Thankfulness...

Josh and I had a really good Thanksgiving in Tennessee! We were able to see lots of family and spend some much needed quality time with Josh's parents! However, it was all just a little bit too short and we are really excited about going back in a few weeks for Christmas when we will have more time to spend with all the people we love!

In the spirit of being thankful I wanted to take this opportunity to write down some of the many things I am thankful for in my life right now:

I am so thankful for my wonderful husband, who's selfless, patient, loving spirit makes me a better person everyday. I am so thankful for the close to four years we have had together. I wish I was able to express to you how much I truly love you! You have blessed my life more than you will ever know.

I am thankful for my precious little puppy who makes me smile when I'm sad and makes me laugh when I'm mad.

I am thankful for the amazing family I have! My parents, who have always loved me unconditionally. Thank you for supporting me and praying for me all these years! My brother, I am so thankful for your willingness to be my friend through thick and thin. I love you! My grandparents, thank you for continuing to teach me what
true love really looks like. For my aunts and uncles and cousins, I
feel so blessed to have you in my life. And of course for my new
extended family, Jerry and Rebecca, thank you for loving me like your own daughter and making me feel welcome from day one, no questions asked! And Ashley, my extended sister, thank you for giving me a second chance. I love getting to share life with you.

I am thankful for all the friends who have come in and out of my life over the years, who have taught me how to love, communicate, change and grow. And for the one who has stuck with me through and through, Kathryn, I love you so much and can't imagine what my life would have been like had you not been a part of it! I miss you!

I am so thankful for the opportunity I had to grow up not only knowing God, but developing a deep and intimate relationship with Him. I am so grateful for all the sacrifices He has made for me to live the way I do today. I am also thankful for His willingness to never give up on me and for trusting me with awesome responsibility of sharing His love with others.

This is a small list and I could go on and on. It is nice to stop for a moment and remind myself, even though I may not have exactly what I want in this moment in life, I am so incredibly blessed and should always look for reason to give thanks.

Mom and Dad's Pasadena Visit

The past few weeks have flown by!! Mom and dad came to stay with us for week which was so fun! While Josh and I went to work and school during the day Mom and dad got to hang out with Shiloh...lets just say they became really good friends, lots of walks, treats and kisses!

We ate a lot of really good food, both at home and out on the town (thanks mom for the homemade lasagna!) and made some fun memories here in Pasadena! We went and saw Wicked at the Pantages Theater in Hollywood Thursday night which was soooo good! If you haven't seen it yet it's a must! Saturday we went to Universal Studios for the day. Even though it was mid November we were able to wear shorts and t-shirts! Gotta love LA!

(Aren't they cute?!)

Unfortunately, due to the fires that took place in our area the Pasadena Marathon had to be cancelled due to poor air quality. We are hopeful that the race will be rescheduled! We shall see!

We are taking off for Tennessee on Tuesday, our first red eye flight, going home to be with the Strahan's for Thanksgiving! Shiloh will be joining us on our trip and will meet his "uncle" Matti Jo, Josh's parents Australian shepherd puppy! I am sure there will be lots of fun stories to share from their encounters together. Stay tuned to see!

We are so looking forward to going home, sharing the holiday with family, and feeling some cold weather for a change!

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!!

Life is good

It's been awhile since my last post. Time is starting to get away from me. I can't believe it is already the holiday season.

Here is a snapshot of Halloween 2008 with the Strahans and the Isaacsons doing some pumpkin carvin'.

As I sit here tonight anticipating the arrival of my parents for their week long visit with us I am truly content. It is amazing to have been here only a few months and yet to feel so at home. God has surrounded us with so many wonderful people who we can call friends. I am able to sit here tonight and say for the first time in long while that I am not worried about what the future holds for Josh and I but instead am simply excited for all that our future has in store. I am happily content with where God has me at this moment and look forward to each new day. What a truly blessed life I live.

Josh and I excitedly welcome our new "niece", Ella Grace Chamblee, into the world and send congrats to her proud parents Ryan and Amy. We look forward to meeting you Ella Grace.

We also excitedly anticipate the arrival of our new niece/nephew in June of next year to Graham and Ashley, who we know will be such awesome and super fun parents. We can't wait to make memories with you and your little one that will last for years and years to come. We love you!

Pics and stories to come of the adventures had with Mom and Dad's visit to Pasadena!

I wish...

It has been awhile since I last posted. Things have started to get busy around here. Josh is digging in deep to his class and working hard, learning and growing daily. Our days are getting full as we meet new people and get involved with our church. It is a good kind of full!

We enjoyed a relaxing weekend together doing the things we love. Saturday night after our sushi dinner we wondered around Old Town and happened upon a unique experience. In a tucked away little quaint shopping area we saw about 10 small trees covered in white. As we got closer we discovered the white was little tags tied to the branches with hand written wishes on them. It was an art exhibit that allowed anyone who stopped by to sit down, write out their wish and tie it to the tree along with thousands of other wishes from people all over the world. It was really interesting to read the things people were wishing for. We each sat down and wrote our own wish and tied it to the tree.


As we walked home that evening I began to think about my wish. What a neat opportunity to put my wish into the wishes of the world. But how sad it would be if that was all I had, simply a wish. Instead of just wishes I have hope. I can wish for the things I want but I can also bring my desires to none other than the creator of the universe. As I give my wishes up to Him I have hope that the God who created everything has a special plan for me, that He hears my wishes and knows just what I need.


I am grateful for the ability to wish but so much more thankful for the foundation of hope my life is graciously built upon.

Happy Birthday Shiloh

So today we celebrate the birthday of our little man Shiloh. One year ago today he came into the world all puny and pale. Little did he (or we) know then that he would become such an important part of our Strahan family world. Today we can not help but stop and thank Murna, his first mom, for the love she poured into our little guys life as she watched him grow from his puny paleness into his fluffy, curious, rambunctious self! We are so grateful for the love and time you put into his life and for your willingness to allow us to adopt him as our own! God has used our little puppy to grow us and change us and to bring joy and laughter into our everyday life. Happy One Year Shiloh! We love you!!!

Where does the weekend go?

Josh and I have had a fun filled, relaxing weekend as we prepare for the fall quarter to start Monday. It is crazy how quickly a weekend goes by!

Friday night after I got off work we headed down to Anaheim to see the Angels play a little baseball. Surprisingly they were playing none other than....Texas! How funny! We had a great time! We ate hot dogs and sweet potato fries (one of the only places I will actually eat a hot dog), did a lot of people watching along with watching the game, and had some good conversation. It was the perfect way to start our last weekend of summer.

Yesterday we decided to head down to Malibu for a day at the beach. The drive down is so beautiful. We were reminded again of how close we could live to Graham and Ashley. Now every time we drive by their old apartments we have a moment of silence recognizing how much we truly miss them!

As soon as we turned on to the pacific coast highway we realized it might now be the best day for the beach. It was really foggy and actually quite cool. We went to our favorite spot at Zuma and hoped that it would clear up soon. After an hour of sitting on the beach I still had all my cover up clothes on and a blanket wrapped around me because it was sooo cold! We decided it wasn't going to clear up so packed up our stuff and headed toward Santa Monica where we thought we might spend our afternoon.

As we headed back down the highway we noticed a bunch of people turning into a place called Paradise Cove. On a whim we decided to check out where everyone was going. We drove down this narrow winding road and came out to the most beautiful beach area we had ever seen. What an amazing place!! Judging by the cars in the parking lot alone we knew this must be the place where the wealthy go to lay out and be seen! There were quite a few people there with their long lensed cameras taking pictures and we felt sure we were surrounded by some famous people but are so clueless we would never recognize who they were. I guess because it is a small cove and set back enough it didn't have any of the fog and haze and made for a perfect sunny beach day! We have to say we have found our new fav beach spot!

Tomorrow marks Josh's first day of class as a PhD student. We are both excited and a little nervous. We were, however, reminded today at church that God has called each of us to unique walks of life so that through us He can be made known. University life seems to be where God is calling us and this is the next step in that journey. We are so grateful for where He has brought us in our life together so far and are looking forward to experiencing how this step will grow and change us and where it will lead us in the future!

It's been a while...

So it's been awhile since my last post. A lot has been going on...including not having internet for a few days. The past few weeks have flown by around the Strahan house. Josh has been busy finishing up his Latin and taking his exam. He took his test this past Monday and found out Tuesday that he passed!!! He was able to take and pass all three of his language exams this summer; Latin, German and French! I am so proud of him! He worked sooo hard!! Way to go babe!!!

This past Thursday night we were, as our friends referred to it, "baptized into Pasadena." We went to our first moving screening. During the week prior, people will be passing out fliers for a movie that is not yet out but that will be playing at a nearby movie theater for a screening. You take the flier, go online and rsvp that you will be attending. You arrive 45 minutes before the movie starts, stand in line and hope to get in. If you get in you see the movie for free and then take ten minutes or so after the movie to answer a questionnaire. Free movie that isn't even out yet?! So great!!! We saw a movie staring Matt Damon called The Informant. It was produced by the guy who did the Ocean's movies and Erin Brokavich. It was a true story and quite funny...a little long in the end but maybe they will change that before it actually comes out!Saturday we went hiking on the mountains in Altadena, the ones that line our view behind our house. It was a really great morning, cool in the shade and beautiful sunny skies (but then when
is it not sunny here!). We took Shiloh along and he loved it. It was a dirt path straight up the mountain and by the time we were making our way back down he had turned from white to golden brown! He was filthy but so happy! (Please excuse this horrible picture of me...but check out Shiloh's face! He was so happy!!!)

The past few days Josh has taken up the hobby of painting. He really enjoys folk art and has taken on some of this style in his most recent painting attempts. He has painted an old bucket we had that we actually used in our wedding (it used to be pepto pink) and and old door that we had been using for decor. He is quite talented and has enjoyed having a hobby completely outside of his everyday studying.We are hoping to do some relaxing things this weekend before the start of the school year on Monday! More to come soon!