Boring is Good

These last two months have been kind of crazy. There has been a lot of things going on, some good, some bad.

We celebrated our fifth anniversary on August 12. Brian was able to come home early from work and we went out to dinner. It was nice to just spend an afternoon/evening together. I can't believe we've been married for five whole years. Then again, it seems as if I've know Brian forever. I am so grateful to have Brian as my husband. He is such a blessing in my life. He is so kind, loving, funny and hard working. I couldn't have found a better man to share forever with.

Later that month, there was an earthquake and a hurricane in the same week. The earthquake was a 5.8 in magnitude and happened in Virginia, but could be felt in New York. Neither Brian nor I felt it, but some of Brian's co-workers and my NYC friends on Facebook did. A few days later we were given warning that Hurricane Irene was supposed to hit us directly as at least a category 1 on Sunday afternoon. Church was canceled and we were given warning to stock up on food and water and plan on staying home for the weekend. Brian and I were both nervous, neither having been through, nor expecting to ever experience a hurricane in our lives. Brian had to work on that Friday. I went grocery shopping and stocked up on food, water, batteries and candles...just in case. We were grateful for the 72 hour kits that Layne and Kris had just brought to us a few months before. It made us feel a bit more prepared for things. I checked the evacuation zones on the internet and found out that we were not in an evacuation zone. I was so grateful that we were in a secure spot that we could just stay indoors and weather the storm in our own home. Saturday the subway system shut down around noon. It started raining a little that night. I woke up early Sunday morning and peeked out the window. The wind was blowing pretty hard and it was really raining. I crawled back into bed and fell asleep for a few more hours. When we woke up again, the wind had calmed down and it was just sprinkling rain. Later that day the weather cleared up and we had blue skies. Luckily Irene had turned into a tropical storm by the time it reached us. There were areas in South Manhattan that had been flooded and some areas had lost power. We were blessed to not be affected at all. Our parents and family members kept calling throughout the day/weekend to make sure we were okay. We are grateful for our families and for their love and concern for us.

Brian was pretty busy at work during that week and the week afterwards. Steve Jobs resigned as Apple's CEO which was a big deal in the tech world. Lucky for Brian, he is a part of that world. He had some late nights and busy days trying to keep up with work. Also, he was super busy with his Stake calling as the other Stake Executive Secretary was out of town. I felt so bad for Brian, he was so exhausted during this time. However, things seemed to calm down a bit and he made it through with flying colors. He is doing such a great job at work. They are giving him more and more responsibility which is a sign that they trust him and that he is doing well. I'm so proud of him!

September 1st came and went, which marked the one year anniversary of us being in New York. We arrived here wide eyed and disoriented, thinking we'd only be here for four months. One year later, we aren't quite as wide eyed and disoriented. There are many aspects of big city life that are still unfamiliar and stressful, but we've gotten used to so many things since we've been here. It is crazy to think of how we felt a year ago waking up to the noise and bustle of New York City. That morning we just looked at each other and asked "What did we get ourselves into?" We spent that first day riding around on the subways trying to figure out the system, taking maps everywhere we went and being excited to see all the sights. Contrast that with how we are now, and it's like we are veterans. We loved the excitement of Times Square, but now we try to avoid it at all costs. To many tourists! Hahaha We definitely have learned a lot of things since we've been here.

Brian has gotten to be involved with the Stake and Area Authorities in setting up a clean-up excursion to Caldwell, New Jersey. The people there have pretty much been flooded out since the hurricane. Church was canceled this last weekend and buses were rented to carry 100's of volunteers from our stake to help shovel out mud, rip out moldy carpet and tear down dry wall. We weren't able to go either day because of extenuating circumstances, but it was so neat to see the Church in action. When I first heard about this, I thought of the early Saints in Salt Lake City and how Brigham Young directed them to drop everything and help rescue the handcart companies stuck in the snow. This has been an especially neat experience for Brian as he has gotten to be involved in the organization process.

We got to celebrate another anniversary in the last two months. Six years ago, on September 19th, Brian came into my life. This was the first day our BYU-I family home evening group met at my apartment. Lucky for both of us we were assigned to the same group. We had met before this day, but never really noticed each other. He came into our apartment talking like a pirate, because it was apparently "talk like a pirate day". We just played games that night. During a card game, Brian leaned back on his chair and it broke. I still tease him about the night I first really noticed him...he was talking like a pirate and breaking my furniture. Who wouldn't have noticed him. ;) I'm so glad we found each other.

After all the craziness we are ready for life to get back to normal... whatever normal is. We are trying to get back into our usual daily routines. Maybe it's a sign that we are getting old, but boring is good.

P.S. Fall is here!!! I LOVE fall. It is absolutely my most favorite season of all.