he liked it so he put a ring on it

Clint proposed four years ago today! I know it's sort of a silly anniversary to want to commemorate, but my thinking is that if that hadn't happened, the wedding and the baby wouldn't have happened either.

So it's kind of a big deal.

Here's my point of view of it all.

Miriam and I decided we would go to Chattanooga for a girl's trip over my spring break. Clint and Jonathan (her husband) would meet up with us and then Clint and I would head home while Jonathan and Miriam stayed for a few days to celebrate her birthday. Clint had already told me he wasn't going to propose on the trip, but I had a little freak out moment and made him absolutely swear to me that he wasn't so that I could go on the trip and just enjoy myself and not be looking for him to propose every step of the way. He swore he wasn't going to, and I went on my way, bummed to not be getting engaged, but happy to enjoy some time with Miriam.

We got to Chattanooga around dinner time and decided to go to Chilis. After that, we got checked into our hotel to just hang out and relax. Jonathan called Miriam and told her he'd bought something expensive without asking her and she got frustrated and went out to the hallway to have the conversation so I didn't hear them fighting. We laid in bed that night and I kept talking about how Clint needed to propose soon. I had bought some belts from Urban Outfitters that I wanted my bridesmaids to wear, but I bought way more than I needed and needed to return the rest but I couldn't talk numbers of wedding party until we were engaged. (What a stupid thing to worry about... for real.)

The next day it was raining and gross so we went to breakfast across the river at Aretha Frankenstein's and then decided to go antique shopping. While we were out, I was wondering where the boys were, so I gave Clint a call and he said they'd gotten stuck in traffic, but should be there in about an hour and that we should just to the coffee shop where we were meeting and wait for them. I thought "No way! I'm not stopping shopping to just go and sit at a coffee shop."

So we kept shopping. Duh.

An hour passed and still no word... So I called again. He said they'd stopped to take pictures at a scenic view and they'd be there in 45 minutes and to wait for them at the coffee shop. Again, I thought no way. They'd only gone a few miles in an hour so I wasn't going to waste time.

Finally about 20 minutes later, we got a call saying they'd be there in 20 minutes or so. I was finally ok with going to the coffee shop.

We got there and Miriam said she wanted to show me this cool courtyard area she'd told me about a few weeks before, before it started raining again, but she had to go to the bathroom first. I said I'd wait outside and then she said she'd just go after we saw it.

We turned the corner and Jonathan and Clint were standing there. I thought, "Oh cool! They surprised us early!" and then I realized Jonathan had a camera and Miriam was getting all sappy... What?

Clint told me to put my umbrella down and come over. I finally figured out what was going on...

He said (and this is word for word) "I know I promised I wasn't going to do this today but...

Will you marry me?"

And I squealed yes and jumped up and down like an giddy school girl. There were laides passing by and they started clapping and Miriam was crying and it was kind of perfect.

Little did I know, from Clints point of view...

He decided the second he got out of the car with  me that he was going to propose the next day. He told Jonathan and Jonathan somehow miraculously timed his phone call to Miriam while I was in the bathroom at Chilis. So when they got in a "fight" that night, they were really just talking details. They had a plan, but the plan and the back up plan got rained out. So they were texting constantly on the 12th, trying to decide what was going to happen. When Clint told me they were an hour out the first time, they were already there. He was trying to keep me surpised but I don't think he realized how stubborn I was going to be. He and Jonathan waited outside in the rain for two hours!

Definitely ranks in at one of the top 5 days of my life!

Weekend in ATL 2.0

We spent a whole weekend in Atlanta for our 1st anniversary last year and loved it so when Clint won a ton of tickets off of our friend's blog we were pumped! It was doubly exciting because some of our best friends moved down there for Emory law school so we had people to share the fun with! Plus it was Reuben's first time to the zoo and aquarium, both of which I LOVE.

The trip down there was pretty easy. We stopped halfway in Chattanooga to visit where Clint proposed three years ago. It's always fun to visit, but it was extra fun to bring Reuben with us!

We visited World of Coke, Zoo Atlanta, and the Georgia Aquarium. It was a blast!

There was a lot of this going on. He was such a trooper!

Super cheesey family picture that put us in a drawing for an African safari... OK! haha

Another family picture in front of allllll the pretty reef fish.

The way babies fall asleep cracks me up almost every time. The pacifier was hanging on by the tippy tip top of it and his head was thrown completely back. and he was OUT.

Intermingled was a whole lot of quality time with Ryan and Katie. They happened to be in town when Reuben was born so they'd met him in the hospital and spent a few hours with him last month, but this was the first good chunk of time he'd spent with them and he looooved it!

He got super fussy one night on the way home and we had to stop by Kroger for Clint to get some medicine (he got a really funky cold!) so Ryan said he'd walk around with him. Totally calmed him down and even got a smile out of him!

And clearly, he loves hanging out with his aunt Katie.

I can't wait for some Freeman babies :)

It was such a fun, laid-back, and relaxing weekend! Atlanta is quickly becoming a favorite spot of ours!

HE'S HOME! HE'S HOME!

Clint was away at our church's student camps for the last 12 days.

Y'all. That is a loooooooooooooong time to be alone with a baby.

I love Reuben. I think he's the best baby God ever gave anybody. But he's a baby. He can't do anything for himself. One set of hands just isn't enough. I have no idea how single moms do it. And I have the utmost respect for them! My mom spent a lot of time with us which was immensely helpful.

We survived. Reuben only got one bath in those 12 days, but we made it nonetheless.

But good news...

HE'S HOME!!!

Hallelujah!

Rebuen's only four months old, so I don't think that he really "missed" Clint. But I know for sure he was happy to see him. He got all smiley when he saw him and spent a few minutes this morning just staring at him and petting his face. My heart melted into a soppy little puddle at my feet. I can't even stand how sweet they are together.

We celebrated last night by going to Kabutos (the best Japanese food out there in our opinion) and are continuing the celebration by going to see Monsters University with our small group tonight.

Hip-Hip-Hooray for dads!!

Reuben's Birth Story (pt. 1)

It may be 4 months after the fact but, honestly, I'm thankful it's taken me this long to sit down and write all of this out. It was sweet then, but it's extra sweet to look back on it and remember it all now. I want to remember as much detail as possible so instead of making it one super long post, I'm going to break it up across the next couple of weeks.

Ok. Here goes...

It all started Tuesday night. My upper back/shoulder area had been sore on and off since we took my maternity photos the week before. Amelia took awesome photos, but it was a lot of twisting, holding, stick-outing, and just straight-up moving for a 36 week pregnant lady.

I was pretty sure this photo alone was responsible for the discomfort, but I didn't really care too much because I love it so much.

Moving on...

Stretching had proven enough to make my muscles relax the first couple of days and then the pain died down. Tuesday at work it started up again and I figured my belly was just getting big enough to put serious strain on my shoulders. Stretching wasn't doing a lot, but the pain was bearable so I just lived with it. Somehow throughout my pregnancy, I bought and lost 5 bottles of tylenol and I was just too lazy to go buy more.

Fast forward to 1:00AM... the pain in my shoulders woke me up. It was constant, stabbing, so-bad-you-can't-breathe pain. I tried changing my sleep position. I tried on each side, flat on my back, on my stomach (as much as I could with a belly that big), with my head where my feet go, on the floor, on the couch, on the recliner-- nothing worked. So around 3:00AM I asked Clint to rub my shoulders and even his firmest grip wasn't doing much to relax the pain. Sweet, sweet husband that he is, he left to go buy our 6th bottle of tylenol. I got in the shower and turned the water as hot as I could handle and just stood there, praying that God would ease the pain. Clint got home with extra strength tylenol, I popped as many as were allowed, and I finally fell asleep around 4:00AM. I got up with Clint the next morning and decided I was staying home from work that day. I laid on the couch all. day. long. popping tylenol the second the four hour mark passed. The first half of the day wasn't too bad, but around dinnertime, I noticed the tylenol was wearing off closer to the three hour mark instead of four. By the middle of the night, I couldn't even tell I had taken anything about 1.5 hours after taking it.

Cue another night of trying absolutely any sleep position, no matter how ridiculous it felt, to no avail. By 5:00, I had just resigned myself to being up for the day. I got in another scalding hot shower and cried, still begging God would make the pain stop. I had already decided I was going to work for the day. I had to save my sick time for after Reuben got here, plus it was Valentines Day and I wanted to go on a date that night. When I was in school, if I stayed home sick, my parents wouldn't let me do anything that night. Their thinking was if I wasn't well enough to go to school, I wasn't well enough to do anything fun. So I still kind of stick to that mindset in grown-up life. I "got ready" by throwing on a man's undershirt, the biggest hoodie I could find, and throwing my sopping wet hair on top of my head. I didn't even put on makeup. Ain't nobody got time for that.

So basically, I was a hot mess.

I sat on our recliner, waiting for Clint to get ready (we work at the same church, so we ride together), and I bawled. I couldn't handle feeling like this for another three weeks. I told God right then that I needed this baby out of me.

And He said O.K.

Part 2   Part 3   Part 4

Throwback Thursday- Childhood Crush

Linking up with Bonnie again today for Throwback Thursday!

Childhood crushes... wow. Is it bad that I can't count my crushes from elementary school on one hand? It's definitely a two-hand number. I do remember my absolutely first crush. In Kindergarten I was totally in love with a little boy named Nathan. He was tiny, blonde, mousy, and incredibly shy. Like so shy, I'm not even sure we ever had a conversation. Really appealing, right? I have no idea why I liked him.

There was a whole lotta puppy love and heartbreak in elementary school and early middle school, but I want to talk about my main squeeze in middle school...

Just look at that stud muffin.

Our parents were in a small group together through our church and we'd always get drug to their get-togethers and forced to hang out since we were in the same grade. We clicked well and started talking more once he moved to my middle school in 8th grade. By winter of our 8th grade year, we'd talk on the phone for HOURS. I wish I could go back and hear those conversations now. I was probably full of awkward attempts at flirting. I know for sure we'd play solitaire every night. We'd each play a game on our computer and see who finished first. Clint always beat me. And yes-- we were that cool.

I had a little crush on Clint all year long. Spring came around and he decided he liked our friend, Kellye, mostly out of social pressure because she was a firey redhead too. Everybody wanted Big Red to date Mrs. Big Red. They "dated" for a couple months and right before school was over for summer, she said she "just wanted to be friends." By the way, how many people used that line when breaking up with someone in middle school or high school? I know I did!

Anyways, Clint called me that night and said he really was ok with it because he had a crush on another girl anyway and we spent way too long telling-but not telling-each other we liked each other. Well, the next day at school, Kellye found out and, long story really short, made the entire grade hate me. (Kellye is now married and in our small group and we laughed at this story just a couple of weeks ago.)

Clint and I didn't care. We were in puppy love. And one afternoon, sitting on his couch watching Pistol Pete, we held hands for the very first time. Under a pillow of course, so that his parents couldn't see.

Fast forward 10 years...

After a lot of ups and downs and a few more childhood crushes for each of us, we're still together!

Did anybody else happen to marry their childhood crush? Let me know!

Weekend in ATL

We spent our anniversary weekend celebrating in Atlanta. We crammed just about as much as we could into 60 hours and I loved every single minute of it!

First stop?

World of Coke! It was so much fun. Totally cheesy, but in the best way possible. There's a room with tons of Coke products from around the world for you to try. Some of them were tasty. Others made me want to throw up. One particularly bad one was from somewhere in Africa. It was minty! MINTY! Like carbonated mouthwash. It took everything in me not to spit it out. Needless to say, I was a happy camper when I saw a whole section dedicated to Coke in all its different forms in America, including Diet Coke!

(Speaking of Diet Coke, I really am doing a pretty good job of drinking more water. I'm down to about a can a day, which is really not that horrible. WOO HOO!)

That night we had dinner with some of our good friends that moved down there for law school. So good catching up with them!

Second stop?

CNN Center! Pretty cool... we probably wouldn't have gone if it hadn't been included on our CityPass, but it was a nice way to spend an hour. Plus, it was cool to see that place empty, because the only time I've ever been in there is at Passion with 25,000 other people!

Third (and arguably, best) stop?

THE AQUARIUM!!!! We got to go on a behind the scenes tour, which totally made my day. I'm a gigantic dork and legitimately teared up when I saw this big guy swim by. I've been wanting to go see the whale shark since the aquarium opened in high school, so being like 10 feet away from him with no glass was mind blowing. Gave me chills. It's a top-notch aquarium. If you're ever in Atlanta with a free day, you should totally go!

Last stop?

The zoo! This came in a close second as far as best attractions go. Panda bears have been on my list of animals I want to see (right above a great white shark... seriously), so seeing this little guy made my heart all warm and fuzzy. When we got there, he was eating bamboo back in the corner and then got up and walked around all cute. I want like 10 of them as pets.

Clint almost got in a fight with this big man.

Clint tapped on the glass and he swung his arm around and banged the glass right back and gave him a look like, "If I could just get to you, I'd break your arm off." And apparently that wasn't the first time he'd done that. He got so mad when he saw the vet that did some work on him once that he hit the glass so hard it cracked all the way up. He's got some serious anger issues.

We wrapped up the weekend at home by eating our cake topper. It still tasted as good as it still looks!


How have you guys spent your anniversaries? Anybody else have a list of animals they want to see in real life, or am I the only one?

one. whole. year.

That happened over a year ago. Woah. Time seriously FLEW past us.

It's really incredible to look back on the year and see all that's happened. In a way, it makes it seem like a lot longer than a year, honestly.

There's been a lot of ups and a fair share of downs. We've laughed. We've cried. We've fought. We've made up. We've made some huge decisions. We've grown.

If I had to sum up our first year of marriage in one word, it'd be blessed.

The ways the Lord has blessed us is indescribable. I can't even write out all the ways He's blessed us. Seriously. It's that good. He's given us everything we need and so much more.

I know that we're filled to be emptied again, so I want to be able to look back on this and remember His faithfulness in years to come. There will be trying times where He seems so far away, but I know He is good. I know He's faithful. I know He takes care of His children.

Clint, you're my best friend. Ever. I love you more than you know and I've loved every single one of the last three-hundred-and-sixty-something days of being your wife. I'm praying for tens of thousands more. :)