AAAAHHHHHH...MY BEST FRIEND IS ENGAGED!!!

Last night a great friend of ours, Hunter, proposed to my very best friend in the whole world, Erin. She has not had too much time to talk, but from what I have gathered, He and his family came to Rockingham, where her and her whole family were for Christmas. Hunter rang the doorbell, and when Erin answered, he was on one knee.


I think this was such a sweet proposal, especially since both their families were able to be there together. Erin is from Columbus, Georgia, and Hunter's parents live outside of Dallas, so them all being in the same place for the engagement was so perfect and magical. And, then it snowed, which is even more of a magical memory for the two of them.

Erin and Hunter are so blessed to have one another. Hunter is such a wonderful man of God, and Erin has the most wonderful heart and spirit. They are so important to Will and me, and we look forward to so many years of memories and just having good times with friends. I am just so happy, I could burst, and I am about dying to see Erin, so hopefully that will work out before I have to go back to school.

Hunter and Erin really are mature, but I will leave you with this picture of them...

Holiday Happenings

When I finished up with my last exam (Saturday Dec. 11) I came home to do what everyone would want to do after a straight month of studying; I bleached and deep cleaned our entire apartment! Ya'll do not know how much I love bleaching and deep cleaning. In fact, I hate to clean unless I have the time to really, really clean. Will and I had such a good day while we cleaned and listened to Christmas music.

While cleaning, I had to throw away the flowers Will had gotten me before exams started. They had finally died, but I just hate throwing away flowers. But, then I got a great surprise. I got a beautiful, fresh flower delivery! These were from my Dad for being done with exams. They were absolutely stunning flowers! I was glad to see that they were from a florist down the street from us, Bella Bouquet. I saw it, on Rivers Avenue, last fall after it had opened and stopped in to pick up some flowers from there. I was glad to see that they were doing well by getting these flowers from them, because the people in the shop seemed so nice!

Here are the flowers after I first got them...

...and here they are after a few days, once they opened up a little bit more. Aren't they beautiful?

So, needless to say, with a clean apartment and fresh flowers, it was a great start to my Christmas break!

We did recently find out exciting news...Will does not have a mandatory transfer in May. He will actually stay stationed in St. Matthews until he applies for a transfer, which means that we can stay living near Charleston until I am done with school next year.

Will and I have been in Lexington since Sunday, and even though he still had to work through Wednesday, it is actually shorter for him to drive to work from Lexington! We have had a great time just relaxing and spending time with our families. Thanks for letting me catch you up, and HAVE A MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!

I love the Christmas season, I mean who doesn't? These are a few of my favorite things...

1. Christmas Music
   
2. Wrapping Paper and Bows
3. My Church That Lights Up and Plays Music
4. Nativity Scenes
5. Christmas Eve Service at Church
6. Being on a Break from School (at least for one more year)
7. Picking out Toys for Kids on the Angel Tree
8. My Precious Golden in his Christmas Handkerchief
   
9. The Polar Express &
   
10. Just Relaxing with William and our Families
    

Will and I decided to try and not buy any new Christmas decorations this year since we really do not have anywhere to store them, and it will just be more to move in a few months, but I could help myself with making a new centerpiece that looked good with our Christmas China.
We are trying to accumulate the Lenox Holiday Platinum Christmas China. We love the simplicity of it, but the main reason was because our fine china is Lenox Platinum with accent plates. So, for now all we did was replace four of our accent plates with Christmas salad plates, and we had Christmas china out!

These are our stockings. I cannot wait until we have a mantle to put these on, but for now, the tv stand works pretty good!

A couple of years ago my grandparents got Will and I this beautiful nativity scene. We are hoping to add more pieces to it through the years.

Will and I were very lucky with a tree last year. We picked out a tree and it lasted and turned out perfect. Well this year we were even more lucky. Will's brother Chris was selling Christmas trees as fundraisers for Churches and other organizations. You pre-order these trees, for the same price as from Wal-Mart or Lowes, but they are cut on Wednesday and then you have them by Friday. So, they are so fresh and turned out absolutely beautiful!

Will and I do not have too many Christmas tree ornaments, so we know over the years we need to build up a bigger collection, especially some more colorful ornaments.

We got a new tree topper Angel this year, and I love that she lights up!

Overall, Will and I had a blast decorating for Christmas. We are so excited about all of our fun holiday plans, and most of all, our time we will spend relaxing with those we love. As Will was reminding us the other day, while there was a bit of stress about some holiday plans, Christmas is a season not a day! (His mom and I just sort of looked at him for this profound statement and started laughing, but we realized he was exactly right!)

I hope that everyone is having a great Holiday season, and I hope that we can all remember the beautiful gift that was given to us with Jesus' birth. Merry Christmas!

Hello Everyone. I am sorry that I have not blogged in a while, I am really going to try and get better at this, I promise! Meanwhile, for those of you who just like the pictures, I am sorry that this post will disappoint. I am in the library right now (obviously not wanting to do school work) and so I will connect my camera at home and update some with some pictures next post. I was thinking about a few things on my drive in this morning and so thought I would share.

As exams approach and things start to get crazy, I am so thankful to have my husband. As a couple getting married young, we got a lot of comments during our engagement like, "Are you sure you want to get married now?" or "Wouldn't you rather wait until you are out of school" or (my favorite) "Sweetie, you are so young and have so many things left to do, wait to get married!" Well to all of these comments, Will and I just smiled and politely said that this is what we wanted. Will and I were so ready to start our lives together, and I am so glad that we got married when we did. For us, it has been such a blessing.

We have been able to be right there with each other as we each started this exciting step in life. I have loved getting to hear everyday about Will's first year in his job and see his excitement with all of his accomplishments. And, Will has made my first year and a half of law school so much easier by always being ready to cook dinner, or fix me a cup of hot tea, or even just staying up watching tv if I have to stay up too. Basically, I am just saying that he is pretty awesome!

I am enjoying every moment of our time together, but lately anxiety and worry about changes for next year have begun to creep into my thoughts. As a lot of you know, Will's job requires a mandatory move after two years, which will be this coming May. Right now, even though we live in Charleston, he works in St. Matthews, which is right on the other side of Orangeburg. For this move coming up, they could place him anywhere in South Carolina. So, a new location may put him even closer to Charleston, but on the other hand it could add time to our driving or even require me to spend Monday-Wednesday in Charleston without Will.

We are both happy for him to go anywhere, because a move would also mean a new opportunity for his career and a chance for him to learn new sides to South Carolina agriculture and forestry. That being said, we (I mean pretty much me) are starting to get a little anxious about where we will be moved, mainly because I will still have one year in school left. Also, I cannot begin looking for a job this summer until I know where we will be living. We find ourselves playing the "what if" game several times a week, playing out different locations and our options. But, at the end of the day, we know that we will make it work, and God will place us exactly where he wants us! So now, I am just constantly reminding myself to stop trying to take control and let God lead us.


“And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.”
– Phil 4:19

Really?

Dear Law School,

Is it really necessary that I buy this many books for one semester? We know that I am obsessive compulsive and only like for my highlighting and writing to be in a book, so I have to buy most of these new which is really expensive. So if you would not mind, could we make the load a little bit lighter next time?

Love, Jordan

Oh Constitutional Law, I think your book may be the biggest book I have ever seen.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY...to two of my favorite people!

Today is a special day because it is the birthday of two very special people!

My Papa, my mom's father, turns 69 today! Papa is such a great man, and has always made me feel so special! He lives up above Spartanburg, so I am always wishing that I got to see him more. We wish we could be there today celebrating, but we hope the day is wonderful!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY PAPA!


Also, today is my friend Erin's birthday. We always give her a hard time because her birthday is before the rest of ours, so for a few months, she is the oldie! Erin is such an amazing friend, and we hope her day is special!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ERIN!

Fun in North Carolina!

So, this has been a crazy week, and I have so many things I want to blog about, but first I need to talk about last weekend. Will and I took a mini-vacation last week to Winston-Salem, North Carolina. My cousin, Jason, lives there with his wife, Lori, and their two awesome sons, Thomas and Hampton. We decided to take off Thursday and Friday to ride up there because PC (my alma mater) was playing Wake Forest Thursday night.

Will and Thomas goofing around, Will was a huge hit with the boys!

We got there around lunch time on Thursday and hung out until we went to the game. I am sorry I do not have any pictures for ya'll, Lori and I both forgot our cameras! We had a blast tailgating with their friends, and there was even a pretty decent PC crowd there! Even though PC lost by 40 points, they had an insane trick play for a touchdown that heated up the football talk with the boys.

Friday, Jason showed us around downtown and Wake's campus. It had been a long time since I had been there, and Will had never been. Once Thomas was out of school, we headed to Lori's mom's house. Lori's family has a beef cattle business, and she has a beautiful home on the land. We rode four wheelers around the land and up to a waterfall. Even Thomas decided to come along.

Jason leading the way

Lori and Thomas

Will and I at the waterfall

Overall we had an amazing time in North Carolina! It was so great to spend time with Jason and his wonderful family.

Mary Kay Sale Friday, August 27

Hello Everyone!

As some of you know I started selling Mary Kay cosmetics to bring in some extra money during law school and because I already loved their products! Well, I have some exciting news for you...

I have been challenged, by my National Sales Director, to have $1,000 in retail sales in one day! Sounds like a lot, doesn't it? This is where YOU can benefit! Hopefully we will be able to help each other!

I am asking all of my customers to go to my website: www.marykay.com/JordanFaulkner and look around the website and through the e-Catalog, it contains all of our new, up-to-the-minute products.

Friday, August 27 is THE $1,000 day!

Orders received from 8am-12pm receive a 30% discount!
Orders received from 12pm-4pm receive a 20% discount!
Orders received from 4pm-6pm receive a 10% discount!

You just go onto my website during these times and place your order, it's that easy to get these huge discounts! If you have trouble with the website, or just prefer to place an order by phone or email, the same time discounts apply. The website is very self-explanatory. You will enter your debit/credit card information, and though the discount will not show up at this point, I will apply the appropriate discount when I run the cards that evening. I can deliver orders, put them in the mail, or you will be able to pick them up. I must have your order by 6:00 PM to qualify for the discounts, so let's BEAT THE CLOCK!

In return for your support, I will include a free eyeshadow, of your choice, with every order over $50.00. AND...When I reach my $1,000 goal, I will draw from the orders and one lucky customer will get THEIR ORDER FREE!!! For every $25 spent, you will have your name entered into the drawing an additional time.

Please feel free to tell any and all about this sale! For every friend of yours that places an order, you will get an extra 5% discount off your order (just send me an email, JordanLFaulkner@gmail.com, by 6:00 letting me know how many orders were from your friends, and you can use this to take your discount all the way to 50% off)!

If you want a new look, or to learn more about Mary Kay products, I would be happy to spend some time with you one-on-one, or invite 2-7 friends and YOU CAN EARN FREE PRODUCT AND HOSTESS INCENTIVES! If you book an appointment you will get one additional entry into the drawing on Friday!

I am so excited about this challenge! I appreciate you and THANK YOU for helping me achieve my goal!

I know this was a little long, so to sum it up:

Log onto my website, www.marykay.com/JordanFaulkner, this Friday, August 27, and place your order for exciting cosmetic and skin care products! You must place your order between 8am and 6pm to qualify for the discounts, but the earlier, the better! Pass this onto your friends, let me know they ordered, and earn 5% off for each friend's order. Every order puts your name into a drawing for your order to be free, for every $25 you spend your name goes in again, and if you book an appointment your name goes in again!

I will draw for the FREE ORDER Friday night, and let everyone know who the lucky winner is!


*VISA, MASTERCARD, DISCOVER, & AMERICAN EXPRESS ACCEPTED*

Sewing and Seashores

I had a baby shower to go to for my friend from Lexington, Bridgette, about two weekends ago. I have been wanting to learn how to quilt so I decided to take this opportunity and try a baby quilt, at least I knew that it would be smaller than a normal one! It really did not take that long, and I had to rip out a few stitches, but it turned out pretty well.

This is the finished quilt. I took four fabrics and pieced them together to make four blocks. Then I sewed the blocks together, layered the front, backing, and batting, stitched them together, and then hand stitched up the hole. Then I just top-stitched around the edge, and then did a criss-cross quilting stitch.

This picture shows the backing, it was pink with white polka dots. The fabrics ended up matching perfectly with the baby's nursery.

For my last week of summer, I did not have to work, and we were able to go to the beach with Will's family for almost an entire week. We had such a wonderful time. We were right on the beach which was great, but I think Grady was the one most happy about that.

Since it was the middle of the summer, dogs are not supposed to be on the beach until after 6 pm. So, every night right at 6 we opened up the door and there Grady went. Will and I loved playing in the ocean with him!

We had such a wonderful time with the Faulkners. It was a great vacation, and a perfect way to relax before school started back!

Hello Everyone!

Although no one may have missed me, lets face it, I have like two followers, I sure did miss ya'll! The last month has been filled with out of town trips, being without my computer, trying to soak up the last bit of summer laziness, and everything in between.

Well...on August 3rd our furry child, Grady, turned 1! We had a full night of doggy fun planned. We were meeting a few friends, and their dogs, at the dog park for a play date, and then we were going to have Frosty Paws, doggy ice cream, back at the house. Well, Wal-Mart apparently stopped carrying Frosty Paws and then it rained so we could not go to the dog park. But don't worry, it was still a great night for Grady!

It stayed dry long enough for Grady (the one laying down) and Gunner to play in the back yard. Gunner is one of our neighbors dog, and is a Golden Retriever as well, just about two months younger than Grady. Gunner actually was attacked by an alligator in our complex a few days before this, but besides a cut on his head, he came out unharmed!

I think Grady actually liked his birthday hat, he wore it without a fight almost all night.

In addition to new toys, Grady got a little vanilla ice cream. We had to go with regular ice cream since Wal-Mart was out of Frosty Paws. Overall, I think he had a pretty good birthday.

Fast forward to August 6...our friends Zac and Alicia got engaged!!!!!!

Zac Rich is one of Will's best friends, and was a groomsman in our wedding. He is from Lexington and grew up going to school with Will and me. He and Will played basketball together growing up, and I know Will cherishes their friendship so much. Zac went to USC Upstate to play basketball in college, which is where he met Alicia Donald, his fiance! Alicia is a nurse down here in Charleston and is one of the sweetest people you will ever meet! They are such a wonderful couple and Will and I wish them nothing but the very best!

Here is the beautiful couple after coming back to Alicia's house. A few of us were at her house to congratulate them after Zac proposed. Zac had planned on proposing on the beach, but pretty much the worst storm ever hit that night, so he ended up proposing on the Battery in Charleston in the pouring down rain, which is actually pretty romantic!

Alicia showing off her BEAUTIFUL ring! It is a princess cut solitaire, and looks so good on her hand!

Will and Zac's friend Jeremy and his fiance, Brittany, were able to come down from Lexington for the engagement celebration as well! We are so excited for Brittany and Jeremy as well!

It was such a fun night, and we cannot wait until... August 6, 2011 for the wedding!!

I will have to catch you up on everything else later...it is getting pretty late and I have got to get used to going to bed early again, since I start school back on Thursday!

To My Friends...

While at PC I was so blessed to make amazing friends. These girls became my sisters and will always have a special place in my heart. I wanted them to know how much they mean to me, and to show my love I wanted to share a few of their best pictures to show you just how wonderful they are.

I hope this shows you how wonderful and classy my PC girls are! (Believe me, this is just the tip of the ice burg.) Sorry some were blurry. Ya'll have a great night!

Summer Times

I am sorry that this is going to be a long post, I have been a little slack lately and so I have a few things to catch up on. This summer has been so much fun, and is going by way too fast!

For the last month or so, Matt, Alyssa, and their dog Tiger have been living with us while their house was being finished. Well last week they closed on their new house, and are official home owners! Their home is absolutely beautiful, and they have already made it look amazing with their decorations.

This is Matt and Alyssa walking into their new home as home owners!

We tried to help over there at the end of last week and over the weekend. We painted, moved furniture, and just tried to help Matt and Alyssa organize all of their new things. By Sunday, they had gotten a lot done, so we relaxed for the 4th of July.

Matt grilling out for the 4th on his new grill. We had all the great foods, played cornhole and went to the pool in their neighborhood for our celebration! It was great to relax with Matt, Alyssa, Will, and my dad on Sunday, especially after such a busy week and weekend.

Will and I in their new kitchen on Sunday.

Alyssa in the kitchen with Tiger. I will say, in this new house, Tiger fits in, and does not look near as massive! I think he is loving it as much as Matt and Alyssa are. Alyssa made homemade peach ice cream on Sunday and it was delicious! We had such a great 4th!


Will and I both grew up Atlanta Braves fans. I love pulling for the Braves, don't get me wrong, but I am not the most dedicated fan, unlike my friend Erin who has an obsession and will talk Braves with my dad for hours. I just have a hard time sitting down and watching a game on television, but if you are going to Turner Field, count me in! We were able to go two weekends ago, and it did not disappoint; so much fun!

This is Will and me in front of the stadium. This was actually Will's first time at Turner Field, he had not seen the Braves play since they moved into the new stadium.

Random story: When Will and I were in the eighth grade he went to New York with his family to visit his grandmother and I was on a trip to New York at the same time with my mom's students. Well, we actually both ended up at the Mets vs. Braves game the same night. I tried to find Will in the stadium, and got lost! I mean lost to the point that my mom had asked the security guards if they had seen me, and wanted to put my picture up on the big screen. Finally I found my seats again, and there was Will, he had come looking for me too! Little did the two of us know then that 10 years later we would be married!

Here are the boys (Matt, my dad, and Will) at the stadium. It was so hot that day, and even though we had awesome seats, they were right in the sun! It was all worth it though, to see Chipper Jones hit a 3 run homer in the 7th inning that won the game.

When I was little, my favorite Braves player was #27 Fred McGriff. I know that now many of you are laughing and rolling your eyes at me because I do not even know that much about him. I think I just really liked his nickname, "The Crimedog". But, either way, I could not resist taking a picture with this when I saw it in the hall at the stadium.


Here is me and my dad after the game. We were so excited to see the Braves win, especially since we knew that it would probably be the last time we saw the Braves play with Bobby Cox or Chipper Jones. We had so much fun in Atlanta, hopefully we will be back sooner this time.


I talked about being in Ocean Isle for a few days, but I never posted any pictures. I was terrible and only took a couple. We had a lot of fun, and it was so wonderful to get to see family members.
This is me and my Aunt Dotte and my cousin Grace. Grace is about to start high school and I cannot believe how much older she has gotten in just the year since she was in our wedding.

Me and my cousin William. He is starting at UT in the fall!

Ok ya'll, sorry for such a long post. I will do better! Hope everyone is having a great week!

Today is Monday so I guess you would be expecting Jordan's 10 things she is thankful for but instead you are going to get 10 things Will is thankful for!

31. World Cup, it gives me a reason to talk soccer all the time

32. My Dad (tomorrow is his 57th birthday)

33. Walks with Grady

34. Long weekends, this weekend I had Friday and Monday off and it was so nice to hang out

35. Matt and Alyssa's new house, it is so nice I am so happy for them

36. My beautiful wife, she makes me smile everyday

37. Jordan getting on one of her cleaning sprees, there won't be anything that is not Cloroxed

38. July 4th! It is always nice to be around family and friends plus the FIREWORKS

39. My job, I love what I do

40. Quizzing Jordan about the outdoors, even though I know it gets on her nerves.

There you go Will's first 10 things and his first post. Jordan promises that she is going to catch up with her posts soon. Have a good day!

One Thousand Gifts

It's that time of the week, here are a few things I am thankful for this week:

21. Will's promotion
Will was so lucky to get his dream job straight out of college, and now he is officially done with his training year.

22. people who donate blood and help save lives
I tried to donate blood on Friday, since by boss said I could leave work early if I went with him to donate, and it's a good thing to do. I was almost done, and then I passed out in front of my boss, awesome!

23. our marriage daily devotional

24. silly pictures from when we were little

25. learning new things

26. Grady's face when he brings his stuffed animal out to play every morning

27. flip flops

28. kisses on my forehead from Will

29. air conditioning

30. having a passion for my legal education and future career

Book Review-Backseat Saints

I love to read! I rarely have time to read for pleasure during the school year, but thankfully during the summer I get to catch up on a few of the books I have set aside. Being able to curl up with a good book whether it is on the beach or by a fire is such a great feeling. I wanted to do a book review on the books that I read this summer, and hopefully you will find it interesting or it will help you decide whether or not you want to read the book.

I just finished reading Backseat Saints by Joshilyn Jackson. Her other books are:

Gods in Alabama
Between Georgia
The Girl Who Stopped Swimming

After reading Gods in Alabama, I was hooked on this author. Obviously she is a southern writer, and her writing style is immediately addicting. I will say that Gods in Alabama was so wonderful, that her next two books could not quite live up, but that all changed with this fourth book.

This book is set in Texas, but the main character Rose Mae Lolley is from Alabama, and is a small character from Jackson's first book. From the first line: "It was an airport gypsy who told me that I had to kill my husband," the book was hard to put down. Jackson pulls you in and then spins her story with amazing detail. You will find yourself speeding ahead trying to see what will happen, only to make yourself slow down so that you do not miss a single word.

Jackson's books tend to be about southern families with plenty of skeletons in their closets. The main characters in her books are women in their 20s or 30s, so by default if you fall into this category you will probably be able to relate in some way or another. In Backseat Saints, Jackson puts you inside a violent marriage, causing your own heart to race with fear and splinter with heartbreak. Rose Mae Lolley has turned herself into a proper lady, but when pushed hard enough her wild Alabama girl comes busting through. It was such an amazing book that I forced myself to put it down just so that it would last longer. Overall, this book gets 4.5 stars from me. Hope you enjoy!

One Thousand Gifts

I'm sorry I did not get my "One Thousand Gifts" post done on Monday. I just got back from Ocean Isle Beach last night, and am just now sitting down to my computer. I am loving my job this summer, but when I get home, I am definitely exhausted! Well here are a few things that I am thankful for this week.

11. DVR (TiVO)
It lets my husband enjoy the World Cup that he has been anticipating for four years now.

12. Games with Family
I had so much fun with my aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents, and everyone else playing games this past weekend at the beach.

13. Summer Rain Storms
Except today when the power went out while I was in Wal Mart.

14. Peaches

15. My wonderful friend Lauren, it was her birthday yesterday and I am so thankful for her!

16. Puzzles

17. Old Quilts

18. Hymns

19. Getting High Fives From Grady

20. Coming Home to Will at the End of the Day

Beaufort Stew and Friends

My friend Natalie was here with her family at Isle of Palms this week, so Wednesday night I was able to go over there for dinner. Brittany and Lauren got to come too, so we had a lot of fun! Natalie's family made Beaufort Stew, which is my favorite!

This was one plate of the yummy dinner, don't worry there was tons more!

Lauren, Brittany, and Natalie were roommates of mine in college. We had so much fun on Wednesday and Natalie's family was so sweet to have us over!