I made it!

I'm here in Texas now :)  The long-awaited weekend has finally arrived!  I made the drive today.  Tomorrow morning we close on our house!  We will then spend the rest of the weekend getting Eric moved in, enjoying our first house guests- Mom, Brandi, and Anna (i'm very excited about this because it means I can actually stay at the house one night), painting, having our first wedding shower on Saturday, and going to a Ranger's game (yes, i'm really trying hard to be excited about this.  At least the company will be awesome!)

That's it for this post.  Eric and I are going to watch a movie then call it a night so we can make it to our bright and early closing date tomorrow.  Pictures to come....hopefully :)

Thx 4 readin
~The Future Mrs. Eric Morgan :D

This Is The Stuff

I absolutely did not like this song the first couple times I heard it. I really don't even know why. Then, after disregarding it a time or two, I heard it and it got stuck in my head. Drove me absolutely crazy until I decided to listen to what it was saying. Some powerful words. My favorite line is "in the middle of my little mess, I forgot how big I'm blessed" Isn't it true? In the chaoticness (or sometimes overexaggeration) of my life, I get too carried away to realize the blessings that God has put all around me.

Just a thought ;)

Thx 4 readin

~ The Future Mrs Eric Morgan :D

Using the spaghetti God gave me

If you're confused by my title, please refer to my last post :)

I've sat down to write this blog several times but I've just not been a writing mood.  To be honest, I really haven't been in any mood.  I've been pretty blah these last couple days.  After my last post, my heart was extremely burdened and I got down on my knees before my great and mighty God and turned it all over to Him!  What an amazing feeling!  I really believe theres a lot to the action of physically getting on your knees before God.  It was something I hadn't done in quite some time and as humbling as it was, it felt great!  I believe I had returned to a place of carrying others burdens on top of my own, those burdens that aren't mine to carry!  God gets me on this one a lot.  I always feel the need to fix something (or someone) or help someone out or worry about something for someone, but I learn (almost on a daily basis) that it isn't my job to do so and its hindering me from living in the freedom of the life God has for me!  

Being around kids so much, I often have moments where God blesses me through those kids.  He blesses me through adults too, but I think it stands out more when its a kid!  I had one of those moments this week.  I had two kids in the car with me and one was picking music for us to listen to from her mom's ipad and this was the song that came on..
  
My first thought was that I love this song and then I watched the other child get very excited and start singing this song to the best of his abilities.  I almost had to stop driving because I really just wanted to watch him sing.  He had a huge smile on his face and he meant every word.  It was such a blessing to my heart and I couldn't stop smiling for hours.

In other news:

• We close on our house on Thursday :D
• We have our first wedding shower on Saturday in Texas.  
• I get to be in Texas from Wednesday to Monday (yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay)
• I have a lot to do between now and then and unfortunately, my productivity levels have been waaaay too low!
• Tomorrow is church :)
• I miss Eric
• I have officially started birth control
• I forgot the rest of what I was going to say

Thx 4 readin

~The Future (only 83 days!) Mrs. Eric Morgan :D

Unsure what to say

Eric and I read a devotional this week that compared mens and womens thought processes, very interesting.  A man's they compared to a waffle, very compartmentalized with each thought disconnected from the next and having its own space.  A womens, however, they compared to a plate of spaghetti with every thought somehow connecting to every other thought and just being one big blog of thoughts.  SO TRUE!  We take turns reading them out loud and it was my turn and I could barely make it through it because I was laughing so hard because it is just so true.  So, going with my title, I've been considering writing this post for a couple days just because I "needed" to post something (if I don't post for two long, I lose the habit), but I didn't want to write a post just to be writing it.

So the last few days for me have been hard.  For every day that I have Eric in my life, it is that much harder to be away from him.  I know I just saw him Sunday, but it seems like forever ago.  I'm so ready for the day that in those moments, when I just need him by my side to back me up, or support me, or give me a hug, or just to be my friend, he'll be there!  (only 85 days to go!)  With pending to-do lists, a busy schedule, and just life on my mind, just a thought of missing him and I'm in tears.  Maybe this all sounds pathetic, but it's just been my reality these past few days.

As for wedding stuff, I'm being a procrastinator right now.  I've set a deadline of having addresses collected and the invites to the calligrapher by Wednesday.  I should have time this weekend that I can make that happen.  I need to make a trip to Springdale and pay for my dress and pay the photographer, I just don't like driving to Springdale so I've been putting it off.  I need to figure out decorations for the church and flowers and all that stuff.

Tomorrow shall be interesting.  I have my appointment at the health department in the morning for a physical and to hopefully get a prescription for birth control.  No other major plans for tomorrow.  Maybe doing something productive like homework or cleaning.

I think I'm going to try to attempt to sleep now.  It's kind of been a rough evening.

Thx 4 readin
~The Future Mrs. Eric Morgan :D

Just a thought

A sovereign God.  I had it explained to me today that when we refer to God as sovereign, we are saying that He is in control.  Okay, duh, I know this, I've know this since I was two.  But there is a very clear difference between knowing and believing!  EVERY situation that happens in life, God is in control.  Good or bad, God is in control.  What would it look like if I truly believed and lived out the belief that God is in control?  In Isaiah 9:6, God is referred to as the Prince of Peace.  So not only is God in control of EVERYTHING, but He also wants to give each and every one of us peace, a peace only He can give and we could never understand.  So why as Christians, myself included, do we live in fear and worry about everything?  For myself, it's because I've never taken the time to understand the privileges I have as a Christian; nor do I spend time growing closer to God.  But as I said yesterday, I'm making a point to change this.  I failed this morning to get out of bed early enough to have my quiet time in the morning.  I still had it in the afternoon but its just not the same.  There is just something about starting my day off with God.  It's amazing and totally worth losing an hour of sleep.  Somebody unknowingly gave me the idea to pray that God would give me the want, desire, and awakefulness (yes, I just made that up) to get up when I need to in the morning to accomplish this so that's what I will do tonight and try again tomorrow :)

In other news

• I got to see my bestie today.  Because we see each other so very little, its always great when we do get to spend some time together.  We had taco bell (it's tradition) and talked about boys, parents, and life.  
• Our engagement pictures turned out great!  Thank you again Jennifer :D  I'll sample a few at the end of this blog but they're all on facebook.
• I'm missing Eric but thankful to be another day closer to seeing him again and to marrying him (88 days, 15 hours!)

Thx 4 readin and feel free to comment :)

~The Future Mrs. Eric Morgan :D

Priorities and Contradictions

(Please don't let the title confuse you, these are separate ideas I will be writing about)

I got to go to my mom's church for service tonight.  I honestly don't remember a lot of what the preacher said (my mind is too full of to-do lists to absorb everything i hear), but one thing stuck out to me.  He was talking about priorities and how our number one priority should be God.  I know, I know, duh right?  Well, as simple as a concept as this is, somehow, I've missed it for years.  As I got to thinking about what my priorities were, what came to mind was sad....to-do lists, losing weight, eating better, running more, looking good, being healthier, being more productive and on and on it goes.  Now, none of these things are bad, what is bad is that they are all at the top of my priority list.  (Where's God in there?  ooops)  Without really realizing it, I've become one of those people that has put God in a box.  Yes, I go to church every time the doors are open, and I'm a "good" person, and occasionally I even read my Bible at home and talk to others about God.  But I've made the very unfortunate mistake of taking control of my life and putting God in the passenger seat.  Well, that's all about to change, and hopefully, so am I!  My goal this week is to start my day out with God, every day.  This isn't going to be easy considering that means I have to be up early, but He's so totally worth it!

Now, moving on to the contradiction part of the title.  I was driving home from church tonight and the car in front of me had two bumper stickers on the back of it.  On the left was "Obama sucks" and the other was "Let Go and Let God."  The only things going through my mind at that point was WOW!  what a contradiction.  How so, you ask?  According to Romans 13:1 "Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established.  The authorities that exist have been established by God."  Now, if we truly were to let go and let God, then by this verse, wouldn't we be dishonoring God by saying that someone in a political position sucks?  And if I may go so far to say that God does as well because He is the one that established this person in authority?  Wow!  What a contradiction.

As for wedding stuff, we close on the house on March 31st (less than two weeks! yay!!!), we have a wedding shower 4 out of the 5 weekends in April which I'm super excited about!  We're fixing to send the invitations to the calligrapher as soon as we (aka I, Eric has his list done already.  don't want to talk about it hehe) get all the addresses we need.  I'm starting to get down to planning the finer details of the actual day.  It's all quite exciting :D  Someone asked me today if I was getting nervous yet and the answer is no.  I don't see the point in being nervous.  I know I am doing the right thing and whatever happens I have God, Eric, and my great family and friends to back me up and support so really there is no need to be nervous, only very, very excited :D

I miss Eric like crazy already and I don't get to see him until next Thursday.  I didn't want to let go of him yesterday when we were saying goodbye.  I had my arms wrapped around him in a hug and instead of letting go, I just kept holding him tighter and tighter.  I cried, let go, hugged him again, and eventually let go again, still crying, and finally said goodbye.  For some reason, its harder to let go some times more than others and this one has been the worst so far.  But, it will be ok.  I have a busy to-do list to keep me occupied for the next week and a half and only 89 days and 14 hours until I get to marry him and say goodbye much less often :D

I must sleep now so that I can achieve my goal of getting up early to spend time alone with God

Thx 4 readin
~The Future Mrs. Eric Morgan :D

the perfect man

i know you're all laughing at me, but hear me out :) i was thinking today about a movie i watched a couple weeks ago, beauty and the briefcase, super cute movie. The part i was thinking about was the girl having this list of things that she wanted in a guy. now dont get me wrong, i had a list growing up and through my dating years of what that perfect man for me would be like. But i'm realizing now that i and most of my generation are way off on this. Of course, most of the things on these lists are physical characteristics or common interest or even important things like personal convictions and stuff like that. Now dont get me wrong, all these things are important but they shouldnt be our focus when we're dating. So what should be? How do you find the perfect man? I was reminded of a saying, dance with God and He'll let the right man cut in. So truly, the only way to find the person you're supposed to be with is to be completely focused on God, not on finding the right person.

Thankfully, im no longer on this quest and although i didnt always follow this principle which is is why i found a bunch of duds before my mr. Right, i believe this whole-heartedly and wish more girls could understand it!

Thx 4 readin
~the future mrs. Eric morgan :D
P.s. There really is no perfect man, just the perfect match God has for you

Rare times

A day off here lately has been rare but when I woke up with an almost migraine this morning, I knew I had to take the day off.  It was much against my better judgment.  Between scheduled jobs, wedding to-do lists, other to-do lists, and just life, it's really easy to get behind.  But I did it anyway, well almost.  I still went to church and studied but I couldn't completely let the day go to waste, right?  Thankfully, I'm feeling better and I think I'm ready for the next few days.  Its going to be really full days Thursday and Friday as I have jobs all day tomorrow and then Eric will be in late and then we're doing engagement pictures Friday morning which I am completely excited about!

This month in youth group, we've been discussing spiritual gifts- what are they, why do we have them, and why should we use them.  I was really excited to teach going into this study because I really feel like our group doesn't always see the big picture in that we are a part of a church and because of that, we need to act that way and be willing to serve outside of our group.  I'm praying that the kids understand what their spiritual gifts are and  how they can start using them both in and outside of the church.

Eric will be here tomorrow.  I'm spoiled and I know it and I'm very thankful for it.  Getting to see him two weekends in a row is more exciting than a kid in a candy shop with unlimited cash on Christmas day.  I love him and I can't wait to marry him in 93 days and get to see him every day instead of every other weekend!  We got notice today that our loan got approved so now all we have left on the house is closing and moving in which will take place in two weeks!  This is all so exciting!!!!!

Thx 4 readin
~The Future Mrs. Eric Morgan

Pride

This past weeks Bible study material covered a lot about pride and how it was the downfall of a lot of people.  It challenged me to find the pride in my life and deal with it.  At first, my thought was that I don't really struggle with pride (which made me wonder if that was pride in and of itself).  But the more I thought, prayed, and spent some time dwelling on this thought the more I realized that I do actually struggle with pride, just in a way I have never considered.  You see, in my Christian life, during the good times when everything is going my way, I tend to not worry so much about praying or having a quiet time because I don't "need" it, but in thinking that way, i'm being prideful.  How, you may ask?  Well once the bad times go away and everything is going fine, I take control back from God, basically telling him "I've got this now, thanks".  When really what I should be doing is being on my face before him, humbly thanking him for blessing me and giving him all the honor and glory for bringing the good times.  Not flaunting my blessings like its something I earned or deserved, because I don't!  But HE does!

Hopefully a humbling thought :)

In wedding news, our first wedding shower is in three weeks (first weekend in April).  We're having four and they're all in a row.  So it's going to be a busy month but should be lots of fun!  Three out of four of them will be couple's showers which will be really nice since I don't like being the center of attention!  Also, we are closing on our house on March 31st!  I'm so excited!  Although, I am quite jealous that Eric gets to live there first but it would be really impractical for him to also be renting his apartment after we close.  (I did come up with the idea of him staying with his parents for two months.  He didn't really go for that idea lol)

As for no facebook, its going well.  After like day 2, I stopped missing it.  My awesome Brandi friend keeps me updated with any important news which so far has been about people getting hurt or other such stuff :(

In other news

• I miss my best friend A LOT.  
• I'm excited to take engagement pictures this weekend
• I'm getting married in 13 weeks, 4 days, and 15 hours (call me pathetic, I call it excited)
• I love kids.  I've been responsible for anywhere from 1 to 5 kids every day for like the last two or three weeks and although it has been very tiring (mostly because they keep getting me sick), I love it!  They bring joy, laughter, learning, and excitement into my life and it's always something adventurous and new.  I had one today come up and tell me in her sweet, soft, i-just-woke-up voice "i love you chelle". I almost broke down crying it was so sweet.  Can't wait to have my own some day!  (please catch the some day there and don't try and rush us, k thanks :)
• We updated our registries last weekend which can be found at Target and Bed, Bath, and Beyond.
• I like lists :)

Thx 4 readin

~The Future Mrs. Eric Morgan :D

Great song

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gT-QWSxV0Hs

This song is a good representation of my prayer and hope as I go through this Bible study

Moody

I don't really have much to say tonight.  It's been a really long day and my to-do list still isn't complete.  Even if I ever tried to be a morning person, my life just requires me to be up too late to make that happen.  I get tired and grumpy way too early, like now, poor eric.  I don't know, I guess I just need routine...maybe once I'm married.

One exciting thing from today was that our invitations have made it to the shop where we ordered them and they have inspected and counted them and everything looks good.  Now we just need addresses and we'll get this suckers mailed :D

Thx 4 readin
~The Future Mrs. Eric Morgan :D

Early bird :D

Figured I would start my blogging early today because I was up early today (shocker, right?)  Few things that have already crossed my mind (I've been up since 5:45...yuck)

• I really think I could be a morning person if I tried.  After all, when driving at 6 this morning, I did realize how peaceful and calm it is.  It's not that I'm not a morning person, its just that I must have a reason to drag myself out of my nice warm bed.  If the motivation isn't there, its not going to happen.  And a to-do list is not motivation for it can be accomplished when I'm wide awake in the middle of the night when it is also quite peaceful.
• My reason for being up this morning was that I was helping a friend out, getting her kid to the school bus on time.  I've done this on a few occasions and honestly, if/when I have kids, and if/when we must be somewhere like school or church by a certain time, I can only hope that my kids are as disciplined and have as great of a morning routine as this child.  She gets up as soon as I wake her up, she immediately starts getting ready, and she's ready in like 15 minutes!  I don't even do that good and I'm 21...sad, I know.  Anyhow, I'm just realizing the importance of routine (and wishing I had one!)
• Another embarrassing topic I must admit- my brain is facebook trained.  My thoughts happen in cute cliches because they usually end up as a facebook status at some point.  It really is quite sad!  Hopefully these 40 days will break me of this destructive thought process (okay, is it really that bad?)  After all, who really needs to know all this about me?  I don't think most of my friends really care that much!

Time to get on that to-do list since my day is already started :)

Thx 4 readin

~The Future Mrs. Eric Morgan :D

No facebook day 1

• this is my favorite song right now
• We got the official notice today that the sellers accepted our 2nd offer complete with the repair amendment and our close date is tentatively set for March 31st!  I'm so excited!!
• It's really not that hard to be off facebook.  I did kind of think that it would get me away from drama but the reality is that life is full of drama and you don't have to be on facebook to see it.
• I'm so ready to see Eric on Friday!  Only four jobs and two nights of sleep stand between me and him!  I'm so thankful to have a whole weekend to spend with him.
• I started a Beth Moore Bible Study today- Breaking Free (the updated edition).  I'm doing it with my mom's church group on Monday nights.  I missed this Monday night because I had kids so she brought the dvd home so I could watch it.  I'm so excited!  Starting this and giving up facebook on the same day....coincidence?  I think not :)
• We are talking about spiritual gifts on Wednesday nights this month.  I'm aware that one of my gifts is service and another is mercy.  Does this mean that I will always be someone that never says no?  I just can't do it!  If I can do something to help someone or make someone's life easier or anything like that, I can't so no!  Unfortunately, this often leads to me getting taken advantage of and I know the easy answer would be to say no, but I just can't!  HELP!

I think this is all for now :)

Thx 4 readin

~The Future Mrs. Eric Morgan :D

ashamed

i truly am ashamed to admit this but its the truth. i woke up this morning and was reading peoples post on facebook about giving things up for lent. Now i dont necessarily observe lent but i think its a good time to challenge yourself. So i began thinking what i could give up and the first thing that came to mind was facebook because thats probably my biggest addiction right now. But i quickly shut down that idea. After all, it would be really hard to do. So i thought of other ideas that would be easier such as giving up fast food or caffiene or something like that. I quickly realized that i was defeating the purpose of this whole thing. If i didnt give up something that really meant some thing to me, it would be pointless and definitely not a challenge. So i did it, i made the decision to give up facebook for 40 days.

In other news, we are anxiously awaiting either the acceptance or counter-offer on our house. I am really hoping we hear something today!

I suppose that is all for now :) due to giving up facebook, i will probably be updating my blog more lol

Thx 4 readin
~the future mrs eric morgan :D

Good news :D

I praise God that He is in control.  I'll admit that I was a little worried about the house but I knew that if I would just turn it over to God and not worry, it would all work out, and it has!  We got the report from the roofer today and he said that there's only around $300 dollars worth of damages and that its a 20-year roof and it should still have 7-8 years left on it!  With that report, our realtor (laura), added those damages to the amendment she had already written up covering repairs we wanted done before closing and we're asking for $1000 basically to add to the fund to replace the roof in 7-8 years.  That was sent to the sellers today and we now wait for either an agreement or counter-offer.  We also heard from the lender asking if we wanted them to go ahead with the appraisal and we said yes since its not looking like anything will be stopping us from buying the house at this point.  Also got an estimate on home-owners insurance.  I was kind of having a down day, but hearing all this from Eric really made my day!!  Next time I'm in Texas, I will be taking my own pictures to show y'all the house :D

In other news, Eric will most likely be here this weekend!!!  He wasn't supposed to be until next weekend but that was reaching the three week mark of not seeing each other and after talking today, we decided that it was going to be horrible to wait that long (although not impossible if necessary).  This also really made my day.  I miss him terribly!!

I suppose that's about all that needs to be said.  I hope everyone had a great day.  Please continue to keep the Africa group in your prayers.  The last update I received was that they had made it to their first stop in Africa but I believe they still had more flying after that.

Thx 4 readin~
The Future Mrs. Eric Morgan :D

Time for an update :)

Since my last major post was about the house, I will start there.  We have worked with our realtor to write an amendment to our contract that includes the repairs of some of the major stuff needing fixed on the house according to the inspection.  The biggest was the roof and we are still waiting on an estimate.  Once we get the estimate, we will finish the amendment and send it to the sellers and wait to see what happens.  Please pray that everything works out with the roof inspection for the estimate.  Today is the 6th and we only have till the 9th to amend our contract.  It's a little bit stressful but I just keep reminding myself that God is in control and if this is our house that we're supposed to start our new life and family in, then it will all work out!

As for wedding stuff, this week will be fun.  I get to go pay off my dress and the photographer!  I'm reaaaaalllllllyyyyyyy excited to get to bring my dress home!  I can try it on occasionally (or every day) hehe!  Not this next weekend, but the one after that, we get to take engagement pictures which I am definitely excited for!  I'm really starting to get down the "smaller stuff" and details of the actual day.  I would like to say thank you to everyone that has, is, and will be helping me.  You are all amazing.

I would like to ask prayer for my very dear friends, Michelle Downs, Bobbi Mills, and Cherry Mills.  They will be leaving tomorrow morning to go to Africa for two weeks on a mission trip.  It will be a long trip to travel and be away from their families so please keep them and the people they will be reaching out to in your prayers!

I have got to be up insanely early in the morning but I'm up waiting for Eric to get home so I can talk to him for a little bit.  Yeah, I just love him that much.

Thx 4 readin
~The Future mrs Eric morgan :D

21

I've finally reached the magic number of 21...and honestly, it feels no different than being 20 yesterday haha.

I must say though that this has been an amazing birthday.  I got to celebrate it first with my amazing fiance last weekend.  Dinner at Johnny Carino's, went to see Hall Pass, and we found a house!  Then today, I celebrated with my family.  Had lunch at Red Lobster with Mom, Keigan, and Pastor Mack.  Mom made spaghetti (my favorite) for dinner and pina coladas (and yes, the real ones haha).  I didn't really care too much for it, but hey, i enjoyed a first drink for my 21st birthday.  tradition or something right :)  I got a ton of facebook messages, texts, and calls today from my amazing friends and family.  Everyone really made this day special.  Thanks guys!

Wedding stuff:  they've accepted our offer on the house.  We've met with both the realtor and lender and having the process moving along.  We're having the inspection done Thursday.  Our approximate closing date in March 31st!  I am so insanely excited!!

I need to get some sleep now.  Gotta be up at 5:30 to get back to the gym tomorrow!

Thx 4 readin:
~The Future Mrs. Eric Morgan :D  (15 weeks and 3 days!!)