Happy Birthday

Today would have been my Dad's 57th birthday. What a wonderful man he was. He is missed more and more each day. Praise the Lord for His greatest sacrifice that assures me I'll be reunited with him again one day. "Our citizenship is in Heaven." (Phil. 3:20)

Governor's Cup

Abbey, Emma and I ran the Governor's Cup Half Marathon on Saturday! We've had a lot of fun training together these past few months. These girls are such a blessing to me!

Pre-race in the freezing cold

Post-race with my sweetheart :)

We made it!

If you're looking to train for a half, I highly recommend following Hal Higdon's plan. I've raced three half marathons and several other shorter races and have been able to improve my times thanks to this plan.

Night in the Boondocks

The whole Brannan family (minus Poppy) enjoyed a "Night in the Boondocks" last night with our church. We had a great time and enjoyed getting to see our nephew, Jacob, in his puppy dog costume! The Boondock festivities included a pumpkin carving contest, several different musicians, a chili cookoff, and a haunted trail hosted by our youth :) It was a nice fall evening and it was wonderful to see about 500 people there!



VERRYY fuzzy picture, but Jacob is cute nonetheless!



SVBC youth ready for the haunted trail :)

Ann, our youth pastor's wife and my sweet friend!

"Faith Over Fear"

"For many people, dealing with cancer is outside of their comfort zone and I can certainly understand how that can have a tremendous effect on one’s psyche. However, with God in the forefront, it has been a rewarding experience for me and has allowed me an opportunity and forum at times to witness to many people over the past several months. I, too, have been blessed and very fortunate to have been touched by others through their testimonies and inspirational life stories. It has been a real Godsend to express to those that are troubled that it is not the end, just the end of a very brief episode. I am honored if I can help one person move to the next place/stage in their disease, wherever that may be. Nothing can please one’s heart more when an acquaintance that shared their story just days earlier and were not feeling good about the possible outcome, then exclaims to you their good news of that day. Whether it be their spouse’s cancer is in remission or the tumor has shrunk substantially and the doctors have no medical/logical explanation of how the healing occurred.

When an illness or unjust suffering is in your life, it is important to stay focused and find a fixed reference point. Return to the protection and security in Jesus Christ, who endured the cross and laid down His life for you. Many Christian friends and loved ones have stood with me and my family in these extremely difficult times for us. God says to stand on what He has promised and I know that He has given me the energy, the will, and the passion to see me through all that I have endured in fighting my disease."

Written by Larry Davis on September 26, 2007

Wistful Wednesday

Wistful: longing for; reflecting on the past in a sensitive, thoughtful and meditative way.

Speaking of the fair...

Ryan and I went to the fair for dinner last night with his parents and granddad. We had such a good night! On the menu was fried mushrooms, chicken gyros, strawberry shortcake, and some mini donuts... Don't worry, that was all eaten between the two of us ;) However, the strawberry shortcake was ALL mine!

Ryan's granddad... affectionately known as "Poppy"



The best in-laws a girl could have :)

Happenings Lately

Fall is my favorite time of year. With it comes football (of the USC and Lexington variety), cheerleading competition season, birthday celebrations for my sweet sister and mother-in-law, the SC State Fair, and the anticipation of the holidays! Let's not forget the cooler (ha!) weather and a change in wardrobe. Hello fall clothes!!! 

It's been a lot of fun decorating our humble abode with fall decor. So blessed to finally have a home to call our own and share these joys together!



 Happy 17th birthday, Holley!

I got to visit Meredith and precious Brady!

Happy Fall, Ya'll!

Well, here we are...

...Four months into marriage! Life is full and marriage has been such a blessing to us thus far :) We stay busy working, spending time with family and friends, and teaching Sunday school to 8^th grade girls and boys and to precious two and three year olds. We became members of Spring Valley Baptist Church after an eventful (literally.filled.with.events!) summer of Ryan working with the youth. He joined the church staff in August and does such a wonderful job working with the students! We have immersed ourselves in as many church activities as possible because we absolutely love the people there and are more excited than ever to do Kingdom work TOGETHER! 

The Lord has led us on an incredible journey to get to where we are today. We hope this blog will document our “new” journey together as ONE and captures the memories made along the way. May our lives be a reflection of our King and may our cord of three strands not quickly be broken!

"Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken." (Ecclesiastes 4:12)