Where did April and May go?

I can't believe it's almost June!! It's been so long since I've blogged that they've changed the format! AAAHH!! Well, life is finally beginning to settle into a new normal. As you probably figured out, April was a HUGE month for me! Easily my favorite month ever! Brian and I got married!!!! I thought I'd go through the entire two months and hit the highlights and then go back and blog about specifics, like the wedding so it's adequately archived on the blog. But just to give you a preview about the most amazing day of my life.

So after the best wedding in the history of the world, (so I might be ever so slight biased!!), we went on the most amazing  honeymoon in the history of the world! We spent almost two weeks in Costa Rica and it too was soooo awesome!! Here is a preview of the upcoming blogpost:

Then we had to come back to work and boy, was that an adjustment!! I immediately hit the road with POTUS on a trip across the country and back!! Talk about jumping back in the pool with two feet!! And I've been on the road at least two days a week for the past few weeks. So add all of that to moving Brian's stuff out of his apartment and finding space for his things in our house (and in storage) PLUS trying to make a dent in the thank-you cards and you'll understand why I've been MIA for the past two months!! But in the coming days, I'll recreate the past two months for you. They were pretty awesome so I totally don't mind going back in time!! :)

Trip to the DMZ

Usually on any trip, it's just work, work, work, work. I can't tell you how many places I've been to where I can't say I've really seen anything. Occasionally, we have some down time and we make the most of it. But on this trip, the WH arranged what some called a "field trip" to take the media to the DMZ and I can honestly say it was one of the most educational, informative trips I've ever taken.

We got on a bus and drove about 45 minutes to the DMZ while POTUS was busy doing meetings for the summit. We got to Camp Bonifas and had to wait for our military escort/tour guide. Let me stop for a moment and explain that before this trip, most of my knowledge of Korea came from watching M*A*S*H reruns with my dad. He's seen all of them and my basic understanding of the Korean war includes Radar and Hawkeye and Klinger. Sadly, watching M*A*S*H episodes leaves a lot to be desired in the actual history. My understanding of the conflict with North Korea was definitely deepened to a whole new level from the tour of the DMZ.
Once our military escort/tour guide met up with us, we went to the DMZ visitor's center for a presentation on the history of the DMZ. I think I was a sponge because I couldn't keep track of all the interesting facts the major was telling us.We loaded into a UN bus and started our way to the Joint Security Area. Along the way, we were told that we were not allowed to take pictures until our guide told us to and that we were not allowed to point or gesture to the North Korean side of the line. We also learned about the ax massacre of 1976 and why it used to be that North Koreans and South Koreans co-existed in this area. You should definitely google it because it's a fascinating story. Bottom line is the North Koreans killed two Americans in a massacre basically over the pruning of one tree. I felt reassured because knowing that the last killing took place before I was born made me feel like the chances of something bad happening to me 24 days before my wedding were extremely small!The bus stopped at the Freedom House and we were told we had to go inside and wait in two lines until it was time to walk through. The building was rebuilt in 1998 and we were told that it was supposed to be where reunions between South Koreans and their family members who are in North Korea but no reunions have ever taken place. We didn't really tour the building, just waited in line with our cool press armbands they had given for us to wear. We had to wear them because it's part of the armistice apparently. Too bad we had to give them back at the end of the tour.We walked through the building outside to a building where the armistice was signed. It's basically a conference room. The military demarcation line ran across the middle of the room so half of it is in South Korea, half is in North Korea. (I was standing in North Korea.) Both countries have use of this room but only one at a time. We were instructed that if we did see any North Korean soldiers (which we didn't), we were under no circumstances allowed to communicate with them. Inside the room were two South Korean soldiers standing guard. They were very serious and didn't smile. Our military escort gave us a brief presentation about the historical significance of the Armistice Room and then let us take pictures with the guards and of North Korea outside the window. It was such a surreal experience!After hanging out in that room, we walked back across to the outside of the Freedom House. We looked across to North Korea and saw their main building. Outside was a North Korean soldier who was looking at us through his binoculars. This was as close to a North Korean that we got. He stared at us for a few minutes but then went back to just standing post. We were told that we could take pictures but we had to stay in certain parameters and that no gesturing or pointing to the North Korean side. Of course some of my colleagues missed that part but thankfully, nothing happened to us!After that stop, we went to an South Korean outpost and saw the demarcation line. At that spot, we were surrounded by North Korea on three sides.On one of the sides, we could see the North Korean village of Kijong-dong. Our military guide told us that the North Koreans refer to it as the Peace Village because it shows how nice it is to live in North Korea. But our guide said that really it is a Propaganda Village because no one actually officially lived there and many buildings had the windows and doors painted on or some were actually only shells of buildings. Unfortunately, nearly all North Koreans live in hunger and poverty. Kijong-dong also has an extremely large flagpole which flies a flag that weighs nearly 600 pounds. They said it was the third largest in the world and constructed to outdo a huge flagpole on the South Korean side.Our last stop on the tour was a brief pause at the site of the infamous tree incident of 1976. We could see where the tree had eventually been cut down in Operation Paul Bunyan. That's another thing that is totally worth the Google effort. The amount of back-up support to cut down one tree was amazing!!Nearby, we saw the Bridge to No Return. After the ax massacre, they had 72 hours for the North Koreans to get back on their side. Once across, they were never allowed back into South Korea. There was a movie about it and after being there, I definitely want to see it!We returned to the visitor's center and we were all set to go to the gift shop. I could think of nothing better than getting a "I've stepped into North Korea" t-shirt. Those gifts would have been the most unique from any trip I've taken. But alas, the gift shop was CLOSED!! We were soooo bummed!!I guess we'll have to buy souvenirs on the next trip to the DMZ! :) Even with the gift shop closed, it was totally worth it to go on the tour. Like I said, I have a much better understanding of both history and today's conflict. If ever presented with the opportunity to take a tour, I vote that you should totally do it!

Korea's Blue House adventures

What do most brides do a few weeks before the wedding? The usual answer is not to go on a work trip to South Korea. But it has been on my checklist! POTUS headed to Seoul for the Nuclear Security Summit and I went with him. It was definitely the best option among my choices. This trip to Korea or a weekend trip to Cartagena, Colombia the weekend before the wedding. So I just made sure that we had all the big things definitely planned before I went so that when I got back, I could spend the next three weeks tying up the loose ends.

So we headed to Seoul last Friday on a, commercial flight. But don't feel too sorry for me because it was a direct flight to Seoul in Prestige Class on Korean Air which was a rather pleasant experience. The 14 hour flight went by exceptionally quickly and I was so productive! We got there about 12 hours before POTUS did which allowed us the time to go out to dinner at an awesome real Korean BBQ place and then get some sleep.

When POTUS arrived, he basically went straight to the DMZ (we went on a different day which I will blog about separately!) and we did some liveshots. But in the evening, I was assigned to be the pool producer for part of the events at the President of Korea's house. The Koreans are really original in their name of the executive mansion. Since it has a blue roof, it's called the Blue House. I think they copied our originality.I was supposed to be the pool producer for the official arrival and book signing. I admit, it's not heavy lifting in the producer world and pretty much a trained four year-old with a security pass could produce the event. But it's a great opportunity to get out of the workspace and actually see something beyond the conference room in which we work.

So POTUS arrived and Mr. Lee (I went to Detroit with the two of them last fall!) greeted him with a big hug. The first thing POTUS did was to go sign the guest book. And after that, the pair of leaders stopped to get their picture taken. And then they walked up these huge steps to where they were going to meet.We thought we had some extra time to go get set up for the press conference with the two leaders but all of a sudden, the WH press handlers told us we had to run upstairs because the travel pool (not my network) had been stopped by security and they weren't allowed in. So we literally sprinted through the Blue House and up the stairs and went into some room where POTUS and PMoRoK were seated chatting having a bilateral meeting. The whole event lasted about a minute and I never had a chance to take a picture because I was busy catching my breath. I know you're not supposed to run in the house but in this case, we had no choice.

After the bilateral meeting, we finally went to the room where the press conference would take place. The rest of the US press corps was still stuck in security and they kept saying that the presser would start on time. Which if that had happened, it would have been a problem because on the American side, it was me and one print reporter. We would have been the only ones who would have had to ask questions. Not that I wasn't prepared but I wasn't really prepared! :) I would have come up with something but I was exceptionally relieved when the rest of the press corps was finally let in!!

The British are Coming, (Actually they came!!!)

Last week, two of my favorite things came to the White House. A state visit and the British. I love both of them. As I blogged about before, I love a good official state visit because of all the pomp and circumstance. And I love the British because, well, they are British and I'm such an Anglophile. I blame my heritage and maybe my last name.

This time, I was assigned to cover the official arrival ceremony and then later the press conference with POTUS and PM Cameron. But the morning started out with one of my faves. It was a beautiful day on the South Lawn as I watched the pageantry of the honor guards marching in, the bands playing and then of course my favorite, the US Army Old Guard Drum and Fife Corps!! I've been to many of these ceremonies for world figures and leaders. For example, the Mexican President, the Pope, and even Queen Elizabeth but it just never gets old! It's even better when I see the crowd waving little American flags and Union Jacks!Later in the afternoon, POTUS and PM Cameron came to the Rose Garden for their press conference. It was so nice to finally have an event outside!! You know spring has sprung when we can be outside covering an event and we're not either freezing or burning up. The weather was absolutely perfect for a presser!

The past month

Just checking in with all four of my blog readers! I know I've been MIA the past month but I'm still alive and doing fairly well. I'll be honest, February was a blur for me. After Missy's funeral, I wouldn't say that I was in a complete funk because I was very much in the wedding planning mode (and that is exciting) but I was just in a blur. God did (and continues to) teach me several things during that time. I definitely felt His presence and comfort and I so very much appreciate the prayers of so many friends. Knowing that there were so many other people going through the same situation was very comforting and knowing that Missy had impacted so many people just made me feel better.

Many times, God uses music to teach me and get my attention. This situation was no different. During the time I visited Missy in the hospital, God showed me two songs that really spoke to me. The first is from Phillips Craig & Dean called ""You are God Alone" which comforted me in so many ways but mainly just telling me that no matter what I was going through, God is God and He never changes. The line that stuck out to me was "from before time began, you are on your throne. You are God alone. And right now, in the good times and bad, you are on your throne, you are God alone." The only way to get through watching one of your best friends die is to know that God is sovereign and that He knows what He is doing. Also it's possible to praise God during both a good time while planning a wedding and a bad time like what I experienced during the month of February. He's unstoppable and unchangeable and praise the Lord for His sovereignty!



The other song God spoke to me through is Steven Curtis Chapman's "Be Still and Know" which I believe has been on my iPod for almost a decade but it's amazing how He pulls the exact song and puts it in my head at the exact right time. When I was visiting Missy in the hospital, as I mentioned before, she was induced into a coma. But I knew she could hear me because she would turn her head ever so slightly or she tried to open her eyes. It really was a precious time. However, at one point, she all of a sudden would move her arms up which honestly, the first time kind of freaked me out. I wasn't expecting that at all. God laid Psalms 46:10 on my mind. "Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth." I kept telling Missy that she had two things to do, according to this verse and God would do His part. Of course this song came to my mind and I think I tried to sing to her at one point. I knew she heard me because she would immediately put her hands down. But this song was even more comforting to me in the days after she died. God really had to slow me down from my busy life and just showed me in a real way the same message as the other song. He is God no matter what and I just clung to that core principle.



Luckily for me, the Christian radio station in my neck of the woods only plays about 20 songs in a continual shuffle and these two songs are still in the rotation. Normally, I complain about hearing the same songs over and over again but in this situation, I just know God's still using these songs to reinforce what He's been teaching me over the past month.

Remembering a BFF

Last Friday, one of my best friends, Melissa Cheliras (Melissa was her grown-up name but she was Missy to me!) passed away after a four-month battle with stomach and esophageal cancer. I was really, really praying that I wouldn't have to write this post and that God would perform the biggest miracle since Jesus' resurrection and would heal her so she could live out the rest of her life here on earth. But God had different plans and while He did ultimately heal her, she is no longer with us here. She won't get to continue her work of ministering to students on various college campuses. She won't be the physical smiling presence of joy in our lives. She won't get to be one of my bridesmaids in April. And there's that big part of me that is just really sad about those things. But I do know and believe that she has been dancing at the feet of Jesus for the last week and I'm sure she wouldn't even consider a return trip here. And I know that I will one day get to see her again. I'm sure she'll already know just about everyone in heaven when I get there and she'll be on my welcoming committee. Those promises of God bring great comfort to me.

I have known Missy since 1996- my junior year of college, which was her freshman year. I don't remember specifically the first time we met but I know we hung out a lot that year. Looking at pictures from my college days (which there aren't nearly enough!), I realize that she was there for the important moments. My 21st birthday where she apparently took part in making my cake. My college graduation. But I also remember her in the every day moments too. Just hanging out and laughing. Playing board games. Chatting about life.We definitely became closer friends after college when she and I and our two friends, Elizabeth and Becky decided about ten years ago to start vacationing together and doing girls' weekends. Over the past decade, we've had so many adventures and laughs that I could write an entire book. We went on a cruise. We went on a ATV tour of Cozumel where none of us could drive a stick-shift. We elected Missy to drive because she could sort of drive it. I think I nearly peed in my pants because we were all laughing so hard!! We went to see the Miss America pageant where we hung out with three gay men in boas. We vacationed in the woods of Georgia where I was convinced we were going to find the Unabomber. We hung out on a farm at a B&B where we were spit at by llamas. We were in weddings together. We played a lot of Nerts together. (I don't want to brag but I usually won!) More than that, we all laughed together and held each other accountable. I seriously have not laughed more with any other group of people than I have with those three girls. The kind of laughter where your sides hurt stuff.Missy modeled Christ to me by the way she lived her life. She treated everyone with compassion and kindness. I know she wasn't perfect and I'm sure slipped up at times, but I really have no memory of her ever really trashing or saying something bad about someone. She lived life to the fullest, even when I admit that it sometimes got on my nerves. She would always stop to read the fine print on some sign or literally stop to smell the roses. Or say hello to someone she may or may not know. Or because she knew practically everyone, she would run into someone she knew clear across the world. She lived life "all in".

In the past few years when she moved back to Blacksburg, I was able to see her a little more often than when she lived in Boston. She made several trips to Northern Virginia for various reasons and almost always stayed at my house. I went to London on a missions trip with her and two VT students back in 2008. I think that was the one time I was mad at her. And it was mostly my fault. We hadn't really gotten a good night's sleep in several days. And I was sharing a room with her and she tended to snore a little bit. Ok, sometimes more than a little bit. I hadn't slept well one night and she got up completely refreshed and ready to go tell the world about Jesus. I was completely sleep deprived and an emotional wreck and lashed out at her for being so stinkin' happy and cheerful. But that's who she was. All in.Over the summer, she moved to Richmond to work on the campus of University of Richmond. Since Brian's grandpa is in Richmond, I was there several times and while he was farming, I met up with Missy. And she came to visit me just to relax and recharge before starting her new gig. I was so excited that she lived so close to me (relatively speaking!) She was always just returning from hanging out with a group of friends or leading a Bible study or helping a student but she took time to spend with me and in hindsight, I'm sooo thankful for those times together.

She came to visit me in August and I happened to have the day off. So almost at the last minute, (well as last minute as a security clearance can be!), I got her cleared into the White House so we could see a Marine One departure. I remember saying to her that we should do this because you never know, I might not be working at the White House forever. I had no idea that the reason the Lord urged me to arrange this was because Missy wouldn't be on this earth for very much longer. On her Facebook page, she said it was a dream come true! Of course while she was at the WH with me, she made friends with everyone I worked with and even told one of my co-workers he could have the rest of the day off (which he listened to us and somehow just left work without telling anyone!!)I saw her a couple of times a few weeks just before her diagnosis. I don't think she had any symptoms at that point but if she did, she didn't let on about them. In fact, she was the faithful, caring friend who listened to me go on and on about something stupid that really didn't matter, I'm sure. She seemed to always put others at the top of her priority list.

Friday before last, I was able to go visit her in the hospital. By the time I got there, she was in a medically-induced coma. Her parents kept telling me how much she was looking forward to my visit. And while we did have some precious time together, I so much wished that we could have had that one last two-way conversation. I'm sure if she had been able to talk, she would have in some way been the one encouraging me. Those moments together will be cherished and never be forgotten and I feel honored that I was allowed to be there.

She passed away this past Friday a couple of hours before Becky, Elizabeth, and I got to the hospital. We felt fortunate that the Lord had already arranged us to be there together for a girls' weekend and while it was nothing like any other girls' weekend, we were so glad to be together. This time, when we walked into her hospital room, it was clear that she was no longer with us. And while tears came, we were so happy that she wasn't suffering any more. She was with Jesus. We honored her memory over the next couple of days in several ways. We sat together and remembered all the fun times we had with her. We looked at tons of pictures of her smiling and loving on people. We visited one of her favorite places in Virginia Beach, the camellia garden in the Norfolk Botanical Gardens. We stopped short of walking on the beach in a random blizzard. We knew Missy would have probably wanted to do that, in flip-flops no less!

Her funeral was standing-room only in her wonderful parents' church. It was amazing to see how many lives one person had touched in a few short years. Her mom wanted the funeral "to rock" with worship and praise and it definitely did. There were so many stories of how Missy lived her life and made a difference. It was crazy to see so many people from different facets of my life that knew Missy/Melissa too. As soon as the funeral was over, worlds collided when I was surrounded by friends from college, my former campus minister I haven't seen in many years, a friend from the DC area who was Missy's fellow campus minister, one of my best friends in DC who Missy introduced to me 7 years ago, a girl I used to babysit when I was at teenager, and even my youth minister from when I was in the 7th grade. All separately touched by this one life. Her faith and her smile and joy were contagious and I believe her legacy will be making an impact on lives for years to come.

There's no doubt that I will miss her. I already do. I've found myself still looking at pictures of her and her radiating smile. I don't pretend to understand all of God's ways (especially on this one) but I trust Him fully and know He is in control. I do completely trust Him. I know through her life, He gets the glory. The selfish me wants her here with us, standing up beside me on my wedding day in that navy blue bridesmaids dress. But I know once she got to heaven, she started praising Jesus and probably hasn't stopped. Because that's how she is. She is "all in".P.S. I know that she wanted to be at our wedding too. Her family told me at the funeral that our save-the-date card is on the mirror of her bathroom. No doubt, she probably prayed for us every time she was in there. Even in her sickest moments, she was praying for others. See what I mean? She was just that kind of person. Talk about humbling.

Catching up once again

I won't begin this post with another apology because I think that's how I start every post nowadays. But suffice it to say, I've been busy and life has just continued to happen and unfortunately the blog has taken a back seat. I'm sure my three readers have missed me.

I'll warn you- this is going to be a really random post so hopefully you can stick with me. I'm also planning to go back and write a few entries to catch you up on everything going on.

The wedding planning continues. Brian and I are pretty laid-back people and although you would have thought I could put a wedding together in three seconds flat due to the fact that I've been to more than 100 weddings and by now I should know what I want- well it's not true. It actually takes much more work than I thought. I am also one who lends herself to procrastination and working better under pressure. It's a good thing I'm in the job I'm in because the working better under pressure thing comes in handy quite a bit. Anyway, we're now to the point in time that I'm feeling the pressure. But it's all coming together quite nicely so far. Yes, there are several details still up in the air and no, James Taylor has not agreed to come but I'm really not stressed about any of it. We've gotten the most important parts taken care of and it's really not about the wedding per se that matters. The important part is our marriage itself. We've joined the Nearly/Newlywed class at our church and are enjoying that. We're just looking forward to officially joining the demographic of "married" in a matter of two and a half months!

The last few weeks have been very productive in the planning department but they've also been busy in just life in general. Brian is coaching basketball again. He didn't officially replace me as Associate Head Coach but he does have a friend from work who happens to actually play basketball helping him out this year. Plus, he's only coaching one team instead of two. It's been nice this year in some regards because I don't feel like I have to be there and I can just come and watch and sit with the parents. Of course, it's been a little painful to watch considering we are 0-4 and they've had to turn the scoreboard off on us because the other team was beating us too badly. But it's really no reflection on his coaching abilities. It's just that the group of kids put on our team have numerous challenges. The main one being the inability to get the ball in the basket. But then again, maybe it does have to do with the coaching. Or at least the assistant coaching because last year when I was on the bench, we did have a winning record!

It's also been a bit of an emotional few weeks. A few weeks ago, a dear lady at my church died unexpectedly in her sleep at age 47. Mary was one of those people who just lit up the room when she walked in. And she greeted everyone with a "Hello, Beautiful" and then giving a hug and kiss and letting them know she was praying for them. And she really did pray for them. I felt so special and loved by her. And it turns out that she had the ability to make every single person she came into contact with feel the same way. The last time I saw her she reminded me that she had prayed that God would bring a wonderful guy into my life for the past several years and she was thrilled that God had answered her prayers (and mine!) and she was looking forward to the wedding! Her funeral was a beautiful time of reflecting on such a precious person and she leaves quite a legacy. I think every young female in the room (myself included) left wanting to be a person of impact like Mary.

Speaking of people with impact... my heart has been heavy in the past few days because my dear friend from college, Missy, has been battling cancer since October and has had a rough week. I went to see her in the hospital yesterday and it was such a precious time. She's currently in a medically-induced coma so her body can heal from pneumonia. So as she was lying there, I just held her hand, talked with her, prayed for her and read encouraging messages from Facebook. I just know she could hear me. I'm really glad we had that time together and I pray that her body heals so we can have many more precious times together. If you don't mind, say a prayer for her when you read this. She could definitely use as many prayers as possible!!

Ok, sorry this post is kind of a downer. But in between my prayers for Missy, I'm going to think of happier things. Like oatmeal chocolate chip cookies from Potbelly's and the fact that my cleaning lady came today while I was at work!