The family begins

Growing up, I was never one of those girls that dreamed about her wedding day. I didn't sit and plan and fantasize about every detail. As I grew older and started dating and having serious relationships, I realized that I wanted a marriage more than I wanted a wedding. So, when Jordan and I were faced with the endeavour of planning a wedding in just over 3 months, all while traveling every week for work, I never felt too daunted by the task. Of course I wanted us to have wonderful day, a memorable time with family friends, and I wanted to look very pretty. But what I wanted more was the every day that would follow after we said "I Do."

Jordan and I were married on November 21st in Murray, KY. We were blessed to have all of our family and our close friends in attendance. My colors were black and white as I am always a fan of the simple, practical, and classy. I actually found my wedding dress in under 30 minuets. It was the fifth one I tried on and I was sold. Plus, it had pockets, which was a great perk since I always like to have my chap stick close by! The reception was held a block off the court square in a restored ballroom. I wanted a lot of candlelight and a chocolate fountain :). We had dinner, dessert, toasts, and Jordan and I shared our first dance as a married couple. It was a lovely night, and I always knew it would be.

We chose Cancun as our honeymoon destination. I love the beach. Again, I LOVE the beach! The resort was fabulous and all inclusive. We had a great time just laying outside, enjoying the sun and the water and the unlimited amount of pina coladas. After our first couple of days there, the bartenders would see Jordan coming up and immediately start pouring "one alcohol, one non-alcohol." Our trip to Cancun ended and we headed back to Kentucky, ready to start our life together and to enjoy the last few months of it being just "us."

Baby Shadow Reagan Smith was born March 29th. There are no words to describe the amount and intensity of emotions that followed after he arrived. I could sum them up by saying they were all some form of love, but I'm afraid that doesn't even do it justice. What a place to be in, emotionally and physically. It was wonderful and almost horrific at the same time. I remember feeling so relieved that I wasn't pregnant anymore, so happy to finally meet this tiny little person that had been growing inside of me. I was finally face to face with the human being that started to change everything for me, for Jordan, for us as couple, and still does today. The challenge had officially started. And not only the challenge of a new marriage and a new role as a wife, but the added challenge of being a new mother. Someone shared a quote with me,"Making the decision to have a child is momentous. It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body." - Elizabeth Stone

I never made the decision to have children, someone that knew me better than I knew myself made the decision for me. But that quote really hits home to what I'm trying to say. So, there you have it. The Smith family was finally complete.....for now.

Summer 2009

I'm inviting all of you to gag at any moment, but the Summer of 2009 will forever live in my memory as the summer when I fell in love with Jordan Smith. They say a picture is worth 1,000 words, so I will let them do most of the talking. Jordan and I were busy making plans, having adventures, going out on dates or choosing to stay in. It was perfect, and way too good to be true.

We would take several trips to KY lake

We took a trip to the Biltmore Estate in North Carolina......

and to Kansas, my homestate. We would visit my grandparents farm, Wichita, the Eisenhower Library....

and we made a stop at the Bob Dole institute for Politics.....

My favorite trip that summer was to New York City. (I could go on and on about how much I love New York, but maybe later.) I had never been and this was Jordan's third trip. We had an incredible time touring the city and I remember thinking this was "it". "It" as in something life changing. I had found the one I wanted to spend the rest of my life with, and it was scary. I figured it was too soon to really start sharing these feelings with him, but apparently this was Jordan's plan from he start. During our trip to New York we thought about other places we could go to and experience together. Places we wanted to live one day, things we wanted to do, jobs/careers we wanted to pursue, things we wanted to buy, etc, etc, etc!! We were very much in love and we felt unstoppable.

God must have been looking down on us laughing so hard, because he had other plans for Jordan and I. When the summer ended, He handed us challenge, a surprise. This little plan B would be a perfect wake up call to remind us that God is in charge of our lives, no matter what plans we make for ourselves.

It was like shooting a sitting duck

Dating a co-worker isn't easy. At least it wasn't for me, in the beginning anyway. But it would be one of the best decisions I had made. A Broadway production of Mamma Mia came to Paducah and Jordan asked me if I would be interested in going. I jumped on it because I love musicals, I did happen to be free that night, and Jordan was asking other co workers if they would like to join. Excellent, a group outing. But, it ended up being just myself and Jordan going to the show. A date in Jordan's eyes, a night out with a friend in mine.

Regardless of what I thought, it was a date from the start. We had a great time and as the night progressed my mind was going crazy analyzing mine and his every move, every word said, every look. After all, I am a girl. I wanted to let myself get swept up in my emotions and the moment, but I also wanted to think about things logically. The cynic in me would keep saying, "just a night out with a buddy, no worries." But deep down, I knew this was something more. Jordan and I had made a connection long before we went to see the show and frankly, it was only a matter of time until our friendship would evolve. As cliche as it sounds, we were meant for each other, and there wasn't any getting around it.

After the show I was dead set on going back to Murray and calling it a night, but Jordan had other plans. After a very convincing speech in a booth at a Steak and Shake, we started dating. This was hard for me because I wanted so badly to remain completely professional at work. Jordan and I always had a good working relationship and a great friendship. What if things don't work out? What if one of us gets hurt yet we still have to face the other at work? What if our bosses find out!! What if, What if, What if. I was freaking out. (Which seems so silly now). There were a lot of factors to consider. But as the days went on, I began to see that this was going to be completely worth it. This was wonderfully different and was definitely worth a try.

Eventually our office did find out (it's hard to keep stuff from them anyway! love you all.) and there was nothing left to hide. And I think most of them would tell you they knew all along.
And so I found myself dating my co-worker, something I never thought would happen. But oh how happy I am that it did! Many thanks to Mamma Mia and Steak and Shake!

And we begin...

How many times do we ask ourselves the question "Where do I start?" Julie Andrews answers it best in The Sound of Music. "Lets start at the beginning, a very good place to start." So when I thought about what I would write about to begin my blog, I immediately thought of Murray.
For those of you not from the Western Kentucky region, you will find Murray nestled nearly in the Western most part of the state. It's only about 20 minutes from the beautiful Land Between the Lakes region. It is here that I call home. Of course, I will always consider myself a Kansan at heart.
Murray is a welcoming community of about 16,000 people. A charming mini-metropolis of churches, restaurants, businesses, the most hospitable people you will ever meet, and home of Murray State University.
Murray State University is what brought me to Murray in the first place. I decided to attend Murray because it truly is the perfect balance between the big and the small. It was a small enough to make my education personal, and big enough to offer me numerous option to learn, get involved, and meet a lot people. Yet, it wasn't so big to where I was distracted from the main reason I was there, which was to graduate of course.


And graduate I did. I took 5 years (changing majors will do that) and wound up getting hired to work as an Admission Counselor in the Office of Recruitment. Wonderful! I would get to recruit for my Alma Mater and stay in a town that I had grown to love. Life was good! And it was here, in Murray KY, at Murray State, in the Office of Recruitment, that I began to get to know my co-workers. One I would get to know extremely well. Indeed, Murray would be very good place to start!