This year has flown by... it was this time last year that Mani took me to the park and proposed to me. The months after that were sort of a blur :) but they involved A LOT of frenzied activities relating to the wedding date of August 16th.
During that time, I started taking classes at the community college, began working a few different jobs... finally settling as a lab technician's assistant at the WSU agricultural experiment station, and helping out as the volunteer youth leader at Grandview Assembly of God. Mani got a job as an order-filler at the Wal-Mart Distribution Center.
In April, we took a group of students on a homeless outreach in Portland, Oregon over spring break. It was an amazing experience, and we were both very proud of the students who gave up their time to make a difference.
As I said before, a lot of this time was LOTS of craziness, which all sort of runs together into a big bunch of good memories. In August, Mani and I found an apartment in town. We began moving things in a few days before the wedding... and I'm not sure if we're completely unpacked yet. In fact, I'm pretty sure that we have some stuff in boxes stuffed in the back of closets. The week before the wedding, Mani broke his foot at work while Jessika's brothers and cousin Nathaniel took her to Long Beach. Even with the unexpected injury, Mani was a trooper.The wedding was amazing! It was so great to have the support of family and friends... Pastor Jason and Pastor Abe both graciously offered to officiate after the original minister canceled. We had so many people help from the church. We were also so blessed to have our family members with us... the day would not have been the same without them. The person that traveled the farthest was Aiko, an adopted sister who lives in Japan... followed not to closely by Uncle Bud from Galveston, Texas.
Mani and I went to Disneyland for our honeymoon... and Mani made it through the whole week without the help of a wheelchair. We also went to see the Ripley's Believe It Or Not Museum (and we now know what our children will look like), Medieval Times, and an Angels game.
Most of the activities between August and now have been adjusting to married life together... while juggling our previous activities. Mani was put on light duty for three months, but is now back to his original position. He also started teaching a guitar class for students under 13, and his students performed at Grandview Assembly of God's Christmas Variety Show . I continued working at the experiment station, helping with the youth group, and taking classes. My favorite was photography, and it has now become one of my favorite activites. I am only two quarters away from graduating with my AA degree, and Mani is planning on starting winter quarter. We have applied to Northwest University in Kirkland, Washington and Southeastern University in Lakeland, Florida. We are hoping to transfer to one of these locations Fall 2009.I hope this finds you all well... and that you were able to find this as well :) God bless and thank you for being a part of our lives.
