once upon a time...

After just breaking off an engagement, I had decided I was better off single. Sometimes it seems like just when you have things all figured out, God has something else in mind...and it's always something better. Then there came this thing called Myspace. It was neat, despite the creepy guys that would track me down and ask if we could meet. I would always decline and block them. Then one day I got a message from a southern boy. He was new to town and was wondering if I knew of a good church in town since he saw that I attended one. I figured God would be pretty upset if I let this one slide by, so of course I replied. We spent more than 15 hours total just talking online, and getting to know each other as friends. We had a lot in common. I had decided I wasn't jumping into another relationship any time soon, so when he wanted to meet me, I saw no reason not to. We met at Hastings-a public place just to be safe. It was May 8, 2006. He was a sweet southern boy. Very polite and such a gentleman. An only child, but not spoiled. I quickly fell in love with him, even though I had already decided against it. We went to church together for the first time on May 14, 2006. I decided I still wasn't ready for a serious relationship, so we held off seeing each other for a few weeks. We next hung out again on June 7, 2006. We were officially dating by the end of June. He asked me to marry him on July 7, 2006. We went through premarital counseling (which, for those who haven't gone through it, makes you more sure of whether or not you should marry the other person). My dad was upset at the fact of me even dating again at that time (I was 20.) We hadn't set a date, we just decided that whenever we got finished with the counseling, we would get married right after that.

As it got closer we had decided September 16th, 2006 would be the right time. We both informed our parents. His were ecstatic. They immediately bought plane tickets from Virginia to Montana. Mine on the other hand were furious. My dad, to whom before this conversation had always viewed me as his straight-A, perfect, only daughter who could never do anything wrong, blew up at me. He told me that I shouldn't be thinking about marriage, I should be going to college AGAIN because he said I would never be rich as a dental assistant. Money means a lot to that man. He had met Jay several times, yet failed to give him the time of day or even try to get to know him. He knew the date, the time, the location, yet he didn't show up that day. It was the best day of my life, yet somewhat bittersweet. I was stunned that he didn't show, and I still am to this day.

We didn't talk for months. Then one day around Valentine's Day he decided he had been a jerk long enough, and he called me to apologize. He wanted to made amends. Funny how when I was about to marry the wrong person he was all for it, but now that I knew what I wanted, it wasn't okay. A few months later we had a reception for everyone to celebrate our wedding. It was a good time, I guess.

The past year and a half ago has been the best time of my life. We have a marriage like no other, and unbreakable trust which not many can claim. I am so blessed and could not ask for a better man to share the rest of my life with. I am so excited for our future together-children, vacations, times with family, etc. Who knows where the USAF will take us, but at this point, we've found out who our real friends/family are. If we have each other, that's all we will need-no matter where life takes us.

Freak of nature?

This may be true. In the past couple years I've noticed so many things that make me sooo much different from the rest of the world. Food is a big one, likes, dislikes, etc. Here is a prime example: I can't STAND warm chocolate chip cookies or brownies just out of the oven. I would much rather wait until they have sat around and gotten a little bit more chewy or crunchy. I don't like a lot of things that most people love, like hot fudge on my ice cream, a random plain 'ol Hershey bar, white chocolate, chocolate mixed with mint or berries, cherry flavored anything, seafood in general, and Mountain Dew for crying out loud.
In addition, I have plenty of other quirks and I'm starting to wonder if I'm the only one. Am I the only one whose world ends if they step in water with socks on? Am I the only one who HAS to put their left sock on first, or else? It seems like it's everyone's favorite color, but I really don't care for the color red, although I'm warming up to it. I cannot go to bed if there are dishes sitting in the sink. I absolutely have to have either a bowl of cereal or a bowl of ice cream before I go to bed at night-really healthy I know. I wonder....

No good excuse.

Lately I've been trying to put things into perspective. I tend to overlook and underthink some things in life and that needs to change. It's so easy to just go on with life and not think about the things I should change, when really they are so simple. For example, I went out tonight to buy some things to put together a couple Easter baskets so that our church can take them to people at the rescue mission here in town. As I walked the aisles and looked at all the things I would love to buy for people I wanted to buy everything I saw. Then came the money part. Then I backed off a little, but WHY? I have no good excuse. Then I thought of the rediculous amounts of money I spend on other things...my car, clothes, internet, phones, etc. At that point I decided I was going to buy whatever I thought would be nice for the people I had chosen to buy for, which happened to be a woman and a young boy. I really tried to think of things that might light up their faces, and it felt really good. It made me want to help out like this more often than we do, which is usually around Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter. There are people in need all year that are far less fortunate than the majority of us, and I should help out more since I have the opportunity.

"Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver." 2 Cor. 9:7

I suppose that would be my lesson to myself for today...

let's see

I've been inspired by a few people to start my own blog. So, here goes. I do have a lot of things on my mind, and I am always pondering something. What better way to get my thoughts out there than this. :o)