Sunrise

During our family beach trip to Jupiter, FL, all the guys got up early one morning to watch the sunrise over the Atlantic at Blowing Rocks Preserve in Coral Cove Park. Here's one I really liked.

Connor is One!

Our little boy is one! Sarah lists what he's up to these days, so I'll leave you with some cute recent pictures. I love this little boy so much!

Places

So I have some pictures here and there to edit, but these are a little out of the ordinary. I wanted to just post some of my old favorite photos that are in my flickr stream of places. Some of these are in the wannabe "HDR" style, and some are just neat. Some are good, some are, well, not so good :)

Toomers Corner, Auburn, AL - this has been my desktop background at work for a while


Walking around in Seaside, FL


Destin, FL - Sarah, Steph and Justin waited patiently for this one


Apalachicola, FL


San Francisco, CA, on a dinner cruise thing


View out of my hotel room in San Francisco (ok, a little weird looking, but hey, I was young)


Paris, France - I wanted this picture so bad but we were shy, so when no one was around I put my little camera on a bench and got this shot


Paris, France - Along the Seine river


Atlanta, GA - I see this view almost every day now on my way home.


Atlanta, GA - Krog St. Tunnel


This made me want to edit/post more "places" pictures, so I'll do that, soon-ish.

There are places I remember all my life,

Though some have changed

Some forever, not for better

Some have gone and some remain.

All these places have their moments

Of lovers and friends I still can recall

Some are dead and some are living

In my life I loved them all.

-The Beatles

This is how we roll

We just become a minivan driving family, and I'm loving it! Check out our car buying story that Sarah wrote about over here :).

5 Years

Wow, 2 posts in a row celebrating marriage. This past weekend June 5th to be exact, Sarah and I celebrated 5 years of being married. Sarah recapped the day here.

Time seems to have flown by, it feels like just the other day we were setting up chairs, getting the rehearsal dinner ready, and watching a slideshow of our 2 1/2 years of dating. I have wonderful memories of our wedding day, and of these last 5 years, but that would take forever to recap the past 5 years. Maybe for our 10 year post :) Here are some of my favorite memories from the past year:

• Finding out that we were expecting child #2. It definitely wasn't as shocking and nerveracking the 2nd time around, but it was still a life changing moment.
  
  
• Beach trip with the Moons! It's always great to go to the beach, and when you throw in a pool, friends, a house across the street from the beach, shopping, Seaside, ribs, and shrimp, you can't beat it. Sarah had some great recaps here. (notice I'm linking to our "family" blog that Sarah keeps up. She does such a great job with it, and it's fun to look back and see what we were doing at certain times).
  
  
• The summer of AP. Andrew Peterson, that is. Funny thing is, even though the concerts were great, sitting in the car listening to songs like "Canaan Bound" is one of my favorite things that Sarah and I do.
  
  
• Family outings. This past year is when Micah really started appreciating his surroundings, and we love to spend time together and make some memories. So here are a few things we did together: Atlanta Zoo, Braves game, Waffle House together one morning, Southern Belle Farms (twice), 4th of July parade in Oxford with the Cardozas, trips to Auburn, Gainesville, Enterprise and Statesboro, Arabia Mountain, playing in the snow, movie nights with Nemo, many trips to the park, and the Georgia Aquarium.
  
  
• Trip to Nashville. We took off to Nashville with the Moons to see a Behold the Lamb of God Christmas Concert. It was just a great all-around weekend that Sarah and I will remember forever.
  
  
• Chateau Elan. This was our "alone" getaway this year, just in time for a pre-baby massage for Sarah and a good relaxing weekend for the both of us. We definitely needed and enjoyed some alone time, especially in the almost-Frenchish countryside of North Georgia.
  
  
• Speaking of babies, along comes Connor! Sarah, as previously mentioned, did such a great job during labor, and overall, everything went smoothly. God certainly has blessed us with a great little family, much more than we ever deserve. Now, being parents of 2 children, we realize what a joy and a privilege it is to raise them up.
  

For Sarah and I, as our alone time gets more and more precious, we agree to make sure to keep God and our marrige first. In a time where it's tempting to put kids and careers before a healthy marriage, it's important to remember that we were brought together for a reason, from two completely different backgrounds, countries, college football teams, and cleaning habits, to become ONE and share our life together. If that foundation in Christ isn't strong, everything else we lean on will crumble.

Sarah, love you babe :)

32 Years

**this post was originally written 2 years go. I edited it for the 32 year edition

Today, June 2nd, is my parents' 32nd anniversary. 32 years. 32 great, wonderful, long, crazy, hectic, unpredictable, loving years. They have had 6 kids, 2 dogs, lived in 2 different countries, 3 different states, and 12 houses these past 32 years. They have 4 grandchildren, 3 on the way, 2 daughter in-laws, 2 sons in-law, have had 4 foster children, and countless church families and friends around the globe.

Everyone loves my parents. Including their kids. All us kids would agree that while we were raised in unconventional environments, we couldn't have asked for better parents and role-models. Our family can laugh, cry, play games, sing songs, talk politics, quote movies, tell stories, and share our lives together all at the dinner table. We all have our seats we've had for years, with Dad at one end, Mom at the other. Dinner doesn't start until Dad prays, and doesn't end until we say "Thanks for the food Mom, it was delicious" :)

We always knew that our parents loved us, and loved each other. They weren't shy in showing it, even when we said "ewwwwww you're kissing!!"

It's strange, as kids, to think of your parents meeting, dating, falling in love, and basically acting like real humans...surely that wasn't the case, was it?

I present to you Tom and Linda, circa 1977-1978:






That last picture is in front of their first house, with the only gun they ever owned. Mom almost shot their pastor one day, but that's neither here nor there...

I wish I could post pictures of them together during these last 32 years, but I don't have them with me, and honestly, I came to realize, I don't have many of them together by themselves. We have so many family pictures and goofy pictures and sports pictures, but I realized I need to take more pictures of them together, like they've always been.

Mom has been a beautiful example of what a loving and Godly wife looks like. I'm proud to have married Sarah who shows many of the same traits. Mom taught me literally everything I know, put up with me when I was a 2 year old brat, and was a wonderful mother to me and all of her kids.

Dad is what every man should strive to be, and what every woman should look for. His example as a husband and a father has made me who I am, and is continuing to do so. Dad taught me how to catch a baseball, make a bounce pass, and throw a football. More importantly, through his example, he showed me how to love the Lord, treat a woman, and what marriage looks like.

So here's to Tom and Linda, aka Mom and Dad. 32 years of love and marriage, still going strong. God has truly blessed you, me, and our family and friends as we are witnesses to something beautiful. In a time where marriage is treated lightly, here is one couple who is a beacon of light for all to see. I love you both.