happy birthday, 'merica!!

Happy Fourth of July everyone!!!

The video above is from 4th of July in 2010. I ran the Peachtree Roadrace that morning and we went to a Braves game that night! Rod and I are so thankful for the freedoms that we have in this country. We encourage everyone to keep America in your prayers and get out and be involved and vote!!! Do not take your freedoms for granted. There are soldiers every day fighting to keep our freedom so the least we can do is get involved and support our country and never forget what we were founded on. Thanks to everyone who is fighting or has fought for The United States of America!

Awkward pic..haha but it was one of the only ones of the whole group!

 

    

    A lot has been going on in the past month! June 22-24 Kristina, Brittany and I rode down together to meet my sister, Summer, Louisa and Rochelle in Orange Beach, AL for my bachelorette party! We had a blast! They threw me an awesome lingerie shower, we had a great meal (I had oysters) at Shaggy's of Orange Beach and ended the night at Florabama and Waffle House! The next day was a full day of relaxing on the beach. Tropical Storm Debbie was trying to roll in, but she only provided huge waves for us that day, and extra strong sun rays, as all of us were burnt in different places. That evening we walked around the wharf where we discovered a lot of the places have closed down, we then went and listened to some awful kareoke at Live Bait until the back opened up and we danced away to "Hip Kitty"... (80s cover band).

My sister planned it perfectly and I cannot thank her enough along with all of my bridesmaids who chipped in and helped out. It was perfect, I had a great weekend and it meant a lot to me that all of you celebrated with me!!

      The next weekend was a shower for Rod and I in my hometown, Albany, GA. It was so great to see everyone from growing up. It made me feel old because some girls I babysat when they were 5 were there and are getting their licenses now!!! Holy Cow...

Anyways, the shower was thrown by my mom's longtime friend- Rachel Dorough, my sister, childhood friend- Diane Dorough, and my Godmother- Ann Anderson. It was a clock themed shower! The invitations were designed by Katie's mentor in Auburn, Anna with Viv-Vah-Chey Designs. We loved every  minute of it! The food was great the decorations were great and the fellowship was great! Rod and I appreciate the love and support shown for our upcoming marriage! It means so much to us. I wish we could spend more time with our Albany friends and family. We love and miss you all so much! 


xoxo-L

On the way back home I decided to join the pups in the back!

butterfly kisses

This post is in honor of my Padre's birthday!! I am so thankful for my dad and the impact he has had on my life. He always has insightful words to say and I will never forget a lot of the sayings and wisdom he has instilled in me over the years.

I will never forget as a kid he would tell me to pursue whatever I had a passion and a talent for and I truly believe that has gotten me to where I am today. He has always encouraged me to put in my all into everything I do, and I have seen that in him in the way he handles his forestry business and the way he serves in church and Kairos prison ministry. He has shown me characteristics that I desired in a future mate (and have truly found), as someone who took such awesome care of my mom and grandpa when they were sick, who works so hard to provide even when times were tough, and who leads our family in prayer and sets a Christ-like example. I truly respect him as a man and as a daddy and I love him so much!!

The picture below is from our unforgettable trip to Belize in the summer of 2010. I can't believe it has been two years now. That trip was breathtaking and will stay in my memory forever. I had such a great time hiking, touring, and relaxing with my daddy on this trip. The waterfalls were breathtaking, the Mayan ruins were phenomenal, and the history I learned of the Mountain Pine Ridge was awesome! I met some great people like Peter and Melina and George who were so kind and giving. It was such a great time and I'm so glad I got to spend it with my dad!

I love you daddy, Happy Birthday and I'll even go ahead and throw in a Happy Father's day too!! Thank you for always making me feel like your little princess. I'm so thankful for you! We will see you June 30th weekend when we are in Albany for our shower and we can celebrate then!!

xoxo,
Daudre'

double digits

This engaged couple right here is now in the countdown phase of double digits!!! Perfect timing because wedding festivities are just beginning! I have a wonderful bridal shower being thrown by my lovely bridesmaids in Madison this Saturday! I am so thankful for such sweet friends and I don't know how to thank them enough! I am so happy that they get to share this time with me because each and every one of them is quite special to my heart.

I also get to try on my dress in my size for the very first time! Everything is starting to feel so real and it's awesome! Summer sent a picture of herself in her bridesmaids dress and heels for our wedding and I couldn't stop smiling and almost teared up. I'm really worried I'm going to be a sobbing mess the day of!!! I get teary eyed at Say Yes to the Dress episodes... WHAT THE HECK AM I GOING TO DO THE DAY OF?! hahaha

Anyways, so to celebrate this double digit countdown, I will share exactly where Rod and I were 99 days after we met.  (yes, I counted, and reminisced)

Rod had been on a trip to Ole Miss for a cross country meet that he had to work as a Graduate Assistant at the University of Alabama. Oddly enough it was the day Auburn played Ole Miss at Auburn ("heart attack Auburn"pulled out a win).  I was in Nashville working my very first conference. I remember this weekend like it was  yesterday and it was the sweetest thing ever! He rode on a van (or bus?) back from Ole Miss and then hopped in a car and surprised me in Nashville!

Throughout our relationship we relied on "iChat" to see each other since we were miles apart. Well, Alyssa, my boss at the time, and I were going to go grab a bite to eat and see if we could get in to the Avett Brothers concert. Well Rod kept being like "hold on I'm almost back to the house and I want to see you on iChat because I'm going to bed early" or something like that (didn't click with me). So, I wait, and he gets on iChat with his computer camera facing my hotel room door number! I was ecstatic. It was perfect and I was so excited to see him! We then all grabbed a bite to eat and tried (and failed) to get into the Avett Brothers concert, but it was still a great night!

Oh, did I mention it's Mother's day this Sunday ANNDDD my birthday was a month away from yesterday??!?! Yeah, so definitely a crazy awesome week to be so thankful for and excited about!

-L

long distance pros, right?

So... It's been a while. There hasn't been a whole lot going on except getting used to the new job and long distance away from the future husband to be. But the whole first two years of dating we were between 140-600 miles apart, right?! Sooo this should be a piece of cake, right?! No. Way. It sucks. I loved knowing Rod was in the same city and we could grab dinner together, cook for each other, walk the dogs together, etc. Now, nothing. I've had the dogs the past week so that has helped keep me company, but I miss that boy! I also miss my Huntsville girls a lot. I was able to go up this past Thursday for a little get together they had planned for Elizabeth Davis and myself (the two brides in the group). It was so much fun and so great to catch up a little with everyone! It was way too short though.

Anyways, we are getting close to the 100 day mark!! I CANNOT believe it. I don't really know where April went and May is going right along with it. However, exciting news, my dress was supposed to ship this past Friday, so I am hoping it is in by this weekend so my family can come to my first fitting! My bridesmaids are throwing me a bridal shower this Saturday in Madison! I cannot wait to see everyone all together! It's going to be so perfect. I'm also starting on the invitations and will post a preview soon! Woo hoo! It's all coming together. :-)

-L

Booked. Paid. Honeymoon.

So, this is my first casual blog post ever. Bear with me. After about two weeks of searching ALL over the caribbean for a honeymoon spot, and within our budget, we finally found the perfect resort. Affordable. Beautiful (as you can see below). And All-Inclusive.

We will be heading to the Punta Cana district of the Dominican Republic and staying at the Majestic Elegance from August 19-25. Now we just have to wait 131 days. Oh, and we leave at 6:10 a.m. on the 19th... so those of you that know me, that shouldn't be any problem at all.


Who would have thought booking a honeymoon could be so tedious? We decided not to go through a travel agency and do this on our own, which may or may not have made a difference in the time spent searching. Knowing us, and our inability to make decisions (mostly mine), it wouldn't have mattered. But I feel 100% confident we found the right place for us.


We are staying in the "Adults Only" section of the resort, or known as the "Elegance Club". I know, right? High class. We actually just wanted it to be as intimate as possible for both of us, and the pricing really wasn't much of a difference. Plus, we get four extra bars, a private beach area, 24-hour room service, butler service (again, I know, right?). The list goes on.

In addition, the lagoon-style pool (above) ... it's 400 meters long. FOUR. HUNDRED. METERS. That's equal to a quarter-mile for those of you calculating at home. And I'm swimming the whole thing. Maybe. Probably not.


Well, I don't want this thing to get super long but as you can tell, I'm really excited about it. I haven't been to the caribbean since a family cruise when I was maybe 15 years old, and I'm really just looking forward to spending a week alone with the love of my life, free of interruption. I hope she is too. Because it's going to be the trip of a lifetime!


Finally, one more photo. This is a photo (below) of the room we reserved. You can see there is a jacuzzi over in the back right corner there as well. Of course, because we're on our honeymoon, the resort is supposed to be upgrading our room for free, based on availability, so this could very well not be the room we stay in.

-R (because Landra signs with "L" for some reason)

shake it up!

So it's been a while... I know. Wedding planning was put on the back burner for a couple of weeks for a pretty darn good reason too!


March 9th a recruiter contacted me about a design position in Birmingham. He had found my information on Linkedin and thought I would be a great fit for the company! A little more talking, an "up all night" weekend of preparing my portfolio and I had an interview! I met with the company two different times and got very excited about the opportunity.


Rod and I talked, prayed over the opportunity, I was offered the job last Monday, March 26th, and I accepted the next day. I will be doing creative design, proposals, and production drawings for various projects. The company is Fravert Services and they do tons of signage and wayfinding signage for hospitals and sports parks as well as some churches and commercial businesses all over the U.S.! Rod and I are excited about this new opportunity and a new place to begin our lives together. You can check out their pretty cool portfolio here


Now, can we ask for some prayers for Rod a job in Birmingham?!


I start April 16th and my last day at SCS is tomorrow! I am super sad about leaving all of my great, encouraging, fun co-workers, but I am also excited about this new adventure!


Wedding planning is back on starting this weekend! I'm headed home for a few days to spend Easter with the family and help them out, as well as make the centerpieces for the wedding with my "Padre'"!!! They are going to be so great!


-L

save the date!

         Save the dates are being sent out today!!! I'm so excited (and partially relieved)! I can't wait for our guest to get them and I hope they enjoy them! We worked hard cutting out the magnets, applying the graphics ( I had some awesome help from Chris and Elizabeth in our graphics department at work!), cutting out the address labels, and applying them to the envelopes. I've checked over the addresses about 6 times... Hopefully they will all get to the right place! I've posted some pictures below. My next project will involve some green moss and the letter "B" as well as some burlap as our door accents at the wedding!!

Results of DIY Save the Dates and Invitations...