Charlie and Me

Isabella!

2009-10-24T17:00:00.000-07:00

In June I spent a couple weekends in GA waiting for my newest niece to be born. So there was a lot of quality family time including fun with Isabella.

Isabella was very excited to meet her new sister. She helped take the bag to the car just in case.

Snuggle sleepy time with Gamma

Play time with Granddad!

Isabella told Granddad that she would would catch him at the bottom of the slide. She was so sweet coaching him as came down the slide.

In position ready to catch him!

She said "gotcha"

I love that fun little girl!

Bye First North Carolina House

2009-10-24T14:00:00.000-07:00

Back in April we decided to move to downtown Waynesville.

I was excited to be closer to the small town "action"

Fall festivals, block parties, quaint bookstores and coffee shops and much much more!

Saying "Bye" to the first North Carolina house was was needed. We only had 2 bedrooms which is not enough space to really be settled. It was was not enough space to host our families like we really wanted to.

This is the guest bedroom at the old house.... Now don't you wish you had come to visit us?

Our fireplace

Probably the last bathroom Charlie would be able to hang this big banner

When I began packing I had BIG help!

This was our bedroom. I loved how cozy it was!

Bye bye country house! time to move on to the BIG CITY! (or small town, whatever you want to call it!)

A simple March post

2009-10-24T04:00:00.000-07:00

I'm not a good blogger.

I am aware of this fact.

I am O.K. with this.

I actually enjoy that I surprise my 5 readers with random updates and long past due posts.

**Thank you readers! Can I call you readers if you don't consistently have something to read?**

Anyway back in March Charlie and I went out to Lake Junaluska to read and relax for a bit.

We got there and set ourselves up and it was FREEZING!!! We needed to wait just one more weekend for warm enough weather for a day by the lake.

I was pretty excited when I realized my book looked like the landscape!

After filling in 3 blocks in a Sudoku we happily packed up and went right back home!

Shopping at the Venetian

2009-10-23T14:26:00.000-07:00

Walking through the Shops at The Venetian brought back fond memories of Holland with my sister. They had these living statues all over the place.

Anyways here is Las Vegas' version.

You still have time

2009-10-05T05:00:00.000-07:00

So Jason and Lauren I know you only have 2 weeks until the big day but that is still enough time to go to a place like this....

I took this picture just for you Lauren :)

Breakfast in Las Vegas

2009-10-04T13:57:00.000-07:00

So I know this is from March but I thought I might try to catch up a bit on blogging... I am guessing the "catching up" will be short lived. Enjoy it while it lasts!

This was my favorite part of the day.... Breakfast that looked like this...

In bed of course!

Yum! I wouldn't mind another breakfast like this

Less than 2 months

2009-08-20T15:55:00.000-07:00

In less than 2 months my brother, Jason, will be married. My friend and buddy from birth. We are only 14 months apart in age. *side note* I am sure at some point he would and did correct me and say 14 months and 6 days. And he would be right, he always truly is. That was so frustrating growing up! Anyways...

When we were young, he was my twin. Since we were so close in age we spent early childhood inseparable and about the same size.

I love our relationship and how it has changed over the years. I can remember him always being protective of me even in middle school when he loved to pick on me. No one knows how to get on your last nerve quite like a brother. He would tell his friends when they would try to pick on me that only HE could do that since he was my brother. If they ever took it too far he would be the first to let them know.

I loved that protective brother.

When I started dating he drove me to the cheating boyfriend's house so I could break up with him and then was happy to be the shoulder I cried on.

His stamp of approval when I met Charlie meant more to me than anything else. He had to approve!

In more recent years I have enjoyed the deep conversations about life and God. I trust his insight and value what he has to say. I love how our relationship and friendship has grown.

2 years ago on my wedding day he was the one who made me break down before the wedding. Still the protective brother standing up for the marriage I was entering into with Charlie. His support was and is incredible.

Wow.

In less than 2 months I have the honor to stand up for the marriage he is entering into with

Lauren. I get to commit to support him and Lauren by standing with them as they vow forever.

Today I received the invitation to their wedding in the mail. I am ecstatic. I love being married and fully believe in it.

When Jason is with Lauren he is so alive.

Congratulations my brother.

I love you!

My Crop

2009-08-20T15:37:00.000-07:00

I am so bad at paying attention to my plants. More so because I left them for over 2 weeks well they still decided to produce. Isn't my little crop cute?
I wish I ate tomatoes plain. Oh well

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IMG00018-20090724-2028.jpg

2009-07-24T17:39:00.001-07:00

We are outside and Charlie is working on his cast with his fly fishing rod.

Cooper does not like the sound of the line in the air. He flinches everytime Charlie casts. The poor puppy is hiding behind the chair.

Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Date night

2009-07-15T16:50:00.000-07:00

Date night this week was at home. So my wonderful husband bought me roses and wrote a card to make me feel special and it worked!

Thank you Charlie for the flowers and card. I love you
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

I wonder why I try

2009-07-08T16:41:00.000-07:00

These flat and half burnt cookies come after a dinner that had too much pepper. Sometimes I wonder why I even try to cook.
Charlie sure does put up with me really well. Maybe I will have better luck tomorrow night.
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2009-07-02T06:55:00.001-07:00

The birthday bouquet I cut from my yard this morning. I love it. Happy birthday to me.

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Flowers...

2009-06-30T16:27:00.000-07:00

I was so thankful to my mom who helped me plan and plant some flowers and garden items in my yard... I have loved watching them grow and produce beautiful flowers and now there are signs of fruit!

Thanks Mom!

2009-06-29T06:04:00.001-07:00

Guess what opened on campus this morning? Thanks to a co-worker I have a wonderful monday morning treat!

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Must Read Blog!

2009-05-28T10:58:00.000-07:00

I came across "Gather Little by Little" just a couple weeks ago and it has quickly jumped to the top of my "must read" blog list!
If you get a chance go check it out.
You will not be disappointed.

The blog is a Christian Personal Finance blog. Written by the husband of a wonderful couple that Charlie and I met not too long ago here in the Mountains.
He does have a co-writer (Stew) that writes part of the time and is pretty good too.

So go... read!

My Gmail Tells Me the Weather

2009-05-28T10:48:00.000-07:00

I just checked my e-mail to find a cloudy day... My Gmail is my favorite E-mail system I have ever used. and I love the fact that it tells me the weather. Recently it has been all cloudy and rainy.
So Gmail if you are listening will you please just lie to me and tell me that it is pretty outside?
On a "Sunny" note I am on call and going to GA this weekend to wait for Reegan's birth! I am so excited and can hardly wait. This will be niece #4... talk about a girl party!

2009-04-18T09:11:00.000-07:00

Happy birthday lauren. So glad to have you in the mountains enjoying smoky mountain coffee with me.

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2009-04-13T15:55:00.000-07:00

My Easter flowers that smell so wonderful

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2009-04-10T04:02:00.001-07:00

Good morning new back yard... The view from my kitchen window

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Grand Canyon

2009-04-05T17:21:00.001-07:00

The Grand Canyon Day!

This day was the most anticipated of the trip. The drive was once again beautiful.

There are a lot of pictures on this post mostly because I could not narrow them down! Just let me tell you that the pictures do the beauty of this place no justice... you must go and see for yourself.

Early signs of approaching our destination...

Once you turn off of the 4 lane you are on this road and go strait for forever...
Then it becomes a long bumpy dirt road... With more signs of what is to come.

We made it to the Grand Canyon and as we drove up it was on my right. I Could catch just a glimpse of the canyon but could not see to the base. After a moment of looking out the window completely gawking at it I realized I had not blinked and my mouth was half open in amazement. Realizing this I quickly looked and Charlie and gave him a big smile. He thought I was crazy I'm sure.

Charlie refused to let me get close to the edge. He told me I'm accident prone and he didn't want me to fall in. He was taking care of me and I was of course fine with that.

Anyway, as we walked up to the edge for the first time I could not help but think of what a big beautiful and glorious God we serve! The emotions of that moment were incredible. I feel so honored to have a personal relationship with the creator of "The Grand Canyon".

We were on the Hualapai Reservation where they just built the Skywalk. No we did not go on it... Charlie would have been jumping up and down trying to "test the limits" and I would have passed out. But here is the side view of it.
This picture was taken by one of the Hualapai people. They claim the rock formation behind us to the right a little is an eagle. I think it is a stretch but they are all about it.
Charlie may not let me close to the edge but he sure gave me a heart attack multiple times by basically running up to the edge... ah!

One of my favorite self-portraits
They had a small hut that the Hualapai used to live in. This is the view from the window... or hole in the wall. Whatever you want to call it.
Charlie loved how they made the roof...
Wow was the sun bright... I think I was crying after this from eye pain!
Me at the Grand Canyon...
Us again. I didn't get the "take the sunglasses off" memo for this picture.
This would be the time I really wanted him to get down. He was standing on a rock that was on the edge. But WOW what a picture!
I really could have stayed ALL day just like this! (Please note I am sitting probably 2 feet from the edge)

Um.. so There is a helicopter in this picture somewhere... maybe if you click on the picture to make it bigger you can see it. I think it is right in the middle.

On the way out there was a car pulled over all excited and taking pictures... I took one too . Not a wild animal... just grazing their "pasture"
Beautiful! We will definitely go back!

Charlie's Birthday!

2009-04-03T15:00:00.000-07:00

Since we were out of town for Charlie's birthday I wanted to be sure that he had a celebration of some kind.

I began by decorating the hotel room...

And then making hotel "dirt cake". I packed up what I would need for it... oreo's, gummy worms, chocolate pudding snack paks, transformer cups, and candles. I picked up coolwhip at the store in Las Vegas and made the "dirt cake" in the hotel room.

I sent Charlie to the penny slots while I decorated and made the cake. I crushed the oreo's in the ice bag and had fun singing to my hubby for his birthday!
So cute! I guess there never will be a birthday without dirt cake!
I feel so blessed to be married to Charlie. He is an incredible husband and provider.

I love you Charlie thank you for continuing to guide our Journey through life.

Beautiful Drives

2009-04-02T19:00:00.000-07:00

Charlie and I really loved the drives. They were beautiful views anywhere you turned

This was the side road Charlie took that said 4-wheel drive strongly recommended... After the drive I strongly recommend it as well.
I understand the need for this sign but found it funny....

Such beautiful country full of absolutely nothing!

New Bridge Construction at The Hoover Dam

2009-04-02T18:30:00.000-07:00

So for post #3 from our trip I am highlighting the construction at the Hoover Dam. I did find it interesting but you should have seen Charlie with the binoculars looking at the people working on the growing arch support for the bridge.

This bridge will be for the road that will take

I am sure that the next time we make a trip to the Hoover Dam we will see it from the top of this bridge.

Hoover Dam

2009-04-02T18:00:00.000-07:00

Our first day of our trip we went to the Hoover Dam.

Charlie and I both were so excited to see this massive project that was created as a part of a plan to bring jobs to those suffering from the effects of the great depression. How ironic for us to visit it during another period of economic turmoil for our country.

The closer we got to the Dam the more we began to see areas like this:

Charlie thought I was crazy but the heights tend to get the best of me. So this is the best I could do to take a picture down the Dam (When you scroll down you will see Charlie's picture... much more daring). Anyway they had cut outs of concrete overlooks so you could see down better. Every time we went on one I tip-toed to the edge. (keep in mind there was a concrete wall up to my chest.)
This is Charlie checking out the construction of the new bridge (I will post more details in the next post)

Charlie's picture down the Dam

Charlie drinking that Dam water! ;)
Notice the waterline. Isn't it incredible how low the water is?
I was standing in two places at one time to take this picture!
Charlie is being so helpful holding the worker up!

One of Charlie's favorite parts of vacation... Cigars whenever he wants!

A Lazy Sunday Afternoon

2009-04-01T05:30:00.000-07:00

Charlie and I went to Lake Junaluska on Sunday to do a little reading and relaxing by the lake. As you can see in this picture I would prefer to sleep. It was actually quite a cozy spot.
But I did bring the perfect Sudoku book for the occasion.

Much Needed Vacation!

2009-04-01T02:15:00.000-07:00

For Charlie's 24th birthday I planned a getaway for us to The Grand Canyon, Hoover Dam and Las Vegas. This will be a series of posts so that I can use more of my pictures. There are so many to share.

Anyway this is from when we first arrived in Las Vegas. After an almost painfully tight flight I was able to sit for a minute and regroup with much more personal space.

I pulled out my camera and snapped the first photo of the trip: Charlie talking to the rental car people. Please note that he turned 24... not 25. 25 is the magical rent-a-car age and until you are 25+ they find you a risk and charge you more. But we knew that so no surprises.

Then it was time to turn the camera on myself. I'm cute I know. I was also quite tired since our flight did not leave Atlanta until after 9pm.
Midnight breakfast once we made it to our hotel. I think it was 2am local time before we were settled in (which would make it almost 5am at home)
More to come...

We met our new niece!!!

2009-03-29T12:44:00.000-07:00

Mary Anna. What a beautiful baby girl!

Bergen Parking.....

2009-03-16T17:51:00.000-07:00

Does this look familiar to anyone? Some other people I know also park at the VERY BACK of the parking lot! This was the perfect spot for Charlie because it was by a curb that he could hop up on so no one would ding his truck...

Love you babe!

Girls weekend!

2009-03-16T17:26:00.000-07:00

Charlie's mom put on a wonderful girls weekend for all her girls. We went to a conference with Angela Thomas, which was incredible. Then had a fun girls night. Everyone brought a snack that began with their middle initial. Mine is "E" so I brought Popcorn and "E"m & "E"m's for our movie.

Anna and I came together and stopped at California Dreaming for dinner. we had the most amazing Spinach nachos for an appetizer... yummy!

Anna, checking out the menu

Me... Smile!

When we made it to Betty and Kyle's house we found Betty waiting outside for us. ---Thanks Betty! ; ) --- and we found Kyle in the sweetest shirt... it fit perfect with the start of our girls weekend!
It says "I love my wife" How nice right? Well apparently he doesn't leave the house when he wears it... well at least he wears it! Thanks Kyle for the girl spirit at the beginning of the weekend!

Saturday morning we stopped by the Flower's house to pick up Elizabeth (see the beautiful "baby" tummy?!) I had to snap his picture for Charlie. Notice Kyle's Socks and shorts... Charlie always finds this funny!

Thanks for a fun weekend Betty!

2009-03-13T08:14:00.001-07:00

The perfect amount of milk in the morning.

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Snow by my house!

2009-03-02T16:10:00.000-08:00

I couldn't resist snapping some pictures close to my house...

These horses looked so pretty in the snow...

Snow Day

2009-03-02T15:50:00.001-08:00

A true snow day! Charlie was home all day with me and I was able to get a couple things done around the house.

No snow day should begin with out breakfast... ours was eggs, pancakes, sausage, and hot Chocolate or Coffee. This is all 4 burners going at once... I had a hard time managing it and and burnt both of the pancakes you see here. :) oops!

The snow covering everything around and it's still snowing.

Charlie, working from home.
The animals getting along (kind of)
Coffee, Mom style. with whipped cream in it! yum!
Charlie loved the way our view across from us looked so I took some pictures!
And today a MIRACLE happened!...

Charlie got cold. I have proof... here he is warming up by the fire.

SNOW!

2009-03-02T15:45:00.001-08:00

Yea, We got some snow...

As you can see the dog wasn't so happy about it

Pancake Queen!

2009-03-02T15:35:00.000-08:00

The Ostranders came for a visit this past weekend. We had a fun day catching up and spending time around Asheville and Waynesville.

Saturday morning we made breakfast and Hope was a big help with the pancakes. I showed her once what to do and then she was off!

Here she is trying to decide if they are ready to flip.
admiring a perfect flip... yet again!

Looks good on the bottom!
Proud Hope with her plate of pancakes!
Hope,

You were so fun to cook with and have in NC this weekend! Come back and we can cook something else!

Fight!

2009-03-02T15:25:00.000-08:00

Charlie and Copper have an interesting relationship. It is hard to explain so here is a few photo's to explain...

Charlie deals with a little blood and a lot of scratches to entertain the cat....

My Man and His Dog!

2009-03-02T15:16:00.000-08:00

Charlie and Cooper went for a ride in the little truck...
Beautiful Blue Eyes!
What a pretty puppy!

My Welcome Home.

2009-03-02T15:09:00.001-08:00

Ever feel like you are being watched?
This is what I came home to a couple days ago. They are all looking at me!

They are from the dairy farm across the street.
Does anyone else think the one running away looks just like the Chick-fil-A cow? Where is his sign?

Tulips!

2009-03-02T14:57:00.000-08:00

Charlie bought me tulips awhile back. I loved the colors and had fun taking pictures of them.

Then.... They died and I forgot about them until they were COMPLETELY dry! So...

The flowers have died... bummer.

Maybe some White Tulips next? :)

The Big Blue Sky

2009-03-02T14:43:00.000-08:00

I have a thing for the sky. I wish I knew how to really capture it with my camera. Anyway here is one afternoon that I took some pictures around my house. It is hard for me to choose which picture I like best so here they ALL are! :)

Baby Girl Flowers is on the way...

2009-03-02T14:23:00.001-08:00

Betty and Katie put on a beautiful little baby shower for Elizabeth and Baby girl Flowers. It was the same day as Isabella's Third Birthday so I was a able to make the trip with my sister-in-law, Anna, for both events.

As expected the decorations were beautiful along with the rest of the evening. Here Is the centerpiece of the dessert table. These branches were ones I bought for Katie 2 years ago for her wedding shower. I liked them then and think they are so fun to see at this shower now.

The beautiful Mom to be. This picture just so happens to be with the outfit I bought for the little girl.
The big sister listening in on conversation. She is trying so hard to figure out the name of the baby girl. But Jason and Elizabeth are doing very well not saying anything! I have tried my fair share of guess too... and nothing!

She is Due March 25th and we hope to make it down to see the little girl as soon as possible afterwards.

Isabella is Three!

2009-03-02T12:12:00.000-08:00

I love this kid! I was so excited to be able to make it down from NC to go to her Third Birthday Party. It was a "Dora The Explorer" Birthday and she was adorable as always.

Here is this family of three (almost four) blowing out the candles together!

Anna made the trip with me. We went to Elizabeth's baby shower after Isabella's Party.

Anna had fun in the bouncy thing too! :)
This is Brie. One of Isabella's little friends. Is is not just beautiful?!
Isabella and I right before I had to leave.
Love you kiddo! Happy Birthday!

I Am Still Here!

2009-02-28T15:35:00.001-08:00

I know I have fallen off of the blogging bit for awhile. I have a ton of great pictures and cannot wait to share them. But at the moment I do not have the time!

Soon I promise... :)

SNOW!

2009-02-04T14:34:00.000-08:00

As I promised my mom I made a snow angel in the large amounts of snow we had a couple days ago.

On my way to snow angel making!

So how do I sit down to start?

YES! Snow angel

So proud! Beautiful angel!
My helper.... not!!!

Yea! Snow!

Can I see your ID please?

2009-01-30T15:37:00.000-08:00

That was the wonderful question I was asked by a 19 year old cashier at Wal-mart. Of course I pull out my ID for him...

What was I buying? a movie

I looked at him and asked if he thought I was younger than 17. He didn't respond. I seriously was not trying to be rude... just slightly confused.

Then as I walked away I was even more confused... enough to check the movie to see that in fact it was rated PG-13. Wow!

Many questions ran through my head all at once...

Do I look 13? How did I get to the store? Is my mom waiting outside to take me home? (miss you mom!) Would my husband approve of my PG-13 movie? How does work feel about me dressing like a 13 year old? Would my landlord still rent to me if he knew I was 13? Did I really enter college at the ripe age of 8? Could I work in a bank at the age of 11? Should I take back the wine I bought last night and confess to Wal-mart that I am in-fact 13 and should not have been sold the wine? No, Wait... I should report Wal-mart for selling to minors... I gotta go call the cops =)

ttyl (that stands for "talk to ya later" for all of you who don't speak the language of us 13 year olds)

The things that help me organize...

2009-01-24T07:39:00.000-08:00

There are five things that help me organize today... I can't choose just one so I am putting them all together...

Mamma Mia!

How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days

Message in a Bottle

The Notebook

Roman Holiday ( With Audrey Hepburn... one of my favorites!)

With these as my support how can I go wrong?

They are all going in the DVD player and then I will have to choose where to start!

Friends?

2009-01-18T15:26:00.000-08:00

So what do you think will the dog and cat ever be friends?

Now Cooper has stopped chasing Copper. But the question is will they ever be trusted alone?

This picture is deceiving they look like they like each other... trust me the are on either side of the door...

Fire!

2009-01-18T15:03:00.000-08:00

The past couple of days Charlie has been warming us up with a fire... Thank you baby! I love it!

Snow

2009-01-18T14:48:00.000-08:00

One thing I love about being in the mountains is snow... here are some pictures of snow at our home...

This is from last week...

This is from Today!

not sticking... just snowing!

Charlie and Isabella

2009-01-18T14:29:00.001-08:00

I love to watch Charlie with our nieces and nephew.

These are some pictures from Christmas of Charlie with Isabella

Adorable!

The what?

2009-01-18T13:55:00.000-08:00

When we were in Georgia over Christmas we passed this sign. It was on the corner in Rockmart. We used to live about 15 minutes from here.

The Flea Marpet? Anybody ever heard of this kind of thing before?

Shank Christmas

2009-01-18T13:11:00.001-08:00

Christmas with my family was on the Saturday after Christmas. Everyone was able to get together and enjoy the day together.

This is my dad in his office with his Santa hat... Cute

The Christmas tree!

Lauren trying to figure out her camera

Taking pictures of each other... Check out what the other side of this picture looks like.

What a beautiful ring. Good job Brother! October 17th is coming quickly!

Cooper cam along for the trip and was able to play with Jason's Dog, Zero!

Isabella was elated to find Marshmellows!

Then confused why she could not eat them...

What an adorable outfit! Check out the boots!

Mom and me... aren't we beautiful?!

Isabella was talking to mommy(Annie) about the baby in her tummy. Isabella said she had a baby in her tummy and then asked everyone else including Lauren if they had a baby in their tummy. I think it might have caught Lauren off guard. We had a good laugh!

Chad... Juggling it up

Lauren and Jason... All smiles!

How adorable is that little hat?

Lauren liked her countdown clock (same one I used)

This is dad after he told her the clock is what she was opening... oops!

Charlie in a tickle war with Isabella. Adorable!

Gamma and Isabella Sharing crackers

Adorable red coated Isabella!

What a wonderful Christmas dinner.

Christmas Letter

2009-01-17T08:00:00.000-08:00

This is my first Christmas letter ever... I sent it out just before Christmas and wanted to share it on here as well...

Merry Christmas!!!

This is our first full holiday season together and I could not be more excited to decorate, cook, and spend time with Charlie, family and friends.
This time last year we were in full wedding mode and I was graduating from Georgia State. My graduation was more than happy to take a back seat to our wedding. I of course had the option to stick around to go to my graduation on Sunday December 16th after our wedding on the 15th. But that would mean waiting one more day to leave for our honeymoon. I desperately desired the break with my new husband so off we went to the Florida Keys for perfect temperatures and 6 days of rest.
Arriving home to Dallas, GA brought the fun and excitement of setting up house and beginning Christmas traditions. The one tradition I wanted to begin last year was making chili on Christmas Eve. I cooked up a wonderful pot and just about the time I was done cooking and ready to serve up my new tradition the water in the house quit on me. There was no warning. It just stopped! My initial thought was that the well we were on went dry. I mean we were in the middle of a GA drought. Charlie quickly informed me that if that were the case it would not have gone from full water power to none in an instant. Feeling silly and waterless we ate dinner, which was yummy for my first chili attempt by myself. To make this long story shorter… The pipe between the well and the house broke and since it was Christmas it took over a week to get it completely fixed.
Frustrated with the water situation we hopped in the car in search for a break and running water. We ended up in Virginia and West Virginia for 4 days. Exploring the countryside and beautiful scenery. We ended up in the small tourist and historical town of Lewisburg, WV. It was beautiful and full of fun surprises.
Once home, Charlie was thriving in his construction business. He continued to have jobs come up and stayed constantly busy despite a declining housing market in Atlanta. He loved what he was doing but continued to look for opportunities for us to move North at some point.
In May Charlie’s Grandpa (Ralph Grady) passed away. Charlie is strongly influenced by his Grandpa’s work ethic and faith in Christ. We are blessed by knowing he is now alive in Christ and a whole and healthy person in heaven. The legacy that Grandpa leaves behind is one of 4 children, 13 grandchildren, and a growing number of great grandchildren. We made the trip to Iowa and enjoyed spending time remembering this wonderful man and the impact he had on so many lives.
Soon after our trip to Iowa we decided to move to Waynesville, NC. Charlie had a wonderful opportunity to close his business in GA and join forces with a construction company out of Franklin NC. Planning and the move came quickly. By the end of July we had a place to live and job prospects for me in the Western NC area. We moved in and I quickly fell in to place in a job at Western Carolina University as an Office Manager. Charlie spent time going between NC and GA finishing a final job in GA and still keeping us together as much as possible. After a few months of back and forth we were finally able to settle into the mountains and begin to enjoy the beautiful colors of the fall season.
We are finding ourselves in love with the mountains and the small community of Jonathan Creek that we live in. Charlie is enjoying weekends of trips to the rivers close by that offer great fly-fishing. His time fishing is the perfect way to relax and truly enjoy living in the mountains.
Thanksgiving brought an opportunity for us to take a trip to San Antonio, TX to see Pop and Doris (My mom’s dad and his wife). They are an adorable and fun couple. We enjoyed the time we were able to spend with them.
We feel so blessed to have had a fun and adventurous first year as a married couple. We hope this letter finds you in good health and surrounded by family and friends for the Christmas season.

Love,
The Bergens!

New Years

2009-01-17T07:54:00.000-08:00

For New Year's we had Ben and Anna over. I really enjoyed having them stay at our house.

On New Year's Eve Ben and Charlie went Quail hunting. They brought 13 home for us to cook for dinner.

I tried to take a self portrait of Charlie and I and he kept making silly faces... no smile for the camera, so we will just post this one!

Anna locked Ben outside to try and get him to agree to stay up till midnight. We were all asleep by 11pm.

Ben found a new friend... Don't let the disgusted look on his face fool you. He loved the cat.

Here is the beginning of cooking the Quail. Yum!

After dinner while the boys watched some history channel special, Anna and I played an exciting game of Phase 10!

New Year Resolution:

Drink more water

Sleepy Puppy on my Lap

2009-01-04T16:55:00.000-08:00

As you might have read in my past post Charlie and I went to see Marley and Me this weekend which has really made us desire the closeness of our puppy.. (2 years old still all puppy). Right now he is sleeping in between us on our love seat. This is a Mac Picture of him

So adorable!

I know

2009-01-04T15:51:00.000-08:00

I have a bit of blogging to catch up with and I promise to get to that soon but I wanted to share a weekend update.

I am not excited to go back to work tomorrow but am ok with getting back into my routine. Plus I had a wonderful weekend to send me back.

-New Years day was full of shopping a wonderful lunch at PF Changes and going to see The Curious Case of Benjamin Button with Anna. This movie is a must see and I have to admit it is a weird concept but really gets you thinking. (tissues needed)

Charlie spent the day with Ben fishing and he caught 12 fish.

-Friday I spent the morning packing away Christmas. It was very refreshing to pull the 22 strands of lights off of the tree! Charlie came and picked me up around 2pm so I could go by a job-site with him in Asheville then we could have a night out. We went to see Yes Man it was a funny movie. I was afraid it was going to be another Liar Liar but it surprised me and I enjoyed the laugh of my husband next to me. We had Dinner at Carrabba's Italian Grill another yummy meal!

-Saturday began with the attempt to sleep in... that didn't work so after breakfast we headed to Asheville again. We decided we wanted to see a couple of movies using our regal gift card that some of my family gave Charlie for his last birthday. We made it to an 11:30 showing of Marley and Me. Wow! What a movie. I felt like they hit some of the tough life choices and most definitely took you along for the emotional ride. I'm not going to lie you need a box of tissues (or a handful of napkins if you left your tissues at home like I did). But I loved it! Must see!!

We went for lunch a little shopping before going back to the Theater for Valkyrie. I wasn't sure if there could be a better movie out then the 3 I had already seen this week but this definitely topped the charts. With this movie, since it is based on a true story, there was no mystery as to how it would end. For me it came down to the basic fact that it told the story of a few officials in the Nazi party that challenged the ideals and foundations that the party was built on. They believed so completely that what was going on was wrong that they were willing to do whatever it took to make a stand against their party. Another movie that needs tissues. This was an inspirational and challenging movie. Are you willing to stand up for what you believe is right?

We made our way home with take out Doc Chey's. What an awesome Saturday!

Sunday- Charlie and I woke up and decided to go to Joey's Pancake House in Maggie Valley for Breakfast before church.

I was very excited in church when the Pastor announced that starting next week the Sunday School Classes before the Sunday worship services are going to be going through Focus on the Family's: The Truth Project. You can ask Charlie I just about came unglued from my seat. I almost immediately sent a text message to my Brother, Jason, who introduced our family to The Truth Project back in November. He mirrored my excitement by texting back "cool. go to it". I know it will be a commitment to come to Church an hour earlier but I am excited and ready to go!

Charlie and I had a relaxing afternoon and evening at home rearranging furniture and doing laundry! :)

What a good way to motivate and get me to go back into the work world tomorrow!

Have a good week back!

A Bergen Christmas

2009-01-01T05:24:00.000-08:00

We spent Christmas Day and the day after Christmas with all of Charlie's family in Dallas, GA.

I was in charge of pies for after Christmas dinner. The first Apple pie attempt was a little burnt. I made it at my parents and decided to go ahead and make another pie and I left the first one at my parents. They said it was good.

This is the result of the second apple pie attempt. It was wonderful. I also made a Cherry and Chocolate pie.

My theme for his years gift wrap was "Brown paper packages tied up with string" Then I picked an ornament out for each family member. This is at the Bergen's on Christmas morning.

We gave Doster a little toy shot gun. He absolutely loved it and was so excited to try it out. Notice Caroline in the back? She is wearing the vest we gave her over her nightgown.

Doster did so well shooting the gun up in the air away from the people all around him.

I was the official turkey slicer...

I love this picture of Charlie helping Caroline out on her new roller skates. She was a little unstable. Don't you love Doster playing his new guitar on his leg like a pro?

Merry Christmas Bergens!

Isabella!

2008-12-28T06:32:00.000-08:00

I had way too much fun with my new camera and Isabella with her new red coat (That Uncle Charlie and Aunt Gie-gie gave her... that's me!)

So here are the most adorable of the bunch! It may look like I posted all the pictures of her but trust me... there were many more!

Isabella with the first look at the new coat

Had to put it on right away!
Ready to go for a walk in her new coat and no it was not cold outside. She was checking herself out in the mirror first. She loves her pockets.
Such a cute back on it. I think the boots help the look.
What a sweet face.

Now it is Isabella's turn to take a picture (With Aunt Gie-Gie's help)

Hi mommy!

Jump!
Another Isabella Picture!

Let the "Zapping" begin. Annie said it is on a Dora the Explorer show where you "Zap" and then you have to be still until you "Zap" again. Annie is such a patient mother even pausing for a "zap" in the middle of saying no more "zap-ping"

Isabella had to walk around to face her before she would "un-zap" mommy

Now mommy's turn to zap... When Zapped Isabella quickly puts her hands out and bends her knees.

"ZAP" Granddad - He didn't know what was required of a zap
So he zapped back... Isabella Laughed at the surprise of being zapped while trying to zap someone.
Love you little girl!

How do you take a picture of a camera to blog about it?

2008-12-23T14:24:00.000-08:00

That's right! Merry Christmas to me! from Charlie. He bought me an awesome camera and I am loving playing with it. You can probably tell due to the recent blog posts full of pictures!

My camera is a Nikon D40

This is a picture from the computer

Not the best picture but it works. I read the user manual cover to cover and now am taking pictures whenever I get a chance to work on my skills. I am not trying to be super good or anything... I just don't want to have to beg pictures off of anyone else. YEAH!

So here are some of my random test shots... what do you think?

The Christmas Camels my dad brought back from Egypt when I was little

Charlie's interpretation of still ceiling fan

A collaborative table effort to set up this awesome shot. I call it bread and butter with straw

Lauren and Jason big smiles!

Charlie's Visor hanging on the rear view mirror... I like this :)

My super cute husband!

So I had to wake up early on Friday morning (morning after I got my camera) The cat was not so happy to be the early morning test shot model. Can you tell?

This is Charlie's "Remote on Pillow"

My cute lantern in my tree

Another collaboration at Doc Chey's with my parents

so cute!

Copper... Don't play with Santa

Cooper your ear is falling..

More to come in the form of blogging :)

The Button Wreath finished product

2008-12-23T11:31:00.000-08:00

So here are the pictures of the Button Wreath Ornaments that my mom and I did yesterday. I still need to do some ribbons but i have some completed to show you now. PLUS I promised Lauren that it would be posted by 6pm... so here you go Lauren and Aunt Judy.

I wrap the ribbon around the top until the wire is covered then tie a loop to hang it with and a bow on top!
I wish I knew what piece of clothing those eagle buttons came off of?!
I love this one that my mom put together... pinks and browns very trendy mom!
The whole lot of button wreaths!

For those who are curious... the wire I used to string the buttons on is 26Gauge 1/4lb. 2 or 3 strands depending on the buttons size.

Dad and mom for the weekend!

2008-12-23T04:47:00.000-08:00

What a fun and relaxing weekend. This is the first time I have hosted my dad and mom in my home and it was such fun!

We spent time in Asheville on Saturday where they witnessed the purchase of one iPod touch for one very excited Charlie for Christmas. Don't you like the official hand off right outside the front door of Best Buy?

Oh by the way did I say yet what Charlie got me for Christmas? Well I will do that in a post of it's own so check back! :)

I love having my parents here... My mom and I had a lot of fun making peanut brittle without a candy thermometer. Never been done before but it was completely successful! Yum!

My dad spent time helping Charlie set up his iPod and playing with his own. It was great to have someone to feed Charlie's excitement

Time with my parents would not be complete without popcorn. So dad and I whipped up a batch to settle in and watch Wall-E. Which by the way is funnier the second time! If you have not seen it yet you have to check it out.

Mom was working on Christmas cards and gained a new friend.

Our Sunday afternoon activity was completing a project I started a few years ago. I bought buttons to make button wreaths as Christmas ornaments. I made a few and really liked them. Then the idea came to use my great-grandmother's buttons to make wreaths. They were Grandma Grace's buttons she is my mom's dad's mother. I love this idea and now we have used them all and I love how they have turned out. Such unique old buttons. It make me want to pull buttons off everything I have once they wear out.

GIRL PARTY! and Happy Graduation Sister!

2008-12-21T18:24:00.000-08:00

Thursday morning I get the text message from my sister that says: GIRL PARTY! This means my sister will be having a girl at the end of May. I am very excited to have more girl fun in the family.

This is her sonogram picture. Isn't she beautiful?

Friday night we joined my sister and Chad and our families at the Cheesecake factory for dinner to celebrate Annie's graduation from UGA with her Master's Degree. Yeah sister!

This is also where she told us the baby's name... Reegan Antoinette. The name Antoinette is Chad's grandma's name. I am excited to see what kind of personality will come out in Reegan and to add another girl to the family. That means we have 2 girl additions this year! Reegan and Lauren!

Oh Christmas Tree!

2008-12-20T16:16:00.000-08:00

Our Christmas Tree is beautiful... We had a fun time picking it out of the field and watching it be cut down so we could bring it home with us. We have a tall ceiling and wanted a tree that would fill that space. I love Christmas!

Here I am in the field of trees holding the the umbrella. It was drizzling a little and Charlie insisted I grad an umbrella. so here I am!

Aren't we cute?

We found our tree! Time to cut it down and bring it home!

Beautiful in the field.

Then we went home I spent 2 1/2 hours putting lights on the tree. 21 strands of lights and one blown fuse later I was ready for Charlie to grab the ladder and put our star on the top of the tree. It looks a little bit bigger in the house then on the field. Maybe it was because of the hill in the tree field that we got it from? Who knows. Gorgeous isn't it?!

So here is our tree TODAY! In all it's glory. I love it

Beautiful star and shadows cast on the ceiling.

San Antonio Part 3

2008-12-20T05:40:00.000-08:00

Happy Thanksgiving! I know I'm late but I am trying to catch up so hang with me...

This is Thanksgiving Day with Pop and Doris on the way back from our early lunch. It was a beautiful buffet of every type of Thanksgiving food you could ever think of.

Charlie really enjoyed helping Doris hang Christmas Decorations.

Such a good husband! Thank you babe!

We had a wonderful time in San Antonio and were sad to leave Pop and Doris.

I am Thankful for:

My husband

One year of marriage

our home in the mountains

family and friends

coffee in the morning

vacation time

my pets

Wedding!

2008-12-18T03:51:00.000-08:00

I am so excited about this next year... My brother is getting married in October and I could not be happier for him.
We love Lauren and have already welcomed her in as a part of the family.
She has worked very hard on a wedding website for them and I wanted to share it as well!
Go check it out and read about the fun spirit and love that they share!

http://www.mywedding.com/jasonlauren/

Look who is being lazy today!

2008-12-13T05:05:00.000-08:00

While Charlie and I rush off to Asheville to do some wonderful final Christmas shopping guess who is staying home?

Lazy cat!

Feed the Birds... San Antonio Part 2

2008-12-02T02:55:00.000-08:00

Well our second day in San Antonio we went to the river walk in downtown San Antonio as well as the Alamo. We enjoyed a day of exploring this city. We started with a walk down the river walk and found a Starbucks to sit while Charlie checked in with work. This Starbucks was awesome! it is 2 levels with an outside area upstairs overlooking the river walk. I crocheted and Charlie worked for a little while. We both grabbed a muffin and instead of eating his, Charlie decided to feed the birds... there were only one or two to start but once the first crumb hit the ground they flew in from everywhere! This is a picture of them waiting for the next pieces. I don't think Charlie had more than a bit of it himself... it was cute.

Charlie working... He loves what he does can you tell?

me sneaking in a picture... can you see the river behind the rail!?

Us just before leaving Starbucks

We made our way around the sidewalks by the river and just happened to come out at the perfect place to be right in front of the Alamo! (I forgot the map in the car)

This is us out front of the Alamo... you can see part of the building in the back

Charlie looking at the Alamo fishes! He didn't bring his fly rod... bummer.

What a handsome husband!

we finished the day in antique stores... I was not impressed and was hoping for something different then what I have seen before but I really didn't oh well... it was a good day...

Oh yeah and we went to Pier One and I broke the top of a little Christmas tree.. oops. Charlie has now banned me from picking things up in stores... How am I going to finish my Christmas shopping?

Thanksgiving in San Antonio

2008-11-30T17:45:00.000-08:00

Charlie and I were so blessed to be able to make the trip to San Antonio, TX this week for Thanksgiving. A year and a half ago or so My Mom's Dad, Pop, and his wife, Doris, Moved to the Air Force Village for retired military officers. This is within just a few miles of Lackland Air Force Base. This Air Force Base is the Basic Military Training Site for all enlisted members of the Air Force. We were excited and privileged to tour the base with Pop and Doris. Pop was at this same base many years ago as an active part of the Air Force around the time of WWII.
We always know that trips to visit Pop mean hearing many stories of his time serving the country. I think it is safe to say he has a story from his military days to go with any conversation or passing comment I may have. I enjoy hearing my favorite stories that I have heard for many years while visiting over holidays and vacations. I am trying to pull out new stories as I hear the ones I have heard before. One of my favorite from this trip came from asking a question about the order of rankings of officers in the Air Force. As he began to tell of the rankings from bottom to top he told me the stories of how he received each promotion from one officer level to the next. He retired as a Lieutenant Colonel with his promotion to Colonel on the table when he retired. It makes me so proud to hear his stories and accomplishments in the military and serving our country.

The first day in San Antonio Pop took us to a wonderful lunch at the Tower of the Americas in downtown San Antonio. We had such a wonderful time eating at the Chart House. This has the same idea as the SunDial in Atlanta. The eating area spins 360 Degrees to see the whole city from above.

This is Pop and I in front of the building before lunch. He looks so good for 88!

Here I am with Doris (self-portrait)

View from the bottom... I'm a little afraid of heights... not exactly looking forward to the ride up

Charlie and I before going to the top...

Pop was nice enough to stand RIGHT in front of me so I wouldn't look down as we went up the long elevator ride to the top. Don't you love his look here?!

Charlie and Doris during dinner

Once back on the ground Doris waited on a bench as Charlie and I walked through the fountains... Can you see Doris?

Charlie thought it was really funny to kick water on me... So cute playing in the water!

Charlie and me! I Love this picture!

This concludes Day One! more to come....

Bye Thomas Road House

2008-11-23T18:22:00.000-08:00

Last weekend Charlie and I made the trip the Dallas, GA to finish gathering all of his tools and the remainder of our belongings from our house there... As we left after EVERYTHING was packed up I stood on the porch and Charlie asked me what I was thinking... My answer was that I was thinking how glad I was for our "four month move" to be over and how I was kind of surprised to not be sad to leave this time (the last time). I had already said my goodbyes a long time ago.. I think to the moving day coming home from my last day at the Law office and seeing the big truck with all of our things in it and falling apart. going inside and seeing a half empty house in complete disarray... I luckily had the hugs of Elizabeth to help me through...

Anyways so as we left this time I wanted to grab a few pictures of the house as we left...

The house from the front - actually this is the back but we used it as the front

The driveway with fall all around it

I love this tree it is so beautiful... It hangs so close to the house and right over the theater. On stormy nights watching a movie I just KNEW it would come crashing through the roof! I'm glad it didn't... such a pretty tree.

My orchard! the pear tree is in front, the apples behind it and the blueberry bushes in the middle of the apples and up the hill... I didn't get any pears(I couldn't figure out when to pick them... I have blue berries and apples in my freezer. The blueberries were by far my favorite! They were like candy right off the bush! I am going to try to start my own blueberry bushes but have not figured out how to do that yet.

BYE HOUSE!!! Thank you for a great place to start my life with Charlie.. Warm and cozy and full of love!

My New Shelf!!!!

2008-11-23T17:43:00.000-08:00

Since Christmas is coming soon (wah hoo!!) I needed to free up space on my mantel for greenery and Christmas Decorations... so I asked Charlie for solutions... We talked about a shelf above the couch and I loked up examples of what I thought I wanted and then we stood in the aisle at Lowes and drew pictures on the back of a piece of 1x8 and Charlie convinced me that we HAD to have brackets to support the shelf... I suggested a shelf on the bottom (so the brackets wouldn't look like brackets and we were off.. Within just a few hours (While I packed for San Antonio and cleaned up the house) Charlie whipped up the shelf and painted it too!!!

I am so proud of his skills! 2 weeks ago he made me a jewelry box for my night stand.

Here is a picture of the shelf!! :) it is a little fuzzy because I took it with my phone but isn't it pretty?!

Steady at the Wheel

2008-11-22T12:27:00.000-08:00

My dear and wonderful Sister-in-law to be , Lauren, did this on her blog and I have to say this is the first "chain" thing of this kind I have ever seen and the FIRST "Chain blog thing that I felt immediately compelled to complete and had a ton of fun doing it...

Thanks Lauren for the mid-day Saturday entertainment (PS - Lauren - a couple of these songs are from what you gave me for the wedding :)

Here is what you do:

1. Put Your Itunes on Shuffle
2. For each question, press the next button to get your answer.
3. You must write that song name down no matter how silly it makes you look

My Answers:

IF SOMEONE SAYS "IS THIS OKAY" you say
"Light On"
David Cook

HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOURSELF?
"4 Minutes"
Madonna and Justin Timberlake
I must be out of time :)

WHAT DO YOU LIKE IN A GUY/GIRL?
"Walk Down this Mountain"
Ten Thousand Days" - Bebo Norman

HOW DO YOU FEEL TODAY?
"An Angel Falls"
City of Angels Sound Track - Gabriel Yared

WHAT IS YOUR LIFE'S PURPOSE?
"Rockstar"
Hannah Montana

WHAT DO YOUR FRIENDS THINK OF YOU?
"Invincible"
Oh No - O.K. Go

WHAT DO YOUR PARENTS THINK OF YOU?
"We Come to You"
I See Things Upside Down - Derek Webb

WHAT DO YOU OFTEN THINK ABOUT?
"There's A Stirring
My Calm Your Storm - Caedmon's Call

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE PERSON YOU LIKE?
"Peculiar People"
Reset E.P - MuteMath

WHAT IS YOUR LIFE STORY?
"Amen Omen"
Diamonds on the Inside - Ben Harper

WHAT DO YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU GROW UP?
"My Will"
Exodus - DC Talk

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF WHEN YOU SEE THE PERSON YOU LIKE?
"Eternity (Intro)"
Between Raising Hell and Amazing Grace - Big and Rich Feat. John Legend

WHAT WILL YOU DANCE TO AT YOUR WEDDING?
"Ants Marching"
Under the Table and Dreaming - Dave Matthew's Band
Not so much but it would have been funny :)

WHAT WILL THEY PLAY AT YOUR FUNERAL?
"Wild Honey"
All that You Can't Leave Behind - U2

WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST FEAR?
"Good As Gone"
The Road to Here - Little Big Town

WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST SECRET?
"Track 9"
This must be an un-named song I downloaded at some time but it is the "walk 10,000 miles song" I can't remember who the band is right now... does anyone remember?

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR FRIENDS?
Complicated
Let Go - Avril Lavigne

WHAT WILL YOU NAME THIS?
Steady At the Wheel
Shooter Jennings

trying to catch up!!

2008-11-19T18:54:00.000-08:00

In a nutshell...

Charlie and I got EVERYTHING from the GA house last weekend... on the way down we both actually screamed when we saw Gas below 2$ YEAH!!!

I cannot wait for Christmas and our Christmas letter...

We are less than a month from being Married ONE YEAR... way too crazy...

My job is a different world

Charlie's job is given to us by God and perfect place for Charlie right now

I forever hate dishes

It was 16 Degrees this morning

My dog is whining and freezing even though he is next to the nicest "dog" heater I have ever seen! it looks like a fireplace and is very warm...

I love the mountains and the fact that it has already snowed 3 times!!!

more soon.....

Weekends!!!!

2008-10-26T15:01:00.000-07:00

Has it really been almost 2 months since I posted?! Opps sorry! For a while I thought I would stop posting but every now and then this is fun...

A couple weekends ago Jason and Lauren came up for a Saturday/Sunday! (My brother and his Fiancé') She has the wedding dreams and crazy ideas flowing all the time. Charlie and I had many looks at each other with smiles... knowing she is right where I was not too long ago. Then I really did start thinking about Charlie and I... We have been married almost a year.... this is crazy... While this has not been an ideal 1st year we have had many adventures and have really enjoyed and desired to be together... I love Charlie more every day... The comfortable quiet of Sunday afternoon movies... the knowing that he is protecting and providing for me in the best way... I love you Charlie.

This first year has been difficult and I think that is only because we were, unfortunately, away from each other for almost 3 months of the first year of our marriage. There was no way around it and we are now on the other side of that and I absolutely REFUSE to share him with anyone else even for a night of far away fishing... originally I wanted our first 6 months to be completely together every night but I realized that possibly that was unreasonable...

Anyways... So When Jason and Lauren came a coupe weekends ago we had so much fun! I have always enjoyed long conversations with my brother. He has such deep and good thoughts, the conversations are priceless. They asked us to be a part of their wedding day and we could not be more excited. I love the ability to support someone in the most important decision of his or her life! I could not support them more. My brother has so desired someone to compliment him and support him, and I truly believe Lauren is such a wonderful counterpart for Jason. We love her forever and could not be happier about having her as a part of the family.

Anyway so we had a great time talking of wedding and discovering our new area... Thank you for coming please come back WHENEVER you need a retreat from life...

Last weekend we went to GA on Saturday and Charlie finished his last job there.... his spirit and perseverance is incredible and I could not be more proud than to be the wife of a man that is so talented and incredible. I am proud of all of his accomplishments. I love you baby!

So now it is Sunday again and this weekend Charlie's parents came up and stayed with us. Charlie, Ben and Kyle went fishing yesterday and us girls walked all around Waynesville... We found all sorts of fun things, this morning we went to church where Ben and Anna have been going for a few months. I really liked it. It completely reminded me of the churches I grew up in. I hope we are able to continue to go there.

Another week of work is ahead of us.... followed by a weekend in Ellijay Mountains with my whole family including ISABELLA!!! I cannot wait!!!!!!

Ooo oh and Elizabeth (Charlie's Sister) finds out Monday if she is having a boy or a girl... yeah! How fun!!!

It's Raining

2008-08-26T15:36:00.000-07:00

It's raining... and suppose to storm all night...

I am desperately needing to make room in the guest room for the bed... It will be here this weekend (Finally) What a good time for a holiday!

M first official day off on Monday for Labor Day! This will hopefully give me chance to get the guest room up and running! I have so much to go through. But by next weekend I will have a guest room. How exciting!

I just realized I thought I was watching the news but it was just a "severe weather alert" that was playing over Seinfeld! Hum!! imagine that!

If this seems scattered that is because it is. I am wanting to be sure my husband is happy with my little updates here and there. and since he is not in NC right now It think it gives him a little peak into what is going on.

Soon enough he will be here! yeah!

An Update!!

2008-08-11T18:00:00.001-07:00

So I have decided blogging isn’t for me… and I never feel like writing… but every now and then the mood strikes me and now is one of those times… So even though my updates may be few and far between I hope you enjoy a periodic update!

WE MOVED!
Charlie and I are now living in Waynesville, NC in a small community close to Maggie Valley (no we did not plan to live so close to someplace with my name in it!!) The community is adorable and the mountains are beautiful. Today I don’t think it topped 75 Degrees and I’m sure HOTlanta was a good 90 plus, even if it wasn’t that hot in Atlanta they sure didn’t have the cool breeze I did. We are well on our way to being completely moved in. We only need to finish setting up the guest room… all it needs is a good bit of organizational help and storage containers!
Charlie is finishing up a job in Atlanta so he is only home on the weekends.

This past weekend we spent some time exploring our surroundings… We went to Asheville to visit our favorite restaurant Doc Chey’s on Biltmore Ave. It was so yummy and long awaited!
Saturday started off in Cherokee at the casino we each started off with $20. After 45 minutes at the penny slots I was out and Charlie, continuing to go strong, donated another $5 to my losing streak… that lasted another 30 min. Charlie made his original 20 last 2 hours! After that we were off to go back to Waynesville to walk around the downtown area…

We really enjoyed our weekend together… I love and miss you Charlie!

I started a new job last Wednesday. I am the Office Manager for the Center for Student Involvement at Western Carolina University in Cullowhee, NC. It is about 30-40 Minutes from where we live in Waynesville. I have never worked for a University or “Educational Facility” before. So it is quite the new environment. I am administrative support for the Director of the Women’s Center, the Director of Multicultural Affairs and the Assistant Director of Greek Life. Yes I have 3 bosses! I am enjoying learning the networking that happens on a college campus and the community environment that if fosters. I am excited to see where this position will lead me!

In other news....
The first weekend in August my Mom and Sister and I went away on the “First Annual Shank Girls Getaway”! What an amazing and fun time to girl talk and share with the women in my family! I am so proud to be a part of such a special group! Love you!

Here are a couple pictures from our weekend!

My sister, Annie at the stop for lemonades at Panera on the first shopping trip!

My mom and I on the other side of the table!

The fun little fruit "frog" on the margarita's in "Paradise" what a yummy meal!

My sister and me with yummy drinks after an afternoon of relaxation! Just before the big storm and MAMMA MIA!!!

A Special Gift from a Special Friend

2008-07-18T14:56:00.000-07:00

I am in the middle of packing and I say that loosely...

I packed 10-15 boxes last Saturday and had not touched it again until my motivation came over last night in the form of LAUREN!!!

I would not have done anything last night if she had not been there. We packed all the decoration items from around the house and all my large bowls and vases that were around the tops of my cabinets. The office is packed and so is part of the bedroom...

Thank you Lauren for all your help!

When she came over she also brought me a special "house warming" present and I love it!

Willow Tree "Mi Casa" - with an open door!

Our New Home

2008-07-07T17:50:00.000-07:00

Well it is official... We are moving to North Carolina. Our official "move" date is July 26th. Along with family and friends we will make the trip to our new house in the mountains. We will be renting a home until we decided where we would like to own one for ourselves. We love the support we have already felt from everyone close to us. This move is many years of Charlie and I dreaming and planning for our future. In the last 7 months Charlie and I have been able to begin to act on the dreams we have planned from our time of dating. The wonderful thing about marriage is being able to follow each others dreams

The following is a tour if our new house before we move in. There will be pictures to come once we settle in and make it home!

The house has 2 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms.

This is Charlie's Third bedroom. He can have this all to himself. It is a small bass pond that is on the backside of the property.

The wonderful view from our porch
One of my favorite parts: One of two skylights in the living room. The natural light is so appealing.
The side and backside of the house. The front door is shown on the far right
My number one favorite! My kitchen! Not only does it have a garbage disposal but it has a DISHWASHER!!!!
Another favorite: a jacuzzi tub!
Looking into the Master Bedroom: it actually is bigger than our bedroom now
Looking into the Guest room! Come stay with us!

I am so excited for these coming weeks and really hope everyone will be praying for us in this move!

-Charlie and Maggie

Blueberries and Wine!!!

2008-06-17T16:06:00.000-07:00

So tonight Charlie is at a meeting until... I'm not exactly sure when but he is not home yet, Anyways... I haven't been out to really pick my blueberries in a few days so I thought I would see what was new out there (since Saturday)

I began my adventure with my little basket (Which I was laughed at last night for carrying around in the dark, with my flashlight to find a select few to show off to my mother-in-law) and I decided to take a glass of White Wine... nothing like a cold wine on a hot day. So I walk outside with my little basket and my glass of wine and begin my hunt on my PC bush (this is the one with blueberries, blackberries and grapes... it does not discriminate as to what it allows on it so I will call it Politically Correct or "PC")

I first found a good handful of BIG Blackberries. I'm not sure what I'm going to do with them yet but something wonderful! They of course are on thorny bushes and the big ones are in the back so it was a prickly process.

Next I began seeing big plump blueberries about onto every good cluster or at least the branch.

I gathered a handful or two from there (and finished my wine... maybe that's why I dropped half of them out of the basket and had to gather them quickly off the ground)

Next I went to the biggest blueberry bush (this is the one that I have picked the most fruit off of in the past years) and I pretty much passed it by. They are still mostly green but barely pink on the edges.

Finally I went to the bush that always seems to bloom first and sure enough there must have been at least one big blueberry in each small cluster. My basket was full before you knew it and now I'm inside blogging about it... but no worries I am on my way back out now with a BIGGER BASKET!!!

Blueberries on the way... sweet smells in the air!!

2008-06-13T21:35:00.000-07:00

So Charlie had to be out of town this weekend... so I am catching up on blogging, or something like that.

I brought Lauren home with me from Rome tonight and we have had such a good time catching up and being goofy.

We started by searching my blueberry bushes for any early big blue blueberries!!! We ended up with a handful in my mini basket. We also found that in my 3rd blueberry bush are blackberries!!! not the sweetest but we were so excited at the discovery... There are plenty of blueberries yet to come and maybe a few blackberries. also I found that my one blueberry bush with the blackberries in the middle of it has grapes that are wrapping themselves around and in the bush (I think they very well may kill the blueberries) anyway I'm not sure when/if the grapes would be any good I have never seen them soften to a point where i would want to eat them. Then we found one more pear tree on the other side of my driveway that is 2 times older that any of the others and the pears on it are bigger as well... I am really hoping I will be able to figure out how to eat these pears... can you imagine 7 trees worth of pears??? I will just have to get a ladder to make it to the top of the tree.

after the yard was sufficiently searched we were able to com inside and make the nest quesadillas ever!!! we made the chicken with all sorts of yummy spices and a couple from the "drinking" cabinet as well!! yum!!

Thanks Lauren for fun girl movies and a great dinner idea!!

6 Months

2008-06-13T03:52:00.000-07:00

Sunday marks 6 months since our wedding and I am so excited to celebrate this first little landmark in our marriage. These past months have flown by and I am remembering as I look back to my wedding day why I chose to have the day go the way it did as well as why I chose the small unique touches that made the day so deeply special to us and symbolic of the family, legacy and heritage our marriage comes from.

I am enormously blessed to have had my mom and sister and many other people carry out my vision for a peaceful and natural entrance into marriage. I truly look back and can feel the same peace I felt that day.

Walking down the aisle seeing Charlie at the end was such a fulfillment of the love that exists in the kingdom of God. I was so blessed to not feel an obligation to use traditional wedding music. Traditional music fits many brides and almost demands the respect that a bride is due on her wedding day. but it was not for me. playing music from Michael W. Smith's "Freedom" CD contributed to the environment of peace that I so desired for that day. It was incredible to remember the way i felt as i heard the laughter from all of our guests while the flower girls and ring bearer made their way down the aisle. from behind the closed door it was such a sweet sound. Next I heard the beginning notes of the song that I was to walk down to. My heart was racing (and is again as I remember these moments) and I could feel my eyes becoming warm with tears soon on their way. As it came to the moment when the doors were to be opened I remember saying to my dad that our time was coming... it's almost here. And as the doors opened I saw a crowd of people out of the corner of my eye turning to look at me and all i could see was Charlie. At the end of the aisle waiting. just like I had always dreamed. I would not change any aspect of that moment.

As I walked I prayed for Charlie (like I promised I would in a letter I wrote him for the wedding morning) I prayed for him in this new role he was taking in my life and for the spiritual leader of our new family. Such an amazing moment. I will never forget those moments or what they represented for the beginning of our new life together.

Charlie I love you! happy six months! I love looking back at the first moment we had as Mr. and Mrs. Bergen!!!!

Update

2008-05-24T05:44:00.000-07:00

So memorial day was VERY optimistic on the blueberries.... I will keep you updated...

Oh and i just figured out i have at least 3 pear trees... i have never seen any big fruit off of them before but there is a possibility of that happening.... So i will keep a close eye on those as well!! h

Blueberries!!

2008-05-14T16:45:00.000-07:00

So they are not here yet... but they are coming!!! there are about 20 times as many as there were last year!! So soon I will be making Blueberry muffins and blueberry muffins and then maybe some blueberry muffins!!! (hey if it ain't broke don't fix it)

I am thinking they will be Memorial Day blueberries but that may be a little optimistic! woo hoo!! there is nothing like an afternoon of picking blueberries! I absolutely have found uninhibited Joy in the picking of blueberries! I welcome friends to come pick with me. let me know when and I would love to be here with you!! (just wait until they are ready!!)

New Post

2008-04-29T07:17:00.000-07:00

I have been hearing that some readers may be sick of seeing worm cake. So I thought I might write a little bit.

I have also been asked to put pictures up of my new hair cut but I'm not going to and I'll tell you why... One part of getting a new hair cut is sharing the fun with friends and family. So until I feel that I have thoroughly surprised and shown off my new hair to a large number of friends and family I will not be posting pictures... It takes all the fun out of it!

I will however describe the new cut... SHORT!!! ;)

We are heading to NC this weekend for Ben's Birthday (Charlie's Brother) and some good family time! I am very excited and really like to take weekend trips and get away now that I can and have Charlie with me!

Later!!!

Birthday!

2008-03-23T02:10:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday Charlie! We had a great time this weekend with all of our family. Thank you for coming and blessing my husband!

The infamous dirt cake. My first attempt a success!!

My Mother and I!!

Caroline! (beautiful picture Annie)

Caroline giving Isabella a ride in the Jeep.. to quote Isabella "I RIDE! I RIDE!"

The Birthday Boy

Ben and Anna!!

Jason, Betty and Elizabeth

Dinner!

2008-03-12T22:09:00.000-07:00

So I was talking with my mother-in-law tonight and I realized my block on why I never think of fun an interesting things to write on my blog. I don't have kids or crazy trips that I take. So I decided that since I have this wonderful cookbook full of new recipes so I am going to share some of my cooking experiments and attempts on this blog. Why not, right?

So tonight I thought of this blog cooking idea halfway through making dinner and I didn't have a new recipe to try so I made up my own.

The Menu:
Bow tie Pasta (courtesy of Betty)
with Meat Sauce (inspired by the way my mom throws her together)
a mix of tomato sauce and tomato puree (no tomato chunks please) and whatever is in the front of my spice cabinet
and Buttery Crescent Rolls (thanks to Pillsbury)

Mine was topped with Parmesan and Charlie's went without "Parmis-on-it"

The night was perfect and topped off with orange roses from my husband who stopped by the store to pick up milk for me.

YUM!

Maggie

Does the Rooster Know?

2008-03-11T20:43:00.000-07:00

Losing an hour is just mean. And I was finally recovering and getting used to my new routine. Being married, newly graduated, and new career. The balance is a delicate one.
Charlie and I both on Sunday and Monday were so tired we felt like we were going to fall over. It threw Charlie into a cold and the Rooster is now crowing in the middle of the day.
Now of course the Rooster shouldn't know the time changed but then how should we explain his 5:30pm crowing?

Parallel Days

2008-03-02T21:13:00.000-08:00

What a fun weekend! Charlie and I hopped over the Gwinnett to spend some time with my brother, Jason and his girlfriend Lauren. Lauren and I went one way while Charlie and Jason went another. We all met for dinner before heading to a Gwinnett Gladiators Game at the Arena. This is where we found out that we, although being apart, had parallel days. Lauren and I started our day wondering around the mall with things to buy but nothing purchased... Jason and Charlie drove all over town looking for a remote control airplane or car or something. We talked about all the same stories and although Lauren and I did not follow through we considered buying silly string to spring on the guys. The guys on the other hand DID buy silly string and unloaded them on us after dinner. Lauren got a new shirt out of the deal because Jason did not keep the proper distance while spraying.

The Gladiators were very different to watch in comparison to the Thrashers. They are younger and not as experienced. they were all over the place and making crazy plays that didn't make sense (even to us new hockey fans) it was still fun to be there... Lauren is an excellent "Chicken Dancer".

Thanks for a fun filled day!

Random Fun

2008-02-10T20:28:00.000-08:00

I am finally finding some pictures so I thought I would share a few!

Here is Charlie up close and personal with a frozen waterfall in West Virginia... I kept a safe distance which proved to be useful when some of the ice shifted and scared me from where I was. Plus look how cute Charlie looks!

Jason and Charlie making their New Year's "Lemon Gun". They shot Lemons from here to who knows wear until the sun went down!

Lauren and I looked on and FROZE!!!

Charlie and I with the New River Bridge behind us in Fayetteville, WV. I loved the spur of the moment trip!
Our first dinner at home as a married couple! I set the coffee table and made pasta shells and meat sauce (courtesy of Katie from a bridal shower). Then set the table with our crystal candlesticks it was fun!

Maggie

Best Ever

2008-01-28T10:53:00.000-08:00

I am so enjoying wedding presents right now. One of the most precious of presents was a book of family recipes that my Grandma spent many hours putting together for me. I am enjoying the tastes and smells of my heritage and the legacy of these recipes that have been handed down to me.

This morning the recipe was sugar cookies. The recipe is one from the kitchen of my Great Great Grandmother Lillie. I have a photocopy of the recipe that was typed out on what looks like a typewriter and is named "Grandmother Fitzgerald's Sugar cookies". I am in love with the recipe and don't know that I could ever give it up. There is a lot of faith in baking sugar cookies. I have to trust the time on the recipe in fear of making them hard if I don't. I think I did pretty well for the first time.

When my Grandma was putting the recipe book together for me she wrote her own little memory about them... she said on her way home from school she would stop by her Grandmother's house and she would always have these Sugar cookies in the Cookie Jar on the counter. What a fun picture to think about. My Grandma as a little girl going to her Grandma's looking for sweets!

Oh to be a Cat!

2008-01-18T17:55:00.000-08:00

So today for me has consisted of hanging out on the couch reliving and enjoying again the blessings of a wedding! I am writing thank you notes for all that have blessed us over the past year. I am up to about 80 documented notes and many more that i have not recorded yet. We are so blessed and thankful to everyone that has given and sowed life into our marriage. I have a stocked house and a full heart.

Well I have not been alone in my writing today... Copper, my cat, has been my support and provided some giggles throughout the day. He sleeps ALL the time. Today I look over and he is on his back with his legs in the air asleep! It shocks and disturbs him that i must at some moments make some noise to get around. He looks up from his sleep and stares me down as if to ask me "Why? Why must you disturb my sleep"

Oh to be a cat!

Pictures

2008-01-18T17:03:00.001-08:00

There are two slide shows of pictures for you from the wedding...

Check them out!

Bridal Portraits taken a week or so before the wedding by Chris and Katie (Charlie's sister) of
6 of four creations (6offourcreations.com)

http://www.6offourcreations.com/Maggie_Shank/

Then some from the wedding
taken by Jerrod Brown (jerrodbrown.com)
and edited by Katie and Chris

http://www.6offourcreations.com/CharlieandMaggie/

I am in love with them all!!

Inspiration

2008-01-17T09:52:00.000-08:00

Last night in all my sorting and trying to get the house together. I finally got into the Casting Crowns CD my mom got for us at our first shower. The CD is called "The Altar and the Door". One of my favorite things to do with a new CD is lay on the floor and open up the words and just follow along. This is one way i used to learn words for songs and find music for Worship.

Sometimes I have a hard time with some Christian music because i don't always feel the passion that music about our savior should create in us. It seems some artists are just trying to find another "hit song". so with that said I was so greatly surprised and excited by what I found in the Casting Crowns CD. When you begin to look at the songs each song first has a short description on the inspiration or feelings they have for that song. They also provide the Bible verses that support what they sing about.

One song that I had heard before yesterday is "East to West". I always liked this song but yesterday I was truly inspired by the passion in the song. the description they write for this song is:
"God's forgiveness is an amazing gift. The problem is that our logic gets in our way."

I love this as it truly resonates in my heart. Someone in my life is also brought to mind. They are an inspiration to me at this moment in time. They are normally a very logic oriented or purely analytical in most situations. Recently there has been a strong change that has turned the focus on knowing God through faith not through understanding every nuance of who he is.
The mystery of God is so desirable and incredible. The wonderful part about it is we don't have to solve the mystery to believe.

I want to share the words of this song with you:

Here I am Lord and I’m drowning, in Your sea of forgetfulness
The chains of yesterday surround me, I yearn for peace and rest
I don’t want to end up where You found me
And it echoes in my mind
Keeps me awake tonight
I know you’ve cast my sin as far as the East is from the West
And I stand before You now as though I’ve never sinned
But today I feel like I’m just one mistake away
From You leaving me this way

Chorus:
Jesus can you show me just how far the east is from the west
‘Cause I can’t bare to see the man I’ve been
Rising up in me again
In the arms of Your mercy I find rest
‘Cause You know just how far the east is from the west
From one scarred hand to the other

I start the day, the war begins
Endless reminding of my sin
And time and time again
Your truth is drowned out by the storm I’m in
Today I feel like I’m just one mistake away
from You leaving me this way

I know You’ve washed me white
Turn my darkness into life
I need Your peace to get me through
To get me through this night
I can’t live by what I feel
But by the truth Your Word reveals
I’m not holding on to You
But You’re holding on to me
You’re holding on to me

I am inspired by the Journey into faith. The Journey to sell out to the good side of us and no longer choose to live in the bondage of the bad side.

Last night as I was listening to this song it began to snow pretty hard and it seemed so fitting. the beautiful peace and light that snow brings even at night. It reminds us that He has, as the song says, "I know You’ve washed me white, Turn my darkness into life"

Maggie