Do-It-Yourself Moving

My small group from church helped me move this week, and things went so smoothly. I'm thankful for their willingness to spend an evening helping...

Driving a U-Haul and NOT happy about it. The Lord kept me safe on the way home, and thankfully, my friend Mark drove it the rest of the evening.

Caleb, Garrett, and Elizabeth enjoy some Domino's pizza. Yum...

Popsicles! Cousin Deborah even came to help on her only night off from camp...

My stuff...I have too much of it!

Garrett, the master packer, carefully arranging things in the U-Haul.

The crew. My friend Mica (in bright blue) suggested a "gangsta" picture, and this is everyone's interpretation of that. Hilarious.

Details

I love when God reminds me that I am in no way in control of things. I forget sometimes. It started last week with a phone call saying that my moving date would have to be postponed a day. In the grand scheme of things, not a big deal, but it did cause some anxiety in me that I had to give to the Lord. After notifying my fellow group of movers, changing my U-Haul reservation, and fretting for a bit, God graciously reminded me that He provides for His children. In all things.

Fast forward to Sunday. In a 20-minute span of time (on the drive home from church), the following things happened in my car:

*Battery light turns on

*Check engine light turns on

*A friendly message that reads “Check hybrid system” lights up

*My air conditioner begins blowing hot air, no matter the setting

Unusual…after a split second of deliberation, I decided the car needed to be taken into the shop. Monday morning rolls around and I’m there at 9:00, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. The nice service man talks to me for a bit and sends me on my way.

This afternoon, the nice service man calls back and tells me something called a “belt tensioner” has broken into bits and pieces, and these pieces have fallen into other parts of the car’s system, where they have melted and therefore ruined several parts. He will need the car until Wednesday afternoon. Did I mention I’m moving tomorrow?

I’m thankful for my sisters in Christ. I'm grateful they extend love to me because God first loved them. In the last 24 hours:

*Becca has given me a much-needed ride from the service shop to Bible study

*Elizabeth, a friend from church, has given me a much-needed ride home from Bible study

*Kari has visited me and taken me to Sonic’s happy hour, giving me much-needed encouragement in the middle of the afternoon

*Melissa, a coworker of mine, has offered me her Suburban for the move tomorrow

God is good. He cares about details. And He loves His children. No matter what comes our way, He gives us grace for the moment. And it’s sufficient for me.

Along with this move come many changes and difficult emotions, so I’m grateful that my heavenly Father is the same yesterday, today, and forever. A month from now I’ll look back on this week and think “Oh, it all worked out in the end”, but I hope I don’t forget the Lord’s hand in it all.

"Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you."

~1 Peter 5:7

Smoky Mountains

Well, I just spent a week in the Smoky Mountains with a good friend of mine, and we had a blast! Her entire family was there - 16 people (8 of those under the age of 8!). It was a blessing to be able to spend a week with them in a gorgeous part of the country.

Enjoy the pictures!

June 18: Kari and I spent a night in Memphis, and we decided to eat at Gus' World Famous Fried Chicken! This place is recommended by Rachael Ray herself, so we thought we'd check it out. It was awesome - we waited for over an hour, but the food was well worth it!

June 19: I don't even know where to begin with this. I'll let the website speak for itself. A coworker of mine told me about The Peabody Hotel this year, so when we passed it on Friday night I got SO excited. Kari and I got to see the ducks the next morning! :)

June 20: Our hotel had a water park, which was perfect for all the kiddos! They had a blast!

June 21: Love this picture - Kari's niece modeling her hairdo.

June 22: Horseback riding! I joined Kari's sister and niece for a morning ride in the Smokies, and it was just beautiful!

June 23: Painting pottery - this is Kari's work in progress. She made it for a friend of hers who is getting married next month.

June 24: We went on a mini-hike in the mountains (about 2.5 miles), and the trail led us to a beautiful waterfall. The hike was the best nature walk ever for the kids - they loved picking up bugs, sticks, and rocks, and they nearly gave the adults panic attacks by walking too close to the edge of the mountain. Below are a couple pics of things we saw along the way.

God is amazing. I think these are rhododendrons. I'm still not sure how to say that.

Breathtaking.

June 25: On the road again - 15 hours to go! :)

Blogging Wins. Packing Loses.

This week's entry will be short and sweet, seeing as how it's 10:15 and I leave in the morning on a road trip to Tennessee. Have I packed yet? No. Have I even pulled my suitcase out of the closet? No. Should I be doing that instead of my blog? Yes.

Enjoy the pictures! :)

June 12: "Made With Oreos" ice cream. A brilliant idea! Not just vanilla ice cream with oreos in it, but ice cream MADE with oreos. Delicious!

June 13: This sweet family treated me to lunch Sunday after church. I had their oldest daughter in my class this year, and she was a joy to teach! What a blessing it was to fellowship with the whole family outside of school! After lunch, their daughter and I had an ice cream date - pictured below.

June 14: Dani was pleased to pose for yet another picture of the day! She came over on Monday to help me take apart my bed frame. We then succeeded in loading it into the trunk of my car, which then delivered it to Salvation Army.

June 15: Oh, my family - how I love them! Cousin Deborah was in town for camp this week, and Tuesday she had a night off. Of course we had to see her and take her out to dinner...

June 16: Bible study...:)

June 17: My step-sister is having a baby, and Thursday I went to a shower for her. My dad was there, and it was great to see him! It's not unusual to see him in this pose at family functions...

Food, Apparently

From this week's pictures it looks like all I do is eat! With the food came great company, though, and I'm grateful for that. I love that we can enjoy God's goodness through the friends and food He's given us.

Enjoy the pictures! :)

June 5: Mmmm....queso. My "Achilles' heel", if you will. Thanks to a generous family at school, Becca, Caleb and I were able to enjoy Taco Diner together Saturday night.

June 6: Oui, oui, La Madeleine. Araenae, a good friend of mine from Countryside Bible, joined me for some french cuisine Sunday evening. Thanks to another generous family, we dined at no cost. :)

June 7: Our tupperware cabinet - not even kidding. I'm afraid to pull anything out, so I've just stopped trying. There are alternate ways to store things!

June 8: Bonding day with Mom. :)

June 9: Wicked! Becca and I went to go see the raved-about musical on Wednesday, and we LOVED it! I had no idea I would like it so much - such a clever story with great music! If you haven't seen it, I highly recommend it...

June 10: Last minute attempt to get a picture before the day ended. 34 minutes left - yes!

June 11: Several girls from my small group came over for a summer Bible study Friday morning, so I thought I'd try out a new recipe. Delish! :) We're going through a study called "Battling Unbelief" by Desiring God ministries, and I am super excited about it. As we dive into it over the summer, I'll share more about what I'm learning.

Bonding With Mom

My mom is leaving for the summer in a few days, so we decided to have a bonding day before she left. Below are a few pictures from the day.

Hunting for a new (and inexpensive) headboard for my bed. Pier 1 was the place we finally settled on - AND - it was on sale! Yes!

Mom measuring to see if the headboard would fit in my car. Of course she was prepared with a tape measure in her purse. What person doesn't carry one of those in her purse...?

I was treated to an (early) birthday present - a pedicure at a place called "Hawaiian Nail Bar". Each customer could choose special "flavors" for their pedicure, and they were mixed together - made to order! This is by far the most creative pedicure place I've ever seen, complete with a tiki hut ambiance.

We finished the day off with dinner and a movie with my step-sister Nikki and her family. All in all, a great bonding day! Love you, Mom!

Let the Summer Officially Begin!

After a refreshing and relaxing visit with the cousins last weekend, I finished up the last week of inservice at work. Teachers are now free for the summer! I'm looking forward to a couple months of free time - Lord, help me to use it wisely.

Enjoy the pictures! :)

May 29: Uncle James - part of his job is to run sound for several different events in the Bryan/College Station area, and here he is hard at work! He takes his work VERY seriously. On this particular night, he ran sound for three cover bands (I had to learn what a cover band is - I didn't know they even existed). We heard Miley Cyrus and Jonas Brothers impersonators, along with a Journey-esque group. I had no idea who Journey was, either...

May 30: Sweet cousin - officially my "first cousin once-removed", but what does that even mean? Here she is with daddy after church...

May 31: I had the privilege of taking family pictures on Monday, and this is one of my favorites. We only captured a couple where all eyes were on the camera.

June 1: Yes, I put this on my face before noticing the expiration date. After noticing a peculiar smell, I checked the bottle (you think I would have learned after the sunscreen incident). 2008 doesn't even come close to cousin Becca's lotion story, but at least she was wise enough not to use it. Apparently pack rat syndrome runs in the family!

June 2: This is Tamra, a coworker of mine. We've wanted to get together for awhile now, and Wednesday night it finally worked out. As I've worked with her over the last three years, I've come to realize how passionately she loves the Lord - through mini conversations or just observations. I am so grateful to have had the chance to spend time with her - the Lord has done amazing things in her life, and I was greatly encouraged by her story.

June 3: No picture today. Left the camera at school. :(

June 4: Blogging. :) Notice the yellow sign of.....patience. Loading pictures takes a very long time!