June is upon us, and when you are 24 years old that means that you will be spending many of the upcoming summer weekends attending weddings.  Some people don't like this because it takes time away from summer projects, you have to travel, and newsflash...weddings are not cheap to attend.  At the least, you have to spend money to get a nice gift...lots of the time you have to travel far which means gas money and shelling out some dough for a hotel room.  Also if you are in the wedding party you can just forget about it...this means you have to chip in for the bachelor or bachelorette partiy, pay a couple hundred bucks for a dress or tux that you will only wear once, and a lady can easily pay over $100 to get hair and nails done.  But you know what...all this is so fine with me because...I LOVE WEDDINGS! 

I love the love that is in the air, I love seeing old people dancing, I love the glow of the newly married couple, I love the decorations, I love the toasts, I love having an excuse to get all dressed up...weddings are great!

All this wedding love has caused me to reflect on Brady and my special day...which was already almost a year ago.

Some of my favorite memories from that day are...almost throwing up and passing out before walking down the aisle (wasn't fun at the time, is pretty funny now), being super surprised when Pastor Tim said "Brady you may now kiss your beautiful bride" and Brady french kissed me for a very VERY long time...haha did not expect that one, whispering with Brady as we danced to our slow song "Crazy Girl" - Eli Young Band, surprising everyone when my dad and I broke it down on the dance floor for during the usually very boring Daddy Daughter Dance, singing "Fancy" with Megs as loud as we could into our sparkly microphones...just like at our apartment except for one minor difference =), and riding home in Brady's truck...it was just like the millions of other times we rode in his truck chatting and holding hands...except I was wearing a wedding dress!

The wedding was a wonderful day...but marriage makes a wonderful LIFE!

Brady and I have a couple of neighbor kids who we lovingly refer to as "the boys".  We met the boys shortly after buying our house a little over a year ago.  If we were working outside in our yard they would just stop by to say hello, often times standing around awkwardly and talking way longer than we had time for.  During these conversations we quickly learned a lot about the boys and their lives.  They are twins, even though one looks older than the other.  Their names are Dustin and JR and they were 17 years old...now 18.  Their mom didn't work and they were going through some rough financial times but she was looking for a job.

When we learned that the boys and their mom were having some financial issues it didn't come as a huge shock to us.  We hadn't ever been inside their home, but from the outside you could tell that it wasn't taken care of very well.  The grass was two feet long, there was a fallen down tree just lying in the front yard, and the house emitted a very disgusting dirty smell.  All these things of course were the effect of not only poverty, but also laziness...which often go hand in hand.

Over the winter is when we found out things were really bad.  We would drive past the house at 6:00 pm and it would be pitch black...their financial status had fallen so low that they could no longer afford to pay the electric bill.  They had two horses in the pasture by their house that were both wasting away from starvation.  Those ended up getting taken away by the county, thank God.  One of them survived but one was too weak to even stand up to get onto the trailer to be taken to its safe haven and he died.  Yes it was very sad seeing those horses shrink to skin and bones in the freezing temperatures.  But what was even more sad was the two boys who were living inside that home, also freezing, dirty, and hungry. 

Brady and I started employing the boys around the house and the farm...just doing odd jobs for us here and there.  We would pay them $20 and they would go home like they just won the lottery.  It broke our hearts when we learned that whenever we gave them money...money that they had worked hard for and earned...the first thing that they had to do with it was ride their bikes into town and buy their mom cigarettes.

The more we hung out with the boys the more our hearts grew for those goofy kids.  Sure a lot of times they would annoy me...they still do, but what teenage boy isn't annoying?  Our relationship with Dustin and JR grew and Brady told me one night that God had layed on his heart that we were going to play a big role in our lives and God placed us as their neighbors for a reason.  I laughed, shrugged it off, and secretly prayed to God that Brady's premonition wasn't true.  We were 24 year old newlyweds; the last thing I wanted was to be responsible for kids, especially 18 year old twin boys! 

We started taking the boys with us to church and shortly afterward they both got saved!  Every Sunday we tell them to come to our house at 8:15 for church, they usually arrive at 8:00, Bibles in hand, huge smiles on their faces just so excited to praise the Lord and hear the Word of God preached to them.  This just blew my mind because in my shallow worldly mind, they didn't have much to be thankful for, and when I was 18 I was never excited about going to church...I was usually trying to find excuses to get out of going!

Dustin and JR also got plugged into an awesome youth ministry in Sharpsville called Teen Blast.  A very Godly couple lead that ministry and they have helped the boys more than we could ever wish to.  One day the boys were helping out at a Teen Blast car wash and when they returned home their mom was gone.  There was a note on the counter telling the boys that she had left them and since they were 18 they were on their own.  She left her children to move to the UK to be with a man who she met while playing games on Facebook using the computers at the library...this is all true...I can't even make this stuff up.  She had kindly left the boys $100 so they could get the electric turned back on, what a great mom...insert sarcasm here.  Now even though the boys are 18, they are mentally about 15, they both need a little extra help in the classroom and they have very poor social skills as they weren't taught anything by their mom.  And as you might have guessed, they have a dead beat dad who left the boys at a very young age and they haven't heard from him or seen him since.  Their dad has also done some horrible and unthinkable things to the boys, but out of respect for them and their privacy I won't share these on a public blog. 

The date their mom left was May 19, this is a day I am sure the boys will remember forever because this was the day that their mom abandoned them.  She was the person on this earth who was supposed to care for them, help them with homework, kiss them, love them, and always be there for them.  But instead she just left them with a note and a hundred dollars so she could run away from all her problems and be with her Facebook boyfriend in another country. 

As you may know, in a small town word travels FAST!  While many people complain about this and it isn't always the best thing...in this situation it was.  Within two weeks of the boys mom leaving them the community has poured so much love on Dustin and JR it's amazing.  People have brought them food, they are getting lined up with a male mentor at our church who will act like a father figure for the boys, they are going to the dentist and doctor to get checked out, their electricity is back on, and from the exposure to more people the boys aren't nearly as awkward as they used to be.  Many people in town have also employed the boys to do odd jobs for them and the boys have raised enough money to get their electricity turned back on all by themselves!  They are also cleaning their house from top to bottom...Brady and I gave them some bleach and some rat poison and told them to get to work.  They have been working so hard on their house that when Brady saw the inside for the first time post cleaning, he was FLOORED.  They still have a long way to go on the house, but Brady and I told them that if they keep making good progress this whole week than we will celebrate this Friday with a fun night where we will go out to eat and go to the batting cages and do whatever else 18 year old boys like to do.

The generosity and love of everyone towards these boys has absolutely stunned me.  We haven't even asked anyone for anything and people are just stepping up out of the kindness of their hearts.  We have a fund (an envelope, haha) for the boys with over $1300 in it...all from people just handing us money saying they want to help "the boys"!!!!  We are taking the boys to the bank this week and we are going to open checking accounts for both of them.  We will supervise these accounts for the boys and teach them proper money management.  Dustin and JR also have both applied for multiple jobs this summer and hopefully they will be working sooner than later! 

We are planning a major spring cleaning of the boys' house to be done in the next couple of weeks.  While the house is ten times better than it used to be, it is still nowhere near sanitary.  Tom List has volunteered his dump truck and we are looking for a crew of people to come out and clean until you can't clean anymore.  We will give everyone rubber gloves and masks.  I will write again as soon as I know exactly what day we are doing this, but the more people who can help the better!  Also if anyone has any handyman experience then that would be a huge asset to this project as I know of a few things around the house that need repaired, and I am sure there are a lot more that I don't know about.  Also if anyone has any old furniture or boys clothes that are collecting dust at their house, then please send them our way!  The boys have very little so any way that anyone can think of helping them will mean a ton! 

These are great kids and just because their parents didn't do their jobs doesn't mean we can't do ours.  As Christians God calls us to help those in need, especially the fatherless and poor.  1 Samuel 2:8 says "He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap; he eats them with princes and has them inherit a throne of honor."  My interpretation of this, is that in heaven I will be mowing the boys' yard and cleaning their floors on my hands and knees.  But until then it is still our duty to help these boys...it is my prayer for them that a year from now Dustin will be graduated from high school and he will be on his way to college in the fall.  JR has dreams of getting his GED and enlisting in the military, and I also hope that this becomes his reality in a year or less!  Please contact Brady or I if you want to help in any way and I will keep the blog updated as things progress.  "He who oppresses the poor shows contempt for their Maker, but whoever is kind to the needy honors God." Proverbs 14:31

We returned today from a glorious vacation to the Smoky Mountains!  We spent the holiday weekend with our good friends Matt and Jessie at the Sundancer Cabin in rural Sevierville.  You can find Sevierville on the map between Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge.  Sevierville's claim to fame is being the hometown of Dolly Parton!  We spent the weekend hiking through the Smoky Mountain National Park, drinking, playing Euchre, eating ice cream, hot tubbing, and just relaxing!  It was such an awesome way to spend a long weekend and I cannot wait to go back someday!

It's always good to go on vacation, and it's always great to come home!  I am off to go sleep in my own bed...zzzzzzzzzzzzz...

Out with the old...

In with the new...

This weekend I will finish my 5 month long journey with Chalene doing TurboFire. TurboFire is a workout program that I started in January.  I have blogged about TurboFire before and you can read that post by clicking here.  For five months I worked out 6 days a week, anywhere from 30 minutes to 70 minutes a day.  I was very committed to this workout and I am happy to report that I didn't miss one day!  After 5 months I feel great...I was already in fairly good shape when I started the program and I haven't changed my eating habits at all.  In the end I didn't lose any weight but I feel fantastic!  

After 5 months though I am getting pretty burned out and I am excited about my newest fitness challenge.  I am going to start running!  I ran all last summer to get in shape for the wedding, but it was completely recreational and just for fun.  Now I am going to be training.  This summer I am planning on running a few 5Ks and maybe even a 10K.  We will see how it goes.  Brady's cousin, Amanda,  and I were going to do a mini marathon this summer but with conflicting schedules we just couldn't nail one down.  I am happy it's not going to work out, because I want to enjoy running and work my way up to those longer distances.  Little plug for Amanda...she is awesome and such an inspiration...you can follow her blog, which is exclusively about running by clicking here.

To get myself pumped up for my newest fitness endeavor, my lovely friend Monica and I went to Blue Mile to get fitted for running shoes.  It was really awesome; they used video gait analysis to determine what would be the best shoe for me.  Basically I ran on a treadmill that had a video camera mounted on the back that recorded my stride from the knee down.  For the analysis they had me wear a brand new pair of Nike running shoes.  We then watched the video on a big screen in slow motion.  It was determined that I overpronate - meaning when my foot hits the ground my ankle is slightly to the outside of my foot, my ankle then rolls in to compensate for me hitting the ground too much on the outside of my foot.  Over time this can cause damage and injury to the shins, knees, and Achilles tendons.  Good news though...they make tons of running shoes to correct this kind of thing.  I was the perfect candidate for a "support" running shoe.  A support shoe adds stability to a runners stride and should correct any overpronation issues.  I chose the Brooks Adrenaline GTS 12 as my first pair of support running shoes.  They felt great to run in and my stride was perfect in them.  They are also the most popular support running shoe so I figured they were a good choice.  You can learn more about the Brooks GTS Adrenaline 12s by clicking on the picture above.

I am going to start using this training program, as you can see for three months I am not even tracking distance...just time.  I am still planning on working out 6 days a week so I figured I would do yoga and strength on my days off of running. 

Wish me luck as I hit the open road!

We recently got a new clothes dryer.  It was very inexpensive, Brady installed it himself, it is super eco-friendly and wallet friendly as it costs virtually nothing to run.  The only con is that it leaves our clothes kind of crunchy...it's a CLOTHESLINE!

I just realized that I have done multiple laundry related posts...am I really weird?

I have horrible, horrible, HORRIBLE allergies.  The kind where I can't sleep, can't breathe, and can't see because my eyes get so goopy.  I pretty much eat Zyrtecs like they are candy and they usually don't even help me at all!  I was having an especially bad allergy day on Friday when I wandered into CVS and bought one of these bad boys...

That little teapot thing is called a Neti Pot, and it is basically a granola hippie way to clean out your head of all those mean allergens without taking any drugs.  You fill it with salt water, stick the blue penis part up your nose, then pour in the water...which travels up one nostril and swishes around all the deep recesses of your head and then comes out the other nostril.  It is really gross and really awesome all at the same time!   

Brady was the first one to try it and he didn't love it so much...maybe he felt weird sticking the mini weiner part up his nose?  I tried next and it worked great on me!  Brady even took this video with my handy dandy iPhone...enjoy! 

Please don't make fun of us because this is what we did on a Friday night! 

Brady and I had a very emotional weekend.  For our Saturday date night we went and saw "Bully", I recommend seeing this movie only if you are in the mood to be sad and pissed off...just kidding...kind of.  It's a documentary about the bullying problem in schools across America.  The film mainly follows 3 students who are bullied day in and day out at their schools.  The film also follows two cases of "Bullycide", which is when a child is bullied so much that is causes him or her to commit suicide.  This is a growing problem in America, especially today in our social media driven world.  Yes this movie was sad...but it was SO GOOD!  Everyone needs to see it!  I cried pretty much during the entire movie and most of the way home on our 45 minute drive from the theatre.  Yes...Brady cried also...because only real men cry (especially the really sexy ones).  I can't even watch the trailer without crying...see if you can!

So after our tear filled Saturday night we were having a delightful Sunday that started off with a wonder service at Rock Prairie.  We let the dogs out to play and after about 20 minutes when we called them to come back...Gus didn't come!  He didn't come home for about 2 hours.  During these two hours we walked through fields, drove the country roads, rode our 4-wheeler through the woods and Gus was no where to be found.  Of course Brady and I both sobbed because Gus is our baby and we really thought he was gone.  He wasn't wearing his collar...so we figured he was down the road, not around any houses and someone drove by and snatched him up thinking he was a stray.  After an hour and a half of looking for him I left Brady outside to do the searching and I rode the 4-wheeler back to the house to make some phone calls.  I called the sheriff and the Tipton County Humane Society.  Neither had any reports of anyone finding a dog.  So I sat at the computer and through tear filled eyes I made a "Lost Dog" poster.  Brady was on his way to the Sharpsville post office to post the sign when...Gus came walking out of the woods south of our house!!!!!  Brady said he just slowly meandered through the field up to his truck like nothing was wrong at all!  Now our whole family is back together and I am never letting Gus outside into the dangerous world again!  Just kidding...but I will always make sure he is wearing his collar from now on!  I mean how could you not be in love with this pup?!

We haven't cried for a couple days now which is good...my eyes needed a rest!

We recently have done a couple little projects to upgrade our country kitchen.  Our kitchen was already a good size, complete a breakfast eating area, and the appliances were all fairly new.  There were a couple things about our kitchen that were really holding us back...but for around $100.00 we have really improved the look of our kitchen.  When we bought the house the kitchen had carpet...barf...so of course we tore that out right away.  The carpet went up the side of the cabinets so when we tore it off it just left a gross black board between the bottom of the cabinet to the floor.

So I went up to Lowes and bought some "cove base" then came home and stained it.  That was where my job ended and Brady's began.  He measured it, cut it, and tacked it up.  I'm sure no one else looks under our cabinets...but I do...and now I can look at them and smile!

Then it was the stove area that needed some TLC.  I don't have a "before" picture for this one (I got too excited and forgot to take one). But just try to envision this disgustingness...dirty stove pans (the ones that go under the burner on an electric stove), and a MUSTAND YELLOW range hood...ick, ick ICK...it looked like baby poop!  So I went out to Bed Bath and Beyond...coupons in hand, and bought new electric burner pans...trying to clean these things is impossible, and they are so cheap that it's not even worth it to try cleaning them.  I also picked up a can of white appliance spray paint from Lowes.  We took off the range hood, cleaned it up, and then I went to town with the paint!  Brady put everything back together and it looks amazing!  This was such a huge improvement and it cost less than $20.00!

The last thing we improved was the kitchen sink area.  We had a mustard yellow sink (to match the baby poop range hood of course) and a really old ugly faucet.  Doing dishes already sucks...and when you are doing them in an ugly sink it just makes the chore that much worse!

We had an extra white sink laying around...one of the great benefits of buying a house, barn, and an art studio...we found all sorts of treasures!  And I bought a Moen faucet and kitchen curtain from Lowes.  My handyman hubby installed the new sink and faucet and did all the plumbing by himself.  I hung the curtain and we love the final product! 

Even with our sexy new kitchen sink I still don't like doing dishes...oh well!

So we didn't go to prom...we went to after-prom, so that's not as creepy right?  Brady's cousin, Cole, is a junior at Tri-Central High School and it's the juniors every year who plan prom.  The juniors also plan the after-prom with help from their parents.  This is an alternative thing to do after the dance that provides a safe environment that is drug, alcohol, and sex free...unlike many other after-prom parties. 

Brady's Uncle Mike and Aunt Jenny are Cole's parents and they were very involved in planning the after-prom.  Aunt Jenny is always helping us out with projects on our house, watching our dogs, and saving coupons for me.  So when she told Brady that they might be short on parent help and could use a couple extra volunteers, he said yes right away.  I was kind of a baby about it because I was pissed that Brady would volunteer me for something without even asking me, especially when the thing he volunteered me for was on a Saturday night from 11:30 pm - 3:30 am.  But after much complaining I went along with him and it ended up being a super fun date night!

Brady and I helped out at the "Casino" where the kids could play blackjack or poker.  There were also areas where the kids could dance, do laser tag, go in a "cash cube", go inside giant hamster balls, there was a cartoonist, and a photo booth, and tons of food and drinks, and many other fun things that I am sure I am forgetting.  

I was really surprised by how many kids actually attended the after-prom.  When I was in high school hardly anyone went to the after-prom.  Everyone seemed to go to the person's house where the parents were out of town and the big brother bought beer.  I am sure kids here do that stuff also, but a lot of them really don't and it's cool to see that side of high school that I was never a part of.  It just makes me I feel like I have moved to Pleasantville or have gone back in time to the 50's because I live in such a morally upright Christian community. 

I know I make fun of Sharpsville a lot and I always tease Brady for being so sheltered because he grew up here.  But I really do love this little corner of the world, and I can't wait to raise our kids here.  This really is home and I couldn't imagine living anywhere else.

After being up till 3:30 in the morning, my prom date and I need a nap!
Thanks for reading!

Its already the middle of April and it feels like 2012 is trucking along a million miles an hour!  I thought it would be a good time to check on how I am doing with my New Year's Resolutions.  I posted my resolutions on the blog as my first post of the year, so I could be accountable to my readers...all two of you =)  You can read that post by clicking here.

Here is what I resolved to do in 2012...let's see how I am doing...

2012 Resolutions
1.  Read the Bible in a year...Brady and I are doing this together and it is going very well.  We haven't slacked and we are right on track.  We are reading the Bible in chronological order following this plan.  So far we have read all of Genesis, Job, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, most of 1 Samuel, and some of the Psalms.  We read every night in bed together, many nights reading out loud to each other.  It is such an intimate and special time where we grow closer to each other and the Lord.
2.  Mail two cards a month...I also have done good (that is not proper English) on this resolution.  This is a pretty easy one for me to keep because I love getting and sending cards.  It also helps that I recently bought 2 packages of super cute Vera Bradley greeting cards at the outlet sale!
3.  Blog twice a week...I am not doing as well on this one.  Sometimes I feel like I don't have time to blog, and sometimes I feel like I just don't have anything to say.  Hard to believe I know...I will try to do better =)
4.  Research one topic a month...Also not doing amazing on this one...I have researched three out of four months but not in a very organized fashion.  I have learned about marriage, vitamins, and natural childbirth (my dad is laughing reading this...he thinks I am a freak...HI DAD!)  I have learned a lot of useful information about these three topics and definitely want to continue to learn about marriage and natural childbirth.  Learning about vitamins wasn't as exciting and I am done with that.

How is everyone else doing on their 2012 resolutions?  I would love to hear!