Happy Birthday Baby

Happy 27th Birthday to my wonderful husband Josh.
Yes, 27.
That's right Josh,
I'm only one year older than you now.
Not for long, I know.
Thanks for the past 3 years of marriage,
and the past 5 years of being together.
You're more than I thought I'd ever find.

Thanks to Josh's parents, Todd & Candy,
for raising such a fabulous man of God.
Thanks for bringing him up in a Christian home
and for giving him the tools he needed
to make it in this crazy world.

I love you baby.

Happy Birthday.

Benjamin David Firestine

At last he has arrived.

In concert

Last night, my wonderful husband and I went to see Sara Groves in concert. For those of you who know us, yes, that's six times now. It all started a couple of years ago when Josh and I went to an I Worship concert at Cleveland State University. We had never heard of Sara before, but with just one song, Less Like Scars, we were intrigued and couldn't get the song out of our heads. We purchased that cd, All Right Here, and we were on our way to becoming full fleged Sara Groves fans.

This spring, Sara performed at the Moody Bible Institute's Conference for Women at Parkside Church. I was delighted to see her again, now owning three cd's and knowing every song by heart. At this event, Sara announced she would be releasing a fourth cd, The Other Side Of Something. Of course I purchased the cd as soon as possible, even getting an autographed copy!

Hanging out at Sara Groves.com one day, I noticed she would be performing in Columbus. From here it's about two hours away which would normally be no big deal, but the concert was on a Tuesday. Josh said we could go, but I put it off, not wanting to have to rearrange my work schedule or to make Josh leave work early. A week before the scheduled concert, I really started to feel like we should go. After all, she may not be in the area again for a long time! So, we went. We had a great time, both seeing a full Sara concert for the first time.

Little did we know then, that Sara would be invited to perform in our very own town, Cuyahoga Falls, OH, for the 95.5 The Fish three year anniversary celebration.

Are you ready for number six? On my way home from work one day, they announced on the radio that Sara would be performing at Evangel Temple in Akron, about five minutes from our house. How crazy! And I thought Columbus was the closest she would be!

Well, seeing her so much only makes me like her more. She's very sincere and honest. Her concerts are more like intimate gatherings around her piano and her voice. She speaks and sings from her heart, giving glory to God for her talents and the way she touches the lives of others. Thanks Sara!

Vacation

"Vacation all I ever wanted, Vacation had to get away."
Vacation by The Go Go's

We just finished up our first week back from vacation. Vacation was a little, well alot, different for me this year. For the past 27 years, yes that's my whole life, I have been vactioning every August in Vermilion, OH on Lake Erie. My family started staying at Mari-dor Beach when I was just six weeks old. The summer Josh and I were married, we spent a couple of days there with my family and then for the past 2 years, we stayed there on our own, the same time my family was there. The difference this year is that we vacationed with Josh's family.

We spent a week on the Atlantic Ocean on beautiful Topsail Island, NC. We stayed in an oceanfront house called Shore Thing.



Not the most glamorous house on the beach, but so perfect for our family. 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, great kitchen, family room, and dining area. A mile or so away from the town of Topsail, we had easy access to shopping and dining. A few steps or so away from the beach, we had amazing access to the ocean.

Some of you, who know me well, know that I am not much for ocean swimming. Prior to this year, I had only been swimming in the ocean once before. That my friends, was in the crystal clear water of the Bahamas where if a shark were coming to eat me, I could see it well in advance. Here in NC, it was another matter all together. Just as it was on my honeymoon in Ocean City, Maryland. Poor Josh had to swim in the ocean by himself and to make matters worse, it was Shark Week on the Discovery Channel.

Anyway, this year I decided to take the plunge. I went in the ocean all the way! I had alot of fun, especially when Josh and his brothers were swimming with me. Actually, I wouldn't go in if they weren't in. And you know what, no shark bites! We never saw one or heard of one in the area the whole time we were there. God is good!

We had a great time on vacation! Lots of fun and lots of good family time. I think it's a great gift God has given us, combining man and wife. Then if you're combined with a good family, it's even better. Thanks mom, dad, Ben and Nate. We're looking forward to doing it all over again.