octolilly [through the years]

In a rare moment of discussing baby names for our future children, I asked Daniel what he thought of Madeleine.

No, that was the name of the demon in This Present Darkness.

It came and went rather quickly, but Thanksgiving was held at my mom and dad’s house this year and it turned out to be a lovely bit of laid-back fun and games. My grandparent’s were up from Florida (and they brought my cousin Courtney who I haven’t seen in a long time) and so we enjoyed things like FOOD, board games (Apple’s to Apple’s, Balderdash and Outburst) and talks on the front porch. How easy it is to forget that sweet fellowship that family can have. Daniel and I enjoyed ourselves immensely and decided that after seeing Mom’s house all lit up for Christmas that we needed to get our act together. After a few disappointing trips around town, we finally found exactly what we were looking for and put up a lovely tree and added a few holiday accents here and there. It feels like holiday gift-giving has already begun for us because we are receiving wedding/shower gifts already and each time I go the apartment I am washing new water goblets, unpacking a shower curtain or putting away new kitchen goodies.

But as quickly as we unpack things at the apartment, we are packing up things at my place. We have actually designated my loveseat (or the “two-person couch” as my soon-to-be father-in-law calls it – so as to not imply the presence of love) as the place to put things that are going over to the apartment. It is currently holding a stack of board games, two picture frames, old videos and a vase of flowers. We are still trying to determine when to move all the kitchen related paraphernalia. That’s a big step because then it means that all home-cooked meals are at his place only. It really makes sense to do that because then we don’t have to buy groceries for two places.

In the midst of it all, I’m also pondering what it will mean to have a marriage grounded on things other than entangled legs and flirtatious glances. We met an older lady at Target the other night (when we were buying decorations) and we told her that we were getting married in January. She said, do you want to know the secret to marriage? Make sure you are best friends! We nodded and agreed – because we are best friends and that is something that we try not to take for granted. But her answer made us think a bit more. I personally think that we can be the best of friends and still find ourselves flailing within weeks of being Mr. and Mrs. Daniel Bergey. Having the foundation solely in the Lord is our only answer. After all, we are still two sinners trying to become one.

But these hectic days haven’t caused me to completely miss the little things. I’m enjoying Smores Hot Chocolate quite a bit lately and looking forward to Narnia.

And I’m also trying not to get too frustrated with the scam-jerks that call me while I’m in the middle of Really Hard Work to say:

So, this is Bobby. How you doin’? Can I get that part number of your copier?
Hi, Bobby. Yes, I’m doing well.
Yeah, so, what is that part number?
Bobby?
Yes?
Who are you with again?
Um…
*click*

[There is a scam going around where someone calls to verify what model you have of a certain piece of office equipment and then sends you parts and charges you – without you ever having heard of the company or even declaring a need]

Last night, I visited the new Barnes & Noble in The Shops at Greenridge (which is by far the most amazing shopping centre I’ve seen in this area) and was delighted to find it bigger and better than the other B&N I frequent. Their Starbuck’s cafe has food from The Cheesecake Factory. Which is reason enough to switch bookstores, yes?

As I mentioned earlier, my pile of books-to-read is growing daily. And last night I simply piled more onto the list.

Here’s my recent purchases:

Fascinating Stories of Forgotten Lives by Charles Swindoll
At First Sight by Nicholas Sparks
Sex and the Supremacy of Christ by John Piper
A Wedding in December by Anita Shreve
The Macrobiotic Path to Total Health by Michio Kushi and Alex Jack
Eats, Shoots & Leaves by Lynne Truss
The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare
The Giver by Lois Lowry
The Most Important Year in a Woman’s Life by Roger Wolgemuth, Bobbie Wolgemuth, Mark DeVries and Susan DeVries
30 Minute Meals 2 by Rachael Ray
Natural Cures “They” Don’t Want You to Know About by Kevin Trudeau
The Hip Chick’s Guide to Macrobiotics by Jessica Porter