Traditions

Traditions are a necessary part of life. 

Josh and I started a tradition last November that we didn't know was a tradition until today.

On Sunday morning, after last year's Daylight Savings, we used our extra hour to have a coffee date.  We got crepes, a pumpkin spice latte, and a strawberry smoothie at French Press. We had only been married a few months then, and it was our first coffee date as a married couple.

Today, exactly a year later, we chose Starbucks, sausage sandwiches, and carmel macchiatos.

We are totally thrilled by the idea of a traditional coffee date every "fall back." It is one extra hour once a year to relax, reflect, and reconnect.  I am also excited to see what this tradition will evolve into when our family grows. For now, I absolutely treasure this time with my husband. Today we talked about what our future holds. What next after the CPA license? Should Josh pursue a real estate license? What about babies? Adoption? 

Traditions are a necessary part of life. I admire those traditions that also have meaning and purpose. I believe we stumbled upon one of those traditions this morning. 

What are your traditions?

When I am 23

Torie confidently says, "Montana has always been God's plan for me."

So when God took her to Montana to marry a farmer, Josh and I followed soon after... for a little vacation. 

We left Monday morning at 9:30am, and drove the 11 hours and the 679 miles to the Lake Five Resort in West Glacier, Montana. The Grubbs were there vacationing as it is their family tradition to camp at the Lake the week before harvest. 

This was a week for rejuvenation.

For the Grubbs, it was their calm before the chaos.
For the Warners, it was everything we had been craving.

We played Settlers of Catan, Ticket to Ride, and Nerts. We mini-golfed. We ate pulled pork, steak, and tacos-in-a-bag. We sat around the campfire late at night and sat around the coffee pot early in the morning. 

But the majority of our week was spent out on the boat wake boarding. Garrett was a natural. Torie and I improved. And Josh...well...Josh entertained us all. 

Oh, and did I mention it was my birthday? My 23rd birthday began with huckleberry pancakes at the Huckleberry Patch with Grandpa Glenn and Grandma Peggy, Devra (Garrett's mom), G, T, and J. Grandpa Glenn and Garrett talked about farming, and I smiled because it reminded me so much of how my Dad and Josh sit around the table and talk baseball.











The boys wanted nothing to do with mine and Torie's plans to spend the afternoon antiquing. But Grandma Peggy was thrilled to join Torie and me and she quickly set out to find the best spots for our adventure. She was on a hunt for old schoolhouse items to include in a display at the Conrad Museum. Torie was on a hunt for an old, but working flour-sifter. I was on a hunt for all things Montana.

I could have completely bought out at least 2 of the 5 stores we rummaged, but I left with two prized possessions - a Montana license plate and an old milk can painted turquoise.  I even negotiated my milk can down 7 dollars.  I totally pulled the "It's my birthday" card.

But I think my favorite thing of the week was our early morning hike at Logan's Pass to Hidden Lake. I'll let the pictures do the talking.

I always said I would get married at 23. Well here I finally am at 23, an age I have wished to be for so many years.  I've been married a year already - and even my baby sister is now married.  I'm ahead of the game and that makes me even more excited about 23. It's going to be a good year.  And I started it out the best way I knew how.

Though it wasn't easy accepting the fact that my sister would move away, it has been easy to fall in love with her new home.  Josh and I were so blessed, filled up, and renewed by our time with the Grubbs in Montana- and we hope to make it our tradition too to vacation at Lake Five every year during the week before harvest. Our harvest comes in the form of baseball tournaments - but it's all the same. Lake Five now represents our little slice of heaven, our calm before the chaos - billy-goats, huckleberry pancakes, and sun-freckles included.

I guess Montana has always been God's plan for us too. 

One Year and Counting

A lot can happen in one year.

Today, Josh and I celebrate our one year anniversary.  July 9, 2011 we said "I do" under a setting sun in the company of all our loved ones. Josh bawled as I walked down the aisle and tried to steal a kiss as my Dad gave me away. We ate pancakes, danced with all our family and friends, and let off over 50 sky lanterns into the night sky. That day still remains my favorite day of my entire life so far...






















Our first couple months of marriage were light and breezy. I spent the days lying in the sun, while Josh worked from home. We had breakfast, lunch, and dinner together every day.

Unfortunately, life isn't always a fairytale, and I had to start work at the end of September. Josh began coaching at Corban for fall ball and continued working from home in the mornings for Baseball Northwest.

It finally started to hit that there were bills to pay and work to be done to pay those bills. We braced ourselves for the upcoming busy season we knew was coming.

Let's put this in the nicest way possible. It's really tough to be a married baseball coach and tax accountant - and have any energy left at the end of the day for one another.  Josh would be at practice until 7 or later every evening. I came home just about the same time after a 10+ hour work day.  We'd eat whatever we could shove in our mouths the quickest, numb our brains with the TV, fall asleep, and do it all over again the next day.

During those busy months, we lost track of who we really were - individually and as a married couple. We reverted to "survival mode" and it took us about a month and a half after April 15th to really bounce back. It was a true test of our marriage - and I honestly wouldn't wish it on any newlyweds. There were countless nights of tears, frustration, and sometimes plain apathy.


Looking back on our first year of marriage, we are celebrating in a different way than I thought we would.  Believe me - we are more than thrilled that we made it - and more than thrilled to have each other for the rest of our lives - but we are celebrating this mile marker more with a sigh of relief than an exclamation of joy.

That was obvious by how we chose to spend our long weekend off "celebrating." We had originally planned to travel to Seattle to stay at Salish Lodge where we stayed on our honeymoon. But the 10 hour round trip had us contemplating the waste of a day driving... so we decided to just stay put. We spent Thursday through Sunday mostly at home - napping, lying out in the sun, finishing the last season of Lost, cleaning, loving on each other. We had breakfast, lunch, and dinner together every day. We woke up together and went to bed together. And even though it wasn't glorious in any fashion - it was just what my wife-heart needed.

Josh is an understanding, generous man that brings me so much comfort and so much joy. I am forever grateful for his constant support.  There are NO others arms I'd rather fall into after my long, hard days.  We're still figuring life out... but we're TOGETHER. And that's all that matters.

I love you, Warner.

1 year down. Always and forever left to go. ♥

From the Office to the Kitchen

This evening, I was washing our dishes from last night, or were those from the night before last...   thinking about how excited I am for April 17th. (That's this year's tax deadline, in case you didn't know. Really, why push it back until Tuesday the 17th? Uncle Sam couldn't do us all a favor and call the deadline Friday, April 13th?) 

I was thinking about how my tax deadline went last year.  I was at AKT then too, and by 4PM, I had completely run out of tax work to do. After asking all my in-charges, they told me just to kill time until 5.  Instead of pulling up Youtube videos like any of my coworkers would have done, I naturally, and rather subconsciously, went to the kitchen.  While in there, I emptied the dishwasher, filled it back up with dirty coffee cups, wiped down the counter, straightened up the newspapers.  

And then it hit me...

The office is not where I'm meant to be. 

In the deepest part of my soul, I am one who cleans and creates. I am not a number cruncher; I am not a brainiac; I'm not a machine. 

Almost a year later, I now see the significance of my moving from the office to the kitchen.

I grew up working in a bed and breakfast. I was the Activities Coordinator on student government. My favorite thing to do is cook dinner for my husband.  None of those things say 8-5 in front of a computer screen. Rather, they say - people-person, hospitality, coordinating, designing, creating.

While I enjoy accounting, it is not what I am passionate about. And until now, I didn't realize that it is not even what truly comes natural to me. 

But being in the kitchen won't pay the bills. 

It doesn't have medical benefits. 

It means giving up "a great job."

But that's ok.

Life is not about money. 

Life is about arms-wide-open passion for what and whom you love. 

The bills will still be here when I leave, but my soul won't. It's time for me to start taking care of my soul.

And let me tell you - my soul- she's not in the office.

Here's to finding her way out. 

2011---Well that was fun.

2011 was a big year for us. Had we gotten pregnant before the year end, it would have been the year of all years! However – we’re holding off awhile for little ones, though we’re tempted every day to change our minds. Instead, 2011 held the beginning of new careers, a wedding, and a house purchase! Through the whole year, we were continually reminded just how blessed we are. We do not want to end the year without saying Praise! to Jesus for all that He has done for us. We are also so very grateful for each one of you that enrich our lives with your sweet friendship and fellowship.

We had only been engaged a day when we entered into 2011. Around 10:45 PM on December 30th, 2010, Josh got down on one knee at the top of the Space Needle in Seattle, WA. We stopped to have dinner there, while on our way to visit Josh’s extended family in Snohomish. Turns out I got more than just the salmon! It was a fun way to meet all his aunts, uncles, and cousins --- being welcomed with huge hugs because “Now you’re going to be family!” It was a wonderful weekend that filled my heart so full. I knew without a doubt this was a family I wanted to be married into. 

January brought my final semester at Corban University. And it wouldn’t be the final semester if it wasn’t the hardest one of them all! I was interning 35+ hours at an accounting firm, taking 17 credits (one being the horrendous senior business project that almost broke me), serving as the Activities Coordinator for Corban’s student government, and trying to plan a wedding.  Needless to say, I survived…but just barely. If it wasn't for my fantastic ASB team (pictured to the left), my girlfriends, and the fun college events to be a part of, it would have been  a much more miserable semester. I even managed to win 1st place at a dance competition at Corban with my sister Torie! 

   

In February, Josh coached his first collegiate baseball game as Corban’s grad assistant. He coached under the leadership of first year head coach Jeff McKay (my Dad!). As they continue to build the program, they are confident that each year will get them closer to where they want to be. Josh was promoted this fall to Assistant Coach and currently works with the outfielders and hitters. The 2012 baseball season starts February 10th against University of Puget Sound, as part of the Swing into Spring College Baseball Classic in Pasco, WA. Go Warriors!

Right in the middle of the busy semester, God brought us incredible joy and blessing. On March 9^th, Josh signed the papers for a brand new red house in Aumsville, OR! And because he was the best fiancé in the world, he let ME move into it, instead of him! One of my dear friends Meredith was a sweet companion and roommate in a time where we both just needed a quiet safe haven to come home to.

In May, I graduated – decked out in my blue gown and cap (which flew off during the processional).  I was so ready to be done, I think I practically ran across the stage.  I graduated with a degree in Business Management and a degree in Accounting and Finance (just like Josh did the year ahead of me!)

June made for crazy wedding planning – and a family trip to Montana!  My parents, Josh, Torie, and I trekked across the Rocky Mountains to my sister’s boyfriend’s family farm in Conrad, Montana. They own 4,000+ acres where they grow wheat and barley and raise cattle.   At the time, Montana was experiencing the most rain they had in 20 years – but we didn’t let it stop us from experiencing what it had to offer. And when the sun came out the final day, we gasped at the incredible beauty and found out just why it’s called Big Sky Country.  Garrett’s parents, Mark and Devra (pictured below), and both sets of Garrett's grandparents live on the farm. It made for a very family-oriented trip – and we felt completely at ease that Torie would be joining their lives in Montana in future months.  Josh and I also developed an affinity to Montana and the farm life, and together secretly dream of one day transporting our lives there. 

And on July 9^th, Josh and I joined our lives together at a barn in Salem, OR. Our beloved accounting teacher Bryce Bernard performed the ceremony – and our closest friends and family stood beside us witnessing the official union of two hearts that had known all along they were meant for each other.  On that day, we made a pledge to Christ that we wanted our home to be a safe haven for all who entered. That continues to be our prayer – that this house we were blessed with would become a blessing to those who enter. 

Josh and I spent our Honeymoon up north: 3 nights at Salish Lodge and Spa at Snoqualmie Falls (completely recommend it!) and 2 nights in downtown Seattle at the Marriott. While at Salish, we got full-body massages, sat in the jacuzzi, built wood-cracklin' fires in our room, played Ticket to Ride 5 times, and just plain relaxed. The end of our trip was spent shopping in Seattle and going to Mariner baseball games. It was just our speed and everything we had desired in our first days as husband and wife.

In August, Josh coached his BBNW team of high school seniors all the way to the Championship game at the Northwest Championship Tournament in Centralia, WA. This same team had won the previous year as well with Josh as coach. They were ready to take the trophy for year 2 and they did! Josh has found coaching to be a very fulfilling job and really enjoys being a mentor to the younger guys. I am so happy that God is using Josh right where he would be happiest...on the baseball field.

                                                                              

 The last week in September, I started my full-time job as an Associate Accountant at AKT CPAs and Business Consultants in Salem, OR.  Though it took me about two months to fully adjust to “being a grown up,” I finally feel like this is where I’m supposed to be. AKT is full of incredible people that make going to work each day easy.  

In October, we made the trip up to Snohomish, WA for the Warner Halloween Party in Uncle Steve and Aunt Jane's amazing barn. It was a great night of potluck food, creative costumes, and LOTS of dancing! We even won "Most Original Costume" with our Flo (from Progressive) and Mayhem (from Allstate) attire. When the Warners get together, it's always a good party.

As the sun continued to shine and the rain held off in a surprisingly dry November and December, we hosted Thanksgiving in our own little red house for both the McKays and Warners. (We have dubbed ourselves the McWarners for such holiday gatherings!) Christmas was spent split between both families--- cuddling with nieces and nephews, playing Ticket to Ride and pinochle, and remembering the birth of our Savior. 

As we look ahead to 2012...

I will be working 50-60 hours a week for tax season February through April 15th. Josh will also begin traveling with Corban Baseball the beginning of February.  The next four months will bring long work days and fewer hours together as husband and wife. It will even bring some nights that we won't get to crawl into the same bed together! Please keep us in your prayers as you think of us.  We know this is a season we just have to get through but are hopeful that we'll make the most of the moments we do have together. We are confident that we have a great Savior to keep us centered and amazing friends and family to hold us up.  

Thank you for supporting us as individuals and as a couple. We love each and every one of you and look forward to the many years ahead with you. 2011 was a heck of a year. Looking forward to trying to top it in 2012!

Life under the Christmas Tree

The other night, I found myself lying under the Christmas tree, looking up. It's a magical, relaxing place where I wish I could stay more often. It's as if that tax return I messed up on won't eat at me the rest of the night. It's as if the dishes did themselves. It's as if the homework turned itself in.  Life kinda stops under the tree.



As I lay there, my life verse - that I don't seem to be very good at doing lately - came to mind, "Be still and know that I am God." (Annie girl, your life has a purpose. Do not forget that the Lord your God is sovereign.) 

Without Christ, I would have no reason to celebrate Christmas and no Christmas tree to lie under.  In the stillness, when it's just me and the Light, my soul seems to realign. I've gotten lost in all the transitioning during the last few months. I've forgotten whats most important, as I struggle just to survive.  But all of a sudden, with a faint whisper from the Prince of Peace, life seems doable again.

I hope and pray this season that you'll take time to find out what your life looks like under the Christmas tree.

The AKT Way

I am an accountant.

Contrary to popular belief, accountants are not mathematicians. Really, the only math you have to know is arithmetic. Just some adding, subtracting, and percentages. And our handy-dandy ten-key calculators do that for us!

Accounting is more like grammar. And if you knew that, I bet you wouldn’t be surprised that I am an accountant.

Just like sentences have nouns, verbs, and direct objects, accounting has assets, liabilities, and expenses. There is a correct sentence structure that the parts of speech must be in order to make sense. In the same way, there is proper structure for accounts to be categorized.  Accounting is a lot about organization, and our organization must follow the rules set forward by GAAP, General Accepted Accounting Principles.  

Of course, it is MUCH more complicated than I have described it here. This is the bare bones of accounting.  If you add tax law, audit procedures, and a company with over 100 accounts, it’s a whole bunch of fun.

There are two sides of accounting: tax and attest services.  I won’t go into the differences, but all you really need to know is…I have a preference for tax. (But I will dabble in both for the next couple years!) 

Attest services verify that a company is doing their accounting according to GAAP, while tax deals with everything that must go to the government.

I work for AKT CPAs and Business Consultants in Salem, OR. It is a public accounting firm, which means that we are a third-party firm that businesses/individuals pay to audit their financial statements, prepare their taxes, and/or for business consulting and wealth advising.  I am a full-time staff accountant, the bottom of the food chain. This is the preparer level.  Accounting is unique in the fact that the lowest level does the “work,” while those higher on the food chain “review the work.” Don’t get me wrong, our partners work harder and longer than anyone in accounting - because they must ensure that what we send out the door to our client is the very best. They have to draw from their incredible wealth of knowledge concerning ANYTHING we may have missed or not considered when preparing the tax returns or performing the review or audit.

AKT’s motto is “helping our clients achieve their goals.” This focus trickles down from the very top, from our highest paid partner to our busy-season interns.

My goal is to become an expert tax planner for individuals and small businesses. That means, I would be able to tell you how to strategically pay less taxes.  Right now, I plug numbers into the tax returns. Glorious huh? But in every tax return, the partners of the firm remind us to think about the client on the other side.  We are doing tax returns for real people.   This is something very special about AKT. And why I am thrilled to go to work each morning!

AKT has a sense of camaraderie. We are a team, all in this together. Partners and staff accountants work together for the betterment of the client. In the largest accounting firms in the nation, an intern might never say one word to a partner. At AKT, I can enter a partner’s office at any time to ask a question about a client, or stop a partner in the hall to ask how his/her weekend was. 

I believe in AKT. I believe in their morals and values. I believe in their goals and their focus. I believe in the culture. That’s why it is easy for now to sit in a cubicle and plug numbers into a computer screen – because I know I am contributing work to a larger cause, to a greater picture, to an important and valued client.

So that’s what I do. 

And so far, I love every minute of it.