playing.

When we first started attending our church in Vero Beach, we immediately noticed that they had a different... well... playlist than our former churches. Meaning, they only sing hymns. A few newer hymns, but hymns nonetheless.

Here is an example of one of our favorite worship songs:
The Father's Heart

Short Soap Box Time: No, we don't find large crowds and jumping up and down any more or less worshipful than hymns. Some hymns have great lyrics, some don't. This is true with "modern" worship songs. And when hymns were written, they WERE modern! We hope to always seek out the songs written in Truth, regardless of era and style.

ANYWAY, the pastor mentioned wanting to have some new songs or new musicians during the music time of the worship service. So, having just been involved with that in Gainesville, we were willing to help. I told Tommy that if we did any kind of unknown, most people wouldn't take to it quickly in the middle of the service. But, if we had like a family night with music on some other day, they could become familiar with new things, and then be more open to it on a Sunday morning. Tommy passed this idea along to the Pastor, and he agreed!

We worked out the details- set a time and a date, asked our friend Jeremy to join us with his guitar, and came up with a set list that would show some modern things in that were more... calm... and would jazz up a few hymns, too ("jazz up" ? sorry, can't think of a better phrase). While I was in Branson with my mom, the pastor's wife set up a little display reminding people to come and bring their games.

Jeremy and Tommy and I practiced the first time, all together, the night before. Eek. We had a good chuck of songs, maybe 15 or 18. This was also a day after I had returned from being out of town. Whenever we hit a snag, Tommy and Jeremy would work it out while I decorated the .... um, it's like a big foyer? Hall? Atrium? Lobby?? I found fall-y flowers, candles, and garland in the church's stash. And I arranged the fun tables and the food tables as best I knew.... I think it turned out ok.

Night of the Game/Music Night: It seemed to go pretty well! We had around 30 people, which, for a church our size (small) with the demographic we have (old) is pretty dang good. People brought food and games and enjoyed our Keurig coffee maker (which, if you remember, Dave Barnes has used! :) ). We made do with the one mic we had and we just enjoyed ourselves while everyone enjoyed themselves. And everyone played their games the whole time, so we didn't feel awkward or much pressure at all. We wanted to be background music, and we were! Tommy's voice didn't get too hoarse (which he had been struggling with), and there was only one song that we forgot to make lower for me (which of course you don't realize til you're trying to hit those two or three high notes in the middle of the song).

The nice thing is, we had a hymn or two in the mix, and the Pastor loved those! We actually sang them both in the following two services! I think it would be a struggle to jump into the whole "modern worship" thing, but at least we've put some out there and they didn't hate it.... we don't think...

moms and daughters in touch.

I had to go on a trip with my mom.

And yes, I kind of felt like that sounds.

You see, she was going to a conference for Moms In Touch. If you don't know what they do, click here to learn all about them.

But she was going to go all alone. Since I have YET to even get a response for my job hunt (dramatic sigh), I could say "yes" she asked me to come along.

I thought it would be all about MITI (the last I is for International) stuff, so I thought I would drift off during the sessions and could just enjoy being company to my mom. I also was kind of bracing myself because I hate only-for-women sessions, speakers, lessons, etc. They are always only about women things. That's it. Then they might mention something you may apply to everything. My thought is, you should start with the big thing, and then apply it to the everyday details - ie a revelation on Godly prayer, then examples to help women.

Well! Guess what. That's exactly what the speakers did!

But let me start at the beginning.

Just getting to El Dorado, Arkansas was going to be a little adventure. Back here in Vero Beach, Tommy and I had to go rent a car, because we only have one and the plane was taking off from Orlando. The day of my trip, I drove approx. two hours, had to find the rental car drop off, and get to the gate. That plane took me to Atlanta, where (thankfully!) the next flight was parked at a gate right across the "sidewalk" (airport hallway?) from where we docked (?). So, jumped on that flight and landed in Memphis. Let me tell you. There is very little in the Memphis airport. Who knew. And that's where my four... or five... hour layover was. Woohoo! SO I took a little rest. Talked to my loving husband. Read some. Bought another book and read some of that. And then!

Mom told me to call some airline and tell them I needed to be picked up, and that someone "in a van" would be there shortly to pick me up. Does that sound like the definition of "sketchy" to anyone else? But I did call, and a nice guy in a van did pick me up, and we drove across the street from the big airport to a little airport. And then I checked in by that nice guy weighing my little bag, and looking at my license. And then. I got on a plane. That had NINE seats. It was smaller than that one we rode in to Huntsville for Christmas, remember? AND I was the ONLY passenger. The co-pilot literally said, "So, huh, there's your barf bag, and your exit and we'll be there soon!"

So after my private flight (fancy fancy) mom and dad took me to their house to sleep until our NEXT day of traveling.

That day, mom and I drove 6 hours and 2 minutes up to Branson, MO. We got to soak up fall oranges and reds, and the roads wound around foothills and let us be jealous of the cabins' views. Quite a different feel than the beach life of VB.

And if you haven't been to Branson.... have you been to Pigeon Forge? It's like that. "Shows"... "attractions".... and please don't read into my slightly sarcastic tone. I seriously get very excited about all of these things. We passed a Titanic attraction (...?), giant faces of famous people carved into a "mountain", a chicken the size of a three story building... Obviously, everything is better when it's bigger than your house.

But the conference was at The College of the Ozarks. This place was just lovely. To be a student here, you have to work at the college for something like 15 hours a week, which helps with your tuition. They have a dairy and a mill, and a hotel and restaurant, and arts and crafts, etc. The students even built their gorgeous mini-cathedral-like chapel. So basically, students there learn to be self-reliant and hard working, while getting an education and growing spiritually, too. It was the perfect place to be rejuvenated and to re-focus on the ONE.

So, that's what happened! I learned to pray in one accord- to support the prayers of dear sisters in Christ. If you've never heard this, I would encourage you to go visit the Moms in Touch site. It's a humbling process- learning to say a one sentence of prayer, and then listen to our prayer partner's one sentence of agreeing and expanding your prayer. That back and forth seems to make prayer a conversation between two daughters and their Father- the agreeing makes it natural, like any other conversation. When we don't agree, it's like if friends were to talk like: "My child is sick. He's been throwing up." "We had a wonderful Christmas last year!" It's not supportive, humble, or "weeping with those who weep, rejoicing with those who rejoice." You take the time to bathe each request in prayer, to listen to the Holy Spirit speaking through your friend.

Getting home, we met dad for dinner. I tried to go to bed early afterwards, to be ready for all the travel the next day, which would not involve a set of flights to get back to Florida. Why? Dad was giving us his old car to use! So, for Halloween, I was in a hotel, halfway to my husband. And Tommy was doing nothing. He didn't even hand out candy! But, the next day, his wife returning with another car to use was a nice way to start November!

like a child.

When I was too young to be asking, I asked my mom the standard "where do babies come from?" Being the Godly and taken-by-surprise woman she was at the time, she answered something like "God decides when to make you pregnant, when He wants to" - I'm sure the discussion was longer than that, but that was the impression that I left with. Her general "you" was, in my head, turned into a specific "you, Mallory!"

For weeks afterwards, before falling asleep, I would pray for God to please not make me pregnant until I was grown-up and married. Please, please, please.

Ha and Aw.

I didn't come to God with any understanding. I came with Him as a child, letting Him know exactly what I wanted and asking with the knowledge that He was listening and cared.

When do you get infiltrated by our culture and begin to think that God doesn't care about every tiny aspect of our lives? This is what our Bible study lesson was on today. We are going through "The Praying Life" where the author discusses the mysterious, improvable, and commanded act of coming to our Heavenly Father "without ceasing."

We learned today "The Lord (the infinite, Holy, beyond) is my shepherd (tends, leads, grooms the wool of even me)."

When we let go of control and learn how lowly and out of control we are, we can only cry out to God. He is all we have, and He is all.

We, just like any child, have a limited knowledge of the world. We have a tiny miniscule vision of life. We have a limited impression of what God's goodness and true love and wisdom is. And yet, as Jesus did, we are supposed to tell Him "I don't like this and I don't want to do this!" And THEN He, in His grace, makes our hearts more like His.

Faith Like a Child- Jars of Clay, Live

rain expected tomorrow afternoon, too.

Here in Florida (I don't know if it's all over the state, or just in the two cities where we have lived) there is a nice little rainfall once a day during the summer and some of the fall. It's nice- it kind of cuts the heat when it's summer. And, who am I kidding, in the "fall" too.

So we've been getting into the time where we have several days straight of just sunshine. No clouds, not even some drizzle. And the wind has picked up a little, too, so it's been cooler AND sunnier. What niceness, no?

Then! DUM DUM DUMMMM

Friday morning, it was raining when we woke up, and rained off and on all day. And then Satuday hit. We woke up to some wind. I took Bear out for his morning walk and fed him, letting Tommy enjoy a day of sleeping in. The sky went from cloudy to dark very quickly, wind picking up and rain starting and whatnot. Tommy had an appointment for a haircut at 12:30, and Ever After came on at 12, so we were both happy. Halfway through the movie, Bear and I were realizing that the rain was coming down way too... hard? Fast? A lot? Tommy showed up, hair a little shorter, saying that he was almost blown off the road from the crazy wind and rain.

It rained as much as it rained in "The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh" from 1977, which is an excellent movie.

So "the rain rain rain came down down down" and we tried to sneak Bear out to potty as often as we could. Long day of nothing but rain.

Tommy went to go get Five Guys as a special dinner treat, and I took a shower (yeah.... I put off bathing as long as possible... I'm a pretty gross person). During my shower, the power went out. We lit a bunch of candles, and had a nice dinner, and brought out Phase Ten. After a while, we noticed all those candles keeping us well lit were also putting off a lot of heat. We started blowing out candles and tried to keep only the essentials. Tommy decided to open the garage door manually, keep it propped open with a large box, and the open the house door to the garage to let some air in. It helped a little. We then decided to practice some songs to distract us from the warmth and the loud storm. Then Tommy decided he was just too uncomfortable- we were going for a drive in the car and were going to blast the AC, dang it! (we're delicate... Bear, too.)

Riding around, we discovered that a very small area was without power, only a few streets north of us and maybe one street south. But, that meant that they could fix ours quickly, right?

After a little while, the rain became just too dangerous to drive in, so we turned back. Tommy lifted the garage door with his he-man strength so we could get the car in and wouldn't have to worry about it losing a window, etc.

Finally, hours later, the power came back on with a -SURGE- and went right back off. And we smelled something burning. A couple of moments later, the power came on to stay, but not in the living room, and not in our bathroom. Random, right? We're still waiting to find out what was fried.

I went to the bedroom to put some things in my bedside table since I could see in there again, and when I stepped beside it, my foot sunk into water. YUP.

Momentary Catch-You-Up: when we first visited the house, there was some damage on the carpet in the bedroom. it was coming away from the wall and was lose and stained. they told us a sprinkler head had broken, and had pumped water into the house. but, not to worry, that sprinkler was fixed. so we positioned our furniture over the worst parts of the carpet, by the window.

SO guess where the water had seeped into the house?? Right under the furniture.

Over the next hour or so, we soaked up water with beach towels, pulled back the carpet, got out our only tiny fan, and moved furniture. We made the twin beds in the guest room into a king-sized bed (like we did for the Turners when they came to stay!) and hunkered down for the night.

Today is Sunday. We went to church (which was wonderful- encouraged us WHILE it spurred us on towards holiness), and between that and lunch, we dropped by the house to let Bear out for a moment. I opened the door to our room, and got hit by a wall of STINK. All I could think of was all the little smelly particles soaking into our comforter, our clothes, our furniture, our mattress.... Yuck.

On the way home from lunch, our realtor called, saying the home owners were sending an electric guy and carpet guys to the house tomorrow. When we got home, we took apart our bed and put the pieces into our front room (it has a desk and books, so we sometimes called it 'the office' when we're feeling fancy). We pulled the carpet further back, found more puddles of water, and closed off the room.

So, we will see what the guys say tomorrow!

It's been kind of like a weird adventure. Things are much more fun when you're with the love of your life. We decided this is the first time we are glad we don't own this house.

gator bait, pt. 2

By 7:30, we were all exhausted. Bear began laying down and only wagging his tail when people would pet him. We had been out there for 6 and a half hours!

But guess what. We found out that Jon had found 2 free tickets to get into the game! So, Kim and I graciously and sacrificially (sarcasm) gave up the seat to hang out together while the boys went to see the dumb football. One of our good friends brought Tommy a student ID so he could get in with Jon to their student tickets' area (Jon already had a UF ID because he works for the university). Tommy was READY.

Side note: Everyone I know (ok, not literally.) uses student ID's that aren't theirs to get into SEC games. Tommy and I ourselves used two complete strangers' to go to the Auburn/Bama game with his brother. We sat in the student section at Auburn covered in Alabama garb. The ticket takers never look at the pictures on the ID's, because they aren't losing money either way. So all of this was also true for UF.

Jon and Tommy headed towards the stadium, and Kim and I began to walk ALLLLLL the way back to the car, got hollered at and heckled (at?), and finally were on our way out. We were looking forward to curling up in cozy clothes and chatting and maybe watching a girly flick (if you say "flick" that makes it extra girly).

I got a phone call before we were even off campus. It was Tommy, "They wouldn't let me in." We turned around, picked up the guys, and got the full story. Apparently, this game was the moment UF decided to check everyone's ID's. The lady checking Tommy's took the ID, held it up next to his face, and even asked what his middle initial was. She took his ticket and gave it and the ID to her supervisor behind her, and didn't say anything more to Tommy. How embarrassing!

So we spent the rest of the night with the game on- Kim and I watched some of it, and talked for most of it. How encouraging it is to just talk about Godly things with a sister in Christ! And Tommy got his birthday wish: Alabama won. Yay! I just wish they had won a little earlier than a quarter to midnight.

The next morning, we got to return to our old church and had a wonderful time worshiping with people we love. We then got to eat with many of our friends at another one of our favorite restaurants- Chipotle! After visiting a little longer with friends at Jon and Kim's, we had to pack up to leave.

We now miss our peoples in Gainesville more than ever!

I guess I should change the title of these to something like ... "the tide rolled." or "we got no sleep."

gator bait, pt. 1

It is Tuesday, and we "Florida Middletons" are still recovering from the weekend.

Two things:
1) I do not like being "The Florida Middletons" - although I know it is nice on the entire Middleton side of our family. But Florida just doesn't sound like us, even after a year and a half.
2) If you didn't know us, "recovering from the weekend" would probably sound like we "partied" or drank a lot. Nope.

So this weekend was the much-anticipated Bama vs Florida football game. Have I mentioned I don't like football? I feel like there's an old post on here somewhere venting that several times... But! This game was being held (held? played? located? what's a football-y thing to say??) in Gainesville. Well, fortunately for us, we know many people in Gainesville who desperately want to see us. ALSO it happened to be the weekend before Tommy's birthday.

Doesn't take a creative mind to figure out what Tommy wanted to do for his birthday!

The plan was to spend the weekend seeing our Gainesville friends and rooting (rooting?? why is that a word.) for the Crimson Tide. I checked with Jon and Kim, asking if we could crash at their place. We also went out on a limb and asked if we could bring Bear along. This would be our first trip with him, and we were all curious to see how he would handle the 3.5 hour drive, being in a new house, and meeting lots of new people.

Of course, I needed to plan a little somethin' somethin' for Tommy's birthday. I messaged several of our friends and asked them to surprise him at one of our favorite restaurants. I asked that they try and bring a balloon or two and that we would let them know when were close to getting into town.

Tommy was preparing in his own way. He ordered a jersey for Bear, complete with his name and the number 13, for 13 national championships. We let the dog practice wearing it a few times, and were also mentally preparing for the comments UF fans would be throwing our way...

...yes, the plan was to walk around campus during tailgating, sporting our own Alabama colors and with a dog who may or may not enjoy getting hollered at. We're so brave.

So Friday, we packed up the car with everything Bear owns, and a few things of our own, and started our trip. We stopped twice, but both times were for us, so we don't know how long Bear can go without a break. We arrived in Gainesville right around 5, just in time to meet Kim coming home from work and Jon coming home from working out. Jon took a shower, we moved in and let Bear get a good look at the place and his new friends. We sat and chatted for a little bit while Kim secretly let everyone know we were going to be at the restaurant soon.

We walked in, and in front of a full place, our good friends led everyone in a round of "Happy Birthday" and made Tommy feel completely loved and slightly embarrassed. We stayed at Rolls & Bowls (I would highly suggest you try this place if you're ever in the G'ville) for a little too long chatting with everyone, and then went back to the Moller's. We played a great type of name game, and finished up with a couple rounds of "mafia". We stayed up too late and laughed too much.

The next morning, the guys went golfing, and to make it to their 7:00 t-time (it may be "tee" time but, whatevs) Tommy had to wake up at 5:45. By 7 Kim was also out the door to run, and I was unfortunately wide awake, even though I had planned to enjoy sleep instead of being like the crazy people I was living with. I ended up watching a re-run of Boy Meets World and walking Bear around their neighborhood.

By 10:00, Kim and I were back out the door to SHOP! We rarely get to just buy things for fun, but since the boys were playing with some money, we got to use the same amount to have a little of our own kind of fun!

By 1:00, we had all eaten lunch and were donning our separate team colors. Bear looked manly in his jersey, and I got to wear an awesome felt-flower clip (shout out Bella Designs!) of grey and ruby red. We were ready to face the madness.

We thought that the dog would get too excited. That he would jump on people and be trying to run after cool looking strangers and not listen to us. He could've even snapped at people if he got annoyed. Or he could've been scared of the thousands of fans pouring into the campus.

But let me just brag, he was amazing. At first he did want to pull to people, then he realized there were way too many people to try and see all of them. People would walk up to him and hug and pet him. They would shyly stick out their palms. They would wait to see if we would allow them to come close. Some would kiss him on the head. I let kids give him treats and talked to random adults about their own dogs. We told people about the Humane Society.

Uf fans would shout "nice dog! ugly jersey!" and "animal abuse!" But some even wanted pictures with him.

One college kid did the gator chop AT Bear, hollering "gator bait! gator bait!" Bear started walking up to him, and the guy slightly froze. Then Bear gently licked his hand twice and walked away. Of course, every Gator fan there "AWW"-ed. I hope the guy was humbled a little bit.

And we walked miles, and miles, and miles.

the doggy turned into the Bear.

Thus began the long discussion of names appropriate for this dog we only knew as Lilo.

At first we tried to think of something that ended in O, so it would be easier for him to learn. Beebo, HoJo, Silo...... all gross.

So then we started thinking theme-y. Tommy is an Alabama grad, so we started there. His first gift from me, even before we were dating, was a female Beta fish. I named her Tuscaloosa for him. So that name was out, because it was too girly now.

After much thinking, we landed on "Bear" in honor of the famous Coach Bear Bryant. And, he looks like a bear when he is interested in something. His former owners cropped his ears very low, so when they perk up, it's like a bear's cartoon ears.

When I was little, some of our dear friends had a dog also named Bear- but it didn't make sense to me to call him just Bear. So, I called him The Bear. Because of that, they still call me The Mallory. I try to say The Bear as much as possible to honor something from my past too. Then, when we finally had our new friends over (the McSheas- more on them lata!) their two year old called him The Bear TOO. I was so happy.

AND, my father had a dog named Booger. So, I try to use the name BoogerBear, too. I have to be in the name somewhere... right??

...our dog has too many names.

The first late afternoon, we were all playing and happy, and then he stopped to plop the biggest poo in the middle of the floor. At least it was on the tile. Training begins on day one, right?

The first night, we tried to put him in his crate. He cried. We let him out. He slept at the foot of the bed all night.

The first morning, we took him for a walk at 5:45am. It was hard for all of us. We only did this for a couple of weeks. Then we realized his bladder wasn't that small.

The second morning, I laid down on the futon in the front room. Waking up at 5:45 threw me off and I was sleepy. Surprise surprise, Bear hopped up there with me. We fell asleep squished (it's a futon! not large!) and cozy. I guess it didn't take long for him to accept us into his personal space bubble.

He now snuggles with his Tommy and follows his Mallory around. We've finally taught him to shake. He still doesn't tell us when he needs to go out... We think that because the volunteers just took the dogs out in turns, he didn't have much opportunity to tell anyone he needed to go. And if he had, they probably wouldn't have noticed because his room was in the front lobby. We have just gotten into a rhythm of taking him out frequently and sometimes we notice he will stare at us or walk towards the door.... we THINK that's him letting us know, but then he won't actually go until we are halfway done with the walk. It's weird to have to think about another being's bodily functions. I guess that will be multiplied by 10 when we eventually have babies!

 To sum up, the Bear is loved and spoiled rotten.

the doggy adoption.

So we're mostly caught back up. Good job, reader!

I think you need to know about the newest addition to our little family, which turned out differently than I had planned. Of course. Actually, I think Tommy's plan was thrown off more than mine.

See, everyone we know (except for literally one couple) would get married then BOOM get a dog. I am no dog lover. But I AM a lover of all animals (except silverfish. if you've ever had a silverfish run towards you in your bathroom when you just hopped out of the shower, you understand).

But I hate doing things just like everyone else does. I didn't want a dog because that's what everyone else does. But I had this huge -nuture something- feeling that used to be filled! I've had cats for years, and before them, I had a mouse, some hamsters, helped some strays, a few fish... not all at once. So, when I started asking Tommy about getting a pet, it usually was, "can we get a fish??" and sometimes "let's get a hamster!!" The answer usually differed in reason but had the same point: we don't want to worry about it when we go out of town, I don't want to pay for all its stuff, fish don't do anything, hamsters smell, etc. etc. - all of which equaled "No."

When we moved into the house here in Vero Beach, the animal options for me opened wide! We have space, other rooms to put nocturnal pets in, we have tile floors so accidents wouldn't always be dreadful, the carpets are already kind of stained, and ..... we have a yard!

Because of the yard thing, I started looking at the Humane Society's website here in town. It was pretty impressive. They have every animal available for adoption posted on their site- their picture, how old they are, male/female, etc. So I found this funny little black dog named Charlie. They thought he was six years old and he was short and squat-y. He has a smiley picture, and was just ugly enough so that I thought he was cute. I laughed out loud at him, which got Tommy's attention. Then he started looking at the dogs' pictures too. Then we saw one of "Lilo", a pit bull mix. He was smiling, too. He was Tommy's favorite.

After looking at the pictures a few times over several weeks, I finally wore Tommy down! He decided to email our realtor- he asked if any pets would be allowed and mentioned that a small dog from the Humane Society had caught my eye. She answered that the home owners appreciate rescuing dogs, and so it would be ok if we signed some additional paperwork and paid a refundable pet fee. (Jumping up and down excitement!!!)

We got all ready the next day- I cleaned so whatever pet wouldn't be overwhelmed with previous pet smells. We closed off all doors so the space wouldn't be too intimidating. I tried not to get too excited.

We walked up to the door.... and! It was closed.

And so we waited until Saturday morning. It opened at 11, we arrived at 11:14. We didn't want to seem too eager.

Right away we asked to see Charlie. While we waited for a volunteer to bring him to us in a little meeting room, we got to appreciate the building. It is impressively nice! I thought it would be like a pound, but it was clean and open. The dogs had big runs and were taken out in turns to walk in a large yard. They had beds off the floor and toys and some were housed with a buddy. And each one had a personality tag. At this HS, they do an extensive amount of work to determine what kind of pet each animal will be. They have an extensive tool which tests their reactions to different things children or humans may do- they squeeze their paws or make long eye contact- things dogs don't normally like. Then they give them a score on how patient they are. They also take note of their energy and playfulness and companion-ness (?). There are nine different "personalities" that cats or dogs could be, including "secret admirer" and "teacher's pet".

In came Charlie. Like his picture, he was small, and a little funny. But, we realized almost immediately that he was being blinded by cataracts. He didn't really want to be around us. And Tommy was fearful that in a few years, when we might have little kids, he would be completely blind- which usually makes dogs very easily agitated.

We saw two more dogs, both girls. One was a red bigger dog, very shy- "Marley". One was a hyper tiny "rat-dog", which Tommy calls them, and we both decided we would be a little embarrassed walking her. I went to the bathroom, and when I came back out, Tommy said "I found Lilo!" We saw a huge fat head peaking over a half door. He was sitting in a plastic chair, and a boy and his mom were in there to visit with him. The workers told us that the family was interested in him, but already had another dog. They had to bring their pet back to see if the two could get along.

By this time, we had been there for more than 2 hours. We drove to the nearest place to eat, a Subway, and talked game plan. We decided that if we got back to the HS and Lilo was gone, then we would take the Marley dog. She was sweet and we wanted to give her a good home. BUT if Lilo was NOT gone, then we would take him. We hadn't even "met" him yet.

We approached the desk and told them we were interested in Lilo, and knew another family was looking at him. For some reason, they liked us right away. We must've unconsciously been batting our eyelashes at them. They told us to take Lilo for a walk.

first kisses on first walk

Well, Tommy fell in love right away. Who could resist that big ol' head. We got to sit low with him out under the shade and were given nasty doggy kisses and felt completely comfortable with him. We didn't want them to have to come looking for us, so we walked back inside. I was holding his leash when the other family walked in with their huge dog, and they gave me a sweet stink-eye. The mom, son, and two dogs were taken into a bigger meeting room with a trainer, and we waited, and waited. The lady at the desk teased us for pacing, saying we looked like worried parents.

Then, the trainer came around the corner. The family's huge dog was dominating, which would work if Lilo had been one to back down, but he wasn't. The mix of two alpha-dogs would cause problems.

(Sidenote: I had already decided to change Lilo's name. And I asked one of the trainers if the dogs respond well to that, or if it adds stress, or if it would even work. She said it works fine, dogs usually learn their new name in a week, and it wasn't something stressful.)

And so, there was much rejoicing! The trainer CRIED, saying, "he's had such a hard life so far!" (Awkward!!) They said he had been found lost twice, and after the second time, the owners released him to the HS. He also had had heart worms and apparently the treatment for that is like enduring chemo (according to the trainer).

trying to show his big head to the camera for our families

We couldn't get him home that day, because they let the vet do a final check-up and make sure everything is up to date. That gave us time to buy supplies... AND, more importantly, to think of a new name!

running out of titles for posts about friends. a good problem.

June 6th. Tommy starts work.

Also June 6th, Cheryl sends and email to everyone saying they are coming to live in Vero Beach.

Crazyness!

Jeremy arrived here that week, and Cheryl and their two young boys came a few days later. Because of the crazy time constraints, they had to live with Jeremy's sister and her family until they found a place. Did I mention she and her husband also have two children? So the population in the in-laws' house literally doubled overnight!

And here we were. Sitting in too much space. God said- offer your space, silly!

We were using the two twin beds that came with the house in the "guest room" - but Cheryl mentioned that her two year old would probably want to sleep with them. So, trying to be extra accommodating, I found amazingly on-sale set of king-sized sheets and a fancy connector thingy (which ended up being a foot wide cut of an egg crate bed topper). The two twins became one king, and there was enough room next to it for the one year old to sleep in a pack-n-play. I do hope it was cozy!

There was a moment or two when I thought- we don't know these people. Not that I was thinking that they could be... marauders or anything.... (yeah, I just wanted to use the word "marauders"... Cheryl and Jeremy and two little boys knocking down our door with horses and using torches on our furniture....). But, while in Gainesville, the four of us never actually hung out... at all. We had gotten to the point where we recognized them, and that is all. We were technically in the same small group for Bible study, but always seemed to come on opposite nights and sat on opposite sides of the building during church services.

They stayed with us only three or four days. During that time, during naps and lunches and Pooh movies, Cheryl and I got to talk and talk while the guys were at work. I found out about her family, she found out about mine. And it's always a good sign of a friendship when you can make fun of each other. Tommy and I found out that Jeremy plays the guitar, too. Since those few days, they have just... well, "jammed" as much as I think that sounds lame... several times since. And whilst the jam is happening, Cheryl and I can just talk. So good.

Nope, we sure didn't mind God stuck them with us for a few days - another piece of our global family right where we are and right when we feel the most alone.

blind.

Tommy has a vertical scar on his forehead that's about 3/4 of an inch long. It kind of hides in his hairline, and it's pretty faint, so most people don't even know it's there. When he wears his glasses, I call him my Harry Potter.

He got the scar in 2nd grade.... well, he thinks it was second grade. His brain was jumbled a little on that day. His teacher wanted to teach them a lesson about being blind. Half of the class was blindfolded, and paired up with the other kids who would lead them by hand. Tommy became one of the "blind" children and up and back down the hill of their school they went. This school was build with outdoor walkways, complete with metal beams holding a nice concrete cover over each. Somehow, Tommy and his leader were separated. And Tommy ran straight into one of those beams with his forehead. Hearing "your head is bleeding" he pulled down his blindfold, which was acting as a dam to the flood of blood, and that's when they realized it was a serious cut. The best part: Tommy was rushed into the school office, and the problem child who was there to be punished shouted "I can see your brain!"

What does "trust" mean? When I typed it into my frequently used Google search box, I got back "reliance" and "hope" and "confidence". Tommy was putting complete confidence in his classmate, which is natural for a child to do. Who do you put your complete confidence in? 

Have you ever thought about how pitiful we as humans are? We marvel at our great strides in science, the tremendous cities and wonders our tools have built. But think about the time, energy, and numbers of people it took to create. How humbling that we make these things so slowly and pitifully- compared to the Creator!

We forget where our keys are, can't remember what we said and thought yesterday, much less any number of years ago. We can't create without tools and materials. We can't control our own tongues or thoughts. We only know what we learn- we are born completely helpless. Our own feelings and senses trick us.

And at the same time we almost always completely trust ourselves and then other human beings. We trust in our own puny understanding, trust in our power and strength, trust in our bodies of dust. We are naturally born blind to our own feebleness.

We are blind to the miracles that occur every moment.
We are blind to His love.
We are blind to our own lowly state.

Pslam 146:3-8
Put not your trust in princes, in a son of man, in whom there is no salvation.
When his breath departs, he returns to the earth; on that very day his plans perish.
Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the LORD his God,
who made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them,
who keeps faith forever; who executes justice for the oppressed,
who gives food to the hungry.

  The LORD sets the prisoners free,
the LORD opens the eyes of the blind.

When we come to know Him, he takes that blindfold off.

We, though, have been injured from our own blindness. We carry the scars of our past failures and the evilness in our hearts.

I hope I do not forget my scars. I hope they are as plain as Tommy's- front and center every time I look in the mirror. I need to know my lowliness and frailties so that I don't forget how Great and Loving my Father is! I will not feel the guilt that Satan will throw in my face because Christ has opened my eyes to Who He IS.

welcome to the friendship company.

Let's rewind a few days....The Tuesday we came back from VB and the day we turned in our less-than-two weeks notice, we went help a family move. We were part of a great small group in Gainesville, and one of the families had to be packed up that night to move back to Indiana. So we used that time to tell everyone that we found out that we were moving, also! There was a newer couple there- Cheryl and Jeremy- they had moved to Gainesville with their two kids probably six months after us, and had been in our small group. They immediately stopped us- his sister lives in VB! She and her husband are part of a great Bible study and are strong Christians, and Cheryl knew we'd get along. It's always great to already have Christian contacts in a new city!

Back to the final week in Gainesville... I was messaging Jeremy's sister, Rachel, on Facebook and learning about Vero, we were eating off paper plates, had a moving truck reserved, and packed up all non-essentials.

We sent out the word- Friday night we would pack up, Saturday was clean-up day and rest momentarily, and Sunday morning we would leave in time to be in VB by 9:00 am.

How we were AGAIN reminded in those last days what a kindness the Lord showed us in Gainesville- to have immediately given us Godly friends in Jon and Kim, and then to have allowed us to cannonball into a solid group- a small part of the Church. We were welcomed and loved on and encouraged- they were the reason leaving Gainesville would be hard.

But they sure tried to make it easy! Ten people showed up Friday afternoon to pack up- to sweat and laugh and hug on us. My mom came from Arkansas and got to meet all the crazy people I had told her about. The men did the heavy lifting and we girls did some decent lifting, too! People gradually had to leave, and that made it easier- rather than hugging everyone at once, we got to really hug people one on one. The last two families left, the Mollers and the Bedenbaughs, and my mother, were treated by us to a fancy dinner at Firehouse Subs (YUM) because we couldn't think of another way to thank them!

Saturday was one of those surreal days. We took mom to Satchel's - since we had just found a truly Gainesville-ian landmark place, we didn't mind going twice in one week! Somehow the day went by really quickly, and ended with two dear friends coming by one more time to give us a hug goodbye. It's a sad thing that we were so sweaty and gross in our goodbyes....

Sunday morning- the Day of Rest- Tommy and one servant of a friend Jay met before 5 am to drive the big moving truck down to Vero Beach. Those big trucks can only be driven right on the speed limit to be safe, and so they needed to leave before we did. An hour later, The Mollers, mom, and I had all packed up the rest of our odds and ends and had thrown out a little trash, and were on the road, too.

It was nice to see the sunrise. If I was a song writer, I'd write about how we got to see the start of a new day while starting a new adventure...

Our poor friends. They had to get up so early on a weekend and then drive three and a half hours. And then completely unpack a huge moving truck of furniture and boxes.... It actually didn't take that long!

We decided that since we had all worked really really hard, we deserved to see the beach for a little bit. We drove out to a nearby beach, and enjoyed just relaxing for awhile. But it was short lived- they had another 3.5 hour drive back to Gainesville.

Another surreal moment of life- being in a new place and seeing your friends drive away. They went above and beyond what we expected from friends- especially those we had known for less than a year. I honestly think that's what the Holy Spirit does for us- we're already specially linked to those who know Christ- they're already our brothers and sisters.

Mom stayed almost a week longer. She helped me unpack boxes and decorate- we were in a yellow and green house! So it was a little more difficult to put colors together that actually looked decent. She even pitched in and helped purchase some different lamps and pillows so our room would look better and more "put together". She also took us out to eat so we were able to explore the local places a little. We found one place for breakfast- Mulligans. We got to sit on a little alcove, facing the ocean, being cooled by the sea wind and eating the most amazing breakfast. I don't really like breakfast food, but I ate so much of a HUGE and GORGEOUS french toast. We also found a Mr. Manatees (yes, creative?) where I FINALLY got to eat some popcorn shrimp.

And then mom left. We were alone again, in a brand new city and place.... but not a new state! 

A week after mom left, I get a message from Cheryl Turner- who was mentioned at the beginning of this post. Jeremy got a job in Vero Beach and they would be moving down in less than 10 days! What is with this place and quick moves? So that meant, not only did we have a connection with Jeremy's sister and her family, but also were getting two more friends.

AND they were even more of those "brothers and sisters" we like and need.

last minute visit.

...but before we could move into our exciting new residence, we had to get through those last two weeks in Gainesville.

We managed to get home and in bed before midnight that Monday. We were completely exhausted, physically, mentally, emotionally.... and now add on the stress of needing to be ready to MOVE. Neither one of us slept much, as we kept waking up to my brain figuring packing strategies and Tommy's planning moving vehicle options...

Honestly. The best part. Was. The two week notice!!! I could not wait. I have mentioned my job in the post "oh, may!" It became exhausting and frustrating. If you'd like to learn more, I'll be glad to share off the internet. I don't care to dampen the mood of this blog with frustrations that are behind me.... and if certain people somehow found my blog, I wouldn't want their feelings to be hurt....

So Tuesday through Friday was spent buying boxes and bubble wrap, packing, packing, reserving a moving truck, telling our friends we were leaving, packing, and cleaning!

Why "cleaning" during the packing? Because Tommy's entire family, minus one brother, was coming to visit that weekend! It was a long, long drive for them to come and spend their Memorial Day weekend in the hot Florida weather and with their two long lost family members, but they did it! Poor Tommy's mom- she helped us move in, and then was surrounded again by boxes when we were moving out.

Let's count. We had Tommy's two parents, his youngest brother, his sister and her husband, and their six month old, and us. That's seven adults and a baby. We had a one bedroom, one bathroom apartment. And a little loft where we ended up sleeping. Because of the tight quarters, we spent most of the time out and about!

We took them to the Gator stadium, because the girls were out numbered by the boys. I think they liked it though- most stadiums aren't open all the time so you can explore when there's no game. We then took them to one of our most favorite restaurants in the city- Dragonfly! It's like a modern/loud/busy sushi or "Asian fusion" place. We ordered lots of crazy sushi things and stuffed ourselves while we caught up on each other's recent lives. I got to sit next to Tommy's youngest brother, and tried to bug him by asking lots of questions about his new-ish girlfriend. After dinner, we went home and played Catch Phrase- girls vs boys- and I'd like to think that in spite of having one less person, the girls won.... but I honestly can't remember. So. Think what you will.

In case you were wondering how we all fit, we were magically prepared. Tommy and I slept in the little loft on the futon, Tommy's youngest brother slept on the couch, Tommy's sister and husband slept on the blowup mattress next to him, and the parents slept in our bedroom with the baby- so they could have grandparent time when she woke up and the rest of us would be able to sleep. Everyone wins, see??

The next day we took them to the pool- we thought about making the hike to the beach, but since it was an hour and a half drive one way, and they had already driven 10 hours the day before, that idea was canned. Besides, the pool is pretty nice! And wasn't too crowded! It was also the baby's first time in the water- so cute.

That day, the boys decided that they would find a batting cage and make the youngest brother practice in front of them..... can you tell I didn't understand the appeal?? Tommy's mom, sis, and I went around to different stores to get one of those small strollers... the big one wouldn't fit in the one vehicle they brought down! We finally found one and met them at the park, just as they were finishing, of course.

I'm assuming we ate lunch sometime.... this is the problem with being so far behind on a dumb blog!!

But, I DO remember that me and the girls + baby in new small stroller, we went to the butterfly exhibit at the university's museum! I had gone twice already (once with Tommy, another time with my parents) so I wasn't too too excited. But this time they had tons of different ones! I guess later in the season different types hatch or they get different shipments of cocooned butterflies...? So I thoroughly enjoyed showing my guests around. And when I was holding baby, one landed on her head and just chilled there for awhile! But of course this was right when the museum lady was talking and I couldn't get the attention of Tommy's mom who had the camera. Ahhh such a shot missed.

That night, we took the family to a local treasure- Satchel's Pizza. It's like..... a shack that got built on through the years with scraps of other houses and cars.... but still cute and fun. It and the shop attached to it are decorated with artsy nicknack's and also- junk! A giant water fountain, a garden path, and huge decorations were made out of everything old you can think of- paint cans, lighters, type writers, toy dinosaurs and Nintendos... They also serve really good pizza! We crowded into the "Elvis" table on the make-shift patio, and enjoyed the cooling fans and fresh food.

The next day was church, and then they helped us pack up kitchen and breakable stuff- yes, we put our guests to work. Then back to the pool for a cookout and chillin'- a picturesque way to end the weekend.

And we didn't have time to stress about moving details at all :)

flexi, flexi. -part 2-

(-flashback- A 'Flexi' Example: one year I did not get to attend any prep meetings before the trip to Mexico (I think we had moved to Alabama or I was at college or something). We usually have two or three different teams, like a Bible school team (goes to the same village everyday, does a VBS) and a ministry team (goes to two different villages a day, visits door to door), and I hadn't heard about being in anything. I figured I would be like a floater. I met the whole group in Mississippi and rode down with them for two days til we ended up in Texas on the border. The night before we go in, I found out that someone forgot to tell me that I was in charge of a skit team and that I was supposed to have prepared five skits for the week. Yeah....)

So I'm sitting at Panera, listening to iTunes and seeing what's going on in the Facebook world. Sixteen minutes into my alone time, when I get a Tommy text, "Start date is June 6." Did I mention that it was May 23rd? That means, two weeks from that day, we needed to be in VB and settled enough so that Tommy could go to work that day.

Slight moment of panic. I actually let out a small hysterical giggle.... poor people having lunch near me....

So, I immediately start checking out apartments. "What happened to getting out of apartment life?" you may ask.

We had learned earlier that day from the realtor that most of the rental sites required not only the approval of the owners, but of the Home Owners' Association. This sometimes takes 20 days or a month- time we previously thought we had. So, I figured we could just live in a decent apartment for the shortest contract available, and then have plenty of time to find a more exciting and grown-up-y place (flexi, flexi!).

I found several apartment complexes and kept a list of their addresses. I picked Tommy up, and since we didn't want to waste time thinking about food (that never happens!?!) we drove straight back to Panera. I showed Tommy some of the apartments I had found, and let me tell ya, it's always the same. They give you a picture on their website of their clubhouse and like, a pool chair. You really do not know if the actual apartments are any good.

First complex we came to, we asked immediately if they had any availability, and they did.... in July. We hopped back in the car and drove a decent distance to the next complex. Although it was slightly farther away than we wanted it to be, it was in a quiet, less developed area and seemed rather peaceful. The clubhouse was beautiful, new and clean, and even offered movies to check out (...which I guess is important when choosing a place to live?). Just before seeing the only two bedroom layout that was available, she let us know "we have the biggest floor plans in the city." And, boy. Was it small. And old. And gross. Also, Tommy and I are not tall nor very rotund. So, when WE feel that the ceilings are way too low and the doorways rather tight, we know many of our would-be-visitors would be hunched over throughout their visit... and we would not be able to befriend any fat people.

We kept the smiles plastered on our faces and told the lady that we would let her know.

The next apartment complex on the list? Literally next door. The clubhouse seemed strangely familiar. And the man in it liked to talk. And talk. And talk. And the whole time we were thinking "HURRY UP". We FINALLY were taken up to the model apartment and realized that the same builder built both entire complexes all at the same time. With the same clubhouse. With different paint. And different names on the gates.

Crying a little bit inside, we escaped Chatty McChatterson and regrouped in the car. We had the "that was the largest floor plan in the city??" conversation and unhappily decided to drive to the next apartment, staying illogically hopeful. After seeing what was behind that final gate, Tommy decided we weren't even going to get out of the car...

Sitting in the car in the parking lot of last dumpy apartment complex, we called the realtor from that morning and bite-ed the bullet....and told her we were interested in the retirement community. YUP- flexin' like crazy. We decided we could live there and just... deal. The realtor had us believing it would be a "long shot" to get in within the two week time frame, and she didn't have anything else to show us.

By now, it was about 4pm. We were finished. The only place we thought would be 'ok' was only a 'maybe'. So, Tommy wanted to find a Starbucks and get on the laptop and re-look at everything we could think of. We found a 'Bucks on his phone and started the drive, which was taking us out of the city. Then, thank the Lord, HE reminded me of a realtor for an adorable townhouse I had seen during my search, and I had written her number down. We thought she'd kindly refuse to show us anything so late in the day, but I had to try (flexi, flexi!).

At a gas station, I called her and left a short message about how we only have that evening, were in a jam and if she had any interest, to please call me. Completely trusting that she would call us back, we headed back towards Vero.

And She Called Back!! She met us at her office at 4:45 and she showed us places until 7pm, telling us about the town and encouraging us every step of the way. We were so, so, so, very thankful for her help- we would've been thankful for her even if we had found nothing! (SHE was being flexi!)

But, walking into the last rental house, we knew we had found the place!

The next day, we emailed and faxed back and forth with the realtor. Tommy and I put in our less-than-two weeks notice at work....waited.... And a day later were informed that we got the house!

It's a seasonal rental, for beach-go-ers, so it was fully furnished. So, we are getting to use their big kitchen table, twin beds, and a few other things that we didn't have. We have a yard that the home association provides care for! We have a garage! We have room for our wonderful friends and family to come visit us! We feel like real grown- ups!! We've been shown such kindness from our Provider. May we be humble and truly thankful!

...also, sorry for the longest story ever... yay flexi.

flexi, flexi. -part 1-

Let me start this story by telling you another story.

Growing up, I went to Mexico to do a week of mission work for seven or eight summers in a row. We went to villages, shared the gospel, helped construct buildings, handed out food, worshiped our Savior together, etc, etc, etc. Amazing experiences, pointing to an Awesome Father.

We teamed up with a ministry stationed right on the border. They act as hosts to groups and bring them down into Mexico. They give the same exact orientation presentation before breakfast on the day your trip begins. They always hand out Flexi cookies.

When you're on these kinds of trips, you never know what will happen. Your bus could get stuck in the mud. The customs cops might take away things you're bringing to give away. You might have a plain bologna (we have got to get better about our pronunciations here in America...) sandwich for every meal. Like one year, there was a drought, so we had no showers- only bathing in the river (yay, environment!). SO the last thing the group needs is for someone to be inflexible.

That first day, everyone eats a Flexi cookie (sometimes it was a piece of pop-tart, etc. one time it was an oatmeal thing- GROSS. I only PRETENDED to eat that.) which will make you have the best attitude no matter what comes along (...fail on oatmeal bar day?)...

...now sometimes, the Flexi cookies don't work with every individual's chemical makeup. So, if someone is grumbling and complaining, you just nicely stroll by and remind them to buck up by saying "flexi flexi!" Sidenote: this is the LAST thing you want to hear when you're having a bad day.

If someone has been warned several times to be "flexi flexi" and if that just won't work, then they will be given another Flexi cookie. If THAT still doesn't work, then everyone gets to circle around the non-flexible person and pray for them. That never happened on any of the trips I was on, but I would be mortified if that happened to me. Actually, I don't think anyone was ever given an extra Flexi cookie, either. Hm. I guess we just had really good teams of people.

ANYWAY. So. I think because of that, I grew to be pretty flexible. If you can be flexible, then you can think on your toes and try different things when what you've planned isn't working. Although, I got so used to doing this that during student teaching, my planning went way down to the bare minimum.... Ha.

So - back to Florida, 2011!

After our celebrating and chillaxin', we headed down to Vero Beach for Tommy to sign some paperwork things. That wasn't until noon, so we decided to make an appointment with a realtor to see some townhouses and condos at 10 that morning. We had searched online before our trip, and found out that most of the townhouses, and even regular-type houses were much cheaper than they were in Gainesville. Some houses were even less to rent than our apartment! So, we wanted to see if these places were just dumps, or if we could get an awesome deal and finally get out of apartment living.

We met the realtor at the first of three places, and the sign to the community let us know that it was for "active adults" = old folks. Thanks, Realtor, who knew we were young, for telling us this, since we only have one day down here (sarcasm). We toured the clubhouse- and what do ya know, full of old people and their activities! A full water aerobics class, several teams engrossed in checkers, and a big television in the "theater" room. Of course, we kept our comments to "oh how nice!" and "that's great!" for the realtor, but our looks to one another communicated thoughts more like "seriously??" and "nope, nope, nope." When we finally saw the townhouse, we were pleasantly surprised. A nice big kitchen, clean and open spaces, and decent sized rooms. So Tommy asked if we were even allowed to rent here, being a 55+ community. Yes, we could, and we could have pets, we just couldn't have kids. Interesting.

So we headed to the next place- another townhouse. This place had a hugely tall living room space, but a tiny kitchen and several upstairs small rooms that we didn't need and that would waste our a.c. We didn't hate it, and decided to go ahead and see the final place before Tommy's meeting.

This was actually a house. We were so excited to see it- an actual house that was in our price range!? Walking in, we realized why. Teeny tiny master bathroom, old navy blue carpet, and oddly shaped bedrooms. It certainly wasn't the worst place ever, but the other two places, though they weren't houses, were cleaner, in better condition, and had more usable space.

We told the realtor we'd call her and let her know. We weren't in love with any of the three we had seen, and were counting on returning to VB and seeing what else was available. So I dropped off Tommy, and went to a nearby Panera to drink some sweet tea and play around on Facebook....

May 22, 2011. One Year.

One year?!

We've been  married a whole YEAR?!

Remember when you were in like 7th grade, and you thought- holy cow. this year will. never. end. shoot me.
Our first year was the exact opposite.

We actually got to look back through the whole thing, because one of my gifts to Tommy was a scrapbook of our entire first year (I know it's a terrible gift for a guy, but it was for future blah blah blah). We enjoyed awesome honeymoon pics, laughed at my appendicitis, remembered the snow at Christmas, talked about our wonderful church family..... I don't know who says the first year is the hardest.

So, where were we going to celebrate?? Universal Studios to go to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter!!! I was so excited. Thrilled. Jumping up and down. And it was Tommy's idea! He loves me :)

Friday after work, we drove down to Orlando. Our first night together, we stayed at a Westin in Huntsville before we went on our honeymoon. So, Tommy decided we should again stay at a Westin in Orlando, one year later!

The next day, we were at the gates when they opened, and went straight to the Harry Potter section of the park. Into Hogsmeade we stepped, sweating profusely in the Florida heat, but completely surrounded by snow-topped roofs. We passed a snowwizard (one word?) and a frozen stream, and got into line to wait for an hour and forty-five minutes for the best ride of the day. They did supply some fans and misting for the outdoor line, but most of the line wasn't anywhere near them. The line wound around the sides and back of the building, like they aren't expecting the huge crowds to last forever (sad). And most people did like us- get the new ride done first (that afternoon we walked by again. almost no line! UGH). But after we had passed the fans and mist twice, and waited in the even hotter greenhouses (yeah... they're in the books and movies... but did we really need to walk through one??) and INTO the dark and cool castle.

And let me just tell you, Tommy thought the ride would not be that great. And it WAS. Fun AND thrilling! I will not give away the secrets of the ride. If I did, you would try to imagine it and you would be wrong.

So, after the ride, we explored a little more around Harry's world. We tried the ice cold butterbeer (they're hot in the stories, but everyone would die if they tried that) and enjoyed the candy store and the post office. We thought about buying a wand so I too could be magical, but they were a little too expensive for... well... sticks.

We then explored the rest of Universal. We got to go on a Spiderman ride (pretty fun for a older 3D adventure) and toured the caverns of Poseidon (dumb.) and strolled through Dr. Seuss world (saw the Lorax!). We even got a caricature done while we waited to meet up with one of Tommy's friends from school. I think I will make that the top picture on here :)

After we had completely exhausted ourselves and had seen every part of the theme park, we went back to the hotel to clean up for a fancy date night. Tommy did the good guy thing and made reservations at a nice seafood place. I remember it wasn't too fancy/stuffy... but I don't remember what I ate for dinner because the best part was the dessert!! Warm chocolate-chip cookies and milk!!! At a fancy restaurant!! So much for acting like a mature grown-up.

Before getting to Orlando, we found out that Tommy needed to be in Vero to sign some contracts, so instead of driving back and forth for no reason, we decided to stay another night and just hang out on Sunday. We actually ended up going to Ripley's Believe It Or Not. It turned out to be pretty fascinating! We saw crazy pictures and learned that people get really bored- who builds a lifesize model of a car out of toothpicks??

Monday, we ended our anniversary weekend by driving.... to where.... the next chapter of our lives... would be... (you know what I mean.)

may.

I'm going to speed this up. I mean, it's JULY and I'm writing about things that happened MONTHS ago. That's no fun for you and it's just. silly. Sillyness.

This is basically how our Spring ended:

Tommy didn't hear back from Vero Beach for AWHILE. Long enough for it to get stressful. So, we tried to balance placing all our trust in our Lord, and knowing that there are many Christians suffering in our country with no jobs. We know that He wants what is best for us, and we discusssed how we were learning to be humble and patient. Tommy even went to an on-site interview in Philadelphia because he thought that VB wasn't going to pan out. (Pan Out? Who decided that was a logical saying?? I will look that up after I write all this for ya....)

I think by this point we just decided to not think about it and just to WAIT. "Wait on the Lord, be strong, and of good courage." So, we bought t-shirts to support those who were hit by tornados in Alabama, and sent gift cards to Lowe's with the Christian radio station we listened to. And waited. And prayed. I started writing my prayers. I needed to be able to look back in years to come and see what I needed, what I had actually asked for, and what God had done.

And finally. Tommy was called. From Vero Beach. They offered him a better job with a higher pay grade than he interviewed for. He accepted almost immediately. Talk about rejoicing! I was doing an observation at the time and kept getting texts of joy from my mom, his mom, our friends from church, etc, etc. I'm sure the poor lady thought I was a terrible person- I kept looking at my phone and grinning, then trying to hide the smile.

I don't want you to think that if Tommy hadn't gotten the job, we would have been angry at God. Our prayers were never "please give us this job." We only asked that He would give us the grace to accept what He planned for us, to desire what He wanted for us, to be patient and to trust. We didn't know what would be best for us, and we knew He did.

So, after seeing Him work, all we had to do was celebrate. And then celebrate again- for our One Year Anniversary!!

getting through spring.

Let's see... what else happened at the beginning of spring...

We had our end of the year Driven party! Driven is the Bible study group of college kids and young adults. It is basically made up of our friends in Gainesville, the people we had been able to get closest to. The party was mainly to celebrate the end of their semester. I remember feeling very weird at it. At this point, Tommy and I were beginning to think that he would not be able to find a job in Gainesville, and I think my mind was first starting to feel the end of things at this party. I knew we would have about two more months, but that seemed suddenly to be very short, and that hanging out with this whole group of people wouldn't really happen again.

The party was at a house with a pool, and it was still pretty cool out, so most of us just sat around it with our feet in the water. The girls chatted at one end of the pool, and the guys went to the front yard to play bocce. We grilled out, chilled out, and... gamed out? We had cake and beans and burgers. And then we played cornhole/bags (depending on what part of the country you're from) and played with the bop-it and tossed the frisbees and footballs back and forth. It was one of those really nice times when the weather's not too hot, everyone's goofing off, and you just want to do nothing but relax.

For Easter weekend, Tommy's good friend Adam came to visit! That Saturday, we drove the almost two hours to the beach we had been to a few times before. He had come from New York, and so needed to thaw out completely. The guys played bocce (seems to be a running theme...) and I read and took pictures of them. We then drove around a little bit to find a place to eat dinner. I really, really, really wanted some popcorn shrimp. In North Carolina, you are not a real seafood restaurant without it. Apparently in Florida, popcorn shrimp are on the endangered species list....  So, no, the place we ate did not have popcorn shrimp. Dumb. But we enjoyed the company we had and gave Adam a little taste of Florida.

The next morning was Easter!! I had to leave early to practice with the praise band, and I made them little Eater baskets to wake up to! I tried to find manly baskets- dark wood and real-ish. and put gum and candy in them. To make them more...executive... I also added pens and highlighters... It's hard to be the Easter bunny!!

I'm so glad that we know the real meaning of Easter. To know that the power of sin is defeated and that the One who has that power wants to be the love of our lives- how can we live ordinary lives knowing that? Easter is such an awesome time to celebrate it. It's bizarre seeing the world try and gloss over its real meaning. But it is fun to celebrate with little gifts. And it was good to have a church family to celebrate with on that day! I'm so glad God plugged us into an awesome group of believers so quickly.

And all three of us cooked together for Easter lunch! Adam made green beans, Tommy made mashed potatos, and I stuck a pork loin in the oven- it all turned out being pretty good! Do you hear the surprise in my voice?

Adam had to drive a few hours to get to the airport that afternoon, but at least he had had a few days to relax in Florida!

And finally, Tommy got an on-site interview in Vero Beach, Florida.

I took off work that day to go with him. We had a pretty quiet ride. Tommy was mentally preparing for his interview, and I was taking in the surroundings, imagining having to take that drive to anywhere if we ended up living further south. At one point, Tommy brought up the point that he got the interview because he worked with a lady who used to work in Vero. He thought they were just giving him a pity visit and they would never seriously consider him for the position he was applying for. What do you say to that??

We arrived an hour or so early. We found a Panera nearby and after lunch, I dropped him off for a very long interview process....

baby, baby, baby, oh!

(Was that the cliche title of the year or what??)

Next on our list of things to do: Bevin's baby shower!!

A little background story. Bevin and I basically grew up together. We became best friends in second grade, and have much dirt on each other because of it. Then Lindsey became another best friend of ours, and we've all been in each other's weddings and have a jolly time together.

So, when we found our Bevin was going to have a baby, of course we had to give her a shower!

The tricky thing is, none of us live in the same city. So we made our plans over the phone and by emailing each other ideas. We got a date that would work in April ("April showers"?? what what!!) and Lindsey and I would both pick up little things here and there when we found something cute or fun.

All three of us agreed that we didn't want an everything-pink event. Lindsey and I found these super cute orange butterfly invitations. We ordered those and Lindsey mailed them out in record time. At this point, I was thinking about preparing for the Brandon Heath concert, planning for mom and dad to come, AND trying to find things for Bevin's shower. We just had a lot going on in the spring!
Bevin wanted to have a nice tea-time-type of party. So, for the food, we decided to do a lot of mini muffins... because they are like baby muffins! And it looks like you have a lot, even if you don't. So when Tommy and I were loading up the car (we do that a lot...), I packed several mini muffin trays, little tin buckets we were going to make into party favors, our cloth napkins that we got for our wedding and had never used, and some typical shower things- like a "it's a shower!" banner, Hershey kisses with "it's a girl" on the tag, and little bibs for the attenders to decorate.... I feel like they should write "it's a bib!" to keep with the trend.... We also loaded up several of the antique tea cups I collect so she could have a tea-time-type of party.

All of us had to drive to Savannah after work, so we were all pretty tired already, and kept getting hit with delays. Who knew that on a Friday afternoon, traffic on the highway would come to a stand still three times, going INTO Savannah?? Maybe tourist season was picking up? So after we had all eaten dinner, we finally met at Lindsey's mother's house and got our game plan together. Lindsey, Kricket (her husband), me, and Tommy- and yes, we were going to put the guys to work. It was already pretty late, around eight. And I know that doesn't sound late, but we had a lot of shopping and baking to do, and we were going to have to be up early, too!

After being in the grocery store for about an hour, we realized that we had way too many muffin things and no protein. We were going to get deli meat and have everyone make their own little finger sandwiches, then Kricket remembered that pregnant women aren't supposed to eat packaged deli meat. Lindsey and I felt pretty dumb, being women and all, and so we were scratching our heads for more things to serve. We eventually grabbed cubed cheeses and some "fancy" jellies to put on croissants. When we got back to the house, Lindsey and Kricket started preparing for baking, and Tommy and I put together the gifty buckets.

A daughter/sister of some of our friends in Gainesville makes these flowers that can be pins or hairclips, they're so pretty! Here's a link- http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/BellaDesignsFL
So I got an assortment of orange ones to give to all the ladies! Sweetness. We also got a bunch of candy, since Bevin loves sweet things! And tied the top with a nice orange ribbon.

Finally, we all decided to go to bed. We stayed at Lindsey's grandparents, who live right down the street. Getting up early the next morning, Lindsey called to say that with the crumpets she was making, the many mini muffins, the croissants with jam, and the fruit, we still needed some protein or something at little salty. Tommy and I had to go get some fresh flowers anyway (for decoration and prizes!) so we again did some grocery shopping. We found some already-made quiches, got two kinds, and decided that was enough.
We made a little buffet, and decorated the outdoor tables with my tea cups and rose buds. We tied in the theme with some stick-on butterflies from Michael's and filled very tall pink buckets with flowers.

Then everyone started to arrive! It was so good to see Bevin and her family. They hadn't been able to come to our wedding, because her youngest sister was graduating, so I hadn't seen her family since.... well, I can't remember when! AND I hadn't seen Bevin's baby bump either! It is completely different to see your childhood friend pregnant. Anyone else, and it's perfectly normal. But someone that you've known since second grade suddenly sportin' that baby belly the next time you see her- that makes your brain kinda go -poof- for a second.

Lindsey and I hugged the family and we all chatted for a second before everyone else started arriving. We had everyone gather in the living room, said a quick word of prayer, and led everyone to our spectacular spread. And. They did not. Eat. Enough. of the FOOD. Instead of several mini muffins, everyone had literally one or two. That's what you do with normal sized muffins, people!! The quiche was a big hit, so that was good, since it was probably the most expensive. We even had gorgeous oranges that I guess people thought were only for decoration. Dumb women trying to be dainty.....

So, when most people were done eating, we passed out little tiny cloth bibs. I bought fabric pens and stencils, because free-handed things never end up looking how you want them to. It went well...... except when we realized that the fabric pens, which are made to not wash out, had leaked through the bibs onto Lindsey's mom's white tablecloths!! She didn't seem too mad, but we felt TERRIBLE.

We also did a little trivia game. We asked everyone to write down the top ten girl names in 1985, the year Bevin was born. And then, we asked everyone to do the same for 2011, when her baby, Piper Rose, would be born. We were very official- we got the lists from the US census. We also had two tie breakers: we asked how many diapers were used each year in the United States, and..... um... I forgot the other tie breaker. The two winners got the huge pink buckets with the lovely flowers! I think they were happy with that... I hope so, anyway!

We then all got to watch Bevin open presents!! She was very patient with a little girl who was trying to open them for her- I would've said something mean. And she seemed to really appreciate everything people gave her! My favorite was the holiday gift- someone gave her little outfits to go with every holiday and they were just precious. We may have kids just so I can buy the clothes....

We ended by reminding everyone to pick up their party favors, and I made sure to mention that everyone pick up more than one flower pin/hair clip since I had brought too many.

Poor Tommy and Kricket. They had been trying to find something to watch on tv the whole time. And then for the trivia and gifts, we had come inside to the air conditioning, and had kicked them out. They had just been sitting in the next room, listening to the silly woman chatter. So they certainly were glad it was over. And then, we all cleaned up.... that seriously is the worst part. My mom always said that she didn't mind cooking, she just minded the cleaning up part. And I completely agree. There's no reward at the end, like a freshly-made-yummy-something. Just, a clean house... which is just ok. But since we were exhausted, we all went back to our respective places of staying, and took a NAP.

Since we didn't get to really hang out with just Bevin, she and her husband planned to meet up with the four of us at Carrabba's!! We all love Carrabba's. Well, we three girls. I think the guys just like food? But Bevin called to say they would be running a little late, so we hit up GIGI'S!! They make the cupcakes that we had as our wedding cake!

So of course, Tommy and I were craving our favorites. But when we arrived, they were about to close, and so were only selling what they had left. There was like an orange one, and a chocolatey chocolate one.... so Tommy and I didn't buy any. SO SAD. Our mouths wanted to slap us.

We all enjoyed our Carrabba's and had a good ol' time goofing off. Our poor waiter having to deal with us being their so long. We like to talk! We eventually went out to Bevin and Carey's house so we could see the baby room, and Bevin wanted us to smell the diapers. We decided that her woman hormones were throwing off her sense of smell, because the other five of us did not think the diapers smelled good.

And that ended our weekend! We told everyone bye the next morning, and headed back early so we wouldn't get home too late on a work night. It was very sad to leave my silly friends behind. But, it's good that we have texting and facebook. Because the day before yesterday, Piper Rose was born!! Happy day to Bevin and Carey and Piper!

orlando rain.

The next day, Saturday, my parents came to visit!

Of course, we were excited and also exhausted. We just let all of that junk sit in the back of the car when we got home the night before. Saturday morning I woke up a little later than I had wanted and Tommy had emptied almost the entire car -heart warming feelings- so I got to work putting decor and dishes back.

Mom and dad arrived and they were just so glad to be there. See, they have been in a teeny, weeny town in Arkansas. Dad found an awesome job there, but they are just about ready to be moving along. It is the smallest town they have lived in since they've been married, and we tell everyone, "well, there's a Sears and a Walmart..." They were happy to be in our thriving city.

Sunday morning we went to church, and then packed up the car again. Why, you ask? Because they came to take us to Orlando to go to Disney World! My second visit ever!! I was so excited. That evening, we strolled around Downtown Disney and I got to show them all the places I had actually been to before. For instance, we got to eat at the T-Rex restaurant. Yum!!!

Monday was going to be the BEST and I think all four of us were excited.

Monday morning = torrential downpour. I mean. I have never seen anything like it. It was like.... you know when the rain will get really heavy, it's hard to see through, it makes everything darker, you don't want to run through it because you know you'll get soaked? It literally rained like that for 90% of the day. So. No, we didn't go to Disney World. SO SAD. But we tried to make lemonade out of our lemon shower.

We looked up attractions on our cell phones and I grabbed pamphlets. We ended up going to WonderWorks. If you’re ever in Orlando, you can’t miss this place. It’s a really big white building, completely upside-down.

Basically, this place is like a hands-on science-y exploring place. But on the top floor (bottom floor?) they had an arcade. No big deal. BUT! Floating above the arcade was a ropes course! It was a lot higher than I thought once we were up there... Tommy was much braver than me. I’ve grown timid in my old age. But, since my shorts were made almost invisible by the harness, I have maybe only one unscandalous photo that was taken from the floor below to prove that I did it. Poor people who had to look up at us. I'm sure the workers there get used to seeing many underwears...

After that, we went to the big area that connects Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure - still raining. We managed to park and had enough jackets to get us to Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. YUM. And so fun. Got a Shrimp is the fruit of the sea.... Shirt. And we warmed up from being in the rain- yes, cold rain.

The rest of the day... I think we took naps? We can't remember.

But the next day. The day we had to leave. Bright SUNSHINE happy day. WHAT?! Mocking sun. I'm sure I threw "Why, God, why??"'s up to my Abba. We walked around Downtoan Disney a little more, just to give us that Disney feel, and then left. Ah, well. It just means we'll have to go back another time.

When we got back, we took them to the butterfly exhibit at the museum. Mom and dad really liked it- mom for the nature, dad for the photo opportunities! We were taking them through the rest of the museum when Tommy got a job call! He stepped out to speak with John, a guy from Vero Beach, Florida, who was interested in getting to know Tommy a little better. More on that later! -wink wink-

I think we salvaged a pretty good visit for mom and dad.

concerto.

I forgot to tell you about the CONCERT.

Guess who we had come to our church. If you've seen facebook, you already know....

Dave Barnes, Kristian Stanfill, and Brandon Heath!!! I was only excited about DAVE BARNES.

Here are the two reasons why:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=81HmfmL1P5Q

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_1vLEbbgD2g&feature=related

Kim and I signed up to be the hospitality people. We were told we would provide the performers and their peeps with food and transportation and whatever was on their rider (for those not in the celebrity industry, a "rider" is the list of things the famous people ask for to be in their rooms.) We would also be about the business of making them nice and comfy.

A week before the concert (which was on a Friday night) the church (people) sprung.... sprang.... springed! into action! There was a lot of cleaning. Our friend Alli found a huge and gorgeous dead moth in one of the high hanging lights. Many, many chairs were moved into the "concert hall." The utility closet which happened to have a shower was transformed into a nice little bathroom, complete with mirror and brand new shower curtain and bath rug. And Kim and I had to deal with the holding rooms.

You see, one side of the building (four or five rooms) were where the bands would be chillin'. The other side of the building was turned into the room where they would dine (not "dining room." we tried, but weren't that fancy). The rooms they would be in most of the night were actually Sunday school rooms. So after all of the toys, the toddler sized chairs and tables, and the baby books were removed, the rooms were rather bare. I went into decorator-mode. I grabbed pictures of flowers and beaches, candles, baskets, and a bird cage, and random knick-knacks all from our apartment. I tried to make the rooms really warm. We also added some card and board games. We brought our Keurig individual coffee (or hot coco or hot tea) maker and our coffee cups and made a little station outside of their rooms. By Thursday night, we had driven the car back and forth to the church maybe 80 times.... and I'm only exaggerating a little.

On top of all of this, Kim and I had to purchase and make the food. After much going back and forth about trying to do something unique and nice, or doing something easy, we went the easy route. Yes, praise God for the Publix down the road, where we bought sandwiches and wraps made and cut by THEM. Yay!!

We were told everyone on the buses coming were all healthy and some were vegetarians. Man, if I was on the road, I'd eat Five Guys everyday..... and be obese. But whatever. Sigh. So, for dinner, we cooked chicken tacos (make 'em yourself!), veggie soup, strawberry salad, apple crisp, and had some brownies and cookies (so they wouldn't be too healthy!!) and cokes, teas, etc. We mostly used all of our own kitchen stuff- plates, platters, bowls, ice buckets, crock pots- so their tables would look pretty.

The folks arrived! There were bands, sound guys, the famous peeps, and managers. I tried to stay out of their way and just make everything available to them. I felt most awkward around Dave Barnes. I couldn't care less about the other two. And Brandon Heath was the headliner- I don't even like his songs :) (shh, don't tell him). But a few of the volunteers and kids played cornhole and frisbee with 'the guys' and 'the bands'. And Tommy and Jon eventually showed up! Their job was to help with parking. I think they had fun telling people where to go!

Finally, the concert started. You have to realize, both Kim and I took off work. I woke up at 6:00 to make 2 batches of brownies. We had ordered the sandwiches at a quick stop at Publix, and had been organizing, cooking, and setting things up since. I think we got at the church building before 8 am - WAY too early to be up on a day you don't go to work. So, by the time the concert started, we were worn out. I poked my head in for a moment or two to see DAVE. But other than that, we just made sure things were refilled and clean.

The 2nd best part of the night was getting Dave Barnes' autograph and taking silly pictures with him!!!!!

But the number one best part of the night was....drum roll..... Tommy and I got a kid! To be more specific, we signed up to sponsor a child in Africa. Her name is Barbra. Brandon Heath promoted a ministry he works with - Food for the Hungry - and now we help a little girl and her family. They took a Polaroid and I took a picture of it with Tommy's phone.

So at the end of the night, we had to load up piles and piles of decor, appliances, dishes, and games into our car. I think Tommy and I left a little after midnight. SO TIRED.

I had an awesome time though.

And the next day...... My parents came to visit!! -see next post!-

oh, may!

February 24th was our last blog posting. Wow. That means it has been 2 months and 15 days since I’ve told you, my beloved and faithful readers, anything about our lives here in good ol’ Florida.

It probably has something to do with the last post being so amazing. A guest blogger, Tommy Himself, recounting the tale of 50 McDonalds McNuggets in one sitting!! How can you top that!?

Alas, I will get over my fear of typing a substandard post to update all of you.

I have gone back in my calendar, and the first exciting thing that happened after the infamous night of nuggets was this: we finally got to join the group who leads worship for the service on Sunday morning! We were so excited. Both of us haven’t done that since high school, and we’ve both missed it. So it really was a blessing to get asked to do this and then to be able to worship together. I told that to some of the girls in my small group. Being married has allowed us to be a part of a small group where we learn the Scriptures together, and now we’re part of a praise team- so wonderful! Since then, we’ve both spent a few times playing and singing. We’ve both had to pretend that we know songs we don’t, and we’ve both been very good about not messing up too badly!

For another weekend, Tommy got to go visit his Bama friend, Adam, in New York (“New York CITY?!” – Pace’s salsa commercial). So, I got to drive him to Jacksonville and spent the weekend chilling (yes, I took off Friday too so we would be fair in time off) while he pretended to be a local city man. They didn’t do a lot of touristy stuff, but he did buy me a sweet sweatshirt while they looked at hospitals (job hunting??) and ate lots of expensive food.

Since Feb 24th, my job has become very…. busy. I was busy before, but this is a little different. Instead of visiting a certain few child care centers, my team of two became the monitoring squad. Basically, we have to visit and assess every single center that we work with. An assessment takes three hours, at least. We have about 120 centers all over our county. They all need to be assessed before the end of May. So we have been all over the place, watching many, many children. We will sit for three hours, and then write about them. Rinse, repeat. Symptoms: a hazy memory which blurs all rooms together, contracting childhood illnesses, and dreams of the book “Too Big for Diapers”.

Some fun quotes from these visits:

A three year old: “I said I was sorry, man!”
A two year old: "...and don't glue the noodles on yo head!"
A three year old: "is that a white teacher??" (pointed at me)

And most importantly, Tommy has been looking for his next job (hence the looking at the hospitals while in NYC). We've had several ups and downs along the way, though it has been a relatively short way. More on this later....

Upcoming posts: Mom and Dad Visit. Bevin’s Baby Shower. Easter.