me, and that I still want to grow old with him.

Our journey together is far from over, and our marriage will only be made stronger with time and God’s direction.  We didn’t know how life would look when we met that fateful evening in April 1998, but it’s been a wonderful adventure discovering all that God has for us. May we continue to pursue the will of God passionately for our lives.

The Buckingham Fountain

I love CHICAGO! I really do. So spending a day there with Jon and good friends is always exciting to me. Every time we go, we try to incorporate something familiar with something new. and it’s a family rule that we never eat at places that we can eat at home.

Yesterday we went with Nelson & Jennifer Bontrager, Julie Weirich and Jake Stutzman. Of course we started the day early, with a necessary pit stop at Starbucks.  As tired as we were, we still managed to stay awake the entire trip there.

We decided to park on the north end of North Michigan Ave, and walked around for a bit as we waited for Giordano’s to open for lunch at 11. Our lunch included breaded mushrooms – to hold us over until the pizzas arrived and 2 medium stuffed pizzas – The Special and The Spinach. Mmm… so tasty, so worth the wait.

Meandering past The Fountain

We walked back to the parking garage to put away our leftovers and grab extra belongings (jackets and 1 umbrella). After shopping around for awhile we decided to head to Shedd Aquarium for a couple of hours. The 3 mile walk from north Magnificent Mile to Shedd wasn’t too bad. We had a few spurts of rain, and a drink stop at Jamba Juice, and finally arrived at the Aquarium. Some of the exhibits were closed, and it wasn’t too crowded, but still very busy ( it took 40 minutes just to get into the building). 

We for about nn hour and a half, and when we got outside we were surprised. not by the rain. but how crazy cold it had gotten. it went from 70 to 40. or at least that’s how it felt!  so rather than brave the cold or another drizzling, we packed onto the CTA. it has been a LONG time since i’ve been on a public bus, and wow, it’s different.  diverse crowd on that bus for sure.

Jen had never been to IKEA, so we headed out to Bolingbrook (a 40 minute drive to the southwest parts of the burbs). We intended to go to Schaumburg, but Jon & I were so busy trying to get directions from his phone and our gps that we weren’t paying attention to Nelson when he turned on I-55. oops.   None of us had ever been to Bolingbrook, so that was a mini-adventure. Jon’s task was to find a restaurant for dinner, and there doesn’t seem to be too many non-national chain options. since we didn’t get to the area until 7:00, we decided to do the IKEA thing first, then eat dinner (maybe we should have lightly snacked on the way – some were hungry tired and could have used it.)

Every time we go to IKEA I find dozens of items I want for our house. Oo, that chair would be awesome. Oo, how about a new kitchen?  Oh, I’m sure I would use this!  This trip we were very good. I only bought two baby related items and Jon got four Pilsner glasses. But I have added several things to my list of “Stuff I Want When Baby Finally Gets Here.”

We got to the restaurant about 8:45 and were mostly satisifed by our meal choices. I must have been hungrier than I realized since I actually ate my entire meal. that was a first in a long time.

Our drive home was non-eventful, thankgoodness. Nelson was super wonderful as our designated chauffer.  though I’m sure he would have wanted an awake companion to talk to while he drove through the dark night. 

All in all it was a blessed day. Good times with great friends.  my main regret – not bringing enough warm clothes or water-repellant wear for an unpredictable Spring day in Chicago. Never will let that happen again!

Jon Waiting

New Variety Frogs in Rainforest