Thanksgiving 2010

Shaun and I were so thrilled to enjoy 9 whole days in Alabama over the Thanksgiving holiday. It started off a little rough (I had a horrible stomach bug), but once we made it to our homeland it was smooth sailing...

It was a fun, relaxing week enjoying time with our families and eating lots of yummy turkey, deviled eggs, and pecan pie (just to name a few).

The day after Thanksgiving, Nathan and I waited "patiently" at Wal-mart until the midnight madness began. We purchased a few $2 movies. It was INSANE!!! Several hours later, Shaun and I headed South to Tuscaloosa, AL, for the Iron Bowl (compliments of my Dad). We had awesome seats and had a great time...even though Bama couldn't pull off a win. :/

Here's some pics of our trip!

Baby it's cold outside...

I’ve been a bad blogger lately. In fact, a whopping 4 and a half months have passed since I posted on our adventures in Ohio. So here’s an update!

Shaun and I both celebrated our birthdays in August. I turned 24 and he turned the big 30. For my birthday, Shaun bought me tickets to see Hanson (yes, the trio from the late 90s). The concert was ah-mazing…I even think Shaun became a fan.



In September we celebrated our 1 year anniversary! I can’t believe we’ve been married a year already. I made Shaun a photo book of pictures from our year of marriage. It was fun seeing everything we’ve done in a year---the big move, our new jobs, our new church, fun outings, and special memories.




October flew by in a flash. The leaves turned to burnt oranges, cool yellows, and ruby reds. The warm summer atmosphere changed to crisp, cool air. We pulled out our winter coats and gloves. Yesterday, we had our first snow of the season. Shaun is sick with pneumonia. Thankfully, I am well.

Happy Halloween!!

Southern Born, Southern Bred

Fort Payne, Alabama, used to be the place I couldn’t wait to get out of. At an early age, I was certain that I was a big city girl stuck in a small town girl’s body. I traveled as much as I could, and at the early age of 14, I got my passport to go “across the pond,” as my dad liked to call it. I marveled at the chaos and speediness of the city life, where no one knew you and you could stop for a cappuccino at any block you wanted. I loved meeting people on the subway, reading Faulkner in the park, and spending every dollar I had to see a Broadway show. I felt free. I knew as soon as I graduated college that I would pack up my life and fly away to this fairy-tale place that I loved so much. But God had different plans. I stayed in Fort Payne after college, got a job, and fell in love. I got married this past September and three months later, my husband and I headed North—Ohio to be exact. I’m over 500 miles away from Fort Payne, something I’d looked forward to for a long time. I didn’t realize how much I would miss the Sock Capital of the World, as it was once was called. I miss the beauty, the warmth, the southern hospitality, even the Wal-mart. I miss the mountains and its trails, the sweetness of snow cones, high school football, and the spontaneous back yard BBQs. I’m writing this today to the wonderful community that is the city of Fort Payne, which I no longer take for granted. If you have felt what I once did, imagining selling a right lung to be able to leave the South, just think of all the wonderful things that make Fort Payne so unique. I promise you will miss it as I do. As the wonderful Randy Owen put it, “My home’s in Alabama,” and I hope that yours will stay that way, too.

Sweet Home Alabama

There's no place like home...Dorothy said it, my dad said it, and now I say it! I mean, we've all said it...but do you really, truly mean it? Shaun and I have lived in Ohio since December and, to be honest, we were getting a little homesick (actually, a lot homesick). We've been trying to plan a trip South for a few months now, and finally the pieces fell together and we were able to go home! It's not a cheap trip to travel over 1,000 miles, and Shaun and I are blessed with compassionate, giving friends and family, so thank you to those that helped us out. :)

In my mind I thought we would get to go home for the weekend or just a few days, enough to say "Hi" and "Bye," but, thankfully, we got to stay for 7 days!!! It was refreshing. Very refreshing. I wanted to surprise my mom, so I successfully kept our trip a secret. Early Thursday morning, at 4am, Shaun and I headed to Alabama. We crossed the Alabama state line around 3pm. You would have thought we'd won the lottery! We cranked up the radio and jammed out to Alabama, took a picture of the Alabama state sign, and both got a little teary-eyed. It felt so good to be back.

We surprised my mom in her classroom at Wills Valley. I will never forget the look on her face when she saw us...she didn't expect it at all.

The Alabama weather was awesome! We soaked in every minute of the sun we could. I don't remember everything we did while we were in Bama, but here's a few pictures to highlight our trip.

My dad and co. were camping at the river, so we got to cookout and swim one day.
My mom took us out to eat at Don Chico's, one of our favorite Mexican restaurants.
Nathan spent the night us, always fun!
We worshiped with DCI on Sunday morning. It was great seeing everyone!
We cooked out with Shaun's family and went fishing nearby.
We played lots of softball with my Mom, Terry, Nate, and Mike.
We got to eat at Sonic AND Wingstop...2 places that Ohio does not have.
We played Mario Party on the Wii, our new investment.
We spent the night with Shaun's mom at her new house.

It was a great trip!

"My home's in Alabama, no matter where I lay my head
My home's in Alabama, Southern born and Southern bred" -Alabama

Happy Resurrection Day!

This past weekend was Easter! Even though Shaun and I were 1,000 miles away from our real families, we had a great weekend and got to hang out with our "family" in Ohio. Friday night we went with Adam and Brianne to Malabar Inn restaurant. It was amazing! We ate outside on the patio because the weather was beautiful. The atmosphere was very unique and the food was delicious. Shaun and I cheated a little on our “diet” and split a brownie sundae. ☺ On Saturday, I spent my afternoon filling 800 Easter eggs with candy for the egg hunt on Sunday morning. I taught the 3-5 yr. olds class on Sunday morning. After church, we went with Adam and Brianne to Orville to Bri’s family dinner complete with ham, potatoes, deviled eggs, and yummy desserts. We played ladder ball, also known as “hillbilly golf.”

Also, I got a full-time job with benefits!!!! Praise the LORD! I am going to be the site director for the childcare facility that is opening up at Citichurch. I start April 19th. I am very excited…a little nervous, but overall excited! God answers prayers and is always faithful.

March Madness

Is it really March already? I can't believe Shaun and I have lived in Ohio for almost 3 months now! Lots of things have been going on and it seems that the "madness" is just beginning.

Shaun started his new part-time job today.

Yesterday, I had an interview for a really awesome job. More details in a minute.

Last weekend, Citichurch celebrated their 7 year anniversary.

Last night, a Rabbi came to our church and led a Passover meal. It was amazing!

This weekend, we're having a youth bowling night.

Our monthly calendar fills up quickly these days, but it's a good thing because it keeps us on our toes. So, more about my potential job...Citi church is partnering with the local YMCA and opening up their facility to become a childcare site. And, they need a site director. That's where I come in! I've been talking/meeting/interviewing for a week or so now about this opportunity and it seems very awesome. It's full-time with benefits :) I'm praying that God's will be done in this situation. I miss working with the infant/toddler age group, and I would love to be able to do that full-time!

Last week, at Shift, we had a St. Patrick's Day party. Through my research on St. Patrick, I learned that he ended up being a christian missionary and used the shamrock to represent the Holy Trinity. Pretty cool, huh?

That's about it for the updates. :)

Our 1st Visitors

On February 12th-15th (Valentine's Day weekend), Mom and Nathan drove up to visit me and Shaun. It was GREAT being able to see some of my family and share with them our new home and city. I had to work Friday night at the mall, so Nate and Mom came along and walked around the mall until I got off work. Saturday, we all went to Snow Trails, the ski resort about 5 miles from our apartment. We went snow tubing! It was a blast!!!! I definitely want to go back again. We ate at Steak n' Shake afterwards and then went home and passed out. We were all exhausted! After a refreshing nap, we went out to dinner at a local Mexican restaurant. Sunday, Mom and Nate got to experience Citichurch. We ate lunch at Bag of Nails, a really neat Irish pub. That afternoon, we went to the YMCA swimming pool. Shaun and I loved the waterslide. Nate liked the lazy river. Mom and Nate headed back home on Monday...in a BLIZZARD! So thankful they made it home in one piece. I miss them already and can't wait to see them again! :) Love you guys!

Snowpocalypse

Shaun and I moved to Ohio 39 days ago. We are finally learning our way around, how different roads connect, learning shortcuts, etc. We’ve been able to experience a few of Ohio’s favorite things, like Sunday lunch at Dutch Heritage (an Amish restaurant), a Columbus Blue Jackets hockey game, and many, many snowball fights. It’s definitely been an epic adventure so far, but I don’t think anything or anyone could of prepared us for our most recent experience. The “winter storm warning” was the most talked about piece of news these past few days. People were flocking Wal-mart, schools were closing early, and news anchors warned everyone in the area that about 20-28 inches of snow was headed our way. Braving the storm, Jason (a guy from our church with a sweet four-wheel drive) picked us up last night and took us to the King’s house for some awesome dinner and games. Afterwards, we all decided to go sledding. It was so much fun! Shaun and I got home around 2 am. We were exhausted and sore from the sledding, and the snow was pouring down. And the predictions were true, this morning we saw every bit of 28 inches encumbered outside our front door. However, the sun was smiling down at me and we made eye contact. I love when the sun shines…unfortunately it doesn’t happen very often. Thus concludes our 1st blizzard experience. ☺ I’m sure there’s many more to come.

In other news, God is so good and so faithful. A couple of weeks ago, I got a job as a Program Assistant at the Salvation Army’s Dewald Community Center. I am so excited about this amazing opportunity to work with children and get to build relationships with them and share the love of Christ with them. The Dewald Center serves as an after-school program for 2nd-6th graders with poor reading skills, broken families, poor self-esteem, and mild behavior problems. I’m still working at Debs in the mall, but only on the weekends.

Shaun also got offered another part-time job at Crest Star Healthcare. He basically gets to hang out with a few teenage guys a few times a week. He hasn’t started yet, but will in the near future. He’s doing a fantastic job with the youth at Citichurch and is helping out with renovations at the church/youth room. There is a lot of work to do, but already we are seeing huge changes…in a good way.

Alright folks, have a great February!

Happy New Year

Happy New Year everyone! Shaun and I have been super busy since the move, so I'm thankful to finally get to sit down and blog. :) We got to kick-off 2010 here in Ohio, complete with a worship service (by our dear friend, Adam), chicken fajitas at Dr. Drew's house, Pictionary, an Ohio State Buckeyes game, and....pop! It was a great way to start the new year.

I'm still trying to find a good, consistent job and God is still opening doors for me. I start a new job Monday at the local mall and have an interview the following day for a Program Assistant position at the Dewald Center. It's part of the Salvation Army and offers before and after school tutoring programs, etc. for children and youth. I am putting ALL my trust in the Lord and remembering that He is always faithful. I know he already has the perfect job picked out for me.

Isaiah 40:31 Yet those who wait for the LORD will gain new strength; they will mount up with wings like eagles, they will run and not get tired, they will walk and not become weary.

On another note, January 7th served as a pretty memorable day in the eyes of many....the Crimson Tide won the National Championship!!! Shaun promised that if Bama won by over 15 points, then he would make a snow angel in only his shorts and Houndstooth hat. Well, Bama won by a whopping 16 points. It was quite the celebration! :)

(If you would like to see the video, it is located on Facebook as well as Youtube....search for "Roll Tide Snow Angel." :) Enjoy!