Surprises

This weekend, S (future sister in law) asked to meet me at Michael's to show me something. When we showed up, she said she actually wanted to say that God blessed her and her husband a lot during their wedding so they wanted to bless us too. She told me to pick decorations up to $50, so we went on a spree! We also ended up using coupons so we scored them for much cheaper than they were, and ended up getting mercury glass votives, chandelier-like votive holders, wreaths, and a roll of ribbon. How awesome. The votives are going to look so great. Thanks, S & J!

The second surprise came the day after with S&J, B's mom and dad, and siblings. We opened a card up and inside the card was a picture of a party bus. They went in on a party bus as our wedding present to ride with the wedding party all together! How sweet! If that wasn't cool enough, they hired my high school Chem teacher as the driver. I never thought when I graduated that I would be seeing him again, driving me around on my wedding day, nonetheless. It's a small world!

I am so thankful for all the love and generosity. Thank you. God is good.

Honeyfund

A couple weekends ago my matron of honor and maid of honor threw me a surprise party in lieu of a shower. They invited fourteen of my friends in the area who are invited to the wedding. They surprised us with a check for just over $1200 to go toward our honeymoon. We were not making it a priority to go on one, but I guess we are now!!!

They decorated the house with daisies everywhere, turquoise, black, and white poms, and made delicious food. Pita bread, hummus, cucumber dill salad, quinoa lettuce wraps, and cake. I had so much left over to last me the next week. MOH packed everything up in my tupperware and I had a ton of leftover pop. I am so impressed by her cooking, efficiency, and all around wifeyness.

The blessings keep pouring in, and it is overwhelming. I can only ask God why. I can't let guilt seep in and ruin a joyous time. It used to be really hard for me to accept anything good. I am so much better and I am getting better at accepting love.

Thank you. Very very much.

Showered

I was showered by B's family a few weeks ago. It was lovely, intimate, and fun. The decorations were very cute, and the games were funny. We feel very blessed and feel very loved. It is amazing to me how much people love wedding celebrations. I can only thank God for such undeserved blessing.

The girls did such a great job setting everything up. There were finger sandwiches, pasta salads, greek salad, cream puffs, hershey kisses, and a chocolate fountain. I was so impressed by how they put all of that together. I have some great new sisters and I love my new family.

I think our wedding registry got demolished after that one shower. I didn't make a huge one to begin with, but I am surprised how many people are in the family. Coming from a teeny family, it was so neat to experience a totally different experience.

I tried to take it all in. It still flew by. That was good practice for the wedding, when it will be even harder to focus on remembering every detail.

When I thought about how happy it all was, it occurred to me that this will never happen again and it is far from any other celebration in life. It really is rare. When we have several weddings to go to, we might get lost in the quantity, but we have to take a breather and see it as just one unique wedding for each couple. Remembering that will help keep as much as I can in my memory.

Unemployment

B became unemployed in the beginning of March. Not a good time. He also became unemployed last year at the end of April. He is pretty down and it shows in his physical symptoms. Wish there was a way to help, but beyond our physical needs there is a spiritual side that we can't so easily fix for someone.

Valentine's ihop

For Valentine's day we went to ihop after decorating our do it yourself chandelier.
B's mom and dad wrapped a cute gift for us- a marriage book. How cute!
We ate $13 worth of pancakes and a grilled chicken sandwich at the restaurant.
My mom called with a medical emergency about my dad's bleeding leg before we ordered our food. I panicked a bit, but had to calm down later. I was thinking about our server working on Valentine's day and I thought it would be nice to leave her a huge tip and tell her Jesus loves her. We prayed about it, and it didn't seem like a wrong thing to do so we did. Later after we drove away, B took a peek into the restaurant and saw her with her mouth open and eyes wide talking to the line cooks. What was a scary Valentine's day ended with peace in my heart and a hope that this girl will fall in love with God.



After the bleeding leg scare, I think I want to make sure I tell people I love them every day. Even if it feels stupid or cheesy. Life is too short. Funny how many scenarios run through your head when something scary happens.

When Your Spouse Lies to You

"You must individually receive your spouse as God’s provision… You must accept His gift. Receiving your spouse demonstrates your faith in God’s integrity. Adam’s focus was on God’s flawless character, not Eve’s performance. He knew God, and he knew that God could be trusted."

In our pre-marriage counseling book, this was one of the lines that jumped out at me. That Adam didn't know anything about Eve other than the fact that God made her for him. Therefore he accepted Eve as a gift from God. He focused on God's flawless character and could have gratitude for God's goodness and plan; not on what Eve did or didn't do.

We have to accept and come to terms with the fact that we are a sinner marrying a sinner. Idealism has no place. This hard reality will hit us in the face time and time again, whether we have anything to think back on yet or not. Will you love and respect your husband despite deception? If he lies to you will you still respect him and not let how you feel affect your relationship or bring distance between you? Or will you hold a grudge and act cold until he asks you what's wrong?

We can show grace and mercy the way God shows us grace and mercy. The commitment of marriage creates a circle in which no matter what sins are inside that circle, that circle won't be broken. Yes, you may have a hard time trusting your spouse again; but our actions and our words do not have to display distance, disrespect, or lack of forgiveness.

Yesterday night, I thought of a book I had purchased for my fiance 4-5 years ago. I wanted to look in it to read about a certain topic and also thought a friend might want to thumb through it. He found the book and handed it to me while we were in the car on the way to pre-marriage mentoring. As I turned to a page I found a well kept secret of his that he had never told me about for years. It surprised me, but it seemed to go along with other things I had recently discovered he had been hiding from me. It explains some holes and also has an effect on something he has to face coming up soon.

I closed the book and my heart was heavy the whole night. I don't feel like confronting him about it at the moment. Maybe some day I might, but it doesn't seem to do much for me if I did right now. I prayed to God that he will help me forgive him and to not let my actions change; I prayed that I won't be holding a grudge with my actions or do anything that shows distance. I felt slightly sick to my stomach. I thought about another situation in which I know someone who broke up an engagement because her fiance lied to her and told her he was in college and really wasn't. This was about the 3rd or 4th thing I had just recently discovered about my fiance that he kept from me for years. Hidden debt, hidden financial irresponsibility, and now hidden academic failure. I remember this other girl telling me that if she had found out after the fact that she was married, she would have had her marriage annulled under the reasoning that it was deception and she didn't know who she was marrying. I wondered if that was the right thing to do, and if this raises red flags.

I really don't think I want to call anything off. For me, I want to create a safe place where he can bare his shame and be loved despite my knowledge of it. Why break a marriage commitment with someone over something you would not be able to break up a marriage over? Isn't it just like Christ to forgive us of our past, our sins, every dark secret, but love us anyway? If marriage is supposed to be an earthly reflection of the love Christ has for us, why would we do away with someone after knowing the fullness of them? Are we to judge how ugly someone else's sins are? The beauty of God's forgiveness and love is that it can't be broken. The beauty of marriage is that you shouldn't break it based on each other's performance. Knowing God first loved us, we strive to be selfless and put our spouses's needs before our own. We promise to stay together despite our actions, our highs and lows. Despite lies. Despite cheating. Despite every sin a human heart can commit. Are you ready to love this person no matter what he does, based on his heart and love for God, and his willingness to put God first, and live life the way God asks us to? It's hard to say yes, when you think about all the things someone can do wrong. But our answer has to be yes.

No matter how wonderful you think someone is, that person will fail at some point. We have to be at peace with it when it does. We have to forgive, and we have to reconcile. Don't let it drive you apart.

Brother Laser Printer Wireless Set up

I have difficulties with my brother wireless printer sometimes; it's great once you get it working, but sometimes setting it up is really hard. The reason is because you can almost never follow the quick set up guide because something doesn't go with what the instructions are expecting would happen.  Well, after a call with them, problem solved. The biggest things to be aware of is that the person on the phone would tell me when to wait one minute for the printer, when to restart my computer, and when to keep trying to look for the SETUP network on the wireless option. When I was trying to do the steps on my own, I wouldn't see SETUP pop up; so I would give up and think it's not working. Over the phone, she made me keep checking and after the 3rd or 4th time I clicked on the wireless image, the SETUP option finally popped up. She later emailed me the instructions she was reading to me. Here they are! Hope it helps.




Description of Problem 100000025611 
On a Macintosh, how do I configure the wireless printer and install the printer driver without a cable and without a CD?
Description of Solution 200000032816 

STEP I: Gather the wireless network settings of your wireless access point or wireless router

Gather the following wireless network settings of your access point or router.  Refer to the access point's user guide for instructions on accessing the network settings information.  

SSID or Network Name	The name of your Wireless Network or Access Point
Authentication Method	Open System, Shared Key, WPA/WPA2-PSK*
Encryption Mode	None, WEP, TKIP, AES
Network Security Key (Password)	Encryption Key, WEP Key, Passphrase

*NOTE: The Brother machine only supports WPA2-PSK with AES.  If you are using WPA2-PSK with TKIP you will receive a connection error.

If you do not have the network settings information or cannot find this information, refer to the solution -  How do I find the Wireless Security Information on my Wireless Macintosh OSX computer? 

If you need to contact your router manufacturer for assistance gathering the required information, refer to the following link to obtain contact information for common router manufacturers: 

http://www.brother-usa.com/support/wireless/wireless_router_information.htm 

STEP II: Perform a factory reset on the printer network card

1. Check that the front cover of the machine is closed. Turn OFF the power switch on the right side of the machine.

2. Turn ON the machine power switch while holding down the GO button until the Toner, Drum, and Error LEDs are on. The Ready LED will be off.

3. Release the GO button. All LEDs will be off.

4. Press the GO button 6 times. Make sure that all the LEDs light up to indicate the print server has been reset to its factory default settings.

STEP III: Enable the Wireless Network Card

1.  With the printer power turned on and the printer Ready, hold down the GO button for about 15 seconds. Release the GO button when the printer prints a Network Configuration page. 

2.  Look at the Network Configuration page. Locate the Node Type at the top of the page.

- If the Node Type is Brother NC-7800w, IEEE 802.11b/g (Active), go to STEP 3. 

- If the Node Type is Brother NC-7800w, IEEE 802.11b/g (Inactive) or Brother NC-8200h, Ethernet 10/100BASE-TX (Active), you will need to enable the wireless network card again, repeat STEP III.

3. Wait 1 minute. It is very important to wait 1 minute after the reset before continuing. If you do not wait at least 1 minute, the Brother machine may not have enough time to reset.

4. Print the Printer Settings by pressing the GO button 3 times. Look at the last page.

5.  Locate the IP Address in the middle and the Comm. Mode and Name (SSID) near the bottom. Verify:

a. IP Address of the printer is a 169.254.x.x number (see Figure 1 below).

b. Comm Mode is Ad-hoc (see Figure 2 below).

c. Name (SSID) is SETUP (see Figure 2 below).

d. If the IP Address is not a 169.254.x.x number, the Comm Modes is not Ad-hoc, and the Name (SSID) is not SETUP, you will need to reset the printer network card and enable the wireless network card again, start again from STEP II.

STEP IV: Communicate to the printer WITHOUT a network cable and configure the wireless settings

1. To communicate with the printer in Ad-hoc mode, the wireless computer needs to join the printer's SETUP network.

NOTE: If you are using a third party utility to manage your wireless connections, contact the manufacturer for assistance with the following steps.

2. If you are using the Macintosh operating system to manage your wireless connections, use the following steps:

a. In the Airport Wireless Utility, connect to SETUP.

    

2. The wireless icon will turn gray.

STEP V: Configure the Wireless Network Card

1. Open a web browser. An error message will appear informing you are not connected to the internet.

2. Enter the IP Address of the printer into the web browser address line and press ENTER.  The Brother Web Management screen will appear.

3. Click on Network Configuration near the top of the screen. (Figure 3).

4. A login screen will appear. Enter the following:

Username: admin

Password: access

Then click OK.

5. Click Configure Wireless (Figure 4).

6. Change the Communication Mode to Infrastructure (Figure 5).

7. Click BROWSE next to the Wireless Network Name (SSID) (Figure 5).

8. Select the appropriate Name (SSID) from the list and click OK (Figure 6). Refer to the network settings information gathered inSTEP I.

9. Leave the Channel setting as is.

10. Select the appropriate Authentication Method from the drop down list (Figure 7).  Refer to the network settings information gathered in STEP I.

11. Select the appropriate Encryption Method (Figure 8).  Refer to the network settings information gathered in STEP I.

NOTE: If WEP is selected as the Encryption Method, enter the hex code for the WEP Key 1.  There is no need to enter the Passphrase for WEP Encryption.

NOTE:  If an Authentication Method other than Open or Shared is selected, then a Passphrase must be entered on the Passphrase line (Figure 9). 

12. Click Submit to update the printer with your wireless settings (Figure 10).

13. The computer will display a screen indicating the settings have been updated successfully (Figure 11).  The printer wireless network card is now Active on the network

14. Switch your computer BACK to your wireless access point or wireless router, rather than the SETUP network. If you need assistance doing this, please refer back to the start of STEP IV.

15. Verify the printer is now attached to the wireless access point or wireless router.

a. Wait 1 minute. It is very important to wait 1 minute before continuing. If you do not wait at least 1 minute, the Brother machine may not have enough time to join the network and receive an IP address.

b. Print the Printer Settings by pressing the GO button 3 times. Look at the last page of the Printer Settings. 

c. Locate the IP Address in the middle and confirm it is assigned via DHCP.  (Figure 12).

d. Locate the Comm Mode near the bottom and confirm it is set to Infrastructure. (Figure 13).

e.  Locate the Name (SSID) near the bottom and confirm it matches your access point or router. (Figure 13).

f.  Locate the Wireless Link Status near the bottom and confirm it reads Link OK. (Figure 13).

NOTE: If the IP Address is 0.0.0.0, wait another minute and print out the settings pages again. If the IP Address is still 0.0.0.0, please reset the router by powering it off, then back on. Also, turn the printer off, then back on. Wait approximately one minute. Print out the Network Settings page again and verify the settings. If the IP Address is still a 0.0.0.0 number, please verify your security information inSTEP I is correct and start again from STEP II.

If the IP Address is a 169.254.x.x number and the Wireless Link Status in LINK OK, please check your router for MAC filtering. If MAC filtering is enabled, please enter the MAC address to the list.  If MAC filtering is not enable, please reset the router by powering it off, then back on. Also, turn the printer off, then back on. Wait approximately one minute. Print out the Network Settings page again and verify the settings. If the IP Address is still a 169.254.x.x number, please verify your security information in STEP I is correct and start again from STEP II.

If the IP Address is a 169.254.x.x number and the Wireless Link Status in FAILED TO ASSOCIATE, please reset the router by powering it off, then back on. Also, turn the printer off, then back on. Print out the Network Settings page again and verify the settings. If the IP Address is still a 169.254.x.x number, please verify your security information in STEP I is correct and start again from STEP II.

The printer is now configured and is operating on your network.

STEP VI: Install the printer driver From the Web

NOTE: If you have Macintosh OS X 10.7 or 10.8, click here.

The printer driver is available for free download from the Brother web site.

How to install the downloaded driver:

1. Open your Internet browser and browse to http://www.brother-usa.com/downloads

2. Choose your Product Group, Model, and click View.

3. Click on the link under Your Results.

4. Under Step 1: Select OS, select your operating system.

5. Under Step 2: Select Language, select your language.

6. Click on the Search button.

7. Under CUPS Printer Driver (Recommended) click Download & Information.

8. On the next page, click on the Download button.

9. On the End-User License Agreement for Brother Software page click I Accept.  The download will begin.

10. Once the download is complete, the Installer Disk Image will be mounted on your Desktop. You will find the installer package icon on the desktop.

NOTE:  If you don't find the installer package icon, extract the xxxxxxxx.dmg file manually with Disk Copy or Disk Utility. Disk Copy or Disk Utility can be found in /Applications/Utilites.

11. Double click the installer package icon.

12. Click Continue on the welcome window.

13. Read the license agreement. If you accept the license agreement, click Continue.

14. Click Agree to accept the License Agreement.

NOTE: In Mac OS X 10.4.x: Select the destination volume to install the driver.

15. Click Install to continue with the standard installation.

NOTE: In Mac OS X 10.4.x, click Upgrade.

16. You will be prompted to enter your password. Enter your Macintosh password and click OK.

NOTE: If you do not know your system password, please contact Apple or your network administrator for assistance.

17. You will be informed that the Macintosh will need to restart once the installation has completed. Click Continue Installation to continue.

18. You will receive a message that the install has succeeded. Click Restart to complete the installation.

NOTE: If you are running Macintosh OS X 10.7 or 10.8, start here.

19. Once the computer is restarted, you will need to add the printer. Click the Blue Apple icon and select System Preferences and select Print & Fax or Print & Scan (for Macintosh 10.7 and 10.8).

20. Click the plus (+) sign.

21. In Default view, select Brother HL-2270DW series. Click Add.

22. The Brother HL2270DW series printer icon now appears in the window.

Setup is now complete.

If you wish to install the printer driver on a different computer, please follow these printer driver installation steps again STEP VI.

Additional FAQs and solutions are available on the Brother Solutions Center web site. The Brother Solutions Center also offers free downloads of Operational User Guides, Software User Guides, New Driver Releases, Firmware Updates and more. We encourage you to visit the Brother Solutions Center to learn more about your product and its operation.