november so far

we've had some great weekends in november, and it's not even thanksgiving yet! we went to atlanta for the vt game (we won't talk about that too much) and got to meet up with some of the yorks- here's me with our sweet friend blakely and her precious boys, ashton & collin. (please ignore the beer sign behind us. i think the photographer- aka christopher- must not have noticed!) blakely also has another boy on the way, due two days before our girl! her husband wes had to work, so he couldn't join us for lunch. we love hanging out with them and wish we could see them more often! i hope we will be as great parents as they are!! the rest of the weekend, i had a mini-reunion with three of my best friends from middle school: (left to right) carrie, tori, & jessie. i'm not exactly sure how it got started, but back then at sleepovers we used to blow kisses at the clock at 11:11 and make a wish. we have been saying for years (about 13 to be exact) that we were going to get together at 11:11 on 11/11/11 at a 7-eleven and make a big wish! well, we nixed the 7-eleven part, but had a great weekend at carrie's house reminiscing (i even dug up our old middle school yearbooks!). we also recently went to a wedding in greenville for some friends from bible study. it was fun to see some of the beautiful venues in our city and enjoy good food, friends, & dancing! i also finished a craft project with my friends liz & lori. it is a frame to display christmas cards. i saw something very similar (for $200) in a pottery barn catalog and knew i could make it for much cheaper (less than $40). i wish i had taken step-by-step pictures, but just try to imagine: 1) i took a plain black wooden frame and spray painted it a metallic champagne. 2) after it dried, i used sandpaper to scrape some of the edges to make it look weathered. thanks to liz for showing me the basics of "antiquing" furniture! 3) i measured & cut picture hanging wire and attached it to the back using a staple gun. 4) i used metal clips to hang the cards- in this case, birth/adoption announcements. i think i may use it year round for other cards & announcements, maybe photos too. but for now i will have a great place to collect all the christmas cards that usually take up counter space!

upward

chris started coaching basketball last winter with the upward program at our church. this year, he is coaching with liz's boyfriend scott. what a great help scott is, since he actually played basketball in high school! yesterday liz & i went to their game to cheer them on. miss leah came along, too and was so sweet, waving to her daddy and clapping. we had a good time and the kids were so cute! they don't keep score at this age (1st & 2nd graders), but they seemed to have fun. so this is where christopher is every saturday during january & february!

easter

chris & i had a nice easter weekend. on good friday, i had a great time decorating easter eggs with liz & some other girls. here's 3 eggs for our little family: a gt gold one for chris (his name didn't turn out that clear), a purple one for me, and a blue one for eva. while i was decorating these, chris was at home watching a ken burns special on the civil war. can't say i was sad to miss that! on sunday we enjoyed our church service and had a packed sunday school (our class has exploded to about 35 members). the pastor spoke about the true meaning of easter. Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. ~1 Peter 1:3
in the evening, we had an easter potlock with some friends from church/chris' bible study who were in town. the food was delicious: barbeque chicken avocado burgers, pasta salad, fruit, and chips with blueberry nut crunch, peanut butter chocolate squares, and cheesecake for desert. after all that, we needed some exercise! we ended up walking to a nearby park and enjoying the beautiful spring weather.
last thing: i tried sugar-free peeps this year, and they are so much better than the regular ones! you can actually taste the marshmallow because the sugary-sweetness doesn't overpower it.

recent notes

now that i'm working i'm having trouble finding time to blog! here's what we've been up to lately:

we celebrated our second anniversary last week by watching our wedding video and going out to devereaux's for dinner. we exchanged our "cotton" gifts - i made a scrapbook of our second year with a cloth (presumably cotton?) cover, and christopher gave me a plush cotton robe.
we said goodbye to dustin as he moves to atlanta. liz and scott joined us for grilling out and brought leah (who is already a month old!)...she got to meet eva, which was fun. eva was simultaneously curious and scared of her, which is funny because eva weighs more than she does! they were very sweet together, and i'm excited to see more of leah as she gets bigger.chris is looking forward to football season (is it really only two weeks away?), and i am excited to be visiting our friends in atlanta again regularly.

random tidbits

just wanted to share a few recent pictures...

chris & i have been taking eva to a beginner obedience class at a place called dog trainer's workshop. we've been to 3 classes and have 3 to go. it has been really fun, and we're all learning a lot. eva was able to sit for us before the class, but now she is also learning to lay down, come, and stay! here's chris working on down with her:
last week we got to meet liz & scott's beautiful new daughter, leah audrey. she is absolutely precious. i kept thinking she was so tiny, but then i realized i've never met a baby as young as 8 days old! also, i should add that liz & her house look amazing for having given birth just a week earlier!finally, here are some pictures of my office now that maintenance came and hung everything for me. i included a few different angles. there is still more i want to do for the room, but this is good for now. eventually i'd like to get my diplomas framed and hung, and get a paper lantern for the corner to the left of the two counseling chairs.

magnificent seven weekend

the title of this post refers to chris' group of 7 close friends from high school. this weekend was a reunion of sorts for them, plus the spouses and significant others that have been "inducted" into the group! everyone came to town - erika & matt, patrick & brooke, jessica - to join us & dustin in celebrating liz & scott's soon-to-come baby girl with a shower on saturday. we had a great time eating, talking, taking pictures, and learning random baby trivia.
saturday night we ate downtown and and walked around main street, showing everyone falls park (a beautiful area with a waterfall and walking bridge). we also stopped for gelato, which is my new favorite food!on sunday morning, the boxes (middle) and the bates (right) came to church with us. in the afternoon, we had a cookout to wish patrick and brooke goodbye as they prepare to move to iowa next month. we are going to miss them, but we are excited for the new adventures we'll get to hear about!

busy week

this week has been busier than usual for me, as i've had something almost every day related to my volunteering. on monday, i helped out at a charity golf tournament at greenville country club that benefits piedmont women's center. it turned out they had so many volunteers that there wasn't enough work to go around. so after placing a few sponsor labels on golf carts, i ended up sitting on the veranda in rocking chairs with our director enjoying a delicious free lunch and the gorgeous view of the golf course. it was such a beautiful day, and the course was amazing. it makes me wonder what i've been missing by never having been to the masters....

on wednesday, i went to an informational breakfast at bethany christian services, a national adoption agency. i learned a bit about the adoption process and specifically what that agency offers. this is such valuable information - not only with my current volunteer position but in my career as well.

tuesday and thursday are my usual days at the center. this week i got to conduct my first counseling session (rather than just observing). i am really enjoying the work and am amazed at the women who come in. they are from all different walks of life - single teenagers to married women, locals to foreignors, etc. what they all have in common is an unplanned pregnancy and related fears. this week i got to sit in on two ultrasounds. when one woman saw the picture of her baby wiggling around on the screen she exclaimed, "it's beautiful!" it really is an amazing thing to see.

my first week at the center, i observed an ultrasound and ended up fainting (for the first time in my life)! so there i was, supposed to provide comfort and reassurance to the pregnant woman, and i passed out. i think it happened because it was unusually hot in the room and the ultrasound machine made it even hotter. since then, i think everyone was afraid to send me up to observe! i'm glad we've all gotten over that, because in a couple of weeks liz is coming in for one. i'm excited to get a sneak peek of her sweet baby girl!

weekend update

i recently encountered the grossest experience i've ever had. i came home from volunteering last thursday to a reeking odor and found eva in her crate, hovering above a mess she made. apparently one mini marshmallow can cause her to have an upset stomach. she was just standing there waiting for someone to come home and let her out. i literally wailed out loud at the mess i had to clean up! i felt like a new mom (this seems to be a recurring theme) because i had no choice but to give her a bath. i also had to throw away two of her toys & a towel and disassemble her crate to wash it. the good news is, she got some new toys out of it! i'm pretty sure petsmart manufactures toys for the pleasure of pets' owners because eva is perfectly content with an old towel...but how cute is a squirrel beanie baby?! on friday, liz and i went to lunch at strossner's. it's a bakery/cafe (same place i ordered the cake for our anniversary). i had been wanting to try their lunch for a while, but frou frou places like that aren't exactly chris' favorite. while we were there, we couldn't resist a trip to the bakery. i brought home a box of truffles, and chris and i ate them that night while we watched chocolat.