The End

This week has been crazy busy. I was up until six in the morning yesterday trying to get caught but that did not work so well. I have really been trying to get caught up but it has been really hard. I am hoping all my grades end up turning out okay. This semester has been the hardest semester ever. It was had enough just transferring this semester but on top of that I was stupid for taking eighteen credit hours. On top of that four our of my six classes were online and I learned that online classes are just not for me. It is so much easier to put it off until the very last minute. I will never do that again. I have just been praying that this week will just hurry u and get over. Now I will just keep telling myself to make it through. Once I am done with school it will help relieve my stress and I will be able to focus more just school and focus on all the small things in the wedding. We really need to hurry and finish flipping our house before we move in. I am starting to get scared that it will not be done on time. My fiance and I have really been trying to put as much work as possible and jet everything done okay. I have full faith that everything will work out. My dad has put a lot of hard work into that house and I could not ask for a more giving father than him. He has done almost all the work on his own along with help for other family members of all. It is hard cause here I am trying to write this blog and I am starting to fall asleep so for some reason if any thing does not make sense. I would like to say even though at times it was hard to write blogs I did enjoy it especially in such an exciting time in my life. I liked it because it allowed me to just say what I was feeling and express myself in my own way. Not only has doing this blog help me with this class but also in my education class when learning about blogs. I would have never thought the two would go together but they do. Well I enjoyed reading everyones blogs, great work, keep expressing yourself. I hope you have a wonderful summer, I know I will. And you never know I might just keep blogging now that I am really starting to like it. Plus I might like it more once it is no long going to be for a grade. Is that not how it always seems to work out. Well I wish you the best, stay safe! 

Dad

Ever since I was a little girl I remember going to the baseball fields with my mom and sister to watch my dad play one the church softball team. Even though I am twenty that still has not changed. My dad is still out there on that field giving it his all, and supporting his number since high school, twenty-one. I am going to brag on my dad. Even though he is forty-seven my dad is a pretty good ball player. My dad plays on our church league with guys ranging from the age of nineteen to fifty. The thing I love the most is that our best player is our oldest. He has hit more home runs then anyone else. The position that my dad plays is pitcher. The thing that some people is different is that my dad pitches right handed and bats left handed. Not only is it fun watching the game but it is also fun just hanging out with all our friends from our church. Our church friends our more like our family. We always have a great time with them and share a lot of laughs. Not only our family members of the players there but also their pets, it is literally a family affair. I am not amazed that my dad is still playing softball. He has always been into sport his whole life and even played multiple sports in high school. Not only that but my dad just loves getting out and having fun. My dad would have to be the person I look up to the most and look for approval of on things. My dad is an amazing Godly man. He is really easy going unless you make him really mad, then it is best to stay out of his way. I learned that one watching my sister grow up before me. I have to thank her for saving me from getting in trouble by letting me lean from her mistakes. She was not a horrible child she was just a teenager at the time. Talking about all this has brought back so many memories. It is crazy how little things like that can trigger something that makes you recall hundreds of memories at one time. Like I remember the numers times I have gone fishing with my dad. I went from having him put my worm on the hook, to now doing that myself. I do however to let him still take the fish off the hook. I remember one time when I tried to take the fish of the hook and I end up pulling the fishes eye out, so now I leave it all up to him. If you have not gathered by now I am a huge daddy’s girl, unless you ask my mom and she will say I am a mommy’s girl. But if you ask my sister she will just say I am spoiled by everyone really bad even her. I love my family very much! 

Life is Good

I am really starting to get excited about the wedding. I get married in twenty four days! We are just finishing all the last minute details. Tuesday my fiance and I had our cake tasting. It was something that I had really been looking forward too. I am really in to cakes. I love watching cake shows. My dad even gets annoyed by how many shows I watch. I think cakes our like an art, I know it might sound funny but it is true. The people that make those cakes put so much time and energy into those cakes. All of that is what made me excited about going. The cake was so good. We chose for our main wedding cake to be white cake with strawberry filling, it tasted amazing! Both of us knew once we tried it that it was what we wanted. We also decided to get some sheet cakes of just your basic wedding cake and chocolate cake for those who do not like strawberry. My fiance also decided what he wanted as his grooms cake. He decided he wanted a Red Bull can. He also decided that he wanted the Red Bull cake to be lemon cake with lime filling. It was so cute he was really excited about it all. I love it when he gets excited about things like that. On top of the cake testing we found out that our engagement pictures are ready to be seen. I am so excited to see them. Josh Carter is a great local photographer, I love all his work. So some time next week we will be going to look at them! On top of that I tried my dress on for the last time before the wedding. I was scared it was not going to fit but it fits great. Everything is just coming together. That also includes the flowers. We are getting our flowers the same place that we are getting our cake. I decided to just go with roses. My wedding colors are red, white, and black. We are going to have red roses for everyone except the groomsmen and all the bridesmaids, they will have white. Wow. It is really starting to hit me. It is crazy to think of where my life was just a year ago and where it is now. I would have never thought I would have met the love of my life and be marrying him. God has truly blessed my life. Not only did he give me an amazing future husband but also amazing soon to be in-laws. My in-laws love so much already and I do them as well. Not to mention that me and his two younger sisters get a long great as well. I am so grateful for everything and one I have in my life. I am truly excited to start this new chapter with an amazing man you loves me with his whole heart. Life is good. 

Six Lovely Ladies

There are six lovely ladies that mean the world to me. Those six lovely ladies would be my bridesmaids. My matron of honor is Amy. Amy is the wife of my youth pastor, which is how I got to know her at first. Through high school and part of college was my mentor. I talked with her about everything. She helped me through so much and was always there for me. When it came to choosing my matron of honor it was a no brainer for me. Amy is someone I look up to not only in relationship with God but also in her marriage. Amy is not only a great mentor but a great friend. Amy and I have had a lot of amazing times together, from coffee dates to canoeing. After that is my sister, Stacey. Stacey is six and half years older than me. With such a big age difference there is no doubt that we have had our ups and downs, but she will always be my sister. When we either one of have really needed the other one we have always been there for each other. Then there is Noelle, who has been my best friend since the eighth grade. Noelle has truly been the best friend I could ever ask for.  What to say about Noelle… there is so much I could say. Noelle is probably the only person who fully understands me. She is the type of friend that you can do absolutely nothing with and still have an amazing time. I know we will be best friends for the rest of our lives. Next is Ali. The only word to describe Ali is independent. I can always count on Ali. Let’s just say never get on her bad side or do something to hurt any of her friends. I met Ali my senior year of high school in walking class. We would walk and talk about everything under the sun. During that time Ali became pregnant with amazing little Bella. Once Ali had Bella she asked me to be her god mother. Bella is also going to be a flower girl at my wedding a long with Amy’s daughter, Ally.  Then there is Shelby. I met Shelby my freshmen year of college. She lived on the same hall as me and was two doors down. Shelby basically lived in my room. Shelby and I would stay up late talking about boys. Shelby is one of the caring people I know, she would do anything for anyone. Last but not least is Jessica. Jessica was my roommate my freshman year of college. Jess and I just have this bond. I could have not asked for a better roommate and friend. Jess is also my crazy KU fan. She is the biggest KU fan ever; I don’t care what anyone says. Jess and I always take random trips together. I would say what we enjoying more than anything is putting of doing homework by watching One Tree Hill. I could have not asked for better bridesmaids. They completely support me and are always there for me. I am very lucky God has blessed me with such amazing friends.

Sunday Nights

Sunday night is probably my most favorite night of the week. “Why?” you might ask. Well Sunday night is a set night I spend with my family and then my fiance. The first part of the evening I spend with my mom and sister watching two of our most favorite shows. After watching my shows with my family, and after my fiance gets off, I go over to his house. It started off that I would watch his two favorite shows with him but after a while I enjoyed them also. 

The shows I watch with my mother and sister our both military related shows. One is a reality show and the other one is not. The first show on Sunday nights that we watch is Army Wives. Army Wives is very much a heart touching show. It takes the lives of four army wives shows there ups and downs. The show gives you great insight to what military families really do go through. I think that is one reason my family enjoys it so much. Another reason it is one of our favorite shows would be because we can relate to it, because my father was in the Air Force for twenty-one and half years. Do to that fact it is become easy to connect with the families of the show. There are countless times I hear my mom say, “I remember having to go through that, it was one have the hardest times.” Even though the families in the show are not real, the stories are. The second show we watch is Coming Home. It is an amazing show that I have not made it through one episode with out crying my eyes out. Coming Home is reality show about military men and woman coming home and surprising their loved ones. Just like Army wives this show touches our hearts so much more do to the fact we can relate. I remember being a little girl and my dad having to go away for work. The moment he came home was the best moment ever. 

Sunday nights became like our stay at home date night. I go over to his house after he gets off work and we just spend the evening relaxing and watching our shows. At first they were shows I had never heard of, and for some reason right now I can not remember the names of them, but now they are shows I really enjoy. The one I like most out of the two is about a young women in her twenties that takes care of six younger siblings. Her dad is an alcoholic, is in trouble with the law all the time, and is never reliable. There mom has not be around since they were little and she ran out on them. The shows are good but my favorite part is just being able to spend quality time with my fiance. We are both really busy and on the go all the time so it is great to just sit down and relax. 

Teen Death

It feel like teen death is not on the rise. It might not seem that way everywhere but in Carthage, Missouri it feel like it. I graduated from Carthage and while in high school three girls just in my graduating class died, all with in about a year. That was just in my graduating class, I can think of at least five other that have died with in the past three years, right off the top of my head. Everyone of those deaths had a huge impact family, friends, and the community. I personally was not that close to any of them but I did have friends that were. During those times of sadness and loss I watched our community come together and support each other like I have never seen. 

Hannah Smallwood was a great girl that always had a smile on here face. Hannah’s mom was a physical education at the high school. According to the Joplin Globe, “the one-vehicle accident happened at 7:35 p.m. Friday (December 8th 2006) on County Road 120, four miles east of Carthage. Authorities said the vehicle hit a utility pole and overturned several times. Smallwood was thrown from the vehicle.” Hannah’s death effected the whole school, and something no one would ever forget. 

The sad thing is Hannah was not the only one lost to soon. The following are just a few teens from Carthage, and there story. 

“McKenzie R. Kisling, 14, and Kayla D. Story, 16, of Carthage, died in a one-vehicle accident at 7:21 p.m. Friday (June 2007) when the vehicle they were in ran off the west side of the road, struck a utility pole, and overturned, according to the Missouri State Highway Patrol.”

“Johnson said Jeff Coggin told him his daughter saved him before she was crushed by one of the trees. "He'd been sleeping and his daughter was the one who saved him," Johnson said. "His daughter hollered at him and said we have storm warnings and he got up, went toward the living room -- that's what he recalled -- and then all he remembers her saying was 'tree!'”Johnson said he found Casey Coggin crushed beneath the tree that fell on the north side of the trailer.”

My fiance told me story of a girl he went to high school with. One day he had gotten to school and was walking into the building. As he was walking up the side walk into school, the girl jumped from the top of the building and land right in front of him. He shared with me that it was one of the most horrible sounds he has ever heard. He also went on to tell me that he had been so close that her blood had gotten all over him. At this point I thought the girl had die but he went on to tell me that she had survived. 

It is sad to think this girl thought things were so bad that the only way to get out was by jumping off a building. And the sad thing she is not the only one. 

Last Week

Last week was a crazy week for me. What am a kidding every week for me lately has been a crazy week. Last week on top of my normal schedule of work and school, my fiance had his wisdom teeth taken out. I learned that he is a baby when he is in pain. He wanted me to take care of him the whole week, which I did not mind doing. The funny thing is his pain medications made him totally out of it. There was one time when I was leaving to go home and he called me as I was walking out of his front door. He was completely out of it and asked me what I was doing. I continued to talk to him and he kept going on about random stuff. Then I asked him why he called. He then went on to tell me he did not call me and told me I needed to call his mom so she could give him his medicine, and she was in the same house as him. The next morning when I went over there I told him about the conversation we had had and he was clueless about it. 

Also this last week I got together with my mother and future mother in law to plan out the decorations and layout for both the church and memorial hall. It was not a short process at all. I am really big into details just like my mom so you could only image what it is like when you have us both together. The good thing is that we have it all planned out now. The bad part is we have to still make it all happen, but I know it is all going to come together in the end. My mom has been amazing at helping me with the wedding, she has been like right hand women the whole time. She has even made a binder to help organize everything. It really helps me that she has been so involved since I also have school to focus on. 

The thing that has been the most crazy part of my week would be trying to find out fits for both my church wedding shower and engagement photos. I had been looking for a while but just did not have any luck with finding something I liked. So my mom and sister decided to take me shopping. The first store we were in I found something. It felt amazing to have something and not have to worry anymore. I was now ready for both my wedding shower and engagement photos. Now that I am writing all this it does not seem that crazy of a week, but it sure did feel like it while it was all going on. I am sure I will have a lot more crazy weeks in this next month leading up to the wedding. Lets just I am ready for summer break, that way I have a break from school.