My Story

Who is this Lindsey chick and how did she get here, you might ask?  Well, here's my story...

I am originally from and grew up in Mooresville, NC (Yes, where Dale Earnhardt lived for all you NASCAR fans, and no I didn't know him).  In middle school, I took a step that would forever change the rest of my life.  I accepted Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior.  If it was not for the love and grace of Him, I would not be who I am and probably wouldn't even be here today.

After high school, I attended Appalachian State University in Boone, NC.  The four years I spent in Boone at ASU were probably the best of my life.  I really came into myself in college.  I had a horrible high school experience, but college was the complete opposite.  I made a lot of really great friends who are still so special to me.  To this day, I find myself daydreaming about transporting back in time to go back there.  I absolutely love Boone and my husband and I try to get back there as much as we can.

There is another reason that I love ASU so much.  It is there that I met my husband, Bryan.  We met my sophomore year, his freshman year.  That's right...I'm a cougar! From the time we met we were pretty much inseperable.  Not to say that we didn't have our rocky moments.  We broke up twice before we both decided it was much easier to finally admit we were in love instead of fighting it.  Even during the break ups we still spent all of our time together.  The good news about those break up times were that they allowed us to become best friends first.  I love being able to say that I fell in love with my best friend. 

After college graduation, I worked for a short time with a non-profit organization while Bryan finished his last year at ASU.  Working as a fundraiser was my first peek into the PR world and I was already beginning to realize that it wasn't for me.  But, I was not ready to give up on it quite yet.  Besides, I knew I would only be at that job until Bryan and I got married and he whisked me away to wherever he'd be attending grad school.

Bryan was accepted into the Doctoral program of Political Science at the University of South Carolina.  We moved there two short weeks after we were married.  For the first couple years, I worked for an Ad-agency.  It is no secret to my friends and family that this was a horrible experience for me.  The guy I worked for was a horrible person and I dreaded the sight of him.  I hated how the business was about twisting and turning things and deceiving not only our clients but their customers.  I didn't get to write nearly as much as I would've liked and found myself doing mundane tasks (such as peeling labels off of honey jars to put fake ones on) rather than PR work. 

Bryan and I found a church in SC (The Harvest in Lexington, SC...if you are ever in town go there!) that turned my world upside down.  We quickly started working with the youth group and I fell in love with the students.  We were teaching the middle school bible study for only a couple of weeks when I said for about the fifth time that I wished I would've gone into teaching.  Bryan quickly responded, "Quit your complaining and do it!"  I found an alternative certification program and started teaching middle school language arts the following August.

Teaching is absolutely what I was meant to do.  I loved getting up and going to work every day.  The teenagers at the church and the students I taught enriched my life to the fullest!  I learned so much from all of them.  Usually you hear people say how much teachers touched their lives, but I think good teachers would tell you the opposite.  It's the students that touch ours!

A couple years later, Bryan and I decided that we wanted to start a family.  We thought we had things all planned out and got pregnant in late summer of 2008.  It was perfect.  I would have the baby in May and be able to take my maternity leave at the end of the year and have the rest of the summer off to spend with the baby.  Well, God had other plans.  In early October, I began to miscarry.  On October 7th, I had a D&C and our dreams were shattered.  Having a miscarriage was the hardest thing I've ever had to endure.  I was truly broken for months but God pulled me out of my despair.  Alas, that is a story for another post.

Following doctors orders, Bryan and I waited a few months before trying again.  In late January, we learned we were pregnant again and couldn't have been happier.  This time everything worked out and we welcomed our beautiful son, Jackson Cole, into the world on October 1st.  Isn't it awesome that God gave me a bundle of joy a year after I'd lost one?!

I went back to work in November but it was short lived.  Bryan had started his job search for the following August a few months earlier.  In December, he got a call for an interview at the University of Tennessee at Martin.  Needless to say he got the job!  What we weren't expecting was the timeline.  They wanted him to start in January!  It was definitely a whirlwind, but I left my job, we found a house, and quickly settled in here in Martin.  The blessing about Bryan's new job is that we were in serious financial trouble in SC and I don't know how we would've been able to afford anything if we were still there.  Not only did this position allow us to be more financially secure, but we are secure enough that I can stay home with Jackson.  I never thought I'd want to be a stay at home mom, but it's funny how actually having a baby changes all that!

So, that is my story up until now.  It is only the beginning...