Tuesday, December 16, 2008

Greaser Babies and My Baby!

Well, it's been awhile since my last post and the reason for that is simple: my life is boring! I could have bored you with a few more posts about how I love where I live, but I desperately miss my friends and family back home. But, instead, I chose to post the link to this ridiculous video of babies singing songs from Grease. I thought it was absolutely hilarious! But, I also work with kids all the time, so maybe that may be why I thought it was so funny.

So, if you have nothing better to do, you can go to this link and watch the video.

Also, if you think about my baby (I should probably Clarify that I'm talking about Jared so that no rumors get started) this week, say a little prayer. Yesterday he started his D-Term, which is basically a 1 week accelerated class. So, he has class everyday from 8-5 and then he's done. The Up-Side is that at the end of the week he has 3 credit hours. The Down side is that he had a 12 page paper due the first day of class, he has to take a quiz every night and a final at the end of the week, and he has 20 page paper due 2 weeks after the class is over...not to mention the 5 or 6 books he had to read. So, there's a lot of work involved. On top of that, he is taking a J-Term, which is basically the same thing all over again in January. So, instead of taking advantage of his much needed Christmas break, he is knocking out 2 classes in 2 weeks...and he's doing it for our family. He knows how badly I want him to be done with school and he is literally working his tale off to get it done. What an amazing man!

Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Elli's Dedication

Well, apparentally Elli was dedicated at FBC Smyrna this past Sunday. I wasn't aware of the fact until AFTER she was dedicated because my ever-loving family wanted to spare Jared and I from feeling like we needed to be there. Of course, had we known, we definitely would have been there! Oh well...maybe we'll make it to her baptism. My sister put this pic on facebook and I am assuming this is the outfit she wore for the dedication. I can't imagine why else she would be wearing this adorable outfit! However, as cute as she may be, she doesn't look all too amused over what she is wearing!

Thursday, November 20, 2008

Growing Up is Hard to Do!

Well, somehow Sara picked up on the hint that I wanted more pictures of Elli. So, she sent me some from her first bath. As you can tell, she is less than thrilled!



Then, here she is just sleeping like an angel that never cries. She's such a cutie. I miss her so much!

Here's the thing I don't understand about growing up. When you are born, God strategically places you into the group of people you would come to know and love and eventually call family. Then, you spend the next 20 years of your life getting to know them, creating bonds with them and learning to love them unconditionally. Eventually your siblings become more than just someone to fight with...they become your best friends. And you stop viewing your parents as people who are just trying to make your life miserable, but you come to understand that they are there to love you, guide you and encourage you to become the Godly young man or woman that they know you can be.

It's at this point, it seems, that it's time to say goodbye. It's time to "leave and cleave" as I've been told so many times in the last two years. Now, don't get me wrong, I love my husband dearly and I am so happy to spend the rest of my life with him. But it doesn't make sense to me that in gaining that love you also, on some levels, lose something. You lose the safety and comfort that are only brought to you in your family.

Of course, when we got married initially, I didn't feel this way. But now that I am 3 1/2 hours away from my parents and am soon to be 4 1/2 hours away from my sister--my best friend--and her sweet baby girl...it just seems so cruel. I know Jared and I are where we're supposed to be. But sometimes following God can be a lonely place...a place full of wonderful people, none of which you really, truly know. This place has a lot of potential to be called "home" someday, if only the void called "family" could ever be filled.

I will say, that I have the most wonderful husband who is so patient with me when I am feeling this way. He is never so selfish to make me feel bad for missing my family and friends back in TN.
Alright...I'm done being sad and sappy! I just look at the pictures of my neice and it makes me miss my family so much. I just needed a moment to get that off my chest! Thanks for listening!

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Is it Just me?

This past week has been absolutely frigid in Kentucky! Our nights have been in the '20s, our highs have been in the '40s and we have seen snow flurries on several occassions. It's only NOVEMBER for crying out loud! What happened to the pretty fall weather? Is it just like this in Kentucky or have you guys down in Tennessee been having cold weather, too?

All I know is that we better have some warm days soon or Asher is going to go stir crazy. As you saw in a previous post, Asher is not too crazy about his sweater, but he's also not too crazy about the cold. Plus, his owners are not at all too crazy about walking him in 30 degree weather, either!

Much thanks to the Brockways who let Asher come and run around in their fenced in backyard for a while the other night :)

I'd post more pics of Ellianna, but it seems my sister has forgotten to send them to me on a continuous basis. Tisk, tisk!

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Christmas Shopping Chaos

Every year it seems like Jared and I have more and more Christmas gifts to buy. Though I LOVE buying gifts for others, it seems like the entire Christmas season is marred by that nagging thought of "I still need to do some Christmas shopping." It's something that I dread doing every year. So, last year we decided our goal would be to complete all Christmas shopping by Thanksgiving. That way, the entire Christmas season can be devoted to enjoying time together and with our families. Last year we were successful and I am glad to say that as of last night, we are 3 gifts away from being DONE! I must say, it makes the Christmas shopping a lot more fun when you have a goal set and are successful at achieving it.

One final note on the Christmas shopping...The past two weekends my mom and I have gone to do some Christmas shopping, once in Nashville and once in Louisville. If our nation is in a recession, no one has noticed yet! Because, let me tell you, every mall parking lot was packed and there were lines out the door in almost every place we shopped. The restaurants were packed and it didn't look like anyone was worried about spending their money. So either the whole recession thing is a myth or people are just running up their credit card bills without a care. I'm sure it's probably a little of both.
On a more exiting note...Elli went to the doctor this week and she has gained a whole pound since birth. She is now a whopping 5 pounds and 15 ounces (I think I got it right this time!). And everything checked out well. Here is a picture of her all decked out in pink.

Monday, November 10, 2008

Crazy Hair Night!

Well, one of the fun things about AWANA is that we have theme nights about once a month. Last night was Crazy Hair Night. Jared has been begging me to shave his hair into a Mohawk for probably a year. So, when crazy hair night came up on the calendar, I agreed to do it. But, on Sunday afternoon, Jared wisened up and we decided it might not be the best idea, considering the fact that he is an Ambassador for the Seminary. So, we both decided to go with a "Big Hair" theme. It took me all of 2 minutes to spike Jared's hair out in a thousand different directions with lots of hair gel and hair spray. It took me about 20 minutes to get my hair teased this big. Of course, when we got to church, Jared's hair was all the rage...the kids loved it! I, however, was immediately asked if I had just woken up and was asked why I didn't do anything for crazy hair night. I'm not quite sure what that says about my hair on a normal day!

Tuesday, November 4, 2008

A Big City Girl...

...Living in a Small Town World! As most of you know, I wasn't 100% sold on living in a town smaller than the population of my high school. But, it really hasn't been too bad. I mean, I do have to drive over to the next town if I want to grocery shop and we only have 2 restaurants in our sleepy little town. But, it definitely has its perks and today was proof! When I went to the community center to vote, I was prepared to wait in line as usual. But, would you believe I was in and out of there in 10 minutes?! Maybe this small town stuff isn't so bad after all!

So to all of you back home who waited in line for 2 hours to vote today, I send my deepest sympathies!

Monday, November 3, 2008

Wining and Dining

For those of you who don't know, my dad works as a consultant for a private engineering firm (at least, that's the best I understand about my dad's job). As a part of his job, he and my mom get to attend lots of fancy smancy fundraisers, dinners, etc. This past weekend they got to attend the grand opening of a VERY nice hotel in town. This picture was taken of them at the black tie affair. Aren't they cute?

L'il Punkin

Jared and I had the privilege of hanging out with our neice all weekend. As you can tell she had quite an exciting halloween...she pretty much slept the whole night. We thought this pic was cute because the pumpkin is probably at least half her size and close to her weight.

I finally got to see her from head to toe this weekend. She is so tiny! She loves to stretch out those long skinny legs. She seems so frail but she is a resilliant little tyke. She is gaining weight at a good rate. At her last dr.'s appt she had reached 5 pounds and everything checked out great.

Thursday, October 30, 2008

Monday, October 27, 2008

Families on Mission

As previously posted, Jared and I got to drive to Nashville last Thursday to meet Elli and then had to turn around and drive right back to Kentucky the same night. Some of you may have wondered why the trip was cut so short.

Well, Jared and I had the privilege of taking a group from our church to Eastern KY for the church's first ever "Family Focused" Mission trip. We had 19 people from 6 families who attended.
So, why Eastern KY? Well, several of the nation's poorest counties are located in the mountains of Eastern KY. The coal mining industry used to be booming in a lot of these places, but due to the local mines shutting down and the lack of other gainful employment, many of these areas have no source of consistent income. This creates both a great spiritual and physical need for the people in these ares.

We teamed up with an organization called Club 180 Ministries. This organization has several different things going on including a teen parenting program, a coffee shop caleed "Cafe 180," an after school program called "Excel 180" and a gymnastics program called "Flip 180." You should definitely check out the 180 Ministries Web site by clicking here.

Our group did several different things to help out the 180 Ministries. One group of girls spent their whole day going through bags of donated clothes and organizing them for placement in the 180 teen pregnancy center. Teens who are pregnant have the opportunity to take parenting classes, attend Bible Studies and do various other things to earn points. Once they have enough points, they have the chance to go Shopping.
Another thing some people from our group did was sort through some of the many donations that Club 180 has received. This is an important job, because it is hard to function when things are not in order!
Some of the handy men tackled the construction projects that desperately needed to be done. One of those was the installation of a drop ceiling in the upstairs office. These guys overcame many frustrations and worked so hard to make sure everything was done well. They worked all the way through the fall festival until everything was done.
Our kids and remaining adults spent most of the day cleaning up a local park and getting things ready for 180's community Fall Festival. Our kids did a great job of working hard without complaining! They swept and mopped things inside, picked up garbage outside, raked an old volleyball court to make it suitable for playing and all kinds of things. Even after all that hardwork and exhaustion, they were troopers. They played with lots of kids at the Fall Festival and never once complained about being cold! Me and 2 other ladies spent our night grilling and serving 120 cheeseburgers, brownies, chips and drinks. People just couldn't believe it was actually free!
While we were there we had the opportunity to stay at a place called "United for Jesus." This organization has taken an Old Middle School and turned it into a bunk house. We weren't sure what to expect, but everything turned out wonderful. Besides having no heat, the facility was wonderful!
So, even though we would have loved to spend the weekend with our brand new neice, God had a different plan for our weekend and it was great. We had the chance to spend the weekend teaching future missionaries how to serve the Lord! What greater thing could there be? But, needless to say, after making our trip to and back from Nashville and then spending the weekend working hard, we were pretty tired. I think this picture says it all!

Sweet Baby Girl



Well, I realize that I am partial, but isn't this just the cutest little girl in the world? I can't wait to see her again!

Friday, October 24, 2008

Meeting Ellianna

Well, as many of you know, I was not going to be able to go home yesterday for the birth of my neice. But, at about 3:30 I just couldn't take it anymore! So, Jared and I Jumped in the car at about 5:00 yesterday and drove to Nashville to meet this beautiful little girl!Ellianna Michelle was born at 12:23pm central time on October 23 and was 17 3/4 inches long. She weighed 4 pounds and 15 ounces, which is a correction from my previous blog post.

She was not expected to be so tiny. At Sara's ultrasound 2 weeks ago, the baby measured at 5 1/2 pounds. So, it was quite a suprise that she was so small. But, she is healthy and happy! Right now she is just spending lots of time in the incubator to keep her body temperature up.

Hopefully I will have lots more pictures to post soon. Right now I just have these from my camera phone. We actually remembered to take our camera this time, but we forgot to use it!





Thursday, October 23, 2008

It's a Girl!

Well, that's not really a suprise but I couldn't think of a better title. I don't have any pictures to post yet and don't have a whole lot of details for you at this time. But, Ellianna was born this afternoon around 1:00pm central time. She was only 4 pounds and 8 ounces so she was immediately rushed to neonatal ICU as a precaution, but the baby and my sister are doing well for now. So, if you think about it, say a little prayer for Sara and Elli. Hopefully they will both have a restful night.

I will post more info soon!

Wednesday, October 22, 2008

It's Time to Have a Baby...for my sister, that is.

Well, at this time tomorrow, my big sister will be in pre-op, preparing for her C-section. Hopefully she won't kill me for sharing this snippet of the email she sent me yesterday:

"...The doctor scheduled my c-section for 12:30 on Thursday, so by 12:40 she'll be here, my insides may still be hanging out, but we'll have a baby."

As you can tell, she is in good spirits. Hopefully sometime tomorrow I will be able to post a new pic of my brand new niece Ellianna Michelle.

If you think of Sara today, send up a little prayer for her. I know she is nervous and excited all at the same time! Isn't she gorgeous, though? She glows as a woman truly blessed by God!

Monday, October 20, 2008

C-A-R-dS-C-A-R-dS-Go-Cards-Go!

This is the chant that Jared and I got to hear over and over Saturday as we sat in a sea of Cardinal fans at the MTSU v. Louisville Cardinal football game. We went to the game with some friends of ours from church and, despite the fact that our alma mater MTSU got killed, we had a really good time. Here are some pics from the very cold day! (Of course, we forgot our camera as usual, so these are the best we could do with Jared's phone!)

Friday, October 17, 2008

The Cutest Puppy in the World

Well, I don't really have a whole lot to say today other than, I have the best husband in the world (thanks for the sweet message!) and I have the cutest puppy ever. Since you've already seen proof of the first, let me give you some proof of the latter.
This is our baby boy Asher. Most of you have already had the privilege of meeting him. He just graduated from Obedience School with our next door neighbor Molly (a cute little weiner dog that belongs to our Pastor and his wife). The two of them were the best in their class! At least, I think they were :) Since starting Obedience School, Asher sits for pictures much better than he used to and has been behaving much better over all.

Now, it has turned pretty cold here the past couple of days, so for Asher's graduation present, I decided to buy him a new sweater.
As you can tell from this picture, he was less than thrilled about it. I love this face...I can almost hear him saying, "Seriously...you're taking my picture in this thing?" But, I think it's cute and that's all that matters. The only problem is that the sweater is a little bit small. I bought him an XL and I could barely get it on him. So, Asher can't grow anymore...I don't know if they make doggy sweaters in XXXL!
Anyway, tata for now!


Sometimes I just don't get it...you know?


(evidently this guy doesn't get it either)


I haven't spent quality time with my wife since Monday. It's Heritage Week at Southern Seminary. This may not mean much to you, but it can make things hard for us. I spend 12-14 hour days at the seminary during this week helping out as part of my responsibilities. I meet all kinds of great people who support Southern in many different ways. These people are what God uses to keep the great quality of professors at Southern, and still keep tuition rates lower than most seminaries. In other words, this is what helps keep Southern the best and largest seminary in the world. Also, Preview Conference started today. That means 3 more days that I won't get to see my wife. I get to hang out with prospective students all day hearing amazing stories of what and how God is working. These things are important, and I know they are part of my current calling; however, I know my current calling is not limited to these responsibilities. Obviously, I'm married and must be the spiritual leader of my home as well. I have been trying to figure out how to balance all this stuff for a long time. I have failed miserably in the past.





I told you that to set this up. This is an attempt to publicly balance these things.





To Katie: I miss you so much. I got home tonight to wake you up so I could kiss you good night. I hate that! Lately, you have challenged, encouraged, and strengthened me toward love and good deeds. I'm tired, sick, cranky, and not around this week; however, you have poured out your love on me. Sometimes I just don't get it. I don't get how we could be such great friends. I don't get how we could be such polar opposites, but at the same time be so similar. I don't get how your smile automatically makes me smile. I don't get how come you do so much for me and don't expect anything in return. I don't get how you can calm me down so quickly when I'm mad. I don't get how you can encourage me so faithfully when I'm down. I don't get how we can look at the same passage of scripture, see two different things, and both of them be relevant. I don't get how whatever you like automatically becomes something I like. I don't get why we work so well together. I don't get why for the first time in my life I'd rather sit down and have a conversation rather than watch TV. I don't get why we have so much more than we deserve. I don't get why you care so much. I don't get why your joy is contagious. I don't get why you took me back when we were dating after "the accident." I don't get why you put up with all the baggage I brought into our marriage. I don't get why whatever you cook is a gourmet meal. I don't get why you pick me up after I've fallen into the "miry clay." I just don't get it. I don't understand why. I am perplexed. I am confused. I am dumbfounded. I am silenced. I am humbled. I am awestruck. I just don't get why God would give me you.

Wednesday, October 15, 2008

Two Years...going on Fifty


On Monday Jared and I celebrated 2 years of blissful marriage. We celebrated the occassion by taking the day off from our busy lives and going up to Cincinnati to start some Christmas shopping and visit the Ikea store. Now, being the forgetful person that I am, we forgot to take the camera, but here are a few cell phone shots of our day.

We ate lunch at a place called Uno's. Their specialty is Chicago Style Pizza. It was so good. This shot is about halfway through our meal. I took a picture of Jared taking a huge bite of pizza, but apparentally I deleted it because it is no longer on my phone :(

This is the Ikea store. There's one in Atlanta and one in Cincinnati. It is basically a Swedish furniture warehouse. It is absolutely unlike any place I've ever been. It is 2 floors of the cutest and cheapest furniture you've ever seen. I would highly recommend visiting an Ikea store even if you're not in the market for new furniture.
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Once we got home, we spent the evening eating dinner and watching a movie in our pj's...the perfect end to a great day!
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On our drive to Cincinnati, we got to talking about how we feel like it was just yesterday that we were walking down the aisle to say our "I Do's." But, at the same time, it's hard to remember life before marriage. It truly feels like we've been together forever. Most days, that's a good thing!

Wednesday, October 8, 2008

Just an Update

I just wanted to give you a quick update...Norah is a big sister! All of the money was raised, Charlotte Marie was born Sunday and the family of 3 became 4. What a blessing! Check out their story and see pictures here.

Thursday, October 2, 2008

$12,000 in 48 Hours

Meet Norah. Norah is the little girl of some very good friends of ours back in Tennessee, Brad and Alison. Norah was adopted a little over a year ago and has been such a blessing to their family. Well, I got an email this morning that Norah's birthmother has contacted Brad and Alison to see if they would be interested in adopting Norah's full biological sybling...who is due any day now. Isn't God awesome?! This is such a great opportunity for Brad and Alison, who endured a lot in their process to adopt their first child before finding Norah. They are very excited and plan to go forward with adopting Norah's sibling. The only catch in the whole things is that, as many of you know, adoption is very expensive. Brad and Alison have 48 hours to come up with $12,000 dollars. So, I encourage you to check out their blog and then, if you feel compelled, there is a link to make a donation to their cause.

By the way, I stole this ADORABLE picture from Brad and Alison's photo blog. Alison is a very talented photographer, and I couldn't resist snagging this pic for my post!

Wednesday, October 1, 2008

Missing Mammaw


Well, today marks the 1 year anniversary of the sudden passing of Jared's Mammaw Norma. She was a really great lady and a wonderful mammaw to her 5 grandsons. Mammaw was always so much fun...you never really knew what she might say or do, but you always knew she'd put a smile on your face!

It is hard to believe it has been a year since she went on to spend eternity with her Savior. Mammaw, we love and miss you dearly!

Tuesday, September 16, 2008

Fancy Seeing You Here!

Well, if you are checking our blog, then I must say, WOW! Thank you so much for your faithfulness to keep checking even though we haven't posted anything in 5 months!

Since April, we have had quite a busy 5 months. In April, we began the process of looking for a house to buy. We found one in May and began the process of filling out our mortgage application, getting inspections and all of the other glorious stuff that goes along with buying a house. On June 24, we closed on our house and now happily live just 3 houses down from where we work and go to church. We literally walk to work everyday! The only places we drive are Wal Mart and the bank...oh, and Jared still drives to school twice a week! Here is a pic of our new little house.

We have 3 bedrooms, 1 bathroom and a nice big backyard for our new baby...and that brings me to the next thing we've been up to.

About a month ago we adopted a puppy from the Woodstock animal Foundation. This is Asher:

Asher's mom was an Australian Shepherd. If you've ever seen an Aussie, then you know he looks nothing like his mother. Though the agency didn't know what the dad was, we are almost certain his dad was a Pointer.
This picture was taken when we first got him. He is now 5 months old and weighs 37 pounds. Our vet says we can plan on him hitting 60 pounds at his max weight. He is such a sweety. He absolutely LOVES to play and he has the floppiest ears...he is so hilarious to watch. Just the other day he got caught up chasing a butterfly and wondered into our neighbor's yard where he had his first encounter with a wild mushroom. He barked his head off and couldn't figure out why the thing wouldn't move. Anyway, it was pretty funny.

We have actually started obedience school along with our next door neighbor Gerri and her weiner dog Molly. Though Asher is a lot of fun, he is VERY strong and very stubborn. He only responds to commands if he is particularly in the mood. So, we figure, if he is going to be 60 pounds, we ought to figure out how to control him while he is still at a managable size.

The last thing I will update you on is my very-pregnant sister. As many of you know, she has had 2 miscarriages in the last year and a half. So, it is very exciting to announce that she is 7 months pregnant with a very healthy baby. Ellianna Michelle is due to arrive on November 7. The name Ellianna is the Hebrew word for "God has heard." For obvious reasons, this is a very fitting name for the MOST prayed for child ever. So many people have prayed for Matt and Sara through this difficult time and the name is a tribute both to those people and to the God who has made Ellianna's life possible. Michelle is after her FAVORITE Aunt...me :) Michelle was my middle name.

So, this past weekend I had the opportunity to travel back to Tennessee for her baby shower. Here is a cute picture of Sara and her shower hostesses. Isn't her baby belly, soooo cute!
Anyway, that's all for now. I am going to try to be better at blogging, but I make no promises, since we donn't have internet at our house! It makes it very challenging to keep you all updated. But, thanks again for continuing to check on us. We appreciate it! Talk to you soon!







Friday, April 11, 2008

We are still alive!

Well, I just wanted to let you know that we are still alive. The truth is, absolutely NOTHING exciting has happened in our lives lately. So, there really isn't much to blog about. However, I am working on my second sewing project. I am working on a "Pilt" as Jared calls it for a friend of ours. A "pilt" is basically a square blanket that folds up into the shape of a pillow. I will have to show you some pictures when it's done.

Anyway, ta ta for now. Thanks for stopping by!

Thursday, March 13, 2008

New England Vacation

Well, Saturday morning when we woke up to 8 inches of snow, we were skeptical about the start of our vacation. Once we finally plowed our way out of the parking lot, we made our way (slowly) to the airport. Once we got there, we were surprised to discover that all flights were right on schedule. This did not prove to be true. We spent quite a while waiting in the airport getting to know our next door neighbors who were ironically on the same flight as us to Chicago. So, 2 hours later (1 hour after we were supposed to leave), when we finally took off, we were very relieved. When we got off the plane for our connection to Chicago at 9:56, we literally had 4 minutes to run to the other side of the airport to catch our 10:00 flight to Providence. Amazingly...we made it. Sadly, our luggage did not. It caught up with us about midnight.

Waiting for take-off in Louisville

When we arrived in Providence, we got our rental care and drove straight to Cape Cod (about an hour from providence) to visit with Jared's Uncle Bob and see the Cape. Uncle Bob had some AMAZING, authentic New England Clam Chowder and Lobster salad waiting for us when we arrived. So, we ate lunch and chatted for awhile before heading out on the cape. Let me just say, Cape Cod is one of the neatest places I have ever been. Everything is so beautiful and it just seems that the Cape has a different, slower way of life. Here are a few of the sights we saw:

This light house is still guiding ships at sea after many years of service


This is a draw bridge, but not just any draw bridge. It is a draw bridge created for trains to cross. So, most of the time this bridge is as you see it. But 2 or 3 times a day, the top part lowers down for trains to cross. The bridge is operated with 2 small engines and an amazingly engineered pulley system. Pretty crazy!

Anyway, we got to see lots of other neat things. But, since it was pouring rain for most of the day, we didn't get a whole lot of pictures. We do want to say THANK YOU Uncle Bob. We had a blast!
Jared and Uncle Bob

On Sunday, we went and saw a few sights in Providence. Then we drove up to Newport, RI (home of America's Cup, the Yacht Race). We spent most of the day there before driving over to Boston to spend the evening. I won't bore you with all the details. But, here are some pics. We saw quite a lot of historical churches and schools. Enjoy:

PROVIDENCE, RI
Capital Building

View of the City from our hotel window

A random sign that we found confusing, but quite funny

The first ever Baptist Church in America

Brown College

NEWPORT, RI
Providence, the first Episcopalian church in America

A New England Fish Market

The Pier

Rocky Beaches

Newport is known for its mansions. This is one of the largest.

Another beautiful mansion

Some sailors taking advantage of the windy day

Now these next few pictures are in Boston. I want to take this time to inform you that the mid-size vehicle that we ended up with from Hertz was a Kia Rondo as seen below. They call this an SUV, but it is really more like a sporty mini-van. Being that Jared is a lot better at reading maps, he was the navigator for the trip and I was the driver.
In case you were wondering, this is how I felt about driving a mini-van in Boston.

Jared, my loving husband, with a supportive (but obviously terrified) smile.

Okay...Moving on!

BOSTON, MA

Harvard

MIT

Berklee College of Music
(this is where we went to the Paul Potts concert)

The first church of Christ, Scientology

Paul Potts singing his signature song Nessun Dorma

One of the things that inspired our trip was the fact that Paul Potts would be putting on a concert in Boston on that weekend. Now, have no fear, Jared and I did not move to Kentucky and become closet opera fans. But, we LOVE Paul Potts. If you haven't heard of him, he was the winner of the 2007 Britain's got talent. Check him out on Youtube. He is amazing.

I know this is a really long post, but we wanted to show you all some pictures from our trip. We are so fortunate to have been able to take some time away from life to go on an "adventure" together. We really had a great time!