Tonight's the night....

Tonight is my last night at home in my own bed! My dad and I will be leaving in about 24 hours from now to move me to the keys (which is around 2 am on Saturday, after the new year!) I am feeling pretty excited, yet also very sad, and very....weird. I'm not sure what it is. I think it may be nerves, but I'm not sure what I am nervous about. It is a very odd feeling to know that you are moving 14 hours away, for an unlimited time. Everytime I have gone somewhere I have had a date that I was coming back home. Even when it was 4 months away, I still knew I was coming back home. I don't have that this time and I think that is what is making me feel so uneasy. But, I have had a wonderful Christmas and time to spend with the people I love the most!

Tyler and I were able to spend Christmas together this year which was a first (yes, after 6 years of dating, we still have some "firsts".) On Christmas Eve, I went over to his Grandma's house where we got to eat great food such as fun buns, sausage balls, "orange dip", meatballs, and lots of other yummy foods. We then continued with the night by playing Chinese Christmas. I had number 5, out of 17...so low and behold, I ended up with a Kangaroo Keeper! It's an "AS SEEN ON TV" item. The best part of the night was getting to spend time with Tyler's family. I don't get to seem them very much because I am always gone and can't come to family gatherings, so it was great to see everyone and tell them all about my upcoming adventures!

On Christmas Day, my family and Tyler all went to Danville for the night! It snowed about 6-7 inches that day! I really do think God is doing all this to me on purpose. He's giving me the most cold weather He could before I move to Florida! We really had a great time with my family and showing Tyler all the fun family traditions. Even though it was the year for change, and no year will be like the ones in the past, they will all have their own oddities, and crazy stories that we will laugh about for many years to come :)

This break has also been full of other exciting adventures, such as, getting an awesome cat named "Bear" who is going to be my best friend in the keys, getting my eyebrowls waxed at my favorite place, running on the treadmill in my house, getting to see T and Kelsey and love on them as much as possible, finalizing some wedding plans, packing, unpacking, repacking, hanging out with my wonderful fiance, and family, getting to see friends I haven't seen in years, having a wedding shower, getting amazing Christmas presents that I can't wait to use.....and you know, you get the point! This break has been packed full with my favorite things. I am about to step into this new stage of life, but that doesn't mean I will forget about the previous stages! I talked to Laurie Little on the phone today and she told me "Just go down there, and live your dream!" This is my dream, and I am going after it 100%! If you want something, you have to go get it! So I guess the next time I'll write something, I'll be in my new home!!!

This is Bear, in his typical position

Please pray for mine and my dad's and Bear's safety driving down there. Also, please pray for my mom and Drew for they can't come with us and I know it will be a rough day for them :) Also, I have pictures from Christmas but I can't find them right now. I will try to locate them and put them on here.

Friends and Family

Today is Monday, December 13, 2010 and it was one heck of a day! First, I had to wake up at the crack the dawn to take my genetics exam! After my exam was over, I met the three most important girls in life at Bruggers (which thanks to them, I now know I like bagels...) for our last meal all together in Raleigh. It was a blast, of course, but it was really sad and depressing. We all did great through breakfast, having normal conversations, but it all hit us once we got back into the apartment and I started packing up the last of my stuff. We ended up all four squeezing onto one couch and balling our eyes out and then cracking up, and then crying again, and then laughing. It is just going to be so hard not to have each other so close. When I first came to NC State, I prayed so hard for a community and for great girls who would become life long friends. God blessed me beyond my understanding when he brought Kara Forester, Amy Dowker, and Meredith Ellis into my life. They have been there for me through every up and down for the past 3 and half years. I truly feel like they are my family and when I am not with them, I miss them like I would miss my own family. Thats why it was so hard to say goodbye today to the place that has been my home, our home, for the past 2 years. We have so many great memories in that little apartment, it just makes me smile thinking about it. So, to try and dry up the tears, we decided to have a dance party until I had to leave! We danced for a good 30 min., including about 10 min. of all 4 of us standing infront of the mirror trying to shake our hips better, saying "like this?" "am I doing it right?" "ohhh watch this!!" After the dancing was over, they all walked me to my car and we all prayed over each other and of course, started crying again! And then, I was off. On my last trip home from Raleigh!

But, once I got home I felt much better about everything and not so sad! I got a nice warm welcome by my mom, dad, and brother...and these guys :) It was also SO wonderful to see Tyler and get to spend time with him tonight! Then, my family and I all went to pick out our Christmas tree tonight! We ended up getting it half off! Here we go, on our way home :)

What we didn't realize was that the tree was about...oh say...11 feet tall. ANDD the ceilings in our house are...oh say...9 feet tall! This made for an interesting night getting the tree to fit inside the house! But low and behold, we did it!! A little smashed at the top, but so BEAUTIFUL! This is why I love this time of year :) Such great times and memories that I will never forget!

I guess they always say when one door closes, another one opens. I feel like I am at a major point in my life right now, where one chapter is closing, but another great one is about to begin! I am so excited for what the future holds and I cannot wait to see what God has been up to! And like Meredith said earlier today, "We don't have to have a house to continue to be a family."

Marie is blogging?

So, for a while my friends and family have been telling me I need to start a blog for when I move to Florida. I have never blogged before and to be honest, I don't really ever read other people's blogs, but I decided to give it a shot because I am moving and I want a way to let everyone know how I am doing. Plus, it does seem like it could be a lot of fun! So for everyone who doesn't know already, I am moving out of my apartment here in Raleigh on Monday December 13, and then moving down to Marathon, FL on January 1. If you've never been to the keys, I HIGHLY recommend coming to visit me! :) But, until you can make it down, here is a little glmipse of my future home sweet home... .

But until I can make it down there...there is a lot that must be done (including packing up my room and moving out of my sweet little apartment). My parents came up a couple of days ago to pack everything up. Now my room looks like a jail cell!

But thats not even the worst part. The worst part of this whole process is leaving my 3 best friends who I have lived with now for 3 years! They mean the world to me and I am so sad to leave them. Looks like lots of skype dates and phone calls are heading our way!

The rest of this week consists of studying, studying, and oh yea, more studying! I only have 2 exams this semester, one of them is on Friday, and the other is on Monday. Good luck to everyone else with exams and happy studying!! :)