Two Months In Review.

It's hard to believe its been 2 months since our last post. That's pretty sad. We've had so much going on over the past two months that I don't even know where to begin! I'll give you some highlights.

The highlights of February:

• We celebrated two years of marriage on February 13th! We've been extremely blessed to use my parents' timeshare for the past 3 years to celebrate our wedding and anniversaries. Two years ago we celebrated on our honeymoon in Spain, last year we went to Orlando for our first anniversary, and this year we had the amazing opportunity to spend some time in Gatlinburg, TN. We spontaneously decided to go skiing during our time in Gatlinburg--something that I've never done and Brian has only done a handful of times. I can say that was probably one of the top five most fun experiences I've ever shared with my husband. Brian was a natural from the beginning (I think it's because of all the skateboarding he used to do!) and it took me pretty much all day to get the hang of it! It was fun to see my skills progress throughout the day--I started on the bunny slope and finally mastered the green slope after 8 hours of skiing :) We had a great time celebrating our two years of marriage and we look forward to many more.

When we first got to the ski area! Excited!

After a long day of skiing! We were exhausted and cold!

A new ornament to add to our collection.

• We met with our IMB coordinator twice in the month of February and learned some more details about the process of finally getting overseas. We will be attending an "expo" during the Spring of 2013 where we will learn about different positions that we can apply for throughout the world, more specifically in Europe. It is hard to tell right now exactly when we will be leaving, but we know that it should be anywhere between June of 2013 to May of 2014. A lot of that will just depend on how quickly Brian can finish his classes! We are super excited though and are working to prepare now for the huge transition. 

The morning after the best snow of the season.
Brian getting Clifford ready for work :)

    

The highlights of March:
March was such a fantastic month for several reasons.

• My friend, Anna, and I ran our first 5K after training for about 5 months! We ran the entire thing without stopping and we had a great time. 

Anna and I after the Anthem 5K!

• Two of our friends from USF, Austin and Briana, visited with us during their Spring Break. They stayed with us for 5 days and we had such a great time with them! It was so nice to have a break from my routine schedule and just have an opportunity to hang out with some amazing friends. We cooked dinner together every night (well...I cooked, they watched), they went with me to my SWI class, and they even met me at work one day so that we could have a picnic lunch during my break. It was so much fun! After their time here, I rode back down to FL with them...which leads me to my next highlight....

Walking with Austin and Briana around campus
on one of the first days of Spring!

• I got to go home in March! I had an awesome few days with my family, spent some time in Tampa with friends, and got to attend the wedding of Ryan and Amy Warters. After 8 months, I was really needing some good FL time. And I even got to go to the beach to help combat my new-found KY paleness! It was glorious. I was sad that Brian couldn't come with me, but I appreciated his sacrifice in letting me have a few days there. 

Hanging with my dad and brother at the beach.

Walking around USF to check out the changes since we've moved!

And that brings us to April:

• April is always an eventful month for us because both of our birthdays are in April! We celebrated Brian's 25th this past Monday night with Cajun jambalaya (Brian's request), NY style cheesecake and fellowship with our great friends, Ethan and Anna. My birthday is this coming Tuesday--the big 2-1! I'm not sure what Brian has planned for that yet, if anything! Either way, I'm anticipating that it will be a good day :)

• Easter is fast approaching and we are being continually reminded of the reason for this season: the saving work of Christ on the cross and His glorious resurrection. Tomorrow night we have the opportunity to celebrate His atoning death at Sojourn's Good Friday service. Here, we will reflect upon our sin and the blood that was shed on the cross some 2,000 years ago in order to make us right with God. What an ultimate sacrifice that was, once and for all. Then, Sunday we will join together yet again to celebrate the fact that the story of salvation does not end with the cross, but with an empty tomb. An empty tomb that signifies the power of God over death and the life that is found through the blood of Christ. Get excited!!

That's it for now. Thanks for following! We'll try to do a better job of keeping you informed!!

-AM