Half a Year has Flown By

Chris and I reached our 6 month anniversary mark on the first of this month. I can not believe that half a year has already went by. It still feels like yesterday that the doors opened and I walked down the aisle to the man of my dreams. This year has definitely been a huge learning experience and blessing to us all in one. In March I was blessed to find a job at a nearby school as the computer lab teacher for grades 3-8 and teachers assistant in the 3K classroom. The 3K teacher went on maternity leave at the beginning of April and from then own it was all mine. I taught 3K in the mornings until 12 and then headed to the lab for the rest of the day. I was constantly having to change my mind set of preschoolers to middle schooler. I was running planning lessons that were appropriate for three year olds, such as colors, number 1-10, tracing, gluing, lots of coloring, and finishing the letters of the alphabet and then turning around to teacher 8th graders how to do spreadsheets in Excel. It is a crazy thing bouncing around but I loved each and every minute of it. I was unsure if I was going to be asked to stay for the next school year but luckily I was asked the last couple of weeks to stay! I will be finishing out the maternity leave, while returning to assistant after the full time teacher returns and continuing to do the computer lab. I am excited and nervous at the same time about starting the school year. Yet I know I am extremely blessed for this job opportunity to be within my reach. Towards the end of the school year another blessing came our way when Chris got a position as a Design Engineer at a nearby company. He is still working on his degree so this opportunity is incredible for him. He was able to quit the fast food industry (which was definitely not heartbreaking) and is now literally in love with his new job. For the first month it was strickly a 40 hour a week job, but the last month as been a little more rough because now he is working Saturdays and between 65 and 70 hours a week. It has been tough on us not seeing each other as much but we are remembering to make time for each other first whenever possible. In the fall I will be starting my masters with an online program while Chris will also be going back to school and we both will be working full time jobs. I realize many people do this on a daily basis but for us its new. We are excited for what lies ahead of us but both know that time with each other could suffer if we dont take the time out of our soon to be hectic schedules to be with just one another. We are headed to Six Flags with Chris' parents at then end of this month to spend the night and then plan to take an overnight trip somewhere close by for our 8 year anniversary coming up August 4th. We have also made two big investments (in our eyes anyway) with a new XBOX and new laptop. Chris' laptop red ringed around the middle of June and lucky for him Target had them on sale. Such a good sale that not only Chris got a new one but my Daddy got one for Fathers Day. But also lucky for me a Kinect was included so at least half the time I can convince him to play Kinect with me instead of his shooting games. We also invested in the new laptop in the last week for me. I have had my laptop since my senior year of high school and honestly I killed it. I have went through 3 battery cords in the 5 years I have had the computer. Chris' computer is literally falling apart (You have to hold the screen to keep it from falling off) and with me starting a completely online graduate program in August a new computer was a must. With the upbringing I had I of course searched forever for a computer of a good price and quality along with my Daddys help I finally decided on a HP that I got at Sams and so far I love it! By September we are also hoping to make another purchase with a new (used) car for Chris. His truck has been in the shop probably 5 times since we got married and has no air. If you know my Chris you know that no air is not a good combination for him.

Today we also celebrated our first Fourth of July together as a married couple. We had my in laws over to my parents house to swim and eat dinner and then headed to Chris' aunts to shoot fireworks. I went back to mom and dads to light some sparklers and shoot a few little fireworks with my family while Chris stayed back to see his family a little longer. Dad has lit a couple roman candle and one other 7 shot firework and then he set up to light another 7 shot firework. The first shot went off perfectly but then the container tipped over and headed straight at my leg. I started running, Dad was looking at me, Mom was looking at me, Emily was running full speed into the neighbors yard when the third shot went off in the complete opposite direction. Then the fourth shot headed in another direction straight at my parents. Mom went running towards me grabbing her lip. After it was finally done we all died our laughing while Emma held a flashlight up to Moms lip to see that it has received a slight burn from the firework. We were all scared to death to light the last 12 shot container and Mom and I both went as far away as possible while Emma argued with Dad about getting too close to light it. Luckily it went off fine and then we had so much fun with our favorite fireworks; Sparklers and Pop-Its. As we went inside the house to say good-night, my mothers 160 lb St. Bernard became so scare of all the commotion of the fireworks he high tailed it right into the house. So then we have to chase the poor dog outside where he sits looking pitiful like we just put him into a death chamber.

Chris and I are so blessed to both have parents and sisters that are there for us and mean so much to us. Through this summer we have tried to have several spend the night parties with our sisters that have turned into a great time for all four of us. We stay up playing games, now playing with our new XBOX 360 Kinect, watching old movies, pigging out, and now sleeping on the best investment ever, our new air mattress. Emma is starting July classes on Wednesday. My mom will be on vacation in two weeks and my dad will be taking vacation the first week in August. This has been a busy, wonderful, stressful, hard, loving, and unbelievable 6 months and I cant wait to experience even more in the next half of this year as a newlywed.

2 Month Anniversary!

Today Chris and I have been married for 2 months! It is hard to believe that two months has already passed by. We are becoming more and more accustomed to living together. Every day I find out something new about this man that I fell in love with over 7 years ago. On this day I have been thinking alot about the day of our wedding. We could not have asked for a better wedding day. My parents truly went above and beyond to make this wedding into my fairy tale. My sister could not have been a more perfect maid of honor (if anyone needs MOH advice ask her she is now an expert on the subject!). Every single one of my bridesmaid really showed out. They were there for me. They made sure my every need and wish was met. They were constantly asking me if I was okay or if I needed anything. They did so many wonderful things I decided to make a list:
1. They held my HUGE train off the floor
2. They (Especially the MOH) sat on the floor underneath my HUGE dress fixing my garter and my shoes
3. They took my shoes off, they put my shoes on, over and over again because my feet hurt so bad
4. They gave an outstanding interview to the videographer!
5. They brought in a box fan in order to cool me off...in January...because I was going to pass out (thanks Tiffany)
6. They stood in front, to the side, and behind me with paper fans or their hands in order to attempt to keep me cool.
7. They ran to the store in order to get me chewable pepto (thank you Sarah B. and Mrs. Gina)
8. They drove all the way to my house and back in order to get my big poofy slip that went under my dress because I had forgotten it and realized it literally 2 minutes before I was suppose to start taking pictures (Sarah B. you are a life saver!)
9. They brought in a heating pad in order to try to calm down my stomach (thanks mother in law)
10. They brought me my toothbrush after everytime I threw up that day.
11. They held my hand and rubbed my back while I sick as a dog (thank you mommy and Emily)
12. They listened to my ranting and raving
13. They dealt with the "Bridezilla" moments
14. They cried with me because they were so happy for me
15. They made sure everything was perfect and just the way I wanted it
16. They arrived on time!
17.They held up my dress and tied the million little strings together in order to pull up my train for the reception
18. They cared about me and wanted my day to be absolutely perfect!
19. They are the greatest group of girls I could have ever asked for!!

I could not have gotten through that day with our all 8 of those girls by mind side. Each one of them brought love, laughter, and such a wonderful, calming, and positive attitude to my special day. I could not ask for a better group of friends!! My sister and my mother dealt with me the best. They listened to me for the entire 11 months before the actual wedding day. They got the worst part of my ranting and raving and still were there every time I needed them. They were there to tell me when to shut up and there to hold my hand when needed. My daddy has always known the exact words to say in order to calm me down, without him, he would have had to pull me down the aisle haha (Just kidding). He sat beside me holding my hand the entire hour before the wedding telling me that everything was going to be find because I was doing the right thing because I was marrying a man that loved me more than anything in the world. He checked on everything throughout the day. Made sure the videos were running at the right now, made sure everyone was where they needed to be at the right times, and still managed to hold his video camera and photo camera in order to take lots of footage and pictures of my special day!

My groomsmen were equally as wonderful. To have such love come from a group of boys that I am able to look at as my brothers and not just as Chris' friend is a wonderful blessing. They all arrived on time. They all had their tuxes ordered and picked up at the right time. They all looked amazing and held it together throughout the whole day of taking pictures. One even came from Colorado in order to be apart of our wedding day. I am so lucky to be able to have this group of boys in my life. Chris could not have gotten better friends and I could not have been welcomed more wonderfully by each one of them. I know that I could call anyone of them anytime and they would be there for me or Chris in a heart beat.

Every day is a blessing. It is so great to come home to my husband. It is so wonderful to have him next to me anytime I need him there. We may be adjusting to our new life together but it is still such a wonderful feeling to be able to walk in the door and know he is mine forever. I am one lucky girl to have such a wonderful family, group of friends, and loving husband!

Sarah and Daddy Day

Every Saturday since we got married has unofficially became the day that Sarah spends the entire day at her parents house. Chris working on Saturdays has actually been a blessing in disguise. It has allowed me the time to be at home with my family and pretty much feel like I never left. Today started out differently than other Saturdays. Usually my entire family knows that I will be there and tries to stay home to be with me. Today my sister had two different birthday parties planned. One for her friends niece at lunch time and another for dinner in Huntsville for another friend's 20th birthday. Needless to say during the break she did have from one party to the next she planned to ride bikes with a friend all afternoon. My mom, with her big heart, picked up an extra shift at work for extra money until 8 tonight. Therefore it was only gonna be me and my dad. I soon found out this day was not going to be dull but EXTRAordinary.

Right after my mom and sister had headed out my dad took me to mine and his FAVORITE burger place. We talked the whole way there and the whole way through lunch. The lady even kept asking us if we needed anything because we sat there so long. When we pulled into the driveway my dad noticed my gas light was on and told me to remind him that we needed to get gas on our way to my apartment. Once inside my grandmother showed up to go through our wedding pictures. (If you have been married and had to go through wedding pictures you know this is NO small task. Wedding pictures are consuming my parents dining room table at the moment.) Shortly after I got a call from the furniture store that our replacement night stand had arrived. When the first nightstand was delivered it was bumped and received an annoying scratch (Some people may think "who cares just take the nightstand" but in my family we believe you should get what you pay for :) ) My dad and I rode down to our apartment to wait on the furniture company. They arrived and set up my nightstand within ten minutes of us walking in the door. We headed back home where I began sorting wedding pictures for myself and Dad worked on placing my video camera memory cards onto discs. We had been invited earlier today to go to my grandmothers church for a youth fundraiser. They were serving dinner from a local restaurant. My sister came in from riding bikes with her friend, helped me sort through a few pictures, took a shower, then headed on her way for party number 2.

Dad and I began to get ready to head to meet my grandmother. I walked into the laundry room to get socks because I had worn flip flops to my parents house not really intending on going anywhere big today. It also was beginning to get cooler outside and my feet were freezing. Getting socks seems like a simple task. But for me I walked in, picked up the socks, walked out, put on the socks, let the dog outside, turned to dad and said, "It's weird how little things still upset me." At the moments I burst into tears. Dad immediately understood what I was talking about and rushed over to hug me. It sounds so stupid but something so simple like picking up socks in my parents laundry room made me miss home. The other night I woke up and looked over my closet door and immediately burst into over not seeing the Finding Nemo picture that hung above my closet at my parents house. (Sometimes I really feel like I am losing my mind)

We finally left to meet my Grandmother just in time to receive a phone call from her wondering where we were. We met, ate, and talked for a while before heading home. At one point I laid my head over onto Daddy's shoulder and told him how much I wished Mom and Emma were there to join us. On our way we talked and laughed about everything! We had to pause to allow a car to pass by just before turning onto the road about a mile from our house. As we turned I noticed Dad began to slow down as I looked at him he reminded me when needed gas as we came to a rolling stop on the road. Yes, we were out of gas....We got out of the car grabbed our cups, keys and my purse and started the walk towards our house. At this point I thought it was completely hilarious. I told dad at least it would be a funny story to tell one day haha...and at least it wasn't snowing! We had full stomachs, walking half a mile, in the pitch black dark in somewhat chilly weather. About the time we turned the corner to see our driveway Dad remembered that his car is in the shop...Remember Mom is at work, Emily is in Huntsville and my car is out of gas down the road. Chris had a rough day at work and didn't feel it was the best time to call him. Luckily Dad had some gas in a can in the garage. We walked out to the garage and got the can. Once we walked out of the garage, I heard a "tink, tink, tink" sound on the roof...IT WAS RAINING! We rushed into the house and dad began searching for his raincoat. All the umbrellas are in our cars and therefore we were gonna be walking back in the rain. Dad grabbed a flashlight and said I did not have to go with him so that I wasn't walking in the rain. I told him to hang on that I had a umbrella in my closet. I rushed to get the umbrella and ran to the door. Dad was already at the end of the driveway and I began chasing after him. Still with a full stomach I am chasing my Dad down the pitch black dark road. I get close to him, figuring he had heard my footsteps behind him. I yelled, "You left me!" But before I could get out "You" dad jumped, nearly slinging the gas can into me. We walked the rest of the way to the car laughing about my Dad nearly having a heart attack, filled the car with gas, got in and drove home. I fed my mom's huge St. Bernard dog and sat down for a two hour talk with Dad, no TV, no interruptions, JUST US!

Today made me realize how truly blessed I am. I have an AMAZING family that I could not have been blessed any more for. I have realized that getting married did not take me away from my family. I still have the same relationship with them as I did before. My sister is still my Best Friend, my Mom is an amazing woman and friend, and I am still my Daddy's little girl. Everyone should count your blessing daily. I recently saw a quote that has stuck with me in my head everyday since, "If you could only keep the possessions in your life that you thanked God for yesterday what would you be left with today?" Be grateful for the lives you have and always remember to count your blessings every day.

Newlywed Life

We have been married a little over a month and I could not be any happier. I never would have thought that after almost 8 years of dating I would still be finding out new and interesting information about my husband everyday. I thought I knew it all but I was definitely wrong haha. When you are little every girl dreams of their perfect fairytale wedding, which in my mind I had completely, but no one tells you of the hard adjustment period afterwards. I am sure Chris and considered trading me at some points but I am coming to realize that I am not losing my mind but simply going through a transition phase. Chris is an excellent help and wonderfully understanding man about my hard moments. He helps me through each one of them and reassures me of how much he loves me and loves being my husband. No matter our hard times we are having more good days than bad. Everything about being a newlywed is new and exciting, even going grocery shopping is interesting to us for now. We are enjoying our time as newlyweds and continue to enjoy everything God is doing for us in our lives.

After we came home from our honeymoon our little town was hit with one of the biggest snow storms ever for our area. We all averaged about 10 inches of snow on the ground. We had a blast playing in the snow at my parents house with my family and our two dogs. Chris and I even made miniature snowmen of us at our new apartment. We had a great time being snowed in for a few days but were definitely ready to see it go.

We also just got our wedding video in from Awaken. It is absolutely incredible! If you have a wedding coming up I definitely recommend this company. They captured every moment beautifully! Hopefully our wedding pictures will be in soon. I can not wait to see all of them and continue to remember our special day. For now these are a couple of pictures that my Dad and sister snapped the day of our wedding. If you know my family one of us always has a camera in our hand. My dad has captured every aspect of our lives on camera or video camera which I am eternally grateful for. We had a wonderful photographer and videographer but there is no way my Dad would come to his daughters wedding without his camera equipment in tow haha. I am so blessed to have all these wonderful memories of our special day and even more blessed that he passed his loving of capturing memories down to me and my sister.

Finally Official

It is finally official, Chris and Sarah are now MARRIED!! We were so blessed to have such a beautiful and amazing wedding. It could not have looked better. Our caterer, photographer, and videographer did an absolutely wonderful job with everything. Everyone worked so hard to make this day special for us and I could never thank you all enough. It started out kind of rocky with a thunderstorm starting during our rehearsal dinner. I was so worried it would rain the entire wedding day. However, I was reminded (several times) that no matter what happened with the weather I could walk out of the church married to the man of my dreams. Through a lot of prayers the sun came out from behind the clouds about ten that morning. I was so relived that it would be a pretty day for our wedding. I never imagined that I would be as sick as I was. I threw up four different times throughout the day. I was so nervous and anxious about seeing Chris. He had no clue what my dress looked like and I wanted him to love it as much as I did. They walked me halfway down the aisle, fixed my veil and dress, counted to three, and Chris turned around. I immediately feel apart as I watched him stare at me in awe to tell me I looked beautiful. At that moment butterflies left my stomach and part of me knew it was going to be okay. As pictues went on, and the acutal wedding got closer, I continued to get sick. I just knew it was the people. I was nervous of what everyone would think. I was scared to walk down that aisle in front of hundreds of people and risk falling on my face. At about 3 that afternoon I was put in the back where myself and my wonderful bridesmaids had been getting ready all day. This would have been a sight to have on video. My dress was completely unzipped, along with my extra fluffy netting under my dress. I was bounching both legs so fast they could have ran off on their own. I felt so faint one of my bridesmaids stood in front of me with wadded papers fanning me. Another bridesmaid sat in front of me just waiting on me to reach for a garbage can. my dad sat on a bench made for the two and three year olds at our church, holding my hand, and very sweetly attempting to calm me down. Finally it was time! The bridesmaids zipped me up, my sister fixed my veil, and my garters and we were on our way out the door. The worst part was everyone lined up while I was left along in the reception hall for my father to walk my mom down the aisle and come back for me after the doors were closed for us to line up. I paced nervously back and forth. My dad finally came back and informed me that Chris seemed as calm as ever before, like it was nothing. My hands were shaking so bad I could barely hold my bouquet. My dad held onto me and reminded me how much he loved me and how much Chris loved me. Two ushers were waiting at the door to open it for my Grand Entrance. Both of them told me how beautiful I was which made me feel like a princess. As the doors opened my dad squeezed tightly to my hand and walked me down the aisle. He reminded me to breathe and told me he loved me. I looked down for one second to catch my breath. As I looked up I could see Chris, balling his eyes out, on the stage. I never in a million years expecting him to cry especially when he was the calm one! The one who had not been sick all day. Instantly I began to cry harder. As I finally reached him all I wanted to do was be in his arms. The ceremony could not have been more perfect. Our preacher gave a perfect ceremony surrounding God and our love for each other. We performed a sand ceremony to remind ourselves that we were now one and just like the sand our two lives could not be separated again. We gave red roses to our moms and dads and yellow roses to our sisters. This wedding would not have been possible without the love and support they have given to us. A rose seems also cheap compared to everything they have given to us. We went to our reception, changed clothes, walked out to a beautiful display of sparklers down the back stairs at our church, got in the car, hugged our familes, and left. We spent one night in a hotel close to the airport then spent 7 beautiful and relaxing days on a cruise ship. We visited four different islands and were complete vacationers. Today we arrived back at the airport a little before one. The airport, needless to say, was the worst part of our trip entirely. However, we tried to remain calm and rememeber we were newlyweds and this time was to celebrate instead of be aggravated at the airline. We got back to our new home around 5 this afternoon. I immediately noticed that their was a note in our kitchen that was in the hands of my once broken chef salt and pepper holders. My wonderful parents had fixed the chef and had even bought us groceries for our new home. My sister sent me a text that she had left something on my bed. I knew they had moved our furniture into our house the night before. I was scared to open the door because I knew once I saw my furniture their it would mean that I no longer lived at home. As I opened the door I immediately covered my mouth and began screaming for Chris. My parents had bought us a beautiful new bedroom suit! New furniture, new mattresses, and our bed already made to look beautiful. A surprise letter and a note was left from my dad that immediately brought me to tears as i tried to read it to Chris. I ran to the phone to call and could barely talk as I began thanking them for this amazing gift. It is so nice to know that I can go home and look at my room the way I left it. I can lay in my bed. I can look at the pictures on the wall. I can walk through the same cluddered mess that was there the day I got married. That is the greatest gift I could have ever received. We spend the evening with our families, watched a movie complete with popcorn on our new tv and are getting snowed in by one of the biggest snow storms for our area that I have ever seen! We are still adjusting to married life, but what a wonderful way to start :)

A few pictures our new furniture! Thanks Mom, Dad, and Emma for this amazing gift!!

11 Days and Counting

At this point we are officially 11 days away from getting married! I have also officially become a college graduate. I had two completely different and amazing experiences in my internship placements that I am so blessed to have been put in. I learned so much about the kids as well as myself. Due to my experiences I am now looking to get my master's degree in Special Education. I feel that the Lord is leading me in this direction and that I was placed in my internship placements for specific reasons.

We also have an apartment now! On on of my last few days my wonderful future husband called me to tell that an apartment we were hoping to get refused our application. I was immediately depressed. Suddenly he said I am just kidding and you dont have to worry about it because we have the apartment we wanted. We had been wanting this one apartment for months but there was never an opening and we had resulted in looking at other locations. Then my wonderful fiance stopped by to talk to the owner of the apartments and found out that the man had been holding the apartments for a lady who never returned his calls. He went into his office to find her number and soon realized the lady was my own mother! Weird how things turn out. So now we have been moving boxes and all our showers presents into our apartment. My AMAZING sister went with me to clean and even got on her hands and knees with a magic eraser to clean our bathroom floor. (I am truly blessed with the best sister on the planet.) It is slowly beginning to look more like a home and less like a storage closet. We had our internet and cable installed today. Each day one thing leads us closer and closer to being in our happy home together.

11 Days until the wedding and we are all officially in stress mode. I am trying to stay positive and look forward to our wedding day instead of trying to rush it to get here. I am an emotional train wreck and cry at the drop of a hat. Luckily I have an incredible future husband that is use to my sudden crying outbursts and knows exactly how to comfort me in my times of need. I am truly marrying an amazing man who makes my life better with each passing day.

Right now our groomsman from Colorado is also on his way home! Finally our entire wedding party will be here. I am so excited to see him! It has been several months since we have been able to see him. Luckily for us we are able to text and call on a regular basis which makes it easier to cope with him living so far away from us now. We have a brother/sister relationship and I could not function if we did not have the kind of relationship we have with each other. It feels so good for him to call to talk about his girl troubles or even just to hear our voices.

Christmas is also fast approaching. We are all in a hussle and bussle for this wedding but are still trying to remember Christmas and all it brings to us. This is my last Christmas in my own home which feels weird and scary while also feeling exciting that next year I will be celebrating with husband. Emily's birthday is also coming up on the 27th of this month. I feel like I took Christmas and her birthday away from our family with our wedding, yet I know she loves me and is being extremely understanding during this time. I am doing my best and will do my best to make her 20th birthday memorable to her without it focusing on this wedding. Hope everyone has a GREAT Christmas! Remember the reason for the season and God bless you all!

Thanks To My Sister!

Tonight we celebrated our upcoming wedding with a Lingerie Shower. My sister has been working on this shower for a couple of months now. She ordered invitations, paid for them to be printed, got food for the shower, decorated, cooked, bought presents, made up games, performed her hostess duties, and even made me a wonderful panty line complete with poem. I could not ask for a more precious gift in my life than to have a sister as wonderful as mine. There is no doubt in my mind she is my best friend in the world. Without her around I would completely lose my mind. She has helped hold me together during the craziness of this wedding and performed her sisterly and maid of honor duties beautifully. I know that she is truly excited for me and I know that she loves Chris. It is going to be so hard being away from her everyday once Chris and I get married. I am so use to her being right there next to me everyday. I am use to being able to shout down the hall for her if I need her. I love how she is right next door if I need to talk. I am so blessed to have such an amazing sister but am also having trouble coping with the fact that I will soon be leaving her and my parents. I am still not quite ready to leave. I know I must grow up and I know they can still come visit...it's just different. I am excited for my new life with Chris as husband and wife but sad to close this chapter in my life. My sister and I, I know, will have our daily talks and visits with one another. Of course with our busy lives I know there will be days that is not possible. I can only do as much as I can and hope for the best. We will have to work at it but I have no doubt that we will always stay close and always be there for each other. I could not imagine my life without my sister in it. She is everything to me and my best friend. Thank you Emma for all you have done and will do for this wedding. You are an amazing sister and I am so blessed that God chose to put you in my life. I could not ask for a better sister than you! You are the best and I love you more than you will ever know!!