Family Photos (Compliments of the amazing Caroline Nicole)

In February while we were all home, my amazing friend Caroline was kind enough to take some family photos for us. I have known Caroline since middle school, and I am so thankful that she is still a part of my life! She lives in Melbourne now, but happened to be in Jacksonville for a weekend, so it worked out perfectly! Thanks again so much, Care! We all love the pictures!

2012 so far: the year in iPhone photos

2012 started in this house. My roommate AJ and I started renting this place last October. It is small and cute, and a great place for us! My favorite thing about it is that it is 4.5 miles from work, instead of 30!

The Gators salvaged their 2011 season with a bowl game victory at the beginning of January, and I was in Jacksonville to watch it!

In February, the whole family got together in Florida to hang out. Pam and Jeremy are expecting their first baby girl in June, so it was so fun to get to see that baby bump and celebrate them with a family baby shower. Baby Hannah is going to be one spoiled little girl!

I have made several trips to the Grower's Outlet this year, and have planted several things, including these tulips.

There has been some hiking.

And some snuggling with this sweet dog.

Seriously, could she be cuter?

A couple of weeks ago, I "ran" the Color Run. So fun!

Of course, there has also been a good bit of hammock laying.

And, most recently, birthday celebrating at the aquarium! Did you know that admission is free on your birthday??

**These pictures are mostly unedited and unsized in an effort to not spend an eternity on this post :-)

31 years and a new blog beginning...

Yesterday, I turned 31 years old. Crazy! I can't believe that I am THAT old! But, alas, time keeps flying by...

I was thinking about that this morning, and decided that, while I can't slow down time, I can be more intentional about slowing myself down. I need to take more time to sit and think. Not just sit and read a FB status, but sit and reflect. To take time to enjoy life and not just let it pass flying by!

So, I thought that I would start here. By coming back to this blog and once again trying to use it as a place to share pictures and store memories, as well as to process and reflect. I make no guarantees that I will be consistent, but I will try!

To start, here are a few pictures from my fun day of birthday celebration yesterday:

The day started with yummy brunch with my roommate and best friend AJ at the Flying Biscuit:

Then we went to the Georgia Aquarium! I had never been, and was so excited to go! It was awesome - my favorites were definitely the dolphin show and the beluga whales.

After the aquarium, we stopped by Inman Perk for some delicious Jake's ice cream. Seriously the best ice cream in the world! If you live around here and haven't tried it, you should!!

After ice cream , we came back home and I laid in the hammock for a while on the front porch. That thing is paradise on a beautiful day!

The day was capped off by a surprise dinner with friends at Machu Picchu, a Peruvian restaurant here in Atlanta. I have been wanting to go there for a long while now, and it was great! The food was very authentic and yummy! It definitely made me think of the gente in Peru - I miss you guys! I was also, though, super thankful for my amazing friends here that love me so well, and made me feel very celebrated on my birthday!

If all of that weren't enough, we came back to the house for some Bruster's ice cream pie!! I definitely consumed my fair share of calories yesterday, but hey, your birthday only comes once a year, right?!?!

Help for Kiddos this Christmas

Dear friends,

Hard to believe that the holidays are so quickly approaching! I know that I think this every year, but this year REALLY does seem to have flown by! I love this season, though, and can't wait for the holidays to come.

I am writing to ask for your help. As some of you know, my dad started a foundation - Christ's Starfish Foundation- several years ago. They work to help meet the needs of hospitalized children and families of children who are facing hardships due to their child's illness. They specifically work with families children with non-cancer related illnesses, as that is an area of great need with limited resources. At Christmastime, though, the foundation works to provide gifts for all of the children that are hospitalized on Christmas day. The foundation is based in Jacksonville, FL, and has been providing gifts for the children there for several years.

This year, the foundation has begun to partner with Children's Healthcare of Atlanta at Egleston (where I work) and at Scottish Rite. For Christmas, they have been asked to help provide gifts for about 145 children at Egleston on Christmas day.

And that is where you come in. The foundation relies on the help of the community at Christmastime to help provide gifts for the children. I am helping to coordinate gifts for the toddler age group. They have been asked to provide about 3-5 gifts for 30 toddler aged children, which means that we need about 150 gifts for this age group.

I would love for you to consider donating a gift, or perhaps sponsoring a child. If you are not available, perhaps your small group, neighborhood, or church might be interested in donating. We can use all the help we can get!

Please let me know if you are interested, or if you know of a person or group who may be interested. I can tell you firsthand as a nurse who has to work on Christmas, it is so fun to get to see our kids' faces when they realize that "Santa" comes to the hospital, too. Gifts can be brought to me, or I can arrange to have them picked up if you are interested in participating.

Thanks, friends!

Amy

Toddler gift ideas: g-rated DVDs, sound books, musical toys, light up toys, Duplo blocks, balls, cars and trucks, pop-up toys, See-N-Say toys, wooden puzzles, bubbles, coloring books, big dolls, stuffed animals

In the past 24 hours I have...

...eaten ChickFilA chicken for three meals in a row.

...played human Bingo.

...sweated in the HOT Georgia summer sun.

...camped out in a parking lot.

...played quite a few hands of Nertz.

...played some Settlers, too.

...done some quality people-watching.

...wondered why in the world someone would bring a baby goat to a ChickFilA opening??

...tried to untie a frozen, knotted T-shirt.

...sweated a little more.

...had fun with some super great friends.

...become the proud owner of 30 free ChickFilA meals!

Our tent (we set up actual tents later to sleep in)

AJ and Lauren playing the oreo game. The goal was to get the oreo from the forehead into the mouth with no hands.

The morning after sleeping on the asphalt

The line of winners waiting to go get their prize

Lauren won the "alternates" raffle and was the last winner of the 52 free meals!

Our "official" ChickFilA First 100 winners. They split their winnings with us, though, so everyone took home about 30 free ChickFilA meals.

And now I need a nap!

Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day, Dad! You're the best! Hope you enjoy your day!

What's Wrong with this Picture??

Any guesses???