Our anniversary...

Yesterday was our 3rd wedding anniversary and this one will go down in the books!

I was up in Johnson City yesterday and by the grace of God (and my mother!), we have found a place to live. I met my mom up in our new city and she helped me out with Mallory and also made some phone calls for me to different property management companies to inquire about rentals. The place that she called yesterday morning was the managers of the house we'll be renting. It's a little house that will suit our needs for the next 6 months or so until we can find permanent housing. The place we found will allow pets and a short-term lease, praise God! The back yard is HUGE and has a 6-foot privacy fence, so there is absolutely NO WAY the dog can jump over this fence! If she does, then she's made of magic or something! Now, we haven't had any problems with digging, so hopefully we won't face that. Anyway, it's going to be nice. It's hard to believe that in 15 days, we'll be Tennesseeans! Gosh, it's hard to believe how quickly our move is approaching!

Patrick and I went out to a nice dinner last Saturday, so at least we got to celebrate a little for our anniversary. I was sad to be away from Patrick the majority of our actual anniversary day, but it was necessary for us to find a place to live! And God provided!

As of yesterday, I thought we had 3 weeks until we moved. My mom kindly announced that I really only had 2 weeks before we moved. Yikes! 7 precious days were mentally taken away from me and I'm now in overdrive. We have SOOO much to accomplish in such a little time. It's overwhelming at times, but I'm surprised at how I'm not consumed with worry. God is my strength and with Him, we'll get through! I'm so glad that He's coming with us to this new city. I have to confess that I've been pretty lonely at times these past two weeks. I know that it's only going to get harder, but I also know that the Lord is with me. I'm so glad I have Mallory, too. She's my buddy and will keep me company during the lonliest of times.

Keep us in your prayers as we embark on these next few weeks, which will probably be some of the most difficult weeks of our lives.

I just wanted to share what's been going on in our lives. So, if I'm not faithful with my blog for the next few weeks, please forgive me! :-)

Go Gators!

We're excited about football season being right around the corner!!! We hope to cheer the Florida Gators on to many victories!!!

Remembering Brooke

It was a year ago today that my cousin lost her baby, Brooke MacKenzie. I was only 6 weeks pregnant when it happened and I remember how much it pained me to hear of her loss. I had my first visit with Joy just this past Friday since Brooke's death. I tried to respect her timetable of healing before I visited her, since I knew Brooke's memory was still fresh in her heart. Joy gladly welcomed our visit and it was SOO nice to finally hug her and share my little Mallory Brooke with her. I was able to "meet" Brooke through pictures and memoires, which was so touching. I could see, and almost feel, the pain they experienced with her death, but rejoice that Joy's family turns to the Lord for strength. I'm thinking about and praying for Joy a lot today, knowing that she'll be remembering her daughter today with longing. God is good and provides the ultimate comfort for a hurting heart.

I will be photographing a Rememberance Walk in Winston-Salem this October that Joy is a part of. The walk is to remember babies that died in utero or shortly after birth. She said that there are about 75 babies that will be remembered at this event, which is so wonderful! I'm so glad that I'll have the opportunity to honor Brooke in this way and all the other babies that had such a brief life.

I just wanted to share the significance of this day with you all. Continue to pray for my family!

The Lord is so good!

4 months old!

Mallory was 4 months old on Saturday. It's hard to believe that she's getting so big!!! We had a fun weekend, which I'll share about in a later post. I wanted to go ahead and put this picture on the blog, though. She is just so cute!!!

Crazy Dog

And I thought my dog was crazy! I thought this was a really funny video.

I don't know what to think, Mommy!

Here's a video of the day Mallory tried out her new toy!  I kept asking her what she thought and she kept giving me this look like "I don't know, Mommy!!!".  She's just so cute!

Time for Pictures!

It's been a while since I've posted pictures of Mallory. She is growing up to be so big! It's amazing how time flies. It was a year ago on Wednesday that I told Patrick I was pregnant. Gosh, this past year has totally changed our lives...but for the better!

















Tummy Time!




















My new toy!!!

















I think I like my new toy!





















I LOVE playing with my daddy!

















I love playing with mommy too!

House for Sale!

It's hard to believe that we're actually moving. Our house went on the market last Thursday afternoon and we've already had 7 showings. It's been a challenge getting out of the house with the dog and the baby, but we've managed, thanks to our in-laws who welcome all 3 of us with open arms! We've had great feedback on the property, but no offers yet! Hopefully soon.

I'm in the midst of packing boxes while trying to keep my house neat in case a realtor calls to request a showing. It's been challenging and requires a lot more time! I've got 12 boxes packed so far and a whole lot more to go! Does anyone have any boxes they're willing to give us?

Yum-Yum Time is Over!

253 - that's the number of how high my cholesterol is. I was shocked when I found out this past Monday! So, I've decided to start some more exercising and totally changing my diet. I'm now walking my dog every morning around 7am, which I've done for the last 3 out of 4 days. I've dropped almost 3 pounds since then, which made me realize how much my lack of activity and eating habbits affected me! But, it's been REALLY hard to give up my evening ice cream. I have a "yum yum" bowl that's about a half-a-cup big, which holds maybe a scoop and a half of ice cream (much smaller than my usual 3 or 4 scoops!). I just use a smaller spoon to make it seem like it's more than it really is!














(Then and Now...respecitively)

I hoping that in these coming weeks and months, I'll be able to lower this cholesterol and feel better about my well-being (for those of you in Bible Study yesterday, it's a way for us to be "busy at home"!!!).

So it got me thinking, what would be the hardest thing to cut from your diet if you had to?

Anyone want to buy a dining room table?

Or do you know of anyone who wants one? I'd like to sell ours before we move...

Are you from Tennessee?

"You're the only 'ten I see'." I hear this from Patrick ALL the time, which is sweet but annoying when I hear it OVER and OVER!

Well, it's official. We are moving to Tennessee sometime in the middle of September. There is A LOT to do between now and then, but we're excited about starting this new adventure in our lives. It will be VERY sad to leave all the friends we've made in the last 5 years of living in Charlotte, especially leaving Patrick's parents and our dear church family. We anticipate LOTS of company to come visit us in the mountains of Johnson City, TN (skiing, hiking, and for you NASCAR fans, Bristol!!!)! Please pray for us in this endeavor and that the inevidable chaos won't overwhelm us to the point of missing out on Mallory's early months. Also pray that we won't succumb to unneccessary arguments between each other!

God is sovereign and we praise him for this opportunity! May He be glorified in our move!

The High Calling of a Wife

I have the joy and priviledge of leading a bible study this Thursday regarding the Titus 2:4-5 instruction for women to be "busy at home". In my research, I came across this great article about our calling. It's pretty long, but it was a blessing to read.