experience number three

Sorry if anyone has gotten bored hearing about my past lately, 

but I promise this will be the last experience I'll write about for awhile. 

I was going to write one more, buuut, I myself am getting tired of writing about the past.

So, last but not least...Marriage!

Yep, marriage is one of those life changing experiences.

Well, I've only been married for 9 and a half months, so clearly I'm no pro, 

but I like to think I'm doing pretty good so far.

Instead of writing about my marriage though, I decided to fill out this fun little couples quiz that I've seen on a few people's blogs lately.

Enjoy!

How long have you been together?

We've been together for a year and a half and have been married for 9 months

How long did you know each other before you started dating?

Hmm..about a week I think. 

Who asked who out?

I invited myself over to make dinner for him after only our second meeting...does that count?

Whose siblings do you see the most?

Neither. Both Virginia and Georgia are pretty far from Hawaii.

What about pets?

This guy lives in our shower occasionally. Geckos are all over the place here.  
But no real pets. Yet.

Did you go to the same school?

Yep! We're both in school right now actually.

Who is the most sensitive?

Believe it or not, this one is all the husband. 

Where do you eat out most as a couple?

Subway. Trust me, there's no place to eat in my town.
Subway is considered "going fancy."

Where is the furthest you two have traveled together as a couple?

We spent 2 weeks in India the second month of our marriage. Read more about it here. 

Who has the craziest exes?

My husband.  *sigh* One reason I'm grateful to live far far away from everyone...

Who has the worst temper?

Neither of us really have too much of a temper actually.

Who does the cooking?

That would be yours truly. The hubby makes a good quesadilla though

Who is more social?

Depends on the day. He always wants to be social when I don't, and vice versa.

Who is the neat freak?

Mostly me. I'm really good about picking things up around the house...he's good at dishes. We complement each other pretty well.

Who is the most stubborn?

Ah, I gotta say me again. It's not my best quality...

Who hogs the bed?

Hmm, I'm starting to see a trend in these answers..you guessed it though...me! What can I say, I just like to have a lot of covers...and room apparently. He secretly loves it. 

Who wakes up earlier?

99% of the time, it's my husband.  He hates waking up after me, because I'm one of those crazies who has to set 5 alarms at 5 minute intervals. It drives him crazy. Understandably so of course.

Where was your first date?

Ours was pretty simple, we watched a movie at his house. 

Who has the bigger family?

Our immediate families are close to the same. He's got two siblings and I've got one. We both have pretty big extended families, but his is concentrated within an hour radius.  I'm talking like 40 family members, all living that close. It's a bit of a foreign concept to me still.

Do you get flowers often?

Not really. (hint hint to the husband)

How long did it take to get serious?

Depends on which of us you ask. :)  Him? About 2 weeks. Me? A little longer than that.
But really, we decided to get married after three months of dating and were engaged the month after that.

Who eats more?

Definitely the husband. He also eats twice as fast.

Who sings better?

I'm sorry to say we both struggle in the vocal department. 

Who does the laundry?

We actually both do it together.

Who’s better with the computer?

Me! Which is sad, cause I struggle.

Who drives when you are together?

 Beau almost always drives.

Who picks where you go to dinner?

We usually switch off, or just choose together.

Who is the first one to admit when they’re wrong?

Definitely Beau. There is where my bad habit of being stubborn comes in.

Who wears the pants in the relationship?

I just asked my husband this question and his response: "I think that's obvious. I don't want pants. I like to be free." 
He's cute. 

Who eats more sweets?

Maybe me? Beau always has a specific sweet craving though...cookies.
I definitely enjoy baking sweets though.

Anyhow, that is us! 
Happy Friday everyone!

experience number two

Now that I already told ya'll I was going to spend time this week writing about past experiences...

well, I'm kinda nervous now. 

Don't worry, I'll still write my experiences, 

but I don't want anyone to think that I'm trying to write some of these for any type of sympathy. 

And I'm not trying to make anyone sad. 

I recognize that everyone goes through different challenges in their lives 

and I simply want to talk about some of the challenges I have had. 

I feel like I'm at a good point in my life and after many years of being scared to open up about things, 

I'm finally not as afraid anymore.  

So, with all that in mind...here we go...

I'm a bit of a daddy's girl. I am and always will be. 

Dad's are there to look up to. To watch over you. And to love you.

They protect you, they give you advice that you sometimes don't want, and they give you hugs that you love.

Today, whenever I need to talk to my dad, I write letters to him.

He passed away when I was ten years old. 

He was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) years and years before, 

and by the time I was eight, he was completely bed-ridden.  

The thing is, I don't remember ever thinking something was wrong.  

I remember my mom giving me children's books that taught about MS.

I remember Hospice workers coming to my house weekly.

I remember having a pen pal in Florida whose dad also had MS.

But I never remember thinking that one day my dad wouldn't be around anymore.

When you're a kid, you don't worry about things like that. 

Your parents are invincible and there's nothing to ever worry about. 

Well, when I was in 4th grade, that all changed. 

It was exactly one week after my 10th birthday.

I came home to find a house full of people.

Hospice workers, my Bishop from church, my mom's close friend.

They were all there.

I don't remember the words that were said to me. I hardly remember anything.

I do remember walking back into my dad's room and having him tell me he loves me.

I didn't want to stay though. 

I went to my room and cried until my mom's friend came up to tell me that it was over. 

My best friend at the time came over with her dad and they took me and my brother 

home with them for the night.

I think the mind of my young self tried to protect every bit of innocence it had left,

because I don't remember much of anything else. 

I'm sad to say I don't have many memories of my dad either.

But this experience has shaped my life in so many ways. 

I'm strong because of it.

I'm understanding.

I have the desire and need to help others.

And I've learned the importance of "I love you."

I can't ever say that I'm grateful for losing my dad, but I'm grateful for the person I have become because of it.

One of the letters I've written:

15 Nov. 2009

Daddy,

I wish you were here with me still.  I always get excited for November to come because of my birthday, but once it actually gets here I just think about you all the time and miss you.  I miss you so much. I wish I remembered you more.  I don't really know much about you. I'm so close to mom now.  She's like my best friend. I wonder what kind of relationship I would have with you now.  I like to think I would be a daddy's little girl.  Thanks for always being my hero.

I love you so much,

Your little girl 

experience number one

Remember how I mentioned in this post that I wanted to talk about experiences this week?

Well here is the first one. 

More to come as the week goes on.

When I was just a baby
(yep that's my little self you're looking at up there), 

I was adopted by a wonderful couple 

that I like to call "mom" and "dad."

My birth parents were only 17 and 19 when I was born, 

and not ready to become parents. 

I've never met them and I know almost nothing about them, 

other than some very basic demographics, such as their hair color, height, etc.
Is anyone surprised that they both had curly brown hair?
Yep, that's where my curly locks came from.

I was 22 days old when my mom and dad flew into New Hampshire to pick me up and see me for the first time.  They too have never met my birth parents.
I'm grateful to my birth parents every day though, especially my birth mother.
It takes courage to carry a baby that you know you will be giving away.
Giving away to a family that you know nothing about.
I was fortunate enough to be adopted into a wonderful family.
A family that I belong in.
A family that fits me.
A family that I'm supposed to be in.
And most of all, a family that I love.
A family that I'm proud to call family.

When I was 3 years old, we adopted my little brother.
I had prayed and prayed for a little brother
and had picked out his name before he was even born,
always calling him "my baby James."
My brother's birth mother was only 15 when he was born,
and we adopted him within the first month of his life as well.
Over the years, whenever my brother and I argued, my mom's remark was always, "you prayed him here."
Though annoying, this was always a great reminder to me,
I love my little brother to pieces.
We quarrel, we disagree, we jest.
But most of all, we love each other.

People have always been hesitant to ask details of my adoption,
and I've never really understood why.
I love that I'm adopted and that my brother is adopted as well.
I've never called my family my "adoptive family" because frankly, they're my real family.
No question about it.
Family is so incredibly important to me and I think that adoption has only made us
a closer and stronger family.
And that is something that I'm grateful for.

(Yes, I had a bit of an afro people...I'm aware. You'd laugh if you could see some of the other pictures I have...)

experiences

via

I've been thinking a lot lately
 about the things I want to do with my life.
I feel blessed to have so many options to choose from in my future.
Thinking about all the possibilities that life has for me,
I can't help but think back onto the many experiences that have changed my life.  Though some of my experiences have been rather personal, I feel compelled to share them for some reason.  Whether that reason is for my own personal growth, or for someone else's benefit, I'm not sure.  But for this week, please bear with me as I reminisce
on what I consider to be some of my life's most important experiences.
And if you'd like to know anything else about me,
just let me know.