Life Lately

is a little crazy.

We celebrated our 4th anniversary last week{took this fantastic pic after we got home. adam is wearing his "slippers." awesome}. We went to the city and had a fun day together- coffee, western food for lunch, kung fu panda 2, some fun arcade games, and western food for dinner. It was a great day. Adam did some SUPER sweet things for me as well. He's the best.

So lately, I think I've just kept on living like my life is a little normal. But what is normal anyway?

The largest thing on my mind..... We will be back in the states 3 weeks from yesterday. Holy cr....something. Caught up with us real quick.

I feel all kind of emotions. But I'm trying my hardest to keep them under wraps. Which is ..... something. Probably not okay though... right? Feeling lots of emotions seems a little silly when I'm going to turn around and be right back here 7ish weeks later. but I think that's where they {the emotions} all come in all messy.... i already feel anxious about feeling all "HEY America/loved ones! OKAY BYE again!"

BUT some things I am looking SO forward to.... even if just for a few weeks.

1- the big obvi- seeing all my friends and family.

2- Holding and kissing and loving on this sweet boy. I will cry if I think about it for one second.

3- Brushing my teeth with tap water.

4- THROWING TOILET PAPER IN THE TOILET not the trash can.

5- Oh my gosh my dog..... her SOFT ears and wet nose and snuggling with her. i can't hardly stand it. I told Adam the other day, "I can't explain how much I miss every stinking thing about that dog... except her dew(due?) claws.... I hate those."

5- Driving..... or not putting my life in the hands of CRAZY EAian drivers and not being car sick EVERY time I get in anything that moves. 

6- FOOD. Oh You know I love me some EAian food, but for 7 weeks I would love the answer to the question, "What do you want for dinner?" to not be either Chao Cai (EAian dishes) Jiao Zi (dumplings) Chao Fan (Fried Rice) or Ping Guo Ji Ding or Chao Mian (noodles). The answer will soon be, "Pei Wei or Zoes or Moes or Applebees or Bread & Co or Cheeseburger Charlie's or ChiFila ....... oh my gosh my mouth is watering.

7- Target. Target Target Target. I miss you. And Michaels.

8- Reading a recipe and not having to think, "Is there a way I could create that ingredient like Ricotta Cheese from scratch with what I have?" {which I did the other day thank you very much!} or "Could I by chance get that cream cheese in the bulk market in the city?" or "Could someone bring me that next month?" or "If someone mailed that to me, I might get it in 6 weeks...." BUT instead making a grocery list, getting in my car and buying it.

9- Getting a mental break from having to think, "uhhhh how do i communicate what I want to this person right now?" everywhere I go and using my 1st language in everyday life.

10- Watching So You Think You Can Dance on my TV live and not through a slow internet connection on the computer.

11- Disappearing in public. Walking around knowing that no one is looking at me. Not hearing "foreigner" multiple times a day. I don't know if I'll know what to do.

and the list goes on and on. i can't wait.

Joyfully Anticipating,

4 years of wedded bliss

I feel like I was writing this post like 5 minutes ago... BUT once again, today is our anniversary! 4 years! And boy does my life look a LOT different right now than I thought it would 4 years ago. I sat thinking about it the other day and asked myself, "How in the world did I get here?" and "Holy cow, while 4 years doesn't sound like THAT long, it's a LOT of days...." and then started doing the math. And well, being the genius I am {hah} my mind started going down a long winding road with that one.... and I realized it has been approximately.....


2,830 days since we met each other

Which was around this time at the beginning of our freshmen year in college in the dorm where we both lived. Its quite the funny story.... that I will spare you for you.... for now. Let's just say, it was NOT love at first sight.

2,790 days since our first very much NOT official date that we went on JUST as friends {made sure that was clear}

 ....to the horse races in Lexington. Sparks were NOT flying. 

I mean, we look like babies. Seriously. 

 2,595 days since we started dating 

I guess I just needed OH about 195ish days to for the BG to do a lot of stuff in both of our hearts. This was our first "official" we are actually dating date, where we went hiking. 


2,411 since he told me he loved me for the first time

Which was not at this football game. It was the same weekend though {i think}. 

Jump forward a few years.....

1,676 days since we got engaged

AND 

1,461 days since....

We said "I Do"

And Now here we are 4 years later.... and we've now been married longer than we knew each other before we got married.... and it felt like dating through almost all of college was a loooooong time. It wasn't.

I will state the obvious that it has most certainly been the BEST and {maybe not as obvious, but true} hardest 4 years of my life. And I wouldn't trade any of it for a second. HE has done SO much in and through us through unexpected joys, lots of transition, and really unforeseeable trials. We are grateful for each. 

So here's a little recap.....

1st year of marriage.... kind of a blur. But I do remember still having the joy of going to LOTS of football games. sadly, a now distant memory. 

First anniversary, celebrated in KM in EA in 2008. 

2nd year.... hard. But good. And we got Lucy. Which as the header says, brought lots of joy. 

Second anniversary, celebrated in GY in EA in 2009. 

3rd year of marriage.... lots of growing, moving, and working in our hearts. Lots. 

Third anniversary, celebrated in Chile with Adam's brother and sister-in-law. 

4th year of marriage.... by far the best yet. Moved to another country. Both grown IMMENSELY, especially in our marriage. I've learned so much this year. It's been pretty great. 

Now I feel like I'm going to blink and it's going to be 5 years.

We are of course continuing our tradition of non-american anniversaries, and already know that the 5th will be the same.... with probably 3 out of 5 being in GY in EA. reminds me that we are really blessed to live the the life we do. 

Happy Anniversary my love. So thankful for you. 

Joyfully Humbly Loved,