Faith Love & Boating: A Hopeless Romantic's Timeline.

I said in my last post that the point of this blog was to remember all of the moments, milestones, trips, laughs, memories, etc. I am going to use this post to go back to May of this year and try to catch you up on all of the most wonderful things that have happened to me since then. Annnnnnnnnd let me just say that all of these things are coming out of the $2.99 planner that I keep with me in my purse at all times. It is a ritual/ routine in the morning as I drink my coffee that I update my planner as to what happened the night before or that weekend. Anyone who knows me, knows that I have about 81 planners/ calendars and they are all properly coordinated to my life's activities. Anyway, I digress..... So, the reason that I am going back to May is because this is when my life became everything I want it to be. All holes filled, all hurt gone, all dreams/ prayers answered. No more wondering, no more empty feeling in my heart, no more questions, no more prayers asking why. God has a way of making things come together when they are timed right. May was when Jerad walked into my life as more than a friend. Most of you know Jerad and I have been friends since we were kids. Our parents met on the lake and we grew up together on the weekends at the lake, as well as going to high school together. Jerad and I never really pursued anything further than friends, ever. Until now. Timing is everything and the stars lined up in May of 2010 to bring us together. They say that the best relationships form from two people who are really good friends first. I fully believe this. There are so many things that have been just EASY because we were friends before. In addition, we are very lucky to both have amazing families that are close friends.
There isn't ONE DAY that goes by that I didnt thank God for the amazing person that he has brought into my life as my one and only, always and forever. He is a blessing to me and I am so gracious for someone that is understanding, funny, sympathetic, romantic, REMEMBERS THE LITTLE THINGS, and appreciates the hopeless romantic in me..... that's the most important.... he appreciates me. I love that sweet boy. Always.

I'm sorry for all the mushy gushy stuff...I will move on to the time line.... I just hope and pray that every girl out there that is feeling the way that I did prior to May of this year has FAITH that timing is everything. Your prince charming will find you, and when he does- YOU WILL KNOW. You will know because it will be easy. It will be perfect. Never settle... you will regret it if you do. Don't settle for anything less than amazing! Before I go to the timeline... I want to put in this quote... (I LOVE quotes. Carry around a little notebook in my purse and write down any inspirational/ motivational/ happy quotes that I find)

"Happiness is like a butterfly. The more you chase it, the more it eludes you. But if you turn your attention to other things, it comes and sits softly on your shoulder."

Timeline of my fairy tale.... thus far.

May 8th (prior to Jerad): Looked at a duplex in Millstadt that I had my heart set on, it was the perfect house for Bella and me

I cried the day that found out that the seller and I could not come to terms on a price for the duplex. I was SOOO heartbroken, because this was something that I wanted to do for myself, and I had my heart set on it. HOWEVER........ little did I know 3 weeks later, my life was to change in the blink of an eye. I am a firm believer in the saying, "Everything happens for a reason." God has his eye on every little thing, everything including me not buying that duplex. With Jerad in Southern Illinois, if I owned that duplex that would be something we would have to work around for our relationship. Long distance is already hard, but then add in a "tied down" mortgage to the mix.... no thanks. BUT, thank you GOD for looking out for me.

May 21st: My Birthday! Dinner at Barcelona in Clayton and Lake Weekend with the girls!

May 22nd: H Dock meets Sea Ray :(
May 23rd: Jerad picks Kelli and I up at A Dock to go out on the lake.... day after Bill and Anna's wedding.
May 28th: Saddest day of my life thus far.... Cookie had to be put to sleep. Brings tears to my eyes typing this.... I never want to feel the way that I did that day, ever again. I will never forget the sound of her nails on the hardwood floor, her bark when she wanted inside, her sweet face, her genuine love and care for each one of us, pushing her in the swing at the lake, her waiting there next to the Denali so we wouldn't forget her to go to the lake, her obsession with the purple monster, her riding in the basket of the four wheeler as my sister and I drug her EVERYWHERE with us.... there are so many memories that I have from a little sweet dog that left her paw prints on my heart. I miss you every day Cookie... please watch over us down here and tell Leiry and Great Grandma we say hello. <3

May 31st: Jerad text me on the way home from the lake, "Will you be my girlfriend? Check yes or no." I, of course, checked YES!
June 6th: Jerad sprained his ankle skiing a million miles an hour across the wake.
JUNE 12TH: JERAD TOLD ME HE LOVED ME! <3
June 16th: Met Jerad and Bud for dinner at Chevy's off 270... they were on their way home from Northern Illinois for business.
June 19th: We rode the Harley to Cape to see River City Biologicals.... learned FINALLY what Jerad, ACTUALLY does with the calf blood. Wow. Its interesting.... yet sometimes I just tell him that I don't want to know, b/c it deals with baby cows.... and I just want to pet them and kiss them on the face. :) Jerad calls it "Blood Money."
June 22nd: Jerad came home from a business trip to North Carolina with palm tree earrings for me as a surprise. They were the hit at work, let me tell ya! Everyone kept coming up to my desk saying, "Let me see these earrings that I heard about....ooooooooh! He must really like you!" :)
4th of July Weekend: We had a house full of people and we had a blast!

That is Bud passed out on the garage floor.... where he slept all night as a "Russian Spy". (or so he says)

Weekend of July 9th: Kentucky Lake! Us and Josh and Kelly took our boats to KY Lake for the weekend. Spent the weekend cruising the lake and went down to TN.

Rented slips at Moore's Marina and slept in the cabins of our boats with AC!
Josh ruined a prop and we ended up hitting a green mile marker. All in all, VERY fun weekend!! We will be making that trip again. Here are a few pics....

July 23rd: Kings of Leon concert that was cancelled after 3 songs because the drummer got pooped on by a bird. Needless to say, we did not attend the rescheduled concert. BUT, we did have a great time for the 3 songs we saw! :)

July 24th: Skid with the Johaningmeiers at the Meremac River then went to Jaci and Matt's wedding later on that afternoon.... couldn't have a weekend without water! The writing on the ceiling is on the cab ride home from Jaci and Matt's wedding. The cabby let us write on the ceiling with a Sharpie.... picture moment!! :)

July 28th: Jerad and I were both having a tough day. We decided that we were going to keep on driving from work... straight to each other. We met in the middle- Chester where Jerad was waiting with a rose for me. :) Ate dinner at Tequilas and then walked over to Ace Hardware and sat in their swing they had outside for sale. :)

July 31st: Got caught under Keith's pontoons and scraped my nose.......... biggest fear......... drowning. Lesson learned- never swim underwater near the boat, especially when we're parked out at the dam.
August 6th: We travelled to Nashville, TN to see Ryan and Krystin for the first time since they had moved. Had a very relaxing weekend with them and decided we will be back to see more. Too much to do in one weekend. But we did get authentic cowboy boots from Nashville! See pics below...

August 12th: Met Jerad's Grandma and Grandpa Busch.... 60th Wedding Anniversary at Mungo's.
August 14th: Jerad surprised me with a swing for our back patio.

One of our favorite things to do together is sit in the swing and drink coffee in the morning together.

August 18th: I left for a 5 day girls trip to Florida! Tara's parents own a condo in Destin, FL so Kelli, Jess, Tara, Kristen and I all flew down to the beach to relax for a few days together. It was well worth it! Many, many funny girl moments and memories that will last forever

"Sir" the dragon fly, Margarita's on the beach, spitting in the rental van, our taxi driver with musical instruments....

August 22nd: Jerad surprised me when I got home from FL :) He was at the door when I got there. I was soooo happy to see him, b/c we though we were going to have to go 2 weeks without seeing each other.
Weekend of September 10th: We took a road trip up to Scales Mound, IL to see the Fuegers for Steph's baby shower.

On this trip we, of course, had GPS problems and the lady forgot where she was when we were in the Quad Cities... but we ended up making it there. Had a great time withe the Fueger's, as usual. Wish we werent so far apart... especially now that Baby Jack is here!
Sunday we spent looking over the bluffs of Dubuque, IA and walking around the cute little shops of Galena, IL.

September 19th: Jerad, Josh, Kelly, and I took the Harleys to a few wineries in Southern Illinois and rode through the bottoms. Very fun day.

September 25th: We met a realtor in Cape to look at houses. Just to get an idea for the future! :)
September 28th: First Cardinals game with Jerad... he got tickets from his UPS guy.

October 2nd: Shannon and Scott's Wedding Weekend... BOY was that a fun wedding... all of our friends and family together for this wedding.

October 3rd: We visited all Grandmas and Grandpas this day.

October 9th: Annual Wine Trip! Von Jakob and Blue Sky on a yellow school bus

October 10th: I accomplished slalom skiing on my mom's O'Brien! :) Very exciting feat. But, of course my camera was dead, so we didnt get to take pictures.
October 15th: Drew and Ashleigh got engaged!
October 17th: I attempted to barefoot and almost accomplished it, however I couldn't place my feet. Sore for a week after. Jerad on the other hand, is a pro at it, and I am VERY jealous! I WILL accomplish this next summer!!

October 23: Group hike to Little Grand Canyon where we crossed paths with a rattle snake. There was a large group of us that went, but with being in the middle of the woods, there wasnt much opportunity for a group picture.

October 30th: Our HALLOWEEN PARTY!!!! Old Gregg and Howard Moon!

This was Jerad and my first hosted party together. We put in a lot of work, however it was ALL worth it b/c everyone had a great time and we LOVED to do it. The witches brew got the best of a lot of people..... myself included... here are just a few pictures to sum up the night.