Active Autumn

Our busy fall began the last weekend in September when we went on a "young adults" (more like big kids) retreat at Mountain Top Youth Camp. It was a wonderful and challenging weekend both physically and spiritually. Nathan Bramsen was the speaker and it was amazing. I love when speakers give background and history behind stories in the Bible to make them more meaningful.

On the physical side I repelled for my first time! It was a fun experience but a little scary at first. The few days leading up to the retreat and while we were there I was looking forward to the ropes courses. That is, until we got there and I actually saw them 50 ft up in the air. The one I really wanted to do was the zip line but they make you work for it. Dan was one of the first people to go and did a great job. I got too freaked out looking at it but finally convinced myself to do it at the very end. Let's just say it was not very pretty.

I made it to the first platform okay but when I was on my way to the second the ropes got trickier and it was harder to stay up. I was crying and wanted to come down but they wouldn't let me and after a while I made it to the second platform and happily zipped down to the ground. I have never been happier to have my feet planted on the good ol' earth.

The weekend following that retreat we were planning to head up to our family reunion in Black Mountain. Monday morning my mom called to let me know my Great Aunt passed away. She was my grandfather's twin sister and my grandma's best friend. We were pretty close for extended family and she was the closest person that I have known to die. So our plans changed and we headed to Black Mountain Wednesday night and went to the funeral on Thursday. My dad did the funeral and it was a beautiful service on a beautiful fall day.

It was nice being able to be around family for that extended amount of time though. The reunion seemed like it went so quickly and I can't believe we have to wait another year to go back. We shopped in the little downtown area, hiked Mt. Mitchell (the highest peak east of the Mississippi River), went ghetto go-karting and spent some much needed time with everyone. Cory also flew in and surprised us! It was an awesome weekend.

After a couple busy weekends we decided we needed a weekend at home. It was still a great weekend. We went on a double date with Katherine and Mark, and saw a couple movies (The Social Network and Life as We Know It--I highly recommend both).  We also picked a pumpkin at the Farmer's Market and I set up a little fall decor on the front porch.

This weekend we are having the youth rally at our church. A few churches from around the area come and this weekend's speaker is Nathan Bramsen again! It was already a great night and I am looking forward to another great day tomorrow.

Next weekend we are celebrating ONE YEAR of marriage! I can hardly believe a year has gone by already. And I can hardly wait to celebrate with my incredible husband :)