The Number Four

Adam & Julie Johnson
August 1, 2009 

Four seems to be a special number this year. 
Today marks our 4th anniversary.
We've circled the sun four times since we said "I do" on August 1, 2009.
We've flown over the world a dozen times too.

We're basically a family of 4: a daddy, a mommy, a girl, and a boy.
 By the amount of clothing and baby boy stuff we've bought for our little guy (due any day),
you'd think he had already made his appearance! 

38.5 weeks pregnant.
Willow (2 years old) 

This past weekend, we returned to downtown Grayslake for a little photo shoot with my childhood friend, Kristi Witek. We walked around looking for places that would work as backdrops and ended up getting ice cream for Willow at Tastee Freeze. The "Entwined" sign that we posed in front of four years ago was no longer around. It had been the name of a Florist shop that has since gone out of business. Here are a few pictures from our wedding day, and also from our recent family picture session. 

Truly, four is a small number. I'm always amazed and inspired by couples who have been married for many years. These first years of marriage have been some of the hardest and most difficult of my life, but God has been using them to refine our hearts and teach us more about His love for the Church. In a way, it's the most rewarding experience of our lives. Marriage isn't about finding the 'perfect' person to complete you; rather it's about being perfected as God often uses marriage in the process of sanctification. 

Nothing can properly prepare you for all the joys and heartaches of marriage. We've been blessed in numerous ways by our family and friends. We've been upheld by the Holy Spirit, who gives us the strength to carry on and refines us in our weaknesses. Really, we've had little to complain about and any long-suffering we might walk through is minute in comparison to that of others'. We've been very blessed each year by the generosity, encouragement, hospitality, and prayers of many. And somehow, by God's grace, we love each other more now than we did on our wedding day. 

It's amazing how much I am STILL learning about Adam. This year, it finally sunk in how much Adam is obsessed with pie. Never realized how much he loves and needs to eat pie before. I've finally become proficient enough to cut his hair every six weeks. I know the secret to cooking anything Adam will love is to add onions and garlic. 

[Four Years]

It's pretty much the longest we've ever done anything.

You go to high school for four years.

Attend college for four years.

It's like we're 'graduating' into a non-newly-wed status or something.
Do we get caps and gowns or something?

I haven't seen all the pictures from this photo shoot yet--just the few that have been posted on facebook by Kristi--but I am super excited to do so after seeing these images! We're planning on Kristi taking some newborn pictures of our little guy too. 

Married Overseas 

We've lived in China for four years. And plan on adding another two years to that record. Living in China has been the best thing for our marriage, in many ways. We've had to establish ourselves in a new community, and make a home for ourselves in a land that was far from familiar. It's encouraged us to make our own traditions, try out our own recipes, discover our own niche as a growing family. It has taught us to rely on each other, to be one another's biggest advocate, and to become the closest types of confidantes.

I'm not sure how our lives or marriage would have looked if we had stayed in America. But I am incredibly grateful, for the sake of our marriage, that God placed us in China two weeks after we tied the knot. It has taught us so many lessons about ourselves, about each other, and about our relationship with God. In many ways, living overseas has put us on a crash course of fast paced learning. Perhaps someday, I could write more about all these things, but now we're still in the midst of learning these lessons.

The most profound statement I have come across since promising my forever to Adam has slowly started to reconstruct my idea of what marriage is. For some reason, it sunk in more than it ever had before about a year ago. It has given me hope on difficult days, and challenged me when I am tempted to act selfishly.

Marriage is not about being happy;
it's about giving glory to God.

There are many men out there that I could have married. Not to be conceited or anything....it's just that I often wonder how in the world I ended up marrying Adam at the age of 21.

There could have been other versions with different outcomes---but God lead me to Adam. We aren't perfect for each other. We are both sinful, selfish, finite individuals who make it through life only because of the grace of God. Every day, we have to intentionally decide that we still choose to love each other. God is powerful enough to redeem our marriage and cause it to become good--I truly believe this--and I am learning to allow my love for Adam grow in measure with hope I have found in Christ.

I am very grateful for Adam. He is incredibly generous and patient with me. He helps me to the point where I don't think I can do life without him. I was blessed with a wonderful husband and godly man...but I had no idea that he would be such a caring and sacrificial father. Praise the Lord.

Our marriage no longer affects only us.

One of the many things that I really, really love about Adam is watching him be a father to little miss Willow. He is such a wonderful dad and I fall more in love with my husband every time I see those two interact. He plays with her, teaches her, cuddles with her, wipes her nose and changes diapers, buys medicine when she's sick, and takes her on bike rides. They are two peas in a pod! I can't wait to see him interact with a son too. Sometimes I have visions of him being chased around our tiny apartment by a 3 year old Willow and a pudgy 1 year old, or of Adam teaching Willow how to play basketball, or helping with homework. It brings so much joy to my mother's-heart and I am overwhelmed with thankfulness that Adam is such a wonderful father.

I think about how he will be a father to Willow as she grows up and how much I desire for them to have a positive relationship that glorifies Christ. I want Willow to be able to understand the love of Jesus easily, because her earthly father exemplifies unconditional love to her on a daily basis.

The prayer of my heart is that Adam will be able to build a strong relationship with our son as well. That our little boy will learn what it means to be a loving, compassionate, hard-working man because of the father he has. I hope that our little boy will learn to respect women, starting at home with his mom and sister. I can imagine him opening the door for Willow when he's just a toddler, because he is learning to care for others from his dad's example.

I believe Willow will have a successful time transitioning into womanhood because of how her dad loves her. I hope that our baby boy will grow into a man of God who isn't afraid of life, but instead acts selflessly and wisely.

Now, as a young mom, I'm so glad that I have Adam next to me. I'm content to follow him, listen to him, serve him, and be a parent with him. He helps me to see that being a mom to our kids such a joy and a privilege.

Thank you, Adam, for leading us so admirably. Thank you for not 'dumping' all the parenting on me, but truly taking on the responsibilities of being a great dad. I trust you, appreciate you, and respect you so much. I hope that I can learn to be the kind of of wife that brings you honor and support. Four years has taught me that you deserve someone much better than me; thank you for loving me unconditionally.

As our fifth year of marriage commences,
I'm so thankful to be journeying through life with Adam. 

Four years ago, if you had told me that I'd no longer be teaching, that I'd be living in China, that I'd be a mom of two kids, that I'd be more in love with Adam than ever before....I wouldn't have believed you. 

But that doesn't make it any less true or any less sweet. 

I look forward to the years to come. 

I love you forever, Adam! 

Recent family photo shoot: credit to Kristi Witek

Wedding photos from Kristi Witek or Justin Oakman Photography

[a wedding]

Stephen & Jessica 

June 8, 2013

Stephen and Jessica singing together. Too sweet. And hard to keep dry eyes. 

 Announcing Mr. and Mrs. Langley! 

 Delicious homemade chocolate chip cookies and drinks were served outside afterwards. It was a beautiful day, with warm sun and a cool breeze. The newly weds were truly blessed with gorgeous weather. Because we're in China most of the time, I've missed most of my friends weddings. It was wonderful to watch these two old friends tie the knot. I enjoyed the simple service, it was filled with genuine worship. Christ was the center of their ceremony, and I pray that it will continue to be so in their marriage!

I'm also sad to report that Willow was a bully. She whacked a cute girl in the head with a stick three times.

Goodbye to the bride and groom! 

Many blessings to you both! 

*******************************
Willow's little photo session. She loves to have her picture taken. 

So tired! Willow refused to take a nap before the wedding, and instead spent nap time talking and singing to herself. I guess that I should be happy that all she did was hit a girl in the head with a stick three times. Oh yeah, she also shouted "Yay!" after the bride and groom finished singing their song together. She also shouted "Amen" twice. And ate cookies in the sanctuary.

Cards

Looking at old pictures, I came across these. The first two photos are of our wedding invitation.

I made these cards four years ago to ask some of my friends to be bridesmaids in our wedding. I used to decoupage quite often, and so that's how I made this stationary. I flipped through some magazines (mostly architecture monthly editions) and cut out textures that I liked. Then glued them onto card stock. Super easy and fun--makes me want to do it again!

I think I would wear these dresses. Which is your favorite?

Three Years

Time flies.

This post is very late in coming, since we celebrated our third anniversary on August 1. It was also a milestone, as far as anniversaries go, because it was our first anniversary together. Last year, we were in two different countries and the year before that we were in two different provinces. Our first anniversary had me so mad at Adam, I didn't talk to him for a while. He was sent on a student development retreat by our school, but he didn't tell me about it until a few days before. Not the 'ideal' first anniversary scenario. Our second anniversary, Adam was getting ready to teach in China, and I was in America trying to sort out Willow's legal document issues so that we could take her to China with us. That was a MESS to say the least and not one my best memories in life. 

So, finally, FINALLY, we were together. 

And, bonus points, we had live-in babysitters.

Tommy and Emma were in the midst of their China visit, so they watched Willow while Adam and I rode our bikes to a Japanese spa to get 59 kuai back massages. Yes, that's right, it's $9.25 for thirty minutes of sheer bliss mixed with a lot of pain as the stress and tension is beat out of you. Kind of like marriage. The massage began comically, since we didn't know what time they opened (we usually go in the evening), we just assumed they would be open by 10. But they weren't. So we were standing outside, thinking about what we should do (correction, I actually walked in the closed spa--before I realized that it was closed) when one of the workers comes biking towards us. She lets us in, asks what we want, and sends us upstairs. We waited for a bit, and then a room was prepared. Some massage therapists who arrived early, started killing the knots in our backs. Probably the best part of this particular massage was that they had the Olympics playing on the tv in our room. We don't pay for tv channels at our house, so hadn't watched any of the Olympic Games yet--it was all in Chinese, but since it was gymnastics it was pretty fun to watch. This started a debate about whether or not gymnastics is a sport. Adam says "no, it's a competition". I disagree. What do you think? This is not a time for wikipedia---

After our cheap, painful, glorious massages, we biked another mile or so to eat at a Japanese restaurant. Accidental theme here. The food was delicious, but we almost didn't have enough cash to pay. Adam hadn't brought his debit card, but he had quite a bit of cash. China is a cash society, and so you have to get used to carrying hundreds or thousands of kuai with you at all times. Anyway, the waitress wrongfully charged us. She handed me a receipt for almost 400 kuai! Even though I couldn't read the characters on the receipt, I went over each item with her and said that it should cost less than 200 kuai. In the end, we only had to pay 150 kuai--which was amazing since I thought they were going to make us wash dishes or hand over our other valuables. She had charged us the all-you-can eat price which is set at nearly 200 kuai per person. Oops. 

With our now left over money, we headed to subway to get some subs for dinner later that day. And then we went to Starbucks where we ordered tasty drinks and dessert. We were so full, but still had to bike home. On the way home, I asked if we should stop at the grocery store to pick up some more wipes (which we were dangerously low on at home). Sign of the times, I guess. Such a romantic way to end a lovely date together. 

The word "date". While we're on the subject. When we were dating, I wouldn't say that we went on dates all the time, but we did go on quite a few. And even when we were just hanging out, it felt special. I hope that as we get old together, that special factor doesn't wear away. I have to remind myself what a privilege it is to be married to my best friend and how it doesn't matter what we do together as long as we with one another. I don't need fabulous dates, or consistent date nights--I just need quality time with my favorite guy. Things like riding bikes together or grabbing coffee seem ordinary to me now. But there was a time when getting coffee with Adam was exhilarating. It makes me smile to remember those days, and how quickly my life has changed in the six years since we met each other. But I don't miss those exhilarating days. I'm glad we had them, but I'm excited about growing into a more harmonious and hopefully more mature couple. We still love each other, still 100% committed to one another, and that is a lovely thing. 

I'm so glad that you asked me to be your wife, Adam Johnson. I'm thankful for you every day, and amazed by how our Father has been faithful through all the valleys He has brought us through. It's been a crazy three years, and you've been worth every good, bad, and ugly minute we've shared together. I love you! If I could marry you again, I would in a heart beat! Especially if I could have a pinterest wedding. ;) 

My heart sings with gratitude to the All Powerful Creator--for bringing us together, protecting us through terrible storms, upholding us through major transitions, and causing us to learn more about true love, sacrifice and unconditional respect. Thank you, Father for bringing us this far. Help us to bring glory to your name--and bless the future years to come.

I would also like to submit the following picture as evidence. Because three years is obviously not long enough to forget that Adam left me at the church after our ceremony and went to the reception without me. I will always give you a hard time about that, Adam. 

Re-discovered

During Willow's nap today, I stumbled upon a fold filled with wedding pictures that I haven't looked at in a while. These were all taken by my old friend, and great photographer--Kristi Witek. We also had pictures taken by my cousin's talented husband, Jay Oakman. But this particular folder I was perusing was just of Kristi's work. She focused more on candid shots throughout the entire day. Perhaps I will post more later, but for right now, I need to head to bed! I have a terrible sickness falling upon me, and a long day tomorrow.
If you like Kristi's work, I can lead you to her business/website.

I loved our cake. It had many delicious layers. Sadly, I didn't get to eat any on our wedding day. Someday, when we're back in America during our anniversary, I plan on buying another cake from the same company, same cake/frosting/fillings--so that I can actually EAT it.



Adam's childhood barn that held his John Deere tractors. His grandfather built it for him.










Someday, I'm going to print our wedding pictures and actually put an album together. For right now, online posting is what I'll stick to. It's been fun to take another look at some of the pictures from our wedding. Thank you, Kristi for the fun photos!

~julie