Chicago

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

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?

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

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

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

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

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!

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

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!

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

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!

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)