Saturday, April 23, 2011

Last Day in Nashville

 The top floor of that high rise is the condo of Taylor Swift- 5,000 square feet! We were gonna stop by, but she ended up being out of town.
 We had lunch at the amazing Pancake Pantry in Hillsboro. Great food and cute shops!
 Grand Ole Opry
Singing on stage at The Grand Ole Opry

What a fun week I've had with Ashley and Christa. We have a short time left tomorrow to tour the RCA Studio and then it's time to head home, and back to real life. Love you Christa and Shlee!

Thursday, April 21, 2011

Nashville-Day 3

 Music City Walk of Fame Stars

 Ashley and I think this building is cool because it looks like three buildings in one and it is nicknamed "The Batman Building." It's a stretch, but we are pretending to be Batman and Robin...just imagine "Boom!" "Pow!" spread across the picture :)
 Elvis Presley's Gold Piano
 Johnny Cash's Guitar
 We stopped by to tour Ryman Auditorium and decided to form our own band and hopped up on the stage to perform. We are still working on the band name.
Tonight we are heading back to the Ryman for the Opry Country Classics show!

Nashville-Day 2

Today we just stopped by a few friends houses. Ya know, people like Dolly Parton, Martina McBride, Alan Jackson, Kick Brooks, Ronnie Dunn, Trace Adkins, Taylor Swift, Carrie Underwood, Faith Hill, and Tim McGraw. Actually we went on a tour that drove us all around Nashville, and by the homes of all these artists.
 Dolly Parton's House
Ronnie Dunn's House

We had dinner at BB King's where we enjoyed some local blues music and then headed over to Tootsie's where we were treated to the Trailer Park All Stars. They were awesome!


Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Hello Music City-Nashville Day 1

Today Ashley and I arrived in Nashville to meet up with Christa, an old friend of mine who I met when I was 8 and who I haven't seen in 8 years! We are having a reunion this week in Music City :)
 Ashley and I spent the afternoon at the zoo while we waited for Christa to arrive. Of course the giraffe had to come over and say hello to Ashley :)

 We went to hear live music at the famous Bluebird Cafe. Many famous names in country music were discovered at the Bluebird Cafe. When I say we had front row seats I mean we were sitting at a table two feet away from these guys as they played.
  Music in the round with Keni Thomas, Billy Montana, Jay Knowles, and Buddy Jewell.

Hanging out with Buddy Jewell :)

Saturday, April 9, 2011

DC Cherry Blossoms






My cousins and I had a wonderful time wandering around DC today. We enjoyed Eastern Market, had fun riding the metro, filled up at Good Stuff, and of course went to see the famous cherry blossoms surrounding the monuments. What fun memories with fun girls.

Monday, April 4, 2011

Above and Beyond

I’ve been dreading today for a while now. Today was the day I had to tell my principal and coworkers that I am not returning next year, that I am moving to Uganda. Part of me is always excited to tell people what I am doing, and part of me is afraid about what their response will be. My concern over what others think of me (which I am learning is very revealing of my self-centeredness) gave me anxiety with today’s task. I have been praying about this for a while, what I would say, and how I would say it. Well my principal’s response to me was WAY above and beyond what I dared imagine. God went so above and beyond in answering my prayers. The support, encouragement, and genuine excitement my principal had for me was so precious. My co-workers excitement was also way above and beyond what I imagined it would be. I will miss my school when I leave in June, I’ll miss my co-teachers, and I know I’ll really miss all of the resources at my disposal. However, I can’t contain my excitement abut moving to Uganda. I love that Jesus has called me there! I am SO excited to teach the Johnson kiddos. I am just imagining all of the fun we will have doing kindergarten and second grade. Certainly life in Uganda will also be hard. Satan doesn’t want our team there, and recently he has been on the attack. God is sovereign and surely has a reason for all that is happening right now to my teammates. You can read about it here and here. Please pray for the team, that God will bring them through these trials with a stronger faith. And praise the Lord that He is adding to the little team in Bundibugyo, slowly but surely.