Pumpkin Carving!!!

My husband (and his very artistic self) helped the Hall kids carve a pumpkin. This is is his first attempt at carving pumpkins. After a few drafts on paper they came up with this fabulous pumpkin face. So excited that fall is here, the cool weather is a nice change and reminds me that the holidays are right around the corner - AAAAHHHHHH!!! Ok maybe fall isn't so great. JUST KIDDING. I am looking forward to spending time with friends and family and am blessed with everyday God gives me here on this earth.
Enjoy the pictures.

OH DEAR!!!!!

Oh Dear (rather, Deer) is right. So after our fabulous trip to Winston-Salem, we ended up right back there 2 weeks later to be with my father-in-law as he had to be in the hospital for a few days (he's fine by the way). Well our first evening there we were going to spend the night with some friends there in town, and I had a chance encounter with a deer. Suffice to say from the picture - the deer won. As my husband said "Honey, you did not hit the deer, the deer hit you". Well, I am fine, my car is a little worse for the wear but in the shop getting all "gussied up". The deer even walked away with only a scratch. And a word to the wise - be careful driving around back roads at night!

Birthday Trip!

Well my seet husband turned 34 this month and we wen to the Dixie classic fiar in Winston-Salem. We love Winston and who can resist all the yummy food at the fair. And as fate would have it the Stanley cup was there and I got my picture with it. It was so cool, we showed up early just to make sure we knew where to find it and low and behold (light shinning down from "above" here) there was the official stanley cup man, his white gloves and a rather large blue case (stanley cup enclosed). They pulled it out and started forming a line and allowed people to go a head and get their pictures taken. So Michael and I waited all of 5 minutes and then stood inches from "the cup" and had our picture taken. I'm thinking CHRISTMAS CARD!!! Anyway, we had a nice weekend and most of all I got to pamper my wonderful husband and spend time with him. I must say, I am one blessed woman and God was gracious when He brought Michael and I together. Happy Birthday Darling!!!

Good friends fun weekends

We have had some busy weekends the past few weekends, but it has been fun. Two weeks ago we had some friends come up from Hickory with thier kids and amazingly enough we fit 4 adults 3 teenagers and 6yr old in our house - not too shabby. There are some pics of us playing in our back yard and enjoying a nice fall evening. The following weekend we went with some friends to Wrightsville beach, NC for the day on Saturday. We went with them and thier two kids - it was a beautiful day, 76 and sunny. We came across this fabulous burger joint and had our fill of burgers, fries and milkshakes - YUMMO (as Rachel Ray would say). Anyway, goodtimes were had by all. Sorry about the delay in postings enjoy the pictures and now that I have my own laptop, hopefully there will be more post to come.

Gardentime!

Well, one of michael and I fun things to do together is garden. I have never been much of a green thumb but michael on the otherhand is quite a gardener. We (and I'm using the term loosely - michael did most of the work) cleared out the corner of out yard where there were tons of little trees growing and it just looked to unkempt. So after much hard work and many a cold beverage fetched (my special job) we cleared it out and put some lounge chairs that his brother gave to us and that yours truly has to clean (so they have not been sat in yet). Anyway, we also mulched up a storm this past weekend and got rid of that huge pile of mulch we had in our driveway. Wow, that was a job! I also included a piture of my impatence, I'm quite excited about how they have filled out my little flower garden area. Anyway enjoy the pics.

Our First Anniversary

It's wild that a year has gone by since Michael and I got married. So often we talk about what a great year it has been. We have learned so much about eachother and ourselves. It seems second nature to hang out with eachother. Among the exciting activites is watching food network or HGTV taking our bikes out for a ride or heading to winston-salem, our favorite get-away town. In fact that's exactly what we did for our first anniversary. We took a stroll down memory lane. We went out to dinner at the resturant that Michael proposed to me at and we almost sat in the exact same spot (about 3 tables back). Then the next day we went to Old Salem, our first "traveling date". Shortly after we started dating Michael and I went to Old salem for the day, had a pic-nic lunch and drove around winston-salem, so it was a very special place for us. It was a nice get-away and a fun time of reminising over our time together so far.

Adventures w/Michael and Emily

Well, finally posting again w/a list of Well, finally posting again w/a list oadventurous times in the lives of the Roten's. Here I am at my In-laws trying my hand at sewing. It was fun! Then, our adventures in cooking! Thus far cooking has been an elusive concept to me but finally, feeling very Rachel Ray I made this scrumptious Chicken cacciatore. Man was it good, so we may be off to a good start (look for me soon with my own show on Food network!). And last, we got a free pile of mulch delivered to us. It's the program the town has that any of the trees they cut down they mulch and drop off loads free for anyone who wants them. The part they don't tell you is that they show up at 7:15 on Saturday morning (seriously they did, no warning, just started knocking on our door). Well, it was free so what can you say. Clearly Michael and I have our labor day weekend mapped out for us (mulch spreading time!). Anyway, not too terribly exciting but a little look into our "humble Hum-drum Lives", as Lena Lamont from "Singing in the Rain" would say.

Spring at the Rotens

Well, it's spring around here! And, just to show off God's glorious creation, take a look at some of the beautiful flowers we're enjoying at our home in North Carolina. I have not been much of a gardener in the past but my sweet husband loves to work outside and I have really enjoyed it. I have my on little flower bed that is my responsibility to water, weed and take care of (no body told me there would be work involved I just heard I could get gardening shoes so I was in!) Well, seriously, it is very relaxing and fun to watch the flowers grow. God is so amazing to create so many different variations of plants and vegetables, and I have only seen a miniscule portion of his handiwork! Anyway, my husband is gone for the weekend so I'll update you on my shopping spree's and parties w/Mr. Titus Leo Roten!

Celebrating Easter

Here's Michael and I on our first Easter morning together as husband and wife. Michael was so sweet and let me buy a new Easter outfit so I felt all pretty that morning, it was quite fun! Even better than new clothes though was the service at our church. Our pastor talked about the validity of the resurrection and the most compelling evidence was that no one ever did come up with a body, if Christ had not risen (which He did of course). We also had a special service that Thursday before Easter in remebrance of the last supper. What a humbling time of focusing on the cross and all Christ did for each one of us there. It is such a dichotomy sometimes, we are nothing in and of ourselves yet through Christ we are blessed, pure and holy in God's sight. A wonderful dichotomy it is and a good balance for us to remember that it is only through the grace and mercy of our mighty God that brought us to Himself. For anyone reading this that has not made that choice to completely surrender your life to Christ, I would ask that you consider doing so, what a life it is to have Christ there with you through every moment of your life to lean on Him, and be understood by Him like no one else can. I am certain amazed at all He has done in my life and not just the blessings, although He has certainly out done Himself there, the sufferings have taught me so much about Him and myself. Anyway, just a few thoughts for this sweet time of year.

Our New House!!

JUST KIDDING!!! For my birthday Michael took me to Biltmore Estate in Asheville, NC. We stayed with some friends Who lived about an hour away and had a fabulous time! This place (PALACE if you will) has 95 bedrooms and 43 Bathrooms. WOW! Considering it was made in the late 1800's pretty incredible! Then also are pictures from my 29th (that's right she's not afraid to say it!!) birthday. As I told some kids that come w/thier parents to our bible study "Miss Emily is 29 this year and miraculously I will still be 29 next year" I was promptly rebuffed by a 7 yr old who say " no you won't you'll be 30!" No major trama over 29 - age aint nothing but a number anyway. Fortunately I do not look my age (it's tough to look over 24 when your 4'11"). Enjoy the pictures!

Christmas with the Roten's

Well, we all thought this day would never come, but it's finally christmas at the Roten's (my family teased me about it still be Thanksgiving at the Roten's in January). Me and Michael had our first Christmas as man and wife. It was a bit crazy this year, apparently I was in blissful oblivion due to having my first married Christmas. We were all set to head out to my parents and realized none of the gifts were wrapped! Hillarious! Anyway, enjoy the pictures!

Christmas parade!

Just catching up on some blogging so enjoy the pics! Here's Michael and I at the Raleigh christmas parade. We woke up early grabbed some breakfast at McD's and went to watch a couple hours of fun floats and fancy marching bands. It was a fun way to kick off the christmas season!

Thanksgiving at the Roten's

So we had our first Thanksgiving as a married couple. I started out the week with a fever and bad cold. I quickly recovered and by Tuesday night felt better. So I was surprised when I woke up Thursday unable to speak - literally. While this might be considered a blessing to some in my family (HAHA) it was not very good timing. Despite not feeling well Michael and I put together big meal complete with pumpkin and apple pie. Michaels folks came down from millers creek and spent the day with us. My in-laws are so sweet, she cleaned the kitchen after dinner and let me nap on the Couch and my father-in-law got me some home remedies from the store (lemons and honey) to help get my voice back. All this to say, we had a great Thanksgiving and Michael and I never cease to be amazed at how God has blessed us - not just with material things, but if sending Christ to die on the cross was the only thing God ever did for us that would be more than enough to be thankful for! And to all our family and friends we love you and are blessed to be a apart of your lives.

Big weekend!

Well Michael and I had a big time this past weekend. He surprised me by taking me out to the movies (a treat for us!) and we went and got a digital camera! We were so proud of ourselves because we saved some of our wedding money and money from garage sale to get it. What a great investment it was! We are so excited to have it for the holidays! So enjoy the pictures we took of our big night out on the town!

Titus Kitty

Our little boy is growing up. He now has access to the whole house. We have a cat walk (appropriately named) between our living room and kitchen and the other night we were rudely awoken by a large thump. The plants that we had on the cat-walk well one Titus had so kindly rearrange for us on the floor. Needless to say we are now contemplating ways to keep the plants intact on the cat-walk. Our little man keeps us on our toes. In some remote way, he's a little prep work for when we are blessed with little one's we can't spray with a water bottle. Honestly, we are truly blessed and I was reminded of this as I heard a sermon on God's generosity. What a great reminder that God is wildly generous. After all he sacrificed His only son for us. Enjoy the picture of our "boy" giving us the "what do you mean get off the counter, I own this counter" look.

October update!

See I told you I would update my blog more often. So in october we have finally slowed down the latter part of the month. The first weekend in October we went up to Millers creek to visit michael's parents, Hickory to visit a friends. And finally to Blowing Rock to go to Tweetsie Railroad to ride the Ghost train (and all of that was in the span of three days!). Going to Tweetsie railroad is a bit of a tradition with my dear husband who enjoys many things halloween. Tweetsie is a amusement type park that is themed around the train and around halloween the train is decoarated quite scary and takes you through a series of scarry scene's culminated in men with chain-saws (chains removed) jumping on the train and running down the isles. Also another tradition is that I close my eyes and cling to my dear husband during this and when we walk through the haunted house.
The following weekend we went to a wedding in Winston-Salem. I danced the night away and my husband sat back and laughed at me while I got jiggy-with-it! It was fun to get dressed up and go to a fancy dinner with candle-light, and of course share a slow-dance with Michael. We also had a yard sale that morning that left us with a whole 2two hourse to recover from getting up before the crack of dawn and get ready to go to the wedding in winston. Needless to say we were glad to come home and crash that night.
Anyway, enclosed are some pictures of our house. We are enjoying working on it and getting things exactly the way we like it and continuing to get settled in. God has definately blessed us! I'll keep you all posted (pun intended)!

Fun times in August and September

Ok so I have been chastised by my family for not blogging so here I am again! I'm just going to give the rundown of the months of August and September in the roten household. In the first week of August Michaels parents came down and we had a great time showing them around wake forest. AC Moore craft store, wendy's and walmart were the highlights (you can see why I love these people - their favorite activities involve food and shopping!) I have really been blessed with wonderful in-laws. The following week Michaels best friend (along with wife and 4 children between he ages of 4-15) came over and stayed with us. Who knew a 1,000 Sq. Feet could hold 8 people! We took them to the mall, watched movies and they came to church with us on Sunday. Life then calmed down a bit until the beginning of September. My brother and his family came over from Switzerland Labor day weekend and we had a great time hanging out with them. The boys played basketball and teased each other mercilessly about their jumpshots and us ladies just laughed and chased around the plethora of children that were running around. It was great seeing them again. They shortly left later on that week up to Connecticut for my brothers job. The rest of September was busy with Michael starting up the new Sunday school year at North Wake church but that has since smoothed out and all is going well with the new teachers and classes. Overall, while there have been stresses and changes, goodbyes and crazy busy weeks God has reminded me of his faithfulness and love. One verse my mom gave me back in June comes to mind "When my anxious thoughts consume me thy consolations delight my soul" - Psalms 94:14. Look for an October update soon!

New addition to the Roten Household!

OK OK so we are not expecting a little human bundle of joy. We have a little furry bundle of joy! His name is Titus Leo Roten III. Big name for a little kitty. We went to the grocery store and someone was giving away these kittens and we could not resist. He is energetic (just like his mom)and adorable and sweet (like his daddy). He's too cute and makes us laugh, a lot! He will all of the sudden take off across the room for no reason. We found a ball of yarn for him to play with and it true kitty fashion he loved it! Well, it's impetuous and spontaneous, but he sure is keeper! Enjoy the pics of our little one!

Good Weekend!

Hey there! Greeting back from Virginia Beach, Virginia! Michael and I just got back from the beach where my brother, sister-in-law, and three blonde bomb-shells (nieces)live. It's a tough life living three blocks away from the beach! We got there Thursday night around 10 and chatted a bit with Dean and Chris and then the next day I woke up and peaked out the door to see three little girls lined up on the couch down-stairs with all eyes on our door, patiently waiting for me and Michael to come out! So cute! We took them to Target that morning (I forgot my swimsuit!) and then off to the beach that afternoon. The weather was good, some spotty showers and slightly overcast but overall great beach weather. The little girls love hanging out with Michael and found someone who loved the waves almost as much as they did! So sweet watching them play in the waves. I did jump in there a fair share although I am a sun-goddess at heart when it comes to the beach. A few things that always amazes me when we go to visit the beach is how amazing God is to create such an incredible sight as the waves and sea. Also, my precious nieces, the love they give so freely, their laughter, tears and joy are such a blessing to my heart. And then there is Dean and Chris, the hostess team extrodinare! Well, that is it for now! I'm off to recover from the tough day of beach fun!

Life Goes on!

Well, as I always say, I will try and get more consistent about updating more often. It's rather funny, in the midst of adjusting to marriage, settling into a new house and getting adjusted to my life as I now know it life just keeps happening. I thought that life would slow down and be almost down-right boring, but alas, it has been anything but boring! Don't get me wrong, there has been much more relaxation over the past two months than I have since December 2004 -June 3, 2005 combined. Yet life marches on it doesn't stop while I adjust to whatever life-change I am going through. Not just marriage but, whatever life holds for you, I have learned to not expect it to stop. Don't get me wrong, I am not complaining, my goodness, I had a friend of mine who is dealing with the death of a sibling and I can't even imagine. So in retrospect, bills, work, and learning to chill about being a wife is small potatoes! I was reading the book of Numbers in the Old Testament about how the Israelites were complaining about not having any meat, and they complained so much and were so disrespectful and ungrateful for the provision God had given them already that he gave them so much meat they were literally, sick. So many times we trust ourselves and think we have a better plan just because God doesn't provide in the way we think he should. My life would be a lot less dramatic if I chose to rest in the fact that God has a bigger, better, clearer perspective than I will ever have! Sorry if that was a bit random, but it's getting close to my bedtime!
Michael and I are heading up to see my brother, sister-in-law and my three blonde bombshells (nieces, all three blonde w/blue eyes) in Virginia Beach, VA. I will write about that next week! Keep you posted on the life and times of an aging drama queen!

Getting settled!

Wow! Today Michael and I will have been married for five weeks! Thanks to so many people,the wedding day went off without a single major glitch (as far as I know and I would prefer to stay ignorant if there was a major problem). My mom, sister, sister-in-law, out of town family and my mom's "ladies" from Providence Baptist kicked some serious tail, preparing for the wedding. Things were taken care of that I'm sure I didn't even think of. My sister's dear friend Dana did a killer job on the pictures and Michaels friend Billy is putting together video of the wonderful day, and both volunteered their services out of the kindness of their own heart.
All that to say that God is so good and He looked out for Michael and I and provided for us in so many ways, ways we were not even aware of I am sure. I am still overwhelmed at the outpouring of love, time and support that Michael and I received from those around us. To God be the glory for sure! He is the only one that could have pulled of a day so glorifying to Him.
We are getting settled into our house and that is going well. You can now walk into one of the two spare bedrooms! YEAH! We are slowly but surely getting settled into a routine, but that will take time. Figuring out who does what around the house and figuring out how we want to our weeks to look like as far as schedule time with friends, family and church responsibilities and activities. But all those things I am sure with work themselves out in time. Meanwhile, I know we would both appreciate your prayers as we learn what it means to glorify God in our marriage.