My Top 25

As most of you know, Karson and I had a little second honeymoon in Europe this summer. We had sooooooo much fun! We felt very blessed to be able to do this! I didn't really know where to start...so I decided to do a TOP 10 list. My Top 10 soon became Top 20 and it just went on from there.:)

Here they are in no particular order...drum roll please:)

1. We loved the music! Whether it was listening to a concert in Salzburg, enjoying Irish pub music, or enjoying an open air concert in a park, we had so much fun!

2. Driving. It is just different driving over there...:) 3. The Luge ride. I didn't get a picture of us on the actual luge ride, but this is the lift up there. It was so fun!

4. Castles. Whether it was ruins or not, it was so fun to see these historical places. Ehrenberg Ruins in Austria

Mad King Ludwig's Castle in Bavaria, Germany

5. Hiking. We did SO much hiking! It was so fun!

Bacharach, Germany

St. Goar, Germany

Rheinfels Castle, Germany

6. Fun times with Friends. We just happened to run into some of our friends, Matt and Eleanor. We ran into them in Rothenburg, Germany and it just so happened to be my birthday. We enjoyed a fun little birthday dinner...
...and we ended up having the exact same itinerary for the next few days, including the same flight to London. Crazy, right?

7. Watching Karson take pictures. Karson gets so excited when he has a camera in his hand and I think it so endearing that he will stop to take a picture of some little creature or flower when there is a gigantic castle behind him.:)

8. Being a hobbit in Halstatt, Austria...:) One of our favorite things... Beautiful, right?

9. Karson pretending to be John Wayne at the Quiet Man Bridge in Ireland.

See the resemblance? :)

10. The Irish Coast.

Cliffs of Moher

It was a little windy.:)

11. European swimwear...just kidding.;)
12. Irish countryside. It was so beautiful!

Rock of Cashel

Ashford Castle

Kylemore Abbey

hiking up Conor's pass

13. The rain in Ireland.

14. Taking part in magic shows...

15. Seeing really old stuff...

Bath, England

The Baths

Stonehenge

16. The food. We loved it all...

a full English breakfast in London

The Naschmarkt in Vienna

enjoying the BEST ever lamb sandwich...

17. Schonbrunn Palace in Austria.

18.Visiting the Lipizzaner horses in Vienna, Austria. This was a particularly special day for us because our very first date eight years ago was to see the Lipizzaners in Abilene, Texas.

19. The Vienna State Opera. What an experience!

20. Wandering the streets.

The Shambles in York, England

Main Market Square in Krakow, Poland

21. Visiting Auschwitz. This was an unbelievably humbling and moving experience. We were so thankful to be able to visit and remember those who lost their lives as well as those who lived through their time here.

The gas chambers

22. Watching a play at Shakespeare's Globe in London.

23. The Beefeater Tour at the Tower of London. It was so entertaining and informative!

Tower of London

24. Quaint Medieval Cities

Rothenburg, Germany
25. Watching Les Miserables in London. This might have been my favorite night of our trip! We went to see Les Mis on our anniversary and the whole night was just so romantic and perfect! It was such a special evening!

We felt so incredibly blessed to be able to take this trip and we were so thankful for this time together. Our love for each other grew and we were able to make so many wonderful memories! Thanks for letting us share our trip with you!

Run, Sharon, Run!

Last weekend, I ran my first half marathon with my friend Sarah. It was such an amazing experience. I know that people do this all the time, but for me, it seemed like an impossible goal...which is exactly why I wanted to do it.:) I have been overwhelmed by how sweet everybody has been and how much support I have been given. There are quite a few pictures (lots of me...I'm sorry!), but Karson worked so hard to find me and Sarah during the race to take pictures and I wanted to post a few so that we can remember this day and share it with our families.

The morning started with a a very sweet surprise. I should have known that Karson was up to something when he came to bed at 3:00 a.m when we were planning to wake up at 5:00 a.m. He had decorated the house with a TON of streamers. He bought Sarah and I pink boas, decorated bandannas for us and he made us a sign. I had to laugh a little as I was picturing Karson at Hobby lobby buying glitter, sequins, and pink boas.:)

And the race begins...:) Sarah had to remind me to slow down. I got caught up in the excitement!

Karson has very many of these random shots. We think that the runners thought that he was one of the professional photographers because of his fancy camera.:)

We have about 400 pictures that look like this... I look like I'm about to die and Sarah looks beautiful and happy and most importantly, like she's breathing... which is more than I could say.:)
Really...barefoot?Another picture where I look like I'm about to die...sweet Sarah is motioning to Karson to get me water. Not only is she a superstar runner, but isn't she the sweetest friend, too?
Another happy face...I had to chose between smiling and breathing...

Another person who probably thought Karson was a photographer...:)

This actually was a wave...Ha!

And then...we finally made it to the finish line! This picture is an awful (and hilarious!) picture of me. You can zoom in to truly get the full effect.:) BUT it was such a sweet moment for many reasons. When I was really struggling at the end of the race,Sarah gave me her IPOD and I listened to a song that my mom asked me to listen to during the race. It is called What Faith Can Do.

Anyone can feel the ache,
You think its more than you can take,

But you're stronger, stronger than you know
And don't you give up now,

The sun will soon be shining,

You gotta face the clouds,

To find the silver lining.

I've seen faith that moves the mountains,

Hope that doesn't end,

Even when the sky is falling.

I've seen miracles just happen,

Silent prayers get answered,

Broken Hearts become brand new,

That's what faith can do.

Sweet song, huh? And then we saw Amy and Michelle ( and their HUGE yellow banner...Loved it girls!). They were cheering so loudly and jumping up and down . It made me feel so loved! I still feel so blessed that they would give up their morning to come cheer us on!

"Why are you making me cry?!!!"
Notice that Sarah is once again taking care of me and holding the IPOD that I am listening to...:)



Karson did such a great job of finding me and handing me water and calories during the race that he wasn't able to park and get to the finish line in time. This picture is when I first saw him. I was so stiff that I could hardly walk to him! We were all laughing!

Getting loved on...
A few hours later, our friend Amber finished the FULL marathon. So proud of you girl!

Our little group...

Our sweet friends Amy and Michelle who came to cheer us on...

My parents weren't able to make it, so they emailed me a little something from Cali...I wonder if their neighbors heard them? :)Thank you to everyone for being so encouraging! What do you think, is it time for a full? Ha!

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Karson here. Sharon thinks I'm proofing her blog entry. I thought I'd add a pic of what we caught Sharon doing that night during our Church's small group. We were watching a marriage video. She already is perfect and didn't need to learn anything else.

The best Easter surprise EVER!

Look at what the Easter Bunny brought us this year!

We had a surprise visit from Mackenzie and her mommy on Easter!

This is a picture of sweet Mackenzie just a month ago. It is AMAZING to see how much better she is doing and how truly blessed we are.We had so much fun with her! She is such an sweet baby!

We spent the whole day cuddling and really just staring at her. She is beautiful and truly a miracle!

Doesn't she look excited to go on her first outing?!

She is finally able to eat from a bottle. She can't eat very much, but Amanda gives her a little formula in her bottle and then the rest goes through her feeding tube.

This is what we did for about 2 hours...:) She napped...I ate strawberry shortcake.:) It doesn't get any better than that!

Look how sad she was when it was time to go!

I hope your Easter was as wonderful as ours!

A VERY belated HaPpY BiRtHdaY!

I am DEFINITELY not going to win the "super-duper" wife award for this one...I am a little (OK...a LOT!) late in posting about my sweet hubby's birthday. My tardiness ( and my lack of picture-taking) are absolutely NO reflection of my love for this AMAZING guy. We have just been a little busy in the Williams' household these past few weeks. :)

Karson's parents came to town to celebrate with us the weekend before his birthday. We had a fun day of watching movies, shopping at Home Depot, and lots of good food. These are the only pictures that I have to document our time, so you will just have to use your imagination for the rest! Karson was a little excited about his birthday TV.

We all enjoyed the finished product.:)

For his ACTUAL birthday, he said that he wanted to eat sushi (on the couch). That was a pretty easy request.

I also made him wear the "birthday pin" . For those of you who can't see what it says..."It's my birthday...wanna spank me?"

I had a Kindergartner give me a card that had this in it my first year of teaching. I'm not sure if the funniest part of it was that it wasn't even my birthday or that this sweet kid spoke NO English and kept taking the pin off of my desk and bringing it to me to wear...:)Needless to say, it has become a Williams' family must for birthdays...:)

I am so blessed to celebrate yet another birthday with the love of my life!