Crossing the Delaware: Part I

Hello all,

Our first stop in our adventure was the Petersburg National Battlefield in Virginia. Toby is a U.S. History teacher so war sites are something that come with the territory. Neither of us had ever been to a Civil War battlesite, and as we were driving through Virginia we decided to give it a go.

It's crazy how places like that take on an attitude of their own...almost like the earth itself remembers the brutality that took place there. I know it may sound silly, but there really is a deeply sad feeling around these kinds of places. It's odd to see such a peaceful, serene landscape and know that it was once filled with the final pangs of death and sacrifice. It was a moment of pause by no mistake.

As a history teacher, Toby was an excellent tour guide as we traveled the grounds. The infamous "crater" is found here and that is what we were so eager to see. This failed union attack resulted in a brutal Confederate victory, even though the Union did eventually take Petersburg.

I'm doing these entries on the road so that the memory stays fresh...this also means that they may not be perfect entries because I am not on my home computer (often times it's via my iPod) so the pics may be a littla out of sequence, bla bla. I have said it before though, this blog is for preserving memories and for enjoyment and update purposes, so my heart will not be broken if I have a less than perfect post, I hope you understand :) Enjoy these pictures and see you on the next part of the trip!
See y'all soon,

~B~


Sad and beautiful tree next to the crater.



I love this shot.



The crater itself! STILL THERE!



The road to the crater. That's a fun trek in 90 degree weather.



More of the crater.





My hot husband standing in front of the "earthworks" built in part by the Confederate soldiers and then by the Union soldiers, after they defeated the South.



Makeupless and loving vacation! This is soon after I was suddenly stricken with heat sickness and had to run to the bathroom, haha. Whoops.

 More later!

~B~

Just like Washington...

...we're crossing the Delaware!

Well, not really. But we are driving up to Delaware tomorrow morning. It will be a loooong drive, but it will be filled with fun stops, sing alongs, hilarity and more than likely some delirium. Luckily, Toby and I are the best of buddies so we will have a ton of fun :)

We're excited to see family first and foremost, but we're also going to take some fun daytrips to D.C. and Philadelphia, which has filled me with glee...haha, glee is a funny word.

What are you up to this summer?

Catch you on the flip side,

~B~

The Traveling Birds

Hello all,

I have missed posting, sorry about the long gap but I was living life and the computer was not part of it...which we all need to do more often than not. Toby and I were recently at the Messiah Conference held by the MJAA and we had a great time. Amazing people, great messages, and getting into God's presence is always top notch in our book. The conference was in Grantham, PA (just outside Harrisburg) nestled in the trees at Messiah College and it was a perfect place to be. To get to the conference we drove up with  dear friends of ours from another congregation on a bus full of people. 13 hours later we got there...oy.

Before we left for the conference, Toby and I stumbled upon a small town called Senoia, GA. It was super cute and Southern as can be. Turns out a lot of films took place there like Sweet Home Alabama, Driving Miss Daisy and others. So, this little town seems to know it's stuff. However, there was also current filming going on there as well...for a new show called The Walking Dead. They had some of the set partially up and signs everywhere stating it. In fact, the cast had just left that very morning to return the following week! Crazy huh? The local coffee shop had even made a "Zombie Dark" brew in honor of the cast. Toby and I had a lovely, romantical day walking around, sipping tea and imagining a zombie apocalypse, haha.

Here are some pics of our travels. We are off NEXT week to visit Delware and Toby's mom's family. We are so thrilled! Hopefully I'll squeeze another post in between now and then.

Welcome to Senoia, GA.

Cute little gelato place in downtown Senoia.

Woo hoo! I love this movie.

The city was asked not to mow their lawns because the town needed to look deserted
as a result of the zombie apocalypse. haha.

Never been this close to a movie/TV set!

The fictional town of Woodbury. Senoia allowed them to keep their set for the fake town up in downtown.

More of the town.

The infamous home of "the governor" or so I was told.

Enjoying the day!

Mmmm.

Clean shaven and make-up free at the conference.

Toby giving instructions to our friend on how to peel a banana like an actual primate. That's my man.

The scariest thing I've ever seen.

Dear friends singing their little hearts out!

Happy trails.

~B~

Instagram Review...Texas style

Well, it's been a while since I've done one of these and I've definitely taken a lot of instas since then! I just got back from my homeland of Dallas, Texas and it was so great! I got to see my family and friends and spend some quality time with my wonderful mama!
The only sad thing was that Toby could not come :(. He is in Salt Lake City, Utah for work and (according to him) having a good time as well!

Now granted, he is grading AP tests (which quite frankly makes me want to stab my eyes out Oedipus style) but he us mixin' and minglin' with other teacher friends and enjoying the beautiful mountains...and if course he forgot his camera. Oh well.

Anyways, here is a (long) instagram review if what's been going on in Georgia and in Texas!

New banana peppers and a tomato plant!

Taking care of the babies :)

Summer storms.

Toby and Jeremy. Bromance at its finest.

Late night trips to Walmart for potting soil = being a grown-up.

They have grow more even since this picture!

1. Shabbat dinner with mom. 2. Airport goodies: everything's bigger in
Texas! 3. Texas skies and traffic at 10 AM. 4. My favorite bookstore.

5. A Series of Unfortunate Events kept me company on the plane.
6. We all wear cowboy hats. 7. Breakfast with mom. 8. Pride and Prejudice
ZOMBIES. That's too funny. I love you, halfprice books.

9. Windows in the air (halfprice overload, I know) 10. I love the show Parks
and Recreation, so naturally I pulled over when my childhood play spot proudly
displayed this. 11. Had a fun night with my best friend since middle school,
who I miss so much. 12. Visited my other chicky, Tiffany and her hubby!!!

Read this GREAT book while Toby was away when I got home.

When he DID get home, we celebrated with tea and Sherlock.

Always a comforting thing to see parked next to you at a restaurant. Field trip?

Almost forgot! Some pretty wall art at the Atlanta airport.

Well, that's a little taste of life lately! Sorry for the overload! Hope you all have a great week ahead and that you find some time to enjoy the little moments, too.




~B~

My Date with Dad

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Hello,

Ok, I don't get super-duper personal on this blog (outside of a struggle here and there coupled with me and hubby events) but for this one, I am. Father's Day was Sunday which is an AMAZING holiday. I think that fathers are so important and deserve a lot of respect. That being said, I never had one. Yes, I had my grandpa who we lived with (and I've never known a greater man) and I had some father-like mentors in my life but I never knew a man as "Dad". This is no pity party because I don't believe in that, but there are certain things that you just don't get when you don't grow up with a dad. There is a certain void in your heart that longs to be  filled...the void where you remember how dad helped you learn how to ride a bike and how he would pick you up in his arms and everything scary would be gone. There is a level of security and confidence that having a (good) father can bring and it's a longer process for some of us who haven't experienced that to come by.

My mom was both mom and dad for me and she did an OVER-THE-TOP and amazing job! But, I kind of still wanted "Daddy". Growing up I have always heard that God is our Father and that He watches out for us in that way. That is true and wonderful, but when you don't even know what it's like to have a father, it's hard to relate to. As I've grown up, I have finally learned what it meant to have God be my Father, my Daddy. All that I have ever wanted in a Dad, I see evident in God through the bible. In Psalm 103 it says that God is merciful, compassionate, forgiving, redeeming, rich in love, slow to anger, and understanding.

Now pause.  Aren't those the things we ALL long for in fathers?

YES!

I truly know that I have that in my God. So, long story short, on Father's Day while Toby was out of town, I spent it with God and boy was it great. In fact, I spent the whole weekend with Him, in His presence. I prayed, I read the bible, I worshiped, I just sat, and even did the normal things in life like washing clothes...but He was with me. I know I can't see Him, but truly I felt Him...and I know He's proud of me and that He is helping me to keep going and keep learning. In many ways, He kind of is teaching me how to ride a bike...that is, just live this life. I feel like I'm continually learning how to ride without training wheels and it's scary because I hate falling down. But, I know He is there behind me holding the handlebars and telling me "you can do it, sweetie". He will always watch over me (Psalm 121:7-8). I know I have not been perfect and have messed up more times than I can count, but as He told me through a song on Shabbat "whatever you do, don't stop trying, 'cause learning makes lots of mistakes."

This Father's Day was the best one I have ever celebrated, and I will definitely be looking forward to celebrating again with my amazing God.

Love you guys...Texas trip pics are coming soon!

~B~

Some cool news

Hey everybody,

Well, as some of you may know, my hubs and I are worship leaders at our local congregation. We really love getting to serve the Lord through playing music and writing songs together. This is a life long dream come true for me because I have been a worship leader since I was about 15, and always wanted me and my husband to do that together. Now, we are!

We are always trying to find new music to play for our services and sometimes it's hard to find! Because of a lot of copyright laws and rights and publishers and bla bla bla, some people don't make their chord sheets and audio available. We felt like it was time to put our stuff out there so others can use it and maybe be blessed by it, without all the complicating hooplah. We're super excited and praying that God uses this.

So what are you saying, Brooke?       I'll tell you.

WE HAVE A WORSHIP BLOG! (haha, forgive me for shouting.)

Our site is manolisworship.posterous.com 

Feel free to go and take a look/listen. Just thought I'd share! Here are some pics we took for the website!

Toby playin' the git-fiddle. That's southern for guitar. haha.

Me tickling the ivories.

Us :)

  Catch ya on the flip side.

Brooke

"I like you a lot."

Hello all,

I have a super sweet and disgustingly sappy story for you. If you are allergic to such things I suggest you avert your eyes and/or take a Benadryl after eating and THEN enjoy this post. You've been warned.


3 years ago on May 30th I really liked this guy that I was pretty sure liked me. He lived in Georgia and I lived in Texas, but we talked every day on the phone...because I'm so hot. Well, no, not really, it's because we were just totally into each other...but we also thought each other was hot.
After watching our favorite movie, Twister (yes, the terrible and unrealistic movie about tornadoes; don't judge) we finally got a little mushy. After some subtle hint dropping, we got into the "what are we, exactly?" conversation. He then said, "Brooke, I should tell you, I really like you a lot."

I literally started wiggling and giggling to myself while lying in my bed. Total girl moment.

You see, I kind of already knew (thanks to prayer and God letting me know some stuff) that this guy was IT for me and that this was a forever deal. So when he FINALLY came out and said he liked me, it was almost like a proposal...in my head, haha. I ecstatically, but coolly replied "I really like you a lot, too." And that was that. Now I'm married to this mensch and I am SO glad that he told me he liked me, because I cannot imagine life without him.

So, Toby, here's to 3 years of being together! I'm so happy I have a handsome, goofy, God-fearing, brilliant and loving man like you! I LIKE YOU. And love you :)

Here's some pictures to commemorate the young love memories that are filling my brain!

Only a few weeks after the "I like you" moment :)

This is the "meet the family" weekend. It was great and stressful, because Toby asked for my hand in marriage without
me even knowing it! That sly dog... :)

The birds in their natural habitat of tomfoolery.

At our dear friends' Jessie and Aran's wedding! (We got engaged the next day!)

ENGAGED!

Tying the knot!

Present day lovahs. (That is "lovers" pronounced dramatically.)

Here's to my best friend, hubby and bebebird. I love you.

And just think, all of this from a simple "I like you."
*big smile*

~B~