Tony + Wendy = Dr and Mrs Farmer

Some of our dear friends tied the knot this past weekend!  It was a beautiful weekend full of love, happiness, fun and friends.  They had one of the best first dances EVER! 

Tony and I went to middle school and high school together.  We got to know each other in Latin when I was in 7th grade and he was in 8th.  We remained friends through high school when he played on the baseball team and I kept stats for the team.  Tony was the one who would always help clarify for me how to score a play if I was confused (which happened a lot). 

Tony went to Mercer where he met Tim (way before I met Tim!).  They took numerous classes together and studied more biology together than you can imagine.  They became close friends while in college, so it was really neat when Tim and I met to realize Tony was a mutual friend!

Tony went on to medical school and is now a Hospitalist in Virginia. . .  where he met sweet Wendy!  Wendy has such a sweet, tender spirit, and she's beautiful to boot!  We have really enjoyed getting to know her.  After going skiing with them and another couple back in February, we got to know and love Wendy even more!

Our heart truly overflowed as we watched them become husband and wife Saturday.  The reception was a blast as there were tons of friends there celebrating with us!  AJ the DJ kept the tunes flowing, and we all had the best time on the dance floor. 

(this picture makes me smile so big.  Why yes, that's my husband in the middle singing his heart out!)

There was a sweet time of toasting the couple where some stories were shared, memories were laughed over and the happy couple was honored and loved. 

 

Yours truly had a few words on her heart, but if you know me at all, you know in a situation like that, the tears?  They just flow.  But, I was able to tell the two of them later on the dance floor how happy we are for them. 

One of my very favorite sentiments that was written on our big picture frame at our wedding is from Tony.  It says, "It was worth the wait, B!"  How exciting it was for me to tell him and Wendy Saturday, "It IS worth the wait, now you know, too!"

Another of our friends, Amber Wilburn, is a crazy talented photographer, and she shot the wedding.  You definitely will want to check out her sneak peak.  Oh. My. Goodness. 

Makes me wanna get married again.

To Tim, of course!  ;)

Congratulations, Dr and Mrs Farmer!  The best is surely yet to come!

Birthday Wishes to my True Blue Friend

Ashley, B, and Jodi ~ Lifelong friends

A truer friend I could not have ever asked for than the friend I have in Jodi.  I firmly believe a friendship like ours happens once in a lifetime.  At best.  The last 32 years have woven a beautiful tapestry of two lives, one friendship. 

See, I have a little golden book my mom received when she was pregnant with me.  It was To Baby Miller (that was me!) from Baby Outler (that was Jodi!).  So when we say we've been friends all our lives we mean it.  Literally.

And my, oh my, the memories we share.  From the absolute heartache grief and pain of untimely deaths and personal struggles to the incredible joy of marrying two amazing, godly men and having beautiful babies of our own, we've built a friendship steady and strong.  From partying like rockstars in our wild days - days we'd both likely wish we could erase - to worshiping together every Sunday at church, studying God's word together in Sunday School, and praising our Heavenly Father for his amazingly steady provision through all of it. . .  Jodi is my true blue, best friend. 

Jodi's the friend I walked 60 miles in 3 days with.  She's the friend I worked with for about 5 years.  She's the friend who squealed the loudest when I got engaged, the friend who smiled the biggest when Tim and I got pregnant.

The friend I simply cannot imagine my life without.  And I thank God for her always.

Especially today as she celebrates her 32nd birthday.  I love you, dear one!  Here's to the rest of our lives!  The best is truly yet to come!

Roomie Reunion

If I've heard it once, I've heard it twenty times. . .  "You haven't blogged lately." 

This I know, folks.  And I really don't like it, but I just find myself busy day in and day out.  Busy in such a way that pulling out the computer just sometimes seems too much.

I know.  Pitiful.

I'm so not complaining. . . .  I'm just saying.

So, again, I'm vowing to do better.  I already feel like Molly's growing way too fast, and I've not done a very good job of keeping up with her growing!

But this post?  It's about my three favorite roomies. 

These girls and I lived together in college and I loved every single minute of it.  They were seriously the best roommates ever.

Seriously.

Ever.

Today we got together with our husbands and kids to catch up and enjoy each other's company again.  And we had a blast!

Which isn't surprising.  I see these three girls and see many, many great memories from our days at UGA!  And besides, you know it's gonna be a good time when you have 4 girls, 4 husbands, 7 kiddos all under the age of 6, and one baby on the way all together! 

Throw in a perfect fall day with burgers and dogs on the porch while some football's on the tube, and you got yourself a FANTASTIC DAY.

And that's why, on our way home, I felt like my heart just might burst with thanksgiving.  Cause these are some precious girls who are dear friends to me. And I love them dearly.  And seeing how good life's been to all of us, each in our own way. . .  Well, it just about makes me pop!

What's a blog post without a picture of this precious little girl?

Wednesday's Walk ~ Third Day Concert

It's Wednesday! Wednesday's Walk! If you want to participate, jump on over to Lynnette's blog for details.

Friday night, Jodi and I, along with our little sisters went to the Third Day concert at our church. It. Was. Incredible. Awesome. Unbelievable. Revive opened the show with incredible music, amazing worship, and got us P-U-M-P-E-D up! Here is a picture of the lead singer in the middle of the audience! During a song!

Brandon Heath came next. Crazy cool he was. Also amazing. He was so real with us, telling us how his new song, Wait and See, was basically about his life growing up. He was great!

And then, oh, then the show began! Third Day rocked that church! It was so incredible!!! I really cannot begin to explain to you the emotions that I felt while worshipping my Savior during that concert. Jodi said it best, though. When we were leaving, she said, "I worshipped God harder tonight than I think I ever have before!" How exciting is that!

Check out the light show! Those are not real stained glass windows; they're lights!




The Encore ~ All of them on stage at the same time!!

It was also an amazing time to cherish: worshipping your Savior along side your sister, your best friend, and her precious little sister. Time well spent, and time I'll never forget!

Thanking Him

If you don't read this precious girl's blog, you're missing an amazing treat! Today, Kelly Gives God Praise, and man alive did I need to read her uplifting post. Kelly has an incredible ministry through the blogosphere by sharing prayer requests with all of her readers. And, Kelly has a great testimony to boot! It helps, too, that she's always posting precious pictures of her little miracle, Harper, too!

So, I'm picking myself up out of this pit of stress, dusting this pity party off of me, and praising God for the many, many blessings He's given me.

* Beautiful spring weather that promises capris, tans, and sandals are in our near future.

* Health

* A job, even if the boss does tell me 40 minutes prior to this morning's presentation, "It's going to be a big audience, Bethany! Over 100 participants; no pressure!" Really? Seriously. No pressure? More like step into a big ole' pressure cooker!?!?

* An amazing friend who's understanding and forgives me when I blab too much.

* A husband who works his buns off day in and day out .

* That same husband loves me beyond measure.

* That I grew up in a home full of unconditional love.

* The hope I have of leaving a Godly legacy to Ellie, and future mini-McMens, and our future kids.

* The get-up-and-go the hubby has every morning to get us to the gym, home, showered and at work by 8:30.

* Amazing girls who share so much in Bible Study each Tuesday night as we grow together in Him.

* The precious little ones I get to love on every Wednesday night at church.

* How easy it is to cook for Tim. I say all the time he'd be perfectly happy with a piece of cardboard and melted cheese. Granted, I know when he pulls out the honey mustard, it's not a great meal, but that doesn't happen very often!

* This spring weather means our hammock is calling our names every afternoon to come for a short swing!

* You peeps who give me amazing encouragement and love day in and day out.

Thank you, Heavenly Father, for the many gifts you give me every single day!