Celebrations

As I'm writing this, Austin and I are sitting on our love seat watching one of our favorite movies, "17 Again". We just saw the part where Ned and Ms. Masterson find out that they are both Lord of the Rings fans. As they speak Elvish, we smile and laugh. On the day Austin proposed to me, we watched the first two installments of "Lord of the Rings." Yeah. We've come a long way since then.

Two years ago on Valentine's Day, Austin drove from Jackson, TN to come see me in Paducah, KY for our first date. We had been talking on the for about two weeks (several hours each time) and decided that we needed to spend some face to face time in order for anything to progress. Austin brought me a single peach colored rose (from his Grandmother's Valentine's bouquet). We went to church at First Baptist Paducah, ate lunch at Flamingo Row, and walked around downtown Paducah (despite gray, freezing weather) while talking and enjoying the butterflies that come with the start of a wonderful, new relationship.

This Valentine's Day marked the two-year anniversary of our first date. Austin brought me a dozen gorgeous, deep red roses for me to enjoy on my desk. He surprised me with a lovely pearl drop necklace with three small sapphires at the top! I love it! I gave him walkie talkies (we are looking forward to using them on our first camping trip soon!) For dinner, we made special reservations at Patti's 1880's Settlement Restaurant, which is, interestingly, where Austin proposed! What made the evening interesting was that Patti's is about 2 and a half hours away! So, with one headlight out and expired Kentucky tags (I keep meaning to get to that!) we ventured into the Land between the Lakes for our romantic evening. Dinner was delicious, as Patti's specialty is their pork chop. I got the 1 inch chop and Austin got the Tropical pork chop. Potatoes, salads with ranch dressing, sweet tea in mason jars, and, of course, the flower pot bread! We thoroughly enjoyed the food and each other's company. After the meal, we got back in the car, and miraculously made it back to Jackson without getting pulled over! Success!

I was due on Valentine's Day 1987- 25 years ago. My mom told me that I must have been warm where I was because I decided to stay in the womb an extra week. It seems appropriate now that I love nothing more than wrapping up in a soft, warm blanket next to a fire on a cold day. When I was born, Washington D.C. was in the middle of a huge snowstorm. The generators were even on!

My 25th Birthday was truly wonderful. Although the day started at 5:30 in the morning with a call from a teacher wanting to know if Austin could substitute for her class (even though he's had a full-time job for over a year- haha!), Austin sang me "Happy Birthday" as I was leaving for work. He later surprised me with breakfast, a dozen pink roses and two cute balloons. He did a good job! :-) As the day progressed, I realized how truly blessed I am to be at Union. The countless birthday wishes and kind words from fellow staff members and students meant so much!

Austin took me out for dinner at Asahi Japanese Steakhouse (where I had filet mignon, of course!) and then we returned home for a small party that Austin arranged. My awesome sister made delicious funfetti cupcakes and brought her sweet roommies to help me celebrate! We were later joined by our good friends the Mayfields, the Moores and our next door neighbors! After playing Apples to Apples again for the first time since I was 17, we concluded the evening with presents and a good night's sleep!

I truly can't wait to see what the Lord has in store for me (and for us!) during this 25th year of my life! It does feel like a milestone (after all, it is a quarter of a century!), but I am so thankful for where I am. Today actually marked my one-year anniversary of working at Union University, a job that I absolutely love!

All in all, it has been a great week!