Almost the End and A New Beginning

First and foremost I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas, Hanukkah or any other holiday that you may celebrate this time of year. I know we had a nice quiet one which will probably be our last quiet one for possibly the rest of our lives. 

We are at an odd place in life right now. As of last week I have graduated with my Bachelors in Photography and as you can see just about ready to explode. 

I am so grateful for an incredibly patient husband, as these last 2 semesters have been a roller coaster ride between morning sickness and other pregnancy adventures and finishing up my degree. Garett graduated in July so he was working and waiting for me to finish these last few months. I could not have survived all of this without him. 

Also to my dear parents whom invested greatly in me and always pushed me to work hard. I thank them. They have always supported me in doing what I love and have encouraged me to try new things. I owe them more than I'll ever be able to repay in my lifetime.

We loved getting to spend time with them this past weekend and were sad that we couldn't be there for Christmas. 

Regardless we had a wonderful Christmas. Below is my phenomenal homemade, personalized stocking made by Cathie, Garett's mom. (Just fyi Cathie I absolutely love this! You can ask Garett, I was dancing around the house for joy when I got this in the mail. Thank you for working incredibly hard on this for me! It means the world to me). All the Bonds kids had stockings like these and I think it is the coolest tradition ever.

This year it was just the 2 of us in Idaho. We decided to stay in town, being that baby boy's due date is in 2 weeks and I would hate to be stuck in another state when he arrives.

Garett made our Christmas loads of fun by jumping out of bed yelling "It's Christmas!" and dancing around the house. We of course had to be wearing our Christmas pajamas and start with the stockings. Garett pushed the couch out of the way so we could reach the presents easier and then proceeded to dump out his stocking on the floor. His facial expressions were priceless and though we are not quite parents yet, he had enough excitement for us and 3 of our unborn children. 

 It was nice to have one little Christmas to ourselves, but of course we missed out family that is spread over the country. 

We got to enjoy the rest of the day with our friends Bryton and Ron. We had brunch at our place where Garett cooked up a storm and then enjoyed a fantastic Christmas dinner made by Bryton. We were definitely stuffed full with delicious foods for Christmas. It was really nice to be able to share the day with our friends and enjoy some great company. (Thanks for sharing your Christmas day with us Bryton and Ron!)

 Rexburg also did not disappoint as it gave us almost a foot of snow for a beautiful white Christmas. Up until now Rexburg has been unusually warm and you could still see the grass on Christmas eve day. Literally overnight we got this beautiful blanket. I am grateful I didn't have to deal with this during the semester and it was nice timing to have it during the break. I would have been sad if our first and last Christmas in Rexburg was snowless. 

Now I am 38 weeks pregnant (below is at 37) and kind of just waiting.

It's weird waiting to become a parent, to bring a child into this world. I think it is finally feeling real that he can come whenever he wants now. Part of me wants him asap and part of me is content with waiting awhile longer (probably the insanity of having to actually give birth to another human being plays a part in that). I am both thrilled and terrified on a daily basis.

It is also strange to think we are basically done with Rexburg. I have had a wonderful 4 years here and 3 of them with Garett. I have truly grown to love this town as it has become my home. It is where so much of my life changed for the better. I have met some incredible people here over the years including my amazing husband Garett and some of our dearest friends. It is where our story began. It is about to be the beginning of our little family and it will always be dear to me.

Now we are starting a new chapter. 

We are about to have a baby boy, to become parents.

Our lives are about to change forever.

We are working on figuring out where we want to go for grad school.

Everything is about to change and I am sitting on the edge of the cliff waiting.

It seems rare that we get to hold on and savor the turning points in our lives.

Often they happen suddenly without warning, for better or worse.

So here I am waiting, waiting for this new chapter to begin, for everything to change.

I guess I should count it as a blessing that I get to be in this place and take it all in.

It is exciting, terrifying, thrilling, overwhelming and incredible.

I am grateful for an amazing husband to share in this adventure with.

I'm grateful to our family and friends that have supported us in everything we have decided to do and are always cheering us on.

This new road is coming and knowing that I have the greatest support from the most incredible people gives me peace. 

I know it will be a new and challenging road, but I also know it will all be okay. 

I am blessed beyond reason and know that when tomorrow comes I will welcome it with open arms.

Here's to new beginnings and with the new year, will come a new road and a new adventure.

Thank you all for being a part of it. 

I love you all and wish you the best in this coming year.

May it be filled with great and marvelous joys and experiences.

-Megan

Time, Where Did You Go?

Why did you leave me here alone?

Wait, don't go so fast

I'm missing the moments as they pass.

Okay I don't really feel that way, sort of. Time does seem to speed up though. I think this post has been a long time in the making. Partially thanks to all my little brother's inspiring posts, but also a conversation I had with my mom today.

It's amazing how much I have changed and everyone around me. Seems not that long ago my siblings and I were all at home playing the game cube, or running around outside or making forts in that little triangle area in the foyer, not realizing what was in store for us. I'm pretty sure the last 3 or 4 years have been the fastest. 

Since then 3 of us have gone to college, one is on his way very soon (Congrats Aaron, I'm so proud of you!). 2 have finished college, 3 marriages, a mission and 1 1/2 children later. Not to mention my parents moved across the country to an unfamiliar region. And now Catherine and Jesse are moving to Michigan. =[ (I would talk on this longer, but I hate thinking about it. Just FYI Catherine don't feel guilty. I know that Jesse needs to go to law school and this is good for both of you, but I'm going to miss you insanely). 

Needless to say, it has all flown by because so much has happened and that tends to make time speed up.

 I love it, but sometimes I wish we could slow it down a little. You know, stop and smell the roses (if there were any living roses in Rexburg at the moment...)

I started out as a girl who loved musicals, dancing, singing and bunnies, always so shy. I grew up to be a little less shy, making lasting friendships. Was a little rebellious in high school as all teenagers are. Mostly in refusing to sleep at reasonable hours. Honestly I was punishing myself, but also I had homework anxiety. I hated doing homework when people were around, not sure why but I did. Came to college pretty much did everything fun my first two semesters and then settled down when I met Garett. Once again I have been making some amazing friendships, though none greater than Garett of course.

He really does complete me. =]

(Ok side rant) My biggest pet peeve lately is that in books and movies a lot of the time they make it seem like marriage is boring and that married people just fight all the time and are whiny. When they're dating it's all cute and sweet and then they get married and suddenly they're boring. 

IT IS A BIG FAT LIE!!!!

Garett and I honestly probably have more fun now that we're married. We're SOOO goofy together.

We dance around in the kitchen, he's always running up & hugging me, sometimes scaring me. 

We're just constantly silly and ridiculous and I hate that society today portrays marriage as boring. If your marriage is boring, you're doing something wrong. Yes it is a lot of work, living with someone is never going to be easy, you'll have up days and down days, but if you don't have fun and goof off then you're going to be miserable, just like when you're single. When you're single and on your own life can get overwhelming with school, work, dating and chores so you have to remember to kick back and laugh sometimes. Same goes for marriage. 

Anywhooo, sorry this has been bothering me lately. So all those who are thinking about marriage, just letting you know, it is WAY more fun to be married because then you get to be goofy ALL the time and it's tons of fun. I probably have laughed more in the last 9 months than I have in my entire life, but I also married someone who is just really funny (to me). So when thinking about marriage I would recommend thinking about how much you can laugh together, unless you hate laughing, then disregard this whole thing. Anyway for all those who are married I hope you can relate and that I'm not way off target here. I hope I haven't offended you either because maybe Garett and I just laugh more than most people, I don't know. This is just my opinion, don't hate me. I just really like to laugh. 

And even just in the last 9 months we have changed a great deal. Planning a wedding, going to school and working was not easy. Honestly I was stressed most of the time. But it taught me I could handle the workload. Even now I'm still learning and changing. Fridays are now catch up on homework and house cleaning days. Balancing Garett-Megan time along with the other 50 million tasks we have on a daily basis isn't easy but we're growing together. If you asked me 2 years ago where I thought I would be, it definitely wouldn't be here. And looking back I wasn't ready then. Over the years we have a vast amount of self discovery. We learn what we like, what we hate, what we thrive for, what we need and what we want. 

I thought I was going to marry a brunette dog lover, I got a blonde cat lover. In my desire to make him love dogs, I've actually come to be okay with cats. I used to think I was weaker than I was. I didn't think I could handle a job I hated while going to school full time. I didn't think I could handle living in a frozen tundra but I do. Throughout our lives we are learning more about ourselves and where we want to be in our lives. 

I love my life, I won't lie. It isn't perfect. I get stressed easily, I worry like crazy and I constantly have a running list of things to do in my head. But I know I'm where I belong and though I worry I can't handle such a tough schedule, I know I can. 2 years ago I could not have handled this, but I can now. Slowly life has been preparing me for this. And though I'm a little terrified to have kids, I know when the time comes I will be ready. (I promise I am NOT pregnant, not ready for it). Not so much of being scared of being a mother, but scared of being a student mother. I know some people can do it and hats off to them but as far as I know, I'm not one of them. Regardless when I'm ready, I'm ready but for now I'm just working on myself and my marriage. It's a journey for sure, even though mine is just beginning, I love it.

At the end of the day I know I'm where I'm supposed to be. Where I'll be in 2 years, I have no clue, but it'll be right wherever I go. Life is crazy and scary, but that is the beauty of it. If there is one thing you can be certain of in life, it is change (also death, taxes, and dishes) and with it learning in growth.

I know I have a long ways to go, I'm scared and excited but I'll be ready for it. 

I hope we can all remember to embrace change no matter what form it comes in. 

Love you all. 

Thanks for listening. Sorry it was long.

Megan

Changing, Always Changing

I would love to tell you about how grand my weekend was, all the details of taking a walk with Haley, sleepovers with Haley and Rachel, going to the Temple 2 days in a row, one of those times my dear little brother was even able to join me. I'd love to go on and on about how after going to the Temple, my family showed up and I got to spend some time with them, and Rachel arrived from Provo, I got a letter from my dear friend Elder Michael Gmeiner, I went to dinner with my family and Rachel. We spent the evening chatting it up. Saturday after spending the morning at the Temple for the 2nd time I got to go to Mesa Falls with my family and friends. All in all it was a wonderful weekend. Not to mention a wonderful church, dinner with Rachel before she left and an evening chatting with Haley. It was wonderful. I could go into more details, but just know wonderful memories were made this weekend and I was grateful to spend time with those I was with.

I guess what I want to focus on is the idea of change. I am currently going through a change that even I cannot fully comprehend. I only know the Lord has much in store for me to learn and grow and I must work diligently to heed to His words and grow where is needed.

This is a change that is quite new to me. I have never gone through anything quite like this. Normally it is physical, emotional or more of a straight forward spiritual learning. This one though is very much blind, going in with nothing but faith and coming out as what the Lord wants me to be. It is challenging in ways words of this language cannot describe. I think we all go through similar things in our lives. We are faced with challenges that we cannot at present comprehend. This is the Lord's way of saying "put your trust in Me, and I will mold you into something better".

We all change and all grow. People come and go in and out of our lives and at the end of the day you have to take it for what it is and apply what you learned. It is not always easy. I feel more often than not it is difficult and unpleasant. It requires stepping out of our comfort zones in order to grow. For some this is easier than others but for myself it can be hard. I guess we all have to trust in the Lord at one point or another.

As it is said in the hymn "Come Thou Fount"- "Prone to wander, Lord I feel it. Prone to leave the God I love. Here's my heart, oh take and seal it, seal it for Thy courts above". This is my time to give Him my heart and see where it takes me. I hope y'all are able to do the same sometime. It is quite an experience.

"A world where love is not the stuff from greeting cards but a trench war worth fighting" -Andrew McMahon from Jack's Mannequin
Meg