Once upon a time.....

There once was a little boy born on Christmas Eve in 1974.....


And a few years later there was a little girl born on Valentine's Eve in 1979.....


It is hard to imagine that even at such a tiny age, God already had a plan for them....


He knew that the two of them would share a life together...


And so as they went through their lives....


God prepared them for each other....


So that one day, they would make each other very, very, happy!

It's All in the CAKE!!!

I will never forget the most wonderful surprise that my husband prepared for me....at my wedding reception!!!!! (I haven't talked about what he gave me for my wedding gift!! I'll save that for another post)!!

So the surprise.....we had talked about what we wanted to do for our honeymoon all the way from Europe to the Caribbean to Dubai...just a wide range of things!! One thing we knew was that we wanted to be rested before we did anything and that we wanted some time on the front end and the back end of our honeymoon!

One day when we were talking, he suggested letting the destination be a surprise!!! Well, right away I LOVED that idea!! The not knowing and being surprised sounded AWESOME! In fact...all the way to our wedding it was one of the things I was most excited about!! Well then, I kept asking him about the groom's cake and what he wanted and finally he told me he had taken care of it!! What??? YES!! He had ordered the groom's cake and I did not know what it would be! At first the thought of it revealing the honeymoon never occurred to me...but then it kind of did!!!

Now....the cake was delivered to the reception site which is where us girls were getting ready! JC had to give specific instructions to all of the vendors that NO ONE was to see the cake. It was covered up in a box!!

After we did our wedding cake stuff...it was time for me to open the cake!!! Our photographer caught me grabbing JC and kissing him, so I'll post that picture when I get it!! But here is what I have for now.

(Practicing my picture size)





Just wait...the best part...the cake flavor was Little Debbie "Fudge Round"....it was SOOOO good!!!

Notice the girl penguins pink luggage and blonde hair!!


What an amazing man I have!!!!! How much thought and ideas he put into the cake! Well not only the cake but the HONEYMOON!!! 7 nights in a millionaire suite with butler service on the beautiful island of St. Lucia. Really.....what more could I want (TO GO BACK)!!!!

Did You Know....

This post is especially for my friend Lisa!!!

When planning our wedding I really wanted to do some things that were, well, different!! A little homemade, a little southern, and a LOT "Stephanie." I came up with this idea to create "Did You Know" facts about me and JC! I wanted most of them to be the funny things that have happened in our relationship so far and I wanted some of them to just be tid-bits of information that help you know us a little better!!

On each table at our reception, you might have noticed these.....the little frame with a pink bow!!! (I have nothing to do with them if anyone wants one)!


Well, when I was talking to my friend Lisa...she mentioned that she had not gotten around to every table (there were 20) and wanted to see each of the "Did You Knows!!" So here they are!!

1. Did you know…

Stephanie met JC just one week after she had defended her dissertation. He was also working on a big project!

Perfect Timing

2. Did you know…

JC and Stephanie’s first form of communication was FACEBOOK! Yep…she was facebooked! Stephanie is a daily visitor to facebook, JC not so much!

The Wonder of the Web

3. Did you know…

That even though JC always picks up the bar tab when they go out, Stephanie did buy JC his first drink on their first date!

I’ve Got This

4. Did you know…

The second time JC came to Stephanie’s apartment he ran out of gas. He had to borrow her car to go get some.

No Time to Stop

5. Did you know…

Just after moving into their new home, Stephanie bumped a cooler in front of her car in the garage and it went right through the sheet rock!

He Called Her Crash

6. Did you know…

Stephanie and JC love to cook breakfast on weekends with Savanna. Eggs, sausage, bacon, pancakes, and chocolate milk!

There Goes the Diet

7. Did you know…

JC insists on dancing with Stephanie every time the song “Wonderful Tonight” comes on…he says it is the McGill-Toolen High School mating call!

Everyone Loves Catholic Girls

8. Did you know…

Stephanie LOVES spicy food…all things spicy and JC does NOT! In fact she can’t over season some of her dishes or he does not enjoy.

I’m on Fire

9. Did you know…

Stephanie and JC made a pact during football season not to have any rivalry between the two of them during games. She’s Auburn and He’s Alabama!

House Divided

My Husband added..when he was printing them…(The house is not divided. She can put Aubie in the backyard. Just don’t let the neighbors see.)

10. Did you know…

JC carried Stephanie’s engagement ring around in the console of his car for several months! He usually didn’t lock the doors.

Are You Kidding

11. Did you know…

JC and Stephanie thought they had successfully cooked their first turkey, but when removing it from the oven bag to place on the platter..it broke.

Bury the Carcass

12. Did you know…

At one of Stephanie’s family functions, JC discovered just how big her extended family is when he went to make his plate and said “What happened to your Mom’s macaroni and cheese?”

Wiped Out

13. Did you know…

Stephanie and JC are both the oldest children in their families and they have two younger siblings each. He has two sisters and she has two brothers.

The Brady Bunch

14. Did you know…

JC graduated from Murphy High School and Stephanie graduated from McGill-Toolen High School; two big football rivalries in Mobile.

Blood Makes the Grass Grow (he says)

15. Did you know…

JC has caught 2 wedding garters and Stephanie has caught one wedding bouquet since they have been together. He has insisted on putting them on her…right on the spot!! Must have worked.

He Paid Them Off…Seriously

16. Did you know…

Just before JC’s Mardi Gras parade last year, JC spotted a man on the street holding a large stuffed penguin. JC had the man give it to Stephanie. He did…in return for some other Mardi Gras trinkets!

Dr. Penguin

17. Did you know…

During their first family trip to Gatlinburg, JC got lots of practice maneuvering his new Tahoe since Stephanie rented a cabin that was nearly hanging off of a mountain.

It’s a Cliffhanger

18. Did you know…

Stephanie found a huge, dead, baby possum in the pool filter when JC was out of town and refused to remove it. When he got home, JC did the dirty work and discovered a little, tiny, mole.

Better Safe than Sorry

19. Did you know…

Just recently, Stephanie was dared by JC to sing karaoke at one of their favorite hangouts!! She did!! Much to his surprise, laughter, and entertainment!

No American Idol!

20. Did you know…(I needed one more fact and JC came up with it)

I called her “Penguin” first. She thought it would be funny to call me “Penguin” too. Now it’s stuck. Everything has to do with penguins.

Birds of a Feather

Just fun facts forever!!!!!

A Father's Day Weekend!

We spent the weekend at Dauphin Island!! JC's Mardi Gras group hosted a Fishing Rodeo and he had to work most of the time!! Savanna and I spent time with friends at the pool!

I'm having a picture dilemma...my family is tired of taking pictures!! The ones I get I have to beg for, so I guess I just take what I get! (and I wasn't a fan of the extra large pictures so I changed back).

Our Friend Annie!

Just before the weekend I got to spend some time with Shelley and Lila Grace at our favorite Mexican restaurant in Auburn!!

It's Almost Time....

Not much longer now!!! I think I can..I think I can...I think I can....

Another Wedding!

Yep...can you believe it!!! We are about over weddings for now!! My cousin Adam got married on Saturday and it was a really nice event!! Me, JC, my mom, grandmother, and my uncle all went together! Here are a few pictures!

Me and my husband!

My mom and grandmother!

My Uncle Francis and Aunt Vicky!

My Aunt Tricia...(her husband Pat was inside)!

The Bride and the Groom!

The Bride and the Groom with our grandmother!

The Groom and his mom, my Aunt Beth!

The Cake!

A Rescue!

I had to save this little turtle from our pool the other day!!! I was outside checking on the water level and I saw something that looked like a pile of leaves in the pool!! I quickly realized what it was and ran to get my scoop net!! At the same time, I wish I had gotten my camera but I forgot! I was able to snap a picture as he made his great escape! A few hours later he was headed towards the pool again...I had to force myself (I have found unpleasant things before) to check the pool filter to make sure he didn't have a friend who got stuck!! He didn't..I guess he just was looking for water!

A Test for Bigger Pictures on My Blog

So I wanted to see if I liked bigger pictures on my blog...and I didn't! SO I've gone back to the original size!

Looking Back at.....

WEDDING DRESSES!!!

Now...just because I am showing these pictures doesn't mean that any of us can say..."Oh that one would have looked better!!" In fact, shortly after I purchased my dress, I had to even quit watching "Say Yes to the Dress" because I kept wishing I had looked some more!! The fact is that the show is over, gone, and never happening again!! I LOVED how my dress looked and felt and mostly my pictures were awesome!!!

But...for laughs and memories, I have these pictures and I LOVE that!! I can look back years from now and show my kids the few options I had for......WEDDING DRESSES!!!!

Here we go!!

I only tried on 3 dresses and I obviously chose (those who were at the wedding and who really even cared what my dress looked like, beyond being white and strapless) the 3rd one!!

NUMBER 1...for a moment my mom and I were sure that this was the one...She loved it....and I was happy it zipped!!! But suddenly I realized I couldn't breathe and my "chest" was being quite smooshed into my chin. Not to mention the gallons of sweat that had just taken over the underneath of my dress!! Thank goodness we tried on a few more!!



Number 2...I was really a fan of this dress!!! I Loved it!! It had a sash and I loved that too!! But I was not sure about the halter style with my large "chest" and so while I kept contemplating it, suddenly, my mom said out loud.."makes me think of a cupcake!" We moved on to another option!!



Number 3...As soon as I put this dress on I loved it!!! I even made the lady take off all of the extra slips and poofs from underneath! I could breathe again, not quite as hot, and I felt a sense of "sophisticated elegance!" I just knew it was right!! And as I said before, no offense to my friends, most of what I remember about any wedding dress is that it is white, usually strapless, and well, that's about it!!! So it's okay if you don't remember mine....the biggest thing was that it was chiffon...and I never imagined choosing that but it was so light and flowing!!


I was very lucky that my mom came with me!! I just wanted me and her to go and be relaxed!! She actually bought my dress and veils!! Oh the veils..they cost as much as my dress...but I wanted lace and lace I got!! A side note about mom's dress!!! She is just holding a random dress in this picture, but she had actually bought a very expensive suit/dress from Belk. I happened to be in Ross in Auburn one day (during a conference) and found a hot pink dress and shell that cost $30! She returned her very expensive suit and looked ABSOLUTELY wonderful at my wedding! Hopefully I'll have wedding pictures soon!!!