Another Rejection...

We've gotten a couple responses from grad schools, some requesting more information and others telling me that I didn't get in. The list was updated:

1) University of Hawaii, Manoa

2) Texas Tech University

3) University of Arkansas

4) Florida International University

5) Weber State University

6) University of Nebraska, Omaha

7) University of Tennessee, Chattanooga

8) Montana State University, Billings

9) Long Island University, Brooklyn

10) Oklahoma State University

I guess I only have to get into one to keep the dream alive. Crossing my fingers and praying everyday!

Timing is Everything

We had girl's night last night. We went to watch the newly released movie, "The Vow", with sexy man, Channing Tatum and the gorgeous Rachael McAdams. It was a fantastic movie and definitely a tear jerker. My little sister was sitting next to me and we had giant alligator tears rolling down our faces the entire time. I didn't feel like such a pansy with her sitting next to me. It was so touching. 

The movie was entertaining and the story was refreshingly new, but that wasn't why I enjoyed it so much. There was a line in the movie that I needed to hear at that moment in time that gave me some insight for my own life. 

Spoiler Alert:

McAdams' character finds out that her dad cheated on her mom. She is furious about the whole thing and demands answers from her mom. She says "why didn't you leave? After all he did and you let him get away with it?" Her mom replies, with tears in her eyes, "I was ready to leave. I was about to. And then one day I was looking through pictures of you and your sister and realized that family is the most important thing to me in the world. So I chose to stay. I didn't let him 'get away' with anything. I chose to forgive."

Wow, what a powerful statement. It really put some things into perspective for me. One of my weaker areas is learning how to forgive people. I've been wronged several times; we all have. But when we decide what means the most to us, what else really matters? No one is perfect and everyone makes mistakes. The sooner we realize that, the easier forgiveness is. This is my new goal. Thank you, to the cheesy writers in the movie that helped me fix some things in my life. Timing is everything. 

- Megan

Marriage Tip

These last couple weeks have been interesting, to say the least. With the addition of the wedding plans and grad school apps to our already busy life, it's been harder than usual to stay focused on our relationship and what really matters. We went to visit my grandparents last week to make dinner; she's trying desperately to teach me to cook. After dinner and cleaning the dishes, we started playing cards. My grandma said something very interesting that I never thought of. She gave us this advice: no matter what happens throughout the day, make sure you play a game at the end of every day. 

We've been given a lot of advice from several different people but this has been my favorite so far. Blake and I have since then, made an effort to play a game with each other every night. Family Feud on the iPad is currently our favorite game. It's perfect for us because we are both competitive (understatement) and this way we are playing together against other people. 

This game playing habit has helped us in more ways than one. No matter what kind of issues we are having, whenever we play, we forget about it. Not only has this lessened any tension we have in our relationship, but it's caused us to have more fun with each other. It also helps us wind down at the end of the day because we get to snuggle up on the couch with no distractions. I love tips like that. Real, doable, simple suggestions. Thanks, grandma and grandpa! I'm excited to keep the tradition going!

Engagement Pictures

We got our pictures back! 

I think the most important parts of the wedding planning are finding a stunning dress and a killer photographer. These were the only two areas where I wouldn't compromise. While both took a while to pin down, the photography was WELL worth it. The dress...that has yet to be seen at this time. These were a few of our favorite shots from the session:

- Megan

Grad School Responses

As Blake and I researched the very slim list of graduate programs that offer a Master's in Athletic Training, we narrowed it down to our top ten schools. After days and days of meticulously filling out applications, paying hundreds of dollars in fees and dealing with all kinds of weird accents and incompetent people, I finally finished and submitted all of them. Now that application deadlines are coming, I am anticipating acceptance / rejection letters any day now. 

I got a call from U of Ark this morning. It was the director of the program and he sounded exceptionally cheerful. He informed me that I was one of the top candidates for the program. Of course this was great news and I figured he just wanted to do an over the phone interview to complete my file. He then proceeded to tell me that I was missing a very basic wound care course. I told him they don't offer that at ASU and I've already graduated. He laughed. Literally laughed at what I said, told me there was nothing they could do, informed me that I could not take the course simultaneously with the athletic training courses and said I would have to apply next year. 

This is the kind of crap I get to look forward to in the next couple of weeks. I guess I just wasn't expecting those type of responses. 

Here is the list of applications I've submitted...

1) University of Hawaii, Manoa

2) Texas Tech University

3) University of Arkansas

4) Florida International University

5) Weber State University

6) University of Nebraska, Omaha

7) University of Tennessee, Chattanooga

8) Montana State University, Billings

9) Long Island University, Brooklyn

10) Oklahoma State University

I'm kind of writing this to vent my frustration with the whole process. I guess I can only go to one school anyway, so that helps me make my decision, but it still hurts to be rejected. I feel like I just got dumped! 

Blake has been nothing but supportive throughout this whole process and it's his future, too. I'm not sure what's more stressful though, filling out applications and waiting for graduate school responses or planning a wedding. It's a toss up. 

Two down, 8 to go. Pray for us.

- Megan

The Proposal

Blake and I had talked about getting married for quite some time but I had absolutely no idea when he would propose.

The Christmas season was rapidly approaching and we had several parties and events we were to attend. We made sure to plan out our month very maticulously so that we wouldn't overplan or miss anything. Blake told me early in December that his older sister hosts a party every year for one of her friends. I quickly put it on the calendar so I wouldn't plan anything else that night.

As the date for the party came, he would give me more details like the formality of the party and what we would be doing there. I was very excited because his sister is a wiz when it comes to event planning, so I knew it would be a blast.

The night of the party came and I was on my way over there. I called Blake to see if I needed to bring anything. He assured me Morgan had taken care of everything. I was all dressed up and ready for our first formal Christmas party together. I pulled up to the house and there was only one other vehicle there. I figured I was a bit early and thought nothing else of it. There was a pathway lined with gorgeous luminerias that led to the backyard. I followed it to find that Blake and I were the only ones in the backyard. You would think I would have known at that point what was about to happen.

Blake beckoned me to come over to a bench where he was sitting in front of the fire pit. Then I looked around and saw several lit candles surrounding the area as well as a gorgeous vase full of at least two dozen long stem red roses. At this time, I thought it was just a romantic Christmas dinner just for the two of us. I thought it was the most thoughtful thing anyone has ever done for me. I was so proud of Blake for thinking of something like that. But that wasn't it.

Blake took me over to the table where the roses and several other gorgeous trinkets lay. There were silver heart shaped dishes, two long stem glasses for the sparkling cider we were about to share and 3 beautiful small dishes full of graham crackers, marshmellows and chocolate bars. It was a s'mores night.

He then handed me an envelope and asked me to read its contents out loud. It read:

"Can you believe it has already been a year?

That's 12 months since that terrible, but perfect, New Years Eve,

365 days since YOU and I became a "WE",

8,760 hours of becoming my best friend and being there for me,

525,600 minutes imagining what we can be,

I love you more than anything,

And after 31,536,000 seconds of thinking of eternity,

There's only one thing left to do..."

I tried to fight back tears as I read the last line because I knew what was about to come. I turn around and there he was, my handsome prince, down on one knee. He said he loved me and he wanted to spend the rest of eternity with me. Then he extended a small box with a sparkling diamond inside. I couldn't hardly see anything through my blurry, tear-filled eyes, but I didn't need to. He asked me if I would marry him and I said "Of course I will". We were both tearing up, me moreso than him, and embraced for what seemed like an hour.

Morgan, of course captured the whole thing on camera, the sneaky girl.

The funny part is, that he had a whole romantic night planned out for us. Those plans were quickly shot down as I wanted to rush to tell my family. We drove all over town from Mesa, to Gilbert, to Tempe, announcing our engagement to everyone.

Poor Blake didn't get dinner that night. I'm sure he forgives me though.

- Megan

The Merge

I got engaged to my best friend and soul mate on December 23rd, 2011. We are getting married in May. As these next couple months approach, we are trying to merge our lives together. Combining finances, sorting through furniture and trying to plan a future in school is not my idea of "fun" but they are all necessary things for us to be able to unite our lives as one. Combining our lives on a blog, now that's my idea of a good time!

We are going out of state to who knows where for my graduate program. We want to keep in touch with everyone as we travel the country. Check back periodically for updates on wedding plans, school arrangements and other events that take place in our lives together.

Peace be the journey.

- Megan