Um, it's basically February?

So... hello February. And you! I cannot believe that January has basically come and gone. Where is time going and why is it going so fast? Not that I'm complaining.. I have lots to look forward to (and God is answering my prayers by having time speed by so fast) but still. So much stuff has happened since my last blog post. Oh, and side note... I was very cruel and left out a happy birthday blog post for Amy, whose birthday is the day after Chuck's birthday. So, without further ado..

HAPPY belated BIRTHDAY AMY!!!!!! You're 25th birthday is going to be full of so much excitement, change, and eventful times! You will gain both a brother-in-law and a husband in a very short period of time! You will venture out of the USA on a honeymoon, and will gain a forever, not-going-away male roommate (along with his dog). ENJOY your 25th year of life!!

Now, as I just stated, Amy has gone through some big changes here recently... but we'll get to that in a minute ;)

At the beginning of January, a whole crew of us took a trip to the most magical place on Earth.. Disney World! Duh. Where else? And, yes, it was MAGICAL!! All ten of us enjoyed reverting back to children for a few days and I couldn't have had a better time with better people. It's fun doing trips with friends. And I'm sad it's over. But, we have full intentions of returning again next year!

Here we are about to leave the Birmingham airport.

First day into the parks! Magic Kingdom :) Chuck and Zach bought those hats with the intention of wearing them only during the race, but luckily they wore them the entire first day in the park, too. It was probably one of my favorite parts of the trip. I LOVED seeing them in those goofy hats... couldn't help but make you smile.

Me and Chuck in front of our future home Cinderella's castle. I'm sad the lighting is weird, but it's still one of my favs.

This is GREG PROPOSING! And Amy in total shock/realizing that he's for real/saying YES! I'm getting a brother-in-law!! It was precious. He wrote her a note of "10 Reasons You Should Say Yes" (which is an inside thing between them referencing the first text message he ever sent her) and then got down on one knee in front of the castle and proposed. What a fairytale proposal for a perfect couple. I love them both to death and couldn't be gaining a better addition to our family.

Riding the teacups! This is some legit happiness right here :)

The morning of the marathon was eeeeeaaaarly and COLD. This is before the race started at about 4am... we woke up at 2:45am. Now, I have to take a moment to let all of you know how incredibly proud I am of Chuck (and Zach!) but mainly Chuck for special reasons...

Chuck tore his IT band several months ago. He had to go through physical therapy routinely to help and fix it, which resulted in about a month of training to run 26.2 miles. But, because he is seriously the most motivated person I've ever met, he was determined to run the race regardless of his iffy knee and lack of training. In addition, he tore his IT band again only a week before the race, but, like before, was determined to run. So, the morning of the race, we ventured out with good hopes and many prayers in mind, and he and Zach started the race. I saw the two of them at mile 4 and Chuck was limping. I knew right then that he wasn't doing well. I didn't see him again until mile 10.5, where he was hurting so badly he couldn't bend his knee at all and was dragging his leg behind him, walking the race because that's all he could do. And he kept going... all the way until the halfway point at mile 13 where he decided that he wouldn't be able to finish by limping in the alloted amount of time, and he stopped. He felt more pain in those 13.1 miles than I've ever felt I'm sure, and he was going to go the remainder of the way if there hadn't been a time limit. He is such an inspiration and I'm so proud of him. He shows what true determination and grit it all about, and he has more strength both physically and mentally than anyone I know. And I am so, so proud of him even if he couldn't cross the finish line.

I'm also proud of Zach for being able to stick it out and finish! He did awesome and I know that he wishes Chuck had been able to cross that finish line with him.

At Hollywood Studios.

Disney World is seriously amazing and I'm so glad I got to experience it with Chuck and everyone else. Can't wait to go back! The rest of us have high hopes to run the half marathon next January, and I really hope we all do it. How fun would it be to run it all together!

So, since then I've been working working working and getting my life/wedding plans organized. Chuck and I have signed a lease for an ADORABLE town home that I will move into May 1st and we couldn't be more excited!! It's adorable and I can't wait to live with him and become a family. The concept of living with him all the time, cooking meals together, and just getting to hang out all the time without one of us having to leave at the end of the night sounds heavenly, and I'm OH SO EXCITED about it!

We are also narrowing down our honeymoon options and may have selected our final destination, but I'm not telling quite yet. It's not finalized, so no info for now, but I CAN tell you it will be very warm.. with beautiful water.. and will include lots of time in bathing suits with drinks in hand :)

I suppose that's all for now.

Love you all and have a fabulous Monday!

Happy Birthday CHUCK!!

HAPPY 23rd BIRTHDAY CHUCK!!!!!!!

Today, obviously, is Chuck's birthday! What a fun celebration. Birthdays are so exciting. It's a celebration of another successful year lived, full of exciting memories and times well spent. I hope Chuck has enjoyed his time as a 22 year old because 23 will be busy (and fun!) and memorable.

So, here's to being another year older, another year wiser, and another year studlier :) No one does it better than you.

LOVE YOU!

love and compassion.

I'm not real sure right now why I am blogging at this moment. It's 8:20am, I worked last night and I have to be back at work tonight, and I'm so tired. But I just have this itch to write about something very simple.

Actually, two very simple things.

Love and compassion.

See, I am an emotional person. I used to cry a lot less than I do now. It used to be the normal stuff that all kids cry about. Then it turned into crying whenever I was confronted by anybody or anytime I got into an argument with someone over anything at all. Now, take all those situations and add into the mix a sweet song or a touching story, and that's where I am now. A frequently seen ball of emotion and tears. It's kinda weird, too, because it will just hit and then there I am, watery eyes and all, and I don't even know where it came from.

I've decided I'm very loyal to the people who mean the most to me, and I get attached very easily. I'm also rather cheesy, so if a song or a commercial or a sweet story reminds me of something personal or is supposed to make you cry, it will most definitely make me cry. My family, Chuck, and my best friends mean more to me than I probably lead on most of the time. I'm very protective and, unfortunately, have not mastered the art of forgiveness. If you hurt me or someone I love, I remember it. I feel like it's not because I'm a mean person, but rather I care so very deeply for the people I love the most.

My mom and my sisters are so important to me. I'm very protective in a subdued kind of way. I don't state my feelings or thoughts outright, necessarily, but I remember if someone treated my family the wrong way.

Chuck is my best friend and my heart aches for him whenever he is upset or not happy. He has these habits that tend to irritate the stew out of me, like the fact that he loses things quite often. But the catch is that it frustrates him just as much. And even in the most simple of circumstances, if he's upset, I can't be angry with him. Instead, I just have this overwhelming compassion to help him despite my own frustration. This morning, at 4am, I received a text from Chuck at work asking if I could talk. I knew something was wrong because 1. that's abnormal and 2. I knew that yesterday he had knee issues while trying to get in one last training session before the marathon. He just needed to talk about everything.. his frustration with his knee, the hovering fear that he may not be able to finish the race, his frustration that God would put him in the situation to love a sport without the ability to perform it without difficulty due to injuries.. just everything. And I sat on the other end of the phone just aching. I would do anything to make him happy. I'd perform knee surgery myself if I knew what I was doing and how to fix it. But prayer for an injury free body is all I know how to do.. which is what I will do from now until he stops running (which, hopefully, will be years and years and years down the road).

My best friends are another group of people that mean the world to me. I've never been the girl with 50 friends.. I have a small handful of close friends, and that's the way I like it. And I'm possessive about my friends. I protect them, care about them way too much, and expect them to do the same. And even with all this in mind, I'm not very good at staying in touch with those friends far away. But it doesn't mean I care any less, because I most definitely do care. Like I said, my friends are my comfort and the people I go to when I need advice.. and love.

So, love and compassion. I have a very weak heart... most people have weak stomachs. I have a weak heart. I feel emotion more than most people. I have compassion during tough times and I love the people closest to me more than they probably will ever understand. But I hope those people to whom this applies do understand. What good is love and compassion if the counterpart doesn't know they are loved?

I'm going to work on this. Showing love to those who mean the world to me more than I do right now.

So, here's to you if you are reading, because you are probably one of the few and you probably mean more to me than you'll ever really know.

Love you all.

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!

I hope everyone is having a fabulous beginning to the new year. It's 2011, ya'll! That's unbelievable. Remember Y2K? And then 2001? And then I graduated high school in 2006. And now it's 2011. Where in the world is the time going? It's insane. But I am overjoyed for 2011 to be here. It's going to be a year of some exciting adventures...

1. Chuck and I will get married this year! No more "July 16th of next year".. it's this year, folks!

2. Many other friends will get hitched this year, too. This is the year of weddings :)

3. Emily will graduate high school this year. My not so little sister will be a college student come August. She's supposed to be 6. Not 18 and graduated.

4. I will hit my one year mark of being a real nurse this year.

5. One of my best and favorite friends since high school, Robbie, will depart on his Navy Seal pursuit. As much as it saddens me to say goodbye and that he won't be able to be in our wedding, I am excited for him.

There are so many more that I didn't mention that have slipped my mind as of now. But, this year has a lot in store. 2010 was a wonderful year, and I'm so excited for 2011 to one-up 2010. It will be hard, but I have no doubt that it will happen. Man, this time next year I'll put 2010 and 2011 together and that's one heck of a two year span. How exciting!

Of course, New Year's resolutions are a must. As always, most resolutions fall by the wayside, but having good intentions never hurt anyone. So, here are some resolutions that I will try to keep throughout the year.

1. Love more, love deeply, and love in all circumstances. You know the verse. It's so easy to take a situation and not show love when it's not easy. And it's also so easy to forget the struggles and hardships others may be experiencing who need love.

2. Exercise more. So cliche, but so needed. More specifically, run a half marathon by 2012.

3. Use my camera more and get into photography seriously like I've been desiring to do for the past several months.

4. Stay calm, cool, and collected as the wedding planning comes together and the time draws closer.

5. Be a loving, forgiving, patient, nurturing, supportive, and submissive wife come July :)

6. Spend more time with my family. And appreciate their presence and time.

7. Pray more.

8. Adjust to night shift successfully. Not necessarily something I can control, but I can try. If only willpower was everything...

9. Have patience. I am slacking in this area lately, which is not okay. Patience is a virtue, and I need some virtues in my life.

10. Keep these resolutions to the best of my ability.

Have a blessed, safe, and HAPPY NEW YEAR! Love you all! :)