Roadblocks

I am a firm believer that God puts roadblocks in my life. I think he has a very specific purpose for these roadblocks at all times but mostly so I'll slow down, think, feel, and react to what he is trying to show me. Otherwise I'm so far in so quickly that I don't know how I got there. He also uses these roadblocks to show me little red flags to guide me out of places he doesn't want me. He has to use these roadblocks because I typically don't want to heed the signs. Apparently gentle warnings and this stubborn southern girl don't mix. I need to run into a concrete wall that doesn't budge sometimes! When I run into these roadblocks and concrete walls I am reminded that I am not in control... things in my life will happen in His perfect timing not mine... I need to sit back and let Him take care of it and only in that patience and trust will the really good and unimaginable things that He has planned for me take place. Here's to patience, trust, and perfect timing...

My Best Friend's Wedding

This weekend my best friend got married! I can't believe that it has already come and gone. It was such an exciting time and so much fun. They had been engaged for over a year so what seemed like it would take so long to get here didn't end up taking any time at all! I traveled to go help her on Tuesday night and it was game on from the time I got there till after the wedding was over! The best part was I got to spend almost a week with my favorite girls in the world laughing, singing, dancing, and just hanging out for a good cause... Erin's wedding. Who could combine Kesha, Angela Johnson, crafting, running errands, and fun? That would be my friends!

Hot and dangerous was the theme of the weekend since one morning we work up before 8am (which is a true sign that we are getting old!) and for some reason started singing Kesha! What the heck lol! Late night conversations in bed and laying in bed in the morning laughing at my crazy friends are some of my favorite moments with these girls. Even if there were enough room for us all to sleep in beds in our own rooms, we probably wouldn't! One morning when I woke up I rolled over and found Erin to my surprise already awake and staring at me! Instead of freaking out I started laughing hysterically! Beth was not so happy as we woke her up before 8am. "Really guys, really? Can't we just sleep?!" Beth there was no time for sleep! We had wedding things to do!

From crafting and cooking out with the boys to playing games and just hanging out with the girls to playing with the puppies and kickin it with Erin's family it was a blast. Our college group of friends probably hasn't been together like that in a long time. Since the bride and groom were both Bridgewater Grads it made it all the more fun because we knew almost everyone. The bridal party was really fun too because with the exception of Sam Adams we all have been hanging out together since Erin and Mitch started dating many years ago.

The wedding was amazing as well... the pastor did a wonderful job of personalizing the ceremony and you could feel the love of the bride and groom for each other as well as their desire to serve and follow Jesus. One of our friends who has been on the fence about marriage even said directly after the ceremony "Maybe I will get married" That was big! After the ceremony we were on the countdown to dance party 2011!! We visited with friends that were attending the wedding at the beautiful reception that definitely screamed Erin all over it, and ate wonderful food before hitting the dance floor! It was all downhill after that haha! We danced the night away and had a blast!

I'm so blessed to have such wonderful, fun friends. I wish we could spend every weekend together but unfortunately we can't figure out how to all live in the same place. A few times during the week it really hit me that wow we all grew up! When did that happen? We all have jobs and lives that don't revolve around school anymore... we may have grown up but our love for eachother and our desire and ability to laugh hasn't changed!! I can't wait for the next reunion!!

How far we've come

Do you ever stop to think about how far you've come? It can be from anywhere... high school, college, a significant event in your life. Many times I think about how far I've come since college, how different my life is now then it was then. Does simply growing up and maturing account for most of those differences or am I a different person? I would say right now that life experience and Jesus have changed me the most.
I was asked not to long ago as the school year was wrapping up to share my high and low of the year. My answer was interesting and really the first time I've answered something in this way... my answer was that my high came from my low. My low of the year was the death of one of my soccer players in the fall and how that completely rocked my world. I have been thinking about that more in the last few weeks because we have been preparing for next year which reminds me of it. My high of the past year is surviving that low, making it through it, and moving on. I don't think I've ever been quite so worried about myself as I was the weeks following the incident... but to see what more I have been through and where I have taken my life now is truly a testament to my faith and my community. Without either one of those key factors I would not be succeeding where I am now. I would have imploded and would probably be looking for another job right now instead of loving where I am even considering the hard times.
I can truly say that I have come to the light from a very dark place. I never want to visit that place again but I can't say that won't happen in my life. I do know that I will have faith that He will pick me up, dust me off, and put me back on my feet again just like he did the last time. He is my rock and my fortress, strength to my bones. I can do all things in Him and am truly looking forward to where he is going to take me next :)

Perfect Weekend

This weekend we had my bestest's bachelorette party and man was it the perfect weekend! All arrived at various times on Friday night at Wintergreen Resort in Virgina. It is a beautiful resort on the side of mountain which has skiing in the winter and other mountain fun when there's no snow. We stayed in a beautiful 5 bedroom condo on the top of the mountain. If you ever have the chance to visit or rent from Wintergreen do it! Friday night we hung out, caught up, drank wine, and even played a little "Things" which was very very interesting. The last time we were all together was at least 5 years ago in college! After talking until we were blue in the face, and laughing so much we cried we finally called it a night at 2am.

We were up at 8am (ouch because we are old) having a leisurely morning of coffee and breakfast made by our resident baking expert Allison. It was a little chilly at the top of the mountain so the plan for catching a few rays by the pool didn't workout so well. Instead we all showered and got dressed (no easy feat with 12 girls and 4 bathrooms) in our festive but not so festive "western wear" since that was the theme and headed down the mountain to venture to Veritas Vineyard. Oh my was it a beautiful site! We did a wine tasting and have a wonderful time sitting in the Adarondak chairs and just relaxing in the sun. We even saw 2 other bachelorette parties! After the winery we went for a late lunch at Devil's Backbone Brewery because everyone in Lynchburg raves about this restaurant and their beer. I must say they were right! The food and atmosphere were wonderful and so was the beer all brewed right there in their little building.

After lunch we headed back up the mountain for "free time" which turned into game playing, sillyness, and picture taking. The margaritas started to roll out of the blender at this point as well! "Pretty girl rock" was requested by Erin and that got the party started! After playing Things again we had some chocolate fondue and card games. The cards were off to the horse races and I'm impressed we weren't asked to quiet down after the very loud cheers of "Go Gerome" and "Go Bon-qui-qui". If you haven't played horse races with cards you probably haven't lived lol. After that the lingerie part of the party began and boy oh boy did we get the bride red! I'm sure it was a very mild embarassment compared to most bachelorette parties. All gifts were classy and well done. After embarassing the bride we built her back up sharing heart warming stories about her and what we love about her the most. Yes, every steriotypical thing men could say women do was done in this brief 24 hours. Chocolate was eaten in mass quanities, wine was drank, men were made fun of, tears were shed, stories were told, there wasn't a dull or quiet moment! We stayed up talking until 12 or so when we decided we were too old to pull another all nighter!

My favorite part of sleepovers with my best friends is crawling into bed to go to sleep but then staying awake for another hour to talk and laugh. I told my bestest when she gets married we still have to have these talks :)

I am so blessed by all the wonderful women in my life. I can't even imagine where I would be or what life would be like without them :)