first day at the new job...

finished.

It was long!

We both had a good day!

Glad it's over.

Tomorrow I have a shorter day of orientation!

Off Friday for the 4th of July!

Life is good!

Trying to decide what to do for the weekend...

crabby? ill-pill? crabby ill-pill?

i was editing and naming pictures from St. Simons...

i came to this one, named it "crabby"...

and then laughed at myself...

ill-pill?

crabby?

crabby ill-pill?

:)

a lady caught these off the pier in St. Simons!
So cool!

ill-pill...

that's me...

i get like this sometimes.

i don't even like my own-stinkin' self.

on the verge of tears.

or just about to go off.

for no stinkin' reason.

i'm sure alot of it is just stress with a little
bit of PMS mixed in.
(sorry TMI)

I just don't get it.

got a crown today...
on my tooth
same Mr. 14 that I have been dealin with
for months!
To top it all off...I have used all of my dental
insurance for the year.
So $950 later... he should be fixed.

Alan got a speeding ticket on the
way home yesterday.

We had some house-hunters come by today!
We haven't heard from our agent yet.

The moving truck lady, Julie, said we
are gonna need a big truck!
So thankful to have them move us!

Well, that's about all that is going on...

I'm off to go get over myself.

need to hurry...

We've got a lady coming over at 11:00 to do a survey of our stuff,
so they will know how big a truck they need when they come pack us up!

I wanted to send this blog on to y'all...

Tip Junkie

It has lots of you guessed...Tips!

Maggie got a job! You can see her blog for details!

Lauren and Chris made it home from Philadelphia last night!

That's it for now!

Lauren, Chris and baby Brown...

Baby Brown has a name!

(He's had a name for a few weeks, but I thought they might change their mind!)

Robert Gage Brown.

Lauren and Chris got good news today at their appointment in Philadelphia.

Gage's liver has not herniated into the lung/heart cavity!
The doctors say that if it has not herniated yet, it won't!
This increases his chance of survival from 75% to 93%!
Also, this decreases the need for ECMO (a heart/lung bypass machine)
even though he may still need it.

They also found a ventricular septal defect (VSD).
(A small hole in the septum between the Left and right ventricle)
The doctor said most of the time these fix themselves.
Let's pray this closes on its own!

Thanks for praying for Gage!
Let's all keep praying for him!

They will go back to Philadelphia in 4 weeks.
Then again in 8 weeks.

Then at 36 weeks she will fly up!
Around 38 weeks they will induce.
(If her body is giving signs that it is ready.)

I am so privileged to be allowed to see God work
through Lauren, Chris and Gage's life.

He is so awesome...so worthy of our praise!

In less important news...
The Camry is going to be fixed!
Thank you God!
It will take a few weeks, but she will be worth the wait!

Alan and I had a great time in St. Simons!
We are at Alan's parents now...I have my new employee
physical tomorrow at my new job.
Then we will head back home to rest up and return here over the weekend!

i survived...

my last day...

lots of tears, hugs, and good-byes.

lots of "lasts"

"this is my last patient"

"this is the last time I will count narcotics"

"this is the last time I will clock out"

(ridiculous I know)


They made me turn in my ID badge.

Are you kidding me...I am such a "no clutter allowed" person...

but I wanted that ID.

I have my others and I wanted that one.


My co-workers sent me off in style with a "date in a bucket".

Carrabas gift card and movie tickets.

Reese's cups and Jordan almonds.

And a bucket for popcorn.

My favorite part was probably the card!

Totally thoughtful and totally appreciated!



I still can't believe that this day has come

and is almost gone.

We are off to Amber and Brad's wedding tomorrow then off to St. Simons!

tomorrow is my last day...

and I am unusually sad about it.

I thought I was more ready to say good-bye.

I thought it would be easier to leave.

I'm really gonna miss ARMC.

My co-workers.

The doctors (well most of them). :)

(That is for Brionne and Christy.)

10 days till I start my new job.

I'll be the new girl again.

It seems to be a recurring theme in my life.

Moving on...

uhhh...

today one of Alan's co-workers called to tell me Alan had been in a car accident...
(hold my breath)
that he was ok...
but that the car was not...
We got the Camry towed to a body shop nearby.
We will be waiting till next week to see if she is fixable.
Hopefully she will be...she is paid off...and Hello we are about to buy a new house!
Thank God Alan was ok, and so was the other driver.

I can't believe I only have two more days of work! The past three weeks have flown by. It really is a bittersweet time.

Our computer has been acting up lately. Alan took it to work so that a co-worker could look at it. He fixed it, but somewhere along the way all of my ITunes got erased...All 400 songs. Not happy about that. Luckily I can download the CD's I have again. But for all the ones I have purchased they are gone. :(

Anyways we are hard at work on our mortgage loan paperwork and wrapping things up around here. I can't believe we are really moving!

Here is a picture of my r. wood studio pottery!

I'm off.

picture takin' tips...

A girl at work was asking me about taking pictures.

So I thought I would just share a few tips...

I am not a professional,
just an amateur having fun with my camera...

1. Get closer to your subject.
When you think you are close enough take two steps closer.

2. Experiment.
Try different settings on your camera.
You might like what you try.

3. Read the manual that comes with you camera.
Seriously! I keep mine with me to refer to if I have questions.

4. Read photography books and browse photography websites.
Here are some of my favs...
Lisa Russo- She takes beautiful pics, especially newborn and maternity pics.
Tara Whitney- Love her! Her blog is a great read too. Her pics rock!!!
Tonya Joy
A great website featuring lots of awesome photographers.
Two Peas in a Bucket
The book Designing with Photos is awesome!
When I first got my film Canon Rebel I bought Photography for Dummies.

5. Before I snap a picture I make sure I look in all 4 corners of my viewfinder.
This insures that you are getting exactly what you want to get.

6. Don't be afraid to cut someones head off. :)
Some of the coolest pictures I've seen include cut off heads...etc.
(Examples on Tara Whitney's website above.)

7. Go digital. You can take pictures, review,
delete and retake if you aren't happy with the first one.

8. Read this and this... so true!

9. Look at your background...
Does it add to or take away from your subject?
Sometimes getting closer can take away distractions in the background.

10. Try different angles.
The most interesting pictures are usually not straight on.
Get above or below your subject.
Tilt your camera.

Do you have any tips to share?

today...

We just had another couple look at our house!

Alan is taking me here on June 22nd.

We just went to r. wood studios again this afternoon.

We bought a scalloped platter like this. Ours is a pretty gold color.

I talked to Lauren a few minutes ago.
They will find out soon when they will go to Philadelphia for
their preliminary evaluation.
Let's pray they will be able to go the week of June 22nd.

If you are interested in sending Lauren and Chris a note or card in the mail,
let me know and I will pass along their address.

baby Brown...

Lauren and Chris went to their appointment with the

perinatologist on Wednesday.

They got a confirmation that "it" is definitely a boy!

They also got confirmation that baby Brown has

Congential Diaphragmatic Hernia.

Their doctor suggested they go to the

Children's Hospital of Philadelphia
to have the baby.

They have prayed about it, and are planning to go.

While their hearts are heavy, they are trusting in God,
and resting in the peace that can only come from Him.

Please join me and Alan in prayer for them!

maggie...

maggie and will

has a blog.

http://www.maggienunnelly.blogspot.com/

They made it to California about an hour and a half ago.

They should be arriving in San Diego shortly!

random...

this picture is gracing our desktop...

- Can't believe it's already Sunday night again.

- We drove past our prospective home yesterday and today.

- Alan's mom made some homemade strawberry ice cream with
some of the strawberries from the above picture. Yummy!

- It was 103 degrees this weekend in the middle GA area.

- Two more weeks of work...:).

- Craving salad. I'm gonna make a crunchy cabbage slaw tomorrow.

- And a broccoli salad.

- And maybe some fruit salad this week.

- Blackberries and blueberries should be ready for picking this week!

- Someone looked at our house today!

- If we buy the house we are looking at...

I want to get this door or one that is similar. Just the single door.

Not the side windows.

- Anxious to find out about baby Brown. Praying it was just a shadow.

- Saw baby Brown's nursery this weekend. So cute!

- Been looking at some moving announcements and an address stamp online. :)

- Thinking about Maggie and Mom...they are California bound.

They left Saturday morning.
So far they have made it to New Mexico.

Thanking God for keeping them safe.

- locked my keys in my car on Friday. Alan was out of town.
Thank goodness for Allstate Roadside Assistance.
I was in "good hands".
They met me and had my car unlocked in less than 20 minutes.
(Laura told me that's what I get for laughing at Lauren...and no I'm not pregnant.)

- thinking about God's love for us. how deep and wide it is.

- wishing I could stay up all night...and sleep all day.

- we're having a moving sale this weekend...I need to get on the ball!

- Laura is pregnant with #2!

- I got 4 hair-cuts last week. Don't ask. All I can say is...it's really short.

- I need to go to bed. It's almost midnight. And tomorrow is Monday.

baby Brown and moving.

Lauren is officially 22 weeks today!

She has been making me laugh with her "pregnant brain"stories.
Here are a few of the crazy things she has done...

She has...

tried to order a chocolate chip cookie dough

Blizzard at Chick-fil-a.
(Dairy Queen has Blizzards, Chick-fil-a has milkshakes.)
locked herself out of her house.
tried to get in someone else's car at Wal-mart

("And Hollie, it wasn't even a Saturn...").

I really appreciate the laughs.

She just tells me "Hollie, you just wait".

On a more serious note, the doctor saw
something concerning on the ultrasound today.
They think Baby Brown may have a hernia.
She is going to a specialist next Wednesday in Macon.
So, please pray for baby Brown.
And don't forget about Mommy and Daddy too.

..........................................................

Two more weeks and our time here will be over.

We can't wait for what lies ahead.

We are constantly talking about moving.
About our new jobs.
About a new house.

We have our eyes on this one for now.

Night-night.

fresh summer salad...

Romaine lettuce.

Fresh-picked strawberries.

Crumbled feta cheese.

Sugared pecans.

Balsamic vinaigrette dressing.

Yummy!

And beautiful to photograph.