So over the last 5 days parts of Nashville have been completely destroyed by the flooding. My heart breaks as I think about all the damages the rising waters caused for some people. I am so grateful our house and belongings were spared but I can't say the same for my husband's office.

Hasting Architecture is located on 3rd Avenue, in downtown Nashville. As of Monday morning the office had almost 7 feet of water in the basement and it continued to rise until late that afternoon. I was downtown on Monday and got to see first hand the beginnings of the damage. I know what I saw was only a tidbit of what there is and what is to come but I will never forget it. My husband has spent the last 3 days continuously pumping water out of their office and the adjoining buildings with a large, diesel powered pump.

I can honestly say this is something I never have experienced before and hope to never experience again. I would like to say thank you to all the people that are out there helping with the relief efforts. People are coming from all over the country to help Nashville. Please remember Nashville in your prayers tonight as people slowly start rebuilding what they have lost.


P.S. Keep conserving water Nashvillians!

I LOVE spring time. I love it almost as much as I like fall.

Well, except for the pollen that has changed the color of my car from blue to yellowish-green. Time for a car wash.

As I try to find things to do besides grade papers I thought I would post. Anything is better than grading papers and I know if I am willing to write on my blog than I am really desperate. :)

Josh has been working a LOT (not getting home until after 10 every night) this week so I have spent the majority of my spring break at home relaxing. It has been really nice to spend the last 3 days without 21 eight year olds following me around but I am kinda getting tired of it being so quite. I am actually looking forward to going back to school next week. BUT, this week has given me the opportunity to visit with some friends and their cute, cute little ones. It was really nice to see Chloe, Fin, Emma, and Olivia (and their moms too).

Josh and I leave tomorrow for a small camping trip to celebrate our 5th wedding anniversary. I can't believe it has been 5 years. Hopefully the weather will cheer up and not be so gloomy this weekend. I am crossing my fingers the rain will hold off at least. Ginger will be joining us this weekend as well so I really hope the rain holds off. There is not much worse than a smelly, wet dog.

Hope everyone had a delightful St. Pat's Day!

Our life this year has been hectic to say the least. Every year I always tell myself that we are going to slow down and stay home more often. And every year I make a liar out of myself and do the exact opposite. Here is a list of a few activities we participated in this year (in no particular order):

- Hiking all over Tennessee
- Started my first "big girl job" teaching 2nd grade
- Attempting to get into Grad School
- Camping at various locations
- Backpacking (over 100 miles on the AT)
- Skiing in Colorado
- Sightseeing in Chicago
- Road trip to St. Augustine to visit Kaitlyn
- Attending and participating in a couple of weddings in Knoxville and Lewisburg
- Teaching bible classes at church
- Totaled my car (not my fault...)
- Nannying for a sweet girl over the summer
- Spence Cabin Party
- Baby Olivia Fowlkes was born and Beau and Emma turned 2 (not our children by the way, just to clarify)

Josh and I today pulled out a calendar today to figure out our plans for the rest of the year and as of right now we have two free weekends until after New Years. And one of them we are thinking about planning a backpacking trip on- anyone want to go hiking with us?

It is a little overwhelming at times but I am very thankful that we are healthy and able to do all of these things. In a couple of weeks we are flying back to Colorado for a FREE trip to Golden. There will be no skiing this time but there might be a little hiking taking place. Josh is going to attend a conference for a few days and I am going to relax at a very nice hotel :)

On another note, Josh's Great Uncle Marvin died yesterday so please keep his family in your prayers. His uncle had been sick for a long time (20+ years) but it is always hard to see them go even if you were expecting it soon.

Hope everyone has a great week. Fall Break is officially over tomorrow morning starting at 7:45 a.m.

I love fall. I love the temperature, the changing leaves, and pumpkins. But I think the reason that I love fall so much right now is because I am on Fall Break. Woohoo.