Missed us?

So no we have not fallen off the face of the earth... we have just been SUPER busy! Over the last few months we have been going non stop. We definitely made the most of our summer to say the least.

This summer was our first as a family. It was wonderful. I was actually able to ENJOY Preston's four days breaks with him, rather than envying him while being at work. We took full advantage! We were thankful enough to paint our house (every room but one... and that is coming soon!), visit the beach with both sides of our family (grand total of 2 weeks), and take a mini break down to the Outerbanks for our first trip to Oacracoke. We also made the most of our gym by taking in the pool as much as possible! It was busy for sure but we had the best time. Only 165 school days left until our next summer together!

We got some exciting news a couple weeks ago and we are totally thrilled... no we are not preggo, we are going to Disney World for Christmas! We are really looking forward to it. We have already started planning out our days. I think it should be a ton of fun, especially going as "big kids."

On another note I have found a new love... cooking! In July we went to a wedding in Wilmington. We received the most creative favor... a recipe book! When we got our rsvp card we were asked to send the couple a family favorite recipe. The couple then put them all together to create a recipe book. Thankfully a majority of the guest sent in easy to follow ideas (I mean come on we all thought they were going to the newlyweds!) so I have be able to use so many! It has been a lot of fun discovering new ideas and knowing who they came from. I think I might not be so bad at this cooking thing so bad. Watch out Paula!

Interesting

Tonight I bought a new book When God Met a Girl. I popped in the Christian book store tonight and it caught my eye. It is all about the relationships Jesus had with women in the Bible and their stories. I hope to use it as a devotional and as a learning tool. I feel like I am at a point in my life where I am ready to learn more, especially about these important women! I need to do a better job of studying my Bible. There is so much we can learn and apply to our own lives. I am also ready to find a church! We have some ideas but we need to get serious to find a home church we can attend on a regular basis. Going home every weekend is just not a realistic goal for us.

On another note... someone's birthday is coming up soon! :)

New to this

Well this is all new to me. I have seen a few friends' blogs and thought it would be a fun way to keep in touch with family and friends from all over so I guess we will give it a try. Most of my friends think things like this are dorky, but I just see it as a way to keep in touch with those we can't see as often as we would like. Plus it gives me something to do to avoid the neverending housework and post wedding thank you notes!

Married life has gotten off to a great start. Along with a new name has brought new challeges. During our first few weeks as newlyweds I caught walking phenomia and our washing machine broke. Needless to say it has led us to see how we handle stress as a couple. I am proud to say that we both handled the problems gracefully! I am so proud of my Mr. Fix It hubby. He took care of me and our washer problems! He is awesome! I am a lucky lady!

Getting back to school was also a big change. Being Mrs. Parks has been both fun and strange. Don't get me wrong, joining Preston's family and taking his name has been one of the biggest honors I could have been given in my life, but it has been a BIG change! I was a Poe for 23 years of my short life. That was my identity. Now I am associated with a new name and will from here on out be known as a Parks. Everyone will be happy to know that I am adjusting and I can now write Melissa Parks much better than before! I am also answering to it now at work! haha! :) No more looking around for Robin!