Gettin' my craft on!

     In college I lived with 3 other girls, for a total of 4 of us. Half of us were crafty and creative. I was not in that half! haha. I have always been like "man I wish I could think of making that! Man, how does she know even know how to do that!?". So when I started this blog I looked around at all the blogs out there and realized that tons of them are so cute and creative AND they have step by step tutorials! Can you say AWESOME?! So I picked out a few that I liked and went out bought the materials!
     Here are my latest creations:

This was the very first I put together!

It was actually SUPER simple... and I mean simple!

I really wanted some kind of dinner menu white board because I have started to do the whole meal planning thing before grocery shopping & it has totally worked! But I wanted the menu to be cute so I just googled it and this great idea popped up! It is a 12x12 picture frame with a 12x12 scrap book paper under the glass. Stick on some letters on top of the glass and there you go! I never even thought about using glass as a "dry erase" board, but it works great!! And you can change out the paper when you get bored, see!

Next I made a leash hanger for our sweet little pup! We had been hanging her leash on a hook on our key hanger, which is totally functional, but not quite so cute:

I found the tutorial here. It couldn't be easier, and I even used the drill myself! haha

The one on the website is cuter than mine, but I had the hardest time finding any dog themed paper, much less any as cute as hers! It also would look better if the wall wasn't white as well, but I'm still working on Ryan on that subject! ;)

The next adventure was flowers, flowers, flowers! Lots of flowers!

I got the idea for all these flowers from one of my now favorite blogs!

 Our bedspread is Navy blue and gray/silver so I made these flowers with the plan to put then in 2 vases, one on each side of the headboard. You know, those vases that you can hang from the wall....  kind like these, only cheaper ;)

And some more flowers...

All of these were so much fun! My favorite is probably the gold one.

The green one looks much prettier on the blog, than mine turned out, but it's a work in progress! 

And the blue one...well...that was probably my worst try! It is supposed to look like this but I didn't have any pearls and mine just looked...blah. So I burned the edges of it to give it a little "body" haha. Overall I have had a lot of fun being "crafty this week & hope to continue when I find more blogs! ;)

I decided to use my gold flower to spice up a white tank top!

After all this flower making my wonderful hubby stopped and got a beautiful flower for me from a tree near our house! What a sweet surprise! :)

More June-ness

Some less major things happened in June too! Haha so that will make so a much lighter read!

As I said before, we got to go see Ashlyn Grace's dance recital (which she did awesome at!) and got to hang with the boys during the show! Here are some pics from the day

hmm.... I think we look good with 4 kids ;) 

goodbye kisses from baby Braxton

(who is not so "baby" any more!)

     This month I also finished one babysitting gig (the original from back in March) and just started a new one this Monday! At this job there are two little boys 2 1/2 and 14 months and they are just toooo cute! Their mom is really cool too and having a good relationship with the mom always makes for a good experience! The older boy has a speech delay and that is what I am going to school for so that's pretty cool too! 

     This past weekend Ryan & I went down to Apopka for our friends Brooke & Jacobs bachelorette & bachlor parties! To get to I-4 from Jax we have to take I-95 south to almost my parent's exit so my mom met us and took Chels for the day & night and we headed down for the parties! I'm not too sure how much I'm supposed to reveal, buuuut we had a ton of fun with them! All the girls got Brooke dressed up (as she SHOULD be at a bachelorette party!) before we went out for dinner! Here is the finished product: 

and these are the adorable favors her maid of honor made!

they all had mints, scented hand sanitizer, and yummy smelling candles in them! 

Thanks Kyra!

and thanks Jill & Jamie for the great party!!

     Last big news, I am starting my first graduate class next week! I registered this morning and the class starts on Monday! I am very excited to get back to learning (sounds crazy, huh?) but of course I am a bit nervous about starting a new journey! Plus, grad school is even harder! eeek! Prayers appreciated! :) love you all!

                                    

                                                                                                                     

Cancer

     June is practically over, but quite a bit has happened this month and if I tried to do just one post it would last forever. So here is the first of a few for the month of June...

     Ryan has a moley back. I don't have a lot of experience with moles because I don't have any, but  Ryan had one that I have been particularly concerned with for a while now. So we got him an appointment on the last day of May to get this mole situation checked by a real doctor instead of just my-nagging-self. The doctor agreed that the one I was worried about was concerning enough to biopsy and also decided that another one (that I hadn't even noticed) was somewhat abnormal, so they biopsied that one as well. He didn't seem too freaked about them though so I just left with the satisfaction that a doctor had seen them and IF they were bad then they were already out....

                                                          Fast forward about a week

     Ryan comes home on a Tuesday and he's been home for about an hour and we have just been chatting about how our days have been and yada yada yada and then he tells me, "So something we should be praying about, the doctor called me today...." and that was all he had to say for me to start freaking out. Everyone knows that the doctor never calls you back if everything is A-OK, right? I knew that. Ryan proceeds to tell me that they called him about his biopsies and that one mole is mildly abnormal so they need to keep watching it, but that the other one is Melanoma & needs to come out. Skin Cancer. 

                                                            Cancer. Cancer. Cancer. 

     I immediately start balling as images of me going to the funeral of the man of my dreams/ husband of 4 months start running through my head (y'all, I am not even exaggerating). Ryan of course is not at all concerned about the cancer part of it. He tells me "its only stage zero" (called melanoma in situ) but I tell him "it doesn't matter! It's cancer! and skin cancer can spread so quickly/easily". That doesn't convince him to worry. Actually, Ryan is really great at not worrying; Ryan is really great at being the opposite of all my bad qualities, one of those is being a BIG worry wort! It's just all those what-if's out there in life that get me. I honestly think, though, that one reason I worry is because I am a control freak. I like to plan the way things are going to go, and get frustrated when things don't go the right way or if plans change at the last minute. (Another great thing about Ryan, he just goes with the flow). He truly knows how to make lemonade when life throws lemons at him. I just become sour. (pun intended!) Our marriage is just another reminder of how big God is; he doesn't just haphazardly throw our lives together as if he just has to manage us. He LOVES us and is a meticulous mastermind at every detail in our lives, a major on being your spouse. I mean come on, if God just happened to throw me together with an anal worrier like myself, we'd die just from the stress of trying to plan out our lives! I just pray Ryan is rubbin' off on me! 

     So back to the cancer. On the phone they told Ryan that we need to come in the following Friday when their cancer surgeon flys in to get the remainder of the mole out (plus some, due to the margin of healthy cells they need to get to ensure the melanoma is all removed). They also tell him that this time, it could cost anywhere from $600-1500. WOW. We did NOT have that much money! Because Ryan's deductible has not been met yet we had to pay the full amount of whatever it would cost, which of course they would not be able to tell us that amount until the day of because it is dependent on how much they have to cut out. Now we are worried. Oh, let me rephrase. I am worried, Ryan is just wondering where we will get that kind of money. 

Keeping all that in mind, lets back up a few days. A good friend of ours has been strapped for money lately and this friend asked Ryan if we could spot them some money. So Ryan gives our friend the little bit of cash we had on us that night and then met up the following day and gave some more. Now we are not poor, but we are newlyweds and do try to make our money spread as best we can, but we do believe that the body of Christ is meant to take care of each other just as they did in the first church in Acts. So we gave our friend the money just thinking we'd just not eat out a few more times that we normally would have. Now fast forward to the weekend (at this point we know about melanoma & upcoming money needs), Ryan & I were going to Gainesville to watch the little girl that I used to babysit in her end of the year dance recital. I am close the the kids' mom so it was so great to see her recital but also to be able to spend time with the whole family while we were there! I had not however told the mom about the cancer/money issue just cause Ryan & I weren't talking about it with anyone yet. But she gave us gas money for coming to Gaiensville (such a blessing!) and wouldn't you know it....she gave us the EXACT same amount of money we gave to our friend just the weekend before! You'd think at that point I would get the picture: God provides!! nope.

So another tid-bit from back in May.... Ryan's brother Aaron has been up at Kentucky Christian University since January and he came to visit in May. He told us about the 30 hour famine he did up there recently and the things that he learned/ was convicted about in regards to fasting. How it shouldn't be an abnormal thing in the Christian walk & how it is all throughout the bible and Jesus did it so we should too. So a few weeks later, Ryan & I decided to begin fasting once a week. I am not trying to "toot our horns", but am setting the stage for God-awesomeness that happens when we obey, and hopefully to encourage you to try fasting too! 

So at this point is it week 5 or 6 in our journey of fasting one day a week & we have really been working to make sure we are not simply just not eating, but spending more time in the word & deepening our prayer time with God. And let me tell ya, we had been majorly crying out to God about WHERE we were going to get money for his surgery and asking/ relying on him to provide. So Monday is "fast day", and Tuesday morning a friend calls me while I'm at work and asks me to call her back when I can. But then she texts me and tells me that her and her husband would really like to loan Ryan & I the money for his surgery. She said God laid it on their hearts and they really wanted to help us. 

                                          Go ahead. Take a moment to gasp & stand in awe of Him.

                                                                             we sure did!

     I called her and thanked her profusely and then called Ryan and told him, to which he didn't really say much. Really... he just sat there in silence! Later that evening we talked and he said "you know normally I wouldn't want to borrow from someone, but this timing is just SO GOD! we have been praying for a week about this and especially yesterday while we were fasting. and this is totally God!" And MAN! It is! Once again, God provided the money when we had no idea where it would come from, and we got to be the recipients of the body of Christ caring for each other.

     Ryan got his surgery last Friday and wooo boy! They took a good chunk out of him! But they stitched him up and sent us home with some pain meds and sent his skin chunk of to pathology. (We will know for sure next week if they got all the cancer cells out, please be praying!) The total ended up being about $800, a little more than HALF the amount it could have been!! Thank you Jesus!! But God had one last kicker for us! A while back we switched our car financing from the car dealership to our bank and doing so saved us almost $700, but we hadn't received the check from the dealership yet and it had been a while. YESTERDAY Ryan checked the mail and guess what was in there? A check from VW for almost $700!! That almost covers what we need to pay back to our friends!! 

If you can take away ANYTHING from my extremely long blog, please let it be that GOD PROVIDES and don't worry about how YOU can take care of things, but just cry out to him!! Praise be to the Lord!! 

Here is Ryan's back after the surgery!

Some verses we continually looked to for peace & encouragement during this crazy month were:

Psalm 138:7-8

"Though I walk in the midst of trouble, you preserve my life; you stretch out your hand against the anger of my foes [insert: cancer], with your right hand you save me. The Lord will fulfill his purpose for me; your love, O Lord, endures forever- you do not abandon the works of your hands."

1 John 4:12, 18

"No one has ever seen God but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us"

"There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment...."

2 Chronicles 16:12-13

"In the 39th year of his reign King Asa developed a serious foot disease. Yet even with the severity of his disease, he did not seek the Lord's help but turned only to his physicians so he dies in the 41st year of his reign." (2 years later)

2 Chronicles 15:15

"All in Judah were happy about this covenant, for they had entered into it with all their heart. They earnestly sought after God, and they found him. And the LORD gave them rest from their enemies on every side."

May (Almost caught up!!)

May seemed like a busy month, but now that I am thinking of what to blog...I am drawing a blank! I do know that May 4th was the birthday of 2 special people...my (former) roomie Rachel & Ryan's brother Nathan! It was my job to pick up a card for the little bro and this is not the one I got, but I thought it was funny enough to take a picture (and I still think it is hilarious!) so here it is:

hahaha! Ryan later said he would have actually signed it!!

In May I also received a little tid bit in the mail...I guess it is a solidification of what is coming (next week actually!) 

That's Ryan disapproving thumb...

For whoever may not know.... I am getting my Master's degree through FSU's Distance Learning program. We are Gators. We bleed orange & blue. That being said, the fact that FSU offers my degree online is one of the biggest blessings and was a hurdle Ryan and I really had to figure out before getting married. Once he got the job in Ponte Vedra we knew we would live here in Jax, but my degree is not offered at UNF and we thought for a while my only option might be commuting back to Gaiensville EVERY day. That was NOT a solution. Praise God for somehow showing me Florida State's webpage!!

Another little surprise we got one day coming home, was this....

Really Chels?! REALLY!? We were going to be gone for longer that day than we normally are and I just felt bad keeping her in her cage that long...so my bright idea was "lets keep her in the office" (the room where her cage is). We've left her in there before while we were gone for a FEW hours, but I guess a whooole day was too long for her. Can you say "Seperation Anxiety"?? Super Hubby came home and cut the ruined carpet off with a razor and it doesn't look quite so bad. We have yet to even attempt to replace it but for now we have a little rug over it haha.

     A week or so later I took Chels on her first beach trip! She did great; we walked for a while and when we walked to towards the water she was fine with it until a wave (and I mean a tiny one...we were at the very edge of the water) came up on us & she started running backwards with her ears all perked up! Haha it was so cute! So we went back to our towels and chewed on a bone while I soaked up some Vitamin D!

     Last random thing in May.... I made a delicious dinner. Now I do that a lot (if I do say so my self) but this time I tried a new spinach mozzarella chicken breast & backed zucchini! Ryan has liked everything I have made so far, and thankfully I haven't burned anything yet! I was a little nervous making zucchini because a co-worker gave it to me when she brought in a bunch of produce from her garden, but I dared to do it! It was a success!

 

goodnight!

April (longest post yet!)

On April second..... Ryan & I became parents! Ok ok....not "real" parents... more like owners, but our sweet new pup sure feels like our baby (and it'd be a lie to say she is not babied)! While I was babysitting I was on a walk with the baby and realized....we are not having kids anytime soon (which is a decision I am good with!) but I am lonely when Ryan is at work soooo logically....we need to get a dog! Plus....ask my roommates, I wanted a dog all through college! So Friday afternoon while the baby was sleeping I was looking up dogs in the area that were up for adoption and found a few that I was interested in, but my heart was set on one: Isabelle. She was an 8 month old brindle boxer mix and just had the sweetest eyes! I didn't even talk to Ryan about it until the next morning and when I showed him the two that I liked, he said "Ok. well call and see if they are still available." WHOA! did not expect that! I called and both were available but one was farther away in Jax and the other, "Isabelle" was only 15 minutes away! So we went to see her and she was adorable....and wild! I was a little concerned and started getting cold feet right away! But Ryan reassured me that it was just cause she was excited to be out of her cage and getting attention. In fact when we put her in a room so we could fill out paper work I went in to see her and she was as calm as could be! We were so excited when we left with our little girl! We went to Petsmart right away to get her a crate & some toys and a new PINK collar! Here are some of the first pictures I took of her:

She is suuuuch...

a cuddler!!

and I love it! <3

She is a great passenger too!

She certainly has added a new dimension to our new family and has already brought out the interesting differences in the two of us when it comes to "child rearing". OH! We named her Chelsea :)

     April was also EASTER! This was our first holiday together and our first experience splitting family time. Fortunately, we were able to do dinner Saturday night & church Sunday morning with Ryan's family and then went down to spend Easter day with my family! 

     On Saturday (day before Easter)  Ryan and I had some "together down time" which was a nice change! We spent the day relaxing at the beach and later that evening we dyed Easter Eggs! It was so fun to do with my new hubby! Dying eggs is something my family always does but apparently Ryan hasn't done it since he was little!

and of course Chelsea was at our feet the whole time!

And finally for April...

THE ROOMIES REUNITE!

For any of you who don't know, my college roommates are my best friends and the 4 of us have been really close since moving in together way back at the beginning of our sophomore year. Thankfully, I have been able to see them once a month since I left, but it always seems like forever! Funny thing about the 4 of us, we are all the same age but all graduate in different semesters. This spring Valerie graduated (& is going to Duke law school in August!!) Each time one of us graduates we all take group pics and it is so much fun! Here are my 2 faves from this semesters photo shoot! ;)

Congrats Val!!

Also- I can't go to Gainesville and not visit my second family!(they like to play in the car haha)

to-da-lou!

Marching on

March was fairly uneventful as far as events go, but March 12th marked our first full month as a married couple :) I did, however, finally get a job! or two! or three! I was getting very stir crazy not having a job while living here in Jax since January so I was very excited!

My brothers in law both play/ed football in high school & one of them had a friend whose mom is a Speech Language Pathologist! (can you say PTL for family networking!?) She & a friend own a pediatric therapy center and were looking for a SLP assistant! I started working there three days a week the first week of March. I have really enjoyed working with the kids and learning so much about different therapy techniques! THEN I got a babysitting job. Originally this lady emailed me the day of our wedding and she asked me if I was available to babysit (she found me on a babysitting website). I wasn't available for the 3 days/wk she needed me (I only could do 2 days) so it fell through. But then in March she called back and said if I could still do 2 full days then she could use me! Thank you Jesus! Finally...the third job. Our friend Nicole has two sons, and one of them has a speech therapist named Patricia. Nicole got Patricia and I in contact and she said she would love to hire me with her practice to work for the Early Steps program. Early Steps is an early intervention program in Jacksonville & Gainesville for kids ages 0-3 years old that offers occupational, physical, & speech therapy for free for the kids who qualify! I began the paperwork towards the end of March to become what is called an "Infant Toddler Developmental Specialist". I would be sent out to the kids who qualify in more than one category (like speech & motor delay) and I would work with the child "all around" instead of in one specific area. I began training for the job the first week of April & really enjoyed it.
Unfortunately, in the last few weeks (end of May) the program changed its rules for qualifying to work as an ITDS so my training no longer qualified me :( It's ok though....God has been providing us for us in amazing ways lately....but that is for a later blog post when I've caught up on the past 4 months! :)
I apologize this post was not quite as interesting & without any pictures! But people always asked me what I was doing with all my time considering Ryan works a big kid job 9-5, so there you have it! :)

signing out!

When it all began [February]

So I am going to attempt to back up 4 1/2 months and share everything that has happened! Starting with...obviously....February! The wedding!!

A little background: Ryan and I went on our first date on February 12th, 2010. Ryan picked me up (with flowers in hand) and we went to dinner at BJ's and then later went to dessert at Gelato Co....all while having great conversation for hours! After he dropped me off my roommates asked if there would be a second date to which I replied "weeellll...if he asks me there will be!" : )
So when we decided that we were going to get married we threw different dates around and originally talked about getting married in April (when we officially became a "couple"). But then decided....why wait?? And moved it up to February! Since our first date was on a Friday, we got lucky that this year it was a Saturday! PERFECT!

Our wedding was at the World Golf Hall of Fame in St. Augustine. It was at 1pm AND it was outside. Being in February the weather had been rather yucky for weeks and I was starting to get concerned....BUT it ended up being PERFECT weather! The sky was beautiful and the temperature was just right!

It was the best ceremony I have ever seen...although I could be some what biased ;) The reception was just a little walk around the circle in the ballroom at the Renaissance Resort. Here are a few pictures to highlight the day, and at a later date I will post a link to the whole album!

We stayed at the Renaissance that night and the next morning headed off to Las Vegas!! Here is my favorite picture from the balcony of our suite!

The sunset was BEAUTIFUL and we could see the sky line all around cause we were on the top floor. Since it would take ages to blog about the whole honeymoon (& since Ryan already did)...here is the link to Ryan's blog where you can read allll about our amazing honeymoon if you so wish! :)

Ryan's Honeymoon Blog

ta ta for now! <3