Tribute

**Warning... sappy post ahead.

Before I begin with the sap I am going to share that it has been once again, a wild and crazy year. Which has made me decide that instead of introducing each post with a “back from hiatus” joke/reference I am going to move forward with blogging “seasonally.” Especially since most of my posts are recapping moments either around holidays or during the summer months when life for me is less hectic. However, the recapping will have to wait since clearly from the title, this post serves a different purpose. A tribute.

In just a few short days two young women will reach a milestone. One that makes me happy, sad, and every emotion in between and for various reasons. You see, these two have been my BFF’s since before they could remember. When I reflect on my life they have been at the core of many memories. So what would a tribute be without a walk down memory lane?

*Photo provided to transport us to 1999

Circa 1999
1. Before you were even born I remember moving from Colorado to Kansas City and having to pull over because mom’s feet were swelling so much.
2. I still remember sitting on mom and dad’s waterbed talking about what they planned on naming the two of you. Kelly and Faith were pretty solid choices. I HOPE you two agree.
3. Even if we griped about it then being crammed into the bedroom with Lindsay and Megan made for a wild childhood. Can you imaging bunk beds, an additional bed, and the three of us getting along enough to sleep together?!
4. I was in the third grade when the two of you were born. Everyone at Hillcrest was fascinated by twins. When dad came to pick us up to go to the hospital you all were the talk of the school! I’m pretty sure they even made an announcement about it. I think that was what it meant to go “viral” back in the day.
5. There are too many times to count when we were at the store and Lindsay would be mistaken for your mom. This allowed mom to practice being a grandma. Even if it was for a split second before Lindsay quickly corrected the cashiers.
6. When we first got Alba I remember walking with mom to go and pick the two of you up from school. A small piece of my heart still expects you and A-Rod to get married Faith!

Fast forward a couple years later.

7.  I’ve been through every fad (feathers in the hair), boy band crush, and TV addiction. Let me tell you *NSYNC and Baskstreet Boys are 100x better than Justin Bieber, Hannah Montana, 5SOS.... should I go on?
8. Andrew has been one of the “girls” for just as long. I’d almost be willing to bet he’d put *NSYNC over Hannah Montana any day. Especially after having the opportunity to see her in 3D with 150 other screaming girls.
9. The two of you have been a part of Andrew and I’s relationship from the beginning and it has made me love him even more. I have gotten to see him turn from a weird guy I was hanging out with to a brother to the two of you. For that I thank you. (At this point I should also thank Andrew for putting up with the three of us). 
10. Summer time at the pool. Walking up to play on the playground at Kentucky Trail. Remember when Andrew had to go to the bathroom and said he’d meet us up there. By dusk he hadn’t returned... what a crappy day that was. :)
11. Thanks to Facebook and it’s automatic tagging feature I have lived vicariously through high school again and have been able to hold onto my youth that much longer.
12. High school years come with many firsts- first dances, first boy crushes, first time driving, first job, etc.
13. With that I have also experienced heartbreak that comes with young “love,” growth, disappointment, and an understanding of why my mom thought I was so difficult as a teenager.
14.  And after Thursday I will be able to add another memory to the list. Your graduation.

As graduation has gotten closer I have caught myself reflecting. I shared this with Andrew this past weekend and I believe it to be true. Be grateful for every experience you have had. It is easy to say “I am so done with high school,” or “I’m ready to leave this god forsaken place.” Trust me I said those things too and they might very well be true. But don’t forget these things. These are the things that have made you who you are. As you are going through many lasts right now and experiencing different emotions, embrace those emotions. Those emotions are a sign that you’ve lived. That you care. That you’ve been impacted by the moments that have lead to this one. So be grateful for that. Be proud of the hard work you put in to get to this moment. But stay humble. Learn from the moments when you were knocked down but make sure you always pick yourself back up. Dust yourself off and continue to move forward. Those are the opportunities you will learn and grow in most. Seize those opportunities and never forget where you came from. Soon you will look back on those moments thinking where did the time go. Trust me- I’m thinking it as I write this.

So there you have it. A tribute. A tribute to my two best friends- Kelly and Faith.

New Home Project

We returned from Mexico last week around midnight and decided to stay at my parents house and return home the following morning. For those who have been following along- that last time I was home we did DIY projects. This time was no different!

After telling my family all about our trip we decided to go over to the thrift store nearby and see what they had. I found a dresser for $20 that I thought would serve well as a new TV stand. I've been trying to convince Andrew to get rid of his since we moved but have had no luck. However, after I showed him plans for what I wanted to do he reluctantly agreed and we purchased the dresser.

Here is before we put in any work:

 

My dad thought the best way to go about relishing it would be to sand it down and strip it of the veneer finish. We decide to go that route but realized halfway through we probably could have stained it and just painted right over the top. But hey- if we're going to do a project, we're not going to half-ass it. 

After getting it home we decided to paint it a light blue/green color to compliment our other furniture.

After Andrew drilled holes in where the cords needed to go we positioned everything just right. The photo below was taken shortly after we painted it and wanted to make sure the paint was completely dry before setting it on the carpet. I haven't taken a chance to photograph it without the tin foil on the bottom! 

Our next step is to find baskets that fit on both sides and put the handles back on (they're currently sitting on our kitchen table) to complete the look. Unfortunately, we've had no luck! We went to Michaels and found a basket we thought would fit but they only had one and we haven't been able to find another. Stay tuned for the FINAL product when we finally find baskets!

Home Sweet Home

Part of my hiatus from the blog included Andrew and I searching to buy a house. The whole process happened so quickly and has been an amazing experience thanks to our wonderful realtor.

Back in January and after the kidney stone mishap, Andrew made a comment- completely joking- that he wanted to buy a house so we would have a hose to be able to wash the cars. However, this joke was a seed planted in both our minds and began to grow into something larger. A couple days later we received a note from our landlord asking about re-leasing our apartment and that rent would be increasing by $30. Yes, I know what you're thinking- $30 isn't a whole lot in the grand scheme of things but if you add it up over 12 months and then however many years we stay in Kansas we figured it might be worth looking into a mortgage.

The house buying process was completely new to me but Andrew had some experience from buying a house back in Belton a couple years ago. Lucky for us we got connected to our AWESOME realtor who worked with us around the clock to make sure the experience was a positive one. Within the first two days of deciding we wanted to look into buying she had set-up 6 showings for us that coming weekend.

After looking at the 6 homes we fell in love with a house that was a little out of our price range but we decided to try and put an offer in anyways and test our luck. Unfortunately, someone else put in a more appealing bid and we didn't get the house. However, right after we looked at the 6, Andrew and I had stumbled across a house we wanted to check out if the offer wasn't accepted. The next evening Stephanie scheduled a showing and we decided to jump right in. The house was in our price range and had practically everything we were looking for. That evening we submitted an offer and were off to the races!

The whole house buying process was very anti-climatic. You put in an offer... wait... hear about your offer... wait.... start the loan process... wait... BUT our wait is finally over and we are now homeowners in the city of Eudora, KS as of 10:30 this morning.

Of course, with recently attending the Home and Garden Show and Andrews obsession with HGTV we have a list of projects we hope to complete and are excited about the potential the house has. It's a great starter home and we can't wait to begin making memories in a place we can finally call our own.

**note: we took this photo during our final walk through last week. It was per Kansas weather with strong winds and some rain sprinkles.

2016... 3 months later

Holy moly- 2016 is in full gear!

Andrew and I's first married Christmas was one for the books! We learned a lot about one another and had our first "crisis" as a married couple. Three days before Christmas, Andrew found out he had kidney stones. This wasn't the first time he'd been stoned BUT it was far worse than the last time.

The Sunday evening before Christmas he was urinating blood and we decided to go to the hospital just to get it checked out. Unfortunately, we found out he had a stone 10mm wide which is ultimately un-passable. So upon leaving the hospital they had us make an appointment with an urologist the following day. They were able to get him in the next afternoon and Andrew was going strong until he had to move to get to the doctors and then he was on his knees in pain. The urologist was unable to do anything due to it being so close to Christmas and told him to hold it out for a week!! -__-

That evening the pain got worse and he had to go back to the hospital. This time we decided we were going to Kansas City and hopefully they would be able to help. Unfortunately, that was unsuccessful again and we had to track down a doctor who would be able to do lithotripsy- a procedure to shock the stones into pieces that are easier to pass. To our luck, the lithotripsy machine was in Topeka and we were able to get him in to have the procedure done along with putting a stent in- all the day before Christmas Eve. Thankfully, after we were able to break the stones the healing process wasn't as painful and we were able to enjoy the remainder of the holidays. However, after spending two nights in the hospital and having to help Andrew in ways I was never prepared to help- we survived and are coming up on a year of marriage, 3 months staph and kidney stone free!

It's the little victories in life that count! :)

I've been meaning to jump back on this wagon but struggled finding time... yes, I know that's nothing but an excuse and I'm fully aware of that but I'm back in it now.

Besides Andrew's medical issues, our first year of marriage has been going great! I still get the occasional "when are you having kids" but I've grown used to it especially after my experience at the doctors.

This past month I had my yearly exam and left completely frustrated- just ask my 16 year old sister Kelly. While in my appointment, the doctor brought up Andrew and I's plans to have children. Andrew and I originally talked about waiting about 5 years before having kids so I can work for the amount of time I went to school just in case I choose and/or need to stay at home. (We are secretly terrified we are going to end up with twins- Andrew is a twin, I have twin sisters, oh, BTW Andrew's twin just had twins). Anyways, after discussing this plan with the doctor she proceeded to lecture me about my fertility and responded by saying, "I would just hate for you to miss out on being a mother because you are too busy waiting." UMMMM... excuse me? I think where I struggled most with this were two areas:

1. Andrew has not had to hear a WORD about his fertility and/or yield any questions regarding us having children
2. When I went to this SAME doctor last year nothing was said about my fertility going down but now I'm married and a whole 12 months older- I'm going to "miss out on being a mother because I'm too busy waiting."

When I left the appointment I was frustrated, devastated, and truly questioning what the point of how hard I've worked has been. I know this is something a lot of women have had to deal with but I had never been blatantly called out about it before and wasn't able to disregard this as easy as other conversations about Andrew and I's future plans.

After a couple of days of frustration I grew to be ok with Andrew and I's decision and that if we're being frank, it's not anyone else's place to tell us otherwise. If we choose to adjust our plan that is our choice and we will be ready to do what is best for us and our family.

Thankfully, I am surrounded by a supporting husband and family who are willing to support me in whatever I do and have allowed me to be successful and achieve goals I've set for myself.
At the end of the day that is all that matters and I have realized this past year how blessed I really am to have the support of those around me and they're all that matter.