Peace in the Storm | Marriage Mondays

Words cant really begin to describe what's in my heart and what a tough few weeks it's been. Watching so many people’s lives be so devastated from the Hurricane Michael has been completely heartbreaking.  And then I sort of got so immersed and lost in disaster relief that I let the 1 year anniversary of Mama's death sneak up on me.  I knew it was coming but just didn’t allow myself to focus on it too much. Disaster relief has been such a balm to my soul. Truly! Wednesday I had the sweet opportunity to take supplies to my aunt’s aunt (which well...she claims me as family because well...ummm..she used to change my diapers. LOL. And she's known my grandparents longer than I have. So Yes! She’s family!). It was such an absolute delight to travel to Cottondale, Florida and meet up with her and share all the love (AKA supplies that other beautiful people donated) with her and her family. We got to sit and eat lunch together (thanks to my precious Father-in-law & Mother-in-law, who graciously drove us there & treated us all to lunch) ..and we shared the most precious conversations and tears over a Hardees burger. Imagine that! She shared her horrific storm story with me and also some sweet memories of my grandparents (who have both passed on).  It was such a blessing! Not sure the Cottondale Hardees has ever seen such love and tears in their little restaurant.

But that is NOT the main point of this post. I'm getting to that tho.  hehe.  The next day ended up being the 1 yr anniversary of Mamas death. Ugh! I thought I was mostly prepared for it. Umm. Not at all!!!  The day was full of errands and busyness with a few sweet moments of remembrance sprinkled in between (and I do mean a few...not quite enough for me, as it turns out). I am quite the processor and I really need time to process grief. I am not able to stuff it for long. All that to say that by the end of that day, I was a hot mess...emotionally. I just was in a deep funk! Sometimes that just happens with grief.  By the time my head hit my pillow, the tears were still just a flowin. And here it is..the point of the post...guess what my incredible man did?! HE PRAYED OVER ME!!! Yes, he did!!! And I cant even begin to tell you the peace that flooded my soul instantly! I had been anxious and emotional all day and in that very moment, I felt nothing but peace! Really! It was so beautiful! 

Soo...here it is..short and sweet…Husbands, pray over your wives! We need it! We really do! It is one of the best marriage investments you can ever make. And on that note, (prepare yourself for a silly shift)… also… eat ice cream together! Haha. Some serious encouragement and silly encouragement! Heehee. Eating ice cream together is what you would have found us doing tonight. It was a sweet reward for pushing thru some crazy few weeks together.

Just don't forget each other and to invest in each other. Pray for each other and pray OVER each other. It’s huge! Really! And sneak away together when you can and most definitely… eat ice cream together (with lots of toppings)! Especially after a crazy season!

So there it is! Our best marriage advice for you this week! LOL. Keepin it real and…

Cheering you on, 

Allen & Carol

Remember When/ Marriage Mondays

Ever wander what happened to that cute young couple that got married years ago that lives in your house?

We do! We've had that kind of year that has seemed very heavy and there hasn't really been much time to be that young fun couple this year, but thanksgiving weekend remedied all that! After  a few days of traveling to Atlanta, then prepping & cooking all day long (yes! We have a whole new appreciation for Mom, who always did most of the work) and then grieving the loss of Carol's mama a bit,  we were in much need of some fun together. My twin's precious motherinlaw provided just that for our family by providing us tickets to Six Flags!!! Woohoo!!! We were sooo excited about this!  So although we were there with  a party of 19 (oh, yes we were!), Allen & I found some time to escape on a few rides together and relive our "glory days"!

I wasn't sure I still had it in me to ride a few CRAZY roller coasters,  but we braved them! Yay for the 40-somethings! We started the day on...Goliath!!! Which is a ridiculous 165 feet in the air and drops at a speed of 72 mph!! Eek! But honestly,  I just told myself it was gonna be great then yelled "This is awesome!!" over & over on each hill! And it was yall! It was awesome! Holding the hand of my high school sweetheart, screaming down insane hills...Oh what a rush!

Then we proceeded to ride the Mine Train! Did I mention that we hit Six Flags on the way home from our honeymoon 22 (ish) years ago?  And yup! You guessed it...we rode the Mine Train then too! So...it was a good bit jerkier than we recalled (must be the ride...certainly not our age-LOL), but we were so glad we recreated that memory. It was so worth every ache!

Then as we walked thru the Christmas lights (shivering,  I might add) and rode a few more rides, our heavy hearts lifted a bit, and we decided that a day at Six Flags was Exactly what we needed! Holding hands on coasters,  flirting on the swings,  and stopping to pose for silly selfies, wrapped up in each other, delighted our souls and rekindled our love! We got to leave the "adult" world behind for a bit and just be kids together...those same kids who explored Cedar Point in Ohio,  who fell in love on a youth ski trip, and who hit up all the coasters at Six Flags as a last hurrah on our honeymoon! Yes, our backs ache more now than then and our burdens at times are heavier than we ever imagined possible, but the love between us is stronger and more beautiful than we could have ever dreamed of too!  Can't ask for more than that, right?!

So heres to "Remembering When"! Don't forget to take time out of your overly-full schedules this season to walk down memory lane together...whether that's by reliving an old memory or creating  a new one by being a kid again...its so important to remember how much fun you once had together and go do it all over again!

We'd love to hear about some of your favorite pastimes together too! Amusement Park hopping? Skiing? Sports? Whatever it is, get out there & be kids again together!

Cheering you on,

Allen & Carol