Our town did fireworks on the 3rd. We were able to watch the fireworks from our backyard which was awesome! Joel LOVED it. Jeremy and I loved that we didn't have to leave our house and deal with traffic. haha 

On the 4th we went to a carnival. I personally don't like carnivals (I don't like the rides, I think the food is gross and the prices are ridiculous), and Joel didn't seem too impressed either. He only rode on a few things and he barely cracked a smile during it.

Later that day we had family over for dinner, and when the sun went down we had fun with sparklers. 

I don't have any pictures from my childhood 4th of July's but I have the best memories. My dad would always take me to a firework stand to pick out whatever I wanted. We lived next door to my mom's sister so we would usually combine our fireworks with whatever my cousins had. We would have a big firework show in our backyard. I would run around with my cousins, laughing and having a blast. Those were good times. I hope we make lots of good memories like that with Joel so he will look back when he is older and smile. 

Weekend Fun

Saturday we went to the aquarium and then to West Side Market. Joel had fun at the aquarium, but the market was my favorite part of the day. We had gyros for dinner from Steve's Gyros... It was seriously the BEST thing I have ever ate!

Step Forward To Cure TSC Ohio - Summer 2013

Team Joel participated in the 2013 Step Forward To Cure Tuberous Sclerosis Complex walkathon on June 22. We raised $720 this year! Thank you to everyone that donated!!

A special thank you goes out to Jeremy's family for traveling down to Dayton and walking in the heat with us. And thank you, thank you, thank you to Jessica (a childhood friend of mine that was able to walk with us this year) for creating our awesome team poster!

Whipps Ledges

We took Joel hiking at Whipps Ledges for the first time. He LOVED it. We didn't think we would be able to take him to the top but he climbed up there almost without our help. He would have stayed out there in the woods all day if we had let him!

The first time Jeremy brought me to Ohio to meet his family (in 2007) he took me to Whipps Ledges [in the rain] and almost let me fall to my death! Ok, I am exaggerating a bit, but I did slip and get hurt! I also got super sick after being outside in the cold rain and was miserable (and embarrassed) the entire trip. Nice way to meet the future in-laws right?

We were so young.. and skinny! 

Our Date With Kirk Cameron

Two of my dreams came true this month.. I got my husband to go to church with me AND I got to meet Kirk Cameron!


A local Christian radio station had been advertising a marriage event featuring Kirk Cameron and musical guest Warren Barfield, and of course I HAD to go! I didn't know how to bring it up to Jeremy though because he isn't much for the church scene. The only time we've been to church together was the day we were married. I really wanted to go to this event though, so I told him about it.. He said he would go, but I was worried he would back out on me. So I prayed about it.

The night before the event I went online to search for the address of the church. I somehow stumbled upon the church's FB page and saw that they had a few tickets that they were giving away.. All ya had to do was  send them a message explaining why your marriage needed this event and then they would contact you if you were chosen for the tickets. So I took a leap and sent them a message. Well guess what.. yep.. we received two free VIP tickets!


Being VIP meant we were able to go early for the meet and greet with Kirk. There were maybe 30 people in the VIP room and we were able to ask him questions if we wanted to. Afterwards everyone lined up for an autograph. I didn't bring anything for him to sign so Jeremy ran upstairs and bought me Kirk's book. As we waited in line Jer picked on me about me being nervous.. I told him I wasn't but OF COURSE I WAS! And I'm pretty sure I didn't say two words when it was finally our turn for an autograph! I just smiled. Can you imagine how awkward that must have made Kirk feel? haha I felt so lame afterwards!

As much as it made my day to meet Kirk Cameron, what I really wanted was to break the barrier that was keeping Jeremy & I from going to church together. Going to the marriage event was a blessing for us. We haven't been on a date in forever so it was nice to spend time together alone. And one of the things that stood out to me the most from the event was when Kirk told everyone "the heart of the problem, is a problem with the heart." How true is that?!

Great Lakes Science Center

We went to the Science Center in Cleveland with Jeremy's brother, Danny, a few weeks ago. It was so much fun! There was a bunch of hands on stuff to do and the kid play area was awesome for Joel. The day we went the Titanic artifact exhibit opened for the first time.. We decided to buy a ticket for it, and I personally think that was the best part of the whole day! Photography wasn't allowed in the exhibit though, which was a bummer. It was amazing to see some of the artifacts that still looked brand new after being under water for all these years. 

Behind the Science Center is an amazing view of Lake Erie. I wasn't expecting the lake to be as blue as it was.. I guess I'm just use to the dirty brown lakes in the South. haha

Trip To The Gulf Coast

Joel and I took a road trip to Mississippi while we were waiting to close on our house. {Jer couldn't go because he started a new job and didn't have vacation days.} We drove to Nashville and stayed over night and then drove straight to the Coast the next day. I was nervous about driving alone but thankfully we didn't hit any major traffic and Joel behaved well.

When we got close to Mississippi I rolled down the windows and almost started to cry over the smell of the air. It smelled sweet like honeysuckles. I never realized that before.

. . .

A few highlights from our trip:

Playing at the beach with Grammie (my mom)

Seeing my BFF 

Going to the New Orleans Zoo with my mom, my brother + his family

Joel's first time on a boat; spending a day on Horn Island with Pawpaw (my dad) & Granny (my stepmom)

Seeing Joel play with his cousins and interact with his grandparents made my heart full. I can't put into words how hard it was to leave this time.. God obviously knew my heart was torn because during our visit I met a lovely lady named Jeanne that quoted part of a Bible verse [each time I saw her] that I needed to hear.

"..Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God." Ruth 1:16

I have always been good about not crying when we leave the Coast after a visit, but this time I cried lots of tears. I always thought we would settle there.. raise our baby there.. but God has a different plan for our family at the moment. Deep down I know His plans are the best for us, but there are moments when I just don't understand. Thankfully I can drive home whenever I want now though, instead of having to save up tons of money for plane tickets.