Creative Energy

This week I turned my carry on bag into an underwear and sock "drawer" and my shoe box (the only one I brought from home) into a jewelery box. I was getting real tired of rooting through 3 different bags to find the right accessory so instead I now hang my earrings over the edge of the box and lay my necklaces out in the bottom of the box- it is a great set-up and it was absolutely FREE!

Week Two

Our second week here is going MUCH better. This weekend we hit up some more garage sales. We got our first chair- a wooden rocker. Jason's rear end was starting to hurt from sitting on the floor so we really had to do something and fortunately we came across some folks who were down sizing from a farm house. At the next garage sale we met Jennifer and Joey who will be married in 3 weeks. We bought a full mattress and box spring set and a microwave (a very clean one I might add) from them and they even offered to deliver it the next day. When Joey brought the stuff by on Sunday he also offered us the furniture he didn't sale the day before. So we got a desk, futon, and four chairs all at no extra cost. We felt really blessed by his generosity. Jason and I both slept like babies on our new bed. On Monday at work another intern from this area offered us a coffee table, 2 end tables, a dresser, and a box full of extras - we gladly accepted. This week we are feeling very thankful for all God has provided!

ALL in one day...

My parents offered to drive our stuff out so Jason and I could spend a few more days fixing up our house. We managed to get it all done and feel very satisfied with the outcome. We will miss our girl for the year- we have been blessed by her character and charm! Thursday morning we headed to the airport and thankfully our flight to Nashville went very smoothly. Chris my brother-in-law gave us fabulous advice to get on the first flight out of PDX and it worked (we had standby tickets)- thanks Chris! Mom and Dad met us at the airport and we all headed downtown for dinner. What we saw of Nashville was less than impressive however, we did stumble upon a great BBQ place to eat- Jacks Bar-B-Que (http://www.jacksbarbque.com/). Early on Friday morning we saw Mom and Dad off at the airport. We went back to the hotel and slept for a few more hours. When I woke up I could feel a migraine coming on. By 10am I had locked myself in the hotel bathroom to keep the light out of my eyes. We had to check out at noon so Jason loaded us all up while I laid on the bathroom floor trying to keep my nausea at bay. Jason drove the 2 and 1/2 hour drive to our new home for a year. I thought I was feeling better and then while driving along the freeway this happened,
Me- "Jason my stomach really hurts, I think I am going to barf."
Jason- "just let me know and I can pull over"
Me- dry heaving
Jason- "roll down the window" as he is pulling onto the shoulder
Me- opening car door and letting it all out "ok I think I am all done"
Jason- "we can wait a minute"
Me- and yet again I find myself hanging out the door for several minutes
Jason- back on the road again

I did feel better and I thought well this will probably be the worst part of our day. Once in town we picked up our keys and headed to our apartment. On the way over I found out we wouldn't have electricity until Monday- yikes! As we opened the door to our new home we were greeted with a cloud of smoke. Obviously my inquiry about ridding our apartment of smoke before we arrived hadn't meant much over the phone... While unloading the car I fell off the stairs and twisted my foot ruining one of my favorite pairs of pants and bruising the top of my foot. It began to swell immediately. Jason did the rest of the unloading! In an effort to avoid the apartment Jason and I headed out for the night. When we returned Jason informed me of the unclean state of our apartment. I have wondered sometimes if Jason notices/cares about how clean I keep things and in this case it became apparent that he does. We both slept well our first night in town and when woke up we happily found the electricity had been turned on. We spent the day hitting up yard sales in an effort to furnish our apartment. Shopping is tiring work so last night we spent the night at home, trying to adjust to our surroundings. Since our arrival we have been enjoying the greenery (which is very similar to home)and the beautiful southern sunsets.

Tennessee

we are finally here.. nothing like I thought it would be and possibly much harder than I imagined. Please keep us in your prayers- I see very clearly that this will give both J and I an opportunity to be more like Christ and the truth is this really really hurts! I feel broken, stripped, alone...

music for my soul

In the process of moving far far away from friends and family I am listening to songs that remind me that God is in control. Check out some of my favs-

Annie Bethancourt's song "the birds of the air" (for some reason the link won't work so you'll have to go to my space and search Annie Bethancourt)

My little sis told me about JJ Heller and along with "Save Me" I really like "Small" and "Only Love Remains" (again for some reason the link won't work so you'll have to go to my space and search JJ Heller) -she is from Nashville and I am hoping to see her live while I am out south maybe with my sister?:)