New Blog

Hello family and friends. I am writing a new blog and you can find it

http://jenbjerke.blogspot.com/


there.

The first year

It is incredible how fast time flies. This day last year we were headed to Bed Bath and Beyond to purchase things for our little home. Now we are about ready to move into a new place, thanks to my wonderful grandma Roberta. It's amazing how quickly God answers prayer. Grandma Roberta is always so good at finding potential jobs or living situations. Just after I posted that last blog grandma Roberta found us a cheaper place in the same complex and thanks to her discoveries we will be moving on the third of January.
 Our first year has been so richly blessed. I had envisioned that we would be penny pinching and barely eating. I thought we would be dining on top ramen and spaghetti every night. I thought our happily ever after would be something we would have to work so hard for and all I could see us doing was fighting. This view may sound so bleak for a young hopeful bride but I think it was because the most common quote I heard from people before we were married was "marriage is tough" or "marriage is really hard", and I got so focused on the potential storm that was about to come instead of enjoying the place that we are at. I poured my heart and mind into all kinds of books like Boundaries in Marriage, The Proper Care and Feeding of Marriage, Fighting for Your Marriage, Saving Your Marriage Before it Starts, The Proper Care and Feeding of Husbands, The Book of Romance, Sheet Music, Love and Respect... All these books were more than helpful but I came to the realization that God is the one who will hold us together. I plan on revisiting these books often over the years because I believe that a marriage is built on the basics of how to love someone God's way. My quiet time has really grown this year and that is what is so beautiful about a marriage is that we both should be growing as individuals so that we can also grow as one together. This past year I spent a lot of time in the mornings at school while Mark missed me at home. We had lots of friends over in the beginning that Mark and I felt like we barely saw each other. I'm planning on changing somethings this year. I am approaching my last semester of school and I don't have an early class like last semester's 7:30am class. We haven't been as involved with College Life and we only have people over once a week at the most. We love our friends but having more time together has felt like we've been on a relaxing honeymoon. We communicate better, laugh more, and feel relaxed when the house occupies us more than others. We also want to spend a bit more time with family this coming year, especially if we're moving to Illinois. (Still no word back from UC Davis or University of Illinois.)
When I look back on those first  couple of months it makes me overjoyed to know and see how much we've grown. Little did I know then that my love for Mark was brand new. We experienced so many wonderful things for the first time as husband and wife. Now we have begun the second year and I only feel closer to my best friend than ever before. He still makes me laugh only my joy seems deeper with every joke he makes. His sensitivity and letter writing will always make me melt. I'm looking forward to more courageous adventures in cooking and walks around our little town where we pick out which houses we like and don't like and we dream of making a music room there and an art room upstairs and a wrap around porch with a swing...
What a wonderful first year we had. I can't wait to see what this new year will bring.

CONFLICT

Currently there are tons of explosions, yelling, and shootings going on below me. Our neighbors (two young college men) are mad at me for playing the piano, but instead of knocking on the door and asking me to please be quiet they turn up the television to max capacity. I am listening to "I want to Hold Your Hand" by the Beatles just to create a better atmosphere for my blogging.

We've had many issues with these people. Last night they played their rap music loudly at midnight. Mark went downstairs to talk with them since I had a final the next morning and I had to catch the bus at 7:30am. They ignored Mark after he knocked several times. I just received an email from our manager that they will not be able to do anything about these neighbors and that we should just call the police next time the noise is so loud. They also said that we are free to move out with no repercussions or legal ramifications which Mark and I are looking into, however, it is very difficult to find a place in Davis at the moment. You can imagine how frustrated we are. I feel like I can't write music or even just play a song on the piano without adding a soundtrack of gun shots and screaming from the people below. Please be praying that we can resolve this or find a better place to live. And sorry for ranting I try to be remain positive on this blog but today I am irritated with the boys below.

His words

Tomorrow I have a final presentation in my research methods class so I baked mini blueberry and cranberry orange muffins for the class potluck we're gong to have. I placed them in a little basket after sharing a few with Mark.

Mark said, "Oh these are so cute, you're going to have a fun little day tomorrow!'

I asked him if he heard what he just said and we both started cracking up pretty hard. He is so stinkin cute. I love the sweet things he says that remind me of how lucky I am.

I love being married to this man. I had to grab my camera and capture this moment.

 After regaining some composure he helped me cover the basket.

Ficticious cries

I tried to come up with a clever title, oh well. Today I have discovered a little routine in marriage. Mark is the type of guy who likes to think out loud. At least once a week I hear, "Oh Gosh!" or a sharp gasp from the other room. This generally leads me to saying "what happened!?", with all the care and concern a wife can have. I imagine that he has hurt himself or something TERRIBLE has happened. But, this is never the case. He usually has forgotten that he is teaching an extra student the following day or he is meeting with a friend in the next half hour. He gets me every time.

Thanksgiving and the birthday (they always come together)

I have been avoiding this entry and I'm not entirely sure why. I guess it's because the end of November was so jam packed that some of it spilled into the beginning of December. Mark played drums for two retreat weekends in a row in November. Then the following weekend we packed up our clothes for a week of family and thankfulness on the east coast. We stayed at the Bjerkes in Novato the night before our journey and my mother-in-law baked me a cake for an early birthday celebration. It was so sweet and thoughtful.

The next morning Mark and I got on a plane in San Francisco with my father and my brother Josh. Let me tell you that I have never been a huge fan of flying. I actually hate it. I know I should be grateful for this grand invention that allows us to travel across the country in 5 hours but I really dislike it. My ideal would be to have everyone in one place, or within reasonable driving distance. As I'm writing this I realize I might be sounding slightly hypocritical since Mark and I are talking about the possibility of him attending grad school in Illinois, but then let's all just move to Illinois! Practically any state is cheaper than California right?


Being on the east coast was lovely. I love the family I've been blessed with. I didn't even realize how many people were coming until all the individual red cups started to pile up. It seems we know how to throw a rager.

Mark and I loved being around family and listening to stories and playing with new cousins. We are so glad we were able to meet Jackson Weaver! He is the newest little Weaver and he is as cute as a button. My Uncle Tim and my aunt Leah (Jungah) live in Morocco so it was fortunate for us that they came for thanksgiving.

My grandparents 62nd anniversary landed on thanksgiving day, and I can't imagine a more perfect day. These two have been such a blessing to me and I am so grateful for their beautiful story. My grandpa read a beautiful poem that he wrote to her. We ended up celebrating at their church since our family was too big to fit and feed in the Troon house. (That's what we call their current abode.) Afterwards the family ate the thanksgiving meal and we heard stories from when they lived in India and the work my grandmother did at Mother Theresa's orphanage and all kinds of stories of my dad. I love hearing about what he was like as a kid. Here are some of my favorite pictures of my grandparents. Looking at these warms my heart and fills me with pride for the family I come from. What wonderful people.

This is a picture of these two love birds at our wedding. I am so grateful for their love, support, and marriage counseling. 

 The time was too short and I was practically in awe the entire time we were there. The only thing I wish we brought was an alarm clock. Mark and I would stay up late chatting with family and we'd set this little wrist watch with an alarm but of course it wasn't loud enough to wake either of us up. Everyday we'd get up around 9:30 or 10 and I would always wish my internal clock would wake me up sooner so I could sip coffee and bask in the warmth of stories and family.
This season is my favorite time of year. We've only been able to make it back to Novato about once a month so I'm happy to change that with a break from school. I am excited to spend more time with the Bjerkes. Mark's brother John will be back home with tales of Texas and I hope we get to see the grandmas more too.  The cold seems to make the warmth of family and home so much greater and it makes me so grateful for the many blessings we have.

The disciplined glow

I've noticed when I take time away from scripture, my heart and mind become irritable and I am not fun to be around. When I am consistent with my quiet times, my spirit feels lighter and I am more approachable. If I start my day with Him, I feel like some sort of radiance is pulsing through my veins, it's as if God himself is shining in my being, (even through my blood stream).

I've discovered similarities in other ways that I take care of this temple. Some weeks I am a consistent runner.  The effort I put into my exercise brings a healthy glow to my countenance and I can feel a lightness in my step. (Running also brings about extra quiet time for prayer as well as pushing myself physically to run to that tree and then to that bridge and then to the next fence and then...)
Sometimes I can let myself get stressed out over all the "necessary" items I think I should worry about. This leads to me sitting on the couch surfing the web and vegging out on nothing of importance. Going for a run or picking up my bible can be one of the last things on my list, which is bad.

Today I was reading the book of Acts and I wondered if the disciples ever had sore throats or runny noses while doing the Lord's work. I know this was a silly thought to think but I honestly wondered if God gave them spiritual vitamin C, or if Peter had a cold while healing hundreds of people in Jesus name. I guess I'm thinking about the cold season and I'm sure that being human they had the strength to accomplish the Lord's work despite any ailments. I also wondered the other day if Peter cared that he was slower than John. John 20:4 "Both of them were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first."
I'm also trying to be disciplined in my running so I can keep up with the husband. He is very consistent in his quiet times and his running and I admire him for it. He does a great job leading by example and I am very blessed by the way he takes care of himself.