An October List

one. If you know me at all, you know I like lists.  And for some reason, fall makes me want to make more of them.

two. I love that it's *starting* to get cooler.  Not fast enough for my taste, but we're getting there.  I've worn my boots a few times, so that's a start.

three. 86 days until I get to marry this guy!

 

four. I thought registering would be the death of me.  But finally, it is finished.

five. Today was not a great day.  Not bad, just kind of blah.  So when Grayson came over, he brought these.  So long, blah day.

six. Gold Rush is in 2 weeks.  My favorite time of year in one of my favorite places.  Grayson will be in heaven with all the strange, fried food that comes along with Gold Rush.  I'll just be happy with my annual sweet potato biscuit.

seven. A few more of our engagement pictures.  Love them.  :)

That is all, for now.

Best Question Ever

I don't quite know where to start this post...

I guess I'll begin with Wednesday...we had a prayer meeting at church, & Grayson & I sat with his parents, rather than with our friends like we normally would.  I didn't think anything about it, but now I know this was the beginning of his scheming...

Friday morning my friend Kelly texted me & asked if I could come by the church by 6:30 that night & pick up some leadership stuff that she wanted us to read.  I told her I couldn't come then (I already knew we were going to dinner), but that I would get with her sometime this weekend & get it.  Right after that, Grayson texted me & asked if I got the text from Kelly & said that we could just stop by on our way to dinner.

Friday after work, I was expecting him to be at my house when I got home, but he wasn't.  I knew he'd be picking me up soon because we had to get to the church before Kelly left.  I didn't even know where we were going, so I called to see so I would know what to wear.  He was very cool during all of this...

Once he picked me up & we got to the church, I asked if Kelly was coming out or if we had to go in.  He said we had to go in.  My response: "she can't meet us?  Doesn't she know I'm starrrrvinggg?"  He just laughed.  So we're walking towards the church (it never even occurred to me that we weren't headed toward the building where her office is), & when we got to this grassy area, he said "so...I have a question..."  He got down on one knee & just said the most perfect things I've ever heard & asked me to marry him.

I obviously said yes...

 

And I never told him that I would want pictures...but he knew.  Kelly & Darby were hiding & taking pictures.  I love that he just knew I would want that, & knew who I would want there.

 

I love that he's giggling here...

 

And oh yeah...he gave me this beautiful ring.  It's more perfect than anything I could've imagined.  And he picked it out all by himself :)

 

Here are the scheming girls...love these 2 so much.

 

After some picture-taking & oohing & aahhing & hugging & giggling with them, we left for dinner.  We ate at One Midtown Kitchen in Atlanta.

And then maybe made one stop on the way home...

I'm pretty sure the fact that, when he said something about going somewhere else for dessert, & I reminded him that Krispy Kreme was right down the street, is part of why he's marrying me.  I affirm his love of hot Krispy Kreme donuts.

But joking aside...when he proposed, he talked about how in the Bible, marriage is clearly described as a picture of Christ's relationship with the Church...it is a picture of the Gospel.  This is our goal & is what we want our marriage to look like.  We want to preach the Gospel through our marriage.  I love that he said that...it's not about me & not about him, not about a ring, or a wedding...it's about a marriage that portrays the Gospel, & that is our desire.

So in 124 days, this incredible man becomes my husband, & I couldn't be more thrilled.

372 days later...

On August 19, 2011, I met Grayson Carr.  I had no idea at that time that he was the one that I've been praying for for all these years.

Day 1: May 19, 2012 - this cute boy asked me out.  I wasn't even sure it was a date, but I very quickly understood that it indeed was.  We went to dinner & just had the best conversation...so much of it related back to things we'd been talking about in Sunday school.  I couldn't believe that I was sitting across from the table from this guy that I'd known for almost a year, but had never known him like this.  I'd had very few one-on-one conversations with him, but here we were talking like we'd been best friends for years.

Day 3: May 21, 2012 - we went on a walk at a park close to my house...during this, Grayson shared something with me that just showed me a huge part of his heart.  I knew then that this was the kind of man I wanted to marry.

Day 29: June 17, 2012 - this is the first time that Grayson met my family...& he told me that night that he was going to marry me.  [Having said this, I'm sure my mom will take credit for it all...since it was on the day he met her that he told me this.]

And today...372 days after this amazing guy walked into my life, 98 days after that great first date, Grayson Carr asked me to be his wife.

More details & pictures to come...

life update

Like this?  How I just post every 6+ months or so?

An update on my life...in a very tiny nutshell:

March: New York with 3 of my favorite girls.

May: showers for my little Brandi

 

& I started dating this cute guy.

July: Brandi's wedding!

& the beach...

& celebrated Grayson's birthday

Very busy, pretty great summer.  

But I'm ready for fall.  I miss my boots & scarves & I'm tired of 100-degree days!

 

2011

Last year at this time, I was out of a job.  I had some job prospects, but only part-time.  I enjoyed the people around me, but I had no friends my age, & until then I didn't really realize how important that was.  This makes it all sound like I was depressed & in a terrible place...that's not the case at all, but I say all of this just to show how far God has brought me since then.

Now I've been at a full-time job for a little over seven months.  While it's not exactly what I want to be doing, I love the people that I work with & the company is very good to us.  I know with absolute certainty that it is where I am supposed to be for now.

When I moved here, I knew one person.  Within the first few weeks I found a church (the one I thought I was least likely to attend) & recently became a member there...not something I really had any intention of doing anytime soon, but it was exactly the right thing to do.  I have a huge group of friends now, & quite a few that I'm very close to.  I have a small group that I adore.  I'm in a community of people in my same stage of life.  This is what I was missing before, whether I knew it or not.  And best of all, I am in a church that preaches the Gospel every single week & I have people that challenge my daily.

All of this has happened in just the past seven months.  I feel like oftentimes, we limit God by not believing that His plan for our lives can possibly be better than ours.  But it is...so much better.

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

Jeremiah 29:11

It's bad when you hear a Bible verse so often that it becomes almost cliche in our minds.  And I feel like that's how this one is.  But I don't think we're usually looking it it from the right perspective.  When we read about a hope & a future, we're inserting our hopes & our plans for a future into God's plan, instead of the other way around.  The plans He has will prosper us because they'll be bringing Him glory.  Our ultimate happiness comes through glorifying him.

Remember Me?

Remember when I used to blog?  I sort of do.  Honestly, I didn't even remember what my blog looked like until I pulled it up just now.

Not quite sure what happened with the accidental blog hiatus.  

I think I lost my mojo.  

And I'm not saying it's back now.  

But I'm not saying it's not, either. 

So...this is going to be my attempt to catch you up on basically the last 2 months of my life.  

Mostly through pictures.

I take that back...starting in October.  I did manage to write a tiny bit about Love Loud back in October, but I have pictures now & you need to see a few of those because I love them.

Moving on...November.

{small group Thanksgiving dinner}

{Thanksgiving}

December

{Sunday school Christmas party}

{dessert at the Sun Dial with my small group girls}

 

{Christmas Eve with the Robinettes}

{Christmas}

{New Year's Eve}

And now today will be a great start to the new year...Passion 2012! 
I'm sure there will be something to blog about from that!