six for saturday.

Wow.  I have been completely MIA on this little blog the last few months.  I'm in the process of making a photo book for our second year of marriage (I did the same thing for our first) and was re-reading my blog posts about our cruise last summer to remind me of everything we did.  It reminded me how much I love having a little documentation of my life- because there's no way I would have remembered every detail about that trip if I hadn't blogged about it right after I got back!- and decided to get back into it.

I'm not going to try to catch up on every detail of our lives since I blogged last, but I'll hit some (random) highlights, in no particular order.

1. We got iphones!



Finally, finally, finally, Cori and I joined the rest of our generation and got rid of our flip phones.  We have loved the convenience of having internet access at all times and have spent more than one night, sitting on the couch next to each other, playing Words with Friends... with each other.

2. Our city group (Bible study) is awesome.


Months ago, at the start of our city group, we had mentioned that we would have different themes for dinner.  We meant themes like Italian, Mexican, etc... but my sweet hubby thought we meant party themes and said, "Like dinosaurs?!"  So for our last city group of the semester, we had a dinosaur theme.  Dino buddies chicken nuggets, bbq labeled land before time limbs, salsa labeled dinosaur guts, and more.  And yes, I did get dinosaur wall decals from the Dollar Tree.  And yes, they are still on our walls, a week and a half later.

Ridiculous dinner themes aside, this study has been SUCH a blessing to Cori and I.  We absolutely love the area of town we live in, but until this semester, most of our church and its ministry has been in another area.  We have love love loved watching God use aletheia to reach Seminole Heights, and it has been one of the biggest joys of our time here to open our home for this weekly gathering.

3. I. love. the. beach.

  

We spent Memorial Day weekend at Fort de Soto beach and then Siesta Keys, and this Thursday I went with a couple girlfriends to Clearwater.  So beautiful.  SO happy.

4. Year 2 is in the books!


On Tuesday, June 25, Cori and I celebrated two years of marriage.  Cori pursued me all day long, leaving me sweet messages on sticky notes, and after work we went to dinner.  We ate at Bern's, a famous steakhouse in Tampa, and let me just say- it was AMAZING, every bite! Year two with Cori has been even sweeter than the first, and I'm so blessed to have this amazing man as my husband!

5. We love our neighbors.
Sadly, I have no good pictures to post, but considering we've spent the last 2 Saturdays with them, it's fair to say that they are a HUGE blessing in our life here in Tampa.  Last weekend we went to a park with them- disc golf for Cori and Nick, playground and exploring the woods for me, Bird, and the boys- and today, after a failed attempt to go tubing (booo, rain!) we went to Mellow Mushroom and saw WWZ with them.  But one of the best things about having neighbors you like is that you don't even have to go anywhere- some of our best times with them have been standing in our yards or randomly popping over to their house.

6. We're coming home.

source: qadesigns.blogspot.com

And not just for the weekend.  I'm sure anyone who cares enough to read this blog already knows this, but it's definitely the biggest thing happening in our life now. After years of living away from Virginia, (4 for Cori, 7 for me) we're moving back.  Cori will be attending the Physician Assistant's program at JMU (goooo Dukes!), so as of this August, we'll be living in Harrisonburg.  We are so sad to leave (see 2, 3, and 5 above), but are so very ready to start living life closer to our families again.  Some of us (cough, cough, CORI) are crazy and are excited for the cold weather, but even I have to admit that it'll be beautiful to experience fall again- and fall in the Shenandoah Valley is absolutely stunning.  We welcome any prayers for this time of transition in our life, particularly as I continue to search for a job.





Phew.  I do believe I'm done for the night.  Time to head towards bed... here's to hoping I don't dream about zombies! ;)