Mal's Shower

Did I tell you my sister is getting married?? Well, she is - August 8. This Saturday we threw her a fun family/friends bridal shower in Abingdon. It went over very well and she got LOTS of great stuff. I had fun catching up with my family on both sides and friends of my mom from work. We played a few fun games (my mom's major in college was recreation - that is so her element!) and ate some good food (have you ever had crap rangoon? YUM!) and watched her open lots and lots of gifts. Thanks to everyone who came out and made it a special day for her!

We also got to spend time with 2 of the cutest kids on earth - one was Keeley, my sister's soon-to-be neice who is just a doll. She kept asking for Mary, and we couldn't figure out who Mary was. When my grandma (Virginia, by the way) got there, she said "That's Mary!" It was so funny! The other sweet baby girl was baby Jayla, my cousin's new baby and my aunt Donna's precious grandbaby! She was only 4lb, 6oz at birth, but she's growing and is now about 7 pounds at 6 weeks. I fell in love VERY quickly!

And here is my Great Aunt Sue playing with sweet Keeley! I love this picture!!

Vaca and a 5K

Well, we're finally back in Virginia after a whirlwind mini-vacation! Here's the lowdown (with a few pictures to keep you interested!)

Friday afternoon we went to Jonathan's company's summer picnic, where much to my surprise I got meet baby Grayce, who was born about 3 weeks earlier and was still only about 6 pounds. That's about the only memorable part about the picnic for me.....but oh, she was a doll! After that, we packed up and headed out with Maggie to Concord, NC to see my cousins, aunt, and uncle. They dogsat Maggie while we finished the next two legs of our trip.

Saturday was the day of the 5K race I've been preparing for. I'll go ahead and let you know that my pace gradually got slower the week before the race, so I was nervous!! We got to SC and spent the day hanging out with Jonathan, Kelley, Kiran, and Sienna - which was awesome since we'd just seen them less than a week before when they came to see us in VA on their way to Charlottesville. We napped, ate, talked, and played before heading to drop the girls off in Greenville and hit the race! Now, there were over 2,000 people running this race -so it was packed. Kelley and I headed to about the middle of the pack, strapped on our pace chip and race numbers, and got started! Kelley was a little speed demon - so she left me and ended up finishing in less than 30 minutes! I finished in 33:18 according to my chip. That was slower than I wanted, but I ran it and I felt great! I'm already planning my next race - where I will reinstate my goal of a less than 30 minute race!

On Sunday we headed to church with the Caskeys and then headed even further south to Atlanta. We took in Six Flags White Water all day Monday and then headed to Turner Field Monday night. The storm missed us and we enjoyed a great game in right field.

Unfortunately, we had to head back Tuesday - with a stop to pick up some things (my race shirt, ahem) from Kelley's. Then, I broke Kiran. You can read all about that here: Kelley's blog. After we got Kiran fixed, we headed back to VA (via Concord). It was about this time we realize how nice it would be to get hang out with Kiran, Sienna, and their parents more. It was so fun to have just seen them - so Kiran didn't have to warm back up to us and we could just play. Thanks for having us guys - and thanks for running with me!

Happily Ever After

Below is a letter my mom wrote to us inside our guest book at the wedding. We had put engagement pictures into a mypublisher book, and she filled up the last page. I love it. I'm writing it here so I never forget it...and so you can enjoy it, too! :)

Once Upon a Time there was a princess born. Her name was Erin and her parents were in awe of her. She had an independent nature, was head strong, but was very loving and very beautiful.

She led a fairy tale childhood. Her parents gave her everything she needed: food, clothing, shelter, and the opportunity to learn about and accept Jesus as her savior. They made sure she had the extras also: walks in the woods, romps in leaves, building snowmen, dancing, and "BEAR".

As Princess Erin grew up, she continued to amaze everyone with her ability to excel in everything she did: making friends, dancing, Bible Drill, school grades. She understood how rich a princess she was: she had parents who adored her, who pointed her in the right direction and covered her back while giving her the opportunity to make her own decisions. He riches also included a sister who looked up to her (mostly) and would be there for her always, and being raised in church.

Princess Erin grew up continuing to lead a storybook life - including friends, education, travel and career. Then one day she met (under dubious circumstances to be sure) her Prince.

Prince Jonathan was the perfect match: in intelligence, commitment to God, and he had also grown up appreciating the finer things in life - God, walks in the woods, music, and a younger sibling to boss around.

Princess Erin's family welcomed their new son, Prince Jonathan, and watched with love as they married and every last one wished that they would....LIVE HAPPILY EVER AFTER!

Erin, I still love you with all my heart and am still in awe of you. You make me proud.
Jonathan, You are easy to love. Welcome to my family
Both, Be happy and let God lead.

~Mom

God smiled on us...

I have a lot to post about from this weekend....but for now I want to tell you a great story of blessing. Long story short - we found a great house and put a contract on it last week. We've been talking to the bank for pre-approval, counter-offering like crazy, and discussing timelines and timetables galore! As of today, both sides have agreed to the contract and it's ours as long as we sell our house and they don't get a better offer while they're waiting for our townhouse to sell. So, our bank lady (yep, aren't we cool?) told us we needed 2 months of mortgage payments in the bank at closing (in addition to the 11,000 we have to bring to closing and the 1,000 good faith deposit we paid already). Speaking of good faith. We've been trying to set aside money to boost our savings up to this amount. We knew we needed about $1,000 more in the bank before closing (whenever we sell our house and close on our new one). So, today I get an email from Jonathan. He logged in to his bank account and saw a direct deposit from his work for an unusual amount. He then logged in to check his pay stub. On it, it said "Incentive....$1,000". Yep, he got a random $1,000 bonus. Didn't even know he was getting it. His boss had nominated him for it and not even told him. Thanks boss, but we know that money wasn't really your doing. God is beyond faithful and he has a sense of humor, too! Isn't that cool?

Run of the Mill

Not much is new here, but I still thought I'd update! I'm sick (again) with some serious chest congestion and coughing. Trying to Mucinex it out of me, so hopefully I'm on the upswing! We've been busy working on some real estate stuff this week, so time is of the essence! Hopefully I'll have good news on that front soon! (However, the dream house in Blacksburg sold, sad!)

6 1/2 days left of school. Geez, I'm gonna miss these kiddos. They are by far the best group I've ever had, and I just adore them! I'm super ready for some R&R, but I definitely will miss them. I'm probably in for it next year after having such a great group this year. Up and down, up and down. We've got a Mega Party, Awards Assembly, Field Day, and 3rd grade movie day left - so it's definitely almost over. Oh, summer!

This past weekend we enjoyed some fun fellowship with Jonathan's church family at Angie's wedding. Angie grew up with Jonathan and their families are very, very close. She had a gorgeous wedding by the river in Jefferson, NC....followed by a reception with delicious BBQ and other yummy food. My mother-in-law designed their cake (same flavor as ours - yummmmo) and I helped her finish it up when we got there Saturday. She does a great job! We then headed to Bristol to visit with my family for the day on Sunday, before heading back to our day off on Monday to look at houses and such. Below are some pictures of the wedding weekend:

This weekend we're headed to Grayson for Darin and Lyndsie's engagement party. VERY sadly, we won't be at their wedding, because it's the same day as my sister's. So, we can't wait to celebrate with them on Saturday - we miss them being here in VA with us! I'm also considering running a 3K in Salem before we leave on Saturday - we'll see how the chest congestion clears up. I figure it's a good lead-up to my 5K with Kelley in 2 weeks - EEK! I need to be running more!

I'll leave you with a great 3rd grade quote from today:
Anonymous 3rd grader with hand raised: What's a chicken sink?
Me: A WHAT?
3rd Grader: A chicken sink....pointing at a question on his screen.
Me: Honey, that says kitchen sink.
3rd Grader: Ohhhhh!
Do you get laughs like that at YOUR job? ;)

And just for you baby lovers, check out Baby Jacob, born 2 months ago to my teacher friend Kim. He's the first boy to be invited to our girls' night ever!