Happy New Year

Only a few hours are left of 2005 now. It is a little after 8pm here in Sachse, Texas and we just finished a dinner of rice and beans and various dips and chips. We (Nathan and I) opted to stay in tonight...so we came over to mom and pop's to watch football and ring in the new year with them.

About an hour ago we ran home so I could take out my contacts and take some Excedrin Migraine because my head is hurting. On the way back we were talking about what we have been doing on other New Year's Eve's.

For the most part I am a boring person. I don't care to go out and party and drink much. I did my drinking in college. In fact...last year I went to bed around 11:00pm and figured that 2004 had ended so badly that I didn't really need to see how 2005 would begin. But just a few short weeks into 2005 (16 days to be exact) I met Nathan...and well...we all know how that ended. :)

I have been thinking for awhile now about what I want to write in my New Year's blog. I was going to chat on resolutions...I don't make them....or I could chat on changing times...both good and bad.

Maybe I will try to sum up 2005 and preview 2006...then next year I can look back at my blog and see what I wrote and if it matched up to what really happened in 2006.

So....2005...

It didn't start so great. I had just returned from a failed venture to Virginia. I was broken-hearted over someone who should never had access to my heart in the first place...and overall I was just a pretty pitiful person. 6 days into the new year mom had her surgery and I was pulled from my self pity and misery to care for her. Probably the best thing that ever happened. Once I quit focusing on myself and how I had failed in Virginia I was able to heal...and God brought into my life Nathan.

Our first date was January 16th....quickly followed by 2nd, 3rd, and 4th dates. Soon we were seeing each other almost daily. By March I moved out of my parent's house and into my own apartment. Not long after Nathan was moving in. Mom asked me once if it was Nathan's idea for him to move in. It wasn't really anyone's idea I told her...it just kind of happened. We were spending all of our time together and we knew that we would spend the rest of our lives together. At some point it just happened. On our 3 month anniversary we said "I love you" to each other for the first time.

April and May passed in a hurry...and sometime during that time we officially decided to get married...bought a ring...and booked the chapel at SMU. And that was before we even really told anyone...although we did finally tell my mom and dad and brother. And Nathan had told his family also. By the end of May I was getting pretty impatient...that ring was sitting in the bedside table and I wasn't aloud to wear it. But Nathan had his plan...and he refused to ask me to marry him (officially of course) until he asked my Dad...remember...we had already booked the location. :)

Finally on June 3rd, Nathan's 30th birthday, he proposed. He said I was his best birthday present ever...boy...how am I ever going to top that???? Now we could tell everyone and finish making all of our plans. Nathan switched jobs...so we would both be working for the same ISD. And in August football season started and so did school.

Time flies...on November 5th we purchased our house...which now has a roof and is close to ready for bricking! :) (I have pictures to post tomorrow.)

And now...here we are on the last day of 2005...it started so horribly and has ended so wonderfully. :)

Looking forward to 2006....

Well...we are supposed to move into our new house at the end of February or the first of March. That is the first big thing. Then...in May...Carole, Britt, and Ava will be coming to stay with us for the summer...a wonderfully exciting development that happened just recently. :)

But most importantly...and the reason why 2006 will be the best year ever...I will be getting married! Every day that passes brings me one day closer. Some people think that June will be just a formality. I mean...we have a joint checking account...we already live together...it is like we are already married. But we aren't. It isn't the same. I know we are getting married...but June 17th is the day that I have been waiting for for a long long time.

This is my last New Year's Eve with the last name I have grown up with...soon I will have a new last name...and that is a moment that will forever be etched in my heart and mind.

I wonder what else 2006 will bring. I am pretty sure it will bring a new school for me...I am not very happy where I am teaching right now...so I might as well move on. But 365 days is a long time...it is a lot of days for a lot of special and potentially life changing moments to happen in.

Happy New Year Everyone! May 2006 be the happiest year you have yet to have! I know it will be for me!!!!

Merry Christmas and growing pains

You might think that by the age of 28 I would be done with growing pains. However...I experienced a large growing pain this Christmas. I have woken up every Christmas morning in my parent's home...this was the first year that I didn't.

The main reason is that Nathan and I live together and aren't married yet. While mom and pop graciously accept this fact (and it is actually openly talked about between all of us now...well at least mom and I can talk about it and not be too uncomfortable) there are still rules and boundaries that must be adhered to in their house.

A few days before Christmas Nathan asked me if we would be spending the night at my parent's house. I told him that the issue had not been brought up and it was going to be mom and pop who brought it up not me! :) As I said...mom and pop have accepted us living together and are okay with it. They are more okay with it than any other family members are anyway....except Bob. See, we have Bob to thank for this easy transition. A few years back he openly and quite bluntly stated to mom that engagement is trial marriage and he plans on living with his finace before they get married. It took mom by surprise...but it softned the blow for me. (Thanks Bob...I always knew you were my favorite brother...even if you are my only one!) Anyway...getting back to the point...while they have accepted that we live together...that we are building a house together (which is coming along at an excellent speed at the moment...we have a roof now!)...that we are really only waiting on June to make our lives together complete and official...they are still traditional and have rules in their home.

So then mom brought up the topic....a very awkard moment for both of us. I told her that it was up to her and pop...as it is their house and their rules and I know how they have always felt about...shall we call it...premarital living. Now this conversation took place at about 10:30 at night as Nathan and I were in the car driving back from Oklahoma. Mom said we would talk more about it the next day (Christmas Eve). We all artfully avoided the topic all day. And as Nathan and I were leaving their house to get ready for the 11:00 candlelight church service I always attend mom asked if we would be coming back.

It was the moment of truth....I knew that by her asking she was telling me that it was okay with her and pop...kind of anyway. But I could also feel and underlieing tension...I said...No...

A wave of sadness so complete and overpowering washed over me at that moment. I kicked myself to the surface and hid my emotions...hugged my mother goodnight and we left. I was sad...I would not be waking up on Christmas morning in my parent's home...something I have known and done my entire life. Some of you will not understand my grief of this moment. You haven't woken up in the home of your childhood...or at least the home of your parent's in years and it doesn't mean much. But I live in tradition at the holidays. I love tradition.

I love the stuffing the my grandmother made that now mom makes. I like plain mashed potatoes and corn and turkey. I don't like it when we start messing with the traditions I have always known. I like the infinite amount of pictures that my aunts and mom insist on taking. We take the same shots every year...you can watch us grow by those Christmas shots. I love every tradition that we have...the big and the small...the important and the seemingly insignificant. Traditions are what make the holidays special to me...they bring back memories and feelings of past holidays...of people gone...of times that seemed simpler and happier. So these things matter to me.

As we got ready for church I was sad. As we sat in church and listened and sang and enjoyed the spirit of Christmas I was sad. I fought back tears on several occasions. But even as I was sad I was happier and I ever have been. Sitting next to me the whole time...holding my hand...was the man I love. There will never be another Christmas where I will sit alone in the church service wishing to have someone special to share it with. To be so happy and so sad all at once was a very confusing and odd feeling.

When we arrived back home (our lovely apartment that I can't wait to move out of) I told Nathan..."For the first time ever I won't wake up at home on Christmas morning." And he said something that starteled me...he said..."But now you have a new home." Even now as I write this days later I almost cry. It is true. I do have a new home...I have Nathan...and wherever we wake up it is home because we are together. It should sappy and corney I know...but at the moment it was so profound.

At 28 I am not longer a little girl waking up in my parent's home. I am an adult now...I have my own home...and in a few years we will have our own family. I knew this day would come...and it finally has. Have I had the last of my growing pains? I am not sure...I think I have one more growning pain to go through and I will do that on June 17.

Wedding Dress and veils

Yesterday Carole and I spent almost 2 hours in the bridal store while Britt, Nathan, and Ava spent 2 hours sitting in the car. Of course Ava was taking her nap so it wasn't too big a deal. Britt was reading and Nathan was listing to Russ Martin on the radio...so all were entertained. :)

I tried on MY wedding dress. It was the right one, it fit, and there was nothing wrong with it...so I was very very happy. I admired myself from many angles in the mirror while Carole happily snapped pictures.

I was about to change out of my dress when discussion turned to headpieces and veils. I had no idea what I wanted or even where to start. In all honesty I had never really even thought about it before. So then we started trying on veils. An hour later I we had determined that I would have a long veil...one that comes down about below my bottom (trying to say that nicely). And it will have a double satin edge.

I felt so pretty...and so much like a bride in my dress trying on veils. Now I just have to pick a headpiece...nothing too big...I don't feel like looking like a princess. :)

My first fitting is in January on Martin Luther King Day...we aren't in school that day so it is a perfect time to go for my first fitting. Mom can see my veil then and we can order it. And I found a head piece I liked there so I can put it on my head and see if I like it. Now I just have to find shoes and the proper undergarments and I will be set. :)

Oh it is so exciting! I can hardly wait until June!!!!

Magic

We met with the loan officer today...oh the fun that was. Having never been through the process before it was quite shocking. But enough of that...

After we finished there we went out to see if maybe they started framing the house. Last week's message said that they would start at the end of the week. So we drove out...as we neared the turn Nathan put his hand up to my eyes so it could be a surprise...I told him he was crazy as I hurridly pushed his hand away.

We round the corner...and there was our fully formed house! All I could do was yell over and over..."They built my house...they built my house...they built my house....it two days!"

I expected a few boards...but what I saw was a full house...we even have the rafters for the roof support.

I can describe my excitement....on Sunday all we had we a blank foundation...and now we have a fully formed house. It's like MAGIC...Harry Potter LIVES!!!

Bed time

I know very few people who actually had a set bed time as a teen ager. Most of my friends remember having one when they were in early elementary school, but state that by the time they were in upper elementary school they didn't have to be in bed at any particular time.

And I remember this well as a child. In elementary school our bed time (by our I mean me and Bob) was 8:30pm. There were few exceptions to this rule. Even in the summer we were in bed early most nights. I remember going to bed some nights when it was still light outside. Now by light I just mean that it wasn't completely dark yet...but by no means was the sun still up.

But elementary school didn't end the bed time...we had a bed time in middle school too....9:00pm. :) That 30 minutes was a BIG deal. But every night by 9:00pm we were in bed with the lights out...very very few exceptions...even on weekends.

So you think...well surely by high school...nope...still had a bed time in high school....9:30 was the common time...maybe 10:00 on the rare occasion. Friday nights was the one exception with football games. And we could stay up on Saturday nights if we wanted. And phone curfew was 9:00...that was more for me than for Bob of course.

In high school most of my friends were up until all hours of the night...but classes STARTED at 7:30am...which meant getting to school well before then to get a parking space (once I was driving) and to socialize with friends before I was driving.

And while I might have complained once or twice I don't think I ever really meant it. I was never tired for school. Mom and Pop believed that we needed to sleep...a full night of sleep...every night...no exceptions. And when we didn't get sleep...say on the annual band trip I would come back sick.

Most of my students don't have bed times. And if you told them that they needed one they would protest for hours. They would say that they are old enough to make their own decisions. But then they come to school exhausted and can't concentrate.

I am glad my parents were firm about bed times. Even when I went to college I kept a bed time. When all the other people in the dorm were up until 1 and 2 in the morning...doing nothing but being loud...I was sound asleep. I had class at 8:00am. Now....I am not saying that I still went to bed at 9:30....but I was never really up past midnight....at least on a regular basis and when I had class!

So why am I rambling on and on about the virtue of bed time? Well...Nathan and I have been getting to bed by 9:00-9:30 for weeks now. We just feel better getting up at 5:30am when we go to bed early...and usually there is nothing on TV anyway...so why not go to sleep. Well...last night the varsity girls and boys basketball teams were playing games across the street at the new events center and I decided to go with him. We didn't get home until 10:45. That is late for a game to end on a school night in my opinion...especially when those kids have class starting at 7:30 the next morning...anyway...it was after 11:00 when we finally went to bed!

I am exhausted. I missed at least 2 hours of wonderful sleep...so instead of 8 hours we had 6 hours...

Most of you are laughing at me. That is okay. I have watched all those news stories on the virtue of getting enough sleep. I am happy to have my bed time and get my 8 hours. I like being well rested and not being tired during the day. It also keeps my number of headaches down.

So you can bet our kids will have a bed time...right through high school...just like I did. Like it or not it is good for them. And no matter what they say teenagers don't ALWAYS know what is best for them. That is why they have parents...and not enough parents PARENT today. So I will help my child build good habits for life. They have plenty of time after high school to stay up late!

More exciting news...

First the foundation...

Now my wedding dress.

When I got home today there was a message on the answering machine. My wedding dress is in!

And the best part??? Carole will be here on Monday to go with me to see it and try it on and experience it. Everything is perfect!

We have a Foundation!

Yesterday...which was still technically the first full week in December, they poured our foundation. Happy Happy Day!

Here are some pictures of our new house. :) (well...the floor of the new house anyway)






Wecome to the new house. Here is our front walk and porch. :)










I was standing in the driveway taking this picture. We are looking into the garage. As you look towards the back of the house you would see the laundry room and the bedrooms.






Here is what will become our screened in back porch. Notice the backyard...it goes to the fence. We measured...we have about a 17-foot back yard. Not bad when you hate yard work and your soon-to-be-husband is busy with school sports for most of the grass-growing season. Besides, our neighborhood comes with neighborhood parks and pools...just like living in an apartment complex but ALOT nicer!

Here I am standing on the porch looking back across the house...on the left are the bedrooms and on the right are the living room, kitchen, and dining room. Notice that our neighbors have a two-story house...the house on the other side (the side you don't see) will also be a two-story house. They poured that foundation yesterday as well.

How exciting! Our house. By the end of the week they will start framing it. We watched one house go up in about a week. The crews really work. Shortly after they frame we will have a roof...we saw one house get a roof in 3 days. :) So So So exiting. The long wait for a foundation is over. Now the fast transformations start to take place. They say we will be in by the end of February...we will see...but I also know how fast they build houses. :)

Stay tuned for more pics!

Ho Ho Ho...Santa brought a Snow Day

Or...an Ice day. :) Either way we don't have school today.

Happy day off....right when you really really need one. Of course...when Good Friday rolls around and we really need a day of we won't be too happy to be making up this day...but oh well...

I am going to enjoy my sub-freezing day off anyway!

one year ago today...

I resigned from my job and started packing to move back to Texas...in less than a week I quit my job, packed up my life, and moved back.

It was the hardest and easiest thing I have ever done....

At the time I was so uncertain....I thought moving to Virginia was the "right" thing to do and then it turned out so wrong. I was afraid that moving home would be wrong too....

But now I know...moving home was the best thing in my life...because shortly after I moved home I found Nathan and just look at me now! :)

Happy December 1st everyone!