The Picture Says It All

Mike and I were doing 2 photo shoots on Saturday (when it was a whopping 40 degrees outside) and after the 2nd shoot, I told him I wanted to get some pictures of him. I'm always taking pictures of everyone else, but I didn't have any good ones of him. So after some convincing he finally let me take his picture. Here is my absolute favorite picture:


I look at this picture and think of our first dance after we got married and the song that played:

"The smile on your face
lets me know that you need me
There's a truth in your eyes
sayin' you'll never leave me
The touch of your hand
says you'll catch me if ever I fall
You say it best
when you say nothing at all"

But the funny thing? This picture says it all.

I love you Mike!

He did it again...

I've got this cool relationship with God. For some people, he speaks to them through scripture. For others, it's through prayer. For me, it's through music. I've had a lot on my heart this week, and Mike and I have been praying quite a bit. Well, God did it again. He let me know he was there and heard our prayers through music.

Driving home from the station tonight, I was channel surfing on the radio and a song came on that I hadn't heard yet by one of Mike's favorite bands, Kutless. The God-cidence of it all was where i heard the song, when I heard the song, and who was signing the song. The part of the song that stands out the most to me is the 2nd verse:

"It doesn’t matter what you’ve heard
Impossible is not a word
It’s just a reason for someone not to try
Everybody’s scared to death
When they decide to take that step
Out on the water
It’ll be alright
Life is so much more
Than what your eyes are seeing
You will find your way
If you keep believing"

God listens to our prayers. Sometimes he doesn't answer them immediately, but he will answer them in his time. After a conversation with a friend today, and now hearing this song, I know God heard my prayer. He just wanted to answer it when he felt it was right.

You can listen to the song here:

Ellen Loves ChaCha!

We had a nice surprise at work on Friday - Ellen Degeneres talked about ChaCha in her opening monologue! We had NO idea she was going to do this, so it was a wonderful surprise. Here is a small snipit of her talking about ChaCha:

Tuttle Orchards

On Saturday, Mike and I went to Tuttle Orchards with Matt, Sarah, Phoebe, and Joey. Earlier that morning, the weather was tricking us into thinking it would be a nice cool fall afternoon. Not so much. It ended up getting into the mid 70's and we were all pretty hot, but besides the heat, it was a lot of fun!

We all picked apples (ate a few apples while picking them) and had fun with the other activities. Later that evening, Sarah made some delicious homemade apple crisp with the apples from the orchard. Yesterday, Mike and I made homemade applesauce with the apples we got from the orchard. I think we're going to be going back for more apples!

Here are some photos from our trip to the orchard:

Upcoming Witness Concert

God's Country

This past weekend, Mike and I took a trip to what I like to call God's Country: The Smokey Mountains. I had been there before with my family while growing up (The good 'ol Crazy Horse Campground) but things always seem a bit different when you're older. I think I appreciated different things this time. Wasn't too excited about Pigeon Forge or downtown Gatlinburg at all... I wanted to get beyond all the touristy stuff.

The main reason we were there was to shoot a wedding on Saturday, which was beautiful! On Sunday, it was "Family Free Day" and all of the families were able to go off and do their own thing. Mike and I knew we wanted to go into the mountains, but we wern't sure if we wanted to visit Cades Cove or the Newfound Gap. We decided on Cades Cove. I fell in love...

I realized how much I loved it when we were driving home from TN: We had stopped at a Red Box in KY (where it was still VERY hilly - mountains compared to IN) and rented a DVD that I watched almost the rest of the way home. When the movie finished, I looked up and there were no mountains. There were flat cornfields. I wanted to cry.

I know Mike and I have been fortunate enough to travel many places throughout the U.S. between personal vacations and my work travel, and I've always enjoyed everyplace we went (well - all except L.A. I have NO desire to go back there...) but I think my heart will always be in TN.

I'm quite sure we'll never end up in TN to live (although that would be my dream) but I'll settle for a yearly trip down there, and a few Christmas vacations down there... you know... a Tennessee Christmas. (And now I have Amy Grant's "Tennessee Christmas" in my head...)

Here are a few pictures that Mike and I took with more to come.

ChaCha featured on NBC Nightly News

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The Reds are awful

But that at least means that plenty of people leave early so we can move closer, which of course means better pics.

"This Little Light of Mine..."

Never before have I been so reminded of one of my childhood Vacation Bible School songs as I have been this week. Its a song I learned growing up, but never gave much thought to the significance of the lyrics and what they really were saying. Well, I've been singing it to myself this week and I now understand the significance to the lyrics and it has brought me more comfort than I ever could have imagined.

This little light of mine
I'm gonna let it shine
This little light of mine
I'm gonna let it shine
This little light of mine
I'm gonna let it shine
Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine!

Don't let satan blow it out
I'm gonna let it shine
Don't let satan blow it out
I'm gonna let it shine
Don't let satan blow it out
I'm gonna let it shine
Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine!

God is good, ALL the time!

NYC PS22 Kids can SING!!!

WOW! Listen to the Kids at NYC PS22 sing "Landslide" This is just... beautiful... WOW!