One year as Mr. and Mrs. :)

On this day exactly one year ago I said I do forever to my Danny Jay. 

I remember the day like it was yesterday.

I remember standing in the Bride room anticipating forever. I remember wanting peace and quiet so that I could take in everything that was happening and most importantly about to begin.   

I remember Joe, walking by the Bride room to see me. We both burst into tears; this was the most emotional part of the day for me. It was a surreal moment. He told me I looked beautiful, and that Danny was a lucky man. We walked towards the doors to enter the church. I knew our happy beginning was just a few moments away. I could hardly contain my excitement.

I remember losing it even more when I saw Danny Jay’s face. That sweet look that I remember so vividly from the first time we met. His eyes say so much.

I remember hugging my mom before I took Danny’s hand. For a second I didn’t want to let go. I dreamed of this day, imagined every second and every detail, but never did I imagine that for a second my mind would flood with memories of me and my mom. You always think the big day is just about the what is to come, your future, but for me it was a great deal about the past as well, about the people who helped me reach this day, the ones that taught me to love by showing me unconditional love, especially my momma.

I remember bowing my head while standing at the altar as we prayed with Lee. I remember glancing up at Danny and feeling so in love, so blessed, so complete, so full of anticipation of what life was going to bring us.

I remember lighting our unity candle as we listened to T-ray sing the most beautiful song, the most perfect song for what I felt at that moment because there we stood, in that moment, promising to give all we were to each other, completely adoring each other.  We prayed as we stood back there, prayed for God to lead us in our journey, praised him for bringing us together, and for how much he had already changed and blessed our lives.

We said I do one year ago today. I took my husband’s hand that day, and he has led me so carefully, passionately, and lovingly through the entire year. I know he’ll do this forever because he is my soul mate, my other half. Sometimes it feels like I’m oil and my other half is water, but he is my best friend, he knows me just as well as my momma does, he knows what I need, what I love, what I fear. Nobody knows where exactly you will go in life, but I know exactly who I will be standing next to and that is exactly where I need to be.

First Kiss as Husband and Wife

Photog. said pose like you're on Greys. Boys had no idea. Too funny.

Hugging my momma so tight



Lighting the unity candle while T-rey sings



Walking down the aisle



waiting for his bride



First Dance. We were just HAPPY!



So In Love. I will always feel this way for you Danny Jay!





Getting ready to see my husband!





Sweet Saturday

This has been a pretty lazy Saturday. We rolled out of bed pretty late after seeing a late showing of horrible bosses last night.

That movie was hillarious! If you like comedy, you'll love this one! I ended up making some cinnamon rolls when I finally got up. So yesterday I found frozen Pillsbury Cinnamon rolls at Price Cutter. I love this idea, usually we have to bake all 8 that come in the can, so wasteful. Now with this bag you can make however many or few you want! Love it!  



10 Things I LOVE.

1. My husband, family, puppies, and friends. I have the most loving hubby, supportive family, cutest puppies, and craziest, most beautiful best friends.

2. iPhone. I wish this wasnt the case, but it's seriously always in my hand.

3. Bronzer. Definately couldn't live without it.

4. Tervis Tumbler. Trying to only drink water in this..no more bottled water!

5. Fresh Flowers. Who doesnt love recieving some flowers?

6. Mascara

7. Planner. I'd be a lost mess without it!

8. Sour Skittles..mmm!

9. The Beach. RELAXING!

10. Umberto Moscato di asti. Tastes so sweet & yummy after a long day!

One month later..

Its been one month since the tornado that ripped my hometown apart. It is so encouraging to see all the debri removal and construction on some of the businesses! I guess I'll start this post by telling you where I was that day.. May 22nd started off bright and sunny, a beautiful normal Sunday. We went to sunday school and then church. We visited and laughed with our sunday school class like any other Sunday. It is hard for me to think that about what some of them were going through only a few hours later, holding on to their loved ones for their lives, praying to God their children are unharmed.  After church we had lunch with the Thompson's, and then headed to Webb City to see Dave and Jill. Angela texted me while we were in Webb City, she wanted to go see Bridesmaids at 4. (Angela had plans to go see the movie the week before, but didnt..God had his plan.) I asked Daniel if he wanted to go, he said no and dropped me off at the theater. We watched about an hour of the movie before the theater began to get bright and loud because of people receiving phone calls and texts about the tornado warnings and watches. So many people wandered into the hallway..we were all talking, some even joking because these tornado watches are something we see weekly around here. We made our way back into the theatre to finish watching the movie for all of about two minutes before the lights came on and the workers told us to go to the bottom of the theater and stay put. I called Daniel twice while we were waiting at the bottom of the theater, telling him their was a tornado watch and he needed to be watching the news. We waited for a few minutes before walking back up to the hallway to see what was going on.. we made our way to the lobby where you could hear the storm and see how black it was. Everyone just started running back away from the door yelling "tornado, get down, take cover!" We ran to the bottom of the closest theater and I called Daniel again, he said the sirens were going off and he was waiting it out in the closet.  It's hard to say exactly how long we stayed there.. I would say we left the theater within 20 minutes. I tried to call daniel, but I couldn't get through, there was no cell service. I felt nauseous, I felt helpless, all I wanted to do was hear his voice. I know Angela was feeling the same way about Matt. We ran to the car in the hail, not knowing what we were about to see. We started driving down rangeline towards 7th street.. everything except for the rain was still and quiet..it was very eery. We started driving down 7th street. We saw billboards, trees, and light debri along the side of the road. We turned left on Indiana/Murphy and that is when we started seeing damage to homes. We arrived in front of Joplin High School.. it was gone. This was the second it had become real for me that a tornado had hit Joplin. For those of you that aren't from Joplin.. Joplin High school is in the middle of Joplin on 20th street and Indiana, Daniel and I live at about 33rd street and Indiana..and I knew he had been at home. All I could see for miles was debri..homes scattered for miles, cars in trees, people screaming, and fires starting.

My heart was racing, and I wanted to scream for Daniel. I have never been so scared in my life. I wanted to hear his voice, and at that point as we kept driving closer to my house the more helpless I felt about reaching him. We kept driving, swerving around cars, poles, metal, and people running in the street..

Angela was driving and we were closest to her house so we tried to go by her house first. It was nearly impossible.. we ended up on the other side of town.. At one point we ended up in the parking lot at Walgreens on 20th street because there was no where else to go, no way to get around. This is when I started crying.. Survivors were carrying  their hurt neighbors to the Walgreens, I guess because there was medical supplies. After walgreens I dont know how we got there, but we ended up in the entryway of St. Johns Hospital..still trying to find a way to Angela's house around all the rubble.
When we drove by St. John’s it smelled like gasoline, we could see people standing in the rooms of the hospital and hear their screams. Driving was nearly impossible, we drove around uprooted trees and into what was left of people's yards. We finally ended up parking at 18th. Sometime around here Angela had talked to Matt (he was at work at att), Matt had drove to my house to check on Daniel and praise God he was okay. Matt said it took Daniel a good 15 minutes to come to the door because he was taking cover in our closet and he couldnt hear the doorbell. And bless his heart he had my sugar baby hiding with him. Now that I knew Daniel was okay I could function a little better, I was now in help mode. We took off running to Angela's house at 25th and Penn..I remember when Angela realized we had made it to her street. My heart sank for her. I wanted to tell her it would be okay like everyone usually says when something bad happens, but I knew it wasn't okay. People were dying around us.  I'll never forget the things I saw and heard while running down her road. People were screaming bloody murder, some were running frantically, and some were walking slowly like zombies with blood on themselves. We stopped numerous times to see if anyone needed help. We kept on running towards Angela's house in hopes of finding her dogs.We passed Angela’s house without realizing it. We asked someone what cross streets we were at and then turned back around. There were no familiar scenes.. We walked back down the street and noticed Angela’s car sitting in her driveway..under her neighbor’s living room. By the time we got there Daniel and Matt were there and had found one of their dogs. I wont go into all of the things I saw that day simply because of the respect I have for the people that lost their lives. But I will say that my heart aches for their families, and I pray that they find peace and comfort in Jesus Christ while they go through this heartbreaking time. I still cant walk down those streets without looking at what is left of those homes (mostly foundations and sometimes a wall or two), and praying no one was home. I spent the whole next week at Angela's "house." I wanted to find anything I could that would make her feel better. I hated being home.. I felt so much guilt. We got our electricity back on that Thursday, and I didnt want to turn it on. I just couldnt process everything that had happen. I didnt feel luck.. I dont know what I felt besides devastated. Dont get me wrong, I was BLESSED that my family was safe. However, I couldnt get the image of those that were not so blessed out of my head. I wanted to hold them, and I wanted to cry with them. The next couple nights after the tornado were very rough.. we had more tornado watches and warnings, there were different tornadoes spotted around our area. We took cover in Daniel's parents basement.. I was terrified. I had gone from being out in the destruction all day to taking cover from another tornado. I had the people of Joplin on my mind, I cant imagine how so many people that were staying in the shelters felt after losing their homes to a tornado, and now they are taking cover again. How terrifying. Well.. there are my memories of that day. Any talk of a storm or tornado is still breath taking. And there is so much left to be done here. Joplin will rebuild! :)

(Angela's street)



Angela's Street



Angela's House

26th Street.. St. John's is in the middle of the picture





St. John's Hospital



Been a little while!

It has been a pretty long while since I have posted! Danny and I have been busy with work, football, planting flowers & grass, bachelor parties, teacher conferences, Cubbies, and much more. The Crusaders (DT's football team) are doing great! Danny scored their first touchdown of the season! Danny, Matt, and Scott are all playing together, it is really fun to watch! Sometimes I feel like a mother when those guys are chasing Danny or their is a dog pile of guys and I am searching the field to try to find him, hoping he's not under all of them!
I cant believe we are nearing the end of the year with our Awana group! We have been leading game time with 3 and 4 year olds. It has been such a blessing! It is an hour of laughing and connecting with these little ones, priceless! I love watching them enter the room and start running around in circles with Danny! It is absolutely hillarious, he is like a little kid! One little boy says "I love you, games," or "Hi, games!" Im not sure he knows our names. LoL!
After reading my sisters blog post and hearing a co-worker talk about the book Crazy Love, I just had to pick it up! They shared one part of the book that honestly made me nauseous, in a kind of good way: "Worry implies that we don't quite trust that God is big enough, powerful enough, or loving enough to take care of what's happening in our lives. Stress says that the things we are involved in are important enough to merit our impatience, our lack of grace toward others, or our tight grip of control." So after reading a great deal of the book, I am understanding now more than ever that my life is for him, and because of him. I am to follow his plan, and to help and lead others to follow his plan for them. No stress is justified, God is all knowing, all powerful, and he is fair and he is just. Crazy Love just helped me to see that I am not "the star of this movie/my life," HE is! I hope this book is life changing to many others also. I just know I do not want to be a "lukewarm person, someone that will serve God and others, but limits how far they will go or how much time, money, and energy they are willing to give." I want to break free from just "going to church," I want to feel him with me, in my heart and in my mind, every minute of every day!

Right now I'm sitting at the hospital with my mom. She had back surgery on Thursday. We are still here, in good spirits, and praise God she is doing okay!! Her bp is pretty low, but she says that is normal for her. Dr. says she needs to stay on fluids here. Dont know about her, but I know I am enjoying the family time. :)

Chicken Tortilla Soup

It is Saturday, the fifth day of being "snowed in", two days from going back to school and guess what.. I have pink eye and a soar throat! Lovely, right?!
Here is the Chicken tortilla soup Recipe that some wanted: Put these ingredients together for 20-30 minutes and you're ready to enjoy

1 can whole kernel corn, drained

2 cans chicken broth

3 cups cubed chicken

1  can black beans, rinsed and drained

2 Tbs of Chili Powder

1 large diced tomato

We crumbled tortilla chips to put at the bottom of our bowls, then topped with cheese, sour cream and avacado.

Daniel and I got back to the gym last night! We had been slacking since we were snowed in. I'll be back to Zumba next week! I've definately realized the longer you go in between gym visits, the harder it is to go back!

I've decided to look into investing a wedding reception venue! I've always wanted to own a pre-school, and I still do. But right now the wedding venue is set in my mind. There are really only about two, if that, nice reception venues in Joplin. So many buildings are being restored downtown, I need to get my hands on one!

Snow Days!!

We've been stuck inside for two days! Joplin got over one foot of snow! Seems like a lot more than that in some places because of the snow drifts! Today were watching movies, right now its the Bourne series!  Let me just say, Sugar hates this snow. I watched her go outside earlier and it looked like she was trying to swim, so I attempted to get out and shovel a path for her. I accomplished a tiny path for her so I decided to shovel the sidewalk and drive-way.. lasted about two minutes. I got our stairs shoveled off but good luck getting to them. While we've been off I've been reading a new book: Love & Respect. It is great! Lots of friends suggested we read it before we got married, just didnt have time!
Today I'm going to try to make baked potato soup! I've seen lots of great recipes but Im going to try this one: You'll need..

• 4  baking potatoes
• 2/3  cup  all-purpose flour
• 6  cups  2% reduced-fat milk
• 1  cup  (4 ounces) reduced-fat shredded extra-sharp cheddar cheese, divided
• 1  teaspoon  salt
• 1/2  teaspoon  black pepper
• 1  cup  reduced-fat sour cream
• 3/4  cup  chopped green onions, divided
• 6  bacon slices, cooked and crumbled

When you have all that: Preheat oven to 400°.

Pierce potatoes with a fork; bake at 400° for 1 hour or until tender. Cool. Peel potatoes; coarsely mash. Discard skins.
Lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife. Place flour in a large Dutch oven; gradually add milk, stirring with a whisk until blended. Cook over medium heat until thick and bubbly (about 8 minutes). Add mashed potatoes, 3/4 cup cheese, salt, and pepper, stirring until cheese melts. Remove from heat.
Stir in sour cream and 1/2 cup onions. Cook over low heat 10 minutes or until thoroughly heated (do not boil). Sprinkle each serving with cheese, onions, and bacon.
I'll let you know how it turns out! What I really should be doing today is painting or cleaning! We still have a guest bathroom, closet, and master bath to paint! Oh well!

What a beautiful day!!

This weather makes me want spring to be here, now! Today the temp will get close to 60'! We're going to Greg and Anna's this afternoon for a cookout! Too bad we're looking at winter weather again by tuesday!
Daniel finally got his birthday surprise last weekend! We went to Arkansas to watch Eric Church and Jason Aldean! No lie, Eric Church is one of the top perfomrers ive ever seen, that boy can work the stage, Full of energy!
So, Zumba, i love it. You get to shake your booty for an hour straight while you're wearing sweats! No heels or tight jeans, just comfy and fun :) Its my new favorite thing.
School is going great! My first graders are making huge strides in their reading. Its great to see their word knowledge grow so much since August! They make me laugh every single day! One of my girls thought I'd be moving on to second grade with them. I wish! Only 15 more mondays until summer, doesnt even seem right!

Bring on the snow!

So I am looking forward to a few inches of snow tonight! I get so excited about snow, eventhough I hate the cold weather! I just enjoy getting to stay inside, cuddled up on the couch & watch some movies! If we get anymore snow days we'll add some days to the end of our school year, but oh well! We'll still have two months of vaycay!
I've been thinking.. I really want to become a wedding coordinator. I guess I should start helping with friends weddings and start a portfolio of pictures. That'd be a good start, right?

6 months strong!

Oh, Mondays! You always dread that Monday morning alarm! Especially when you have had such a relaxing weekend after finally getting settled! However, this Monday morning was way more awaited than the rest (for me at least!) because I have been counting down to our 6 month anniversary! It is unreal to think of everything we have experienced together, already! Summer of 2010 we both graduated, moved, got Married, started new jobs, and bought our first house (that might not have been summer but oh well)! I can only imagine what our lives will be like, how exciting they will be if they are anything similar to what we have already experienced!
So this week is Danny Jay's 24th birthday! We are celebrating with his family at Red Onion! Yumm! Then he gets his birthday surprise on Saturday Night!!