Oh Happy Day!

Perry Britton's birthday was a little bit ago at the end of November October September August! Regardless, my




dear husband is 26 now!!















There were several celebrations with family & friends in his honor.

Since I had to leave for work early (I was still on day shift then), I left the birthday boy a surprise to wake up to: red streamers and lots of balloons strewn all over the floor of our living room! We were mid-way through the project of painting trim so please ignore the mess...

Heartfelt homemade cards from his sister Cassy & her sweet girls Lauren & Emily

Perry with his chocolate-chocolate cake decorated with peanut butter M&M's! I'm pretty sure I performed a solo of "Happy Birthday" before allowing him to blow out the candle

A few days later we went out for dinner at the Carolina Ale House with some of his boys. They didn't seem keen on posing for a picture so this is what I ended up with (without the flash to be polite to other diners)!

 

Baxter & Luke

Chris and Baxter

Me, Perry & Jon. Hah!

Beer + "Birthday Nachos" = vanilla ice cream, whipped cream, Oreo crumbles & chocolate syrup over greasy nacho chips. Our stomachs were upset that night...

 After dinner, we moved on for a couple of drinks & a few rounds of pool! I wasn't the only girl for the whole night- Jon's girlfriend Ivey met up with us downtown but we didn't get any pictures together :(

 This year Perry took part in a family tradition that's been around since I was itty bitty. For your birthday dinner, you can have whatever you want- no rules! I would not be way off in guessing that 90% of the meals my Mom and Dad prepared included at least one meat, one starch, one veggie, and often a salad. With milk to drink. But that goes out the window on your birthday. YOU pick!

My Mom & Paul had us over for a yummy meal of beer-butt chicken, sauteed zucchini, broccoli, mashed potatoes & salad followed by Momma's homemade cheesecake! 

 

After dinner, Paul was really hot.

Blowing out the candles as we sing to him!

His last cake- yes, he got three birthday cakes!- was a tasty strawberry shortcake that his Mom Debra made for him when we stopped by his parent's house on the next night!

HAPPY-BIRTHDAY-BLOG-POST (super duber BELATED) TO MY HUBBY!!!

What Matters The Most

When Perry & I were planning our wedding, we chose this song by Brandon Heath for our wedding website -along with Plain White T's "1, 2, 3, 4" :) I revisited our site today after celebrating our 1st anniversary this past weekend *post full of pictures coming soon!* I was reminded of the powerful truth in the lyrics. We are challenged to love this way every day with the people we interact with: our spouses, our family members, our friends, our coworkers and neighbors, the clerk at the store, even "those people" that irk us (we all have them!). God's love is the ultimate love, perfect in every way. Love is right here (=there, wherever you are right now) and love is ALIVE!

Love Never Fails

love is not proud

love does not boast

love after all

matters the most

love does not run

love does not hide

love does not keep

locked inside

love is the river that flows through

love never fails you

love will sustain

love will provide

love will not cease

at the end of time

love will protect

love always hopes

love still believes

when you don’t

love is the arms that are holding you

love never fails you

when my heart won’t make a sound

when I can’t turn back around
when the sky is falling down

nothing is greater than this

greater than this

love is right here

love is alive

love is the way

the truth, the life

love is the river than flows through

love is the arms that are holding you

love is the place you will fly to

love never fails you



South Carolina

Perry & I took an overnight roadtrip to South Carolina for my cousin's wedding... 3 months ago, okay?! I'm way behind on this thing.   The drive was lovely, except for the fact that I-95 was grid-locked for miles. We ended up finding a "detour" route- thanks for our GPS- on a two lane country road through way too many small towns. But, we made it! I loved these trees.

Sarah, the second-eldest cousin on my Dad's side, and her dear husband Matthew were married 5 years ago but always wanted a special gathering to bring their families & friends together in celebration of their union. On July 31, they had their wedding in Folly Beach, SC. The recommitment ceremony was beautiful, held in a quaint old Methodist church (they met when Matthew was attending Methodist University in Fayetteville, NC where Sarah's parents live!).

The wedding party from L to R: Matt's brother-in-law from England, Sarah's brother/my cousin Lucas, Matt's friend, Sarah, Matt, Sarah's sister/my cousin Emily, Matt's friend, and Sarah's cousin from her Mom's side Michael

Parents of the Bride, my Uncle Tom & Aunt Lorraine!

 

Papa Durr

*Sweet tradition: a single white rose at your wedding in memory of Nana. He gave me one at our reception, and Sarah just received hers above*

Futbol! Little Jack was showing sure signs of British talent at just over 1 year old!

Afterward, the party moved to an impressive beach house! Perry & I enjoyed seeing everyone and meeting Matthew's family who traveled all the way from England & Scotland!

The Durr side (minus the rest of my immediate family...)

 

Sarah looked gorgeous as always! Awesome flowy gown

Becca & Clare, the youngest of the grandchildren- they are turning into little ladies!

Cheesy grin ;)

 The evening's entertainment was great!

Family pictures were placed all over the house... I know I was not alone in missing my Nana that day (shown laughing & hugging my Papa in the backyard of their old house on Oak Island); I would have been so proud to introduce my sweet Nana to Perry, and my dear Perry to Nana. ♥

Toasts & Thank You's

The next morning after a yummy breakfast courtesy of my Aunt & Uncle and the rest of the rowdy bunch staying at the house, Perry & I hit the road... to Charleston!!! We spent just a few hours walking around the city. After grabbing lunch at a fun sports bar & grille downtown, we left to drive the rest of the way home (on I-95 this time!)

We couldn't find the deck where our precious little air-conditioned E was parked- the sweltering heat was getting to us.

Neglected

I have been neglectful. My "to-do" and "to-blog" lists are growing, not shrinking... yes, I honestly keep a list. I've had a Word document titled To Do for a little while (or a couple of years) :) My Mom & Dad pick on me about being a "lister". There are a good FOUR (or 5 even?) family updates/activities that haven't gone public yet! Coming soon: my cousin's beautiful SC beach wedding, Perry's 26th birthday events, our niece's 4th birthday party, and home improvements!!! All with lots of pictures!

With a multitude of projects big & small going on around the Whitaker house, my focus has temporarily shifted.

Rodizio

In celebration of [a] finally graduating from college, [b] passing the NCLEX and gaining licensure as a nurse, and [c] landing a (really good) job, my Mom & stepdad Paul treated me & Perry to a double-date at Brasa, a Brazilian steakhouse in Brier Creek. Oh. my. goodness. DELISH!

Definition, "Rodizio": an authentic style of serving fire-roasted meat that originates in Southern Brazil. Gauchos/herders mastered the art of slowly cooking savory cuts of meat on large skewers over the open flames of their bonfires.

We had a little more elegant experience :) Servers came by periodically throughout our meal with a giant knife and skewers, each time with a different cut of meat: filet mignon, bacon wrapped sirloin, the traditional picanha, chicken, lamb, sausages, pork loin, ribs... If your stone was green side up, they'd offer you more, and more, and more! As they cut a slice, we used pee-wee pocket-size tongs to get it on our plates. If all that meat wasn't enough, there was an abundance of cold salads (seriously, like 20), fruit (with coconut milk for dipping), shrimp cocktail, rice, beans, mashed potatoes, sweet potato casserole, fried shrimp croquettes on a buffet and a few dessert items like chocolate-covered strawberries! It's ALL YOU CAN EAT (for a pretty penny) but I could not physically eat as much as I wanted to!!!

Paul and my Momma with their stop/go stones

                                                                       If you're wondering, that's grilled pineapple

                                                                            coated in cinnamon... sounded a bit

                                                                            strange at first, but- yummmmmm!

After nearly stuffing ourselves with all that yummy goodness,  Mom and I went crazy with the camera. Here's the highlights from our photo shoot!

Isn't she beautiful?

Waitin' on a woman!

Being cheesy, but we are both RNs now!

On our way home, we- uh, were up to no good ;) and although the GPS claimed we had "arrived at our destination on right", the address we were looking for was strangely non-existent!

And finally, Mom and I having a blast in the backseat!!

Summary: I HIGHLY recommend Brasa. Come hungry, leave happy! Oh wait, that's IHOP... I love breakfast food too.