What's Happening

This post is LOOONNNGG overdue.  In fact write "What's Happening" post has been written on the top of every To Do list I've written for the past month and a half.  I'm not kidding.  And I write a lot of To Do lists.  So for all of you wondering what exactly I'm doing these days or where I'm living, here ya go...

I knew that I wanted to only work part-time while I raised support, so that I could have lots of time to devote to support raising.  But if I was just working part-time I couldn't afford to keep living on my own, and even having a roommate again would still be stretching it financially.  So I made it known to my church that was looking for a place to live, expense free, and a wonderful, generous family responded and said that they would love for me to come live with them.  There are six kids, ranging in age from 5 weeks to almost 9, so there are always lots of things going on, and lots of noise, but I hardly notice anymore.  They're really good kids, and so funny!  I've been writing down some of the funny things they say and could probably publish a book by the time I leave.  I've been here for about 5 weeks now, but it feels like much longer; in a good way!  Right from the beginning I felt comfortable and this is definitely home now.

When I started thinking about living with family it was important for me to be able to give back in some way; I didn't want to feel like I was mooching off of people's generosity.  And I am so thankful that that has been the case.  Less than a week after I moved in baby number 6 was born, so I was able to help out a lot during those first few weeks.  With another set of hands, life for the other five kids really didn't change much, and that's important.  Even though things have gotten into a routine again, I'm definitely still helping out.  A few days a week I'll watch the kids so Melissa can run errands or go into work for a few hours, and I help with general crowd control when I can.  I really am so thankful that this has been a beneficial thing for all of us involved.

Not only have I been blessed with a great family to live with, but I've been blessed with a great part-time job too.  I'm a server at The Firehouse restaurant, which is a local BBQ restaurant.  It's a really neat place; the restaurant is actually in the old Johnson City fire station, which has obviously been restored and remodeled, and there's even an old fire engine in the lobby.  The owners are an amazing Christian couple and that is definitely reflected in the way the restaurant is run.  It's a great environment and everyone really works as a team to get things done.  Something about greeting people and serving BBQ is making my southern accent a little bit stronger though.  I can really hear it at times.  I've been told that they're going to love my southern accent as much as I'll love they're English accents.  That should make having conversations with people really fun!

If you remember, I said I wanted to only work part-time so I could commit several hours a week to support raising, and that's what I've been doing.  Each day I'm making phone calls, updating databases, keeping in touch via email with my team at the CMF office, meeting with people, and sending letters and thank you cards.  I'm trying to do as much of my support raising  as possible through face to face visits, and so I've even been doing some traveling to accomplish that.  This has all been a bit more time consuming than I originally thought, so I am so thankful that I am able to work only part-time.  And support raising is going really well!  I'm pleased with the start I'm off to financially, and I've just really enjoyed sharing with people.

So that is the condensed version of what's happening in my life recently.  I'm either watching kids, working, or working on support raising.  It keeps me busy, but I know that I have been incredibly blessed by the Lord and very thankful for all that is happening!

The Weekend

This past weekend was pretty amazing because it was filled with some of my favorite things: food, games, naps, and friends - lots of good friends.  I headed to Knoxville Friday afternoon to spend the weekend with my friends Michael and Haley.  We've been friends for six years or so, and I don't think we had seen each other in at least a year, so this was a long overdue trip.  Friday evening we met up with some of Michael's pharmacy school friends to play beach volleyball at The Cove, this great place on one of the lakes there.  They had a big pavilion, picnic tables, grills, a playground and walking path, volleyball courts, all sorts of water rentals like canoes, paddle boards etc., and maybe even a place to fish.  I love places like that - places that provide nice, free outdoor recreation.  I'm not a huge outdoorsy, water sports kind of person, but in our technology driven, entertainment hungry world, places like that are invaluable and I definitely appreciate them.  And looking back, we should have gotten a picture of me playing volleyball, because athletically inclined is also something that I am not.  But I played, and I wasn't as bad as I thought I would be.  I'm not saying I was good, I definitely wasn't, but it could have been much worse.

Saturday morning we slept in and enjoyed chocolate chip waffles.  Our original plan for the day had been to go tubing but the weather was bad, so we packed some lunches and headed to the lodge that Haley's family owns instead.  We enjoyed lunch on the porch and then picked vegetables from the garden in the rain.  Well, they picked veggies; I took pictures.

We were wet and the bugs were getting bad, so we retreated inside where after a round of Mad Gab, we all ended up falling asleep on the couches for about an hour.  Normally weekends away are jam-packed full of activities and can be exhausting, so being able to take a nap on a large, worn, leather couch in a lodge in the mountains was ah-mazing.

Another treat was that some other friends of ours were able to join us for dinner back at Michael and Haley's.  I hadn't seen Dave and Scottie since January or February, so being able to spend the evening with them as well was really special.  After dinner we played Quelf.  If you aren't familiar with the game, the point of it is more or less to make you act ridiculous.  I call it a sober person's drinking game, because you end up doing some crazy stuff.  For example, one time I drew a card that made me wrap toilet paper around my head like a mummy and I had to leave it on until someone else rolled a certain number on the dice.  Or sometimes there are rules like You must finish every sentence you say with the phrase: Hear me, for I have spoken or Every time the opponent on your left has a turn you must announce everything they do as if you are a golf announcer, with hushed tones and small claps.  It's pure craziness...and I won!

I love them...and little baby Isaiah due in October!

Haley and I had to have a drawing competition.  We had to draw a baby, fork, alligator, and whistle.  Her's is on the left, mine on the right.

Just ignore the fact that Michael has a piece of paper taped to his head, it was all a part of the game.

Sunday morning I went to church with Michael and Haley, and then we had lunch on the deck before I hit the road.  I did get to make one more stop to a see a friend before I  made it back to Johnson City.  It was quick, about an hour and a half, but I hadn't seen Jessica since February.  And these days, as my friends and I get more and more scattered, I'm thankful for any chance I get to see them!

Thumbs up for winning and good friends and a great weekend!

Thrifty Thursday

Banana Republic tank = $1.50 / Heaven Sent Family Outlet
Polo Ralph Lauren t-shirt = $1.50 / Heaven Sent Family Outlet
The Children's Place long sleeved button down oxford = $1.50 / Heaven Sent Family Outlet.

So this is a boy's XL shirt, but it fits just fine and will definitely be staple in my wardrobe come fall!  And apparently it belonged to a boy named Kite?

Plue, one of my favorite games for just a dollar!

Saturday

This past Saturday was exactly what a Saturday in the summer should be.  It included a wedding, a cookout, watermelon, sparklers, and lots of friends; just not all of those things at the same time.

The wedding was of two students that served with us at The Well, so not only was it nice to see them get married, it was a great chance to see lots students that I hadn't in a while.  I took lots of pictures (although I never got one with the bride and groom) and ate lots of cupcakes (they were minis, so it was  ok, right?)...so it was a fun and tasty wedding!

We were twins.

In line for food!  And munching on cupcakes that were available while we waited.

That's a cupcake wrapper folded up in between my fingers.

The lady who made the cupcakes was the same one made them for The Well's fundraiser banquet in the spring, so Mason and I duplicated our "Thumbs Up for Cupcakes!" picture.

Heather and I waiting to send off the happy couple under a tunnel of ribbons!

Later that evening I went to a cookout with a bunch of people from church.  One of the girls had a bunch of sparklers leftover from the 4th of July that she wanted to get rid of, so we used up about 10 packs in about 10 minutes.  It was kind of funny to look out and see people running around and twirling with sparklers, knowing they were a bunch of adults.  I guess we'll use the term "adults" loosely.