Update

It has been over two weeks since I have posted!  Things have been rather crazy lately, and the blog tends to drop to the bottom of the to-do list, so here is an update.

Last week I was sick with a cold, so as soon as I got home from work I just dropped on the couch and stayed there most of the evening.  It was very unproductive.

Also last week I turned a quarter of a century old.  It's funny how 25 doesn't sound that old, but a quarter of a century sounds reeeeeaaallly old.  Because I wasn't feeling well I didn't celebrate my birthday until Saturday, and even then James and I just went to Texas Roadhouse.  But it was delicious!  And my sweet hubby got me an iPod touch, which is pretty much the only gift idea I gave him.  I'm not going to lie, a lot of my time has been wasted with this new toy!  It can do everything an iPhone can do except call, (and it works on wi-fi, not 3G, so I can only use the Internet apps if there is an Internet connection somewhere) so I've downloaded all kinds of apps.  Maybe I'll do a post on my favorite apps sometime.

The rest of my time has been spent looking through houses and townhouses for rent and running errands to get ready for our trip.  We are headed to Ft. Worth for some family time and a wedding, and then we're jetting off to Maryland to secure a place to live!  I am excited and nervous.  I have this idea of what Maryland looks like in my head and I'm afraid that the real Maryland won't be as nice. 

So that's been my life the past few weeks.  The next few weeks promise to be just as busy, but eventually I will get back to blogging more frequently!  Hmm maybe they have a blogging app...:-)

4th of July

July 4 is one of my favorite holidays!  The music, the fireworks, the patriotism, the family gatherings, burgers and watermelon...it's just fun.

Side note:  I've noticed that my favorite holidays are the ones that have their own music.  It just makes everything better!

The fourth of July is shooting Roman Candles at light posts.  Watching the boys almost blow their fingers off with black cats.  Shooting Bebe guns at glass bottles.  Eating watermelon.  My mom's stars and stripes cake.  Decorating bicycles with patriotic streamers and riding in the neighborhood parade.  Catching candy thrown from the fire trucks.  Blue bell ice cream on sticky summer evenings.  Laughing with cousins.  John Phillips Sousa and patriotic music all day long.

Happy birthday to America!  I am so grateful for the freedom that we get in this country.

Sunday morning

For your Sunday morning listening pleasure, here is a worship song I am loving these days!

Ruin my life, the plans I have made,

Ruin desires for my own selfish gain,

Destroy the idols that have taken Your place,

'Till it's You alone I live for,

You alone I live for!

The one where James got a job

I have not been very good about blogging lately, and you may have picked up on the reason from an earlier blog post - James interviewed for a position in Maryland.  My normally structured and organized brain has been on overdrive trying to think of what all that means and how I would feel if he got the job. Scatterbrained thoughts are really hard to turn into words on paper (or screen).  Not to mention I have a full time job, and we've been focusing on our refugee family lately.

Ever since he told me he applied for this job, I've had a feeling that this was it.  I don't put much stock in gut feelings like that because they are often wrong, but in this case, it turned out to be right!  James got a job offer and after some salary negotiations, he accepted.  We will soon call that weirdly shaped state our home.  The job is a wonderful opportunity for him and something he is very excited about doing. 

A couple of months ago as I was stressing and worrying over what would happen, the thought of moving somewhere far away made me really nervous and anxious.  But we have been praying all along that God would guide our steps and make it clear where He wanted us, and He has done that.  Not only did it fall into our laps and work out seamlessly, but I actually feel good about it!  Now that has to be God because this girl is not naturally adventurous.  I'm a homebody and while I love to travel, the thought of leaving everything I know would normally make me scared stiff. But would you believe it, I'm actually excited!

We'll be in a fairly rural, small town area about two hours south of Baltimore, and there are lots of hills and trees.  It's also within driving distance of a lot of neat places (the East coast is so squished!) so we'll have lots of fun adventures.  And the best part is that I get to quit my job!  I've been dreaming of that for three years.  The worst part of course is that we can't take our families with us and it will be hard to not be able to just drop in for a last-minute get together.

I am excited to finally be out of the transition stage and be able to make plans again!  I feel like we can finally get on with our lives and stop putting everything on hold, and that is a good feeling.  God has been faithful to us and I am so thankful.

We met our refugee family!

The refugee family that we are helping to sponsor arrived!  They have two cute kids and were all very tired and overwhelmed.  We met them at the airport with the translator and bombarded them with smiles and handshakes and gifts, and then took them to their new apartment which we furnished and decorated last week.  It is in a complex with a lot of other Burmese and Asian families, so hopefully that will help them adjust.  I don't know how much I am allowed to share about this family, so I won't give any details, but we are very excited to have finally met them!  The plan is to periodically take them food, take them shopping, or whatever they need to help them get adjusted to a new culture and a new language.

Please pray that they will be able to learn the culture and language quickly, that the dad will be able to find a job, and for their general well being.  Also that we would know how to help them!

5-4-3-2-1

I apologize for the blog silence, I have been sadly lacking in the creative department recently and haven't had anything worth saying.  Today I dropped James off at the airport.  He is flying to Maryland for an interview tomorrow and for the past three weeks since he applied for this job, my brain has been flooded with thoughts about the possibility of moving to Maryland.  It's all I can think about and it's driving me crazy.  First of all because it might not even happen - people interview all the time without taking/getting the job.  But second of all because it seems like they really think he's a good candidate for the job, so it might happen.  And I'm impatient.  So when I am feeling uncreative, I turn to little quizzes and questionnaires to blog so that my brain doesn't have to think too hard.  Enjoy.

Five Things I'm Grateful For:

1.  My sweet, hardworking, considerate, understanding hubby.

2.  All the traveling I've been able to do in my life.

3.  The financial advice that we received in premarital counseling as well as a dad who modeled smart financial decisions throughout my life.

4.  That I am not colorblind or tone deaf.  Music and colors bring me such joy!

5.  It's Thursday afternoon which means it's almost Friday which means it's almost the weekend!

Four Things I Can't Stop Thinking About:

1.  James' interview in Maryland.

2.  How far away Maryland is.

3.  How cold it gets in Maryland.

4.  If we move to Maryland, I get to quit my job.  One of the upsides.  I've been daydreaming about how it would all go down.

Three Things I Want To Accomplish This Week:

1.  I need to get my car washed.

2.  I'm really going blank on goals for the week...maybe I need to work on that.

3.  I need to file the growing stack of papers to be filed.

Two Things I Am Working To Be Positive About:

1.  The possibility that we may not get to stay in Texas forever.

2.  My job.  Three years is a long time to do something every day that you do not enjoy, but it is also a great opportunity to save money, so I try to look at it that way.

One Random Thing:

1. When I was a kid, I started a newspaper.  I was the editor in chief, the layout designer, and one of the journalists.  My neighborhood friends each got their own beat; weather, sports, neighborhood news.  Then we made 10 handwritten copies of each story, glued them to construction paper, and went around selling them door to door for 10 cents each.  It only lasted one issue before we got bored.

Quick Update

This week I am working crazy hours on a proposal that is due Saturday at 5, so I haven't had much time for the blog.  However, I wanted to tell everyone about an exciting service development. 

Our Hands and Feet group is teaming up with Interfaith Ministries in Houston to support a refugee family!  They are from Burma and are arriving in Houston in a couple of weeks.  We are furnishing their apartment and buying them groceries, as well as helping them figure out how to live in America and how to get around.  I'm so excited!  They do not speak English but fortunately IFM has a translator to help us.

Here's where you come in: if anyone in the Houston area has any furnishings, house stuff, or baby items that they would like to donate to this family, let me know!  We have about a week to collect stuff, and if you're anywhere near me, I'll come get it from you.

If not, please be praying that we would be able to minister to this displaced family and that they would adjust well to their new environment.  Thanks!!