Letters to Hunter

 

Dearest Hunter,

 

Let's not talk about how it's already almost August. Or that my 28th birthday came and went in the blink of an eye. As I've said lately, 28 and 29 are my fluff years; 30 will need to go out with a bang. How can I possibly be 30 in 2 years? I still feel like I'm 16 years old!

 

Life's been pretty hectic lately. We've had a lot thrown at us - some good, some great, some we could live without - but no matter what, we keep our eyes on the Prize and each other. I had a friend say to me recently, "How do you manage to keep your head on straight with all that you're dealing with right now?!" My answer: Prayer and coffee. Lots of coffee.

 

In the midst of all the chaos, we've seen God's mercies and grace and His deep-seated love for us. I love that when we wake in the mornings, we wake with a purpose and to make the most of that day. I really hope that when our feet hit solid ground in the mornings, the devil is saying, "Damn! They're awake." It's the little things that keep us going - ice cream runs after dinner; staying up late to watch movies; working through bible studies together, and challenging each other to dig deeper in those thoughts; laughing until our sides are splitting at the stupidest things.

 

Hunter, I love you truly and madly and more than words can say. You complete my life - without your calm, steady, level-headed self, I'm a wrecking ball taking out those around me. I love your gentleness and truthfulness. I love that we can agree to disagree on different things and that we never attack each other. I love how you love me - passionately, sweetly, without end. I love that you're mine.

 

Weathering these storms with you daily,

 

Kel

Take the time

 

 

Life is too short and moving at a wicked-fast pace. It's so easy to become bogged down in the everyday busyness of life, to forget to stop and smell the morning coffee brewing, to take for granted the sunny days and working toilets, to smile at one another.

 

Take the time to take a day from work, school, whatever it may be and treat yourself. I did that on Friday - I treated myself to the coast and then dinner later that evening with my hot husband.

 

Take the time to grill out with family from out of town. Laugh about all the goofy memories made, make some new ones. Challenge each other in love, faith, and even politics. But at the end of it all, hug each other.

 

Take the time to spend it with friends who are hurting, or if you yourself are hurting. This is a busy season for us right now. We're having a lot thrown at us but God is good, He is sovereign, and His ways are better than ours. Take the time to be with friends - talk about life and the good and the bad and the ugly. Because ya know what, we're all going through this life together.

 

Take the time to fix broken things around the house. It'll create such a sense of accomplishment when you do it together.

 

Take the time to smile. Smile because life really is beautiful. Smile because it'll warm your soul and create laugh lines. Smile because someone else needs to see it.

 

Happy Monday friends!

Life Before Marriage

This was a guest post a few weeks ago on another gal's blog. Figured I'd share it with ya'll today... Enjoy!

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Hi lovely readers of Leelee's blog! It's such an honor to be visiting here today and sharing a little bit about my comedic, lovely, and wonderful marriage with my best friend. I know everybody says their spouse is their best friend, but ya'll, mine really is. True to being a typical blogger, I've decided to share more about us through question format #bloggerprobz #listitout:

Tell us a little about your love story.
Well I have to say, ours is my favorite. And not so movie glamorous but it's still my favorite.  Hunter and I knew of each other through friends and my brother. I knew he was sweet, tall, southern, and younger than me (shout out to the fellow cougars). He tried so sweetly to take me out a couple of times but I resisted because I truly believed he was too dang sweet to not have a woman. And I was just not going to be that "other woman." I finally relinquished and agreed to a movie. Boy oh boy, I fell head over heels for that man. We saw the movie and then spent the rest of the night talking and getting to know each other. I was sorely mistaken - he didn't have a woman. And I planned on swooping in. Ha!

 We dated for almost 3 years before marrying in October 2014. It was everything we wanted and more. Beautiful weather, lovely tobacco barn, and each other. We've had our fair share of ups and downs throughout our relationship, but I can't help but fall more and more in love with him each day. God truly knew what he was doing when He lumped us together.

How did you know your man was THE ONE?
Ya'll are going to laugh but I had a "requirement" list of what I expected in a man. I had been through fire and back with a previous bad relationship so I knew I wouldn't allow myself to settle for that mess again. Thus, I made a list. He surpassed every single one of my ridiculous requirements with flying colors. Truth be told, I knew he was the one when I saw how much he loved the Lord. That man loves God more than he loves me... And that's perfect.

What are some of your favorite dates that the two of you have been on?
Oh my... Chick-fil-A dates? Ha! In all seriousness, we love trying new things whether it be restaurants, locations, etc. Whenever we find a new place we love, we add it to our list of places to come back to. We live close to the coast (roughly 2 hours away) so I would have to say our day-trips to the beach really top the list for me.

What advice to you have for couples who are dating but seriously considering marriage?
Laugh. Laugh at everything. Life is way too short to be serious all the time. I had a sweet friend once tell me, "Your marriage is like one big comedy show! Ya'll are just so funny and know how to have fun." I loved that she saw that and like I told her, "Laugh at the little things. Giggle through the big things. But more importantly, enjoy each other and have fun." Hunter easily keeps me laughing daily, and I to him. We do have our serious moments, but boy do we love a good laugh.

What would you tell ladies who are waiting for a ring?  Especially, how would you address the range of emotions?
Stop waiting. Seriously. It'll eat you alive, waiting, hoping, wanting. Rather live in the moment and enjoy your time together right then and there. I feel like our society is always trying to get to the next best thing, and we forget to focus on the best thing right now. Don't get caught up in that. Plus, it'll scare the poor guy away!

What was THE WORST part of waiting?  How did you get past it?
For me, it was the unknown. I'm a natural planner - I like to know the when's, where's, how's, why's.  Thank goodness I married a fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants kind of man; he's truly helped me see the beauty in winging things. As far as how I got past that? Prayer. I focused intently on God and His plan for me. It's easy to want MY PLAN, but His plans are so much greater than I could ever imagine.

Anything else you want to share?
Put God in the center of your marriage. I truly cannot imagine our marriage without Him because we are tried and true sinful human beings. Without our focus being on Him, things can get skewy and messed up. So keep HIM fully in the center of your marriage. It makes those hard days just that much easier.

Doings and goings

I feel like we have been on the go non-stop since Hunter started his summer class. Ya know, everybody has their strengths and everybody has their weaknesses. He'll be the first to tell ya'll, math is his weakness. Ironically and lucky for him, it's my strength. Alas, wife tutors husband.

 

My MIL has started the pre-chemo processes and it's been interesting to hear all about the different things she has been doing, will be doing, and can't do. Talk about a bit of lifestyle change but she is one heck of a woman and I know she'll kick this thing to the curb.

 

Have you ever ran into friends randomly that you haven't seen in forever and it really just did your soul some good? We had the opportunity to catch up with some dear friends of ours while on the go and ya'll, we just couldn't get in enough words to express how much we miss each other. And it reminded me of something - if you're a fellow brother/sister in Christ and you feel like you're in the trenches all alone, YOU'RE NOT. Please know that you're not alone in your battle for God's kingdom.

 

We found out our church lost one of their youth students to suicide. Ya'll, depression is real. It's an illness much like the flu or cancer - it has to be treated and not ignored. We've had friends who almost succeeded in their attempts of suicide and luckily, did not. They received and are receiving the necessary help needed to fight depression. Do NOT ignore depression, friends.

 

On a positive uptick, Hunter and I have been fervently praying for God's will in our lives. He's quite the crafty fellow and we know He's got a few things in store for us. We're praying that we're faithful and obedient in His calling for our lives.

 

Happy Monday, friends! Remember to pray for our nation today and every day. I will not comment on all that is happening because I have seen firsthand how it has been tearing families and friends apart (and I'm not going to humor the devil in his ploys to divide us as a nation), but I do ask that you join me in praying for our nation. We need God more than ever now.