this day....

this day 10 years ago, my mom and i were moving out of our home that we had lived in for 17 years.

it was a tough day, emotionally.

but that night, i had a first date with this cute guy that had been a crazy flirt.

i moved all of my bathroom essentials first so i would have everything needed to get ready.

but as i got out of the shower, and was getting ready to fix my hair........there was a blow dryer no where to be found.

my hair can NOT air dry. it's awful.

and so i threw it in a pony tail and ran to the nearest big lots and got me one. 

i remember i was wearing these cute little military green capris, a black t-shirt and flip flops.

i met chris at church for our saturday night service, where he was playing keys.

then we hopped in his mini-van and headed to dinner at outback.

caesar salad and a baked potato for me, and i was so nervous, that i couldn't eat it.

those days of not eating have long passed lol.

then we went back to his place and rented a movie. secondhand lions was the movie of choice.

and then he took me back to my apartment and the rest was history. 

we've spent almost every day since together for the last 10 years.

aww, look how we've changed.

love you boo. guess we're in this for the long haul. ;)

a big day!

HAPPY 125th BIRTHDAY TO THE EIFFEL TOWER!!!!!!

Your beauty, oh tower, has brought me great joy!

So I couldn't resist a reason to celebrate you!

oh yeah, i went to Paris!

i know, i know.

who goes to paris and then waits weeks to share about it?!?!

someone that's completely overwhelmed with life, that's who!

but never fear, i have finally gone through ALL of my photos!!!

y'all, i had my big camera, my little point and shoot, and then my iphone camera. 

and let's just say, there was no shortage whatsoever of photos.

so now it's time for show and tell!

i've decided that i will do this in multiple posts, so just know it's gonna be all about paris for the next week or so! i didn't want to just dump a bunch of pictures....i really want to share the moments.

for me, as well as for your daydreaming haha.

since i'm like the lamest scrapbooker ever and tend to wait years after an even before actually getting the pics into an album, chances are i'll forget the little things. 

so i'm ready to tell all!

i'm a little overwhelmed with where to even start, so let's just jump in with the lover's bridge.

there are several in paris, and around the world for that matter.

and well we know i can't pass up a cheesy photo-op.

ok, legend has it that if you put a lock on the bridge and throw the keys in the river (the Seine in this case), then your love will be locked forever.

we looked for the perfect spot and then locked it up!

then it was time to toss the keys.

here's where it gets tricky.

now, i think i've mentioned before that chris and i have never had a purely romantic moment.

something ridiculous always happens, and why would paris be any different?

so here we are, holding the keys.

count to 3: 1, 2, 3...drop....then we hear "clink".

so we look over the rail and sure enough, there are our keys sitting happy on the ledge of the bridge!!!

chris's response: "well, i guess our love isn't forever."

so down i go, on hands and knees.

i had a brochure in my purse that i used to knock them off into the water.

then, as i tried to hoist my big ol' butt up, i busted my head on the cement rail.

and may have screamed a curse word or two.

and then we turn around to find people sitting on the bench behind us...they had front row seats to our show.

they were probably thinking "stupid americans."

and of course we laughed and laughed!

there were SO many locks. it was really kind of magical!

and just look at the view!

i had bought our lock here in the states and marked it with the sharpie and just carried it in my purse because i wasn't sure when we would cross the bridge. but never fear - if you find yourself in paris without a lock, there's a ton for sale right there on the bridge! probably for a pretty penny too, but some things you just have to do!

stay tuned....SO much more to come!

revisiting.

i hope you all had a wonderful thanksgiving weekend!

ours was busy but beautiful.

on our way to the familia on thursday, we made a random pit stop at the church where we were married 9 years ago.

we just so happened to be looking cute that day to, so we set up an impromptu photo session.

shout out to my sis that bought me a wireless remote last christmas. haha.

so we sure did pull over, rig up the camera and start shooting.

and then of course we had to be our normal crazy selves.

this is our every day style. 

you know making faces, eating faces. 

what? you don't do that in your house?

"is this thing on?"

somebody has a little swag.

anywho, it was fun to revisit where the magic was made official. ;)

9 whole years.

today, hubby and i are celebrating 9 whole years of wedded bliss!

9 years. that just seems so grown up.

i guess we're are 100% no longer newlyweds!

this 9 year ride has definitely been full of ups and downs, struggles, heartache, happiness and love.

but that's what marriage is all about right?

standing beside one another through it ALL.

we struggled with issues in our first two years of marriage that many people never face.

and we survived....together.

i'm pretty sure in the back of people's minds, they thought we'd never make it.

we dated 2 months, got engaged, and married 5 months later.

to do the math, we knew each other 7 whole months before jumping into marriage.

and it was the best leap of faith i've ever made!

we've traveled so many places together...and somehow miraculously cheap!

we've truly done life with one another.

and for that i am so grateful.

i'm so thankful that our marriage started out with Jesus in the middle and that's where He still remains.

i'm thankful that this husband of mine loves me equally at my best and my worst.

i'm thankful that when we finally do have children, that chris and i will have a solid foundation and that we really got to experience time with each other before kids.

i'm thankful for our story. how it started, how it progressed, and how it will end in the future.

i'm thankful for how God has used us, and for the plans He has to use us even more.

 

i'm thankful that nothing has been handed to us and that we have worked hard for everything we have.

we know how to hustle lol.

i simply love "us".

we are as perfect of match for one another as one could possibly be.

that God....hmpfh - He sure knows what He's a doin.

and i'm so glad that He does. 

i'm blessed beyond measure by the love in my marriage.

happy anniversary babe.

i loveth you.

love, love, love.

yesterday i told you that i did an engagement session last friday.

seriously, it was one of my favorites. 

this is toni and ty.

toni and i met in the 4th grade and remained friends all through high school.

we lost touch after graduation, but have kept up with each other through facebook and such.

so a few weeks back she got engaged and asked ME to do their engagement session.

um, YES please!

the weather was perfectly awesome!

so he proposed on a wine bottle. 

how presh is that?!

and this is what we call golden hour.

it's when the sun is the most magical.

and magical it was!

so excited for you two!!!!

Fun days

so for the first time since leaving Georgia (a year ago this month), we had our first visitors!

it was a lovely 4th of july with some of our favorite people from back home.

i could kick myself because we didn't get a single picture of us. what? 

why would i be so dumb not to photograph this lovely time?!

oh well.

i don't know about you, but we have had nothing but rain for the last 6 days, and looks like the next 10 days will be rain filled as well. we almost cancelled the trip, but it was supposed to rain in georgia to, so we thought we'd rather spend a rainy day together with our friends than all alone.

thursday afternoon the crew rolled in. eric, bobbiejo, harrison (3yrs) and josie (7 mos). so basically all of us crammed into our apartment was like an awesome slumber party!

and yes, thursday was filled with rain. but we got out and played anyway. 

chris and i took them to main street and we went into several shops and had lunch.

it finally got to the point where bobbiejo and i took our shoes off and ran through the puddles pushing a stroller.

that's what memories are made of right?

but jesus wanted us to have fun, so we had most of the day friday rain free. holla.

we took them to downtown asheville and had a several hour long exploration party. chris and i had not yet explored asheville either, so much fun was had by all!

we took this pic at the start of the day and it is by far one of my all time favorite pictures of us!

after hours of walking and riding, we all came back to the house...just in time because the downpour started again. harrison loves chris, and the two of them sat down and watched cartoons.

melts my heart.

early saturday morning everyone got up and headed home. it was so good for my soul to have them come visit. i've missed them terribly. we went from weekly hangouts to only seeing them once this past year, so this time was much needed.

later, chris and i headed to see despicable me 2. loved it. we're such big kids. and of course we were the only adults with no kids, but who cares!
i also found out that my favorite mexican restaurant in ga opened a location in greenville. after watching the movie (there's a whole mexican restaurant thing in the movie) it was absolutely necessary to drive an hour to eat there! so we did!

it's been a fabulous few days filled with lots of fun.

and now i'm paying for it....trying to cram a week's worth of homework into one day.

but i have to say it's worth it.

how was your holiday weekend?

1 Year Already?!?!

i seriously cannot believe that this time a year ago i was meeting this precious little bundle of joy.

it was this moment that i understood how you can instantly love someone so much so quick.

this is my nephew, cove.

he's precious. simply precious.

and today he turns a whole year old!!!!

i love this photo of us, and yes, he had quite the hold on my hair!

look at that smile! he's just so happy!

and he's a cool cat.

i'm so sad i'm missing his party today, but he's about 1000 miles away.

i'm hoping to face time in for the singing and eating of cake!

auntie L loves you to the moon little man!