Home Sweet Home

If you know me even a bit, then you know that I love to travel. But, one of the fun things of traveling is coming home. And Greenville is a pretty sweet place to call home!

Today was gorgeous - temps in the 80s, sunny skies, flowers blooming and a gorgeous downtown to hang out in! After a stop in Starbucks to get a tall Vanilla Bean Frap with whipped cream (YUM!) and a chat with Matt Ables, I headed to Reedy River Falls to enjoy the day and read a book.

Everyone had the same idea I did :)

I love daffodils!
I saw this on the news and couldn't help but take a picture when I saw it. It's good to see G'ville embracing their inner Jedi...

Downtown is a pretty sweet place... if you haven't been here, you need to come visit!

Cruisin' to Mexico

I've been on 3 cruises since 2002 and I love them! So, when Arica called last fall and asked if I wanted to go on one, I thought about it for a couple of days and decided, what the heck?? And I'm SO glad I went! I've been "on the go" so much lately that I've barely had time to breathe, so this was the perfect getaway for doing just that... and getting a tan at the same time!

We had a blast and we've already talked about going on another one :) Here are a few highlights...

A gorgeous ship:

Massages on the beach:

And some beautiful scenery:
I mean, this kind of scenery:

If you want to see some more, I've uploaded them to Kodakgallery.

Enjoy!

Triple A Day!

ADRI'S AWESOME ARRIVAL!!

Adrienne (Adri) Rebecca Patterson arrived around 12:30 today, by C-section, at a healthy 8lbs 7oz and 20 inches long. She is a beautiful baby girl and Natalie is doing well. I will post more pictures as I can!

island pictures!

Swimming with the sting rays! Driving on the right side of the car and the left side of the road...
Sunset on the beach...
The wind was crazy and the waves were crashing hard...

I really wanted to bring her home with me and call her Daisy...

White beaches and beautiful colors!!Of course there were palm trees everywhere :)

i'm driving on the wrong side of the road!

Yep, you read that right... for the past 24 hours I have been driving on the LEFT side of the road. And no, you will be happy to hear, I haven't hurt or killed anyone. "How is that possible?" you may ask? Well, because everyone here drives on the left side of the road... in Grand Cayman that is :) I got here yesterday to visit an incredible church, First Baptist, who is now four weeks into their second Upward season. I knew from the first time I talked with them on the phone that if anyone in a seemingly difficult situation could do Upward, they could. Their hearts are in tune with God's and they are striving to make this something their kids and parents will value for a lifetime. And from what I've heard over the past two years and from what I've seen over the past 24 hours, they are doing exactly what God set out for them to do... reach these children and this island for Christ.

A quick blurb before I head upstairs to my room to look at pictures and video from the day:

• Driving on the left side of the road (and steering from the right side of the car) has more hazards than you may think... I've hit my RIGHT elbow on the "passenger's side" door more times than I can count (I'll let you figure that out)
• Wearing shorts in February is a beautiful thing :)
• Seeing basketball coaches wearing the national Cayman shoe (flip flops) to games is also a beautiful thing!
• Swimming with sting rays definitely freaked me out, but they are just one of a gagillion or so reasons why God is such an amazing God.

That's all for now... I'll post pictures when I return home.
Much love from the islands!

Valentine's at Upward

First, Melissa brought me a chicken biscuit from Chick-fil-A where they were making heart shaped biscuits this morning! YUM!



Then, later on in the morning, Neva - I mean, the Queen of Hearts - came around to deliver our Valentine's and some candy! Isn't she cute? :)



I hope that, regardless of whether you are single or married, dating someone or engaged to "the one", that you somehow SEE, HEAR, or FEEL the love that Christ has for you.

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!!!

Shout Out!

I would like to dedicate this shout out to Jenni Backes. She always makes me laugh and I love her smile! Besides, she told me she loves coming to my blog so she can see my beautiful face... how can you not love this woman?!?

"you are caller #9!"

... is what i heard when they picked up the other end of the line at B93.7 today! Holy cow! I really won! So what did I win, you ask? A $40 gift certificate to Day Spa in the West End! How cool is that?? I've had pedicures and manicures and I've even had massages but to actually go to a spa and have my choice of something? Well, of course I'm going to have to splurge at least a little... I mean, I do have $40 off here. Suggestions anyone?!?

baby shower for Adri

Two weeks ago we had a shower for Natalie and baby Adri here at the house. After talking to Jill today I realized that I've been really slack in getting some pictures up! So, here is some evidence that it really did happen :) It was a lot of fun and Adri got a lot of fun stuff!

Brooke and Natalie

Adri has no choice in being a baby Tiger! :)

Yay for fun baby stuff!

Kayla, Crystal, Angie, Turner and Stephanie
Natalie's youth from Piedmont


Kelly, Lindsay and me

Clemson stroller!


Me, Natalie, Brooke and Leslie.

It was a really fun night! And Adri will be here in just 3 weeks... I'm so excited about getting to meet her... and spoil her as much as possible :)

snow!

There's finally snow in South Carolina and the roads are too bad to drive on, so the day is being enjoyed at home!