Christmas

I'm so excited for Christmas this year as we are going back to Indiana for two weeks to visit with family and friends.  This will be the first time we've been back for the holidays since 2007, and the first time we've both been back there together since May of 2009.  Time definitely goes by way too fast!!  

It's amazing to me how much my view of Christmas has changed since I was a kid. I would long for the morning to run down the stairs and see what the jolly man in red had brought me.  I would also work extremely hard on my homemade gifts that I couldn't wait to pass out.  The look on my parents faces when I would hand it to them made all the hard work work worth it. (I now realize they were probably just trying not to laugh at how ridiculous whatever I made was, but that's not the point).

Now that I'm a little older Christmas is different. There's so much running around to find the perfect gift for everyone and so much more responsibility.  I kind of wish it would go back to how simple it was with homemade gifts and just spending time together as a family. 

Don't get me wrong - I love buying the "perfect" present that you know so and so will love.  I just wish Christmas wasn't all about the presents.  When you're with your family and the gifts are opened and you're just sitting there hanging out and talking or playing games - those are the moments I look forward to the most.

Merry Christmas! 

Friendship

"If you have two friends in your lifetime, you're lucky. If you have one good friend, you're more than lucky."

I've heard that quote so many times in my life, but I've never really stopped to think about what it really meant.  It was more of a passing thought of "well, I guess I'm lucky then" and that was it. 

Tonight I got to catch up with my best friend, Alexis.  It's amazing that no matter what happens in our lives we can pick up right where we left off and there are no hard feelings if we haven't spoken in a quite a while.  We both realize that life happens and we don't hold it against the other if our "phone dates" don't happen for some reason.  But, when we do talk and catch up, an hour passes like minutes. 

After I got off the phone I started making a list of all of the other great people in my life. There are some people I can go to for anything without fear of judgment.  There are those I can go to if I want a specific piece of advice.  Then, there are those that were close to me and now we've drifted apart.  Either way, to have those people in my life has helped shape who I am today. 

So, I would have to say that I am lucky.  When I feel like life is starting to fall apart or something comes up, I know without a doubt I've got people that I can go to.  And, to me, that's what life is all about. 

So lucky

Just wanted to post an updated picture of me and the hubby.  I'm so lucky I'm in love with my best friend. 

Trying to have a new perspective

Do you ever have weeks where it seems that everything has gone wrong?  Well, this week was no exception.  I'm sure we've all had those type of weeks, so there's no point in me explaining every detail on why mine wasn't the greatest.  All I do know is that I can decide to dwell on the bad or decide to move on and hope for the best for this week.

It's taken me a long time to come to the conclusion that I'm the only one who can choose to be happy or sad or stressed or angry.  Yes, my initial reaction to car repair is stress and more stress, but in the end, I know the Lord will help us through this problem just like He promised he would.  I am a firm believer that everything happens for a reason, so we will just deal with this problem and move on. 

So, to sum it all up, I choose to be happy.  I choose to be grateful for the wonderful man that I married.  I choose to just be me.  

I'm not promising that if you talk to me I won't be stressed, upset, angry or sad.  I'm simply stating that I will do my best from here on out to try and be happy. 

It's tough to grow up...

It's tough to grow up and move away from the family and friends you've known all of your life.  It's tough to "start over" and get to the point that you feel like you're where you belong.

Tom and I moved to Ventura, CA over five years ago, and I'm just now to the point that I feel like I'm where I'm supposed to be.

Yes, I do miss my family and friends.  I miss the family birthday parties, the friends having babies, and all of the little things that we all get to partake in every day.  But, that being said, I am married to my best friend, and I wouldn't want to be anywhere without him.

We've been married for over eight years now and I love him more than I did yesterday.  It's amazing to me that he still loves me after all this time.  I guess the same goes for him, he doesn't understand my love for him.  Maybe that's what makes us work so well together.

Right now we're (not always) patiently waiting for him to find a full time job so we can get on with the next steps of our lives.  We both want babies, but right now the timing is off.  My deepest fear is that we'll wait too long and then there will be problems.  I'm just hoping and praying that the Lords plan is the same as ours and everything will work out the way it's supposed to.

I hope I can keep this blog going for quite a while so our family and friends can stay updated with our (sometimes boring) lives. :)