So the 2nd half of our 1st day in Atlanta went much better than the first part of the day. After our lunch fiasco, I wanted something good for dinner. We went to Bahama Breeze which Chris had eaten at in Raleigh, NC on a previous business trip. The food was really good - our service wasn't that great - but the good food made up for it. Then we were off to Centennial Park in downtown Atlanta. That was kind of a neat place. There were a bunch of kiddos playing in the water where the Olympic ring fountain was so you couldn't really tell that it was but we did spend a little time playing in the park and that was fun.

Part of Downtown Atlanta from the Interstate

The CNN building (taken from Centennial Park)

After our stressful day yesterday, I decided that for MY sanity, today we would have a low key day. We went to the movies and saw WALL*E. It was a really cute movie and there were only 5 people in the movie theatre (counting us) so that was fun. Then we went to Barnes and Nobles and then we were off to the pool. The girls were the only ones in the pool so they really enjoyed that. Tonight we ate dinner at a place called Slope's Barbecue. It was recommended to us by my sister. The food was good AND the service was good (I found it amazing that we actually had both) but traffic was terrible - even is Roswell, GA. I am not sure what we will get into tomorrow but hopefully it will be fun and stress free!!

Here are Alison and Nicole outside of the American Girl Boutique and Bistro...prior to our lunch ordeal yesterday, but already tired of being at the mall.

We arrived safely in Atlanta (well actually Alpharetta) last night. Traffic was crazy at times but we made it. The girls and I came along with Chris (he has a class here this week) and so far our trip has not gotten off to a good start. Today the girls and I were supposed to eat lunch at the American Girl Bistro. We had to make reservations a week ago and couldn't get in FOR LUNCH until 2:30. We arrived at 2:30 (after wasting all morning killing time) only to have to wait a little longer for a table while others around us were being seated right away...mmmm...Finally we got a table, even the girls' American girl dolls had their own seat. We waited and no one came to take our order...then some people sat down beside us and a waitress immediately came to take their order and explain how everything worked at the Bistro. At this point I am a little more that frustrated. After about 5 more minutes of waiting (still no service) we left. The girls were hungry and tired so we went through the Wendy's drive through and then back to our hotel...Not exactly the "fun" we had planned. Hopefully tonight will be better!

Last night, Chris and I (along with Alison and Nicole) went walking at a track near our house. The girls always enjoy playing in the field while we walk. They played ball, did gymnastics and then made "salad" out of weeds...does anyone else remember doing this when you were a kid? After Chris and I were finished walking, we decided that we could play with the girls for a while before heading back home. We kicked the ball around for awhile and then I decided I would do gymnastics with Alison (what was I thinking???). I did a backbend for the first time in probably 20 years and then I was doing cartwheels...again...what was I thinking? Anyway I was actually quite surprised that I could still do a cartwheel...who knew!!! How precious it is just to spend time having "fun" as a family without having to worry about all of the stresses of life!!!

Over the past few weeks Avoca Praise! has been working on some new stuff. Last night we had a concert at church to introduce the new songs to the congregation. My prayer before the concert last night was that people wouldn't just see us performing on stage but that the music would point them to God and help them focus on how AWESOME He is. Today I am still praying that is what happened last night. We all had a lot of fun at the concert and the band sounded really great and I give God all the glory for that!

Last Monday night the band got to record many of the songs from the concert at Bandy Brownlee's studio. Tonight Heather and I will begin adding some of the vocals and then the rest of the vocals will be added later. Recording is a very difficult thing so if you think about it, please say a prayer for us that we will be able to get it right and not get too frustrated or cause Bandy to go crazy!!

Tonight we had a BLAST (our Sunday night kids' program) party at the putt-putt course in Chinquapin. Where else can you putt-putt and feed goats all at the same time. The owners of the course reserved the entire course just for us, so our kiddos had the whole place to themselves! Everyone seemed to have a good time. Nicole managed to get the last cookie from Christy and then she fed it to the goats....how funny! On the way to putt-putt AND on the way back our van full of girls sang the songs from "CAMP ROCK" at the top of their lungs (sorry Chris)!! They really sounded quite good!

On Thursday, June 19th, Jac Cagle Lewis Gurley was born to our dear friends Jeff and Candy Gurley. Mom. Dad, and baby Jac are all doing well. We are so excited for Jeff and Candy as they have been waiting a long time for this day to come! CONGRATULATIONS!

This was forwarded to me by my mom...she received it from a precious family friend of ours. When I read this I got a bit emotional...God is an AWESOME God!

A couple of days ago I was running (I use that term very loosely) on my treadmill, watching a DVD sermon by Louie Giglio...and I was BLOWN AWAY! I want to share what I learned....but I fear not being able to convey it as well as I want. I will share anyway. He (Louie) was talking about how inconceivably BIG our God is...how He spoke the universe into being...how He breathes stars out of His mouth that are huge raging balls of fire...etc. etc. Then He went on to speak of how this star-breathing, universe creating God ALSO knitted our human bodies together with amazing detail and wonder. At this point I am LOVING it (fascinating from a medical standpoint, you know.) .....and I was remembering how I was constantly amazed during medical school as I learned more and more about God's handiwork. I remember so many times thinking....'How can ANYONE deny that a Creator did all of this???' Louie went on to talk about how we can trust that the God who created all this, also has the power to hold it all together when things seem to be falling apart...how our loving Creator is also our sustainer. And then I lost my breath And it wasn't because I was running my treadmill, either!!! It was because he started talking about laminin. I knew about laminin.

Here is how wikipedia describes them :'Laminins are a family of proteins that are an integral part of the structural scaffolding of basement membranes in almost every animal tissue.' You see....laminins are what hold us together....LITERALLY. They are cell adhesion molecules. They are what holds one cell of our bodies to the next cell. Without them, we would literally fall apart. And I knew all this already. But what I didn't know is what laminin LOOKED LIKE. But now I do. And I have thought about it a thousand times since (already)....Here is what the structure of laminin looks like...AND THIS IS NOT a 'Christian portrayal' of it....if you look up laminin in any scientific/medical piece of literature, this is what you will see...

Now tell me that our God is not the coolest!!! Amazing! The 'glue' that holds us together....ALL of us....is in the shape of the cross. Immediately Colossians 1:15-17 comes to mind. 'He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by him all things were created; things in heaven and on earth , visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities;all things were created by him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things HOLD TOGETHER. ' Colossians 1:15-17

Call me crazy. I just think that is very, very, very cool. Thousands of years before the world knew anything about laminin, Paul penned those words. And now we see that from a very LITERAL standpoint, we are held together...one cell to another....by the cross. You would never in a quadrillion years convince me that is anything other than the mark of a Creator who knew EXACTLY what laminin 'glue' would look like long before Adam even breathed his first breath!!We praise YOU, Lord!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! "