May 21, 2011

Okaaay.........

So I've been seeing tons of stuff on Facebook about this day. And there was so many thoughts I had, that I just decided to blog about it. Yesterday Caleb and I went to Lancaster, PA and there were people everywhere, on every corner, with tracts and billboards and cars declaring, "Save the date! 5-21-11 Judgement Day www.weCANknow.com"

(Here's a couple of pictures that I managed to snap.)

It was awful. When we saw the web address we busted up laughing and started quoting tons of scriptures and really wished that people were getting just the gospel rather than some obviously un-scriptural pressure. 

I would love to drive one of those vans declaring today as Judgement Day...tomorrow. That would be awesome! Poor people :(

We were handed a tract like the one on the left.

(Okay, the credit for these pix go to Google.)

Wow! The pressure was incredible. I felt sorry for some of the passer-bys.

Last night we went to the Sights and Sounds Theater with some friends and this was the point they brought up :)

So...today I visited their website. These poor people or gonna have a lot of words to eat tomorrow. 

I believe that every believer should be ready to go at anytime, whenever. Every day is the Lord's day. And for some people, today might be the day they are called to their eternal home, but we never know when its our turn. (Matt. 24:36 "But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only.") And as one of my friends said: "Even if Jesus were planning to return today, I think he'd wait another day or so just to make a point." Amen!

So now you know my thoughts (and others'). Lol!

Firsts...

My life is full of firsts right now. I know that there are always firsts in life. I mean, everything you do, you must do for the first time. But it seems especially so at this point in my life. I knew marriage would bring a lot of firsts, but some of them were pretty unexpected. Most of them have been good :)

Here are just a few of the many firsts taking place on a regular basis in my life:

becoming a wife, 

going on a honeymoon,

leaving the US

going on a cruise,

crossing the Atlantic,

traveling Europe,

riding the bus, (sorry for the awful picture :/ )

ferry,

 and train...

...and, of course, BLOGGING!

Some things I've learned traveling Europe that would've been nice to know before-hand:

Denmark is VERY expensive, European hotels do not provide washcloths, German hotels do not provide soap and you have to share the bathroom with several other rooms (thankfully, they do have showers and sinks in your room though, usually). Nothing is free, their breakfasts add to the cost of the room. Traveling around Europe with anything more than 1 carry-on sized bag is a pain in the neck-literally! Gps is a must, the autobahn is any German highway with no speed-limit, just a minimum, usually 130 km/p/h.

There is so much more, but that's all I can think of for now :)

Until next time...

Malmo, Sweden... (Tuesday) 5-10-11

A day in our life: A complete journal entry with pictures :)

Last night we stayed in Helsinger, Denmark. This morning we got up relatively early (for us anyway).

We ate breakfast from the buffet at Hotel Sleep2Night, where we stayed last night.

The breakfast buffet did not live up to Caleb's standards, he thought it was totally pitiful. It definitely wasn't an American continental breakfast.

Afterwards we went to see a very old church and cathedral. Took a bunch of pictures. Caleb said that it was built 1200 AD.

Then we went to Hillerod and saw the Frederiksborg Castle. We didn't go in very far, mainly just took pictures outside.

We drove back to Copenhagen and tried to find the mermaid so we could find a WWII museum that a couple on the cruise told us about. While looking for it we came across a old Anglican church. It was very elaborate and gaudy, and in a gothic way, beautiful.

Found the museum and there ended up not being any admission fee. That was cool because we worried about not having time to really go thru it, and if we had to pay, not being able to get our money's worth.

We had arranged to meet Dimitri and Liliya at 5pm in Sweden.

But first, Caleb want to go back to Hotel Denmark, the first Denmark hotel that we stayed at and see if they could store our luggage for us because we are going to bring Dimitri and them and all their luggage to the airport from Sweden and worried that we wouldn't be able to fit it all. We had a hard time getting there because of the road construction. It took a very long tie getting there. We finally got there just to have them us that they couldn't store it because we weren't guests there. (We probably should've figured that one out.)

 After that we just decided to head over. The hotel stop made us run late already and we still had to get across the bridge and figure out where their hotel was.
First we went under water...

Then waaay up over so boats could get under...

We got into Sweden with no problem, just a $60 toll. We found the city, no problem there.

However, we had a bit of a hard time finding the hotel.

There are not near as many people in Sweden that speak English, like in Denmark. We couldn't find anywhere that had free wifi.

Finally, Caleb found someone, who knew someone, that had a general idea of where it might be. Very helpful. But we started heading that way and eventually got us there.

We parked about 4 blocks away and walked in because the people that Caleb talked to weren't sure if we gonna be able to park near it.

We got there and found that they were still out. We were glad because we hoped that they hadn't been sitting there waiting for us to get there. They got there about 15-20 minutes after we did. Their Swedish friends left shortly after. We decided that we would eat dinner there in the room. They told us about this cool building that Caleb wanted to see, so we went and saw it while Dimitri went and got food from the grocery store.

We got back and they went to the sauna there at the hotel while Caleb did some laundry and I did stuff online.

Then I cooked us dinner and we ate before they got back (they asked us to).

After they got back, we ate and visited while Liliya worked on packing.

Before we knew it, it was late. Earlier Caleb had reserved a room for us in Sweden. But it was a bed and breakfast. We realized that we probably should've checked in earlier.

We decided to go and try to find it anyway. It was suppossed to be about 20 minutes south of where our friends were staying. Ummm...not the case. About 40 minutes later, we were in the middle of nowhere

in the middle of the night.

We ended up finding a bed and breakfast, but we still don't know if it was the right one because Caleb rang the bell but, understandably, no one came.

We decided that we would get more sleep if we just went back to Malmo and parked and slept, since we had to get up in two hours to go anyway.

On a ferry.

To some people this may be nothing unusual. But you see, this is my first time.

We are on the train from Copenhagen, Denmark to Hamburg, Germany. To get from Denmark to Germany we have to take a ferry. It was really cool. The whole train went in the ferry. All the passengers had to get off. It was like a 45 minute mini-cruise. We ate at a little German restaurant on-board. They had a shop on-board as well, that had things cheaper than on land, so I bought a bottle of Coke (they didn't have water :/) and a BIG bar of chocolate! :)

Sorry there aren't very many pictures. (I know pictures always make more interesting blogs.) The train windows are very dirty. We have seen many beautiful country-sides and are frustrated that we couldn't take pictures worth anything.

Me sitting in the lounge typing this blog on Caleb's phone...

_As a side note: Right after the train pulled out of the ferry, it stopped at the little port town. This guy got on and tried to go into first class (he obviously couldn't go in there) and the conductor argued with him about it. Finally he stomped into the car we are in, carrying a coffee cup. He was unsteady on his feet and looked hung up on something or another. The train pulled out and the conductors came through to check tickets and he didn't have one. The conductor, in a very nice and business like way informed him that he would have to get off at the next stop. He put up such a stink that she got his passport from him and wrote something in it. Then she wrote him a big, fat ticket. All the time, he was standing there insisting he had money and trying to grab his passport back. Terribly funny, except that it was a little scary as well. Now he is asleep. Hopefully he'll be able to sleep off whatever has messed his head up.

(A little ways up the road, the police come in and pulled him off the train. Here is a terrible picture, taken at night through the train window, of him standing outside the train still arguing with them.)

(Crazy how the side note was longer and more interesting than the original part.)

Thoughts on Demark

As we leave Denmark, I reflect on our adventures while there...

We made tons of memories, we burned many calories (ever notice how few Danes are over-weight?), got lost a few times, saw ancient castles, took tons of pictures, learned the pros and cons of driving in a mainly pedestrian/cyclist geared city...I could go on and on, but I will spare y'all.

The people...

For the most part are very friendly and overly understanding with dumb tourists. They are very fit and healthy with the exception of their heavy smoking habits which is highly unfortunate given how they go out of their way to be healthy in every other regard.
They are fairly laid back, open and accepting. They are known for their tolerance. In some ways that has been very beneficial to them. Other ways, not so much. (You would know what I mean if you took a walk in their parks at mid-day.)
The main thing I learned in school about them was how they helped the Jews during WWII. I love how they pulled together from all walks of life to help their neighbors. (But that, dear friends, is another long story I will save for later.)

 

I think the average native Dane woman is taller than the average US woman. Blond hair and blue eyes are as common as Mexicans in south TX.
In the states, we are so used to it being a melting pot, that it does feel a little strange to go somewhere, where the norm is what lots of American women idolize and wish was them. (Of course there are other nationalities, too.)

There were a surprisingly high number of Muslims in Copenhagen. They were everywhere. One thing I noticed that was sad-lots of them had these really conservative big black, waist-length, burkas on over skin-tight jeans. If the Muslim leaders see the west as what is teaching their young people stuff like that, I can see why they are sorely disappointed. Don't get me wrong, it's certainly nothing to kill, or even be unfriendly over, but I can see their disappointment in western "Christians".

The food is...

Well...I don't know quite honestly. Its expensive-i do know that much. They also have McDonalds and Burger King. All of the locals go there because they are the cheapest places to eat.

I'm not sure, but I think that Scandinavia is one of the most expensive places to live. But regardless whether or not that is the case, Denmark definitely is. Everyone you talk to says it is. Especially Copenhagen. Anything just about that you can think of that you would never by in the States due to the cost is probably cheaper than most things in that category in Copenhagen. For example, a 20 oz. Coke costs about 50 Danish crowns in Copenhagen. That equals approximately $10-12.00. A bottle of water on the street costs 30 Danish crowns-approx. $6-7.00.

Traveling...

It's probably great if you can read all the signs and maps. *sigh*
Thankfully, a very high percentage of Danes speak English.
Their road systems are excellent, very similar to US roads. They are also similar in the fact that 1/3 of them are under construction. Therefore, detours are a way of life.
Denmark aims to be the first totally green country (I'm not quite sure how they can accomplish that with all those smokers.) and gives bicyclers many advantages. They can ride the trains with their bikes, all the stairways have bike ramps and if they have a green light you must yield to them-meaning if you're turning, you have to wait for them.

Don't say I didn't warn you...that was definitely random thoughts :)
More on Denmark to come later.

My First Blog

So...this is my first blog, exactly one month from our wedding day. And, yes, we still are on our honeymoon!

What do I want this blog to do? What do I want it to do for me/us?

Mostly it will probably be random thoughts about where we are, where we've been, what we're doing, what we're gonna do, etc. And, maybe some excerpts from the hand-written journal that I've been keeping. Yes Mom, you read right. I've been keeping a journal. Quite an extensive one, if I do say so myself, at least 2 single-spaced pages a day.

Ummm...where to start? Maybe a little background would be good.

Everyone wants to know how we met. Truth be told, I don't remember. You see, I've known his family my whole life. I grew up being a pen-pal with his younger sister, Rebekah, who is my age.

My mom met his parents when she was 17. Our moms have been friends for forever. I know what some of y'all might be thinking now. "This sounds like the makings of an arranged marriage." That is SOOO not the case.

I grew up knowing of Caleb. He claims he didn't know I existed until the summer of 2008. And that, my friends, is when our story starts.

My family went up to Colorado to camp and visit his family. One night, after having some worship time together as families, we sat at the piano as everyone else drifted out of the room. During that visit we found that we had some very big interests in our lives that we shared. Namely, God and music. He had recently been baptized and I was getting ready to be baptized, so we were able to share our experiences. Up to that point, and even for a while afterwards, he was just my friend's older brother. But later that night, laying in bed, I thought, "Why in the world did I tell him all that stuff? I'm never that comfortable talking to guys my age. Why in the world was I with him?" Then the thought popped in my head, "Maybe because you're gonna marry him." I seriously laughed out loud. Marry him? You can't be serious, I mean he's a great guy and all, but he's Rebekah's older brother. Whatever. Then promptly rolled over, went to sleep and pretty much forgot about it. 

Apparently, he had a little harder of a time forgetting it...

Our families had little contact over the next year. Eventually I completely forgot about it.

Then a little over a year later, I started noticing that there were very few guys around, all of whom were great friends with no hope or desire for anything more (from either side). I decided that I was too young to get married and that I wanted to do a year of mission work before I got married and that I wasn't even gonna think about marriage until I was 23, because I had spent too much time thinking about marriage during my teenage years. I wanted to get my priorities right.

That worked for about 3 months. I started looking to mission work, got my mind totally off of guys, and then at the oddest moments I started to get flash-backs to that evening at his folks piano and would wonder...hmmm.

Then in January of 2010, my family went to visit his. I thought, "Ok. Now will be my chance to see if my memories have just grown on me and there's nothing there. The first evening there, I'll know. If for some crazy reason there's something to it, I'll tell Dad that night."

Well...we got there and I knew it hadn't grown on me, it was for real so that night I went to Dad. "Ummm...Dad, this is what I keep thinking. I don't know if its for real or not, but it keeps bugging me so I thought you should know." Lol! I was sooo nervous.

Apparently Caleb knew it was real, too. In March, he came down to Texas with his parents, and while he was there, he asked my dad for my hand in marriage. We also wrote a song together during that visit and that was when it was clear to me that we were to marry. I just felt God say that we could serve Him better together than alone and all of my questions and uncertainties about mission work and all of that just disappeared.

After that there were a lot of phone calls, emails and texts as we got to know each other.

In August, my family went to California to help celebrate my great-grandfather's 90th birthday.

On the way back, we took a more northerly route through Gallup, NM. Unbeknown to us kids, Mom and Dad had arranged to meet his family there. We stopped at this little park, and Dad was like, "Just thought that y'all might want to stretch your legs."

I got out and was redoing my hair because it was a mess from traveling all day and was walking around. I looked up and saw Mom and Dad a ways down the park and started heading in that direction. Right then, one of my little sisters came up and said, "You can not go down there. Mom and Dad said for us kids not to go there!" That got my curiosity up. I looked closer and all of the sudden, I recognized his family's van and saw his dad walking around the back.

Oh my word! I freaked out. I totally knew what was up. I raced to the middle of the play area, it was only area that was remotely screened because in NM everything is flat and you can see for miles.

I sat down, my heart racing 90 miles an hour. "Breathe deep. Take deep breaths." I told myself over and over. 

Ez ran up. "You need to come quick, they're waiting for you."

"I'm coming." I said.

I got up and started walking to the car. "Hurry. Hurry." She insisted.

"I'll get there when I get there. I'm NOT gonna go running up."

We walked up and everyone was standing there watching us. We all said hi and chit-chatted. After a few minutes, Caleb asked if we could go for a walk.

And as they say...The rest is history!

So. To make a long story longer, that is how we started. Hope I didn't ramble on too much :)

Well folks, I would love to write more, put more pictures up, whatever. But is getting late, and I have a husband waiting for me! 

More coming later...