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Our Thanksgiving

We just had a great Thanksgiving. We met my parents and our friends, the Pace family in Franklin, NC at the Pace’s cabin. There is something about the mountains that is so relaxing. As I would step out on the front porch and could hear the running water of the creek, I would think to myself there is nowhere else in the world I would rather be right now. I’ve been vacating at the Pace’s cabin since I was fifteen years old. I have so many great memories there and I am so happy we got to spend our first Thanksgiving as a married couple there.

On Friday of our trip we went to Highlands. We LOVE Highlands. It is such a fun mountain town about thirty minutes away from the cabin. They have a lot of cute shops and it is a very dog friendly town. People walk their dogs as they stroll in and out of shops. We bought Libby a new winter coat just so she would fit in. It looks like it should be right off the pages of Southern Living. That is probably why it was featured in a story two issues ago. It is just a peaceful and fun place. I wouldn’t want to spend anywhere else shopping on Black Friday.

As we headed out of town on Saturday we stopped and took some pictures of the mountains and stood in awe of God’s creation. When we got home I was able to reflect more on my time there while I was reading my nightly devotion. It was from a devotional book that our church produces each year for the month of advent. I wanted to share a piece of that devotion with some our pictures from the mountains because this is exactly what I felt standing there taking pictures but not sure I could have put my thoughts so poetically.






“I believe we are drawn to the mountains. They rise is majestic glory surrounding our country. Their height and beauty are no accident. They are created by God. Some are shaped by folds, others by faults and some are shoved over others in a process called overthrust. God made each in a demonstration of his power. The same Creator who pushed together some dust and breathed into the breath of life, mashed together the rocks of the earth to create the high places that draw our attention.”

CHRISTMAS CARD

Introducing our 2010 Christmas card! I've only been debating on the design, picture and scripture for over a month now. Hope you love it!

Joyful World Religious
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15 Days until Thanksgiving and 15 Things I am Thankful For This Year…

1. The number one love of my life, my savior Jesus Christ and His new mercies each day
2. Greyson and his unconditional love for me
3. My precious Libby, who manages to put a smile on my face every single day
4. My mom and dad, for the Christian home they raised me in and the values I learned from their actions and not just their words. And for realizing this now as a young adult and having the opportunity to tell them at my wedding.
5. My new family, the Painter’s for their warm welcoming and love
6. Our new church home
7. May 29, 2010, the wedding of my dreams
8. My job
9. Greyson’s job
10. My friends, the most amazing friends in the world. I couldn’t have survived this last year without them. They carried and prayed for me when my mom was sick and I felt so hopeless. No matter what they are always a phone call away.
11. My friends’ new husbands and soon to be husbands
12. My mom’s health. This past year was rough. There were times I worried she wouldn’t even see the holidays and now she is doing so much better.
13. Our wonderful honeymoon in Key West and the wonderful memories from that trip
14. The countless wedding gifts we received. We are still amazed at our friends and families’ generosity.
15. Our Thanksgiving trip to Franklin, NC with my mom and dad and the Pace family. Two years ago, I had the most relaxing holiday of my life there and plan to do the exact same this trip

HAPPY THANKSGIVING! Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise! Give thanks to Him; bless His name!—Psalm 100:4

A Day of Celebrating

The past 24 hours have been full of celebrating. My hotel was recently awarded a coveted award for my hotel’s brand. It’s the CARE Cup Award which in summary represents we are #1 in guest service and service to our community. It is a huge honor. Top executives from our company and the owners of our property were there to celebrate with us. They treated some of the key players in receiving this award to dinner last night and attended a brunch, where community leaders and our top accounts were invited. It was an incredible opportunity to meet and get to know our leadership. I am very fortunate to work for brand that makes service a priority and empowers each one of their employees to CARE for the guests and for our community.

I also had a co-worker pull me aside to today to tell me he has been accepted to go to Youth with a Mission international training. I immediately started jumping up and down with tears in my eyes. He had pulled me aside several months ago to let me know he was being called to missions. I am waiting until he tells everyone before I post more about this but he has an amazing testimony. I know God is going to use him to do amazing things. I know he has brought so much joy to me and to so many others at the hotel. We were not sure if he would be accepted into this program… again I will blog on that more after he shares. But I just had to share my happiness and ask for you to pray for him as he begins this amazing journey. LOVE YA SB!