Happy December 9th Everyone!

Hey guys, Just wanted to give you all an update on Tess and myself right now!
We are still madly in love, and anticipation is growing as we Christmas shop for one another and count the days until we get to be together!
She'll be flying into good Ole Little Rock on December 23rd.
After that we spend Christmas with my family on Christmas Eve, followed by a long drive to Phenix City Alabama to be with her family on Christmas Day.
The fun part is that we get to be together and talk on our long drive.
I sure do miss that squirt, these 14 days can't pass soon enough.
In the mean time, stay tuned for more adventures and pictures until we can get some posted for ya! I'm sure we'll have plenty more to post before she gets here anyways.

As always, thanks for the read.

-Joe

Bumper Car Madness

So we went to the fair last month and decided that we REALLY like bumper cars.
Mainly, having Tessa drive, while i video her mangling children.
This really happened.

(Viewer Discretion is Advised)




(No children were harmed in the owning of these bumper cars.)

- Joe

Pumpkin Patch.

When I was last in Arkansas, Joe and I decided to have a night of pumpkin carving with our friends Faith and Aaron. Here's a few pics from our visit to the pumpkin patch to pick our pumpkins!!

Late Night Thoughts

So its 12:12 AM, and by all technicalities...its literally "the wee hours of the morning." I'm going to just pretend it's not quite 12 yet. Cool? ...cool.
Tess and I are quite the duo. Seriously, I've never had a connection with such an amazing girl before. She's witty, beautiful, sarcastic (definitely a must), and totally tolerant of my silly antics. If you know me at all (or have read any of my post thus far) you know that i'm a total dork, and she loves it! She takes the good and the bad when it comes to ole' Joe. This is not only rare, but cherished. I've simply never met anyone in the same caliber as this fine young lady. Of course, there are times when we start to argue, but are able to quickly resolve our issues. Even if she is a little stubborn sometimes. =]
We have had an interesting day today. Somehow we both got today off work/school, and just got to sit and talk on one of our many skype dates that last throughout the day. We love to play these games where we get to know one another, and today we played "either/or." For example: "Tessa, which do i like more,...Salt and Vinegar chips...or BBQ!?""
We love doing this to re-establish our connection and continue to learn about each other, in hopes of continually bettering our connection.
By the way i love Salt and Vinegar chips...and yes she knew that instantly when i asked.
The reason i mention this is so that we all remember that no matter how much we love our special someone, its never a bad idea to continually connect with them. Find out more of their likes and dislikes, favorites things, and places they'd love to go one day. Don't stop studying your loved one when you get them. Instead, treat them as if you are dating and learn more about them!
When Tess wants to play one of those games it instantly lets me know "shes wanting to connect and play, she's so thoughtful!"

Shes amazes me to no end.

I pray that you find yourself seeking knowledge of your loved one, just as we continually seek knowledge of the Father and His word in our everyday lives.

- Joe

Early Morning Thoughts

So it's like 7 a.m.-ish and I am WIDE awake while Joe is still sleeping some 800 something miles away. Sometimes I wish our lives were completely on the same schedule because that would make things so much easier.. Instead, it's more like: I wake up. He wakes up and goes straight to work. I go to work before he gets off work. He gets off work. I get off work way later than him and by the time I get home I'm exhausted and fall asleep on Skype. And repeat.

Some days, we're lucky if we both have a moment when we're able to talk on the phone for more than five minutes. But we manage to make it work. Lots of half asleep Skype dates, trying to take lunch breaks at the same time, 10 minute "driving in the car" phone calls, doing whatever we possibly can to talk to each other since we're usually on completely opposite schedules.

And for all those people out there who think "Oh they're relationship is perfect. They make long distance look so easy..." Trust me, it's not. I'll be honest.. Long distance SUCKS. I've been told a lot that "long distance never works" and I can see why most long distance relationships don't work. A lot of missing that person and hurting because you miss them goes into a long distance relationship. And it's not for everyone. That person has to be your best friend, your life. You just have to suck it up and get over the fact that that person lives however far away. You have to make the best of your time with that person. Loving every moment you get with them and not taking one second for granted. You have to trust enough to work through difficult times from miles and miles apart. You have to want to learn new things about them every single day. You just have to love that person. I mean.. seriously love them. You have to show them that you love them, even when you're miles apart. And you have to put God first. Get creative and be bold! Holding nothing back.

I won't say that it's always been easy for Joe and I, because it hasn't.

But there is no one I would rather be with. Absolutely no one. There is no one else I would rather wake up to a phone call from. No one else I would rather Skype for hours with. No one else who's day I just want to hear about every single day. I love this boy so much. Through easy times and hard times. Whether I get to talk to him all day or for just ten minutes. It's not easy. I miss him every day. But it just makes me even more eager until the next time I get to see him (which is in 39 days!!!). And makes me look forward to getting to move to his city (only 4 1/2 months y'all!!!!). I'm crazy about him. And yeah it sucks that a lot of days we're on completely opposite schedules, but we suck it up and get it over it. Because we love each other. And that's what's important.

I'm just so thankful that God brought him into my life. And so thankful that God has blessed both of us with the strength and patience and love to make our relationship work.


Anyways.. These are just random thoughts from my head this morning. I'm missing Joe, a lot right now. I think I'll go call him and wake him up :)



Xoxo,
Tess.

Adventures in Mountain Climbing

    Tess and I have many adventures when we get to be together, this one was so much fun! Here in Little Rock where I (Joe) am from, there's the famous Pinnacle Mt. that Arkansans love to frequent. Tessa heard lots about it from my ranting, and before she came, we decided that it would have to be an activity added to our daily schedule. So prior to her visit we had planned our week out and crammed as much as we could in the short time we usually have together. We went to Marshall's, bought her a water bottle and a really cool Storm Trooper mask, jumped in the car and made our way down the road to Pinnacle Mountain.

We absolutely love star wars, and had to have the helmet. It simply made the climb that more interesting. (It was a voice activated mask. Including, uttering like: "Look sharp rookie," GET DOWN," and "we're on the attack!")

When driving up to the mountain Tess kept saying how awesome it was and how pretty it was (I think the mountain is manly...just for the record). We even stopped so she could take pictures of it on the road driving there. She's such a girl. =D 

     We arrived and it was so peaceful that day. The weather was great and we actually expected it to be much colder, as we arrived in our sweaters. Mistake. We changed, filled up our bottles and embarked. Tess kept asking if it was going to be difficult, and i would tell her no, knowing that i was going to eventually take her up a harder part of the mountain when there is a V in the path.
   











On the part of the way up that was more comforting and peaceful, we took gag pictures with the mask.

                                         Needless to say, we know how to mountain party.

The real struggle was yet to come, and when we got to that place of struggle it wasn't welcomed well by the mighty little Tessa Grace. Her poor little self was so tired at some points, but she was always a trooper (pun intended) and marched her way up the mountain!

Finally we reached the top after a while of sweating and struggling (on both our behalf's  and there was the beautiful Arkansas, next to the only more beautiful Tessa. Its moments like these we can capture in a second and realize how much the world has nothing to offer you compared to what God has given you. God gave me my best friend, and She is more beautiful than all the mountain views in the world. The depths of my affections towards her are endless and i am blessed by her every single day.

We made our way down the mountain and continued on with the rest of our day, but this was the story of our first mountain climbing experience together. Praying for many, many more in the near future!

- Joe





Seriously,...I'm in Love Yo.

- Joe

Fun at the Fair

So, our friend Stephanie Parsley took some awesome pictures of us while we were at the Arkansas State Fair. Here are our favorites! And check out her website (stephanieparsleyphotography.com) for more of her pictures. This girl is amazing and so so talented! Thanks again Stephanie!!

Haters gon' Hate. Potatoes gon' Potat

"Haters gon' Hate. Potatoes gon' Potat."

Dear followers, do not allow anyone to disturb your faith or confidence. Those people may in fact be disturbed. Focus on bringing peace to their life, or do not put yourself in their walking path.


"Test everything. Hold on to the good. Avoid every kind of evil." - 1 Thessalonians 5:21-22

- Joe

Our Story

As some of you may or may not know, we are currently living 850 miles away from each other. This is the story of how we met.

From Tessa's point of view:

    So sometime in February, I was just having a normal day, looking at people's photos on Instagram and whatnot, you know.. the usual. And I came across this guy on Instagram, Navajojoe, was his name. I have no idea how I even came across his pictures. We didn't have any mutual followers or followings, so it was quite strange. I had never seen him before and I didn't know who he was, but I wanted to. After looking through this Navajojoe's page, all I could think was "Wow... This guy is seriously perfect. He's in love with Jesus and so stylish and a Star Wars fan, among other things. Where has he been hiding?!"
    So I followed him.. I didn't think anything would come of it.. I didn't even think he would follow me back, but I secretly hoped that he would. From the moment I first saw him on Instagram, I knew he was something special, and I really wanted him to be mine, although I knew (or I thought I knew) that that was crazy and couldn't possibly ever happen! So either later that day or a couple of days later, I can't really remember, he followed me back! That same day, he commented on one of my pictures saying "stylish/biblereading/gameboycover/starwars.... I think we're going to be friends." To which I replied "I do like new friends!" And from then on, we constantly commented back and forth to each other and just became Instagram friends. A month or two later, he posted something about Twitter on Instagram which also contained his Twitter name. I was thinking, "Okay, this guy might think I'm crazy if I follow him on Twitter but this might be my only chance." So, I followed him, hoped he would follow me back, and when he did, I sent him a message saying "Hi there Mr. French." Yes, I was quite persistent in this process but the more I learned about him, the more I wanted to be able to call him mine. He quickly responded and we talked a little before our Twitter messaging started messing up. We were receiving messages out of order or not at all, and since it was messing up, this guy, who I now called Joe French, gave me his number so we could continue our conversation. I couldn't believe it.. I was so excited.. but so nervous to text him, but I did. Our relationship quickly grew from texting to calling to finally seeing each other on Skype.
    I remember about a week after our first Twitter message, I had a 6 hour drive from Florida to Alabama to which he accompanied me on the phone the entire drive. We shared so much about our lives, holding nothing back. There was a comfort in talking to him, that I had never felt before. I've always dreamed about the moment when I would know that I found the one that I would spend the rest of my life with.. And during that conversation, I knew. It was crazy because I was just getting to know him and still had so much to learn about him. How could I possibly know that this guy would one day be mine? It blew my mind, but I knew it was all God. God gave me such a peace that this is the guy he created just for me, the guy who just a couple of months ago I was thinking "Wow, he is perfect for me!!" I didn't know how all of it would work out, seeing as how we lived 14 hours away from each other, but I knew it would.
    God is just so good! When I found out that Joe lived in Little Rock, AR, all I could do was laugh. One of my other best friends, Faith Marsh and her husband were currently living in the same city. Out of all the cities in the world, what are the chances of that? I told her about him and not too long later, she and her husband had lunch and met (before I met him) Joe French for the first time. I called her right after their lunch date and she talked about how perfect he was for me, asked when the wedding was, and said that she and her husband really liked him. I was so relieved because she knows me and she would know if he was right for me.
    Joe and I talked and we knew the next step was for us to plan a trip for me to come visit. And that's what we did. On July 3, after months of counting down, lots of Skype dates together, with a ridiculous amount of nerves, I got on a plane from Atlanta, GA and flew to Little Rock, AR. When I got off the plane, I was the most nervous I think I've ever been. We'd only seen each other in pictures, videos, and on Skype and I was about to finally meet him in person! I walked off the plane and walked around the corner, to my surprise everyone waiting was right around the corner!! I didn't think it'd be that soon, I thought I would have more time to prepare myself. There was a crowd of people and all I could think was there's no way I'm gonna be able to find him in all of these people, and then, from across the room, I see the most handsome guy I've ever seen, holding my favorite flower in his hands. I walked over to him with the happiest heart, and the biggest smile on my face. And he opened up his arms to give me the best and most perfect hug. It felt like there was no one else in the room, it was just me and him, and I fought to hold back my tears because I knew I was right where I belonged. It was perfect. He also gave me a little note tied with a bow and told me to keep it some place safe, that it was not to be opened yet or anytime soon, but he would let me know when I could open it. It's funny because after that, we had the biggest smiles on our faces but we could barely look at each other because we were so nervous. But it didn't matter because we were just so happy to be together. I couldn't even believe I was there with him, it felt unreal because of how perfect it was!! We eventually got over the nerves and had the best week together doing whatever we wanted. We played laser tag, thrifted, ate good food, had late night dances on empty parking decks, watched movies and had lots of cuddles, we had the best time just being together.
    Since then, we try to see each other as much as we can and we definitely make the best of our time together because we know it's limited. We've had so many fun adventures together and I can't wait until  the rest of them. Sometimes it gets difficult being so far away from your best friend, the person you love, but we make it work in every way that we can. From constant texting, calling, ridiculously long Skype dates, we are talking every moment that we possibly can and making plans together for the future to pass the time until we get to see each other again. And in five months, we will finally be together, all the time, because this little lady is moving to Arkansas!
    I am so thankful that God put Joe in my life. I can't imagine my life without him. Everything I've ever prayed for in a man, is who, my wonderful boyfriend, Joe French, is. Thank you Joe for being the man of God I've always prayed would come in to my life. Thank you for your kindness and love and patience with me. Thank you for being my better half. And thank you God for everything you've done in this relationship. You have loved us and blessed us like crazy. All glory and honor to you, Father!!

Xoxo,
Tessa.







From Joe's point of view:

     It was a really average day; sun shining, wind blowing, birds singing, lochness monster creeping...
you get the picture, the day was average. With an average day, you typically go through ordinary routines with ordinary people, in ordinary places. I was having one of those really ordinary days.
Lo' and behold! A fine young lass approach'thed mine own instagram!
It was so unordinary because i had no clue that she was even following me or liked any of my pictures; this LA styled (at least i thought so), fair skinned beauty with crimson red lips. I was so enthralled by her that when i finally got up the courage to say anything to her, i had to wait until there was something worth saying: "stylish/biblereading/gameboycover/starwars...I think we're going to be friends"
Probably not the best first line, but they were kind heartedly accepted:
"...I do like new friends!...," She replied.

It was accompanied by a blushing smiley face. =D.

     I was meeting with a good friend of mine on my leadership team one night,and in the middle of the meeting, i received a pleasant vibration of the phone. It was Tessa's first step towards making contact with me beyond instagram. She somehow managed to find my twitter, and direct messaged me...and let me tell you, i was so filled with genuine joy! I began to rant about her to my friend and showed dozens of her beautiful pictures to him. In that moment i really realized how much potential there was in this girl. I would think: "She's so in love with God, she's so talented, she's so beautiful, she's so kind, she's so perfect." All the while, i had no clue what was in store for our future.
     I can still remember the first time we ever skyped. I was so nervous. The seconds it took to load the webcam feed to my computer felt like the longest 3-5 seconds of my life. So much anticipation, and so many unresolved feelings started flooding in my mind. I was worried that she wouldn't like me, i was worried that she'd think i was strange...i even dressed up just to try to look "cool" for her. I just remember wanting her to approve of me so badly...until i finally saw her.
I remember feeling shocked, thinking, "I've never seen someone this beautiful on a computer."
STUNNING! wow, the pictures DO NOT do this girl justice. Serious. So from then on, we skyped alot.
     Time passed, and our communication grew from instagram comments, to twitter messaging, to texting, to skyping, until one day she dropped a huge surprise on me. "One of my best friends lives where you live, you guys should meet up sometime!" My first initial thought was "What if they dont like me?" Eventually we scheduled a time to meet up and get lunch together at Layla's on Rodney Parham here in Little Rock, AR. I met her friends and was pleasantly surprised at their kind hearts and good nature. These are some AMAZING people guys. We sat and ate, laughed and cut up for a couple of hours, until we had to part ways. I remember talking to Tess afterwards and asking what they thought of me. To which she kindly said, " Faith said, "Ok, so when's the wedding!?" "
     Things continued to progress and time lapsed quickly. We have so much distance between each other that the only choice we'd really had until that point was to get to know one another. It was an amazing few months. She quickly became my best friend. We shared so many secrets and pieces of our pasts with one another, there were no boundaries to how great of friends we would become. There was no physicality throughout the few months, so i was almost starting to believe that she was simply an apparition or a perfect computer program of sorts. Soon i would have that vision pleasantly broken.
     Sometime throughout this timeline, Tessa was going to come and see her friend here in Arkansas and come see me. I was nervous, nervous, nervoussss. We literally counted down the days (maybe she did more than i, with the help of her iphone app, but i counted nonetheless!) Until that faithful day when we would meet. I knew her favorite flowers were sunflowers. So i went to a flower shop and bought a single sunflower to greet her with along with a note that i had written the day before (July 2nd).

I stood at the Little Rock Airport terminal in wait for her as she was getting off her flight. All the months of waiting to see her, all the memories we already had, and every bit of emotion inside me came flooding out in those precious few minutes.

It was a bit after noon on July 3rd when I first met the beautiful and caring Tessa Grace Sheehan.

That day my life changed forever. She stopped being just an image on a screen or a voice over the phone. That day she became the flesh and bones in front of me as she came towards me and i held her in my arms for the first time in the longest hug I can ever remember having. It was such a wonderful time that I hardly felt anyone around us and forgot where I was even at. She fit perfectly in my arms, and I was truly happy.

Since that day, we've shared many adventures together. We've danced, we've sung, we've climbed mountains, and rummaged pumpkin patches. We've thrifted, we've ran in the rain, we've breathed the air in together, and have enjoyed every moment of a "week here, week there" visitations with one another. Every time we are together we always make schedules and cram them full of activities that we know we can never accomplish in a mere week or few days. But we try to anyways, and love the time trying. There is not a single moment of where we've been that I would change. Through all our struggles and hardships, I'd take them again a million times...just so they would be with the woman that I love. God has blessed me abundantly with joy everlasting in her. HE designed her perfect for me. He deserves all the glory and praise! 

This is how i remember meeting the woman that i hold dearest to my heart.
My best friend, Tessa.

-Joe

P.S. -  Remember the note that i gave her at the airport? It is still in her possession, and remains unopened. =)



Here's a few pics of our first week together :)

Well hello!

Well hello!

I suppose I should do one of these introductions along with Joe.

So, hi there... I am Tessa!!

I guess I'll start off with a little bit about me, I am a simple girl from a small city in Alabama but am currently residing in Jacksonville, Fl. I am in love with my amazing Jesus and my best friend, boyfriend, and love of my life, Joe French. I am currently in school at Aveda Institute Jacksonville with only 5 months left until I graduate (FINALLY!!!) I can't wait to get out there in an actual salon soon! I work at the best Starbucks with the best people. I'm a bit of a Star Wars fanatic. And I love sunflowers, tacos, mountains, singing in the car, big comfy sweaters, red lipstick, hand holdin with Joe, and movie marathons, among a few other things. 

And if you stick around,

 I'm sure you'll be learning lots more about me quite soon!

xoxo, 

Tess