For my husband, on our Anniversary.

Marriage is hard work sometimes.
If someone tells you it's not, they're a liar...or they're a newlywed.
At some point you're going to want to smack some sense into your partner, you won't, but you'll really want to. You'll argue about stupid stuff. You'll get mad at something they did or didn't do. You'll feel frustration at the words they did or didn't say to you. You will want to scream at the top of your lungs into the night sky because they're driving you flipping crazy. Or maybe thats just me.
Then, you'll want to hug them tight and never let go. You'll want to kiss them and tell them how much you love them. Tears will form as you look into their eyes tell them you never want experience a day in this life without them by your side. You forget about all of the fights and frustrations because that person is the one you choose to share your life with.
Ten years ago I married my husband. I was 17 and he was only four days past his 18th birthday. Two crazy teenagers making a very adult decision. Our families were not thrilled. Our friends were...I don't know. I didn't ask because I am sure I wouldn't have wanted to hear the answer. I know for a fact that many, many people thought we were making a huge mistake and were bound for divorce within a couple of years. I am not passing judgement on those who thought that, I say it because I know I would have had those same thoughts. Regardless, we married on February 4, 2005 four months before our high school graduation.

Since that time we have had good times, bad times, and times somewhere in between. We have moved 9 times, completed a combination of 5 college degrees, and brought 3 children into this world. I think what is unique about our marriage is the fact that we basically grew up together within the bounds of our relationship. We have been asked, individually and on more than one occasion, if we feel like we missed out on our youth because we were married and had kids. Looking back over the last 10 years, I can honestly say the answer is no. Sure there were times we had moments of disappointment or minimal regret, but it always disappeared as quickly as it came. I am grateful that I didn't have to date the wrong guy before I found the right one. I am grateful that I didn't have to live in dorms or an apartment with crappy roommates. We didn't have to go through all the messy parts of finding someone while learning to become an adult. We thrust ourselves into adulthood and just dealt with the messes together.

I will openly admit that it hasn't always been easy. We definitely picked a very difficult path to begin our adulthood. I wouldn't want my own children to choose what we chose. I realize I am kind of rambling here, sorry. The point I am trying to make is this: we did it. We did it and I wouldn't go back and change it for the world. Not just because we have three amazing children together, but because I get to share my life, my every day, with a man who really knows me. The worst parts of me, all of the bad decisions I have made, my stupid jokes, and when I laugh at myself telling those stupid jokes, he accepts it all and loves me unconditionally. I want for everyone what I have with Cole. Someone you can binge watch Netflix with, eat midnight ice cream in bed, rip farts in front of, travel the world with, and build a life of joy and laughter. I am grateful every day that we made that crazy decision 10 years ago, and we have the rest of eternity to make even more crazy decisions. I can't wait to see what the next decade brings for us.
I love you Cole, until the day after forever.

"Let's try this again," she says.

It's been almost 4 years since I posted anything to this blog. 4 Years. Yikes.
The other day I was doing something, probably pretending to fold laundry, when I thought "Hey! Remember when I used to blog about my kids and stuff?" I found it and started looking at all of the cool things I used to post about (cool to me, not you), and wondered why I ever stopped. I don't write in a journal, I should because my memory is total crap, but I don't. I have no excuse. I'm just lazy. I loved going back and reading about all of the little things my kids were saying and doing. It's all of those little things that make parenting bearable sometimes. I don't want to forget those things.
Let's try this again.
So much has been going on with us lately. The best way for me to go about this is break it up. I'll do my best to organize my thoughts and not ramble on and on too much. I'm not promising anything though.
Part 1:
Cole has been part of an intense graduate studies program in Nursing Anesthesia in Miami, FL for the past (almost) 3 years. He graduated December 2014 and this past Friday he took, and passed, the national board exam. He is now a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA). I feel like I am cheating his experience by reducing it to a couple of sentences. Let me tell you something; this was the most difficult 3 years of our lives so far. It is one of those things that unless you're in it, you don't fully understand. The amount of work, dedication, and time he put in to studying was nothing short of amazing. He missed vacations, school concerts, graduations, funerals, and time with his family in order to successfully complete the program. THEN after he graduated, he spent 12 hour days in the library studying everything he learned over 7 semesters and some things he didn't, in order to pass the boards. Think about that for a moment. I can't even imagine having to learn an insanely difficult field of study and then have to remember every single detail and procedure in order to pass a 170 question test. Um, no thank you. When he called me on Friday to tell me he passed, I could feel the relief through the phone. For Cole, it's like carrying a backpack full of bricks, or in this case anesthesia books, for years and finally being able to set the bag down. Then I came along and lit the bag on fire while doing a happy dance around the ashes. It's over, and it feels oh so good.

I didn't even get to the best part yet: He has an amazing job waiting for him. We have lived a lot of places over the last 10 years: Wyoming, Denver, Nashville, Miami. Our experiences in each place have enriched us as well as taught our kids many valuable life lessons. Miami has been especially educational. We really love it here. The different cultures, the food, our amazing friends!! That being said, it is time to move on. We want a place where our kids can be kids a little longer. We want space, and a garden, and a house we can call our own. We want to live in a smaller city where things don't move quite as fast as they do here in South Florida. All of the things we want for our kids, and for ourselves, we have found in Iowa. No that's not a typo. I said Iowa. Anti-climactic, I know. I was even resistant at first. I didn't want to admit to myself and to Cole that it was the right choice to make. I had never even been to the state of Iowa. What does it have to offer besides corn and...that's it. Corn. Who wants to purposely move there?! But we went anyways. Have you ever known that something was right, you just didn't want to admit it was? Thats how I felt about this.
Cole has an amazing cousin that lives there, and she is a great saleswoman. She showed me all the things the town has to offer, introduced me to teachers at the elementary, and even took me to look at the houses in the area. The more I looked around, the more I could picture us there. I could see my kids riding their bikes safely down the road, and me going to the grocery store on the weekend and actually finding parking! I know it's the right place for us and we are so excited to get on with the next part of our life.

Pomp and Circumstance

So I failed to mention in my previous post, a VERY important event that I was privileged to witness. On the way to Tennessee, we took a detour down to Florida to see my brother Tyler graduate from High School.

Tyler, pictured below, is a goof ball to the extreme. He has ADHD and I LOVE IT! That kid is constantly cracking me up and has the most random sense of humor. I didn't have the opportunity to grow up around Tyler (we have different dads). The only time I got to see him was on the once a year trip to my Mom's house for a visit. So it is only natural that his growing-up seemed impossible to me. Earlier this year I found myself thinking "Whoa, Tyler is graduating! He is too young to go to college. He isn't ready to take on the world! My little brother can't handle being a grown-up!" Then I snapped to reality. He is 18. He is no longer my "little" brother, but a man. He will always be the goofy, crazy, nerd that I love. I am so proud of him for graduating and starting his "real" life now. His grown-up life...because sadly, that's what he is now, a grown-up. Right?

I really suck.

Ok, so I am terrible at this. Obviously. I have never been goo

d at writing in a journal or diary, so why did I think I could do this? I am on the computer a lot. Not JUST Facebooking and messing around. I take online classes, print of coupons, do research, order things, watch Netflix etc. Why don't I just take some time and blog? I'm lazy. There I said it. L A Z Y.

Give me a break, okay. I have people and a dog to take care of.

Anyways, We obviously move to Tennessee. How do we like it? So far, so good. However, there are some things I would like to complain about. Such as: the heat, the bugs, the spiders, the humidity, the traffic, the spiders, my neighbors dog, the mail man comes at 6pm, the spiders, Cole works nights only, did I mention the spiders? I think that is it. I am sure I will find something else to complain about, just give me some time.

I do like the house Cole found for us to live in. It was build in 1

943 and has hardwood floors and lead paint. We have a fenced yard, which is

just lovely. The dog and children can run free with out the threat of escaping into the street.

What else is new? I started couponing. Not like the extreme ladies on TLC, but only because I don't have the time to dedicate to it. I do, however, get some smoking deals. This pic is from my first trip and I saved almost $90 bucks! All of the things I get for mere change that my family doesnt use, i.e. the pull-ups and extra tooth brushes, are going into a collection box for the local homeless shelter.

Being in Tennessee is also great because I am closer to my side of the family. My dad is only 6 hours away in North Carolaaaaanuh. We recently paid him a visit on Fathers Day.

Part of the appeal of visiting my dad, aside from my dad being there, is what is in his backyard--a LAKE!! Now when I say "backyard" I mean that quite literally. He even has a private little beach area with sand and good ol Carolina red clay. We had such a great time swimming and are looking forward to going back...you know, to see my dad...

In other news...Cole's little sister, Maggie, got married this past weekend in Denver. We had the opportunity to attend the festivities.

To me, one of the BEST parts of the weekend was spending some much needed time with my best friend, Ayzlynn. She is seriously the greatest. We text/call each other every day, but you can't beat good ol' face time. It was wonderful.

So we flew to Denver, which took about 4 hours total travel time. On the way home, we drove the new van we scored from a newly retired Radiologist. The drive took us a total of 20 hours travel time. Ask me which one I prefer...

The kids actually did a great job. The first half of the trip was at night so the kids, and myself, slept. Once the sun came up, it was my turn to drive, at which point the dvd player went on as did my audio book.

All-in-all, things are pretty good for the Asays. Now let's hope I can keep up with this blog and continue to entertain you with my wit and literary personality.

Major Catch Up

Okay, so once again I have failed at updating my blog regularly. Sue me. I am a busy person with little persons to take care of. I am really wanting to try to keep up on this, especially since we are getting ready to move to Nashville. Thats right, the time has come.

Since it has been a while since I have entertained you with my wit and happenings, here is what has been going on the last few months:

-Hannah sang in the Stars of Tomorrow competition and did an AMAZING job. She sang Landslide by Stevie Nicks, and was nothing short of totally awesome.

-Lilli turned 2.

-Lucas snapped his glasses in half. (don't worry, they're fixed now)

-I have been working on my BFA degree, slowly, very very slowly, but still working on it.

-Cole came to visit in March, and April.

-I got an iPad and Lilli can work it better than any adult in the house, including me.

-Glen, Cole's oldest brother, got married.

-I made an awesome cake for the event above.

-My husband spoiled me and bought me a new wedding ring. It is gorgeous.

In more recent news, I became an Auntie to the first Hooper baby!! His name is Carter Wayne and I am totally in love with him. He is so tiny (only 6lbs) and so perfect. It makes me a little sad that I have to leave.

Also, Cole finished his BSN!! Not only does he now have a bachelors degree, BUT he graduated with honors and was on the Deans List every semester. Am I proud of him? YES!!! I know he worked his buns off to do well and with how chaotic our life can be, I think its saying something.

Lastly, this past Saturday, Lila and I jogwalked a 5k for breast cancer. It was not a planned thing, I just saw a poster for it at the grocery store and sent Lila a text. It went something like this:

Me: Hey, would you be interested in a 5k on Sat?

Lila: Watching one? Sure :)

Isn't she hilarious?! It didn't take much convincing, and she was game. SO we did it. We walked at a brisk pace and jogged off and on. Overall it was a great time to visit and get some exercise. After the 3.2 miles were complete, I felt GREAT! I think that I am going to make it a regular thing? Maybe...

Ok, thats all for now. I have a longer post I would like to do, but I have a 2 year old who is trying to sneakily steal my iPad and watch Netflix.

Lucas Bieber

So I put this song on and Lucas started getting down with some sweet moves. I immediately got the camera and restarted the song. I freaking love my kids.

I promise I will sit down and write some stuff later. I know there are SO MANY people who want to hear what I have to say. I have been busy, okay.

A Few Things

I am too lazy right now to write my regular length of a post. I am not feeling well, again, and I want to get back to watching mindless internet videos while I wallow in my sick self-pity. So, that said, here are just a few tidbits.

Lucas said today that he wants to draw a picture of himself as a superhero, take it to Walmart, and there have them make it into an action figure to be sold. He then informed us we could purchase 10 each and they do a lot of things like fly, fight with swords, and watch cartoons with you. Another cute little thing he said was "Heavenly Father put a crazy bone in me, that's why I'm so silly." What a clever kid. He is still on his fruit salad kick too.

Oh, and this is the face Lilli has been making EVERY time she goes pee.