Shower for Baby Koon

A couple weeks ago, I helped to throw a baby shower for one of my best friends from college.  I was in charge or decorations, so I made a banner! After spending the day working on it... I realized how much I missed crafting. 

SO excited about Baby Boy Koon! :) 

The Beach..

I can't say enough how much I love our job!  The Summer Leadership Project was so much fun!   Every morning we were able to get up and spend time with Jesus while looking out at the water.  There is something special about the ocean that make Jesus seem so near.  Maybe it is the memory of watching the sunrise almost every morning during my first summer at the SLP while studying God's word. 


Connecting with the students was so fun. I really enjoyed getting to know some of the UGA girls better and some of my younger sorority sister from Georgia Tech were there as well.

All UGA staff and students at SLP

Some of the highlights: 

**Leading the Women's Time at the beginning of the summer.  Every year we have a break our time with just women where we get to talk about girlie stuff (like modesty and how to relate to guys). This year, Wyatt and I were asked to lead this time.  I was sooo anxious about it as I was preparing what I would say, but I am thankful for God's faithfulness to speak through me.  I think He really used me during that time to speak hope and give wisdom and truth.  The gospel was really the main point... I wanted them to know how deeply loved they are by God and how He displayed His love for us through Christ.  Deuteronomy 7:6-9 has always been a favorite verse for me on this topic.  Sometimes it is hard for me to believe that I am truly that loved. I pray for these college women, that they would be transformed by a greater understanding of God's deep affection for them. 

Some of the girls from Georgia, Georgia Tech, and North Georgia

**Connecting with other young married couples.  Some of our closest friends have gotten married within the last 2 years and are also working with Campus Outreach at different schools.  Being at SLP with such great friends for a month was a real treat.  I was able to see how marriage is such a picture of the gospel and how all different marriages can display Christ and truly honor God.  We learned so much from spending time with other young couples, and not to mention how much fun it is to have so many couple friends that we love so much! After the SLP, we actually stayed at a beach house with 3 other couples.  It is amazing to see how friends can really feel like family.  So thankful for our time with great friends! 


**Wyatt's talks- honestly Wyatt's talks about stewardship were some of my very favorite times this summer.  I know that I am partial, but I think he gives such clear and convicting messages.  I can't wait to see how God continues to work through Wyatt!

Wyatt & Connor- Connor is the student leader who is giving the Stewardship talks for the rest of the summer.  

**Getting to know my little, little, little sister in Alpha Delta Pi.  Like I said earlier, some of my sorority sisters came on SLP this summer, and it was such a privilege to get to know them better.  The neatest part about spending time with her was seeing what God is still doing in ADPi at Georgia Tech.  He really began something while I was in school, and I'm seeing how He is committed to bringing it to completion.  I'm encouraged to see more and more women catch a vision for sharing their faith with other ADPi girls.  I hope that it always continues, and that eventually ADPi is a place that is known for godly missional women.      

Me and Katie- this picture was taking at the Ski Trip in February. 

**Hanging out with the UGA Freshmen.  One night, we went out for ice cream with all the up-coming Sophomores at UGA.  Wyatt leads a discipleship group with 4 of those guys and I would love to get to know those girls more.  It was really encouraging to hear what they were learning and experiencing.  They seemed so excited to take back what they had learned this summer and apply it to their lives on the campus.  I hope we can continue to be invested in their spiritual growth, and grow deep and lasting friendships!


**Working and doing ministry with Wyatt- It is so cool that we work together.  I can see how God would get more glory with us married than He did when we were single.

**Our staff team 
**Extended time in the word and prayer 
**Being completely exhausted everyday because of the grueling schedule 
**Staff Development (a weekly time where the staff dedicate extra time to enhancing our personal relationships with God).  
**Getting weekly updates from our friends on mission in Johannesburg, South Africa.  
**Seeing the sparks in a students eye who is really experiencing God for the first time.  
**Beach volleyball 
**Really funny skits- hopefully I can post the one that Wyatt was in! 


There are so many more things I could add to this list.  We are blessed to have such a rewarding job!  

Home again, home again..

We just got home from the Summer Leadership Project.  Finally, we haven't been in our apartment for 7 weeks.  When we moved all of our stuff back in this weekend, it felt like we were moving in again for the first time.  Sorry that it has been so long since my last update... this summer has been a little hectic and there is never great internet connections at the beach.  But look for more updates and stories about our summer in Panama City coming soon!

One Year Anniversary

I honestly can not believe that we have been married for a year... It still seems so new! I wonder when it really hits you? Because, often when I am in the kitchen making dinner or straightening the house I think about how fun it is to "play house". Then I remember, "I'm not playing house, I'm actually married!" It sounds silly, but it still feels too good to be true. Honestly, marriage has been a delight!

This pictures is us... in a nutshell.

As I have been thinking about our anniversary, I keep coming back to the story in 1 Samuel 7:12: "Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen. He named it Ebenezer, saying, 'Thus far the Lord has helped us." Samuel was basically putting up a memorial of the Lord's faithfulness through his life and various trials. He wanted to always remember how God had helped and provided and taken care of him, so that if/when life gets really hard he would have something to look back to and remember the Lord's goodness and faithfulness. That's how I feel about our first year of marriage. I know that life will inevitably get harder, either financially, physically, emotionally, spiritually, relationally. BUT one thing I also know is that God has promised to be with me. Once it does it get harder, I want to remember the way He has provided for us this year. Because I want to continue to trust Him... So, our first year of marriage will always be for me an "Ebenezer"- a memorial of the Lord's faithfulness to us.

Well, our anniversary is today, BUT we celebrated it on April 29th because we knew that it would be hectic at SLP and we might not get to enjoy our anniversary the way we would want to. So, we went to see Shrek the Musical at the Fox Theatre. Sooo fun! We also stayed in a hotel across the street and walked to Baronda for dinner. It was the perfect night!

Romantic dinner at Baronda

Outside the Fox- waiting to see Shrek:The Musical

But we haven't forgotten about tradition… we brought our cake topper down to Panama City. We had cake in bed this morning!  :) 

 I'm so unbelievably thankful for this year, can't wait to see what God has in store for us!

Summer Leadership Project

Today we are leaving for the Summer Leadership Project.  As most of you know, Wyatt and I met on our first "beach project" 3 years ago while working together at McDonald's.  I can't begin to explain how influential that summer was on us... and not only because we met each other! :)  We both grew so much in our understand of God's character, how to study His word, pray and share our faith.  I wouldn't have traded that training for anything in the world, because it gave me a great foundation for the rest of my life.  That's why I am so excited about all the students from UGA, Georgia Tech and North Georgia that are going with us.  I can't only hope and pray that it will be as beneficial for them as it has been for me.  

To get a better idea of what the Summer Leadership Project is all about, check out the video below. 

Summer Leadership Project 2010 from Campus Outreach ATL on Vimeo.

I'm excited for the opportunity to return to Panama City Beach as staff on the SLP.  Even though we won't be working minimum-wage jobs with the students, we will definitely still be busy.  For example, Wyatt is the Jobs Coordinator... more affectionately known as "The Job Father".  He is responsible for lining up jobs for all 100 students and staying connected with all of the employers.  Also, he will be giving training talks every Sunday night about "Stewardship".  He is mainly talking about how to be good managers of the time and money that God has given us.  We have both already learned so much just from his preparation.  I'm excited to see how this training influences the students to be responsible and God-honoring with their time and money during college and into their careers.  

The SLP is definitely one of my favorite parts about our job!  We are so blessed.  We get to spend a month at the beach loving on college students and growing in our relationships with God..  I don't think it could get much better than that.  

Living vicariously...

So, all of the blogs that I read are about families with kids. Funny stories and pictures of what their children have done.  But we don't have kids yet, so I have decided to live vicariously through my siblings and post funny pictures and stories of my niece and nephews. This week we are in Peachtree City visiting with my family before we leave for the summer.  Yesterday my whole family came over to celebrate my nephew Sam's birthday, Wyatt's birthday and Mother's Day.  Needless to say, it was eventful.  I guess it always is eventful/chaotic when you have a 7 year-old, 4 year-old, 3 year-old and twin one-year-olds running around. 

My dad aka "Grandpa Pip" holding Hunter (left) and Ryan (right). In this picture you can really tell how different they look.  Sometimes it's hard to believe they are even twins. 

Sitting out on the porch Avery says out of nowhere- "Oh, what a beautiful day".           Not something you expect to hear from a 3 year-old.

Happy Easter!

I should just say "Happy Spring" because it has been almost a month sense Easter, but oh well! This was probably my favorite Easter yet. Friday night, we went to the Good Friday service at Christ Community.. And wow! We are so blessed, our band is amazing! Then, we went down to my parents house on Saturday to celebrate with family… and it was so much fun. We went to 2 Easter egg hunts with all the kids and they loved it. And my brother practically did a photo shoot in the backyard.

Clockwise: Me, Sam (my nephew), Wyatt, Daniel (my nephew), My Dad,

Courtney (my sister), Anna (my sister in law), Avery (my niece)

When he heard the "say cheese", Daniel (left) spit his gum at the photographer...

which of course made us laugh for a while

My brother was calling this the sorority pose... she is too cute!

Last but not least, the best picture of the day....

Ryan (left) & Hunter (right) fighting over the car.

I don't know that I have ever laughed so hard! Look at the panic on Ryan's face, priceless.

Then, Sunday we spent the day in the hammock resting and spending time with Jesus. I was pretty blown away with the fact that He is risen.. He beat sin and death.. He is victorious forever! And because of that one event in history my life will never be the same... Thanks Jesus.

In all the excitement of the weekend I realized on Sunday morning that we completely forgot to do Easter baskets for each other… maybe adults aren't supposed to get Easter baskets?! But this was certainly my first Easter without one. Everyone says I'm still just a little kid… I guess they are right! I'm still craving those delicious Reese's Easter Eggs... guess I will have to wait for the pumpkins at Halloween.

Welcome to our blog!

Hello everyone!

I decided to start a blog because it seems like the trendy thing to do AND it could be a really great way to keep up with the people we love. Not really sure how all of this works yet, so give me some grace while I figure it all out..