Hicks Family Vacation

We just got back from vacation with the Hicks fam-Paul's parents and his brother Jonathan and his wife Laura. Paul's parents have a time share in Williamsburg, Virginia, which is where we spent a week. I had never been to Williamsburg before and I'm definitely not the biggest history buff (or even close really) but I loved looking at all the old "stuff" and I think I even learned a thing or two. There were a lot of horses and tea pots, which are both two things I love.





Paul and I celebrated our first anniversary while in Williamsburg. We ate at the Williamsburg Inn, which was just lovely.



We also went to Busch Gardens. The pass we had for the week allowed us to go as many times as we wanted, so we took advantage of that and went 3 times. I had never been before and Paul and I both love roller coasters.


We had a really great vacation but it also feels good to be home. We've been gone every single weekend in June and as much as I love to travel, I am definitely a "home sweet home" kind of girl. I'll be leaving for Kenya in less than 4 weeks now, so it will be nice to slow down and enjoy time at home with the hubster and our little Sophie.

Y'all have a happy 4th of July!

One Year

On Sunday Paul and I will celebrate our first year of marriage. WOW! Sometimes I still can't believe God would bless me with someone as wonderful as Paul. It is very humbling. Only because of God's grace and blessing of marriage counseling, marriage prep classes and a newlywed Bible Fellowship class at church, we have really had an easy first year of marriage. I don't and won't ever claim that our marriage is perfect, but I do think that if you put God above each other, and each other above yourself, marriage can be one of the biggest blessings we will ever receive. Paul is my very best friend. I love being around him. I love talking and laughing with him. I love going through life with him by my side, whether good or bad. I love him for the amazing husband he already is. I love him for the father I know he'll be one day. We have grown so much closer in this first year that it is hard to fathom growing even closer and loving him more than I already do. So thank you God for giving me Paul, to be my husband as long as we both shall live.

Back to reality....sort of

We got back from the beach last night. It was the best feeling in the world to know there was nothing I HAD to get up for today and the only reality I had to face was not waking up to a view of the beach. Although my very hard working hubby was up bright and early at 6:00 for workouts with his high school soccer team...to be followed by coaching at a baseball camp, to be followed by doing a soccer camp this evening. To all you people reading this from work, don't worry-I think I'll skip the pool for today and be really productive myself...you know like update my blog, catch up on Facebook, upload pictures, maybe do a few loads of laundry, stuff like that.

My family always goes to the beach together for a week but with my mom and I going to Kenya this summer, we were going to have to skip the beach trip this year. Paul's aunt and uncle have a house at the beach and they had a long weekend that no one was renting it and my family got to come down for the weekend. It was such a blessing and even though it was a quick trip for them, they were grateful to get to come at all. The beach was amazing, as it always is. As many times as I've been, I am still in awe of how peaceful and beautiful it is. The only thing I had to stress about was whether to listen to my ipod or listen to the waves crashing while I lay there soaking up the sun in between fishing, swimming in the ocean and walking on the beach.





We took Sophie to the beach for the first time. I can't believe I've had her almost 5years and have never taken her to my most favorite place. She wasn't big on the water, but she loved the sand and loved being there with us. She is absolutely exhausted and has barely moved yet today.



Ok y'all, I guess I really better get to work on my to-do list for today. After all, I do have to get up at 7:00 tomorrow morning to take Soph to get a hair cut before my day with Mason.

Upcoming happenings

Welp, we are officially done with another school year. It's one of the best feelings to know I have 8 weeks of relaxation-AND 8 weeks off with my husband :) Between the long hours put in and the pretty sad paycheck that we make as teachers, there probably wouldn't be very many teachers if we didn't have summer breaks. Don't get me wrong, I am very grateful for my time off, I'm just saying I think we deserve it ;) This summer is going to be here and gone so fast this year. We are heading out to the beach today, leaving for Williamsburg with Paul's family next week-then July will already be here-I leave for Kenya the end of July and when I get back, summer will be over already. In between all of that Paul will be doing several soccer camps and we get to spend every Tuesday with our favorite 3 year old in the world. Yesterday was our first Tuesday with sweet Mason.






Alright y'all , the beach and the sand are calling my name. Hittin the road to paradise...

Weekend Recap

Paul and I had an extra special weekend. My cousin Ashley and her husband Craig recently had a baby boy, Cole Henry, and Paul and I were asked to be his Godparents. This is such an honor to us and something we plan to take very seriously. We will pray for Cole daily and hope to make a positive impact on his spiritual life as he grows and matures. This past weekend we got to go down to meet him for the first time. They live in Kingsland, Georgia, which is where Craig has been stationed in the Navy for about 4 years now. We had such a wonderful time visiting with family and loving on precious Cole. He was such a sweet, content baby and I was so proud of how well Ashley and Craig are doing as first time parents.

He is perfect from his head...


To his toes


Such a sweet little blessing


And we love him so much already


Us with the proud parents

Loving this time of year

I love spring and summer so much! I love going to baseball games, I love wearing flip flops every day, I love summer dresses, I love being off of work for 2 months, I love how it's light until 8:30 and I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the beach. But I also really love the simple things, like flowers. My mom has a deep love and appreciation for flowers and the older I get, the more like her I have become. I am very fascinated by how many shapes, sizes and colors there are and I am amazed at God's creativity. I can't wait until we have more room for all of the many flowers that I love to enjoy. Here are some of my most favorite...

Hibiscus

Clematis

Asiatic Lily

Hydrangea

Petunias

Here I go

Well y'all, I finally gave in and joined the world of blogging. I thought I would never have reason enough to blog until we have kids one day, but I kept thinking of how fast life seems to be going and didn't want to let certain moments and memories be forgotten. There are several blogs that I have thoroughly enjoyed keeping up with and have been inspired to start my own.

So a little about me and my life...My husband Paul and I got married last year on June 27. The wedding was all that I hoped it would be, but more than that, I married an amazing man who is my very best friend and far more than I ever dreamed I would have. Most of my friends had been married for about 5 years before my time came along. I always knew that I'd rather be single forever than marry someone less than what I knew my Lord had for me. I am so glad I waited. Not that I think Paul or our marriage is perfect or ever will be, but it sure does seem pretty darn close! Married life has been wonderful so far and it is so fun sharing everyday life with the person I love most on this earth. We are both teachers and it is so cool that we have the same passions and can share similar experiences about our jobs. Paul also coaches high school varsity soccer. I never liked soccer until I met Paul, and it's so funny how into I am and how much I love to watch his team play. I am his biggest fan and am more than happy to attend every single game. His players even call me "Mrs. Coach" :) I am eagerly waiting for the season to start late this summer.



Children are definitely something we hope God will bless us with in the future, but right now we are having so much fun soaking up time just the two of us. Well, the three of us if you count our precious, furry, 5 pound bundle of joy, Sophie.



Not to mention that one of our two houses will need to be 86ed before we can even think about kids. Yep that's right, we have TWO houses. Not because we're making so much money in the teaching profession, (although we do like to joke and call it our "vacation home") but because Paul's house has been on the market since before we got married and it has yet to sell. At this point, we are willing to sell either house. It's been really tough on us financially, but we try to have a good attitude about it and not let our joy be shaken by circumstances. It's also been good for us to see how much money we NEED to live by and how much we'll hopefully be able to save when the house sells. I went to Africa in the summer of 2008 and my eyes were opened a lot to the poor and to the fact that not everyone lives life as luxurious as most Americans do. I came back so humbled and almost felt ashamed about how much I have compared to so many people. It's so easy to just accept this as our culture and lifestyle, but I think God just doesn't want me to forget how I felt while I was in Kenya. So I try to reflect on that as much as I can in hopes that my sinful nature doesn't kick in to full force and I start feeling sorry for myself that I can't afford weekly trips to Francesca's. I fail quite often though. In fact, God is sending me back to Kenya in July so I guess that's His way of saying I need another reminder ;)

I guess this needs to be a wrap for now, don't want to bore anybody on the very first post. But I think I'm really gonna like this whole blogging thing...