Mo-vember to Remember

November has been another crazy month for us. Between working and trying to make our house our home (on a budget), we have had our hands really full! Chris decided to participate in "No Shave November" this month, so it's been funny to watch him progress to full blown redneck :)

 

Chris has been wanting to go to Corsair Distillery, so we headed downtown one afternoon for a fun tour and tasting.  It is in the old Marathon Car Plant, so the building in itself is very cool to look at.

 

 

I LOVE Ikea, and ever since we moved into our house I have been wanting to make a trip down to Atlanta to shop til I drop! Mom and I met Kim in Chattanooga and we all drove down together. While I lived in Atlanta a few years ago, I had heard lots about a restaurant called the Varsity, but had never made it out there. We stopped there for lunch. It is a super cute building, with decent food for a good price. Fun!

 

The Corks, the Minks, and The Gardners all decided since we live in Hendersonville now, that Sunday night dinners would be an amazing idea. We hosted the first one and it was so much fun! My work had our Christmas party at my manager's new house. It was nice to be able to relax with everybody and enjoy some good food! I was also blessed to get to spend time with my mom seeing the Rockettes! Now I just have to figure out how to make my legs look like theirs.

 

 

I had the privilege of going to read and craft with a kindergarten class. We read "The Hungry Caterpillar" and then made our own caterpillars eating our favorite foods. It was our year for Thanksgiving with my family, so we had a pretty chill day. Chris had to work at 3, so we had an early lunch and then Mom and I put up her Christmas tree and watched Monster's Inc and Monster's University. We had some wintery mix last week and Zeppelin enjoyed running around like a banshee in the backyard.

 

 

Chris's family came in to town to celebrate Thanksgiving with us as well. We enjoyed dinner as a family at Chop House, and then on Saturday, we took them to the Corvette Factory in Bowling Green, Kentucky. It was so much fun, and Dan was like a kid in a candy store!

 

As you can see, Chris's beard has grown significantly since the beginning of the month. I am ready for December 1st so it can all come off!

 

 

As we head into the Christmas season, I can't help but think of how blessed we are. We both have jobs, we have a new house, we are both covered by the precious blood of Jesus, we both got to know my sweet Mamaw and learn from her how to trust Jesus through all things, and we get to spend the rest of this crazy life together. I have never been more thankful for the people we get to walk through life with and I am excited to spend the next few weeks celebrating the real reason for the season.

 

 

 

One Month of Crazy

October was one of the most insane months of my life. We started the month by closing on our house, I went to California, and then we painted, moved, cleaned, and worked on making our new house our home. I am so thankful for my parents and in-laws for helping us get set up and moved! I will begin posting pictures soon!

 

For our anniversary, we had decided to not do anything big. We both worked and were planning on going to a nice dinner downtown. I made it two work, started feeling pretty horrible, and within 30 minutes, I was doubled over in pain. Chris had to take me to the emergency room, where it was determined I was passing a kidney stone...NO FUN! We enjoyed a pepperoni roll for dinner and just relaxed most of the day. I am so blessed to have such an amazing husband who stayed with me the whole day and took great care of me.

 

Besides working on the house, we haven't done much the rest of the month. We celebrated Halloween at work by dressing up as the Wizard of Oz characters...so much fun!

 

 

We had our first trick or treaters and it was way fun! Can't wait to celebrate many more holidays in our new home!

 

I am so thankful for all of the good things that happened in October, and I am also thankful that I am confident that God will work all the things that weren't so great into something good!

It Is Well With My Soul

October 2 was a day I had been planning and excited about for over 6 weeks. Chris and I were supposed to be closing on our house. All of that changed when I had to fly to California for Mamaw's funeral. My sweet husband had to sign all of the mortgage paperwork for himself and me. I am so thankful for all he did to make sure everything went off without a hitch. We are officially homeowners!

 

That Wednesday morning, I headed out to Los Angeles. I met Mom and Dad at the LAX airport and Michelle picked us up. We drove over to Cora's to freshen up for the viewing and to visit for a few minutes. Afterwards, we headed over to Papaw's house to meet up with the family. It is such an amazing blessing that our entire family was able to make it in for the viewing.

 

The mortuary where the viewing was held was so perfect. It had a gorgeous indoor garden and two nice TVs that played an absolutely perfect slideshow Michelle made. I had the privilege of walking arm and arm with Papaw to see Mamaw. She looked so beautiful and peaceful. So many people came by to pay their respects and many others sent such pretty arrangements. We had such a good time telling stories and hearing all the different ways both Mamaw and Papaw had blessed so many others.



 

This is one of my favorite pictures of Mamaw from the slideshow.

 

 

I love these two of Mamaw and Pawpaw...they look so happy and in love!

 

 

After the viewing, everyone headed to dinner. I could tell Papaw was tired, so I asked him if he would take me on a date to El Pollo Loco...with our third wheel Uncle Gary! It was such an amazingly sweet time with the two of them.

 

Thursday we spent most of the day around the house, just spending time together as family. I believe it is such a testament of Mamaw and Papaw's love that we had 8 people staying in a small house, and 12 people spending time there, and there were no fights, arguments, nothing. It was a beautiful time of togetherness. When it was time to head to the church, we all went over together, prayed as a family, and then celebrated Mamaw's life! It was such a perfect ceremony and is exactly what Mamaw would have wanted. 

 

On Friday, we spent time going through Mamaw's clothes and jewelry. It was definitely difficult, but we found over $250 she had stuffed in different purses, so Mamaw was buying dinner. We also found a box with every breakfast note Papaw had written her, which is another testament to their love. Later I realized that one of the three necklaces I chose was the necklace she wore to our wedding...such a sweet God thing!

 

We headed out to Laguna Beach to take family pictures. It was an absolutely perfect day and it was so fun. I am so glad that we were all able to celebrate Mamaw's life and spend some time together.

 

 

Recreation of a picture from our trip to DC together as kids!

 

 

I love my sweet family!

 

I am so thankful I was able to make it to California to be with my family. It is truly a blessing to have such an amazing family and I am so glad we were all there together. Mamaw was such a special person and I will miss her until I get to dance on the streets of gold with her!

Dancing In Heaven

On Sunday September 29, my sweet Mamaw left her frail and failing body here on earth and stepped into Heaven to meet her Savior. It has been a very rough roller coaster of emotions as I know she was ready, but selfishly I still wish she were here. I already miss her sweet voice on the phone and her positive  outlook on life. Mamaw has left such a legacy of love and joy and I am excited to celebrate her life with my family later this week.

 

 

 

Crazy Blessed

These past few weeks have been pretty uneventful in the Gardner household. Between packing, getting stuff set up to be turned on(electric, water, etc), and work, we have been in the daily grind. We did take Zeppelin on a hike the weekend before last. It was a nice hike but long. Zeppelin was dead by the end!

This past week, my parents went to California to visit my sister and my dad's parents. My mom's parents haven't been doing so well so Chris and I stayed at the house with them to help out. It was definitely an interesting week, but overall it was good. 

Today was a rough day though. My Grandpa got rushed to the emergency room and he has some pretty scary things going on. While we are sitting in the ER, my dad tells me that my Mamaw is going down very fast and she is ready to go to Heaven. While I know that she would be better off, it is still so hard! I know God has a plan and I am just praying for us to be strong and feel His arms supporting us during this crazy time. 

I am so crazy blessed to be 25 years old and still have all 4 of my grandparents. They have all had such a major impact on my life and I can't imagine life without them. 

 

Prescription For Fun

This weekend was so much fun! Friday night, Chris and I went furniture shopping and bought a new couch, recliner, coffee table, and end tables. I am so excited to have them delivered to our new house in just a few short weeks!

 

We have started packing which is super fun, but at least we have time to pack and we have built in time for moving into the house. It is a huge blessing that it has worked out that way.

 

Today we met up with my best friend Whitney, who was in town for a wedding. I miss seeing her and it was so good to hug her neck. We started at the Cork's for Justin's birthday cake and then headed to lunch at the Pharmacy.

 

 

It was super yummy and so much fun to be with the Kings, Corks, and my parents.

 

Can't wait to get the packing, painting, and moving over with. I just have to keep reminding myself that this time is precious and it is a part of the process to our new life in our new house!

Bless This House

I FINALLY can tell our great news! We are buying a house! We've been going back and forth with the sellers, waiting on appraisals, and inspections but as of last Friday, everything is good to go! We will get the keys 5 weeks from yesterday and we couldn't be more excited.

 

We are moving to Hendersonville and will be living in the Waters Edge Subdivision. The house is two story, 3 bedroom, 2 and 1/2 bathroom. It is hardwood floors throughout the entire house and I love the layout. Plus it has super cute curb appeal!

 

 

We love the beautiful back, the spacious deck which we plan to use during these upcoming fall months. 

 

 

And the backyard is amazing! Zeppelin will love it and I can't wait until we have a few children to run around back there as well. There is a peach tree and two plum trees in the yard as well...hopefully next year we will be able to plant a small garden.

 

 

The day we get the keys, we will prep to paint. Then that first weekend and part of the next week, we will be painting most of the house. We are hoping to move in the following weekend. That would give us a full week to get set up before our 2 year anniversary! How awesome would that be?!?!

 

Thanks for all the prayers during this exciting time in our lives. God has blessed us immensely during this process and we are ready for our next adventure!

Summer Lovin'

August has been such a great month for the Gardner house! Work has been going well for both of us and we have been enjoying our evenings together with Zeppelin. My boys are adorable!

 

We have been loving our summer dinner meals and I have been branching out with what I am cooking. Spinach and Avocado Portobellos are definitely one of our favorites from this year.

 

This weekend has been one of the best of the summer! On Friday, Chris had to work late so Mom and I ate dinner at the Corks and then the ladies crafted. I thoroughly love spending time with these two exceptional women and feel so blessed to have them in my life! And it helps that we almost always make some cute craft or yummy treat!

 

 

On Saturday, Chris and I were lucky enough to get to go to the Titans game with the Corks! The weather was the most absolutely perfect it has been all summer and the Titans won!!!!

 

Chris had to work today, so I went to church and then met Dad for lunch. We then drove around and looked at the ridiculous houses in Brentwood and then watched the Little League World Series. Dad and I don't get to spend time just the two of us very often and I treasure days like this!

 

There are so many things going on in our lives right now and God is blessing us every day. He takes such great care of us and I am so thankful for his guidance during this time in our lives. Can't wait to share more very soon!

HAP-PAY HAP-PAY HAP-PAY

Chris's 30th was a few weeks ago and we have been celebrating since the week before! We started with a get together for my family where we went to Fuji for Hibachi and then opened some pretty cool presents. Matt joined us so that was really nice as well!

 

Chris made out like a bandit with a new pair of jeans, a few seasons of some of his favorite TV shows, and a Duck Dynasty shirt.

 

The whole clan (minus Matt who was kind enough to take a picture)

If you know Chris, you know he doesn't like sweets. So we got him the smallest cupcake ever...I still got to eat it while he enjoyed his ice cream!

 

 

Mom got the cutest decorations. Love celebrating my main squeeze!

 

Since Chris's birthday was a Monday and the weekend before was tax-free weekend, dad came over on Sunday to set up a super nice surround sound system for Chris's parents and I. It's a pretty awesome system which he really likes! On Monday, Chris drove up to Kentucky to go searching for some of his favorite beer. I got off work early and we headed to dinner at the Pharmacy.

 

It was so good! We sat outside on the patio and enjoyed the beautiful weather and their nice biergarten.

 

Both of our burgers were fantastic! Chris had the Farm Burger which had an egg, ham, and bacon on it. I had the Mexican burger which had guacamole and pico de gallo on it. Yummy!

 

I am so glad that we went to this new restaurant and tried it out. It was a fun time and the food was really good. I am so thankful to get to celebrate Chris and another year he has been blessed with!

 

In my family, we celebrate birthdays big. Chris has grown accustomed to this by now, so of course, we had to celebrate him one more time with his family. They came in this weekend and we all went to dinner at PF Changs. The waitress asked if we were celebrating anything and Chris quickly said, "NO!", to which she responded, "Happy Birthday." HAHAHAHA!

 

Glad we got to spend a weekend with Kim, Dan, and Matt. Can't wait to update about everything else that is going on in our lives. Such a fun time in our lives!

 

Craziness of Life

Wow, it's been a long while since I have posted. It's definitely not because we haven't been busy, I just have been slacking on posting. 

 

July 7th is Chris's late sister's birthday and so after a date day at the mall looking for new shoes for Chris, we stopped and grabbed a piece of cookie cake in remembrance of Kimberlee. 

 

I came across a great appetizer on Pinterest, which Chris LOVES. It is avocado, cream cheese, wrapped in prosciutto. Also made a very super good dinner, Caprese Chicken. We definitely enjoy eating well and eating healthy.



We have been scrimping and saving for months on end for a down payment for a house. This has included a very small eating out and date night budget. Sometimes you just have to got out and have a little fun to make it all worth it. Chris planned a nice date night for us where he took me to Pei Wei and then for Baskin Robbins afterward. It was good to just relax and come home to a kitchen that hadn't been used to make dinner.

 



 

On the subject of a house, we have been looking and are narrowing down on a few properties that we really like. Keep us in your prayers as we try to find a house that will be a great fit for us and our future family!

Dancing In The Rain

"Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass, it's about learning to dance in the rain."

I have always loved that quote. Today, we did just that! I got off early and Chris was off today, so we decided to go to the pool. It was beautiful outside so we put on swimsuits, sunscreen, grabbed some towels, and headed outside. Before we even made it to the end of our breezeway, it started raining. Since I was in pool gear, I took off running and spinning in the rain. I was laughing and having a blast! I even forced Chris to come out with me. Here's to dancing in the rain and acting like 5 year olds! 

Words Just Aren't Enough

Words truly fail you sometimes. It doesn't seem often that this happens for me, but this past week they did. I'm still going to try to :)

Last week, I got a text message for Mrs. Pamela, who is my second mom. Her dad was in the hospital and wasn't expected to make it. God's hands were all over him, because all of the family was able to see him and even talk to him before he passed away. My heart was breaking for this sweet family all week. Mom and I even drove to Knoxville to pay our respects and be there for our friends during the funeral. So what does this have to do with my lack of words?

The Corks are truly my family. They were our next door neighbors when we moved to Tennessee and we all became fast friends. Our parents enjoyed hanging out and Whitney, Nicholas, Michelle, and I spent just about everyday of our childhood. 

I feel so incredibly blessed to call them my family. It's awesome to have a brother and another sister. I love spending time with all of them and I can't imagine my life without them. God sure knew what He was doing when he moved us to Mapleview Trail. I am so thankful for this family and the millions of memories we have and the lifetime of memories we have yet to make. 

Please keep them in your prayers as this is an incredibly hard time for them. I wish I could take away their pain!!!! 

                                    

                                              

It's A Splash, Splash, Splash

On Sunday morning last week, we drove back from Knoxville and headed straight to the Cork's house to celebrate Nicholas's birthday.

Whitney and Justin were in town, so I GOT TO SEE MY PERSON!!!! She looked adorable in that hat!

We all had a great time hanging out and messing around.

And dad had a blast messing around with my camera and some of the pictures are awesome. Like this one...

...and this one! Love the fast action feature on my camera.

Justin, Nicholas, and Whitney decided to show off their skills.

                                   

And then we played keep the ball up for a long time. We couldn't get to 50 until our dads joined in, and we made it the first time.

Such pretty ladies enjoying time together. I am so glad that they are best friends and are such great examples of Godly women. I just hope Whitney and I look that good in 25 years!

My parents are adorable!

The whole day was a blast and I love spending time with my most favorite people. It was definitely a much needed break for the Corks and I am glad we got to celebrate the best brother I've ever had! Can't wait until we are all back together again!