Fall

Fall is my absolute favorite season . . . and it's finally on its way. The high in Charlotte is down to the 80's (which, for me and my freakish coldness means it's almost sweater weather), the breeze is blowing, and a large pot of soup and homemade bread is on the menu for next week.

This fall also marks my "retirement" from the professional world. At the end of September I'll be leaving the job I've been at for the past year and I'll get to be a full time homemaker! I'm so so so very excited. It was a difficult decision to make, I really enjoy being an accountant (really, I do!), our savings account has really liked me having a job, and I have had a job since I was in 10th grade (with maybe a 3 month break in there during my Sr. year of high school). It's going to be a huge change for me! But Greg and I are full of faith that this is the way that God is leading us and I'm so excited for all of the 'pros' of this change! I'll get to finish up projects around the house, develop my hobbies, spend more time studying the Bible and growing in my relationship with the Lord, build relationships with many of the wonderful ladies that God's put in my path, and so much more (that list isn't necessarily in order of importance).

The next question that most people have been asking as soon as I tell them that I'm "retiring" is "Are you pregnant." No, I'm not. Just thought I'd clear that up before I got even more questions =)

I'm super excited for Sept. 28 to come along and so thankful for the time that I'll have not working before we have children. I know that's not the case for many women, so I definitely see this as a tremendous blessing, not a right to which I am entitled. So, if you think about it, pray for me as head into this new season that the Lord would use this time to prepare me for what's to come and that one day as I look back I would see that much fruit was born - and that I wouldn't waste any of my new found "free-time".

So here's to fall! Warm soup, fresh bread, cozy sweaters, "retirement" . . . here I come!

Survivor: Jones Gap

We are alive. My back might argue with that statement, but regardless of how it feels right now . . . it is alive, too.

Greg and I had a fantastic time backpacking and camping through Jones Gap State Park in South Carolina, for our Labor Day weekend. We hiked through that park in 2005 (a few months before we were engaged) and noticed designated camping spots along the trail. We thought it would be fun to go back and camp there one day . . . so we did! Greg went backpacking with a few guys in the spring and really enjoyed it, so he started planning this trip for us soon after. This was my first time backpacking (though I've been camping - what Greg calls "car camping" - many times before and really enjoyed it) and I really didn't know what to expect. I had to deal with some fears before we left, but God was very kind to not have me walk through any of them in real life.

We started out Saturday morning and hiked about 5.5 miles that day. Jones Gap is a gorgeous park with rivers and streams running through it and several waterfalls. (It's a great place to day hike!!) Besides the 25-30 lbs. we were carrying on our backs, it was a fun hike. That evening we set up camp and cooked our freeze dried lasagna and had fun playing cards until dusk. I wasn't prepared for owls making more noises than the generic "Who-who" and it took me about 3 hours to fall asleep as I tried to figure out what was going on outside of the tent. I must have woken Greg up a dozen times to ask him if we were safe. I finally fell asleep as I quoted 2 Tim 1:7 (God has not given me a spirit of fear, but a spirit of power, love and self control). That was a verse Mom would have me quote often when I was little and afraid of, well, everything.

The next morning Greg gave me the option of going home early because of the night before, he didn't want to put me in a situation that I wouldn't be comfortable or feel safe. We decided to finish out the trip as planned and for me to bring my iPod next time to drown out the noises =) It was great to have an opportunity to really have to trust Greg (and the Lord) that we were safe . . . I'm not stretched in that very often in suburban America.

Our campsite was in a perfect location in a grove of trees for shade and near a stream for water. One afternoon Greg went hunting for crawfish and caught 4 of them which he actually cooked up for part of his dinner!

We had a wonderful rest of the hike and saw many beautiful things. After the high temps we've had in Charlotte, seeing GREEN everywhere was such welcome change! And it was amazing to think of all the "necessities" that we did without all weekend. I'm looking forward to our next backpacking trip together that we're planning for the spring!

Montreat Visit #1

Last Friday Mom and I took a quick road trip up to Montreat to see Allie play in her first college volleyball game! It was so fun to see the game (they played beautifully, if that can be said about a sport) and even more fun to see Allie. We got to see her dorm room all set up and decorated and meet some of the girls she plays with and her roommate. She has some excellent friends already. I can't wait until Montreat visit #2!

Another Year Older

Because my birthday is at the end of August, it usually signaled starting back to school and Greg leaving for PA . . . but not this year! (not last year either, but it's still a new feeling concept to me) This year instead of helping Greg pack up his car, he took me to see a Knight's baseball game, made angel food cake and HOMEMADE whipped cream and invited our family over for dessert. I'm continually amazed at how much this man loves me and all the things he does to make me feel special.

We had so much fun with the family and I was reminded of how blessed I am to have all of them in my life. We sat around for a couple hours laughing, telling stories and catching up with each other. (Chelle and Nathan really stole the show with their customer service stories . . . those 2 are the best story tellers)





























What Greg is thinking: "Another purse?? Where is she going to put it?"









My favorite humorous birthday card . . .
"I hope you have the best day of your life until tomorrow. I wrote this with my left hand so it would be special."

Real Smile

One of the many things that Greg inherited from his dad is his inability to have a real smile on command. He couldn't have Steve's curly hair though, just the cheesy camera smile . . . BUT our friend Liz captured a real smile the other day! I'm pretty excited, because my husband's wonderfully handsome smile is one of my favorite things about him =)






P.S. Greg wanted me to note that his fake smiles are better than his dad's . . .

Our Fisher-dog

We got to take Spartacus with us this last time that we went fishing and he did very well. He actually ventured into the water and seemed to enjoy it. His splashing could have something to do with the fact that we only caught one fish (I caught a 10 in small mouth bass), but Greg says it's more likely that since we were fishing on a stocked stream that wasn't stocked recently that there just weren't any big fish left.

In addition to catching "the only fish in the river", I also caught a Spartacus . . . at one point I laid my pole down to switch lures and Sparty got a little too close and then bolted, which set the hook. He didn't flinch at all while Greg cut the hook and pulled it through. I have a feeling this is only a mild beginning to the Ross Family Adventures . . . =)

What we've been up to . . .

Keeping up a blog when you don't have the internet at home is apparently a little trickier than I thought . . . but usually because I forget to bring in my pictures . . .

In the last month since I posted we've been pretty busy. I had my wisdom teeth taken out (I'll post pictures of that later, they are hysterical), Greg played in what seemed like 1,000 softball games (really only 2-3 a week), celebrated Michelle's 21st birthday, I went to a couple showers for my friend Sarah, we both went to Sarah and Mike's wedding, we went fishing up at South Mountain, we finished the bookshelves, we've gone to several summer cookouts, re-caulked both bathrooms, and had people over at least 1 night a week. It's been a busy month, but so much fun!

It looks like life will be "slowing down" a bit now that the school year is starting back up. Becoming more routine is probably a better way to put it. We'll still be super busy, but most weeks will look the same, so planning will be a little bit easier. Or so it would seem . . .

We took Chelle out to a Mexican restaurant with a group of about 10 girls for her birthday








































At Sarah's shower they had a game to design a wedding dress . . . Leah was my vote












Sarah and Mike had their reception at a family friends house (more like an estate) a little north of us, it was a gorgeous reception











And we got to sit with our besties













Greg says I was out of it when he was driving me home from having my wisdom teeth extracted . . . and by the looks of this picture I would agree











This a couple days after . . . the swelling was up for about 2 weeks . . . it was hott =)