House Hunting...

A few months back, John and I embarked on the adventure of house hunting. At first, we would drive around looking at houses for sell and learning more about the different areas we would like to live. Now we have gotten more serious on our search, we have a wonderful realtor that John's friend recommended and have even talked to a builder. We are torn now on whether we want to build our house or buy one on the market. They both have pro's and con's like anything in life. I guess it's a matter of personal preference.

If you know me well, you probably know that when I was little my Dad and I would go out on Saturdays looking at houses. I love those memories and cherish them to this day! My dad could literally find a way into any empty house, whether it was through a door or open window, so we could look inside. This is when my love for house hunting began. I have literally thought about becoming a realtor more times than not. It's something I have such an interest in and truly enjoy. So never say never, I guess :) Now that John and I are looking for houses I think that already having some experience with my dad and him pointing things out to me about houses when we would go look has helped me for this next journey. So on that note, thanks Dad for the knowledge and love for houses that you passed down to me, I'm very grateful!

When I think of the possibility of having our own house it still seems so far fetched! I still can't believe I'm not 10 years old and I'm actually old enough to be looking for my very own house! It's exciting and I really see it as another BIG step in our journey as a married couple. Maybe I'm the only one who thinks it is crazy that I'm looking at a house to purchase, but I think it is a huge deal. I think that's a good thing though, I know how honored I will be to have a home and how much I will appreciate this next step! John and I combined our savings once we got married and have been very religious about setting out a certain amount every month to go into our "house fund." Luckily, we are almost there!!! When we do get a house we will know it is all of ours, we worked hard for it and gave up things and made sacrifices for it. I think that's when something in life has true meaning and value to you, when you have to work hard at achieving a goal and finally seeing all the hard work pay off. We didn't have help from anyone, we did this on our own and that's really the way it should be! We only eat out once or twice a week. We have a certain amount of "fun" money per month that we use on things we enjoy together, like going to the movies, etc. This plan has worked so well for us so far and I'm so blessed to have a husband who I'm on the same page with when it comes to finances because this is a big problem for a lot of couples.

Since our life and place we would be settling down has been in limbo for the past few months we have been afraid to get serious about house hunting until we knew where we would be living. Recently, a few things happened and it looks like we will be in Chattanooga for a while. It still could change but we think we will be here for a while. So this is our plan...and we are sticking to it...for now at least! :)

The more we look the more we realize what a long process this is. We will see one house and like several things about it and see another with other things we like. It's a shame you can't combine the best things of several different house to make the "perfect house." We have waited to buy one and we will wait some more to find the best one for us and I know when we find one it will be the one made for us! I'm excited to announce this next step in the Denniston Journey! The search for our dream home!

Drama Queens...

In this blog post I plan on being very honest and real. Quite frankly that's the only way I know how to be and if I offend anyone...sorry! Why have a blog if I have to sugar-coat things and walk on egg shells? I write this blog for myself, to get out things I feel and think about. So here it goes...

DRAMA QUEENS... We all know them. Maybe you are one or maybe your like me who work with some, have a few in the family, or have those friends that are. I have NEVER been a huge fan of drama. Even in high school when it was "cool" to start and create drama I steered clear. I have always been nice to everyone and friends with all kinds of people, that's just who I am. Sometimes this lead me to getting flack from others because I was friends with those who were "Uncool". Perhaps it also has to do with the way I was raised. My parents would never let me disrespected them or anyone else for that matter. My Mom always told me "Be nice to those who get picked on and who other people don't want to be friends with because if that was you, you would need a good friend," and the classic "Always treat others as you would want to be treated." These are the principles I grew up with that are now fried into my brain and make me who I am. However, now that I am an adult I realize there are tons of adults, even those who are a lot older than I am, who act younger and more immature than any child I have ever seen.

It is disappointing that so many I know and are around seem to live for the drama. I don't get their motivation behind it? I guess I really can't think like they do though, it seems so far fetched to me. Maybe it makes them feel better by being rude, mean, back stabbing, and putting others down to build themselves up??? I don't know. Maybe it's because some don't have anything else better to do with their time and they are bored? Who knows? All I know is I believe it is childish for adults to act this way. For me, I am too busy to think of being in drama, it really doesn't even cross my mind. I am lucky that I also married John who doesn't believe in drama, that way we are on the same page.

In the past few months I have seen drama first hand on too many occasions to the point that John and I have decided to remove ourselves from these situations. For certain reasons I will not get into any details on some of these but I do think it's a shame that even family will put you down, be disrespectful, and talk to our friends more than we ever hear from them and act like our friend hung the moon when they have no idea about that person. I just don't get the motivation behind being so rude. Or another family member who won't even see his own parents now that he's married much less let their grand daughter see them. I mean seriously? Grow up! The world is a cruel and harsh place so why also be this way to your relatives, we need to work on building each other up, no tearing one another down. We already get enough of that in the world we are living in.

I have also dealt with this at work. My co-workers are all older than me and have children but act so immature. I came from St. Thomas where I was used to my co-workers being family. We all got along and had each others backs. Well, little did I know I was up for a HUGE upset. On my unit now, all the nurses have it out for me (with the exception of like 2 or 3 people). Talk about a hostile environment to be in for 13 or more hours a day! I have no friends at work and really don't have anything in common with my co-workers. They are always in bad moods and always complaining. I can get along with anyone and it didn't bother me at first but after so long it starts to wear on me. I have had people at work put me down for no reason, always give me the hard assignments, I always have more patients than anyone else, talk behind my back, and try to find a reason to get me in trouble. I guess since I'm the new girl on the block who is young and positive and happy they decided to have it out for me since the day I started. It doesn't really matter to me, I go into work and do my job and take good care of my patients and try to ignore all the things they do or say. But I have come home on numerous occasions in tears. I have never had this issue in my life with anyone, let alone a whole unit of people. I guess the saying is true "nurses like to eat their own young." In all honesty, these people are probably unhappy with their own lives and then see me who is happy and enjoying life and they just can't stand it. It's not all women either, I know a few Drama Kings as well! There are certain doctors at work who I've seen yell at a nurse in the middle of the hallway where all the co-workers, patients, families, etc. can hear. The worst part is, usually the doctor is dead wrong and doesn't even know what is going on with their own patient. But if anything doesn't go according to their way they have to put someone else down who actually was doing the right thing. Heaven forbid they aren't right... that just doesn't happen, lol. So I never go into work looking forward to it and I never leave happy either. The ONLY reason I go back is for my patients! I love them so it makes it worth the awful environment.

So after dealing with a family member, a friend, these co-workers, and complete strangers acting rude and being the best Drama Queens they can possibly be, John and I decided it was time for a change and time for simplifying our lives. Basically, getting rid of all the negativity and people who didn't have any respect for us and couldn't treat us with the same kindness we tried to treat them with. After a while, it became hard to always be the nice guy. That act gets old! I don't hate anyone so I don't wish anything bad for these people, I just don't care to have these kind of people in my life. I think after a while of being the bigger person and taking the high road you eventually have the right to walk away and be done with those situations. It's really a shame that people have to be like that but all I know is what goes around comes around and these people will meet their match one day. John and I strive to be mature adults and to be nice to everyone around us, that's how Christ wants us to be. I will no longer let these people have any kind of effect on me. That's why we have cleaned up our friends on face book as well as those people in our lives. It is only fair. So we are happy to be starting a new chapter without any Drama Queens/Kings and it feels SO good! So here's to simplicity, maturity, and being kind to one everyone! Remember... if you act like a child, expect to be treated like one. If you are an adult, grow up and act like one or no one is going to take you seriously or want to be around you. If you back stab people to get on their nerves don't except them to want anything to do with you. It really does all go back to a simple lesson we all learned as children... "Treat others as you want to be treated." Come on adults, let's all grow up!

Catch-Up Post

Hello Blog World!

I am still here, just have been crazy busy since November really so I have gotten very far behind on my posts. I hope everyone had a wonderful Holiday Season! John and I enjoyed ours, we spent 8 weeks in a row traveling so it was very busy but we really enjoyed it! We went to see John's family in Memphis the weekend before Christmas and got to spend Christmas Eve and the day after with my family this year, I had to work Christmas Day :( but we still enjoyed being with my family and made the most of our time with them! We have learned that we have to divide up the Holidays between our families since they are so far away from each other. Last year we learned our lesson. I worked Christmas Eve night because I was still on night shift, As soon as I got off we went to Memphis to see John's family for Christmas. The next day we went to Atlanta to see mine. So our whole Holiday was spent in the car and we were miserable and I was SO tired (I think I stayed up for 36 hours straight). So needless to say this year worked much better and I'm so glad we have it figured out! I just love Christmas and family time around the Holidays. I am truly reminded of how blessed I am to celebrate Jesus and spend time with people I love the most! John and I set a budget for each other on gifts and neither one of us stuck to the budget but when it's your first Christmas as a married couple I guess your allowed to spurge a little. :) John really spoils me rotten and I'm so blessed to have a husband that pays attention to detail. John will literally remember something I said I wanted a year ago that I completely forget about and low and behold he gets it for me. He puts a lot of thought behind the gifts he gives me which is even better to me than the actual gifts themselves. So needless to stay John and I had a wonderful first Christmas as a married couple!

New Years was spent in St. Louis where we ate at a wonderful restaurant on New Years Eve and went to see John's 49 ers play on New Years Day. The 49 ers won so it made the trip worth our while! St. Louis is a neat city, I have been there three times now and every time I go I learn more about the city and places to go. John also had a interview down in New Orleans the week before Christmas so we were down there Thursday and Friday before heading to Memphis from there, so a long weekend on the road! New Orleans was different.... never a place I have desired to go but I can now say I've been there. Parts of it were cool and neat to see (Cafe Du Monde was my Fav.) but I could never live there. It's like a different world and even the people seem like a different breed. But I'm glad I was able to go with John to keep him company! Luckily, if he gets that job it could be anywhere in the country!

EXCITING NEWS... We booked our vacation for our 1 year Anniversary last week! We are going to Antigua to an all-inclusive resort for a week! We wanted to do something big for it and might as well travel all we can before we have kids. Basically I've already started a countdown to June 6th and everyday look up and research different things about the place we are staying and the Island itself. It looks beautiful and we can't wait for a vacation! We love to travel if you can't tell since we spent all of November and December on the go. But I honestly hope this is the next trip we take, I'm ready to be at home for a while!

As John continues his job search, we have decided to just sign another 6 month lease in the condo we have been living in instead of moving into another condo or buy a house. I DREAD moving! So the thought of moving for just a few months doesn't seem worth our while. We are still waiting to see if he gets any offers, he has had several interviews lately so in the next few months we should hear back and have a better idea of where we will be long-term. If we stay in Chattanooga we want to buy a house, but that's a big decision if we aren't going to settle down here. So we are praying hard about it and we know God will lead us to where we need to be! If we do stay in Chattanooga, I will hopefully have some exciting news to announce in a few months but don't want to share it until I know where we will be for sure! It's hard to not feel settled right now but we are trying to just deal with it. We are really keeping our fingers crossed for Atlanta or Nashville (we love both places and hope to eventually end up settling down in one of these cities.) While we are young with no children though, we are open to lots of places, I think it would be fun to live somewhere out West for just a few years! It will all work out for the best and the way it's meant to be! John and I are not crazy about our jobs here so we are mainly hoping for better opportunities as far as our careers go, that's the most important aspect to us! Hope you all are doing well! Promise to update again soon!

-Allison

Give Thanks...

I LOVE November!!! It is such a wonderful month of Thanksgiving and remembering all that we have to be thankful for. In many ways, thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays. I love getting together with family and looking back on how blessed we are. It isn't about presents and gift giving and getting caught up in material things. It's just about getting together and spending quality time (and of course eating a delicious meal). :) I think America needs a Thanksgiving once a month. This day in time I don't think we take the time to realize how much we have been given, we are too focused on what we don't have, myself included. As I look back on this year I have received many blessings and in some ways 2011 has been the greatest year of my life. In other ways though it has been the hardest and most challenging, which humbles me and has a way of bringing me back down to reality.

First of all this year I'm EXTREMELY thankful for marrying my best friend and having the wedding of my dreams!!! That day will always be my favorite day for the rest of my life. I am so blessed to have John in my life! He is an amazing husband and every day together just gets better and better! I couldn't have gotten more lucky to have such a catch! We were made for each other and I'm so glad God allowed us to be together forever, what a blessing and now my life is complete with my better half! Marriage is wonderful and we are truly thankful for one another!

Also, I am thankful that my wonderful parents gave me the wedding of my dreams!!! Since I was a little girl I have dreamed about how my wedding day would be and I can honestly say it was even better than I had hoped for! Thanks Mom and Dad for giving me the best day and for all your hard work and helping me pull off my wedding just the way I wanted it. Thank you both for supporting and encouraging John and I every step of the way. It was such a fun process and I wish we could do it all over again. Also, the wedding was such a great opportunity to get everyone we know together, that was a once in a lifetime thing where everyone was there...it's depressing because I know there will never again be a time when all the people we love will be in the same room. On the up side, it was a total BLAST having everyone there to help us celebrate, there was nothing like that night and we will always look back on those wonderful memories.

My family is another reason I'm so blessed. This year especially we have really been super close with the wedding and Chandler's health issue. Family are the people you can always count on and when life brings you joy or sorrow family will be right there to help celebrate with you or to be a shoulder to cry on. This year has brought my life much happiness and much sadness as well but I can say we have never stopped loving one another every step of the way and we only grow closer and stronger. I couldn't be more thankful for John, my Mom, Dad, and Chandler. The five of us now, lol, are such a close knit family and we really enjoy each time we are all together. I really appreciate how my family has taken John in this year as one of their own and truly treats him like a son. I know he appreciates that just as much as I do! Also, I love my grandparents beyond words are they are possibly the sweetest people I know! I really look up to them and admire them and I'm thankful for everything they have done for John and I this year! The wedding was a wonderful time to also have all of the extended family get together. I have a BIG family so when we all get together it is a party! I love each and every one of them and am so thankful they all were their to support John and I on our special day. Also, a HUGE thanks to my wonderful Aunt's and Cousin who gave me the BEST Bridesmaid's lunch! All of my family stepped up to help out with the Wedding in any way they could and I will forever be grateful!

Friends are another reason I'm so thankful! This year has truly allowed me to see who my true friends are and I'm so grateful for each of the friendships I have. My friend Brittany, also my Maid of Honor is such a great friend that I can always rely on and will always be in my life and for that I couldn't be happier. My friend Krista is also one of my best friends that I'm so thankful for. Our friendship continues to grow even though I moved away and I just love to talk to her and see her when we can. Both of these girls mean the world to me! My friend Nicole and I also have such a great friendship. We don't always get to see each other often but we always pick up where we leave off and I'm so honored that she was a bridesmaid in my wedding, I know we will always be friends too. No distance can take that away! I also miss Katie, Ashley, Stephanie, Aisha, and Gesma and all of my other St. Thomas friends that are always there for me and I'm so thankful that we all started out as co-workers and ended up being friends! I miss you girls but love visiting and talking with you all. You all mean so much to me too and I miss having co-workers like you all! I couldn't believe ya'll came to my wedding in Georgia, that will always mean the world to me. I love all of these friends in my life. This year they have all been there for me through the happiest time of my life and the hard times. Thanks for all the support and love!

I'm thankful for the nice city John and I live in and the opportunities we have both been given here in Chattanooga. We both have good careers to where we can live comfortably and enjoy our life. God has given us a great church home here that we love and a wonderful place that has a lot to do but is still a small and safe town to live in. It has been a great place to start our lives together!

John's family has also been a blessing in our lives and I'm glad that some of them were able to be at our Wedding this year. Even though I don't know some of them that well yet I look forward to getting to know them better through the years. His Mom and Stepdad and Dad and Stepmom are wonderful and we enjoy spending time with them when we can.

Overall, I have SO much to be thankful for and these are just a few reasons I count my blessings. I could go on and on but I'll stop there. However, none of these things would have been possible without God, He is the one that all blessings come from and I'm beyond thankful to have such a wonderful Savior who has given me a blissful life and so much to be thankful for!

A heavy heart...

As many of you already know... this week has been one of the hardest for my family. I will never forget this past Thursday and all the emotions and fears I have had since I received the news about my brother. I apologize if this blog is all over the place and a little scattered, it is extremely tough for me to write but I feel like if I can write all my thoughts out it will help me.

It was Thursday morning around 10 am. Apparently I had missed calls from my Dad and John but I had no idea because my stupid phone did not ring and had no cell service randomly that morning, just my luck...the only time my phone has ever done this. John got a text from my mom saying they couldn't get in touch with me and told him briefly what was going on. John called the girl in our apartment complex and she came over to knock on my door to wake me up. I am a light sleeper and rarely sleep till 10 am anymore but I had just worked 3, 12 hour shifts in a row and had a horrible week at work so I was exhausted. I immediately jumped up when I heard knocking at the door. I opened it and the girl said "You need to call your husband immediately, it's something to do with your brother." My first thought was he had been in a car wreck, I knew he had to go to Atlanta for his doctors appointment so I instantly thought it was something to do with him traveling back home. I ran to my phone in the bedroom and tried to call John but my phone wouldn't call out. I had to turn it off and wait for it to turn back on, longest minute of my life! I was shaking and in tears at this point. I called John and asked if my brother was ok and what was going on. He told me to call my mom that he was ok, not injured or anything but had received some bad news.

I will never forget the phone conversation with my mom. When she picked up she was crying which made me start crying as well. She managed to tell me that the MRI results about my brothers finger had not come back well, and that it showed a tumor on his finger. I was in SHOCK. My brother is 22 years old, this couldn't be happening! How was this even possible??? I couldn't comprehend the news so I kept asking her what that meant. I may be a nurse... but I can honestly admit all my knowledge about the medical field goes out the window when it comes to hearing about my family being sick, I did not want to put two and two together. I wanted to pretend that surely it was ok. Next my mom told told me this orthopedic doctor only sees 2 cases of this a year and that it is extremely rare. My mind went blank. All I could think about was my brother is 22 years old and he has so much going for him and so much life to live. Then my mom told me the news that sent me over the edge all together. My brother needed to see a specialist now and that there are only 2 specialists in all of Georgia and only 2 in Tennessee that cover these kind of cases. I was curious as to what specialist that was since there were so few of them and she then told me it was a orthopedic ONCOLOGIST. My heart hit the floor and is honestly still down there. Oncology is NO word anyone wants to hear and it has a way of shaking you down to the bone. How could my brother need to see an oncologist? Don't they understand...Chandler is a 22 year old senior in college who is the BEST brother a sister could ask for, the ideal son, the good friend, naturally smart (who is graduating with his Masters in Accounting in another year), a good Christian man, the guy all the parents want their daughters to date, a true comedian who can make his sister laugh more than anyone, a talented musician, a true athlete, and so much more. How could this be happening to my only brother?

For those of you who don't know... Chandler and I are only two years apart in age. Ever since we were little we have been the best of buddies. Whether it was fighting like cats and dogs all growing up or being the best of friends now, we have always been VERY close and he has always been my best friend. Chandler and I can pick at each other all the time, but heaven forbid someone else try to mess with the other sibling and there would be hell for them to pay. We have always had each others backs and whenever I really needed someone Chandler was right there for me, no questions asked. Chandler is one of those people who truly walks in a room and the entire room lights up. He has this contagious personality that shines and his outgoing personality that I have always been jealous of. He can literally pick me up and make me laugh when I felt like I would never been able to smile again. He is also the funniest person I know, I love being around him because he is always making me laugh the hardest I have ever laughed. He also knows exactly what to say when I'm upset, I guess that's his brotherly intuition. I could go on and on about him because I really do think he is a much better person than I am. He always had the qualities I wished I had and even though he is my little brother he is mature beyond his years and I look up to him and admire him.

So after his appointment on Thursday we immediately called out the prayer warriors for my brother. We pasted the news on to all the family and my church back home. My grandmother gets a call from a friend that goes to our church and she says she knows a woman who goes to our church that works for the head Oncologist at Emory. This is where God starts to work and things start to fall into place. My grandmother calls this woman up and tells her about my brothers situation. Twenty minutes later the head doctor of oncology at Emory in Atlanta is calling my Dad to talk to him about my brother, who ironically also goes to my church back home. This is before my brother even decided where he was going to try to be seen, it Atlanta or in Nashville. The head doctor of oncology said he could get in touch with the two doctors who are the specialist in Georgia who happen to be at Emory. We couldn't have made any of this fall into place any better. My brother gets an appointment the next day, Friday, at 8 15 am with the orthopedic oncologist. This would have been IMPOSSIBLE without these connections and God at work!

After his appointment on Friday, Chandler is scheduled to have the tumor removed from his finger on Nov. 1st. From there they will replace the bone they take from him with a cadaver bone and then send the tumor off to be biopsied. We will know the results in a week from Nov. 1st. The tumor is either benign or malignant. We are praying that everything will be benign and there will be No signs of cancer. But all we can do is pray and put our trust in God. Waiting has been torture and it's only been 4 days since all the news. We are still in shock and still can't wrap our minds around everything. This all began 3 years ago when my brother's finger became swollen on one hand and painful occasionally. We thought for a long time that it would go away and was probably an injury from when he played basketball in high school. When it didn't go away he finally saw a doctor a year ago who told him it was just a bone sheath that had grown and just needed to be removed. Well before surgery my brother wanted a second opinion and thank God he did. The next doctor did a x-ray which didn't show anything so the next step was the MRI which showed the tumor. NEVER in our wildest dreams did we think it could be anything like this.

I know that everything happens for a reason and God doesn't give us anything that we can't handle in life. All I know is that I am frustrated and confused as to why this is happening to my brother. I really wish I could take it all away for him and that it could be me instead. There are no words to describe how I feel all I know is that I have cried a ton, been angry, confused, mad, sad, hopeful, restless, lost my appetite, and discouraged. All I know is that Chandler is stronger than I am and I'm scared to death for him. You never know when your whole world will randomly be turned upside down. All you can do is love the ones around you with everything you have all the time, never take anyone in your life for granted, pray for them constantly, if you have a disagreement be quick to forgive, call them up or see them regularly, and never forget to tell them how proud you are of them and how much they mean to you. It really is the simple things in life like family that mean the most.

It's also times like these were we realize how blessed we are. My brother and family has had SO many people reach out to us and support us during this difficult time. All the prayers, phone calls, face book messages, e-mails, and visits has meant the world to us and truly makes all the difference. We know that prayer is the most powerful medicine and my brother has people all over the country praying for him. Please continue to keep Chandler in your prayers, he is still struggling with the news as well as my family. I will continue to update as we know more but thank you for all the thoughts and prayers. I have no doubts that my brother will fight this like a pro. Also, thanks for allowing me to be real and honest with my feelings. Even though this was very difficult to write it helps me get out my fears and sadness which I needed to work through. Just remember Chandler... God and your sister have your back and are here with you every step of the way!

- A heavy heart

Wicked and Nashvegas...

This weekend has been another hectic, busy, stay on the go kind of weekend. It started with our trip to Nashville for a few hours on Friday so John could take a test for his job. A few days before John had told me he had to go to Nashville and I was SO pumped!!! 1. Nashville is one of my favorite cities 2. I lived there for 6 years and miss it so much! 3. I haven't been back since May, when I moved away :( 4. All of my friends and my brother are in Nashville 5. I was off on Friday so I could totally tag along with John!!! So needless to say I couldn't wait to be back in that city if only for a few short hours. While John was taking his test I got to have lunch with Katie and Stephanie, my good friends and co-workers from St. Thomas! I had the best time at lunch catching up with Katie and Stephanie and it made me realize even more how much I miss them!!! Those are two of my friends that have been there with me through crazy/ tragic/ hilarious/ sad/ happy/stressful times of my nursing career. We really do have a bond and share common experiences that I don't have with any other people in my life. We caught up on nursing stuff of course, but also about life and that's what I love. They are more than friends at work, they are there to be friends throughout the walk of life and I really love that about them both. The second I text them saying I was coming to Nashville they both instantly agreed to have lunch and cleared their schedules to make time to see me and I really appreciate that kind of friendship. Even though we haven't seen each other in a few months we always pick up right where we leave off and always find something crazy to laugh about. I wish I could bottle up their sweet spirits and carry it with me back to Chattanooga on days at work when I really need good co-workers to have my back or just to keep me company on my days off when I wished I could see them. Since that isn't possible, I will just have to keep visiting and hope they come visit me soon as well! :) Our lunch made me so thankful for great friends and even better company!!!

So after lunch in Nashville, I tried to see my brother before we left. Unfortunately he was busy getting ready for a Wedding he was DJ-ing later that evening which I understand. I'll see him again soon! So since Chandler was busy that afternoon John and I headed back to Chattanooga to get ready for Atlanta the following morning. We also got to go pick out some cute fall decorations for the apartment which I was thrilled about! It's fun decorating for each season now that I am married and we have our place. I'm definitely in the Fall spirit now!

Saturday morning we woke up and headed down to my parents house to see Wicked later that evening. Before Wicked, we went to eat at Flip Burger which is an upscale/ trendy/unique burger spot. If you are ever in Atlanta it's a MUST, the food is great and the milkshakes are so good too! Then we went down to the FOX theatre in downtown to see WICKED!!!

I have been to the FOX only one other time when I was younger for a concert so I hardly remembered it. The FOX is absolutely amazing!!! It's such a beautiful building and has so much history behind it, it really is such a neat place, it looks like a old elaborate castle and the ceiling looks just like a blue night sky with clouds moving, it's hard to describe but totally stunning! Wicked was just as great too! John and I have never been to a big Broadway play so we didn't know what to expect. Wicked was wonderful! The actors/actresses were so talented and had amazing voices. Also, the bad/good witches played their parts so well. The best part was when the bad witch flew up in the air and was singing , it looked just like a scene from the Wizard of OZ! the Wizard was really cool too. This play exceeded our expectations and we hope to see more, hopefully even go to New York one day and see one there! Wicked will be hard to beat though, I recommend it to everyone! We had such a great time and so glad my parents went with us!

This morning we went to my church home and we were so thankful to see Don, our preacher back at church after being out for several months in the hospital. Don means so much to me and my family, he is the best preacher I know and we also married John and I! He is so selfless and genuinely cares about each person around him and makes you feel like your the only one that matters, that is truly a gift when in reality he has a church of a thousand members and is known all around the world. So glad his recovery is going well and he couldn't speak but a few minutes today at church because he is still really weak but I'm glad we were there to see him on his first Sunday back! We also love going back to visit because I know everyone there and everyone is always so glad to see John and I, especially the small group my parents are in. After church we went to eat wings and watch the football games. My poor Braves and Falcons lost :( Glad the Titans won though! John's 49ers also won so that makes for a much more pleasant day at the Denniston house! Such a great weekend with friends and family...I'm truly blessed beyond words!

Always on the go...

So I am extremely behind with my blogging, I try but John and I really have been super busy! I feel like when I'm not working we are always out of town lately. It's a lot of fun to be on the go because we both LOVE to travel. However, I'm also enjoying these two non-traveling, working, hanging around the house kinda days in my PJ's. The only thing that's missing is my husband though! John is away for seven days doing a project for his job in Decatur and Huntsville, AL. I got to tag along the first two days with him which was fun but had to come back to work this Sunday so I didn't get to stay long. I miss him SO much! I guess when we got married we never even thought of the next time we would be without one another, it just seems so weird now being apart. It definitely takes me back to the year and a half we had a distance relationship and I am so thankful we no longer have to worry about that anymore! I can say that I can't stand staying at our place without him. I'm already really paranoid and a big baby when I stay alone somewhere. It's a wonder I had my own apartment in Nashville for two years all by myself! I can't sleep good at night and am worried the craziest things will happen, lol. Crazy? I know but I really freak myself out and always have.

So I have much to catch up on, my next blog I hope to write about our trip to the beach and talk about John turning the BIG 3-0 and celebrating my Mom's B-day as well! It was such a fun trip!

Also, this Thursday night John comes back in town so I'm counting down the days! He has to go to Nashville Friday for a test so I will go also since I'm not working! I'm SO excited! I haven't been back to Nashville since I left there at the beginning of May to move back home for a month before the wedding. It seems surreal being gone for so long but I can't wait to be back!!! I LOVE that city and mostly some of the people in that city! I can't wait to do lunch with some of my good friends and hopefully see my brother as well! It will be great even if it's just for a day...I'll take it! Then we come back to Chattanooga Friday night so we can head down to Atlanta on Saturday to go see Wicked with my parents! I'm really looking forward to it! Wicked is playing at the famous FOX theatre in Atlanta and I have never been to a broadway-like play so I can't wait! See... we really do stay on the go but we wouldn't change a thing about this hectic-stay on the go life we have! Hope everyone is doing well! More updates to come soon!