Megan & Mark's Wedding!

Their wedding was absolutely beautiful!  They got married in the Log Cabin Community Church - it is a beautiful little church with wooden pews and a very intimate and cozy feel to it.  Her dress was stunning and it was a really beautiful ceremony!

She had beautiful winter inspired details like pine cones mixed in with the beautiful red roses in her bouquet and pine trees on the details like the invitations, programs, and favors.  The whole wedding really reflected their style and personalities.  One of my favorite details was the bright red classic truck that they rode away in driven by her dad. 

Then reception was at the Heritage Center in Sandy Springs.  We ate great food and danced the night away.  These are some of my favorite pictures from the evening!  It was so fun to be with so many our friends to celebrate such a momentous occasion.  It is only bittersweet because the wedding being over means she is moving to Texas but I know she's excited to finally live in the same state as Mark again!

Megan's Bachelorette

We had a really fun day celebrating Megan’s bachelorette!  We started with pottery painting at Splatter’s, then went to Noche for tapas, and ended the night at my house for her lingerie shower.  

Finished Product from Splatters - a set of four plates and four coffee mugs for their new kitchen:

Group Shots from the Shower:

Pure Barre

In the spirit of my resolutions of being fitter, stronger, and more comfortable in my own skin I wanted to try something new with my workouts.  Despite considerable training and effort I still don’t love running and while Zumba is fun it’s not really helping me get stronger.  I was talking to some friends in December and they mentioned barre classes.  I had always wanted to try them since I grew up doing ballet barre all the time I figured it would be fun for me.  However I was really intimidated since when people talk about barre classes it normally goes something like this: “it’s wonderful but it’s really, really hard” or “it is torture but you’ll love it”.  You get the drift.  It makes it tough to take the plunge to sign up for the first class when you aren't sure you’ll come out alive.

I finally bit the bullet and signed up.  People were right.  It is really hard and a glamorous form of self-inflicted torture but I do really like it.  I love that the small movements start working really fast and seem to target all my problem areas.  I love fighting through my shaking muscles and finishing an exercise without having to stop or modify it.  I was crazy sore the next day but I've gone back a few times and while it’s still hard during the class the lingering soreness afterwards is more manageable.  I signed up for a new client special at Pure Barre where I get five weeks unlimited.  I have signed up for 4-5 classes a week each week.  I am really excited to see my strength and fitness levels at the end of the five weeks.  

2015 Resolutions

I love New Years.  I love the representation of a blank page in a new chapter and the opportunity it gives to reflect about the past year and prepare our minds and attitudes for the coming year. 

This year I have a few resolutions:

• Working on becoming fitter and stronger
• Working on reducing my negative attitude about my body and feeling confident at whatever point in my fitness journey I’m at
• Cook at home more often – I admire what amazing cooks my parents are and I need to put a bigger dent in my 10,000 hours towards being a great cook!
• Letting go of grudges and past hurts – they are only weighing me down and have no effect on the people who inflicted the wound.  For my own sake I need to allow myself to feel hurt and then move on.  I have too many wonderful people in my life to focus energy and effort on the ones who don’t.
• 2 books a month
• In the words of Tracy Chapman “buy a bigger house and live in the suburbs”
• Declutter

This year along with my resolutions I also wrote a New Year’s poem that reflects my prayers and hopes for the coming year.

I’d like to live like a tree
Arms reaching into the sky
Basking in the sunlight
Adept at changing seasons
Beautiful and natural in each stage
Braced and prepared for any storm
Roots nestled firmly into the earth
Growing stronger with each passing year 

Christmas Celebrations

Here are the group photos from our many wonderful Christmas celebrations this year.  We are blessed beyond belief to have such wonderful families and friends!

Christmas with Colin & TMNT Ornaments

We had our Christmas celebration with Kyle’s mom, his sister Heather, her husband Clayton, and our nephew Colin.  We decided this year to start a new tradition of making an ornament each year at our dinner party.  I saw this idea on Pinterest and knew it was the perfect choice for this year.  We made our own teenage mutant ninja turtle ornaments.  Colin also improvised and made his own alien turtle creation in addition to the regular crew of Raphael, Michelangelo, Donatello, & Leonardo.

2014 Year in Review

This has been an incredible year for us and I continue to be extremely thankful for the many blessings in our lives.  We are preparing for some big changes in the New Year including moving so we’ve both been very reflective this year.  We can’t wait to see what 2015 has in store!

• Kyle changed jobs and moved to Lanier High School to become an Academy Lead and to continue teaching in the classroom
• Kyle turned the big 3 0
• We celebrated our 6^th wedding anniversary!
• I finally got my SLR camera and have loved learning more about photography
• Kyle presented at GCTE & NCTE
• I celebrated my 4^th work anniversary with T-Mobile
• I started a book club with an amazing group of ladies!September – The Giver; October – The 100 Foot Journey; November – Miss Peregrine’s School for Peculiar Children; December – Let It Snow

Weddings:

• Chad & Amanda on 6/7
• Emily & Wes on 9/13
• Blair & Jenna on 11/15
• Heather & Kyle on 12/28

New Additions:

• Kim & Austin had Owen in April
• Brian & Brant had Lucas in August
• Amy & Josh had Savannah in September
• Keri & Brandon had Lucas in November

Trips:

• Expedition Everest 5k in Orlando
• Colorado – Denver, Vail, Edwards, Glenwood Springs, & Golden
• Our 5th Annual 12 Mile Trip for the 4th of July
• Washington DC for the NCTE Conference

Races:

• iRun at the Bridge Church for the Lawrenceville Food Coop- 5k
• Dawg Jawg for the UGA Auxiliaries - 5k
• Expedition Everest at Disney World - 5k