Our new little guy - Cy







Wedding - September 15, 2009
Gatlinburg, TN

Our house - well this is what it looks like. This one is not actually ours.

It has been a year!

Wow! It has been over a year since I wrote on here. No one is probably reading this anyway, but here goes...John has gone back to school full time, while working full time. This proves to be very stressful but we know it will be worth it when all said and done. I have started a new job for Trident United Way in the Child Care Resource and Referral Department. I work with child care centers to help them improve thier quality. We have tied the knot, on September 15, 2009 and built a new home! Most recently we adopted our second rescue cat. His name is Cypress and he is as cute as pie! He is very shy though and scared of humans...for now. I am sure there are many other exciting things that have happened...but you know...laziness sets in and I am out of thoughts for now.

Disaster Relief Training

This Saturday we spent the day getting trained to be Red Cross Disaster Relief volunteers. We are excited to continue on the path to becoming trained enough to deploy in the case of a major disaster. Not that we want one, but if there is one, we want to be able to help. We learned a lot about what the Red Cross does...besides give blood. We were amazed to hear that when there is a fire in the area, they are there with comfort kits, homemade afghans and support to the families and to the firefighters by providing meals and drinks during their long hours fighting the fires. If anyone else in the low country wants to do the same, go to the low country Red Cross website and sign up for the 1,200 volunteer initiative. It is one day of training out of your time to possibly help someone in the future. The 1,200 volunteer initiative is a goal for the lowcountry. They have so many shelters in the case of a disaster (most likely flood or hurricane). To provide sufficient volunteers for each shelter, they will need 1,200 volunteers. They are in the 500's right now, so way behind. If you are not in the low country and still want to be involved, check your local Red Cross Chapter.

Christmas giving

So it's Christmas Eve and John volunteered to work tonight so others could spend time with their families, and I have been busy cooking! Tomorrow (Christmas Day) we will be visiting a man named Thomas. Thomas lives downtown by himself and has no family. He is ill with a lung condition and is home bound. He receives hospice care, but never gets visitors. So, we have decided to make him Christmas dinner and spend some time with him. Our friend Jessica is coming along too. We are giving him a blanket since he doesn't have adequate heat in his apartment. It is South Carolina, but winter nights can get really cold.

It is hard not being able to spend the holiday with our own friends and family, but knowing that we will be making Thomas' day makes it well worth it. We have been blessed and want to spread that blessing to Thomas.

Happy Holidays!

John and Cathleen

Grady is so funny! We just can't get enough of her silly antics. She is feeling better and getting super playful...it is too cute! She is still cuddly though..best of both worlds.

Sweetest kitty on earth!

So Grady has been here for a week and we love her to pieces! She has a cold, but is slowly starting to feel better. She is getting more curious and seems to have a routine we have figured out. She gets up in the morning with us and likes to follow us around while we get ready for work. She will often sneak her way into the clothes closet (which we don't allow her in) while we are not looking. She will also meow until we tell her good morning and pet her. She also climbs into bed with us at night...curling up into a ball right between us both. She is such a snuggly kitty too. She loves to just lean up against us and tip her head back for us to rub her neck. She hasn't been too playful yet. Her cold and medicine makes her sleepy and she rests a lot. She has started getting up more often though and last night she ventured into the bathroom and explored the tub, sink and mirror. She is so cute when she goes snooping around!

Grady

So...we have a baby!! We are so excited and LOVE her so much we can't believe it!! I happen to go into the SPCA with my friend Ashley on Saturday evening right before they close. We go in there a lot just to say hi to all the animals and such. Well, this particular time, I saw "Hershey" (that was the name they gave her at the SPCA). She was so sweet and I could not stop looking at her!! So, we head back to Ashley's house to hang out and John comes by and I could not stop talking about her. John LOVES animals and keeps asking me if I want her...needless to say we came to the conclusion that we would adopt. The catch was this...we had a our friends daughters christening that day and the SPCA only allows adoptions from 1-3 on Sundays. We would be at the christening for 12:30 leaving us no time to get her before and barely any time to get there for 3. We thought we could call and put her on "hold"...sounds terrible, but there was just something about her that made us really want her. We call when they open and tell us that they can't hold animals!! I was so sad, but then figured we would head out to the SPCA for 3 and if someone had already adopted her, then it wasn't meant to be. We get in the car and before we drive anywhere we call to see if she is still there....and she is!! The rest is history. We pick her up and take her home.

Now, those of you who know me know I have been known to have a cat allergy...but it hasn't been bad the past few times I have been in houses that have cats...so we figured it was worth a shot. We have been wanting a pet and Grady just seems to complete us right now at this stage in our lives...apartment living is by far not conducive to dogs in our book. So here she is and she is sweet as pie...follows us around and loves to snuggle!! She was pretty sick from being abandoned but she went to the vet today with Daddy and he has her on all the right medications to get 100% better.

Her name comes from the coloration of her paws up her leg..it is gradient (a term used in the art world)...so John just came up with Grady and it just fit!

A little Rock Band
and a little Cypress Gardens. What a nice day it was on Saturday. We went with Ashley and PJ to Cypress Gardens. We have been there too many times to count on your hand, but it was their first time. The alligators and turtles were out today because it was so sunny and warm. We didn't see our usual 3 legged alligator that we normally see...although we didn't boat to the other side of this guy...he could have only 1 leg on the other side. We also didn't see Frank. Frank was a great guy that use to do a lot of the facility work at the Gardens. When ever we would go he would chat with us for a while and tell us some neat things about the Gardens and how it was used for films (The Patriot, The Notebook, a few others I forget right now). He would also give us tips on living in the area. Well, we went there and he was gone. He was transfered about 2 months ago...which is the last time we were there. The guy they have now was so annoying...repeating himself and taking way to long to get the boats loaded...bummer.

Trip to MA

We had a great trip back to MA. Everyone was really surprised and it was fun to just spend time with everyone. We had a beautiful day when we arrived...then it got cold! We missed the 80 degree weather that's for sure! The kids are getting so BIG!! Georgia is so funny...like a little gorilla or caveman. Lynsey is so independent and loves to play Littlest Pet Shoppe and Cole is so big with missing teeth and everything! We got to see him off on the school bus...I can't believe how fast 6 years went by. We also spent time with my mom and got to meet her friend Bill. My mom will visit in November, so we opted to stay at the Tashjian house! It was nice to spend a lot of time with my sister and her hubby Mike. We also got to see Jenn and her hubby Mike with her little prego belly and Alanna, Chris and their 3 angels.

Not sure when our next trip will be. I have recently discovered Spirit Air where the flights are so cheap!! They only fly out of Myrtle Beach though...almost 2 hours away. I have to say though, some flights are as cheap as $10...so driving 2 hours is worth it! With that price we could even do a long weekend or something.

Hurricane

So I find out today we most likely will have a hurricane day Friday. It is pretty funny...basically like a snow day back in MA. It is only suppose to be a tropical storm and possibly a category 1 hurricane. Hanna is suppose to hit later on Friday afternoon. They have to shut down the bridges over 40mph due to wind force...it can get really windy on those high bridges. So, basically it's like riding out a snow storm. Prepare for power outages and stay off the roads. No evacuation is needed at this low of a category. I guess it will be kind of like Bob...I think that was the name of the hurricane that hit MA one year. I think we actually went outside to watch the wind and rain...crazy!