Sunrise

One of the positives about working the night shift is that I'm often driving home as the sun rises. I have seen so many gorgeous skies over the last year. On Monday I had a dentist appointment after work, so I got some breakfast before I left the hospital. As I was walking down a hallway lined with windows, I happened to look out and see the sky. I was mesmerized. The sun was just coming up over the horizon, so it was still pretty dark higher up in the sky. The colors were amazing, such vivid reds and oranges. It was gorgeous! I had to go outside and try to make a picture. Unfortunately, none of the pictures I took with my iPhone even remotely captured the colors and amazing beauty. 

Panoramic Picture

The beautiful sunrise reminds me of these verses: 

Psalm 19:1 (NLT)

"The heavens proclaim the glory of God. The skies display his craftsmanship."

God is an incredible artist! The sky on Monday morning was just one of His masterpieces!

Lamentations 3:22-23 (ESV)

"The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness."

Just like the sun comes up every morning to begin a new day, the Lord's mercy is new every morning. Each day a fresh start to give Him all the glory.

I am so thankful for the beauty of creation that reflects God's glory and for His new mercies and continued faithfulness.

Gatlinburg

Over the weekend, Jason and I along with some friends went to Gatlinburg, Tennessee. Our friends had never been to Gatlinburg or Pigeon Forge, so it was our opportunity to show them around!

Unfortunately, I left my camera at home, so I don't have many pictures...

Jason and I headed up on Friday morning. It was not great traveling weather-very cold and raining/sleeting. We made it to our cabin a little before dinner. Our friends left after work, so Jason and I were able to have dinner together at Calhoun's and relax at the cabin before they arrived. We had a pool table in our cabin so we played guys against girls but the guys kept winning!

These bears were on the rafters in the cabin

Saturday morning we hung around the cabin until it warmed up. There was a good possibility of ice on the roads, so we wanted to give it a chance to melt some. We went to downtown Gatlinburg to walk around all the shops. We had lunch at a place called Blaine's and checked out lots of little shops. I went in every candy store to see what each one had and ended up getting some chocolate mint patties and divinity from the first one we stopped at! We also found a moonshine distillery in downtown Gatlinburg! Jason was pretty excited; he has been watching that show Moonshiners and thinks the entire process is really interesting. They had it all set up where you could see each step.

It was, of course, a legal distillery!

Part of the Still

After walking around Gatlinburg all afternoon, we headed over to Pigeon Forge. Jason and I are already out of the apple butter we bought in October, so we had to stop back by the Apple Barn to pick up a couple more jars. Then, we ate dinner at the Applewoood Farmhouse. Yum!

Sunday morning after breakfast we headed back home. It was a nice weekend away!

Eating at Home

Jason and I are trying to eat at home more.

We've always eaten out a lot, but now that we have a nice, new kitchen we want to use it! I'm also hoping that eating in will help us save some money and eat healthier. I'm trying to make a menu for each week to help me out. I hate having to try to figure out something to cook so having a plan or at least an idea really helps me. I know the weeks that I work will be easier to plan than my off weeks. My off weeks are very unpredictable, but last week we managed to make it work somewhat.

This is what the first week looked like:

Monday- Parmesan crusted chicken (Publix recipe), asparagus & roasted potatoes

Tuesday- Crockpot Mexican chicken*, corn tortillas, cheese & sour cream

Wednesday- Chicken parmigiana with caesar salad 

Thursday- we had a free pizza from Papa John's

Friday- BBQ pork, zucchini chips & macaroni & cheese

Saturday- Salmon, asparagus, & roasted potatoes

Sunday- I didn't have a plan, but we ended up having pork tenderloin with zucchini chips and baked beans

*crockpot mexican chicken is a name I made up for putting chicken, a jar of salsa, a can of black beans, and some frozen corn in the crockpot and cooking it on low all day

Last week was my week off so it went a little different:

Monday- Jason and I were working out of town so we ate out

Tuesday- Homemade pizza (turkey pepperoni and spinach) with caesar salad

Wednesday- Grilled chicken ravioli (from Sam's) with marinara and zucchini chips

Thursday- Teriyaki chicken, green beans, and roasted potatoes

We left for Gatlinburg on Friday morning and came home on Sunday night, so there were no weekend meals at home.

I have a tentative menu planned for this week:

Monday- eating at Mom and Dad's

Tuesday- Grilled chicken ravioli (from Sam's) with alfredo & caesar salad

Wednesday- Tacos

Thursday- Baked chicken, zucchini, & roasted potatoes

Friday- Pork chops, green beans, & macaroni & cheese

Saturday- BBQ chicken (or pork), salad & mashed potatoes

Sunday- homemade pizza and salad

Hopefully we can stick to the menu this week. I'm going to have to find more easy and delicious recipes too!

Over the Weekend

This past weekend was eventful.

We had a scare with Daisy on Saturday and had to take her to the emergency vet. It's a long story, but she is fine and is back to her sweet, normal self!

We had friends over for dinner on Saturday night and for the Falcons game Sunday.

House Warming Gift- Love it!

Charles and MC were in town over the weekend for a retreat with some of the kids in their youth group in Kentucky. On Sunday morning we went to church with them. I was able to sit by my husband and my brother at church. I loved it!! 

Charles and MC recently got a miniature dachshund puppy, and she came down with them. We were able to play with her too! She's long haired and her ears are curly. And I love puppies! She is super cute!

Ruth!

Daisy and Ruth

Daisy wasn't really sure what to think of Ruth. She doesn't spend time with many other dogs, and it takes her awhile to warm up. Ruth definitely wanted to play with Daisy though!

Sleeping on my dad

Ruth learned pretty quickly that my dad is the one with all the treats! She loves him!

Ruth and Aunt Kristen :)

Spending time with Ruth got me thinking about Daisy as a puppy and looking at her puppy pictures! I definitely have puppy fever!!

2012 Year in Review

Happy New Year!

We are settled in our new home and finally got internet over the weekend.

Looking back on 2012, Jason and I made a lot of wonderful memories!

January:

I finished up my training at the hospital and officially started my night shift position.

Jason and I spent a week in  Nicaragua on a medical mission trip.

I counseled patients using a translator.

Jason played games with the kids.

Charles and MC got engaged shortly after we returned home!

February:

Jason and I went on a weekend getaway to Asheville, NC with friends. We got to visit the Bilmore Estate, and it snowed!

March:

Jason and I spent a day together in Athens and checked out the zoo and the Botanical Gardens. We also celebrated Jason's 29th birthday!

April:

Jason and I went on a Spring Break trip with our friends to Florida.

Mom and I hosted a bridal shower for MC.

May:

We went to Milledgeville for Charles's graduation.

Jason and I celebrated one year of marriage with a trip to Jamaica. We climbed Dunn's River Falls, snorkeled, and enjoyed the beautiful ocean.

On Memorial Day weekend, we celebrated the marriage of Charles and MC!

June:

We went to Athens for a wedding, and I got to catch up with pharmacy friends!

We spent time on the lake and went camping in North Carolina.

At the very end of June, we signed the contract to build our first house.

July:

We celebrated my birthday.

We went on a road trip to Kentucky to visit Charles and MC.

Visiting Charles's school

August:

Daisy took a trip to the lake for swimming in her new life jacket!

We picked out all the tile and finishings for our house.

We road tripped to Maryland to visit family.

Construction on the house started!

September:

We went to Destin, Fl for vacation with my parents. It was a very relaxing trip!

Destin 2012

October:

We went to Gatlinburg with Jason’s parent’s to celebrate their anniversary. We got to see all the beautiful fall leaves and go to Dollywood.

Great Smokey Mountains

November:

We voted.

At the Tennessee Homecoming game, Jason and I had our picture made with Smokey IX.

We took another camping trip in North Carolina. This time Daisy went too!

We went to the Georgia vs. Georgia Southern game in Athens.

Charles and MC came down for Thanksgiving.

We closed on our new house November 30th!

December:

We moved into our first house.

We decorated the house for Christmas and celebrated our new home with family.

We were able to spend Christmas with both of our families!

2012 Christmas Card Photo

2012 Family Photo

2012 has been full of new beginnings and great memories.

I can’t wait to see what God has in store for us in 2013!

Our First House

In the months before Jason and I got married we made the decision to move into my parent's basement apartment after our wedding. We weren't sure if either of us were going to have jobs, so it was the best option. After I started my full time job around this time last year, we started talking about purchasing our first home. 

In January of this year, we began our search. At first we were just getting an idea of what we wanted.

We decided we preferred a two story, and we wanted it to have a basement.

We looked at all kinds of houses, but we were having trouble finding the right one.

In June, we looked at our first new construction. And we loved it.

It seemed like more house for less, and it would be brand new!

Unfortunately, someone else got that one.

We thought we were back to square one, 

but then the builder offered to build us the same house for the same price.

We decided to build the house. We love the floor plan and building would allow us to pick out everything and even make a few changes to make it even better!

First, we had to choose the lot. We choose one on the edge of a cul-de-sac.

Our Lot

Later, we went back to choose things like brick, paint colors, tile, countertops, cabinets, etc.

When we got back from our Maryland trip, the lot had been graded.

After grading came the footings and the foundation.

Footings

Jason and I in front of the foundation

When we left for the beach, they had graded the lot again but still hadn't done any framing.

They had most of the framing done by the time we returned!

Next came the roof and the windows.

Then the brick and siding went up.

Next came the paint.

Finally, things really started coming together.
The house got shutters and a garage door.
Landscaping was done after the driveway was poured.

The new front door was put in and painted along with the shutters and garage door.
Then the columns on the front porch got put up. 

Final Product

Last week we did our initial walk through and inspection. 

Building this house has brought about a roller coaster of emotions. 
It's exciting to see it get started and watch it come together.
It's frustrating when something doesn't look like you thought it would.
Dealing with the mortgage company has been really frustrating too.
It's also a little scary. There's so much that goes into owning a home. 
Change and the unknown always scare me a little.
There have been so many times over the last five months that I have wondered if this house would ever be ours.
But today, we finally closed. And now the house is ours!
Now it's time to move in and get settled!

This is Life

What we have been up to lately:

Jason has started clearing a road up to his property in the mountains in North Carolina.

He set up camp there with the camper, so last time I was off we took Daisy on a camping trip.

We went four wheeling and checked out a bunch of trails.

Daisy really enjoyed the four wheeler!

Daisy on the 4 wheeler

Mountain View from our campsite

The property overlooks this reservoir.

No camping trip is complete without a fire and s'mores!

We were also able to spend some time with our friends in North Carolina while we were there.

We also went to the UGA vs. Georgia Southern game. 

A friend gave us the tickets, and the seats were excellent!

Jason is excited about the Dawgs headed to the SEC Championship.

Unfortunately, I had to work over Thanksgiving. We celebrated with my family on Wednesday evening before I went to work. Jason was able to have dinner with his family on Thanksgiving night. 

It was certainly different this year, but I am thankful for my job. And I do have Christmas Eve and Christmas off, so I am thankful for that too!

I ventured out on Black Friday this year. I only went to Bass Pro Shop though. 

Jason's presents are the only ones I have bought so far!

I can hardly believe Christmas is less than a month away.

My to-do list definitely includes Christmas shopping and making our Christmas card photo.

Hope everyone has a wonderful week!