Somehow, it Works

Distance is never fun when you are in a relationship, I don't expect anyone to be surprised there. I knew from the get-go it would be difficult. I just didn't know how difficult it would be until I was 18. Paul and I had started dating my freshman year of college... two weeks before the school year ended. We were from different states and had to figure out a way to stay close during those three (summer) months apart. We talked on the phone like any normal couple does. However, I am not a normal person that is part of a normal couple. Believe it or not, I am not a fan of conversing over the phone. I'm actually really bad at talking to friends, family, and (especially) boyfriends over the phone. Everyone that knows me can testify to this. When it comes to strangers, however, I can carry on a conversation with no problem at all, which is extremely odd. Anyways, this was the dilemma and Paul figured it out after the second week of being apart. He also came up with a solution. He wrote me letters. 

Text messaging was another way we communicated, but not nearly as special as the hand written letters I would get from him. We've only had to deal with being away from each other for two months before either one of us visits the other. I don't know how military couples do it, but two months for me is extremely hard. Those letters really helped my telephone phobia, which is an actual problem, believe it or not. I found this out on Wikipedia and there is also something called 'Nomophobia' where you are afraid of being out of cell phone contact... crazy! Anyways, the letters helped and I was even able to talk to him over the phone sometimes (for a maximum of 20 minutes). 

Today, we are in the same predicament, but now, we know how to deal. While Paul lives and works in Texas, I am in Colorado planning our wedding and trying to acquire more certifications as an educator. Not only do we write letters back and forth, but we also Skype. I had to do a little bit of persuading (agreeing to talk on the phone at least 2 nights a week), but he finally he gave in and opened up an account. It's been a blessing being able to see his face and talk with him just like he is right across the table from me.  There is also something else we have added to our schedule of communication. I can let you in on one of our secrets to staying close as well as keeping both parties sane when it comes to distance. It's very simple. It's prayer. 

Yes. We pray. We don't pray separately, we pray together. This has been the most important thing that has kept our relationship alive and healthy. We say the rosary once a week over the phone together, adding special intentions and giving thanks for the (many) gifts we've received. I can also tell you that things have gotten better. When disagreements come into play or when there are bumps in the road, our ability to understand each other has increased immensely. All these recent happenings can be linked to this. It's amazing how everything has fallen into place and how worrying had no part in it. It's humbling to know that I don't have the control I thought I had when making plan after plan in this whole chain of events. It's wonderful having the support from both families as well as friends. It's safe to say that nothing would be possible if it weren't through Him. Prayer keeps us together and somehow, it works. :)

The Wedding Dress Story

I'm excited!! I, finally, have been able to sit down and share my "wedding dress" story! This is something that I had been worrying about for a long time (of course I was thinking about a wedding before being engaged... duh!). I had never really come to one conclusion about wedding dress styles. Ever since I saw 'My Big Fat Greek Wedding' when the protagonist looks at herself in the mirror (with her wedding dress and veil on) and says, "I look like a polar bear...", I've been so insecure of what (I think) is beautiful. Honestly, I liked the way she looked in that dress. And then there was the dress that Meg Ryan tried on in 'Sleepless in Seattle' (you know, the one she ripped and thought that it was a "sign" that she shouldn't get married?). It was white, slim, shiny and had those buttons to fasten on the sleeves. Even now I am still in love with that dress, but I have accepted that my hips will never fit into a dress like that... ever. And then there's the Kate Middleton one that everybody loves. That is every girl's dream dress.... I think. Anyways, let me describe the one I was looking for a few weeks ago. I wanted an ivory, A-line, lace covered satin dress (maybe even with a keyhole back to it) with a long train and lace-edged veil. See how decisive I was?!

(I wish you could see the whole dress, but this gives you an incentive to watch one of the greatest chic-flicks of all time.)

(Okay, I just fell in love with this dress all over again.)

I wish I could post the picture or even describe to you the one that I actually got, but  I don't know if the rule that "you're not allowed to see the bride or her dress before the ceremony" applies to descriptions or not. And I don't know if Paul actually checks this blog, so it's best to play it safe. However, I will tell you the story about how I found and (finally) took home my "dream" dress. 

It all started the night before my mother and I had two bridal boutique appointments we had scheduled. I was having a discussion with my parents about the time of the wedding, the reception place, the colors, the flowers, the "this", the "that"... etc., and I was starting to go a bit crazy.  In my mind, we were never going to pull all this off by the time the date came around. Well, my mom and dad picked up on my overwhelmed facial expression and told me to take it one item at a time. Tomorrow would be the dress, then we can figure out the reception place, and then the final time of the wedding, and so on and so forth. 

After this talk, I excused myself and went to my room where I grabbed the first rosary I could see. "Oh Lord," were the only two words that would come out of my mouth for about 5 minutes straight before my mom knocked on my door. I will never forget her comforting words, "God provides." Yes, she said other things like how I will be able to get through this and how they will help me as much as they can with everything that needs to be done, but the words that I have and will always hear her say, whenever there's a dilemma, are"God provides."

The next morning, it was time to go dress shopping. Since we had two reservations to get to, we knew it would be a long day. As soon as we entered the first place, we were welcomed and asked to have a seat. Michelle, the sales lady, asked me questions about what I was looking for and I told her (in my decisive and confident voice). She asked if I had gone to any other stores and I said yes. She asked if I picked out a dress that I loved at the other store, and I said yes. Then came a question I was not expecting. She asked why I hadn't purchased it. In my head I said, "Seriously? Do you not want commission?!" Out loud I said, "Well, it was the first location we went to, and the price was a little too high." She then took a deep breath and said, "Well, to be honest with you, that price is the average for the dresses we have here." She then told us what the highest price for a dress in this store was. My mom and Michelle talked for a bit about prices and it was about time to go look for dresses. First, however, there was a drawing. Every bride that comes into the store for her first time, gets to draw a prize. The prize can be a percentage off the dress or maybe a free accessory, but you have to purchase the dress that day to get the prize. So she asked me if I was interested, and I said yes.

She led me over to the front desk where she brought out a clear jar full of little, silver keys. I rummaged a bit and took a key out of the jar. She then told me to try the key on the locks of  all three trunks that were stacked on top of each other. The key should unlock one of the three trunks. There was a small trunk, a medium trunk, and a big trunk. I won't lie to you, I wanted to unlock the big trunk. I walked over and tried the little trunk first... it opened. Darnit!

The lady lifted the lid and gasped before saying, "Oh my God... go get the owner, go get _____!" When the owner came out, my mom said, "What did she do?!" She thought that I had done something wrong. Right away, Michelle placed on the counter a piece of paper that read, "CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!!!! YOU JUST WON A FREE INSTOCK BRIDAL GOWN." Seriously. I just won a free dress. 

In that jar full of keys, there was only one key that opened that little box, and I picked that key (My mom said to me as we were driving back from the store that I should buy a lottery ticket). I tried on six dresses. Of those six dresses, I tried two on twice. Finally, I decided on THE dress. This dress was more expensive than the one I had liked at that other store and, I must say, so much better!

I'm still in shock and probably won't believe that this actually happened until I'm walking down the aisle. Those prayers, the night before and the morning of, could not have been answered any better. 

My mother definitely knew what she was talking about. It's true. God does provide, and ever since that day, we have secured the date, time, and church where the ceremony will be held. We have a Bishop (a longtime friend of the family's) who will be marrying us. We have finalized the rehearsal date, time, and location for the dinner with Paul's family. And finally, we have (just today) booked a place for the reception. I could not have done any of this without my parent's help and support. Most importantly, though, I could not have done this without Him. I feel so blessed to be a witness to His Providence.

Now that I think of it, I really should have bought a lottery ticket that day... Darnit!

A Day of Remembrance

Today is a day of remembrance... well, for me it is. Today was the day that we took the Christmas decorations down. It was the day to behead the tree (well it certainly looked that way after my dad cut it in half) and throw it over the back balcony. It was also the day to take down the Christmas lights, the stockings, and all the amazing nativity scenes that were set up all over the house. Below are just two examples of amazing set-ups by my mother.

I will share with you other 'greats' of this past Christmas.

My dad, Ed, and his grandson, Eddie... Yeah, they're pretty tight.

The kids of Christmas with their grandpa!

Ask me if she is this cute, precious, adorable, irresistible, etc. all of the time. Go ahead. Ask me.

Because she is... all. of. the. time!! 

Her name is Little Miss and she is my second oldest sister's youngest. 

These are the families that came for Christmas. My sister Erin's family is the picture on the left  and Sephora's family is on the right. 

Here is the family that I really missed this Christmas. Nutmeg, the woman holding the baby on the right, is my beautiful, oldest sister. She, her husband, and the family (6 children) stayed in Texas this year. *This picture is from May 2011 and includes my parents, Erin and her family, and me*

Erin, Katy, (my brother) Tim, and I were all present to put the tree up this year!

And here it is...

This is a 14'3" tree... from the backyard.

Katy and I sometimes get mistaken for twins... which is awesome!

What always makes Christmas a joy are these two people right here, my parents. I can't even imagine spending Christmas without them. They couldn't be more in love with each other or more devoted to their kids and grandkids. They are absolutely amazing :)

I mean, I even caught them playing the magnetic fishing game before going to bed!

This picture was taken BEFORE Matt (left) hit Tim one yard away with a snow ball.

The music men. Tigger and Eddie.

Told you! All of the time!

We are a very musical family.

This Christmas was wonderful, and I even got to spend a little bit of it with Paul when he came New Year's Eve.

... and so did Tigger.

Not only are we a musical family, we also like to draw ;)

Do you see what I mean?!

Sooner or later, it was time for everyone to leave. When I awoke today, it was only my mom, dad and me. It's not that I don't like being with my parents (I love it!!), but when I have to take part in removing all of the Christmas decorations inside and outside of the house, it makes you realize just how beautiful Christmas is.

As this post comes to an end, I shall leave you with two sobering photos. Pictures that will make you want to cry... okay, maybe just me. Pictures that will make you realize just how special Christmas is with your own friends and family...

OOPS, not that one! Although, that's a funny story in and of itself. You see, Tigger uses everything as a guitar, even when there is a real guitar a few feet away for him to use. It's funny. 

Okay, so here it goes...

... Oh well, at least there are still some Christmas cookies left :)

New Start

What is it about New Years and the resolutions that come with them? I have, honestly, never followed through with a resolution... mostly because they've been ridiculous. One year, I resolved never to put food on the apple decorations that were patterns in the middle of the dinner plates (I even tried it for about 5 days). Another year I resolved not to bite my finger nails (yes, healthy... but if you don't know me, I have a horrible habit). Even a couple of years ago I resolved to exercise (or do 10 pushups a day). Crazy, huh?

Well not this year. This year will be different. I know it's already the 13th of January, but better late than never, right?  I resolve to be organized... and on time. So far, this new year has come with a few small changes. I got engaged. The few small changes I was talking about earlier, however, have to do with my living situation, my social situation, and my career. After my student teaching wrapped up and after I passed my certification tests, I moved back home to Colorado to take care of some health issues, to save money, and to try and get more experience with substituting as well as acquire more certifications. The next small change has to do with my social life. Here in Colorado, I'm not the biggest fan of the cold so I rarely go out unless I have to. Therefore, it is much different here than just taking a walk down the street watching the ducks in the pond. The final change I am now experiencing is my career situation. Yes, I would love to become a teacher, but there are other things I'd like to do as well. For example, I'm interested in becoming fluent in Spanish. I also want to take a few more classes on Linguistics and maybe try and sit in on speech pathology classes. A few small changes, but big thoughts come to mind, and with them comes great responsibilities ;) So now my New Year's resolutions are in full swing and I am happy to say I'm glad I made them... finally.

I know I mentioned I got engaged and it was and still is an amazing thing. We had talked about it since August and it finally happened on January 3rd, 2012. It could have happened on the 2nd but I kind of messed it up. Let me tell you the story:

January 2nd was a Monday. Paul and I decided that we would like to go bike riding in the Garden of the Gods. My dad helped us pack the bikes that morning and then we were off. We didn't ride far because I fell off the bike twice. Since I don't like riding on streets where tourists drive, I decided to ride the mountain trails. The bike I was riding was not a mountain bike (so there you go). Anyways, we went back home after a few other adventures and at that time, the sun was going down. Paul was adamant about hiking a mountain that is walking distance from my house, so I unenthusiastically agreed to go as well. So I announced to my family that we would be hiking the mountain. As soon as I was finished with my not-so-happy announcement, Doodle, my brother-in-law, asked if he could come too. I said, "Of course!" and then I stopped to think... why don't Paul and Doodle go together?! Yes, that really was the first thing that came into my head. So they did and that was fail #1 on the proposal. That night, after a long soak in the hot tub, Paul asked if I'd like to have a picnic up there the next day because it was so pretty at the top. I agreed.

We packed meat, cheese, crackers and hard cider for our picnic the next day and we left at about 2 in the afternoon. We stopped along the way to take pictures and I even posted some onto Twitter. Not far from the top of the mountain is a big rock. This rock overlooks the highway that runs through the mountains as well as other mountains. You can see as far (maybe farther) as Colorado Springs when you stand on the rock. So I tell Paul to pose for pictures in front of the scenery and I take a few pictures.

Then we take pictures together (those cheesy self ones that couples like to do... I love it!). 

After we took what are called "selfies", it was my turn to pose. So I did.

After I turned to look at the view, Paul said, "Hold it... okay, one more!"

This was the last shot. This picture was taken 5 seconds before I turned around and he was on one knee. He told me to stand up. I honestly cannot remember what he said after that. I know he took my hands and removed my mittens. I know he started with "Mary Elizabeth _______," and ended with "Will you marry me?", but everything in between is a blur. He didn't have the ring out yet, but when I nodded, he slowly withdrew one of his hands, put it in the breast pocket of his jacket and pulled out a black ring case. He opened it and there it was, the yellow-gold band with one single diamond ring that I had been eyeing ever since we had talked about marriage. I didn't even say anything until the ring was on and I realized I hadn't answered yet. Well, the answer was, "YES!" and apart from the whole "not remembering what he said" part, it was a memorable moment. :)

We decided not to go to the top because it was getting colder and colder so we descended towards home and when we got there we were greeted by my dad, sister, and her family, including my brother-in-law. We didn't open the champagne until my mom got home so in the meantime we decided to let some of our friends and family know. 

The next day, Paul treated me to a nice dinner in The Penrose Room at the Broadmoor Hotel and my sister, Katy, called in before we arrived (to our surprise) and paid for our drinks. Surprises just kept coming that evening because Paul had purchased the sheet music to one of my favorite piano pieces called, "River Flows in You" by Yiruma and was planning on having it played for me by the pianist there. Unfortunately, the pianist could not sight read very well, so instead, the band cleared out and Paul played, "Pachelbel's Canon" for me from memory.

And it was lovely. 

We then had dessert.

Followed by a picture. The picture on the right is from when we were there this past Summer.
It was an amazing Christmas and I'm so thankful Paul got to visit and meet Sephora and her family. I hope to post more about this past Christmas in the next few days. :)
Until then, good luck with your resolutions and don't worry if you've already messed them up, make new ones!!