Mrs. Grammatico

Every once in a while, we cross paths with people who impact our lives. The past few blogs have been about some of those people in my own life. Well, I have intentionally saved the best for last. Webster defines the word, unconditional, as not limited by conditions; absolute. My bride is the epitome of the word unconditional. Nothing I did won her affection and it seems, as stupid as I sometimes am, nothing I do now can lose her affection.
On the day that we married on February 3, 2007, she read vows to me, but what set those vows apart from any other promise, was the look in her eye. It SCREAMED, "unconditionally Ryan"! She is the first person in my life that when she says she loves me, I believe it. Not that other people don't love me but that I really , truly, and earnestly believe it when she says it. She has taught me so much in these past years. She has taught me how to focus better, how to love better , how to be more compassionate, how to communicate better, how to parent better, and how to be a better friend and spouse. She stretches me, pushes me, hugs me, holds me, encourages me, prays for me, and is never scared to call me to the carpet for anything in my life. This woman has been the greatest gift from our Creator that I could have ever hoped for. Every night, we fall asleep with my arms around her and when we wake up, her arms are around me. EVERY TIME! That's what I'm talking about!
I can't get enough of her laugh. When i make her smile , I feel like I can do anything. I love sitting across a room and watching her interact with people, because I know that those people are better off now that she is talking to them. Hearing about her passions strengthens my desire to give her the world. She always puts other people first and if you know her then you know that this is true.
My wife has this habit of leaving me a card and telling me about little things in life, about her love for me and just how she sees us.
When my wife is quiet, she is beautiful. She has this strange way of saying a thousand things without uttering a word.
The coolest thing about her is the vitality that she brings to life. not just our life, but every life that she comes in contact with. It is mind blowing to me.
I am writing this because I wrap up this "who inspired me" blog point with the one person who has impacted me more than anyone else, and that person is, ladies and gentlemen.....Mrs. Ashley Grammatico. I love you, babe!

GOOOAAAALLLLL!!!!

I have taken a little blogging break to get my head right but now, I am ready to go! In this next installment of "You Changed My Life", we have Jonathan and Kayla George. These two knuckleheads were just a couple of newlyweds living in NoDa, enjoying life, until they invited me in as a roommate nearly 2 1/2 years ago. They opened up their home and more importantly their hearts to me. You see, I was in a very tough place in my life. I had been divorced for roughly about a year and I was stretched so thin on finances that when my lease ran out on an apartment that I was living in, I wasn't sure where I was going to turn.Well, that is where these guys stepped in. They asked if I was game to move into their finished basement(which I really enjoyed, I even had my own bathroom :)). I accepted and that's where the fun came in. I worked so much to try to make ends meet that I was beginning to wear down. And then, they did something really cool. They lowered my rent. May not be a big deal to you but if you were trying to pay child support, car payment, college loans, and trying to get out of credit card debt then this would be huge to you. A few months go by and I remember J, K, and I having a conversation and they decided to let me know that they weren't going to take any more rent from me at all. Free housing! I mean, seriously??
And money wasn't the only thing that they lent to my life. They quickly became two of the best friends that Ashley and I could ever ask for. I remember Kayla and I having a heart to heart about both of our messy pasts and how the future seems so much more brighter with Jesus in control. I remember Jonathan screaming at the top of his lungs when his fave futbol (soccer) team, scored a goal. I ran upstairs and thought he was hurt but in fact, he was jumping around like a school girl in love. Which by the way, Jonathan has taught me to appreciate soccer. I was of the mindset that soccer was for girls and boys who couldn't play football. but he taught me and showed me through countless games and convos that now I am a fan. Go Arsenal!! Needless to say, the thing that has always blown my mind about the maturity of this couple is that they are also our YOUNGEST friends. Their wisdom, heart, and compassion far outweighs their years of life.
These two are heading to Malawi in July to help bring relief to one of the poorest countries in the world. Jonathan is going to use his head and combine all three of his passions: Kayla, soccer, and Jesus. You can donate to their cause on their website. We are excited about Skyping with them, seeing what God does in their lives, and about seeing them come back someday and then seeing what God has in store for them next. But I end this love fest, with a HUGE thank you to the George's for loving me just because I am me!


PS---I had to hijack this pic from their website because finding a picture of Jonathan George is as rare as a Mickey Mantle rookie card. He is not a camera fan! :)