Another weekend in the books - I cannot believe how quickly it passed! I was able to leave work a little early on Friday and so at 3:00 PM, Ryan and I headed up (over?!?) to Fredericksburg for the Teen Challenge Freedom Night. If you aren't familiar with Teen Challenge, I'd strongly encourage you to look the program up - it's truly amazing and has a wonderful mission. I'm so proud that Ryan is an alumni of Teen Challenge and that it's a part of his story.
Traffic wasn't too bad and we arrived at our hotel with plenty of time to get Watson settled, grab a bite to eat at Mission BBQ and then make our way to Freedom Night. Ryan was gifted a goodie bag and a free t-shirt and he participated in the Alumni Choir during worship - the service was so touching and I am so glad I was able to take part in the evening. After the service we chatted with several people before making our way back to the hotel to give Watson some walk(s) and time to be out in the open.
I was able to meet so many people who have directly impacted Ryan's life over the last two years and was incredibly humbled when meeting a man who; upon learning I am Ryan's fiancé, told me "I have been praying for you - before Ryan even knew you." It took my breath away a little bit. Also - can you please note that my sweet fiancé; who knows I am not great in large social situations, just always has his hand out for me to grab on to so I'm not left on my own. *love*
Saturday morning was an early start with a breakfast for all the alumni who had come for the Freedom Night - everything was delicious, I'm sure - I could barely eat it because I was in the midst of my week long Keto experiment. *sigh* After breakfast it was off to see all of Ryan's favorite places and old haunts from his time spent in Fredericksburg and let me tell you - I enjoyed it so much. Getting to see the places and people that have shaped Ryan into who he is - I always love learning more about the love of my life.
We stopped by Fredericksburg Full Gospel Church which is absolutely stunning from the outside - sadly we were unable to go inside but I'm told the interior is just as beautiful. Our next stop was Glasgow Farms, which is an event venue that Ryan used to help do set-up and break down for events and weddings. Yet again I met two different people who immediately told me "Oh - I've been praying for you for a while now" and let me tell you - that will take your breath away - in the best way possible.
Mr. Glasgow prayed over Ryan and I and Mrs. Glasgow just hugged me around the neck and kept telling me how excited she was to meet me... y'all - it was incredible. Our next stop was Moon Valley and y'all it was another wedding venue that Ryan used to help at - it all cracks me up!
Moon Valley was beautiful and we explored all over the property, walking across a field to the rustically romantic wedding ceremony location. The owner and Ryan have developed a friendship and so we chatted with him for awhile... he and Ryan enjoy poking fun at one another and they did plenty of that. Again - it was awesome to meet all these people that have meant so much to Ryan. Our final stop was Teen Challenge to see where Ryan spent 18 months of his life and so he led me around the property and told me all about his day to day life there.
I think Ryan's favorite part of the whole weekend (I might be being serious) was being reunited with Drake - the black lab that lives at Teen Challenge. Ryan used to sneak him into his room to sleep and according to the guys there now, sometimes Drake still goes to Ryan's old room looking for him. After he showed me around the house, we climbed in the car to go grab lunch and then headed home... encountering torrential rain the closer we got to home.
We had a very relaxed evening on Saturday - we ended up watching the movie Kingsman: The Secret Service and Ryan made some really delicious chicken drumsticks for dinner. Some little kiddos came to the door around 6:45 asking "can we wash your cars to make some money" and since Ryan can't say no - we let them wash our cars in the fading sunlight with an Autumnal breeze blowing that made me shiver... but they said "nah - it's hot out here" and so that was that. It cracked us up completely.
Sunday seems like it passed in a blink - Ryan worked almost all day and so I headed off to church on my own, made a stop at Martin's for some grocery items and then came home to eat lunch and do work for almost the entire afternoon (making that OT money). I whipped up some White Chicken Chili for dinner and we watched football before calling it a night. It was a great weekend - it just passed way too quickly and looking at the calendar, I feel like time is about to start flying even faster than it is right now!
I'll end by giving you a quick look at my Baby Yoda Chia Pet - he is really starting to sprout like crazy!
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