Fulfilling our Dreams

I have a lot to catch up on in the bloggy world. But we will cover one thing at a time.

I'm so happy I can finally spill the beans (no, I'm not pregnant. haha).

Back in the beginning of January we went Down to Charleston, South Carolina for Brad to interview with the Dental Program at the Medical University of South Carolina. I fell in love with the city and could totally imagine us living down there. Brad's birthday week was pretty great for him this year, we found out his patent that he worked on while we lived in Washington was finally made official and even more exciting we found out that he was ACCEPTED to Dental School! We are so thrilled to be moving back down south, and to Charleston to be more specific!

Brad will be starting Dental School June 2. It's coming up so soon, but it feels like it's taking forever to get here because we just want to be there already!!

I'm so proud of my cute husband for putting himself out there and fulfilling his dreams! He has worked so hard for this and I'm so excited to be by his side as we go through this exciting change!

Stay tuned for a recap of my trip to Georgia this weekend!

 

Sometimes you just have to let it out

I wish I was good at writing so I could get it all out. You know true raw emotions.
Our world is a scary scary place to live in.

You know what the worst feeling in the world is...when that scary becomes a part of your daily family life. Although I don't live with my parents and sisters anymore they still mean the world to me and I hate it when anyone messes with them. I wish I kept up with my sisters and parents more than I do, and after an incident this week I'm making a bigger effort to be more involved in their lives even though we are miles away.

My sisters and I have had our ups and downs. As I'm sure every set of siblings does but I'm so grateful for them and can't imagine my life without them.

There is nothing I want to do more than hold my baby sister so tight all night long and be able to tell her that I love her and I'm here for her no matter what. I pray for her safety and protection every night, and for her to know of the love that we have for her. That she will feel the Saviors loving arms protecting her and embracing her through these scary times.

I would also hug my older sister and tell her how sorry I am for all of those times I was so unforgiving. It is one of the only regrets I have in my life, and I seriously REGRET it. I wish I would have just let things go and let the past be the past. I truly am sorry. I'm grateful that you were able to be patient with me because I'm so happy with where we are at now with our relationship and only see it getting better and better as life goes on! 

I wish I could tell my parents how much us girls love them. They do SO much for us and would do anything to make sure we were safe and taken care of. My parents were and always are right there when we need them the most. They will fly or drive millions of miles without the blink of an eye.

I wish I could hug my mom and just cry with her, because sometimes that is the only thing you can and want to do. Especially when you don't know all the answers to all the "whys" of life. She is my best friend in life and I definitely hurt when she hurts. There is no love quite like that of a mothers.

I would hug my dad and tell him how amazing he is. For always being the one who knows exactly what to say, the one who has so much wisdom, and loves all of his girls no matter what. I know he would go to the moon and back to make sure that we protected.

I guess what I'm trying to say is I love my family. For those of you who are near yours give them a big hug and hold them tight and never ever take them for granted. I don't know why it always works like this but it seems like trials always to bring us together. 

2014

Another year has come and gone and it's crazy to think of how fast they fly by.

2014 is an even year which for an OCD person like me, means it's destined to be a great year. Two examples: (2012)-Got married to that sweet hubby of mine. (2010)- Graduated high school. See what I mean?!

It seems to be quite the trend that people always set a goal that somehow relates to health and fitness. While I think these are great goals and have been known to have one myself every single year I've decided this year will be different. I will try to improve myself. So here are some of my goals for 2014.

Graduate college. I've spent four years of my life trying to accomplish this goal and I can't wait to finish come this May. At times it has been the most stressful thing in my life but if I'm being honest I love school. I love the structure of it and I love learning and performing well. I have been blessed with jobs that have allowed me to make school my top priority while also enabling me to go to college for four years without taking out any student loans. Most of all I love the support that I have from my family and my husband. I couldn't ask for a better support group. They are always there telling me I can do it and how proud of me they are. There is no better feeling in this world. 

I hope to get my anxiety under control. This is really going to be a struggle for me as I feel like it's gotten worse as I've gotten older. Like I said above I am very much a perfectionist. When we lived in Washington I had a really bad panic attack, I'm not really sure how it came about but I seriously thought I was dying. I've never had one before and I have to admit that I remember that night so vividly and I feel like it still affects me to this day. I can feel the difference that the panic attack had on me and I'm ready to let go of that, move on, let things not stress me out, and go back to my happy, stress free days.

Another goal I have is to not compare myself to others. In today's society I'm sure we all get caught up in it. How can we not when we have facebook, blogs, and instagram  constantly shoving it in our faces. Between the exotic trips that everyone is taking, the beautiful homes that everyone is building, and the "perfect" lives that we get a glimpse of. I often times find myself getting angry or comparing myself with those who seem to be more "established". I need to remember to take a look at my own life and enjoy the chapter of life that I'm in instead of comparing it to the "perfection" I see on social media sites.

I'm looking forward to 2014. I'm pretty sure there will be a lot of {GOOD} changes in the Schmidt household! 

Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree

So lately it has been insanity at our house. We have been busy planning our ward Christmas party, working our buns off, and taking finals. However, once we had a Saturday morning together we headed off to the same Christmas tree farm as last year and found us a perfect tree.

Brad makes every occasion seem special and magical. As we were driving down the curvy roads, watching the snow fall he demanded we put on Christmas music, because after all we were going to pick out a Christmas tree.

We walked through the Christmas tree farm and inspected every tree until we found the one that would be just right. Of course Brad was so good to me and let me snap some pictures! We cut the tree down, strapped it to the top of the car, and headed home.

Once we got it home we turned on the Christmas pandora station, lighted our Bath and Body works "'Tis the season" candle, and decorated that tree so that it shimmers and shines.

I absolutely love how a real Christmas tree smells and makes it really feel like the holidays. I grew up with lots of Christmas trees and nothing makes it feel more like Christmas than a tree and nativities!

Here's to Christmas break and catching up on lots of blogging!

Post of Thanks

As I’m sitting here in my warm house watching the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade, with the smell of delicious food filling my house, while the snow falls outside filling the air with magic (I hate snow but I have to admit it makes everything look like Narnia)I can’t help but feel  SO blessed.

I have so much to be thankful for that the list would go on and on, so I’ll just list a few here. I really have been so blessed and I am really trying to do better about expressing my thanks all year long.

I’m so grateful for the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Without it I would be so lost and I wouldn’t be able to feel the joy that I have felt from being a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. At work people ask me why I’m so happy and full of energy, and really I feel like a lot of it relates to the gospel and the way I live my life.

I’m SO thankful for the family I have been blessed to be born into, they really are the BEST. They are the best support system and the best examples of unconditional love. I always knew I had a good family I just didn’t know how good until I got married! (funny what marriage teaches you).

Speaking of marriage, I’m so thankful that I married someone who loves me for who I am. Brad and I have so much fun together.  We enjoy doing the simple things together as well as the fun adventures that life throws at us. I am so glad I get to go through life with him by my side. I love this chapter of our life but am also looking forward to when we add our own littles.

Finally I’m so thankful for the opportunity I have to get a college education. There are times I really hate it and get annoyed with how much it costs and how much work I have to put into it but there are so many people who will never get that chance. And honestly I LOVE school.

I hope everyone has a wonderful thanksgiving, and remember is about more than just a feast of good food! ;)

Goodbye October, Hello November

Can you all believe how fast the month of October came and went? I am still having a hard time believing it's already November! Soon we will be into the New Year! Crazy to think about.

October was a pretty fun month for us. I feel like we squeezed in a lot of fun things when we didn't have to work. We went to a pumpkin patch, a corn maze, carved pumpkins, boo'd some friends, and even dressed up as Rapunzel and Flynn Rider for our ward's trunk or treat. Also, my mom came into town on Halloween and we LOVED having her visit. We had such a fun time chatting that I didn't even get any pictures of her visit (hate it when that happens).

I'm really excited (maybe more like nervous) for our crazy month of November. Hello midterms, working, moving the weekend before Thanksgiving, more than likely working Black Friday, and putting up Christmas decorations the day after Thanksgiving (because that's how it is supposed to be).

I hope everyone has a fabulous week! I'm just hoping the snow stays away for a little bit longer.

Tis The Season To Get Married

{Just a heads up, it's a novel. Sorry not sorry. I consider this blog to be a journal so I want to make sure I document. You do not have to read the whole thing!}

This weekend I knew FIVE girls who got married (yes you read that right, 5, in two days). Let's just say weddings were on the mind this weekend, and it got me thinking back to my very own.

Of course I thought about how giddy I was on my wedding day and how excited I was to be sealed to Brad for eternity. I remember sitting in the bridal room with my mom and the temple worker coming in and telling me I was the calmest bride she had ever seen. I don't feel as though I was super calm (I seriously went to the bathroom four times in 20 minutes) but I felt at peace with the decision I was making.  I knew I had prepared and lived my life the way I should for the past 20 years so that I could be right where I was.

When I think back on my wedding day I think of the spirit that I felt as Brad and I were sealed together in that room on July 19, 2012 in the Birmingham, Alabama temple. I love that we were able to walk into the room side by side, just how we will do everything for the rest of our lives, side by side. I feel so blessed to be able to have Brad by my side through everything. Luckily for me I get to spend forever with that man of mine and I can always return to the temple to feel that same spirit. What an incredible blessing! 

Although all the weddings this weekend made me think of my own wedding day, I really spent my time reflecting on our marriage. I can't even begin to tell you how happy being married makes me. I feel so blessed that I found the man that I want to love and be with for the rest of forever at such a young age. I thought about how most days I still feel just as happy to know that I get to spend eternity with Brad (I say most days because we aren't perfect, and we do have our days) as the very day we were sealed.

I still feel like a newlywed most of the time.The other day I surprised Brad with a picnic when I picked him up from work. We headed to a local park and enjoyed our picnic on the most lovely fall day, the sunset was incredible so it really felt like the perfect day. Brad looked over at me and said "I think we are finally getting the hang of this whole marriage thing". I sat back for a moment and reflected on our first year of marriage.

I'm not going to lie the first three months were rough for me, I moved all the way to Washington State, Brad was either working or going to school and I didn't have a reliable job. I really just sat at home all day and did school work, I didn't really have friends out there and I was adjusting to married life. Then we moved to New York, during the winter. Oh how I HATE snow, and let me tell you we get a lot of it here. I was really worried when we weren't really clicking with anyone in the ward because everyone knew the likelihood of us staying here was very slim.  However, something changed and I can't even tell you when. Next thing you know we are being invited to hangout with people, I have made a few friends, I have a job that I love, and I have a calling that I love most Sundays.

So in reply to Brad's statement, I really have to agree. I think we really are starting to get the hang of this whole marriage thing. Although we are super busy, we do make the most out of the time that we do have together. Am I always the perfect wife, no. Is the house always spotless, no. Do those stress me out, yes. Even though we are starting to get the hang of it I still feel like I have a lot to learn! Good thing I have eternity to learn to love more and stress less!