Sunday, July 28, 2013

One time at band camp


This past week I spent some time working at one of the local high schools. While I was there the marching band was having their band camp and it brought back many memories of my time in the marching band. Yes, I was a band geek. As much as I disliked band camp at times it was a great time to hang out with my friends and have fun. I never will forget those hot sunny summer days when we spent hours outside practicing our routine. I will never forget the guy who asked me just about every day if I would go get drunk with him (which I never did). But the thing that I will remember the most is the great time I had bonding and hanging out with my fellow band members. Good times.

One thing I know for sure after working at the local high school last week, I do not miss high school at all. I do not miss the halls lined with lockers.


I do not miss the classrooms.


And most of all I do not miss the textbooks.


High school is one chapter in my life that I am glad is done. As fun as it was at times, I would not want to go back and do it over.

I will leave you with this cool quote I found while I was working at the high school.


Monday, July 22, 2013

Fathers and Daughters


There is no bond that is as special as the bond between a daughter and her father. He is the first man to capture her heart. He is the first man to wipe away her tears and tell her that everything will be ok. He is the first man to be there for her when she falls to help pick her back up. He is the first man to tell her she is beautiful and that he loves her. It is the unconditional love of a father that makes a daughter believe she will find a man just like him one day who will take care of her and be the father of her children.

It is every little girl's dream to have her father there on her wedding day. She dreams of walking down the isle with her dad and him giving her away. I feel very blessed to have had my dad with me on one of the most important days of my life. It was very special to me to have him share that day with me and to play a part in giving me away to another man.

I recently heard a story that reminded me of the bond that is between a father and his daughter. It was so sweet it brought tears to my eyes. You can see more on the story at www.today.com.

It was a Saturday in July as Rachel was preparing for the day she had always dreamed of, complete with wedding gown, make-up, and guests. But there was one thing missing.....the groom. Instead the day was about her dad. Her dad was dying of pancreatic and will likely live less than three months. 

So to make sure he was there on her wedding day Rachel came up with an unusual idea. She would create and record her own father/daughter dance. So they both got ready for this special moment. She dressed in a wedding gown and he dressed as if going to her wedding. 

The limo pulled up and Rachel stepped out in her wedding dress that sparkled in the evening sun. As they locked eyes her father said, "you look beautiful." 

Their embrace swallowed any sadness, conquering all worries. This bond was not yet ready to be broken. Especially not be for one last dance. 

The song they chose to dance to was "Cinderella" by Steven Curtis Chapman. They danced as family and friends gathered to watch. 

It was a celebration, but perhaps not the way Rachel imagined her wedding day would go, however, it was a night she will never forget. 

Her father said, "Each and every day we have a choice, we have a choice to either love that person in front of us or not. It's the relationships that you build over the years that is the most important thing in life."

So now when Rachel's actual wedding day arrives she will have that evening to share with the guests at her wedding. She will be able to play the video of her and her father sharing one last dance.

After seeing this story on the Today's Show it reminded me of the bond that I have with my own father. It reminded me to never take any of our relationships for granted, because we do not know how long we have with each other. We should treasure each day and love each other unconditionally.



I love you daddy! Thank you for the unconditional love that you have given me over the years. Thank you for demonstrating the love that my Heavenly Father has for me.

Wednesday, July 17, 2013

Lately…..

work

Lately, my life has been pretty much consumed with my project for graduate school. Everything else in my life has had to take a back seat, include my blog. I have missed writing and sharing what is going on. I cannot wait for the day when I am finished with this project and I can get back to doing the things I love. October cannot come soon enough!

Sunday, July 14, 2013

Weekend Happenings

This weekend has been full of fun little adventures. It started off visiting a restaurant/bar that is about 45 min from our house. Some of our good friends called us up and asked if we wanted to go try a restaurant with them. So off we went on our little adventure. The place we went to was called Bubba Brews. The name alone had me questioning if this was going to be a good place or not. The second the restaurant is literally on the water. So I was a little skeptical. However, I was pleasantly surprised it was not bad. And it was a lot of fun. They had a live band that night which made it a fun atmosphere. Here are some views of the place. 


And what is a restaurant without rules.



The rest of the weekend was a little less eventful I worked Saturday morning. Blah! But the weekend ended great with dinner with the in-laws. 

I hope that everyone has a great week! 
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BUBBA BREW’S HOUS 

Friday, July 12, 2013

Friday’s Letters

mountains

Dear Friday, you do not know how grateful I am that you are finally here. It has been a long week at work. Dear Mountains, I miss you so much. It feels like forever since I have visited. I must remedy that soon! Dear Husband, I bet if feels good to have your state boards behind you. Hopefully you will get the results soon. Although I have no doubt that you passed. Dear July, you just started and it already feels like you are flying by. Slow down please. Dear Blog Friends, I hope you all have a great weekend.

 

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Tuesday, July 9, 2013

4th of July Recap (without pictures)



Our 4th was full of lots of excitement, good food, laughs, and great conversation. I am totally kicking myself though because I so meant to take pictures, however my camera never made it out of the bag. I guess that is what happens when you are the hostess. There were so many moments that I wish I could have caught, but I guess there is always next year. 

My dad's birthday is actually on the 4th, so our celebration was also a party for my dad. My husband was the one on grill duty and he did one heck of a job on the food. And my mom made some of the most delicious blackberry cobbler. 

The most excitement for the day was one of the houses in our neighborhood catching on fire. Apparently their grill exploded and caught the house on fire. It was crazy. 

Overall it was a great 4th. It was a blessing to be able to spend it with my family and to be able to enjoy each other's company. I just wish that I would have remembered to take photos. 

I hope everyone else had a great 4th! 

Friday, July 5, 2013

Friday's Letters


Dear Family, It was so great to see you yesterday and have a cookout for the 4th. And it was great to celebrate dad's birthday. Happy Birthday dad! Dear Neighbors, I feel so bad for you that your house caught on fire yesterday. My heart is sad for you today. Dear Husband, you are one heck of a cook. Way to go on the burgers last night. You rock! Dear chapter one of my graduate project, you are really killing me. You have turned out to be way more work than I thought. Dear Husband, I am so looking forward to having a date night with you tonight. I just hate it that you have to work tomorrow. Boo! Dear Friends, I hope you all have a great weekend!



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Wednesday, July 3, 2013

Currently


-Excited about my long holiday weekend.
-Dreaming about going on vacation and wishing we were at a cabin like this lovely one.
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-Obsessed with these new boots. Love, love, love!
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-Obsessed with instagram. I love seeing what all my friends are up to.
-Working feverishly on chapter one of my school project.
-Completely head over heels in love with this man.
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Tuesday, July 2, 2013

Life

baby

via

You never really grasp the reality of how precious and how much of a miracle life is until you have traveled the journey of trying to conceive. Life itself is a miracle and a gift from God. It is something that is orchestrated by God and is created by His hand. My personal journey of trying to conceive has not been an easy one. It has taken longer than I anticipated it would. And I was not prepared for how much of an emotional roller coaster it would be. It is hard when your heart longs for something so much and month after month nothing happens. But through it all I have found a strength that I never knew I had. And I believe that it has increased my faith in God to know that all good things come to those who wait. While it has been an incredibly hard road to walk at times, I have remind hopeful that it will happen in God’s timing.

I recently came across a quote that really spoke to me and gave me hope that my miracle will happen to one day.  The person stated,“every pregnancy is a miracle created by God. Getting pregnant is not simply a matter of flesh and blood (and eggs and sperm). Each little baby ever to be conceived has been carefully planned and brought into being by God.” Because of this I know that when our time comes our baby will be made just for me by God. That is an awesome thought.

My prayer is that I will be able to continue the journey with the grace and strength that God has given me and to not worry about what I don’t have. But to rather keep my eyes focused on Him and leave it all at His feet.

 

“For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,” says the Lord. “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts.”

-Isaiah 55:8-9 (NKJ)