when God made you He must have been thinking about me.. Happy 2 Years to us! :)

I am about to take a stroll down memory lane...

Recently we just celebrated our 2 year anniversary! Whoa..lol ;) I know I know just two years ...  &  I can't wait to be able to say 50 but 2 is the number for now!

It would take me years to type a story on how God made our paths cross and how we should have known each other most of our lives but somehow God managed to save that for one sweet september day :).. and how we fall in love.. so I will try to keep this short and sweet!

 I had started my junior year in high school and I was just ready to start thinking about college and was not making any plans of finding my husband by any means... I sure wasn't but God was.. and boy am I glad he was! :) A friend of mine at that time was just begging me "there is this guy I want you talk to .. I just know yall will really like each other".. my response was nah .. no thanks.. I am good...lol.. so I guess in all reality it was sort of a blind date thing....but I just like to call it God's sweet little surprise for me ;) because I love them so much! haha!..It all started with a text message .. thank you Lord for technology ;) or I may not have my husband..jk.. anyway it was like a dustin :"hey" ginger:  "hey..what are you up to?" dustin: "just sitting around playing my guitar" to dustin: " this is so weird, can I just call you" and my response being "I was just thinking the same thing ... sure"..lol .. I mean yeah we were young but how did we really think we were going to get to know each other?... Those messages were in some sort of fashion that way.. and I still have that same cell phone with those messages saved on it :)... we ended up talking for like 5 hours and I was already so silly over this boy... we lived 20 min apart.. our families knew each other..and I never knew of him?! We ended up talking about our beliefs..our families..our lives.. such sweet conversation and I still love his voice to this day as much as I did then! Although I was still a little freaked out because I had never seen him... I know you are not suppose to judge a book by its cover and I was clearly falling for his personality buuuuuttt..my friend could have been setting me up with anyone knowing that girl..haha! The next day he came to town I lived in.. and back then when you rode around and wasted a bunch of gas you were also cool (seemed like that way to do things since we did not have any other form of entertainment than wave at your friends as you pass them on the street .. too funny right?) .. so we were just going to meet up with my friends and actually see each other in person for the very first time... we met down by the river(I guess that was a good place to meet & if you are from the wee little town I grew up in you will get it .. no I am not a country bumpkin off of the river although I love being barefoot..haha.) and it was awkward as most relationships are a little at first but I felt right at home and soon fell head over heels! He was a blonde hair, blue eyed,  muscly & handsome young man :).. and I was hooked ;-)..... maybe its a little selfish ;) but I thank God for creating him just for me! ... I love him with my whole heart! We dated for four years..engaged for one..and have now been married for two! We have been able to have so many neat experiances ..blessed beyond what we deserve.. and God has brought the both of us a very long way throughout our adventure as I like to think of it :)!!!

Our engagement was one of the most fun times in our life! It started with a happy birthday/engagement surprise celebration! We got to plan a whole year for the best day of our lives thus far (everyone says that turns into the 2nd best day after you have a baby) but for now it is our best day :)! That year was full of amazing adventures from trying on wedding dresses all over the state of Arkansas... checking out wedding venues..buying magazines-cutting pictures out of them..flowers...details details details...family...amazing wedding showers...a bridal luncheon that should have been in a magazine ;)...newspaper articles..picking a photographer..etc..etc..etc....tooooo

Rehearsal...
You always have to have a rehearsal before the real deal;) we had ours and then went on the arkansas queen with all of our family..wedding party..and friends! That night was so fun.. we had dinner on the Arkansas river and watched the sunset..then had some fun cutting a rug on the dance floor to the music the band was playing! It was an absolute blast! We laughed all night and just enjoyed our family and friends!

Our BIG DAY :)....
I got to have my fairytale wedding! It was more than I ever dreamed of! We choose Marlsgate Plantation as our wedding venue! It was a beautiful place with a mix of southern elegance & charm :).. and I added a pinch of my vintageness to the details ;)! We could not have picked a better site for our amazing day!  My wedding planner knew his stuff and made our special day one to remember! From the horse drawn carriage ride to the vows we shared... the whole day was simply exquisite! Our reception was outside under a big white tent (something I have dreamed about since I was a little girl :)... we had a live band and enjoyed the happiest day our life with our amazing family and friends!

So here we are two years down the road! I promise it has not all been cupcakes and candlelight, and we have been through bumps in our road and lots of lessons learned already but God has blessed us and covered us with his amazing love through our journey and we love growing and learning together .. even if it is the hard way sometimes :).. I have burned a lot of meals, rolls, and cookies and Dustin ate seconds to keep me from crying ;) ...God is good to us & we give him all the credit.. after all He created each of us for the other :) I can't wait to grow old with you Dustin Lynn King ;-)

Our Engagement Party...

A couple engagement pictures by the amazing Crystal Goss...

Showers...

Bridals by Crystal Goss--we just fell in love with her talent....

The neatest Bridal luncheon you ever did see ;)...

Rehearsal...

OUR BIG day :) by crystal goss once again....

Such sweet memories reliving these amazing moments...

Stay tuned for how we enjoyed the top layer of our wedding cake :)...

"Reduce Me to Love"

"Love is the energy of life. 

It is what motivates people to get up each day and keep going. 

Love gives life purpose and meaning. 

The world is looking for love, but what they are really 

looking for is God, because God is love

Here lately I have just been thinking about how amazing God's love is!!! His love is the most amazing thing I have encountered throughout my life. "Love can melt the hardest heart, it can heal the wounds of a broken heart and it can quiet the fears of the anxious heart." Once you have encountered the love of God you are never the same.. you may fall short but you are never the same. His love is so amazing I can't even begin to grasp every aspect of it! When I think about God's love for us I begin to think about everything that comes from His love. Joy and peace in my life being two of my favorite things that come from God's love! "Love is the fruit of the spirit" .. all the other fruits of the spirit come from love! God can give us a joy and a peace in our life that nothing else can come close to! The quicker we learn to turn people and situations over to the Lord, the quicker we start enjoying a peaceful & fruitful life. If you think about it everything you love or loves you comes from God! Nothing can make you as happy as God's love or bless you in the ways He does! All the blessings He pours out are from the unconditional love He has for us! God's amazing love has been so clear to me lately. It seems every book I pick up has in some way been speaking to my heart about the love of God. Recently I read 2 books about doing things out of love. My husband often thinks I go in some situations way over my head(& sometimes i do) trying to help someone.. he never is speaking about it in a negative way.. but sometimes he asks me how can you try to help someone in ways that they do not even want to help themselves or they probably would not do the same for you. I assure him it is fine.. not a big deal and when my heart is set on doing something I just have to do it! God programmed me that way.. I can not help it..lol! I just love looking at the world in a entire different way! Once you realize that you are loved by God, not because of anything you are or anything you have done, then you can quit trying to deserve  his love or earn his love and simply receive it and enjoy it! God's love has covered my life and I think it is so wonderful! I wish more people would do more things out of love! "We need to understand God loves us and accept his love. When we do we begin a love walk that causes us to live in a new way-- a new way of thinking, a new way of speaking and a new way of acting." Do not expect a pat on the back every time you help someone out. Doing things out of love is one of our God given purposes. Just simply do things out of love .. little things .. big things .. anything:) .. God sees you when others do not .. He is more than proud of us! If you are continually looking for that pat on the back or that acknowledgement then maybe just maybe your heart was not fully in whatever you were doing in the first place. Just my opinion though :) ok back to that books I picked up ...... there is no way either of the books or both of them combined could cover all areas of God's love, but it covered many of them and the next little part of my post is about one that stuck out to me. That part in the book was about trying to love the unloving.. I thought to myself gah how I could relate!! lol... sometimes I find myself trying to love people who are hard as tar to love :)! I thought about how we as humans want to just give up on those people but God calls us to keep on loving... "Most people who are hard to love have suffered so much pain along the road of life that it has altered their personality. Outwardly they may seem hard and bitter, but inwarldly they are crying out for love." "Learning about love can move you from hatred to bitterness..then to mild resentment and finally to freedom, which comes only through forgiveness." That part of the book went on to explain in comparison how God must feel.. He does just that & he does it all the time .. He sincerely loves the unloving! We are all unloving at times... go ahead and admit it! :) God is love, and He forgives and forgets. If we want to be like Him, then we must develop the same habit. I just never thought of it completely in that way until after reading that and it opened my heart once again to how amazing God's love is!!!! "All of us must become students of love; we must pray that God reduces us to love."

*God's Plan*

A friend recently shared this quote/passage and it blessed me so much! God has important plans for each and everyone of us! We will always have hope and a sense of purpose and fulfillment as long as we follow His plan! Thank you Lord for my plan, purpose, and everything you are doing in my life! I pray that you will continue to open my mind and heart to what you have in store for us! :) 

Some things are beyond planning.

And life doesn't always turn out as planned.

You don't plan for a broken heart.

You don't plan for a failed business venture.

You don't plan for an adulterous husband

or a wife who wants you out of her life.

You don't plan for an autistic child.

You don't plan for spinsterhood.

You don't plan for a lump in your breast.

You plan to be young forever.

You plan to climb the corporate ladder.

You plan to be rich and powerful.

You plan to be acclaimed and successful.

You plan to conquer the universe.

You plan to fall in love - and be loved forever.

You don't plan to be sad.

You don't plan to be hurt.

You don't plan to be broke.

You don't plan to be betrayed.

You don't plan to be alone in this world.

You plan to be happy. You don't plan to be shattered.

Sometimes if you work hard enough, you can get what you want.

But MOST times, what you want and what you get are two different things.

We, mortals, plan. But so does God in the heavens.

Sometimes, it is difficult to understand God's plans especially when His plans are not in consonance with ours.

Often, when God sends us crisis, we turn to Him in anger. True, we cannot choose the cross that God wishes us to carry, but we can carry that cross with courage knowing that God will never abandon us nor send something we cannot cope with.

Sometimes, God breaks our spirit to save our soul.

Sometimes, He breaks our heart to make us whole.

Sometimes, God allows pain so we can be stronger.

Sometimes, God sends us failure so we can be humble.

Sometimes, God allows illness so we can take better care of ourselves. Sometimes, God takes everything away from us so we can learn the value of everything He gave us.

Make plans, but understand that we live by God's grace.

Estes Wedding

One of my best friends recently got married in March! They had a sweet ceremony that took place outside at a duck lodge out in the country! The entire wedding weekend was a blast! Laura and I have been friends for a very long time and I love her to pieces! We have such a sweet friendship and no matter where life takes either of us we always know we have each other through all the good times and bad! Here are some pictures of all the wedding  festivities!!!

Cake from her lingerie shower.. I found this cake on line and fell in love with it ;).. and Libby did a great job making it look exactly like the picture!!

Me & the Bride :)

Rehearsal Dinner - Bride with her bridesmaids and flower girl!

Eastyn in his little tux :)

Miss this girl.. so good to catch up!

the bride and all her details were stunning :)!

First Dance 

Flower Girl :) .. she is beyond an adorable little mess!