Snaps of Damascus, VA

We had a fun weekend with 3 other couples from our small group, Ollie and Josiah were the cutest babies on the mountain!! If you've never checked out Damascus you should it's just a quaint little mountain town about 3 hours from here. We rented this cute very shabby chic little place right off of main street, ate yummy pancakes, went down the 17 mile creeper trail, took naps, listened to the guitar, grilled yummies, saw the cutest little chicks and just hung out. Good times!

picture of the week

I call it: babysitter, babysitter what do you see?

I have to confess to not taking a single picture this week, sigh, don't get me wrong it's not that there wasn't anything to snap, b/c I would have loved to capture Ollie sitting up on the credenza in our living room yesterday afternoon going through my pocketbook, but he went to time out to fast to snap that one. So I am borrowing this cute image from my friend Lauren's blog, she and her fiance' kept Olls last week so Matty and I could have a little date night. Listen, he is still so darn cute, even when he's going through my pocket book 4 feet off the ground. Today, Ollie is 17 months old, happy, happy, we're headed to Virginia with our small group this afternoon, I won't forget the camera!

My Watering Can List

So after watching the movie "The Bucket List" a few months ago, I decided I would like to make a list. I'm not calling it a bucket list because Lord willing I'm not kicking the bucket any time soon, so mine is a "watering can list" of things I hope I do or achieve one day. So here goes:
1. plan and go on a big extended family vacation.
2. go to Europe
3. take a year off from "life" and sail around with my family, we've actually talked about doing this when we're 40, I'd home/sail school as we sail
4. get a tattoo, for real
5. learn to sew, it would be real handy
6. learn to bake a wedding cake
7. be in a play
8. teach education at the college level (maybe get my Ed. doctorate, maybe, no time soon)
9. be the only 2nd grade teacher in a really small town with only one elementary school...hmm...could be a small town named Oriental, :), no we're not moving but it would be fun to live in a small town.
10. own or operate a bed and breakfast, Matt says we have to be independently wealthy for this one to work

So I'm tagging all my readers (if that's allowed)...what's on your watering can list?

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I call it: Dream come true!

Shout out to Ladder 56!!!

This afternoon Ollie and I got to go visit a real fireman at a real fire station and sit in a real fire truck. We thought it was great fun, thanks for taking us Kristen and John! Nick thanks for being a good sport.

The new kid on the block!

Yet another reason he's my son...he loves to dance, especially to NKOTB!! Go Olls!

Friends!

This past weekend I was blessed to spend some time with four of my college roomates, go Runnin' Bulldogs. Becky drove all the way from Florida, Lacey headed over from Wake Forest, NC, Carla headed up from Fort Mill, SC, and Marissa drove over from Mooresville, NC to spend the night on Efland Drive Friday night. We played at the pool, talked, watched a movie, ate yummy food, and just had a blast catching up. All four of these girls mean so much to me and have played and still play such different and important roles in my life. Ollie loved be spoiled by his "aunties." I'm thankful for such sweet sisters!

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I call it: "worst shiner yet," He ate the sidewalk last night, yikes, don't worry he's okay.

Redemption

This past weekend Matt and I went away to celebrate the 4th and our 7th wedding anniversary. We headed to Oriental, NC home of the "Wiley Shiner" (our boat, aka The Shiner) on Thursday, we spent two days cruising around, swimming with jellyfish, eating lobster, fried soft-shell crab sandwiches, sleeping, installing a stereo, attending the Croaker festival, falling more in love with each other and I read a lot. We then headed on to Beaufort, NC for a night in a B and B. I love to read, it's the one thing I do to escape from reality, I read 300 pages on Friday. Well, I started re-reading Redeeming Love again last week. It was just calling me from our hallway book shelf. If you have never read this book, you must! It's a romantic love story which basically re-tells the story of Hosea. Michael, a farmer, feels Christ telling him to marry Angel, a prostitute. They go back and forth with hate, love and resolution. I was reminded of just how much Christ wants to pursue me, everyday, I am His beloved! Whew, I think we just need a "redeeming love experience" once in a while and I surely was due! As the back of the cover says Redeeming Love is a life-changing story of God's unconditional, redemptive, and all-consuming love. Looking for a summer read???

7 years!

"my beloved is a bouquet of wildflowers picked just for me from the fields of Engedi"
Song of Solomon 1:12 The Message

7 years: 7 million reasons why I love YOU!

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I call it: "blue popsicle summer."