Happy Birthday

To my best friend! Today is Brett's 35th birthday! When did his hair get so gray? When I met him 8 years ago he just had one little gray patch in the front!

We are surrounded by boxes and bubble tape galore, but, thankfully the birthday boy was able to find time for some of this....

I was remembering the very first birthday of Brett's that I got to celebrate with him...he was turning 28. I bought him a picture frame that was a box and in each picture slot, I wrote something that I liked about him. I can't remember them all, but some were his school spirit, his questions, and his genuine personality. I remember also loving that when we first met, whenever I was talking to him, I felt like I was the only person in the room, and noticing that when he talked to others, it was the same way with his full attention on them. I know it's not as easy now with a 2 year-old son grabbing at his legs and a 30-year-old wife grabbing for his time (which may be slightly more annoying than the aforementioned toddler), but he still makes me feel so special by his intentional conversation and fun questions. He works hard and plays hard, and I love that I get to do that alongside of him. He is definitely God's greatest gift to me and I love walking through life with him.

Happy Birthday Brett! We love you!

My Girls

As we prepare to leave Orlando in 2 weeks, I am sad to be saying goodbye. Over the last 5 years, this Central Florida city, with all its quirks and transplants, has become quite a home for us. Among the people who I am the most sad to leave are my girls. I met Rileigh, Rachel, Audrey, and Ashley (they are pictured in that order from left to right) when they were in 6th grade. I began volunteering at youth group when they were in 7th grade by going on a retreat. And when they were in 8th grade, I started to help lead a small group. It has been 3 years that we have been meeting at Subway, Starbucks and my house. These 4 girls have truly become my best friends down here and I can hardly think about leaving them without crying. I used to drive them around and now they are driving me around. They brought me decorated diapers when Harrison was born and last night they gave me a teacup with a beach scene in it saying that whenever I was homesick or missed them, I could have a little bit of "Florida in China". They are the craziest, most life-giving teenagers I have ever met and I will miss not being able to walk through life with them their final 2 years of high school. They each have a unique and perfect personality...cheerleader, shy, boy-crazy, sarcastic, smart, and beautiful are just a few words to describe how precious they are to me. They are truly the hardest friends for me to say goodbye to. Last night we went to get frozen yogurt and I barely choked out how much they meant to me. They have ministered to me more than they will ever know and I hope that we can be a part of each other's lives for many years to come...

And I can't talk about them without mentioning a woman who poured so deeply into me starting in my 9th grade year. Precious Kay shared her life with me and Elizabeth (from previous post). She took time out of her busy life to spend Tuesday afternoons with us all through high school. We spent lots of time in the bride's room at Northside UMC praying for our future husbands while eating Mrs. Fields cookies, and spent much time at Fellini's and Caribou. I remember asking Kay some extremely hard questions and she stood by us, prayed with us and for us, and I still, 15 years later, cannot take a trip to Atlanta without seeing her. God has used her to change my life and I love her so much. I pray that my relationships with "my girls" will stay as strong as my friendship with Kay over the years. I am so blessed with great friends, which makes it so much harder to leave.

So Excited!

Because tomorrow, I will be with these ladies!

Our gracious hostess, Elizabeth, will welcome us to her new Oxford, Mississippi home in just mere hours! I'm so thrilled to see her life there! I've known this sweet one since age 5!

And I can't wait to see Blair, who hosted us last year in Chicago and has JUST moved to California....we'll get to hear about if the west coast really is the most!

And see that little bump on Miss Adele?? He's coming too, in all his sweet 7-month-old glory. I CANNOT wait to meet Baby James. It will be the first time in 8 years that we will have a baby at our "roommate reunion", and I couldn't be more thrilled!!!

The four of us lived together in college in a lovely duplex on Oxford Court in Athens. We had the best time together and have been through so very much. Graduation took us all to extremely different places all over the world and in the summer of 2003 (1 year after we graduated), Blair and I decided we should get together for a weekend, and the tradition has stuck! This will be our 8th time to get together and we have gone to a fun new place each time! I am so thankful to get some time with some of my favorite people before we move to Asia in 6 weeks. I am SAD that I will miss this weekend in the few years to come, but am so happy it worked out to see them before we leave. I am sure I will have many tales to tell upon my return (but, probably not any pictures...sniff, sniff!)

Are you worried about these guys??? I'm not. They will do juuuust fine without me! Thanks, Brett for giving me time to do this. You are the best!

Jet Lagging...

Hey friends,

We are back, and I wish I could say better than ever, but not so much! Being up since 4:30 makes me feel like it's time to go to bed right about now!

We had an awesome, wonderful, exhausting, challenging and rewarding trip. For security reasons, I can't post too much about our ministry on this blog, so if you're interested in hearing about it, I will forward you our prayer letter (once we write it, of course). I'm sure you're thinking, "but they were in London....what need for security?" But, it's more for the safety of the Middle Eastern believers that were helping us minister to the people that we did.

Harrison was great, and although he always makes it difficult for me to be a part of things on these international trips, I loved having him there and meeting the fabulous people that we did. He keeps asking me about all of them. Also, among his favorites were not Buckingham Palace or Big Ben as one might think, but instead, riding the "red bus", chasing pigeons at the park and riding the "choo choo" and "airpane".

We did manage to find some time to tour around which was such a treat, and I will have to post pics later. Sadly, our back-up camera is completely broken as well, so we don't have very good pictures, and we are now camera shopping. Any recommendations??

I will post more when my eyelids don't feel so heavy, but until then, I can't wait to "catch up" with all of you!

I still remember when 30 was old...

Today was my 30th birthday!

The other night, I said to Brett, " I can't believe I'm going to be 30!"

He replied, "I can't believe you're not!"

To all of you 30-somethings or almost 30-somethings, how did you feel about this crazy birthday?? I feel like with our impending move and leaving the country, um, tomorrow, has definitely not given me the most time to think about it! It is a little weird, but since I have the luxury of being married to a man who is 5 years my senior, I think I'll always feel young comparatively!

Brett did too much for my birthday and we have been celebrating all week with a visit from my mom, shopping, a surprise party, an awesome birthday dinner, and a sweet birthday brunch with some dear friends while watching the World Cup. All capped off beautifully with an hour to myself and some great gifts. I really think my favorite part about every birthday I celebrate is getting to talk to and hear from great friends and family all day long. It's been so fun, and it really is my favorite holiday (is that okay to say??) I am so thankful for the life God has given me. I sometimes cannot believe where I am now compared to where I thought I would be...back when I thought 30 was old.

As mentioned earlier, we leave tomorrow for 2 weeks in London! So, you won't hear from me for awhile. I know, I know...it's devastating, but I will be back! Please pray for our family as we lead 2 cycles of mission trips there. It feels crazy to do so close to moving away from Orlando, but I'm excited! What a way to jet-set into my 30's!!!

Cheers!

Disney

At the end of April, we took the little Mister to Disney World for the first time!

Since living in Orlando, we get asked pretty frequently, "So, do you go to Disney, like, ALL the time?"

And most people are shocked when I tell them that this is the first time I've been to Disney World in 11 years! We have been to Universal a number of times, but not Disney. And we were always the parents that said we wouldn't take Harrison until he was old enough to appreciate it (which in reality is probably not until he's paying his own way, but you never know!) like at age 5. But, a couple of months ago, Brett found an incredible deal for us Florida residents that we couldn't pass up....seriously, if I told you, it might make you throw up a little in your mouth.

We had a GREAT time! Harrison was an angel and made it through about a half day at the park. Here's a few pics of the little man to enjoy...

Raisins were our best friend that day

He loved the magic carpet ride and Dumbo....Turns out our Harrison is not scared of heights like his parents are!!

Look at those tired eyes...

Where did Mom and Dad go???

Found 'em!!!

Nana

Hi People,

My Nana came to town this past weekend...oh man, she is super! Over the past few months I have really started remembering places and people, and she is one that I definitely don't forget! Sometimes I grab Mama's phone and ask, "Nana peez?" So, she came to see me this weekend and Daddy and I threw Mama an early surprise birthday party because she's about to turn 30. Wow! It was a really fun weekend and here are a couple pictures from it.

You wouldn't believe the attention I get from this woman! She is the bee's knees!!

Oh, and guess what?? We finally have pictures to catch you up on some of my latest shenanigans, so be looking for some updates soon!!!

Peace out,

The H-Man