See you in a week.

Hey Darlings, I'm in need of some renewing so I'm taking a week to renew. 
See you next week!! Much love xoxo <3 & Happy April! +++

Mommy Moments.

Hey mamas!

Welcome back for another great week of Mommy Moments Link Ups! Thank you for linking up and for spreading the word last week! We had over 75 links last week which is awesome! I loved reading all of your great posts!

Motherhood has its seriousness and frustration as well as its laughs. That's why we are here. Life is much easier when traveled with companions! So mamas, let's join together in the spirit of motherhood and share our moments together. We want to hear the happy, sad, tough, terrible, hilarious moments that make being a mother the best job in the world!

 The top viewed link this week belongs to our very own Shelby from It's Always Sonny and her post My Pregnant Body 25 Weeks! She has the perfect little baby bump and shares how she's feeling at 25 weeks along as she battles some difficult health issues along the way. Congratulations on your pregnancy Shelby! We will be praying that you and this sweet baby stay healthy!
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We also have a very special guest host for the next several link ups. Pamela is sponsoring The Life Of Faith for the next 2 months and is also excited to be a part of the Mommy Moments Link Up during that time. Please welcome Pamela from Macdonald's Playland! Pamela just gave birth to her baby boy this past week and we are so happy and excited for her!


Alrighty, now it's time to link up your posts!

1. Follow Host: The Life Of Faith 

 Co-Hosts: The Not Quite Military Wife, Beautiful Family Affairs, and Like A Morning Cup Of Coffee
Guest Host: Macdonald's Playland

2. Link up your post!
Post can include anything related to mommy-hood, children, homemaking, pregnancy etc. If you aren't a mom yet, feel free to link up your preparation for motherhood, your journey as you try to conceive, or even a post that would be encouraging to the other moms in the party!

3. Add the Mommy Moments button to your post or blog so everyone knows where you are linking up!

4. Explore some of the other posts in the link-up and say hello to some new blog friends! 

5. Tweet or Share the link up on Facebook so we can all make even more friends!

Tweet

<div align="center"><a href="http://the-life-of-faith.blogspot.com//search/label/baby" title="The Life Of Faith"><img src="http://i1114.photobucket.com/albums/k537/faithkonrath/mommymomentsbutton.jpg" alt="The Life Of Faith" style="border:none;" /></a></div>

P.S. We will be having a new guest host every week! Want to be a guest host of the Mommy Moments Blog Hop? Send Faith a message at farmprincess14{at}gmail{dot}com. We would love to have you!

Colossians 3:17 
And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

An InLinkz Link-up

We're official because Facebook says so!

That Sunday we had planned on trying a new Church  with some friends.

"Hello my future beautiful wife!"  He said with excitement.

It was still so weird to me knowing that this young man and I would one day be married.. I had always thought we would but the fact that this became a reality freaked me out a bit. But I had no doubts. I knew that what happened last Thursday night was legit. I mean both Leon and I told Jesus a head of time that we didn't want to play the dating game. We had no time for that, we just wanted to date our wife/husband and that's it. And God was faithful.

As we were driving we were so lost in conversation about what happened last Thursday. We were both just amazed. After about thirty minutes of talking we realized and caught on to the fact that we were lost... yikes!
We had no idea where we were and Leon didn't have the GPS with him.. bigger Yikes!

After about two hours of driving Leon finally figured out where we were and since we missed church by an hour we decided to just drive around and talk more and then he introduced me to one of the loves of my life... Panera Bread. Yes, I know what you're thinking but it's true. I had never been to a Panera Bread until I met Leon. I hadn't even been to a starbucks until I met Leon. Crazy huh? Anyways.

My very first Panera goodness was The Chicken Caesar Sandwich with a green tea and man oh man.
Best. Sandwich. Ever.

We continued conversations about where we wanted to go from here, Jesus and then Leon  mentioned that I had no taste in clothes  he wanted to take me clothes shopping.. And I was like when and where buddy?

After a full day of hanging at his house, and going out with friends Leon pretty much just shared his heart with me on our way home. He said that he knew that this was legit but he's having a hard time not doubting. He told me that he did love me but he wasn't ready to call me his girlfriend yet and for the time being he just wanted to be friends and get to know me as a friend. Which was definitely a great idea considering we still barely knew each other as people. 

Because we wanted to really get to know each other better we decided to spend a day together. So He picked me up around 10:00am. We got some more Panera Bread and hung out at a Church where he worked and discussed a book called "101 questions to ask each other before you get engaged".
                                             
After that we pretty much just hung out with  his mom and afterwards we went out with our friend Krista.

It's Official.
(About a month later) It was Labor day and our friends & Spiritual Parents were having a cookout before they closed the pool. We were sitting with our friend Krista drinking green tea while Leon was in the pool. We were just sitting and Krista asked when we were planning on making it official. Both Leon and I didn't really know the answer to that one.. For me I was ready anytime but I in no way wanted to be the one to say "Will you be my boyfriend? My Sugar muffin?" Nope!

It was a silent drive on the way home for about 15 minutes.. I think we were both thinking hard. For us it would be a huge step. He has never had a real serious godly relationship before and for me I had never been in any sort of relationship whatsoever. But the silence quickly broke when Leon asked me to be his girlfriend... in his own words of course which was  "So, I guess I'm switching my facebook relationship status.. Are you going to also?" 

Seriously not the kind of Girlfriend proposal I was expecting or dreamed of but hey, I'll take it!

So it was official! Leon and I were  Boyfriend and Girlfriend the very first Monday of September which was September 6th by the way.  My facebook status said proudly "In a relationship" and it had a huge amount of likes and comments overload! Some people expected it and others were shocked that we even knew each other.  And I'm friends with them why? hah!

Come back next Friday for part eight.
New to these series? 
 Part one our Journey
part two He walked back into my life
  part three  Sale for Haiti
Part four Next stop Ocean City where all your dreams come true.. or not.
Part five is it too late?

What my favorite day of the week looks like.

Because I'm a cops wife my weekends don't fall on Saturdays and Sundays (unless a miracle takes place!) Instead it usually falls on a weekday. Also with Leon working night shift and sometimes court the next morning I only get one day with him because some days he has court on his day off and if not he has to sleep because he worked the night before. it can be hard sometimes because it's like he's not even there for a whole six days. When he's up I'm sleeping and when I'm up he's sleeping. We can't talk, or text or anything. So you can imagine the one day he is off that it's the best day of the week for me.

We start out our morning with a yummy breakfast that either Leon makes or we usually make together. These past two weeks I have begged Leon to make his yummy french toast. He seriously makes the best ever!

While we're eating some la french toast we drink up some coffee.. Leon is a new coffee lover.. Yes, he converted! I must say I'm so happy he did. I'm hoping now we can share the same love for cute coffee mugs and the sweet smells coffee has to offer.

After coffee and breakfast I get some "me" time that is long over due by the end of the week. It's so nice to be able to read, write and drink and not stop or pause until you're done.. Sigh, it's the little things.

During Evelynne's nap (after lunch)  Leon and I kinda chill. He sits on his phone playing youtube and I do what all bloggers do.. blog haha!

After she wakes up we do some family time. Which is always my most favorite part of the day.

After that it should be around dinner and who cooks on their favorite day of the week?? Not me! At least not all the time. If we're eating out this is the day of the week we usually do it on. We either eat as a family or if Leon and I desperately need alone time we'll go on a date.

By the time we get home and eat the goodness it's about Evelynne's bed time. So I get her ready and Leon prays sweet sleep over her.

And then Leon and I do whatever we want for the rest of the night. It's so much fun! We usually watch movies and eat junk, or take a drive and talk about what we've been up to and communicate our feelings to one another. When you have a distance relationship (which we kinda do)  It's so important to communicate every chance you get! Boy am I learning that.
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Why does your  favorite day look like? :)

Understanding my role as a Biblical Daughter.

This study has been so renewing and refreshing  for me. I have received so much from it so far and it's only been two weeks.. I wasn't able to study too much this week considering my  mouth has been swollen from wisdom teeth (blah) However, I did get some great nuggets to share.
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Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! Therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know Him.
- 1 John 3:1
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> In other translations it replaces "Bestowed" with "Lavished"  and "Great Love"  So so beautiful! It amazes me every day that The Lord of lords and King of kings loves me. It's such an Amazing Love that just sweeps me away. I don't always feel His love.. In fact when things go wrong in our lives it can make it really difficult to feel anything from Jesus.. But take heart friend that His love isn't a feeling, it's truth. It's what we walk by faith to believe. Believing that Jesus doesn't love us because things our going wrong with whatever is the biggest lie from the devil.. Instead of being mad at Jesus for the worlds problems cling to Him and His love and have faith!  He can't help you unless you give it to Him.
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  For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. -Galatians 3:26-28
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Though experiencing His love encounters are awesome we need to remember that His love for us is all the time and not just when we feel it! When you're at your worst He loves you just as much when you were at your best. He is for you friend and He loves you! If you are truly needing a love encounter this morning. I encourage you to listen to this song and just let Jesus take over. :) Love you guys.


 
Happy Spring btw!! It's hard for me to grasp the fact that it's Spring with the weather still being chilly! However, I'm going Spring shopping and hopping that will give our bi-polar weather a hint to warm up ;)
It's hard to believe this time last year my toddler was a baby still :)

Mommy Moments Blog hop

Hey mamas!

Welcome back for another great week of Mommy Moments Link Ups! Thank you for linking up and for spreading the word last week! We had over 75 links last week which is awesome! I loved reading all of your great posts!

Motherhood has its seriousness and frustration as well as its laughs. That's why we are here. Life is much easier when traveled with companions! So mamas, let's join together in the spirit of motherhood and share our moments together. We want to hear the happy, sad, tough, terrible, hilarious moments that make being a mother the best job in the world!

 The top viewed link this week belongs to our very own Alli from Beautiful Family Affairs as she does a Comparison Between Baby 1 and Baby 2! She also has a poll at the end of her post where you can guess if she's having a boy or a girl!  What a fun post :)


We also have a very special guest host for the next several link ups. Pamela is sponsoring The Life Of Faith for the next 2 months and is also excited to be a part of the Mommy Moments Link Up during that time. Please welcome Pamela from Macdonald's Playland! Pamela just gave birth to her baby boy this past week and we are so happy and excited for her!


Alrighty, now it's time to link up your posts!

1. Follow Host: The Life Of Faith 

 Co-Hosts: The Not Quite Military Wife, Beautiful Family Affairs, and Like A Morning Cup Of Coffee
Guest Host: Macdonald's Playland

2. Link up your post!
Post can include anything related to mommy-hood, children, homemaking, pregnancy etc. If you aren't a mom yet, feel free to link up your preparation for motherhood, your journey as you try to conceive, or even a post that would be encouraging to the other moms in the party!

3. Add the Mommy Moments button to your post or blog so everyone knows where you are linking up!

4. Explore some of the other posts in the link-up and say hello to some new blog friends! 

5. Tweet or Share the link up on Facebook so we can all make even more friends!

Tweet

<div align="center"><a href="http://the-life-of-faith.blogspot.com//search/label/baby" title="The Life Of Faith"><img src="http://i1114.photobucket.com/albums/k537/faithkonrath/mommymomentsbutton.jpg" alt="The Life Of Faith" style="border:none;" /></a></div>

P.S. We will be having a new guest host every week! Want to be a guest host of the Mommy Moments Blog Hop? Send Faith a message at farmprincess14{at}gmail{dot}com. We would love to have you!

Colossians 3:17 
And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

An InLinkz Link-up

He's my future husband say whaat?

After all that excitement from the week before Leon and I decided to get some prayer from our Spiritual family at our Church  Bible study. I remember this night like it was yesterday because it was so amazing that it was too good to be happening.

After The Bible study was over our Bible Study teacher (Who is now our Pastor) Pastor Joe offered prayer and Leon and I quickly stood up and asked for prayer. Pastor Joe just finished laughing in the Spirit so he could seriously barely stand from God's anointing on him so he told two women Tammie and Krista who are my ladies to pray over us. While they were praying in tongues my friend Krista had the interpretation saying

"You guys will one day be one".

We all lost it there. Tears, I tell you tears. He was crying, I was crying, our friends were crying, and my sister in law was crying.

This was so strange, so fast and so... well, strange. I've only been on one date with this guy and The Lord prophesied Marriage over us. How awesome is that?


 After the Bible Study Leon and Ashley dropped me off. We were both so excited and instantly felt love towards each other. He looked back at me from the front seat and asked if he could hold my hand and that's what we did for the whole 40 minutes driving home.. Hand holding and making love eyes at each other.

That night Leon walked inside his house, sat on his stairs and just paused. When his mom came walking down she asked him what happened and he looked right up to her and said

"mama, I've found the one who I'm meant to marry".

Before our day ended Leon sent me the words I've been waiting for.

"Sweet dreams my future wife. I love you!"

And finally the emotions I've kept hidden for so long could finally come out and say "Leon, I love you too!"

Now before you start thinking that we fell too hard off of cloud nine let me explain the love we felt for each other. Our love for each other had nothing to do with each other. I mean I'm sure you can imagine that we barely knew each other after one date. Our love for one another is one hundred percent God inspired. He placed that love for each other inside our hearts and I'll have more on that in the future.

Come back next Friday to read part seven. :)
 New to these series? 
 Part one //our Journey
part two// He walked back into my life
  part three//  Sale for Haiti
Part four// Next stop Ocean City where all your dreams come true.. or not.
Part five is it too late?
Part 6// Jeremiah 29:11 I realized I was in love.  

He is your Refuge and Strength!

                             

On the days when life is unfair, or people hurt you, or you are misunderstood, tuck this into your heart:

    I love You, O LORD, my strength.The LORD is my Rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in who I take refuge... Psalm 18:1-2                          
 On days when you feel as though you just can't take any more remember this.

 Find your refuge in Him; He's got your back.

Sponsor with me in April.

Interested????? I'd love to have you! Here's what we'll do. You take my button for your blog and I'll take yours. Sounds good?

Every one of my sponsors will have the opportunity to guest post and be given shout outs at the end of my posts. I want to start getting really serious with my sponsors so my little blog mascot and I will do every thing we possible can to make you feel welcome! If you have any questions please let me know. You can either comment or e-mail me. 

To all of my present sponsors let me know if you'd like to sponsor with me for another month. I'd love to have you. :)


Email me at heather.amorningcupofcoffee [at] gmail [dot] com.   Space is limited.

 

Due to my girl moving this month we are taking a break from TVRL. However, we'll be back before you know it with more randomness. :)

We are daughters.

This was my first week of the study and it was so refreshing. I haven't started reading any books yet but I've been reading scripture.

I've decided that before doing any further studies on marriage/motherhood I was going to firstly study to a deeper level of who I am as a Daughter in Christ. Because I don't know about you but I'll be the first to admit that I can't do this wife or mama thing without His identity in me because without Jesus I'm too selfish and too foolish.

So, I'm gonna seek further wisdom of who I am in Christ because without Him and without knowing who I am in Him I'm not capable. But with Him and knowing who I am in Him I'm a firm believer that I can do anything including the impossible like loving Leon when he eats all my pumpkin bread moving mountains.

These are the three scriptures that I've been studying this week about being a child of The Most High God.

"And I will be a Father to you, and you will be My Sons and Daughters, Says The Lord Almighty."
 -2 Cor 6:18

But to all who receive Him, who believed in His Name, He gave the right to become Children of God;
-John 1:12

"For in Christ we are all sons of God through faith." -Gal 3:26

These are the only three scriptures that I got to this week because I couldn't stop reading them and letting them sink in. the other day I was standing in line for ice cream and I was just desiring a Fatherly relationship for a split second.. Maybe it was the gentle and loving relationship between a father and his daughter who was in front of me who knows? However, The Lord spoke to me right then and there saying

"Heather, you don't need to search any more. I'm the Best Father there is!"

I seriously almost started crying at a dairy shop. I was so touched and this whole thing of me being a daughter of Christ just became a new level of reality for me.

Ladies, whether you have an amazing dad on earth or a dad who gave you the worst years of your life take heart that you are a child of the King who saw you when you were hurting and He loved you!

He loves you so much that He sent His only perfect and flawless Son to come and die for our sins so that He could adopt us to be His Own and so that we could have that right.  We were given that right!

We are no longer Fatherless, we can no longer say we're not daddy's girls and we are free to say we have the best Papa of all time.. Because it's true!

 

Mommy Momments

Hey mamas!

Welcome back for another great week of Mommy Moments Link Ups! Thank you for linking up and for spreading the word last week! We had over 75 links last week which is awesome! I loved reading all of your great posts!

Motherhood has its seriousness and frustration as well as its laughs. That's why we are here. Life is much easier when traveled with companions! So mamas, let's join together in the spirit of motherhood and share our moments together. We want to hear the happy, sad, tough, terrible, hilarious moments that make being a mother the best job in the world!

 This week's most viewed link belongs to Molly from Redeeming The Day and her post "13 Things For New Parents To Know" I loved exploring Molly's adorable blog and this post is great for every new parent to read just to be prepared for life with a newborn!


We also have a very special guest host for the next several link ups. Pamela is sponsoring The Life Of Faith for the next 2 months and is also excited to be a part of the Mommy Moments Link Up during that time. Please welcome Pamela from Macdonald's Playland!


Alrighty, now it's time to link up your posts!

1. Follow Host: The Life Of Faith 

 Co-Hosts: The Not Quite Military Wife, Beautiful Family Affairs, and Like A Morning Cup Of Coffee
Guest Host: Macdonald's Playland

2. Link up your post!
Post can include anything related to mommy-hood, children, homemaking, pregnancy etc. If you aren't a mom yet, feel free to link up your preparation for motherhood, your journey as you try to conceive, or even a post that would be encouraging to the other moms in the party!

3. Add the Mommy Moments button to your post or blog so everyone knows where you are linking up!

4. Explore some of the other posts in the link-up and say hello to some new blog friends! 

5. Tweet or Share the link up on Facebook so we can all make even more friends!

Tweet

<div align="center"><a href="http://the-life-of-faith.blogspot.com//search/label/baby" title="The Life Of Faith"><img src="http://i1114.photobucket.com/albums/k537/faithkonrath/mommymomentsbutton.jpg" alt="The Life Of Faith" style="border:none;" /></a></div>

P.S. We will be having a new guest host every week! Want to be a guest host of the Mommy Moments Blog Hop? Send Faith a message at farmprincess14{at}gmail{dot}com. We would love to have you!

Colossians 3:17 
And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

An InLinkz Link-up

Jeremiah 29:11 I realized I was in love.

Days came and went for Leon.. Days of praying, seeking The Lord and just wondering what he should do. Because of his past relationships he didn't want to rush at all and he didn't want to play games like he has before.

So finally after about a week or two of him talking and seeking guidance from all those who loved him and soon loved me Leon finally decided to ask me out on a date.

One Monday morning around 10 am I received a text from Leon saying.

"Hey Heather, So I was thinking and I'd really like to take you on a date to get to know you better. When and what time should I come talk to your dad?"

Haha, It certainly wasn't the most romantic way to ask a girl out however, considering I have been waiting for him to ask me for like six months I'll take it!
I remember running around the house feeling a lot like well, her.

 
I honestly couldn't contain my excitement and everyone in the whole world house knew that the man I've been waiting for finally asked me on a date... I wish I could say I played more hard to get...But I really didn't. I was like Cinderella who finally danced with her Prince... Or was asked out. And that's definitely something to be excited about.

So that night Leon came to my house dressed in his best to speak with my dad. They both went outside, talked for a few hours while I sat inside nervously talking to my girl  Krista and giving her updates because she has been waiting for this moment just as long as I have. I wasn't nervous with fear of my dad saying "no"  because there was absolutely no way he could I mean who would deny their daughter the man of her dreams? But I was just nervous with excitement. This was actually happening.

After Leon and my dad came back in Leon told me that my dad approved and if Monday night around 6ish would be good for me? And it was.

Exactly one week from that day would be my very first date.. Ever! I couldn't be more excited and the week couldn't go by fast enough!

The night I fell in love.
 Through out the week our late night text messages were all about our date and how we were both looking forward to it. I also took a lot of time that week just talking to The Lord about what He wants.. I had a lot of wonderful feelings for Leon but I really didn't want to date him unless The Lord had His say. I didn't want to waste my time or Leon's time if we weren't really the one's for each other and I certainly didn't want to risk a friendship. So I told the Lord that if He mentioned Jeremiah 29:11 in our conversations then that would be a good confirmation for me.

The day came and I was so excited and as nervous as ever! He came, he waited 15 minutes, and we left.

As were were driving he spent the whole time complementing me. We didn't end up taking any pictures on our first date except for the one above because we were so lost in each other and our conversations. Taking pictures weren't even thought of which is unusual for me considering I'm Mrs Say cheese haha!

We went to Carrabba's Italian grill which is now my favorite restaurant. We were there from about 6:30 to almost 8:00pm just eating and talking. I stepped out of my comfort zone and tried fried squid and it was so good! I felt like I was so awkward and embarrassing the whole time. Firstly was when Leon mentioned to our waiter how beautiful I was and I didn't think when I asked the waiter (male waiter)  "Isn't my date gorgeous!?" Leon quickly answered and laughed "You don't have to answer that."  But Leon kept assuring me how beautiful I was and how he's having so much fun! I really think he could tell I was nervous so he really focused on making me feel good about myself.

One thing he did that really blew me away was that before the waiter even waited on us he gave him his 20 dollar tip. He then told the waiter he's not tipping him for his actions or how he does it but just out of kindness and blessing.

I was really touched by that because I have never seen or heard of someone who not only tipped that much but before we were even served. That right there was when I realized that Leon has a giving heart.

Our conversations always led back to Jesus and what He was doing in our lives and what we knew He was going to do in our future. Oh, and can you guess what verse Leon quoted more then once? Yep, Jeremiah 29:11.

For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. 

I remember that night I didn't have to open one door. He was such a gentlemen. It was the most amazing night of my life... so far.

That night I also realized something. That was the night I really fell in love. With his passions, his love, and him. I just knew he was the one that God had for me but deep down inside I still wasn't sure. I was so stubborn that even the confirmations still didn't convince me.

I'll stand by you.
About a week later Leon sent me a text asking me if I was going to be at Church that night. I told him I wasn't because I was babysitting. He then told me that he was told to step down from leadership and leave the youth due to His beliefs of death and sickness not being God's will and that Christ overcame death so that we will live not under the law of sin but in freedom of Christ. They said he  could come back one last time to say goodbye to all of his students that he taught and poured his time and life into but after that he couldn't come back. I remember feeling so bad for Leon and so mad at the church. And because they kicked Leon out I left too! 

When I told Leon I left the church he was so touched and encouraged by it. He couldn't believe that I would do that. After all we just had one date. But I honestly loved Leon and knew that he was my future man and wherever he went I went with him. 

The Vision.

A few days later I received another text from Leon (The man loves to text haha) asking me me what I was doing last January 18th at night. I don't know how he'd expect me to remember that off hand considering it was August however, I went through  for my journals to find out.

I didn't know what specific answer he was looking for, I didn't even know why he was asking me I mean, who does that? But that was the night Leon and I met at church and later that night  I was so upset with my dad that I was just in my room crying and praying to Jesus which led to me dancing and worshiping Jesus.

When I told him that he responded "Interesting".  

I had no idea what was going on and I demanded a explanation. 

He told me that his friend he used to pray with reminded him of a vision he had on January 18th after Church. They would go into the sanctuary and pray for their future wives and The Lord gave Leon a vision of his wife with brown hair dancing.

Coincidence?  I think not. We were both so speechless and honestly didn't know what to think or say! So we both decided we were going to ask for prayer and receive wisdom when we go to our next Bible study.


Come back next Friday to read part six! :)

New to these series? 
 Part one our Journey
part two He walked back into my life
  part three  Sale for Haiti
Part four Next stop Ocean City where all your dreams come true.. or not.
Part five is it too late?