Wedding Bells

This weekend was full of weddings! Congradulations to Amanda and Mike Parsel and Pam and Matt Estes! Amanda and Mike married at noon on Saturday in a beautiful church wedding. JD and I had breakfast with Michele and Kevin Melton; Michele was my little sister in the sorority, and Amanda was her little sister. We then attended the wedding with them and got to see Amanda glittering like a fairy princess! Saturday night, JD and I drove up to Wolf Mountain Vinyards to Matt and Pam's outdoor wedding. The weather was perfect, and the food and wine delicious. Matt and Pam engaged the same wedding band that JD and I used, so we got to relive some sweet memories. It was a wonderful day of smiling for our friends and celebrating a new beginning.

First Illinois Trip

(Picture: Me in front of my new home, Illinois State's English Department). We spent the last four days checking out Bloomington/Normal Illinois, and we've decided that we love it! I originally had to drive up for the annual Children's Literature Conference at which I was presenting, and JD decided to come along to explore the place with me. The conference went really well; it's amazing how kind and friendly children's literature scholars are! We spent evenings and Saturday looking for places to live and enjoying the town's great dining options. We are most excited about a neighborhood called Founder's Grove whose old homes date back to the 1930's. With original hardwood floors and creative architecture, these homes strongly appeal to us. We also found an amazing old Victorian home built in 1888 with soaring ceilings and intricate woodwork throughout that made my jaw drop. We'll see where God leads us to purchase at some point. It was really fun just having the chance to wander into all these incredible houses! We also toured Illinois State's campus, and we both were impressed with the school. I think we're going to survive the next four years after all.

Faris Baby Shower

Congrats to Clay and Stacy! Their new baby, Nora, is due in a month, and we celebrated that event on Saturday with a baby shower in their honor. Amy and Chris O'Stean partnered with JD and I to create a party in the park (a little sweaty with 95 degree heat, but totally worth it!). Amy made the cutest diaper cake, and we snacked on watermelon and spinach dip while we watched the soon-to-be parents open all their cute gifts. The party also served as a little reunion for our old Bible study group, which ended in January. We sure do love Clay and Stacy, and we were all glad to have an excuse to throw them a party!

Utah Trip

We are home and alive, miraculously! Our motto for the trip was: more of everything. It was more beautiful, more scary, more amazing, and harder than we could have imagined! It certainly was not a relaxing vacation; every moment was work, but the payoff far exceeded the output. We saw things we never expected. The camping was actually the best part because our sites were awesome, and we had packed everything we could possibly have needed and more. The river ride was the most difficult part, and the driving was the most relaxing part. The time spent in Rocky Mountain National Park proved the perfect ending to our big adventure. The West is facinating, but after eleven days it felt so good to come back home to the South East where we understand how things work. JD and I also loved getting to spend all this time together alone. When he went back to work today, we were both sad to part! Be sure to ask us about the one situation when we were both scared out of our wits! Also, check out our pictures at Snapfish: http://www2.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=233767767/a=73224944_73224944/fromupload=true/imagecount=63/videocount=0/t_=73224944. You'll have to sign in, but it only takes a minute, and the pictures really capture our trip. It certainly is an experience we will remember for the rest of our lives.