Life is Good...and so is

Hello! It's been awhile since I blogged but I'll try to update. This past week my mom, Aunt Vicki, and cousin Misti visited Tara and I here in Charleston, SC. The weather for their visit was probable one of the coolest weeks we've had since we moved here! They went to Boone Hall Plantation which they seemed to like and is something that I would eventually like to do but it's not high enough on our list yet. I did take them downtown and walked around the battery and down East Bay Street! Showed them the four corners of law and some beautiful buildings. I started a job at Staples so they did some stuff on their own. I had one day off and they wanted to see the sunrise on Folly Beach so on Thursday I took them out there and while they were taking pictures I took advantage of the time to surf which was awesome. There really is nothing like surfing when the sun is coming up! We walked out to the lighthouse which was pretty cool. I then took them out to a pretty amazing place called the Angel Oak..http://www.angeloaktree.org/history.htm...if ever in the area you should def. check it out. We then ate at one of my fav's Jack's Cosmic Dogs! After that I took them to the Arthur Ravenal Jr. Bridge and Misti got to take some pictures. On Friday we all did a carriage ride around town which I liked alot then we went to dinner at Hominy Grill. I ,of course, got the shrimp and grits as I am on a quest to find the best shrimp in grits in town...Hominy Grill is now in third behind Poogan's Porch and 82 Queen...On Saturday morning before they left I took them to Krispy Kreme doughnuts as they have never had a hot now doughnut. I'm pretty sure they loved them! If you have never had a freshly made hot off the roller glazed doughnut you don't know what you're missing! Anyway, it was awesome to have some family for the week and I hope they get to make it back sometime soon. As I said earlier I finally have a part time job as an office supplies associate at Staples. It's a nice job for me and my manager is super nice. This works well for me as a part time job because as of today I start Grad School to pursue my Master's in Professional Counseling through Liberty University online. I'm a little overwhelmed since I've been out of school since 2004 and have never taken an online class. I'm blessed to have a wife who is encouraging and willing to help me in whatever way possible. I'll keep you posted on how it goes. Also today is Schro's third birthday which is also my in-laws 35th wedding anniversary!!! Moral of the story....life is good!!!

Life is Good....and so was this past weekend!

So I went to Chicago this past weekend. How did I get there? I drove...I left on Friday after Tara went to work at 6 am...I took my time and made a few stops and about 12 hours later I arrived in Indiana to stay with my great friend Noah Campbell! On Friday night he took me out to dinner to a place called Bub's Burgers which had been a stop by Adam Richman from Man Vs Food. I didn't do the challenge as I stopped for lunch at a BBQ joint and ate chicken, ribs, brisket, pulled pork, mac n cheese, french fries, and corn bread. So I wasn't that hungry for dinner but I got the not so ugly burger and it was delicious. Next time I'm in Indy I'm gonna try the challenge! Anyway we hit the sack early and I was up at 6 am on Sat morning and before Noah and I left Indy we filled up on Starbucks before hitting the road to Chicago. I loved catching up with Noah on the 3 hr drive to Chicago. I miss having him in my daily life but was so thankful I had this time with him!!! Anyway we arrive in the outskirts of Chicago and start trying to figure out where to go and we missed an exit but it was ok because we ended up in China town area of Chicago which was pretty cool. We made our way to Wrigley Field to meet up with Jeff Giosi and Kyle Aldhizer before suprising Kent McBride for his birthday! We hit up a place called Sluggers for some food and patiently waited for Kyle and Jeff to get there. Once we got the test message from Sarah McBride that they were in their seats we went into the stadium which is really awesome and if you get a chance to go I would recommend it. I would like to take Tara next year! Anyway Jeff and Noah go in first because they would be the closest to Chicago. Then Kyle and I go in and to say the least he was very surprised that we were there and a big up to Sarah for planning the surprise!!! So we all enjoyed the game which the cubs win...cubs win! This was my first pro baseball game too so that was awesome. We hang out afterwards in Wrigleyville before heading back to the Affina hotel to get showered and catch up. I got to hear about Jeff's love interest and new job which is great! I def miss having this craziness in my life on a daily basis too. I miss having Kyle too, even though he can never tell me what he is doing in work except that its good! haha I miss having a strong community surrounding me and it makes it really hard too! I keep trying to talk people into moving here to Charleston, SC! I'm gonna start on Noah Campbell next! Anyway we all got ready and went to a lounge at the top of the hotel on the 29th floor for drinks and convo before heading out to the John Hancock building for some drinks on the 96th floor...yeah the 96th floor...on one side of the building you can see the ocean and the sun set and on the other you can see the night life of the city! I highly recommend going here and if Tara and I get the chance to go back we will be doing dinner here! So we hang for awhile before heading out to actually eat and hit up a pizza place called Lou Malnati's I believe it was called. It was really good. We ordered two pizza's one deep dish ( delicious) and a thin crust ( not as good) before making our way back to the hotel for a fun game of pencil fighting which Jeff was victor! Good times and great memories! On Sunday morning we hit up a cafe before Kent and Sarah have to depart for the airport and Kyle leaves with Jeff to go back to Michigan and Noah and I head back to Indy. The only thing missing from this trip to Chicago was Tara and I really wish she could have been there, but now I have an excuse to go back because I would really like to spend a weekend with her in Chicago. So as we head out Noah and I get to have some more great conversation and we made great time only about 2.5 hours back to Indy. I jump in my car and fill up on starbucks and hurry back to Charleston, SC in 10.5 hours with only 2 stops all the way back. This weekend was great and made me missing having this family in my daily life! I pray that God puts us all in the same area again some day, but if HE doesn't I'm truly blessed to have had these people in my life at all!!! I really do miss them and was thankful that I could make this trip to Chicago to surprise Kent. I can't wait until the next time we all get to hang out again!!! So....life is good...and so was this past weekend!

Life is Good....and so is.....

Hello, been a few days since I blogged so I have a lot to catch up on! So just to start off Tara and I got to see Patrick McBride last week and we went back to Jestine's and had to wait a little again but it was so worth it. First of all we got to catch up with Pat which was awesome and made me really miss having him around! Secondly we got to eat some great low country cooking followed by some Coca-cola cake again!!! so good and so worth the wait!! So that was good! Also I've taken up a new hobby....surfing...or at least attempting to surf...I found a board on craigslist and it's a funboard which is 7'6" long and has been awesome to try to learn and I've been able to easily pop up on the board and ride the wave in but that's about it....anyway today was really good because I was at Folly Beach and surfing when I encountered some dolphins, of course I didn't know it was dolphins until after I scrambled to get to shore after seeing the fin, but it was a cool experience and hope it happens often. Also this week friends of Tara and mine were vacationing at the Isle of Palm so Tara finished work on Monday early and we went to the beach to hang with them. It was a great day except for getting stung on the foot by a jelly fish, but it could always be worse I guess. Anyway we spent the day at the beach which is always good. Yesterday we met up with them for dinner at Poogan's Porch which was my first shrimp and grits!! It was super awesome....a little back ground of Poogan's Porch....it's named after a stray dog that hung out on the porch and eventually passed away in 1979 and is actually buried out front of the restaurant....pretty cool...the owner's are also from WV which is also pretty cool! They graduated from Marshall University! the entire experience was really good, Tara got some lowcountry pasta and I get to eat if for lunch today, so I'm looking forward to that! So I'm pretty excited to be living in a place where people we know come to vacation and work! It has been a super blessing! So the moral of this story is life is good....and so is....stay tuned till next time!!!

Life is Good...and so was today!!!

So Tara has been super busy at MUSC and I've been trying to help by doing things around the house. Well this week I've cleaned and went grocery shopping. I did laundry and few other small things to keep busy. I've also been applying for jobs but haven't heard anything. I don't start grad scholl until the end of August. So I've been going a little stir crazy. Decided I may do a marathon in Dec. followed by another in Jan. So I wanted to get a base level of running but the other day I strained my calf and it really hurts to run, so instead I've been walking the dogs for a few miles just to get some kind of cardio in for a workout. So today I woke up and took the dogs for about a 3 mile walk. I then got my lift on doing a little P90X shoulders and arms. Then I decided to head out to Folly Beach because I was stir crazy and Tara was supposed to be at MUSC until after 8pm. So I hit the waves with a body board that David Brown was nice enough to leave with us while they are in Kenya. So I was out in the water for about 3 hours and the waves were really nice. I had so much fun. I saw some guys surfing and I'm really looking forward to finding one and learning. But until then the body board will do! Then I got a message from Tara and she didn't have to work late. So I came home and we went for a couple mile hike before making grilled chicken for salad for dinner. I love it when she's home because even if we aren't doing anything she's still here and I don't feel alone and stir crazy. I'll be glad when she is off this rotation and doesn't have to be at the hospital all the time. Anyway the moral of the story is....life is good....and so was today!

Life is Good...and so is the 4th of July!!!!

So today was amazing. As you know Janine and David Brown have been visting with us this week. Today we woke up and made a trip to Krispy Kreme donuts for breakfast. If you haven't had a hot now donut....you don't know what you're missing. They taste so amazing and just literally melt in your mouth. So that was the start of the day, I had five total donuts....3 hot now glazed donuts, a manager's special, and a creme filled donut with coffee. Then we made our way out to John's Island to see a tree. Yes a tree called Angel Oak. This thing is humungous!!!! If you've ever seen the movie Avatar and the home tree then this is similar. Unfortunately it was closed but we were lucky enough that the lady was there for about a minute and said we could take a quick look which we did and Tara had the picture. We want to go back when its actually open and take a better look around this amazing tree. Next adventure we went to Jack's Cosmic Dogs. Its an amazing hot dog place that I've already eaten at five times!!! I get the Blue Galatic Dog with fries and of course its delicious. We then went to a cook out....I know we just ate hot dogs but we wanted to hang out with our friends from Seacoast Church, Lauren and Brian. We hung out for awhile and met some great new people. Tara and I are so thankful that God let Noah meet these wonderful people and allowed them to be in our lives as well! After hanging out for a bit we decide to head out to the beach at Isle of Palms. This beach is really nice and we spent the majority of the evening hanging out on the beach and in the ocean. As the evening went on we became hungry and ate at a place called the Banana Cabana which was really good. I got the cheeseburger and fries and it was delicious. We ate outside on the balcony and it was great. We walked around afterwards waiting for the fireworks before heading back down to the beach to set up a spot. While we were waiting for the fireworks to begin we can see other fireworks off in the distance and they were fantastic! That would've been enough but we could see two other sets of fireworks along the coast. We believe the closest ones were from Sullivan's Island then Patriot's Point and the farthest from us was Folly Beach. Amazing. Then we enjoyed our fireworks which last about 30 minutes with a great finale!!!! Oh what a day with the wife and friends!!! Moral of this story...life is good....and so is the 4th of July!!!

Life is Good....and so is Seacoast Church!

Tara had to work yesterday. She has started her residency and has to be there super early even on Saturday and will have to be there again early on Sunday so we have to decide when to go to church. So with Janine and David Brown we decided to go to church on the Saturday night evening. This church is pretty big and was a little overwhelming when we first showed up a couple weeks ago. Fortunately God helped ease that by setting us up to meet some wonderful people. A friend of mine, Noah Campbell, was in North Carolina and had missed a flight so he went on to Starbucks and met some nice Christ loving people who live in Charleston, SC and work at Seacoast church in Mt. Pleasant. So Noah hooked us up with them and we met them the first Sunday we went and they sat with us during the service and gave us a tour. So last night we decided to go without knowing if they would be there. When we approach the front of the church there is a lemonade stand with a little girl and boy asking if we would like a drink and of course I do. They were so cute. As soon as we walk in we see Brian and he came over and started talking to us and we introduced him to Janine and David. We had some good conversation and Brian invited us to a 4th of July cookout him and Lauren are having on Monday. We showed Janine and David the center they have for serving and getting into community groups which is awesome. The seem to love to serve both locally and globally wich is great to see. They also encourage to be in a life group to build community/friendships. Then we went to the service. The worship band is contemporary and rocks out! Pastor Greg came on and is talking about the rise and fall of David. He gives a nice message and ends the service with a response to God where they have a cross set up to go to and talk with someone if you want and they also have communion set up too. They have cards they hand out for prayer request and this time asked people to write their blessings on the card and place them on the stage. Then ended with some more worship which is a great way to leave feeling pumped up. As we leave we see Brian again and then gave a quick tour of the church. We left having a great conversation about church. I could see Tara and I staying at this church and developing strong relationships here and having the access to serve for God too. I'm really excited to begin this adventure with Tara and just pray we serve God the best way we can and glorify HIM with everything we do!!! Moral of this story....life is good.....and so is Seacoast Church.

Life is Good....and so is Home Team BBQ!

Yesterday as Tara started her first real day of residency at MUSC, David and Janine Brown are visting for the weekend. Janine was working so David asked I wanted to try to find a BBQ place for lunch. He checked on line for some places close and we decided on hitting up Home Team BBQ on Ashley River Road. We got there and parked around back and there is a place outside to sit with the game corn hole and a tv set up. When you walk in from the back you enter the bar side with a bunch of tables set up for lunch. Then we walked around the corner and saw a line of people. We hopped in line and looked over the menu. We both decided to get the pulled pork platter that came with pork, corn bread, and two sides. I got mac n cheese with potato salad and David got grits and mac and cheese. We get through the line and David paid for lunch, which was very nice of him. He got his tray but the gentleman that took my order was still making a plate for someone else so I went ahead and got my sweet ice tea. David went ahead and sat down. I waited for about five other customers to get there food before I approached the gentleman and asked if he forgot about me. He quickly apologized and continued to make my plate. He said he saw me standing there being all patient so he was gonna bless me which he did by giving me a big helping of pulled pork. He also calls everyone baby which is kinda nice. It doesn't matter if you are a kid, girl, guy, old guy, he called everyone that came through baby. Anyway I finally sat down with David and we had a great conversation about upcoming adventures and enjoyed our pulled pork. We tried the different sauces at the table ranging from sweet, hot, and red. Red is the spicy sauce which goes well with a mix of the sweet sauce. The mac and cheese was outstanding and apparently there is a Charleston, SC mac and cheese competition which they won. The potato salad was really good too. David had the grits which is a southern thing and I've only had twice which I didn't really enjoy. However, these grits were creamy and quite tasty and I look forward to trying shrimp and grits sometime in the future. So with a great friend/conversation with David Brown and great food the moral of this story.....life is good....and so is Home Team BBQ!