547 days and counting...

A year and a half ago I married my best friend. It has been an adventure for sure. He never fails to make me laugh, cheer me up and show me love. Of course, sometimes there isn't anyone who can make me more angry. But these times are few. I love his patience. I love his wisdom. I love his guidence. I love the ridiculous faces that he makes for me, that I know no one else gets to see. My husband, Caleb, is a goofball--and I love him to death.

Our story is common, I'm sure. We met at school. We were friends for a while, until we both suddenly realized how much we enjoyed each other's company. Before the semester's end (before I went back home to AZ), we pulled three all-nighters in a row, just so we could see each other more. We stayed up talking, laughing, listening to music. At one point we made homemade ice cream...it turned out terrible (note: if you don't have milk--dont substitute with rice milk. If you don't have sugar--don't substitute with splenda. If you don't have vanilla--don't use rum extract. But if you must, have a roommate willing to eat it all).



During the summer, I travelled a lot. AZ to Germany to Austria to Belgium to AZ to San Diego to AZ to the mountains up north. We talked a lot on the phone. We emailed even more. Caleb decided that he was going to hop on a Greyhound to see me at the end of summer and we'd travel back to school together when the semester started. I was so nervous--I liked him...I knew he liked me...but neither of us had said it. It still wasn't said until the day after we returned to Missouri for school. That's when we decided to date.

The day after we decided to date....I broke up with him. Yes, I was ridiculous. I had always been overly cautious of my heart. After my last break up especially. I was so afraid to take a chance, that instead I was opting for running away from the most amazing person God was putting in front of me. Thankfully, after a phone call from my momma, and her calling me out on my fear, I decided to call Caleb to meet me. I ran out of my dorm when he came. I fell into his arms crying and told him I didn't want to run away from him. He wrapped his arms around me and I knew I had done the best thing I could have.

Fast forward two eventful years of ups and downs and more ups, with learning and growing and loving--we were married. I knew I was going to marry him after two months of dating. Marriage so far has been a beautiful challenge. We challenge each other in our weaknesses and encourage each other in our strengths. We help each other grow closer to God. It's our hope to resemble God's love for us and our love for him (Eph. 5:21-33). I'm excited to see what the rest of our lives bring for us.



Photos by Rachel
at The Farm at South Mountain

Book vs. Movie

I will be honest with you. I usually see the movie before the book. This is mostly due to accessibility. It's easy to see a two hour movie, while a book can take a few days to a week. I have yet to read the Harry Potter books, but look forward to them, as I hear they are better than the movies (which I love).

It seems that this is often the case--the books are typically better than their film adaptations. I have yet to see a film that lives up to the novel Jane Eyre. All adaptations seem ridiculous and inaccurate to me. I was unsatisfied with Shopgirl, which is strange considering the author produced, directed and starred in it. It was a fabulous novella, and a forgettable film. Some movies are just as good as their books. I love Sense & Sensibility (with Emma Thompson), Pride & Prejudice (with Keira Knightley),  White Oleander, Anne of Green Gables, Bleak House (recent BBC version). These are books I grew up reading (minus White Oleander and Bleak House, these are recent reads), and their film adaptations were spot on.

Sense & Sensibility

Anne Shirley



This brings me to a novel I am now reading after already seeing the movie. I saw the BBC movie of North & South last year and fell in love with it. I've watched it so many times that when I put it in for another view, my husband groans, "You're watching that again???". Well, I finally checked out the book by Elizabeth Gaskell from the library and as I've been reading it, I'm realizing how much more amazing it is as a book. It's fantastic. I get to see the characters much more clearly and as intended. And even though I love the movie, I love it even more knowing what the characters are thinking in each scene--something not always portrayed.



Well, I decided to pop in North & South while stitching up a hole in a shirt. As I was watching it, I came across a scene the screenwriters added to try and give more insight to one of the main characters. They aspects they were trying to get across are originally written as thoughts--something hard to put on camera. The thing is, it changes certain aspects of this characters personality. They've left out main elements that progress the relationship in the story. It made me sad (so I jumped on here to blog about it).



Anyway, moral of the story is, I will probably still occasionally see the movie before the book. I will also occasionally be let down by film adaptations of books I love. I would encourage you to do both and read the book along with seeing the movie. You may be blown away by how great one of them is. Also, if you happen to have similar tastes to anything that I have mentioned above, I strongly recommend reading North & South by Gaskell.



Remembering how truly good God is and how much He stinking loves us; focusing on the reality of that....really is the cure-all of any selfish woe.