A Beautiful Thing!!!

A girlfriend of mine got married last weekend and it was a beautiful thing! I have known Leslie since high school when we hung out in Church youth group together. We ended up at the same college for a year and kept in touch after college. It's one of those relationships that has stood time and distance. I have to say I have been part of many weddings but this one was especially sweet for me. Leslie, we wish you and Brian a fabulous first year and wonderful life together! Thanks for letting me be a part of it. The first picture is of the bride an hour before the wedding and then one of us ladies watching the sunrise at her bachelorette weekend, and then our luncheon out with the girls the day before the wedding. What a great time we had! I also ended up calling some family members and thanking them for all they did at my wedding that made my day so special! What a sweet reminder that a wedding is not about the bouquet, cake, decorations or food but about the covenant and commitment between a couple made before God, family and friends. Sorry if this seems random - but I took Benadryl and have felt foggy all day ( or at least that's my excuse and I'm sticking too it!)

Kitten in a Bag

So how cute it Titus!! Michael and I were working in the office and came across a paper bag, then well the rest is history. He did not want to come out - I started to leave the room and he came out of the bag and then ran back in when I came back in the room. In the other picture he is playing king of his castle on some mattresses we had in our hall. He was actually sleeping on the top of it for a while. He is still a little lacking on the social skills (hisses and growls-yes growls). Anyway, there's our little Titus update. He's still Mr. Bigstuff around here!

Per Request!

Well, I was given a gentle hint to update my blog. So as of now Michael and I are at Concord, NC for the weekend. Why Concord? Two words. HUGE MALL!!! I apparently married very well, what husband willingly takes his wife into shoppers paradise and gives her cold hard cash to spend! He's so fabulous! We left out Saturday morning and headed straight to the mall (no time to waist!) and were amazed at all shopping possibilities. I bought some clothes at the gap outlet and Old Navy (my favorite places!) found some shoes for a wedding I'm in Sept. 15th and we had some yummy food at a Chili's in the mall (that's right Chili's in the mall - I started to fell a little light-headed, but maybe it was the 10 laps around the mall!). I also found a fabulous red purse! In other news Micheal and I have been busy teaching Sunday school at church visiting family and have found ourselves in Raleigh for haircuts, bridal showers and time with family. We have recently put up ceiling fans, Garage doors, and outdoor storage sheds for the house. The house is coming together slowly but surely - we've picked out paint colors so hopefully the actual painting will be soon to follow! We are getting more settled here in Winston it's taken a bit longer than expected but we are really enjoying Winston and are already looking forward to spending the Holiday's here.

Our 2nd Anniversary

Here we are on shores of Myrtle Beach for our 2nd Anniversary! It has been a wonderful 2yrs - It is amazing how God has blessed us over the past few years. There have been some changes in location and jobs, but God has drawn Michael and I closer together through it all. Mostly we have fun together and love hanging out - I am truly blessed with a fabulous husband!
While in Myrtle we went to the aquarium and had a blast - it was so cool!!!
As if all of that was not enough my sweet Michael had dinner ready for me when I got home from work on the day of our Anniversary. He also had two dozen roses - pink and white, my favorite! Anyway - no doubt I've made some those reading this go into sugar shock, so I'll quit before any of you go into a sweetness overload!

A Good Day!!!!

Michael and I branched out of our normal North Carolina touring and headed up to VA. Beach to see my brother and Sister-in-law along with their three darling daughters! We had a fabulous day of garage sales in the morning and a fantastic afternoon at the beach! What a day, I think I'll do it all over again tomorrow! Enjoy the pics!

My blond bombshells having fun in the Sun

Watching my handsome hubby play in the ocean!


Hanging out with one of my wonderful nieces!!!


Me doing what comes most naturally to me at the beach - Nothing!!!

Our new place!

Here is a picture of our new place in Winston-Salem. We are so blessed that God has provided such a beautiful home. We are slowly but surely getting settled and getting pictures up on the wall and out of the garage (our goal is to actually park our cars in there sometime in the future - I'll keep you posted on how that goes). Pretty self-explanatory the first picture is our living room, second is our kitchen and last is our living room. I'll post some more pictures soon!

A little encouragement!

I found on www.backtothebible.org some great words of encouragement from the bible (great place to get encouraged right?!). Below is a selection from a book called "Streams in the Desert" and then a selection from Elizabeth Elliot - a fabulous woman who lives a life seeking to glorify Christ in all she does. Enjoy and I pray we all take time out today to see that life is more than just the day to day is a personal relationship with Christ that makes all the difference!

http://www.backtothebible.org/custom/executequery-12.html

http://www.backtothebible.org/custom/executequery-17.html

The big 30!!!

That's right, the darling 20-something drama queen actually is now 30! Hard to believe, but it's true. So in the spirit of not wanting to grow up I had my birthday party at a local inflatable toy arena. Ages young and old had a great time and in the words of some of my nieces "this is the best birthday party ever!". Anyway, thanks those who came or were there in spirit! Thirty is not so bad I still feel "twenty-something", but the name of my blog will be changed to "a day in the life of a 30 year old drama queen" - maybe by 40 I'll ignore all the drama in my life and just move on!!! Not likely though. HAHA!

Our Christmas

Michael and I had a great Christmas! We are truly blessed - it was a crazy busy month but it was so good to hang out with each other and our family! Here we are opening some of our gifts and even Titus got into the act! Had a great time!

Washington DC trip - Part Three!

Here we are at the National Cathedral - so georgous!

The Back of the White house. Thought it ws the front (shows what I know!!
We went up to the Washington monument - I had always seen it when I was in DC and I finally went up to it and saw it close up - so amazing!
Well, sorry it took me so long to blog all this!! Anyway, enjoy!

Washington DC trip - Part Two!

On our Second day in DC we went to the Zoo and had a great time. It was cold but we still got to see some animals. A baby panda fell asleep in this tree and mama was pacing around until he woke up from his nap.
This beaver was so cute! I had forgotten that beavers have poor eye-sight and so he was hunting around for his food. He was also much bigger than I thought (so clearly he had no problem finding the food despite the bad eyes!).
Here we got our own special show of a trainer working with a baby seal (1 yr old). It was cool to see him follow her commands and await anxiously for his treat, which he ate a ton of by the way!


Here is a gorilla (I think - the are so many different kinds of primates). They were in this house for the winter so we went in there and watched them run around and play. It was a great zoo and it was exciting to see a small sampling of the different animals God created.

Our DC Trip part 1

Michael and I headed up to Washington, DC in December and had a fabulous time! Michael's former room-mate from Seminary let us use the the guest room he and his wife have at there place right outside DC. We could walk underground through a "mall" to the metro and get where we needed to go - it was so cool just to ride the metro. Anyway the first night we headed out to Ben's Chilibowl. It was fabulous chili place with a fun atmosphere!
The next day we headed to the Washington Mall and headed to the National Air and Space Museum. You can see Michael with an astronaut and me with Kermit the frog. The American History Museum is closed for almost 2 years for renovations so they brought some of the "Treasures" over to the Air and space museum, so you get two museums in one.

Oh Christmas Tree!!!

One of our first traditions it seems as married couple started before we were even married. While we were dating we went to pick out a Christmas tree after Thanksgiving dinner at his parents house in the mountains. This tradition has lasted for the past three years and we love it!! To walk off the food induced coma after a large Thanksgiving meal and we go out to Mountain Memories Christmas farm and pick out our tree. It really is a beautiful place and we love going up there. They remember us from years past and we end up chatting with "the guys" a little before we leave. It's so much fun! Above is my very handsome (and rather lumber jack looking husband!) and below is the finished product!
Enjoy our fun and funky-looking tree! We thought the silver garland was a nice touch! Merry Christmas everyone!

Giving Thanks

This past Thanksgiving we went up to my in-laws and cooked up a storm! I had so much fun and was very thankful that everything turned out so tasty! Or at least "my friends tell me" I'm a good cook (only Jane Austin fans will get that reference to Sense and Sensibility). His brothers also joined us so we had a nice time chatting and playing with our little niece Kaitlyn.

I don't mean to sound cliche' but Michael and I are so thankful for all the Lord has done for us this year. There is the many blessings that He provides for us like a house, food clothes and then He goes above and beyond and allows us to deepen our relationship with Him through those un-expected situations in life (trips to the hospital, job changes, etc). I was just thinking today how sweet it is that God uses all things for His glory and our good. No matter what our take on the situation is! I often think of my favorite verse that has gotten me through many situations in my life - "And we know that all things work together for the good of those who love Him and for those who are called according to His purpose." Romans 8:28. So all that to say we are very blessed and thankful for all that God brings us through.
Sorry for the late post of Thanksgiving but look for more adventures with the Rotens soon!!!

Girl Time!

A few weeks ago us girls got together for some totally girly indulgences. We went to Homewood Nursery in Raleigh and looked at all the Poinsettias they have for the holidays. After about an hour of wondering around (and a few purchases we could not live without!!) we graced the local Starbucks Coffee shop with our presence and chatted for another hour. Let me just say how blessed I am to have my sister and mom as my closest friends as well. We talked about how God had used so many situations (not all the most fun) to grow us closer to Him and each other! I am so thankful to God for the family He has blessed me with.

Good Cause, fabulous evening

All dressed up and some place to go! Michael and I had the privilege of going to the North Ridge Country Club the other night. Not to hob-nob with the upper crust of "Raleigh's Finest" , but to hear about all God was doing through the Pregnancy Support services of Wake Forest. So actually we think we were surrounded by "Raleigh's finest". This non-profit organization helps women through crisis pregnancies. They also offer counseling for the mothers and fathers on parenting, communication and life skills. I could go on and on about how God is using them in our community. It was a wonderful evening and very encouraging to see God as work so clearly. They were able to raise $75,000 that night through the generosity of the 350 people that attended. How sweet it was to see God move the hearts of those there to be so giving of what he has blessed them with. For more information you can check out their website at www.pregnancywf.org.

Proud Aunty Em

We had the pleasure of welcoming our neice, Adison into the world on october 12th. She is a sweet little girl and I was in love the second I laid eyes on her. My sister and brother-in-law are fabulous parents and are doing very well keeping up with a very good but very active 2yr old and a newborn. Children truly are a blessing and I adore every single one of my 9 neices and nephews.

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.