Engagement Pictures...

If you haven't already seen our engagement photos here they are:

Engagement pictures

-Jon
ps You can get in to see the full photo shoot if you know my last name. Which you do. Lucky you ;-)

I'm Engaged!!!

Hey Friends,

Courtney and I got engaged on October 5, 2009. I'm sure bajillions of people want to hear how it all went down so here is my version. (Maybe Courtney will comment on anything thats different in her version).

First, I ordered the ring special back in early September because I wanted to use my grandmother and great grandmothers diamonds as side stones. So the 3 weeks of waiting for the ring to be ready was painful. But in the end I think it turned out even more beautiful than I could have imagined. (Maybe Courtney will post pictures of it for you all).

Then two weeks ago I met with her parents to ask for their blessing. That point is critical because Courtney didnt think her parents could keep the secret more than a day or two and I was with her at a conference all weekend prior to proposing.

So Sunday a friend picked up the ring from the jeweler and that night I got the ring from him.

Since I was working at a conference all weekend I got most of Monday off.

I showed up at her house with a bunch of Sunflowers (her favorite) but I acted very casual and unromantic when I gave them to her so as not to tip her off too much.

Courtney loves when the Aspen trees turn yellow up in the mountains so I told her I'd drive her around where ever she wanted to go and take pictures of the trees.

We ended up driving to the Crags which is a cool hiking area about an hour outside Colorado Springs.

I had packed us a nice picnic lunch so we found a small grove of the Aspens that were still bright yellow and laid out a blanket there and ate lunch and talked. The day was absolutely perfect. It was sunny but with storm clouds threatening in the distance.

She told me later that she'd been thinking 'When Jon proposes he's going to have a hard time topping today.' I'm glad I didn't have to because it really was perfect.

So after we finished eating lunch I pulled out a poem I had written her and had her read it. While she was reading it I pulled the ring out of my pocket. Once she finished reading it I told her 'Ok now you have to stand up' to which she replied in a confused voice 'what why??' :-) But she stood up and I got up on one knee and held up the ring and said 'Courtney will you marry me?'

She kinda freaked out for about 5 seconds and then came back and took the ring and said yes.

Her parents had told me it would likely be nearly impossible to surprise Courtney. But according to her until I told her to stand up she had no idea I was going to propose. She didnt think it would happen for another week atleast since she thought I hadn't had an opportunity to talk to her parents. :-)

I'm sure most people who get engaged say something like this but truely it could not have been more perfect for both of us.

Since everyone asks... at the time of this writing we haven't finalized a date but looking at maybe late February or early March.

My digital camera got stolen about a month ago along with a bunch of other things so I dont have any pictures to post on here but maybe Courtney will link to some when she gets hers online.

Back from the Balkans

I spent most of the summer in the Balkans. Serbia and Montenegro to be exact. It was a great summer.

If you'd like to check out the summer project blog its at sx09.blogspot.com

Also, I have a paper prayer letter that I send out to people who support my ministry. Lately I've gotten a number of suggestions that I 'go green' and so I took a step in that direction recently by creating an email mailing list for people who would like to receive my letters as a PDF. If you would like to be added to that mailing list just fill out the form to the right with your name and email address.

-Jon

Girlfriend

While I'm posting about things I like I should post about my Girlfriend. Her name is Courtney. Isn't she cute??

Tea

As many of you may know I am obsessed with Tea. I used to be a diehard coffee drinker like the rest of the world. But about 3 years ago that changed and I switched my love to tea and have never looked back.

I wont recount all my reasons for the switch or the long process I went through to reach my current position. No the point of this post is that my favorite tea company has released the cool widget you see to the right. If you enter your email address there supposedly they will give you a $5 certificate to order some tea with. Now in the coffee world that wouldn't get you anything but in the tea world thats significant!

Adagio is a great place to check out good loose leaf teas (the way tea is supposed to be enjoyed) though you can get teabags from them too. Mmmmm Assam, or Darjeeling, or Oolong anyone?

Livermore or bust.

I dont update this blog much [at the moment] but incase anyone in CA reads this but hasn't heard from me via any of my other communication methods - I'm heading back to Livermore next week and I want to see EVERYONE. So send me a message if you have time to see me.

-Jon

Decorating

So I finally hung pictures on my walls today. HUGE difference. I mean not as much as if my walls had been white (they are wood paneled). But definitely a nicer 'lived in' effect.

[I have to assume that this is where having a significant female in my life would have prevented me from going 6 weeks with no decorations. Amongst other things.]

Very productive day already and I leave shortly for "work" a.k.a. going to hang out with some student leaders. Love it. Then the rest of my week I'll be attending a staff conference. God's been pointing out today that for as much as I can grip about things He's given me a pretty stinking wonderful life.

Cooked up a storm!

Yesterday I got a hankering to do some cooking. So I went nuts. First I made chili. Jon's-it-would-be-famous-if-he-ever-shared-chili-con-carne. The stuff is amazing. Who can go wrong with 3+ pounds of shredded beef chili?? Its awesome. So for several hours yesterday the house had wonderful smells of chili wafting in the air.

Then I decided to live on the edge and try something new. Apple Butter. Who knew you could make it yourself and that it only takes 3 or 4 ingredients??? Of course peeling and chopping apples took me an hour and I have some sore muscles in odd places from it but it was worth it. Because this morning I went out to check on the crock pot and after stirring it for a few minutes it actually looks just like apple butter you get in the store. Then I tasted it. Sublime.

Seriously I disappoint myself that I cook so rarely. Or rather that I'm lazy and just cook simple things. When I get ambitious with my cooking is when things get tasty! Now I just need someone who likes to buy me ingredients and clean the kitchen when I'm done. hehe.

I think I want to grill a turkey for Thanksgiving again. As I recall last time I did that it was one of the better turkeys I've had - which is saying something because my mom can cook a mean turkey!

Any suggestions of what I should direct my budding culinary prowess at next?