Our Christmas Surprise for the New Year

Here is one of my favorite images from our wedding back in 2008:

And here's the next one in the series:

[Thank you to Stephan Maloman for the photo shoot!]

We shared the news with our family on Christmas Day and they were all shocked and overjoyed.
Here's the little card we gave them:

We are definitely excited about 2011. God is good.

"Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord,

the fruit of the womb a reward."

-Psalm 127:3

A few Christmas photos

Wanted to drop in and share just a few Christmas Day photos with whoever is still reading. ;-)
I promise to be back soon with a full Christmas report! Don't give up on the blog...I'll be updating a lot soon. Our adventure is only beginning...

Merry Christmas Eve!

It's Christmas Eve!
I love this holiday. I love spending time with my family and eating delicious food. I love giving presents and receiving them too. I love watching Christmas movies and listening to Christmas music. And I love reflecting on Luke 2:1-21.
This is a very special Christmas for so many reasons and I plan to really savor every moment I can.

I pray you all have a blessed Christmas.

[Painting by JenLovesKev]

Our House

Last week Alex and I closed on our first house.
The process was long and stressful, but in the end nothing can take away from the excitement of owning our own home. What a blessing!
It's a cute little duplex in Five Points, ten minutes outside of downtown Denver.
It's a dream come true and I can't wait to get in there and start making it ours.

By the way, if you have real estate needs in Denver, I highly recommend Jeff Wimpy.

P.S. Sorry it's been so quiet on the blog. Things are crazy this time of year (especially with all the changes and transitions happening), but I promise after the new year we'll have much to share about our new life in Denver!

Knaus Berry Farm

One of the things I miss most about Miami is Knaus Berry Farm.

You can pick your own strawberries, which is fun, but the best part is all the delicious baked goods and sweets that they have. They're famous for their cinnamon rolls and milk shakes. 

Well, today Merari and I decided to head out and look for good photo shoot locations. She has an engagement session coming up soon and wanted a forrest-y type place to shoot at. Unfortunately, Miami is really lacking in the forrest-y department so we headed towards the Homestead/Redlands area. Surely we'd find some nature there. We ended up finding one good place buuut then we got distracted by the famous Knaus Berry Farm. 

We didn't even take any photos because we were too busy stuffing our faces with chocolate ice cream and milkshake goodness. 

So here are a couple photos from wayyy back in 2007:

And here are a couple photos from a trip back in 2008, Merari still loves that ice cream ;-):

Soma Prayer Cards

I wanted to share our Soma prayer cards with all of you.
We are so thankful for all the love and support we have received so far in our journey with Soma. We have really felt your prayers and seen God working throughout this whole process. So we wanted everyone to have a tangible reminder to continue praying for the Soma team because we sure do need it.

One of Alex's co-workers was kind enough to shoot the photo for us and Alex added all the text, etc. When I get my hands on some of these I'll be sure to pass them along to whoever might want one. Again, thank you for your prayers and please keep on praying for us!

[click to enlarge]

P.S. Here's a little blurb about us on the Summit's blog.

P.P.S. On a totally unrelated note you have to check out the sweet video Alex made for Steph and Danny's wedding.

Living Life in Miami

We've been in Miami for about five days now and it's been fun. Alex started working at the Apple Store at Dadeland Mall yesterday (thank God that he has the opportunity to work while we're here so we don't go broke!) and he likes it there. I even got to visit him at work with Steph, he looks so cute when he's being a professional Apple employee. ;-)

We've been able to visit with friends, go to church, and eat lots of good food. I love my grandmother's cooking! I'm trying to convince her to move in with us in Denver. She's amazing. 

I'm excited about the rest of our time here, there are so many exciting things going on: weddings, babies, concerts, Christmas! I'm thankful to spend this time with family and friends before we make the big move out west. 

By the way, pray for our home buying process...we've run into a few frustrating obstacles and I really want to throw something at somebody...but there's nothing to throw and nobody to throw it at. :-)

I hope everyone's December is fun so far. 

image via weheartit

Goodbye Raleigh

Friends! I have neglected the blog but only because we've been so busy moving. Thanks to the help of many friends we are all packed up and our stuff is on its way to Denver as I type this.
As for the three of us, we have arrived safely in Miami after driving all night long. We were greeted by my smiling Abuelita and a plate of delicious goodness.

Thanks to all for your prayers, help, and support throughout this crazy transition. I'm really going to miss North Carolina. We met some amazing people who have changed our lives forever. Please, let's keep in touch forever and forever. And come visit us in Denver. :-)

Now to continue napping...seriously, it was a long drive.