Letter to Me

I heard this song on the radio a few days ago. I've heard it before, but this time, it got me thinking... if I could write a letter to me, what would I say?

So... "if I could write a letter to me, and send it back in time to myself at 17..."

Dear Hillary,

You are turning 23 years old in 5 short days! You have so much to look forward to in the next 6 years-- some good, some bad, but everything that happens to you makes you the person that you are 6 years later. Always remember that you are so blessed, and you now have the best husband, family, and friends that you could ever ask for.

This year, your first "serious boyfriend" is going to break up with you. You will think your world has ended, but get over it and get over it quick! Tyler Dent is literally right around the corner, and he is the one that God put on this Earth just for you.

You go to college with plans to become a pharmacist... go ahead and accept the fact that you need to follow in your mother's footsteps and get an Accounting degree. The faster you realize this, the better off you will be. You can save yourself a lot of tears and stress if you will realize this before you begin taking Organismal Biology.

You will graduate high school and move to Troy with Jess. The two of you will spend the next three years traveling wherever you have to to watch a little baseball. You are going to think about letting Jess highlight your hair when you are freshmen... don't let her! You look better in a coma than you look with blonde hair!

On January 31, 2010, you will get in a car accident. Don't try to avoid it... more good comes out of it than bad (you're never in any pain). Just try to come out of the coma a little sooner- everyone's really worried about you! This is the time in your life when you find out that you are going to marry Tyler Dent. If he will stay by your side through that, he will stay by your side through anything!

Even 6 years later, you still have a lot of life to live. Live each day to the fullest and never take one day for granted.

Our First Home

We found our house in February, bought it in March, and I honestly did not have the mind set that everything had to be done right then. I have taken my time over the past 6 months picking out, making decisions, ordering, and purchasing everything for our home. I am happy to say that everything (except a couple of pretty minor things) is done. We still have to hang our tv in our bedroom in the corner, get a monogrammed towel to hang in the guest bathroom, I need a jewelry box, and I have to order a few canvas pictures to hang, but I can't wait until then to give you a "tour".

Kitchen:

Living room:

Office:

Guest bedroom 1:

Guest bathroom:

Hallway:

Guest bedroom 2:

Master bedroom:

Master bathroom:

We could not be happier to call this house our first home. I cannot wait to make so many memories with my husband here. And once those last few things are finished, we can focus on TD's "man cave" out back... maybe that will be done before one of those guest rooms turns into a nursery :)

Here's to the Future Halls

Last Saturday night, we attended the engagement party of our best friends, Jess and Cody. It's always a great time when all of our friends are in one place, so we are so ready for April! I had my first MOH duty as photographer for the night, so now for a few pictures...

Will, Cody, and TD were roommates at AUM, and are a few of my favorites!

The Future Halls

My bestie... ignore that random piece of hair to the right :/

The bride-to-be and her girls

The Dents celebrating our very best friends!

We are so excited for Jess (my best friend) and Cody (TD's best friend and my cousin)... we absolutely cannot wait until April! Jess asked me the week before my wedding to be her matron of honor....

...and I, of course, said yes. Jess and I became friends in 9th grade when she started at Opp. Sometime during our freshman year, we became pretty much inseparable. But I haven't always been as sweet as I am now (I know... hard to believe), so I'm pretty sure she just wanted to come over in hopes that Cody would stop by sometime. So they officially started dating when we were in the 10th grade, and I was dating my ex-boyfriend... I was apparently the only person who liked him, so they didn't hang out with us much. Fast forward to senior year, he breaks up with me (2 days after Valentine's Day... total jerk move), and 2 months later, Tyler Dent and I start dating. Since that moment, we have been the 4 amigos. My first date with TD was a double date that consisted of Rancho and Holt's little league baseball game with Jess and Cody. Over the past 5 years, we don't have very many memories that don't have Jess and Cody in them. 

Jess and Cody,

We wish you both all of the happiness in the world. We are so excited for you and cannot wait to be standing with you on one of the best days of your life. We love you both!

The Day We Became "The Dents"

Our wedding day was nothing short of perfection.

My favorite girls!

We knew that we wanted to have a "first look" before the ceremony, and I decided that the way I wanted to do it was write letters, be back to back, exchange letters, read letters, and turn around.

So Hayley blindfolded him, so he wouldn't see me until we turned around, and led him into the sanctuary.

**Side note: While he was blindfolded and she was leading him in, she forgot that he couldn't see, and she let the door slam in his face**

My handsome groom

This is possibly my favorite picture... like ever. It's just so us!

During baseball season, TD and I agreed that if Andalusia won the first round, he and his guys could wear stirrups (I would have let him even if they lost... but a little extra incentive never hurt anyone)

We could never thank my parents enough for giving us the wedding of our dreams! It was everything that I've ever dreamed of and more!

The Sunday before the wedding, TD had the idea for our wedding party introduction to be like a baseball line up... it turned out so good and I'm so glad he thought of that! Can't wait to see the video!

Absolutely loved his cake

No baseball themed event is complete without some peanuts and cracker jacks

Us with some of his state championship team from Coosa Valley

One of my favorite pictures from the reception... love the Sansom girls!

I think it's safe to say that a great time was had by all... which is really all I wanted!

And we're living happily ever after!