Things we take for granted

So…. it’s been a while.

Things have been great since I’ve last written. The hubby and I are now doing Financial Peace University. We are working through our first prepared budget this month!!!!! Needless to say we will have to make some changes… kinda shorted ourselves some in the gas department… but overall, its been great!!!! It does help that I’ve had a few extra hours here and there! We are excited to see what God will do when we are debt free!!!! So far we have our baby emergency fund (before you freak out on me… I’m not talking about a BABY fund… for those of you unfamiliar with Dave, the first step is to have a "baby emergency fund" in place… meaning 1000 saved up for emergencies! We are not planning on the real baby for a few more years!). We are not on baby step 2, our debt snowball. This could take a while, but we are trying to get everything in debt paid off with exception of the house! Credit cards are closed and gone!!! Now its time to pay off the rest of the stuff!

This weekend was fun. My cousin got married yesterday, and although the weather was horrible, the wedding was still beautiful. I actually did the pictures. I, by no means, am a professional nor do I claim to be one when it comes to picture taking, but it was fun and I hope they turn out well! I will post some pictures later once I’ve had time to look through them! I did miss the vows though cause I was so focused on getting good shots. Wish I would have heard them cause the part I did catch was beautiful!

Now, on to my thought for today….

Last night as we were headed home from the beach, the hubby and I stopped to eat dinner at McDonalds with my mom and brother. As we were starting to eat my brother decided he needed some ranch dressing for his fries. Well mom told him if he wanted some to go up and ask for it… so he did… it was so cute. He walked up kinda scared and said "May I have some ranch dressing for my friends please?" And he was granted what he asked for. Well a little later he wanted some ice cream for dessert. Mom told him to go order and gave him 2 dollars and said to bring back the change. Well being the big sis and to make sure that the wasn’t picked on nor was he taken advantage of, I watched as this next scene unfolded….

Steven walks up to the counter, hands almost kinda shaking a little and asks the man behind the counter, "Could I get an ice cream cone please?" Well the guy rings him up and its $1.08. Steven looks at his hand and gives him one of the dollars he has. The guy is like ok its 1.08 so I just call out to Steven to say "Buddy, he needs both of the dollars cause the cost is bigger than just 1." So Steven gladly hands over the other dollar. The guy gives him a receipt and change and Steven stands there looking nervous as can be. He is wringing his hands the whole time. Finally he gets his ice cream cone.. says thank you… and comes back to the table.

By this time I am crying like a baby at our table and my mother and hubby are laughing at my reaction. It hit me as I watched him walk up to that counter that he was so nervous and innocent. We walk up, usually impatiently, and give our orders out then throw the money at them… not even having to take the time to think about the price. Heaven forbid something go wrong as we stand there because we have done this so many times we could do it with our eyes closed.

Seems like such a mundane task. But for someone like my brother, it was one of the biggest tasks of the night for him! And as I watched him, my heart broke…. here he is at 20 years old and he’s not confident walking up and giving an order to a stranger. He doesn’t know if they guy gave him the right price… or the right change for that matter… because in his world 2 quarters is more than a dollar because there are "more" of them. In his world, things like that don’t seem to matter all that much…

We take for granted all the things that we have the ability to do. As simple as it may be, we take for granted that we can walk up at a restaurant, read the menu, place our order, know if it’s the right price, count out the amount accurately, and hand it over. We take for granted that we can understand an intelligible conversation in the break room at work… We take for granted that we can understand how to play a game on playstation…. or even how to play a game at all. We take for granted that we can walk through the mall without any assistance…. better yet to even walk at all. We complain about all the things we HAVE to do, or DON’T get to do… yet we don’t take the time to appreciate all that we are ABLE to do.

The next time you walk up and place your order, really think about it. Don’t take things for granted. You never know when your life may change and you cannot do all the things you once could do before. Don’t wait until it’s too late…. start appreciating the little stuff today. And make sure to appreciate all the people in your life. The smallest baby can teach the biggest lessons, the disciplining mother can be your greatest encourager, the hurting family member can teach you about love and humility, the craziest friend could give you the best comfort in hard times, the loving spouse can be your greatest treasure here on earth, and the younger brother can open up the eyes of your heart… I know mine did for me.

Until next time…

P.S. If any of you are wondering about my brother, well, he has a heart of gold! He is 20 years old (where in the world did the time go), loves to talk to everyone he meets, extremely loving, loves to dance (got the pics to prove it), can be totally stubborn and at times, tends to get angry when he doesn’t get his way, smiles a lot, laughs a lot, and he is autistic. He has taught me so much in his 20 years on this earth and I am so lucky to have a brother like him. There are times when we get angry at each other, but which brother and sister don’t… all I know is that I love that boy and am so thankful God blessed our family with him. Its hard sometimes, easy at others…

I love you because...

So valentines day has come and gone. We are not that big on celebrating our love on just ONE day of the year, but we did get engaged on valentines two years ago... so its kinda special. We had talked about keeping it simple this year, being short on cash due to the recent spending fixing things around the house. We had talked about how we just wanted an enjoyable night together. No roses sent to work... no big extravagant plans... just us together enjoying each other.

Saturday night Garrett actually surprised me. He came home from work, and I was already sitting in bed. He walked in with one long stem red rose and a little box of chocolates. He told me that he knew we didn't have the money for anything big but he wanted to get me something to show he still loves me. It was the sweetest thing EVER! I actually cried... go figure! I am so amazed by the love he shows me. Even when I don't really seem to deserve it, he is so loving. I am so lucky to have him in my life!

Earlier that week, I decided that I was going to do a little something for Garrett. So many times I tell him I love him for so many reasons. Well I decided to make an "I love you because..." box filled with reasons why I love him. Some funny, some serious, some simple. I fixed the box up with pictures from our engagement album. I had some "pre-cut" stripes of paper ready, but decided to list few of the reasons why I love him on notebook paper first. It was such an enriching experience to sit and write out many of the reasons why I love Garrett. I found myself smiling as I wrote each reason. And I found myself falling more and more in love with him as the pen continued to write. I started writing the reasons on my little stripes of paper to realize I didn't have no where near enough for the list I made in my notebook. It ended up being 55 reasons.... the greatest thing.... it was just a FEW of the reasons why I love him. As valetines day approached I found that I could continue adding to the box. I know as the days go by and the years pass I will find more reasons why I love Garrett Amin Shariat-zadeh.... God has blessed me with such a wonderful man to call my husband. I am so thankful that he is mine... I am my beloveds, and he is mine!!!!

Granted... there are times when I think he will drive me crazy :) but I only have to glimpse at a few of those tiny stripes of paper to know that God has me right where He wants me!

I want to encourage each of you to try this... It doesn't have to be for a special occasion... just do it... make a list of the reasons why you love your spouse. You will be amazed by what God reveals to you! Just start writing and see where your heart takes you!

By the way... he loved the box :) But in all honesty.... I think I got more out of it than he did ;)

Until next time...

First time for everything

Well, I've decided to start a blog. Not sure how often I will post or who will read anything I write, but here it goes nothing!

I've been thinking about it for a while now and decided that this is the best way for friends and family to keep up with whats going on with the Shariats! From wedding day fun to challenging moments to new additions, this will be a journey of a lifetime! We are both learning what God has called us to be and we strive to live for Him. We may stumble along the way, but this is a journey that God has ordained and we look forward to everything He has in store for us!

For those of you who don't know much about us, we have known each other almost our entire lives. We never would have imagined that God would lead us to the moment when we made commitments before our family and friends to love and cherish each other for better or worse until death do us part! But it's amazing what God can do when you give Him complete control of your furture and dreams. It's actually better than I could have ever dreamed of on my own.

Throughout our younger years we hung out at church events and even during our years together in band. After I, Jenn, went away to college, we kinda drifted apart. It was in 2006 when Garrett was at UAB and I was working at Princeton after my graduation that we reconnected. We caught up with each other and visited a couple of churches together since we were both new to the birmingham area. After one of our visits we ended up going to eat at O'Charley's. It was at this time (unknown to myself) that Garrett started feeling something more for me than just friendship. After a few months, I ended up moving back to Bay Minette (our hometown) to help my mom and step-father with my brother. In the summer of 2007, Garrett came home for a few weeks and we ended up going out each weekend with a group of our friends from church, and everything kinda unfolded from there. We ended up talking more over aim and on the phone and realized that we both knew there was something more to us than just friendship. Over the months, I went to Birmingham to visit a few times, and he came home some as well. Ending up, he moved back to Bay Minette that following Spring.


We got engaged on February 14, 2008! We had mentioned the idea of getting married, but I was expecting a fall engagement at the earliest! I thought it was going to be just a fun valentine's day when Garrett showed up at my house with a bouquet of beautiful roses. I was definitely surprised because he's not really a flower person! I knew that we were going to eat at O'Charley's, so we headed there first. After that we stopped in for some yummy carmel apple cider from starbucks (it was kinda cold out) and headed for Bayfront in Daphne. After getting scared by swampy critters... we decided to head back to his house to "watch a movie." Upon arriving to his house, he asked if I was ready for my next surprise... As he opened the door there was this pathway of rose petals leading to his family's sunroom. In the sunroom, he had set up a "table for two" with rose petals and candles... it was amazing! His family even had the pool fountain going outside the windows! As he was seating me at the table he told me that this was only the second surprise of the night but that I had four... I was wondering what he had up his sleeve but convinced myself it was nothing too big.... he was just trying to give me a memorable valentine's night.

Come to find out, he made me this amazing cheesecake with a heart of strawberry glaze in the center... as we enjoyed our cheesecake we sipped on some sparkling white grape juice. Of course I had to have seconds! It was really really yummy! After I finished peice number 2, Garrett asked if I was ready for my third suprise. He went into the house and returned with a homemade card. On the card was a picture of him and me taken a month or so before. As I opened the card, I began to read 1 Corinthians 13...the love chapter... and a chapter that has become so dear to my heart as I have started on my journey with Garrett. On the right side of the card was a poem that he had written for me. It told of how much he loved me and how thankful he was for me... It was utterly amazing! I didnt realize that the end of the poem would hold so much meaning (I have to let you know that Garrett was probably dying inside at this point because I am a really really slow reader... haha) At the end, the poem read::

You thought that this was it
You thought that was the night
I have one more trick
You might really like

So just turn around, look back, hold out your hand
And won't you please make me the world's happiest man.

As I turned, I saw Garrett, down on one knee. He pulled the ring out of his pocket and told me that he had wanted to ask me this question since the day he had met me.... at this point I am crying like a baby and respond with "ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!?" (I was just a little shocked!) But of course I followed it up with a prompt "YES!!!" The ring fit too! He told me so before sliding it onto my finger! haha!

I never thought that my valentine's day would turn out like this, and I never thought a proposal could be so romantic. I am so thankful that God brought Garrett and I together!




We became Mr. and Mrs. Shariat on May 16, 2009! We got married at our home church, First Baptist Church in Bay Minette. We then went to the Bay Minette Civic Center for some food, fun, and ... you guessed it.. dancin!!! I do have to say it was one of the best days of my life! The whole event from batchelorette party to wedding rehearsal and dinner, to wedding, to the honeymoon was absolutely amazing!

We had a luau for our wedding rehearsal dinner! It was so much fun! We had the dinner over at Garrett's parents out by their pool! It was a blast!




The day of the wedding the girls and I all went to get our hair done together at Marilyn's Hair Fashions in Bay Minette. At least most of us went! After that we headed to the church to get our makeup done and get dressed for the big event!!!! I have to say I wasn't too nervous until I walked out of the bridal room and heard the music playing. I knew that Garrett was already waiting for me at the front of the church, and I couldn't wait to be at his side! I saw nothing but his amazing smile as I walked down the isle toward my beloved.



When we went to light the unity candle, we were so focused on each other that we forgot our cue to light the candle!!! The pastor had to repeat his line and a few in the audience giggled and cleared their throats before we realized we were supposed to be doing something! haha

Now we can focus on us!

"And I now pronouce you Mr. and Mrs. Garrett Shariat. You may kiss you bride!"......
ahhhhhh.... bliss!

The reception was amazing! We had regular dancin... iranian dancin... slow dancin... food... and tons of fun! If you want to see some pics of that check out my facebook page! There are tons!

We went on a cruise for our honeymoon. We left out of Miami (gorgeous) and went to Jamaica (A.MA.ZING), grand cayman (Beautiful) and belize (it was really breathtaking on the island we went to but I didn't like the feel of the beach so much... rocky then squishy!).... We had an amazing time!!!! So ready for our 1 yr cruise to relive some of the memories!

The first 9 months of marriage have been... well... not sure how to describe it in one word. I can tell you that we have had some amazing times together and some frustrating times too (but who doesn't when you are learning to be selfless and love someone else unconditionally). We have learned a little of what it means to become one flesh, and we have gotten a glimpse of the love our God has for us.

We have been through alot together during these first few months of marraige, but we have come out stronger because of it. I have seen God move in so many ways, showing us that we are right where He wants us to be.

He has taken something that two humans thought was great and is transforming it into something that is a beautiful and breathtaking.... and the great thing is... He isn't finished yet!

I am so excited to see where He is taking us on this journey with Him!

I have so much more to learn about being a godly wife and hopefully one day, a godly mother. I strive to be a proverbs 31 woman in a modern day setting. I guess this is one reason why I wanted to start this blog. I want to share with others what God is doing and continues to do in my heart as a woman... as a wife... as a daughter...as a friend.... as a nurse!

I also want to be able to share with others what God is doing with the Shariats as we continue on our journey of a lifetime!

Until next time...