"Pointing me on my way, into your loving arms..."

So, where did we leave off?
Oh yes...our first date/first kiss :)

Well, I forgot to mention in the earlier posts that Michael played in a praise & worship band when I met him. He played bass for Jason Elam, along with Chris Brown and Justin Teasley. They would travel all over the United States and play at church camps, revivals, Disciple Now weekends, etc. This was a little different for me, because I wasn't used to having a boyfriend that was gone almost every weekend. But I learned to LOVE it!!!! I was able to travel with them some, and I made an effort to attend alot of the local events and even some out of state events. One of my favorite memories was when they played in Gatlinburg, TN with Jaci Velasquez, Third Day, and some others. They have also played with Big Daddy Weave, Casting Crowns, Chris Tomlin, and other big name Christian bands. It was so neat to experience this, and it grew me so much in the way I worshipped!! It was also fun to watch the little teenage girls run up to Michael and ask for his autograph after they played! HAHA! So, that's pretty much how Michael and I spent the next 2 years of our relationship. In January of 2005, I moved back home to take some classes at Holmes and then transferred back to USM in August 2005. The long distance relationship didn't really bother us all that much. We both made it a priority to see eachother as much as possible, send eachother letters and flowers (I received lotsssssss of flowers), and Michael would show up for surprise visits very often! The summer of 2005, I served as a summer missionary through the BSU at Southern. They sent me to Lake Tahoe to serve and I was ecstatic to go!!! However, when I got there 2 things happened: 1)I started having very bad pain in my side and lower back, 2)I missed Michael like craaaaazy!!!!!!! I visited the doctor every week while I was in Lake Tahoe trying to figure out what this pain was. They finally sent me to the hospital for an MRI, and that is when I first discovered my kidney stones! They found SIX while I was in Tahoe!! They gave me the option to have surgery there, or go home. I decided to go home, because I wanted to be with my mom...and...I was ready to see Michael. So, I ended up serving in Tahoe for a month, and then went back home to finish my summer in Clinton. When I moved back to Hattiesburg in August 2005, I started living with Brandy Bell (Byrd). Michael and I continued to date and our love for eachother grew much stronger! As I continued my education at Southern Miss, Michael decided to put school on hold and traveled with the band full time. He would still work at the fitness center when he wasn't traveling, and I went to work at Belk.

The story gets better...
Check in tomorrow for the next chapter :)


my boyfriend was in the band,
Tonya