Monday, December 22, 2008

Merry Christmas!

Brrr....well that warm weather was definitely short-lived! I'm still trying to thaw my toes from walking into work at a measly 10 degrees!!! Good Lord, what's up with this weather!?!

Tomorrow Jason and I head off to California to spend the holidays with Jason's family. I'm so excited for the break from work and enjoy some total relaxation. To be able to sleep in every morning with my man is a little piece of heaven :-) AND this also means, that for our house - CHRISTMAS COMES TODAY!!!!!!

Jason woke up to me this morning bouncing up and down on the bed - "IT'S CHRISTMAS! IT'S CHRISTMAS!". To which he responded, "How old are you?" BAH-HUMBUG! "I'm 30 and I want to open presents!!!!!" But I have to wait till after he gets home from work tonight before the festivities can begin. I'm pumped.

Ok and speaking of Christmas. SO yesterday Jason and I were teaching our little 3rd & 4th graders at Sunday School and I asked the class whether they had finished their Christmas shopping yet. And one little girls asks me how many gifts are under our tree? Then our class helper, who happens to be one of the dad's of a boy in our class pipes up and says, "Well Santa hasn't brought our gifts yet". I'm sorry WHAT? Excuse me, but isn't 3rd & 4th graders a bit old to still believe in Santa!!?? Dude, do you want your son to be ridiculed at school for still believing in Santa at that age? At this age, most kids are past the point of just receiving gifts and are learning what it means to GIVE and save their allowance to buy gifts for others. As they say in the south, I wanted to have a little 'Come To Jesus' with that father right then and there.

Well what do you guys think? I know when I was little I got gifts from Santa, but I was probably 5 or 6 when I was past that make-believe stage. So what do you think is an appropriate age for kids to learn the truth?

Friday, December 19, 2008

A tan for Christmas anyone?

I asked my friend Brooke if she wanted to join me on the roof of our building to try and get a tan for Christmas! ha!!

I kid you not folks - its 73 degrees right now!!!

Thursday, December 18, 2008

Sorry for the lack of updates folks, to say I've been overwhelmed is pretty much an understatement. There has been so much to do and still more to prepare for as we get ready to head to CA next week and I'm usually so wiped at the end of the work day that I have ZERO motivation to get off the couch and work on my to-do list.

But last night as I was lounging on the couch relaxing and chatting with a friend of ours, I see that Jason is calling me from work. I answer the phone and he asks me if I recognize the strange new gift that showed up under the Christmas tree?? What Gift? OH! That gift! Huh, that's strange. So I look more closely and am quite excited to see that its addressed to "My Babydoll". Yea, that would be me!! Then after a few more minutes, something starts to seem a bit familiar. Wait a second. That gift is wrapped in a very familiar shape. So I ask him, "Honey, that isn't the box of wall shelves we bought for the guest bathroom is it?" Jason responds, "huh, what? I gotta go." ......"Honey? Did you or did you not wrap up the wall shelves we've had for over a year and put it under the tree?" Then he responds again, "Baby, I gotta go - can't talk right now!"

Hmmm.....Then I remember a conversation we had a couple days ago where he said that he felt bad because there were more gifts under the tree for him than he got for me. Well I don't care about that, I like giving him gifts. I'm not keeping score. So here's my thinking, I'm a bit suspicious that my loving husband is pulling a "Tom Kelly" move and beginning to wrap up items from around the house to give to me. If that's the case, he's in some serious trouble folks.

Pray for him people, this could get ugly ;-)

Wednesday, December 10, 2008

Tis' The Season!

Wow is this time of year a busy season or what?! Thankfully I'm able to start checking off some of the holiday to-do's, so I can kick back and enjoy it.

I sent off my family's Christmas gifts in the mail yesterday, and all my Christmas cards are ready to be mailed out. All that's left to do is finish shopping for Jason and do a little baking for a couple upcoming holiday parties. Then the week of Christmas I work only on Monday, pack for our trip to California and then I'm off for 13 days straight - hallelujah!!

But the parties are just beginning and its starting to get crazy. Last Saturday was my friend Brooke's 26th birthday, so a bunch of her friends got together for pizza in Nashville to celebrate. Thought you might enjoy a couple pics from the evening:
These are my girls from the office, I seriously don't know what I would do without them :-)
(Left to right: Kacie, Brooke, myself and Angela)
Angela is just the sweetest most genuine person and I've loved working with her this year. These girls are awesome because our friendships go beyond the office and we often like to hang out and see movies together or grab dinner.

Here's a couple pics from our Thanksgiving party, but I will say that I had been waiting to receive more pictures from Matt, but he's just been too busy. So they're not the greatest, but you get the idea :-)
These are the majority of our small group ladies - left to right: Kendall is in the yellow sweater and has been coming for about two months now. Then I'm to the right of Kendall. And to my right is Tabby in the white shirt, she is a doll and reminds me a lot of my sister Kris. To the right is Amy Walter, a very dear friend to me. To her right is Melanie Sutton, our Children's Director at Harpeth Community Church. Then Ida is to the right of Melanie, she's also new and has been coming for a couple months now. And finally Alicia, who is also a very dear friend of mine and I love to pieces :-) These girls are all huge blessings and answers to my prayers.Here's another shot of dinner at our house on Thanksgiving. You can see we had the votive screens in the dining room lit and behind Melanie at the head of the table was another table set up in the living room where the guys sat. In this picture you can see Jason on the right and then Melanie's husband Ryan in the doorway. Best food evah!

This Friday is our company Christmas party at Mortons Steakhouse, so I'll be bringing my camera to that to grab some pics and next week it's our Small Group Christmas Party at Ryan & Melanie's house, which I also hope to get pics of!!! So with all this partying, what's a girl to do??!! I KNOW - Shopping!!

Thursday, December 04, 2008

Flat On My Face

So yesterday I'm leaving my parking garage heading into the office to start the day, when as I step off the elevator I COMPLETELY trip and fall flat on my face! And no, not graceful-stumble-catch-myself-falling, not wobble-squat-to-my-knees-and-hands....we're talking face to floor splayed out flat. I have bruised knee caps, ribs, lower back and butt. I feel like I was in a car accident and suffer from body-lash. Oh! And here's the best part!! Of course some Deirks Bently look-a-like is standing in the lobby as I smack into the floor and tries to immediately starts yanking me up by the elbow before I even understood what's happened. Now not only am I in pain, but red from embarrassment. And yes to prolong the agony, he walked half a block by my side and then told me to be careful as he took off - "YEAH THANKS!! HOPE I NEVER HAVE TO FACE YOU AGAIN!!"

I think that's the first time I've ever done that in public. Fortunately I had a physical therapy appointment for my back anyway that afternoon and my therapist hooked me up to one of those electric-shock treatment thingys with a warm heating pad...that was a piece of heaven right there.

Alright your turn - have you ever had a nasty & embarrassing fall in public before??

Monday, December 01, 2008

Well Jingle My Bells It's Christmas Time!

Christmas has got to be my favorite holiday hands down! And nothing brings home the reality of the Christmas season than bringing home a real tree. Last Saturday we met up with our friends Matt & Amy at Starbucks before heading out to Smyrna to pick out our trees. We have only been able to find Noble Fir trees carried out at this one particular lot, where a nursery trucks them in from the West Coast. Call us tree snobs, but they are by far the prettiest trees to decorate!! It was Matt & Amy's first real tree together and we were so excited to be a part of picking one out with them. We even got some great shots of us with our trees before loading them up in the truck!
Here's Jason with his coffee before heading out into the cold rainy weather to pick out our tree!! You would think we were back in Seattle with how gray it was outside.
Here's Amy using a tree for shelter from the rain as Matt grabbed her coat.
The Walter's first real Christmas tree!
And we are so thrilled with the 7 foot beauty we picked out! This picture just might be a contender for the Christmas card this year :-)

After we dropped Matt & Amy's tree off, we headed back home for our own Keith family tradition of watching National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation and decorating the house. But this year, we did something a little new and Jason spent a few hours outside putting red lights on the roof of the house. I'll have to get a picture to show y'all how cute it turned out!

Even our cat Banks gets so excited at Christmas time, because her favorite spot is nestled up in the white tree skirt under the white lights. She sat staring at the tree patiently waiting all day, till it was completely decorated before crawling under its limbs and snoozing away. Just too cute for words. (I know family that you're rolling your eyes right now!)
Hopefully, I'll have some pictures up soon of the Thanksgiving dinner we hosted at our house with our small group friends. Plus, Jason and I spent Thanksgiving day with Matt & Amy's family out in Franklin and it was a great time. So I should get pics from that day soon as well!!
Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving and Happy Holidays everyone!!!

Saturday, November 29, 2008

Happy Daring Bakers Day!!

I've once again joined up for the monthly challenge of Daring Bakers! This time we were asked to take on Shuna Fish Lydon's Caramel Cake. I LOVE me some caramel, so this recipe had my attention!

The hosts of this month challenge were Dolores of Chronicles in Culinary Curiosity, Alex of Blondie and Brownie and Jenny of Foray Into Food.

I have to admit the challenge itself was a bit frustrating to me. I didn't feel the recipe was completely clear on the details and therefore struggled my way through some of the steps. For example, right off the bat I burned the caramel! Yuk! So then I tried round two on the caramel and it came out delicious, but only because I didn't cook it as dark as the instructions said. Then I got confused on a couple other things, but that may have been more a user(baker) error - uh, me. Anyway, I'm not all that pleased with the results though Jason claims they're delicious. The caramel browned butter frosting was just too sweet for me and I like more of a light buttercream. And I felt the cake was a bit too dry as well. Just way too much work for this cake.

But alas, the challenge is complete and they turned out looking pretty cute! :-)
Looking forward to next month's challenge!

Thursday, November 13, 2008

The Holidays Are Among Us!

I can't believe how fast the days are flying by! Thanksgiving is exactly two weeks away and Christmas is only 6 weeks away. Thankfully half of my Christmas shopping is done and I have a pretty good idea what I have left to buy. The closer it gets to Christmas the more I typically stress out about shopping, so this has been great getting it done way early. OH and did I mention that I keep a list going for Christmas gifts ALL YEAR LONG. Yea, I know pathetic.

Anyway, my list making is in full swing with having to plan for the upcoming Thanksgiving Small Group Dinner we're hosting at our house for 14 PEOPLE next Tuesday!! I have no idea how this is going to work, but somehow we'll make everyone fit. We're going all out with turkey, stuffing, green bean casserole - once our friend Chad offered to make the turkey everyone else was yelling out their favorite holiday dishes to bring. And of course I'm making our molasses cookies with pumpkin fluff - yummy!! Then we're going to close the evening taking communion together, it's going to be awesome. But there's just so much to do!!!

- Clean the house!
- Buy nice decorative fall paper plates & napkins!
- Get the decorations down from the attic & decorate the house!
- Baking!
- Figure out how to magically lengthen the dining room table for 14 people!
... I'm sure I'll think of more.

I love entertaining, its so much fun and I'm going to do my best to keep the camera out and within reach.

Then the actual day of Thanksgiving our friends Matt & Amy have invited us to join their family for the day. I'm excited and relieved to not have to do the whole Thanksgiving meal again, its just too much work for 2 people anyway.

The Saturday after Thanksgiving Jason and I will be heading up to Smyrna to pick out our Noble Fir Christmas tree, which I'm super excited about. We keep trying to get our friends to join us and buy a real tree, but out here everyone usually does FAKE trees!!! WHY!!??? Seriously, you might be cleaning up pine needles for the rest of the year, but smelling Christmas Tree in your home is so worth it and the best thing ever!

Let the list making commence!

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

"Playing For Change"

My boss Larry Stewart sent me the link to this video and we both sat in his office and watched it together in amazement. Mark Johnson is the filmmaker who put this video together over a 10 year period, using only street musicians performing the song, "Stand By Me".

It's pretty incredible, you should check it out.

Monday, November 10, 2008

Quick Trip to the ER

Jason's been working really hard on putting up our backyard fence. The gate is finished and now he's making his way down the side of the yard.

But last Thursday Jason had himself a little accident. As he was taking down one of the boards, the other end of the board snapped off and the screw made its way along Jason's leg. He called me on his way to the ER, telling me not to worry or panic, that he was fine and there wasn't too much blood. Good Lord, who doesn't worry when they hear the word, "ER"? I was at the office working at the time and asked him to please keep giving me updates on how he was doing so I knew if I should meet him at the hospital or not. But in the end, it really was a quick visit, cause he had to get to work within just a couple hours, so they stapled him up and sent him on his way! What a man. And in Jason's own words, "Chicks dig it".


If you're a chick, you tell me, do you dig this? And if you can't tell, there would be 6 staples there total. They should've done more actually for as deep and long as the cut is.
Yeah that's what I thought.

Tuesday, November 04, 2008

Up Close and Personal

Forgive me folks, but I need to get some thoughts out of my head. A couple Sundays ago our pastor Bobby spoke on Forgiveness as part of his series on the 12 Steps to Recovery. It was a difficult message for me to absorb. As soon as I hear the word forgiveness, I feel myself tense up and mentally cross my arms in front of me as some sort of self-preservation. We're all familiar with the terms "Forgive and Forget" and at times this can be quite easy to do over misunderstandings or petty circumstances. But what do you do when you're faced with those circumstances that have way crossed-over the line? You know the ones I'm talking about? The ones that destroy your trust in others, break your heart, disrupt your dreams and leave a pit in your stomach? We can't run from them and as much as we would like, our subconscious won't ever let it go.

We sat and listened to this women in our congregation share about how she made a list of all the people she knew she had hurt and went to them individually or wrote letters depending on how God led her at the time and asked for forgiveness. And let me tell you, this woman has been through A LOT. There wasn't a dry eye in the room when listening to her story. And far as forgiving others, she had this little box, her "God Box" and she would write down the things that she needed to forgive and put it in this box, sometimes more than once. This brought her healing and joy that she hadn't experienced in years. She encouraged us all to make a list, write out the ones we've hurt or have been hurt by and ask God how to approach it. The list alone scares me, for some reason I think that I'll be reopening wounds that I've long since tried to bury. But I need even these things and these people to stop lingering in the corners of my mind and haunting my dreams at night.

So I'm going to start my own "God Box" and as things come up that I know are holding me back or rotting away in my gut, I'm going to write them out and give them to him, no matter how many times I have to do it. I might have to get a big box :-)

I need to truly forgive, and I'm not even sure where to start. Its really not as easy as it sounds when the wounds can run so deep.

Friday, October 31, 2008

Happy Halloween!!

1. My favorite food seasoning is Tarragon.

2. Bank's snoring is music to my ears.

3. Lucky is finding cash in your jeans!

4. My relationship with God is something I take very seriously.

5. Many people are dearly missed by me!

6. Cornbread mix & ice cream was the last thing I bought at the store.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to starting the book Twilight at Borders with a Seattle's Best White Mocha, tomorrow my plans include sleeping in with my man and getting the fall & winter decorations down from the attic and Sunday, I want to go see a movie with my man and I'm sure we'll end up watching the Titans game!

Thursday, October 30, 2008

So there is a letter circulating the internet that claims to be written by David Letterman. From my research it was not in fact written by him, but someone else. STILL, the message rings true and I couldn't have said it better myself!

"As most of you know I am not a President Bush fan, nor have I ever been, but this is not about Bush, it is about us, as Americans, and it seems to hit the mark. 'The other day I was reading Newsweek magazine and came across some Poll data I found rather hard to believe. It must be true given the source, right? The Newsweek poll alleges that 67 percent of Americans are unhappy with the direction the country is headed and 69 percent of the country is unhappy with the performance of the President. In essence 2/3 of the citizenry just ain't happy and want a change. So being the knuckle dragger I am, I started thinking, 'What are we so unhappy about?''

A.. Is it that we have electricity and running water 24 hours a day, 7 Days a week?

B.. Is our unhappiness the result of having air conditioning in the summer and heating in the winter?

C.. Could it be that 95.4 percent of these unhappy folks have a job?

D.. Maybe it is the ability to walk into a grocery store at any time and see more food in moments than Darfur has seen in the last year?

E.. Maybe it is the ability to drive our cars and trucks from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean without having to present identification papers as we move through each state?

F.. Or possibly the hundreds of clean and safe motels we would find along the way that can provide temporary shelter?

G.. I guess having thousands of restaurants with varying cuisine from around the world is just not good enough either.

H. Or could it be that when we wreck our car, emergency workers show up and provide services to help all and even send a helicopter to take you to the hospital.

I.. Perhaps you are one of the 70 percent of Americans who own a home.

J.. You may be upset with knowing that in the unfortunate case of a fire, a group of trained firefighters will appear in moments and use top notch equipment to extinguish the flames, thus saving you, your family, and your belongings.

K.. Or if, while at home watching one of your many flat screen TVs, a burglar or prowler intrudes, an officer equipped with a gun and a bullet-proof vest will come to defend you and your family against attack or loss.

L.. This all in the backdrop of a neighborhood free of bombs or militias raping and pillaging the residents. Neighborhoods where 90% of teenagers own cell phones and computers.

M.. How about the complete religious, social and political freedoms we enjoy that are the envy of everyone in the world?Maybe that is what has 67% of you folks unhappy.

Fact is, we are the largest group of ungrateful, spoiled brats the world has ever seen. No wonder the world loves the U.S. , yet has a great disdain for its citizens. They see us for what we are. The most blessed people in the world who do nothing but complain about what we don't have, and what we hate about the country instead of thanking the good Lord we live here.

I know, I know. What about the president who took us into war and has no plan to get us out? The president who has a measly 31 percent approval rating? Is this the same president who guided the nation in the dark days after 9/11? The president that cut taxes to bring an economy out of recession? Could this be the same guy who has been called every name in the book for succeeding in keeping all the spoiled ungrateful brats safe from terrorist attacks? The commander in chief of an all-volunteer army that is out there defending you and me? Did you hear how bad the President is on the news or talk show? Did this news affect you so much, make you so unhappy you couldn't take a look around for yourself and see all the good things and be glad? Think about it......are you upset at the President because he actually caused you personal pain OR is it because the 'Media' told you he was failing to kiss your sorry ungrateful behind every day.

Make no mistake about it. The troops in Iraq and Afghanistan have volunteered to serve, and in many cases may have died for your freedom. There is currently no draft in this country. They didn't have to go. They are able to refuse to go and end up with either a ''general'' discharge, an 'other than honorable'' discharge or, worst case scenario, a ''dishonorable' ' discharge after a few days in the brig. So why then the flat-out discontentment in the minds of 69 percent of Americans? Say what you want but I blame it on the media. If it bleeds it leads and they specialize in bad news. Everybody will watch a car crash with blood and guts How many will watch kids selling lemonade at the corner? The media knows this and media outlets are for-profit corporations. They offer what sells, and when criticized, try to defend their actions by 'justifying' them in one way o r a nother Just ask why they tried to allow a murderer like O.J. Simpson to write a book about how he didn't kill his wife, but if he did he would have done it this way......Insane! Turn off the TV, burn Newsweek, and use the New York Times for the bottom of your bird cage. Then start being grateful for all we have as country. There is exponentially more good than bad.

We are among the most blessed people on Earth and should thank God several times a day, or at least be thankful and appreciative.' 'With hurricanes, tornados, fires out of control, mud slides, flooding, severe thunderstorms tearing up the country from one end to another, and with the threat of bird flu and terrorist attacks, 'Are we sure this is a good time to take God out of the Pledge of Allegiance?"

Wednesday, October 29, 2008

October Daring Bakers Challenge - A Total Bust

So here's the deal - I was very excited to make this months challenge of pizza & toppings, but I grabbed the wrong flour when making my dough and instead of big beautiful balls of doughy goodness, mine turned out a big mess of gooey-drippy-slimy-nastiness.

Oops.

I didn't mean to use the self-rising flour instead of the all-purpose, it just sorta happened, and now I have to start over and its too late with posting day as the 29th.

BUT I still have my toppings and I'm planning to still complete the challenge for this weekend so Jason and I can enjoy it together, my posting will just be a bit delayed. Sorry fellow daring bakers, I was really looking forward to posting pictures today!!

A huge thank you goes out to Rosa for assigning this month's challenge!! Check out more completed challenges by other Daring Bakers by visiting the Blogroll.

Tuesday, October 28, 2008

PROFESSIONAL Camping pictures

Ben DeRienzo is not only a dear friend of ours, but he's also a professional photographer here in Nashville. He brought along a few different cameras on our camping trip and caught some really fun pictures that I thought you all might enjoy! Ben & Alicia
Matt Walter
Matt & Amy

Jason


Kim & Jason

Jason & Matt

Jason

Fall Creek Falls, Tennessee

Ben & Alicia (and Jason in the background)

Amy, Alicia & Kim

the girls

Amy & Matt

Amy, Kim & Alicia
I hope you enjoyed them!! Ben has some incredible pictures posted on his website you should check out too!!

Monday, October 27, 2008

Oh how I love thee...

This makes me ridiculously happy. I've been waiting for the return of this flavor since I was a wee girl :-)

Supposedly this Haagen-Daaz Honey Bee flavor is only for a limited time. So this one goes out to the head honchos at Haagen-Daaz.

"Honey Bee, you are my Honey Bee,
You make me happy, when skies are grey,
You'll never know dear how much I love you,
SO please Haagen-Daaz don't take my Honey Bee away."

The end.

Wednesday, October 22, 2008

Due for an update...

Well its Wednesday afternoon and I'm trying desperately to keep my eyes open here at work. Both Jason and I had a rough night's sleep, probably due to the caffeinated coffee we had during small group last night.

And speaking of small group, last night was our first week as the new small group leaders. Besides Jason and I, there were 6 others that showed up, which is really only half the normal attendance for our group. It may have been that it was because we hosted it at our house in East Nashville which is a pretty good drive for most everyone that lives out in Franklin. But I'm hoping more people are able to make it in the future. Even still, we had a great meeting and decided on our next book to study together, which will be Walking With God by John Eldredge.

Because we hosted small group at our home, it also happened to be the first time everyone had ever seen our house! I know, how terrible not to invite anyone over for the first entire year of living in our new home. But there were just so many things I wanted to finish first and Jason had also been working on refinishing the office desk on our front porch. But I have to admit the house looked great and so cozy with all the candles lit and Harry Connick playing in the background. And because Jason and I have developed a bit of a reputation for our yummy baked goods and being as how we're not ones to disappoint, I made pumpkin bread and Jason made his homemade chocolate & peanut butter chip cookies. It was so great to have our friends over and I look forward to them visiting again in the near future!!

As far as plans this week, our friend Chris Ross is heading out here for a visit arriving tomorrow evening through next Tuesday. I haven't quite decided what we'll be doing, but probably playing it more by ear since the weather has been a bit unpredictable lately. We seriously went from the mid 80's last week to dropping in the low 60's - brrrr!!!! We had originally thought canoeing would be fun, but I don't know now with this weather. Still I'm thinking some homemade soups and breads, maybe a trip to the flea market and hanging out to hear some live music would be really fun. I'll try to grab some snapshots during Chris' visit for y'all to see!

Other than that, there's not a lot of new things going on. Jason had his softball tournament last Monday night, but we won't go too much into that. But after his game, we were glued to the TV to watch the Sox lose in game 7 to the DevilRays, which we didn't mind too much since the DevilRays have never been to the World Series before. I know, listen to me talking about baseball....strange huh?

Update on the puppies....it looks as if it might not be till Spring that we get our little furballs. Jason has been working on the fence every moment he gets, but the weather is turning too cold to try and house-train puppies. I can already picture what a nightmare that would be in the middle of winter.

And as far as our plans for upcoming trips, we'll be spending Christmas out with Jason's family in CA for a week. I'm really excited to get a good amount of time off from work to relax during the holidays. I really want to come out to Seattle to see some family and friends, but I don't have the vacation time to do it just yet. So I'm thinking it might work best after the new year. But trust me, I do miss everyone so much and think of you all often.

That about covers it for now - hope you all are well and enjoying this gorgeous season of fall!!

Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Camping Photo Ops

After seeing some of these pics from our camping trip, I'm more aware than ever of how badly I need a tan. Like really badly.
This is the six of us after arriving to the top of Fall Creek Falls.
Jason and I trying to be one with nature. I'm sure Matt was being gracious making this black & white so I'm not glowing off the trees.
Matt & Amy over Cane Creek Falls.Is it a little obvious that Ben is a photographer?
Here's a shot of the falls from a cliff up top.
Jason and I got a couple pictures together from that edge above the falls.
Here's the view of the falls before it goes over the edge - it was so gorgeous!
Matt & Jason before Jason took the plunge into the ice cold water!
Ben & Alicia lookin all cute.
Jason and I made breakfast the first morning we were camping by cooking up some french toast, scrambled eggs, bacon and banana bread. Here's Matt helping cook up the bacon over the fire.
Jason took this picture of the leaves on our hike. Fall is my favorite season of the year and its so beautiful here in Tennessee with all the trees turning.

There's a ton more pictures that everyone took, and I actually didn't take a whole lot myself because my camera is nowhere as good as Ben & Matt's, so as we get more, I might put some more up.

But I did catch this shot on our way back home that was just too priceless. Jason and I were filling up my car at a gas station in Nolensville, when I kid you not we saw these two elderly TWIN men purchasing a 24 pack of Bud Light and carrying it across the parking lot. It was seriously the cutest thing ever!!

Monday, October 13, 2008

Just a tad tired

Camping this weekend was a blast! It ended up being 6 of us from our small group that could make it out - Ben & Alicia, Matt & Amy and us. Lots of pictures were taken by everyone and as soon as I get my hands on some copies, I'll be sure to post all about the weekend.

But it was definitely a great time and we hope to go camping more often as a group every fall and spring. There was some serious good food prepared, ghost stories, hiking, bathing princesses, campfires, smores, tent-shadow shows and over-crowded bathrooms! We made some great memories and I can't wait till our next trip!

After getting back to the house last night, Jason and I dumped our gear throughout the house and we headed to the guest room so he could watch the Red Sox games he had recorded while I took a bit of a nap. 6 hours later I woke up, only to stay awake for an hour and a half and go back to bed for another 9 hours of sleep. Can you say tired? None of us got the best sleep this weekend, due to some dogs barking, wind whipping and sloped campgrounds. What we could have used were some harnesses to strap us to our air mattresses, so we'd stop slipping down the hill. Good times, good times.

I hope you all enjoyed your weekend as well!

Thursday, October 09, 2008

Camping does NOT mean roughing it!

Jason and I have stepped up to to take over the small group at our church. Our former fearless leaders Steven & Genesis moved to Chicago this summer and left us the reins (we miss you guys!!) So to kick off the new season of small group we're going camping this weekend!!!


I'm so pumped and haven't been camping in like 5 or 6 years! I've got my packing list going and we're going to air out the tent tonight, I'm sure its gotten quite musty over the years. When I've mentioned our outdoors plans to friends, they've responded with, "So you'll be roughing it huh?" Um no. Let me clarify, camping and roughing it are two very different things. This is the 21st century, we use air mattresses, duvets, flannel sheets, french press for coffee....ahhh the life. I'll for sure bring my camera and show y'all pics next week!


Oh and to introduce you all to everyone in our small group, here's a little photo montage!

Alicia & Ben (who help out with the high school youth)

Rachel & David (David leads one of our church's worship teams)


Matt & Amy (they've started a Saturday morning ministry with the Sudanese)

Melanie (who is also one of Harpeth's main youth leaders)

Melanie & Ryan (Melanie is the Director of the Children's ministry and Ryan runs sound)

Chad & Tabby (Chad is a drummer with one of the worship teams and Tabby actually attends another church but visits and we love her) :-)

and then us - the new small group leaders - yeah!!! I'm looking forward to it, I love the friends and the church that God has blessed us with over the last couple years :-)