Dear Shelby Jennings Boatman,

I don’t know when, if ever, you will actually read this. But I’ve gotten in the habit of writing letters to my friends’ babies and well, you are my friend’s baby.

Like, a really brand spankin’ new baby.

Shelby, I want to tell you something. For the rest of my life, when I think about God answering prayers, I will think about you. I cannot tell you how many nights I sat and cried with your mama, praying that someday, she would have a child. I can’t tell you how many roadblocks tried to keep you from ever being a being. Ask your parents that stuff- it’s a lot of technical medical mumbo-jumbo.

But I can tell you the minute your mom told me you were coming, I knew that God heard us. I knew that you were the one He made, the one He picked for such a time as this, the one that didn’t need to be a day earlier but couldn’t be a day later. I am as sure as the sun rises that your life has purpose. Live like it, Shelby. Live a life with purpose because I knew you before you were you and I am certain the girl I prayed for is a part of God’s story for this world.

Your parents are going to absolutely make you crazy. Your dad is going to take too many pictures and your mama is going to make too many lists and she will teach you be so polite it will make you sick (and well-mannered). And at some point, I know that you will say how glad you are that Ansley and Adam are your parents. Your grandparents are going to want to talk to you on the phone. Do it- they are amazing and you have a lot to be thankful for in your gene pool. Your aunts and uncles are going to buy you lots of stuff. That’ll be awesome.

And me? Well, I’m going to want to bake lots of cookies and laugh at your jokes. I’m probably always going to ask you what book you are reading and expect a real answer. I may hug you too much because I’m trying to squeeze out some of that faith that your parents have sown into your life. I’m also going to cry a lot. Cause, Shelby, that’s how I roll.

Finally, I want to say thanks. Thanks for being such a tangible reminder of God’s faithfulness. Thanks for showing up, just in the nick of time, before hope was ever off our lips. Someday, when you are old enough to need to hear a story, I’ll tell you mine. And right smack in the middle when you start to wonder if I give up hope that God can hear us when we pray, I’ll say, “here’s where it gets good, Shelby. See, here’s where you came along.”

With so much love,

Honorary Aunt Annie

(Aunt in charge of entertainment)

As in, renovation. You say it like “reh-no,” not “ree-no.” Just so you know. I learned this from Sarah. Sarah has a house. And a show. On HGTV. It’s called Sarah’s House. And I want to be her friend. [Sarah, can we be friends?]

As you know, I am currently nesting.

I have no idea why. Maybe it is because two good friends are having babies in the near future (example – Adam and Ansley) or maybe it is simply because I’m tired of living in a house that looks exactly like my third apartment at the University of Georgia. Either way, if real “nesting” is much worse than this [shall I ever be with child], you are all in a WORLD of hurt- I mean, window treatments have been my staple conversation for three weeks. When I’m actually “nesting”? Lord help the mister who comes between me and my reno.

Back to reality. Last weekend, I called in the professionals.

Caroline and Katie B.E. came to the rescue. Well, it wasn’t exactly “we’re driving from Atlanta just to measure three windows,” but that’s the quickest explanation.

So we measured and brainstormed. We laid down a rug, which makes a world of difference in the living room.

[Baby items courtesy of Katie B.E.'s new traveling companion, baby Lydia. We like her. Like whoa.] And while I was taking that picture, they were doing this….

They would. Then, with a flip of a wrist and a toss of a few beams, my bedroom went from this….

to THIS!

Are you dying or are you dying? I know. I’m dying. Every time I walk in my room I totally swoon [to use a fav word of my fav friend Mary Catherine- and this post about NYC is, well, my fav].

I’m a renter, much like my sweet friend Nester, so I took much advice from her blog. And I figured that if I couldn’t paint, I needed to use fabric to bring in color and wowsa. It has totally changed my room. And I heart it. Mucho.

The window treatments? Well, here’s the thing. Katie B.E. and Caroline aren’t settlers. They don’t settle. So. We are going fabric shopping in Atlanta in a few weeks.

Good things come to those who wait. And those who nest at abnormal points in life.

I’m going to let the pictures do the talking. Because truthfully, I can’t talk about my birthday dinner/party without crying. In fact, I didn’t even make it through the creation of this glorified slideshow without boo-hooing.

Because I am overwhelmed. Still. A week later.

Enjoy the gorgie-poo decor… and the delicious food… and the beautiful hearts of the men who served … and the genuine laughter on the faces of a few girls who really love each other.

The song is Home by the most wonderful Dave Barnes. And when this song drifted from the speakers into my ears during the party, I stopped, listened, and teared up. Because these lyrics say it.

Photography by the dearest Skip Hopkins. He not only captured the beauty, he captured the emotion. That’s a gift.

I’ve tried to write thank you notes, but they fail to tell the depths of my appreciation for what my friends did for me. Even as a writer, the English language is failing me. I just know that my heart was massively moved by this night.

I will never be the same.

I’m not going to tell you about last week. From start to finish, it was rough. I mean ROUGH.

And like I mentioned yesterday, I was lucky to have my dear friend Marie-Claire come hang for a bit. It was much needed and much enjoyed.

When she left on Sunday, I grabbed my pool bag and made a bee-line for the Green Hills YMCA pool.

[If you aren't from Nashville, this may be a phenomenon to you, as it was to me. But the YMCAs here are awesome and they have outdoor pools and everyone goes to them. It's weird and cool. And super nice to have access to a pool. Because, did I mention?, IT IS HOT.]

And y’all. It is HOT in Nashville right now. So the pool was packed, including many fun friends with whom I was honored to share the water with, though the pool was only about 2 degrees cooler than a nice warm bath.

Emily was there. Laura was there. Allen and Adam joined as well. And after only about 30 minutes in the chairs, we all hopped in the bath pool and circled up and we began to talk.

Now this probably won’t make any sense without further explanation, but I’m gonna try. You cannot possibly know how refreshing and relaxing it was just to bob around in the pool and talk. Worry free. Work free. Drama free.

I loved it.

We talked about relationships, beaches, vacations, and our favorites cities in Europe. Then Adam said, “you know, I think I’m going to live in Europe at some point.”

And I said, “Adam, why don’t we just go ahead and get married and move to Scotland?”

[People. I am less than 30 days from turning 30. I have the right to propose marriage at any appropriate juncture. Do not judge me.]

Adam is cute, funny, sweet, loves God. Really, the only problem is that we aren’t in love and don’t ever plan to be. But then he announces that he wants to live in Europe?!? I can get past the little bump in the road [meaning that we have no romantical feelings at all] if a man tells me he will move me to Europe.

Which, I guess if you want to get “technical,” Adam never offered to move ME to Europe, just himself.

So maybe the proposal was a bit rushed.

Well, no matter. He said no anyways. Something about “it’s not you, it’s me” but we all know that line is as old as the highlands of Scotland.

Thunder rumbled over our heads and the lifeguards [who are easily half my age] insisted we leave the pool AND the pool area completely. Wimps.

So we moved our party to Fido and I sat in my wet swimsuit with a navy blue coverup and ate a berries and cream popsicle.

And I don’t know that my friends know this, but Sunday rescued a part of me.

It was a really great day.

Even if Adam and I aren’t engaged.

Yet.

I could tell you about the piles of personal items out on the streets.

Or I could tell you about the sore muscles from ripping out cabinets, walls, insulation, and every other thing in a water soaked home.

I could tell you how I teared up as I cleaned out Terry’s linen closet, as he apologized for the mess. I could tell you how I was embarrassed for him as strangers emptied his bathroom cabinets and took every private item into the public front yard.

I could tell you that I have never seen anything like this. Bellevue, a suburb of Nashville, looks like a third world country. No home was spared from the rushing Harpeth River. I could tell you about the smell. About the devastation. About the fact that this broken community has a long way to go to recover from this disaster.

But you can see for yourself.

What you can’t see? The spirit of the people. The massive amount of volunteers moving from house to house, following the bright yellow “VOLUNTEERS NEEDED HERE” signs.

You can’t see our hearts breaking and being restored in the same instant. You can’t see the devastation and remain unaffected. But you also can’t see my neighbors serving each other and not be strengthened.

You can’t see the stories. You can’t see the moments when everyone in the home stands still and listens to the owner tell of the days before the flood, not because it matters, but because it heals.

You can’t see the piles of laundry or the piles of dishes because when the Nashville government asked us to conserve water, people actually DID IT. And we avoided a water crisis because everyone actually conserved water.

I hope your community NEVER has to endure something like this. No, it is no where nearly as massive as Hurricane Katrina, but it is painful none the less. It is loss. It is heartbreaking. It is life-changing.

But in some ways, I’m grateful. We would not know the heart of Nashville if we wouldn’t have seen it for ourselves.

- – - – - – - – - – -

What can you do to help Nashville?

Pray for us.

Donate to help flood victims. [Or get some swag- very cool.]

Come visit- either to volunteer [Mission Trip Summer 2010 anybody?] or just to hang out. [We can meet up at Frothy Monkey- you know I love that place.]

I wanted to make a joke about being “bloggy-promiscuous” here, but really. I think that’s probably inappropriate. I’m not sure of the level of inappropriate, but it is probably somewhere above my average don’t-write-that level.

“Internet nerd” is a good enough title I guess, but it lacks zing.

Sorry.

But here’s the thing. I’ve got some fun writing stuff going on this month all over the internet, so I wanted to make sure you knew about it.

First of all, my sweet friend [and writing mentor] Denise Hildreth asked me to guest post for her this month on her singles blog- Flying Solo. So everyday this month, I will be writing about how to find community and the importance of community when you are single.

So I think you should subscribe cause otherwise you are going to get SO sick of clicking over from my blog. Also. I write about my friends, interview a single girl in NYC, and talk honestly about being single ALL THE LIVELONG MONTH. Get ready.

Here are the first two posts:

• Monday Musings
• Tuesday Tips – where to find community

I’m reluctant to link to this next piece I’ve written, mainly because it is so raw and honest that I almost wish I would not have published it. If you’re a writer or a blogger, you probably know exactly what I mean. I cried like a baby when this post was complete. But I’m going to link you to it because I am so proud to be a part of SheSeeks, I want to give you the opportunity to read it.

But seriously, no pressure.

• SheSeeks- A Different Mother’s Day

[This part is cool- it's on christianity.com as well. So. That's kinda crazy.]

I head back to Nashville today. I have tons of bottled water and a sad heart. The river, I hear, is slowly receding. And the people are being beyond beautiful about the whole thing.

Some Nashville links:

• Nashvillest – still the greatest place for info [scroll down a few posts and you will see an absolutely heartbreaking picture of the Opry. Sigh...]
• Section 303: We Are Nashville - it made me cry.
• Giving Money- if you want to help and you aren’t in Nashville, I would recommend giving through Crosspoint Church. Just make sure you mark “Flood Relief Fund.” You can trust that every bit of that money will help my neighbors.

That’s enough for you today. Thanks for your love and support to Nashville. Don’t stop.

On a lighter note, I painted my fingernails Shrek green. And I love it.

Amen.

Sorry for the delay, bloggites. Moving ruled my life [my friends who helped me move are the bomb and I never use that term unless I am feeling very cheesy and appreciative] and now I’m in the new house. And my bed is caddy-corner. I know. Very lady-like.

Focus. I need to focus.

So I filtered through your questions about the Grammys and picked a handful of my favorites.

From Melissa:

• Were you ever within touching distance of Beyonce? Yes. [Did I reach out and touch her? No.]
• Who did you sit with? Lady Antebellum and Dierks Bentley.
• Were there other not-quite-as-famous people there with celebrities? Yep. I think so. But we all had the Talent sticker, so who knows?

From Jill:

• Was Blake Shelton there with Miranda Lambert? Nope. He had a show somewhere. But let me say again. Miranda is DEAR and you should buy her album.

From Kelly:

• What after parties did you go to? EMI/Capital. And then we were zonked so we went back to the hotel and ordered room service. I had onion soup that was to die for.
• Did you see Reba? Tragically, no. Sigh…..

From Tori:

• Did you see the Jonas Brothers up close? Yep, they were waiting on their cars the same time we were waiting on our cars, so we all talked about music and marriage. [I actually just stood there and listened. Cause I don't have a lot to offer those particular topics.]

From Kimberly:

• Did you get wet when Pink performed? Nope. Too far to the left.
• Which performance did you like most? I really loved them all, truly. Pink for most interesting, Black Eyed Peas for most entertaining, Lady A for best actual performance, Lady Gaga for freaking my freak.

From my dear friend Meredith:

• What was in the goodie bags? Doggie toys, sunglasses, fancy glass things, watches, shoes, leather bags, gift cards, candles [lots of candles], jeans, shirts, and a lot LOT of other stuff. It was like Christmas. I mean, no Christmas I’VE ever known, but Christmas at Paris Hilton’s house.

From Brooke:

I politely declined. Cause hello. Creepy.

[And then I asked her why she threw the Heart of the Ocean overboard in the FIRST place.]

• Did you get to meet and/or touch Carrie Underwood? Nope.
• Did you have any Britney or Justin spottings? Britney was 2 rows in front of us for the first two songs and then she left, never to be seen again. Justin = nope. Whah.

So there you go!  Hope that gives you all the inside scoopage that one could ever want.

One finally funny story. My friend Cassie was standing beside me on the red carpet- she is taller than I and blonde. Ok? So I was going to tap her arm and tell her something.

I saw tall and blonde out of the corner of my eye, so I grabbed her arm and turned my head and said “CASSIE!”, really loudly because that’s how I talk- too loud.

But as I grabbed the arm, that was supposed to be bare because she had on a dress, I grabbed a jacket.

And instead of Cassie standing beside me, I realized that I had just grabbed and yelled in the face of AARON CARTER.

AARON CARTER.

Oops.

You’re welcome.

And for realz. The new GET FIT VIDEO is up. [Which. By the way. I got real frustrated on Sunday and almost quit. Like really. Almost quit. But I didn't. I don't know why, probably because y'all are praying. Keep it up. I'll tell you more later.]

But are totes worth it.

First of all, sorry my blog was broken this morning. It happens.

Here are some clicks for today that, while they aren’t free, are all awesome.

First of all, my friend Lady Antebellum released their sophomore album today and it. is. great. So click on this iTunes button and it will send you straight to the new album Need You Now. You won’t regret it.

Also, our friend Dave Barnes has released the first single from his new album. The single is “God Gave Me You” and good gracious, people. That’s a good way to spend 99 cents. [I gave Dave a dollar one time. But it's because I lost a bet. It involved a lot of skewers of chicken. And he won. Cause he loves chicken on a skewer more than you would believe.]

Anyways, click on this iTunes button and you can spend a dollar on Dave. For a much better gift than watching him eat 20+ skewers of chicken. Trust. Me.

Finally, tonight is going to be so.much.fun. I’ll be there. Dave will be there. Brandon Heath will be there. Matt Wertz will be there. And YOU can be there too! For only $1.50! And you can be in your pajamas. [But we won't.]

It’s a live concert, streaming online, with songs, interviews, and me running the live twitter stream! And the money goes to building wells in Africa. So tonight at 8pm CST, log on to the Mocha Club website and watch the concert.

Go ahead and register NOW then remind yourself to come tonight! I’ll see you there!!

I know there are some more albums coming out today– any recommendations from you??

Is going to be a seriously exciting Sunday night.

Cause I’m GOING. TO. THE. GRAMMYS.

Yep. THESE GRAMMYS.

Are. you. dying?!? Cause I. am. dying. [in a good way]

Let me back up and explain.

One of my dearest friends in Nashville in Hillary. Hillary is in a country group called Lady Antebellum. We had a mutual friend in Atlanta, so we met soon after I moved here.

Within a few weeks, Hillary, myself, and 2 other girls (Ansley and Graham) were meeting together weekly and talking about the ugly. You know what I mean- like, “dear girls, I’m gonna tell you all my ugly and you’re gonna pray about it and tell me all your ugly.” We read the Bible and pray and get in each other’s junk. They know the worst of me and still choose me. We’ve had great times and really hard times when we all wanted to quit. But we didn’t. Cause that’s how you love people.

We’re really cute. Anyways.

Hillary called me last week and asked me to be her date to the Grammys. And after I regained consciousness, I accepted.

So that means I fly to LA at the end of the month, get to attend a few different amazing events over the week, then go to the Grammys. With Justin Timberlake. Beyonce. Black Eyed Peas. AND MAYBE REBA.

Lady Antebellum is nominated for 2 Grammys and will be performing.

What does that mean?

That means that when the cameras pan to show you Lady A, I WILL BE THERE.

In a gold dress. It’s gorg. Totes gorg. [That's for the Nash-folks who read this blog. We abbreviate too much.]

Are you freaking out or what? Cause I’ve been freaking out for 2 weeks.

Of course, I immediately called Amber [she's the best stylist in town- and lucky for me, she's also my friend] and said, “WE HAVE A FASHION EMERGENCY CALLED THE GRAMMYS!”

I can’t wait to show y’all the dresses. Plural. [Are you freaking out now?]

So. There’s the big announcement. I just couldn’t wait anymore. I have too many things I want to tell you between now and then. And videos. I will be making videos.

Cause your friend AnnieBlogs is GOING TO THE GRAMMYS.

Good. Gracious.

I just can’t do it.

I recapped in 2007. I recapped in 2008.

But there is just something different about 2009.

I’m not going to say I’ve peaked. [Cause good gracious I hope that it's not all downhill from here.] But without reservation, I will tell you that 2009 so overshot all my expectations, that there really is no way of doing it justice.

These two things are still true: I have no book on a shelf anywhere for you to buy. And I’m still deeply single.

And I tell you those two things to tell you this one thing: I wouldn’t trade my life for anything. Not for a New York Times #1 best seller. Not for the house and the husband and the 2.5 kids.

I want those things. But I want you to know that in my deepest core, down in my “knower,” all I can do is thank God for the good that He so freely gave in 2009. It’s not about what I don’t have, it’s about what I do have.

I saw the world this year- road trip to Waco, Texas, a month in Orange County, California, two weeks in Cape Town, South Africa, a day in London, two weekend trips to Chicago, Macy’s Parade in NYC, girls’ weekend at the beach in Florida, conferences in Mt. Hermon, CA and Charlotte, NC.

I’ve had a gazillion part time jobs and honestly, I have loved them all. Yes, even The Local Taco. It’s been a crazy freelance year. I walked into Anne’s house one day in July to help her paint after having just lost THREE jobs in the 30 minute car ride to her home. We prayed over our Subway sandwiches that God would work it out. And then I watched as He provided.

I’ve been on the roller coaster of this writing career thing. It’s taken me to some amazing highs and some ice-cream-necessary lows. It’s been nothing that I expected, yet nothing I would change. I’m loving writing for (in)courage, SheSeeks, Susie Magazine, and some top secret things I can’t tell you until 2010. But the roller coaster has turned into a slow moving locomotive. And I dig that.

And my friends? My Nash-family? My Marietta family? Don’t even get me started. I’ll be bawling like a baby up in here.

It wasn’t all fun, by any means. I lost my grandmother this year. I crushed on boys that didn’t like me back. I cried tears of frustration and worry and brokenness. I bounced a check. And I sinned. Ugh. That’s for sure.

But it was my 2009. My story.

If I wrote poetry [that I let you see], that would be an appropriate recap for this year. Or a song. Or a painting. Something with creative energy and flow and beauty.

Instead, I direct you to scripture. Because God is a great recapper.

Lamentations 3

Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness.

Amen. No matter what 2010 brings, these words remain true. He is loving. He is my great reward. He is enough.

And for that, I am grateful.

What did you love about your 2009?