Lent Lessons

I've spent the past 40 days off of Facebook for personal use as my sacrifice for Lent.
Disclaimer: I totally used it for Tastefully Simple stuff and PWOC Bible study stuff.  God and I worked it out.  No biggie.

The idea was that I was giving up something that I rely on and waste a lot of time on to show God that I don't need it because He is all I need.  Because, really, do I need Facebook in my life?  Not really.  I mean, sure there are times where it's convenient to have, especially now that we've become a society where everything is shared, announced, and updated in milliseconds on the social network.  But by giving up Facebook and worshiping God by showing Him that He is more important than Facebook, He showed me a lot of things and opened a lot of new doors.

I spent the beginning of Lent hanging out with my sister and her fiance who came up to visit.  Instead of sitting on the couch on my phone/laptop checking Facebook, I actually interacted with Mindy and Clay and enjoyed all of our time together, present in the moment.  We cooked dinner together, had sister time, game night, and just truly enjoyed being together for the long weekend.  For the first time in a while, I actually felt like I was present in the moment instead of distracted by my phone.

I also got to spend a weekend with my beautiful sisters in Christ in Washington DC at the Global Prayer Gathering for the International Justice Mission.  I spent 3 days deep in God' presence as He opened my eyes and my heart to injustice going on all over the world.  From forced labor to sex slavery, so many of God's children are stuck in the dark, and it was incredible to be surrounded by 1200 other believers lifting up these mission workers and enslaved people together in His name.  God called me to get out of my comfort zone and showed me some areas of my life He's calling to, but that's for another blog post.  He also answered a long-standing prayer for more Godly women to build friendships with, which was amazing.

I had the opportunity to reunite with two of my absolute best friends from Ohio during this 40 days, and to just enjoy being together for the first time in almost 2 years!  We laughed, we reminisced, we ate junk food, and we enjoyed every minute of our time together.  It gave me a chance to show them around Drum and Syracuse, to introduce them to some of my Army family up here, and to finally share this chapter of my life with them.  I absolutely loved having them here, and was so sad when they had to leave, but it was such a blessing that God worked out that they could be up here for almost 5 whole days with me!

God also opened a new door in terms of a job for the summer.  I've been praying and very worried about what I would do when the school year ended and I couldn't sub anymore.  With graduation coming in August and my loans coming out of deferment, I knew I needed something and I just kept praying that God would provide.  Boy did He ever!  A friend in PWOC introduced me to one of her wonderful neighbors and her 4-year-old son.  She was in desperate need of full-time childcare for her son in their house, and after a 2-hour interview we realized that so many of our thoughts on children and development are on the same page.  I start at the end of this month spending Monday through Friday with this sweet little boy who just needs some boundaries and love, and God has truly come through more than I could have ever hoped in terms of providing for our finances. 

Lent also saw the end of another grad school semester, the completion (and passing) of my Master's thesis paper, and some more weight loss - woo hoo!

But the best part about Lent this year?   That I have developed a deeper and strengthened relationship with God.  As we're into Easter weekend at this point, the sacrifice and love that Christ showed to all of us has never been more apparent to me, and I'm so thankful for His grace and mercies, which I don't deserve but which are always enough!

So happy Easter to you and your family.  May you spend tomorrow surrounded with people you love, celebrating God's love however you see fit.  No matter what you do, though, don't forget to take a moment to sit in peace, surrounded by His presence, and thank Him for His undeserved but immeasurable love.

He is risen!

Paul's Letter, Perspecitve, and Pity Parties

I want to be a grouch right now.
Yes, I realize that no one typically wants to be a grouch.
I do.  Right now.

I want to pout, to grump, to think of every little bad thing that could possible go wrong.  I want to throw a great big pity party, with only myself on the guest list - no one else is allowed.  I want to be a grouch all by myself.  This misery doesn't need company, I'm doing a fine job of grouching on my own.

I want to be a grouch.
But I can't.

Seriously.  I've been trying to sit here and put myself into a bad mood about all the things on my to do list, the things that have randomly popped into my mind today, the miscellaneous worries and "what if's".  But no matter how hard I try, God won't let me.

He challenges my "what-ifs" with "I've got this."
He rebuttals my "to-do's" with "but look at how I've blessed you and provided for you so far."
He squashes my "why not me yet?" with "My timing is perfect."

How can I possibly be grumpy and grouchy when my God is so powerful, so wonderful, so loving?  I can complain about the work that needs to be done to the Jeep or I can be thankful that He provided us with a 4-wheel drive vehicle right before moving to the North Country.  I can be bitter about all the pregnancy announcements on my newsfeed or I can be thankful that these amazing women are going to be even more amazing moms and know that I will get that chance in God's perfect timing.  I can stress about the growing to-do list on my fridge or I can be thankful that I have a house to take care of, a husband to cook dinner for, and that I don't have any physical problems keeping me from being able to take my puppy for a walk (and be thankful for God's promise of spring despite the bitter cold!)

It's all about perspective, something that I so quickly forget when I feel overwhelmed with life.  I can sit and complain about everything and throw myself a pity party, but really what does that get me?
A bad attitude.
A good radius away from everyone else in my life (because who wants to be around me like that?).
And the kind of perspective on life that takes for granted all the blessings that God has already given me and all that He's done to take care of me so far.  With a perspective and attitude like that, how in the world am I truly witnessing to others around me?  Am I representing Christ at that point, or am I just representing another person so wrapped up in themselves that there's no room for Christ's light to shine?

God's doing a lot lately to give me an attitude check and challenging me to look at my situation from a new perspective, with an attitude of gratitude through Christ-tinted glasses.  We've been studying Paul's letter to the church in Ephesus in PWOC (women's Bible study here on post), and the first chapter of Ephesians really hit me hard.  Paul spends the majority of the chapter reminding the Christians in Ephesus of all the blessings that God has already given them - they are children of God, adopted by Him into the kingdom of Heaven through the gifts of grace and mercy!  They have been redeemed by His blood, forgiven of their sins (no matter how bad), and chosen for the praise of His glory!  He has given them grace with wisdom and understanding of His Spirit!  God has blessed them with so much, and no matter what else happens, the Christians in Ephesus need to be reminded of that perspective to truly appreciate the plan that He has for their life.

Ya know what the best part about that is?

Wait for it.
It's gonna knock your socks off.

God gave us those exact same spiritual blessings!!

Seriously.
Okay, I know we aren't the church in Ephesus around 60 A.D., and Paul isn't writing to us from prison.  But these are the same blessings that God has given to all of His children, including you and me.  How awesome is that?!

And with all these spiritual blessings (not to mention all the non-spiritual blessings!), how in the world can I possibly look at a pile of laundry on the closet floor, a few dust bunnies under the coffee table, or the receipt for the car parts (which could have been A LOT more, thank you Jesus) and still feel like I need a pity party?

So instead, I'll put the party hats away for a birthday, suck my bottom lip in, and put a smile on my face.  Life could be a lot worse, but I don't have to focus on that - I can turn those sour moments into a chance to remember what God has already blessed me with.

It's all about perspective...

2013 Highlights Reel

As usual, I'll end my year with a reflection.  I know it seems cliche, but as I'm going on my fourth year of writing this blog in January, it seems only right to finish up the calendar year and the blogging year all at once.  Also, the OCD in me requires things to be tied up with a nice little bow before I can close one chapter and start the next...

2013 was a year with a lot of ups and downs for us, and I think even that is an understatement.

Let's go to the highlights reel, shall we?

•  We survived our first North Country Winter this year, which involved more snow and colder temperatures than I had ever expected!
• We spent the year getting to know some of our new best friends at Fort Drum, who have now become our Army family.
• H reintroduced himself to fishing and filled our freezer with Pickerel and Northern Pike (which we still haven't eaten our way through - any one up for a New Year's fish fry?!)
• I started grad school and successfully completed my first semester with a 4.0 and all of my brain cells.
• We celebrated our second wedding anniversary!
• Even from far away, we got to watch our nephew grow from a rambunctious two year old who only spoke a few words here and there, to an even more rambunctious three year old who is so smart and handsome with a great sense of humor.  Watch out ladies!
• We celebrated both H's sister's engagement and my sister's engagement to some awesome guys.
• I became more involved in both PWOC and the FRG, which has opened some doors of opportunity for me and taught me a lot about who I am
• We finally had our first family camping trip, which we've been talking about doing for over 6 years now!
• We got our first dog (and then gave him back when his owner returned from deployment)
• H taught me how to change the oil in our Jeep (not sure if that's more of an accomplishment for me or him haha!)
• I know there's a ton more awesome things that we did, celebrated, learned, and experienced in 2013 that I'm missing, but bear with me since I still haven't had my morning coffee yet ;)

I wish that I could end my list of things we encountered in 2013 there, but life isn't always sunny that way.  This past year also brought some sadness and not-so-awesome experiences to us.  Thankfully, God is awesome when life isn't, and He has used (and continues to use) our circumstances for His purpose.  We experienced the joy and loss of our first baby, but in that He taught us patience, trust, and strengthened my faith beyond measure.  We watched one of our dearest friends get diagnosed with stage four cancer, but He's allowed that to help us support and strengthen their faith and relationship with God.  H went through multiple moves to different units and companies that has not helped his plan for early promotion or getting into the schools he wants in the timeliness that he wants, but God continues to give us what we need when we need it and we're trusting His plan above our own.

We struggled with stress, anger, disappointment, sadness, fear, doubt, and worry this year, but God has been gracious and has seen us through every single circumstance that we've experienced.  He has let us experience the good and the bad, and blessed us for our perseverance through both.  No, it definitely wasn't fun going through the not-so-awesomeness, and there were times where we questioned every part of what was happening and why it was happening.  But you know what?  God is good, and He never once let us struggle without His presence there to guide us and keep us going.

How can we appreciate the good times in our life without experiencing the bad times?

It's something that I've tried to remember when things suck.  If life was always sunny and we never had to experience bad times, then the good times wouldn't matter as much.  I don't know about you, but I find that I appreciate the good things more when they are few and far between (extra money, good hair days, a properly made pumpkin spice latte, you get the idea).  When good times are abundant, yes life is awesome and the stress levels run low, but eventually I stop appreciating the little blessings and good days.

When you throw in a few bad days to mix it up, I can honestly say that those good days are suddenly so much better and mean so much more in the long-run.

What 2013 our "best year ever"?  Not by a long shot!
Did it give us an opportunity to grow, to learn, and to appreciate the good days when they came?  Absolutely!

So what does 2014 hold for us?  I have absolutely no idea but I know that no matter what it is, God's already there.  How awesome is that?!

Wishing you and your family a very blessed (and safe!) New Year's Eve and 2014!

Baby K Update

It finally happened - we're pregnant!!  It still feels very surreal, like it's all a dream and I'm going to wake up tomorrow and realize that we still have months of trying ahead of us.  I'm writing this on August 25, but I won't actually be publishing it until September 15 due to waiting until we're officially at 8 weeks before making the announcement public.  Here's our story...

Things around our house have been...stressful...to say the least.  I quit my job about a month ago to go back to school full-time, which has made money a bit tighter than usual for us.  We're doing just fine, paying bills and such, but going from two incomes to one is an adjustment to say the least.  I'm preparing to start my first semester of grad school tomorrow, which has me both excited and nervous, but I know that this is a door God has finally opened for me so I'm putting my worries in Him.  H is about to head back to his original unit as they return from deployment which is going to shake up his work situation more than he'd like.  He's had a great run at his current unit while his original unit was deployed and made a really good impression on a lot of his CO's, but with his original unit coming home and the transition back to that unit comes having to start back at square-one in terms of proving he's a squared-away soldier ready to take on responsibilities and start going to schools.

So, yeah, to say our household has been under stress lately is a bit of an understatement.

When I realized I was a few days late, I just chalked it up to the fact that I'm under stress and didn't think too much else of it, especially since last month I thought our timing for making Baby K was off due to my trip home for my cousin's wedding (H didn't come with me, and while we "took care of business" prior to me leaving, I didn't think we were close enough to my O date).  Then I caught myself crying while watching a touching segment on ESPN's SportsCenter.  Yes.  I cried while watching a piece about a Make-a-Wish kid and the Arizona Diamond Backs.  That's when I knew I needed to test.

Fast forward to about 12:30pm and I'm crying in the bathroom over the two VERY dark lines on my positive test.  H had just gone back to work from his lunch break, and I've had a plan since April about how I wanted to surprise him with the good news, so I went into "freak out, cry, happy dance, gotta get this surprise put together" mode.  Thank goodness for my bestie #2 up here who went through pregnancy/delivery at Fort Drum and knew how to direct me - calling the doctor, setting up a blood test, getting all goofy excited for me over the phone.  The usual.  :)  At 3pm I took another test, just for kicks and giggles (and to make sure I wasn't the fluke patient who would have a false positive test - do those even happen?!).  Again, two VERY dark lines.  Called the doctor and scheduled myself for bloodwork the following morning, and eagerly started putting together H's surprise:

To say H was shocked is an understatement.  I'm pretty sure he sat there silently, staring at the items in the box for a solid 10 minutes before anything actually registered in his mind.  (For the record, H is the third man in his family to have his name, so we have always referred to Baby K as "the fourth", hence the blue note).  In fact, I'm pretty sure it didn't actually settle in until the next afternoon when I got the call from my doctor's office confirming my two positive HPT's.

So it's official - Baby K (or Nugget, as I've been calling him/her) is due to arrive April 27, 2014!  I'm exactly 5 weeks pregnant as I write this, and my parents just left from visiting for the weekend.  It was amazing getting to tell them in person, since I really thought I'd have to do it over Facetime or Skype with us being 500 miles away from them.  We surprised them at dinner on Thursday night, and they are almost as excited as we are.  Tonight we'll be calling H's mom to tell her, which I'm a little more nervous about.  It's her first grandbaby, and my parent's second.  We've told a very few select close friends, but as for everyone else...well they have to wait until September 15 to find out :)  And chances are, if you're reading this, you probably just found out today, too!

Go have a celebratory drink (or two) for me, since it'll be a looooong time before I can have one, and remember to trust God in His timing - it'll all work out when He's ready for it to.

xoxo, M

Love, Laughter, and Happily Ever After

H and I were incredibly blessed to have been chosen to attend a Strong Bonds marriage retreat this past week.  Let me preface this by saying no, I didn't have to convince H to go; he actually surprised me with it!  I've been telling him I wanted to go to one for a few months now, and with us starting the journey of trying to have a baby we thought it would be good to attend a retreat about strengthening the foundations of our marriage.  Plus, it's the closest thing we are going to get to a vacation!  Three days at Niagara Falls with all of our hotel stay and meals paid for, plus an amazing program run by the chaplains on how to improve our communication and understanding of each other?  Sign us up!

It was an amazing program.  If you ever have a chance to check out Mark Gungor's "Laugh Your Way to a Better Marriage," do it!  It was incredible!  Mark is a great speaker and pastor who approaches marriage with the concept of God made us this way, so instead of trying to change one another, let's change how we communicate with each other to better understand our spouse.  His tone is extremely entertaining and makes you laugh while still tackling serious concepts, and (at least for us) he's pretty spot-on about how the male brain and the female brains work.  We both really enjoyed the whole retreat and the program that was used, and I can honestly say that I feel like we both got a lot out of it to apply to our relationship.

I think sometimes it's so easy to take advantage our partner.  Even having only been married for 18 months, we've been together for over five years and I know that I'm guilty of taking advantage of H at times.  I assume he'll be the one to take out the trash, mow the lawn, or put his dirty boot socks and PT's into the laundry so when he does it I don't think about needing to say a simple "thank you" or tell him how much I appreciate when he does little things like that.  Mark's program put a lot of emphasis on making sure your spouse knows how much you appreciate them, even for the little things, and doing simple acts of kindness to show how much you care for and prioritize them.  That's one of the main things that H and I are trying to apply right away.  Today, while at a rest stop on the NY throughway on our trip home, H got up to throw away our lunch trash and came back with an "I <3 NY" pressed penny (he knows how much I love getting pressed pennies on our adventures) just because he thought it was something that would make me smile.  It wasn't a huge gesture that cost a lot of money or required any big plans, it was simply a pressed penny that he knew would put a smile on my face.  And you know what?  It did!  It meant more to me than flowers because it was something special that he knew I loved to collect and he put thought into why he got it for me.  It's little acts like this that Mark was talking about, and I can't even begin to tell you how appreciative I was for my penny! :)  I love that H took what we learned to heart and already started to apply it to our marriage.


I'm excited, too, because I feel like we've found a new way to show our love and appreciation for each other, which Baby K will grow up and see.  They'll see a father who goes out of his way to be kind to their mother and show her how much he cares for her; they'll see a mother who supports their father's dreams and who shows genuine appreciation for their father's actions and kindness.  Baby K will see what a solid relationship should look like, and will grow up in a home where love and healthy relationships are a constant.  They'll know what love should look, sound, and feel like, and I can't imagine a better environment for a child to grow up in.

 We were given "practical application" time on Thursday afternoon, which was a chance to practice and apply the concepts we learned as well as have a date night.  It was great, because it gave H and I a chance to explore Niagara Falls and have some "vacation" time!  We explored the state park and of course the Falls - so incredibly powerful and beautiful!  We got to check out the fun touristy shops, learned about the history of the Falls, took a trolley ride around the area, rode the Maid of the Mist out to the Falls (and got incredibly soaked doing it!), and then got all fancied up and went to the casino where H won $50 on penny slots - high roller status!  It was so much fun to have a chance to get dressed up, go out to dinner, and check out the casino.  We're not gamblers, but it was fun to go play the penny slots a little and check out what the casino was like.  Just the whole vacation part of the trip was great for us, because we've never had a chance to go on a vacation like that and if it wasn't for the fact that the major parts of the trip (hotel and meals) were paid for by the Army, we'd probably never be able to afford it.  So this trip wasn't just a blessing to attend the marriage retreat, but was a blessing for a vacation!

On the Maid of the Mist boat ride at Niagara Falls, May 2013

It was an incredible week, for sure, and I feel so blessed and thankful to have been able to experience it.  The chaplain gave each couple a few books written by Mark to keep working on things outside of the retreat, and we're both (yes, even H) looking forward to keeping the growth and strengthening of our marriage going with this awesome program.

I'm just continually amazed at God's blessings for us, and hope that the blessings continue coming as we officially start the process of trying to conceive!

-M

Where has the time gone?!

We've been in New York for 9 months? REALLY?

Where has the time gone?  Seriously.  It definitely doesn't feel like it's been that long.  Maybe 4 months at most.  But we've survived our first fall and winter in the North Country, H hit his one-year mark in the Army, and I've been teaching my preschoolers for eight months.  Okay, I guess it has been that long.  Wow that went by fast!

I know it seems crazy, but it feels like in the past 9 months there really haven't been that many interesting things going on to talk about.  To be honest, it's almost felt a little stagnant.  Not a bad stagnant, but definitely non-moving.  Like I'm treading water.

As much as I've loved teaching at the preschool, it's not where my heart truly is.  It's been almost 2 years since I've been in a high school classroom as a lead teacher, and I can feel myself losing a grip on the idea that I'll ever be back in one, especially here in New York.  Up here, it's almost a requirement to have your Master's degree to be a teacher, which has put a damper on my ability to get back into a classroom.  Thankfully, though, it looks like I'll be starting my Master's degree (back at good old BGSU!) program in August which will definitely help with the treading water feeling - almost like I'm finally starting to swim towards the far shore instead of just stay in place while I watch it like a dream.

I've also had to deal with homesickness more often than I anticipated.  It's not terrible, but it's enough that every couple months I just feel like I'm missing out on everything back home.  I've had to miss one very important wedding already this year, and there are at least 2 more that I can't attend.  As the weather gets warmer, I keep feeling like "oh this is a perfect day to go grill and hang out with Krista and Abbie"; but of course, they're 600+ miles away.  I'll find myself bored on a weeknight where H is in the field and all I want is to hang out with my sister and watch a movie.  It usually only lasts a few days, and I do have some good friends who are up here that have been wonderful, but nothing beats being back home with my family once in a while.

Okay, enough with the Debbie Downerness of this post.  While I've been dealing with the whole "treading water" and homesickness stuff, some amazing things have been happening!  Both of our close friend couples up here have had babies in the past couple months! It's so wonderful to watch our friends' families expand and grow, and it's been an encouragement for us to try to start our own family.  We are trusting God's hand in all of this and know that His timing is perfect timing, but we're hoping that sometime this summer we'll get some good news about our family doing some of it's own growing and expanding!

Sharlot and I on Valentine's Day - one of my best friends up here!

H passed the one-year mark for being in the Army back in March, and it's been a very interesting year for him.  The unit that he originally got placed in has deployed, although he did not go with them.  His particular company was kept behind on Rear Detachment (rear-d), and he's been temporarily moved from his original unit/company (an all-infantry unit) to a new unit/troop (a cavalry unit).  While at first he wasn't excited about moving around like this, it's actually been a HUGE blessing in disguise.  He's been able to move to a unit that is much better in terms of professionalism and training, and it's opened a lot of doors for him in terms of taking on leadership roles, going to training schools, and being taken seriously as a career soldier.  He'll have the opportunity to go to the Soldier of the Month Board in a few weeks, which means he can (hopefully!) rank up sooner than anticipated.  He's been able to prove himself a lot to his temporary commanding officers, even so much as to have them telling him that when his original unit returns from deployment, they want him to fill out paperwork to be permanently moved to their cavalry unit.  He's really excited about that prospect, because in the cavalry unit he's got the ability to actually progress his career and get to where he wants to be a lot sooner.  Praise God!

We also got to go to our first Military ball this spring, which was fantastic!  

At the ball in March 2013

I've been able to start advertising and selling my cupcakes to friends up here, which has been amazing.  It's like a pipe dream of mine is finally starting to come through, thanks to the support of H and his love of seeing my dreams come to fruition.  It hasn't been anything crazy and big, but it's been enough to make me feel like I'm more than just a girl baking in her kitchen for free.  (Yes, I'm about to shamelessly plug by business...but it's my blog, so I can do what I want! haha) Check out Lovebites Cupcakes :)

Riley kitten has grown a lot, and is officially the queen of our house.  She's been so wonderful to have in our family, and it seems strange to think about our family before she was in it. 

Baby Riley Kitten - not so little anymore!

Okay, so I guess more has happened over the past 9 months than I'd realized.  God has truly been blessing us up here.  We've found a great church family where H gets to usher occasionally and I help with Sunday School. It finally feels like H's career is on-track and he'll have the chance to see some of his dreams come true.  I'm able to attend grad school (finally!) and will hopefully be in my own classroom within the next year and a half.  We've made great friends, gotten ourselves established and settled in up here, and are starting to work on growing our family.  God's got His hand on us and we are truly blessed!

My goal is to actually update more than just every few months from now on.  I know I've said it before, but with all the amazing things that are coming our way soon, I want to keep things updated more often.  In theory, we'll use the blog to track the progress of trying to conceive and our pregnancy so there will be lots of updates from that! :)  Hooray for blessings and change!

-M

A is for Apple, B is for Blessing

Ugh, it's the first day of Fall and it's too rainy to really go out and enjoy it!  Our plans for today involved getting hot pumpkin/apple drinks, going apple-picking, and seeing the beautiful leaves and scenery up here as the colors change.  Instead, we've spent the day inside in our comfy clothes trying to stay dry and warm (minus the short trip to the PX for wine and a few grocery items...you know, the necessities in life.  And yes, we may have gone in our comfy clothes.  But seriously, a world where it's not appropriate to wear yoga pants to the store on a rainy day is not a world I want to live in.)  The upside is that there is a Dunkin' Donuts at the PX so I at least was able to have a hot apple cider...

On the bright side, since it's been a rainy day at home, I've had a chance to actually get stuff done.  Our TV broke earlier this week, so we had to finally break down and buy a new one.  H wasn't too upset about that, because it meant we could finally get a flat-panel TV that he's been dreaming of/drooling over for the past year.  Thank goodness for clearance TVs and financing options, because otherwise we would have had to move the 19-inch console out of our bedroom and hope that you could see it from across the room on the couch!  However, due to making room for a larger TV and stand, plus all the packaging materials, our livingroom was absolutely a mess, so today was the perfect opportunity to get the house cleaned up and do some laundry--oh the joys of being a housewife! :) 

It's also given me a chance to start planning out some ideas for my new classroom.  This past week, I was hired as the lead preschool classroom teacher at a local preschool & daycare, and I couldn't be more excited!  I'll be taking over for the current lead teacher who is leaving next week.  Yesterday was my first full-day in the classroom shadowing her, which I will also be doing next week until she leaves so I get the chance to get used to a typical day in the classroom.  It's going to be an interesting transition from a Montessori to a public, non-Montessori setting, but I can see already that there are a lot of opportunities to introduce some Montessori ideals into the classroom that the kids would really benefit from.  The classroom is already set up in centers and follows Creative Curriculum (which I haven't looked into too much yet), but I see a lot of ways to incorporate Montessori - there are already some Montessori-ish works and ideas in place, they just need focused and used properly.  I've been talking about these ideas with the director and with my assistant teacher, and I'm excited about what's to come for my little ones!  There's so much potential with a new classroom, and I just pray that I can get my assistant teacher on-board with some of these ideas (she has never seen a Montessori classroom and doesn't really know what it is, so I'm hoping that she'll be open to learning and trying it).

God's abundant blessings just keep coming our way, and I feel so blessed to have a Savior who cares so much for us and who takes care of us!  Even when I'm worried about what's going to happen and when it's going to happen, I have the comfort of knowing that His timing is perfect and that He will provide!

-M

Back at it

Hello.

Remember when I used to blog all the time?  Yeah...me too.

Things have been very chaotic around here, which I'll get to, but it almost felt like there wasn't anything to blog about even though there has been so much going on.  I don't know, I guess because I feel like this is all becoming a normal part of our life as an Army family, it wasn't interesting enough to actually write about.  But after seeing a dear friend of mine pick back up on her blogging, and how maybe if I do the same I'll be able to stick to some things that I need to work on the way she is.  So thanks, Katie, for inspiring me to get back to blogging and back to refocusing on my lifestyle goals!

Alright, so let's update!
May: My best friend Krista moved in with me so I wasn't completely alone while H was gone.  It was good to have her there, and to know that when I was having a lonely day that she was there to help me get through it.  We celebrated my 26th birthday (26! I'm officially closer to 30 than 20...gross) and our best friend Abbie's 21st.  H also got a 36-hour pass at the end of the month, so we got to Facetime and actually see each other for the first time since he left.

June:  I finished out the school year at the Montessori school, which was exciting but very, very sad.  It meant that I was that much closer to being reunited with H but saying goodbye to the kids and the staff that I had grown so close to was extremely hard for me.  June also held a visit from my brother, a friend's wedding, and 2 solid weeks of shenanigans with my besties before having to move out of BG.

July: July 1st I moved out of BG for the first time in 7 years, which was truly the end of an era.  But moving back to my parents' house was going to be good, financially and emotionally, before I had to move to whatever base the Army would be sending us.  Mid-way through July was H's OSUT graduation, too!  My parents and I took a week-long trip to Ft. Benning, GA to watch H graduate and get his infantryman cord.  I could not have been more proud of him!  Georgia was beautiful, and I even had a chance to stop by my sorority's headquarters and get a  private, after-hours tour of the building.  July also gave me one last chance to head back to BG to spend a night out on the town with my best friends.  And of course, July was the Olympics, which Krista and I made sure to celebrate appropriately (aka wearing our goggles and gold medals while cheering on Team USA together!)

July also brought a major change in our plans.  Due to some ridiculously complicated Army mumbo-jumbo (for lack of an easier/better way to explain it haha) H's contract got changed at the last minute.  For him, this meant taking a detour from his original plan/dream and for me, it meant having the opportunity to move to a base with H a lot sooner than anticipated.  While I was sad that H's plans had to take this detour, it was hard not to be just a little happy to be reunited with H sooner than we'd originally though, especially after spending the past 5 months apart.

August:  August brought "the move," which meant that it also brought a wonderful going away party where I got to see old and far-away friends before moving to our newest destination - Fort Drum, New York.  Don't know where that is?  Get a map of New York.  Next, locate Syracuse.  Okay, now go straight north of Syracuse and put your finger on the Canadian border.  Got it?  Depending on the size of your map, your finger may already be covering Fort Drum.  Yes, that's just how north we really are.  But it's beautiful here, and living on post has been great so far.  Check back with me in about a month when it starts snowing and I may have a different answer for you... :)

So now we're into September, and things have settled down a bit.  H's battalion has been out of state doing some training, but because they left around the time that I moved up here, he didn't have to go because he was on leave.  While he's waiting for them to get back, he's been training for his Expert Infantryman Badge and keeping busy on Rear Detachment (hehehe that makes me giggle every time I say it!), but I think he's ready to have his battalion and his friends back soon.  I've been keeping busy setting up our new house, getting involved on post through church, and taking care of our new furbaby, Riley.  I've also started working a part-time job in retail, but praying daily for God to open up a teaching position for me.  I have a second interview at a preschool on Tuesday morning, so hopefully this is the door that God is opening for me!

Faith has been extremely important through all of this.  Faith that God would help us get through the separation, faith for what was going on with H's contract, faith while waiting for housing to open up in a timely matter for us (we only had to wait 1 week after I moved here before our house was ready--praise God!), faith that I would find a job, faith that he would help us find a perfect home church up here, and so much more!  He has truly taken care of us in so many ways and provided for us when things were tight and scary.  He is so good, and we continue to look to Him for strength, guidance, and help as we are adjusting to our new life.

With a new home, a new location, and a new plan for our lives comes a need for a new (or I guess renewed) drive for getting back to my healthy lifestyle again.  I'm an emotional eater, and that's nothing new.  So while H was gone and I had a lot of emotion running around, it was really hard to stay focused on eating well and working out, which lead to a jump in my weight that I'm not happy about or proud of.  I mean, it's nothing major but it's enough that I notice it and don't like it.  Now that we're settled, I'm hoping we can get refocused on being back to pretty strict Paleo and getting back into the gym at least 4-5 times a week.  It's what we both need and I have got to stop feeling so down on myself all the time about my looks and weight.  So hopefully by being back into the blogging world, I can keep better track of my goals and where I'm at in reaching them.  I won't give up, because I know how much I need this right now.

So that's our life.  Over the past 4 months, I've lived in 4 different places (if you include living at the hotel while we waited for our house to open up), I've reunited with H, we've adopted a kitten, and I've started a new job with the prospects of getting back into the classroom.  I've learned to trust God for so much and be patient for His timing.  And I've officially stepped into the role of Army wife.

I couldn't love life more right now!

Updates and Eye Twitches

Wow.  It's been over a month since I've blogged.  I feel almost as bad as I do when I go too long without going to the gym!  Funny how something silly and little like blogging, that's only meant to be cathartic, can become such a powerful force in your life.

I'll be honest and admit why I haven't blogged recently.  It's because I've been avoiding my feelings.  I've always been a journaler.  Yes, I made that word up.  But it's true; infact, I still have the journal that I kept when I was in 5th grade.  I love to write and to get my feelings down on paper (or in this case, on a screen), because it helps me work through my thoughts.  Lately, though, all of my thoughts and feelings are surrounding the fact that H leaves for Basic Training in one month.

I don't want to think about it.  I don't want to deal with the fact that in one month I have to kiss my husband goodbye, hug him for the last time until July.  I don't want to accept that I won't be able to talk to him every day, to cuddle up with him when it's been a rough one.  I want to pretend that he'll still be here.  So rather than think/talk/write about it, I push it to the back of my mind.  Doing this has caused a semi-permanent eye twitch, but I'd much rather deal with that than the reality of my husband leaving right now.  So instead of blogging, I pretend it's not happening, which means right now I have very little to blog about.

Life in general is good.  God has blessed us with a lot so far this year, including a full-time job for me at the Montessori School, H hitting his goal weight for his contract, and getting to spend a lot of quality time with our friends and family before he leaves.  Financially, it's been a good year so far, too, with our big tax refund blessing on its way.  Our families are doing well, our friends are doing well, and we are doing well, so the only feelings that I've had to work through are the ones that I'm pretending aren't there.  I know it's coming to a breaking point with those, however, and I'm waiting for that moment when I can't hold it back any longer and everything comes out (like emotional vomit) onto this blog.  Although maybe that's a post I'll write in my paper journal (yes, I do still keep one of those, as well!) because I have a feeling it will be more personal than I choose to share here.  Of course, there will still be a blog update, just maybe not as graphic as the one in my paper journal.

I know that as things get closer to his leaving, and as things get busier around here with the end of the school year (gosh, it seems so early to think about that already!) and with getting ready to move back to my parents' house, the postings here will become more frequent.  Also, I'll be bringing back my crafting, too!  Right now, with working about 45 hours per week, it can sometimes be tough to fit in a really good project.  But once H leaves and I need things to occupy my time/mind, the projects will be making a spectacular comeback! :)

Bear with me.
It's about to get emotional around here...

xoxo, M

A Look Back

I can't believe it's almost New Years. It's insane to me--where did this year go? I feel like it was just a couple months ago that I was finishing the school year in Toledo, witnessing the birth of my nephew, and starting to plan our wedding. 2011 has been a crazy year for us full of ups and downs, and in the end we are coming out of it on top and in a much better place than where we started it. God has blessed us abundantly this past year, and I'm praying that those blessings keep coming as we move into next year.

2012 is about to be a CRAZY year for us! With H leaving in March for basic training and beginning his military career, I have to learn early on in 2012 how to handle being by myself and not being able to see/talk to him every day. In June, I finish up an amazing year at the Montessori school (I am ridiculously sad to think about not being there next year, because it is probably the most incredible school/environment I've ever been in) and move back in with my parents on the other side of the state, where I will be for about 5 months until I get PCS orders to move to H's base. In October/November when I get those orders, I will be picking up my entire life and moving out of Ohio for the first time in my life--away from everything I know to start my new life as an Army wife. We'll finish out next year with out wedding ceremony/celebration and reception over the holidays, so at least we can guarantee we'll be coming back home for the holidays. And in between all of these big adventures, there will be a million little adventures that pop up through the year to keep me busy---none of this even includes all of the adventures and excitement that H will experience on his new Army journey! How do I even prepare myself for the crazy year we're about to have?

I'm praying and trusting God to get us through the separations and the hard times, to shower us with blessings, and to give us a million reasons to celebrate this coming year! I know He's got big plans for us, and I can't wait to see where He leads us next :)

On a side note, happy 11 month birthday to my nephew!  I can't believe it's been almost a year since I was there to see your birth and hold your tiny little body in my arms!  Your uncle and I love you so much!!

I hope you have a chance to sit down in the next couple weeks and really take a good look at what God has blessed you with this past year, and to allow Him the opportunity to take charge of your life's path in 2012.  But before we head into the New Year, let's enjoy Christmas surrounded by those we love!!  :)  Goodness I love the holidays so much!

xoxo, Melissa

Happy Thanksgiving

I have so much to be thankful for this year, and while I know I should sit and look at all of wonderful things God has blessed me with every day, I admit that I pay more attention to it as Thanksgiving approaches.

Here's my 2011 list of what I'm thankful for:
-Of course, having a brand new husband and being able to spend the rest of my life with my best friend by my side
-A nephew who may not have been expected, but who is probably one of the most wonderful blessings for our family this year
-My family, who has been supremely supportive in during my not-so-amazing job at the beginning of this year, not to mention everything else they have done for/with me including giving us an amazing wedding and honeymoon
-A wonderful new family of in-laws who are so loving and who considered me part of the family a long time ago
-A job that gives me some semblance of hope in the educational system, in our future children, and in getting support from the parents of my students
-The new financial opportunities that have come my way through being an Avon representative
-Reconnecting with old friends and staying in touch no matter the distance between us
-My husband finally being able to sign his contract with the Army and having some idea of where our future in the Army is starting out

I think I'm going to make it a goal for 2012 to keep track of my daily blessings in my paper journal (Yes, I still have a paper journal on top of my blog!  In fact, I've kept a paper journal since roughly the 5th grade.  I'm a nerd.)  God has blessed me with so much, and I don't want to only remember those blessings one month/day a year.  Goal for next year (but really, starting tomorrow): be more grateful every day for what I've got.

I hope everyone has safe travels for Thanksgiving, and that you have a chance to remember what blessings have come your way this year.  Happy Thanksgiving!

And just for giggles, here's my Google hand turkey from the logo this week:

Have a happy and blessed Thanksgiving!

Wedding and Honeymoon Goodies!

Okay, so I've been promising this post for about a week now, and I feel like I finally have time to sit down and write.  Just a warning:  with all the details, this is kind of a long post.  Feel free to jump to the pictures if the details don't interest you.  Don't worry, my feelings won't be hurt, I promise!  :)

It's official--I'm a Mrs.  And I'm pretty much loving it!  Although, I don't think the whole "we're actually married" thing has really sunk in.  Last week, I was talking to the mother of one of my students and I said "yeah and my husband--" and I totally had to stop and think for a minute!  "Husband" came out naturally, but it caught me off-guard at how naturally it came out.  It was one of those "who just said that?  Wait, that was me?!" moments haha!  But being married has been wonderful.  I know we're in the "honeymoon" phase, but the love that we feel for each other is immeasurable, and it's been so much fun being the new, silly married couple.

So here's how the day went:

My sister and all her wonderful cosmetologistness (yes, I just made that word up) helped me get ready by doing my hair and helping with my makeup, and she could not have done a more incredible job.  I looked and felt like an absolute princess!  We'd tested out my hair a few weeks before, just to see if the style I wanted would work with my blusher/birdcage veil, and it looked fabulous during the practice run, but it was seriously amazing for the wedding.  Surprisingly, I wasn't feeling very nervous most of the morning.  I helped my mom do the finishing touches on the great room where we would be having the ceremony, took some "artsy" photos of the rings, flowers, etc., and even did some laundry!  Who does that on their wedding day?!  This girl right here...

In case you forgot, we had the wedding in my parents beautiful 2-story livingroom (the great room), and while I'd never pictured getting married at my parents' house, it could not have been more perfect!

So about an hour before the wedding was supposed to start, I was still running around the house prepping things while my mother chased me around yelling "go to your room, people will be here soon!!"  Then she banished me to the bedroom to watch TV until she and my sister came to help me get dressed.  So what did I do?  Um...watched My Fair Wedding and ate cheese crackers.  Yup.  I didn't actually start feeling nervous until I was in my dress, wearing my veil, holding my bouquet, and waiting for my daddy to come get me.  Cue the instant "ohmygoshi'mgonnavomit" feeling!

The ceremony was perfect.  A long-time friend's father who is a pastor married us, surrounded by our parents, grandparents, best man, and maid of honor.  It was intimate, and that made it so much more special.  But the best part of the whole thing?  The look in my soon to be husband's eyes when we finally got to look at each other.  Just thinking about it still makes me melt.  If there was ever a time I questioned his love for me, in that exact instant I knew I would NEVER question it again.  I cried a little during the vows, but surprisingly I held it together really well!  And to top it off, it snowed on our wedding day!  Not a big, wet, gross Ohio snow, but the light and fluffy kind that just made it magical.

After the ceremony and lots of pictures, we went outside where my parents surprised us with a stretch limo to take to the restaurant we went to! The restaurant was delicious, too, and they were so amazing with the service there.  First of all, the restaurant was gorgeous and the food was incredible!  If you ever get a chance to check out Bravo! Cucina Italiana, I totally recommend it.  They were even kind enough to take our cake that we brought with us, plate it and prepare it for cake-cutting, and boxed it back up for us after.  While we were there, a random couple came up to us to congratulate us and gave us $100!!  Just totally out of the blue, they said they were local pastors that loved to see new married couples and that they felt called to bless us.  It was crazy!

After dinner, we got changed and headed off to Cleveland for the weekend for our honeymoon.  My parents got us 2 nights at one of the classy hotels in downtown, and our plan was to stay until Sunday afternoon since we both had to work Monday afternoon/evening.  We had plans to grab a late dinner/wine tasting Friday night, but by the time we got there we were already exhausted so we checked in, unpacked, and passed out.  Saturday was spent at the Great Lakes Science Center (so much fun!) and then we had dinner at Brasa downtown, which is probably the single most incredible restaurant we've ever been to.  It deserves its own blog post--it was seriously that good.  After dinner, we called the hotel to have the shuttle come pick us up...45 minutes later, they still weren't there.  At this point, we were a little bitter about the fact that they forgot to pick us up, but when the driver finally got there, he felt so bad that he comped us an extra night at the hotel!  We got an extra night of our honeymoon for free!  It was wonderful, and it gave us a chance to try out one more restaurant, do some walking around town, and have dinner with our best man Tony and his new wife Jen.

Overall, it was the single most perfect weekend we could have possibly dreamed of.  We are so thankful to my parents for all the work they put into it, and to our friends and family for being there to celebrate one of the most important days with us!

Okay, okay, enough with the details.  On to the pics!!

Mindy helping me get into my dress - the best Maid of Honor I could ask for!

 

 Me and my momma before the wedding

Taking pictures to pass the time while I wait for my daddy

My daddy giving me away!  This also made me a little teary

 With my parents after the ceremony

 With his mom and John after the ceremony

 Mindy, my maid of honor, and Tony, his best man

With Carter, our little nephew/Godson/ring bearer

The cake at the restaurant--I can't believe he actually smashed it!  (Wait...yes I can...)

Provisions and Painted Shoes

God provides.

I know I talk about this a lot, but it always amazes me how God comes through just in the nick of time.  Granted, sometimes God's timing scares me; I'm a planner.  I want to know what's going to happen, when it's going to happen, how it's going to happen, who it's going to happen with, and I want to know all of this at least a month in advance.  That's my timing; God's timing doesn't usually match up with that, so I get worried until He works things out.  One day I'll learn not to do this.  Until that day, I'm going to keep thanking God for providing just in what I consider the nick of time.

My fiance and I have been stressing about a few wedding things.  I guess he doesn't worry that much; he lets me do all of that! ;)  But I've been worried with good reason.  Just about two weeks ago we went and got our marriage license, which meant we could finally call the courthouse back home and schedule our JoP wedding for next month (side note: it's less than 3 weeks away now!  Where does the time go?!).  So I called and spoke with Eddie the Bailiff, who informed me that due to Veteran's Day all the courthouses in Ohio would be closed on 11/11/11. 

WHAT?!  ::insert Melissa freakout mode here::
So as I'm trying my hardest not to let Eddie the Bailiff know that I'm almost in tears, I thank him and hang up.  Next call?  To Mom, hoping she can fix this.  How?  Not totally sure.  Maybe she has an ordained minister and a beautiful wedding location that are both free and available on 11/11?  Close.  She recommended an elementary schoolmate's ordained father and their beautiful great room for the ceremony.  After a few frantic phone calls to hunt down our (hopefully) minister, as well as a sitting on my friend Krista's floor deciding if getting her ordained online would work, I hear back from Pastor Oglesbee and set up a meeting to talk about it.  Now my nerves are going full-force: what if he won't marry us because it's last minute and we haven't done any premarital counseling with him?

It's funny how God works.  :)
We met with Pastor Oglesbee on Sunday afternoon, and it was perfect.  He's every bit as wonderful as I remember him being when I would go to his house to play with his daughter, and he's more than happy to perform our ceremony!  Best part?  At the courthouse, it would have been a very clinical "ceremony" without any mention of God at all.  Pastor Oglesbee's ceremony, on the other hand, is a traditional Methodist ceremony and puts God right in the middle of it, much like our marriage will be.  It's perfect, and it's amazing how God makes things work.

It was actually a very wedding-filled weekend.  My fiance, Mom, and I checked out a gorgeous, absolutely perfect ceremony/reception venue for the traditional wedding next year, their date of availability is perfect with our plans, and the owner is doing so much to help us work within the means of our budget!  It's truly a blessing to find this place, and hopefully we'll be signing the contract for it very, very soon.  On Sunday Mom and I went to a bridal show.  We may have found the DJ, we got the tux situation settled (yay for deals and me winning a $50 gift certificate!), and we tested roughly 15 kinds of cake.  It was wonderful!  I also got to grab my shoes from home and was able to spend today getting them ready:

The bottoms of my shoes are now my "something blue" and they have the names of my grandmothers on them: Madeline Lucienne and Ruth Marie.  I got this idea from combining a few things from Pinterest.  The blue shoe bottoms totally came from Pinterest, and they aren't that creative on my part.  I've seen different pictures of things on the bottoms of shoes:  I do.  The wedding date.  Your married name.  But since both of my grandmothers were very important in my life, this is my tribute to them since they are both in Heaven watching down on me for my wedding day. <3

Lots of blessings, lots of provisions, and lots of excitement for our wedding!
It's going to be here so soon, and I can't believe how quickly it's coming up.  In 17 days, I will be married to my best friend and starting the next chapter of our lives together (plus having a pretty great little honeymoon, too!)  The next 2 weeks can't go by fast enough!

We're Engaged!

We've kind of done this whole thing backwards.


Since he's going into the Military, we've been talking marriage for the past year, and for the past 5 months we've really considered ourselves to be engaged.  We've been planning both our justice of the peace wedding and our traditional wedding and ceremony during this time, even though he had never officially asked me to be his wife.  Backwards, I know.

Today is the the 4-year anniversary of the day we met, and I came home from work 40 minutes early, which was apparently a bad thing.  When I got to the door, it was not only locked but deadbolted shut.  He told me I couldn't come in yet, and that I had to go find something to do or sit in my car for 40 minutes.  I eventually convinced him to let me come inside and hide in the bedroom if I promised to keep my eyes shut.  I knew he was planning an anniversary dinner, but I didn't think he'd go this far with it!


When I got into the bedroom, I noticed all of our photos and candles had been taken down, which made me a little suspicious... but I hid out for almost 45 minutes before he came in and told me it was ready.  Unfortunately, I wasn't allowed to go out the bedroom door--I had to walk out the back door, down the fire escape, around the building and come back in the front door!


When I got to the front door, there was more waiting--after about 5 minutes (which seemed like an hour at this point!) he came to the door and unlocked it, but told me I had to wait 10 seconds to go in. 


When I opened the door, the lights were off but the house was lit by candles.  Strung across the livingroom was a string with handwritten notes from him and photos of us clipped to it.  All over the room, there were photos and memories of us, and on the ground leading into the kitchen was a trail made of construction paper hearts.  In the diningroom on the table was another note, and when I turned into the kitchen he was there holding a sign that said "Happy 4 Year Anniversary."  I was crying like crazy and he hugged and kissed me.  

He asked me "did you think I was going to propose tonight?" and I said "yes!"  


The next part is kind of blurry :)


He said "why would I do something silly like that" as he was getting down on one knee!  He pulled out a ring, said something incredibly sweet (which, in my mess of tears, I'm not totally sure what it was...but I know it was beautiful and made me cry more!) and put a ring on my finger!  It was perfect, and so much more than I could have ever dreamed of!!

Isn't it funny...

Isn't it funny how life works out sometimes?  How one or two little choices can change everything?

Four years ago, during what would turn out to be one of the toughest times I've experienced, on a night where I wanted to just stay curled up in a blanket at the sorority house, eat junk food, and cry, my best friends convinced me to go to a sorority/fraternity social.  I didn't really want to, especially because I was in the middle of a very bad breakup, but with a little "liquid courage," they got me dressed in Hawaiian clothes and out the door.  I ended up having a great time, and it really got my mind off of the not-so-great things that were going on, but even better--that was the night I met my soon-to-be husband. 

I almost didn't go.
What would have happened if I had stayed home.  Would I have ever met him?  Would we have started dating?  Would I be 53 days away from my wedding right now?  Possibly, but who knows.
One little choice to go out that night resulted in meeting my best friend and better half (don't tell him I called him my "better" half---you know that's going to go to his head and I'm going to hear about it for-ev-errr lol) 
PS. If you want to read about our wedding plans, check out this blog post.

A few months ago, my mom, sister, and one of my bridesmaids and I were going shopping for a dress for the justice of the peace ceremony.  I was expecting to go to JC Penney's or Macy's to find something simple and not too expensive, but my mom suggested we check out David's Bridal just to see what they might have.  It wasn't something that I was expecting to get results out of, but we decided to check it out anyway.  That day, we found not only the perfectly simple dress for the justice of the peace ceremony, but also the traditional dress for the ceremony next year with all of our friends and family--all for super cheap thanks to amazing sales and discounts.  And not only that, but one of the dresses is by my dream designer and is a dress I had picked out as a favorite weeks beforehand, which just happened to be a discontinued dress that was the last one in the store and also happened to be a perfect fit without any alterations needed.

I wasn't planning to go into David's Bridal, let alone find anything there.
One little choice to check out the "maybe we'll find something" possibility ended in me finding 2 perfect dresses (side note: I only tried on 4 dresses total, and we bought 2 of them!)

Thursday will be the 4-year anniversary of when he and I met.
On Saturday I am going to my wedding dress fitting.
I could not be happier with the little choices I've made that have brought me to where I am today.

It's funny how little choices make big life changes...
Feeling very blessed this week!

Our Wedding Plans

A lot of people recently have asked questions about our wedding and how we're going about doing this whole justice of the peace thing, how the engagement has worked out, and about our plans for a traditional ceremony and reception in the future.

So here, spelled out, are our wedding plans:

Last year, my soon to be husband and I began seriously talking marriage.  We knew it was something we both wanted for our future together, and with him going into the Army we knew we wanted to be married before he left for basic training.  While it might be unconventional and take away from the surprise of the "will you marry me" surprise (Are people actually legitimately surprised when their partner proposes? I mean, yes you can/should be surprised by the style/timing of the proposal, but I feel like if you're at the stage for proposing you should have already had lengthy convos about getting married and your future together.  So the fact that they are proposing shouldn't be that much of a surprise, right?) we wanted to make sure that we talked and planned things out, discussed how we would raise our family, and make sure that we were on the same page about lots of things.  Plus, we wanted to make sure God was at the center of our marriage so we took the time to pray and make room for Him in our lives.

Because of him joining the Army, and the fact that we knew we wanted to be married before he left for basic, we had some things to work around.  We knew that with him being in school and me being a first-year teacher and having so many student loans to pay back, we could not save up for a big traditional ceremony and reception before he left.  We started talking to other Military couples and reading about how they handled the Army/marriage situation, and we learned that it's actually very common for couples to be married with a justice of the peace before the husband leaves for basic training and then later in the follow year, when he has a chance for leave, to have the big, traditional ceremony and reception with all of their friends and family.  After doing a lot of talking with each other and our parents, we determined that this would be the best plan for us.

Even though we have been planning out this wedding situation for almost 8 months, he has not technically proposed yet.  We've purchased the rings, but he is waiting for a very specific moment/date to officially pop the question (I still don't know what this date is, but apparently it has some kind of significance to us.  I like the surprise of it, and I can't wait to tell everyone the story of how it finally happened!)  We consider ourselves to be engaged, and refer to each other as "fiance" when talking to other people, he just hasn't put a ring on it yet ;)

On November 11, 2011, he and I will be married by a justice of the peace at the Cuyahoga County Courthouse with just our parents, maid of honor, and best man in attendance.  We want it to be a very intimate ceremony, and that is why we have chosen only a very select few people to be there.

Next year around Christmas, he will be on leave from Army training and will be able to come home to Northeast Ohio.  At that time, tentatively on December 29, 2012, we will be holding a traditional ceremony with the full wedding party as well as a large reception.  At this time, we will be celebrating our love and marriage with a vow renewal (the traditional ceremony) and reception with all of our friends and family.  We are so thankful that even though we won't have all of our friends and family at the justice of the peace ceremony, they will be able to join us for a true celebration the following year!

No, it's not necessarily traditional.  No, it's not necessarily the way either of us imagined.
But it works for our circumstances, and it will allow us to be together during times that non-married soldiers would have to spend apart from their loved one while saving up for the traditional ceremony and reception we've always dreamed of.

We both hope that people aren't offended or upset that they won't be a part of our justice of the peace wedding, and that our friends and family will be understanding of our circumstances.  We can't wait to celebrate with all of you who have been such an important and supportive part of our lives and relationship together!

Little Reminders

Why is it that when the weather gets all mopey like this, it's almost like the universe decides it's the perfect time to dump every possible problem into your lap?  Not cool.

Or maybe it's just the weather making me feel like all these problems are so much bigger than they really are.

I have to say, it does feel like the world scooped up a bunch of problems and dropped them all into my lap at once.  I won't go into all of them, but it was a stressful couple days around here, let me tell you!  Yesterday, this was the verse that showed up in my daily email:  "Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything.  Tell God what you need, and thank Him for all He has done" -Philippians 4:6

I love when God sends me little reminders :)  I've been doing a lot of praying about money/job stuff, but I forgot about the "don't worry" part.  I'm a worrier.  A grade-A first class worrier.  If it was an Olympic sport, I'd have the gold.  If I had a dollar for every time I worried...you get the idea.  But when we worry, we aren't really letting God do His thing; instead, we're second guessing (whether we mean to or not) His ability to provide and come through for us.  Yesterday, within just a few hours after reading this email and remembering that God has always and will always take care of us, things started to clear up---my 2 biggest worries were consoled and appear to be taken care of!  Can't stop being thankful for these blessings!

Today in my email, this was my message:  "Then, when you call, the Lord will answer.  'Yes, I am here' He will quickly reply" -Isaiah 58:9.   Thanks God :)

I have so many reasons to be thankful and blessed, even when it seems like everything is a mess and I have no idea how I'm going to make it through the week because of everything that's going on.  When I think about all the things that are coming in the next couple months, not to mention in the next year, I can't help but smile and realize just how blessed H and I really are.  I just have to remember to stay focused on those blessings and wonderful things to come, and remember that God is there, He's always there, and He's going to get me through the problems so I can truly enjoy the blessings!

Too blessed to be stressed!

Fabulously Fall

I don't know if you're aware, but I'm kind of obsessed with Fall.
Okay, maybe more than "kind of."
For as long as I can remember, I've loved Fall. There are a ton of reasons, but here are my biggest ones:

1. It's football season. Go Steelers!

2. The weather is perfect--not too hot, but not too cold either. Perfect for evening walks, picking pumpkins and apples, and wearing sweaters.

3. Fall clothing! I love sweaters, hoodies, and scarves!

4. Fall flavors/smells: pumpkin, apple cider, pear, leaves (clearly that's a smell, not a flavor...) Yum!

5. All the wonderful Fall activities like pumpkin and apple picking, the local applebutter festival, playing in the leaves, and curling up with a hot drink in the cool air.

Today was a beautiful Fall day! The sky was full of dark Fall clouds but it was sunny, the air was crisp and cool, I got to finally wear one of my cute sweaters, and I got my first Pumpkin Spice Latte of the year!! Yummm!

And because I've been feeling so darn crafty lately, I found some super cute Fall crafts I'm going to tackle.  I've been reading a ton of craft/DIY blogs (um, check out my updated "favorites" list over there ---> ) and I think I'm going to start a "Crafty Thursday" blog entry.  Every Thursday I'll be doing a new craft, documenting it, and giving you a tutorial on how to do it yourself!  I can't guarantee they will be super awesome or any good, but darn it I'm going to try! :)

So stay tuned--this Fall is going to bring a lot of new and fun things (including my wedding!!!  eek 66 days!!)

Wedding time!

I love a good wedding, especially when it's uniting two people who truly belong together. For instance, our friends Sarah and Brandon. H and Brandon were college roommates, and H got the pleasure of watching Brandon and Sarah's relationship from the start! I've known them for about 4 years, and they are both some of the most genuinely good people I've ever met. Their wedding was absolutely beautiful, and we were both thankful to be invited to be a part of it!

Here are a few of my favorite pics:

The newlyweds!

So beautiful and happy!

Myself, Sarah, Brandon, and H

We had an amazing time, and we send nothing but love and blessings their way! It made me so excited to be there, because all I could think about our wedding! Granted, we've got a little over a year before the big ceremony and reception, but it's still so exciting! At the wedding, we got a chance to tell our friends about our wedding plans, too, which was so wonderful to share our exciting news!

We are 67 days away from our JoP wedding, and I couldn't be more excited! In a week, we can go buy our marriage license, in about 6 weeks we can call the courthouse and make an appointment for our wedding, and in 67 days I will be married to my best friend, my lover, and my soulmate. (wow...that got really mushy really fast...my apologies lol) My mom bought me a wedding planner, which should be here sometime next week, and we're planning on going to a bridal show back home (in the part of the state of where we'll be doing the traditional ceremony and reception next year) in October. I'm so excited for the REAL planning to begin!

Gosh, weddings are the best!!

Holding On

This weekend, a friend from high school lost her fiance, only a few months before the wedding. I'm beyond heartbroken for her, and can only send my thoughts and prayers her way right now. Words can't express how much sorrow I have for any woman in this kind of situation.

It was a shock to me. They were both my age, in their mid-20's, and about to start their life together. The idea of death was probably the last thing on their minds. And yet it happened.

What would I do?
What would I do if H died tomorrow? How would I handle it? How could I possibly, at 24, plan a funeral for a man who I imagined I would grow old with? How could I say goodbye to the only future I can see myself in? My world would come crashing down, and I would have no idea what to do next.

I'll admit it--I take things for granted. I don't think or worry about the fact that H, or anyone I love and hold close, could die tomorrow. I don't worry about losing my job. I don't concern myself with the fear of not having a roof over my head, food in my cupboards, or clothing on my body...but what if the house burned down? I take these things for granted every day, and reading that a friend my age has had a loss like this at such a young age has really been a wake-up call. I need to stop taking things for granted, remember my blessings, and thank God each morning for granting me another day on His wonderful creating with the people that I love.