Two Dogs and a Dream

New Year's Fun and a Birthday

2012-01-04T19:28:00.001-06:00

We decided to spend New Year's Eve in our home away from home. Friday after work we headed up to Oxford for a fun weekend with friends. Reed and Maris got into town shortly after us, and we headed out to dinner at Boure.

I love the way Oxford looks at Christmastime!

The next morning we took our time getting up, and just enjoyed a lazy Saturday morning. We went to lunch at Proud Larry's--yum--and sat out on the patio to enjoy the pretty day.

Then it was walking around the square for a while and doing a little shopping. There were some really great after Christmas sales going on! Since my belly is outgrowing my clothes these days, it was time for a little wardrobe update. I try not to shop too often, but it was becoming inevitable! I was really excited about my purchases-I got a few shirts, none of which are maternity, so I will be able to wear them after the baby comes. Thankfully the style right now is loose, flowy tunics!

We went in Square Books for a while and met the guys-they had been hanging out on the balcony while Maris and I shopped.

I love going up on that balcony-brings back lots of fun memories from college. One in particular-our senior year, when Taylor was a class favorite and dressed up absolutely crazy to ride in one of the homecoming floats. My parents and I stood up on this balcony to have a good view as they passed by. I love this guy-he is such a nut, and makes me laugh every day!

That night we met up with another couple friend-Lori and David, or Minto, as we call him. Minto was a KA with Taylor, then went to dental school with me. He is now in his oral surgery residency at LSU, while Lori is in med school in Jackson. They are a smart duo for sure!

Taylor had made reservations for the special chef's menu at City Grocery that night....and y'all, it was awesome! The dessert was one of the best things I've ever put in my mouth! It was so festive in there...balloons everywhere and fun New Year's hats on the tables, as you can see:

And our whole crew:

We had such a great weekend, but it was nice to get back home. Yesterday was Taylor's birthday. He didn't want a big celebration this year--I just made him his favorite meal and we watched a movie together at home. But I just wanted to brag on him and say-he is the most wonderful husband I ever could have hoped or dreamed for--the Lord has blessed me immeasurably more than I could have imagined! Taylor, I am so thankful for you and for the way you lead our family! You are an amazing husband and I know you are going to be an amazing daddy! I'm so excited about this new adventure with you!

2011: Year in Review

2012-01-04T17:01:00.001-06:00

Y'all know I am always a little late with these things! It seems like I blink and another week has gone by. I can't believe we are almost halfway through this pregnancy! Sweet little boy will be here before we know it...and I have not done a THING for the nursery. I made a list today and am about to get cracking.

Anyway--2011 was a fun year for us, with some exciting trips and even more exciting news for our little family! Here is the rundown:

Back in January, we started off with a few little home updates--nothing big. I always get the itch to spring clean a little early...right after the Christmas decorations come down, to be exact. I took a trip to Washington, D.C., for my dear friend Whitney's bachelorette party. We had such an awesome time! It seems a good ways to go for a bachelorette party, but sweet Whitney has so many friends who are just scattered to the four winds, that it was actually a central location for all of us! It was such a fun reunion for us. We ate at some amazing places, went to the Smithsonian museums, the Holocaust museum--and lots of other fun stuff in between. Also in January was the surprise shower some friends and I threw for Whitney at my house--girls came in pajamas, we watched girly movies, and showered her with lots of gifts and love. Can't believe you have been married for almost a year WhittieKat!

Then it was back to school for me, and gearing up for my last semester of dental school (praise the Lord!). It had been a long four years, and I was ready for the real world. In February I participated in Give Kids a Smile Day, which provides dental cleanings and exams for free to kids in the Jackson area. I also did my private practice rotation. I chose to do it with Dad at his (and now our) practice--I figured rather than go somewhere else (though I thought about it, because it's always beneficial to get an outside perspective), it would be best for me to go on and start learning the nuances of the practice I'd be joining very soon. I also recapped Whit's wedding on the blog, and got prepared for another one--my dear friend Lauren got engaged that month!

In March, I took the National Board Exam, and was so thankful to see the scores that came back in! One of the final steps to that DMD, crossed off the list. I was so thankful to have that behind me! Taylor and I spent some time in Oxford, our home away from home, since we had invested in some property up there the previous month. In the middle of the month was the St. Paddy's Day Parade--always an experience if you live in Jackson! Downtown transforms into a sea of green, and it is slam full o' people.

In April, I recapped my cousin Dabb's wedding--it was a blast, and a great time hanging out with family. I also completed an Oral Oncology rotation at the medical mall here in town. We attended our friends' Jocelyn and David's wedding, which was beautiful, and spent some more time in Oxford. I renewed my commitment to reading for pleasure, and we took a trip to Starkville with our friends Reed and Maris for the Zac Brown Band concert! That same weekend it was back to Oxford and then over to Clarksdale for the annual Juke Joint Festival. If you've never been, you should most definitely check it out. Clarksdale has really became a southern mecca for arts and music, despite being just a tiny little delta town. Easter weekend was refreshing, complete with a trip down to see Taylor's grandparents for their annual Good Friday crawfish boil, and back home for a truly worshipful Easter Sunday.

In May, as my school days drew to a close, I contemplated some of the deeper issues in my profession. I worked the Gaither Vocal Band concert at our church one night--they were awesome! We went to Louisiana to see Taylor's new little cousin, Coll, and to be there for his baptism. Mom, Angie, and I took a much needed trip to Seaside, Florida--yay for rest and relaxation! And then, finally...FINALLY...after a long four years...I became a DMD! I still am not quite used to introducing myself as Dr. Sledge!

June brought my first month as a full-time private practice dentist, and while I loved it--I was worn slap out from the transition! By the end of the month I had really gotten into the swing of things. Dad and I, along with our dental assistant, took a trip to Portland, Oregon to visit a dental equipment company and choose the equipment and configurations for our new office.

In early July, I went down to Rosemary Beach for my friend Lauren's bachelorette party. For some reason I didn't post about that weekend--it was such a fun time though! And then, a couple of weeks later-- Taylor and I took a pilgrimage trip with our church choir to the Holy Land. Being in Israel for those 8 days was one of the most treasured experiences I have had--I would recommend it to anyone, regardless of your religion--but for Christians it is especially meaningful. I learned an immeasurable amount. To walk the same roads that Jesus walked, and to see even just the lay of the land--I don't think I will ever read the Bible in the same way again!

August was gosh-awful hot, and we were pretty boring around my house. We were thankful and proud to see my niece, Olivia be baptized that month. We also had a mini family reunion of sorts, during which my uncle Rip made THE best homemade ice cream you have ever had. I'm tellin' y'all...it was heavenly. Then, to top it off...he GAVE me his ice cream maker!! I can't wait til next summer so I can bust that thing out and try some new recipes!

In September, on Labor Day weekend, I headed back down to the beach for Lauren's bachelorette party (lots of those this year!). We just about blew away--a tropical storm was blowing in! But we survived, and had just as much fun even though we couldn't be out on the beach. Taylor and I went to Oxford with our friends Kim and B.C. for the Pat Green concert. I was pregnant then, but we wouldn't find out til the next week.

In October and November, I didn't blog because I was desperately trying to keep our big secret! During that time we had our first doctor's appointments and sonograms, told our families the happy news, and took a few trips to Oxford for football games. We also took a trip to the L.A. area for Taylor's work, and went to Disneyland for the first time! Thanksgiving came and went, with us hosting my immediate and extended family, as well as Taylor's parents, for the Thanksgiving meal. It was about 30 people in all. I love big family gatherings!

December was super busy. Dad and I moved into our new office (pics to come soon!) and started getting settled in our new work environment. I sang in Carols by Candlelight at our church. It is a big commitment, but I wouldn't trade doing it for anything! The next day, we found out that this sweet baby is a BOY! That night we had a gender reveal party at our house with family and a few close friends. I made cupcakes with blue icing hidden inside--it was so fun! We went to our Sunday School Christmas party, and the next day headed out to New York City! It was a "babymoon" of sorts--a last little trip for Taylor and me before our little bundle arrives in May. We had the best time--New York is my favorite city, and it becomes simply magical at Christmastime! The day after we got home, we had a holiday open house at our new office, and two days after that, we had a big party at my house, with about 50 people--an annual cookie swap we do with college friends. Whew! Christmas came and went in a whirlwind--but we spent lots of time with family. New Year's Eve we spent in (where else?) Oxford with some close friends.

This year has truly flown by--and has been full of transitions. On the home front--last year our family was just Taylor and me...and now we will be adding a precious baby boy! My thinking has shifted towards parenting and family life, and how we want that to look for our family. We are humbled and thankful that the Lord has chosen us to parent this child--we haven't met him yet, but we love him so much already! And in business--last year at this time I was in school--now I feel like I have been practicing dentistry in private practice forever! My thinking has shifted from a school-like mindset to full blown business ownership. I enjoy and appreciate the challenge, and I'm thankful for the privilege of working with my dad. I've taken lots of trips this year--to D.C., Seaside, Rosemary Beach, Israel, L.A., and New York. I imagine that next year will be a much more slow-paced year as far as trips go--but with lots of "firsts"! I can't wait to meet this baby boy in May!

Christmas Recap and a Baby Bump

2011-12-28T19:14:00.014-06:00

We had a great time over Christmas this year hanging out with family! Our tradition since getting married has been some version of the following: sometime the week preceding Christmas, most years the day before Christmas Eve, we hop in the car with Taylor's parents and brother (and now almost sister-in-law, Caroline!) and head down to Kentwood, Louisiana, where Taylor's maternal grandparents live. His grandmother is a wonderful cook, and they have a HUGE garden where they get a lot of their vegetables and produce. We have great time visiting with the Stevens side of his family. Christmas Eve is back in Jackson, with the Christmas Eve service and a yummy gumbo dinner. My parents never really had a specific Christmas Eve tradition, so we all go to church together and then head to the Sledges along with Taylor's other grandparents for that delicious gumbo. Christmas Day we alternate each year who whose house we go to first, and we basically split the day after that.

This year was slightly different on Christmas Day because it was a Sunday. I've got to say that I absolutely loved the opportunity for corporate worship on Christmas Day! It was neat to see all my sweet church friends first thing that morning, and to sing in the choir on Christmas Day. Taylor and I woke up a little early, checked out our stockings to see what Santa had brought us, and then headed down to First Baptist. After a great service, it was back to the Sledges for traditional Christmas lunch and presents!

Here is a sweet pic of Lisa and her boys:

And Mark with his parents, CB and Evelyn:
Baby Sledge's first sleeper! I love that it has guitars on it. I hope he will inherit mine and Taylor's love of music!
After lunch it was on to my parents house for more hanging out with the fam....and more eating!

Our niece Dorothy loved her fairy princess Barbie:
My brother with Anna and Catie:
Dad "assuming the position" as we like to call it. After lunch he plops down in this chair and pretty much doesn't move until he goes to bed. Love it.
There's Angie in the corner and that's me with what Olivia got for Christmas!! Penny Gig the guinea pig. Bless her little heart, every time we got her out of the cage she basically froze, not moving a muscle. She might twitch a little whisker or two, but that was about it. I'll bet she has warmed up to people by now though.
Olivia, me, and Penny Gig :)
She found a warm spot on Carter's chest:
And now, for what you've all been waiting for....(ha!) the BUMP!
This is at a couple days short of 19 weeks. I am so thankful to be feeling well, and--a huge milestone--I finally felt sweet baby boy moving around in there a couple of days ago! I've felt him two or three times a day since then. It's so funny--he seems to like, or at least respond ,to the sound of the drill! As in, the one I use all day long! Maybe he will be a dentist one day like his mama. ;)

Back for Christmas!

2011-12-24T09:29:00.011-06:00

Well, kids, I'm back! I took a bit of a blogging hiatus for several reasons, which I will discuss, but the main one was--if I were blogging constantly, I knew there was no way I would be able to keep my mouth shut that we are expecting a baby in May!!! We are so thrilled, blessed, and thankful beyond anything we have experienced before as a couple. We found out shortly after my last post that we were pregnant, and as you can imagine, thoughts of this new little life have been pretty much at the forefront of our minds most of the time since then. It seemed almost futile to me to try to blog--I didn't know if I'd even have anything to say, considering I was busting at the seams with THE thing I really wanted to say! Anyway--after we reached the end of the first trimester--ok let's be honest, I let it slip a little before then. It was my fault, I'll admit it. We both started telling a few close friends (a policy I instigated) when I was around 10 weeks along, and before we knew it, I walked into the bank one day and it seemed that the whole town knew! Ha! It was honestly a relief though--we were about to bust!

Our lives have been a whirlwind since I posted in September--we have been to many football games in Oxford, family gatherings, trips to Huntington Beach, California, for Taylor's business and New York City for our "babymoon". I was in our church's Christmas program, Carols by Candlelight, and sang Mary's song, "Breath of Heaven." We had a family picture session with the Sledges with a professional photographer, since we are expecting and Taylor's brother, Travis, recently got engaged!! We can't wait for Caroline to officially be a part of the family! We had a Christmas open house at my new office, and our annual cookie swap party at our house with college friends. Taylor has been busy with work and I have been just as busy--overwhelmed, really--with my work. That combined with pregnancy tiredness and nausea left me unable to function after about 5 pm every day--hence my lack of blogging. I would joke with Taylor that my brain went into shutdown mode on my way home from work. Our office transferred to a new location just recently, which was a pretty stressful process, but which has been absolutely wonderful. We've been practicing there for about three weeks, and we love it. Dad had been in his old building for almost 30 years! It was a great spot for him all those years, but with my joining the practice we had outgrown it--we simply needed more space. I will post more later about that process and share some pictures of our new, spa-like locale! It was the first thing I have ever decorated myself, and it has really given me a lot of confidence for decorating the nursery! Be looking for lots of pics soon from all those events--I want to do a few recaps.

I am now on into the second trimester (almost 19 weeks along), and am feeling much more energy! About a week and a half ago, we found out that this precious new baby is a little BOY!!! We are so excited. I am fully prepared for all things blue, plus tractors and trucks and trains--snakes, snails, and puppy dog tails--isn't that how the little rhyme goes? It was so funny, because for some reason we were both just convinced it was a girl! I'm not sure why--we just were. We truly had no preference whatsoever though--so it was such a fun surprise when the sonographer showed us what she saw! One of the purest joys I have experienced was seeing the look on Taylor's face and listening to his yells of excitement as he immediately must have seen visions of little boots and overalls and a little man in diapers to take hunting with him! His first comment when we left the appointment: "Oh my gosh. Oh my gosh. I think I'm going to buy him a rifle--today!" Ha!

That night we had a gender reveal party for family and a few close friends. It was SO hard all day not to tell our families the news. Especially since I work with my dad all day long! I tried to avoid him as much as possible. Although I will say--he didn't pressure me one bit, which I really appreciated! He just wanted to know if the baby was healthy.

Here is a picture of the proud parents from the night of the gender reveal:

And one of my favorites from the night--everyone holding up their cupcakes in anticipation. And this is what I just love--my best friend, Emily, lives in Nashville and wasn't able to be there--so we Skyped her in!!! That's her sister, Natalie, holding my iPad. Emily's face here cracks me up! Thank you, Lord, for modern technology!

Blue icing!!!
Taylor's parents after taking a bite of their cupcake. Such a sweet picture!
And us with all of the proud and excited grandparents!

We feel so blessed and excited that this little boy is coming into such an environment of love and anticipation! My prayer life has really been strengthened since we found out we were expecting--I pray for those 10 little fingers and 10 little toes, plus a million other things, multiple times a day! I just can't wait to meet him!

Well, I am off to the grocery store to start my afternoon of cooking for tomorrow! I hope you and your family have a very Merry Christmas, and that you and I both spend lots of time reflecting on the reason for our celebrating this weekend--the fact that the King came to earth in the form of a little baby boy, and that he grew up to be the Savior of this world. I am so very thankful for all my blessings this season, especially that most important one!

Midweek Music

2011-09-15T20:43:00.001-05:00

Yesterday afternoon, Taylor and I took off work a little early, hopped in the truck, and headed up the road to our favorite spot for a fun concert. Oxford was bustling, as usual, and there was a great crowd at the Pat Green show at the Lyric Theater! Taylor had bought the tickets a couple of months back and asked if I minded heading up to Oxford midweek. Easy answer for that one!

Our friends Kim and B.C. also came to the concert and stayed with us. We went for an early dinner at Snackbar beforehand--YUM! I wish I had taken some pics. One of the best things about John Currence's restaurants in Oxford (City Grocery, Snackbar, Boure, and Big Bad Breakfast), is that many of the meats these four use are prepared in his local smokehouse. We got a charcuterie tasting plate for the table that was delish! (Y'all please excuse my foodie indulgences with these paragraphs every so often--I can't help getting excited about truly great food!)

Here is a pic of me with my hot date!

And one of Pat Green wailing away on "Wave on Wave":

We woke up early this morning to make in back home in time for work. That made for a pretty long day--I am pretty worn out after a busy day at the office--but it was totally worth it! I love being able to take fun little random road trips like that together--I look at them as an investment in our marriage and in both of our psyches!

In other news--in the last few weeks we've had some fun activities. I went down to Gulf Shores for a dear friend's bachelorette party...during a tropical storm, no less! That is commitment, people! We ended up inside the condo most of the time (praying not to be blown away!) catching up and watching movies and eating yummy snacks--can't beat that.

We also just started, as of last week, as sponsors for our church's senior high youth choir. We are both REALLY excited about this! I had such a positive experience in that same choir growing up, and would love to help other kids do the same, and Taylor really has a heart for ministry with high school kids. He was very involved in YoungLife in high school and served as a YoungLife leader all through college. We are prayerful and excited about this opportunity!

Right now we are hanging out watching the LSU/Mississippi State game, so I'd better go pay attention! As you know, we are both Ole Miss fans--I am pulling for MSU in this one, and Taylor is pulling for the Tigers. May the best team win!

Dog Days of Summer

2011-08-28T18:41:00.001-05:00

I can't believe it has been over a month since I posted! I'm afraid I don't have too terribly much to report. These summer days have seemed to drag along and fly by, all at once. It sure has been a HOT one, too! Good grief! I always have to make sure to check the forecast each morning before I leave--if the heat index is going to be over 100, I leave my poor pups inside. I just can't bear to think about them being outside in that kind of heat! They have a shaded area to lie in, and plenty of fresh water, but I am a worrywort and am always afraid they will get some kind of heat stroke or something! Taylor thinks I am going to be a crazy person when we have kids, since I am this protective of the dogs!

This morning Olivia, my sister's youngest child, was baptized. It was a really special time for my family. Lee, my brother-in-law (Olivia's dad) was able to baptize her because he is on staff at our church. It is so sweet and tender to see a father baptize his daughter like that, and even more so when they are a part of your family. We had a family lunch after that at Newks, and I ran into my beloved 5th grade teacher, Mrs. Polk--who informed me that I have been way too slow lately posting on this blog! I guess you just never know who might be reading!

A couple of weeks back we had a little "family reunion", as my cousin Kaleb took to calling it, down at my parents' new deer camp. There was fishing, ice-cream making, burger grilling, story-telling--the works.

A pic of the cabin:

And my uncle Rip. I love this picture of him! He's such a character.

Dorothy, my brother's youngest, after her fill of the slip'n'slide:

Goooood stick:

Olivia baiting her hook. Those poor fish didn't know what was coming.

Mom and Angie hanging out in the kitchen:

Rip explaining how to make that homemade ice cream just right. And he sure knows the secret....that stuff was delicious!

Cousins! Kaleb and Anna:

Doc taking a joyride with Kaleb, Anna, and Catie:

Kyle modeling for me while I figure out some camera settings. I told him J Crew and Calvin Klein will be calling soon!

Our cousin Buddy, doing what he does best--sitting on a front porch and telling us all how it is! We love when Buddy comes to town!

Dad and me:

Taylor being crazy in the kitchen:

And the brothers together--Dad and Rip, or as they call themselves sometimes, Mutt and Jeff!

And a few pics of my fur-babies!

Sleepytime!

As I write this, that little guy is literally snoring next to me on the couch! He's like a small, furry old man. Ha!

Last week my parents were on a well-deserved vacation to Montana with some friends--and since my dad and my business partner are one and the same--I was the head honcho at the office last week by myself for the first time! It was fun to continue learning the ropes of the business in that setting. We have some wonderful employees who made it a breeze, and fun too!

And speaking of work--I don't think I have mentioned it yet on the blog--but we are in the process of building out a new office space, and plan to be moving in early November! That's part of the reason I haven't posted much lately. I have been pretty overwhelmed with all of the decision making involved in that process, to be honest. I get home every night and pretty much either plop down and rest the rest of the evening, or clean house until time to go to bed. Pretty boring, huh? I am so thankful and excited about our new office, but it just absolutely fries my brain to be constantly making decisions about paint colors, flooring options, lighting layouts, and wall heights. I am a science girl, not a design one--and that has been made all the more clear to me over the last few weeks! Sometimes I wish I could close my eyes and *poof* it would be done! Anybody got some ruby red slippers I can borrow?

I try not to talk too much business on this blog, partly because the nature of what I do is confidential (my patients' privacy is of utmost importance to me, not to mention protected by HIPPA laws!), and partly because this blog is really intended to be more of a personal chronicle, not a business one. But because I'm now a small business owner, and being a dentist is a big part of who I am--it's hard to separate the two sometimes! So I definitely plan to talk a little about our color and decor choices for the new office. I feel like that is a way to include that part of myself on this blog in a positive way.

Yay!

The Holy Land: Arrival

2011-07-23T11:10:00.001-05:00

So it has been about a week and a half since we returned from Israel, and I have gotten back into the swing of things. However, I am happy to say that it is a "swing" with a renewed perspective and a refreshed attitude. I have meant for the last several days now to post the recaps of our first two days in Israel (since we did not have Internet there til the 3rd day-how appropriate, a 3rd day reference!). So, here it is, albeit a little late! This first entry is straight out of my journal from that first day:

As I write this, I am looking out over the sunrise on the Sea of Galilee. Our flight into Tel Aviv yesterday was uneventful, thankfully. We arrived as well rested as one can be from an overnight 12 hour flight, and hopped on a bus as a group with our driver, Nazih, and our tour guide, Rami. Rami is a Palestinian Christian (there aren't many of those-about 2% according to Rami) and Nazih is a Druze-a religion that is a mixture of beliefs, borrowing from several major religions.

Tel Aviv is a busy metropolitan center, with high rises, lots of people, and interstates-or I guess they would be called freeways here-that sprawl in every direction and make "stacks" like the one we have in Jackson. There are giant ads on the sides of buildings like in New York City (and in case you were wondering, that Harry Potter kid is popular EVERYWHERE. J.K. Rowling, you are a genius).

Once we rolled out of the city, the landscape began to change-from high rises and palm trees to abrupt hills and valleys. If you can imagine the topography of a place like Idaho, or parts of Montana even, but with a totally different soil and feel. The soil and hills are very rocky, with dried up grasses peeking out between the rocks. There are plenty of trees, but it looks almost unnatural for the lack of underbrush. Some trees are short and and their branches form shapes that are sort of "poofy", while some are tall and skinny and rise like spires toward the sky. Someone mentions that many of the trees are olive, and some are lemon.

We pass a sign that says Nazareth <-- , Tiberias -->. (You've gotta me kidding me?! Is this for real??). We come up on the Sea of Galilee just after sunset and arrive at our hotel, called Golan Hotel, which overlooks the Sea-which is actually a lake, FYI.

Today we are headed off to Cana and the River Jordan, among other places!

Here is a picture of that first sunrise on the Sea of Galilee:

So those were my reflections on those first few hours in the Holy Land!

The Holy Land, Day 1

2011-07-23T11:06:00.001-05:00

We started our first full day in Israel with a visit to Cana, the little town where Jesus performed his very first miracle. You will see from this picture that even important sites like this are not immune from tourist traps!

This is the Catholic church built over the site where the miracle is believed to have taken place....of course, there is another church, Greek Orthodox, DIRECTLY across the street, that claims the same thing!! As I've mentioned before, its not the exact spot that matters to me-I just know that it happened! We do know for sure though that a majority of scholars believe this is the small village where it happened.

From John 2: "On the third day there was a wedding at Cana in Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. Jesus also was invited to the wedding with his disciples. When the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus said to him, "They have no wine." And Jesus said to her, "Woman, what does this have to do with me? My hour has not yet come." His mother said to the servants, "Do whatever he tells you."

With Ron and Kathy's leadership, the married couples in our group decided to take this opportunity to renew their wedding vows (we were at the place where the wedding miracle took place, after all). Taylor and I have been married for 3 years, and Taylor, being his usual jovial self, said at first that he wasn't sure if we needed to renew because ours were still pretty fresh. Ha! But then he figured-how many times does a couple have the chance to do that, in Cana, no less! So we jumped right in.

Our sweet friend Todd snapped a pic of us renewing our vows:

So of course I have to give a shout-out: Taylor, I love you and am so happy I am married to you!

Here is a picture of the inside of the church at Cana:

And this is VERY cool: below is a picture of a stone jar, like the ones described in the New Testament, that dates back to the time of Jesus. This would have been the exact type of jar that would have held the water at the wedding, before Jesus turned it to wine.
"Now there were six stone water jars there for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding twenty or thirty gallons. Jesus said to the servants, "Fill the jars with water." And they filled them up to the brim. And he said to them, "Now draw some out and take it to the master of the feast." So they took it. When the master of the feast tasted the water now become wine, and did not know where it came from (though the servants who had drawn the water knew), the master of the feast called the bridegroom and said to him, "Everyone serves the good wine first, and when people have drunk freely, then the poor wine. But you have kept the good wine until now." This, the first of his signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and manifested his glory. And his disciples believed in him." :

Next we headed to the local Baptist church in Nazareth for worship.

The church members there, despite our language barrier, were kind and welcoming. They had invited us to sing for their service, and we were happy to oblige! One of the coolest things about it to me was singing some of the praise choruses, with all the voices rising up in a beautiful collision of English and Arabic. Some of the choruses were only in Arabic, and let me tell y'all, it was pretty funny to hear all those Mississippi accents singing those Arabic words!

Next it was on to the Church of the Anunciation, which is built over the house that is believed to have been Mary's at the time the angel appeared to her and told her she would have a child:

These are the beautiful doors of the church, depicting Bible stories, and our guide Rami standing in front giving one of his excellent explanations:

Here is Taylor and me with the cave that was Mary's home in the background:

Next Rami led us through the winding streets of Nazareth to a local falafel and schwarma restaurant-yum! I had to snap a pic of my Arabic Coke Zero!

Then it was back on the bus for a drive to the Mediterranean coast, to the ruins of Caesarea Maritima, a port city built by Herod the Great around 20 B.C.

The city was a center of trade, culture, and the arts. Below are the restructured ruins of the amphitheater that existed at that time. The bottom row of seats is original to Herod's theater. It has been restored today and is currently used as a venue for concerts and shows.

Lizzie and me resting atop one of the ancient columns:

Our whole group in front of the Mediterranean Sea:

Taylor and me:

And our last stop of the day was Mount Carmel, mentioned in the Bible in 1 Kings 18:
"So Ahab sent a message among all the sons of Israel and brought the prophets together at Mount Carmel. Elijah came near to all the people and said, "How long will you hesitate between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow Him; but if Baal, follow him." But the people did not answer him a word. Then Elijah said to the people, "I alone am left a prophet of the Lord, but Baal’s prophets are 450 men....Then you call on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of the Lord, and the God who answers by fire, He is God." And all the people said, "That is a good idea."
At the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, Elijah the prophet came near and said, "O Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, today let it be known that You are God in Israel and that I am Your servant and I have done all these things at Your word. "Answer me, O Lord, answer me, that this people may know that You, O Lord, are God, and that You have turned their heart back again." Then the fire of the Lord fell and consumed the burnt offering and the wood and the stones and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench. When all the people saw it, they fell on their faces; and they said, "The Lord, He is God; the Lord, He is God." (1 Kings 18:20-24, 36-39 NASB)

Here is the view from atop Mount Carmel, looking over the Jezreel Valley

In case you are not familiar with the Jezreel Valley, here is a little info from Wikipedia: "According to the Bible, the valley was the scene of a victory by the Israelites, led by Gideon, against the Midianites, the Amalekiltes, and the Children of the East, but was later the location at which the Israelites, led by King Saul, were defeated by the Philistines. In Christian eschatology, the part of the valley on which the Battle of Megiddo was fought is believed to be destined to be the site of the penultimate battle between good and evil (the final battle taking place 1,000 years later in Jerusalem), known as Armageddon (a word derived from Megiddo)."

A pretty happenin' place if you ask me!

After packing all that in, we were worn slap out. It was back to our hotel on the Sea of Galilee for a filling dinner and STRAIGHT to bed for this girl-we had another big day ahead!

The Holy Land, Day 6: Headed Home

2011-07-23T06:28:00.001-05:00

This morning we had a little bit of time to sleep in-our bus did not leave the hotel until about 10:30. I think those extra couple of hours of rest were much appreciated by the whole crew! It also gave us a little time to pack and figure out how we were going to squeeze any purchases we had made into our bags!

Once back in Jerusalem, our first stop was Yad Vashem, the Jerusalem Holocaust Museum. If you have ever been to the one in D.C., you can imagine the feel of this one as well. It was a solemn, sobering experience, like its sister museum in our country. It is hard to walk through, but I believe very important. I would encourage anyone who has the chance to visit either one to do so. I wish I could have taken some pictures, but I didn't take my camera because no pictures are allowed inside the building. I was able to snap one of the outside as we rode by in the bus:

I would love to meet the architect who designed this place. The museum itself is an architectural beauty-the whole thing is a giant three-dimensonal triangle, with half built into the side of the mountain, and half hanging off the side in a gravity-defying sort of way. At the end of the museum, there is an observation deck looking out over the city of Jerusalem. It is a perfect place for reflection after taking in all the information inside the museum. It is surrounded by memorial gardens filled with beautiful structures as well as vegetation, including rosemary, mint, and other herbs.

We all loaded back up on the bus and headed towards the "old city" of Jerusalem (the museum was in a newer portion of the city). The next few hours had been allotted for free time in the souk, or market. As scary as it sounds to turn 40 Mississippians loose in the Jerusalem markets--that was the plan!

The large loops of bread are called bagels here:

Here is a newer area of shops, where the group Taylor and I were with ate lunch:

We had a cool experience in the markets. There are no prices on any of the items, because they are all VERY negotiable. Haggling is a way of life in the market streets. I saw two beautifully handmade pillowcases, and when I asked how much the man told me it would be $140 for the pair. I remembered what our guide, Rami, had told us: "For every step back you take, the price will go down." So I told the man that was too expensive for me, and started to walk away. "One hundred dollars!" he shouted. Back and forth we went, and with Taylor's help we finally settled on thirty bucks apiece! I was pumped.

Here is a picture of the crew we navigated the markets with (or, the "young'uns as Ms. Doris calls us). From left to right, it's Taylor, me, Emily, Todd, Mandy, Laura, Lizzie, and Karen:

After we had all had our fill of the market, it was back to the bus and back to Bethlehem one last time. We went for our last meal in Israel at a cool restaurant designed to look like a Bedouin tent:

And at the end, a surprise performance by Lavon and Wendy:

Ha! And here is a picture of Taylor and me with our guide for the week, Rami. Our trip would not have been the same without him-we feel very blessed that we got to know him!

And here is our last pic together in the Holy Land, and the last sunset of our trip:

As I write this now, we have just arrived in New York from Tel-Aviv on our red-eye flight. We are worn out, but filled to the brim. This experience has been incredible. I am certainly changed, and I would imagine each person in our group would say the same. I have a broader perspective of this area of the world, an increased knowledge, and a renewed zeal for reading scripture. For Taylor and I to have experienced this together at such an early point in our marriage is a blessing, and I am so thankful.

The Holy Land, Day 5

2011-07-21T13:26:00.001-05:00

So today we started off with a trip to a site that is not necessarily a Biblical one, but it is certainly a historical one. But before I lay that out for you, allow me to digress. We have had some wonderful food while we have been here-so many traditional Mediterranean foods such as hummus, baba ghanoush, pita bread, falafel, and fresh vegetables in all manner of "salads", as they refer to them here. One of my favorite things to eat for breakfast at this hotel is...well actually I have no earthly idea how to spell it, and I won't embarrass myself by trying! I need to make a point tomorrow to figure out exactly how it is spelled. But basically it is similar to a crepe. Here they are prepared with the traditionally very thin piece of bread, or tortilla, but they are hearty and seem to be whole wheat. The bread is heated briefly, brushed with olive oil, and filled with some type of cheese. A blend of spices, that is mostly ground oregano I believe, is added as well. The whole thing is then heated up and served. YUM! The nice man who makes these asked me to take a picture of him this morning!

And now, back to the tour. This morning we headed to Masada, which is a historically significant site here in Israel.
I will borrow from Wikipedia to explain it more fully: "According to Josephus, a 1st-century Jewish Roman historian, Herod the Great fortified Masada between 37 and 31 BC as a refuge for himself in the event of a revolt. In 66 AD, at the beginning of the First Jewish-Roman War against the Roman Empire, a group of Jewish extremists overcame the Roman garrison of Masada. Many members of the Jewish group and their families fled Jerusalem and settled on the mountaintop, using it as a base." Several years later, the Romans came and built a ramp up to the mountaintop and prepared to attack. However, rather than be taken for slaves the Jewish people there committed suicide, each man killing his own wife and children, and then taking his own life.

Pretty crazy story, huh? It is somewhat controversial, but most agree that this is what happened. What we visited today was the site itself and the reconstructed ruins that sit atop the mountain fortress. One of the things that was coolest to me about the site itself is the technology that the people there had...you'll see more about that in a minute. Here are some snapshots from the visit.

We rode a cable car up the VERY steep mountain:

That's a loooong way down, y'all:

FYI, that's the dead sea in the background:

We shared the area with some Israeli soldiers who were there as part of their training. They were kind enough to take a few pictures with some people from our group.

Ok...so here is what was so cool to me. Now remember, this was Herod's palace we are talking about. I feel sure he had the finest technologies and resourceful minds in the land at his disposal. Take a look at this replica of the palace bath houses:

There was a cool room, a warm room, and a sauna. That small cylinder in the picture above is the top of the furnace. What you see in the picture below are the columns that separated the double flooring that was in this part of the palace:

And now here are the actual, untouched remains of that flooring:

I don't know if you are putting two and two together yet but if not....he had heated floors, people! Heated tile floors. That absolutely boggles my mind. That something that is considered a real luxury today, that is available for people to put in their homes, Herod had found a way to design and implement in his palace in thirtysomething BC! Incredible.

Here we all are listening to one of Rami's detailed explanations:

Next it was on to the Qumeran, the site of the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls. What we know is that a community called the Essenes lived here. They were a Jewish community, all men, who came to this place to live a life of purity and devotion to God. They spent most of their time studying the Jewish scriptures, copying important religious texts, taking ritual purification baths, and making pottery. In case you do not know exactly what the Dead Sea Scrolls are, I will explain by borrowing again from Wikipedia: "The Dead Sea Scrolls are a collection of 972 texts from the Hebrew Bible and extra-biblical documents found between 1947 and 1956 at Khirbet Qumran on the northwest shore of the Dead Sea in the West Bank." These scrolls were significant because they are the oldest texts that have been found of the Hebrew Bible; they date back to the 2nd century BC. "These biblical manuscripts, which include at least fragments from every book of the Old Testament, except perhaps for the Book of Esther, provide a far older cross section of scriptural tradition than that available to scholars before."

Here is a picture of the excavated site where the Essenes lived and worked:

Their ritual bathing area--you can't see, but there are wide steps that go down into the bath:

And a picture of cave number 4 (60 were excavated), in which over 90 percent of the scrolls were found.

So after all that history, we were ready for the beach! (Sort of!) We headed off to swim in the Dead Sea!

In case you don't know, the Dead Sea (which is actually a lake) is the lowest elevation on the Earth's surface. It is 10 times saltier than the ocean. It is chock full of salt and many other minerals that make it a center of research for healing and cosmetic purposes. The Sea is 35% salt, and because of that, when you lie in its waters, you don't sink...you float!

Here is a pic of Lizzie and me with that awesome Dead Sea mud all over us:

Funny story-after we had all been in the water for a while, I looked over and saw Ms. Jill, a lady in our group, frantically rubbing the mud all over her arms and face. When I commented on how she must really be enjoying the mud, she said, "Do you have any idea how much we would pay for a spa treatment with this stuff back home?! Probably a hundred dollars!! I'm gonna get it while I can!" We all laughed-but she is exactly right!

Here is some of our crew just chillin' in the water:

It really was such an interesting sensation to float there in the water. A few of us went out to where it got a little deeper, and tried to "stand", or at least position ourselves upright, without touching the bottom. The only way I can describe it is to say I felt like a cork just bobbing in the water! I imagine it is somewhat similar to being in outer space. Another interesting fact-if you drink the water there in any significant quantity, it can kill you. When the guide first told us this, most of us thought he was kidding, but we quickly realized he was not. There were signs all over the place warning swimmers to keep their head above water and not to splash if at all possible.

And for our last little excursion of the day....we stopped at a gas station on the way to the hotel where they were offering...camel rides!

We climbed on to the camels while they were still sitting, and the guys leading each camel would use a lead rope to signal for the camel to get up, which it promptly did. They would then lead us a couple times around the parking lot, like kids at a county fair on a pony! Ha! We all just ate it up. Almost everyone in our group took a turn on one of the camels!

I love how the camels walk, with their necks arched and noses up in the air. They seem to be very proud. As they should be-I think they are such cool and beautiful animals!

I can't believe that the trip is almost over. It seems to have gone by so quickly, and yet we have packed an amazing amount of activity into just a few days. I am very much looking forward to tomorrow, when we will go back into Jerusalem and Bethlehem for a little more sight-seeing and discovery. I will keep you updated!

The Holy Land, Day 4

2011-07-20T13:24:00.001-05:00

We got an early start this morning, hopping on the bus after a quick breakfast and heading back into Jerusalem. Our agenda for the day began with a visit to the Temple Mount, where the Dome of the Rock is located (the site where it is believed that Abraham was about to sacrifice Isaac, or, as the Muslims believe, Ishmael.) We were not allowed to take anything religious into the site-we could not take our Bibles, hymn sheet music, or anything. I wore what I thought was a modest shirt-three quarter length sleeves and a simple scoop neck-but was asked to cover myself with a shawl when we walked through the checkpoint, as were many of the others in our group. This checkpoint is a special area for non-Muslims, and it is just a single gate. There are 12 or so other gates around the Mount where Muslims may enter.

As you can tell, the Mount is a Muslim-controlled area of the city. I have learned since I have been here that Israel is a land of many divisions. I'm not sure how or when, but at some point in negotiations the Jewish people in Jerusalem agreed to give the Temple Mount area over to the Muslims. (And let me clarify-when I say Temple Mount, it is a pretty self-explanatory term. The original temple of Solomon was right on the spot and slightly northward,and it is on the top of a large hill/small mountain.)

Here is Taylor walking in front of the Al-Aqsa Mosque, which our guide Rami tells us is the 3rd holiest site in the world for Muslims:

And here is the Dome of the Rock close up. The dome is made of real gold. We were not able to go inside, because since the year 2000, non-Muslims are no longer allowed inside the dome. There is a person at the gate with whom you must speak, and if you do not have identification as a Muslim, or you cannot say a certain prayer, in Arabic, you will be turned away.

Here is another interesting tidbit-archeologists are almost positive that they have identified the original spot where the Holy of Holies would have been in Bible times, and they have placed a cupola over this spot. When Jewish people come into the area of the Dome of the Rock, they make sure to stay a large distance away from this place. Here is a picture of Taylor and me in front of it:

And me (in my shawl, no less!) with the Mount of Olives, easily viewed from the Temple Mount, in the background:

And then, on to Bethlehem! And as you can see here, so much for that "o little town" business....Bethlehem grew up! Today there are three large sections of the city, and I'm not sure how many inhabitants, but there are a lot!

Our first stop was the Church of the Nativity, which is widely known and believed to be built over the birthplace of Jesus.

I find it humbling and quite appropriate that to get into this church, one has to bend down very, very low.

We waited in line for quite a while to get to the exact spot of Christ's birth. It is also widely believed that Mary gave birth in a cave because it would have been the most appropriate place for her to go for privacy that was right around the inn. We waited in line and proceeded down some extremely steep steps that led down to the exact spot, which we were all allowed to bend down and touch:

As you see in the picture above, the Greek orthodox church has decorated the area and the cave, but the floor inside that hole that you see is the cave floor itself.

After some time of reflection in the church, we headed out for lunch to what our guide informed us was the best falafel restaurant in the world!

And I have to admit...it was delicious!! If you are not familiar with falafel, it is basically ground up chickpeas mixed with parsley, cumin, coriander, and garlic, and then fried in olive oil. The guys in the restaurant were nice enough to show me how to make it! I know what Taylor is going to be asking for when we get home!

Then it was back to a church right next to the church of the nativity, called St. Catherine's church.

Another interesting tidbit I have not yet mentioned-at almost all of these holy sights we have visited, there have been two churches-one Greek Orthodox and one Catholic. It seems that each church wishes to lay claim to the specific sites. In some places, such as Cana, the churches each claim to be built over the specific site, in that case the place of Jesus' first miracle. In other cases, such as Jesus' birthplace, there is little to no doubt that the exact spot has been identified. In this situation, the other church has historical significance as well. The catholic St. Catherine church has access to the front part of the same cave that houses Christ's birthplace. This particular area is dedicated to all the children who were executed by King Herod in an attempt to kill Jesus.

Our last Biblical site of the day was the Shepherds' Field.

There was a church here in the little park dedicated to the fields:

We all went inside and sang actually some Christmas Carols! A lady not with our group walked out into the center and videoed our singing. The tiny church is quite beautiful, with mosaics depicting the Christmas story on each wall.

We even found a replica of Dr. Mumbower, one of our ministers, on the wall! Ha! If you know this guy, I'm sure you are laughing!

Here is a picture of our crew in one of the nearby caves:

We spent some time shopping today in a really cool olive wood shop, owned and operated by some local Christians. Contrary to what you might think, Christians comprise only about one percent of the population in this area. Unfortunately I didn't take any pictures there...I was too busy getting some goodies for my family! :)

Our last stop of the day was the Bethlehem Bible College, where we learned about some local Palestinian Christians and their ministry.

Tomorrow we head to Masada and take a dip in the Dead Sea!

The Holy Land, Day 3

2011-07-19T11:02:00.001-05:00

Greetings from Israel! So we have been on our Holy Land pilgrimage since Saturday, but we just got to a hotel with Internet last night. I am planning to chronicle each day of our trip, but I'm going to start off with today, day 3, since it is fresh on my mind. I will try to hit only the highlights, otherwise this post will be a mile long!

We set out from Jericho this morning, where our hotel is located, and headed towards Jerusalem. In case you did not know, Jericho is in the middle of the desert. It looks like an oasis as you drive towards it-you arent really sure if it's there or not until you drive through the checkpoint. Yes, I said checkpoint. There are guards at the entrance to the city, because due to the conflict between the Palestinians and the Israelis, no Jews or Israelis are allowed inside the city. Can you imagine?

And, for a shout out to my 3rd oldest niece, Beth-here is a quick shot of her namesake, the town of Bethany. This town is located on the southeastern slope of the Mount of Olives, not far from Jerusalem. It was the home of Mary, Martha, and Lazarus, and is the place where Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead and where Mary poured oil and perfume on Jesus, wiping his feet with her hair. A pretty cool place to be named after, Beth!

And here was our first view of Jerusalem:

Pretty impressive, I thought. The golden dome you see is called the Dome of the Rock. Inside the dome is the rock on which it is believed that Abraham was about to sacrifice Isaac before God told him to stop. You can also see in this picture the walls around the city, including the Eastern Gate. The Gate is near the right side of the picture above. This gate is the one through which Jesus came on Palm Sunday, and, according to the book of Revelation, it is also the one through which he will return when he comes back! Here is a closeup below.

Here is a prophecy from the book of Ezekiel:
"After this, the man brought me back around to the east gateway. Suddenly, the glory of the God of Israel appeared from the east. The sound of his coming was like the roar of rushing waters, and the whole landscape shone with His glory. This vision was just like the others I had seen, first by the Kebar River and then when he came to destroy Jerusalem. I fell face down on the ground. And the glory of the Lord came into the Temple through the east gateway.” (43:1-4).... Then the man brought me back to the outer gate of the sanctuary, the one facing east, and it was shut. The Lord said to me, "This gate is to remain shut. It must not be opened; no one may enter through it. It is to remain shut because the Lord, the God of Israel, has entered through it. The prince himself is the only one who may sit inside the gateway to eat in the presence of the Lord. He is to enter by way of the portico of the gateway and go out the same way." (44:1-3).
This prophecy was partially fulfilled in 1541, when the Ottoman Sultan Suleiman I sealed the Eastern Gate. Before this it had been open and people passed freely through it. Historians disagree as to why he did this, but many believe that, learning of the prophecies which predicted the Messiah’s entrance through the Eastern Gate, Suleiman tried his best to make sure it wouldn’t happen during his reign.

If you look back up in the panoramic view of the city, you will see that in the bottom part of the picture, there is a cemetery. This is a Jewish cemetery. A Muslim cemetery lies just outside the walls of the city (you can see it in the panoramic picture), across the Kidron Valley. It was placed by sultan Suleiman as well, because he believed it would discourage the Messiah, a Jew, from coming to the gate. A small Christian cemetery is at the base of the valley. The Garden of Gethsemane lies here as well. Talk about conflict and close quarters!

Here is a pic I snapped of some Hasidic Jews visiting a gravesite:

And this is our friend Kojak the camel!!

I did not catch his handler's name, but he was very kind to let us pet Kojak!

Next it was on to the Garden of Gethsemane. We walked down a pretty steep decline into the valley. The path was a stone one, with high stone walls on either side. We passed lots of security cameras, and the tops of the stone walls were embedded with what looked like broken wine bottles. A version of razor wire, I guess. Yikes.

There are 8 olive trees in the garden which date back to the time of Jesus. That seems pretty incredible, but when I looked at their trunks, it just made sense:

You can tell that those things certainly didn't shoot up last spring!

Next we moved into the city through the Lion's Gate, and went to the area of the Pools of Bethesda. There is a church here called the Church of the Echos-aptly named for it's incredible acoustics. When we got there, Lavon asked me to sing the verse of the hymn At the Cross inside the church, with the choir then joining in. It was a pretty awesome experience to sing in there and then to hear all our voices harmonizing together in such a beautiful place. We sang some other hymns and then moved out to see the area of the pools.

One of the interesting things I have learned on this trip is that in Jerusalem and at other ancient
places as well, current buildings or even entire cities are built on top of the old buildings or cities. Excavated sites are everywhere, with areas of the ancient city being exposed. For example, in the picture below, you can tell that I am looking in a downward direction with the camera. What is pictured is the area of the Pools of Bethesda at the time of Jesus.

For some reason the next picture won't upload correctly, so bear with me and tilt your head to the right, because this is pretty dang cool. Archeologists have determined that these steps are exactly as they were at the time of Jesus. They were the only steps around the pool. So these are the exact ones he would have walked on when he came to heal the man here, as we learn about in John 5:1-8.

"Some time later, Jesus went up to Jerusalem for a feast of the Jews. Now there is in Jerusalem near the Sheep Gate a pool, which in Aramaic is called Bethesda and which is surrounded by five covered colonnades. Here a great number of disabled people used to lie—the blind, the lame, the paralyzed. One who was there had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him lying there and learned that he had been in this condition for a long time, he asked him, "Do you want to get well?" "Sir," the invalid replied, "I have no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred. While I am trying to get in, someone else goes down ahead of me." Then Jesus said to him, "Get up! Pick up your mat and walk." At once the man was cured; he picked up his mat and walked."

When we left Bethesda, we headed down the Via Dolorosa, which is the road on which Christ walked as he carried the cross.

Next we came to the Wailing Wall, one of the holiest of places for the Jewish faith. Jews believe that the presence of God is in this place above almost all others. They come to the wall to pray, and when they are finished, they back slowly away from the wall and then turn, because they dare not turn their back on the presence of God. People from many faiths all over the world come to pray here, and they cram their prayers written on tiny pieces of paper into the cracks in the wall.

I couldn't resist placing one myself:

Now for a little explanation before the next photos. There are several theories as to the exact crucifixion site and burial site of Jesus. There is a church called the Church of the Holy Sepulchre built on the place that many believe is the very spot where his cross was put into the ground, also known as Golgotha, or the Place of the Skull. There is another place, the Garden Tomb, which is very close by and has a lot of strong believers in it as the site of His burial as well, with the crucifixion at a spot just past a small garden nearby. To me, the exact spot is irrelevant-I just know that he died and rose again! But here are some cool pictures documenting these places. First the church of the Holy Sepulchre:

This is Taylor bending down to touch the spot directly above where many believe he was crucified. There was a very long line of people waiting to do this-we stood in line 30 minutes or so.

As we walked through the city, we passed several times through the souk, or market. I held tightly to my bag, as we had been warned about pickpockets, but I couldn't help slowing and snapping some pictures at a few of the booths. The sights and sounds and especially the smells were so enticing! It was such an interesting fragrance-strong smells of curry, olives, saffron, and candies.

This is called the Damascus Gate. It is the entry (or exit, depending on how you look at it) to the market. At the time of Jesus it marked the end of the road in Jerusalem, and was the place where you would exit when you were headed to Damascus. Paul must have walked through this area before he was converted on the road to Damascus.

Our last visit was to the Garden Tomb. It was a welcome respite from the hustle and bustle of the rest of the city. This is the alternate view of where Christ was buried. As you can see in the photo below, the current level of the city is at the road at the very top of the picture. Way down below, where the little rectangular hole is hewn out of the rock, is the tomb.

Here is a picture of the inside:

Our group took communion at the tomb and sang and prayed together.

It was an amazing day in Jerusalem. I will say this-the tension in that place is palpable. (The Israeli soldiers stationed throughout, with their M16s, could have something to do with that I guess.). I much prefer the area of Galilee, where we have been the last couple of days. I could just see, in my mind's eye, Jesus performing miracles, ministering, and hanging out there with his disciples. However-when it comes to Jerusalem, there's nothing new under the sun, right? Peace has never been a part of the vocabulary there, and I guess it won't be until there is a New Jerusalem.

Random Thoughts

2011-07-12T22:52:00.001-05:00

So I read a really interesting article yesterday in Time magazine by a guy named Lev Grossman-and it was all about the phenomenon known as "fanfic". Now, it may be that I am totally behind the eight ball on this one, but maybe I'm not alone. Have you heard of it? In a nutshell, fan fiction is basically stories and novels that make use of the characters and settings from other people's professional creative work. It is oftentimes pretty controversial stuff--some writers, like JK Rowling (Harry Potter) and Stephenie Meyer (Twilight) have embraced it and given it their blessing, while others feel it is a violation of copyright, and that their characters have been "kidnapped". To quote from the article: "You can see both sides of the issue. Do characters belong to the person who created them? Or to the fans who love them so passionately that they spend their nights and weekends laboring to extend those characters' lives, for free?" Must all art be original, or can some be a mixing, mashing, cutting, and pasting of what is already out there?
My first thought was towards the side of characters belonging to those who created them. Intellectual property and all. But then, consider--all the way back to stories like Vergil's Aeneid, which I read in my high school Latin courses--there was "fanfic", if you will. Vergil didn't create Aeneas out of thin air; instead, he plucked the minor character from Homer's Odyssey and created further adventures for him. Hm.

Food for thought.

On another note--I am SUPER pumped, nerd that I am, about my new purchase for our house! Taadaaa:

It comes with two separate top sections, so husband and wife can both use the same brush unit. It has a sterilization section to kill over 99% of any bacteria that may settle on your toothbrush during the day, and a two minute cycle so you can easily brush the recommended (by the dentist-me!) two minutes. It beeps every 30 seconds so you can adequately brush each quadrant. It even has a massage setting, to give your gums their ultimate circulation and healing.

I think I'm in love.

We have been busy around here, preparing for our Israel trip! I skyped for the first time today, with my BFF, Emily , which was awesome! Plus it killed two, actually three birds with one stone. We got to chat and see each other face to face, as well as practice singing the song we'll be singing for our sweet friend Lauren's wedding in a couple of weeks. Yay for Skype rehearsal! It also allowed me to go on and get set up so we can talk to our fam while we are 'cross the pond.

Our washing machine is kinda on the blink, and I need to be washing a LOT of clothes in the next couple of days-so y'all cross your fingers for me!

I'm Back!

2011-07-06T21:42:00.001-05:00

So I am still a little off-kilter from my new schedule, but I think I am finally getting settled in. I am loving work and so thankful for my sweet patients!

Two weekends ago I took off for the beach with a fun group of girls for my friend Lauren's bachelorette party. We had a GREAT time! It was a quick trip and a long way down there, but SO worth it.

As you can see, Lauren was thoroughly decked out for the festivities!

Here is a pic of my friends Amy, Lauren, and Jocelyn. We have all been friends for a very long time! We grew up together in the youth group at church and all went to high school together. I am singing in Lauren's wedding this month-the same day we return home from our Israel trip! Sounds kinda crazy, but I have faith everything will work out just fine!

Our other good friend from high school, Chelsea, was so kind to offer up her family's beach house for the weekend:

It was GORGEOUS.

Ahhh relaxation.

This past weekend we headed down to New Orleans for a quick getaway, just Saturday night. Sweet Taylor surprised me with a night at the Ritz and an hour long massage he had pre-booked at a really nice spa! I will go on and admit that I am a very lucky girl!! Monday was the 4th of July, which we spent hanging out over the at the Sledges at lunchtime and with the Rogers out at Lake Caroline for the evening.

The night was spent in large part playing a very intense, heated game of.....dominoes! Who would have thought?? It was really so much fun!

Thanks Kim and B.C. for such a fun night!

This weekend we are headed to Oxford for a wedding, and next weekend we leave for Israel! I know it probably sounds like we are never home....and I guess we really have been gone a lot lately! I think we just really want to take the opportunity at this point in our lives to be spontaneous and go and do! I know that whenever we have children, life will be wonderful, but it will also mean a transition into less spontaneity and more routine. For everything there is a season, right?

I hope you had a happy Independence Day and that you were able to celebrate our country, freedoms, and those who have fought to protect them!

Productive in Portland

2011-06-16T21:13:00.001-05:00

Contrary to what may appear, I have not fallen off the face of the earth. I have, however, entered the working world. Praise Jesus, school is behind me and I am FREE! I say that slightly in jest, but not really. I have been working almost a full two weeks and it has been wonderful. Challenging, yes, tiring, yes, but rewarding, YES! I have come home every day feeling like I contributed something positive to the world. I love what I do and am so excited to now be doing it in private practice.

Two weekends ago Dad and I headed out to Portland, Oregon, to check out some new dental equipment that we will be purchasing for the new office. We got to tour the factory where it is all made, which was extremely cool and informative. I had never been to any kind of factory before, so it really made me think about all the work that goes into everything we use every day. Even the chair I'm sitting in right now was manufactured at some point.

Here is a pic of us at lunch one day. This beautiful restaurant and vineyard is owned by the same couple who started and still own the dental equipment company. Theirs is really an American dream type of story-I loved hearing the history of their company and the hard work and ingenuity that is behind it.

Friday was a workday of sorts, but Saturday was a play day! Our equipment rep took us out to a beautiful place called Multnomah Falls:

And later that afternoon was a wine tasting with our whole crew at the Sokol-Blossar vineyard. Our dental assistant, Brittany, was able to come on the trip, and her opinion for some of the layout of our operatories for the new office was invaluable! Tim is the rep for the equipment company, and Martin and Greg are our local reps for distribution. They were a fun crew to be with all weekend!

If my blogging is sporadic over the next few days and weeks, it is simply because I am still getting used to this new routine! I don't have as much downtime at home for cooking and cleaning now, so I am still trying to work out a good schedule so that our home isn't a wreck and poor Taylor has clean underwear!

We have a few fun things coming up: tomorrow night we are throwing a going away party for our dear friend David Minto-he is headed to Shreveport, Louisiana, for his oral surgery residency. He will be there for SIX years! We will miss him but we look forward to him heading back our way in 2017! I have a feeling we will keep in touch just fine while he's gone. Saturday I am singing in a friend's wedding, and Sunday of course is Father's Day. We'll be celebrating at lunchtime with Taylor's parents and at dinner with my parents and family up at the deer camp. I will try to take some good pictures and recap. Hope you have a great weekend!

Happenings Lately

2011-06-03T09:54:00.001-05:00

Not too much has been going on lately....we had a great Memorial Day weekend. There was graduation of course, Sunday school and church, and then Sunday afternoon Taylor and I headed up to his deer camp for some berry picking! We picked blueberries, blackberries, and peaches.....YUM! Then we eased on down the road to my parents' deer camp for a fun night of hanging out with the 'rents and a delicious dinner. Our sweet friend Pam made some delicious deep dark chocolate sorbet....makes your mouth water just to think about it, doesn't it? Somebody remind me to get that recipe!

Here's my berry pickin' man:

And talk about "amber waves of grain"...

And just for fun, here's one of my parents' deer camp-I thought this was such a pretty picture:

Memorial Day was laid back....we slept in a bit and then headed back into town because we each had some work to do. That night was spent hanging out and relaxing with the Sledges.

Look at my cute little guy! He looks like he feels like he owns the place or something:

That night I made an easy "cobbler" from the fruit we picked, and we pretty much just laid around, enjoying the pretty weather and the day off.

As I type this, I am actually in Portland, Oregon, on a trip with my dad and our dental assistant, Brittany, to tour a dental equipment facility and make some final decisions on the new dental equipment we are planning to purchase. I have never been to Portland, so I'm really excited about not only our dental equipment, but also playing around in the city tomorrow on our free day! Don't worry-pictures to come!

Finally a DMD!

2011-05-29T13:59:00.001-05:00

I almost can't believe it...but I am officially Dr. Sledge! Graduation was Friday morning, and it was a GREAT day!

Angie was so sweet to come and sit through that long ceremony! It was held at the coliseum, and I'm telling y'all, that place was packed. All the health professionals graduate together-med school, dental school, nursing, physical therapists, occupational therapists, dental hygienists...it's a bunch of people! And of course the DMDs and MDs are near the end, so my family were troopers to sit through it all!

My brother Neil wasn't able to leave work for the graduation, but he came to the after-party!

Wade and me. She and I have been from ABC to DMD! Kindergarten, elementary, junior high, high school, Chi O's at Ole Miss together, and finally dental school. It's been fun Wade!

Lane and me:

Taylor was sweet to snap some pics from the audience:

This pic is really dark, but that's me walking across the stage to get hooded. The tradition goes that you receive your diploma and then are given the doctoral hood. The dental hood is a lavender color, with the inside of it being the University of Mississippi colors. Hotty toddy!

Travis' girlfriend, Caroline, was graduating from dental hygiene school, so since they had two graduations to celebrate, Taylor's parents were sweet enough to throw a big party at their house. Lisa made chicken casserole, crunchy romaine salad, and fruit salad, and Taylor's grandmother Evelyn made some yummy desserts. It turned into an all day affair-some other friends came over later that afternoon and we grilled out and took a boat ride on the reservoir. The weather was perfect!

Here is a pic of me and Caroline:

My brother's girls made cards for me-how sweet and creative are these?

As hard as it was, and as often as I complained, I am so thankful that I had the opportunity to go to dental school, and I'm beyond excited about this next phase of my life! I start work next week, and I'm so excited to finally be in the working world. Y'all come see me!

Beach Babes

2011-05-24T23:06:00.001-05:00

So here are the blue skies and sandy beaches I promised!

Mom and her Danielle Steel--the never-fail beach read!

Got my toes in the water, toes in the sand....

Ahhhh....

Cute mama, shopping at seaside:

I get so excited when I get a good picture of the three of us!

And now...perhaps THE most precious thing you've ever seen....this is Itsy Bitsy. We met her today in an art gallery. She belongs to the owner, and she will just about fit in one hand. She has two or three beds scattered around the store, one of which is outside between two small easels and some glassware. And, get this-she wears pearls. No lie. Real ones. I think I just found Teddy a girlfriend!

PRECIOUS.

Hope you are having a great week-fit in a little relaxation if you can!

Little Ones

2011-05-22T22:23:00.001-05:00

We celebrated two different little ones this weekend-our sweet friend Kaelyn and Taylor's new little cousin, Coll. Kaelyn turned one this week, and her mama and daddy threw a great party, complete with barbecue, balloons, a smash cake, and lots of pink!

It's always funny to watch little kids open presents...at this age, they are pretty much more excited about the paper and bows than what's inside!

Then today we got up early and headed over to Louisiana for baby Coll's baptism. This was my first time to meet him, and he is precious!

I love this pic of all the Sledge men (minus Taylor's brother Travis):

This baby is certainly not lacking in the attention department!

Mawmaw, Erika, Coll, and Grandaddy

I'm so proud to be part of such a beautiful and sweet family!

Last Friday was our Senior Awards banquet for dental school. Here are a few pics I took:
Wade and me. We have been through practically every kind of school together that a person can go to! Kindergarten, elementary, junior high, high school, college (chi o's together too), and now dental school. We're finally through, Dr. Wade!

Absolutely, positively, could not have made it through dental school without these three!

Fraternity bros.

So thankful for sweet Lane and her friendship over these last 4 years-and looking forward to many more!

Tomorrow I am headed down to the beach for a couple of days! Originally, this was supposed to be what I have dubbed a "BFF" trip-Emily and I had planned a girl's getaway a good while back. But due to a crazy series of events including a trip date mix-up, a broken plane, and debilitating back pain (poor Em!)....it just ain't happenin'. She joked today that it seems like fate just doesn't seem to want us to take this trip together! I was pretty bummed out (and still am, of course, that we are not getting to take the trip together)...but, by some literally miraculous coordination of calendars, my mom AND my sister are both free to go!!! I seriously cannot believe it.

So stay tuned for blue skies and sandy beaches!

It is Finished

2011-05-21T10:20:00.001-05:00

So night before last was the Gaither vocal band concert at church, and I didn't really know what to expect. I was absolutely delighted by the whole thing! I had no idea that it would be a concert, variety, and comedy show all rolled into one! I can't wait til they come to town again! I'm going to include a couple of videos so you can see what I mean.

One of the main guys in the band is a man named Mark Lowry. I knew nothing about him going in, but now I am a huge fan! He is a comedian, singer, and songwriter who has been traveling the country for the last 30+ years entertaining people. Here is a YouTube video of him at one of the Gaither concerts-it's long, but if you have time, watch it!! I just watched and was laughing so hard I just about cried! And not only does he make you laugh, he really has a way of putting things that makes you think.

That video was an intro to the song Mary Did You Know. I was listening to him sing that song Thursday night, thinking to myself, wow, this guy has such a BEAUTIFUL interpretation of this song, different than I've heard before-almost like he wrote it or something. At which point, my friend Carrie, who was sitting next to me, leaned over and said, "You know he wrote this, right?" Oh. Ha! Here is that video as well:

And one last video. The band performed this song Thursday night, and it was so beautiful. The video quality on this one isn't great, but it captures the sound really well.

Later today we are headed to a birthday party for our friends Carrie and Joel's little girl. Kaelyn is such a cutie-hopefully I will get a few pictures to share! Then we are headed across town to an end of the year party/crawfish boil for my dental school class. I still cannot believe that it's finally here...I felt like dental school would last forever. But BELIEVE me, I am SO glad it's over! Working world, here I come!

Tomorrow we're getting up early to head down to Hammond, Louisiana for Taylor's little cousin's baptism. I'll try to get some good pictures of that too. Hope you have a great weekend!

Homecoming

2011-05-18T22:57:00.001-05:00

Call me old fashioned if you want, but there are few things I love more than some good, old, real southern gospel singin'. Or should I say, saaaaangin. So naturally, I am super excited that the Gaither Vocal Band Is bringing their Homecoming tour to my church tomorrow night. I signed up to volunteer. I'm not sure exactly what that will entail, but I am very excited about it!

If you are not familiar with Bill Gaither and his troop of singers, they have been around since the 80s have included a smattering of vocalists, a couple of the more well known ones being David Phelps and Michael English. Basically, they're the bomb. I will try to give y'all a full report after tomorrow!

Testing

2011-05-18T08:36:00.000-05:00

I am currently sitting outside a random McAlisters in Germantown, TN, typing this on........my iPad!!!! I can't believe my crazy husband did this for me. We had an early anniversary/graduation dinner last night in Oxford at City Grocery (and for those who may be wondering, we are not moving our residency to Oxford ha! We have just been there a lot lately!).

Ok, so since I wrote that first paragraph we have actually arrived home from Memphis and I have learned a lot about this new tool in just a short period of time! But first, back to how I got ahold of it! Sweet Taylor surprised me night before last with an early anniversary dinner (I will sadly be out of town on the actual day) and told me he had gotten me just a "little present" to "do some reading" when I go to the beach with Emily next week. Of course, when I opened the package a few minutes later, I FREAKED out. I am so thankful to have a wonderful husband-and not because he gives me nice gifts (although I surely appreciate them!)-but because of the way he treats me every single day, and the way he leads our little family. I am very proud to be his wife! So happy early anniversary Taylor!!!!

One reason I am really excited to have this iPad is that my old computer is a total piece, if you know what I mean. It has seen the good, the bad, and the ugly through these four years of dental school. It honestly blows my mind that the thing hasn't collapsed into a thousand pieces, or spontaneously combusted, or something. So the iPad will function as my computer now! I can still use my poor ol laptop for saving large files, archiving pictures, etc-but the iPad will be for everything else! Woohoo!

Ok, so since I am trying this whole blogging from the iPad thing for the first time, I'm not going to make this post too long in case I do something wrong and it disappears. I am trying out an app called Blogsy that, according to my quick research, is the most functional blogging app. So we shall see!

Lepers

2011-05-11T20:08:00.000-05:00

I am humbled today.

One of the most sensitive and sometimes difficult facets of the healthcare profession is dealing with those patients who have very contagious diseases, some of which have a stigma associated or general public attitude toward them. Aside from the contagion, along with these diseases might come ulcerations, foul odors, decay, deformities--all manners of unpleasantness. It is human nature to recoil away from these things, and yet my calling in life asks me to instead reach toward them, with a smile on my face and healing in my hands. I must confess--sometimes this is not the easiest thing to do.

What does the Bible say on this issue?

In Mark 1:40-42, the following is recounted: "And a leper came to Jesus, beseeching Him and falling on his knees before Him, and saying, "If you are willing, You can make me clean."
Moved with compassion, Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him, and said to him, "I am willing; be cleansed." Immediately the leprosy left him and he was cleansed."

A couple of things to note here: first of all, this has many implications, at least that is what I think. There is the surface one, which I am looking to today--of Jesus' compassion, his lack of hesitation to reach out and touch this man whose disease was painfully evident to all those around him. A second implication would be the parallel of this man's leprosy to our sin and uncleanness before God. That is a whole 'nother topic that should probably be explored by someone more qualified than myself. But I just have to reflect on this whole healing business. In case you are not familiar with leprosy, William Barclay describes it as such: "The whole appearance of the face is changed, till the man loses his human appearance and looks, as the ancients said, "like a lion or a satyr." The nodules grow larger and larger. They ulcerate. Become staring. The voice becomes hoarse, and the breath wheezes because of the ulceration of the vocal chords. The hands and the feet always ulcerate. Slowly the sufferer becomes a mass of ulcerated growths. The average course of the disease is nine years, and it ends in mental decay, coma, and ultimately death. The sufferer becomes utterly repulsive - both to himself and to others."

There was a stigma associated with leprosy. Lepers were declared "unclean" by the religious authorities of the day and were forbidden to come into the temple. They were ostracized. Social outcasts, separated from their families and friends, and forced to live in communities of only other people with their disease or one like it.

Can you imagine?

And Jesus, in his love and compasson, didn't hesitate a second to reach out and touch this man. This man with a contagious, incurable disease. A disease that created unpleasant smells, distasteful sights. A man whom no one else in the community would get near, let alone touch, for fear of catching it.

Now--if I truly believe what I say I do--then I know that this man's physical disease pales in comparison to my spiritual one. God sees our pitiful spiritual state just as we view the physical one of this leper. And He not only reaches down to touch me, but sacrificed his most precious, precious One, so that I could be clean.

Surely I can reach out and touch another, with warmth and surety, using the skills I have for healing--and with a lack of hesitation--knowing that the same has been done for me, and is done for me, every day of this life on earth.

Something to think about.

A Few Thoughts on Osama bin Laden

2011-05-02T10:01:00.004-05:00

Last night as Taylor and I watched raptly the news, awaiting Obama's announcement, I felt a lot of emotion. I felt the need to jump up off the couch and bounce around for joy. I felt the need to call my military friends and thank them for their service, and to ask how they felt. I remembered the feeling of visiting Ground Zero in NYC, and the somberness that surrounded the place. Taylor and I got out our nicest champagne glasses and made a little toast. (With milk! ha!)

But I felt something else too. A little nagging in my heart at the strangeness of rejoicing at death. And not the kind of rejoicing that I experienced when my grandparents passed away and went to heaven, where I know I will see them again. This was a vengeful sort of rejoicing. Not that I felt a hatred toward this man--I actually didn't. What I did feel was a hatred and a sadness for the acts that he committed, and a mourning for the loss of life that he orchestrated.

So all of this raises the question--is it right, as a Christian, to feel a righteous vindication after the death of this man? Ezekiel 33:11 says: "Say to them, 'As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign LORD, I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that they turn from their ways and live. Turn! Turn from your evil ways!" 2 Peter 3:9 says: "The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance."

I know that, yes, the Lord is patient and is taking his time with us because he wants all to come to repentance and to faith in him. Even the very chief of sinners. Just look at Paul in the Bible. But I also know that the Lord has a righteous anger against those who oppose him and his people. For example, think about the miracle of the Red Sea. The Israelites were allowed to cross, and Pharoah's army were swallowed up and killed by the sea. This was a miracle done by the Lord. I don't imagine that he took delight in the death of these people--but it was necessary to accomplish His purposes.

I do not profess to have all the answers. I don't even profess to know my own feelings for certain about the issue. It is just something for us all to consider. Click HERE for the link to a post that a friend of ours, Ann Lowrey Forster, wrote on the topic. She writes from the perspective of teaching her three small children about what happened, should they ask.

Whatever the right answer in this situation, I am thankful that our troops' morale will be boosted, and that we once again are united as Americans, if only for a brief while, and that justice has been served for the families of the victims of 9/11.
God bless America.

Happy Birthday Dad!

2011-04-26T22:07:00.004-05:00

Today was my sweet Dad's birthday, and I just wanted to wish him a happy one on the blog! I am so blessed--I could not have asked for a more wonderful Daddy. He is one of the most genuinely caring, selfless, and giving people I know. He loves his family fiercely, works hard, and loves the Lord. I am proud to be his daughter, and I know the rest of my family feels the same way. I am so excited to be going into business with him when I graduate next month--I know we will probably have some disagreements every now and then because we are pretty much just alike!--but there is no other person I'd rather be going into business with. I am proud to be following in his footsteps as a dentist and feel blessed to be coming into a practice where so many patients have had a great experience because of my Dad!

Dad, I am so thankful for you and look forward to our new adventure in practice together! Happy birthday!

Easter Fun

2011-04-25T14:00:00.000-05:00

Easter weekend was a great time for us--a worshipful service and church and lots of quality family time! Here are a few more pictures from Easter Sunday.

My sister's beautiful Easter table. We were also celebrating my brother in law Lee's birthday and my Dad's birthday, hence the "you are special today" plates at either end of the table:

Olivia and me. Precious child!

My sweet! Taylor used to wear bowties all. the. time. in college and he hardly ever does anymore--so I was super excited when he stepped out of the bathroom this morning wearing this!

Olivia took my camera for part of the afternoon and ran around taking pics. I really love this one of the whole family eating together. Breaking bread, shall we say. There's something beautiful about a family sitting around a table together.

That's me icing (cool whipping?) the Hershey bar pie I made. And in the foreground is the cute little ice cream bunny cake Mom and Dad brought for the kids! It had mint chocolate chip ice cream inside.

My cousin Dabbs with Olivia. Too cool for school.

Ang and me. Fyi, I don't normally wear all black on Easter! I felt so out of place! I was on praise team this week (the group of singers that sings with mics out in front of the choir) and we all wear black pants and sweaters or blazers. I hated not to wear the Easter dress I bought several weeks back, but I will get plenty of wear out of it at spring and summer weddings--and I love singing on praise team so no complaints!

Now here is where it got a little crazy. Taylor went back into Angie and Lee's room and starting playing DJ off his ipod, and the whole family ended up in there! I'm telling y'all, I think we need to start a family band. We have a future in showbiz--just look. Here's Beth. And don't miss Catie in the background. The child was dancing up a storm on the treadmill.

Taylor DJ'ing, Anna, Beth, and Olivia all with guitars.

Dorothy. Beltin' it out.

Catie again. This child is a HAM. Can you tell? I feel like I need to go on and buy my tickets to Miss America 2026.

Anna workin' those guitar skillz.

See what I mean? I spared y'all the pic that Olivia took of me standing on the arm of the couch in the corner, breaking out some dance moves. But seriously...maybe we should start a family band! I'll play tambourine. :)

Easter Crawfish and Family Pics

2011-04-24T22:28:00.010-05:00

Edit: I'm not sure why this didn't post, but I had scheduled it to go up last Thursday. Hm. Anyway, here it is:

And a few more pics from the Easter weekend. We went down on Good Friday to Kentwood, LA to Taylor's grandparents' house for a crawfish boil!

Lisa and Taylor:

Yum!

Taylor's grandfather showing me his beautiful roses:

We took a walk to the back part of their property, named the "Little Woods":

Taylor's grandparents:

Their HUGE garden! Granny sent us home with corn, peas, and blueberries, all from the garden. Not to mention her homemade strawberry preserves....oh my gosh that stuff is good.

And now I am running out the door because Taylor and I are headed up to Oxford for the Double Decker Arts Festival...one of my favorite weekends of the year! Pictures to come!

Christ the Lord is Risen Today!

2011-04-24T22:08:00.004-05:00

This morning we sang one of my all time favorite praise songs--Revelation Song. My friend Sarah sang the verses and man, she blew it out of the water! It was so moving to see the Lord's gift of her voice in action and moving so many people on this beautiful Easter Sunday. I wish I could somehow post a video of it. I at least want to share the lyrics with you:

Worthy is the Lamb who was slain
Holy, Holy, is He
Sing a new song, to him who sits on
Heaven's mercy seat
Holy, Holy, Holy
Is the Lord God Almighty
Who was, and is, and is to come
With all creation I sing
Praise to the King of Kings
You are my everything
And I will adore You

Clothed in rainbows, of living color
Flashes of lightning, rolls of thunder
Blessing and honor, strength and glory and power be
to You the only wise King
Holy, Holy, Holy Is the Lord God Almighty
Who was, and is, and is to come
With all creation I sing
Praise to the King of Kings
You are my everything
And I will adore You

Filled with wonder, awestruck wonder
At the mention of your name
Jesus your name is power, Breath, and living water
Such a marvelous mystery
Yeah! Holy, Holy, Holy
Is the Lord God Almighty
Who was, and is, and is to come, yeah
With all creation I sing
Praise to the King of Kings
You are my everything
And I will adore You

Here is a pic of me with two dear friends, Carrie and Lizzie. We took this in the choir room right after church. Love these girls!

And a few family pics. My brother with all his beautiful girls:

And me with all my nieces! I love getting them all in one picture! From left to right: Dorothy, Olivia, Catie, Anna, and Beth. And then that's me in the back of course.

My cousin Dabbs and her new husband Jeffery, and my Aunt Eda and cousin Gray.

And my cute Easter date:

I absolutely love Easter. It is a pure and joyous celebration of everything I believe! My heart was so happy this morning in worship that it just about burst. I am so thankful for the sacrifice the Lord made for us. I don't have children yet, and not that it would compare, but I can't begin to imagine the sacrifice of giving your only Son, not only to die, but to die for people who do not deserve it.

"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he
has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus
Christ from the dead." 1 Peter 1:3

A blessed Easter to you and yours!

Spring Cleaning

2011-04-21T22:44:00.012-05:00

Ok, so this post title is a little misleading. I haven't been so much cleaning as rearranging. I just got bitten by that bug the other day--you know when you just have got to move some things around and freshen up. Something about spring in the air!

This chair belonged to Taylor's great aunt Eris and was a hand-me-down to us. I just love it! I love the tufting, and the bones of the chair, and the weave on the wooden sides. I even love the color! It had been hiding away in the office (which we didn't use much), I guess because I couldn't figure out how to work it into the den. Decorating/interior design is not my strong suit, sadly--but I am really working on it! And I'm so proud because I found a way that the chair can now be much more used!

The doggies making sure they like the new arrangement.

I decided to take out the loveseat that had originally made an "L" shape with the couch, put it in the office, and move the cool chair to a more desirable locale. :) I really love the result! I feel like the French doors are much more on display now too. They are one of my favorite things about our house--they make the main room feel so light and airy. The rug is an indoor/outdoor rug that we got for $20 at Kroger! It's really too small for the space but it will work for now! And then later when we decide to invest in a nice rug, it can go outside under the patio furniture.

Here is the rearranged office, plus our cool new piece of art from the Juke Joint Festival! Gotta go get that framed sometime soon...

We never used the office before, and now I am sitting in here as I type! I just want to curl up on this loveseat, reach over and grab a good book, and settle in.

We moved the desk so that it's in front of the window, which makes me want to sit there much more often when I'm doing work on the computer. You may have noticed that I've blogged more in the last few days--and honestly this is why! I am beginning to understand how important a room's layout can be. We also moved this bookcase from the guest room into the office/library (I feel like I can call it that now since there are so many books in here!), and put the Lamar Sorrento painting of Kurt Vonnegut on top. We've decided that our dream house will have an entire room filled only with books!

We just got home from our supper club, where the main dish was lasagna (YUM)--we were in charge of the side dish, so I made roasted veggies--tomatoes, zucchini, squash, yellow and orange bell peppers, and onions. I figured that would go well with lasagna. We have some leftovers, so I am going to try to be resourceful and puree them over the weekend and add to some tomato sauce for pasta. No need in wasting all those good nutrients!

Tomorrow we are heading to Kentwood, Louisiana for a Good Friday crawfish boil that Taylor's grandparents are having. (And yes, you pop music aficionados--Kentwood is the home of Britney Spears!) I'll have to post some pics when we get back!

Rock of Ages

2011-04-19T22:24:00.006-05:00

So last night was a success! I am certainly no Picasso, but I had fun nonetheless. I will definitely be doing one of these classes again. I love that we all had the same teacher and spent the same amount of time, but all of our paintings are so different! I'm glad we started with an easy one, but I think I am ready to move on to something a little more complicated for next time.

Carrie and Lizzie and I met for an early dinner at Newks right before the class. I got my favorite salad in town--YUM:

Just getting started painting. The whole time everybody was worried to death that their painting would turn out ugly ha!

Carrie's cross:

And mine:

This was mine about halfway through the process. The wall to the left displays all the paintings/classes they are offering right now!

And here we all are with our finished products! Dana, me, Lizzie, Heather, and Carrie. Dana is Carrie's sister-in-law, and Heather is a friend of theirs from their Sunday school class. I think Heather's cross was actually my favorite of all of them--her colors turned out really cute.
Overall, it was definitely a positive experience, and I plan to go back!

Today has been all over the place--I got to work/school early and saw patients, then was picked up by my BFF's mom, Val, for lunch! We went to Babalu, which is always yummy, and had a really great time just chatting and enjoying our meal. I didn't have any patients scheduled for the afternoon, so I've been running errands and now just sat down at home. I'm trying to drum up some motivation to work out before I head to church tonight--I reeeeally need to! Emily and I are headed to the beach in about three weeks and I am feeling the pressure! She and I have never done this before, but we having been planning it for over a year now--we are taking this girl trip, just the two of us, just for fun--partly to celebrate my graduation and partly just to enjoy some time off. She has just finished her first semester of nursing school and needs a break just as much as I do! We have some sweet family friends who are letting us stay at their condo at the beach, and I am SO thankful! We probably wouldn't be able to make the trip otherwise. So, all that to say, I had better get my butt in gear! Tonight at church we are rehearsing for our music program Easter Sunday. I'm excited about all the music--there are some really worshipful songs that I just love singing. I love Christmas, but I always look forward to Easter especially--it is truly a celebration of what Christ did for us!

Foray into the Painting World

2011-04-19T17:13:00.005-05:00

So I'm making my first attempt at painting, since, oh, JUNIOR high, tonight at Easely Amused! For anyone who doesn't know what that is, it is a local business here in Jackson that offers adult painting classes. The first sentence on their webpage says, "No artistic ability required." (That's me! That's me!). Now I can make somebody's teeth look reeeal pretty and all, but it's a whole other story if you ask me to start slapping paint on a canvas.

My friends Carrie and Lizzie invited me to go, so I'm really excited. We are starting out with something easy--a cross entitled "Rock of Ages."

Now surely y'all I can't mess that up! Of course I'll do different colors than this, something a little more subtle probably. I'll have to show y'all some pics, if I'm not too embarrassed! They have some other classes coming up with some really cute subjects:

I may have to check out one of those classes too!

Well, as Picasso said, "Art washes away the dust of everyday life." So I guess I'm gonna go wash!

Juke Joint

2011-04-17T21:20:00.006-05:00

This weekend was a whirlwind! Taylor had some business in Oxford on Friday, and I had not scheduled any patients that day, so our original plan was to head up to Oxford early Friday morning. But at the last minute on Thursday, our friend Reed called to let us know that there were still some tickets available for the Zac Brown Band concert in Starkville that night--so we decided to be spontaneous and go! We had the best time with Reed and Maris! The concert was excellent--the band did not disappoint. Zac Brown sounds in person pretty much exactly like he does on his records. Each member of the band was super talented--I think my favorite may have been the fiddle player/violinist/background vocal guy. Every single one of them was multi-talented, and each played at least two instruments.

Taylor and Reed

Tay and me just before the band came onstage. The venue was set up outside, on a big grassy area with a giant stage. The weather was perfect.

Taylor is such a hippie at heart...bless him. One of his comments during the concert: "If I were in a band, my hair would be so long I could wipe my butt with it!" I think he was pretty inspired by the music...he's picking on his guitar right now as I write this.

When the concert was over, we hopped in the car and drove over to Oxford, arriving just before 1 am. I was exhausted and I think I was asleep before my head even hit the pillow! Friday was leisurely--waking up and walking to Bottletree, doing some organizing/cleaning around the house, window-shopping on the square. I also got to hang out that afternoon with one of my best friends from college, Mary Catherine. She had a health scare recently but is now doing just fine--but I felt so much better when I could just hug her neck and chat for a while! Then we went to dinner that night with some friends, J.W. and Elizabeth, at a great restaurant in town, 208. Elizabeth is a Chi O at Ole Miss, and so was I, and she so graciously took Taylor and me to the Chi O house after dinner so I could check out the new updates to the house! Since I graduated four years ago, they have expanded the dining room and redone all the bathrooms (lucky girls!).

Saturday morning we got up and I (of course) walked to Bottletree again and picked up breakfast; then we got ready to head over the Clarksdale for the Juke Joint Festival--my favorite festival! I had a little scare myself though as we started to head out of town--I started seeing spots and then briefly lost all the peripheral vision in my left eye--so strange! It went away after about 45 minutes but then I figured out why it had happened--I developed an AWFUL migraine. If you've never had one, be thankful. I've only had one two other times in my life, and I want to keep that number as low as possible. When we finally arrived in Clarksdale, poor Taylor had been so sweet to me, but he was starving, so we parked the car and he went into the festival to grab some food while I just laid my poor aching head on the console in the truck and tried to block out all light and noise for about 30 minutes. Thankfully, after that, the headache was almost gone.

A random dude checking out one of the folk art booths.

Thought this was a cool old sign:

I was so glad to hang out with Mac this weekend! (Also, I obviously got my face painted. $1, and it took the lady about thirty seconds to slap that strawberry onto my face--hey, it's the simple things in life, right?)

We bought a really cool piece of art for just 60 bucks--and it's an oil painting! It's of John Lee Hooker, one of Taylor's favorite blues artists.

Overall, it was definitely a successful weekend! We left the festival Saturday afternoon and headed home for an engagement party for our dear friend Anna and her fiancee Blake. Then home and early to bed for me! I'm not gonna lie, I love going to bed early after a long day! Taylor thinks I'm an old lady for it, but that's ok! ;)

This morning was palm Sunday at church, and the service was beautiful. We sang one of my favorites, "It is Done". Our choir has done it a couple of times over the past year or two and it is so moving--to me, it captures the victorious emotion of Christ conquering sin on the cross. Joel, a good friend of ours, sings the solo on the song, and his voice is incredible--truly a God-given talent. Taylor and I have become good friends with Joel and his wife Carrie over the last year. I am so thankful for the friends we have made through our Sunday School class and through the choir at church.

This afternoon I got bitten by the spring cleaning/rearranging bug--and we halfway rearranged our whole house! I'm still not sure if I'm happy with it, but I'm going to just live with it for a couple days and then see what I think. Maybe I'll post some pics and get some feedback from the one or two people who actually read this thing!

All Talk and No Game

2011-04-03T17:36:00.012-05:00

Some of you may know that Taylor and I both love to read. Both our loves of reading started when we were very young. Taylor's continued into his college years, resulting in a major in English at Ole Miss. Mine waned a bit as my brain was overtaken by scientific facts and theories, and now medical and dental knowledge, but my love of reading has certainly not died. We are members of Square Books' Signed Firsts club, which means that we pay $20-$25 a month to receive a signed first edition book in the mail from Square Books in Oxford; each book is normally decorated in some way, and by decorated I mean it has won an award like National Book Award Finalist, or something like it. We feel like this not only enriches our libraries and our lives but there is a good chance it could be a good financial investment as well, as oftentimes signed first edition books can become very valuable if the author goes on to do even greater things.

But I have a confession.

Until last week, I had not read for pleasure in FOREVER. Which is such a shame. I mean I read a devotional book when I do my quiet time/personal Bible study, but that's about it. I guess my brain has been so bombarded by information that it is just really tired! I know that, in fact, because it still is. And Taylor has been the same way. He has been overwhelmingly busy working very hard and providing for our little family, and he as a result he has given little time to reading for pleasure. But--Taylor and I had a come to Jesus the other the day in which I told him that we have been all talk and no game. And that we'd better shape up or ship out! It is an absolute shame to continue getting all these beautiful, rich works of literature and let them pile up, unread! And it's not like our lives are going to get any slower or less busy. So, we made a commitment to take at least one night a week WITHOUT the tv on, and use it only for reading. So we'll see how it goes! But I will say that since then, I have read one book and am halfway through a second. I finished this book:

And it was great! A really easy read, actually. If any of you have read Lauren Winner's first book, Girl Meets God, this is sort of an extension of it, or at least it explores further the same vein in which she first wrote. Winner is a thirtysomething woman living in Virginia who grew up Jewish but converted to Christianity in early adulthood. Mudhouse Sabbath is the fleshing out of her desire to make Christians more aware of the closeness to God and depth of faith that can come from paying more attention to the liturgical and ritualistic aspects of common events in Christian life, for example weddings, prayer, mourning--basically borrowing from our Jewish friends a little bit of ritualistic devotion, so as to avoid the "lukewarm" Christianity that can creep up so easily, and to live our faith a little more fully. To quote Amazon: "Overall, she expertly invites Christians into a deeper and more daily level of faith."

And now, I am halfway through this book (so excited!):

How on earth I escaped junior high having not read this one, I have no idea. It is one of Taylor's favorites. He has read it at least ten or twelve times. I'm actually reading his copy, from when he was a kid. I figured it out first by the worn binding but then by the large letters just inside the front cover, "PLEASE RETURN TO TAYLOR SLEDGE" in his mom's handwriting.

I may not go back to the days of finishing a book in a day, and several in a week, like I did back in junior high and high school--simply because of other commitments and the general busyness of life--but I can certainly take a step in the direction of renewing my love of reading! Just yesterday I started to feel that old feeling of the world sort of fading all around me as I lost myself in the story.

Gotta love that. Read something today! Enrich your life!

Cousin Love

2011-04-03T14:48:00.008-05:00

Last weekend was my cousin Dabbs' wedding. It was one of the sweetest ceremonies I have been to in a while--our whole family had been looking forward to the weekend for months! Almost all of our cousins were a part of the wedding--Taylor was even included as the DJ! Here is the bride and her groom, Jeffery, cutting the MSU-decorated groom's cake. My nephew Kyle, my sister Angie, me, and my oldest nephew Carter. I seriously can't believe my nephews are so grown up.

Coolness.

How cute are they?!

Mom and her first cousin, Buddy. We love getting to hang out with him!

Dabbs and our first cousin, Little Barry! (We have Uncle Barry, Little Barry, Uncle Gray--the bride's father, who passed away two years ago--Little Gray, and we even had an Aunt Sister!)

Again--coolness. My bro-in-law, Lee, and my niece Olivia.

Mom and Uncle Barry. Cute pic of the siblings!

Breakin' it down.

Dancing to "My Big Green Tractor"--Lee's favorite!

Dad, Olivia, and me.

I don't know how, but I somehow didn't get any pictures of my brother and his wife April, or of their four girls. I did take a video of Catie, their third child, absolutely bustin' a move on the dance floor. (Where she got those moves, I have no idea!) But I am still unsure of how to add a video on my blog! I need to figure that out. I also didn't get any good pictures of Taylor up at the computer/soundboard. He did a great job as the DJ! Everyone kept going up to him and asking if he did it on a regular basis and if he would be willing to do it at other events. Ha!

This weekend was lots of fun too--we went up to Oxford Friday night for a quick getaway and had a great time hanging out with friends and trying out the new restaurant in town, South Depot Taco Shop. It was started by a friend of ours from high school and a pledge brother of Taylor's. It just opened this week, and it was EXCELLENT. I can't wait to go back next time. Yesterday we headed back into town for our dear friend Jocelyn's wedding to David Dill. She was an absolutely beautiful bride--I wish I had taken my camera. So glad she married a wonderful guy like David! We look forward to lots of fun times with them. Then we scooted out of that reception a little early to catch the end of some other friends' engagement party, Brett and Julie. It was at Taylor's parents house, and it was packed out! I think poor Lisa (Taylor's mom) was worn out by the time it was over!

Today we headed to Sunday School and church, where it was Senior Adult Recognition Sunday. It was so meaningful and cool to see the older population of our church leading in worship and speaking about the ways in which they serve in our church. One of my best friend's grandmother spoke about the ministry she has with the floral committee--she and a group of ladies take all of the leftover flowers from services, weddings, etc, refresh and rearrange them and send them to members of our church who are going through a hard time, who are hospitalized or homebound, or who have had a death in the family. It was so neat to see her speaking about this important ministry. Then we headed to lunch with the Avens, good friends from Sunday School, and the Buckles, a new couple who just joined our class--we are really looking forward to hanging out with them a lot more in the future!

This past week I was away from the dental school on an Oral Oncology rotation, so I had the privilege of caring for and learning from patients undergoing head and neck cancer treatment. I will devote a whole post to that later--it was a humbling and fulfilling experience for sure.

Hope you are doing well and enjoying your Sunday afternoon!

Luck O' the Irish

2011-03-27T15:33:00.006-05:00

So last weekend was the St. Paddy's Day parade in Jackson. Since it is known as one of the best and most fun parades in the country for this particular holiday, we certainly couldn't miss it! Honestly one of the best things about it for me is that I feel like it brings the whole city together. Downtown pretty much stops and the streets are taken over by families and floats and revelers. We started the morning off by a quick stop at our neighborhood gas station, where pretty much everyone was wearing St. Patrick's green. Taylor and some random dude were walking into the station from opposite directions at the exact same time--they met eyes, saw the mutual green-ness, and high fived. Unspoken comraderie. I guess that's the term I'm looking for to describe what the parade is. I love something that brings such a diverse city together! Fyi, I learned these few little facts about St. Patrick's Day this year (thanks, Wikipedia): it originated as a holiday to celebrate the arrival of Christianity in Ireland. I also learned that Irish folklore tells that one of St. Patrick's teaching methods included using the shamrock to explain the Christian doctrine of the Trinity to the Irish people. So there's your history lession for the day! We met some friends at Keifer's for an early lunch. We got there around 11 to beat the crowd--it's a pretty popular spot, especially when there is something big going on downtown. Haley and Chris were in town from Birmingham, which always makes me happy! Lauren and William, Ann Elizabeth, and Dana and Warren completed the crew. All the girlies: (sorry Ann, I didn't get one with your eyes open! ha!) A ton of people came out! This was at the very beginning of the parade, when the motorcycle-riding police officers all sped down the street in a line, weaving in and out. Taylor, Minto, and Chris. Taylor didn't find the green pants or wig he had originally wanted, but he was about as green as he could get! Green sunglasses, mardi gras beads, tie, etc.

By the end of the parade, the tree next to us had caught more beads than I had!

Pat and Taylor Lots of green! One of my favorite pics from the day-I love when Haley comes to town!

This weekend brought more fun activities--my cousin Dabbs got married yesterday! Our whole family was in town, and it was a celebration for sure! It was a sweet, beautiful ceremony, and the bride and groom were so happy! I will post pictures soon!

With Flying Colors

2011-03-16T11:20:00.005-05:00

Ok, so before I even get to anything else...I PASSED MY BOARDS!!! I am so thankful and so relieved! Of course my family are all teasing me, wondering why I worried in the first place, but you just never know! Clinical boards in dental school are sort of a different animal--people who are wonderful dentists in real life may not do well on the clinical board. Your results are somewhat dependent on the patients you have that day. So I have to give a shout out to my dad and his dental team for helping me out immensely with finding two wonderful patients--thanks y'all!

In other news--Taylor and I spent last weekend in Oxford, and it was heavenly. We invested in some property up there, so we took the trip up to get some things settled in. We walked up to the square numerous times, took a "volta" up to Volta (volta means slow nighttime stroll) for my favorite hummus anywhere, walked the dogs all around campus, which, y'all I swear it gets more beautiful everytime I'm there. We passed this one plant/flower/thing that was absolutely gorgeous...it was planted along Hilgard Cut, yellow with these long tentacular branches that looked like they were streching skyward as far as they could reach, trying to touch the sun. I hate I didn't have my camera with me when we passed them.

Well, hello there, happiness.

Double decker! (Isn't there some sort of punch-buggy thing that goes along with a double decker bus? Consider yourself punched.)

Japanese magnolias are everywhere up there and they are absolutely BEAUTIFUL. Beautiful. Their petals litter the ground like carpet in many driveways.

We got to hang with two of our favorite people, Angela and Davidson. I didn't get a pic of the boys, but here are the girls! The four of us ate lunch at a new bakery in town, Lusa. It felt a little like cheating on my steady, Bottletree Bakery, but I guess since I went there twice too, staying about 3 hours each time, I'll let this one slide.

Love the Lyric. It is a revitalized theater in Oxford, repurposed now as a venue for acts and shows coming through town. Since it opened after Taylor and I graduated, I've only been to one concert there, Robert Earl Keen (so good!)--but I'm looking forward to many more!

Hope you are doing well now that it seems spring has finally sprung! We are headed out today to enjoy Mal's St. Paddy's Day Parade downtown--Taylor has informed me that he is wearing green glasses, green beads, a green shirt, and yesterday he was on the hunt for green pants and a green wig....you'll want to stay tuned for pics of this one!

Sledge Weekend Recap

2011-02-28T19:27:00.008-06:00

Not much has been going on around here. Well...that's not exactly true. We had a pretty busy weekend. Friday night Taylor was in Oxford, so I had a girls' night with Whitney. We sat around and talked and ate pizza. Then I came home, put on my pjs, and went to bed around 10:00. I am officially an old lady. But I love it! Saturday morning I got up, went on a walk and enjoyed the BEAUTIFUL day.....I think the prettiest things around right now are all the Bradford pear trees that are all over my neighborhood. They have those beautiful white blooms that are simply stunning this time of year. I've decided they are my favorite kind of tree. They and those giant old live oaks that are plentiful down near New Orleans. Then it was off to do some shopping for the bridal showers I had later that afternoon. My friend Jocelyn and my sweet cousin Dabbs both had showers that afternoon. Dabbs is getting married in just four weeks! Here is a picture of the two of us at my bridesmaids' luncheon almost 3 years ago:

I am so excited for the brides-to-be! We have a lot of weddings and wedding-related functions coming up in the next few weeks. Six couples we are close to are getting married in the next 5 weeks! Unfortunately we won't be able to go to a couple of the weddings because THREE of them are on the same day at the same time! Craziness! I guess that is just the season of life we're in. Next thing we know it'll be baby showers, then baseball tournaments and cheerleading camps! So I'm looking forward these next few weeks to rehearsal dinners and bridesmaids luncheons and watching some close friends make such an important commitment to each other before God and all their friends and family.

Later that night, Taylor got home and we headed out to the birthday party of the century! A good friend of Taylor's was turning 40, and his sweet wife threw a HUGE birthday party for him at our favorite restaurant in town. It was so much fun--a seven (SEVEN!) course meal, a great band, and lots of fun people. The next morning was church, lunch at home out on the patio, and then some shopping with my sweet mother-in-law.

Also looming on the VERY near horizon....is my national clinical board exam, THIS Friday. I am completely freaked out. I have no doubt whatsoever that I can do what is clinically expected of me--the procedures are ones that I have done hundreds of times--it's just the fact that things are sort of out of my hands. It's certainly an exercise in trust--I've just got to believe that the Lord is sovereign over this, just as he is over everything else.

I hope you had a great weekend too!

Real World Comin' at Ya

2011-02-16T20:46:00.008-06:00

Y'all.

I have been working at my dad's office all this week (for those of you who don't know, he is a dentist here in town) for my private practice preceptorship, and I have to tell you, as we like to say here in the South, I am WO' SLAP OUT. And it's only Wednesday. Sweet Dad called me tonight as I was on my way home from church and asked, "Are you ok? Am I working you too hard??"

He definitely isn't working me too hard, but I have gotten a very real taste of the fast-paced working lifestyle of a dentist in private practice--and I absolutely love it! I think there will just be a learning curve when I first join the practice this summer, because right now, the nature of our education at the dental school is wayyy slower. We are only allowed to schedule patients in two or four hour blocks, and a procedure that really should only take 15 minutes or an hour gets drug out to 2 or 3 hours. That's just the way it is. I have been treating patients for two years now, and I am MORE than ready to move on to "real world" dentistry.

In other news: Whitney's wedding was BEAUTIFUL! Her rehearsal dinner was sweet, poignant, delicious, and fun, and the wedding day was a blast. It started out with a wedding day brunch at our dear friends', the Roberts, house. I actually was the Nazi responsible for pushing the bride out the door before the groom arrived (can't see each other! bad luck!!) and chauffering her to her hair appointment. I felt so bad pulling her away from all the well-wishers, but somebody had to do it! Next it was on to the church, where we primped and practiced and prayed, all before the ceremony at 6:30 that night. Everything was beautiful, including the bride. Here are a few of my favorite pics from the weekend:

Cutting the cake:
First dance:

Whittie and Mr. Johnny:

Dance floor!

We have taken a pic like this of the four of us before every major event of recent years in our lives! Three down, one to go....Hales you are next!

My bestie and me:

My other bestie--isn't he handsome?

How precious is Whit's face in this one:

Em, Nat, and me:

Dancing the night away:

And our other big news--one of our most dear, wonderful, can't even describe her with words, friends--Lauren, aka "Wade" to most of her friends--got engaged this weekend!!! Her now fiancee, Alston, surprised her with a ring right before they ran the New Orleans Marathon on Sunday morning!! She said towards the end of the run, every time she would think she just couldn't go any further, she'd look down at her left hand and think,"Weeeellll, I can make it a little further!" Ha!! I guess so Wader!

We love you and Alston and look forward to many years of friendship with the Ludwigs! Here is one final pic, of Carolyn Grace, Wade, and me, at her impromptu engagement party Sunday night--the Wades had people over for champagne and desserts to celebrate, and the house was chock full of people.

I have had lots to celebrate in the last few days...hope life has been treating you well too! Check back in soon!

Winter Sure Has Been Here Awhile Now...

2011-02-10T20:24:00.012-06:00

I knew that it has been too long since I posted when at a family birthday dinner tonight, Taylor's sweet grandmother (Hey, MawMaw!) me that she couldn't get my blog anymore on her Ipad. I asked what it said when she tried to get to it, and she said it just kept pulling up the post from the middle of January!

So, MawMaw, here is the new post as promised. :) Happy happy birthday to you--I hope you had a great one!

Here are a few pictures from my most recent trip--Washington, D.C., for Whit's bachelorette party! I know it seems far away, but it was actually a pretty central location for all of her bridesmaids. We seem to be scattered to the four winds! Birmingham, Chicago, Jackson, Memphis, New Orleans, D.C., New York, and Baltimore--to name a few.

We all flew into the city on Friday afternoon and straggled in one by one to Adrienne's apartment in Arlington. Our friend Shannon was so sweet to pick me up from the Baltimore airport (it was less expensive to fly into Baltimore, and it's only a short drive away) on her way in. We started the night of right with...
Karaoke!

We tried to lay low Friday night and get some good sleep for our busy day on Saturday! But we ended up going to a cute little Irish pub on the main street in Arlington (so pretty!) after Whit opened her presents. There was a guy playing the guitar and singing, and we got out on the dance floor even though everyone looked at us kinda funny. Carpe diem, right?

Opening presents:

Me, Whit, and Hales in the cab on the way to our champagne brunch the next morning, courtesy of Whitney's parents!

Our little New Yorker, Emily, and me. It was COLD that day! We were all bundled up.

Strolling the Georgetown streets:

I had seen the Georgetown Cupcake show on TV and was really looking forward to having one of their famous cupcakes...but the line was down the street and around the corner! I obviously wasn't the only one! Maybe next time.

On Sunday, several of the girls left early, but a few of us stuck around and headed back on Monday flights. So we were able to do a little exploring--starting off with the Holocaust Museum. For anyone who is a regular reader of this blog, you might remember that Taylor and I went to DC back in September. We did go to the Holocaust Museum, but we ran short on time and didn't get to the last two floors of the museum. So I was really excited to be able to go again so soon. I spent a lot of time this trip on those last floors. One of them was a tribute to the people who ran the "Underground Railroad" of sorts for the Jewish people who escaped, or attempted to escape, capture by the Nazis. A well-known example would be the people who helped Anne Frank and her family as they went into hiding for what must have been the longest two years of their lives. It was so moving to read the stories of all these brave and courageous people. It was inspiring...I would hope that I would be one of them had I lived in that time and place.

Then it was on to the American History Smithsonian so Whit could see Julia Child's kitchen! I had to snap a pic of our pastry chef in front of the famous cook's kitchen:

In other news, well...really there isn't any other news. I feel like my life has been one big whirlwind. I need to stop and smell the roses a little more. We seem to pack a lot into a short amount of time! I have my day job, aka dental school, and my night job: wedding parties! I'm tellin' y'all, it's crazy. So many people getting married! Something in the water down here, I guess. I love it though. And speaking of, we are pumped about Whitney's wedding and the surrounding festivities this weekend! I will be sure to take plenty of pictures and post them when it's all over.

Tomorrow is National Give Kids a Smile Day, and everyone associated with the dental school is getting there super early in the morning to start receiving the 1,000 elementary school students who will be coming through our doors tomorrow for treatment! For a lot of these kids, this will be the only time this year they will see a dentist, so I'm really excited about giving them a good experience, so they will want to seek dental care in the future, and also assessing their needs and hopefully being able to take care of some of them.

So I guess I'd better head to bed so I will be chipper and cheery for all those smiling faces! Looking forward to that followed by the bridesmaids' luncheon and rehearsal dinner for Whitney. Hope you have a great weekend!

Clean Slate

2011-01-12T20:47:00.003-06:00

There's something extremely refreshing about a brand new year. We've all indulged--at least I have--in around six weeks of cookies and casseroles and comfort. We've stayed inside, around fires and family, drinking hot beverages and watching movies. It's so interesting how the second that new year hits the calendar, I start to crave routine. And vegetables ("Thank goodness," sayeth my pants).

I certainly was not excited about getting into the swing of things back at school, after that lovely Christmas break, but, somehow--it's just good, ya know? It wouldn't be right to stay in holiday mode all the time. In fact, that's one of the reasons the Thanksgiving and Christmas seasons are so beautiful--they are a very special time of year that only comes around every 12 months! Something to look forward to, to re-center and ground us.

I find myself gravitating towards "resolutions", of sorts, even though I didn't really intend to make any this year. I find myself inherently and subconsciously laying out ways I can make my life better, richer, more selfless, perhaps. I'm really looking forward to a lot of things this year.

2 Corinthians 5:17 "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new." The freshness and renewing of our lives is a Biblical concept as well. His mercies are new every morning!

This year, Lord willing, will bring many changes--one of which will be my graduation and entrance into the working world! I can't believe it has been almost four years since I started dental school--in some ways, it seems to have been an eternity; in others, the time has flown by. I also have a lot to look forward to this year. In the short term--this weekend, I'll actually be headed up to D.C. again, this time for Whitney's bachelorette party. Soon after that, I'll be taking a week from school to do my private practice practicum--I'm going to use that time to get to know the ins and outs of my dad's dental practice. And later--a big trip that I don't think I've announced on the blog yet (forgive me if I have)--Taylor and I will be going to Israel this summer!!! It is a mission trip with our church choir. We'll be visiting many of the important sites of Biblical times--Nazareth, the Mount of Olives, the Church of the Nativity (Jesus' birthplace), Bethlehem, the Garden of Gethsemane, the Jordan River. We are BEYOND excited about this opportunity to serve and to see this part of the world.

Of course, there are miles to go before I sleep, and miles to go before then. I will be taking my clinical national boards the first week in March, and doing my best to finish up all my dental school requirements between now and May. It seems like May is a ways away, but I know the time will fly by. I'm thankful though, that right now I feel like I've been scrubbed fresh and I'm ready to take on the new year!

Surprise!

2011-01-10T09:09:00.005-06:00

Friday night at my house, several girls and I threw a surprise wedding shower for our friend Whitney!! We decided to do something a little different...besides it being a surprise, which is different in itself, we made it a pajama party! Everyone came in their pajamas, prepared to watch bride movies, eat popcorn and candy, and drink wine. A true girls' night in!! And I must say, it was a total success. Here's the candy and popcorn setup:

Everyone piled into the man-cave to wait for her to arrive:

Sweet girls! Sarah, Jocelyn, Ashley, and Laura:

She was so surprised!!

Yummy food table. Chicken salad bagels from Beagle Bagel (YUM!), crunchy romaine, and antioxidant fruit salad! (So easy--clementines, grapefruit sections, and pomegranate seeds, combine in a bowl--done!)
The bride and her sweet mama:

The kitchen really is the heart of the home...it's so funny! Compared to the rest of my house, there's not a lot of seating in my kitchen, and yet that's where everyone always ends up.

Opening her presents. It was an entertainment shower, which I think is one of the best kinds to have, because really anything can work as a gift--there are lots of options.

Lauren, me, and Josie. These girls are both getting married in the next few months! Lauren just got engaged over Christmas--her sweet fiance surprised her with a trip to New York and proposed. He gets a double thumbs up in my book.

Aaaand.....the best part of the night. Lauren discovered some apparently irrestible music on my ipod, set up the strobe light app on her iphone (nice), and we had an impromptu dance party. It was absolutely excellent. Check it out:

Couldnt' let Ted feel left out!

Carolyn Grace, snug as a bug in a rug in my bed! Seven girls ended up spending the night, which was so wonderful--nothing better than a spend the night party! I haven't done that in a really long time. We all got up the next morning, and with the exception of a couple who had to leave early, sat around and drank coffee and looked at old pictures til almost lunchtime.

We love you Whit--hope you had a great time!

Home Updates

2011-01-09T12:02:00.004-06:00

So I have been busy on my break from school making a few little updates to our house, and I want to show y'all! We recently brought into our kitchen a church pew that was originally from Taylor's grandparents' church when they lived in Louisiana. So cool! Taylor's mom, Lisa, showed me how to sew on her sewing machine (that she got as a gift from her parents her senior year in high school!), and my Mom helped me pick out some really cute black and white damask fabric for a cushion for it! Here's the before picture:
And the after:

I really love how it turned out!! The cusion is easily removable, so if I want to take it back off for a more rustic look, it's no big deal. The pillows I made out of a couple of canvas bags that I found lying in the bottom of our pantry. Obviously they weren't getting much use, so I decided to repurpose them. I feel so green! :) Thanks Mom and Lisa for all your help!!

Here is a pic of the table that was already in the breakfast area, just rearranged a bit and moved to the other wall. I added the framed photo that I got for Taylor for Christmas, courtesy of Joe Dunn Photography in New Orleans. It's actually an alligator--look close and you'll see!

And here is a pic of the whole breakfast area! I really love how the pew added a lot more seating! It's already been used a lot--we had Taylor's family over for dinner and everyone was sitting on it/around the table, and then I had a surprise shower two nights ago (post to come very soon about it!) for sweet Whitney! We had SO much fun. Seven of the girls ended up spending the night, and we had a great time the next morning lounging around drinking coffee around the table and looking at old pictures.

Also, we finally (FINALLY!!!) cleaned up our "junk room"! The extra bedroom right next to our room has been basically our "let's just throw stuff in there and shut the door" room. We still had several boxes we had not unpacked from when we moved in a year and a half ago (shameful, I know). Mark and Lisa had two old twin beds that they no longer use (they were Taylor and Trav's in high school), and my parents had some extra twin linens, so we are taking them off their hands for a while! This is soooo much better than a pile of junk and boxes:

And Lisa also helped me recover the dining chairs that were a well-loved hand-me-down from Taylor's great aunt Eris--I love the way they turned out too! They are a green damask that is a little brighter in real life than it appears in the picture:

Hope you like the changes!

Here's to Ya, 2010

2011-01-02T22:20:00.005-06:00

Several of my friends have done a Year in Review post, so I think I will jump on the bandwagon! I love how blogging really helps me keep track of our life, and where all this time that flies is going!

In January, Taylor and I spent a lot of time hanging with the fam and close friends at Fairview. We started planning and anticipating our wonderful Paris trip! I experimented with cooking, and we found out the Saints were going to the Super Bowl!

February brought a big snow in Jackson, a big win for the Saints, and a fun Valentine's trip to Nashville for Taylor and me.

In March, I sang in our church's Easter program, had some car troubles, and did some sprucing up to our house.

April came and we celebrated Easter, followed by the beautiful wedding of two of our dearest friends, William and Carolyn Grace. Taylor's grandmother had a succesful knee replacement surgery, and we were so thankful! I experimented a little more with baking and made my first decorative Easter coconut cake--yum! Taylor and I traveled to Belzoni, Mississippi, the catfish capital of the world, for the Catfish Festival. Taylor was a judge for the Catfish Queen pageant--he helped pick a great representative for the catfish industry!

And in May--a short break from school, and summertime! My sweet, sweet husband gave me my favorite anniversary gift so far--my AWESOME camera--and we set off in a plane with Mark and Lisa for beautiful Paris, France!

In June, we returned from Paris, and Taylor and I both hunkered down for a summer of hard work, for him in business and for me in school. We both wanted a jump start!

July brought an Independence Day celebration in several different towns--we spent time with Taylor's grandparents in Louisiana, my uncle and cousin in Wiggins, my family at Fairview, and Taylor's family on the rez. Whew! Taylor and I recorded a fun song together in a studio, and I left for an externship in New York City, one of my favorite places on earth!

In August I returned from the Big Apple and settled back into real life and lots and lots and lots of school. Amidst all that though, we were able to make it up to Nashville one more time for a wedding and to hang out with my bff, Emily. We made it to Nashville's famous Tomato Festival, and it was a blast! I caught up on some reading, and we celebrated CG's birthday with a surprise fiesta!

In September, Taylor received an honor within his company, and we were able to take a business trip to Washington, D.C. We had SUCH a good time! We went to lots of museums--our favorites were the Newseum, the Holocaust Museum, and the Museum of Natural Science--and ate some great food! Not long after we came home, it was time for football season! Groving began, and with it came some exciting news--our friends Whitney and Graves got engaged! We traveled to New Orleans for the Ole Miss vs. Tulane game, and we started practice for Carols by Candlelight in choir.

October brought a little bit of cool weather after that intense summer heat, and with it came the beginning of deer season--always a bittersweet time for "hunting widows" like me! I linked up with Kelly for her home tour, and Taylor and I went on a fun date to the Mississippi State Fair!

In November, we made our last trek to Oxford of the football season, and Taylor and I had another fun date to the Mistletoe preview gala, thanks to the generosity of his sweet Mom and Dad! Mom, Angie, April, and I were able to go back for a fun girls' shopping trip the next day--one of my favorite traditions! I spent countless hours (which I had been doing since August) studying for my National Board exam, which I took...and passed!!! I felt like my brain didn't quite work right after that for a few weeks! Thanksgiving came and went, and we spent a wonderful time in Negreet, Louisiana, for a Carter Family Thanksgiving Reunion.

And finally, in December, there was Carols by Candlelight and lots of Christmas fun! There was the 2nd annual Grizwold Family Supper Club Christmas Party, and our 3rd annual Cookies and Cocktails party--always a good time! We celebrated the beautiful gift of God on Christmas and throughout the season--the gift of his son, and the sacrifice that he made for us.

I love that the year ends with Christmastime--a time of hope and family and celebration of the Lord's amazing gift to us. 2010, it was nice knowing ya!

Christmas Recap

2010-12-29T22:53:00.005-06:00

Well, Christmas has come and gone--seriously, how did it go so fast??

My family has never had a special, set-in-stone Christmas Eve tradition, so it has actually worked out just wonderfully that my parents have joined the Sledges in theirs! My sister's and brother's families are with their respective in-laws on Christmas Eve, so my parents now come with us! The tradition is the attend the candlelight Christmas Eve service with Mark and Lisa and Mark's parents at their church, then head back to the house for some DELICIOUS homemade gumbo. This year Lisa served crabcakes as the appetizer and they were so yummy! The gumbo was outstanding, as usual. I love that I married into a family of great cooks! Now if they would just rub off on me...

Taylor, Trav, and me with MawMaw and Grandaddy:

Beautiful tree!

It's also the Sledges' tradition to open Christmas gifts to each other on Christmas Eve. Since Mom and Dad were there too, we went on and gave them their gift as well. I was SO excited to give them and Mark and Lisa their gifts--I made a photobook of our deercamp, Fairview, for my parents, and one of our Paris trip for Mark and Lisa.

Cute dads:

And cute moms!

Taylor making fun of my profession with the meat injector Santa brought him! Crazy boy.

The next morning we woke up, ate a leisurely breakfast, and opened our gifts to each other. I tried to make a special breakfast for us--my Granny's cathead biscuits. I failed. Miserably. As Taylor said, they looked like really overweight pancakes. Ha! I still can't figure out what I did wrong....it's one of those things where you kind of have to know what you're doing, because there's no real recipe. And, obviously--I don't. I will have to get a little help from Dad next time. But hey, the bacon and cheese grits we had instead were still pretty good!

Then it was off to Mom and Dad's for exchanging presents with my side of the fam. As our family has grown, we've started drawing names. I drew my sister-in-law, April, this year, and Taylor drew my niece, Olivia.

Anna and Beth pumped over their loot:

Olivia and her new DSI game:

Ang, Neil, and me:

April modeling her gifts! We had gone shopping for the purse a couple of days earlier so she could get just the right one. But I wanted something for her to open under the tree, so when I saw this apron, it was just too cute to pass up. I know she loves to bake with her girls, so hopefully she will get some good use out of it!

The boys:

Me and sweet Ted:

My Daddy and his daughters:

I hope you had a merry merry Christmas, and that you have a Happy New Year!

Holiday Happenings

2010-12-20T23:23:00.005-06:00

So here's a quick recap of some holiday happenings!

A pic of Olivia and me from before one of the Carols' performances:

And then one of Taylor and Olivia during an impromptu jam session at the Thigpen household!

And now on to the Tacky Christmas goodness! Our supper club has what we call the Annual Grizwold Family Supper Club Christmas Party, and let me tell you, it is an event. We eat yummy food, we play dirty Santa (it can get ugly, lemme tell ya)...and obviously, we dress up!

Taylor and "WeeWee"

Our friend Kim showing off her tacky sweater:

Matching jumpsuits:

And here are a few from Fairview. I can't remember if I've mentioned on the blog that my parents are selling their deercamp. It is a bittersweet thing for my family--we've had so many good times there! But it will be a good thing too, and I know that we'll have many good times at the new place as well!

I got to go hunting with my Dad one last time at the place, and it was so fun! Looking forward to many more fun hunts Dad!

One of our favorite roads on the property. Years and years of travel on this historic road have worn the road down into the trench.

Camp table set for a yummy breakfast.

Dad reminding me how to make my Granny's buttermilk cathead biscuits...SO good!!

Taylor and I just got back tonight from our family Christmas with his grandparents on his Mom's side. We had a great time hanging out with his aunts and uncles and cousins! Unfortunately I didn't get to take any pictures because I was too busy visiting! I guess that's a good thing though. :)

More updates and pictures to come throughout this fun and busy week!

Carols by Candlelight

2010-12-13T09:20:00.001-06:00

This weekend was my church's Christmas program, Carols by Candlelight. I had the privilege of singing O Holy Night with three wonderful girls in a quartet--we had so much fun! Our little segment was modeled after the Celtic Women, if you've seen them on tv--so we got to wear long pretty dresses! (Pictures to come later.) Everybody kept teasing us and asking if it was prom night every night! Took me back to my pageant-ing days. :)
Seriously though--it is simply amazing how worshipful music can be. I am so thankful for a musical outlet in my life and for the ability to sing God's praises and tell other people about Him through music. I remember having a conversation in college one time in a Bible study about what heaven will be like. We talked about how beautiful music can be, with all the various instruments and combinations and harmonies. If this world is but a shadow of the world to come, then it only stands to reason that the harmonies and music we can experience will be doubled or tripled or something even beyond that! Harmonies beyond what my little finite mind can conceive. Exciting, isn't it!
This was the last song of the night--they put it on Youtube after the concert was over because everyone loved it so much. Amazing Grace is one of my favorite hymns--and you know, it's interesting--we don't usually think of it as a Christmas song. But it is!

May the Lord bless you, and may you remember Him in this very special season of the year!

Thanksgiving Recap

2010-12-08T10:15:00.007-06:00

So I am a little behind, but I wanted to post a recap of the holiday! It was so nice to relax with family and eat some YUMMY food.

To start, here was my Thanksgiving dessert contribution for Taylor's family--turkey cupcakes!

My sister's foiled attempt at her kids' Christmas card:

Jump!

Then it was off to Negreet, Louisiana for the Carter Family Thanksgiving!
My Uncle Ike and me:

PRECIOUS Jose:

My two great aunts (in more than one sense!), Beth and Maxine:

An old part of my great-grandfather's farm:

Blacky drank the rest of Taylor's sweet tea and crunched all the ice!

Kisses for my cousin Anne:

Cool pic of the barn:

Mom and Dad:

Taylor inspecting an old family heirloom violin. It was my great-great grandfather's:

My cousin Anne and my aunt Jordana:

Negreet, Louisiana is just 30 minutes from Natchitoches, LA, where they have the annual festival of lights at Christmastime! For all you southern girls out there, this is the river and the town where Steel Magnolias was filmed! It is just as charming as it was in the movie.

So thankful for my family this and every season of the year!

Old Timers?

2010-11-23T13:54:00.002-06:00

So I am finished with my boards!!!!! Well....so far. I will feel a heck of a lot better when I get that envelope in the mail and can see what my score is. Still praying about that one! They were hard, but I felt ok about everything when I left the testing center last week.

However. I think all that studying has taken a toll on my brain. If you can, imagine for a second a jar that is CRAMMED FULL of stuff. It has a little hole on the top, where you can cram in more stuff, and a little hole in the bottom, where things can fall out. And every time you jam something into that top hole (which seems to be more and more difficult to do), a couple of things fall out the bottom, never to be seen again.

That, my friends, is the current state of my brain. I think if it could talk, it would be screaming "WARNING! WARNING! OVERLOAD! DANGER!" and there would be one of those hazardous materials sign over it that I see on all of our medical waste bins up here at UMC.

So what I really need to know is--am I normal??! Does anyone else ever feel that way, like you are so overwhelmed that if you put one more piece of information or event to remember or appointment to schedule or document to mail in your brain, it might explode into a thousand pieces?

I think I need a vacation.

This weekend was my birthday, and it was so much fun! My sweet husband gave me what he is calling the manliest birthday gift he's ever heard a girl ask for--a new TV for our den. The reason, you ask? Well it all has to do with my morning rituals. Every morning, I do one of two things. I either wake up and sleepily grab my gym bag and my packed lunch and head to the gym--OR--I wake up early and head to the kitchen with the doggies to make my lunch for the day and eat breakfast. I love to watch the news in the morning, and if I don't have to be up at the school until a little later, I love to watch the Today Show. But--the problem is that there was no TV in our kitchen. There was a TV cabinet, with the cable jack and everything, but no TV. I've been trying for months now to run back and forth from the kitchen into the den to see the 7-day forecast as soon as they announce it, but invariably I am carrying my bowl of cereal and end up spilling milk all over myself, and then missing the forecast anyway.

You can see my dilemma.

So--I asked for a new tv! The one in the den was really too small for the space anyway, so we moved it to the kitchen, where it fits perfectly in the little tv cabinet, and got a new one for the den. Sweet Taylor had it all set up when I came home from school a couple days before my birthday. We also got to head up to Fairview, my parents' deer camp, for the weekend with my parents, two couple friends of theirs, and our sweet friends Clay and Christina. I am SO bummed because I accidentally left my camera at home and thus didn't get to take any pictures. I'm going to make up for it at Thanksgiving though, let me tell you. I'm gonna be a picture taking fiend.

Speaking of, I am SUPER pumped about the dishes I'm making for Taylor's family Thanksgiving. I am going to take one of them over to my sister's house too (she is hosting for my family) in hopes that they will eat it. I like to mix things up and bring different dishes, but my family always has the exact same thing every Thanksgiving and every Christmas--so not too much of mine gets eaten! Maybe I just need to figure out what my specialty is and stick to that, so it can get incorporated into the "regular" dishes every year.

Hope you are well and have a wonderful Thanksgiving! I know I have so much to be thankful for.

Mistletoe!

2010-11-06T15:21:00.008-05:00

So for any of you who are unfamiliar with Mistletoe Marketplace--it is a giant Christmas shopping extravaganza put on by the Jackson Junior League to raise money for various charities around our city. And it is SO FUN! I have gone every year since I can remember--it is really the start of the Christmas season for me! Vendors come from all over the country, seriously from California to New York and everywhere in between. Several of them that I spoke to this go-round said that Mistletoe is the biggest and best of anything like this around the country. It is always held on a Thursday through Friday, usually the first weekend in November. Today is the last day, so if you haven't stopped by yet, it may be too late for this year--but make plans to make the trip next year! The website with all the information is http://www.mistletoemarketplace.com/.

This year Taylor and I were so excited to be able to attend the Preview Gala! Taylor's parents were kind enough to get tickets for the two of us, plus Taylor's brother Travis and his girlfriend Caroline. The gala is held on Wednesday night, and it is SUPER formal. Here is a pic I snapped of us (thanks to the self-timer feature on my camera). I kinda felt like we were back in high school, headed to the prom or something!

It was so much fun!! The Tip Tops played, there was delicious food, a silent auction, and best of all, we got to look at all the stuff the merchants had brought before the masses hit the next day! I got to scope out the goods so I knew right where I was headed when I came back for a girls' shopping trip the next morning with my Mom, sister, and sister-in law. The Thursday shopping trip has been a yearly tradition for Mom, Angie, and me for a while--and now that Neil and April have moved back into town, I'm so glad that April can be a part of it too!
My mom, who is a realtor (if you need one and live in the Jackson area, she does a great job!), just recently sold a house and offered to treat us all to some Mistletoe shopping this year! Woohoo! I tried not to go too crazy--but I got a really adorable hat/ear warmer, a cute necklace, a couple of Christmas ornaments....and my favorite--my early birthday present--a REALLY cute, really nice new bed for the dogs! I know, you may be thinking I am a little crazy to want that for my birthday. I think my sister thought I was. But I'm telling you, this thing is so cute. It is really more like a really nice pillow or small piece of furniture. It's for the living room, not the bedroom or laundry. Here is a pic of them enjoying it in front of the fireplace!

If you like the bed, it's by a company called Lazy Bones Beds. The founders/owners are a couple of girls, originally from Jackson, who now live in Memphis and have started this company! It has really taken off--Paula Deen even has one in her living room! They have three sizes and tons of cute patterns and colors. The beds are stain, odor, and UV resistant. The outer cover can be unzipped, removed, and washed, which is great!

And here's a pic of my cute new hat (ish) and necklace!
Thanks Mom!!

This next week for me is going to be a hardcore study marathon. I take my national boards in nine days. It is a two day test, with the first day lasting about 9 hours, and the second about 4 hours. I am scared and not excited about it, but I am sure ready to get the dang thing over with! I have studied as much as possible, but it has been really hard to do while managing and treating patients at the same time. I guess all I can do is my best, right? If you think about it this week, please say a prayer that it will go well! I am ready to be through so I can move on to concentrating on much more fun things like Thanksgiving and Christmas!

Hope you have a great week!

Grovin' Fools

2010-11-04T08:11:00.011-05:00

Well it was back to the Grove last weekend for the Sledges for a weekend of fun and football! This time we rented a house just off the square with our friends Kim, BC, and Drew, and it was a BLAST! It was so nice to be able to walk everywhere--to the square, the Grove, the game, you name it. I would love to do it again in the future.

Here's Taylor bustin' a move, as he tends to do when we first get to the Grove. He just can't help himself! Good music, great people, great food....I mean it kinda makes me want to dance too!

My friend Audrey stopped by our tent and chatted for a while. This girl is one of my bff's from college, and I am so thankful for her!

My friend Lauren and me at the game. My parents gave us four tickets to use for the game (thanks Mom and Dad!) and we were so excited that Lauren and William came to sit with us! Made the game (which was a little sad score-wise) a lot more fun!

Ann Elizabeth, Haley, me and WhittyKat, as we prefer to call her. Haley went to Georgia, but she made it over to Ole Miss for games several times while we were in college. Her boyfriend, Chris, went to Auburn, which is who we played last weekend, so they came up to enjoy Oxford and see the game!

This next pic is towards the end of the game. I got tired of standing and watching us get creamed, so I just sat for a while. And here was my view--two cute booties! That's Tay on the left!

Mmmmm.....chicken.

Ok, so to all you Ole Miss fans out there--I would like to make a comment. So listen up Rebels! I was seriously SO ashamed of all of us last weekend. About 3/4 of the way through the game, the game against the NUMBER ONE team in the NATION, mind you--all of our fans were gone. It might has well have been an Auburn stadium. We may not have played the very best, and we may not have won, but we did score thirty-something points on the top ranked team in the country! I was seriously so ashamed of our fans. And y'all, now don't get me wrong. I love the Grove. I love the Grove even more than I love the football--or at least as much. But I think we should get something straight--the Grove would not even exist if it weren't for the game!!! All I'm saying is--I don't believe in being a fair-weather fan. I think you need to stick by your team and cheer them on no matter what. That applies to many other things in life as well. Let's take a lesson from the Saints fans, ok? They may have worn paper bags on their heads and lamented for years and years--but they were still there, cheering on their team. So fins up, Rebels! Let's get our priorities straight!

Living Room!

2010-10-23T09:43:00.010-05:00

Joining up with Kelly again for the Tour of Homes! I know this week is nursery/kids room week, but since our only "kids" have four legs and a lot of fur, I am doing a living room post since I missed that one a few weeks ago.

Here is our mantel! The painting is one I bought for Taylor in New Orleans for Christmas one year when we were dating. The cool little wooden sculpture is the one item we bought and brought home from our honeymoon. It is an African carving of the Last Supper. I LOVE it.

View into the kitchen. Taylor thought to put books up there over the door. We need all the book space we can get!

View back towards the front door.

The weather has been so beautiful around here that I've been leaving our french doors open when I'm home during the day.

The rug in this room is a temporary fix until we can find and/or afford something a little nicer and more colorful!

Taylor is SO proud of this--the red stag he killed on a family hunting trip to Argentina. You should have seen my brother-in-law in the process of hanging this thing up there...I was just sure he was gonna fall and break every bone in his body.

A couple of my favorite pieces of pottery--both wedding gifts.

Thanks for stopping in! Hope you have a great weekend!

25 Things

2010-10-15T20:23:00.002-05:00

Ok, so remember when that 25 things "note" was going around facebook, and everybody took part, even the people who never take part in lists or forwards like that? Well, I randomly rediscovered mine the other day, when I was poring over my facebook, after going to see The Social Network (and yes, there will be a movie review for it coming up soon! In short though--GO SEE IT!). Anyway--as I read back through it, I realized that I really liked my list! So I am posting it here--with a few addendums.

25 Things:

1. I consider Super Bowl Sunday a holiday.

2. I am a little too obsessed with my dog, Teddy. He was my wedding gift from Taylor, and I consider him my practice child. He has several nicknames, including "precious", "little ted", "darlin", and "the weenie".

3. I am both embarrassed by and thankful of the fact that my husband is a wayyy better cook than I am. I'm working on it though! If I can just learn to bake well, we'll be the dream team!

4. I want to live in Nashville and New York. And Jackson. Simultaneously.

5. I am VERY excited about being a dentist. But some days I want to be a singer, or a broadcast journalist, or a personal trainer, or a labor and delivery nurse, or a senator. It's a bummer that I have to choose.

6. My next project, after I graduate from dental school, is learning French and Italian.

7. I am currently reading the Fountainhead. I read Atlas Shrugged several years back and have been meaning to tackle this one for a long time. (I am of course finished with the book now--it was a great read! I'm now currently reading New York Days by Willie Morris--and my board review books).

8. I love to dance, but people usually laugh at me when I do! I've decided to take it as a compliment.

9. I have sung in 14 weddings. (I think this number is up to 20 or so now).

10. About once every 6 months, I have an insatiable desire to play Super Nintendo. Not Playstation, or Xbox, or the Wii. Super Nintendo.

11. I have been to Italy, South Africa, Spain, and Belize. I can't wait to go to Greece, France, Chile, and Thailand. Not to mention anywhere else a plane will take me. (Since writing this I have been to Paris, France! I am so thankful to have had that amazing experience. We've got another big trip on the horizon that I am SUPER excited about--I'll be blogging about that soon!)

12. I love the Lord and I am so grateful for the fellowship of believers with which he has blessed me. My friends are the salt of the earth--as is my husband.

13. Speaking of Taylor--he is incredible. He puts up with my idiosyncracies and quirks and he still loves me! He is a well of patience and forgiveness, he is the sweetest and funniest guy I know, and my life is more joyful because I am married to him!

14. Dance parties are my favorite.

15. I am also slightly obsessed with working out. I love pushing myself to the limit. And I love encouraging others to do their best when it comes to fitness and nutrition.

16. I want to run a marathon one day, but I'm scared that I won't be able to finish.

17. My favorite instrument is the cello. I wish I could play it.

18. If you play Britney's "Womanizer" or Spice Girls' "Wannabe" you will learn #s 8 and 14 firsthand.

19. I've never seen any of the Star Wars movies. I realized that this calls into question my status as an American. I need to see them. Movies I think everyone should see: Forrest Gump, Philadelphia, Steel Magnolias.

20. I wish I were smarter and more decisive/direct.

21. I am going to plant a garden this spring! I want to grow peppers, cucumbers, zucchini, and tomatoes! (We did plant the garden, and we ate from it that whole summer! Although our squash and cucumbers cross pollinated to create giant mutant vegetables...but that's another story...)

22. I have a WONDERFUL family. This includes in-laws.

23. Breakfast is my favorite meal of the day. I love oatmeal with peanut butter, berries, or almonds.

24. I am so thankful for the things I have--but I have too much! When I got married 8 months ago I promised myself that I wouldn't buy any clothing, shoes, or jewelry for a year (I did accept gifts for bday or Christmas if that's what someone gave me). I'm thinking about extending it to 2 years. It has been wonderful. (We have now been married for two and a half years. I finished out the full year of not purchasing any of the above items. I didn't extend it to 2--honestly, because I love to shop! But it made me very mindful of how and when I do purchase things.)

25. I'm a planner. I love to plan!

Hope this gave you a little insight into who I am!

Fair Date!

2010-10-11T22:17:00.009-05:00

Tonight Taylor and I went to the Missisippi State Fair! It's one of my favorite pasttimes this time of year. I've long since ceased riding all the crazy rides (due to an unfortunate incident my freshman year of college when I saw some popcorn and a coke I'd eaten, well, after I had eaten it), but I love to go and people watch--and let me tell you, there is some VERY interesting people watching at the state fair--and maybe play a game or two! Taylor loves to show off and win me a stuffed animal. He's a cutie.

Here's one of the fair staples--it's been there for years and years, way before I was born I think. I remember as a kid that whoever brought Malone's Taffy in their lunchbox at school was envied and everyone always tried to trade whatever they had brought for a couple of pieces!

We stopped in the petting zoo to see all the cute little goats and alpacas, camels (!), etc. This little guy was SUPER eager--I think he had been fed plenty of carrots today already! You could buy them at a table nearby for a couple of bucks to give to the animals.

This one was kinda shy.

Ok...and here is possibly one of the most disgusting things I've ever seen. I heard about it on the radio a couple of days ago and refused to believe it...until I saw this:

You have GOT to be kidding me. I think if you eat one of these, your life expectancy may decrease by 6-12 months. I can feel my arteries congealing already...

Although I will say, I thoroughly enjoyed a Pronto Pup (footlong corn dog, for those who may not know what that is), and Taylor and I split a funnel cake. But hey, that's what the fair is for, right? A little bit of a fried indulgence every now and then, in moderation, is fine by me!

I always love to see this off in the distance--it makes me think of my childhood. This giant cone is big, but it seemed unbelievably huge when I was a kid!

Make time for a date with your husband/wife this week!

Kitchen Time!

2010-10-08T18:25:00.013-05:00

Welcome to our kitchen!

Here is the breakfast area:

I love my kitchen window!

The stove. I would love to have a gas one someday! I love my "S" over there in the corner--it was a gift from my best friend, Emily.

I sort of have a love/hate relationship with the fruit bowl that's painted as the backsplash. When we first looked at the house, I hated it. Then we bought it, moved in, and painted the walls in the kitchen--and it sort of seemed to go along with the color scheme! So the jury's still out on that one.

The next few pictures are of some of the art (or art-y things) in our kitchen. We are big believers in art and literature, and in being surrounded by them both!

These are Wolfe birds that I have perched on the windowsill--beautiful little pieces of art that are done by a local studio in my town. These were wedding gifts.

These are pictures from our honeymoon! I can't remember if I've ever talked about it on the blog before--we went to South Africa! Half the time we were in beachy Cape Town, and half the time we were on a safari in the African bush. It was amazing. I was pretty much singing "It's the ciiiircle of liiiiife!" from the Lion King in a replaying loop in my head the entire time as we rode around looking for animals. It's a whole 'nother world over there! From left to right: zebra, lions, giraffe, rhino.

Here is a sweet little piece of art that one of my very first patients made for me. She took a picture of some pansies, and then picked a few and dried them, overlaying them onto the photo. I wish I were creative like that! I told this lady that I was moving into a new house, and at her next appointment she brought this for me as a housewarming gift. So thoughtful!!

Really cool pic of a blues musician. We love the blues! Taylor is an excellent harmonica player, and we are both big fans of blues music.

This plate belonged to my grandmother, Mimi. I am so happy to have it in my kitchen as a reminder of her!

Taylor and his family bought this on a trip they took to Argentina. From what I understand, it is a photo of a really cool building in Buenos Aires.

I gave this to Taylor for his birthday a couple of years ago--a lady at a local farmer's market does paintings of pets and houses on reclaimed wood. It's kinda folksy, and I love it!

Thanks for stopping by!!

Finally Fall, Y'all!

2010-10-04T16:30:00.006-05:00

Yesterday was the most wonderful, pleasant, easy day I have had in a long time! Taylor and I went to church, then came home and just sat outside and enjoyed the beautiful weather. I studied for about five hours, which I will admit was not exactly what I would have chosen if I had my 'druthers, but if you have to study, my gosh I hope you get to do it outside in weather like this! We opened the french doors in our living room all the way and left them that way! Taylor put on some good music inside, and it floated out to the backyard at just the right volume. I sat at the outdoor table, and he said up his "deerstand" (aka the stepladder) in one corner of the yard and practiced shooting his bow:

The bow portion of hunting season officially started Friday, so as I joke to my friends, Taylor headed to the deer camp, and I will see him again next February. Ha! No--he is actually really great about always talking to me first before he decides to go up the camp--so I try to always be great about saying I am fine with it! When he goes for a few days in a row, he always comes in and sees me at lunchtime. He is such a wonderful husband, I figure I can let him get away with some extra man-nights at the deercamp this time of year!

I love getting this kind of picture from him when he is in a tree, usually with a caption like, "Wow, look at this amazing creature I found in the woods....":

Ha! I really do love that he is such an outdoorsman--I think being involved in hunting and fishing especially from a young age instills responsibility, and respect for God's creation--and for him, it is such a wonderful time for the men in his family to be together. I look forward to his taking our kids along with him one day!

Yesterday while we were outside, the dogs got scared of the "whoosing" noise that Taylor's arrows made as they shot across the yard. There are two things that scare Ruby to death--those arrows, and the vacuum cleaner. The way she runs from those things, you would think they were the devil himself! So funny. I didn't realized they weren't outside with us at first (because the doors were open.) When I realized they weren't around, I went inside to check it out, and this is what I found when I went to our bedroom:
Guess they found a safe spot!

And one last pic:

The beautiful Bougainvillea in our backyard--the one plant I haven't managed to kill! My thumb is not green. It's not even brown. It's black. Oh yes. I get it from my mother. If we look at plants, they die. Pretty much immediately. Sigh--oh well...I am working on it! At least I can keep people's teeth healthy, right? ;) They say life's a trade-off!

Hope you have a great Monday!

Dining Room, and a little bit o' Autumn

2010-10-03T13:37:00.007-05:00

I'm jumping in on the home tour again, albeit a couple of days behind, but here is a little glimpse into our dining room! We use it when we entertain larger groups--anything over four people, really. The table and chairs were handed down to us from Taylor's great aunt Eris, as were several other pieces we have in the house (you may remember, as I mentioned that last week). The table is the perfect size for us, and it has the option of expanding by adding anywhere from one to four leaves! We leave two of the leaves in all the time, which allows us to comfortably seat eight people. Perfect!

I love the backs of the chairs, with that little art deco kind of cut-out. The fabric on the seats is a little dated, and truthfully I have been meaning to recover those things for like two years now! I've just got to bite the bullet and do it. I know it's a pretty easy do-it-yourself project...school just keeps getting in the way!

Ok, so here was my project for the week...in my study break (ok, breaks :) yesterday, I finally put together the frames I bought several weeks back and the pictures I had developed and started a picture wall!! I have always been drawn to the ones I've seen in magazines--I think having a wall like this done in a classy way can really make a space feel more homey and more "you"! The pics here from left to right, starting with the top row: a cool pic of some purple garlic I took in France last May, a close-up "nose" pic of Ted, a cool symmetry kind of a picture, also from France; bottom row--Taylor and me on horseback in Montana at Big Sky Ranch, a part of our 1 year anniversary trip to Yellowstone; a pic of the Royal Sonesta Hotel sign in New Orleans at night; a pic of my dad's parents--Granny and PawPaw--who have both passed away. I miss them dearly! This picture is a perfect metaphor for their personalities! The picture in the very center you can't see very well here, but it's a pic of Taylor riding in a convertible in the Ole Miss homecoming parade. He was a Class Favorite at Ole Miss, which I think is a pretty big deal! I love the picture though because it is so quintessentially Taylor, and so quintessentially Ole Miss--he is riding along, having an awesome time, looking straight at the camera and laughing out loud, and he is wearing red and blue with a bow tie like he always wore in college. There is a homecoming maid sitting on the back of the convertible, and one of his best friends, Lofton, is driving the car. Makes me happy to look at it!

Welcome home! Now all we need is a big pot of chili or jambalaya and we'll be set!

And a little fall decor to kick off the season!

I am outside right now, enjoying this BEAUTIFUL day. I am about to hit the books, so I figured I might as well do it while enjoying the weather! Hope you find time today to step outside for a moment and enjoy God's beautiful creation!

Tour of Homes!

2010-09-25T12:26:00.016-05:00

Today I am linking up with Kelly for her Tour of Homes! For anyone reading who is not sure what that means, basically--Kelly, a girl from Arkansas I have never met but who is very popular among many women bloggers, has set up a blog link in which people can post pictures of different parts of their homes--so that we can all get ideas from each other, as well as get a little insight into what each blogger is about! I swear, the world is getting smaller, isn't it? So, with that said, here are some pics of our master bedroom!

Come on in!

Here's a general view. I eventually need to get some framed pictures hung up over the bed, since we don't have a headboard. I'm thinking I'm going to do three of four interesting pictures from some of our travels--I just haven't picked out exactly the right ones yet.

Taylor's side of the bed--and our furry children's beds! You would think that the little dog would sleep in the small bed, and the big dog in the big bed. But no. It's pretty funny to see Ruby, the border collie, snug as a bug in a rug in that little dog bed.

The seating area. One day I would love to have a neutral colored chaise lounge and chair, and a cool floor lamp. One day! Pretty much all our bedroom furniture are hand-me-downs from my parents and Taylor's great aunt. We are SO thankful for their generosity! Thanks Mom and Dad--I know you're reading this! :)
Interesting tidbit--the side table was an unused item that a family friend gave us--and as you may can tell if you look closely--it doubles as a dog crate!

My bedside table. I LOVE my lamp--I got it with credit left over from our wedding gifts. Score! Items on the table are a hodgepodge--a pic of Taylor and me one summer when we were dating, my Bible, my journals, several books, ranging from popular fiction like Same Kind of Different As Me to nonfiction like A Body of Work--a book about the history of gross anatomy and the people who make it possible for students like me to learn as much as we do about the human body, by giving theirs up after they are gone. Pretty interesting stuff.

Taylor's bedside table: our couples' Bible, LOTS of books--mostly new fiction and books like the Hunting Stories one there on the right, our iHome--gotta have music! Taylor is the DJ extraordinnaire of the household for sure.

This painting on the wall is one that Taylor's mom, Lisa, painted and gave to us the night we got engaged--isn't she talented?

Here is the actual picture of us, which was taken at Taylor's fraternity formal in New Orleans. We dressed up (obviously) in Old Southern style clothing...so fun!

This painting, over by my side of the bed, was a wedding gift from one of my best friends, Haley, and her family--painted by her Dad! He is a pretty amazing man--he's a devoted and intelligent physician, but his biggest hobby is painting! You may can see that at the very bottom of the gift, it spells out the word "Grace" in tiny letters.

One of my favorite parts about our room is that it has French doors leading out to the back patio.

Ted assuming his usual position. PS--the bench is also one of my favorite things in the room! We also got it with leftover bridal credit. Score again! Our bedding, another favorite, was a very gracious gift from Taylor's parents. The silk panels I got at Tuesday Morning--they were really inexpensive, and I love them!!

Thanks for stopping by!

Vocal

2010-09-21T19:29:00.003-05:00

So I've been pretty vocal this week. In several different ways. I guess it's been the theme of the week, you could say. I will keep this section of the post short, because I don't want to complain or be negative (there's enough of that in the world, right?), but I agree with my friend Sarah Denley that a certain degree of transparency is necessary on a blog if you want it to have any value.

The last week or so has been very hard, school-wise. I've had to deal with a couple of difficult situations regarding faculty members and the dental school in general. But I have been really proud of myself for sticking to my guns and for standing up for myself and for students at the school in general, and for speaking up even when it's easier to stay quiet. There are several faculty members at the dental school whose "mama didn't raise them right" as we like to say here in the south, and sometimes they enjoy making life miserable for the students. I have to make it a constant prayer that I will look at each encounter with faculty members (and others) at school as an opportunity for God's grace in my life, and not as a burden or something to be afraid of.

Ok, done! :)

On to other, more trivial news: all of my favorite shows start back this week! I have to say, last year I got wayyy too addicted to wayyy too many shows. Usually I have only one or two that I love to watch, but last year that turned into four or five! This is NOT going to work with boards coming up in November! But--that's why someone invented Tivo, right? My favorite shows, in no particular order: Biggest Loser, Glee, Brothers and Sisters, and Desperate Housewives. Also......Secret Life of the American Teenager. I know, I know, go ahead and make fun of me. Taylor does. I just can't help it--it's so addictive! I guess the whole Tivo thing really has contributed to the problem though in a way....I am (contrary to how it sounds) not that much of a TV person, but with Tivo you can watch anytime! My routine now is to record the shows I like and instead of watching a lot of TV on weeknights, watch them early on Saturday mornings while I am cleaning the house or folding laundry and Hibernating Bear (his morningtime name) is still sleeping. I love to get up early on Saturdays and get stuff done around the house, and he loves to sleep in, gloriously late. So it actually works really well! As long as I don't pull out the (very loud) vacuum cleaner. I've never discussed it with him, but that may actually be grounds for divorce.

Hope you are having a great week! I'm off to study!

PS: Good, healthy dinner tonight: I took every leftover veggie I had in the fridge, chopped them up and roasted them! I ended up with a huge plateful--it was so filling, and I felt so good about eating such a healthy dinner!
And a new snack recipe, fyi: Kale Chips! Chop up a bunch of kale, toss with olive oil and salt, and roast in the oven at 400 degrees for 5-10 minutes. Yum! Really good and good for you!

Early Christmas

2010-09-19T19:54:00.013-05:00

Well, it was another successful weekend in the Grove! Though the game might not have been so successful. But we won't discuss such things. What really matters is that we show up and have a great time, right?? Because it was a morning game this time (11:30) we got to the Grove around 9 am. I decided to go with the flow of things and focus on breakfast-y foods this game. I made some yummy cheese grits, using the recipe straight off the Quaker 5-minute Grits box, with a few additions....such as almost DOUBLE the cheese! I mean, I believe that if you're gonna eat cheese grits, there should be no doubt about the strength of their cheesiness! They turned out great, minus the fact that by the time we got back from the game, they were a cheese brick! Note to self: next time bring a chafing dish and some sterno.

My next dish was a Paula Deen. Nuff said, right? At several wedding receptions in Memphis in recent months, I've had this INCREDIBLE, make you slap yo mama Brown Sugar Bacon. When I found out this weekend's game was in the am, I thought about that bacon and what a great Grove food it would make! So I googled it, and of course it was a Paula Deen recipe. Shoulda known. It's really simple though. You mix 1 tbs of dijon mustard with 1/2 cup brown sugar in a ziplock bag, and then put in 1/4 lb of bacon, tossing to coat. (Of course, you can multiply this depending on how much bacon you want to make). Then bake in the oven at 400 degrees for 20 minutes, and voila! In the oven I used this weekend (at our dear friends' Angela and Davidson Forester's house in Oxford--they were so kind to open their doors to us for the second time this season!) the 20 minutes didn't quite do it, so I turned the oven on broil for about an additional five minutes, and that got them to just the right level of crispiness. Of course, I guess I'm leaving out the part about when I forgot that I had it on broil, and smoke poured out of the oven, and I set off the smoke alarm, waking up the hibernating bear (aka my husband) upstairs, not to mention half the neighborhood. Oopsies.

Speaking of, I will foray into a little anecdote: growing up, we lived right down the road from some good family friends. The mom of the family (a close friend of my mom's) attempted several times to bake bread, or something like that, and seriously, 4 or 5 times, the fire truck would show up, sirens and all. It got to be that every time we heard a fire truck from our house, somebody would yell, "Dea Dea's baking again!" With the track I'm on, that's probably going to be me. Sigh.

Today was our first bonus choir rehearsal for Carols by Candlelight, my church's Christmas program. (Yep, we've already started singing Christmas music--in fact, we started at the end of July!! Which is fine by me-I usually start listening to it in early October! My friends always make fun of me, so this provides the perfect outlet to listen and sing it freely sans ridicule--ha!). In the hustle and bustle of leaving for church this morning, I totally forgot about the lunch and extra rehearsal after the service today, and so when we got there I realized that I would need to get my sister, Angie, or my mom to give me a ride home. When we sat down to rehearse, Mom leaned over and said, "Hey, I will need to get Angie or you to give me a ride home because I don't have my car." I explained to her my situation, and so we figured we could both just ride with Angie. When Angie sat down a couple of minutes later, she leaned over to us and said, "Hey, will one of y'all take me home after rehearsal, because I don't have my car." Haha! We were cracking up when we realized what had happened. Thankfully, our sweet family friends Allyn and S.T. Ray live right around the corner from where we needed to go, so all five of us piled into Allyn's small SUV (with Angie's on the Ray's grandson's booster seat!) for a ride home. Pretty comical.

I am SO excited about our Christmas program this year--if you live in the Jackson area and have never attended Carols and you're interested in coming--please let me know!! You do have to have a ticket, but they are free. They only require them to ensure that everyone who comes has a seat, and for fire code purposes. Although, there usually do end up being people who have to stand! About 50,000 people attend every year over the course of the four performances. I'm not sure of the exact dates this year--it's a Saturday and Sunday in mid-December though. I'll check on that and let y'all know. It's a great Christmastime tradition to start if you've never been!

I will leave you with a few pics from last weekend's adventure--the Ole Miss vs. Tulane game in New Orleans. It was like a giant college reunion on the streets of New Orleans...so fun!

The Sledges and the Finchers after lunch at the Bourbon House:

Clay and Christina. They are getting married in March, and we are so excited for them!

Yuuuuuummmm. Better even than I remembered it.

Me and one of my BFF's from college, Audrey:

I love this guy!

Hope you are having a great Sunday night and maybe even watching the "Manning Bowl"! I am blogging and watching the game simultaneously...but about to replace both with studying! Gotta come back to real life at some point, I guess. Hope you have a great week!

Grovin' It

2010-09-11T11:00:00.001-05:00

Last weekend was the season opener for the Ole Miss Rebels in Oxford, and I've gotta tell ya...there's nothing like the Grove! This year, Taylor and I have officially become adults. In Mississippi, this means that you start paying for and bringing all the food for your own tent. Ha! Both my parents and Taylors' parents, since they did not go to Ole Miss, with the exception of my mom, had a tent while we were in college, but after our graduation and Taylor's brother's graduation, they disbanded their tents. I guess, since they didn't graduate from Ole Miss, we won't hold it against them. ;)
(Also, I mean nothing against Mississippi College or Mississippi State by my enthusiasm for the Grove and Ole Miss football. My brother and his wife graduated from MC (go Choctaws!) and I have plenty of dear friends who are bulldogs.)

Here's a Grove-worthy pic of Taylor, me, Travis and Caroline:

A framer for sure!

And here's one of Whitney, one of my dearest friends since, well, birth. She was fielding calls all day because SHE GOT ENGAGED THE NIGHT BEFORE!!! We are SO excited for Whitney and Graves and for what the Lord has in store for them.

And just for fun....here's a pic of my "fur baby", as I affectionately call him:

Love that little guy. We were so excited to see him and Ruby when we got home!

All of this football and groving makes my heart happy...but I must say that the biggest downside of it is that it adds to our out of town time. I feel like we are hardly ever home on the weekends this time of year! I sing in the choir at our church, and we love love love our Sunday School class, so I hate to miss it. If any of you are reading, we haven't fallen off the face of the earth! In actuality, we've only missed one Sunday so far due to football. I guess we've just been out of town a lot. Although, they do say it's like a religion in the South...maybe this is why! :)

Hope you (and your team!) are doing well! Go Rebels...beat Tulane!

Finishing Up DC

2010-09-10T11:00:00.000-05:00

On Tuesday of the trip, Taylor and I headed out to the Holocaust Museum after his morning meetings. If you have never been , try to make it a point to visit this museum. It is a hard thing to see, but, I believe, a necessary one if you have the means. The museum does an amazing job of chronicling Hiter’s rise to power, and essentially answering perhaps the biggest question that is begged of the events of and those leading up to the Holocaust: “HOW could this have happened?!” Next we walked over to the National Museum of American History, where we saw the actual Star Spangled Banner, the one that inspired the penning of our national anthem. It was tattered and torn from the battle, but beautiful still.

On Wednesday we spent the ENTIRE morning at the Newseum, and I still could have stayed longer. Highlights included the 9/11 exhibit, the Katrina exhibit, the Spy exhibit (all about the FBI, J Edgar Hoover, and how they solve cases such as that of the Mississippi Burning, the Unibomber, and the DC Sniper), and most of all, the Pulitzer Prize winning photos from the last 50 years. Then on to the National Archives where we viewed the original Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights. It blows my mind that we still have these original documents, and in such good condition. Then we jetted over to the National Museum of Natrual History, the Lincoln Memorial, and the Vietnam War Memorial. Whew! It was a loooong day, but SO worth it! Here are a few final pics. If anyone is still reading, I know you are probably tired of all the details, but I just want to chronicle all this so I can look back on it one day and remember the trip!

The Washington Monument, taken from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial:

Taylor and me on the roof of the Newseum, with Pennsylvania Avenue in the background. They call it "America's Main Street":

Thought this was a really cool pic. Thinking about including it in a wall of framed photos that I'm planning for my dining room. Thoughts or opinions, anyone? Maybe I like it too much. Be honest! This was taken at the WW II memorial, and that's the Lincoln Memorial in the background:

At the WWII memorial:

Julia Child's kitchen!!!:

Taylor's name has been temporarily changed to "Goofy", for reasons depicted here:

He said the walrus made him feel small.

I love my funny honey! :) Anyway--this post won't go up until Friday if I can figure out how to do a timed post...but as of right now, I am watching the Saints/Vikings game....so WHO DAT!! Tomorrow we are headed to the Big Easy for the Ole Miss vs. Tulane game this weekend. Can't wait to eat some beignets and feel the beat of the city! Hope your weekend is a great one!