St. Patricks Day

I've been on the road a lot. Thankfully with my job, coming home to my parents house happens a good bit, so that dad and I can get work done...and I can enjoy time with my sweet parents. We are about to eat traditional St Patrick's Day food: corn beef and cabbage, and red potatoes. My mom just put green food coloring in my milk. Just like when I was little. It's the little things...time and time again, these little touches and tradition are precious tokens of family and love.


PS-I miss my hubby.

Orlando!

Matt is taking a class for this job all this week in Orlando. It was super last minute, and wildly I had no school visits planned. A lot of colleges are on spring break, so I got to come with him. It's been such a blessing. God totally provided this time for us here. We went to Universal on Sunday and have been perusing Disney from the outside (dinners at Disney resorts, hanging out in Downtown Disney). Hopefully Friday he will get out early and we can go to one or more of the parks. Matt's never been to Florida and throughout one summer doing SummerShine we joked about just leaving for Florida. So, here we are, four years later on our first Florida trip. Pretty sweet.

grocery store excitement

Wegmans. Anyone been there?! It's primarily up north...and I had my first experience there last week. It's a grocery store, and it's fabulous! Think of combining a coffee bar, a sushi place, a pizza place and more made to order areas plus a normal grocery store and a fresh market. Whoa.

I got a bowl of shrimp bisque and fresh roll for lunch after weighing all my options thoroughly. We sat in a room to eat which felt like a ski lodge. It was an awesome grocery store. It was recommended to us that we at least go look around inside, so we did. If you see one, check it out.



Oh, and the doughnuts and muffins are pretty good too.

So busy with SummerShine!

Eek, I've hardly blogged. In the last two and a half weeks I've been to Clemson University, Marathon Church, James Madison University's Greek InterVarsity, Liberty University and a CLUB Youth Retreat. This week I'm off to SC. North Greenville University and Furman University, here I come! Keep SummerShine in your prayers as we seek the right people to serve this summer. God is faithful.

Birthday Celebration. 2011.

I had a great birthday. I woke up to a sweet note left by my husband (he leaves me notes every morning, one of the best things about getting out of bed, the other is coffee. oh, and yes, definitely jesus time). He told me that though I'd receive gifts today, I am God's gift to all of us. LOVE.

My family has always celebrated birthdays with joy and enthusiasm, I was telling people all day that it was my birthday. It's the one day where it's okay to be goofy and talk about yourself in that way, non-stop. My sister-in-law greeted me at her doorstep with a cupcake and candle, which was super cute. From there we got mani/pedi's and had a nice lunch at Ruby Tuesday. Later in the afternoon my parents came to town and took Matt and me to a lovely dinner at The Ironwood Cafe. We'd never eaten there but had heard great things. I had a delicious filet, Matt had lamb shank, Mom got salmon, and my Dad got a steak. It was a swanky place and we really enjoyed it.

Back home I opened cards, gifts, and blew out 26 candles! My mom handmade a coconut cake. She's pretty awesome. Look at this:







I got some beautiful Waterford Iced Tea Glasses, a fun necklace, a book, shirt and some great sunglasses! Here are a few more pictures from our evening. So blessed.

25's been good to me.

In a few hours I say goodbye to 25, hello to 26. It's an interesting stage of life here. I'm married. I'm happy.

We just found a house to rent, and honestly, it's way nicer than what I was thinking we'd end up in. It's a house! I was ready and totally willing/excited about a condo, townhome or villa. Yet, we're in a house! Whoa. Grown up. We also signed a contract for a year and a half. We are the most committed to an area that we have been during our whole marriage (i know we haven't been married for that long, but still!). It is freaking me out a bit, knowing that we will be here for at least that long. I feel pressure to find friends, make friends, get connected, find a church home. Commitment of some sort changes your perspective. YET, I'm excited to be able to land somewhere and do all of the previously mentioned things. I KNOW it will take time to get into the groove, and I'm praying that God will lead us and mostly, show us how to serve here in SP.

Thank you God, for a great year. Wonderful memories and many blessings. May "26" honor you.

Moving!

We found a place to live! I apologize for the lack of blogging. It has been a crazy few days. I hope to post/update more soon.

God is good and has provided for us in some great ways. I got a desk to work from home on and I'm so excited about it. Now I can be organized...but first comes lots of unpacking.