I heart Raleigh.

Yesterday I went and ran 30 minutes with my friend Nicole Short and another friend of ours Rob Parrish. As we finished our run we passed several houses with families out on the porch, children running in the street playing with a basketball, people lounging in plastic chairs, grills cooking hot dogs, and lot of smiles and laughter.

Later, Jerod and I went downtown to meet up with Nicole and Rob at the Duck and Dumpling, an AWESOME restaurant on Blount St. Jerod and I went there for Valentines Day and our friend Amaris Hames works there as a hostess and food runner. A perfect job for her if you ask me! She's a get-er-done kind of person and her personality draws people in no matter how much you know her. I watched her last night effortlessly greet, seat and make people laugh. She saved us the best seat in the restaurant (in my opinion), in the corner by the window so you can watch everything inside and everything outside.

Jerod and I took the motorcycle last night and I admit I've been trying to get him to get rid of it... and it hasn't worked so far :-) But I remembered why I love it in the summer. Since we didn't go on the interstate I didn't have to wear my big heavy jacket with padding in it, while safe it is SO hot in the summer. As we drove I was texting Nicole and watching all the people. We don't have a big skyline but it is so beautiful at night when you drive over Boylan Bridge.

Here it is at night in the background of the picture. This is from the night Jerod proposed:



I love Raleigh. We're still small but growing. We have great things to do, museums, an arboretum, colleges, churches who are trying to love the city, First Friday, art and music. I love that our city has so many different kinds of people. I love our church, Vintage21. I know Jerod and I are called to live here and serve here. I have so much peace and joy knowing we are called to be here. We can invest here. I desire to have children here and raise them to love God.

*I did not remember where in the Bible these verses were but they were on the screen at church yesterday :-)

Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: Build houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat their produce. Take wives and have sons and daughters; take wives for your sons, and give you daughters in marriage, that they may bear sons and daughters; multiply there, and do not decrease. But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare.

Jeremiah 29:4-7