Weddings, Anniversary, and A Marriage You'd Actually Want

So we went to a wedding this weekend in Greenville and got to see some good friends from college who told us that when they thought about it..."you guys really make the wedding rounds!" I knew we'd been to a lot, especially after we got married, but when I wrote it down, it's crazy ridiculous how many we've been to since we started "officially" dating in Feb. 2010.

Aaron and I have been to 20 weddings together (not counting our own) from July 2010-October 2012! (and I may have forgotten some..?)

1. justin and kai gibbons
2. mandy and jared rypkema
3. megan and moose saville
4. chris and english cousins
5. peg and josh timm
6. keven and april frederick
7. felicia and tommy preston-pic3
8. chris and stephanie ramaglia-pic 2
9. amber and patrick martin-pic1
10. lauren and mikey mcfadden
11. meredyth and jon merkling
12. aaron and christina cole
13. callie and jeff hsiang
14. josh and brittany cox
15. galen and jill mcaneney
16. kate and josh deese
17. steven and jess metts
18. matt and bekah nevala
19. katie and david gilson
20. mike and stephanie norris

Coming up...

1. emily and max (jordon)-Nov. 10
2. madeline and kevin (kimbrough)-Jan. 19
3. lauren and bailey (bailey)-TBA?

 So since I was M.I.A. for 3.5 months from the blog due to my cilnical, I never posted on our anniversary. Aaaand since we're on the topic...

Wedding day-August 13, 2011

• It was awesome! We went to Savannah, GA Friday night through Sunday (Aug. 10-12) and stayed at the President's Quarters Inn (thanks to Living Social) and we even got the room we wanted! 
• It rained most of the time but we went out Saturday morning to get massages (thank you again living social), and it let up Saturday night so we didn't get soaked when we visited The Lady and Sons, Paula Deen's Savannah restaurant. Neither Aaron, nor I were particularly impressed with the food, but perhaps we ordered the wrong thing. The place was booming with business and everyone else seemed to love the food, so we're not blacklisting it yet :)
• After dinner we walked by the riverfront and found a little bar that my clinical instructor told me had excellent margaritas, and she was indeed correct; they were yummy.
• Sunday morning we took another short walk through town visiting the square where Forrest Gump was filmed (of course, it's my favorite movie!) and to Forsyth Park to admire the fountain and greenery.
• Monday (our actual anniversary-August 13) we followed with tradition and ate the cake topper from our wedding. Aaron thought it tasted great, but I thought it smelled funny and therefore decided before it hit my tongue that it was gross...and I was right.   
• Since our wedding, Aaron and I have learned a few things:
• I've seen Aaron's love towards me, especially when I don't deserve it, and it points me to Christ and His love for me.
• We've learned to repent faster and actually mean it. We're both quick to say "sorry" for something, whether we've actually repented of it or not, just because it's uncomfortable not to, but God has been growing us in taking time apart to think about the Gospel and how we've been forgiven and let that fuel our reconciliation.
• He's learned that I have a lot of hair and it sheds everywhere and I've learned that he is far more "musically gaseous" than I could have ever imagined! 
• Communication is key: We have had a "Marriage Night" somewhat faithfully usually once a week since the second or third month in (at the recommendation of some friends), and have gone through different material and talked about how things are going in our marriage, how we can serve each other better, how we can pray for each other, etc. We've been going through the workbook paired with the sermon series below lately.
  

A Marriage You'd Actually Want

Following our first anniversary, our church started a sermon series/campaign called "A Marriage You'd Actually Want." A campaign is a sermon series where all lifegroups have material that pairs up with the sermons and discussion questions to follow. This series has been a wonderful tool that God is using to work in marriages in our church and in our city. You can check out the sermons from either the Devine street or Main street locations here. I recommend it whether you are single, married, widowed, or divorced. Check out a spoken word video about the series below:

Been a minute...

Hey friends!

It's been a hot minute since I've blogged (told ya that would happen). But now that I'm done with my last clinical (!!!!!!!!) I have more free time again! 

That's right, I finished my LAST clinical of PT school! bahhh!! A little bit about the clinical: 

• I was with Gentiva Home Health here in Columbia with an excellent clinical instructor (CI), Jill for 12 weeks. I had a lot of really sweet patients and a few that required a little extra dose of love and patience to treat, but overall it was a great experience. 
• I saw a good bit of neuro (people with strokes, Parkinson's disease, etc.) which was a major blessing because I didn't get much true neuro on my neuro/rehab clinical. 
• This rotation was so unique because we went into patients homes to evaluate and treat them. I really loved this aspect of it because we treated the patient more holistically than in other settings--we get the whole picture and are responsible for more than just their PT needs. 
• We were finished with all of our patients usually by 2:30 or so which was awesome; the only bummer was the PAPERWORK! Home Health has the most paperwork by far of any setting; it was kinda like going to school and then bringing home your homework. woo! It was rough, but the up side is, I learned how to document things in the best way and I am familiar with all the home health paperwork should I ever choose to practice in this setting.

 So what now?

• A#1 priority is preparing for defending my research on Nov. 2--in editing process with my research adviser now--this is my last item to complete the DPT program!
• Job hunting: we have a job fair with lots of different companies next Monday. Two of my top picks will be there, so I'm hoping to make an impression! My CI used to work with one of them and said she'd put in a good word for me :-D 
• Graduation is December 17th.
• January 30 is the National Physical Therapy Exam or the BOARDS. I have to take this to get my license before I can start practicing. 
• Aaron and I are traveling to a friends wedding in Jackson, MS the weekend of Nov. 10. After the wedding, we're heading to Nawlin's! I'm so stoked...I've never been and I've always wanted to! On the way back, we're stopping to stay the night in Birmingham, AL with two friends from Cola who moved not too long ago! Can't wait!