Our Cruise

Hi everyone!

We're back from our cruise! We had a wonderful time, especially once I started feeling better. On the Thursday before we left I came down with Strep Throat, which made traveling a bit crazy, but by Tuesday (Key West day), I was feeling much better.

Our trip started in Houston, where we had a great visit with Matt Clinger and Laura (formally Laura Martin), and Katie. On Sunday our cruise took off from Galveston. We had beautiful weather throughout the whole cruise. Our stops were Key West, Grand Cayman, and the Rivera Maya (where we visited Xel-Ha). Our favorite stop was Grand Cayman, where we did a reef and sting rays snorkel. It was amazing!!! The sting rays must just know that this is the spot to go and get food, because there were about 30 of them, swimming all around us and letting us pet them. I'll post some shots from our underwater camera when we get them back.

Here's a few photos:


From the dock in Key West.


A chicken crossing the road in Key West. :)


BJ getting some sun, with "creepy guy" in the background. Just because you're wearing sunglasses doesn't mean we don't know you're staring at us. Seriously, he wouldn't stop.


Our great table -- we had a great time getting to know everyone, especially the couple from Minneapolis (to the right of us at the table).


The Southern-most point in the US.


A view of the pool deck.


A beautiful ocean view.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day!

- Jessie

Happy Friday!

Another funny photo to share:



Yea, its Friday! :) This weekend BJ and I are going to be quite busy. We'll be getting ready for our vacation and getting home-buying stuff together. I'm hoping we'll get a chance to visit a few open houses this Sunday.

Have a great weekend!

- Jessie

Family with 38 boys!!!

Wow!

Kermie

Hope you all have a great day! It's almost Friday! :)

- Jessie

So Funny

Okay, I just have to share this because I think its sooo funny. In this video from our wedding reception you'll see my Mom (left), my aunt (middle), and my dad (right).... just watch. :)

- Jessie

So Many Children

Ever so often I look through photos of orphaned children (these ones are from outside the US) - at Precious.org. Adoption is such a cool thing - its so amazing how a child's life can be so dramatically changed by adoption, especially a child who might not otherwise have a family to love them.

There are so many kids in need - and because they are not infants, the chance that they will be adopted is very slim.

- Jessie

I Apologize - Another Photo of Sidney

I realize that I post a lot of cat photos, but seriously... how adorable is this?!

BJ's wondering if I'll ever move on to a new photography subject. :)

This weekend, BJ's in West Virginia skiing with the guys from church, and having a great time. I just got through a week of a rough cold, and was so happy to wrap up the week. This weekend will be recoup time.

BJ and I have been looking more into houses / land... We thought we found a great spot (an acre lot to build on, within a neighborhood), but it turns out its already got a buyer. I think that we'll probably have to start enlisting the help of a realtor. Hopefully there is more out there than I've been able to find on the internet. Part of the problem is that we're really picky, and I'm not sure if the place we'd like actually exists (around here). We'd like to have some room to breath (a little bit of land), some trees around, within a neighborhood, within a reasonable distance to the expressways for the sake of our commutes. If you've heard of such a place around West Harrison / Harrison, Ohio, be sure to let us know.

- Jessie

Happy New Year

What a year its been! It’s been so nice to close out our rather hectic year with a peaceful weekend together.

This year BJ graduated, I finished teaching at IUPUI, we both found new jobs in Cincinnati, we got married, moved to Bright, added a new kitten to the family, BJ left his job with Walgreen’s, and he started working for Medco.

Whew!

Happy (Belated) Christmas!

IMG_0068
Originally uploaded by Jessie Murphy (2).

Happy Belated Christmas, & Happy Birthday Dad (today!)!!! :)

BJ and I got home last night from our trip to Granger to visit with my family for Christmas. :) We had a great visit! I'm excited to start using my new skis!

BJ surprised me with an awesome digital camera on Christmas Eve, and so I'm learning about manual photography (f-stop, shutter speed, all that stuff). I've been practicing all morning, and starting to get the hang of it.

Besides the blessings of the holiday, we also received great news from my sister Kristen - she and Ken are officially engaged. We're all so happy for them both!

- Jessie

Office Party Picts

Ever wonder what a Xavier office party looks like...? I'm sure not, but here's some photos just in case. I'm looking so excited during the team game (which we WON). That's Tina hiding behind me. :) - Jessie

Four Days 'Till Christmas!

It's only four days until Christmas! This year BJ and I will be spending Christmas Eve morning with BJ's mom, Maria, and Carl, and then heading to South Bend for the weekend. Im so excited to see everyone! :) I have all next week off, which is going to be so nice. I only wish that BJ could have the week off as well.

Tonight BJ and I will be having the high school youth group over for a Christmas party. I'm looking forward to a good game of around-the-world ping pong. :)

- Jessie

Being Married

I guess I'm still getting used to all the changes that come along with being married. Yesterday at our department Christmas party we were all asked to break up into teams based on your last name: A-F, G-L, M-R, S-Z.

I jumped right over to the S-Z team, and it took a few minutes to realize that I was in the wrong group! 25 years of being at the back of the alpabet has had its affect on me. :)

Wizards of Winter

BJ saw on the news last night that the house in the video posted below ("Wizards of Winter"), is actually in Cincinnati (News Article View Video). Pretty crazy! :) It's amazing how quickly this video has spread around the internet.

Video Links

Just thought I'd share these crazy / funny videos! :)

Octopus Eats Shark
Funny Cats
Works Too Hard
Numa Numa
The Wizards of Winter
Pinch His What?!
Sign Language (a little bad, but really funny)

Boy, I wish we were back in Jamaica!

Jamaica - At 'Jerk' Restaurant
Originally uploaded by Jessie Murphy.

Wouldn't it be nice.... :) It's officially winter (ok, not officially, but it certainly feels like it), which has me longing for warmer weather and a long beach.

At least we'll probably have a white Christmas! :)

Winter Storms-a-Comin!

The big snow storm that's coming is scaring the whole city - hopefully we won't be snowed in tomorrow! We'll just have to wait and see if everything shuts down...

- Jessie

Another Long Day...

Well, it's definately Monday... and a long one at that. I had a meeting this morning at 10:00am, so I came into work this morning at 9:30, and I'll be here tonight until 9:00.

This weekend was really nice. Roger and Lana Callahan (from Purdue Christian Campus House) came to our church to give an update on what's going on with their ministry. It was great to visit with Roger and Lana, although it made BJ and I miss Purdue. :(

Also, I know that BJ would want me to mention how great the Bengals are doing. One more win this weekend against the Steelers! Who day indeed! :)

Updated website

I've updated BJ and I's site with some new family photos... www.bjandjessie.com.

BJ's New Job

Hi everyone!

Well, BJ’s just finished his first week of work with Medco (mail order). While he’s still in the training stage, we’re both really optimistic that this will be a much better fit for him. We’re so happy that he has something that will be hopefully less stressful, and with better hours. He won’t have to work any more weekends or late nights. :)