The Clarks

Moved!

2010-01-23T16:02:00.003-05:00

While I enjoyed working on this blog once upon a time, as you can see we don't really keep it up anymore. Instead we have created an active blog to help families who are interested in orphan care. If you would like to check it out please visit us at www.redeemingorphans.com

2 More Clarks

2008-06-10T18:04:00.003-04:00

Rocky and I are very proud to announce we will soon have 2 new additions to the family. We began the adoption process in January and are hoping to soon have a picture of our son from Ethiopia. (Please see videos below) We hope that by this fall we will be able to travel to Africa to get him. I have always wanted to adopt. I am so thankful that God chooses to adopt us into his family when we trust in Jesus Christ and I feel the adoption of a child into a family is a beautiful picture of this. When Rocky and I began to pursue pregnancy, a short time after we decided to also pursue adoption. After thinking long and hard, we chose Ethiopia. Why? There are currently 4 to 5 million orphans in Ethiopia. By 2012 50 percent of children will be orphans. This is a huge crises and because we are able, we wanted to give a home to a child with parents who will love him so much.

We also are excited to announce that in addition to blessing us with a child through adoption, after about a year of pursuing pregnancy God in his perfect timing has blessed us with a biological child. We are 6 wks. pregnant. Above is a picture taken today of our little peanut. (He/she is the little thing that looks like a cocoon)

Please pray for us as we have a very exciting journey ahead :)

When Love Takes You In - Steven Curtis Chapman

2008-06-10T18:02:00.001-04:00

Yesus on the Streets

2008-06-10T17:54:00.001-04:00

I hope this video will touch your heart as it did ours.

Much to be thankful for

2007-11-23T14:47:00.000-05:00

This thanksgiving was spent with close friends. Unfortunately we could not go home to be with family because of Rocky's job, however we did have fun with our friends here in Louisville. I cooked a whole turkey for the 1st time by myself. It's a good thing I went to Chef Pam's seminar on turkey roasting or I would have been clueless. We all had fun eating the usual thanksgiving treats and then we watched Elf the movie while we looked through the adds for black Friday. Here are some pics:

Hope Rogers was very haute couture in this beautiful red velvet dress by Vera Wang and Brilliant Bow by Stephanie Rogers

Even Peter Parker came to our Thanksgiving dinner

Rockstar was a little sleepy from work at UPS

have you ever turned a desk into a buffett table?

desk 2 was for dessert :)

Stephanie and Laura get some yummy turkey

Claire Zetterberg loved the pumpkin pie

Isn't my husband great?

I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving. I know we did and we have much to be thankful for.

Guess who's back, back again?

2007-11-16T16:34:00.000-05:00

After a long sabbatical from the blog, I thought I would write a little. I started a new job teaching first grade and most of my time has been spent grading papers instead of blogging. I have really enjoyed teaching and my students are just precious. I hope to post some pics of them at some point. In the mean time here are a few pics of what we have been up to lately. If I look heavier as the pictures progress, no it's not an illusion. I am beginning to put on this year's hallothanksmas weight.

We had a great time going to Huber farms with our Sunday school class. As always, the caramel apples, pumpkin ice cream and fried chicken were delicious!

I know this picture was a little corny, but I just had to share it.

good times on the hay ride

I finally finished a diaper bag for a friend that I had been working on (it was for a boy)

On Monday Rocky and I finished our marriage class. We had been taking the class through the seminary and the last class was a banquet. It was really fun and helped us learn how to have a better marriage. Pictured above are us and our friends from church, Tim and Shawnda.

Book Review

2007-07-31T10:36:00.000-04:00

I usually don't do book reviews; there are many others who are gifted at that. However, I couldn't resist talking about this one. Recently, my Bible study went through a book called Battling Unbelief written by John Piper.

This little book only has 8 chapters (it's actually a portion of the book Future Grace), which was perfect for my attention span. It deals with battling sin by battling unbelief. Namely, believing what God says in His Word and using His Word to fight sin.

Someone might ask, "But do you really struggle with believing God?" Well, it is easy to tell that I do because I sin. When I sin, I am believing the tempters Words over the Truth of the Bible. This book has helped me in a very practicle way in battling sin and I would love to recommend it to you. I hope to read it again soon.

Here is a review from Justin Taylor who writes for the Between Two Worlds blog:

I've been looking forward to the appearance of this book for years. Multnomah has now published John Piper's book Battling Unbelief. Though I recommend lots of books on this blog, I try not to overuse the term "must have" or "must read." Well this is not one of those times! Quite simply, I think this is some of the best material we have today on sanctification--putting sin to death and trusting in the promises of God in Christ through the power of the Spirit.Future Grace was first published in 1995. It's a thick book (both in terms of content and pages). But sprinkled throughout the book are "application" chapters that take the concept of future grace and apply them to eight broad categories of unbelief: (1) anxiety, (2) pride, (3) misplaced shame, (4) impatience, (5) covetousness, (6) bitterness, (7) despondency, and (8) lust.These chapters are now lightly revised and collected in Battling Unbelief, along with a new introduction. If you can't afford it, skip a meal, shovel someone's driveway--do what you need to do to get your hands on this book.

Weekend Visit and a Race

2007-07-30T10:27:00.000-04:00

This weekend Rocky's Dad came up for a visit. He was very sweet to come and see us all the way from Mississippi. It's a long way here from central Mississippi even by plane. We had a great time hanging out with him and taking him to a few of our favorite restaurants. Rocky's dad is always so kind to us and the visit seemed so short. We look forward to seeing him again hopefully in October. Above is a picture of the three of us. I meant to have a waiter take one of us at the restaurant, but I forgot so I had to set the timer on my camera at home. I think it turned out okay. Below is a picture of Rocky and his dad at Lynn's Paradise Cafe. This restaurant is super yummy and has even been featured on the Food Network. It's a little crazy inside and out, but that's what makes it so fun.

Rocky and I were in a 4 mile race this weekend that started at Slugger Field. We were presently surprised to get a visit from the Bat's mascot, Buddy the bat. This picture was made after the race. We were lucky enough to have cool weather and an overcast sky. It was also a flat course which made it easier. It was a lot of fun and went to support Kiwanis Kids.

Mother Daugher Trip

2007-07-18T10:38:00.000-04:00

This past week I took a vacation to the beach. Pictured above are my 2 best friends, their moms, and my mom. (Left to right, Pam, Rachel, Linda, Karen, me, and my mom Joyce). Karen and I have been best friends since the seventh grade and started the mother daughter trip tradition our freshmen year of college when our moms came and stayed in the dorm with us. Needless to say, it was a tight squeeze! Karen and I met Rachel through our sorority our sophomore year of college. We quickly became friends and were excited to have her and her mom on this trip.

Rachel recently got engaged so we threw her a "mini" shower with a few things for her honeymoon. Karen and her mom got her a few books, my mom got her some flip-flops, and Rachel's mom got her a beach towel. I made her a beach bag in my sewing class (pictured below). I wish we had more pictures from the weekend. Overall, it was great to just relax and I always love to spend time at the beach. We did all the things girls should do, lay out, swim, eat out, and talk for hours. I stayed an extra day with my mom and it was great to spend time with her.

Rachel with her new bag

Rachel gives me a squeeze!

Wedding Flowers

2007-06-27T09:27:00.001-04:00

Last Saturday I had the opportunity to arrange flowers for my co-worker's wedding. Laura entrusted me to do her wedding flowers after only seeing 1 arrangement that was the first I had ever done. Call me crazy, but I took her up on it. It was great exercise in practicing not being anxious. I could not have done this without God's grace and a lot of help from a few friends. I must first mention Bronwyn Cardwell. She taught my floral arranging class at the Seminary Wives Institute. She is from Birmingham, Alabama but she has received a few long distance phone calls from me as well as answered numerous emails. I really appreciate her kindness to teach me her wealth of knowledge! I also owe a huge thank you to Kristi Hunter who was with me for 7 hours the day of the wedding. She helped me prep the flowers, clean up, and take pictures. I would not have finished without your help Kristi!!! Below are some pics I took, I know there are a lot, but it was the first wedding I've ever done. I LOVED it! Maybe I'll have to start a career . . . . hmmm, what would I call it??

Here is what I started out with:

My apartment smelled so good with all these flowers in it.

I started out with the Matron of Honor's bouquet done in pink roses

Next I made the bridal bouquet

After the bouquets, I made a couple boutonnieres.

This was for the buffet table - Lilies, Alstremeria, and Lemon Leaf

Here is the cake table arrangement. Her cake was beautiful, those ribbons are made out of fondant! She selected the lovely artwork that says "Love Never Fails"

I also made 2 arrangements for over the mantle, I had to arrange them on this buffet, because the mantle was too tall

This is the first arrangement I did for the wedding, I decided to take a picture of it in progress.

Here is the finished product

This is my friend Kristi to whom I owe a Saturday!

Here is the Bride, Laura Durham. She was so laid back and great to work with. I'm really thankful she let me have this opportunity. It was great and I would love to do another wedding.

Chicago

2007-06-21T11:38:00.000-04:00

Rocky and I just returned from our very fun anniversary trip in Chicago. We celebrated two years of marriage and had a wonderful time in the Windy City. I've posted lots of pics below and I wish I had more! Two things we did that I just didn't get pictures of, were the Aquarium and the Ghiradelli store. The Aquarium was glass so it was hard to get pictures there, but we saw a really great Dolphin show. We went to the Ghiradelli chocolate store several times to enjoy ice cream sundaes with lots of hot fudge. They were delicious!

Here we are at the John Hancock building. We went to the top for a yummy dessert and the view was beautiful.

Rocky's dream come true . . . a Cub's Game! Wriggleville was like nothing I'd ever seen.

Rocky with the famous Harey Carey Statue (I'm not sure if that's how it is spelled)

The game was packed. As you can see in the far right, even the buildings surrounding the stadium had seats on the top of them.

We had great seats in the shade. Cubs fans are so loyal, they all stayed to the ninth inning.

For a small tip, we had our picture made with Cubby after the game.

Here we are in front of our hotel, the Affinia. It was a great location on Superior off of Michigan Avenue. We were right next to Gino's Pizza East.

The room was gorgeous

We had a lovely suite.

And now . . . Who's Pizza Reigns Supreme!!!

Giordano's or . . . .

Gino's???

Giordano's had the nicest atmosphere, they offered a tangy sauce and a flaky crust

But the winner is GINO'S EAST

A sweet sauce with a cornbread like crust. It was amazing, why don't they make pizza like this in Louisville??

It's definitely worth the 40 min. wait!

We never thought we would like deep dish, but we definitely do!!

We had a great time shopping along Michigan Avenue, also called "The Magnificent Mile" Who ever knew, Crate and Barrell would be 3 stories high?

One of the stores we stopped by was called "American Girl" I've never seen anything like it. Three stories high complete with a doll salon, doll hospital, doll theater, doll cafe, and of course tons of dolls and accessories. For the bargain price of $102 you can purchase a doll customized with the hair color, complexion and eye color of your choice. Pictured above, is the doll salon. For $20 you can have the "style of the month"

Here is the Doll Cafe. This includes special seats for the dolls to sit with you as you dine. These girls were in heaven!!

We also ventured over to Navy Pier for a fireworks show

The Ferris Wheel was huge

I have to admit, I was a little nervous being that high up in the air!

It was really a beautiful night.

We went through the reptile exhibit at the zoo. Here is a weird looking lizard thing.

Rocky with some kind of dragon

That thing in the background is a Rankey. A cross between a Rabbit and a Donkey. Okay, not really, but it looks like one.

Here we are with the flamingos.

A zebra, OOOOHHHH, AAHHHH

Our last night we spent at a really nice restaurant called Zaven's. We had a great time eating and talking. I enjoyed the steak, but my favorite was the chocolate chip Creme Brule.

We are so in love, and I am so thankful that the Lord provided us with funds to go on a trip like this. We are so blessed!

Summer Vacation and a New Birth

2007-06-05T10:14:00.000-04:00

Rocky and I took off for LA (lower alabama) over memorial day weekend. We had a blast being with my family. We haven't seen them since Christmas so it was great to get to hang out with them. We enjoyed family poker, swimming in the pool, putt putt golf (which my little brother Stephen dominated) and riding the waves. The current was really strong and if you weren't careful, it would pull you under. For our 2 yr. anniversary, my parents paid for us to go the Voyager on the beach. This is a great restaurant and we both fully enjoyed our meals. Above is a picture of us before our date. Below are a few other pictures from our trip.

From left to right, Mom, Dad, Stephen, me and Rocky. Mom is holding up her new purse that I recently made her. I love my sewing class!

I was so excited that my best friend Rachel and her new fiance were able to meet up with us for lunch one day. You can't see it in the picture, but her ring is gorgeous . . . Will's alright too :)

I also wanted to mention that my friend Emily had a baby girl on May 22nd. Lerran Elisa weighed in at 7lb 8oz and was 20in long. Above is a picture I yanked from Todd's web site; from left to right is Avery(their first child), Emily holding new baby Lerran and Todd. Todd, Emily's husband, is an amazing wedding photographer. Click here to see more pictures and a slide show so sweet you will cry! If you have a wedding coming up, you definitely want to book him. He is amazing at what he does.

Have You Ever Wanted to Hide Under a Rock?

2007-05-24T09:37:00.000-04:00

Rocky and I decided to join in on one of our church's Wednesday night programs called "Church is Cancelled."The purpose of the class is to meet at the church during the regular Wednesday night church hour and then go out to do service projects in the community. Our "team" was assigned to go into a neighborhood and pass out free ice cream and some flyers about our kids ministry.

About 10 of us loaded up into cars with 2 gigantic containers of ice cream: one Snickers, and one Rocky Road. As we arrived at the neighborhood park and began pulling the ice cream out to load on the cart we heard a strangely familiar sound. It was music that brought us back to our childhood, it was in fact, the Ice Cream Man!! We started scrambling to get out the waffle cones and bowls as fast as we could, so we could beat the ice cream man to the kids. I was laughing so hard I was almost crying. Rocky kept telling me to be quiet, but I couldn't. There was something extremely amusing to me about passing out free ice cream in front of the ice cream man in the name of "ministry." We saw one kid and his mom and swarmed around them trying to make sure we were pursing this golden opportunity. She may have been a little intimidated by our eagerness to make sure she had ice cream and the fact that about 5 people whipped out a brochure for her on our kids ministry.

At this point, I was no longer laughing. I felt really awkward and wished I had stayed home. After all, I was missing the first 30 min. of American Idol Finale for this. Please, someone find me a rock.

After round one at the park, we ventured out to the houses and went door to door to offer ice cream. I told Rocky he better do all the talking. I was hiding behind him, just hoping no one saw me. As we went from house to house, something changed in me. The people who answered their doors were genuinely appreciative of our efforts. Some even indicated they might come and visit our church. We were able to meet the people and just talk with them. One of the ladies I spoke with said she hadn't been to church in 7 years since her grandmother died. I asked her why she hadn't been in such a long time. She said she got really mad at God when her grandmother passed away. Then, she said she got pregnant at sixteen and then pregnant again with twin boys at seventeen and was just mad at the world. She said now that she did want to get all three of her boys in church and that she was really considering coming to Ninth and O. I told her at least we have child care and that would give her a break! I also encouraged her to come and I really hope I see her there. Another man in our group, Jim Meeks, was able to share the gospel with someone. It was wonderful to see the Lord bless our small efforts. I left, feeling so joyful that I had gone and I look forward to the next event. I know God will continue to whittle away at my prideful heart.

Frisbees, Hotdogs, and Fun

2007-05-21T11:17:00.000-04:00

Back row from left to right: Jason, Jimmy, Luke, Rocky, Adam, Tim, and Mark. Front row: Gwen (holding her daughter Sophia), Lauren, Heather, Kathleen, Laura, Shawnda, Ashley, Suzanne. Very front row: baby Ezra, Baby Reese.

After our race Saturday morning, we decided to have a little fun with our Sunday school class. We met several of our class members at Warwick Park for a cookout and ultimate frisbee throw down. The weather was still beautiful and the park was perfect b/c we almost had the entire park to ourselves (thanks to Shawnda for telling us about this newly renovated park). We had a great time eating hot dogs, hamburgers, and a variety of sides. My favorite was the Strawberry pretzel salad (I think Kathleen made it). I could have eaten the entire pan! Mark Taylor was the grill master and did a wonderful job.

Now, to the throw down. My husband is number 1 when it comes to ultimate frisbee. He did an amazing job as team captain leading our team [Adam, Lauren (who made up a great victory dance), Luke, and myself] to victory against the other team [Tim, Shawnda, Mark, Jimmy, and Heather]. My team was very patient with me as I am not extremely athletic and didn't really know the rules. I have to give Heather a shout out for some awesome defense. She was guarding me and as long as she was guarding me, there was no way I was getting that frisbee.

Rocky and I really enjoy our Sunday school class and we were thankful to be able to spend some quality, fun time with these friends. It was great to see Jason on his feet given he had surgery last week. We missed those of you who could not attend :)

Our Famous Dog

2007-05-21T10:48:00.000-04:00

Saturday was a great day to be outside and the perfect day for me and my dog Buddy to be in our first ever 5K. Rocky and I have been training with our dog to be in the Wagon Trail Run which was held on Saturday and benefits the Humane Society. Above is a picture of Buddy which was taken by the Courier Journal and posted to their online newspaper. Those beautiful legs in the picture belong to my husband. The caption was "Buddy, a Jack Russell, peers into the crowd." I really think he is the next "Air Bud." Of course Buddy had a great time being around so many other dogs and in his excitement he shaved 8 min. off his normal race time. Good job Buddy! I was very proud of myself for finishing my first race as well and Rocky was a great coach. The trail we ran along was a paved road surrounded by trees and sat closely to a creek. After the race, we enjoyed chic-fil-a sandwhiches and looked at the different dog booths. The 102.3 radio station provided music and a prize machine was there, so Rocky and I took a stab at it, but we were unsuccessful in snagging a prize. However, who needs a prize when you have a great dog like Buddy(insert "awwww" here).

A Sweet Love Story

2007-05-18T12:43:00.000-04:00

Oh, that God would teach me to love my husband like this . . . click here to read the love story of Joni Eareckson Tada. I took this from Nancy Leigh Demoss's interview with Joni. Just a little background on Joni, she was in an accident at a young age. She dove out of a boat and hit a sand bar which left her paralized from the neck down. She never let this accident take away any of her joy in loving Christ.

The Girlz

2007-05-18T08:27:00.001-04:00

From the left to right starting at the top is Erin, Amy, Josie, Stephanie (holding Emily's little girl, Avery) next row is Emily, Jennifer, Lori, me (holding Jaimie's baby, Claire) Jaimie.

I thought I would post this picture of my current Bible study. We also have a few others who couldn't make it for the picture.

Like everyone else who moves to a new city, Rocky and I didn't know anyone when we arrived. So, I'm really glad we have made some new friends, for all you out-of-town friends, yes I actually do have friends here (even more than are in this picture!). Right now we are doing a study called "Battling Unbelief" by John Piper. So far I really like it, but I'll wait to see if I recommend it when I'm finished. We meet every week and right now the Bible study is at my house.

Stephanie, me, and Lori

Jaimie, Erin, and Jenn

Emily with her daughter Avery

So let's root, root, root for the Cubbies!

2007-05-15T08:15:00.000-04:00

I'm glad to report my husband is finished with finals. I can hardly make it through finals week, so I'm glad it's over. Rocky locks himself in his office and I don't see him and then I usually have a melt down because I haven't seen him in so long. This past week was no exception as Friday night I found myself in tears because I missed him and it was literally making me cranky! Poor Rocky, sometimes I think I am too high maintenance as a wife.

But now, it's all over. He turned in his 25 page paper yesterday at 4:00 p.m. and we are excited to spend this summer drinking Country Time Lemonade, grilling out, and going to Paul's for fresh watermelon. In the midst of finals chaos was our two year anniversary (May 7, 2005). Needless to say, we didn't get to celebrate exactly how we wanted so we are going to Chicago in June. I've never been to Chicago but the things I associate with it are hot dogs and pizza. We are not sure what we are going to do while we are in Chicago so we would love you to post your suggestions. We are interested in where to eat (casual and nice restaurants), what to do during the day, Chicago's night life, etc. We do know we are staying in a hotel located on the "Magnificent Mile."

We are fortunate to have tickets to go to a Cubs game on Friday afternoon. Last night we watched as the Cubs lost 5-4 in the ninth inning, bases loaded, full count, and the pitcher threw a ball forcing the run. Other than that loss, they have recently been playing well so we hope this continues. I have also heard that the Blue Man Group is fun to see. I was looking at the tickets, which appeared pricey to me, and thought, why pay so much to watch a bunch of bald blue men dance around? When I was younger, I could watch the smurfs for free! Anyways, we are looking forward to the trip and I'm sure I'll have some great pics to post when we return.

Baby Pellowe

2007-05-03T09:27:00.000-04:00

Last night I hosted a "Baby Blessing" for my good friend Emily (front row, middle in purple shirt). Emily and Todd were some of our first friends we made here in Louisville. I remember her being pregnant with her first child, Avery, and now she is getting ready for child number 2. Time sure passes quickly. She and her husband are a lot of fun, Todd is a fabulous wedding photographer (we have a link to his blog) and Emily stays home to care for Avery as well as be involved in a lot of other activities.

We had a great time just getting together as girls and taking time to pray for this new little one. We also loaded her up with diapers and wipes . . . get ready Emily!! Todd and Emily love surprises, so they have decided to wait and see on the day of delivery if they will be having a boy or a girl.

I had a great time preparing for the baby blessing. As you may remember from a previous blog, I took a class on floral arranging. I decided I would try my hand at it for the first time. I went to a great florist near my apartment called Colonial Designs. They helped me select a few flowers and greenery. Once I got home and started making my arrangement, I realized I needed a lot more greenery than I had. So, I took my scissors and began cutting away at the shrubs and bushes around our apartment. (I'm not sure how legal that is, but I was in a pickle!) You can see the pictures to the right and below of the final creation. I thought it turned out pretty good for my first attempt. I really enjoyed it and I hope I can work on it some more in the future as we have more events.

I love Spring!

2007-05-03T09:17:00.000-04:00

I just love spring time: weddings, cookouts, long walks at the park . . . I'm so thankful for warm weather again. Rocky and I have been busy soaking up this great weather. Here are some pics from our latest activities.

We went to Nashville for my friend Shelley's wedding. She was a beautiful bride and the service was really sweet. What touched me the most was the groom's reaction as she walked down the isle. He could not even hold back his tears of joy to be marrying her. After the wedding we got to hang out with my best friend Karen and her husband Scott. I just love spending time with Karen, she is so hilarious and very hospitable!

Rocky and I decided to have a few of our neighbors over for a cookout. No one told me, but apparently you were supposed to wear green to the cookout. I think Rocky and I were the only ones not in green. Sorry, I forgot to take a picture of the boys. Rocky made the best hamburger I've ever eaten. Seriously, it was delicious. After that we played UNO and Carrie laid the smack down by winning 2 out of 3 rounds!

Easter

2007-04-17T09:20:00.000-04:00

I hope you had a great Easter. This year we stayed in Louisville and Rocky's mom came for a visit. She was very sweet to fly in to see us as it is a very long trip from Jackson Mississippi. We had fun hanging out, watching movies, and eating at a lot of yummy places.

On Easter Sunday we went for brunch at Azalea's. If you have been there before you now how yummy it is. I recommend their famous dessert which is a sesame/almond basket filled with heath bar ice cream and fresh berries. It was beautiful and delicious.

While it was freezing cold here on Easter (it actually snowed on Good Friday) Beth and I wore our new Easter dresses with sweaters to church. I personally really enjoyed the service. Christmas and Easter are neck and neck for my favorite holiday. For me, I feel Easter is a day of rejoicing in the victory we have in Christ's resurrection. I am so thankful that through Christ we have peace with God and forgiveness of sins. I was reading in Romans 5 this morning (the 1st 11 verses). It made me so thankful to know that because of faith in Christ we no longer bear the wrath of God for our mistakes. I am also very grateful that Christ died for me even when He knew in advance that I would make mistakes. Praise the Lord for His mercy and grace.

Hallelujah, He is Risen!

2007-04-06T12:28:00.000-04:00

At the Cross

Alas! and did my Savior bleed

And did my Sovereign die?

Would He devote that sacred head

For sinners such as I?

At the cross, at the cross where I first saw the light,

And the burden of my heart rolled away,

It was there by faith I received my sight,

And now I am happy all the day!

Thy body slain, sweet Jesus, Thine—

And bathed in its own blood—

While the firm mark of wrath divine,

His Soul in anguish stood.

Was it for crimes that I had done

He groaned upon the tree?

Amazing pity! grace unknown!

And love beyond degree!

Well might the sun in darkness hide

And shut his glories in,

When Christ, the mighty Maker died,

For man the creature’s sin.

Thus might I hide my blushing face

While His dear cross appears,

Dissolve my heart in thankfulness,

And melt my eyes to tears.

But drops of grief can ne’er repay

The debt of love I owe:

Here, Lord, I give my self away’

Tis all that I can do.

Words: Isaac Watts (1707)

Seminar Saturday

2007-03-20T12:33:00.000-04:00

This weekend I had a great time attending several seminars offered by the seminary. I wanted to post a few images from the Floral Arranging Seminar. I enjoyed learning from a native Alabamian. Bronwyn is from Birmingham, Alabama and we even know a few common people. It was great to hear a familiar accent and to learn from such a creative woman. The arrangements she did were "English" style. She learned from a group of ladies who learned from a group of ladies who arrange flowers for the Queen of England! I purchased a DVD of this seminar so hopefully I will be able to somehow make a duplicate of what she did. She has arranged flowers for home parties to weddings. What a domestic diva!

I learned so much this weekend! Another seminar I attended was on disciplining children. I had a great time learning from Dana and her adventure with her 5 young children. Dana has 3 children she gave birth to and 2 adopted children. Because the children are so close in age, you can imagine the importance and need for discipline to keep the family peaceful. She told the story of riding on a trip with the family. One of her boys said "You know what?" "What?" she and her husband said. "I think this spanking thing is really working. I've been a lot better." Hilarious! It made me excited about the possibility of Rocky and I having children one day and all the fun things they say.

I also attended seminars on homemaking, submission, and evangelism. They were all great and I feel I have a lot of new wisdom to add to my life. All these seminars have definitely inspired me to be a better wife and keeper of our home. I hope I can honor the Lord in this way.

MIA

2007-03-13T08:47:00.000-04:00

Okay, so I have taken a brief, involuntary, sabbatical from the blog---not because I wanted to, but because we were in the process of moving. We just moved and ugghh! I hate packing and all that goes with it. However, we are now up and running and so hopefully so is the blog :)

Above is a picture of me and my friend Shelley at her bridal shower. It was great to meet some of her close friends from home and I am excited for her that she is getting married in a little over a month. Congratulations girl! While in Nashville for the shower, I also got to see my best friend Karen. She and her husband are currently in the process of selling their condo so I had the joy of helping them fix up the place for open house. It looked great!

To give you a little update on Rocky and me, we have definitely been keeping busy. We are loving the warm weather and have been hitting the parks lately along with our little dog Buddy. He went in to a bit of doggie depression when we first moved, but now he seems to be adjusting fine. He loves the outdoors! Rocky and I were also in a funny, but cheesy, skit at church. Rockstar was the main character and did a fabulous job. Look out Hollywood . . . he just might have his own sitcom soon. I was very proud of him. It helped that it was "family night" at church so all the kids were in the service and laughed at all the cheesy jokes :)

I'm looking forward to a seminar I am attending this Saturday. I am taking several classes including: floral arrangements made easy, disciplining children, and homemaking 101. I will feel very domestic after Saturday. Speaking of domestic, my mom got me a sewing machine for my birthday this year. I am very excited about this and plan on trying it out soon. If any of you have any sewing tips, I would love to hear them!

One more thing . . .I wanted to take this time to thank my husband for being so sweet to me for my birthday and Valentine's day. He did so much to make me feel special and I wanted to acknowledge that here. For my birthday he got me a Kitchen Aid Mixer, he had been saving money so that he could get it for me (I really have always wanted one). For Valentine's day he cooked for me! We had homemade fruit dip, strawberries, Au gratin potatoes, steak, and fried chocolate ravioli for dessert. It was awesome and I felt like a celebrity or something. He also got me roses and tickets to go see the Lion King. I am thrilled. He is so wonderful and I appreciate how he always goes out of his way to make me feel loved. I love you Rocky Clark!

Cold Hands, Warm Hearts

2007-02-05T16:11:00.000-05:00

All of my friends living below the Mason Dixon Line better not say a word about how cold they are. On my way to work today, the temperature was 6 degrees! As my friends well know, I hate it when the temps drop below 70.

Although the weather outside is frightful, the fun inside is delightful. Sorry I don't have any pictures to show for it, but we had a wonderful weekend spending time with a lot of our friends we have met through the church. Being in a city where we knew absolutely no one the day we arrived, to having so many friends now, has made us both so thankful for the church and the way it has pulled us in.

Saturday we attended a surprise birthday party for Jason. Jason and Mindy are in our Sunday School class and are moving at the end of this month. We have only known them for about a year and a half, but we have grown very close to them. We are very sad to see them leave.

Saturday night we had a couple over that we met through our church, Stephanie and Mark. Mark is now the pastor of Farmdale Baptist (we have a link to their blog on our web site). They have an adorable little girl Hope and we had a great time eating, laughing, and playing a strategy game called Settlers of Cutan. It was a little difficult for me to get the hang of, but my husband dominated!

I am so thankful for the church and the ability to form relationships with people who have the common thread of Christ. I love being in an environment of people who you know desire the best for you and only want to see you know the gospel more. I know that not all churches are healthy, and not all provide this environment. I hope that wherever Rocky and I "settle down" that we will work to make others feel as loved and encouraged as our church has made us feel.

Birthday Bash 2007

2007-01-31T09:48:00.000-05:00

Everyone has friends, but then you also have a category reserved for your "best" friends. The people you can honestly be ridiculous around, and you know they will still love you.
This weekend my husband and I made a treck down south to Nashville. Nashville is home to my best friend Karen and her husband Scott. My other best friend, Rachel, and her boyfriend Will also came up from Alabama to help us celebrate my birthday. It was GREAT!!
It was so nice to be with my 2 best friends and fun to see how each one of them is so grown up! Karen was married in September this year and she and her husband were amazing hosts. Aside from going out to dinner Saturday night, they cooked the entire time. I especially loved the banana pancakes. Rachel is now seriously dating Will and it was my first time to meet him. He is a really nice guy and I am excited to see how their relationship will progress :).

I enjoyed being around two friends who know me so well. We had fun retelling old stories, and catching up on new ones. We also had a blast just hanging out.

I had been craving Japanese food, so we went to a Japanese steakhouse on Saturday night. I just loved watching the chef perform as he made those knives fly! The food was delicious. I also got to see my good friend Lauren and her boyfriend. It was great to see her! We all had a fun time eating and talking.

Here are a couple other pics from the weekend:

Rachel and Will Pose for a quick pic at dinner

We were stuffed!

Season's First Snow

2007-01-25T12:25:00.000-05:00

I was on my way to work taking in the beauty of our first snow of the season when I snapped this photo out of my car window. (don't worry, I was stopped at a red light). This picture hardly does justice to the beauty of the snow. A thin white sheet had lightly dusted our city and the snow was luminous up against the dark tree braches of winter. It was freakin' gorgeous!

I am so thankful to God for the glorious beauties he gives us in nature.

No Ordinary Delivery

2007-01-25T11:57:00.000-05:00

Our friends Tony and Jaimie (pictured left) recently brought a new baby girl into this world. Claire Elizabeth was born at 12:32 p.m. on January 12th.

My friend Jaimie went in for a sonogram on January 12th and the doctors reported to her that the baby would need to be born that very day because she was so small. (they were afraid she was not getting enough nutrition in the womb). Jaimie wasn't due until February 8th so this was definitely a shocker.

After the baby was born at 4 lbs. 7 oz. they took her to the Children's Hospital. This was a very scary time because we did not know if little Claire was going to survive. Her lungs were not fully developed and she was having a hard time breathing.

Jaimie and Tony spent many sleepless nights by their new little girl's bed, hoping and praying for the life of their child. Thankfully, after a couple of days of bad news, Claire started making progress. She was taken off the ventilator. Soon after they were able to bring Claire home.

I'm so thankful for the life of this new child. I just love her already and am thankful that God brought her into this world. There is such innocence in a new child and I can't wait to see what my little Claire is like as she continues to grow.

Here are a couple more pics of her:

Here is baby Claire in her hospital bed at Kosair

I'm so proud! She is beautiful (even if she does look just like her daddy!)

Happy Birthday Suzanne!

2007-01-22T07:54:00.000-05:00

My beautiful wife is now 27 years old. I have the best wife in the world. She's possibly the funniest person I know and definitely the sweetest. She does more for me than I deserve, and I can't imagine my life without her. Happy Birthday! Love you sweet thing

Alabama Fans

2007-01-11T08:01:00.000-05:00

Since most of the people that read our blog are Suzanne's friends, I bet that we have a few Alabama fans reading this. Here's how those in Tuscaloosa are reacting to the hiring of Nick Saban. Gotta love those Bama fans

Where's the Testosterone?

2007-01-10T20:08:00.000-05:00

Hey everybody (all 3 or 4 of you that read this blog), this is Rocky, and I'm making my first contribution to "our blog." Sometime in October, Suzanne came home and told me that she started a blog for us and that I'm supposed to write on it. I put off posting anything because, well, I didn't want to. Between school and work, free time can be hard to come by. So, when I have some, blogging doesn't top my list of things to do. Suzanne's vision is for her to keep everybody up to date on what we're doing and for me to write the deep, theological articles. There might be one or two of those if you're lucky, but mainly I'll probably just write about things that I'm interested in. What am I interested in, you ask? Well, I like books, sports, movies, food, music, God, exercise, fantasy football, and my dog Buddy...not in that order. So, my articles will generally be about these topics. I didn't know if I was going to ever add to our blog, but after reading Mark Rogers' blog (a Louisville friend whose blog we provide a link to), he inspired me to take part. Suzanne has done a great job with this blog, but it is in desperate need of some testosterone (albeit not as bad as Chuck & Ashley Flurry's blog, which is pink -another friend whose page we provide a link to). Therefore, this will be my task, to talk about our life and interests from the Y chromosome's point of view

There's no place like home and Wii wish you a merry Christmas

2007-01-02T15:50:00.000-05:00

Rocky and I headed down south to Alabama for Christmas. It was wonderful to be with my entire family. Pictured from left to right are Stephen, me, Rocky, mom, dad, Leah (my sister-in-law), and David. I was so thankful to see my mom since the accident and as you can see she looks great. I had not seen my brother David and his wife Leah in almost a year. He is in law school in Houston, TX. We had a great time together, going to the movies, bowling, decorating cookies (as seen below), playing poker, and just hanging out.

My youngest brother, Stephen, got a Nintendo Wii for Christmas which we had a blast playing. It's almost like a simulator. When you play tennis you hold the controller like a tennis racket and "hit" the tennis ball. Modern technology is amazing. Does anyone have a way to upload video clips to blogs?? I have a great video of my husband boxing. It's pretty funny and he really gets into it. I have to say to my suprise I was a champion boxer. I defeated my brother, but the next day, I was SO sore. The Wii also has bowling, golf, and baseball which are all a little less intense than boxing. Here are some more pics from our trip home:

Leah sings her favorite Mariah Carey Christmas Song

Dad is REALLY excited about his new shirt

This purse has a story, it's hard to tell from the pic, but it is atrociously ugly. I got it from my brother one year when I asked for a purse, I thought it was a legit gift so I tried to say thanks. It was actually a joke bought by my sister-in-law. So after I got it, the next Christmas I wrapped it up and gave it to my sister-in-law. Then, this year she wrapped it up and gave it to my mom!!

One tradition we have at Christmas is decorating gingerbread cookies. Here you can see my dad is thinking back to his fond childhood memories of decorating cookies.

Stephen got tired of decorating the cookies so he started eating all of them so mom wouldn't make him stick around to keep decorating

Here's my favorite cookie!

Rocky and I pose for a quick pic while decorating

Go Cougars!

Pugalicious--Stephen hangs out with David and Leah's two pugs, Otis and Gracie

Mom got stuck dog sitting!

Leah and I have some fun with the automatic timer on my camera

Here's all the kids, how did Buddy get in that picture?

Stay tuned for New Year's pics (as soon as my friend Ashley emails them to me, my battery in my camera died over Christmas, gotta get a new one soon :)

Christmas Time is Here!

2006-12-19T11:38:00.000-05:00

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Isaiah 9:6

Many have said that Christmas is too commercialized these days. I have to agree and have been fighting to remind myself of "the reason for the season."

One drastic and unexpected reminder came early last week. I was working when I received a phone call from my dad that my mom had been in a serious car accident. My mom was among three passengers in a Yukon being driven by her friend. They t-boned a car that pulled out in front of them. The driver of the other car could not see my mom's car because of the fog and was pronounced dead at the scene. My dad said he did not know if my mom was okay. Some of the ladies in my office were able to peal me off my desk and put me in a back office as I awaited the call. Those few seconds of not knowing if my mom was okay were torturous. I clutched my cell phone with my sweaty palms as I tried to gain control over my sobbing, waiting to hear from my dad. My dad called in what seemed like an eterenity to tell me she was speaking and had injured her foot.

I went home from work that afternoon to sit on my couch and wait for more news on my mom, her friends, and information about the driver who didn't make it. I thought about the finality of death. My mind drifted to a recent story in the news of a famiy that wandered off the path of their driving destination and were lost in the snow. The mom and child were rescued, but the dad was found dead. I thought about how when they found the body of the deceased man, there was absolutely nothing they could do to bring him back. They had the body, but it was useless without the soul and brougth little comfort to the rescued mother and child.

All week I have been praising God for my mother's life. She and her friends escaped death with minor injuries. I love my mom dearly and I cannot imagine my future with out her here. I have also been trying to focus on the real meaning of Christmas in light of this tragedy. The woman hit by the car my mother was in was a mother of five. She is no longer on this earth. Death is such a stinging and painful thing and without Christ is the most hopeless event you can experience. For those without Christ, death means isolation, pain, and darkness for eternity. With Christ, death is still very painful, but there is hope. For those of us who have trusted Christ to be our savior to forgive us our sins and truly want a right relationship with him, when we die we do not have to pay for our sins in an eternity of isolation and pain. Instead, through death we meet our creator and we are not punished for our sins because we accepted Christ's death on the cross as payment for them. I talked to my mom yesterday and she found out that the parents of the lady who was killed became Christians at her funeral. Even in death, with Christ there is hope.

This Christmas, I praise God for my mom's life, and I also praise him for sending his son Jesus who conquered death so that we might live eternally.

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son. This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God." John 3:16-21

There's Just Somethin' in the Water

2006-12-19T11:21:00.000-05:00

It seems like seminary is a breeding ground! I can't count the number of baby showers I have been to since I have been here and each is special in its own way. It's always exciting to hear about someone who is expecting. This picture is of a shower for my friend Jaimie (she's the one holding the cake). We had fun enjoying snacks, playing games, and oohing and aahing over her new baby gifts. Jaimie is having a little girl and is due early February.

On a more somber note, several of my friends here have also had miscarriages. My husband and I were discussing last night how common they are and yet how tragic each one seems. After seeing a couple of my friends morn the loss of an unborn child, I am saddened for them and also made aware that while the baby was not born, the baby was a human life. How else can one explain such grief over a loss of what some scientists would say is only a "group of cells." The unborn child is still a child and has reason to be grieved when lost.

Psalm 139:13 For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb.

Christmas Parties

2006-12-19T10:55:00.000-05:00

Rocky and I have enjoyed being a part of several get togethers here in Louisville. To the left is a picture of us at a Christmas party for my office. We enjoyed a main course of steak and a yummy dessert of peppermint icecream with chocolate sauce. It was a nice time to chat with co-workers in a stress-free environment.

Here we are enjoying time with our co-workers.

Here I am with a few of my co-workers. Hilliary (second from the right) hosted a cookie swap for all the ladies at her house. It was a great time as we chowed down on appetizers and 2 delicious soups she had made. And of course we had tons of cookies!! We also played my favorite game, Cranium!!

This is me with my co-worker and good friend Jaimie, we were being silly at the cookie swap!

Our 1st Black Friday

2006-12-08T15:26:00.000-05:00

Rocky and I had a great time with his family over the Thanksgiving holidays. We arrived at his mom's house Tuesday evening and of course she had so many goodies ready for us. She fixed us a feast on Thanksgiving and we enjoyed spending time with her and Truett. We even exchanged Christmas gifts.

Then came BLACK FRIDAY. Neither Rocky nor I had ever braved the crowds on black Friday morning. We decided we would give it a whirl this year so at the crack of 4:30 a.m. we were up and ready for the sales. As my husband will tell you, I'm not much of a morning person, but shopping is great movitation. I was up and at 'em a little quicker than him. We got in the car and drove into the freezing cold black morning. Traffic seemed light so I expected not too many shoppers were as dedicated as we were to get up so early . . . that is until we passed Wal-mart and saw that there wasn't a vacant parking spot on the lot. We headed our merry way to the department store, breathing a sigh of relief that Wal-mart wasn't our ending destination.

Once at the department store I decided wade into the shoe department. I say "wade" because there were so many people and shoe boxes everywhere you could not simply walk through. After waiting on a clerk to assist me for around 30 min., I decided it wasn't worth the wait for the $30 discount, I was earning my discount by the dollar just standing in line!!

I headed to the home department upstairs . . . JACKPOT. All the Christmas decor was %60 off. I smiled to myself at my good fortune as I thought about all the suckers who were still sleeping and missing such great deals. I walked out of the department store a champion with my tree skirt (originally $60) , gold angel, and bed sheets. What a score.

Afterwards, we went to sleep for a good few hours, and headed to Rocky's dad's. He has a beautiful home on the water. We enjoyed lounging in the semi-warm Mississippi temperatures just talking and playing with the dog. It was great to see Rocky's dad and just spend time with him.

Engagement

2006-12-08T15:20:00.000-05:00

My friend Shelley got engaged this weekend. I am very excited for her as she has found a great Godly man to spend her life with.

Hearing of her engagement brought back wonderful memories of when I became engaged to Rocky. It was such a wonderful time. Congrats Shelley and we all look forward to meeting Andy!

Buddy the reindeer

2006-12-08T15:17:00.000-05:00

My friend Jaimie gave us this outfit for our dog, all he needs is antlers and he reminds me of the dog on The Grinch.

Birthday Bowling

2006-11-06T15:38:00.000-05:00

If you have ever been bowling, you know that luck plays a large part of your final score. Saturday night my husband and I went out for a game of bowling with 6 other couples (for a total of 14 people). I was in a battle against the birthday girl (pictured center in black) for last place. I was begrugingly in last place for the entire game until the very last set I bowled a strike, and then I bowled another strike, and then I knocked down all the pins except two. It was quite suprising, especially for me! Also, I did not end up in last, but I came in second to last with a score of 67.

Pictured are several of the girls from my church, bible study, or other friends from the seminary. From left to right is me, Jamie, Josie, Jaimie Z. (the birthday girl), Lori, Jenny, and Ashley. Jaimie Z. and Jenny are both pregant. There is definitely something in the water around here.

Before the game, Rocky and shot some hoops in the arcade with a few of the couples. While Rocky beat me in bowling (he was 2nd overall), I kicked his tale in basketball with a total score of 80.

A Woman's Choice

2006-10-27T14:23:00.000-04:00

Thursday night my husband and I got all fancied up for a banquet to raise funds for the local crisis pregnancy center. We had a great time dining with some close friends of ours, Ashley and Chuck Flurry (pictured). The highlight of the night was supposed to be the guest speaker, Richard Dobson, son of Dr. James Dobson. Because the state of Colorado was having an October blizzard, he was unable to make it. So instead of Mr. Dobson, I would say the highlight was hearing from a young girl who was saved from making the only choice she thought she had, abortion. This young woman, we'll call Stacy, found herself in a crisis pregnancy and an abusive relation. Stacy left this abusive relationship and came to A Woman's Choice Resource Center where she received advice from loving counselors who showed her abortion was not the only choice she had, she could also choose not to abort and to keep her baby. I had a hard time holding back the tears as she described the hopelessness she felt. Before she came to the center, Stacy said she felt she had nowhere to go but down and was ultimately considering suicide. The center directed her to their sister facility, Necole's Place. Here, Stacy was able to receive her G.E.D. and pursue other classes in cooking, parenting, fitness, etc. When asked to describe her current hope, she had a hard time getting out the words. From going to feeling hopeless and without a purpose, Stacy now felt smart and as though she could really be someone, including a mother.

Another key speaker was Leigh Ann. Leigh Ann and I both volunteer at A Woman's Choice Resource Center located purposefully across from Kentucky's only aborton clinic. Leigh Ann volunteers at the center in hopes to keep women from making the same choice she made. When Leigh Ann was in college she found herself pregnant after only being with a guy one night. She and her mom went to her minister for advice, Leigh Ann was shocked to hear her minister say he thought she should abort. Leigh Ann described the painful experience of having her minister driving her and her mom to the abortion clinic. She said she felt so confused and the proceedure was so physically painful. In addition, the doctor and nurses were very cold towards her and the receptionist told her to stop crying. While the physical pain was terrible, the emotional pain she felt was almost unbearable. Leigh Ann said she still has to live with the consequences of her decision and the memory of what happened. Now Leigh Ann uses this experience to educate other women about the trauma of having an abortion.

So many women do not know the truth about abortion. It is not a one time decision that will be forgotten later. It is a decision that affects the life of the person who chooses to abort, thereby taking a life. Short-term it may seem the easy answer, but long-term it will be haunting. For more information on A Woman's Choice please visit their website: http://www.awomanschoice.org

Huber Farms

2006-10-23T12:59:00.000-04:00

Rocky and I had a great time this weekend out at Huber Farms. For those of you not from Louisville, KY I would love to tell you about Huber Farms. This place is quite the production. We first went to the Winery where they have all sorts of wine (I sampled the Strawberry wine because I love that song!). The live music was a sort of jazzy/80's mix and we enjoyed listening to the sounds of the guitars and drums outside in the perfect 65 degree weather. It wasn't too cool and yet not to hot either (If you have ever seen Miss Congeniality then you will remember the question "Describe the perfect date," and she says, "April 25th, It's not too hot, not too cold, all you need is a light jacket.") Well, it was that kind of perfect date. After lounging outside for a while we decided it was time to pick out our pumpkin straight from the patch. The farms also boast of having apples, broccolli, and cauliflower to pick. We decided to stick to pumpkins. We boarded the hay ride and took the bumpy road to the patch. Rocky didn't want to stick around and look at all the pumpkins like I did. We found one we both liked pretty quickly, but I wanted to keep looking just in case we over looked the perfect one. So we boarded the hay ride and went back to the farms.

After we left the winery side of the large farm, we went to the restaurant side. For those of you in my sorority, the fried chicken we ate was just as good as the kind Bobbie Gene and Metta made! I sure do miss that fried chicken. We also had dumplings, green beans, cole slaw, mashed potatoes, and the best fried biscuits and apple butter you've ever had. Yummo! as Rachel Ray would say. If any of you would want to visit us here in Louisville we would love to take you to Huber Farms. We definitely had a great time!

This is Ridiclous!!

2006-10-23T12:27:00.000-04:00

Okay, so I know this isn't the most exciting blog, but I had to post some cute pictures of our dog Buddy. He really is a very funny dog and I try not to love him too much. (Sometimes it scares me how attached I am to this animal.) I mean, it really is ridiculous how many pictures we have of Buddy. You would think he is our kid or something! I am sure once we do have kids he will be in a lot less pictures. Can anyone else relate? I don't want to be that girl that only ever talks about her pet. Anyways, here are the pics!

Welcome to Our New Blog

2006-10-18T15:18:00.000-04:00

Hi! Thanks for visiting our blog. This is our first posting so enjoy. . . . We have both been very busy
the past year and a 1/2. Rocky is really enjoying his classes in seminary and is working towards his Masters of Divinity. Suzanne is working at a commercial real estate agency to help him get through school. ha! Rocky also works part time at a medical billing office.

We had so many changes to go through when we first got married. A new city, new jobs, and a new church. We have slowly adjusted and are trying to fit in here. Louisville really is a great city and we find many things we enjoy here. We love going for runs in the gorgeous parks. We also like to go to the different festivals here, such as the Balloon Glow, and the minor league baseball games (seen below). The team here is the Louisville Bats.

We have now joined Ninth and O. Baptist Church (named for the intersection of the church's previous location). We really like our church and Rocky is the small group leader for our Sunday school class. This weekend our small group is headed out to Huber Farms to pick our pumpkins from the pumpkin patch there.

In May we had a great time celebrating our 1 year anniversary. We were able to stay at Suzanne's parent's beach condo (pictured top left). We also had a wonderful time in May at the Kentucky Derby (shown to the right). Rocky's mom took us and it was really fun to get all dressed up. The derby is quite the experience and we both really enjoyed it. Rocky's mom went home the big winner as she picked the winning horse, Barbaro.

In June, we got a dog! We love our new dog buddy. We got him from an animal rescue league and he is only 2 years old. One of Suzanne's friends told her about the need for this dog to have a home. Buddy is a Jack Russell Terrior and is very calm despite the nature of the usual JRT. He is great company for Suzanne when Rocky is in class and Rocky loves to play catch with him.

Look for more posts from us soon!

Suzanne and Rocky