... friends

update on the pup front:

they are officially friends.  i have to say im a bit surprised since mailey is usually such a bully.  they have played so well together.  the picture above is from our walk on saturday thru downtown raleigh.

i think mailey is going to be heartbroken when rudy leaves ...

nate & tara = grant

tara and nate were troopers!  tara is from upstate ny and is still adjusting to our nc summers.  at 32 weeks pregnant in the smothering heat, she still managed that beautiful smile.  it is such a blessing to have tara as a friend.  i wish her, nate and grant all the happiness in the world!!!  

yum!

 ... our favorite meal, salmon, cold pasta and yellow tail shiraz!

husband obviously poured the wine.  i think he was trying to get my tipsy. 

feel free to share your "go to" meal ... the one that never fails you.

friend or foe?

this evening we are introducing mailey to rudy. rudy will visiting for a week and i am hopeful that they will play well together. if they do, i will have cute pics to post of them frolicking in the back yard.

on a side note: husband and i finishing raking the yard this week. we filled 25 large trash bags with God only knows how many years worth of decomposing leaves. a friend has donated a small fire pit and grill ... the tiki torches will be in place soon and the hammock is always swinging. i think once this weather cools off, it will be time for a backyard cookout :)

fathers

what a great day to honor the great men in my life!

here's to my father ... the most sentimental guy i know. one of the greatest lessons i learned from him is thats its ok to show emotion. if you are sad, angry, moved or joyful, show it! so thanks dad for the teaching me how to be passionate, sentimental and so much more.

also, a very special "thank you" to the father who raised my husband into the man he is today.

all photos by christine hall. thanks again for capturing these memories!

is ...

... very much so looking forward to the weekend. hopefully finishing up some yard work so i can do a little more of this:

also, im getting my hair did, keith and amanda are coming to visit AND its father's day *satisfied sigh*

oh, and did i also mention that i have had 2, count them, 2 red eyes today ... i am jacked up on coffee like i should get paid for it! ENJOY YOUR WEEKEND!!!

husband's beard

so he finally did it. husband shaved his beard. i was just really getting used to it and now its gone. oh well, he is handsome either way. but of course he cant just shave it off ... he had to play with it a little first. here are just a few shots of the process ...

i told him he looked like an 11 year old :)

his scruff is growing in so now he looks his age. i think he misses the beard too and immediately decided he wants to grow it back out.

diy

i consider my first DIY project for the house a success. i am quite pleased ... take a look.

before

after

this is the only room that is almost put together ... which makes me want to sit in there at all times. the chairs, table and green bottles came from my grandmother's house. the shelves came from michael's about 7 years ago for about $5 each.

the last step is to find better artwork for the wall beside the window and chair pads. i think the chair pads or cushions are going to be difficult to find. i really want something that will bring in some brown and red from the living room, yet still looks great with the teal and black. this tiny breakfast nook is right off the living room and i want it to flow nicely.

any ideas on how to make a brown-based room and a black-based room flow? my idea: YELLOW! :) i love yellow walls or yellow room accents ... but i have zero desire to paint the living room walls.

to fish :)

husband and i have only been pier fishing once so far this year. fresh water fishing is fun (see my catch of the season above) and we have been learning a lot. but tonight we are headed down to carolina beach to get our pier fishing on ... WOO HOO! hopefully, i will have some pics of great big fishes to post on monday :)

to love like Christ

i was recently reminded what it is to love like Christ. to many christians, this is not a new concept ... He loves the whole world, right? but now stop and think, we are commanded to love our neighbor ... and not just the ones that live beside us. Jesus loves people that cannot love him back, people that have nothing ... no hope, no car, no job and no home. Jesus loves people that curse his name, people that are evil and what we would consider undeserving. is it humanly possible to love these people? the answer is "yes" or else we would not have been commanded to do so.

this past weekend, i participated in a young adult mission retreat in downtown raleigh. we met up with hugh hollowell to learn about love wins ministry. his goal is to build relationships with the poor, homeless and needy. he does not preach or pass out mass amounts of clothing and food. instead of working in a soup kitchen, he eats meals there with his friends. thats right, these people are his friends and family. he loves them and shows it every day just like we would with our friends and family. he listens when they are excited or upset, shares meals, goes for walks or just sits on a curb with them and hangs out. every day he shows them God's love. eventually, some of his friends find a home or come to know God but his main focus is to love them even if they stay the same. hugh's genuine love and compassion was such an encouragement to me. i may not have the dough to buy homes for the homeless or have the time to walk around downtown all day, every day making friends. but i know where to start, because i do have enough time to stop, acknowledge and for God sake smile at someone who most people treat as invisible.

i can't wait to serve again with hugh and the love wins crew. i look forward to seeing some new friends i met last saturday morning passing out biscuits.