Ten things I LOVE about Vacation!

I have been looking forward to this moment for a VERY long time! My family and I will head out tomorrow morning for our glorious, long awaited trip to the beach! My Mom has 4 sisters and every single year since I was 8 years old, we have all gone to St. Simon's Island together for vacation. My aunts, uncles, cousins...you name it...we ALL go and it is INCREDIBLE! We've stayed in the same beach house every year, so after 20 years it's pretty much our home away from home. This year I'm SUPER ready to go because my family missed last year's trip due to Luke's birth. Here are the top 10 things I'm going to love about my trip this year:

1. Spending some QT time with the fam!

2. Going a WHOLE week without wearing scrubs and getting to wear "normal" clothes every day.

3. Hopefully getting a TAN! I am so looking forward to laying out in the sunshine where I can either read, take a nap, chase after Luke, or watch people and think crazy things about them!

4. I'm going to get a MASSAGE! What could possibly be better than getting a massage AT the beach?!? I'm guessin' not much! There's an Aveda Salon at the pier and I have been saving my bucks to blow at this heavenly place!

5. Sleeping as late as my heart desires! (One perk to still being single and not having any children!)

6. Waloging (walking/jogging) on the beach!

7. Spending some good time with the Lord! I'm always able to find some good time "away" to focus on my walk with Him while I'm on vacation. Can't wait for that!

8. Eating some fresh seafood! (not the really "fishy" kind though!)

9. Shopping with my Mom and Sister!

10. Not worrying about having a "schedule" for 7 full, wonderful days!

See you guys when I get back! Have a great week...I know I will! :)

Meredith's Get Fit Journey - Take 6...RUTS!!

RUT...that's what my GFJ (get fit journey) feels like at the moment! I feel like I've been stuck at around 73 pounds down for what feels like FOREVER and I'm trying very hard not to get discouraged. I'm not complaining by ANY means because I truly am SO to have come as far as I have...but I'm not done yet, Lord willing! :) My eating habits have remained good over the past few weeks and so have my workouts...but the scales will not budge to save my soul! I'm using my weights pretty consistently during my workouts and am being told by other people (God love them!) that I just keep getting "skinnier and skinnier!" And even though I'm maintaining my weight at the moment, I do hope some of that is muscle weight and that it's building up and getting ready to burn off the yucky weight. I'm still feeling good though and just truckin' right along.

So, I'm TOTALLY taking advantage of all the fresh fruits and veggies from the garden right now. My family only has some tomato plants but so many of my sweet patients at work are bringing in all kinds of stuff to share with us! We also have a fig tree here at our house and I never realized how much I like figs! And they are of great nutritional value. Click here to read up on the ol' fig! Take advantage of all these yummy, good for you, mostly FREE foods that we can get this time of year! Well, that's about it for this GFJ post. Sorry it wasn't all that exciting this time. I promise WAY more fun in the next post...and maybe even some before and after pictures on my journey thus far! Hang in there!

Home Sweet Home...Finally!

I'm so happy and thankful to say that I offically began the membership process at Grace Baptist Church today! (http://www.hourofgrace.org/) It's been a long road of searching and praying, but God, of course, is good and He's faithful to lead. You have NO idea how excited I am to finally (after a YEAR!) have a home church again. And what a GREAT place to call home! I can't wait to serve and fellowship alongside this super body of believers at Grace! It feels so good to be HOME! Thanks so much to those of you that have been praying with me regarding this. He's got great things in store.

Vote for Kevin Cabe!

So, my friend Kevin is trying out for American Idol this coming Monday in Louisville, KY. I've heard the boy sing, and I have to say that he ain't too shabby! Kevin is a Student Pastor in Knoxville, TN and has an incredible heart for students....but his main passion is music and leading worship through music. He's definitely made the most of every opportunity that comes his way and I know that he'll continue to do that no matter what! I'm excited that he's trying out on Monday...and a little jealous. :) Say a little prayer for Kevin. And apparently he was interviewed today by FOX and got to sing for them...I think you can check that out online tomorrow at www.fox19.com. Good luck, Kevin! ROCK ON!

Sisterhood Cookout and fun with Little Luke!

What a fun weekend I had and a great Monday today! Saturday evening was our monthly "Sisterhood" get together. We allowed the boys and children to participate this time! We cooked out at Kacee and Tim's. They have a GREAT home...such the perfect backyard for cooking out, socializing (which we do TONS of!), letting the kids run around with out fear of them "getting out" since it's fenced in, etc. We always love our time together with just the girl's, but having the guys and children around every so often is great! The kids get along so well together and truly are the SWEETEST children. And the guys get along together just as good as us girls do. I'm the only one left that doesn't have a guy yet to attend these events and a big requirement is that he fits in with all us CRAZIES! We had a wonderful night together and I took lots more pictures than just these two that I'll share with you later! Thanks Kacee and Tim for letting us use your wonderful home for our cookout! Can't wait to do it again. Love you girls! Check out these pictures and don't forget the ones of little man Luke at the bottom! Top Row (left to right): Kacee, Karla, and Courtney. Bottom Row (left to right): Alyson, Kimi and Me.
Look at ALL these kids! This is just insane to me that we are old enough to have children of our own! Us girls were playing together at this age...I LOVE it! God is so good!

Now for the second part of the post! I had the day off work today and of course it is absolutely impossible for me to have a day off and NOT spend time w/ Luke. He sported his famous "If You Think I'm Cute, You Should See My Aunt!" shirt today for the first time that I gave him for his birthday. And of course, in the presence of his Aunt! We tried to get some decent pictures of the two of us...but he was a bit of a stinker today. We tried though! Enjoy these!

Word of God Speak!

"Lord, You have assigned me my portion and my cup; You have made my lot secure. The boundary lines have fallen in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inheritance." (Psalm 16:5-6)

I love that God's Word is holy and I love that His Word speaks and is alive. The verse above is one of my very favorites. Not only does it remind me that God protects me and provides for me and gives me stability, but it also reminds me that the things He does provide me with in this life are sufficient. So often, I/we want just about everything we don't have. I have found on more than one occasion that when I focus on the things I don't have, that's when I'm the most miserable and stressed out in life. On the other hand, I have learned that when I find contentment in the things God has given me, I am so much more likely to see His blessings all around me and understand that the boundary lines in my life truly have fallen in pleasant places. I am a blessed girl..."surely I have a delightful inheritance!"

Randomness...

I have been trying so hard to think of something to blog about this weekend, but my mind is full of just randomness. First of all, God is teaching me some serious stuff right now - particularly about how productive/not productive I am during transition periods in my life. I truly feel that this past year since I've been back home in Gainesville has been one of the craziest years of my life. A totally "out of control" year, if that makes any sense. Nothing has felt "constant" besides the obvious such as work. There are certain days when I think back on the past 12 months and feel that not a lot has been accomplished in my life. You all know that church involvement and serving through a local church is really important to me. Maybe that's one reason I've felt not so productive in the past year. I've yet to find a "home" church again - visited LOTS of wonderful churches - just haven't found the one for me...until maybe today! (which is very exciting) Still lots to pray through regarding that and while I am still serving in various ways even outside a local church, my heart yearns so badly to get my roots settled again. As much as I felt the sense of non-productivity in my life, I know that productivity has truly taken place in many areas. I've continued to lose weight on a consistent basis. I've had the time of my life becoming an Aunt for the first time and spending just about every free minute I've had with Luke. I wouldn't trade being able to see all those "first" in his life for ANYTHING! I've connected with people at my work on a more personable level - fellow employees and patients. I know that my life has been productive in lots of areas over the past year, but I want to make it a goal to make a more conscious effort in the next 12 months to really use my time more wisely in preparing for the next stage of the journey the Lord has me on. Sorry for rambling and probably not making any sense at all! Other random thoughts on my mind right now include (but are not limited to):
- I really need to find a bathing suit for the beach in 3 weeks!
- I really HATE shopping for bathing suits.
- I took a two hour nap this afternoon...it's so gonna take me FOREVER to fall asleep tonight.
- For real? Am I still single?!?
-I can't believe I changed into my walking clothes right after church today and have yet to go for my walk...it's almost dark outside!
-I need to get my car payment in the mail tomorrow.
-I sure hope my sweet friends Jeremy and Christen are having a blast on their mission trip to the Bahama's right now!
-I have the best family and the best friends ever.
-But I still want a boyfriend.
-I can't wait to see my friend Emma this week - I miss our walks and our talks. AND she's having a baby BOY!
-So is my friend Kimi! (having a baby BOY!)
-I think I forgot to tell Emma "Happy Birthday", on her birthday.
-I'm gonna go make that phone call right now!