Running for fun

Before 

After

A fun night running under the twinkling lights @ Lake Lanier Islands. 

Convictions

So, I go weeks without posting and now, I'm on the verge of a third post this week. Write this down, people. It may never happen again. I guess when the spirit moves (and when Veggie Tales viewing by your 3 y/o occurs), you take advantage.

Over the course of several weeks multiple situations have caused me to reevaluate my convictions. I like to think of myself as somewhat level headed, but who knows if others share that same opinion. Maybe you just think I'm laid back. Honestly, I'm just really good at playing it cool. Recent incidents have led me to truly examine my heart and give thought, prayer and reflection to every situation before reacting. 

I think it's easy to say, "I'm staying out of it." It's harder to actually do so. I'm not a choosing sides kinda girl. In the last few months, I have developed a new (or what some may call weird) point of view on relationships. Personally, I strive to base my relationships with others on my first-hand experiences with them. I don't want to fall victim to hearsay, others spin on things or even "the real truth." Often times, we tell ourselves that being educated about others' actions protects us. To a certain extent that is true. If you have encountered a vicious animal or known predator lurking at the park where I take my children to play, I'd like to think you'd warn me.

The flip side of that is that everyone deserves to be able to represent themselves. Well, what if they misrepresent themselves, is what you'll say to me. My response would be that is a risk that I feel God has asked me to take. It's my conviction. It may not be yours, and that's okay. But, please don't assume that means I'm playing the fence. He asked me to step out on faith and love others...even the ones that are hard to love.

I will, of course, protect myself and my family, but I also want to give everyone a fair shake. In my book, no one is guilty by association. If you've been a friend to me, I want to be a friend to you. Along with that, we both must recognize that we may not share the same friends, but that doesn't mean we can't love each other and love Jesus.

In the end, we must keep perspective. These little bumps in the road, these situations that seem impossible, these encounters that appear hopeless are all just reminders that we are imperfect and this is not our home. Thankful I serve a perfect Savior. Praying I can continue to recognize the convictions He gives and embrace them.

Hammer & Nails

Whirlwind in the Windy City

Want to know what I did this weekend? Well, it's a long story, but that's why you're here, right? I got a call Thursday morning from a friend who had gathered some buddy pass plane tickets from her family and hoped to pull a girls' weekend in New York together for fun and to celebrate her birthday. For those that have been, you know New York City can be a magical place. But, NYC at Christmas is beyond magical. I've been to NYC a few times and one of those was in December. It truly turns you into a child as you gaze with wide-eyes at the winter wonderland surrounding you. So, I was excited about the opportunity to see the Big Apple at Christmas with some of my greatest friends and fellow mommies. We all needed a weekend away. After my sweet hubby convinced me that I wouldn't be messing up anything and that it would be a perfect weekend to be away since he'd be mostly working and trying to sleep. Thankfully, my mom & dad were willing to look after the boys all weekend, which I greatly appreciated!

On Friday afternoon, the chances of all of us getting on a Saturday morning flight to NYC looked iffy at best. So, spur of the moment we decided to change our itinerary to Chicago. We left Habersham pretty early Saturday morning. All five of us managed to get on a 7:25 flight. By 9:30 a.m. (central time), we were stepping out of a cab onto the streets of Chicago exploring the city in a beautiful snowfall. We crammed as much fun as we could into our 30+ hours in the Windy City.

Huge thanks to my husband who encouraged me to take advantage of the opportunity. Big thanks to my mom & dad who gladly took care of the boys all weekend. Enormous thanks to my sweet friend, Katie, for the invite. It will be hard to top this birthday celebration, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't try!?!

just add animals & ice cream

A sweet long-time friend of mine and Josh's (who happens to be a fellow blogger) lives in New York City with her family. Lucky for us, her in-laws just retired to Ellijay and they decided to visit. So, we took the opportunity to meet up. The last time we had seen them was at a baby shower for the first child that was held in Atlanta. Dilan is now 3 years old.

Since we're both bloggers, I don't feel like it's been that long. I feel like I knew this sweet and funny 3 y/o, from the pictures, stories and letters shared on Kajal's blog even though I'd never seen her in person. And she felt the same about our two boys. I was still interested to see how the kids would interact around each other.

We met up at the Chestatee Wildlife Preserve, outside Dahlonega. It was ridiculously hot, but we made the best of it and enjoyed catching up while strolling among some semi-exotic animals. In fact, we shut the place down! Nevermind, they close at 4 p.m. My favorite part of the reunion was the impromptu decision to journey into Dahlonega and enjoy some ice cream from Connie's in downtown. Of course, we enjoyed catching up and hearing about preparations for their second child set to arrive at the end of the summer. But, I'm pretty sure the kids had fun too. Jack insisted Dilan sit beside him at ice cream, and she didn't object. So, maybe it was the animals or perhaps the ice cream, but either way, we look forward to the prospect of more reunions now that Grandma & Grandpa are a short drive away.

A Visit From the West Coast

We had some visitors from the West coast join us for part of the weekend. The Pucketts have been living in San Diego for several months now and are slated to return to Georgia in just a couple more months. We were grateful that they found time to visit us during their trip last week to begin finalizing plans for their return. We weren't sure if Jack would really remember Ben, Wendy & BJ, but it didn't really matter. He was thrilled to have a friend to play with.

He had some trouble with BJ's name and kept saying PJ. We tried to teach him by saying "ba, ba, ba BJ," but that only resulted in him calling him "ba, ba, ba PJ!" Thankfully BJ didn't seem to mind too much. He showed Jack how they jam on the West coast. We are looking forward to the Pucketts being closer to home in a few months. For now, enjoy that ocean air!

Old and New

Jack, Sam & I spent the morning catching up with friends old and new. My best friend from high school, Becca lives about 35 miles away and has a 2 year old daughter, Evelyn. Since we moved here almost 3 years ago, we've gotten together a hand-full of times...first when I was pregnant, then later when she was pregnant and I had a newborn, then twice more with our little ones in tow. Well, this was the first time the kids were old enough to actually play with one another and hopefully remember the new friend they were playing with. Jack and Evelyn spent two full hours chasing each other, making each other laugh and generally just being two year olds. In between the occasional reigning in of the wild ones, Becca and I caught up and enjoyed just being mommies.

I love this shot of Jack & Evelyn. The look on their faces is one of bewilderment as if they can hardly believe I have poked my head (and my camera) into the Thomas tent, which is in their minds very clearly a kids-only zone! Thanks, Becca & Evelyn for a fun morning. The cookies were SOOO good!

Ten Loves

So, a fellow blogger and sweet friend tagged me on a recent blog entry and encouraged me to share ten things I love. So, here goes nothing...

1. I LOVE this man. Josh and I have been together for more than 11 years and married for seven. Most times I can't remember not having him in my life. He continually amazes me and never ceases to make me laugh. (And if he were to make a list I think making me laugh would be one of the things on his list.) He's my best friend. The one person I know I can ask anything of. He's a dilligent provider; yet strives to spend as much time as possible with his family. I'm thankful to God everyday that He saw fit to bless me with such a wonderful husband.

2. I also LOVE this little man. It's been more than two years since we welcomed Jack into our family, and what fun it has been. Most days I can't believe I've been untrusted with such a precious gift. I'm thankful that I get to spend so much time with such a fun little man. I know he is going to make an awesome big brother.

3. I LOVE my family and that we make time for one another. I'm thankful to have my parents and siblings within an hour's drive. Josh's family is not too much further away, and I'm blessed that they don't mind making the drive to see us every few weeks. Jack is certainly blessed to have such involved and caring grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins.

4. I LOVE my friends and how dependable they are. Even though we don't see each other often, I love that I can call my best friend from middle school and we can pick up right where we left off. In addition to the friends that I've known since grade school, I've been fortunate enough to make some wonderful friends right here where we live. These precious friends have been a huge blessing to me and my family. They've embraced us and made us feel like we've known them forever.

5. I LOVE to write. Although I don't update my blog as much as I should, I actually enjoy writing. It's the reason I majored in public relations and got a degree in journalism. I wish I gave myself more time to do it.

6. Right along with #5, I LOVE correspondence. I love writing cards and letters and of course, love receiving them as well. It's almost a dying art form. For about two and half years of our dating, Josh & I lived in different cities. Thankfully, they were only about a 2 hour drive from one another. We got to see each other about every 2 weeks or so. During that 30 or so month stint I would guess I mailed him no fewer than 150 letters, postcards, etc. I aimed to send him something at least once a week. Sometimes during a visit, I would be with him when he checked his mailbox and found a sweet note among the bills and junk mail. I wish I made more time for correspondence as well.

7. I LOVE college football. I'm not really sure when this love began, but it certainly blossomed while I was a student at UGA. I can remember attending plenty of games as a kid and walking along the railroad tracks from the newspaper building (where dad worked) to the stadium and then back again afterwards. Gamedays were always exciting, and I guess I never realized how my excitement would intensify once I called the team mine. As UGA graduates, Josh & I both enjoy making the trek back to Athens on Saturdays during the fall. We're both looking forward to sharing the experience with our kids one day.

8. I LOVE reading my friends' blogs. Although so many of the blogs I read and follow are friends that I see pretty frequently, there is something about reading a funny story or seeing a friend bare her soul through her posts. I'm thankful that so many of my friends share these sneak peeks of their lives with me.

9. I LOVE taking and sharing pictures. Although I'm not very good at it (especially lately), I enjoy taking pictures of the ordinary things that take place around me. The project 365 was a wonderful way to document this last year, and maybe I'll get back to doing it again. But the joy doesn't just end with the taking, you have to share as well. The blog has allowed me to do that with so many folks...the most appreciative of this are usually grandparents.

10. I LOVE being a mom. Getting to watch Jack grow and learn over the last two years has been such a joy. It's crazy to believe we're starting over with a new baby in just a couple of days (or maybe sooner...who knows?) I'm sure this journey will be just as joyful and different in many ways. Although I know it won't be immediate and they won't always appear to be, I look forward to watching a pair of boys become friends.

Okay, so there are just ten things that I LOVE. I could probably go on, especially since I LOVE to write, but I'll stop here.

BIG Post

Where to start...I have no idea! Yesterday was my birthday, but I guess it wasn't just any birthday. It was a BIG one: THIRTY. That looks weird in type. I'm so used to that "tw" that started my age for the last decade and now I'm a "th"? Can it be? Several of my friends have turned thirty in the last year and I was always quick to remind them I was still in my twenties. Needless to say, I expected some tiny bit of hoopla to accompany this milestone, (if for nothing else) as my payback for having been so coy about my youth on my many friends' big days!

But, I was a little surprised by the sheer magnitude of the display. Sometime after 6, Josh & I were hanging around (I assumed we be going to get some dinner soon) when a barrage of horns were heard from outside. I opened the front door to a parade of friends honking their horns and streaming balloons from their cars. But it gets better, they weren't just there to inform the neighborhood that it was my birthday, but they also brought dinner. Not a bad deal, huh? So, my sweet friends poured inside with balloons, dinner, cake, ice cream and birthday gifts. It was one to remember for sure.

If you are wondering how I feel, the answer is mostly tired. I'm hoping it's not all to blame on my birthday though. We had a busy weekend celebrating my sister's wedding. It was a lot of fun. The weekend was full of laughter and lots of dancing, even Jack joined in on the fun. There are lots of pictures from the weekend here. I'm hoping my other excuse for being so slack with my blog, project 365 and a lot of other things is pretty valid too. Josh & I are expecting again. That's right...Jack is going to be a big brother. I haven't been too sick, a lot of nausea, but more than anything I've just been incredibly tired. The worst part is feeling like I'm not doing enough for Jack because mommy would really rather lay on the couch than play outside in the 90 degree heat! I remember being tired last time around and taking naps during my lunch break, but I can't remember when it passed. I'm sure Jack & Josh are ready for it to pass though. I'm doing my best to be my normal self, but some days are harder than others. Here's to hoping I'm over the hump soon.

Our due date is February 24, 2010.

Just Add Friends

So, I think once upon a time I may have written about having our deck expanded.* Well, the weather has been great lately, so we are really getting a lot of use out of the extra space.


Just add friends and the place becomes much more fun!

It doesn't hurt if there is food involved either...

Oops...I got behind again! Way behind. I would say it's been a crazy week, but don't I always say that? Oh, well. I'm going to try to get some photos up tonight and we'll see what else I can come up with...I'm sort of on a reading kick as opposed to a writing one! :)

*I can't find the post, so maybe I never wrote about it, but I figured most of you care very little about whether or not I include a link to the old post. :)

Making New Friends

Now completely enthralled with the world around him, Jack is making new friends each day. Hands down his favorites are other children. He laughs and is so entertained by kids that sing to him, dance for him, make funny faces or sounds. Our friends, Tim & Joni have a 4-year-old named Drew. Jack is so entertained by Drew, and Drew pretty much enjoys Jack too. So, it's a win-win! Here's a picture of them at a birthday party earlier this week.


Since there is a Wednesday Night supper hiatus at church during the summer months, most of us ladies decided we should all meet up occasionally on Wednesday nights to keep from having to cook! What a great idea, right? Well, this week several of us met up for Japanese...yum! As you can tell Jack was again entertained by the other kids. Here's Drew & Tate giving him a show.


It's so hard to believe that we have now lived in our new community for a year! So much has happened in that short time. Josh and I are so blessed to have found a community, a church family and great friends in our new area. It's so neat to think about how God placed us here. With me staying home with Jack I thought it would be difficult making new friends, but we've been blessed with a fabulous Sunday School class, and I've been blessed to meet many other great ladies through the MOPS ministry. This week at our church softball game, we snapped this photo. There are two other recent first-time moms in my Sunday School at church. Both with boys! Isn't it neat how God works? Here is me, Jack, Andrea & Andrew and Amy & Hudson.