i heart the south

after living in colorado where no one even knew what sweet tea was (except for at Jim N Nicks), it's great to be back in the south! i was reminded of this today while ryan and i were out to lunch at this quaint little pizza shop on the beach. as i was filling up my cup with sweet tea, i overheard a lady asking the waitress if they had any unsweetened iced tea. her reply was priceless: a look of confusion and then an emphatic, "no"...which had the feeling of "why would we have THAT?" radiating from it! oh how i love the south!!! 

here are a few pics from the beach: 

us with my brother and soon to be sister-in-law!~
the whoe gang! what a crew!!! ryan and i:

beachin' it...

pictures coming soon...

not merely broken...

we were having a discussion in one of my classes the other day that was quite fascinating. my professor was talking about how shame is good sometimes. one of my fellow students (one preparing to be a counselor no less), brought up that shame is a bad thing. especially in the counseling field, the idea of shame is something that is discouraged and thought of as all together wrong. it's okay for people to feel guilty, they say, because guilt is about actions (i.e. "what you have done is wrong.")..but shame, no no no! shame is the idea that something about who a person is is wrong. and certainly, we don't want people to feel that way about themselves!! there was quite a bit of discussion about this in class, which has caused me to think a little more on the subject. my professor said something that has stuck in my mind like super glue:

"we are not merely broken, we are bad. we don't just need fixing, we need redemption."

what a thought! such a provacative idea in today's society. how dare we tell someone that they are bad at their core?! how dare we say that there is no hope for a person to help themselves?! no amount of doing good will make a person good enough... no band-aids big enough to fix this problem...not enough duck tape in the world to repair the hole. what an awesome thing, though, that that's okay! how amazing is it that we don't really have to do anything to fix this, other than turn to Christ. we have a Redeemer who changes our very center... who picks us up, cleans us out/off, and pushes us on our way... every time we fall, over and over and over. hallelujah! :)

did you know?

i read in my pregnancy book the other day that our little one is developing tastes for foods these days. apparently, whatever i eat, he is learning to like....which is quite fascinating really! some might say i am a picky eater, but i'm really trying to branch out so that our son has well-developed taste buds. :) here's a few things i have been eating, for him, of course! : 

chipotle (the tacos WITH guacamole!)

apples

3 muskateers

lots of cheese

banana and peanut butter sandwiches

and, of course, chicken! 

you can tell i am really stepping out there... 

our one year anniversary!

we saved our anniversary outting for this past Sunday, because we heard about this wonderful place that served an amazing brunch called the brown palace. it's a historic hotel downtown that is just beautiful! i made reservations for us saturday and picked the only morning time available-9 am. we got up and got all dressed up and ready-ryan even wore his fancy-smancy suit-and headed downtown. we got down there a little before 9 and went in and they seated us immediately (which is always nice when one is a hungry, pregnant woman). as we walked to our table, i noticed that there didn't seem to be much out for this incredible brunch we were there to partake of. we sat down and opened our menus, only to see no offering for brunch, and then, in small letters at the bottom, i saw a note: brunch 10-2. and, contrary to my normal, totally unemotional self, i burst out in tears. i was so disappointed because i had been talking it up so much to ryan! he ever so kindly consoled me and we decided to just get breakfast, which was just as good. i really was hoping for a belgian waffle, which they had on the menu! and he, of course, went for the much healthier option-an omelette. he tried to get it with egg whites only, but i talked him out of it. you gotta live a little sometimes!! ;) anyway, we ended up having a nice breakfast together at a really pretty place, so all in all, not a bad date! :) here's a few pictures:

the hotel: me enjoying a nice warm cup of coffee...

ryan, preparing to sip on his new beverage of choice-hot tea!

we also received some beautiful flowers in celebration of us:

and, ryan had these waiting for me when i got up (on our actual anniversary)...he always picks the very prettiest roses with the neatest color combinations. this picture doesn't do justice to the color hues. what a sweet husband i have.

funniness

i was talking with ryan the other day about how great snow is. all you readers in alabama are thinking, "right on, sister!" :) people out here don't really like snow, they find it annoying and old. i guess i like it because it's new. i have seen only a wee little snow in my life...and it's just such a beautiful thing! i have been wishing that it would keep snowing here until we move back, and it just might! it's supposed to maybe snow again tonite and then later this week! whoohoo! although, today, it was about 60 outside and the sun was shining bright...which was a little odd, considering there was a couple of inches of snow on the ground from the weekend. just seemed stange that it was so warm, but still snow was everywhere.
anyway, in thinking about snow, i got to thinking about how old little one probably will be like us and not get to see a lot of snow around town, since we will be back in the 'ham. i certainly want to make sure we vacation to snowy places because i want him to be able to experience the wonderfulness of snow. then, i got to thinking about how in alabama we are always thinking that there is the possibility of snow when it gets cold outside. my dad was telling me just a few days ago that snow was being predicted for middle AL yesterday. he, of course, wasn't holding his breath, which was probably quite wise. :) but i don't know what it is about people in alabama thinking it really could snow (i'm talking like a good couple of inches, not just flurries-though flurries are nice!:)...don't get me wrong, i am right there with those who think in such ways, but really...it hardly ever REALLY snows in alabama. even so, there is this thought that it could snow, and every year, kids all over the state wish and hope for a white christmas. and every year, it's like 45 or 50, at least, outside on christmas... like there's even a possibility of there being snow on the ground when one wakes up in alabama on christmas morning! it has never happened in my life time (that i remember, and certainly i would remember such a wonderful thing)! i just wonder what it is that leads us to believe in the possibility...it's quite funny, if you think about it.
all the same, i found myself saying just a few days ago that maybe it will snow on Christmas when we get back home..and won't that be funny? (since we've been in the cold, snowy land of colorado with little snowy-ness!)

one year!

my how time flies! ryan and i celebrated our one year anniversary today and it's hard to believe we've been married that long. in some ways, it seems like it's been only a few weeks...in other ways, it feels like we've been married (or together, at least) all our lives. life's funny like that. :) i'm so thankful that God brought us together... I can't imagine what life would be like apart from Ryan being in it.