Beautiful kind of busy...

So now that Mike and I are back home we've had the time for some of our most favorite things, simple things, and more time with our roots. Family and friends that may as well be family. Speaking of friends of that sort, meet my very best friend, Kristen.

We've been best friends since preschool, about 20 years! We went to different elementary schools after that so it is a wonder we were able to stay so close without the luxury of drivers licenses and the freedom to visit whenever we pleased and all. Lord bless our parents for nearly adopting the other as their own to support us remaining as thick as thieves through all those years. We've laughed and cried and laughed and cried some more and through it all we've never skipped a beat. Our friendship is one of the very first things I count on when thanking God for my immeasurable blessings.  


As if all of that doesn't sound good enough, there's three more blessings that come with my best friend. Isabel, Ty and Cailey. 

Beautiful Bell, one of my best buds! I love this little girl so much and watching her grow up...I'm just so proud. I love that she considers some of Kristen's best friends, me and Brittney, her best friends too. I can't wait to tell her all the fun stories she wants to hear about her mom one day, but I'll stick to the good ones since Kristen could dish out some serious payback when the time comes. 

Oh Ty, what a little pistol, and too cute for his own good! He'll keep you laughing and never meets a stranger. I so appreciate the way he melts Kristen's heart with a good cuddle when he finally slows down. He's her boy and it is beautiful to watch. 

Cailey, our little fighter. She was born premature and gave Kristen some scares, but has grown up beautifully - too fast if you ask me! Such a blessing. I can't wait for her little personality to bloom. And I think she looks like her Gigi, lucky duck. 

I love this family, my best friend's family, a family I consider family. So when Kristen asked me to take some family pictures for her she really had to pull my arm I immediately agreed. I'm no professional, but I tried to make it feel like a day in the park, that they were just there to play. I had a great time and I don't think it was too terribly painful for the kids either. Kristen, it was my pleasure and thanks so much for asking me to do something so special. I love you to pieces!

A few more of my favorites from the day...

And after all that, a nap. :)

See, the thing is...

Goodbye is a hard thing, and Jesus had to say it - a real person, with a real family, and real feelings. His goodbye to his own mother, Mary...


"And then the morning Jesus came in from the shop early...Her son took off his nail apron, dusted off his hands, and with one last look said goodbye to his mother...Mary learned that day the heartache that comes from saying goodbye. From then on, she was to love her son from a distance; on the edge of a crowd, outside a packed house, on the shore of the sea."


The Savior of this world had a very serious passion and commitment to share the Gospel and to make disciples throughout the world and this commitment required goodbye.


Goodbye to what? Could be a number of things - to a comfortable and familiar life, to family and friends, to home, to a career, to hobbies, to security, to wealth, to opportunities, to relationships, to dreams, to plans, to half your salary, to your dream house, to your bed for a stranger on a cold night, to your luxuries for the needs of others, to occasions you don't want to miss, to a retirement fund, to your comfort zone, to your safety...


And what is to be after goodbye? For Jesus it was a life of service and sacrifice, only to be constantly persecuted and mocked, sacrificed by the Father through his crucifixion, and ultimately denied in the hearts of those he died to save. 


Whatever is to come after goodbye, change is part of the equation. And change can often get under my skin. But this time, as Mike and I have stepped out of (said goodbye to) the life we had been building I've felt a new firmness of our foundation. For God cares for even the birds. Matthew 25-34. Because in discontentment, due to whatever circumstance or reason, Satan can easily succeed at his work by robbing us of what the Lord has for us - joy, blessings, opportunities to share his love, sacrifice and purpose.


So just as Christ said goodbye and welcomed the changes, I will try. I've had my moments. I've been actively transitioning. But I will try. For I know, just as a friend of a friend of a friend doing mission work (thanks Holly!), that the call to go and make disciples of all nations is too high a calling to give up because I'm discontent.


So here's to the moments - back in Walhalla, unemployed, on our trip out West this summer, on tops of the mountains, along the trails, in the towns, with the people, after our trip, back in Walhalla, still unemployed, as we move forward...to live intentionally, contently in the process of getting where we're going. And it is not our purpose that prevails, but the Lord's. Proverbs 19:21. 

Birthday Season :)

Mike's family journeys down to Mobile, Alabama each year for a little bead and parade action of the family friendly sort for their family reunion. This year the Fairhope Parade happened to fall on my birthday so we doubly celebrated! I celebrated with my sweet family before we left, so this year I had myself a birthday season! :)

The boys are seasoned and tall - I have a hard time catching any beads at the parade when they're around.

Mike and Lloyd work them hard for the best beads.

Maids of Jubilee!

Lloyd and Colleen (aka Aunt Weiner) and Mike and me adorned.

The floats were hard to get good pictures of, but this float was called "Birthday Girl." How appropriate. :)

After the parade and a serious seafood dinner with the whole gang - my last happy birthday song of the season. :)

Thank you, Bonnie and Lloyd for a great trip! It was great to see everyone and y'all were so sweet to incorporate my birthday into your family weekend!

Now for a bit of an update:

We're back and we're almost all settled in back at home. I shall get around to pictures soon. We're finishing up some loose ends at the house in Greenville today and tomorrow before we get together one last time (not really, but you guys know what I mean) with our small group and friends over that way tomorrow night at OD and Kathy's. After a little more nesting its back to the grind stone for us - I'll be studying for my boards and Mike and I both will be working to save up for our trip! We've got lots that we can do at the Anderson's to help out, but if you or someone you know needs some help (handyman, grading, bush-hogging, yard work, gardening, cleaning, organizing, ANYTHING, etc) please let us know!!! We are incredibly willing and available!

I've been thinking my hands are in need of some good, honest calluses. :)

The Prayer of Jesus on Behalf of His Disciples

After saying all these things, Jesus looked up to heaven and said, "Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son so he can give glory back to you. For you have given him authority over everyone. He gives eternal life to each one you have given him. And this is the way to have eternal life - to know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, the one you sent to earth. I brought glory to you here on earth by completing the work you gave me to do. Now, Father, bring me into the glory we shared before the world began.


"I have revealed you to the ones you gave me from this world. They were always yours. You gave them to me, and they have kept your word. Now they know that everything I have is a gift from you, for I have passed on to them the message you gave me. They accepted it and know that I came from you, and they believe you sent me.


"My prayer is not for the world, but for those you have given me, because they belong to you. All who are mine belong to you, and you have given them to me, so they bring me glory. Now I am departing from the world; they are staying in this world, but I am coming to you. Holy Father, you have given me your name, now protect them by the power of your name so that they will be united just as we are. During my time here, I protected them by the power of the name you gave me. I guarded them so that no one was lost, except the one headed for destruction, as the Scriptures foretold.


"Now I am coming to you. I told them many things while I was with them in this world so they would be filled with my joy. I have given them your word. and the world hates them because they do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world. I'm not asking you to take them out of the world, but to keep them safe from the evil one. They do not belong in the world any more than I do. Make them holy by your truth; teach them your word, which is truth. Just as you sent me into the world, I am sending them into the world. And I give myself as a holy sacrifice for them so they can be made holy by your truth. 


"I am praying not only for these disciples but also for all who will ever believe in me through their message. I pray that they will all be one, just as you an I are one - as you are in me, Father, and I am in you. And may they be in us so that the world will believe you sent me. 


"I have given them the glory you gave me, so they may be one as we are one. I am in them and you are in me. May they experience such perfect unity that the world will know that you sent me and that you love them as you love me. Father, I want these whom you have given to me to be with me where I am. Then they can see all the glory you gave me because you loved me even before the world began!


"O righteous Father, the world doesn't know you, but I do; and these disciples know you sent me. I have revealed you to them, and I will continue to do so. Then your love for me will be in them, and I will be in them."


John 17

A special list...

Greenville has been quite good to us. Although it is no secret that I am a country girl and was reluctant to transplant from my simple, small town life to the constant bustle of a city, this gem of a place truly has its perks. 

But we're moving back home next week (or the next, its a process folks!) and I've been thinking a lot about all the things we are going to miss when we leave. So a list for you and a break from packing for me...

• Grace Church, Downtown Campus - we have endless gratitude for the conveyance of the meat and substance behind Biblical truths and we will likely drive back each Sunday to grow with this body more
• Our community group that has blessed us and grown us - big bunch of hippies, its been such a pleasure :)

• Our first home together
• Family dinners with the Martins - sharing excitement and offering encouragement over all of our radical dreams
• The open arms of a large and special group of friends
• Falls Park with Sully on the not-so-crowded days anyways - I remember his very first walk :)

• Walking to dinner on our date nights
• Friday nights at Barnes and Noble - wild and crazy, I know 
• Piling up for The Bachelor with Katie
• Movie nights at Odie and Kathy's - our warm family setting away from home
• The downtown Publix and the sweet pharmacist that always deals with my being last minute
• Hot yoga - the 90 degrees kind, not the 105 degrees kind
• Gelato at Luna Rosa
• Girl's nights and St. Christopher Piesporter at Stellar
• Getaway days to Paris Mountain
• Sweet potato cake from Brick Street Cafe - thanks to Katie
• Not 1 but 2 Starbucks within walking distance

There's much more, but those are some of the highlights. And really, we will mostly miss the people that have recreated the feeling of home to stretch far beyond the short embrace of location. So while we're happy to say goodbye to the sirens, the tiring commutes, the single driveway, a few sketch balls and the traffic we will always look back fondly. 

Now back to the small town, family, our roots...and far less places to indulge in food and sweet treats. Maybe when we leave there my list will not be entirely about food - sheesh! :)

Happy, Happy Valentine's Day!

Mike and I - we're not really big on gifts for each other on every single holiday, especially with our budget consciousness. But we've had a great deal to celebrate lately and with so much on the horizon we just decided to go for it today for Valentine's Day. Really, we made it a combo with both of our upcoming Spring birthdays.

Some sweet (nevermind the matching) Arc'teryx Gortex Paclite shells for our upcoming adventures! We've done a lot of looking around for something really light, super waterproof but also breathable. These were the ones we have been eyeing and happened to be on sale (almost 100$ off!) at Half-Moon! 

Oh! And I am O-fficially DONE with my internship - went to Columbia today and turned all my stuff in, now all that is left is graduation on Friday. So come to think of it, I have 3 full days of nothing to figure out what I am going to wear. I'm sighing :) 

Mike suggested that I wear my new rain jacket......
boys.

The sweet taste of freedom!

Nothing too exciting, really. For me, today will be fully consumed by a research paper - my very last one ever, but one that I have put off until now. And the pressure's on because it is due none other than the morrow! My mama tried to tell me for years that procrastination is not of the best design, so don't go blaming her. Alas, this is the path that I have chosen. 


So, while I spend my day weighing in on,

"Examination of Interest of Cardiac Rehabilitation Participants with Diabetes to Take Advantage of More Readily Accessible Diabetes Education Services and Projected Outcomes"

just know that the shining moment that lies in the arms of tomorrow afternoon, after my last seminar down in Columbia as a dietetic intern, is the very moment in which I promised that this blog would get exponentially more interesting. 

So while my consciousness is busy with all of this yucky stuff today, my trusty subconscious will have me here. 

You and your sweet daydream are welcome to join. I will need someone to apply lotion to my back and remind me to turn periodically. Oh and we'll need someone to keep us hydrated, so do some recruiting. :)