We hit double digits last week. 92 days until we say "I Do"! 

Vince and I have almost been together 5 years! Woohoo, time flies when your having fun :)! I know your all thinking why on earth did they not get married before now. We have known for about 3 years that we were in this relationship for the long haul. And we did want to get married WAY before now, but pharmacy school got in the way. Yes, we could have gotten married but then we would have been living apart. We did not want to come home from our honeymoon and him stay in Quitman and me head off to Oxford. We want to be newlyweds and experience every up and down that comes with it. So we waited and couldn't be more excited about our decision.

So off we head to gulf shores this past June and little did I know that Vince had a big weekend planned. We got there early on Friday and headed straight out to the beach. It was a beautiful day. Then we went to "The Steamer" for dinner. It's our favorite. Saturday morning we woke up to rain! Ugh! Anyone would be disappointed to wake up to rain on the beach; especially us beach bums. I bet poor Vince was sweating bullets knowing what all he had planned for that evening. Hahaha. We went to breakfast and then did some shopping. Vince kept me in J&M tackle ALL day. I saw each aisle 10 times. If you want to know if they have something. Call me :)! I love the store too. But not that much. So we finish shopping and go back to get dressed so we can go eat an early supper since we did not eat lunch. The sun decided to come out about 3. I am sure Vince started to relax a bit. I would love to know what  all he was thinking that day. So we go to dinner at "SeaNSuds". Another one of our favorites. Then we head off for a drive down the beach. Vince pulls into Hudson's marina. I am thinking we are going to look at boats. We do that sometimes just for fun. Then we pull up right beside some jet skis so I ask Vince if we are going to ride on those? He just laughed and said come on. We head to the dock and he asks a guy that's on a huge sail boat if this is the one? WAIT! WHAT! We are going on that? OMG! AWESOME! Vince was taking me sunset sailing. I had never been sailing before but had always wanted to go. I could not stop telling him thank you and I had the biggest smile on my face ever. It was just us and Captain Ryan. By the way, if any of you guys want to propose on a Sail boat or just take your girl or family sailing- I highly recommend him. He is so much fun but will also give you the privacy you need. We Loved Captain Ryan. As if sunset sailing was not enough, Vince got down on one knee and asked me to marry him. BEST DAY EVER. When I said Yes to that guy, I said it with my whole heart. And the best part is. I love him more today than I did that day :)! 

So then the questions started to come...when did u buy the ring, did u ask my dad, etc. 

I figured Vince had the ring for a while but NOPE. He bought it two weeks before we went to the beach because he would not have been able to stand it and would have just given it to me. FUNNY. He can't hold water. And yes, he asked my dad. I knew he would because he is a gentleman. But he also asked my Mom and brother. This meant the world to me :)! 

And now the ring: Vince took me one day last February to look at rings. I tried on a few and showed him what I liked. The main thing was I didn't want to pick it out. I wanted it to be all HIM :)! And he did great. It's beautiful. Vince propsed with a 2 ct Neil Lane princess cut halo diamond. And I love it. 

Our flower girl is Miss Alexis Shelby Freeman. This was, hands down, the easiest decision I had to make in regards to the wedding. There is no way I would say “I Do” without this baby girl by my side. Yes, I think she is half mine. We have a very special relationship and Vince and her do too. Vince and I started dating when Lexi was not quite 1 years old; she is 5 now, so she does not remember life without Vince in it. When she asks him to do something; he does it and plays with her constantly. What can I say, he has a weak spot for brown hair and brown eyed girls :)!

So let me take you back to the beginning. We have a very “close knit” family on my mom’s side. My grandparents had 3 kids: My mom, Uncle Burt, and Aunt Kaye (Alexis’ KK). Brandi (Alexis’ mom) was the first of 6 grandchildren and I was the second; but I didn’t come along until 8 years later. Brandi was the only grandchild for 8 years and she was the center of attention, spoiled by everyone, etc. Or at least that is what I have been told. Brandi and my mom have always been very close; so she has always been more like a sister to Scott and I (I will blog about this another week :)). When Brandi got married, I could NOT WAIT for a baby. We had not had a baby on that side of the family in forever. No great grandchildren yet and I love children. My dream job was a kindergarten teacher and who knows; maybe I can substitute somewhere one day. I would question Brandi from time to time about when she was going to have a baby. Many of you might not know that Brandi has a history of seizures and takes medications to control them. She told me one day when I asked her about having a baby, that she had decided not to have children because her seizure medications have a risk of birth defects (cleft lip/cleft palate). I had not started pharmacy school and did not know this yet, but I was devastated when she told me. She had decided the risk was too great to take a chance. But then…

A few months later, I was sitting on the couch in our condo in Oxford, MS when Brandi called me and said, “Guess what? I am pregnant”! YAY! (they were not trying; but sometimes God intervenes; he knew we needed a baby girl). I will never forget that moment. I was super excited but also very scared. She saw the very best doctors and we all prayed constantly. And guess what?

On October 31^st 2008 (Halloween) a healthy, beautiful baby girl made her grand entrance into the world and stole my heart. I had never laid eyes on anything more beautiful. Seriously! Head full of black hair. 

She is now the sweetest, funniest, smartest and most gorgeous child I know; and she calls me ‘LaLa.’ We have shared lots of laughs, pool days, grove days, lazy days, and sleep overs :). And I would not trade one of them for the world. 

Brandi gets on to me sometimes because I ALWAYS let her have her way, and will never spank her. What do I say about that? That is her job. My job is to Spoil, Spoil, Spoil, and be the BEST LALA EVER! Besides how could you spank someone with a face that cute? 

See my Dilemma? Tough Huh? You would not spank her either. She never needs one anyways.

 Lexi and Vince’s relationship is ALL PLAY. I took them in a store with me back during Christmas; heard a loud singing Santa Claus disrupting the whole store; She and Vince were the guilty party. The Santa was singing and dancing to, 'Hey, Sexy Lady'! They are goofy and laugh constantly. I love seeing Vince with her; he is going to be a great dad. 

Brandi always tells Lexi to enjoy all the attention because it will change when I have my own kids. And yes, I am sure I will be extremely busy and consumed with my own; but there is a place in my heart that only Alexis can fill :)!

She will start kindergarten at PCS in Hattiesburg this fall. Oh where has the time gone. So everyone WATCH OUT, because I am sure she will steal the show at the wedding!

Growing up, we all formulate our own thoughts on how we will know when we have found “the one”. We imagine it’s going to be a fairy tale, or our heart will skip a beat, or something inside of us will just let us know when we have found the one. WRONG. Or at least for me this did not happen.

When I met Vince, my heart was happier than it had ever been. This was because I had never met a guy who was so much like my dad, selfless, put God first in his life, made me want to be a better person, and ALWAYS made me his first priority. I did not know guys like this still existed to be honest. He became my best friend (yes, its cliché but true). I wanted to share all of my life moments with him, good or bad.

Then after six months, I went through “a phase.” The new had worn off and I got to analyzing everything. How do I know if he is the one? This does not feel like a fairy tale anymore? Shouldn’t everyday feel like a dream? Then after many prayers and lots of thinking, I came to the conclusion: just like life, relationships are not a fairy tale. It is about finding the one you want to build a life with and making a commitment to them. I could not imagine life without Vince. He was the first one I wanted to call when something good happened or when I had just found out bad news. He was the one I wanted to laugh with, act goofy with, go on adventures with, watch football with, or just be lazy with. I realized he honestly was my Best Friend in the whole world. And who better to grow old with than your Best Friend. When the new wears off (and trust me it will), life throws you curves, and your aging day by day, who is the one person you are still going to want by your side? It’s the one you want to share everything with, the one you love and trust, the one who makes you laugh, the one you can be yourself with and act goofy with, the one you can’t imagine ever saying goodbye to, and the one you just want to have fun with everyday. So NO, I did not know Vince was the one because our relationship was or is a fairy tale. I knew because he was the one I wanted to share every adventure of my life with. We complete each other and make each other better people. When I have a lazy day and do not want to get up and go to church, he makes me. When he has those days, I push him to get up. We just fit. That is all. And my family LOVES him. Sometimes I think they love him more than me.

I am sure by now, you are all thinking he is perfect and she is the luckiest girl in the world. Please do not get on to your boyfriend, fiancé, or husband because…he isn’t. And he will be the first to tell you that. I’m not either, no one is. Is he a great guy? Absolutely, the BEST (to me anyways). But…He is still a guy.

He has selective hearing (I swear this is a disorder most men have). If I tell him the score of a game; you better believe he will hear that. But if I tell him to do something or bring me something, his reply later when I ask about it, “you never told me to do that or you never told me to bring you that.” He loves to hunt. If any of you are married or dating someone that loves hunting as much as Vince, then I probably do not have to say anything more. But it drives me crazy. He literally hunts everything: deer, turkey, doves, and duck. He will hunt squirrel and rabbit too if you ask him to go. Oh and he loves to fish. Do I like to sit in a deer stand with him? Yes, sometimes. But every day, No Thank You! I sit there the whole time and think about stuff that needs to be done: my room needs to be cleaned, wedding invitations need to be ordered, the order of the wedding ceremony needs to be finalized, a blog needs to be written, etc. Deer season ends Friday and no one is happier than this girl. When I want to go do something in the afternoons, I do not have to hear the words, “I can’t go today, I am going hunting.” He is “laid back,” in every sense of the word. When I am trying to get something done or worried about how something is going to get done; he says, “Don’t worry about it, everything will work itself out.” Yea, he is right, it will. But it’s going to take someone’s hands ‘to work itself out.’ DRIVES ME CRAZY!!! See, in a lot of ways, he is just like every other guy.

But he is MY GUY  

If you missed my blog last week “Journey to Choosing Our Wedding and Reception Venues.” Check it out. In the next blog, I am talking about “Our Flower Girl.”

Most of you probably think that I have had my perfect wedding day planned for years; dreaming about that day since I was a little girl. That is actually not true. I am very much someone who lives in the moment and never spent weekends, rainy days, or nights talking to my mom about my "dream" wedding. That did change after June 29th (the day Vince proposed)! And thank goodness some of the planning got interrupted by spending weekends in Oxford, Mississippi watching Ole Miss Football. Wedding planning is fun but exhausting. Just ask Vince. He has been a trooper though. 

So the first thing we had to decide was the date. That was easy for us. With my graduation from pharmacy school being May 10th and board exams in June, plus throw in a week for a honeymoon, only one date would work for us. May 24th is the Big Day. Then the questions got harder. What town do we want to get married in? Here were the options we considered:

*Destin, Florida

*Island in the Caribbean- Destination Wedding :)

*Oxford, Mississippi

*Quitman, Mississippi

Yes, Vince and I love the beach. We are the epitome of beach bums. We are on the beach by 10 am and do not leave until 6 pm. Nothing wrong with eating your lunch with your toes in the sand :); No wonder we considered a beach wedding huh? 

And Yes, Vince and I LOVE Oxford, Mississippi. So much in fact, we considered moving there after the wedding. It is, hands down, the most beautiful town in Mississippi. And who knows, we might call it "home" one day. But for now, we will continue to visit many, many weekends a year between football, basketball, and baseball games. Our babies will not have a choice in their favorite team/school; they will be born and raised Ole Miss Rebels. Well I know us considering Oxford for our wedding venue is no surprise to anyone that knows us. So moving on. 

As much as we love the beach and Oxford, we love our hometown more. And yes, I consider Carmichael part of Quitman even though I think it's a little more special ;). Don't tell Vince. All we want on our wedding day is to share it with the people who mean the most to us; so getting married in Quitman made the most sense. Also, when we decide to build or buy our future home, it will most likely not be here (closer to the Meridian area; and who knows Oxford is still not 100 % off the radar). With this being the case, what better way to make this place special to our future children (like it is to us) than saying "I Do" here.

Now the question is where? Outside wedding? Inside? Church? We didn't talk about this long but decided it made the most sense to say our vows in front of our friends and family in God's house. Vince and I were both raised in a small country church so we knew we would have to choose one of the three bigger churches in Quitman. So off we went with my mom (because we honestly could not make a decision without her) to look at the churches and make our final decision about the wedding venue. All 3 churches are extremely beautiful but the perfect fit for us was The First United Methodist Church. When we walked in, Vince and I both looked at each other and said, "this is the one." The dark wood floors and wood work in the front of the church are breathtaking. You will see what I am talking about soon. 

The reception is going to be at the Quitman Country Club. We love to dance and have fun so we knew we wanted a band and this is a perfect place for that and much more. I have spent many days at the country club: mostly in the swimming pool growing up but now I spend my days on a golf cart with the first guy that stole my heart, My Daddy :)! 

Hope you enjoyed reading about our decisions on where to have the wedding and reception. I am going to try to blog once a week until the wedding; but with the craziness of my life in trying to plan a wedding and finish up my rotations for pharmacy school, do not hold me to it. I am going to talk about everything I can think of: wedding party, flower girl, Vince, why we are asking all of our guest to wear black and white, etc. It is going to be fun.

Next week I am talking about Vince. You might even learn a thing or two you did not know about him. And who knows, maybe I will get my pay back one day and he will write a blog about me.

I want to take just a minute, to thank each and every one of you who have been praying for my Uncle Burt. That man means the world to me and my family. And now thanks to your prayers and God, He is “Our Miracle”!