Two years ago...

I had one of the most romantic days of my life. It was on a Wednesday. My Monday and Tuesday of this particular week were very stressful and emotional! Brad promised to take me out to dinner at a special place in Greenville. This was a big deal for many reasons, (1) we were students and dinner out was a special treat, (2) we were in Anderson, so going to Greenville was going to be nice to get away, and (3) I desperately needed a something to get my mind off of school. In the weeks prior to this amazing day, Brad and I had several discussions which completely led me to believe that I would not be getting anything to wear on my left hand anytime in the near future. So, I was going to take the date night for what it was, an ordinary date night. My only stipulation was that the restaurant have cheesecake.

Oh, but little did I know...

He had two roses in his hand that he was waiting to give me; two roses was an odd number, but I didn't think much about it. We got in his car and had to make a quick stop at the gas station before we headed down the road. (Now this part needs a little explanation: His gas tank was dangerously empty and this was also right after Katrina happened and gas prices were at least $3 a gallon.) When we pulled up to the pump, he made the comment that he was going to put about five dollars of gas in and I laughed at him because I knew that that much gas wouldn't even get us to the interstate. He kept insisting that he didn't need that much gas, so finally we agreed that $10 would probably be enough for now. Oh, but little did I know...

When he got back into the car he reached in the backseat and pulled out a blindfold. Again, I laughed at him because he must have been crazy if he thought I was going to wear a blindfold all the way to Greenville. I actually thought he was paying me back from a couple of weeks earlier when I blindfolded him and took him on a surprise date. He made me put it on anyway, and to really confuse me, it felt like he circled the gas pump ten times to make me lose my sense of direction. I knew that we weren't headed down 81 towards the interstate because that is a long straight road, and we were making some turns. When we parked about 5 minutes later, I knew that we were not in Greenville. (He had taken me right back to the front lawn of the school) He lead me out of the car and I still had no clue where we were, I also was still oblivious to what was going on. When he finally took off the blindfold, I knew! I knew that this was going to be the most romantic day of my life.



The first thing that I saw when he took off the blindfold was Brad's suite mate hiding behind a tree with a video camera; but what I saw next took my breathe away. It was a long pathway of candles and rose pedals (That is why I only had two roses, he used the rest of the bouquet for this). At the end of the path was a table, and on the table were lilies (my favorite), two forks, and a bowl of strawberry syrup. He walked me to the table and we sat down. Off to the side, Brad had one of our friends playing the guitar, setting the mood with music! The first thing that he did was read me a poem he had written me, and in perfect timing when he was done, two of our other friends brought up two plates of cheesecake (hence the forks and strawberries!)



In the back of my mind, I was still questioning if I was going to get a ring or not because he had done a great job of convincing me that it was going to be a while. After our cheesecake, he stands up and reaches in his pocket...my heart stops beating...and then he pulls out a little USB key disc storage thingy. The first thought that goes through my mind is: "I can't wear that on my finger!" Then he pulls out a laptop where he had made a slide show of pictures of us from the past four years together. It was precious! By now, we are both sobbing! When that is over he asked me if I was ready to go eat. My heart sank. I thought it was over and we were going to go eat and that was going to be it. Nope. It wasn't. He grabbed my hand and led me out into the middle surrounded by candles and rose pedals. And he started talking. I am not really sure what he said though. All I know is that I said yes! It was definitely one of the most romantic days of my life!

We've got connections

We got our official housing assignment today! Since we will be living in the same village as the Browns, the first thing I did was call Jaime and asked her to take pictures of our new house. Here are a couple of the pictures she sent me. I will let you take a guess at who actually took the pictures.







Thanks Averie and Austin Kate for taking those pictures for Auntie! You did a great job!

Once Upon a Time

One upon a time there was a young couple who had not been married very long. They didn't have a whole lot, but they were very happy! The husband and the wife each had a car to get them back and forth to work but these cars were not very reliable and would often break down - or sometimes even have random flat tires! The husband would often try to convince the wife that they needed a new car, but the wife, being the practical one in the relationship, could often talk him out of it because of financial or timing issues. One day when the wife came home from work the husband was really excited! He had heard on the radio that a car dealership in Greer was having this amazing sale on new cars. To make the husband happy, the wife decided to go with him to the car dealership to see why they were selling these cars at such a good price. It just so happened that those cars did not have air conditioner.

But that isn't the end of this story.

Four and a half hours later when the husband couldn't say no to the salesman anymore, after much paperwork and a lot of wheelin' & dealin', Look what the wife got to drive home instead:

Flat Tires, Wedding Dresses, & Job Interviews

Wow it's been a whirlwind of a weekend! It all started on Thursday night. Let me start at the beginning by saying again, that we are leaving in five weeks to move up to North Carolina so Brad can attend SEBTS! We are so excited, but our time is so precious, and there is so much that has to be done! This past Thursday I planned on going with my future sister-in-law to a wedding festival in Greenville for a couple of hours before I had to be at bible study later that night. That sounds like a simple enough plan, but it didn't go that smoothly! I left my humble little Camry in her mother's driveway so we could ride together. We had not even been gone for an hour before her dad called to let us know that I had a flat tire! I had to rack my brain trying to figure out what could have happened between my house and hers that could have caused my tire to go flat! After many phone calls between Amanda's father, my husband, and my father it was determined that my spare tire was rotten & rusted, AND that the flat tire could not be patched, I needed a whole new tire.
Needless to say, my plans to attend bible study that night went down the drain. Also, while we were at the wedding festival I saw my boss from Bed, Bath, and Beyond. After much deliberation (and phone calls during the fashion show) I decided that it would be considerate to let him know that I had no way to get to work the next day. It was incredibly awkward asking him if I could get off work on Friday all while he was trying to signup Brides for registries. The good news about the entire situation was that I did get off work Friday and got to go Wedding Dress shopping the next day!
I really enjoyed the time that I got to spend with her and my niece Kayleigh, but I also realized how relieved I am that I don't have to go through the stress of planning a wedding again! Whew, let me say that again, I AM SO GLAD I do NOT have to do that again! Friday night after Brad got off work, he went and put a new tire on my beloved Dori (that is what I named my car). He made it look so simple! Thanks honey! And after that he convinced me to go to the Byrnes Football game. It was not the same high school that I went to! It has changed so much!
Our weekend had only begun though. Saturday afternoon after Brad got off work, we had to make the four hour trip up to NC because Brad had a job interview! I talked Brad into letting me drive, because I told him that one day I would eventually have to make the drive without him. I drove the whole way...and made it in 3 1/2 hours! That is a small but wonderful accomplishment! I normally fall asleep as soon as I get into a car. Anyway, to make this really long story a little shorter...we had a great 22 1/2 hours in NC before we had to come back home. It is always a fun time with the Browns. AND...here is the best part...Brad got a job! This is the golf course he will be working at!This is such a answered prayer (thanks to everyone out there praying for us!!) It is so wonderful to see how everything is going to fall into place and to know that it is GOD who is providing and paving the way for us! I forgot to take pictures of any of this, I promise to do better next time. Now, I am going to bed to get rest for this next week so maybe I can start packing soon!

First Thursday Thirteen...on a Friday

I have wanted to start a blog for some time now, and I thought it would be cute to start off with a Thursday Thirteen! However, I have waited two weeks for Thursday to roll around, and when it did, something always seemed to come up to keep me from finally posting my blog. So I have decided that I won't wait another week for Thursday to come, and I will just have a Thursday Thirteen on a Friday. Here it is:



Thirteen Reasons to Start a Blog



1. We are moving to North Carolina in about five weeks, and a blog will be a great way of keeping everyone updated on what is going on with the Brock's!

2. I can leave comments on other people’s blogs without feeling like I am that person who is lurking around on the internet just reading everyone’s blog.

3. It is obviously the new cool thing to do.

4. It might be sad that I am admitting this, but things will happen during the day and the thought crosses my mind, “Hey this would be something funny to blog about.” I guess Jaime’s addiction to blogging has rubbed off on me.

5. My darling husband said it would become a competition between my sister and me, and I want to prove him wrong.

6. My sister said, “Of course it won’t be a competition, mine will always be better.” I probably won’t ever prove her wrong. Please don’t judge too quickly.

7. I think blogs are a great & fun way of communicating and connecting with new and old friends.

8. I am a big thinker and sometimes I think best if I write (or type) my thoughts out. I am not sure if my thoughts will make sense to you, but I might occasionally share them with you.

9. My prayer is that God will be glorified in everything, and this will be just another small way that I can testify about all of the wonderful things he is doing in our lives!

10. MySpace is boring me.

11. I love a good challenge and I think it will be fun to see how long it will take to convince Brad to be a guest blogger. I was able to convince him to do the Napoleon Dynamite dance for a large group of people! Don’t hold your breathe though.

12. Haley asked.

13. One day I am going to have a great story to tell and I am going to want to share it with you!