a year in the life..

Martin Luther once said,
“The first love is drunken. When the intoxication wears off, then comes the real marriage love."

I love this quote because it's so true. The first time I met Daniel I leaned over and asked Rachel Hartman, "who is that guy with the beautiful smile?!" She answered Daniel Pendergrass. And that was it. We met, we dated, we married. I remember being so taken with Daniel that I knew he was "the one" soon after our first date. We recently had a conversation about how quickly we said, "I love you" (a week into dating!). We were young and had never dated anyone else and we meant it. But looking back we have to smile at how little we really understood what love meant. It was in fact, just as Martin Luther stated, drunken love. You know what I mean..the "no you hang up first" "i love you more" "you are the air i breathe!" "you can do no wrong" kind of love. The real love comes when you can say, "no one else in the world annoys me more than you" "i forgive you" "WHO DID I MARRY!?" "You are crazy" I dont mean that you lose the sweetness of love, but somewhere in the mix you realize that this person has flaws and yet, despite them all you love them even more. It is no longer the drunken love, but a love that has depth and substance. and it's good. real good.

Daniel and I just had our first year of marriage. Despite all the horror stories we had heard about the first year of marriage, it was a FABULOUS year!! I learned so much about myself in the process and wanted to compile my top 10 things i learned in marriage:

1. I am selfish. Greg Pulling told Daniel and I that marriage will teach you how truly selfish you are. I thought it was a silly comment but boy was it true! There is no one who sees the real side of you like your spouse when you act like no one or nothing matters more than YOU. It is embarrassing and humbling and a daily reminder that the world does not revolve around you. Why is this such a hard lesson!?

2. A king size bed makes for a happy marriage. Let's be real here. Marriage is great, but when you are sleeping..you need room!! It is nothing like the movies where you fall asleep in each others arms. The reality is.."waking up in the middle of the night because your husbands hand is once again resting on your face." "Fighting over the sheets (why dont they make those things bigger?!) move your leg, give me back my pillow, get back to your side. All problems eliminated by a big bed. yesss.

3. Being married to your best friend in one of the greatest joys in life. There is something beautiful about sharing a life with someone who sees you at your best and worst and who laughs at your jokes, who loves you fiercely and tells you your cooking is good and you look hot even when you look like a hot MESS.

4. Jesus makes the marriage good. Without God marriage will always be missing the biggest piece. Because of Jesus you learn to serve each other because marriage isnt about you. You always forgive wrongs and offer each other grace upon grace because that is what Christ has offered us. This friends, is the key to not only a happy marriage, but life.

5. House projects teach you all you need to know about each other: Working on house projects (something we spent our entire first year doing) can really be a make or break. Thankfully for Daniel and I we learned how completely alike our work ethics, crazy ideas, and taste (i know, i NEVER thought we would like the same things) are!!

6. learn to love what they love: look, It is good and often necessary to have your own interests (we do), but there is something to say for learning to love what your spouse loves. For example VCU basketball. I used to resist Daniel at every turn whenever he wanted to go to games. I mean, look, im not really into the whole my husband gets so hype he throws me across the isle (yes this actually happened once) but i finally realized that my bad attitude wasn't keeping us from going to games. If you cant beat 'em, join 'em. Who would have ever thought we would have gotten to go to Houston for the final 4 (did i mention our hotel room was attached to a 3 story mall!?) So you see, everyone ends up happy!! GO RAMS!

7. Marriage is FUN: I cant remember EVER having fun like we did this year. Our Honeymoon was in St. Thomas, Virgin Islands. We went to California to see the Redwoods and San Francisco to ride a trolly and see the golden gate. We went to Houston for the final 4, We went to Cape Cod where i saw the plymouth rock and ate the best cupcakes in the world. and a million other fun things. Truly marriage was better than ANYONE told us!!

8. No one could appreciate their husband more. With all the travel Daniel has done this year (listed above are some of his work spots) I learned, I MEAN REALLY LEARNED to appreciate the time we spend together. Im so thankful for this lesson. May i never fail to appreciate the great blessing of my husband. He is a hard worker and despite it all always finds ways to love me when he is away.

9. Get a dog: this taught me how much my husband loves me. Not only did he get me a little dog, but one that wears heart sweaters and pink outfits! He takes her out when its cold or dark and wakes up early to feed her. He complains about it daily but its obvious they love each other. When he is out of town im so glad to have that stubborn, obstinate, sweet dog who loves to snuggle!

10. I'll end this post now and just give some pictures from our first year...enjoy!!

Personality Types continued...

So you might be thinking...did i miss the first post? No! Then what is the continued for?

A few weeks ago i read This Blog which aided in This Blog Which led me to write my blog.

Miranda's in particular made me laugh because i remember her convincing me and Kel to learn the "Ice Cream Feeze" dance and video it. Every time i watch that video i die laughing. People who don't know me must think i'm crazy. Come to think of it, those who do know think i'm crazy!

My Personality Type is:
ESTJ
Described as followed..

"Supervisors are highly social and community-minded, with many rising to positions of responsibility in their school, church, industry, or civic groups. Supervisors are generous with their time and energy, and very often belong to a variety of service clubs, lodges, and associations, supporting them through steady attendance, but also taking an outspoken leadership role."

..Maybe this is why i constantly feel the need to join yet another organization/club/ministy. Or why I am getting paid to work in a social service/counseling job. Also, this is why i was the only one who graduated with 4 years perfect attendance in my high school. and yes, i STILL think that is awesome.

"Above all else, they wish to do what they are supposed to do, and they rarely question the teacher's assignments, method of instruction, standards, or authority. And their industry and perseverance only become more important to them as they grow into adulthood and take on the responsibilities of job and family."

..This is mostly correct as i hate getting into trouble. I always think it would be fun to break rules, but always, always chicken out if there are real consequences. I often secretly question, but rarely verbalize it! Except to my parents who my sister can testify. But that's different,lol.

"Supervisors approach human relations along traditional lines. Marriage and parenthood are sacred to them, and they tend to have a large circle of friends, with many friendships faithfully maintained over the years. Social gatherings and ceremonies have great meaning for them, and they look forward to holiday parties, club dances, weddings, class reunions, awards banquets, and the like. In social situations, Supervisors are friendly and talk easily with others."

..conservative to the core!! hahaha. One of the most important things to be has always been maintaining friendships, i think it speaks to character to love someone through the good and bad..and speaks to the kinds of friends you have when they love YOU through the good and bad.

BUT HERE IS THE CRAZY PART. no matter how many times i take these test i always fall between ESTJ or ENFP..which couldn't be further apart!! Seeing as i work with people who have mental disorders, im certain I do not have multiple personalities..I asked my Prof in women's ministry about this (the class miranda also took, hey, don't knock it, the class was legit!) and my professor read this exert about how i was taking the test wrong because those two personalities cannot be combined...hahaha, so who knows. Anyway, as Miranda said,

""outgoing, social, disorganized, easily talked into doing silly things, spontaneous, wild and crazy, acts without thinking..." (via ENFP Jung Type Descriptions)

which would explain why i let my roommates put a piece of plywood on the roof of my car held up only by their tiny fingers handing out my car window...all while driving down the highway. (CAUTION: I DO NOT RECOMMEND THIS!!) Just to win the float contest at school.

come to think of it..Miranda was involved in that incident..maybe i just surround myself with ENFP's who convince me to do crazy things!!!! Or maybe it's just MIRANDA who convinces me to do crazy things!!! Miranda, i need you to move to Richmond!! I miss you and your antics! Like this..






Personalities remind me just how vast our Creator is! I am so thankful the Lord created us each so different.

So don't let the trend die!! What is YOUR personality type!?

Bucket List, trolleys, and the redwoods.

So typically when daniel takes me out to dinner, showers me with flowers, puts his adorable smile on, and follows it all up with, soooo i have some good news and some bad news"...it means one thing.

He's going out of town for work.

Which means-i will mope around the house for a sufficient time depending on how long he is gone until he finally gives me his, "lets enjoy the time we have now" speech, to which i will agree but not without a few more nose scrunches.

So you can only imagine my "mope state" when he let me know he was going to California for (what turned out to be) over a month!! About a week after Daniel broke the bad news he came home with his famous "i have something really good to tell you smile" i knew he was up to something. Daniel couldn't hold his surprise in and told me he was flying me out to Cali to visit him. As much as i hate him traveling on the rare occasion i do get come along and that i LOVE.
We planned our whirlwind tour for the few days i would come out there. This is where my bucket list comes in to play. You see part of the reason Daniel decided me to fly out to Cali was because it would knock off two of my things on my bucket list...see the famous redwood trees and ride a trolley in San Francisco.

So i took the red eye to Cali and met Daniel after he had already been there a week.
First things first: the Trolley ride:
So you see, as a teenager my all time favorite movie was Princess Diaries. i would come home on Friday afternoons put in my favorite movie and watch it..every single Friday. Ever since that movie i have wanted to visit San Fran and ride a real trolley.
So we got to San Fran which started off a little rocky when i realizes it was freezing and i had only a little sundress on. i froze! To top that off we had to wait in a little over an hour just to buy a ticket to get on...and listen to some guy sing terribly at the street corner. so we finally got on after multiple pep talks to myself that this was what i was here for and it would all be worth it. i pictured myself holding on the side hair blowing (you know just like the movies). well let me tell you..they pack those puppies like sardines!! I could see the pure misery on Daniel's face which turned into a slight grin when he (who knew all along) noticed how terrible i too thought it was. So maybe i often imagine things to be more fun than they really are (like the time we were in Houston and i really wanted to see the space center...b.o.r.i.n.g) Anyway i made Daniel snap this picture just so i could recount our "fun" ride.

Our trolley ride went one-way so we had to stop a clown (no really, the balloon making kind) to help us catch a cab. Which my husband did all with enough time to get back to our meter. Daniel paid the clown and he made me this "animal" we are not sure what it is...

Daniel really wanted to see the Golden Gate Bridge which as it turns out was much cooler than my trolley ride. We had such a fun day!


Since Daniel was only 4 hours away from Yosemite National Park we decided to wake up early and make our way to see one of the most beautiful places in the world!! i treasured the over 10 actual hours we ended up spending in the car. its one of my favorite things about my relationship with Daniel, he is so easy to talk to and makes me laugh so hard. Especially when we are apart i really miss the luxury of having the comfort of him next to me. The day ended up being all that i had hoped it would be. Daniel ended up having to drive another hour once we got in the park to make it to the redwoods but it was beautiful. i never knew how big Yosemite actually was and i would absolutely recommend going at least once in your lifetime..the scenery is breathtaking! We saw Waterfalls, huge redwoods, took a hike when i fell but recovered, slid down a hill and got my jeans caked in mud (much to my husbands laughs), drove a lot, and ended the day at a delicious restaurant.









We had such a good time and i am constantly reminded why i married Daniel. We just celebrated our 6 months of marriage, and i can honestly say marriage is even better than i thought! Daniel is truly my best friend. Not just because i have a great time around him, but because he loves me when my hair is crazy, and my attitude is bad, i burn the dinner, and an endless number of other flaws. I miss him so much when he is gone but it constantly helps me remember the genuine appreciation i have for the man he is.
So maybe the trolley ride was lame, and the whether was cold, and we spent half the time in the car. it was one of my favorite trips with Daniel of all time. just because, well, we got to be together.

-Leslie

the road to Houston

Well-it's been a while here!! I never have time to blog anymore and when i do i usually end up doing something else. So much has been going on and i could literally spend hours writing about all the exciting things that have happened ie: Linny came to visit, the constant remodeling of our home..not to worry i will dedicate an entire post about that as soon as we finish, Thomas and Lauren getting hitched, my crazy job, and the fabulous family picture Sara Tyer did!

But this post is about our recent trip to Houston.

It all started in March. Let me preface this post by saying that for the last couple years daniel has bought me roses in March as a concession to letting him watch all the basketball he wants. He would say it's because he loves me..which he does, but im no fool here. and hey, this girl loves roses! Anyway, i mean im not a huge sports fan but over the last 6 years i have learned to enjoy what Daniel loves. How does that saying go, "If you can't beat 'em, Join 'em." So that became my motto a few years ago after realizing no matter how much i didn't love sport we were still going to all the games, so i might as well get excited about it too. In effort to show my true love i even bought Daniel and i season tickets for VCU basketball this year as a wedding gift. i mean, if we are going to every game anyway we might as well have reserved seats! right!?
Who would have known after a less than exciting season that VCU would be in the Final 4. Daniel got the news that VCU made it in the tournament and that was the beginning of the most crazy month ever! It seemed like every single night there was a game and we had friends over. who ever thought it was a good idea to START games at 10pm? it felt like college again! (okay, okay, so we've only been out a year, but you get my drift!) All along Daniels parents had said if we made it to the final four they would get us tickets. (i mean, really, what were the odds of this) So imagine why face when crowded in our living room with Jake and Hannah , Matt and Sandy, and Rob and Liz...we beat Kansas to make it to the final four!!

Now. Let me pause here for all you non-sports fans. At this point i do really enjoy the game and especially the date nights i get out of it. But for those of you who tuned out to all the sports talk lets get down to business. Remember me saying i got us season tickets? Yea, well that proved to be a great idea. Being season ticket holders allowed us to purchase the package deals. LADIES. the hotel they put us up in was LITERALLY. attached to a 350 store mall!! like walk out your room to the elevator and boom..heaven!!! yea. it was awesome. did i say 350 stores? I mean seriously! the best of both worlds!! Daniel got all the sports he could take and me...SHOPPING!! plus the place was so swank and the mall had tons of fabulous restaurants. It was so fun!!! also-getting to see my in-laws wear bright yellow wigs and VCU jerseys was such a highlight!!! they were rocking the black and gold!!

So VCU lost to Butler but we still stayed for the yawnfest of a national championship game and overall one of my all time favorite memories with my husband. Seeing him so excited makes every bit of all the sports ive endured totally worth it! Thanks VCU for a great season, and a super fun mini-vaca for us!!