OUR LOVE STORY

They say, "love comes to those who wait". Who would have thought that a blind date in 7th grade would  years later lead to me marrying my sweet Tripp?..God did! This so called blind date was set up by friends and was a double date to watch some Batman movie at the Movies 8 in Buford, GA (come to find out we were each others "first date").

Though we had many run ins over the years following and mutual friends we never really ever "dated".  Life just kinda went on...
Little did we know that during our time apart we were both growing in who were were and learning more about ourselves as we struggled through some difficult relationships and hardships. I had reached a place in my life where I was in no place to settle for anything but God's best for my life. I had journaled "the desires of my heart" and prayed over them, knowing that in Gods timing I would receive what I had been praying for.
Tripp and I were reunited in December of 2007 by his friend who was one of the friends that set up the double date years earlier. We were pretty much inseparable from that day on.

Tripp asked me to marry him April 25, 2009

and we were married in the Dominican Republic on September 9, 2009. It was everything I would have ever dreamed of. We had a beautiful private ceremony on the beach with just our immediate family members.

 And here we are ONE year later on our journey to "infinity"(as Tripp always says) :). Our first year of marriage has been so much fun. I honestly feel like I learn something new everyday! It was definitely an adjustment and I really struggled with understanding my role as a wife. But Tripp was so patient and encouraged me and reassured me that this thing called marriage was gonna have its up and downs. I am so thankful for a husband that I truly feel God created just for me. When looking back on my journal entry where I had written out "the desires of my heart" I cannot help but smile with tears in my eyes that God answered each one of them.
For our one year anniversary we were fortunate enough to be able to take a trip to the beautiful country of Colombia. We had so much fun reflecting on our first year of marriage and it is our hope to be able to take a trip each year to remind ourselves of the importance in keeping our marriage about each other.

I am reminded daily that God is so faithful in His promises. I am thankful for all I have learned through this journey that led me to the man He had created for me. My prayer is that Tripp and I fall more in love each day than the day before. That through our disagreements we understand and appreciate each other and that whatever life may throw our way, we love each other unconditionally from this day until infinity.

mouse. trap.

gross. disturbing. violating. did I say GROSS!?!? we have a mouse..potentially more than one..and it is located in our pantry!! we have heard it for a couple of days (clue 1) but assumed it was in the wall somewhere, and in living in a townhome i was hoping that it was closer to the neighbors house than to ours. But OHHH NO! it innocently-as i like to say -"desserted" on my reeses cup from my candy dish on my kitchen counter top (clue 2). i noticed that last night as i was preparing supper for my sweet husband. and then..i heard it! lucky for me the pantry door was closed. BUT i could clearly hear the rustling of some type of bag (clue 3) and instantly knew that whatever it was (mouse, squirrel, monster) was no longer in the wall as i had hoped but was feasting on MY snacks yet again. i immediately called Tripp and apologized that his dinner would have to wait until he rushed home to kill the beast inside my pantry because i was not gonna step foot in the kitchen knowing that thing was in the pantry. when he said that it would be 20 more minutes..i quickly called MamaJoy. i knew she would have a resolution to this. i gave her the play by play as i stood on top (mind you i did not let my feet touch the floor from the time i heard the beast and ran onto the couch) of the oversized chair closest to the kitchen. thats when i saw it (final conclusion)..it flattened itself under the pantry door and quickly slid under the stove. I SCREAMED and jumped from the chair back onto the couch. MamaJoy laughed-and gave me some advice and then thankfully my prince charming came to the rescue and entered the kitchen completely calm and ready to catch the predator.
At this point I am gagging and on the verge of a panic attack. Tripp opened the pantry door and another (could be the same one??? i am hoping there is only ONE!) mouse nose dived from the third shelf of the pantry on to the floor into a corner and i am sure was praying for dear life that tripp would not see him. tripp gathered a couple of boxes and a dish towel and proceeded to chase the mouse out of the pantry-they circled around the kitchen-and then tripp slammed the box over what we hoped was the mouse. now i would have paid to see what i looked like while this was all going down. what i remember from it was-screaming, jumping on the chair, laughing, and screaming some more-all while waving my arms in the air (as if to cause some kind of diversion..i have no idea?).
now the main question was..is the mouse under the box..or did it go back under the stove??? after shaking the box back and forth and deciding the mouse was not in the box, tripp lifted the box to find that the mouse had truly escaped and was now back in its hiding place under/behind the stove. i was beyond overwhelmed. so we went to wal-mart....bought mouse traps..set them out..and prayed that they would be gone by the morning. they were not. the traps with their yummy glob of peanut butter were untouched. and i woke up this morning at 6:30 and could hear them in my walls again. complete devastation.
now, i am not a girlie girl...and have roughed it with the best of them while camping, trekking for 4 days with no shower while climbing machu picchu, and staying in hostels all over central and south america...but this is MY home-the home i try really hard to take care of-and these are MY snacks-and the thought of a mouse jumping out of my pantry and running across my kitchen floor and desserting on my reeses cups on my countertops is so disturbing that it brings chills down my body. i want them gone and i want them gone NOW. so if you are reading this little mouse (with or without friends) you have until the morning to leave. AND if you dare touch my mt. dew I will squish myself into your little hiding place behind my stove and take care of you myself!
and this my friends is just a glimpse into the life of mr. and mrs. smith :)

life is a journey...welcome to mine.

After much debate, procrastination, and encouragement I have started my very own blog. I have noticed that most start the whole "blogging" process when they are at a monumental time in their lives (i.e. engagement/wedding planning, new home, pregnancy/new baby). Since I have made it through one successful year (almost-9/9/09 :) ) of marriage I really have no excuse to start a blog other than the fact I want to ;). I feel as though this blog will be a way to share more personal thoughts, experiences, and adventures to those who care to peek into my little journey called life. I have followed others blogs that have been inspiring, informative, and helpful. My hope is to do the same for those who choose to read it.  I consider myself to be pretty boring, but lucky for me, I am married to a very special man with LOTS of energy and that tends to make things entertaining.

So, this is the start to my blogging journey...or as I should say, a window into my world! Enjoy :)