Girls Weekend in Charlotte

This weekend I had the great joy to travel with Amy & Jessie to Charlotte, North Carolina to participate in a bridal shower for our former PA and friend from our Taylor days, Erica Anderson. Erica has been living and teaching in Kenya where she happened to meet a very handsome dentist who swept her off her feet and gave us all (including Erica!) a surprise engagement a few months ago. They are getting married in September. You can read more on her blog, http://theviewfromafrica.blogspot.com. 

We left early Friday morning and landed in Charlotte where we were greeted by our other dear Taylor friend, Nicole, who just moved there. The shower was Friday night, then we spent Saturday shopping and getting Nicole more settled before having a cookout with some other Taylor friends, Justin and Kelly, who live there too. Overall we had a GREAT weekend reuniting with Taylor friends (a mini Second South reunion!) and getting to see Erica. 

Here are a few pics from the weekend! 

On the shuttle bus on our way to the plane very early Friday morning

Jessie and I on the plane, ready for Charlotte! 

Finally we got to see Erica! 

The happy couple. (Minus the bright light from my flash...)

Me and the beautiful bride to be!

2nd South reunion anyone?

Nicole is only slightly overwhelmed by the furniture in her front seat

Hanging out by the pool before we got rained out

On the way home, Jessie showed Amy the proper way to eat Cheetos.....with a fork. Clearly a genius way not to get your fingers orange! 

A Beautiful Weekend

Rob and I had a great weekend at home by ourselves, the first in awhile. We watched a movie, played our Settlers cards, made waffles, worked in the yard, and then today Rob went golfing with a friend and I read and napped. It was a good weekend with beautiful weather. 

Here are some fun photos from our "picnic dinner" tonight. We didn't know what to make so we made baked oatmeal and took our camera outside with us. 

Things I will not miss....

I'm feeling a little discouraged today about our impending move to Bloomington so I thought to make myself feel better I'd write a list of things I will NOT miss when we move. (As most of you know lists are like therapy for me.... :)

In no particular order:

• The really awful paper towels in my work bathroom
• The voice of the radio host on our local NPR station. Seriously, it's grating.
• Our front screen door that slams so hard and always makes me jump
• The kid (and yes, I think he really is maybe 17) who comes to work to fix my computer. He's creepy and always makes my office smell like cigarette smoke
• Not having a window in my office. (No guarantee on this one in my next job, but hey, a girl can have hopes)
• 7:30 am meetings
• The way our house heats in the winter & not having AC in the summer. And the bill that comes with our heating costs
• How it always takes us so long to get somewhere because we live so far from most things (actually having Target so far away has probably saved us a lot of money...)
• The Indiana winters (ok, this one is a stretch because we'll still be in Indiana. BUT, I'm hoping the winters will be slightly milder in southern Indiana....maybe? I hope)

Clearly, this is not an exhaustive list and I'm not even sure I feel better because it actually made me think of all the things I really will miss.....but I'll save that for another post when I'm feeling more positive about moving.

Goodbye Pop

Our precious Pop went home to be with Jesus on Sunday morning around 3:15 am. Lori emailed Rob on Thursday and said she didn't think Pop had much more time, so Rob and I took off work on Friday and went to be with them. I'm so glad we went because we were able to talk with him and tell him things we wanted to say. Friday afternoon he started having a lot of pain and it was bad because Pop never complains. The hospice nurse put him on some heavy drugs and he didn't really wake up again before he passed away. All his family was there over the weekend and I know that was how he would have wanted it.

We're really going to miss him, I know it. His funny stories, his jokes, his thoughtfulness, his compassionate heart, his singing, his earthly love. It's bittersweet because we know now he is singing with the angels and he gets to walk with Jesus and see everything he couldn't see anymore on earth. But we're sad and we miss him already. He was so beloved by so many people that I'm sure the funeral on Thursday will be full. And it will be hard, but it will be good to celebrate someone we loved so much.

We love you and miss you already Pop!

Thoughts on America's Situation

I've found that watching the news makes me work that eliptical a lot harder in the gym. The reason? I'm mad. I guess being mad makes me think the best way to be more un-mad is to burn more calories. Not really, because I'm still mad, but hey, maybe I burned a few more calories in the long run. 

Tonight while riding the eliptical I watched several things that prompted me to write tonight. First, I'm really mad about the AIG bonuses. $165 million -- some people receiving $64 million dollars. Guess where that chunk is coming from -- my tax dollars they received from the government to bail them out. Sickening. I think what makes me even more mad is the entitlement attitude that came along with those bonuses. "To big to fail" is an entitlement attitude which led to bailout money. I understand that AIG does insure other people and companies and if they fail a lot of others will go under. I haven't worked all that out in my head, but it's all hanging out there and it makes me mad. 

I'm frustrated that President Obama keeps proposing more spending and more bailouts and more promises. I understand that he has a lot on his plate and so many people are looking to him to for help. But he isn't perfect and he's bound to make some mistakes, perhaps ones he's making now with many new things and promises. 

I think at some point there must be a tipping point for America. I don't know when it's coming or what it looks like, but it's coming sooner or later. The rest of the world is catching up to us and they want the kind of lifestyle we've had. I think America is in for a day of reckoning for many things we've done over the years and the way we've spent energy and the things we've been responsible for. We haven't been held accountable as a country and it's starting to show up here. We've charged ahead with our own entitlement attitude.  

A change is coming. A new wind is blowing and America doesn't like it and it doesn't bode well for us as a country. How does a Christian respond to changes coming here and around the world? Do we really know what we're up against from countries like Iran and Afghanistan? Are we ready for our lifestyles to completely change? I think we must be ready because the world needs people who understand stewardship and accountability and hope. 

I feel overwhelmed tonight by the world swirling around me. I am sad for the people in Mexico who are desperately battling a vicious drug war that has killed close to 2,000 people, 80 percent of them under 25. I am sad for those who need the drugs and who use others to get those drugs. I'm nervous about China talking about a new world currency and what that means for the American dollar. I'm impatient for things to change in a healthy way that doesn't always depend on money. I'm tired of all the media talking and talking and talking. I'm tired of bad news. 

Perhaps this is a good time for Christians to reconsider their priorities and where their heart treasure lies. I think overall everything happening in America and around the world is making my heart long more for heaven and for Jesus' glorious return. Perhaps that is the tipping point we all really need. 

A Spring Getaway

The first spring after I graduated from college and started a "real-world job" I was dismayed at the loss of spring break. I'm definitely in the camp that everyone should get a break when the weather starts to get nice. 

The past four days Rob and I took our own version of spring break by joining our very close friends Noel & Ashley Ritter in French Lick, Indiana. They graciously invited us to join them at a time-share condo there. Since we're quitting our jobs in July we figured this would be a great way to use up some vacation days so we took Monday and Tuesday off work and headed to southern Indiana on Saturday. Neither of us had ever been down there and it is truly a different part of Indiana. It's very rural, but reminded me so much of Pennsylvania because of the rolling hills. Yes, there are hills in Indiana! Ash had told me that for years and I finally believed her. 

We stopped at IU on Saturday afternoon (it was about an hour and a half north of French Lick) which was great to see where we're going to be living. Really overwhelming for me, but that's a whole other story for another post. Overall it was good though and side note, I found this organic co-op grocery store that sells every kind of bean, grain, cereal, oil, spice, etc., you can imagine and it made me definitely more excited to move there! 

Our time away with the Ritters was so rich with the perfect blend of relaxing, talking, eating, playing games, watching cable tv (a huge vacation treat for all of us!), and seeing the local sites. 

A few highlights to mention: 

• The gorgeous weather (70s!) and scenery
• Visiting the Upland Microbrewery in Bloomington where we had buffalo burgers, amazing fries, the beer sampler, and a full tour of how they make beer there. Very cool and the guys especially loved that
• Visiting Oliver Winery, also in Bloomington for a wine tasting that was so good. It's a really neat winery and Ash bought a favorite Spanish cheese, Manchego, which made it SO much better! (and yes, we did visit these in the same day, but don't worry, Noel was our designated driver :) 
• A nice long walk with Ashley & great conversations between the four of us
• A tour through Marengo Cave, a local wonder that was truly incredible. I wasn't so sure beforehand about going down into a cave, but our tour guide Larry made it so worth it. Larry was pure goodness in a tour guide, plus he was a third generation tour guide in that cave (his father and grandfather were also tour guides) so he really knew his stuff and wasn't afraid to proclaim something as "that's pretty neat isn't it?" and "awesome." It was a pretty amazing place. 
• Our breakfast this morning at T Berry's, a hole in the wall restaurant that not only served really good biscuits and gravy, but also very dirty jokes from the lady cook. We weren't exactly sure what to think of that, but soaked it all in as "local culture." 
• A reassurance that our friendship and marriages are much richer and deeper after our time away. 

Life is such a beautiful journey made even more beautiful by the people we get to travel along with. Thanks Ash and Noel for a great time -- we love you guys! 

Typical of me, my camera died when I really wanted it, but here's a few photos anyways. 

Rob and I in the Marengo Cave gift store. My hat has a pizza on top. I think the bat is hungry...

The four of us outside Marengo Cave

I just had to add this photo from a billboard in a nearby town. Look closely at the size of those peaches compared to the child. Weird things must grow here......

Bloomington here we come!

Many of you already know our news, but I thought I'd share it on here anyways -- call it outward processing at its finest if you will. 

We've been trying to get people to think I'm pregnant when we say we have news, (I'm definitely NOT), just because we thought it'd be funny. No one has fallen for that yet. So I guess we've just started saying we're moving, leaving, starting a new season of our lives, etc. 

About two weeks ago we took a very hard look at our finances and outstanding debt and decided that if we couldn't go to grad school for basically free we weren't going to go this fall. Literally two days after that conversation Rob got an email from Indiana University (IU) in Bloomington saying he not only got in, but he was given a guaranteed scholarship for two years with a optional funding for an additional five years for his PhD, a living stipend of $14,000, a summer stipend to "read and research", and a teaching assistantship. Whew. Basically we were floored at this incredible gift the Lord chose to bless us with knowing the economic climate right now. This clearly speaks to the amazing person my husband is too considering the school never interviewed him, never met him, and never heard him speak Spanish. Amazing. I am so proud of him!

Since I'd already been rejected from Michigan State and University of Texas-Austin, but hadn't yet heard from IU, the decision was pretty clear. Rob accepted the offer and then last Friday we found out I didn't get in. It's an understatement to say that letter was a blow to me. I think in the course of Friday I felt every emotion (except the very happy ones). Feeling overwhelmed at the thought of finding a new job in a town where we don't know anyone personally, knowing Rob would be in school while I was working, even to thoughts of, "well I guess we can get a nicer place to live now" consumed me. 

Through it all several friends and family members came alongside me and really directed my heart back to the Lord and his Word. It was such an incredibly hard day, but by the end of it (actually by Saturday morning -- the truism my mom always said, "you'll feel better in the morning" is really so true!) I felt so much better and even hopeful that the Lord knows exactly what he's doing with us and we do not need to fear a future he is very clearly in. Somedays we know those kind of things in our heads, but not in our hearts and that was the place I was in Friday. 

Rob has seen all this grad school stuff as an adventure from the start. I've been more in the camp of, "AH! Change is not my friend!" But the Lord knew what he was doing when he brought us together and things like that only make us stronger. This next season will only make us stronger and I feel peace about that. 

So we're off to Bloomington come August! Apparently everyone we've talked to thinks it's the coolest place in Indiana and is quite cosmopolitan. Cosmopolitan and Indiana aren't exactly two words I'd put together, but I'll keep you posted. Another good thing is we're not leaving Indiana so I can still let you know about all the fun new adventures we have in this great state. 

Til I have some other news....and hopefully not the pregnancy kind......... :)