Something good

I have been trying to get out of this funk that I have been in and trying to find something good and happy to write about...but still nothing! There really is not much going on with the Schafer's lately.

I think we have finally found a place to live though. I have been so tired of looking and coming up with nothing. It is a little more than we were looking to spend on rent but it is a nice house and in a good neighborhood. So once I know for sure that we are getting it, I will update everyone.

I am ready for school to be out. I am not in school anymore and not a teacher, I just work with college students. And it seems lately they all have some sort of excuse for EVERYTHING! I do not think I was like this in college, but then again I was not an athlete and not trying to get out of study table. I truly enjoy my job and helping these students, but sometimes they just get on my nerves! If it is not one thing its another, and all I really want to say to them is that if they were smarter and made better grades they would not have to find excuses to get out of study table. But that would be really mean of me so I just bite my tongue :)

I am looking forward to the summer, because Matt and I are planning a few trips to go and visit friends. In July we will head up north to Minnesota to visit my best friend Alisha and her boyfriend Kirk. I am so excited because I have heard so much about Minneapolis from Alisha and I can't wait to explore it with Matt. Then in Aug. we are heading to South Carolina to visit Amber and Chris. It is going to be a great time because 2 other friends from high school are going to be coming in with their significant others. We are finally going to have a chance to all catch up. I can't wait!

I have a few things to look forward to this summer. Less students around, trips to visit great friends, and fun places, and just spending time with Matt being married. It should be a great summer.

Long Weekend

Well it was a long weekend, and one that no one wants to have. We drove back up to Kansas to be with family during this loss. Roland was such a great man and is going to be missed. I was not able to make my great-uncle's funeral because it was in Florida. Both men will be truly missed.

One thing that kept us going this weekend was spending time with family. Matt's has a cousin named Olivia that would put a smile on anyone's face. His Unlce Cal and Aunt Linda adopted her from China about 4 or 5 years ago. She is full of life and always bringing a smile to anyone that is sad. She kept Grandma smiling through this loss.

Being with Matt's family so much has been hard on me because I have not been able to spend much time with mine. I live closer to them now, but seem them less than I did before. It is very hard to understand why this is the case. I get so frusturated and upset that I don't see my family very often, hopefully now that the wedding is over I will be able to see them more.

Our relationship needs to be rebulit and that can't be done if I am always gone. Growing up is hard, but I see others who are so close to their families and it hurts. I wonder why I am so different. Why I didn't stay as close, or why I am not as close. So many thoughts running through my head. It just hurts!

Bad things happen in 3's...

That is how the saying goes and I never really experienced until yesterday. And let me tell you I wish it was not the case.

First Matt and I woke up around 5:30am to water dripping in our apartment. When I went to check it out I saw there was standing water all in our bathroom, kitchen and the carpet was wet. I called maintenance and they told me that the 3rd floor apartments water heater busted over night so all the water in it had been leaking while we were all asleep. They just shut the water off and have called a clean up crew. Not really a big deal, just sucked having to wake up to that.

Second, while Matt was getting ready for work his dad called to let us know that Roland, his grandmother's husband (Matt's grandfather passed away when he was very young, and so Roland was all he really knew as a grandfather, and he had been around for about 12 years) had passed away. He had congestive heart failure, but we were told he was doing better and that he would be going home. He woke up around 5:00 or so and went to the bathroom, the nurse asked if he needed anything else and she went out to get what he requested and came back and he had passed. It has been hard on the family because his grandmother is sick also, and we are going to have to figure out where she is going to be able to live. She is not going to be happy about not living at the house anymore.

And then third, my mom called me around 3:45 to let me know that my great-uncle Oscar had also passed away. All of this in 1 day. Oscar was my grandmother's brother and the closest thing we had to my grandmother after she passed away. In the last few years we had not seen him very much but he was always my favorite. It is really hard to hear about someone in your family passing away, and it's even harder when it comes twice in one day.

Needless to say I am having a rough day. I hope that the bad things are done for awhile because I just don't think I can handle anything else right now.

Softly Call the Muster, let comrades answer "Here"

It is April 21 every year that my favorite Aggie tradition takes place. This tradition to me symbolizes what it truly means to be an Aggie. Aggie Muster is held once a year, and always on April 21. The main one is held in College Station, but there are thousands held around the world. Aggies gather together to remember those who have passed within the last year. They speak their names aloud and their friends answer Here. It is their last roll call as an Aggie. It gives me chills just writing about it now. This will be the first time in a couple years that I have not attend the Aggie Muster in College Station. It will be hard to not be there, but of course I will be there in spirit.

Some say Aggies are crazy, but I love being a part of such a wonderful school. I will always bleed maroon, and it will always be a place near and dear to my heart. I know that some day, my friends and family will gather together on April 21 and answer Here for me, as I have my last roll call. So in honor of all the Aggies that have passed this year, I answer "Here" for you. May God be with you and your families during this time.

"We gather today, Aggies all, to recall our past, to strengthen our ties, to honor those who have passed before us....We come today to affirm our commitment, our love for this place and all that it represents."

Jack M. Rains, Muster Speaker 1984

And if you want to know more about the history of Muster, you can check this website Aggie Muster History.

I am MARRIED!!!

So yes it is true I am married! I had such a great weekend. Who knows why we both have goofy expressions on our faces in this picture! We could not have asked for it to go any better. I don't have any pictures from our photographer yet, but I will soon I hope. Some friends took a few pictures and I have posted them below.

I spent the week before in KS getting last minute details together. It was a little stressful but it all turned out ok. My family got there on Friday and it was so great to spend some time with them. I was not able to spend as much time with them as I had hoped but I guess I was a little busy :) I was very worried about the weather. It had been cold and rainy ALL week and all I could think was that my outdoor wedding was about to moved indoors. Neither Matt nor I wanted it inside so we were just praying the weather would change. Friday was beautiful. It was sunny and about 65. My nerves calmed a little with that but I still didn't know what Saturday would be like. Well it was great! It was sunny all day and in the upper 60's. It was still pretty chilly for my bridesmaids but they kept telling me not to worry about it, they would stand out there for me with no complaints. And they did. When the ceremony rolled around the sun went behind some clouds and the wind picked up a little, but we were not out there as long as we thought we would be, so I think everyone was ok. We really felt God was on out side when the weather became so beautiful, since it had been nasty all week, and then sunday was rainy and cold again. We got the 2 best days of the week for our rehearsal and wedding. I am going to take away so many memories from this past weekend. I can't wait to start living my life with Matt and making more memories as a family.

I love this picture! Emma would NOT walk down the isle unless she was able to carry ALL her Easter baskets. This includes her Elmo easter basket. It was precious!

Our first kiss as husband and wife! The roses were part of a Rose Cermony that we did. It was a great way to start our life together.

Heading down the isle with my dad. I was so excited and could not wait to be Mrs. Schafer.

Checking things off the list...

Well I have been checking things off the list of things left to do before the wedding. I had my final dress fitting and it looks great! Well at least my mother in law and her friend Patty said it did :) I will spend the rest of the week in Kansas working on last minute things. Last night Kerry worked on the finishing touches for the flowers for the table decorations, and worked on the bridesmaids bouquets. They look great! Even though they are fake flowers I think it will turn out all right. Real calla lilies were just to expensive. I wrapped all the presents, well I at least put them in bags and filled them with tissue paper. I still need to get bags for my bridesmaids gifts and 2 other gifts. All we need to do now is get food, drinks and ice for the rehearsal dinner and wedding. For some reason I feel like there is a lot to do, but i guess there really isn't.

On Friday before I left we had the programs made, got our picture that guests will sign, picked up the a few more decoration items, and made sure everything was packed. The only thing I left was my camera, but Matt will bring that with him when he comes Wednesday. I think we are ready to go, I just hope the day goes smoothly and that the weather corporates. Right now the forecast says 66 and sunny. So lets just pray it stays that way!

Friday is Here!

So it is finally Friday and it has been one heck of a week. I feel like I can't get caught up. Work has been so busy and then trying to get everything ready for the wedding I feel like my head is spinning! I am leaving in the morning and will have all next week off to work on wedding stuff. I know that most everything is taken care of we just need to get our last minute stuff together. Tonight Matt and I will be going over everything we have at home, packing it up in bins and putting it in the jeep for my trip up to Kansas. There are a few presents that still need to be picked up and wrapped and a few more decorations to get. His mom has scheduled me a spa day on Thursday so that should be fun. I will probably need it :) Other than that I can't believe my wedding is only 8 days away. I just hope I don't forget something and that is all goes smoothly.

So on to something other than wedding news. Wednesday night Matt and I watched Marly and Me. And let me tell you, I have not cried that much in a movie in a long time. But even though I cried as much as I did I would see it over and over again. It was such a great movie and showed the unconditional love of a pet. I just kept laughing and crying through out the whole movie. It was by far one of the best movies I have seen in a long time. At one point when I was crying Matt looked at me and said, "what is wrong? You read the book so you know what is going to happen.?" And I was like I know but that doesn't mean it still doesn't make me sad. When the movie was over I let Scout up on the couch (which Matt hates) and I just loved on him for as long as I could until he got down. As much as Matt hates dogs on the couch he knew I needed that at that moment so he just didn't say anything. So even if you know how it ends I highly recommend the movie.