Warning: Gushy Post Ahead

A year ago (on May 19th to be exact), I married the love of my life. Bradley Kinkade is the man of my dreams. He loves Jesus Christ, wants to serve Him, is kind, loving, supportive, funny, hot, and every other good adjective I can think of. It's hard to imagine that a year has gone by already. Everyone who has been married for a while tells me that it flies by quickly.

Our story is quite interesting. For those of you who don't know, we started out strongly disliking each other. For a couple of different reasons, Brad was not interested in finding a girlfriend when he came to BBC, and I was not interested in taking on another serious relationship (I had just gotten out of a 3-year relationship a few months prior). Therefore, Brad was quite rude to me to let me know that he was definitely not interested, and therefore I was rude to him because "he started it." But God worked it out for good because I was able to get Brad a job where I was already working, Hobby Lobby. Because I didn't have a car, Brad had to give me rides. I remember thinking these exact words: "Wow, this guy actually does have a personality...he's kinda funny." We found out right away that we trusted each other implicitly, and within a few weeks, we were sharing things about our lives and our past that most do not share with a casual friend.

The beginning of our relationship was definitely rocky. (By beginning, I mean probably the first year or so). We fought constantly, I cried every day, and it seemed that there was always a set of challenges to overcome. Yet, we knew God had given us someone special, and neither one of us ever had the idea of giving up. We stuck it out, and today we have the most wonderful marriage anyone could ask for. We have our little arguments here and there, but they are over quickly, and we are quick to apologize and forget we ever fought in the first place.

My husband is certainly the most amazing man I have ever met, and it is no surprise that everyone around him falls in love with him (though not in the same way as me!). He is incredibly supportive of my teaching job and has already offered to help set up my classroom and even grade papers on a daily basis. He never complains when I ask him to reach up for something high, fix a zipper, or open that can of jelly I can never seem to open myself. I have come home to find him washing the dishes, folding laundry, or just cleaning up little things here and there. He has listened to me patiently when I come home from an exciting day and have talked his ear off, and he puts up with me when I have one of my crabby moods since I'm hungry or tired. He is one of the greatest blessings I have ever been given.

I can't wait for the next year of marriage to my incredible man!

The greatest Thursday ever!

So yesterday I became a college graduate, and it was an amazing day (despite the yucky rain). My mom, brother, sister, and brother-in-law as well as Brad's family came in to celebrate with me. My former youth pastor and his wife came too. The plaque I'm holding in my right hand is the Key Award, and they award it to one female and one male in the entire senior class. I was very honored to know that they gave it to me! I was totally surprised too--I didn't even know the award existed.

After about one million and one pictures taken, we went to Olive Garden, my favorite place in the world to eat. Then we went shopping! (It's a good day--I know). After resting for a little while, we snacked on Mexican Villa while watching TV. Then the real fun began. We had game night, and that was hilarious. Lots of inside jokes, stupid things said, and funny quotes were formed. Then we ate breakfast this morning together before everyone headed their separate ways.

Second only to the love of Christ is the love of family and friends. We were playing games, and I was so amazed that seven different people would take time off of work and travel several hundred miles just to support me. I know that not everyone has a loving and supportive family, and I am incredibly blessed to have the one that I do. And God gave me an amazing family from my husband's side too (we definitely know that some people don't have great in-laws!). I am an incredibly blessed girl, and yesterday I was reminded once again of all that I have been given. Thank you Lord for giving us families.

A Good Day

So today has been a really good day, even though it's a Monday! :) I was able to get a lot of things accomplished, and it has been full of blessings. My youth pastor and his wife (Bill and Stacy) arrived safely and bought me lunch at one of my favorite Springfield restaurants, Mexican Villa!

Brad's job will be over tomorrow after working there for several years. I think that he has kept a good testimony because his manager wanted to throw him a going away party. All of his coworkers showed up (even those who weren't scheduled to work that day), and that spoke volumes to me that they wanted to be there to say goodbye. He is a hard worker, and I know they will miss him. They brought in goodies, an awesome cake, and gave him a card filled with $60 cash and a $20 Wal-Mart card!

Then I checked the mail and found $150 worth of checks in the mail as graduation presents. And we just sent out $150 for a large bill today, so God always knows what we need! It's funny the way He works..Sometimes I just want to say, "Alright, now You're just showing off." Because He can! Haha. I was able to spend some time with some of the senior elementary education majors at a friend's apartment. It's awesome that we actually get together outside of classes. We have grown so close; it's hard to believe we will be heading off in different directions soon.

The night ended with a good time at Steak 'N Shake. What could be better?

Thank you, Lord, for your many blessings. And thanks to the family and friends who always love and support us.

God's Amazing Blessings!

I can't believe I didn't mention this in my previous blog!

GOD IS AWESOME! I was really worried about finances with our upcoming move (mainly the moving truck, since it's $400), and in church this morning, I decided to give it all up. I said I wasn't going to worry about it anymore because God is so much bigger than $400 that we don't have, and He knows we need jobs for the summer. I get a call a few hours later telling me that my home church in Mississippi wants to pay for our moving truck for us!

He takes care of His own, doesn't He?!? That was majorly awesome. In spite of how much we don't deserve it, He always wants to bless us.

Our Last Sunday at ABT

Today was the very last Sunday service for us at Aurora Baptist Temple. This church has been our "home away from home" for the last four years. We have seen children grow up there, families come and go, and we have made friends that I know will last for a lifetime. It's awesome to think about all of the people we can come and visit when we come back to Missouri for whatever reason. Leaving is always hard to do, and I know I came here knowing I would eventually leave, but it is so hard leaving the people I have made bonds with. These past four years have been huge for Brad and me and our Christian walk. I've been at BBC for five years myself, and it's hard to believe it's done. I am done with college. I never thought that would come!

I am very excited to get to Mississippi and start setting up my classroom. For those of you who don't know, I have been offered a first grade teaching position at a school just minutes away from my church and the house we will be staying at for the first few months. The principal is an amazing Christian woman who is more like a grandmother figure than a boss! It makes me feel secure because I can talk to her about the Lord, and I know she really wants me to teach at her school. More on that to follow, I'm sure, because teaching is never boring.

For those of you who will read this from Aurora Baptist Temple, Brad and I just want to thank you so much for being our family when our family and friends were hundreds of miles away. Not every Bible college student can say that they found a church they could truly get involved in, but we are blessed enough to say that we did! We love all of you!