catch up!

I wish I would have started this thing right after we got married..but, too late now :) I'll do the best recap I can of the past 6 months.

October: Matt and I got married and moved into our house. If you asked us 8 months ago, we would probably tell you that we would be living in an apartment. God had other plans for us. I got a teaching job, Matt got a raise, and a month later, we closed on our house. We closed on the house on September 15, 2009. I love our home. When we first saw it, I didn't care much for it, but now I love everything about it. I love sitting on the porch and looking into the trees that give us so much privacy. I love that we have a corner lot. I also like the fact that this house/propery gives us a lot of room to improve and add to.

Also in October, my team teacher came back from knee surgery. I work at Lakewood Elementary School in Phenix City. We have a classroom of 30 precious children and 2 teachers. My team teacher was gone for the first 3 months of school. I was honestly terrified for her return. She was made to be this scary person. Again, God works in mysterious ways. My team teacher has become one of my closest friends. I love my job.

November: Matt and I went on our honeymoon that was given to us by one of my closest friend's mom. We went to Gatlinburg during my Thanksgiving break. We had a blast, to say the least. We went zip lining on the US's largest zip line. We splurged one night and stayed in a three story cabin. We were like children running to all the levels of the cabin. One floor had an air hockey table, one floor had a pool table, and the balcony had a hot tub on the porch. We also had a man and woman come and give us a couple's massage in the cabin. It was very romantic and memorable. We were supposed to spend Thanksgiving there, but instead, we decided to come home a day early and surprise our family. It was a surprise, indeed. :) It was the best Thanksgiving I've had yet.
In November, I began to get puppy fever. No, not BABY fever...puppy fever :) November began the search for my furry baby.

December: Ethel May is adopted. After much searching, I found my baby. She is a beautiful shih tzu with SO much personality. Many people say she was meant for me because she is so forgetful and ADDish. I love her so much. She constantly keeps us entertained. During this month, we also found out that Matt has a liver disease. Talk about scary. We had lots of tests run to find out exactly what was going on. Luckily we caught it early, so we will have to take extra special care and attention on what he eats and does. December was very memorable because we bought a real Christmas tree. It was SO much fun. After all these years, and finally, we have a home of our own and we were able to start our own traditions. Our tree was beautiful and I was so proud of it. It thrilled me to wrap gifts and put them under the tree. With my mom's help, I got Matt an xbox360, beetles rock band, rock band 2, and dj hero. Needless to say, he was a very surprised man on Christmas morning. I woke up early Christmas morning and cooked a delicious breakfast that consisted of french toast, cheese grits, eggs, and bacon. Our first Christmas was very special. We were married, in our own home, and with our precious new puppy Ethel May.

January: Matt became very ill. We celebrated Hillary's birthday, then came home to watch the ball drop. Well...everything else dropped from there, too. Matt started puking and running a fever of 103. Every hour, on the hour, he got hiccups. It became so bad that he finally asked me to take him to the ER. We went to the ER where they told him he had the flu. That next week was rough. I was trying to take care of Matt, the puppy, and a house with everything that comes along with it. After he got over the flu, he came down with bronchitis. He had to go to the Acute care place and have a breathing treatment, inhaler, and steroids. He completely lost his voice for weeks and I started to think that it would never come back. Thankfully, it did.

February: We celebrated 9 years of being together.

March: Matt began 2nd shift. It was awful. I came home to Ethel and he came home around 1:30 in the morning. Nothing is worse than getting married and then not seeing your husband. In a way, I guess you could say depression set in. It was very difficult not seeing him or really being able to talk to him. I didn't even cook dinner anymore...there was no point. March was a tough month for me in the area of friendship. Some of my closest friendships seemed to cease after marriage. It's something I'm still dealing with on a daily basis, but in ways it gets better, and I have developed stronger relationships with friends. Some of my friends have been a rock during this month of my life. Hillary Palmer really took time out for me. If I was busy, she was patient, but never gave up on me. I am very thankful for her and her dedication to our friendship. Another friendship that has grown deeper roots is my friendship with Jamie Milner. We became best friends in 6th grade. Around highschool/college we sort of did our own thing. For the past year we have been working on regaining the friendship we once had. She has really been a rock in my life since marrying Matt.

If I could think of a word that means more than perfect and wonderful, I would use it to describe my parents. Gosh, I am so blessed to have them. They have helped Matt and I in every way possible since getting married. If we have any need, large or small, they meet it. I'll never forget driving off from the reception. I was so happy to finally be married to Matt, but I was sad at the same time. I knew that life would never be the same for me and my parents. I would never go back to living with them and depending on them. I cried when I hugged my Mama. It was one of the hardest things I did. Since getting married, our relationship has grown in different ways. She was already my best friend, but each day I feel that we grow closer and closer...in a different way.

We got a lot of money on our tax return..You know, first time home buyer, being married, etc. I decided that the one thing I would buy for myself would be rocking chairs. Well, my thoughtful mother decided that that would be the perfect present for my birthday. One Saturday, Mama, Matt, and I went to Lowe's to get them. They came in the box (not put together). Since my dad can pretty much do everything, I gave him the task of putting them together. I knew he would make sure they were perfect. On the way home from school one day, I passed my parents' house and saw my mom rocking in her chairs. She called me and I told her that it must be nice to have rocking chairs and that I wished Daddy would put mine together. I went home to take a nap. About an hour later my doorbell rings. I open the door to find my parents rocking in my rocking chairs...they're wonderful (my parents and the rocking chairs) :)

April 12-16: SPRING BREAK!! WOOHOOOO...finally! My mom planned the perfect beach trip for just the two of us. We left on Monday, April 12th. We stayed at a beautiful condo called Pinnacle Port. From the living room, we were overlooking the bay. From the dining room, we were overlooking the beach. There was hardly no one there. The weather was absolutely perfect and I only got burnt on the left side of my body.

April 15th (today) is my birthday. I am 23 years old...or young... :) We came home from the beach today. I came home to find a card that said "Pretty Thang". Naturally, it was from my husband. It was a very sweet birthday card. It warms my heart to get a card that says wife on it :) One of those simple pleasures of life I guess...Anyways, I thought that I had already had my birthday gifts from him, but I guess he decided that I needed something else. He got me one of those ipod docks that are installed under the cabinets in my kitchen. It is 12:41 A.M. and he is currently putting it in :) We ate at Sushico (however you spell it). I really enjoyed it. Matt was able to get off of work to join us. It was Mama, Daddy, Jonathan, Nicole, Matt, and me.

OH, we've also really gotten into yard work and stuff. I came home to two beautful potted plants that can be hung on the front porch from my favorite aunt in the world, Aunt Sharon. She's literally an angel God put on Earth. I'm glad to call her mine :) We talked on the phone for a long time tonight. I love her.

Today I'm feeling very blessed for the people in my life. I asked Matt the other day if any of this seemed real. I was sitting in the rocking chair watching Matt cut down some trees and it hit me all over again...this is my life...is it? Am I dreaming? Is that really my husband? Is this really our home and all of our belongings?? Wow...I guess it is. Still, it seems like a dream. I wonder when it will all set in.

Well.. I'm tired and Matt is home from work. I plan to do better on journaling our journey through this crazy thing we call life.