SUYS -- My Sweet Friend Lindsey

Kelly's Korner Blog is doing a "Show Us Your Singles" day, where people can either post about themselves or a friend they would like to possibly hook up with someone else.  If you know me even a little, you know, I LOVE TO MAKE A LOVE MATCH!!!! 

So, HERE goes!  

I finally convinced sweet Lindsey to let me post about her.  Lindsey is originally from Florida and has a Masters in Education.  She teaches 7th grade Social Studies, and LOVES it!  She is a HUGE Florida Gators fan, and enjoys going to games with friends and family.  When she makes plans to do something, 95% of the time, it's something outdoors!  She is the best at planning events and is super creative.  She is an avid reader and loves history, though most of her reading material is of the young adult genre--simply because she wants to be able to recommend good books to her kids at school!  She sings on the worship team at our church and loves Jesus! 

photo by nick schlax 

 Lindsey on the right

I'm eager to see Lindsey find the right guy, because I know that she will make a terrific partner.  She's a terrific friend--always looking to serve others, sacrificing her own time and desires for others.  She's mature, patient, a great listener, and very trustworthy.  She has prepared meals for my family on a number of occasions--the girl can cook!  I know God is in control of Lindsey's future, and I can't help but wonder if perhaps this is his way of working on it =)   

photo cred and proof that it's not just me who thinks the world of Lindsey!

The kids in our circle of friends adore Miss Lindsey, and she adores them too.  Lindsey is a huge family person, and though she lives in North Carolina now, she often makes efforts to go home to visit her family or they come to see her (in fact, she's down there right now).   

If you've got a potentially good match for Lindsey-- holla!  Like I said, I LOVE to make a love connection. =) 

PS:  to connect about this post, please feel welcome to email me at jodi(dot)katherine(@gmail).com.

Showered with Blessings: Part 3

I'm Back!  Sorry.. been busy havin' a baby...

Have I ever mentioned how much I love our church?  Well I do.  I have grown exponentially as a Christian at this church in the past 3 years, and by God's grace, I've made some amazing friends.  The women I've met at SGC are all so interesting and talented in awesomely different ways.  Being in fellowship with these women has been a huge part of my growth as just knowing them and seeing them walk out their faith challenges me to be a better servant of the Lord.  God blessed us right from the start of our marriage by giving us this church and these friends and now we continue on into parenthood with the same people.  It's such an honor to know and be loved by these people.  God is SO good to us!  

Speaking of good.  My friend Dawn was kind enough to share her super cool home to host a baby shower for me, given by my home group.  Dawn is good.  I adore her to the Nth degree.  She was my doula when Tag was born (more on that at a later date), and I seriously just adore her!  OK  back to the baby shower.... I wanted to share the details of this shower because it was so unique and just perfect!  This was an evening I won't soon forget where we ate awesome sweets, drank delicious iced coffee, played fun games, and my sisters in Christ prayed for me and for Tag.  It was rad! 

  

 This is Dawn and she made these letters... how cool is she??  Seriously, she's one of the most talented people I know.  And, you know how we were introduced?  Dawn and her husband Eli went to Barton which is in Wilson... and since B and I are from Wilson our friend Hannah thought we should meet.  Wilson just brings people together...

 Check out these sweet treats!  Kate even made home made caramel popcorn-- she always makes the neatest things!  I tried every single thing I could get my hands on and I loved it all.  I hope the baking skills of all my friends at church eventually wear off on me!

 This is the drink table where we had iced, decaf, coffee to drink among other things... The thing that makes this so special is that Eli and Dawn roast their own coffee and they've got quite a business started.  Anyway, I thought this was another really special touch since I LOVE iced coffee! 

 (Whoa.  I'm enormous!  I guess I should have expected it with the combination of my genes and the sweltering hot summer we had)  This is me and Ashley (my newest neighbor).  Remember Ashley from a few blogs ago?  She's all skinny now since she had Coen.

Here's Elizabeth (who I don't get to see nearly enough of) holding Jean's baby Hudson and Kate, my home group leader and the planner of this shin-dig.

 A few more beautiful faces I adore... Bethany, Lindsey, Hannah, and Joy

 Sweet Jamie and Dawn acting natural for the camera!  

 PS: Thanks to my homegroup, and Dawn, and Hannah and everyone else who contributed in making this shower SO special for me!  I love you all!!

Showered with Blessings: part 2

In June, some of my oldest and best friends hosted a shower for me at my friends Jennifer's house.  It was so much fun!  Not only are these girls a fun time all the time, but they know how to throw an adorable and enjoyable shower for sure.  It was awesome to catch up with them and to see some girls from home whom I haven't seen in ages.  Here are a few photos from the day.  

The color scheme was black,white, and yellow (I LOVED it!)  Everything down to the invitation (can you see it on the table) was stylish and fit my personality so perfectly, which I really enjoyed.  I actually kept those diapers in that diaper cake too!  They had lots of fresh fruit, sweets, and a cake that was so delish (shout out to Lori--whoop whoop!)

Jennifer and her baby Kaitlyn.  It was so awesome to see them!  The last time I saw Jennifer was at Kit's wedding last September when Jennifer was almost ready to deliver this adorable baby!

I LOVE THIS PHOTO!  Not sure who caught it with my camera, but it totally shows how sweet both of these girls are.  Melissa is one of my oldest friends-- way back when I first moved to NC.  The last time I saw her and her daughter Melaina was when Melaina was about a month old.  She was probably the newest baby I ever held.  I can't believe how big she is now and how much time has flown by!

Ashley (my cousin) and Jami (sister).  Don't they look like more like sisters than Jami and I do? 

Me with one of my amazing hostesses, oldest friends, and a NICU nurse whose brain I like to pick about all things baby.  She's getting her masters to teach and be a lactation specialist!  New moms in Greenville will be SO lucky to have her! 

This is me with Jen, who hosted my shower at her house.  She's probably one of the most hospitable friends ever... I think she bought a house just to throw parties!  AND how cute is this dress??  I wish I lived closer to her because I would totally raid her closet.

  

Me and Kit!  Perhaps she's next on the baby makin' list??  It was awesome as always to see her!

Me and Tiff!  Boy standing next to her sure makes me look like a ghost eh?? 

Tiff organized all the gifts I received... All I can say is that we are blessed!  I have amazing friends and family! 

Showered with Blessings: part 1

Part 1...  I have been immensely blessed during this pregnancy with several baby showers from some of my dearest friends and family.  The first one was thrown by Tziporah, Chrissie, and Allison.  A few things that made this shower so special to me were their thoughtfulness into things I love.  I'm not sure how much was intentional, as I know they love a lot of these things too, but gosh, they hit the mark!  ...sweet tea, chicken salad from Village Deli, fresh flowers, pop culture, and lots and lots of sweets just to name a few!  Several of my girlfriends were able to come to this shower from out of town which also made this a really fun and eventful shower.  I just wish I had more time with everyone!  For the record at this baby shower we played a really fun gender game with old wives tales and the results were mostly for a girl.  We'll see soon enough how accurate these things are!  Allison took some photos with her super awesome camera, which I wish I had soft copies of to post as my camera didn't do this day justice.  Nevertheless here's a glimpse into this special day:  my very first baby shower! 

Me and T, one of my awesome shower hosts!

Chrissie (another amazing shower host) and my sister Jami

Some of my wonderful shower guests

More shower guests and the hostess

... sweet tea, coffee, mint tea punch

Chicken salad, muffins, pimento cheese sandwiches, cucumber sandwiches, fresh fruit... YUM!

Desert table...

Allison made these and incorporated them into a fun gender game... I got to take a few home and they were a hit with B too!  LOVE these!

Free Make Over-- Yes Please!

So about a month ago I was browsing the mall with my newly engaged girlfriend, Tziporah, as we were waiting for another friend from out of town to meet us for dinner and a movie. And, we happened to walk into the new Bare Escentuals store because she was looking for a specific product. As she was checking out, she tossed her old business card in the container by the register for a free make over. It was one of those, "oh what the heck" moments, where you do it just because... never expecting to win. BUT SHE DID! Not only did she win one make over, but four! Lucky for me she invited me along with Chrissie and Allison to be made over too.

When we got there, Tziporah had some delicious goodies (chocolate covered strawberries, pimento cheese + crackers, and these adorable cookies from Mad Hatter!) for us to enjoy, and she gave us each individual cards in which she asked us to be bridesmaids in her upcoming wedding. It was such a fun and beautifying time with ladies that I absolutely adore. Thanks Tziporah for thinking of us!! Here are a few photos from the evening...

Chrissie, Me, Allison, and Tziporah before (no make up)

Make overs in process...

Baby mama getting made over (32 weeks pregnant--Yikes!)

Me, Tziporah, Allison, Chrissie after (all made up!)

All of us with our make up artists!

A Baby Season?

One of the many reasons I think I'm enjoying my first pregnancy is because I have lots of friends who are pregnant (or were recently pregnant and just had their baby) too. Below is a picture of a few of my pregnant girlfriends at church back in late April. We happen to be all pregnant about a month apart with our first babies! From left to right we have Ashley (due late May) at 8 months. Jean is 7 months. Georgia is 6 months, and I am at 5 months. Ashley just had baby Coen about a week ago and he is super adorable... makes the rest of us anxious to meet our own little ones =)

Isn't it amazing how different we all look even from month to month? Ashley and Jean are pregnant with boys in this photo and Georgia and I are waiting until we have our babies to find out the gender. But looking at this photo, I feel like maybe I'm having a girl? Who knows though... who knows! Either way, I'll be one happy mama to meet baby Cobb!

It will be so fun to have babies at the same time and learn from one another as we each go through different phases of motherhood. I look forward to fun play dates, and being able to call on these ladies for advice since they'll all be just a tiny bit ahead of me.

Durham Bulls Game

A few weeks ago Brentley and I hit up the Durham Bulls game with some friends. Now as you know, we're not "baseball fans" of any sort, but we still really enjoyed sitting outside in the warm, breezy, June evening with friends.

This was also my dear friend Allison's last game working for the Durham Bulls... wish I had a picture of the shout-out she got that the Bulls put up on the jumbotron screen! It was so awesome!

Brentley, Me, and our neighbor
Marissa and her boyfriend

Brentley and me

Trent, Jean Brentley and me

San Fransisco Send Off

When we first moved to Durham in June 2009 we only really knew one other couple that lived in the area from church--Amy and Tofer Moran. We spent this past year getting to know them better, and Brentley was even in a band with them(Proud Valletta). We enjoyed carpooling with them to church, hanging out watching movies, and celebrating their kids' birthdays. They were also in our home group. Our mutual friend Allie, who was also in our home group, lived with them this past year which allowed us to get to know her even better as well.

Allie graduated from college in December, and Tofer got an awesome job in San Fransisco that he just couldn't refuse. So the Morans decided to move, and Allie decided to tag along to see what might be for her out west. Friends and family planned a going away party but unfortunately the noro virus made its way through the Moran home and shortly after, it made its way to the home where the going away party was to be thrown. Needless to say, the party was canceled. So at the last minute Brentley and I decided to have people over for a little impromptu surprise going away party. Here are a few pics of everyone saying farewell to Amy, Tofer, Mickey, Finn and Allie.

Bethany, Allie, & Julie

Amy, Tofer, Paul, & Brentley

Eli & Michael

Hanging out

Mickey & Finn

Stephen, Dawn, Eli & Christa

Michael & Georgia

new camera for christmas!

we had an awesome christmas! it was especially enjoyable to spend so much time with brentley (though most of it seemed like it was spent driving). we managed to visit all of our family during the course of the month, which to some may seem like a nightmare. at times, we were even a little exhausted from it, but we are so grateful to have so much family to visit that it makes traveling worth it.

for christmas brentley got me a new camera. the perfect gift! unfortunately, i haven't gotten back in the habit of taking pictures so these are all random. but i have a feeling i'll be taking more and more pictures soon enough!

me and jami on christmas day,testing out the new camera. it has a screen on the front so its easy to take pictures of yourself!

miss luna lovegood in all her glory

trent and jean (testing out the new camera) on new years eve. we went on a double date to the nasher museum and then met up with two other couples for dinner at pops!

michael and georgia at cold stone creamery after a dinner date with us. can you tell brentley doesn't like photos=)

oh wait. since it was my birthday he agreed to take one photo. yes, that is a samurai top knot he's rockin'

october 09

long over due post.

so what's new since the west coast road trip?

october.
we got a new car. we actually had to get a new car because this happened.


in case you can't tell, that's a mini cooper that totaled my sweet 9 year old ethel. the mini cooper hit my car while it was parked in front of my house. the impact forced my car to hit paul's car, which was parked in front of mine. it was totaled too.

it really was the best car ever. i thought i'd be excited to get a new car, but i miss this one a lot. it has so many awesome memories from college, and it kept me so safe on many, many, drives to boone and back oh and west virginia and back too <3.

for halloween we hung out with some friends here in durham for a harry potter costume party. here are some of the fun pics!

brentley (sirius black) holding finn (lord voldemort)

mickey (harry potter) and his mom, amy(hermione)

tofer (professor snape) and amy (hermione)

brentley and me (moaning myrtle)

me, amy, allie (jenny) and heather (bellatrix)

tofer, brentley, and shoe (remus lupin)

more to come, sooner than later, i hope!