Baking and Painting!

It's been a busy week! Sunday night I baked my very first cheesecake! I was a little nervous going into it...I knew that a lot could go wrong as cheesecakes can be a little finicky, and I didn't have time for things to go wrong, so I googled "no fail cheesecake!" Well, it cracked...but did you know you can repair cracks?! Thanks again google! :) In the end, it wasn't so bad...I made it for a friend at work who celebrated a birthday on Monday, and there were several cheesecake fans working who said it was great! So, maybe I will try it again sometime!

 Monday morning I woke up and made some chocolate cupcakes with homemade chocolate icing (one of the best recipes I have found is on the back of Hershey's Cocoa powder). They were quite a hit at work!

 Tuesday morning I hit the road bright and early and headed for Birmingham! My sister and her husband just closed on a house, and I helped with some of the projects they needed done before they move in...we took all of the kitchen cabinet doors off and painted them, painted the walls in the kitchen, painted the nursery, and painted a hallway. Tuesday and Wednesday were BUSY days!
Before:

 Before:

I didn't get any of the after pictures, but I am heading back on Monday, and will try to take more pictures then! I loved hanging out with my little buddy while we were working! I didn't get any pictures of him, but I got a precious video of him (which if I knew how to do it, would put it here, but I have no idea how to do that!). Tom went to med school in Augusta, GA, and that is where Ivey and Tom met, so watching the Masters is always special for their family. Apparently Thomas was watching too, because when you ask him "who won the golf game?" He says "Bubba!" :) Pretty good to know about sports at 19 months!

Easter Weekend 2012!

What a glorious day it was celebrating the Resurrection! My only comfort in life and death rests in the fact that Jesus accomplished the work of salvation for ME!!! Hallelujah, what a Savior!!

Good Friday, I enjoyed having breakfast with a friend I haven't seen in a while. It just made me so thankful for the friends in my life who provide community for me. Even though I hadn't seen her recently, we just picked up right where we left off! Later, I attended my church's Good Friday service at noon, and was reminded of the depth of my sin and the abundant grace of the Lord! Friday night, my roommate and I met up with a friend and her mother to go and hear Allison Krauss in concert! Her voice is amazing and the concert did not disappoint!
Here we are enjoying a little pre-show bite with a glass of wine!

Today was a beautiful day, and so we ate lunch together on the front porch! We were missing half of the family (thanks to UAB's resident schedules and Nathan's work schedule...he had to work today, not only is it Easter...it's his Birthday!!! Happy Birthday, Nathan!). It's a shame the rest of the family was not here to participate in the annual after Easter service pictures! :)

 Unfortunately, Daddy had to go finish rounds at the hospital right after service, so he missed the first photo shoot, so we did another one after lunch (when he had already taken his tie off! :)

 This picture cracks me up! Jonathan is showcasing the retro look! The pants belonged to our Granddaddy, and the jacket was our dads (from the 70's!). Paired with the thin bow-tie, this outfit is totally retro, but is making a comeback!

 In honor of the Masters, we had our own Bubba out on the greens!

 Here is a little candid behind the scenes look at the joy we all have taking these yearly pictures! ;) Here we are trying to gather together in the right lighting for the following picture....getting there...

 ....Oh yes, now that's better!

 Didn't have the tripod, so we just switched out photographers!

 The men-folk:

 We needed some comic relief after the photo shoot, so we just had some fun:

 Recreating our own version of "Awkward Family Photos!" If you haven't seen any of the ones online, they are hilarious!

Fun day together as a family celebrating the goodness of God!

Catching Up...

Life has been a little busy since my trip to the beach...came back from the beach late Wednesday night, worked all day Thursday, left again on Saturday for a little weekend trip to Atlanta, worked again Monday and Tuesday, and went to Birmingham for the day on Wednesday! A lot of traveling and many happy memories (not so many pictures, though!)...so let's catch up!

First, the beach trip was very relaxing! Kathryn and I enjoyed the sun and some reading too! I read the Hunger Games series...three books in three days! :) View from a restaurant where we enjoyed some seafood:

 She-crab soup:

 Fresh fish:

 On our way out of town, we toured the historic area of Fernandina Beach. Such a quaint little town.

 Kathryn by the fountain:

 Me at the wishing well...tossing my penny along with my wish...we'll see if it comes true! :)

 On our way through Macon, GA, we stopped to see my dear friend Dorothy! She and her husband have the cutest little historic home on a lovely street! I loved seeing how she decorated it! Dorothy is having a little girl in May and I can't wait to meet this new addition!

 Last weekend, after returning from the beach on Wednesday, took off to Atlanta to visit my dear friends who I met in Trinidad! David and Barbara Foote are an amazing couple! They are such an example of a couple who love serving the Lord together! They are a perfect team and compliment each other well! They were such hospitable hosts, and I thoroughly enjoyed catching up with them!

 On Sunday at church, we met up with Betsy, our team leader from Trinidad, and were planning on going to Atlantic Station to have lunch together. Little did I know that they had planned for several others from the Trinidad team to meet us there to surprise me! What a sweet reunion as we reflected on our time together and caught up with each other! We missed our other team members, though!

 In other news...have I mentioned that my younger brother Nathan is getting married? He and Laura have dated since highschool, and we are so excited about having her "officially" in the family! :) They are getting married May 19th, and then heading off later this summer for Nathan to begin law school! We are so happy for them!

Two of my aunts hosted a shower at my parent's house on Saturday. It was a sweet time getting to know some of Laura's family! I did not do a very good job taking pictures! I didn't even get one of Laura! oops!

 My mom, sister and me!

Well, I think that brings us up to date for now!

Is it really winter?

Hello from the beach! My little sister is on Spring Break, and I had a few days off work so the two of us decided to take a little trip to my dad's side of the family's condo at Amelia Island, FL.
We had a fun drive down...had a little dance party in the car! :)

 We got here in plenty of time to change and spend a little time on the beach! Last night, we just had some girl time and Kathryn tried out new hairstyles off of pinterest on my hair!

 This morning we woke up to a beautiful day! We spent some time this morning listening to a sermon from one of my favorite pastors (George Robertson from First Pres Augusta) and then headed out to the beach!

 There was an agenda for this trip: get some sun and do some reading! :)

 And that's just what we did today! We spent all day outside soaking up this beautiful weather! It's hard to believe that technically it is still winter! :)

Looking forward to a few more days before we head back home! I am so glad to have this time to spend with my sister!

Party Weekend!

Saturday was a busy day for events! I actually had 4 events I could have attended, and had to choose 2! I kept with the theme of 30th birthdays! I first went to a friend's 30th birthday at this amazing restaurant called Public House. The atmosphere, food, and company were great! I didn't get any pictures myself, but here's one I stole from a friend...
Great RN friends from Children's Hospital:

 Next, I went to another 30th birthday for a very special couple! This sweet husband and wife turned 30 within a couple of weeks of each other, so they decided to throw a huge dance party to celebrate!! The venue was perfect...an old fire hall!

More good food!

 The dancing took place in the garage where the fire trucks used to be stored! Here is the birthday couple after we sang "Happy Birthday" to them!

 In the food room:

 I was behind the camera most of the night, but managed to get in one or two!

 We had SO much fun dancing the night away! This group sure knows how to have a good time! :)