Quick, before I get Sidetrack'd

Last weekend Matt, Little, and I had the opportunity to visit with my brother and nephews (10 years and 6 years) in Nashville. We only get to see my brother’s family a few times a year due to distance (about 9 hours drive) and schedules, so it is always a treat when we can spend time together. We didn’t do anything very exciting, but it was a great time to just relax, hang out, and play with the boys.

Everyone drove in on Saturday morning and we all met at my parents’ house. Jason and the boys arrived about lunch time which meant a trip to Cracker Barrel – a family favorite. After lunch we came back to my parents’ house, put Little down for a nap, and played around for a while. We started watching the UT Vols game, but by halftime they seemed to have everything under control so we moved on to other things. The boys are both into baseball so Matt, Jason, and the boys played catch and practiced some pitching in the front yard.

Sunday morning we went to church together, went out to lunch (we don’t eat at home much when we’re with my parents), and then Matt, Little, and I headed home so Matt could get ready to head back to work on Monday. Sunday afternoon, Jason and my oldest nephew met my uncle and his grandson at LP Field to watch the Titans take on (and beat) the Falcons. They had a great time even though they came home a bit sunburnt.

Little loved playing with her cousins, and they absolutely adore her. It is so sweet to watch them playing together and to see the boys talking to her and wanting to spend time with her. If Little was awake, one of the boys was sure to be close by her side.

Although it wasn’t a weekend that will be remembered for excitement or adventure, it was a great weekend filled with family. Before Saturday it had been about 6 months since I saw my nephews, hopefully it won’t be as long until I see them again.

This week has been all about comfort foods; I’ve eaten mashed potatoes, homemade mac & cheese, and lots of M&M’s. In fact, I’ve probably ingested more carbs than a person should have in a month.

Earlier in the week I concocted a tuna-noodle casserole for my lunch. I recognize that a lot of people read that and think, “yuck!”, my husband is included in that group which is why I ate it for lunch. But for me, this is one of my favorite comfort foods, one of those foods that brings floods of childhood memories as I cook and eat it.

My Dad and brother don’t like tuna-noodle casserole either, so growing up Mom would make it sometimes when the guys were off camping or both happened to be away from home at dinner time. I always enjoyed it when we ate it at our house, but my most special memories are of eating it with my Ghina and Poppa.

Ghina knew how much I liked the casserole, so every few months when they had it for dinner the phone would ring with an invitation for me to join them. This was a special time because it was just me and my grandparents – no parents, no brother, no cousins – a table set for three.

Entering the house I was greeted by the sound of the timer on their old-fashioned toaster oven clicking away, the smell of the casserole baking, and the sight of Ghina preparing garlic bread to be toasted. I would hang out on the stool in the kitchen, or write on the chalkboard, or play with a few toys until the timer dinged and dinner was ready.

The three of us would take our seats at the table; a family table surrounded by pictures of my Mom and her siblings as children, by mementos of a life lived together for many years. Ghina dished out our dinner. Poppa opened the box of ground black pepper. Slices of garlic toast were passed. A meal was enjoyed.

After dinner was finished and the dishes washed, Ghina and I would sit at the kitchen table and play Chinese checkers. If I was lucky we could get in several games before I had to head home to get ready for bed and school the next day.

There were many, many dinners like this each consisting of a plate of tuna-noodle casserole, a slice of garlic bread, and a special time with my grandparents. Over the years the occurences have lost their individuality and melded into a composite in my mind. Such a special memory, and it all started with a pan of tuna-noodle casserole.

Here we are on Thursday morning and I’ve posted nary a thing this week. Bad blogger!

The thing is, I’ve been so tired that Little’s afternoon naptime (when I usually find time to blog) has turned into naptime for me as well. What is it that is causing this tiredness you ask? That would be the tiny one growing inside of me.

Yep, last week Matt and I found out that we are going to be parents again. I think I’m about 6-7 weeks along, but I won’t have a definite due date until I see the doctor in a few weeks. So far fatigue is the major “symptom” I’m dealing with, but I do experience some queasiness from time to time. And cravings? Just about anything that isn’t good for me – chips, brownies, french fries, Taco Bell tacos.

Needless to say, we are very excited; although, I do find myself wondering sometimes how I’ll handle two children under two years old.

Mary at Owlhaven is hosting a blog carnival today challenging us to write about our childhood homes. If you are interested in playing along or if you would like to read about others’ memories of their childhood homes, click on the cute picture at the top of this post.

I lived in one house my entire childhood; I came home from the hospital to the house and, 22 years later, left when Matt and I married. My parents still live there.

Our house was a two story traditional style home. All of the living space was on the upper level (bedrooms, bathrooms, kitchen, etc), but we had a finished basement that served as a den/family room. The basement is the backdrop for many of my childhood and teenage memories – dancing with my brother to “Eye of the Tiger”, playing school with my baby dolls and stuffed animals, playing “house” with my cousins, hanging out with friends watching television and playing games. That room was (and still is) the center of much of our family activity.

There was always a pool in the backyard and it saw many pool parties, water fights, and strange and dangerous feats performed by teenage boys. I learned to swim there, and my brother fell through the ice one year “ice skating”.

And the Christmas memories, these are a big part of my childhood memories. We always had two Christmas trees in our house, one on each level, and each served a different purpose. The upstairs tree was our “formal” tree and presents that went to other people (extended family, friends, etc) went under that tree. Our downstairs tree was the family tree. It was always decorated with the “ornaments” that my brother and I made, paper chain garlands, colored lights, and lots of tinsel icicles. Coming down the stairs on Christmas morning to a tree brimming with gifts from Santa and parents and stockings hung by the chimney with care is the epitomy of childhood Christmas.

One of the great things about my childhood home was the proximity to our extended family. We lived within a few miles of both sets of my grandparents, several aunts and uncles, and a bevy of cousins. This allowed for numerous family get togethers and a childhood filled with the warmth and love of family. My cousins and brother were my best friends throughout my childhood.

My childhood home is filled with memories – the bad along with the good – but most of the the ones I hang onto are good. I hope Little has memories her childhood home as good as the ones that I have.

As I mentioned in my last post, things are not turning out as we had envisioned in regard to our upcoming move.

We were slated to move on Friday, the 20th (a week from tomorrow) and for Matt to begin his new job on Monday, the 23rd. We have a truck reserved, utilities transfers ordered, boxes packed, and are set to sign a lease on an apartment in Nashville on Monday, the 16th.

But now, everything is changing.

The information Matt came across indicated various levels of personality conflict, mismanagement, and incompetence. There also appears to be a huge amount of employee turnover considering the size of the company. In total these factors are significant enough that we began to doubt that things were as good as they originally appeared.

Through much prayer and conversation, we have decided that this isn’t the right position and situation for our family. If the job didn’t require a long-distance move, selling our house, etc, it might be a risk we felt comfortable taking. With things the way they are, it isn’t worth the uncertainty.

Over the last few days we have come to several realizations about God’s work through out this process. From the beginning we have prayed for wisdom, discernment, and that all we did would be about the righteousness of God. I believe this information has come to light in answer of our prayers for wisdom. As my friend Diane said yesterday, it seems like this is protection from the Holy Spirit.

And now, we walk by faith and not by sight. Matt is scheduled to leave his current position as of Thursday, July 19th.

I anticipate the things that are to come. I recognize God’s sovereignty now more than ever. I sit in trust of His faithfulness, of His provision, of His love.

The God I serve has a sense of humor; and if this isn’t proof of that, what comes next will be an even greater adventure!

“Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand.” Proverbs 19:21

Yesterday marked the anniversary of our country’s independence from British rule. I am grateful that God allows me to live in this country. I am grateful for the freedoms we have as individuals and as a nation. I am grateful for the men and women of our armed forces who work and fight to maintain those freedoms.

So, how did we spend the day yesterday? Eating hamburgers, hot dogs, potato salad, and apple pie? Watching fireworks?

Nope, we celbrated our nation’s birth by packing a couple of boxes, taking a family walk in the park, playing WiiSports, and reading. And our day culminated with a trip to eat mexican food, because, really, isn’t that what any red blooded American does on the Fourth of July?

~~Little and I have walked 4 out of the last 4 days.

Matt has worked in the University of Tennessee system since he completed his Master’s degree four years ago. A few months ago he decided that he liked the idea of leaving academia for the private sector, and we embarked on a season of prayer and conversation about his job.

The first weekend in June, Matt spent a copious amount of time preparing his resume and Pushcart Labs, his web portfolio. His hard work paid off when he submitted a resume the following Tuesday and received an e-mail reply within hours. On Wednesday morning he spoke with the CEO of the company, on Wednesday afternoon he spoke with the person he will be working alongside, and by Wednesday evening he had an interview scheduled for Wednesday the 20th.

This job opportunity was one reason our trip last week was a bit hectic. We headed to Nashville on Tuesday afternoon, Matt interviewed for the position on Wednesday afternoon, and Thursday afternoon he was offered and accepted the job over the phone as we drove to his parents’ house in Georgia.

We spent time Friday, Saturday, and Sunday – around wedding preparations, family time, rehearsal dinner, wedding, etc – doing online research on places to live; Nashville is my hometown, so it made things a bit easier in that we knew the areas where we wanted to focus our search. We are planning to rent for a couple of years; I’m sure finding an apartment is much easier than trying to find and buy a house long distance and on short notice. Early Monday morning we left Georgia headed back to Nashville hoping to find a place we liked that would be available in the time frame we needed.

Through God’s provision, the second complex on our list had three bedroom apartments available when we need to move. Our unit has close to the same square footage as our current house, an open floor plan in the kitchen/living room/family room/dining room, a large balcony, and a big master bath (something we’ve not had before). The complex has multiple pools, including an indoor pool that is open year round, and other nice amenities. We feel very blessed to have found a place so quickly, and that, so far anyway, things have gone smoothly.

The next task, when we returned home, was finding a realtor and getting our house on the market. Matt was able to get in touch with someone Tuesday afternoon, we met with her last night, and our listing should go up today. We are hopeful that we will sell quickly as we are in a great school district and our house lists for under $150,000, both of which are a bit difficult to come by in our area. The realtor seemed confidant that we should sell with no problem (but she’s paid to say that, isn’t she?); she said that though the market as a whole is pretty bad right now the market for “first-time” homes is still moving well.

Whatever happens, we know that God is sovereign over all and trust that He knows how everything will turn out in the end. We have been, and continue to be, prayerful through the process and are trying to be intentional toward making this about God’s righteousness and glory, not about our wants. It will be nice to move close to family, it will be nice for Matt to be in a job doing something for which he has a passion, it will be nice to see what happens in our lives as a result of this change; but if God is not glorified through us and through this, what have we really accomplished?

So, did you even know I was gone?

Last Tuesday Matt, Little, and I left town headed to Matt’s parents’ house; we were gone for seven days (returned home Tuesday afternoon). It is so nice to be home and back in our beds and back in our routine; I’ve finally recovered enough to get back to this thing known as a blog. We took this little ten hour trip in order to attend the wedding of Matt’s younger brother. The wedding was Saturday night, but Matt had a job interview on Wednesday (more on that in another post) so we headed out a few days early.

Little travelled very well. We drove three hours Tuesday afternoon, and she was fine. Thursday morning, we got up early and headed south. She played in her carseat, slept a lot, and ate some snacks. We made the 6-7 hour trip only making one stop; I thought that was great for travelling with a 10 month old. She was not thrilled about getting back into her seat after the stop, but she eventually went back to sleep. We broke the trip up the same way coming home (6-7 hours first day, 3 hours next day), and although she didn’t do quite as well as going, she still did better than I expected.

We stayed with Matt’s parents, so Little was surrounded by grandparents, aunts and uncles, great grandparents, and various other extended family members for several days. She really enjoyed playing with her Auntie Lu and cousin Bubbie and spending lots of time with her Nana and Pops. It was fun being with everyone since Christmas was the last time we were there.

But, back to the wedding. In order to have a candlelight ceremony, the wedding was scheduled for eight o’clock Saturday night. We were a bit concerned about the little ones, as that is right around bedtime, but they both did fine – fortunately, the ceremony was only about 30 minutes long.

The church was decorated with lots of candles and red roses. The ceremony was performed by a friend of both the bride and groom, so it was very sweet and personal. The bride was beautiful (she’s a very pretty girl anyway) dolled up in her wedding gown with long train and veil. She really looked like a princess.

Following the ceremony, they had a dessert reception with about 15 kinds of cakes, pies, and other desserts in addition to the wedding cake and groom’s cake. In fact, with all of the other goodies the wedding cake was kind of ignored after the cake cutting (it was on a separate table in a different part of the room). I overheard someone in line refer to the dessert table as “the table of sin.” I prefer to not think about how many calories were represented.

Anyway, the wedding was beautiful, the visit with family was great (even if it was a bit hectic), and the road trip was, well, it was a road trip with a baby. We are glad to be home, but have lots to do over the next few weeks (more on that in another post)!

I am a Daddy’s girl, through and through; as a child I believed I could do anything as long as Daddy was close by. I had faith that if I slipped, he would catch me; if I was hurt, he would make it better; if I needed him, he would come running. I knew that he loved me in a big way and that nothing would change that.

I believe that Little feels this way about Matt. She can’t yet verbalize it, but you can already see it in her eyes; she knows she can rely on him. She is blessed to have the best kind of Daddy – the kind that fears God and only wants the best for his baby girl.

Happy father’s day and I love you to the two most important men in my life!

Matt’s parents came to visit this weekend. With a 10-hour trip from their house to ours we don’t get to see them as often as we would like. We didn’t really do anything very exciting, but it was nice just to get to spend time together relaxing, talking, enjoying Little. Little lapped up all of the attention and had fun playing with and performing for people other than Mommy and Daddy. It rained most of the day Saturday, but we were able to get out Sunday afternoon to take a walk and enjoy the beautiful Spring weather. I have truly been blessed with wonderful in-laws.

Other than the first few months after our marriage, Matt and I have not lived closer to our family than a 3-hour drive; this is both good and bad. Early on, it was good for the two of us to have to rely on each other and God. We had to figure out the whole marriage/finances (Matt was in grad school and I was working full-time)/church/friends thing on our own. Through that we built a strong relationship, really enjoyed time together, and learned a lot about God and ourselves. I don’t know how our marriage would be different if we had been in the same city with family, but I’m sure it would be.

Now that Little has come along, it would be nice to live closer to family in some ways. Growing up, I lived within a few miles of both sets of my grandparents and most of my extended family. I spent lots of time with my grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins; I would love for Little to have the opportunity to have a day-to-day relationship with her extended family as well. It would also be nice to have the close-by babysitting that comes with living near relatives.

For now, we are called to live and work where we are which means being separated from family by many miles. When we have the opportunity to visit with family – either at our house or theirs – we enjoy it while we can; we talk, we laugh, we drink coffee, we linger over meals, we overstimulate Little and she won’t nap (but that’s okay). The physical distance between us makes our gatherings that much sweeter.