Forever Newly Wedded {A Guest Post}

Friends! 

I asked my wonderful bloggy friend, Karla over at Forever Newly Wedded, to answer some questions so you could all get to know her! She even talks about how we are alike.. so I was thinking, we could ALL be friends! She's pretty awesome and has some really fun stories to share with you, so make sure you go show her some love!  

 1.    What are 5 things most people wouldn't know about you?

This is a hard one because I feel like I am an open book & I lay a lot of stuff out there for the world to see.

1. I'm full of opinions! I just choose to keep most of them to myself!  =)

2.  My childhood dream was to be a Radio City Rockette.  Okay, okay, it’s still a dream of mine even now.  =)

3.  I love cheesy stuff.  Not cheddar, or American cheese.  I’m talking, cheesy romantic kind of things.  Roses.  Dinner by candlelight.  Cheesy chick flicks.  I love it.

4.  Newtown, CT is my hometown.

5.  I have never flown on an airplane or been anywhere outside of the northeast corner of the United States.

 2.What are you most proud of in your life thus far?

I have a cheesy answer but, if you read #3 from above, I like cheesy.  With that said, I am most proud of my marriage.  Though I’ve always seen marriage as a gift, it can often be a challenge. I tell people that I like to think of my marriage as this big gold trophy that I shine and shine until it sparkles.  

 3.What is God doing in your life recently and how do you think you could use it to help others?

As you read in #4 up there, I am from Newtown, CT.  Since the shooting at Sandy Hook School where my Dad works, I have struggled more and more with anxiety.  There was a point during the days, weeks, and months following December 14^th that I thought I would have to stay locked in my house forever.  I found it difficult to leave the house.  I was having panic attacks everyday.  My anxiety went from fairly normal "once in a while" anxiety to severe every single day worrying and stressing and panicking. 

Then I looked to God.  I’ve always looked to Him.  I was raised in a church & married in a church.  God has always been there for me.  But after December 14^th, I was mad.  I was upset.  And though I wasn’t one of the unfortunate people who lost a loved one, I struggled for a while with my feelings about God.  I should have been feeling grateful & thankful & lucky that my Dad wasn’t killed.  He wasn’t even working at the school that day.  I should have been feeling happy that my cousin, who was across the hall from the shooting wasn’t hurt.  But I was frustrated with God. 

Currently, I am leaning on God to help me get through my issues with anxiety and it has worked tremendously.  I read scriptures, I talk to Him on a daily basis, and I pray everyday.  It helps me.  It helps me get out of bed on my bad days. 

Do I still struggle with my faith?  Yes.  I woke up the day after the Boston bombing thinking, “Can I get up today & put my faith in the Lord again?”  Then I think to myself, “What am I without my faith?”   Faith gets me through my day.  Every. Single. Day.

 4. How are you and I like each other?

Besides being some of the coolest newlyweds on the block, after I opened up about my anxiety on my blog, I found out that we are similar in many other ways.  Jess too, has struggled with anxiety at one point in her life, and she took the time to reach out to me when she commented on my post.  We emailed back and forth for a while afterward and she gave me advice & scriptures to read.  I am forever grateful to Jess for this, because although I know that I’m not alone and that tons of people struggle with anxiety, it was nice to hear Jess talk on a more personal level with me and share with me how she overcomes anxiety in her own life.  I truly feel that God used her to help me.  God works in really amazing ways.

5. What is the hardest thing about being a nanny?

Honestly, not much.  I have one of the best jobs in the world.  I get to basically act like a stay at home Mom, and makeup is optional.  =D

All jokes aside, the toughest thing is probably the long hours.  Sure, I get a nice break when the kiddos are napping, but I have to get up wicked early because it’s a long drive to their house, and it’s a long drive home after a long day.  I guess what I’m trying to say is that it’s not a 9-5 job.  I put in about 50+ hours a week.  It’s tiring!

6.Being a newlywed, and writing a lot about marriage on your blog, what advice would you give your (future) daughter on her wedding day?

This is an excellent question.  My answer would be, to “live it up”.  The wedding day is approximately 2 minutes long… and the first year of marriage flies by almost as fast.  Take it all in.  Document it.  Heck—try to blog about it.  If you are anything like me…make sure that you write down everything so that you will remember everything.  These next few years will be the best years of your life.  Live it up.