Because of Winn-Dixie

It's no secret that I'm a bookworm. It's something that I'm quite proud of and I proclaim it often. I spent most of my life with a book in my hand and a few days ago, I started wondering how I first fell in love with reading.

My parents had always read to me but it was more than that. I wanted to figure out exactly when it happened. And then it hit me.

I was in the 3rd grade and my teacher, Ms. Flemming, read Because of Winn-Dixie by Kate DiCamillo to my class. From the second that she started reading, she had my undivided attention. She would read us a bit of the book every day and it turned into my favorite part of the day. I couldn't get enough of the story and when she finished the book, I was really sad.

So I took it upon my self to go to the library and check it out myself. I read it over and over again. I couldn't get enough. It was then that I knew what it was like to fall in love with a story. From there, I read everything that I could get my hands on and I still read with the same passion as I did back then. That's what reading is to me, a passion for storytelling.

Reading that book paved the way into my future. It changed me. It showed me just how much joy can come from words on a page and some imagination. I've wanted to be a novelist ever since.

So thank you Kate DiCamillo, for writing Because of Winn-Dixie and for inspiring me. I can only hope that one day, my stories will affect people the way that yours affected mine.

-Chelsea

Castle Tour

Kris and I haven't had very much time to explore our new home even though we've really wanted to. So at the last minute, we spontaneously decided to take the boat tour to a castle near our base. It was a gorgeous day outside and needless to say, it was a pretty amazing day.

I'm very glad that we decided to go and that we were able to explore a bit more of what our new home had to offer us! 

-Chelsea 

Father's Day 2014

Today is Father's Day, a day that we set aside to honor the men that raised us, whether it is our biological father, a step-father or another strong male presence in our lives. Personally speaking, I was raised by a pretty great dad.

My father has always been someone that I could depend on. He was always very involved with my life. He didn't just sit around on the sidelines and watch my mom do all of the work. It was a partnership. My dad just loved being a dad. From the second that I was born, he loved me with everything that he had and every day that passes by that love continues to grow.

The day that I was born. 

If you've been following my blogs for a while, you'll know that I have always felt a little different from everyone else. I didn't fit in where I was from and to be honest, those differences worried me a lot. I wondered if my family thought that I was different or weird. I wondered if those feelings changed how they thought of me. Despite my insecurities, my father loved me for the person that I was. One day, I brought my insecurities up to him and I wasn't sure what his response would be. He stayed silent for a moment, looked me in the eyes and said, "The day that you were born, I made you a promise. I said that I'd love you forever, no matter what. And I will."

Those words changed my life. In that moment, I realized that no matter what, at the end of the day, I had my family. And if I had their love and support, those differences and insecurities didn't matter.

But I also shared him and that didn't bother me. Growing up, I had friends that didn't have fathers for various reasons; they left, they died, etc. And my father was always there for them with his heart open and ready to listen to whatever problems they had. He gave them advice, helped guide them and helped turn them into the people that they are today. And I have to say, that's pretty special and it's something that I'm really proud of.

Helping Daddy blow out his candles.

I'm a very lucky person and I don't take my father for granted. But I also know that at the end of the day, that he's one of the people that I can depend on. A few weeks ago, I called him in the middle of the night, hysterically crying and said, "Daddy, I need help." He dropped everything and came to my rescue. And I bet you that he'd do it again if I needed him to. That's love. Even 1,400 miles away, he's still my hero.

There are not enough words in the dictionary to thank him for raising me, being my confidant and being my friend all of these years. Of course, there were times when I acted out and had to be punished accordingly. However, without his tough-but-fair attitude, I wouldn't be the thick-skinned and successful person that I am today. I appreciate every lesson that he taught me, even the hard ones.

So thank you, Daddy.

Thank you for loving your job as a daddy.
Thank you for teaching me how to ride a bike.

Thank you for taking me out to drive my Barbie sports car.
Thank you for taking me to all of those Miami Dolphin games.
Thank you for being my coach in every sport that I played.
Thank you for always being there when I needed you.
Thank you for all of those times that you came to my rescue.
Thank you for teaching me how to throw a perfect spiral.

Thank you for all of those wonderful memories of playing in the back yard.
Thank you for being my friend.
Thank you for all of the playgrounds that you built for me.
Thank you for supporting my dreams and always pushing me to be better.
Thank you for putting up with me during my bratty teenage years.
Thank you for all of the sacrifices that you made for Kelly and I.
Thank you for taking me to Disney World more times than I can count.

I could go on and on for days because you've been there for everything. Every major milestone in my life from my first word to my wedding day. So for now, I'll just say thanks for everything and I hope that even though we're not together for this Father's Day, that it's a great one.

Happy Daddy's Day! I love you!

-Chelsea

Differences

When I found out that my husband and I were moving, I realized that there were going to be a lot of differences between the 2 states. Kris and I grew up in Florida and suddenly, we were moving up north. I was actually scared that I'd hate living here because of the differences. But turns out, I love it here and all of the changes are a refreshing change of scenery.

      Differences: 

• We went from seeing palm trees to Christmas trees outside our house.
• Instead of beaches, we have lakes.
• 80 degrees is considered abnormal here.
• We need to purchase snow tires for the winter months.
• Our house came with a scraper to get ice off of our windshield.
• There are tons of potholes in the streets because of what the salt and ice did to the asphalt.
• Instead of flat land, we have hills everywhere. 

Those are just a few of the differences that I've noticed in the month that we've been here! And even though I do love all of these changes, I do miss home! 

-Chelsea 

A Week of Jax

Kris and I adopted Jax exactly one week ago and it's amazing how well he's integrated into our lives. And I thought that it would be fun to share what we've learned about him this past week.

• He loves to wake up at 5 a.m.
• He'll play fetch all day if you let him.
• He loves kids and other dogs.
• He isn't much of a lap dog because he can't sit still for very long.
• Squeaky toys are his favorite.
• He wants to go everywhere that Kris does.
• He absolutely loves being outside. 
• He has a huge appetite.

That's what we know so far and we can't wait to learn more about our precious little guy!

-Chelsea