C Diddy's Bday

One of my very best friends, Catherine Mack, recently celebrated her birthday on October 18.  I hadn't seen her since last Christmas and I hadn't been able to spend extended time with her since before I was married (over 4 years ago), so it was about time for a visit to Boca.  I'd heard so much about her family, her church and her town that I just had to see it for myself! :)

On her actual birthday, we went shopping and to the beach.  It was a really relaxing day and there really aren't many places that you can go to the beach in October.  It was a little sunny so Catherine was having a hard time keeping her eyes open in this photo.

We went to P. F. Chang's for dinner with her family and a few of her friends.  It was really tasty and fun!  I had a great time talking and sharing stories with her mom each day.  She has such a servant's heart and I was easily able to see where Catherine gets hers. :)  

I really also enjoyed getting to know her sister, Paige, because we have very similar taste buds.  We had the most amazing dessert there called Flourless Chocolate Cake.  It was heavenly!

Catherine's mom even made her a cake!  We were so stuffed from P. F. Chang's that we had to wait until the next day to actually eat some of it.  Catherine was able to blow out all of her candles in one breath.  I was seriously impressed.

I spent about 5 days with her - we had amazing food, lots of shopping, great conversations, and I was able to worship at her church.  I had a wonderful time and it was definitely well worth it to get away.  I left at a good time because it was right before the presidential debate took place in Boca!

A Quick Getaway to St. Simons

Last week, Curtis and I traveled to St. Simons Island to visit our friends, Jenna & Dan.  It was nice to get away and be refreshed, even if our trip was less than 24 hours in length!

Jenna and Dan have the beach literally in their backyard.  Here's a good shot of Curtis and I in front of the dunes.  It was really really sunny!

You can see my baby bump starting to show -- I was 19 weeks in these pictures. :)

Jenna and I have been good friends since college when we met in RUF.  She and Dan recently moved to St. Simons Island and we are happy to have friends not that far away.

They took us downtown and showed us the pier, the lighthouse, and we even saw a little bit of an antique show.  We had some fabulous sweets from a little shop downtown while we played Rummikub (a really fun game!)  Jenna was an amazing cook and she even taught me how to make some homemade guacamole.  We also got to walk around Christ Church, its cemetery and the Wesley monument.  St. Simons is a beautiful area and we look forward to visiting again in the future!

Quick Trip to Central Florida

Last weekend, my aunt and uncle planned a day trip to tube down the Ichetucknee River with my parents.  They also planned to surprise my parents by having Curtis and I show up!  

 Curtis and I traveled to Gainesville the day before so that we would have a shorter trip the next morning.  This was a blessing because Curtis and I were able to spend more time with the Fields!  Jeffrey, another good friend, was even able to join us for a little bit.  Pictured above, you can see Curtis and his buds praying over each other.

Meanwhile, everything was going smoothly for the surprise until my parents ended up canceling at the last minute.  By this time, we were in Gainesville and my aunt and uncle were in Ocala prepared to head to the Ichetucknee River the following morning. We ended up spilling the beans to my parents and we worked out a compromise so that we could at least see them after we went tubing.

The tubing was really relaxing - Curtis and I were able to float down the river talking with two of my uncles, an aunt and our sweet 4 year old cousin.  Afterwards, we met my parents at Sonny's for a late lunch.  Even though our plans were changed a little bit, our trip was a lot of fun.  Great memories were made! :)

A Savannah-Themed Wedding

One of my good friends that I have grown up with got married on March 2.  Stephanie Acheson and I have always celebrated birthdays and random events together.  Our parents are good friends and we attended Pinewood Church together.  She not only took my engagement photo pictures, but she did all of the planning and execution of decorations at both my wedding ceremony and reception.  So, of course, I had to make a special trip down to see her on her very special day!

 Stephanie looked absolutely gorgeous!  She got married at the Orange Park Country Club.  The irony was that I traveled away from Savannah to go to a Savannah-themed wedding!  Rob Burris (her new husband) proposed to her in front of the fountain at Forsyth Park in Savannah.  The bulletin had the fountain printed on the front.

 This picture isn't that good, but it has the first kiss as husband and wife!

 My dad played the Viola in this gazebo (along with the rest of the orchestra).

 Curtis was unable to make it, so I was seated at the Pinewood table without dates.  We had a great time!  Going along with the Savannah theme, each table had a different square name. We were at Calhoun Square.  Here I am with Holly & Melissa!

I thought this was a neat idea - the food was family-style.  One of my Pinewood friends, Katie, was 3 weeks away from delivering her baby boy.  She wanted more mashed potatoes so we had a whole plate delivered in front of her seat while she was away.

 Look at Katie's excitement when she arrived back and saw the mashed potatoes! :) Haha!

 I didn't see these pictures until later, but 3 of my friends took pictures with my glasses on.  Here's the lovely Melissa Wittman. She has always been a great friend and whenever I spend time with her, we are able to just pick right back up where we left off!

 Here is the beautiful Holly Tolson!  She helped out in the youth group when I was a senior in high school.  She also went to Covenant Seminary (where Curtis went) so she is a mutual friend of both of us.

 Lastly, here's sweet Sylvia Donaldson.  She was in a middle school Bible Study that I co-led when I was in college.  It's hard to believe that now she herself is in college at UNF!

Curtis didn't attend the wedding because he went to a Pastors Conference in Augusta, GA.  When I arrived back in Savannah, Curtis surprised me with a yummy piece of cake from Boll Weevill!  

This piece was called "7th Heaven" - it was filled with chocolate cake, cheesecake, ganache, and various chocolate chips!  What a fun weekend!