Wiebke and Paul

Wiebke’s at Encounter today. September 22, 2007

It’s been a lot of work since we’ve gotten married. Times have been tough and times have been really good. I just wanted to take the time out to say that I’m very proud of both of us for how much work we’ve put into this relationship.

Wiebke has been such an amazing partner. We’ve both come into our marriage with faults, (too many to count, really) but the one thing that has gotten us through it all is talking things out. It’s really tough when you’ve been living your life your own way and then putting yourself in a situation where that doesn’t really work anymore. You have to make changes to nearly everything you do.

Luckily, both Wiebke and I have adopted the biggest thing that will always keep us working on it, believing in each other, and truly wanting to see things better for the both of us. Our spiritual beliefs have had such an impact on us both, way more than just being married. It’s shaken up everything we believe in and very much changed what we hope for. So when we find each other stuck arguing about the wrong things or doing things that could be harmful to each other, we know that there’s a bigger reason to get things right. It’s not just for us or for each other.

And so Wiebke is at Encounter this weekend putting this all into practice. Wiebke is an amazing woman that any other woman (or person) could look up to. But she knows that she can do better and she’s out there with the belief that she can. And she will. Not by her own strength, but by the grace of God. He’s the one that has put more faith in us than we have ourselves. He’s put us in our place countless times and has seen us though many issues and it’s been an amazing trip to see all of this happen in real-time. I can see Him working in us both and I can’t imagine where we would be without Him. Wiebke’s out there matching her faith to His and I know that she’s going to come out on the other end in a better place for it.

So, good on ya’, Wiebke! I love you, babe!

Australia, Here We Come. September 18, 2007

The Thrashers are about to embark on their honeymoon. Finally. We have booked our flights last Monday.

Our first stop will be Cairns (arriving Oct 7th) where we will be exploring the tropical rain forests and Great Barrier Reef.

On our list of Things To Do is most definitely a sailing trip in the Whitsundays for a few days and a short visit to the Atherton Tablelands where we will stay over night at this gorgeous place http://www.edenhouse.com.au/index.html.

Around Oct 16th we will leave the tropical North and fly into Sydney where we will be from Oct 17-24th. Equipped with a rental car, we will be taking an overnight trip to the Blue Mountains and hopefully catch up with our good ol’ friends Eleni & Chris (http://chrisandeleni.blogspot.com/) and Nicole & Andrew.

Wiebke will be attending the Everywoman’s Conference at C3 Oxford Falls (http://www.ccc.org.au/everywoman/) from Oct 25-27th while Paul will either watch the waves and pray that his wife will gain some useful spiritual wisdom that will enhance our beautiful marriage or he might decide to just hang out with those good ol’ friends of ours or take some surfing lessons. ;-)

On Sat Oct 27th our three-week honeymoon adventure will be over and we will have to head back home to San Francisco.

So, you lovely people, we would love to hear from you if you have any insider tips for the areas we will be traveling to or if there is this one cute, romantic restaurant in Sydney that we should not miss. Any secret beach hideaways or activities that we should absolutely consider.

Let us know - we truly appreciate your advice!

For those in OZ: Clear your calendars, we want to show you some love!

To all of you who have been generously given to our honeymoon fund (a.k.a wedding registry): Your contribution has been such a blessing for us. Thanks to you, our dream of an adventurous, romantic honeymoon somewhere very special will come true!

The Garden Of Eden. September 12, 2007

For those who didn’t have the pleasure to come by and visit us at our newlyweds’ nest yet, we took a few photos of our gorgeous backyard.

Oh, and thanks to Paul’s dad, we now have a badass barbecue to make the most out of these rare late summer nights in San Francisco.

Wish you were here…

The Thrasher Family Is Growing…

..No, we are NOT pregnant!

We finally got a car!

Roger has joined the Thrasher family on July 4th. Coincidence that we bought our car on Independence Day? - I don’t think so. ;-)

Roger was born in 2000 and has only lived with one other couple in California. We welcome him to our family and are happy to say that he continues to bring so much joy and pleasure to our lives.