Whirlwind

The last week has been a complete whirlwind.

@ Work: DHHS (Dept. of Health & Human Services) sent letters out with statements like "the state budget situation... daunting budgetary outlook... reductions come just prior to the end of X partnership with X... bad fiscal news... limited available funding..."

@ Chandler: offer on his condo, accept offer, close on 28th... phone call on 23rd saying party cannot buy, appt made with atty the same day, $500 spent... 26th, deal still off. 26th, deal back on... closing was 28th - finally. It happened.

WHIRLWIND

Chan [finally] starts his VA job on the 23rd of November! We are TOTALLY psyched!!! After sleeping on cardboard for a while in between when the movers brought ALL of his things to NC and when he closed on his place and now hotel hopping - he's ready to not be homeless! Can't say I blame him. We've been in heavy discussion about our options. On the one hand, he is ready for a new home. A bed. A place to park his car. On the other hand, we don't know anything about the area with regard to residential living. We don't want to rush into a decision because we have to; we're hoping to wait a little while and learn more about where we want to be. There are SO many things to consider.... it's overwhelming.

My thoughts are everywhere.

Anyone have relocation advice? Tips?

Current game plan is for him to find a cheap apartment or long stay suite for a month or two... I'm planning to drive up on weekends so we can get comfortable and familiar with places and start meeting people (???). Hopefully by January we'll be able to narrow it down and really start looking for a house.

No words necessary

Delivery!

Funny that the box that contained my wedding dress had "SINGLE" stamped on it. Hmmm... :D Seven months and some change to go! So far, planning is great and I'm not really understanding why people say it's so stressful. Choosing the date has been -by far- the worst part and I won't even go into it but many have told me I should see Bride Wars. (For the record, I don't think either of us have seen it! And by "either of us" I mean my friend-who-is-also-getting-married-on-that-day.)

So, my dress came - early! It was originally not supposed to arrive until mid-November and I was oh so excited when I got an email saying it had shipped!!! Oh so excited, except for the whole feeling like a giant buffalo part. That, not as exciting. But I'm told there are body shaping garments that squeeze you together and make you look a size or so smaller. We might be investigating those tiny torture pieces. I'm starting to wonder what kind of mirrors the stores have in them anyway...

Some weeks ago (and by some weeks I really mean last month), my sweet friends sent me a surprise you're-getting-married box! It was FILLED with the sweetest things!!! These girls... I really have no words for them. They put together the most fun box ever! I tried to take my time and slowly take out one thing at a time - they had several H's (for Chan's last name), a SUPER book that had really neat DIY ideas, two beautiful necklaces, one that someone made that had our names on it (LOVE IT!!!)... and a really cool planner for all of my lists with another H (and if I had to guess, I'd say they might have put that H on there too!) - I know another someone who is a little obsessed with initials. There were a few other things too and it totally made my day! Thanks again girls!!!

I would LOVE to post a picture of my dress, but Chandler pops in here from time to time and stalks me, so I have to refrain from too much dress talk. So far, he knows it's white and may or may not have straps. ;) He also knows it's long and I think that's enough 411 for him!

We had our engagement pictures taken a couple weeks ago and they were great!!! There were quite a few that I completely ruined... let's just say the "serious" face is not a good look for me. So much for any potential modeling career....

If I can, I'll post a couple of sneak pics - must ask our awesome B-Dub ...

Our weekend

Check it

Did you hear about this???

Wow.

Powerful indeed.

His Glory Appears

Song I'm loving right now...

"You gave me hope

You made me whole

At the cross

You took my place

You showed me grace

At the cross where You died for me.

And His glory appears

Like the light from the sun

Age to age He shines

Oh, look to the skies

Hear the angels cry

Singing, "Holy is the Lord"

It's personal.

How different would life be, if it was lived for Him instead of for us?

Lord, help me to love You more. Help me to know You more deeply.

My Dog Nola

Did you know that Nola Belle has her own blog??? She does... and she won a very cute collar she'd like to share with you!

Check it out!

We're going to try and update her blog a little more frequently. Be sure to add her to your reader because you won't want to miss out on all she has to say!

Photoshop, love it or hate it?

Be still

Daniel

Don't you just love Beth Moore?? Our Bible study group did Breaking Free earlier this year and we followed up with Living Free. It was awesome! We are finishing Esther now and our next study will be.....

Daniel! I am SO excited! A lot of us have heard great things about this study and I can't wait! I didn't love Esther like most people so I'm going to do it again by myself and try and find more. I'm not sure what happened to me but I just couldn't dive in and 'get it' like many people. I've read a lot of reviews and Esther is a lot of people's favorite study... I want to love it too.

If you're up for joining us as we study Daniel, let me know! We have a wonderful group and many of us have become close friends!! We use an online format so you can contribute at your own pace. It's a great place for prayer and fellowship. Comment or email me and I'll forward your info to our group leader!

Refreshed

I just watched Francis Chan LIVE!! He is one of my favorite speakers. (Ok, my most favorite speaker!)

He was speaking at a conference called CatalystBackstage. He was amazing. He always is. But to see him speak and know that it's LIVE, wow!

He mentioned several verses during his time on stage, and shared that he was asked to speak about the cross.

Some things he mentioned that stood out to me...

1 Peter 5
To Elders and Young Men

To the elders among you, I appeal as a fellow elder, a witness of Christ's sufferings and one who also will share in the glory to be revealed: Be shepherds of God's flock that is under your care, serving as overseers—not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not greedy for money, but eager to serve; not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock. And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away.

Young men, in the same way be submissive to those who are older. All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, "God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble." Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.

Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings.

And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. To him be the power for ever and ever. Amen.
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Francis said, "are we not always one breath away from seeing God?" Above, in 1 Peter 5:

Humble yourself - you are always one breath away from God. One breath. And when we DO see God, He will restore you, strengthen you, confirm you. Who else can do those things?

God and His GRACE. I had to pull a Jess and define grace to further grasp what Francis was saying about God. "Kindness, compassion, eternal graciousness."

Go green!

Are you green? Chan and I are somewhat eco-conscious people, but we don't necessarily take steps above and beyond what we probably should in order to be more friendly to the earth. He's more concerned with renewable resources and energy and I'm more concerned with everyday, easy things like soap and food.

As we prepare to merge our lives, we've been discussing things we'll buy, do, etc... in our new home to be more eco-conscious.

We've already found new cookware that will replace some that we'd previously registered for that had Teflon coating. We've also decided to use regular hand soap as opposed to antibacterial soap.

This week, I made the decision to [finally] throw out my old Nalgene bottles. When the BPA argument first hit the news, I didn't think too much about it. I loved my bottles and had no plans to trade them out. Fast forward to a couple of weeks ago when I was running late for work and didn't have time to fill up a bottle - disappointed - I grabbed some change and ran out the door only to see that I'd left the previous day's bottle in the car - score! However, the water tasted horrible! Like plastic. This can't be good. Regardless of BPA (which the bottle did have), I just don't feel good about my water tasting like the container. That's what ultimately made my decision for me.

You would have thought that after trying out several bottles last year that I would have already made the change, but bottles don't come cheap and I didn't have too much to complain about, so I kept what I had and was okay.

Today I decided that I'm done with plastic bottles. And I might be done with my Rubbermaids too.

I'll be surviving off of one Klean Kanteen and my one Nathan bottle!! If you haven't tried a Klean Kanteen -- DO IT!

For other green tips, check out these sites:

Green Living

Green Living Tips

The Green Guide

What green things do you do? We'd love any tips or resources you might have.