Alaska Love Story

A time....

2012-01-26T11:46:00.001-06:00

To everything there is a season,
a time for every purpose under the sun.
A time to be born and a time to die;
a time to plant and a time to pluck up that which is planted;
a time to kill and a time to heal ...
a time to weep and a time to laugh;
a time to mourn and a time to dance ...
a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing;
a time to lose and a time to seek;
a time to rend and a time to sew;
a time to keep silent and a time to speak;
a time to love and a time to hate;
a time for war and a time for peace.

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

Ivey Ann

2012-01-21T09:28:00.002-06:00

A sneak peak at the sweet little girl I spent all weekend with!

She definitely knows how to brighten up my day!

I loved every second I spent with you, Ivey Ann!

more pics to come......

South Dakota

2012-01-14T20:47:00.002-06:00

Check out this awesome video made by my hubby!

http://youtu.be/_O5ykAeuhB8

It is a video of the beautiful Black Hills via helicopter. Flown by none other than my hubby!!
One day just he and I flew and we were able to go slow and enjoy the scenery while videoing what he got to see multiple times a day. He surprised me around Christmas by putting this short video clip together! I love the song he chose and I love how thoughtful he is!!

It is definitely a time in our life we will never forget!

Enjoy!

2012 NY's weekend

2012-01-13T06:00:00.001-06:00

The best part of the entire weekend was waking up to this beautiful snow!

David and I had planned on staying in town to watch Ohio State in the Gator Bowl, but the weather changed our plans. David decided to get on the roads earlier just to be on the safe side!

We were glad we did because the closer we got to Columbus the roads were worse!

It took us an hour longer to get home so we stopped at Grandpa's Cheesebarn to break up our drive and stretch a little bit.

David also took me to the Sweetie's barn where I found some yummy dark chocolate covered caramels! My fav!

Happy 2012 everyone!

Twenty Twelve New Year!

2012-01-12T06:00:00.003-06:00

New Years Weekend we headed up to Cleveland to spend the weekend with David's family again. On Friday evening we had a nice family dinner followed by a LONG game of 'Ulcers'!

Saturday was a nice and relaxing for David and I both. That evening we headed over to Dan's house for a New Years gathering!

We had a great time hanging out with Dan and Kathy and some of their family and friends! We played games and even got in on some dance action!

D getting ready to 'Just Dance'!

David and Dan getting ready for their dance off!! ha!

David and I gladly welcomed 2012 in! We did so with a giant kiss!! : )

We stayed the night over at Dan and Kathy's. Sunday morning and afternoon we hung out with them before heading to Buffalo Wild Wings for the Denver & Cleveland games. I got to wear my new pink Tebow jersey!

Christmas in Dayton

2012-01-11T11:41:00.004-06:00

Playing catch up once again....

This Christmas since we lived just an hour & a half from David's sister and family, we spent the Christmas weekend with his family.

We met them for lunch on Christmas Eve at a yummy Thai restaurant. Brad is a Christmas baby and they always celebrate on Christmas Eve.

After lunch we went back to their house and just hung out until dinner time. Brad requested my chicken tortilla soup and cheese sandwiches for his birthday, so I headed to the kitchen to cook up some yummy soup!

We celebrate with a yummy cookie cake and just hanging out. David and I headed back to Columbus for the night.

We returned the next at lunch for family time and presents!

Braden got a cool Uke just like his uncle Dave's!

Sweet Kayla Reese modeling her new clothes!

I love my sweetie even though he looks like a cave man! : ) he!

A little excited!?

Very excited! David got me a #15 Tebow jersey!! I love it!!

More Tebow stuff from my hubby! He sure knows me!

Singing Christmas songs!

: )

David and I enjoyed Christmas in Dayton!

What I enjoyed even more were the weeks leading up 'til Christmas. David learned several Christmas songs on the guitar and would play them every night while I sang! He loves to play the guitar and loves to hear me sing. I'm not sure why because I don't have a pretty voice, but who cares, David loves it! It was awesome to spend quality time together while singing and worshiping our Savior! After all, HE is the real reason for Christmas!

Amish

2012-01-03T18:44:00.002-06:00

Wow! Am I way behind or what?!

My parents came to visit us back the first of December for a long weekend in Columbus.
Things didn't quite go as they had planned, but we made the best of it and I enjoyed spending time with them.

One day we drove up to the Amish Country for some sightseeing and yummy treats!

One of the towns, Sugarcreek, looks like an old Dutch village

The Amish do not like for you to take a picture of them, however, I couldn't resist not getting a pic of their horse and buggy!

I promise my dad was with us, he just never got in a pic.

Me and my sweetie! Oh how I love and adore this precious soul!

Mom and dad left that weekend with my vehicle and left theirs here with me. Why, do you ask?! There vehicle had transmission problems on the way home from the Amish County. They didn't think it was safe to drive all the way back to Alabama so I offered them my car and that I would take theirs into a shop to get it checked out. They couldn't find any major problem with it so for 2 weeks I drove their car. Dad then decided that he didn't want to leave me with a vehicle that had potential to break down on me. So, he and one of his buddies hauled my truck up here on a trailer and hauled his back on the trailer. Sounds like a lot of work, eh!? Well, my mom is one happy lady right now! Do to all this she got a brand new 2012 Chevy Equinox for Christmas!!! ; )

Happy New Year!

May this year fill your family and mine with peace, love and joy that only comes from our Heavenly Father above!

OSU Football

2011-12-07T18:10:00.003-06:00

A couple of weekends ago I surprised David with tickets to the Ohio State vs Penn State football game! He has never been to the OSU stadium, but has always wanted to go. I figured that since we lived in Columbus this would be the best opportunity to do so.

Even though they lost, we still had a great time and experience at the game! I definitely have not converted into an OSU fan either! I will tell you that the atmosphere of the game and tailgating was nothing compared to how it is down south with the SEC! It was no where near like going to an Alabama game, but fun, none the less!

I'm still a Roll Tide girl all the way! and the funny part is, so is my husband! He cheers harder and knows more about Alabama football than OSU! I love it!

So Much To Thank Him For....

2011-11-28T07:01:00.002-06:00

For the last several years of being a 'traveler' I've had to come to terms with not always getting to be with my family on all the Holidays. I was recalling this weekend of all the different places and all the kind people that I've spent Thanksgiving with over the last 6 years. I remember my first Thanksgiving away from family. I was living in Connecticut by myself, but was able to spend Thanksgiving day with my new coworkers and friends. That was the first of many families opening up their homes to me and allowing me to spend such a special day with them and their loved ones. I love how God uses selfless people to bless you and remind you of just how blessed we really are!

I am very thankful that since meeting David in 2006 we have been able to spend the past 6 Thanksgivings together! I know we won't always be able to spend every holiday with each family, however, I am grateful & thankful that I have my wonderful husband by my side. Each year we've been in a different state and with many different families and I'm grateful for each one!

This year we were invited to David's best friends house! Dan and Kathy welcomed us into their home and again were blessed by yet another family!

Sadly, this is the only picture I took the whole day! David and Dan are best friends, but so close that they consider each other brothers. David was really excited to spend Thanksgiving with Dan and his family. He said this was his first Thanksgiving with him and his family. I know that was special to him.

These 2 always go at it in Foosball and after stuffing their bellies full of wonderful food, it was off to the basement for a few games!

I had to work on Wednesday and Friday, so we only had Thursday off. We both really enjoyed spending with the Curran's! We were too busy eating delicious food, playing and wrestling with kiddos, watching football and just enjoying good friends to take any more pics!

Thank you Dan and Kathy for opening up your home to us!

Thank you for blessing us!

Despite the ups and downs of life we truly do have so much to be thankful for!

'In everything give thanks; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.' 1 Thessalonians 5:18

*I'm also very excited and thankful that my parents will be visiting us for a long weekend this coming weekend! : )

Break

2011-11-18T06:17:00.002-06:00

In case you haven't noticed, I haven't been blogging very much lately! ha!

I am taking a bit of a blog break, but hope to return in the near future!

Stroll in the park!

2011-11-01T06:00:00.002-05:00

On Sunday of my "birthday week" David and I did our usual for the first of the day. We visited a new church here in Ohio and then headed to BW3's for Sunday football. David wanted to leave at halftime of the first games so he could take me to Surprise #2!

He took me to Sharon Woods Metro Park for the afternoon for some Quality Time! The park was gorgeous this time of year and he knew I would love walking through the park with the gorgeous scenery and fall colors around. He was right! We walked through the woods on a couple of trails before finding an open grassy area next to the lake for some frisbee throwing!

So beautiful! So fun! So relaxing!

Thanks again, David, for sharing a day with me doing another one of my favorite things! You sure do know how to make a girl feel special!

Pumpkin Festival!

2011-10-30T19:34:00.008-05:00

Last weekend my hubby surprised me by sharing with me that he would be celebrating my birthday (Oct 26) for an entire week! He declared that "birthday week" started on October 22 and that he had something planned each day! What a sweet guy eh!?

So, on Saturday morning, October 22, David and I headed down to Circleville, Ohio for their big, annual Pumpkin Festival! He knows I love fall festivals and events so this was the perfect way to start off my birthday week!

The first thing we did was grab some grub! Don't most people go to these things for the food!? D got a yummy and quite messy Philly Cheesesteak to start off his day! : )

We walked down every street checking out all the vendors, crafts and lots of food!

Here is this years largest pumpkin! Weighing in at 1,436 lbs! Wow! David thinks we should grow our own pumpkins next year!

and the runner up...
You can't go to a festival without trying out a couple of their sweets! David's pick for the day was a pumpkin brownie! Yummy!

and my all time favorite, caramel apple!!
After satisfying our sweet tooth and seeing all the different vendors we called it a day. I love pumpkin festivals! For me, they are definitely the highlight of fall!

Thanks, David for starting off my birthday week with something you know I love! You are the most thoughtful person I know! I loved hanging out at the festival with you! and mostly love you and how you always look for different ways to make me feel special! : )

O-H-I-O

2011-10-26T12:48:00.002-05:00

Hi y'all!

My blogging is seriously falling apart! I can't believe I've been so bad at it lately. Oh well, life goes on and other important things have been taking first place during this season of my life!

Like, my new job I just started! In Ohio! David and I arrived in Columbus, Ohio 2 weeks ago today. I'm working at a brand new hospital in the outpatient women's center and loving it! Seriously, this place has been great! The first 2 days of any new place are usually pretty rough. I'll be honest! Some places the first 2 weeks are even rough and stressful! I've had basically zero stress with this new job placement. Everyone has been super nice and the department is great! My hours are 7-3:00, Monday-Friday. Love it!

After being in a hotel for 2 weeks we were finally able to move into our new apartment on Monday! I'm hoping this weekend I'm able to organize and finally get settled in for a few weeks! I've felt all sorts of misplaced and out of my element the past several days.

I've got several pics and events to share with you and will hopefully be able to do that this weekend. I'm excited to share with you the great week I've had! : )

Until then, I hope you are all enjoying fall! It's my fav time of year!

Sweet Ivey Ann!

2011-10-12T06:00:00.002-05:00

....and a trip to Alabama isn't complete without a day spent with this little sweetheart!

her mommy and daddy kept her out of daycare so we could spend the entire day with us!

I walked in the door at 7 am and the first thing Miss Priss did was throw her hands in the air and say, 'Dave at'!? She wanted to know where Uncle Dave was and she wanted him right away! Such a smart girl to associate Uncle Dave and me together!

She definitely kept us entertained the entire day!

playing with Uncle Dave!
He may or may not have taught her a few things that she shouldn't be doing! : )

she loves to color now!

What a fun day spent with you, Ivey! Thanks for letting Uncle Dave and I, and Yaya and Papa Tink spend quality time with you! We love you!

Family Fun!

2011-10-11T06:00:00.000-05:00

After visiting in Ohio for several days D and I made our way to Alabama. We made it just in time to finish watching the Alabama vs Florida game with my family!

After church, on Sunday, we all headed to my city, Chattanooga, to do a few things that I love!

David and his 4 women!
: )

I love downtown Chattanooga and love it even better when this cutie is with me!

We ate at one of my fav places, Big River Grill, before walking around town

My dad was with us to, but I guess he didn't make it into any pics...?!

While walking along the riverfront we saw some potential for a little random fun!

Who knew the top of a Pizza Hut pizza box could create so much fun!?

Us girls went down pretty easy, however, I think David was a bit too heavy!! : )

Love him!

A beautiful day in a beautiful city with beautiful people!

Cuties!

2011-10-10T06:00:00.000-05:00

A trip to Ohio wouldn't be complete with a stop to see these two blonde headed cuties!

Kayla was shaking her groove-thing here!

Braden and Uncle Dave really bonded during our short visit at the Doudicans. It warms my heart to see how good David is with kids and how they just adore him!

Of course, it was great to see the 2 cuties parents as well! Thanks Jill and Brad for letting us crash for a night and love on your kids! xoxo

Uncle Dave

2011-10-07T06:00:00.000-05:00

Our next after MN was Ohio! We stopped and spent several days with David's parents. One of those nights was spent over at Dan's, David's best friend. It always get for the guys to catch up and we both love playing with their kids!

As always, Uncle Dave was the hit of the night! He and Sydnee are big buddies!

This is how their night was spent! :)

and a little up do for Dave! What a great guy!

and then there is sweet Fynlee! She was my buddy for the evening! Such a smart, sweet and pretty little thing!

D and I both enjoyed our time with the Curran's! Their kids are truly some of the sweetest and most well behaved kids we've been around! Until next time!

MIA!

2011-10-06T07:57:00.004-05:00

Wow...it's been a long time! I had no intentions of being away from my blog this long, however, life became hectic without any warning!

After wrapping things up in South Dakota and David walking away with many flight hours over his summer goal we began our journey back East. South Dakota was a great success for David! He thoroughly enjoyed the flying and his mission for the summer.

A week or so before leaving SD, David suggested that he would like to take me to the Mall of America before we made our way into Ohio! What?! Really?! I have never in my life ever mentioned that I'd like to go there. But what girl would say no to her husband!? He even said he wanted to shop with me and would give me 'X' amount of $$ out of his hard earned tip money from the summer flying season! I'm still in shock!

The first leg of our journey was from SD to Minneapolis, Minnesota. We stayed the night in a hotel close to the mall and the next morning we were at the Mall of America when the doors opened!

It isn't just a mall for shopping, but also a huge playground for kids...and big kids! They have a huge Lego section in the middle of the mall. David thought the Lego Black Hawk was pretty awesome!

We had an awesome day shopping and hanging out together! We did take a break and watch some football in BWW's. And I finally got to see the movie The Help! Loved it! I read the book this summer and was excited that it was still on in theaters.

The Mall of America is a bit overwhelming! I love to shop, but that was almost too much!

After our shopping spree David and I headed to a dinner spot selected for us by his friend, Dan. A crazy hamburger joint in the middle of a residential area. I can't remember the name of the place right off the top of my head, however, it's been on several Food Network TV programs for the best burger and such. We, of course, had to try it out. David got the famous Jucy Lucy! Not Juicy, but Jucy. It's a burger with oozing cheese in the middle of the meat. David loved it!

Our weekend in Minnesota was a great one! I'm so thankful for my sweet hubby and his kind gestures! Thanks babe!

2 years!!

2011-09-05T05:00:00.001-05:00

Only 2 years and we've already had this much fun!?

Wow!

What a journey we've had in just 2 years!!

I seriously can't believe it's already been two years! It seems like only yesterday I walked the a isle and said 'I do' to the most wonderful man I know!

David, I love you with all of my heart!

You are so handsome and I'm not sure how you do it, but you get better looking all the time! : )

The past 2 years have been an incredible journey! If the first two years were this great, I can't wait to see what the next many years bring! I'm so blessed to have such a wonderful, loving husband as I do in you! Thank you for always loving me with your sweet, tender love! It is such a blessing being your wife and I am truly honored to call you my husband!

You truly are my best friend and I'm thankful for each day I have with you!

Happy 2nd Anniversary, Lovie!!

Boys....

2011-08-30T06:00:00.000-05:00

Will be boys no matter how old they get!

Goatee contest with some of the guys at work! : )

Going to work....

2011-08-27T06:00:00.000-05:00

Via helicopter with my hubby as my pilot!!

Life is grand!

Flying from Custer to Keystone...just the 2 of us!

: )

Harley Ridin'!

2011-08-26T09:56:00.000-05:00

This past Tuesday David and I had the day off together and decided to do something different and fun! So we rented a Harley! We drove to the Harley store and David picked out a soft tail Heritage as our ride for the day.

This was my first time on the back of a Harley! It was awesome!

We drove all scenic routes and enjoyed the peacefulness of the Black Hills

Our first stop of the day was at the Sugar Shack for lunch. This hamburger was seriously the best hamburger we had ever eaten! I don't eat hamburgers but a couple times a year but I'd definitely go back for more of this goodness!!
The random, whole-in-the-wall places are always the best!

Beautiful day!
Riding through Spearfish Canyon

Enjoying a warm, sunny day just cuisin' through the Canyon!

Bridal Veil Falls, Spearfish Canyon

After riding through Spearfish we decided to make the journey over to Sturgis and see what all the hype about that place is.
Our favorite part of the drive was on our way home while driving through Vanocker Canyon! The roads were curvy and David was loving every turn! : )
I love this pic! My fav!
An awesome day of riding and good quality time spent with the hubs!
Another full day of fun and adventure!! Loving life!

Wordless Wednesday....

2011-08-17T06:00:00.000-05:00

Harney Peak

2011-08-14T14:30:00.000-05:00

Beautiful 6.5 mile hike up to Harney Peak with our parents!

Cathedral Spires

We made it to the top!

Old fire tower look out on top of Harney Peak

Picnic lunch at the top! So fun!

David and his dad. Typical Cibik picture!

What better way to end a hike than to stop off by the beautiful Sylvan Lake!

Sylvan Lake

Awesome day spent with family!

Happy 33rd Birthday, Honey!!

2011-08-12T09:30:00.002-05:00

Davie C, I'm very excited today is your birthday! You know how much I love celebrating you!!

On your birthday I want you to know that I think you are the most handsome, funny, loving & most giving husband ever!! Of course, you already know all this, but it's fun to share it with everyone! My list could go on and on, but I'll keep it simple! : )

David, I hope this 33rd Birthday is filled with lots of love, laughter and fun memories!

I love you, sweetie!!

Mt. Rushmore

2011-08-10T23:00:00.000-05:00

A first for everyone!

We loved having both sets of our parents together and all to ourselves!

Tinker/Cibik gang!

oh....silly David!

Enjoying the Light Ceremony

David and Bob proudly standing as Veterans during the Flag Ceremony!

Custer State Park

2011-08-08T07:00:00.000-05:00

Enjoying a beautiful drive with both our parents!

Graceful Giraffes

2011-08-05T06:00:00.000-05:00

Beautiful Zebras!

2011-08-04T06:00:00.000-05:00

Elephants

2011-08-03T06:00:00.000-05:00

African Cats!

2011-08-02T06:00:00.001-05:00

Journey to the Maasai Mara

2011-08-01T06:00:00.000-05:00

Africa Sweetness!

2011-07-29T22:19:00.000-05:00

Helicopter!

2011-07-28T11:18:00.009-05:00

The Tinker & Cibik clan gathered together in the beautiful Black Hills of South Dakota for a family vacay! We started off their week here by going on a helicopter ride with David! I have flown with him before, but not yet in South Dakota. Neither of our parents had ever been up with him and it was my mom and dads first time in a helicopter! It was a day for many firsts!

When we arrived at the heli pad we were able to see David in action!

Waiting to go up on this beautiful day!

Mt. Rushmore via David's helicopter! : )

Cathedral Spires

Sylvan Lake

Crazy Horse Monument

Harney Peak

My dad enjoying his first helicopter ride with his Son In Law!

Our cute pilot!

It was so awesome having him as our pilot! So fun watching him do what he loves!

Back on solid ground after an awesome flight!

What a life!

Coolest pilot ever!

Pam and Bob headed up

Just in case you couldn't tell....I'm a proud wife!

and 100% crazy about my husband!

What an awesome way to start off a vacation! Our flights were incredible! David is such an awesome pilot and truly loves and enjoying flying! He's totally living the dream right now! I'm so happy to be a part of it!

Local Market

2011-07-26T22:59:00.003-05:00

Local market in a small village in Africa.

I'm trying really hard to finish up my Africa pics! I took so many and want to share all of them!

St Monica's Girls School

2011-07-26T21:56:00.003-05:00

I can't believe I'm still working on my Africa pics! I know you guys have already seen these pics, so I guess these posts are more for me than anyone. I still want to have all of then documented.

Visiting the all girls school was probably our favorite of all the places we went to. As you can tell from the pics below, the girls loved David!

The entire school put on a special program just for us! We then headed to one of the classrooms of Cindy, the Maryknoll Lay Missioner, that teaches at this school. She set up a special one onone time with her girls.
The girls were very well prepared with topics of conversation and many questions for each of us. We enjoyed all their questions and they loved when we asked them questions about their family and their lives.

This was my group of sweet girls! At one point they asked me to sing for them! Me?! I was totally out of my comfort zone, but some how mustered up enough courage to sing for them. Can you believe that?!

They took us on a tour of their school and loved showing everything to us. They are so proud of their school and themselves! and they should be!

Notice how big David's group of girls is! : )

This was definitely one day that we will never forget!

Workin' Girl!

2011-07-21T23:38:00.002-05:00

My blogging is a bit behind and I'm slacking a lot! I have a good excuse, though!

I'm a little busy having a blast at my new summer job!

I never knew being a helicopter pilot's wife could be so fun!

While David is out flying, I'm helping out around the shop and keeping busy being the ground girl! I get to do fun things like refuel hubby's helicopter! Who knew this could be so much fun! I LOVE being in South Dakota and I absolutely LOVE being able to have this experience. I'm thankful for the opportunity and fortunate enough to be able to take the summer off from my normal hospital job to be here. This is going to be the best summer ever!!

Kiminini Cottage Hospital

2011-07-17T07:44:00.005-05:00

Kitale, Kenya

Bosco

2011-07-13T08:24:00.000-05:00

Our team really enjoyed visiting with the St. John Bosco Rehabilitation kiddos! I believe they enjoyed our visit just the same. I'll let you take a look and see for yourself!

Drama Team

The kids that live here are all street kids. The Maryknoll Missioners run this project for all the children that have been picked up off the street. The children were left out on the streets for many different reasons. Some were trafficked out for sex, others were left out on the street because their parents couldn't afford to feed one more mouth, all while some others just weren't wanted by their parents. Very sad!

One of their class projects at school is a candle making class. We were all so honored when they brought out all these beautiful candles and ask us to take one home as a gift from them! So humbling!

Our team really enjoyed singing and dancing with the children. In the picture below I a teaching them the 'Hokey Pokey'!! hehe

They really liked the part where you put your 'backside' in! : )

The kids also had several trees that they wanted us to help plant around their school. They said it was customary that when a married couple visits that they plant a tree together. David and I really enjoyed planting our tree as the kids sang and danced around us!

The kid on the left side of this photo was picked up off the street (literally) after he fell out of a tree and was left there by his parents. When he was found his back was broken and it was a miracle he wasn't already paralyzed. He was immediately taken into the city for surgery and rehabilitation. I can't even imagine! That is such a sad, heart breaking story!

Our team gave away several soccer balls for the school. The kids immediately started playing and quickly got a game going on. USA vs KENYA!! adult vs kids. Any guesses on who won!? The Kenyan Kids, that's who!

David really enjoyed playing and having a great time with the kiddos!

A couple of boys were totally fascinated with David's muscles! They kept trying to fit their hands around his biceps! ha!

and of course David ate it up and took it a notch up! The boys loved him!

His buddies!

We enjoyed our day with these wonderful children! They truly were such a blessing to us!

Ivey Ann

2011-07-10T22:04:00.008-05:00

This past week I went to down and spent several days with this little cutie! (& her mommy and daddy, too, of course!)

The first thing we did was pass out presents! Ivey is holding a teddy bear that her Uncle Dave and I brought back from New Mexico. It's a special bear because his shirt says TINKERTOWN. Remember when David and I visited that quirky town in NM?! The doll is a very special doll from Kenya, Africa!

We named her baby doll Kenya. Fitting eh!? and she just loved on her!

She couldn't go to bed with her Auntie Brooke reading her a few books.

The next day we just played and played and played!

and we watched her favorite show ever, Fresh Beat Band! Look at her excitement!

We snuggled! and I loved it!

(please over look the way I look! snuggling and playing with her was way more important than taking a shower!)

We read lots of books! She pulled all these off the shelves in her room and wanted to go through all of them! : )

While mommy and daddy were on a day date Miss Ivey and I played outside!

We played with bubbles....

and had a great time!!

She rode her pink car and made faces along the way! ha!

I'd say little Ivey Ann and I had a fabulous time together over the past 3 days! She's such a little sweetheart. I loved having her as my little buddy!

Ivey Ann, I promise next time I come visit I'll bring Uncle Dave with me! I know you wanted to see him cause you talked about him all the time!

We love you, sweet girl!

Karibuni Lodge, Kitale

2011-07-08T06:00:00.001-05:00

We had an awesome time in Mombasa, but made our way north to the small village of, Kitale. In Kitale we stayed here in this awesome bungalow! It's so cute and we loved it, but this was our first experience of 'roughin' it in Kenya! The slanted part to the left of this pic is where Jill stayed and the upper part on the right was the 'master suite' where David and I slept! Yep....you read that correct. For 4 days Jill shared a room with us!! : )

This was part of our bathroom. The floors are made of dirt and the running water is very cold! Behind the door is the shower and toilet! A no flushing toilet! yikes!

Jill's space and her lovely mosquito net!

This is the entry way to the 'master suite'! No door and no privacy! ha! We all managed just fine!

We joke and say we were really roughin' it by staying here, but truth be known we all really enjoyed it! It was totally unique and different than anything else we had ever stayed in. A cold shower never killed anyone, right?! We didn't complain though. As much as we thought we were roughin' it we knew we had it pretty good compared to most people in Kenya. This place would be considered luxury for most others!

We enjoyed all 3 meals cooked daily by the fabulous staff here at Karibuni! It was so peaceful and relaxing around their property.

Swahili Style

2011-07-07T13:57:00.004-05:00

Enjoying lunch at Jahazi Cafe, a traditional Swahili style restaurant.

Drinking the most delicious passion fruit juice!

Sitting on the floor and serving ourselves food that was placed on the floor was definitely a first for us! So fun!

Random pic of us in downtown Mombasa
: )

White Girl's Hair!

2011-07-04T20:24:00.004-05:00

We visited the Marianist Youth Training Centre. This is kind of like our 'Technical School' in The States. They offer different classes such as Beauty School, welding, culinary and wood working. We were able to visit some of the classes why they were going on. While being with the beauty school girls we got word that they love to touch white girls hair! Jill and I volunteered to let them practice braiding on our hair! : )

They did such a beautiful job!

In the schools in Kenya, the girls aren't allowed to grow their hair out. They have to keep it buzzed just as short as the guys do. This is done for obvious health and cleanliness reasons. Can you imagine the joy our long, silky hair brought them!?

After being pampered by the beauty school girls we headed over to lunch prepared by the culinary students. We were seriously treated like loyalty! The food was delicious and the service with a smile was fantastic!

After lunch our team presented them with several soccer balls to use around their school. Every ball that we gave out was a huge hit! All the kids (and adults) loved them and were very much appreciative of them.

Bombolulu Disability Center

2011-07-03T08:05:00.006-05:00

We visited a center for the disabled while in Mombasa. The center services adult men and women with different types of disabilities. We were able to walk through the different areas to meet the men and women all while they worked on their speciality item.

We watched some of the men hard at work in the word carving area.

The guy below on the left is making different chess pieces! They have an amazing skill!

We also walked through the shop where the women were making beautiful jewelry. We weren't allowed to take any pics in this area.

Of course, these kids kind of stole our attention for a few minutes! Aren't they just adorable?!

This was our guide for the morning. He and I are standing in front of a typical home from the Lou Tribe. Do any of you know anything about the Lou Tribe?!

The Lou is the Tribe that President Obama comes from. His grandmother was a Lou Tribe Member!

At the end of our tour we had the pleasure of shopping in the gift shop with all the handmade items we had just seen being created! It was so cool to know we met the people that made all the gifts we bought!

Fun @ 'Home'!

2011-07-02T06:00:00.001-05:00

I got back from Africa last Friday evening, spent a couple days in Ohio with the in laws and then drove to Alabama on Sunday. I'm glad to be home for a couple weeks! It's great spending time with my family again.

This past Tuesday mom and dad took me to Chattanooga to eat at, Lupi's, my fav place downtown! I love, love, love Lupi's and always enjoy going there. My little sister, Whitney, as well as mom and dad's best friends, Alan and Debra, joined us.

After a delicious dinner we did our usual stroll through downtown. Chattanooga is definitely one of my favorite cities! I love everything about downtown. We walked across the 'Walking Bridge', through Coolidge Park and along the waterfront.

It was a beautiful evening and I loved being with my family!

Sister and I kicked off our shoes, rolled up our pants and walked through the water!

If I had 2 sets of parents these would definitely be other set!! hehe!

I love my little sis!

On Wednesday, Whitney and I headed to Georgia to visit a very special little man!

I finally got to meet sweet Cohen! Ohhhh....how I could just eat him up!

Of course, another great thing about seeing Cohen was getting to spend time with his mommy, Aishlea! Aishlea is a dear friend and I cherish my time spent with her. It was extra special seeing her in action as a mommy!

Aishlea, I just might have to come back and play with that love bug again before I leave!

Indian Ocean

2011-06-30T22:44:00.003-05:00

We were blown away when we pulled up to our hotel in Mombasa and discovered this!!

We really thought we'd be 'roughin' it a bit more! We almost felt guilty staying here! :)

David and I immediately ran down to the beach for an evening stroll!

The Indian Ocean is beautiful and the Nyali Beach was very peaceful!

Bangladesh Slum

2011-06-30T06:00:00.001-05:00

If we had not went with the group that we went with, we would never of had the opportunity to visit as many places as we did. One afternoon we visited a health clinic located on the back side of this slum.

The clinic was set up and is ran by Maryknoll Missioners. They are very involved with the community there and service many people from the slums and surroundings.

We had the opportunity to do a home visit with one of the MLM volunteers. David, Jill and I had a long walk through the slums in order to reach our family.

We all really enjoyed our walk because it gave us the chance to really see how they live and talk with the awesome children!

Here we are inside their 'house'. It was about 100 degrees inside! The curtain behind us is their bed. Grace and her husband, (can't remember his name), have 7 children between the 2 of them. All 9 people sleep in the one and only bed that they have!

This little boy was just adorable! He followed us for a few minutes checking us out and probably wondering what we were up to!

These kiddos are walking home from school. Look how little they are! The smallest one can't be over 3 years old! They walk several miles to and from school each day.

This is David's favorite pic of them all! Look how happy and content these children are! Their smiles are just so infectious!

You would of thought that we were Hollywood Movie Stars or something fabulous! The kids just flocked to us. They all wanted to shake our hands or give us the 'rock'! : ) We all loved every minute of their excitement!

When our bus pulled away all the kids ran and followed us as we drove out of the slum!

Swahili

2011-06-29T07:05:00.007-05:00

Today we are in Mombasa, Kenya.

This is our first full, day with Friends Across Borders.

We flew from Nairobi to Mombasa and immediately immersed ourselves into the surrounding culture!

We met up with one of the Maryknoll Lay Missioners, Mary, that took us to her visit her students. Her mission at this school is working at an AIDS Orphan Project. She asked the kids earlier in the week what they wanted to do when their visitors came. They all told her that they wanted to teach us their language and give us a lesson in Swahili!

Our team of 18 broke up into small groups, were given 2-3 students and a Swahili lesson. Each group learned different phrases that would be useful during our stay in Kenya.

The kids were great teachers and really enjoyed teaching us their language.

Our team for the next 2 weeks!

After our language lesson we enjoyed a delicious lunch with the students. We were served traditional foods of rice, beans and ugali!

African Adventure begins....

2011-06-28T11:34:00.004-05:00

Our trip started out kind of rough!

We flew from Dayton, Ohio to Chicago, Illinois to London, England to Nairobi, Kenya.

Upon arriving in Dayton we learned our flight was delayed. We still had a slight chance of making our connection in Chicago, until it was even further delayed. It was over before it even began!

We were completely rerouted from the beginning and all was well except our 12 hour layover coming up in London! Yuck! It was, however, the best case scenario for us.
Instead of arriving in Kenya on Saturday night we arrived early Sunday morning around 7 am! We were completely exhausted!

Thankfully, our first day was pretty laid back in order to give everyone time to re coop. David, Jill and I went straight to our rooms and all took a 3 hour nap! It was awesome!

The only thing on the agenda for the evening was going into town for money exchange and a driving tour of Nairobi.

We were all pretty shocked when we pulled up to a very nice mall with lots of shopping and gelato! My ice cream lover husband and his sister were way excited!

From there we drove through downtown and straight through the hard poverty stricken areas.

Kibera Slum is home to 700,000 residents! It is the largest slum in the world! This was definitely my first taste of true poverty and it was pretty hard to swallow!

This is what the side of the roads look like in the slum.

These shacks are homes and shops to some people.

Day 1 and we've already seen so much!

The End!

2011-06-16T05:00:00.003-05:00

All good things must come to an end!

Our Route 66 trip was complete when we drove downtown Chicago for this one sign!

2,400 miles on Route 66, total of 3,500 miles for the entire trip!

Our trip was awesome! My hubby did such a wonderful job of planning everything! We honestly had such a great time together! Who knew driving across the country would be so fun and relaxing! : )

After leaving Arkansas we drove to St. Louis and spent the night. I really don't have any exciting pics to show you. We spent our last night in Chicago with David's Aunt Cheryl. We were able to visit with several family members there which made the trip even better.

Route 66, complete!

Arkansas part 2

2011-06-15T05:00:00.001-05:00

We really enjoyed our time with Joel and Katy! Katy cooked up a yummy breakfast before we headed out for a long hike.

I never knew Arkansas could be this beautiful?! We hiked to Indian Rock. Pretty awesome hike!

Joel, Katy and miss Mia!

David took a dip in the extremely cold, natural bath! Perfect for a hot day, right!? :)

After the hike we stopped by their BBQ place for a quick lunch before hitting the road. Joel's guys cooked up one mean hamburger! If you are ever in Yellville, AR you def. have to look these guys up!

Thank you guys so much for treating us like a King and Queen! We loved visiting with you guys and hope to see you again soon!! Give Mia a hug and kiss for us! We love you guys!

Arkansas

2011-06-14T05:00:00.005-05:00

After driving through Kansas, only 13 miles of RT 66 there, we made our way into Missouri. Directly through Joplin....

I'll spare you guys the pics from there. David and I drove right through the hardest hit area. We parked the car and just walked around in despair at all the horrific devastation! God please be with the people of Joplin and their city!

From here we detoured off the Rt. and headed further south to Arkansas. We couldn't have been that close to AR and not stopped by to see Joel and Katy! So we did! As soon as we arrived they took us to their BBQ restaurant and treated us to a delicious dinner!

After dinner this little cutie entertained us for a little while.

They have a mini 'farm' and David got to help Joel bottle feed the baby goats! Def. a first for him!

Isn't she a doll?!

Does the guy look familiar to you guys? He was the man who married us....preacher man, Joel!

Tow-Mater!

2011-06-13T05:00:00.004-05:00

As I mentioned before, David and I love the movie Cars! Tow-Mater is definitely our favorite character! When David found out that Tow-Maters inspiration for the movie was in Kansas right along the Route, we knew we had to stop!

The gas station/cafe is called, 4 Women on the Route, and this lady is the main women! They call her, The Mouth! ha!

Unique Stops

2011-06-12T05:00:00.001-05:00

After spending the night in a Route 66 classic motel, we headed out early for a long day on the road. Oklahoma definitely had the best roads for the entire Route! The actual roads were awesome, but the scenery was beautiful and the road side attractions were great! Bet ya never thought I'd say Oklahoma was beautiful, did ya?!

'Sidewalk Highway' This is part of the original highway. The middle lane was the one lane road for this section of highway. They ran out of money at this point and were only able to have one lane!

Classic! Love it!

Of course David spotted this ice cream shop and just had to stop!! Ice cream cone for $.90!

D with the sweet little, old lady who ran it. This shop has been there since 1929!!

Oklahoma City National Memorial

2011-06-11T05:00:00.000-05:00

While driving through Oklahoma City we stopped downtown to visit the memorial for the 1995 bombing.

The chairs represent the persons that lost their lives that day.

The ground are beautiful and the memorial site was very well done.

Rescuers Orchard

Children's Area

Africa!!

2011-06-10T05:00:00.002-05:00

We are off to Africa!!

David, Jill and I board a plane this afternoon for our long journey to Kenya!

I can't even begin to tell you all how excited we are!

We will be gone for 2 weeks. I ask that you please keep us in your prayers while we are there. First, we ask for God's travel mercy on us for our entire trip. Once in Kenya we also have several in country flights. Next, we would like for you to pray that God will open up our hearts and minds to what we will be experiencing in Kenya! We ask Him to prepare our hearts and lead us in a way pleasing to Him! My prayer is that the Kenyan people will feel Christ's love through each of us! Let our light shine for Him!

I can not believe I am about to go on the biggest journey of my life!

I look forward to sharing our experiences and stories with you upon our return. Until then, please enjoy the last several posts from our journey across the United States!

Thank you all in advance for your prayers!

Route 66 Museum

2011-06-09T05:00:00.003-05:00

We toured the Route 66 Museum in a small town in Oklahoma. They had some original buildings from the 1920's and 1930's and then some replicas they represented an original, old town from back in the day.
This was inside the museum! Did they really used to get a perm this way?!

I love all the old gas pumps! So cool!

After leaving the museum we stopped at Jigg's to grab some fresh, homemade beef jerky. It was our favorite snack for the long road trip!

Middle of Nowhere Texas!

2011-06-08T05:00:00.005-05:00

We made it to Texas! It's hot and humid...we are definitely in the south!

This was one of our first 'ghost town' towns to drive through. It's actually sad to see an entire town non existing anymore.

Half way there!! We stopped in Midpoint, Texas to this photo op and to check out the old cafe.

There we had a yummy chocolate chip, ugly bottom pie....ate 10 AM!! :)

Cadillac Ranch

Weird road side attraction. Cadillacs nosed down in the middle of a field....?! The big hype is to spray paint any and everything on the old cars. I found a half full spray paint can and went at it!

Our lunch spot for the day....another historical stop!

Tinkertown!!

2011-06-07T05:00:00.006-05:00

Weirdest, funkiest, tackiest road side attraction, yet worth the stop!

The entire museum and gift shop is built from recycled bottles and other materials. There isn't really a town called Tinkertown, but this area was created by a man who enjoyed to 'tinker'.

It's definitely a weird place, but it was also fun and unique. Plus, it's my name sake! :) David thinks this is where I am from! ha!

I love this pic...kinda cool eh!?

Inscription Rock, NM

2011-06-06T05:00:00.001-05:00

We stopped again along the way to do some exploring and hiking! This hike was awesome and definitely our fav!

New Mexico

2011-06-05T05:00:00.000-05:00

We arrived in New Mexico on day 3. Neither one of us have ever been in NM so it was fun to drive through and mark that off our list!

On our first stops was at the Continental Divide. It's nothing fancy by any means, just a sign on the side of the road.

Our next stop was to do a little more hiking and roaming around. This stop was neither of our favorite spots, but it was on the list of things we should do in NM so we tried them out.

This is a natural ice cave that was created as a result of the nearby active volcano (many years ago) Never gets above 31 degrees down here!

We had just finished up a hike so it was actually quite nice being that cool!

Before the ice cave we walked up to the site of some ole volcano. Can you tell I wasn't really into this place!?

Ha! these sights may not have been the greatest, but getting out of the car and hiking was awesome!

Memorial Day in AZ!

2011-06-04T05:00:00.008-05:00

After leaving the Cibik's house in Phoenix, we headed north for a pit stop in Sedona! This day we didn't have plans on covering much ground East bound. This was more of leisure day for sightseeing and hiking! My parents took me to Sedona back in 2000 and I fell in love with it! Once we decided to do this trip I knew we had to stop here!

We walked around the town checking out all the neat shops.

We then drove a little bit out of the main part of town and pulled over to do some hiking! Once again, the weather was incredible and we couldn't pass up this opportunity!

After our hike we continued north to Flagstaff. We ran into a Flagstaff 'local' along our hike and she over heard us talking about having lunch there. She interrupted to tell us her fav spot to go to. We are so glad she did because the cafe was just what we were looking for!

We originally planned to keep heading north to the Grand Canyon, but changed our mind after spending more time hiking than we thought we would. Both of us have been to the Grand Canyon so it wasn't a big loss. If one of us hadn't we def would of made the trip up there.

Instead, we finally started our journey east, but weren't on the road too long before pit-stopping again!

We stopped at the Walnut Canyon National Monument and did a little bit more hiking!

I won't go into the facts about this place, but the history behind this area was very interesting. David really enjoyed the history and I really enjoyed the hike! : )

Next, we stopped to see the Meteor Crater. This place is literally in the middle of now where!

and it's just a big hole in the ground! no pun intended! : )

Day 3 on the road was great! It's nice to have days built in of sightseeing instead of straight driving. My husband has done an awesome job of planning this trip!

Lake Havasu, Arizona

2011-06-03T05:00:00.000-05:00

After leaving the Wigwam and driving down Route 66 for a couple hundred miles we made our way into Arizona. We actually got off the route just after entering into AZ and journeyed down to Lake Havasu!

David has family that live in Phoenix so we decided to fore go some of the route and go out of the way just a little bit in order to stay with them.

We made a pit stop at Lake Havasu and walked around for a bit. The weather was absolutely gorgeous and the scenery wasn't too bad either!

We already decided that we def want to go back and spend a few days at Lake Havasu at some point!

After leaving LH we cruised down to Phoenix and made out way to David's 1st cousin's house. It was so nice to see Rick and Sandy and crash with them for the night! They grilled up some delicious bbq and treated us like royalty! It was nice to relax and catch up with them while sitting out by the pool!

Thanks Rick and Sandy for hosting us for the night!

Wigwam!

2011-06-02T05:00:00.001-05:00

The entire theme of this trip is to drive the historic Route 66 and avoid the interstate! In doing so we are seeing fun and unique things! Like on the first night an hour outside of L.A. we stayed in a Wigwam! David found this several weeks back and booked us a room in advance. I'm glad he did because when we got there the rooms were sold out!

David and I love the movie 'Cars' and like the part where Sally and McQueen sleep in the orange cones, aka Wigwam!

Some of the old road is not accessible and the turn by turn directions will sometimes pop you back onto the interstate to avoid a dead end. For the most part on the Day 2, which was day 1 of the route, we were able to stay on 66 the entire time. Driving through the old, small towns that you would never see any other time is very interesting!

For hours we were the only ones of the long open road!

Roy's famous Cafe was a must stop and see!

Several movies and commercials have been filmed here and D enjoyed walking around the old place!

This trip thus far is going great! We are enjoying taking our time and sightseeing along the way!

Get Your Kicks On Route 66!

2011-06-01T05:00:00.001-05:00

David has been wanting to do a road trip across the historic Route 66 and we figured since we were living on the West Coast that this was as good of a time as any! We made the long drive from the San Fran area down to the Los Angeles area in order to start our journey on the 'Mother Road'!

We made our way to Santa Monica on Saturday evening and went straight to Ocean Ave and Santa Monica Blvd! This marks the end of Route 66, yet the beginning for us! We snapped a few pics of the plaque dedicated to the route.

Ocean Ave was gorgeous and we enjoyed walking around for a bit before grabbing dinner downtown!

We cruised down Sunset Blvd just as the sun was setting!

Next we cruised down Hollywood Blvd and snapped a couple quick pics as we drove down the road. We really had no desire to get out and walk around so we just took in the 'Walk of Fame' as we drove by! : )

We drove about an hour east of L.A. and finally stopped for the night. We put in 500 miles on the first day!

Pacific Coast Hwy

2011-05-31T05:00:00.000-05:00

David and I are in route from West to East! We left Saturday morning and made our way down the beautiful West Coast via Hwy 1, Pacific Coast Hwy! Taking this highway definitely adds miles and time, but I'll let you judge from the pics why we chose the route instead of the interstate!

Our trip started out by stopping for fresh picked cherries at a road side stand in Monterey Bay! We enjoyed those as we winded along this beautiful coast line!

We stopped for a yummy lunch in Big Sur!

and this was our incredible view while we ate!
What a gorgeous day!

Our plan was to drive the entire PCH all the way down to Los Angeles, however, a rock slide quickly changed our plans! We ended up having to detour off about half way down due to the road being closed. It stinks that one small section only a few feet long caused us to leave the highway. We then drove up an extremely steep mountain in order to get back to the main highway.

This detour added 2 hours to our trip and put us getting into L.A. a bit later than we planned, but it all worked out perfect!

The first half of our day was fabulous and I'm excited to show you the 2nd half of day 1!

Lots of pics to come!

and.....Happy Birthday to my lovely SIL, Bridget! We hope you have a wonderful and blessed day Bridge! We love you!!

Now do you know...!?

2011-05-20T22:08:00.002-05:00

Any final guesses on where David is right now?!

He and his new PILOT buddies went to visit the Crazy Horse Monument in Custer, South Dakota!

Why does he have new friends in SD and why is he there, you might ask?!

Because he flew out this week to attend orientation for his new helicopter job! : ) He found out several weeks ago that he was selected for this position and we've been so excited! After applying for the job and being told there were around 200 applicants he didn't have much faith in getting the position. The next day he received a phone call for a screening interview and from there they quickly narrowed down the 200 applicants to 6. My hubby was one of them!! I'm so proud of him and way excited for him! They have 3 different aircraft and since David is qualified in all 3 that put him at the top of their list!

He will be flying helicopter tours in the Mount Rushmore and Badlands area in South Dakota! He's pretty pumped and so I am! For obvious reasons, this job will only be for the tour season of the summer and fall, but we are excited about all the opportunities this one job will open up!

I'm excited to update you and tell you about all the fun things we'll be doing this summer!

??

2011-05-19T21:03:00.002-05:00

David is away this week on business. This is what's happening where he is!
Can anyone guess where he might be?!

I'll tell you where and why he's there in a later post!

The 'Dish' Hike

2011-05-15T18:34:00.003-05:00

With our days being few here in Cali, David and I decided to go on a hike. There is an awesome area on Stanford University's campus that we've been wanting to hike, but haven't been able to because of D's knee. He felt for the first time since his surgery that he was ready to tackle it.

It's been in the 80's and 90's here the last week or so, however, this weekend it decided to super chilly and cloudy!

The hike was awesome and David was able to hike 5 miles, uphill, pain free!! The hike was great and spending QT time with David was awesome, but him being able to do it without pain was the best part!

Yosemite

2011-05-14T10:01:00.004-05:00

David and I made the long journey to Yosemite National Park a couple weekends ago. It was so worth it!

Bridalveil Falls

Yosemite Upper Falls

Half Dome

I don't need to say much about this place....the pictures say it all!

He hath made all things beautiful in his time.

Ecclesiastes 3:11

Most lovely...

2011-05-09T22:43:00.002-05:00

day to sit outside and eat a delicious hamburger!

and that's exactly what we did on our way to Yosemite!

After winding and winding and winding up the mountain for what seemed like forever we ran upon this awesome, little cafe. It was tucked backed into the mountain and presented with an awesome view!

The temp was just right and the warm sunshine felt so good while we waited for our yummy food to arrive!

The all natural, grass fed beef hamburger with delicious fixins' and sweet potato fries sure did hit the spot! It was a perfect way to start out journey into the great Yosemite!

Love our Mothers!

2011-05-08T05:00:00.000-05:00

Happy Mother's Day to 2 beautiful and special women!

I am not only blessed to have one amazing mother, but two!

Today, David and I celebrate both!

Mama,

First of all, you get more beautiful and look younger the older you get! I love showing people pictures of you and seeing their reaction when I tell you that you are my mother!

I am so blessed to have you as my mother and honored to be your daughter! I love when David points out the qualities of you that he sees in me! I pray that one day he will be able to point out motherly qualities in me that are from you as well! My hearts desire is to one day become a mother. If I can give my children half as much love as you give me I think they will be loved greatly! : )

I love that you are not only my mother, but my friend! You cry when I cry, laugh when I laugh, set me straight when I'm out of line, listen when I need a listener, give advice when needed and the list goes on and on. Thanks for always loving me with such a tender heart and never ceasing to lift me up in your prayers!

Mama, I love you so very much!

With so many people are complaining about their mothers in law and not getting along with them, I almost feel guilty for how wonderful mine is to me! : ) Not really...I really don't! he!

I honestly could not ask for a better mother in law!

Moms, thanks for treating me as your own and loving me for who I am! You are such a giving and loving person. David is blessed to have you as his mother and I'm glad to be a part of it!

Happy Mother's Day to two very important women in mine and David's life! We love you both greatly! If it weren't for the two of you and your major impact on our lives we wouldn't be the people we are today! I believe a mother is one of the most influential persons to have in your life. I am grateful for my wonderful mother and thankful my husband has a loving mother in his life!

God of Wonders....

2011-05-07T22:07:00.006-05:00

just a sneak peak to mine and David's trip to Yosemite!

by the way, my little sister, Whitney, now has a new blog! go on over and check her out!

Mama's Survival Mode!

2011-05-02T23:12:00.002-05:00

I'm not sure whether to laugh or cry when I look at this photo!

My mother sent me this via her cell phone the other day. She and dad are still out of power and have been since early Wednesday morning. They are also without a generator and have no means of keeping things cold.

This was their only solution for the time being! They put their drinks in the 'brook' that surround their house in hopes of having cold milk for cereal the next morning!

It's been 6 days without power and I haven't heard my parents complain once! They are just so thankful and grateful to have a roof over their head!

Please continue to remember the Peek family as they laid a sweet young man to rest yesterday!

"God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble".

Psalm 46:1

27 April 2011

2011-04-28T18:31:00.008-05:00

A day that will go down in history!!

Thank you Lord for your protective hand being over my family and friends during the massive events of tornadoes on this horrific day!

I am a weather fanatic and am constantly looking at the forecast for not only the town I live in, but also the locations of my family members. Growing up in the south I know that this time of year is prime-time, tornado time! Even from California I was a nervous wreck during these events! I called/text my parents/siblings/friends every few hours checking in on them. I had no idea as the day unfolded that 3 tornadoes would rip through my hometown!

As I left work yesterday I phoned my mom and stayed on the phone with her as she and my dad were forced to take cover as #3 rolled through their area! I could hear the weather radio saying for people in the Henagar area (my hometown) to take cover NOW!! My mother was screaming and crying and I was doing the same thing on the other end! At one point I wanted to hang up the phone because I couldn't bare the thoughts of being on the phone with her as a tornado stormed through their house! The other part of me could not bare to hang up! I stayed on the phone until it was over and they were safe. The storm went just as quickly as it came!

This is the monster tornado that went through DeKalb County near all my family and friends.

photo taken from a cell phone in Ider

Thankfully my parents and their property were kept safe!

My Aunt Sandra and her family weren't so lucky! This is what is remaining from her 2 story house!

How are they alive!? Only by God's amazing grace! My aunt, uncle and 2 of their kids were at home, in the home when this took place! WOW!!

All the above took place in North Alabama.

My little sister, who lives in Tuscaloosa, was in her apt with her roommate when they saw from Skycam news that a tornado was fast approaching. She and Danielle ran down the road to their friends house for some added comfort because they were scared out of their mind! Sirens were going off and they took at the door way and watched this unimaginable tornado storm across the town they now call 'home'!

I can't even imagine the terror they must have felt!

Once again, thank you Lord for protecting them and watching over them! So many lives were taken on this horrible day including one young man that we grew up in church with. He was in Tuscaloosa and was in his house that was right in the line of destruction!

So many people all across Alabama and beyond are suffering and hurting from yesterdays tragic events! Lord, we ask that you put your all mighty hand upon them, give them comfort and peace during this time!

Good Day!

2011-04-23T08:39:00.005-05:00

Friday, April 22, 2011

Good Friday & Earth Day!

As if this day wasn't good enough already.....

Friday at lunch time my sweet hubby stopped by and surprised me with this beautiful bouquet of flowers!

Let me explain the card!

Here at Stanford patients can fill out a 'WOW' card if they feel you have done a good job, were kind, gentle, professional....etc, you get the idea. I have received several 'WOW' cards from patients over the past several months and just last week I finally showed them to David. As you all have seen in the past my hubby is very creative and super sweet. On Friday I received the most special 'WOW' card yet! A special one created by none other than my hubby!

I don't know how he thinks of these things! So sweet!

Not only did he bring me a treat, but he also brought in 2 different kinds of cookies for all my coworkers! Who does that!? : ) He's such a sweet and thoughtful guy!

The occasion, as you might have read on my homemade card?!

David and I met 5 years ago on Easter Sunday!

Easter is such an awesome celebration all by itself but I love sharing a special day between David and I with our Risen Savior!

I hope everyone has a fabulous Easter weekend!

I'm thankful that when Jesus was on the cross, I was on His mind!!

Missionaries

2011-04-19T21:35:00.007-05:00

Last fall my 1st cousin, Amberly, and her husband, Matthew, announced their call into the mission field. They didn't tell all of the family until around Christmas time, which was the last time that many of us would see them before they journeyed out. They spent the first part of this year in Virginia for training before finally leaving for AFRICA last week!

I stole these pics of her facebook so I could share with you guys!

This is their family at the airport saying their final goodbyes!
Amberly's parents on the left, Amberly, Daly (standing), Attie, Matthew and his mother

Amberly has always had a huge heart! She is so loving, compassionate and extremely giving. It came to no surprise to me when she shared with me that the Lord had called them into the mission field to do His work.

This past fall they sold their house, car and other belongings in preparation for their big move! and it's not just Amberly and Matthew, as you can see they have 2 young girls that are embarking on this amazing journey!

They are currently in western Africa and will be there for several months before heading to their new home in Mali, Africa. I'm not exactly sure of their 'mission' while serving there, however, I do know Amberly's main job will be homeschooling her girls all while learning a new language. They are currently committed to a 2-3 year assignment.

They just arrived in Africa last week and as you can see in these 2 pics, they seem to be settling in very nicely! She said on FB that they have a washer/dryer, however, they weren't currently working! One of their family activities this week was washing clothes outside in a bucket in the 105 degree weather! : )

I'm excited to keep up with her through pictures and fb! Will you please keep them in your prayers?

So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up. Ephesians 4: 11-12

Half Moon Bay

2011-04-10T21:17:00.002-05:00

Yesterday David and I took a drive over to the coast for a quick visit to the beach. The main reason we went was because I had a Dr's appointment at their local clinic. I needed to go ahead and get my vaccinations for Africa started and had to find a clinic that was open later than 5pm through the week or open on Saturdays. The only clinic in this area that was open on Saturday just happened to be located on the beach! ha! :) On a side note - I received 4 of my 5 vaccines yesterday and boy are my arms still sore! The actual shots weren't bad at all, however, the after affect wasn't very pleasant! By the time yesterday evening rolled around I was feeling quite lousy! My entire body ached and I felt like pooh! Thankfully, my sweet hubby let me lay around for the evening and rest.

Anyways, after my vaccines David and I walked around the cute town of Half Moon Bay and grabbed an awesome lunch. We even treated ourselves to a cookie afterwards!

Half Moon Bay is about 45 minutes from our place and boy was the weather different. I had heard that HMB doesn't ever really get great, warm weather, but I had no idea it would be as chilly as it was!

It def wasn't a day to lay out on the beach, however, beautiful none the less! Can you tell I've got my fleece NF jacket on here?! ha! It was sooo windy!

After walking around and taking a few pictures we headed out. As soon as we got back home we put on our swimsuits and headed straight to the pool! It was so much warmer where we live!

I went to bed last night feeling pretty rough! It had to have been from my vaccines, right?! This morning I woke up feeling much better, but still unable to lift my arms above my head. I sound like a weenie, but I assure you my arms are super sore!

Hope you had a great weekend!

B-O-B

2011-04-02T10:56:00.004-05:00

Last weekend David's dad, Bob, came to visit and spend a few days with us! We had several fun things planned, however, the cold, rainy weather quickly changed our plans! I think Bob was a bit relieved! I believed he enjoyed sitting around and hanging out with his son more than anything! Yes, that's a PS3 controller in his hand. David was trying to teach him a few things in hopes that he would be good enough to play him in a game of Madden by the end of his visit!

David was giving him a guitar lesson here

He did pretty well! On Sunday, after church, we took him into downtown San Francisco for his 1st visit there! When you visit Fisherman's Wharf your visit isn't complete until you go see the sea lions! Like father, like son! I think I'm in trouble! ha! His visit was short, but we really enjoyed having him here with us! Bob, thanks for visiting us and hanging out with us on a cold, rainy weekend! We had a great time and look forward to our next visit with you in June! We love you!

Promise

2011-03-30T06:00:00.004-05:00

And God said, “This is the sign of the covenant that I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all future generations: I have set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth. Genesis 9: 12-13

(taken over San Francisco Bay, 3/27/3011)

Green Day!

2011-03-17T06:00:00.004-05:00

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Are you wearing green today!?

Miss Kayla Reese is stylin' in her St. Patty's Day attire and I thought

she was too adorable so I stole this pic from her mommy!

I'm sure Jill won't mind me showing off her precious baby girl!

It doesn't get much cuter than this!

Until D and I have cute kids of our own I'll be spicing up your day

with cuties like her!

Africa!?

2011-03-16T06:00:00.002-05:00

David and I are extremely happy to share with you that we will be traveling to Kenya, Africa in June!! A life long dream of mine is about to come true and I honestly can't believe it! David and I, along with his sister, Jill, are about to embark on an amazing journey!

What started out as small, girl talk around the kitchen table in Ohio during Christmas turned into an amazing opportunity! I have been 100% positive from the get-go and David was kind of up in the air for a couple of weeks. He made his decision to go at the end of January and we've just been waiting to find out if his sister would be joining us or not. She definitely always wanted to go, but was awaiting permission from her school (she teaches 1st grade) to miss the very last day of school in order to go. She got her approval this past Friday and the planning has been in full force since that moment! We are so excited Jill will be going with us! Her husband, Brad, would love to join us on the trip as well, however, due to his extremely demanding PhD program he will not be able to leave the country during this time.

We are participating in 'Friends Across Borders' through the Maryknoll Lay Missioners. David's parents went on an African trip with the MLM a few years ago and had an awesome experience. His mom still talks about her trip there! :) We received our flight itinerary today and are working on getting our Visas and many immunizations! ahh....it's really happening!

We leave for Nairobi, Kenya in less than 3 months! From there we will meet up with one of the team leaders and head to Mombasa and Kitale where we will spend most of our 2 weeks in Kenya!

I seriously can't even tell you how excited (& a bit nervous, I won't lie!) I am! As time gets closer I will share parts of our itinerary with you guys!

Heli Expo

2011-03-14T06:00:00.002-05:00

Last weekend after David attended his buddy's wedding in S.C. he flew down to Orlando for a few days. He got to visit and stay with another West Point buddy, John, while attending a Heli Expo. This expo was also a networking conference and David was able to talk face to face with many companies. He is pursuing many different avenues in hope of landing a job in the near future! He made several great contacts while attending this Expo and we are hopeful that something great will eventually come out of this. We know God has a plan for David and for our next career path, yet being patient isn't always easy. We ask that you keep us in your prayers as we continue this phase in our lives. We want to always be in His will and go where he would have us to go.

For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Jeremiah 29:11

I think this helicopter is the craziest looking thing!

Sunny Days!

2011-03-13T21:48:00.002-05:00

This is what David and I did for part of our relaxing Saturday!

The weather was quite lovely and we took advantage of it!

I don't know about you, but I feel like this weekend went by extra fast! We had a

great weekend and hope you guys did too!

Kaydence is 1!

2011-03-12T18:19:00.004-06:00

Happy 1st Birthday to my beautiful Goddaughter, Kaydence!!

I can't believe a year has already gone by!

It seems like just yesterday I was at the hospital with your mommy

awaiting your arrival!

Kaydence, I know I don't get to see you often, but it doesn't change how much I love you!

I am so honored to be your Godmother! I love talking with you and your mommy

during your bath time! I'm glad your mommy keeps me updated

on all the fun things you are doing these days!

Kaydence had a Minnie Mouse birthday party today! Check out her birthday outfit her Auntie Brookie sent her! My sweet friend, Abbie, made it for her and she was a

big hit in it at her party today!

Brittany ask Kaydence to show Auntie Brookie how cute she was in

her outfit and this is the pose she struck! ha! So cute!

Kaydence, I hope you had a great 1st birthday party! Wish your Uncle Dave and I

could have been there! Can't wait to see more pics!

We love you!!

South Carolina

2011-03-10T20:32:00.002-06:00

The morning after D's knee surgery I drove him to the airport and sent him off to South Carolina. Crazy eh?! His West Point buddy, Dan, got married last Saturday and he didn't want his impromptu surgery to stop him from going. Of course, he's had this trip planned for several months and never thought he'd be having knee surgery the day before leaving.

Dan and Dave were in the same company at West Point and have remained good friends since then. Here are a few of the guys from his company. The groom is the middle guy.

One of the best parts of a Military wedding. Sabre Arch Ceremony. Congrats Dan and Lori! David and I are happy for you guys!

I was nervous about him flying all the way to the East coast less than 24 hours after having surgery, however, he managed pretty well. He was escorted around in between flights via a wheelchair and taken directly to each gate. I think he enjoyed all the attention! :) I was really bummed he left and I was unable to take care of him all weekend. So much for being lazy and laying around while keeping his leg elevated!

Feelin' Good!

2011-03-05T09:18:00.002-06:00

After D's surgery he had to stay in recovery for an hour and then was free to go! He was feeling great and ready to get up!

Getting him up the stairs to our 2nd story apt was a slow go, but he managed very well. Once dinner was over all he had on his brain was Madden! He yelled and carried during his game like nothing at all had happened earlier that day!

I love taking care of him, but it's funny to look back and think about how many times he said, "Brookie can you get me........" : )

Update...

2011-03-04T05:00:00.001-06:00

I am very happy to report that David's surgery went very well and he is feeling great!

His surgery was scheduled for 1:00 PST, but you know hospitals and their 'schedules'! He didn't get taken back until 3:00 and was wheeled into recovery right at 4:00. Unfortunately, due to his surgery being very last minute I had to work and was unable to be with him. Luckily, I work just a couple miles from the V.A and was able to get there quickly after work. The timing actually worked out perfect for us! As I got in my car to leave work and head his way, his Dr. phoned me to let me know his surgery was over and went well. 5 minutes later I arrived and walked into the recovery room just as they wheeled David in! Perfect timing!

I was surprised to see this as I walked in the door....

a smiling face and a handsome man in great spirits! Isn't he a cutie in his bonnet?!

They weren't able to repair his Meniscus liked they hoped due to the fact that it was badly damaged. Instead, they just 'cleaned it out' and say he should have a speedy recovery and do very well! Thank you Lord!

Surgery....

2011-03-02T22:47:00.002-06:00

Have I told you guys that David needs knee surgery? If not, he does!

He has had issues with his right knee that date back for many years. Then this time last year he re injured back at Fort Rucker and he's been in pain ever since. He put it off for months (obviously!) just trying to rehab and stay off of it. Last fall, back in Boston, he finally broke down and went to see and Orthopedic Surgeon. They did x-rays and an MRI at that time. The results from the MRI showed he has a Meniscus tear. It's a pretty common injury, but none the less, needs 'fixed'. He intended to have the surgery done in Boston, but changed his mind due to insurance reasons.

Long story short (ha!), since we've been in California he has got hooked up with another Dr. to receive a 2nd opinion. After his insurance canceling his policy after finding out he was in California (long story) he turned to the V.A.-Veterans Affairs. He has always known he needed to get hooked up with them and has tried to several times, but never been too successful with the people he has dealt with. After going to the V.A. here in Palo Alto, he quickly learned that they were on his side and would help him out! What a blessing in disguise it was for BCBS to cancel his policy!

The new Dr's opinion was in agreeance with the 1st Ortho Dr. and Arthroscopic knee surgery is what he needs. and arthroscopic knee surgery is what he is getting! The only bad thing about the V.A. is that the Ortho Dr is booked up. David's surgery isn't scheduled until August. We won't even be here in August! They told him that they would put him on a waiting list and if there were any cancellations they would give him a call. You have to answer your phone and you have to give us an answer the minute we call in order to get the cancellations spot. Well, that was 3 or so weeks ago. On Monday he called to check in and just make sure they hadn't forgotten about him. They basically told him that they had a list of people to go through first before they would be calling him. He was told it looked like August would be his best bet! We were just having a conversation about this Monday night and talked about the idea of us just flying back here sometime in August in order to get his knee fixed. So, that's what we decided to do.

Until today!

He received THE phone at 9:30am! "We have a cancellation tomorrow (Thursday) and need you here (at the VA) in one and half hours in order to get you preregistered for surgery for tomorrow." David was thrilled!! He obviously said yes and sealed the deal! He later found out that he was the 7th person they had phoned earlier this morning. 5 others did not answer their phone and the 6th one was unable to do it, therefore, David was lucky #7! Thank you Lord!

He spent all day at the V.A. and is all set for his 1:00pm knee surgery tomorrow afternoon! We can't believe it happened so quickly! He is very pleased with everything and is excited about getting this done and on the road to recovery.

I know this is a simple surgery, but we ask that you please say a prayer for David tomorrow and he goes 'under the knife'!

I'll keep you posted on how his surgery goes and how he does afterwards! Thanks in advance for the prayers!

Prayer Request

2011-02-28T21:29:00.004-06:00

I saw this on another blog that I follow and felt lead to pass along this information. Please remember the Staat Family when you pray! They lost their 4 month old baby girl on February 17. The autopsy results aren't back yet, however, they believe the cause was SIDS. I do not have any children yet, but I can only imagine what this couple/family is going through. I don't know this family either, but I do know it extremely saddens my heart! Will you please join with me as we lift them up in prayer to our Almighty God?!

Happy Birthday, Mom!

2011-02-15T05:00:00.003-06:00

Happy Birthday to my beautiful mother!

David and I hope you have a wonderful birthday!

Thanks for being the best mom and Yaya ever!

We love you and miss you tons!

Superbowl Sunday!

2011-02-13T05:00:00.001-06:00

After a great dinner and hanging out with old/new friends David and I crashed in our fun, little hotel for the night.

We woke up to a gorgeous day filled with warm sunshine and no clouds! What a day! We quickly got ready and headed out a fun filled day in San Fran! We jumped on the trolley for several blocks before jumping off to walk and enjoy the nice weather.

First stop, Fisherman's Wharf!

notice the short sleeves at 9am, in February!

Alcatraz

The Golden Gate Bridge

We walked around the Wharf for a while enjoying the unique sights and browsing the shops. We even grabbed lunch to go and sat out by the water, picnic style!

During certain months Pier 41 is literally covered with the famous seals. However, in January that isn't the case. These 2 big guys were hanging out while 2 more swam around. In a couple months they will have lots of company!

What a gorgeous day!

Beach time in front of Ghirardelli Square

You can probably smell the chocolate from where you are?! yum-o!

We stood in line for a bit to ride the famous Cable Cars! You know, I realized that people only take this form of public transportation for the historical part of it. It's definitely not because it's the fastest and most convenient way to get anywhere! ha....it's very, very slow! It's more of a 'ride' than anything. I excited to finally be able to hop on it. After all my times in San Fran this was my 1st time on the Cable Cars!

It went about 1 MPH up this pretty steep hill!

A view from the Cable Car. David sat down on the bench and I stood up in front of him and held on like Danny Tanner used to on Full House! ha! It was a lot of fun!

After a fabulous day hanging out in San Fran with my sweet hubby, we headed back Union Square to meet up with Dan. Dan made arrangements for us to watch the Superbowl with him and some of his work buddies in the Presidential Suite of his hotel!

Solon's Finest!

2011-02-12T09:50:00.002-06:00

Last Saturday after I picked D up from the airport we headed straight to San Francisco for the weekend! David's best friend, Dan, was in town for a business conference and we made arrangements to meet up with him for the weekend.

Now if you'll let me, I'm going to back for a few minutes....

Since arriving in Cali in early January David has found that Facebook really isn't all evil and has actually grown to love it! Since this new found love of his, he has reconnected with many old friends. One, in particular, is his old Solon, OH high school buddy, Mike. Turns out, Mike lives in the town next to us here in California. How random is that?! David and Mike haven't seen each other since graduating HS in 1997! Within a couple of days Mike was over at our apartment and the 2 'boys' were hanging out!

Through FB David was also reconnected with another HS friend, John, who lives in San Fran.

Ok, now back to last weekend.

What are the odds of these 4 guys being in the same city at the same time when neither are from this area!? Pretty random, eh!?

Last weekend while Dan was in town, David and I headed up to spend a night in San Fran so we could hang out with Dan. David decided it would be fun to get all the guys together for dinner.

and here they are, Solon's Finest! : ) Dan, John, Mike and David! Dan, Mike and Dave all played football together for years.....the 3 stars of the team, I might add! ha!

We had a fabulous dinner at The Town Hall restaurant in Union Square and the guys really enjoyed their mini reunion! It was fun for me to meet these 2 guys and listen to many old stories!

Lonely Week....

2011-02-05T08:58:00.002-06:00

and a lot of rambling.....

I am seriously slacking on my blogging lately! What has got into me?!

This past week has been rather quite and lonely! Last Sunday I dropped David off at the airport so he could spend a week in Los Angeles! He has been attending a Helicopter Safety Conference all week and has really enjoyed it!

Me, on the other hand, have been working and coming home to an empty place!

I dropped him off at the airport on Sunday morning and then I got to spend the day with a very special lady! Do you remember me talking about my friend Mary from when I was in Cali before...? Mary and I hung out all the time and really became good friends. I haven't seen her in almost a year and a half so it was definitely time! I was supposed to head up her way after the airport, but due to rainy weather our plans changed. Like old times sake, we were planning on going for a hike and then off for some food, however, the rain forced us to cancel our hike. So instead, Mary decided to come down here so we could sit and talk and be out of the rain. On her way down here she stopped off in The City (San Fran) and picked up food from my favorite lunch spot....a Vietnamese Sandwich! She used to take me to this little Vietnamese spot and introduced me this very yummy sandwich a couple of years ago. She arrived with our delicious lunch and we literally sat in my living room for hours and talked and talked and talked.....and talked! :) 6.5 hours later we looked at our watches and couldn't believe what time it was! We seriously talked and laughed for hours! I can't even tell you how good it felt to spend time with her! After realizing it was dinner time, we quickly jumped up, got ready and headed for dinner! Mary and I have so much in common and 2 of those things revolve around working out and eating! Those are the 2 things we do best! For dinner we went to San Francisco to the most fabulous sushi spot on earth! This was our favorite spot to go to when I lived in this area before. We sat for another couple of hours, ate lots of sushi while talking in between! ha!

Ok, some seriously rambling going on in this post! I still don't have pics to share with you. I sent our camera to LA with David so I was left with bringing our bigger one along or none at all. I chose the later.

I had such a fabulous day with my sweet friend, Mary! What a great way to start my week off!

This week went by faster than I imagined it would. David flies in from LA today and I'm very excited about seeing him!

I hope everyone has a great weekend!

Party Time!

2011-01-30T09:39:00.002-06:00

My dad sent me this picture and I thought I'd share it with you guys!

Isn't the birthday girl a little cutie?!

From the looks of all her pictures it looks like she had a great 1st Birthday Party!