11-11-11

Yesterday was...11-11-11???!?! Oh my gosh!

Yes, I'm being sarcastic, but you can imagine I heard it a few times being a front desk receptionist..There was a lot of, "Guess what today is...?" or some would walk up to their sign-in card saying, "Eleven..eleven..eleven.." and then just stand their smirking at me waiting for my response.

On more of a serious note, I can't begin to express my gratitude to our veterans for everything they've done for our country. We have been so blessed to have such courageous men and women who risk their lives to protect our country,

But thank goodness it's the weekend. This week wasn't so fantastic. The "Cherry on Top" was waking up Friday morning and feeling a little too rested, only to find that my phone was dead and my alarm never went off. I tried turning my phone on in horror of what the clock would read, and in the short amount of time my phone stayed on, the time read 6:33 a.m...which is exactly three minutes passed the time I'm supposed to be walking out the door. I frantically shook Lucas and said, "IT'S 6:30, Luke!" We both sprung out of the bed faster than lightning.

Long story short, I threw some clothes on, pulled my hair up into a pony-tail, and did my make-up at stop lights... Not the best way to start the day off, but it could have been worse! I'm amazed my body even woke itself up at 6:30 without help! Thank you, Lord :-)

In OTHER NEWS.... Welcome Home Dave and Carrie!!! My in-laws were gone one week in HI celebrating their wedding anniversary! The three of us were anxious to pick them up from the airport at the end of the week.

I think Bella knew they were coming home - she was especially jumpy and excited, and constantly running from window to window.

It's so good to have you guys home!

That's all for now - Good night interested readers :-)

Missy

Last weekend my roomie from college and her boyfriend came to stay with Luke and I. They left campus around 2pm on Thursday to travel over to MI. All day Thursday I kept a close watch on the clock...as if by checking it frequently, the time would somehow go faster. I would find myself staring at my computer screen or scheduling a patient and randomly burst out into an "ear-to-ear" smile. I was so excited.The last time I saw my dear roomie, Missy, was at our wedding.

FINALLY the clock struck 3pm and I was out in a flash. I knew Missy and Clint wouldn't be getting in till late, but I had to diligently work on getting our messy apartment back in order. Thank goodness Lucas helped me out. I used my vacation time to take Friday and Monday off while they were here, unfortunately Lucas wasn't so lucky. He had used up all of his vacation time for our honeymoon. Since he has to get up at 5am every morning, we knew that staying up late for him wasn't much of an option. He made the decision to stay the night at his parent's house so the 3 of us could hang out and not be a huge disturbance - for I knew that being reunited with my roomie would NOT be a quiet matter!

Luke left around 10pm and I continued to clean things up. I had my "scentsy" turned on and my favorite twisted peppermint candle lit. I even had my favorite "Scottish Moors" cd playing for background music when they would walk in...I'm such a dork. I simply LOVE to host, though.

Around 11:30pm I was struggling to keep my eyes open. I resolved that I would just "rest" for a few minutes on my bed until they got here. When my phone went off at midnight, I nearly fell off my bed. Apparently I fell fast asleep for that half hour. As exhausted as I was, it was well worth it.

Let me give you all a little background about this amazing girl.

Missy was my roommate for all 4 semesters of my 2-year program at BBC. The first day I met her, I couldn't figure out what she was gonna' be like. For STARTERS she had gotten into the dorm room before me and went right ahead and STOLE the bed next to the window..eh hem.. I didn't even get a say...

I guess you could say we were pretty "shy friends" for the first few weeks or so. I definitely didn't show her how weird I was right off the back..that's for sure.

I guess the day I really learned how golden this girl was, was the day I experienced my first panic attack. There were several events leading up to college that had really "shaken me up" emotionally, and I wasn't even fully aware at how much anxiety I was experiencing in my day-to-day life. It wasn't until college that all these events finally came to a head. To make matters worse, I wasn't taking very good care of my body by staying up late and not eating the best. Procrastinating played a huge role in adding to my stress level, which resulted in even more anxiety.

One afternoon I was laying in my bunk watching something on youtube, when suddenly it hit. This intense feeling of panic shot through my body. I honestly thought I might die. Till this day, I still cannot fully explain what a panic attack feels like. I remember yelling, "Missy, something's wrong." I was completely frozen - I felt paralyzed. It was then that this girl whom I had only known about 3 weeks or so hopped on the bunk with me and began to rub my back and tell me it was going to be okay. I think she even began praying for me (it's still somewhat a blur.) I had no idea what was happening to me.

Missy was so calm the entire time I struggled. I can't remember how long the attack lasted (it seemed like forever at the time) but she stayed by my side through the entire episode. She kept telling me to, "take deep breaths." It felt like she was my guardian angel.

After many "deep breaths" the panic attack finally began to subside.

This is just one of the many times Missy has revealed to me what a truly remarkable person she is. Even when I would get sick at college she would go out and get me medicine, or she'd make me some hot tea. She took care of me. She has such a heart for God and she's one of the most confident girls I know.

I love you Missy - I really don't know what I would have done without you. You've grown me in so many ways and I will never forget all our silly, special, crazy, unforgettable memories. From listening to the P.S. I Love You soundtrack while doing homework, to our late-night talks about Lucas and Clint, from last-minute runs to Sheetz for a midnight snack to talking about God and sharing our insecurities with each other. Your friendship is one I will always cherish.

You are golden.

Our weekend went by way to fast, as these special weekends usually do.

We even made time to listen to the P.S. I Love You soundtrack while making crafts together.

I'm thankful for you too, Clint! It gives me great joy to know that Missy is with such a solid guy like you.

The night before Missy and Clint headed back to BBC I became so emotional. I came into the bedroom and it looked like Missy was already asleep. I don't really know how a conversation started but I was contracting every muscle in my body to hold myself back from bursting out into tears. When I felt tears begin to stream down my scrunched face, I did my very best to hide it for as long as I could (thankfully it was dark). I found ways to ignore what I was feeling by small-talking. Finally she heard a big "sniffle" and said, "Are you okay?" I must have sounded like a five-year-old when I blurted, "I don't want you to leave!" I'm actually laughing as I type this now, but it was so intense at the time. I guess I had forgotten how good it was to have a taste of familiarity from back home. I didn't realize just how home-sick I was. I'm sure sleep deprivation also played a role in my emotional state, but I couldn't help but replay all the late nights Missy and I shared like this.

It reminded me so much of the night before I graduated from college when she and I tried so hard not to get too emotional about saying goodbye; yet in the end, the night concluded with us hugging and snotting all over each other with many, many tears.

Missy of course, being the calm person she is, managed to turn my sobs into laughter. In no time we were giggling and talking about our boys and life just like the old days :-)

I love you, Roomie!

1 Week

Well my Lucas left yesterday around 5:00 pm for the W.I.L.D. trip up in Canada with several others from church. I was supposed to be home by 4:30pm to see him off and say goodbye. Unfortunately, with the craziness of my job and still at a loss for sufficient coverage at the front desk, I ended up working till after 6pm and not getting home till 6:30-ish.

Major bummer.

But he left me this little note with his ring. (He didn't want something to happen to his ring while he was hiking and such, no worries.)

"I tried waiting up for you baby but I'm planning on getting in around 1-ish as of right now. I'm praying for you em and I love you so freaking much. protect my ring for me while I'm gone. Dang it em my heart is breaking right now having to leave without hugging you. I love you em, I'll talk to you soon."

You may be thinking, "it's just one week," big deal. But this is the first time we've been apart since we got married. Just when we were starting to get use to not saying goodbye, lol.

I decided yesterday that since I worked a 10+ hr day and I didn't get to say goodbye to him, I was going to treat myself a bit.

Below we have two 99-cent flatbread sandwhiches from Taco Bell, a redbox rental of "Just Go With It" (it was okay) and my own tub of B&J's Chocolate Fudge Brownie ice cream. The perfect recipe for a relaxing evening.

So I ate my food, watched my movie, indulged in my ice cream, took a nice long bath, and went to bed.

This morning and all of today has been dedicated to getting our apartment back in shape. I've been deep-cleaning and organizing all day - and now that it's the end of the day, I'm not really sure what to do with myself.

It's weird being here in the apartment all alone. It feels like I should be able to see my parents or my brothers, or run down to see Katelynn. Maybe that's because I associate not being with Lucas, to living at home with my family during our engagement when Luke was working up here in MI. This is the first time I've been without Lucas where I didn't have my family with me. Don't get me wrong, I truly do love living here and I've enjoyed having today to get caught up on stuff...I think it really only starts to hit you most when it's night time and the silence and emptiness are magnified.

So here I am sitting at our dining table polishing off my chocolate fudge ice cream, wearing Luke's T-shirt, ring, and watching a little bit of Alias season 1 (thanks to big bro & Jeana.) Church tomorrow, and it will be nice to see friends :-)

Good night to all!

5 Awesome, Crazy, Exciting, Exhausting, Wonderful Days - Part 2

Saying goodbye was definitely hard for Luke. These guys mean the world to him and they've all been there for each other through thick and thin.

Once we all had said our goodbyes, it was time to continue our 5-day journey up to the mountains in PA for the Gotwals Family retreat!

The "Gotwals Retreat" has been a tradition we've been doing since I was a kid. This year was huge because Luke got to be apart of this special event. The drive seemed very long and we were both utterly exhausted. I knew I had to stay alert because I needed to keep Luke awake. It was rough.

It's funny because till this day the "Mountains" is all I know to call this magical place up north. I don't know the name of the town or anything like that. All I know is that the two cabins that our family stays in are called "Sugar Bush" and "Sugar Maple." When I hear, "We're going up to the mountains" I can instantly envision four-wheeling, jumping off the dock into the pond, fishing, spot-lighting at night, and playing cards with my cousins. I cannot tell you how excited I was to have Luke experience this with me.

This picture says it all. THIS was The "Mountains" to me.

From Left: Me holding Ryan, Seth, Brooke, Jesse, Robby, Lauren, and Eric

We finally made it in around 1:45am and in no time were fast asleep.

It's tradition to all eat together in the same cabin around the large rectangle table. Breakfast  usually consists of bacon, pancakes, eggs, etc.










It was so wonderful to be reunited with my family.






It's not long after breakfast that we're jumping in the pond or hopping on a four-wheeler. We just wanna soak up as much sun as possible.




These two just celebrated their 26th wedding anniversary in August and as their daughter, I feel so blessed to know that no matter what, they are committed to each other.


Feeling Sentimental :-)
Such a good looking couple if you ask me!




Anyway-

It was such a hot day that it was difficult to not jump into the smelly, fishy pond. I didn't swim long, but I definitely dunked myself several times so I could enjoy lying out.









Always ready for a silly face.. :-)


Just as people were starting to come out of the pond and get dried off, my Mother spontaneously got off of the bench, sprinted off the dock as she jumped into the pond. With all of her clothes on :-)


On my left is Jill, who my cousin Eric is currently dating. This was the first time I got to meet her and we really hit it off. She's a great girl who really loves God and I can see she makes Eric really happy :-)

On my right is Kim who I got to know this past year before I got married. She and Richie started coming to church and in the small time I had to get to know her, I grew such and admiration and respect for the woman she is. She really taught me a lot and inspired me to grow in a lot of ways. I desperately wish I could have had more time with her and that distance wouldn't get in the way of a really neat friendship that was starting to bloom. Richie and Eric are cousins, so they stopped by to spend the day with us. Their son Trevor is probably one of the cutest little guys I've ever interacted with!

Jill, Me, Kim

Trevor!

Our journey continued on as we said goodbye to The Mountains and headed back to good ole' Huntersville to finish out our last day in my hometown.








Part Three Coming Soon...