Merry Christmas!

Richard: At the beginning of this year Richard worked as a teaching assistant at the local elementary school in Harrisonburg. Richard helped 4th graders with special needs during their school day routines. The job was tough at times, but he really enjoyed learning with and from the students! Over the summer he was a busy bee – working 2 jobs. In August he found out that he was accepted into James Madison University’s Speech and Language Pathology program!

Sam: This year Sam was accepted in the James Madison University’s Nursing Program! She began in August a little nervous, but mostly excited! Although this semester was one of her hardest she did prevail and still amazingly wants to be a nurse ;). She made a lot of new friends through the program and is extremely grateful for her nursing family. Over the Summer Sam worked at a local group home for individuals with intellectual disabilities and gained a newfound love for that population of people. Because of her time at the group home, Sam is now interested in psychiatric nursing care. Sam looks forward to her 2nd semester as a nursing student and could not be more thrilled to learn about psychiatric nursing, women’s health, and the arts and science of nursing!

From our family to yours, may you all have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!

Love,

Sam & Richard

Below are some pictures from our adventures this year!

Sam’s first time in her SCRUBS!

Bromance – need I say more?

Featuring the gorgeous Scarlette Kerr

Let’s just say we love us some Kerr

Temple Trip!

Alexandria, Va – you blow me away with your beauty!

A puppy that was ALMOST mine…Darn apartment agreements

Ever want to eat a slice of pizza the size of your face? Go to Benny’s Pizza, you won’t be disappointed. 

Richard turns 25!! Look at that handsome man!

Sunflower Picking!

Kings Dominion was FUN!

We are officially hammock lovers! Want a good hammock for cheap? Go check out Bearbutt! 

Charlottesville vigil 

My Rosie Pose

At a concert we attended at the Staunton Music Festival! 

Halloween 2017

The Clinical Squad 

The Puppy Farm! – Easily the best $5 we’ve ever spent!

A random turkey statue we found on our way home after getting a flat tire on 81! YIKES.

Went hunting for the first time with mi padre. 

Mi Madre – Easter 2017

Decisions

Decisions. That’s what life is made up of. Each day we decided when to get out of bed, what we will be eating for breakfast, our plans for the day, who we will see, what we will be doing, and what will be our plans for tomorrow. But how do we make decisions for our future? As a christian God is deeply involved in my daily and lifelong decisions, but what if his opinion isn’t as clear as I wish it would be, then what?

It’s been a little over two years since Richard and I have been trying to conceive (TTC). That’s 48 months, 730 days, 104 weeks, and 17,520 hours of praying, crying, and hoping for a little “you.” Doctor appointments were made, treatments were done, and loads of money was spent, and still no baby. Due to the expenses of infertility treatments TTC medically was put to a halt, answer were put off, but the trying never stopped.

About a month ago I was accepted into the School of Nursing at James Madison University. To say that I was happy is an understatement of the joy that filled my heart. Along with the excitement came a mixture of emotions; Richard and I had been TTC for a long time and I had worked long and hard for over 3 years to finally begin my nursing education, but I had also wanted to be a mother so badly. So, how do you decide to put off a dream you’ve been so earnestly waiting for in hopes that it’ll come after you’ve finished your education? The answer is you don’t, at least not in that moment. My mind was and is flooded with questions: what if we stop trying for the next two years of nursing school, but we find out later that our chances for becoming pregnant closed during that time, or what if we hadn’t stopped trying and became pregnant during those years? Would I regret having the baby and not finishing my degree, or would I finish my degree, and enroll my child in a daycare and miss out on the first year of their life?

I still have yet to answer these questions, and I’ll be starting the program in the fall. Richard and I have prayed for answers, but have never really felt a pull in one direction compared to another, so how do you decide? I know Heavenly Father has a plan for my family and I know that he answers prayers because he’s answered mine before, but sometimes Heavenly Father’s answers come in pure silence. Now, what does that silence mean, I have no idea, but what I do know is that in due time that silence will flourish into meaningful answers, and in the meantime all I can do is wait at the crossroads.

 

Looking back: a month,20 years, and 220 more (ish)

I must apologize for the month-long silence. I had assumed we would be writing every week, but I’m sure you can sympathize with us in the experience of an initial burst of interest, followed swiftly by a slackening, and then neglect. But if you found yourself in such a situation, take encouragement from this: it feels good to start it back up again.

Over the last month, I read 1776, by David McCullough, and An Ordinary Man, by Paul Rusesabagina.

1776 is an amazing book on the year in which independence became the public goal of the revolution. Whether or not you are a history enthusiast, which I would not say that I am, there is value in reading this book. What I love in 1776 are the personal feelings, opinions, and experiences of people whose contemporary accounts give depth to the dates and names. The panorama I got from these people was that the fight that took place was a long fight, filled with a lot of failures, setbacks, and almost-nots. We take for granted what has already happened, and do not learn that they had troubles, serious troubles, fighting for their cause. Just as they had to make the independence of this nation their life’s work, our causes may ask of us our life’s work.

An Ordinary Man is an autobiographical work of Paul’s experience during the genocide in Rwanda, during which he helped save the lives of over 1200 people. However, it is not just a story about Paul, and not even just about Rwanda, but also about humanity and human nature. The final chapter, which contains Paul’s thoughts and convictions, is a powerful reflection on mankind and its ability. Throughout the book, he addresses questions of morality, God and religion, and human psychology. Even if I do not see everything as he does, I was deeply impressed by his sincerity in expressing those things he knew, and I could understand the world better because of his words. It would be wise to read this book expecting to have personal ideas challenged; whether or not Paul convinces you of his views, his voice has reason to be heard, especially as the world wrestles with unrest.

 

 

 

Remembering

We all have good things to remember. Today Sam and I remember beginning our relationship. 🙂 We had no-bake cookies,which is a type of tradition we have kept. Traditions like that help to remember things better.

When I ate no-bake cookies today, I thought of Sam and her laugh on that first date as we dropped cookies off at someone’s house and ran off in order to not get caught. That was the prettiest laugh I had heard, and it still has that effect on me when I hear it.

When I listened today to a playlist my parents made (yeah, that’s how we spend our date anniversaries!), I thought of the playlist we made together while cooking that included oldies and country+contemporary music (I have to say thanks to them for doing that). She is why I like country love songs. I never had a reason to before loving her.

Remembering is a key part of keeping those feelings we had once, and maintaining our relationship. I am grateful that Sam has kept those memories alive for me.When I think of these things I mentioned, and other ones, I remember how lucky I am to have had 2 years with Sam.

Let’s remember the good things. Let’s look for the good things.

Two Years of Courtship

Two years ago today, Richard and I finally decided to start to court each other. Richard and I first met in January of 2014 at our church. He had just gotten home from serving as a full-time missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in Londrina, Brazil. My first impression of him wasn’t anything special, I just saw him as another quiet RM (Return Missionary), little did I know that I was looking at my future eternal companion.

Our first interaction was at one of our ward’s FHE activities. As a group we were playing Mafia, and I was playing the role of a murderer, and my first victim was Richard. I remember  thinking, “Oh, I’ll ‘kill’ him. No one will suspect it because I don’t know him, and people have only been targeting those who they know.” Well, my plan didn’t work, and I was ratted out really quick, revealing that I had “murdered” my future husband. Richard and I didn’t speak that night, but there were glances made. 🙂

A few weeks later Richard found out that I had grown up in the same ward that he had as a child, and according to him, that was what sparked his interest in me. A couple days later I received a message from him via Facebook asking me out on a date to go bowling with him in our childhood town. This date took place at the beginning of March, and I guess you could say that this was our “first” date, but by no means was this the date that made us “us.”

This date started out with my sweet Richard, showing up about an hour late. He had gotten stuck in traffic, and felt horrible for arriving so late. Richard was the perfect gentleman, he opened my door, apologized for being late several times, and was just so sweet. The date went well, but once I arrived home I told myself that it wasn’t going to work out, because he was just too quiet. It’s amazing how your perspective of a person can change so much once you get to know them better.

Although I didn’t think that our relationship would escalate to anything more than friends, Heavenly Father definitely had a different plan for us. From March to July Heavenly Father continued to bring us together. Together we would attend institute, attend a wedding reception, and have several “hangouts.” With each interaction we had my heart would open up to him in increments.

Richard and I at a friend’s reception

In July, my eyes were opened. I can’t explain the feeling, but after a date filled with no-bake cookies, ding-dong-ditching, and childhood stories, I fell madly and deeply in love with Richard. It was like all of the experiences we had, had with each other built up and my  mind and heart could finally see how much I loved him. I remember coming home from the date and telling my mom that he was the man that I was going to marry.

Two years ago, on this day we went on a walk that would start our journey to forever. I am so grateful that Heavenly Father brought us together. I love my Richard. I can’t imagine my life without him. I look forward to the future we hold together, and for the opportunity to have each other for forever. Two years have never looked so good, here’s to many more dates!

Welcome and Hello!

Sam and I are very excited to be doing this blog. As she said, I am her best friend, a relationship that I am very proud of; her husband, a role I am grateful for; and I appoint myself the position of tasting review for whatever food is posted.

In addition to the recipes and cooking, we hope to include experiences we have, insights on life, and hopefully things of meaning. Sam loves pictures, and I do better with words, so there should be a good mixture of both. Luckily, I don’t believe that a picture is worth “typing” a thousand words, and so details won’t be that long. Even so, feel free to skip my words and enjoy the beauty that my wife captures from a lens and a sound perspective.

So, Welcome!

-Richard

Mrs. Glass

Hello fellow bloggers!

I am very excited to be apart of the blogging world. This is the first experience I have had with blogs, so bare with me. 🙂 My hope is that my writings will bring joy to my readers, and that the recipes I share will bring fullness to their bellies.

As a blogger I am known as Mrs. Glass, but as a person I am known as Sam, a Sam who enjoys Green Eggs and Ham. I have recently received my Associates degree in General Studies from Piedmont Virginia Community College, and will be transferring to James Madison University in the Fall, to pursue a Nursing degree. Go Dukes! I am happily married to my best friend, Richard, who will also be making occasional posts on the blog. Together we have one child, Rose, a Jack Russel/Beagle mix, and hope to one day greet a human child into this world.

I am really looking forward to reading my fellow bloggers posts, and entering the world of blogging!

“You don’t write because you want to say something, you write because you have something to say.”

– F. Scott Fitzgerald