One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six

Don’t let my last post about the worst semester of my life fool you, we did manage to squeeze in a little fun this summer.  Actually, my husband managed to squeeze it in for us entirely on his own.

On May 14, 2011 we celebrated our sixth wedding anniversary.  We are so lucky to have a happy and successful marriage.  These past six years (or eight if you count the year we dated and the year we were engaged) have truly been the best of my life.  I can’t imagine spending my life with anyone but Judd.  God sure did have a great plan when we picked the two of us out for each other.  

As you all know, I was in throes of two statistics courses by the date of our anniversary.  Judd, knowing that I needed a little pick-me-up, made our anniversary so special. 

We had already decided to keep things simple this anniversary.  We bought two Groupons for $50 towards $200 worth of merchandise at a local retailer to put towards a major furniture purchase.  We agreed that the furniture Groupons would be our presents to each other.  Or, at least, that was what I thought.

After a long week at work and school, I awoke on Saturday morning to find a chocolate cake from the same bakery that made our wedding cakes (Olexa’s) and a card (made on stationary Judd created just for the occasion) on our kitchen counter.  I also found these two in the kitchen waiting on me. 

  

 

The envelope read, “To my darling “Gail” on our 6th Anniversary.”  This probably could go without saying but my full name is Abbygail, so that’s where he got Gail as a nickname.  See the card he designed for me.  I loved it.

 

The inside of the card had check boxes for coming gifts he had planned.  He noted that I should use the card to check off when each occurred.  One box noted a surprise trip…

Judd truly is an amazing husband.  He loves me unconditionally.  I am so thankful for him.  He made our anniversary really special. 

Thank you, Dear.

Just Another Typical Night???

 

It’s just another typical night at the Langham’s.

Our spoiled rotten dog is asleep on the living room floor.

He has almost as many layers beneath him as the princess, or in his case, prince, and the pea. (Do you remember that story?)  For his comfort and our fear of dog slobber and hair on our rug, his bed sits atop a doggy blanket of which he is not allowed to venture off unless otherwise directed.  Behind him a fan blows to keep him cool and relaxed.

Now that’s the life.

Football commentary can be heard in the background. 

Art supplies are strewn about on our coffee table.

And so are high heels and fuzzy slippers???

Ok, here is where our normal evening took a turn for the unusual.   As previously mentioned, Judd and I started our own business.  What’s our product you ask?  Well, we offer professional custom DIY printable invitations and stationary.  Our designs are very affordable.  Plus, there is no minimum or maximum order because, well, you print them yourself.  Judd, my handy and extremely talented husband creates beautiful artwork to add to your invitation or stationary.  He drafts either by hand or with the his fancy schmancy computer programs, renders, and edits it all himself and creates a high resolution pdf which is sent to you when complete.  We first started with wedding invitations and have ventured on to events such as tool and gadget showers, baby showers, bridal teas, bridesmaids’ luncheons, and now LINGERIE showers.

Disregard the clutter, I took the photos as is because I thought it was funny to see my shoes on our ottoman.  Judd has an incredible eye and talent and can usually draw anything with, or more often than not without, a prop to use as inspiration.  This time, however, when asked to create a lingerie shower invite for one of our good friends he was drawing a blank.  Pun intended.  :)  While being his typical masculine self, petting his 100lb dog and watching NFL football at the same time, he replied, “I can’t visualize girl stuff.”  He requested I go to the closet and pull out some inspiration. I grabbed some slippers, heels, robes, and other more delicate items if you catch my drift.

I told him I hoped our neighbors didn’t walk in because we might just look like freaks.  Ha.  I had the most feminine of clothing hanging all over the living room for him while he sketched.

Here is just one of the many reasons I love my husband and our most recent, slightly less typical, evening.

I love to watch him think, visualize, and create.  (I especially love that he found a purple set of paintbrushes in my craft closet left over from making something for my sorority little sister.)  It takes a real man to watercolor women’s lingerie with purple brushes.  That or it takes a man who was too lazy to look for a better tool.  Ha.

  

I can’t wait to show you all the finished product.  I also can’t wait to show you some of our other finished products for that matter.  I’ll try to get in a post about those soon. 

No Seven Year Itch Yet

The following was the wall post I wrote on my husband's facebook page today.


"Judd, I've loved you for 7 years now. Well, really more than that if you count all the years I spent dreaming of you when I was a little girl. You truly are the man I always dreamed I would marry. You even met all of the criteria on my "dream husband" list. Ha. My life is richer and better because you are in it. These past 5 years of marriage and 2 years of courtship have been the best of my life. Happy 5th Anniversary!!!!! I love you!!!!"


I've loved him basically my entire adult life because I met him when I was an 18 year old freshman at Auburn University. If only I had known him a few years earlier then I could've met him when he looked like this.





Sorry, I just had to throw that in there. Ha.



I love him because he loves my friends. Note: He does not usually wear ties like this. He was at an all girl tacky Christmas party because, well, he loves me that much.

I love him because even on the worst of days I still think he is precious and because he makes even the worst of days better. Remember this one honey? This was the Auburn Architecture Bake Sale/Pumpkin Carve. Things were a little soggy and cold.

I love him because he is outdoorsy. This is a picture of a month long hiking/canoeing trip he took with his grad. school cohort in Canada.

I love him because he is fun to travel with. Aww, Charleston you stole our hearts. So much so that we literally almost moved there twice.

I love him because he is a great buddy to take to the beach. This was at Lulu's (Jimmy Buffet's sister's restaurant) in Gulf Shores, AL.

I love him because he is a great friend to me and to others.

I love him because he is great date to a fancy party. He's quite the dancer. And I think he looks dashing in a tux.
I love him because he loves his family and because he is a great big brother.

I love him because he can really grill and/or cook all things well.

I love him because he's sporty. Well, this doesn't exactly count as sporty. But, I'm typing this on my lunch break at work and don't have many pictures to choose from. He loves sports of all kinds and plays them all well. He played football and baseball in high school.I love him because we share a love for this amazing, charming, family-friendly, and fun place. Auburn, Al. is where we met, dated, fell in love, and lived the first few years of our marriage.

I love him because he is just down right funny. He is definitely not afraid to take chances.

I love him because he loves my family. Specifically because he is so good to my grandmother. She is such an important and special part of my life. He knows it and is so sweet, helpful, and loving to her because of it.

Most importantly I love him because he made this day and all the days that have followed the best of my life.

Happy 5th Anniversary Judd!!!!! I love you!!!!!!

Who Dat?

Are you familiar with the term "Who Dat?" I have to admit that until I met Judd I had never heard that phrase before. Having grown up in the deep coastal south and being a huge sports fan in general Judd has always had a special place in his heart for the New Orleans Saints. The Saints are the team of his childhood. To say he likes the Saints would be an understatement.


He, as well as the rest of the Who Dat Nation, are on cloud nine this year. The Saints are 14-3 this season. Currently they are playing in the NFC Championship game against the Minnesota Vikings.


I had to make a post about this because I just walked into our living room and found Judd and Cole (and Cole's baby) wearing Mardi Gras beads....and yes, Judd was holding his "lucky" football like a small child. Too funny! They were both intently watching.



On that note, I thought I would tie in some of our Mardi Gras decorations into this post. After Christmas I just couldn't stand to take our decorations down without having something else to put up.

As I mentioned last year we went down to Mobile, AL to experience Carnival with our friends the Atkins family. Over the years we have collected quite a few beads, masks, dubloons, and rolls of serpentine. I put them out around our house. We are truly supporting the saints this year huh? I think we are the only house in our Birmingham neighborhood with Mardi Gras decorations.

Laissez les bons temps rouler!!!!

(This one's for you Jamie!!!!) Wink!

Brewton, AL-T. R. Miller Class of 1999 Reunion

Judd's high school class celebrated their 10 year high school reunion last weekend. Judd and I traveled down to Brewton, AL on Thursday. As soon as we arrived his friends called him to come to a party to work on the parade float at one of his classmate's barn. I wish I had a picture of the house that goes with this barn. It is amazingly beautiful. It is a true southern home--huge, white, and has giant columns out front. BEAUTIFUL!!!!

Friday morning we went to a reception at the high school, T. R. Miller. Judd's classmates, teachers, and other alumni gathered there for some great fellowship. Then we went to lunch with his classmates at the local Mexican dive, Jalisco's. We ate in a hurry because we had to get back to the high school for the pep rally so Judd and his friends could find their seats in the Class of 1999 section. It was such a fun experience for me to attend this pep rally. I could just picture Judd with the rest of the football players as well as the rest of his friends as players, cheerleaders, and band members. It was a great opportunity to see into his world as a high schooler.

The pep rally was very cute. The reunion alumni classes present dated back to the Class of 1949. Each class celebrating their 10 or 5 year reunions from then to the Class of 1999 attended the festivities. The cheerleaders did a very long dance routine that included music from each decade. The coaches gave a speech, the band played, and the majorettes twirled. It was great!

After the pep rally I left Judd at the high school so he could begin to load the float for the parade through the center of town. He offered to treat Brenna, my brother-in-law's girlfriend, and me to have our nails done. The nail salon is just across the street from where the parade was coming so it was the perfect place to wait. Thanks for the treat Judd! Brenna and I had so much fun. Judd's class all wore matching t-shirts. They also made a banner to honor a classmate who was killed in a car accident last year.

When we were finished we walked across the street to watch the parade outside of the law office where Brenna works. It was a great place to watch. The parade was really neat. Coming from a large high school (Hoover High School in Birmingham, AL) that doesn't do any of these special things for homecoming made me really appreciate the small town celebration. It was a very special weekend.

Brenna catching some beads

me, my mother-in-law, and Brenna
The parade began with firetrucks and the band marching. Then came the cheerleaders, the student floats, and finally the alumni class floats.

Homecoming Queen

Class of 1949

Class of 1959

Class of 1969

Class of 1989

Class of 1994

Here's Judd's class--The Class of 1999

There is Judd in the middle

These were the stars of the day--the current T.R. Miller football players

After the parade we went to visit some friends at their parents' homes and then returned to Judd's mom and dad's to get ready for dinner at another friend's home (Beth) and the homecoming game. Dinner was fantastic and the game was great. The T.R. Miller tigers won. I can't remember the final score because we were doing more visiting than actually watching the game.

Abby and Judd at the game

Former Players-Judd, Wesley, Coach Smith, and Neal

Afterwards, the entire class went out for drinks. We had a great time. It was a wonderful opportunity to meet the other spouses of Judd's classmates.

Saturday night was a party at a local restaurant, Willie's. The food was good and the company was even better. Everyone in Judd's class is very friendly. We played high school trivia, watched the awards be given out for categories like who traveled the farthest (the you hate your momma award) and the who lives closest to T.R. Miller high school (the cut the cord already award). Then we were given a book with updates on each class member--their spouses names, where they work, how many children they have, and their greatest achievement since high school. Judd was very sweet and surprised me by writing his greatest achievement since high school was marrying "his beautiful wife." He earned mega points for that one.

At Judd's parent's house before the party. It felt like we were taking homecoming dance pictures. Ha.

The Langham's and the Maxwell's

Abby and Nicole

Some of the guys

Football friends

Former Auburn roommates

The boys in the class of 1999

Abby and Judd at Willie's

Judd's brother, Colby, and Brenna came to join us towards the end of the night

The weekend was a a great success and we had a blast!