Browsing Tag

love

Family

Year Two

October 6, 2019

Today I came home from work after an unusually hard morning. On the drive, I’d been thinking about what exactly I was feeling, and boiled it down to a sense of being left out of something important to me. I walked in the door and found Aaron in his office and told him what I was feeling and that I needed extra love today. He wrapped me up in a huge hug and just held me for a bit – not asking too many questions, not trying to fix anything, just BEING with me.

To my love: you are my biggest blessing. Nothing fixes the pain of rejection, or loneliness, or disappointment like knowing you are there beside me. Being with you multiplies my joys and gives me a place to retreat from the harshness of the world. You are kind and tender-hearted, insightful and open-minded, a problem-solver and a forgiver. How lucky I am to have found you. We flew past our second anniversary in May with the arrival of Lucy girl in April, but know that with each year that passes, I love you more.

Farm

May Flowers

May 4, 2018

The weather is starting to turn here, and it’s feeling like spring. We’ve had several days of 75+ weather, followed by rainy days, which is making everything grow like crazy. I especially love the periwinkle bluebells that’ve been sprouting up around the big trees. Aaron’s been working hard at the farm, putting in a couple hours each day before or after work. It’s amazing how much better things look around the yard with the grass mowed and trees getting trimmed. The farm had been vacant for 10 years before we bought it, so everything was in pretty run down condition. We’ve been able to chip away at it, bit by bit, and have probably taken 50+ tractor loads to the dump. One of the most frustrating things has been an old car that was abandoned and left on the property. It has all the windows punched out, mold inside, etc., and is worthless. We saw a number posted that said they take junk cars, so we called the number. They said we had to have a police person come out and sign a junk slip and then they would come remove it. So we called the non-emergency police line, and they said they’d have someone come out. That never happened, so we called again and finally were able to schedule someone to visit. They signed the slip, and we found out it had to be notarized. So we went to a UPS store that was listed online as having a notary; they said they didn’t have one but to go to any bank and they would do it for us. We went to a bank in Bonney Lake, but they said they only do that for their customers. They referred us to a nearby auto center. The auto center said they had a notary, but that because this was related to a vehicle, it was a conflict of interest (what?). So finally we had to drive all the way up to Auburn, where our nearest bank is, and then they said we had to bring an original copy of our marriage license – the photocopied one we had wasn’t enough. This is the kind of runaround that’s driving us nuts! It seems like nothing is simple in this process.

In other news, we had a fun recent trip to Washington DC for a work event. I volunteer with the Washington Association of Marriage & Family Therapy, and they asked me to go DC to help lobby for inclusion of MFTs on several bills expanding Medicare providers. They had a lobbyist that accompanied me to visit Patty Murray and Dave Reichert’s offices. It wasn’t as stressful as I thought it might be – the lobbyist helped with the details, and I shared more of the “on the ground” knowledge of how not being covered by Medicare impacts our community here. We spent several days after the lobbying touring DC. My favorite museums were the Museum of American History and the Museum of African-American History.

Museum of American History Favorites:

  • A centuries-old house that they transplanted into the museum and told detailed stories of the families who lived there.
  • The women’s rights movement memerobilia
  • Julia Child’s cooking school certificate
  • Mr. Roger’s sweater
  • Mary Todd Lincoln’s dress
  • Michelle Obama’s inauguration gown
  • Abraham Lincoln’s hat

Museum of African American History Favorites:

  • Harriet Tubman’s shawl
  • Emmett Till memorial
  • Rosa Park’s dress
  • Rucksack poem
  • Nat Turner’s Bible
  • Point of Pines cabin

I’m so glad it’s the weekend, and am looking forward to relaxing some with Aaron. We made a rhubarb-strawberry crisp yesterday with some fresh rhubarb we bought at a new farmer’s market near the farm. Can’t wait until we get our own produce up and going! Also, I had to include a picture of the most amazing omelette Aaron made – he makes these regularly from our chickens’ eggs and includes fresh spinach, tomatoes, quinoa, and a bunch of other good stuff!

We are coming up on our one-year wedding anniversary later this month, and I have a list going of some of the fun things I’d like to do together in the area:

  • Visit my favorite brunch restaurant, Portage Bay Cafe in Seattle for their migas and French toast.
  • Visit the new Nordic Heritage Museum in Seattle.
  • Drive up to see the flowers at Floret, a family farm specializing in unique and heirloom flowers.

Happy May to you all!

Family

Wedding Photos

September 2, 2017

It was so fun to get our wedding photos back yesterday – we sat on the couch together and got teary thinking about what a special day that was. Thank you to Megan Holloway who took such beautiful, light-filled pictures for us!

Some of my favorite things as I look back through them:

  • The wooden ring box Aaron made, with the inscription on the inside that matched what my great-grandpa wrote for my great-grandma when he gave her the same ring.
  • The bridesmaids dresses, flower girl dress, and ring bearer’s suit my mom made. I loved the colors so much!
  • The beautiful cake Aaron’s mom made. It was just what I envisioned.
  • The garter and little white Bible that my mom and grandma both wore/carried at their weddings.
  • The ladder from our farm that Bethany used to put such a beautiful backdrop for the ceremony site together.
  • Our fun getaway bus – Luna. We realized that the initials in the laurel of our programs spell out most of Luna’s name… so she was meant to be.
Family

A Love Letter to my Hubby

June 8, 2017

Our wedding has come and gone! That’s hard to believe. It felt like we were counting down the months – 6 months, 5 months, 4 months, and then all of a sudden that Sunday was there! It was such a special day for us. Some of my favorite moments were:

  • Our first look. Aaron cried when he saw me, and of course I cried too.
  • The little white Bible I carried that was also carried by my mom and grandma at their weddings.
  • The vintage blue garter I wore that was also worn by my mom and grandma at their weddings.
  • The stacks of old books on the reception tables.
  • The fun folk band – I loved them!
  • The cold bottles of San Pellegrino – it was toasty that day!
  • The love of friends and family who came from near and far to celebrate with us.

I’m so happy to be able to call Aaron my hubby now. He is truly the man of my dreams – so kind and thoughtful, so non-judgmental and open-hearted. God knew I needed someone just like him – he was worth waiting for.

We had a wonderful honeymoon to Ireland. We were so tired by the time we got there, we slept most of Tuesday and then started out on our driving adventure around the southern and western halves for the next few days. The best part of the trip was our one-night stay at a gorgeous castle – fancier than any hotel I’ve ever been in!

Our other big news is that we bought a bus that we’re planning on living in for the next year while we fix up the farm. Being out at the farm will make it so much easier for us to get things done. It’s been a challenge to drive 45 minutes each way for many, many appointments to which other people often show up hours late!

We are off to weddings in other parts of the U.S. for the next several weekends – I will post some photos of our bus-home progress as we get going on it! Our inspiration is the couple behind “fernthebus” on Instagram.

Happy Thursday to you!

Family, Farm

Photos by Bethany

April 29, 2017

Our sweet friend Bethany drove down from Seattle (braving Friday traffic – with her two month old, Ireland!) yesterday evening to take some pictures of Aaron and me at the farm! Bethany is one of the most creative, talented people I know – do you know anyone else who is piecing together a new quilt two weeks after having a baby? She throws floral arranging classes, does all kinds of sewing projects for her kiddos, bakes fancy things, photographs people, etc. – all while having a three year old and an infant! She is amazing.

For any of you looking for a florist or photographer for your wedding or special event, feel free to contact me for Bethany’s contact info!

Here are some of the beautiful photographs she took – ones we will love forever. Thank you, Bethany!

Family, Farm

Books, Books, Books

March 18, 2017

One of the things I’m learning about Aaron is that once his interest in something is piqued, he goes 110% into research mode! In our efforts to get things going with the farm, he ordered about 40 used books on all aspects of home renovation and “green” living. He dreams of living completely off the land, wearing home-sewn clothes, canning, dehydrating pickling, and having as close to a zero impact footprint as possible! He now has a host of Excel documents detailing things like “planning out raised beds for gardening and researching companion planting techniques to maximize yield and repel pests and disease as naturally as possible.” (I just asked him to summarize this for me). 🙂

He surprised me with some books he picked out just for me as well – most on farmhouse style. He knows me well! One of my favorites is a book called “A Touch of Farmhouse Charm” by Liz Fourez – author of the blog Love Grows Wild. With all of the decor books out there, this one stands out to me because of the fun DIY projects inside! She has a whole list of things to make – from farmhouse signs, to pillow covers, to cake stands. Most of the projects are fairly simple, which I like – they can be done in a few hours! And the instructions are clear and easy to follow. Between work, farm, and wedding planning, there isn’t much time for additional things, so I’m looking forward to summer when life will be lighter and we can do some fun projects together.

Family

One Magical November Day

December 26, 2016

As I sit looking out at the gentle rolling waves of the Pacific Ocean preparing to have Christmas with Lindsey’s family, I still have trouble wrapping my mind around the magical and life altering events of the past year and a half. When friends introduced me to Lindsey, I was hopeful that we would have a fun date and maybe it would blossom into a relationship, but I never could have imagined that a year and a half later I would be asking her to marry me. Every date, every moment, seemed to draw us closer together and it just fit. I knew she was the one. While we did talk about marriage prior to November and started working on our Fettig Farm together, there was still one step remaining… the proposal.

Earlier in the year, my family was kind enough to give me a break from the B&B and unbeknownst to Lindsey, I snuck down to Seal Rock, Oregon to have a chat with her parents. We discussed our relationship and our dreams for the future. It was simultaneously one of the most nerve racking and exciting moments of my life. I am so thankful for my future in-laws and their continuing love and support. In addition to our little talk, there was another element to my visit. Lindsey has always wanted to wear her great grandma’s wedding ring, a beautiful vintage platinum ring from 1895. With the help of Lindsey’s mom, I had the ring cleaned, repaired, and resized.

And then one magical November day I proposed. My original plan changed a few times but I finally settled on proposing at Pittock Mansion in Portland, a Renaissance-style château built in 1909. I liked the vintage sitting which matched the ring as well as Lindsey’s style and likes. I was beyond nervous and was shaking like crazy, but got down on one knee in front of the grand staircase, Christmas piano music softly playing in the background, and asked the love of my life to marry me. And after a second that felt like an eternity, Lindsey said yes. The remainder of the day was a blur. We had a quick lunch with my parents before heading down to Lindsey’s parents for Thanksgiving. And along the way we called friends and family and chatted about wedding ideas.

We are now in the process of planing our dream wedding for May 28th, 2017 and are so excited to share this next step of our life with our friends, family, and loved ones.