Buffalo Bills Salute to Service

Today I just wanted to take a moment to brag on what Jacob did yesterday! He went to the Buffalo Bills game where they hosted the Salute to Service and he got to hold the 100 yd American Flag! SO COOL! In the picture below he was one the long side of the flag towards the left standing near the referee.

Unfortunately, the flag ripped at the end of the National Anthem :( Luckily though it was on the opposite side of the field so Jake can't be blamed for that one... Here's an article about that!

Here is a link to a video about all of the Salute to Service festivities :)

http://fansided.com/2013/11/17/100-yard-american-flag-rips-before-jets-bills-game-photo/
http://www.buffalobills.com/video/videos/Bills-host-Salute-to-Service-game/3f35986d-4a94-403e-8975-10b49204cd8d

Memories

I was thinking today that I wanted to start writing down some of my memories with Jake before I actually write about all of them. Here is also a little word cloud I made of our memories and below is the long list!

 

So, here it goes:
The Loft Youth Group Retreat
The rides to school
The dates to the movies
Our second first kiss
Junior Prom
The night he asked me to be his
The day he told me I was so caring
The trip to the beach - Ocean City, NJ
The night he told me he loved me for the first time
Football games
Wrestling matches
Track and field meets
Senior trip and the first "promise ring"
Senior Prom
Senior week in Ocean City, NJ
Sunset the night before we left for college
Saying goodbye the day we left for college
First college visits to each others' schools
Walks and swinging in the snow at Lake Ontario Park in Rochester
Baseball games - Phillies and IronPigs
The night he promised he would never leave me
Christmas Eve when he gave me my real promise ring
First time meeting the extended family in Pittsburgh
ROTC Dining Out Ceremonies
Walks at Tanglewood
New York City trips
Taking him to the airport for Airborne school
Long, hard talks during Airborne
Picking him up from the airport after Airborne school
Moving him into his new house

Engagement ring shopping (!!!! :D)
Breaks from school
Ranger Challenge
............

 There are so many more, I could probably go on for hours. I wanted to give myself time to brainstorm before I actually started writing about all these memories that are so precious to me.

~CMS

JACOB

Now that I've introduced myself, I want to introduce my MAN!! 

JACOB: Quite honestly, one of the biggest goofballs I've ever met, but with the absolute biggest, caring heart, a love for helping people, a love for his family and friends, a committment to serve people, a love of sports (of course), a desire to work hard and succeed, and a love for ME ( :D )!

Here's a recent silly photo of us (one of many):

Living around the block from me, I've known him most of my life. In the past, he was just the silly boy around the corner who went to my church and helped my dad around the house when he needed it. 

Rewinding alll the way back to 7th grade, in 2006, we "dated". a.k.a. we were friends, hung out, his family came over to swim in our pool, and we went on a date to the movies with two of our closest friends, Lauren and Dylan, where we had a sloppy try at a first kiss (MY FIRST "REAL" KISS that wasn't just a peck ;) ) hiding behind the seats in the movie theatre with his parents and a friends' parents a few rows behind us. 

(And from a few years later...here's a picture of Jake, Me, Lauren, and Dylan at the beach in 2010 for my 17th birthday.)

After that middle school summer, we ended our little fling of a relationship. He stayed mostly single, a few dates here and there, while I wasted no time trying out other relationships, probably not one of my best ideas as some of those experiences I would rather just forget. One of them though, his name was Adam, told me something when we broke up that I have always remembered. He told me when I thought I found the right guy, to give him my heart because I would make him the happiest guy in the world. I have never forgotten that, and now that I think I found him, I've done just that. You could ask him, but I hope that I have made him the happiest guy in the world, I think I have.

Fast forwarding a few years:

One day when he was moving furniture into my dad's new office I remember thinking, "Hmmm...Jake's not that bad. Kind of cute. I could see myeslf with him. He'd be a great boyrfriend" We put the on the office addition in the summer of 2008 and I may have had another boyfriend at the time, but I don't remember very clearly. Either way, at the time, this thought was just a thought and nothing more. 

Again, fast forwarding a couple of years and, little did I know, I'd be falling hard for that very same guy. But that is for another post :)

Sorry to leave you hanging!

~CMS

Me

Last night, after a conversation with my wonderful boyfriend about our memories and how far we've come, I decided I wanted to start a blog to keep track of the precious moments in my life. Sure, I guess Facebook is good for that for some people, but I'd rather use a blog. I feel it is more of a personal diary whereas Facebook is "Hey, look what I did!" But that's just me. I'm hoping this blog will also be a way for me to track my growth as a Christian, verses, stories, or pictures I find that strike me that I want to be able to look back on later.

I'm 20 years old, a Christinan, a college student, a big sister to two, a daughter to two of the greatest, most caring parents (even though I'm sure they would argue otherwise...but we all make mistakes :) ), a hard-worker, a loving girlfriend (most of the time, I hope) to the best man I could ever have asked God to bless me with, a reader, a writer now I guess?, and hopefully someday soon, a teacher.

I invite you to follow my blog, about my life, told by me: of love, Christ, and growing up.

~CMS