The Newest Member of our Family...Kizzy!

Many of you all know that we have a dog
(Shilo) but I don't think that everyone knows about our newest member of the family. His name is Kizzy and he is a ferret. We adopted Kizzy a couple of months ago from Nicholas' sister. Nicholas had asked me a while back if we could have him and I said "No way!". After a few times of visiting I started becoming attached and finally relented. He is a lot of fun and always makes you laugh. Shilo and Kizzy get along beautifully and are quite the comedic pair.

Hiking!

Nicholas and I love going hiking so now that the weather is perfect and my ankle is healed up we have been hitting the trails. This past weekend we actually did two hikes. On Friday we went to Paris Mountain State Park and did a 3 mile hike. It was in the 90's so it was really hot. I thought the dog was going to pass out...but she was a real trooper.

On Saturday we got up super early and headed towards the Northwestern area of South Carolina (around Walhalla). We have a book called 50 Hikes in South Carolina by Johnny Malloy and we have been doing our hikes from that book. The one that we decided to do on Saturday was a there-and-back that was a total of 7 miles. It was called Big Bend Falls. It was a beautiful trail that followed a ridge line and then the Chattooga River to a roaring waterfall. We had a lot of fun and enjoyed watching the dog explore along the trail. Here are some pictures from our adventure (the first 2 are from the hike on Friday at Paris Mountain State Park).

Birthday Weekend in Charleston, SC

Happy Birthday!

My birthday was on March 20 and I was lucky enough to have that whole weekend off from work. When Nicholas asked me what I wanted to do for my birthday I quickly told him that I wanted to go away for the weekend. So we found babysitters for the dog (Shilo) and the ferret (Kizzy) and had an awesome weekend. Friday night we stayed at the Palms Hotel on the Isle of Palms. It was so nice. We had an oceanfront room and we slept with the balcony door open listening to the ocean. Saturday we spent the day walking around Charleston. Saturday night my parents surprised me with a night at a bed and breakfast called the Ashley Inn. It was our first stay in a B&B and will definitely not be our last. Sunday was cloudy and rainy so we took a harbor cruise which was a lot of fun and then did a little more shopping (in the rain)! It was hard to leave but we got back late Sunday night. Thanks Nicholas and Mama & Daddy for an awesome weekend. Here are some pictures.

Great place to stay! We will be back!


This was the view we woke up to Saturday morning! Awesome!

I was a little excited to be at the beach (even if the water was too cold to get in).

My DH...isn't he handsome.

Cooper River Bridge

Rainbow Row

Great shopping is found here!

Ashley Inn

This is where we had dinner Saturday night. We walked to it from the B&B. The inn hostess highly recommended it. Best Shrimp and Grits!

Brookwood...An awesome place to be!

Nicholas and I have been struggling to find a church that we both enjoy going to. In high school he went to Evangel Cathedral which was a nondenominational charismatic church (yeah...I know, the name threw me off too). And as most of you know I grew up Southern Baptist. We have visited many churches and have thought that we had found one but the longer we stayed the more uncomfortable we became. So, around Thanksgiving we decided to go towards Greenville. By now we were willing to drive anywhere. I came up with a list and Brookwood was at the top. We visited and became hooked. Yeah, it is a BIG church but the worship is amazing and the preacher really lets the Holy Spirit work through him. We also love that we can pick between 3 different service times. Right now we are exploring small groups. They have one that meets in Spartanburg so we have inquired about it.

Please pray that we will have opportunities to become connected. With it being such a big church the only way to get plugged in is to get involved. I am hoping that when I switch to days and we find out when the small group meets that I can become more involved.

In case you are interested in finding out more about Brookwood check out their website: www.brookwoodchurch.org

A Big Change

Most of you all know that when I started working as a nurse a year ago my only option at the time was night shift. It has been a wonderful experience and I have absolutely loved working with everyone. However, the sleep schedule has taken a toll on my physically and mentally. Recently, a day shift position has opened up on 5South and I have decided along with some help from Nicholas to make the move. What does this mean? I will only be working 3 days a week (unless I pick up some extra shifts). I will be A LOT busier and I will get to work with some amazing nurses who I have only been able to pass report onto. Please pray for me as I make this change at the end of March. As with any new change I am excited and nervous.

Happy Valentine's Day Weekend!

I LOVE YOU! I hope that those are three words you will hear this weekend. I have always had a bad attitude about Valentine's Day because I felt like you shouldn't need a special day to say "I love you". I am trying to be positive this year. We are just going to have fun this weekend. No special plans. I have many things in my life that I love but the top 5 are as follows:

• God
• Nicholas
• My Family
• Shilo
• Friends

My Grandfather (Mom's Side) -- Prayer Request

I just wanted to ask that you pray for my mom's dad. He has been extremely sick the last few weeks and is not doing well. He has been in and out of the hospital multiple times. My mom is in TN (Dandridge) with her family right now. She heads back on Thursday (3/26). Just pray that God's will is done in my grandad's life and that my mom's siblings will accept whatever happens. She has 8 other siblings. This is a stressful time for everyone. Nathan and I are torn because we cannot be there with Mama and Daddy is still overseas traveling and working and it is hard on him to be separated during this time. So just pray that God's will is done and that my mom can be a light during this time to her family.