Virginia Is For Lovers

When you enter the state of Virginia, you are greeted by a giant sign that reads "Virginia is for lovers". I suppose it's the state's slogan. When we first moved to Virginia, I was open in saying I wasn't necessarily the biggest fan. It was cold, it was different... it wasn't home. Fast forward 2 years, and I couldn't love the place more. It really has become home, and even though we would love to end up in the South again one day, Virginia will always be home to me. I am thankful we don't have any impending moves because I am just not ready to say goodbye to the lovers state!

I have spent a large chunk of the Fall in Texas, but this past week, I came back to Virginia to spend some time with friends. It was just the best and much needed! I was with my friends every day and rarely spent any time at home. It was a week so full of love and just really has me counting my blessings. The military isn't always the easiest lifestyle, but it sure has produced some of the sweetest friendships. 

The first part of the week was spent prepping for a baby shower my friends and I threw for our friend Ali. I helped with food and the crafting/DIY portion, and my friend Karly and I stayed up until midnight the night before crafting for the event and loving every minute of it. Here are the hosts with the mama to be!

Fun fact about Ali and those sweet babies (she is pregnant with twins!) she is carrying: they are due on the exact same date as my baby. Neither of us had an easy road to parenthood, and the three babies in this picture were so wanted and so prayed for. Getting to walk through every step of pregnancy together has been such a joy!

I had a dinner with some fellow deployment warriors to celebrate hitting a deployment milestone, and our sweet husbands sent flowers for the event. Parker made sure my bouquet included lilies because he knows stargazer lilies are my favorite flower. He told the flower shop to add stargazer lilies but that if that wasn't possible, regular lilies were great. The bouquet was full of beautiful lilies that made me smile from ear to ear. It's the little things, yall.

I ended the week with a little girls night. Good old conversation, yummy food, and lots of laughs. Very thankful for them!

A few of the husbands met at the same restaurant and had guys night on the other side of the restaurant. It was funny seeing them every time Ali and I had to get up to go to the bathroom, which was quite frequently because #pregnancy. 

There were so many wonderful little moments that I didn't take the time to photograph, but overall it was just the best week. Friends make life better, and they sure do help deployment go by faster!