Got to love that mountain air!

This past weekend we took a road trip!

Woo HOO!

I feel like such a dork for getting so excited over a day out of the house but it was a long time coming I tell ya! We went to Dahlonega to the Gold Rush Days. We had a lot of fun. Jacob adores being outside. He just kicked back in his stroller and took it all in. We also visited Kev's alma mater.

Kevin graduated from North GA College & State University after 4 years in the Core of Cadets, Hooah! He was on the course to commission but the Lord changed his heart and showed him other plans. However his experience at NGCSU is something that he'll never forget. He loves that school and what it stands for. I went there as a freshman and I have to agree that there's just something about mountain air that revives your soul!


It was insanely crowded! Evidently this was the 50th anniversary for the festival and everyone on the planet decided to come and celebrate. They had lots of food. Kevin got a gi-normous hand-dipped corn dog that was at least as long as his arm. Then he went into the ice cream shop and came out with a "Banana Royale"...darn high metabolism. I'm pretty sure I gained 5 lbs just because I was sitting beside him when he ate it! This brings me to my only grievance of the trip...NO TRUFFLES! I love truffles. I love to pick them out of the pretty glass cases at the Fudge Factory. I love to watch as they place each precious chocolate covered piece of smooth creamy yummy yummy-ness into a white paper bag for me to take home. I take the selection of my truffles very serious as do I with anything that involves chocolate. However, much to my dismay, the only ones they had were pre-packaged in large boxes and were very expensive. I settled (begrudgingly) for a caramel apple instead. The apple was delightful.


After the festival and visiting the college we stopped by and visited with friends that we hadn't seen in a very long time, Joseph & Sonya and their little guy Jayson. Kevin and Joseph were roommates in college.


We were so busy buzzing from one place to the other that I nearly forgot to take any pictures. I did however manage a few and here they are...


Here is Kevin and Jacob watching the fire trucks in the parade. As loud as they were we could barely get Jacob to pay any attention to them.



Here is Jacob doing what he did the entire parade...staring at the little girl behind us that was clapping...6 month olds!



The boys are standing in front of Price Memorial with the golden steeple. Fancy, huh? We had to show the college to Jacob. This is also where Kevin proposed to me in 2005.

We just happened to be on campus at Retreat and got to see the guys retire the colors for the day.



Jacob was pooped. This picture was actually Sunday, the day AFTER we got back! LOL He pretty much had to sleep a whole day to recover.

 All in all, we had a great time and enjoyed reliving old memories and making new ones.

Later
-K

Feeling the Love...

I am looking out the window of our office. The sunshine is gorgeous and there's a cool breeze that's been blowing all day. I have been working on a care plan for school/clinical and have had to stop and take a break; a much needed break. Over the past few weeks I have been focusing on prioritizing tasks & my roles in life so that maybe, just maybe things can run a little smoother and I can stop being late to every appointment, event, etc in my life! This is a constant juggling act! Trying to understand my role as a mother of a very stubborn 6 1/2 month old (very stubborn) and asking God to help me better understand my role as a wife has proven to be a daunting task indeed! And take it from me, when you ask God to search your heart, you better brace yourself for what He may find. I will say that through this journey of self-evaluation I discovered that I had lost focus of just how much I really love my husband. I mean really...like giddy as a school girl, love him. It's so easy to get wrapped up in day to day madness (not madness in a derogatory way but just the pleasantries of life) that romance and lovey feelings can be pushed aside for what, at the time, feels like more important things. SO WRONG! I have had so much joy today in remembering why I fell in love with Kevin in the first place. So, I urge you to reach out today and hug or kiss or whatever floats your boat, your husband or your wife even if you only have a second...

Kevin is my best friend. Seriously. I share everything with him and pretty much always have. This is a big deal because I am a pretty closed person these days. I wasn't so much as a teenager but as I have gotten older I find that I have a harder and harder time maintaining "girlfriends" because of my inability to open up. Kevin sees through that and he pushes me to be honest. We have gotten so close over the past 4 1/2 years of marriage. We've been through a lot and our marriage is stronger because of it. He's there. He's present as a husband and present as a father. He's a gem. He works hard for our family and loves me and Jacob like crazy.

This is how it should be with your husband, so a part of me feels a little redundant posting that I find completion (a little Jerry Maguire, I know) in the man that I married but I have seen too often that this isn't the case in a lot of marriages. So I post this today to say that I am blessed with a sweet family and a loving husband. The End.

Here are some pictures of us from PCB last year. The day before we left for this vacation I took a pregnancy test and found out we were having a baby. This was the best vacation I've ever had. We had so much fun! I love looking at these because it reminds me of the fear/excitement we were feeling at those moments...

-K