Granny Nanny

This weekend I have been in Sarasota taking care of my dear Grandma! At first I was very nervous, it being my responsibility to medicate, nourish, and check on her for three days! But it has been such a blessing. I really enjoy the simple things in life, like playing cards, picking up a few things from the store, and doing dishes in a place of my own. Staying at my parents without them here, and taking after my Grandma has given me a glance into the future of caring for someone I love. Responsibility to her, and just talking to her feels good and it is rewarding. I have never felt so connected to my Grandma, or heard her love pour out upon me so often! Just spending time together has been a real blessing to me. I will truelly be sad to leave, but happy to return to my husband. Being 90 years of age, it was a really sweet time, and I am glad to have taken the time to really make the best of it, and enjoy all that the Lord has had for me this weekend.
Sincerely Sentimental,
Kendra

Merry Christmas Card!

Livin' La Vintage

I am going to start selling my things on ETSY! Look for my paintings and other odds & ends in the weeks to come, I will have nothing to do over the winter break!

painthesky.etsy.com

Hubby's Birthday!

Yesterday was Pete's 23rd birthday! Of course, it was a little overboard again. But how can you beat a 21st surprise birthday of 30 guests, and a 22nd birthday with a weekend on the beach! So, the weekend began Sunday afternoon and a drive down to Sarasota. We went out for hot wings with my parents and grandma at a local restaraunt Pete loves. After dinnner Pete opened a remote control motorcycle (the closest he might ever get to a real one) and couple cards from my family. After that we headed down to St. Armand's for gelato with a purpose behind it. After walking around for a bit and toodling around in a few galleries, Pete and I ended up "lost" on the way home and rounded the bend at a little hotel on the beach where we had a room for the evening. Since my Dad delivers the mail on the circle, we ended up with a sweet deal. The following morning we enjoyed the luxury of Starbucks and the circle once again then headed to my parent's for a final farewell. After arriving back in Brandon, we hung around, did a little shopping (to get Pete out of the house to make some surprise desserts) and just relaxed. At around 6 o'clock we told Pete to get up and get ready! We were off to yet another surprise - BD's Mongolion Barbeque in Lakeland. The evening was complete with a tin foil Spartan birthday hat, singing from the grillesmen, more singing (frontwards and backwards: they turned around) and Swedish Rice for desert. We were so thankful that the Higgens and Chamblesses could come out to make the dinner and surprise even more special. Once arriving home, Pete opened up his gifts from his family and we played a few boardgames. A long weekend of secrets and surprises, but tons of fun. Happy Birthday Babe! Hope you had as much fun as I did!

Happy Anniversary!

So this past Monday was our one year anniversary! Shocking, I know. Where has the time gone? It really does fly the farther you get in life. Children must grow in an instant! This past year has been such a learning experience and so wonderful. It is so awesome to be near to someone you love so much and who loves you so much. We have had many adventures and have learned a lot about one another. For example: I hate when Pete puts his shoes next to the shoe basket, and Pete hates when I stack my books or belongings on any couch, near any ottoman or close to anything where his feet will lay. Ha. Needless to say, I have learned the depth of love so much more this past year and love Pete so much more than just a year ago. I can not wait to experience what our love will be like in 50 years! Enough with the mush. For those of you wondering how the magical date was celebrated, I digress. The weekend started with a drive to Orlando on a "whim" of my husband who had booked a hotel for us for the evening (little did I know). It was beautiful and spontaneous and a whole lot of fun. That night (before our anniversary) we went out to dinner in downtown disney at the rainforest cafe. It was wonderful! We both had massive burgers and had to roll ourselves out of the restaurant. After that we walked around for a bit and got lost on the way back to the hotel, we always seem to get lost - daughter of a mailman, go figure. The next morning we opened gifts (I recieved a gift card to Forever 21, a very cute grey dress that you will see in pictures, and a florida appropriate trench.) I got Pete the new Anberlin CD, (you should really pick it up) a new RVCA hat, an ezekiel shirt, and lots of peanut butter-filled candy. Once that was done, we checked out and spent the remainder of our morning at IKEA complete with breakfast and browsing. We then proceeded to the Orlando Prime Outlets for me to use my giftcard. After that we headed home, relaxed from a long day of shopping, and then went out for a fantastic dinner at Carabba's. We completed the evening with the cutting of our original wedding cake and sharing with family. Here's a few shots. Enjoy, and thanks to all who wished us well!

Writing from the In-Laws

We are all moved out and moved in. What a hassle. Who knew you could acquire so much in under a year. I know we have over 40 boxes. One feels a bit spoiled looking at all of that. Anyways, we are living with Pete's family for a short while. Trying to save some money in the coming months. We also haven't found any place to live and don't want to settle for something and just move again in a year. We really want to find a place where we can stay for a bit, otherwise it's just too much work. So in short, pray that we find a place where we can stay a while and be content. Pray for an involved landlord (to the extend of fixing necessities) and a safe neighborhood. Those are our musts. Signing off, the wife.

Meeting a Celebrity in California!!!

Today, Pete and I went down to his brother, John's church for Sunday service (Calvary Chapel San Juan Capistrano). Little did we know it was a devine appointment! The worship was pretty good and the message was good. We really enjoy John's teachings. Afterwards we were standing around talking, trying to figure out who was going where and where to eat lunch when Pete overheard a man with a deep voice introduce himself as Bob. He waited til the man finished talking and called to him as he was walking away, "Are you Bob Millspaugh?" Sure enough, it was! For those of you who haven't heard of him, he is a talented worship leader that plays throughout our house (on the ipod, on the computer, on the stereo) constantly: when we are editing pictures, cooking, cleaning, relaxing! He lead worship for a while at Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa, lead worship at Calvary Chapel Laguna Niguel, and just recently came back from living in the mountains of Costa Rica working at a church for four years. It was so awesome to meet him and such a blessing to us. He was so down to earth and so encouraging. As a matter of fact, he was blessed by our dorky enthusiasm. He said that lately he was feeling down and uninspired to write. He actually said he felt like we were angels sent to him for encouragement. Us! Angels! He was so cool and easy to talk to and you could just tell how uplifted he was by our excitement. His voice is like none other. He gave us a few c.d.'s which we immediately popped into the c.d. player in the car. If you have a chance, or if you have the time, (you should make the time!) check him out. Here's all his sites where you can listen to him, and below is a video of him singing 'Walk the Line' by Johnny Cash, (don't let that mislead you, he is a full-blown believer of Jesus Christ). Actually, on his oldest c.d. he covers a couple of Johnny Cash songs that were written after he became a believer. Anyways, that meeting made our entire trip. Enjoy his music, it is unbelievable!

http://www.bobmillspaugh.com/
http://www.myspace.com/bobmillspaugh