Lean Not On Your Own Understanding...

As many of you know, my uncle Bruce passed away last Thursday morning. I have spent the weekend trying to console my family members while also mourning myself. I know the Lord has a plan and a purpose for everything but it has been rough for us all to even attempt to understand. I have faith, though, that we are in His hands through and through.

Bruce was an incredible man. He was my dad's accident-proned, spoiled-rotten baby brother. He was opinionated and sarcastic and never failed to make us laugh. He was my "Unkie Boo Boo" who used to make us sit at the table for what seemed like hours if we forgot to ask "May I be excused."
A quote that my mom wrote on his facebook says it all, "In the end, a person is only known by the impact he or she has had on others." Being at the funeral proved this to be true... He touched so many lives in one way or another and when the funeral began, all that was left was standing room. Amazing.

The greatest impact he had on my life was that he showed me that it's never too late to start over. You see, my uncle wasn't even near perfect, but he'd be the first to tell you so. He was the epitome of learning from your mistakes and it was always a breath of fresh air to hear him talk about it.
One of his high school teacher's quoted something Bruce had just said to him days before, "Failure in my life has taught me to help my children to succeed in theirs. Amazing some have to grow older to learn such things. Guess I just wanted to brag a little to someone about my kids and you came to mind. I know you understand how this makes me feel. Proud!!! I wonder if our kids ever really know."

Bruce, with all his faults, unconditionally loved his family... Especially his wife and 5 kids. They were blessed to have him for the time they did.


Please continue to keep my family in your prayers. We are taking it one day at a time.

You'll Be The First to Know

Just last week, I had four different women ask me, "So when are YOU going to get married, Ally?" My answer is always a sarcastic "When I find out, you'll be the first to know."

Now I have always prided myself in being the girl that was completely okay with not knowing the answer to that question. Heck, I'm thankful that I never seriously saw myself married until now... Lord knows I'd be divorced at least once if I had married any of my high school or college boyfriends. NO THANK YOU.

So, what is it about the past few months that have made me especially antsy to tie the knot? Could it be that my boyfriend and I just celebrated 3 years? Maybe... Is it because I'm 5 months away from my 25th birthday? Very possible. Maybe it's because over half of my friends are engaged or married. Likely. It may just be a combination of all three coupled with the fact that I am deeply in love and know with my heart and soul that I want to spend the rest of my life with Matt. Whatever the cause of my newly found feelings, one simple fact remains-- I, Allyson Chapman, am ready to get married.

Wow, I can't believe that I just admitted it. Yikes.

So, to all of the wonderful people in my life that are asking themselves, "Are Matt and Ally ever going to get married?"-- Yes, we will... without a second's doubt. And when it happens, guess what? You'll be the first to know. :)

Miss Chapman

Well it's official... I am leaving DBU, effective July 31st.

I can't believe I have been here so long. I think that, like most people, I became comfortable in my surroundings making it hard to picture myself working elsewhere. However, leave it up to the good Lord to make the picture crystal clear. After some praying and deep soul-searching, I was able to come to the decision that it is time (past time, really) to spread my wings.

Starting in August, I will be teaching 8th grade math. Of course, I would pick one of the most hated subjects in school. :) I am two extremes of excited and nervous all bundled up into one. I have faith that everything will work out as planned and because of that, I'm trying to keep a handle on my anxiety. Needless to say, though, I am definitely going to need some prayers over the next year... It's going to be a long, winding road, but I have no doubts that I will find my way.

My Miracle

3 years ago today, my life changed drastically.

July 1, 2006
Greg and Lisa Houchin had been trying for months to set me up with Greg's cousin, Matt. Being that I had just broken up with someone, it took some time for the idea of meeting someone new to appeal to me. Apparently, it also took time for his cousin to warm up to the idea as well. I later found out that he was afraid he'd disappoint Greg and Lisa if he didn't like me.

So, FINALLY, toward mid-June, we both let our guards down and agreed to meet. I have to admit, I agreed partly because Lisa showed me Matt's photo... Such a good-looking fella.
So, our first attempt was a bust-- Greg, Lisa and I went to see a band play at Greg's mom's restaurant and Matt never made it because he was "detained" at a wedding... I was bummed.

A week or so later, Matt came up with the idea that we should take a trip out on the lake- just the four of us. I nervously accepted the invitation, afraid of what would happen if we didn't hit it off. Because of my nervousness, I woke up that week with my first (massive) fever blister. I did everything I could think of... I bought a $12 tiny tube of Abreva and rubbed it on my lip religiously. I even called one of my best friends and asked to borrow her prescription medicine she'd used to fight off a fever blister right before her wedding... But to no avail. The blister stayed put. I finally decided "Screw it. If this boy doesn't like me because of a fever blister, then he's not the guy for me." Deep breath!

So, on the morning of July 1, I woke up early and put on my swimsuit for the first time that summer, looked in the mirror, and wished I had crashed dieted for at least a week before our lake trip. I shook off my insecurities and headed to Mansfield.
When I got to Greg and Lisa's, Matt had not arrived yet. I'm pretty sure the main thought crossing my mind was "What in the Hades was I thinking agreeing to this?!" As luck would have it, Matt got lost on the way out to Mansfield from Wylie, so that gave me ample time to build up more nervous energy.
I went into their guest bathroom to do one last mirror check when I heard him come in the door. I can still remember the feeling I had as I opened the door. There he stood-- with his long dark hair, gray and white boardshorts, and a Mt. Calvary Baptist Church Camp t-shirt. Dang, I thought... How cute is he?!

It took about an hour on the boat for all of my nervousness to fade. We ended up hitting it off better than I thought would be possible. We stayed on the lake all day and well into the evening. I can say, without a doubt, that July 1, 2006 was one of the best days of my life thus far.

And three years later (through the ups and downs and in-betweens), I love Matt more than I ever thought I would. He is my everything and I thank my Lord every single day that He brought him into my life. I am truly blessed.