"Tennessee, You're Good Enough For Me"

“Everybody has to leave, everybody has to leave their home 

and come back so they can love it again for all new reasons.” 

― Donald Miller 

After the events of the past two weeks, Jonathan and I decided it was time to sneak away for a quick visit to Tennessee. I was missing my family terribly. Going through hard things without having them with me was more difficult than I realized. I'm so thankful to have a husband that understands that. And to have a family that makes a little bit of room in their already insane schedule to spend time with us. 

We discovered the comfort in being outside, in drinking coffee (lighter roast, eh mom? ;), in all the welcoming arms and hearts. Solace was found in the good conversations, in the laughter, and being able to soak in all the Tennessee beauty. From the bold, smoky-blue peaks down to the blooming-oh-so-quiet flowers in my mom's garden, it was all just what we needed. 

Thank you Jesus.

And we finally got to meet Christi's boyfriend, Mitchell. They're cute together, yes? :)

 Yes, of course, Sadie was there. She got some rest and much needed lovin' on this visit too. She loves all her Bailey family and they love her back. I mean how patient do you have to be to let our 80+ pound Dane act like a little lap dog? 

Nothing like good ol' cheesy style portraits. Thank you, Olan Mills. 

Model face.

 We spent one day out in town and it proved to be stressful for various reasons.

(Really Verizon, we want to get along but you just have to make everything so complicated.)   

But it wasn't anything a good burrito and a visit to Fresh Market couldn't fix ;)

In my opinion, there are few things better than sisters. I've never fought with, cried more with or laughed harder with any other group of women in my life. The gift of doing life with these true beauties is something that I will treasure always. And, of course, we always make time for sister pictures (even if two of them couldn't be present). Love you Beth and Amy! 

My family isn't together very long before someone breaks out the artillery, my dad makes sure of that ;) I was raised around this sort of thing so I apologize if it seems a bit foreign to you. We're proud to have the right to be able to do this at our homes. Plus, I'm also proud to say that my husband (and myself) are pretty good shots! 

And then there was the night my talented husband put on an impromptu, fantastic firework show for us all. It was lovely. 

 The interactions and relationships we have with our families are priceless to us. These  moments are knitted together in our minds. They're imprinted on our hearts. Written bold across our memory. They explode in bright emotions for us and fade all too quickly. How thankful we are to have been given the gift of living them out together with ones we love so dearly. 

 Tennessee has special place in our hearts. Not just because of it's breathtaking landscapes and forest-laden hills, but because of the pieces of our hearts that live there. Through them, no matter where we are, we can always come home. 

p.s.I apologize for the plethora of images in this post, we are a little trigger happy when it comes to photography, I'll admit. But it's good practice and I treasure them so. Life only happens one time. Why not use this beautiful way to capture and enjoy it for years to come? All that to say, there are more pictures from TN coming, ha! We spent a glorious day up in the Smokey Mountains, discovered a huge sunflower farm and took pictures the whole time! So keep your eyes open for more. And thank you for walking with us.