Thanksgiving Day

I'm especially thankful for a time to visit with family, share a wonderful meal and relax today. I'm thankful for hot chocolate and chats in the "conversation room" at my parents house. I'm thankful for the tradition of watching "A Muppet Christmas Carol" every Thanksgiving night. I'm thankful for my sister who I'll get to see this weekend and my sister-in-law who we missed at lunch today in Clayton with Matt's family. I'm thankful that God has friends everywhere and that we get to play a small part of sharing hope and love in this great big world.

sweet

It has also been such a comfort to have friends leave comments on facebook, give hugs, texts, calls, etc. since we lost ashby. So thankful for my friends and fellow animal lovers. I certainly didn't want to leave out the fact that I am feeling the love. #thankful

Day 16 - simple beauty

As I pulled in my driveway this morning something caught my eye at our front door. I walked up to it and saw this:

It was a simple reminder, than even in loss, heartache, and cold dreary days, God gives us what we need. Today I needed to see simple beauty, a touch of warmth, to know I was loved. I hope you know you are loved too friends. Two roses blooming by my front door in November? Thank you Lord.

Day 15 - tough day

Yesterday was really tough. Our sweet Ashby, who has certainly been on this blog headed to doggie heaven. She was 15. She was the best. People say you know when it's time...but it's awfully hard to say goodbye. She fit in with us - we always joked about her short legs matching the rest of us girls with short legs in the family. She loved chocolate and was protective when boys would try to hug me. She had a thing for kleenex and would always give the love you needed. We have all cried - the weather was cold and gray and felt really appropriate. Some days the weather just matches your mood. Yesterday it did. I haven't had much loss in my life, and I know that losing a pet is not the same as a person, but it is hard. Really hard - heck I could cry right now. But in the spirit of loss, is the spirit of thankfulness. So even though it hurts, I am incredibly thankful for sweet Ashby.

Day 12 - time away!

Really thankful for time away with my hubby from the "normal" routine. I've always heard it's important for couples to get away, and spend time together. I can definitely see the benefits. It's in these breaks that we get to just relax and be free with each other. That could be sitting quietly and just reading, or taking a walk and dreaming. I am thankful we had the opportunity to get away this weekend for our friend's wedding and add an extra night to celebrate our anniversary!

Day 7!

Pretty much stealing my facebook status from yesterday for day 7:

Well, in the midst of all these lovely political posts...I will give you this: Happy 3rd anniversary Matt Jones! You make me laugh everyday and I love you!

Two years!

We celebrated our two year anniversary on Monday. It is crazy how it feels so normal, like we've always been married and always will be. The past two years have been better than I imagined. Truly a gift.

One of my favorite photos, I posted on facebook:
"Two years of love and adventure."

I surprised Matt last Tuesday, November 1st. He got home from work and I quickly told him, go put on the clothes that are on your bed, you have 60 seconds, and we have a date. He kept asking me questions, but I was determined not to give anything away. We set off to Charlotte - about a two hour drive. We arrived at The Fillmore, a pretty cool venue. I had him close his eyes and I put an envelope in his hands. He opened it and saw our tickets for The David Crowder band, Seven Tour. This is their final tour, and they had quite the entourage with them. John Mark McMillan, Chris August and Gungor all did acoustic sets. Matt was totally surprised and remarked, "I never would have asked for this." Which, was the point. The concert was great and we had a wonderful night, complete with Cook-Out Milkshakes on the way home.

Here are a few photos from my surprise!

All smiles:

John Mark McMillan, he's from Charlotte!

Chris August - he's funny!

Gungor: amazing talent.

David Crowder Band - so good!

For our anniversary on Monday we went to dinner at a local Japanese place and watched some of our wedding video. This weekend Matt is taking me on a get-away, but I don't know where we are going! Then, next week we are off to Charleston for Matt to have a training session for work. Lots to look forward to.

Monday

Today Matt and I went to a matinee and dinner out, just because. We don't typically have date nights on Mondays but I loved it. I even wore a pretty pink summery dress, just because I wanted to feel pretty for our date. AND I got complimented by a sweet old lady at the movie theater. :)

We saw "The Help" which is the best book I've read in a long time. The movie followed the book pretty closely, I was pleased with it! Though I did not cry while reading the book, I got teary eyed twice during the movie. I was not expecting that to happen, but it's a moving story of friendship, and so much more. If you haven't already read it, check it out.

And treat your special someone to an unexpected treat today...or tomorrow.

Love!

Sorting...

My parents are moving in less than a week. I've come home three or four times to help pack up, sort through lots of old stuff and be moral support! If you've moved, you know how incredibly overwhelming it can be, not to mention the exhaustion. Whew.

One of the fun things I've been able to do is read through old notes, cards, letters, and see many photos of people that are still special to me. I have a whole shoebox full from each year of college of these items. I'm throwing some things away, but some notes are just "keepers." Every single one from Matt I'm keeping. I just found a card from January 06, we'd been dating for about 6 months. On the back of the card it has the quote "You look familiar. Have we met somewhere before?" Matt wrote his own answer, "Yes, 3 summers ago. I'm glad you dissed me then. Being with you now, it is incredible. Really. I miss you."

What a reminder of the Lord's faithfulness in our lives, and Matt's humor that I continue to love. Though I "dissed" him then, look where we are now! I can't help but chuckle at his candid words and smile because I am loved by him.