We also wanted to share a few quick pictures to show you some of our favorite memories from our fabulous week in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. It was absolutely beautiful, and we enjoyed a week of relaxation, sun bathing, snorkeling and just loving life.
The Arch & Lover's Beach
This is the point where the Sea of Cortez and the Pacific Ocean meet.
Lover's beach is the only beach in world that touches two oceans. Pretty cool, huh?
On a Boat....
... after snorkeling on Thanksgiving Day. What a fun experience.
Sunset dinner on the beach <3
S-T-R-E-T-C-H
The typical 'Beach Shot'
Flex <-- look at those muscles ;)
Feet (of course)
Dinner
This was the night the man at the table beside us asked if we were Honeymooners. Guess we were too obvious... at least we got some freshly caught Mahi Mahi out of the deal.
Hope you've enjoyed getting a glimpse of the Honeymoon. We're praying that all is well wherever you are. Thanks again!
Holy freakin crap! We’re getting married in just over a month!!! And, we haven’t updated our blog in way too long…
So, to recap what we’ve been up to since August. Sarah moved down to New Orleans into a cute apartment in Uptown. (More details about that to come). Both of us started a new semester of school – Sarah’s first at the University of New Orleans (UNO) and Matt's 5th semester at Seminary. We’re both working as well. Sarah works as a Graduate Assistant in the Accounting Department at UNO, where she is a jack of all trades. Matt is continuing his work at Vintage Church, where he currently oversees the administrative and operations of the church. He also serves as the Missions Coordinator, leading teams who come in to serve and love New Orleans. So, we’ve been just a bit too busy living life to actually write about it. But we’re glad to be back on the blog.
We’re so excited that our Big Day is coming up so soon, and we wanted to say thanks and share with everyone some pics from our triathlon of showers in Knoxville before we headed back down.
First up was Sarah’s bridal shower, hosted by her fabulous bridesmaids, at Tate and Kelly’s house. It was so fun to be able to catch up with good friends – girls I’ve known since I was 4, and girls who I’ve known for 4 years, who have become lifelong friends. We played the obligatory shower games (though I admit they were pretty awesome). By far the best game was the toilet paper bride contest.
Sarah with the TP Bride contestants.
Sarah with ‘The Team’ after the shower.
There was a mountain of gifts, among them a coffeemaker (which has already been put to good use), lots of Fiestaware, a crockpot, and cooking utensils. The gifts were wonderful, but so much more than presents, I am thankful for the relationships I have with all of these girls. They are blessings to me.
The second shower we had was hosted by Matt’s Aunt Elaine and took place at the John Sevier Lodge in Seymour. It was a gift card shower, so we got LOTS of gift cards (which have already started to come in handy) but also lots of gifts. The standout of the shower, though, was a gift from Matt’s Ging. She presented him with the quilt she made for him years ago. He suggested we bring it down to NOLA and use it as soon as possible as a blanket for the couch. That suggestion was declined swiftly and certainly. Clearly he doesn’t understand the idea of protecting keepsakes… men!
Us with Ging, and the beautiful quilt.
The bride and groom, and the madres. Apparently it was required that the mothers wear coral…
Our final shower was hosted by Sarah’s aunts, cousins, and church family. It was at Asbury UMC (aka Ground Zero for Nov. 21). It was a drop-in shower with a laid back atmosphere. We got to catch up with family and friends in between opening even more gifts.
So I decided to bring back the weekly picture. This week's shot is from October of 2003. Wow, that seems like such a long time ago! I think this is just after Matt surprised me by showing up at a Marching Band competition. Gotta love high school awkwardness...
Just wanted to take a minute to reminisce and share a glimpse into our past.
After a long, intense, rigorous application process, I have finally chosen “The Studs.” Lame weddings call them Groomsmen. But dear friends, Nov. 21st will be very far from lame. I’m so excited that I’m personally doing everything that I can to not miss it! And of course I hope you will do the same.
Josh (Best Man)
I met Josh at UT on the smoldering hot turf outside the Aquatic center. We spent many afternoons sweating during the Pride practice and evenings cooking in his apartment on campus. Many of the business classes we took together were nothing really to write about. Zzzzzz.... Except there was that golf class! We still always grab a quick 9 holes whenever I visit Knoxville. He currently does financial work for TVA in Knoxville. Truly my best friend (outside of Sarah of course).
After 3 yrs in the UT band we started a tailgating & face painting tradition with friends. Josh still keeps it running.
Jonny B
Jonny and I have grown up together since the 3rd grade. Actually, I hope he’ll stop growing so that I can catch up with him. There are many lessons that I have learned from our friendship over the years of high school, college, Centri-Kid and now lunch meetings. The amazing thing is that God has led our two lives to different places, hundreds of miles apart but the friendship continues to hold. Jonny lives, works and serves in Nashville which is a place that can provide a fix for his country music passion.
Big Nick
As his older brother I have really enjoyed watching this guy mature. From our all-day play-days with forts, wrestling and "stair sliding" to wonderful Valentine’s Day desserts for Sarah and I. This chef is already amazing and probably one of the best kept secrets. I’m excited to see what the next four years of Culinary School will create.
Tate
In 2001 when we started dating Tate was the #2 most terrifying man in the world, only behind Sarah’s dad Frank. Over the years we have become friends which has made me more comfortable. He is currently Sarah and mine best UT football news source coming out of Knoxville. I also appreciate the bond and advice that he shares with my future bride.
Austin
I have never known a bigger blessing for a family than Mr. “McKinley” has been for the Mondays. Like my brother, Sarah and I have enjoyed watching him grow up. This coming fall he will enter Middle school which blows our minds. He is also loved because I can let my creative juices flow when we hang out. Sarah and I plan on flying him down every year to help us decorate our house for the Christmas season, which is his speciality. If he continues to improve on the piano he might become much like the beloved New Orleanian Harry Cornnick Jr.
Cameron (Lord & Keeper of the Ring)
“Cam the Man” is a firecracker and a true dudes dude. He was born on the same day that I personally witnessed from “The Swamp” my mighty Vols beat the hated Gators in 2003. This alone makes him very special. His hyper active spirit makes Sarah nervously freak out. However, I enjoy getting a good sweat on playing & chasing him in the pool, creek or yard. If there was one worry for Nov 21st, it would be that I hope that my wedding ring makes the journey down the aisle, because knowing him there are a million things he might do with it.
After an unnecessarily long hiatus, I'm back on the blog. Today I want to introduce you to the bridesmaids, or 'The Team' as Madison and I call them. They are 5 awesome ladies and I'm so glad to have them in my life and in our wedding!
Maid of Honor Madison Lyleroehr
Madison is my tender-hearted, super-talented best friend. College and the growing up that goes along with it can be tough on a girl, so it is such a blessing to have someone like her to support you through all the tough times. She is an optimist in the truest sense of the word, and always sees the beauty in even the ugliest of times. Madison just graduated from Brandeis University with a degree in Sociology. She also sings a little ;-)
Bridesmaids
Kelly Monday Kelly, my sister-in-law, who puts up with my annoying big brother and who is the mother of my favorite two boys in the world, is a truly invaluable member of my family. She has an infectious smile, brings much needed laughter to our lives and helps us see the humor in things when we try to take ourselves too seriously. Kelly is also a fantastic organizer and a great shopping buddy. She works as a radiology technician at a local doctor’s office.
Lauren (Brichetto) Hinkle More than being Matt’s sister, Lauren has been in my life since middle school. I was actually friends with her before I knew her cute older brother! Lauren’s friendship and sweet spirit have been an inspiration to me. Lauren is also a fantastic cook, and she has been patient in trying to help pass on the domestic skills she has learned to a somewhat clueless student. Lauren got married in May and works a sonographer.
Sara Holtzclaw (aka Sara Little) I am lucky to share my name with this girl. Sara is compassionate and caring, and has spent many hours listening to me bemoan some dramatic experience or another, often sharing insights that have helped me make decisions in tough situations. She is a great encouragement and book-trading partner. Sara will graduate from UT with her Master’s Degree next year, and then she’ll take on the world of elementary education.
Georgia Varlan My freshman roommate, Georgia could be one of the most intimidating people I know. She excels in everything she puts her mind to, including interning with the White House Economic Council and studying abroad in China. However, underneath all the crazy accomplishments and intellect is a down to earth girl with very curly hair. GA was a great roommate, and she has become an even better friend. After conquering law school at UVA, Georgia will continue with her plan of world domination – just kidding. She’ll end up doing something exotic and super-important, though, and I’ll be saying ‘I knew her when’.
Stay tuned for more posts (I promise I'll do better).
The weather is heating up which means Summer is coming fast.
Monday evening we enjoyed hanging out and talking face to face for the last time in a couple of months. Much like the last few summers, this summer we will live, work and serve in two different cities. However, we are excited since this will be the LAST summer we do this....because this time next year we'll be married!!
<--This was the solution for Delta Delays experienced on Monday
See it totally worked!!
Sarah will be chilling in Knoxville this summer to nail down all of the details for November 21st!
She will also be packing up the rest of her life for the big move to NOLA to pursue a Master's in Accounting @ University of New Orleans. Classes start in August.
The goal is to have the wedding plans done in order to fully focus on school and that blasted CPA Exam.
Matt is living, loving & serving in our home, NOLA this summer with Vintage Church. He will be coordinating the mission teams coming every week in June and July to work in Uptown. Spending everyday in Uptown is what excites him the most about this summer.
Searching for Sarah's apartment and blogging will be his way of relaxing, so make sure you check back frequently.
Our prayer for our work this summer comes from our family Psalm: 1)May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face shine upon us, 2)that your ways may be known on earth, your salvation among all nations. --Psalm 67:1-2
We also pray & hope that God blesses you in your work over the next two months.
Tomorrow: The Announcement of Bridesmaids We're serious this time, it's already written and ready to be posted first thing in the morning.
As most of you all know Matt just loves pictures. Since Sarah is in NYC & Boston this week, he doesn't have any new ones to post. After the pictures our 1st Registry Link is posted.
The List made our task a little easier. This planning tool is certianly recommended.
Sarah didn't fully understand the scanner....
So, Matt 'man'-ed up & took control. And let's just say nothing got past this quickest scanner in all of Bed Bath & Beyond.
We knocked out a big chunk of our registry this past Saturday. Check out the items that we registered for @ Bed Bath & Beyond. The search name is "Sarah Monday." We have also added the link to the right side of this page so that you can access it at anytime We will certianly be adding more to this list and plan on registering at another place or two.
So, a funny thing happened this morning. Matt (of course) was the first person I saw this Easter morning, so I said to him "Christ is risen", fully expecting a response like: "He is risen indeed." Matt, however, clearly did not grow up with this tradition and enthusiastically said, "Heck yes he is!"
So, however you choose to express it... Happy Easter! He is risen! Heck yes!
So, this is not really wedding-related, but it is something we wanted to share with you all.
Over these past few months, Matt and I have both been contemplating the motivation behind praise of God.
Here is what we've been struggling with: Do we praise Him for who He is? or Do we praise Him for all the good and nice things He does for us?
Our personal conversation and questions were brought to life these past few weeks through a song we've been singing at church. The song, entitled Desert Song, was written by the musicians at Hillsong.
Below is a video of the song and a short testimony from Jill McCloghry, one of the Hillsong singers. We hope this blesses you today.
Check out this video:
The bottom line that we've discovered is that we should praise God for both who He is and for what He does for us. Very often, though, we only praise him for what he does for us, because that is easy for us to grasp. We see the beauty of creation and we see that He has lavished blessing on us.
However, praising God for blessing us isn't enough. We should also praise God because He is holy, righteous, gracious, merciful, compassionate, etc. No matter what He does or doesn't do for us, He is worthy of our praise.
Lyrics to Desert Song:
This is my prayer in the desert, When all that's within me feels dry, This is my prayer in my hunger and need, My God is the God who provides,
And this is my prayer in the fire, In weakness, or trial, or pain, There is a faith proved more worth than gold, So refine me Lord through the flame,
I will bring praise, I will bring praise, No weapon formed against me shall remain, I will rejoice, I will declare, God is my victory and He is here,
This is my prayer in the battle, When triumph is still on its way, I am a conqueror and co-heir with Christ, So firm on his promise I'll stand,
I will bring praise, I will bring praise, No weapon formed against me shall remain, I will rejoice, I will declare, God is my victory and He is here,
All of my life, in every season, You are still God, I have a reason to sing, I have a reason to worship,
I will bring praise, I will bring praise, No weapon formed against me shall remain, I will rejoice, I will declare, God is my victory and He is here,
And this is my prayer in the harvest, When favour and providence flow, I know I'm filled to be emptied again, The seed I receive I will sow
Psalm 104 "1 Praise the LORD, O my soul. O LORD my God, you are very great; you are clothed with splendor and majesty.
2 He wraps himself in light as with a garment; he stretches out the heavens like a tent....
33 I will sing to the LORD all my life; I will sing praise to my God as long as I live.
34 May my meditation be pleasing to him, as I rejoice in the LORD."
Deuteronomy 7:9 (from The Message)
Know this: God, your God, is God indeed, a God you can depend upon. He keeps his covenant of loyal love with those who love him and observe his commandments for a thousand generations.
The last week of February brought an end to the Mardi Gras festivities. The beginning of March marked the end of my internship. It was such a great experience – I learned a lot about what I’ll be doing in the future, met some great people, and got to travel to some exotic locales (and by exotic I mean backwoods Louisiana).
At the end of my internship I was offered a full-time position, so I’ll be starting work as a Staff 1 in the fall of 2010. I’m so excited and, given the current economy, blessed to have this great opportunity.
Me and my handy dandy audit trunk -->
Throughout the month I had several visitors, including Frankie (featured in the St. Patrick’s Day blog and video) and Dean, a friend from church, who brought his friend Jessica. It was fun hosting these friends during their first trip to the Big Easy.
During March, Matt was busy with church and school – mission teams, ministry events, Bible study, leading weekly prayer meetings, tests, papers, and all that jazz.He spent most of his Spring Break in Mississippi helping lead worship at a Youth event with Rob and Andrew.
At the end of the week, we took a trip to Gulf Shores, Alabama to enjoy some time at the beach. It was only a three hour drive, which is much better than the seven or so hours it takes to get to the beach from Knoxville, and the water was beautiful and blue. It was, however, extremely windy and a little cool. We walked along the beach some, ate our picnic lunch, tried to read (made difficult because of the gusts) and eventually packed up and headed to the nearby state park, where Matt napped for a couple of hours and I finished reading Jane Eyre. For dinner, we drove a short distance to Foley, Alabama to try Lambert’s Café, a highly recommended eatery. I don’t know what we were expecting, but the sight that greeted us when we got there was not what I thought. The place is similar to Cracker Barrel, with lots of good Southern home cooking. It is known as “The Home of the Throwed Rolls”. Indeed, this means that every five minutes or so, someone comes out of the kitchen with hot rolls and throws them to you. The food was good…at least mine was. Matt was told by his friend Luke, a Mississippi boy, to try the hog jowl. Well, it turns out this stuff is glorified bacon, thick and fatty….yum, right? He ate maybe a quarter of what they brought out….it was pretty gross. We won’t be taking any recommendations on dinner selections from Mississippi boys anytime soon.
Obviously, this is not hog jawl. It's just Matt enjoying some ribs (his fave).
A sign inside Slim Goodies, a fabulous diner in Uptown.
Matt and I are continuing to perfect our culinary skills. We grilled steaks on our George Foreman one night – not too bad if I do say so myself. The highlight (or lowlight) of the month occurred last week, when I was making grilled cheese sandwiches. Sounds simple enough, right? Not so. I decided to try using one of the fancy stainless steel pans my landlord provided. Well, something crazy happened - the pan heated up too fast or something - and I burned the sandwiches, and set off the smoke alarm. I called my landlord and she said she would send someone from maintenance right over. In about two minutes there was a knock at the door. It wasn’t the maintenance man. It was the New Orleans Fire Department….I was mortified! It was an experience though. And I learned a couple of important lessons: 1. Register for nonstick cookware 2. Open a window when you are cooking in this apartment, or have Matt flail his arms around like he’s being attacked by a nest of hornets to fan the smoke 3. Meet the Fire Dept. downstairs.They don’t know the code to get in, and they are not too happy when they have to call the office to get the code.
On the wedding front, we have started looking at places to register and things to register for. We went to Williams-Sonoma last week to look at kitchenware. Let me just say that even though I grew up in a house where there was always something going on in the kitchen, I had no idea how much stuff there was out there, or how many variations of each item there are – coffeemakers, toaster ovens, crock pots – so many sizes, options, choices…crazy!
All in all, March was a fabulous month down here in the Big Easy. We hope your month was awesome as well.I’ll be back in KnoxVegas in a couple of weeks.
Join us for a Crawfish Adventure narrated by Frankie starring Matt and Sarah.On this adventure, Sarah tastes crawfish for the first time, and Matt expounds on his love of the crustacean.
Bon appetit!
Sorry we've not been updating regularly. We've been busy living life, but we're working on getting back into the routine. Stay tuned for new posts and new adventures!
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
