OSU vs. A&M...Naming Rights on the Line

Thanks to the magic of the Big XII conference, Adam's alma mater (OSU) and my alma mater (Texas A&M) play each other once every year in football. He took me down to College Station for the game last year while we were dating, but everything looks perfect when you're dating - this year was the first real test for us as a married couple. We headed up to Stillwater for the game last Thursday, and despite the fact that one of us would definitely leave disappointed in the outcome, we had a great time.

The game was exciting, the weather was great, and it was so fun to get out of Dallas for a weekend and see friends and family. I really thought that A&M was going to hold on to the lead...until the final interception with barely any time left gave OSU the ball. Oh don't worry, we stayed until the end...the very bitter end. 

This is halftime...hence the smile on my face.

During the game, as I stood proudly in my maroon A&M tshirt (stretched fairly tightly over my growing belly) in a sea of orange, watching thousands of fans wave the wheat, shake their car keys at kick offs, and yell things like "Orange Power," I briefly missed my college days, and I wished that I would have known my husband during those years. I would have loved to have experienced that season of life with him...but I would never trade my time at A&M, and I know he'd say the same about his years in Stillwater. God's timing is perfect, and although we often wonder why the Lord did not allow us to meet earlier in our lives, we love getting to be together now.

We wanted to put a friendly wager on the game, so we decided that whoever's school won the game would have naming rights to our first-born child. Looks like her name will be something like Stilly or Kendall. I'm hoping it's not Dez.

We spent the whole weekend in Oklahoma with friends and family, both in Stillwater and in Enid. Highlights included

• seeing our sweet 9-month-old niece (even though she was fighting a fever and not feeling like herself)
• hanging out with both of Adam's brothers and their wives
• visiting with Adam's parents, and hearing Adam's mom, talk about stories of Adam when he was a baby,
• so many people celebrating our little girl with us
• brainstorming possible baby names with Adam's family
• seeing our 2 godsons, and their new little sister, and their mom

The picture above is Adam with one of our godsons and our little goddaughter. I love watching Adam with the boys - they adore him, calling him "Uncle Adam", and my husband is so great with them. He's been a huge part of their lives since the day they were born, and it's a privilege for me to be grafted in to their lives as "Aunt Leigh." Watching Adam love them gives me a glimpse of the kind of father he will be to our little girl - and I couldn't be more excited to get to raise a child with this man. I pray that she will learn integrity, humility and confidence from her dad.

We came back to Dallas so refreshed, and so grateful for the Oklahoma family and friends we have.