An evening made for us ;)

Saturday, March 19th, 2011 was a day like no other! Brad and I got ENGAGED!!! I could not be more excited, thrilled, and blessed to be able to spend the rest of my life with this incredible guy. ;)

Before I unload all the pictures, time for the story. :) Brad and I were celebrating our dating anniversary and enjoyed a nice, relaxing dinner in downtown Roswell. I guess I should say it was a nice, relaxing dinner for me, at least...not so sure Brad was as relaxed as he seemed at the time. ;)

After dinner we went back to my house where Brad made chocolate covered strawberries earlier in the day. When he got the strawberries out, he calmly said "this isn't the only thing I made" and pulled a scrapbook out of the couch cushions.

I started looking through the scrapbook in amazement. He did a phenominal job holding onto small keepsakes from our past months of dating - everything from the receipt from our first date, to a hotel key from a wedding we attended together, to the wine label from the first bottle of wine we had the first time we cooked in together. SUCH a sweet gift. Little did I know just how sweet... ;)

The last page said "there's still one more thing I have to ask you" and as I turned the last page and read the words "will you marry me?" Brad was down on one knee with the ring. I could not believe it!! I went into total shock and excitement and I'm pretty sure I hugged and squeezed him for 10 minutes straight without letting go! :) Once I semi-calmed down it was time to CELEBRATE!!!

First stop was Nava to surprise little sis! :)

After surprising Lauren, it was off to toast with Mom and Dad. I thought I would be surprising them...little did I know Brad had gone over to meet with them earlier in the week to ask for their blessing while I was out of town for work. Did I mention how AMAZING he is?! I am one lucky girl. ;)

Cheers!!!

Future Mother of the Bride ;)Father of the Bride ;)

The next morning we went to church and this was the sermon. To say God has had a hand in our relationship since day one would be an understatement. He has been orchestrating one incredible memory and milestone after another in our relationship. God is good! :)

After church it was time to celebrate with Brad's wonderful family!

My fiancee! ;)

My fabulous future in-laws. Sad this came out somewhat blurry, but I know we'll have plenty more opportunities to take pictures together. :)

Brad's sweet, sweet Grandpa. :)

For those of you dying to see the ring...here you go. :) He did a PHENOMINAL job!!

After a weekend of much excitement, Brad and I went on a quiet date to Nava Monday night to celebrate all the excitement we have to look forward to in the coming weeks and months. We can't wait to celebrate with family and friends in the coming months leading up to our exciting and special day! ;)

How time flies!!...Highlights from the past 5 months.

Well truer words have never been spoken... "Time flies when you're having fun!". Hard to believe last Fall was when I last updated my poor, neglected blog. :( It's definitely due for some updates as the past 5 months have been full of fun and excitement!... November included a relaxing and enjoyable Thanksgiving in Atlanta with family and friends. Rich and Michelle kindly hosted ALL of us at their adorable home in Marietta. It was a fabulous time complete with a turkey dinner, evening walk around the lake, pumpkin pie, and many laughs! Two of my favorites...Alexa and Karen. :)
Lauren and Karen at the family Thanksgiving celebration. :)
Brad joined in on the fun as well. ;)
A quick month later and it was Christmas! The MOST WONDERFUL time of the year! Unfortunately, I didn't do a very good job capturing the season in pictures, but it was an amazing one, nonetheless. ;) Here's one of Brad and his women. Bear in mind this is Brad with only two of his women...his other women hailing from the fabulous Blackman clan, of course. ;)

The holidays also included quality time with my new nephew, Dusty. I'm going to be totally honest...I've never been a big dog fan, but I LOVE this guy. Perhaps because he's not mine. :)

The holidays wrapped up and we launched directly into the excitement of the BCS NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP in Glendale, Arizona. Lauren and I flew out and spent 5 fabulous days of sister fun in Phoenix. Our first adventure was climbing Camelback Mountain.

I thought it sounded like a grand idea. It sounded like a nice, mild hike...little did I know we'd be climbing boulders and risking our lives on this scary climb. I definitely overcame my fear of heights - thanks to my sis pushing me through it. :) I must admit...once we reached the top...it was TOTALLY worth it! We had my camera with us the whole time so when we reached the top I asked this man to take our picture (who's back was turned at the time)...

As it turned out, this 'man' was Coach Urban Meyer...legendary SEC coach from University of Florida. We felt bad, so we asked him to join our picture. I held back every urge inside of me to say 'War Eagle!'. :)

Needless to say our sister trip to the National Championship was epic...complete with a BCS National Championship win for Auburn!!! WAR EAGLE!!! No doubt, Lauren and I will be recalling the memories from this trip with many smiles when we're old and gray many years from now. :) I have never been so proud to be an Auburn Tiger! ;)

Clearly the excitement and pride was shared 1,000's of miles away at Toomer's Corner. God bless the trees. ;) War Eagle!!

As if an Auburn National Championship win wasn't enough, January brought even more excitement at the end of the month! I turned 27 and what better way to do so than with a visit from your BFF and a trip to a winery!?!

God gave me an amazing birthday gift as well - a January weekend in Atlanta blessed with California weather! :) It was P-E-R-F-E-C-T!!! 75 degrees and sunny!! We had a relaxing lunch at Montaluce Winery full of fabulous food, many laughs, delicious wine, and gorgeous sunshine!

Birthday's are simply the best. ;)

Best friends since Kindergarden. Love you Jen! :)

Moving on from the birthday excitement...February included sweet Liam David Ragan's church dedication. This sweet little guy is the product of two of the most amazing people I'm blessed to know. :) Liam is perfect in every way and I can't wait to watch him grow up over the coming years. No doubt, with his incredible parents he's bound to do amazing things!

February also included some sweet surprises. :) One of which was a beautiful bouquet of flowers waiting on my dresser when I arrived home from one of a business trip. This was one of the most gorgeous arrangements I've ever received. I got to witness nature at it's best...one of the flowers was completely closed when I first got them. I noticed one morning as I was getting ready that it was starting to open...so as I was getting ready I was able to watch the flower open bit by bit over a period of about 30 minutes. It was SO neat to witness nature's beauty first-hand! Take a look....

Thanks for the GORGEOUS flowers Brad! Love him. ;)

February also included Nic and Sonya's Engagement Party. Nic and I have been great buds since middle school! So neat to be a part of the fun and excitement leading up to their special day. :)

Last but not least, Brad and I recently attended a fun night out on the town at a Silent Auction Gala. Such a fun time! Love this guy. ;)

Whew! Quite a few updates to cover over the past 5 months! Hopefully I'll keep up with this blog thing a little better in the coming weeks. :) Love to all!!

How the West was won! :)

War Eagle!!! :) We had a very exciting win over the Georgia Bulldogs this past Saturday. On to the SEC Championship in Atlanta in December!

Brad and I threw a tailgate party for our family and friends. It was a great time until the end of the game. :) It was quite a theatrical game and a good time was had by all. Even more exciting is that Brad and I placed a bet on the game and guess what...I won!!! ;) I won a weekend in Auburn including dinner at Amsterdam Cafe (my all-time AU favorite)!!! :) WAR EAGLE!!!!

Lovely Isle of Palm

What better way to conquer the cooling Fall temperatures than to head to the beach! Brad and I spent a wonderful, relaxing weekend at Isle of Palm (just outside of Charleston, SC) with his Mom, Aunt, and Grandfather.

Brad and I wasted no time! Upon arriving at our house we went straight to the beach where we spent the afternoon basking in the beautiful 70+ degree weather (in October!). I was so tired and jet-lagged from traveling from the West Coast the day before that I actually fell asleep in a beach chair for a relaxing nap. Then we went for an awesome walk up and down the shore... We walked to the pier (above) ...

We also saw sunset approaching (above). There is just nothing that compares to the beach (especially at sunset)!
Love this guy! ;) Such a perfect weekend!

How about that for a sunset!?! It totally reminds me of the sunset at the beginning (or was it the end?) of "The Notebook". ;)

Before heading back to Atlanta at the end of the perfect weekend we had a delicious lunch on the water. I absolutely LOVED Isle of Palm and cannot wait to go back soon! =)

West Coast Adventure

Making a road trip out West has always been on my Bucket List and I finally got to check it off! =) I had a conference in Las Vegas for a few days and appointments in California the following week. I chose to drive from Las Vegas to California instead of fly and I'm SO glad I did!

Let me preface this by saying the day I made this trek was the day of the Auburn vs LSU game. Make no mistake, I made sure my rental car had satelite radio so I could stay tuned in during my drive. What an exciting game and perfect way to pass time driving through the beautiful desert. The above picture was my view for the first couple of hours. To some it may be really boring, but when this isn't your typical terrain it's absolutely beautiful! ;)

It was me, my Auburn Tigers, and a long, open road all the way to Cali! =)


I was so enthralled with the scenery! I seriously stopped 5 or 6 times along the way to take pictures. Life's about the journey...not the destination, right? ;)

Upon arriving in San Diego I jumped right into the Chapman's annual Halloween Party. What a party it was!!! A fabulous DJ, Haunted House, tasty treats and mai tai's! It was quite an event and I was thrilled to be a part of it this year. Ellis was a skeleton. You can tell in our picture above he got a little tired of his costume, but kept sporting the white face paint. =)

Aidan partied his little heart out. =) With all the excitement, he couldn't make it past the couch.

After a fabulous visit with family in San Diego, it was off to the OC for a week of work...

I drove up on Sunday afternoon so I was able to take in some of Newport Beach before the busy week began. It was such a picture-perfect Cali beach town...sunshine, sandy beaches, and surfers everywhere. I have to admit...I'm a little afraid of deep ocean water, but watching these surfers made me want to give surfing a try. =)

I couldn't resist capturing this adorable pink beach house. So unique! I'm sure it's neighbor's think so too. ;)

While I was on the West Coast, Lauren was busy having her Hollywood moment on the East Coast. ;) Jenn's been in Atlanta filming a movie and to celebrate wrapping up the filming of her movie she and her entourage came into eat at Lauren's restaurtant, Nava. This picture has been all over the Atlanta news. So exciting! =)

Auburn's #1!!!!!!!!!

War Eagle!!! The latest BCS rankings came out tonight and Auburn is officially on TOP!!! We jumped from #4 to #1 and it feels AMAZING!! I have never been so excited and proud all at the same time. Auburn is truly one of the most amazing places and those of you that are a part of the Auburn family know exactly what I mean. ;) The love and pride for Auburn and Auburn Football runs so deep! Just listen to the words in our creed:

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Auburn Creed

I believe that this is a pracical world and that I can count only on what I earn.

Therefore, I belive in work, hard work.

I believe in education, which gives me the knowledge to work wisely and trains my mind and my hands to work skillfully.

I believe in honesty and truthfullness, without which I cannot win the respect and confidence of my fellow men.

I believe in a sound mind, in a sound body and a spirit that is not afraid, and in clean sports that develop these qualities.

I believe in obedience to law because in protects the rights of all.

I believe in the human touch, which cultivates sympathy with my fellow men an mutual helpfulness and brings happiness for all.

I believe in my Country, because it is a land of freedom and because it is my own home, and that I can best serve that country by "doing justly, loving mercy, and walking humbly with my God."

And because Auburn men and women believe in these things, I BELIEVE IN AUBURN AND LOVE IT!!!!!

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Nothing says it better. ;) We still have some challenging games ahead (UGA and Alabama), but I believe the strength, dedication and skill is very much a part of our Tigers! We're so blessed to have made it to #1 today and here's to seeing that we see it through to the Championship! WAR EAGLE!!! =)

MoOoOoOve Over Arkansas!!!

What better way to spend a Saturday in the Fall - watching Auburn Football dominate with an old college roomie and fabulous friend, Katie, and her adorable new baby boy. :)

We cheered Auburn on to an exciting and beautiful 65-43 victory over Arkansas!! Whew!! What a game!!

I tried my best to teach Bailey his first two words - "War Eagle" - but no luck (yet). At 4 months it may have been too soon...maybe next time. =) It was so great to visit Katie, Brandon and Bailey. We even played a little dress-up with the precious baby boy...

This is Bailey SUPER EXCITED about the Auburn game. ;) WAR EAGLE!!!

Bailey has the new Chick-fil-a ad... "Drink milk, but eat more chicken". =)