fort walton beach, fl | our tenth.

 Last month, Teesh and I celebrated our tenth wedding anniversary!

Ten years ago on the 16th of July, I woke up before the sun and prepared myself to meet my man for a long-awaited ceremony at the altar. Surrounded by family and friends, we vowed to love each other always and honor God with our marriage. It was one of the most sacred, most longed-for, most awe-inspiring days of my life.

After nearly eight years of dating to get to this point, we both thought that the hardest seasons were behind us. Spoiler alert: we were wrong.

We have spent a decade realizing that it’s much easier to fight *with one another than *for one another; much more natural to think about how something effects *me instead of *him or us; much simpler to keep our heads down and grind until through each day instead of taking inventory of where we are and making necessary changes. A decade has passed, and we have cried more tears than we ever thought we would, screamed more harsh words than we ever imagined we would, been faced with tragedy that we weren’t sure we’d survive, offered more apologies than we ever dreamed we’d need to, and wrestled with more pride and self-preservation than we care to admit.

On the other side of the spectrum, however, we have, also, lived an exponentially fully life together. We dream together, laugh together, share secret looks and inside jokes that no one else knows about, try new things alongside of each other, and hold onto one another with a grip that says, “I’m always with you and for you, but I want you to be you — not who I want you to be.” we have crammed a whole heck of a lot into a single decade, and I’m proud / grateful / honored to keep building on top of the foundation we’ve laid.

Most days is a dance between where we instinctively wander and where we actually want to be, but the most beautiful song always plays as we dance. the melody is fun and upbeat with dramatic and steady bass lines that hold it together. The lyrics are always different depending on the season, but the chorus remains the same — as the waves are drawn to the shore over and over again, so, too, is our love like a magnet; though we could attempt to explain it with millions of words and stories, the truth is this: we are loved, and we have loved.

In honor of such a fun. special, and hard-earned milestone, we took a trip just the two of us and had the time of our lives. Our original plans were postponed because of the current state of the world, but we made the most of it and still ended up having the best little getaway. We hadn't been away for five nights alone together since our honeymoon, so this felt extra extra special. Since our international plans were thwarted, we decided on a location that was domestic but didn't feel that way. And because we'd never been to the gulf coast, we were extra excited to spend a few days in...Fort Walton Beach, FL! And OH, how dreamy it was. White sand and clear, emerald water. We were amazed!

We were the ultimate beach bums all week long! Sleeping in and then napping on the beach...a parent's dream. LOL! We flew Delta, rented a dream car, ate like a king and queen, and stayed at the Wyndham Garden Fort Walton hotel. We enjoyed a king suite while we were there, as well as complimentary beach umbrellas and chairs, complimentary parking, and a fun pool with a water slide. We totally lived our best life and loved every minute of it. The motto of our week was something along the lines of "top down, smiles on, worries down."

We ate breakfast in our suite, lunch on the beach, and dinner out. The restaurants we dined at (all of which we would absolutely revisit) were:

-The Gulf in Fort Walton Beach

-Pescado in Rosemary Beach

-Old Bay Steamer in Fort Walton Beach

-Dewey Destin's Navarre Beach

-The Shack in Fort Walton Beach

Those five days were absolutely unforgettable. We love vacationing / traveling with our kiddos, of course, but there is nothing else like spending time with each other, just the two of us. It’s always a good reminder that it will always be us, that dating your spouse should never end, annnnnd that beach naps can cure anything. We hope to bring our kiddos here to see this gorgeous place in the future, but we're glad we got to experience for the first time just the two of us. I don't think we'll wait another ten years before we go on another long, romantic date with each other! If we do, then I assure you that the circumstances were out of our control. LOL.

We saved the most thrilling experience for the last night, and it was something we'll carry with us always...literally. I have wanted Teesh and I to have symbolic tattoos for a long time, and after five years of consistent wearing down...it finally happened. OMG! I was so happy and giddy when we were getting them. They're small, sentimental, and the perfect reminder of our love and commitment to each other. We decided on waves because...

1) the ocean / coast is where we both enjoy ourselves the most,

2) the ocean is deep and wide, just like our love is,

3) we have been through and walked out of many storms together; even though the seas have raged (and will again) we believe that we will always endure, and

4) just as there is so much yet to discover about the sea even though we've studied it for years, the same is true of us: we're always discovering new things.

Cheers to us, Mr. Bargeron!

Always and forever.

"To me you are the wind and sunlight through the trees and all these heartbeats, soft and steady.”

-StoryPeople

p.s. Check out our fun highlight video if you want to smile! <3

braxton michael | six years old.

Six years ago on this day, I entered a new chapter in my life. One that has honestly tried to break me since those first moments, but has simultaneously been the greatest privilege and honor of my life — motherhood.

The further away that day gets, the tighter I hold it because I never want to forget. The most precious baby boy was born in spite of so many odds against him, and I lived in spite of the same. I may sound like a broken record when I share my / our story, but I still share because I have lived in the goodness of God. January 12th was a great awakening, of sorts, for us. A revival that started us on a path of choosing what matters most even when it’s hard. That revival has especially helped us this past year of uncertainty and hard decision after hard decision.

There was no party for the birthday boy this year, but he was celebrated wholeheartedly by so many. His day looked like this — a fancy homemade breakfast followed by a fun day at school, a cheeseburger for lunch, a cake pop for snack, golf in the backyard, pizza for dinner with a side of cookie cake, a few visitors and calls, playing board games until bed, and watching a video keepsake of so many loved ones. He told me it was the best day!

So, happy birthday to my angel boy! he has the kindest, most tender heart. he thrives on organization, and is confident that he will be an engineer one day. Fruit is his favorite food, and being outside is his favorite pastime. he is happiest when he’s hanging out with people he loves, but that doesn’t stop him from being painfully shy when he is embarrassed or caught being the center of attention. Tough and sensitive, handsome and silly, big-hearted and always listening, smart as a whip and humble as can be. My beloved son, the one who ushered me into a fullness I never knew how much I needed.

Highlights of year SIX:

-He confessed faith in Christ on May 2, 2020

His first beach trip to FL in July 2020

His first trip to Disney World in August 2020

-He started kindergarten in August 2020

-Beach trips and hikes galore

release // 2021.

 2015: trust.

2016: healing.

2017: growth.

2018: discipline.

2019: new.

2020: rooted.

and this year?

2021: release.

I recently did an Advent study with some amazing women, and our word was birthed out of a revelation I had near the end: receive then release. our word for the new year reveals our desire to not hoard the love and goodness of God and fool ourselves into believing that it’s only for us, but to be faithful in releasing it outward.

as we receive God’s love, we will release it.

as we receive God’s forgiveness, we will release it.

as we receive God’s mercy, we will release it.

as we receive God’s joy, we will release it.

as we receive God’s generosity, we will release it.

...and so on.

the kicker, though, will be this: to release before we receive is to work for our salvation; to receive first is to work out our salvation. because He has already poured all of that out for us / over us, it is already ours to release; BUT we must remember that we are not trying to earn God’s affection.

here is our why: 

“Those who are loved by God, let his love continually pour from you to one another, because God is love. Everyone who loves is fathered by God and experiences an intimate knowledge of him. The one who doesn’t love has yet to know God, for God is love. The light of God’s love shined within us when he sent his matchless Son into the world so that we might live through him. This is love: He loved us long before we loved him. It was his love, not ours. He proved it by sending his Son to be the pleasing sacrificial offering to take away our sins. Delightfully loved ones, if he loved us with such tremendous love, then “loving one another” should be our way of life!” -1 John‬ ‭4:7-11‬

we are choosing deeper love as our way of life in 2021.

because in the backwards ways of God’s kingdom, the more we give the more we have!

ULTIMATE OUTSIDERS // 2020.

 Fun fact: I am a big fan of goals. I always have been, and I probably always will be. I love how it feels to write down something I want to accomplish and then trying my darndest to make it a reality. It has especially been fun to set goals since becoming a mama, because I love doing fun things with my kiddos in tow.

In November of 2019, I took my littles to Paris Mountain for a quick hike around the pond. They begged to go into the ranger's office / park store, so we dipped inside mid-hike to check it out (again). The ranger was actually in there at the time, and we started talking about how often we hike, etc., and he asked me if we had collected any of the park stamps yet. I replied that I didn't even know stamps were a thing at the parks, even though we regularly frequent them. In all my visits to the parks over the years, I had never heard of an Ultimate Outsider. When he handed me the book and I started to flip through, I had a thought: "This would be a fun thing to tackle as a family in 2020!"

So, I set a lofty goal: to visit / collect a stamp at all 47 SC State Parks in 2020 and become Ultimate Outsiders!

It sounded simple enough, because I thought that 2020 would be a year like any other. Big LOL! I'm not much of a hiker when it comes to cold weather (honestly, more of a hibernator in winter), so we only visited one park in January, one in February, and one in March. My intention was for April's Hike it Baby 30 Challenge to officially launch us into this challenge of our own, but thennnnn the world shut down.

By the end of June, we had only visited 14 out of 47 parks, putting us just over 25% of the way to the goal with only half a year left. We were visiting an average of 4 parks per month by that point, but it wasn't until the end of October when I finally became confident that we were going to meet our goal. After lots of intentional calendar-maneuvering and lots of gas money and countless hours spent in the car and packed lunches / dinners galore and maaaaaybe a day of playing hooky from school, we started December with only TWO parks left! We purposefully saved a trip to the coast for last because 1) y'all already know how much we love the beach and 2) it's not every year that we get to put our toes in the ocean in December! We planned a quick overnight trip and soaked in the time that we had together as we prepared to get that final coveted stamp (at the most mystical park of all, in my opinion).

We are SO proud and excited to share that as of yesterday, December 22, 2020, we are an ultimate outsider family! And although I don't know this for certain, I would think that Braxton and Bethany are among the youngest to earn that title. Proud mama!

We bought this State Park sign from Local Stature, a local GVL small business, back in April, and I've been plotting using it as a prop for the day we would celebrate being Ultimate Outsiders. The park ranger loved it, and lots of people from Instagram have asked about it since I posted it last night on Instagram, too. A sign that represents something of great value to our family AND the opportunity to support a small business during a hard season? Yes please!

The vision occurred November 2019, and the completion was December 2020.
Let's go on a quick trip down Memory Lane to increase our gratitude, shall we?

1) Paris Mountain State Park
November 21, 2019


2) Musgrove Mill State Historic Site
January 20, 2020


3) Croft State Park
February 17, 2020


4) Rose Hill Plantation
March 22, 2020


5) Oconee Station State Historic Site
May 1, 2020


6) Oconee State Park
May 1, 2020


7) Sesquicentennial State Park
May 4, 2020


8) Chester State Park
May 4, 2020


9) Huntington Beach State Park
May 16, 2020


10) Sadlers Creek State Park
June 5, 2020


11) Lake Hartwell State Park
June 16, 2020


12) Table Rock State Park
June 18, 2020


13) Myrtle Beach State Park
June 26, 2020


14) Lee State Park
June 27, 2020


15) Keowee-Toxaway State Park
July 2, 2020


16) Devil's Fork State Park
July 9, 2020


17) Hamilton Branch State Park
July 16, 2020


18) Baker Creek State Park
July 16, 2020


19) Hickory Knob State Park
July 16, 2020


20) Calhoun Falls State Park
July 16, 2020


21) Dreher Island State Park
August 11, 2020


22) Charlestown Landing Historic Site
August 18, 2020


23) Kings Mountain State Park
September 7, 2020


24) Andrew Jackson State Park
September 7, 2020


25) Lansford Canal State Park
September 7, 2020


26) Lake Wateree State Park
September 7, 2020


27) Lake Greenwood State Park
September 18, 2020

28) Caesar's Head State Park

October 4, 2020

29) Lake Warren State Park

October 6, 2020

30) Battle of Rivers Bridge State Historic Site

October 6, 2020

31) Barnwell State Park

October 6, 2020

32) Redcliffe Plantation State Historic Site

October 6, 2020

33) Aiken State Park

October 6, 2020

34) Edisto Beach State Park

October 13, 2020

35) Colonial Dorchester State Historic Site

October 13, 2020

36) Givhans Ferry State Park

October 13, 2020

37) Colleton State Park

October 13, 2020

38) Santee State Park

October 13, 2020

39) Cheraw State Park

October 23, 2020

40) H. Cooper Black Memorial Park

October 23, 2020

41) Goodale State Park

October 23, 2020

42) Little Pee Dee State Park

November 3, 2020

43) Woods Bay State Park

November 3, 2020

44) Poinsett State Park

November 3, 2020

45) Jones Gap State Park

November 27, 2020

46) Hampton Plantation State Historic Site

December 21, 2020

47) Hunting Island State Park

December 22, 2020

We're the newest South Carolina ULTIMATE OUTSIDERS, people. And we are PUUUUUUUUUMPED!

So many people have asked what my favorite parks are since we started sharing about our adventures, and that is honestly such a hard question to answer. Every park we visited was charming in its own unique way, and that's probably one of my favorite things about our statewide explorations -- I realize that I'm partial, but South Carolina really is so, so beautiful! We frequent the upstate parks a loooooot, and it was so great to see that the other parts of the state have great opportunities to spend time outside, too. The historical sites we visited were truly remarkable, as well, and we learned something new with every visit. If I absolutely, positively *HAD* to choose favorites, however, my top ten list would be this (based primarily on our experiences there from this year):

10) Devil's Fork State Park

9) Colonial Dorchester State Historic Site

8) Chester State Park

7) Caesar's Head State Park

6) Sadlers Creek State Park

5) Santee State Park

4) Edisto Beach State Park

3) Jones Gap State Park

2) Hunting Island State Park

1) Table Rock State Park

*Side note: Table Rock will always hold the #1 spot for me, because it holds such sacred memories since I was little. That high dive used to be my biggest challenge in life!

Whew, that was hard. LOL! I, also, want to give an honorable mention to Paris Mountain State Park, because that is definitely our most visited park. It is the closest park to us, and it is always a fun time. A little slice of heaven on earth, truly. When I asked Braxton what his favorite park was his answer was this: "The one with the REALLY COOL playground. Remember that one, Mommy?!" I immediately knew which one he was talking about, because it took me foreeeeever to get them off of that thing. HA! Sooooo, if you're looking for a neat playground, be sure to check out Cheraw State Park per Braxton's recommendation. Find your next adventure by doing your own research of the parks here!

I have been going to SC State Parks since I was a little girl, and I'm grateful that my own little ones are  growing up with dirt under their shoes and their fingernails, too. Of all the things I want to teach my kiddos, the top three are: 1) God, their Maker, loves them without end, 2) their daddy and I love them almost just as much as He does, and 3) life should be enjoyed to the fullest. I believe that a big part of that last one is learning to be kind to people and to creation, in general. Hiking helps us get better at both of those things, and it really is the best watching them grow up on the trails. We've never met a mean ranger, either, folks. SC Rangers are so hard-working and genuinely good-hearted!

Another lesson I want them to learn is that how you finish matters more than how you start. This challenge is proof of that. TJ and I are both big fans of finishing what you start (aka not just starting for the sake of starting, but starting with the end in mind), and this big stretch goal of ours was worth all the hustling at the end. Crossing that finish line is one of my favorite moments!

So, what's next? Well, I hear there are some really great National Parks that we should check out, but that will take us waaaaaay more than a year. ;) Here's to resting in the now so we can prepare for our next fun adventure!