My heart is FULL

Don't worry... I didn't die after last week.  I thought about hiding in a closet for a while... but I decided that visiting the BESTIES would make my heart all better! AND IT DID! We were ALL reunited... WE EVEN FACETIMED WITH AMI!!! :) It was fabulous. 

I made it to Nashville just in time for the end Beck's Christmas party (the one I blogged about that was suppose to be a surprise that I almost ruined... man... I'm good at that!).  So... I didn't get any pics of it. It was festive - Christmas music, Christmas trees, cookies, and friends.  She loved it. She loves Christmas more than life... and she won't be in America for it this year. She'll be IN AFRICA!!!! She leaves on Friday... so pray for her, her shipmates, her patients, her energy!  

I don't really have a lot to say except I'm beyond thankful for these ladies. If you don't have BEST friends... find them.  I love them.  Jacob accidentally overheard me tell my Bible study girls last night that if I was a boy I would have already married Emily because she's just that great.  He was offended... but o well.  I just love my besties so much! Don't know what I'd do without them.  

Here's our weekend: 

"Normal" picture... this doesn't happen often

Ah yes... there we are in our natural state! 

Beck and Em on our Farewell Beck (for a while) photo shoot

This describes there relationship perfectly... Em smothering Beck with love and Beck terrified but willing to accept it.

Beck and Clarissa! She lived with us in our college house... The Schlappi. :) She is fantastic! 

  

This describes me and Beck. I'm trying to convince her to get on my back. She claims I'm to weak and she's to big... WHATEVER.  She forces me to to a normal pose... and I am not satisfied. 

When Beck and I lived together, we woke up at the same time every morning. Beck = NOT a morning person. ME = If I'm awake... I'm pumped! So, we would meet in the kitchen.  EVERY MORNING... it never failed this very conversation took place:

"Mornin' Beck!" (super chipper voice)

"hey ann..." (super annoyed voice)

"How's your morning, Beck?"

"fine ann, I just woke up..."

"Well great! What are you doing today?"

"I don't know ann... I just woke up. I'm going to school."

"Okay, Beck... (insert all that I am doing today and when I want to see her again that day)... I hope you have a great day!!!" 

She finishes fixing her cereal and coffee and slowly walks back to her room.

She claimed she hated it, but I knew she secretly loved it. So, when I moved out to get married and stuff, I made her a recording of my routine convo with her so she could play it each morning... AND SHE DID! :) She loves me... I know she does.

This is PERFECT. I want to blow this up into a poster and hang it in my living room! YES! 

And this too... 

CUTIES! 

So... we prayed for Beck and sent her off with more cuddles and jump hugs! I'm praying God ROCKS HER WORLD and LOVES HER TO PIECES and lives are SAVED because of her obedience!!! 

We then traveled to see Lindsey Jo and her precious family!! Have you EVER in your life seen a cuter stud than this guy???? Oh my goodness... I'm in love! Doesn't your heart just melt??? 

AND Lindsey Jo is expecting ANOTHER boy!!! How much cuteness can one family handle??? I just don't know! 

So thankful I get to share life with these ladies!!!!! 

Sunday, I got to meet my Katy for brunch!!! I have missed her SO much!!! She is wonderful and I just loved spending this little bit of time with her!!! We ate at Noshville... and if you ever go... you should know that a NOSH is a side.... nothing more fancy than that. 

So thankful that I got to go see them all.  My heart is full and I'm ready to face the world again!!! :) 

One big pile of GLITTER...

I have NEVER been more excited for a Friday in my life.  This week has been... a really crazy, awful, emotional week. There have been some really great moments sprinkled in... but I am drained and ready for a break. This week has felt like someone playing a really cruel joke... and I just didn't like it.  Thankful for a GREAT... THE BEST... husband in the world and people that I can confide in when things get a little... a lot... hairy.  People say that their brains feel like mush sometimes... my brain felt like that all week... but I preferred to think if you cracked my head open and looked inside, you would be a huge pile of glitter (not mush)... because that is way more fun and feminine. So... that's that.  

BUT... no matter how crazy our weeks/days may get... no matter what happens... no matter the evil in the world that we must stand against... no matter the many things that can go wrong at work... no matter the amount of stress or "what if's" that we can think of... we must KNOW that GOD IS IN CONTROL. He is Sovereign over all.  He is good. He is the Judge. He is our Hope. He NEVER fails us. He is our Healer. He is our SANITY. 

Anywho... on to more pleasant things. 

FIRST, PLEASE READ THIS... you will understand me/us so much more (if you dare to care) as we have been in this journey of adoption!  LOVE the part where she talks about VAGINAL kids!! bahaha!! I have been using it... just to freak people out.  

Onward...

The first weekend of August we got to celebrate the sweetest little girl's 2nd birthday! Is she not the cutest thing EVER?!?!! Look at those blue eyes.  Definitely hooking this one up with IH, Lindsey Jo! 

We are best friends... :) 

And she finally loves her "Uncle Jake." She was pretty terrified of him for a while... but now she can't get enough of him.  I understand... :) 

Her party was owl themed. Check out this cute fruit owl my mom-in-law made for her partay!! Presh, right? 

Here we are with Jojo.  :) 

Last weekend we headed down to Ocala, FL to see some of our good friends. Every year, these fellas meet up in Ocala for a golf tourney called the "Nuts & Bones Invitational."  WHY? Well... Andy, one of Jacob's besties is a peaNUT farmer and his father-in-law is a Orthopedic (BONE) surgeon!!! Clever... and funny... huh? So they get a new piece of swag each year... this year they got golf shirts with "TEAM NUTS" on it! BAHAHA! 

Also, we went to our first Catholic Mass on Saturday evening for Welles' (Andy's son) baptism.  It was super sweet and educational.  

**If you want to cry and learn where they got the name Welles from, watch this: The Man with the Red Bandana

Here's cutie Welles.

 This weekend.... like TODAY... I get to go see these gems. YAHOOO!!!! They are the best friends a girl could ever ask for. Becky, on the left, is leaving next weekend to serve as a nurse on the Mercy Ships, stationed in the Congo, Africa for the next ten months.  I am so thankful to call her my friend.   She follows the Lord... determined, passionately, knowing she has purpose in Him. I'm proud of her and so excited to see what all God does out there while she's serving on a continent very close to my heart... oh, Africa.  You can read all about her journey (and her yummy cooking) HERE. We are throwing her a partay tonight... Christmas themed because it's her FAV... and sending her off with lots of cuddles and jump hugs! 

Adventures... and Charleston!

This weekend we got to go to Charleston, SC to see my bestie graduate from MUSC (Medical University of South Carolina) as a MASTER in Occupational Therapy! YAY! She's a big girl now! 

It was an adventure for sure! 

We left on Thursday, late afternoon. We PLANNED to stay in Savannah, GA for the night... eat some yummy food on River Street, relax, and then get up and head to Charleston on Friday. BUT... that didn't happen. 

As we were driving through The-Middle-of-Nowhere, GA, we were just gabbing away... talking about everything and enjoying the ride. We were literally the ONLY car on the road... and there was NOTHING around us but trees and grass and flatness.  I looked over and saw some cute trees and told Jacob to look at the Christmas trees! He informed me that those were just pine trees, and then...

BOOOOOOOM!!!! 

Jacob killed his first buck... with our car! We squared up the deer!! It came from the median and definitely found us! Only car on the road... 90 degrees in July... afternoon... yep... not normal. And... we later were jokingly told that the trees I had spotted were actual Christmas trees and that we had, in fact, hit a reindeer! 

The dent on the passenger side... the head. The dent on the driver's side... the butt.  FUNNY: there was deer poop IN THE HEADLIGHT!!!! Bahaha!!! 

So... we pulled over... we couldn't drive it... radiator was busted.  So we called insurance and waited for the cops and a tow truck.  We were seriously in no man's land... the cops couldn't even find us! It took an HOUR for them to locate us... finally a state trooper just took the call and came to help us. So... here we are... no car... no rental car places in the area... the rental cars in the nearby cities were closed.. and no hotels. WHAT?!?! 

A tow truck came and towed us to the State Farm certified car shop in the area, The Auto Shop in Butler, GA. Mrs. Christina, my mom-in-law, called The Auto Shop to make sure someone was still there and to beg them to stay until we got there.  We arrived with our car in tow and were greeted by the owner and his wife. He asked us if we had a plan... nope. We asked him for suggestions and he confirmed that in Butler... there were indeed no hotels or car rental places... actually there was JUST a Subway and a wings place... GREAT. 

He then offered for us to stay at his house.  He said he had a 2-story house and plenty of room. I was all for it! Jacob... a bit hesitant.  (My thoughts - if I can survive Kenya... I can survive Butler, GA). He told us he would show us the house and then we could decide what we wanted to do. We saw the house... and Jacob immediately gave in. :) We really didn't have a choice. If not for this awesome couple... I guess we would have slept in our car... in a car lot... with no AC... yea... I'll take the house. 

Please note - when we got in the car... he had the radio on a Christian station... I knew at that point he was a believer and I whispered to Jacob, "He loves Jesus." Jacob was confused... as usual with my comments.  Then, we walked into their house... filled with crosses and a study Bible on the couch... and I KNEW this was God. When we told them that Jacob was a youth pastor... THEY WERE PUMPED and the conversation flood gate opened wide. The shop owner was VERY involved in the local youth ministry and had lots of stories to share and questions to ask! 

They bought us dinner (they wouldn't take any money). They invited their church's youth pastor and his wife over so we could meet them - they were GREAT! Made us feel at home. Sat and talked with us. And gave us a wonderful place to sleep.  We were overwhelmed and thankful... so were our parents. We got to share our story - dating, marriage, youth ministry, and adoption. And we got to hear theirs. We found out that the youth pastor had done a 7-month internship in Belize and the shop owner and him had been to Belize several times as well. 

The next morning, the wife offered to take us to the nearest rental place (45 minutes away). Before we left, they invited us to join their daily morning devotional and prayer time.  Can you believe all this? SO crazy!!! God is hilarious. It was great... even with the fact that our car was stuck and our plans were changed! It was a blessing! 

We got the rental car... a tiny Toyota Yaris... that we named Yoda. 

And were on the road to eat lunch in Savannah and then on to Charleston! 

Savannah was a quaint and historical city... we liked it. We found some yummy food too! 

A few hours later... WE FINALLY MADE IT TO CHUCK TOWN!!! We had an AMAZING time with Em and her friends!!!! Here's a picture explosion... READY, GO...

REUNITED... and it feels SO good! 

I love this girl so stinkin' much! I feel like I can be ME around her... and I think we pretty much bring out the best in each other. we laugh alot. Freak surrounding people out. Talk about our other besties. Tell our incredible stories. And just do what best friends do... she's just a really great person. I don't know what I'd do without her.

YUMMY food @ Cru Cafe!  

Our classic pic

We even got to hang out with Allen and Joy!!!! YAY!!! 

Cute Charleston...

THE GRADUATE!!!! She looks so official, huh? 

She got a new cape and had fancy wings!!! We had to show them off! 

Waiting to eat @ TOAST in downtown Charleston.

Us with Jay & Em @ a BBQ place on Sullivan Island! DELICIOUS! 

We had a WONDERFUL time hanging out with Em and her friends! They are great, too! 

We ate scrumptious food, walked around the fantastic town of Charleston, frolicked on Sullivan Island, and got to spend quality time with EM!!!! :) It was marvelous! 

Our car is still in Butler... being repaired. We are back at home... thanks to my mom coming to get us where we dropped off the rental.  One-car family right now... woot woot! 

Loved this weekend... LOVE adventures with my hubs!