Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Still adjusting...

I think its becoming pretty obvious that I am NOT very good at updating this thing. We are still adjusting to this new life. Its hard to describe to people, because everything is so different and it all changed so quickly.

We are definitely thankful for the opportunities that we have been given and we are so very blessed to be able to take advantage of them.

Its funny how you put certain expectations on things - knowing that its probably going to be completely different from what you are expecting - but then, you are completely surprised when things don't exactly meet your expectations... does that make sense?? It doesn't necessarily mean that the reality is worse that what you were expecting - but just different... That is kind of where we are right now.

For example, obviously I had expectations on what our apartment would be like. When we got here, the apartment did not meet those expectations, and I am still not crazy about it. I am very thankful that we have somewhere to live, that is safe, but I am not one bit crazy about this apartment. The funny thing about it, is that our neighbors (I will tell you more about them later) have made this adjustment easier and definitely entertaining! Now that we have been here for two months, and I have seen the town and the other places that we had looked at living, I know that this apartment was the best place for us (hopefully just for 6 months though!).


We really haven't done a whole lot. I haven't seen my family in a month which is a BIG change...but, you know what? - its alright. This move has really done something for US. Me and Bo. And if we walk away from this with nothing - we have grown so much and learned so much about each other - that it is all worth it. I guess marriage is another one of those things that you go into with expectations... And usually, its quite different than what you expected.... (can I get an AMEN??? haha)

When Bo and I were doing our pre-marriage counseling, one of the things I remember the most about our pastor saying to us was, "I recommend that ALL newlyweds move AT LEAST 1000 miles away from their families." Now I should say, I knew I was marrying a football coach - that this was his dream - and that as his wife, I would be following this dream as well, and that it wouldn't only be his dream anymore, but ours... I can also say that at THAT time, I was absolutely not ready to move away from my family. I knew eventually I would have to (possibly kicking and screaming) but I also knew that being Bo's wife was what God had planned for me... And if you KNOW me, you know that this was absolutely not what I had planned for me (before I met Bo)....

So, taking you back...

I just knew that the plan that I had was going to work so perfectly into what God had already planned, that it could not possibly be anything but God's plan... I was absolutely certain that I was going to work at Rocky Mount Recyclers and that I was never going to leave - and I was even more certain that when I met my future husband, surely he was going to want to live in Rocky Mount, NC and he would never dream of taking me away from all of MY plans..... and more importantly - there was absolutely no way that ANY MAN could make me feel comfortable enough to actually MOVE me way from my family and ME be okay with that???? ... Absolutely not - never in a million years would I have thought that would happen. And. here. comes. Bo.

It wasn't long - and I knew. We both knew. It was weird because most couples these days date for sooooo long (not that there is anything wrong with that) and we didn't. We. just. flat . out. knew. And we also knew that he could be going anywhere, at anytime. So when we got engaged in February, we planned the wedding for that July. And we have never looked back.

We were very blessed in that right after we got engaged, the new head coach at NCWC offered Bo a coaching position (he was living in Florida at the time doing a strength and conditioning internship at USF), Bo accepted and we were married in Nashville, NC in July 2008 and then lived there until December of 2009. As I said before, I wasn't ready to move away - and I knew that in marrying Bo, I would eventually be away from my family and friends. Lucky for us, we had that first year (and some change) of marriage in our hometown and things fell into place for us to move here. When I say that things fell into place - its like God made a way for me to see that when He showed Bo and I that we were to be married - He really meant - go be his wife - submit to your husband.

When the call came from the coach at Mississippi State offering Bo a position here, I was ready, and more importantly, WE were ready. We were able to see so many great relationships of friends (mainly coaches at NCWC - thank you wives!!!!) that were away from their families and doing great, along with other things that happened that made us BOTH ready to embark on our new journey...

It hasn't been an easy road to haul.... marriage is hard enough in itself - and in a place where neither of you have ANYONE but each other - it makes it hard to fight about the little stuff. Bo and I have been so blessed - because the only thing(s) that we usually fight about are the little things that don't matter... (usually, because he....just kidding!!) And in a place where all you have are each other - you realize that maybe there is more to your marriage than.... toothpaste in the sink, clothes on the floor, dishes in the sink, shoes in the MIDDLE of the hallway, socks on the couch....HECK, I could go on for DAYS about the little stuff that Bo people in a marriage do!!! The important thing is, that we have realized, in TWO months that the little crap doesn't matter!!! I absolutely CANNOT wait to see what else we are going to learn!! I can see now why ALL newlyweds should move 1000 miles from home (750 counts, right??) Its so exciting and refreshing - Bo and I don't know the future - and frankly, I am done trying to make plans for the future. God has blessed me with a husband that is going to take care of me (and ONE day - not anytime soon - a family) and I could not be more thankful. We are done trying to plan our future - its all in God's hands - and we couldn't be happier. God has blessed us with so much and we have so much to be thankful for!!

If you are still reading, thank you... I say all that to say, that we are really doing great. There is a lot of stuff that we could complain about, (Mississippi, long hours, etc...) but in the end, there is way more to be thankful for. WE have grown so much in our move to Starkville. The expectations that we had set for this place and this level - it doesn't matter anymore if they play out or not - because we are stronger, more in love, and so much more appreciative of what we have in our marriage -and that, my friends, greatly surpasses any expectations we could have set...

Until next time. . .

Sunday, February 14, 2010

Pictures of our Apartment!!

Here is the front of our apartment. Its so welcoming, don't ya think??

Here is the view from our back door. This porch is shared between all five apartments.
The back door.
Looking from the living room to the front door.
From the top of the stairs looking down.

The upstairs bathroom.

Guest room - its all ready for guests... HINT, HINT.

Another shot of the guest room.

This is walking in from the back door.


Walking into the living room from the front door.

Our bedroom

and again.



Part of the hallway. The picture on top was our Christmas gift from Jake! We love it!!

The office. (its not always this messy - sorry)

the office again.


Walking in the front door. Our bathroom is to the right, the door you see on the right is the office, and the door on the left is our bedroom.

the kitchen

the kitchen - looking from the living room (we still don't have a kitchen table...)
the living room - looking in from the kitchen

So, this is our apartment. I had planned on writing more - but it took me so stinkin long to upload all these pics... maybe later. Anyways, its still kind of growing on us... I don't think we are going to renew our lease...
That's it for now! Maybe now that some of you have seen how kind-of-cute our guest room is, you will let us know when you plan on coming to visit!!!