10 Months Married and Counting

So... long time no blog! Part of that is because we don't have internet access where we live out in the country for my lap top. I have internet access on my cell phone, but that screen is way too small to be writing blog posts. So I'm currently at the public library writing this long over due post.

So I've already been married for ten months! Where does the time go? Before you know it, my one year wedding anniversary will be here on Easter Sunday April 5, 2015. I'm looking forward to it. I'm also looking forward to this year and what the future holds. Of course it will be hard to top last year with our wedding, honeymoon, and starting our married lives together. But I'm sure God's got more good things in store for us.

We've learned so much about each other over these last ten months and grown closer as a couple than we ever had before. I love my husband and the Lord more and more each day. I've grown closer in my relationship to God over these last ten months as well. There's nothing quite like changing everything in your life all at once to really help you depend more on God than you ever have before.

I got married, moved, and changed my name. I've had to adjust to a new town, a new house, a new husband, new schedule challenges, new conflicts, new problems, new friends, old friends moving away, not getting to see old friends as often due to work and life being busy. It's a whole lot of new things all at once and it's hard to adjust at times.

Sometimes I feel like the rug has been pulled out from under me. I feel like I've been thrown out into the real world of married adult life and it is a lot of work. However, it is rewarding and comforting to know that I've always got God and my husband by my side to rely on, whenever I'm feeling down or overwhelmed by it all. It isn't always fun and games, but we do laugh and smile together every day.

Life can be hard and a lot of work whether you're single or married. But I wouldn't trade my married life for the world. We hope to start growing our family in the future, Lord willing of course, and it will be neat to see how God provides for all the details of that growth. We can't let our human minds get overwhelmed by this world and all its problems. We just have to trust that God will provide and make it all work out as only He can.

This is our favorite wedding photo of them all.

I'm Married Now!!!

That's right folks. I finally did it! I got married! On Saturday April 5, 2014 I got married to the love of my life and my best friend Mark. It was such a wonderful & emotional day. And it has been a busy whirlwind adjusting to our new lives together as a married couple ever since. Sometimes I feel I have to stop and catch my breath because it all goes by so fast!

We have already been married now for 3 months! I still can't believe it. We had a great wedding & reception & had a blast on our honeymoon in Gatlinburg, Tennessee. I didn't want the honeymoon & vacation to end. But like all things in life, it must come to an end at some point. Now life is back to normal, the new married normal that is. And I often find myself feeling bored and hungry for more fun now that a lot of the fun & excitement of the wedding & honeymoon is over.

I feel like I've been bit by the fun & travel bug ever since summer hit. And nothing seems to quench my thirst for fun. No amount of ice cream, walks outside, movie watching, swimming, or eating water melon seems to help. My only hope is that a trip to my favorite local water park called Holiday World & Splashing Safari in Santa Claus, Indiana with my hubby will do the trick. Weather permitting of course, we hope to go there very soon for a day of fun & make a weekend trip out of it.

We also want to go back to the Indiana State Fair this year in August. We went last year together and had a lot of fun & are looking forward to it. The summer is going by so fast & we hope to fit in all the fun we can before it's over. So while the adjustment to married life has been difficult at times, it has been good overall & I wouldn't change it at all. We still look forward to seeing each other every day & discovering together what the next day will bring.

God knows what plans He has in store for us & we are looking forward to a long happy future together. As our "couple" verse says in Jeremiah 29:11, "For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." We love that verse so much that we have part of it engraved on our wedding bands.

Here's to spending a lifetime together honey, I love you!

Top 10 Worst Dates Ever

Since my wedding is fast approaching, I thought for fun I would take a walk down memory lane about my top ten worst dates ever. So please enjoy and have a good laugh while I count down the top ten worst dates I've ever had in no particular order:

1. The guy who bought me a dozen roses on the second date, then never called me again. (Good times. Ha ha.)

2. The guy who snuck me into his basement to watch a movie & didn't want his parents to know he had a girl in the house. (I was like you didn't tell your parents I was coming over? What are we in high school? Thanks. Ha ha.)

3. The guy who on the fifth date said he liked me enough to date me, but not to be boyfriend and girlfriend. (So he didn't really like me THAT much. Ha ha.)

4. The first date I ever had, was with a guy who was so quiet, talking to him was like pulling teeth. I was so glad when our date was over. (He went in for a hug at the end of the date & I was thinking, "Really?")

5. The guy who on our first date, when we went to McDonald's to order some food off the dollar menu, made me pay. (I know I'm a cheap date who likes a good deal, but that's not the way to impress a girl.)

6. The guy who lived seven hours away so I took a road trip with my brother to his town to meet his family & friends. We stayed at his friends house which was the filthiest & stinkiest house I had ever spent the night at. (The people had locked their dogs inside all day, so the house smelled like animal...  well you know. All I could think was, "You let your girlfriend & her brother sleep here?" Ha ha.)

7. The guy who I had to break up with via text message because I could never get a hold him by phone or in person. He replied, "Ok." Then he later lied & made up stuff about me on facebook & said I had cheated on him. (How nice of him.)

8. The guy who always fell asleep on our dates while we watched movies on tv. I would ask if he was tired & wanted to go home & he would say, "I wasn't asleep, I'm fine." (SURE...then why are you falling asleep? Ha ha.)

9. The guy who broke up with me after we had one disagreement. (I wanted to work it out, but he wouldn't talk to me anymore after that.)

10. The guy who called me before our first date, talked to me for a few minutes, then he sent me a text message & said he didn't like the sound of my voice & had to cancel our date. (That's the lamest line I have ever heard to get out of a date. I mean I don't sound like Fran Drescher or anything. Ha ha.)

What's the best worst date I ever had? The guy who stood me up on our second date, which led me to call up my now fiance & ask if he was free to go on our first date. He said yes & he said that maybe that guy stood me up for a reason. Now I know what that reason was...so I could meet & fall in love with the love of my life... Mark! I can't wait to marry you in just over a month! I love you.

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year! (The 2013 Year In Review)

I can not believe it is the last day of 2013 already! This year has just flown by! But I do remember at certain points it seemed to be dragging on and going very slow. Well no longer! This year has been filled with so many great blessings and changes, I don't even know where to begin.

I guess I will just talk about the overall theme of the year which comes down to one person: my fiance Mark. He came into my life late in 2012, asked me to marry him in early 2013, I said yes, we've been getting to know each other even better as we've been planning a wedding since mid 2013, & I will be marrying him in spring of 2014!

I'm so excited to be entering the next phase of my life with him by my side, as we walk through changes, challenges, and blessings together. I hope we can emmulate the love and salvation of Christ through us to others through our upcoming marriage. I hope and pray that we will become the people Christ desires us to be as husband and wife. I hope and pray that he teaches us how to be a good wife and a good husband & how to manage our lives together as one flesh, one unit, & one family.

I know God has great things in store for us despite the challenges that may lie ahead, but I know that through it all, God has a will & a plan. He has a plan to provide for us & to conform us into His righteousness lived out in these earthly bodies & in this fallen world. If we only make an impact on one person in our lifetimes, at least that is one person we can show Christ's love to & make an impact for God's holy kingdom, just like He's made an impact in our lives.

I look forward to marrying my best friend, the man of God, whom I love & I look forward to all the blessings that are to come in 2014! Have a Happy & Blessed New Year Everyone!

P.S. I had a wonderful birthday in November. And we had a wonderful Thanksgiving & Christmas season & got to visit with both of our families a lot & enjoyed all the food, gifts, & get togethers that the holidays bring.

November Already?!

I can't believe it's November already! This year has been flying by and it's been a whirlwind ride that is for sure. So much has happened it's hard for me to know where to start. I guess I will pick up where my story left off ha ha. Now my memory is a little fuzzy on the exact details and time period of everything that has happened since June, but I am going to do my best.

In July my fiance Mark & I celebrated July 4, 2013 with a cookout at his family's house and some of my family came too. Then Mark & I went to another cookout at some friends of his family. Then we went & watched fireworks with my family downtown. I also watched some other fireworks with my family on July 3, 2013. Overall, it was a fun holiday.

The first weekend in July, my fiance Mark & I took a day trip to McCormick's Creek State Park in southern Indiana near Ellettsville. We had a picnic in the park. Then we went for a hike down the hillside, to the waterfalls, through the creek, & underneath the waterfalls. It was beautiful, scenic, fun, & romantic. Afterwards, we ate dinner at delicious barbeque restaurant & then got ice cream. It was a very fun weekend day trip.

Then a few weekends later, my dad, my cousin Brian, my fiance Mark, and I all took a trip to Holiday World & Splashing Safari in Santa Claus, Indiana. We went to the water park there & had a blast. We rode all of the new water slides and I even converted my cousin into a water park lover like me! He went back several more times after our trip there because he just couldn't get enough fun! We had a blast & I enjoyed my mini-vacation for the day. :-)

In August, the wedding planning really began. My dad gave me a first payment towards the wedding costs and we booked our wedding photographer. We also started a wedding registry. And started planning out other wedding details. We also attended a wedding of some friends of ours & had a lot of fun and got more ideas to use at our wedding. We also went to the Indiana State fair & ate a lot fair food ha ha.

In September, we booked our wedding DJ and began picking out the music we want to be played at the reception. I also got some free wedding decorations & flowers from friends of mine who had recently gotten married. We also bought a washer to go with the free dryer someone had already given us so now have a washer & dryer for when we get married. Also, we had a free engagement photo session by my sister aka the photographer. God keeps providing for us & it's great to see. :-)

On October 5, 2015 we had our 1 year anniversary of when we had started dating. We visited some of my relatives who were visiting Indy from out of town. Then we went to see a matinee movie. And then we ended the evening by going out to a nice dinner at Cheesecake Factory. We even got dessert with our meals and it was delicious! We had a great anniversary.

On October 13, 2013 we went to the annual church hayride just like we did last year and had a blast. We ate food at the cookout, roasting marshmallows around a campfire, & went on a hayride around the farm. Mark also enjoyed playing football with a group of people there. It was a lot of fun and I'm looking forward to it next year as well.

The wedding was 6 months away at that point. So throughout October we booked a wedding videographer and did cake tasting at a local bakery. I also went to a bridal store with my bridesmaids, our grandmothers, my aunt, & future mother in law to try on & check out some bridesmaid dresses. I liked the dresses even though the prices seemed a little high & the service wasn't that great. I checked out some other places & even bought some clearance dresses from the mall which I thought would work but, soon discovered that they wouldn't. So after all that I decided to go back to the bridal store we had originally all gone to and go with the dresses I really wanted.

Also, in October I got a new job & I love it! God really worked out all the details and the timing of it. I'm learning so much all the time and I look forward to becoming a certified pharmacy technician very soon. While it has been an adjustment from one job to another & a lot of changes, it has been good overall. I know I'm where I'm suppose to be. :-)

That brings me to November. This month I bought fake flowers for the wedding and made my bouquets and so far one boutonniere. I also tried on my wedding dress again with a new bustier I ordered & it fit much better with that. I have also ordered a better hoop skirt to go underneath the dress & a little jacket to match the dress. Those should arrive later this month.

Other things to look forward to this month are: my birthday on Nov. 22, Thanksgiving, & continuing working on wedding things. The wedding is now less than 5 months away and will be here before you know it! But I'm looking forward to it. It will be a lot of fun! And I can't wait to marry my best friend. :-) God has already worked so many things out in my life and I know that He will continue to.

Summer is Finally Here!

It's official! Summer is here! Yesterday was the first official day of summer and so far it has been a blast. So far I've gone swimming, done gardening, gone walking, had ice cream, and made s'mores in a bonfire. I love summer and this is gonna be a great one. I get to spend it with my fiance and make some fun memories together. We've already made some and plan to make more soon.

On Thursday June 20, 2013 we celebrated Mark's 28th birthday. We ate at Orange Leaf frozen yogurt shop, went swimming, visited his family, ate dinner at Famous Dave's BBQ Restaurant, then had ice cream at Mrs. Curl's with my aunt who met us there. Then we left, hung out, talked, and laughed about all the fun we had on his birthday. We have so much fun together and always crack each other up. It's great to have a best friend and a fiance all in one. :-)

Mark & I at Orange Leaf eating frozen yogurt on June 20, 2013.

Tomorrow we are going to celebrate his birthday again with the rest of his family and go swimming again. Then next weekend we are planning to go to holiday world if the weather is nice. I'm also looking forward to the 4th of July. I hope he can meet more of my relatives if they all get together to celebrate with a cookout and then go watch fireworks. Yep, this summer is going to be great.

Ready for Summer Fun!

It's still technically spring time, but I am in the mood for summer and all the fun that summer brings. Cookouts, ice cream, swimming, water parks, regular parks, watermelon, getting tan, gardening, walking, hiking, biking, bonfires, fishing, camping, etc. I plan to do a lot or most of those things this summer with my fiance Mark. This will be the first summer that we've spent together and we both hope it's going to be the best, most fun summer ever.

Here is a little preview to some of the fun we've already had to kickoff the summer season:

 

Last Sunday we went to Riley Park. The same park we went to on our very first date last September. We ate ice cream, laughed, talked, and took a walk together. We had a lot of fun. I have more pictures to upload but for some reason blogger is not letting me upload them right now lol. Maybe I will try again later. Mark and I plan to have a fun summer together. We are even are planning to go to the Splashing Safari Water Park at Holiday World next month. Yep, should be a great summer. :-)