CHARLESTON...our new favorite city!

To take you back to the start...I became friends with Tara Clayton at Southern around the year 2009? That is just a rough guess, but we met through mutual friends and began spending reunion weekends together in Jackson and she would often stay at my apartment when she would be back in Hattiesburg, maybe because she had no where else to stay, but I tell myself it was because she loved me! After she moved to Meridian, we tried our best to stay in touch, but that often took place over the phone! We would chat about random things, but it always ended deciphering our relationships! She began seeing Dan and she knew from the first moment that he was the one. She would always share Dan's worldly advice with me....and I would "always" take it to heart!

As wedding bells began ringing, the destination of Charleston was selected. See, Dan has family across the globe and although Tara's family is predominantly in Meridian....majority of guests would be traveling regardless. I began to talk out the details with Ami and Laine. After many thoughts, calculations and googling we decided, Charleston was a must! We booked our tickets, Laine planned the tours and off we went!

Here we are on the plane we had chartered to east coast.........dream on!

Ok, so before you think I am crazy, let me introduce you to Ami's classroom companion, Flat Stanley a.k.a. Stan my Flat Man! He rode with me and we bonded on our connecting flight from Charlotte to Charleston!

Laine and me after our lunch at Tommy Condon's!

We took a carriage ride our first afternoon to get a feel for the city.

This is us after the ride with our new friend Dakota!

Taking a break at the fountain to comfort our hurting feet.

Notice the fountain is a Pineapple....I say this because it took me awhile to notice!

Ami and I (Laine was the excellent photographer) after dinner our first night,

about to go checkout the city after dark!

Thought this was fun....checking out the vintage clothes at the Charleston Museum! Ok maybe this was for the children, but it didn't stop us!

We talked the lady of the weekend into coming into town one night!

She was glad she did! Love ya Tara!

Taking some photo opportunities, while Laine reads the tour guide book..........I love you Laine!

Rainbow Row.....historic Charleston landmark.

One of my favorite pictures from the trip.

The wedding took place on Saturday evening on the Isle of Palms.

It was beautiful and picture perfect! So happy for Mr. and Mrs. Dan Komar!

Love my friends!!

This was our last night, we were so sad to say goodbye to the city........

but, we promised we would come back!

If you are interested in coming on the next Charleston trip.........let me know :)

Baby brother is here....well not my baby brother...

So first of all I will say being an Aunt or as we say "Tia" is probably my favorite thing in the world! God has blessed my family with healthy, smart and beautiful babies! Although the newest bundle of joy came a little earlier than expected....we were thrilled to welcome him into the world! My sister-in-law Bekkie was making frequent doctor visits just to keep an eye on things before her scheduled due date of February 28, but on Tuesday morning, February 15 we were told today was BABY DAY! Although we all knew we were expecting a boy, the biggest surprise was in his name. I must say I am very proud of Eric, Bekkie and big brother Caleb for holding in their secret because that is not something I would have been able to do...especially with such a sweet name to announce!

So are you ready.....thank you God for bringing us our newest miracle on Tuesday, February 15 @1:25pm! A healthy 6 lb. 7 oz. 18.5 inch long bundle of joy!

Meet my new nephew JONAH LOGAN AMICK!

He is such a sweet boy that is already loved by so many! I can say because I do not have my own children that I can spend all my time and the little money I have loving and spoiling my nephews and niece! If you do not already know I have Caleb Lukas (my brothers son and Jonah's big brother who turns 3 in April), Caitlyn Elise (my sisters only child turns 2 in September) and baby brother Jonah Logan!
The family referred to Jonah during the pregnancy as "Baby Brother" so it has been hard adjusting to an official name! Thank you God for bringing another wonderful life into our lives! Thank you Eric and Bekkie for blessing us with another life to love!
This is the first official family of four photo! Mama Bekkie, Daddy Eric (my big brother), Big brother Caleb and baby brother Jonah! Cutest family ever if I do say so myself!
I feel so blessed to be a "Tia" my heart is so full and I could not ask for more precious babies to love! I am so excited for the future with these babies, although I do not want time to fly! I am excited for big family festivities, football games and to help mom, dad and Caleb teach Jonah to say "black and gold to the super bowl" and of course our favorite "to the top! touchdown!"

I want to WELCOME you all to WEDDING SEASON!

I have officially approached that age when everyone I know is getting married and when I say everyone I mean….well about 6 friends! So I decided I would go through each friend with a little bio! So we can start with December when Whitney got married. I met Whitney when I was a sophomore and we went to USM and church together, as well as were roommates and shared many mutual friends!! She was married December 18! I give Whitney the award for creating a beautiful wedding in record time!

Whitney and Stephen's Wedding in Gulfport!

The next wedding if for Stephanie who I met over Spring Break my freshman year, she is marrying another good friend of mine! Stephanie and Gannon will be married the first weekend in March and I have loved being part of the wedding process from helping with a few ideas, showers and bachlorette parties!!

Stephanie and Gannon's Engagement picture!!

Kelsey and Graham are getting married in Natchez on March 19…….well scratch that because they had a surprise wedding a few weeks ago, however they are having the reception on the 19^!Kelsey and I went to rival high school, but did not meet until she began grad school at Southern and we shared a few classes.

(apparently they got off facebook, but I was excited to show off their cute LSU

engagement pictures........so no pictures!)

Are you ready for the next!! One of my favorite college friends is Tara and she is marrying Dan in Charleston, SC on March 26! I am so excited about making the trip with Ami and Laine and getting to experience a little of Charleston during the weekend! Tara and I met through some mutual friends while I was in undergrad and she was in grad school at Southern. We hit it off and have been able to maintain a close relationship even though she makes her home in Meridian!

Picture from Tara's kitchen shower this weekend at Bon Ami in Jackson!

The first weekend in April is a wedding I have been anticipating!! My best grad school friend Becky is marrying her best friend of 7 years Layne in a sweet outdoor ceremony in Laurel. I met Becky the first day of grad school and if we had not met I do not think either of us would be holding a diploma today! We tackled and succeeded many obstacles together and for her I am grateful!

Picture from Becky's Christmas Shower in Laurel!

The last wedding on the schedule for now is the first weekend in May! One of my best guy friends from high school, Curtis will be marrying his fiancé Katie in Starkville! I am very excited to see some old friends and celebrate their wedding!friends.

This picture is from Senior year in Desktop Publishing...me, Curtis, Lindsay and Jenna!

So with all the wedding festivities, showers and bachelorette weekends nothing has over-lapped! Shocking yes, but I am very glad because I would not want to be forced to pick which to attend!! In the mean time I do need to share a new found treasure…..www.pinkcakebox.com

Check back in to see photos from the weddings along with our adventures in Charleston!!

I'd go back to December, all the time

As my girl Taylor says, "I'd go back to December, all the time." How crazy is it that it's already 12/10 and in one month we will be marking our dates to the year 2011. Since my last blog I have been back to Texas to celebrate Thanksgiving and watch the Saints win over the Dallas Cowboys!After a few months of talk we officially had our Thanksgiving Day tickets in hand, thanks to Chad! Along with the Saints we welcomed Keith Urban, Nicole Kidman and the 30 degree weather. As they say in Texas, if you don't like the weather, wait 5 minutes and it will change!

Our View!

We WON 30-27! Happy Saintsgiving!

A highlight of the holiday weekend for many is BLACK FRIDAY! A day women prepare for and anticipate for weeks. Because I am the only shopahalic in my immediate family I have never experienced this day before the correct way! However, this year it changed! As I set my alarm for 3:30am I hit the Dallas Wal-mart, Khole's, Best Buy, Old Navy, Office Depot, Ulta, etc...with Chad's aunt, her daughter and friend! I purchased a stylish new TV and some fancy leggins and I am hooked! I love bargains and I am okay with waiting and fighting my way to get it!! So Black Friday 2011......im already anticipating your arrival and saving my money!

While in Dallas I had a long list of people to see, but with such a limited time schedule I was not able to drive all over the great state to see people...however I was able to see my goddaughter Jaq!! Yay!! Godmother loves you :)

We ended the long weekend in Vicksburg where Chad and I got to hangout with the family and relax. We spent time Friday night and early Saturday at my moms with my mom, step dad, sister, brother-in-law and niece, then went to visit my dad along with sisters in-laws for the Egg Bowl.

Now that December is here let me tell you what I am anticipating!!

December 3 - Ballet Magnificat A Christmas Dream at the Saenger Theater @7pm

December 10 - My Graduate School Graduation Ceremony @10am

December 11 - Bellingrath Gardens in Mobile, AL

December 18 - Whitney & Stephen's Wedding in Gulfport, MS

December 20 - Work Christmas Party (good food!!)

December 25 - The Reason for the Season CHRISTmas!

Blogging is new to me, however I have always had a love and passion for writing and I plan to become more frequent and thorough on here, so hold me to it. The seasons have changed and I love it! I always enjoy the one day a year when I have 25 hours to complete all my to-do-lists. My dad and I argued when he said the days are shorter in the fall. I assured him he was wrong and that the day is the same, yet the sunlight shines less.

Over the past few weeks I have officially registered for Graduate School Graduation, ordered my cap and gown, reserved my ceremony seat.........i hope that completes all the graduation ceremony to-do's which will take place December 10 at 10:00am. As I told my family this will be my third and final graduation, unless in the future I walk across as a professor!

This is my graduation picture from bachelors May 2009!

This past weekend I fulfilled a promise I have been making to friends over the past months and made a trip to the beloved Austin, Texas! Many gasped when I said I would be making this trip alone, but I do believe this was my third solo trip. I drove from Hattiesburg, Miss across the swamps of Louisiana and into the city of Houston and into the Austin City Limits. I made a promise to myself that I would go buy new windshield wipers before my trip back (I will get to that later). I made it into Austin around 8:30pm and met up with a camp friend Joe for some deli pizza (Whole Food to be exact)! It was great to see a friend and catch up after nearly two years!

This picture is Joe, Tina and me from 2008!!

After our outing, my friend Maureen and her Oklahoma girls made it into town so I met up with them to hit the big city for an epic weekend.

Shae, Christen, Maureen and Monica!!

Christen and Maureen in the bed jumping competition!! EPIC!!

Maureen and I were camp friends in 2007 and co-counselors in 2008! We credit ourself with inventing the infamous game of bed-jumping for Ladybird cabin! (possibly against camp rules, but shhhhhh!)

Saturday was filled with one giant cheeseburger and a-million fries from Five Guys Burgers and Fries.http://gofiveguys.com/ My recommendation is don't be selfish and share your fries! Like we hadn't had enough we 'had' to stop next door at Amy's Ice creamhttp://www.amysicecreams.com/2.0/ I said noooo I am too full, only to change my mind for some sweet cream ice cream and chunks of heath bar........ahh i think i just drooled thinking about it! Amy's also has a very social media savvy web site for all my social media and pr guru's!

After our nice shower rotations in the hotel it was game time. I did a few practice rounds as aOklahoma State Cowboy and I was ready to go. We learned the in's and out's of parking in a big city and off we went. After a good laugh at the boy skateboarding and busting it trying to look professional we arrived to find Gate 25 where I picked up my Player Guest Ticket thanks to my long lost friend Andrew McGeehttp://www.okstate.com/sports/m-footbl/mtt/mcgee_andrew00.html Drew got lots of yells and cheering especially when he made his (i believe 6th) of the season! I learned how to wave like wheat, a few cheers and how to trash talk UT fans and after the 33-16 victory I learned what a real Cowboy victory feels like. Great game Cowboys and especially great game to you Drew! It is always encouraging to read Drew's facebook status updates before/after games when he declares all his teams success and accomplishments have come from above, such a great testimony! Drew I am holding out for my NFL ticket now...you are going far! But in all honesty I give hands up to the UT fans, the banter was fun, but always classy and in good spirits! Also, thank you to the nice girl in the dorm who let us in to use your restroom! The only let down of the game was not actually visiting with Drew, but I guess that is what you get for being the away team. After the game we checked out some more of the big city well into the night!

GO COWBOYS!! GO DREW #6!!

Sunday came too quickly, but we finished the trip at Chuy's!! http://www.chuys.com/ This was my third trip and always an Austin highlight, especially with camp friends. We met up with Joe and Todd (two of my favoritessssssss) for a little pre-nine hour drive lunch. We rocked up (camp prayer style) and had some great conversation, reminiscing and long laughs! We departed, but not before the infamous Silver Spur/Rough Rider photo-op!

Joe, Christen, Maureen and Todd.....Silver Spurs and Rough Riders

This is from my FIRST Chuy's experience...back in the summer of 2007!

I began the trip home thinking how...oh....how will i make it these 9 hours without an after-noon nap, but I did it! I wrangled my way around Houston to find a truck stop to fulfill my self-made promise of new wiper blades. I questioned how I would know what size and how would I install them, but God brought the nicest man across my path that took them off, picked out the size I needed (19 inch for the record) and installed them! A task which took him about 2 minutes that could have taken me half the night. He said he would want to know someone was looking out for his wife and it made me thankful that we still have good hearted people in the world today. So to him, THANK YOU AGAIN!

SOUTHERN MISS TRAGEDY...One last item of business is a tragedy that hit home in Hattiesburg to the Southern Miss Football Community. On Saturday night a shooting took place seriously injuring three of our teammates, senior linebacker Martez Smith, junior linebacker Tim Green and defensive lineman Deddrick Jones. Reports place Martez Smith being paralized from the waist down, Tim Green being unable to speak and other injuries not reported to Deddrick Jones.

In an article by the Hattiesburg American, Jefferson Davis County Sheriff Henry McCullum said Brown is currently out on felony bond, and is on state parole for a possession of cocaine charge for which he was sentenced in 2007. "We've sent him to the (penitentiary) before," McCullum said Tuesday. The tragedy lies in the fact that we will send him back, but only after he has changed the lives of three men forever. Is it really justice after one will never again walk and one will never again speak.

...with time comes change.

"If you wait to do everything until you're sure it's right, you'll probably never do much of anything!"

It seems like only yesterday I was starting elementary school at South Park in Vicksburg, playing with my sister and neighbors in the woods behind the house and seeing who could hold their breath longest in the pool. The days, months and years have flown. I started high school then finished graduate school in what seemed nothing more than a blink! But in it all I have learned to reach for your wildest dream and never settle for anything! Nothing is impossible if it is in God's will.

I always dreamed of what my kids would look like, be named, but I am not there yet...whoaaa!! But in 2008 God blessed me with my first nephew Caleb and one year ago my sweet niece Caitlyn! I go by "Tia" which is spanish for aunt! Words can't really do justice for just how much I love them!!

Caitlyn just had her first birthday this past weekend (September 18). It is a testament to just how quickly life is moving and how each day is a blessing and a treasure to us!
Last, but never least is Chad! We have been together about a year and he definitely completes me! Between work, finishing grad school, his work schedule and classes we do cherish the time we have to spend together!