Back Up To Date!

I wasn't able to upload anymore pictures on the last blog, so on to a new one....

AUGUST 2010

Such a busy, busy month for us! I started a new job as a Wellness Coordinator & Exercise Specialist at Primacare Physical Therapy in Suwanee, Will started back to school in the Early Childhood/Special Education Program, & we celebrated 3 years of marriage - all in the same month! Because we were so busy, we were not able to take an anniversary trip, but we did go to dinner at Poor Richards & a movie to celebrate. We also had Sarah Dailey take pictures for us of our little family...

I also took an impromtu trip to the Humane Society & ended up talking Mom & Dad into getting the most perfect little Golden Doodle. Meet Millie...

Already house trained, crate trained, can sit, loves to swim in the lake, & has just the sweetest little personality. Mom even taught her to shake in 20 minutes. Smart little thing! (Well...she's actually not that little.)

We joined Lakewood Baptist Church this month, too & are extremely happy at this church. For the 1st time in a long, long time, we finally feel at home in a church. Such a blessing!

Will hit the big 2-5 in August & on his birthday he coached his 1st football game for Gainesville High School. I'm so very proud of my little coach...

The next day I had a Beach Volleyball birthday party Will at Laurel Park. It was SO much fun & so many of his friends were able to come! Andy even came down from D.C. & Trey came up from south Georgia to surprise him. It was a GREAT birthday.

We divided into 2 teams to play on the beach volleyball courts. The winners...

(Please look at Martha's weird leg!)

And the losers... ;)

Happy Birthday Will!

SEPTEMBER 2010

Erin & Daniel turned 27! I always feel left out during "birthday season". Will, Daniel, & Erin's birthdays are all within 1 week of each other. Anyway - we celebrated at hibachi...always delicious!

I also joined Bodyplex in September & I LOVE it! The classes are great & really helped me with my cross-training as I was preparing for the half. I also love that so many of my friends work out there...makes it more fun!

Will ran my 8th 5k with me! I came in 2nd place in the Hurricane Shoals Art in the Park 5k & Will came in 3rd. This race was MISERABLE!!! Loooooong country roads on a hot, hot day. It was very difficult. We started out smiling...didn't finish that way!

After the race on that same (hot!) day, Will & I were re-baptized in Lake Lanier! It felt great, not just cause it was hot, but spiritually, too! Dr. Smiley, the same pastor that married us, baptized us after we recommitted ourselves to the Lord & joined the church. It was a great day & Lakewood even sent us a CD of all the baptism pictures (but for some reason they won't load on the blog).

My best friend also got engaged this month!!! Brittany & John are getting married May 6, 2010. After John proposed, their friends & family were waiting for them at Dorks in Dahlonega - too fun!

Britt & her BFFs (& bridesmaids)

OCTOBER 2010

Not a ton of stuff to report - I ran 2 5ks this month to make up for the one that I was not able to do in August. I Ran the Vineyard at Chateau Elan with Molly Powell - it was so pretty, but really hard! Molly & I also did the Mule Camp 5k the following weekend. I came in 2nd place in both races! =)

Will & I also launched a Thirst Group in Gainesville with Ray & Sarah Green, the college-aged pastor at Lakewood. This ministry is mainly targeted at "the 20-somethings". At our 1st meeting, Will & I shared our story. This was very scary seeing as though we had never shared it before, but at the same time it was very fulfilling. We got a lot of good feedback from the people that were there so that was encouraging.

In October, I was still miserable at Primacare & Will was still busy with school & coaching football for Gainesville. Here is a cute little picture of him doin' his thang on the sidelines...

October was a busy wedding month - we went to Brian & Callie's wedding on the 9th & Lyndsey Hallowes wedding on the 23rd (also our 10 YEAR ANNIVERSARY!) I cannot believe Will has been apart of my life for a decade!!! Wow!

We also ended the month with the traditional Pumpkin Carving Contest at Erin & Daniel's. =)

NOVEMBER 2010

November brought one of the BIGGEST blessings. On the 2nd, I got hired as North Georgia College's new Health Educator! Absolute dream job & it even came with the perfect salary (& benefits) Will & I had been praying for. I started on November 8th! MAJOR blessing!

We also ran another 5k at Lake Lanier Islands...BIG disappointment. This was the most unorganized race of the year, but it was a cool, different way to see the lights than we had in years past (even though they weren't finished!)

I also achieved my ultimate goal for the year...tackle a half marathon! Thanksgiving Day, Michael & I ran the entire 13.1 miles! SUCCESS! =)

So proud of myself!!!

I also dropped a total of 18 pounds for the year!

DECEMBER 2010

December started out with a girls night out for Erin's "last night out" before the baby. We went down to Shout (or maybe it was Twist?) in Atlanta for dinner. It was delicious! =)

I also ran my final 5K of the year!!! Not only did I achieve my goal, but I FINALLY came in FIRST PLACE!!! Here's us in Madison...

And here's the 1st & 2nd place winners for our age group...

Probably won't be winning anymore now that I'm in an older age group =/ But I can say that for my age group, I finished in 9th place in the entire state of Georgia! Pretty cool!

I think over the month of December, we had a grand total of 14 different Christmas parties!!! It was insane! From work parties, church parties, friend parties, & family parties, our holiday was out of control. We didn't make it to all of them, but we tried!

On top of Christmas parties, there was of course my birthday party! This year, several of my friends came and ate at Kiku to celebrate the big 2-5.

Here's the cake Will got me. I wasn't too excited about being a quarter of a century old.

On my actual birthday we went to (where else?) the Olive Garden - a tradition for many, many years now.

Christmas morning was low-key. We went over to my parents' house to hang out & then went to Erin & Daniel's for the rest of the day.

Sweet Millie giving Will a Christmas hug =)

This year was exciting because for the 1st time EVER it was a WHITE CHRISTMAS!!! We got out the next morning to play. =)

JANUARY 2011

Happy New Year! A year ago, January 1st, I was in the Emergency Room with Bell's Palsy! Hopefully I'll stay away from the hospital this year...

Just as soon as we started back this semester, we were knocked out of school for 4 days with a snow storm!!! I think we got about 7 inches of snow? And we were literally stuck! We got our car stuck a couple of times - once in a neighbor's yard & again at the bottom of the cul-de-sac. I was happy to have the time off though. We just lazed around & watched a few seasons of Chuck (we got into it!) This was after finishing the final season of 24 that Dad got for Christmas.

My semester was MUCH busier than the previous. I had numerous presentations going on, on top of promoting several different upcoming programs. My appointments started picking up, too. I think I was booking almost 20 a week.

With the upcoming arrival of my niece, Erin had several January baby showers. Me & several of her friends through a BEAUTIFUL shower in the Parlor at First Baptist Church. It was very girly & went along with her giraffe themed nursery.

FEBRUARY 2011

February was a very busy month for us - with work, school, & what seemed like 100 personal engagements, we stayed busy! I started off February's Fusion giving my testimony to the College Aged Community. This was the largest crowd I have spoken to so far and overall I think it went well!

I helped throw my 2nd Baby Shower of the year for Sarah Green (our College Aged Pastor's wife) who was due 2 days after Erin. It turned out super cute & I loved all the little owl decorations that matched her nursery. Mom helped me make the cutest "guest book" for her, too. It was a tree on a canvas that I painted & every guest put her finger print on the tree in different colors as the leaves...SO cute!

The most exciting event of the month was that Kimsey Elyse arrived on Saturday, February 26th at 7:31 pm!!!

She was 6 lbs 15 oz & 20.5 in long (I think?)

Here she is in the cutest little outfit, courtesy of Aunt Sarah =)

The next morning, I helped Katie Clark throw Brittany's 1st Bridal Shower! I went very well & she gave us the cutest little market totes with our last names embroidered! So cute! =)

MARCH 2011

So this month, I just finished up my "busy season" of the semester. I've been saying all along, if I could just make it through to Spring Break, I could finally relax & catch my breath. From finishing up the Fitness Challenge, National Eating Disorder Awareness Week, Safe Spring Break Week, & seeing about 30 patients a week, I have been EXHAUSTED!!!

This past weekend we went to the Caldwell's to see our growing niece. She's more awake & alert now which makes me excited! Here's the proud aunt...

Sweet Uncle Will...

And the growing girl...

And now that brings us to Spring Break...today I'm off =) & Will's working this week for Daniel. Oh, and this past weekend I got an iPhone! I'm hoping my blog posts will be more up-to-date with the new blog app I downloaded (I know...I'm a dork).

Long Time Gone

Has it really been over a month? Guess I've been busy (or preoccupied). Will give an update soon...

Sarah Lately...

What happened to Spring? I think we completely skipped it this year & went straight to summer. Anyway...we've been loving it! Will & I have stepped up our work-outs here lately. We did a 5 day trial at BodyPlex in Athens & another one at the Omni. I have LOVED getting back into some aerobics classes & I know Will has enjoyed lifting weights, too. Other than that, we've just been enjoying being outside, running, laying out at the pool, & cooking out.

A couple of weekends ago I went up & spent the night at Alli & Casey's house in Gainesville. Alli, Joy, & I had a girls night...we went & ate at Recess in downtown Gainesville, had some Merlot, & some fun conversations. I always have so much fun hanging out with the ol' roomies!

After dinner, we went back & spent the night at Alli's. We were mad at rude Mary Susan for ditching us! =(

This past Easter weekend, Will & I enjoyed a bright & sunny Athens! Will had Good Friday off so we packed up & went & had a picnic at Sandy Creek Park. This park has a beautiful sandy white beach on the lake. We set up our blanket & enjoyed turkey sandwiches, chips, fruit salad, & carrot cake in honor of Easter. And yes...those are the napkins from our wedding. We still have tons left over three years later!

Will even packed some bread so we could feed the ducks. We went on hunt to find some but were unsuccessful. We only found some turtles sunning a log...

So we packed up & tried a different park in Athens that is right up the street from where we live. We had more luck there...

This park has a wild life exhibit! Will was in HEAVEN!

They also have a big pond & a dog park, too!

Anyway...I finally found some ducks! I was happy! =)

After the park & cooling off a little bit, we went & saw The Bounty Hunter in theater! It was so cute!!!

On Saturday, we made some pina coladas & layed out at the pool for awhile! After that we came in & made some Easter eggs!

Of course Will had to make a Braves Easter egg!

I turned our little Easter eggs into deviled eggs!

Will cooked out that night...first cookout of the year! It was delicious as always!

That night we had an Easter egg hunt inside. I hid the eggs for Will & then we switched. I think Bella had the most fun out of everyone!

That cat LOVES Easter eggs!

On Easter Sunday we went to Lakewood & then had lunch at Kathy's house. After lunch Will & I went & ran the course for the 30K relay race we are doing this month. It wasn't as hard as I was thinking it would be, but I definitely have work to do before the big day!

So that's what's been going on lately! I'm looking forward to this week...it is Spring Break for my mom & my other teacher friends! Tomorrow I'm going to spend the night with Mary & Wednesday mom is coming to Athens to spend the night with me! It's gonna be a good week...

Ahh...the weekend!

This past weekend I ran my 3rd 5K of the year. Will & I ran the 3rd annual Dawg Trot at UGA which benefited the alumni association. This was, BY FAR, the hardest 5K I've done, yet. I see why they chose the course -- it started at the Coliseum, went past the football field, through campus, and then ended right past the baseball field. Obviously they are trying to take runners past these "landmarks" on campus to gain alumni support. I get it! But seriously -- the hills were a killer! We had to walk in two spots of the course but still finished just a few minutes past my best time. I just knew we would finish somewhere in the "40s" so I was happy with our time. There were some serious champs running it, though! Before we even got to mile marker 1, there were some guys SPRINTING around the first loop and up the first hill (which was about half a mile ahead of us). They were ridiculous!

That same night we went to Gainesville to meet Anna and Emily Buffington to eat for Danielle's 26th birthday. Of course we went to El Sombrero -- Danielle's absolute favorite place! We were there for almost TWO HOURS! I was in Phi Mu with Anna & Danielle & we were inseparable at North Georgia. Now that I live in Athens & they both work full-time, I don't get to see them as much as I'd like. I see Danielle occasionally for an El Som dinner date when I'm in Gainesville, but Anna lives and works in Kennesaw so I don't get to see her very often at all. It was so good to see them both & catch up!

The cat is mighty dignified until the dog comes by...

Little Miss Bella is fitting into our family so perfectly...

She's getting more comfortable with the dogs, being more social, & isn't nocturnal anymore!

Who Do You Think You Are?

So this new show on NBC, Who Do You Think You Are?, has really gotten Will & me into researching our family history. The show partnered with Ancestry.com and each week takes different celebrities through their family history and tracks their genealogy all over the world. The first episode looked at Sarah Jessica Parker's family. One of her ancestors was traced back to the 1849 gold rush in California. Another ancestor of hers (I think her 10th great-grandmother) was traced all the way back to the Salem witch trials! Fascinating! Tonight's episode traces Lisa Kudrow's family back to the Holocaust.

So like I said, it has really fueled a curiosity in where we came from so I registered for a month on Ancestry.com. After gathering all the known family history from our parents & grandparents, so far we have traced our families back to England, Ireland, Scotland, Germany, Wales, and France. We have found ancestors who fought in the American Revolution, Civil War, both World Wars, the French & Indian War, the Irish War of Independence, and even different religious battles. We have also found ancestors who were Captains, Judges, Farmers, and Ministers. The website even allows you to connect with other people who are searching for your ancestors, many of which, post pictures and stories! This is just a small portion of what I have found so far...

This is my mother's paternal grandfather. I had never seen this picture before, but when I checked with my grandmother, she said that was definitely my grandfather's father, Carl Alvin Cosper.

This is the headstone of Mary & John Roquemore. The name Roquemore comes from my dad's maternal great-grandmother, Mary Jane Roquemore. My grandmother always told him that the Roquemore's were French Huguenots. Sure enough, I traced them all the way back to France and found several stories & pictures on the Roquemores. Mary & John Roquemore are my fourth great-grandparents and as pictured, were born in the 1700s!

This is a picture of Jesse Washington Souther, Will's third great-grandfather, at his home with his brothers (I think). The Southers come from Will's maternal grandmother's family line. Jesse Washington Souther was a farmer and brought all of his produce from the mountains down to Gainesville in a covered wagon to sell.

Like I said, this is just a TINY bit of everything I've found and I'm sure there is so much more for us to uncover...

Meet Bella...

This weekend, we welcomed a new member into our little zoo.

Mary Susan came to the decision that she could no longer keep her beautiful, little, white kitty anymore. She didn't have the time to take care of her & was getting tired of all her shedding. Will & I immediately fell in love with her about a year ago when we met her for the 1st time at Mary's apartment. Mary had adopted her from the Lumpkin County Humane Society (same place Missy & Tini came from) last January. She was a one-year old kitty & the SWEETEST little thing on this earth! So loving, so social, so sweet, & a definite lap kitty! We, of course, said yes! So on Sunday, we made the long trek home from Gainesville with Missy & Tini in the back seat & Bella in a box in my lap in the front. =)

Poor little Bells didn't quite know what to do with two new doggies curiously following her around. Especially with Tini stalking her every move. For about the 1st two hours or so, Bella just hid on our bookshelf.

She eventually came around, though, & before the end of the night I had all three of my girls snuggling on the couch together! =)

Tini is OBSESSED with little Bella!

She already loves her and started licking her little ears!

Being in a new place she was being very curious. For some reason we just couldn't keep her out of the fire place! Before we could stop her, she came out with a black face & paws!

She definitely hasn't fully adjusted to her new home, yet. She didn't sleep most of the night & has been crying a lot. She cried a lot throughout the night, tried to knock my cup of water off the bedside table -- twice, & then started crying again this morning at 6:30. She's used to waking up with Mary around that time to eat her breakfast, but when we tried to feed her she wouldn't eat. So my other two girls & I just woke up SUPER early this morning to try to make Bella comfortable.

I think she was just lonely & wanted to play...yes, at about 7:00 this morning! This is Bella's little house that Mary's mom gave her. She LOVES her house!

Tini doesn't quite understand what that thing is hanging from the ceiling. She's scared of Bella's house!

She sure does love her new little kitty friend, though. More than anything, she just wants Bella to chase her & play with her. I'm sure they'll be running around together pretty soon...

So around 9:00, I went back to bed with my two dogs (seriously I'm not used to waking up so early...& I'm embarrassed to say I've taken three naps today) She cried a couple of times, but I finally heard her eating -- finally! And for the rest of the day she has slept under our guest bed. I mean she has been sleeping HARD! Poor little thing must not have slept at all last night (& neither did I!)