A Beautiful Carolina Wedding

Last week Andrew and I headed to the Carolinas and made it combo trip - visit his buddy Todd from Dental school in Charlotte, NC; have his 1st office visit for practice in Charleston, SC; and of course...witness my cousin, Andrew, commit the rest of his life to his beautiful wife, Meagan, in a beautiful church downtown Columbia, SC!

My brother, Clayton, and his girlfriend, Ashley were able to take a mini vacation with us and start off in Charlotte. I had some tooth problems (ironically) on our 9 hour drive to Columbia and luckily...we were going to visit Todd's new practice so he gave us the tour and allowed Andrew to x-ray my teeth. Although, Todd nearly gave me a heart attack when he came back to say, "I hate to be the one to bear the bad news" all while getting out a syringe and some dental tools. No bad news...just keep an eye on a possible infection (which is common if your root goes into your sinuses).

Todd then showed us his new pad (until his house gets finished being built), his beautiful baby boxer, Shelby, and his sweet new ride - a chromed out Harley Davidson!!

Charleston was the next stop on Thursday. Andrew met with a pediatric Dentist who was interested in selling his practice to him. Beautiful area! Andrew came back to say, "Well, crap...that was a good opportunity!" We were just going for the experience and see what they had to offer. Needless to say, we weren't expecting anything good out of it since the Charleston area is saturated (i.e. full of pediatric dentists). It was then that reality started to kick in gear and give us a little scare. We can only pray from here and visit other offices to compare our options. On a lighter note...we spent the rest of the day touring Charleston. Eating at Hyman's Seafood restaurant (FABULOUS!!). Walking through the markets on Market Street, see Rainbow Row, hit a cool smoke shop, walk down King Street, and hang at the Battlefield Park. To check out the Charleston visitor's guide...click here.

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While we didn't have time to tour some of the historic places (tours can take a few hours), the one that we were told to tour was the Plantations, particularly, Middleton Place which is America's oldest landscaped gardens. In addition to touring the Plantations, another one of the top 10 things to do in Charleston was a carriage tour. If you just go to Charleston...no need to plan in advanced...they have people that help guide you around while there.

The Battlefield Park

Clayton & Ashley on Rainbow Row

Ashley & I on King Street where they filmed part of 'The Notebook'

Clayton doesn't remember taking pictures on this canon in Battlefield Park when we were little

At sunset by Battlefield park

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Friday and Saturday finally arrived after a couple days in Military Operations! We attended the rehearsal dinner and wedding on Saturday. Everything was so beautiful and lavish! I LOVE weddings because every Bride has her own taste and wedding styles are all so different and can show the couple's personality. There is typically always something memorable about every wedding and this wedding had the biggest flower arrangements. Not only that but everything else was just so put well together. Oh yeah...the groomsmen and groom, had fishing lures attached to their Boutonnieres (Andrew fishes and hunts)...what a personal touch!!! The reception was really nice and classy...a band playing while the Bride and Groom had a line up of guests. It was nice because they didn't have to worry about running around and missing any guests. It was a reception that you could enjoy, mingle, and relax for an hour or so. Then off they went on a honeymoon that Meagan didn't know about...Cancun, Mexico baby!! Where she actually wanted to go in the first place ;-) Great job, cousin Andrew!!!

The 3 ministers - Andrew, PeePaw, & Uncle Robert

Andrew just gleaming as Meagan approached her Groom

Meagan so glamorous and obviously...Elated!!

Their prayer...Meagan's uncle and brother sang in the wedding...that family has some talent!!

Finally...Mrs. Winburn!!!

MeeMaw & PeePaw...sooooo CUTE and BEAUTIFUL!!

My AWESOME family!!

Their cake not only exquisite...but scrumptious!!

Mom and Dad looked so beautiful...I LOVE my parents!!

Off to...well...at the time Meagan didn't know...CANCUN!!!

What a Weekend!!!

Last weekend was such an eventful 2 days full of exhilaration which somewhat caused us to lack some sleep. In the end, it was WORTH every tiring move and our strength was rejuvenated!

Many were surprised when I stated about 3 weeks ago, I was going to attempt my first open swim triathlon. While I wasn’t fully trained to push for a certain time, I was training hard for 2 weeks on endurance. Andrew and I had been working out 3-4 days a week since we’ve been married and all I needed to do was make my workouts longer. I seriously have the MOST AWESOME husband (pardon my double positives) but he pushed me all the way and even did 2 run throughs with me!!! While I may have wanted to marry a pro athlete since a young girl, I certainly have the self-motivated, sincere, caring husband who wants a healthy lifestyle as much as I do. I’ve always dreamed of doing triathlons or sporting events with my husband, family, and getting my future kids involved with health and nutrition and I’ve got it!!! I can’t even express how proud I am of him for all that’s he’s done not only for me but even for himself. He says often, “I’m in better shape than I was in High School!”

Friday night, Andrew got us a hotel just to be closer to Collierville, TN – which by the way, is a beautiful part of TN!! It reminded us much of Versailles, KY. We loved just driving around to see all the Mansions and I mean mansions as in the biggest houses we’ve ever seen! We counted 6 air conditioned units around one of the homes and I thought one was a contemporary church! So we planned a weekend in Collierville. That night we ate at a family-owned, authentic Italian restaurant in the Town Square called, Pasta Italia…pricey, but SCRUMPTIOUS. The chef even came out and introduced himself!!! He didn’t speak much english but we had a great waitress who later gave us dessert liquor as a compliment! Bedtime was early for us that night since our Saturday was to start at 5am!

Race time was at 7am and we got there while it was still dark. Music was playing and they had Dunk ‘in Donuts and coffee for all the spectators. I loaded my station which was surrounded by hundreds of bikes. Two kids’ park next to me in pro gear – aero-dynamic helmets, shoes attached to the triathlete bikes, pro suit, and the whole she-bang! In fact, I had the only non-triathlete bike…but I didn’t care. I had a brand new Trek bike and it’s the brand of most triathlete bikes. I’m just doing this for fun and not showing off any skills ;-) To be honest, it’s part of goals I set for myself to stay in shape, healthy, and be a role model for others to do the same. If I don’t have any competition, then I don’t have a drive to push myself.

"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." ~Phil. 4:13...a favorite Bible verse since my high school sporting days that has never failed me!

After swimming ¼ a mile and ingesting some lake water, an 11-mile somewhat hilly bike ride, and 2 miles of running on a hiking trail, I finished before my 1hr 30 min goal…I finished at 1:20:28!!! Whoa-wee!! Andrew pointed out I got 3rd on the posted results…of course, I didn’t believe him. But he was right, then I thought well, it’s probably 3 out of 3. So that means we had to stay for the rewards which was good ‘cause they fed us a full buffet of Corky’s BBQ (the famous Memphis BBQ), coleslaw, corn, red potatoes, and watermelon! They called out 3rd in my division (ages 25-29) and my name was not mentioned, so I felt a little disappointed. BUT….they called out 2nd place and it was “Tiffany Dill!!!” I was the only one running and screaming to get my award and what do you know…it was a belt buckle with 2 shotguns on it (for Showman Sharp Shooter Triathlon). Haha!!

Andrea, our preggie sister-n-law, wanted to come watch but we didn’t want them to have to get up that early, plus she was having some contractions (that have been going on for weeks now). So they met up with us after the race for some walking, dining at Cheeburger Cheeburger, and a long car ride out in the middle of nowhere (we were going to show them the park and mansions). Well…we made it just shy of the neighborhood we wanted to show them and they had to stop. Andrea was in LABOR!!! I panicked and drove to the hospital as fast as we could through all the curvy, hilly, long roads. It took us about 45 min to get back into town. Andrea’s mom was following us and taking her time trying to distract her “Hey honey, look at the porch on that house” and she responded with wide eyes like, “get me outta this maze!”

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After nearly 10 hours of labor to find the baby stuck and emergency c-section...she had the most beautiful, handsome, healthy baby boy at 7.2 pounds...Thomas Christopher Dill!!

Baby Thomas Christopher's 1st Glamour Shots ;-)

After being up 22 hours on Saturday and getting 4 hours of sleep - although, it's nothing what mommy and daddy had to go through...Thomas Christopher's arrival rejuvenated us all :)

He was just too cute and already getting spoiled by Uncle Andrew and Aunt Tiffy!

Andrew and Chris were having so much fun playing puppet with him while sleeping...poor thing just doesn't know what's in store with Daddy and Uncle Andrew!!

Andrew just had to be the first to get him stuffed animals while in the hospital...so cute!

The proud parents!!! CONGRATS to Chris and Andrea!!!

What is Your Love Language?

Andrew and I have picked up the ‘5 Love Languages’ along with our small group. Previously, we attempted 40 dares in 40 days…and it was difficult! We have come to the conclusion that book and dares are for couples who have been married for a while or may even be struggling with a few challenges here and there. Needless to say, we have moved on to something else that is more suitable for a newly-wed couple, or any couple for that matter.

We are SO blessed to have what we like to call, our big sisters and big brothers (we’re the youngest)…our small group :-) Every 3 weeks a couple hosts and leads the discussion. Our group is dynamic, spunky, creative, talented, fun, and full of LOVE! We could not have asked for a better group! The 1st weekend in August…we hosted and lead the group for our 1st time. We did warn them the size of our apartment is the size of their bedrooms…they all live out in the east end, in well-put together, remodeled homes! Our discussion was on Affirmation…and we had the couples express to each other “words of affirmation” to start off the night. Not even going to try to explain the rules of the game…by the time we figured it out…we witnessed the most heart-felt and thoughtful Affirmations!!

This is Mike and Heather's home...luxurious patio pool area. They all had large spaces, pools, awesome landscaping, beautiful and heart-warming homes :-)

This is our home...a tight squeeze for 12 of us! Andrew even asked if anyone would want to give us a wing of their homes for free. But they say they it's not as small as we said...they enjoyed coming downtown and exploring our acquaint neighborhood.

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Since we had a dynamic group – us newly-weds, the long and married, divorced and re-married, and some have been through separations – I decided to make it a spicy, fun, and eventful night! I also mean dynamic by character and personalities, too – there’s a pilot, a nurse, air traffic controller, artists, psychologist, business gurus, and many more! In preparation, Andrew cooked up his signature hamburgers, while I cleaned and gathered items for some goody bags – teehehe!! They were items around the apartment that we’ve never used or had too much of…a little something for the couple – toothbrushes and toothpaste; a little something for the guys – condoms; and a little something for the gals – toe separators for painting toenails. Andrew peeked over and saw the little squared packets and immediately said, “Tiffany…NO. This is a church group!!!” And took them out! I said, “Honey, we have to make it fun and spicy!” My mom even helped me with some ice-breaker games and such. Needless to say…it was a BLAST!! We all had such a good time and the ladies said we’ve set the bar high! I don’t know about that…but I was glad to lighten up the environment. The highlight was our ice breaker game (or the Newly-Wed Game Show questions) and the goody bags. The door prize was some vanilla, shea body butter! So everything was related to…well, the imagination was just up to them :-)

The sweet guys ;-)

Andrew, Adam, David, Mike, Les, & Lucius (Just missing George)

The awesome gals!

Melony, Trudi, Michelle, Kristy, Heather, & Tiffany (Just missing Garmany)

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Anxiety weighs down the heart, but a kind word cheers it up. ~ Proverbs 12:25