BIG NEWS!

I AM GETTING MARRIED!

As of last weekend everything is official. Ethan and I are going to be married on July 3, 2010. I am absolutely thrilled and couldn't be happier. Everything we've been talking about the last couple months is starting to be put in motion. I have been waiting and wanting this for so long it's hard to believe I actually get to make those wonderful phone calls and pick out those pretty dresses!

As I begin the long and hopefully low stress process of planning a wedding, I can stop to pause and think about how my life has changed drastically in the last two years.

When I moved out to Cheney I knew that it was a small town with a good school, but small towns are made for families. Not single people. I knew that when I accepted the job, and I knew it when I moved into my little rental. My first year teaching I didn't notice too much change in my life than the previous couple years. I was soooo busy, practically living at the school. Trying to coach, be a good teacher, and stay caught up with everything. I just didn't notice how lonely I was.

Then my second year came around and I was a little less busy. I had my first year teaching under my belt and found myself at home more and more. That's when it hit me. I am lonely. I didn't like going home and not having anyone other than my mother and a couple friends online to talk to. I wasn't happy. Even though I had a good job I loved, there was something missing. I could fool most people, but in reality I was miserable. I am convinced that if something wouldn't have changed, and soon, I would have left Cheney.

Now...something happened that was a blessing in disguise, in more ways than one. I have told most of the story of my little nephew and what a blessing he was, but I never really explained how he helped me. At the time when I found out that Joe was expecting a son I was of course sad for him. But I was also mad. I was so mad at him, at God, and everything. It wasn't fair. I wanted nothing more than anything to find someone who I could love and have a family with. I was doing things the "right way" and Joe wasn't. Why did Joe get what I wanted? Then it hit me.

For the last few years before that point I had put God and my faith on the "back burner." Sometimes I would go to Church, sometimes I paid attention, sometimes I prayed. I never left my faith, I just didn't pay much attention to it. I truly believed that God had a plan for me, I new without a doubt that He wanted me to be a wife and mother, and I knew that all things good happen through Him. After I found out about Bryson and asked God "why not me" I got my answer. How can these things happen through God when He is on the "back burner."

So I tried to change. I haven't missed a Sunday Mass since the week I found out about Bryson. I talk to God more often. And I started opening myself up to new people and new experiences. It wasn't until then that Ethan came into my life.

I truly believe that if it weren't for Bryson I might still be waiting for the blessings I have today. I am happier than I have been in my life and my dreams are coming true. There is a reason for everything and all good things come through God...if you are patient.