Fun Fourth of July!!

We had a wonderful holiday weekend! Sunday, the 4th of July, we had a wonderful service at church. Our pastor brought a great, convicting message... it was a great time with the Lord. Afterwards, we went to Richmond to meet Stephen's brother, Dwight, and his family. They threw a wonderful cook out and we had a great time with family. Finally, when we got home, it was JUST in time for the fireworks. Friends met us at our house and we climbed on top of the roof (I was much more scared than Mili) and had front row seats to the Deer Park firework show- might I add, it was the best one in years! And it felt like the fireworks were right in our face... completely AMAZING!

Summer Fun

New Jersey Writing Project

Just as I was getting use to sleeping in every day, my first workshop of the summer started. Intense. Three weeks, eight hours a day. It has been so wonderful, learning new strategies, challeging myself, and more than anything growing as a writer. I have a reflexive piece due in a couple days and then I will begin working on my extensive piece that I must send off to be published. While I hate the alarm clock every morning, I truly have learned so much.

My relfexive piece is not fully fleshed out and is still a work in progress, but I thought that I would share it with my close friends and family (or other people who are bored reading my blog) :)This is a piece that is dear to me.

So, here it is, a draft of my piece. I am still titleless as of right now (and I hate my closing sentence, so bare with me)....

“Hush Sean, he is going to hear us”, I would nervously say, anticipating his arrival.

It was after nine o’clock so dad would be home any second. My little brother, Sean, and I would lay in our parents’ bed waiting for our dad to get off of work and come home. We would pretend to be asleep and any time the bedroom door would slightly open, we would lay as still as we could, hoping it was dad. Looking back now, I realize dad knew every night we were awake; yet, every night he played along. Quietly coming in and walking to the nightstand to gently take his watch off, acting like he was trying not to wake us. Sean and I would lay as still as we could, somehow covering our mouths to where we could breathe, but if we cracked a smile it wouldn’t show.

“Well, I guess I will have to eat ice cream all by myself,” dad would say, as if he were just thinking aloud. Sean’s side of the bed would begin to wiggle as his giggle made the covers bounce up and down. Dad would then say, “I sure wish these kids were awake so I could have ice cream with them.”

Depending on the night, Sean and/or I would start the laugh that made our whole bodies move but still not making a sound; but, clearly saying we were wide awake. Dad would jump on the bed, laying across us and finally making us laugh out loud. Anticipating his arrival and the thrill of dad finally being home, our excitement couldn’t hold us back any longer. Both, Sean and I would jump up and start playing with dad. Often times we forgot about the ice cream and just enjoyed being together with him. Dad worked a lot and was not home often, so we soaked up this ritual every night.

Dad has been gone for eight years now, but even as an adult, I can still smell him walking into the room, I can still hear him put his watch quietly down on the nightstand and I can still feel the bed move as my little brother and I couldn’t hold back our laughs any longer. Above all, I still feel the love I felt from our dad, as he would come in and play along every night showing us he too enjoyed soaking up every second with us he could.

My birthday bash and Bella

Although May was already exciting and HUGE life changes took place, my birthday was no let down...

1. The Wednesday before my birthday Stephen called me at work and asked if I would go with him to Baytown that night. Of course I would, but why? We NEVER go there. He knew it was too suspicious to keep from me, so he said he had bought my birthday present.... BELLA! I was so exciting, we picked her up that night and have been ATE UP with her ever since. Bella is a maltipoo, she was 6 weeks old when we got her (she was born on Mili's birthday... April 1). She is the sweetest and best puppy ever! Potty training has been a breeze and she hasn't chewed up anything yet, so we are feeling pretty lucky!! She is one spoiled puppy,Stephen swears I talk about her more than I do Mili now... lol. I tell him my love just doubled, but he has doubts. :) Bella is the best, I will puts some pics up of her.

2. Stephen threw me a little cook-out-get-together at our house my birthday weekend. He was really sweet and thoughtful. He asked all my friends to write a letter to me, about what I mean to them, along with a funny memory. They went around and shared each letter, it was so meaningful and thoughtful. I cried and laughed... I truly have the best friends, as well as the very best husband.

3. Family dinner on my actual birthday was sweet too. As much as I love married life, and I do with my whole heart, I miss my mom. She means so much to me, and so many evenings I look at Stephen and say I want to go visit her... and he is so good to go anytime I want. (He loves her almost as much as me anyways). So my birthday dinner with my family was great, some great quality time!!

As you can tell, I was a very fortunate and blessed girl this year. Thanks to everyone who made it so special!!!

BTW... being out for summer is a great present too, I am LOVING it!

God's Love

I don't know exactly why He does, but I know my Savior loves me. I know that no matter how amazing my husband thinks I am or how great he loves me, nothing can compare to the love the Lord has for me. I know this to be true. At times I feel down and discouraged; honestly, now is not one of those times. I feel so blessed, blessed beyond measure. Above all, I know it's the Lord's hand on my life. If I had control of my own life, I could not have done what the Lord has done for me. I am not sure why He loves me so much, I fail Him too often. But His son's life, love, promises and blessings show me that I am so loved by the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. Thank you Lord, for seeing something in me and loving me. God's favor is wonderful, my prayer is so many people could enjoy what God can do in their lives even before we experience Heaven with Him. He is truly amazing.

Some encouraging verses I found through a Bible study... post them where you can see them daily. They are taped to my desk at work.

"and in Him you have been made complete, and He is the head over all rule and authority"
-Colossians 2:10

"I am my beloved's, And his desire is for me."
-Song of Solomon 7:10

"And let the beauty of the LORD our God be upon us, And establish the work of our hands for us; Yes, establish the work of our hands."
-Psalm 90:17

"Do not let your adornment be merely outward—arranging the hair, wearing gold, or putting on fine apparel— rather let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the incorruptible beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is very precious in the sight of God."
-1 Peter 3:3-4

Exciting News-Go Big Deer!

I am excited to share that I recently accepted a position at Deer Park High School! I am so excited... and even more excited that I still get to teach seniors!

So next school year I will be a 12th English teacher at Deer Park High School. Woo Hoo!

And GO BIG DEER :)

It Feels Like Home To Me

I LOVE IT! It's more amazing than anything in the world. To go to bed every night and wake up every morning to Stephen seems unreal. I love being his wife. I can't get over calling him my husband. And as close as we were before, God truly has made a change.... we are one now. It's truly a God thing, even my heart towards him is different.

The wedding was like a fairytale. Stephen was amazing, my girls were gorgeous, all our family and friends there, the ceremony was fantastics, are vows were special and just what the whole day meant to us. Paul, Stephen's oldest brother did a wonderful job. It was absolutely beautiful, and I held it together until he cried. I am use to Stephen choking up and crying (the whole side of my dress had his tear drops on it) but to see my brother, friends and family crying really got to me. And Stephen was the most handsome groom in the world, I felt and still feel like the luckiest girl alive. I am so proud to be married to him.

Mili is a huge blessing in my life. This Mother's Day was so special to me. It means so much also that Stephen adores the way I mother his child, he appreciates it and tells me every day. I never dreamed a couple years ago, I would be a step mom to the most wonderful girl in the world. She actually stole the whole wedding at the end. We prayed together as a family, and she was the one who announced us before we walked back down the aisle. She was HILARIOUS, she stopped and stuck out her little finger to compose herself and then with the sweetest voice, "Meet Mr. and Mrs. Stephen Ward". It was really special. But even more special, she grabbed my face after we all met in the church and said, "You looked gorgeous and did such a great job!" It melted my heart, she is the most encouraging five year in the world, making her proud is worth so much to me. I pray that even when she is 25, I will still make her proud in how I lived my life in front of her, how I love the Lord and love her daddy. She is an extra blessing in my life.

The honeymoon was a BLAST! We have never laughed so hard in all our time of being together. We just had a blast enjoying each other, but we were actually just as excited to get home. I love our house and it just being us here. We are really home bodies and still get giddy when we walk through the doors of our house (which was perfectly clean when we got home- thank you everyone that stayed here)

Well, my husband is coming in from playing basketball... I am going to go spend some time with the very best man in the world :)

I promise to write more often now that life has a little more normalcy. (Although, it's never normal around here... I did marry Stephen Ward.)