I've just come from a very needed, healing family day. First up was church and everything from the beginning song to the sermon seemed so right, so fitting for today. I could hardly hold the tears in. Ever had a day like that? Next we headed to Mom and Dad's for a quick lunch and as Mark loves to put it, Mom made us some of her signature "Sunday Sandwiches." What is it about eating food that Mom has cooked for you? Is there a particular spice that she puts in it, or is it the love and extra time that she takes to select that perfect piece of meat with that perfect piece of lettuce, knowing that you love mustard with yours and your brother detests it with his? Maybe it simply comes down to the fact that someone who loves you is making you food...someone who cares enough to know what you like and dislike? After our Sunday Sandwiches, we packed up and headed to meet with Mark at Jake's grave site.
Jake died ten years ago today. I know the people reading my blog remembers this day about as well as I do. This day is bittersweet for me. I remember Jake fondly and will miss him and love him until the day I meet him again. I enjoy laughing over his silly antics and purple hair. Remembering when he totaled his Mustang a week-and-a-half after he purchased it. I also will never forget a sermon he gave our previous church that just blew everyone away. I think back to camping in Gold Basin and trips to Ocean Shores.
Jake did die ten years ago, but he had 19 years with us. I rejoice that God gave Jake to us for that long. His soul was an old soul and he was not needed on this earth any longer. Knowing this does not take away the pain, but it does help.
Jake would have been 30 years old on June 24th, 2012. I wonder what he would have been up to if he had been around?
Jake, I love you, I miss you and I never stop thinking of you or remembering you and your wonderful witty style. Here's to you! <3 <3 <3
Monday, January 30, 2012
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Our New House
I know some of you may be slightly curious as to what our new house looks like. I took the liberty of snapping a few photos for you and will post below. Please bear in mind that we are still unpacking and organizing, so there are still boxes everywhere and there is nothing put up on the walls yet. When I looked through the pictures I realized that they were not very impressive, but nonetheless, I will post!
This is the outside front of our house. What you are looking at is the front porch steps and the front porch. You can just barely see the front door. As you can see, the house is a double wide mobile home, that has cabin-paneling on it. The trees around the house are currently quite heavy with snow. Normally they don't hang down as much into the walkway.
These three pictures represent the entirety of our living room, which is fairly spacy. Probably my favorite part of this house so far has to be the fireplace. It gets so cozy in the house!
I am a big fan of this room as well. The kitchen is well spaced, has a lot of storage and the best part: we were able to bring all of our appliances from the other house, which were brand new! (Please excuse the mess on the island).
What you are seeing here are the "guest" bathroom (otherwise known as the second bathroom), our media room where we store Dave's computer and all the DVD's, Blue Ray's and other stuff...It's basically a room that Dave can use. The last photo is my crafting room! I still have a few things to bring here from the other house but until the snow goes away we are trying to organize everything.
The only other rooms that I didn't really get pictures of were either because they were rooms that you wouldn't want to look at or I couldn't get a good picture of. We have a laundry room and two closets (one is a duel coat/pantry, and the other is our linen closet). We also have a master bedroom with an attached bathroom/shower. I didn't take a photo because the person who lived in the house before us painted the master bedroom a dark green/gray color. The photo really didn't turn out unless I took it only of the bed.
We are really happy and feeling really blessed to be living here. Dave enjoys getting out of bed in the morning and walking to work everyday. He usually comes home for lunch and sometimes he will come home again during the day to chat or do something else. I get to see him a lot more than I did before and actually I get to see "people" in general more, which is good for me.
Dave is going to be running a half marathon in April. He started running to get in shape and loose some weight, but learned that he really enjoyed it. I am excited to cheer him on and have never watched someone run anything like that before! Living on acreage like this provides Dave the perfect area to run and prepare for the 1/2 marathon.
The only other rooms that I didn't really get pictures of were either because they were rooms that you wouldn't want to look at or I couldn't get a good picture of. We have a laundry room and two closets (one is a duel coat/pantry, and the other is our linen closet). We also have a master bedroom with an attached bathroom/shower. I didn't take a photo because the person who lived in the house before us painted the master bedroom a dark green/gray color. The photo really didn't turn out unless I took it only of the bed.
We are really happy and feeling really blessed to be living here. Dave enjoys getting out of bed in the morning and walking to work everyday. He usually comes home for lunch and sometimes he will come home again during the day to chat or do something else. I get to see him a lot more than I did before and actually I get to see "people" in general more, which is good for me.
Dave is going to be running a half marathon in April. He started running to get in shape and loose some weight, but learned that he really enjoyed it. I am excited to cheer him on and have never watched someone run anything like that before! Living on acreage like this provides Dave the perfect area to run and prepare for the 1/2 marathon.
The Dog Days of...Winter?
We have been enjoying a phenomenon rarely seen here in the Pacific Northwest...SNOW...and lots of it! When snow comes to visit, adults turn back into children looking for any reason to get out into the snow and play; children cannot sleep because maybe, just maybe their school district will cancel school for the day. Families seem to get a little closer while snow is here because we take the time to interact with each other instead of going in three different directions. We get nostalgic remembering how much fun snow time was when we were little and want to emulate that experience again whenever the snow arrives.
I've been reminded recently about putting God first in life. When God surprises us with unexpected things like snow, which sometimes can really throw us off of our schedules, sometimes His goal is to bless us by allowing us to spend a few extra hours with our significant others which we wouldn't have had otherwise. Maybe God is blessing us with much needed rest and relaxation from the workplace or our busy schedules.
I thank God this morning for the life-interruptions He has given me. God has shown me that there are ways to look at them and to understand that these interruptions can be blessings in my life. The snow has an added bonus because God made it so beautiful and wonderful to look at!
I leave you this morning with some snow pictures taken around our house and the property that we live on. (Max may have made it into a few of them, lol)
I've been reminded recently about putting God first in life. When God surprises us with unexpected things like snow, which sometimes can really throw us off of our schedules, sometimes His goal is to bless us by allowing us to spend a few extra hours with our significant others which we wouldn't have had otherwise. Maybe God is blessing us with much needed rest and relaxation from the workplace or our busy schedules.
I thank God this morning for the life-interruptions He has given me. God has shown me that there are ways to look at them and to understand that these interruptions can be blessings in my life. The snow has an added bonus because God made it so beautiful and wonderful to look at!
Sunday, January 15, 2012
God's Sunset
My First Blog!
I decided to start a blog so that I could share my wonderful life with everyone...then I realized that maybe I wouldn't actually have an audience to read the blog. I decided to forge ahead and see where this takes me anyway.
So, where do I start? I'm Allie and if you are reading this you most likely know me. If for some reason you don't or need a refresher course, here's the quick version:
I am 28 years old and live with my wonderful husband, Dave and adorable black lab, Max. My husband and I have been married for almost 8 years and we have no children. When I was 15, I got sick and was diagnosed with a condition called, "Familial Dilated Cardiomyopathy" (which meant that my heart muscle was diseased and was failing. The only way to treat the problem in my case was to put me on the heart transplant list). On March 5, 2000 I received the gift of life by receiving a heart at the University of Washington Medical Center. I met Dave a few years after that. In 2009 I was officially diagnosed with the real reason why I needed the heart transplant. I have a rare muscle disease called, "Mitochondrial Myopathy Typified by Cytochrome 'C' Oxidize (COX)" a mouthful for sure and not a diagnosis I ever wanted, but one that I received nonetheless. Basically, this disease causes pain in my muscles and joints, hearing loss, was the cause for my heart failure, exercise intolerance and is the cause for many other "little" symptoms that I have had all throughout my life. Since the diagnosis, I have had to stop working and am attempting to learn what it means to "listen to my body" and give God thanks for this diagnosis. I thank God everyday that He saved me twice. I am surely blessed. Living in constant pain takes a lot out of one, and you basically have to relearn how to live your life.
This is why I decided to start blogging. Maybe some of my perspectives can bring light to your darkness. Maybe when I'm feeling down, you will be reminded that you are not the only one feeling this way. As I hope this blog serves as an outlet for me, I pray that it is also a useful tool for you.
I thank those who have decided to participate and read along. :)
So, where do I start? I'm Allie and if you are reading this you most likely know me. If for some reason you don't or need a refresher course, here's the quick version:
I am 28 years old and live with my wonderful husband, Dave and adorable black lab, Max. My husband and I have been married for almost 8 years and we have no children. When I was 15, I got sick and was diagnosed with a condition called, "Familial Dilated Cardiomyopathy" (which meant that my heart muscle was diseased and was failing. The only way to treat the problem in my case was to put me on the heart transplant list). On March 5, 2000 I received the gift of life by receiving a heart at the University of Washington Medical Center. I met Dave a few years after that. In 2009 I was officially diagnosed with the real reason why I needed the heart transplant. I have a rare muscle disease called, "Mitochondrial Myopathy Typified by Cytochrome 'C' Oxidize (COX)" a mouthful for sure and not a diagnosis I ever wanted, but one that I received nonetheless. Basically, this disease causes pain in my muscles and joints, hearing loss, was the cause for my heart failure, exercise intolerance and is the cause for many other "little" symptoms that I have had all throughout my life. Since the diagnosis, I have had to stop working and am attempting to learn what it means to "listen to my body" and give God thanks for this diagnosis. I thank God everyday that He saved me twice. I am surely blessed. Living in constant pain takes a lot out of one, and you basically have to relearn how to live your life.
This is why I decided to start blogging. Maybe some of my perspectives can bring light to your darkness. Maybe when I'm feeling down, you will be reminded that you are not the only one feeling this way. As I hope this blog serves as an outlet for me, I pray that it is also a useful tool for you.
I thank those who have decided to participate and read along. :)
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