Anniversary trip to Myrtle Beach

TJ and I celebrated our third anniversary on Aug 7th. For our anniversary, we spent about four days down in Myrtle Beach. We thank the Lord that we had beautiful weather! We spent most of our time there just relaxing and spending time together. Some of our other activities were....

Alligator Adventure...

( Biggest Alligator in captivity in the U.S.)














(Albino Alligators)















Broadway at the Beach....
(These fish must have been fed before) :)















Mini golf...
(hole in one!)



















And of course swimming...
















We stayed at a great hotel right on the beach...

( The Hilton) (View from our room)















The night of our anniversary, we got dressed up and went to a Brazilian Steakhouse called Rioz. The meal included all-you-can-eat salad bar and meats of many different kinds. They brought the meat right to the table and cut it off the skewer for us. We sampled lamb, lamb chops, flank steak, fillet mignon, garlic steak, pork loin, chicken, and a few others. Needless to say, we were stuffed. The meal was delicious and definitely worth the experience.















We had such a great time! God has been so good to us. Three years and Lord willing, many more to come.

Tagged...

I was tagged awhile ago by Katrina Hines and Emily Ingram and have just now decided that, just in case anyone may be interested, I will give you some tidbit of hopefully interesting information about my life. The way this works is each player must list eight relatively random facts/habits about himself/herself. At the end of the post, the player then tags new people by posting their names. Enjoy!

1. I am double jointed in my elbow. In elementary school one day I was crossing the monkey bars and fell off and broke my arm. The first doctor set it wrong. So, within the next couple days a different doctor discovered what happened, had to re-break it, and set it right. For the longest time after the bone healed I still couldn't touch my shoulder. But as a result of that, I can twist it in an abnormal and somewhat unnerving way.

2. Of all the places I've been to so far, my most favorite is a place called Sharbot Lake. It's in Ontario, Canada. I grew up going there every year with my family. We would go the same two weeks in July, stay in the same cabin on a beautiful lake, and see the same people. Some of my greatest memories are at that place. It was also where TJ and I were engaged.

3. I love water skiing.! I like to play most sports ( soccer and volleyball are among my favorites), but I would have to say my favorite sports like activity would have to be water skiing. When I was younger, I wanted to be a professional water skier at Sea World.

4. Growing up, I had several interesting collections. I loved Marvin the Martian (A looney toon character). I collected dolls, figurines, pictures, anything that had him on it. I also collected water globes. I have about forty to fifty. Another collection I have and still keep up with is collecting pencils. I have over 300. I would collect pencils from everywhere I went. Today, I still pick up a pencil from new places that TJ and I go to. One other collection I started in high school, but haven't added to lately, are Boyd's Bears figurines. I still can't believe how many different collections I had. I'm sure it sounds like I was the queen of clutter. I promise you I 'm not like that now. The only collection I have on display are my Boyd's Bears, and their in the guest bedroom. The rest of my collections are packed away.

5. I am a neat freak! I've been this way for as long as I can remember. When I was little I had a rug in my room. Every night before bed I had to brush the rug with my hands to make sure the grain of the rug was all going in one direction, and of course, make sure my room was picked up. Today I still can't rest until the house is picked up and everything is in order. I feel like I have to vacuum my bedroom carpet every other day, because I can't stand to see lint and stuff on it ( The carpet is dark green so it shows everything).

6. Ok, I can't believe I'm going to admit this for everyone to read. Get ready to be shocked.... I bite my nails! I know it's a terrible habit and those of you who don't do it have no idea what it's like and how hard it is to overcome, but there it is. It's one of my habits that I'm not very proud of. I've been biting them for as long as I can remember. Somehow I managed to grow them out for my wedding, but they didn't last long after that. I think they should have AA or something like that for nail bitters. ---- Sorry, you had to read this.

7. I've been shot before! Nothing too serious. When I was little, I was out back sitting on my swing set. My brother was off in the distance, shooting his bee-bee gun at a target. He told me to move because I was in the way. I said "no". So, he proceeded to shoot me with his bebe gun. I remember screaming, because I was little. But, obviously, since it was a bebe gun there was no serious damage done. Brothers!!

8. I've only dated one person in my life! His name is Thomas John Logsdon. I'm now married to him, and I'm so thankful that God brought us together. He's my best friend!

PS. Sorry Katrina, I stole your idea for #8. It was so good and it applied to me as well.

I'll tag the following people (forgive me if you've already done this): Jess Frolich, Bethany Varner, Sarah Branine, Jen Horak, and Tiffany Wagner.

Last week's events:

Saturday TJ and I went to our very first Tides baseball game. I'm not a huge baseball fan, but being there with friends made the evening more enjoyable. I think my favorite part of the game was when the Tides' big blue mascot would go out on the field and dance after they scored a run. He was very hilarious!


































The first part of the week we had some friends visiting us from Illinois. Mark and TJ have been good friends since high school and were in each other's weddings. Mark and Lynn were in South Carolina for a wedding and were able to stop by our house for a couple days on their way back home. It was great spending time with them and getting to know them better.


For July 4th we spent most of the day at Busch Gardens with our friends Don and Katrina. It was very busy there, but fortunately we didn't have to wait too long for most rides. In the evening they had a beautiful fireworks display. I only took one picture all day. The picture was of Don and TJ wearing very funny hats and looking very silly. I decided not to post the picture because I wasn't sure if they would like it up for everyone to see. :)

The Last Two Weekends

Two Saturdays ago T.J. and I went to Harbor Fest. It's an annual festival held at Waterside in Norfolk. Lots of ships of all sizes come from all over and dock up and down the waterfront. Some of the ships were huge. We were even able to go on board a few. They were pretty awesome to see. Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures to post. Somehow the pictures got deleted off the camera before we downloaded them...oops! I was pretty disappointed when I couldn't find them. Now, I have to go next year to get some more pictures of those awesome ships. (So, stay tuned for next year's post about Harbor Fest so you can see some pictures, j/k ) :)
This past Saturday, TJ and I tried out an Italian restaurant called Carrabba's. The food was excellent! We would definitely recommend it. After dinner we drove out to the oceanfront. It was our first visit to the ocean this spring. It was a beautiful evening. We took some fun pictures and just enjoyed sitting on the beach and watching the waves come in. I feel like we take advantage of the ocean/beach being so close to us. It's so beautiful; we don't get out there and enjoy it nearly as much as we should. Overall, I had a wonderful evening with my best friend.
















Sunday afternoon TJ and I went canvassing with our church members for our VBS this week. A youth group from Lebanon, Pennsylvania has come to help our church put it on. They brought all the supplies with them (decor, verse sheets, the stories, games, ect.) The only thing our church had to provide was the snack. The youth group is even sleeping in the church. Since our church is small and doesn't have the means to put on a VBS by ourselves, it is a huge blessing that they have come to do this for us. I'm so excited to see what God is going to do this week.

(Here are some of the teens and leaders that came to help out)

(Eli Ickes and Matt Winks)

Recent Happenings

Well, I'm a little behind in posting so I'll just mention briefly what we've been up to. We spent Memorial day in Williamsburg with our pastor's family and a few other church members and friends. That morning T.J. woke up early to go fishing with the guys. The rest of us met up with them around lunch time at the park. After lunch we spent the rest of the afternoon playing games, skiing, and tubing. Since it was a hot day, the water actually didn't feel too cold. It was so exciting to see some of our friends get up skiing for the first time. TJ had tried skiing in the past a couple times and he was able to get up briefly as well. (Unfortunately I didn't get a good picture of him out of the water.) Overall, we had a great day enjoying God's creation and spending time with friends.
Two weekends ago, TJ and I attended a pirate party in celebration of the third Pirates of the Caribbean movie coming out. James and Jessica Frohlich were the hosts. TJ and I had a great time picking out our costumes and getting ready for the party. Everyone was so creative with their costumes. Jessica had decorated her balcony outside her house like a pirate ship. We enjoyed kababs and other great food. We also played a couple creative games, including the dice game Davy Jones' men played in the second movie. It was such a good time with lots of laughs and memories. Following the party we all went to see the new movie together-which was very good! No, we didn't wear our costumes to the moive... although I would have liked to. :)
PS. Just in case any one was wondering, in the pic of us below, TJ is holding a root beer.

SHANNON'S 25TH BIRTHDAY

Shannon just had her twenty-fifth birthday two weekends ago. While we weren’t able to get away for long (Shannon still had to work on Saturday), we still wanted to do something special. So, we planned to spend Sunday at Busch Gardens in Williamsburg. A few days before, we learned that the new ride the Griffon opened that weekend instead of the following weekend as planned. Shannon was even more excited about going then. As it turns out, our good friends Don and Katrina were planning on camping only minutes from the Park. They invited us to go camping the night before and we invited them to join us for part of the day at the Gardens. Katrina and Don surprised Shannon with a wonderful birthday breakfast that morning, too. The Griffon was a sweet ride and God gave us beautiful weather to enjoy the day. To top it all off, Shannon and I went out for her birthday dinner. We had been planning to go to the Cheesecake Factory for months. Yet, on a whim, she decided to go to P. F. Chang’s Asian Restaurant instead. And a great choice it was. The food was…perfect. Chang is probably our “new, best friend,”—so long C. Factory.

Needless to say we had a blast the whole weekend (except for the fact that Shannon and I about died from frostbite camping—who would have thought we’d need more than two large blankets?) And I am thankful that I was able to spend it with friends…especially my wife.

MOTHER'S DAY WEEKEND

Well I'm not a mom yet (unless you count Niko), maybe next year :); but TJ and I are so thankful to have wonderful mothers who love the Lord. They did their best to train us in the right way- to love God above all else. We miss our moms a lot. Even though we are all separated by hundreds of miles, they are still very close to our hearts. We could never adequately put into words how much they mean to us.
Last Sat. TJ and I went strawberry picking. We went last year and got a lot of deliciously fresh strawberries, so we decided to go again this year. We both LOVE strawberries, especially strawberry pie and homemade strawberry jam (which I have yet to attempt myself). Our picking was a success. We brought home lots of luscious berries. If any one wants strawberry pie come on over before it's gone. :)




















Sunday, after church the women were all treated to a wonderful meal which was all put together by the men in the church. The food was great! After lunch all the fathers/husbands surprised the women by presenting them with a perennial flower to plant outside on the church grounds. They had cleared out an area on one side of the church for a lot of the flowers to be planted. Seeing as how roses are my favorite flower, TJ gave me a rose bush. It was such a great idea. I can't wait to see all the flowers/plants bloom and grow.




















We didn't have an evening service Sunday so we spent most of the rest of the day at Waller Mill Park in Williamsburg. We went with our friends, Don and Katrina. We rented a couple of boats and the guys went fishing. Unfortunately they didn't catch anything, except branches, twigs, and seaweed. Although, they almost brought one in. We saw it right before it spit out the lure. But, it was a beautiful day, so it was nice to just be out on the water enjoying nature and spending time with friends.

Back Home in Michigan...


Two weekends ago TJ and I flew to Michigan to visit my family for a few days. We hadn't been back in over a year. I saw my parents last Thanksgiving, but it's been almost a year since my brother and sister-in-law (Aaron and Beth) were here last summer. We had a surprise waiting for us when we got back to my parent's house. My Nana and Papa were there! I wasn't expecting to see them since they were suppose to be in Arizona for a few more days. But, they changed their tickets and flew home early to see us. The weekend we were there was beautiful. It was warm and sunny (which can be hard to come by this time of year in Michigan). We had such a wonderful time with everyone. We got to see my brother's new house. And, we got reacquainted with my almost two-year old nephew (Ryan), who I'm sure didn't remember us from last summer. He's a completely different child from when we saw him last. It's amazing how fast babies grow up when you don't see them very often. He was a bundle of joy and energy.
Another highlight of our trip was being able to see TJ's sister(Laura) and her husband. Matt is attending seminary in Detroit and they only live about an hour from my parent's house. It was great to see them and see their home for the first time. We just praise the Lord so much for our wonderful families and the opportunity we had to spend time with my family for a few days. We miss you all and love you lots!!

Sunday...

Last Sunday at church we had a different type of S.S. and morning service. During S.S. pastor teached on foot washing. He took us to the Scripture where Jesus washed the disciples feet. Christ humbled himself as a servant. Pastor explained that we don't practice this today because it's not mentioned anywhere else in Scripture and it was never laid out as a church ordinance like baptism and communion. Although, we don't wash each other's feet today, pastor still encouraged us that we should be following Christ's example and find ways to serve one another. After the explanation, the men and women divided up and we proceeded to wash one another's feet. It was a really neat experience. Don't worry, we're not going to add foot washing as a church ordinance.
For the morning service, Mr. John Metzer with Jewish Awareness Ministry was visiting and took the hour to walk us through the Jewish passover meal . Every year the Jewish people still celebrate the passover. Mr. Metzer demonstrated the process and explained the significance behind everything that goes on during a Jewish passover meal. It was very informative.

Our church didn't have an evening service so TJ and I spent the rest of the day at Busch Gardens! We got a really great deal and decided to go in with some friends to get season passes.
The weather was beautiful and the rides were great!

Family Fun Night!

Last Saturday night our church had its first monthly family fun night. The evening included pizza, dessert, games, and a great time! For most of the evening everyone played the games together. We played Cranium and Pictionary. The teams were divided between the women and the men. And, of course, who do you think won...well, we won't go there right now. The activities also included a couple rounds of thumb wrestling, Anand doing push-ups on the church pews, and Doug showing the guys how to do some weird he-man type pushup. It was a great night of fun, food, and fellowship. We praise the Lord for our church! We just love being a part of this church body.






































P.S.
Thanks Kristen for watching Niko!

Easter Weekend...

After the weather we've had this weekend, I'm not sure if I'm still in Virginia or back in Michigan. The eighty degree days we've had this spring seem to be something from a dream. Sat morning we looked outside and IT WAS SNOWING! I might have been excited if it was around Christmas time, but not when I already have spring fever from the warmer days we had the previous week. I think we got more snow that morning than any day this past winter. Virginia weather is crazy!!

(It's hard to tell from the pic, but the snowflakes were huge)

Although Sun. was just as cold as Sat., it still ended up being a beautiful sunny day. T.J. and I enjoyed Easter Sunday with our church family in Williamsburg. The Sunday morning service was such a blessing. The pastor's message was all about Christ and the days leading up to and including His death and resurrection. After the morning service, we had a big dinner with a lot of people from our church. The meal was delicious!! In the afternoon, the kids had an Easter egg hunt and some of us went to Pastor's house to relax and play games. It was an excellent day!

( The seminary couples in our church)

Last Two Weekends...

I'm not so good at keeping up with the blogging world. So, by the time I post something I feel like it's old news already. Then when I get around to checking everyone else's blog they have like three new posts. How do you guys do it?? I really do admire the fact that some of you are so good at posting and keeping everyone up to date with your life's activities. I guess I'm just not a very committed blogger. Oh well... here are a few pics from our recent activities.


Chef T.J. tried out a new recipe he found off the internet. We got some free shrimp, and TJ decided he wanted to make dinner for me and a couple of our friends (the Frohlichs). The meal was a success. It was very tasty. And, I certainly didn't mind letting him take over in the kitchen :) For dessert we had chocolate fondue with lots of goodies to dip into it. It was a great night with wonderful food and fellowship.

















Last Sat. we had a sleepover with our Pastor's kids (Ashlyn, Abby, and Eli Ickes). We had a great time with them. We took dinner to the park and played tag on the playground. We ate ice cream; watched a movie; and, of course, played with Niko. They are great kids, but we were all wiped out by the end of the night. It's hard for me to imagine what it would be like to have our own children someday. Having the Ickes' kids over, gave us a small taste of what it could be like. It's exciting to think about the future and having a family of our own. In the meantime, I guess I'll just have to keep enjoying everyone else's kids.

















P.S.

Happy Easter Everyone!!