Redemption

Nick's Grandfather's 70th Birthday

My cousins Ken and Mike My dad's brother's familyThe victim Redemption Remember the poor cooking pot, the victim of my butter fiasco? On our three month anniversary, we headed to Linens N' Things to get sheets that were on our registry. They give you a 20% discount on your registry up to three months after the wedding. So as we walked by the pots and pans, I had an inspiration. No, we couldn't buy a whole new set but just maybe they were selling pieces individually. Miracles of miracles, there was a new pot like the one I scarred for life, all by itself, ready to be adopted! There were only three pots they sold individually so I was pretty excited. I could use the old pot while Nick could use the new one. A few days later, when we finally took the pot out of the box, it was even bigger! How cool is that! I just had to laugh because that is exactly the kind of way God speaks to us through our everyday lives. He redeemed my mistake, not just restoring what I lost, but a gift even bigger and better! It was like He was telling me it's OK if I'm not a perfect wife because He can use my weaknesses as an opportunity to show His goodness and strength. "And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me." 2 Corinthians 12:9. He has also been reminding me of the song "Glorious" that says God makes everything glorious. I realized that even when I blow it, God can make my job, marriage, life, and even cooking skills, glorious. I just need to give it to Him.

God has also been restoring family relationships. Nick and I went to visit our parents and celebrated his grandfather's 70th birthday. My last grandparent passed away 10 years ago so I have not celebrated with grandparents for a very long time. It was really special to me to buy a card for a grandfather. We got him those candles that are like fireworks and won't go out. He was a good sport about it and he's really funny any way so we had a neat time. Then we had dinner with my uncle, aunt and two cousins, Ken and Mike. I had not seen my uncle, aunt and Ken for 10 years and only saw Mike because he came to the wedding from Orlando. My Uncle Ken totally reminds me of my dad! It was so wonderful for Nick to meet them and share stories of when my older cousins used to throw my stuffed animals to the dogs and tease me. I was the youngest by three years to twelve cousins and an older sister! Nick is the oldest cousin and an only child so he learned how the little cousins, brothers and sisters of the world feel! After all the stories from Madelina and Theresa; Sofia, I know you feel my pain as the youngest jewel in the Chen dynasty. I was the runt of the Wolf pack! But be encouraged, things change. Now I married the lead of the Babinetz clan. It was pretty neat when I moved up from the W's to the B's in my last name. At work, my name actually starts the alphabetical list! How strange is that! Maybe not, the Word says that the last shall be first!

New York, New York

Thanks to the New Yorkers (or former New Yorkers) for coming to our wedding. It was such an honor to have you. I am still kind of shocked that you made that kind of investment in supporting us. I miss you! We caught a few of your smiling faces on camera. You're so photogenic! It was a dream come true for me to have Andrea and David play the song David and I wrote, "True Love Dies". When the church closed in January 2007, I told David, "I don't know who I'm going to marry but when I do, I hope you can come play my song." And he did. I cried at the rehearsal when I heard them play it for the first time in a year. God gave it to me when I didn't know who my true love was so it was pretty surreal to stand next to Nick as he heard it the first time. I am so glad Jesus set the example for true love so we could learn to love one another the way He first loved us. And when we fail to love the way we want, we can be encouraged that His love for us never fails. He always gives us a second chance. "Love never fails..." I Corinthians 13:8

A Time to Laugh, and Cry...

I liked Dana's quote on her blog from Ecclesiastes so I decided to borrow it. Last night, we both laughed and cried. I had this great idea that I was going to attempt to cook for my husband in the 30 minutes before I had to be at a meeting. I put the pan on the heat and then proceeded to place butter in it to grease the pan, just like the directions said. Except the butter was supposed to go before the heat. There was a great sizzling noise and I realized, "Big mistake!" I took it off as quick as possible but by then my eyes were watering and the pan was turning black. I used a new pan to make the food and left. I came back from my meeting to a house still smoky. Nick was quiet and showed me great mercy by not asking me how I managed to almost set the house on fire. We quietly read and turned out the light with him staying calm. Finally, he just had to know and we started hysterically laughing. The poor guy had to put away his Bible because his eyes were burning from the smoke! But luckily God helped us turn our time of crying (from the fumes) into laughing. It turns out that all of you who told me to learn to cook before I got married were correct. Oh well, I tried. At least I have a good story for our grandchildren. We are learning marriage is a great place to learn all about grace and mercy.

As Promised...

More to come...

How's Married Life?

Teaching pre-school together where we perform the puppet skits

Nick and Ryan with the puppetsMural in the classroom Nick's Publix vest and apron that he entrusted to meJosh and Damien over for breakfastShawn was our first guest! The Fullers over for dinnerKelly and George are super cute I used to teach Kelly in pre-school 9 years ago! I've got a picture to prove it!Helping Gina unpack The Chong-Yous helping as a family

I organized those books, do they look straight? Sable wearing the shirt Dana and I gave Gina

Love the purple bow!

Sable and the balloon I brought She's got a bow like Minnie!

"How's married life?" seems to be the question of the moment. There always seems to be a question of the moment in this process.

"When is the big day?"

"How's the wedding planning going?"

"Who is in the wedding party?"

"Where are you going on your honeymoon?"

"Are you ready for the big day?"

"How was your honeymoon?

and now,

"How's married life?"

So the answer is that married life is great! We are having a lot of fun saying things like, "My husband is working late" or "Let me talk to my wife". It's kind of cool seeing my new name on my driver's license. I think it sounds very European. Victoria Babinetz. At least no one should call me Virginia any more. I get that a lot because Virginia Woolf was a famous author and my supervisor's name is Virginia. Many times Nick will say something and I will say, "I was just thinking that!" Or I wilI want to do something with the house and I will come home to find out he did it. Like Friday, I really wanted to get home to clean the spare bedroom. I come home and it's totally rearranged so much nicer! Nick had gone to work later that day and totally taken care of it. Yes, we have moments when we look at each other like, "Did you really say that?" But most of the time, we are just so awed at the goodness of God in choosing the other.

I could also say that married life is busy! Funny how life doesn't want to slow down just because we go through a major change. The biggest challenge for me is the cooking. I guess it's pretty easy for a lot of people but I never got myself into a rhythm. Things like stocking all the ingredients and timing the food right to be on the table when we are ready yet before we have to leave for Rock UF or some other nighttime event. A couple weeks ago, we went to our friends, the Fullers, and Barbara gave me some recipes. That week I cooked five meals in one week which is pretty good considering I don't think I've ever cooked more than one meal in a week in my life. Nick used to work at Publix, so in honor of my effort, he let me wear his old apron. He was promoted to a green vest so he gets to wear that one.

We have been able to entertain Nick's friend Shawn, our friend Heather, Melissa Sylvia and the Fullers for dinner. We've also had Nick's friend Damien and my friend from work, Josh, over for breakfast. Nick and Damien used to be roommates (in a townhouse right behind us!) so they had fun making apple cinnamon pancakes. We are really enjoying the great plates, silverware, cooking and dining supplies that we were given at our shower. Thanks everyone! Be assured, they are being put to good use!

Nick and I also starting teaching pre-school together every other week at church. We were going to take a break serving on Sundays after the wedding but for three weeks all we heard at church was how they did not have enough workers. So we finally looked at each other and said, "We need to do this". I used to do it nine years ago, when Brittany Chapov was in my class at five years old. Now she helps lead one of the classes! Go figure! Nick is the old pro having just taught last rotation. All the little kids love him and the adult workers are relieved to have him back. I feel like the new leading lady being paired with the veteran leading man. No pressure! Last week, he was the puppet "Darlin' Duck" and I was the teacher. We were teaching the kids that everyone is important to God, even children. I think we did pretty good for our first try. When the lesson was over and we still had time, Nick brought out more puppets and I improvised. We made a pretty good team! Ryan Kochert also assists us which is fun. I've know him since I came to The Rock of Gainesville 11 years ago. This week I started to recognize some of the kids and I'm excited about this new opportunity to serve and build relationships.

Yesterday I helped Phil and Gina unpack from NYC. They are FINALLY here after trying to sell their home for a year and I am just so grateful. We went through a lot together in NYC and it will be so nice to be able to just stop by and hang out and fulfill the purposes of God together. Other people helped out like Pastor Cheryl, the Chapovs and the Chong-Yous. I actually went to Publix right before and ran smack into Gina! I was so excited that Sable was wearing the shirt Dana and I had given her at Gina's shower, while Sable was still in the womb! It's the shirt Dana created in honor of Suri Cruise that says, "Mission:Adorable". Sable was also wearing a purple bow so I told Gina I think she dressed her in honor of me. Gina said she just dressed her to look cute but it was OK if I wanted to think differently. I knew I liked that girl!

So that's married life right now. Wedding pictures to come...

"How's married life?" seems to be the question of the moment. There always seems to be a question of the moment in this process.

"When is the big day?" "How's the wedding planning going?" "Who is in the wedding party?" "Where are you going on your honeymoon?" "Are you ready for the big day?" "How was your honeymoon? and now, "How's married life?"

So the answer is that married life is great! We are having a lot of fun saying things like, "My husband is working late" or "Let me talk to my wife". It's kind of cool seeing my new name on my driver's license. I think it sounds very European. Victoria Babinetz. At least no one should call me Virginia any more. I get that a lot because Virginia Woolf was a famous author and my supervisor's name is Virginia. Many times Nick will say something and I will say, "I was just thinking that!" Or I wilI want to do something with the house and I will come home to find out he did it. Like Friday, I really wanted to get home to clean the spare bedroom. I come home and it's totally rearranged so much nicer! Nick had gone to work later that day and totally taken care of it. Yes, we have moments when we look at each other like, "Did you really say that?" But most of the time, we are just so awed at the goodness of God in choosing the other.

I could also say that married life is busy! Funny how life doesn't want to slow down just because we go through a major change. The biggest challenge for me is the cooking. I guess it's pretty easy for a lot of people but I never got myself into a rhythm. Things like stocking all the ingredients and timing the food right to be on the table when we are ready yet before we have to leave for Rock UF or some other nighttime event. A couple weeks ago, we went to our friends, the Fullers, and Barbara gave me some recipes. That week I cooked five meals in one week which is pretty good considering I don't think I've ever cooked more than one meal in a week in my life. Nick used to work at Publix when he was in school, so in honor of my effort, he let me wear his old apron. He was promoted to a green vest so he gets to wear that one.

We have been able to entertain Nick's friend Shawn, our friend Heather, Melissa Sylvia and the Fullers for dinner. We've also had Nick's friend Damien and my friend from work, Josh, over for breakfast. Nick and Damien used to be roommates (in a townhouse right behind us!) so they had fun making apple cinnamon pancakes. We are really enjoying the great plates, silverware, cooking and dining supplies that we were given at our shower. Thanks everyone! Be assured, they are being put to good use!

Nick and I also starting teaching pre-school together every other week at church. We were going to take a break serving on Sundays after the wedding but for three weeks all we heard at church was how they did not have enough workers. So we finally looked at each other and said, "We need to do this". I used to do it nine years ago, when Brittany Chapov was in my class at five years old. Now she helps lead one of the classes! Go figure! Nick is the old pro having just taught last rotation. All the little kids love him and the adult workers are relieved to have him back. I feel like the new leading lady being paired with the veteran leading man. No pressure! Last week, he was the puppet "Darlin' Duck" and I was the teacher. We were teaching the kids that everyone is important to God, even children. I think we did pretty good for our first try. When the lesson was over and we still had time, Nick brought out more puppets and I improvised. We made a pretty good team! Ryan Kochert also assists us which is fun. I've know him since I came to The Rock of Gainesville 11 years ago. This week I started to recognize some of the kids and I'm excited about this new opportunity to serve and build relationships.

Yesterday I helped Phil and Gina unpack from NYC. They are FINALLY here after trying to sell their home for a year and I am just so grateful. We went through a lot together in NYC and it will be so nice to be able to just stop by and hang out and fulfill the purposes of God together. Other people helped out like Pastor Cheryl, the Chapovs and the Chong-Yous. I actually went to Publix right before and ran smack into Gina! I was so excited that Sable was wearing the shirt Dana and I had given her at Gina's shower, while Sable was still in the womb! It's the shirt Dana created in honor of Suri Cruise that says, "Mission:Adorable". Sable was also wearing a purple bow so I told Gina I think she dressed her in honor of me. Gina said she just dressed her to look cute but it was OK if I wanted to think differently. I knew I liked that girl!

So that's married life right now. Wedding pictures to come...