Womble Trip 2013

"Risk Takers: If you never have, you should, These things are fun, and fun is good!"- Dr. Seuss

 

 

 

 They started out in Texas, drove to New Mexico, rode some trails there, drove up to Utah and rode slick rock, and the whole enchilada in Moab. 

I am so glad Christopher got to go on this adventure and I am so glad he is home in one piece!! Just a few bruises, cuts, and scratches! 

I think Christopher is pretty bummed he has to come back to real life, with work and school, but this just gives us the opportunity to plan our next adventure! 

Ships are safe in the harbor, but that is not where they are meant to be :)

Chasin' Waterfalls

Hiking at Cloudland Canyon was so much fun! Winston did great and was wanting to run in the water, and run all over the large rocks! He is definitely a mountain dog. He LOVES it. We camped out the night before, where I hardly slept because I am terrified of bears after our last camping adventure, where bears were in out campsite! But dont you worry, this time I took correct precautions and put our food in a bear bag 100 feet away from our tent.  We had never been here before and were amazed when we came to the first waterfall. It is in a little nook, and all of the sudden it opens up into this beautiful waterfall that is rushing into a calm pool. There were so many more waterfalls as we kept hiking that we came to, and I was just amazed at its beauty! I am constantly in awe of this beautiful world and the creation that it is! 

Hawaii spoiled me for beauty in nature- It is the prettiest place on the planet, but it is amazing how beautiful the entire world is, there is awe inspiring beauty in every country, state, nook, and cranny. I am so grateful to live in such a beautiful world! 

My thoughts

I think it is so easy to get stuck in a rut, and be blind to the beauty that surrounds us each day. I know whenever I remember to stop and recognize the small things that make my day beautiful, I have better days. It is amazing how much beauty is really in our everyday lives, we do not have to travel far to see the beauty in a child's laughter, or the beauty in a simple act of kindness. We are lucky people- the trick is just remembering that we are! :)

"Let us lay in the sun and count every beautiful thing we can see" 

 

     

                         

Peace and Blessings

C&K

music is a gift for the heart

Let me in the walls- you've built around, we can light a match, and burn them down. 

Summer Shenanigans

 Starting off the Summer right with the Beach :)

Some Mountain Biking and Camping :) 

& Finally Some Six flags and Some Birthday Celebrations :) 

I Dream of Summers that Last Forever... Especially summers like this one! 

"..he that is happy shall be happy still."

Peace and Love

- C&K

Introducing Winston

Christopher and I took a little trip to the pound last weekend just to look around and play with some cute puppies.

However, we saw the CUTEST little black retriever. We got him out and played with him, and that was it, i had fallen in love all over again! We took him to the front to adopt him, but he was a stray, and we had to wait a week to see if his owners would come looking for him.Well after a long week of checking the pounds website, and calling, we finally got to adopt him on Friday, May 17th!! We prepared our house for puppy land! We got a bed for him, toys, food, and made sure our backyard's fence was solid, and that he wouldnt get out!

He LOVED our backyard, he ran around like a crazy person!!
He chased all the chickmunks, birds, and every living animal he saw.

A day later, winston started getting sick :( He was coughing and throwing up and shivering. He wouldnt touch his food, or water, and I got really really scared!

We took him to the pound, and he has Kennel Cough. He is feeling better now, and im so glad!!!

Owning Winston has been such an adventure already for me and Christopher. It is so fun to come home from work or school and have this little guy so excited to see us everyday.
I was thinking about why it is such a joy for dog loving people to be dog owners. I came up with this.
Owning an animal is the perfect example of service. You feed it, take care of it when it is sick, give it water, take it on walks, wash it, brush it, clean it, clean up after it, pet it, love on it, talk to it, lean on it, and it depends on you, but eventually you come to the point that you depend on it.

Our savior wants us to serve others. He knows that serving fulfills others, but most important it fulfills us. Owning Winston has taught me this in 5 short days. I have felt so fulfilled in taking care of him and knowing that he depends on me. Im grateful that the Lord has given us service, and this has been a learning experience to me, that I need to serve others more and think less of myself, and more of others.

My Memaw

I am an incredibly lucky girl. I was able to have my memaw be a part of my life for 22 years.
She filled my short 22 years with so much laughter, kindness, and delicious deviled eggs.

I have so many childhood memories of going to Helen with her, spending the night at her house, going to church with her at the same Baptist church she had gone to for decades and watching as the preacher would ask who had the most great grandchilden in the congregation and seeing her light up when she would be given a flower for having the most. As I think about my short 22 years I cant imagine what looking back on 88 years must feel like. Much less, as I look back on my short 4 months of marriage, I cant imagine what looking back on 70 years of marraige must feel like.

My memaw and pepaw were and are the perfect example of love. Throw any movie you think shows true love in the garbage because nothing exemplifies it's honesty more than their love. They were married for 70 years. Never once did I hear them cut at each other, slander each other, or even make a sarcastic remark. My pepaw has lived his life serving her and caring for her, as she has done the same for him.
My memaw has suffered from dimentia for the past 5-8 years and had become confused and began to not recognize many of her family members, but she always knew who Hascal was. That was never negated in her mind.

As she passed away on sunday afternoon, I felt my heart break for my Pepaw. I feel that I will continue to feel it break as he misses her daily. She was his "sugar foot"- his "sweet-heart"- A lot of people lost their Memaw on Sunday. I did, my cousins did, my brothers did. My dad did, my uncles and aunts did. My nanny lost her mom. My pepaw lost his sweet-heart. But my Memaw's  parents reunited with her once more yesterday in the sky, she got to give her son a hug again, her sisters, her immediate family is whole again.

My Pepaw and Memaws love is eternal. Nothing can end it. They will be reunited one day too. Family, love, and strength hold us together for now.

As Christopher and I left my Pepaw's home last night, I hugged him and told him how much I loved him and how we only hope to have a marriage and a love like him and Memaw have. He answered with " You have a long way to go." hahaha  But then he said "ohhh you know you will have some bumps on the way- but if you turn them over to God- He CAN and WILL smoothe them over".

I know he's right. Im so grateful for His and My Memaw's example in my life. How blessed am I.

We share the Same Soul

LOVE.

Well a month ago, I was married to the wonderful man of my dreams. Our wedding day was my own personal fairy tale. I have spent my entire life watching princesses in movies, and like every girl, I have dreamed of having a fairy tale. I can now say, that October 20th was a fairytale, and the best part is that the fairytale has continued. Id love nothing more than for my friends that live far off to experience this day with me.

We arrived at the temple seperately prepared to be married to each other for all eternity at 10 am, and that morning we left the temple as one soul.

That night- my parents held a reception for me and my new husband in their backyard. It was magical. As guests entered, they were able to sign a guest quilt that my wonderful amazing aunt Tonya made for us and enter a backyard lit with hanging lights, a warm welcoming fire place, and a beautiful setting on a lake.
Caramel apples, Cotton Candy, and Chicken Pot pie filled the air with scents home, fun, and happiness.                                             The night was filled with dancing, laughter, love, and joy.

My dad and I danced to "rope the moon" but the song was interrupted with Soulja Boy- and me and my dad broke out and did the Soulja Boy in front of everyone =) It was amazingly fun! I hope people enjoyed it.
Christopher and I danced to the timeless Elvis, I cant help falling in Love with you.
We danced the night away, hugged loved ones, smiled at distances, and basked in the fact that we were now husband and wife. What a tremendous feeling.

As we left, we ran down stone steps, as our family and friends lined them with sparklers. We ran down the stairs and entered a canoe and planned to paddle across the lake, this is what we thought our grand exit would be, pretty great right!? Well little did we know that my parents had something planned for us. My brother handed me a paper lantern that was lit with fire and ready to extend in to the sky. I felt so much love as I let go of that lantern and watched it fly into the sky as we sat in our canoe and watched as it drifted into the night sky. As we looked to the shore line, it seemed as if hundreds of lanterns were being lit as our family and friends lit lanterns and let them fly into the sky. I couldnt help but cry as the beauty of the lanterns filled the sky. I was filled with love with just one lantern, my heart exploded as i saw the what seemed to be millions of lanterns float away. What a surprise and act of love my family did for us. This was a fairy tale.

  

We went to the Dominican Republic the next day! We had so much fun snorkeling, playing volleyball, relaxing by the beach and drinking as many majestics as we wanted! I love Christopher. We have now been married for a little over a month. Marriage is everything I dreamed it would be. I love being a wife, and I love having a husband.

Love is Everything its cracked up to be.