Ben's First Trip to Fairview, TN

On July 5th, Ben and I drove from Opelika to Fairview to visit my family for the weekend. It's about a 5.5 hour trip, so, considerably shorter than the trip to VA. We got there around 10PM and stayed up talking to my parents for a couple of hours.

Friday, we went downtown to see my dad at LifeWay. He gave us a tour and we shopped at the store. We ate lunch with Mom and then got a tour of her office too. We went to McKay's used bookstore which was highly recommended by my mom and brothers. It certainly lived up to the hype. I think we were there over an hour and I only looked through two small sections of shelves. We each got several books and we are looking forward to bringing books back to sell on our next visit (we could easily become book hoarders!).

If you haven't noticed - I took zero pictures on this trip, so it's not nearly as exciting as the last post.

Saturday morning we got to visit with one of Ben's good friends from college. I thought it was neat that I got to visit one of my friends when we went to see his family in VA, and he got to see one of his in TN! That afternoon was my nephew Cameron's 4th birthday party. It was really hot, but luckily it was a pool party! We enjoyed swimming and Ben taught me how to do flip turns. He's a good coach.

On Sunday we went to church, and I enjoyed introducing him to my church family.

It was a great trip - it seemed longer than a weekend because we packed a lot of activity in. Ben fits in so well with my family. He keeps asking when we can go back again, which pleases me. I hope we get to go back soon too!

Ok I'll add some pictures from our beach trip over Memorial Day weekend so that this post isn't quite so boring! Julie's brother Tim took these for us. You can Like his facebook page here. And no, they're not engagement pictures - they're just for fun!

 Oh! By the way, this is my beach dress that I wore on our date in Virginia.

This was my first time to wear dangly earrings - they're butterflies. 

 This one's my favorite - I love his smile!

 This one's his favorite because it reminds him of a scene in Pride and Prejudice.

Aren't we so cute? :) 

My first trip to Hampton, VA

This post is quite overdue. And for those who've seen the pictures on facebook, I guess it's a little anti-climatic but I did want to document it for posterity.

Ben and I drove to Hampton, VA on June 12th. It's a 12-hour drive. That's the longest drive I've ever done in one day, and luckily we split it so it didn't seem so bad. It was particularly nice having someone to talk to. The downside is we are both unobservant in the car together and end up missing exits, getting lost, turning around multiple times... It's what my dad calls "just driving". Ben's a good sport though.

We finally got to Hampton at 10:30PM. We stayed with his sister, Bekah, and brother-in-law, Shawn, so that night I met them and his sisters Hannah and Dannie. And some cats.

(Shawn, Bekah, and Ben in front of the house.)

The next day was Ben's birthday. It's probably a good thing I was there to remind him of that fact because he does not seem particularly in tune with birthday like I am. ;) In the morning, his mom came over to visit with us. That was really nice. I admired Shawn's salt water aquarium (like the one Nemo lived in at the dentist's office). Ben's youngest sister, Hope, was finishing elementary school that day and they had arranged for their brother, Tim, to surprise her by picking her up from school on his motorcycle. Legend has it that Ben's dad picked him up from his last day of elementary school on a motorcycle. It is unclear how many of the middle children received that special treatment. (In case you lost count, there are 6 Steele children, 2 boys, and 4 girls, of which Ben is the oldest.)

After we watched Hope ride off from school, Ben drove me around Hampton on his roots tour (I LOVED that!). Some sites I got to see: the church he grew up in, Grandview Beach on the Chesapeake Bay where he was baptized, a lot of different places where his dad worked, the house he grew up in, his elementary and middle schools, the pool where he started on swim team (which was a big part of his middle/high school years), Sam and Gail's house, and the library.

(This was his pool, and I told him to make a sad face like the sign. See? Good sport.)

Sam and Gail are a couple that taught Ben in church growing up. We stopped to visit with them and I could have stayed there forever. Their house is gorgeous, with really pretty flowers and landscaping in the front, and water in the back, with a little dock you could walk out on. It's one of the few places I didn't get a picture of, which is a SHAME because it was probably my favorite. We stayed there for about an hour and a half talking with them and it was just wonderful. They prayed with us before we left and it was so precious to me.

By the way, there is water EVERYWHERE there - the bay, the ocean, rivers...it was different that any other place I've lived. The weather was pretty cool when we were there - we wore jeans most of the time. It was also unseasonably cool in Alabama that week.

(Grandview Beach, approximately where Ben was baptized.)

That night we had a cookout for Ben's birthday. He turned 28. They had some friends over too and I got to tell our whole love story in detail (that is one GREAT thing about Ben having sisters! Talking!). Oh and Bekah made some amazing banana pudding! I really enjoyed being with his family. They are so much fun altogether. Ben and Tim in particular are really funny as a pair. It made me feel confident that he could hold his own with my brothers and their quick wit.

(Apparently we didn't sing fast enough for the candles.)

On Thursday we went to see my friend Whitney at Colonial Williamsburg. She actually works there, but it was her day off so she gave us the unofficial tour. Whitney and I were friends from the Tennessee Choral Academy, way back in high school. I haven't seen her in years! It was really neat to catch up with her and show off Ben.

(We stood in line for this photo op, which is apparently the thing to do at Colonial Williamsburg.)

(Me and Whitney in the gardens behind the Governor's house.)

That evening we went to Dannie's high school graduation (the actual reason we traveled to VA). We looked super cute, if I do say so myself. I gave him that shirt for his birthday.

(It was cold and windy.)

(His whole family - it's impossible to get 7 people to all keep their eyes open. Sorry Hannah!)

L-R:Hannah, Bekah, Karen (their mom), Ben, Dannie, Tim, Hopey

On Friday he took me on a surprise date. Prior to the trip he told me to pack my beach dress (fabulous hot pink tie-dye maxi dress I got at Burke's Outlet for $19!). We went to Buckroe Park which is on the Chesapeake Bay. It was a really fantastic date. We sat on a blanket in the sand and he wrote about me - super romantic! He took me to breakfast at IHOP and I got some delicious red velvet pancakes (nobody's mad at dessert for breakfast).

(Best date ever! I love you Ben Steele!)

That afternoon we went to meet his grandpa for a late lunch. Hannah came with us which I really enjoyed! The traffic was not that enjoyable, but I loved meeting his grandpa (Ben's dad's dad - Ben's dad passed away a few years ago and I'm sad that I didn't get to know him because I sure love his family). That evening my head was bad so I didn't get to go to the church softball game with everyone. I was bummed. I was pretty stressed about having to explain the headache to his family. As it worked out, he did it for me since I was at home in bed. It's nice having a spokesman for things like that. It's also nice to have him take care of me. But, oh, how I wish it would go away and leave us alone!

Saturday we went to Teen Challenge and he gave a devotional for a father/son breakfast. It was the first time I got to hear him teach. I was really impressed and SO proud! We went to Dannie's graduation party that evening and I got to meet a lot of their friends from church. Then he took me to his meet his mom's parents. They were really sweet and had a cute dog that liked me. Also I got to see some younger pictures of Ben! (That was my goal of the trip - he was so precious!)

We had to leave Sunday morning in order to make the long drive home. It was sad to leave and I can't wait to go back!

Next up...Ben's first trip to Fairview, TN!

18 Months

Reposted from my New Daily Persistent Headache blog on MDJunction titled "Standing on the Promises of God." Yesterday marked 18 months since the headache began:

It's a little unbelievable that I've had a headache for 18 months. It's equally unbelievable that I'm still standing. If I'd been told on day one that this was the beginning of a long road of pain, I would've freaked out. I'm thankful that I was spared of that knowledge. If I'd known that there was nothing life-threatening about it and that no medicine or doctor could make it go away, I would've made different decisions, but since I didn't, I ended up letting my parents take me home early last Spring and I got to visit with my grandmother days before she passed away. I'm thankful for that time with her. Also, because of the 20+ prescriptions I had filled, I built relationships with the wonderful pharmacists at Sam's Club pharmacy. I'm thankful for their concern and knowledge and effort on my behalf. I've had to learn to rely deeply on the Lord for strength and wisdom and comfort. I'm so thankful for His faithfulness! I've had to spend more time than I'd like in the bed; it's made me thankful for my job flexibility and the days that I am able to do the work that I love. I've been able to share my story with a lot of people, which has opened doors to share Jesus. I'm thankful that He's using it for His glory! I've experienced and learned a lot about chronic illness, and treatments, and the toll that it takes on the patient and their family. I'm thankful for a solid support system. I've cried more than any other time in my life. I'm thankful for tears to express anguish, pain, frustration, anger, sadness, fear, loneliness, disappointment, exhaustion. I've prayed more than any other time too. I'm thankful for the awesome presence of God and His Spirit that gives voice to my heart even when I don't have words. 

If you tell me it will be 18 more months of pain from this point, I can't say I'll be excited about it, but I will be thankful for 18 more months of life and will do my best to steward it well.

"I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us." Romans 8:18 

Summer!

I love vacation. I SUPER love vacation with Ben! Saturday morning we helped some friends move to a new house. They are going to begin fostering, and needed more space to do that. I think that's very cool. I enjoyed getting to help and watch Ben with his friends. Those guys are really fun, and hilarious.

Saturday afternoon we went to the lake house that Ben's surrogate family has at Lake Martin. (Sidenote: I love that he has a surrogate family in Opelika just like I do - and that those families know each other well. He's perfect for me. We talked about how nice it is to be adopted.) The lake was GREAT! We swam and went tubing (just a nice ride - no getting thrown off. It was plenty thrilling for me!). We went on a boat ride which was glorious. Ben had told me that the boat ride was his favorite thing at the lake and I have to agree with him. Oh, but then there was the food - that was maybe my favorite part of the lake! My mouth is watering just remembering it, haha. Grilled pork chops, green beans, macaroni and cheese, black-eyed peas, creamed corn. Ah-mazing.

Saturday night I played guitar for him and we went to walk at the park. Taking walks is our favorite. Ok I'm going to stop saying favorite b/c I've totally overused it already in this post. Taking walks is on our top tier. Along with me cooking for him. (He appreciates it, I like being helpful, and I like when he takes leftovers to work and shows off for his coworkers!)

Sunday he picked me up after church and we loaded up the car to go to Orange Beach! We were invited to join Julie, Will, and Julie's brother Tim on vacation. Road trips are decidedly better with Ben Steele. He likes to drive, he lets me tell endless stories, he holds my hand, he doesn't get mad when we miss our exit by 12 miles, he finds signs funny like I do. Top tier Sunday night was Tim getting my earrings off - they were the starter earrings that I got for my birthday and I couldn't get them off for the life of me, and neither could Julie, but Tim did. So I enjoyed trying out new earrings with every new outfit!

Monday we walked on the beach, swam, went to lunch at Bubba's, and sat on the balcony all afternoon talking (we started a couples' devotional book this weekend and we're getting a lot out of it: Devotions for Couples by Patrick Morley).The balcony is top tier for me at the beach. I like looking at the water without having to be in the sun or sand. It's breezy and wonderful. Also on my top tier at the condo - the ice machine!! I love that ice. (Sidenote - I just looked it up online to see if I could ever have one of my own, and apparently they cost more than a whole refrigerator/freezer?! Absurd. Ah well, I'll enjoy it when I can on vacation.)

We left after lunch at Doc's (top tier!!) on Tuesday. We had used google maps to get us to the beach and went through FL to get there. Since we didn't have any problem getting there we figured we could easily get back by reversing the directions...yeah, well.. We took a scenic route through some part of FL I've never seen, and got out the atlas, and finally found our way back to AL. He's such a good sport...he never got frustrated. We saw some pretty funny signs on our detour. One of the funniest was in a neighborhood where we turned around. It was on neon green poster board and said,

"Thievery is afoot.

- Be aware.

- Lock up.

- Pay attention."

We laughed soo hard! I kept thinking of who would write such a sign, and decided that it must be an elderly lady who had a lawn gnome stolen from her yard.

We ate at Cracker Barrel on our way home which felt like a bonus date. I love his companionship and enjoy him SO MUCH! He makes my life really fun. 

I'm going to add the picture of us from his deacon ordination which was May 20th. He looked way too handsome in that suit not to show him off! I'm so very proud of him, and SO proud to be with him!

About a Boy

So there's this guy named Ben... some of you have heard this story before, but for those who haven't, here's the scoop:

Ben Steele started volunteering at BigHouse this semester. He tutors Micah's youngest sisters two days a week and he's also helped out at our wild and crazy Kids' Nights Out this spring. I've had a crush on him since I read his blog post about his first KNO experience. He called to ask me out two days before my birthday. A very wonderful early birthday present! We went out for coffee a week later and talked for 2 1/2 hours. The next week he took me out to dinner and gave me his roots tour of Auburn's campus. (Jenna says the fact that I described the date as "wonderful" even though it was on Auburn's campus was surely an act of God! Haha - it's all been God's actions!) That night we both stated our intentions of marriage and not just dating for fun (although it IS fun!). So now we're an item. A couple. Ben-annah. 

Oh he's so wonderful! He's sweet, and romantic, and gentlemanly. He's funny and a great storyteller. He's a godly man. He's an amazing writer. He's so handsome! He's a good sport. He's mature and responsible and trustworthy. He's perfect for me. :)

This scene has been in my head this week. 

Our first picture together - he does not like pictures, I've been informed, and he didn't like this one b/c he thought he looked goofy (well and I kinda cut off his head), but I liked it the best. And it's my blog. He can put his favorite on HIS blog! ;)

Twenty-Six!!

I am a super huge fan of birthdays, particularly mine. Today has been fantastic from start to end. I'm in Madison, Mississippi visiting my friend Julie and her husband Will. This morning I got up at 5 and enjoyed my quiet time and finishing my 25 list (previous blog post). I started reading Practicing His Presence (Bro. Lawerence and Frank Laubach) - very neat book. I ate chocolate "declare" cake for breakfast - it's really named chocolate eclair cake but I've called it declare since I was really young. (And I'm having some more now. Just talking about it made me so hungry!) I got many, many birthday wishes by phone, text and facebook. Although I like the facebook Timeline in general, it wouldn't show all my birthday messages at once which was a little annoying.

Julie took me to play tennis - I've never played before and it was a lot of fun. When we came home Will was washing my car!! Best birthday surprise. I loooove a clean car! This afternoon we went bowling and my first two games were awful, but then I bowled a 180! We went to eat at a Mexican restaurant and they brought me a dessert and a sombrero and sang and put whipped cream on my face! It was hilarious, even though I'm not big on getting messy.

Afterward we went back to play more tennis! I also requested to see Christmas lights because when I came in December we drove through this neighborhood where all the houses had lights that were synced with music and it was so cool. So we played and it was dark when we finished, and guess what we saw when we were driving home? Christmas lights!

Fantastic day. So much fun. Oh and yesterday I got my ears pierced for the first time ever! I love them. I think the lady at Walmart thought I was 15 b/c she asked me how old I was and when I told her I was turning 26, she laughed and said, "You look so young!" They are sparkly and I love them. I'm excited about earring shopping. I want some feather earrings.

25 Things I Learned When I Was 25

- Having interns at BigHouse is pretty much the best thing ever. They keep me company, they work hard, they are dependable and take up the slack for me on bad head days, they make me laugh, they do things I don’t love to do (clean, and embroider towels), they are my ‘legit’ friends.

- Winter is not necessary. We did just fine without it this year.

- It’s really fun to watch my team win the National Championship for college football (oh, wait…I learned that when I was 23.)

- God is not opposed to putting me through pain for my utmost good. And I’m glad.

- A headache really can last for more than a year (and counting).

- Being loved by a child is one of the most precious feelings ever.

- Being girly is fun – eye shadow, nail polish, earrings and all! Yes, these are all new to me.

- 4:00AM is not as scary as it used to be. It’s not when I would prefer to wake up, but if it happens it’s ok - God’s awake then too.

- I like to drive my car without turning on the radio. But if I do have it on, I enjoy listening to sermons.

- The park by Grandmom’s house is a wonderful retreat.

- Vacation is good for my head, most of the time.

- There is more to God than I ever imagined, and He is just who He says He is.

- I love married Sunday School classes.

- God’s not afraid of ANYTHING!

- I can do more than I think I can, but I can do nothing without Christ.

- “Blessed” translated from the Greek word makarizō means “to be declared as indwelt by God and therefore fully satisfied.”

- Double Dunker ice cream made by Turkey Hill deserves a standing ovation.

- I like prison break movies. But I never want to be in prison.

- A/C in the car is a luxury worth having.

- Meditation is a good practice.

- Discipleship relationships are rewarding on both ends.

- You know you’re a grown up when you are hiding Easter eggs instead of hunting them.

- Being useful to God has nothing to do with my activity.

- It’s ok to write in my Bible. But it will still travel in its box.

- God speaks my love language, even in discipline.