Meet Mother Abraham

Hey friends! My name is Lauren, which you probably know already since you're here. I'm a 31 year old first time stay at home mom living in Alabama. I'm married to the coolest guy in the universe, who is so out of my league, named Josh. Definitely writing a whole post on him and our love story. We had our first baby, our girl Greta Louise, on February 24 of this year (2021). Time has absolutely flown since that day, but we've had a blast.

I was born in Nashville, TN in 1990, so I'm a ~millennial~ for those of you who care. My dad became a youth pastor shortly after, and we moved to Huntsville, AL. Throughout the years we lived in St. Louise, MO, Clarksville, TN and then went back to Huntsville. I graduated from Huntsville High in 2009 and we moved to Phenix City, AL that summer. Hated that. I went off to college at Trevecca Nazarene University that fall, but decided to move home in 2011 because I didn't quite know what to do with my life and I was having a crisis. That crisis lasted longer than I expected it to.

I started dating my husband in 2014. He has always brought out the best in me, like I feel a true partner in life should. Thanks to his support and encouragement, in 2016, I went back to college. We got engaged in 2017, married in October 2018, and then we both graduated from Columbus State University in 2019! It is insane typing these years because I feel like everything just happened a second ago. Anyone know what that's like?

So, I have a marketing degree that I'm not quite using yet. Still trying to dip my toes in things here and there to try and learn more and grow so I can be a real asset to a company (hopefully sooner rather than later). I really love people, I love working with people. I also love graphic design but have no idea how to really...do it. I've created a logo or two, that's about it.

Here's a few random tidbits about me for some more fun:

1. I am deeply obsessed with Nancy Drew PC games. I even applied to work for HERInteractive. They never responded...

2. I love to read and got really into it before Greta was born, but I've had some trouble picking it back up since she's been here. If she's down for a nap, I tend to zone out and mindlessly scroll through social media. Need to get back on that...

3. I love music. Really into live shows, even though I can get anxiety at them. Some of my favorites are The Band Camino, The Story so Far, Knucklepuck, LANY, The Carpenters, One Direction, Turnover, Turnstile, Gideon, Knocked Loose, Neck Deep, The 1975...

4. I could watch Harry Potter, New Girl, Bones, Hot Rod, and She's the Man over and over again and not get sick of any of it.

5. I associate memories or places with smells. I have very specific ones that go with specific things. There's still a plug in air freshener that smells like my 3rd grade classroom. Immediately makes me think of The Jackson Five, Stevie Wonder, or classical music and times tables.

6. I recently entered a billboard design in an Alexander Shunnarah billboard design contest. Still not sure if I won yet.

7. I think fall/autumn is the best time of year, by far. Which sucks, because we never really have a real fall where I live. Experienced the best fall in the PNW on our honeymoon, so I'll forever be chasing that same feeling.

8. I was in theater in high school from sophomore year until senior year. My life wouldn't be the same without it. It was seriously one of the best experiences and Mike Chappell was the most incredible director of all time (love you, Mike!).

9. I once met Nick Saban at my high school and took a picture with him even though I am and will always be a Georgia Bulldogs fan.

Moving on...I have regular moments of overwhelming anxiety, thinking maybe I should be further along in life than I am, as ridiculous as that sounds. It's weird. I feel like I'm right where I should be, but I feel unsettled. Like there's more out there that I need to do. There's nothing wrong with that, right? It's okay to want more, to want to do more. It's okay to want to stray away from being complacent. It's SO easy to just live. I'm not really sure where I'm going with this, just kind of giving you an idea of where I am at this particular moment in time. It's crazy being that girl who despises change, who gets so overwhelmed even at the thought of change, but then wants things to change somehow. It's very confusing. I'm sure I'm not alone in these feelings.

Anyway, that's a general idea of who I am and where I have come from in life. We hope to move toward something bigger and better soon...we'll see what happens there. For now, we're feeling safe in what God wants for us. I think that's really important. Understanding that there's a plan and it's okay that we don't know the details of that plan. We'll get there. We've got each other, and boy are we happy.

If you're interested in learning more about me, about different parts of my life in more detail, let me know. Again, be patient with me. I'm not really sure what I'm doing here or where this is going to go, but I'm really excited to talk to you and with you. I'm just really glad you're here.