a Journey...

We bought a car! 2009 Dodge Journey! Complete with 3 rows of seats for all of our future babies. Small enough for me, big enough for my babies. Yay!

Don't let us being thrilled (now) fool you into thinking I didn't have 12 full on mental breakdowns the next 3 days after we bought it. Yep. Poor Rob was so good at taking care of me, and loving me through it without a hint of how he actually felt about the whole situation. :) Days later (after I started to enjoy the car), we talked about how silly it was. Buyers remorse. Oh, fun times.

But we really are thrilled with our new car and the years and memories to come!

Wedding Day Recap

We had such a special day as a wedding day! It rained all day until 1:00pm and the sun peaked out and never went away. It warmed up just in time for pictures and to get everything that we couldn't set up because of the rain set up, chairs dried off, etc.

Once the girls started walking, my dad and I followed. He was trying to walk slow to savor every moment as I was leaping, anxious to see my almost husband. The ceremony was perfect and beautiful. As we were standing, staring into each others eyes, barely realizing anyone else was around, a gentle breeze swept by, as flower blossoms off of the trees starting to fall down around us. It was perfect.


You can watch our incredible wedding video here.

Here are some of my favorite moments that were captured . . .

-   -   -   -   -   -   -   -   -   -   -   -   -   -   -   -   -   -   -   -   -   -

Andrew Knechel - Photographer

Tom Pottiger - Videographer

The Bloombox - Florist

Warehouse Gourmet & Bistro - Catering

Jacquelyn's Bakeshop & Cafe - Cake & Desserts

Bri Buffington - Coordinator

Wayne Redding - Officiant

Josiah Milligan - DJ

Ali Wise - Hair & Make Up

Jackie Angleberger - Dress Alterations

House Hunting

We went house hunting last night! It was so much fun. We looked at 3 different houses which each had their own unique touches. We had such a blast. On our way to see the houses we were talking about how we just want this to be a fun experience. We have no timeline of when we want/need to move. The apartment we are in now is great for this time in our lives, but we're anxious to have our own place when the time comes! We are just taking our time, looking for houses, and going with the flow. Just enjoying the experience.

1. The Princess House
My goodness she was gorgeous. So much character and charm. Truly the perfect Princess house. She had beautiful black wooden floors and beautiful wooden trim. Unfortunately, 3 bedrooms was not quite enough and there was not quite enough room for entertaining like we are looking for. We are definitely glad she was on our list though!

2. The Big Blue
This big blue house used to be a duplex that they turned into a single family home. Refinished original hardwood floors, lots of entertaining room, a big beautiful back yard. We definitely saw a lot of potential in this house.

3. The Dreamy Brick 

Brick Colonials make my heart go pitter-patter. Well, you can only imagine my reaction when I found this big beauty online. I was scared to look at the price because it was so beautiful and perfect. But, it turns out, it's only about $20K out of our budget and it's been on the market for a long time. It has 3 living rooms, 2 dining rooms, a kitchen, and a half bath downstairs. Beautiful refinished original floors, just completely renovated, all original molding & light fixtures. Perfection. We were in love with this one before we even stepped foot in, but once we did we were screaming "THIS IS IT!" 

We are currently working on putting in an offer! We are praying like crazy and trusting God to perfectly line everything up for us. 

We're still a little bit in shock with how much we love this house! It is everything we could dream of in the perfect house. Completely move in ready, but ready for some personal touches. 

We've got big plans for this big beauty! 

Oh Happy Day!

This beautiful view was waiting for me when I got home today! I have been dreaming of my beautiful grey couches for a loooong time and they are finally here!

But then....

Uh. Yeah. I was a little worried I was never going to get these things together! I really wanted to have them all put together and set up by the time Rob got home and after looking at this mess I thought there was no way it was even slightly possible. 

After awhile of mumbling and complaining, I started working on it and it was so easy! The hardest part was getting it out of the box. They seriously stuffed those things in there. 

LOVE! They're all put together and beautiful. Gosh, I love them! My heart is happy! 

I'm just going to sit here and enjoy my new beautiful couches and spotless living room, pretending my kitchen doesn't look like this...

S.O.S. :P

"Blessings are Hard Work"

I have been praying to be a wife for so long - and now I finally am! I love being a wife. I love being able to care for and serve my husband. I really won the jackpot though. I most definitely have the best husband in the world.

So far, my schedule (from my last post) has been working really well! I don't feel burnt out by the end of the day and I'm always ready for snuggles before bed. :)
My lock screen of my phone has a quote that I fell in love with as soon as I read it;

"Laundry can wait, but a love story needs to be written a little bit every day!" 

- Shauna Niequist

Yesterday, Rob was really sick - we think it's probably just backlash from not enough sleep, stress & excitement of the wedding, and regular seasonal stuff. I made dinner, but he wasn't hungry (now I don't have to make dinner tonight - booya!) so put dinner away in the fridge, made myself a bowl of cereal and laid in bed watching TV with my husband. I know those things are easy to do now, since we are just newly married and I want all of my time spent with my husband. But it felt really important to me to be with him instead of worrying about what the rest of the house looks like, or the other things on my to do list. It also helps that I don't constantly have a wedding on the brain! 

I really think that it is all about mindset, though. I really think life, in general, is all about our mindset - how we view the situations we are in. On Mother's Day one of my favorite people, Candace Pringle, spoke about this at Freedom Valley, I strongly advise you to watch it here. It was such a great reminder to refocus our minds. One of my favorite things she said is "Blessings are hard work." I really hope, with everything in me, that I remember this in a year when laundry is piling up and I have no motivation to do it, or when my husband is sick again, and begs for my attention when my to-do list is a mile long.

But, I prayed for this. I prayed to be a wife. I prayed to be able to have a home to take care of.

I never want to complain about the blessings God puts in my life. 

Wedding Vows

When I was a little girl, I prayed for a husband who would love me selflessly. A husband who would be my very best friend, and could make me laugh uncontrollably. A husband who would not only put up with my need for attention, but would want to give it. 

Robert Daniel Boyd-Thomas,

You are everything.

Everything I prayed for.

Everything I could ever want.

Everything I could ever dream.

You love me selflessly.

You are my very best friend and you make me laugh with your ridiculous sense of humor. 

You give me all of the attention I need - and more!

You are my superman.

You are my biggest supporter and my voice of reason.

You keep me on my toes and remind me to relax.

You encourage my newest crazy idea and you hug me when I’m sad.

You are everything.

Rob,

I promise to always be faithful.

I promise to wake up every morning with the decision to love you through it all.

I promise to prepare myself daily for the challenges that we will face. 

I promise to never give up, and fight for us every day of my life.

I promise to hold you after a bad day at work.

I promise to work hard to be the wife that you deserve.

I promise to take care of you when you’re sick - even when that means forcing you to take my homemade remedies.

I promise to remember that you're human too, even though I'm completely convinced you're superman, or MoonKnight… whatever. 

I promise to encourage you to buy the awesome newest board game that you’re dying to have.

Most of all, I promise to love you, unconditionally, every day for the rest of my life. 

Homemade Toothpaste

We're are on the road to cutting out unnecessary ingredients, additives, and sugars. One easy project I found was toothpaste! Once I thought about brushing my teeth with sugar, I thought that probably wasn't the best thing in the world to be doing. So Rob and I talked, and we figured we'd give it a shot, and if we didn't like it, we'd go back to the old stuff. 

Well, let me tell you, there's no going back! After one use, our mouths felt so clean and our teeth were even noticeably (to us) whiter! It did take awhile to get used the texture (the oil melts in your mouth, so its runny) and the taste (not sweet! especially when you're used to store bought). We will never use store bought toothpaste again.

Homemade Toothpaste

  1/2 cup coconut oil

  1/4 cup baking soda

  1/2 teaspoon honey

  1/2 teaspoon turmeric (optional)

  20-25 drops peppermint oil

Mix all ingredients together, until combined. Put in jar or squeeze tube.

Use regularly as you would toothpaste.

Finding Balance

Being a wife is difficult. Everyone tells you how tough it is to be a mom, and they try to prepare you for it as much as possible, but I feel like we so often skip over warning young women about what it really looks like to be a wife.

Working 70+ hour weeks being a care giver, nanny, barista, and admin assistant and coming home to a disastrous house, a “planned” dinner that I left in the freezer, and a husband who had a bad day at work (its been a tough month or so for him) is just not working.
I need balance. I need to prioritize and find new ways to multitask.

One thing that is extremely important to me is that Rob can come home to a clean house, with dinner cooking, take his shoes off and play video games while he gets some “me” time. This is not something that he ever asks for or complains about when it doesn’t happen, but I know it’s important to him and what he wants to be able to do. This is not something I am willing to compromise. Sometimes I will ask him to pick up something for dinner, take out the trash, or straighten up a little bit before our friends come over, but I don’t want it to be a daily thing. 

He works so hard. He deserves time to himself! That is just one way that I can serve him. 

Another very important thing to us is that we go to bed at the same time. No matter how crazy our days are, we will always be able to snuggle and talk laying next to each other. The rest of my cleaning can wait until the next morning when he’s at work! 

I am burnt out. Being a college student, working 70+ hours a week, while planning a wedding, starting to look for houses, and trying to be a wife as much as I can be without living in the same home. Phew. 

Now that college is over for the summer, and the wedding planning is over with (in 8 days!!!), I feel like I can almost breathe and finally figure out what wife life looks like. 

Here’s my plan on how to get it all done.

   6:00am - wake up (make bed & straighten up bedroom)

   6:15am - get ready for the day

   7:00am - prepare for day (collect dinner ingredients, straighten couches, empty dishwasher, wipe bathroom/kitchen counters, 
     sweep/mop/vacuum)

   8:00am - leave for work

   8:30am - arrive to work

       (thankfully, being a caregiver for my grandfather for 9hours a day gives me time where I can work on my admin assistant 
      work, grocery shopping, do laundry, etc)

       *I spend the first half of the day getting whatever needs done around Grandpa’s house, getting his meds, cleaning the 
        bathroom, cleaning the kitchen, etc and then I get to spend the second half getting my personal to-do list done. Since I’m 
        there every day and he doesn’t make a mess, there’s not a whole lot to do if I keep up with regular chores, so it’s great that I 
        have the ability to get some personal things done - especially since I work as much as I do. 

   0:00m - make dinner (time depends on crock pot meal, dinner on the stove/oven) 

       (I have to make meals for my grandfather, so it makes it easy to only have to make dinner once - finding something that all 
        three of us like. I can make it while at work, and bring it home for R & I to eat as soon as I get home, or shortly after)

   5:00pm - dinner time for Grandpa

   5:30pm - arrive home & dinner time for R & I

   5:30pm - put away laundry (I do this first thing so I can sit, watch TV, and enjoy time with R on the couch!)

       - while watching TV -

   6:00pm - get the rats out for the exercise

   6:00pm - put dishes in dishwasher & run

   6:30pm - mop/sweep (if not done in the morning)

   6:30pm - pay any necessary bills, bank transfers, etc (so it can be done with R)

   6:30pm - put rats to bed (with fresh water & food)

   8:00pm - bed time! (snuggle with my husband :))

   8:30pm - asleep

This is the ideal day and although most of the evening of our days don’t look like this, it's a good baseline! It’s a way for me to get things done without burning out.
I’m learning how to multitask smarter and learning how to manage my time better and that's what's most important.
My husband deserves the best version of me and when I’m burnt out, I am NOT the best version of me. I have so much to learn. In our vows, I will promise him that I will work hard daily to be the wife he deserves, and I fully intend on keeping that promise.