An Eventful 4th of July

This past weekend was July 4th. Tanner and I had planned to go to Dallas to visit my family and spend time with them there. Even had Monday off so we could spend some extra time with them! We were excited and it promised to be a great weekend.

Last week however, Tanner decided he really needed to go to the dentist as the taking of ibuprofen was getting out of hand. The tooth he had gotten a crown on didn't ever stop hurting in one way or another, whether it be sensitivity or just a slight pain. Also, his wisdom teeth were coming in weird and giving him issues. So, he made the appointment for Friday morning and our plans remained unchanged.

The appointment went well, minus the part when Tanner had to bite down on a piece of plastic with the crowned tooth which caused him intense pain. They told him he was going to need a root canal and his wisdom needed to be removed. Prices were better than other places, and we decided we would makes sure when would be a good time to schedule the next appointment and call them with a time and date. They also gave us a prescription for the pain and some antibiotics.

The rest of the day was uneventful and soon we were off to Dallas.

Oh what a ride it was.

Tanner was is so much pain and he was the one driving so he couldn't take the pain pill they had given him because it would make him drowsy. Six ibuprofen later and he was still in pain. We spent most of the car ride in silence. Note that the ride is five and a half hours long.

We FINALLY made it to Dallas, got the truck unpacked and Tanner was able to take his pain pill. He went to bed and I stayed up a little longer to wait for my sister to get home and to just talk with my parents. I expected Tanner to be passed out, but when I went back a couple hours later to go to bed, he was up brushing his teeth. He was still in pain. We went to bed and he tossed and turned, took more ibuprofen, and finally fell asleep at about 5:30 am.

Obviously, I didn't sleep well either. :P

One unhappy camper.

The next morning he seemed to be feeling a little better. However, it didn't last long. We had gone grocery shopping, and we were back at my parents cleaning the grill, cooking, playing with my little cousin, Collin, and we eventually went swimming. Tanner, despite how hard he tried, sat on the steps most of the time with his head in his hands. (My poor hubby. :( ) He found that keeping cold water on the tooth with the cap helped, but he had to keep it on there. On the plus side, he drank LOTS of water. :P

After we came inside from swimming to eat dinner, he got hit with pain that had him curled up on the bed with his hands on his head pleading for it to stop. It was awful. I got him some more water and went to eat. Mom and I then thought of the idea of an emergency dental place. I started looking some up on my phone but, being the 4th of July, it wasn't clear if they were open. Tanner's pain finally subsided and he came out to eat some steak. Mom called the emergency dental place, found out they had been taking patients (frustrating) and they would be open for an 11:30 am appointment the next day.

After church we run over to the dental place, they get us in, take more x-rays and give us the price to do a root canal. More expensive than our dentist, but we decided to do it anyway because Tanner was in SO much pain.

2 hours later and Tanner is a VERY happy man in NO pain! He even fell asleep a couple of times during the procedure! (He was way to exhausted and with out the pain there to keep him up he just passed out. :P )

The rest of the day was very happy and we were thankful to have an extra day to spend in Dallas with my family. The ride home was also MUCH more pleasant.

So our restful weekend turned out to be a very interesting one.

Moral of the story. If you need a root canal, in a tooth that has been hurting, get it done the same day! Also, don't wait a long time to get the tooth that shouldn't be sensitive anymore but still is checked out. Not a good idea.

AND, don't eat heath bar ice cream. That's what got us into this mess in the first place. Heath bar ice cream cracks teeth. Don't do it.

Hope y'all had a less eventful (unless the events were good!) 4th of July!

It's That Time of Year Again.

Well, it's almost Christmas. Tanner and I have the tree put up and decorated, the icicle lights out up around the shed outside, most of the presents are bought and wrapped, the plans are made for heading to Dallas for Christmas, and everything is settling down a little. I can't believe it's already this time of year!

It's weird to think back on last year. The 14th of this month will mark the day that I picked up Tanner from the DFW airport and we first saw each other in person. Who would have know that less than a year later we would be married!

I'm working on the 12 days of Christmas for Tanner. I got the idea from a fellow blogger who said she and her husband enjoyed it emensely. So, I'm giving it a try. Unfortunately, I didn't start off so well. We've technicly been celebrating the 1st day of Christmas since Saturday night. I couldn't be patient. I was going to make him a ice cream cake, (recipie via Pintrest) which is just two layers of ice cream bars, cool whip, and carmel topping, this Thursday. However, he wanted ice cream and I really wanted to find out if the "cake" was going to be any good, so we ended up making it together and eating it after it had time to freeze for a bit. Needless to say, it was delicious. On the down side, now I have to wait until this Friday for day 2. -.-

That's pretty much all that has been happening. I lead such an exciting life. :P Ha ha!

Keep On Keeping On!

Elisabeth

Happy Thanksgiving! (Belated Thanksgiving, rather..)

I can't believe it's already Thanksgiving! I've been married for two months and it's almost Christmas! Time just keeps on flying by! I remember the days when each day dragged on for waht seemed to be forever. Where did those days go?

In other news, two weekends ago, my wonderful husband and I went to a marriage seminar. (Sacred Marriage by Gary Thomas to be exact.) It was amazing! I seriously think anyone even thinking about getting married in the future should go! Gary has a way of putting things in a different light and thinking about things in a new way, a GODLY way. It was really eye opening.

One of the things that he said that really stuck with me is that marriage is the biggest challenge a person can face spiritually. People never really see it that way. Most people think that they are in love and they will get married and everything will get easier from there. However, things just get harder. It's really true if you think about it. Once you start living with someone, those little things that once attracted you to that person start to get on your nerves. The hard thing is though, that, for a good relationship, you can't make them change. You, yourself, have to learn to live with it and deal with it in a Godly way. That is truely a BIG challenge.

All that being said, Tanner and I are in Dallas celebrating with our family. It's really good to spend time with everyone and have more than just a weekend to be together. Of course, as like every other year, we have all eaten way too much of the many delicious foods that entered into our house for lunch. Not that being too full stops any of us from eating more. It's all just so good! I think, though, that we shall be sent home with many leftovers.. If they survive the long journey back that is.

Speaking of going home, I get to put up our first Christmas tree when we get home! I'm acctually pretty excited. We got a pre-lit, six foot tree for fifty bucks. It was pretty awesome. We got some solid colored ornaments for it, until we fill it up with ornaments that mean more to us, and a nice lighted topper. I'm really excited to put it up. Though I can't decide if I should wait for Tanner to help or just do it myself. I should probably ask his oppinion beofre I do anything. :P

I've acctually gotten several gifts already picked out and ready to be wrapped. It's pretty cool. I've still got a month left and won't have to frantically search for something to get for everyone. Yay!

Well, Keep on keeping on! :)

Dealing with a Loss

Today is filled with greif and sorrow. Thoughts of what was left undone and what will never come to pass.

My grandmother died last night. Apparently it was just her time. She died in her sleep. My mom called me this morning with the news as she tried not to weep over the phone, to be strong. I couldn't believe it at first. There was nothing to suggest she was going to pass. I can't imagine what my grandpa is going through right now.

Tanner and I had already planned to go to Dallas next weekend for the marriage seminar. I was looking forward to seeing all of my family. Now.. I'm guessing we'll be heading up there sometime this week or this weekend.

I was looking forward to seeing her at Thanksgiving.. and Christmas (or around Christmas time depending on what Tanner and I worked out).. I already had her gift, and I knew she was going to love it. I was looking forward to seeing her at the hospital when my aunt gave birth.. I was looking forward to her seeing my children... So my kids could have a great-grandmother since I didn't get that pleasure because she died soon after my parents got married.

It's funny how life repeats itself.. the same thing that happened to my mom, though probably not in the same time frame, happened to me. My kids will never get to know their great-grandma, just like I didn't get to meet mine. I never wanted that for them. I wanted my grandma to live to see both my sister and I get married. I wanted her to live to see our children. I prayed that she would live that long. I guess God had a different plan.

I wish I could be there for my family. I wish I could hug my parents and hold my sister. I wish I hug my aunts and help my little cousins through this. I know what it's like loosing a grandparent at a young age. My dad's parents died when I was 10 and 11. I know it's going to be so hard on them.

And it just hit me.. she never go to see the pictures from my wedding. Oh the things that were left undone!

I don't want to ask God why. It's not my place. Yet, I find myself  feverishly wanting to cry out and ask why He took her so soon!

If you're reading this, I ask that you keep my family in your prayers. I think this is hard on all of us.. really hard. I'm not sure yet when the funeral is going to be. This is not how I wanted to see my family again. But I can't change that. God has a plan. I just pray he help us all heal quickly. Between this and the news I recived yesterday... it's been a hard week, and I have a feeling that it's going to continue that way. (If you can, pray for someone dear to me. I can't give details.)

I guess there is only one way to go now... forward...

Keep on keeping on.

RIP Grandma. I miss you.

A New Chapter

Right at this very moment, I am 38,999 feet in the air. That's right. I'm on a plane. With WiFi. How cool is that?! It costed me $5, but it's worth it! Ha ha! Anyway, I am on my way back to Dallas after being in Vancouver and packing my things for five days. Six months I've been in Vancouver, Washington, and I look back and see how much I have grown.

When I got to Vancouver, I had just finished my first year of college. I was taking a step out on my own and, quite to my parents dismay, not going back to school and moving what seems like a bazillion miles away. It was a scary step. I had no car, hardly any money, and no job. But I knew I would be with family, and I hadn't seen my cousin, Ry in over a year. I was with my ex and honestly, on an emotional roller coaster that went hand in hand with that. In three words, I was young. It's funny to look back and see who I was then and who I am now. The change isn't drastic, and it happened little by little, but there is a big change.

Because of my time working at Vancouver Pizza Company and being pretty much out on my own, I found myself. Sure, I still am finding more and more of myself everyday, but I gained clarity in areas that I would never have found had I not left Dallas. (Or at least it would have taken me a very long time if I did.) I have become more solid in my faith and find myself closer to God. I have become more outgoing and more outspoken. I'm no longer the girl who hardly talks and strays away from people. I still have to warm up to people, but I don't just stand in a corner and sew my lips shut. I found myself greeting customers that walked in the door, occasionally seating people, taking food out to tables, and handing customers the pizza they ordered to-go. I goofed around with my fellow co-workers, while diligently doing my job of course, and learned to come up with joking, witty remarks to whatever got thrown at me jokingly. I also became more clear in what I wanted in my future husband. Sure, Eharmony helped with that, but so did my experiences. Eharmony just matched me up with the wonderful man I am with today. Though if it hadn't been for God, we wouldn't have found each other. Nor would any of this have happened. God gets ALL the credit. It is through Him that I get my strength.

It's crazy to look back and see how much I have changed and grown. And I know that I will say the same thing six months from now about who I am today that I am saying about who I was six months ago. And so-on and so-on.

I will start my new job tomorrow at my mom's law firm. I am extremely nervous, but I know that I can do it because God has opened this door and lead me to this decision as he did with the decision to move to Vancouver. He has a plan and I place my trust in Him. I am going to miss my family in Washington dearly, in fact, I already do. But I know I will see them again and I am so grateful for the time that I had with them. I love them all very much.

On a side note, what's really crazy is to think about my future. In five months and five days I will turn 20! I won't be a teen anymore! What's even crazier is that I could be married in three years and by eight years there is a possibility that I could have kids! I'd be 28! (Well, in eight years five months and five days.) It's just crazy! And before anyone gets any wild, crazy ideas, no I do not know when I am getting married or anything else. The possibility of that happening is just there. Ha ha ha! But I mean, if you think about it, it really is just there. I'd be 22. ANYWAY, I'm going off on a tangent about that.. ha ha! The thing is, I don't feel old. I don't feel like in eight years I could possibly be pregnant or have kids. It's just freaky. But those will be chapters of my life to be written later, when the time comes. :)

And so a chapter has ended and a new chapter begins.

Keep on keeping on.

Elisabeth