11 Years. Wow. I was washing dishes tonight and realized that 11 years ago this week I met my amazing husband. So for your entertainment, I'll recount the story...
I was on the cusp of beginning the rigors of nursing school and wanted to spend a fun weekend in Atlanta with my brother and sister-in-law celebrating my birthday. In the weeks leading up to this birthday, my sister-in-law and I talked several times and planned a little get together with some of their friends from Tech. During these conversations, she mentioned this guy that my bubba was in classes with who she thought I might like. I almost immediately began telling her how I was NOT interested in any of his friends, much less somebody who lived 4 hours from me.
Meanwhile, my brother asked his friend (now referred to here as The Daddy) if he was interested in going out for a beer while I was in town. At least, I think there was some mention of my presence. The Daddy is not known as a guy to turn down a beer, so he was in.
After hearing a little more about this fabulous guy who was cute, funny, blah, blah, blah, I said, OK. Sure, he can come, but I'm NOT going to like him.
I know this is going to sound really cheesy, and well, frankly, it still sounds cheesy to me all these years later, but when we walked into his apartment to pick him up I knew instantly he was the guy I was supposed to marry. It's a good thing that God was still talking to me since I wasn't really into talking to Him too much during this time in my life.
There was that weird, awkward greeting and we were off. We had dinner, drinks, and then went to Jellyrolls (a dueling piano bar in Buckhead). Over the course of the evening there was a lot of laughter and I thought he was awfully cute. He thought I was too skinny (and told me so--he's always been known for his honesty) and even tried to pick up our waitress.
I don't remember all of the details of the weekend, but I do remember that The Daddy canceled other plans to get together with us again to play games. We ended up spending a lot of time together talking and laughing. By the end of the weekend, we'd exchanged numbers and addresses and even taken a couple of pictures together.
And as they say, the rest is history. From that weekend on, we've been together. Sure, we've had some bumps along the way, but looking back, there are more good times than bad, more happy than sad. God is good, He is faithful, and here we are 11 years later, still laughing and getting better by the day.
So this weekend, I imagine we'll have a beer on the patio, toast our matchmakers and the blind date that he didn't know was a date, and share a laugh or two.
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
11 Years Ago This Week
Posted by Southern Momma at 9:43 PM 2 comments
Labels: birthdays, blessings, perspective
Monday, July 6, 2009
A deal too good NOT to share
You know I love to save money. If you know me well, you also know that not only do I love Target, I love Kashi products. Thanks to Common Sense With Money I got an awesome deal today. With all the coupons (linked straight from that site), I got 4 boxes of cereal and 4 boxes of cereal bars for $6.32. That's a savings of $19.26 folks! This may be the best deal I've gotten in ages. And since I've yet to venture into the world of making my own cereal, this is the next best thing.
Posted by Southern Momma at 3:18 PM 1 comments
Labels: financial freedom
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Strawberry Pickin'
The Daddy has been on vacation all week, so we took the kids to pick strawberries at a local farm this week. Oh. My. Goodness! These are the most wonderful things I've ever tasted. You pick, eat all you want in the fields, and then go home with full bellies and covered in strawberry juice. It was a fabulous day.
Admittedly, I was distracted by the beautiful berries, so I only got these two pictures, but we have proof that at least one of the kids picked while the other ate. Go figure.

After picking berries in the morning, we came home and picked snow peas, sugar snap peas, lettuces, arugula, and green onions out of our garden. This beautiful salad made for a tasty (and quite fresh) supper.
Posted by Southern Momma at 8:55 PM 0 comments
Labels: family fun
Monday, June 15, 2009
Like Father, Like Son
When Daddy came home today, we discussed what to do about the issue at hand with The Short One's hair. This was our conclusion...



Posted by Southern Momma at 7:25 PM 3 comments
When Siblings Attack
"Safety scissor" wielding preschooler attacks toddler brother's beautiful golden locks.
This is what she did to the side.
This is what it's supposed to look like.
And now, two views of what she did to the front and the side. Her question to me when it was all done..."Momma, don't you think he looks beautiful?"

Posted by Southern Momma at 2:18 PM 1 comments
Sunday, June 14, 2009
More on The Shack and Priorities
Posted by Southern Momma at 1:28 PM 2 comments
Labels: God's love, perspective
Friday, June 12, 2009
The Shack and My Great Sadness
I just finished my second reading of The Shack by William P. Young. I've been pondering what to say about it since I finished reading it the first time. There really is a lot to say, and I've got a lot of words swirling around in my mind. I can only hope that I can express what I want to express without causing confusion and delay.
First things first, if you haven't read the book, read it. Go get it right now. Borrow it from the library, ask somebody at your church if you can borrow a copy, go buy it. Whatever it takes, get your hands on a copy and read it with an open mind. I have many friends who have read it even though they were hesitant and have really gotten a new perspective thanks to this work of fiction.
Yes, without a doubt, it's fiction. The author says it in the book, on his website, and everywhere I've heard about it. Like all good fiction, might there be some element of truth to it? Maybe. But really, that is of little consequence. Do I think it could have happened really, honestly, like it is portrayed. Heck yeah. And if I walk down the stairs in the morning and Aunt Jemimah is making me greens for breakfast, you better believe I'm pulling up a chair and eating with her. But in this day and age, is it likely that God really met Mack in a shack in the woods, well, that's not really for me to say.
Most of my regular readers know that I suffer from a variety of physical ailments, one of which is causing great confusion at the moment with my doctors and nobody has an answer at the moment. Most of you also know that I battle daily with depression. Something that has gripped onto me strongly and that I have recently become to believe is a real spiritual battle. The enemy has taken it upon himself to whisper lies into my ears and my heart, lies that I believe in moments of weakness, lies that permeate my life in ways that I hate. This is my great sadness. I have so much to be thankful for. So many blessings in my life, yet I still fall prey to his lies. Thank God that He will never leave me or forsake me. Thank God that He collects my tears and my sadness and aches with me. I know that I am not alone. And I know that I am surrounded by people who love me and find me worthy. I know that God is "especially fond" of me. Most of this I've known all my life although at times I chose to ignore it. All of this was reawakened in me by reading this short novel.
I've come to a new understanding about God in the last several years. And this book has brought a lot of that to a new light. First and foremost, God is love. And He is a verb. "I Am that I Am." We cannot be if He was not first. Yeah, I admit, it's kind of hard to think of God as a verb when all of my life, He's been a noun. But, I guess that's one of the cool things about God. He can be both a noun and a verb. So many cool things about God. So many new eye-opening things in this little book. One of my favorites is the representation of the Trinity. I love how it's all about relationship.
Do I have it all right now? No. Do I still struggle with understanding why people who desperately want children can't have children? Yes. Do I still question why children are allowed to die? Of course. But have I learned that the most important thing is that I seek The One with the answers. And as I draw nearer to Him in relationship, I begin to see just a little more of the picture. I hope you will too.
Posted by Southern Momma at 9:07 PM 1 comments
