7 Months of Spontaneous Love

Believe it or not…our love is still growing strong at 7 months!! And if we keep up our rituals…then we will only grow stronger. We are truly blessed with not only each other, but for God’s love, guidance, and protection. He is only preparing us for what lies ahead – whether it’s good or bad. It does somewhat scare us that we’ve gone this far being the happy-go-lucky, cheerful, newly-wed “puh-lease” couple. Ironically, Andrew brought up the other day, “I can’t believe we’ve lived together 24/7 for the past 6-7 months and still LIKE each other!” Well, it’s true…I was worried before we got married…thinking if a couple lives together 24/7 for ‘x’ number of years…it can’t be pretty! I was wondering how I was going to deal with that! Now I wonder, how could I live a day without him!!

Spontaneity is still the key to keeping it hot and spicy! And, I don’t just mean by location…I mean by fun and sweet things, too. Okay, let me clarify…in addition to the spicy…I’m referring to what we’ve done the past few weekends for cheap or free…

Test driving my dream car….a convertible…and I’ve narrowed it down to a Volvo C70 (my mom thought I said 5-0 C70). I’m a cheap and economic gal…so I’m going for the G6 Convertibles…but my hubby wants me in a safe ride…so he did his research and I picked! In just a year or so…we’ll pay for it in cash!! The secret when shopping…I now think, ”That’s ‘x’ amount of dollars toward my convertible.” Thanks, Dave Ramsey! Then once Andrew gets his job…he will pay for his dream car in cash…a Hyundai Genesis. My overall philosophy…Live Small to Dream Big!
We baby sat 2 of the cutest and very well-behaved girls…Alora and Malia (LOVE their names)…we hope to have wonderful kids like them someday.

Supported Ashley as she was baptized Easter weekend.

Strawberry season came early…so we just pulled over and started picking and nearly missed the storm and downpour. The following weekend…we picked again with some of the residents’ families and I became overwhelmed and addicted with so many, SO BIG, red-dy-licious strawberries! Andrew literally had to pull me out of the patch! I have eaten so many strawberries in the past couple weeks…I’m surprised I don’t have an ulcer! I’m still having fun trying out new recipes. Some turned out not- so- good like the “busy day cake”…I did, however, find an awesome Strawberry Shortcake and Sour Cream Pound Cake to go with the fresh strawberries…

Strawberry Shortcake from Better Homes and Garden
1.5 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/3 cup cold butter
1 egg, slightly beaten
1/2 cup dairy sour cream
2 tbsps milk
5 cups sliced strawberries
3 tbsps sugar
whipped cream

1. Preheat oven 400 degrees. Lightly grease a baking sheet; set aside. In a medium bowl combine flour, the 1/4 cup sugar, the baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Using a pastry blender, cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. In a small bowl combine egg, sour cream, and milk (I added a little vanilla for extra flavor). Add to flour mixture, stirring with fork just until moistened.

2. Drop dough into eight mounds onto prepared baking sheet (I actually greased a round cake pan instead which was optional and baked for 18-20 min). Transfer to wire rack and let cool...for cake pan let cool for 10 min before removing onto wire rack.

3. Meanwhile, combine 4 cups of the strawberries and the 3 tbsps sugar. Using a potato masher (or pastry blender), mash berries slightly; set aside. To serve, split shortcakes in half (or cut round cake into wedges); fill with strawberry mixture and Whipped Cream. Top with remaining sliced strawberries.

We finally used a gift card (thanks to the Montoyas) to a FABULOUS restaurant in town – Bhan Thai (we love trying out new things particularly non-chain vendors). We fancied up (like we’re going to church) and split a scrumptious crispy crab wonton appetizer, their signature crispy duck, and a bottle of Riesling from Germany! We had the best time out on their deck and enjoying each other…especially since that was our 1st REAL solo date in months!

Went on another date and dolled up to see the movie ‘The Soloist’ on preview night…for FREE. FYI…show up at least an hour early for preview movies…we walked out with side effects from sitting in the 2nd row, I think Andrew’s eye’s are still crossed.

Not that this is hot and spicy nor fun and sweet, but I’ll randomly find our guests in the bathroom or in our laundry.
We meet about once a month for our awesome small group from church and continue to spend time with friends from school and Andrew’s family. And more busy weekends ahead…bringing Ashley and José home to meet my parents and head out to Kentucky Oaks, going to visit with the Ramsey’s (Ashley’s parents), a week down south at Andrew’s parents, weddings galore, and so much more!!

I have evidence that spontaneity is the key from my role models…my grandparents! They are enjoying life together again after retirement traveling and randomly hitting up some dinner theatres, restaurants, and visiting family. Although PeePaw wanted to head home early from a long road trip from Gatlinburg, TN to Columbia, SC to south Florida…MeeMaw took control and drove 2,650 miles in 8 days. Needless to say, the extra days of traveling were well worth it!

Happy Easter!

There is so much significance behind this Cross...it's an old Oak tree cut down from my grandparents' backyard during the cleanup for our wedding last summer, 2008. It was a dead tree bearing down on a live tree causing it to grow horizontally. After my daddy cut the Oak tree down, he brought it back to life and created this beautiful Cross to use as the backdrop for our wedding .It represents our love for Christ and the love He has for us. I'm so glad to see it's still standing at the end of my grandparents' driveway.

My mom sent me this picture today to show how much she missed us this Easter. With my grandparents gone, my brother studying hard at school , her siblings spread out, and us in Memphis, for her, Easter was not quite the same. Although it's a dreary, cold, rainy day here in Memphis...we're celebrating Life!

We had a powerful sermon today at Hope Presbyterian Church. Every day, people endure life's struggles. The economic crisis, loss of jobs, drug and alcohol abuse, and families who have lost loved ones - we wonder how it is that we get through life. The answer, with God...all things are possible, we have Hope, Faith, and Believe! Dr. Strickland said, "No matter if you're Baptist, Methodist, Presbyterian, etc...as long as we have a relationship with Jesus Christ and we accept His Love, we will pull through and we will Live." This struck home with me because the world is constantly changing and becoming more challenging. During the service, people walked on stage holding a sign that exposed a life struggle. They held it high for a few seconds and then flipped the card over. On the flip side was a rejoicing message on how they dealt with adversity. It's so humbling to see so many people struggle in various ways and still turn to God for guidance!

Our Master Jesus has His arms wide open for you. ~1 Corinthians 16:23

#8 Love Is Not Jealous

Determine to become your spouse’s biggest fan and to reject any thoughts of jealousy. To help you set your heart on your spouse and focus on their achievements, take yesterday’s list of negative attributes and discreetly burn it. Then share with your spouse how glad you are about a success he or she recently enjoyed.

It amazes me how Andrew would sacrifice so much for me just to accomplish my dreams and goals. In fact, I feel that he gives me too much freedom and independency in some ways. And I want the same for him. He’s worked so hard to get where he is today and he feels the same about me. Often times it becomes difficult to even make decisions especially when we talk about our future. We both want the best for each other.

There are times where we do become a little competitive…or at least I am. I remember when Andrew and I went on our first vacation together (to visit his parents down on the Gulf coast). His dad collects guns…tons of guns! He makes his own shooting range in his backyard. They made pictures of the bad guys…one being Bin Laden – LOL! So, I’m all serious and getting fired up. I aimed right at the picture on an old toilet seat. All my shots fired at Bin Laden and Andrews…down to the ground. That’s just the tomboy in me. I grew up playing street ball, football, and testing out my fear factor level with my cousins and family friends. There were no girls around until my lil sis. I think Andrew loves me for this. He is the most sensitive so I love that about him :)

My shots...

Andrew's shots :)

Needless to say, we both agreed that burning the list was not hard. In fact, we discussed how when we do get frustrated, it doesn’t last very long and we don’t even remember the reason for the short tiff the next day. I thought about reading my list before I burnt it, but felt no need to…this is the way to get rid of them and focus on the more positives. My mom however, had the hardest time…probably because she put so much time into it – ha! She even read this day’s dare twice to make sure she didn’t misunderstand any of it. But she just laughed and said “guess that means I have to give up on the idea of correcting all your Daddy’s negative attributes…according to me :)”

Burn baby, Burn!

Our success for the day…mine was recognizing a patient’s complicated medical history and being thanked by our physician while Andrew expressed how good and successful he felt after a hard, so-called, “so sweaty you can see through my shirt” workout. We both acknowledge our passion in life and definitely encourage each other to succeed at different levels whether it’d be career, hobbies, or fitness. I love how we support each other and are able to be honest about future goals in life. We admire each other in so many ways because we’re wired completely different, so it makes us more interesting and compatible :)

Then...

And Now (our 1st NBA game)!

Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep. ~Romans 12:15