My Memorial Day Weekend

It's been a crazy busy weekend but as I laid by the pool this afternoon thinking about it all, I realized how amazing the whole thing was.

Thursday: trip to Rock Hill to see Brandon Green graduate from high school. Brandon is the son of the missionaries I worked with in Belgium and they have become like family to me. I laugh so much when I'm with them and Thursday was no exception!

Before:

After:

Friday: I drove up to Tennessee to take pictures for my friend, Melody, as she married the love of her life, Logan. It was so much fun and the only regret of the weekend was that our friend Melissa couldn't be there too :( Other than that, it was a blast to see where Melody grew up and to meet her friends that I've been hearing about for the past three years that I've known her! CONGRATS MELODY AND LOGAN!!

Sunday: On my way back to SC I drove through ATL to meet a friend for lunch. Well, about 20 minutes outside of Marietta, my check engine light comes on. Awesome! I just prayed that I would make it to ATL so that I wouldn't be stranded on the side of I-75. As I'm getting off the interstate my check oil light came on. Cool, huh? After lunch we checked my oil and turns out I had almost none. So, we went to Wal-Mart to get some oil, which obviously helped. But, the check engine light was still on. Long story short, we took my car to Pep Boys and after about 45 minutes or so, they changed the oil and the engine light went off. Turns out I had gotten the wrong kind of oil. Oops! So, I finally made it home around 8pm, all in one piece and my car doing well.

Monday: RELAXATION! Got up around 10:30am when Lindsay woke me up to go wedding dress shopping. So fun! Then, Kelly and I went to lay out by the pool for a couple hours and I then washed my car before coming in for dinner.

I just wish this "weekend" could last for another few days!!!

The Future MRS. NEELY!

CONGRATS ROBERT AND LINDSAY!!

It happened this past Thursday evening but I had to wait until Lindsay told as many people herself as she could... Robert proposed in CLEMSON this past Thursday and Lindsay said YES YES YES YES!Robert took Lindsay to dinner w/out telling anyone where they were going... While I didn't know the destination, I had an inkling that a diamond would be given that night. At 9:39pm Thursday during Grey's Anatomy, I got a text from Lindsay saying that Kelly and I should go to her parent's house by 10pm. My response? OH MY GOSH OH MY GOSH OH MY GOSH OH MY GOSH!!! It was fun to celebrate with them and her parents and Kelly that very night!

Here are some other pics from the weekend:

Telling Mrs. Shirley the news...
Showing off the bling with Catherine...I think this is my favorite shot of the weekend... with Tammy at Relay for Life!Ashley stopped by on Saturday....

Jenn sent Lindz some fun stuff in the mail to help get her ready!

I don't think they've really stopped smiling yet :)

Mr & Mrs John Sewell!!

It was a fun day and a beautiful wedding. Congrats you two!!

John & Benita Sewell!

They had such a cool cake! And it was yummy too :)

The first dance.

The Pattersons!

Look how blue Adri's eyes are!

Apparently the ducks didn't read the sign...

excitement...

It is a crazy busy time of year and these next few weeks are no exception! I'm not sure when I will get to post with details but in the next three weeks alone I have three weddings, a graduation and many miles that will be travelled. But I'm really excited about it all because I'll get to see old friends that I love dearly as they celebrate these awesome times in their lives! I also get to meet their friends and family that I've been hearing about for quite some time so I'm pumped about that too!

Anyway, I'll do my best to post some pictures along the way but I wanted to go ahead and put out the warning that I haven't fallen off the planet or up and moved to another country... :)

Janée in Brussels

It is very difficult to live and work somewhere and for that place, the people and the culture to not become a part of you. Whether you loved it or hated it, that place is a part of your heart. Such is the case with Brussels, Belgium for me. My time there opened my eyes to many things, including many people from different cultures, languages and faiths.

Since I came home - almost exactly 3 years ago - I have not stopped thinking about Brussles and the Muslim neighborhood I called home for 5 months. In the fall of 2004, a woman by the name of Janée moved into my old home and has been living and working there ever since. We have never met, but she has encouraged me monthly with her email updates telling everyone what she has been up to and all that God has been doing.

So, I ask that you pray for my friend who is in Brussels. The Greens have been home for close to a year, but the work they started there has been able to continue through Janée and there seems to be a chance that it will continue to go on! My heart lifted when I read about the possibility. While I have not seen the friends I made in Brussels in quite some time, many of them - who are not believers - are still on my heart. And it would be amazing to see this ministry to them continue!

Janée's blog is at http://onthefridge.blogspot.com/ so you can see for yourself all that God is doing!

on the hunt...

I'm still looking for a house but it's getting narrowed down. And I'm slightly less stressed than the last time I posted. :) Here are the contendors:

This is a cute small, 2 bedroom/1 bath and is listed at a GREAT price. However, the floor plan is a little off with with 1 bath and while it's in a pretty good neighborhood, the guys next door kind of freaked me out when we were driving away. So, I'm thinking no, but I don't know.

This one is great. Two story, 2BR/2.5 bath and it's maybe 2 miles from where I am now, which is fabulous. The floor plan is a little closed off and the kitchen is small, but it's in good shape and there are wood behind it, so it's really private. The only problem is their asking price is a tad high... but I do like it.

This one is in the same neighborhood as the one above, the price is better and the kitchen/dining area are combined so it's more open. It's 2BR/2 bath, one story and in great shape. The main con with this one is that it backs up to other townhouses so there isn't as much privacy.

So... I'm in a quandry. I think I've narrowed it down to the bottom two but I don't know which one I should go with. I may have a chance to talk the two-story to a lower price, but I don't know. Help!!