SURPRISE

Our little family is growing by one more! We're pregnant! We are so extremely excited and happy, about this news, and we just couldn't wait to tell our families and friends. I will be uploading some pictures of how we told some of our family members about it, because we did some cute projects, but those will be saved for another post. I was able to tell Ethan the day we got back from San Antonio, and the pure joy that I got to see light up his eyes was unforgettable. 

Here are some answers to the questions I get asked every time: 

Due Date: November 5th

Are we finding out the gender?: Yes <3

Do we have names picked out?: technically we've had names picked out since before we were married... that's never been something we've had a problem with talking about. BUT, I will not post those names on the blog until both Ethan and I have decided on a name, and if we are going to tell people the name, or keep it a surprise for when the baby is born. 

What are we hoping for?: A human would be ideal... lol... who would I be if I didn't make a lame joke every once in a while... We're hoping for what every one else hopes for; a happy healthy baby. We both want a son, and a daughter, so I'd say the odds are greatly in our favor. 

Have I felt sick?: only all day everyday, but hey... I'd say it's pretty worth it... plus I have the most wonderful husband who carries around, both ginger chews, and peppermint mints, in his wallet in case I start to feel nauseous in public. 

I'm so excited about it all, and I already want to set up the nursery, buy baby clothes, and get everything ready! 

It's been a while...

Heyo! -
It has been a while since I've updated (sorry to any family members who have been wondering what's going on) I just haven't found the time, these last few weeks. Anyways, not a lot has happened, though the events that have happened have been very exciting for us!
YES! - I started Francis Tuttle in February, and I am LOVING it! It is a self pace course and I'm racing through it as fast as I can so I may be getting my CNA here within a few weeks or months. It can be a challenging course at times, but I have been having fun with it and have had the opportunity to meet some new and interesting people, and make some friends along the way.
ETHAN - has his promotion coming up here in a few weeks!
WE - just got back from San Antonio this last week. We went to see a friend of ours graduate bootcamp and it was a fun trip. The last day we spent there turned out to be a very special day for us (which will be explained in a separate blog post.)
THEN - when we were heading back from Texas our car started making a not-so-great noise, so we brought it in to see what was wrong with it, and found out, the car wasn't going to be much of a car for much longer :'( SO we traded it in for a 2012 Ford Fiesta :D and we are loving it so far.
I DO - have another blog post in the making right now, and will be posting it within the week so be on the look out for it. ;-)

Update

Just a quick update today, since I feel like I haven't posted in a while... I mean... there hasn't been much to post lately.
One thing that is really exciting is I'm FINALLY starting to go after my dream of becoming a nurse. It's been decided, and I've been accepted into Francis Tuttle, to get my CNA license. As of right now I'm on the waiting list to start in March, but if I'm too far down on the list I won't start until November. I'm extremely excited about this, because I've wanted to be a nurse since I was 14. My freshman year of high school I started off on a good track towards that. I had a huge plan of getting my CNA at 16, and starting my LVN course at 18, I got on honor roll both semesters. I had a goal, and I was focused on reaching it... and then stuff happened, and my grades tanked, and my plan got pushed back, and soon, was changed completely. Then I had a plan of going to Oregon for college. Get my CNA in california through a community college, and then, go up to Southern Oregon University for my LVN, and RN-BSN, and soon after I toured that campus I made a huge life decision, of moving away... like... away, away. After I made that decision, I made another big decision. Not to try for nursing. I was devastated, and I was disappointed in myself, because I thought I messed everything up, because I messed up in highschool. I was moving away from any schools I thought I had a chance of being accepted in, and I just thought it was God telling me that this wasn't the right timing, or it may not even be his plan for me after all. It seemed like after I made that sad decision, the question arose more often, of what my plan was. I had a few different things I was thinking of... online college, studying psychology. Getting a teaching degree... Getting a cosmetology license; but the answer I always wanted to say so badly: nursing. Why do I want to become a nurse? I can list off so many reasons. The first one being my dad. There was a brief period of time where I got to take care of him, after he had a surgery on his foot. Both him, and the home health care nurses said I should go for nursing, and that it would be something I would be good at. The other big reason is I want to help people. I want to not only take care of them, but I want to be a comfort to them.
How did I come to the decision of trying for nursing again? I have an amazing husband. One day... right after my interview with Paul Mitchell academy, he asked me in a joking kind of way (we actually used to ask each other this question often) what I wanted to be when I grew up. I looked at him and asked if he wanted the honest answer, and he said of course. I told him I still really wanted to go after nursing, and he literally looked at me smiled, and said "I know." That caught me off guard. For several weeks after that he was encouraging me to go after it, to do what made me happy, and as I've said before; I'm stubborn. In my mind, it was unreachable for me, but Ethan always told me otherwise. I started calling colleges while he was at work, looking for somewhere that offered a good CNA program, and finally happened upon Francis Tuttle. When I told him, he was so happy, and told me he would help in any way. People: I am so lucky to have this man standing by me, and supporting me in any decision I make. He knows just how to encourage me. He helped me study for the math portion of my entrance exam (because I hate math, and he loves it) and I passed it! Francis Tuttle got my application, had me meet with a counselor, and I got accepted! It seems so unreal to me that I actually get to do this... I'll be wearing scrubs in (hopefully) about 5-6 weeks, and getting my license in about 7 months! Which also means I'll be working as a CNA in about 7 months!
Other news... There's really not a whole lot going on right now. I had my first bridal show this month and it went really well. I'm now in the production part of my job... it'll be interesting balancing school, work, and wife during that time, but it'll all work out.
No more hospital visits... so thats a good thing ;-)
I've got a friend coming up to visit us in May and we're really excited about that!
And, that's about it for this update. I'll be posting again soon! :)

House Full of Sickies...

I am writing this post while I still can before the medicine kicks in and I'm passed out again lol. If it doesn't make much sense then my apologies ;-). 

So this 3 day weekend wasn't what we anticipated it to be whatsoever. We were planning a date night (like we normally do on weekends) going out seeing a movie, finding some nearby parks, exploring brick town a little more... None of that happened... Saturday, Ethan started noticing he wasn't feeling well. Achy, head hurts, soar throat, typical flu stuff. I hadn't been feeling well either but mine was more localized to my lower stomach/ pelvic area, and it started out like cramps, and would occasionally become sharp. So we both decided to take it easy, stayed home, laid down, and watched some TV. That night is now burned in my memory as one of the most painful nights of my life now. At around 8:30 we were watching supernatural, and I was feeling really dizzy, and lightheaded. I was seeing black and white spots everywhere and I felt faint, so I told Ethan and we both went to bed. Within the next hour I had a full blown migraine and the pain I was feeling in my abdomin earlier, was now crippling me over, making me immobile. I had never felt anything like that before, and I was terrified. So was Ethan, because, apparently... We learned that night, that when someone experiences that type of pain for a certain amount of time, they start passing out... A lot, because it's their body's way of saying 'OK, I've had enough... I'm just gonna go to sleep for about 30 seconds.' According to Ethan I passed out about 15+ times in a span of 6 hours. He really wanted me to go to the hospital, but I (like my father before me) am STUBBORN. He was ready to call an ambulance. I told him I would go in the morning (which now he says he will NEVER take that excuse again, and if he thinks I need to go to the hospital, he's taking me right then.) In the end it turned out to be a good thing that I went the next day, because with tricare (military insurance) you're supposed to go to the clinic on base, and if they can't help you, they will give you a referral to a place off base... If you don't have that referral you will be paying for your hospital visit... That would have been bad for us (especially after all the blood work... Yikes!) So instead of that happening Ethan called the clinic and we got our referral... The nurse said to take me in immediately, that it was marked as an emergency, and in case I needed surgery, not to let me eat or drink anything. When I got there they immediately started an IV... they didn't like me for it either... I warned them before hand that every time i've given blood or had an IV before that i'm a tough one to poke. 20 minutes and 2 tries later they got it, and they took 2 vials of blood, which apparently I was being stingy with, because I was so dehydrated (I was a mess.) The doctor came in and gave us a game plan and ordered me some pain meds. They performed several tests including a CT scan, and found a pelvic infection. They said they're not positive that's what it was because I shouldn't have been in that much pain, so they gave me 2 choices... Be admitted and run countless more tests, or treat it like a pelvic infection and send me home. I told them to send me home on the medication, and they told me to watch VERY carefully and if I'm not feeling better in a day or 2 to come back immediately. They sent me home on some really strong pain meds (they make me dizzy, groggy, woozy, and nauseous) and nausea medicine (which helps with the nausea that isn't caused by the pain medicine, but doesn't help with the nausea after I take the pain medicine) and a lot of antibiotics that I had never heard before. So far whenever the pain medicine wears off I still feel very sharp pain in my abdomen, so we're watching that and if it doesn't go away by tomorrow, we'll go back in. *Side note, I've fallen asleep 7 times since I started writing this post yesterday morning... 

So as of right now, Chief is the only one in our family who isn't sick, but he sure loves to cuddle and try his best to make us feel better. 

Words bring me back to a time...

I could never express how much I love words. Reading, writing, speaking... They'll always capture me and send me places that the other love languages (actions, touch, gifts, time) don't compare to. Not that words are better than some of those languages; just different for me. I was reading something this morning, in another friend's blog, that talked about falling in love, and taking your time to remember every detail about how it all felt, and that threw me back to those days in the fall of 2014 where Ethan and I would go to the park at 8:30 at night, and swing on the swings, stargazing, and telling each other just about everything, learning more and more about each other, and falling in love with one another. The times where we would go on random adventures, like to the caves out in Shasta, and we would hike around all day, and spend that time discussing what we liked, what we didn't. Laughing and chasing one another. I often go back to the first time we went out to the Bizz Johnson Trail in Northern California, before we were even dating, and think about how we climbed over rocks on the river, until we found this one that we could lay on and look up at the sky. How Ethan scooted his hand towards mine, and wove his fingers between mine, and how safe I felt in that moment. I go back to the night he asked me to be his girlfriend, (a week after the Bizz Johnson) how we walked around the park for hours, and played our guitars together. Sometimes I'll read something, or I'll be writing about something totally different, or Ethan will say something and it'll throw me back to memories like these, and I can't help the urge to write about them. The urge to document them so I can remember them, in detail, forever. It all goes by so fast! One day we're out in the rain, watching the waterfall, too happy where we are to go home, and the next we're married! 

Give me words that bring me back to those times and I could write for hours. Writing just always has and I believe will continue to take me away to those dreamlike places in my head where everything is good, and time seems nonexistent. Just like a photographer can look at her work and see her memories in her art, and a composer can hear his song and listen to his memories, a person who likes to write can read their stories and re-live those beautiful times over and over again, as many times as they'd like. I want to take time to reflect on these memories, and I want to write about them, in striking detail-- not completely on the blog (though I do like to share things like this), not on social media, but in my own journals, for my own enjoyment, so I can remember what the leaves felt like as they crunched beneath my feet that day, and if I even noticed it or if I was too caught up or distracted in a conversation that completely enthralled me; so I can remember what I was thinking during that conversation. So I can remember the salty smell of the ocean that I so love, and the way it felt to watch the waves crawl up to our feet, making them disappear for a second while the crippling cold water swallowed them up and crept away again, and I can hear Ethan's steady breath off to the side as he watches the waves with just as much enjoyment as I do. So I can feel my heart thud violently inside my chest while repeating back my vows and the words "I do" to the man who will be by my side for the rest of my life. I just want to write stuff that sends shivers down my spine as I read it over again-- to write something that makes me feel so immensely, what's being described, so I can feel all of these emotions again and again. 

I wish I wrote the way I thought,

Obsessively,

incessantly

with maddening hunger,

I'd write to the point of suffocation

I'd write myself into nervous breakdowns,

Manuscripts spiraling out like tentacles into abysmal nothing 

and I'd write about you,

a lot more

than I should. ~ Benedict Smith

2016 Goals

I refuse to use the term 'resolutions.' I don't know why ;-)
Anyways these are just some of the things I'm going to work towards this year.

1) Of course, I'm going to work on being a good wife. Ethan deserves the very best and it brings me joy to see his happiness in our marriage. I was so scared when we got married that I would do so many things wrong, like burn dinner too often, or not know how to decorate our house, or wash his ABU's incorrectly or something. I've come to learn I'm a better cook than I thought I would be, It's easier to decorate a house than I thought it would be, and his ABU's aren't hard to clean at all. All of those fears were silly, and of course if I burn dinner, Ethan won't be upset about it. If I don't know where to hang a picture Ethan won't be upset about it, and if I mess up on washing his ABU's it could easily be fixed, and he won't be upset about it. Anyways, I just want to be the best wife possible for him. I want to always live up to my vows for him, of being his supporter, encourager, his best friend and faithful life partner.

2) I want to be a better pet owner. Not that I'm a bad one ha ha ;-) I'd say Chief is a pretty happy dog who is pretty spoiled. What I mean by this is I'd like to train him better. We rescued him when he was 9 months old. As far as we know he has had no previous training, and so he chews things up, he plays a little rough, he digs and so on. He's not a bad dog by any means... He's been a bit destructive, but he's a good dog. So far he's learned some things pretty quickly, like potty training. Now the only accidents he has is if Ethan and I are both gone at work all day, (we have to leave him inside because we haven't been able to get him in to the vet to get him chipped yet, so if he gets out of the backyard which is very possible, then anyone who finds him on base will need to take him back to the animal shelter) but other than that he's good about letting us know when he needs out. He's very smart, we just need to work with him a little more about the chewing.

3) Being a good employee. I work in sales and production with a small company that is currently working on expanding, and it's a job that I've never had experience with before. My first bigger project is working a bridal show in Oklahoma city this month and presenting our product and selling it. I've got 7 shows I'm working this year, and in between shows I'll be doing production, and working with the customized orders. It's definitely a job I'm excited about having, (especially since I'm working a lot of bridal shows, I've always loved the idea of working on weddings and stuff) and I'm excited to see where this opportunity takes me.

4) Writing everything down. Not necessarily in the blog, but just keeping track of things I want to remember in the future, or working on my creative writing a bit more, by writing more stories, or working on a book, or doing some more poetry. I actually have a writing project that I'm working on right now and I'm hoping to keep it up throughout the year. As far as the blog, I do want to post more in it. I find myself very insecure about a lot of it, because I've read several wonderful blogs, along the same line as what I'm trying to do with this one (just a day in the life of the Bevan household type thing... our stories, and what's going on with our family, pretty much just so our families can read if they're interested, and for me to look back on in the years to come) and I just don't think my blog comes close to the ones I've read, but I'm trying not to let those insecurities limit what I post and what I don't. Which leads me into my next "goal".

5) Working on that ongoing battle I've had for so long of not being insecure about EVERYTHING. I've come a very very long way already, but I think I still have a long way to go in this, wonderfully, terrifying journey of loving who I am. Confidence was such an issue for me for the longest time. I always wore baggy hoodies and jeans everywhere to cover up. I kept my hair in my face all the time so nobody could look at me, and I was very quiet in school (freshman and sophomore year), unless you really got to know me. I had a friend, who was just so confident, and we had gone through a lot of similar things, and I wanted so badly to have the confidence she had. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't. It was one of the most frustrating things ever. It took me a long time to let go of some of my insecurities, but once I did, I became more of a social person (now people can't get me to shut up!) and I was a lot happier. I'm still working on it, and I think it's something I'll have to keep working on forever... It's just part of being human, but hey, it's a good goal to have.

6) This is kind of a big one. Figuring out what I want to do school wise. I honestly can not decide. My dream would be to become a nurse. It's what I've wanted to do since I was about 14. I kind of gave up on that after I moved away from a lot of the schools that I would have went to for that. Then I've looked at teaching. I would love to either teach a 1st or 2nd grade class, or an English high school course. But I've also looked at majoring in psychology, and minoring in the science of human behaviors, and doing all kinds of different things with that, like psychiatrist, school counselor, social worker. Then for a while there (I even posted about this one) I was looking at cosmetology. Right now I'm back on really wanting to do nursing, but that is a LOT of money, and there is also the fact that Ethan and I so far have been planning on me staying home once we have kids, which we're planning having a kid within the next 7 years, and so basically I'll have spent all of this time and money working towards a degree that I wouldn't be able to use yet. It's just something I'm not sure about.

I have a lot of high hopes for 2016 and I'm determined to make it a great year. I can't wait to see where it takes us.

Love is...

DISCLAIMER: I'm well aware of the fact that I'm only 18, and have been married for just short of 3 months. I know I may sound "juvenile" when I talk about "love, life, and marriage" because I'm new to the whole game. But I just wanted to post something that has been on my heart for a while. Something I've dedicated hours of my time to researching for lots of different reasons. That something is the term 'love.'

Even though I don't or haven't posted a "This is what I think" blog post before, I've been wanting to get around to posting this one for a while. There is a page on Facebook and Instagram, that I think every married person should follow. The page is called "Fierce Marriage" and they post all kinds of amazing things about how to be a Godly wife/husband, how to show God's love through your relationship and they're just all around one of my favorite pages. This morning around 2 (I was awake with a killer headache) I saw a post of theirs that said:

"I love you, but I'm not in love with you" is a lie. Love that begins and ends with your own happiness isn't love, it's selfishness with a mask on.

And I loved the honesty of it. Love isn't the same as romance or feelings. Feelings can come and go. You 'feel' that this individual in your life makes you happy, gives you butterflies, gives you all of their attention, and so you think you love them. Love is not based on what the other person can do for you. Love is sacrificial. It is a choice. Simply put: You can not expect the other person to always make you happy. You can not base your happiness on them. These expectations are harmful in a relationship and can and will lead to disappointments and unsatisfactory in the future. The only way to be fully satisfied in any relationship is with the love that God gives to us. God doesn't expect anything in return for his love. His love is not something that is bought. First he loves us. Then he gives us the free choice to follow him, (and if we don't choose to he still loves us.) Then out of love for him; we obey his word and seek to glorify him in everything we do. God is love. God does everything OUT OF love.
So. What is love? How is it defined? All questions I've researched.

The secular meaning of love is: (noun) an intense feeling of deep affection. (Verb) To feel a deep romantic or sexual attachment to someone.
Call me crazy but the second one sounds a lot more like "lust." Just like love can not be based off of your own happiness it definitely can not be based off of lust. Lust shouldn't even be in your relationship. Lust leads to very dangerous roads. Yes, the bible speaks of the husband being "satisfied by his wife's breasts," BUT it clearly says "may you always be captivated by her LOVE." Lust in marriage is sin. Lust speaks more of adultery. Lust is different from sexual desire with your husband/wife (eros love, it is the 'sensual' love between a husband and a wife, which is okay in the confines of marriage, but outside of marriage, is totally destructive.) Make sense? That is my issue with love being described as "a deep feeling of romance or sexual attachment." Now for a deep feeling of affection. Affection comes with love but that isn't what love IS.

The biblical meaning of what love is: (clearly stated in 1 Corinthians 13:4-8) Love is patient. Love is kind. Love does not envy, nor does it boast. It is not proud, it does not dishonor others, it is not self seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, and always perseveres.
The bible states that God IS love. In genesis, for example; in the garden of Eden, God tells Adam not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, and that if he does he will surely die. But when Adam disobeys God by taking the fruit and eating it with his wife, he does not die, instead God looks for him in the garden calling out "Where are you" He did not seek Adam to put him to death, rather he sought him to reestablish a relationship with him. God will not let sin separate us and him. God sent his son to the cross out of LOVE for us, so that our sins will be wiped clean.

Today the word love has been twisted into something it simply isn't. There are different types of love in the bible:
1) Storge love- Family love. The love we see between parents and their children.
2) Eros love- Sensual, something only to be kept in marriage.
3) Philia love- This is the type of love we are commanded to have for one another. (John 15:13 'Greater love hath no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends')
And finally 4) Agape love- This is the love Jesus displayed to us on the cross. This love doesn't come naturally to humans, and it is a verb. This love is displayed by what someone does.
None of these match up with what the secular definition of love is. There is nothing selfish about biblical love.
Rather than seeking love FROM other people we should be seeking to GIVE love to other people, without asking for anything in return.

This last year...

I cannot believe it will be 2016 tomorrow. This year has had some of the highest highs, and some of the lowest lows. It has been one of the most challenging, but most rewarding and healing years of my life. I've made many mistakes, I've had a fair share of fails, but I've learned a lot and have overcome some things I never thought I would have been able to. 

It seems like just yesterday I was stepping off the plane in Texas, back in January, too excited to think, waiting to see Ethan (my BOYFRIEND) graduate boot camp and be able to see him again for the first time in 2 long months. It was an amazing 4 days, but it felt like it was over in a flash. Then he was off for another 5 LONG months in Mississippi. It made me so proud to see everything he had accomplished up until that point in his life, and I was so proud and honored to be able to see him graduate from Boot camp and receive his airman's coin. 

While he was in Mississippi, I was still trying to figure out how to be a "military girlfriend" It was difficult for me to be away from him for so long. I missed him so much, and there were some nights where the only place in the world I wanted to be was in his arms. With limited communication it was hard to know what was happening in each other's lives. I turned 18, and got my first tattoo about a week before he got home, and he made it just in time to go to prom with me. I can honestly say that made my entire senior year. The only thing that would have made that night better, would have been if I wasn't recovering from my car accident still... Yep... ONE night... ONE NIGHT before Ethan got home I swerved trying to avoid a dear, and instead, hit the side of a mountain, then my car somehow landed on the other side of the road 6" from the cliff, at 11:30 at night, while my phone was dead. To make it better I was in both sides of the road, and in the middle of a bend, right in that sweet spot where no one would have seen my totaled car as they're driving around that corner. I was trapped in the car some people found me there after what felt like an eternity later. My car was totaled, which really made me panic because I had no clue how I would move to Oklahoma anymore without a car. The left side of my body, and my entire rib cage hurt very badly, and it made playing the saxophone for band a little harder ;-). But when I got to see Ethan the following day in the airport, all of that stress, and pain went away and nothing else mattered but being able to hug him tightly for the first time in 5 months. He got to spend almost a month home, and when he left I was about 2 weeks away from graduating and about a month and a half away from moving to Oklahoma to be with him again. Unbeknownst to me, within the first couple weeks of him being in Oklahoma he was buying an engagement ring! 

Graduating was a big thing for me. I wasn't really the best student, and I had gone through a LOT during high school. Though that's no excuse; I slacked off for a long time and wound up having to work 3 times as hard as I would have to be able to make up missed credits from missed school, and it's something I'm not proud of, but I AM proud of the fact that I made it. I worked hard and I made it. 

The couple of months between my graduation and my move across the country would be some of the hardest months I went through this year. Without airing my dirty laundry I'll just say I left home on not so good terms, and wound up staying with a few of my siblings for a while. The emotional stuff I was going through, and the scared feeling I had about leaving everything I'd ever known to go to a place I'd never stepped foot in, and the stress about finances put me in a bad mental place. I was hurting, and I didn't know what to do about it. I prayed and prayed and God eventually showed me in a very obvious way what to do (after I got to Oklahoma). The last few days I spent in California were saying goodbye to all of my friends, and camping with family. Then my soon to be father in law drove me to Reno where I stayed at my cousin's house, and they drove me to the airport. The entire day I was so concentrated on seeing Ethan and my flights seemed like an eternity. When I stepped off the plane in Oklahoma I was thinking about nothing else than being at home in Ethan's arms again, so when I stepped off the plane I forgot I should have been expecting the humidity... That was... shocking to say the least, stepping off the plane and immediately feeling moisture in the air... and it was so HOT! And if any of you know me, you'll have already known that I got lost in the airport looking for Ethan. 

So I find him and he drives me to my new home, and tells me to dress more comfortably for an outdoor date (as I was in a dress and heels.) He wouldn't tell me anything about where we were going or what we were doing. So we drive to Oklahoma City and parked in a random parking lot, and get out and start walking. We wind up in the Myriad Botanical Gardens, and there's an event going on where there is a movie playing outside on a huge screen. We watched the movie (Big Hero 6) and by the time it was over it was around 10:00 at night. After the movie we walked around the gardens, and by the river where tons of coy fish swam around. There was a huge cylindrical building behind us that was changing colors from bright blue to bright pink. The gardens are such a beautiful place too; it was so amazing. Any way, we stopped at a bench and sat down and talked for a little while. Ethan was saying this long romantic beautiful speech that was melting me, and then we stood up, and he took my hand and said "Katie..." and got down on one knee and continued "Marie Irene Kincaid..." (inhale of breath from me as tears formed in my eyes) "Will you marry me?" Whereas I replied with something like "WHAT? OH MY GOSH YES!!! YES YES ABSOLUTELY, YES!!!" crying all the while.... I was... excited :D After what was the best night of my life at that point, we explored around Oklahoma, We got engaged just 3 days before his 19th birthday, which I was so happy we got to spend together. 

The next 3 months was filled with wedding EVERYTHING. Wedding planning, pre-marriage counseling, and making sure everything was ready for that special day just around 90 days later. There were times where I felt overwhelmed with everything, especially when he was on TDY (a short deployment-like training) while I was trying to find the bridesmaids dresses at the same time being on a busy schedule with work and trying to figure other things out in my life, but everything worked out perfectly. 

October 24th was the best day of my life up to date. I got to marry my close friend of 6 years, my boyfriend of 10 months, and my fiance of 3 months. 

We went on a week-long honeymoon, where we traveled all down California (and some of Oregon.) We started in Shasta the night of the 24th, at this adorable place called the Strawberry Inn (all of this is already in one of my blog posts about the wedding.) and went up to Oregon the next day to see some of the Shakespeare festival. Then drove down to crescent city where we stayed for 2 nights at the best hotel I've ever stayed at (we had an ocean view room) and went to the redwoods too. We made a stop in Fort Bragg and made our way down to Universal Studios where we stayed 1 day, and then to Disneyland for the next 3 days before we went another 24 hours on the road back home, where Ethan would now be living, and we'd be husband and wife. 

About 2 weeks after we got back from our honeymoon we adopted our cute little chief who is just the best dog... Who has a lot of learning to do but is the best dog nonetheless. And a month after we got him, he threw us into a panic where he sliced his side open on some glass and we had to take him into the animal hospital where he went into emergency surgery costing us $700 just a few weeks before Christmas... that was a bit stressful. But we can only be grateful that our pup is doing well now, and has made a quick recovery. 

Then we got to spend our first Christmas together as a married couple, which was so very wonderful. I've been learning how to cook since we got married and I was very proud when I made a delicious ham cheese and potato casserole for Christmas dinner. It was a calm day that we got to spend in each other's company and it was all around amazing. 

I have high hopes of 2016, for I feel stronger than I ever have, and I get to spend the next year, and the rest of my life with Ethan by my side. I'm excited to see what the new year has in store for us and our little family. I know I have some goals on trying to enhance my writing, and posting a lot more in the blog, everything from updates to just late night thoughts. I'll cut this post off before it gets too long by saying I hope you all have an amazing year in 2016! 

Animal ER

Well, today wins. I'm ready to throw in the towel and sleep it all off, with a hope of a better tomorrow. Am I being dramatic? Maybe a little bit... But, I'm exhausted and my nerves are shattered. This post gets better I promise. 

As everyone pretty much knows, we're moving out of our apartment and into our first house right now. Tonight is our first night in the new place, and we've been super busy packing and cleaning and getting everything ready, on top of balancing work, and volunteer stuff and everything else. So today in particular was even more so busy. Well, today also happened to be our first emergency. A picture frame that we had bought with a cute little "welcome to our home" picture inside of it was broken, so I threw it away, not knowing that in 6 hours that little picture frame would throw us into this huge panic. As the trash was being taken out, chief got excited, thinking maybe it was his time to go for a walk... Without a leash... And so in trying to escape, he squeezed himself between the door and the trash bag and stopped a few feet from the door. Immediately I'm thinking "that's not like chief... He usually tries to keep running..." And so Ethan walks over to catch him and I hear him say "oh gosh" and in my head maybe chief is limping or there's some huge bug that the dog is interested in or something like that, so I head out there to see what's going on, and I just see this big gash on chief's side and blood pouring out of it. Ethan immediately grabbed some paper towels and put pressure on it, tossed me the keys and told me to drive to the pet hospital, the entire way I'm quietly crying and I feel shakey (yeah I don't do well with this stuff... That puppy is my baby, I can't stand seeing him in pain) and the car ride felt like it took forever, (also today happened to be the grand opening of raising canes a block away from our old apartment which is where we were so we had to get through traffic because of that *rolls eyes*) and when we get there they find a shard of glass still in his side, which terrified me because that means... There's more. They tell us he needs to go in for immediate surgery to see if there are more fragments in him, and they need to stitch him up, so they need to sedate him. They sent us home for the night and told us they would call us with an update when he's out of surgery. I just got a call from them 10 minutes ago, saying he's out of surgery, and awake. He seems to be doing fine, that; yes, there was a few pieces of glass still in him, but he should heal perfectly fine. There were no puncture wounds in any organs but he did have some damage in his muscle on his back leg, he just needs to take it really easy for a little while which... Oh boy, chief taking it easy? 1) he's chief... He doesn't know what it means to be calm, 2) he's a 10 month old puppy... He's always hyper, so we'll see how that goes. I'll be keeping him laying down a lot for a while for the wound to close, and taking it slow to regain that muscle, but in the end he turns out to be doing just fine. I just feel so horrible for it happening. Praise God it wasn't worse. I definitely feel a little more at ease knowing that he is and will be okay. 

Wedding catchup part 1

Just some pictures from the wedding. Ill be adding more once I get them :-)

Mis(CHIEF)

There's a new addition to my cute little family! His name is chief. He's an adorable little 9 month old puppy that loves to play, sleep and eat constantly, who's paws are too big for his body making him klutzy in the cutest way and who's the biggest snuggle bug ever! 

We rescued him from the shelter. They say he is a lab mix but I can't tell. To me he looks like he's got some pitbul or boxer or something like that in him. Either way he's a beautiful pup with gorgeous brindle markings. We fell in love the second we saw him and knew there was no way we were leaving that shelter without him. 

I love this dog. He's put his paw prints on our hearts for sure. It's the best to see Ethan with him too ;-). We took a little while to figure out his name, and finally came to chief. Soon after we realized that chief was short for mischief. Oh yes this little pup definitely knows how to cause it. One if his favorite hobbies is redecorating our apartment with stuff he's chewed up (even though we've bought him plenty of chew toys.) he's also come to the conclusion his favorite mid day snack is our phone chargers! (We're 2 down) (oh yeah and our shoes...) and because of his big clunky adorable paws his "playful rough housing" can be quite painful. Despite all of his puppy behaviors that we are working on fixing, we still love everything about him, and are so happy he's part of our family <3 

Saphora and Paul Mitchell academy

I'm not sure how to start this blog entry off because I don't know what I want to say first. I'm just excited about this all and am hoping it goes somewhere. I've always been really into makeup, and hair and everything that has to do with it. I was never so good at it because I wasn't able to expirament around with it too much because it's an expensive habit and so on. But now that I'm older and can play around with it some more, I've found it to be one of my favorite things to do. SO, after much thought and prayer, Ethan and I have discussed some options for me. Basically we have to wait for all of this moving business to be done and somewhat well behind us, but I'm seriously looking at attending Paul Mitchell Academy and getting my cosmetology license! I've already applied at saphora for a position that I could get right now too, and it looks like the odds of me getting hired are very good. It was always something I've thought about doing but I was more concerned with jobs that were closer to nursing or counseling or something that helps people but I quickly realized that makeup artists/ advisors and hair stylists help people too. They help people to love themselves. To feel sexy and cute and beautiful and I think that is SO important, especially since I KNOW how hard it is to let go of your insecurities and really not only accept but to embrace who you are and how you look. If I can put my art on somebody and send them home loving the way they look, completely boosting their confidence, then I could only see myself absolutely adoring my job. So as of right now I'm waiting to hear back from saphora, and I've got an interview at the Paul Mitchell academy and a tour of the campus next Wednesday and I'm just praying that God guides my ways and shows me where he wants me. Right now I believe it would be my best opportunity, because time and money wise, I'm not sure if I could complete a 4-6 year course to become a teacher just for 1 or 2 years before Ethan and I have kids. But I know God will put me on the path that is right for me and he'll provide, like he always does :-) 

Anyways that's just a little update on what's going on with me, in other news, not a whole lot has been going on. Ethan has been doing well at work, and we've just been... Hanging out I guess. We've got a couple holiday events coming up that I'm looking forward to and we're just preparing things and getting ready to move again. So right now our life isn't so crazy, it is however, so wonderful ;-) I'll try to keep the blog updated with everything and I'll probably be posting a bunch of wedding pictures and stuff here soon! 

Busy? Pshh

I made it! I'm a Bevan! I'm my best friend's wife! While it is impossible for me to describe how happy I am, I can describe some things that have happened the past couple weeks. The wedding went smoothly (mostly.... Except my wedding band... And a little mishap with the flowers... But GOD IS GOOD and I wouldn't change a single detail about that day) it was a day filled with love, family, and fun, and I will cherish every moment of it forever. The reception was fun as well... And if you would have asked me prior to the wedding if silento's "watch me (whip/nae nae)" would play, I would have laughed and said no, but that would have made me a liar, and shockingly it is one of my favorite memories (though there are VERY many). The honeymoon was amazing as well, and all completely spontaneous! Very little was planned, and that gave it that adventurous feeling I love! We started out in Shasta at an adorable little inn (right next to an awesome coffee shop 😍) and the next day we drove up to Oregon,   checked out the Shakespeare festival, and that same day we drove down to crescent city and stayed there for a couple nights. We went to the aquarium (which I LOVED) and went swimming in the ocean (Ethan teases me because apparently he doesn't consider what I did to be "swimming" but in my defense it was a really windy day and the waves were coming in nice... ;-) ) and after that we went to the redwoods and took a bungalow up through them. While we were on the bungalow I mentioned without giving it much thought that Disneyland & universal studios sounded fun and within the next hour we were on our way down to L.A.! We spent 1 day in universal (and our entire boat got stuck on the jarassic park ride :-) ) and 2 days in Disneyland. Saturday came a little too quick for both of us but at the same time we were ready to be back home to rest and unpack. He went back to work and I've been learning how to cook... (Side story... I asked him if he could pick up some garlic bread on his way home from work and his response was "yeah sure thing!" Then he got this puzzled look on his face and asked; "where is garlic bread sold?" ;-) it was adorable.) and everything has been going great! I'm so thankful for everyone's help with everything, it has been such a blessing to us. I'm beyond happy to be married to my best friend. I'm excited to have our first HOUSE next month (though I love our little apartment too) and I'm ready to be done moving for a while ;-) that about covers everything! Ill be posting again hopefully soon. 

Concert

I've been a little caught up in other things, which is why I haven't posted in a little while. Moving, sickness, wedding plans, among other things; but I have a cool story for y'all tonight ;) 

So Ethan and I went to our first concert together yesterday, (his first concert all together) and it had several Christian artists that we really like, including one of our absolute favorites (David Crowder) and the whole night was just a blast. Everything was awesome, and after the concert was over, Ethan and I decided to stay a couple minutes later to let the auditorium clear out a little before we left. Now; him and I did not have VIP passes so we couldn't stay long because everyone with their passes was getting in line to meet crowder, and we were thinking, man... We should have bought some. So as soon as we stood up, these 2 guys came up behind us and asked if we had VIP tickets, and when they found out we didn't, they offered us theirs because they had somewhere else they needed to be, so gratefully, we accepted, a little shocked at God's hand on that ;) 

Before I go into this next part, I need to explain a little bit. Earlier on in the day, there was a couple outside of the church where the concert was held, and they had kissed each other right when Crowder stepped off his tour van, and he teased them and said "why don't you just marry her?" So the guy got down on one knee (after crowder already walked inside) and proposed to her right there and then went inside to see the concert (awwwwh right?) 

Now... Ethan and I are standing in line, and this couple is right in front of us, and they go up and meet crowder and explain to him what happened, and said to him: hey... We know you're ordained, since you're what made us get engaged today, will you marry us tonight? 

And the smile that came across Crowder, and Ethan and I, and everyone else in line who heard what was going on was of pure happiness. We all watched in giddiness and excitement, wondering if Crowder would accept the proposal, all the while, Ethan and I are looking at each other, and we can see we're both thinking the same thing "hey... We're engaged.... Why not get 'married' by Crowder as well?" 

David wound up giving them marriage counseling and told them to wait to the side while he finishes up his meet and greet, and they'll talk afterwards. 

Ethan and I are up next, and we're excited about meeting him, and we get our picture and everything, and after we're done, we decide to wait to the side, and just have a nice little chat with him after he was finished. 

We stay and watch while he meets with the other couple, who had decided it would be smarter for them to wait to have their families around and to be dressed for the occasion of a wedding and all that jazz, and so he prays over them, and after that his security guards said in a firm way that it was time for him to get to bed, so Ethan and I didn't get a chance to talk with him about it or anything, and we walked away a little bummed but still excited about the opportunity we got to meet him. 

When we get outside though... Guess who we run into? None other than David Crowder! We explain to him our situation and how we're getting married next month, and asked him if he would bless the marraige. He said absolutely, and then asked if he could pray over us, and we eagerly accepted, after he finished we got to talk for a few minutes, and he left us off with the advice of "it'll be hard, but it'll be gorgeous! God bless you guys" 

And as we left that night we of course were excited about the fact that David Crowder just blessed our marraige and prayed over us, but we also left thinking of all the advice he gave us and everything he mentioned during his prayer, and it was just, so very neat to us. The entire concert was such a blessing and we were in a daze the whole night abut what had happened and how it went down, and David Crowder is definitely such a cool man. It'll definitely be a fun story to tell in the years to come 😊 (left to right: Crowder, Ethan, me, and Lauren daigle who was another artist we got to meet) 

Catch up!

Back in July, I packed up all of my belongings, hopped on a plane, and moved to a place I had never stepped foot in, 1,700 miles away from the place I had called home my entire life. No job. No relatives. Only person i knew was my boyfriend. The night I arrived, Ethan took me to the myriad botanical gardens, got down on one knee; and asked me to be his wife. With tears in my eyes, I said yes. We will be married on October 24th of this year, and I couldn't be more excited. A week after I got here, I scored a job at a great 50's style diner a few blocks away from my house. Working there has been a blast, and has been a great opportunity to make some good friends. Ethan and I went on some pretty cool adventures, including our first baseball game, a horse carriage ride through brick town, and the Oklahoma City zoo, to list a few. 3 weeks ago we found the church that we will be attending during our time in Oklahoma, and have made some wonderful friends there as well. The past few months have definitely been a blast, and I'm so grateful to be spending it with my best friend. 

Welcome!

Hello friends and family! Thanks for checking in. I created this blog for several reasons. 

One: how cool is it going to be to look back on these posts in a few years from when Ethan and I were first married? Time capsule full of memories. 

Two: friends and family. Living over 1,000 miles away from anyone I've ever known can be tough sometimes. This blog can be a way of communication; keeping people informed. I'm a talker (as I'm sure people know by now) so if you are interested in what's going on over here, and you can tolerate my frequent rabbit trails, corny jokes, and ramblings then stay tuned! 

Three: my obsession with writing... About everything... A lot... Writing down my thoughts make me feel a little more in control, and a little more organized. Words. Wonderful things aren't they? 

Many more reasons come to mind, but I feel as though the main ones have been said. I'll be posting a 'catch up' here soon, let y'all know what's happened so far :) thanks again for checking in! God bless.