The Countdown

Above is one of my favorite engagement photos of us on the "Oval". The Oval is the heart of King College. Everyone, no matter what, has to pass through the Oval at least once a day. Basically it's just a grassy area in the shape of an... oval :) It's surrounded by an old brick sidewalk and all but a few of buildings on campus. Basically just doesn't cover the Oval though. It's a place of memories. It's a place of tradition. It's a place that represents our beginning and our end at King. We begin our journey there by walking around the oval to the opening convocation freshman year and end it on graduation day by, again, making one last trip around it. The oval is even where we will walk across to our reception next May after we say "I do". It's basically.... everything.

Anyways, this is my 5th year and Luke's 6th. As we like to say all the time, "life has never gone normal for us, so why start now?". I had my accident last fall and Luke at one point needed a short break from school. No matter the time line though, this is where we have ended up. It's a bittersweet time for us. King has become my home, I've lived on campus 4 out of my 5 years and have become close to so many students, professors, and staff. It's my safteynet, my bubble. For Luke, I feel that this has become a place of success for him. He has found his groove and has become very well respected within his major by students and faculty alike. We both love King and it will definitely be difficult to leave.

But believe me when I say, "This year I AM READY to graduate!". Of course I have the natural feelings of anxiety and fear, still I'm ready. We're ready. Change is a big deal, especially when so many changes are happening at once. Where went the days of endless trips to the pool and explorations out in the backyard? When did we have to start making schedules with enough time alotted for each other, our families, friends, and of course school and work. It baffles me how quickly time has gone by and that those days are loooong gone. Looking ahead though, I am very excited.

Less than 9 months from now I will have my BSN and.... in 9 months, 1 day, 16 hours, and 11 minutes (I'm pathetic, I know) I will be somebody's wife. My name will have changed, as well as my role, responsibilities, and priorities. Now I feel as though I'm already starting to change those things, but by next May it will be for real. Forever. Ohhh how excited I am! Somedays the changes are still pretty surreal. There are other days though, where I am completely freaked out and once school starts it's just going to go by that much faster. So next May when we walk across the oval one last time, I hope that we can look back years from now, cherishing the wonderful memories we've made throughout our time at ol' KC and thanking God that we were able to do it together. What blessings!!!

Yours, Mine.... Ours?!

Have you ever watched a TV show or seen a movie in which the man was the "bread winner" and the woman stayed at home, barefoot and pregnant? Ugh, it KILLS me! As our last year at King begins, we are also gearing up for the "big move". We won't be sure where we will be moving to until about March, but we can always get a head start on stuff. Beyond the cleaning out of closets and under our beds, digging through the now seemingly ancient toys and yearbooks, we have the issue of money.

When does money stop being his or hers and becomes theirs, or in this case, ours? First, we needed to be completely honest with one another about our spending habits, what/if we owe anything and what we see our financial priorities as being. Obviously, credit cards (they're evil, don't even bother getting into that mess!), student loans, car payments, and cell phone plans were at the top of the list. Also, we have been monitoring how much we go out and noticing where we spend the most money. Food, food, and food. Seriously, the cost of going out to eat is absolutely ridiculous some days! With all of that weighing on decisions about future housing, transportation, and grad school looming ahead, we've made some decisions.

1. Pay off all debts A.S.A.P. - Obviously there are only so many hours in a day and so many days a week a person can work, but the sooner unsecured and then secured debts are paid off the better.

2. Save, save, and SAVE!!! - Although the goal is to be debt free as soon as we can, we also need a "Rainy Day" fund. This, for us, is more about a deposit on a housing rental, setting up cable, internet, utilities, etc., as well as moving expenses. There are only two adults and currently one dog making the trip, but we still have LOTS of stuff haha.

3. Honesty is the best policy, always. - It took me nearly 7 months to tell Luke that I had a pretty good amount of unsecured credit card debt. Nothing horrible, but enough to put a little pressure on someone. Being honest about what we have, what we need to pay, and what we have afterward is the best way of communicating when dealing with finances. Any big purchases are now discussed beforehand, let alone the daily things that come along. Being honest with your spouse (or soon-to-be) about your finances can definitely save lots of arguing, heartache, and money troubles down the road. Trust me.

4. It's who that wears the pants??? - Ha! This goes back to my opening statement of the man in the movies earning the income, while the wife stays at home doing everything a "good little housewife" should. Please! Luke and I take pride in being equal partners. He helps me with dishes and laundry when he can, but I'd rather do it if he'll mow the yard ;) Also, I will be working while he is in law school and he will be working when I go back for my MSN. Give and take people, give and take. It's about talking, listening, and being able to understand AND accept that at different times throughout your lives, you will in fact, be giving more than receiving and visa versa. It's about finding the balance between being a strong, stable couple and still retaining your sense of independence. No one said marriage would be a piece of cake, but as we are starting to discover, it's going to be an amazing adventure we get to take together.

5. Do Not Worry - "But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." Matthew 6:6 This passage from the book of Matthew is one of my all-time favorites. I AM THE ULTIMATE WORRIER!!! It's a horrible trait, but it's what God gave me so I deal with it as best as I can. Worrying, stressing, letting your head spin round and round will do nothing but push you further into an oblivion. In my opinion, have faith. Simple as that, yet it is sometimes so hard to do. Have faith, trust in the Lord and know that things may not always be smooth and there will be some bumps along the way, but His plan is in the works and all we need to do is follow.

Sometimes in life I feel as though I need a self-help book, but then maybe I could possibly write one hahaha!

The Delicate Balancing Act of Families

Over the past almost 8 months Luke and I have grown accustom to sharing our free time with not only each other and our friends, but our families as well. It's become almost like a custody situation in which we are always saying "Okay, now who's weekend is this?". Ha! It's sad, but not. We love our families and we love getting to spend time with them.

Next summer it's just going to be us. We will be who knows where and possibly no closer than 2 hours to the nearest family member. It's such an exciting time, but it's also very stressful and scary. Like I said in an earlier post, we both cried after watching Toy Story 3.... of course with good reason. This was a movie that came out when were still considered kids and it was a pretty big part of our growing up experiences. Today kids have Hannah Montana, Wow Wow Wubzy.... whatever they watch and obsess over, it's like how Toy Story and Rugrats were to us.

It defined our moving into adulthood in such a permanent kind of way. The realization of our childhoods being long gone was this huge wake up call and it definitely caught our attention. I'm sure to some this post will seem silly and somewhat immature, but for two people who are super close to their families and have never known anything but "home" it's hard. Of course all families have their ups and downs and can possibly not always get along, but I feel strongly that I can speak for both Luke and myself in saying that we couldn't do half of what we've done without ours.

3D Glasses and an Empty Wallet

Last Friday Luke and I decided enough was enough and we were going on a date. We've been trying really hard to cut back on how much we go out and keep our money towards just bills and savings. Has anyone ever mentioned how expensive it is to get married AND move?!? My heavens! Anyways, I had been BEGGING to see Toy Story 3 and we headed that way after dinner at Logan's. Little did we know that we were in for quite the pricey evening.

Toy Story was only being shown in 3D, so of course 3D glasses were necessary. As we ordered our tickets and the girl asked for our money, my mouth hit the ground. $24... yes $24 dollars for two adults to see a movie. I couldn't believe it! Now obviously they have to make some sort of profit off of these specialty showings, but apparently I've been living under a rock and hadn't realized how expensive it was to go to a movie these days. I told Luke that I'll be working overtime just to save up for having kids. I can't even imagine what it costs with kids!!!

The movie was great and at one point we both cried. He'll kill me when he see this, hehehe. It was a great ending to a movie series that came out when we were both "kids". Can you believe that the first Toy Story came out when I was 8? I will be 22 this month! I. Am. Getting. Old. Ha! And as for our so-called lack of dates, we have become creative with our time together. We have definitely rediscovered movies and popcorn at home... and maybe some extra melted butter ;)