Jessica Neva » Wedding

and We Will Dance

Jessica — Mon, 05 May 2014 08:31:50 +0000

This is the song that we danced to on our wedding day. A beautifully written lyric that sums up the ups and downs of our relationship, and constantly reminds us of the promise we made to be in each other company. Regardless of the situation we have, we will keep on dancing.

Special kudos to my dear Phodi who asked me to have this dance. Thank you

I’ve watched the sunrise in your eyes
And I’ve seen the tears fall like the rain
You’ve seen me fight so brave and strong
You’ve held my hand when I’m afraid

We’ve watched the seasons come and go
We’ll see them come and go again
But in winter’s chill, or summer’s breeze
One thing will not be changin’

We will dance
When the sun is shining
In the pouring rain
We’ll spin and we’ll sway
And we will dance
When the gentle breeze
Becomes a hurricane
The music will play
And I’ll take your hand
And hold you close to me
And we will dance

Sometimes it’s hard to hold you tight
Sometimes we feel so far apart
Sometimes we dance as one
And feel the beating of each others hearts

Some days the dance is slow and sweet
Some days we’re bouncing off the walls
No matter how this world may turn
Our love will keep us from fallin’

The music will play
And I’ll hold you close
And I won’t let you go
Even when our steps
Grow weak and slow
Still I’ll take your hand
And hold you close to me
And we, will dance

Our first year of marriage

Jessica — Sun, 04 May 2014 02:26:54 +0000

Today marks our first anniversary. Today marks the special day that God gave us a year ago.

Our first year of marriage went quickly but it definitely wasn’t in a blink of the eyes. We moved out from our adopted home, Melbourne, to Bandung, a city so close yet so far from our beloved hometown Jakarta. While living in Bandung has been enjoyable, the move hasn’t been easy and enjoyable. How I wish finding and fitting in a new community, a new church and a whole new routine were as easy as singing good night lullaby. But God has been faithful. In times when situations and conditions made us doubt each other, and when we acted out to make each other desperate, he reminded us why we’re together and why we should stick til the end.

This year I thank you, Phodi, for standing up for me and for fighting for my happiness through the changes in our lives. For being so understanding and caring, for loving me more each day and learning to make our marriage and relationship as your number 1 priority. Thank you for your time to go on trips with me. We might not have a month long honeymoon trip but our monthly trips were so valuable and fun. I felt like I am on a year long honeymoon!

The kids in us

Borobudur selfie

Thank you for being with me while I continually learn each day to be your wife. Your supporter, your number one listener, your number one discussion partner. Thank you for being so forgiving. Thank you for being so persistent that we have to end each argument before heading off to bed. It surely ensures a good night sleep and a happy morning, regardless of the fight we had the night before. Thank you for your understanding that I can’t cook your favourite food just yet. I warn you though, that I might never have the heart to cook chickens and fishes’ heads. Hehehe.

Village life in Menado

The year ahead of us will be a different season. Next year will be our season of growth and learning as parents, as well as understanding and communication on a whole new level. Our baby boy is on the way and with all his laughs and cries, I believe he will bring great joy to our season.

our baby boy will love going to theme parks!

Selfie at Pantai Pintu Kota – Ambon

I believe that as long as we put God first in our marriage, he will always be with us. Do you realize that we saw many rainbows in the last year? I think within this year we saw at least 5 rainbows, including 2 double rainbows in Ambon and Sunshine Coast. I think those are God’s way to remind us of his grace and faithfulness. I know that just like the song we danced to on our wedding night, with God’s grace we will dance through all the seasons in our marriage.

I love you Phodi, happy anniversary!

The day I say “I will”

Jessica — Thu, 10 Oct 2013 18:15:05 +0000

Today marks the day of the big “I will” that was said a year ago. I was on my way home after work and it was drizzling. My then boyfriend, now husband, insisted to pick me up at the station because I didn’t have an umbrella with me. Fine, I said, but I wanted to make a short detour to buy some eggs for cooking dinner. There was a little pause, a hesitation, but he agreed to it.

So there he was standing with my trusted black umbrella, all smile and happy. We walked to the green grocer across the street and then walked home. Along the way I told him about my ambitious cooking plan for a weekday dinner, a Szechuan banquet. He smiled and said that we should go out for dessert after dinner. I said that we should see if I still have some energy left after cooking 4 dishes. We walked hand in hand and this was what happened next

Marriage life

Jessica — Mon, 19 Aug 2013 12:32:56 +0000

Being silly together

As a newlywed, I often got asked “How’s marriage life?” A perfectly normal question to ask yet it bothers me a bit. Just a tiny bit. Whilst it’s a simple question, somehow I feel that those who ask me this question expect an elaborate answer. Being me however, I almost always answer this question with the simplest answers possible: marriage life is great.

It is true, marriage life is great. My only picture of a perfect marriage life is the one I develop by looking at my own parents’. After all, as a child we all have different pictures of a perfect marriage, the one that we see from our own parents. We then subtracts, adds, multiplies and divides the bits that we like and don’t. We then imagine ourselves being a better spouse, and later a better parent. Don’t take me wrong, my parents are a great couple and parents but we need to be better than the previous generation, rite?

As I have a somewhat foggy picture of the marriage life that I want to be in, my dear husband also have his own dream which unsurprisingly is different from mine. We come from 2 different families, living in 2 different houses with different customs and habits! Oh dear! So if marriage life is all those differences coming into one, what’s so great being married? I’m not an expert in this thing, this is only my 3rd month being a wife bu

t I can confidently say that being married is a blessing. It is indeed a blessing to have someone to sleep and wake up with everyday, to have that someone that you can annoy , to have someone to pray together with every night and to have that someone who can help you discover yourself more each day. I guess most of the things I’ll share here would be related to the things I discover about myself, which include cooking! To be honest, I never thought that I would enjoy cooking and staying home THISMUCH.

Anyhow, back to the main topic. Our marriage is still a long road so we’ve got plenty of time to learn the hundred things needed to make it works. I’m glad that I made the decision to marry the right guy who has made me able to say that my marriage life is great