New Best Friends.

When we rented a lake house in Clemson with our college friends we brought Bella along too. She got to spend the weekend with Leigha & John's dog Tobey. I had been asking Bella for weeks if she was excited to meet Tobey (and yes, I talk to my dog... and yes, I realize that is a little crazy.) Of course Miss B didn't answer me, but when she did actually meet Tobey, they were instant best friends.
All pictures courtesy of Niemann photography :)
Bella once again decided the lake is the best place in the whole entire world, and she still doesn't understand why we don't live there.
Bella girl and Tobey ran, and swam, and chased each other so much that Bella slept through the entire ride home. It was either that or she was in deep depression over leaving Tobey....
And if you were concerned about how they would remain best friends from states apart, don' worry because we already have 2 more play dates scheduled for the coming months.

Off to Boston for a girls weekend with mom & to watch the Tigers play. Happy weekend, sweet friends!

Our Clemson Crew

I know say it all the time, but we are blessed. Blessed with some of the best friends in the entire world. Seriously. So many good memories. We made more of these memories last weekend at our Clemson Crew Lake Hartwell Fall Reunion Weekend!

Several of the Cast of Characters:

Katie & Aaron, The Soon-To-Be Shoultz

Me & Jay, The Hawkins :)

Brandon, Jarrod Carr, Adam May, and Will Anderson {being classic will}

Katie & her precious daughter Kamdyn Kelly

Nicole & Cody, the newlywed Simoneaux's

Brandon & Haley, The Blakes

Steve & Jaclyn, The Spanglers

John & Leigha, The Niemann's {and Tobey!}

What We Do:
We watch the boys [and Lauren} play with fire.
It always happens. The most mature, and responsible of men get together and find a way to involve throwing flaming tennis balls or jumping over fire pits or throwing vases... the list really could go on forever...
We take lots of pictures.
.... and make the guys takes lots of pictures of us :) {we have tailgaiting photos / this same photo every year since freshman year}
We enjoy being outside and being together {and missing our good ole' college days}
And we eat lots, and lots, and lots of yummy food.

This is Our Clemson Crew and we're blessed to have such sweet, God ordained friendships.

A Two Year Celebration!

Jay and I were blessed to be able to get away for 4 days and celebrate our 2 year anniversary last week. It was wonderful to have time just to ourselves! We both love to travel and thrive on new experiences and on seeing new parts of God's creation. We knew this anniversary trip would have be a shorter one so we decided to drive down to the Outer Banks.
We rented a condo on the beach and it was perfect! This was our view off the porch.
We visited the wright brothers memorial and museum at Kitty Hawk. It was neat to see where the first flight took place and to think back on our engagement airplane flight :)
We climbed to the top of the Cape Hatteras Light House. Its the tallest lighthouse in the united states, and y'all that is 256 steps. Now, for this terrified of hights girl it was a big accomplishment. We got inside the lighthouse and climbed about 5 steps and I looked at Jay and said no way in heck I am making it to the top. The stairs were not enclosed and you could look over the railing straight to the bottom. My sweet, encouraging, and oh so practical husband says. "Katherine, we paid $7 and i will walk behind you and you will make it to the top."
And we did make it to the top and the view as gorgeous. The far point if the actual Cape Hatteras.

We had fun remising on the many joys and challenges and accomplishments of the past 2 years. We both agreed that there is no way that we would have ever imagined our lives to have turned out quite like they have... but thats the fun in the adventure, and the security in knowing that God is in control of our every step.
We took lots of sunset pictures and enjoyed being outside. The beach in the fall is the best.

"'For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the Lord, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.'" -Jeremiah 29:11

This is my favorite picture from our trip. I love this sweet man that I chose to walk beside for the rest of my life. Marriage is a challenge for sure, but I love my Husband, and I love my God more, and my heart desires to honor and please them both. God has prospered our lives and our marriage. He has promised a hope and a future and we are excited to see what that future holds together. So bring on the adventures! We have lots more memories to make as we continue our little journey into year three.

A Quote.

I found a quote today that I had written down a long time ago and I felt like I should share...

"The will of God will never take you where the grace of God will not protect you."

I don't know who said this or where I heard it. All I know is that I read it again today and was reflecting over the past couple of years of my life, and I realized how true it really is. God's will for our lives is to walk with him through the joys and the pain, and the mountains and the valleys. And His grace is enough to provide and to comfort and to protect. And when we're walking with Him we can't escape His loving grace. So simple I know, but for some reason I needed to hear it again this week. And for the millionth and one time again God provided grace and truth.

Happy tangibly grace filled weekend!

Mom's visit & a little touch of fall to our home!

I LOVE fall. Definitely my favorite season. I love the colors and the changing leaves. I love that I married my sweet husband in the fall. And I love college football, and apples and apple pie! And my list could go on and on, and on... with that said, i just had to do a little bit of fall decorating to our home. To be honest we have invested very little in the decoration of our town home. We have been in Virginia for 4 1/2 months so far and decorating our rental property has simply not been the focus. I keep telling myself one day soon we will have rooms with walls that belong to us that I can paint! And paint them orange if my heart desires ;)

For now I am content decorating my little mantle for fall. My sweet mama bought me a few cute fall decorations and helped me mix them with a few things I already had.




Mom and Jay and I also went to a pumpkin patch out in Nelly's Ford, VA. as you may have originally guessed, this pretty little pumpkin house is about the only thing in Nelly's Ford. They had lots of pumpkins and lots of beautiful mums. I did lots of wishful thinking about a garden and a yard and then I remembered God that again God is teaching me patience and contentment though not yet being a home owner. A few of our great finds and they are all straight from God's creation. Each one is so different. And here is where they now reside as a center piece for our kitchen table. (now all that kitchen table needs is a fresh, hot apple pie... my simple, delicious recipe will be posted in the coming days!)
And my sweet mama. I love our times together! She is so wonderful, and I feel blessed to have her support and to have her only a few hours away! Thanks for coming for a visit mama :)

How are you enjoying fall?