Popping the Question- from two points of view

Almost exactly 6 months ago, Ethan and I got engaged. This is now basically old news, but we have never written about it and it has completely inhibited me from being able to write another blog until this story is out! We both wanted to write this story from our perspectives and the time never came around to do that so now in order to be able to blog again, we are publishing this 

The Chatty Lady- Elaine
   On June 11, 2011, I had returned home from being gone for a week and a half at Camp. I was cabin leading and working with no phone access or internet access and no Ethan access, so I had a TON to tell him.  Ethan texted me and said that he wanted to go to dinner, I assumed this would happen since I had been gone for a week. Of course I accepted his offer and he said he'd be at my house around 6 and I should wear one of the new dresses I'd recently bought. "Well," I thought, "What a great idea! I've been sweaty and looking nasty for a whole week why not get dressed up for the night? " My parents kept asking me where we were going and I said probably El Nopal, knowing us, but I didn't care because I was just excited to look presentable.
   When Ethan picked me up, I hopped up into the front seat and started rambling. I told him, "I'm going to be talking your ear off, so if there's anything you want to say, you just need to jump right in here any time." He kind of laughed and rolled his eyes and said, "Ok, go." So I started  with, "Sunday night, me, me, me, camp, my campers, me, it was hot, camp, bible study, me...etc." At about Amazing Glaze, Ethan jumped in and said "OH! I forgot to tell you, I got PhotoShop, it came in while you were gone!" Well this is awfully exciting for a gentleman who has a fancy camera and enjoys taking pictures of his girlfriend who likes to have her pictures taken, so I said, "AWESOME!!" and he said, "So do you mind if we go to The Mount and take pictures before we eat?" I said, "No problem! Sounds great!" (For those of you who do not know, "The Mount" is Mt. St. Francis, a retreat center, church, and nature reserve, lake place that we hike at all the time. Ethan takes pictures there all the time. And we had just taken pictures a few weeks before, so it was no surprise that he wanted to go again)
      So we pull in to The Mount, and get out of the car. Guess what? I'm still talking, " me, me, me, camp, me, campers, me, Jesus, communion, me..." He is still nodding when appropriate and commenting when it's required as we walk together holding hands down towards the lake. We  get down to the not-sketchy dock (because there is a difference between the sketchy and not sketchy, trust me) We sit down for a few minutes with the sun in our eyes and Ethan tells me that he wants me to stand at the end of  the dock facing the sun and the water but not to face him. My exact words, "THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT I WAS THINKING WE SHOULD DO!!!! GOOD IDEA" So I skip to the end of the dock and stand there....still talking, "there's someone jogging, it's hot, how should I stand," all while he is saying, "ok...hold still...one more second...ok now turn and face me."
     So I turn to face him, expecting him to take another picture of me and there he is, on one knee in front of me holding out a ring in a white box. He looked at me, turned his head to the side and said, "Will you marry me?" And that right there shut me up, speechless, breathless, balance-less, alll of it. That's where it goes blurry and I think I said, "is this real?" I might have said, "you're kidding" but I know he had to say, "Is that a yes?" to which I replied, "of course" and kissed him. And then I had to sit down because I was literally shaking... I could go on and on about what happened next with every one we called and how we probably didn't talk again until around 11 o'clock because when we weren't on the phone, I couldn't say much other than how I had no idea and then would get distracted by my left ring finger. I am beyond excited to be marrying my best friend and love of my life and to be soo incredibly blessed to have had all of these years to get to know each other and finally come to an age and time in our life where the next step is forever.

The Person Popping the Question - Ethan
I love how Elaine started writing her perspective on the day we got engaged, my perspective begins two days prior to the engagement when I had to talk to her dad. I've always been told that the respectful thing to do was to talk to the parents but I didn't realize it would be that nerve wracking!!!

It was June 9, 2011 when I recieved the call the the ring was ready for pick-up. I grabbed my phone, keys, and wallet and headed to Endris Jewelers. I remember walking in seeing the ring and then writing the check. I can honestly say it was one the proudest moments of my life. The lady at the counter looked at me and in a really excited voice said, "good luck sweetie". I thanked the lady, walked out of the store and literally ran back to my car because I was scared someone would mug me due to the ring that was in my hand. Once I made it to my car I locked the door and called my mom and my friend Ashley as I drove home. On the drive home it hit me.....in order to give such a beautiful ring to my future wife I had to still talk to her parents...I felt like I could throw up at that point.

Once I arrived at my house I had to call Elaines mom and dad and set up a time to go talk to them in person. I talked to Elaine's mom and she said, "5:45 would be a good time to come over, Alan will be home and it will be right before we go to church". So I took a shower and tried to look decent and watched the clock for an hour, pacing back and forth, laying on the couch, playing piano, and getting on facebook. Finally 5:30 rolled around my phone vibrated with at text message from Mary that said, "Alan is running late so maybe 6 would be a better time to come over". More pacing, watching the clock, facebooking and playing piano took place for another 15 minutes. Finally it was time to head to their house. I really didn't have time to calm my nerves on the drive over due to the fact that we only live 5 minutes away from eachother. I pulled in the driveway, got out of my car and bent down to tie my shoe, it was at that point that I came really really really close to passing out. I stood up got my bearing, walked in, sat down and thats when the magic happened. Everything after they said yes was a blur. I remember walking out of their house feeling like the world had been lifted off of my shoulders.

The initial proposal plan was to pop the question on the beach in Florida two weeks later.. obviously that didn't happen. After talking to my parents I decided that I wanted to propose close to home so she could be close to her family and show everyone her ring...I know how my future wife is.

June 11th was the day I set in my head to pop the question to my preschool, elemetary school, middle school, and high school sweet heart. Elaine had been at camp for a week  so I knew that she would have a lot to tell me about her week. I texted her once I got off work as she was headed home from camp and told her that I would pick her up around 5:30 to go to dinner. On our way to Clarksville I told her that I had bought the new version of photoshop and would like to swing by the mount to take some picture before dinner. She agreed and off we went down the trail to the dock. After I squeezed my idea about going to the mount Elaine continued talking about her week at camp.

Once we got to the dock I told Elaine to walk out to the end of the dock and turn away from me, facing the sun. After she turned around I snapped a few pictures, with the ring in my hand the whoe time, and told her to turn back around. She turned around and looked at me as I said "Elaine will you marry me". At that point I thought for sure she was going to fall in the lake. She kept asking me "is this real", "your kidding". Once I got an answer I kissed her and we sat down and talked for a long long time. We spend that night talking to people on the phone and thanking people for the congrats on facebook.

I thank God every day for putting Elaine and her family into my life. It is very rare to marry someone that you've known since preschool. I look forward to spending the rest of my life with Elaine Elliott.

The man who finds a wife finds a treasure and gains favor with the Lord. Proverbs 18:22

Why I can't get over camp

paddle boats at Special Person's

      There are a thousand reasons why I choose to spend at least one week of my summer at camp. Mostly because it’s one of my favorite places on earth and I may have a secret plan of making it everyone else’s favorite place too…including Ethan, but that’s another story.

Ethan & me and many others in a dunk tank

 Camp does this for me. It is this place where I feel so at peace when I know I don’t deserve peace. It’s a place where people lift me up for the work that I’m doing that I don’t do for recognition.  It’s the place where I am trusted when I know I have failed people before and I am still trusted. It’s the place where I can be funny and don’t exhaust it by trying too hard. It’s the place where I can listen and not have to contribute. It’s the place where I can look at the moon and say, “well hey God, how on earth after all that you’ve shown me day in and day out, with that moon and these kids, and prayer after prayer that you’ve answered with grace do I continue to choose things that don’t glorify you?” and I don’t feel that God is angry with me. It’s the place where I know my faith is a choice and not an obligation. I feel the tug of the truth that God’s there waiting, but you don’t HAVE to say anything to him until you CHOOSE to, even in a place as Christ-centered as camp. It’s the place where I can be in complete disagreement with someone’s opinion and know that we have something in common that reminds me I’m still capable of loving them. It’s the place that when I leave I can feel the return to something darker and it hurts every time. It’s the place that shows me God.

             Jesus grants me this peace that is so undeserved because He knows that we are human. He knows that we will fail and we can never do a single thing on our own to avoid that failure. So to cover up that flaw that we have marked on us, He said, “Don’t worry, I love you. I’ve got this” and He took all of that stuff that gets me down, every mistake I’ve made, every worry I hold on to and said,  “you don’t have to be afraid in the chaos, you have been given peace.”  And that is made real to me here. No good deed will get any one into heaven, but in order to show that your faith is true, you should do good works because that’s what people notice, not necessarily what’s in your heart. God sees what you do AND what’s in your heart and wants you to be encouraged by how happy that makes him. And I feel that here. I know every lie I’ve told, I know every rule I’ve broken and every person I’ve cheated, so does God, He still puts people in my life to love me and to need me. I receive so many of those people here.   

            God gave me a sense of humor, I am sometimes quick witted and other times I only wish I were quick witted. Here He gives me opportunities to use it to lighten other people’s loads. I was blessed or cursed (not sure yet) with an ability to talk and an equally strong yet less utilized blessing of listening and here I can exercise that gift. God wants me to recognize the areas in my life that aren’t where they should be, I am convicted but not condemned, because He wants my life to be the best that it can be, which is a life that points wholly to Him and He wants to give me GOOD things to prosper me, not to harm me. This conviction without resentment is here. God needs me to know how much he desires a relationship with me that is close, but a relationship is a choice and I am not a puppet. I feel the times to make that choice when I am here. Walking in the light is walking with Jesus and knowing the better choices to make, the darkness is life away from Christ when you start to slip off that path which is only going to lead to hurt.  The difference between light and dark is much more evident here.

            The trick is, God is every where. I know that, I’ve always known that. However every time I think about the spiritual depression that follows a summer surrounded by believers, I think NOOO I can’t leave here because God isn’t out there. He most definitely is out there, but here is where I agree to listen. If I continued to notice the peace, the encouragement, the people, the comedic relief, the opportunities to shut up, the places that need some light shone on them, the choice to choose Him, and the continual narrow path of light, I wonder if that spiritual depression would take me so low.  My guess is probably not.

         I know this has nothing to do with Ethan and I, as a couple. However, after the weekend we had with his youth group (Friday-Sunday with middle schoolers along with Ashley and Phil) I have been reminded of how it is possible to meet God elsewhere. I’ve known this fact and felt it for years, it’s nothing new, but a reminder is always refreshing. Taking the middle school kids from Navilleton was great. It was good for them to hear us, as college and a couple high school kids, talk about a relationship with God and show that it’s possible. But it was even better for us as a couple and a group of friends to be leading together and joining together for a purpose that was not of selfish desires. We were wanting the kids to have a place where they felt comfortable and supported and open to understanding what God wants for their lives. It was good for us to see each other in a different light because we sometimes take for granted that, the same as those kids have each other and they have us, we have each other to rely on when things get gray where they used to be black and white.  It’s just been an uplifting couple of weeks. Yay God! 

I don't have a verse or quote to wrap this up, but last night I was introduced to this song and it says it all. Forever Reign by Hillsong. If you don't have time to watch this video, look up the lyrics- it's worth it.

Special Persons Camp

John 9:2-7

And his disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” Jesus answered, “It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him. We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming, when no one can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” Having said these things, he spat on the ground and made mud with the saliva. Then he anointed the man's eyes with the mud ...

This past week I was given the opportunity to counsel a camp for adults with mental and physically disabilities. I cannot say enough about the week at ICBC because of how amazing the experience was. 

My cousin Phillip and I were in charge of 8 male campers with various mental diagnosis. As counselors we were responsible for taking our campers to meals, reminding them to bathe, helping them with activities and spending the night in a cabin with them. I will admit to you that leading up this week I was very nervous because I didn't know the severity of my campers disabilities or the behavior trends of each camper. When the campers arrived on Sunday Phillip and I helped them get settled into their cabins and spent a little time getting to know each one of them personally. During the getting to know you time I instantly learned that these 8 men had so many abilities and not disabilities. 

Each day the campers participated in various activities, crafts and free time. The free time was one of my favorite parts of the day because it was the time that I got to spend with my campers individually. Somedays I spend free time sitting on a swing and talking to a camper while other times I played basketball or tether ball with a camper. 

I can honestly say that this past week has changed my life and I cannot wait for next year. The love that a person with a disability has for another everyone they meet cannot be explained. I could sit down and talk with a camper for five minutes and walk away with them telling me they loved me. The amounts of hugs from every camper was overwhelming. Every morning, while waiting for breakfast, I was greeted with so many positive attitudes and good mornings. These campers woke up every morning instantly in a good mood and ready for the day that awaited them. 

My week at ICBC was unbelievable and life changing. I left ICBC today with aprox. 35 new best friends. The next time you see a person with a disability try to look at that person and see the beautiful abilities that they have and not the disabilities that they may have. 

The Journey Home

First it was a joke and then it was made real... It all began with Elaine and I riding in the car one day talking about how we needed to get some sort of pet that we could both take care of and call our own. So what did we do we bought CHICKENS. I can remember going to the Orshleins and standing with Elaine trying to logically pick out our two little girls according to how many eggs they would lay and avoiding a rooster. Once the decision was made I was elected to reach in and grab our two girls for the first time, I can honestly say I was scared to death! I had never touched a chicken, let alone picked one up. Elaine held the cage open while I timidly reached in for the grab, right off the bat one of the little boogers decided to fly out and run on top of all the other cages. I went from being the Ethan that didn't want to pick up the chicken to the Ethan that had to pick up the chicken because it was running loose in the store, all I could think was "Is this thing going to bite and what happens if it falls on the ground!!!". Once I caught the bird there was no putting it back in the cage, it was mine after it's little fly around regardless of the number of eggs it laid. I placed the chicken in a box that Elaine was holding and I went back for girl number two. This time around there was no chance of the bird getting out, I closed my eyes and reached in and went for the grab. After safely getting both girls in the box we proceeded to the register to pay where I was informed by the cashier that I should work at Tyson, you never know who is watching when you get yourself into a predicament. We walked out of the feed store that day with Nancy and Petunia.

 

             NANCY                                                         PETUNIA

The ride home from the feed store was quite interesting, every time the girls moved in the box Elaine screamed and I nearly went off the road. Once we arrived home we had to find a place for our girls to stay while we built the coop. We built a box inside of an old rabbit cage and placed a light inside to keep them warm. After a couple of days I realized that there was no need to build a coop for just two chickens so I grabbed my friend Ashley and we went back to the feed store one last time. This trip to the feed store wasn't as eventful as the first trip. Ashley and I walked out that day with Dottie and Bertha.  

 

                     DOTTIE                                       BERTHA

Our family of six was now complete and Elaine and I couldn't wait to tell everyone. After the excitement of having four chickens died down we knew we had to get to work on a chicken coop. I found the plans on the internet and bought the supplies for my dad to help me build our girls new home. Dad and I did all of the construction and then I called on Ashley to help me paint and build the outside pen for the girls to run in. After a long day of building pen and putting up wire I was ready to release our girls into their forever home. They did perfect!!!

CHICKEN COOP

In a previous post Elaine wrote about the bullying problem we had with the girls so I won't write on that issue. Just for your information that issue never seemed to get resolved. Petunia seemed to be the bully and Dottie seemed to be the victim. After a year of having good girls to 3 months of having bad girls I, the dad, and to step in resolve the conflict. I couldn't let one of my girls get hurt so I built a small cage for Petunia outside of the main coop. During the day Petunia would run free in the yard and at night we would lock her up in her cage. Petunia and Ernie became very close friends and we would often time find Petunia sitting in Ernie's cage with him in it. Ernie loved getting her all worked up by chasing her around the yard and sticking his nose up her rear end. Never once did he try to hut her. 

Life outside the coop didn't last long for Petunia, she began sitting on the patio furniture and going to the bathroom on the porch. We built an outside pen for her right next to the other girls. After a couple of weeks living alone we decided to add her back into the big flock in hopes that the bullying issue was resolved. After one of being back poor Dottie was all beat up and drastic measures had to be taken. I called a good friend, Martha, told her the situation and asked if she would add her to her flock. Martha and I bought antibiotics and set a dog cage outside her big cage so Dottie could learn the pecking order of her new family. All Martha and I was worried about was getting her healed and failed to wrap the dog cage in chicken wire. I called Martha the next morning to see how Dottie was doing and Martha relayed the devastating news that over night a raccoon reached and grabbed Dottie and killed her. RIP Dottie Schmidt.

Life had to go on after the passing of Dottie. Petunia no longer had Dottie to pick which made the coop way less stressful. All the girls seemed to be getting along and everyone seemed to be happy. (If you don't have a tissue now would be the time to get one.)

The annual family vacation to Daytona Beach rolled around and I had to get everything ready for the girls so my cousin Tyler could take care of them while we were gone. With everything in check we rolled out of the driveway on Sunday morning not planning on coming back until Friday. Everyday Tyler would call my dad and update him about the home front and the animal. One day while I was sitting in the condo watching TV my dad's phone rang, dad answered the phone talked for a while and then hung up. Dad returned to the living room looked at me and said something got in the cage last night and Petunia was the victim, her chest was ripped open and feathers were everywhere. Tyler removed Petunia from the final two girls and place a concrete block on the egg lid in hopes that it would keep the animals out. I knew once an animal knew how to get in it would come back. The next day dad received the same phone call, this time Bertha was the victim, chest ripped open and feathers everywhere. I knew something had to be done to save Nancy for being the next to go. I called Martha, told her my situation, and asked her to go save Nancy. After work that night Martha drove over to my house and saved Nancy from the animal that would come that night and take her life. 

Our girls will be greatly missed and the year and half we had with them was wonderful. Nancy is doing great with her big family of 36, with frequent visits form Elaine and I. Elaine and I are very proud parents of our girls and it was very unfortunate that they had to be taken out of this world at such and early age. 

In Loving Memory of 

Dottie, Bertha, & Petunia

Your will be greatly missed.

Summer........?

Elaine and I was talking about a month ago about how we didn't know what we were going to do this summer and how we needed to find jobs and make some money. I began looking for another job at the hospital and Elaine decided to babysit two days a week and work at camp three days a week. As many of you know neither of us can just sit around and do nothing, if we don't have a full plate then we don't want a plate at all. So the agenda began and with each passing day it began getting longer and longer.

I have a severe problem that often times cause the plate to overflow, I don't know how to say NO. I enjoy helping other people, in the church, and the community and I sometimes tend to over commit which causes my stress level to escalate off of the scale. 

Now I'm going through the interview process to get a job in the ER at Floyd Memorial, Co-directing a summer camp at the community club, Co-directing a middle school youth camping trip, getting music together for Faith in Action, trying to help with our church VBS, leading counseling Special Persons Camp , and trying to get things together for vacation. 

I often times tell people that being in a long distance relationship is very difficult but it is even more difficult when the two of us have so much to do that we can't keep each other grounded. Elaine is my realistic side, the side that keeps me for doing crazy things without thinking and the side that keeps me from over committing too much. There are some nights that we spend hours on the phone talking about all of the stuff we have to do and planning how were going to get it all done. Most of the time the conversation ends with one of us about ready to cry for the other person. 

While long distance is difficult through the summer I am very proud of what Elaine is doing. Each week she goes off to Indian Creek Camp and shares her faith to so many youth. Listening to her talk about the experiences and the witnesses that she gives and listens to makes me the feel like the proudest boyfriend in the entire world. GOD is the center of both of our lives and when were both happiest when were ministering to others and doing Gods will. 

So this week Elaine is at camp for not just three days but for 12!!!! days. Thank God we can stay connected by phone until Sunday but on Sunday she begins counseling and the phone goes off and in her bag. I don't even want to thank about that right now. All I can say is I am very grateful to have awesome friends that are willing to dive in and help where ever it is needed.

Personally when I get really busy, even doing things for the church, I often find that I put God on the back burner and don't take time to stop and thank him for the work he is doing in my life. GOD IS GOOD, ALL THE TIME!!!

1 John 4:9-12By this the love of God was manifested in us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has beheld God at any time; if we love one another, God abides in us, and His love is perfected in us. 

Chickens, China babies and gettin through the cold months!

    For the sake of keeping up with this (and the possibility that we'll have something more exciting to write about once Spring Break comes along) I'm updating. It has been a fast and busy January and February, just like we suspected there hasn't exactly been a lot of time for a good Ethan and Elaine adventure. But we have managed a few things of the normal things that occupy our time together that aren't exactly adventures and rather than really be specific on one instance, I'll be broad on a few.
    First of all, we have chickens. Neither of us have written about them yet and most people already know about them, but we've had them for almost a year. Their names are Nancy, Petunia, Dottie, and Bertha. We raised them from chicks and have watched them turn into fine young ladies. They lay eggs almost daily and live in a very nice abode at the Schmidt residence (Ethan has been meaning to write and has some AWESOME pictures but they'll hopefully come later). In these cold months, Grandma Kim (Ethan's mom who previously might have denied a relationship with our girls) installed a red heat lamp so that water, eggs, and chickens did not freeze in the frigid winter nights. She was informed not to buy a white lamp because white light would cause the chickens to turn savage, hostile, or cannibalistic. So although the chickens looked like they were scheming evil plans with red light streaming through the cracks and windows of the coop, we were happy they would remain civil and continue to produce the eggs we love. Much to our surprise, cannibalism was unavoidable.
Some time ago, our oldest/most dominant Petunia, went on a rampage and wounded the other three girls to a state which they had never been in before. That's a little dramatic, but they may be some of the more pampered chickens in the town of Greenville and very little has ever harmed them. I can't quite describe the emotional state of Ethan when he first discovered our chickens with missing feathers, bloody bottoms, and a lone chicken without a scratch, but it was not pretty. Petunia was immediately stuck outside with Ernie (a large Retriever/Lab mix) and left completely vulnerable to the elements, while we surveyed the damage. We couldn't do much because once a chicken tastes blood they never go back. So it was either keep a crazy chicken and lose 3 good ones, or chuck the crazy and keep the good girls. Now take this from a parental perspective: if one child is bad and lashes out on the other children, do you just throw it out and keep the ones that didn't get in trouble? No of course not, because at any given time that child is once again a joy in life and one of the others may be the one hitting. So regardless of chicken logic, we settled for solitary confinement as her punishment and stood in the dark and the cold snowy damp while Ethan lovingly set up the dog cage next to the coop for our demon daughter. In the weeks that followed we hoped to see a reversal in her behavior (no one believes in you quite like your parents) but she has continued to let us down. We have been forced to sentence her to life as a free-range chicken. She lives as she pleases and must seek shelter in a cage when she sees fit. It is difficult watching our children make such unfortunate mistakes, but sadly, such an important part of the growing up process.

The sponsorship table

   In addition to our chicken parenting lives we do lead lives of somewhat normal college kids, in attending concerts, needing money, and waiting for the future. In fact, this all was exhibited on one night a few weeks ago. Ethan and I went to the Winter Jam 2011 concert at Freedom Hall at which we saw several Christian artists like Francesca Battestelli, David Crowder Band, and Newsong. Just like many Christian concerts there was an organization that sponsors children all over the world and asks only for people to donate 30 dollars a month. A horseshoe shaped table was on the main floor covered with photos of children needing sponsors and a slide show was shown between artists with faces and statistics that could tear your heart out. Ethan tried to keep from watching the slideshow because he knew he wanted to give all he had for those kids. In hearing 30 dollars a month we considered, "That's only a day's wages at either of our jobs....but the thought of missing a payment and being unavailable to a child that I promised to help is almost more hurtful than waiting to sponsor." We definitely felt the tug on our hearts and the sting of our wallets and had to hold on to the thought that one day, be it a China baby, Guatemalan sweetheart, or African princess, we'll hold those kiddos and love on them somehow.    
   The day after the concert, Ethan, our friend Phillip, and I sang at a 'memory care unit' in a nursing home. To get an idea of the fun folks living there, we asked a resident what they'd had for lunch and she smiled at us and said "we don't know what we ate but we ate it!" Fantastic depiction of their thought process. Well, we sang every song in our repertoire, some Elvis, several hymns, and folk songs like My Bonnie Lies Over The Ocean. As much as the three of us huddled together in front of our small audience, it was still so good to be there watching these people smile and sing along with our old songs and know that one day we'll be in their shoes and some group of happy hearted college kids will be playing "I Got A Feelin'" by Black Eyed Peas and we'll be together singing "OOOO HOOOOO!!!" a little off key. I almost can't wait.  :)
   Fast forward a little and Ethan visits Evansville, Valentine's day comes and goes, I have a birthday and Ethan works a Senior Retreat at the Mount. This was just this past weekend! I'm gonna brag a little, you can scroll down if you don't want to read it, but I guess you'd never know where to stop scrolling unless you read it! I love hearing him talk about the experiences he has when he leads kids to better know God's love. They say the best way to learn is to teach, and I think that has to be true. He sets goals for himself in leading and never thinks, 'this doesn't apply to me, I'm just a leader.' And I am so proud of him for how he grows in his relationship with God, and I'm jealous of his fervor and his willingness to serve. That sounds like such an old fogey statement but it's true and if you ever get the chance to chat with him about the people he's seen changed by faith, you'll see it in his face and you will desire at least a drop of that motivation. SO even if that weekend kept him from spending the day with me for my birthday, I don't mind 'cause in the long run it's totally a better choice.
  So now I'm almost a week from my Spring Break and could not be more ready to go home, see Ethan, and hang out all around the great homestead :) Sadly it won't be Ethan's spring break but maybe I'll be a U of L student for a day and follow him around, who knows?!  Just gotta visit Ball State this weekend, tough it out through midterms next week, and then I'm home free, hopefully to make more adventures that are slightly more eventful than the past two months and then return for soon to be brighter and sunnier days.

"Sometimes I feel cold as steel and broken like I'm never gonna heal. I see a light, a little grace, a little faith unfurled....hello World!"   - Lady Antebellum "Hello World"

hurry up Spring,
Elaine

Half-time is over, on to Round 2.

     I was tempted to name this blog "The Exodus" seeing as that means a "departure" (of a large number of people) but I felt like it was getting too biblical with my first blog being "the beginning," so I had to be a little more creative.
   Ahhh now comes the dreadfully sad part that is 8 to 9 months out of the year of our relationship; the distance part. We are keenly aware that we are not the only couple that spends their college days away from each other and maintains a healthy relationship while doing so. We also know that everything will be fine once it all gets going, we just need to get back into the swing of it. (I should probably stop saying 'we' and add a little more 'I' seeing as he's not quite the emotional marshmallow that I tend to be) But all these things don't make my egocentric self any more excited to bound down I-64 to Evansville as my Ethan heads the other direction to Louisville.
   We said our goodbyes last night, same as we would any other weekend, but the weekends going back after break always need a little softer goodbyes.  And I know it's pathetic because I literally will be home for a 3 day weekend this coming weekend, but I still cried pulling out of his driveway for what today would represent. Today/tomorrow means back to routine and back to days when we may not get to talk and may not get to text and may have to wait till the next day to tell whatever random story we've been reminding ourselves to tell the other. Yes, I'll be home on many weekends (too many according to E-ville folks, not enough to G-ville folks) but it isn't the same as staying up till wee hours of the morning doing whatever and then going home and sleeping only to get up the next day and do it again.
     For Ethan it isn't the physical 'being away from home' issue that haunts him as we go back. It's the mental stress of all that he has waiting for him before Spring Break and certainly before May rolls around. Wednesdays, in my opinion, are his worst. I'm anxious to see what his Wednesdays look like this semester because getting over the emotional wreck of Wednesdays is usually a feat every week.
     So we're suiting up for the next leg of this collegiate race tomorrow and preparing to hit the ground running. This may be a little difficult however because over the break (parental note here- because I was up till wee hours of morning and never slowing down) I came down with mono and strep.  I'm doing great now (yes, Dad  I know it's still in the system for 6 months, I'm resting) but now Ethan is starting to feel a little lousy. Probably in part to the fact that while I was down with mono, he was still up and going and not slowing down and concluded it all by leading an all-nighter youth lock-in. I'm not saying he has mono or anything of the sort so don't quarantine him, but his immune system of steel could use some rest, vitamin C, and prayers.
  Here's hoping for a long night's sleep, a quick and pain-free semester, and two sparkling 4.0's :)

"The roots of education are bitter, but the fruit is sweet." -Aristotle 

From smelly 8128B with love
Elaine