Thirty days of Wedded Bliss… - LATE and The END

Thirty days of Wedded Bliss…

Okay, so I didn’t meet my goal on this Blog… My apologies… Please forgive me.

It is not that I didn’t want to write about the Love of my Life and how wonderful it is being married to my sweet cowboy. I did!

However, time has seemed to not be on my side in this endeavor.

Since I did not write daily (as planned and hoped) I will now write a summary…

Our first two months of marriage have been incredibly busy with our Honeymoon, a funeral (I miss you Grandma), a dear friend’s wedding (Congratulations and I/we love you Kris Kris {And Eric Stewart}!), an awesome linen shower (Thank You Adopted “Grandma” Claudean and 8&40 Partners for this special event held during your great meeting), getting back into the swing of things at work, Church, Bible Studies, meeting great new people and making new friends and various projects around our home.

We were invited to the weddings of two very special couples, but unfortunately had conflicting obligations and were unable to attend their happy nuptial days – but we know they are now happily hitched, just as Eric and I are happily married! =) We wish all three newly married couples a lifetime of Love, Happiness and Marriages Centered on the Lord!

Eric and I have been married for almost 11 weeks now. It has been such an amazing time. It is fun to continue to learn new things about each other and grow together in our marriage as we each grow as individuals and in our relationships with our Great Lord Above who brought us together.

Everyday we are thankful to the Lord for bringing us together and we are thankful to the earthly angels that the Lord worked through to make that happen. We are blessed!

I will have to ask Eric for confirmation, but I think some of our most enjoyable time spent together is when we are preparing supper. We usually try to prepare supper together most evenings (if we are both home from work at a reasonable hour). It is fun trying new recipes and modifying our “usual” dishes to find different and tasty new flavors.

Things are not always cupcakes and roses. This is life we are talking about after all – it has its ups and downs, but I have heard it said that “it’s not the hits that matter, but rather how you take them” or some variation thereof - that could just be my interpretation of the actual quote.

Eric and I are so thankful to have each other and our family and friends that when we are faced with problems we take them to the Lord and we talk them out. Often times we will ask others to help us in prayer (Thank You My Dear Friends and Prayer Warriors!) because we know that “where two or more are gathered…” and it brings a sense of comfort to know that our “peeps” have our backs!

Over Labor Day weekend I was privileged for my sweet hubby to take me on my first official Lake Camping Trip! I have never been camping at the lake – it was AWESOME! I am very much looking forward to our next trip – it was so peaceful and so nice to just get away. I am definitely to do some more “getting away” with my hubby! Okay – minds out of the gutter people – I simply meant that it is nice to be away from the majority of civilization and just be with my hubby… (And the occasional friends we stop and see).

Anyway, I may have veered off track in this “week’s episode,” but I have a slight headache and I started this entry nearly a month ago and still haven’t posted it… I am SO BAD!

Sorry y’all!

Simply said, I love the Lord, I love My Sweet Cowboy Husband, and I love my Family and Friends!

Thank You Lord for my Blessings!

PS – What do you think about the idea of a “Weight Loss Blog?” I need to re-jump-start my weight loss efforts again…

Our First Thirty Days of Wedded Bliss

Wednesday July 20, 2011


Greetings All!

Since it has been quite some time since my last Blog, let me re-introduce myself, I am Athena M. Baxley. Yes, that’s right – I have a new last name! I am now a married woman! =)


I apologize for my Blog being so behind. A very good friend recently pointed out to me, that I very much needed to get back into Blogging gear and get some serious writing done. She also expressed surprise that I did not do a Pre-Wedding Blog, similar to that which I did for my birthday. Frankly, I didn’t think about it, but I also wouldn’t have had the time. Planning a wedding keeps one quite busy – but in a VERY GOOD WAY! =) So, her suggestion (which I very much liked) was to write a Blog about my first thirty days of marriage. It follows…


I will have to back up some to pull this off, so please bear with me. I am going to combine the first several days into this first Blog and will then Blog daily regarding what I am going to call “Our First Thirty Days of Wedded Bliss…”


On Sunday, July 3, 2011, I had the ultimate pleasure and distinct honor of marrying my best friend, the love of my life, my sweet cowboy, Mr. William ‘Eric’ Baxley. Eric and I met on July 3, 2010 thanks to some wonderful mutual friends who set us up on a blind date. We are both eternally grateful to these friends! I truly believe, as does Eric, that God has led us to be together. We are meant to be, guided by the Good Lord above to each other in His good timing.


Eric and I have both been through a lot in our lives and as we have talked about our histories we have found that there have been several opportunities in our lives that our paths could have crossed because we were in the same places at the same times, but it wasn’t time yet. We just weren’t ready yet.


Now that God has deemed us ready to begin our lives together, I feel honored that He chose such an amazing man for me.


Ok, ok, I know – enough drifting – back to the point… Right?!


On July 3, 2011, my sweet cowboy and I Tied the Knot! Our day was special and wonderful and just what we wanted thanks to some very special in our lives! Thank you to those family and friends who stood beside us and with us and helped make our wedding day about us and what we wanted! We are forever grateful and love you all so much!


After a ceremony that included a Memorial Tribute to our family members who watched from above, me being walked down the aisle by my Uncle, my mom giving me away, the braiding of a Cord of Three Strands, Vows, Rings, the lighting of a Unity Candle and prayers, we were married!


We took some photos, then proceeded to our reception where the fun continued with the introduction of the Groom and his Bride, Mr. and Mrs. Eric Baxley, and the introduction of the wedding party. Introductions were followed by a very special “father”/daughter dance. My father passed away six years ago, so all the men who have had an impact on my life were invited to share in a special dance with me that was representative of a “father”/daughter dance. Then my sweet husband and I shared our first dance as a married couple, to Colin Raye’s “One Boy One Girl.” Then there was the mother/son dance.


There was food, dancing, visiting, photos, toasts, the cutting of the cakes (absolutely beautiful and delicious cakes), the tossing of the bouquet and garter and more dancing (our DJ played some awesome music!). Such a wonderful time!


After we left the reception in the truck which had been very artfully decorated in cake icing, we headed to destinations unknown! =) Well, we knew where we were going, but no one else did!


July 4th, 2011 was our first full day of Wedded Bliss. We checked out of the motel we were in, and headed out again. Leaving one state, to travel through two others, just to end up in a different section of the state we left. It was such a beautiful trip. We loved seeing different parts of the country than we had seen before. We both love to travel, so this was a great way to start our honeymoon!


We got checked into another motel – this one we planned to stay at for a few days. There was some sight-seeing to do here!


On July 5th we had a great day out and about and seeing Ruby Falls – a magnificent and beautiful place. Then we had a lovely dinner on a riverboat cruise. The evening ended with a call from my mom telling me that my grandmother (who had not been well for the last year or so) had gone on to be with our Lord in Heaven. We told her we would be home right away – but she wouldn’t hear of it – she told us to continue our honeymoon and have a good time; because that is what my grandmother would have wanted for us.


On July 6th we were again out and about with more sight-seeing, this time we were at the amazing Lookout Mountain and Rocky City. Followed by a ride on the Incline Railroad… Has anyone figured out where we were yet? We were in Chattanooga, TN and oh my, it is absolutely beautiful there! The day was rounded out by a quiet dinner at the Cracker Barrell… =)


On July 7th we checked out of our motel and headed out again to make our way to Missouri. We went through TN this time, instead of dropping down into Mississippi and Alabama like we did on the way to Chattanooga and skirted the outside of Nashville – such a lovely city! Waved to it as we passed and said a silent hello to my sis and her hubby! We got into Kentucky and stopped at a Visitor’s Center and picked up brochures to see what there was to do… Found some things close to the area we were going to be near, but then as we pulled into the area we had been talking about staying in, we saw it – the sign we had been looking for – CASINO! We drove a few more miles into Metropolis, Illinois (and went to the Visitor Center there for brochures and directions) and then found our way to Harrah’s Casino! =) We were so happy, because we had originally wanted to stay in a Casino on our wedding night, but they were all booked… Anyway, being new to the Casino, Eric got comp tickets for dinner and there was a promo going on for a drawing… When he drew he won five bucks in free play – it was his lucky night! We played for a couple hours and didn’t lose all our money! Then, we had a lovely dinner at no charge to us, except for the tip, of course. Then, we drove into the downtown part of Metropolis, Illinois (home of Superman) and found the giant statue of Superman! Oh yeah! Color me happy! It was AWESOME! I totally took pictures! =)


After that, we went back into Kentucky, Padukah, that is, where we found a room for the night.


On July 8th, we checked out and headed out again, finally getting into Missouri. Growing up I was a huge fan of Designing Women, so I was particularly excited to see Poplar Bluff, Missouri where “Charlene” always talked about being from on the show. We stopped in Branson for the night and took in the Hollywood Wax Museum – more great photos from there!



Saturday July 9th – Happy Birthday to me! Eric and I had a wonderful breakfast and followed it with a round of miniature golf on the strip in Branson. Mom met us in Branson, where she gave me my birthday gift. Then we did some shopping at the Factory Outlet Mall there. Eric got mom to help him distract me, so that he could get me a birthday present and card (there wasn’t much time before the wedding to shop for my b-day) and surprised me with them before we left the mall! I have the sweetest hubby ever! And I have a great mommy! From Branson, it was on to Springfield, where we checked into a room, changed clothes and headed to visitation for my grandmother’s funeral.




Sunday July 10th – After the complimentary hotel breakfast, making a trip to the local Walgreens to print some pictures, and a quick swim, we got ready for my grandmother’s funeral. It was a beautiful service both in the funeral home and at graveside. A local church that one of my aunt’s attends held a dinner for the family after the funeral which was very nice and we enjoyed the opportunity to fellowship with each other.



Monday July 11th – We checked out of the hotel and headed home. After about a five and a half hour trip we were safely back in Little Rock! Then the task at hand was to unload the vehicles and get back into routine.



Tuesday July 12th – Wednesday July 20th – We have been back to work and “back in the swing of things” for just over a week now. Sunday the 17th of July made two weeks since we said “I Do” and we are so happy!



Wednesday July 20, 2011 – 17 days ago today I married the man of my prayers and dreams! *Sigh* I Love My Sweet Cowboy Hubby!



Now, in reviewing what I have written – it appears as though I have written a small novel, not just a Blog entry, so I am going to end this one now and will try to write a much shorter version tomorrow! =)


Have a blessed day all! =)

The Holidays...

1-12-11

So this was my first "The Holidays" with my hubby-to-be...

We had a great time!

For Thanksgiving we went to Houston where I got to meet quite a bit of his family - LOVE them! =)

Then we got to go to Galveston (my first time)...  Such a beautiful place - but it was cold, so no water play this time! :-)  Eric's sweet Aunt Gail, took lots of pictures for us.  They are great!  Some are posted on FB...

On the way home we stopped by Athens to see my Uncle Kenny!  That was awesome!  I loved getting to go to church with him and meet his wife, my sweet Aunt Clarice and see one of their grandsons...  It was so wonderful!

For Christmas, we did Christmas Eve lunch with my sis and her hubby to be! =)  Awesome!

Then Christmas Eve dinner with Eric's parents, aunts, and grandpa.  A very nice evening.

Christmas Day Eric and I spent some time together vegging out and being together then had Christmas supper with my mom!  It was wonderful! =)

For New Year's Eric and I went out and had an absolute BLAST ringing in the new year!

The third of Jan was our six (6) month anniversary!  It feels like I have known him forever... A feeling I cherish.  I can't wait to spend the rest of my life with this wonderful man! =)

Eric's birthday is next week and we plan to celebrate! =)  Hopefully there will be no winter weather precipitation to spoil our plans!

I enjoy so much our time together and planning our wedding and future with him.  He is so special and wonderful.  I have truly been blessed!

I am Engaged...

I Am Engaged!!

Yippee! Whoopee! Hot Dang! =)

Yes, I am a very happy lady! :-)

On October 31, 2010 my sweet cowboy, Eric took me out onto the front porch of my house and got down on one knee in front of me. He hugged me and as he did he was playing with something behind my back. When he pulled away he was looking all around us. After a long moment I finally started looking around too and then noticed the diamond ring lying on his knee. He took me by the hands and said “Will you marry me?” I said “Yes, Oh Yes!” and he slipped the ring on my finger, then pulled me into another hug and kiss!

We took a few moments to indulge sharing our joy just the two of us...

Then, we immediately started making phone calls and sending out texts.

Everyone is so happy for us! We appreciate all the love and support!

We are super excited and so much in love.

I feel so blessed that God brought this amazing man into my life and me into his.

No plans have been set in stone yet, though we have many ideas. =)

As our plans come together, I will send out Save-The-Dates, Invitations and whatever else it takes to get the word out to interested parties! ;-)