weekend of surprises!!

This past weekend I headed to Greensboro for my sister Kaitlin's birthday celebration.  I can't believe she is 17!!!  I honestly remember when she was born and it seems like it was just yesterday!!  She has grown up into such a beautiful and special young lady and I am so excited to see what the Lord has for her future!!  We had a fun dinner at a local mexican restaurant and then headed back to Erin's house for cake and some fun with Super Mario Bros on the Wii :-)  My little nephews are obsessed with this game and are soo funny when they play.  They jump up and down trying to get their player to jump up and down and keep getting closer and closer to the tv while they play...hilarious to watch!! 

When I pulled up to the mexican restaurant I discovered that one of my favorite stores has come to NC and is at Friendly Center in G'boro.  I found this store last year when I went to Houston with my friend Amy and we were shopping at the Galleria (which is one of the largest malls in America).  It is called Charming Charlie http://www.charmingcharlie.com/ and is one of the cutest accessories stores I have ever been in.  It is very reasonably priced, the store is organized by color, so if you are looking for something specific you can go right to the color you need!!  They have EVERYTHING!!  Shoes, handbags, jewelry, hair accessories, sunglasses, and even a little bit of clothing.  I hope we get one in Raleigh soon!!!

Then to top the weekend off I made a last minute trip to Wilmington to meet up with my precious friend Julianne.  It was an amazing 24hrs of relaxation and sleep and fellowship.  I am so thankful to the Lord for bringing her into my life at just the right time.  I was feeling lonely and disconnected and she has truly been the love of Christ in my life!!  What a blessing that the Lord knew I needed and provided before I even had a chance to ask for it :-) 



Here are a few pics from the birthday party-somehow I didn't actually get a picture of the birthday girl but here are some of my sweet neices and nephews :-)

'everyday' miracles

Just when I am getting frustrated and burnt out at work with the intensity of the work pace or the politics of the management, the Lord sends me a little reminder about how precious my work really is!! 

I have had the honor and privilege to take care of some very special babies and their families over the last 5 and a half years.  This past weekend I was able to attend a reunion party for a few of these families.  To celebrate the miraculous way that God has healed these sweet ones and to cry over the ones that weren't as fortunate.  These precious babies faced incredible odds stacked against them before they were even born. Their families were thrust into a new world that involved ventilators, ECMO, and multiple surgeries before they even met their little ones.  But after weeks, and in some cases months, of the emotional roller coaster known as neonatal intensive care, they beat the odds!!  It is nothing short of a miracle that they are alive and I got to be a part of it!! 

The Lord has truly blessed me through caring for, crying with, and laughing with these families.  It is what makes the most stressful and exhausting work days worth it and what I get in return is worth more to me than the paycheck I get every 2 weeks.  I have made friends that will last a lifetime, but even more we are family!!


here are a few pics from saturday...also for more info about these precious little ones and what their families went through check out http://www.theparkerreesefoundation.com/

in Your arms...

Lately I have been struggling with discouragement, frustration and overall discontentment. I was having an especially hard time this weekend and while surfing iTunes for some new music I found the new Meredith Andrews CD so I downloaded it and the songs and lyrics have been a soothing balm to my heart and my soul. So I thought I would share with you one of the songs that has especially spoken to me. It almost feels like this song was written just for me. I pray it is just as encouraging to you!!

I'm turning the world off

Embracing the silence

Walking away from all the voices

That are screaming in my ear

I've been too caught up

I've been so stressed out

And all of the noise replaced the whisper

That used to be so clear

So I close every door

And put my face back on the floor

And I'm in Your arms

Where I belong

There's no other place for me

Than right where You are

Some things just don't change

When I call Your name

You never hesitate to wrap me in endless grace

When I'm in Your arms

I'm letting my fears go

Giving you control

For you are the one who holds me closer

In my soul's darkest night

Everything I see

Is so temporary

So help me to run the race before me

With eternity in sight

So I close every door

And put my face back on the floor

And I'm in Your arms

Where I belong

There's no other place for me

Than right where You are

Some things just don't change

When I call your name

You never hesitate to wrap me in endless grace

When I'm in your arms

Long time gone...

I'm sure that since it has literally been months since my last post I may have lost some of my readers :-) But for the faithful few...I am back!! I am working on updating all my blog info, etc and I promise to have a real post in the next couple of days. I have a lot on my heart and my mind that I am sorting through to share with you all. But I am renewing my efforts to get back on the blogwagon!!

Love ya'll :-)

Strawberry Pickin'

A couple of weeks ago I headed to Greensboro for the day to have lunch with Mom, Annie and Meghan, and Erin, Riley, and Mary Kenzie and to do a little strawberry pickin'. Annie's friend Michaela's family has a farm and it has somewhat become an annual tradition to go and pick strawberries there. It was so fun to go with little kids!! I think Riley ate as many strawberries as he picked :-) But the best part was after pickin' we all got ice cream from the little store they run and Mary Kenzie LOVED the ice cream!! She kept screaming until Meghan fed her more. It was the funniest thing. She would take a bite and then would squeal and scream until she got more :-) (I think she 'inherited' that from her daddy!!)

TRIing something new

It has been WAY too long since I posted...I think it had been so long that I was getting the blank page fear that I used to have in college when I wrote a paper..haha :-) I wanted it to be meaningful, so I didn't just want to post something silly.

Well this past weekend I once again strapped on my running shoes for a race, but this time it was a little different. I was part of a relay triathalon team and it was a blast!!! Several months ago some of coworkers started talking about this race and how fun it would be, etc. So a few of us decided it would be fun to form a team and that spurred a few more and we ended up with 3 relay teams and 1 individual doing the whole triathalon himself.

So on Sunday morning I got up at 4:30am and drove up to Kerr Lake with three of the other girls for the 8am race. The weather was gorgeous (a little hot at the end), everyone did great and was so supportive of each other, and my team did not come in last place!!! I have done several races and I think this one was by far my favorite. There was something about being there with so many friends who were all so supportive and encouraging of each other and having so many people standing at the finish line cheering me on. It made me miss doing team sports because of the sense of comraderie and teamwork. Our goal is to make this an annual ICN event and recruit some more teams for next year!!

Here are a few photos from race day:

Fleeting February

As usual the month of February has FLOWN by!!! I know that there are 2-3 fewer days in February than other months, but it always seems to go by ridiculously fast! And even though it is the shortest month 2 of my sisters, Erin and Annie, and my dad all have their birthdays in February. This past weekend I drove home on Sunday afternoon to have dinner with the family and celebrate all the February birthdays. The weather was cold and rainy and windy and eventually turned into snow around 8:45pm. My parents have a little sitting area in the kitchen with a television so my mom, my little sisters and I sat and watched tv and the snow coming down...it was sooo much fun :-) They ended up getting over 7inches of snow and as I drove back to Raleigh today I was once again reminded of the beauty of God's creation!!