digital ball 2008

It was such a fun weekend. Friday night a few girls from our church hung out for a good ole' fashion sleep-over, we did a clothing exchange, lots of yummy treats, movie and stayed up talking until 3am. I haven't seen that hour in quite some time! But we had a blast!

Saturday night Daniel's work hosted their 2nd annual "Digital Ball". It was so fun to get dressed up, mingle, be entertained, learn about Daniel's work more and show my support. Daniel works for a NPO (non-profit organ.) that essentially does IT consulting, programing and support for other NPO (i.e. Habitat for Humanity, Crisis Assistant Ministries, Discovery Place, Arts and Science Council, etc.) It is quite a rewarding job for us to be a part of in this community. So, this Digital Ball was an opportunity for other corportate companies to give funds and large donations to the NPO that Daniel works for. It was quite an impressive evening all around. I am so proud of Daniel and all the hard work that he puts into organizations that are making a difference. It is such a change from the "corporate America" job that he had previous to taking this job last August. It was also fun to get dressed up together. Since we didn't know each other in highschool or college we joked around that this was our prom that we never had together (hence some of the posed pics).

we just had to get the prom pose in...PROM 08! (When I went to get my hair done they asked me if I was going to Prom?! I told the lady, thanks for the compliment but I am 30 yrs old...way pass prom days!)



it was getting late

so tired after a long weekend of FUN

pictures from the lake

Thursday night, on a whim, we took the boat out with Daniel's parents around the lake that they live near. It was the first time since last summer that we have been on the boat...it was a beautiful, calm evening.

daniel and his parents


the beautiful sunset that we saw.

stick figures

Let me first preface this blog post by apologizing if my ramblings below offend anyone! I just got back from a week-long errand running day. I'm trying to save gas so instead of just running out whenever I get the urge to see a store, etc I "saved" my errands for my day off and strategically plan my course to save money...my husband should be proud.

My point. Have you ever noticed those stick figure family stickers that people are putting on the back of their family vehicles? They are staggered stick figures starting with the dad and then the figures outline each member of the family all the way down to the family pets. Sometimes the figures show what each person's hobby is with a baseball or pom-poms, etc. Maybe its just a Charlotte thing but I promise every single van and SUV in Charlotte seem to have these littered on their back window. And I am upset!

Today I was more upset then normal I was waiting at a red light and the Honda in front of me had these fugures...but there was more too it...I leaned further to read under each family stick person was the person's name!! I couldn't believe it! Could parents just be any more NOT-SAFE? I'm all for cuteness and don't really mind the stick figures when they are on notecards or return address labels, etc. I just feel like this stands out to pedophiles or child abductors anywhere around the city and says, "hey follow us to our house...know where we live, how many children we have, what their hobbies are and what you can call them to get their attention!!" Seriously...have we lost our minds? Maybe I am over-reacting and being a tad dramatic about it but maybe not. I know being a teacher and being involved with children daily I tend to come home and start ranting conversations with "if I was a parent..." but then I always realize that in the end I'm not and don't know everything (or anything) about it. I'm just asking for us to be safe and a bit more protective with what we are announcing on the back of our car for hundreds of people to read everyday.

Finally...

I just got word that I am eligible to walk at Liberty's commencment ceremony! I wasn't at all expecting to walk since I won't be done with my final 3 elective classes until July 14th. A friend of mine, who also has 3 more classes this summer to complete, told me that she recieved permission. So on a whim I requested to walk too and got my confirmation email this afternoon. I'm elated!! My next challenge is getting a hotel room....yikes!

Summer Work

I just got back from a meeting and it looks like I have landed a job for the summer! It is at ImaginOn, which is the Children's Theatre/Library here in Charlotte. (Click on the name for the link.) ImaginOn hosts a ton of children's camps of all kind throughout summer. I'll be one of many teachers for the preschool aged camps. The camps are one week camps (so each week will be a different group of kiddies) and the children will rotate between Music, Drama and Art all related to the theme for that week. I wouldn't consider myself highly creative so I am excited to be stretched in this area of education. Thanks Jenny!!

I'll also be finishing my long marathon of education myself, a.k.a. my college career this summer. I have 3 more classes left and am awaiting permission to take these classes at the local community college. I have picked: Intro to Sociology, EDU-Children, Family and the Community and EDU-Health and Nutrition. Should be a fun summer!

Next up on the to-do list--a teaching job for the fall!!

Spring Break 08

It's great being 30 and still enjoying Spring Break! Daniel and I just got back this afternoon from our week of vacationing around Florida. It was so relaxing, sunny and hot! Here are a couple of pics from our week.

First stop--Jacksonville. I was able to show Daniel my old stomping grounds. For some that don't know I lived in JAX for 2.5 years before moving to Charlotte. One of my favorite things about living in JAX is how I only lived 10 min. from the beach. Daniel and I drove straight there and met up with my friends Danae and Carl and their kids. We then were able to meet up with the Abel's, Baughman's and Bunso's for dinner that night.


Second stop--Hudson. We drove across the state to Daniel's grandparents house in Hudson on the Gulf Coast. We stayed there for 3 nights and had a great time hanging out with Grandma and Grandpa McCollum. Grandpa was sick a few weeks ago in the hospital so we were able to see him recovered and help Grandma out around the house. Daniel and I spent the days at the beach and also visited a Manatee Rehibilitation Center, which was pretty cool.

Daniel and Jamie enjoying a gulf sunset!


A manatee coming up to say "hi"-I'd never seen a manatee in person, they are huge animals!

two more manatees.

There were a ton of animals at this center mostly endangered but I loved the flamingos, they are such beautiful animals!


Grandpa and Grandma McCollum...they have been married for 58 years! We have 57 to catch up!

Third stop--Orlando. Wednesday we headed towards Orlando for a few days alone but first stopped to see my grandparents on the way. It was great to see my Grandma and Grandaddy and to catch up on life with them. After our visit we set off to our hotel near Disney. We didn't go to any Disney parks but instead went to Sea World's newest waterpark, Aquatica. We had so much fun...I really wanted to bring the camera but I was afraid it was going to get wet or stolen while we were riding the waves and slides. I'm not much for crowded vacation spots but the waterpark so so fun! Check it out if you are going to make plans for Orlando! Though we didn't go to Disney we did do dinner at Downtown Disney and went for a movie too!

Grandaddy, Jamie and Grandma. My grandparents have also been married 58 years--we didn't realize until this trip that both sets of our grandparents have been married the same amount of time.

The last night we were walking around Downtown Disney and we looked up and in their was a plane "writing" in the sky. It says "U + God = :)" Pretty cool message.

Another message in the sky!

Our last night out on vaca! It was a relaxing week!

a birthday party sushi style

Last night several of us celebrated our dear friend, Ryan's birthday! We had dinner at Charlotte's infamous Nikko's Sushi Bar. YUM! We love sushi around here and Nikko has some of the best. Daniel and I keep sushi to a once-a-month-minimum but would eat it every week if we could. Sushi eating is always better with friends anyway.

Ryan and Daniel

Ryan and Ashley, some of our dear friends!!

Boy's side - Yeah, some how it ended up a boy's side and a girl's side...it was actually fun.

Girl's side.

Kayla with her and Jon's sushi!!

Kendra and Jamie (whats up with my arm in the way?)

Kayla and Jamie (I lived with Kayla and her husband, Jonathan for 6 months before I moved back to VA. They are very dear friends of Daniel and I. For sure you will be hearing more about them in the years to come as we are praying about a year together in a far-away distant land. Please pray this for us that God's timing and blessing would be on our vision. I will write more in the months to come.)

Scott doesn't care for sushi so he ordered terriyaki chicken, but was a little disappointed with the size of it when it come out. I think he headed to Chick-Fil-A soon after. Poor Scott!