Tennessee Part 4

After two nights in Knoxville, we loaded up to return to Columbia. The timing worked out perfectly so that we could meet a long-time friend of mine for lunch in Murfreesboro on the way. Melany and I have a unique and very "God provides" kind of story about how we met. I had just graduated college and moved into an apartment on my own in Dallas. My mother literally drove me to Dallas on my 21st birthday, moved me into my apartment, gave me a birthday cake, and left. I am not kidding! I felt so alone after spending four years surrounded by friends in college. Melany had just moved to Dallas from Georgia and did not know anyone either. It just so happens that Melany's brother and Cody were great friends in college and mentioned that they both knew someone who had just moved to Dallas. They figured we should look each other up and be friends. It turns out, and this is where it gets amazing, Melany and I were living in different apartments that were less than a mile away from each other. We could literally walk to each other's apartment. We did become fast friends and spent lots of time together over the next year. In a huge city like Dallas, I still can't believe we had moved there separately and ended up as neighbors.

Ava took this picture for us at the restaurant. It was a local place, and I had this fabulous Mexican spaghetti. I want to try to replicate it sometime. It was basically spaghetti noodles with chili, cheese, green onion, and sour cream on top.

It was a short but sweet visit. I am so glad we got a chance to see Melany.

We continued on to Columbia after lunch, back to Brandy's house. The kids disappeared upstairs and played so well together. Brandy and I got to visit, and then I snuck out and made her watch the kids so I could go shopping at a quaint little shop just down the street. Near Brandy's house are all these little boutique type shops in old historic houses. Brandy tells me she never goes to them and I told her she was crazy. Cody is thanking his lucky stars right now that we don't live within walking distance of cute little shops. One of the shops was a consignment clothing place with lots of cute kids' clothes. The best part was the clearance rack. Almost every item was a dollar. I found tons of cute clothes and made a haul!

As promised, I'll now reveal the amazing dinner Brandy cooked for me that night before the drive home. She made Dara's chicken enchiladas from the Bad Girls recipe blog. They were soooooooooo good. Get on over there and check them out!

The kids and I went to bed early that night in preparation for the long drive home. In keeping with tradition, we left at 5 AM in the morning.

After what seemed like our bazillionth stop at McDonalds, we rolled into our driveway at 4:30 PM. The kids were so happy to see their daddy, and I collapsed on the couch. Cody cooked a nice welcome home dinner for us. We had so much fun during our week in Tennessee. I really hope we can do it again sometime!