Keeping the Grill Hot No Matter What the Cost

So, we come home from church yesterday to grill steaks for lunch. Usually we eat out for lunch on Sunday - whether Landon is with me or working (in which case I bring us Wendy's and we eat together at the church). But, we've been trying to save more money...or how about just not totally go broke, so we decided to eat at home. Thank goodness this meal did not have too much preparation since we are so exhausted on Sunday mornings after church! Yesterday we taught Sunday School (where we did a skit and spilled water on each other), I played the piano for part of church, and Landon helped serve the Lord's supper. No one served me any Lord's supper at the piano, which I am mixed about. On one hand, I wish I could have taken it. On the other hand, is it really that reverent if you are cramming the cracker down your throat so you can keep playing and not stop and are drinking the juice like a shot so you can keep playing and not stop? I don't know which is worse - not taking it at all or not taking it with a reverent attitude. I think the latter is probably worse...so I'm in good shape...uh, wasn't I talking about our lunch? So...we start to leave church and it's pouring rain. Well, hello, the steaks have been marinating since yesterday in the refrigerator - we must cook them. We must because that is the plan in my mind. Landon considered just doing them on the stove but decided he could pull the grill up under the ledge of the deck and just cook the steaks on the grill still. This cracked me up. Here are some pictures - and, the first time I took a picture, Landon thought the camera flash was lightening outside - ha.

Don't you think it's funny that Landon is standing in our house but grilling some steaks at the same time? One more thing - Landon got a haircut and it looks GOOD. He had to put on his suit yesterday after Sunday School (he had on a different outfit because of the water situation) to serve the Lord's Supper and I didn't see him until I was leaving the piano after the service. He was leaning up again the wall waiting for me - and he looked GREAT! Amanda cut his hair - not too short (like a bowl) but still quite a bit, and it looks AWESOME! I think this might be the best "shorter"-ish haircut he has ever had - I definitely approve :) And I'm glad to say this nice thing about him, because I don't think I've been very nice to him this past week.

Just Call me Fresha

This morning I worked on Life@Blue, our email company newsletter I do each month for RB&Co. One of the articles I worked on was about our very own RB&Co. celebrities. I thought it would be really neat, if in the article, I could figure out how to put a picture of each person's name in lights. So, you know you can find anything on google (that's not necessarily a good thing), and I set off searching. I found all kinds of fun. Yes, I found a website where you can put your name in lights...as seen here.
But, ah, that's just where the fun started. I realized that because I put in the google search "name in lights generator", the search produced a bunch of crazy name generator sites. I found this to be pretty interesting. I went to to some of the sites, and although I won't share the names because I was afraid there might be something bad on there, I will share the names the sites generated...they are pretty funny. Let me know if you think any of these names are definitely "me".

First, our Hollywood celebrity names:
Bethany: Botany Farrah-Jayne Farrier
Landon: Orlando Bartholomew Carmichael

Next, our pop star names:
Bethany: Faith Eden
Landon: J.J. Kelly (HA, LANDON IS J.J. - THAT CRACKS ME UP FOR SOME REASON)

And finally, the funniest of all...I present to you...our....

GANGSTA NAMES

Bethany: Fresha Essence
Landon: Gangster Junkie

The last part of this story is pretty funny, too. I was working on Life@Blue and had to get some IT help, so one of our IT guys came over to sit at my computer for a few minutes and assist me. For some crazy reason, he had to pull up my history - um, okay, so there, listed on my RB&Co. history for the day are websites like rappernames.com, gangstanames.com....etc. Um, I just didn't say anything...and neither did he. Don't know if he wondered what all those bizarre sites were....hope I don't get fired this afternoon!

So...my peeps, next time you see me on the street or just chill-axin, feel free to call me by my true name...Fresha.

Think Twice Before Taking a Walk

So, last Saturday, Landon and I were both off. I was excited about us being off together, and not having a very busy weekend. I have not been running consistently lately (to say the least), and I wanted us to run together Saturday morning. Now, first, you must know, that I am not a morning exerciser. Some of it is because I don't want to get up any earlier (since I'm getting up at 5 something before the crack of dawn already), but I think a lot of the reason is because I always feel sick if I run in the morning - and then I feel sick all day (feel sick means my stomach hurts). I don't know why this is, but it's just the way it goes for me. The times I do the very best running/exercising is when I get home from work before I eat dinner - I'm really tired then, but if I come straight in the house, change clothes, and do it right then, I do great. I've eaten several meals, had lots to drink during the day, and my body - even though it's tired from the work day - enjoys doing some physical activity after being in an office all day long. Enough background.
This brings me to last Saturday. Because we had to stay up late Friday night to watch Harvin in his first little NFL game, we slept pretty late. Once we got up, I decided I really wanted us to go for a run together. We used to go fairly often together, but have not done that in a while. Landon didn't really want to run, but he agreed, and we set off. We do this circle around our house, usually, that is about 5 miles. The bad thing is, though, once you start the circle, you can't really cut through to get back any faster if you want or need to. I sometimes do not take the circle because of that one dog situation where the dog followed me all the way down the road and ran with me as if it was my own dog...but I digress. We start out okay (right by our house), but get to about 1/2 a mile, and I'm pretty much dying. I know, I know, the first mile is the hardest...R..i..g..h..t. So, we keep going - and Landon is having a pretty tough time, too (but not as tough as me). So, after the first mile, we stop running and start walking to rest for a minute. It was not going well. We just felt disgusting. The weather was beautiful, and the breeze was a little cool (for the first time in a LONG time), but the sun was beating down without a cloud in the sky. So, it was HOT. We were hot. We keep walking, and I know at this point, I cannot run again on this little exercise excursion. Just forget it. So, I've resigned myself to just walking - sounds good - we can talk about the Sunday School lesson for tomorrow and just enjoy time together talking. This would have been ideal...yet...it just didn't turn out that way. By the time you get 1/2 the way around the circle, you can look way across the hills and see our house. But, you can't get to it...or can you?? We were so tired and hot for no apparent reason that day, we decided to try to cut through the woods to check it out. Already, we are barely making it (excuse me, I am barely making it), and now we are trying a bizarre "shortcut" route. MMMM....not going to be good. We have to climb down a big hill first...which we do and is tough. Then, we are going to have to climb up a rather large hill...similar to the picture below.
Now, you know, Landon used to be a surveyor - I mean, this man is used to being in the thick of crazy woods business. I stand to rest and he goes to investigate. He comes back with the wrong answer. "No, it's just too steep and thick," he says. "If I had a machette we could do it, but I don't have one". Well, darn. You forgot that trusty machette on our run/walk this morning that you usually bring...We climb back up the large hill and get back to the road. I say I'm so thirsty I feel like I haven't had water in 10 days. Landon says he feels like we've been walking for 10 days. Are you kidding me? Finally, in the home stretch, uphill, he turns around and wants to talk about something. I just cannot talk anymore or listen - it's just too taxing for me. I barely mumble out the words, "Don't talk anymore." He then looks at me, and says, "I'm so glad I'm married to you. I don't want to be married to anyone else." Why this is, I do not know. I mean, I've just told him "Don't talk anymore". We're going uphill, so I'm half bent over because I feel so sick, and my arms are hanging down by my sides like a gorilla, and this man just said he wouldn't want to be married to anyone else. Nice. He thinks I am funny and always good for laughs. This is why he likes to be married to me. We finally make it home and drink 100 gallons of gatorade and water and tea (because sweet tea makes you not feel sick). Then, I felt sick the rest of the day. We did go to Cracker Barrel, which always brightens the mood. I will not run again on a Saturday morning, in the hot (even though it seemed cooler), and I will NEVER try to get through another ravine situation to get back home the "shortcut" way. Yikes, man. It was BAD.

Why Does God Make Us Wait? I Don't Like It.

Do you ever feel like the clock is just ticking and ticking and ticking and you are ready for something to happen, but it's just not happening? That's how I feel right now...today. I feel like God has called Landon and me to full time ministry, and yet, we are not there yet, and we are being pulled in a million other directions that, generally, are not our call. I don't know why we're having to wait so long. I feel like we really have our act together - like we are really in our niche here - doing what God has called us to really do, well, as much as we can in a part time capacity. It is just hard to wait on God - and sometimes hard to believe that He has really good things for me. I remember in the Shack it talked about how God is always good, and we just interpret things that "feel good" to be good for us, and things that "feel bad" to be bad for us. That is so true about me. The Father has done CRAZY stuff in my life. He has redeemed the unredeemable for me. Truly. And yet, I am still a brat. I still wonder almost every day when He is going to open a full time door for us - here or somewhere else. I am excited about answering His call when it finally comes...but it's hard to stay hopeful and excited and pumped about going wherever...when it seems like it's never happening. And, I worry about Landon, too, and how he's feeling - hello, I think the Father can take care of His precious child, Landon. We just continue to live the daily sludge of life and get through each day - and this is a ridiculous way for me to feel. God is using us big time here - I can see that if I open my eyes and stop feeling so sorry for myself. It just seems like there are goals for our family that I really want, but we just can't meet them unless we get to go to the next level. Hmm...trusting God? Well...yeah, I trust him, but 8 months is my trust limit, and now I have to take the steering wheel back. Take it back and do what with it? I don't know...just not trust anymore and stand in the corner and pout, I guess. He is a good God. He is mine, and He delights in me, AND He wants to give me the desires of my heart. Wow, I'm a brat. Thank goodness He continues to pour grace out to me and redeem me even though I'm a brat, and unredeemable. Thank goodness I can tell Him this stuff and don't have to be afraid to share my true wicked heart with Him. Thank goodness He loves me anyway. Thank goodness that even when I doubt, He still has a plan, and He's still speaking in a quiet voice to me...if I'll listen. I'm praying today the ticking clock will be still, and I will rest in the Father's sufficiency. Whew...DEEP BREATH...DEEP BREATH...

Baby Shower Ideas!

So...today is Show Us Your Life Friday...all about Baby Shower ideas! I have only helped with a few baby showers - and now that I'm thinking about it, I'm very disturbed by that. I feel like at this point, I should have helped with a million for friends, so why haven't I? I don't know, but I'll focus on this last baby shower my department at work hosted for our co-worker and friend, Mandy. Below is the invitation (uh, that was my job, but I can't even take credit for picking it out, because I let Mandy pick it out!). It is super cute though!

I thought this little table below was so cute with the napkins rolled up with ribbons, the little flowers on the table, and the invitation displayed.

This is the group of ladies who hosted the shower + the to-be momma. This is also my team at work (minus one).

I brought several different food items to the shower, and I'm not showing a picture of the table with all the food (we had breakfast foods because the shower was in the morning) because I never took a good picture of it where all the food was out and the table was pretty! I brought hashbrown casserole, chocolate chip banana muffins, cappuccino punch, and maybe something else, but I can't remember now. I did want to include this picture below of the drinks because I thought the punch bowl was so pretty and just have to tell you the punch was AWESOME! I think when we had the actual shower I may have shared the recipe, so I won't bore you with it again, but it was GREAT! I could drink it every day :)

And, finally, here's a picture of the petit fours - store bought, not homemade!

We played several games at the shower - finishing nursery rhymes was one and I can't remember the other game on paper we played. We played a game where you had to wear a pacifier around your neck and couldn't say the word baby. I'm not a lover of games, myself, so I'm pretty much hoping for no games if I ever have a shower - but I can go with it :)
Well, that's it for me today! I don't feel I've made a very useful contribution to today's subject, but I'm really excited about getting ideas from other people!! Happy Friday!

Whistle While You PAY Someone Else to Work??

Okay, who doesn't wish they left for the day and came back home to a clean house... Cleaned by some magic fairies who came in and whisked all the dirt away? I'm interested in opinions on this subject, which is why I am writing this post. Landon and I have been married 6 years now. I would say that right now, we are busier than we have ever been. I work about 45 minutes away from our house, 5 days a week, and have stuff usually at least one night a week to do. When I get home, I am exhausted!! We are teaching a marriage Sunday School class, hanging out with our couple friends, I'm playing the piano, I'm having to work some from home at night...and the list goes on. I come in at night after work, and the last thing I want to do is clean up...yet...that's what I find myself doing fairly often. Even if deep cleaning had not happened and I just walked upstairs to pillows in their places on the couches and the blanket folded and violin music on its stand in the corner and any random junk in a nice neat pile in the floor...I would think I'd died and gone to heaven! Landon and I have very different standards on cleanliness in our home. I'm not saying Landon wants to live in a pigsty, but I am definitely saying that living in clutter or a little dirt does not bother him in the least. Me, on the other hand...for me, I love to come home to a clean house. And, on Saturdays, I don't feel like I can relax unless the house is semi-clean and straightened up. I don't feel like I am a maniac about this - I just don't like stuff in the floor or on the table or all the toilets being dirty, or light bulbs being out, or the TV cabinet being so dusty I can see the dust from the couch...

And, don't get me wrong, Landon is willing to help me. If I ask him to do something, he will almost always do it. He is the best shower cleaner EVER because he can scrub a lot harder than me. And, he's gotten to where he always makes our bed in the mornings. The problem is that he doesn't notice the dirt and dust and clutter like I do and is more apt to drop stuff and leave for much longer than I will.

I have asked him several times what his thoughts are on having a little bit of help with our house - perhaps not now...but maybe down the road if I ended up needing to be a working momma. He is not a fan of this idea because (I think) he feels we don't have enough money. I, however, feel that we afford what we make a priority - and that's a priority for me. I just can relax so much more easily when I get home if things are straight and clean!

So...what to do? Nothing for now. I'm interested in some opinions on how to handle house cleaning as a married couple. I see several options:
- Clean 90% of the house by myself (which is what I feel like I'm doing now)but
never feel like I'm getting any rest and feel bad for asking Landon to clean the
other 10% (I understand the feeling bad part is my own stuff)
- Divide the chores with Landon, but then I'll have to be okay with it if he
doesn't have time or chooses not to do his by the time I'd like it done
- Get in huge screaming arguments about this subject and still end up doing it myself
- Hire someone - which Landon seems staunchly against at this point

So...what are we going to do? Well, here are the steps we have taken. Landon fully realizes I do the majority of the housework. So, after he helped me clean the shower last Saturday, and I was talking to him, again, about someone helping us, he asked me to make a list of each room that needs to be cleaned and what should be done in each room. I did this yesterday. And, I really enjoyed it because I love making lists. Where this list will take us...I do not know. I do want to say though, that this post is in no way meant to make Landon look bad. I understand that we are all different and have different standards and different priorities. I understand Landon brings lots of great things to our marriage...perhaps this is just not his forte. I do not want to be a harasser/nagging wife, yet I do not want to live in yuckiness or have to do everything myself and not be able to ever rest.

Who has thoughts on this? How have you handled this at your house? Would anyone like to send us some money so that I can whistle while I pay someone else to work in our house?

Favorite Vacation Destination

Today, for Show Us Your Life Friday, I am supposed to tell where our favorite vacation destination has been. I decided to stick with inside the U.S. (since we went on an AMAZING trip to Israel, but I don't have the pictures on this computer...) and tell you about our trip to New York City last December. Landon and I went to New York for the first time in November 2007 with Pastor Johnny on a trip, but we were only in the city one day. We saw as much as we could in that one day but decided to go back the next December (when Christmas decorations would be up) to celebrate our 5th anniversary (even though our anniversary was in July). We had a great trip!! It was crazy cold - and rainy - but with no snow! This was a wonderful trip, but definitely not relaxing....here are pictures...

Times Square
(did anyone else think it was just "Time" Square...Landon proved me wrong on that before leaving on our trip last December)

Wicked...our favorite Broadway musical of ALL TIME!!! We saw Wicked for the first time at The Fox, here in Atlanta, and were a little unsure whether or not we would see it again in NY, but I'm so glad we did! It was amazing - we love those songs (and know them all by heart)!! We also went to a really awesome behind the scenes Wicked thing where several of the cast members (uh, I think for us it was the Professor and maybe Fiero - but I can't remember) come in and show you around and you get to look up close at the costumes and stage, etc. There was not a bad seat in the entire theater. It was fabulous!! I think, overall, the theater (uh, the shopping runs a close, very close 2nd) was my favorite part of NY.

We also got to see the Lion King. Landon did not like this one as much...but I thought it was AMAZING. I'll tell you why he didn't like it. Because it was real people and they were these mask things - but instead of being over their faces, the masks were above their faces - so it was like...what are you supposed to look at? Their real face? The mask above their face? But, the music was amazing...and when they had all that music and all the animals came in at the beginning...that was my very first Broadway production I had seen (before we went to see Wicked that night - this was a matinee), and I was in total awe. As much as I love music and theater...it was the greatest thing ever. I thought it was crazy awesome. And, in that theater, too, I thought you could see so well from any seat.

Okay, it was EXTREMELY COLD. This was a classic picture...waiting for the subway while drinking a Starbucks. Landon, nor I, are huge coffee fans, but it definitely got us through some hard times while we were there, freezing our Florida born tails off! We did ride the Subway EVERYWHERE. It worked out great for us...except when I bought fake (or stolen) purses and we had to try to put them under our coats at midnight on the subway on the way back to the hotel because we were afraid someone would attack us for them. I always had my mace in my pocket with my hand on it :)

400/New+York+030.jpg"> We took Grayline tours while we were there. Tours are my favorite thing ever, so I'm going to be a perfect senior citizen to go on the church trips. It was very cold though, but we knew we'd get the best view from up top....yeah...here's a picture of the bus. You can see that no one else wanted to brave the cold...and wind...and sometimes rain...

ork+140.jpg"> Here we are at a restaurant, PJ Clarke's. We ate great while we were there...but it was sure expensive. Did you know that you only get a small glass of coke and then you have to pay for refills??

I think my other favorite (besides theater and shopping) was when we went to Brooklyn Tabernacle Sunday morning. Just the Subway ride there was an experience. It's like 7am, no one else on the Subway, but us....So, we get off at the correct stop and it's dark down there and looks like it's under construction. So, Landon starts singing "For Thou, Oh Lord are a shield to me..." which is fitting since that's Brooklyn Tab....but it was also fitting since we needed Him to be a shield in a scary and unfamiliar place. We come out after climbing up the Subway steps, and we have no clue where we are or where the church is. We walk for a few minutes...and then....wait for it...we see someone with a Bible. Well, duh, he has to be going there...so we follow him. He was! I thought Brooklyn Tab was so much like heaven will be. It was really red, yellow, black, and white, and they just sang and sang and sang - it was so great. We sat right up in the front. Have I mentioned that I really love church?

Alright...those are the highlights! We're saving money this year...so we're not taking a big trip! I hope Landon doesn't read this post, because he'll have us back on a plane to NYC after this reminder of what a great time we had together there!

God Changes Marriages

Saturday night we had an Intimate Encounters Reunion at our friends' Tim and Kristy's house. This past spring, we co taught a marriage Sunday School class using the curriculum, Intimate Encounters. Intimate Encounters is a workbook written by David Ferguson. Landon and I, personally, went through this material, then sat through a class with it being taught, and then, in the spring, co-taught the 16 week class. We also led a discussion group each Sunday. Our discussion group became very close friends during the class - which is not a surprise since you may not know what each other does for a living, but yet you know things about each other's marriages that no one else probably knows. It was a fantastic experience for us, and we have been so thankful to share what God has done in our own marriage...and see it help couples not feel like failures and have HOPE that the Father can turn ANYTHING around! Our discussion group from spring has stayed pretty close throughout the summer and wanted to get together for a "reunion" this past Saturday night. We had a great time. I love those people!!! First, we had a fantastic dinner - chicken, pulled pork, potato casserole, yummy corn that has cream cheese in it! (uh, sorry, Michelle, I can't remember what it's called), and we brought cookies and cream for dessert. After dinner, Tim and Kristy wanted to have a check in time. I am amazed at Tim and Kristy - and boy, I love them. I'm so thankful God brought them into our life...and, I feel that way about the other couples too. I'm so thankful to know Michelle and Greg, and even though I knew who Michelle was from praise team at church...it's such a privilege to know them more and really call them friends. Sorry...droning on. Anyway, after we caught up and shared together, we played a GAME - oh yeah, we played Taboo. The boys won by 1 point...yuck. Below are a few pictures - they're not that great, but I put them up anyway.

Here's Kelli buzzing that buzzer in Eric's ear:

Alright, so here's the Intimate Encounters update. We just started our new class last week - now we are the lead teachers, and James Eubanks is our co teacher. We are teaching at 8am, so it's EARLY! Everyone thought we'd have a pretty small crowd in our class since it's early, plus we're starting a new 8am service that we thought would draw people away. Guess what? We had 39 (an odd number because James is teaching and Carol doesn't come til their 9:30 class). 39 people!!!! God is crazy awesome - can you believe that many couples wanted to come work on their marriage in a tough, with homework 14 week intensive marriage class?????? Satan better get back, because Christian couples are fighting for their marriages. We already know of 6 couples who will be there next week who just couldn't make it the first week...I'll keep you updated, but I continue to be amazed at what God does with us - pray we'll be faithful to what we've been called to do and real with the class and keep our own marriage top priority as we try to teach what a real marriage is about.

And, this doesn't have anything to do with that, but will you pray for Landon? He's been really having a tough few days, and I'm worried about him. Several, and I mean several, things have come up - and after going so long with no options, it's just a little overwhelming to have numerous things going on at once right now. Pray the Father will make His will CLEAR to Landon - and pray the two of us will be united in what He wants...uh, and pray I'll be kind to Landon and patient. PLEASE. Thanks for lifting us up. We're so excited about our new class.

Bet You Didn't Do THIS Friday Night!

Okay, after you read/see this post...you may think we're the craziest people you've ever seen. Yet...I must push through and share! Friday night we went to Eric and Kelli's for dinner. I LOVE going to people's houses for dinner because you get to eat great food they've made - don't you think people usually make their specialty when you come to visit? So...they did not disappoint. We had Italian chicken, green bean casserole, and corn, oh, and biscuits. Then, we had a little no bake peanut butter chocolate dessert that was fantastic. As we're hanging out Friday evening (doing things like learning to sign the Pledge of Allegiance and other random words like hot dog) we find out Eric and Kelli have funnel cakes. HELLO - WE LOVE FUNNEL CAKES. So...here they are! They were delicious and successful!

Okay, let me just get to the weird part now. Not that this is weird, just not your normal Friday night activity. So, you know Eric was a children's pastor at a church. So, we start discussing VBS and how he used to dress up in different outfits each VBS, depending on what the theme was. He was like a Eskimo kind of thing living in an igloo, he was from Japan, etc...I can't think of them anymore. So then, I ask where the costumes are...because HE STILL HAS THEM ALL! He had not gotten them out since they moved to Woodstock like two years ago. He got them out for us and let us try them all on. When I say let "us", I basically mean let "me" since Landon was really not that interested since he was worn out from singing Michael Jackson on the karaoke machine this same evening. Okay...fine...I'll say no more - here are the funny pictures:

Me in the Yeti outfit - hahahaha, this is one crazy face:

Here's Eric with a myriad of outfits on - surgical mask, is that a Britain hat?, Sherlock Holmes pipe...OH, AND I DESIGNED THE OUTFIT FOR HIM TO PIECE TOGETHER!

Here's where I was feeling frustrated because Landon didn't want to participate. But, he took a picture with me anyway...

And, finally...the craziest picture of all. Landon, dead tired, right before we left after 11pm, and he let us put a bunch of different things on him....Dude, this picture is INSANE. I hope a future church doesn't see it on here...they'll never hire us. But, they might want Eric and Kelli as children's minister since they have such great costumes.

And, what more is there to say? We are crazy jokers.

Wedding EVERYTHING!

Alright! The past few Fridays I have been too busy to participate in Kelly's Korner "Show Us Your Life". So...today I'm catching up! This particular Friday is the last Friday about your wedding - specifically about reception and honeymoon...but I want to catch you up...so here we go...

These first few pictures are of my dress. My dress was an interesting story. I picked it out at one store, then was able to order it cheaper at another store...and ordered it in plenty of time for the wedding, July 19, 2003. Alas...there must always be drama. It didn't look like it was going to come in time for the wedding. We were down to about two weeks when it finally came. Daddy was saying...Okay, if it doesn't come by this weekend, we're going to Atlanta to buy a dress. The dress did come, and everyone was ready to go! The makeup and hair lady were ready, as was the photographer, to do my bridal portraits immediately! Because...of course...in true southern fashion, I wanted to display my bridal portrait on an easel at the reception. If I had to pick a dress again today...I would pick the same one again! I LOVE this dress!

Below are the singers at our wedding - David and Christy Wise (well...Christy Descoteaux, now). They sang BEAUTIFULLY! David sang The Parent's Prayer and I Will Be Here, and he and Christy sang The Prayer - oh my word it was gorgeous...AND lest I forget, we had a STRING QUARTET. They played Palchabel's Cannon in D while bridesmaids came in, and the best part is...I HAD A TRUMPETER COME AND PLAY TRUMPET VOLUNTARY WITH THE STRING QUARTET FOR ME TO COME IN - IT WAS AWESOME!!!

Alright...here's our wedding party - a modest size. Hannah (my cousin) was our precious flower girl, then from the left: Wendy (Landon's older sister), Olivia (Landon's younger sister), Amy Reed (my friend from OW and UF), then Krista (my favorite sister) right down beside Amy, and finally, Steph (my best friend for like 100 years). Both Krista and Steph were my maids of honor. That was a really hard decision for me because I felt like it hurt Krista's feelings - but it was hard for us with 6 years between us to be super, super close during that time...so I really wanted to have both Steph and Krista. Then, there's Landon and me. To the right of Landon is his dad (as his best man), Robby (Landon's friend...I don't know what else to say :), then Tom (our brother in law - Wendy's husband), then Eric (Landon's surveying friend from UF), and finally Robby (another friend from surveying at UF). The wedding was at our church, Woodlawn Baptist Church in Crestview, Florida, which is also where we got engaged the night Landon put the ring on the piano at church when we went by to practice (uh, after eating at Cracker Barrel - are you surprised?). I'll never forget our pastor the Sunday morning after we got engaged making a huge deal about us being engaged, and letting me stand up from the piano and show my ring, and then making Landon stand up in the choir, too - it was such an exciting day!

Now begins the HUGE family pictures of mine...this picture is of my Wise family (my dad's side...)

This picture is of my mom's side of the family...the Lester's...

And, here's Landon's family - and look, I realize this looks bizarre. There were a lot of people from his family at the wedding; I just don't think they cared as much about taking a huge family picture together. But, in this picture from the left: Olivia (younger sister to Lan), Dad, Mom, Bethany, Landon, Wendy (older sister), Tom (Wendy's husband).

Nothing really crazy happened during the wedding - it just went so smoothly. I was so thankful because I think I might've had a nervous breakdown if anything crazy happened. It really was just perfect. Bro. Billy did forget to ask my dad..."Who gives this woman?" And finally, when he remembered, he said (while halfway laughing)..."Jim, who gives this woman?" Well, duh, I guess Jim does then. It's funny to watch back on the dvd and see the awkwardness of that moment.

Our reception was at the Shoal River Country Club.

We spent our first night at our new house. We went away in the car below - and it was a really funny situation when we got to our home - we didn't have any keys to get in! We had not planned well about getting all of our stuff together and our car back home, etc., so we were locked out. I can't remember how Landon did get in, but he did, finally. Then, in the middle of the night, we heard some commotion outside and realized my parents had brought my car by. There was a big note on the window that said, "Look in the mailbox." The keys were there :) That is one thing I have said I will help with when Krista's wedding comes in December! I will take care of making sure everything gets where it needs to go for them to leave - it was something I did not even think about!

I cannot put pictures of our honeymoon because they were lost in the hurricane - I do have a very funny video...but that's not on the computer. We went on a cruise to the Bahamas. I can't say marriage has been easy for us...in fact, I think it's been really hard - isn't it funny when you get married that you have NO IDEA what it's really going to be like? There's just no way to be mentally prepared! Thank goodness for God's grace as we have navigated the unknown together!