The sweetest girls! Courtney 14 and Kelsey 11!

Melinda and Kelsey!

Touring Savannah on the Trolley!

What's so funny- Silly girl!

The best most southern South Carolina gals!

Watch out Savannah here comes six of the best most southern South Carolina women around! My oldest sister, Rhonda (who loves to plan trips), planned an awesome family women only trip to Savannah, GA and here's the story- my point of view!
When Rhonda called and mentioned about us women going to Savannah and Paula Deen all in the same sentence, I just knew I was going to be on the Paula Deen show!! After the excitement dwindled, (only a little), I began to search for the perfect outfit for my stardom! It wasn't until the night before our trip that I learned that I would only be going to Paula Deen's famous restaurant, Lady and Sons, and would not be appearing as an overly excited audience member on the Paula Deen Show (she doesn't even film her shows in Savannah- where did I think that I would actually be on the show? Hum!). Oh, well it was just the thought!
We had such a great time in Savannah! On Saturday morning (8:00 mind you) Kelsey and Kay stood in the rain outside the Lady and Sons restaurant trying to get reservations for lunch. In the meantime the rest of the crowd- Rhonda, Mamma, Courtney, Melissa, and Melinda wanted to see what all Savannah had to offer so we could plan for the afternoon. The first thing we had to do or at least Rhonda did was to find a trolley tour. She had to know the price for all the different trolley companies and all the sightseeing places that each trolley company had to offer for their guests. She wanted to go sightseeing, on a tour- why couldn't we just drive around- we could pretend to tell each other what we already knew about the important places in Savannah?
I always wondered why my grandparents wanted to sightsee on vacation- I think its an age thing- so Rhonda you're getting um, well you can fill in the blank here yourself, he, he). I think we spent more time trying to figure out the tour trolley guide thing than actually touring the city. Anyways...
After waiting what seemed like hours for Kay and Kelsey we caught back up with them and they finally got us reservations (even if they stood in the rain it was worth it) and we were thrilled that we'd be eating a very southern lunch!
Now after lunch we did tour the historic city of Savannah- on a trolley- in the rain. We really didn't learn anything about the history of Savannah that day- for one we had to pull over twice because of the rain so our tour guide could put the plastic windows back in place and for two the rain and the wind were too loud to hear anything he had to say! But it was fun being driven around on a trolley and knowing that you weren't responsible for any traffic laws that were being broken (I'm sure we did some speeding, some illegal lane change, etc, etc.!)
We of course shopped and dinned however I dont' remember where except at the Lady and Sons. It must've been that good!
Our trip ended so fast. On the way back to SC Rhonda began to name a host of other places for our next family women only trip. I know its going to be a good one just like this trip- filled with laughs and a many of wrong turns!
Our trip was a blast- now ya'll it don't get no more southern than that!

Sam's taking me to Charleston to celebrate our very first wedding anniversary! I'm so excited. We're leaving on Thursday, June 21, 2007 and returning Sunday, June 24th, the day of our first anniversary! We're both happy to have a wonderful first year together as husband and wife!

Anniversary Trip Update:

Our anniversary trip was so much fun! We shopped, ate at a few of my favorite restaurants- Tommy Condons, Market Street Deli, and 82 Queen, shopped some more, took a carriage ride, and did tons of walking! We have decided that we'd like to spend every anniversary in Charleston. It such a beautiful and fun place to be!

It's almost been a year since we've been married! It's been such a great year! Before we got married we heard other married couples say that if you can just make it through your first year of marriage you'll be set. We took this into consideration- I mean, it was advice from other married couples, but we headed into our first year knowing that if we put God in the center of our marriage we would survive anything and everything!
Its been a great year being the Mr. and Mrs. Sam Leviner! We've decorated our home, landscaped the yard, bought lots of new things and if I say so myself its been a lot of fun going through this first phase of our lives!
For our very first anniversary we're going to Charleston, SC. I love Charleston and all the things it has to offer- the Market, the History, the eateries, the shopping- EVERYTHING! We are very excited about our trip and even more for having a wonderful first year of marriage!

Merry Christmas!

Since we stayed up so late Christmas Eve watching movies we awoke at 9:00! We opened presents. Some of the things that I got were: different kinds of pajamas from Victoria's Secret, paints, stationary (which I love, love, love), the book "Dear John" by Nicholas Sparks (my favorite author), and several magazine subscriptions. Some things that I got for Sam were clothes, hair trimmer, tools, etc. After opening our presents we began to cook for our lunch at Miss Anna's. We fixed broccoli casserole and made cookies and cream for dessert. When we got to O'burg we ate with Jason, Angela, Harry, Missi, Lee, Samantha, Christian, Anna, and Silas. Then we opened our gifts! What a fun Christmas! I've most enjoyed sitting on the couch watching movies with Sam and Mr. Kitty. Our Christmas tree was beautiful too!

Getting ready to decorate our first Christmas tree!

Hanging the first ornament!

Even Mr. Kitty likes it!

Wow! It's Christmas Eve and we've been married for six months! Today we went to the early morning church service, where we learned about "Understanding God's Love". A topic I've really come to personally understand. From the service we learned just how unconditional God's love really is for His children. The example Rev. Todd Carnes gave to emphasize this is the story of Dick Hoyt and his son Rick. Rick was born paralyzed. At 15 years of age Rick wanted his father to push him in his wheelchair in a 5K race, in order to raise money for an injured classmate. After the race Rick said that during the race he felt most normal. Since this brought joy to Rick, Dick entered many races with his sone, pulling him in a raft through water, bicycling him through long paths, etc. The love that Dick had for his son, Rick was unconditional! A link to watch this amazing father/son team is http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=64A_AJjj8M4&feature=related

This example helped me to more understand God's love for me and Sam.
After the service we came home to eat leftovers from D's Wings (my favorite restuarant. Afterward lunch we watched "Shanghi Noon" and then it was off to church again for the Christmas Eve service. Sam's parents drove from Orangeburg to join us at the church service.
After church we came home and cooked dinner for Sam's parents. We cooked porked chops, corn, peas, mashed potatoes, blueberry muffins, sugar cookies, and drank lots of sweet tea! When they left Sam and I fixed Starbucks coffee and watched "The Lion King 1.5" and "Trading Spaces".
This was such a fun Christmas Eve!

We had a very nice honeymoon in Naples, Florida! Here's Sam taking me over the threshold of our new home! I can't wait to see the kind of home we get to build!

Our Wedding Day!
THE BIG DAY! We have looked forward to this day for a very long time. We have everything planned and we're looking forward to all the things that this very special day will be for us! We are so thankful for our parents, our attendants- who are our family and some even our very best friends, and our guests for making this day for us very memorable!
I began the day with a bridal luncheon at my parents house. This was a lot of fun and the food was delicious- Thank you Ms. Kathy and mamma! We took pictures and shared special memories over the years!
Afterwards we headed over to the reception to see how things were progressing- some minor glitches, but with help from my family and friends- it was taken care of!! Then after the cake was delivered- I headed on over to the church! This was relaxing- believe it or not! After we all got dressed- it was picture time! This was so much fun!! Our photographer, Patty Hallman took photos of the bridal party indoors and outdoors. It was June and very hot according to dad but I didn't mind at all- afterall I was marrying the best and it was worth it!
When it was almost time for daddy and I to make it to the front of the church I received a special gift from Sam! It was 9 pink roses and 1 single white rose! We'd been dating for 9 years at the time and the card with the roses read-
Melissa,
The nine pink roses represent the nine years we have been together. The single white rose represents our future together. I am looking forward to spending the rest of my life with you.
With all my heart,
Sam

After reading this through tears- I was ready to walk down the aisle! Our ceremony was so wonderful and special. Throughout the wedding I kept thinking that in this very room are all the people that love us and want to share with us our special day! It was so exciting!
We had our reception, at The Cinema in the Palmetto Room, where we had our first dance as Mr. and Mrs.- to the song Bless the Broken Road by Rascal Flatts! We danced, ate cake, ate some more and greeted our guests that came to share our moment in time.
All to quickly the night came to an end and as we said our good-byes we were off and ready for a week of honeymooning in Naples, Florida. So, Florida, here some the Leviners!

Wedding plans are coming along nicely! Yesterday, I went to Heather's house! She spent eight hours on our wedding slide show. It took a long time, but its' so wonderful. The time was well spent. Thank you Heather!! It's nice to look back at all the important events in your life. I can't wait for our guests to see it.

This is my first blog ever! So I'll start with the big event that's happening in my life. In two weeks I'm getting married to my beau, Sam, of nine years. I'm very excited about the wedding. We've been planning for the past eleven months and now we're ready. I'm looking forward to my big day!

The Proposal

Sam took me to Edisto Beach on July 2, 2005! His whole family met us there, so we could all enjoy the day together. We arrived at the beach at 10:30. I spent most of the morning laying out and talking with my to be sister-in-law, Angela. Sam spent most of the morning playing in the water with his four small nieces and nephews. After lunch, he told me that he had to go to the car to get his camera. When he came back he told me that on the other side of the rocks there was a huge horseshoe crab that he wanted me to see. I grabbed my camera, and we walked toward the rocks. His whole family followed us to see what I thought was going to be a really big crab. After crossing the rocks, Sam led me down to the water, and in the sand he'd written with seashells, "Will You Marry Me?" As I was reading what was written in the sand, I looked over and Sam was on one knee asking me to marry him! Of course I said, "YES"! The crowd on the beach that watched Sam make his proposal message to me cheered as I said yes. It was a great proposal!