Pictures

Jennifer's mom gave Keith (and Jennifer?) a digital picture frame for Christmas, and we checked it out today. We love it!

The frame works with both a Mac and a PC, and it is so easy to use. It even has a timer that we set to come on every evening and turn off by itself. We put more than 100 pictures on it already, and we're eager for more.

So, if you're coming to our wedding and plan to take pictures, we'd love to get copies of the files.

We're thinking about getting a large, nice frame that we can devote to wedding pictures. With the success of our first frame, we think we've got a great thing going here!

Some pictures from our Christmas days

We started on Christmas Eve in Hueytown and celebrated with Keith's parents and his brother with his wife and kids.  Here's the family showing off some of the toys they got.  Jennifer harassed Daniel about the age recommendations on his pogo stick: "You have to wait another year because that says you can't play with it until you're nine."  David and Maurine are in the background, and Caroline is holding her tetherball set.

Keith gave gift cards in plastic cups this year, and Daniel guessed what it was!  Here, Maurine is showing off her cup.

Jennifer has a clock at her house that is stuck in one spot.  That doesn't really work for helping us know what time it is.  So, Keith bought her a new clock, which she is showing off here.

One day last week, Keith came home telling Jennifer about the gifts he got other people.  He told her about a puzzle with a picture of a world map that he got for Daniel and Caroline.  "Jennifer, the pieces aren't interlocking because they are the shape of the countries!  And, the oceans have facts about the countries in them!  I might have to get one for myself after Christmas."  Little did Keith know that Jennifer already had the exact same puzzle for Keith.  The picture below is the face Keith had when he realized that he got his own puzzle to put together.

David and Lucy are hardly seen together, so this picture is a priceless one.

On Christmas Day, we celebrated with Jennifer's mom, brother, and her mom's boyfriend and long-time friend.  Here's a picture of the two of them.  Ed is being funny because Keith took out the camera.

Jay and Keith struck a pose, and Jennifer got this picture of them!

Jennifer's mom wanted to have pictures of us so she could send them to her sisters, so we took some group shots.  Here's a rare opportunity for Jennifer, Jay, and their mom.  It's been a long time since we were all together for Christmas.

Jennifer's mom and the kids and soon-to-be son-in-law.  We were all quite shocked to see how much work she did for our Christmas presents!

We used the timer on the camera to get the entire group in a picture.  It didn't turn out as well as we hoped, but we liked it.

Thanks to all of our families for welcoming us to Christmas traditions and celebrations.  We appreciate your hospitality, and we love all of the gifts you gave us.  We also enjoyed seeing your faces when you opened our gifts to you.

Finally, during our Christmas celebration, we see that our countdown here is down to double-digits!  We're excited about getting married, and we've already gotten some things that we can use together.

19 miles!

We rode from Warner Robins down South Houston Lake Road toward Perry to Bear Branch Road across from Houston Lake.  We sat on a bench beside the lake for a little while, then Keith showed Jennifer some houses that he landscaped last year.  Then, we headed back north to Hwy 96 and ate Subway.  We came back toward Keith's apartment and rode around the block.  The total trip was 19 miles, and we're sore in a few spots.

Keith threatens to take Jennifer back out on the hills around the neighborhood tomorrow.  He thinks she's getting spoiled with three flat(ter) rides in a row.

We hope you are having as much fun with these days before Christmas as we are!

Christmas plans

The Christmas celebrations start tomorrow for us. We're combining schedules and traditions, so there will be some new faces for both of us along the way.

Virginia's annual party is tomorrow night, and it's especially exciting because she is well and at home! We're delighted to see another Christmas at her house, and we're glad she can take her place in the front row at our wedding.

Dinner and a Christmas movie with MO and PO is next on our agenda. They just got two kittens, so we're sure to have a great time with them in a few days.

We're spending Christmas Eve at Keith's parents' house with much of the family. We'll head up their way earlier in the day because Keith has to work until the 23rd. Jennifer is looking forward to a new Christmas Eve tradition!

On Christmas Day, we'll pick Jay up and go to Jennifer's mom's house for our first Christmas together in years. Jennifer, Keith, and Jay will get back to Birmingham that night.

We don't know yet how long we'll stay yet, but there's talk of catching up with Paul and Jenny that weekend.

So, that'll get us through the next ten days or so. Let's hope we get all of our shopping done before it's too late!

Can you tell that we like biking?!

Someone told us about Silver Comet Trail, and we plan to go check it out soon. Jennifer loves the maximum 2% incline, and Keith loves that it's nowhere near car traffic. We both love that it's miles and miles outside and still relatively close to home. We can ride segments of it over short weekends, and one day we might ride the whole thing over several days.

Yesterday, Jennifer scored another sweet eBay deal: a bike rack for $23. Since we have to give her mom back the rack we've been using, we knew we needed one so we don't have to ride around our neighborhood all the time. Now we hope the new rack comes in the mail before Christmas so we won't be gone when it arrives.

Merry Christmas!!

We want to wish you all a Merry Christmas.  We are feeling the Christmas spirit today after putting up the tree and decorating the house.  

We also managed to ride 8.6 miles on our bikes at the Ocmulgee National Monument this afternoon.  We finally got our new bikes a little dirty today because we went off road on a trail through the swamp!

This photo is our virtual internet Christmas card for our friends and family!!

Jennifer's new bike!!

Jennifer received her new bike Friday in the mail.  She ordered the bike online from Dick's sporting goods at a discount. Jennifer had to assemble the bike so she now is the resident bike mechanic because she understands the intricacies behind brake cables, chains and derailleurs for the gears. Its a Kawasaki brand bike like the jet ski and it looks and rides very good.  Today we hit the road on our bikes and rode 8.3 miles and had a great time.  Thats the longest trip we have done so far.  It was  kind of a chilly day but we were warm logging all those miles and of course because we bike in Macon, Georgia they were not flat miles!  We will probably hit the road again tomorrow to do some more biking and hopefully it will be a pretty day.

Jennifer's old bike still works good all it needs is a few simple repairs to the chain and brakes which she can fix, so if any of you know a little girl that needs a bike let us know and we can set her up with one.  

Long-term weather predictions

With a wedding in April, we've talked a lot about weather. Already, we've recommended that our guests plan to bring an umbrella (and an extra one for folks who forget to check the weather) since there is no plan B.

This link has some good news and some other news, but nothing here is really a surprise.

Do any readers here have other long-term weather prediction websites that can confirm or challenge this prediction? You can post the link in the comments below.

More biking news

Jennifer's chain locked up again, like it did years ago. Even though it was fixed two weeks ago, there's another spot locked up. Yes, it would be easy to replace the chain for cheap, but we're getting serious about this bike riding. After logging more than 30 miles on the middle school bike, Jennifer shopped online yesterday and bought a bike. It will arrive in the mail next week, and we'll have the adventure of putting it together. We've already agreed that we'll appreciate what we can learn for later. The wheels are larger than Jennifer's bike from middle school days, so she'll get more distance with each turn of the pedals. The gears will also be able to change more easily, too.

Keith's summer idea of bike riding together was a fantastic one that we're both excited about!

Busy weekend, but great one!

We rode our bikes about 14 miles together this weekend, and we've each done four or more additional miles independently. Keith got a speedometer/odometer for his bike today, and he's been working out the kinks throughout the day. Our conversations are veering toward riding to McAllister's next Saturday for lunch.

Keith and Jennifer's mom schemed together on Jennifer's birthday cake, which Keith successfully denied in advance. All three of us listened to a tape of Jennifer at four years old talking with her grandma about Christmas and singing Christmas songs.

Lessons and Carols was excellent at Mercer, and it was good to be with Patrick and several other Mercer friends on Saturday night.

Weekend plans

We're having dinner with MO and PO tonight. We haven't been able to spend a lot of time with them, so this is a good chance to do that.

Pat is coming to town tomorrow, and we're going to give her the closet shelves that we don't need anymore because she loaned them to Jennifer years ago. She also gets the old curtains and their rod. Jennifer's also going to see if she can sew a dress to make it fit better. Pat is getting her bike rack back as well.

Tomorrow night, Patrick is hosting dinner at his house before a Christmas concert. We're going to eat some chili and listen to some Christmas music.

We hope for bike riding, too, sometime this weekend. Maybe there will be games like Rook or Settlers of Catan in the plans, also.

Accomplishment #3

Before....

Even when we try to close the curtains, they don't accomplish the purpose!

After!

The blinds were easier to install than we expected, and we're quite happy with the more modern look.

Accomplishment #2

Another goal of ours has been to get Jennifer's closet under control and make room for Keith's clothes in the master bedroom.  We talked last summer about installing a closet organizer, and Jennifer was quite nervous about the process.

But, as you can see, something needs to be done.

In fact, no matter how close or far away you are, there's just so much unused space.  And, there are lots of clothes....

The worst part, though, is that Jennifer's clothes don't even fit in this closet!  She has two closets on the same wall, and she uses a significant portion of the other closet.

Our mission: put all of these clothes plus some from the dresser into one closet.

  

The concession: the closet on the right is bigger by one foot, so Jennifer gets that one.

We removed the clothes, top shelf, and rod with its hardware.  Then, we started measuring and attempting to locate studs.  We used the 8 foot step ladder to reach the high places.  The directions were pretty good, and it didn't take too long.

Mission: accomplished!

The clothes in the plastic shelves in the middle came from the dresser drawers, and the rest of it came from the two closets.  

Now, check them out together.  It looks like there will be room for Keith in four months after all!

Accomplishment #1

Keith took advantage of the Black Friday sales and bought a bike. Jennifer brought her childhood bike back from Pat's house earlier in the week, but it took some work to get it operating again. Jennifer borrowed Pat's bike rack, so we used that to bring Keith's bike home. We didn't even sit down in the house before we went riding near our neighborhood! We had a great time!

Keith rode some more later in the day before dark, and we've gone for another ride together after it finally stopped raining in Macon.

Jennifer is pleased with the resurrection of her old bike, and Keith is excited with the purchase of his new bike!  We've accomplished one of the goals that we set last summer to get bikes and go riding together for exercise.  We're already talking about errands we can run by bike and other places we can go after we're in better shape.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Hope all of you are having a great day!

From the road

We're on the Florida Turnpike right now, and Keith has this amazing broadband service that lets me write an update while we drive.

On Sunday, we made a wonderful discovery: Settlers of Catan free online!  We can play anytime we want, and we can play on the same team instead of playing against each other.  We are hoping to introduce Paul and Jenny to the game this week, but we have the hands-on version to teach them.

I took off for Columbus on Monday, and Pat and I started working on my wedding dress.  We were up until 4am, but I think we got a lot done.

This morning, we left town at 6am, and we're making pretty good time.  We've taken off layers of extra clothes as we head south because it was pretty cool in Macon when we left.

I'm off to play Settlers of Catan!

Pictures from the 5K

PO and MO are picture-taking people, so there is always a digital record of events with them. (Besides the pictures here, you can see us in the line for pancakes after the race on Mercer's website. The address is www.mercer.edu, and you can follow the links to homecoming photo gallery. We're the eighth picture in the pancake breakfast slideshow.)

Our 5K was two laps around Mercer's campus, and PO stayed inside while we were walking 1.5 miles. He came out to take pictures of the end of our first lap and saw us coming around the last turn of the course. It was probably 27 degrees at this point. The sun was bright and coming straight at us because it was only an hour after daybreak, so sunglasses were in order.


What you can't tell is the number of layers we each have on. I don't know about others, but I was wearing knee socks, two pair of pants, three shirts, a windbreaker, two scarves, gloves, an a hat (which I think I made when I was very young).

Below, we are finishing our first lap. My one finger is not because I think we are the best but because we are done with our first lap. My watch said that first one took us 26 minutes, which was a record for us, so I was quite pleased.


I'm kind of impressed with how happy we look. The pictures simply don't do justice to the cold air! Early in our walk, two of us ran into each other, and I joked that we are all a little bit wider than usual with all of our layers on!

As we came around the last turn on the second lap, I asked MO if she wanted to jog to finish the race. She turned me down until April started running behind us. MO would not be beat, so she decided to run then. We finished the race in 52 minutes, and it looks like we were still smiling.



In the middle of the second lap, I told MO, "We're going to do this again....at a different temperature and at a different time." I really did enjoy the 5K, an I liked getting in shape for it.

In other news from yesterday, Thanksgiving with Pat and Ed was fun! There was a TON of food, and no one took any pictures. Pat showed Ed all of the things she made for me in my house. After we ate our fill in dinner, Keith's all-flavored pound cake was a hit! I took it as a good sign that Pat and Ed left later than they meant to.

Inspired by all of this exercising (and eating!), Keith and I have agreed to do situps together several times a week. We both need help sticking to that arrangement. Perhaps we'll get up to 100 at a time, but I don't think it'll be before we're married!

Happy Birthday, Ephram!

Ephram, I remember when my phone rang at 1:30am because your daddy was telling me that you were born! I sure have gotten a kick out of watching you grow in these few years. You're getting strong and smart, and you're learning to share your favorite things and to show love and compassion. Happy birthday, buddy!

We have matching shirts!

Six weeks of training

Jennifer is walking her first 5K with MO on Saturday. They've been walking together a few times each week for about three years, but the serious training started six weeks ago. They've been walking with a group on Mercer's campus twice a week, and they've done some of their own walking on other days. They've averaged about three walks each week, and they hope to finish the 5K in an hour. It's part of Mercer's homecoming celebration.

Think about them on Saturday morning when you wake up in your nice warm bed late in the morning. The walk starts at 8am, and the forecast calls for chilly air!

Thanksgiving plans

We decided a few weeks ago to visit Paul and Jenny in Miami for Thanksgiving. It's somewhat of a tradition for Keith to head down there each year, but it's also a chance for the four of us to spend time together. So, picture it: twin brothers, Paul and Keith, with their wife and fiancee, Jenny and Jennifer. Oh, boy! We'll be away from Wednesday to Sunday of next week.

We also wanted to get a chance to have a traditional Thanksgiving dinner with Pat and Ed, so they're coming to Macon this Saturday. It won't be a long visit, but it will be great food! They'll get to see our house painting and yard clean up, too. Oh, one more thing: we'll all get to enjoy Keith's homemade all-flavor pound cake.

In between the Thanksgiving plans with Pat and Ed then Paul and Jenny, Jennifer is going to Columbus where Pat will be working on the alterations for Jennifer's wedding dress.

Let the holiday season begin!

our sand ceremony

Sand ceremonies are not widely included in weddings, but we're excited about having one on April 4. Since they're not terribly popular, we've found ourselves describing them a lot. I'll get to the explanation in a minute, but I want to say first that Mike Blackwell is my hero when it comes to our sand ceremony! We asked Mike to build our container, and he's working hard on it. He also is thinking a lot about the symbols of the ceremony and how it might flow best during our wedding. Mike gets it! In the midst of a wedding with lots of details that people think we're crazy for taking on, this is one detail that someone actually understands and appreciates. I am thrilled!

For those who don't know yet, a sand ceremony serves a lot of the same purposes as a unity candle. We're not doing a unity candle for lots of reasons, some practical and some philosophical, but we want a symbol for the merging of two lives into one story.

So, think of an ant farm. You know, a thin rectangular shape that has glass on the front and back. Keith holds one color of sand, and I'll hold the other. Many of you won't be surprised to learn that we're using blue and white sand. We pour the sand from separate containers into the top of the container. For a long time, the colors never touch. When they do touch, though, they are no longer separable. What you see through the glass is two different colors meeting somewhere in the middle. The line between the colors might even blur as the sands mix a little bit. When we pour the sand, the colors will be more separate, but we'll keep our container through the years and watch as the sands mix and settle just as our lives will mix and settle. On our wedding day, we are making a piece of art that will hang in our home and be a reminder to us of the lives we lived separately and now choose to live together. It will also remind us of the life and story we are creating together because we'll never be able to go back to a day when the colors of our sand are completely separate. Over the years, our container will tip over and mix the sands a little more just like our life together will take spills every now and then. For a long, long time, there will be parts of the container that hold only white sand or only blue sand, and it will remind us that we have not lost our individual identity even as our lives have merged.

Our sand container will be a story for us and for you, and it will begin at our wedding.

video of the plane pull

There's video and another picture of the airplane pull in action at www.13wmaz.com in an article called "Planes Pulled for Charity."

I'm pulling for the Ronald McDonald House of Central Georgia

While Keith and his parents visited in Alexander City this weekend, Jennifer joined 19 of her colleagues to raise money for the Ronald McDonald House. We met at the airport to pull an airplane. PO was there, too, and he took pictures. (My "non-blog-reading PO" says hello to you all readers.)

"On your mark, get set, go!" And, the plane didn't MOVE! The pilot stuck his head out the window of the cockpit to tell us that his foot was on the brake.

"On your mark, get set, go!" And, the timekeeper told us to stop because his timer started too early.

"On your mark, get set, go!" And, we pulled the plane in just over nine seconds.

"Can fifteen of you stay here to help the next team that only has five pullers? They're your competition."

So, we did it again. We pulled the plane in just over eight seconds, and the other team won!

Way to go, Karen!

Karen is right: chenille stems are pipe cleaners. We needed pipe cleaners for some of our reception decorations, and they were packaged as "chenille stems," and we found them on an aisle with the same label.

So, some of you readers want to know: who is Karen?

Karen is one of six girls who became friends with Jennifer in 2001. The six girls lived together in West Palm Beach for college, and Anna was part of that group. (Look back at an early September post for pictures of us that Anna took when we visited her and Shaun and their boys.) The six girls graciously welcomed Jennifer's visits to their apartment multiple times in their last year of college, an they still invite Jennifer to their roommate reunions a few times each year. The seven girls including Jennifer have gone to New Mexico, Tampa, Atlanta, and other places since college. Some of the girls and their families might even be able to come to the wedding in April!

So, Karen was right, and now you know who Karen is.

Wedding trivia time!

Do you know what the common name is for "chenille stems"? Post your ideas in the comments, and only peek at other guesses if you don't want to guess for yourself.

(One day, I'm going to buy stock in the wedding business! I think it's one of the best chances a business has of getting a person's money by appealing to emotions.)

Fun for our weekend, too

We discovered two good meals this weekend. First, McAllister's where Keith gets a giant baked potato and huge cup of tea and Jennifer gets different things depending on her mood. Second, tacos at home which was SOOO easy to get ready when two of us are working together.

We learned a new game and played some others. Keith bought a $10 game set at Target that has some games we already know but don't own and a couple that we want to learn. So, on Friday night we played chinese checkers twice, checkers, pass out, and tic-tac-toe. We wanted to play backgammon, but the rules weren't clear enough for Jennifer to remember how she played many years ago, so we searched the internet for some rules. We played backgammon on Sunday with the rules that we think we understand.

Exercise/fun also made it into our weekend twice. On Saturday, we walked through a nearby neighborhood checking out houses and learning what makes each other excited about certain houses. We're going to be ready when we decide to buy another house sometime in the future. On Sunday, we walked again at the Indian Mounds.

Last night, we watched a movie called "Finding Forrester," which we've both seen before but we enjoyed again.

At dinner last night, Jennifer looked at Keith and declared, "I love spending weekends with you!" We sure do enjoy our time together.

An extremely productive day

Keith came to Jennifer's house yesterday afternoon with four written invitations. This morning, during "invitation hours," Keith wrote some more while Jennifer put together the ones he wrote yesterday. Then, later in the day, while Jennifer was running wedding errands, Keith wrote more invitations. After ice cream for dinner, we went grocery shopping with a list that we hope will get us through the next two weeks.

Keith even found some quiet time today to read some pages out of a few books he's been checking out. When one of us reads one of the marriage books that we have sitting around, we always have things to talk about that we learned or found interesting. If "quiet time" doesn't sound productive to you, we can assure you that we both thrive on the chance to steal a few moments of down time. It's productive in ways that are not measured in dollars and cents.

Mission accomplished!

As of this very hour, all of the blue squares of paper have been folded into flowers. Jennifer is relieved, proud, happy, and looking toward the next task.

Muscle memory

I (Jennifer) have been wanting to play games (board games, video games, card games, any games) lately, and I got a good Nintendo fix last night!

Since I am writing this post, I'll say in small print that Keith beat me even though I skipped some worlds along the way.

My Nintendo lives at Keith's apartment because his TV is easier to play on and to hook up to. We decided in advance that Super Mario Brothers would be our first priority. We took turns playing--Keith had Mario, and I had Luigi--and we waited for long periods of time at first. Then, we died quicker and quicker as the rounds got harder.

Our adrenaline got going! First it was a dragon in the castle. Then, the turtles were flying. Then, the turtles were throwing hammers. The jumps got harder, and the mushrooms and flowers were hard to find because we couldn't remember where they were like we did when we were younger. Then, we had those gorilla heads and bullets and clouds that throw spiny creatures. Oh, and there were fish in the underwater worlds, and those fish flew later. There were still more dragons, and we only kept fire power once to kill a dragon. We also saw pulleys and trampoline things that make you jump higher. A few times, we had to pause the game just to regain our composure because we were so stressed by the creatures we had to kill so we could progress! It was the best stress we'd experienced in weeks!

It was also a team effort a few times. Keith helped me kill a dragon, and I returned the favor by managing a trampoline and some pulleys.

So, Mama, I'm sorry you don't get to play Tetris anymore since I have the Nintendo now, but we sure did have fun!

Supper on April 3

All wedding invitations will come with an announcement about supper on April 3, the evening before our wedding. We've rented an enclosed pavilion at Lake Tobesofkee. It's informal, but it works. There's a kitchen in the back with working refrigerators, stove, microwave, and industrial ice maker. We'll start gathering at 6pm, and we'll send the first person through the dinner line around 6:30.

You can read about other details for the weekend by clicking on "details" on the menu on the right.

what can we do with an hour?

Here's a sample of things we did in one hour blocks this weekend:

- walk three miles

- cut down the weed trees in the jungle just outside the sliding glass doors

- visit a new church across the street, so we walked

- write two wedding invitations

- fold twenty blue flower tops

- eat Greek salad and chicken noodle soup at Panera Bread

- play several hands of Gin

- browse around Barnes and Noble looking at games, including Settlers of Catan so we can play with Paul and Jenny later this month

- sit on the front porch and talk

- read a book

- eat burgers and LOTS of fries at "Five Guys, Burgers and Fries," which is quickly becoming one of our other favorite places to eat

our weekend plans

We have no idea! How's that for a plan after two weekends of painting?!

We'll let you know what we end up doing. Any suggestions?

Our blue paper flowers

While we had the camera out, Jennifer took pictures of a few of the flowers she's made.  This is three of the two hundred fifty that our guests will see at the reception.  Be sure to take some with you if you come!

We finished our project!

Our painting project is complete, and we thought pictures would give you a good idea of our accomplishment.  So, some "befores" and "afters."  

The carport, with cobwebs in the corners and mildew on the fascia.  Before...

And, after....

The front windows and edge of the front porch with lots and lots of chipping and peeling paint.  Before....

And, after....

The other side of the house, which is about 16 feet high at the peak.  Before....

And, after....

The back porch and kitchen window.  Before....

And, after....

If you want to see more detail in the pictures, you can click on them to get bigger images.

We estimated about four and a half days of labor plus $250 of supplies.  And, we're quite proud of our work!

Anonymous wins!

Oh, do let us know who you are, please!

Anonymous is right: Auburn played West Virginia last night after Jeopardy. AU had some good plays but couldn't make anything happen in the second half.

On this day after Jeopardy!

Can you guess what is important to Keith (and, therefore, Jennifer) tonight?!

Feel free to leave your guesses in the comments.

You'll find out who was right when we reveal the answer tomorrow.

Our handful of projects

We've got a lot of projects going right now. We both slept an extra couple of hours yesterday, in fact, because the work is catching up to us. We've already claimed some downtime for the weekend of Oct 31-Nov 2. In the meantime, here are the project updates.

Invitations: We've gathered all of the pieces needed for writing and putting our invitations together, and we know what process we are going to use for the "mass production." Keith has selected a calligraphy font that he likes for the most part, and we've modified some of the letters that look awkward to us. We're pretty excited about these things! Jennifer did some online searching and learned that NO ONE handwrites wedding invitations anymore. The only references to handwritten invitations are calligraphy on the envelopes and copying an invitation as many times as desired. Each invitation that we send will be slightly different from all the rest (even though we hope to minimize those differences as much as possible!).

Painting: The exterior of Jennifer's house looks great from the street. We've painted the front and one side, which means we're well over halfway through the surface area that needs to be covered. We have a couple of sections that we think need a second coat of paint on the front, and we've left the windows for next weekend. We'll do the other side and the back before we tackle the nine windows around the house. Keith is a great supervisor (he gets lots of practice at work every week!), and Jennifer learned quickly about working with a paintbrush. Keith painted almost all weekend. Jennifer did some painting, but she also did laundry for two and made sure the painters stayed fed.

Flowers: Jennifer hasn't touched the blue flowers since last week, but she hopes to make some progress on the slow days at work this week. She's hoping to see the halfway point before the end of the month.

Pre-Wedding Dinner: We've been shot down for our first choice of locations for dinner on the day before our wedding, but Jennifer has gotten a few more suggestions to look into. Lynne is going to check out one spot this weekend.

Books: We try to read some of our books on marriage when we get time, but we're not making a lot of progress with those lately.

No wonder we're tired! We're happy, too!

a face-lift

We're painting Jennifer's house this weekend. Keith has painting experience, and he's teaching Jennifer as much as she wants to learn. We bought ladders early this week. What great timing when Lowe's sent coupons in the mail to Keith's apartment!

If we can get a working digital camera, we'll show you pictures.

Making my way from Point A to Point B

"Here comes the bride...." My mom taught me some words that go with the tune of a traditional bridal processional. In my car one day this summer, I heard a song that sounded like a fun way to get to the place where Keith and I will say our vows. The third movement of the Karelia Suite is one of the tracks on a CD that PO gave me a couple of years ago. I was just listening to the CD in the car when that song caught me by surprise. I wasn't looking for a wedding march, but there was mine, in my CD player!

Getting from the edge of Washington Park to the front will be a symbolic walk for me. Jay and I will start down the steps, just the two of us. That's how it was for a long time in my life: Jay was the first friend I had. We were side by side through so many things. He taught me my first lessons about loyalty and trust in friends. Because of those lessons and gifts from him, I had the tools to be in friendship with other people.

The rest of my friends who will gather at our wedding came into my life after Jay and I were friends. I'll walk through the crowd, giving hugs, handshakes, and high fives. Those people are the ones who brought me closer to the moment that I could marry Keith. They have laughed with me, taught me and learned from me, supported me and accepted my support, and gave me their loyalty and trust as they accepted mine for them. They will do those things again before I get to Keith at our wedding.

Then, I'll get to the front where my family will watch closest of all. My mom has always watched and stood close, whether I could see her or not. Ed, too. Jay will be there with a front row seat because there's always been one with his name on it. Lucy and Virginia will round out the family section because of their near and dear presence in my life for the last several years. These five people will send me on my way to greet the deepest human love of my entire life!

As Keith watches it all, he will see people who have known me longer than he has. Those people have learned things about me that they can teach him. They have done their best to prepare me for the days that Keith and I spend together, and they will be there to cheer us on together just like they have cheered me on for many years.

Even as I make my promises to Keith, four people will be within arm's reach: PO, Nikki, Melissa, and Lynne. What treasures they are! I've written about them already on this blog.

And, then there will be Keith, promising to be loyal, to teach me and to be taught by me, to trust me and to be trustworthy, to laugh with me, to support me and to accept my support, to be there whether or not I can see him, and to be near for our lifetime. I will make those same promises to him.

What an amazing way to begin our marriage! I have a rich, rich life!

Jennifer's work in progress

I've finished 85 of the 250 flowers for our wedding decorations/favors. Imagine this flower pattern with bright blue petals and a white stem and leaf. They're made with love for our wedding guests!

Dinner the night before our wedding

We want to gather all of our guests together before the wedding for an informal dinner. Those who live in Macon are asked to bring a dish, and the folks who live out of town will be the guests. We'll get to see everyone a little bit more, and all of the people who love us will get to know each other just a little bit. The next day, they'll gather as a community to participate in our wedding.

It's simple, to be sure, but this informal dinner is also an important time for the community that will gather the next day. While we're about the business of simple but important things, we're sure our guests will have a great time as they delight in each other's company! We're working on our themes, can you tell?!

Invitations

Keith is handwriting our invitations, and today is "invitation workday." We've finalized our list (we think!), and we're looking for script styles on the internet. He can do calligraphy, but we're keeping our options open.

Can you tell that we're under six months before our wedding?!

We were inspired by going to Melissa and Nicholas's wedding yesterday!

On the road again

We're spending most of the weekend in Chattanooga because Melissa is getting married to Nicholas on Saturday. We are invited to the After Rehearsal Dinner, so we're hoping that traffic in Atlanta is nice to us. Pat told us that there's a Fazoli's in the area, so we're going to eat lunch there on Saturday!

Congratulations, Melissa and Nicholas!

What NOT to say to Jennifer about the wedding

Everybody tells me that most people have two cents for new moms and for brides. It's already started for me. There are some good comments and suggestions, but this post is reserved for my favorite BAD comments.

1. "The veil is what makes you the bride." Um, no, when Keith and I say our vows to each other, that's what makes me the bride, thank you very much. I will not be swayed to spend more money in your store when you sentimentalize my clothes! (By the way, readers, I am wearing a veil, but I got it on eBay, too, for a third of the retail price, so no one who gave me a sales pitch like THAT one got any of my money!)

2. "You need to...." However that sentence ends, my answer is, "No, I don't NEED to anything." I don't NEED to buy a picnic basket so our caterer can fill it with food that we can eat after the reception. I don't NEED to have a large flower bouquet on the food table. And, I certainly don't NEED to pay for someone to drive me to my wedding!

3. "My husband asked me if I wanted a diamond larger than a half carat now that we can afford more because we did the best we could before we got married." Hello?! I'm quite proud of my less-than-half-carat engagement ring, thank you very much. We aren't spending money to get the best we can afford; we spend money to get what we like. Bigger isn't always better, in case no one has ever given you that memo. I like my ring. I think the diamond is the right size for my hand. In fact, I put a cap on the size of the diamond that Keith could buy, and my CAP was a half carat. So, there!

(Keith was quite entertained by my rants over the weekend, so I thought I'd share them with you. My mom has been really great about ideas for the wedding. She started it all with, "Are you going to wear a dress or pants?" She's also the one who gave me a book about doing what matters to the bride and the groom in a wedding, not necessarily what everyone else thinks you NEED to do.)

Six months to go

Saturday was exactly six months before our wedding, and we had a great day! In fact, we had a great weekend! We called it "Keith and Jennifer weekend," and we spent a lot of time together without interruptions. We like the people we've been hanging out with in the last several weeks, but it was time for us to move at our own pace. We really did have a great time.

We went to the Ocmulgee National Monument, also known as the indian mounds. When was the last time you did something totally free?! No parking fees, no admission, and just across town. We didn't have a lot of time, but the day was gorgeous, and we walked for forty minutes looking at mounds and trees and blue sky.

Also on Saturday, we spent some time in Lowe's. We bought a peephole for the front door! We also checked out prices for ladders for our project in two weeks: painting the trim on the house. Before we left, we studied the closet organizers, and we picked one that we liked but only had one box to buy and it was already opened. We'll go back later, most likely. While we were out, we also exchanged Keith's birthday present: a green dress shirt that Jennifer bought slightly too big.

After we installed the peephole, we measured the house to find out how much ladder we need, and we started talking about home improvement ideas. Landscaping is pretty high on the list, and Keith walked out the line for the beds around the trees to show Jennifer what he's thinking. We talked about ideas for making the house better for us, too. Then, the conversation turned to paying off the house (we plan to do that before our fifth anniversary) and what we can do after that. We were dreaming big, but not in the ways many people think of "big." We were talking about what we can do in the world that matters--volunteer for CASA, work on a house with Habitat for Humanity, spend some time investing in the lives of people in other parts of the world? The options are endless for us, and we got excited just dreaming of those days!

The day ended with a movie that we both enjoyed: No Reservations.

On Sunday, we went to church (Keith wore his new shirt, which he looked great in!), and we found a seat that made us both quite happy. We ate Greek food for lunch, which was delightful for Keith and an act of love for Jennifer. In the afternoon, we had a good conversation based on The Five Love Languages. We also went for a walk around Mercer's campus, and Keith showed Jennifer more plants, and she learned a few names. We picked two olives off of the olive tree behind the medical school. Dinner at Cracker Barrel hit the spot before we headed home.

In our list of favorite days together, this weekend ranks right up there with the vacation we took in August!

the official time

2pm eastern time is the new time on our countdown clock.

If you're coming from the central time zone, we don't want you to get up at an insane hour to get here. Also, starting later won't make us rush so much to get the wedding party on the same page in the morning.

The Smile Award

Characteristics for the Smile Award:
1. Must display a cheerful attitude
2. Must love one another
3. Must make mistakes
4. Must learn from others
5. Must be a positive contributor to blog world
6. Must love life
7. Must love kids

Shaun and Anna have honored us with the Smile Award. You can read their comment on their blog. Thanks, y'all!

We'll give the award to the following people:
1. Jenny, Tre, Catie, Izzy, and baby - What an incredible family! Truly, if there's a reason to smile, these folks can find it!
2. Paul and Jenny, David and Maurine (with Caroline and Daniel), Mike and Jane - Keith loves his family, and Jennifer is enjoying getting to know them better.
3. Virginia - Girl, you've had us smiling for most of the year! We're proud of you!
4. Jay - Keep on keeping on! We're behind you 100%! Every time we're with you, you make us smile.
5. Pat and Ed, Rick and Lucy - It's the other family. Jennifer is deeply grateful for your positive influence in her life. Keith is beginning to discover what amazing people you are!

(We won't hold these folks to the rules, but we'll post them here, since we're supposed to.)

These are the rules for The Smile Award:
1. The recipient must link back the the award’s creator
2. You must post these rules if you receive the award.
3. You must chose 5 people to receive the award after receiving it yourself.
4. You must fit the characteristics of the recipient of the award, as posted by Mere
5. You must post the characteristics of a recipient.
6. You must create a post sharing your win with others.
7. You must thank your giver.

Books We're Reading

The Five Love Languages by Gary Chapman
The Seven Principles for Making Marriage Work by John Gottman

We played the first game in Gottman's book, and we were shocked to know that we can name each other's best friends, what we want out of life, and people who annoy us but we couldn't name each other's favorite color! "Love maps" are the details you know about each other's lives. We both missed the points on the question asking us each other's social security number, too! (We know that one day, Jennifer will get the points, but Keith doesn't have the kind of personality that remembers things like that.)

Some images from the weekend

We're home from Birmingham, and we had a good time.  Check out Jennifer's nails below!  (Yep, that's really Jennifer, one of the authors of this blog!)

Jay enjoyed surprising Jennifer with the pampering at the salon.  We had lunch at his restaurant on Sunday before we left town.  He gave us all the royal treatment!  Jay met Keith's parents, and we all loved our food.  Jay brought us the "John Cole" dessert to celebrate Keith's birthday.  While we were there, Keith took a picture of Jennifer and Jay.

Keith's mom said to Jay, "She thinks she's the big sister?!"

Keith's dad posed for a picture with Jennifer before we left their house.  (We didn't break the camera afterall!)

We got some other pictures, too, including the one at the top of the right column on the blog.

In Birmingham

We're here, and we've had a full day already.

We got to town in time for dinner, and Keith's brother, David, and his family came to join us. Jennifer had a great time getting to know them, especially Maurine.

Jennifer had lunch with Jay and his girlfriend, and they got their nails done. While she was gone, Keith raided his dad's tools.

This afternoon, Jennifer and Keith's mom are talking about the comments on this blog. We're having a great time!

Lunch with Jay tomorrow, then we're off to home for work on Monday. It's been a good birthday weekend!

Happy Birthday, Keith!

Pat came to Macon yesterday to make dinner and a cake for Keith's birthday. He got to choose what he wanted for dinner, and he even got presents! He asked for rotisserie chicken like we had last month from Pat. Thanks, Pat, for coming up with the idea! She wanted to "give him our normal birthday celebration" which includes a visit and dinner with cake.

We're leaving today to go see Keith's parents. We'll also see Jay while we're in town, and we're hoping to eat at his table at Carrabba's so he can show off his skills as a server. He'll get to meet Keith's parents, too.

We're looking forward to a great weekend!

Plumbing as a team!

A year ago, Jennifer noticed a leak at the bathroom sink. The advice she got was that the washer needed to be replaced. The faucet handle was essentially glued to the shaft (what's the right word for that thing?!), and she had to break it all to get it apart. The end result of the project was a new faucet at the sink and new pipes below, which are all working well to this day.

On Monday of this week, Jennifer noticed a leak at the bathtub. She knew the washer needed to be replaced, and she called Keith asking for help. Keith talked to his dad, who was quite helpful even by phone! When Jennifer got home, she found Keith working to get the faucet handle off, but it was glued on just like the sink faucet was a year ago. Jennifer could empathize, but she couldn't fix it. Keith's dad repeated his instructions to "tap it until it comes lose," and Keith didn't lose his patience like Jennifer did a year ago. At Lowe's we bought some special tools to reach behind the tile to turn the nut, and we bought a variety pack of washers since we weren't able to see the old one yet. We got home, removed the nut behind the tile (without breaking the tile!), removed the washer, replaced it with a match from the variety pack, and put the faucet back together. Now, there is no more drip!

Many thanks to Mike for his help by phone! Jennifer is convinced, though, that plumbing as a team is a lot more sane than plumbing alone! Keith is the hero of the day!

Houses together

Keith is a minimalist, and Jennifer keeps almost everything. Separately, we live comfortable lives with the furniture and kitchen stuff that we have. We even have enough storage space in our separate places. So, what happens in April when we live together, you wonder. Well, we'll tell you what we're starting with, and then we'll tell you how it will all go together.

Jennifer is currently filling a three-bedroom house with:
one queen bed
dresser w/ mirror
entertainment center
nightstand
two twin beds
another dresser
another entertainment center
another nightstand (doesn't match the first one)
desk
file cabinets
treadmill that came with the house
futon
bookcases
end table
recliner
kitchen table
loveseat
washer and dryer

Keith is currently using:
double bed
drawing table
stand-alone shelves
couch and matching recliner
coffee table
end table
entertainment center
dining room table with six chairs
("minimalist" wasn't a joke!)

We realized pretty early that we have very little duplicate furniture. We'll have one of our beds in the master bedroom and the other in the guest room. We'll put the twin beds in the storage building. The futon goes in the study, so the treadmill has to come out (the first person to come pick up the treadmill gets it for free--it DOES work!). Keith's entertainment center will go in the study, too. His couch and matching recliner will go in the living room, and his dining room furniture will replace Jennifer's kitchen table, which will probably go in the utility room. We haven't decided about the location of Keith's drawing table yet, but we know that it'll go somewhere so he can work from home occasionally.

We're delighted that there's very little duplication of furniture--it's amazing how two people can accumulate just enough stuff to have all that they need together without much extra! We might upgrade our furniture some day, but it won't be soon because we like what we've got.

Other wedding music

Lynne is working with five other people to put together a musical selection for our wedding.

Christian was a freshman in high school when Jennifer was a senior, but they were assigned seats next to each other in a class. Their close friendship was unlikely in some ways, but they enjoyed rich conversations. Even when they have lived in different places geographically, they always seem to be able to pick up where they left off. Christian taught Jennifer how to go "tower hunting" for radio towers, and they have done other crazy things like driving up to Pine Mountain to watch the sunrise on a random morning. Christian cooks well, plays the piano with excellence, and knows more about radio than he can tell you in one sitting. He is currently working in Washington, D.C.

Patrick has a maturity about him that exceeds his age. His grandparents went to church at St John while Alan and Jennifer worked together there, and Patrick and Jennifer met just a few days before Patrick started school at Mercer. Patrick was Jennifer's "right hand man" in logisitics work for a ministry team they worked with in college. Patrick started his work on that team with unclear eagerness, and he finished his work a few years later with mature understandings about getting the job done in a way that makes it look easy while he cares for people. Jennifer and Patrick have cooked many meals for 30+ teenagers, and they have orchestrated weekend events with the help of several other college students. They joke that there is no project they cannot pull off together, and Jennifer is grateful that Patrick is on board for the details of April 4th. Not only will Patrick work with Lynne and others in music, but he'll be the brains behind the sound system as well. Jennifer said to Patrick, "I don't know about sound systems, and I don't want to know about sound systems. I just need it to work on April 4th. Can you do that for us?" For Patrick, it's a no-brainer! Patrick holds bachelor's and master's degrees in electrical engineering from Mercer University, and he currently is using those degree in his work on Robins Air Force Base.

Ginger and Jennifer were set up to be close friends. Nikki and John told them both that they should meet each other. When Ginger was a college freshman and Jennifer was a senior, they were introduced one night at BSU, and they were together most days for the rest of that year. They knew and understood each other like few others could, and they were faithful friends during some difficult situations that year. Ginger majored in Music Education, and she focused her musical studies on the saxophone. Ginger can keep a room laughing, but she also works hard at her tasks. Ginger is now living in Macon where she teaches middle school band.

William is also part of this crowd of musicians. Jennifer first saw William in an introductory Christianity class, and William's questions for the professor, Rick, included words that Jennifer had never heard before! William is an organist, and he has worked for several Catholic churches in Macon in recent years. He is an avid reader and writer as well as a relentless thinker. He and Jennifer have spent many hours attempting to solve the problems of the world and those of our friends. In the end, they have learned one thing best: be faithful to those you love because family matters more than we ever imagined it could. William is living in Macon these days.

Justin started college as an engineering major, and he graduated four years later with a degree in Christianity. Sound familiar?! Justin is always eager to see this group of folks get together whether it means doing a project or eating dinner before a concert. He is another member of this team who is valuable when there is a project or event to pull off together. Justin is close to his brothers, including his identical twin. He is currently living in Peachtree City, Georgia. Justin's wit and insight keep us all on our toes!

This group of people has worked together in different combinations for several years. They've served each other well--much like families do--and they've done good work to help others.

There are two people who would be listed here, too, if the circumstances were slightly different.

John and Casey are certainly part of this group of friends that is more like family. They cannot be at the wedding on April 4 because they currently live in Southeast Asia where they are working to make clean water available to people who live in villages along the river. John and Casey are an integral part of this group, so we'll call them "honorary members of the musical team."

What a treat it is to know all seven of these remarkable people! They are all younger than us, but they challenge us in their love for each other, their work together, and their love for other people. Thanks, y'all, for being with us on April 4th!

More eBay

I'm into the eBay thing right now. I've hunted all over the site for blue or white umbrellas that cost six dollars or less. So far, I've won two bids. So, we'll be prepared for a few folks who come to our wedding without an umbrella even though it rains.

Just don't go bid against me for the umbrellas. Deal?!

Following the numbers

We've burned through 600+ hours since the last countdown notice. Now we're under 200 days. Everybody says the time will speed up as the numbers get smaller.

We've been engaged a little over a month now. It's been more than seven months since we met.

It's funny how the counting up and counting down happens at the same time.

I guess we'll count up every day after April 4th. (Well, we'll have small countdowns along the way like paying off our house and vacations!)

The Ladies of Honor

Melissa was Jennifer's last college roommate, and they have stayed in touch faithfully since graduation. They have their own traditions, which include ordering dinner delivered to the apartment after big presentations and accomplishments (they each had major projects that spanned their entire last year of college!) and eating chicken pot pie whenever they get together, to this day. They hosted other students in their apartment on multiple occasions for dinner, breakfast, or just a break between classes. Sometimes, the door felt more like a "revolving" one instead of a "swinging" one. They hoped to solve the problems of the world together, but they learned that simply being present to each other would be the best solution they could find sometimes.

Melissa surprised Jennifer by driving into town from Alabama on the night before Jennifer moved into her house. Melissa was a welcome cheerful helper, and the two ladies moved lots of furniture as well as the washer and dryer. Some of the guys were moving the even bigger stuff! Melissa will be marrying Nicholas this October, and she'll be the Matron of Honor on April 4th.

Professionally, Melissa uses her Biomedical Engineering degree in her work as a Rehabilitation Technology Specialist for the State of Alabama. She works with her clients to design accommodations that make it possible for them to work, live, and learn as independently as possible.

Lynne will be Jennifer's Maid of Honor. She and Jennifer have a long history of friendship and service together. They enjoy going to Braves games whenever possible (one buys the tickets, and the other pays for parking and the food they bring), and they keep up with each other's daily lives faithfully. They celebrate good times together, and they listen well in bad times. They have worked together on several projects including worship leadership at St John in Columbus one Sunday. After Lynne took her nursing boards in Macon one day in March, she stuck around town long enough to meet Keith. Keith and Lynne have come to enjoy the time they get to hang out. Now, Lynne is put on speaker phone when she calls Jennifer so she can talk to both Jennifer and Keith.

It is my privilege to announce that Lynne passed her nursing boards with flying colors, and she's been working as a nurse since May. Before that, she spent several years working for the Georgia Department of Juvenile Justice. Lynne is also working on the beginning stages of a singles' ministry in her church.

Melissa and Lynne will be two of the people who bring sanity to April 4 for us. They also know Jennifer's secrets, the ones that make her look good and the ones they only threaten to tell on her! They will represent all of Jennifer's friends who have made her a better person and a better friend.

Melissa and Lynne, I appreciate your faithfulness to me. I can't imagine this journey or our wedding day without you!

Congratulations, Patrick!

We're helping Patrick move into his first house today! It'll be fun.

If you know Patrick, you can give him your own "congrats" by leaving a comment for him here. We'll make sure he gets it.

(After moving Patrick's stuff, we're looking forward to some downtime. Life's been really busy lately.)

"Gas prices got us together..."

For our evening plans, we wanted to eat dinner, walk for exercise, and catch up after a busy week. We got an adventurous streak going, and we decided to walk to dinner. Jennifer remembered her odometer reading about a mile and a half one way for the trip, but that was a rough estimate.

The beginning of our walk was on roads without shoulders, so we walked through freshly mowed grass at first. Then, the not-so-recently mowed grass was next, and the rest was sidewalks except when we cut through a parking lot and crossed the street twice. On the way there, Jennifer commented that the price of gas had gone up twenty cents in two days, and we felt like our walking was doing something "green," too. Keith joked, "Gas prices got us together, and they're going to keep us together." We enjoyed our walk, and we felt like we were getting good exercise while we spent time catching up.

We got to Panera bread in thirty minutes, and we stayed there for about an hour. We saw the clouds rolling in, and it was getting darker. So, we left around sunset.

On our way down the street, Jennifer noticed the first digit in the gas price was changed to a 4. Gas had gone up. But, since the price was $3.95 on our way there and Hurricane Ike is coming through, a five-cent jump wouldn't have been shocking. Then, we walked further and saw that the second digit was not a zero but a 4! Gas went up 54 cents in an hour! Gas really is going to keep us together because we're going to walk everywhere if it stays like this!

Out of the box

My wedding dress came on Monday in a box that was about a foot and a half cube. I was on the phone with my mom when I opened the box. When I looked for the dirt at the bottom of the skirt that the seller told me about, I couldn't find it. I put on the dress, which fit great, and I called Keith and MO to celebrate. MO came to see me in it.

The previous owner of my house left a large mirror in a closet, and I took it out and put it at the end of the hall so I could see the whole dress. I had to stand on five inches of books to get the skirt off the floor, so I chose the Mercer Dictionary of the Bible and the Mercer Concordance. Those books make me stand taller in more ways than one!

MO and I talked about options for altering the dress, and we decided there are three choices:
1 - cut off the bottom five inches
2 - take five inches out of the waist
3 - wear five inch platform shoes

You can cast your vote for the solution in the comments section. Click below on "hoorays" to give your two cents.

Six miles

Keith introduced Jennifer to the Ocmulgee Heritage Trail on Saturday. We've talked and talked about exercising together, and the Trail is a good place to do that. We walked along the Ocmulgee River and played "Name That Tree" as we went. On Saturday, after the rain subsided, we completed three miles in an hour. It did rain a little bit on us while we walked, and we decided that it was light enough that we could keep walking, and we could even get married in that amount of rain! We had a great time on our walk on Saturday!

Sunday was another chance to walk the Trail, and we decided to go for it. We walked earlier in the day, and it was hotter. We also think we walked faster on Sunday. We cut off almost a quarter of a mile on one end of the trail, but we'll still take the credit for three miles on Sunday, too.

Both of us were thrilled that our first attempt at exercising together was so successful. We're working on our "hopes and dreams" for our married life, which include staying in shape together. Eventually, we hope to get bikes that we can ride on the Trail, too. We'll also see about walking and riding around our house (but the hills make the path a LOT different!).

My BFFL!

On our first date, Keith and I went to Chili's. He had monterrey chicken, and I ate the philly cheesesteak. (He did a better job of following the "don't eat complicated food on a date" rule!)

We talked about everything, including our waiter's shaved arms. We were having a good time, and the conversation was natural. I had to take stock of what was happening at one point, and I realized that it felt like we were good friends. I remember being disappointed, but it was brief because I had to tune back in to the conversation. We shut the place down sometime after 11pm on a Wednesday night.

Later, I came back to the realization that the conversation felt like friendship to me, and I was disappointed again. I don't need more friends--I like the ones I have very much! Then, it dawned on me: I'd heard people talk about marrying their best friend, and I'd forgotten all about that. I was okay with friendship then, and I told Keith about my realization that we were becoming good friends. I skipped the part about wanting to marry my best friend, though!

When I wrote to Keith about being friends, he got concerned. For him, what I wrote gave him the impression that I was "casting him into the friend zone." I was floored! That was hardly my point! I was excited to tell him that it felt like a good friendship to me, and he was disappointed with the news. It took a while to convince him that being friends is a good thing, but I'm pretty sure he's convinced now.

It's true: Keith is a friend. I want to call him first when something happens. I value his opinion when I need to make a decision. I enjoy being with him whether we're talking or quiet.

Last summer, I spent six weeks living on the same college campus as 700 teenagers at the Georgia Governor's Honors Program. The kids are really smart, but they're also really teenagers. They reminded me of the "teen-speak" that we see on tv, and Keith and I got new nicknames because of them: BFFL. Teenagers use it very casually, but the literal translation is "best friend for life." For the first time in my life, I can use that term accurately. Keith will be my best friend for the rest of my life, and I'll be his best friend, too!

Good things happened at Chili's on that cool February night. I became friends with the love of my life!