|
SubscriptionsSites I Read
|
|
|
|
| Seeing as it's getting pretty late, I'm not going to try too hard to make this interesting. I'm moving to Dallas, TX next month to work at Park Cities Presbyterian Church. I'm so excited about the direction God is sending me in. It will be a huge change but an awesome one. Working with my brother, J. Marty, and the rest of the music department staff will be wonderful, and the other people I've gotten to meet here so far are amazing.
It's been such a stretching time waiting to see what God's next step for me is. I wouldn't necessarily want to do it again anytime soon, but I know God's sovereign will is perfect. His timing is perfect. And I'm just so thankful to finally know His direction.
I'm in Dallas until Thursday looking for a place to live. Please pray that God will show me where I need to be soon.
Oh, yes, Little Man is devastated that his favorite auntie is moving away (or at least his auntie is). But as he has now learned to give kisses, I'll be getting my fill before I leave. <sigh>
| | |
| The wedding came and went so quickly, it's still hard to believe it's over. I enjoyed it so much...seeing so many friends in one place at the same time was incredible. I just wish I had had more time with everybody, rather than just a quick, "hi, how are you". My body has recovered from exhaustion, but my mind and emotions are still catching up. I'm now down in the Charleston, SC area for a few days, attending a wedding, recuperating and planning for the next couple of months.
If you're interested in seeing pictures of the wedding, I put up some links on Julia and Garret's website. Look under the "News and Updates" section. We'll add more as we get them. Thanks to all the wonderful photographers who let us link to their pictures!
I have to include this wonderful picture that now graces my desktop.
| | |
| I tend to save my updates for when I get an urge to just sit
down and write something, which is obviously very rare. But as I am now
experiencing that urge, I figured I’d better write something before it passes.
The first month and a half of 2007 has passed much more
quickly that I would have thought possible. As I sat in church yesterday, I
realized that since before Christmas I had been gone more Sundays than I’ve
been home. Strange, I’ve been living at home full-time since the spring of 2005
(minus the trip to Wales),
but there are times when I still feel like I’m just visiting my church. I’ve
grown up there, but for the last 5-6 years, I’ve been gone most of the time.
When I’d come home, people would always ask me how long I would be home this
time. I still get that. Of course, my traveling so much doesn’t exactly help,
but still it’s a strange, unsettled feeling.
Despite all of the above, I wouldn’t have missed out on any
of my trips, so I shouldn’t complain. In December, I went out to Dallas to help my brother
J. Marty with his first big concert at his church. It was awesome, although I
didn’t get to really sit and enjoy the music. I ended up in the back giving
cues to the lighting guy and ushers. That was fun, but I wish I could have done
more listening and less helping. One of these days…
Christmas was wonderful with all the family at home, and it
was also Drew’s first Christmas. I think the little man had more fun tearing
into the wrapping paper than anything else. Afterwards, we headed off for an
annual family trip around New Year’s. We also normally host a group of friends
around New Year’s, but with Julia’s wedding coming up so soon, we wanted them
to come to that instead. I think asking them to make 2 trips would have been
more than a bit impractical.
Then came my first official business trip. Yes, folks, I felt
very grown up and important arriving in Orlando
greeted by a chauffer, then driven to a fancy resort in a nice black car. Check
this out! Unfortunately, I was just one of the workers after that. To explain, I
had interviewed over the phone with a small meeting planning company out of Naples, FL
to do some freelance work. Robin, the VP and daughter of the owner/founder, had
wanted me to come down and do a trial run for a full-time office job last fall,
but my parents and I didn’t feel like that’s where God wanted me. However, she
still offered me the opportunity to do some freelance work here and there,
which is really what I was looking for. The Orlando trip was a big yearly meeting that
they put on for one of their big clients. It was a great meeting, the attendees
were very friendly, and I did get out to enjoy some of Orlando on a couple of nights. They had extra
tickets to Cirque de Soleil, so I got to go. I highly recommend this
experience. It was mind-blowing. And next year, the meeting is to be in Cancun, Mexico,
to which I’ve already been invited to come work. And on top of everything else,
they sent all of the workers home with a portable DVD player. Yeah, I’ll definitely
be going to Cancun.  Ok, this post is already long enough, so I’m going to try to
shorten the rest…just the highlights. The fam took a trip to visit Garret’s
family in January, which was a blast. His church threw a shower for Garret and
Julia where they got some awesome gifts. My uncle, who lives in Richmond, also threw a
party for our families while we were, which was a lot of fun. I have to say, I
love hanging out with the Brinks. For those of you who don’t know them…you’re
missing out.
And then, my personal favorite, our girl’s trip to Charleston. Julia and I
have talked about taking one for years. And since our time was quickly running
out, we figured we’d better just bite the bullet and go. So, we splurged, got a
room downtown Charleston,
and lived it up. Shopping, eating, a museum, a cooking class, eating, and eating
some more. It was a good thing we walked everywhere. My savings account
will never be the same, but I have absolutely no regrets. It was worth every
penny. J
So, wedding plans are coming along, RSVP’s are quickly
flowing in (YEAH!), and timing is growing very short. Less than 4 weeks now
before Julia and Garret’s big day. As much as I dislike the thought of losing
Julia, I’m honestly thrilled about their marriage and the big weekend. Woohoo! | | |
| So, I'm finally getting around to it. Problem is, I'm not sure what to say. Dang...I keep writing sentences and then erasing them. Ok, so maybe this won't be the most interesting post ever, but at least....well I'm not sure how to finish that. 
First things first: Julia and Garret got engaged, which I'm sure most of you know by now. We were enjoying a wonderful weekend in Highlands, NC, and it was pretty much perfect (as Julia says) not only because of the engagement, but also because Clemson whupped GA Tech. I'm not completely sure it if would have even mattered it to them if we had lost, but I'm just going to assumed their glow came from the joy of victory.
Garret and Julia...with Dad giving "the" signal
Day after engagement
Julia, Mary Lisa, Glenn and me after the victory
I can't tell you how happy I am about Julia and Garret getting married. Every once in a while though, the reality of Julia getting married and moving away hits me that. Sad for me, yet seeing how happy Julia is when she is with him (or talking about him) more than makes up for it. Bittersweet is the only way to describe it. I'm just so excited about the situation they'll be in and that Atlanta isn't too far away. And of course, this brings us to the wedding plans. Now, being an event planner and Julia's maid of honor makes this part of it very fun. It's going to be one great weekend.
We had all of my mom's family over for Thanksgiving weekend. We've been doing this for 5 or 6 years now, and it's definitely one of the highlights of our year. And this time we had 4 new additions! 2 new babies and 2 soon-to-be spouses. We laughed ourselves silly showing old family home movies to Carolyn and Garret. At least they know what they're getting into now. I sure am glad the fashions from the '90's are gone. Poofy bangs are so not attractive.
And of course, I can't post without mentioning Drew. <sigh> I may be biased, but I think he's just the most beautiful baby anywhere. And the most lovable. His personality is starting to really show up, and he's a pretty happy-go-lucky sort of kid. Lots of smiles. Lots of squealing. Lots of drool. Lots of fun.
(After rereading that paragraph, I realize just how mushy I sound. Please ignore and move on if this bothers you.)
I think he saw Julia, or something scary. 
 Andrew and Drew
Kathleen and Drew on a hike
Drew is now the proud owner of 2 teeth...hence the drool.
One of my favorite videos
| | |
| Life is going well...yet I'm so aware of the changes going on all around me. Not that it's a bad thing, I'm just very aware of it. All my sibs are in the midst of BIG changes. J.Marty moved half-way across the country to Dallas for his new job, Andrew's got a baby (yeah!), and Julia's courting. Of course the last two provide plently of entertainment for me, so I can't complain.  I still feel like I'm in the waiting room with my job situation, although I'm currently working for Dad part-time, and it has been a great way to learn bookkeeping and earn some money at the same time. Still, I know that long-term this is not where I'm supposed to be. So the goal is to stay productive where I am while seeking God about the next step.
I couldn't resist posting more pictures of my little man, Drew Bear, as I like to call him. Of course, as he gets older, I realize I'll have to drop the "Bear", but until he can object, the nicknames will stick. 
This is the most recent picture of Drew (5 weeks) during his playtime before bed.
This has to be one of my favorites...I know he's unhappy, but he's so darn cute with that little lip curled down.
And...(sigh)...a couple more of my favs. I just think he's the sweestest thing I've ever seen.
| | |
|
