Sweet On Chip: life with wife

Special delivery.

Last Wednesday, a care package arrived from Baton Rouge. We were so excited to find all kinds of goodies, packed by Brian's Mom.

I waited all day for the delivery, and it finally arrived around 6:30 p.m. (!)

Winter clothes, girl scout cookies, our DVD player, a new necklace, the Wii that Brian accidentally left, and a few of our pictures we had left behind.

I felt like it was Christmas morning!

Here's some pictures Brian took of me opening things:

I love this picture that Brian sketched of my baby girl!

We tore open the package in a frenzy. Here's the clothes that ended up in the corner.

Fun stuff!

Payday at Popeye's.

 

With the continuing decline of the economy, one fast food entity decided to bailout our wallets for 24 hours.

On April 22nd, Popeye's ran a special all-day deal, radically offering an eight piece chicken meal for only $4.99!

It sounded almost too good to be true, but Chipley and I decided that we would "cash in" on the payday for dinner.

Sure enough, it was a reality. Chipley stayed in the car and read a book while I braved the huge line in a quest for the price-friendly poultry. This particular Popeye's was really well managed, and the speed of service was impressive (since most Popeye's in Baton Rouge are run like soup kitchens).

I've had to call that customer service phone number on their drive-thru window more than once.

But I digress.

In the end, I was able to get eight pieces of chicken, two biscuits, and a large side of mashed potatoes for $11!

That's a payday without a payout that really paid off.

I also noticed that there's some Popeye's style Jambalaya now.

Definitely a must try for me.

Wedding pictures online.

Finally, after what seemed to be years of waiting, our wedding pictures are ready for online viewing.

So, in honor of our 8-month anniversary, we present four galleries of "Faith. Hope. Love" available now on Facebook.

Now, without further delay...

For non-members, here are the direct links:

Part 1 takes you through the Bride's preparation process, as well as the pre-ceremony groomsmen meeting in the church balcony, and the wedding party processional.

Part 2 spans the entire ceremony, including the bridal entrance, Rev. J. Garland McKee's introduction, Pastor Dino Rizzo's message on our wedding verse Ecclesiastes 9:9, Candace Mula's leading of worship in "The Revelation Song," the unity sand and greeting of the parents, communion, and Pastor Ken's officiating of the vows, followed by the processional chorus "I'll Fly Away".

Then finally, we arrive at the Country Club of Louisiana for the reception.

Part 3 brings us to the reception, where the cake and rug are cut, the garters and bouquets were tossed, emotions rose, dedications expressed, and memories were made.

Part 4 winds up the reception and takes us out into the grounds of the Country Club of Louisiana for some bride and groom portraits, and then our grand-dodging-bird seed-exit.

Enjoy!

Piecing the puzzle.

Ever the resourceful one, Chipley bought a puzzle to work on in her free time.

But we don't have any place to accommodate her work.

So, she has resorted to working in multiple places:

In the bathroom.

In the kitchen.

By the balcony.

Hopefully these 500 pieces will come together successfully.

"Like a chocolate chip, but much sweeter."

Welcome to a blog dedicated to Chipley Burch McCollister...a girl that I became so sweet on, I had to marry her. 

These are our stories.

This is our life.

First week of class down.

My first week of class at Video Symphony went really well.

I don't think it's settled in yet that I'm actually a student here now, because I was visitor over the last months.

Now I can actually walk past the lobby and straight into classrooms.

But things are different than I imagined.

Sure, every course was one I was pumped about taking, but they're not easy.

They are on average 16 hours per week. In addition, at least 4-8 four hour H.O.T. (Hands On Time) sessions are required for each class.

This what I came for, and I'm going to make the most of it.

Pictured to the right is a shot of the exterior building, a place that will be my home for the next 10 months.

Easter in Burbank.

If you're in a foreign environment, it can be tempting to get depressed during Easter (even in the midst celebrating the resurrected Lamb of God).

So, we tried to do the best we could to make Easter in California memorable:

Mom sent us a package of Easter candy and basket grass, which I spread out on our empty mantle. 

Big Lots has some great deals on plastic eggs (including some in the likeness of Batman).

We attended an Easter service at Church On The Way in Van Nuys.

To top it all off, we had an exquisite Easter lunch at McDonald's.

Yes...Jesus is STILL alive, and He's promised to be with us "even unto the ends of the earth."

And California too.

Home base.

We've been busy setting up our "home base" in Burbank, at the Promenade apartments.

The location is great, as it's about a 10 minute walk to school for Brian.

Here' some pictures of the place "sans" furniture:

Den

   

Kitchen

   

Bedroom

 

Bathroom

 

It's pretty bare looking now, but we'll post some updated pictures once we finish moving in and tidy up the place.

Successful arrival.

Well, we made it safe and soundly, and have spent the last two weeks getting settled and acclimated to our new surroundings.

The part of Burbank we're in is really nice, and everything is within walking distance (which really saves fuel). In fact, we've only had to use the car to visit churches on Sunday, and run to the grocery store.

We visited the Church On The Way (founded by Jack Hayford) in Van Nuys this past Sunday, and it was pretty cool. More of a traditional place, which I'm fine with (because I was raised Baptist) but something Chipley has never really experienced.

This week, we're going to visit Angelus Temple, with Pastor Matt Barnette. It looks like it's more of a charismatic, Healing Place style and we're looking forward to it.

We'll let you know.