In the past month I have attended 4 showers.... needless to say....it is WEDDING SEASON!
When I got engaged in August, I didn't realise that I was about to start a huge trend! ;-) I thought I was one of few people engaged and planning a wedding...until I showed up to my nursing class the first day of Fall semester! EVERYONE was enagaged! And as the year went on, even MORE people got engaged, one being my own sister! I soon realised that I was not in this wedding planning business alone and the new fun thing to do in class was to compare engagement rings and show each other wedding plans. It definitely has been a fun time!
As I think back on my engagement period so far, I just smile. It has been a total blast! I have loved every minute of wedding planning, I have not been stressed, I have received SOOOOOO much help and encouragement and support from friends and family and I have just been so excited about planning the big day!
But I am way more excited when I think about the man God gave me and the life we have together! I could not be more thankful for David and for God placing us together so perfectly in His plan! As little girls we dream about the man we are going to marry and write lists of characteristics they have to have and what they should look like and act like etc. (at least i did! ha!) David truly meets ALL my dreams and then adds pages and pages to a list of things in a husband I didn't even know I wanted, but God just blessed me with anyway.
David is so fun and crazy and brings so much happiness to my life. I remember first meeting him at the BCM and thinking he was so "American" which to me meant LOUD, confident and hilarious! David is one of the most romantic people I have ever known. He has written me songs, made me a pillow for my birthday with messages from all my south african and american friends when I was homesick my first year here, carved a heart out of tree bark for me when he was away at a summer camp, put together a scrapbook of our relationship, cooked me dinner by candlelight, bought me roses, written me love letters and every day tells me that I am beautiful and that he loves me. :) He is my biggest supporter and has let me cry on his shoulder over nursing tests and drama with friends and general stressors anytime I'm upset. We have "bagels and bibles" time where we do devotions together and pray while eating our favorite bagels. I cannot even begin to count the times David has shown up at my door or at the library with my favorite starbucks coffee, a three musketeers bar, wheat thins or a diet mountin dew just to say hey :) He writes me notes, which I LOVE, and I constantly find little love letters in my notebooks and mailbox. He loves God will all his heart and tells me that he loves God more than He loves me, but that only makes him love me the best way possible. David is always ready to go out and do something fun, and I absolutely love our walks, hikes, shopping sprees, lazy days in Borders, Dollywood trips and finding fun restaurants! We love our TV shows ad could definitely spend a Saturday or two watching Lost seasons and Greys Anatomy. :)
I have never been complimented so much in my entire life before I met David, and some days I lose count on how many times he tells me I'm beautiful and have the most prettiest eyes in the whole world. :)
I just cannot believe that David ever took notice of me, the random South African girl, who looked at him with shock and horror as he screamed for the UT mens basketball team with no shirt on and body painted orange and asked WHY sports in America was such a big deal? ha.
We have grown so much together these past few years and I know we have an exciting future ahead of us!
I have enjoyed going to so many showers and getting so excited for my close friends and their future spouses and lives as married woman! I think about how each of us are so different and have such different plans for our lives, but we ALL are going to be some lucky (ha) guy's wife and maybe one day mommies! :)
I love how each gift we get at showers is from a special friend, and when we use it in our home we can always think of eachother and pray for eachother in this next journey of our lives!
But most of all, these showers remind me that this is for real! People are giving me kitchen pans, for me to use, in my new home, to cook for my new husband, and I AM REALLY GETTING MARRIED!!!!!!
I still can't believe that David is my groom... but I am going to thank God every day for the extra special blessing!
Sunday, April 17, 2011
Sunday, April 10, 2011
Friends and Walking
If you know me, you know that I love to walk....like alot....obession alot! When David was first trying to grab my attention, he asked Beth-Ann what I liked, and she said "hot tea, hillsong and walking." So, he asked me to go on a walk around campus after our first little chat....and I was in love! :)
BUT, I would like to explain my slight obsession for walking and all the benefits it has in my life. :)
And maybe it will inspire you to grab some friends, find a park and start walking to! :)
I mainly go walking to SOCIALIZE! :) I have certain girlfriends that I have developed weekly walking schedules with, and that is when we catch up on life AND exercise at the same time!
I think it all started with Rachel Riley. We walked like crazy people to relieve our nursing stress during freshman and sophomore year. She then transferred to Carson Newman and in order for us to keep in touch, we just decided to walk together every week no matter what! We did miss a few, but we always tried! Lakeshore is our favorite and Rachel is intense at working out and always makes me do 4 miles. ha. Rachel is now engaged and so of course we walk and talk wedding wedding wedding!
Lauren James and I became so close during or time living at the BCM. Living together made it so easy to plan walks and get motivated. I remember for some reason we always fit our walks in early in the morning, and we would drag ourselves out the BCM door with no makeup on and hair in a mess and start walking! Lauren and I always had a million things to talk about, and now that she is at JMU in grad school I would give ANYTHING to enjoy a walk with her!
Chelsea Brooks and I have also developed a little walking social life together since we started nursing school and during this time we really developed our friendship and now she is one of my bridesmaids! She introduced me to Cherokee Trail in Sequoya Hills and I LOVE it! The whole thing is nearly 6 miles, and I think ONE time we might have done the whole thing! :) Chelsea got me through a lot of stressful times and helped me make it through nursing school with all her advice and help! She is a pro at nursing and got into Vanderbilt for Peds nursing! Go Chelsea! :)
Laura Hood and I met at the BCM and she told me she loved parks, and so I decided to introduce her to all the parks in Knoxville! We always go to Tyson and get lost in the gorgeous greenway! Tyson is so fun and it takes you all the way to Kingston Pike. But I don't think we ever went THAT far! Laura is such an amazing, godly friend who always asks about my walk with Christ on our walks, and things usually get deep and spiritual and I love it!
My cousin Megan is one of the most amazing cooks you will ever meet! She also is a hardcore walker and so we meet up at Trex on campus and more recently Lakeshore and catch up on our lives! She is making the groomscake for my wedding and I know it will look fabulous! She came and lived in South Africa with me for a few months my senior year, and we were the most avid step class members at my gym in South AFrica. If the class was offered, we were there! :)
Kayley Ray is like my twin. She probably loves walking more than me and she loves starbucks and green foods and we are just quite the pair. We started walking together when she came to UT at the beginning of the year. She is from Jefferson City, and so over Christmas break, we did not let the tradition die and we met up at Panther Creek in the freezing cold and walked walked walked! :) She is making my wedding cake and everyone is in for a treat!!!!! She did a trial run, mini version of the cake in December and it was gorgeous!
And of course, the people I have walked with my whole life.... my family! Every time I am home on break, SOMEBODY in my family is always there to walk with me! My mom and I will go and talk forever, my dad likes to go on walks and talk about my future (ha) and my sisters of course walk with me and we always have the best time!
David and I walked 5 miles tonight at Tyson! We have done hiking trails, random trails in Knoxville just to be adventurous and Lakeshore, Cherokee and Tyson a million times. Our most recent walks and talks are about wedding plans and jobs and where we are going to live and graduating and BCM etc etc! I really hope he loves our walks, because he will be walking with me for the rest of his life! :)
BUT, I would like to explain my slight obsession for walking and all the benefits it has in my life. :)
And maybe it will inspire you to grab some friends, find a park and start walking to! :)
I mainly go walking to SOCIALIZE! :) I have certain girlfriends that I have developed weekly walking schedules with, and that is when we catch up on life AND exercise at the same time!
I think it all started with Rachel Riley. We walked like crazy people to relieve our nursing stress during freshman and sophomore year. She then transferred to Carson Newman and in order for us to keep in touch, we just decided to walk together every week no matter what! We did miss a few, but we always tried! Lakeshore is our favorite and Rachel is intense at working out and always makes me do 4 miles. ha. Rachel is now engaged and so of course we walk and talk wedding wedding wedding!
Lauren James and I became so close during or time living at the BCM. Living together made it so easy to plan walks and get motivated. I remember for some reason we always fit our walks in early in the morning, and we would drag ourselves out the BCM door with no makeup on and hair in a mess and start walking! Lauren and I always had a million things to talk about, and now that she is at JMU in grad school I would give ANYTHING to enjoy a walk with her!
Chelsea Brooks and I have also developed a little walking social life together since we started nursing school and during this time we really developed our friendship and now she is one of my bridesmaids! She introduced me to Cherokee Trail in Sequoya Hills and I LOVE it! The whole thing is nearly 6 miles, and I think ONE time we might have done the whole thing! :) Chelsea got me through a lot of stressful times and helped me make it through nursing school with all her advice and help! She is a pro at nursing and got into Vanderbilt for Peds nursing! Go Chelsea! :)
Laura Hood and I met at the BCM and she told me she loved parks, and so I decided to introduce her to all the parks in Knoxville! We always go to Tyson and get lost in the gorgeous greenway! Tyson is so fun and it takes you all the way to Kingston Pike. But I don't think we ever went THAT far! Laura is such an amazing, godly friend who always asks about my walk with Christ on our walks, and things usually get deep and spiritual and I love it!
My cousin Megan is one of the most amazing cooks you will ever meet! She also is a hardcore walker and so we meet up at Trex on campus and more recently Lakeshore and catch up on our lives! She is making the groomscake for my wedding and I know it will look fabulous! She came and lived in South Africa with me for a few months my senior year, and we were the most avid step class members at my gym in South AFrica. If the class was offered, we were there! :)
Kayley Ray is like my twin. She probably loves walking more than me and she loves starbucks and green foods and we are just quite the pair. We started walking together when she came to UT at the beginning of the year. She is from Jefferson City, and so over Christmas break, we did not let the tradition die and we met up at Panther Creek in the freezing cold and walked walked walked! :) She is making my wedding cake and everyone is in for a treat!!!!! She did a trial run, mini version of the cake in December and it was gorgeous!
And of course, the people I have walked with my whole life.... my family! Every time I am home on break, SOMEBODY in my family is always there to walk with me! My mom and I will go and talk forever, my dad likes to go on walks and talk about my future (ha) and my sisters of course walk with me and we always have the best time!
David and I walked 5 miles tonight at Tyson! We have done hiking trails, random trails in Knoxville just to be adventurous and Lakeshore, Cherokee and Tyson a million times. Our most recent walks and talks are about wedding plans and jobs and where we are going to live and graduating and BCM etc etc! I really hope he loves our walks, because he will be walking with me for the rest of his life! :)
Friday, April 8, 2011
RN, Registered Nurse, REAL NURSE!
God opened a door for me this week that I NEVER thought He would open, and I am running through it!
I don't even know where to begin!
David, my gorgeous fiance and best friend, and I have been planning on moving to Wake Forest, NC once we graduate since the summer of last year. We have been so excited about this adventure and big move as newlyweds and even had a townhouse already picked out. David was going to be attending seminary and I was going to start my career as a nurse in a hospital.
I started looking for jobs and talking to recruiters in December and was determined to find a job and have everything lined up by March! I over plan a lot, but with this, I wanted to make sure we would have a source of income and way to pay expenses before we picked up and moved.
David and I spent our date nights applying to every hospital we could find and emailing recruiters. We made phone calls and thought we had tried everything possible.
To make a long story short, God closed the door. I don't know why, but obviously His plan is greater than what I had over planned for. I have been so depressed and disappointed and confused by this and I was just so worried about making a big move without me having a job after getting a degree in nursing and feeling like my college career was a waste.
I started my senior preceptorship on the Labor and Delivery Unit at UT Medical Center on Saturday April 2nd. During April, each senior in our nursing program is placed one on one with a nurse in our area of interest to get intense trainig and learn everything we can about that field before we graduate. I fell in LOVE with the UT Labor and Delivery Unit when I started this weekend! I had such an amazing time being apart of so many births and helping in such a beautiful moment for families! To my surprise and EXCITEMENT, on Wed April 6th, I was offered a job to join the Labor and Delivery team as a new grad nurse when I graduate!
Labor and Delivery is my PASSION, I loooooove it!
Now I have to brag on David. When I told him about the job offer, he prayed about it and had such an amazing willing attitude to change the initial seminary plan so that I could take this opportunity. He knew I was so extremely excited to get a job offer in my area of interest and at a place I know and love!! He is going to do some online seminary work and extension through southeastern and start looking for a church here in Knoxville where he can serve, learn and grow for a few years before we go to seminary.
I see this as a huge change in plans for us, but I think God is teaching us that He will provide even if it doesn't happen the way we thought it would. I am excited about working in L and D, like sooooooooo much! I am going to work so hard and love on a whole bunch of pregnant ladies and newborn babies!
David has been an amazing support, and he is going to take every opportunity he can to use this time to grow and learn in a church and gain experience! South Eastern also offers online classes and so he is going to do those in order to get credit hours in and start his seminary experience even while we are here, which is so exciting!
I am excited about our marriage and getting a cute townhouse here in Knoxville and all the amazing things God has in store. I can't wait to buy my first pair of scrubs for a real RN job and start working!
Please pray for David and I as we start this new adventure! :)
I don't even know where to begin!
David, my gorgeous fiance and best friend, and I have been planning on moving to Wake Forest, NC once we graduate since the summer of last year. We have been so excited about this adventure and big move as newlyweds and even had a townhouse already picked out. David was going to be attending seminary and I was going to start my career as a nurse in a hospital.
I started looking for jobs and talking to recruiters in December and was determined to find a job and have everything lined up by March! I over plan a lot, but with this, I wanted to make sure we would have a source of income and way to pay expenses before we picked up and moved.
David and I spent our date nights applying to every hospital we could find and emailing recruiters. We made phone calls and thought we had tried everything possible.
To make a long story short, God closed the door. I don't know why, but obviously His plan is greater than what I had over planned for. I have been so depressed and disappointed and confused by this and I was just so worried about making a big move without me having a job after getting a degree in nursing and feeling like my college career was a waste.
I started my senior preceptorship on the Labor and Delivery Unit at UT Medical Center on Saturday April 2nd. During April, each senior in our nursing program is placed one on one with a nurse in our area of interest to get intense trainig and learn everything we can about that field before we graduate. I fell in LOVE with the UT Labor and Delivery Unit when I started this weekend! I had such an amazing time being apart of so many births and helping in such a beautiful moment for families! To my surprise and EXCITEMENT, on Wed April 6th, I was offered a job to join the Labor and Delivery team as a new grad nurse when I graduate!
Labor and Delivery is my PASSION, I loooooove it!
Now I have to brag on David. When I told him about the job offer, he prayed about it and had such an amazing willing attitude to change the initial seminary plan so that I could take this opportunity. He knew I was so extremely excited to get a job offer in my area of interest and at a place I know and love!! He is going to do some online seminary work and extension through southeastern and start looking for a church here in Knoxville where he can serve, learn and grow for a few years before we go to seminary.
I see this as a huge change in plans for us, but I think God is teaching us that He will provide even if it doesn't happen the way we thought it would. I am excited about working in L and D, like sooooooooo much! I am going to work so hard and love on a whole bunch of pregnant ladies and newborn babies!
David has been an amazing support, and he is going to take every opportunity he can to use this time to grow and learn in a church and gain experience! South Eastern also offers online classes and so he is going to do those in order to get credit hours in and start his seminary experience even while we are here, which is so exciting!
I am excited about our marriage and getting a cute townhouse here in Knoxville and all the amazing things God has in store. I can't wait to buy my first pair of scrubs for a real RN job and start working!
Please pray for David and I as we start this new adventure! :)
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