2011 Review

Memorable things that happened throughout the year

·         Gatlinburg, TN with some pretty sweet people. On this little get away it was the first time that I ever got to drive the 15 passenger van, bonded, grew in my faith and where new friendships were made J

• Baby Mania- Madisyn Brielle, Elizabeth Nicole (Libby), Westley, Peyton, and Hannah.  These are the babies that were born during 2011

 

 

WEDDING

 My really good friend Valerie Grace got married to her prince charming Scotty J

*We have been friends since the 5^th grade and still are. Love friendships like that

Bubba Comes HOME from the Sandbox

This was such a fun vacation. My dad’s side of the family all went to North Carolina to surprise my brother. We spent a whole week on the beach, lounging, swimming, and just being crazy. It was such an AWESOME vacation and I loved every minute of it. 

Mission Trip with Elmore Youth

This was a very fun and growing experience. I met a lot of people from all over the U.S and still keep in contact with them. They are all nice people, with a heart for God. This was my last mission trip with the Elmore youth because I felt that God was calling me elsewhere and my friend Ryan felt the same. I got to spend a whole week with some pretty amazing kids and youth leaders. The theme was John 15:5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.”  This week of serving was such an awesome experience. We got to go to different locations and we weren’t in our groups. It was such a great experience. I still keep in contact with the A2 church down in Georgia. (Hopefully one day I can make it down there and visit) Nathan from Cincinnati (Which I am excited because I might get to see him in a few weeks) I love meeting people who share the same faith as I do. 

 

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows 7.2   

I went with a bunch of people to go and see the 2^nd part of Harry Potter 7. Always a good time with these folks. We were a big hit. We made it on local and national news. Loved it!!

 *I made this :)

My Birthday

That’s a celebration in itself J I went to Red Robin with some friends and then went to go and see my hero..CAPTAIN AMERICA!! It was so much fun. A small group of my close friends went to dinner and then we walked over to watch the movie. It was a BLAST!! All though it didn’t start out that well. Got into a fight with a friend the day before and they refused to call,text or come out to celebrate my special day. I was really hurt by this but when I was at dinner and was looking around. I smiled because everyone that I love and care about were right there and I wouldn’t of had it any other way. I am seriously blessed with some of the best people this world has

 

 

 

*Not pictured: Amanda, Shay and Karen 

Childhood Bestie gets MARRIED!!!

My Best Friend growing up is Megan Martin. We lived next door to each other since we were infants. She is the person out of all my friends that I have known the longest. Meg and Ben are just perfect for each other. He treats her like a princess. Makes me smile because I can’t wait for that!!

Happy Birthday & Good Luck

It was a good day yet sad day. My friend Andrea turned the Big 3-0! (She probably would kill me if she knew that I posted that) and Scott was leaving for the big sandbox. Having this family in my life is just a blessing. From the littles (Evie)all the way to biggest (JD) They are such a loving family and I know that I can count on them all

"A happy heart makes the face cheerful, but heartache crushes the spirit.”    Proverbs 15:13

  

Love this picture. Makes me smile every time I look at it. Hanging out with all them is such a joy. My 2^nd family J

*Scott was using his survival technique by cutting the cake with dental floss.

Renewing of Love

Scott and Andrea renewed their love for each other. It was a surprise for Andrea because the last 2 years Scott has not been home to celebrate. He called this “Operation Seagull” It was a lot of fun and Andrea was really surprised 

CONCERTS!!

Who doesn’t love a good concert? I love concerts. Unfortunatley I only went to 2 concerts..well 3 concerts this year. U2, Lifehouse and Cartel. All were AMAZING

 

The End of a Journey

Rye and I ended our time at EMCOG youth. It was very ssad to leave all those AMAZING people and yet we knew that God was calling us else where. It’s so weird to explain, but it is something that we both were called to go else where. I went back to my old Church and Rye went back to a church that his family was attending. 

1^st Trip to Chicago

*You can read about this in another blog.

It's not Good-Bye, More Like See You Later!!

 "Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends." John 15:13

This picture speaks so much to me!! I think it's because I love Hugs :) Can't wait for you to be home Scott!! 

1^st Ohio State Game

This was my 1^st OSU game in the horseshoe and I loved it. It was cold but so worth is!!

This pretty much sums up 2011. Granted there is lots more that I would love to share but will at a later date. Some new blogs that I am working on are: New Friendships, Calling and some others. Just have to redo some of them and add pictures, because I am such a picture person :) Hope you enjoyed my 2011 in review!!

Trials, Tears and Tribulation

When I blog I want people to feel as if they were sitting with me on the couch all bundled up drinking a peppermint mocha or hot chocolate with marshmallows. I don’t do it, for something that is going to be published. It’s just my thoughts feeling typed out so later on in life I can go back and read what I was going through or feeling.

This past week has been hard for me. It started out with my heart being broken. 

*NOTE: This section will be said at a different time. I'm still going through some things that are pretty fresh and I don't want to add salt to my wound

I was really upset but I have a great support system and my friends were there for me. Sunday, came and I was full of mixed emotions. Not a very good day but I got through it and at the end of the day I knew I was going to be alright. With the hugs from some pretty amazing people who I love so dearly J Monday morning during my prayer time with God I said to myself..”This week will be better.” I did not know that within 3hrs all that was going to change. I did my usual routine at work. The phones were starting to calm down and I was just starting to gather information from the busy morning. My cell phone rang and I picked it up not knowing that phone was going to be so devastating. When I was off the phone I went out in the hall with tears streaming down my face. See, with girls, especially me, once I start crying it’s very hard for me to stop. It’s even harder when my heart is literally ripped out of my chest. That phone call was a call that I will never forget. The phone call that a friend has passed away.

Erica was an AMAZING Christian, wife, daughter, friend and co-worker. I had the privilege of meeting Erica when I first worked at The GP. We were in the same room M-F for more than 12 hrs. She always made me laugh. We would have dance parties with the infants, start food fights with the other rooms, and just be jokesters! I loved it. That greatest thing though with Erica is we shared the same birthday and the same middle name. We would dress up in the kids dress up clothes, have photo shoots and play pranks on the office staff. It was never a boring or dull day at work. When I started working at The GP I was pretty new in my faith. Actually, I still partied until about 4 months of working there when I came to re-dedicate my life to Christ. Erica had a big part in my walk. If I had questions she was quick to help me with anything and she would fill my head with so much knowledge. She really loved like Jesus did! She introduced me to Jordan. (Not romantically, like here is my friend Jordan you should date.) No, it was this is my friend Jordan..and this is my friend Chris. Needless, to say the 4 of us were good friends. Chris, Erica and I would be stuck some nights closing down the building. This is when we would play Switchfoot or All American Rejects so loud and dance around the building or play a prank and trash the office with the chicken. (You know the kind that plays the chicken dance song.) It was an ongoing joke/battle with the office. We would go and see movies, do dinner and just hang out. Through this Erica and I ended up hanging out on the weekends going to bonfires, bible study and Wednesday nights. It was just AWESOME!! I remembered feeling so love whenever I was with her. She encouraged me to chase my dreams and that the waiting is so going to be worth it! One night Erica, Jordy and I went to our friend Nancy’s house for a bonfire, which was great because the night sky was crystal clear. (Another love that Erica and I had was looking at the stars. We both just loved it!!) As the night grew longer people started going different ways having their own conversations. After awhile I realized that it was just E and I sitting there talking about God which then led to the topic of guys. She was always encourager saying that the right guy IS out there for me. To never give up and always keep my focus on God. He will bring the right guy to me on HIS timing not MINE!! She always emphasized on that part. We chuckled and she would talk about how EXCITED she was to be some special guy’s wife. We talked, laughed even cried a little (that’s for a different time) we ended up praying and after we were done we both looked up as we continued to talk and across the sky went a shooting star. Both of us freaked out and got all giddy like little school girls. I still remember her with the biggest smile ever saying “See Meg that was God just giving us a wink saying everything is going to be fine!” (I still get teary thinking about that night) It was so special to me and I know that God placed Erica in my life for a reason. I love ya E! As the years went by we didn’t see each other as much as we wanted to. We did Facebook a lot and talked about the amazing things that God was doing in our lives. I remember the day that God brought her Mark. (Let me rephrase that after her and Mark started dating. Not the exact day) we were Facebook chatting and she proceeded to tell me about this WONDERFUL guy she met. I was so excited that God finally brought her, her Prince charming. She was so happy and I could just tell that she was happy. Mark and her ended up getting married and have a beautiful daughter Peyton. Now, she is in heaven rejoicing and dancing with Jesus. I can see her just busting a move!! 


Here is a little e-mail that I found from AricaGeezle (Xanga was the bomb) Enjoy!! This brought a smile to my face when I read it...Love it!!

First day "in the office" was today!!

Our first assignment: Put together our desk. Very interesting, but we mastered it without directions. (sorda) That's right, we rock.

There's a lot of stuff that we get to do. I can just tell that this is going to be awesome, we have a lot of responsibility now too.. we even get to speak on a Wednesday night! Scary, I know..and get this, I gotta wear a skirt every Sunday. He's really pushin it...  but it's part of the combo. *sigh* 

Anyway, the point of this post.. I just wanted to tell you guys to make sure God is first in everything that you do. Today I realized there's a lot I need to give up and let God take control, and there's a lot that I should have consulted God on before I took control. There are going to be some changes that I'm not happy about, but I know it'll work out. Just pray for me.. and Brett too. We are going to need it!!

Love you guys!!

Erica,

Thank you! Thank you for showing me how to be a Christian and loving others as Jesus did. I will never forget our memories. This past week they have flooded my mind like crazy. I have of course written them down so one day I can share them with beautiful Peyton. To let her know how wonderful her mother was and how she loved everything. Maybe I’ll even share some of our secrets J I will think of you every time that I hear Switchfoot, Relient K, All American Rejects, Family Force 5 (Christmas), Hillsong and Jason Upton. When I hear someone talk about Max Lucado I will think of you and how you loved the book. Come Thirsty and would talk to me about it and how I should read it. Which now I am going to read. Long drives down 64 or any old country back road. When I look up at the sky at night and see a bright shining star I will think of you, or see a shooting star I will think of you. I can still hear your laugh when we  watched the Polar Express and you Chris and I were the only ones in the whole theater and the guy disappeared and out of know were “He’s disappearing like it’s his job or something.” The nights we closed and would put the chicken in the office and crack up bc we would picture what their faces would look like. How Cameron was Miss Erica’s favorite and he was going to marry you. When I told you was going to get baptized and no-one from my family was going to come to support me but you, Aaron, Chris and Jordan did!! Getting a nice big hug from you for no apparent reason, because you knew that’s what I needed. Thanks for lending a shoulder/pillow to cry on when I got my heart broken. Giving me words of encouragement. I have so many memories with you. I will never forget. You were an Angel and will always hold a special place in my heart. I love you so much and it saddens me that I you are gone, but I know you are in a better place. I wish I would have stayed in better contact with you but I know that we will see each other again.

On my wedding day, whenever that may be, I will think of you and know that you are up in heaven smiling J Thank you for loving me for me and being there for me. You taught me so much about life and Jesus!!

Love always,
Meg2crazy J

*Pictures to come at a later date.

My adventure to the WINDY city

About 2 weeks ago I went on a "holiday" with a good friend of mine. We ventured out to Chicago. I have never been there. I take that back I have driven around Chicago, but did not experience the city until this trip. I was so excited for this trip. I think it was planned 3 weeks prior. I of course being the person that I am was excited the whole three weeks. In all honesty I felt like a little kid who gets excited for Christmas or their birthday. You know the feeling of the joy and excitement..Anyways, I was really excited I'm not sure how Nathan was feeling. I mean don't get me wrong he said he was excited but I think guys and girls deal with certain things differently. Leading up to our departure I was getting so excited. I even made car ride survival bags (Which I called Road trip Survival kits and filled it with some of my favorites and some of his. I like doing fun creative things like that.) The Friday before we left I was so excited and nervous at the same time I couldn't fall asleep. I was in bed by I think 10 that night. I wanted to get a good night’s rest because I was going to be up at 5 AM. Anyone who knows me knows that I need my sleep. When my alarm went off at 5 I was ready to go. Well, not really but I did get up and started getting things together. I got ready loaded everything up and was on the road by 6:15 to pick up Nathan. (I told him that I was going to be at his house by 6…OPPS! He forgave me. I honestly think it was the Road Trip survival kit that won him over.)

When we hit the turnpike I thought for sure he would pass out because he didn’t get as much sleep as I did. He didn’t though. He was a trooper. Stayed up the whole 4 hrs and chatted with me. Come to think of it I don’t think he would of gotten any sleep with my asking a bazillion questions and of course my wonderful singing voice. He was a champ. During that time though I did take time to Thank God for giving me the opportunity to even go to Chicago. I also admired the wonderful scenery. There was one section where it was fields of little yellow flowers and the sun was rising so it hit them at a unique angle and behind them was a beautiful red barn. It was something you would see on a postcard or a picture. We arrived into the city about 8:30ish (I say ish because we had to make a little detour) Driving into the city was such an awesome experience. I felt like I was a natural, even though I did miss the street we were suppose to turn down about 5 times, it was still fun. We drove around to find a parking garage. There was one that said $14. We went and parked there. Let me just tell you it wasn’t $14 and it was really sketchy. I was not a fan of it. We got everything that we would need to walk around and I was so excited that I took my camera out but forgot to but the battery back in (OPPS!) So, we went back and had to find my car to get it. I didn’t know what to expect so the guy told us to go to the 4th floor because that is where my car was. Ok. He pointed to this little staircase that looked like part of a murder scene in a movie. VERY SKETCHY!! We had to hike up the stairs. Every turn of the corner I would say “YUP, WE’RE GOING TO DIE!!” Well, we got my battery and continued on our journey. It was so nice being in the city. I absolutely loved it. The tall buildings, the people, the traffic, everything. Weird, because I never thought I would be a Big City Girl. (I mean I did a little. I always wanted to live in Columbus, but I think Chicago is better)

While walking around Chicago here are some things we saw:
The new Superman movie was being filmed. Anyone who knows me knows that Superman is one of my all time favorite Super Hero’s. Him and Captain America!

We saw a guy that was high on something and was standing in the middle of the street. It was funny but kind of scary. I did not get a picture of him. I wanted to, but was afraid that he would kill me or something.We went up into the Sears tower also known as the Willis Tower. That was fun. Went up 103 floors and looked out onto the city and you could step out into a glass box. I was a little nervous but Nathan was a champ. Didn’t bother him at all.

We literally walked all around Chicago. It was nice to see all the building structures and funny to listen to some of the peoples conversations. Some were funny, others were annoying.

We ended up going to get the car and decided to drive to the Shed Aquarium and Planetarium. That was a fail because we had no clue how to get there. We decided to eat lunch and since we were in the neighborhood we went and ate at the White Sox Stadium parking lot. NICE. I thought it would be nice and save us some money so I made sandwiches, some grapes and raspberries, and chips. Well the sandwiches were in a piece of Tupperware that somehow was not closed all the way and had water in it. My sandwich was a little soggy but Nathan’s was drenched. Not a good plan. As for the grapes they were disgusting and the raspberries I couldn’t eat because Nathan said something really gross and they didn’t sound that good anymore. The Chips though were good. We ate a little and Nathan thought it would be funny if we threw grapes to each other and try to catch them over the car. I was not good at this game and either was he. When we were done and got out of the car all you could see were grapes. There were tiny ones and then there were just big handfuls of them. We went and walked around the Stadium, which was nice.

 Then we left and started to head back to the city. We did take a little detour so we could see the Bulls arena and then we headed back. We ended parking at Millennium Park. That is such a neat place. I love how artistic it is. I got to see the Bean, which was very cool. Saw the fountain. NICE. NICE. There was a double rainbow in it too.

 

Decided to walk to the Aquarium but of course it was going to close in an hour so half way there decided to walk to the Pier. Walked along the lakeside this was beautiful with all the boats on it. By the time we got to the Pier I really wanted freshly squeezed lemonade. I found a little stand that said “Freshly Squeezed Lemonade.” I was so excited gave the kid my money took a sip and BLAH!! It was the worst!!! I was not happy and I pretty much for 5mins complained about it. We went up to where the swings and Ferris wheel was. I was so excited because I love riding Ferris Wheels and Swings. We ended up not doing either. I was bummed but it was ok. I was in CHICAGO!! We walked a little more and sat at the end looking at the cityscape and talked. It was getting late and it was going to be a long haul back to the car.

We made plans to meet my cousin Jamie at a Buckeye Bar to watch the game. I thought for sure we were going to get lost but we didn’t. We eventually found it after all the construction we had to go through. It was a nice little bar. Called McGee’s. I honestly felt that I was in Columbus, OH. It was fun watching the game. We ended up leaving around 4th quarter because we still had the drive home. 4hrs none the less. It was absolutely beautiful to see the city all lit up at night.

On the way home we had another good round of conversations. About an hour away from home I was getting a little drowsy. Went off the road a little so Nathan drove the rest of the way home. It was nice to close my eyes and drift off into dreamland and relive the experience of Chicago in my dreams. We ended up getting home around 3, I think. I can’t remember I just wanted to get home and get to bed. All in all it was a wonderful trip. I really enjoyed every part of it. I’m glad that I got to experience Chicago!!

Wonder where the next road trip will be too.