Nobody Wants to Be Us

(I am choosing not even to address the ridiculous lapse in my blogging here :)

I titled this blog this because that is exactly what I just thought as I looked around the waiting room that we are at and have been in since about 6:15 this morning.  No one wants to be the family in the waiting room at a hospital but we are even lower than that, we are the family that all the other waiting families feel sorry for.  We are the one's nobody wants to be.  This is quite an unusual feeling for me.  Most of the time, people would LOVE to be us!  Our family always has fun together and we are pretty close knit bunch.  We have a lot of things that most people don't have and want to have. 

Not today though.  Today we are just the family camped out in the waiting room who has the biggest group waiting, who has been here the longest and the group the staff gives the most attention to.  NOBODY wants to be THAT family.  I don't want to be that family.  I want to be the family that is spread over several states and they are all thinking about normal, everyday things like work, school, etc.  I DO NOT want to be the family that can think of NOTHING besides that precious, precious man who is the patriarch of our family lying on that operating table with his actual life in other's hands with NOTHING to do but wait. 

We are waiting here in the Shands waiting room in Gainesville, FL.  We are waiting in south Georgia.  We are waiting in Montgomery, Alabama.  We are waiting in Nashville, Tennessee.  We are waiting in Jingzhou, Hubei, China and we are waiting in Northern Luzon, Philippines.  Waiting and praying, praying and waiting. 

My aunt just read a joke that one of her school teacher friends had put on her facebook.  It went something like this: "You shut your eyes at home in your bed for five minutes at 6:30am and when you open then it is 7:45am.  You shut your eyes at 1:30pm at school for just five minutes you open them and it is 1:31pm."  You get the point.  That is what it feels like today except worse!  You look at the clock and it is 11:25 and you look up expecting it to be somewhere in the 12:00 hour and it is 11:29! 

I BELIEVE in the power of prayer.  I BELIEVE in The Great Physician.  And, I BELIEVE in Romans 8:28 and that all things ARE going to work for good!  I also believe that I might loose my mind before I get to see these things come to pass!  I thought earlier that as miserable as my recovery was from my surgery that I would MUCH rather be the one asleep on the table than the family out here waiting! 

PLEASE remember PaPa in your prayers, even if you are reading this after Tuesday.  He has a long road ahead of him with this recovery.  I will be SO HAPPY when this is behind him and NaNa!!! 

Counting My Blessings

Today, I had a meeting with another sales rep from another company. Yesterday, I found out that I have my first ever sinus infection. Now, admittedly, I never dress and have my hair and makeup done like I just stepped out of a magazine but today I was doing good just to get to work. I am wearing pants that are a little too short but they are comfortable and they were clean, my shoes are not cute but they are very comfortable, and there isn't any hint of make up, even to try to cover up my Rudolph like red nose (from all the sneezing and from it CONSTANTLY running) and my hair is in a unbrushed pony tail. She comes in wearing a dress that hits right above her knees, boots that come up to her knees, make up done just right and not a hair out of place. By the time she left I felt way grosser than I even had before. Couple that feeling with what can only be described as a TERRIBLE, NO GOOD, VERY BAD work month that today is the end of and the effects of the sinus infection and let's just say that I wasn't exactly a ray of optimism and sunshine this morning. These are the things I was thinking:

I am NEVER "put together" i.e. dressed well, hair, make up and jewelry all in place.
My car is always messy.
I am always behind on housework and laundry!
I cannot cook well, I do try but it is certainly NOT one of my "talents."
I always have good intentions but I never do as much with church and for those who are sick and/ or are needy as I know I could.
It has been over five months since my wedding, I STILL have not finished my thank you notes.
I always seem to run late.
Whenever there is an awkward moment, I am never going to come up with something to say to make it less awkward. For that matter, I am not even going to be able to keep it at the same awkward level, I am ALWAYS going to make it worse.

All of these things were running through my mind today and the devil was really using them to get to me until I remembered all of THESE things:

Whenever someone needs me they NEVER have to wait on me to get ready. I have no problem going in public a hot mess if someone needs me. That means something to people that you care more about being there as fast as possible in their time of need rather than how you look when you do get there.

I never tell my husband or a friend or family member that we can't do something fun because I have to clean house. I try to keep it where I would never be embarrassed if someone walked in with no notice and I AM trying to do better in this area but I know people who miss out on things a lot with the people they love the most in the world to clean house. I vow to try to find a happy middle ground between living in filth and making my house so clean that no one can be comfortable in there and I miss out on things keeping it so clean.

I married a man who doesn't really care about what we eat. He's just as happy eating McDonald's as he is when I work for hours preparing a four course meal. I am trying to cook more and get better at it but I am also trying to manage my time better and spending hours in the kitchen after we get home from work and not eating until 8:30 does not fit into my time management plan.

I am ACTIVELY working on getting better about helping others. I made this goal when I had SO MUCH help after the surgery but I have fallen VERY short of my goal. On this one, I choose to look at those who I have helped and think about those that I am GOING to help because I AM determined to do better. I am just SO thankful that I have SO MANY examples of how I want to be around me and that have helped me in my own life!

I am SO GRATEFUL that SO many people loved us that I have this problem with the thank you notes!!! What an AWESOME problem to have! (I know, I know, I'm getting on them!!!)

One of the main reasons I always run late is because I HATE getting out of bed with my husband! I told him just the other day and I mean it, I am SO excited every morning that I wake up and he is there! I feel sorry for people who live with lots of people before they get married because I don't think they ever get that excitement of getting to wake up with the person you love most in the world every morning! It's definitely not a good excuse for being late but it IS a blessing!

I never seem to have the right thing to say to people in an awkward moment but I ALWAYS have the right thing to say to God and I always make a point to pray for people when they ask for it or I see the need and I am so grateful that I have that avenue of prayer and that I never have to worry about what I am saying to Him.

When I walk in a room, no one looks at me and says, "Wow! She looks great!" or "Look at that outfit, I want to look like that!" but there is a little seventeen month old who's face lights up every time I walk in the room. To her I always say the right thing and she never cares what I am wearing or if my hair is done she just cares that I am THERE and that she knows how much I adore her. She doesn't have a lot of words she knows yet but there she will never learn one that will bring my heart any more joy than when she says, "LaLa" :)


I have blessings that I remember a lot (health, great family, the best husband, money to pay the bills, food to eat) to be grateful to God for DAILY but these are some that I overlook A LOT and that I seem to only look at the negative sides of these things. Today, more than anything, I am grateful that God gives us the ability to see that glass half full!

Me Vs (cough, cough) I Mean With "The Boys"

A few weeks ago Kesia one of my friends I originally met when I worked at 911 called and asked if her son Devin (8) could stay this past weekend with me. I made sure we were going to be in town and made sure Matt was ok with it and I told her yes. The first time I kept Devin he was 2, he has stayed with me a lot and has never been any problem. Then I had the idea that it would be "easier" and more fun if we invited Colby, our nephew (Matt's sisters oldest) to stay too. The two had met and really hit it off at our wedding but since they don't live in the same neighborhood, don't go to the same school, and don't go to the same church they haven't gotten to see each other since. It was a good idea even if I was wrong about it being "easier."

Towards the end of the work week Nathan, Leigh's husband, called Matt if he could get away this weekend. He had gotten to use his boss's condo in Orange Beach and since Leigh couldn't go he wanted to take the brother in laws on a guys fishing weekend. Matt at first said he couldn't go. We had the boys coming and he had another commitment at church on Sunday. I have to say here that Matt is a VERY hard worker. His job is not one where he goes and sits at a desk all day and leaves at 5:00. He travels to Troy (about 45 minutes- 1 hour away) almost everyday and I don't think he has ever left at 5:00. It is nothing for us to be at work at 6:00 or even 7:00 multiple nights a week. Then on the weekends he is constantly busy doing "home" stuff (i.e. painting, building stuff we need around the house, mowing the lawn/ lawn maintenence, etc.) at our house and his house that we are trying to sell. The man hardly ever has any time to relax and he never complains about it. So, I went into planning mode trying to convince him to go so he could just relax and have fun for the weekend. Finally he agreed to go.

The boys left right after work on Friday and me, L, L, and E all went out to eat. We were having a hard time deciding where to eat so we finally agreed on a "progressive dinner." We started out at Panera for soup, then we went to Moe's for dinner, then to 32° for dessert! It was so fun! Ellie is so big now that she just sat with us in the booth's! I wish I had taken more pictures because she had so much fun! At 32° we met Kesia and Dev and my weekend was off!

Dev and I got home about 9:30 and I was EXHAUSTED! I set him up with a computer in the guest room, put a DVD on in there and told him that he could stay up as long as he wanted because we were sleeping in the next morning! I also set the milk and the oj on the bottom shelf of the refridgerator and sat out the cereal, a bowl, spoon, and glass on the counter so if he did wake up early that he could fix breakfast and watch cartoons. I told him he could wake me up whenever he needed me but that if he didn't need me not to wake me up until 9:00! (I will post a link later where you can nominate me for babysitter of the year!) I lit a path from his room to mine with night lights so he could get to me easy and evidently it worked because he would come in there three times before I finally got up (for the last time) the next morning!

At about 6:00 a.m. Saturday morning I woke up to the beautiful morning sounds of Romeo (our dog) throwing up. Lovely. Nothing like getting your weekend off with a bang than by cleaning up dog puke out of the carpet. I got everything cleaned up and went back to bed. About 7:30 Devin came in and woke me up with, "Laurie, there is a bug in my room." So, I get back up go in there and find a ginormous roach. I need to interject here with if I listed the three things I hate worst in the world they would be (in order) 1. Sin 2. Roaches 3. Throw Up. But, being the super woman I am ;), I got a shoe and killed the bug. I will admit that I had to have Devin clean it up and flush it but I had had my fill up cleaning up gross things by this point. I went BACK to bed for a couple of hours and was able to get some uninterrupted sleep. I got up he had his second breakfast and I had my first.

We then got ready and went to pick up Colby. Devin was really excited and Colby was too when we got there! We immediately went to Louise's for lunch then they played for a while in the back yard before we went with Louise and E to the park to burn off some energy. After the park we went to Faulkner so we could watch the basketball game while the boys played in the multiplex (think multiple basketball courts, a volleyball court, and multiple raquetball rooms) that is attached to the gym. This was pretty successful minus a few bumps that are expected when a bunch of boys that age are playing together. After the games we went with a big group to Dairy Queen for dinner. The boys each got to order (and ate and finished!) an adult meal and a dessert! They were really happy but WOW were they "sugared" up! All of my steps that I had taken to wear them out and I just "refueled" their energy tanks! So, we went home and they were BOUNCING off the walls!

The plan was to play the Wii but, of course, I couldn't get the stupid thing to work! Plan B was Uno. Not the same level of energy burning but it was the best my exhausted self could come up with! So we played for about thirty minutes I told them to get ready for bed and they did but with a lot of extra stuff involved! I was thinking there was NO way I would ever get them to sleep. I finally got them in their beds and I went to devin's room first to turn off the light and tell him goodnight. Right after that I walked down and did the same with Colby. When I walked back down to Devin's room HE WAS ASLEEP! I walked back down to Colby's room and HE WAS ASLEEP TOO! They must have been EXHAUSTED (mwuhaha! :) and I was not complaining!

My plan to get a solid night's sleep didn't quite work out because Romeo decided about 2am that it was time to get up for the day and look for Daddy! Grrr... Finally, Sunday morning rolled in and I got up and checked on the boys and they were still asleep! This was a little before 7 so I took the opportunity to get a hot, quiet shower! THEN I finally had to WAKE them up! We all got off to church and stopped and got breakfast and we were still there on time! That, my friends, was a WIN! The boys were SO good during services and they seemed to both have a good time in Bible class! After that was lunch at Leigh's where they both ate and then played outside for a couple of more hours before we all realxed and watched a movie. As the movie was just about over MATT WALKED IN! The boys were excited to see him but NO ONE was more than I!

I am glad I survived the weekend and, most of all, I am glad that both the boys had a really good time and asked if we could do it again! that, my friends, makes it a WIN and me ONE COOL AUNT! Now, I just need a few months to recover and we WILL do it again! This time though, I more than willing to give up the "cool Aunt" title and move back over to being the one who cooks and cleans up after the "cool Uncle" and the boys!

To make sure that the weekend ended on a super good note Matt had planned a fun date night at our favorite restaurant after church Sunday night! We had some really good sushi and even better conversation and quality time. All together I am calling it a very successfull although EXHAUSTING weekend!

The Funny Thing About Dates

Although I was never alive or at least of dating age when a date was very simply defined I always wished I had been! This "hanging out" and just being around each other a lot while you figure if you like each other always seemed so much more complicated than boy likes girl so boy asks girl out and if girl is interested in boy she says yes and they go eat, to a movie, etc. Then if they have a good time boy ask girl out again and girl says yes. If they continue to have a good time it becomes regular habit and the girl agrees not to say yes to any other boys that ask her out and the boy agrees not to ask any other girls out. As we all know, MOST of the time this is not how it happens for couples and we are no different, it didn't happen anything like that for us.
After Matt and I had been dating for a while we started discussing when it was that we actually started dating. These are the facts: I met him in my interview at the end of October (although some like to say they could see the writing on the wall at this point that seems QUITE impossible to me. I was VERY unhappy in my current work situation and I had NOTHING on my mind except getting this job. I did remember a guy being in the interview but I couldn't tell you ANYTHING about him. In fact, a few days later he would ask me to be his FB friend and I would have no idea who he was.
Back to the facts: I started full time in the beginning of November. Sometime around the second week in January we exchanged phone numbers and started spending time talking in the parking lot for a long time. This is around the same time that I found out that he had just gotten out of a three year relationship just a few days before. Even though I knew at this point I was developing feelings for him, I KNEW I wanted NO part of that. Proving once again that the heart is STRONGER than the mind, that didn't stop us from squeezing every extra second together at work that we could. I found myself missing him when I went home and looking forward to when he walked in every morning. Even though we had exchanged numbers already it took a week or so before we actually started calling and texting each other. Then that started happening a lot and it was over the course of these conversations that we both agreed he needed to be by himself for a while since he had just broken up with someone. We agreed but kept talking, never seeing each other outside of work but talking.
That brings us to January 17th. Thanks to Leigh's urging I invited Matt over to watch a movie that night with me and Leigh. We all watched We Are Marshall and when Leigh went to bed we stayed up and talked for a while. Even though it went completely against our own directions, he kissed me goodnight before he left. I knew I was in trouble RIGHT THEN. The next day we both snuck away from the office in separate vehicles and met at Farmhouse Kitchen for lunch. Even though they have some of the best food I have EVER had there and it has since become one of my favorite restaurants I could barely eat a bite and when Matt held my hand as he walked me to my car after he paid I thought I was going to lose the few bites I had managed to swallow!
We started seeing each other regularly from then on and haven't stopped :) Because there is no real first date per say we decided that the night he came over to our apartment would count as when we started dating since it was the first time we kissed and when we stopped fighting it. It would be a few weeks before our families and friends would find out and a few more before our co-workers and bosses would but the decision has been made and it stands, January 17th is our dateversary! People think we moved fast but if I had known then how good it would be now, I would have hurried things along even more :)

"Scarcely had I left them When I found him whom my soul loves; I held on to him and would not let him go Until I had brought him to my mother's house" Song of Solomon 3:4

The Plan

A few days ago I was working downtown and on my way back to the office I passed by our old apartment and it occured to me that it has been just over a year since we moved in there! When we moved in to that tiny one bedroom apartment I had just met Matt and he was still just one of the new people that I was working with! The plan was for Leigh to set up the living room as her "bedroom" and then I would have the place to myelf in August when she got married. That old saying "If you want to make God laugh tell him your plans." comes to mind. I'm glad that God has the ultimate plan and He can laugh at mine!

For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Jeremiah 29:11 ESV

Out With The Old?

For the first time ever, I am really not sure about letting go of this year. Not because I don't look forward to wonderful things in the new year but because 2011 has been SO GOOD TO ME! Here's a quick recap:

In October of 2010 I was able to quit my job with the city and join the living and I got a job working during the day so I could sleep at night! PRAISE! I met a lot of people that I really liked at my new job including the Industrial Supply Manager, Matt.

In December of 2010 Leigh and I moved from our house into a tiny little apartment downtown. The apartment was super nice but super tiny! We knew that Leigh would be getting married and moving in the summer so we grinned and bared it knowing that it was temporary. The plan was for me to live there alone after she got married and moved in with Nate.

In January of 2011 I went through a bit of a change at my new job transitioning from mostly operations work to a lot more sales. I also went out on my first date with Matt from work.

In February Janet and I celebrated our 6 month Kidneyversary and Matt and I celebrated our first Valentine's Day!

In April I went with Matt, his parents, his sister, and her kids to Disney World! SO FUN!

In June we all went into wedding season with Leigh. Her first of nine showers was in June and the countdown to August 25th was on! Also on the first Sunday of June while I was in Trenton for one of Leigh's shower's Matt texted me and let me know that Dirt had just baptized him! We had been studying and praying and I knew he had been doing a lot of studying on his own but this news still came as a surprise and the best news of the year!

In July Matt took me on a riverboat cruise for the 4th to watch the fireworks. I LOVE fireworks and he used them as the perfect backdrop to ask me to marry him! Now we entered into DOUBLE wedding planning mode! We decided on September 24th, 28 days after Leigh and Nathan!

In August Leigh married Nathan in a ceremony that was just beautiful, romantic, and all the things a wedding should be before sailing away on a cruise to the Bahamas for a week!

In September our little Ellie turned ONE! It was bittersweet. She is growing so much which we are so grateful for but at the same time a little sad that she is not a baby anymore. That girl can walk and she can say "Mama" "Dada" "Titus" "Walt" "LeighLeigh" "LaLa" "LoLo" "Matt" "Nate" "MawMaw" "PawPaw" (or her version of these things) and can tell you what a puppy dog says, a kitty cat says, a duck says, and what Santa Claus says. She can walk like a champ and she makes the FUNNIEST expressions. She has developed quite her own little personality this year and A LOT of it! Also in September I got to walk down the aisle to the man I have no doubt God created just for me. We married in a ceremony that was just perfect and had a reception afterwards that was better than I ever could have imagined! We left that day and drove to Atlanta before flying out the next morning to the Secrets St. James resort in Montego Bay, Jamaica! Best week of not only the whole year but maybe of my whole life!

In October we got settled in to our new home and started settling into our new life together.

In November we celebrated Thanksgiving with my entire family in Trenton the weekend before Thanksgiving and celebrated on Thanksgiving day with Matt's family here in town.

In December we went "home" to Valdosta and had Christmas with the Walker's and came back and celebrated Matt's 31st birthday with a lot of our family and friends at Matt's favorite restaurant, Miyako! On Christmas Eve we went over and celebrated with Matt's grandparents and aunt, uncle, and cousins and then went over and had Christmas with his immediate family. Before midnight Christmas Eve we had already received WAY MORE than we deserved! Since we got in so late we just stayed up and waited on Santa and celebrated our very first Christmas together just the two of us at our house a little after midnight on Christmas morning! Later that day we celebrated with my immediate family after Mom, Dad, and Grandma arrived. By the time we went to bed that night we were POOPED! WONDERFUL FIRST CHRISTMAS!


See why I would be a little hesitant to let go of 2011? My life has changed more than ever but all for the better! God has already surprised me by giving me way more that I could have ever even asked for in 2011 and I fully trust that He will take just as good of care of us in 2012 but I am still putting 2011 away as my year ever. So far :)

It's The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year!

I must say that either Santa has REALLY lowered his standards or he got me confused with someone else this year, there is NO WAY I was good enough to deserve all I got! I am making myself blog this morning because I want to remember this Christmas! First, this is what our Christmas season has looked like:

December 9-11: Christmas with the Walker side in Valdosta and my high school homecoming.
December 11: Matt's birthday party at Miyako.
December 15: Girl's Night Christmas Party and ornament swap.
December 16: Melissa and her girls came into town and spent the night with us.
December 17: Santa Claus came to our neighborhood and the nieces and nephew came to see him and have a big brunch.
December 18: The Young Professionals class from University had their annual Christmas party and Dirty Santa.
December 22: Office Christmas party.
December 23-26: OFF WORK!
December 24: Christmas with the Sulkosky side of the family.
December 24: Christmas with the Morris'.
December 25: Santa came to our house so Matt and I had our first Christmas together.
December 25: That afternoon my parents and Grandma Garner came in town and we had our Walker Christmas.
December 26: Christmas dinner at our house.
December 27: Christmas with the Bond's.
December 30: My parents will leave to go back home.

I don't THINK I left out anything except THE WORST stomach virus I have ever had (20th-22nd) and passing some kidney (or bladder, yet to be determined) stones (24th-NOW). Even those things had NO CHANCE at spoiling this Christmas though!

I will be posting some actual pictures later but these are some of my favorite gifts I received this year:

• A Nikon D3000 camera from the world's greatest husband!


• A cooling memory foam mattress topper from my parents!


• Some more pieces of my Lenox Holiday Christmas china from my parents!


• A Dyson vacuum cleaner from my in laws!


• A Waxing Poetic necklace from my in laws!


• A Kindle Fire from my in laws!


• A steamer from my sister in law!

The two gifts that I CAN'T WAIT to post pictures of are the one's my sister's gave me! This year we decided that instead of buying each other gifts that we would make each other something. Since we are all on Pinterest we all had a plethora of good ideas and we just thought it would be something fun and less expensive. Louise and Leigh both got the crafty gene that skipped completely over me! Louise made a wreath for my front door using Hydrangea's similar to the ones used in my wedding. It is SO PRETTY! Leigh made such a cute hanging calendar that you use dry erase markers to write on and this magnet board that is one of THE CUTEST things I have ever seen! I can't wait for you all to see them!

I need to tell you all that I am quite convinced I am the MOST blessed human being that has ever walked the face of the Earth! To have been blessed with the most wonderful family that I was born into and get to be raised how and where I was and then get to marry THE BEST man that God could have ever created for me who has a family that I just LOVE getting to be a part of! If I started actually counting my every blessing now there is no way that I could live long enough to name them all. I just could never begin to thank God enough!

This husband of mine, this best friend/best nurse/ best helper/ best at making sure the garbage gets taken out/ best gift giver/ most thoughtful/ best provider/ best hugger/ most loving/ sweetest/ best Uncle/ best gift giver/ best cookie decorator/ even does the dishes sometimes husband of mine is the present God really outdid Himself with. I have always had a wonderful family, although I try not to take it for granted and I love them with all of my heart, I have never known anything different. The same goes with my great friends. I have always hoped that if I ever had in laws that I would love them and have a good relationship with them. But, in my wildest dreams I never even knew a husband could be so great so I didn't even know TO wish for it! God took my greatest expectations for a husband and basically said, "THAT is the best you can dream up?!? Thank goodness I was in charge of creating him!" and gave me something SO much more and SO much better!

I was SO, SO sick Tuesday night. Not a I just feel bad and need to be left alone to recover sick....NO, a somebody had to be there to help me and clean up after me, no less pleasant in the world kind of sick! This man was so wonderful. He never complained and never made me feel bad for the high level of grossness that he was having to deal with or his lack of sleep. He put himself in harm's way (I can't imagine anyone in their right mind choosing to even breathe in the same air as me for fear they might catch it) to help me not only LIVE through it but to help make me as comfortable as possible. He had me at the Doctor when they unlocked the doors that next morning and did all he could to help me recuperate from that night of terror. What did he get for all of his hard work? Well, me passing stones and feeling terrible just as all of our guests were arriving. Bless his heart. I know he wasn't planning on pushing the "in sickness" part of our vows so early into our marriage!

All the gifts I received may sound like they are the reason this was the best Christmas ever but I assure you, they were not even the icing on the cake, they were just the sprinkles. I can honestly say that spending Christmas with Matt and my family made for the greatest Christmas. Plus, truth be told, as great as all of those gifts and all the others are, I got the greatest gift back in September.

I hope all of you had just as wonderful of a holiday season as I did!

CATCH UP....Again!

I am through apologizing for my lack of time and blogging abilities! Just accept me for who I am! ;) I think the best way to do this is to do a quick synopsis month by month!

July

Besides the engagement (already blogged about!) July was VERY busy with birthdays (mine and Leigh's among other's), wedding showers (for Leigh), and lots and lots of wedding planning (mine and Leigh's)!

August

August brought mine and Janet's ONE YEAR KIDNEYVERSARY! We had a little party at our new house and it was amazing! One year is SUCH a huge milestone for a kidney recipient and my family, Janet's family, and a few mutual friends, along with myself were SO HAPPY to get to celebrate with her! I had NO idea when I checked into UAB on August 12th, 2010 how much my life would change and in how many different ways that it would by August 2011! August also brought A LOT more wedding shower's for Leigh and a WHOLE LOT more wedding planning! Finally, after almost a year of preparation my baby sister walked down the aisle in the perfect dress to the perfect music with the most perfect flowers and married the man of her dreams! They then left on what has been described to all of us as THE PERFECT honeymoon! It was a WONDERFUL day! :) And, boy, did we all nap afterwards! ;) Not for long though....September 24th was RAPIDLY approaching!

September

Ah, September! September was filled with showers, Ellie's birthday (already blogged about!) and lots of other things that I can't remember right now because ALL I can remember is September 24th. 340 days after I first laid eyes on him, 248 days after our first date, 82 days after he asked me, and approximately 222 days after I first knew I would, I walked down the aisle and said "I do." to the man of my dreams. It was a perfect ceremony, surrounded by perfect flowers, I was in the perfect dress, and every t was crossed and i was dotted just perfectly but MOST IMPORTANTLY, I walked down the the PERFECT man for me! It was more than I could have ever dreamed of and HE is DEFINITELY more than I could have ever dreamed for! It's so RIDICULOUS to me that I ever thought I could marry anyone else! I thank the Lord EVERYDAY that I live on His time and not my own! I will post another post with pictures but, honestly, it was the most perfect ceremony, down to the smallest detail! I would LOVE to give a shout out to all those that made it possible but that would just be setting me up to fail! However, be looking for a post VERY soon about two of the best friends a person could ever ask for! After the wedding was the HONEYMOON in Jamaica! Perfect and wonderful and I am counting down the days until we can do it again! Again, pictures will follow on a later post!

October

Wow! How chilly weather and the end of the year snuck up on me! This month involved A LOT of getting our house from moved in to lived in, A LOT of Auburn, Tennessee, and Faulkner football, a trip to the pumpkin patch, some more family birthdays, and a lot of readjusting back to the post honeymoon real world! It also brought Matt's second trip down to Valdosta and we had my shower down there! SO fun and it will be referenced in the "coming" blog I already spoke of!

November

More football, MORE football, the beginning of holiday traveling, A LOT of eating, and Ellie's first steps! Having Matt around this year and Ellie a little older REALLY cushioned the awful, no good, very bad year that Tennessee had!

Finally! That catches us up! I missed a lot, I KNOW and if I know myself at all, I know that I probably forgot some really BIG things so be looking for me to revise this post pretty soon! However, I consider myself OFFICIALLY caught up and I feel that I can start blogging when I want now without being overwhelmed with how much I have to catch up on! Maybe you'll be hearing from me more than five times in the coming year! ;)

Interruption

I'd like to take a moment to interrupt your regular scheduled programming to remind you that....................WE ARE GETTING MARRIED THIS WEEK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We now return to your regular scheduled programming.

Dear Ellie

Dear Ellie,

I so wish that I was more eloquent with words than I am! There are so many things that I want to tell you but the translation from my heart to the keyboard is not very good. It's funny when I think back to a year ago today. I had worked all night and was so tired and your Leigh Leigh called me and said I needed to get up to the hospital! We were so nervous! I knew I would be so excited to meet you but I had totally underestimated how nervous I would be about your mom (my little sister!) being in labor! I don't think I will EVER forget that moment when your dad sent us the text with your picture saying that you and your momma were healthy! There is no telling how many hours I had spent in prayer for you to be healthy and your mom to have a healthy delivery! To see your precious little face was just the biggest relief ever! I'm not sure if there has ever been a child more anticipated, more prayed for, and more loved than you are, Ellie Jones! I use the analogy all the time that I feel like I was the grinch before you were born and meeting you made my heart grow three sizes bigger! Sometimes I just look at you and am overtaken by emotion! I always thought that I could never love anybody more than I love your mom and your LeighLeigh but then I met you! There is something special about the little girl of my little sister! I was so nervous when I was first introducing your Uncle Matt to the family but I couldn't wait for him to meet you! I knew that you would win him over just as soon as he met you and you did! Now, just a week from tomorrow you will crawl down that aisle (or be rolled down in a wagon :) towards him right before I do! There are so many thing that I want to tell you! Like to always remember how many people you have that just love you to pieces! There will, undoubtedly, be hard times in the coming years but, no matter what the hard times bring, having so many people around that love you is sometimes the only thing that helps. I know this from experience! I also want you to never take for granted having the parents and grandparents that you have! I also know from experience what a gift it is to have good, Godly parents and grandparents! People are lucky to have one really good spiritual role model in their life and you are surrounded by them! There are so many things that I guess will have to wait for other birthday letters but the last thing that I want to tell you is that, no matter what anybody else says, you are 51% Tennessee, 49% Auburn, and you will ignite a riot if you EVER wear crimson! ;) I love you so much sweet baby Ellie, I pray for you every day and will continue to! I pray that you will always be as healthy and happy as you are now. I pray you always keep your eyes on the goal of heaven. I pray for the parents of your future husband that they are making as good decisions raising him as your parents are making raising you. I can't wait to see the plans God has for you!

Love~

La

The Move(s), The Fireworks, and The Ring!

WHEW! What a weekend! As I mentioned in my last post we got a new house and me and Leigh decided to go ahead and move out of the apartment to save a little money. So, the plan was over this long weekend and also the first weekend we have stayed in town in over a month so we got to moving! Matt's parents have been AMAZING and have put in countless hours in June painting and cleaning and painting and mowing and painting and shopping and painting and did I mention PAINTING?!?!?! So all of the immediate needed living area of the new house was ready to be moved into! My parents drove also threw their hats in for parents of the year by driving down here Friday night just to help us move! Dad and Matt painted Friday night while Louise, Mom, and I went and packed up the apartment. I need to say something about Dirt and Louise here. I moved to Montgomery in 2006 from Lineville under not awesome circumstances and they came and packed me up there and moved me and Leigh into our old apartment. We were only there for a year before we moved into our house on Hill Hedge and they helped us move there. We lived there from September 2007-December 2010. Then they helped us move into the downtown apartment (which was UPSTAIRS) and I still wasn't allowed to lift anything over ten pounds so that was probably the worst move! Then, here we are less than a year later, and we called on them again to move us out of the UPSTAIRS apartment! I know I probably harp on this too much but I REALLY do believe I have the best family ever! They go far beyond "normal" familial duties!

So, now we are to Saturday morning. Now, look, I know how most of you feel about the kidney thing and I understand that but I am being dead serious when I say that if my options were doing a surgery like that again and spending my entire Saturday of a holiday weekend helping friends move heavy furniture an boxes out of an upstairs apartment in the blazing heat I promise I would pick the surgery! Moving is just SO AWFUL! I HATE IT! All that being said, Tiffany, Everette, and Belle Johnson all gave up their holiday weekend ALL DAY on Saturday to do just that! There are no words because we wouldn't be anywhere NEAR as close to being done as we are without them! Friends like that are indeed PRICELESS!

ALL DAY Saturday we moved most of our stuff out of the apartment then went to Matt's house in Dalraida and got all of his furniture and big stuff and then took all of mine and his stuff to our new house. Although I won't be officially moving in for a few months we went ahead and took everything except my daily essentials and a box spring and mattress over there so when I do move in there won't be hardly anything to move! We did the same with Leigh's stuff. We took most everything to their new house and just her living essentials over to Matt's house in Dalraida where we'll be staying. We got so much done but I think I speak for the entire group when I say we were thoroughly exhausted!

Sunday in between services we moved more stuff from the house in Dalraida to the new place. Monday we were up and at it again early and I met Leigh and Jessica, who ALSO threw her hat in the ring for friend of the year, at the apartment and we got the last of the stuff and gave the place a good scrubbing. It's an awesome apartment but I am super glad not to be there. Monday Tom, Matt's dad and Matt worked like dog's getting stuff out of storage and two more truckloads of stuff while me, his mom Rose, and Ellie :) all started unpacking at the new house and trying to get things in order there.

When I first moved to Montgomery I was able to buy some pieces of the most beautiful bedroom suite. I only had enough money to purchase some but always planned on finishing it out later. I had even told my family for the past few birthdays and Christmases that I really wanted the nightstand from the set. Well, the first time that Matt came over to the apartment we were sitting in the living room/Leigh's room watching tv and Matt looked in my room and said, "I think we have the same bedroom suite" I should have known then what good taste he has! :) Turns out we had the exact same set from the exact same furniture store! Together we have more than an entire set MINUS ONE nightstand! SO, I had been telling Matt that for my upcoming birthday that I really wanted that nightstand. Then we got the master bedroom put together and it NEEDED that nightstand! It just couldn't wait! ;) Matt called me from the furniture store and said that the nightstand had been discontinued! BOO! He assured me that it would all work out and even though I didn't have time to dwell on it I was really disappointed about that stupid nightstand!

Later that afternoon while Matt and his dad were out getting stuff from storage and the old house and picking up our new grill Louise and dirt came over to pick up Ellie who had been helping me unpack the kitchen while here mom and dad did a little shopping. Louise was real insist ant that I come back to one of the guest rooms to decide about furniture placement. It was weird because the room isn't even painted yet but I'm still enjoying the process so anytime someone wants to talk about it I'm all in :) Then Matt's mom came and got us and said that I needed to go to the master to look at something. When I walked in there was the beautiful nightstand! With some awesome luck Matt and Tom had been able to find just the ONE nightstand that had been moved to the furniture stores clearance center since it was discontinued! YAY! Now our master bedroom set is complete and it looks awesome! As soon as I get everything cleaned up I will post some before and after house pictures!

Matt had planned for us to ride on the riverboat to watch the fireworks that night so we had to bust it and get ready and eat some bbq with his parents and run by and see everybody at Leigh's before we loaded at 8:30. by the time we got on the boat we were POOPED! We just sat inside and talked. Even though we are together almost all of the time we hardly ever get to do anything just the two of us. We had so much fun just sitting there talking! Before we knew it almost two hours had past and it was time for the fireworks! If you know much about me you know that I LOVE fireworks! The 4th is my favorite non big two holiday! I just LOVE IT!

So, we went out to the deck with everyone else to watch the fireworks over the skyline. It was so perfect! Matt was standing behind me and about half way through he asked me if I was happy. I, of course, answered, "Well, yeah!" and he replied with, "You know what would make me happy?" and I felt him moving! I turned around and he was on one knee with the ring and said, "If you'll marry me!" I said (again), "Well, yeah! Get up! Are you getting your pants wet?!" (It had been raining so it was so wet on the deck!) Turns out the couple right beside us had the same idea and got engaged at the same time! It was just one of those rare completely perfect moments in life.

I know life won't always be as wonderful as it is right at this moment but I am enjoying every second of it while it is! He is, without a doubt, the man that I remember my parents praying for as a little girl. My life is such proof that God's timing is undeniably best!

Morgan Immitating LoLo Preaching!

Thanks Michelle for helping out your Not-Very-Technically-Savvy friend!

Sorry this video is grainy (shot in the dark with my cell phone) and sideways (I have no idea why) but it is probably my favorite 8 second video EVER! :)

A New House, A Shower, and "The Water", and THE Crawl!

Seems like life is moving at mach speed these days! I can't believe how ridiculously different my life is than it was less than a year ago! And it doesn't appear that it will be slowing down or staying the same anytime soon!


About a month ago the house next to Matt's parents went into foreclosure and his parents asked if we would be interested in buying it. This house is just gorgeous! WAY nicer than what I ever expected to live in and worth WAY MORE than what either one of us could afford to live in! However, because it was a foreclosure it was made possible. We talked it over and decided to go for it! We decided to paint every room except the kitchen and laundry room so we have been spending every night except Wednesday and Thursday nights (mid week church services and church league softball) working over there! Very tiring but VERY exciting!


Because of that purchase me and Leigh decided to go ahead and try to re-lease our apartment and we are SO thankful it rented! Now we are in the process of moving Nathan into his and Leigh's new house, Matt into his new house, and me and Leigh into Matt's old house. Of course we all have full time jobs and we are out of town EVERY SINGLE WEEKEND this month due to showers, family reunions, and birthdays. No biggie! No stress! :) Me and Leigh will live in Matt's house in Dalraida until she moves into their new house after the wedding and I will stay in Matt's old house getting it ready to be sold until ????


Speaking of showers, Leigh had her first (of TEN if I am counting right :) wedding shower in Trenton at mom and dad's congregation. It was SO NICE! I'm sure she will be blogging about it but she RACKED UP! Those people are like family to us and they truly spoiled her! She is so blessed, we all are, to have them in our lives!


Her shower was on a Sunday in between services. The order of services in Trenton is class at 9:30am EST and worship at 10:30am EST. At our home congregation the schedule (we attend the early service) is worship at 8:30 CST and class at 9:30 CST so we are actually at services at the same time on Sunday morning. Well, while I was in class at Trenton I got a text from Matt. I thought that was weird because, although he had no idea what time class and services are in Trenton, I knew he should be in worship service. But, I though maybe he was texting to tell me he was sick or that he had decided to sleep in and go to late service since I wasn't there.

I have to insert here that Matt was raised very devout Catholic. Ever since I met him he would come to services with me at University but he would also attend mass at his church that meets at a different time. He has been studying the entire time we have been dating. He is very much a student of the Bible and enjoys studying, especially with two members of The Church who were both raised Catholic. On the advise of many we have tried to stay away from much religion discussion for obvious reasons. Because of that, I knew he had been studying a lot lately but I really had no idea where he was in his studies.

Back to the text, I open it and it says, "Would you be upset if I got baptized when you weren't here?" WHAT?!? I was so taken back I didn't even know what to think! I texted him back and told him that, of course, I wanted to be there but NO I would never be upset if he did it while I wasn't there. Then I HAD to ask if he was just inquisitive or he was thinking about TODAY! He said he was thinking about that day and had been thinking about it for a while! I called him after our services and their class was over and he said he wanted to talk to Dirt and they were going to lunch and I said to let me know when he decided. I was SO NERVOUS and SO HAPPY! I carried my phone around like it was glued to me for the next hour or two. Then I had to take Morgan to the restroom and I sat it down for just a minute. OF COURSE, when I got back I had a text and a missed call. I didn't even open the text, I just called him right back. He said, "Didn't you read my text?" and made me open the text with him on the phone. The text read, "I was just baptized :)" He had discussed it with Dirt and they went back to the church building and Randy, our preacher, took his confession and Dirt baptized him! There are no words to describe how I felt! Just a great day in so many ways!

Right after that conversation we left for Leigh's shower. After all the "showering" was done, Michelle took Morgan on a walk through the building and tried to explain what Matt had done. She took her to the baptistery, which she is infatuated with anyways. She is always asking to go see "the water." When they came back in the shower Morgan asked me if I would take her back to see "the water." So, off we went. On the way to the auditorium she is telling me how Matt got "in the water" and how she is so happy. SO SWEET! It meant VERY little to me that she had no idea what was really going on! :)

When we got up there we looked at "the water" some more and then she wanted to stand where LoLo stands (LoLo is my dad and he stands at the pulpit when he is preaching :) I pulled the chair up there so she could stand there and she giggled and played for a minute. Then I said, "What does LoLo say when he is up there preaching?" She didn't even hesitate. She replied by banging her hand on the pulpit (which he never does!) and said in the microphone loudly, "GET IN THE WATER!" HAHAHAHA! I did get my phone out and ask her to repeat it but I can't figure out how to load it on here. SO FUNNY! It was such a fun and happy weekend!

When we got home Louise, Ellie, and Dirt turned back around on Wednesday and left for family vacation in Chattanooga. I HATE when Ellie is not around! They FINALLY brought her back on Sunday ;) But, because Matt and I had taken a little trip to Jackson to celebrate Grandma's 80th birthday and for him to meet that side of the family we weren't going to be able to see her until Monday after work. Ellie will be nine months old this Thursday. She sits up better than almost any other baby I have ever seen, she says "MaMa" and "DaDa" and scoots like a champ wherever she wants to go but the kid seemed determined to NOT CRAWL! Until Monday! She FINALLY DID IT! And boy can she move! And every time she does you would think she has just won the Olympics the way we go on! What a champ! Needless to say, we are BURSTING with excitement and couldn't be more proud!

I hate to keep pounding on the same things but I am just so blessed and I DO. NOT. EVER. take it for granted. I am so thankful for this life that I am getting to live! Stay tuned....

Quick Catch Up....

OK, I am just going to have to skim over the biggest year of my life so far or I am NEVER going to be able to blog again! It is just too overwhelming! ONE DAY I promise that I am going write about the surgery from my standpoint one day but that day is just not today. Let's see what you have missed since I last wrote...

1. The entire Philippines trip

2. Surgery

3. ELLIE!!!!

4. New job!

5. Leigh got engaged!

6. Matt :)

1. It was amazing AS ALWAYS but this one was topped off by finding out the very day that my plane took off that I was a match for Janet! I honestly believe that everyone should take one trip to a third world country to do mission work. Everyone may not love it the same as I do and want to continue doing it but NO ONE would ever regret going and it will change your life.

2. The surgery is one of the best and the worst things that has ever happened to me. I got to see the best in SO MANY people but physically it was the worst! I had no idea what I was getting myself into but I have never regretted for one minute doing it! The funny thing about it is that everyone thinks Janet received the gift but it was definitely me who is better off than before the surgery.

3. ELLIE! Isn't she the best thing ever??? I mean, seriously! I feel like my heart is literally outside of my body and when she is happy it brings me a joy like no other but when she is upset it literally breaks my heart! That little person is definitely proof of God's perfection!

4. I am no longer working night shift, no longer at 911, no longer working multiple jobs, and am no longer in school. Consequently, I no longer have any money. However, the life I have gained is worth more than all of the money in the world.

5. Leigh is engaged! The proposal was awesome and I am SO GLAD we all got to be a part of it and witness it! She is in the midst of wedding planning and although she is a little stressed she is loving every minute of it! We love Nathan and are all impressed that he can deal with the little Walker fireball! Just kidding! I, obviously, think she is the greatest and no one deserves her but he is a good, Christian man and I hope God showers them with more blessings than they know what to do with! Stay tuned for details on the impending nuptials!

6. Meet Matt. The kindest, funniest, sweetest, adorable, most handsome, most thoughtful, calmest, most encouraging, most helpful, most loving person I have ever met! There is a line from one of my favorite movies that goes, "You are everything that I never knew that I always wanted." Matt is that for me. He's kind of like Ellie because it is hard for me to remember a time before him. Apparently, God's time REALLY is better than my own.

Holiday Cards :)

So after seeing Louise, Leigh, and Michelle's blogs I thought I would pick out a few photo cards that I liked and that I felt fitting since A LOT has happened for me in 2010! It has been a GREAT year for me and for my family! :)

But before starting let me say that shutterfly is one of my favorite sites!!!

My favorite thing I have made off of shutterfly is the memory book we made for Louise and Dustin after their wedding. We took all their pictures from their wedding and set up their room and had a book like this. She absolutely loved it and it was so fun!

The other thing I love is the calendars. I think with the arrival of little Ellie that maybe a good thing to do to record what she looks like every month of next year! :) She is growing so much and just loved more than words can express!

But on to the cards! I think the following cards would be absolutely GREAT!

I like this one because it has a story and I think that would be a way to update everyone on what has gone on in my life! I will be updating my blog on that soon to let everyone know how everything is going since the surgery!

This is the same thing and I feel like it describes exactly how I have felt this year! WHAT A YEAR!! But a GREAT year!!

If anyone else wants to get some free holiday cards go here!!

Where do I start???

I said I wasn't going to blog ever again because I had gone too long and there was too much to catch up. But, I have changed my mind. I have got to document all of this because I never want to forget it all. This is the Summer that I found out how much I was loved. You know how people say that they wish that so-so could have heard all of the nice things people say at their funeral before they died? I feel like I have heard all of those nice things or, more accurately, felt all of the nice things people would say at my funeral this Summer. I never want to forget that. I am not sure I can finish it all in one blog so I am going to just try to catch up as I can before I have to get up from the couch that I have lived on the past few weeks.

I'll start with my trip to the Philippines (which seems like FOREVER ago). First thing, Magiboo wasn't there. He had gone to spend the Summer with his mom in Manila and they thought he would be back before we left but he didn't get back. I have since learned that his mom has enrolled him in school in Manila and they don't know if he will ever come back to Salamonge Sur. Things are different there. The courts aren't very involved, there are no social services. I pray for Magiboo everyday and it breaks my heart to think I may never see him again but my only option in this situation is to trust that God knows best. Not too long after I got back there was a typhoon that went through Manila and I just stayed in bed crying and praying and watching the news. That is when I decided I had to give the Magiboo situation to God. We had eleven baptisms on our trip and I met all of the new boys at PTC. I love those boys and my PTC family. I had so many fun times and memories that I wanted preserve but I let too much time lapse. Maybe one day I will pull out pictures and that will trigger things but for now I have too much other stuff on my mind. Part of my heart is in the Philippines and probably always will be.

The next thing that happened in my life that I want to remember forever is my birthday weekend. July 18th I turned 29 + 1 (It's my blog so I don't have to type it!). A few months back Louise, Leigh, and Michelle all surprised me by saying that I needed to take off my birthday weekend and that I needed to pack one dress and one casual outfit. Here are the things I thought. The first thing I thought was that we were going to the Braves game. Almost immediately I realized that couldn't be so because Louise would be seven months pregnant and Louise hates outdoor events because, even NOT pregnant she is the most hot natured person I know and pregnant she is like a walking heater. So I really didn't have an idea for the casual idea. As for the dress outfit, I figured that they had reservations at a nice restaurant in downtown. I was wrong!

We left on Saturday morning (the 17th) and all I knew was that we were gong to Atlanta. Off we go on I85 North and right through Atlanta we went. I was very confused. We ended up going to Adairsville, outside of Atlanta. This is where Leigh's boyfriend, Nathan, is from and where Leigh gets her hair done. Leigh had been after me for a while to get my hair cut and I hate to get my hair cut. It literally makes me sick to my stomach. It's not like I love my hair and spend lots of time on it. It stays in a ponytail 95% of the time. I just hate to cut it. I can't explain it, I just hate to cut it. So, when we pulled up to the salon I started making my case that I would get my hair washed (LOVE TO HAVE MY HAIR WASHED!) and trimmed but I was NOT getting it cut! Needless to say, I walked out of there with about nine inches cut off and a totally new hairstyle. Leigh's reasoning and the idea of how hard the long hair would be to take care of during my upcoming recovery convinced me to just cut it off. I donated the cut off hair Pantene's Beautiful Lengths program. This is my eighth time donating my hair and I now donate through Pantene's program instead of Locks of Love for two reasons. One, you only have to donate eight inches instead of ten and second, they make wigs for adult cancer patients and Locks of Love only makes wigs for children.

Next, we headed back towards Atlanta. We stopped and did a little shopping. Leigh had already bought me a new dress for the trip and I bought some new jewelry and new shoes. The shopping was super fun! Next we went and checked into the Holiday Inn Express that is right off the interstate and right beside the Braves stadium. You probably think that now I thought that we were going to the Braves game but I knew that Leigh had lots of points with Holiday Inn Express where she got rooms for free and this one was convenient to all of Atlanta. When we got checked in we immediately got ready in our dress outfits and back in the car we went. They took me to the FOX THEATRE to see Phantom of the Opera!! If you have never been there, you have got to go! This was my second time to go and I LOVE the theatre! It was just awesome! I fell asleep thinking my birthday (the next day) would have a hard time living up to that day!

On Sunday morning we woke up and had a worship service with the four of us in the room. Then, they broke the news to me that we were going to the Braves game! I was super shocked because I was SO SURE we weren't! So, we got dressed and loaded up the car and then walked to Turner Field. You have to know that I love the theater and I love concerts and I love lots of things. But, there is nothing that I love as much (and have loved my whole life) as I do going to Braves and Vols games! I had always wanted to go to a Braves game on my birthday and what better one to do it at than this BIG birthday! I was SO excited but it didn't take long to realize that it was HOT for a day game at the Braves game! We had awesome tickets but before we could even get to them Louise was feeling the effects of the heat. God bless her. She was so sick from the heat and as soon as we got in the stadium, straight to the medic station we went! Turns out her blood pressure and her sugar were ok and after a few minutes in the cold AC and a cold bottle of water she was ready to go. What a trooper! I hope that if I ever get pregnant I am half as tough and active as she has been! No wonder she looks so good! The game was SO fun and the Braves won big! After the game we capped off the weekend with a meal at one of my favorite places and a Braves game day tradition- The Varsity! Perfect! I will post pictures from this adventure soon!

It is almost one am and this has not been one of my easier days in this recovery process so I am going to wrap this up and take it up tomorrow. I'll pick up in my post twenty's!

What a 36 hours!

Our friends the Anderson's from Lexington!

We LOVED the sea lions!

ALCATRAZ!!!

Me and Dad on Pier 39 in front of Alcatraz!

Holy cow! In the past thirty-six hours I have found out that I am going to be undergoing major surgery and changing someones life as a result, gotten to give that news (which was one of the best moments of my life), left for a 28 hour trip to Manila, missed my plane by three minutes, stayed without any luggage in a hotel in Atlanta, had a huge breakfast, flew to San Francisco, had a MARVELOUS little mini (8 hours to be exact) vacation, and am now getting ready to fly out to Taipei, Taiwan! That's the condensed version. Let me start back in Montgomery on MONDAY...

So, Louise wrote about me finding out about being a match and telling Janet. After that I was in a RUSH! I hadn't finished packing, hadn't showered, and still had cleaning to do before my flight left at 5:20! I got the call at about 8:30, packed until 10 (when Janet got to work), then went to tell Janet. I got back home about 12:30, which left me 2 1/2 hours to finish packing, clean my house, and clean myself! After a major rush, I got finished just in time to see Louise and Leigh pull up to the house to take me to the airport.

We got to the Montgomery airport and checked my bags in and then Louise and Leigh sat there with me for 30-45 minutes and then I went on through security back into the passenger only area. As soon as I got back there, I found out the plane was delayed. Then it was delayed again. Finally (about an hour and a half late), we got off the ground (that included a 45 minute sit on the runway). When I got to Atlanta, I had come in at the gate that was THE ABSOLUTE FURTHEST from the gate I was scheduled to leave from. Of course. So, then I trekked all the way across the airport by myself to the gate I was supposed to meet Dad and Chris at. When I finally got there I got a call from Dad saying they STILL hadn't left Chattanooga and that we were going to miss our flight to San Francisco and for me to come to the gate where they would be arriving. Anybody want to guess where that gate was? No kidding, just four gates away from where I had arrived, ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE AIRPORT! So, on I went.

Finally, one minute after we were supposed to take off to San Francisco, they arrived. They ran out and asked if they could call them and tell them to hold the plane and we would run down to that gate. They said no and Daddy bargained with Delta for the next two hours before FINALLY, at about 11p.m. EST we headed over to The Crowne Plaza (courtesy of Delta Airlines). Daddy and Chris went to the food to order and bring it up to the rooms to eat. They ordered me some cheese sticks but I went on up to the room. I never saw the cheese sticks. I didn't see Daddy again that night. I was so exhausted and that bed was SO COMFORTABLE, that I just fell into the bed.

TUESDAY morning (about 6 1/2 hours after I layed down) we got up and had an awesome breakfast with Chris downstairs then went back to the Atlanta airport. Guess what? Plane DELAYED. About an hour later than our original time we boarded the plane ONLY to find out once we got on that we were going to have to sit on the runway for an hour and a half. And, of course, I was in the middle of three seats. Just lovely. After THE LONGEST 4 1/2 hour flight ever, we arrived in San Francisco!

As soon as we got there we went ahead and took a taxi down to Fisherman's Wharf. This was the best option since we all were loaded down with luggage. We found a place on the pier, looking off at Alcatraz to eat clam chowder in a sour dough bread bowl, which is MY FAVORITE!!! SO GOOD! Then we walked around and did a little sight seeing, a little shopping, a took a few pictures. It was down on the pier that I found this LOVELY little fudge shop and did a little shopping there! Whoo! After that we decided we were going to take a trolley and then the subway back to the airport. It was on the trolley that we met the nicest couple! Carol and Richard Anderson from Lexington, KY. Dad was wearing his name tag that said Trenton church of Christ and they started talking to us because they are members of the church of Christ in Lexington! Big shout out to them because I AM NOT SURE we would have made it back without about another $50 taxi ride! They were so nice and when Daddy and I go up to Lexington for a ballgame, we will definitely be calling them!

NOW, as I write this (about 11:45p.m. CST and 9:45p.m. PST on Tuesday night) we are waiting on our flight to leave. It will leave at 1:45a.m. PST and it is a 12 hour flight to Taipei. We SHOULD only be there for about two hours and then FINALLY on our way to Manila! We should arrive in Manila about two hours later, 9:35a.m. Filipino time on Thursday (which will be 8:45p.m. CST Wednesday)! From there it is a five hour van ride and, FINALLY, we should be there! I covet your prayers for these remaining travels! Hopefully, the next time you hear from me I will be typing from Dagupan, Philippines!!

Prayer Requests

This is Louise writing for Laurie. She is leaving today for the Philippines with our Dad and grandparents. Please keep them in your prayers! They all fly out today and return on June 7th and 8th.

In other news and more prayer requests.........LAURIE IS A MATCH FOR JANET!!!!!! Janet needs a new kidney and Laurie has been going through the testing process and she found out today that she's a match!!! This is how she told Janet she is a match.....

Janet got to work today at 10. She had dialysis this morning and got to work at 10. Laurie came in a little after 10 and handed me (Louise) some stuff and then took some flowers to Janet. Janet asked why she was getting flowers and Laurie said, "That's what you do....you get flowers for people that are going in the hospital. I'm a match!"

We were all so excited and Janet was shocked! She could barely breathe!!! I told her she better not pass out! :) She didn't know what to say! We told her she didn't have to say anything!

Then Janet called Chuck and Rachel and they were both so excited! I don't know that either of them had words either!

Here's Laurie and Janet...soon to be blood relatives!!! :)

And here's Janet's flowers.

So anyways, God has HUGE things happening!!!! You never know when you are going to be able to help someone or when God is going to work in your life!!! Please keep Laurie, Dad, Nana, Papa and Janet and her family all in your prayers!!!

Tales From the Single Side...

...things I wish I had known fifteen years ago about dating.

So, I read this article titled 'Things I wish I'd Known About Dating When I was 21' and it inspired THIS blog :^)

The following are things that I wish I knew or TRULY UNDERSTOOD back then:

1. Talk is SO VERY CHEAP! Even when masked by what may be real emotions, it is just TOO easy and cheap! Don't believe ANYTHING someone SAYS, make them PROVE IT with ACTON'S! In fact, date a mute ;^)

2. Pay less attention to the "feeling" they give you and more attention to how often they make you laugh.

3. PLEASE LET GO OF YOUR ATTRACTION TO COCKY GUYS!

4. Try, try again SHOULD NOT apply to a dating relationship! If it didn't work the second time IT'S PROBABLY NOT GOING TO WORK the 15th time! Just sayin...

5. It really shouldn't be that hard. Marriage is hard, the first six months of your relationship should be bliss!

6. LISTEN to your family and friends! They aren't blinded by "love", they see only reality. YOU NEED a little reality.

7. You CAN'T go slow enough. Physically, emotionally, in any way TAKE YOUR TIME! The slower THE BETTER!

8. If you're not sure if the guy you like likes you, KEEP IT MOVING! Let him come back when he's sure or move on to someone who IS DEFINITELY SURE they like you!

9. Guys love to talk about marriage. Until you have a ring on your finger, DON'T talk back about it. In fact, play deaf!

10. It is ok to be picky. Just because there doesn't appear to be anything wrong with him, but you just don't feel "it", that is ok. On the other end of the spectrum, DON'T put up with a bunch of garbage because you don't want to be "too picky".


The most important thing that I would tell, would be to truly keep your priorities. Instead of going for those "look at what a great Christian I am" guys, look for the ones that show a true Christian spirit. I'd probably tell to RELAX too!

For those that misunderstood...

...my last blog, let me clarify some things.

1. IF MY BLOG IS ABOUT YOU, I WILL NAME YOU. I am not so petty that if I wanted to talk about someone I would NOT talk ABOUT them WITHOUT NAMING THEM ON MY BLOG. Thank you all who responded SO VERY MUCH for thinking that I am actually that petty.

2. I am very, very sorry to disappoint you all who thought that I had a perfect life and never was upset and had only 100% happiness in my life. I know, it's very shocking and I, too, and disappointed by that fact. However, I accepted the fact that my life wasn't perfect when I was about 3 1/2. Find some joy though in the fact that I am one of the happiest people I know! OF COURSE I have moments where I wish I had a boyfriend, or times when I wish I was married, or even times when I think I would love to have a kid! I ALSO wish I already had my Master's, had a fabulous job, an awesome closet with an unbelievable wardrobe in it, that are in my dream house with a beautiful, sparkling pool out back, all within walking distance of all of my family!! Truth be told, I wish for the latter A LOT more than I have the moments of loneliness! Some of you may not understand, having completely perfect lives and not wishing for anything better. However, IT'S NOT THAT BAD! In fact, a lot of you have wonderful lives and I don't want you to take offense to this, but I DO NOT want to trade lives with any of you! Maybe Kelly Ripa, but not you ;^)

3. I am going to use my aunt as an example for this point, because I know she won't mind. My Aunt has a gorgeous house in a perfect little neighborhood, an awesome car, a loving Christian husband, lives near her parents and sister, gets regular mani/pedi's, has a housekeeper, and only works part time (for her husband!), she keeps QVC in business, has the most unbelievable pool in her backyard, and her daughter is THE prettiest little thing and is always the best dressed kid in the room! Would you believe that she sometimes calls me and complains to ME (who works TWO jobs AND goes to school FULL TIME and definitely lives paycheck to paycheck) about being busy and tired and stressed out! You know what I do? I listen and I EMPATHIZE. The definition of empathize? The action of understanding, being aware of, being sensitive to, and vicariously experiencing the feelings, thoughts, and experience of another of either the past or present without having the feelings, thoughts, and experience fully communicated in an objectively explicit manner. What that means is, I HAVE NO IDEA what it is like to live her life. With all the other great things she has, she also has the responsibility of taking care of a special needs child everyday. I have no idea what that is like. SO, I empathize. Please, feel free to correct me if I am wrong but, none of you reading this are single and can't remember the last second date you went on, can't even remember the last time you had as much as a CRUSH on anyone. None of you also, have NO IDEA what house, what city, or what state you will live in, in a year. Of course, none of you have no idea where you will be working, if you will still be in school, or even where you will be attending church services at this time next year. ALL OF THOSE THINGS. I qualify for all of those things. And as much as love all of you who were concerned enough and loved me enough to offer your criticism over my last very honest, very brave blog and got upset over it, I hope THIS blog has cleared up some things for you. If not, how about you don't read my blog and we go on loving each other and you just don't know some things and we are all happier that way.

As sarcastic and harsh as this may have sounded, I PROMISE it's not. I KNOW AND APPRECIATE how loved and blessed I am!!! But, I do believe that it needed to be said without my emotions and without my lack of speaking abilities getting in the way. Thanks for hanging on this long and I promise my next blog will be more upbeat :^)