saturday

our internet is actually working at our house for the first time in like 2 days! who knows how long we will have it, so i'll make this brief... we spent most of our day at the house, still trying to get things unpacked. our bedroom and bathroom are almost there!! just one room left now...which, could be a big task, seeing as to how all of our random boxes have gone into that room--and it's the smallest in the house!
well, tomorrow we venture to a new church. we aren't quite sure where we are going just yet.. i'm looking forward to starting the steps of getting connected to a new church family, but at the same i'm so sad not to be going to southcrest. the very idea of going to a church that is not southcrest makes me want to cry my eyes out... i think there is something very special about that church..something you don't find in a lot of churches-a connectiveness that truly is community. with some, even more than community, family. i know i've talked about this before, but it is weighing on my mind tonite as i think about the morning. and, don't worry, i know we will find a church here that is just wonderful, but i don't think we will ever find anywhere that is quite like southcrest. all that to say, i'm really going to miss home tomorrow, i'm already missing it just thinking about it...
we are going to grill out with some friends at a local park after church, though, which will be fun, i think. right now, there are 5 other people from southeastern, all living within probably 15 miles of us. it will be fun to catch up with everyone, and of course, it's always nice to be around familiar faces! i think it's no coincidence that these two other couples and one other chica are here...by the time the fall semester rolls around, there will be even more familiar faces with my sweet sister, hannah, being just a few miles away at her new college, university of colorado in denver; my brother from another mother (aka my brother-in-law), nick, who actually will be living with us; another friend from sebc, cody; and a girl who is dating a good friend of ours from sebc, clare (and hopefully that silly boy she's dating will come, too!!). so we are definitely looking forward to that! =)

i forgot to put this pic up the other day, but i just want to share... my sweet parents-in-law, carol and glenn, sent me some "welcome to your new home" flowers this weekend. they are just beautiful and it was so sweet of them to send them! actually, they sent 2 vases of flowers, not purposefully it turns out, but they certainly both made me smile! they actually have joined the blog world, so check them out! also, my sister-in-law has joined, too! So check her out! christina is pregnant with her first baby (she got married a little over a month before us), and will be finding out in a month or so what she is having!! we are so excited for her and kris..and can't wait to find out with them...i'm hoping she'll post lots of pictures along the way, as she grows with this new life inside her (hint hint). =)

well, i'm kind of in the middle of making some cupcakes for our party tomorrow...cookies and cream flavored! they are almost ready to come out of the oven, so i need to get started on the icing! until next time...

life in co

i can't remember if i mentioned this the other day, but, for now, i can only update on the days i visit the school (or somewhere else with wireless internet). very soon, though, we should have internet set up at our place. anywho...
the past few days have been filled with us trying to adjust and get settled into our new home, town, school, etc. we looked for jobs yesterday, but didn't get too far. i've found a great lead that i'm really kind of holding out for now.. i don't want to apply anywhere else until i hear something from this place because i don't want to risk missing out! this job really seems PERFECT for me... i'll tell more if i actually get it. =) we checked out a few other places, though, for ryan and i (just in case), but for the most part, they said we had to apply online and then go meet with them in the store. so, we are going to work on that today (while we are at the school with internet!).

last night, joy and jamie (some friends that went to sebc with us) invited us to go with them to a cookout at the school. we got to meet a lot of people and eat some yummy hot dogs (thanks guys!). living off campus has it's advantages and disadvantages..and one of the major disadvantages is that we aren't as connected. part of me has been regretting our decision to live off campus for this reason, but i think it will be fine in the long run. it would be really nice right now since we know so few people to have that easy connection...but oh well! =) we had a great time hanging out all the same!!

randomly enough, we have bunny rabbits EVERYWHERE around our house. this is a terrible picture, but that little gray thing is a rabbit!

here are some pics of our first meal together in our new home:


it was the first time in a LONG time that everything we had was homemade (by us). we even used our china...and had sparkling pink lemonade in our pretty goblets! it was delightful!! =)

well, i suppose that's all for now.. if you are reading this, we probably miss you! =) ryan and i have spent some quality time crying our eyes out together the past few days... it's not been easy, but it's good all the same.

"slowly, but surely"

(as my sweet mimi would say), we are getting settled in to our new home. the adjustment has not been super easy. this morning might have earned the award for the hardest yet: my mom and ruth left for home. or actually, we left for school. i decided to come hang out at the seminary while ryan is in class today, since mom and ruth had to leave around the same time...otherwise i might have laid on our couch and cried the day away! there is a little cafe here at the school that has a little of this and a little of that plus wireless internet (which we are only "borrowing" at our house right now-and it doesn't work too great...). anyway, i decided this is the perfect time to update the old blog! =) with my mom and fufster leaving, it really made it more real that we are staying here. with them here, it was kind of like maybe we were on a vacation or something (i know, that sounds a little odd...). but we are here for good for a while...with no family near, for now. which is very sad...
i had a strange thought as we were driving to the school this morning. my first thought was, "well, it's not like we are moving to guatemala or africa or something..." (or as scott said told my mom, "at least we aren't going to jail!") then almost as soon as i had that thought, i had another, "well, it could just be that this is going to make another move easier for us." who knows? only the Lord....
anyway, we have found some neat places around here.. and, of course, we took pictures here and there...
we went downtown on our way to take nick to the airport on sunday and walked around a bit. we found this great little pizzaria that ended up being just great!:






we also went to eat at the local melting pot in celebration of my birthday (which is still a week away). it was in this really old building that used to be the public library, then the city jail, and then the melting pot! the atmosphere had the potential of being really cool, but our waiter was a little on the awkward/creepy side...so the experience turned out being not that wonderful. plus, we couldn't get reservations until 9:15, so we were all tired. but, it was a fun to be with everyone, all the same...





by the way, the weather here is amazing today! not a cloud in the sky and about 60 degrees...it's wonderful!!!

more to come later...

our new home

(and the journey that brought us here...)
we had crazy bad weather all the way through kansas! tornadoes in kansas, IMAGINE! (and for all those who know me well, you know how terribly afraid of them I am...I made Ryan pull over at a rest area and we stood under the awning for like 20 minutes.. decided that if we saw a tornado, we'd run into one of the bathrooms!)


check out these strange things (supposedly they are supposed to make energy or something):

we had no choice but to get gas from here (for our 5 mile per gallon Uhaul):

after many, many hours, we made it! (only 3 more hours to go...)

here's our new home:




(these terribly light fixtures are in EVERY room!!! HIDEOUS!!!!)

our new room...notice all the BLUE!

the ad about our house bragged on it's "spacious" bathrooms.. see for yourselves:


more to come later...

we made it to colorado...

though i'm still not positive i am going to make it in colorado!

not quite there yet...

well, we are getting up bright and early in the morning and heading down to the beach, for one last fling before we move far, far away from the beautiful gulf! this has been a very busy week, and today held a very important event. my little sister, hannah, graduated from high school. the ceremony was one of the most beautiful i have ever been to! i don't have any pictures, unfortunately, because we accidently left the camera in the car, and then my brother had his-with his super sweet lense, so we decided not to go back out and get ours...which i'm a little sad about now! but, i have plenty of pictures in my head! =) one of my other sisters and another girl sang a wonderful song that made me cry so so hard... i hope this upload worked:take a minute to listen to it, if you can. it was just what i needed to hear today to be encouraged in this move we are about to make. God has done that two days in a row now-given me a word at just the needed time! yesterday morning i laid in bed and cried and cried as ryan held me. i was heavy, heavy hearted about our move... then i got an email from a fella at denver (and i'm not even sure who it was still or why he sent me the email!!) here is a small excerpt from his email:

..."Having moved across the country three decades ago with my wife and two young children to attend Denver Seminary, I personally experienced some of these challenges you may face. When God calls us to a task, He is faithful—and we can trust Him to provide needed resources to accomplish what He directs us to do. Yes, this is a faith adventure, whether in the area of finances, career changes or relocating a family...."

it was certainly a word fitly spoken! after reading that, i got to have lunch with some of the dearest ladies i know... and i got to hear, once again, their stories-and do you know, 4 out of 5 of those women moved away from their close families not long after they got married??? and God was with them....certainly He is with us, as well....

1 week & 1 day

that's how long we have until we jump into the uhaul and hit the road! pretty hard to believe. we spent most of the day today packing, though we did have a nice break around lunch time-got to have lunch and visit a little with ryan's grandparents. things really are coming right along. our kitchen is packed except for a few things i refuse to let ryan box up yet because i want to make some cupcakes this week (i bought the ingredients last week and don't want to just waste them, you know). the truth, in fact, is that baking is therapuetic for me, i have recently decided. it lets me set aside the craziness of life and make something delightful that people around me enjoy. it's funny because after i bake something, i usually don't to eat it. i think it's because i smell it the whole time i mixing and baking it, that by the time it's finally ready-i've already ingested as much as i want through my nose. just a thought.. =)
we get to go to the beach this weekend for a few days, which i'm totally siked about (when i actually remember that we are going)!! we will be so far from the beach in CO and it's a place both ryan and i love! so, i'm thankful we are getting a mini vacation before our move... i have a feeling things are going to be pretty busy (work/school-wise) when we get settled in CO.
anywho, ryan and i are about to watch the kite runner. i read about half the book a few months ago, but ended up stopping because it was so sad! i ordered it on netflix, just to give the movie a shot, which we received over a week ago and we finally have a little time to watch it...so, we are!

change is in the air

we had our last sunday at southcrest (for a while) this morning and it was a little sad-okay, a lot sad. southcrest, for the most part, is an embodiment of what church family is supposed to be like, i think. there are people there that are not related to ryan or i, but feel more like family than some parts of our actual families. i have been there for like 10 years now, which is a LONG time...our dear pastor motioned to us (way up in the balcony) to come down during the middle of the invitation...ryan, at first, was like "surely he's not meaning us." but, he made some more gestures, and though ryan somehow missed all of them, i convinced him to go down with me...and what a sweet thing it was. brother (dr.) scott prayed over us and then took us to the back of the church with him at the end of the service-so we could speak with everyone as they left. it was really a sweet time of getting blessings from our church family and remembering how dearly we are loved! there's a group of ladies, whom are referred to as the "filling station friends" (long story on the name)...and i just don't know what i will do so far from them. they truly are like sisters/other mothers to me! what a blessing it is-the body of Christ!

on another note, we went to my sisters' ballet last night-this is hannah's last year, she's been dancing since she was TWO YEARS OLD! of course, hannah and fufster were the best dancers out there and they weren't on stage near enough, if you ask me (i would think they should be in EVERY dance)! anyway, it was very nice! i was impressed by the power of story last night, once again. the ballet was a beautiful story of redemption, though told in a different way. basically, it was about a toymaker who was not happy with all of the lifeless dolls he had created, so he made these two dolls and gave them life. at first they were perfectly happy and satisfied basking in the love of their maker, but after sometime, they became enticed with the jester-believing the lies he told them about the toymaker and eventually, losing their lives because of their bad decisions. the toymaker finds them lifeless in a junk shop and has to give the owner of the shop his own heart in order to buy back the lives of the two dolls that he loved so dearly. that's the short version-obviously, last night, that was stretched out in about 2 hours of FUN! ;) anyway, as much as i'm not a huge fan of the ballet, i found my heart touched by the story of redemption shown in such a powerful way... anyway, just thought i'd share. i'm thankful for such a wonderful Maker who has given us life!

Ohhh I forgot to tag people on the TAG thing!!

I know, I'm an idiot! Okay, now like almost everyone I know (that blogs) has done it...but oh well, if you haven't done it, you blog and you are reading this-I TAG YOU!!!! (And YOU, Laura!;))

praise the Lord!

He has finally shown us where we are going to live! we got approved for a townhouse today that looks to be just right for us... it's about 6 miles from the school!! and, when they found out we were going to the seminary and looking to sign a two-year lease, they lowered the rent for us!! it's making it a little more real...which makes me a little more sad, and scared....

fIvE-5...

...things on my to do list:
1-finish filling out rental application
2-laundry (always need to do this, it seems)
3-clean the kitchen
4-pack, pack, pack
5-clean out our cars

...snacks i love:
1-sweet tea
2-peanut m&ms
3-almonds
4-whole wheat goldfish
5-hummus

...things i would do if i were a billionaire:
1-be able to actually pay for ryan and i's education straight-up
2-pay for other people to go to school
3-support all the missionaries i wish i could now
4-buy some diamond earrings (and wear them every other day)
5-if i had it today, i would try to figure out some way to get it to help aid efforts in Myanmar

...bad habits:
1-worrying
2-eating too many sweets
3-easily annoyed by other people's bad habits (smacking/crunching loudly on their gum/food...ryan!)
4-not being organized
5-nagging (only sometimes...)

...places i have lived:
1-montevallo, al
2-various apartments in riverchase/inverness
3-sebc dorms (the new and the old!)
4-big house at 1716 triple h ranch road
5-little tiny apartment at same place

...jobs i have had:
1-hydra spa
2-disney store
3-recreational assistant
4-student admissions recruiter
5-receptionist

been searching for inspiration

but haven't really found any just yet, so this blog might not be of any interested to any one reading...ryan and i have been having some lazy days this week. he is finishing up at work this week, so he still has to get up early...but, me, i get to sleep in, until at least 9:15 or so (which is when my body makes me get up for some reason!). i just kind of piddle around-cleaning this, thinking about packing that, and looking at housing options online...all the time wondering if we really are going to make this move. two weeks and less than one day now, and counting-but it still doesn't quite seem real that we are about to pack up all our meager belongings and move west. you know, it's interesting, in the the book of Genesis, every time someone moved west, it was a sign of them following God and a sign that good things were coming...but when people moved to the east (or went east), it was always a sign that they were not heading in a good direction. so, a little hope there that things are going to be okay?? :) really, i'm nervous about moving (okay, scared is a more fitting word), but i feel very peaceful about it at the same time... like i know that it's where God is leading us, even though it's going to be a BIG transition. so anyway, we are about to go west and start a new life, in a way... i keep calling it a journey, for some reason...and i keep thinking about that michael card song, "joy in the journey":
There is a joy in the journey
There's a light we can love on the way
There is a wonder and wildness to life
And freedom for those who obey

And all those who seek it shall find it
A pardon for all who believe
Hope for the hopeless and sight for the blind

To all who've been born in the Spirit
And who share incarnation with Him
Who belong to eternity stranded in time
And weary of struggling with sin

Forget not the hope that's before you
And never stop counting the cost
Remember the hopelessness when you were lost

There is a joy in the journey
There's a light we can love on the way
There is a wonder and wildness to life
And freedom for those who obey

And freedom for those who obey...

i wish i knew how to link the song on to here, because it's really a beautiful song...one of those that touches you deep down. but, alas, i know not how...

congrats

we had the proud honor of attending the graduation ceremony of my step-mom, bette, this weekend at the university of montevallo. after two years of working hard for this degree (along with working full-time still, and teaching at the u of m on the side), she finally received it: her Ed. S.! just wanted to say a special word of congrats to her! we are so proud!

we really needed a zoom lense, but she IS in this picture:

the happy graduate and proud husband:

a profile shot of me and my dad...i think we do kind of look a like, in a strange sort of way..what do you say?:

"who wants to be a legalist?"

we have been making our way through the book of galatians at church. when my pastor asked the question a few weeks ago, my eyes quickly shot around the room to see who would put their hand up...or at least, who should put their hand up. as a balcony sitter, i have the opportunity to see almost everyone in our congregation (minus those people who sit directly under the balcony-i've been working on my x-ray vision, so i can see through the floor, but i haven't quite perfected it yet). as you might imagine, no one raised their hand, though quite a few people did lower their eyes, me included (after, of course, my quick glance around the sanctuary). the obvious answer to that question, though, is "no one, of course!" i mean, hello-what a terrible way to live, always trying to make sure you are doing better than your next door neighbor, fellow sunday school teachers, and bible college associates, right?? as terrible as it seems, i find myself right there in that pitiful little camp all to often. and pride is no better than any other sin. it's easy for me, all to often, to think it's just a small little sin that doesn't really affect anyone but me...oh but it does. you know where it has reared it's ugly head for me? at sips n strokes, yep. when you go there, after you pay, they give you a little pallett for your paint and some paint brushes. you then go over and stand in a line to get the actual paint, which is in these big squirt bottle things. there's a nice little sign right directly in the line of sight that says, "please only get 2 squirts of paint to begin with. remember you can always come back for more" (or something like that). and those silly ladies, some of them get like ten squirts. it's so obvious, as they walk away with the paint practically dripping right off the sides of their palletts! can't they read the sign?!? well, when it's my turn, i, of course, just get the two squirts-but those two measely squirts gave me like no paint. i'd have to come back every two seconds to have enough to actually paint the picture if i just got two.. so, i quickly squirted a few more... even as i did so, i realized my sin. not the sin of getting too much paint, but the sin of looking down on those who went before me and got too much..and then hypoctitically, i went and did exactly what i was judging them for...but justified it in my own mind! sin is a terrible thing. this past week has afforded me the unfortunate opportunity of seeing and feeling the affects of other's sin. and let me tell you, it is not a good feeling. all i know to say is that sin really is a horrid thing...and i pray that God would keep me near and that i would be ever mindful of what a huge offense my sin is to Him-even in paint class!

on a totally different note, how about that softball team in washington? i just watched a news clip that told about these two college softball teams playing a game to determine who would be in the division 1 playoff. a girl hits a home-run, and as she was taking off on her journey home, she somehow skipped first base, so she turned around to go back and touch it-and when she did, at some point, she turned oddly and tore her knee...becoming unable to get up and finish running around the bases to complete her first ever home-run. the umpires said that the point wouldn't count unless she touched all of the bases, and that if her teammates touched her (to help her), then they would automatically not get the point either. so, you know what happened? two girls on the opposing team picked her up and carried her around the bases-allowing her first ever home-run to count, and at the same time, sealing the hurt girl's team's victory-it sounds like. that's right, the helpful team ended up losing the game, thus losing their chance to go to the playoffs. that is pretty amazing, if you ask me...

weep with those who weep

isn't it so much easier to rejoice with people who are rejoicing? but what a blessing to be able to weep with others? i was reading friends blog and she said something about hoping that it's comforting to those hurting that other people are hurting with them... and i thought "what a huge comfort that is?" we are called to walk alongside our sisters and bear their burdens with them. i think, personally, that is so much easier when you have an encouraging word or some sense of "everything is going to work out in the end"....but on those days when there is nothing to be said, no words that seems fitting, i think it best to follow to words of the Scriptures and simply weep with those who are weeping....

a word

the Lord is near to those who call upon Him, to all who call upon Him faithfully.. psalm 145:19