Asheville with the Otto's

This past weekend I had the pleasure of driving 3 hours north to meet half way with the Beth, Noah and Isabella Otto of Raleigh, NC. Beth and I have literally been best friends our entire lives. Our families are best friends. Naturally, when Beth married Noah Otto and then had a baby...they became part of my family too. Beth and I haven't lived in the same state for over 8 years, but our friendship has been made deep through growing up together, going through some tough life experiences and both knowing and loving Jesus.

We watched fireworks the first night and spent the next day seeing waterfalls and different rock formations on the Blue Ridge Parkway. It may not seem that exciting, but we were happy to just be together and hang out.

Me, Bella and Beth at the waterfall

Here's Isabella all bundled up and out of the wind. This little girl loves to smile and squeal!

Bella being loved dearly by her mom

The Otto's

I left the weekend very thankful for getting to spend time with some friends that I love so much!

Giving Up Christmas...Buckhead Style

So this morning was the singles Christmas breakfast at Buckhead Church. Seeing as how I am still new, I figured this was a good opportunity to continue to get to know more people. The even cost $5, which the church matched and then throughout the morning your group/table could win money. This included Christmas trivia, which due to our amazing amount of useless knowledge bought us a trip on stage to sing a rousing rendition of "let it snow, let it snow, let it snow", more trivia and acting out the 12 days of Christmas...thankfully, we got out of the later. With the money, you could do whatever you wanted with it, but the goal was to get the focus off yourself and to serve others. Our group ended up with $140 total...and this is what we did.

We at table 53 decided to split our money. We gave $50 to another table so that they could sponser 2 kids at Safeway. With the remaining money we decided to buy fruit, donuts, muffins and hot coffee to take to the park and give out to the homeless. We walked around for a while and only found a few people to share our goods.Our journey led us downtown to a United Mission House. There were so many men lined up on the side of the building. It was a little intimidating at first. A worker told the guys that they can't bum rush us and this will be done in an orderly fashion. They let us go in and we went to work passing out coffee and food. I looked at the line and then at the amount of food we had. I thought "Lord, you have to multiply this because we aren't going to have enough!" Sure enough, by the end of the line, every person had at least one thing to eat if not more...and we had nothing but cream and sugar left over. What a lesson of how God provides all that we NEED, both for us and them. Some of the men when we offered them more even said "Oh, I'm full!" they were so thankful and respectful, no threat of a stampede. We all left full of joy and by the time we got back to the car we couldn't wait to give thanks. A great morning, an eventful afternoon and a precious moment of prayer. I just moved here three weeks ago and this was the exact thing I was hoping to find. What a blessing getting to bless others!

I continue to meet some very cool people and am having a blast...

So Much To Be Thankful For...

Wow, where do I begin? I am a "glass half full" kind of lady, so I am completely enjoying life right now, but I can't help thinking..."this can't last forever...it's just too good!"

I have settled in to Atlanta quite nicely. I completed my orientation and finish up my first week on my own tonight. I can't get over how nice everyone is! I love the hospital. It has everything you need to be a good nurse! Of course, I really like the people on nights as third shifters, well we tend to be a breed all our own. I like the humor and atmosphere. I get called things like "youngster" "love" and "little darlin'" I kinda chuckle to myself everytime I hear it. One guy calls me Katie...he thinks I look like one. I could be called worse, so I don't mind.

I went to Buckhead again and don't really plan on visiting any other church while I am here. I just love going there. It's a lot like Apex...only bigger. I thought it would be weird to watch Andy on a screen but they have it set up so that he is actually lifesize and the churches have the same back drop so you can't even tell that you're watching a screen! I laughed the first week when people would answer back and talk like he was there, but I found myself doing it the second week. I met a super nice couple my first week and we went out to breakfast this past week. They introduced me to a fun single gal who I am going to go to the Singles Christmas party with this Saturday. I am hoping to meet some more people!

Thanksgiving was a lot of fun! I drove down to Valdosta to meet up with my brother and my sister in laws family. Of course Emma and I had a great time! She is the funniest little girl! Zach and Jordan announced that they are expecting! She is due in June and we are all beside ourselves with excitement! Christmas is going to be wonderful! I am flying home Christmas Eve to meet up with the whole family to be together. Then I will drive back with Zach, Jordan and Emma. Here are a couple pics from Thanksgiving...





So all in all, I have NOTHING to complain about and bask in the many blessings from God. Great Family, great job, great city and great people...my heart is full. I won't wait for the other shoe to drop, I will simply revel in the life God has given me.