Birthday Part Two

On Monday my family, Matt and I celebrated my birthday at Emily and S's house. We had a great time as we ate at Texas Roadhouse and then had cake at their house. After we ate we played with their dog Jack and also played on the WiiFit. That was very entertaining for all of us! We shared lots of laughs as we all played the different games.

I am so blessed and am very thankful for a loving and sweet family! I love them so very much! They have been there for me through all the ups and downs of life and are always there to give me an encouraging word or be a listening ear. It is so nice to be a close family like we are and have many memories we have already made as well as look forward to the new ones yet to come. I am looking forward to getting my manicure and pedicure done that mom and dad gave me!

Daddy's Girl! I am most definitly a Daddy's Girl and have always been one since I was a little girl. My dad is very supportive and is always there for me. He is a wonderful Godly man and points me towards Christ in every situation in life.
Sisters. I have a great sister who I look up to and admire her. She works hard but still has time for her family! She is a great home decorater and has a beautiful home, a great husband, and a cute little puppy! (Hopefully one day I can add adorable kids!)

Cutest Couple on the Block! As you have read before I am so thankful for Matt and am blessed that God has brought us together. He also values the relationship of a family and comes from a wonderful home with Godly parents. We are both so fortunate to have Godly, loving and caring parents! We both wouldn't be where we are today without them :)

Mom and I. Mom is a loving mom and would do anything for me. I have enjoyed having my summer off with her as we are both teachers. We have enjoyed many lunch dates, devotions and shopping trips. I am also thankful for the love and support she gives me.

Me and my favorite two men! Who wouldn't want to sit in the middle of the two of them?!

My yummy birthday cake!

What a fabulous birthday! I am already looking forward to the next birthday celebration!

Birthday Part One

Enjoy the pictures and then read about the fun day below!

Matt preparing dinner, yum!
The pretty/romantic table

The backyard lit up

Matt on our picnic overlooking the valley

Me overlooking the city

The beautiful view

I love birthdays, I think they are full of fun and excitement. I enjoy celebrating my own birthday as well as celebrating others birthdays. My birthday this year was full of many surprises and great times! I was able to celebrate for several days which is always a nice treat! :)

On Sunday Matt and I celebrated my birthday. Matt had planned a special and fun day just for me. It started off early Sunday morning. I am always running late for church and my dad has to be there early so I cause him to be late if I ride with my parents. Matt had told them he would pick me up this week and this is where surprise #1 occured. I LOVE Krispy Kreme doughnuts and when I opened the door to let Matt in the house he was standing there with HOT fresh doughnuts. What a delicious breakfast! After eating several doughnuts (I probably could have eaten all 12) we headed off to church. It was a great morning of worship! I am thankful for a loving God who has blessed me so much every year of my life.

After lunch we went on a picnic. Surprise #2 Matt had picked out a spot with a beautiful view! This weekend the temperatures had been right at 100 but up on the mountain there was a nice cool breeze. We had our lunch and then just explored the mountain top. It was fun talking and exploring God's beautiful creation.

During the afternoon we enjoyed our time together at the mall shopping and then back to his house to relax. All along I had been told we had dinner reservations at 6:00 and that we would need to get ready and dressed up to go. While we were hanging out I was anxious to find out this next surprise of where he would take me. Surprise #3 was there was no restraunt but Matt was going to fix me dinner all by himself! It was so sweet. He prepared a delicious meal of Chicken Marsala, Garlic Mashed Potatoes, brocoli, then strawberries/blackberries with whipped cream for dessert! He did a great job preparing all the food. Not only did he do a great job preparing the food but he also did a great job decorating the table.

Matt made this day so special! I am very thankful for the fun memories that we made with each other today.

Ladderball?

What's that in those trees you might ask? Why Ladderballs of course! Last Friday night my dad, mom, Matt, and I played Ladderball after dinner and somehow my mom and I both managed to get the balls stuck in the trees directly above our heads. Yes it takes quite some talent to achieve this throw. Mom and I are available for your next Ladderball team for a small fee! Haha

Kindergarten

Well it is official, I will be teaching Kindergarten this coming school year. I am nervous yet getting very excited about this new adventure. I feel at peace that it is God's will for me to teach Kindergarten this year and know that His hand will lead and guide me every step of the way! God has blessed me so much already with providing me this job both last year and then having my contract renewed this year after a lot of budget cuts took place. I feel that it is His desire for me to continue to be at the same school this year and that this is the grade that He wants me to teach. I pray that I will allow God to use me this year and that I will be working for Him in everything I do.

"Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord not for man." Colossians 3:23

I went by school yesterday and got some of my new materials to read over so I can start getting things prepared for the coming year. It will be here in less than a month. Where has summer gone?! I am going to miss my summer days and nights but will have to admit the new Kindergarten curriculum looks pretty exciting and fun!

Our school has decided to go with the SFA program for the next three years. It is going to be an adventure for all of us. It is very exciting because we get LOTS of new materials. I have ALWAYS loved childrens books and I have boxes full of new books for my classroom. There is lots to get ready before school starts so I am going to start working a little each day. (Or so I think) But it will all come together! I am very excited for the hands on adventures and watching the kids grow every day as they learn and explore in school.

On the Beach...That's where I want to be

Over the week of the Fourth my family went to Myrtle Beach. We used to go there every summer growing up but we have started going to other beaches. It was fun to go back to Myrtle and see all of our old stomping grounds. This vacation was special because I got to spend time with my parents, grandparents, great aunt and uncle (who are like grandparents), my sister and S, as well as it was Matt and I's first vacation together! We had a blast! We ate at some very good restraunts including, Dockside, Sticky Fingers, The Flying Fish, and Hamburger Joes. We did a good bit of shopping and found some great clothes at the outlet. On Saturday night we went to my favorite putt-putt place and played. We had to wait on the storm to pass so we played arcade games until the rain cleared; Matt and I had fun and picked out some things to remember vacation with from our tickets we won. Most importantly though we had a great time just spending time with one another! I am already looking forward to our next vacation.

Matt and I by the water after dinner one night :) He makes me so happy!

My parents and their girls.

People throwing fish at the Flying Fish. They let all kids and even adults if they want throw fish back to the kitchen. It is really a neat environment and GREAT food!

Bunny covering up S's DUKE shirt. Really? Did we let him out of the house in this? He should know better in this family.

Matt and I at dinner.

Jr. and Tanner on the 4th of July.

Matt and I walking around. (My sister snuck some good pictures of the two of us) We made some great memories of our first vacation that will last forever!

:)

Waiting on dinner at Sticky Fingers

Family Photo on the beach.

Already looking forward to the next vacation the 6 of us take together!

Building a Foundation for Spiritual Intimacy

Have you been looking for a good book to develop Spiritual Intimacy and grow in your walk with God? If so I have the perfect book to recommend! Devotions for Dating Couples: building a foundationg for spiritual intimacy.



Matt and I knew from the beginning of our relationship that God was going to be the center of our relationship and that not only did we want to grow in friendship and love but we also wanted to grow Spiritually together. We decided to look for a devotional that would allow us to grow as a couple. We wanted a book that we could do with each other but also we knew it was important that this book did not take over our individual quiet time with God. The great thing about this book is that it gives us the opportunity to study God's word together but it also leaves you wanting to learn more about the weekly topics. There are many days when I am done that it helps guide me into my individual quiet time.



This book is divided into a nine week study. Each week having it's own topic: Love, Grace, Prayer, The Word, Simplicity, Forgiveness, Community, Purity, the Spirit. On Monday-Friday there are a few pages in the book that you read about the topic and then there are scriptures to look up. There is a space to write your thoughts and prayers after the days lesson. On Saturday we get together and talk about the weeks topic and pray with each other. There are also questions in the book to use about what we can do for each other and to make our relationship stronger. Most of the time we are talking about the days lesson before Saturday because God is teaching us so much through this study. There is even a spot in the book for your notes from church on Sunday so we can talk about the sermon after church.



So far we have studied love and grace, this week we are looking at prayer. God has already taught me so much in the past 2 1/2 weeks of this.



The first week I was reminded of how God is our first love and God is true love. Until we know God and all that He is we are not able to love like He wants us to love. Jesus told us that the greatest commandment was to "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength." The second is this "Love your neighbor as yourself." There is no commandment greater than these. Mark 12:30-31 God must be our first love and it is a daily even moment by moment thing. We need to make time for God in our lives and make sure that we are always nurturing our relationship with Him.



During the second week I learned more about God's amazing grace. God's grace is one of Matt's favorite attributes of God. I was already excited to learn more about grace before we started because I know it is a topic that he is very passionate about. The biggest reminder that I had during this week was that "your worst days are never so bad that you are beyond the reach of God's grace. And your best days are never so good that you are beyond the need of God's grace." We always need God's grace no matter what the circumstance. We need it in the good and bad times. God's grace is not just for new believers but we need it all the time! Like in the hymn "Amazing Grace":



Through many dangers, toils and snares,

I have already come,

'tis grace hath brought me safe thus far,

and grace will lead me home.



His grace is the cure for our lives. God's grace gives us ongoing, intimate access to Him. We need His grace to have a continual relationship with Him.



So far in the week of prayer it has made me think about how I view God and how He is our Heavenly Father but He is also the King of Kings. When we pray we are allowed to go to Him as going to talk to the Father but also we are to go to Him with awe and reverence because He is our King. God knows our requests before we lay them before Him yet He still wants us to come before Him and lay the requests at His feet. "Prayer is an ongoing process of communication, which enables us to become more like Christ and discover God's desires for our lives." Pray is not only a time where we can present our requests to God but a time of Worship to God for who He is and that amazing things that He has done and that He continues to do. It also allows us to seek His will for our lives.



I love this book and can not wait to continue and find out all God has in store for Matt and I both. It is my prayer that I allow God to speak to me through this book and also grow Matt and I both spiritually while keeping God at the center of our relationship.



I highly recommend this book to any couple. I believe that even married couples could use it as a devotional.

What I love about Thursday!

Thursday's this summer have become Matt and I's date night. We have had a lot of fun dates this summer including Party in the Park a few weeks ago. We enjoyed being outside and listening to the beach music. We say we are going to learn to dance so we can enjoy that side of the concert as well, so stay tuned! I have always wanted to learn how to dance The Shag and other dances. We have found some classes we are looking into for the fall.


Here is a picture of the stage and the band singing. There is a dance floor right in front of the stage where many people go and dance the night away. It is a lot of fun to people watch!
The two of us sitting around enjoying the music and talking with each other. The weather on this night was nice and cool for a summer evening. It was in the high 70s, perfect night for an outside date!

Beautiful Roses. Matt was supposed to pick me up around 5:15 to go on our date but around 4:50 he texted and asked if it was ok if he headed over of course I said that'd be great. When I went to open the door and let him in he surprised me with this beautiful arrangement of roses! They were all so pretty and I enjoyed just looking at them! I loved all the different colors and they opened up to be huge flowers. Matt truly is the most thoughtful guy; I am so lucky to have him!

Looking forward to many more date nights in our future!

Packing vs. Unpacking

I am not sure if packing or unpacking is worse. I love going on vacations and mini getaways but the idea of going through my clothes and deciding on just a few outfits to take is dreaded. I have the hardest time picking out what I want to take. I can start out with every intention of only taking an outfit +2 for the number of days we will be gone but somehow once I do that I change my mind and start fearing what if I am not in the mood to wear that what would I do! So I always wind up with a HEAVY suitcase or multiple bags in tow. The questions always run through my head...will I want to dress up? will I want to be comfortable? what if we don't go out to eat, will I just want lounge around clothes? do I want dresses, shorts, capris, skirts? tank tops, t-shirts, polos? And that is only clothes I am talking about, now we lead up to shoes, will I want tennis shoes, sandals, flip flops, high heels, etc? Will they look good with all the outfits I have packed? Alright so now that I have answered all those questions and packed WAYYY too much its time to think about books. Besides having my Bible along for the trip, and a devotion book, what other books should I take? I can normally read at least 2 books on a week long trip! Do we want games to play at night? If so, which ones should we take? And after all those questions and everything packed I am thankful I have a sister and mom who I can share a hairdryer, straightner, shampoo and conditioner with (they save me a little room in my suitcase for an extra outfit!) Ok, ok now I am officially ready for the vacation. Can you just see me now with all the bags surrounding me?!

Now that I have packed, gone on vacation and returned home it's time to think about the other side of vacation...unpacking! The pile of laundry needs to be done, the clothes that were not worn need to be put up, shoes need to be tucked away, books returned to the correct shelf or basket, games returned to the game cabinet; where do I begin? The last thing I want to do is spend time unpacking after a fun, relaxing getaway. It is hard to find the motivation to unpack! There was plenty of room in my closet and drawers when I took the clothes out, but where did that space go while I was gone? Did my clothes grow? Probably so! If you know me you know shopping while on vacation is a must!

What's your opinion? Do you dread packing or unpacking more? Any tips on either side of this?