of dates and times

a few weeks ago, when jonathan was finishing up some things on his laptop in rainier, i clicked onto his palm to leave him a message for our wedding day. look what i found. :)

the wedding was scheduled in. ♥

it's the culmination of what we've been preparing for in our lives...to love and be loved, to serve wholeheartedly. to start a family.

over the past few days, jonathan and i have spent several hours with our calendars and with each other. i know that i underestimated the challenge: two busy people realigning our lives to focus on our changing priorities. with him getting settled into his new company, the stock market's adventures of the past few months, relay season picking up, moving, him running for fire commissioner, my photography, wedding planning and the move...while we learn to adjust our expectations towards one another and the process of involving each other as we prepare for marriage.

for each of us - moving towards a marriage that's centered on family forces us to begin to change how we've always done things.

as i was cleaning out books in the blue room (during september's clean/move schedule), i found one of my favorite books: time management for catholics. i dusted it off and read myself to sleep with it last night.

it's a good read - simple reminders and techniques on how to balance your life within the time you're given - written from a catholic perspective. i can't wait to be in the same place every night as jonathan - to incorporate a good deal of this into our family and our day-to-day lives.

the balance is what i've struggled with the most - there's so much that each of us want to do in our lives to impact the world around us - and only so much time. both of us have given up several key commitments or opportunities in the past week or so. not easy decisions by any means, but very necessary to accomplish the bigger picture as we prepare.

i pray that i will continue to learn how to manage my time wisely - to be able to learn how to be a good wife - and to be open to what we're called to do in this life...not simply what we choose to do as it arises.

one of the things we haven't been able to decide on in the last few months is where we will ultimately attend mass when i move to rainier. there's no catholic church in rainier. i've never lived in a town that hasn't had one - and honestly, never been more than a few miles from one. all throughout college - just across campus, and here at my house now - just a mile and a half to perpetual adoration 24/7.

down in the south sound - we're looking at several places - sacred heart in lacey, st. michael's in oly, st. columban in yelm, and st. martin's at the abbey. trying to find what best fits for mass, for community, for our marriage.

when i got home tonight after a long day, i found a 'thank you' card from father lee at st. michael's - thanking us for attending st. michael's a few weeks back when we tried it out. i loved that. this is one of the first big decisions about our faith life together [aside from the whole sacrament of marriage and all :) ] and it's something we're focusing on - together.

now...if only our online calendars could sync... :)