Workin' Woman

Hello blog world. Well, this is week 3 of working for Ash, and I really like it. I really enjoy being back in customer service- you meet so many different people from different places. Our bank is a small, hometown kinda thing, so you see the same people all week. It's great and really good for establishing relationships. I am done with training and now on my own... and its a bit scary! I feel like I'm constantly asking questions, and definitely look forward to things getting more comfortable and familiar. There's so much to learn! But I know its this way with any job, and I'll get more and more used to everything. It's kinda nervewracking being in charge of so much money! :) I've really enjoyed getting up in the mornings and having somewhere to be. It's a new phase for Nate and I to learn how to now balance work, our marriage, church, ministry, and our home, but we just have to depend on the Lord to be our Guide. Tonight, we're going out to Bonefish to celebrate my first real paycheck!

On another note, we now have a family living with us as well. The Whitacres are staying with us for a few months- they have an 18 month old boy and one on the way! So the Opie house is bustling with activity. But we're thankful that the Lord is using the house He gave us, and how He is shaping us through the process.

Well, that's all.

Got the job!

I am very thankful to let the blog world know that today, I got the job to be a teller at Liberty Savings Bank here in Dayton. I am so excited.

Waiting.

So sorry its been so long since I've written on this thing. We don't have internet at our house and don't plan on getting it for some time. Which means I am coming to the library regularly and have a short window of time to update myself on cyber-world.

We feel like we're finally settling into Dayton. In terms of the house, we've finished the kitchen, dining room, and living room and are taking a house-hiatus until after the new year. I'm starting to put pictures up on the wall which makes it feel so much more like a home. Not a ton to talk about... I've posted some pictures on Facebook. We've had a few Louisville/Lexington visitors which has been such a blessing to us. It brings a sense of normalcy to our lives, and its just nice to be around people who we really know and share deep fellowship with. We're always open to visitors!

We're enjoying and growing more comfortable in our church. There have been opportunities to have people in our home for dinner and to serve, and I really like that. It keeps me from growing introverted and selfish!

Nathan is still enjoying his job. He even had a conference this week and was making a presentation today. He is working so hard and getting adjusted to the 40-hour work week. I respect him so much for the way he is providing for us. In terms of my job, it has been slow. I've had several interviews which has been such a blessing from God, but nothing has worked out yet. I am waiting on Liberty Savings Bank here in town. I've had two interviews with them to be a teller and am really interested. I feel like they went well, but it just seems like job hunting involves A LOT of waiting! They said I should hear from them by tomorrow. I am running out of things to do in our home and am feeling lazy. Nathan gets up every morning to go to work, and sometimes I sleep in another two hours after he leaves. It doesn't seem fair! He's been great to encourage me and remind me that I can glorify God in any stage of my life (even if I'm staying home and making a Christmas garland so that our home feels more "homey")- but I am just ready to be working. I counted this morning and it's been 6 months since I've had a job! That is unheard-of for me.

It's really challenged me to evaluate where I find my worth. I will admit that, with the combination of being in a new place with no friends, having no job, staying home and doing menial tasks, I have really felt worthless as a person at times. But its really shown some inner-workings of my heart. I feel more valued as a person when I have friends, accomplishments, grand things I'm doing. But that shouldn't be the case. I should feel most valued because the God of the Universe sent His precious, sinless Son to die for my sins. That never changes, even when all my outside circumstances do! I still struggle to remember this daily- as the to-do list grows smaller every day. Just trying to enjoy this time that I have and use it to read more. Because I know a 40-hour work week will present its own challenges too.

Its fun to be in our home for the holidays. We're starting to decorate and plan for Christmas- looks like my family will come to Dayton, so I'm really excited about that! I guess that about does it on our end.

Been a While..

We don't have internet at our new house, so my access to the internet world (and this blog) is short and limited. I am at Panera enjoying the morning and thought I would let you all know whats going on. WARNING: This may be a bit long.

We are deep in projects at our new home, and I am so thankful that I am not working right now. The boredom I was experiencing for the few weeks before we got our house is long gone, and every morning I wake up with plenty to do! We decided to start on revamping the kitchen. And this will be, by far, the longest and most tedious project. It was outdated and covered in wood paneling (see below), so we decided to paint all the cabinets and panelled walls. I am a little nervous our older neighbors will be a little upset with us. They all talk about how skilled a woodsman the builder was.

SIDE NOTE: We found out that the man who built our house actually lived there for 50 years and was a skilled craftsman. That explains a lot of the character and cool spots of our house. We have a ton of storage and beautiful wood floors, and even a dumb waiter! I never knew what it was before we had one, but its just a small elevator that goes from the kitchen to the basement. The builder evidentley threw huge thanksgiving meals and had the basement full of people, so they would just send the food down the elevator!

Thanks to much help from my parents and Andy and Meredith, our kitchen is nearing completion! I have kinda gotten used to the mess our house is in right now. Dishes are scattered abroad and Dixie cups and bowls have become our "china". But its probably a good thing for a person like me to live in chaos for a while. I thrive on order, and can be a bit anal. Maybe this will help me to be a bit more flexible? I will post pictures when it's done and updated! It's so much fun to see how things change with a little bit (or a lot in our case) of paint. It's not a project I would suggest if you want a quick change. We've been in for 2 1/2 weeks and worked pretty faithfully every day on it. Perseverance to the end!!!

Something I feel like the Lord has impressed upon my heart the past few weeks is how important it is to be thankful in all cirumstances. Even as I posted the pictures of our house on Facebook, I found myself writing something negative about every room ("this wallpaper is ugly, we'll change this, the basement is creepy"). And as people in our lives ask how the house is coming and how we are enjoying it, my standard comment is, "well it's coming SLOWLY; i wish it was quicker!" Have I forgotten how I grumbled the previous months that we were living out of boxes and in a billion different places? How I didn't have anything productive to do?

I have been thinking about this verse and the surrounding ones in James 3, speaking of the power and restlessness of our tongues: "Look at the ships also; though they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are guided by a very small rudder... so also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great things." I am learning that my moods and degrees of thankfulness are STRONGLY guided by the words that I allow to come out of my mouth. Just like the small rudder guides the whole ship, so my words often guide my wellbeing. If I am saying things like, "Oh its coming slowly, blah, blah, blah" I find myself getting discouraged when I come home to the mess that awaits us. I find myself feeling like this will never get done. I find myself complaining and forgetting to be grateful that Christ has richly blessed us with a home to live in! So Nathan and I both are fighting to be more thankful and verbally positive, trusting that that small rudder will guide these great ships into more holy and God-glorifying waters. We have so much to be grateful for- not just a house, but supremely that the God of the Universe has been pleased to bless us by sending His Son to die for the sins that we have committed against Him.

Lord Jesus, may we never reduce your gifts (children, homes, jobs, schedules, marriage, etc.) to mere subjects of complaints or burdens. May we always praise you with thankful hearts for the riches you graciously give to us!!!

Closing!

We close on our house today at 4:30. I am so thankful to the Lord for helping us to endure this season, and thankful to Him for providing us such a wonderful material posession that we don't deserve!

There's No Place like Home

I wish I could just click my heals and be in our new home. As we look at this week for our closing, I am getting more restless with our current living situation (an air mattress and wrinkled clothes stuffed into tupperware tubs) and longing to be in a more permanent, settled home. But then I begin to think, "If I have made it this far (and Andy and Meredith endured this for 9 months), then whats another couple of days?" But then I'm just trying to keep a good perspective, yet failing often. I know this is just a house, just a material thing and that we can truly live on less than what I think. Many people do. I can't permanently settle on this earth, because it's not my ultimate home.

"For here (earth) we have no lasting city, but we seek the city (heaven) that is to come." Hebrews 13:14

But I just want to feel like I actually live in Dayton, and am anxious to find my days to be more productive. This feels like college all over again- moving to a city where you don't know a soul, going home every weekend because you're bored and it's just more comfortable, trying to adjust to a brand new life. But the truth is that the move will come in God's perfect timing. I'm trying not to count on this day or that this week to finally get the keys and an address (anything could go wrong); really I am just trying to distract myself every day and do what needs to be done.

A dear friend asked me what I have learned through this whole process of transition and homelessness. I still don't know, but I pray we are more grateful for this enormous blessing that God has given us, and don't hoard it or take it for granted.

Quickly Humbled

Today was a kind of a grumpy day. I have been a little frustrated today because I have been away from my husband for almost two weeks now, and lengthy conversations have been tough to come by the past few days. He's busy with stuff in Dayton, I am busy here with small children. And instead of being disappointed with the circumstances, I took it out on Nathan and blamed it on him. Yep, that was our conversation on the phone at 1:30 today. Much to my surprise, I received these when I woke up from a nap:


Obviously, I was humbled very quickly, and immediately apologized.

Fresh beginnings.

I hate to leave the depressing post up, and I feel more encouraged today.

Honestly, I have been distant from my Savior for the past few months. I have been rebellious and arrogant and thought I didn't need Him and that He was just too far away. Lately, just through the pain of the transition of moving and just the daily grind of life, I feel Him tenderly calling me back to Him. There is no one I need more than Him- and I pray I am convinced of this more every day. And still the wonderful, humbling thing about God is that He graciously accepts me back into His arms, because Christ has paid for all my rebellion and arrogance on the cross, and because He loves me.

I am beginning to be thankful for the trial, because I see that God has used it to call His daughter back. He'll use whatever it takes. Thank you for your prayers.

Random Rantings.

So, we moved into our friend's house this weekend, and it has been SUCH a blessing. Just to be able to walk into different rooms has made such a difference for Nathan and I. Hopefully, we'll only have to move one more time, and into our house! We're not sure about the exact date yet, but are hoping for the first week in September. I'm trying not to count on it though.

I feel like being real in this post- this season has been tough, especially for me. I'm really tired of just sitting around doing nothing. I have always worked, or had something to do, and watching Nate go to work every day and make money for our family, while I sit at home (our hotel room) and check my email 40 times a day is really no fun. When I have nothing to do, it just breeds this laziness in me. There are plenty of books I can read, plenty of friend's phone calls to return, But I just had no desire to do anything! Through much pride, I would often say, "I never get bored! It takes a lot." Well, I guess this is the "a lot" I needed! :) The other day, I sat in our bed and looked at Bed, Bath, and Beyond's 153 shower curtain choices. Can you tell whats been on my mind? But the Lord is so gracious to me. I am going out of town today until Sunday to spend time with family and friends. And then next week, He has provided two different babysitting jobs for me that will occupy most of next week. It will be so helpful just to have something to do, so I'm not sitting around being irritable at my husband and thinking about the house that I don't have the keys to.

Transition is hard! We had hoped to kind of relax this weekend and spend some time together, but ended up doing a lot of household projects with our new friends who are letting us live with them. They have been so generous to us. What a crazy weekend it was- we tiled a backsplash, took like 40 trips to Home Depot, hung new light fixtures, and assembled a grill. I was in charge of doing all our laundry. Have you ever taken 9 loads of clothes to the laundromat? I felt so bad for the people who walked in behind me. I swear this was the weekend that God said, "That Ashley needs a little humbling." Read on:

At the laundromat, I was pulling my friend's load out of the washer only to discover an ink pen sitting at the top. I thought, oh shoot. But did I check to make sure nothing had been inked? Oh no! I just threw it all in the dryer like a big dumbo. Sure enough, I pulled the same load out of the dryer only to discover I had ruined one of her Air Force uniform coats.

As we were changing the light fixtures, we had to turn off the breakers to that specific area. When we got done, I volunteered to go turn it all back on. Triumphantly, I marched to the basement, turned all the lights back on, and came back upstairs only to hear that I was not successful. So I went back down, checked my work, reset the switches, and to no avail. Nathan offered to come down and help me, but in my pride I insisted that I had done it all correctly and that he could come if he wanted to, but wasn't going to be able to do anything differently. He came down only to discover that I had indeed turned OFF half the switches. I was so mad at myself.

After the backsplash had dried, I tried to help my friend move her oven back in place. I pushed it instead of lifting up on it, and left a huge bubble in their new linoleum floor. (thankfully, it went away after we set some heavy things on it).

We are in the process of trying to find a new church, and I cannot tell you how hard it is to be the new person. Its so awkward to stand around after church kinda waiting for someone to notice that you are new, and then initiate a conversation with you. I just want to jet out the back door as soon as its all over, no matter how much I like the church. I hate feeling like this! So a little challenge to my readers who are a member of a church and love Jesus: TALK TO THE NEW PEOPLE! People would look at us, clearly noticing we're new, and not say a word. I used to do the same thing, so the Lord quickly humbled my anger. But I hope this experience as the new person will help me to strike up a conversation with someone I don't know in the future. It's so hard, and you can't just throw yourself into a group of chatting friends.

So anyways, we went to this church we really like last night. I was talking with these two women during meet and greet time, so happy to finally be in a conversation. I had a cup of lemonade in my hand, and while talking with the other hand, hit the cup and sloshed it all over the seat in front of me (right where one of them intended to sit). One of the ladies was super nice and said, "Oh this happens at my house all the time!" To which I remarked, "Yeah, but I'm sure you have a four-year-old too!" After it was all cleaned up, I'll be honest and say I had to fight back the tears. I couldn't take anymore!

Is this post long enough yet? Last night, Nathan and I decided to go on a date since I am going out of town this week. The movie was at 7:40. So I made us some popcorn and got ready to walk out the door at what I thought was 7:00. Nathan then informed me that it was really 8:00. The clock in the house was wrong! So instead, we went to buy some authentic Mexican food, and planned on going to see a later movie, but just got in a fight instead and went home. When we got home, we discovered our friends sopping up the water that had leaked from their washing machine! So for the next two hours, we took a trip to Walmart to buy more towels, and soaked up water out of the floor.

Can I say this was an exhausting, yet humbling weekend? I don't know what normal life is anymore. I know this will all be funny in about 3 months, but for now, it just wears me out.

Interesting signs along the way

At random times during the summer, I've seen a few funny things I thought I'd share with you all.

Must say I've never seen this written on a car before.

I was driving in Dayton looking for a place to live, and passed this store. So if you're interested in adding some bling to your teeth, looks like this is the place to come.

This is a horrible sign on I-65 between Montgomery and Birmingham, AL. Not a very effective way to bring people into the body of Christ. Notice the picture too... priceless.

So we drove by the house today! :)

We met with our realtor again and are just blown away by how blessed we are to have gotten this house. We saw the inspection report, and are just so amazed that they are going to fix everything- from inefficient basement windows to a noisy dishwasher! And we found out our offer wasn't even the second best, but they gave it to us because he was familiar with our realtor and felt more comfortable working with him. We are blown away, and so excited! God has been so gracious to us.

What a Surprise.

Yesterday was a wonderful day. We had Nathan's very first work picnic, so we got to meet and talk to some new people. Then last night, we met some friends from our church back in Louisville at a concert here in Ohio- it was refreshing to be with people who we knew, after kinda being on our own for a few weeks now.

And I called my realtor last night during intermission to see when we would go look at houses today, and he said, "Well, I have a bit of good news for you." Evidently, the people who kinda beat us out of the house we offered on backed out. And we were second in line! Better yet, a company is in charge of selling that house, and as part of their stipulations, they have to fix EVERYTHING (minor and major) that showed up on the inspection that they've already had done and already paid for. Our realtor said he'd never heard of anything like it. So, if everything in the next month goes as planned, we will be moving into a near perfect home. I'm so excited we don't have to go look at houses anymore. Thanks for praying!

No Go for Launch.

Well, we didn't get the house we offered on. But it's okay. The house had been on the market since April, and got 2 other offers the SAME DAY we put ours in. It's no coincidence to me, just the Lord telling us that wasn't our home. He's faithful. And so now, it's back to the drawing board. Pray we find one soon.

Feeling like Grownups.

Well, since the last post, we've moved into a much cheaper weekly rate hotel. It's okay. The first day we checked in I almost cried- the smell of smoke and the kind of people I saw staying here freaked me out a little bit, especially since I will be here all day by myself. But as we've been here for about a week, it really hasn't been that bad. Sure our room is small, we don't have an oven (lots of skillet dinners!), and we have to supply our own toilet paper, but this could be much worse and much more expensive. Hopefully we'll only be here for another 2 weeks or so, and then move in with some good friends we've met here. Could it be that the Lord is trying to teach me to be content in whatever the circumstances??

We continue to enjoy our realtors. They've shown us a lot of houses and taken very good care of us. They took us out to dinner one night at their favorite restaurant in Dayton. And they got to hear the interesting story of how God brought Nathan and I together. It was a lot of fun! Last Friday, I went to get a haircut and it turned out horrible!! I guess that's all I needed to release the emotion from the past month, so I just lost it. I was crying, and letting out all the stress of moving around, not having a home, fighting a lot with Nathan, and feeling ugly with a bad haircut! This has been a tough season for us- and some days realizing that we will be without a place to settle for at least another month is discouraging. I really just needed something fun to do. That very night, Larry gave us two free tickets to a Dayton Dragons baseball game. Every single game is always sold out- but even better, we got to go to a party deck! Our seats were wonderful, we got free Dragons visors, and even free food and drinks! It was a lot of fun, and just what I needed to destress a bit.

So over the course of a few days, we looked at houses, and narrowed it down to about 4. Some needed a lot of work, others not. But two nights ago, both mine and Nate's Dad came up here to help us out. It was wonderful! We showed them all 4 houses, and their perspective and insight helped so much. I ended up not liking so much the house that was originally my favorite. It's just so tough- with every house, there's something you like and things you don't like. You have to think about location in terms of resale, and what you can afford and how it will pay off down the road. It's a bit overwhelming, so having some older wisdom here helped a lot! That night was funny, because both of our dads ended up staying the night with us in our "suite". Sleeping in the same room with 3 other men was quite interesting. I haven't slept in the same bed as my dad in years! AND, both of our Dads are LOUD snorers, so I was braced for the worst night of sleep I've had yet. Actually, it was fine. Not much snoring, and another funny memory! This has been quite the adventure.

So, we just put an offer in on a house last night (see picture). We love it. It's a little more expensive than we wanted, but not out of our ability to pay, and the best value in terms of current price and resale value. The houses in the area are selling for a lot more than this house is- and all it needs is some paint to update the inside. I am trying not to count on it being our house until all is said and done (this process is so long)- but just to trust the Lord. We prayed that God would mess up this whole process if this wasn't the house for us. We really do want to honor Him with such a major financial decision. If you could just pray for us and this whole process, that would be wonderful! Pray that God would give us good perspective as we face more time in a hotel, and just a stressful season of our marriage. Nathan goes back to work tomorrow- so pray for him as he starts a job too. We will keep you updated!

Chaos has become normal.

So a little update from us: we have indeed decided to buy a home. When we researched it all out, it just makes sense- our mortgage is going to end up costing less than it would for us to rent someplace out. And our money will be going towards OUR mortgage instead of someone else's. We met our realtor for the first time yesterday and absolutely love him (see picture!) He comes with a wife too! They work together as a team, which I love, because you get both perspectives on a home. They made us feel comfortable from the get-go. And they are very straight forward with us- "you don't want this home, we won't let you buy this one" etc. And they are constantly bantering back and forth in that we've-been-married-for-41-years kinda way. We are also very thrilled that they are incredibly supportive of us shopping in a price range way below what we were pre-approved for. They are wonderful and we have no doubt that they will take good care of us!

So we looked at about 6 houses yesterday and were pretty encouraged with what was out there. We didn't feel that overwhelmed, until we both woke up at 3am last night with what I would call "stress dreams". Our heads were both swirling with house layouts. :) It was pretty funny. We were up watching "Fresh Prince of Bel Air" until almost 6am. I hope this isn't a habit. So now the new question is where do we stay for the next months while we look for a house? We're hoping to get into some kind of short-term place that is decently priced and safe. Our hotel is kicking us out tomorrow! But we already made two friends one of the first days we were here who said we could stay with them after they close on their house in mid-August. I never thought I'd be without my own home for so long! Hopefully I'll just appreciate our new home that much more. We'll be master clothes-rollers and car packers by the time this is all said and done. And it has been nice having housekeeping... :)

Air Force stuff has been good, and kinda frustrating. Today we spent several hours just trying to get all our paperwork in order (there's SOOOO much of it!). But Nathan was excited because we went to a place on base called "Rod and Gun" and discovered that they have hunting and fishing opportunities on base! He's sitting here reading me all this information as I type. Nate doesn't have to start work until next Wednesday, which means we have the next week to look for a home. I'm really hoping we find one soon so we can get this ball rolling. The Lord knows. So for those of you who talked about coming to visit, we may have to postpone those times until October! I guess that's all for now.

House Hunting

So we're in the middle of looking for a place to live up here- and it's STRESSFUL! We thought we were just going to find a 3 bedroom house to rent, but the more we considered the present housing market, our housing allowance from the military, and the tax credit for first time home buyers, we are looking into the possibility of buying. It's scary, but kind of exciting. We still need to meet with a mortgage broker and realtor to weigh the options. We definitely don't want to jump into something prematurely. Thats how bad debt happens.

Life has been crazy since we got here. We arrived late Sunday night and checked into one hotel. They were out of rooms for the next 10 days we needed, so Monday we had to find another place to stay. In the meantime, Nate had to go to base only to discover that no one knew he was coming (organized gov't at it's finest)- so he had to sit around for a few hours. We had to sit through other in-processing things that day too. But that day we did get to look at the base housing that Wright Patterson offers. It's nice, and close by- a good backup if needed.

Yesterday, I believe we looked inside 6 houses (to rent), talked to about 5 different people about all our questions, and drove by about another 4 houses on our list. I made a ton of phone calls- and we probably drove more than 60 miles just in the city. We saw some good places, and some ugly ones. And now I understand why realtors encourage you to paint your walls a neutral color to make your selling chances better. We saw one house with a LIME GREEN kitchen! And another with white/black checkerboard wallpaper. Yuck! But I feel like yesterday, we learned a lot about the area, just from the people we talked to and the hours of driving through the city we endured.

I am a bit overwhelmed, and tired of eating out. And to top it off, they've given Nathan some various meetings and things to attend in the next few days. One car is getting complicated up here! But, its always nice to just come back to the hotel, take a shower, and rest again, getting ready for the next day. Pray for us and that God's wisdom would prevail, and that we would find a place to live!

What I'm Grateful For.

Well, we leave Montgomery tomorrow morning; and I'm pretty excited. It's a mixed feeling. This time down here has been great and relaxing, but I am really ready to get to Dayton and to start our real life there. We'll spend all next week looking for a new home, and I'm a little nervous about that too! But I know the Lord will provide something for us. And no doubt with some extra room so people can come and visit. So in reflection, here's what I'll miss about this summer:

1. Having no time committments. It has been so nice to not be in a hurry all the time (because there's nothing to be late for). And it has been so nice to have free time. I felt like in Louisville, and my whole life really, most every minute of my day was planned. I'm sure it's my fault and due to my reliance on a daily agenda book (which I'm not using down here!). But it has just been great to get a chance to breathe. When Nathan gets home, most nights we don't have anywhere to go. Why do we feel the need to fill up our schedules with so much stuff? Even if its good stuff like eating at people's houses, having others over, Bible Studies, etc. I was a little burnt out when we left Louisville, and this has been perfect. I want to fight for more "unplanned nights" when we get to Ohio. I think we need that rest.

2. Some of the friends we've made down here. All of us are going different ways, and it will be sad. But I guess I'm gonna have to get used to it in the Air Force.

3. Time for hobbies. It's not something I really planned for in Louisville- there's too much other more meaningful things to do. And sure, fellowship with a friend is probably more valuable than making a scrapbook page about our honeymoon, but that's not to say that there isn't room in life for that too. I tend to compartamentalize EVERYTHING into spiritual and non-spiritual. But I think that doing something I enjoy at reasonable times and in reasonable amounts can be honoring to the Lord. I've enjoyed reading, exercising, sleeping in (is that a hobby?), and scrapbooking. And hope I'll get to do more of it in Ohio.

4. This season with my husband. I know it's not over, but it's been great for Nathan and I to kinda get away on our own and learn to depend on each other more. We needed to be removed from some distractions and comfortable environments to really realize how much we need each other, and need a strong marriage. We are thankful to the Lord for giving us this time away together. It's been a rough year, and we finally feel like we're coming more and more out of the difficulty into that "honeymoon phase". We still argue, but are learning to work through it better and love each other better too.

Well, I'm out of time. Nate is in a big tournament this morning- so off to sit in the heat for 3 hours! I guess it's worth it. :)

Happenings.

Well, I don't really know what to write about, but feel as if I should come up with something because it's been like a week. Things are still going well down here. Nathan has been swamped with reading and studying for a huge test he has this morning. I will be glad when that is over for him, so he can relax a little more and enjoy some things. Tomorrow we are driving to Pensacola to see the Blue Angels. I am excited to lay on the beach and watch them.

Also, last weekend we had 4 days of break, so we drove 8 hours to Hot Springs, AR with some friends to see one of our friends, Josh Ruth. It was a fun weekend! We camped out to save money, got rained on in our tents, toured the city, and just spent some good time with old friends. It was good to see some familiar faces again after being down here for a month.

On a different note, I am getting anxious for the "next thing." I haven't been able to really pinpoint why, and often struggle with this anyways. Just not being able to live in the moment and enjoy it for all it is. But I went to a Bible Study at a woman's house the other night, and realized I just really miss having a home. I mean, our hotel room is nice, but its a hotel room. And I'm just a homey person. Nate jokes with me about getting a new place and said I'll have it up and ready in 3 days. And he's probably right. But I know with leaving here means leaving a more relaxed lifestyle with minimal responsibility, so I am trying to soak up this next week for all it's worth. I finished a 450-page book I was reading (can't tell you the last time I did that)! And I'm looking forward to spending more time with Nathan.

This summer has really helped me to appreciate him more. I take a lot out on him. I am easily irritable and angered, and unforunately, he deals with the brunt of it all too often. He is incredible at handling my emotion and hardness-of-heart. And he just loves me and takes care of me so so so well. I feel so safe and cherished by him. I watched that movie, "P.S. I love you" last night, and it was horrible! After crying for over an hour, it really brought to my mind the brevity of life and the absolute necessity to cherish the ones we love the most while there's still time. It truly convicted me of the way I speak to and treat my husband, and how my life would fall apart without him. He is precious, and loves me with the faithful and tender love of Jesus, even when I wrong him and don't give him the honor and respect he deserves. I just praise God for blessing me with such a wonderful man... just another thing I didn't deserve.

So, I guess that about wraps this one up. Louisvillians can look for us possibly in two Sundays (July 19th), before we head up to Ohio to find a place to live. We miss you all, but are so thankful to God for giving us this precious time away.

Family Pictures

We went to the beach last weekend to meet my parents who were there for a business trip. It was so much fun, and the weather was beautiful. My Mom called me a few

days before we came and informed me that we would be taking a family picture- so to bring a white shirt and khaki pants.

Saturday night came along, and the whole family dressed for the photo-taking occasion (some reluctantly). So for the next hour and a half, we took approximately 100 pictures. I thought it was fun and a good idea. But what cracked me up was that, in the span of time we were outside, a family of 4 walked out dressed just as we were. No kidding, 20 minutes later, ANOTHER family dressed like us came out on the beach. And 20 minutes after that, a family of like 15 stroll on out to the beach for a similar photo adventure. There was a whole slew of the white and khaki club.

My little brother, who wasn't very happy with this whole process, muttered under his breath, "How original!" The nice part about it is that each family kinda helped the other one out by
taking the big group pictures. It was all quite an experience.

The pictures turned out great, and because I'm a woman, I actually enjoyed most of it. Nate and I were kinda scuffling that night, so we had to fake that beautiful beach romance! It was pretty funny, and actually helped us get over our differences. I can laugh at this whole process now and how common it is; but no doubt, check back on here in about 10 years, and I'll probably have our kids dressed in white and khaki for those beautiful beach pictures! Or maybe hunter's camoflauge (if it's up to Nathan!).

Being on Base.

I had never known anything of the military until I was with Nathan. I always swore up and down I'd never marry anyone in the military. All I attributed it to was moving every two years. Well, clearly the Lord had other plans, and gave me an AMAZING husband, who just so happened to be committed to the Air Force for at least 4 1/2 years. I had never been on a military base before we got to Montgomery. So I thought I would write some things I have found interesting, and really really nice (some weird too):

1. Every building on base is the same color- terracotta roofs and tan walls. It's really easy to get lost.

2. You have to go through security gates every time you come back on base. It's kinda scary the first time a man with a machine gun walks out and asks you for your ID. But I felt really cool the first time I flashed my military ID without Nathan in the car, and they let me in. "Oh yeah, that's right."

3. I was reading one afternoon at 5pm only to hear our national anthem playing outside. They play another song outside at 6am. It's kinda creepy.

4. It's strange to walk outside at 7am and see masses of people in the same clothes walking toward the same place. It's eerie.

5. They have just about everything you would want on base. It's like it's own small town- grocery store, department store, post office, library, pool, chapel, thrift store, golf course, bowling alley, movie theater, furniture store, gas station. Literally, you don't have to leave.

6. It's strange to be walking into the grocery store with a huge cargo plane taking off from the runway across the street from the parking lot.

7. You can only drive 25mph on base. And you get pulled over and ticketed for talking on your cell phone!

8. EVERYTHING is in military time (2:00pm=1400 hours). I am constantly trying to translate to figure out what time I am supposed to be somewhere.

9. There are abbreviations for everything. One wife saw a book called Air Force as a Second Language. I'm constantly asking, "What does that three-letter acronym stand for?"

10. It was awesome to get a doctor's appointment on the same day I called! And I picked up my prescription and didn't have to pay a dime. Government insurance beats the cheapo plan we had!

There's probably a lot more things that I may remember later. This really is a culture shock, and its own little world. But I'm beginning to like it.

(the picture above is the overhead view of the base we're on)

What Are We Doing?

Hey everyone. I don't know who is really going to read this or keep up with it, but I thought I would start a blog to keep people updated as we travel and move. I've read other people's blogs in trying to figure out what you're supposed to write in these things. I also feel all this pressure to be super wise and spiritual and reflective; I guess we'll see how often that happens! But I like the idea, and enjoy reading other people's posts. So maybe, even for us, this will just be a way to track the things we're doing and the things God is teaching us in our everyday lives.

So, what are we doing? Well right now, we're in week 3 (of 6) in Montgomery, AL where Nathan is in "Air Force school". He's gone pretty much every week day from 7-4, doing various training things and learning more about planes and missiles and other things I couldn't even venture to explain. Sometimes they do physical activities too. The next three pictures show Nate participating in something called Project X. It's like an obstacle course, team-building activity where they have to figure out how to get to the finish line with only a certain amount of supplies. There are certain areas they can't touch (red zones=bombs) and they have to work together to figure it all out. I got to watch from up above, and the Colonel running the whole thing was giving me all the answers so I could laugh at them. There were some obstacles with water, so that if you weren't careful, you fell in. Got to see a couple of those too- pretty funny!

The boys also play an Air Force game called Icarus. Nathan says it's dodgeball hyped-up-on-crack Air Force-style. There's all these crazy rules, but its fun to watch, if you can keep up with whats going on.

I think he's having a good time. He is in a group with mostly married men, so that's fun. And they're mostly inside all day, which is a good thing here with temperatures near or over 100 degrees every day! The humidity is what'll get ya.

As for me, I have minimal responsibilty and I love it! I spend most days sleeping in a little bit, going to free classes they offer at the gym (I'm sore most days of the week), spending time with other wives I met here, reading, scrapbooking, going shopping, etc. My life is pretty easy here, and I love it! I'm thankful to the Lord for this time of no running around or being busy. He knew what I needed. It's so refreshing! Some of my friendships here have proven to be very encouraging. The first few women I met are believers, and we've grown very close pretty quickly. You form relationships fast in the Air Force because everyone's kinda in the same boat. It's nice.

We've been doing a lot of fun stuff on the weekends. One outing was Military Appreciation Day at the Baseball field:

The only thing weird about the whole baseball experience was the mascot. The team was called "The Biscuits", but that's not what their mascot was. A giant anteater? You be the guess. I think if I was a small child, that thing would have scared me! There were fireworks after the game, so that was fun!

We also got to see Stomp while it was in town. Nathan LOVED it! He's always banging around on things, so it was really fun to watch the way they made rhythms with almost anything! It was money well-spent.

That kinda sums it all up now. We're enjoying ourselves a lot! We miss Louisville, but are enjoying this new adventure the Lord is taking us on. In 3 weeks, on July 17, we will be done down here and basically have to go straight to Dayton, OH so we can find a place to live! Until then, we'll survive the heat and enjoy the time.