Birthiversary weekend at the lake

This past weekend, the husband and I got to escape to a beautiful lake house on Lake Rabun in north Georgia. A very generous family involved in K-Life allowed us to use their home for the weekend and we are so grateful! It rained the entire weekend... literally... but it was nice to get out of cell phone service for a change. Here are some pictures from the weekend...

Friday night, we went out to dinner at Chops before we left town Saturday morning. Some of these pictures aren't the best quality because it was dark in the restaurant. Don't you worry though, because I'm taking a photography class this weekend with some friends. Watch out Ansel Adams.

Husband humoring me on his birthiversary morning.

Our "home" for the weekend (thanks, Reagans!)

Beautiful main living area.

Open kitchen off of the main living area.

lovely little loft area above the foyer.

Hallway that connects the main living room with the "teen" living room.

"Teen" living room with the loft media center.

Loft media center.

Beautiful master overlooking the lake.

Outside living area (sans cushions) off of the main living area.

Main level back porch that runs the length of the house overlooking the lake.

Deck area on top of the boathouse.

What makes the lakes of north Georgia so beautiful is that they are nestled in the mountains. All of the lake houses are about 3-4 stories above the lake with long stairways that lead down to two story boathouses.

The boathouse.

Our delicious red velvet cake from Piece of Cake- YUM!

The house can actually sleep up to 25, so I didn't take pictures of all of the bedrooms (or bathrooms)- but they are all just as beautiful. We are so, so grateful to the Reagan family for opening up their home for us this past weekend. This is such a sweet family that loves Jesus and serving others. They have opened up their home to Westminster FCA retreats as well as one of husband's small groups of high school guys.  A huge THANK YOU!

For better or for worse

Five years ago today, we said those very words in our wedding vows- but I don't think we fully grasped what they meant until this past year. When you get married, it's easy to imagine the for better part. Those days are filled with smiles and laughter, holidays and vacations. Nobody wants to imagine the for worse part. These are the days filled with sickness and sadness, grief and anger. Our for worse came in the form of the loss of two babies. While we miss them everyday, we know that their short little lives were meant to teach us something- that the same God that allows pain and suffering also loves us more than we can imagine. That He wants us to cry out to Him through hurt and anger and He'll meet us right where we are. And that through it all, we've learned to lean on each other and rely fully on God's grace even when we couldn't understand His purpose. We look forward to the for better days that lie ahead of us knowing that God is faithful.

This song was sung at our wedding five years ago today by a good friend of ours. Looking back over the past year, it's easy to dwell on all of the sadness and forget about all of the blessings that the Lord has blessed us with. Through all of the tears and heartache, He has shown His love to be bigger than we'd known and His grace to be overwhelmingly more than we could've imagined. He has done great things for us and I pray that those are the moments on which we can continue to dwell as we hold fast to the plans He continues to have for us.

The big 2-9!

With tomorrow being our anniversary AND husband's birthday, I thought that two posts were needed. Granted the birthday post is a day early... I still wanted it to stand alone. A couple weeks ago, Dustin's mom discovered an old stack of pictures that we'd never seen before. I felt it was necessary that some of them be included in the birthday post. This one made me laugh out loud for about 10 minutes...

So happy birthday, husband! I love you lots and look forward to celebrating when you turn the big 8-9!

Shrimp Tacos

I will admit that Summer is not my favorite season. My heart belongs to Fall. Don't get me wrong, I love a good trip to the beach and and a cute pair of sandals... but I'd be lying if I said the thought of crisp Falls days, pumpkins and college football didn't make my heart skip a beat. I do, however, love Summer recipes. Here is an easy one that I will be making quite often this summer. I also want to give credit to Dani from cleananddelicous.com for this recipe.

Ingredients
1 lb of shrimp peeled and deveined
3/4 cup fat free plain greek yogurt
1/4 cup fresh chopped cilantro
Juice from 1 lime
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
About 5 cups of thinly sliced cabbage
8 corn tortillas
EVOO

Directions
1. Heat tortillas over medium heat in a dry skillet until warm and starting to form small brown spots. Set aside on a plate covered with a clean kitchen towel.

2. Mix yogurt, cayenne, lime juice, cilantro & salt in a small bowl, set aside.

3. Heat two teaspoons of olive oil in a medium non-stick skillet and add cabbage.  Cook for about four minutes or until the cabbage is just barely wilted.  Season with salt and pepper and set aside.

4.  Sauté shrimp in about two teaspoons of olive oil and season with salt, pepper and a dash of cayenne pepper over medium heat just until done.  I also added a dash of garlic powder. They cook up in just a few minutes… so be sure to watch them!

5. Build your taco! Spoon some cilantro sauce on the tortilla, and fill with shrimp and cabbage. I also added some sliced avocado... because let's be real- fresh avocado makes everything better.

Enjoy!

"the question"

So I have discovered that there is a now a question that I dislike very much. It is generally brought up by well-intentioned people in casual conversation the first time I meet them. It's a question that I used to never think twice about, but I can't help but pause before I answer it now. Here is the question:

"Do you have any children?"

By itself it is an innocent question asked by people who mean no harm whatsoever. When Dustin and I first got married, I used to laugh when this was asked and usually give the response of "Oh no, not yet!" Now that we've been married almost five years, it comes up more frequently. What I really want to say is "I've got two in Heaven, but none here with me yet"... but seeing as how this question is usually asked by someone who's just met me within a short window of time, I take a deep breath and remind myself to smile before simply saying "No, not yet" as gracefully as I can.

Depending on the day I'm having, this question may not affect me much or it could cause me to burst into tears. In no way do I fault anyone who asks me this as it is a perfectly normal conversational question when you're getting to know someone. It's just another way I've discovered that miscarriage impacts you permanently- no matter how many you've had. I know that this is a part of our story that God is writing for us. We don't know how long this chapter will be- but we trust the One who knows the book by heart.

Blog Makeover and Greenville Trip

I have been wanting a makeover of some sort for some time now... not for myself... but the blog- which let's face it, is a reflection of me. So here it is... the new and improved blog (big thanks to Tricia Nae Designs!) It just has a cleaner and more professional feel to it... not to mention it is pretty stinkin' cute.

This past weekend, husband and I made our way to Greenville to visit with his sister's family and celebrate our nephew's first birthday. Here are some pictures of the weekend's festivities...

On Friday night, Steve took the big girls to their annual daddy-daughter dance. They spent the afternoon getting ready and then daddy picked them up from the house with flowers.

Even though Brooke was too young to go, she got her very own flower from daddy.

On Saturday, I went with Miranda and Haley to get Haley's dance pictures taken. I also took a few of my own because she is quite the beautiful ballerina.

And Sunday was party-time for Sawyer... and his sisters loved it too.

The sweet Carson family

 

Opa with Reese

The coolest aunt and uncle in town.

 

Mom-Mom and Grandaddy with the kiddos

 

Oma and Opa with the kiddos.

 

Haley and Reese ended the afternoon with a jam session.

 

Happy Birthday, Sawyer!