Prayer request

I've been praying for the family of Kirill in the hopes that they are able to bring him home to Alabama soon (if you haven't read this story it's pretty heartbreaking, but I am trusting that God will do great works through this boy.) This adoption issue hits me close to home as Matt and I have been praying for a family of our own and exploring options. Which leads me to this prayer request: 


We're facing some upcoming medical decisions and other fertility related issues in the next few months and I want to ask for your prayer help as we move ahead. I'm still feeling a little private about all the details, but I would appreciate you remembering us. God knows the specifics. 


I am inspired and given hope by the stories of Hannah and Rachel in the bible. (Hannah - 1 Samuel 1:19-20 and Rachel - Genesis 30:22). God remembered them and blessed them each with children. Please ask God to remember me and Matt. 


Thank you so much for your support and love.

Love from the two blondes.

Rental house in Tampa

I wanted to get photos posted of our new place in Tampa for friends and family to see. We moved in January and have been working pretty steadily to get the place decorated and arranged the way we want it.  It's so nice to be in a house again. We have a yard and more room for our belongings. We have space for guests and space for our hobbies. We have a laundry room that is attached to our living space and doesn't require a stack of quarters! I can wash things whenever I want! Matt has his office/man room back. We have a nice bonus room for storage and a place for the dogs to stay. The house is in a great location with a park down the street that we go to daily to run or ride bikes. There's even a super nice dog park for Steve and Wil. We were extremely blessed to find this house. It's really making Tampa feel more and more like home.

Living room before

Living room After

Living Room Before

Living Room After.
 (We've since added Matt's Gramma's hutch along the back wall next to the palm tree art. It really fills in the space nicely. I just don't have a photo from this angle since we brought in the extra furniture.)

More Living Room

Living Room

Living Room.

Kitchen Before

Kitchen After

Kitchen Before

Kitchen After 

We moved our kitchen table into this corner. Love the pegboard for storage. Saw it in Julia Child's kitchen at the Smithsonian. If it's good enough for her, it's good enough for me.

Master Bedroom Before

Master bedroom after.

I made the blue and white pillow. The yellow one came from Target and the duvet cover was my birthday present from Matt's parents. The curtains that line the walls are from Ikea.

Master Bedroom

Master Bedroom

Master Bedroom

Matt's Office Before

Matt's office after.

Matt's office before

Matt's office after.

Matt's Office

Guest Room before

Guest room after. 

Guest Room After

Bathroom

Front Door

House and Front yard.

We're so glad to have this space to live in. It's an old house with some old house challenge, but they are worth it for the space and location we're enjoying so much.

Happy Friday everyone!

Wow, it's been a while since I posted here. I was sick and then home for a week and then celebrated my birthday so I've been very distracted and not keeping up with blogging like I should. I was blessed to be able to go home the week before my birthday to celebrate my newphew's first birthday and to throw in a little celebrations for me as well. Matt's parents took us to Umi for sushi to celebrate and I got to enjoy some great company, great sushi and ice cream with a song after dinner. Look for my photo on the Birthday wall!


We're getting more and more settled into our new rental home. It's nice to have all our stuff in one place. We'll still catch ourselves thinking about something we own and still thinking it's at the house in Tallahassee. But it's all here and it's so nice. I'm slowly getting some extra decorating done. I made a pillow for our bed and I"ve still got lots of work to do in the guest bedroom. Perhaps someone needs to come stay with us to give me the kick in the pants I need to get started? Any volunteers?

This weekend the weather should be super nice and we're planning a trip to the beach. This is pretty unusual for us. I admit I am not a huge beach fan when I'm not staying in a condo right on the water. Since living in Florida I have dealt with a lot of sand being brought home with me that is such a hassle. But I'm totally ok with sand this weekend. Can't wait to get some sun and smell the clean smell of the ocean.

Rainy day today in Tampa. I'm heading off to the library!

We went to Gatlinburg for our 7 year anniversary trip earlier in January. We rented a cabin in the mountains, only about 5 minutes from Gatlinburg's city center. I can't wait to go back. Staying in a cabin high in the mountains was incredibly awesome. We had a fireplace, 2 hot tubs and all the privacy and quietness of being up in the mountains. There were cabins all around us, but they did a good job of building each cabin so you felt like you had your own private place. Having the kitchen was great because we cooked all our suppers in the cabin. Lots of popcorn and spaghetti. It was super relaxing and a wonderful way to start 2011.

Our view from the porch of the cabin at sunset.

We spent a lot of time playing in the park and shopping downtown.

Strolling along one of their "scenic trails" - there were tons of families all over the park playing in the snow and building snowmen.

My handsome date for the trip.

The snow was just gorgeous and literally covered the ground like a sparkling blanket.

More hiking and posing for photos.

We hiked up to Laurel Falls to see it in the snow. We've been up there before a few years ago when it wasn't covered in snow and ice. The icicles here were amazing.

Matt the unicorn.

Ashley the unicorn.

Cabin in Cade's Cove.

Exploring the cabins.

More exploring and talking about how it would be to actually live in these cabins.

Snow piled up in the parking area.

Cade's Cove, 2011.

Goofing around in Cade's Cove. I found these sunglasses in an old drug store in Pigeon Forge. I was killing time while Matt used the WiFi at McDonald's to do a little work. They are Jordache and I'm pretty sure they're an original 80's item. Totally awesome to wear and are super comfortable.

Matt got some air, me...not so much. :-)

Goofing off with the self timer.

He can jump pretty high.

I'm getting there. Had to bring back the old Jr. High Cheerleader arm swing to help my momentum.

Church in Cade's Cove

Me and Matt.

Love this view. Such a peaceful place.

Cars kept slowing down so people could take photos of these deer. I was laughing at that since I see deer everywhere in rural Florida. But I joined them in snapping pictures to practice with my zoom lens.

Frozen waterwheel at the Cade's Cove Mill.

Our cabin at sunset.

Driving up to Clingman's Dome.

Piles of snow at the top of the mountain.

I hiked a small portion of the Appalachian Trail

Smoky Mountains in the background.

Playing on the rocks at the Chimney's.

I couldn't have imagined a better vacation. We rented a sweet Buick Enclave with heated seats and 4-wheel drive. Not cheap but a nice splurge. It was mainly to keep up safe and I'm pretty sure without it we would have been hiking to our cabin. The roads were pretty icy and slick that first night and we slid around even with the 4 wheel drive. Luckily I drove it up the mountain at night. I had limited sight on the sides of the road and that was a good thing. I think if I had seen the steep drop-offs on either side of the road I would have been much more nervous and not as careful of a driver.

Gatlinburg is one of my favorite places. I love the campy tourist traps and shops, I love how even since I was in middle school the place hasn't changed very much. I love the mountain air, the trees and the bluegrass music we always listen to when we're driving out to Cade's Cove.

It was good we had such a relaxing vacation because as soon as we got back the craziness started. Matt got sick with a bad cold/flu, we started packing for a move, I got sick with the same crud and we tried to empty an apartment and decorate a house. Before and after photos coming soon!