Russell's Birthday Weekend

We celebrated Russell's birthday this past weekend. The night before Russell's birthday, I politely asked him to please not turn 26. Twenty-six is just so old, I said. The next morning, Russell woke up, looked at me, put his fists in the air and said, I did it! I morphed into 26 overnight! And he looked so happily smug even though I was distraught by the fact that my husband can now be considered to be in the "late twenties."

On Friday, I was able to convince Russell to work from my parents' home for the latter half of the day since it was his birthday. We had Korean Bbq with his brothers and friends per his request then played boardgames (Munchkin) where we proceeded to dominate and win the game. On Saturday, Russell and I got couples massages and wished we were rich enough to receive massages every week. I knew Russell enjoyed the massage when he started snoring halfway through it. Saturday night, we took my family out to dinner then went to look at the condo we are hoping to buy.

It has been a busy but fun weekend. I'm pooped from all the activities. The dog has barely moved this Sunday since he, too, is recuperating. And Russell is happily 26. 

Knitting

It's been a whirlwind of crocheting and knitting. I've started packing a few of our belongings which of course means finding old toys I've forgotten about for the past year. I finally got around to my giant box of yarn and there are so many fun colors and textures!

I was also lucky enough to go to a crocheting/knitting night with some of the ladies from my bible study. One of them even taught me how to crochet a flower. I'm still not super good at it but I'm practicing. Also, I learned how to make bows. There will be lots of knitted bows and crocheted flowers around our apartment.

Russell gets around to his woodworking when we have downtime. One of his coworkers even inquired about getting two planters. And we also have another friend who is interested in the wooden rings he makes. Very exciting. It's enough to keep us giddy.

What's Cooking?

Russ let the cat out of the bag and posted about our Etsy store on his social media this weekend. I feel bad for not sharing it on here right away. So even though we don't have many products on there yet, here it is: www.etsy.com/shop/BuddingGoods

Also, we got our first Etsy order last week! Someone wanted a ring and Russell and I spent the whole day thrilled. We couldn't stop talking about the order. It's one thing setting up the store and another thing to actually get an order. We still feel like amateurs but we're getting the hang of it. I think I read up on anything that has to do with USPS priority mail. I just hope the product reaches the customer.

That's not all we have cooking up. While I'm at it, let me share another link: Livingmoonstudios.com

Russell has been working on the site since last year, and I wrote the web copy. Our ultimate goal is to be able to work together on various projects. Now we have Etsy where we can creatively make things together and Living Moon Studios is our portfolio site where we can market together business-wise for other companies. There's still a ton we have to do on Living Moon Studios. For example, register the name. Yup, still have to do that. We decided not to worry about that until we move in the spring.

For now, we will keep making things, taking pictures of them, giving them away to friends and family, then excitedly screaming and dancing when someone (whom we don't know) orders them from Etsy while we scramble around getting new materials to remake the products again. Being married to Russell is a swirl of creativity, adventure, and excitement.

Making Things

Look what Russ and I made:

Isn't it beautiful?

I am pretty proud of this. Russ' family all paint and they all have these beautiful paintings hanging in their homes that they've painted and I've always wished I could paint like the Henrys.

Russ is an awesome husband though and his love language (verbal encouragement) comes in when he encourages my creativity in different ways. I may not be able to paint but give me some twine, mason jars, and a hot glue gun and I can sort of maybe make something.

Russ put the wooden frame together. We went to Home Depot and–yes, I am going to brag a little–it was attractive watching him pick out wood pieces and actually know which ones should be used. It's handy having a handy man around (pun intended). He nailed it all together and stained it. I came in only close to the end when the plants were involved. I mostly just hot-glue-gunned my fingers together and complained to Russell that the hot glue gun was hot. I also bought the fishing line.

But the idea behind this Succulent Plant Frame was something we saw in a coffee shop once on a lunch date. We tweaked it a little and made it our own. Also, Russ has a hobby of building things with his hands and gardening. This included both and it was nice being able to do this with him.

A Listography of Updates

Hey guys! There haven't been much big events I've had to blog about, just small activities and celebrations here and there. I've compiled a bulleted list (since that's all the rage these days) of quick highlights:

• We participated in a pumpkin carving contest with our bible study group. I gave up after taking out the pumpkin guts, and our friend Simeon helped carve out my Harry Potter pumpkin for me. Russ went for the abstract. Neither of us won. 

Top Left: Russell's (one-eyed octopus with a top hat); Top Right: Mines (Harry Potter);
Bottom: All the pumpkin submissions. The ninja turtle on the far right won.

• I was sick on Halloween so Russ and I were unable to do the original plans we had on that day. But we were still able to stop by Joe and Kristen's place for about an hour to celebrate Halloween/Oktoberfest. Complete with outfits!
  

  

  Heinrichs!



• I submitted my first short story in my creative writing class. Luckily, we can do it anonymously. When they were reading it out loud in class, I was starting to get woozy and I was sure the professor would stop reading and say it was a horrible story with horrible writing and whoever wrote it should get up and get out. But, none of that happened. They liked it! There were parts they said needed to be improved on (which I totally agreed with) but overall it wasn't horrible. The story was about tomatoes.


• Russ and I are now school loans debt-free!!!! THIS IS EXCITING. This year, my goal was to get rid of those school loans and we reached that goal one month in advance :) We can now splurge....or not, since holidays are coming. But we did have a nice dinner in a French restaurant as a celebration.


• We are also traveling over the holidays. We'll be gone for about a month in total. We've booked hotels and stuff already. So excited.



• Oh, and here's a random picture of me. I really liked my outfit so I texted it to Russell. He said I looked very London...

Cleanse

I'm on a cleanse of all sorts.

Food
Ok, this is like a guilty pleasure...only not so guilty because it's good for you. Once in awhile, I get on a health nut craze where I want everything me and Russell eat to be organic or homemade. Hence, homemade ketchup, homemade ranch, homemade salad dressing, etc. It's trial and error. I made spaghetti squash some time ago and that was a fail. I was so hungry afterwards. Just give me carbs, please.

Lewis even got some homemade, healthy dog biscuits. I'm still not sure whether he likes them on not. He'll eat them--but he's a dog and he'll eat almost anything (even my shoes). Everytime I give him the healthy treat, he'll take it from my hand, whine a bit while he looks for a place to bury it, bury it, sit on the spot he burried it in, unbury it, walk around it a bit, lick it, then slowly try to eat it. It's kinda weired. I don't know.

I've also been trying to eat an apple a day. It's a simple concept we've been thought since we were little to eat an apple a day to keep the doctor away; but I've only started on this suggestion now. I'm getting to the point where I can eat about half an apple every morning before giving up.

Social Media
After noticing that I am on my phone a lot looking at pretty pictures on Instagram and reading funny one-liners on Twitter, I finally decided to delete my social media apps from my phone. I kept my Yelp app but actually logged out of my account. It's going well. I don't miss it as much as I thought I would. However, I downloaded the Pinterest app and now I'm bugging Russell to make all these random but cute things for our apartment. Win-Win :)

House Stuff
We recently got rid of our salt water fish tank. And we finally got stools for our kitchen bar which we may or may not paint.. Now, our small living room looks a bit more spacious and we're thinking of different fun ways to rearrange the layout. Stay tuned!

Introducing, The Henry Pets

Russell's feet, Lewis, and Tiki the Turtle (right of the white fence)

Hey there! Here's a picture of Lewis and Tiki meeting for the first time. Both our dog and our turtle are curious creatures. While Tiki likes to stay in his cave during the afternoon (Interesting fact: desert tortoises survive hot weather by hiding from it), he came quickly to the white fence when he saw Lewis peeking through. I don't think Tiki has seen may dogs up close since he kept trying to stick his face through the hole in the fence. Lewis was less calm about meeting a new creature and kept trying to lick Tiki's head every time our tortoise stuck his head through the fence hole. Eventually Lewis got tired of not being able to reach Tiki that he lifted his leg, and...peed on Tiki.

Cuddle buddies

The man Lewis was named after!

We've also got our saltwater fish tank set up. Russell has slowly been adding fish into the tank and just this weekend we were able to get some free coral from our new friends down in San Diego. And somewhere in that tank should be a baby starfish.

One of our clearer fish tank pictures. Here's one of our fish (upper right hand),
a cleaner shrimp (mid-lower left hand), and a bunch of hermit crabs (the shells on sand).

Our family is already growing. It's been a happy home.

Selfie family portrait

Uncertain Hopeful Possibilities

I've never been so excited yet nervous of the future as I have been lately. There are so many possibilities yet I do not know if I have the courage to take the leap of faith into any of them. But I am still giddy by the thought of possibilities.

Life has been slow yet fast all at once. We've been married FIVE MONTHS, can you believe it? I know in the big scheme of things, that is a blink of an eye and that is exactly my point. I feel like I've been married forever and at the same time I feel like a fumbling newlywed.

Anyways, I talk about the cliched topic of "life" because that is what Russ and I have been trying to figure out lately--our life together. We're not exactly sure where we're going to live next year after our lease is up and because we don't have a set plan yet, we have so many...possibilities of where we're gonna end up. Do you feel my excitement/fear yet?

While we are still in the process of opening doors and having a few slam shut, I am excited/anxious to see what we'll be doing a year from now. There is so much uncertainty and hope right now that it makes me nervous.

So for now, I'll post this picture of Russ and I at our honeymoon because there are so many places I want to be but in all of them I know I want him there.

Puerta Vallarta

Friday Funday

This last Friday, Russell and I decided to take one full day and make it a celebration day. We dubbed it Friday Funday!

On Thursday night, we camped out in our living room. We dragged all our beddings from our bed and made a comfy little blanket-bed on our living room floor. Instead of waking up to our bedroom surroundings, we woke up to a nice view of our dining table on Friday morning. It's nice to have a change of scenery once in awhile. I didn't have work this week and Russell decided to take Friday off work so that we can spend a three day weekend together.

Our first stop on Friday morning was to grab brunch at one of my favorite breakfast places--the Original House of Pancakes.

I got my usual, the giant German Pancakes:

It's bigger than my head.

Afterwards, we decided to go bowling. Because, you know, who else goes bowling on a Friday workday? It was wonderfully empty except for a birthday party happening. Needless to say, Russell won all of the rounds.

Russell bowling.

Our day didn't end there. Nope. We then went to the movies where we watched The Great Gatsby.

At around 5 pm, we decided to grocery shop for our dinner. We were feeling pretty adventurous so we bought some mussels and shrimp to cook at home. Russell sautéed the shrimp (mmm) and we made baked mussels (yum). It was delicious and luckily, Russell took pictures before we gobbled it all up.

Appetizers:

Shrimp.

Salad. We needed some greens.

Main Course:

Baked mussels.

We also had some garlic bread.

It was a long and fun day. Our celebration weekend is still continuing. While I'm writing this blog, Russell is painting. We were out and about most of Friday so we decided Saturday would be a relaxing day in. We also painted our bookshelf yellow earlier this morning. Pictures soon to come.

Now reasons why we are having a celebration weekend...God has been so good. So many blessings have been pouring in, reminding us not to worry about anything but to pray about everything. God continues to supply all our needs.

This past week, Russell got a new title at his work: Director of Motion Graphics. Woo! Russell is a creative and innovative guy and it's absolutely awesome seeing him use his talents for a job he loves.

As for me, I start a new job on Monday. I'll be a Marketing Coordinator, and I'm excited for the new opportunities I get.  I was able to take a one week vacation in between switching jobs which allowed me to spend quality time with lots of different people.

It's an exciting period in our lives right now. There are just so many things to write about! We are now part of a new church where we get to live our lives with a new community group. The people we have been meeting are so encouraging and lively and...happy. It's the kind of joy that reminds you that God is good.

Alright, time for me to end this lengthy blog post and continue my celebration weekend with Russ.

Turning 23

This blog post is a bit late, but better late than never! On July 14, I turned 23. There's nothing special about that age I had thought, but Russell made sure I had a special birthday weekend. The reasons why I love this man increases infinitely everyday.

He surprised me my taking me up to Santa Barbara for my birthday weekend. We stayed in a cozy little Bed & Breakfast that was a block away from the beach and a couple blocks from the zoo. They even had bikes we can borrow for free and ride along the beach.

   

Look at the pretty scenery. And Russell.

Pretty Santa Barbara beach.

Making faces

 We also ate a lot of food and walked around little crafts stands. The zoo was one of our favorites. I'll always have a soft spot for elephants and turtles.

At the zoo

I couldn't have asked for a better birthday. As for my presents, Russell got me a pink phone case and a pink bible. My sweet husband is the best.

Movies, Beach, and Driving

This past weekend has been so good for Russell and I. He's been doing better and has more energy to go out now.

On Friday, we went to a free event at the OC Great Park. They were playing E.T. at the park and were also offering free stargazing at night. They had brought in a group of astronomers with high-powered telescopes and we were able to see the Ring Nebula, Saturn, and Venus. There were other telescopes pointed at other planets but we weren't able to get in lines for those.

E.T. and star gazing at the Great Park.

 On Saturday, Russell wanted to go to the beach so we went to Laguna Beach in the morning. Russell packed us a lunch and we ate on the sand then walked around afterwards. Later that night, we were able to go out with some old friends and meet new friends.

An overcast morning. 

And on Sunday, Russell drove for the first time since he's been out from the hospital! Look at the artsy photo I tried to take:

Russell driving.

It's been an event-packed weekend filled with lots of laughter and fellowship with new and old friends. It's been helpful being surrounded with people who have prayed for us and encouraged us. We've been blessed with great families, a loving church, and a wonderful community of friends. We're so excited to see where God will take us!

Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.
                James 1:2-4

Summertime

Russell is getting better each day. We've already been to two doctor appointments since he's been out from the hospital and so far there hasn't been anything negative (Praise God!). His cardiologist reaffirmed that he's in the recovery stage and that it'll take some time for complete recovery. Overall, he's doing great.

If Russ is feeling better, we might go up to San Francisco for July 4th weekend. We're really excited about this but I'm trying not to be in case we can't make it up. Either way, we'll have a fun July 4th even if we stay in Orange County. If we stay down here, we'll probably buy some sparklers for fun. :)

In other news, it turned summer last week! The days are getting longer and the afternoons are becoming warmer. This past weekend, as a way to celebrate, we painted our dining room chairs blue and yellow:

Just in time for summer

How fun do they look? I told Russell I want to repaint the chairs for every season change but sadly I don't think that's happening. I like these colors a lot though. I love our Henry home!

Seven Weeks Marriage Update

Russ and I will have been married for a little over a month and a half now. Needless to say, it's been quite the adventure, especially with our latest obstacle.

Last Wednesday, Russ had a heart attack. Writing that phrase does not seem right. Saying that phrase never slips off my tongue easily. Experiencing that event...well, it wasn't easy. Everything that has happened since Wednesday night up until Sunday afternoon happened so fast. Yet I remember thinking that everything was moving by so slowly while I waited for results from the doctors. It's been a jumble of questions, waiting, prayer, and faith.

Russell and I have told and retold how this all happened but it never gets easier. I'll try to give a quick recap:

Russell had been experiencing shortness of breath for about a week. We didn't think much of it other than maybe he needed to fix his posture at work or had a mild case of asthma. On Wednesday night, he was playing basketball when he started to feel pain in his chest. He was able to drive himself home where he told me his chest hurt. We tried waiting it off but it didn't get any better. We then visited my parents' house where my mom tried to figure out what was wrong but the pain just kept getting worse. Finally, we decided to go to the emergency room. 

In the emergency room, the nurses quickly did an electrocardiogram (ECG) on Russ and began to take several blood samples. The doctor thought that Russ probably had an inflamed heart since the test results came back with high enzyme levels. They were going to rush him into an angiogram but the doctor decided to do an echocardiogram (sonogram of the heart) first. They weren't able to figure out what was wrong with his heart through the echocardiogram but they did see that his heart had suffered from some damage. It was then that the doctor decided to do an angioplasty. 

During the procedure, they were not able to find out what had blocked the coronary artery leading into the heart (they have speculated that it could have been either a tear, a blood clot, or maybe some plaque in the artery). The cardiologist said he had a spastic artery. It was during the angiogram that we found out that the pain Russell was feeling during and after basketball was a heart attack. During the angioplasty, the doctor decided not to put a stent in Russell's heart since he determined Russell was young enough that maybe his heart would be able to heal on its own. They then kept him in the CCU for three nights to watch him. 

He had several ECGs and blood tests that showed some abnormal results. They put him on blood thinners and scheduled another angiogram to see whether or not his heart was healing. Thankfully, during the second angiogram, they saw that whatever had blocked his coronary artery was gone probably because of the blood thinners and that his heart had started to heal. The doctor didn't need to put a stent in. On Saturday, they transferred Russell to a normal hospital room and Russell was able to finally get back up and start walking around the hallways (yay!). 

On Sunday, the cardiologist informed us that they are still unsure as to why Russell had a heart attack. All the tests showed Russell had low cholesterol levels and normal blood pressure. He eats healthy, exercises regularly, never smokes, never did drugs, doesn't drink excessively...basically, they didn't know why a 24-year old healthy male got a heart attack. The good news is that there most likely won't be any long-term permanent damages. He will continually have follow-up check ups with the cardiologist to see if they will be able to diagnose what happened. He was finally able to go home Sunday afternoon and is well and resting. 

After many nights in the hospital and consulting with doctors, we still don't have a solid answer. At first it was a bit unsettling. I didn't want to say that my husband had a heart attack when we were only in our 20's. I wanted to be worrying about whether or not we should get a puppy, not heart conditions and different kinds of medicines. It was overwhelming. However, God continues to redeem us and love us. Out of all this chaos He still gives us peace.

The good news is that even if Russell and I have no clue what's going on or if this situation will happen again, God has us in His hands. God had already known that this would happen and this gives us comfort, knowing that He has already provided and will provide for whatever need we have. We might not have answers now, but God is bigger than our own understanding. It was our God who healed Russell's heart. It was everyone who prayed for us and with us. We continue to remind ourselves not to worry about the future because God will take care of it. It's all in God's hands now.

I want to share some verses that my parents prayed when my mom was diagnosed with breast cancer while pregnant with my little brother (James). It's also the same verses that reminded Russell and I to pray with faith for his healing.

Is anyone among you in trouble? Let them pray. Is anyone happy? Let them sing songs of praise. Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they will be forgiven. Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective. 

James 5:13 - 16

The Honeymoon Stage

I've been slacking on the blog posts but I have a good reason! -- Marriage life is bliss. I love being married. People have come up and asked me how the married life is going and I tell them how much fun it is and that I absolutely love marriage. Many of them share my excitement but I've gotten a few soft smiles followed by, "You're in the honeymoon stage." I'm sure these statements were said with the best intentions and I can only nod and agree wholeheartedly. I love Russell so much that I feel like my heart is going to explode and bleed all over my chest. I hope this feeling is forever. I look at my parents and so many other married couples around me who are still crazy in love with their spouse, and I see for a fact that the honeymoon stage can indeed last 10, 20, even 50 years. I pray that we will be one of these couples.

This is of course not to say that it will be an easy road. Already, Russell and I have hit a few bumps. We're learning. And thank God (for real, thank you God) for forgiveness, and grace, and mercy. If anything, marriage has taught us more about God's unconditional love. As humans, we're constantly messing up but it doesn't lessen the fact that we have an abundance of grace and love from God and for each other.

Currently, Russell and I are looking for a home church and a small group we can find community in. We're actually trying out a small group this Tuesday and we're so excited. It's been so long since we've been in a small group and we miss the intimacy of testimonies being shared and life being lived together. We're keeping our hearts open to the possibilities God will bring our way. We have so many desires in our hearts and we can't wait to see what God will do with them and where he will place us. Please keep us in your prayers!

Marriage has been such a blessing. I love being able to go home with my best friend and share everyday moments with him. From eating breakfast while I am still half-asleep to washing the dishes together, it's all so new and so...cool! We can't wait to see what God will do with this marriage and how he'll grow us. It's wonderful to know I have the best spouse to experience life with from here on out.