What an Ever-Changing Life we Live...

Well needless to point out it's been over a month since I've been 'able' to post. I'm emphasizing the ABLE part because truly it has been weeks since I've been able to fulfill my world-wide-web fix! Shortest recap I can give of the last month - - - -

My Uncle went to Heaven and I was privileged enough to get to spend his last days at his bedside. What an example he has been to me and my siblings. When you're dying do you think you'll care about the possessions you had during your life? Or are the relationships with the people you love what you'll cherish? I definitely had things thrown into perspective for me.

The day before my Uncle passed away I got a phone call asking to except a new job position at a Dermatology office in Tallahassee. So, clearly that meant my days at Red Lobster were OVER! Yay! :)

It only took two days of me making the long commute from Madison to Tallahassee before Todd and I signed a lease at an apartment complex in Tallahassee. My commute went from 120 miles a day to .30 of a mile a day. Yeah, my drive to work is literally a minute. Take a left out of neighborhood and there you are!! We are settling in and seeing's how we signed a 10 month lease this is going to be the longest place Todd and I have stayed thus far. Trying to get everything organized and set up just how I like is taking longer than I thought. Promise as soon as I get everything done I'll take pictures! In the meanwhile this one will have to do. It's the outside of our building!

As if moving in to our own place wasn't exciting enough, last Wednesday in the midst of stumbling over boxes, purging our unnecessary 't-shirts', and making our apartment the homiest it could, be we received our FINAL draft of our house plans. This means the process is about to begin.... and hopefully come 10 months we'll be moving for our 4th and last time!

This past weekend Todd and I celebrated our 1 year anniversary! Can't believe how fast the time has gone. But it has truly been such an extraordinary ride and we both are anxious to see what the next year will have in store for us. If it's anything like the past year I'm sure there are some BIG things in store for our second year of marriage. We went to dinner at The Capital Grill in Jacksonville Saturday night. Very nice... OVER priced! But it was a special occasion so we'll let it slide! Sunday after church we met our parents, my brother and his girlfriend Alex, and my BF Brig & Bud and their precious baby-on-board Shaylee!!

I promise to not stay gone so long this time. With the Internet up and running in the apt and lots of exciting things to come in the next couple months I'm sure I'll have plenty to keep you all consumed with! Ha, JK! But on a serious note I've caught up with all your posts and have enjoyed them tremendously. Now I will play my part in 'blog world'. Good night all!

Picnic in the Woods!

Spring time --- Outside it is!!

House Progress

This week we got our first draft of our house plans!! We've spent the last couple days making little changes to them and hopefully we'll meet with the architect early next week so he can get the final draft and we can put a contract down for the land!

Here is a picture of our future residence! I know it doesn't look like much now - besides a lot of trees and A LOT of work!! But with a little imagination we can envision our house! We took a ride over to show our parents after Easter dinner and they approved!
Actually, this is our future home! It's almost ready for us to move in! JUST KIDDING! Wish it were true. This is a house being built right down the road from us and it is just BEAUTIFUL!

I mean seriously. It's GORGEOUS!!

I told Todd I'd settle for the barn! This barn is the type you see in Southern Magazines usually featuring an amazing outdoor/barn wedding or party! A girl can dream... right?! LOVE IT!

Easter

Easter Sunday was such a great time! My Dad, step mom, and sister all came to Madison to spend the day with us and I enjoyed it so much! Here are some pictures of our day together.

Me & HiL hiding Easter eggs for the kiddos

The gorgeous Easter Lillies growing in the cemetery

Me & Baby Love

Dad & his girls!

All of us!

Gillean Family :)

You & Me Baby Going Pickin' Wild Flowers!

Easter weekend was so great! Lots of family, food, fun & worship!

Saturday, on the the way over to Todd's grandparents for a little cookout, Todd & I stopped along the way and cut some wild flowers. That is one good thing about living in the country - BEAUTIFUL wild flowers every where. This time of year is so gorgeous because everything is blooming, however it's giving the hubby a fit with all this pollen! Being surrounded by people who struggle with allergies everyday, I feel very blessed to not have to worry about it. Anyways, Todd took some pictures of me on the side of the road pickin wild flowers and here are a couple. ENJOY! :)

Final Product :)

My Beautiful Bench!!

I posted a while back about a bench the husband was refinishing and it's all done! I took some pictures to document the process and seeing's how we picked this sucker up on the side of the road before we got married, I'd say it was surely a PROCESS!!

When we picked this this up on the side of the road the paint was completely flaking off and the nails in the wood needed replacing. But after lots of sanding....

And a lot of fresh paint....

I had a new beautiful bench ready to make it's debut in the house!

The final product, with my pretty damask cushions! It's a good thing I married a handy man like my daddy, who can fix anything and make someones trash my new found TREASURE!! Thanks Babe!!

Family is EVERYTHING!

I've once again fallen into a BLOG COMA!! Sorry... So needless to say I've got some catching up to do! Last week I spent the week enjoying 'family time' in Jacksonville and what an amazing week we had! Unfortunetly, my dearest Uncle's days are marked and the time we get to spend together never seems to be nearly enough. My cousin Mary and her husband Dave along with their precious girl Sammi Jo came to Florida to spend some time with us and boy oh boy did we have some fun!

My Unlce - his motto "It's all Good" I LOVE HIM :)

We had a huge family dinner Thursday night. It's always so nice when your whole family is together at one place. That is my bro (sportin his Ron Paul shirt), my sis Hil, my cousin David, me and my cousin Mary from Minnesota.

Friday we spent the day at Jax Beach. It was such a beautiful, warm day, so warm that I got my first sunburn of the season! I'm still peeling, but it sure was worth it.

Sunday before heading back to Madison we went to Caps in St. Augustine. This restaurant sits right on the intercoastal and has the BEST fish tacos around! Shortly after taking this picture on the beach my brother and I got in a sand fight... I WON! Sammi sure did enjoy the tire swing.

After lunch we went to downtown St. Augustine and walked around St. George Street. Uncle Jerro and I were totally looking forward to some Kilwins Ice Cream!! We got rained on but it didn't bother any of us, we were so happy to be with each other we didn't even care.

Cherish your family. Each of them are so precious and have helped shaped the person you are today. My Uncle has definitly impacted who I am today. He is such an inspiration to us all. He is dying and has a better outlook on life then most of the people around. He is saved and knows that he is going to be in the Grace of God and knows that my Nonnie and Maggie are going to be waiting at the pearly gates to greet him into Heaven. And although our time together on Earth is limited, I know that one day we will be together again and spend eternity together. He is such an awesome guy and I fill so blessed to have been able to spend the last 23 years with him!

I LOVE YOU UNCLE JERRO

YOU ARE AN INSPIRATION TO US ALL

"IT'S ALL GOOD!"