A Love Story

Once upon a time, there was a  boy....

and a girl...

The boy and girl grew up in the same city and went to the same high school...

but they didn't meet there.

They went to the same college too...

 But still, their paths never crossed.

The boy enjoyed having a good time with his friends.....

and so did the girl....

Then on the girl's 25th birthday, they met while out with friends here....

They thought the other was cute, but were pretty shy, so it would be a whole more month before they even saw each other again.  

Then, one Sunday Funday, 

the boy and girl exchanged phone numbers as friends that would call each other when a group of people went out.

A few days later, on Cinco De Mayo, the boy and girl made plans to meet up with a big group of friends to celebrate at....

While listening to this guy....

(and this is the actual night we were there, so we are right behind the camera guy!)

the boy sneakily grabbed the girls hand and for the rest of the night they talked and got to know each other better.

The next night, they went to a baseball game and realized they had a little more than just a crush on each other.  They hung out till entirely too late with friends....

From that point on, the boy and girl were inseparable....

They hung out with friends....

They cheered on their Alma Mater at all of the football games...

and celebrated their first Christmas together in style...

 She realized how handsome he was in a suit....

They went and cheered on OSU at the Alamo Bowl...

and spent their first New Year's Eve with the girl's best friend in San Antonio.  

The boy was there for the girl while she spent a lot of time with family here....

 

and hugged her whenever she felt like she was going to cry, or scream or both.

She felt so happy to have him come celebrate holidays with her family and to be invited to celebrate with his family and get to play with his nephews...

The girl had already realized she was very much so in love with the boy.

Finally, it was their one year anniversary.  The boy and girl went to dinner at a very romantic restaurant...

and after dinner, at the girl's nagging, they went for a walk....

 They stopped and read anniversary cards they had bought for each other.  While the girl read the card the boy had gotten for her, he pulled the ring sneakily out of his pocket.

The boy was so nervous, he forgot to get down on one knee.  The girl was shocked as he asked her to marry him.....

The girl yelled "Are you serious?!?!  Oh my gosh! Seriously?!"  Before finally getting out a huge YES!  

After much crying...

the boy and girl went to tell their families.  Finally after many hours, they met up with some dear friends to celebrate and take it all in....

The boy and girl decided to enjoy their engagement and can't wait to see where their love story goes from here!

Moving On

 So I have had a really difficult week and sometimes it just helps to type.  I think the stress of the last month has just really started to hit me, and I didn't really know how to handle it.  I found myself crying at the most ridiculous things (songs on the radio should not make someone cry!), getting my feelings hurt over things I will never be able to change, and getting angry over things that I don't even understand why I let it affect me.  I realize that there are things I have to let go that I have been holding on to, and that it is time to focus on the things that matter now, not the things that once did.  I have so much good in my life right now.  I have a quirky and wonderful family that always keeps me on my toes and supports me, a dad that is getting better everyday (even if we do have set backs that are scary), a boyfriend that despite all my flaws and undeniable weirdness loves me, and friends that I know will always be there, rain or shine.  I just have entirely too much good to focus on the bad.  So I'm waking up tomorrow with a new outlook.  I'm going to be the best person, daughter, sister, girlfriend, friend, etc. that I can possibly be, and know that even when things are hard or something hurts or I feel like I am going to pull my hair out from the stress that is overtaking me, I did everything I could to stay true to myself and those I love.  That's all a person really can do I guess. 

On a lighter note, I cried for good reason last night.  Anyone that loves The Office as much as I do and witnessed last night's amazing event, you will know why.  I'm including a video for those that missed or want to relive it.  Even if you aren't an Office fan, this was beautiful. I can't even imagine how the show will go on without Michael Scott.  Enjoy!

Road Tripping!

I can barely contain my excitement right now!  Mike and I have been talking about taking a real vacation for months!  We have talked about going on a cruise, going someplace warm in general,  blowing the budget and going to New York (ok really it was just me talking about going there, but a girl can dream right?).  Well, we FINALLY made a decision!  The boyfriend and I will be road tripping to this beautiful city........

Oh yes!  You are right!  That is CHICAGO!  I have always wanted to visit and now I get to spend Memorial Day weekend 2011 there!  The plan is to leave Wednesday evening the 25th (after work and all of that good stuff) and make it part way there before stopping.  Then we will finish the drive on the 26th and check in to our fancy hotel.....

before running around the city!  We will spend Thursday through Monday exploring and taking in the sights and then come back home to Oklahoma on Tuesday.  The hotel was really inexpensive and still not scuzzy, and driving was just a cheaper option for us.  Even with the amount we will pay to park and on gas, we'll still be coming in almost 300 less than if we had booked a flight.  No worries, though.  I get email updates from Southwest now, so if a killer flight deal comes up, I will take advantage. 

So there you go.  My exciting vacation plans!  I am definitely up for any Chicago advice anyone can give me (Kendra I know you have to have some!  You love this place).  So please, if you know of good restaurants we should eat at, sights we should see, or other random knowledge you can bestow on me, please do!  I am all ears!  Anyone else have any fun vacation plans coming up?

God is So Good!

Well update on my dad... His surgery went really well, the doctor was able to do the triple bypass without any complications at all, and they actually had him up and walking in the halls 24 hours after his surgery was finished.  Relief can not begin to describe how I feel.  I am so beyond overjoyed by how blessed we really are.  We were so close to losing him again and now I feel like he's been given a whole new opportunity.  Granted he is in a whole lot of pain and will be for a few weeks, but that is a small price to pay for the gift he/we have been given.  Its just so wonderful. Thank you to those who prayed for him. I know that made a huge difference!

Another great thing about this weekend was my amazing Valentine's present from Mike.....

 

The most beautiful orchids ever.  I love them!  One reason why I love them, other than just the fact that they are GORGEOUS, is that they aren't just your typical valentine's day flower.  They are my favorite flower, and he actually listened those many times that I talked about them!  Just knowing that he actually listens and remembers those little things was a present in itself.  We are going to a lovely Valentine's dinner tomorrow night and I am excited to spend this sappy holiday with him, even if it is just a stupid greeting card holiday :) 

Well anyway... Happy weekend to everyone!  I hope everyone has had as blessed of a weekend as I have!

Sooner Than Originally Thought

Well, the surgery is actually going to be tomorrow, Friday the 11th.  The cardiac surgeon just came in and let us know that the blood thinners my dad was on are already out of his system, so they are going to take him back tomorrow.  If you are up and around at about 7 am, please just say some prayers that everything goes all right.

Preparing for a Long Road

On May 6, it will have been 2 years since my dad had his heart attack.  It was a serious heart attack that almost killed him.  We were terrified and so grateful that he is still with us.  Well last night, my dad had another heart attack.  After a night in the hospital and a trip to the cath lab to have a less invasive surgery, it was determined that my dad needs to have bypass surgery in order to recover from this one. The surgery is going to happen on Monday, February 14 and he has to stay in the hospital until then.  It will take him approximately 5 days to recover enough to be able to go home, which is absolutely driving him nuts.  Hopefully though, after the surgery, he will have much less heart problems and he will also be able to go off of some of the medications he is currently on for his heart.  Even though the benefits could be really great, we are still really scared about the surgery.  It is open heart surgery, and there are some serious risks, especially since he is diabetic. 

Anyway, most of you know how close I am to my dad, so obviously this has been really hard for me to deal with.  I am trying to stay upbeat and just have faith that everything will be ok and this will hopefully keep him with us even longer.  I just ask that everyone please pray for him.  Please also pray for my mom.  She is trying to be strong, but I know that she is barely keeping it together.  Honestly, I'm not really up for talking about it, so I'm sorry for not letting people know or messaging people after this.  I'll update everyone on how the surgery goes after Monday.  I hope everyone is doing well, and staying safe in this crazy weather. 

Snowmageddon Has Begun! (Caution... Picture Heavy Post)

We have officially entered into a blizzard warning here in good ol' Tulsa, Oklahoma.  Schools have been closed, people have visited the grocery store to stock up on everything from toilet paper to milk (which was completely out when I made my store trip), and everyone is holed up in their houses trying to stay warm and looking forward to a day of playing in the snow tomorrow. Granted, not a single snow flurry has fallen so far but details, details.   I personally am cozied up on my wonderful boyfriend's couch for the duration of this blizzard.  We got a ton of food to keep us snacking and set on meals for at least 3 days, even though I highly doubt school with be closed that long.  I think he may even get to stay home with me and play in the snow, which makes me completely giddy! 

Well I promised that I would update with pictures soon, and soon did not come very quickly.   Some of these go all the way back to October, but I didn't have them on my computer at the time of my last update so here they are :)

Sam's 21st Birthday!

Black Keys at Cain's

Mike and I at the Black Key's concert.  Probably the best concert I've ever been to. 

Oktoberfest 2010

Tiffany and I at OSU Homecoming Walkarounds

Walking to the next house... Possibly the only picture we took that night.

Amanda, Holly, Heidi and I at The Copper Penny in Stillwater after the homecoming game

Waiting on the train at Hallowzooeen with Zoe (5), Dylan (3) and Kylee (2).

Our only group picture on the train

Kylee and "Uncle Mike" talking on the way to the zoo.  And yes she calls him Uncle Mike and no we have no idea where she got that. 

Blurry picture at Rhema

Holly, Tiffany and I at Jacob's 1920's themed 30th Birthday

The man is handsome all dressed up

Mike's work Christmas party.  We took very few pictures that night, which makes me sad. 

2nd Annual Ugly Sweater Christmas Party

Sam and I all dolled up in our ugly sweaters

At Sam's going away party, with Kendra peaking in the background. 

Me, Jenny and Ryan a dressed up in purple

Teammates!

Alamo Bowl 2010!  OSU won!  Yeah!

Hello 2011!  Can't wait to see what you have to offer!

Well... I hope you all have enjoyed my little photo update!  I also hope that if you are snowed in like I am, you are having a great time and staying warm!  Love you all!