Very Thankful: NC & VA Road Trip

Greetings! I can't believe that the Christmas season is already upon us! Here is a quick overview of what we have been up to since our last post!

November 6-7
-Trip to Vedauwoo, WY with some high schoolers and middle schoolers from our youth group! We were able to enjoy God's beautiful creation by exploring some boulder formations! It was awesome!



Do you see the whale?

November 13th-14th

One of my best friends, Dani, flew in from California for the Husker game! Although she is a USC fan at heart, I believe that the Huskers are a very close second!! :)


November 19th

Nathan and I left Grand Island, NE bright and early to begin the longest road trip we had ever attempted during our 1 1/2 years of marriage.... :) We made it all the way to Clarksville, TN in time to grab a hotel room so we could watch the Husker game! We got on our way the next morning and made it to Nathan's aunt and uncle's house in Huntersville, NC by 3:30PM! We were able to spend Sunday night, Monday and Tuesday afternoon with Brian, Jen, Dylan & Brooke! On Monday, Nathan and I went to the NASCAR Hall of Fame with Jen in Charlotte, NC! It was pretty cool!





Nathan's UNL internship was where the foam SAFER barriers for all NASCAR tracks originated! He was very excited to see the display!



After spending a few days with the Carey family, we drove just about 3 hours to Holden and Rachel's house in Radford, VA which is near Roanoke, VA! We spent Tuesday night, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday morning with them! We had not yet met little Cliff Hudson so it was so wonderful to finally hold and kiss him! Riah is now 2 years old, so he was talking a mile a minute! Dad and Mom drove in from Nebraska on Wednesday night and Eric and Carley came on Thursday afternoon! We enjoyed our first Thanksgiving ever OUTSIDE! Thanksgiving afternoon was sunny and gorgeous!









We had a VERY good time just hanging out as a family and look forward to Holden, Rachel, Riah & Cliff as well as Eric & Carley travelling home for Christmas in a few weeks! Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving and have a very MERRY CHRISTMAS!

There's an antelope head in our deep freeze...

Big news this month??? Nathan shot his first ANTELOPE! Hence the title for this blog....Nathan was able to go hunting with a high school classmate and good friend in the western part of Nebraska last weekend! They had an awesome, manly weekend of stalking out antelope! So, I came home to my hubby cutting up the meat in our kitchen on Sunday night and it don't go over very well. (I don't do well with raw meat). So then, what does Nathan ask me? "Do you want to see the head?" I gave him a quizzical look. He walked over to our deep freeze and motioned for me to come look inside. Sure enough. The entire antelope HEAD was wrapped in two garbage bags. If you're wondering, I didn't look at it very long and haven't looked in our deep freeze again. It won't be there long. Nathan will take it home this weekend and prepare it for a skull mount (that will NOT hang on our living room wall). I have to say though, I am really proud of Nathan and I am not against eating the yummy jerky and steaks :) He is such a good hunter and I love that he gets to do something he enjoys and provide for us!





September was a fun and busy month for us! Labor Day weekend I was able to drive down to Kansas City with my best friend Chelsea and pick up my best friend Dani at the airport on the way. She flew in from California and it was so great to see her! Chelsea and I visited Dani in CA in March so it was so great to have a fun girls weekend getaway! We hung out and did some fun shopping! Since Dani and I had lived with a family during our discipleship school in KC in 2007, we were able to meet up with our host family and catch up! I got lucky because the first host family I lived with was also in KC for the holiday weekend so I got to see them as well :)





I got to use my pink PSE bow at the Annual Bow Shoot this year! Nathan and I even wore our matching camo shirts....





Maybe I will get something with my bow.....after lots of practice!




Nathan & I really enjoy working with our youth group each week! They are an awesome group of teens and we pray that God uses us in a mighty way to help them grow spiritually!



We are counting down the days until our Thanksgiving roadtrip out to North Carolina and Viriginia! We are leaving the weekend before Thanksgiving to visit Nathan's aunt and uncle in North Carolina for a few days before going to Holden & Rachel's for most of Thanksgiving week! It will be the first time we meet little Cliff Hudson so we are VERY excited! It's HUSKER season so we are also looking forward to traveling to Lincoln for a football game at the end of October!

Two years ago...

Labor Day two years ago, Nathan picked me up at the Omaha, NE airport from a trip to see my friend Dani in California. On the way back to Lincoln, he suggested we take a walk through Mahoney State Park. I was all for it because we had driven by the park many times but never stopped. So we drove in and walked down on this deck by the water. It was about 9:30PM and the moonlight was reflecting off the water. :) We were talking about our weekend away from each other and then all of the sudden, Nathan takes both of my hands in his hands and starts saying my whole name, "Amanda Marie Patten..." As he is saying my name, he starts getting down on one knee and grabbing for something in his pocket. He proceeded to say something about how much he loved me and wanted to spend of the rest of his life with me (I would love to recall the direct quote but I was a bit overwhelmed at the time) and then asked me if I would marry him and become his wife!!!!!! Of course, I started squealing and smiling and jumped into his arms. He then showed me the beautiful ring he had chosen for me and I was floored! It was so beautiful and I was so excited to be marrying a man of God who loved & respected me!

Yes, two years ago on Labor Day, Nathan asked me to be his wife. I am so blessed to be married to such an amazing, humble, Godly man. I can't believe that we have already been married for over a year! It goes by so fast!

August has been a fun month! As you know from our previous post, we added a nephew to our family! Cliff Hudson Barry was born early on August 13th!



Riah is a very proud big brother and turned 2 a day before Cliff was born! Cliff was also born on Holden's birthday!



We attended our first Fries Family Reunion as a married couple so that was fun! It is a every 3-5 year reunion so alot of family travels to Nebraska for the weekend! Most of the guys went golfing while the girls hung out and went to the pool! It's nice because my best friend since sophomore year in high school Chelsea also happens to be Nathan's first cousin....so I got to hang out with Nathan's family and my best friend :)

Nathan & I really enjoying helping with our church's youth group each Wednesday night! To kick off the school year, we had a MINUTE TO WIN IT game night! Here is a picture of the kids trying to get Oreo cookies from their forehead to their mouth using only their facial muscles....no hands.



We are currently studying the book of Revelation with them and they are really stepping up and digging into the Word! We really need to be praying for all teenagers....they are facing so much every day in their schools. Many teens, even if they attend a youth group, may not have parents who challenge them spiritually. That is hard for me to believe since I had such encouraging parents...

Labor Day weekend, I was able to travel to Kansas City with Chelsea and pick up Dani from California on the airport on the way! We had an awesome girls weekend hanging out, shopping, and laying out by the pool! Nathan was able to go to the first Husker game in Lincoln with his best friend Zane. He also did some four-wheeling with his family in Halsey, NE.

I LOVE the changing of seasons! The days are getting cooler and I am so ready to pull my UGG boots out of the closet! :) Hope everyone is enjoying the change of season as well!