missing you...

David and I dated for nearly three years before we got married. Early on in our relationship, he told me that he took the words "I love you" very seriously, and he understood how they could affect a girls' heart when misused. He made it very clear that he did not intend to use those words in our relationship until his heart was ready to marry me.

During the interim, we were long-distance. David spent most of his time at Eastern Kentucky University in Richmond, KY, and I was at Samford in Birmingham, AL. 400 miles. 6 hours in the car. We spent a lot of time on the phone (which neither one of us much enjoyed...). During those years, we substituted "I love you" with "I miss you". It was true- I did miss him and I'm pretty sure he missed me, but those three words were loaded. "I miss you" really meant love, but he didn't want to use that flippantly.

David told me he loved me and bought my engagement ring a week later in the fall of 2007. He proposed in January of 2008 (he didn't want to give me the ring until it was entirely paid off) and we were married in August of the same year.

We still say "I miss you" in a pretty loaded way. Though we are married and obviously say the "L word" with rediculous regularity, we like to use the "M" word for an extra special sentiment in our relationship. It brings back all those tingly feelings of dating, and makes us appreciate where we are now.

However, I'm in Austin, Texas right now and "I miss you" really is the position of my heart- in every possible description.

Fab 5 Friday

5 things I'm thankful for this week:

1. Cancelled soccer practice and spontaneous one-on-one hang out time with this chick:

2. New headphones that don't fall out when I run.

3. This porch (which looks way better than this now that we have cute monogrammed pillows everywhere) and amazing evening weather to enjoy it with my husband.

4. These shoes. My new favorites! Beth and I each got a pair in Sanibel (you can't beat buy one get one 1/2 off!), and I've hardly taken them off since.

5. A surprise evening with this family.

I stopped by their house on my way home from small group the other night, and totally didn't want to leave.

As always, so much to be thankful for!

he's ready

In preparing to go to my parent's house for the weekend, we brought our airmatresses downstairs.

Harley, realizing we were going out of town, decided he didn't want to miss out on the fun...

...So he set his bed with ours.

Not kidding... he dragged his bed out of his house, put it there with our air mattresses and sat beside it so we wouldn't forget to take him too.

We would never forget our little buddy!

Book review: Walk Like You Have Somewhere to Go

Growing up in today's world, Shaquille O'Neal is a household name, but Lucille O'Neal is much more than "Shaq's mom". Her story is an inspiring one, and probably similar to many stories you would hear from women today. She was a teen mom and a single parent. She was a non-traditional college student. She is a parent and a grandparent. She is a leader and a very strong woman.

I really enjoyed this book. I tend to enjoy biographies across the board, but I particularly love a story that points to Jesus and his love. O'Neal definitely does this- beginning each chapter with a Bible verse, even. She credits her triumph over trials to her faith that has given her strength to press on. I also love reading a story about a family. Every family certainly looks different, but it is encouraging to be able to look (as an outsider, of course) at the whole of the picture.

I received this book for free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as a part of their BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

Brianna videos

... sorry I've been quite behind in posting these videos! In the past month I have had eight (8) weekend/weeknight events for work, 2 small groups meeting, a wedding shower and a baby shower at our house and spent a long weekend in Florida. All that plus the time David spends in class or working on school work hasn't left us much together time, which is really top priority for us. Thus, I've been spending every bit of down time hanging out with my sweet husband- reading, walking the dog and relaxing.

So, here are the Brianna videos from our time in Sanibel!

She didn't like to be videotaped, which was unfortunate, because we did a lot of group singing. Ha!

There is something so innocent and pure about kids at the beach...

pure bliss!

Even though all the adults look like dorks, watch this one all the way to the end... it will not disappoint.

We love her.

Sanibel recap

I left work last Thursday to do our last minute prep for our trip to Sanibel, but I got detoured by a last minute call from Kristen & Jamie! They were driving through town on their way to D.C. (moving Kris!), and they had a little bit of time to grab a quick lunch. It did my heart so much good to catch up (in speedy gonzales fashion) with these two (mostly Jme, since Kris and I had just been able to visit here and here!).

After getting Harley to the vet and grabbing our [poorly packed] suitcases, Becca picked us up and we were off to Sanibel Island!

We did so much while we were there, and we had a great time! It's pretty awesome that his parents live in the place that was chosen among the 10 best places for second homes. If you haven't been to Sanibel, I highly recommend it. It is one of the most picturesque places I've ever been (other than Oxford, OH, no doubt), and it is a perfect location for a getaway.

Fortunately for us, it's a perfect place to spend with family also!

So, I told you we would do some things, and it turns out that we did...

see David's family...

go to the beach...

shop...

sleep in (well, kind of... we didn't wake up to an alarm and that was restful enough!),

ride bikes,

read (this and this),

rest, 

etc.

The "etc" category mostly included time spent at the Recreation Center. Somehow I didn't take any pictures, but we had so much fun there! We aren't talking about some dinky neighborhood pool, either. This place had a slide, an awesome kids area, basketball goal and an entire pool of lanes. It was awesome.

Triathlon update:

While in Sanibel, I ran two days, swam once (and recieved some much-needed swim instruction from Cathy!) and biked once (yeah, first time on a bike... fortunately it went very well! so fun!).

I think I need to spend more time on vacation.

PS- I uploaded pictures to Facebook for the first time in a while, and there are many more from our trip here.

PPS- Videos and stories about Brianna to come. That kid is hillarious and we LOVED spending time with her. We can't wait for her 5th (?!) birthday at the end of this month!