Tennessee Aquarium

This past Saturday we thought it would be neat to get up early and head to Chattanooga for the day. It had been years since Michael and I had been there, and we thought the kids would love the aquarium. We didn’t tell the boys where we were going, but that it would be super fun!

We stopped and got breakfast and headed up 75 north. Only to get stuck in bumper to bumper traffic after a horrible accident with a tractor trailer. We prayed that no one was seriously injured, but it was a nasty crash. It only put us about 30-45 minutes behind, which wasn’t bad.

We finally got there, and the boys were super excited to see all the animals! It wasn’t to crowded considering it was a Saturday but it was a little overcast, and by the end of the day we were in the middle of a complete down pour.

 

The boys loved all the fish! We saw lots of fish that looked like nemo, and all 100 of them were called nemo. Even though there was huge thick pieces of glass holding all the fishes and animals inside, Colin didn’t really trust it. He wouldn’t get too close in fear that they were going to get him. At one point I walked up to the glass with him, only for him to scream at the fish coming towards him. Christian on the other hand would have loved to be in the tanks with all of them. He was completely fascinated.

 

 

We saw lost of critters, and was able to touch a few! Christian was first in line, while Colin was a little hesitant.

 

Since it had been so long since we had been there, we noticed they had a new building. It was called Ocean Journey! I liked it so much better that the original aquarium. They had a sting ray exhibit, where you could touch and feed them. Christian didn’t mind touching them but kind of got scared when trying to feed them. He was given a small piece of shrimp to hold between his fingers, and then place his hand flat on the bottom of the tank. The sting ray would swim over your hand and like a vacuum suck the shrimp out of your fingers. He was afraid that they were going to sting him.

 

 

There was these two birds in the sting ray exhibit that were so funny to watch. They were beautiful birds, but looked like there were fighting! The kept picking at eat other and making all sorts of noises. Colin wanted absolutely nothing to do with them!

 

Then we headed to the butterfly room, where there had to be hundreds of butterflys ever where! Christian tried to catch one, and Colin just stared and ran anytime one would come anywhere near him. We left, and Christian and Michael stayed a little longer so he could catch one, and he finally did! He said “it was awesome!"

 

I think by far the best part was the penguin exhibit! They were so cute, and the boys loved it! They honestly could have stayed there the whole day. They are very fast animals! They would swim by so fast and then pop up out of the water onto the rock! It was so neat! They had a tank where you could feel the temperature of the water that they live in and it was COLD!

 

 

 

 

We left the aquarium and headed to Mellow Mushroom for some pizza before heading over to the IMAX theater to catch an ocean movie in 3D! Needless to say it was a busy day for Colin, he didn’t make it thru the whole movie, he was out like a light!

We have been to the Georgia aquarium before, but like the Tennessee one better! It flows better, and a lot less crowded. You can actually get up close to the animals and don’t feel like you are fighting with a dozen other people just to get a look!

All in all it was a great family day!

Sacrifice

Noun: Surrender for the sake of something else; Something given up.

I guess in life at one time or another we have all sacrificed something. It might be something small or large. No matter what a sacrifice is a sacrifice.
Do we all sacrifice things in hope to be rewarded something greater in the future? Do we sacrifice until it hurts or just until it’s uncomfortable? Or do we sacrifice because that’s what God did for us?

We (my family) are currently traveling on a path that started 2 ½ years ago, a path that we prayed for, a path that we have trusted God with. God has been amazing! Over this past 2 ½ years we have sacrificed a lot. So much, at times we do question it. Is it worth all of this? What will the outcome be? Can we do this? I must remind my self of what Jesus did for all of us, he gave his life! When I think about that, it makes what we are doing seem so small.

I guess today is a day that the sacrifices we are currently making are weighing more on me than normal. No one ever said that it would be easy. We stated this journey with God by our sides, and we will end it the same way.

No matter what life gives us, we must in return give it to God. He is way more capable of handling it than we are. So today as I am constantly reminded of the path God has laid out for us, and the sacrifices we are making, I am thinking of the ultimate sacrifice he made for us.

Show us you life....FAMILY

A blog that I follow daily is Kelly’s Korner. She is an amazing women, wife and mother to a little girl Harper, and Miss Hollis who will be joining the world in a few short weeks.

Every week she has a series that her fellow blog followers can join in on. She calls it “Show us your…” This week it is all about your family. So I thought for the first time I’d join in on the fun.

I am the youngest of three kids born to my wonderful parents Paul and Vicki. In fact we are all 3 years apart..and our birthdays are May 1st, May 6th, and May 12th! Whew! May is busy! They grew up living next door to each other, before falling in love and marrying in 1973.

We lived in Kentucky until I was 5, when my dad was took another job here in Georgia! I don’t remember too much about living there since I was little, so basically my home is Georgia.

I have an older sister Leigh, who is 6 years older than me. She has become one of my very best friends, and I love being around her. I will say the 6 year age difference did cause tension in our family during the happy teenage years, but we have over come those days. She lives about 15 minutes from me so we see and spend a lot of time together. She is Married to Kenny, whom she met way back in College, and has 3 kids. Jordan is 14, and looking forward to high school. Jadon is 4 and is total boy! Adelyn is 1, and the only little girl. She is already quite spoiled.

I have an older brother Craig who is 3 years older than me. We have always been close, and during my high school days became even closer. He worked for Chick-Fil-A all through high school and college, and I give all the credit to him for introducing me to my hubby Michael. He and Michael worked together and became best friends, so I guess it was only fitting to start dating him! We all know how that has worked out. My brother is by far the strongest, giving, kind hearted person I will ever know. He has had many health issues for as long as I remember and no matter what new challenged faced him he would fight it to the end. He was in our wedding, and shortly after become ill. He fought so strong but Jesus needed him more than we did, on May 8, 2004 he went home to be with him. I know he is completely healed and running around having celebrations everyday. We will meet again, but until then he is helping Jesus perfect our new home!

My mom, Vicki is an amazing mother, and grandmother. She is one of three children, being the oldest to two brothers. She was a stay at home mom for a while, and has since been drawn to the business of food. In someway or another every job she had either was directly with food, or with food equipment. When I was in elementary school she worked in the school cafeteria, she owned her own catering company for a while, worked as the cook at our church, and now in sells of high end kitchen appliances. She has and will always be my mother, but has also become my best friend!

My dad, Paul is a fantastic dad, and grandfather (aka: Buddy) He is the youngest of two children, he has an older sister. He moved to Georgia to take a job and lived here for a couple of months while we prepared to move here. He has always been in sells, or at least as long as I can remember. From a tile company that moved us here, to carpet and now to kitchen surfaces. It’s kind of funny that both my mom and dad ended up kind of in the same line of business. Even though they work for two different companies the industry is the same and end up working together on some projects. I am and always will be daddy’s little girl, and I’m sure will always be spoiled by him.

My parents live about 10 minutes from me, and I love the fact that they are so close. I love that both of them have always been there for us and will always be. They are both Godly people, and have an amazing marriage. It is so comforting to come from such a strong faith background.

I love my family! Family is such an important part of my life. All my extended family (expect for one uncle who does live here) still live in Kentucky, and all within 30 min of each other. I love the fact that when my mom and dad married, both sides of the family have just completely blended. I’m glad that God choose me for this family, and I am completely honored to be a part of it!

Let’s get physical!!

It’s that time again…warm weather…less clothes…and I am not ready for that! So I have starting changing my eating habits, and will be heading to the park to start running/walking again. I did great last year and lost about 25 pounds total. Since then I have kept it off, but still need to lose about 35 more pounds! I am ready to get out there. I enjoy the time alone, and being outside, and with things in my life pretty crazy I will also use it at de-stressing!

I have set small goals to meet, and with everything one I reach I’ll reward myself with a little something to keep me motivated.

Plus I bought a kicking bathing suit last year, and however I did look good in it, this year I want to look fantastic