Joy

For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.

Because you are precious in my eyes, and honored, and I love you.

Fear not, for I am with you.

Behold, I am doing a new thing;

now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?

I will make a way in the wilderness

and rivers in the desert.

Verses from Isaiah 43

And this song.

Wow

Just found this picture from when we were in Italy... love it.

My heart is full

Thankful

- I'm thankful today is my Friday.

- I'm thankful that Andrew did the dishes tonight.

- I'm thankful we live so close to Uptown.

- I'm thankful for sitting on the porch in a blanket talking to that Ginna girl.

- I'm thankful for extra reserves of patience when preschool crazy happens. 

- I'm thankful for preschool parents (and my own parents) who are so encouraging.

- I'm thankful for the artwork on my fridge that a little boy gave me.

- I'm thankful for walks with a friend who asks good questions.

- I'm thankful for God's provision for me in so many little ways.

- I'm thankful for coffee.

- I'm thankful for a husband who takes care of a dead snake in our yard. (eeps!)

- I'm thankful when Bible verses come to mind just when I need them.

- I'm thankful for my mama who is one of my favorite people to talk to on the phone.

- I'm thankful for a quiet night at home.

I have so many things to be thankful for.

Life lately

I need to start blogging again. I love going back and looking at what we've done. Here's life lately and in no particular order.

So, we live in the Wild West. It's definitely not Myers Park. I pass by this every day and I've always wanted a picture of Westside C(arrie). Andrew has always said "no" until one night when we drove by it and no one was out there so then he said "yes".

 We've been going through Narnia and Andrew finished reading to me The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe at Bearden park in Uptown.

Beach with the fam and this is how that Ginna girl checks her phone. She makes life fun!

The whole crew!

Andrew became a deacon at church. So proud of him and thankful for this opportunity.

 Meeting my friend's babies!

Bridal showers!

Story + Snack at Rozzie! I read The Very Hungry Caterpillar to my friend's children then we had a snack. The cucumbers were not even touched. Ha! :)

My main man.

This lady got married and looked amazing. So happy! :)

So Andrew

I was going through a few pictures I took from my cousin's wedding when I found this one. This is so Andrew. He is always playing with his wedding ring. I love natural, candid shots of real life.

FOUR

It's been FOUR years in the Queen City! Four years ago I moved from NYC to Myers Park. It was a really hard time of my life and on a whim, I picked up and moved back South. I'm so glad I did. Tonight I was reminiscing about that lil house on Manor Rd. with C&MK. How I still pass by J. Crew and remember those 4am wake-ups so I could be ready for roll-out at 5am. I knew a handful of people in Clt four years ago and now the Lord has blessed me with a husband I love and community- people who feel like family to me. I'm so thankful! 

God is good to us. So good.

CCC

Ok, Andrew knows all of this so it's not a surprise to him.

I love being married. Love it. Love my new last name. I just miss, a lot of the time, being CCC. Hardest part about getting married (which is probably so strange to most people). Maybe it is because names (in this case, initials) are very important to me. I love to hear what friends are naming their babies, getting my class roster is so fun, and I even tell my sister, "You're definitely not a Jenna. But you're such a Ginna.". 

Tonight, after the first day of preschool (!!), Andrew took me to Triple C Brewing Company in SouthEnd. Yeah! I've been wanting to come here for a while. Perfect tonight because Thursday is my Friday and I don't make dinner on Thursday nights during the school year (14 three y/olds exhaust me. love them and love my job, but exhausting.). 

My name has changed and I love but I'll always be CCC. (AD agrees. :)

Thankful

Ok, so this post might make more sense if I give you my current setting: dark, dreary night and it's 65 degrees out. August. Yes, that's right. Oh and Andrew's out getting beer with the dudes.

Anyways, I just heard this one song on Pandora which I listened to a lot last fall (and this day really reminds me of fall) which made a lot of thoughts & feelings come back. 

Last fall was really hard. A high school friend took his life last June and then in September a family friend took his own life. I still think about them (a lot of times when I'm doing the dishes... don't know why) and it's hard to wrap my mind around it! So heartbreaking. I feel everything so deeply which can be good and can be really hard. 

Tonight also reminds me of Rozzie. I've been thinking about Rozzie a lot because this time last year we we were in the process of putting in an offer, etc. This house was a short sale... nothing, nothing is ever short about a short sale. From the time we looked at the house (July) to the day we got our keys (December), a lot of waiting happened. We were homeless and at one point had to stop telling our closest family & friends the latest news because it was that much of a ridiculous roller coaster. It wasn't until the night before we closed ... I'll say it again, the night before we closed, until we knew 100% we were getting Rozzie. 

I'm so thankful for this house. I remember driving by last fall and wondering if this is where we'll live. Wondering if that's where we'll have dinner every night and if that's where we'll sit on the porch. It was sitting empty for 2 years (which means I'm still dealing with cobwebs) so I never saw it with furniture/other people's stuff ... blank slate for us!

It's funny what waiting does to a person. After waiting for 6 months for Rozzie, I often find myself so incredibly thankful to the Lord for such a blessing. I can't believe He gave it to us!

We also want to use Rozzie to be a blessing to others so that's why we'll have a Johnson & Wales student live with us this year! She'll be in France this fall studying French pastries (um, hello!) and then will be with us til May. 

So there's my retrospective Saturday night rainy day post. God is good all the time and every good and perfect gift is from above!

Europe: packing

I did a lot of research before we left on what I should/shouldn't bring. So here are my thoughts on packing for a trip...

- I packed everything in my college backpack (above), brought a tote, and a purse. Would definitely do that again. We borrowed a North Face travel pack from a friend and that worked out well for him.

- Didn't bring a hair dryer... good decision. Some of the hotels we stayed in had one and when they didn't, I put some of this in my hair. 

- Brought a very small travel sized brush which I was happy about. When you're gone for 2.5 weeks and only have a backpack, size matters.

- Clothing: I read a few places where no one wears shorts in Europe... not true. I only packed one pair but wished I had had another. I'm definitely the one to pack at the very last minute, but a few days before I laid clothes out that would go with each other. We were able to do a couple loads of laundry, so I knew we could get away with wearing the same thing often (oh, bring stuff you like wearing because you'll see it a lot). I also packed a jacket and I'm glad I did. 

- I stopped at J. Crew the day we left ("hi, how are you?" "great! I'm going to Germany this afternoon!!") and bought something like this for license + debit card + insurance cards. Left my bulky wallet at home.

- After our 5 days w/o luggage in Japan, both Andrew and I packed a few things in our carry-ons. Do this!

- We borrowed adapters. You need these.

- I brought a pair of Toms, Chacos, flip flops, and nicer flats. I definitely didn't buy any new shoes before we left because I knew we'd walk everywhere and did not want blisters.

- I went to Sephora before we left and got a rollerball of new perfume. Now when I smell it, it reminds me of walking the streets of Prague, bike riding through Bavaria, and eating salami + cheese for breakfast in Austria. 

- For our luggage tags, I printed our names & addresses on one sheet then on a different sheet, I printed our last name to put on top so that's all someone could see when our luggage came rolling around. 

- I wished I had brought the devotional I'm going through (it's really good) but I did bring a very small travel Bible.

- Everything we packed was intentional and simple. We brought a bag like this for clothes we needed to wash.

- Also, I tried to carry our passports with us at all times unless they were in a secure location. Andrew put his wallet in his front pocket and I had my purse in front of me the whole time (in big cities). I even had my hand on the zipper when we were walking through a big crowd... I read so many stories about theft.

- In the end, less is more. Rick Steves really made me believe this in my research and it's true. However, one of the things we forgot was motion sickness relief pills for Andrew. Let's just say that after going down curvy roads in Italy.... yeah.

That's all for now!

Europe

Andrew and I were in Europe for a lot of July. Here's one picture from each country that can sum up our trip (I'll spare you ALL of my pictures). 

Northern Italy: Lake Garda. AMAZING.

Austrian Alps: Grossglockner which is the highest alp in Austria

Germany: I was totally smitten with the houses and how there were flower boxes everywhere.

Prague: very Eastern European

London: Big Ben!

Tower Bridge in London

tbt

 It's happening! I was going through some pictures the other day and found this one. We look so young! Or maybe just Andrew does. ;) Or maybe it's because he has a buzz cut now. Either way, time is passing quickly... gotta make the most of it! xo

Life Lately

VBS!

 Shakespeare on the Green in Uptown!

L&L were in town!

 A trip to Greenville, SC for the day:

Finally got to eat at High Cotton!

 

 Art projects that include celery (dip it in paint & it makes hearts).

Cupcakes for a baby shower.

The pictures homeowners take of their new toys...

Longest day of the year shindig at Rozzie. These did not work.

Summer salads.

 Mardo Staycation!

A tradition continues...

 Dad explaining Yum Yums to the guys.

Dinner.

Mint x2.

After Yum Yums we went to the trains, of course. Here's Dad explaining something or telling a story about trains.

Laylay.

Going through old toys... remember beanie babies? We didn't send them to Goodwill because they'll be worth something someday. 

sisters.

Andrew's naan burger.

Life lately

Went to visit this birthday girl at her middle school! 

Then went to see this guy at work! I had never been and it was fun to meet his cube-mates. (Also, in honor of summer he buzzed his hair. I miss the swoosh.)

I've been hanging out with my friend Carrie D. (!) and her cutie who likes my boots which happen to be like 1/3 of her body height.

Summer is when you...

...sit on the porch and watch the storm roll in.

 National donut day.

Blood, sweat, & tears went into that banner... ok not really, but it makes me happy that it can be used for so many birthdays!

Two!

That ridiculous mac & cheese.

 

Ok, so maybe I spend a lot of time on the porch.