Home sweet home, and some sad news

Mark and I finally got home last night, and it is wonderful to be back in my bed with my husband. I'm still a bit tired from all the traveling, and I can't believe I have to go back to work tomorrow! I loved getting to see his parents and brother for that long, but it also threw me a little bit off-kilter, not having any time at home to get things back in order. Oh well.

I feel like this blog is going to be all over the place today. As happy as I am to be home with Mark, some very sad news that we got yesterday has cast a shadow over everything. Molly, one of the girls who used to go to Relevance with us back in Chattanooga, is about my sister's age. She was going to be married in a little less than three weeks. Matt, her fiancee, died the night before last in a really, really awful car accident. He was pronounced dead at the scene. I cannot imagine the heartache she is going through right now - she's a really sweet girl, and my heart is breaking for her, and for his and her family both. I didn't know Matt very well, but from everything I hear, he was a really wonderful and genuine guy. He was 20 years old. Molly is obviously just completely devastated right now, and I ask that you pray for her. Anytime something like this happens, it just reminds me again how short life is. How important it is not to take people for granted. How death and other horrible things can happen to anyone at any time, no matter their age or what they were planning.

Go give your husbands and children and friends and people you love an extra-long hug today. I know I'm thanking God even more that Mark got home to me safely.

Happy Thanksgiving!!

We're headed to Gainesville just as soon as I can get all our stuff packed, me ready, and Mark up and ready. Always a fun and interesting time, Mark's mother's side of the family. They're a large, loud, crazy bunch. And I'm already preparing myself to answer about 1,000 "So when are y'all gonna have kids?" or "Are you pregnant yet?" or "Y'all should have a baby!!" questions/comments. They came in droves our first Thanksgiving (at which point we'd not even been married 6 months...), so I'm sure they'll be in abundance this year again.

Mark's Nanny's house does NOT have wireless internet (at least that's what I'm assuming), so I'll be internet-less for a few days. So I'm posting my list now:

Today, I'm thankful for...
-my wonderful, amazing, sweet, too-good husband. The longer we're married, the more I love him, and the more mature our love is. Life is so good with him :)


-My awesome family. Seriously, they are awesome. I love them.
-Friends. Everywhere. The older I get (and I'm not saying I'm this old sage, full of wisdom or anything, but still...) I realize the value of people, and the love that pours out of my heart for relationships and the people that surround me, the people I love, is overwhelming. I am so thankful for them.
-My amazing, comfy bed. We're keeping this thing forever.
-Our ability to buy things, like a car, this year.
-My job. It has its shortcomings, but everytime I think of them, I remember - it's keeping me here, with Mark. And it also has the best schedule in the world.
-My kitty. Because she's precious.
-The privilege of taking care of other people's babies. It's sometimes an overwhelming task and responsibility, but it's worth every minute.
-My life. Because it is so, so, sweet.

Best Week Ever: First Leg Complete

The best week ever started this past Wednesday, when Hannah came to visit and we had tea and scones. I unfortunately have no pictures of that, but it was a lovely visit, and it was really great to see her. I worked on Thursday, and on my way home, I called Suzie and found out that everybody was at Wal-Mart buying pumpkins to carve! This is a miracle, because the guys are FOREVER making fun of us for being "festive," and here they were, wanting to do something holiday-related! It was raining (boooo...) so we spread out a tarp on the living room floor, and proceeded with our pumpkin carving party :)

Messy business, that pumpkin carving...

And the finished products! My pumpkin is on the left, and Suzie's is on the right..

And here are Mark's and Andy's pumpkins (left and right, respectively.)

On Friday morning, we left for Chattanooga, and the start of Mark's birthday week :) We got there in the afternoon, and just hung out until dinner time. My mom cooked poppyseed chicken casserole, which is one of Mark's favorites :) Then we opened presents. And despite my best efforts, Mark had figured out my present before I even gave it to him...

A tent! (And other camping gear...) What a sneaky hubby I have...

Mark with all his gear: the tent, an air mattress, 2 sleeping bags, 2 chairs, a cooler, 2 flashlights, and some waterproof matches ... not too shabby :)

My mom, as usual, made an extremely cute (and not to mention yummy) cake :)

On Saturday, Kelly came! Mommy and I went to Michael's that morning, and I bought some (too much) stuff for Christmas decorating and things. That afternoon Kelly arrived, and we decided to go to World Market to look around.

In the car, on the way...

Kelly got herself a yummy drink, and Mark found some Tusker beer that is like next to impossible to find in Alabama (in fact, I don't even think they sell it here...) It's his favorite, because it reminds him of Kenya :)

We went home, and Cassie came over for dinner! Mark had the brilliant idea to put the tent up (and make sure all its parts were there and all), and we got into our typical photo-shenanigans...

throw your hands in the air...

jump!

After we got tired of jumping around like idiots, we put the rainfly on the tent and got inside :)

Tent!

Then we went inside for dinner. It wasn't quite ready yet, so Kelly picked up Daddy's electric guitar and we sang some songs. Because we're just that awesome.

LOVE this picture!

After dinner, it was game time! (My family has this semi-serious obsession with board games, which is like the bane of Mark's existence. He likes one every now and then, but not quite with the fervor that the Shannons do...) And while we were setting up, Kelly had this brilliant, quirky idea:

Coraline eyes.

This soon became the Thing to Do: put trivial pursuit pieces in your eye sockets and look like a moron. What a fun game!

Mommy's take on it:

We made Daddy do it too, and he was inspired:

Even Cassie wanted in on the action:

So that was a fun time, and we played the game and continued the idiocy that makes up our family, but is SO MUCH FUN. And then it was like, really late, so we went to bed.

Sunday morning we went to church with my parents (and Cassie made this really yummy sausage/cream cheese/crescent roll breakfast thingy for Sunday School OMG YUMM). And that afternoon, Sarah and Thomas took us out for lunch (Thank you again!!!! Love you guys!!) at P. F. Chang's, which was so much fun, and yummy. (This seems to be a theme for the best week ever: so much fun, and yummy. I like that.) It had been quite a while since we'd gotten together with them, living 3 hours apart and all, and it was WONDERFUL to see them and reconnect. We made plans to go shooting the next time we see each other (apparently I am the only non-gun-afficionado in the group... but I guess I'll learn!)

And now we're home. Got in last night, and today Elissa is coming to visit! And we're doing something with Andy and Suzie tonight! And Lissa is cooking dinner on Tuesday! And it will just pretty much continue on through this next weekend as well...

I am so, so, so thankful to have friends and family who love us. So thankful. You really can't beat them. They're the best :)

More wonderful-ness and pictures to follow soon!

Friends and fellowship :)

I have to say, I love double dating. There's just something about going out with another married couple and getting connected, knowing that they get it, they get you... And besides all that, it's part of a healthy relationship (having friends besides your spouse, that is.) With my social tendencies (I'm what you might call an EXTROVERT), I think this comes more naturally to me than to Mark. Not to say that he doesn't enjoy it - I think he does - but he tends to take longer to warm up to people than I do. He's a great sport, though, and doesn't put up a fight, and goes out with pretty much anyone I ask him to, as long as I make the details happen :)

All this to say, we have lucked out to find some really good friends here. One such couple: Sarah and Thomas. I've worked with Sarah for about a year now, and she and Thomas just got married a couple weeks ago. We've gone out several times before, and tonight was one of those fun double date nights. We met at O'Charley's to eat dinner, had some great conversation, and then headed to Sir Goony's to play mini golf (after some debating at the bowling alley about whether we wanted to wait the 40-or-so minutes for a lane to open.)

Sarah and Thomas in front of the volcano :)


me and Mark in front of the volcano :)


We played about a round and a half before calling it a night, and we each got a hole in one - and some of us got more than one :) It was so nice just to be able to relax and enjoy each other as couples and friends for a while, not having to worry about moving or money or work or when are we going to sleep and what are we going to eat... Just good, quality fellowship time over a couple rounds of crazy mini golf. Made for a pretty good evening.

I think that's what I miss the most about college, some days. It's what has been the hardest thing for me to adjust to, working full-time and being on nights and being far away from my closest friends. I miss the fellowship, the social interaction, the ability to just call a friend and meet for lunch at a moment's notice. I miss my heart-to-hearts with Elissa, I miss my silly moments with Kristine, I miss my nursing study group, I miss the friendship that Andy and Mark and Suzie and I all had altogether, I miss all those relationships that helped form who I am now. I miss these sweet friends so much that the ache in my heart is tangible sometimes. But I've learned a few things during this time of loneliness, too - how to open up, and let new people in. I have been privileged to realize that new friends do not replace old ones, that old friends will never leave you or stop loving you. But new friends can bring such great new dimensions to your life too, new experiences, new memories made, and a broadened group of people to love, and who love you back. The first year or so that we were here, I was very lonely, missed my friends, I was shy at work, and reluctant to come out of my shell and open up to people a whole lot. I was almost afraid to try to form new relationships because I didn't want to betray the old ones. During this past year, though, I have found such a joy in getting to know the people I work with, some better than others. We have gone out on numerous of these double dates, with many different couples. Some we clicked with better than others; Sarah and I just ended up hitting it off right away. And I have been so very thankful for her friendship these last several months. It's so nice to have a girlfriend here to talk with, commiserate with, do girly things with, work with, and mourn over babies with. I do so appreciate her, and I hope she knows that. Mark and I will both miss her and Thomas very much when we move.

Me and Sarah


Just another reminder that God is in the business of loving people and providing what they need - even if all that means is a good friend in my immediate vicinity. Thanks - Mark and I both needed that :)