Thoughts to Wrap Up 2013

I can't believe that three short days 2013 will be over. It will be bittersweet to say the least. 2013 was by far the best year of my life to date. I'm so lucky to have been able to marry the love of my life and along with my new marriage, I got to become a mama to my stepson, Joshua.

I can honestly say that life hasn't been anything of what I expected, but I'm so glad with the way everything has turned out. I remember times as a teenager and young adult wondering what my life would look like once I got married or even met the love of my life and it has been so much different  and so much better than I expected. I couldn't have asked for anyone better than Aaron to share my life with.

As 2013 winds down, I'm determined to keep the good times rolling in 2014. I know some people think that new year's resolutions are cliche, but here are mine:

Be Present: If there is one thing that I hate about myself it is my inability to enjoy moments. In the midst of my determination to reach my next goal, I sometimes forget to slow down and enjoy the process. I love the high of reaching a new goal, but seldom take time to just remember that I will never have this moment back. I want to take more time talking to people than reading online gossip sites, more time sending handwritten cards than facebook messages and more time enjoying myself with my family!

Choose to cultivate my marriage everyday: I'm a newlywed and to be quite honest, marriage has been on of the easiest and most natural things I think I have ever done in my life. I don't want to lose the passion and love I have for my husband, so in 2014 [and every year] I want to be purposeful about loving my husband. I want to encourage him and remind him that he is the only one for me. I want to take each step of our lives as one. I believe in the commitment that I made to him on our wedding day and I never want him to doubt that our bond is unconditional.

Be a better mom: Motherhood has been quite the opposite of marriage for me, it has been one of my hardest roles to conquer. I quietly remind myself that motherhood is really a journey and not something that I need to conquer. My journey thus far hasn't been one that I can say I have been proud of. I haven't loved, played with, or shared in enough special moments with Joshua as I could have. I have really struggled to find my role in his life. I definitely feel that our relationship has become stronger in 2013 and I am determined to make our relationship grow everyday. I love sharing in the little moments with him and I pray that in those times he understands that even though I am not his biological mother, I still love him like he is my own. I want to take more time to spend with him because I know soon he will be all grown up and these are the moments that will really stick with him.

Make healthier choices: This has been another area I've struggled. Working full-time and going to college have been excellent excuses to neglect my health. I really want to get rid of my excuses and put my health at the forefront of my life in 2014. I have been struggling with back pain that has gotten increasingly worse and I know that if I can make some healthier choices, I will ultimately benefit myself.

Save more money: This is pretty self-explanatory. I want to be able to plan for our future better. It is a huge goal of mine [and Aaron's] to buy a house. I would love to be able to make a plan this year to save some money. At the same time, I would like to also realize that we are never promised tomorrow so I still want to be able to take advantage of the opportunities to take family vacations and to go see our families.


Writing about all of this makes me really excited for all that is to come in 2014! I hope everyone else is as excited about me to ring in the new year. I pray that all of my friends and family have a blessed year. That we believe in ourselves and cling tightly to our loved ones. Tomorrow isn't promised!

To The Love of My Life, Happy Birthday!

Today we celebrated Aaron's 33rd birthday. It was such a chaotic and busy day, that I honestly feel like I'm about to pass out, but he had an amazing time and I was so thankful to be able to celebrate with him. This is the 3rd year that I've been able to celebrate his birthday with him, and the first as his new wife! 

Today consisted of waking up early and getting decorations and the cake, plus having breakfast with the little one and my sister. 

After we made it home, we rushed to finish decorating before Aaron got home from golfing. I wrapped up his present [which was seriously so hard to keep a secret from him] and we finished everything about 20 minutes before he got home. 

He was super surprised by the decorations and the fact that I got him a gift since we just purchased a new car for him, but I couldn't help myself since he has been going on and on about how badly he wants a surround sound for our living room. His reaction was definitely worth it! 

We ended the day with my family stopping by to eat pizza and watch the UFC fights and had some cake. It was such a great time. But the best part of it all was that I got to spend it with the man who makes my world go around. 

Aaron,

Everyday I think of how lucky I am to wake up by your side. I'm blessed to call myself your wife and your best friend. We have a beautiful life together and our love is something I will never take for granted. Thank you for loving me, supporting me and encouraging me on this amazing journey of life. Happy birthday my love!

I'm back!

Today, I decided to write a new blog and was blown away that the last post I did was exactly one year ago! I have so much to update...

2013 has been by far the BEST year of my life. It started in February, on Valentine's Day, when my best friend and the love of my life took me to Vegas and asked me to be his wife! Everyday that I get to spend with Aaron makes me thankful that he chose me to spend his life with. In July, Aaron and I made it official in front of my parents and grandparents. We went to the courthouse and had a very special day surrounded by my family.

We've almost been married for a month now, and I'm still in awe of how lucky I am to be Aaron's wife!   I've always been one of those people who said that "marriage is just a piece of paper," but marriage has changed my life. Even though many of the things we are do are relatively the same, our commitment to each other is so much stronger and I know that we are truly reliant on each other to nurture our love and relationship.

And so begins the new chapter of this blog.. Our Golden Life - obviously a play on our last name to document life as newlyweds and our sweet adventure of life!

Neglected

My little blog has been neglected. I still come on blogger to read other blogs, but writing my own blogs has not been a priority for me. I really don't have too much to say right now, so I decided to update on what I've been doing since my last post in April :)

I hung out with my love lots :)

I saw my sweet Dominic <3 p="p">

Gianna got a feather in her hair!

I got to see my sister and my niece and nephew!

I completed training for my new position at work and met these amazing people!

And... I saw these sweet kids some more 

Lots of quality time with my sisters

More time with Aaron!

The cutest naked baby! 

Spent some time with Madyson & Tristan :)

More smiles with Dom <3 p="p">

Angels Game with my love & Joshua

More laughs with my love!

We went to VEGAS for a weekend!

We ate at our fav cupcake place in Vegas (The Cupcakery)

I dyed my hair blonde!

I saw my best friend!

And this crazy boy!

I made it through training!

I went to Disneyland!

And I spent more time with my favorite little ones!

I've been soaking up as much summer fun as I can. I am so blessed with all these amazing memories and all the special people who fill my life! I love you all!

Week End.

This week has been so eventful. I finally feel like I am able to take a deep breath before starting my work week tomorrow. This week has been one full of blessings! I am always super encouraged that God brings times of peace and comfort exactly when it is needed.

First, on Monday - Aaron & I celebrated our one year anniversary. It's really amazing to see how far we have come and grown in our relationship. One year is a short amount of time, but I know that the challenges that we have faced will help us to persevere in the future and I'm thankful to have someone like Aaron in my life. He is honestly the half that makes me whole and although we are so different, he truly makes my life complete. I've been so lucky to have such a solid support from my family in our relationship as well. So to my best friend, I love you!

On Wednesday, I got to celebrate, with my family, my dad's birthday. My dad is such a great man, he's not perfect by any means, but he has always been there for me and my sisters and brother. I am grateful for his guidance throughout my life. My dad and I are a lot alike and he has had a tremendous impact and influence on the woman I am today. Thank you for that, Dad. I love you.

Lastly, I finished my last week working with my section. It's bittersweet, because I'm sad to leave them, but excited for the new things ahead of me. I'm so blessed to have had so many great leaders at work who have come alongside me and truly helped me and molded me to help me do my job to the best of my ability and also I have made some pretty amazing friends :-)

That pretty much sums up my week! {Oh - I also read "The Lucky One" by Nicholas Sparks this week - and if you like reading - this one definitely kept me entertained!} I hope everyone has a great Monday!

<3

Celebration.

This weekend was one to remember. As I sit here in my freshly clean apartment, showered and all cozy in my pajamas, I can't help but feel incredibly grateful & blessed. 

First, my sweet little Gianna Bella, turned three on Saturday. I can't believe that it has been three sweet years of holding her, talking to her, taking her to disneyland, and loving her more than I ever thought I could love another person. She had a good time, and was completely wiped out after a day of swimming, being with family and eating tons of food and ice cream cake! 

Second, I got the amazing news on Tuesday of last week that I got a promotion I applied for! I am beyond excited to start a new position. My job, has surprisingly been one of the greatest blessings. I am happy to be where I am with amazing mentors, coworkers and people who have become my best friends. 

Lastly, tomorrow, April 23, 2012 - I get to celebrate 1 year of being with my best friend. I am so lucky to know and love Aaron. He's changed my life so much and I'm so thankful for the time God has given to us. I will post a separate post about this tomorrow :)

I am remembering everyday that I have SO much to be thankful for, so much hope for the future and I am grateful for my family and friends that I am allowed to share this amazing life with!

Chaos.

These past couple of days have been some of the hardest of this new year. A lot of things have hit me all at once. I've spent a majority of the past 2 days waiting for my work day to be over so I can go home and try to forget the stress I've been going through.

To be honest, I have felt very much defeated. I feel like I get to a point where I am so happy and encouraged by how well things are going, and then I fall down. Normally, I'd be so eager to pick myself back up and start fresh, but since there have been multiple issues, I have felt very torn down these past two days. I have felt betrayed by people I am supposed to be able to trust, my emotions and my body. I'm anxious for a new day tomorrow, but I thought that today would be a good day for me to blog, because in the midst of this chaos, I am still learning.

God has a way of always showing me that He is ever present in my life. Today, I was emotionally drained, on the brink of tears, I had a couple of setbacks at work, but I am so beyond blessed to work with people who are encouraging and make my days so much easier. As I thought about how one hurtful comment could have sent my on edge emotions into a full emotion breakdown, I thought of a verse that I was at the back of my mind.

"Pleasant words are like a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones." - Proverbs 16:24.

I am thankful for people who have wisely chosen their words today. I am hoping to now always choose my words wisely. I have had such a reality check of why it is so important to make sure I am not degrading people in my speech, but encouraging them and having an attitude of thankfulness.

Today, has been a rollercoaster. I'm excited for the opportunities and new beginnings tomorrow will bring, but I am heartbroken at the hurt that yesterday has left me with. I am praying for a soul that can be strong in the face of defeat and know that I can hold steadfast to the promises of God.

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." - Jeremiah 29:11