Justice

How does one discuss justice? Most often, when the word is said people cringe and don't want to deal with the potential outcome of such a conversation. But, the conversations must be had nonetheless. This weekend, over 4,000 people had the conversation. We laughed and cried, we contemplated. We celebrated the steps being taken. We agreed it was time to man up for all the men that are going down. For all the children sold into the sex trade and all the boys being forced to kill or be killed, for all the women being raped, and the communities being overthrown by a corrupted state. Cringe? We most certainly did, but we celebrated that the conversation could be had by a group of people who are so overwhelmed with anger that no fruit but the fruits of action can be taken.

"Justice is a garment and you are an irreplaceable thread."

http://thejusticeconference.com/

SUMMERy

So, we're back from our trip and settling into our temporary life here. We want to thank you all again for supporting our trip and keeping up (not that that was too hard...sorry for the lack of post updates:/)... We're still working on all the thank yous we have to send out; don't worry, we haven't forgotten you.

To sum up out trip for you. We spent about two weeks traveling around Italy: Rome, Florence, the Tuscan coast, and Venice ended up being our destination points (Trains were less efficient than we'd hoped, so we didn't hit up as many cities as planned. We ate lots of gelato and spent most of our time camping. The best campground we have to share with you was in Florence. Camping Michaelangelo sits right next to the Plaza Michaelangelo, overlooking the city. Not only did Florence offer the best campground, but we were also in town for the Annual Gelato Festival. This was pretty much the greatest tastiest festival ever.

As far as Italian food, we did have several tasty meals, but I must say, my lady Tee over at the Backstreet Cafe beats out any Pasta Carb I tasted. I might be biased, but everything she chefs up is better than our traveling food.

After Italy, we hit up the Italian coast, rented a car, and headed off to Paris. Here, we met up with a Doctor friend Kris met in Jerusalem last year. Our friend Felip and his family were so hospitable. Not only did they lend us their apartment on the Isle de Saint Louis, but they had us over for dinner, and toured us all over Paris. This was most definitely a highlight of our trip!

After Paris, we drove to Brussels, then a little Belgian town called Ghent, then to Amsterdam, and on to Germany. Amsterdam was about our halfway point, meaning we were a bit lazy here. We did catch the latest Pirates movie here though, and were highly, and surprisingly, impressed. New characters, new storyline, pointless 3D, but a generally enjoyable show.

I think K and I would both agree than Germany was our highlight country. It was the only country I'd never been too, and while the rain and cold tended to follow us around, we still enjoyed our time here immensely. We ended up with stops in Berlin, the Black Forest, and Munich. By now, our trip is becoming a bit rushed, so we definitely had to cut back on cities. We most definitely enjoyed the pretzels, beer, schnitzels, and bratwurst that the whole of Germany had to offer. We rode bikes around Berlin, visiting all the major sites, camped in the Black Forest and Munich.

Rewind: I forgot one of our first off the beaten track trips...On our way to Paris we stopped at a place known as the Postman's Palace. Sorry for the lack of facts I'm about to give, but quite awhile ago this postman started building this structure in his town. He used rocks, cements, seashells, and other odds and ends from nature. Everyone though he was absolutely crazy, but let's be real, crazy and awesome imaginations are pretty borderline. So, this guy spent a good portion of this life building this palace, and let's just say it's worth the visit. Le Factuer Chaval (eek, French spelling?)

Ok, back to Southern France. Our car was returned and we headed back to England. We had a local Cambridge couple put us up in Cambridgeshire, which was another awesome highlight. We cooked and ate together, spent 3 or 4 evenings chatting the night away, and generally enjoying each others company. Bill and Hazel were a wonderful treat. As were their pets :)

We ended our trip in London, staying in a campground just outside the city. We took a tour bus and boat around the city in order to see as many sites as possible with our limited time.

All that said (and yet so little), we had a fantastic trip. We owe so many thanks and realize that your soon-to-be-sent thank you post cards and cards will not do justice. Side note: Just for the record, it is currently July 11. Let's see how long it takes for all of you to get these thank you notes...I'm saying that because I'm terrible at such things, so hopefully this will keep me on top of it.

Gosh, this has got to be a terribly long read, but I feel like I still want to catch you up on current life. So, if you're still with me, feel free to read on.

We are currently living in the home of a family friend, which we are fixing up for them (painting, trimming, fixing light fixtures, etc.). If you ever want to take part, it's a free place to stay at the shore ;) We certainly won't deny your company.

We are both looking for jobs still, hoping to find a place in Nyack for September, and hoping to land jobs there as well...Always.looking.for.jobs. jobs.jobs. I'll be honest, I'm glad I'm not rich per se, and I do enjoy working and earning a living, but the whole LOOKING for jobs thing, I'm kind of over that part.

On a complete rabbit trail, if anyone knows anything about studying Human Rights, please let me know. I'm currently looking for programs. K is training me for grad school this summer. Right now that means reading a book a week. Book one down: A Mentoring book by the awesome Martin Sanders who we both love dearly. Now, "What's you're God Language"

Gosh, I completely forgot about what instigated this update. I'm turning into my supermom sister and couponing. I'm not promising I'll keep up, and it will probably be for my own record, but I'll start another page to keep updates of how I do.

Much agape and shalom,
b (of k&b)

Update Overdue

Family and friends,
I am so sorry that I have been so remiss in updating you regularly this trip. It has been an excellent adventure, the conclusion of which can do naught but change B and I. The last time we left you all we were in Venezia. Since then we have traveled to Firenze, Toscana, Roma, Nice, Paris, and now Bruxells. Sadly there is no way that we could update you on all of these places at once, as to attempt to do so would take all night, and as I am sure you have figured out by now, time is something I have a very limited supply of.
Florence is a breathtaking city. Our campground was situated overlooking the red roofed city, and every morning B and I were greeted with a fantastic sunrise. The city itself has managed to stay the same despite the passage of time. We wandered the streets and frequently found ourselves turned about and lost. We stumbled upon old churches, mansions and squares. B and I even managed to catch the gelato festival as it was leaving town.
From there B and I decided to move to Toscana, so that we might rest from our travels. We moved to a camp ground near the shore, and spent a few lazy days on the beach. Getting to the beach required traveling through fields of wheat that could have been inspirations to countless works of art, their owners small houses nestled into the hillside overlooking the sea. Until the cars drove by it would seem as though we were in a land that time forgot.
After even our rest became tiring (it is funny how even rest can wear on a traveler), B and I moved to Rome. It was there in that great city that the lessons of so many history teachers finally sunk in. Italy is a country whose peak is far behind her; it is shocking to see the grandeur of yesterday in such a fashion. It is remarkable to see just how far a place can fall. Things which were thought to be so permanent, state of the art, cast in stone; broken, battered, and worn.
Yet even though these proud edifices had lost their efficacy, the people of the world cling to them with all the more zeal. They say here is a marvel, here is something worth seeing. Don’t mind the rubble, or the broken bits. Come one, come all and see what our forbears accomplished with rudimentary tools. Now I do not mean to discount the Romans I am quite impressed with what they have done. But what truly impresses me is society’s ability to remember the past, to freeze itself within time.
In this way societies are very much like people. Frequently people freeze mentally at highpoints within their lives. Societies do this very thing, yet I am forced to wonder if we get a say in the matter. Do our circumstances dictate our future, or can we as (a)people decide to do something different? Florence and Rome are two excellent examples of this. In Florence the buildings are all built in the same style, as they have for hundreds of years. Or one could look at the pride felt in Rome for being the seat of one of the greatest empires of all time.
I think that another example might help illustrate this point. Almost everyone knows someone who is a great example of what I am talking about. Think about this situation, every TV show which showcases a 35 to 40 year old man does the same thing. He gets a crazy idea into his head, attempts said idea, fails miserably, and receives a trip to the hospital for all his trouble. Then someone else (usually his wife/child/parent) finds him and says the following, You know you are not as young as you think you are. For those who are not faint of heart, think about this: how old do you think you are? What do you think your closest friends/family/loved ones would say? (I find these questions and reflections very helpful in my life, perhaps you will too.)
At the end of the day nations, groups, and individuals rise and fall. The question is do we live in a nostalgic haze thinking back to the glory days, or do we face the reality of what is, and adapt to fit that new role in both our individual and collective lives?

Peace and Love
KnB

Travel

Travel: it is an intersting thing to get on a plane bound for somewhere new. Often times when one boards hopes, dreams, and preconceived notions all clamour together. Then a few hours later the door on the craft opens, and the weary traveler steps out into another world. Even when language is shared (which it most often is not) it seems as though everything has shifted, and indeed it has. Place, time, and customs have changed. The traveler is herded along through lines and checks, only to be divulged onto the streets with little sense of direction or heading.

Three times we have changed cities already. From London to Cambridge, and from Cambridge to Venice. Each place has its own feel and atmosphere, as well as its own shocks and suprises. B and I plan to finish out our trip in London, so let me move you along to Cambridge. It is a quiet town, surrounded in farmland. It was here that I discovered why it was so easy for the North East to be called New England. The similarities between the landscapes is remarkable. At times on the busses and trains I felt as though we were driving through Amish country in PA, Or the farmlands of Jersey.

The remarkable difference was the utter lack of suburbs. People either live in the villiage, or they live on the farm, there seems to be no in between. Equally shocking was how quiet the town was for the duration of our stay. Even along major roads in the City/Town it was quiet enough to hear a pin drop. The people of the city shared the same austere solemnity of which the English could be famous. I do not think I could ever call a fellow American stoic again. B and I found ourselves in a town which was older than our home country, with buildings to match. I never realized what grand scale the ancients had decided upon. B and I took a bus to Ely and visited the famous cathedral there. With a computers help I do not think I could have matched the inginuity of these ancient builders. For those of you who are engineers, I have a structural problem for you complete with pictures-diagrams and you can try to make sense of it for me.

After leaving Cambridge B and I found ourselves in Venice. Upon arriving in Italy I realized that this country is much more my speed. First and foremost Italians are by far better looking than Englishmen. No, really. That many white people living on an island with very little genetic interaction can be rather disturbing at times. Also the Italians in Venice at least seem much more laid back. Gone is the uptight sincerity, and in comes a zest for life which was greatly missed in England. Then there is the City of Venice itself.

Venice is the original shore town. Many of the streets are simply canals, and water is everywhere. It has the unmistakable smell of ocean permeating its very heart and center. There are no cars out in the old city, and that lack has caused the city itself to take on a different vibe than any other I have ever been in. People stroll. They meander. They get lost simply for the joy of finding a back street cafe or shop. Eventually no matter which way the traveler starts, he/she ends up at St. Marcos. The size and scope of this building cannot be translated onto the page. Marble from around the then known world, gold leaf over every small space, and cavernous halls that sieze the eye and do not let go. Whenever authors wrote of grand palaces or temples I used to think they were going out of their way to explain their grandeur, after seeing these two cathedrals I have decided that they have not gone far enough. These buildings consume the individual, and one finds themselves sitting down just to drink in the surroundings. With attention to detail rarely seen today ancient builders stretched the limits of their technology to create something beautiful and grand. Say what you want about our ancestors, they were anything but primative.

Tomorrow B and I train to Florence. I expect more of the same. I hope you will continue to follow our journey. We love you all for supporting us and sending us on our way. Consider these updates just a small token of our gratitude to you, our family and friends for being the awesome people that you are.

Love, K&B

You're Still Special Today

I just wanted to give a little shout out to our moms and say how awesome they are. Always supportive and loving, never trying to overbear us with their ideals or opinions, they are simply wonderful. Their love and support has taught K and I, both as individuals and as a couple, so many priceless lessons. A lot of people will comment and question us all being in-laws because we get along so well... It's really such a wonderful situation for all. Thanks moms, we love you so much! And dads ;)

As for our grandmothers, K and I both lost a grandmother due to breast cancer. For this reason, and in memory of all the ways they shared with us their love, their hugs, their ice cream sundaes, and their stories, please join the fight against breast cancer.

http://ww5.komen.org/

http://www.nationalbreastcancer.org/How-To-Help/?gclid=COXF4_7v26gCFQpy5Qod9HtWzg

http://www.savethetatas.com/

For our grandmom, we also want to thank you for all your love and support as well. You're always willing to help out whenever we ask, and for this we thank you! You're love truly shows us the beautiful heart you have (And through your cakes ;)

And lastly, for all the women who have played the role of mom in our lives at sometime or another, we love you too. To my sister, all of our aunts, and even some of our cousins, thank you. To our mentors, we thank you as well. We would not stop singing your praises if we didn't always run out of time. You are beautiful woman and we love you and thank you.


Happy Monday after Mothers day! You're just as special to us today...

Cabins

Hello friends,

Interested in renting a cabin for the wedding weekend or wedding night?

How: RSVP and let me know you're interested. Then, I will contact you.

Price: $77/night

Layout: They sleep 8. The cabins have one master double bed, two sets of bunkbeds, and a double futon. (I think you could additionally fit two twin blowup mattresses on the ground if need be.

Payment: I currently have 4 cabins left. In order to secure one for you, I'll need a check by April 21. (The reason for doing it this way is that we get the member price, so I have to book them).

Need other people to stay with? Let me know, and I'll try to set you up with other people so you don't have to rent a whole cabin by yourself or with only a couple people.

Primitive option? Tents are free to set up on our sites! That's where Kris and I will be ;)

YAY! It's coming fast. Can't wait to see you all!

Next steps shaping up...Kind of.

While there are many possibilities and  ideas shaping up for the near future, there are certainly no definite plans for the two of us. As for the very near future, I am planning on leaving Manhattan within the next month (if not sooner, as I have two trips coming up in March). Doors are opening in this area for someone to take my place in my apartment so I can spend more time in Nyack with K. Since I still only work on Fridays at an after school program in Queens, moving does not really create any qualms in my life.

K is still teaching his Wednesday night Old Testament class at Nyack College and absolutely loves it. I stopped in towards the end of his class last night to listen in from the hallway, and it was so sweet to hear his students participating and calling him "Professor Cook." I like to call him "Professor" now, though he does not enjoy this joke so much.

As for the summer, things are shaping up for gallivanting around Europe, though the months to follow are not yet in order. Some of our considerations include spending another summer at camp (Have we told you about camp yet? We're not obsessed or anything).

((Side note: I was told a funny thing by my friend Julie a couple months ago. After telling her a story about camp, she went on to tell me how everyone she knows who has worked at a camp is completely and utterly obsessed with the fact that they were once camp counselors. Not only several of her friends have worked at camps, but her mom has also shared countless stories with her about her camp life in adolescence. In other words...we highly suggest it to anyone who wants to have to be "messed up..." "but in a good."))


Moving on, our other options involve spending the summer in Cape May or getting settled in Nyack. However, the latter option is somewhat dependent on whether or not K is hired as a Professor (I really wish you could hear how I say this in my head when referring to him...Maybe you'd then understand why he doesn't like it).

Anyhow, things are shaping up. Well I should say, ideas are shaping up. As for any committed answer as to where we'll be spending the beginnings of our married life, this will be news to us.

In accordance to a book I recently read...

Under the Mercy,
B

Wedding things and such

So, after putting so many countless hours into this wedding planning I decided to do a post on some of the places I've discovered along the way. These sights are ones that gave me most of my inspiration for our vintage/country/campground/beach wedding...

((Note of Caution: I will not be responsible for those of you who lose hours of your life looking through these amazing weddings...))

Other wedding blogs (These are just a few, but if you want to see some of the craftiest, mason jar filled weddings ever, go to these sites):
Once Wed
2000 Dollar Wedding (Don't we wish...)
Brooklyn Bride
100 Layer Cake

Artsy Farty
Etsy
Crafts...So many crafts...

Thrifty and "green" (used wedding dresses)
Still White
Recycled Bride
Preowned

Wedding Classifieds (Talk about the best way to save money on decorations)
Wedding Bee
Project Wedding
The Knot

As shown in our registry section, Honey Fund is definitely the best place for couples who want to register for the honeymoon. Unlike most sites, Honey Fund does not charge the couple or their guests to use the site. It's really quite great!
Honey Fund

Hello Hello

Hello there,

So as I spent time with my roommates around the city today, the officialness of our wedding started to set in as I received several texts from friends who received our Save the Dates today. While time has moved extremely slow since our engagement, wedding planning has definitely been fun and seeing K more than once a week is also great! Additionally, I've had several more opportunities to spend time with my roommates recently, which has also been wonderful. I am still more excited than anything to have a more stable schedule and community by the fall...That is the hope anyway, once K and I settle in Nyack.

I cannot wait to see many of you in less than four months! The wedding is getting so close, and  the sound of JB's BBQ pork and Cecil Bryan's clambake is sounding better and better...We have so many people involved, and I think it will be a wonderful time to spend with all of you...

Can't wait to start hearing back on our RSVP section!

Love,
b

Parents and other amazing people...

I just wanted to write a quick something about how awesome our parents have been. They are so loving, helpful. and supportive of all our offbeat wedding ideas and plans. K's mom has said several times that she feels they're not just getting in-laws, but the family is growing...

Our moms have been all over with me looking at different ideas and figuring out ways to let me be creative and still stick to our wedding budget. 

In addition, K's aunt Ethel has been helping design bridesmaid's dresses, my crazy brother has been working on cake ideas, Cecil Bryan and Joe Battle have also been so fun and helpful with planning our reception...

I just want to thank all these awesome people and everyone else who have been supporting and mentoring us along the way.

LO
VE,
B

...On Bridesmaids

K is absolutely right on what he has to say about camp people. I too will be joined by many of my female camp comrades for the wedding and am so unbelievably grateful for them. I never knew what a truly good friendship could be, or at least how to live one out, until I worked at camp. In my first summer at Haluwasa, another one of our dear friends John Chaffe told me that camp friends are just different. I believe his exact words were, "camp friends always seem to trump other friends."

It is true that they are simply amazing people. And while we all have our faults, there's something significant to say about spending summer after summer together in a place of vulnerability, in a place that strengthens our character, one where we get broken and built back up stronger, and a place where we stand on the front line of service and love. Camp is a place where judgments of the world are set aside and where learning through our failures is accepted and supported. It is all of these things that form a seemingly unending bond among those who work at camp... I have a couple other friends who will be up there with me as well, and it's funny because all the things I could say about my camp friends I could say about them as well. It's their loving hearts that draws my admiration for them.

...All these women serve the people around them in their everyday lives and it's simply beautiful to see them living out our calling--to agape.

Like K said, http://www.haluwasa.org/opp_app.htm


LO
VE,
B

PS- the guys are pretty great too! I am equally grateful for K's wonderful and supportive friends.

On Groomsman

So there are a number of people who will be involved in our wedding. I (K) will be having seven friends stand up front with me. While there may be many philosophies as to how one picks their groomsman, the one I used was simple. Who is going to propel me closer to Christ. Who is going to pray for my marriage when it is in trouble? Who is going to call me for my shenanigans? What men of God are going to be men of blessing instead of cursing?

That being said, the men I am picking are: Justin R., Marc P., Mike H., Logan F., Dave B., Jason C., and Elisha B. I love you guys, and I hope that you will start praying for my marriage now. Represented here are a wide variety of men from my life, but I just noticed something that links all but one of them together. They have all served at Camp Haluwasa with me at some point.

http://www.haluwasa.org/

Which brings me to an interesting conclusion, and a shameless plug. Guys, if you lack 'guy friends' that are amazing individuals that you can do most anything with fill out an application, work a summer, make some friends, see lives changed, get to know Jesus more. Girls, if you are tired of meeting losers who won't treat you right, and you want all of the above, you can go fill out an application too. Warning: 'Camp messes you up, but in a good way'.

K

PS I still need to finalize how many ushers etc we are going to need, so if you did not find your name on the list above fret not! I still care about you, and you will have a purpose at my wedding!

Chicken Noodle Soup

K here. One of my first trips with B down to TN was extremely eventful. As we drove down, which is a story in and of itself, I caught pneumonia. I ended up going to the emergency room for a second time that trip, only to get diagnosed with a sickness that caused me to stay for a week. B was undeterred. She put me up, took care of me, and helped me to get back on my feet. I ended up staying for a week under her ministrations. During that time she fed me, took my temperature, got me medicine, and showed me what a caring heart she had. At one point she even drug my bed into the kitchen so she could watch over me while she cooked dinner!

Then push came to shove. I had to get home. So she comes up with a plan. B decided to drive me home, and fly back to TN. On the way back I had an allergic reaction to penicillin, which put me in the hospital for a few days. She stayed with my parents until her flight left, and with a tearful goodbye went back to TN. I know this story sounds incredible, but B has the same heart even to today.

This week my friend and Mentor passed. As soon as she heard B got on a train and came up to see me. She stayed in Nyack for 5 days, making sure I had someone present to comfort me in this time of unsuspected loss. It just fits who she is. It is stories like these that assure me that I have found an excellent woman in B, and that her heart is bigger than I thought it was. I can only hope that I should someday be as loving and kind as B is.

If you are a young woman out there seeking to be like B, check the following link out, it wont give you her heart, but at least you will be able to cook a mean pot of soup! http://allrecipes.com//Recipe/grandmas-chicken-noodle-soup/Detail.aspx
K

Next steps shaping up

K here. Well it is official. I am teaching my first college class! I have been hired to teach a survey of the Old Testament class at school! This is fantastic news for both B and I, as it gives us some direction as to where to go. There are several things to be praying for. First I need housing. Second, I need to find another job as teaching one class does not net me enough income to pay for rent and food. This wonderful news comes up on the heels of unexpected death of my mentor and friend Paul Siu.

I am not sure how to approach teaching without him. In one sense I have had the legs cut out from under me. Dr. Siu was the person I was counting on to help me through my first classes. Yet, in another way I feel incredibly blessed by his legacy. Seeing all of the people he touched and transformed over his tenure at ATS really showed me what a good professor looks like. His passion for Jesus, the Bible, and People really came out through the words and actions of those same people over the last few days.

I now know what I have to do. It is like the map has been laid out in front of me. I see the destination, now it is my turn to take the journey. Next January when I start I do not know what is going to happen, but I do know how I want it to end. It is my hope and dream that when I finish teaching, that I could create a legacy like that of Paul Siu.

K

In Memory

K here. You may have been wondering why I have been so silent for the last few days. My friend, professor, and mentor Paul Siu died this Sunday. Words escape me. I am still in shock. He will be missed and loved. Consider this post my moment of silence.

For more info and to see the mans legacy:
http://www.facebook.com/home.php?sk=group_105469299523943&notif_t=group_activity

                                                                          RIP Paul Siu

-K

Submission

One of the key questions to this relationship deals with submission. For us this means being mutually submissive and interdependent. True wives are supposed to submit to their husbands. Why? They do so because it is difficult! This is their challenge. The men in the passage have a different challenge. They are charged to agape their wives. This is the challenge sent forth by Paul to the men of his time. His wife is not just a woman, but is instead his beloved. The husband is not viewed by the wife just as her overlord, but as someone who she lovingly submits to. The two of them are challenged to treat each other with mutual love and respect.

Neither individual is an object. Neither individual is lesser or greater. Instead they are dependent upon one another in order to fulfill what Christ is calling the two of them to be. God is not bound by gender. He is not male, nor is he female. Rather he transcends gender. What Paul is getting at here is radically different from what was the accepted norm at the time. It caused each person to be elevated in the relationship, so that in the end the marriage could be strengthened.

This plays out beautifully in B and I's relationship. There is so much that B brings into my life: compassion, humor, spontaneousness, touch, love, etc so on and so forth. I am sure that I also bring things into her life, but I will leave that for her to declare. If I squashed her at every turn, and forced her to submit, these things would not have been added into my life. So I say to you--be interdependent--your very life depends on it!

K

Let me serenade you with my plastic guitar!

We were on a beach in Wildwood. The day started with 9 friends on the beach, 8 girls and K. Normally these odds would be quite promising, but on this day I had been expecting some companionship from another close friend who bailed last minute. At the end of the day friend attrition had claimed everyone but K n B. The sun was setting and I (K) was wondering how in the world to exit the scene gracefully. B had already asked to change locations to a beach with a better sunset. I had declined, after all I was not looking for a relationship and that sounded way too romantic.

Then B hit me with the unexpected. She said,'We can go back to my place and play guitar hero'. Now you may not know everything about guitar hero so please allow me to educate you a bit on the subject.

From Wiki:
Upon release, the first game was seen as an unexpected hit, earning over $45 million with about 1.5 million copies sold.^{[113][114][115]} Guitar Hero II was significantly more successful, with over 1.3 million copies sold and sales over $200 million.^[113][116] Guitar Hero III, according to Activision, was the first single video game to sell more than $1 billion, with nearly 3.5 million copies sold during the first seven months of 2008.^[117][118] World Tour continued the series' high sales records with 3.4 million units sold in the United States during 2008.^[119] More than 60 million downloadable tracks have been purchases across the series as of February 2010.<sup>[14]


This game is a sensation! Back when this took place was when I had finally started playing on Expert, the hardest level of Guitar Hero. To get that good I had to love this game, so of course I accepted. When we got there I had another amazing experience that probably deserves a post of its own, and that is the experience of B vs Technology. That though is a story for another time. Once the system got working we both picked up plastic guitars and proceeded to sow the seeds of what was to come.


For more information on the wonders of Guitar Hero:
http://www.guitarhero.com/


K


PS I mean really how many guys can say they started a relationship with their dream girl by singing to her while playing a plastic guitar?</sup>

Fake it till you make it

Hey all, K here. So I have received some negative feedback for my previous posts. As the title of this entry states, I am really pushing and trying to grasp what it means to blog. It is very hard to write without a topic unless I feel it deep within my being. For this blog I am trying to see if I can 'produce' something, even if it is not the best. For the next week or so I am going to continue to try and create something in a forceful manner just to see if it works. After that, should I be unsuccessful, I am going to go back to my previous model of only writing when I feel the compulsion to write. Disclaimer aside I think it is high time that I try to tell a story.

Jugball is an interesting camp game. The rules are simple, two teams, two goals, a few balls, a ton of jugs, and lots of running.Well, maybe it isn't so simple, but it is a great deal of fun. In 2008 I had been at camp for two full summers already, and if there were any secrets about camp I knew them. This includes the secret to winning jugball games. So, wouldn't you know it B and I get placed on different teams. Of course, my team is doing well because I have told them the secret to winning jugball. So the game starts to get intense, feelings are high, and everyone is wondering who will come out on top.


A ball squirts out the side and rolls to a stop away from all campers. We both see it, and being on different teams sprint towards the ball. I arrived to the ball first, and then the most unexpected thing happened. She hip checked me! I couldn't believe she did that. So I thought to myself, so that's how it is eh.Ill show her. Guys, if this thought ever crosses your mind, rebuke it in the name of the Lord Jesus because nothing good ever comes of 'showing her'. She will always have the last laugh I guarantee it.

A few minutes later another ball squirted out the side, only this time she reached it first. So, being the big macho man that I was/am I decided to hip check B back. Upon doing so she flew with little grace down onto the ground. At which point I turned red and offered her a hand up. This gesture brought a second surprise to my day. She batted my hand away with her jug, and got up with an attitude of 'bring it on skinny', and I distinctly remember feeling like I was in for it now. If I had only knew then what I know now!

This is roughly what Jug ball looks like. What is the secret you ask? Wouldn't be much of a secret if I told you now would it?!

K

Life, and Love, and Why?

I always said I would be the last one to go. That there was no way I would ever get hitched first. Besides marriage in general is on the decline. So how is it that I managed to be one of the first to go? Well  to be honest I am as surprised as the rest of you. Running into B at camp and starting a relationship with her were both highly unlikely. I mean if I was to graph the chances I thought it would look more like this one than any other.

What I thought was going to be a no turned out to be a yes. Somehow I tricked her into giving me an affirmative. I don't know what trick I played, because if I did I would write a book and become a millionaire, and every guy on the face of this planet would land his own dream girl.

How we met, yea right~

While many aspects of herstory are true, there are a few pieces that need a bit of tweaking to be accurate. We did meet at a staff retreat, and I was formally told to meet her. What she forgot to mention was that she told me she had a boyfriend! Not only that, but that I should try to pick her up because the relationship was on the rocks. This of course scared me to death, so I ran away for two weeks until the facts came out that she had been single for some time.

It was not until week three that I knew I was sunk. There I was, paddling down the river and who comes out to tip me over? None other than B, my arch nemesis at this point. Sullenly I climbed back into my canoe and plotted my revenge. Further down the river I knew there was some black, sticky, smelly mud, or pud for short. I knew (given history) that this mud scared girls out of their mind, and that she would leave me alone if I threw some at her.

She loved it! Soon we were bombarding everyone on the river with pud. We became so zealous that by the end of the trip a friend of ours was snapping invisible pictures of the two of us flirting mid mud fight. Thats when I knew that it was all over, and I had found the girl for me....

Pud

decisions and such...

so many decisions to be made and yet so many already decided...

After discussing life after marriage and our ambitions to work at a University, getting married in September didn't seem to be the most logical of options...

(Not to mention our plans to backpack Europe for the summer...)

So now...!

the date. the 21st of may, 2011. be there.

the place. YAY! We found a campground! Outdoor World in Ocean View, which is about 25 minutes from Cape May. There is a lake and cabins to be rented. A petition of our requests were made and all requests were met...funny how that works.  .  .

I am very excited and after stopping by the site several times with my mom and some of my lovely friends, everyone is super excited about the whole shindig!

The goal from the beginning has been to have a fun, laid back, outdoor wedding, and thus far things are looking good...

((Cabins are available for guests, so if you're interested email me and I'll have them reserved))

<3 b

Where oh where shall their reception be?

Right off the bat, K&B knew a traditional hotel or restaurant wedding wouldn't cut it. After reserving their beach permit for the Cove in CM (9-10-11), the search began. They drove all over the island trying to find a suitable house with a big yard where friends and family could come and enjoy their time in a fun-loving backyard wedding. As time has come to tell however, it seems there are many restrictions and not many willing owners...

After talking with many realty agents (Some being a huge help coughJimRidgwaycough, and some not so willing. . .) they were not having the best of luck...

Next option, drive around and try to find someone who owns a big field with attached bathrooms they'd be willing to rent? Of course not... (well maybe, but we're not that desperate yet)

B, being the nontraditional type that she is, is now on the search for a suitable campground... (got any in mind? A field and cabins are the two most important parts...)

I can just see it now...


Love you,
K&B

How he asked...

Just one year into their relationship, he thought it was time...She thought so too.

...Then she changed her mind.

Just a year and a half into their relationship, he thought it was time. She thought so too (again).

...Then...she changed her mind (again)

...etc.etc.

And then...just four days after celebrating their two year anniversary,when he still believed it to be time, he decided to go for it...

And she agreed...for real this time.

It was the last Saturday of camp (clean-up day: clearly the most romantic day around these parts), and everyone had to be ready to work at 8 o'clock that morning. He woke her up just around the beginnings of sunrise.

They walked all over camp (where they met) for about 45 minutes, talking and laughing about all their memories from the past three summers. It had been a really rough last week, full of complications and emotions. Because of this, he hadn't been sure if it was time. But as I mentioned, he went for it anyway, deciding that "I want you on the bad days too."

As they approached the front of camp, he asked if she loved him, if she really really really loved him. He took her on the stage and said, among other things, that even though it had been a rough week, he wanted the hard with the easy, the bad with the good. He got down on his knee and asked her.

Soon many of their camp family was there ready to work, but were instead celebrating (and of course being blinded by her bling...)

The ring (knowing she wouldn't wear anything from the current diamond market), was first worn in 1948 by his grandmother (I'm pretty sure I already told you that, but I think it's worth mentioning again).

It is very special and perfect.

About them

HIS: K is currently finishing up his Master's of Divinity in Theology and Biblical studies in Nyack, NY. He hopes to become a college professor and writer. He loves to read obnoxiously long books, write, and play video games...lots and lots of video games... He recently went on a two-month trip to Jordan, where he worked at a community center. He loves talking about his trip and all the things listed above, so you should ask him about them :)

HERS: B is in the last leap of her Bachelor's Degree in a major that is far too complicated to write about here... She lives in NYC and is currently looking for a job... She wants to work in some form of community development, ideally (as of now) through the arts. She would also like to teach someday, write, and possibly go to graduate school. She loves antiques, and even has a vintage wedding dress waiting for her to get it altered. K knew that a new engagement ring wouldn't cut it, hence his search for his inheritance and the finding of his grandmother's wedding ring first worn in 1948...She also loves to travel-no doubt about that.

TOGETHER: Well...together isn't the most common form of life the two get to experience, as they've never spent more than a couple months at a time (or outside of camp) living within an hour of each other. When they are together however, and as they continue to learn all the time, they have much in common. They love being outside: at the beach, camping, traveling, wherever... They like dogs. They both like to read, and while K is way better at it and reads mostly sci-fi, B has a love for books in general. They both like to write, and hear the sounds of their own voices. They love live music and good friends. I imagine that someday, when they do get more time together, they'll enjoy sitting on porch swings somewhere. In their spare time at camp, they used to collect broken glass off the ground (you should check out their five-gallon bucket).

Love, me

How they met

It all started 2 1/2 years ago. He had already been working at Camp Haluwasa for two summers prior, and she had never even been there until that retreat weekend in May of 2008.
After she met all of the staff, and was quickly falling in love with the place, she assumed that the two wouldn't be friends. This was mostly due to his over confidence and seemingly lack of interest... ;) However, someone already had other things in mind. Dale, another camp alum in this story, met B first. When K showed up to the retreat a few hours later, she told him he had go meet her. I believe her exact words were, "hey, there this girl I think you should go meet."

Many weekends to follow, K insisted on following her home and spending long Saturdays on the beach together. They spent every week to follow that summer in Tee Pee Town, the camps oldest program, with Philina, Shavon, Erin, Lindsey, Ben, and some others...

It was a beautiful and irreplaceable summer full of challenges and friendships that would come to mean the world.

seven weeks,
100s of campers,
several beach weekends,
a trip to TN,
many mud fights and campfires later,
the rest was history
(and hers...)