hurry up and slow down...

It's funny: sometimes life can't move fast enough...but sometimes I just wish life would slow down. It's like I'm always waiting for something to happen. You know how it goes, you can't wait to [fill in the blank, i.e., go to college, get married, etc.] but when that waiting is over you just start waiting for something else! But lately, I just wish things would slow down. I get tired of being tired. The weekend that Chris and I spent at the beach was just what I needed...rest and relaxation! I've been learning a lot lately. One of the big lessons is that I need to be content with where God has put me and make the most of it. God always brings things into life at just the right time, you would think that I would have learned that lesson by now! But, faith is a daily journey...so for now, I'm just trying to hurry up and slow down (and wait for God!).

a year...already?!?!?

So on Sunday, I will have been married to my best friend for a year already! It's crazy how fast time flies! Married life has been wonderful...we have our struggles like everyone else (I'm a typical emotional girl, he's a guy and doesn't get it...). But, it has been an amazing year. We have already been through a lot since being married- buying a house, raising two dogs :), transitioning between churches, struggles with both our grandparent's health, and so much more. We've had to learn how to respond to either other's needs....or should we say Chris has had to learn how to respond to my ever changing moods! But, it's really been a great year.
We are heading to the beach tomorrow to celebrate...I CAN'T WAIT!!!! But the big question is...to eat our wedding cake? or not to eat our wedding cake?? hahah...I think I'm going to at least try it, it can't be too bad, it was frozen right?? However, I'm pretty certain that my very picky about food husband will not eat it ;)

Nonni update...

I went home this past weekend to visit Nonni. Seeing her lying in a hospital bed was one of the hardest things I've ever had to do. My whole life I've only known my grandmother to be so full of life and energy! But, that also gives me hope because I know she's a fighter. She has been thought A LOT this past month and is doing incredible given the circumstances. We can only hope that some of her tubes will start to come out and slowly but surely she will start to heal. Today, for the first time in weeks, she breathed on her own for over 24 hours. It exhausts her but hopefully it also gives her encouragement that she is on the road to recovery. When I was with her, the hardest part was seeing her in pain and frustration. It breaks my heart to see her hurting. But, there were also moments when she would smile...my favorite moment was when Devon came in the room and her face just lit us. She didn't know he was coming and she loved the surprise. I thought she was going to pull him right onto the bed with her! It brought me to tears to watch my 12 year old nephew stand next to her bed and hold her hand.
I know that Nonni is safely in the Lord's hands. He has a plan and it's greater than what any of us can hope of imagine. It's hard to see her suffer and in pain but I do know that there is a reason. Please continue to pray for Nonni's healing and for my family and it's been emotionally exhausting.

So after 7 years of daily running it finally happened...I got bit by a dog! The pain was so intense that I didn't even dare to look at my leg, I just sprinted the entire way home. When I got in the door, I ran upstairs and, while hyperventilating and crying, woke up my sleeping husband. I just kept yelling "I can't look, I can't look...tell me how bad it is!" Actually, it wasn't as bad as I imagined that it would be. The dog bit pretty hard and I'll have quite the scar but it could have been much much worse. Anyways, I ended up going to the doctor and getting an antibiotic. We found out where the dog lived and I talked to the owners to make sure its shots were up to date, etc. Thankfully it has had its rabies shots! Anyways, I survived my first dog bit experience (and it probably won't be the last!). I made sure to avoid that road while running this morning!

smell the flowers...

So first and foremost, an update on Nonni! She's doing great, she has been breathing on her own for long periods of time (like 6 hours) and seems to finally be on the road to recovery! Now, it's going to be a very LONG road but we've all been able to breathe a little sigh of relief the past few days.

Nothing too exciting has been happening with the Wrights lately except I just feel like we've been SUPER busy. Chris and I were finally able to spend a good bit of quality time together this past weekend which was nice. I never realized how important quality time was before I got married. I always thought that words of affirmation was my love language but I've been realizing more and more that quality time is so important. I'm also realizing how important quality relationships are. It's like once I got married (which by the way, it's almost been a whole year!) this flipped switched and my priorities started to fall in line. Work is no longer at the top of the list...I mean, I enjoy my job and I want to do a good job but it's not my life. Life is made up of the important things- God, family, friends, laughter, etc. Sometimes even the smallest things make life that much better, like waking up each morning and hearing your husband tell you that he loves you, or going for a good long run and clearing your mind. I think I'm rambling but I just feel like I'm learning so many lessons...about myself and how I want my life to be lived. God first, others second, my own interests last. I don't want to take the small things for granted and I want to enjoy every moment that the Lord blesses me with. A "take time to stop and smell the flowers" kind of attitude I guess!

So an update on Nonni...she's been through a lot the past few weeks, I guess you could say our whole family has. She had another surgery because she had an abcess in her stomach which started leaking and causing an infection. She is still on the ventilator but the doctors are hopeful she will come off from it within the week. It breaks my heart to be so far away...but I know that she is in good hands with the caregivers in Maine, and in the best hands with the Lord.

On another note, I've been teaching a bootcamp for a while now a couple mornings a week. It's been really enjoyable, so much so that I am going to start another one! I'll be starting an evening bootcamp a couple of days a week. I am really excited about this new venture...I finally feel like I have an outlet for my passion for fitness! I enjoy my job and couldn't ask for a better one, but it doesn't satisfy my fitness "craving" completely. You can't really push 70-89 year olds too hard...so I'm looking forward to doing that with younger folks! It's starting June 1st and I've really been praying that the Lord would bless this opportunity to make a difference in people's lives. Now I'm just hoping that people will come!

On Tuesday morning my Nonni went into the hospital for a routine hernia surgery. Well, there were some complications and she ended up going back into emergency surgery and then was on a breathing tube overnight. When they extubated her finally her heart rate sky-rocketed and her blood pressure dropped throwing her into atrial fibrillation. I don't know a super lot about a-fib but I know enough to scare me. So, they were going to wait it out and see if maybe the heart was just being compressed by the fluid built up from the surgery and hopefully the a-fib would work itself out. If not, they would have to perform a cardioversion. Thank the Lord, it worked itself out. So, Nonni is resting at the hospital and will probably be there for a little while longer.

This all really scared me. I love my Nonni so much and can't imagine the world without her! She brings so much joy to everyone one meets. One of my favorite Nonni memories is her dancing with Chris on our wedding day. She's so vibrant and spunky- I don't like imagining her laying in a hospital bed. Moments like this make is 100 times harder to live so far away......