Family & Friends: Reconnect

Reconnecting is something we all need at times. Chris & I have had a very busy (but very enjoyable) Summer. We were so lucky to get the chance to spend most of it with our youth. We've also had the stress of carrying around the news of our big life changes. Chris recently stepped down as the youth minister at First Baptist in Wilmington. He just started a chaplain position at the hospital in town. The reason we made these big changes in our life is because Chris feels called to become an Episcopal priest. We will spend one more year in Wilmington and next Fall we will move to Alexandria, Va. Chris will attend school for one year there. My big change is that I recently started a new job!!! I am working at a childcare center part time. So far I love the kids!!! It's going to be a great year for us!

After all of the big changes Chris & I had almost a whole week of free time. We decided to spend part of that time in Raleigh and the rest in Rocky Mount with our family.

First off, I'm going to bring it back old school....old school 2007! One thing in life everyone should enjoy is jumping on a bed :)

(Me...Denver, CO)

Matt & Kay also like to jump on beds on their couple adventures!

(Stolen from Kay's facebook page!)

Chris & I ( or at least the "I" part) wanted to get in on the fun too!

We enjoyed a nice dinner at Bahama Breeze our first evening in Raleigh.

We splurged on desserts, but that was okay because Chris got his meal for FREE! Thanks Bahama Breeze for giving Chris a medium well steak instead of medium rare!

We were so STOKED that we got to hang out with Tyler & Crystal on this visit! We haven't seen them in so long and we really miss that time that we have shared together.

(Tyler & Chris)

(Crystal & I)

(The whole group)

This is the restaurant in Raleigh that we went to. I wish I was more hungry, because the mac & cheese was amazing and I barely ate my homemade veggie burger! I would like to go back there sometime!

After lunch with friends we enjoyed a game of glow-n-the-dark putt-putt. Chris won, but that was kind of expected! We still had fun though!

We found this awesome used bookstore in town. They also have used cd's and dvd's. Chris bought me that cool red shirt! You can't really read it, but I promise it's cute!

I convinced Chris that it would be nice to ride up to Chapel Hill. I really wanted to stop by Sugarland and as you can see below we did! I had dessert before dinner that night! We ate dinner at another favorite restaurant, The Armadillo Grill. Their homemade tortilla's are great!

I was also good at convincing Chris to stop by this cool wall that I've wanted to take pictures at for a long time!

This may be my new favorite series of us!

(Chris & I)

One of my favorite times was spend with Miss Norma Proctor (no we are not related, but I wish we were!). When Chris & I lived in the triangle and went to Tabernacle Baptist Church in Raleigh we got the wonderful opportunity to meet Norma. This was actually only our 4th time visiting with her, but we also write letters to each other. She is just such a sweet lady! As much as we love and appreciate her, we can tell that she loves and appreciates us too! I love old people, especially when they are this sweet! It reminds me of how important my grandparents have been in my life!

(Norma)

(Me & Norma)

(Chris & Norma)

We also dropped by Tabernacle for Church Sunday and enjoyed a great lunch with some of our former youth and friends! We were very excited about this, because we haven't seen most of them in a year and a half. It's amazing at how fast the youth grow up in that time frame! We miss our TBC family a lot!

(Mark, Chris, Daniel, Bailey, & I)

These are our Ruby Tuesday dates that we meet up with in Clinton! It's the half way point between Wilmington and Raleigh. We really enjoy that extra special time together that we share on our dinner dates! 

(Me, Chris, Candy, & Dick)

A great couple that we became close to at Tabernacle. 

(Me, Laura, Clyde, & Chris)

We also met the new youth minister and his wife. We approve!!! I'm so glad the youth have leaders that will continue to love them and help them grow in their faith.

When our Raleigh adventure ended we drove to Rocky Mount. This was a busy time for me, because I did 4 photo sessions and met a bride! It was all good and fun though! I also got to spend time with good friends (Audrey, Brian, Amanda, Cody, & Amy) while in town. We stayed at Chris' parents house and split up time with our families. Sadly, I don't have any pictures with Chris' side, but I do have a few from my side of the family. We enjoyed a Birthday dinner at Texas for Kevin.

(Me, Mema, Kevin)

(Mema, Kevin, Mom)

(Mema & I)

(Mema, Kevin, Mom....and Chris the creeper!)

We spent a little time at Mema's house after dinner. Mema asked me if she could braid my hair. I absolutely LOVE when people play with my hair, so I couldn't turn down this offer! She braided it 3 times, because I didn't want to get up! Yes, I look a little silly, but it's still a fun memory!

(Me & Mema)

The next day we drove back to Wilmington feeling a little more recharged by family and friends. The following day Chris continued his "reconnecting" time with friends! Tyler & Chris drove to Ohio and surprised our good friend Derek for the weekend! Moments like these remind me that we all need to make time to reconnect with those we love. This is why I try SO hard to keep those meaningful friendships going.