Engaged Encounter

This past weekend Craig and I traveled to the middle of nowhere, Sweetwater Tennessee, for an Engaged Encounter weekend. For those of you not familiar (probably most of you), this was a weekend long pre-marital counseling retreat sponsored by the Catholic church. So here's the set up... 18 engaged couples, two married couples, and one priest. We spent the entire weekend listening to the married couples talk about different topics and then talking with each other about what we had just heard. Definitely glad we only have to do that once!

Rae's Shower!

Today was Rae's bridal shower in Clover... an event that I DEFINITELY couldn't miss! I had a great time and really enjoyed being able to celebrate with Rae, her family, and friends. She's going to be a beautiful bride and I am SO EXCITED for her!!!

Winter Wonderland!

This weekend the Tri-City area received its first substantial snow for the year. The snow started Saturday night and continued on through Sunday. It was the perfect amount of snow... just enough to enjoy and not enough to be an inconvenience! The town really looked beautiful!

What a Grand Opening!

This weekend Craig and I went to Columbia! It had been way too long since we visited. Anyway, we went down for a VERY special occasion... Grady and Holly's store opening! The store looked amazing and we had such a wonderful time visiting with everyone. We'll have to make another trip soon!

Grady basking in the success of the evening

Update...

I know it's been a while since my last post... sorry about that. Craig and I have been keeping pretty busy trying to get as much wedding stuff knocked out as possible. We did manage to take a bit of a break this week though. On Thursday we went out to eat at Johnny Carino's with some good friends Kellee and Jason. For those of you who enjoy Carabba's you would probably like this place too! Friday we hung out with some of Craig's friends from work. We went to eat and then went to Virginia High School to watch the Oak Hill Academy basketball team play. Oak Hill is the #1 ranked high school team in the country! They travel the country playing various teams... they're like the Harlem Globetrotters of high school basketball! They have two kids who are 6' 9.5" tall! It was simply amazing to watch them play!

Daniel (in the hat) with his hilarious friend Matt

Remember these are high school kids... many of whom will probably go pro!
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Saturday Night Bluegrass!

This past Saturday Craig and I went to the Carter Family Fold to listen to some good ole', foot stompin' bluegrass! The Carter Family (as in the same family as June Carter Cash) started this amazing place many years ago to honor the bluegrass and country music of the area. It's a tiny place in the middle of no where, but some amazing people have played there... including Johnny Cash who played the last concert before he died at the Fold. The Fold even features a dancefloor in front of the stage where people can go and stomp their fee to the music!

One of Craig's co-workers, Steve Edwards, was headlining with his band the "Scott County Boys." We had such a great time and even got a shout out from Steve! He announced to the crowd that we were getting married and told Craig not to take the lyrics of his songs literally (he had just finished playing a song that said "if you're gonna cheat on me don't cheat in my hometown"). Great advice! Anyway, here's a little taste of the music!

Jeanette Carter's Son

Scott County Boys

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Say Hello to Mr. Ribbits!!!

As some of you may know, I have been wanting to get a white's tree frog as a pet for a couple of years now. Don't ask me what started this weird fascination... the point is that the time has FINALLY come! For Christmas Craig bought me a HUGE terrarium that would be perfect for any frog! I have spent the last couple of days getting it set up and ready for my new little guy. Today, we went to Petsmart and picked him out... it was love at first sight! I would like to formally introduce you all to Kermit J. Ribbits (Mr. Ribbits for short)! Isn't he cute!

Mr. Ribbits' home

Checkin' out his new home... I think he likes it!

Taking a dip in his water dish!