life on a budget- without cable!

In effort to save money, we decided not to get cable here in Nashville. (Thanks Santoros for showing us it can be done!)  Instead, we opted for the ever attractive bunny ears! If they turn slightly to the right, you miss out on the local Nashville channel featuring Randy Travis wannabees.  Or when they get bumped left you will possibly get NBC & CBS clearly.  For some reason, our stubborn ears omit ABC, which features some of my favorite reality shows, such as The Bachelorette... all I have to say is thank goodness for online shows!

In the past week, instead of cable, we have watched:

- Lots of local news with places and people we are not familiar with.  They keep showing maps of tornado watches that could very well by outside our window but we have no idea!

- How Do You Know- a terrible Reese Witherspoon movie, I was very disappointed in my favorite actress!  We turned it off after 30 min, what a waste of the $2 bockbuster rental.

-Just Go With It- a typical Adam Sandler, Jennifer Aniston movie that we did stick with the entire time and laughed!  I actually liked this one and thought it was worth the $1 redbox.

- The Mechanic- thanks Sam for a gory, shoot em up, testosterone filled flick.  I had nightmares after this one!  These movies are like trainwrecks for me, I don't want to watch but don't want to miss something if I turn away! 

- Law & Order: NY, LA, DC, CLT... I think they have one for every crime filled city in America now.  We don't care, we watch them all!  I don't know how the writers of these shows do it, they still come up with riveting whodunnit plot lines that seem more original and creative than the last.

My friend Tiffany was then a single mom who worked full time and seemed to do it all.  I asked her how she got it all done.  Her response was "I don't watch TV."  In our generation, it's funny to me how TV has become the center of the living room, the topic of conversation, and an empty hole where our money has been thrown! 

Not that this box with lights is a bad thing, but maybe limiting the amount we watch might not be a bad thing either.

Walking our way around

If you know Sam and myself, you know we are not the most prompt, directionally inclined people.  In fact, I would describe us as fashionably tardy and directionally challenged, in a good way of course!  We would frequently get turned around in Charlotte after having both lived there for 5 years.  Upon our arrival in Nashville, getting turned around in circles was to be expected.  So far we've only had one directional turn around which was of course "at the fault of the GPS."  Still, we decide to explore and walk around until we discover the hidden finds in our neighborhood. 

A few of my favorite finds so far:

Star Bagel- walking distance, great breakfast and coffee, yes please!

Local Taco- small specialty tacos, again walking distance away

Starbucks at Vandy- spacious, lots of plugs and tables!

The greenway/ public golf course 3 blocks from our house

CrossPoint Church- we visited this church that is also very close and loved the environment and teaching! great way to start our weekend.

I love how pedestrian friendly this city is!  Despite the rain and frequent thunder showers, we have spent a lot of time outside in an attempt to become "locals."

For all our Charlotte friends, we are slowly unpacking and adapting well to our new city. 

Thank you again for helping us load up and supporting us through this process.  More to come friends!!

a city inside of a city

I had the privilege of visiting a community housed by a large population of refugee families.  Many of the younger kids that live here attend the school where I taught for years now.  It took me far too long to make my visit with my friend Scarlet and her ministry family, Serving Strangers.  The people of this ministry are incredibly generous and are impacing lives daily in order to bring glory to God. 

Walking into this community, you feel like you are walking into another country.  Yet, I felt very human, very American, wondering how they live without what I consider basic necessities.  Scarlet and her ministry offer supplies, support, and love to these families.  Today, I saw a glimpse of God's love that stretches over language and cultural barriers. 

I'm glad I don't have teenagers...

but when we do have teenagers, I hope they're like Jill's!

These boys were such great sports, they let me put them in awkward situations and take their picture.  Not too many 15 year olds will let that happen!  We got a few awesome shots just before the rain started.

Thank you Jill for sharing your boys for a quick 30 minutes!  I hope they didn't hate their lives too much. :)

 Landon posed himself for the Lifetouch photographer on his own.

 railroad tracks make for a great shot

 Cole, you had this coming!

this one has Cute written all over it. 

gap jeans ad

Being a Bridesmaid

No I have not had 27 dresses, only 2, but what fun dresses they were!

This past weekend was my second bridesmaid experience.  We spent the weekend in Asheville, NC among beautiful sunsets and great company.

 Leslie's tulips

 my beautiful college girlfriends

 beautiful Asheville sunset

 the beautiful bride before the wedding

the wedding party in front of a lovely local chapel



I've always been a sappy fan of weddings, but now they tend to be more nostalgic now that I am married.  I recall the morning of our wedding and the heightened emotions of walking down the aisle myself.  I am honored and blessed to be married to my groom.  I love the details and how a great wedding represents the bride and groom perfectly. 

 A few of my favorites from my bridesmaid days and some of our own special day. :)

 Lindsay's beautiful West Palm wedding

Lindsay's wedding party

it sure is fun to play princess for the day!



 Mr. & Mrs.

The happiest day of my life when I married my best friend!

New Addition

In love with our niece, Madi...

During our last trip to Florida, I got to meet Madison for the first time.  The baby fever is easy to catch when you're around this precious one!  Congratulations again to Lis and Aaron, who are wonderful parents.  After a few trial pictures, Madi turned on her inner model! 

Her gorgeous dark hair and large dark eyes made some beautiful shots. 

a moment with grandpa

 a diva already!

 family shot

 tiny toes!

 she's smilin!

 i love this moses basket

2011 Hopes

I believe I forgot I had a blog at one time, considering it's been months since my last post! What better time to revisit the site than now, in the start of the new year. It always takes me weeks to decide what aspects of my life I want to tweak, what relationships I want to build, and what areas I want to give more attention. You may call them resolutions, I like to see it more as a hope for the upcoming year. This post is more for myself, an accountability piece more than anything else. Read on to see
the things I ponder for 2011 ...



Personal growth... opening the box of my Canon Rebel opened a new world for me. This is the hobby/ talent I've always wanted to explore, but never had the chance. Taking advice from a friend, I'm not diving into formal training just yet, just experimenting! I learn best by seeing and doing, so this is the route I'm taking. I've been lucky with a few shots...
Some of my favorites so far:

Spiritual growth... is never "achieved", it's a constant realization of my humanity, and God's perfection. My only goal is to spend intentional time reading the word, asking the Lord to be a part of my day, my work, my relationships. Usually for me, this takes a thought-provoking book that challenges my self-centered world view and brings me back to who God is.

Relational growth... creating intentional time with people for the purpose of learning more about others and becoming more compassionate. Compassion stems from who God is and loving people. I consider myself a pretty compassionate person by nature. Sometimes in life, I notice my thoughts turn to judgment and cynicism. By spending time with current friends and creating others, I am more compassionate by default. If only we all could see through a lense that considers another first.



Professional growth... I am in the step in my career where I want to change the world, not just one child at a time, but many at once. This may be a desire placed on many teachers' hearts, or just the burderned few. I have explored, applied, and come to road blocks in my attempt to reach this next step. I don't know where this unsettled feeling will lead, but I do know I am constantly aware of what works and what does not work in public education. I'm learning how to trust God in this next step, either in movement, or in staying put. (Thanks Dad.)



Marital growth... In our second year of marriage, Sam and I don't have it all perfect, but we do some things very well. Daily, I am overwhelmed with my husband's heart and his eagerness to serve the Lord and others. I take him for granted more often than not. I'm realizing marriage is much more than cooking dinner, doing laundry, and date nights. Those we've got down pat. What takes our marriage from the superficial level to the intimate "oneness" is the intentional time sharing our hearts. My last "hope" is to create more opportunities for this time.

2011, come on in.