A Ring for the Roomie

There are some moments in life that no matter how much time passes, you are still able to remember every single detail. One of those moments is the time a little over 8 years ago. I was a senior in high school, visiting The University of Alabama, and I met Lauren for the first time.

I'm actually going to skip over the details because that's not the purpose of this story...maybe another time...but the thing to know is that at the end of the day, we decided that we would be roommates the upcoming fall.

I can't tell you how many times I've thought back to my freshman year and said a prayer of thankfulness for the opportunity to live with Lauren. We weren't exactly alike by any means, but we respected each other and enjoyed spending time with each other...and all these years later, I can't think of a time that we ever fought.

While we were only roommates for one year, but our senior year, we were pretty much attached at the hip. We had all but one class together, and were always in each other's group for group projects. I pity her for having to put up with me, but there was no way that I was going to be in a group with anyone but her...a true marketing genius!

As it so often does, graduation forced us to part ways,. However, we've always managed to find a way to see each other at least a few times a year. This past visit was just a few weeks ago and I must say it was one of my favorites.

Lauren's parents have recently build a beautiful home in our old college town. She had planned to make a trip down to see them, and the trip only got better when she became engaged the weekend before. Once I found out that she was going to be in town for a few days, I knew I would have to make the drive down. There was just no way I was going to pass up seeing one of my favorite people, her new fiance, her precious family, and the RING!

It was the perfect time to get caught up on each other's current life as well as exchange stories from some of our more memorable college times...we definitely had some that we will never forget!!

As I drove home that night, I just kept thinking how grateful I was that it was the Lord's plan for Lauren to be my first roommate. She was the perfect match for me. One of the best people to go through college with.

Now, I'm thrilled beyond belief that she has found a perfect match in Griffin, and the perfect person to spend the rest of her life with.

Birthday and Belles

Apparently I am on the post every two weeks cycle...not intentional, but what can I say, I'm not the best at blogging.

Here's a little glimpse into what's been happening...

This precious girl had a birthday! I cannot believe that Little C is already a year old. She has grown so much these past few months and it has been a treat to see her personality really shine. I hate that she won't remember her first birthday, because her sweet Mom really did a wonderful job executing the ice cream theme. Truly a special day to celebrate a special girl!

There were a lot of things that my small town didn't have....mall, movie theater, starbucks...but I think the things I wish we had the most revolve around old Southern social events. When I think about it, I'm surprised that Brewton d0esn't have debutante balls and Belles to act as hosts for the city, but alas, we don't.

Thankfully, I am able to live my childhood dreams of those things through some sweet girls in Birmingham. My cousin and her friends were selected and presented as Birmingham Belles a few weeks ago, and to say it was one of the highlights of the year would be a dramatic understatement. I loved getting to see all of them all dressed up in their fancy hoop dresses.

Aren't they all so pretty?!?! These girls bless me beyond measure.

Most of the rest of the two weeks has involved packing, donating and cleaning. Martha and I are moving next week and to say we have amassed some junk in our twenty-something years of life would be quite the understatement. We have determined to only take the bare essentials, so as we've weeded out, we've made good friends with our neighborhood salvation army. While the house is not suitable for pictures now, I'll make sure to take some in a few weeks for a little tour. In fact, that will probably be about two weeks from now, so it will be the perfect thing to post about.

Yet Another Catch Up Post

I just hate it when someone says "sorry I haven't been around lately...I wish I could tell you why, but I just can't." Don't you hate that?

Well, as much as I don't like it, I'm going to have to take that line for myself. Things have been really busy lately. Change is most definitely in the air, but I just can't blog about it quite yet. Don't worry, it's killing me as much as it's killing all 3 of you that read this thing...maybe even more because I know what the changes are!

Since I'm not able to blog about the changes, I'll leave you with a few pictures. It's been almost 6 weeks since my last post. EMBARRASSING! Pretty much the theme of my life since then has been travel. Feels like I've been pretty much everywhere but home. Trips to Pensacola, Seaside, Spartanburg, Key West, Atlanta...and of course the typical work trips to Auburn and Tuscaloosa.

The Alabama basketball team provided Martha, Christen and I with a great mid-week activity. We all enjoyed cheering the Tide on to victory...even Martha!

I got to lead a group of sweet 9th grade girls at a Disciple Now in Pensacola. One of the best things about the weekend was having Courtney in my group. I used to baby-sit her when she was a toddler....so fun to see God working in her life!

Mrs. Teresa...AKA, the mom to Courtney and the world's best mentor. Can't imagine life without her. She's one of my biggest cheerleaders and to date, all of the advice I've gotten from her has been incredible.

The weekend after my trip to Pensacola, I packed my bags again and headed down to Seaside with some of my dearest friends for a little vacay AKA Adult Spring Break. To say we had a great time would be quite the understatement. We've already made plans to return next year!

Martha...my roommate...the runner.

The first night, we went out in our work clothes...and the nights after we went out in t-shirts and jeans. Getting dressed up is highly overrated. Oh, how times have changed.

The trip wouldn't have happened without Megan. Truly, it was her idea to get a group together for the Seaside 5K/half marathon.

The whole crew...runners and cheerleaders...after the big race!

While the travel has been tiring, the trips have helped to fill my 26th year with some wonderful memories, and for that I will be forever grateful. But...I am still really ready for things to slow down just a bit...is it summer yet?!?!?