Valentine's Day

There has been so much happening in our lives over the past few months, but I wanted to write about our Valentine's Day for sure. I am trying to use this blog as a reminder of the small and large moments that God brings into our lives.
This Valentine's Day James went above and beyond for me. First, he had tulips sent to work on Thursday. They were absolutely gorgeous. Then on Friday I was surprised with a dozen gourment chocolate covered strawberries! They were beautiful, and VERY yummy as well. I had been giving him small presents along the way as well, such as: a dvd he wanted, chocolates, and a necklace for his cross.

We ended up going to Tulsa on Saturday to run some errands. We went to Cheesecake factory and had a great meal. We had an awesome piece of strawberry cheesecake. Then later that night we drove over to Miami, OK to go to The Ultimate Date Night. It was a couple that did a comedy and marriage night. It was pretty fun. We got to the church early to pick up our tickets. When we went in, a VERY nice gentleman invited us to join them for their dinner. I was very reluctant, but we went anyway. The chicken was to die for!!!! Everyone was very friendly. James kept saying, "This is how the family of Christ is supposed to be." We felt like we were at home. We drove home late that night and collapsed!! But, it was a fun day.

Then on Valentine's Day we went to church and that evening we went to Ruth's Chris for dinner. It was fabulous! So, our Valentine's Day was a fun one, and I think we both felt very special and loved!
I'm thankful for the man that God has given to me!!! He is truly a God-send. I love you James!


Here are the strawberries....YUM!


The box that they came in...


The tulips. They were gorgeous! They are even prettier when they open up all the way!



These were the beautiful daisies and calli lillies that James got me the weekend before Valentine's Day week. They were incredible as well!! I LOVE flowers!

Christmas

Christmas 2009
I didn't take very many Christmas pictures this year. Here are a few, though.

Christmas tree with presents.


The snowman Christmas cookie.


Various decorated cookies.


A few close ups.


James the "Head" cookie decorator!


We really had a fun Christmas. After Christmas we left and headed to Mississippi for a few days. It was beautiful there. However, there is something wrong about being at the beach and the weather being in the 30's. It just made me wish for the summer a little more. After staying a few days in Ocean Springs, we headed back toward Atlanta to enjoy New Year's with our family. It was fun as always!! Lots of laughing and talking. It was a wonderful Christmas break!!!

Ordination Service

While in Florida we also had a church dedication and ordination for one of our church friends. Here are some pictures. James was also ordained to Pastor at that service. Here are some various pictures.

Pastor and Nina being admonished and ordained by Bishop


Pastor admonishing Curt's family


James


James telling stories about Curt


Pastor Stephens talking during the service

Labor Day

In September of 2009, we met up with our church family in Orlando, Fl. We stayed at our favorite resort! It is incredible!!! Then we went to Walt Disney World. Here are a few pictures from the weekend. :)

Random pictures from Hawaii trip

Random pictures from Halakalea and The Road to Hana.....

Halakalea Volcano

We decided that we would get up early one morning and go and see the sunrise at the volcano crater. The drive up the mountain was amazing! It was extremely curvy!! The road was pitch black on the way there, so we really couldn't see just how crazy the drive really was! The crater was really pretty however at sunrise. The temperature was about 40 degrees the morning we went. I was wrapped up in beach towels and a blankets, and I was still freezing! These are the pictures from the volcano.

Hawaii- Road to Hana

At the end of June, James and I travelled to Hawaii. It had a dual purpose. The main one was to have a memorial service for James' father, and we also used it to celebrate our one year anniversary. Hawaii turned out to be just as beautiful as everyone raves about. There were so many times that I was just in awe of the beauty that surrounded us! God showed himself as a Creator over and over to us. It was amazing!

One of the first places we went was the road to Hana. (This is also the place where we did the impromptu memorial). It was truly an experience. The road is crazy!!! It is mostly a one lane road with huge cliffs on either side. Of course, the most beautiful part is the back side of the island. This is also where they say you shouldn't go, and where the rental companies forbid you to go. Of course, we had to be rebels on that aspect. I absolutely loved it there. The black sand beaches, the views of the ocean, and the waterfalls made it fabulous! (Pictures above) Essentially this road was an all day trip around the island. It was truly worth all the time it took to drive the whole length of the road. (Ignore the time stamp...)