In Love Photo Challenge

So, today I have decided to try out my first challenge.  I went with a Jhen Stark challenge because over the last few days I have been reading her blog and I happen to think she is quite amazing!  I also have to give props to my friend, Stephanie, for introducing me to Jhen's blog.

I am in love with this picture for so many reasons.  This is my husband (when he was still just my boyfriend) and our dog (then puppy) Briggs, both of whom I am in love with.  I am also in love with this picture because I always say how much alike the two of them are, and sleeping is just one of the things they do the same.  I have taken hundreds of pictures of the two of them together over the last two years that we have owned Briggs, and this is still by far my favorite picture of them!

Puppy Love

"I think dogs are the most amazing creatures; they give unconditional love.  For me they are the role model for being alive."

-Gilda Radner

I'm just going to get this out there right now; I have the cutest dogs ever!  They keep me company all day long, they provide an endless source of entertainment, and they appreciate everything I do with them, even if it is just sitting with them.  I really don't have much to say, so I'm just going to show you a little bit of why I love them so much!

Briggs Smith

Briggs was born on March 26, 2009.  We adopted him in July of 2009.  He belongs to Nathan and me, but he is 100% without a doubt Nathan's dog.  He graduated top of his class from Petsmart's beginner and intermediate classes.  He is best known around our house as the baby dinosaur because from certain angles he bears a striking resemblance to a dinosaur.  He also thinks that he weighs 5 pounds as opposed to the 63 pounds that he actually weighs.  He is best known for trying to fit in spaces that are too small for him; Tyson's bed for instance.

Tyson Smith

Tyson was born on July 29, 2010 and he became a part of our family the following November.  He is the boss of the house and he gives Briggs a run for his money on an almost hourly basis.  He is the best lap dog ever.  He is also the best napping buddy ever.  A large contrast from Briggs, Tyson weighs in at a whopping 4 pounds and 14 ounces, but when he plays it is like he and Briggs are equal matches.  I am sad to say that I don't have a whole lot of pictures of him, but that is a work in progress.

And here are a few shots of them both.

Having the Faith of a Mustard Seed

"Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen"
-Hebrews 11:1

I have always been a believer, I was raised in the best and most loving church and I couldn't imagine what my life would be like if I hadn't been exposed to that at a young age.  I always attended Sunday School, Vacation Bible School, summer camps and conferences, I was an active member of Kids Club and Youth Group, and I hardly missed a Sunday unless we were on vacation or I was sick.  I learned so much from being in attendance at all of these things, but I have never felt the way that I have felt about church until last May.

When Nathan left for Basic Training in May I felt utterly and completely alone.  I went around for days like a zombie and from someone who didn't know me it probably looked like someone I was closed to had just died.  I had all my friends and family there for me but that first week of him being gone, it didn't matter because nobody understood.  Getting the first few phone calls from him I could tell he felt the exact same way.  He was miserable there and when they took his phone away it felt like I lost him all over again.  I had to wait for another two weeks before I got my first letter from him.  That was supposed to help me, but reading how depressed and lonely he was there only made things worse for me.  At that point I knew I had to do something or I was going to be feeling like this all summer.

I talked to my mom, and she suggested that I pray for him and about our situation.  I have never been good at praying.  I feel very awkward when I pray and usually it turns into more of me just talking and thinking instead of actually talking to God.  But, I figured if it would make me feel better then I would give it a shot.  From that day on I prayed for Nathan two and three times a day, and in my letters I encouraged him to do the same.  I told him that if he ever wanted to talk to me, since he couldn't just pick up the phone, then he should pray for me, and I did the same.  As time went on, praying began to feel normal and natural instead of the awkward attempts that it used to be and when school got out and all I had left to keep me going during the day was work, I threw myself into church.

Church became the most important thing in my life, as it should have been all along.  I never realized how much peace praying and going to church could bring.  I felt like a new person.  Since this past summer and going through all of my experiences I have come to realize how much more there is to life when you have something as firm as God and as church to believe in.

I am telling you all of this to help this next part make sense.  A few weeks ago when we were home visiting our families, my mom and I were sitting in her living room and she had a book sitting on the table next to her.  So, I picked it up and read the back cover to see what it was about.  Once I read that, it was game on.  I had to read that book and I had to read it right then.  I then spent the next 3 hours reading and actually finishing the book, and I have to admit that it has been one of the most inspirational books I have ever read.  It really helped to affirm all of the things that I believe in and helped show me that all of my prayers and time put into church would all be worth it one day.

The book is called "Heaven is For Real" by Todd Burpo.

I will just give you a short summary about it, because for anyone who plans on reading it I would hate to give it away.  Basically it is written by a little boy's (Colton) dad and it tells about how Colton got really sick and had to have surgery and during his surgery he went to Heaven.

I was a little skeptical at first but it was the best book I have ever read.  I cried in certain parts, I laughed in certain parts, and when I finished it I felt like I had to tell everyone to read this book.  It is so good and if you are a believer it will truly be one of the best faith-based books you ever read, and if you are not a believer it just may convince you to be one.

I hope everyone takes my advice and picks up this book!  You won't regret it!

The Times They Are A Changin

"Come gather 'round people wherever you roam, and admit that the waters around you have grown."

- Bob Dylan

Looking back on the last year of my life I can not even imagine what I would think if someone had told me three years ago what my life would look like now.

I met my husband, Nathan, in April of 2008 and we started dating the following June.  Anyone who knows us can tell you that we had a bumpy first couple of months, but we worked through it all and we couldn't be happier.

After months and months of talking about it and weighing out the pros and cons we couldn't stand it anymore and we got our first puppy, Briggs, together.

In November of 2009 Nathan informed me that he was thinking about joining the service.  He wasn't really sure which branch and he spent the next 4 months talking to recruiters from different branches and gathering paper work for them and in March of 2010 he was sworn into the United States Army.

Nathan left for his Basic Training and his Advanced Individual Training at Fort Benning in Columbus, Georgia on May 5, 2010.  Over the course of the next two months as his family and I struggled to figure out how to continue life without Nathan in it, Nathan learned how to shoot guns I had never heard of, climb ropes that are as tall as buildings, go through obstacles, kick down doors, clear rooms for people or things that could be a threat, and so many other things.  He lost around 50 pounds and gained self-pride and self-confidence.  In July he got a 36 hour pass for graduating from Basic Training and we got to drive down to Columbus and spend time with him.

After the best 36 hours of my life, it was time to give him back so that he could endure one more month of training.  On August 19 we got to go back down to Columbus to watch Nathan get his blue infantry cord and on August 20 we got to watch him graduate from his Advanced Individual Training and we got to bring him back home with us this time!

Nathan got to spend a little less than a month at home with us before he had to report to his current duty station, Fort Stewart, Georgia on September 13.  Before he left we decided that living four hours away from each other was just not going to work out for either one of us, so he went out and got me a ring and proposed to me on top of Stone Mountain.  Since he was getting ready to move in a few days and we were all ready starting to miss each other, we decided that we had to get the show on the road.  So my mom and I planned a wedding, and we planned it FAST!

On October 30, 2010 I walked down the aisle at Gaither Plantation in Covington, Georgia and I became Mrs. Smith.

Two weeks after the wedding we got our second puppy, Tyson, and started house hunting.

On November 17 we moved into our first house together in Richmond Hill, Georgia.  We live on Kilkenny Creek which runs right into the St. Catherine's sound on the Atlantic Ocean.

Since we moved we have visited home quite a few times, had family and friends over to our house and we have started to learn how to live on our own.  Every day is an adventure for us and we can't wait to see what is in store for us in 2011!