IT'S A BOY!

Baby Henry (middle name TBD) is scheduled to arrive sometime around the end of August!

Memphis, Baby!

Barry and I are not traditional Valentine's Day people. The first V-Day we were together he made dinner reservations which turned out to be a disaster which involved us standing in the cold for a while and then getting takeout from Cooker (RIP), of all places.

Since then we've kept it low-key. Usually dinner at home, nothing fantabulous.

This year we decided we'd take the opportunity to do something fun, so this afternoon we're heading the Memphis! That's right, we're going to spend Valentine's Day visiting Graceland and eating BBQ. It's just an excuse to get out of town, really, but it should be fun.

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

A Brave New World

Today is my first day as a work-at-home-wife! Last Thursday I finished up my last official day with the ALS Association and I'm now working solely as a freelancer. I'm currently working on a contract that keeps me busy about 15-20 hrs a week, and I may be looking to pick up other projects here and there.

It's exciting, and a little scary. I don't do well without a set schedule, so it's going to be a challenge to establish one that's productive for me. I'm excited, though, about having more free time. Especially for the past couple of months things have been a bit hectic, since I've been trying to juggle two separate jobs.

Now I'm looking forward to charting my own path and focusing on some other "life" things that I've let go by the wayside recently.

Here's to more freedom! Wish me luck.

Highlands

I know it's been FOREVER since I posted, and I just realized this week that I never downloaded the photos from our recent trip to Highlands, NC--so I figured this was as good a reason as any for an update.

This was our second trip to Highlands together--I had been before with my family as a child. But this has become a special getaway place for Barry and me. It's such a peaceful place.

Last time we stayed at The Lodge at Old Edwards Inn, but this time we ended up in a suite at in the Inn itself, since The Lodge was closed for the winter. I will say a love the rustic Lodge, but who can argue with this suite?

We had a great time doing virtually nothing but laying by the fire. This is not place you go to see the sights--there are no sights. This is a place to relax, and that's exactly what we did, including spending a day at the Inn's fabulous world-class spa. It was heaven.


Our only outing of the weekend, other than for dinner and shopping, was to see the town's Christmas parade, where we saw Mr. and Mrs. Claus....




...and CAMELS!!!





The camels were very cool, but did not smell good at all.

We had a great time and are already looking forward to our visit!

Merry Christmas To You All

In the bleak midwinter, frost wind made moan,
Earth stood hard as iron, water like a stone;
Snow had fallen, snow on snow, snow on snow,
In the bleak midwinter, long ago.

Our God, heaven cannot hold Him, nor earth sustain;
Heaven and Earth shall flee away when He comes to reign.
In the bleak midwinter a stable place sufficed
The Lord God Almighty, Jesus Christ.

Angels and archangels may have gathered there,
Cherubim and seraphim thronged the air;
But His mother only, in her maiden bliss,
Worshiped the Beloved with a kiss.

What can I give Him, poor as I am?
If I were a shepherd, I would bring a lamb;
If I were a Wise Man, I would do my part;
Yet what I can I give Him: give my heart.

AWOL

I've been a terribly absent blogger this month, but I have good excuses--holidays are here, Mom's surgery (she's fine!), mini-vacation, and, oh yeah! I quit my job. To say life has been hectic would be an understatement. I hope to give a proper update on our goings on soon, but for now this will have to do--there is Christmas shopping/planning/baking/etc to do!

Bad Charla!

Tonight Barry is out of town on business and I let The Luce lay on the couch with me. She is stressed out (we think there is a critter in our crawlspace that she can hear), and it's the only way I could get her to settle down. Plus, I just wanted some company on the couch. :)

This is also a test to see if Barry even reads our blog.