Full of Joy

With all the writing I have been doing for Grad school, I have had no time to write for the pure enjoyment of it.  I'm not sold on Grad school yet.  The reason I have always disliked school so much is that it keeps me from doing a lot of others things I'd rather be doing.  The same applies to Grad school.  I am behind in life, missing out on things I'd love to be doing, and wishing I wasn't stuck doing homework so much.  Though I am only in the middle of my first class, it very well might be my last!  What I do like about class is the knowledge I've gained that can only help me move forward as a writer.  We shall see, we shall see. For now I am happy to write whatever I'd like, knowing there will be no grade at stake.  Since it is Thanksgiving Eve, I'd like to give THANKS!  I am thankful for... ~intimacy with God ~worship music ~Chuck ~the way Chuck sacrificially serves me ~Chuck's support of my goals and dreams ~2 1/2 wonderful year...

My dear friend, Emily has started her own blog!  I would like to take this time to welcome M to the blog world!  No one else but M can bring out this side of me, as seen above.  =) Love you, M!  Happy blogging!  Check her out:  Life, Livi, and the Pursuit of Love

Come on! ;) A couple week ago Luke drove up with the boys, spent the night, and then I rode up with them to PA.  A 4 1/2 hour trip turned into about 6 hours due to the joys of traffic, detours, and a cranky baby.  But, the rocky journey was quickly forgotten when we pulled into our beloved home town of Clarks Summit, Pennsylvania!  We had been planning a huge surprise for my Dad for weeks. He just became the lead Pastor at my home church, and he is the happiest version of his fullest self.  After a tough couple of years, this is a welcomed dream position for my parents.  Heritage (the church) threw my Dad a celebration service at the beginning of October, so us kids really wanted to be there for him.  Dad knew Chuck and I were coming, but he thought we would both be arriving on Sunday evening.  He had no idea Luke, Chail, Rocky, and John Mark were coming, too! The day Luke and I arrived with the boys is a day I will hold dear for a long, long tim...

Last week I commented to Chuck that we don't do crazy dates anymore.  He smiled at me and countered, "Would you want to go dancing if I planned that?"  I smiled back with my reply, "No!"  His grin said what he didn't have to voice.  He was right.  I AM A HOME BODY.  If choosing what my favorite thing to do would be, in my heart of hearts, I just want to be home with my husband.  That's all.  Nothing fancy, nothing crazy, nothing planned, just home with my Love.  I love our home, and I love our relationship.  What more could I desire? Chuck and I spend a minimum of 3 nights a week- every week,  away from home surrounded by people, mostly teens.  We love that and love our time with others, but when there is a fee weekend evening, you better believe I want to be home.  Last Friday night we found ourselves at home for the first time in weeks!  We had pretty much spent the previous month with his family and were almost c...

Saturday, August 13 brought Tim and Anni to their "American-style" wedding.  Let me tell you, those Germans like to really extend their celebrations!  That is something to be desired for Chuck and I.  We really love that the German culture takes TIME with each other.  They are not in a rush, they do not have plans after plans, and they can just sit and enjoy each other.  It's a lovely experience, until my Northern VA attitude kicks in and then I have to remind myself to just BE and enjoy the moments with people.  This wedding went on from about 12:30pm until 12:00am.  I've never experienced any other wedding like it.  It taught me a great deal about the value of being together without being in a hurry.  As the honored Groom stood at the front of the church that Saturday I was struck with how LONG he stood at the front of the church.  Tim had plenty of time to observe his surroundings, smile at his guests, but mostly he just gazed down ...

Just about to be MARRIED! (Tim and Anni, that is!) I know this sign says something about marriage, but I can't quite remember.  In Germany, the "real" wedding takes place at the courthouse, and that actually counts as the anniversary date.  In the case of Tim and Anni, they also had another wedding celebration the next day that was more like an "American-style" wedding. The courthouse wedding was wonderful, even though I couldn't understand a word anyone was saying! Chuck did an amazing job of interpreting for me, but I still constantly felt frustrated in not knowing the language.  I wanted to know every detail of what was going on, but that just wasn't possible.  So, I found myself paying closer attention to facial expressions, body language, and the environment around me.  I have heard that when one of the 5 senses is lost, then the other senses kick into over-drive.  That's how I felt in Germany.  Though "understanding a foreign lang...

My posts have been a bit wordy, so thought I'd keep it short today.  Here is the happy couple, just one day before they married...

Present time at the Bridal Party was full of sweet moments.  Anni has a silly side to her personality, but also a thoughtful, emotional side which we got to see a lot during the wedding week.  The little ducks she was holding up in this picture were so cute!  Perfectly representing her silly, fun-loving side.  Bride and Groom rubber duckies that Maria (in the background) found in Berlin.  The Groom duck even had red hair, just like Timmy. One of my favorite gifts that Anni received was this HOME MADE memo board, hand-crafted by her friend, Lissie.  Lissie created the wood backing, as well as the sewing of the front cloth.  It was absolutely adorable!  What talent!  Plus, the time and thought she put into her gift was really touching.  Talk about a sweet gift.  I noticed that Germans seem to put a lot of thought and creativity into their gifts.  They don't just throw gifts in a bag, they'll hand-wrap a gift with some sort of p...

Can you guess who the beautiful, blushing, bride-to-be is in this picture?  If you'll look carefully, Anni is wearing the blue sash in the middle.  In English the sash translates to, "Germany is searching for the super bride!"  It's a take off a popular show over there called, "Germany is Searching for the Super Star".  The sash was perfect for our "Hollywood" themed bridal shower that we (the Dubbe women) threw for our sis-to-be, Anni!  It was a perfect theme since Tim and Anni went to Hollywood, CA for their honeymoon.  If you didn't know, Chuck and I flew over to Germany the first couple weeks of August to help celebrate his brother Tim's marriage to Anni.  Yep, that's our second trip to Deutschland in less than a years time.  Chuck and I were happy to go and spend time with our fam over there and help out as much as we could with the weddings (Yes, I said weddingS- more on that later).  Truly, it was an honor to be there.  Germany...

The longer I am married to this man of mine, the more I love him.  It's hard to explain in words, but sometimes I love him so much that my stomach hurts.  I know Chuck is God's and is only my temporary companion on this earth, but I am sure thankful the Lord has loaned him to me!  We had a lovely get-away to VA Beach at the beginning of the summer.  It was a special trip as we don't often get time away, just the two of us.   This was a fun place, though they spelled my name wrong, they did get the birth year correct! It did rain on our beach day but that didn't stop us! Just being together with no agenda was the best. I absolutely LOVE spending time with this man. Even when we're just reading, my heart feels so content. Dough Boys was a good time.  Their decor reminded us of our neighbor's cool van.  Our neighbor's van back at home.  This is the kind of van we wanted to ride around in on our wedding day!  NOW we find one, 2 year...

Ah...this pretty much sums up our wonderful vacation! Please pray as we head into our next big summer event- our first missions trip together with the teens! Can't wait to share all that God does!

Happy Two Year Anniversary to my Love!  How have two years really gone by?  I still find myself having nightmares that Chuck and I are not yet married, and in these nightmares, I long to be his wife.  When I wake up, it is an amazing relief to realize that I am TRULY married to the love of my life.  FOR REAL.  I love Charles Robert Dubbe so much.  Like crazy.  It's incredible to be his wife.  When I walked into the sanctuary the day I married him, I could not wait to see his handsome face.  I had to look as soon as I could. Chuckie clearly felt the same way. I suppose most married couples feel the way we do, but I still want to say it.  I absolutely love spending every minute of every day with my Love.  If I could, I would have him home all day every day.  I enjoy his presence.  I enjoy hearing him stomp (it's how he walks!) around our apartment, and rummage around in the fridge when he's bored.  This man makes me...