Charleston, SC

This past weekend I went to Charleston to visit my sweet friends Courtney (highschool friend)and Jess (she is in Chris' PT class). Courtney has lived in Charleston for almost a year now and Jess is there for 16 weeks for her clinical rotation. Melissa Johnson (another highschool friend)was also in town for the weekend! It was so great to go to Charleston again and to catch up with these wonderful girls!

Ireland Pumpkin Carving 2008

My sweet husband surprised me with a pumpkin to carve!!! I love him so much!

Our home

We are moving in less than 6 weeks, so I thought it would be nice to show you all our first home together! It really has been perfect for us and I have to admit that I am starting to get a little emotional when I think about leaving. We really are going to miss it!

Bye Bye "Blondie"

I've done it again... changed my hair color. I am thinking I like it better dark, but we'll see how long I can go without changing it again! lol! Any thoughts?

A WEEKEND IN THE WILDERNESS

We spent this past weekend backpacking through the woods along the GA/SC border along the Chatooga river. There were 12 of us total and we hiked over 14 miles throughout the weekend. I am so incredibly sore today and am glad to have the day off, but feel bad for Chris and the others who are workng all day. We left Augusta on Friday night around 8:30 and began our 3 hour journey to the mountains. We met up with the other half of our group and set up camp in the little gravel parking lot at the trail head. We ate smores around the campfire and finally went to bed around 1:30am. The next morning we woke up around 8:45 and Chris already had a fire going- Thanks babe! His cousin Andy showed up about 15 minutes later while we were all eating breakfast and packing things up. We were so glad to have Andy join us! He lives less than an hour and a half from the trail head so he was able to sleep comfortably on Friday night before meeting us on Saturday. We hiked about 7 1/4 miles on Saturday and set up camp along the river. Chris and I ate our dinner on the rocks by the river - it was beautiful! The 12 of us sat around the campfire roasting marshmellows the rest of the night and went to be around 9pm. Sunday morning we woke up in 38 degree weather and didn't waste much time packing up and hitting the trail once again. I absolutely loved hiking along the river and seeing the beautiful foliage surrounding us. The yellow, red and orange leaves were incredible! Thankfully we made it through the weekend with only one minor injury: Tim rolled his ankle on Saturday during our hike, but after wrapping it for the hike back on Sunday he was ok. Keep him in your prayers for quick healing! Below are just a few pictures from our weekend in the wilderness!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

September 26th was Christopher's 25th birthday! He is officially a quarter of a century old... This past year has been a fun filled year with getting married, finishing classes and starting clinic and this next year has a lot in store for him as well. As many of you know, we will be leaving Augusta in December (where we will be residing with different family members throughout the entire month) then moving to Birmingham in January. I am so excited I can hardly contain myself!! Chris is going to be in a neuro clinic in Birmingham for 12 weeks, so his brother and sister-in-law have so graciously offered a place for us to stay. We are truly looking forward to living with Justin and Adriane and finally getting to spend time with them! After the 12 weeks are up, Chris will be going to Washington D.C for a four week clinic at Walter Reed where he will be working with the amputees from war. Then, the day will finally arrive when Chris will graduate from MCG and be finished with school for the first time in 19 years-- what an accomplishment! All of that to say, this 25th year for Chris will be filled with lots of fun and adventure, change and excitement.

His birthday celebration started on Friday night as soon as his parents arrived from Douglasville. The four of us went to Boll Weevil for dinner and then to the Cirque de la Symphony. The Augusta Symphony played a number of pieces while different acts such as a contortionist, jugglers and the strong men performed for us. We had so much fun and really enjoyed doing something different here in Augusta. After the symphony, we went back to Boll Weevil for dessert. We had 24 desserts to choose from and they were excellent! That night Chris opened his presents....

As I've mentioned before, Chris and Paul coach and upward flag football team through our church. Saturday they had a game and won!! It was so exciting! (It also brought back the good ole days when Ed took pictures of Chris playing ball growing up...he was out there snapping away at Chris and Paul coaching- he loved it!)

3 weeks later...

We've been home for 3 weeks now and are back to our busy schedules. Chris is finally finished with classes...FOREVER!! He is currently at Aiken Regional Hospital for a 16 week clinic. He is learning a lot and has some very interesting stories. He has observed one back surgery thus far and found it to be very interesting. He enjoys working with his clinical instructor and the other PT's, but his favorite part is that he gets to eat lunch for FREE every day! Chris is also coaching an upward flag football team with his long time friend Paul. They coach 5th - 8th graders and won their first game! GO GATORS!! (That's their team name) As for myself, I am just busy with work and all that comes with it. I had this weekend off, which was so nice after working 6 days over the past few weeks. Even if I just go in for a few hours a day, it is tiring having only 1 day off per weekend. Now that summer is over I think my schedule will become a little easier and I can't wait! Chris and I are doing well and are enjoying married life. Can you believe it's been almost 9 months already?!? Time sure does fly by!