Jon and I got married! We got married on August 19, 2011. It was a beautiful ceremony and a very fun reception. We so enjoyed seeing so many dear friends and family and feel so blessed! This is a picture of us right after Jon sang me a song he wrote for me!
We took off to beautiful Florida for our honeymoon. Our cruise was cancelled because of Hurricane Irene, but we enjoyed ourselves anyway! Here are two of my favorite pictures of us on our honeymoon. In one of them, we're on the carousel at Universal Orlando - my favorite part was visiting the Wizarding World of Harry Potter and drinking the butter beer - it was delicious! We also enjoyed taking the water taxi around Ft. Lauderdale, FL. There were gorgeous mansions and beautiful yachts - we had fun looking at them all!
September 19th was Jon's 25th birthday, and we had a blast celebrating it with family and friends! Dear Jon - I love you so much and am so happy to be your wife! I'm so proud of you for everything you've accomplished this past year and am looking forward to where we'll be by your 26th birthday! Your vigor and pursuit of the Lord and his word encourage me every day and I am blessed to be your wife! Love, Bethany
On September 19th (it was a big day), I also started my full-time sales position at The Shane Company in Minnetonka. The Lord really provided in an amazing way for me to get my job and I absolutely love it! It is nice to have a break from nursing, which was so intense. I'm sure nursing will be in my future again at some point, but for now, I'm SO happy to be at The Shane Company! I love the company, I love the store, I love the co-workers, and of course...I love the diamonds! Here's a picture of me all dressed up for work with my first paycheck!
September also brought the 2011 Desiring God National Conference which was on Missions this year. It was a very inspiring conference and Jon and I made several key connections there. One man in particular had a big impact on us. We met James by divine appointment! He is the VP of Mobilization for Pioneers (a missions organization) and we were able to have a very sweet time of prayer and discussion with him.
In October, Jon surprised me with a trip to the Chateau St. Croix - it's a beautiful winery in St. Croix, Wisconsin and was part of his wedding present to me! It was such a beautiful day. We strolled the gorgeous grounds and even got to see a wedding take place. We bought a bottle of our favorite wine and are planning to drink it while we watch our wedding video!
One of our favorite parts of October was hanging out with some dear friends who are home on furlough raising support. I've known this family since I was 12 years old! It was fun for Jon to meet them face-to-face, as he'd only met them through Skype previously. They are dear, dear people and some of our best friends!
And then...drumroll please...on our 2 month wedding anniversary, Jon and I adopted an 8 week old kitten and a one-year one-month old cat from the Golden Valley Humane Society. We'd been waiting for awhile to welcome some warm, fuzzy snuggle buddies into our home, and the combination of our two-month anniversary and the celebration of me being done with counseling (I've been seeing a professional Christian counselor since March of 2009 and am now in such a healthy place that I/we (Jon came with me too) don't need to go anymore) seemed like the perfect reason to bring them home!
Meet Millie and Bardia. Millie is a fireball of life and energy and is SUCH a talker! She loves to jump onto the kitchen counter at any possible opportunity. Right now, she's fighting a virus, but takes her medicine like a champ! She meows incessantly whenever she is behind a shut door (for meal-time and bed-time). Bardia was such a tiny little kitten when we first got him - only two pounds! But I am proud to report that since coming home with us, he has gained .4lb. Go Bardia! Every night, Jon holds "Forced Cuddle Time" with Bardia in the effort to make Bardia purr! When we first got him, he purred all the time, but now is silent! Don't worry - we'll keep working on him! We love our little kittens and they bring smiles and laughs to us every single day!
At the very end of October, we went down to Des Moines, Iowa (where Jon's family lives) to celebrate the birth and baptism of our first niece, Leighton! She is adorable. Jon and I are her godparents and we were so happy to meet her for the first time. We pray that she will come to know the Lord at a young age and will always seek him first!
At the start of November (we've been keeping busy!), we flew to Boston, MA to visit Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary. Jon has been feeling the Lord's calling on his life to become a pastor for about two years now and we took a weekend to check out Gordon Conwell! We were very impressed with the amazing, encouraging people we met there and are so thankful that we had the opportunity to visit. We fell in love with the beautiful grounds, the surrounding cities, and of course...the tire swing! Please pray for us as we seek the Lord and his timing in our lives!
I love November. I love basketball. I love the University of Minnesota. I love Hopkins High School. So while Jon was in Miami on a business trip (go Jon!), I went with my mom, dad, and two sisters to a Gophers Basketball game to cheer on Joe Coleman and the rest of the Gophers! Joe played at Hopkins and he's so fun to watch. Here's a picture of me and my mom at the game! I love you, mom!
And last but not least, we have quite an exciting development here...
Jon's beard! It's received many accolades and praises since he began growing it out a couple weeks after our wedding. He's now had it for almost two months and is planning to grow it out at least until the end of November. This picture is from this past weekend, when we had two weddings in one day! It was so fun to celebrate with two of our couple friends as they tied the knot!
SO! We've been keeping quite busy, but are so happy and are loving life.
Signing off for the first time as a Mrs.,
Bethany :)
6 comments:
Wow, I love my wife! It's crazy to look back and see all of the major things that have happened since getting married and to know that so many things have taken place behind scenes as well (such as Bethany's love for keeping our house well-maintained in cleaning it, cooking for us, getting groceries, etc). I can't wait for the next days, weeks, months and years of a blessed marriage with such a wonderful woman :)
Jonny
Wow! What a beautiful update! It truly is a chronicle of God's love and faithfulness in your lives. I am thankful for every single bit of it and am blessed to call you daughter and friend!
Love you both, Mu
LOVELOVELOVELOVELOVE
Bethany, you are absolutely gorgeous. WOW, WOW, WOW. The second picture of you and Jonny in Florida is my favorite. So pretty, Sis. Inside and out.
xo
I loved this post, Bethany! What an exciting time in yours and Jon's lives. I loved all the pictures - the one with you and your Shane paycheck is so cute - and how adorable are those cats! I have to admit...when I read the title of your post, I wondered if you were pregnant! Haha! Oh, and a question about Jon's birthday cake-are those Skittles on top?
Thanks for all the comments dear family! :)
Sarah - yes, they are Skittles on top of Jon's cake! I did tufts (if you can call them that) of frosting and then put Skittles in between them to make a lackadaisical pattern.
And no! We're not pregnant :)
Love,
Bethany
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