All About Me

Hey yall! Welcome to Happily Ever After! I'm Rachel Booth, the author of this humble blog. This is my own little corner of the web, a place where I share about my life, my family, teaching, traveling, and my latest craze, sewing! My family just relocated to Lexington, South Carolina after living in the Pennsylvania/Delaware area for the past three and a half years.

Most of my readers are personal friends and family, and probably already know some, if not all, of this stuff. If that's the case, yall can just skip a little further on down the page.

I am the daughter of two great parents--my dad is a retired U.S. Navy submariner and my mom is a nurse. I have a younger brother, Tony, who graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy is 2010, and is now a nuclear surface warfare officer! So proud of him. Growing up, we moved around the world every two to three years, and finally landed in good ol' Charleston, South Carolina in between my sophomore and junior year of high school. It ended up becoming home, as both my brother and I claimed South Carolina as our own.

 My family at my college graduation!

I graduated from Presbyterian College in little ol' Clinton, South Carolina in 2008 with a degree in political science and English. Those would have been the perfect foundation if I had been headed to law school, which I was most definitely not. Instead, I followed in the family tradition and joined the Navy. But, the Navy life was not meant to be for me, as I injured my knee in training and was then released from my obligation. I thought, let's see what political science can do for me, and went to work for U.S. Congressman J. Gresham Barrett in Washington, D.C. This was definitely an interesting job. The biggest thrills for me were knowing that I worked in the United States Capitol building and could go pretty much anywhere, and getting to use the Library of Congress as my personal library. Yeah, it was pretty cool. The Congressman ran for S.C. Governor, and I decided that I didn't want to spend the rest of my life in politics. Time for a reality check. What should I do with the rest of my life? Such a broad and imposing question to ask of yourself at 23. The answer came to me, with a little help from family and friends. I found myself living at home with my parents, working full time, and going to school full time to become an elementary school teacher, just like my grandma (and now, my mother-in-law). 

I found my passion in life. It was as if I found the key that fit into my own personal lock. I LOVE teaching. It is quite possibly the best job on the face of the planet. I never dreaded going into work and I always found myself thinking about ways to be a better teacher, even when I wasn't at school. It had literally seeped over into every area of my life. Thankfully, my family and then-boyfriend (now husband) have been uber supportive of my new found passion and career. I earned my Masters in Education, and spent the last three years teaching three different grades (kindergarten, first, and second).

Somewhere in the midst of all that, I found myself engaged and then married to the man of my dreams. Here he is on our honeymoon in Sedona, Arizona.... isn't he handsome?! :)

Edmund

We got married on March 26th, 2011 in Saint Simons Island, Georgia. It was such a beautiful, intimate wedding--literally everything I ever could have dreamed of for the beginning of our marriage. Here are just a few pictures from our wedding day! I promise I'll do a full wedding post (since I just noticed that I never actually did a full one... YIKES! ).

Lovely Lane Chapel at Epworth By The Sea

Our ceremony was so full of laughter and joy! Thanks so much to Rev. Kevin McGhee of  Bethany Community Church in Laurel, MD for officiating!

(He's my dad's college roommate from the Naval Academy and has been like an uncle to me growing up!)

Notice my hot pink shoes!! :) Can you tell I love pink?

This is the pavilion at Neptune Park on St. Simons Island

We had fun! :)

So, we honeymooned a few weeks later in Sedona, Arizona over my spring break. Fast foward to the summer, right after the 4th of July. To our surprise, we found out we were expecting! Our due date was March 21st, 2012. An anniversary baby!

Obviously, the good Lord had other plans for our pregnancy as Reagan came a little early! Check out her birth story here. I stayed home to be with Reagan, and my class was then taught by my wonderful friend. We moved a few months later to Lexington, South Carolina. We love being close to our family and friends from college, although we miss our friends up North, too!

Whew! That was a lot of information about me, and most of it from the past few years!

In other words, I'm a wordy words girl, alphabetizing, organizing, colorful mommy, seamstress (or wanna be), wife, daughter, and teacher. I'm happiest when things are labeled (preferably with a sticky note in a shade of hot pink), color coded, and in their place. I love fashion, food, and family. My favorite places are the ocean and Disney World, and I believe that you are never too old to enjoy a great children's book. My husband is confident that I'm from a different era.

I started this blog when I began working on my Masters degree, mainly as a way of chronicling my life and the things I was learning. It has certainly evolved over the last three years, as I have grown. Now, it's my way of staying in touch with extended family and friends, maintaining my sanity as I learn what it is to stay at home, and yes, a chance to show off my adorable baby girl!

I hope that you enjoy this little slice of my happily ever after!

Also, we are big supporters of March of Dimes! They did so much for our Reagan and our family support! This spring, we'll be joining them in their annual walk and we'd love to have your support! They're a wonderful organization and do so much for healthy babies, research to help prevent prematurity in babies, and promoting healthy pregnancies!