Day 15: Bible verse (and other ramblings)

"My heart any my flesh may fail, but GOD is the STRENGTH of my heart and my portion FOREVER." Psalms 73:26

This is one of my favorite Bible verses and has been since I was in high school. I think I love it so much because it is a great reminder that humanly I will fail but the Lord never will. Instead He will provide me with strength and endurance when I feel I have nothing left to give.


This will be last post for the next week. Coy and I leave bright and early for Mexico tomorrow. Our flight leaves at 7 in the morning but in order to get McDonald's for breakfast and have time to drive to my sister's house (so my brother in law can take us to the aiport), we will have to get up around 4:15!! Although this is gross, it will all be okay once we arrive in Cancun at 11:30 and still have half of the day to be in the sun! We have already packed and despite Coy's arguments, I brought plenty of books! The Barclay's will then be joining us on Sunday afternoon for a week of sun, relaxation, reading, and paddle ball (one of Coy and I's most favorite beach activities).

See you in a week! Until then...you can just imagine me here...

Day 14: A picture of you last year - how have you changed?

Exactly a year ago this week I was on my honeymoon in Aruba! So in order to make this post as accurate as possible...here are some pictures from one of the best weeks of my life!

I have changed a lot since then. Physically I no longer have this amazing tan that is in these pictures! I also cut my hair off a few months ago. One of my best friends told me I was starting to look a little Pentecostal...2 days later I was at the salon! Emotionally and personally I have grown into a stronger person. I have learned so much about myself this past year. Over the past year I have and am still learning to balance my life in all my roles (wife, friend, sister, daughter, etc.). I have become more reliant on God. I have learned (and am still learning) to let go of SOME of my control issues and let my husband take the lead on things. There have been a lot of exciting things and memories over the past year and I can't wait to look back at this in another year and notice all of the new ways I have changed again!

Day 13: Goals

I have never been much of a goal oriented person. However, despite this I believe they are very useful. Here are few goals of mine (some short-term, long-term, realistic, and a little less realistic maybe).

- to lose 20 pounds this summer
- to get into a trauma program through Harvard where I will study in Italy for two weeks and do the rest of the schooling from home. After that I want to head up a trauma program in the refugee program I work for.
- to travel across Europe (this one might be hard to get my husband on board)
- Over the past few months I have been in an intense leadership training at our church. During this time we spent eight weeks with a mentor working on individual growth. I have learned so much about myself and one of my major goals is to target some of the things I discovered and work on these things to become closer to the woman God wants me to be.
- for Coy and I to be settled in the next year, figure out where we will be living when he finishes school, and then buy a home!
- to clean my house in the next two days from top to bottom. This includes laundry, dusting, sweeping and moping, and the bathroom. Plus a few other things which I'm sure will come up!
- to live in another country for 1-2 years doing some sort of mission work. I have a place in mind as of right now, but I am open to living anywhere, well almost anywhere. I would love to live in this small island in the Pacific called Yap. My other top choices are somewhere in Africa orThailand or Malaysia.

Here is a picture of the island of Yap.

Even though I do not practice daily the importance of goals...one of my goals is also to meet some or most of these goals. The good news about goals is that they are constantly evolving and changing.

Mexico Bound!!

This past weekend Coy and I celebrated our one year anniversary! I would like to post some pictures...however my camera is having some maintenance done for our upcoming trip so I can't get the pictures yet!
We chose to celebrate the night before our anniversary because Sunday (the actual anniversary was pretty busy with other things). The celebration got started with beautiful flowers (lillies) from my hubs. For some, this might not be a shocking gift, but for me, it is. This is only the second time I have ever gotten flowers from Coy. He says it is because he wants to be original...but that would only be the case if he substituted something else in the place of flowers! I loved them! We then went out to Binkley's in Broadripple for dinner! We were planning on going to a baseball game, but because of the enormous monsoon outside we had to cancel. Since it was raining and our plans had to change we sat in the car for 20 minutes trying to decide what to do! We often for a trip to Borders (to get books for our trip), icecream, and a rented movie!
We spent the morning and early afternoon at church, followed by lunch. After returning home and before our nap we busted out our year old cake. Although the idea was gross to me, the cake was actually not that bad. A few bites though and it went straight to the trash! Sunday night we had a meeting at church and then ended our anniversary by Coy playing video games and me watching tv...back to reality!

In 4 days we begin our real celebration...we are headed to Cancun. We will be spending the week relaxing, reading, playing, and hopefully getting tan with the Barclay's - Adi and Trey. This will be Adi and I's third trip to Mexico together. I am SO excited that we are going again, and this time with the husbands! I was looking for a picture to post of the four of us, which I don't have (but no worries, I will remedy this next week).
Here's to a week of fun between the Schroug's and Barclay's!

Day 12: Something you don't leave the house without

This is easy...my cellphone....isn't that everyone's?

Day 11: Favorite tv shows

Another easy one with many options. So because I love tv and cannot narrow the shows I watch down to just one favorite here they are...

Flashpoint

This show started a few seasons ago and is SO good! If you like police/drama shows, this is a good one!

Everything and anything Kardashian

If I was forced to choose a favorite...this would be high in the running. This is one of the few shows Coy and I watch together. It is the perfect combination of comedy and drama.



Some other shows that I love to watch but didn't include in my favorite list are: Blue Bloods, Off the Map, CSI's, Body of Proof, and Modern Family. As you can imagine, my dvr spends the majority of the time being full to capacity!

In other news, so glad it is Friday! Have a good weekend everyone!

Day 10: Something you're afraid of

Fear is not something I try to give too much time to. Of course there are some things here and there which cause me to worry...debt is scary, having children one day causes me fear the unknown, losing someone I love is something I fear occassionally...however, none of these are a constant worry. And I'm sure almost everyone could agree fears come and go from time to time.

I recently discussed something in a Bible study which is that by being fearful we are lacking trust in God. Trusting God is not always the easiest thing and demands a large amount of faith. However, I have realized it is much easier to put my trust in God than to worry constantly about things that are beyond my control. That doesn't meant that my fears necessarily all go away, but it does mean that I worry less and instead believe that no matter what happens, even if those fears become reality, God will see me through and give me the strength I need.

IN OTHER NEWS...Coy and I are celebrating our one year of marriage this weekend!! I can't believe a whole year has gone by! It has been the best year of my life and I can't wait for all of the years to come! Stayed tuned for more ramblings about this!!

Day 9: A favorite picture of your best friend

This an easy one. Because 1. I LOVE my friends. and 2. I LOVE pictures! Of course because of those reasons I couldn't just choose one picture....So here are some pictures with some of the very best friends I could ever have!

 

MAC. Makes me thinks of the Michael W Smith song, 'Friends are Friends Forever.' Haha. Come on, you know you sang that song at summer camp every year!

 Girls weekend in Louisville!

 Best friends since high school!

 Our family! It was only appropriate to include our 'children'.

 My beautiful sisters!

 These roots go back to middle school! We played with wigs even then I'm sure.



Day 8: A place you've traveled to

Traveling is one of my favorite things. Sometimes I wish I could just be a nomad, drop everything, and travel for a living. I have been to so many places that I love and want to visit again, however there are also so many other places that I never been but wish to go!
I have traveled all over the United States. New York City, and really New England in general is so much fun. I don't think I can ever get enough of visiting NYC. And then of course I love the beach. I am luckily to make it to Florida at least once a year. Even with all my traveling I have never made it to California. I hope this will be remedied in the near future!
Although I enjoy traveling throughout this country nothing compares to traveling abroad! My first trip outside of the United States was to Russia. Since then I have visited England, Italy, Mexico (several times), Canada (several times), Barbados, and Aruba.

I love Europe. I love the culture, the buildings, and the history.

This is obviously the Coliseum in Rome. I loved absolutely everything in Italy...however, seeing this in person simply blew my mind. So much history and so many stories happened in this place. I loved getting off of the subway, stepping outside, and seeing this directly in front of me! I also took the tour and got to go inside, which was amazing.

This is Windsor Castle in England. I not only loved touring this place but also the trip there. There is so much beauty to see and it never really does it justice until you have been there in person. I also saw my first show on this trip...Les Miserables...so good!

Although this is not a picture I took personally, I just

love it! This is of Florence, Italy. I only spent a day here and hope to visit again one day. The museums, food, and market were wonderful. 

As I said earlier I am also a huge fan of the beach. There are not many things more relaxing than the beach, the sun, and a good book. Luckily beaches are little more affordable to visit regurally, as opposed to Europe.

This is Baby Beach. Coy and I went to Aruba on

 our honeymoon. This beach sits on the northern part of the island and is so clear, calm, and peaceful. One of the most beautiful beaches I have ever laid my eyes on!

 This is from my resort in Cabo, Mexico. I love going to Mexico, and actually have another trip planned there in less than two weeks. Like I said before, there is not much better than this setting!

This is also from Cabo. Last time I was there I did a day long snorkling trip. We also went by this...the famous Arch of Cabo. Although it is not something I would want to sit and stare at all day, it so unique!

This was taken on our honeymoon. This is called the Natural Pool. It is surrounded on all sides, except for one by the ocean. The waves crash over, but when they are not it is peaceful, clear, and beautiful. We thought we would be adventurous and rent our own jeep to get down to this pool. Not the best idea, because we almost died several times on the several hour drive to this place. But once we made it was totally worth it. Next time though, I think we will opt for the guided tour!

Day 7: Favorite movies

This is a tough one...because I have too many favorite movies! I am a huge tv and movie junkie and love watching movies at home and going to the theatre! So, as you can imagine, my movie collection is on the larger side! Here a few of my favorites in their designated categories:
Some classics I can't do without:

How can you not sing along and just feel good about life?

In addition to loving the movie, I adore the soundtrack!

Although this is my least favorite movie catergory...sometimes you just need a comedy, and this is by far the best choice:

While I wouldn't necessarily watch this with my mom (okay, not exactly true because I love the shock factor with my mom)...how can you not laugh?! I can't for the sequel later this month!

Perhaps, my favorite movie catergory - drama/historical:

Coy just watched this recently for the first time with me. Although it can be a little slow to get started...such a great story and such great characters!

I don't even think this needs an explanation.

And just in case you haven't seen these, which probably most of you haven't! These are ones I don't own yet, but they will definitely join my movie collection in the near future. They are old, western, Disney movies with a love story. These come with a very high recommendation and are a family favorite!

Let me know what you think!

Day 6: A picture of something that makes you happy

This was my Valentine's Day card from Coy.

 It makes me smile when I see it and for this reason it has been on our

fireplace mantle since February. Isn't he just so romantic?

Day 5: A song to match your mood

I have been thinking about this and can't really settle on just one song to match my mood. But, it is the kind of day where you just want to drive around, with the windows down, and music blaring. I actually did this earlier. Although the sun is coming in and then out again, on my home from running some errands and meeting with friends earlier today it was out. It was the perfect sunshine, the perfect breeze, and I had the perfect music on...country! I love country music, it might even actually be one of my favorite types of music. And I love country music even more when it starts to get warm outside and the sun is shining. How can you not get into a good mood while singing out guts out behind the wheel of the car! Here are just a few of the albums I listened to while enjoying this gorgeous afternoon.

Day 4: Your parents

As a child and teenager I don't think you can ever fully appreciate your parents. However, since becoming an adult I have gained such a great appreciation and love for my parents. Yes...they changed my diapers, cleaned up my poop, spanked me, supported me financially all my life (and of course still spend too much money on me now. BUT, the best things about MY parents is their love for me, my sisters, our husbands, and their grandchildren.

Even though my mom is a little on the crazy side sometimes (well most of the time) she is the endless encourager. And even though my dad gets sucked into whatever he is doing and ignores whats going on around him (probably to drown out the sounds of his three ridiculously loud daughters), he is the solid rock of our family and aside from my husband, is the best man I know.

To end on a high note, here is an awesome picture of them from several years ago. So here is a tribute to hot hair and cool glasses. They have def. made some improvements in the past few years! Enjoy!

Day 3: Your first love

There were several times in college when I thought I was in love. Looking back, I probably did love that person on some level; however, not the kind of love that is unending, selfless, Christ-centered, and all consuming. I didn't know what real love was until....

Coy is my first and only love! Nothing can even come close to comparing to the love I feel for him. Although our 'dating life' was a little rocky at first, I knew from the beginning that he was the one I was going to marry...it just took him a little longer to figure it out! We fit together perfectly. He is my best friend, the one I share everything with and want to do everything with, the one who makes me laugh and is there for me when I cry, the one who still gives me those girly butterflies in my stomach when I see him. Although life is never perfect and goes as plans, he is all I need.
So, here are a few pictures of our life together so far...