Summerfied! :)

So, summer is totally upon is (if you're living in the south, that is). I know, I know - it's still officially spring, but here in hot, sunny Florida, the heat and humidity has settled in. To "celebrate" (or should I say, "entertain myself" as I'm stuck indoors on this humid Sunday afternoon), I've decided to Summerfy my blog and give it a little life. It's been neglected (as usual) and I, once again, am on a mission to keep it alive. We'll see how this attempt goes. ;)

In the mean time, married life is treating us well. Every season is new and exciting, as we're living it together for the first time! The only complaint I have is we never seem to have enough time together, but I suppose things could be worse. Lots has happened since I last updated, don't worry - I won't bore you with it, but I will share some highlights of our most recent vacay to Rosemary Beach (seriously the cutest beach destination EVER). B & I accompanied my family on a little week-long trip to Rosemary and spent the week riding bikes, playing games & basking under the Florida sun. My tan is glowing, my hair is golden and my heart is full as I had some much needed r&r, & enjoyed some good ol' family time. My sister (who is home for the summer! I'm so excited about this!) and I stumbled upon one of the cutest little boutique called Pish Posh Patchouli's. I'm in love. It's a hand-made soap and fragrance wonderland. They even have a cute little corner where you can mix your own perfume and/or bath products - I couldn't resist. I made up a bottle of almond body oil with two delectable scents I found utterly irresistible. All that to say, our trip to Rosemary was fabulous. Here are some fun pics I took with my phone to document the trip:











Oh and did I mention, I found my dream house?? I'm totally going to live in a house just like this someday! :)




As if a beachy summer vacay isn't enough - I've finally planted my very own little ORGANIC GARDEN! I've talked (and dreamt) about doing this for quite some time now, and it has finally happened! We started a little late in the season for a summer garden, so we couldn't plant seeds, but we were able to find some neat veggies and herbs to plant that had already sprouted. I have to admit, Brenton did most of the hard work (what are husbands for?) but I'm so excited to see what comes of it. It looks small, I know, but we're planning on adding on. I want to double it by next month. We'll see how the first batch goes. Check it out!





We've planted eggplant, summer squash, cucumber, sweet bell peppers, sweet 100's (tomatoes), cantaloupe, strawberries, sweet basil, dill & cilantro. I can't wait to see what it produces!! :)

I think I've given you enough for now. I've discovered blogspot's new "pages" feature, and I've added a few summer pages to keep my summer cooking and project adventures up-to-date. Feel free to check them out soon! Hope you're staying cool, wherever you are!

Lots of love and blessings,

d

Weeks away from paradise...

What a weekend! Today is the last day of our moving frenzy...after today we can start focusing on unpacking and making the rental more home-like. It'll be the best feeling to be settled and to know where everything is - finding things we use on a daily basis has been a challenge.





I'm really looking forward to beach days soon - tourist season is finally coming to an end and cooler weather is not too far away (hopefully). Paradise is just a few steps away from my front door....

Thanks so much for the prayers and help for all those who spent their weekend helping us move! We are so blessed to have such amazing family and friends!

Lots of love!

d

Sleepless Night #2 - I'm on a roll.

So I'm moving again. This time it's only a few miles distance...actually my whole family is moving. We put our house up for sale a few months ago and after much prayer, house cleaning, and showing - we've found a buyer. Passed the home inspection and completed the appraisal - at this point, all that's left is the boxing up and moving out. This frenzy begins tomorrow. Due to the quickness of the sale, we've decided to make an extended vacay out of the transition and rent a fun house on the beach for 6 months or so. The only down side to this is we have to store just about EVERYTHING. Because the house is a beach rental, it's completely furnished - therefore we won't have room for the many pieces of furniture we've acquired through the years. As much as I just adore packing (smell the sarcasm?), sadly my end of the prep will have to be done throughout the late afternoons and/or evenings after work.

It's a bitter-sweet season for all of us. As we're all very excited for the things God has ahead, we're so sad to leave behind this beautiful home we've been so blessed to live in over the past 5 or 6 years. We've made so many good memories here, it always stings to shut the door on those.

Aside from that major endeavor - I've been nannying throughout the summer. The boys go back to school in August and I'll be out of a job once again. But not to fear, I have some things in the works that will keep me quite busy (I'll get to that in a moment). My best friend and dearest sister is also leaving me next month. :( As excited for her as I am, I'm terribly sad we'll be so far away from each other once again. She's moving to Lynchberg, VA to study communications at Liberty University. That too has had God's fingerprints all over it, so I know I can't be selfish - I'll just have to share her with LU for a season. I assure you, she will be dearly missed.

So my plans once the kids return to school?? Traveling! I'm so excited! Traveling is what makes me itch! I'll be heading to VA with my sister for a week in late August and then will head to the beautiful coast of California for a while in September - it gets better - with my DAD! :) He's been promising me a trip to California since 8th grade and I'm so excited, we finally have the time to do it! I believe we'll be traveling from San Francisco to San Diego and everywhere in between. California has had my heart for a few years now - probably since my first mission trip to Mexico 7 years ago. Needless to say, I'm thrilled to be returning to my favorite state. Beaches, shopping, sight seeing, visiting some of my favorite churches and hopefully seeing old friends - oh and can't forget that sweet father/daughter time! When I was little my dad used to take me on sales trips all the time (he's a rep for a sunglass company and travels up and down the East coast frequently), it was special one on one time with my dad that I so eagerly looked forward to. We haven't taken a trip together in years, so I'm really looking forward to this one. After California, Brenton and I are going with my parents to Tampa for a U2 concert (yay!) and then hopefully, if things work as planned, we'll be taking a trip to Ohio to visit his homeland. I have yet to see the places he grew up and meet the faces he speaks of frequently, so I'm looking forward to meeting his past. The trip is still in the planning stages, but we're hoping to go to Ohio and Michigan and then to Chicago to visit his sister Katie. While traveling, I'm really hoping to be journaling, writing, and breathing fresh air as I pray for this next season of life. Lots of new and exciting things ahead. My aimlessness seems to temporarily have a pause in sight - that is truly a relief.

Sorry I'm so bad at updating - maybe these sleepless nights aren't so bad after all....they're productive. :)

Love and blessings,

d

Beautiful Day

The past few weeks have been a roller coaster - both emotionally and physically. It's been one event after another.

Last weekend, my dear cousin Ryan married his beautiful bride, Bree. I could not have hand picked a better girl for him...God knew what He was doing! :)



Thursday evening we celebrated the big 21 with Austin around a fire, with glow sticks and a bowl of chili in hand...



On Friday, Active and Focused Youth hosted an event called Light The Night - a 70's themed Halloween alternative. It seemed to be a success. I was busy manning the food tables so I didn't get pics of the evening, but it was busy busy - brand new skate ramps, basketball and volleyball tournament, worship by the 722 Band, and an open mic session.

Saturday was our annual Harvest Fest at the Gulf Breeze Rec Center...the event was a hit! I wish I had more photos of this one too - it was an event filed afternoon complete with all the cotton candy and blow up toys a kid could ever wish for, tennis and basketball tournaments, a rock wall, and live music from both CCGB worship teams and from Kelley Keenan and a little band Brenton put together.



After all that - they gave us today (Monday) off! Words cannot describe how badly I needed the rest! It was such a luxury! I slept till 8:30am, had biscuits for breakfast, had a nice (uninterrupted) devo time, took care of bills in bed, went on a jog and then headed to Brenton's on the beach. I was greeted with a brown paper bag with my name written across the top...he made me lunch! It was the sweetest thing....we had a picnic on the beach and watched the sunset. It couldn't have been a more peaceful day. The weather was perfect, the beach was calm and beautiful, and the lunch was delicious! To top it off, he bought one of my favorite fall treats - (I know it sound gross, but trust me on this one) hot apple cider and chocolate doughnuts, and we watched Home Alone (I'm kind of a Fall/Christmas freak).....it was a perfect day!