Sweet Summertime!

It's been WAY too long since I've last blogged and to be honest, I've been putting off writing this because so much time has passed that I don't really know where to begin! Sheeesh...we're ridiculosly busy but a very good busy! In an effort to document things before too much of this summer flies by, I think I'll just start with a few of the wonderful things we've been up to recently. Here goes...

Summer is in full swing which means that it's my absolute favorite time of the year and I just want to freeze time and soak up these long summer days as best as I can! I seriously love summer and crave it during the entire rest of the year haha. These hot summer days are the best and you won't ever hear me complaining about the heat. I'll take this over the freezing cold and snow all day long, every day! ;) Not only do I love summer time but I love my friends and I love LOVE! Combine these things and you've got one happy girl...summer, friends, family, and weddings. Things here truly are so very sweet and I want to savor this precious time.

In the past week, I have had three of my very dearest friends go from Miss to Mrs! These girls are so near and dear to my heart and seeing them marry the man of their dreams has been so sweet! Last weekend, my family traveled down to Florida to watch my beautiful sisterbear, Lauren, marry Jordan! Oh gosh, this trip was such a whirlwind and was SO much fun! Lauren was absolutely stunning (shocking, right?!) and Jordan is adorable. Her rehearsal dinner was awesome and the wedding day was so sweet. Lauren made me feel so special (I got to be her Matron of Honor) and it truly was such an honor. I cried praying for Lauren the night before, I cried during the ceremony, and I cried during my speech. Let's just say...the emotions were real because the love is deep! My heart was heavy as we left Florida on Sunday simply because I hate the fact that one of my very best friends lives about a million miles away (or so it feels). I wish we lived closer and that we could do life together on a regular basis! Even still, I love that our friendship has lasted all these miles and years apart! Lauren is such a blessing to me and I am so very thankful for her! I'm glad she has Jordan and know he'll take great care of her and love her even better than I can :) And hey, we have some pretty sweet double dates to look forward to! #roadtrip #yesplease

Just yesterday, two of our best friends married each other! Erin is an absolute answer to prayer and I'm so thankful for her! I had no idea when I moved into Patterson Hall at UK that the girl living in the room across the hall would become one of my very best friends. Erin and Travis have loved me even before Jeremy entered the picture and they always made me feel welcomed and included. I can't even begin to count the number of times they let me tag along on their dates and not once did they ever make me feel like I was intruding or a third-wheel. They were a great example to me of a healthy, Christ-centered relationship and they truly helped shape my relationship with Jeremy. It's awesome that Jeremy and Trav are good friends too and now that we're all in Louisville, the double dates are limitless (well, the desire is at least. Time doesn't seem to be on our side right now with such busy schedules but it just makes my heart happy to know that we're all in the same city at least haha). We are so happy for Erin and Trav and know the Lord is going to continue to be magnified through their relationship, now as husband and wife! They are so special to us and we love them both dearly!

After Erin and Trav's wedding, we raced off to catch the last little bit of Macie and Drew's reception. Precious Macie girl married her Drew boy last night and I had told Macie that we would do our best to catch some of their reception but didn't know for sure if we'd be able to make it in time! Of course, she was gracious as always and said that she completely understood and would catch us when they got back from their honeymoon. Well...I just couldn't bare the thought of not seeing Macie on her wedding day so we left Erin and Trav's reception a bit early and raced off to catch the last little bit of Macie and Drew's! When we got to the big white tent, there was a lot of dancing going on and we just kinda snuck in. Macie was talking to a friend and looked up to see us standing there watching her. She literally squealed and came running towards us with tears in her eyes! Oh my goodness, her reaction was SO worth it and I was thrilled we made it in time! Ahhh just the sweetest ever! Macie and I have only really known each other for a year and yet, I feel like we've been friends since we were little! We really just get each other and I am constantly encouraged by this sweet friend. She has such a great attitude and is always pointing me closer to the Lord! Jeremy and I prayed that Mace and Drew would move to Louisville and God faithfully answered our prayers! Thank you, Jesus! We are so happy to have these two in the same city as us and can't wait to do life alongside them. Gahhh, I get giddy just thinking of all the fun that lies ahead!

Not only have we been celebrating the marriage of several of our dearest friends, we've also been celebrating the love in our own home. Jeremy and I shared our first wedding anniversary on May 18! We had a gift card to Ruth's Chris Steakhouse (Jeremy earned it through an award with work...we would never spend our own money on such expensive food! Goodness gracious!) so we totally splurged and had an oh so fancy date night! The following weekend, we enjoyed a little "stay-cation" at the Seelbach Hotel downtown and had a great time eating at the Old Spaghetti Factory and walking ALL over Louisville (we walked 7 miles...in sandals I might add!). I can't believe we've already been married a year now and look back at all the sweet memories we've made, lessons we've learned, and hard times that we've endured together (mainly with me and my job search). Jeremy is such a blessing to me and the way he constantly loves and serves me humbles me to the point of tears most days. Really, I feel like I fall short of being a "good" wife SO many times (more times than not) and yet, he loves me so well and is always there to help, encourage, and support me. I don't deserve him but I sure am thankful! I'm excited for the many years that are to come and am savoring these sweet days of being newlyweds. Though I'm definitely looking forward to the days of owning a home and chasing babies, I'm quite content right now and we're loving this time where it's just the two of us. It's fun not having a lot of responsibilities and being able to focus on our marriage and friendships without the stress of a family to take care of! Everything in it's proper time, right? :)

Speaking of savoring sweet times, we're just loving living with Nanny and truly can't express the gratitude we feel towards her. Every single time we pull down the street, I stop and say, "Nanny's seriously the best! I can't believe we get to live here!" We are loving her sweet company and it always makes me so happy to hug and kiss her before I leave for work each morning and again before we go to bed each night. We have fun cooking suppers for each other and look forward to watching So You Think You Can Dance on Wednesday nights. Nanny is always looking for ways to bless us and it just makes us want to be a blessing to everyone else. Nanny's example, hospitality, and selfless love truly are inspiring and we are so thankful for this opportunity to live with her and learn from her. We joke that she'll have to kick us out once it's time to move into the condo because we don't ever want to leave! #roommatesfalife ;)

Well, that's the best I can do for now! There's still so much left unsaid but at least I got a few words out haha. Basically, life is sweet and God is good! We're loving summer, loving living with Nanny, loving being in/going to a million weddings, and feeling extremely blessed and so very undeserving! Just as we are blessed, I pray we can be a blessing to those around us and hope that even in the inadequacy I feel, I hope the Lord will use me and that Jesus' love will radiate through me! I'd appreciate your prayers for that as well and hope to write again soon! Xo :)