As promised, here are some photos from the Global Support Mission This is Love banquet we had on February 5th at Rocketown in Nashville.
You can view them here.
Be sure to check them out!
This week seems to have flown by! I can hardly believe it's already Thursday. I think it's due to the crazy weather that seems to have everyone in a hurry for the week to be over. Sunday was so nice, very warm even. As the week progressed, the colder it got. Yesterday (Wednesday) I woke to the ground being covered in white! Finally, snow! (We get REALLY excited when it snows in TN) It continued to snow off and on all day. I enjoyed listening to the hustle and bustle of the radio announcers; giving the city a play by play of the traffic. You would think that a snowstorm had just dropped 2 feet of snow! :) All of the schools in the area were closed, actually 3/4 of the state was closing the schools. My friend Trish phoned to tell me that she had a 2 hour delay at work; then they closed the office at 2pm! How great is that? Trish loved it too. I enjoyed the day watching James discover the snow outside. He would stand at the window and ooh and aah as they hit the window. At one point he was holding on to the windowsill, and tried to hike his leg up, as if he was going to climb onto the windowsill for a better view! So funny.
The flu seems to keep going around, it's even struck the home I nanny out of. I'm praying it doesn't hit me! I don't want it! :) I've been making sure my body gets enough water and sleep so my immune system doesn't drop. Tuesday night Trish, Katie and I went to Jackson's (great little grille on 21st Ave.) for dinner. It was nice to do something mid-week; I normally don't allow myself that luxury. But, that night was different. Katie and Trish wanted me to come along to "spy" on a yound adults group that was meeting, to get a feel for the group. Our plan backfired greatly. We were ushered to a table at the opposite end of the place! We got a good laugh out of it. The night couldn't be complete without a trip to Fido, a great local coffeehouse just down the block from Jackson's. As usual, the three of us ended up laughing so hard our cheeks hurt. I'm sure many people thought we were on something.
I'm looking forward to this weekend, I'm headed to Atlanta for my cousins' wife's' baby shower. Somehow this weekend ended up working for almost the entire family to get together.
I am excited to:
1) See my cousins Nick (wife is having the shower) and Andrew(my age, practically my brother).
2) See Lara, Nicks' wife.
3) Catch up with my Mama on the trip there and back
4)Hang with my aunts whom I never get to see
5) Go out Saturday night with my cousins :)
6) GO TO IKEA!!
Ok, well, IKEA in my heart is more towards the top of my list, but hey. I'm trying to be nice. :) My sister was supposed to join us, but isn't able to now. Bummer! I was looking forward to some seeester time. Ah well. The boy cousins will suffice I guess...
Have a great weekend!
I'm at home sick tonight, which is a bummer; since it's Friday night! I'm actually enjoying a night off-I have a fire in the fireplace (mmmm...), brownies in the oven and I'm watching No Reservations. So far, so cute! I'm loving it. I'm hoping that my aches and pains won't turn into the dreaded flu that's been going around. If you've experienced the flu lately, I'm so sorry! I'm hoping to be feeling better by the morning.
Trish hooked me up with an AWESOME deal on pillows (I know, right?) today! She found a buy one get one free deal at Linen's and Things, and then had another 20% off that. So, want to know how much I saved? $63!! I only paid $17 for EIGHT pillows. Quite the deal, eh? I do say so myself. My bed looks so nice and plush with four pillows on it!
I hope your Valentine's Day was fabulous! I had a hot date with a blond haired, blue eyed sweetie! I'm talking of James, of course. (James is the one year old I nanny for) He had a Valentine's gift for me when I arrived, so sweet! "He" (aka, Danielle his mom) got me great comfy pj's, a framed photo of himself in a frame that matches my room, a heart shaped red suede pillow and a sweet card. He sure knows the way to a girls heart! :) After he went to bed, my friend Katie came over and we ordered Chinese and watches LOST--my addiction that I am not afraid to admit! That show is amazing.....
I hope you have a great weekend!
I've just returned from seeing the last showing of U2, in 3D at the IMAX. It was INCREDIBLE. I know it's a late work night, but I figure it's the closest I'll ever get to U2! A group of friends and I decided to go at the last minute yesterday; and I'm SO glad we went! One of the things I've always wanted to do was to see U2 live. This was as close as I could get-for now. Bono did some particularly peculiar interpretive dancing (which included: The Eagle, The Airplane, and my favorite, walking like a zombie blindfolded to his satellite stage. Hmm.) which was amusing throughout the show. The Edge (Electric, acoustic, keys) delivered quite the show, as always-and I was thoroughly impressed with the drummer and bass player as well.
We arrived a few minutes late and missed the opening song 'Vertigo', but we were soon kicked back in the back row lookin' cool with our 3D glasses on. I was sad that the theater audience wasn't more participative, but it's ok. Trish and I had our own back row party, while Ian had his own personal dance party. Alone. But we still love him.
All in all, it was a fantastic night! I'm looking forward to writing when I've seen them live....
I know, it's been a while since I've posted last. Things are staying busy here in Nashville! Since I've last posted I have had a new rooomate move in, and Sara is moving out this weekend. It's bittersweet; I'm sad to see her go, but she's getting married, so that's exciting! We also had the This Is Love banquet for Global Support Mission (I'll post pictures soon!) last night-which was so fun and exciting.
Global Support Mission (GSM) was founded by two young men who attend my church, Travis and David. I've been volunteering for their organization and LOVING it! We worked hard to put this banquet together, and it was so satisfying to see it go off without a hitch. Well, Nashville was under a tornado watch last night and we had to relocated to a safer room in the venue (which was Rocketown!). Other than that, the banquet was a success. There was a 20 piece Big Band, 'The Moonlighters'. We enjoyed dancing the night away, that's for sure! Faith Kunhira is the founder and operator of Bringing Hope to the Family, the orphanage and vocational school in Kihura, Uganda. Faith was the keynote speaker of the evening; and she shared her heart and vision for the village. Bringing Hope is the main orphanage that GSM is connected with-as of now. It was great to have her speak, I loved her accent! She was dressed in full African garb, complete with pink paisley. So cute. As I said before, I'll post photos of the event as soon as I can.
I'm still very much enjoying nannying for James, he's just the sweetest little boy ever! I'm enjoying him learn and discover new abilities and functions of his little body. His most recent accomplishment: spinning in circles! (I know, so cute!). He's also begun dancing a little-his favorite song you ask? Whitney Houstons' 'I Want to Dance with Somebody'. We break it DOWN in the kitchen. He also likes Los Lonely Boys 'Heaven'. He's been sick this past week unfortunatley, but I think he's feeling better now. Bless his heart! His first fever...it was rough.
Woodbine is going great, we have experienced growth and it's just really exciting right now! We've started hanging out with the other young adults and realized that we have more people under 30 than we thought! A few weeks ago we enjoyed hanging out at Jon's playing Guitar Hero. The guys thought it would be a great idea to create a complete bracketed tournament, and the games begun. I'm proud to say that I am the ranking #2 Guitar Hero player! I battled my way through easy and hard songs, defeated Brady, and lost to Travis, who had played only once before. I demanded a rematch, but didn't get it. :)
That's it for now! As always, I'm on the move! I'm excited about this weekend-I'm moving into Sara's old room. It's always exciting to get to re-do a room!
I hope your February has gone as well as mine has.....Happy Valentine's Day!
I can't believe it's January already! It seems that Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years came and went with too much hurry. Though the Holidays have passed, I'm still enjoying the cold, holiday-like weather; and trying to spend as much time as I can with family and friends.
The first part of my Christmas trip was spent at my family's farm in Kentucky. We had a great time of hanging out, shooting guns, etc. I was hoping for a few romps with the four wheeler, but there just wasn't enough time! All of the family came over, and we enjoyed a great Christmas meal (thanks mom!) with family, new additions (my brother was married this year!) and out of town guests (Yay Aunt Carol!).
The day after Christmas I jetted off to Washington, D.C. to visit the other side of my family-and loved every second of it! As soon as I hit the ground, we made our way around town to visit some of the sites. We enjoyed the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, and were even able to watch the changing of the guard. It was very moving. The amount of respect in that moment was insurmountable. After we darted through the sleet, we made it to the Arlington House, where Robert E. Lee once lived. It's an amazing view, overlooking parts of downtown D.C. and the Potomac River. Too bad he gave it up! We enjoyed going to 5 Guys, (seriously the BEST burgers and fries ever!) catching a movie on Quantico Marine Base (my dad is in the Army), packing in more adventures through downtown D.C.; and of course, the much needed chill time. We had a great time, though it was way too short!
After the whirlwind New Years' Trip, I enjoyed a few days of rest. Imagine that, resting from my vacation! :) I knew that I needed to rest before heading back to work and back into the routine; and was I right! More about that later....
Will post more later, but until then, enjoy these snapshots from this past weekend.
A lot has happened in the past two weeks since I have posted! I've started my new job as a nanny, and I'm LOVING it! James (my "boy") is so sweet, and cute. Couldn't ask for a better baby to watch. It's been interesting learning about young children, and amazing that I get to be a part of raising this child. Crazy.
After Thanksgiving, I jumped right into my last week of work at the YMCA. It was crazy busy, and I was sad to leave, but ready to move on. The following week (last week of November) I started nannying, and as I said before, I'm loving it. The new schedule is taking some to get used to, but other than that it's great. That week Trish and I went over to Kyle Cooper's to help him decorate; something that has become a small tradition. We ordered pizza and sat by the fire just chatting and catching up after we decorated. The next day, a whole bunch of people (about 40) went to the opening night of White Christmas at TPAC (TN Performing Arts Center). Of course, the night couldn't be complete without something ridiculous happening....None of us (Trish, Julie or I) quite knew where TPAC was, so I took us to what I thought was the right place. We ended up at another place entirely! We didn't have time to go back to our car, so we just walked, in heels and dresses, with no coats. It was hilarious, and we still made it just in the nick of time.
Thursday night Brooke Fraser played at 3rd&Lindsley, which was so fun to go to. A handful of friends were there, we had great seats, and the best part was that we were home by 9:30! Friday night I scored free tickets to see Keith Urban (he was playing in town), so Katie, Clayton, Justin and I went downtown to the Sommet Center for the show. It was a GREAT show, super long, but incredible. Keith (and his band) are really talented muscians; which is what I love the most. He pulled Martina McBride onto the show and did a duet with her which was fantastic. At one point after his encore, he said "Ok, the show is finished, but I don't want to go home. From here on out, it's totally on the fly". It was so great! He had each of his band members sing a line from The Steve Miller Band "The Joker". It was so much fun. I'm so glad we were able to make it!
Saturday I got up early, ran some errangs, worked out, then headed to 9 Fruits Smoothies, a new smoothie place that has opened in Cool Springs. 9 Fruits stands for the fruits of the Spirit...which is great! My smoothie was wonderful as well. Now I'm trying to recruit as many people as possible to stop by!
This past week was a little more low-key, and I was grateful. I was so beat from every night of the previous week, that I needed some "recover" time. My weekend wasn't long enough!! Saturday I slept in, worked out, stopped by 9 Fruits (of COURSE!) and then to run some errands. Katie came over and we started our Christmas Baketastic Saturday. We had so much fun, but ended up crashing at about 5:30 from our sugar high-to sugar low. :) We ordered Chinese and re-fueled before Aaron and Lauren came over to decorate cookies and make a gingerbread house. It was quite hilarious I must say so myself.
Sunday was our Christmas Kids Production-SO CUTE! They did a great job winning everyone's hearts. After church Curtis, Jon and I went to Stoney River for lunch. Curtis works there, so we had a discount. I love their food, wish I could eat there more often. After lunch we dropped by the new Green Hills development Hill Center to look around. There are great new shops like Anthropologie, West Elm, 5 Guys, Pei Wei, Swoozie's, etc. etc. etc. Such a fun little area! After running home and resting for a bit, Trish and I decided to go bowling. We called up some friends and they met us there for a great night of laughing and an overall good time. Mark, Todd and Manny met us there, but Mark, Trish and I played. I bowled my all time high of 104 (I know, lame) and was super excited!! We ended the night by playing a few rounds of arcade-style Dance Dance Revolution. It was so funny, and a fun way to end the night. Trish and I were able to catch up for a few minutes before she had to leave; she was showing me the paint swatches and wallpapers she has chosen for her new place. Less than a month to go before the house is finished! Woo hoo!
I know that was alot, but I'm trying my best to keep you in the loop! This week there will be no shortage of fun, tomorrow is our staff Christmas party, Life Group party, Frontline Party, Uturn party.....shew. I'm all partied out and haven't even begun!
I've made two trips to Kentucky this week! Shew! That's a lot of miles...but it was worth it!
The first trip last Sunday was to my old church Southeast Christian to see Phil Wickham.
Phil is a Christian artist whose music I have really come to love and appreciate! He has such an anointing to lead worship and is lyrically gifted beyond anything I have heard recently. My friend Julie came up with me, and we spent our Monday hanging around the Highlands and Old Louisville area. We had so much fun! We met up with my sister Stephanie who was shooting some new photos for her website. I'm sure her new pics will be up on the site soon.
After hanging with Steph, Julie and I met up with my friend Heather at Lynn's Paradise Cafe.
We had a GREAT time, that place is crazy! We enjoyed some Lynn-style lunch and of course, loved the decor. It's almost visually overkill, but that is what makes it SO fun! Everywhere you look there is something to see. Every table has a ugly lamp (they have a annual ugly lamp contest!) and miniature toy dinosaurs to occupy the wait time. It is definitely something else, something to behold!
We headed down Baxter Avenue to my favorite Louisville store, the Cherry Bomb. It's a fun vintage new and used clothing store. Julie and I picked up some great hats and I got a vintage Ferrari shirt. How fun!
My second trip was on Thanksgiving Day, this time to Lietchfield (where my mom lives). We enjoyed a great Thanksgiving, complete with our new sister-in-law! My step-brother was recently married, so it's great to have another addition to the family. The guys had a shooting contest (I shot once, it's so painful!) and the girls enjoyed picking through the wedding proofs and warming our toes by the fire.
After playing some cards, we opted to go see a movie in Etown. We all agreed on August Rush, and I do say, it was amazing. When I got back to TN tonight, I actually went to go see it again! It was that good. I wish the ending was a little longer, but hey, it was great so I'll take what I can get. I absolutely loved the soundtrack; the blend of rock and classic was fantastic. I can't wait to own it!
Well, it's that time to put up the Christmas decorations! I hope you had a fabulous Thanksgiving!
As promised, here is the video that we filmed Sunday night. We had such a blast putting it together, and thanks to Jon for editing it SUPER last minute, you rock! I'm hoping that we win in our category; they take this seriously at the YMCA. In two weeks we will have the ceremony at the Theater and see who won! I'll keep you posted...but until then, enjoy the video!
Wow, I had one full weekend! Friday night was Frontline, our church's young adult ministry. We recently had a team go to the Dominican Republic, so they shared stories, led worship DR-style (which included singing in Spanish-which I LOVE), and performed a drama. The drama they performed was to the song "Everything" by Lifehouse. You may have seen this drama at an event or even online. Here's the video by another group, but the same one.
One of our friends recorded the song in Spanish so they could share it in the D.R. What a powerful song and drama!
Saturday, I got up early, went to Starbucks and read for a while before trying to get a early start on some Christmas shopping. I found some GREAT Christmas wrapping paper and ornaments on sale, half price! I love a good sale! Katie and I met at Pier One to finish the shopping, then headed out to Natchez Trace and Puckett's Grocery for lunch.
I absolutely LOVE Lieper's Fork! It's so fun, and so beautiful! We hiked about 4 miles before heading back to Puckett's for some home-cooked goodness. I love that place as well, so quaint and some GOOD food!
Saturday evening was Uturn(youth), and this week was Merge (small groups), and I am SO proud of my group! Since I'm not leading a group anymore, it was great to come back and see how they are growing. After Uturn, I met up with some friends at the fire pit at my apartment! I had NO idea we even had an fire pit! It was a lot of fun, roasting some serious smore's and singing. Sunday was church, and again, PA brought it! This week he talked about Walking the walk, walking in Love. It was so good, and just what I needed! My friend Kyle led worship, so we all went out to lunch afterwards. We sat where we could see the Titans game, and sadly, they lost. They played really bad, and I wasn't proud. I'm hoping to go to a home game before the year's end though. After lunch I went to Angela Wards' house so Lauren could practice make-up on me. She had an interview at Mac makeup (only the BEST!) and I was her model. Two days of amazing makeup...yes please!!
Sunday night we filmed our Academy award video for the YMCA, to U2's 'Beautiful Day'. It was quite the experience, I'll just say I climbed a rock wall with a guitar and jumped down. It was awesome. I'll post the video when it's finished.
So, that was my weekend! I hope you had a weekend as enjoyable as I did!
I haven't posted in over a year, I guess I have forgotten about this blog. BUT-it's a new day! I want to have this blog to be able to keep family and friends up to date with my ever-changing life!
So, without further ado...here's what I've been up to.
For the past two years, I have worked at the YMCA of Cool Springs. I started as a lowly birthday party worker, and slowly worked my way up. I currently am in the Membership Coordinator position, which I love. It's had its ups and downs, but I have enjoyed learning new things! I am also working for New Song Woodbine, as the Administrative Coordinator. I started that position a little over a year ago, right after graduating from the Student Internship. I really enjoy this position as well. NS Woodbine is located in Nashville, and is smaller than the main congregation in Cool Springs (Franklin). I do love the smaller congregation, (we average about 150) it feels more like the church I grew up in and like a family.
This past Saturday my step-brother James got married! Congratulations! Last weekend were the bridal shower/bachelor party and then this weekend was the wedding. It was beautiful, his bride, Sarah was beautiful, and the reception was so fun.
So, James and Sarah, congrats and blessings on your future!
After driving home from the wedding I met some friends at Jackson's in Hillsboro Village (our current favorite hang) for coffee and snacks. Sunday, church was amazing! Pastor Andrew (PA) brought a word of Walking the Walk, and walking as a new creation. It was a fresh and encouraging word for me, for sure! Sunday evening Trish came over and we tried to watch Spiderman 3 (didn't get in to it), and opted for the movie "Evening". Very interesting, but good.
We ended the night early and I headed straight to bed. I've enjoyed adjusting to the time change! On that note, I've been here in Nashville for 4 years, and still the fall time change amazes me. I mean, it is DARK by 5pm. So weird! By 4:15 is the eerie color of evening, and 5:00pm complete night. I love it, but is so hard to adjust to every year.
Well, it's off to the rest of my lunch break. I look forward to updating this post to keep everyone up-to-date with my life! Have a great Tuesday!
Ok....so my friends and I are addicted to the show LOST (see previous post). My friends Josh wrote this little diddy with all the titles of the second season's shows! Amazing! Check it out:
We've LOST Our Way (Season 2) -Josh Fulton
"Man of Science, Man of Faith"
The three have gone "Adrift"
"Orientation" is here again
"Everbody Hates Hugo"--- his love his gift
They lost they're way "...And Found" their fate
"Abandoned" they forget their ways
But in their heads the survivors debate
What went on "The Other 48 Days"?
A "Collision" of past full of lives lived wrong
No one knew "What Kate Did"
Searching for comfort in "The 23rd Palm"
Kate's "Hunting Party" in exchange for Michael's kid
With "Fire + Water" we feel good about the day
But "The Long Con" destroys what they believe
When "One Of Them" comes into play
Clair gets sent out on "Maternity Leave"
And Just when you thought that "The Whole Truth" was found
and you "Lockdown" your ideas for sure
You find that "Dave" keeps hanging around
"S.O.S." and our underground structure
One for the money and "Two For The Road"
Will they make it home"?"
We have "Three Minutes" til overload
So we "Live Together, Die Alone".
So, I've discovered another show that I like. Yesterday, I was sick and decided to rent the 1st 4 episodes of Prison Break (after seeing the pilot with Trish the other night, I just needed to!) and I love it! I think part of the reason why I like it so much is that it's not addicting. I could stand the episode ending, and didn't feel that instant urge to want to see the next episode.
On the subject of addicting things, LOST comes back on in October! Woo hoo! I haven't ever been a follower of a show before, but LOST has me totally sucked in. Sometimes I find myself searching the internet trying to find answers to things in the show and then I stop and realize that it's completely fake! But it's oh-so-good! I think what makes LOST so good for me is my friends. We all get together on Sunday nights and watch the latest episodes. We all just pile in Trish's living room and veg out, talk, fellowship, etc. It's great.
We have taken a hiatus for the summer, but I can't wait for the season premiere! It's going to be awesome to see the show again, but also to hang with the gang of LOST.
This past weekend I went to Niagra Falls, Canada for a family reunion. I don't have time to tell all about it now, though I will later.
Check out the photos though!
Welcome to Canada!
3rd or 4th Cousins..something like that.
Sisters rock!
So do wineries!
Wine tasting at 10 in the morning-oh yeah!
Mark and I have worked in the Youth Dept. for the past year and a half-we even share a desk!
3 years...wow. It's hard to believe that it's finished, but at the same time I was ready. More than ready. Not in a negative way, but in a ready-to-be-released way. My life has been transformed on SO many levels these past three years, that hopefully anyone can see the difference in me.
I have learned the importance, the necessity of community and close friends. I have been blessed with the most amazing group of brothers and sisters that I could never imagined having! But, the Lord knows what I need, and He placed great people in my life. The past three years have been the hardest and best years of my life so far. I know that there is more to come.
How can I sum up three years? I can't. It's hard. And, I start crying. It's so precious and close to my heart. I know I'll be 85 years old, sitting on my front porch in my rocking chair and think back to these crazy years. I'll always cherish them. Forever.
Lauren, Jon and I Halloween 2005
Spring 2004-Campbellsville, KY
Lauren and I after our LSM graduation August 2005
