Wow, it's been almost two months since I last posted....yikes. June and July were full of lots of great things for us. We found out we're having a girl (her name is Diana Mae), we found people to buy the contract for our old apartment, found and moved into our new apartment (pictures are forthcoming), Andrew has just about finished his management training at Pizza Hut, I've had a few people express interest in starting voice and/or piano lessons with me (I have yet to have a new student, but hopes are high!), Andrew turned 23, we had Andrew's sister, Clara, come and stay with us as well as my mom and two younger brothers, we attended a ginormous family reunion for my mom's side of the family at a gorgeous cabin in Island Park, we helped clean up after the flooding that hit Rexburg, Andrew finished his first semester of school as a married man, and as of July 21 we've known each other for a year (and as of the 24th we've been together for a year).
 |
| Andrew's birthday cake |
 |
| Our pretty little girl! We seriously can't wait to meet her!!!! |
 |
| The carving I did for the foot of my grandma and grandpa's bed at the cabin at Island Park |
 |
| Dinner after church....I love having a kitchen |
 |
| One of the many dinners we've been able to cook in our larger kitchen...we're able to have guests!!! |
 |
| Our car battery went nuts due to some corrosion (the only reason to buy Coke) and I found one with my name on it ^^ |
 |
| A kissy pic from our one year dating anniversary date |
 |
| Happily together for a year ^^ |
 |
| Taking Clara to Salt Lake on 7/11/14....sales on Krispy Kreme and free Slurpees. Gotta love 7/11 |
 |
| Aftermath of the big flooding adventure that hit Rexburg....this is my brother's fiancee's apartment the day after the flood. The water was waist deep the day of. |
Right now I am seriously full of gratitude and I just have to share. I was just brushing my teeth and saw little tiny hairs all over the sink from when Andrew shaved this morning. Now usually I would have been a little frustrated as I had to clean those up, but today it made me so happy. I am married to a really fantastic man who works very hard (lots of overtime now that he's not in school) to provide. It has been so fun being married these past seven months. We've had some interesting times, especially when it comes to finding work. We've talked a lot about "what ifs" lately. What if we had moved to Provo instead of Rexburg after getting married? What if I hadn't gotten pregnant and had instead been able to spend the past six months working full-time as a paralegal? What if I was in school right now instead of him? What if we had gotten married in April of this year instead of December of last year?....There are a lot of them. And through our many discussions we have both learned to be very grateful for where we're at right now (regardless of what those outside our marriage may have to say). The Lord has led us, prodded us, chastised us, lifted us up, etc. every step of the way to where we are now. There is no possible way we would be in this apartment, with a beautiful baby on the way (I saw the ultra sound, she is the prettiest things ever), or even married to each other if we hadn't consistently followed the Spirit. I am grateful for a husband who is not only able to recognize the Spirit but has the humility to follow the Spirit as well. I am also grateful to have a loving Heavenly Father who is patient and persistent enough to continue to give a naive, hard headed, kind of ditsy couple like us innumerable chances and promptings to make sure we eventually make it back to Him.
Another thing on my little gratitude list today is our new apartment. I am grateful every day for this new home of ours. One of our "what ifs" is what if we'd been able to move into this apartment instead of our one at Central Park? But every time I ask myself that I just smile. Although our time at our studio apartment got long and not so fun, I am so glad we lived there. It has made every moment living in our new place paradise. I have such a long list of things to be grateful for in this apartment (a kitchen, stove, double sink, usable toilet paper dispenser, light, windows, a bed I'm able to get into, cupboards, full size fridge, large tub, bedroom, living room, my own furniture, carpet, storage space, oven, space, management that cares about their tenants, great maintenance people...) and I know that if we ever start complaining about not having room or not liking where we live or whatever, we'll always remember our last months of living at Central Park and just smile and be grateful.
Family. I am so grateful for family. We have had so much help since we've been up here (one of the reasons I'm also grateful we chose to live here instead of Provo). It has been especially awesome since we've been moving. We've had help from aunts, uncles, cousins, siblings, parents, grandparents....it's been remarkable! We have been able to get all of our furniture into our apartment, in storage before we moved, and even just into our own possession, all thanks to family who has so generously offered us their manpower and pick-up trucks. We've been fed and clothed by family too...even Diana has received so many adorable little baby girl outfits thanks to generous family members. In addition to all this we were able to get moved out and cleaned up thanks to visiting immediate family (shout out to Clara, Evan, Danny, and my mom for using your vacation time to help us!) And although we may not be the smartest or the most considerate couple all the time, we really try to remember to thank all these great family members, and we definitely try to pay it forward whenever we see the opportunity to do so.
Friends. Now although I haven't been able to make as many friends as I had out in Utah, we have been able to make a few new friends. Andrew continues to know and get along with everyone (something I really need to learn) and it has helped in us making a few great friends who have really helped us out since we've been living here. I've noticed something pretty interesting since being married: it is much more difficult to make friends as a newlywed than I thought it would be. My single life in college was full of so many people (a lot of times too many people and not enough school) but my life as a married person is very different. The lack of roommates and the lack of constantly being on the lookout for "the one" has kind of hindered my socializing skills. So I am so very grateful for the few friends I've been able to make.
Well, this post got a little longer than I was planning. I could go on and on, but I'll stop for now. Off to go get some groceries and do all that fun stuff (all while getting a new student set up for the near future...I love having a smart phone). I'll post pics of the apartment as soon as I feel it's ready to photograph.
Stay Awesome
~Manda
P.S. As I am much better at putting pictures up on Instagram than I am at putting them up here (having to get them off of my phone can be a pain....I'm sure there's an easier way, I just don't know it) be sure to follow me on
there to get more consistent updates on our little family adventures.
