Living out of boxes...

Well, this weekend is quickly approaching as Daniel and I begin to pack all of our earthly belongings into boxes and start the next step of our journey. As most of you know, we have been living in a very small one bedroom apartment in Antioch for the first year of our marriage. It's a great thing that we love each other so much and that we love spending time together and being close, because we couldn't get away from each other in this place if we tried. Its been a great place to start our lives together, but we are sooooo ready for a change of scenery. We are about to move to a three bedroom, two and a half bath townhouse in Smyrna, TN. This house has been such a blessing to us already and we can really see God's hand working in this move. Its a pretty great story how we came to find this place.

We started looking for places to live about two months ago in the Smyrna area. We knew we wanted to be closer to Murfreesboro (where Daniel goes to school) and we thought that Smyrna was a great small town that would be half-way for both of us to get to school and work. We knew what our budget was and we started spending the weekends perusing Smyrna searching for our next home. I started looking on Craig's list as well. I printed off quite a few possibilities and we started calling around. We found one right before we left for Kansas that stuck out to us, but we didnt have time to go check it out until we got back. There were three contenders when we returned home from Sara's wedding. We went and looked at those three and they were ok, but we still felt uneasy about them. We found the phone number for this house and decided to call. The lady's name was Jaime and she said we could come by and check out the place. As soon as we pulled into the development we knew it was special. Jaime actually is the landlord's daughter and lives right next door. She is our age and has a young son. She goes to school with Daniel at MTSU and we hit it off right away. We stepped into the house and it was beautiful!! The kitchen blew me away and I fell in love immediately with this place. I was a little reluctant because it looked way out of our price range, so we asked her to remind us how much it was. The price was the same as the other ones we had been looking at and it had an extra bedroom!!! Praise the Lord, we were home! Daniel and I spent almost a hour there talking to Jaime and just hanging out. We took the application and left. We got in the car and looked at each other and said..."thats the one". From there we contacted the landlord, Chris, who lives with her husband in Illinois and got all the paperwork worked out. The whole process has been a blessing. We came to find out that Chris has been diagnosed with late stage 3 ovarian cancer and is going through cemo and radiation treatments. It has been amazing to see how God has placed these people into our lives so that we can minister to them and show them God's love. They have done the same for us. I cant wait to see what kind of friendship grows between us and this family over the next few years.

So, as we continue to pack up our stuff and maneuver through the boxes that fill our tiny apartment, please remember us on the 6th of February, and if you are free to help move furniture, we would love to have your help!! Love you all...We will be inviting you over soon.

New Year Update

Hello everyone, I know its been a really long time since I have updated this site. Life has been a little hectic the past couple of months for the Perrys...wonderful, but busy. We all know how the holidays pull us in a million directions at once, and the same goes for us. This was our first Christmas as a married couple and it was great, but brought challenges as well. We are still trying to figure out how to blend our families and how to accommodate all our families in a short period of time. Luckily, Trevecca gives me an almost two week paid vacation around the holidays so it allowed Daniel and I to travel. This year was even more blessed because Daniel is in school and still gets paid the GI Bill even during the Christmas break so we didnt lose any money during our travels. We really enjoyed trying to figure out and implement new family traditions for our family now that we are a family in our own right. We decorated our mantle and bought each other stockings to hang by the fire place (even though its covered up by a couch). Even though we started some of our own traditions this year, it was still difficult to be away from our home for almost two weeks, living out of suitcases and driving over 1200 miles. We love our families so much and really enjoyed spending quality time with them. We all make sacrifices for those we love. Maybe next year we can have Christmas at our own home, and we will really be able to start our own Christmas traditions (Although I doubt my family will like that idea).

Well, after all the holiday travels were over, we left to go to Kansas for my best friend Sara's wedding. The week of the wedding they had 12 inches of snow on the ground and were expecting 3-5 inches more to fall on the day we were scheduled to arrive. I have never seen so much snow at one time! It was definitely an adventure. We drove through the blizzard on Wednesday night and spent the weekend in Kansas City for the wedding and then a business conference. Some people ask us why we travel so much and they remark with such statements as "You guys are going to burn out soon, you go way too much", or "you never stay home, you are always doing something." I try not to let these kind of remarks bother me because I realize that the way Daniel and I live is not like most of our friends and family. A lot of people dont understand why we do the things we do. To them we seem odd and thats ok!!! I like being odd! And I love spending quality time with my best friend and husband. We have traveled so many thousands of miles together in the past two years and every journey has been an adventure. I only wish that all my friends and family could experience life like we do.

Anyways, after the Kansas trip we came home and began searching for a new place to live. Our lease runs out in March and we are looking to move to Smyrna, TN. Its a cute little country suburb of Nashville that is half-way between Daniel's school and Nashville. Its a growing town but still has the small town charm. We have been so extremely blessed by God, because He led us straight to the perfect place for us! We signed the lease today and will be getting our keys the first week of February! We are so excited and cant wait to invite all our friends over for a dinner party.

My birthday is coming up next week...I will be 27 on the 27th! I was joking with Daniel earlier this month because I always used to say "27 on the 27th is going to be a big birthday for me! Its so far away and by then I am sure to be an adult." Well guys...its here and I guess I'm an adult, although most of the time I still dont feel like it. We still have a few more adventures in the works for the next couple of months. We are going to Indiana at the end of January and the Virginia a couple weeks after that. And lets not forget about the big cruise coming up the first week of March!! Be sure to check out all of our pictures from the past couple of months on our Facebook accounts. Until next time...keep on living the dream!!

Thanksgiving 2009

Here are just a few pictures from this past weekend in Indiana with the family. The weekend can be summed up in just a few words: family, food, Monopoly!! I hope your holiday was just as great as ours was.

Our XS Booth at the Thoroughbred 5K in Lexington on Thanksgiving morning.

The whole family together for dinner.

Kyle and his kids

Stacey and hers....Luke

Caleb, Elijah

and Gavin.

And lots of wonderful food made by chef Micha.

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Turkey time approaches

Its Tuesday morning as I write this, sitting at my desk at work. Daniel is in his Computer Science class at MTSU and I'm sure he is having about as much fun as I am today. Our office is getting ready to decorate for Christmas because they want the whole Trevecca campus to be pretty when the students return back from Thanksgiving break. I always enjoy decorating the office but this year, I'm not ready to be in the Christmas spirit quite yet. I LOVE Thanksgiving and each year Christmas sneaks in to take away all of Thanksgiving's glory.

We are leaving tomorrow afternoon to travel to Indiana to spend the weekend with Daniel's dad and Micha. This will be my second Thanksgiving with them and last year was so much fun, so I'm really looking forward to spending time with them. I'm excited to be out in the middle of the country, away from the hustle and bustle of Nashville for a while. I am excited to go shooting with Daniel again like last year in the woods around the house. I am excited to go back to the casino boats, and I'm excited about all the games of pool that will be played. I'm most excited about spending quality time with family and all the amazing food that Micha cooks.

We have a lot to still get accomplished before we leave tomorrow, like packing :) But to insure that we all stay in the Thanksgiving spirit, I have included a poem that caught my attention.


More Than A DayAs Thanksgiving Day rolls around,
It brings up some facts, quite profound.
We may think that we're poor,
Feel like bums, insecure,
But in truth, our riches astound.We have friends and family we love;
We have guidance from heaven above.
We have so much more
Than they sell in a store,
We're wealthy, when push comes to shove.So add up your blessings, I say;
Make Thanksgiving last more than a day.
Enjoy what you've got;
Realize it's a lot,
And you'll make all your cares go away.By Karl Fuchs 

Limo Livin'

Last week we met Stacey, Jane, Steve and the boys in Cookeville to celebrate Gavin's 5th birthday. All he wanted for his birthday was to ride in limo. We met at Burger King and rode to pick him up from Head Start.

He was so excited when he walked out and saw the stretch Hummer limo sitting in the school parking lot, that he couldn't even stop laughing enough to talk. We drew quite a crowd of onlookers from the school as well. It was great to see the excitement and utter joy on his face.

We were excited to see the boys building their dream at such an early age. They already have such high expectations for their lives and its a joy to see. It was also pretty comical to see the limo filled with car seats...you just don't see that too often.

We had a great day with the family celebrating with Gavin. He told his mom that next year he wants an even bigger limo!! I like the way he thinks ^_^

Fall is my favorite time of year!

Fall is in full swing around here in Tennessee. The leaves are changing colors quickly, the wind is picking up and the temperatures are falling fast! Daniel and I have been enjoying this time together and I just wanted to show you some pictures of our latest adventures.

We went to the farmer's market here in Nashville last week on my lunch break and looked for pumpkins.

 We found a couple that we thought had potential so we choose those and started planning how we would carve them.

We started by drawing out the faces on the pumpkins and digging in! I had forgotten how much work it takes to carve a pumpkin. It has been a few years since I have done this.

Our finished products!

This past weekend we attended the Mercy Ministries first annual 5K race out at Edwin Warner Park in Nashville. We absolutely love this ministry and we love what it does to help ladies in our community to come to know Christ. Plus Daniel loves to run, so this seemed a great fit.

This was Daniel's first 5K since before I met him so he took it easy. I was still really proud of him for finishing in 23 min and 30 sec! He wasn't as proud because he used to run them in under 17mins. Its all about perspective I guess. I was proud because I'm not sure I would have been able to finish in under an hour, but he is helping me with that. I wanted to take his picture crossing the finish line but he finished so fast that I didnt get up there in time.

We also took the opportunity to set up a vendor booth to display our products such as XS and Nutrilite to the runners. This is another reason I didnt make it to the finish line to take pictures.

Overall, it was a great day. We supported a great ministry and met some wonderful people in our community. Now the search begins for more 5K's in the next couple of months. And my training begins so I can run one with Daniel soon enough. Wish me luck because I really dont like to run. My motto is "I only run when being chased." This should be interesting :)

A Korean Night Out with the Boys

When I got home from work yesterday, Daniel asked me if I wanted to go eat Korean food at a near-by restaurant. I agreed...I mean I have only had one experience with Korean food and that was the food that my Father-in-laws fiance made me last Thanksgiving. Micha's food was amazing, but eating in an authentic Korean restaurant was a whole new experience. We went to Seoul Garden off of Edmundson Pike in Nashville. Now if you know me at all then you know that I am adventurous when it comes to thrill rides, and rollercoasters, and the like...but not when it comes to food. I will turn my nose up like a champ at foods I don't recognize, that smell fishy, or just look weird. This was definately an adventure for me! We sat down and were greeted by a very friendly woman who took our drink orders and placed a menu in front of us. I took a look and immediately my stomach started doing flips. I saw things straight off of Fear Factor staring me in the eyes....and Daniel was laughing at me. He has an iron stomach and loves trying new foods. I'm slowing learning...and I mean slowly. We decided to get three different meals and all share. That turned out to be a great idea because I recognized most of the food on the table and really enjoyed my meal!! We didnt take pictures while we were there but here is a sample of what we experienced last night.

We started with fried dumplings and I think these were my favorite. They had some kind of cabbage mixure inside and a spicy dipping sauce. So far so good...

Next, they brought out a bunch of small dishes that contained an assortment of vegatables, and things to cleanse your pallate...boiled egg in soy sauce, radish, pickled radish, green bean gellatin, potatoe, kimchi (spicy pickled cabbage), tofu, and rice.  I tried a bit of everything except the gellatin...and was shocked to find that it was very tasty.

One of our entree's was short ribs. These were delicious!! We also got some stir fried spicy chicken. It was a lot different than Chinese stir-fry. This had more spicy seasoning and was mixed with carrots, onions, cabbage, and zuccini. It was also very tasty.

Lastly, Daniel got a bowl of seafood soup. I am not a fan of seafood so this one was a stretch. It had tofu, squid, muscles, and shrimp. I tasted the broth. That was enough for me.

Overall, I had a great time. I was stuffed when I left and I'm eating left-overs for lunch today. I will definately go back for the dumplings and short ribs! And I cant wait to see Micha again and have some of her home cooked food at Thanksgiving. She will be so proud :)