Our First Easter

April 24 - 30

Caleb and I celebrated our first married Easter in Atlanta.

We went to church with my parents,

and sister Angie and her family.  It was a special service and it was a treat to be with family.

After a delicious Easter dinner, we were on our way to Dallas.  My dad always gets me to the airport early...like take the earlier flight early.  So, that's just what we did.  We caught the earlier flight which made it possible for us to see Caleb's dad, brother, and the rest of the family.  It was a sweet surprise.  I love being with family on holidays!

Caleb got his Easter basket a little early (I didn't think I was going to be spending Easter with him because of the book signing - but that darling surprised me!)

Tuesday night was our first girl craft night.  I have been blessed to be placed in a Foundation Group with such encouraging, fun loving, and uplifting women.

I am super excited about our first project.  Inspired by a "Box of Promises" my prayer leader gave me in college - we are all making out own verse boxes.

It is neat to see how each box suits our personalities - the perfect combination.

We are starting with contentment.   Each of us is memorizing a verse on contentment and sharing it with the group.  We are going to share verses and copy them to save in our box.  I know it will be an encouragement when needed and we will grow in our relationship with the Lord and each other.

Saturday, Caleb and I wanted to try a new brunch place.  We went to Garden Cafe.  It is a cute, unique breakfast spot.  They grow the vegetables in the garden right where you eat.

It was a fun laid back atmosphere, but it is no fast food.  There is a wait, and nobody who eats there seems to mind...except the hungry McGuires.  We had a great time and the food was absolutely delicious, but we went a little hungry for the upcoming wait.

Saturday night was Robyn's 33rd birthday celebration.

We met up at Gloria's - I love that place. 

Then we headed to Knox Street Pub and danced the night away.  It was such a fun night and it was great to be able to celebrate with such a sweet friend.

(the Robyn birthday photos were taken on Caleb's iphone - not quite the quality the iphone promises - but still great memories none the less)

All Smiles with Atlanta Smiles

(Week of April 17 - 23)

This was my first time to fly two weekends in a row - Thursday night I headed out to Hotlanta for the big book release!  It is hard to believe that the book Angie and I wrote is finally going to be in stores!  Friday was a busy day getting ready for the book release - lots of errands, book deliveries, preparations...

 Atlanta Smiles is a children's tour guide of the capital city of Georgia.  The story is about a little boy named James (after our late grandfather) who has a deep love for his hometown.  He befriends a neighbor's granddaughter who is visiting named Addie (after our sister).  Together they journey to all of the exciting and remarkable places in Atlanta.  Readers are taken along on the journey with James and Addie and are then able to complete a checklist and become an Atlanta Adventurer.  Check out www.bareader.com

We started off our book release day at Carta Bella for the Spring Fling.  Carta Bella purchased some books and we signed them for the shelves!  We met some nice people and it really started to pick up at the end of our visit there.

Then, we were off to the Centennial Olympic Park for the Fourth Saturdays Celebration.  We had a wonderful turn out and were able to sell lots of books!  Yippee!  Our tent was complete with activities for kids, story time, pencils, stickers, etc.

The dream team: Kathryn, the illustrator, Caroline, the published, Angie, and me

My sweet sweet husband surprised me and showed up! 

He walked right up to the tent to buy a book, I had no idea he was going to be able to come! 

Proud Parents

This week included so many new and exciting firsts:
- First time to see this masterpiece that I had only seen digitally. It looks even better in print!
- First time to see my name on a book (other than a homemade book with a laminated cover from school) - total craziness!  
- First time to ever be asked for my autograph

 Another special treat was that I got to see Courtney - a favorite college friend.

I loved meeting her little one, Walker. 

Walker is just precious and he was all smiles! 

We have a facebook page - Atlanta Smiles Book - please like our page.
Angie's friend Kara writes a blog, Kara's Great Getaways, all about trips and she included our book.  This is exactly what we would love for families to do with our book!
http://www.karasgetaways.com/2011/04/atlanta-smiles.html

If you would like your own copy, you can order at our website www.bareader.com
or you can email me mfholcomb@gmail.com and I will get you one in a jiffy!

She is cuter than pictures!

(Week of April 10 - 16)

Finally...the weekend came for me to meet my darling new niece, Virginia Hays Johnson!  What a fantastic new event.  I flew to Charlotte on Thursday night to meet the newest family member.  She was wide awake and I just fell in love with her!

Virginia is such a little lady.  She very daintily keeps her hands crossed, and moves her body just a little, very gracefully.  If she is hungry, she quietly give a little whimper and if she has a dirty diaper she lets you know...other than that, she just sits happily and observes everything going on around her.   

One special new thing to our family was a PINK baby doggie!  Our grandmom, Virginia Derrick, gave my oldest nephew a blue baby doggie when he was born.  This baby doggie was so well loved, and our grandmom was so very loved by us, that we have kept this tradition for each new baby.  However, Virginia was the FIRST to recieve a PINK baby doggie.  She loved it and Wellsman did too.

Another new temporary family member - My dad came across a turtle...and he decided that the best place to take the turtle was to Addie's.  Wellsman had a "pet" for just a couple of days. 

Thank goodness the whole Johnson clan agreed that Mr. Turtle Terrific belonged at Freedom Park (FYI - the same park where Brad met Emily and her daughter Ricky)

It was my first time to slide down the Monkey Joe's slide - and I had the pleasure of sliding down about a billion times...

I took a brief trip down to Blythewood to celebrate my darling Mary Sims' upcoming nuptials.  Lucky me, this party was a skeet shoot - NEW THING!

It was my first time to see Mary Sims' beautiful NEW bling - and my FIRST time to celebrate with her live.  Definitely a NEW thing that was well overdue!  I loved seeing all my favorite friends!

A couple cutie moments I can't forget to share with yall:
Wellsman loves his new family member too! - "Aunt MareMare - take a picture of me and Ginia". 
"I go to Texas with Aunt MareMare" (aw...so precious!  He wanted to come with me when I was packing up...brought tears to my eyes)

Better late than never...

Week of April 3 - 9
Whew...I have been so busy with new things that I haven't even had time to let you in on them!  Sheesh...time is flying by and I am barely hanging on!

Caleb made ribs...

They were delicious...but we sure could not eat them all. 

Sunday night we met up with the Carrs and the Fabishes at Scalini's.  It was a delicious hole in the wall pizza joint.  It was my first time to sit in such a strange shaped booth - once you were seated, you were pretty much staying. 

During the week, I wasn't feeling my best, but we did try out some new recipes - crock pot macaroni and cheese, and honey dijon chicken.  The chicken was absolutely my new favorite way to prepare chicken - Caleb on the other hand thought it was a little too sweet. Bummer...I am going to try to sneak it into the rotation and try it again sometime.  Maybe the second time will be a charm - it was for us!  <3

Then the weekend showed up...and I felt GOOD! 
Saturday morning was a fantastic brunch with my favorite Bachelorette watching ladies!  Amanda Fab (who just started a new blog - Life in the Fab Lane - how cute is she?!) was given the loot reward.  Too bad Emily and Brad aren't going to be heading down the aisle.  But we did get a kick out of celebrating!

 Our afternoon continued to the Annual Armstrong Carnival! Boy does Armstrong whoop it up!  There were more blow up bouncy houses, games, booths, and even a zip line covering our field.  The kiddos were singing karaoke, getting fake casts, and sending people to "jail".  Fun was had by all!  

"Dan da da dan" (imagine it sounding very musical)
Saturday night the Brattloffs treated us to the Dallas Symphony.  Wow-ee-wow!  It was my first time, and I just loved it! 

 The theme was based off of a movie composer's scores.  He just so happened to be the composer of some hilarious flicks (Dodgeball, Tropic Thunder, Marley and Me...) which helped hold Caleb's attention.  It was a treat to get all dolled up and enjoy some Dallas culture.  Thanks Britni and Ryan! 

Virginia ain't just a place!

The most wonderful "new" thing so far this year - a new family member!  Monday, March 28 I was thrilled to receive a call (while at school) from each family member - Virginia Hays was on her way.  Named after my darling grandmother, on my mom's side, and Wells' cousin - she is just lovely and delicate.  Addie is doing great, already in a good routine and Wells is at home enjoying paternity leave.  Wellsman has been sweet and welcoming to his new sister.  I can't wait to get down there for a visit - will definitely post lots of pictures after my visit!  I have loved talking to them on the computer and seeing cute pictures but I can not wait to get my hands on that little precious one!

Friday, we went back in time to college days and went to a house party with our friends the Fabs - new people, new place, new fun!  We also late night dined at Cafe Brazil.  That place has the most delicious french toast, I will need to get that again...soon!

Saturday was errand day - first stop - car wash at Sewell - my parking spot is clearly the bird's out house - ew...  This led to immaginary car shopping -  where I regretfully developed a love for the Cadillac smell.  We also went by Starbuck's to use a gift card and I tried my first iced coffee - it's no Diet Mountain Dew, but it was a fun treat.  Then we were book sellers at Half Priced Books.  Caleb vowed to never buy a book brand new again - I have to agree.

Saturday night was my first time to cheer on Kentucky.  The Smiths are big fans, and we helped grill out and support the team.  No win this time, but they had a great season!  Next time, I will have to wear blue.    Michelle also introduced me to godtube - kinda like youtube - but I think I might like it even better.

 

Who makes the bed?

New highlight of the week...I came home to a perfectly made bed EVERY DAY!  Caleb sleeps later than me, often I am headed off to school before he even gets out of bed.  Now, he has been known to make the bed before, but never, never has it been every single day in a week.  What a treat!  It is so nice to come home to a beautiful bed and so much better when going to sleep.  I love to have a made bed when it is time to lay my head down.  Thanks honey!

Saturday morning, Caleb and I went to "Doing the Right Thing" at our church.  It was my first time to see Chuck Colson.  This conference discussed economic, moral, and ethical issues in our country.  We were challenged and encouraged. 
Check out the website below:
http://www.colsoncenter.org/ethics/registration-dallas
 My church website will be posting the session if you want to check it out:
http://www.watermarkradio.com/index.php?id=153

This weekend we tried a couple of new restaurants:
- Vickery Park - a great brunch place with an awesome outdoor patio
- Regio - almost fast food, but definitely better Mexican restaurant that Josh introduced us to

Well...it is confession time...
I have two guilty pleasures - I am addicted to Sisters Wives and Celebrity Apprentice.  Do not judge - but maybe DVR these fabulous treats and let me know what you think.
Sister Wives: totally intrigued.  I have no plans of sharing my man and taking on sister wives, but I would absolutely love to be friends with them.  I was totally obsessed (I mean, totally) during the polygamy trials a few years ago.  I have read all I can find, and it is out of my realm of understanding.  So...I like the show.
Celebrity Apprentice: I used to watch it, so we recorded this season, but had not watched any of them yet.  I am just now getting around to watching them all and it is an exciting season.  My personal favorites so far are: John Rich (I hope he wins) and Mark McGrath.  I loved Nikki Taylor, but she bowed out gracefully - class act she is!

I LOVE a vacation

Saturday, March 12 Caleb and I left for Honeymoon Part B.  We had a wonderful road trip honeymoon right after we got married, but have been eagerly waiting for a Honeymoon Getaway.  It was everything I could have hoped for!  There were so many fantastic new things - I am just going to list them off.

1. First out of the country trip with my husband!

2. First time to get out of an airplane on a staircase - what is that called?

3. First time to ride on a horse down the beach. (oh so beautiful)

4. First time to bike in Dominican Republic.  (down a bumpy, rocky, dirt road might I add)

5. First time to view workers in the rice field.

6. My first drink out of a coconut. whew!

7. First stay at an all inclusive resort. And it was AMAZING.  I highly recommend the Excellence!

8. First breakfast on the beach.

9. First time zipping through the canopy - do it!  

10. First dinner on the beach. 

11. Caleb kissed a parrot - he might as well be called the bird whisperer.

Back in America - I was not going to let the remainder of my Spring Break go to waste:

- First married St. Pat's in Dallas - last St. Pat's was Caleb's bachelor party - time sure does fly!

- First slumber party with the Wards - they make everything so much fun!

- First time to eat at Joe T Garcia's - one of a kind Mexican Meal Family Style - makes you wait :) 

- My first concert at Billy Bob's - Josh Turner!