{Week in Review}

If you have instagram and follow me, then most of these photos will bore you. But since I use my blog as a personal journal of our lives, I'm still going to post this week in review via instagram iPhone pics! :)

Saturday I went off the mountain to a bridal shower for my sister Jamie. While she was opening gifts, I held my niece Annlyn (Ronna's babe) and this happened:

I loved every single moment. 

I got a letter in the mail stating that I would have free XM (trial run)...

Not sure how long this will last but I'm already hooked! I've been jammin' out to some great 90s songs.

I signed my contract this week for my new job! Yeaaaaaaaa.

I finished up my interim library job on Friday. I will miss all the teacher friends I've made over the past two months but I'm excited to make new ones at my new school. Knowing a summer vacation was right around the corner, it was easy (and felt good) to shut the place down. I loved being there on the last day of school. The kids were so excited, awards were given and EVERYONE was in a good mood! Makes me wanna sing...schoooooools out for summa! 

Friday night we met some friends for music in the park. If you know me well, then you know summertime is my favorite time of year. So to start the summer break with live reggae, good friends and popcorn....well, I was one happy gal. I'm soaking in this mountain summer to the max. I will certainly miss our small group gang when we move!

Our anniversary is right around the corner (Monday)! I seriously can't believe a year has already passed. More to come after we actually celebrate, but here is a preview of where we are going...

We are mixing Todd's love for camping/adventure and my love of the beach. Plus we will add one night in a hotel in Savannah. I'm SO excited to celebrate one year of life together. I'm also a super nerd and love packing for such a big roadtrip. Bring it on! Prayers for safety (and that the bugs won't eat me alive or raccoons).

Have a fun and safe Memorial Day! We will check back in the blog world next week! Todd also plans to finally make an "appearance" back on the blog this summer and he has a great opening story to tell you but I won't steal his thunder.

-S

{Fork in the Road}

Grad post part B w/ pics coming soon. Truth is, I didn't take many pics but my mom did so I'll get those soon :)

We did some celebrating last night. Just the two of us. We celebrated our recent graduation accomplishments and our future. As you all know, we are at a fork in the road with where to go next. 

Without going into a million details of God's handywork, we are finally at a place where we have at least stepped unto a certain path. Several months ago I interviewed for a school media specialist job. I loved the school and was trying really hard not to get my hopes up. Well, I got the job and of course I was estactic. I would have shared earlier but because I got the job so early, I had to wait to confirm graduation and take/pass my Praxis (certification) in school library. I'm happy to say that I graduated and passed my test so I will offically be a library media specialist at a South Carolina elementary school that is very close to Charlotte beginning in August. I'm SO excited that I have all summer to brainstorm teaching ideas and make lesson plans! 

We are also excited about the opportunity to live closer to our families. Todd is doing some serious job hunting and we have complete peace. We will certainly miss our mountain community, fresh air and friends (many whom are from our awesome church). This place has been so good to us and will forever hold a special place in my heart. We plan, unless Todd gets a job earlier in Charlotte, to continue living in the mountains this summer and soak up our life here to the fullest. By August we will be moving AND bringing our puppy home. Crazy stuff. We will be sure to keep you all posted during this transition. 

Now, excuse me while I go read info on SC since I'll be a teacher there... ;)

Have a great Saturday!

-S

  

{Shout out: Moms}

Before I post part B of graduation, I wanted to say Happy Mother's Day to all you moms! I admire moms so much. Lately I've been watching the transition my sister has made into motherhood. Sometimes it looks really fun. Sometimes it looks really hard. But at all times, my sister never misses a beat. I never hear her complain of her baby girl being an inconvenience.

As I reflect on my childhood with my own mother, we had some great times and some typical hard times. But never, ever, did I ever feel like I was in mom's way or that she wished she never had me. That is an incredible feeling. I'm not sure everyone can say the same in this world so I realize that I have a special gift. My mom is truly one of my best friends. I can call her anytime and often I'm the one doing the complaining but she just listens. She fights for me. Not physically, but she has taught me to stand up for what is right. Basically, "she's got my back!"

I have this printed out and framed. It is so true!

This past year I also gained another mother, Todd's mom. I prayed for a long time that whoever I marry would have a mother that would accept me for who I am and that we would get along. I'm very thankful for Carol and the relationship I have with her. I've been able to open up to her and have some great discussions that I would have with my own mother. She has great qualities about her that I admire. Often Todd even laughs and says, "I married my mother!" Honestly, I take that as a compliment. The number one thing we have common is our love for Todd. I have mad respect for her for raising him (& Matt) as a single mom. She did a great job. She also does a great job of letting me be his wife and letting her be his mom, a mom that doesn't "baby" him anymore. Plus, she always likes my outfits even if Todd doesn't ;) 

Thank you Moms! I love you both SO much! It was great to hang out with you each this weekend. Thanks for all you do!

-S

{Graduation: Part A}

Warning: there are no pictures in this post :/ 

Remember how I said my sinuses were messing with me? Well, they flat out knocked me down! By Wednesday I was so congested and as if that wasn't bad enough, I was nauseous. I had to leave work early both on Wednesday and Thursday. The best way to describe the feeling was like a zombie. I didn't care about anything. I went to the doctor Thursday and it was determined I had a sinus infection and that the drainage was probably causing me to be so nauseous. Just imagine being in a car going over rolling hills non-stop. Even sleeping didn't help. All that to say, I didn't go to work on Friday and did everything I could to try to get well. Friday was also the day of my graduation from graduate school. Bad timing!

The ceremony was to be at 6 (I had to be there at 5:15) and by 2 that day, just as all my family was arriving, I began to accept the fact that I was just too sick to go. I was so worried that I was going to let everyone down since they had all taken off work and drove up to the mountains. Of course my family is awesome and reassured me they would not be disappointed. Besides, we were celebrating Todd too and he was healthy! :)

I'm stubborn though, and took more nausea medicine AND went to my ceremony. I had all the exit doors mapped out just in case I needed to run out. Honestly, in hindsight, I probably shouldn't have gone. It was hard but at the same time, it is a moment I had waited on for so long. The good news is that I made it through the ceremony (yay, I'm a Master!) but the bad news is that by the end I had a raging headache (I hadn't had solid food in two days & I wasn't allowed to keep water with me by my side during the ceremony). Bad combo.

We (all my family plus Todd's parents) went back to the cabin my parents had rented to hang out but I wasn't much fun. At all.

The next day was Todd's graduation. I woke up feeling slightly better. Less nausea. (Oh, and if you are reading this thinking, "girl, are you pregnant?" the answer is no! Everyone has asked that.) So, I went to Todd's graduation and it was so GREAT to see him walk across that stage. It has been a long journey as most of you know and I think everyone that knows Todd's story can all say that we are all proud of him.

That afternoon we celebrated graduations and mothers day with a cookout (me, still not feeling super). It was fun to hang out with family, all in one room. I literally sat in the same seat for hours, completely still. I prayed. A lot. A miracle happened around 4 pm. Suddenly I began to feel better. No more nausea. Thank the Lord! By 7 I was HUNGRY!

The entire fam placed take out orders from Outback and here is the victory: I ate a steak, baked potato and green beans...no nausea! I finally felt like myself again. I can't express how joyous that feeling is after days of sickness and thinking "will I ever feel well again?!"

I know my sickness is so "minimal" compared to what others go through but sometimes we get knocked down like that and learn so much from it. Being healthy is something I hope to never take for granted. My prayer today is for all of those that are sick, whether short-term or long-term. I wish nobody ever had to suffer from being sick in any form.

Sorry this post was so long. I'm an over-sharer but it is truly part of my graduation story. Part B will be much happier, with lots of pictures!

-S

{A Love Story}

Do you ever have those days where you just feel lazy? You come home from work, eat two cookies and then sulk in the "why did I eat those!" while you lay on the couch and just watch TV. Yup, that was my afternoon. I just had no motivation to do anything productive. I did fold a few towels, go me. My sweet husband came home, we ate dinner and briefly chit chatted about our day. Typical.

Then I saw this on facebook:





Wow. What a beautiful portrait of love. This story left me in tears. I'm not sure what kind of tears they were but I was moved. She is an incredible woman. So you better believe this got me up out of my laziness. I immediately first hugged and kissed my husband a million times. This video just reminded me of how precious life is and despite whatever comes our way, live life to fullest...don't waste a second. Don't waste a kiss. A smile. A hug. A moment.

Not sure who made this video or why but thank you. May we all love like these two.

-Sara

{Life}

Howdy friends! Where did last week go?! I'm slacking but let me tell you why.

We had the Book Fair all last week and it was HARD work. Everyday I would stay late to let customers shop and stay even later counting money. The fair was a huge success but can't say I'm sad to see it go.

This weekend I went home for some family events and ended up getting two flat tires (nails in each!) and needed new brakes. Life sure does throw curveballs sometimes. Great reminders that we are not in control. Thankfully we got Greyonda (that's Todd's Honda, we each have the same car but in different color) four new tires and brakes. Although it was a bummer financially we are very thankful that we are fortunate enough to drive nice cars and be able to service them to keep us safe.

Once I got the car fixed I headed back up the mountain to make it to our small groups "Cinco de Mayo" party. We had a blast. This is my husband beating the pinata up:

That same day I got the sinus cold bug thing. Yuck. It has wiped me out. I literally fell asleep in church and slept all day Sunday (including the night). I did go to work today but felt like a complete zombie. Hopefully I can kick this cold by Friday because I graduate.

Let me say that again...

I GRADUATE WITH MY MASTERS DEGREE ON FRIDAY! 

Todd graduates Saturday morning so our families are coming up this weekend to celebrate. Can't wait! I'll try to be better about blogging...so much goodness is going on. I must keep up!!!

-Sara