Travels and house adventures

June was a busy month for us, and I can't believe it's already July!  We just got back from my family reunion in Jefferson, North Carolina.  We had fun watching movies in the cushy media room, playing pool/dorkball, exploring the house and grounds, reading (really just me and Jenny), horseback riding, and going on a field trip to the Biltmore.  The Blue Ridge Mountains are gorgeous and well worth traveling to, although be prepared if you get motion sick, the roads are very twisty-turny.  Here are some pictures.

The Twickenham house where the family stayed.  It had a billiard room, a media room, and a conservatory with an indoor pool and was 11,000 sq. ft.  We filled up every room!

James and I enjoying the view up the road from the house.

I've wanted to see Monticello for years, so James and I stopped there on the way.  I enjoyed it very much!

The Biltmore Estate - the largest home in America.  Built in 1895 by George Vanderbilt, it has over 250 rooms and 8,000 acres.  The family still owns it today but nobody lives in it.

Horseback riding in the Blue Ridge Mountains was very fun.  This was James' first time on a horse!

It's hard to capture the beauty with a camera, but this comes close.

The Miller/Fitzwilliam/Clay/Hamburg/Shepherd clan!  Except for Eric, Bryn, Kenyan, and Ben who couldn't make it this year.

We had a great time.  I love that my family does this every year, even if we can't go to every one. 

The other thing that happened in June is that we bought a house!  A townhouse, actually.  And really we haven't bought it yet since our closing date is in August, but we are well on our way.  I am very excited.  A townhouse isn't exactly what we had envisioned for our first home, but given the very expensive market that we have here in Maryland, it's the best we could do.  And it's much better than an apartment (and cheaper too)!  We'll have more space, 3 bedrooms, 2.5 baths, and a backyard!  I've got projects swimming around in my head already, and I can paint it and make it our own.  It will be a great little first house for us and I thank God for providing!

This is the picture from the Website.  What you can see is what we will own - we will have neighbors on both sides.

So that is what has been going on with us.  It's going to be an eventful summer!

A small insight on marriage

While perusing my blogs this morning I came across this little nugget of truth:

"What if marriage is not so much about finding the right person as much as it is about becoming the right person? When we’re looking for the right person, then the onus for the relationship working is entirely on them. We’re passive, just waiting to be made happy. But if we realize that relationships are dynamic, that people change with time, and that compromise is necessary, then we also realize that relationships are about us learning to love and sacrifice far more than they are about the other person completing us. It’s our attitude that matters."  (From the To Love, Honor and Vacuum blog)

I have found this to be true with us.  The more we sacrifice and work to be a good spouse to each other, the happier we are together.  Marriage requires selflessness and sanctification to work, but when it does, it is beautiful.

Happy Friday!

What are you into? May 2012

I have been bad this month about updating the blog other than pictures, so I thought I'd do an overview of what's been going on over here.  So here is what I am into this month.

Church Goings-on

• I am still singing in the worship band at church.  We practice once a week, and I am really enjoying it.  I've stopped being nervous when I get on stage, so that is good.  This week we are doing a throwback to my childhood and singing "Shine Jesus Shine."  Hopefully the electric guitar will update the sound a little bit, but it's kind of fun!  If you want to hear something really adorable, listen to the African Children's Choir's version of the song.  The accents are great!

• My friend Nicole and I have started leading the youth girl's group at church.  We meet at my house once a week, and we are doing a Bible study on the book of James.  So far it is going really well!  The girls are great, and fun, and they consume a huge amount of snacks.

• Have I mentioned that we love our church?  Well we do!  The people aren't perfect, the services aren't perfect, but there is great fellowship and love for each other and for God, and that is what it is about.  It is a blessing to be a part of it.

Things we are doing

• We are looking for a house to buy, but it has been frustrating.  It is expensive to live out here, so our budget is on the low end.  This county is rural and only recently has started being developed, so there are few neighborhoods, and they are expensive.  What we can afford usually ends up being a very outdated, small house on a single street that is not part of a neighborhood.  If the houses were more reasonably priced, we could buy an outdated house and fix it up, but at these prices we just can't afford to do that.  So far we've looked at about 40 houses and put offers on two, and neither one worked out.  We would rent a house, but rent here is way more expensive than buying, so that won't work.  So we're kind of stalled out, waiting for more houses to appear on the market.    

Things I am not doing

• Working, unfortunately.  I have been looking for a part time job for several months now, but so far no luck.  The pickings are very slim for an Englishy person in this VERY engineering/military-oriented town.  I want to contribute monetarily to our family while we have no children, but I do not want to find myself in another full time job that I am miserable at, so I am being picky about what I apply to.  I may have to start lowering my standards.

Things I am enjoying

• Summer!  Summer here is not terribly different from summer in Houston, it seems.  We've been hitting the upper 80's and even 90 degrees lately.  I told James that I like summer, and he remarked that I say that about every season.  I just enjoy having seasons!  I'll groan about the heat, but it is fun to pull out my skirts and flip flops.

• My Casper boy.  He's just so darn cute!  Here he is with a sock on his head...James likes to play games with him.  :-)

Books I am reading

• A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving.  This is supposedly a classic, and Nicci, I know it is your favorite book, but I am just not feeling it.  Owen is just so weird, I have a hard time relating to him.  But I'm giving it a full chance, so we'll see how I feel once I've finished it.
• Little Bee by Chris Cleave.  I'm listening to this on audio, and I like it.  I am a visual person, so I always like books a little less when I listen to them instead of read them, but this one isn't bad.  It's about a refugee from Nigeria.
• How We Got the Bible by Neil R. Lightfoot
• Second Corinthians.  Ahh Paul, you never fail to confuse me.  I have to read most chapters twice just to figure out what he's talking about.

Shows I am watching

• Right now I'm on a Gilmore Girls kick.
• I just saw the trailer for Les Miserables coming out this Christmas.  It stars Anne Hathaway and Hugh Jackman, and it looks really good.  I may have to reread the book in preparation.

Songs I am listening to

• Audrey Assad - O My Soul  (her whole Heart album is great)
• Passion - Lay Me Down
• Bruno Mars - Marry You
• Artists for Haiti - We are the World 25 for Haiti
• Jeremy Camp - Overcome

Things I am making

• These cookies have become one of my favorites.  Citrus is perfect for summer!  I found the recipe on Pinterest, but it is originally from an LDS (Latter Day Saints) magazine.  Just so you don't think I read the magazine.  :)
• A summer wreath for the front door.  I'm going for something like this, we'll see how it turns out.



Well that's all for today!  What are you up to?

Photo A Day

So it seems I've blogged May entirely through pictures.  Here are this week's.

May 20 - Something you can't live without (order)

May 21 - Where you stand

May 22 - Pink (begonias at our apartment complex)

May 23 - Technology (my "recently added" playlist on iTunes)

May 24 - Something new (Covergirl lipgloss)

May 25 - Unusual

May 26 - 12:00 (This was the closest I got to midnight before going to bed)

Photo A Day

I know my blog has been pretty empty lately, but I don't seem to have much to blog about these days.  So for now, more pictures!



May 13 - Mum

May 14 - Grass

May 15 - Love

May 16 - What you're reading

May 17 - Snack

May 18 - Something you made (tilapia, rice, and parmesan tomato slices)

May 19 - A favorite place

Photo A Day

Here are the photos from last week in my photo a day challenge.

May 6 - You

May 7 - Something that inspires you

May 8 - A favorite scent

May 9 - Something you do every day

May 10 - A favorite word

May 11 - Kitchen

May 12 - Something fun!

Photo a Day

I saw this photo a day challenge on Facebook.  Every day during the month of May, there is a prompt, and you're supposed to take a picture based on the prompt.  I'm having a lot of fun with it!  I'm taking the pictures with my iPod, applying a filter through Instagram, and posting to Facebook.  Here are the prompts:

And here are the pictures:

May 1 - Peace (the view from my balcony)

May 2 - Skyline (our apartment complex)

May 3 - Something you wore today  (my new skirt from Old Navy)

May 4 - Fun! (James and I at the Avengers movie)

May 5 - Bird (a duck in the Patuxent River at Solomon's Pier)

Anyone want to join me?  I'd love to see your photos!