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Wednesday, December 30, 2009

brian

Tonight at midnight, we'll ring in a new year, and for the first time, I won't be able to call Brian at 12 p.m. January 1st and wish him a happy birthday. :( That's sad. I had a realllllly long cry about it last night. Probably the longest I've ever had because this is starting to become real that he won't be here for these annual events. The "trauma" of it has faded somewhat and reality is sinking in and I don't really like its picture.

I do like knowing that he's still around. I'll probably wish him a happy birthday up in heaven at midnight. And thankfully, I'll be surrounded by friends (new year's eve party) and family on Friday night. Although I'm a little nervous for the feelings I'll face, I know I'll make it through okay. I'm sure it will be double or more what I'm feeling for my parents and Cristina, so if you could keep them in your prayers, that would be great.

Thank you!

Tuesday, December 22, 2009

Christmas letter 2009

"It was the best of times; it was the worst of times...."

Looking back on 2009, that phrase seems only the best way to describe it. We will never forget 2009 for two big reasons: our wedding and my brother's passing. It's definitely been an emotional year.

Erik and I absolutely loved our destination wedding on March 8. We were married on the beach in Naples, Florida and then held a big party back in MN to celebrate with our family and friends. It was an absolute dream!

I love that my brother got to see us get married. Brian wound up going home to meet Jesus on October 5 after a well-fought battle against cancer. He was an amazing, admired man and is dearly missed. His life will encourage us (and many others) to live right before God for many years to come.

On the day-to-day side of things, Erik continues to be a rehab technician for Reliable Medical company. He's daily bringing stories, hope, and a smile to a bunch of patients around the city who need his help getting a new wheelchair or getting their chair fixed. I continue to work full-time as a writer for Living Word Christian Center. I love working with words every day... and I realize that sounds totally nerdy to say!

Other news of the year... we got a puppy! Tucker is a chocolate lab and English springer spaniel. He's SUPER hyper, but only when people are around. He stays around with me (Laura) at home, since I work from home, and is relatively chilled out then.

We appreciate all of our friends and relatives; we're especially thankful for their strong support during an emotional year. All God's best and blessings to you during this Christmas season and the new year. We love you.

Erik, Laura, and Tucker Wegener :)

Friday, December 18, 2009

just checking in

Hey everyone!

It's Friday and I'm making some lunch so I thought I'd write a quick note hello before time gets away from me. :) My family and I are doing well. I miss Brian. I was reminded of him a lot last weekend. We played an expanded version of Settlers of Catan, a game Brian just loved, and I knew he would have loved the extended version too. Erik said we could play the game with him in heaven. :) Yay!

My parents are down in Florida and will bring back Cristina and the girls on Sunday. They'll be back for the holidays - I'm very very excited to see them and spend time with them. From what mom and dad have said, it hasn't been easy being with the five of them but not having Brian there. We decided we are all going to be together on New Year's day - Brian's birthday. And we're going to think of something super fun for us all to do... still to be determined. Erik and I came up with a lot of good ideas, but they were all food related... heheh hehe... that made me laugh. :)

Thanks for your thoughts and prayers during the holidays. I greatly appreciate it. It's not easy, but time does help heal and God helps you adjust. We still have lots of questions and aren't sure exactly what the future will look like, but it will be okay because God is with us.

We probably won't get a Christmas card out this year, and I'm not sure that my parents or Cristina will, so we'll probably wind up sending you lots of love via our respective blogs. Know that we do love you and pray that you will have a wonderful Christmas season. These next two weeks are really the most wonderful time of the year - family, fun, friends, vacation, etc. I'm looking forward to them.

Blessings on your day!

Tuesday, December 8, 2009

our first (almost) plumber's story

So Erik and I have our first story that thankfully didn't involve a plumber (and isn't too disgusting!). Our downstairs bathroom stopped working about a week ago. Well, it still worked somewhat - it was just reallllllllly slow, and slow enough where we couldn't really use it.

That, of course, is a problem.

We plunged it plenty of times, but still no change. I even went to the store and asked an employee if there was anything like drano you could use on a clogged toilet. He smirked and said, "Pretty much no. That's the job for a plumber or maybe a snake you can purchase." His look was relatively humiliating, but I kept reminding myself I'd probably never see him again...

So Erik and I were somewhat resigned to the problem and the possibility of spending money on a plumber. Until last night...

I decided to put all the carrot peels down the kitchen sink, and apparently, it didn't like that. Within seconds, both the garbage disposal and downstairs bathroom was plugged... great... So I decided to hunt online and see what "how-to's" were available for plugged pipes.

Long story short, Erik looked online, and then grabbed the plunger and thankfully cleared the garbage disposal. He decided to go purchase a plumbing snake for the toilet since we were both convinced the clog was way down the piping system and wouldn't be reached with a coat hanger, one of the online suggestions.

Erik came home, put the $8 snake in the toilet, but was perplexed when it couldn't go far. He tried and tried, and then bent down to see the problem. Lo and behold (I know, that's an ancient phrase!), Tuck's missing dog bone, which was circular, was right there, out of sight.

Thank goodness, we hadn't called a plumber.

On another dog story, we did decide to put up our Christmas tree, in hopes Tuck would avoid it (I know, a lost hope). And let's just say, now the bottom of the tree is surrounded by furniture, a baby gate we use to keep Tucker out of places, an overturned stool, and a few other of our things that are faithfully guarding our carefully decorated tree.

:-)

Saturday, December 5, 2009

happy Christmas season!

Today (Saturday) has been a good holiday day! I think I've come up with a new holiday tradition... for myself. heheh hehe... Making cranberry applesauce!!! I love it! Tonight Erik and I are headed to a Christmas party and I decided to make a big batch of it, partially because my best friend April heard I was making applesauce and wanted some. Too bad for Erik that he doesn't really like cranberries... more for me. Yay!

Our Christmas tree is up and today I found the holiday station on XM radio. Super fun! A bunch of old Christmas music. Loving it. Good atmosphere. It does remind me of my grandparents' house.

I did pray a lot this morning for a friend of mine from high school and his dad. His sister died right before Thanskgiving and within days, his grandpa died. Wow. You know when things look really dark for you, you'd be surprised by how many people around you are facing more difficult situations than you are! Peace and grace to them. I know a little bit of what they are going through and I am aching with the horror and pain. Those first few weeks are so surreal. God, be with them! Surround them and bring them peace during this time!

Erik and I are working on white elephant gifts for a party tonight... I think we have some good ones.

All for now...

P.S. New Year's Resolution #1... (I know, it's early!)... stop using "..." when writing.