New Blog!

To anyone that still reads this, I am starting a new blog! I can now be found at www.theseiters.blogspot.com

Come read about our adventures in Beantown!

The wedding is over and farewell to Branen

I have been married now for 2.5 weeks and it has been a wonderful and surprisingly easy transition. I do not feel old enough or mature enough to be a wife, it almost feels as if I am just playing house. However, it has been fun. The wedding was perfect! I have since heard of a few glitches, disasters barely averted, and some slight dancefloor mishaps, but they all make great stories and I laugh at how it seems some people experienced an entirely different reception than I did! None of these things were a big deal, just a 5 year old boy heading towards the grooms' cake with a fork ready to dig in, and an accidental three stooges skit involving a woman slipping on the dancefloor, falling against a table, and three beers spilling on her head! Sometimes I wish I had seen some of this stuff!!! The few days prior to the wedding were absolutely wonderful (minus the occasional stress and last minute planning). Most of my bridesmaids were from out of town and it was a blast having them all together for the bachelorette party and the bridesmaids luncheon! I can't imagine a better group of girls to have as best friends and I cherish them all, and am sad to say that we may not ever all be in the same place at the same time. The ceremony was perfect, complete with laughter and a few tears. It was a joyous occasion, and I feel honored and humbled that so many people were there from all over the country and state to support Matt and I and witness our vows. We had a blast at the reception!!! I'm sure every bride and groom and say this, but it was honestly the most fun reception I have ever been to! People danced and danced and no one wanted the party to end! I had a chance to speak to almost everyone who was there, and only wish there had been more time for quality conversation. We left Sunday morning to head to Costa Rica for the honeymoon, and had an absolute blast! What a perfect way to start a marriage! In a foreign country, not a care in the world, and the opportunity to truly just enjoy eachother. We had lots of fun adventures too!! We went on a canopy zipline tour of the rainforest, a boat ride to Isla de Tortuga for snorkeling, a horseback ride 1.5 hours down the beach to a waterfall, a 2 hour hike through a nature reserve to a secluded beach where we got stung by jelly fish, and time just lounging at the beach or swimming in the tide pool. We saw monkeys, iguanas, crabs, and lizards, and they even have some funky species of the squirrel. It was bittersweet coming home, and felt strange that everyone who was at our wedding would be gone from Atlanta and back at their homes. We were excited to open presents and begin the real world though!

Now the craziness is all over and we are starting to settle in. I'm going to get my name changed tomorrow morning, and will officially no longer be a Branen. I will become a Seiter. It's strange and will definitely take some getting used to, but I'm excited to take my husband's name! My blogs may become sporadic and I might even change blog addresses to fit my new stage of life, but for anyone who still reads this, thanks for hanging with me!

The Wedding Season

Back around New Years a dear friend of mine and I had to work through and resolve a small issue, and in the midst of it she said something along the lines of "I feel bad because this is your wedding season and everything is supposed to be perfect." I have been thinking about this from time to time, and throughout this period of engagement emotions have been running high. I'm happier than I have ever imagined being, but I have also cried more than I ever imagined I would. This isn't a bad thing, but it's new and something I have never experienced before. No one writes a handbook on planning a wedding and learning that you will have learn new and better ways to communicate with your mom, your fiance, his family, your family, and even the friends in your everyday life. It is a time of immense joy and anticipation, where stresses are real and relationships are still littered with sin. And eventhough I may be preparing to wear a white dress and be the "picture" that Christ makes in the Bible of the Church, I am not perfect. I do not always do or say the right thing at the right time. This is my "wedding season" and it is busy and wonderful and imperfect. Life around me hasn't stopped because my new life with Matt is about to begin. Relationships haven't become instantly flawless, however, God is good and everyday He brings me closer to Him and into a further understanding of my need of Him. He is the reason that planning a beautiful wedding is important, He will have the glory on the day I say "I do", and I think I need to keep that in perspective. Although on that day Matt and I will be the center of attention, I pray that Our Father in heaven is the center of our attention, and I pray that everyone present will see Him in us and the power He has in our lives.

An update

I'm not sure who really reads this, but to those of you out there, I'm sorry it has been so long! I tend to blog while at work on a slow day, but work put up a new internet security system that blocks most websites that would be conducive to wasting time! So blogging at work has ceased, and it's just hard to find the time at home!

Life has been very busy since August and got even busier just over a month ago when Matt proposed!!! He proposed on October 19th while perched up in a Magnolia Tree! We are working on a webpage where the full story will be posted!!! We are getting married in June and I cannot wait to become Mrs. Seiter!! So now my life consists of planning a wedding, and it is very busy!!!
Tricia Wilson wanted me to post a picture of my ring, so here it is!!! It is beautiful and just what I wanted!!!!

My Summer.....

is nearing an end. It's funny how even when you are in the working world, you desire to have a summer break, and you live as though you are on vacation everyday you aren't working. Atleast that is how it is for me. My summers in the "working world" are by far more exhausting than my summers were while I was in school. It's like I am so bummed to not have a real 2 month break, that I want to make the most of every spare moment I have. This lends me to late nights, weekend trips, little sleep, and still working 40 hours a week. Needless to say, I am tired, and it just doesn't seem like the busyness will ever end. Oh well, this is an update.

July 14th was one year ago to the date that I met Matt. It amazes me how well you can get to know someone in one year. The year has gone by so fast and has been wonderful, and at the same time, I feel like I have known him forever. It was fun to reach this milestone in our relationship!

On July 21st, I packed up my bags and headed to camp for a week! I volunteered at Camp Horizon for a week. This is a camp for children who have been abused or neglected. Most are in DFACS custody. I spent a week with a 10 year old girl. We rode bikes, horses, played tennis, swam, ran around, and did a variety of other things. This week at camp was extremely challenging, yet extremely rewarding. I grew and learned so much about myself. I learned that my temper is short and that I am not near as patient as I often boast to be (or as others tell me I am). I learned that loving does not mean being loved in return. I learned how to laugh at myself, and that I care too much about the opinion of a 10 year old. I saw and felt first hand a small fraction of what Christ feels everytime I disobey him, reject his love, push him away, and look to other things and other people for joy and comfort. At the end of the week, I did not leave feeling that the pain was worth it, or that in the end I won over the love of this little girl. But looking back over it and thinking about the week. I know without a doubt that that little girl knows I love her and accept her. She knows that no matter how many times she pushed me away or upset me or even made me cry, that I was and am still interested in her life. And I think maybe I was there to show her that, and to pray that God used me to show her His love eventhough I couldn't boldly declare it. And that I was also there to learn about me, and to learn about my relationship with Christ. I hope to continue my involvement with Camp Horizon as I am able, and I hope I see my little 10 year old again.

I have been up to Asheville to see my sister, they have been down here as well. I have been to the lake, and to Nashville, and to Athens. And I am so excited to not go anywhere this weekend. To finally have a weekend to rest.

And on another note, I started two weeks ago today in the NICU!!!! It has been slow start but I am seeing things begin to come together, and it is great to be working during the week and not on weekends!!!

Here are some pictures from St. Augustine

This one is Matt and his shark. It looks like a baby Hammerhead, but really it's full grown. I am not sure what it's actual name is but the locals call it a Dog Fish. I just wikipedia (ed) dog fish and it says that this is common name for several species of small sharks. He had really nasty teeth and was NOT happy about being caught, we let him go, and Matt even was able to keep his bait!

These next two pictures are my adorable nieces on the beach. They loved the sand and water so much!!!! It was a blast watching them learn and explore their new environment! In the top picture, Caroline is laughing in the background, Abby is in the front. I can't really tell on the bottom picture, but I think Caroline is on the left and Abby is on the right.

This is Matt and I on the beautiful St. Augustine beach. You can see the white beaches and the Atlantic Ocean in the back.

This is a picture I took from the top of the lighthouse. It over looks a peninsula and part of the bay. Just over the peninsula you can see the ocean.

Update and New Job

Yes, you all read correctly, after months and months of waiting and let downs, I finally have a new position at Children's Healthcare of Atlanta! On July 30, I will begin at the very first Child Life Specialist for the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). I got the news while i was at the beach and all was made official this week with sending in my resignation from the Emergency Dept. Because of already approved travel, my last weekend day working will be July 8th!!! WOOOHOOO!!! Finally I will have my weekend nights free. There may be an occasional Saturday that I come in to work with siblings, but this will not be on a regular basis and will only be for an hour or two. I am very excited about this job, apprehensive about the challenges it will bring, but I honestly can't wait to begin this next step in my career!

Now for the life update. All of my trips were great, and the highlight of this past month was visiting family in St. Augustine. Matt and I had a great time, and it was so good to have him meet my extended family and for him to see a city that is dearer to my heart than even Athens. We hung out on the beach with my nieces, went to my favorite seafood restaurant, cooked out at my Uncle's house, walked through Castillo de San Marco (a.k.a. "the fort"), climbed the 219 steps to the lighthouse, and even did a little fishing with my cousin where Matt caught a little shark that resembles a hammerhead! If I remember, I'll post pictures tomorrow.

I've been thinking a lot lately about how small I think God is, and how big I think others are. I care more about the approval of others than I do about who I am in Jesus. I get my feelings hurt unnecessarily, and become self conscious when I am not doing what the "crowd" is doing. I strive off of others compliments, and my mood will completely change when I hear about how great someone thinks I am.....yet when I am reminded of the Truth of the Gospel and WHO I am called to be and WHO loved me enough to die and face separation from His Father, it doesn't even phase me one bit. I need to be reminded everyday that my hope and my worth has NOTHING to do with what others think of me, and everything to do with what He has done for me and what I cannot do for myself.

On yet another note, I visited Camp Westminster last night for the Friday night bonfire. It was so good to be out there and see the kids and hear their simple, yet profound words about the Gospel. It was great to see the next generation of counselors, kids that I had as campers, out there as counselors loving on kids as I did so many years ago. It made me miss it though. It made me wish that I hadn't grown up so fast. I wish I could still be out there, that I could still be part of the day to day ministry of those 122 acres in the middle of Conyers, GA.