"You can make anything by writing."

-- C. S. Lewis


Monday, September 27, 2010

Obligatory Post? (or just a late-night update in the midst of a busy September)

I don’t really have anything of substance to say tonight.

I could complain about my job and how everyone seems to think that my world should stop when a customer’s siding was ordered short or when a roof fails inspection. That is not to say that I am not a good employee. I am an awesome employee, in my opinion. I’m just tired of being the “responsible one.” We had to let one of our office girls go, you see….for not doing her job and lying to cover it up and being mean and rude all the time. So my duties have doubled, and my day is shorter, and my pay is less. Then the other remaining office girl decided to call in sick for three days. So I was doing the job of three people. And when someone stands in my office and waits for me to react to a “crisis situation,” it takes everything within me to keep from rolling my eyes and saying, “Don’t you see that there is so much more to me than roofs?? I have other interests and other talents too! I think.”

Somehow I don’t think I am expressing my thoughts well….It sounds like I am an admitted slacker. But I’m not. I’m just tired of the same old, same old, and not being able to make anybody happy.

I’m tired of knowing that no matter how hard I work, there will always be crap to deal with. Every single day.

Ryan is too. My heart breaks for him in his job, and I wish I could make it better. I check my text messages as often as I can throughout the day, just because I can’t stand not knowing what level of hell he’s dealing with on any given day. All I can do is give him to the Lord. And for some reason, that’s hard for a control-freak like me. He had an interview last week, though, so hope is on the horizon.

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Enough of the complaining!  Look at this: the babies are doing amazing!!!!

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Aren’t they adorable???? They are so precious. They are almost four pounds each.

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We can hardly wait to meet them!!! We probably won’t go until Thanksgiving, and that seems like such a long time from now!

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Their cousin Ryley is growing up. Look how mature she looks!

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It makes me sad what a big girl she is getting to be. So dramatic and witty and filled with empathy. Such good company. But not nearly as cuddly as she used to be. Then again, she’s always been busy….

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And here are the Ry’s before going to the Broncos game on Sunday:

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So adorable. She is such a daddy’s girl. Ryan said she spent almost the entire game people-watching with our binoculars. :-)

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We are doing well with our resolution to have no fast food for lunch or dinner, Monday through Thursday. That means I find time to cook a “healthy” meal every week night. I know it sounds dumb that that is a resolution for us, but nevertheless, it is, and it was needed. No weight loss progress as of yet, but we are making changes to our lifestyle one at a time. And you know what? We had McDonalds this weekend for the first time in a month, and it didn’t taste as good as it used to. Go figure. :-)

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Back to editing now. See you in October! ;-)

Tuesday, September 7, 2010

Wonderful Things

So many wonderful things have happened in the last week!

Of course I have to begin with the most incredible event of all – the whirlwind miracle birth of my adorable twin nephews Will and Jack on September 1!

Most people who read this blog are aware of the struggles that my brother Justin and sister-in-law Aly have been through in their journey to becoming parents. And God is so good. It’s overwhelming! The babies were born much earlier than we hoped, at 28 weeks, 6 days. But though tiny, they are very healthy and are breathing on their own. I just love these babies SO much!!!!! I can’t wait to visit!

This is my favorite picture of all: My little brother finally getting to hold his son. Look at the joy in his face!

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There are some amazing pictures on their blog, too, so hop on over to check them out!

We have had the most wonderful experience getting to visit the NICU in Texas from our very own living room in Colorado, via FaceTime on the iPhone 4! Ryan and Justin sync up their phones, then Justin takes us down the hallway to the NICU. Sometimes we’re in his pocket; other times we are able to see the people in the hallway passing by. It’s surreal! Then he holds up the phone right inside one of the babies’ beds and we can hear the baby cry, see the nurse cleaning his face, see the baby stretch – all LIVE. And because it connects through wifi, there is absolutely no harm or interference to the medical equipment. It is such an amazing experience that last night I wrote a letter to Apple, telling them of our awesome experience! It’s a much clearer picture than Skype has ever been for us; it’s seriously like a little window into their world!

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The second wonderful occurrence was the wedding of Danielle and Michael in Estes Park. It was seriously one of the most beautiful weddings I had ever been to. Isn’t Danielle gorgeous?

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It was such a lovely day!!! Ryan and I were talking about how you know someone’s a close friend when you discover that you have the same music tastes. And it’s so refreshing and reaffirming to discover it!

Danielle and I have been friends since we were 13, and we have always shared a love for music. She and I used to spend hours together in the piano room in our high school, taking turns playing our favorite piano solos for each other. But as adults, on our weekly Friday lunch dates, we don’t really discuss music anymore. But at her wedding and reception….I would say there were at least four songs that were played that Ryan and I knew…that he and I specifically thought we were the only ones that knew them!

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While in Estes Park, we had our share of wildlife run-ins:

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“Why…Is that a black bear on the lawn of the inn where you stayed?” you ask.

Yes. Yes, it is.

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Yes, and in typical Joy-fashion, I was only 20 feet away from it. But so were all the other inn guests!! I was not alone in my craziness.

Less than 15 minutes later, Ryan and I saw this:

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And the next day, I came across this:

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I spent the rest of the weekend in Nebraska with my grandma, aunt, uncle, and Ryley, but unfortunately I don’t have any pictures of our extremely relaxing time up there. And Ryan had to return home to work.

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A little bit of a praise report….In addition to the magazine, I suddenly have two and a half freelance editing projects on the back burner! I am going to have a very busy fall! Now that the editing is picking up, I am feeling very overwhelmed. Scared. Incompetent. But hopeful too. :-)

His grace is sufficient for me. And the editing is from Him, so He will help me organize my days. I have to continue believing that.

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This afternoon, Ryley and I visited a Girl Scouts meeting, completely on a whim. I am loving this 3:00 day-end, because I am able to do things like this with my daughter. I enrolled her in ballet, too (haven’t quite decided if we’ll stick with that), and we’re finally finding time to do her piano lessons consistently. Our schedule is actually filling up faster than I anticipated, and that is my only hesitancy with joining Girl Scouts. We will see. All the same, it brought back tons of memories that I hadn’t thought of in probably 25 years! :-)

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I am a little under the weather today, fighting some sort of flu virus thing. I am living on Emergen-C, cough drops, and Dayquil. My hope is to go to bed early, so I guess I should get some editing done first.

On another note, today is Ryan's and my 14-year anniversary of dating. Hard to believe!!

God is just so good. He is working miracles in every area of our lives.

Sometimes we wonder about it. But then we just have to remember how far we’ve come. :-)