A look back on two years

By: Ryan





This past Tuesday, while being historic for other reasons, was also our two year anniversary. It's pretty incredible to look back, especially on the past year. Exactly one year ago, Shelsy and I were visiting Florida for our first anniversary and trying to make a decision about whether we wanted to move or not.

It's pretty crazy how much can change in a year. Not only did we decide to move, but we're having a baby! On top of that, I'm still unemployed. But God continues to take care of us in fairly miraculous ways, providing everything we need and then some.

If someone had told us when we first got married that in two years we'd be living in Florida, having a baby, and be unemployed for nearly a year, I would never have believed them. But here we are and we couldn't be happier. It's a major testament to God's incredible plan and the blessings He pours out when we follow that plan.

And who knows where we'll be two years from now! A lot can change in a short period of time, and we're very excited to see what His plan will bring next. :-)

.

Birthday at the Magic Kingdom

By: Ryan



This past Friday was my birthday and in case you haven't heard, Disney is running a promotion where anyone can get free admission to one theme park on their birthday. So, being that we only live half an hour away, what better way to spend a birthday? :-)

When we got to the park to pick up our tickets, the guy at the ticket window said, "You have a popular birthday. This is the most birthday people we've had yet." And he was right. As we explored the park, I saw dozens of other people sporting the Happy Birthday button.

We went to Magic Kingdom, because there are quite a few rides there that Shelsy can still go on, being pregnant and all. :-) The weather was perfect all day and we had a great time.








Shelsy even got to try on one of the super huge hats for sale in the Pirates gift shop:

We had a super fun day and even stayed for the fireworks. After the park closed, we decided to head over to Downtown Disney and see if it was still open. Heh. Not only was it open, it was quite crowded. We got something to eat, explored around a little, and then headed home.

Definitely a quality birthday, I have to say. If any of you feel like celebrating your birthday with a free trip to Disney World, you're always welcome to stay with us. :-)

.

Home For the Holidays

By: Shelsy

Well, it's been a busy few weeks. We got back from Thanksgiving in PA and then it seemed like we turned right around again and headed back! This time we spent a day with the Josephs and celebrated Sam's birthday and exchanged our Christmas gifts. Then we headed up to visit my parents for the rest of the week. We had a really nice time. We got to see a lot of family, a few friends, and just relax and enjoy the holiday.

We did a lot of things differently from our "normal traditions," like having a big Christmas dinner at mom and dad's house. And Mindy and Von hosted a brunch at their house the following Saturday which was really fun (and yummy!). I don't really know what else to say except that we had a great time, ate way too much, got a lot of awesome and really useful stuff--including some adorable stuff for the baby!!

And it's only going to be a few more weeks until I'm headed back up again for my baby shower. I'm glad that the 19 hour drive hasn't been too much of a problem for me--I've been making that trip a lot!

We didn't end up really taking any pictures over Christmas, but here are a few video clips of me with Carter, who was pretty much the center of attention the whole time anyway, this being his first Christmas and all. :-)

UPDATE: Video below updated to HD. If you already watched it, be sure to check it out again in high quality.

.