(A couple of weeks late...)
One year. We have been married an entire year. What a year it has been! Since I haven't been doing a lot of blogging, here are some highlights from our first year (mostly in order):
- Our honeymoon in Aruba. Nine days of paradise...so wonderful.
- A new job for Ahmed (an answer to prayer).
- A Great Gatsby Halloween party with friends.
- Many weekends and holidays spent with wonderful family and friends.
- Our first New Year's Eve as husband and wife was spent at home, with both of us recovering from the stomach flu. Maybe not a highlight, but definitely memorable :)
- A weekend in Sioux Falls in January with my family to celebrate my Mom's 50th birthday. We went bowling and to an indoor trampoline park.
- A warm weather get-away to Florida in March. A much needed break from an especially harsh winter.
- A spontaneous trip to Minneapolis to see Twenty One Pilots in concert in the middle of the week in April. We had never heard of them, but it turned out to be a great concert.
- A weekend in June with Ahmed's family that included a trip to the Omaha Zoo.
- A weekend June in Rochester that included a visit from my brother, sister-in-law, nephew, and niece. My brother and I went skydiving for Autism awareness.
- We scored tickets to the free MLB All-Star concert featuring Imagine Dragons in July. It was a really fun show followed by an impressive fireworks display.
- A weekend get-away in July at the most adorable Bed and Breakfast in Duluth, along with some exploring of the North Shore.
- A long weekend in August at a cabin in Yankton, SD with my family. We had a few relaxing days on the beach. (And I took ZERO pictures, oops!)
- Our annual weekend o' fun in Yankton, SD in August with some of my friends from high school.
- Kayaking down the Zumbro River on Labor Day.
- MANY lovely dinners and brunches with just the two of us (both at home and out and about).
- To wrap up our first year together, we made a celebratory epic trip to NYC where we saw Wicked, The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon (which included Seth Rogan, James Franco jumping topless out of a cake, James Spader, and freaking Stevie Wonder- AMAZING!), Central Park, Top of the Rock, Empire State Building Observation Deck, the Statue of Liberty, the 9/11 Memorial, Times Square, the Brooklyn Bridge, the Central Perk 20th anniversary Friends pop-up, and anything we could fit in between. (More pictures coming soon, I’m still working on them.)
Wow, we made a lot of really great memories in our first year! We are so fortunate. We of course have our ups and downs like anyone else, but I love being married and having Ahmed by my side every day. I can't wait to spend many more years with my amazing husband. He is supportive, patient, affectionate, loving, thoughtful, helpful, and of course he's still a big dork :).
I love you, Ahmed!
**Update: several hours after I posted this, I realized I forgot one! So I added our weekend in Duluth to the list. So many great things!
As I lay my head down after a long day, I feel restless. My mind feels like a web browser with no less than 50 tabs open, and I can't really focus on any one thing I'm thinking about. These thoughts are making me feel anxious, so I can't sleep. I start to feel even more anxious because I can't sleep, and I need to fall asleep right now or I'm going to be tired tomorrow. Which will make tomorrow seem even longer than today, and I'll feel even more anxious. It's a vicious cycle.
So I pray and tell myself that worrying is worthless. I have no reason to be anxious, because I serve a God who is bigger than all of my problems. He loves me and cares about my trivial difficulties, and He's got this.
This scenario has been playing out pretty much every day lately, and giving everything to God is easier said than done. "God doesn't give you more than you can handle." I've heard it many times, and I've told it to other people, but I have decided that I don't think it's really true. God regularly gives me way more than I can handle. The problem is that I keep trying to handle it. I think the truth is that God never gives me more than He can help me through. I just need to continually work on giving up control to Him.
According to the CDC, approximately 1 in 68 children are diagnosed with autism. If you don't know somebody with autism, you probably know someone affected by autism.
In high school, I spent my summers babysitting for my cousin's family. One of their three children was diagnosed with autism. In college, I spent a summer doing respite care for a little girl with autism. These experiences led me to my first post college job, where I spent two years as a behavioral therapist at the Rochester Center for Autism. After I left RCA, I spent a year as a nanny for a family with two teenagers with autism and even lived with them for a summer. Every child with autism that I have worked with has had a positive impact on my life. They have all taught me so much.
These children and their families are the reason why I am so passionate autism awareness. I want to give back. As I stated in my last post, on June 22, my brother and I are participating in a skydiving event to benefit RT Autism Awareness Foundation. The purpose of this fundraiser is to continue to raise awareness. I am so excited to be a part of it, but I still need to raise another $220, and I only have a week left! Please consider donating to this great cause. Every little bit helps. If you already donated, thank you so much for supporting the RTAAF! All proceeds go directly to them and are tax deductible.
You can easily donate online.
My link: http://www.ministrysync.com/event/website/?m=1856320
My brother Adam's link: http://www.ministrysync.com/event/website/?m=1881734
I believe RTAAF has done (and continues to do) a lot of really great things for the community of Rochester. They want everyone to be aware of how autism has an impact on more than just individuals with a diagnosis. Autism has a huge impact on families as well. They frequently host events that promote awareness and education. For exmaple, the RTAAF just recently they took part in hosting Dr. Temple Grandin for a free presentation through Rochester Community Ed. They also do a lot of things to directly support families affected by autism, through things like Proejct Lifesaver. For more info on the RTAAF, check out their website.
I haven't exactly forgotten about this blog, it has just been neglected while I have been busy being a newlywed, surviving an awful winter, and staying busy with work, family, and friends. I would love to get back to blogging regularly, but for now this will be quick.
On June 22nd, I am going skydiving for autism awareness. Specifically, this is a fundraiser for the RT Autism Awareness Foundation, which is a local nonprofit organization founded here in Rochester to promote autism awareness and support local families affected by autism. I need to raise a total of $350, and I have $300 to go with less than two weeks to raise it. Asking for money is annoying, but this is something I'm really passionate about, and every little bit helps.
If you feel inclined to donate, here's the link: http://www.fundeasy.com/m/1856320/
Thanks for your consideration!
*My brother, Adam, is participating in this event as well. He needs to raise money too. Here's his link: http://www.fundeasy.com/m/1881734/
