The Jones Wire

New Blog Site

2010-04-22T14:58:00.002-04:00

In an effort to update the outside world a lot more often, we [and by we I mean Brandon] decided that we are going to do most of our posting from here on out here. This way we can more efficiently disseminate information and photos to several different outlets. And so I [Brandon] will actually update it more often. So make sure to bookmark the new page and look for more frequent updates to The Jones Wire.

2010 Big Snow!

2010-02-13T10:40:00.001-05:00

In February we had a weekend of nearly 16 inches of snow. So we took a stroll in the winter wonderland.

Mountaineer Basketball and 2010 Big Snow

2010-02-13T10:37:00.001-05:00

Syracuse was in town and the Joneses were in attendance- it was a blast!! We had great seats and really got Mountaineer Fever

Christmas time in Iowa

2010-02-13T10:35:00.003-05:00

My sweet Holly and God-daughter Cici.

Part of the College Crew meeting for breakfast on New Years Day

Christmas time in Iowa

2010-02-13T10:32:00.003-05:00

Weeee! Sledding at the Buss house. Mom getting some airtime

Jose and Emily had a blast

Christmas time in Iowa

2010-02-13T10:29:00.002-05:00

Blokus- a great holiday game to play with family and friends with good spatial awareness!

Christmas time in Iowa

2010-02-13T10:27:00.004-05:00

Aunt Emily, Alaya and Sally checking out the river

Christmas time in Iowa

2010-02-13T10:24:00.002-05:00

Christmas time in Iowa

2010-02-13T10:21:00.001-05:00

We had an absolute blast with the Jones, Hopkins, and Ciucci families

Christmas time in Iowa

2010-02-13T10:19:00.002-05:00

Christmas time in Iowa

2010-02-13T10:16:00.001-05:00

Christmas time in Iowa

2010-02-13T10:12:00.002-05:00

Christmas time in Iowa

2010-02-13T10:08:00.001-05:00

Camouflage Brad

Christmas time in Iowa... rainy and snowy; but fun times outside.

Grandma and Grandpa Buss on Christmas Eve

Just before Christmas

2010-02-13T09:58:00.001-05:00

The Stonebrige Ugly Christmas Sweater Party!

There are some serious Mountaineer fans who actually buy WV embroidered jeans!!

A UGA Alum mug from the Mason's.... thanks!! It gets used often!!

Preparing for Christmas in Motown

2010-01-30T12:44:00.003-05:00

The first snow in Morgantown. We went up to the "top of the town" and took some winter wonderland photos.

Brandon enjoyed putting on his ornaments and hanging the stockings by our fireplace.

After B cut down the tree I tried to help, but really just got the saw stuck in the tree 4 or 5 times. It looks like I really helped... but nope.

Notice the rope around this tree, that's to signal that I lassoed it, because it was determined that it was perfect for the 2009 Jones' Christmas tree.

The hunt.

Thanksgiving in Athens

2010-01-30T12:03:00.002-05:00

Squeaker loves "Bandon"

Thanksgiving Day at the Hanson's

A lovely Thanksgiving meal with the Hanson's, McMartin's and the Mason's.

Spending time with friends.

Miles and Brandon are buddies. Even though Brandon refused to wear a matching purple wrestling singlet like Miles had on.

Fall 2009

2010-01-30T11:56:00.002-05:00

Rollerblading on a wonderful fall afternoon. Brandon felt as though his manhood was being stripped away at every graceful glide!! ;)

The Kowalski's come to visit us in Morgantown in November, so we took them to Cooper's Rock State Park. A beautiful view of the mountain range that surrounds us.

Jerry West, (aka the NBA basketball logo) played at WVU.

Mountaineer Balloon Festival

2009-10-14T20:10:00.001-04:00

The 2009 Mountaineer Balloon Festival was an amazing hit at the Jones' home! We enjoyed this festival so much! Some 28 balloons were flying high over the town of Morgantown!

It was incredible.

Our Home in GA...

2009-10-10T10:24:00.001-04:00

These photos are from 2009 Summer. Friends and fun in GA. This is where the blog last left off....

BBQing with the Mason's and Hanson's.

We miss them. Looking back at these photos just reminds us how great of friends they are. Again, I'll say... we miss them.

Back in GA-- fun on the lake(s)

2009-10-10T10:20:00.001-04:00

We are so fortunate to have great friends.... some of who have boats!! Yippee. This summer we relaxed a few weekends and enjoyed wakeboarding, water skiing, and tubing. It was so wonderful.

Graduation Celebration

2009-10-10T10:18:00.001-04:00

So much fun celebrating graduation with the Mason's, Hanson's, Buss family, and Jones'.

We miss them.

Dr. Emily graduates from UGA

2009-10-10T10:14:00.001-04:00

So much to celebrate!! Family fun and Graduation!!!

We love family

2009-10-10T10:11:00.001-04:00

Simply put: there is no way we could have gotten moved and settled into our new home without the gracious help of our parents. Fortunately, Ron & Karen and Brad & Theresa were able to celebrate graduation at UGA with us and roadtrip to Morgantown to help us unpack and decorate. We did a little exploring of the town when we arrived.

Also the photos of Emily dressed up was on the 1st day of "school" aka work. Brandon has insisted to get a photo of me every 1st day of school for the past 4 years. He's crazy and I think a little jealous to not be going to school....well maybe not- he reminds me very finals week how glad he is to never have to take an exam in his life.

WVU Athletics

2009-10-10T10:08:00.001-04:00

Can you tell how excited Brandon is to have his picture taken?! Ha ha. This was a beautiful night at the soccer game. WVU has men's and women's soccer- so WV is heaven for B. Also, we went to the WVU football home opener. We still love our Dawgs, but now have to cheer for the blue and gold Mountaineers on Gameday!

Brandon's Getting Old

2009-10-10T10:05:00.001-04:00

On September 6th we celebrated Brandon's 28th birthday. He is really getting old!!! To celebrate this occasion a dear friend of ours, Wesley, came up from Georgia to enjoy a Cubs vs. Pirates baseball game and tour Morgantown with Brandon. It was a great time.

Bike Ride Along the Mon River

2009-10-10T10:02:00.002-04:00

We have discovered the biking, hiking, and running trails here in Morgantown to be delightful. One Saturday morning we ventured out for a 10 mile ride along the Mon River. Factoid for you: The Mon River is the only river in the US to flow south to north.

Mountaineer Balloon Festival

2009-10-10T09:59:00.001-04:00

Since I was a little girl I have been fascinated with hot air balloons. I think it all started when my dad came back from a business trip with a stuffed hot air balloon that had rainbow colored stripes all away around the balloon. It hung the ceiling in my room until I graduated from high school. Then on some summer nights we might catch a glimpse of a local Charlie Brown hot air balloon on the horizon, floating over the mile-gridded Iowa farm lands.

When we were deciding whether or not Morgantown, WV was the place for us I happened to come across the Mountaineer Balloon Festival website which claimed this annual festival to be hosted in Morgantown... .it was like a sign from God that WV might just be the place for us. So, here it is October, 8-10 signs all around town read "The Balloons are Back!" and the weekend event brings a carnival to town, an evening event called "Night Glow" and daily balloon races.

Below is a couple of photos from the festival thus far. We have had in-climate weather, which has limited the flight time of the balloons, actually there have been ZERO balloons in the air just yet. So tonight and tomorrow we are hoping for clear skies, clam winds and lots of HOT AIR IN MORGANTOWN. Keep those fingers crossed!!! We'll keep the camera at the ready.

So Much to Report So Little Time

2009-06-20T23:55:00.004-04:00

This spring has gotten away from us and now it is almost summer! Here are some long overdue pictures of what we are up to.

Below are some pictures from my trip up to Morgantown with my mom to find a place for Brandon and I to live in August. Boy, it was such a hectic trip-- 400 miles in the car in 3 days mostly in-town driving.... whew! But the Lord had a plan and this picture below is our new residence. The unit on the bottom left is ours and the garage on the right is ours as well. Yeah a garage... I'm guessing that Brandon's Vibe will get the cover rather than the Saturn.

Mom and I went to Cheat Lake, which is about 10 minutes from Morgantown. This is where B and I will be spending a good bit of time when we get there. It was beautiful!

The "city scape" of Morgantown, West Virginia. The large pie plate looking building is where I will be working- that is the Coliseum.
See the family resemblance?

It's beginning to feel a bit more like Christmas around the Jones' household..

2008-12-23T10:54:00.002-05:00

We totally felt like "city-folk" going to Wal-Mart to get our Christmas tree, but since it was so late in the season, where we normally cut down our tree was closed--- so this will do for now.

The tree came bundled up, so we didn't really know what we were getting into. Can you imagine how excited Brandon was to be posing for this picture out front of our apartment complex.... not.

Small trees need loving too!

2008-12-23T10:44:00.002-05:00

It has taken me a while to get into the "Christmas Spirit" lately, due to all of the crazy academic stuff I've been going through, so in search for our Christmas tree I wore this elf hat (courtesy of Crystal Seamans)... and yes I did wear it into Wal-Mart, I felt right at home! ;)

It might be a little guy, but sure beats not having one at all.

My Christmas Santa's wouldn't fit on the tree, so they found a place to be displayed.

More Santa's and notice the wall hanging above them... Lavonne Fischer's hand-crafted Christmas cards from the past 3 years are just too beautiful to not display.

Our 2008 Christmas photo. We have celebrated 4 official Christmases as husband and wife, but unofficially it is up to 8.

Thanksgiving in Iowa

2008-12-22T13:21:00.001-05:00

What a remarkably blessed trip we had to Iowa at Thanksgiving time.

To help set the stage a bit, the week prior to leaving for our 10 day excursion to Iowa Emily was having a major mental break down and dissertation disaster! Upon the spurring of her advisor "it was time that rubber met the road" and work needed to get done. So, the seven days leading up to the departure, Emily could be found at her trusty old computer, headphones on, fingers flying with fury, and pages upon pages of brilliance were being written (let's us the word "brilliance" lightly in this case)! The reason for this frantic attempt was twofold: (1) chapters 1-3 needed to be defended in front of her committee only 3 short weeks away and (2) if the chapters were not finished before Friday, Emily would not be able to leave on Thanksgiving vacation to see friends and family. So, needless to say, time was of the essence. Brandon was patient and kind although Emily was not patient or very kind during this stressful period.

From the photos to follow, you will see that both of us made it up to Iowa. Emily was able to get her chapters "done" and in for edits and Brandon was able to survive the wrath of his crazy wife (that'd be me!) Enjoy the photos, we'll walk you through the incredible trip - with all of the wonderful friends and family members we were able to see and spend time with.

Sorry they are not in order.

2008-12-22T13:13:00.001-05:00

Old town area in Pella, IA was a great photo-op. Especially since it started to snow!

The twins turn 1!

Michael and Dave... need I say more?

Ballerina Tess.

The Jones' family. 16 people all in one house- surprised we all survived?!

2008-12-22T13:04:00.002-05:00

The kiddos and I played legos.

Mak was full of love for Aunt Emily!

Ron taught the boys how to make a traditional breakfast food called Ebineezer --- that's not it, it's more like Ebelskeezer, but I like to think it's like Ebineezer Scrooge

Crystal and Jason Lee met up with us in Marshalltown on their way from Nebraska to Waverly.

Brystal celebrated a birthday while we were there! Notice the crown that Tess, Titus, Rafe, and Corinne and Aunt Emily made for her! Pretty high class!

2008-12-22T12:52:00.002-05:00

Megan also came down to Peppers for dinner. She brought her son Kelley (who I didn't get a picture of because he was so focused on either his trucks, coloring, or singing).

Uncle Brandon and Mikayla. Last time we visited this little peanut she screamed her head off at Brandon... not this time.

Everytime we spend time with Rafe, there seems to be a photo similar to this. I'm thinking Brandon is getting some of that youngest child out of him and treating these nieces and nephews as he would have a younger brother or sister.

Brandon again is multi-tasking. Caden is really into football and Trace is really into Uncle Brandon... so put the two together and this is what you get!!!!

2008-12-22T12:42:00.002-05:00

We are posing for this lovely shot... can you tell?

Pepper's was the place to be. This group of guys (minus a few others) will be friends for a long time to come. It seemed as though they didn't even skip a beat from the last time we were all together.

Dessert night at Grandma and Grandpa's place.

Mother Theresa put us to work sending Thanksgiving blessings out to folks in Waverly affected by the floods- courtesy of St Mary's Parish. Four set of hands (and tongues) are better than one I guess.

Outside of the old train depot in Waverly which used to be the Coffee Depot and is now SubCity.

2008-12-22T12:30:00.002-05:00

After the baptism we met up at Mike and Brenda's for a short bit and got a chance to visit with Grandma and Herb.

Holly and Andy graciously asked me to be Cici Honey's Godmother, and also scheduled the baptism for the weekend we were home. It was so great to see them all!

Megan, Teri and I met up the first night we arrived in Waverly. Wish Crystal could have been there. Nothing like good friends!

Half way from Athens to Waverly/Marshalltown is Carbondale, IL where a good friend of our lives. Val let us stay overnight at her place on the vineyard / Christmas tree farm.

Brandon seems to be able to sport even the most feminine jacket.

Bulldog Homecoming

2008-12-22T12:05:00.004-05:00

This Homecoming we were able to celebrate it with a little bit of "home" coming down to Athens. Brad, Theresa, and Brian joined us for a wild weekend of Georgia football this year! Crazy as it sounds, this was the first time in about 12 months that we'd seen them, so it was a wonderful time to catch up on all that we've missed.

Brandon's Thumb

2008-10-05T11:32:00.002-04:00

In response to a comment that questioned the awesome black brace on Brandon's left hand, it would be appropriate to share that in early September Brandon chipped a portion of his thumb bone off while playing soccer. It seems to be healing with this soft brace, but he'll head back for more x-rays on the 14th of October. He hasn't slowed down too much with this brace, as he continues to play soccer on Sundays and also work at the computer everyday at Lifesprings- his ability to use keyboard shortcuts has been limited some, but he is coping well.

So, that's the nitty gritty with the brace. He so eloquently calls the brace his "Titan Thumb" and while he says that he makes a super hero motion slamming his "Titan Thumb" down onto an imaginary surface, furrowing his eyebrows and scowling like a mad man. That alone is entertainment enough for me to ease the thought of how much this "Titan Thumb" and my superhero husband is going to cost!

Blackout in Athens

2008-10-04T12:56:00.003-04:00

And then...

2008-09-07T18:47:00.002-04:00

After the excitement of the movie and shopping, we met friends for dinner.

Brandon's birthday continued

2008-09-07T09:28:00.004-04:00

Since Ron and Karen were unable to come down to visit during Brandon's birthday, we had to switch our plans pretty quickly. So this is what Brandon's celebration day looked like:

We drove to Buford, Georgia (~45 minutes) to the Mall of Georgia to see the movie "The Dark Knight" in IMAX.

You KNOW that Brandon was excited for me to take this picture, but he was a good sport about it.

We walked around the mall a bit and Brandon thought this helmet was rockin'. For some reason I feel like when we have children of our own, we'll have lots of little boy or little girls photos like this.

As it happened we also were up for a new phone with our cell phone provider, so on the birthday Brandon got a new phone! Can you see how happy he is? His old phone had lived a long life of nearly 4 years!

Just in case you couldn't figure out what he was doing in the below picture!

2008-09-06T11:05:00.003-04:00

This was the bubble wrap in the package from Brittney, he didn't know I was video-taping which makes it even better!!

A Start to a GREAT Birthday

2008-09-06T11:01:00.004-04:00

It's always hard to decide what to do for one's 27th birthday... but you always know it's going to be a good day when you catch Brandon enjoying his gift from Brittney...

It's that time again!! Go Dawgs.

2008-09-01T10:53:00.002-04:00

We are so blessed to have such wonderful friends!! Chad, Karla, and Piper are so wonderful to have in our lives. We are cheering on Coach Chad/Hubby/Daddy at the home opener v-ball match again GA Tech. It was such an exciting match and a bonus was that I got to hold Piper!!

This is the first photo of B and I in front of Sanford Stadium on the tracks. The tracks run north to south of UGA's campus; and before the stadium was added onto people could watch the Dawgs play from the tracks.

Coach McCartney made sure the Jones' got matching Georgia volleyball shirts! This means we are superfans!

This is UGA VII, he is the newest member of Bulldog Nation... and probably the most popular and pampered.

Raise The Roof 1994 Style

2008-08-25T18:06:00.005-04:00

I love going to church.

I didn't always love it. I used to take as long as possible on sunday mornings in hopes that I might actually get left at home and could watch cartoons by myself and eat three bowls of cereal. Then I went to college and didn't have the parents making me go, so I didn't, regularly anyways for two years. Church was boring and a duty. Not cool. I still loved Jesus but not going to church. It felt like I had heard everything before. This was far from the truth, but thats what it felt like, I'm just keepin' it real wich ya.

Then I found a church of my own, to call my own and there was excitement from the people at this church [there is a reason that I say the people and not me… you'll see]. It is a growing church and I tried to get involved. I taught 3rd&4th grade boys sunday school and also went to the Men's Bible Study…most of the time. I really enjoyed sunday mornings, but that was where I left my enjoyment of learning and talking about God.

Since moving to Georgia and literally starting anew, I have had a lot of priority shifts and revelations, in a lot of areas of my life. I'm not going to tell you about all of them. Instead I am going to tell you about one that has bugged me about me lately. Here it goes, straight forward, sorry if I get to preaching but I think it may be in my genes, right Dad.

I am tired of people [like me] who love Jesus and believe in what he did for us [died on the cross and saved us from our sins] just sitting on their hands at church as if it was a school classroom. Are you kidding me? When was the last time you went to a concert or sporting event and didn't make a peep. I'm not just talking about singing, clapping and waving your hands in the air as if you just don't care. I'm talking about "cheering on" your pastor, being excited to give back to God, and seeing lives changed. If you went to a concert or sporting event and nobody cheered, would you go back or think that the fans were really all that interested in what was going on? Would you, who are fans tell anybody about how great your team was? There is no way. Then why in the world do we do that at church. It is proven that Bands and Sports Teams perform better when the crowd is behind them, so why would you not "cheer on" your pastor when they are trying to change lives for eternity the greatest cause in the world. Your excitement will breed more excitement. When you look at churches that are growing rapidly, you will notice that the congregation is participatory in the service not sitting idly back. If people have a good time at church then they will more likely come back. If church is just another classroom… did any of us really like going to school?

The more excited you are at and about church, the more you will talk about it and people will be more compelled to check out what all the excitement is about. Think about it.

It has really changed things in my spiritual life. I read the Bible now more than ever. I listen to sermons almost everyday of the week, via podcasts, and God is changing me little by little. It is incredible how my excitement for and at church has breed excitement in my everyday life.

Surprise your pastor and help pour into them while they are pouring into you.

Podcasts with great teaching… My favorites

CompassChurch.com – Current Church

Elevation Church – Pastor Steven Furtick [My favorite by far]

LifeChurch.tv

NewSpring Church – Perry Noble

Orchard Hill Church – Cedar Falls, Iowa

– Brandon

Chicago Fire–que

2008-08-21T19:57:00.001-04:00

Trip to Chicago

2008-08-21T19:51:00.002-04:00

How could anyone say "no" to these sweet faces? Mak is so disgusted at whatever you just said.

Uncle Brandon and Taylor- she's eating Mak's leftover breakfast!

Lovin' on the flowers.

What a good lookin' crew.

A Day at Work for Brandon

2008-08-21T19:43:00.004-04:00

Brandon sent this to me Monday afternoon. It sure brightened my day, hope it does for you too!

A Day in the Park in Guangzhou

2008-08-12T19:49:00.004-04:00

Dr. Schempp and I went to a park that started with an "X"... I don't think I could pronounce it or spell it if I tried. ... so we'll call it Park X. This park was in the middle of the city of Guangzhou and it is full of lush greenery, walk ways, and many many people (surprised?!). We walked around for a couple hours just enjoying the green space. These young Chinese girls giggled and laughed as Dr. Schempp and I walked around- and asked for a photo with us.

There were paddle boats.

And a 5 story tower/museum that traced the history of China and Guangzhou. Very interesting.

This beautiful cherry blossom piece was on display on the 5th floor.

When we made our way down it started to pour-- so we bought and umbrella and stopped for some lunch. Everyone else seemed to have a similar idea.

A day of commerce in Guangzhou

2008-08-05T04:46:00.003-04:00

Guangzhou is one of the business hubs of southern China. Paul (Dr. Schempp) and I went into town today to do some shopping and site seeing. Here is what I think to be a typical Chinese shopping district. There was , however, a hint of Western to it.
Lots of people on bicycles- for both transportation and for business. See the herbs being sold-- puts different meaning on selling out of the "trunk of your car"

Covered textiles "mall" or area. Has a real flea market feel.

In the middle of all this commerce, we stumbled upon this temple area.

Presentation Photos from China

2008-08-05T04:37:00.004-04:00

This was before the presentation Monday morning. The title of the session was "Teaching with Technology- Taking Physical Education into the 21st Century" ... or something like that.
Afterwards Beth stole the sign that I'm standing next to in this photo.

I was the last of four to speak during the 1hr and 30 minute workshop. We were scheduled for 7am on Monday morning and we weren't too optimistic that many would show up- but there were 24 and the presentation was very well received.

This is the "Dream Team" that stunned the world with our presentation. Dr. Edginton started the presentation, then Beth, then Paul, and then me.

China again... It's only day 2!

2008-08-02T11:16:00.002-04:00

This gentleman is the Director of the Institute of Sport in Guangzhou- after dinner he treated us by demonstrating his ability to write in Chinese calligraphy. This script is a an old Chinese proverb that translates to something like "the harder you work, the more you will achieve". I'm sure I have not done it justice, but that's what I understood.

After the traditional Chinese banquet-these two are siblings from Shanghai University. They have been wonderful translating Chinese to English for me. They say their English is bad, but I joke with them and say that my Chinese is worse!!

After the banquet our hosts took us to a karaoke room. In this photo Beth and I on the ends and then Korea and Canada represented.

Yes, that's me with the microphone. It was horrible, but I did it! They laughed so hard at how I just made up the words.

Beth didn't sing, but she did amaze them with a magic trick.

More China

2008-08-02T11:08:00.002-04:00

There are 5 buildings connected to this convention center we are in- this is the lobby to one of the buildings.

Like I said- lots of security. These gentlemen march around the convention center to change stations with the guards standing in front of every entrance.

Our guards. Mind you- this does not feel like a hostile area AT ALL, but since this convention is associated with the Olympics all security issues were covered.

Between 2 of the buildings.

Through Dr. Edginton's Chinese connections and relationships, we were invited to a traditional Chinese banquet that was amazing. This photo is of all of the people who have visited or studied at UNI with Dr. Edginton-- there are many more at this convention that have met and worked with UNI and Dr. E who were not at this dinner. I did not eat the chicken feet that were served!!

Trip to Guangzhou China

2008-08-02T10:55:00.002-04:00

This is the Opening Ceremony for the 2008 Pre-Olympic Scientific Conference. Over 7o countries are represented here in Guangzhou China. Although the conference is mainly English spoken presentations, in this Ceremony it was all in Chinese, so we had to wear headphones that had translators speaking English for us (and most of the other non-Chinese speaking people)

This was the first night we were at the conference. Because this is the first time this conference is considered part of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games security is very tight. These Chinese students are making name badges for us that we are required to wear everywhere we go. There are 2,000 conference attendees and over 10,000 staff (which includes security officers).

The main banquet hall for dinner one evening. The entertainment on the front stage was excellent.

There is beautiful Chinese art in every presentation hall. Simply gorgeous.

At breakfast Beth and Dr. Schempp deep in conversation!

A Southern Low Country Boil.

2008-07-27T11:59:00.003-04:00

We have experienced a true Southern tradition.... A Low Country Boil. These pots are boiling up king crab legs, peel-your-own shrimp, corn on the cob, sausage links, and maybe something else that swims...?

Although it is something like 100 degrees down here, these folks are willing to crowd around boiling water and cook this great meal for us. They kept the cooked meat hot in coolers-- ironic?

It was like a down home picnic. This is us with Brandon's colleagues.

This was a beautiful sight. What's not shown is that there were 4 of these on our table!

2007 Chicago Marathon

2008-07-27T11:52:00.002-04:00

These fantastic fans surprised me on mile 13 with this great sign and BRIGHT shirts! It was exactly what I needed to help carry me through the second half of the race.

Look it's me... and I'm smiling??! Who smiles at mile 14 in 90 degree heat?

This is out of order.. but Ken and I after the race. He and his girlfriend Laura came all the way from Denver Colorado to support me at the race.

Although the race organizers 'cancelled' the race, I finished... look for the blue shorts and white tank top on the right hand side of this photo--- that's me!

I think mom and dad walked more than the 26.2 that day trying to keep up with the race course to surprise and support me while finishing the race! They deserve a medal too!

2008-07-27T11:44:00.003-04:00

The soccer team. Don't they look tough?

No wedding is complete without some Sweet Caroline!

The wedding is in Dubuque, so we got to spend time with Ron and Karen.

Good friends and good looking people.

Georgia Bulldogs Football

2008-07-27T11:36:00.002-04:00

This blog would be incomplete without photos of the Georgia Bulldogs football games! We love going to games. Here we are in Sanford Stadium... with 93,000 other crazy Dawg fans all in RED & BLACK!

Can't you just feel the excitement!!

Hairy Dawg (the fuzzy one) and Uga VI (the furry one) getting some press time. Uga VI just passed away this summer so, this next season we'll have a new Uga VII!

This was homecoming... check out the sweet seats we had-- right behind the goal posts! Note: Brandon is wearing a Nebraska shirt!

Gooooooooooooo Dawgs....woof woof woof

2008-07-27T11:27:00.003-04:00

This was last summer when my folks came down to Georgia. We visited the Martin Luther King Memorial in Atlanta. This is my mom and I in front of the beautiful rose garden planted in remembrance of Coretta Scott King.

Some cool dudes at the MLK memorial.

Burial Reflection Pond of MLK and his wife.

We also went to a Braves game. We paid extra for the sweaty seats!

This is an Antebellum (a.k.a. before the war) home in Athens, were we live, the ironwork on the front porch was casted at the Foundry here in Athens years ago. There are so many beautiful homes down here. Wish we lived in one of them!

2008-07-25T17:44:00.002-04:00

If I could only tell you all the things that have been going on since the very 1st post. Actually I probably could since we can't afford to drive anywhere. So, to catch up a little…

Emily is still working on trying to get to China to present at a pre-olympic conference, but if that doesn't work out she's planning on going to Iowa to visit the family and friends. She is making progress on her paper and I am sure proud of how hard she works.

I have begun to get more involved at church, so much so that I think I may need to get a calendar. That is something that I never thought I would really need. Just keep life simple I told myself, but noooo, I couldn't do that so wish me luck. Well, I am doing a lot of the graphics for sermon series and the youth group series. I do the sermon notes to be used on screen during the sermon every weekend that I am able. Right now I have three logos to work on and a mailer in the works soon. I will post some of the previous sermon series logos and stuff I've done. I'm also going to start helping out with the youth group. Myself and the head guy for the jr/sr high schoolers will have an all guys small group on thursday night and we will be starting a series on acts August 6th. I'm really looking forward to that. That will mean that I have Married Couple Small Group on tuesday night, 706 on Wednesday night, and 706 Small Group on thursday night, then church on sunday. It took me a while but delayed obedience is disobedience, I think I finally get that.

Together, Emily and I have been working out for 4 weeks straight keeping each other in line and encouraging. We are starting to see the benefits, finally [stupid instant gratification culture]. We also play soccer on sundays together after church. We play on a coed team together at 1:00 called Google This!, and I play on a second all guys team at 2:00 called Foo Fighters [thats the coaches last name…Foo]. So working out is a really good thing for me since it seems to get really hot on sunday for some reason, most weeks have been near or above 100 degrees. Yeah, summer is a little rough, but I'll take it over an Iowa winter any day of the week.

Emily will be home soon and we'll go running in traffic, speed training you know. Not really Mom, take it easy.

By the way, Happy Birthday Mom! Love ya

2008-06-17T19:33:00.000-04:00

In the beginning there were two, stronger together than they were apart. Their interests were many and on this basis we will choose to inform and enlighten.

This blog will serve as a method of documenting our life together, the challenges we face, and the fun we have. It is amazing that even after the 8 years of knowing one another and the 3 lovely years of wedded bliss, every day continues to be an adventure, a blessing, and an opportunity to learn more about my spouse. We are learning hard lessons such as compassion, consideration, and communication-- and we thought we had that down at "I do"!