Extra fun pictures from our holiday!

Wrapping up Christmas...

I posted pictures from our trip to WI. We tallied up that between our drive to WI and then to IA and then back to WI from IA and then back home to Va Beach we were in the car for 50 hours- five- oh!! Sooooo long. We had a lot of good bonding time. John had bought me a ipod nano for Christmas and we were so thankful for that since my cd player decided to be defunct and quit working. 3,300 miles later we were back at our doorstep unloading. We had a great trip and enjoyed our short time with a lot of old friends and family. It almost makes it harder to come back to things after you have spent time with them.
So, now on to the next national holiday...one week from tomorrow. Can you guess what it is??

Christmas at the Varners- Part 2

Christmastime at the Varner home

Christmas Time is Here...

How was your Thanksgiving? You can see the pics below for our Thanksgiving/Christmas with the Varners. We had such a wonderful and relaxing time with the family. Our little apartment was quite full as you can see, but we loved being able to host all of them - even more so considering this may have been our last year for awhile for us all to be together.
Christmas Time is indeed here...I think it's been here for a few weeks if you walk through the stores. Today I officially pulled out most of the decor for the season although I'll wait for John to put up our big (not being really that big) Christmas tree together. When I was getting ready for Thanksgiving a few weeks ago I was busy just like everyone else running through the Grocery Stores. I couldn't help but think about all these people hurrying through the stores in prep for a holiday celebrating thankfulness with their carts filled high and yet their faces devoid of any joy. A good reminder to myself that even if we celebrated a Christmas like my parents did for their first Christmas (no job for my mom who was expecting and my dad was going to school and working and money was tight so they made their Christmas ornaments out of cardboard and tinfoil which they shaped into little stars- I have one hanging on our little Christmas tree as a reminder of their first Christmas and the goodness of the Lord to them) if that was the case for us- what joy to celebrate the coming of a Savior. I heard recently of a school where the children would not be allowed to sing the verses to 'Joy to the World' in their Christmas Concert. All they could sing was 'Joy to the World' over and over again to the tune. My thought was, "Joy to the World the Lord has come...." if not for His coming, what would there be to be joyful about? New games and gear under a tree that will satisfy for a short month or two? I love this time of year and the decorations and ornaments and the warm colors and magnificent foods we enjoy during this Holiday. But it is all quite empty without the Joy of the Lord. I hope it reigns in your heart this Season.

Holiday with the Varners!

How Sweet it is...

In a society where marriage is down played and bad mouthed a lot I would like to give testimony of a young, happily married woman. I would be lost without my husband, John. One of my greatest joys in life has become to be John's wife. I used to fear losing my own identity with being married and being so absorbed into my husband I would lose who I was. If anything, John has helped me define who I am and who I want to be. Seminary is hard for any couple- especially newlywed couples. Long weeks of work and different schedules can often make me feel like I am single again. John goes to school in the morning when I go to work and then we meet for a quick lunch and he starts his work day when I'm halfway through mine. He works a long day and we have some time together before he studies but never long enough. Our weekends are always great- Saturday night to Sunday night it's the two of us for the whole time! I hate to see those weekends end. It brings me again to a new, full week of what we have been doing for a little over a year now. And I have to remember- why. Why do we go through the separation and my husband spends long evenings studying and we invest our money into books and schooling...because the Lord has called us to the Gospel. No greater calling. This will resonate within me as long as I live and we serve Him.
Lately, I have been struggling consistently with some issues and my husband has been my encourager, the one to talk me straight to the point and turn me to the truth of the Scriptures, and the one to help me start over and get up and face it again. With him, it's easy to put so many fears aside. John is so many things I am not and I benefit greatly from his wisdom and consistency. I am so thankful to the Lord for giving him to me. I could not have chosen anything so good on my own. And after a year of marriage I love him more- I'm so comfortable with him, more trusting towards him, the best of friends with him, and so in love with him I can't help walking away from his desk after he tells me he loves me (with that impish grin, dimples, and his headset still on) with a big, toothy grin- all the way to my car. This is not merely a testament to my husband's good character and the love he shows me, but to the goodness of the Lord and what His love can bring to two mortals marriage. He binds us together to stand together during the difficult times and gives us joy to exhibit to our unsaved co-workers in the midst of overtime and long evenings apart. I have missed him much lately if you can't tell.