NATA

paul was in the national athletic training association journal.  oh. my. gosh.

he is the one on the very left with the blonde wig!  hahaha!  can you believe that this is how he appears in his professional magazine.  i love it!  maybe it will help him land a job next year!?  what do you think?

here is the post i blogged all about the O-lympics!  enjoy!

date with my love.

hubster is so incredibly busy.  it's baseball season.  it's hard.  but he is amazing.  and i know this is a phase of life and i need to support him.  i am crazy busy as well.  and i'm happy.  i am content.  life is full right now and it feels good.  sorry my posts are so few and far between.

we got to have a nice little date night the other day.  right after we got married, we took a mini honeymoon or a 'prelude to our honeymoon' for a couple of days in west virginia.  we went white water rafting, etc.  then we took our actual honeymoon 4 months later.  i highly recommend that.  anyway, in WV we went to the movies together.  it was like our first date after we were married. and we saw the movie, "The Ugly Truth".  It is somewhat raunchy (cussing), but it is pretty funny.  anyway, i bought the movie real quick one day after work along with a bottle of vino and some goat brie cheese.  and ta-da! it was a date night!

and the wine... hahah.  we had never had this wine.  but the marketing got me.  it was called monogamy.  and well, here was the description.  and i am a head over heels romantic.  i like the mushy gushy stuff.  

the wine wasn't the best wine i've ever had, but it was alright.  my date, with my hubby however, was wonderful.  seriously, i am so amazed at how perfect paul is for me.  i love him sooo much and i am so excited that he is mine and i am his for the rest of our lives!  eek!

hard conversations

the other night, hubby and i were laying on the couch.  and he was holding me and smooching my cheek.  and there was this heaviness on my heart.  it felt like a 90 pound weight just sitting on my chest.  and when i open my mouth to talk about it, it feels like someone with a military boot is just stepping on my throat.  and the hot tears start streaking down my face.  


it hurts to be real.  to be honest.  to gently tell hubby whats on my heart and to be able to allow him to respond. to not only talk to him about the hard stuff, but to let him talk to me about the hard stuff.  we're learning to do this in a way that is not blaming.  but loving.  


it's necessary.  to process things together.  the hard stuff.  it's no fun.  but it's worth it.


it's necessary.  and it's so sweet afterwards.  after i get the hard stuff off of my chest.  because i just LOVE this man that I call my beloved so much.  and i know that he loves me too.  and i wouldn't have it any other way. 


and the conversation ends with me being more in love with him than i ever have been.  and that i feel so loved by him and so at one with him.  and we fall asleep holding hands under the covers.  his fingers touching mine.  and i fall asleep praying.  thank you jesus for this man that you have made me one with.  protect us.  grow our love for each other.  

oh, i did forget to mention one thing.  solomon put it well in the bible:


"as an apple tree among the trees in the forest, so is my beloved among the young men.  with great delight i sat in his shadow, and his fruit was sweet to my taste." song of solomon 2:3

and what i mean by that is

Giddy Up

and that's all i have to say about that.

minority

the more that i talk to women, the more i realize that i am a minority.


the close men to me in my life have loved me unconditionally.  they have empowered me.  they have never used my weaknesses for themselves.


i have never been abused physically, sexually, verbally or emotionally.


thank you Daddy, 


thank you Brother,


thank you HUSBAND.


and thank you close guy friends. 


and thank you JESUS.




Thank you for believing in me, supporting me, and empowering me. thank you for encouraging me and listening to me.  thank you for protecting me and teaching me.






and it's not fair that i am the minority.  every one of us deserves to be loved like this.  and with this blessing of being loved liked this, how can i not use it to love and empower the majority of other women who are victims of abuse.  




we need more men like these men in my life.  you men, are sadly, also a minority.  




let's go out and share this love.  there are so many people in desperate need of it.

O-lympics

the athletic department at U of O holds a fundraiser called the O-lympics.  The Athletic Trainers compete against the athletes in this competition.  There are many different trials including relays, 40 yard dash, tackling the football dummie thingys that the players use in practice, doing a puzzle, flippy cup (with water of course - the athletic trainer's idea to promote hydration), etc.  the athletic trainer's theme was 80s athletes.  

paul is the one in the blonde wig on the left.  these are the people in his cohort/master's program.

see the 'precision line of the sideburn' is what one of the girls commented on. ha!

gross gross facial hair.  and he is keeping it this way for a week!  we went to dinner last night with him like this!  hahaha! how embarrassing?

that's my man dominating at tug of war.

and arm wrestling

and this has to be one of my favorite photos of all time.  the guy in the white with the black mullet wig would be luke, one of the football athletic trainers racing his athlete, one of the running backs on the football team, in the 40 yard dash. hahahaha!  the photo finish was incredibly important as you can see that it was ALMOST a tie.  so close, luke, so close.  luke's response to this loss, "i was racing a ninja, what do you expect"! haha.

i hope this brightens your day.  and contrary to popular belief, i am not the weird one.  the weird one is my husband. gosh, i love him!

ear infection.

i have an ear infection.  it is not pleasant in the least bit.  i've never had one before and i now understand why little kids scream and cry when they get ear infections.  it feels like someone is taking a really sharp pencil/stick/knife and just shoving it into my ear.  i can't hear anything either.  i pity anyone who has ever had an ear infection.


when i woke up this morning, my husband was smiling and said, "good morning beautiful".

lord bless my husband for making him think i look beautiful. ha. this is literally me this morning.

seriously though, my husband is awesome.  he has been helping me an supporting me and taking care of me since i started getting sick last thursday. i freaking love him.  i don't know what i would do without him.

i'm really good at catching people at their best.  this looks like a mug shot.

i have been spending a lot of time reading.  because my ears like the quiet right now.  this is our coffee table right now and it seriously made me laugh.  if someone came over i would be embarrassed.

how many bibles do you see? 4.

we are not holier than thou, believe me.  this sight just made me laugh because this is our life right now.

and i was going to save this for another post, but i'm afraid i'll be in prison....

i opened this box along with TONS of other mail on the day we got home. our neighbor had been hanging onto it because she said it was sitting outside for days.

notice that i opened it upside down.  this is how it was when i opened it.  all packaging from DISH network with nothing in it.  i think someone stole its contents because we were gone for 3 weeks and it sat on our front step for DAYS.

then i started thinking, what in the world?  we  didn't order anything from dish network.  so i turned the box over and to my dismay, this box is for J Martin.  Sorry J Martin, but you put our address and i accidentally opened your mail which is a felony.  it was a complete accident.  and someone stole your stuff.

so the UPS man left a note on our door yesterday wanting to pick up J Martin's box from dish network.  uh-oh. so i am really hoping UPS man understands.  in case i am not home to explain what happened, i left him a note.

does anyone have any experience with accidentally opening someone else's mail?  and what if that person's stuff was stolen before you even opened it? i'm freaking out here!

contentment

i am applying for grad school in october.  it is a difficult program to get into.  but Jesus knows whether i will or not.  i am applying to The Ohio State University's Graduate Entry Family Nurse Practitioner Program. There are so many things I want to do with it to make a difference in the world.  more on that later.


i have a lot to do and focus on.  i need to take pharmacology and the GRE and do well on it.  


i started a phlebotomy class (learning to draw blood) this last week.  and after much prayer and discussing with my hubster, we decided it really isn't of benefit or a smart financial choice.  so i dropped out of it.  it feels really good and it's the right choice.  after calling to drop out, i went to cancel the books i ordered and they hadn't been shipped yet, PTL. so it was simple to cancel that.  we were also supposed to pay for that class by today and Paul's school loans to help us live have not come through... so it's a really good thing that i dropped the class because I would not have been able to pay for it anyway.  i don't know if i'm writing this well and you understand, but basically His timing is perfect. and i know it's right.


i've never trusted Jesus like this.  it feels really good.  i don't know what's going on, but He does. i just love spending so much time with Him.  


i had THE worst day of my working experience EVER on Tuesday.  I worked alone with a new pharmacist for the first time.  it was also my first time closing.  i didn't know what i was doing.  the training at Target Pharmacy is awful and useless (or maybe it is just my experience).  it was a mess.  the pharmacist was really mean and short with me at some points.  but i stuck it out.  i wanted to cry and just walk out and leave.  but i didn't.  by His strength, i made it through.  I have no other way to explain it.  i don't know why this is the job he gave me, and why it is so hard.  but it's where i'm supposed to be.  it will look good on my graduate program resume, it's good experience, it pays decently and i'm fully leaning on Him.  I came home and just WEPT all night.  Paul and I prayed and read together.  and i have peace.  it is REALLY hard. but on Monday, i am going back to my job and i'm going to do it all over again.  and i have faith that He will give me strength and get me through it.  I cannot take a breath or go a day at work without His spirit in me.  i'm just leaning on Him and we're just going right along.


i need to go through this.  it's the hardest thing i've ever done.  but we will make it through.  it's so sweet to trust in Him and walk with Him. i have no one else but Him.  no community to walk with, no family here. no close friends.  It's my husband (we are one) and my sweet sweet savior.

(source)

and now i'm sick.  tissues and tea it is.

tea. with. my honey.

there are times that i just want to stop time.  have i mentioned how awesome marriage is?  it's hard. and it's amazing.  it's worth the work.  i highly recommend it.

i'll keep him.

happy halloween

happy halloween

Love The Trolls

my cup overflows.

i wish i could take you to coffee and tell you what He has done for me.  it's so hard for me to even put it into words.  but right now in this moment, my heart is so full.  my cup runneth over. 

i don't have a mansion, actually i don't even own a house.

i'm not a millionaire, actually i have loads of college debt.

i'm just your average joe.

i don't have a job.

i'm not using my degree.

i'm hundreds of miles from my closest friends and family.

but let me tell you what he has done for me...

i should first start with the fact that when i was a freshman and sophomore in college, i wanted nothing more than to be single for the rest of my life and be a medical missionary in kazakhstan or somewhere cool.  maybe eventually adopt a child from an orphanage that i would work at, if they'd let me.  me and jesus, that's all i wanted and needed.

he has given me abundantly more than my wants.  i don't even have the words to describe what a blessing my marriage has been in my life.  when paul came into my life, i was healing from my sin.  i didn't want a husband.  i actually tried to talk him out of liking me.  it makes me laugh now at how stressed out i was over it.  it would've been so much easier to just trust what the Lord was doing and not try to fight it. but on the other hand the communication aspect of that healing process has helped me to trust paul and jesus even more.  sorry, i'm rambling here.  this is why i wish we could be talking over coffee... so that i can actually make sense.  

the marriage covenant has spoken so much to my heart about Jesus's love for me. the stories about God and Israel come to life for me.  contrary to the media, i find marriage so incredibly freeing.  paul has made promises to me and i have NO reason not to trust him.  trusting paul by taking this leap of faith into marriage was a scary thing (and still is - hello, we just moved across the nation!), but 2 years and 1 month into marriage, i will tell you that it is soooo worth it.  it makes my eyes well up with tears and my heart swell just thinking about how much more i love him now than when we said 'i do'.

tis so sweet to trust in jesus.  thank you for my husband, lord.  please protect our marriage, for i know the temptations of this world.  hold onto us lord, we cannot do it alone.  come and fill our souls.  help me to love him as you love us.

the first time we saw each other on our wedding day. still makes me tear up.

my love's birthday

Happy Birthday to my love!  He's 27 today!  wowsers!  I remember when he turned 23, I am so excited that I've known him that long :)  I hope it's your best birthday yet, babe!

dva

dva is 2 in russian.  my favorite russian number.  yes, today i've been married to the most amazing man in the entire world for 2 years.  i don't know who i would be or where i would be without him.  i can't believe it's already been two years... CRAZY!  it's the best decision that i've ever made. i love you, mr. dawson!

cheers to 2 years!  (sorry i can't rotate this)

marriage

i follow Kate Andre's blog (formally Kate Mcdonald-shawn mcdonald's ex-wife and bethany dillon's sister).  She is actually from Bellefontaine, OH!  small world, huh?  This blog post is a beautiful example of her heart.  i leave this quote with you:

"I am learning that marriage isn’t all about romance and passion and ideals that media pushes on us. It is not even about happiness or having an increasingly better marriage as much as it is about the potential for real transformation in our own lives. Marriage can make us better as people, even when or maybe especially when it is hard and things don’t go as planned and it is not easy and the demands on us feel unfair. Maybe marriage is at it’s best when it restricts us, defines limitations, exposes our sin, and calls us to die to ourself in favor of becoming what God has already declared us to be: ONE."




read that quote again.

thank you, jesus, for the gift of marriage.

cute hubster

i was just looking back at christmas photos.  and i stumbled across paul opening up the gift that i got him for christmas... a mandolin.  seriously, how cute is my husband?!?

hiccups and lying groundhogs.

first of all. i'm sick of winter.  we got 10 inches of snow last night.  phil the ground hog is a liar!  he needs to retire and we need a new one.  it as 70 degrees last week.

second of all, the other day, i had mad hiccups all day long.  i was driving my coworkers up the wall.  nothing would get rid of them.  finally after paul asked me to go to another room while  at home, we decided to try the old  myth of drinking water upside down.  it really works!

mom,i know this looks like keg stand. but it's water in my water bottle.  and i've never done a keg stand. no worries.

so if you're ever in need of getting rid of hiccups, make your husband hold your legs in the air.  unless you're talented enough to do a hand stand all by yourself and drink water at the same time.  haha!

1 Year Wedding Topper Tradition

so one year and 5 months after our marriage, Paul and I finally had our wedding cake top.  The cake part and the middle layer of icing was actually still good.  But the most outer layer of icing tasted like plastic... yuck.  still, not bad for being in the freezer for over a year.  i'm sure it was better the day it was made, but i didn't exactly get to eat any.  we shoved the cake into each other's faces and then i forgot to actually eat it after we fed each other.  haha.

(sorry this is sideways... i can't figure out how to rotate it)

(i love this!)

and here we are a year and 5 months later....

meet the flintstones

so i made our halloween costumes this year!  it was so fun and not hard at all... 

what do you think?

as long as paul gets to wear a mullet wig, he's fine with any halloween outfit i make... last year it was the black eyed peas... remember that?

some of our friends from church have a costume party every year.  it is always so much fun.  

of course, i had to make some healthy vegan desert

oooo spooky.... thank God for martha stewart stencils.

veil

Paul and I just got home from a wedding.  Two of our friends from church, Tim and Beth... are now Mr. & Mrs. Tim Cool!

Paul and me in my veil! sorry i can't figure out how to rotate this... grr!

Beth borrowed my veil from my wedding day.  Our friend Lori, (a church friend)  who got married in July, also borrowed my veil.  I love it!

Boh & Lori 7.24.10

It makes me really appreciate community.  As I think about Paul and my wedding day, I am so thankful for all of the people who were there and supported us.

Tonight at the wedding, as I was watching this couple madly in love commit their lives to serving one another in love, I started to think about community and what it means to be a part of a community supporting a bride and groom becoming one.

It is such a comforting thing.  That all of these people are cheering this couple on and want them to experience love and life to its fullest.

I think that being a part of this supporting community is to be there through thick and thin, whether by prayer, or by a shoulder to cry on or a voice to laugh with... but to be there, supporting them.  and i think about the rate of divorce today... and i wonder why that couple's supporting community didn't stand up and say... NO! ABSOLUTELY NOT!  it is not just the two of you breaking this vow, but it is also the community that was there witnessing this union.

I have been to so many weddings over the past couple of summers.  I think that if any of those couples even considered divorce, we should get the entire community that was there at the wedding together... and give a tough argument.  You try and try.  it's for better or for worse....til death do you part.

beautiful inspiring marriages...

Chris & Amy 

Josh & Chelsea 

Ryan & Rach

I pray that if Paul and I were ever in a sticky situation similar, that our community that was there on that day and the people who have come to be within our community will be there pleading and encouraging and on our side.  that is so comforting.

the veil....

i really love the connection of the community between it.  the bond that it brings.... the day that i got to share with these other two beautiful women, who have supported me through my first year of marriage.

thank you jesus for marriage and community that supports marriage.

1 whole year.

today. 8.8.10, i have been married to my best friend and the love of my life for an entire year...

it has been an AMAZING year.  I just don't know why God has decided to bless me so much.  I never thought that I could love someone like i love p.dizzle  :)  

alright enough of the mushy goooshy stuff....

5 things i've learned after i've been married for 1 year:

1.  my husband still has my name in his phone as 'kylee powers'  (... i'm thinking i need to change it to something like 'most goegeous breath taking woman in the world' just to surprise him the next time i call!  haha)

2.  we still argue over what kitchen place mats are used for... i say decoration, he says to eat!  (so he won't let me get some of those cute round wicker ones because he says he doesn't have anywhere to put his drink!  hahaha.  o man i love him!)

3. it is weird to sing songs in deep and strange voices and break out in random dance moves on a daily basis (at least paul told me that i'm not normal for doing it... hmm, who would have thought?).

4. okay let's be honest, sleeping with your spouse is fun.  especially when they talk in their sleep or when you have a bad dream... someone is right there or the fact that you don't have to say goodbye or someone to just... well... to DUTCH OVEN! (click here if you don't know what a dutch oven is or if you want to read the funniest way i've ever heard it described.)

5.  the marriage relationship is the most honest relationship.  i have hidden nothing from my husband.  it feels so good!  he knows me so well.  i just love to be so comfortable around him and to love him with my whole heart!  it is soo incredibly freeing! beautiful.

God is so good.

my attempt at blogging.

i'm snowed in today.  27 inches of snow.  i've been reading all of my friends' blogs and i think it is such a nice way to stay updated on their lives.  so... on top of classes, work, marriage, and life in general, (as if i'm not already busy enough) i'm going to attempt to blog.  call me crazy.

you know how when you finally get the chance to catch up with your best friend after a month of not talking... and then you forget everything that is funny, deep, or important.  i figure this would be the best way to remember those things and communicate.

this is for you mom and mamaw (and probably amanda... even though you're pretty busy too).  i'm guessing you'll be my most faithful followers.

now, i must go help my husband shovel snow... or just be a menace and throw snow balls at him :)

Paul making a path for Des to play in our front yard :)

The snow is taller than Des! haha. They were having a ball!