3 Three Years Later

Three years ago, I woke up ready to become Mrs. Raleigh Jordan Price.  The day started with a spinning stomach that was barely able to eat a blueberry bagel during my bridesmaids brunch.  As my closest friends gathered around me, we chatted about the day ahead while our hair was being curled, twisted, and pinned to look just right.  My puppy dog, Lu Lu knew that day would be a big one for me so she sat in my lap the entire time.  As the final bobby pins were put into place, we were ready to go to the chapel to get married!

After we finished getting ready, I rode to the church with my parents.  When we entered the building, I was rushed upstairs to put on my beautiful wedding gown.  The dress was adorned with satin and lace and my veil hung past the dress onto the floor.  The lace was so intricately designed and every detail was just as I had imagined it would be.  Sweet heart neck, buttons down the back, and scalloped edges made the dress complete.  I felt like the prettiest girl in the world that day. 

Before the ceremony began, I waited in the sanctuary for Raleigh to see me for the first time.  When he walked into the room, all I could do was smile.  Finally, after dating for six years, the day had arrived that we would be united as husband and wife!  Since we started dating in high school, we had dreamed about that day becoming a reality.  As my fiance admired his bride; I knew that God was smiling down on us at that moment. 

The afternoon was filled with taking pictures and hugging family members that arrived to give me well wishes.  My mom kept holding my hand; I could tell she was so proud of us that day.  Soon, the music began and it was time for my dad to walk me down the aisle.  While giving me away, he gave me one more kiss on the cheek and he put my hand in Raleigh's.  Glancing into my best friends' eyes, I knew that he was as ready as I was to be united in a covenant of marriage.  The ceremony was filled with humor and tears with the big finale being the official kiss to seal the deal.  Apparently, I didn't hear our preacher correctly because I went in for the kiss twice!  As our guests laughed and cheered, we proudly walked back down the aisle as Mr. and Mrs. Raleigh Price.

After the ceremony, the party began.  Our wedding cake looked majestic under the twinkling lights of the room.  Our guests sampled food such as miniature grilled cheese sandwiches and to our surprise one decided to take a bite out of the groom's cheesecake before we were able to cut into it!  By that point, we were in such bliss and the adrenaline was flowing that we could have cared less.  Raleigh and I were grinning from ear to ear and hugging everyone in sight!  Soon, the dance floor was packed with movers and shakers that danced well into the evening.

Finally, it was time for us to depart from our reception.  As we dodged rose petals we jumped into our vintage car and waved goodbye to our family and friends.  The next day we traveled to the island of St. Lucia for our honeymoon.  That week we relaxed, explored, and ate pizza on three different occasions.  We had the best time and didn't want the wonderful week to end.

Now, three years later I get to wake up to not only my husband but my precious little girls.  Time passes so quickly but oh how I have enjoyed these years!  I could not have asked God for a better person to spend my life with.  One of the verses that we used on our wedding day was Philippians 1:3, "Every time you cross my mind, I break out in exclamations of thanks to God."  I truly am so thankful to have Raleigh as my husband and the father of our girls.  As with any marriage, we have had our lows and our highs but we have always persevered through our circumstances as one.  On the inside of our wedding bands, we have engraved the following scripture: "Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer" (Romans 12:12).  How true has that statement been the past couple of months!

To me, the most important thing in having a loving marriage is for the husband and the wife to have God as the center.  We hear it all the time in wedding ceremonies, but "a cord of three stands is not quickly broken" (Ecclesiastes 4:12).  All marriages face adversity and if either the husband or the wife is not committed to Christ, that couple is going to have a harder time dealing with their circumstances.  With Christ being the center of the cord, He keeps the cord wound tightly so the marriage does not unravel when faced with trials.  Jesus loves us more than we can ever love one another and accepting His love for us makes our love for each other stronger than before.  When we have Christ, we try harder to be better spouses to one another.  We try to use kind words and have an understanding heart when the dishes are left in the sink.  He helps us through the small annoyances of marriage to the big battles that we face.  He created us to be joined together, man and woman, and with Him as the center we can't be torn apart.

Today, Raleigh and I aren't going on a luxurious trip or to a fancy restaurant.  All we are going to do is watch our wedding video while holding our girls.  That is all I want this year.  My family has grown and we are all together at last.  Currently, I am praying for God's guidance to this new year.  I don't know what the future holds, but I know that today is a good day and I am thankful.

Till next time, let your light shine!

Blessings, christen

p.s.: Last year, Raleigh and I took the pups to Helen, Georgia, for a weekend camping trip.  I haven't shared these pictures yet on the blog so I thought I would show you the fun that we had!  Enjoy!!!!

Raleigh and I at the highest point in Georgia

Lu Lu loved to sunbathe on our cabin's deck

I have never seen Obi so happy!  He LOVED running in the water and the woods :)

The Prices (2009)

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3 Smitten

Almost ten years ago, my sweet husband began to knock me off my feet.  We started dating my senior year of high school and the whole year we wondered if we would be able to continue dating when I went off to college and he stayed in Dothan to start his final year of high school.  That year, he truly did everything he could to convince me that it was possible for us to continue dating in a long distance relationship.  One night, about this time of the year, he surprised me with a very romantic date.  He picked me up in his green Explorer and told me that he had a surprise for me.  I believe I had to cover my eyes with a bandanna as he drove so I wouldn't know where we were going in our very familiar town.  As we zipped and turned around the corners, I had no idea what he had up his sleeve or where we were going.  Finally, I was able to remove the bandanna from my eyes and to my confusion we were at the local soccer complex.  I looked at Raleigh Price with a bewildered eye because surely he didn't expect me to play soccer in my sundress?!?  He gave me a smile and told me that tonight we would not be playing soccer but we would need to go out on the field for me to get my surprise.  Hand in hand, we walked to the center of the field and there before me he had laid out a blanket, c.d. player, food, and a box.  As we sat down on the blanket, he told me to open up the box for my first surprise.  Anxiously, I unwrapped the box and inside I found a star-gazing kit.  After opening up the kit, we laid on our backs and tried to figure out which constellations we were looking at.  After gazing for a bit, Raleigh told me to look for one particular star and after finding it, he looked at me and told me that was my star.  He had bought a star just for me!  I was shocked and in love all at the same time!!!!

The night did not end with that surprise.  After giving him a kiss and a hug, he turned on the c.d. player and asked me to dance.  I was a bit nervous because cars were driving by heading to the late-night baseball games but I took his hand anyways and we danced to the song, "Dancing in the Moonlight."  It was very "A Walk to Remember" but I didn't care....he had me smitten by the end of the evening.  Afterwards, I called my best friend and told her all about our romantic evening.  For days, my heart was so full I really felt like I was floating.

On Saturday, I got that same feeling all over again looking down at my sweet baby girls.  It is a feeling that is indescribable yet so gratifying to know that these little people were created from the love shared by their parents.  Raleigh and I both agreed that the kisses we got to plant on their foreheads were by far the best kiss of the day! :)

I knew from the moment I started dating Raleigh that he was a guy that I could have in my life for a very long time.  We always knew each other through playing soccer and mutual friends, but we didn't really hang out until one Friday night the beginning of my senior year.  From that moment on, our personalities just clicked and he became one of my best friends.  We have gotten to share so much of our lives with each other already and I am so thankful that we are sharing this experience together. A week before the babies were born, my Esther's Women bible study met at our house and we each received a gift and a scripture verse.  My gift was a deer antler and the verse that accompanied it was Psalm 91:1-2, "He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.  I will say of the Lord, "He is my refuge and fortress, my God in whom I trust."  

When we started discussing the gift and the scripture, I shared that the antlers were a visual image to me of control.  As I have mentioned before, I am very Type A and I like to plan and have control of my days.  Since I have stopped working, I have really had to have a personality of submittance to my husband and let him have more control over our family life, finances, etc.  At first, I struggled with that loss of control because I felt like my days weren't as worthwhile as they used to be even though I was staying very busy and disciplined while at home.  It was not a coincidence that the verse that correlated with the antlers was about having a shelter (aka a "home") and trusting in the Lord.  As a constant student, I once again learned that evening that I need to put my home and our family in the hands of our Most High.

"Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer."  We have gone back to that verse many times over the past three years but it certainly rings true during this time of affliction.  I had to patiently wait seven years to accept Raleigh as my husband and now the Lord is teaching me patience as our girls grow each day.

Friends, thank you so much for your prayers and for sharing with us in our joys and sorrows.  Please continue to keep our family in your prayers.  The girls have been doing so well the past couple of days and today we started to hit a dip on this roller coaster.  To our amazement, both girls are breathing completely on their own so that is a huge accomplishment.  Now, our giants to conquer are feeding and infections.  Maralee might have a new infection so they started her on a new medicine.  Since she is still having to take another medication for her yeast infection, she has to have two different I.V.'s in her body.  Because of her being premature, her little veins can only handle so much and the nurses are having to constantly re-stick her so the I.V's can function right.  Also, today we found out that both girls have stopped taking breast milk because their little tummies weren't digesting it properly.  I had to give them a fresh sample of my milk so they can culture it for bacteria.  If bacteria shows up, they will have to take formula.  This was hard for me to hear because we are firm believers in the power of mamma's milk and it made me feel like I was giving them sour milk.  In the end, what matters most is that they get what they need to start packing on the pounds but I was just hoping it would be breast milk.

Maralee showing off her baby blues

Adeline getting some tummy time

This is quite a journey but Christ is quite the Savior.  I am so thankful for his love and for him giving me a family to love.  I pray that each of you take time out of your day to soak up his love for you.

Till next time, let your light shine!

Blessings, christen

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0 Simply Put

Let's be honest...who doesn't love a wedding?

Some cynics out there might have protests to the enjoyment of this ceremony due to the fact that they have to get dressed up, don't have a date, or it makes them realize that they are yet to be married, but all of those reasons aside, I still find it hard to believe that everyone doesn't have at least one part of a wedding that they love.  Whether it is catching up with old friends, enjoying some tasty cake, or breaking it down to "Shout" everyone has some part of the wedding that warms their hearts.

To me, it is knowing now what I only hoped for on my wedding day.  I hoped that my life with Raleigh would grow with love each and every day.  Our love started out so small, so innocent, so youthful.  In college, it grew to trust and understanding.  With that foundation established came commitment and faith in believing that what we shared was real.  We grew to believe that our love could last for a lifetime and we wanted to share our lives together.  Our wedding day was a day filled with joy and hope for the future.  We were ready to commit our lives to one another because we knew that two were better than one. 

This past Saturday, we attended a wedding in Birmingham of two friends that were in architecture school with Raleigh.  As the doors opened, I couldn't help but smile as I saw the radiant bride walking down the aisle. The whole wedding was really beautiful and very stylish  but my favorite part of it was the scripture reading.  They picked out scripture from 1 John 4: 7-12 and it just really touched my heart.  It reads:

Dear friends,
Let us love one another, for love comes from God.  Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God.  Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.  This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him.  This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.  Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.  No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.

As I sat in my pew seat listening to those words, I thought about how honest and true that statement of faith was in my life - in our lives.  It makes love sound so simple yet somehow we end up making it such a difficult thing.  If we simply believe that God is love and that we should love one another then emotions of conflict, anger, hurt, and fear would come at a much slower pace.  When these feelings wound our souls, it is easy for love not to last.  But when we realize that our love is not about us, it is about God's love for us, we learn that we always have his love and it never goes away.  This is how a marriage is built.  This is how it stays together.

Friends, there are times when I really don't like my husband.  My tongue becomes loose and my patience is quick and soon enough hurtful words slip out of my mouth.  We can easily be so mean to one another and cause pain to invade our souls.  When this happens, we are encompassed with loneliness and feel like we aren't loved by anyone.  But if we realize that we have God's love then we are living in Him, not in our worldly selves.  His love strips away pain, his love heals all wounds, and his love is what is real.  When we have his love in our marriages, the covenant that we make on our wedding day will stay bound for a lifetime.  Our days become filled with simple acts of love.  We still falter and stumble but we learn to forgive and accept the faults in our partners because we aren't perfect.  God allowed us to be human when he sacrificed his son for us on the cross.

I love the part at the end, "No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us."   God, our wonderful Creator, does so much for us that we don't even realize.  His love for us is so deep and pure that we can't even fully comprehend him until we meet in heaven.  I might not physically see God, but I intimately feel God every day.  I feel God because I am loved and I love others.  God is my husband kissing me goodnight.  God is my daughters kicking me while I write.  God is my mom who holds my hand when I am scared.  God is love and these people are examples of Him in my life.  My life is complete simply for the fact that I have found His love.  I don't have to search for perfection or pass a great test, I am simply "loved because he first loved us."

Brothers and sisters, we have to live our lives according to this simple truth.  We have to believe that we are capable of receiving love and even more so willing to give love.  In order for us to believe these things, we have to first love and accept ourselves. We are worthy to love because God loves us.  When this fact is realized, we recognize the truth...the uncontainable truth that God is love and it is our mission to share his love with others.  When this happens, we can't help but love our lives because our hearts are bursting with his love for us. 



It is that simple.

"God is love.  Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him. (1 John 4:16)"

Till next time, let your light shine!

Blessings, christen

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0 Book Review - The Love Dare

Hey everybody, today we are happy to bring you the first of many book reviews to come. Throughout the reviews you will notice that many of the books, Christen and I will both give a review. I think this will give us a unique opportunity to have two different opinions on one book. Of course, over time we will also do individual reviews as well. As always, we would love any suggestions for a particular book you would like reviewed. Also, after five years of Architecture School, you learn to take criticism rather well; please comment on your likes and dislikes with the review process as well. Now that I've beaten around that bush…

Description:

Too many marriages end when someone says "I've fallen out of love with you" or "I don't love you anymore." The Love Dare discusses how these statements reveal a lack of understanding about the fundamental nature of true love.

As featured in the popular new movie Fireproof, from the team that brought us the #1 best selling DVD Facing the Giants, The Love Dare is a 40-day guided devotional experience that will lead your heart back to truly loving your spouse while learning more about the design, nature, and source of true love. Each reading includes Scripture, a statement of principle, the day's "dare," and a journaling area and check box to chart progress. Dare to take The Love Dare, and see your marriage change forever.

Review:

When our small group decided that we were going to read The Love Dare as a group, I must admit, I had my doubts. This is a book that I imagined to be an extremely personal experience between two people. I wasn’t too sure about sharing how well we had done the Dare’s. Now that we have successfully gone through all 40 days, I can honestly say that I really enjoyed the book, but also the group study of it as well. Our days fill up quick, and it was nice having a level of accountability to The Love Dare.

The book really felt like it broke down into three parts. The first part starts out as rather simple ways of showing affection for your spouse that we simply forget to do because of our busy schedules. To put it bluntly, you basically realize all the things that you’re really not that great at anymore. Whether it be preparing a special meal for the two of you every now and then; or simply biting your tongue when your spouse irritates you. These dares, although they require the most physical effort, will turn out to be the easiest really.

The second part of the book takes more of an inward focus. It establishes through scripture the fact that our God loves us with all of our imperfections. He never holds back his love from us simply because we have not loved him. Here, we learn what true love really is- love that is about commitment, sacrifice, and forgiveness. Yet, most importantly, that it is a choice and not a feeling. A choice that has been exemplified by Jesus Christ.

The final part of the book dares you to take what you have learned and work with your spouse, not only as you build a relationship with each other, but a relationship with Christ. You will quickly find that your relationship with God directly affects your relationships on earth. Love never fails. That is probably one of the boldest things ever written. Love never fails. God never fails. As humans, we lose our way sometimes and let each other down. But if you and your spouse truly seek out the Lord together, your love will not fail. This He has promised.

Recommendation: I highly recommend The Love Dare to any couple, whether newlyweds or those in the retirement home together. There is no wrong time in a marriage to read this book. If you and your spouse commit the The Love Dare, your marriage will not go unchanged. If your spouse is unwilling to take the challenge, I dare you to take this journey and see if you can love as God has.

In our small group we have a couple that is months away from getting married and although they may not have been able to fulfill all the dares just yet; I know that it has helped build a solid foundation for their marriage to come. However, I would be hesitant to recommend this book to those that are in a casual relationship.

-Raleigh

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0 Blast from the Past

Tonight we are going to take a trip down memory lane. Earlier this evening we attended our church youth "Wig Out" party and we had such a good time playing dress up. Raleigh and I love any excuse to put on a costume and it has been way too long! Here are some blasts from the past. Hope you enjoy!



This was the first time we dressed up. We had just started dating my senior year of high school and I was president of a social organization and it was our annual Halloween party. As you can see, Raleigh was an old man and I was his nurse! He really made me push him in that wheelchair most of the night! It was a great event to go to while we had just officially started "going out".





These pictures were taken in college at one of Raleigh's architecture parties. This was was an 80's prom theme and was the first time I actually hung out with all of his new friends that he spent many a nights around! They are such a fun group and they don't play around when it comes to costume parties. I remember dancin it up to Jesse's Girl and 867-5309!



For one of my sorority parties, we dressed up as Peter Pan and Tinkerbell. We actually made Raleigh's costume all the way down to the feather in the hat. I had so much "fairy dust" on me that night that I couldn't get it off with my eye makeup remover! I walked around for the next day or two with left-over glitter in my hair and eyes :) There were other Peter Pan's that night, but I had the best dancing Peter Pan of the bunch!







These were the pictures from tonight's party. Raleigh was a Harlem Globe Trotter and I was his cheerleader. It was so funny...one of the girls asked Raleigh what team he played for. He said "East," and she was like, "Oh, from High School Musical?" I joined in the conversation and said, "No, like East Wal-Mart!" I'll have to admit...I was the oldest cheerleader there and the other girls actually had their real cheerleader uniforms on. I was rockin my Carver Middle School uniform and my Northview cheerleading shoes! I was just proud to have the zipper zip!!!!


Friends, I believe that it is okay to be silly and have fun with your friends. It was so nice to not think about any of the daily pressures of life for two hours tonight and just joke around and act like a Valley Girl cheerleader. Take time to laugh at yourself sometime soon!

Please feel free to share any of your dress up pictures or fun memories :)

Till next time, let your light shine!

Blessings, christen

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0 I Dare You

Last night, our small group started a series on marriage. We are each reading The Love Dare book that was written for the movie Fireproof. Today was day one and I really should have heard it on Tuesday instead of today so I could practice it! Below is a section that I really enjoyed:

If your spouse offends you, do you quickly retaliate, or do you stay under control? Do you find that anger is your emotional default when treated unfairly? If so, you are spreading poison rather than medicine.

Anger is usually caused when the strong desire for something is mixed with disappointment or grief. You don't get what you want and you start heating up inside. It is often an emotional reaction that flows out of our own selfishness, foolishness, or evil motives.

Patience, however, makes us wise. It doesn't rush to judgment but listens to what the other person is saying. Patience stands in the doorway where anger is clawing to burst in, but waits to see the whole picture before passing judgment. The Bible says, "He who is slow to anger had great understanding, but he who is quick-tempered exalts folly" (Proverbs 14:29).

Patience helps you give your spouse permission to be human. It understands that everyone fails. When a mistake is made, it chooses to give them more time than they deserve to correct it. It gives you the ability to hold on during the tough times in your relationship rather than bailing out under the pressure.

The last part of this segment is something that Raleigh and I have had to learn over time. For those of you that know us, we started dating in high school and continued to date for six years until we got married. I had to learn patience on multiple levels, primarily patience in waiting and then a close second was patience with my partner. Today, as a married gal, I deal with the latter on a weekly basis. Sometimes I get so frustrated by the smallest things around the house and I just blow up. Usually, if we get into an argument it is over something silly but then we quickly become angry and say things that we shouldn't say. When we argue I always walk away with regret at the words I chose to say.

"See that no one repays another with evil for evil, but always seek after that which is good for one another" (1 Thessalonians 5:15)

Being patient with your partner is a choice that we have to make every time we open our mouths. It is shown through our actions and through our words. As I mentioned in an earlier post, words are what hurt me the most. In return, I know my words have hurt those close to me. I am constantly learning how to practice patience every single day so my home can be filled with positive words and actions instead of negative.

Friends, I dare you to be patient today. Whether it is with your spouse, co-worker, family member or friend, choose to keep your mouth shut an extra second before you respond. I bet you won't regret it.

Till next time, let your light shine!

Blessings, christen

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