Our future home.

We're not planning on buying a house until a. we can afford one we want to live in for the rest of our lives, and b. we know if I'll be able to get a job in this area.
So this is me planning WAY ahead. Although, I always do that, right?

Through Pinterest, my future home is coming together. I'll be all set to decorate once we actually have a house!

Our bedroom:
I'm obsessed with yellow and gray together, which is strange because I'm not a big fan of yellow by itself. But when these two colors are together, it's just so beautiful!

Painting circles is easy enough, right?

 I really like the first bedspread. Simple, yet elegant. I also like the pictures above the bed. However, I like the yellow walls in the second picture. Basically our room will be the first picture, but with pale yellow walls (minus the chandelier).

The living room:

I LOVE the color of the walls. I picture lighter floors and dark brown couches/chairs, though, with throw pillows that accent the walls.  

The kitchen:

I can't really find much that I would want for my kitchen. I think I would have to actually see it first, but I really like this color scheme. I could definitely see my kitchen being these colors!

Back yard:

We WILL have this in our backyard. 

There will also be a grill and patio furniture. We love to eat outside when the weather is nice. 

Kids' rooms:

This will mostly depend on how old they are/what they are into at the time. I have a ton of neat ideas pinned, but I can't say that I would definitely use them. 

I did find one thing that I think I could incorporate no matter the theme or colors...

I would do one for Grace and one for Brentley. I think I might actually go ahead and do something like this... maybe as a Christmas gift or birthday present? 

Now, here's my random quirkiness coming through... I think it would be really neat to have quotes from books randomly placed throughout the house.

Like this...

Or this...

I showed this one to Brittany... I think it would fit in our bedroom. 

These are just a few. There are lots of others, but I plan on putting them in places where they fit with the room. And mostly only quotes that are meaningful.

And yes, I am taking over the decorating. Chris said he didn't care how we decorated our future house as long as he had a garage or "mancave" that he could do whatever he wanted to. I'm totally fine with that lol. 

Writing.

As I've mentioned once before, over the last few months, I've discovered that I like to write. It has become an outlet for stress and something I really enjoy.

This came as a shock to me because I've never enjoyed writing for school. I never considered English or Literature to be my favorite subjects. I've always considered myself to be better at Math and Science... concrete subjects with definite answers.

However, I discovered a tab on my student account that allowed me to view my ACT scores. I always remembered my composite score, but I didn't remember individual scores. I scored higher in both English and Reading than I did in Math and Science. My highest was in Reading with a 29.
I also noticed that I scored for Honors in English on my High School Graduation Test, which is the highest category you can score.

 I never realized that Math and Science weren't truly my best subjects. I never considered myself to be a bad writer. Heck, in high school, I won a make-over for Prom with an essay I submitted. And I also was awarded two scholarships that were both based off of  my academic standing and an essay.

Still, I never really enjoyed writing. Having never really tried to write anything for myself, I was always told what to write and how to write it. I realize now that this is what I hated. The limitations. Not being able to express everything I wanted.

I do remember one particular time where I enjoyed writing. In my tenth-grade Lit. class we got to choose either a person or a decade to write about for a research project. I was fascinated with the 1920's, so I chose to write about that decade. We were allowed to include pictures and weren't restricted to only a few pages. I loved writing for that project. In fact, my teacher kept it because she wanted to use it as an example for future classes. I wonder if she's still using it almost five years later?

I now realize that I enjoy writing if it's entirely my creation. I choose what to write about. I control the story. I decide when I want it to end.

It's amazing really, writing a story. It's like reading a book. I don't know what's going to happen next until it comes to me. Except, with this story, I will be completely satisfied with every last detail. Currently, the story I've written has 30 chapters and almost 82,000 words. And this is just the first book. I know there will be at least one more book, and possibly two more depending on where the story goes.

Now, I have no idea where this will take me. The couple of people who have read it have said they "genuinely enjoyed it" and that it was "just like reading a book bought from the store." Once I have 100% perfected it, I plan on sending it to a few agents and also submitting it to a writing contest that Amazon.com holds once a  year. I feel pretty confident that it is worthy of publishing, and I would absolutely love to see that happen. Although, if it never gets published, I would never regret writing it. I have gained so much from the process. I understand other stories better. I can pick up on underlying meanings. I can also somewhat understand what is going through the author's head.

It's amazing really. Also, the strangest thing happened the other night. I literally dreamt a part for the second book. I instantly wrote it down when I woke up. It;s as if the story is literally a part of me now. It progresses even in my sleep. Crazy.

Heartless.

There is a girl who I am friends with on Facebook (we'll call her H)... we went to high school together and were friends in high school. In addition to hanging out at the mall and such, we went to Gatlinburg together with three of our other friends when we were 16, and she was at Grace's baby shower.
We don't talk as much now, but we do keep in touch.

H was pregnant and on Mar. 15th they couldn't find a heartbeat. She delivered her precious angel on Mar. 16th. A tiny baby girl. My heart is literally breaking for her. I just can't imagine.
She posted a picture of her holding the baby and her boyfriend was next to her. I'm not going to lie... it was a very sad picture. The look on her face was one of total heartbreak. However, I completely understand why she posted that picture.

Then I get on Facebook today and see this status...

First off, let me say that I can see how some people might find the picture unsettling. However, I find this status much more unsettling than the picture! The status is completely heartless and judgmental! 

For one thing, I happen to know that the girl who posted this is NOT a mother, and to the best of my knowledge, she has never been pregnant. How can she say "NEVER under ANY circumstances" and "absolutely DISTURBING." She has never been in those circumstances, so how would she know??? 

Although, the thing that really got to me was, "Are you really that desperate for attention?" and "What the hell is wrong with some people?" 

I wish I was mean enough to ask her that very same question! 

If she would've posted something like, "I find it disturbing that people post pictures of their deceased babies," I wouldn't have agreed with her, but I would've scrolled right past it because that's just her opinion. No judgment. No callousness. 

However, given the status as it is, I couldn't scroll past it. I usually avoid Facebook drama, but I couldn't bite my tongue on this one... 

You get the idea of how I feel about this from my comments. I just love how it seems like she thinks she is speaking for everyone. And she is just so sure that the picture was posted for attention.

Also, I would like to make it clear that all that can be seen in the picture is the baby's head, and the baby looked NO DIFFERENT than a premature baby. I really don't see how anyone could see it as disturbing. And like I said, I completely understand why she posted it.

I am so very thankful to have two healthy babies, but I have no doubt that if I would've been in this heartbreaking situation, I would've posted a picture (if not more than one) as well. I would want to share my baby with the world, even if my baby was already gone. And I would like to believe that I could do that without someone making such a harsh status about it the DAY AFTER I lost my baby. Posting this status achieved nothing except making her look heartless in my eyes. 

Again, I'm not upset that she found it disturbing. I don't know why she did, but that's not what bothers me. It's the way she assumes that she knows what is going on in H's head. And that she seems to think she is speaking for everyone. What arrogant things to assume! 

Also, this may be breaking news to some, but you DO NOT have to post every single thing you think/feel to a Facebook status. 

I respect that it's her opinion, but I don't understand why she felt the need to post it. She had to know it would achieve nothing and possibly hurt someone. I just don't understand some people...

Also, if you pray, please say a prayer for H, her boyfriend, and their families. They really need it right now :(