Chinese Gardens

Our public library has this amazing cultural pass program where you can sign up and receive two free adult passes to various places around Portland. Several Saturdays ago Josh signed us up for the Chinese Gardens. We took a picnic lunch and had a great day!

Some of the beautiful greenery.

There is great texture and beauty throughout the gardens.

So if you are in the area sign up for a Washington County libray card and go somewhere!

Honeymoon - Part II

Ok here is part two! A picture of us on the beach one evening.

Here we are at this amazing lagoon. Where we spend time snorkeling. While there we saw some amazing fish and a sting ray!

This is part of Tulum, some Mayan ruins.

We saw iguanas! They were awesome.

How much more touristy do you get?

Honeymoon - Part I

I know this is long overdue, but here are some pictures from our honeymoon. We had an amazing time in Cancun.

Here is the view from our room:

It also overlooked the pool

Our all-inclusive resort had several different pools and restaurants. It was awesome.

We saw Lenny Kravitz . . .

. . . and Kiss . . .

. . . at Coco Bongo, a club that does impersonations

Josh wrestled an angry Gypsy . .

and we took pictures with Spiderman.

Spiderman tried to steal me away and Josh almost had to beat him up!

Josh was leery of the native alligator

Stay tuned for some more pictures!

Lessons In Marriage

In one month of being married I have learned a few lessons:

1. How to share the bed covers . . . . well I'm still working on this.
2. Not to expect left overs or my half eaten candy bar to still be there when I come back for them.
3. How much fun married life is.
4. Asking for what you want is more likely to happen if you ask nicely
5. Not to shut the bedroom door completely when I leave otherwise the hubby will be locked in (our apartment is old and the door is warped, so you can imagine his surprise when he woke up and could not get out of the bedroom!)
6. How to be patient and loving.

I'm am looking forward to all our years to come. To continued growing, learning and bonding. I love you Josh - Happy one month anniversary!

* More pictures and stories to come!

Good Weekend

As summer nears we have started doing more outside activities. I love it. This last weekend we saw the fireworks that were apart of the rose festival. Unfortunately I forgot my camera. We were standing on the Morrison Bridge - front and center of where the fireworks were going off. Saturday we went hiking at Saddle Mountain with some good friends (Noah and Jessica) Who sadly are moving back to Alaska at the end of the month. Here are some pictures:

I was really pleased with the way this picture turned out. Can you see the forest through tress?

It was foggy, which made for some cool pictures

Josh and I on a bridge.

Can you count the rings?

Yea! Noah, Jessica, Josh and I made it to the top! There is supposed to be a beautiful view, but we couldn't see it.

Nothing to say?

How can I have nothing to say in such a busy and overwhelming time in my life? Have you ever had so much going on that you have no time to process, digest and dish it out?

Engagement: such a strange, wonderful whirlwind. It has gone so fast! There is just over two months left. Which means we have been engaged for almost 6 months. We still have a lot to do/plan. I've realized that wedding planning is not my calling. It has been a lot of fun working to make our day special and unique, but I will be glad once the day is here. I cant wait to celebrate the day with family and friends, but most of all I can't wait to be married to Joshua Akers.

Internship: such a strange, wonderful whirlwind. Being in a high school setting is somewhat surreal. Being there brings me new perspective on myself and has caused me to relive memories and moments that seem like yesterday. I look forward to working with the students and their families. The challenges are many; drugs, gangs, depression, peer-pressure. The rewards/blessing vast; an amazing high school/counseling staff, amazing learning opportunities, closer to having a masters degree!

Classes: not bad right now. Which is good because I am paying a lot of money for them! All in all I am mostly done with classes. I have several left, but mostly I'll be able to just focus on internship.

Work: paying the bills. As I get closer to being done with school I get more antsy to stop serving people food and start providing therapy.

Life: is that what is flying by?

God: is teaching me so much. I am learning to trust, rely and depend on Him. It is a continually process that takes work every single day.

By the way - what's up with my sidebar? How do I fix it?

Seasons

Ecclesiastes 3. 1-8
To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:
A time to be born, and a time to die;
a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;
A time to kill, and a time to heal;
a time to break down, and a time to build up;
A time to weep, and a time to laugh;
a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together;
a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
A time to get, and a time to lose;
a time to keep, and a time to cast away;
A time to rend, and a time to sew;
a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
A time to love, and a time to hate;
a time of war, and a time of peace.


Unlike the weather in Portland the seasons of my life have been moving quickly. Very quickly. It seems that at times before I even realize I am in a season that time has passed. I have been meditating on this verse for some time now. It applies to all aspects of life right now.

One of which is: internship. As part of my graduate program I have to do an internship. Actual experience counseling people. Internship is the source of stress, anxiety and tears for many grad students. Just securing a site is an ordeal as you compete with your peers in interviews much like job interview, except you don't get paid.

The time between when I secured my site and my start date (about two months) has been full of fear and anxiety. Almost overwhelmingly so. I questioned my abilities and competencies. I was stuck in this place. It is not a good place to be at. It is not conducive to movement. A place of fear holds you captive and disables you.

About a week ago something shifted. I became unstuck. I realized that this is a new season for me. It is a season of learning and growing. It is a season of being vulnerable to "not knowing it all." A season to try and retry. I do have the skills and competencies. I am not a seasoned therapist . . . Yet. We all start somewhere.

This new place is a better place to be at. More free, open and rewarding. Not that the fear and anxiety has completely disappeared . . .

Plus more blogs to come . . *




* Hopefully

One Year

Today marks one year since the heart wrenching event at Virgina Tech. How soon we forget.

The university president said "while the passage of time has helped us in many ways, we remain deeply and profoundly saddened by the events of that tragic day." Of course they would but what about those of us who weren't directly impacted? I have to admit that it wasn't on my radar. Who had time or energy to remember everything. That really isn't my point here. I just wanted to take a moment to acknowledge the lives that were lost, to join the mourners, lift up prayers for friends and families, and to look forward.

May God's providence be with those at Virgina Tech. May the blessing of peace be with families and friends.

Spring!

I love spring time! I love the warm weather, the smell, the activities and of course March madness that all come with spring.
Here is a spring poem for you

Spring
by Robert Frost

Oh, give us pleasure in the flowers today;
And give us not to think so far away
As the uncertain harvest; keep us here
All simply in the springing of the year.

Oh, give us pleasure in the orchard white,
Like nothing else by day, like ghosts by night;
And make us happy in the happy bees,
The swarm dilating round the perfect trees.

And make us happy in the darting bird
That suddenly above the bees is heard,
The meteor that thrusts with needle bill,
And off a blossom in mid-air stands still.

For this is love and nothing else is love,
The which it is reserved for God above
To sanctify to what far ends He will,
But which it only needs that we fulfill.


HAPPY FIRST DAY OF SPRING!

Wedding Updates

Alright, I know I've been pretty bad about updating this blog. I have TONS to write and say, but very little time. But here is what I'll start with.



Our official date is August 9th, 2008. Here is our place! It has a big beautiful back yard and I am so excited to be married there!

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I think I have the dress picked out, but I can't post that here. Working on colors and such, and am hoping to send out save the dates soon.

Also our wedding website is: http://www.joshandkristi.us/

It is still a work in progress, but check it out! And sometime I will post about the rest of my life, thoughts and theories on Lost

The Year in Review

I meant to post this on January 1st, but we have been very busy sharing our exciting news with others. BTW no exact date set, just sometime in August (maybe the 9th)

2007

JANUARY

1. Who kissed you on New Years? Josh - on the check because I was very sick

2. Did you have a New Year’s Resolution this year? To be the best I could be. (sounds like the army)

3. Does it snow where you live? Sometimes

4. Do you like hot chocolate? Yep, Land Of Lakes is my favorite .

5. Have you ever been to Times Square to watch the ball drop? Nope, but I'd like to do it once just for the experience.

FEBRUARY

1. Who was your Valentine? Josh. We went and saw Snow Patrol (a Christmas gift)

2. When you were little did you buy Valentines for the whole class? Yeah. One year I even made them. Or rather Mom made them!

3. Do you care if the groundhog sees its shadow or not? Yes

4. What did you receive for Valentines Day? Well Snow Patrol tickets were a Christmas gift . . .so maybe dinner?

5. Are you a leap year baby? No

MARCH

1. Are you Irish? Yes. And English, French, German, Swedish and Italian. What a mutt!

2.Do you like corned beef and cabbage? No way

3. What did you do for St. Patty’s Day in 2007? I don't think anything.

4. Are you happy when winter is pretty much over? Sad that snowboarding season is over, but very happy to see the sun!

APRIL

1. Do you like the rain? Not really. Maybe I'm living in the wrong city. .

2. Did you play an April fool’s joke on anyone this year? No

3. Do you get tons of candy for Easter? No.

4. Do you love the month of April? Its alright.

MAY

1. What is your favorite flower? Sunflower?

2. Finish the phrase “April showers…”:Bring may flowers. Duh.

3. Do you celebrate May 16th: National Piercing Day? Never heard of it.

4. Is May anything special to you? For now its around the time when Spring Semester ends

JUNE

1. What year did/will you graduate from high school? 2001.

2. Did you do anything fun during this Month? It's my birthday

3. Have a favorite baseball team? Not a big baseball fan

JULY

1. What did you do on the 4th of July? Went camping. Got eaten my millions of mosquitoes. There were immune to the bug spray - crazy!

2. Did you go to the fireworks? No

3. Did you blast the A/C all day? No I swam in the freezing river.

4. Is somebody's birthday this month? Oh, not that I can think of off the bat.

AUGUST

1. Did you do anything special at the end of your summer? Moved!

2. What was your favorite summer memory of ‘07'? Just hanging out with friends and family.

3. Did you have a sunburn?Yeah, I always do. But not as bad as Josh.

4. Did you go to the pool a lot? I took up swimming laps in my apartment pool. Very therapeutic.
SEPTEMBER

1. Will you be attending college/school? Yep, still working on the MFT degree.

2. Do you like fall better than summer? No.

OCTOBER

1. What was your last Halloween costume? This year I dressed up like a road.

2. What is your favorite candy?Skittles

3. What was your favorite thing(s) about this month? Going to the Roloff farm.

NOVEMBER

1. Whose house do you go to for Thanksgiving? Josh's parents

2. What are you thankful for?My friends and family. Good health, God and all the many blessings in my life

3. Do you love stuffing? Only Stovetop

4. Do you go shopping the day after Thanksgiving? No way!

DECEMBER

1. Do you celebrate Christmas? Of course!

2. Have you ever been kissed under the mistletoe? Not that I recall.

3. Get anything special last year? Can't really remember

4. What do you get this year? A ring! A new computer and a tent! I made out like a bandit

5. What do you love most about December? Spending time with friends and family and Christmas music