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Mark and I planted a garden. I have a definate brown thumb so it should be an interesting experiment. I figured it was kind of late in the year to start one, but Mark's parents didn't seem to think so. A few weeks ago, Mark and his dad built a container garden. I'm amazed at how fast things are growing already. We planted tomatos, beans, zuchinni and peas I'm really excited to see how the final product turns out.
Last weekend was the annual Bronsink camping trip. The last two years we have camped at Triponds but this year we decided to spice it up. My brother and sister-in-law have gone to Giles a few times so that is where we headed off to. Giles is on a Swan Lake which is South of Allegan. Swan Lake is not a nice as it sounds, in fact I think it is about the grossest lake I have ever been in. But since I can never say no to my neices and nephew , I endured the nasty, slimmy lake. The nicest part of the campground was a air conditioned rec room with a flat screen TV with digital cable. That kind of made up for the rest of a very interesting campground. I got to enjoy my new reclining lawn chair (a wedding present from Geoff & Jill). Emily also enjoyed the chair. I'm really glad she is getting over her shyness. Although she still will only give Mark five . . . no hugs. It just makes me laugh.
This week is Vacation Bible School at Corinth. Since I am still on hiatus from work, I am getting the opportunity to help out. The last time I helped was probably about 20 years ago. VBS has changed a lot in that time but there are also some things that are surprisingly the same. There is still the penny competition and crazy crafts. The biggest difference I notice is the music. This is not your Grandma's VBS. In fact, my grandma would probably have a stroke if she was there. But the kids LOVE it. It's upbeat and crazy and all to praise God. 400+ kids everyday. AMAZING!
Father's Day is this weekend. Mark's parents are coming down from Traverse City to visit and help us put a garden in. For those of you who know me pretty well, don't laugh. Yes, I have a brown thumb but Mark doesn't so hopefully his help and some guidance from this book, I will be able to figure it out. We are only doing a small garden this year as it is already late in the season. I'll keep you updated on the progress.
Mark and I are also going to be an uncle and aunt soon. Really it's the 1st time for Mark and 4th time for me. My nephew and nieces call him Uncle Mark some of the time, but that is kind of different. Matt and Kathryn are leaving in less that a week to get their new baby boy. Even though they are in Florida and we won't see him that often, we are very excited and can't wait to meet him in person some day soon. His name is Amanuel Matthew and his 5 months old. I am personally very excited to see how having a baby changes the Clover family dynamic. I remember how things were before Geoffrey came along. And I wouldn't give up the crazy, wacky, spazy family we have become with kids for the world.
Remember to wish all those amazing Dad's and Grandpa's Happy Father's day, you never know what the next year will bring. I sure wish my Grandpa's were still around to enjoy the day with.
I just realized I don't know how to spell. If you read the list, I meant, the exception of headaches. Oops :)~
Oh - and the Condo is officially on the market. Scary. It's been my home for 5 years and it kind of makes me sad to think about selling it. Anyway . . . if anyone knows of anyone 55 yrs and older whose looking for a great condo, drop me a line.
It was about a year ago that I started this blog. Kind of on a whim as I was reading everyone else's blog and thought it was interesting. How things have changed in the past year! I guess you never really know where God is going to lead things.
So I thought a list of some things I am looking forward too in the future could be fun:
1) Reconnecting with God. I never, never, never spend enough time with Him. That needs to change.
2) Married life. I am married to my knight in shining armour and I can't wait to see where this year leads us. Last year at this time I didn't know if this would ever happen.
3) Being an aunt (again). And to watch our family adjust to a baby in the our midst. (Mark's brother and his wife are in the final stages of adoption! Yeah!)
4) Being healthy. For the last few years I have dealt with a lot of physical issues and I can say with the expection of the headaches, I am feeling pretty good right now. Hopefully that continues.
5) School?? maybe. I have been seriously thinking about taking some classes. I know I am a dork, but I do love to learn.
6) Re-establishing friendships. The last few years have not only been difficult physically but also on relationships. I am hoping with the hiatus from work I will have time to put back into those relationships. I miss my girlfriends :)
7) Decorating a new house. (probably with a lot of help from Robyn and Holly - hint hint!) It's a daunting project but also one with lots of possibilites.
Who knows what else? God sure does and I can't wait to see what I have to blog about next year at this time.
I never seem to remember to upload them before I write the blog, so here they are:
This post maybe a little late. We have been home from our honeymoon for just over a week. We had an amazing time. It was a little different than either of us thought it would be but not in a bad way. We flew to Ft. Lauderdale on Sunday morning and had to be on the boat by 4 pm. Our flight got in about 12:30 pm and I'm glad it wasn't any later. It took us until almost 4 pm to get on the boat. Wow, there was a lot of lines. We actually had to wait in a line for a CDC questionnaire about Swine flu. Probably a good idea, but still kind of annoying.
The boat was so cool. It was a floating hotel/resort. My favorite part was definitely the sushi every day. It's way too expensive to eat here in Michigan too often, so I was pretty excited about that. We went to Key West, Grand Caymen and Jamacia. We went snorkling in Grand Caymen and climbed Dunn's River Falls in Jamacia. Dunn's River Falls was amazing. I would do it again in a heart beat. I asked Mark what his favorite thing about the cruise was and he said "Spending time with his new wife . . . and the all you can eat food" He's so funny!
We were suppose to get home on Saturday evening around 11 pm. However, we did run into a few issues. Our flight out of Florida was delayed due to some weather issues and then some air conditioning issues. We finally got on board and got in the air, only to be turned around and forced to land back in Florida due to a aft door issue. Needless to stay we missed our connecting flight in Detroit. We thought we could be a rental car and drive home but they wouldn't do that, so we stayed in agetto hotel in Detroit. I seriously didn't want to touch anything and our door didn't close right either. But we made it home about 10:30 am on Sunday morning.
Last week was all about getting settled in. Mark and I have WAY too much stuff, so it's been an interesting adventure. I think we have all the kitchen stuff taken care of, so only a few more rooms to go. We are going to have a huge garage sale, so if your looking for anything, we'll let you know where it is.
I have 13 days until I marry the man I love. And I cannot wait for that day. However, there is a lot to do before that day. And this week kind of thru a wrench into it.
Maybe I should start with last week. As many know, I have really been struggling with work for a while . . . like years it seems. It really seems like I have just been struggling with a direction in my professional life. HR doesn't seem seem to be quite the right fit anymore. Mark and I have been doing a lot to thinking, praying, crying (on my part NOT Mark's) and finally decided that maybe it's best if I take a break. So I have gave my two weeks at work. Next Wednesday is my last day. I am very excited and scared out of my mind all at once. I get 9 day off before the wedding to wrap up lots of details, so that will be a great help. And when we get back from the honeymoon I can get moved into Mark's house and get settled. Since I haven't even started packing yet, that may take a while.
Chicken pox . . . how does a 32 year old end up with chicken pox? When she's already had them? And she's relatively healthy? These are all good questions to which I don't have the answer. But evidently I've had them since Tuesday. It started with a rash and I just assumed I was reacting to something? who knows right? And it continued to grow and get a lot more itchy. Friday night I asked my sister-in-law what she thought it might be . . . she's a mom so she would know right? She said "chicken pox." Nice, huh? Mark and I went to the doctor to double check and sure enough, I have chicken pox. Let me apologize to anyone that I exposed. I honestly didn't think think anything of it. Just figured it was a rash. At least now I am almost done with it!
A friend of mine lost her mom this weekend unexpectantly. That kind of puts life into perspective. For all the little things we have going on in our lives. The job issues, the chicken pox, the little details just don't seem important when you lose someone you love. Please pray for Kelly and her family as they go thru this difficult time.
26 days til the wedding. That is about as crazy as it gets. I have been a little deliquent about blogging but the wedding and work have pretty much consumed my time. I had a few showers a few weeks back. Kind of an interesting experience. I honestly was not looking forward to it. Being the center of attention. Ugg. But it was actually kind o f fun. Everyone was so generous. I can not believe it. We have an amazing family and friends.
Wedding plans seem to be coming together. I'm stressing out, but that is par for the course. I stress out about everything. The bridesmaid's dress's finally came in so that is a great relief. The original ship date was 4/10. That was cutting it a little close for me. I think I may have screamed when I got that call I was so excited.
Here are a few shower pictures.
So I guess it's time for an update. I don't really feel like there is a lot going on.
I started a new position at work, which is kind of interesting. It's still in Human Resources, but doing some of the more administrative end of things. We are looking to hire another person to take on the other duties. We have someone on a contract basis right now while we are continuing to interview. The point of the change so I could hopefully be less stressed. Hasn't happened yet but hopefully soon :)
Wedding plans are on track . . . I think. I really don't know you are suppose know. All the big things are done. Within the next few weeks we have to get invitiations out.
