What I'll Miss Most About the Olympics

I'll admit, when the Olympics are on, I'm glued to the tv every chance I can get. I've always loved athletics, sports, and competition and feel I live vicariously through the awesome Olympic athletes. Here's a short list of what I'll miss most now that the Olympics are done:

*The Olympic theme music-there's just something about it!
*The adrenaline rush as Michael Phelps plows down his lane to be the first to touch the wall.
*Watching the awesome power of mens indoor volleyball.
*Gymnastics...Shawn or Nastia? Nastia or Shawn??
*Today Show interviews with the athletes.
*The Birds Nest.
*Not having a valid excuse to put off house cleaning anymore...!

Way to go USA! Go World!

Back to School

Justin started his EMBA program on Monday. He is on the black and gold campus Monday-Friday this week for what they call "residency week." He is absolutely loving it so far! I got up early Monday morning to see him off at 5:30 and take his "1st day of school picture." Here he is dressed in suit and tie as he was instructed.

Please pray for us as we both endure this time commitment together!

Family Time

The past couple of weeks have been full of family time. Deedra had time with her family, unexpectedly, as her aunt passed away. She spent time at the visitation visiting with many family she hadn't seen in quite some time. Her aunt, age 57, left behind a husband and daughter who just finished college last year.

We also spent time with Justin's brother Nate and his family. They made the trip to visit and see our new acreage. We had a great time with them playing ball, relaxing in the beautiful weather and just being together. In addition, Deedra's sister and her family came for a day during their visit as the two families had connected at our wedding. Below are a few favorite pics from that visit.

A few days later, Justin's parents made the trip and spent a few days. We took a day off of work and traveled to an Amish community nearby, enjoyed eating out, and watching the Olympics together. Great family time that we so enjoyed at summer's end. Justin and nephew, Cody.
The kiddos: a mix of both families.

Been farmin' long, Brady?

Dad Nate pitching to daughter, Meeghen.

Sister-in-law Cori Ann and her son Cody.

The boys hanging out around the campfire.

The kiddos eating flavored ice. D and J with the kiddos.

Getting Settled

We've gotten lots of questions as to how our new home is coming along and if we are "getting settled." I think the key word there is "getting!" Each weekend brings us closer to "being done" and feeling like this is more our home. This weekend, projects included finishing painting the guest bedroom, downstairs bathroom and porch ceiling. We also continue to figure out what to hang on walls, what goes in this closet, etc. Saturday night we enjoyed the firepit my Dad made for us, for the first time. Here's a few pics of rooms and our progress. Downstairs bathroom. This was formerly plaid wallpaper on the bottom and lady bug wallpaper on the top.
Kitchen. Repainted a "fine wine" accent wall and "creamy oat" on the surrounding walls. Formerly terracotta.
Three season porch. We painted the ceiling blue, modeled after the many homes we saw in Savannah with blue porch ceilings. We were told it was to keep out the evil spirits. We just think it looks cool and reminds us of our trip down south!
Justin working on installation of curtain tie back hooks in the guest room.
A sunset from our backyard this evening. Many people have told us we have tall corn. So, farm kids we are, we took some photos by the corn in our backyard tonight!