Category Archives: celebrate

celebrate, Thankful

21 years and a re-post

Leave a comment

Below is the post I wrote on this day last year. It’s now been twenty-one years. I continue to be thankful for the fact that I’m among the survivors and for all that I’ve learned in the process.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

©Billy Howard Photography
(1994) from the art show & book
Angels & Monsters: A Child’s Eye View of Cancer
(find it HERE on Amazon)

 

Twenty years ago today, my oncologist confirmed that all of my scans were clear. Thirteen months of chemotherapy behind me, and loads of possibility and unknowns ahead. I was officially in remission, off-therapy, and a cancer survivor*.

Continue reading 21 years and a re-post →

celebrate

Celebrating 40 Years

Leave a comment

Milestone birthdays call for special celebrations. And since Zack celebrated number 40 this past month, we thought it fitting to celebrate big!We started out with a few days with his brother in sister-in-law in London, and then flew to Athens, Greece.

Zack’s parents purchased concert tickets for us to see one of our faves, Zac Brown Band, in London. We spent a long weekend there and had a blast at the concert. But I think we’d all agree that the best part was spending time with Josh and Savannah!

After our London weekend, we flew to Athens, Greece. This was Zack’s main birthday gift: visiting a city that has been at the top of our list for quite some time. We had a great time exploring ancient sites, visiting with friends, and eating incredible food.

Here are a few highlights from both cities. I’ll try to add more details via future posts…

 

 

 

 

 

 

celebrate

Twenty Years and Counting

2 Comments

Friday was 20 years since Zack and I went on our first date.

20 years since we sat in a restaurant overlooking Atlanta, and talked about our backgrounds and our futures.

20 years since we saw the movie Dangerous Minds.

20 years since we first held hands.

20 years since I got back to my dorm room and told my friends that I knew who I was going to marry.

We’ve lived through a lot together in twenty years! Of course not every day has been easy. But the hard times pale in comparison to the seasons of fun and laughter, adventure and unknowns, excitement and opportunity. It’s been crazy, and it’s been great!

I love getting to spend each and every day with my best friend.

 

As we walked through our city Friday night, I looked around and once again tried to take in the fact that we’re living on the other side of the world, speaking another language (or at least trying to!), the parents of two pretty rockin’ kids, with friends and family from one side of globe to the other…

… and then I looked at Zack and said, “could you have imagined all of this twenty years ago?”

 

They say time flies when you’re having fun. And I believe it’s true.

Here’s to twenty more… and twenty more after that!

 

 

 

 

celebrate

Independence Day

Leave a comment
So I’m almost a month late in posting this, but better late than never, I guess!

We had a fun time celebrating American Independence Day here in Sandefjord, Norway.

 

In America, I wanted the fourth of July to land on a weekday, because that meant a work holiday. But as expats, it is really nice when it falls on the weekend. It makes it much easier to invite friends and celebrate together!

We had about 35 gathered on our landlord’s balcony.

 

We enjoyed hamburgers, hot dogs, lots of good side dishes and desserts, and even s’mores!

 

It was even better because one of my best friends from America was here celebrating with us!

 

 

We are thankful for good friends and good food. And we look forward to getting together again soon!

 

celebrate

Celebration recap

Leave a comment
We had a fun day celebrating Daniel and celebrating family.

Tradition dictates (at least in our family) that when it’s your Gotcha Day, you get to choose everything.
So Daniel made his selections! We started the day with Nutella toast and cheese eggs.
Then we were off to the ‘bowling area’ – Daniel’s name for the bowling alley.

Next up was eating McDonalds in the park.

We walked around the city and visited the Tivoli (carnival).

 

Then it was back home for dinner.
One of Daniel’s favorite foods is mussels. He is really the only one who likes them, so we enjoyed salmon while he feasted on a seemingly endless pot of his fave.

 

We had a fun day celebrating five years with our funny guy!

 

celebrate

Christmas Eve in June

Leave a comment

I am seriously like a kid waiting for Christmas.

The first little one to ever steal my heart will be here in less than 24 hours. My oldest niece Anna just finished high school – seriously, where have 18 years gone?!?! – and will be starting university in the fall. To celebrate this big life event, she is coming to spend a couple of weeks with us.
And I am so.stinking.excited.
Stay tuned for Anna & Jenn’s Euro Adventure! (And if you don’t mind, please pray for safe travels!!)
celebrate

A Super Cool Mom’s Day Gift

Leave a comment
I just realized that I never shared the creative and totally cool gift that I received for [American] Mother’s Day from my boys.On the Saturday of Mother’s Day weekend, they encouraged me to go out into the city for a few hours for shopping and coffee. I figured that was my gift: a bit of time to just walk leisurely through town.

But when I woke up that Sunday morning, they were excited for me to sit down in front of the television and watch what they had made for me. It is a gift that I will treasure for years to come!

 

I mess up at this motherhood thing. Often. But I have two boys that I love unconditionally, and I am grateful that I am the one they call mommy. They keep me on my toes, teach me so many life lessons, and love me despite my flaws. What an overwhelmingly terrifying, humbling, beautiful and amazing role I have been given. 

celebrate

A Teenager?!?!

1 Comment
Seems like only yesterday, he was a tiny little blonde-headed boy who struggled to reach the sink to brush his teeth. But suddenly, we have a teenager on our hands. Who, by the way, is now taller than his mom. Crazy.What a blessing our William is, to our family and to others. He is kind and patient, a good friend and a natural leader. We pray that as he continues to grow in stature, he will also continue to grow in wisdom and knowledge of His Savior.

We had a fun weekend celebrating our teen. Saturday we were at a camp at the border of Norway and Sweden with friends.

 

So Sunday (his actual birthday), we drove further into Sweden for an overnight trip in Göteborg/Gothenburg.

At his request, we had burgers at Hard Rock for lunch.

We walked around the city, did a bit of shopping, and enjoyed frappucinos.

And we finished the day with burritos at Wrapped Burrito Bar – probably the best burritos we’ve had since leaving the states!

Then back to our room for some gifts…

And on our way home on Monday, we stopped and explored a really cool fortress.

 

 

Yeah, we aren’t so good with the jumping pictures!

Happy 13th Birthday, William!
celebrate

17 Years

1 Comment
Yesterday marked 17 years since we first said I do. Looking back, I can’t help but wonder. What did those two naive 22-year-olds think life would be like? What would we have done if someone would have come up to us and told us all that was in store?

 

Yes, we were young and naive. But that isn’t necessarily a bad thing. We were holding on to that classic American ‘anything is possible’ spirit. And I think that’s a pretty good thing in fact! It takes a bit of that and a whole lot more to face trials and challenges.
(And I’ll admit that so far, our challenges have not been near as tough as many couples face!)
I could say that love conquers all. And we do have an incredibly strong love for each other, and for the Lord. But there is also respect, commitment, honesty, lots of laughter, true teamwork, and a promise that we’re in this for the long haul.
I am grateful that our good times far outweigh the tough times. We haven’t handled everything perfectly and we’ve both made our share of mistakes. But God has taken difficulties and challenges and made something beautiful. And the beauty of our years together far outweighs any brief not as glamorous moments.
Happy Anniversary to my partner in crime, the peanut butter to my jelly, the one who can finish any movie line I start, who tolerates my nuances and encourages my dreams. The one who laughs uncontrollably at my typos, serves as my food critic, motivates me to get in shape, and then sits down with me for the occasional eat-the-cake-right-out-of-the-box night. Although we didn’t meet in a chat room, I’ll still love you always and forever. Here’s to 17 more. And 17 more after that.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Thanks to sweet friends and cousins visiting from the states this week, we got to have a date night last night. What’s even better was having a date night in Oslo, our first night out in the capital city without kiddos since moving here.

 

Our celebration included a long walk, incredible Indian food, coffee at our favorite cafe, and dessert on Karl Johan’s Gate with some great people watching.
celebrate

I dag feirer vi to år i Norge!

Leave a comment
Two years ago today, we landed in Oslo. In some ways it is hard to believe it has already been two years. And in some ways it feels much longer.Norway is very much home to us, probably as much home as any place has felt like home. As I’ve mentioned before, the idea of home changes once you make a big move. But we feel settled here. When we travel and talk about being ready to get back home, it is Sandefjord we are speaking of.

We’ve had a really good day. Like last year, this year’s anniversary included langrenn/cross country skiing (minus me – I’ll have to wait until next year to get back on skis!). We also met with a couple of different groups that we are a part of here in Sandefjord. So it was lots of time with friends, and a good bit of time out in the winter weather. That was especially good for me, to be outside and getting a little fresh air.

We continue to be grateful for the opportunity to live and work here. It is not always easy, but that is true regardless of what your address is! So we continue to look for opportunities to learn and opportunities to grow, whether that be in language skills, cultural knowledge, relationships, and the work we are doing. We look forward to what this next year has in store here!