Marriage Counseling

Yesterday Mark and I went to our first marriage counseling session. It was AMAZING!!! Essentially our counselor is amazed at how well we compliment each other. Opposites attract. Mark is totally layed back and I am totally uptight. He can tell that we are each other's best friend and that we have a good understanding of who the other person is. There is absolutely no jealousy in our relationship. We talked about things like our childhood and our jobs.

We also did an assignment where there was a list of strengths and growth areas that could be in a relationship. We each had to pick three to discuss. WE PICKED ESSENTIALLY THE SAME THINGS! Sheesh! The counselor was impressed by this, because this showed that we had discussed a lot of things already. Our strengths were our relationship between us, our relationship with friends, and our religious beliefs. Our growth areas were discussing raising kids, handling our finances, and problem solving skills. OF COURSE we haven't discussed raising kids! I have this theory that talking about kids makes your ovaries get excited and more fertile and I want nothing to do with that craziness. haha* We both agreed kids in the next 2-3 years is forseeable. Before that... yikers... As far as the finances go... HELP! How do you think married people should handle their bank accounts? Mark and I both agree that finances is NEVER a reason for divorce. What a terrible thing to fight over! Blah! But we do need to have a plan and we recognize that this is a growth area in our relationship. Finally, problem solving skills can always be improved. I cannot believe Mark and I essentially picked the same ones though! haha* too funny!

I am sure that I will have more stories from marriage counseling! We have to go at least three more times! I'm super excited about it!

Pickles

So Mark and I have visited his family a lot since I have been home. The other night we went over to his Mom's house for a cookout. She had a jar of dill pickles out. Let me let you know how much I MISSED dill pickles this semester..... I ATE THE ENTIRE JAR!!! WHAT A FATTY!!! I didn't realize I ate the whole jar until I got down to the last few.. and realized I just needed to finish it off... Pretty impressive if I do say so myself! ;) We got to visit with Mark's brother, Tom, who was in town from Miami! He is going to med school down there! Must be rough.. ;) Tom's finace, Amber, was also in town! She is seven months preggo! And cute as can be!!! Yep, that's right! She is due around AUGUST 2!!! AGGGHH! Watch for the pregnant girl at my wedding! I already had A FEW discussions with her about what should happen should she go into labor during our vows.. Essentially I told her to keep quiet until after I walk down the aisle... haha* Seriuosly, Amber.... ;)

SIDENOTE

After reviewing all the pictures from my welcome home/graudation party I realized how many pictures I have with boys..... EXCEPT MY FIANCE!!!!!!! I don't have one pic of Mark and I ... Pretty standard... nice

Welcome Home/ Graduation Party

My parents had a Welcome Home/ Graduation Party for me on Saturday! I had a lot of fun seeing everyone and playing volleyball! I had a slideshow of my semester playing the whole night. I am not going to lie. It was really really hard to make that slideshow. I really miss everyone from Europe soooo much. It is really nice to see everyone here but the atmosphere is just completely different. I recognize that I just experienced four months of no responsibility and fun and travel. I know how lucky I am to have had that experience. I am so sad that it is over now, though. The slideshow was really nice and it was a great way to show everything I got to see while abroad and all the great friends that I made... I really appreciate everyone who came out to the party! I also want to make sure my parents know how much work I know it is to put on a party like that. Thanks so much for everything you do for me! I love you all! It was great to see you!

UHHG Rec Dinner

Even though I am unemployed, I consider myself an honorary employee of Union Hospital, Medical Records.. haha* So I joined my little sister and my mom to the UHHG Recognition Dinner on Friday night. It was a lot of fun and it was great to see everyone! Some things will never change there! There are still the same zany girls and guys! I got to see Jordan and David, two of my favorite Union Hospital boys! There was also a casino night theme after the dinner! I won big at Blackjack! Although I'm not exactly sure if I won anything??? Kayla, did I win???

My life... continued....

Sunday we visited Mark's Grandma and got to see some of his family. It was really nice....

Tuesday Mark, Kayla, Grandma Crowley, and I went to Evan's Orchestra performance at Otter Creek. It was ... I'm glad we went... I was also glad that I got to get a picture with Evan's EYES SHOWING! That is a pretty big accomplishment these days.. haha* He doesn't look too happy in the pic though... I was glad to be able to hang out with my little brother! ;) I missed him so much!

I'm alive.... barely

So I have bronchitis.... Boo... But that doesn't mean I can't update on what has happened the last week and a half since I have been in America... ;)

Mark and I finished the mini marathon in 2 hours and 12 minutes! Wow! That night (the 17th) we went out to the bars with some friends! It was really great to hang out with my friends! Of course I rocked my mini marathon medal the entire night! ;) We attempted to get some tequilla gold shots from the Copper Bar. They were garbage. The effort was there though.....

Sunday Mark and I went to church at Seelyville United Methodist. I was getting recognized for graduating college! It was really nice of the congregation to recognize me and I really appreciated it! ;) The pic is of me in front of the church sign after the service.... ((Like you would expect anything less......))