Congratulations Moss Family!!

Congratulations to our friends Philip and Renie Moss on the birth of their new baby girl, Helen! I got to see Helen today and she is absolutely beautiful and a wonderful new addition to our small group. Little Philip was such a proud big brother. Check out the Moss's blog for future pics.

Yes, we're still alive...

Sorry I haven't posted in a while. Things have been insanely busy trying to get accustomed to graduate school. Last week I thought we were both insane to be working full time and taking nine hours each (which we probably are), but this week has been more manageable and I haven't been as overwhelmed. Robert actually has never been overwhelmed by class and his MBA program, so I'm trying to stress less and adopt his laid back approach! I'm actually really enjoying the new friends I've made in my Public Administration classes. And two of the three aren't that bad, though public budgeting is definitely as horrible as it sounds.

Things have also been busy since my grandfather's death. Big Daddy finally went home to be with our Lord on January 13 after a nearly 5-year battle with Alzheimer's disease. Waiting for his passing was so hard, but since the funeral I have really been encouraged and uplifted. The Lord just gave us such peace and taught us so much as a family through it all. I feel like with Big Daddy's passing and the death of our neighbor, Keith, who died of cancer in December, the Lord is really teaching Robert and I a lot about his sovereignty over death and how glorious it is that because of Christ, death has been denied the victory. I feel like he is certainly teaching us to long for Heaven.

Here are some photos from the funeral. Big Daddy's pallbearers were his five grandsons (including my three brothers) and his three grandsons -in-law (including Robert). All the guys looked so sharp in their suits and ties carrying Big Daddy's casket. I can't imagine how proud he would have been to seen that.



I have to thank everyone for all their prayers and support during this time. Our small group was wonderful - faithful prayer warriors and encouragement givers, and they even provided meals and sent flowers. Thank you guys so much. My co-workers were also wonderfully supportive, and it was a special joy to have Rob's parents come down for the funeral.

Alex and Sam

Our good friend from college, Alex, and his is lovely wife, Sam, came to visit us from Memphis one weekend a while back. It so was good to see them and catch up all weekend - and nice to have someone put our guest room to good use! Now we need to make a trip to Memphis. Maybe we can catch some good college basketball since the Tide isn't looking so hot this season...

Sam and I discovered the boys enthralled in one of Robert's arcade games on his custom-built arcade desk in his office!

Christmas in South Carolina

So I'm finally posting some photos we took over the holidays. (Better late than never!) We got to catch up with a lot of Rob's family in South Carolina and enjoyed seeing everyone for several days. Our nephew, Tallon, was especially fun to be around, particularly when he got excited about his huge, inflatable Christmas gift complete with light show and music that he would proudly proclaim was what "Pop (Robert's dad) got me"! (You'll have to see the photos in the slide show to see what I'm talking about!)

Happy Anniversary!

Robert and I celebrated our first Anniversary the weekend of December 7th - 9th with a wonderful trip to Asheville, North Carolina (my friend Mary Jane worked on this Web site!) I flew to Atlanta from San Antonio after a terrible airport fiasco that involved 12 total travel hours - most of them waiting in the airport, five gate changes, one decommissioned plane, and an awful scare that they lost my luggage. By 9: 30 p.m. I was still in Dallas and on the verge of tears that I was going to miss the first day of our anniversary weekend, but luckily I made it to Atlanta, though it was after midnight when we finally landed.

We stayed Thursday night in Atlanta and then drove to Asheville Friday morning, where we stayed at this neat Bed and Breakfast called the Inn on Main Street in Weaverville, N. C. for the next two nights. That night we went to the Biltmore Estate, America's largest mansion built by George Vanderbilt in 1895. We did the special Candlelight Christmas tour at night. Nearly every room featured a gorgeous Christmas tree, and there was a choir inside singing carols and other musicians playing Christmas music in different rooms. It took us nearly two hours to tour the entire house, which included a bowling ally and indoor swimming pool in the basement - still extravagant luxuries even today.



The next day we returned to tour the gardens and winery before window shopping through downtown Asheville. It's a very different town. For some reason "organic" seems like the best word to describe it. Robert was right when he commented that we weren't "weird enough" (a.k.a. too normal and traditional) to live there. But it was so fun to shop around and experience the city. Robert was great and let me drag him to antique shops and such.

Saturday night we had pizza at this great little pizza place in Weaverville - a suburb of Asheville, before heading home on Sunday. I can't believe we've been married a year. The time has just flown by!

San Antonio

I went to San Antonio a couple of weeks back for the ADRP (Association of Donor Relations Professionals) Annual Conference. I got to meet some really neat development folks from higher education institutions, hospitals, and nonprofits from all over the U.S. and Canada. It was different being in warm San Antonio in December, but the Riverwalk was beautiful with all the large bulb Christmas lights (the old school kind) hanging from the trees. Our hotel, the Hotel La Mansion Del Rio, was a lovely historic hotel right on the Riverwalk. I did get a chance one night to walk down to the Alamo, which appropriately had a nice Christmas wreath on the door. I can't believe I'm about to write this, but I was actually sick of Mexican by the time I flew out!

Christmas Tree Farm

Sara and David, our friends from church, asked us to go with them the Sunday after Thanksgiving to pick out a real Christmas tree at a Christmas tree farm up 65 North. It took a while to get there, and we had to navigate through this super sketchy one-lane tunnel that snuck up on you after a blind curve. But we eventually arrived at Beavers Christmas Tree Farm, and perused for quite a while among the White Pines before eventually finding our perfect Christmas tree. At this point, I was all prepared to get pics of the whole cutting down stage (since they give you a hack saw and you have to cut it down yourself), but my Paul Bunyan like husband had the tree down before I could get a good photo! After carrying our tree to the side of the "road" (I must confess I didn't help a bit with this part), we walked back to the main area to pay while I tractor came by to pick up our tree. After paying, the workers loaded it on top of Rob's car for us, and we headed home (surviving the sketchy tunnel once more) to decorate our first real (as in alive) Christmas tree!