Christmas

I'm getting really excited about going home to Fort Worth this weekend for 8 whole days. It will be really nice to get to spend time with my family and catch up with friends. I will be sad to have to leave Geoff but he flies home on Christmas eve so we will get 5 days with him. Christmas is one of my favorite times of year, I was that child who would get up secretly extra, extra early on Christmas morning to see all the things "Santa" had brought then go back to bed for a few more hours. Its is such a joyful time of year and I find it hard to stop singing Christmas carols after the holiday is over.

Here are a few things I am especially excited about this Christmas:
1. Seeing friends and family I haven't see since we live so far away.
2. Going to my great aunt and uncle's house Christmas eve to see everyone on my Dad's side of the family. We have been doing this for over 27 years...
3. Going to Joe T's after the party Christmas Eve, having the dinner and sharing good food, laughter, and a few margarita's with everyone. 4. Spending time with Caroline (sister) and Matt (fiance), ever since they have gotten engaged I haven't been able to spend any time with them.
5. Meeting Katy's David for the very first time!!! Catching up with both of them along with Jackie and Todd Young, who we haven't seen since our wedding.
6. Lastly, being back in Fort Worth, Texas!! I miss it dearly and no place will ever take it's place in my heart.

Friendship

I love meeting new people and have been feeling a little down over the past couple of months because I've been having a hard time making friends in Greenville. I was told by a wise woman that it usually takes about 18 months to really feel "at home" in a new location and at first I was willing to believe this statement but in the past few months I have started feeling a little better about our situation. I have been living in Greenville for a year and one month going on two and that 18th month really feels like it is close to me.

I have found that I am becoming more comfortable in Greenville and meeting new people every now and then. I will say it makes life easier when you have those friends to call who don't live thousands of miles away from you. This past year I have wanted to get involved in many different organizations and groups in Greenville and I am working my way into many of the ones I set out to join. While attending one of these opportunities I met Stephanie Bunn who works for one of the groups. We both work for ECU and are enjoying getting to know each other and going to lunch.

This past weekend, to start the holiday season, I invited Stephanie and her husband, Brooks, to join Geoff and I at the Greenville Tree Lighting and Art Walk in Uptown Greenville. We had the best time watching the tree and listening to the mayor read Twas the Night Before Christmas to the children in the crowd.














Here is a picture of Geoff and I, Stephanie and Brooks Bunn at the Christmas Tree Lighting.

After the tree lighting we walked around downtown Greenville on the Art Walk. We went to the art gallery Emerge Gallery and Art Center. It was really nice, they had local artists set up in booths all around the gallery selling their goods. I will be going back soon to get a better look, a lot of people in one small area doesn't let you see everything. After going to Emerge, we went down to Jefferson's, I love everything about this store except for some of the prices. My wallet needs to be a little deeper for me to buy some of the items.
Here are a few shots of the store, they have everything from flowers to furniture to glassware, then soaps, decorative items, etc.
There are so many things to find and next time anyone comes to visit we will go see this store.

We shopped a little longer and then went to the 4th St. Wine bar for wine tasting but there was an overflow of people in the store for this free event so we decided to go to Dulcinea. This store is a very unique place which has everything from clothing to jewelry, coffee to candles, handbags to decorative items. Very creative and owned by a jewelry maker. Such a great time we had while shopping. Afterwards we shared a great meal at Finnelli's italian resturant.

Thanks so much for Stephanie and Brooks for a great night. We had a blast and can't wait to do it again!

Thanksgiving

I really feel like Christmas is finally here. I love this season the most of all and love sharing the holidays with friends and family. Geoff and I spent Thanksgiving with my mom's side of the family at Lake Hyco in North Carolina. We were able to go to Freddie and Cindy's new lake house to celebrate. It was so much fun to hang out with our family and share a wonderful meal. When we arrived at the lake we were told that my cousin Stephanie and her boyfriend, PK (Paul Kelley), were engaged!! I was so happy for for the both of them and excited to talk about wedding details with someone again. I am missing out on a lot of the details for Caroline's wedding so maybe this will help with my wants of being there for her. We had fried turkey and all the normal things you usually eat on this day. I had never eaten a fried turkey but it was very good. Way to go Bo, Freddie and Tyler.
While we were there Geoff and I took a picture for our Christmas card since every other one we have is no good for the card. :) Here is our picture, your cards will be coming this week so check your mailbox.

Protecting children...

One of my passions is helping to protect children. I have worked in the field of Social Work and Child Abuse since college and have found that I have really enjoyed helping families in both the prevention and investigative side. As most people know I previously worked for a children's advocacy center in Fort Worth, TX. I loved working for Alliance For Children and with them while I was with Child Protective Services. Please help Alliance For Children during this holiday season, donation of Thanksgiving meals and Christmas gifts are appreciated for all the children at all three centers. Please check out all the ins and outs of Alliance For Children at their website, http://www.allianceforchildren.org/.

While working for Alliance For Children I presented information on child abuse prevention to community organizations in Arlington and Fort Worth. I stand by all of the curriculum's and would continue teaching them if I could. After finding out I would be moving to Greenville, NC I began searching for places to work, hoping there would be a Children's Advocacy Center somewhere close by- and with an opening. After looking I found the TEDI BEAR Children's Advocacy Center in Greenville and immediately called for any openings, even though it was May and I wouldn't be moving til October.

I spoke with Julie Ocker, Executive Director, and she stated they will have a part time position available for a presenter of the Darkness to Light Stewards of Children program. I was super excited, I was a presenter of the program already and hoped to be able to apply and work for an agency similar to AFC. Well it all worked out for me and I am now employed by East Carolina University TEDI BEAR Children's Advocacy Center teaching child abuse prevention to community members all over Eastern North Carolina.

The Stewards of Children presentation is such a great program. It teaches adults to stand up and take action for their role in protecting children from Sexual Abuse. It teaches adults to prevent, recognize and respond appropriately to child sexual abuse. The program is based on Seven Steps to Protecting our Children. The seven steps help adults learn how to help the children in their lives and the program focuses on parents, community members, organizations that work with children, etc. Please take a look at the website to get more information and help to protect our children from sexual abuse, http://www.darkness2light.org/.

A new President in town...

Big news is happening in Eastern North Carolina!! There is a Kappa Kappa Gamma Alumni group starting up and I am so excited!!! When I moved to Greenville, NC I was unsure of making friends and meeting people and I wanted to get involved with some sort of group similar to Junior Women's Club/ Junior League/ or KKG Alumni group. Well there are not any of these particular groups in Greenville so I had to start thinking of different ways to become involved. 

After almost a year of living in Greenville I received an invitation to a meeting to discuss the building of an alumni group of Kappa Kappa Gamma. I was thrilled and called to RSVP immediately hoping not to look desperate :). I found out there are more than 100 Kappas in Eastern North Carolina but no group at all and I discussed leadership roles within the group if necessary. On October 25th I met with 5 other women to discuss this topic and left with a brand new title... President of the Eastern North Carolina Kappa Kappa Gamma Alumni group!!!! :) I said I wanted to be involved and wanted to meet people in this area, I guess this is the best way to do that. 

In the picture: Christine, Sandy, Alberta (Treasurer), Me (President), Taylor (Secretary), and Sandy. The first members of the ENC KKG Alumni group. 

New interest...

This past weekend while we were in Fort Worth I realized that I enjoyed reading. I know that sounds kinda silly but I have never been very fond of reading and it usually puts me to sleep. With that being said, while Geoff and I were at the Charlotte airport I picked up a copy of Nicholas Sparks' book The Wedding. I thought the book looked interesting and I knew it was a sequel to The Notebook so I bought it and took a chance at reading again.

Well, I loved this book! I read the entire flight to DFW, 2.5 hours long, and still wanted more. It really surprised me how much I enjoyed it and was  able to read more than half of the book in the flight time. On the way home on Sunday, I was able to finish this book. I suggest if anyone has not read this that they do. While I was in FW I told Lynn, Geoff's mom, about how much I enjoyed the book and when we returned from the wedding on Saturday night she had two more of Nicholas Sparks' books for me, True Believer and At First Sight. I am looking forward to starting these soon! 

Starting out...

I am new at this and just learning how to start blogging so sorry to those of you who are up to date with it all. I want to start this so that I can keep up with all the friends and family who we miss so much.


So for my first official blog:


We just got back from Fort Worth this past weekend. Our wonderful friend Zack got married to his beautiful bride, Jenn, and we were so happy to share in the celebration. The wedding was wonderful and Zack and Jenn were so happy throughout the day. Thank you for letting us share in your joy. I have included some pictures of the big day.


Geoff and I before the ceremony, it was held at the First Christian Church in Granbury, TX, where Zack's father is the minister. He officiated the ceremony.




Geoff was a groomsman in the wedding so we arrived a couple of hours early for all the pictures and arrangements needed beforehand. Will Ringel road with us to the ceremony and shared in the day with Zack and Jenn. Will was my date during the actual wedding.

Here are the three guys beforehand.

Jenn looked great and so full of excitement. Her dress was beautiful and she was ready to marry Zack. This is Jenn, her mother, and sister before the wedding.

The reception was held at Joe T. Garcia's, what a great place to have it. Who doesn't love their dinner and margaritas!!! Geoff and I were very excited as we don't get to enjoy Joe T's as much as we want since moving away. This wedding was full of TCU Alumni and we couldn't go without getting the TCU picture. Here we are cheering on TCU, Go Frogs!!

We had a blast with everyone and we can't wait to see them soon. Congrats Zack and Jenn, we are happy to have been able to share with you and thank you for inviting us to share.