Moving Mountains

Tonight at church we were SO BLESSED with the opportunity to watch the following four men be BAPTIZED by their team chaplain:

Walter McFadden
Antonio Coleman
Eltoro Freeman
T'Sharvan Bell

Recognize those names? Yeah. It was awesome. He had a hard time lifting some of them out of the water, they weigh three times as much as he does! Yet with tears in their eyes and soft hearts as big as the room, they stood in front of hundreds and confessed their faith in Christ.

Following them was a steady stream of high school boys who looked like miniature versions of them, big shoulders, dread locks, goofy grins... following in their footsteps, committing their lives to Christ, choosing to stand up for Christ in their schools despite their less-than-ideal backgrounds... it was so cool.

It was such a fresh reminder of how active our God is in Auburn and how capable He is of moving mountains. I underestimate Him and put Him in a box far too often! God allowed those boys to come to Auburn to play football here with this very purpose in mind, and don't you know He was celebrating with His angels tonight as they professed their love for Him?

This is such a huge part of why I love it here! This is what happens when you routinely hire a Christian crew of coaches for our football team. This is what God can do in the lives of those men who, outside of football, often have nothing else to hope in. This is just the beginning of what He is capable of on our campus, and it is so exciting.

Antonio Coleman finished out the service by telling us his story and had the whole place in tears. He finished by saying, "Auburn is a special place, it is such a special place", and I couldn't agree more. Auburn IS a special place. God is moving here. Next time you see them on TV, just smile and know that they are living for so much more than football.

Peanut Festival

After three years of knowing Casey, I finally feel like part of the Dothan family. I have officially been cultured. I can now say that I have been to the peanut festival!



My brother-in-law recently moved his law firm into a new building right on Main Street, which was very convenient for parade-watching! We just camped out on their front porch, along with lots of their friends and kids, and had a great time. Rachel stayed with me most of the time. We ate peanuts right along with our cinnamon rolls, and somehow that felt normal.







I lucked up enough to marry into a wonderful, wonderful family. Molly has always felt like a second sister to me, and it doesn't hurt that her girls are melt-in-your-mouth adorable. To be perfectly honest... every time we are with their family and get to spend time with those girls, it makes us want a few of our own! Molly is so good with them, makes it look so easy, and they are completely obsessed with her. I hope one day we have a little boy to even things out a bit.



It was a long parade. As it got closer to the third hour, I found this one taking advantage of an empty bookshelf.



But no worries, we all went home, took naps, changed clothes, and headed back out to the fair later that afternoon. This was quite the spectacle, and I wish I had more pictures to show for it! Let's just say the Lake County Fair was nothing of the sort. We had a great time, ate roasted corn and elephant ears, rode the gigantic ferris wheel together, and even stole Katie away for one of the "big kid" rides, which was (obviously) the most awesome thing ever.





And of course, the weekend ended with our usual family photo...



I'm proud to say I have been, and I can't wait to go back! We had a great time!

Thankful

Working in healthcare is a double-edged sword sometimes. I love what I do, but I would also be lying if I acted like I have not had plenty of teary-eyed nights in the car on my way home, praying for our patients and their families, literally feeling nauseous at the thought of what some of them are going through. Maybe I am just getting emotional in my old age, but there is something about being in a hospital every day that makes me want to come home and hug my husband and love on my dog and call my parents and just thank my Lord Jesus that we all have each other for one more day.

I mean who wouldn't want to come home to these two?



I think we very severely take for granted our happy marriages and healthy lives. I know I do. I hope that these situations I feel immersed in at work will only strengthen my own faith, strengthen my own family, and make me live life with eyes wide open. We are not promised tomorrow. This life as we know it is nothing but a vapor. Why am I not more aware of how quickly things could change? Why do I let days go by without stopping to fall on my face with Thanksgiving and appreciation for everything I have been blessed with? Oh that the Lord would use these things to bring me back to Him and remind me every day of His faithfulness to me.

Ole Miss

I can't believe it has taken me this long to come back to the blog with a big WAR EAGLE over Ole Miss last weekend! I must admit, we were all very skeptical, and it was hard to get pumped up for a cold and rainy game that we were expected to lose. But our boys came back and completely redeemed themselves. The whole stadium was full of energy, and everyone stayed until the very end. I love those kinds of games. It was great!! My parents came in town for the weekend to watch the game too, and despite the weather, we could not have had a better time. You know how I feel about my dad and Auburn football!

Our weekends together as a family are usually pretty predictable. We have a list of favorite restaurants that we always have to hit, we take the dogs on long walks, we get up early and crash early, we scrapbook, and most of all, we analyze Auburn football.



This time, we also went to the school of architecture's pumpkin carving contest. This was my favorite:



We have no pictures from the game since it was expected to rain, but afterwards, we took the dogs to Kiesel Park, and it was so much fun. We literally had the place to ourselves. My mom and her poodle are like two peas in a pod, no?









Sunday we toured campus on foot, went to church, and finished out the weekend with lunch at Cock of the Walk. A perfect weekend in my book!





Stay tuned for a recap on this weekend in Dothan at the Peanut Festival!

O!

Have I mentioned that Casey and I get to go to Las Vegas in December on a fully-funded "work" trip/vacation? There is a huge pharmacy convention there where I will be helping to recruit for our residency program, and we both will also be interviewing for jobs in the pharmacy placement service (a nationwide pharmacist recruiting and hiring service). EAMC is so generous to let us go... we promise to try to learn something while we are there!

Casey has never been to Vegas, and I have not been since I was about twelve, so we are both REALLY counting down the days. What a treat! I can't wait to see the city decorated for Christmas. I can't wait to get to sleep in a big fluffy king size bed for five whole nights. I can't wait to see the view from our hotel, try out new restaurants, and people-watch in a brand new place. We love every chance we get to taste the big city life... and this will definitely be a taste of the big city for us!

The MOST exciting part, to me, is this! Since this trip falls between both of our birthdays, we decided to nix the birthday present thing this year, and instead treat ourselves to Cirque De Soleil "O"! After we went to Kooza in Atlanta last year, we have been dying to go see the "O" show. And our seats are 7th row aisle!

I know this is over a month away but I am already feeling fluttery on the inside with excitement. Please tell us all your favorite things to do in Las Vegas (besides pharmacy CE)!

Friday!

Squealing with excitement that it is finally the weekend!!



Aren't you??

chopped!

I cut all my hair off. Again. She took 7 inches off the back this time and layered it up like crazy. What has gotten in to me lately? I am not sure but I am really loving this shorter hair! I have not had it this short since kindergarten. I swear Melanie is a miracle worker and I love her. She has now moved to the top of the list of things I am going to desperately miss in Auburn... right up there with Amsterdam and Kiesel Park.

It REALLY can't go in to any sort of ponytail this time, so I am not sure how to control it at the gym... anyone have suggestions? For today I brought a hat, but there has got to be a better way?? I will be sure to observe everyone else today and see what the other short hair girls are doing. I feel fairly confident at this point that it will drive me crazy flopping in my face when I am trying to run.

Sorry no photo available. Use your imagination, and next time something eventful happens in Auburn, I'll be sure to post a picture!

Everyone go chop your hair off... it will make you feel like a brand new woman.