The Ritz-Carlton

We so enjoyed staying at The Ritz-Carlton in downtown Atlanta! We wanted to stay somewhere special since it was our first anniversary, and Zach thought this would be the perfect place! We want to make it "our place" to go on long weekends and some special occassions. Next time, we want to take advantage of the spa. Zach could really use a nice massage, and I guess I would HAVE to go along with him! :)

As soon as we arrived at the hotel, one man came to his door and another came to mine to help us out of the vehicle. They then took our luggage up to the room for us and had it waiting on us when we got back. The room was great- complete with a snack & drink bar. It didn't take us long to find the Snickers and Cokes...haha! Zach really enjoyed the view from our bay window. I included a picture of the top of one of the buildings we could see. He loved the lions at the top.

I loved the inside lobby and the seating area. The chandeliers and light fixtures were one of my favorite parts of the hotel. I wanted to take the ones shown in the second and third pictures home with me, but Zach didn't really think they would go with anything else in our house.

We went to the gift shop and decided to get something to keep from our trip. I got a cute white & black Ritz-Carlton bag (my favorite color combo--you wouldn't guess that from our wedding, would you?), and Zach got a really nice stainless steel thermos.

Everytime we would walk through the lobby, hotel attendants would tell us, "Happy Anniversary!", our "Happy Anniversary, Mr. & Mrs. Jones!" Our waiter at the restaurant that night was really nice and made sure we were having a great time. It was great to be pampered our entire trip!

I'm posting a link to my Facebook album for the rest of these pics. I hate that this blog doesn't really give you any options for organizing pictures, so this will have to do for now.

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2007551&id=192800032&l=aa0241ff3c

Coca-Cola Museum

After leaving the aquarium, we still had some time before we had to head back to the hotel to get ready for dinner. After a very nice lunch at the Peasant Bistro, we made our way to the Coca-Cola Museum. It was really neat to see their huge collection of Coke memorabilia and the actual factory where Cokes are made. There was a section where different stations were set up with drink fountains from all over the world. We got to sample favorite drinks from everywhere--Italy, Greece, Africa, etc. Our favorite just happened to be North America- the only drinks we were familiar with! We revisited an old favorite, Cherry Coke, and we both had forgotten how good it is! :)

I included pictures of both me & Zach with our Cherry Cokes. (Unfortunately, he has his eyes closed in his! Needless to say, he is a much better picture-taker than I am!) On our way out, they let us take a new glass bottle Coke that was manufactured there at the museum the day before. They are stamped with the date "Sep 12 09," which I was a little bummed about. I thought it would be great to have two with our actual anniversary date stamped on them, but this was good enough. Now we can add those two to the two we saved from our wedding reception.

Georgia Aquarium

This past weekend, Zach and I celebrated our first anniversary with a trip to Atlanta. I wanted to post everything in order, so I'm posting the aquarium pictures first. Hopefully I can get around to posting the others sometime this week!

The Georgia Aquarium was great!! The 5-gallery set-up of it was really organized, and it took a big part of the day to see the whole thing. Zach and I really enjoyed taking lots of pictures here. I think his favorite were the crocodiles. My favorite were the cute little sea otters. I was actually surprised to see those there, just because I only think of fish being in an aquarium, but they fit right in. The last time I went to an aquarium was years ago on a family trip to Gatlinburg, so this was something fun and different for us!

Someone's Praying For Us

This past week, Zach and I got a nice surprise in the mail. A member from our church had written us a "Prayer Gram" letting us know that she drew our name in the prayer room and prayed for us. She told us in the note that she did not know our needs at the time, but that God definitely does. She said, "All we have to do is ask and He will take care of us. May God's grace, peace, guiding hand and blessings be with you both."

I didn't even know that our church had this activity in place, but I think it's a great thing. For someone to randomly draw a church member or family's name (that they may not even know) and pray only for them during that time is such a sweet thing. The timing was perfect for us to get a message like this, and I hope it's like that for everyone who receives one.

I just wanted to mention that, since it meant so much to us. I know people that are hurting right now and it would be so encouraging if they knew that someone else is thinking of them and praying for them. Like she told us in the note, we don't know what the people around us are going through from day to day, but we should always keep others in mind and pray for them. God knows what their needs are. He knows what our needs are and is willing to help us- if only we ask.

"Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer." -Romans 12:12

God Is Like...

Jen sent me this cute email to share. I never would have connected some of these. I just love the innocence of children...


A fifth grade teacher asked her class to look at TV commercials and see if they could use them in some way to communicate ideas about God.
Here are some of the results:

GOD IS LIKE...

-BAYER ASPIRIN...
He works miracles.
-FORD...
He's got a better idea.
-COKE...
He's the real thing.
-HALLMARK CARDS...
He cares enough to send His very best.
-TIDE...
He gets the stains out that others leave behind.
-GENERAL ELECTRIC...
He brings good things to life.
-SEARS...
He has everything.
-ALKA-SELTZER...
Try Him, you'll like Him.
-SCOTCH TAPE...
You can't see Him, but you know He's there.
-DELTA...
He's ready when you are.
-ALLSTATE...
You're in good hands with Him.
-VO-5 HAIR SPRAY...
He holds through all kinds of weather.
-DIAL SOAP...
Aren't you glad you have Him? Don't you wish everybody did?
-U.S. POST OFFICE...
Neither rain, nor snow, nor sleet. nor ice will keep Him from
His appointed destination.
(From the experiences I've had with the post office, I don't agree on their part.)
-CHEVROLET... The heart beat of America.
-MAXWELL HOUSE...Good to the very last drop.
-BOUNTY...
He is the quicker picker upper...Can handle the tough jobs...And He won't fall apart on you.

Quick Year

Things have been running smoothly lately. We share our time among each other, work, the dogs, a little window of TV time and choir rehearsal for me every Wednesday night.

Our women's ensemble group was asked to sing for the Baraca class this past Sunday during Sunday School. The guy's group sang a few songs for them also. The class mostly consists of the senior adults of our church and they are a great group of people! After singing, we were swarmed by the class members thanking us for being there. It made us feel really good to have been asked to be a part of their class that day. The more involved I am becoming with church and choir, the more I absolutely LOVE it!!

Youth choir starts back in a couple of weeks! I am super excited about helping to teach, although I won't be able to be there for our kick-off rehearsal. It falls on our one year anniversary and we'll be enjoying our long weekend trip to Atlanta. Zach made our reservation at the Atlanta Grill a few weeks ago & was able to score the "Cheater's Booth." (Yes, it sounds bad, but it's basically a private booth in a secluded, more quiet area of the restaurant. Romantic, isn't he?) :)

Aside from that, we're just enjoying life and looking back on our first- and very quick- year of marriage. We have been very blessed just in our first year and can't wait to see what God has in store for us in our many, many years to come!

Things Unseen

I didn't write the following post, but thought it was well worth re-posting to share. It was an email sent out by one of my friends in our Sunday School class...

To my friends,
I really needed this devotional reading today, and I thought I would share it! Not so much "bubbles" for me today, but it came in the form of a fishing rod! David Allen gave Don a fishing rod for his birthday (41 years tomorrow), and he also got a matching one so that they can go together. What a simple pleasure to see themin the yard now practicing their casting. Sometimes my focus gets so off track! I only focus on what's going on right around me, and I stress over too many little things when I should have the "right" focus so that I can handle life more joyfully. Off to eat some blueberry cheesecake and watch them "fish." With love to you all!!! -Amy
From Our Daily Bread:

"What We See Depends Mainly On What We Look For"

Stuck in a long line at the US-Canada border, Joel Schoon Tanis had to do something to lighten the mood! He reached for his bottles of bubble-making solution, bounded out of the car, and began blowing bubbles. He handed bottles to other drivers too, and he says that “soon there were bubbles everywhere. . . . It’s amazing what bubbles do for people.” The line didn’t move any faster, but “suddenly everyone was happy,” Joel says.
“What we see depends mainly on what we look for,” said British statesman John Lubbock (1834–1913). A good attitude and the right focus help us to handle life joyfully, even though it doesn’t change our circumstances.
Paul encouraged the Corinthians in their trials: “Do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal” (2 Cor. 4:18).
So what’s unseen and eternal that we can look at? The character of God is an excellent place to focus. He is good (Ps. 25:8), He is just (Isa. 30:18), He is forgiving (1 John 1:9), and He is faithful (Deut. 7:9).
Pondering God’s character can give us joy in the midst of our struggles. — A

The eyes of faith when fixed on Christ
Give hope for what’s ahead;
But focus on life’s obstacles,
And faith gives way to dread. —D. De Haan
When Christ is the center of your focus, all else will come into proper perspective.