Take Me Out to the Ball Game!

"Take me out to the ball game,
Take me out with the crowd.
Buy me some peanuts and cracker jacks,
I don't care if I never get back."

For those of you that know me, you may know that I was practically raised on a baseball field. I played t-ball when I was younger. From there, my brother played from t-ball until his teenage years. 

My dad was his coach and mom and I were the loudest cheerleaders for them! 

For the last several years of my brother playing, my dad was the President of the Dixie Youth League in our town, and personally, it rocked! I got to eat the best burgers and candy most nights of the week (yeah, not too healthy, but oh so good! Nothing like a ball field burger!). A few of the girls my age had brothers that were my brother's age, so they all played ball together, and us girls cheered them on year after year! I have no many memories from growing up there and my "baseball family." 

Now, I'm not much into watching it on TV, because personally I like the face-to-face games much better! It's been a long time since I have been to an actual baseball game since we are all grown up now, but today, that's going to change. My dad has a company picnic in Birmingham each year and this year, he gets to take 2 extra people other than my mom. So my dad, mom, the husband, and I are going to Birmingham today. His company is feeding us a yummy lunch, and I know it's going to be yummy because he works for a food company! After that, we are going to watch a baseball game!!! WOOHOO! Yeah, I know. It's pretty stinking hot here in Alabama, but it brings back so many memories. The sights, the sounds, the smells. It all reminds me of growing up and long, hot summer days and nights in our hometown. 

Now as a wife, and hopefully one day a mom, I am wishful that our son (if God blesses us with one) decides to play baseball, simply so I can be the supportive mom on the sidelines that my mom was for my brother growing up.

So wish us a safe and fantastic journey as we travel today! Hope you have a very blessed Saturday. And hey, it's beautiful out, so get out there and play in the sunshine! 

Benefit Walk for St. Jude Children's Hospital

On Saturday, November 20th, I am participating in the Give Thanks. Walk, benefiting St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. As I walk, I have challenged myself to raise money to support the lifesaving work of St. Jude--and I am asking for your support to help me reach my goal. Please click the link below to visit my website and make your donations. Thank you in advance for helping support this cause and helping me and my team, Jewels for St. Jude, reach our goal! 

**Before you dismiss this post and request for support, just think. Wouldn't you want everyone that is capable to help if it was your child??

St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, founded by the late entertainer Danny Thomas, is one of the world's premier centers for the research and treatment of pediatric cancer and other catastrophic childhood diseases.  St. Jude is the first and only pediatric cancer center to be designated as a Comprehensive Cancer Center by the National Cancer Institute.  Children from all 50 states and from around the world have come through the doors of St. Jude for treatment, and thousands more around the world have benefited from the research conducted at St. Jude -- research that is shared freely with the global medical community.  St. Jude is the only pediatric cancer research center where families never pay for treatments that are not covered by insurance.  No child is denied treatment because of a family's ability to pay.

You can help me reach my goal by clicking this link to make an online debit or credit card donation.  If you do not wish to make an online donation but prefer to use a check, please contact me and let me know.  I can make other arrangements with you to obtain your donation.

If you Believe in the Power of Prayer...

which, you most definitely should, because our God is an amazing God, then I'm asking for your prayers. 

My husband is currently looking for another job. He loves what he does, but it's not completely steady from day-to-day right now. He has applied a few places. There is a government job that him and his friend are up for, but the only thing is that it's a strike job for now..and get this. It's in the Mid-West! Not sure exactly where, but that's definitely not close to me! He talked to a lady from the company today and she is running their background checks. 

She told him that if he hadn't heard from her by August 10th, for him to call her because the job is supposed to start on the 7th. 

Now, our 2 year wedding Anniversary is August 14th and we were planning on going somewhere for the weekend. I don't want to be alone for our anniversary if I'm not able to go with him on his job. Not my ideal anniversary trip by far! If he goes for this job, he will be gone for several months..which means me living alone. I can't stay with anyone because I have two dogs, one of which is inside and it's lots of trouble finding somewhere we can all go. Not just that, but we have been in this house for right at a year, and yes, it's a rental, but I have finally got everything the way I want and it's HOME! We have never spent a night apart and I don't want to stay here alone for several months or longer.

So here is where your prayers come in. I'm asking that first of all, you pray for God's will to be done in our lives. He knows what we need and how those needs can be met. However, I'm asking that you pray that he gets the other job here in our town that he is up for so that he can stay here with me. 

Thanks in advance for the prayers!

Weigh-in Wednesday

I'm short on time today. 

I have found myself blogging a little more than I need to. Not that I don't enjoy it, because I obviously do, but I am spending time on here when I could be up and doing something productive! I have set up a schedule for today and tomorrow for sure since I'm not babysitting today and I'm sticking to it.

So today's Weigh-In is going to be short and sweet!   Here are my thoughts....

I'm starting my Weight Watchers stuff ... again. I do great with tracking and keeping up with what I eat..well, until about mid-afternoon. That's when I get bored, start snacking, and just not paying attention. However, that stops today. If I don't track it, I don't eat it! That's my new motto when it comes to food. I bought enough groceries this week so that there should be no eating out. This means that I'm able to know points values for everything we eat. I weighed this morning, and I'm not currently thrilled with what I saw. 

I think this picture about sums up what I feel.

I'm also setting a goal of reaching at least 200 minutes of exercise each week!
There are only 22 weeks left in 2010 and I'm setting a goal to lose 20-30 pounds by graduation in December!! It's gonna be tough, but if I steadily lose 1-2 pounds a week it's possible. Thinking Positive!

All words of encouragement, tips, WW recipes, and fun exercise tips are GREATLY appreciated!! 

Try It Tuesday..as promised!

Hey Bloggers. I'm back for Try It Tuesday as promised.

And this week's healthy recipe is.....

Beef Enchilada Casserole

 5.5 WW points per serving

 Calories: 261  Fat: 9g, Protein: 14g, Carbs: 34g, Fiber: 4g

Ingredients

• 2 cups canned red chili sauce
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 4 cups low sodium tomato puree
• 1 1/2 teaspoons mild/hot chili powder
• 1 pound extra lean ground beef
• 1/4 c. onion flakes
• twelve 6" corn tortillas, quartered
• 4 1/2 oz sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
• 40 small (or 24 large) black olives, pitted and chopped

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. 

To prepare sauce, in medium sauce pan, stir 1/4 c. of the chili sauce and flour until flour is dissolved.

Gradually stir in remaining chili sauce, tomato puree, and chili powder.

Bring mixture to a boil over medium-high heat; cook (stirring constantly) for 2 minutes or until slightly thickened.

Remove from heat; let cool.

Meanwhile, place large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat; add beef.

After it is done, add in onion flakes, then drain any grease. Set aside.

Spray 9x13 casserole dish with  nonstick cooking spray.

Spread 1/2 cup of cooled sauce over the bottom of the casserole dish.

Dip 12 tortilla quarters into remaining sauce; arrange evenly in casserole dish.

Sprinkle evenly with 1/3 of the beef mixture, 1/4 of cheese, and 1/4 of olives.

Top evenly with 1/2 cup of sauce.

Repeat layers 2 more times.

On the top layer of last 12 tortilla quarters, top evenly with remaining cheese, olives, and sauce. 

Bake covered; 35 minutes. Uncover, bake 25-30 minutes longer or until completely golden and sizzling. 

Let cool and enjoy!!

Alright, let me know what you think and make a post with your healthy recipe on it! Leave a comment telling me where it is!! :) 

Have a happy and healthy Tuesday!!

TTA :)

Found myself another cute blog-hop. 

I love just seeing what others are doing and checking out their blogs.

 I find the cutest things! 

Check out the other blogs over at Tuesday Tag-Along.

 I'll be back later for my actual Try it Tuesday Post :)

Tasha

Meet Me on Monday

It's time for another Blog Hop!!

Questions:

1. What one food could you eat every single day?
2. Do you wear glasses or contacts?
3. What kind of cell phone do you have?
4. What did you have for dinner last night?
5. What is your favorite candy?

My Answers:

1. What one food could you eat every single day?

CHICKEN

Grilled, Fried: Breast, fingers, wings, etc. Any kind, I just love chicken! 

2. Do you wear glasses or contacts?

Nope. My blue eyes are all mine!!

I got lucky!

3. What kind of cell phone do you have?

Verizon LG Dare

And I love it!

4. What did you have for dinner last night?

 Jack's Chicken Sandwich and Fries

Well, I started my 30 Day for Me Challenge today, so I had a not-so-healthy last meal last night.

5. What is your favorite candy?

Sour Patch Kids

 Without a Doubt!!

Addition

Check out my new tab at the top of my page! This is where I'll be keeping a running record of this health journey we are on and keeping you all up-to-date. 

I'm so excited about it and am hoping that my excitement carries over into my commitment to eat healthy and exercise! :) 

I also posted about my goals for the 30 Days of Me Challenge that I am joining with some other bloggers. 

Tab over to my New Me page to check out my goals and learn about the challenge! :) 

Need Help: Creating a page and tab

Okay, Bloggers! I'm trying to do some things to my blog. I want to add a page to the tabs at the top of my screen. On this page, I just want to be able to blog about our journey to a healthy life, and on the home page, I want to keep everything else. I just need to know how to add a page. On the Design screen, when I click Add a Gadget, and Pages, I'm stuck from there. It only lets me add a tab for Home since it's the only page I currently have. For all of you bloggers out there with the cute tabs for different pages, please send me any information that you can share! :) It will be greatly appreciate!

Traveling Through Thursday

I have become obsessed with Blog Hops. I love seeing that everyone is posting and learning how others live their live!!
 
Welcome to the Traveling Through Thursday  Blog Hop, hosted by Living on Love and Cents, Mom On Dealz, Prenda Le Stelle, and  Clipping for Cash! Traveling Through Thursday and a new kind of blog hop! We will betraveling to a new destination each week!

1st week -Google Friend Connect
2nd week - Facebook
3rd week - Twitter
4th week - Networked Blogs
Each week we will randomly pick a Spotlight Blog of the Week! To be choosen you must follow the rules and have our button somewhere on your blog. (We have to be able to find it!)
Join us on our journey as we discover new blogs and gain new followers every week!

The rules are super simple!

1. Follow the Thraveling Through Thursday Hosts (Listed as # 1-4) as well as the  Spotlighted Blog of the Week (listed as #5)

2. Link up ONLY THE NETWORK being featured this week (twitter, facebook, google, or network blog)-Others will be deleted.
3. Grab our Traveling Through button and include it in a post about the event on your blog.

4. Visit as many blogs as you would like and follow them.  Be sure to tell them you are a new follower from Traveling Through Thursday!
5. Follow back as many followers as you would like from TravelingThrough Thursday. Following back is appreciated!


Help spread the word and get more followers:
-Put the same linky list code on your blog and you'll have the exact same list!
- Your blog visitors can add their blog to your list and it will show up on all lists!
-Don't forget to add this button to your blog so that you can participate in a our "Spotlight Blog of the Week"!

THIS WEEK WE ARE VISITING BLOGS AND FOLLOWING VIA GOOGLE FRIEND CONNECT! Have Fun! 

No Limits!

Yeah, it's kinda late, but that's okay. I found this picture and thought, "What a great way to get started!" As I mentioned, my husband and I have been trying to live life on the healthy road, which has been kinda hard. From now on, each Wednesday, I will be having my own weekly weigh in. I will be reporting any loss in weight (hopefully no gains), blogging about struggles, working out, and the like. I feel that by doing so, it will keep me and my husband accountable to ourselves and all of you. So this starts it in full swing! Come back next Wednesday for an up-to-date Weekly Weigh-In. Wish me lots of luck and success and I work hard to get where I wanna be (all prayers for the ability to persevere and aviod temptations are greatly appreciated)!! Feel free to join me! :)  

Try It Tuesday

That's right. It's time for Try It Tuesday (#2) as I promised! I'm back with a new recipe that I found.

It's called:

Lighter Buffalo Chicken Dip

Now, I'm a fan of Buffalo Chicken Dip, but it's a little bit on the not to healthy side depending on what recipe you use. I found this recipe on Gina's Weight Watchers Recipes blog. She has lots of tasty treats on there and I will be sharing some of them with you in the weeks to come. So here is my recipe for the dip.

Lighter Buffalo Chicken Dip

11 Servings: Serving Size 1/2 cup

Calories: 111 per serving

WW Points: 2.75 per serving

Ingredients:

4 oz reduced fat cream cheese, softened

1 cup fat free sour cream

1/2 cup hot sauce (any kind)

1 tsp white wine vinegar

2 cups cooked shredded chicken

Directions:

Mix the first 5 ingredients together until smooth.

Add the chicken and put this in the crock pot for 3-4 hours.

Serve warm.

Now it's time for you to link up your recipes to me in the linky below. Just enter your name and blog post URL for your recipe post. You can also share your recipes with me via comments. Share your healthy post and each week I am going to try something new! That's my goal for this Blog Hop. Take my button from the right and post in your blog! :) Can't wait to see what all you come up with to share and try. You can put the linky in your post as well! Just click the link under the linky to do so! :)

Meet Me On Monday

Ok, I follow a lady that does this blog hop and it's called Meet Me on Monday. I thought it was really cute and a great way for you to get to know me and for me to get to know you in return.

Questions and Answers For Today:

1. What is your favorite sandwich?

Chicken Salad Sandwich with Lettuce on Wheat Bread

We have a little sandwich and ice cream shop downtown and this is what I order every time I go in there.

It's so yummy. 

2. What is stashed under your bed/mattress?

I have on of these chairs, but an older version that has a wooden base and a round mattress.

Right now, it's pulled apart and put under our bed. Its current use: Buster's nap time bed. 

3. What is your favorite flower?

Wow. This is a hard one. I have a few favorites that I just love. Here are my Top Two though.

Gerber Daisies

Lily

If Joshua was going to bring me home a bouquet of any flower, I would want colorful lilies!

4. What is your favorite magazine?

Okay, I'll admit. I'm a magazine junkie. You know how they put magazines near the check out of a store so you will buy them, well,  I do. Almost every time. Here are a couple of my faves. 

I love all of the fitness tips in this magazine!

5. How often do you weigh yourself? 

Well, my husband and I are on our way to leading a healthier life. Doing so for me means losing some weight. There are weeks when I weigh myself every day and there are weeks when I only want to weigh once a week if at all. I feel this picture pretty much sums up my relationship with the scale.

 Ok, Now you know a few new things about me. Leave me a comment and the link to your Meet Me on Monday post. I would love to learn more about you!! 

P.S. I will be back this afternoon with the Preview of Try it Tuesday! So start looking for a healthy recipe to send me! :)

Blog Hopping...

I decided to do a blog hop today..You may or may not want to follow this particular blog, but on her hosted blog hop, there are some interesting blogs you can find! I found a couple of good ones today. I love reading blogs and about the other things that people go through. There are good finds, inspiring stories, and plenty of laughs when reading blogs! Love it :)

90 Days of Kindess

While viewing the giveaway and reading the guest post from Pure Joy, I went to the blog of the guest blogger. On her page, she has a 90 Day Kindness Challenge. 

I mentioned in a previous blog that I struggle with kindness and patience, especially with people. I am join in her 90 Day challenge and the idea is to pick on person or area of your life to focus on during these 90 days. 

My focus is my husband. He is wonderful and we have a great relationship, yet I get aggravated if things don't go my way. It's not that I mean to, sometimes it just happens. 

My goal is to show him at least one kind gesture each day for the next 90 days. 


Read her blog and be inspired to be kind to someone special that you sometimes neglect to show kindness to on a regular basis. 

I'll post a weekly blog to keep you up to date on my kindness challenge. I welcome and encourage your comments in response to your own kindness challenge as well as mine. 

I'm hoping that by starting with my husband, I am expand my kindness to others to share the love of Christ with others through my actions. 

I challenge you to do the same. 

Along for the Ride

Hey Bloggers! Hope on over to Pure Joy's Blog --here-- to see the giveaway from Along for the ride. Cute bracelet. Also, check our the Along for the Ride blog and follow along with the 90 day Kindness Challenge! :)

Date Nights

I love Date Nights!
Hubby and I try to have them at least once a week.
They are the best.
He works full time and gets up EARLY,
so late nights are not great during the week.
I'm always trying to this of new things to do 
because dinner and a movie,
well, that can get EXPENSIVE every weekend.


These are just a few ideas and some of my favorite dates!

• Cooking dinner together! Something simple, and dessert!
• Picnics
• Workout dates! Breaking a sweat or going for a walk together after dinner really gives us alone time to talk. 
• I love going to the creek...
• FISHING! :) It's so peaceful and relaxing.
• Slumber Parties (Not that we call them that lol, he would die haha). We put on our PJ's, watch a movie, and eat dinner/dessert in bed.
• Dessert under the stars. Sometimes after dinner, it's great to just go outside, spread out a blanket, and lay out under the stars (with bug spray of course HA).
• RUMMY--we love playing cards. I'm terrible at rummy, but we keep playing until I win a hand :) 
• Zoo! I love the zoo. It's not his favorite, but this is my pick! :)
• Movie Marathon
• Working Puzzles
• Candle Light Dinner
• and MY FAVORITE::Weekend Getaways! Even if it's just for one night, I love it when we are able to go somewhere, even a near-by city, and get a room for a night or two. It's great just staying in the room and ordering pizza and going down for breakfast the next morning...

These are just somethings that we have done,

or are planning on doing in the near future! 

I love my Hubby, and 

Cherish every minute I get to spend with him!! :)

Pure Joy :)

Hey bloggers! visit Pure Joy's blog to learn now to win a giveaway: a "FUN suprise pack of goodies!"
Their website is amazing and full of super inspiring ideas! :

Try It Tuesday!!

This is something new that I am wanting to try. I mentioned in my previous blog that we are trying to start living a healthier life. Well, this part of that effort. Every Tuesday I am going to try a new recipe. My problem is that I am very picky: don't eat seafood, steaks, pork chops. LOVE anything chicken, but at the same time, I'm wanting to try something new..I need something healthy, but yummy!! I love fruits and vegetables. I know that lots of you have great recipes and I'm asking you to share them with me!! 


Share one new recipe with my every Tuesday!! In return, I will choose one each Tuesday to fix the following week and will be sharing about recipes that I am trying and ones that I find as well. 

If you would, just leave a comment with your recipe: ingredients and directions. At the beginning of the comment, just label it [ex. Main Dish,  Dessert].

Here is my first post. It's actually a Weight Watchers recipe and low calories and points (2 per serving) and a favorite in my house. This will show you how your can be done...


Easy Cheesy Chicken Chili and Rice
Main Dish: servings (4)


1 can chicken                                 2 c. Minute Brand white rice
14.5 oz diced tomatoes                  15 oz. can Chili w/ beans
4 oz. Velveeta light                         1.c. Water


Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 2 qt. casserole dish with extra light cooking spray; set aside. Cook chicken in a pan on the stove until not pink. Stir in chili, tomatoes, water; mix well, and boil. Add cheese and simmer until melted. Add rice. Cover & Remove from heat. Let stand 5 minutes. Put in casserole dish and bake for 15 minutes. ENJOY!!!

On the Road to a Healthy Life

          Joshua and I have decided to start getting healthy together..again. Our anniversary is just over a month away. I want to lose some weight before then. More than that, I want us to be healthy, to be able to use these bodies that God gave us for good, and to be together for a long time to come.

          Before we got out for the summer, I had taken up running. I was doing this 8 week program to get up to running for 30 minutes straight; yes, I know, 30 minutes and 8 weeks, long time. You see, I have not been very active since high school, which is starting to be further and further away from life in the present. I was working on week 4 and then got out of the habit. I was running everyday and felt good after each run. I will begin running again this week. It's going to be a struggle because recently I've had problems with my knee, but it's going to be a start. A good start I hope. My other goal for this week is to stick to my rule of: No Sweets! This is going to be hard because I am a sour candy, Frappe, and Miami Ice JUNKY!! Those are my drugs of choice, haha! So please do me a favor this week, pray for my determination and perseverance throughout this week and that I do not go crazy and that me and the hubby do not kill each other while trying to get back into the swing of getting healthy!!

They Go Hand in Hand

     My husband always tells me that he once prayed for patience and God gave him me. He also tells me that I have much more patience than him. Lately however, I have noticed that I am not always the epitome of patience, especially toward others. For example, yesterday I had somewhere to be at 6:30 pm. On my way, I had a few minutes to spare, so Joshua, myself, and my brother rode to grab a quick bite at McDonald's. When we got there, we were pressed for him as it is, and had to wait in line behind two employees that were ordering their food and taking forever deciding what they want. My thoughts: We shouldn't have to wait behind the employees, and even so, what is taking them so long because they know what the menu has on it?! Then, after our order was finally placed by the rude girl behind the register, we got our food, minus my Frappe. Then the girl couldn't figure out how to make it work and asked for a manager, who was on the phone with a friend and taking her sweet time. I found myself being short & snappy, and somewhat rude.


Another example: I had to babysit today and I have to be there at 6:30 a.m., which means an early rise and shine at 5:30 a.m. this morning. Joshua, my husband, has to be at work at 5:30 a.m., so he set the alarm clock for 4:30 a.m. Usually, we either wake up together or I sleep in after he leaves. Now, I'm not a morning person and I hate being woke up before it's time for me to actually get up. Joshua has a hard time getting up when the alarm goes off, just like this morning. Now, if it was me, yeah, I would've hit the snooze a few times too just like he did. Instead of understanding his need for sleep (especially with him doing a manual job as a carpenter everyday), I huffed and puffed and got aggravated because the alarm was so loud and I couldn't go back to sleep. Yes, I was upset, but I should have tried to have a little more patience with him and handled it different. 


     I'm always reminding myself that patience and kindness go hand in hand with one another. "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. (Galatians 5:22-23, NIV)" Kindness is acting for the good of people regardless of what they do. For me to be the Christian wife, example, and witness that God calls me to be, I must practice patience and kindness toward others in my everyday life. 

The Following Year

The day we met was September 15, 2007. Little did I know that this day would change my life in so many ways. We have been together since that day and I wouldn't change a thing. We were together as much as possible throughout the week and inseparable on the weekends. My dad met Joshua two weeks after we had met when he came to my house to pick me up for a date, which was something I wasn't used to. The next morning after our date, I was sitting and talking with my mother that morning and she told me that after we left my dad said: "There is something different about him." After about a month, we were riding back from his house to church for evening worship. Everything was quite and we weren't really talking much at this point. I asked him what he was thinking and he said..."I'm thinking that I'm in love with you." I was completely speechless. That was the first time that he had told me he loved me and I was taken by surprise. Don't get me wrong, the feelings were mutual and I said it back and meant it with every fiber of my being. Before Thanksgiving we were talking about marriage. He wanted to get married before my birthday which was in April. There was no way I could put a wedding together that quick so we talking about November. My mother was floored and I thought she would think that we were moving too fast, but at the same time she was so excited because she loved Joshua and knew he was the one for me. He asked my dad for my hand in marriage at Christmas.

In February of 2008 he proposed to me and of course I said yes. He took me down to the water at McFarland Park and asked me to marry him! It was so sweet. We got right to planning our wedding and the date was set for November 22, 2008. By August, we decided there was no way we could wait any longer. We had a house and were ready to begin our life together as husband and wife. We went to my parents house on Wednesday night, August 13th and told them we wanted to get married the following night. We called his parents, our pastor, and a few close friends and family. I met my mom the next day and we got me a dress, flowers and all the necessities for that night. My best friend drove 3 and a half hours to be my maid of honor. It was short planning, but everything was perfect. I couldn't have asked for me. On August 14, 2008 at  7:00 pm I was married to my best friend. That was the beginning of our life together as husband and wife. It was the best day of my life!!!!!

Life as We Know It

Hello! My name is Tasha. I am 22 years old and I am creating this blog as a way to share our life as we know it. That picture at the top of the screen is of me and the love of my life, Joshua and here is our story:

Well, before I tell you of the day we met, let me clue you in on who I was before. I had been a fairly good child through school and played sports and made good grades. I got a scholarship to college where I am majoring in elementary education. During my senior year of high school, I ended things with a boyfriend of 3 years. Therefore, I had complete freedom to hang out with my friends and do what I wanted. During that summer, I was dating someone who was my best friend off and on, Justin. We got very close. That summer, I told him I just wanted to be friends for a while until I knew where my life was headed, that I had just got out of a bad relationship and didn't need another right now. This was the wrong decision: so I thought at the time. That September, I got a phone call from his mom telling me that just had been killed in a head-on collision with an 18 wheeler. I was devastated. I thought my world was crashing down around me. This is when things got a little out of control. I ran away from guy, in the dating sense. I got into the party scene for about a year because this "cleared my thoughts." and I was "having a good time." That was my life from the Sept. '06 until Sept. '07. I had a wreck on August 24th, that Friday, I was on my way home from town; I live in the country. After work, a couple of my girls and I had gone to the movies and it had been raining. Let me add here that I was completely sober [don't want anyone thinking I was dumb enough to drink and drive]. On the way home, the roads were still wet and the back tire of the two door Toyota Solara went off the road. I went into the other lane and was headed for the straight-down drop off on the other side. God literally had a hand in saving my life because the next thing I knew, I was headed back into my lane and into the trees. At the time, I was just scared and knew it was going to be bad. After I got done flipping and rolling through the trees, I landed in the ditch. A girl I went to school with was the person to stop and we called my parents. Thankfully, I was only banged up and bruised a little. Nothing Major. However, that was a life changing moment for me. I knew it was God who kept me from landing in the drop-off [I would have for sure been killed]. I made a promise to God and myself that night that things were going to change and that it had to be different. No more parties and drinking for me. That night was exactly two weeks before the 1 year anniversary of Justin's death.

Remember, for the past year, I didn't date a single guy. I guess it was that I was scared to get close to someone and lose them again like I had with Justin. At this point, love and marriage [the whole fairytale thing] was the furthest thoughts or wishes for me. Little did I know, God had other plans in store for me and they were in motion before I realized it....

Our Beginning: One week after Justin's anniversary, a girl I worked with invited me to come to her house that Saturday to watch the Alabama vs. Arkansas football game. Now, I am a true Roll Tide fan and I told her I would definitely be there. She said it was some friends from church, her and her husband, and their son. I said okay. So off I went. I get there and everyone is having a great time watching the game. Sometime during the course of watching the game, this man and I start laughing and talking and playing card games and just having a good time. So after the game, my friend from work, another girl, me, this man, and his friend decided that it would be fun to go mud riding in his truck. Two other girls are in the bed and I'm riding in the middle between this man and his friend. As soon as we leave from mud-riding, I can't find my brand new cell phone and start freaking out thinking that we ran it over mud-riding if it fell out. Joshua, the man I'm talking about, gives me his phone to call mine to see if I can hear it. His story is that he saw his friend looking for his phone to let me use, but Josh said he just had to let me use his phone so he could get my number :) Well,I do and we find it, and now he has my number. On the way home, we somehow ended up holding hands. After we got back, we were inseparable and talked all night. I talked to him everyday after that and seen him almost just as much. 

Joshua is a true man of God and has been for several years. For me, I had been raised in church and was just a Christian getting back on track from where I had taken a wrong turn. God couldn't have put us together at a better time.

For now, the rest of our story is a mystery for you and history for us. Keep a look out for how our first year following our meeting goes...