A Tribute

I've attempted to write this blog post several times but life has been a little hectic. So, I apologize in advance to my 2 followers :)

When Ben and I first started dating I was so amazed that all 4 of his grandparents were still living. My grandparents passed away when I was in high school and so I am always slightly jealous of friends that are still able to enjoy their grandparents company and have their grandparents around for major milestones (graduations, weddings, babies, etc). It is with deep sadness that I have to write that both of Ben's grandfathers went to be with the Lord this past month. They were both men of faith and I feel so blessed to have met them and been considered one of their grandchildren. They have both had a tremendous impact on the man Ben is today and for that I am so grateful. We are mourning here on earth but rejoicing that they are in a better place!

Ben's mother's father, Sam, was one of the most gentle and kind hearted men I've ever met. He reminds me so much of my dad. He was so selfless and took care of everything for Helen as her health started to decline. I thought I would copy and paste his obituary on here just to have.

GALYON, SAMUEL BRUCE JR. - age 89 died Sunday, August 29,2010. He was a retired rural mail carrier and farmer. A member of the Sweetwater First United Methodist Church. A veteran of WWII-Air Force. Preceded in death by wife, Helen L. Summitt Galyon, son, Samuel David Galyon. Survived by daughter and son-in-law: Mrs. Carol and Mike Mingle of Chattanooga; son and daughter-in-law: Rev. Bruce and Melanie Galyon of Lenoir City; grandchildren, Ben Mingle and wife Jill Mingle, Jacob Mingle, Jessica Galyon and Andrew Galyon; many nieces and nephews. The family thanks the staff of Woods Presbyterian Home and Sweetwater Hospital for their excellent care. Family and friends will meet Tuesday, August 31, 2010 4:00 PM at West View Cemetery for graveside service and interment with Rev. Carl Oaks officiating. A memorial service to follow at 5:30 PM at Kyker Funeral Home. Visitation will be from 6:00 PM until 7:00 pm. Memorials can be made to Sweetwater First United Methodist Church or Hiwassee College. Kyker Funeral Home in charge of the arrangements.

Bill, Ben's dad's father, passed away a week ago from today. One thing the pastor said at the service which I think is so true, Bill was the always the same. He never changed or felt the need to conform to today's society. He had a great sense of humor and was a loving husband to his wife of 59 years, Dottie. Here is his obituary.

Clarence "Bill" Mingle, went home to be with the Lord, Sept. 20, 2010. A native Tennessean, he lived his first 40 years in Bristol Tennessee, where he served our country in the military, was a member of Tennessee Avenue Baptist Church, worked 11 years with American Thread Co. as supervisor, 13 years with Monroe Calculating. He transferred to Chattanooga in 1968. He served six years as branch manager of The Fuller Brush Co., served 17 years with Ken Manufacturing Co. and 14 years with the City of Chattanooga in Arts and Cultural Administration for The Tivoli Theatre and Memorial Auditorium. His wife of 59 years is Dorothy Richardson Mingle; they have one son, William Michael Mingle, wife Carol Galyon Mingle; and grandsons, Ben Mingle, wife Jill Cooper Mingle, and Jacob Mingle. Bill Mingle was a Christian and member of Ridgedale Baptist Church. A military graveside service with honors conducted by the Bristol VFW Honor Guard will be held Wednesday, Sept. 22, 2010, at 1 p.m. in Weaver's Cemetery in Bristol Tennessee. Arrangements will be handled by Weaver Funeral Home in Bristol Tennessee. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be given to Ridgedale Baptist Church in Chattanooga or The American Heart Association.

I found this on-line and thought it was so encouraging. "As Christians,  we can face death and suffering without despair, for our hope is in Jesus Christ, the Giver of Life, the Conqueror of Death. Grieving like a Christian does not mean we do not grieve. It means we grieve without despair. God does not tell us we will not have sorrows. He tells us that He will be our comfort in sorrow. He does not tell us we will not have tears. He tells us He will be there with us to wipe our tears away. He does not tell us there will not be times to mourn. He tells us that on the other side of that mourning is the promise of joy indescribable."

"For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us." Romans 8:18

"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort; who comforts us in all our affliction so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God." 2 Corinthians 1:3-4


Thank you to all the sweet e-mails, text, and phone calls. We really appreciate the prayers and kindness that has been shown to us over these past few weeks!

What Did You Expect?

Ben and I are starting this marriage conference at our church, What did you expect? Redeeming the realities of your marriage. I can honestly say that marriage has been better than I expected. I thank God often for blessing me with Ben. Other than my relationship with the Lord, he is most important to me. I can't imagine what a different person I would be today had it not been for him in my life. The Lord has used him to lead and guide, challenge and grow me. He is an amazing leader of our home...and as a wife, such peace comes from knowing that your husband is seeking the Lord in everything!

Happy Anniversary

We actually started our celebration a little early. We were able to spend 5 days in WaterColor back in May. It was absolutely perfect and everything we had hoped it would be-- relaxing and fun. WaterColor is really special to us because that is where we took our engagement pictures last year. Every year since we have been dating (2006), we have visited the WaterColor/Seaside area....but this was my first time (Ben's second) to actually stay in a WaterColor home and I loved it. We both agree it's our favorite place to go! We are looking forward to vacationing there for many years to come. Here are some pictures of the adorable house we rented.

After leaving WaterColor, we headed over to Point Clear to stay at The Grand Hotel. This is where we stayed on our wedding night, so it was really fun to go back and reminisce. We even ate dinner at Felix's Fish Camp which is where had dinner the Sunday night before flying out to St. Thomas on Monday.

So, needless to say, this past weekend (our actual anniversary) was pretty low-key. We celebrated on Friday night by enjoying a delicious meal on our china and eating year-old wedding cake. Ben grilled steaks and I prepared the salad and twice baked potatoes (thanks to Fresh Market). It was perfect! Oh, and the wedding cake was surprisingly not that bad...it still had a great flavor, just a little dry :)

The rest of our weekend was spent in Birmingham seeing friends and family. We attended a wedding of a good family friend of mine. The ceremony was at Reid Chapel and was absolutely beautiful. My parents came in town for the event, so we got to see them 2 weekends in a row! We left the reception early to go to a wedding shower for one of Ben's old co-workers and good friends. Steve was so sweet and came to our wedding by himself as he was living in Atlanta at the time. We are looking forward to his upcoming wedding in August as I absolutely adore his bride-to-be. We ended the weekend with lunch on Sunday with some dear friends of ours, Charlie & Hollie. I can't tell you how blessed we feel to be surrounded by such amazing friends and family.

But the best part of my weekend (besides celebrating 1 year of marriage) was getting to see my sweet friend Sarah who lives in Atlanta now. It is such a small world because Sarah's husband is good friends with Steve also......so they came in town for the shower! I had been looking forward to seeing her for weeks and the visit did not disappoint! I don't think we stopped talking the entire 2 hours. Ben said we weren't even making words because we were talking so fast. Sarah is a once-in-a-lifetime kind of friend. She has been such a blessing in my life! I keep praying that one day we will live in the same city again....but until then thank goodness for gmail and lots of "free" time at work. Miss you Sarah!

We have another wedding this weekend......this makes 3 weekends in a row! Do you think it's wedding season?!  

In summary...

It is hard to summarize everything that has happened over the past year in just 1 post but I will try to hit the high points. After our honeymoon in St. Thomas, we moved (really I was the only one moving because Ben was already here) to Chattanooga and lived in a 1 bedroom 900 sq ft condo downtown. Needless to say it was cozy but it was an awesome location. Chattanooga has a beautiful downtown! We lived there for 3 months until we bought our first house! Being a homeowner is still surreal to me...I have never signed my name so many times in one sitting. After 4 months of job searching, I was finally able to find a job in my field. In our spare time, we have been busy celebrating with our friends who are getting married or having babies or we are traveling to see family and friends. Sorry for the lack of pictures, see previous post :)

The Ritz-Carlton in St. Thomas

Our First House {pictures taken before we moved in}

The wood railings are not there any more {just needed for inspections}

Dining room/Foyer

Formal Living Room

Back Porch with fireplace :)

Master Bedroom

Kitchen