What we've been up to..

I’m so glad it’s Friday and the weekend is about to start! Patrick and I are headed to Oxford this evening after I get off work in about 4 hrs. Our last visit was in the fall for a football game before the wedding and holidays got us swept up in a busy frenzy. Now we’re going back as newlyweds! I’m so excited to be back in the college town where I went to school and re-visit the places we made memories at while dating my senior year. I’m also looking so forward to seeing Rae (Rachel) who’s one of my closet college friends and was my maid of honor! Patrick and I intend to start a tradition of visiting Ole Miss once in the fall and once in the spring every year. We really wanted to wait until April when we could go to the Double Decker Art & Music festival, but this year it’s the same weekend as our friends’ wedding. So of course we’re going to go to that instead! It’s one of the couples from our small group getting married. I’m really excited about that since it’s at the American Village and will be beautiful outside with all the Spring-time flowers and weather! So we’re going now and even though it’s suppose to be turning colder and thunderstorming all weekend there it’s ok because we’ve got to tickets to the basketball game (indoors)! I can’t wait to walk around and go to dinner on the square, eat at our favorite breakfast spot (Bottletree Bakery) and maybe watch Ole Miss win one. Go Rebel Blackbears! haha

Anyway, last weekend was a great one! Friday night Patrick cooked dinner for me (he was really itching to use his grill again!) while we sat in front of the fire pit in our backyard. It was delicious! Pork loin with caribbean jerk seasoning, yellow rice and a mango salsa. Then we roasted marshmellows over the fire and talked until he had to go into work. He’s working the night shift at Children’s Hospital right now. It’s not a super great schedule, but luckily it’s only 7 days on then 7 days off! Saturday while he was sleeping the girls from small group came over and we had bible study upstairs. I’m really enjoying the book we’re study: A Woman After God’s Own Heart. It’s about becoming the woman, wife and mother God wants you to be. It’s based on David, who was a man after God’s own heart, and seeing what those qualities or characteristics are that led him to be described that way. Thus far, I’ve felt really challenged by what the author says and excited to start making some changes in my life! It’s also so nice to meet with just the girls and chat as long as we want. After the study, we all grabbed lunch then met up with the guys at the Lovelady Center which is a local ministry/organization that houses low-income women and their children who come from all different backgrounds and need help getting back on their feet physically, emotionally, financially, spiritually. There are numerous ways to serve and volunteer at the center and Saturday us girls led a Dance and Devotional time with several young girls while the guys played basketball outside with several young boys. It was a really enjoyable afternoon spending time up there and getting to know some of the kids. We were all excited that it was our first opportunity to serve as a group and we hope to go back at least once a month!

Sunday Patrick decided to stay awake all day, even after his shift ended, to go to church with me then over to his parents’ house where we celebrated one of his brother’s birthdays over lunch. With such a big family there’s always birthdays going on, I love it! Then that afternoon we went with his parents and brothers to a gun range near by and practiced target shooting. I love that he’s into typical guy stuff, such as this, and enjoys doing adventurous, outdoorsy, man stuff that most guys today don’t do anymore. I love it even more that he likes to include me and bring me along! I have a more hesitant personality, but I’ve never regreted following him and trying something new! It’s always been fun. This was no different! The weather that day was gorgeous so we took his jeep and had a nice drive out into the country where the range was, then I really enjoyed shooting all the different guns they had. I didn’t realize how good I might be at it! I was hitting just about everything I aimed at, which I think made him a little nervous haha. So after a couple of hours we drove back into town (I love riding with the top down, hair blowing in the wind, country music playing and head thrown back looking up at the blanket of stars above) where we went to Buffalo Wild Wings for dinner. Patrick really wanted to see the Miami Heat game and I like being in the noisy atmosphere eating wings with the guys! haha. We might go to a Heat game in April when they come our way to Atlanta! Then we got home and crashed. Such a fun weekend! And I think this one will be too. Hope you have a good one!