First Thanksgiving

I hope everyone had a wonderful week giving thanks and spending time with loved ones. Andrew and I did quite a bit of traveling to celebrate our Thanksgiving.

First stop.....

Atlanta, GA

We had such a wonderful evening with some close friends of ours. Most there were friends that once lived in Athens but have moved to Atlanta after graduation. Not only did we feast, the person who invited us stood up and shared why they were grateful for us. So encouraging! Thanks to by BFF Lauren for inviting me and the husband! The 2 hr. 30 min drive there was totally worth it.

Next stop....

Macon, GA

Took Lydia ice skating. It was her first time ever and she had a blast! "Two more times!" "One more time!"

Her and I also have a common bond of playing the violin. She was so excited for me to hear her play and play for her. I couldn't really do much on her tiny person violin but she was so cute. I think Andrew had the most fun out of us all playing the violin. He was the one who didn't want to share. Now I know whenever he complains of being bored I'll just pull mine out and he'll be content for hours. Who knew!?

We had such a wonderful time there. Always feel so loved and taken care of by his family. 

On Thanksgiving day, we made homemade chocolate chip waffles and watched the beginnings of the parade. We were able to watch just long enough to be graced with Daniel Radcliffe's singing and dancing. HA!

Then we left that morning to drive to Florida for...

Stop #3...

Cocoa Beach, FL

I forgot to take pictures of the feast but my mom did a top notch job! It was so nice to see my grandparents and aunt and uncle there. The wedding was so rushed that I barely (or not at all) got to spend time with them. 

While down there, Andrew golfed for the first time and I helped my mom with this ridiculously hard puzzle. It's still no where near done after hours of time put in.

And we set up the Christmas tree. The fam will back down to the beach shortly for Christmas as well.

Then final stop...

HOME!

After the 10 hour drive home, we put up our first Christmas tree. It's pretty puny but who cares. We were excited! Got to go get more ornaments this week. It's a bit bare.   

So now it's on to tests, project, and programs to finish out the semester. We are and will continue to be bogged down with books for a couple more weeks. So close! But based on the weather today...I feel Christmas coming up soon. Thank goodness for warm coats, socks, slippers, and heated homes.

Weekend Visitor

The clocks have gone back and the sun is now going down as I am leaving my class at 4:30 pm. How depressing. Because of the change, Andrew and I have been going to be earlier and waking up earlier. Following the sun's lead I guess. And I'm not ashamed to say that I'm enjoying going to bed earlier. I feel much happier and more productive with a nice relaxing morning instead of rushing to get to where we need to be going.  

Things have been happy here in the Chase household. School has been going exceptionally well for the both of us (besides the fact that we are both dying to be done!) and Andrew is loving his job. And when Andrew's happy....we are all happy. :) A lot of opportunities have been coming up in the past week for future jobs for him. Almost everyday he's getting new phone calls and emails with potential offerings. He's so encouraged that people are seeking him out.

We are both playing flag football with our friends. He with the guys and me with the girls. We are practicing for a tournament that will be in January. This is the first year for the girls bracket. So excited!!

This weekend we had a fun visitor staying with us. 

This guy....

Please excuse my sleepiness. But he's just adorable. Mom and Dad went out town so Jaxon came to live the college life for a weekend.

But the poor guy was so homesick the whole time :( 

He kept waiting by the door and he hardly touched his food all weekend. But despite being homesick, Jaxon still managed to sneak in some mischievousness. 

And by the end of the weekend....

He was a pooped pup.

And we admit....we miss him. It hasn't been the same coming home to an empty house. No furry friend to greet us anymore. One day we will have one our own! :)

Thanksgiving is right around the corner and we are more than eager to see family. I haven't seen Andrew's mom since the wedding. We will be doing some traveling to see both sides of the family.  Africa is getting closer! 42 days and counting until we leave. 

Well....sorry so brief. Have a good week and thanks for listening!

Joyful Day

In case you didn't know, Andrew and I were selected to go on a mission trip to Johannesburg in South Africa.  The trip is through an newly established group called Swamp Corps. The idea of Swamp Corps is to take a kids camp that has been going on here in Georgia for years to places around the world.  This isn't just any camp. It's a week long 24/7 camp where kids leave their families, come learn about Jesus, build friendships, and develop a relationship with God. This particular camp saved mine and Andrew's life.  It's the place that helped us to be where we are today. The Swamp is what helped build the foundation and inspire us to become disciples of Jesus.

We've been so blessed to also work out there as counselors. Andrew for 7 years and me for 3. That is where we grew individually in our walks with God, helped mentor and train other kids, and grow in our relationship as a couple.  And now......we get to help take all the goodness of this camp to Africa!!

First, Swamp Corps started in Jamaica.  That camp has been going for two years and then Barbados started this year. And now this is Africa's first experience.  Other trips in the works are Kenya, Brazil, and India. God has been working hard.

Well, 10 days ago, I was crying because I thought we couldn't go on this trip anymore. With everything that was happening to our cars we had a lot more set backs financially than what we thought.  I kept telling myself that God wouldn't have selected us out of so many to help with this camp and then not provide. And well today I'm crying again because someone donated 1,000 dollars to Andrew and I!

It was donated anonymously so we can't give a proper thanks to whoever it was, but we are sure it's someone we are close to and knows all the set backs we've had recently. So to whoever you are....you are an angel to us. You've relieved us, built our faith, and made us evermore grateful. We thank you so much!

So with all that said.....

57 DAYS TIL AFRICA