Worth the Wait

I finally found him. Well.. I guess I knew I found him a year ago, but I finally get to marry him!! To say I'm excited is an understatement. He's everything that I wished for, dreamed of, and hoped for... but it wasn't an easy road to get here. I remember lots of sleepless nights, lots of tear-stained pillow cases, and lots of fear. In my mind I had my "life plan" all planned out. I wanted to be married by 22 and start a family by 25. As I drew closer to those years, my fear escalated. I feared that I would never find "the one" and never have that family that I'd always dreamed of. I was full of fear when I should have had faith that God knew my heart and that he would fulfill my desires when the time was right. Well.. that time is finally here.. and I can stand here today and honestly say that it was worth the wait. I wouldn't trade one heart break or one sleepless night because it all led me here... it led me to him. It led me to the happiest point in my life so far. I don't feel like words can truly express the love and happiness that I have with Nathan. He is next to perfect :) I know that life will have its ups and downs for us, but I'm not afraid because I get to go through it with him. For the rest of my life. June 20, 2015 can not get here fast enough!! I'll turn 26 next year before I walk down the aisle.. I never dreamed that I would be that old before I walked down the aisle. But I will be.. and it will be perfect.. because it all happened in God's timing.

Caribbean Cruise

Last Sunday I left to go on a cruise with 3 of my good friends. Our ship stopped at the Cayman Islands and Cozumel. I absolutely LOVED the experience and only felt nauseous one night (thank goodness)!!! My absolute favorite part was the dolphin encounter and the crystal blue waters! I normally don't get in the ocean past my knees, but the water was so clear and I could see all around me so I felt more comfortable (I have a major fear of sharks)!! :)

                                          Dolphin Discovery in Mexico

                                          Belly ride with Rachel, the dolphin! :)

                                          Rachel pushing my feet!

                                          Hand-shakes :)

                                          Kisses for Rachel

                                             Brenda & I in the ship's foyer waiting for dinner

                                       LOVE these girls!! (me, Cherlyn, Brenda, & Chelsea)

                                        This is how we got off the ship in the Cayman Islands

                                     Arriving at Stingray City! Stingrays were EVERYWHERE!

                                          One of my favorite pictures I captured!! Paradise!

                                                      Yes! I actually went snorkeling!!

                                                                    More snorkeling

                                 Chankanaab, Mexico (This is where we did the Dolphin Discovery)

               Stingrays! There were two rules on this trip: No screaming and no jumping... I broke both:)

                         This guy in the corner caught the stingrays and put it in our hands to hold it.

                                                                     Kisses :)

                 These things would come right up between your feet. I think I jumped every time :)

Saltiest sea water I have ever tasted!!

Needless to say, I can't wait to go back! :)

Well.. summer has officially arrived!! I survived my first year of teaching and I'm already excited about beginning next year and teaching with one of my best friends from high school!! My calender is packed with lots of things already-- family vacation with my Mom's side of the family, a bachelorette party, a wedding, a cruise to the Grand Caymen Islands with some of my best girlfriends, concerts, camping out, and lots of days at Miller Lake!! Between all of the fun, my goal is to spend one day a week at school revamping, re-organizing, and repositioning just about everything in my classroom, so... we'll see how well that plays out:)

Hope everyone has a great summer!!

Quotes

I found this quote the other day and it describes me to a T :) As I read the first couple of lines I had to laugh because I thought "Wow, this couldn't get any closer to how I live my life; always ready for the next step before it's ready to begin!" and then it kind of scared me... I need to learn to let go and just be happy with where I am right now. I always set a timeline for everything I want to accomplish in life... be here in 5 years and doing this in 10, but then I am only setting myself up for failure when I reach those dates and my "goals" haven't happened. I never want to take living for granted, but I am realizing that by not being happy today.. I'll never be happy when tomorrow comes.

"First I was dying to finish high school and start college.
And then I was dying to finish college and start working.
And then I was dying to get married and have children.
And then I was dying for my children to grow old enough for school so I could return to work.
And then I was dying to retire.
And now, I am dying... and suddenly I realize I forgot to live."

Random Thoughts & Confessions

One of my blog friends has a thing where she posts "Confessions" from time to time. I always get a kick out of reading them. I sort of felt like spitting out a whole list of my confessions and random thoughts today.. and here it goes:)

1. I am obsessed with Pepsi and any kind of fattening food.. Since starting a full-time job, I've found it alot easier to order out instead of pack a healthier lunch the night before. It doesn't help that I find healthy foods not very tasty:)

2. I'm about 5 mintues behind schedule (a.k.a late) on most occasions. I blame this on genetics; although, I did not get this from either of my parents.... I do have family like this:)

3. I love sleeping in and taking naps every day of the weekend...

4. I'm obsessed with People.com and most magazines...

5. I love shopping ALL the time and probably spend way too much money on it!!

6. I'm very self-conscious. I pick out everything that I think is wrong with me and let it control my thoughts. In other words, I'm my own worst enemy...

7. I'm a worry wart. I let silly things creep into my mind and I worry about it.

If you didn't think I was a little crazy before reading this then I'm sure it's now confirmed! :)

The point of this post was this: I am not perfect. My life will always be a "work in progress."

Thankful

I know I'm a few weeks late... but I am just now getting the time to post about all of my many, many blessings!!!

I'm so thankful for:

-my family and friends for loving me more than they should:)

-having a job that I absolutely love..

-my 17 kiddos that help me to form abs throughout the day from laughing so hard (they say the funniest things!)... on a serious note they give me purpose and have blessed my life in so many ways..

-Extreme Makeover Home Edition for showing me what giving and selflessness is all about..

-Insanity workouts for kicking my butt back into shape!!

-being healthy and able to enjoy everything in life

-the 22 years God has blessed me with

-memories

-my warm, cozy home

and last but certainly not least..

-my Jesus and his amazing grace

iLASIK

I'm set for Lasik eye surgery this Thursday and there are soo many emotions going through my head. Most of all I'm excited, but I'm also scared, nervous, anxious, etc. I've had to go through 2 pre-op exams because my eyes were not cooperating and I'm already on Restasis because of my severe dry eye problem. Hopefully everthing goes well on Thursday and I'll be back to work on Friday!! Say a little prayer for me on Thursday:)

I had to add some pictures of my dad after he got it done in 2002. These are soo precious!!

Here is my last photo taken with glasses, hopefully until I reach my 40's ha!!!