Published by Josiah Ritner July 27th, 2007
in news.
We have been back in Australia for a week now. Our trip went really well.
We arrived safe and sound, with all our luggage. We knew that it was winter here, but we did not expect it to be so cool. But it is a nice change from the summer heat we left behind. We spent the first couple of days resting, getting unpacked, and getting settled into our new flat. We’ve now been back at work for a few days.
I have just added over 60 pictures to my Flickr account. You can view them by clicking here. They are from the last week of our honeymoon, our trip back, the first few days here, as well as some from our wedding that my brother Ben took. Click here to see more of his photography.
More updates to come.
Published by Josiah Ritner July 19th, 2007
in news.
We are at LAX getting ready to leave for Australia. We haven’t had access to the internet the last couple of days, so we have not been able to update. We will fill you in on how the rest of the honeymoon went once we get back to australia. We will also update you on how things go as we get settled in Australia. We would appreciate your prayers over the next couple of weeks.
Published by Josiah Ritner July 9th, 2007
in news and the wedding.
Check out our wedding photos!
After a delay of a couple of days because of technical difficulty, the pictures from our wedding are now online.
Here are the details to check them out.
Go to www.imagequix.com
Enter the photographer ID: Z9N7698
Click on Crissa and Josiah (it’s at the top)
The password is: Ritner
Published by Crissa Ritner July 9th, 2007
in news.
Today was a fabulous day! We’re at the beach for a couple of days and the great thing about it is you just kind of hang where you’re at. We didn’t get in the car to go anywhere a single time today! That was wonderful!
I woke up a bit earlier because the room we’re in is a corner room, and the sunlight came streaming through the sliding glass doors early this morning. So I quietly rolled out of bed and took a walk on the beach. The sound of the ocean is so therapeutic; after an hour it just made me sleepy again so I actually ate breakfast and went back to bed! Hey, we’re on vacation!
Josiah and I finally summoned enough energy to slip, slop, slap: slip on our bathing suits, slop on some sunscreen and slap on a hat. We moseyed the block down to the beach and reclined in little chairs with our feet in the water, dozing occasionally. Every now and then I would wade into the water; it was pretty cold! But after Josiah came back from playing football and had already been tackled into the cold ocean, he picked me up and started carrying me into the water. I thought the louder I screamed he would finally put me down but it just gave him incentive. I felt like a monkey crawling up him as the water got deeper and deeper and he finally just fell over into the water, me clinging to him.
Freezing but laughing we paddled back to the beach where his entire family were cracking up at his little stunt. We both rolled onto our bellies on the towel and tried to doze and dry off…
We finally showered towards the end of the night, had a big family dinner, took a long walk on the beach and then came back to the house to play a somewhat aggressive game of Taboo; girls versus boys. Yes, girls won. 
One of our favorite parts of the day: being lazy in the sun.
Published by Crissa Ritner July 9th, 2007
in news.
I’m getting pretty good at multi-tasking in the car. Today I wrote more thank you’s and painted my toes as well! We set off for Kitty Hawk, North Carolina for the Ritner Reunion (since I’m a Ritner now!) which is on the beach every year. I was excited to go just because I now shared the same last name!
I had a few errands I wanted to do which set us two hours behind schedule; my husband is extremely gracious and just kept smiling.
The drive was once again long but beautiful with tons of lush, colorful trees and creeks along the highway. The great thing about the drive was we listened to another book in the series: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. As we neared the beach we crossed a looonnngg bridge which kind of freaked me out. It was a couple miles long and I’m just thinking that all that’s under and next to me is ocean water. Hmmm…As we approached land we drove under a huge storm with magnificent lightning flashing around us. We pulled out of the rain safely and finally arrived to the house where family were waiting!
We retired early for tons of fun in the sun is tomorrow!
One of our favorite parts of the day: eating lunch at Cookout, a drive-thru with great fire-grilled burgers and excellent shakes! Josiah had a great watermelon shake while I enjoyed a banana fudge shake…Mm-mmm…
Published by Crissa Ritner July 9th, 2007
in news.
After our late night we definitely took advantage of our empty morning and slept in! So much traveling has made me lethargic!
Today was exciting because we were having a small reception for his family and church friends that didn’t get to make it to the wedding; so I was going to wear my dress again and Josiah his suit! I’ve got to try and find every excuse to wear that dress…it’s too beautiful to wear only once!
It’s been lovely hanging out with family again. We chatted with Josiah’s mom and grandma this afternoon while everyone else was at the pool, trying to get a tan for the beach this weekend. Apparently, we were so relaxed I fell asleep on the couch! I woke up to people streaming in the door…whoops!
Later in the evening we headed to the church; I don’t think Josiah realized how much stuff you need for your wedding dress…special skirt, special under-stuff, special shoes, special dress, special veil, special hair clips…it’s a big event! Josiah’s mom helped me get all the gear on and it was so fun walking out to “Mr. and Mrs. Josiah Ritner†again!
Getting to see more family and meet more of Josiah’s friends was so enjoyable and it was wonderful to know how many people were and still are excited for our new lives together!
We had a fantastic cake and let’s just be honest…everyone getting dressed up and taking pictures was so much fun all over again!! Even my new cousin was the flower girl for the night!
Thanks to all who helped and came and celebrated with us!!
One of our favorite parts of the day: the whole reception: seeing friends and family and dressing up again.
Published by Crissa Ritner July 6th, 2007
in news.
My favorite holiday is definitely 4th of July…it’s so much more laid back and so fun to hang out with the family. And the only thing you really have to worry about is whether or not to make the potato salad and you also don’t have to stress about getting presents for everyone in the cold!
Growing up I would always go to my Mema and Papa’s house around noon; we would BBQ and have a huge lunch, and then graze the rest of the day on leftovers. We would then have homemade ice cream for dessert…my favorite is still homemade strawberry ice cream. All day my cousins and I would shoot fireworks off. One year I got a burn mark on my rear from my cousin; we always looked like the three stooges running around!
Today Josiah and I ventured out of West Virginia into North Carolina. We went to his house and I got to meet his aunt and other grandmother and two cousins. I absolutely love my new family!! We hung out and chatted for a bit and then the whole clan (Josiah’s family of now ten, Gram, Aunt Deb and the two kids, the Calsbeek’s and their two kids) drove to Uncle Den’s house where we grilled out and played basketball, air hockey, ping-pong or just sat on the porch talking, safe from the mosquitoes.
After we were stuffed with hot dogs and delicious American flag cheesecake (mm—mmm) we went downtown and found a grassy knoll for the 28 of us to chill and watch the city fireworks display. It was so fun to watch with the whole family…
It was a great 4th of July! This was me and Josiah’s first holiday together!
One of our favorite parts of the day: Seeing Josiah’s (and now my) family and celebrating the 4th of July together.
