the road less traveled...

T minus 23 days and counting...

2009-07-15T22:33:00.000-07:00

Aaahhhh! 23 days til the wedding! It honestly feels like just a week or so ago that Doug and I were commenting on how we had 8 or 9 months til the wedding. At the time, I felt confident with the amount of time we had to plan. Little did I know...

As the wedding day approaches, I am grateful we decided on an August wedding. Although I will have just a week or so after the honeymoon before I have to go back to work, this summer has been just what I have needed to focus on the wedding and get all the little details taken care of. I'll admit, I am enjoying not having to leave the house before noon, napping on the couch with Kona, and staying up til 1am every night. But my afternoons are very productive :)

Today, for instance, I picked up my special order fabric to make tablecloths for the reception, bought more ribbon, hershey kisses, and colored paper, deposited money in my bank account so we can pay the photographer, stuffed hershey kisses into favor boxes, checked light strands to make sure they work, checked the mail for more RSVP cards, and even took a break to take Kona to the dog park (where she played with a 150-lb great dane puppy). The little details are all coming together; my goal is each day to get something wedding-related taken care of. But three and a half weeks is approaching faster and faster! I am fairly confident it will all get done, but I'm feeling the crunch with each passing day. My big motivation, besides the obvious being married, is the thought of laying on the deck of the cruise ship in the warm sun, with my husband by my side :)

a picture is worth a thousand words

2009-01-19T19:28:00.000-08:00

I love pictures. To me, a picture is a tangible memory, a moment captured to reflect on once it is over. I love looking at pictures of memories past, even if those memories do not include me. Several years back, I researched my genealogy and rather than creating a family tree of names and dates, I tried to locate as many pictures of relatives as I could. I have collected copies of photos all the way back to my great great great grandparents. It's one thing to see their name and dates of birth and death, but it's another to see their face captured on film; to see a couple that, because they fell in love, I eventually came into being. I love looking at the photos of my parents on their wedding day. While I only knew them many years into their marriage, it is fascinating to hear stories of when they were dating, to see images of the day that they vowed to spend their life together, to see my grandparents celebrating the marriage of their children.

As Doug and I examined our finances for the wedding, we had to decide what our top priorities are; where we want to spend our money and where we can cut corners. One of the most important expenditures for me is the photographer. Not only do I want to have amazing pictures of this momentous occasion; I want those memories to be captured on film so that one day, our children can show their children. Doug and I met with several local photographers and finally settled on one that we are very excited about. Her website is www.aliciadickerson.com if you want to take a look!

we weren't born in a barn, but...

2009-01-11T17:26:00.000-08:00

OK, so technically we're not getting married in a barn. But our reception is in one!

About a week after we got engaged, Doug and I began discussing where we might want to have our reception. We knew our ceremony would take place at Southwest Church of Christ, but we wanted our reception to be somewhere cool, somewhere where we could relax and enjoy time with our friends and family, and celebrate our marriage.

But we soon discovered, most places were booked for all Saturdays during the summer of '09. We researched a few of the McMenamin's properties; we love going to Edgefield and thought one of their locations would be perfect for a reception. McMenamin's is a local company that owns properties around Oregon: breweries, hotels, restaurants, and pubs. We found one location that intrigued us, the Cornelius Pass Roadhouse's Octagonal Barn. Of course, they were booked on our original wedding date.

One Friday night, we drove out to the Grand Lodge (one of their hotels) and then to the Cornelius Pass Roadhouse. When we saw the barn, we got excited. We peeked in the windows, saw the white Christmas lights hanging inside, and instantly fell in love with the place! We began discussing if it would be worth it to change the date of our wedding in order to have our reception there...

The next day, Saturday, we met with Meghan and she opened the barn for us to look around... it was better than we thought! We knew it was the place for us, it had the charm and coziness that we wanted for our friends and family, the uniqueness that we would make our wedding personal to us, and the earthy and natural feel that I want my wedding to have. (And no, I am not having a "country wedding"... I feel the need to specify that!)

So we booked the Octagonal Barn, and changed our wedding date to Friday, August 7, 2009!

the story...

2009-01-03T01:14:00.000-08:00

Since I became engaged, many people have asked me, "So how did he do it?"

A good friend of mine suggested that I chronicle all of my pre-wedding events and planning (thanks Chanda!), and so to start blogging about my engagement, I figured I should start with how I became engaged. It was November 6, 2008, a Thursday. My friend Kathy had just given birth earlier in the week to her second son, Caspian, and I was taking food to her after work and then Doug was going to come over to my apartment. I spoke with Kathy and she asked if Doug and I would like to join her for dinner and we planned on that, but traffic was heavy and Doug was still in it by the time I went to deliver the food.

While picking up food for the Zumwalt's at "pink thai", I ran into Jessica and Wes Couser (apparently Portland is smaller than we think, or else they heard I was bringing Thai to the Zumwalts and decided that sounded yummy!). I told them about Doug and my plans to go to Seattle in December, and that I suspected a proposal may occur then, as Doug had been pretty obvious when he asked me to go. But I also told them a proposal could occur at any time, even that night!

I got home, Doug and I had dinner, and Doug told me he wanted to take me somewhere. Off we went, and I asked him where we were going and he told me, "It has to do with coffee". I figured we were getting coffee somewhere, but he said we weren't drinking coffee. We headed East, and I thought perhaps I knew the location, but didn't guess that and guessed other places. As we drove, I my guesses became sillier, until finally I was sure we were going to Crown Point, where we went on our first date. All the way, I thought perhaps this was going to end in a proposal, but I didn't want to get my hopes up, and the coffee part threw me off!

We got to Crown Point, and Doug and I got out of the truck, but there wasn't much of a view (it was really dark!) and there were puddles everywhere. We talked about our relationship, and Doug told me that sometimes in a relationship, love takes awhile to develop, but with us, it was just like it was meant to be, it was almost instant. He walked to his car and told me he had a present for me. He pulled out a coffee mug and told me he got me this mug because he knows I like coffee, but there was something more important inside. He then pulled out the tissue paper in it, and pulled out a box. I gasped. Doug then got down on one knee, and said, "Tracie Elizabeth Hendershot, will you marry me?" I said "Yes!" and jumped into his arms, hugging him tightly. After that, he showed me the ring and put it on my finger. It is gorgeous!

Doug's original plan was to propose in Seattle, but I began suspecting, so he warned me it could be anytime. He picked up the ring that Thursday and when he took one look at it, he decided he couldn't wait to give it to me and had to do it that night! His plan to propose (in Seattle) included giving me the Seattle coffee mug and while doing so, dropping it on the ground and having the pieces shatter with the ring inside. As he bent down to pick it up, he would be on one knee and ask me to be his wife. He was going to keep with the plan at Crown Point, except that it was dark and wet. So he opted to just give me the mug without breaking it, so now I have a memento of our night. Our proposal was perfect: meaningful and heartfelt and real. I couldn't have asked for a better proposal, ring, or future husband!

Portland Tracie...

2008-12-10T13:24:00.000-08:00

So apparently I am not very good at keeping up with my blog... i guess that is what happens when life takes over!

I have been in Portland now for almost 5 months. Five incredible, life-changing months! In a matter of five months, I have settled into a job and church, bought a 4-legged "roommate" who chews up my stuff, felt the temperature drop more than I have felt in a long time, and most importantly, fallen in love. I look at the way my life is now in comparison to how it was in Hawaii. Totally different. I am awe-struck by the way I can see God taking control of my life and leading it down the path of His choosing. I was certain before that God brought me to Portland for a reason... I just wasn't sure what the reason was. And I still know now that God brought me here, I just know why now! And that reason is named Doug :)

You Say Goodbye...

2008-09-01T13:37:00.002-07:00

This past month has flown by! Apparently I am not as good at keeping up with this blog as I intended to be, but so much has been going on that it is hard to take a break and write about it.

My last two and a half weeks in Hawaii were wonderful… and busy! I think everyone was in the mentality of trying to spend as much time as possible with one another, so there is a lot to write! For those who don’t know, there were many people from my church leaving Hawaii this summer, particularly within my group of friends. Literally, we are now spread all over the world: Germany, Australia, Portland, Virginia, Florida, and of course Hawaii.

When I moved out of my apartment, I moved into the Joe and Whitney Fauth’s home for two and a half weeks. Joe was out to sea for all but one day while I was there, and Whitney left for a business trip for a week, so I was able to take care of their dog Major and use Whitney’s car while they were gone. Jessi and Wes Couser also moved in for about a week, and the Rudders’ house was full of guests, including the Wilsons, Zumwalts, Petersons (plus three pugs), and the Andrews’s dog. I feel blessed at the incredible hospitality and generosity that our friends extended while we were all in transition!

On the Cousers’ last weekend in Hawaii, the Cousers, Kory and Christina Peterson, and I planned a “Tour de Oahu”, where we traveled to some of our favorite spots around the island. We had breakfast at The Grand Café in Chinatown and then headed to the Windward side of the island. We stopped at Makapu’u to take a hike down the side of the cliff to the tide pools. We spent some time there and were fortunate there were others snorkeling, as Wes and Kory’s sunglasses (and Kory’s wedding band) were washed away by a large wave. Luckily, the items were found! Next, we continued up to the North Shore, stopping at a macadamia nut farm (with free samples of mac nuts and coffee!) and to take pictures at the old sugar mill, chinaman’s hat, and table rock. Then it was time for shrimp at Giovanni’s Shrimp Truck! (Yes, I ate shrimp!) Finally, we drove through Haleiwa, where Christina and I bought shave ice at Aoki’s and then at the Dole Plantation, where the Cousers and Kory ate Dole Whip.

That night, I ate dinner with the Cousers, Rudders, and Zumwalts, as it was the Zumwalts’ last night in Hawaii. We ate at Phuket Thai, one of our favorite Thai restaurants, and then had dessert at Ola’s at Turtle Bay on the North Shore. At Ola’s, our table was on the beach, so we got to put our toes in the sand as we had our desserts and coffee. The next morning, we saw Zak, Kathy, and Koa off after church by having lunch at Big Kahuna’s, one of my favorite pizza places. (I realize as I am writing this that many favorite places have to do with food!)

The next week was packed with events. The Cousers, Petersons, and I got together to watch “Goonies”, which Jessi had never seen, and several nights later, we were joined by the Rudders and watched “Best in Show”. On this same night, Rebecca gave Wes and Kory a cookie decorating lesson, which I really think was Kory’s way of getting Rebecca to make him her famous cut-out cookies. One afternoon, Jessi and Wes and I headed up to the North Shore for one last trip to Sunset Beach and Cholo’s Mexican restaurant for dinner. Rebecca and I also took The Boat (part of Hawaii’s public transportation system, like The Bus) for what Rebecca built up as the “cheapest sunset cruise on the island”. We drove to Kapolei Harbor and paid $2 for an hour-long boat ride to Aloha Tower in Honolulu. We had an hour to kill before the trip back, so we had a light dinner at Gordon Biersch and then prepared for our sunset boat ride back to Kapolei. However, The Boat apparently wasn’t working, so we ended up on a sunset bus ride :) Rebecca felt bad that she had build up the boat ride, but we made it fun and crossed “take the bus” off of our lists of things to do in Hawaii!

That next weekend, we all met for breakfast at Koa Pancake House before seeing the Cousers off for their flight to Portland. Then the Petersons, Rudders, and I headed on our trip to drive along the Waianae coast. We started in Wahiawa and took the Kolekole Pass, driving through the Waianae mountains. We stopped at Kaena Point, the furthest west you can drive on Oahu. Sunday morning was my last Sunday at Pearl Harbor church, so needless to say it was a tearful one! I had been used to saying goodbye to other people that the reality of myself leaving was beginning to sink in!

The next week was busy, as it was my last week in Hawaii. On Monday, I had a farewell lunch with my coworkers at Auntie Pasto’s, my former workplace. Monday night, I ate dinner with my friend Christi Silano (formerly Luttrell), who attended Harding with me and was in my social club. Tuesday night, I had dinner at Kona Brewing Company with a friend that I worked with at Dixie Grill, and then Wednesday was my last day of work. I didn’t realize how sad it would be until the little things made me cry. Of course, it became a joke (“It’s the last time you’ll use the microwave!”), which I appreciated because I no longer got teary. After our team meeting, my favorite friends from work and I went to Starbucks for my final “peer supervision” (which was our code for having coffee and not really working). How appropriate that this was my last work activity! Jenny, Malia, and Shelley were such wonderful coworkers and friends over the past few years, and my new job will definitely not be the same without them!

Wednesday night after church, the Fauths, Petersons, Stacy Godfrey, and I headed to dinner for one last meal together, as both the Petersons and I were leaving Hawaii the next day. Thursday morning, I woke up and spent a few quiet moments outside, soaking in the Hawaiian sun with the realization that it was the last day I could say, “I live in Hawaii.” Then I had to frantically pack my suitcases, stuff flat-rate boxes with heavy stuff, take them to the post office, and head to the airport. I’m rather glad I didn’t have much time to think about the fact that I was leaving, because there definitely would have been more tears!

Leaving Hawaii was definitely hard. It’s a place that will stay with me: the friendships I have made there, the growing I did as a person, and the life lessons I learned will forever be in my heart. But a new adventure awaits…

packing up the dreams...

2008-07-14T06:12:00.002-07:00

I am surrounded by boxes. It’s late at night and tomorrow morning, my friends and I will move all of my stuff out of my apartment and within a few days, it will be on a boat, headed to Portland. Going through all my belongings, deciding what to pack, what to throw away, and what needs to stay with me for the next month or so, I’ve come to the conclusion that I have a lot of junk :)

While I have accumulated possessions through the years, I have also gained things that can’t be put into boxes. Naturally, I have been comparing this move to the one I made six years ago out here to Hawaii. There are many similarities, but some major differences. I am taking a lot more with me than I brought here, both literally and figuratively! In the past six years, I have gone from “getting a job” to “having a career”. I have lost a parent but gained a greater sense of family. My relationship with God has endured questioning, disillusionment, and stumbling, but it is so much stronger than it was when I arrived to Hawaii. I have loved and lost, had my heart broken, but gained a clearer sense of who I am. Many friends have come into my life, some for only a moment, but there are those that will forever be a part of my life. They have challenged what I think and believe, sent me into roaring laughter, given me a shoulder to cry on, and taught me that I can depend on other people. Six years ago, I arrived on this island alone. Now I am leaving with so much more.

step by step...

2008-07-14T05:58:00.005-07:00

Last week, my friends and I climbed “Stairway to Heaven”… 3,922 stairs to the top of the Ko’olau Mountains. The staircase is steep in parts and goes up the side of the mountain, visible from the H-3 on the Winward side of Oahu. (Note: If you are any type of government official, we were NOT climbing this “off limits” trail…). We had to park in a neighborhood, walk through a ravine and hike through a bamboo forest to get to the bottom of the staircase. There were eight of us that climbed to the top, but our trip down was hindered by rain and slippery steps. Our reward for our trip was banana pancakes with macadamia nut syrup from Boots and Kimo’s in Kailua :)

I climbed it the summer I first arrived, and this time I asked myself why the trip up was so much harder than before. Was it that I knew how much was ahead of me, that I was not even half-way to the top? When I climbed it the first time, I had no idea what was ahead, where I was on the trail or how hard it might be. This time, I had the experience, I knew the course. But I also knew what was waiting for me at the top… the amazing view and a group of friends that made the difficult parts of the climb worth it.

all the difference

2008-07-04T18:09:00.002-07:00

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about paths. It’s funny to think about all the different intersections along the way, the choices I have made and the directions my life has taken on my map of life. The Bible is full of verses on paths and roads. Proverbs tells us that if we trust in God, He will make our paths straight. In Matthew, Jesus tells us that the road to life is narrow and only a few find it. Although some of my choices in life have led me down winding roads, I think these detours have helped to shape who I am and have taught me to appreciate the path God has intended.

As a new path approaches and I am about to begin my life in Portland, I can’t help but realize how God has directed my path to the point I am at today. My experiences in Ohio, at Harding, and here in Hawaii have all had direct impact on the paths my life has taken. For the past few years, I have been praying for God to reveal the next path that He has planned. At the beginning of the year, I was certain of where my path was leading, but apparently God had other plans! In the past few months, I have been awed by the way God has lined up all the events to lead me down this road ahead of me. The friends I have encountered, the doors that have closed, and the hand of God have all pointed me in this new direction that I had not considered before.

I love the Robert Frost poem, “The Road Not Taken”. It reminds me of the impact my choices and how the paths I take can affect the course of my life. I could have taken the wider path, the one that most people chose, or the course with the easiest route. How boring would that have been?! But instead, I took the path that led me all the way to an island in the middle of the Pacific, and now onto a city I have never been. I am confident this is where God is leading and am filled with anticipation to see where this path is headed.

The Road Not Taken


TWO roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;	5

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,	10

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.	15

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.	20