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!

One Thousand Gifts

So, I am being a copycat but I always enjoyed reading Courtney's posts called One Thousand Gifts and I wanted to take the challenge as well! Almost everyday, especially Mondays, I find myself running around trying to get everything done, but rarely do I stop and really think about all the wonderful things in my life. God has blessed me in so many ways...so many of which I take completely for granted. My goal is to list ten blessings in my life every Monday and hopefully reach 1000! They will be little things that I am thankful for and are in no particular order.

1. my husband's amazing dance parties

Those who know Will, know how hyper he can be, and it often comes out in the form of a dance.

2. trying new recipes

3. summer vegetables

4. the smell of bleach, and all things clean

5. Grady (my dog) taking a nap on my lap

6. evening walks with Will

7. talking to friends on my drive to and from school or work

8. my job with DSS for the summer, I am learning so much

9. lazy Sunday afternoons

10. living in a city where everyone else goes on vacation
Usually this is not a blessing because of all the traffic, but this week I get to see Will's family and my friend Natalie because they are both down here for vacation.

Here We Go...

Well I did it! I am starting a blog. Will and I really wanted to do this so that our family and friends can always keep up with what is going on. Sometimes we feel like we are running around so many different places that even we don't know what is going on, so we hope this helps!

So, the name. Tupelo Honey is a type of honey that can only be found in the Southeast. It comes from the Tupelo sweet gum tree, and all who know Will know his love for trees and well really anything in nature. What is really neat about this honey is that it is a raw unfiltered honey, and is the only honey that will never granulate, so it stays sweet and perfect forever. Furthermore, this was the title of a song that Van Morrison released in 1972, and is one of the absolutely most beautifully romantic songs you will ever hear. Will and I danced to "Tupelo Honey" for our first dance at our wedding!

I hope that anyone reading enjoys our blog, I apologize in advance if our everyday activities are pretty boring! Here is our first year of marriage in fast forward!

We were married on May 23, 2009. We appreciated our friends and family being there with us that day so much! The day was so perfect and romantic; it was truly the best day of our lives.

We went to the Dominican Republic for our Honeymoon and had an amazing time! The resort was so beautiful and we had such a great time!

We got Grady, our Golden Retriever from a rescue service here in Charleston. He is the best dog, well we think so at least, and he has been the perfect addition for our little family.

We love living in Charleston, and have been so blessed this past year.

"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith -- and this is not from yourselves, it is from God." Ephesians 2:8