Jason Porter Clark

We are an aunt and uncle again!

We can't wait to meet Porter.

Congratulations Jason, Angela, Elisabeth, Jared, & Ethan.

Can you believe this hair? All of the children have had thick hair but it still ceases to amaze me!

Fall

I love the fall. I love that in Virginia we get to have four seasons. Each season brings with it its own excitement. I love the vibrant colors of the leaves, the crisp air, and the feeling of fall. It is homey, its like falling in love, I feel like I am in a romance movie. I just love it.

As I drive to school everyday I try to stop and take in the moment. I love the amazing colors. It reminds me of how blessed I am, and to be grateful for all that I have. It reminds me to be grateful for the simple things and the beauty of the earth.

We went to a William & Mary football game with my parents {a really fall thing to do}. We won! We loved spending time with my parents. After the game we walked around Colonial Williamsburg with them. We went to the Bookstore, my mom and I shopped for clothes, while my Dad and Rob perused the books {they were like kids in a candy store}. We then hit William and Sonoma. Rob got us all samples he thought was dessert, but turned out to be turkey and dressing. Mom and I enjoyed looking through the store at all the wonderful things and going through cookbooks, while dad and rob got asked if they needed help in the baking section! We ended the night in the candy store, and left with chocolate covered oranges. It was great to be with Rob and my parents enjoying this wonderful time of year, just relaxing and taking it in.

Tender Mercies

"We should not underestimate or overlook the power of the Lord’s tender mercies. The simpleness, the sweetness, and the constancy of the tender mercies of the Lord will do much to fortify and protect us in the troubled times in which we do now and will yet live. When words cannot provide the solace we need or express the joy we feel, when it is simply futile to attempt to explain that which is unexplainable, when logic and reason cannot yield adequate understanding about the injustices and inequities of life, when mortal experience and evaluation are insufficient to produce a desired outcome, and when it seems that perhaps we are so totally alone, truly we are blessed by the tender mercies of the Lord and made mighty even unto the power of deliverance (see 1 Ne. 1:20)."

Rob was in a car accident this morning. He is fine. I won't go into the details but things could have been much worse. It was clear to me that we were experiencing one of those tender mercies. One in so many. We are always quick to ask why, and say that we just can't take one more thing. But, it was evident to me that we were being blessed. As I stood and looked at the car I realized Heavenly Father was watching over Rob. The way all of the events played out, there is no doubt in my mind that Heavenly Father was in charge and kept him safe.

"Lord’s timing of His tender mercies helps us to both discern and acknowledge them."

"May our hearts always be filled with gratitude for His abundant and tender mercies."

Today I was reminded that my Heavenly Father knows me. He knows what I can handle. He knows how to comfort me. He loves me and is always showing me that, if I but stop and look. I know He extends tender mercies, and that we all can receive them as we follow Him.

* all the above quotes are from The Tender Mercies of the Lord," David A. Bednar. Click on the link to view the entire talk.

Pumpkin Patch

On Halloween Rob and I went to a pumpkin patch. This was the first time that I can remember going and picking a pumpkin {I know that I went when I was in preschool but I don't remember}. We had a great time looking for the perfect pumpkins - the right color, shape, size, who knew there were so many options? I was bound and determined to actually pick one off the vine ... after quite a search we found one!

Quin Robert Dudley

Quin "Robert" Dudley

October 6, 2009

7lbs 10 ounces, 20 inches

Stephanie and Ryan had their second baby boy. This sweet baby is named after Rob (pretty amazing person to be named after). Congratulations Dudley's, we can't wait to meet him!

Miranda's Birthday

So, I have a confession. I couldn't figure out how to do this blog thing for the life of me, which is why I haven't had an representation on it! But, here I am.

So, Miranda has been super busy with her senior year at William and Mary, and doing a great job keeping everyone up to date on what we have been doing. But, she coincidentally missed a HUGE event in her life, and so, without further delay, here is...

MIRANDA'S 23RD BIRTHDAY

yep, she is getting older, much to her dismay. On September 14, we celebrated her birthday.

It was a fun night. She went to school that day and i went to work. We then got back

together and went to Felini's in Norfolk

where we enjoyed...

good food, topped off by an ice cream cake from Dairy Queen that was devoured

in a matter of minutes...

great company of her family (minus Shy) and my parents...

and the most beautiful girl in the world to celebrate!!!

Miranda is the most amazing person! She has taught me so much, and I am so grateful that she is part of my life. Every day with her is special, but September 14 is always extra special because of what it represents. Happy Birthday babe! I love you!

Brad Paisley Concert

Rob and I went to see Brad Paisley with my mom and dad. It was awesome to go with my parents! I even made sure we got there way early and bribed Rob with back scratches to run and get us good lawn seats. Aaron and Stephanie, friends from the Bank, also met us there. 

Brad is amazing and his concert was wonderful. He sang all of our favorite songs (TICKS, Alcohol, and many more). My Dad thinks he's hot (which he still denies saying) and we love reminding him of that!

The weather was great, the hicks quite a sight, cute cowgirl boots and dresses, fantastic music, and the best company!

This was the only picture we got before the camera died. 

Notice the shirt, " Huntin Bucks, Drivin Trucks". This was the shirt my dad picked out for Rob! They both enjoyed picking out crazy shirts all night. 

The Beach.

We love the beach!

This year we had our first fire on the beach party. We have always wanted to do this! We had the Slavens, Sasses, Kerrs, and Walkers out for a hot dog roast and smores. It was a little windy so we (Rob and Ronnie) had to put a contraption together so that we could get a fire going. It all worked out and we had a great time eating, socializing and playing games.

This was definitely a get together we need to do more often!

TowneBank Softball

Rob loved playing softball this summer. And I enjoyed going to his games and taking pictures. It was great for him to get back on the field, be a little competitive, and mostly have fun. It was a perfect hobby to pick back up.

Rob's hitting (Batting) skills!

The TowneBank Team!

Rob considers a game a success if he is really dirty. He would be very upset when the game was over and his clothes were only slightly dirty. He would say that he should have slid more.  There were plenty of days where I had to wash his shirt multiple times to get that orangy dirt out of that shirt! Oxi-clean spray works miracles! 

Aaron is a great friend of Rob's and he really enjoyed being able to play softball with him.

I thought this was very fitting.

Rob had many fans this season. We had a cheering squad from nieces, nephews, mom, dad, brother, sister, mother-in-law, and sister-in-laws! I must say I am his #1 fan! I love watching him play, cheering him on (even though my cheering is lame), and being at the ball field! 

I definitely got a first round pick!

Shelby's Graduation

Shelby graduated from Great Bridge High School! 

We were excited to be able to be there to support her. Shelby, along with the other seniors from Chorus sang the Alma mater at the end. Then we went to Outback to celebrate where she got to have a grown up drink (some fruity lemonade) and macaroni and cheese. Talk about moving up in the world! Sad part is that Riley and I both ordered macaroni (it is best)!!!!

Baby Ella

Girls Rock!

We are excited to be an aunt and uncle again!!! 

Congratulations Turley's! We can't wait to meet ella!

WICKED

Ahhhhhhh! I can't even begin to say how absolutely fantabulous this show is. For anyone who hasn't seen it it is a must see. The actors and actresses were brilliant and had amazing pipes, I mean a-m-a-z-i-n-g. I wanted to jump on stage and sing with them. It is times like this I wish I could sing like that and I would be on a stage in a heart beat ... maybe in the next life! 

I couldn't help myself with the festive attire. It was way to much fun and what can I say? I love the music and now the show! I thought it was very fitting. I was out done by a young lady who had sprayed her hair green. 

We went with Rob's brother and his wife and had a great night.

It was great to be able to put the music to the show and now everything makes sense!

I LOVE WICKED!!!!

The Weekend

Rob and I had a wonderful weekend. We went to D.C. Friday night and stayed with Josh and Sandra. We woke up early Saturday morning and spent a few hours in the temple. It was wonderful to be in the temple with Rob. I am so grateful we are able to go and worship in the house of the Lord. 

After we left the temple, we rushed home to see Shelby off to prom. We got incredibly lucky and hit minimal traffic. Shelby looked beautiful and I was glad to be there. All of my sisters have always been there for me and my big occasions and I am glad I live close enough to do the same for them. 

After we saw the kids off we had a great date night with my parents. We went to dinner at Bakers Crust, where the tomato soup is to die for! We couldn't have a asked for a better day.

Dance party?

Dear Schylar,  

  

    I am in serious need of a dance party. You need to come home for just about an hour. You can manage that, right? The mirror just isn't cutting it. 

Can't wait till you come home. The lake is going to rock this year, dance party all week long. I miss you!

* I wish I could dance *

I am DONE !

   So I guess it is official ... I am a SENIOR! The semester came to a quick STOP. I thought my last exam was today and to my surprise (at 9 p.m. Monday night, having not even begun to study) I decided to look at my syllabus and realized the exam was the next morning at 9 a.m. I couldn't believe I did this. So needless to say I stayed up all night, had about two hours of sleep around 5 a.m., one coke, and a lot of prayers. 

   It is times like this I truly see God's tender mercies. After a sobbing plea to the Dean of Students to allow me to have more time, my teacher saying I could have more time, the Dean not approving it, I was given a few hour delay in starting the exam. It is amazing to me how I was able to stay calm and remember so much.  I was and am so grateful. 

   So I took the last exam, for 4 1/2 hours and could have used more time. But I am DONE. Done ...done. Okay so it hasn't completely sunk in yet but it will. Now it is time to look for a job, catch up on much needed sleep, and de-toxic my body with all of the horrible things I have been pumping in it to survive the end of the semester. I think Rob and I will be enjoying our fair share of salads in the coming week. So here's to summer, the beach that is calling my name, and my husband. It is time to relax!!

Mothers Day

We both have wonderful mothers. They have both been stay at home moms and taken care of us throughout our whole lives. Best of all they have always been their to support us in all of our endeavors. We know they love us and we love them. We look up to them and are grateful we were sent to them . Thank you Mom and Michelle!

My Everything

"I wanna be the wind that fills your sails & 

be the hand that lifts your veil 

be the moon that moves your tide 

the sun comin up in your eyes 

be the wheel that never rusts 

be the spark that lights you up 

all that you've been dreaming of & more 

so much more 

I wanna be your everything"

-Keith Urban 

This is our song! I love the words. Rob is all of these things and so much more. He is my everything.  I can't believe it has been four years since we were married. Time has flown. We have been through so much and it is amazing how we have grown. I love Rob so much. He is an amazing man and I am so grateful he chose me. 

We always try to do something on our anniversary that we did the day we got married. So this year we had dinner at the Seasons in Williamsburg, where we had our wedding day dinner. We even go to sit in the same room that we did four years ago. Dinner was great and the company unbeatable.

I love him so much!! 

Isn't he just so dang cute?

I would apologize for all the kissing pictures but it just shows how much we love each other. They are the best. 

I love you Rob!

First Day of School

Even after what seems to be millions of first day of school pictures, I still have to take them. I realize now that there will only be two more of these, of which I am grateful, I think.

I am looking forward to this new semester. Only four days of driving to Williamsburg. I also am taking 3 accounting classes, which I hope to enjoy since it is my major and I just can't image changing it at this point. I am also taking Organization Behavior which I am stoked about! Rob loves this stuff, and I am so excited to discuss it with him. And after one class I think it may be my favorite!

I am also taking Linear Algebra since I failed it last semester. It is the first class I have ever failed...and that is failed with an F. After a lot of crying I decided it was kinda cool. Not to become a habit, though. 

So here goes a new semester, new experiences, new opportunities, and a girl who is excited to see what it has to bring!

*PS - I love you Rob!!! And I am apologizing now for the stress that is sure to come. Just remember I love you and I will remember to relax!

This is way over due

 kandyce is my best girl friend. We have so many similarities and she just thinks the way I do {which can be strange but it makes us who we are}. I am so glad my parents made me go to orientation my first day up at BYU-I and that the Lord saw it fit for us to serve in the Relief Society presidency so that we could meet and get to know each other. She is AWESOME!!! I only wish she lived closer {Andrew you need to get on that}. We can go, for what seems like forever not chatting, and then pick right up where we left off. She amazes me and I feel so lucky to have her as a friend. 

Happy Birthday!

Julia

Julia Michelle

 Born January 9, 2009 to Laura and Joel. 

Congratulations!

We were able to stop and see Julia on our way home from D.C. She is so sweet. 

{Unfortunately, we forgot our camera, but I am sure we will get a picture with her soon}

Turley Bed and Breakfast

We planned a weekend trip up to D.C. to visit the Turley's, the Temple (turned out to be closed for cleaning ... 2nd time this has happened to us), and Ikea. Here are some of the highlights:

•  We got in town early Saturday morning (2 am) and were greeted with chocolates on our bed,  flowers, and an itinerary. Sandra is awesome! 
• We had gourmet french toast for breakfast, played with Ava and Davis, and then went on a run. 
• We had a great time together exploring Ikea and picking up our furniture ... which all of it wasn't available, turning into us having to visit another Ikea, frustrating, but in the end we got what we needed. 
• We had a spice filled dinner with the Turley's. I love visiting them because I come home with so many great food ideas. 
• Sunday we went to church, had another wonderful meal and more wonderful conversations. The kids are a blast. 
• Sandra and I put together a flower arrangement for the McIntyre's, which I must say was impressive {Sandra, I think we could go into business!!}. 
• Ate oodles of Josh's famous chocolate chip cookies and then headed to Richmond and visited the McIntyre's.

 It was an much needed vacation!

On Rob's many trips to pick up roses he brought Ava one of her very own. I think she liked it!

A Look Back

I was just rummaging through some old photos and running back through time. I can't believe we have almost been married for four years. Time flies when you are having fun.                                         

It makes me smile and giddy looking at old photos. I love remembering those times and the sparkle that comes with the different moments. I also couldn't believe how young we looked. For that matter, everyone else too. Four years doesn't seem like a long time but it sure shows. I don't quite understand it ... I guess I am just getting old.