Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Happy Fall!!

Fall is finally here!! Fall is a season of fun. It reminds me of pumpkins, apple cider, hot chocalate, bonfires, smores, corn mazes, orchards, football, friends & family and soooo much more! I love the color changing of leaves, and the briskness that comes with it. God sure did know what He has doing when He created seasons. When you are coming into a season change it is exciting because that means new shoes!! They may not all be brand new, but its time to dig out those shoes that have been put away since April. You always find those shoes that you forgot about.

Last week Keegan and I celebrated our year and a half anniversary. Time just flies by. Surprisingly I am the one who always remembers these things right at midnight, but this time Keegan was on top of the game. I bought him a card to send and I didn't even send it on time... I know shame on me... Well, I didn't think Keegan remembered that well, I just thought the night before he remembered. Boy was I wrong. I received a card in the mail before I even sent mine out. It was soo special to come home from work with my mom opening the door with a card from Keegan in her hand. I felt sooo special=D

Keegan is actually flying out to see me for a very small trip. He is going Thursday evening and leaving Saturday afternoon. It will definitely be bittersweet. I am just sooo excited to see him again. It has already been 3 weeks, but feels a lot longer. He is so sweet, he told me he has a surprise for me Friday night. I am anxiously awaiting to see what he has planned. I will let you know when I find out.

Thursday, September 10, 2009

Labor Day Weeked in Georgia!

So after everything that went on last week I was able to go see Keegan!! God was very faithful. I did not book my ticket until Thursday evening, but I got a decent price on it. I flew out of Milwaukee which is a little drive but not too bad. I had to work Friday morning at 7 and then I left around 11 to catch my plane! I landed in Atlanta at 5:15 pm. I was very excited yet a little nervous. I was not sure why, I love seeing Keegan. I think it was the fact that I was going to Atlanta rather than seeing Keegan.

When I saw Keegan he came out gave me a big hug an
d handed me pink roses! He is soo sweet. And that is not all... I put my luggage into the trunk and I opened the passenger front door to see peanuts, and Veggie Tale fruit snacks with a bottled water sitting there for me. It made me SMILE! He knew I was wanting a light snack as I have had nothing all day due to traveling. Fruit snacks were one of my favorite treats as a little girl and having younger siblings I have grown to like them again.

Later that evening we went out to dinner with one of Keegan's old jhigh friend
sand his wife. We ate at an Italian restaurant as Italian is one of my favorites! I stayed with this couple all weekend. It was very nice of them to open up their home to me for the weekend. I was nervous and did not know what to expect. I only met them for like 1 second before... It ended up to be a great time, and I enjoyed hanging out with them. We watched movies together, and got dinner again together Saturday night. The couple has a 6 month old baby boy who is just soo cute. It was fun to play with him and see Keegan interact with a baby! I just enjoyed every second I got to spend with Keegan.

On Saturday Keegan and I spend part of the morning at a Nature Preserve park. It was nice to sit and talk and spend time with each other. Saturday evening we had to go to church and Keegan left early as I stayed back to hang out with Elysia. We just sat down and talking & watching some TV. It was nice to get to know her better. She is very sweet. I was very nervous to go to church again. Meeting so many people is very overwhelming, especially in the position I am in. I felt pressure again, but I decided not to let it get to me, and that is what I did.
It was a really good service, but I could not wait until after church so I could spend time with my baby!

On Sunday I only went to the 10:45 service. There was no reason to get up at 6am to go to church, lol... I once again rode with Elysia. It was funny because in the course of going to church 2x that weekend, 3 people asked if we were related. It reminds me of being at NCU and people asking if Gina and I are twins. Just for the record, we are not related. Church was very good. Pastor Jeremiah did an awesome job bringing the message. I really do like CCH. After church, Keegan and I went to get Mexican food. Later that afternoon Keegan took me to a m
all about 30 minutes away. I must say, there is nothing like Woodfield. I was not impressed with the Georgia malls so far. It was a nice mall don't get me wrong but the stores have a small supply of merchandise. I guess nothing compares to Chicago shopping! I did however find a shirt at Macy's for $4.99! That evening Keegan took me on a date! We had sushi! I love sushi! I had the Tiger Roll and Keegan had the Volcanoe. It was so filling and yummy all at once! After that Keegan took me back to his apartment where I was locked in his room. I could hear something, but I was not allowed to peak at all. Keegan came and got me and he had hooked up his speakers to his computer and had 2 very special songs playing. He told me, "Let's Dance!" I was soo stoked! We danced to "Amazed" and "What a Wonderful World ", the first song we have ever danced to! It was very special and romantic. We then went over to some friends of Keegan's house to hang out for a little bit. ( Iguess my friends now too, ha!) Later that night we watched another movie.

I was dreading Monday coming as I had to leave that day. It was nice though because my plane did not leave until 9:40 pm. I had the entire day to spend with my love! We went to the Georgia Aquarium, the world's largest. It was soo cool. We got to touch sharks, sting rays and some fish. We saw sharks, starfish, whales, neon colored fish, squid, and many more awesome creatures. It definitely was worth going and I recommend all to go if you have a chance. We then were invited to a cook out at the head pastors house with his family. I was very nervous because it was the first time I have ever met the pastor. But it turned out to be very nice and good food. It was a great way to spend Labor Day. After that we were invited to hang out with some
friends again. Then... it was time... I had to head to the airport. As we left the couples house, I started to cry. It hit me, I am leaving once again... Each time it gets harder and harder. I know in the end it is making us stronger, but it is sooo hard! I did not want to leave. I was so happy with Keegan. I had such a good weekend and it was not fine for me to say goodbye. Well, I did not have a choice and I ended up sitting on a plane for over an hour waiting for the food service to deliver snacks and drinks, thinking about how much I love and miss Keegan already. I am so blessed to be in a relationship with him. He blessed my heart every day. I did not land in Milwaukee until 11:05 pm and I did not get home until 12:40 am. I was up on Tuesday by 5:15 am and at work by 6:50 am. I was very tired to say the least but it was all worth it because I got to spend more time with my baby!!

I know this was long, but I don't get to see Keegan that much, so it was a recap of my weekend that I have been planning since June! It was a great memorable weekend with Keegan and new friends! I loved spending every moment with Keegan. It was so refreshing to be able to talk in person and have that face to face interaction. He made me smile so many times and it felt so good inside. Okay, I will stop with this... I am in love with Keegan Walsh!

Wednesday, September 2, 2009

Learning to Trust

God is really stretching me to really trust Him with everything in my life. There are times where I hide from God and think He does not know what He is doing, especially in the middle of chaos. When uncertainty surrounds me and I have absolutely no control, I get scared. Lately, God has been telling me to surrender everything to Him, no matter how hard it is, and no matter what it is. When things do not make sense, I rest in the fact that God knows best. However, it is a lot easier saying it than living it out. This is something that I am constantly working on. I know that God will bless my obedience and faith in Him. I find it crucial to daily commit all of my ways to Him and put my entire life in His hands.

This is something on the smaller scale of me trusting God... I was suppose to go visit Keegan this weekend, as it has been 5 weeks since we have seen each other. Well... due to circumstances beyond my control I cannot go this weekend. It is soo heart-breaking to me, and hard. It was the PERFECT weekend. I got off of work on Friday, had Monday off, had good airfare and everything looked good... Then... all of the sudden I cannot go anymore. I have been planning this trip since June, so it is disappointing. I am trusting that God has His reasoning even though I do not see it. I do not know when I will be seeing Keegan again, but I can only pray it will be soon. It has just been really hard lately being in a long distance relationship. I am trusting God to work everything out, because I know in the end it will be all worth it!

I am in a place in my life where I am ready for what God has for me next. I do not want to say I am discontent, because I am very blessed. However, I am anxious for the next step. Now, that I have graduated from college, I am 'waiting' to see what is next. I feel like I am living in a 'waiting stage' and it is very frustrating at times. I know there is a lot of change right around the corner, but I am open to it and I am excited for it. As I am in the 'waiting stage' of life, I know that God is preparing me for what He has for me next. It just gets hard because most of my friends do not live in the Chicago area, but rather Minneapolis & Springfield (where I went to school). I miss being able to hang out with my friends. Enough rambling... I know through all of this God has His hand in it... It is hard to see at times and I am learning to trust God with those areas in my life where I have no control, even though I obviously have no choice.