Daddy's home!

Dan is home! One week from today, my sister gets married and two weeks from today, we move as a family of four to Japan. I am LOVING having my hot husband home!! This is the best ending to a long stinkin and depressed summer. I'm so thankful by how far God has brought me out of the deeeeep hole I was living in. I will update on that soon..... Till then, know that Dan is home and this family is on full blown wedding mode!

Info for Japan

Many have asked what our new information is in Japan. So here ya go!

Major Dan Beall and Family
PSC 76 Box 8284
APO AP 96319-0061

And our phone number is: 011 81 176 66 2065

Remember that we are 14 hours ahead of Central time if you desire to call Danny!!

Just a Few

I have been meaning to upload some pictures lately but obviously haven't gotten around to it! Dan promoted to Major on 31 May, the day before we left Barksdale AFB, Louisiana. We had a really nice, low key promotion ceremony in the CIC - the secure building where Dan worked, and his Squadron CC LtCol Nesbitt promoted him. The kids loved being a part of it.

Afterwards we had a great and super fun promotion party at the Silver Star - it was a nice send off from Louisiana for us. Now... if we can just sell our home, our ties from LA will officially be severed! Speaking of that home.... what a thorn in our side.

Gumbo Kitty went to Japan with Dan and is taking over our new, on base home. It will be our HOME - albeit humble! Ha! We are living on base in a 3 bedroom, 2 bath, 2 story, newly renovated house. We will be rocking the UV overhead lights and the linoleum floor. Oh yeah!

The funny looking car is Dan's commander mobile that has been handed down from commander to commander. We are now the proud owners of the "Toaster Van." Wow.

Ellyotte will be 2 next week. It is so crazy to me how quickly her first two years have flown by. We will be having a party at the pool at the Waters, where my folks live. I am posting a picture of their beautiful home and the carriage house they are having built. Once it is finished (soon) the kids and I will move into it. It will be awesome having some alone time and separation for the three of us. We are really blessed that my folks chose to do this.

Tomorrow... And the Next Day... And next....

I'm gonna be honest here: I am barely hanging on. Between our new assignment, outprocessing, Dan promoting to Major tomorrow and us throwing his promotion party, living in a one room hotel with 2 little ones, the heat, the fierce pressure to get EVERYTHING packed into our one car for our 3 weeks of travel, to making sure we are all lined up for our travel to Japan - on top of daily duties that come with a 4 year old and a 1 year old.... I am falling apart.

I wake up every night with a foot in my face or my lower back; with a baby - who normally sleeps 13 hours uninterrupted - waking up screaming because she's had it with a pack n play in the closet and a blanket draped over it. Somewhere under the covers in our zero below room, I find my sweet husband's size 14 flat foot and for a brief moment, we touch and life is okay.

In 3 weeks, life in America as we know it, will be much different. Danny is going over to Misawa to take command of the Intelligence flight of a fighter wing. From what we have gathered - and from the AMAZING emails of welcome and help we've received - it is going to be an incredible assignment for us. But, Dan and Gumbo Kitty still have to go over without us the end of June till mid October.

Dan has to get us a home (on base/or off... who knows), 2 cars (NOT the type I am used to: different side of the car, of the road, everything), schools for our babies (Noah's enrolled at a Japanese OFF BASE school!! GAH!), and just getting us moved in in general. I trust him but this is a lot to hand off to a husband! I trust him: after 10 plus years of being together, I do trust him. But letting go of the reigns is hard.

Noah, Ellyotte and I will travel with our main man, Dan, till he leaves the third week of June. We will go between DC, Panama City Beach, FL, Nashville, TN, Pike Road, Alabama.... then he's gone.... till October. Yes, I have the babies enrolled in an amazing school program come August (one of my precious sorority sisters is Elly's teacher), and yes, they will have my mom and dad and sister as a main line of support, but their daddy - and my husband of 7 years - will be obviously missing. I am thankful it isn't into harm's way that he's going, but he will be absent and that will be hard.

Dan will miss Elly's 2nd birthday, Noah and Ellyotte's first trip to Disney, Noah losing his first teeth, his first day of pre-K... he will miss a lot. And they will miss him. I will miss my partner. It is daunting to think that the next time we are together will be as a commanding partnership of the 35th OSS/Intel flight. Wow. That's an honor but it is daunting. Yet, I have faith in our partnership and in our love.

Dan will be an amazing commanding officer of the flight of which he will take command. And starting tomorrow, he will be an amazing Major for the active duty Air Force. I am thoroughly proud of my man. He picked up where I left off - as an active duty AF intelligence officer - and has made me/us/our families so proud.

Tomorrow will be special for us: we will have no family, other than our closest friends here in Louisiana, at Dan's promotion. He will have his beloved commanders there: LtCol Nesbitt will promote him and Colonel Randy Allen (retiring effective 1 June) will be there to witness it. Noah and Ellyotte will pin on one side of the rank and I will do the other. After that, our wonderful sitter and friend, Lauren, will take the babies to dinner and then onto bed while we host a fun promotion party at a local bar/restaurant. I am super proud. Super emotional. Super torn up about all of the changes in our lives.

We have seen them coming since mid-February when we learned of our next leadership assignment, but now it is here. It is real.

Pray for us as we embark on our next chapter of Air Force history. I am proud of my man and the little mark we are making in this military life.

Weariness and Service

It is amazing what God will whisper to you. He gives me what I need when I need it.

This has been a heartbreaking week for our country. Obviously we have all heard what happened last Saturday when 30 of our troops were killed in a chopper crash in Afghanistan. 3/4 of those men were members of Navy SEAL Team 6.

One of my best friends is also a SEAL. Praise God he was home in the US when this happened (he was relieved from deployment in Afghanistan a few months ago when those killed replaced him and the others); but I am certain there have been many moments this week that he wished it was him and not his fallen brothers. What a burden to think "that could've been me..." when you know you were on countless choppers in countless firefights just like his best buds.

I have been so heavy hearted for those families who lost their men: fathers, husbands, sons, brothers and obviously, friends.

In addition to that, Dan and I learned that two of the pilots Dan used to work with (when he was the intelligence officer for a fighter squadron several years ago) were also killed when a gunman entered the Kabul, AFG airport and opened fire. 9 of our civilians and troops were killed when that happened. 2 of them were fine fighter pilots who were also husbands, fathers, brothers, sons, friends....

War is a terrible thing. It is awful to observe from afar and it is even more painful when there are faces to the names of the fallen.

I haven't been sleeping much and I am not sure why. My doctor gave me a prescription for a sleep aid but that thing makes me crazy! And I mean crazy: I will get up at night and not have any recollection of it. My only clues being that Dan will notice/see me get up and/or things are left out of place letting me know I was roaming. Scary, I know!

So I am trying to avoid taking it. But that means I will wake up in the wee hours and not be able to go back to sleep. Agh, I am tired! Noah doesn't start "school" till Monday so my days have been long with the two babies. Long, but extremely fulfilling. I love being able to stay home with them in these young years.

Last night was another long night for some reason. I woke up at 2 am and didn't go back to sleep at all. Then Noah woke up early to go to the bathroom and then Ellyotte woke up so we were all up way too early! By 8 am, I wanted to go back to bed. It felt like we had had a full day already.

I drank coffee, a Spark energy drink, ate breakfast, took my vitamins. But nothing was working at giving me the pep I needed just to make it to nap time. So, when all else fails: hit the WORD, right?!

I opened up my "Jesus Calling" devotional (awesome. by Sarah Young) and wouldn't you know that August 12th was from Romans 8:26:

"In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans."

I didn't even ask Him in advance for food for my weak and weary spirit. Yet, He knew I needed it and gave it to me anyway. The devotion was perfect:

"Come to me when you are weak and weary, Rest snugly in My everlasting arms. ... your weakness draws Me closer to you."

That is so hard to do: draw close to God when you are weak/weary. Because it takes energy to draw close to Him. It takes an effort to go get my Bible and find some quiet moments to spend with just Him. As any mom knows, quiet moments don't exist unless you make time for them. I am so glad that I did this morning. Yes, I am still tired physically but my spirit is energized. Praise God for that!

Hearts will always be broken, our spirits will always be weak but how thankful I am to have a heavenly father who knows my heart and my weakness every minute of my day. I just got an email from a family friend who is deployed in Afghanistan currently. He sent it to his family following the horrible crash. His unit gathered in formation to honor the victims immediately after his commander learned of the accident. In the email, he shared that the co-pilot (CW4 Carter) of the chopper had a tattoo on his arm that said:

"When I get to Heaven, to St. Peter I will tell 'Here I am reporting, sir! I have spent my time in hell."

Don't we all feel like that sometimes? This earth is so temporary and all the trappings of it are so fleeting. I hope that CW4 Carter - and all of the other brave men - now is experiencing the joys of the heaven he longed to receive.

Noah notices the American flag wherever we go. I recite the Pledge of Allegiance to him daily so he will learn it like I learned it at a young age. Yesterday, as we walked into Wal Mart, he asked me why the flag was only "halfway up." I told him - as best as I could - that it was because our country was very sad. I told him that we lost a lot of good soldiers this week. He asked a few questions and then we moved on. When Dan got home, he said "Daddy, our Merican flag isn't all the way up. Merica is sad cause lots of soldiers died." It was a moving moment as I watched my toddler tell his daddy that while Dan was standing there in his uniform.

I am proud of my little family and of my husband who selflessly wears that uniform every day. And while Dan sometimes feels like he's not giving back eternally in the career field he is currently serving, I am proud that he raises his hand every day and says "Here I am Lord, send me" by way of serving his country. And I am honored to be able to raise our children with Dan as he teaches them the meaning of service by doing exactly what he's doing: serving.

So while I am weary, and while my heart is heavy, I am thankful for today. And thankful that God has given me and mine the gift of today because tomorrow is not promised. And because of that, I will find the energy to fully enjoy the moment. One day, we will all find ourselves heartbroken as our loved ones go on before us so today, let's love and be loved and serve and be served and give thanks and be thankful for today.

Romance

Dan and I took a much needed and deserved vacation the first week of March. We set off for Paris and then Rome! I had been to Paris 3 times already but Dan had never gone and neither of us had been to Rome. What a time we had... I will let the pictures show for themselves the amount of fun we had and the beautiful sites we saw. It was perfect. And not one day did we have even one cloud in the sky! Literally, it was blue skies all week. What a blessing.

This trip was in honor of our 5 year wedding anniversary (this past October) and in honor of the blood clot (pulmonary embolism I had back in July, post Ellyotte's birth) being removed from my lung. It was a celebration on many fronts.

My mom graciously watched the kids for us (not easy... both were very sick back here in Louisiana the whole time) and we were very thankful.

The food was incredible... AMAZING. Not kidding - Dan and I ate some of the best food we have ever eaten. We followed Rick Steves' suggestions and ate "off the beaten path." In Paris, we had the most amazing breads, cheeses and wines. We ate on the first floor of the Eiffel Tower (reservations we made months ago) at a 4 star restaurant. I've never dreamed there was more divine creme brulee in my LIFE than what we had in Paris!

Then in Rome, the pizza and pastas we had literally melted in our mouths. Oh and the red wine.... amazing. Just order the house wine by the liter and you are set.

Here are our favorite 100+ photos of the 500+ we took! Enjoy :)

Some Cuties...

Someone is going to have a lot to get used to with a new baby around here! But one thing that won't change: Noah is a "daddy's boy" 100%. That has been a fact since Day 1 and no matter how much our Ellyotte might steal her daddy's heart, Noah will always be Dan's boy. They are literally two peas in a pod and I am so thankful for the bond they share.

Hard Workers

How hilarious is this!?

Noah is obsessed with his daddy. So everything Dan does, Noah has to mimic. I am not complaining: Noah is turning into one masculine little boy! He is ALL BOY. From football, to baseball and even golf, he wants to play it. And when his daddy's not available to play catch all day, then that duty falls to me.

Today the masculine event was mowing the grass. The boys did the front yard and the back yard. By the end of it, Noah was a sweaty mess - just like his Dad! But he definitely loved being out there with Dan. They are so cute together. I just can't wait to have Ellyotte arrive now so that I will actually have a playmate :)

Nightly Routine

Our nightly routines are so precious to us now that Dan is home and will be for the near future. Noah still goes to bed very early - in fact, he now requests "night, night" if we aren't moving towards his room fast enough.

Noah eats dinner at 5:00 pm and watches "Sesame Street." He usually inhales whatever I put before him because he plays SO hard all day. His favorite foods are brocolli, fresh cucumber, yogurt, string cheese, cheesy scrambled eggs, corn, PB&Js, and chicken. He also devours any kind of fruit. Sure, he will request a popsicle or a cookie from time to time but for the most part, he will choose fresh foods first (not like his mama!).

Bathtime usually starts around 5:45 and lasts a good half hour (if he's in the mood); his daddy usually does his bathtime - he's much more fun! Afterwards, Noah dries off and then he and Dan come sneaking around the corner to whatever room I might be in at the time and do his quiet "Super Baby wrapped in a towel" surprise! I adore that moment of my day - and Noah gets such a kick out of "surprising" me.

We get ready for bed and Noah curls up with his dad and a cup of milk to watch - get this - "Seinfeld" every single night. I am not kidding! I have a mini-me of Dan Beall. Dan can repeat word for word each episode of "Seinfeld" and now Noah asks for and expects to watch it at the end of his day!

Around 6:30 (or whenever their show is over), we get told by Noah that it is time to go "night night" and we all three head to his room. If Dan is lagging behind, Noah will yell "Come on in, Daddy" until Dan gets into his room! He's a bossy lil man :)

Dan and Noah curl up in his big boy bed and read a story - usually Noah's favorite "Kiss, Kiss" or my childhood favorite "A Pig's Tale." While Dan reads to him, I either get his room picked up or rock in our beloved glider that will soon make its way to Ellyotte's room. Once they are finished, Noah will bring me his blanket to "rockie." So Noah will crawl into my lap and we three will say our prayers together - at the end, Noah gives a hearty "AMEN!"


Dan will then say his goodnights and close the door behind him. We have an awesome noise machine that Noah sleeps with along with a Mozart for Babies CD that will play until he's asleep. I will rock Noah for about 5 minutes and then will lay him in his bed. Most nights, he wants me to rock while he gets comfortable - which I do. Then I kiss him again, tell him I love him and leave him for the next 12-13 hours.

Most nights, he will sleep from 6:45 pm - 7:00 am. WONDERFUL! And he will take an hour and a half nap. It took some work getting him used to his big boy room but now, he loves being in it and in his bed. We are very thankful for the amount of quiet time we get together at night and I love knowing that Noah will wake up happy and feeling secure in his room in the morning.

I would trade nothing in this entire world for the nightly routine that we have. It may sound mundane and boring to some people, but my little family thrives on that nighttime ritual and I wouldn't have it any other way.

How Can We See That Far...

Back in the early '90s, our family friend, Amy Grant (Gill) wrote a song with Tom Hemby called "How Can We See That Far." I remember listening to it then - not being more than 11 years old - and thinking "now THAT is how I want to feel about my husband."

These past few months have been tough for us. Granted, not as tough as if Dan were serving his 15 months in Afghanistan like he was slated to do, but tough nonetheless. We had just gotten settled into our new LA home when he received orders to deploy, he developed a tumor that required immediate surgery, I became pregnant with Baby #2 (yay!) in our preparation for his deployment, Christmas flew by, deployment was cancelled and then he was immediately sent off to training for 2 months with another TDY tacked onto the end of those 2 months. So, at this point, Dan won't be home till April. Whew. That made me tired recounting our past months!

But, here I am sitting at my computer in Louisiana - with my husband far away and our 2 year old safely tucked into his bed - grading papers while listening to that old song of Amy's and I cannot help but write out what I am feeling when I hear that song.

When I met Dan, I KNEW he was the "one." I knew it immediately and acted a bit crazy that first night! But God's plan for us was already set in motion, no matter how Dan felt about me right away.

I didn't know that when we started dating that we would be dating long distance for 3 years and that I would have to get out of the Air Force to be with him once we were married. I didn't know that we would move to Hawaii where we were hours behind the rest of the world and where it got kind of lonely for family at times. I didn't know that we would conceive Noah so early in our marriage - what a blessing! - and that I would be spending the majority of Noah's first year + alone at night with him while Dan was either TDY or working night shift for 18 months straight. There was a lot I didn't expect.

Yet, here we are going into our fifth year of marriage (and 8th year together) more deeply in love than ever. We are a military family that knows separation is inevitable; but that doesn't ever make it any easier. I long for Dan: for his hugs, for his smell, for the sound of his laughter as he plays with our little boy, for his voracious appetite as he inhales his dinner each night, I just long for my husband.

So... How can we see that far? We can't. When we pledge our lives to one another as husband and wife, we have no idea what God has in store for us. Ups, downs, happiness, broken hearts - it is unknown to us on that happy wedding day. But I can tell you there is absolutely no one else on this planet that I would rather love from afar as he provides for his family than my Dan. And when I look into the eyes of our redhead or when I feel the kicks and tumbles of our baby that I am carrying, I feel Dan's love as much as I would if he were standing right beside me. This is a hard time for us, but hard times are fleeting and to hold Dan Beall's hand as I walk through the rest of my life is a dream come true.

The words to this song are now "our story," the story I wanted to be mine two decades ago when I first heard it:

"We said our promises by candlelight
You held my hands, I was dressed in white
We were young
How can we see that far?

I knew I wanted you like no one else
I told my mama that I'd found myself
In your eyes
How can we see that far?

But like your daddy said
The same sun that melts the wax can harden clay
And the same rain that drowns the rat will grow the hay
And the mighty wind that knocks us down
If we lean into it
Will drive our fears away

And when I woke you in the dead of night
To hold my hands, push away the fright
Life had come - a son
How can we see that far?

Yeah we were nervous and a little scared
Until the music of our baby's cry
Filled the air
How can we see that far?

But like your daddy said
The same sun that melts the wax can harden clay
And the same rain that drowns the rat will grow the hay
And the mighty wind that knocks us down
If we lean into it
Will drive our fears away

Just an Update

God's doing a number in my life these days. He's trying and trying to show me ways that I can become more patient (which I am not sure I am succeeding at yet) and He's testing me almost every minute. This separation time from Dan has NOT been an easy go this time round, unfortunately.

Dan was supposed to be boarding a plane to Afghanistan till 2011 in the next couple weeks... Praise God that he's only in Texas. I am reminding myself of that constantly. But, it is still trying to find out that AFTER he's done with this ridiculous training at the end of February, he's set to go somewhere else immediately afterwards for yet another month. So, I think my frustration right now lies in Noah's absolute confusion about where his daddy is right now and having to get used to Dan being gone for an additional month. Again, I remind myself that he's safe and a phone call away. Praise God.

This pregnancy is flying by! I didn't think it would - the exhaustion has been much different this go of it. Last pregnancy, I exercised all through my first trimester (I'm now in the 2nd) but this time around, my exercise seems to be a) chasing Noah and b) the daily "wok" we take Piper on at the end of the day (NOT strenuous!). I just can't get it together to put on my running shoes and hit the pavement!

My second term teaching for Troy University is now in full-swing. This time, I have almost 3 dozen students in my class and we are in week 3 of 9 weeks. It is hard grading all of the writing assignments they are turning into me, but I have to remind myself that I was the one who assigned them!! I love being able to teach from home - or wherever I have my laptop. It is a liberating and challenging experience and this time, I have some really awesome students: many are parents, working full time, some serving in Afghanistan/Iraq while taking my course, one in Italy, another in Korea, and several have already retired and are finishing their degrees or are about to retire in the next few months. It is a a humbling experience to be teaching so many who are far more accomplished than I.

I am teaching in the Political Science department for TU and I am signed on to teach for as long as I want, as many terms as I want; it is incredible.
I have an appointment tomorrow with my fabulous doctor - she's awesome: a civilian at a civilian hospital (I am so thankful to be seen off-base; don't want to ever have another baby in a military facility). I am looking forward to hearing our little one's heartbeat again. This doctor is way cool in so many ways: she's young, she's hilarious and she is a WOMAN! Whoo Hoo!

They weighed me last appointment with Dan in the room and I laid down the line: I said "do NOT say what I weigh out loud, and don't tell me what I weigh." So they had me turn around and didn't mention my starting weight. I made the decision after last pregnancy and the struggle I had to lose all the almost 50 lbs that I would never again do that to myself.

So, my doctor promised to not tell me my starting weight or my ending weight in July. I just asked her that if I started gaining too much or too fast that she point it out. I can't tell you the freedom I am feeling from not knowing and knowing that I won't know. I was obsessed with weight last time and still gained a ton. So it will be nice to enjoy it this time around and not be obsessive. I will eventually lose it so there is no point worrying now!

We had an ultrasound at 9 weeks but I won't have another one till February. I am going to wait till Dan is home to find out the sex so even though I am only a few weeks away from being able to know, we want to find out together. So hopefully we will get an appointment for the last couple of days of February. That was the appointment when we got the news with Noah that he had clubbed feet, so we are praying against that in advance this time around. That appointment for Noah led us to many nights on our knees praying against his clubbed feet - and what a miracle we received - but we are praying against a deformity like that from the start this time around.

I am signing off now - Noah went to bed at 6 pm tonight after playing HARD all day today. I spent a lot of energy trying to wear him out to keep his mind off of his daddy being gone so we are both weary! Here are the pictures from our trip to Mobile where we watched Troy vs CMU in the 2010 GMAC Bowl. We had a great time.

Update

This is short because I have a toddler who won't nap and isn't doing well sleeping his regular 12+ hour nights (he's being IMPOSSIBLE lately!), a college class now in session full of undergraduate students requiring my undivided attention this term, and a husband still unable to even get up and walk to the bathroom unattended. Life's a little challenging logistically here! BUT.... so many of you have been faithful in asking us about how Dan's surgery affects his deployment.

The news - current as of today - is that this deployment is postponed for Dan. We are incredibly happy about that but still holding our breath. NOTHING is certain in the military till you are either on or not on a flight! But since Dan is still so immobile and still in so much pain, his commander made the decision to hold off sending him just yet. That doesn't mean he is "in the clear" but for now, he's safely home in Louisiana recovering from a pretty serious bit of surgery. We are thankful.

Thank you to ALL of you who sent cards and birthday wishes a month in advance. I assure you that each of them are being placed into the scrapbook that will accompany him on his inevitable future (soon) deployment. Dan's number is up so we are just waiting to hear the "where" and "when" because he's long overdue to go overseas. But, at least it isn't Afghanistan with the Army at this point. I will take anything over that.

Thanks again, we love you all and your prayers are still needed. We are an active duty military family continuing to go through a lot at this point in our lives. Your prayers are always encouraged and of course, I will continue to keep you updated.

On another note, here are some beautiful pictures of our impossible 20 month old. He is loving this fall weather here in Louisiana!

Happy 4 Years, My Love

October 15, 2005
A gorgeous early fall afternoon in Nashville, Tennessee. I was tired, maybe a bit hungover from the cheap champagne the night before. But I was the happiest bride around because I was becoming "one" with the absolute love of my life. Dan and I had done the whole long distance thing for 3 years. From 2002 to 2005 when we married, he was stationed in South Carolina and I was in Texas. It was nearly impossible to get stationed together unless I got out of the Air Force. So, one month before our wedding, I separated from active duty. And then we were able to marry and live together.
The week of our wedding, we found out we were to be moving to Hawaii in June 2006. Talk about some life changes on the horizon! But, we weren't bothered... we had 300 guests in town for our wedding and had a week + planned in St. Lucia. We were carefree - and kid free! All we had to worry about was each other and who would watch our cat (Maria). Life was incredible.
The morning of my wedding, I awoke with a headache and was sent back to bed - definitely not had enough sleep that week! But once I was up, and after a McDonald's run by my sweet sister, Kelly, and best friend, Lydia, I was somewhat ready to go.... My dad and I had to have our traditional run at Lipscomb's track though. THAT was hard to get through given my bad-champagne-headache! But, the memory of running with my daddy once more as a single girl is priceless. And that entire week, I had stayed at my Aunt Mamie and Uncle Bob's home... it was such a feeling of childhood for me. I have spent almost every night that I have ever been in Nashville throughout my life in their home. It is my "2nd home."I walked down the aisle at Woodmont Christian Church in Green Hills in my "dream dress:" Reem Acra's "Adored" dress of 2005. It was the first dress I tried on. My bridesmaids: Kelly, Brittney, Shannon, Lydia, Michelle and Annie walked down the aisle in champagne strapless gowns. They were visions. I couldn't have had more beautiful bridesmaids. My flower girls: McKenzie, Sutton, Gracie and Sarah Grayson (all my cousins) and my ring bearer, my cousin Sam were all dressed in hand made gowns/John Johns by my Aunt Dodie.
Seeing my intended at the end of the aisle tearing up as I walked down in my perfect dress and my cathedral length veil was everything I had ever imagined it to be.
My Aunt Mamie did most of the planning along with me - she's phenomenally talented. The flowers were the most vibrant fall colors. They made your eyes POP! And my precious Uncle Bob married us... I wouldn't have had another human on this earth recite our vows to us aside from my Uncle Bob.
Our reception was immediately after at Fontanel Estate just outside the Nashville city limits. It was the former log-cabin home of country star Barbara Mandrell. It was catered by Sodexho Marriott and was so gorgeous. I danced with my groom to Van Morrison's "Crazy Love" and then with my daddy to the song that he danced with at his and my mom's wedding in 1977: "Annie's Song." Dan danced with his mama to "Unforgettable." I could tell you that it was a perfect day but I would sound like I was bragging. To be honest, I was an exhausted and overwhelmed bride. But once we were in the honeymoon suite at the Hermitage in downtown Nashville, all was right with the world. I was with - finally - the man that God had ordained me to spend the rest of my life with. What a blessed young woman I was - and I still am.
Here we are 4 incredible years later with a love that grows more insanely deep each day and with a very active, smart and precious red-head to show for our love. Noah is the epitome of my and Dan's love for one another.
If I could go back and re-live October 15, 2005 I don't think I would. I would leave it just as it is in my memory: perfection. Praise God.