...When a Groom gets married...

One week ago today, August 11, 2012 my oldest little brother was getting married to his sweet bride Chantel. We all met in the cute little town of Grand Haven, Michigan and made such precious memories. 

Mr. & Mrs. Brooks(ie) Groom ; )

Things you should understand about my family- 1.when we all get together, we cherish it. Since 5 of the 8 of us are in the military, knowing when we will see each other again is never a for sure thing. 2.there's never JUST 9 (now 10) of us... usually we make reservations for 16 or 18 people at restaurants just because.. my mom has such a magnetic personality and will make friends anywhere and my siblings seem to make some of the most incredible friends and invite them along with us.. it's not something you'd want to miss if you were around. I always feel SO lucky & blessed when we're all together. I secretly think that everyone around us wants to join our party (which, if you are ever around us- just jump in.. really..nobody will think it's weird. just be ready to hear about some many family memories, stop in a thrift shop or two or twelve... and don't be surprised if you pray after the "touch your nose first or pray" game, or if my dad tries to give you one of his "million dollar" bills very randomly). : ) 

Table for 19 at Panera

"here, let me give you a small tip"

Since this was my first real Army leave, i was just so excited to get away with Drew, forget how to tie my combat boots, NOT wear a uniform, paint my nails and enjoy the whole week with my family.. 

The entire trip was just so enjoyable and filled with SO MANY sweet memories:: 

• getting to see how TALL my littlest sibs are getting

littlest siblings, mom-mom & cousins sam&lilly

•  seeing my mom, dad, siblings && grandma (mom-mom)
•  hugging my cousins Sam & Lilly (Aunt Bev, Uncle Brian and Brian- We missed you!!
•  meeting all of my brothers college friends (the ones who are now household names after some of the stories brooks&kit have told us about them)
• hitting up EVERY thrift shop and antique store in the area 
• jumpin'java coffee shop- filled with all kinds of frog themed art & drinks that make you feel embarrassed to say them out loud when you order them : ) 

Dad, Mom, Bryanna & Steph getting Jumpin'Java after a morning at the Y

• the local YMCA (also, if you come on a vacation with us, expect to feel twinges of guilt if you are the sole individual who does not get up before the sun to go for a jog or swim or workout...especially if my sister, Kelly is there- she'll be up at 0430 and will already have run a marathon before you've even pulled back the covers-...don't worry- i've been the sleeper-inner many a time) 

Bryanna and I getting in a workout on the Tandem stationary bike

• seeing Drew just be such a member of the family : ) -  during the week my mom told me that he just blends in so well with us and how much they all love him. how much he's like my dad. quiet, funny, goes with the flow, makes people feel at ease.. you know : ) made me smile. 

Drew with Stephi : ) 

• preparing the rehearsal dinner- mom brought so many shells and sea glass and leis from Hawai'i - it was so cute. Even though it was cold and rainy, nobody had a bad attitude, nobody was upset- we just moved the rehearsal into the conference room of the Days Inn where we were staying (mom and dad had made friends with the front desk workers) and we set up the dinner in there. Perry Como was playing "magic moments", (my dad's favorite) while a slide show of pictures reflected off the screen..i couldn't watch the whole thing because i knew i'd start crying. 
• my dad's speech during the rehearsal... man, even if you don't cry.. I'm pretty sure i could've caught you wiping your eyes. He told my brother Brooks how proud of him he was, and how he and my mom have always prayed specifically for "future spouses who love the Lord", his voice started to crack a little then he said, "I can't believe that you're all grown up now. I have such a vivid memory that feels like just yesterday. I was pulling in the driveway coming home from work and saw a little pair of training wheels lying on the ground.. i thought 'why are these here? who's could those be? There's no way they are from Brooksie's bike!'.....then, I looked up to see You flying around the corner on your big boy bike, smiling and so proud of yourself... It just went so fast"... see? now I'm all teary again! 

~1993 (?)Fort Ord,Monterey California- Brooksie and Mouse getting the morning paper~

fastest wedding set up ever

• the frantic beach ceremony set up: mom, dad, kel, mom-mom, little sibs, cousins and drew and i arrived at the beach where the wedding was to be and couldn't find the chairs that the rental company had dropped off. after about 15 minutes i called the renal company and they told us they had dropped them off on the sidewalk..annnnd it was also then we realized the wedding was set to begin in about 20 minutes. set up panic follows. It was just such a funny&&not so funny moment watching my cousins, dad, mom, grandma running all carrying these chairs and decorations down the beach.my sister tying tulle around sticks, my brother and cousin digging holes in the ground, drew trying to figure out music set up, my dad unwrapping all of Chantel's beautiful < handmade > starfish decor.. priceless..Drew and i decided on a good location and bam..that's where they got married....about 15 minutes later : ) it was a beautiful wedding. so sweet and full of love.

• the wedding night: usually when couples get married, they say their goodbyes and drive off straight into their honeymoon..but with brooks & shay : ) they text us asking if they could come be part of family dinner that night : ) we made reservations for 15 and headed off to a tiny, hole in the wall restaurant to meet up with the newest Groom's! The restaurant was already full to begin with & we made it feel borderline crazy house. But it was such a sweet time with the whole family. Afterwards we took these pictures.-The first three were after we discovered the timer took 5 shots at a time- The last 3 are jumping pictures : )  They make me laugh SO hard. 

• Brooks & Shay then had us all come over to their incredible beach side B&B..yes, that's right. all 13 of us went to the honeymoon b&b for a full tour. we took beach pictures and laughed and joked. wrapped up in blankets because it was SO cold. sat in the old fashioned living room and told stories for a few hours. it's not traditional- no. but that's what made it be just US. i think we all knew how special that time was. how in the morning we would all go our separate ways. i believe all of us were trying to make the time slow down just a little bit more. I just wanted to sit back and take it all in. Remember smiles, laughs, looks on faces, moments together. I loved looking over at my parents laughing. hearing brooks and kit tell stories about family vacations. my sister taking pictures of everyone. watching drew hear stories for the first time. mom-mom laughing at us all. i laughed until my stomach hurt. it's during these moments that i have always wished i could freeze time.. i will make notes in my iphone describing all the tiniest details of what's happening- hoping to preserve it better in my memory.. it was such a bittersweet moment when we realized it was time to leave and say goodbye to brooks & shay as they started their new lives together- on their way to Ft. Benning GA.

mom-mom being forcefully bundled up

some of the people i love most in the world

a panoramic picture that kel took of us all (lilly's head got lost in the transition)

To sum it all up, it was an amazing week with family and i was so sad to see it come to an end. It was so special for me to have Drew with me the entire week- made everything even better than it could have been. 

Times like this always make me reflect on how MUCH i've been blessed with. how gracious GOd has been to my entire family. It's not that we haven't had struggles or trials- but i realize that compared to some families these are small. The neatest thing is.

 it's not because we earned it

it's because of Jesus. and what HE did. and how He lets us have these moments and relationships in life. 

i also believe it has much to do with my parents and the devotion they have towards their relationships with Christ.

my parents have always prayed for us. individually. for our future spouses. for our family. for their marriage. for others.

for the past 26 years, i can remember walking down the creaky steps of our house(s) to find my dad at the kitchen table faithfully reading his Bible and keeping notes in his meticulous way. My mom could be found out on the porch, sunroom or lanai doing the same thing. with her well worn Bible that she keeps tiny dates and notes written in the spaces between. Below is a picture of an older journal entry of mine describing this: 

 i believe that's why GOd gives us such special times when we are together. AND apart. I know that there will be things that i don't anticipate being part of GOd's plan.. or things that will leave us torn and upset as a family.. But ultimately I know that I'll see these ones again.. that makes everything be ok. 

hey change

 well, 

our movers came and packed up all of our earthly goods. 

minus two suitcases each- one for thailand, one for washington.

we went to thailand.

so neat. rode an elephant. 

climbed these beautiful temples at sunrise.

saw some of THe most crazy and incredible things. (clearly this post doesn't do them all justice)next i'll write a post all about Thailand...

my little brother brooks graduated and commissioned into the army. i missed it : ( sad for me, but i'm so proud of him. ps-below, i love my mom's laugh. it's so happy and cheery. it was also the best way to locate her after church when we were all hungry and trying to get her to come out to the car.

we came home to hawaii to spend the last few days with my sweet family.

baked ourselves on the beach in preparation for living in washington.. i know, soon i'll be old and wrinkly and wish that i hadn't burnt to a crisp. oh well. 

we flew out of honolulu and off to our new adventure. 

hands down- i win the award for puffiest eyes and most hideous crying face on that plane...in the airport.. maybe on the island. saying goodbye to my family was the hardest ever. I know GOd will protect them, i just truly will miss the times we had together in hawaii. those are memories that i cherish. 

- going to visit them after my long day of nursing class

- hugs 

- cooking dinners for the family

- movie nights where we would watch Avonlea episodes

- playing Christmas music non-stop

- sleepovers with the siblings

- early morning runs && dog walks around the volcano craters

- coffee chats with my mom and dad on the porch

- beautiful hawaiian sunsets from the back yard

- morning prayer time && family devos

- listening to dad come home from work and tell us about his day

so many more. <3 i'm a family girl. 

14 may- we arrived in washington && i began the long chore of in-processing, house hunting, car shopping..all that grown up jazz. 

GOd was clearly in all of the details during this transition time. Because, as i sit here typing right now, i can just see how everything has worked out the way that was best for us.. 

i didn't doubt that GOd would take care of us- but it did get discouraging at times. Now we are in a cute little place that suits us perfectly. we were blessed with a big reliable car that we can afford. we've already had 5 visitors come stay with us. drew takes such amazing care of me. we have Christmas lights strung up in our kitchen. all is right in the world :) 

 .thankful.

my little brother brooks proposed to his super sweet girlfriend, chantel. on the top of the lanikai ridge. looking out over the moks. at sunset. in hawaii. the pics are beautiful :) happy for them. they also got to come back here and stay with us after their hawaii visit. we gathered props and clothes, dressed them up && drew took a million engagement pictures. Washington is so pretty. I can't wait to see them after drew edits them. 

i feel very grownuppy lately. 

maybe it's because i suddenly have a car loan. 

maybe it's because people have started calling me "ma'am".

maybe it's because i have a real job for the first time in 8 years.

maybe it's because my little brother just got engaged.

maybe it's because nobody is here to remind us that we have to take the trash out on monday mornings now. 

i definitely know it's not related to the 21 disney songs i just added to my itunes playlist.. what? 

...whatever the reason, i'm thankful. i know that GOd never left us. i know that this--life as it is now-- is just what He had planned for us. He knew where i was going to be at this exact moment even before i was created.. && even tho new jobs are scary and i feel like this lieutenant gold bar is more of a target than a responsibility, even tho my fear of man usually gets the best of me by 7 in the morning, i constantly worry that i'll mess up or get yelled at.. 

.i just have to be the best i can be.. IN CHRIST. 

bottom line = lots of change

but i'm excited. 

i know that nothing is by accident & i can't wait to see where we go from here ; ) 

.about the blog.

i'm not quite sure how to start my very first blog post.. i feel all coy and shy..like a little kid on stage in a Christmas program.. 

but really, i shouldn't feel all this pressure from  myself.. i mean, lets be honest.. i know my only readers are my sweet husband & 3 or 4 friends..and maybe some late night creepers roving the internet. 

anyways..let me just get this all out in the open so you won't have to guess what this blog will mostly (ish) be about. 

1: me. the real me. not the 'me' i want people to think of me as. in my opinion, things like Facebook and Instagram are super neat, you can meet incredible people (like i have) they can draw people together, you see cool pictures and make sweet friends..but there's a part missing from them. i know it's easy for me to form opinions about people from what i SEE about them...those things may or may not be accurate..you know? although i consider myself somewhat of a private person, there's only so much that pictures& statuses can tell.. well, incase you ever wonder. i'll try to make this blog be about the real "elgee22", "lauragafken", "Laura Groom Gafken"... oh great..now that i've exposed all my social outlets to everyone and their brothers..none of your brothers are creeps right?

2: my hubsband.. now listen.. i'm not a huge fan of when girls "brag" about their husbands 

a) it's annoying 

b) usually they say..things that aren't impressive at all. things that they should be doing as husbands. as grownups. 

c)when i was single, i used to hide people who did that from fb..still do.. 

d) i don't feel deserving of drew enough to "brag" about him and how lucky i am to have him.

BUT- i do love to share his sweet spirit, the lessons he teaches me, the constant encouragement he gives me. I think that it's precious and a special, integral part of my life. i also think it's crucial for other girls to realize what they should hold out for. that there is a boy/man out there who won't ignore those text messages even when he's with all his guy friends {esp.when his wife is a panicky freak who imagines that all non-responders are dead}, a boy who copies Bible verses on to paper towels in the morning to reassure your confidence about an upcoming nursing test, a boy who prays for you & with you, a boy who encourages you branching out and FINALLY finding your "style"..even if you look back and see that you really looked hideous- he thought you looked beautiful, a boy who doesn't lose his temper even when you ask 20 times after a social encounter with friends, "was i weird? did i say weird things? did i act funny?",  a boy who puts you first..it was only by the grace of GOd that i met this boy & was able to fall in love with him and share life with him. and, if there is NOT that person, then girls should know not to settle for anything less, it just means GOd has a better plan for them & expects them to trust that HE knows best. because really. he does : ) 

3: our life.. we were married june 10, 2011.. our first move away from Hawaii & family (my family- drew's family is back on the mainland) is approaching in less than a month.. i mean, why else would i be sitting here writing a blog? there's so SO much to do around the house..good thing i'm married to someone who is not. a procrastinator.

i know GOd has adventures in store for us. they might be happy. they might be sad. they may be trying. they may be super easy. regardless- i'm excited because i know that HE's in charge.. drew & i have always said we didn't want a "normal" life.. so here we go!

4: lessons i learn. there have been so many moments in my life- particularly within the last 4 years of living in Hawaii- that i've gotten those life changing revelations. the kind that suddenly hit you while you're making the 35 minute commute back home. in your old jeep wrangler. through the mountains. in the dark. after late night nursing class..i could kick myself for not writing them down.. now look...i just sound stupid because i can't remember what most of them are.. i promise. they were good ones too.  

5: things i love..pretty broad. pretty self explanatory

6: style posts.. if i dare. i follow some pretty cute ladies & am inspired by them regularly to create my own looks. it may sound petty..but i've come a long way- i never felt i had my own "look"..i always felt like i was trying too hard to pull off certain "looks"..now, thanks to drew, my sister & marie- i feel ok with wearing the things that i do..like pink cheetah pants..and old lady sweaters..and esp. my hippie headbands. proof that even tho i am a soldier- being in the army doesn't define who i am. it represents values that i uphold and a duty to my country that i am proud of, i am still very much an individual.

7: i hope i can be an encouragement to you. as a reader. not that i am aiming to please everyone- but i believe that words are to be used as gifts to each other. they are so powerful. they can tear people down so easily! being someone who reads into words (like text messages..ie..wait..there wasn't a smiley face..does this mean that they feel upset with me? no. that's stupid laura. but wait...{dig up text from several days ago}..there! there's a smiley face!..why not now?) jk.. i really am not THAT paranoid. really. : ) :D :P but i do put a heck of alot of smileys in my texts. shoot me.. anyways, being like that makes me realize the power of words even more clearly. it can be bad. but hopefully GOd uses it for good through me!

8: things i create

9: memories {past&present} of my family. funny. sweet. happy moments.

10: things that GOd teaches me..granted, this can be a super huge portion..but you know those times when GOd really wants you to hear something specific- and finally- when you need it most, you DO get it.. it clicks..you hear it.. it hits you. and you see. JUST. how big GOd is. 

11: i promise that not all posts will be this verbose..i just got carried away.. a teensy.