Wintertime Getaway

On New Year's Day, Nathan & I, along with his best friend & his wife, headed up to Chincoteague Island, VA. If you're not familiar with CI, here is a little information. If you've ever read Misty of Chincoteague by Marguerite Henry, you already know a little about it, & if you know me, then you know my love of horses & won't be a bit surprised by my love for CI. :) We first visited CI in the summer of 2008 with the same dear friends, who had been there once before as a stop on their cross-country honeymoon. The island connects to Assateague Island, which is a wildlife refuge. We rode bikes all over the refuge that summer & saw lots of wildlife & wild ponies. It was heaven for me. ;) After that trip, the guys learned that each fall, a drawing is held for hunting on the refuge. This year, they each applied & were both drawn for different dates & zones, so they had their choice. They chose a date & we made our plans. Now, CI is very much a summer place (think BEACH!), so we knew that things were very likely going to be pretty dead in the middle of winter, but we didn't mind. :)

It was about a 10 hour drive, which is nothing when in the company of good friends. :) We drove Rachel's brother's Suburban so that we could take out the 3rd row of seats to fit all of our stuff, & so the big engine would have no trouble pulling Adam's little Isuzu Pup behind it. The reason for this was because since the guys were going to be hunting for 2 of the days we were there, Rachel & I didn't want to be stranded if there was somewhere we wanted to go. We got to our hotel just after 9 pm, and we drove around looking for a restaurant, since we hadn't stopped for supper. We saw just a few & finally stopped at one called AJ's Seafood. This was to be the first of many wonderful experiences with the locals. We asked if they were still serving, & the hostess checked with the kitchen. She said they had already closed down, so we said thanks & turned to leave. Then another lady walked over & told us to wait, that we could still eat. Turns out she was the owner, & she told the kitchen to open back up for us! She & our server were both very sweet & we had a delicious meal. We were so grateful for the owner's generosity! The hotel was probably the MOST wonderful experience of the trip. It was a Hampton Inn, so nothing really fancy, BUT it IS rated the #1 Hampton Inn in the country, & we quickly found out why. Every single staff member we came in contact with during our stay was incredibly friendly & helpful. They went out of their way to make sure we were enjoying our stay & that we had everything we needed. The breakfast area was always spotless; food choices were different each day; & they even served a complimentary supper of BBQ and soup one night for their guests! It was also a beautiful hotel, with an inviting lobby area past the check-in desk where there were couches, chairs & a tv, as well as games. We took advantage of those games a couple of nights, sitting at a table & playing for several hours. They also had an indoor pool & hot tub, which Rachel & I took advantage of one morning for a couple of hours while the guys were out hunting. :)

Both days the guys were hunting, Rachel & I drove out to the refuge & took long walks. It was very cold & the wind was not kind, but we got some good exercise & enjoyed being out there. One of the days, we took lunch to our men & met them out at the beach to eat. We ate in the car, since the wind was so bad, but we met there because their hunting zone was close to the beach. We all took a walk on the beach after eating & I got a few good pictures. I so love the ocean...it's one of my favorites of God's handiwork. I am in awe of it...in awe of Him.

There were 2 places we hoped would be open on the island. One was Sugarbaker's, which has the BEST cinnamon buns I've ever tasted in my entire life! Unfortunately, they weren't open. That was a huge disappointment, since they were just a block or so from our hotel, but it may be better for my waistline that they weren't. ;) The other place was The Island Creamery, which has the BEST ice cream I've ever tasted in my entire life! No, seriously! :) We didn't really think they'd be open in the winter, but thankfully they are (cold weather doesn't stop me from eating ice cream!) & they also serve lots of coffee drinks & hot chocolate, so each day after our walks, Rachel & I went there for hot chocolate. The 4 of us also went there every single evening for ice cream. :) My favorites: Snickers Cheesecake, & Peanut Butter Cup. Yum!

There were a few other things we did/saw, but those are all the highlights, I think. It was an absolutely WONDERFUL trip. Rachel & I both said that even though we didn't really do much of anything, it was truly a great vacation...& you know, maybe that's WHY it was a great vacation...we actually took a vacation from "doing" things! We needed to relax & that's exactly what we did.

I'm so incredibly thankful for good friends...there are very few other couples (outside family) that we would really enjoy spending 6 entire days with! :) Here are a few pictures from the trip.

View from the porch of our hotel.

Assateague Island Lighthouse.

Group of wild ponies on the refuge.

Lone wild pony on the refuge.

Nathan & me on the beach.

My favorite shot. To me, it just exudes...peace.

Crazy Dogs

Our dogs love to chew on rawhide bones (what dog doesn't?) & they go through them pretty quickly. So quickly, in fact, that earlier this year, we bought them in bulk - a box of 100 - & they're already gone. We need to buy another bulk box, but until we find one (eBay!) we're just buying the smaller bags at Wal-Mart. The dogs have such different personalities, it's really funny. Hunter will usually just lay down & chew on a bone until it's almost gone. Scout, on the other hand, wants to hide every bone we give him. The ones that are actually bone-shaped, he doesn't have much success in hiding, but the small squares of rawhide, we'll find all over the house...between the couch cushions, inside shoes, under rugs, etc. It's especially funny to watch him do this because he's OCD about it...he'll try to put one in the corner & he'll work & work at it, pushing it around, trying to make it fit perfectly. If he's not satisfied, he'll pick it back up & search for a new place. If he realizes we've seen where he put it, he'll go back, pick it up & start searching for a new place again. Seriously - the dog is nuts (but we love him ;)). Hunter couldn't care less about hiding them...he's too ready to chew on them! Scout would rather sit there with nothing to do, knowing his rawhide is safely hidden from his brother. Also, it never fails that if we give them each a bone, they want the other's. Or they both want the same one. Which results in one dog pouting. Yes, pouting. It's ridiculous how dogs can pout! Don't even get me started on how Hunter refuses to let Scout up on the couch when he's there. If I insist on letting Scout up there, Hunter will get down & go pout - which means, he curls up in a way so that his back is to me. *rolling my eyes* SO SPOILED! ;) ANYWAY, back to the point of this post, and explanation of this video. Nathan has always wanted to buy one of those huge, oversized rawhide bones just to see what the dogs would do with it. He finally did, yesterday. Shortly after he said, "I bet Scout will try to carry it around." we saw this:



The camera is shaking at the end because I was laughing. :) Our dogs are nuts, but they're very entertaining! :)

Joy Has Dawned Upon the World

This has been one of my favorite Christmas songs ever since the first time I heard it. We sing it a lot at our church around this time of year & I wanted to share the lyrics.

Joy has dawned upon the world,
Promised from creation—
God's salvation now unfurled,
Hope for ev'ry nation.
Not with fanfares from above,
Not with scenes of glory,
But a humble gift of love—
Jesus born of Mary.

Sounds of wonder fill the sky
With the songs of angels
As the mighty Prince of Life
Shelters in a stable.
Hands that set each star in place,
Shaped the earth in darkness,
Cling now to a mother's breast,
Vuln'rable and helpless.

Shepherds bow before the Lamb,
Gazing at the glory;
Gifts of men from distant lands
Prophesy the story.
Gold—a King is born today,
Incense—God is with us,
Myrrh—His death will make a way,
And by His blood He'll win us.

Son of Adam, Son of heaven,
Given as a ransom;
Reconciling God and man,
Christ, our mighty champion!
What a Savior! What a Friend!
What a glorious myst'ry!
Once a babe in Bethlehem,
Now the Lord of hist'ry.

Words and Music by Keith Getty & Stuart Townend
Copyright © 2004 Thankyou Music

Discernment...Twilight

I've never had the slightest interest in these books or movies, but because they have become something of a cult phenomenon in America, I think it's good to hear what Christian leaders have to say about them. I love Pastor Mark's approach.

Lady A

A couple of friends & I went to see Lady Antebellum recently. It was, seriously, an amazing concert. For me, it ranked right up there with the two Tim & Faith concerts I've been to, and anyone that knows me will know how much that's saying! I have a new camera, and (of course) I haven't taken the time to read the manual to learn what the best settings are for taking pictures at a concert, so the ones I did take turned out, well, badly. But I'm attaching them anyway. ;)
David Nail opened for Lady A. He has an incredible voice. I had actually seen him just a few months ago, and this second performance was even better than the first. Lady A, however, was downright phenomenal. Really. Hillary's voice blows me away, and Charles...well, I could listen to Charles sing absolutely ANYthing. And, Dave is pretty great, too. I'd never heard him sing a solo before, but he sat at the piano & played & sang "Do I", which was recorded by Luke Bryan, but written by the members of Lady A along with Luke.
The best songs of the evening, though, were "Need You Now" (which is no surprise, I'm sure, since it has stayed at the top of the charts for AGES) and the encore, "Hello World". Both songs give me chills just hearing them on the radio/cd, but in person...wow. Tears! It was a wonderful 2 hours & I did NOT want it to end! I can't wait until their next tour!

Me, Michelle and Dara

David Nail

Lady Antebellum