the time has come...

You guys remember (this post), right?

Where I was eagerly awaiting December 7, 2012?

That time has come and gone 

and it did not disappoint.

The day after Husband's graduation, 

we road-tripped up to the beautiful state of Tennessee.

After staying the weekend, 

falling in love with the environment, 

and praying super hard...

God finally revealed his plan.

A full-time youth pastor position.

At an amazing church.

In beautiful Murfreesboro, TN.

I'm finally getting my mountains. 

If I were a time traveler...

... I would fast forward to December 7, 2012.

To the average outsider, that is just a random date.

But to me, oh man...

To me, it is the beginning of a pretty great adventure.

You see, my handsome husband, Brandon, is finally graduating. It will be a shining moment for all of us. I start beaming for him just thinking about it! He has worked so hard (and long) for this day and it is almost here.

That's just the tip of the iceberg.

You see, Husband is a youth pastor. We served together at a church for almost 3 years before God moved us back for him to finish school. Now, we are serving as interim youth pastor for a church until a new full time guy is found. But, come December 7, 2012, we will (hopefully) have a church position already in line for us.

Moving.

I love it.

You see, I grew up a PK. Unless you were a PK, you probably don't know that PK means "pastor's kid." (I try to think that my brother and I were the normal kind...not the awkwardly social or rebellious kind.) Being a PK means you move. Quite frequently. Like, basically a different school each year or so. Multiple states. Growing up, I loved to hate it. Looking back, I cherish the friends and memories and different cultures I grew up with. Only now, it's in my blood. After a few years in one place...time to go! I get restless and start day dreaming of house searching, job searching, church searching, etc.

There's a problem though...

You see, Husband grew up in one place. Born and raised. All his family is within shouting distance from each other. He has roots. (Not that I don't. I think mine sink into the ground and shrink back up with it's time for new soil!) Part of me is jealous of his past. He literally grew up with his friends and family. He has memories at every single place in town. Not that I was deprived of memories, I have memories, just different circumstances.

Both desires are perfect. And (this is why I love Husband so much, and God even more for knowing exactly the kind of man I needed) we have both settled on one fact...

God is in control. He knows our hearts desires (He gave them to us!) So seek Him and everything will work out.

You see, this whole future thing...it excites me.

Maybe we will end up in the mountains (yes, please!)
Maybe we will stay there until we turn gray and our children start having children.

You see, we want children. A lot of children. Like, 4 or 5. Whether or not we can have them biologically (that's for another post, another time) is totally up to God. Regardless, we want to adopt. There's total peace in that fact. I can't wait. I see young married couples with their little offspring all the time. Could you guys stop being so adorable?! Cannot wait.

and to think...

all of this starts on December 7, 2012.

Hi. I'm Lauren.

I felt like I had to introduce myself to the blog world again. It's been forever! I do believe I have a legitimate reason, though. But, nonetheless, I'm sorry to have put this off for so long.

I smile looking at my previous blogs. Especially knowing what I know now! For instance, I was so stressed over school...and guess what? I've done been graduated for a month!

(The use of improper grammar was on purpose, promise.)

I teach middle school Language Arts, I better know how to speak and write correctly! Ah, my job. Yes, I still teach at this wonderful school. No sarcasm there, folks. It's truly been a blessing to have this job. But, God has shown me that this is not where my heart lies.

It's funny how I used to know what I wanted to be when I grew up. I have my kindergarten portfolio and I knew even then that I wanted to be a teacher. I attended over 4 years of college as an Elementary Education major and graduated with my AA and BA! But now, I'm not so sure what I want to do for the rest of my life. I have so many ideas in my head, teaching just seems to be the most practical for right now. Maybe I need to get back to the younger ones. Middle school is great and all, but when they're all taller than you and have major attitudes, it's hard to deal with the drama. So, maybe the answer will be found when I start teaching the little ones. Oh, I hope so.

Anyways, back to me and the changes that have been happening! There's been a small addition to my every day apparel. Just a little (actually, not so little) token from my sweet and handsome man. You guys know him, I wrote a special blog just for him! Then, he was my boyfriend. Now, I get to introduce him as my FIANCE! Yes, that's right! I'm engaged! It happened the same day I graduated. Talk about walking on cloud nine! I couldn't have asked for a better proposal, ring, or future husband! Check out the story on our wedding page! (I've been waiting to do one for years!!)

http://brandonlauren.ourwedding.com/

Christmas break was perfect! It started out not so perfect (my flight home was cancelled indefinitely.) I had to be a "big girl" and miss my first birthday and Christmas away from my family! Talk about hard! But, I had Brandon and his sweet family. I enjoyed joining in their Christmas traditions. Especially knowing they're future family to me too! We met my family and spent a week in TN with our close family friends. We saw snow, went sight seeing, made ceramic coffee mugs, and had an impromptu engagement picture session! All in all, it was a wonderful and much needed break. Needless to say, I hated having to wake up before the sun and get back into my "teacher" routine!

Nowadays, my life consists of lists. Well, that's a lie. My life has ALWAYS consisted of lists. I even wrote a lists of things to cover in this very blog! That's bad, isn't it? But, now my lists consist of wedding details. Every single random thought that pops into my head is written down. I've got 135 days to go! The big ticket items can thankfully be crossed off.

Boy? Check.
Parent's approval? Check.
Ring? Check.
Bridal party? Check.
THE DRESS? Check!!!
Photographers? Check.
Invitations? Check.

Now I just have to sort through my little notes and figure out the flowers, decorations for the ceremony, reception site, reception decorations, etc. Hmmm...I'm starting to get a little stressed. I better stop before the anxiety starts. Breathe.

Picture time!

                                          

My mom handed me my diploma. It was so special!

My amazing family!

Only a few hours later he became my fiance!

Most amazing moment in my life! So glad our families were there to get pictures!

I was in shock!

First posed engaged picture!

Showing off the bling to his mama!

We went out for yogurt and Chick-Fil-A to celebrate!

A few shots from our engagement shoot in Nashville, TN!

 One of my favorites.

 Can't wait to get this blown up and framed!

 Love!

 The bling!

My life! :)