Ashlie & Nathan sittin' in a tree...

I am so blessed! God knew exactly what He was doing when he caused mine and my husband's paths to intertwine. We had the best weekend just spending time together and I couldn't help but be reminded of how blessed I am that God gave this WONDERFUL man to me to keep forever! I just sent my Sweetie off to work a little while ago and I'm already eagerly looking forward to his homecoming! I know, I've got it bad...but I wouldn't change it for the world!!

I thought I'd share our love story with you this morning. I had written it out over at The Knot, a wedding planning website, when we were engaged and I thought it would be neat to post it here too. If any of you are engaged, or even hope to marry someday, it's a great website for getting ideas. Granted, many of the suggestions are quite costly, but if you just use a little imagination & creativity, you can come up with frugal and cute alternatives. I had a great time looking at all the pretty pictures when I was planning my wedding! I hope you enjoy reading the story of how God placed my hand in Nathan's!

P.S. Some of the info is different now, such as my age and residence (I don't live with Mama & Daddy anymore) but for the sake of preservation, I left the story unchanged.

ASHLIE BLAIR & NATHAN FARQUHARSON

MAY 19, 2007

ABOUT ASHLIE

Let's start with the basics...I'm 25 years old & have been an RN for about 3 years now. I work in the newborn nursery (everybody say AWWW) & am still getting used to my baby sister working in the same hospital as me. She's a brand new RN! Laura is my only sibling and we both still live at home with our folks...for a little longer anyway. I am currently planning my first & ONLY wedding while also trying to remain sane & somewhat normal. I have attended Eastwood Baptist for the past 17 years and have lots of wonderful friends there. :)Now for the fun stuff...I LOOOVVVE anything pink or turquoise, jewelry (the more bling, the better), makeup, shoes, clothes, & purses. Actually, I just love being a girl! On the flip side, I also love to go fishing with my Honey and sometimes he even takes me hunting! I got my very own pair of hunting boots for Christmas! The two of us have a great time whenever we're in the outdoors, or anywhere for that matter! Also, I do have a tendency to be forgetful and I am easily distracted so you'll see down below why Nathan & I are a perfect pair!

ABOUT NATHAN

Nathan is Wonderful, Sweet, Kind, Generous, Strong, Patient (most of the time), Helpful, Hard Working, & HANDSOME!! He grew up in Oakridge, TN- which is about an hour away from my mom's family- and came to be in Shreveport thanks to the United States Air Force. Thank you Uncle Sam!! Nathan served at Barksdale for 6 years and just ended his active duty status on January 2nd. While he was in the AF he received several honors & the esteem of many of his superior officers & fellow airmen. That's not bragging, I've seen the awards! :) I'm so proud of Nathan for serving our great country in the Air Force & now in the Air Force Reserves. At the moment Nathan is a full-time student working toward an Electrical Engineering Technology degree. He has another 2-3 yrs before he's done so please keep him in your prayers! Nathan's true passion is fishing for anything that swims & hunting anything that walks or flies. He's a true outdoorsman and loves the challenge of scouting out new areas to hunt and striving to be a better hunter. And, like me, Nathan tends to be a little forgetful and is also easily distracted. So...sometimes that doesn't bode well for his wallet & keys! You see? We are a perfect pair!

HOW WE MET

Nathan & I have been friends for the past 5 years or so. He came to Eastwood with his buddy Jerome who had been invited by my good friend Martha Bockhaus. Thank you Martha! We hung out together quite a bit with friends in the college group at church in the beginning. Then, when my family & I discovered that he was from Tennessee we started inviting him to come over for get-togethers & holidays like Thanksgiving. I've had a crush on Nathan for a REALLY long time and he says he liked me a long time before he let me know it. Unbeknownst to us, our friends at church were telling each of us that we should get together! Ok, so all my friends & family knew I was crushing on him big time, but hey, what can I say? Oh well...everything turns out the best when it happens in God's timing I say!

WHEN WE GOT ENGAGED

November 19, 2006

HOW IT HAPPENED

It was a beautifully sunny Sunday afternoon and Nathan & I decided to take his boat out for a ride on the Red River. However, before we left his house we realized we had both locked our keys inside! We searched everywhere for a spare & I found one that I thought would work. Well, it fit in the front door but wouldn't turn so I asked Nathan to try. Meanwhile, I saw a bulge in his front pocket & I thought it might be his keys (remember, he can be forgetful) so I patted the pocket & he slapped my hand away like he'd been burned!! I asked him what was wrong & he said I just surprised him...at this point I'm still clueless.So, we go on out to the river & we're having a great time exploring the little inlets and cubbyholes in the river. After awhile we stopped on a sandbar with pretty white sand to let Buster (his black Lab) run around & play. We walked around for a while looking at deer tracks and laughing at Buster. I noticed that Nathan was acting kinda jumpy but when I asked him what was wrong he said "Nothing, I'm fine." I just figured he had something on his mind & would tell me when he got ready so I just let it drop. Still, I had no clue. Finally, we stopped walking around and he hugged me from behind. Now, sometimes we are really sappy & silly, so I said "Nathan, I have a secret for you..." He said, "What is it?" And I said, "I LOVE you!" Well, much to my surprise, he said, "I have a secret for you too," as he was turning me around and getting down on one knee at the same time. I was stunned and just stood there with my hand over my mouth saying "Oh, my gosh" over & over. His voice was a little unsteady as he said, "Ashlie, will you marry me?" All I could do was nod and I hugged him so long he finally asked if he could get up! :) I did eventually squeak out a "Yes!" I had been so busy hugging him I hadn't even given him a chance to open the ring box so he said, "I guess you don't wanna see this..." and started to put it back in his pocket! I said,"Of course I want to see it!" When he opened the box all I could say was, "Ohhhhh!" It is the perfect ring for me and I love everything about it! It's beautiful!! And, he picked it out all by himself which makes it even more special! We sat on the riverbank for a long while just talking about us and absorbing our new engagement. Then, we headed off into the sunset (the sun really was about to set) to tell our family & friends the big news!

November 19, 2006 is a day full of sweet memories for Nathan and me, and the first anniversary of that day is almost here! I can hardly believe it! Our wedding was everything we dreamed of and our honeymoon to Jackson Hole, Wyoming was so magical and amazing. Temperatures were in the 30's-50's and it snowed on us several times while in the mountains...and that was in MAY!! But that's another post...

I'll close today with a couple of pictures of me and my Sweetie. Have a blessed day, Everyone!

Engagement Day

Us at Old Faithful in Yellowstone

Me and my Love