Yesterday I needed a mental break from reading Compassion: A Reflection on the Christian Life by Henri Nouwen, and so I dug into my old files to sort through pictures.

I found some that my dad took the day after our wedding, Sunday July 29th, when we had our families over to watch us open our plethora of presents. It was so much fun to get so many great gifts!

Anyway, I quickly located my favorites in the batch, the succession showing Tyler gradually tying a bow on his head, and my reaction thereafter.

I thought you might get a chuckle as well.

Here we are, opening gifts as normal newlyweds would do.

Looks like I’m slapping him, as normal newlyweds would do.

And…………….Tyler finds something!

And suddenly Tyler’s ability to sit and be still has ended.

And, thus Tyler begins to tie his bow.

I am still working the room and opening gifts.

Still opening gifts…

And suddenly I notice that my husband has tied a bow on his head.

My expression says it all…I make this face a lot nowadays. And I love it!

Wow, we had so much fun this year! We spent the night at my parents’ home in my old room, and stayed up playing nintendo (as tradition states) with my sister and my dad on Christmas Eve. We had so much fun and I again realized how thankful I am for all the blessings in my life, especially my family and my beloved husband.

The only downer of the weekend was that Tyler got the flu late Christmas Eve, but he fought through it and joined us for the second half of Christmas day. He’s a tough one. These pictures were taken just before presents, and right after Tyler came to join us. Poor guy. But he still looks good.

(Click for bigger sizes)

I think I’m kind of holding him up in this one, he was so sick!

Didn’t Mom do a great job on the tree?

Mom & my sister Jenny

I have some Thanksgiving pictures which I promised, check out the album below.

Thanksgiving 2007

Tyler also got me some lovely flowers to celebrate our 4 month anniversary of marriage (which was November 28)! And he even took these slanted artsy pictures!

What a sweety.

Today I turned a quarter of a century old. Finally, I have reached an age which sounds somewhat adult-ish, somewhat credible when you are meeting with professionals in Omaha who have been doing what they’re doing since you were learning to speak.

I had such a fun day with Tyler yesterday, well, this whole weekend. Let me break it down for you what its like to be in the Cooper fam, one of the “Coops.”

Friday - Charlestons (woo!) & 3:10 to Yuma

Saturday - Camille’s, walking around downtown looking at art, sneaking around the DoubleTree Hotel, driving up through the hills near the Lewis & Clark “Council Bluff,” party with the family.

Sunday - picking up African refugees in the morning, helping take care of 10+ kids belonging to various Coram Deo-goers, getting the Refugees & 60 sandwiches and drinks organized at the Zoo and then spending the afternoon walking around looking at the animals (baby tigers), watching a scary movie until I am really creeped out, going to a Theology class/discussion, watching another movie until passing out in bed.

Monday - driving up through cute and also creepy small towns in northern Nebraska and Iowa, eating at a strange cafe with mismatching table cloths and a VHS rental shelf of taped-over movies & family vacations, walking around on reconstructed Lewis & Clark boats out on a lake, walking through a 3 story boat made into a museum in Sioux City, driving up through Yankton and back home through the beautiful hills.

Tuesday - back to work, bagels in the morning, lunch at Zio’s, cake tonight at our Bible study thingamajigger.

Woo! Its been fun. What a great year 24 was, so exciting, so full of change and blessings, a new best friend, a new life with my new best friend, a new job, a new home literally and also in my heart with my community and a growing, fuller one with my family of Collicotts. It was a wonderful year, full of newness and change.

This year should be an adventure. I’m hoping for a year of growth and learning. I hope its full of growth in maturity, growth in wisdom, and learning how to love Jesus and therefore others in a new level of authenticity and trueness. I’m also hoping for fun and excitement, and lots of time with loved ones, most of all my wonderful husband, Tyler, who is the best gift I can imagine (there Jill, that answers one of your bday questions).

Thank you, thank you for your congratulations…yes, that’s correct. Tyler & I met one year ago….And we’ve been married for a month.

That’s sweet, isn’t it? We met on August 29, 2006, and got married 11 months later.

Tyler and I were talking about it a few nights ago, and as he said, we wouldn’t really recommend what we did. Not to say that we dislike it, but actually the opposite. However, we felt moved and directed by God clearly, that He was moving us quickly to marriage. There were plenty of bumps and bruises along the way, and it was INTENSE for a while there…but, God continued to affirm our direction repeatedly. There were times we questioned it for sure, times I got almost too scared to go forward, times we got really upset at each other, times our community really questioned us, but God continued to work all things to His glory. And we LOVE being married.

But, again, we might not recommend it unless you continue to believe that God is pushing you, past emotion, past idealism, past romanticism, and toward a true and realistic love for this person that God continues to affirm. Tyler was not a romanticized reality in my life, but quite the opposite, and that’s one of the ways I felt that God was leading me toward him.

I remember even praying something like, “Umm…God, are you sure? I don’t really know about this. Tyler isn’t exactly the world traveler I always thought you wanted for me. I’m not sure about this and I’m really scared…” (Isn’t it funny the plans we make and how God gives us something different, and yet amazingly better!)

Anyway, I could go on and on, but I won’t. I hope that every man & woman’s story of how God leads them is just as precious to them and full of joy and peace and beauty and redemption.

Finally, I wanted to share some song lyrics that my good friend Anthony showed me. The artist is As Cities Burn, and their album is entitled, “Son, I loved you at your darkest.”

Let the dead bury their own dead

Will you still love me in famine, as when love began at the harvest? Or would you gain the whole world? Son, I love you at your darkest. But what good is the whole world when I promise no tomorrow? I only promise your tomorrow will never take you past my palm.

Love, what is love without trust? At my word, would you bring your Isaac?

Son, I loved you at your darkest.

How true that God loves us at our darkest.

“You said, ‘Listen now, and I will speak; I will question you, and you shall answer me.’ My ears had heard of you but now my eyes have seen you. Therefore I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes.” Job 42:4-6