THE SCENIC CITY

It has been quite a while since Rebecca has been able to post, so I am going to help carry the load. Poor Rebecca has been gone almost every week (including some weekends) since May, traveling around the eastern United States with her job. Needless to say she is really burnt out, but has been a trooper and continued to have a good attitude. I personally don’t know how she does it, but I am so proud of her and so thankful for her hard work.

Since Rebecca has last blogged a lot had gone on. We have traveled more than our fair share, which is great since traveling is one of our favorite things to do. In this post I am going to share our first trip of many this summer, which was a weekend get away to Chattanooga, also known as “The Scenic City!”

Rebecca and I had a great time in Chattanooga. Who new downtown Chattanooga was so entertaining? We have always heard about Lookout Mountain and Ruby Falls (which were fun), but it wasn’t nearly as cool compared to downtown. When we first arrived Chattanooga Rebecca and I visited the Tennessee Aquarium (pictured below). Rebecca and I always try to visit either an aquarium or zoo in any city we visit. It may sound weird, but we really enjoy them. We have heard a lot of people compare the Tennessee Aquarium to the Georgia Aquarium (in Atlanta) and received mixed emotions. I really enjoyed both, but personally liked the Tennessee Aquarium more.

After our trip to the Aquarium, Rebecca and I spent the remainder of our Saturday exploring downtown Chattanooga. The downtown area is very commercialized, but not overly-commercialized. The area has a lot of great restaurants, parks, an IMAX Theatre, a minor league baseball stadium and a beautiful American Art Museum (pictured below). We were blown away. The area was so family friendly.

Our favorite part of downtown included the bridges. The first bridge connected the Art

Museum to the Aquarium. This bridge was particularly cool because it was glass, really high and crossed over a busy street. Being someone who isn’t particularly fond of heights, this bridge definitely attempted to strip me of my “man card,” but don’t worry it didn’t succeed. The second bridge was an old steel bridge that expanded over the river. This bridge was really the center of entertainment downtown. That afternoon hundreds of people walked over the bridge with their families, some stopped to sit on a bench and enjoy the view, others ran, rode bikes, played music and walked their dogs. It was such a great family atmosphere. (In this picture we are standing on the glass bridge. You can see the steel bridge in the back ground).

So, Rebecca and I decided to join in and walk across the bridge to find out what was on the other side. To our pleasure we found the other more historic half of downtown Chattanooga. There were lots of small shops that contained boutique stores, restaurants and an old-fashioned ice cream parlor that Rebecca and I couldn’t turn down. I can’t remember the name of the parlor, but it was honestly the best butter pecan ice cream I have ever had!

After our tour around downtown we headed back to our hotel and woke up the next morning to explore Lookout Mountain and Ruby Falls (pictured to the right). Both were of course beautiful and we had a great time.

Now, Rebecca and I are trying to plan a 5-day anniversary vacation in October. We are trying to decide where to go, so my question to all of you is “What is your favorite place to vacation?” We would really appreciate any suggestions, so please post!

- Josh

MAYBERRY, I mean, CULLMAN

Three weekends ago (still catching up on my posting...) Josh and I decided to really explore downtown Cullman. This is what we found....

Our first stop was to a local BBQ place called Johnny's Bar-B-Q. (We ordered what you see in the picture to your left.) It was delicious!! One thing we have learned about Alabama: they make good BBQ. This place had a white sauce (as you can see) like a lot of places in Alabama... I loved the sauce. Josh did not as he has an aversion to most white condiments... mayonaise, sour cream, white cheeses, ranch dressing or anything with any combination of any of these.

Our next stop was an an architectural salvage and antique store in downtown cullman called Southern Accents. As you can see by the entrance to their store, they too were affected by the tornados back in April, but they are still open for business!!

This store was absolutely amazing... Josh and I browsed through the whole place picking out front doors, hardware, mirrors, lighting and this fireplace mantel for a future house :)

Our next stop was just a couple of blocks over on this cute little street with lots of clothing, stationary and furniture/decoration boutiques. I love what they did with this old warehouse turned retail strip.

Just a couple of streets over from the pictures above we saw this....

It was definitely a rude awakening to see once again the damage that happened in only a matter of hours. There is still a lot of cleanup to be done in Cullman (and throughout the state.) When I see these images, all I can do is pray for those who lost loved ones, pray for those who lost their homes and businesses and thank God that he spared us and kept us safe during that time.

And that sums up our day in downtown Cullman. There is still a lot that Josh and I want to explore in the area including the Ave Maria Grotto which is a monastary in the heart of Cullman that is beautiful (so we have heard) and also has many hiking trails.

JOSH, THE ADIMINSTRATIVE RESIDENT

Again, I am severely behind on my posting... but I wanted to fill you in on Josh's new internship (well, it is paid, so I like to say "Josh's new job" :). Josh started his adminstrative residency last month at Huntsville Hospital in Huntsville, AL. (See picture to the left... his first day on May 16 with his new suit and bag he got for graduation.) During this residency he will complete several rotations through different departments of the hospital, work on special projects for the executive leadership, sit in on senior team meetings and observe lots of surgeries. I am sure that there are lots more things that he will be doing for the next year... but since he refuses to make this a joint blog, you get to hear the description from yours truly.

Huntsville Hospital is one of the largest locally owned non-profit hospitals in the country. It has 881 beds and 6,200 employees. (Comparison - about the size of UAB and about 300 beds larger than Shands Jacksonville.) They are a Trama 1 Center which serves all of Northern Alabama and the southern Tennessee Valley. They provide all medical procedures and services (except organ transplants). Translation = Josh will be exposed to a lot since Huntsville Hospital is so large and provides so many medical servies. Another side note... their facilities are so large that they have a TRAM (like a DISNEY WORLD TRAM) that patients and families can ride to get from one building to another... it looks AMAZING... I can't wait to ride it :).

Josh has an office in the EXECUTIVE SUITE. He sits right in-between the CEO, COO and CFO of the hospital. He gets to interact with the executive team daily and is directly exposed to their daily duties, meetings and projects. His office is extremely nice with his own sitting area and everything - FAN-CY!! I will try to get him to let me post pictures eventually... once we get the office in proper "working order." Of course, since his wife is an interior designer... his office needs that special husband-of-a-designer touch. I will leave it up to your imagination as to who in this family is more concerned with a well-designed office.... :)

We are so incredibly thankful for this opportunity that Josh has to soak up as much information as he can before he has to go get his "real" job after this next year. He is really hoping to get a broad range of exposure to all of the business and development sides of the hospital in order to determine what he may be most interested in pursuing after his internship. This is going to be an exciting year in the Hewiett House. Can't wait to see how God will use Josh in this position where God will take our family in the future!

WE'VE MOVED!! (TO CULLMAN)

We officially moved to Cullman two weekends ago, just a couple of days before Josh started his administrative residency at Huntsville Hospital. Cullman is a small country town of approx. 14,000 people located exactly half-way between Huntsville and Birmingham. We decided to move so that Josh could complete this year-long residency and I could keep my job in Birmingham. We both have about a 55 mile commute to work (one-way) which is mainly interstate so it has not been bad so far.

The actual move went slightly smoother than our move to Birmingham, where our moving truck broke down 3 hours away from our new apartment. We had lots of great friends help us load and unload and the whole process was complete in about 4 hours - not too bad. (Thank you all again - we really appreciate your help!!)

Side note - I cannot believe that it was almost 2 years ago that I started this blog and we moved to Alabama... time has definitely flown by and God has blessed us in ways that we weren't even imagining at that point in time - we definitely give Him the honor and praise for everything - our jobs, our friends, our church, our spiritual growth, our loving families...

We are getting settled in to our new apartment in Cullman... everything is unpacked and we are just about finished organizing closets, etc. We are actually very thankful for the HUGE closets that our slightly smaller-than-Birmingham apartment has. It is amazing how closets can make all of the difference....

We of course have the "Gator Guest Room" all set up which Molly has claimed as her new sleeping space...so potential guests may have a furry roommate...

This was the new purchase that we made for our new place - washer and dryer. Needless to say, laundry is my new favorite chore. We shopped around and got a great deal on these "investment pieces" that will hopefully follow us to our next home(s) and last for many years to come. These new beauties literally sing to me when I turn them on and off and when they are telling me a load is finished... They have so many settings that I still have not tried them all and their load capacity is double what our old machines were. They also have a digital timer telling me how much time is left. The only drawback is the small closet they are in... because of their slightly larger size, the washer is in this closet (as shown) and the dryer is in the adjacent closet to the right. The closets connect in the middle which allows for the lovely dryer vent tube to be pulled (as shown) over the washer. While this may not be the ideal setup, I do not care one bit - they are connected, and they work and I am in laundry heaven :).

That is about all for our new home in Cullman, Alabama. I am sure there will be many more posts to come about our adventures in our new little town... this place definitely brings a whole new meaning to the term "SOUTHERN charm."

Also - HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY!!

FAMILY GATHERING

In keeping with the theme of being extremely behind on my blog postings... here are some pics from Brook Hills' Family Gathering from 2 weeks ago. All of the families from our church got together 2 wednesday nights ago to tailgate and hang out with their families and small groups. It was such a fun and relaxing time. One fun thing that the church leaders planned was a "Chalk by Numbers" picture that everyone helped to color in the parking lot. It turned out really well (so we think...) they haven't posted the group picture that we took from the roof of the church with the completed "Chalk by Numbers" picture yet... I will update when they do.

It was sort of a bittersweet time for Josh and I... it was the last event we did with our small group before moving to Cullman. We are still trying to go and participate as much as we can - we are driving into Birmingham for the service on Sunday and going as much as possible to small group during the week - but with a 55 mile distance now between us and our church, we are certainly not as close as we have been for the past 2 years. We love our church and our small group and cherish our friendships with sweet friends that God has given us during our time in Birmingham.

I still have several posts to catch up on (hopefully) before I take off and hit the airways for the summer for furniture installations in Ohio, Boca Raton, Baltimore and Gainesville... I need to fill everyone in on our move to Cullman and Josh's new job! Hope everyone has a great Memorial Day weekend!!

GRADUATION DAY

Last Saturday, May 7, was Josh's graduation from grad school. He graduated with his MBA and officially completed the class section of his MSHA (yet to complete the year internship...) We have been looking forward to this day for a long 2 years and it was finally here!! I am so proud of how hard he has worked and so excited for him as he begins a new career in Healthcare Administration.

The weekend was full of lots of activities - On Friday, Josh's parents and my Mom arrived in the afternoon. We had planned a cookout/party for Josh up at the clubhouse in our complex. It was a wonderful time to relax with with our parents and friends - and eat good food of course.

Small Group

Proud parents & wife with the graduate :)

Josh with the cake he requested - homemade yellow cake with chocolate icing

The next day we went out to lunch and then headed downtown to take pictures/meet up with friends before the MBA graduation ceremony began. After a few minutes of prepping and trying to figure out how the hood worked on his "Blazer" green robe - I present to you... a graduate school graduate :).

Josh with his parents

Josh with Mom and Me

Josh's friends from the MSHA program, also doing the MBA

And... walking across the stage - It's official!!

Streamers?? STREAMERS!!

On Saturday evening, we headed over to The Club for Josh's MSHA graduation dinner. The location was very nice - The Club is one of Birmingham's historic landmarks and it has amazing views of the downtown area. The dinner was delicious and it was a great time for Josh's classmates to meet each others families. During the night, each graduate had to get up and tell their favorite memory about the program - Josh's was pretty funny - you will have to ask him about it. After their stories, each student had to stand up there while their mentor-professor roasted them/gave them an award - Josh's award was the "Florida Gators/Urban Meyer" Award. As you can imagine, Josh was the only one in his class who was a gator fan and he let everyone know it... it was a fun time.

Josh and I with the view of downtown Birmingham

Our good friends Jordan and Jess at the Graduation Dinner

Sunday, to top off the weekend was Mother's Day. We have a relaxing day - we went to church in the morning, out to lunch at Jim N Nick's BBQ (of course) and then relaxed and cooked dinner that night. We were so thankful to be with our Mom's (and Dad) this year on Mother's Day. We love you!! We are very thankful for all of the love and support that you have given us during grad school.

Josh and I with our sweet Mothers

The weekend was a blast - I can't believe that has already come and gone... we have already moved on (literally) to the next big thing... more on that in the next post!!

WHIRLWIND AND SOME TORNADOS...

The past 2.5 weeks have been a whirlwind of events - Josh graduating, us moving to Cullman, and Josh's first day at Huntsville hospital (today). I plan to update everyone (hopefully this week) on all of these exciting events, but first I must fill everyone on "The day of the Tornados..."

When we moved to Alabama a couple of years back, we had several people tell us that we were moving to "Tornado Alley"... it goes without saying that on Wednesday, April 27, we realized that they were right. Josh and I woke up that morning at 6:00 AM to the sound of Molly (our golden retriever) freaking out and whining/barking in our room. When we woke up, we immediately realized that there was what sounded like a tornado right outside our window. We jumped up, grabbed her and ran to the bathroom... After a few minutes, things had calmed down. We later realized that it was indeed a small tornado had touched down and destroyed parts of a nearby neighborhood (Cahaba Heights) and we think it picked back up before moving through our complex just about a mile away - very terrifying way to wake up!! The syrens had gone off 30 minutes before the tornado came through... but there were so far away from our apartment, that they were not loud enough to wake us up.



Later that morning when I got out/tried to drive through Cahaba Heights to get to work... we realized how blessed we were that our complex was spared the destruction of this tornado... as I turned back around in all of the road blocks, I was thanking and praising God.

Later that evening is when the majority of the tornados came through the state and completely destroyed parts of Tuscaloosa, Fultondale, and Cullman (our future home..) Once our power came back on and we were able to watch the news/ look at the internet - we were in shock at the amount of damage and lives lost. We again thanked God that we were spared the destruction that came literally through our backyard.

The following Sunday, our paster David Platt, spoke on Job 1. It is always humbling to be reminded of the trials/tribulations that Job went through and how he continued to praise and honor God through his circumstances. It was a humbling message to hear... how do I act when trials come my way? Do I praise and trust God when I am scared or even inconvenienced? (No power for 4 days...) Or do I worry, complain or put my trust in other things?

Job 1:18-22 (NIV)

Vs. 18 - "While he was still speaking, yet another messenger came and said, 'Your sons and daughters were feasting and drinking wine at the oldest brother's house, (VS. 19) when suddenly a mighty wind swept in from the desert and struck the four corners of the house. It collapsed on them and they were dead, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you! (Vs. 20) At this, Job got up and tore his robe and shaved his head. Then he fell to the ground in worship (Vs. 21) and said: 'Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked I will depart. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised."

Definitely a humbling passage... Job lost his entire family and everything he owned and still praised God. One thing David pointed out that we forget when we read this passage (and any passage in the Bible for that matter...) is that we (as the reader today) know the whole story. We know that Job survives these trials and God blesses him in the end... but when Job was going through it, obviously he did not know what the outcome would be. Job had faith in God's plan, His sovereignty and His will for Job's life. I am praying that I can do the same when trials (tornados) come through my life.