Engagement and other updates...

Hey Friend(s) who might be checking this... I am sorry that I have not written for so long. Life has been very exciting lately. Only July 9th, gavin proposed and we have set the wedding date for this upcoming November 6th. Here are some pictures that we took right after he asked the big question. Please forgive our appearance as it was 5 a.m. and we had been awake for about 3 hours.

Gavin works from 6 p.m. until 2 a.m., and after work that night he called to wake me up and told me to get dressed. He had somewhere that he wanted to take me, and to be ready. We are always doing really fun things, so I didn't know what was about to happen. We went over the Hoover Dam into Arizona and kept driving for about 2 more hours. We drove down miles of dirt road, and there was not another soul in sight. We watched the sun rise with the top down in the car. Gavin waited for the right moment and then asked me to marry him. AH! It was so wonderful! I couldn't wait to get back into civilization so that I could call my mom and tell her the good news. Of course once I did, she didn't answer. So I called Dad instead. He was very excited for me. After I talked to Mom, we needed some sleep before we could make any more phone calls to share the good news. I was in a bit of a time crunch because one of my best friends Holly was on a flight to come and see me that night. This was perfect except I needed almost a week to talk to everyone about my exciting life news! I did the best I could, and then I was off to the airport to pick up Holly. It was so perfect because I hadn't seen her precious face in exactly 1 year! I met her at baggage claim and we immediately started catching up... I wanted to see how long it would take her to notice my ring! I made it about 45 minutes before I had to tell her, and she cried as predicted! I was so happy to have her there to celebrate with me!

Holly!

Holly wanted to see what life in Vegas was like for Gavin and I,

so we took her to the park to slackline.

She got the hang of it pretty quickly!

Then she wanted to climb and repel. This is Gavin telling her what to do.

Pretty smiles! I love these people!

I can't tell you how happy I am that she came to visit!

Organizing the equipment.

Pretty crazy about this boy...

So fun!

Vegas night-life! We lost a whole 6 dollars.

Getting married!

Beautiful friend!

I have a lot of other things to post about to be up-to-date on my blogging, but I am too tired to write more at this time. Let's just say that wedding planning is more exhausting and not exactly what I had expected. With such a short engagement, Mom and I have had to do some fast learning in the wedding planning world. Some days I wish that we had more time to plan, but most of the time I just wish that we were getting married next week. I will create another post really soon about the planning so far, and wedding dress shopping.

Home

Sorry I haven't updated in a while. I went home for about 9 days, and I am just getting settled back into things here in Vegas. I had a great time being home... it was the first time since December 26! I had my camera with me throughout the duration of my trip, but I took very few pictures. Here is what I did take...

I left out on a Sunday evening, and I got lucky enough to see Gavin in action at work.

He was working on the plane that I was about to fly out on.

On my first day home, Mom and I drove to Birmingham to shop around and to visit my grandmother, Faybaby. We were able to grab a bite to eat with Dad and John Jr as well. The following day, I headed to Auburn to catch up with some friends. I had such a great day seeing people I hadn't seen in nearly 6 months!!! I really wish that I had thought to take out my camera and get a few pictures. The rest of the week was spent at home with Mom, Dad, and Sassy! It was great to spend some time with Sassy because I hadn't seen her since Christmas. Lesley graduated on Friday, but she was gracious enough to not require my attendance for the ceremony. Thank you Lord (and Lesley). She graduated cum laude in exactly 4 years, I am so proud of her!

Les and me.

Faybaby and I at Lesley's graduation party at the lake.

Mary Margaret came and spent the weekend with me at the lake. She brought her baby, Beasley. It was so great to spend time with the both of them!

I went back to Peachtree City, where we did some slacklining. And as usual, we drew a crowd.

It was so great to be home for a few days. I already miss everybody. I am open to visitors any time!!!! Okay, I am sorry to give you a play-by-play, so thank you for reading if you made it this far!

Happy Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day to all you mommies out there! Today is your special day! Although I am not yet a mom, I do know that it is one of the most important jobs in the world. The older I get, the more I realize how important a mother's role is in her children's lives. I also learned that everyone else was missing out because my siblings and I were the only 3 people lucky enough to have my mom all to themselves. I mean, I always knew she was great, but the more people that I met in college the more I realized how lucky I really was.

The list of why Judy is so wonderful is far too long to list here, but I would like to touch on some of the things that I most appreciate. She has managed the most wonderful balance between being my biggest fan and putting me in my place (kindly and gently, of course). I have met some mothers who believe that their children can do no wrong, and Jude isn't one of those... and I appreciate that. I love our honest relationship. Also, since we live so close to Auburn, she was very much the mother to all of my friends and sorority sisters. And, she lets me vent! That may be my favorite thing! I can scream, kick, and cry, and she will just let me! Amazing! Okay, that was a random short list, but those are the things that came to mind. I am sorry I am not being very poetic, but its late, so this is the best that I can do! Basically, my mom is the most amazing mom there is, and I am so thankful that God sent her to me (or me to her)... He really knows what He is doing!

Not only do I have an amazing mom, but I was also blessed with other amazing moms throughout my life. There are many people who have played a role in rearing me, and I wanted to say thank you, and wish you all a Happy Mother's Day. Here are some pictures that I wanted to share with you all.

Random picture of mom and child in Africa (had to throw it in, it was too cute!)

So cute!

My beautiful mom with her daughters.

In Hawaii.

I have a mom that will stay up late after graduation to help me make brownies despite the fact I am 24 and can do it myself.

Jude and MM in the kitchen. My mom shares family recipes with her "other daughters" and then teaches them how to bake them. These two love each other.

Sassy, my precious grandma.

Faybaby. She is one of my favorite people in the world.

Amie. She was my babysitter when I was growing up. She was like a stand-in mom on at times. She actually lived with us when Judy broke her arm! She now has 3 BEAUTIFUL babies of her own. Happy Mom's Day, Amie!

This is Mrs. Rose, Jennifer's mom! She was my other mom, as I lived at their house in elementary school! We did family vacations and a million other things together. Mrs. Rose treated me just like I was part of the family. She was one of those close family friends who was allowed to discipline me without it being weird or her over-stepping! Like I said, I was her other daughter. I love this woman- Happy Mother's Day!

This is beautiful Sarah. If I had ever had an older sister, she would have been it. She is now the mother of her own two BEAUTIFUL babies. Happy Mother's Day to you, Sarah!

This is Momma Kim. She is Tori's mom, but my mom, too. She is my college mom to be exact. I met her and Tori my sophomore year, and I became one of her many, many daughters as soon as Tori joined Sigma Kappa. She is great with advise and always up for tailgating or a girls night (the picture above is from a concert in Huntsville where we got caught in a terrible downpour)! I love you Miss Kim.

Here is a picture of Tori and I with our moms.

This is my beautiful friend, Chelsea with her Avery. She is an amazing mom and wife, and she is one of my very best friends! I am so thankful for her!

Aunt Cindy is my mom's best friend. She is another one of my moms growing up. I love her and Uncle John, they are truly part of my family. I hope that your day is wonderful!

The only mom that I think that I am missing in Mrs. Tucker. I didn't have a picture on my laptop, but I have a million at home in Alabama. I split my time between the Davis' and the Tucker's houses. Mrs. Tucker was also a mom who treated me like part of the family. I have wonderful memories with her and her amazing family!

So, Happy Mother's Day to all of you. I hope that you know how loved you all are.

(If you thought that mother's day was long, just wait until father's day... I have a million uncles to recognize!)

More Visitors

Gavin's brother and sister-in-law (Aubrey and Meghan) came into town this past weekend, and it was such a blast. They stayed at my apartment because I have more room at my place than Gavin does. They were a lot of fun and really easy to entertain. Gavin and Aubrey have a friend that lives in Phoenix, Eddie, who came up to visit with his girlfriend Aly, so it was a full house! We went to the strip and ate at a nice restaurant, and Aubrey did some gambling. He won $325 in about three hours! It was really great getting to spend some time with them! Below are some pictures from their visit. Aubrey and Meghan are not much on being outdoors, but we were able to get them to go to Red Rocks to see where Gavin does his highline. Aubrey got a little woozy being close to the edge.

Aubrey trying to make a small climb in his sandals.

Meghan and Aubrey in the great outdoors.

The four of us at Red Rocks.

This was as close as Aubrey would get to the edge.

Gavin and I at the casino where Aubrey won all of his money.

Meghan's huge plate of nachos at Margartiville. She barely made a dent.

Gavin and Aubrey playing the ring game while we were waiting at Margaritaville.

On Unemployment and Persistent Prayer

This is me on my second graduation day this past December! I am really, really proud. Nursing school was hard. I didn't sleep very much! I cried and I whined! And Mom had to listen to me on the phone whine about why my life was so had (oh the drama)! And it was finally over without any embarrassing failures, and I have a degree that will allow me to do what I most want to do which is to help others.

On the way to the coliseum for the very long and boring graduation ceremony. It was raining really hard that day.

Me with my proud parents.

This picture was taken the night before graduation at the School of Nursing pinning ceremony. Faybaby came as a surprise to pin me!

It was really special for her to be there for my pinning. I am the first granddaughter to take after her and become a nurse. She is one of my favorite people in the world, and I know that she doesn't like to leave her house, so I was happy that she was there!

Okay, now to get to the point of the post. All of those proud pictures and hard work paid off and I got my diploma. BUT, I have to pass the state boards and I need a prospective employer. I am loving my life out here with very few responsibilities, but I am afraid that I am forgetting all of that nursing knowledge I worked so hard for. And, I really want to connect with people. I loved my time at St. Jude's Research Hospital, and I would love to have a job like that out here. I know that that is a long stretch, but I will take almost any nursing job in the meantime. God sets aside seasons in life, and I am in love with where I am right now! I would just really enjoy the chance to start my nursing career and to help others. So, I am continuing to pray for the right doors to be opened (and that I can have the perfect schedule). So, if you have time to remember me in your prayers for a job, that would be much appreciated. I miss all of you and I hope that you are all doing well! It is almost summer!