Yay mawwiage!

Sometimes I look over and Sara is just staring at me with a big grin and enamoredness pouring out of her eyes. I'm not sure what's causing it, but I'll take it.

Tetris vs. Angry Birds

We both recently, and separately, downloaded games to our phones for those moments when your brain needs a little break and you have the time to give it one.

Sara downloaded Tetris.
Jon downloaded Angry Birds.

Sara is slightly obsessed, Jon much less so, but is glad to have a game on his phone while his wife indulges her obsession.

(slight sarcasm....)

Tetris is so much fun! I'm not sure why, other than the slight strategic thinking it requires, plus the amazing feeling of getting something done... even if it is just stacking blocks in a straight line, and the challenge of doing it under increasingly complex situations. While this certainly is very life-like (especially getting things done under increasingly complex situations), having it limited to stacking blocks is somehow liberating.

Jon is enjoying angry birds, for a reason completely unbeknowst to him, other than the sheer pleasure of it. Cute cartoons flying a cross the screen, blowing things up, knocking things over, and the animals are cute and round to boot.

Somehow I feel like our game choices reflect on our personality - perhaps they do, perhaps they don't. That said, we are enjoying them - in moderation of course!

Charlevoix: Day 4

Yesterday we had a very unique day. We drove down to Traverse City, and then up the Leelanau Peninsula to visit some wonderful wineries! We went to Mawby and Black Star, and enjoyed it very very much. At Mawby we were able to sequester a little table away from the crowd and overlooking the vineyard to enjoy some sparkling wine and goat cheese. At Black Star we got caught in the rain, however were able to enjoy a delectable little lunch in their cafe, and then of course the wine tasting. They make really nice wines up here!

We came back "home," ate some pizza with the family, and then took a nap :o) The evening was spent chilling, rubbing moisturizer on the sun burn, and watching "Dan in Real Life" - the perfect movie to watch when on vacation with the family.

Remember when we were nostalgic? Good times! -- PS

Oh yeah, and after church last Sunday, Sara quickly found a shortcut to get to Route 7, on our way to the Beltway, and it's one of those roads that manual transmissions are just begging to be driven on: curves, rolling hills, short straight stretches... I'm so glad we were driving in Amy that day! I was playing with the gear shifter the whole time.

AWESOME!

Remember when we were nostalgic? Good times!

Our church doesn't commonly use a very wide range of traditional hymns (at least not those I know), so I particularly enjoyed this past Sunday when, I think it was for the offertory, Seek ye first was played. That's one of those church songs that I really like because I've been singing it pretty much my whole life. And I still know the French version very well, which I went ahead and sang in my head:

Cherchez d'abord

le Royaume de Dieu

et sa justice

et toutes choses

vous seront données en plus

Allelu- alleluia

Well, then we actually sang the hymn as a congregation, which was very nice. If we had done another verse, I'm pretty sure I would've switched to French. The French versions of such songs are such sweet treats to my ears, as that's what I grew up with for years and years, but I no longer get opportunities to hear them.

To top it off, this Sunday also served as a sending-off of a missionary family who has been at RPC for the past couple years. The Kawachis had previously served in Senegal, and are now going to Quebec to minister to the Canadians, with an emphasis on reaching out to the growing Muslim population. Well, since Satoshi Kawachi is an ordained pastor, he was invited to give the benediction, so he blessed us with:

Que l'Eternel veille sur vous et vous accorde la paix! Que l'Eternel vous bénisse et vous protège! Que l'Eternel vous regarde avec bonté! Et qu'il vous fasse grâce!

(Numbers 6:24-26) It was beautiful! I normally take benedictions and exhortations rather seriously, but when Sara looked up toward my face, she could see a pretty big smile stretched across it.

Clean Stove Top

Tonight we cleaned the stove top. It's been an ongoing process, however tonight it is glistening white, and I'm in aew at how white it can be. It takes awhile for something to get dirty and, in that process, we get used to the dirty and forget it's former glory. Now that it is clean, I almost feel remorse for letting it get that bad and hope not to do that again.

I have a feeling this isn't too far from life. The slow encroaching of bad habits, bad thoughts, and bad outlooks slowly spoil the light and delight of life, while we become immune to the absence of all the former goodness. I'm curious how many things in my life, when taken away, would remind me of a time, place, or feeling that would again bring me to a place of awe, with the inner vow not to let things slide that far again.

This week begins two new habits in our life: Sara going to the gym, and tv-free Tuesdays and Thursdays. After advice from a doctor, I (Sara) need to loose some weight. It hasn't gotten to a point of desperation - personally I feel pretty confident, beautiful, and healthy - however there is a slow gain. Without a bit of help from exercise classes, with the additional work outs to the ones I have been doing, slowing the gain and hopefully back-pedaling a bit will be feasible. I have a pant-size goal and a goal weight (it's recorded around here somewhere...), and hopefully the summer will help resolve some of the issues. I'm very glad to have found a gym that is both affordable and has fitness classes that fit our schedule!

TV-free is our attempt to get back into reading. Inspired by our friends who have implemented, and successfully stayed with, that habit, I hope to actually read books again, rather than simply organize them (which I do do very well). I'm excited for some new thoughts, new perspectives, and maybe even some new forms of entertainment (the novel was invented for a reason...). We'll see how it goes!