Appreciating my mid-20s

Sometimes I think I forget how wonderful my life really is. I have the most amazing boyfriend in the world, who loves and adores me more everyday. I live in an amazing place with the opportunity to travel and see the world. Any my family back home is happy, healthy, and extremely supportive of my life.

I've had a somewhat difficult time thinking about turning 25. It seems like once you hit mid twenties there's no turning back, your officially an adult with really responsibilities and obligations. Things start changing fast and there are no more excuses for prolonging young adulthood.

I've always been one of those people who didn't really plan their life out, or make decisions about future family goals or major life decisions. I always just thought, when the time is right, I will know and it will happen.

This year has brought on a whole new way of thinking in me and I feel like I'm finally growing up. First of all, I actually know and have a goal about my career and where I want it to take me. I feel like I can finally relax knowing that I am confident about what I want to do the rest of my life. Maybe that's why I went through so much school, because I didn't really know what I wanted to do and hoped I would figure it out along the way. And thanks to a lot of prayer and research and patience I finally do.

Secondly, I'm finally warming up to the idea of getting married. I've always been so afraid of marriage and the possibility of divorce and disappointment. It has nothing to do with the person I'm with but everything to do with the world around me. I just don't think people take marriage seriously anymore and think if they don't like it they can just get out. I never wanted it to be like that for me. I want to be married because I can't imagine my life without that person and I want them to feel the same way. I want to know that my marriage would be able to make it through anything and be confident that even though me nor my partner is perfect, that we can count on each other to love one another regardless of our imperfections.

I think the biggest misconception about marriage and relationships is that they should be effortless and perfect all the time. (Something TV teaches us!) But the truth is NO ONE is perfect! You'll fight, you'll be disappointed, you'll cry, you'll worry, but you will also, make up, be pleasantly surprised, laugh, and be comforted. I feel so lucky that I've found someone who loves me unconditionally and enjoys doing the little things for me and making me happy everyday. He is truly an amazing person with an amazing family. I feel so blessed to call him mine and I truly look forward to the day when I get to wear his last name.

I think the best thing about him is that he makes me HAPPY! I look forward to seeing him walk through that door everyday and I really miss him when he's gone.

Lastly, and this may be a shock to most who know me but I actually want children. I have always said I will never have kids. I just never really thought that I would be a good mother and I really think I would be an even worse pregnant person. I cringe at the thought of giving birth and all the pregnancy stuff that goes along with it. But, I think going through 9 months of an uncomfortable, scary experience will be more than worth it to have a lifetime of unconditional love. This does not mean I want children anytime soon but I am proud to say that I've actually made the decision to hopefully be blessed enough to have them one day.

Looking back on the experiences of my life I feel so blessed and more than lucky to have the family and friends I have. My family is truly amazing and I love them so much. My Mom is crazy and fun and the best at giving advise and my Dad is supportive and loving and has really taught me how to care for others regardless of their differences. They both support and love me in everything I do. They also have been blessed with exceptional partners. I couldn't have asked for a better step-mom and step-dad. Both are great examples of how great a relationship can be with someone you truly love and I thank the Lord everyday that they found happiness.

I think that turning 25 won't be so bad after all. I have an amazing family and wonderful friends. I am extremely lucky to have all that I have and I thank the Lord everyday for blessing me the way he has. I really look forward to the next chapter in my life. It's coming faster with each passing day.

We leave London in July, which will be the end of our travels and living abroad, at least for a while. By then I'll be opening the door to the real world and taking a flying leap in!

Februrary

This month has been full of fun adventures. January ended with a short trip to Bath, England. It was an amazing and beautiful city. We took a train from London that took about two hours. The country side was absolutely breath taking. There were tons of hills, beautiful trees, and grass for miles. Once we got there we walked throughout the city enjoying the amazing architecture and art throughout the streets. We started our site seeing with a tour through Bath Abbey. There was this giant stained glass window and tons of interesting inscriptions surrounding the walls. As we were enjoying the church one of the chaplains approached us and began chatting with us about where we were from, what we were doing in England, and a little history about the Abbey. She was very interesting to chat with and when it was time for her to do her hourly pray over the microphone she said a sweet little pray for us and our travels. It was very thoughtful and really made me miss going to church back home.

After the abbey we made our way to the Roman baths. Our tour through the baths took about two hours. It was so interesting to see all the history and interesting way people bathed back in the first century. The day ended with a trip to the fashion museum and dinner in the city. All in all the day was wonderful. It was a place that I never really thought about going but very glad that I did.

The first weekend in Feb. we decided to take a ski trip to Val

d'Isere, France. We were there for 4 days. The scenery was perfect and the snow was unforgettable. It snowed about 18 inches the weekend we were there, which made the snowboarding that much better. The first day up the mountain, James, Brandon and I decided to start mid mountain on a red that ended in a blue. The majority of the way down the three of us were doing pretty well. Brandon was still having a little trouble controlling his speed but seemed to be catching on quickly. Once about 200 yards from the end of the mountain James decided to go off by himself and finish on the red while Brandon and I went down a catwalk expecting to finish on the blue. Once we rounded the corner and the mountain opened up again Brandon started speeding down the last 100 or so yards. I noticed he was going way too fast to I started screaming "slow down!" "slow down!" but it was too late. He was completely out of control and going way too fast. His board caught the ground from the front and he started cartwheeling, feet over head about 4 times. My first thought was to laugh because it looked so funny. It was one of those things you see once and know if you tried it 1000 more times you could never do it the same way again. Once he finally stopped and hit the ground, I knew he was hurt. I raced down as fast as I could and skid up beside him only to find him moaning in pain. It took about 2 minutes for him to finally tell me what was hurting because he was grabbing his shoulder, neck, and knees. My first thought was that he either twisted his knee or broke his leg. Long story short I helped him sled the rest of the way down with his bottom on his board and spent the rest of the trip in the room. I felt really bad but he insisted that I not let this ruin my trip too. I spent the rest of the day boarding and half of the next. The second day we made our way to town center and did a little shopping and enjoyed a very yummy cup of tea and hot chocolate.

Both nights we went into town and either had drinks or went to dinner. The town was so adorable and quant. I couldn't have asked for a better end to a not so great start of our trip.

Once we made it back to Kingston we went to the ER. An exam and two x-rays later we found out that Brandon sprang his right knee and broke his left shoulder. One week later he's still in a bit of pain but he's actually able to walk without a limp and move his arm enough to get his shirt off and on by himself.

The trip was still a lot of fun but next time I think we will get Brandon some lessons before we take him up the mountain.