A Little More Time

Today is the day. Well, today was the day we were suppose to leave, now it's September, 4th. Instead of sitting here at the kitchen table, sipping on coffee, and awaiting our 12:30 lunch plans, we would be loading up the car and heading to the airport for the longest two travel days of our life. After last night, I believe that God knew my heart was not yet ready and needed just a little more time for my "see you laters."

When we originally thought we were leaving today, I planned a little get together for our family and close friends so I could soak all of them up one last time. I don't know what I was thinking. I mean it was so much fun, but this idea was two different sides of my personality clashing together. I could have never been satisfied saying goodbye this way. Are you kidding me? I am a person that values long heart to hearts with a few people at a time. This makes me feel refreshed and invested in my friendships, BUT to have all the people that I have sweet conversation with in ONE room? Well, that only makes me feel as if I missed out on something by the time the party is over. 

The last few months, I believe God guarded my heart from feeling sad as we prepared to move. I felt nothing but excitement and calm. For once in my life I actually felt as if I did have it all together. I am not someone who covers up feelings of doubt, stress, insecurities, etc.. I share all my junk, so to speak. So when friends would ask how I am feeling, the truth was that I felt great. Not scared or worried at all. But when I would say that, I wondered how that could be...was there any fear or sadness at all? Because I felt nothing of the sort.

God does not give us a spirit of fear but of power, love, and a sound mind...so when I prayed for my fears to turn to peace, I trusted in His power and the truth of the Bible to do so. Be anxious for nothing but in everything prayer and supplication, making your requests known to God... so I did. Fear and anxiety reveal lack of belief in God's promises, yet God has always kept his promises, so why should I not trust Him? He loves me, and He is good. 

But sadness over leaving friends, family, and everything that is familiar?

When Christ said to deny everything and follow him, and when he commanded his disciples to leave their home and families, I'm sure their was sadness within their hearts. 

But I pray that my heart would be so captivated by the Gospel...by the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ...that I would believe that my sole purpose on this earth is to build his Kingdom and not my own...that the urgency and truth of Gospel would spur me on to give up everything that is comfortable. Because He is worth it. 

Last night, for the first time, I was sad. Maybe because we are not in our own home and it felt so much more real. Maybe because I had all my friends and family in one place and couldn't have good time with everyone. Maybe because I caught a glimpse of what I am leaving behind all at once. 

But each day, whether hard or easy, I want the Gospel to reign in my heart. I want the characteristics of God to be engraved in my soul. So I must remind myself every moment...

He knit me together in my mothers womb. He created me, he knows my personality and my needs 

He died for me and gave me His righteousness. He loves me, he is for my good, he pursues me

He cares for the broken hearted. He is a caring and comforting God

He left the glory of Heaven to live on earth as man. He has left his home in obedience to God the Father

He is Sovereign. I can trust that He knows best and is in control

All things work together for good for those who love the Lord...so I pray the the Holy Spirit will work within my heart and allow me to love Christ. 

...while remembering that my good is defined by the building of His Kingdom and not by my own selfish desires. 

Rock of Ages, cleft for me,
Let me hide myself in Thee;
Let the water and the blood,
From Thy riven side which flowed,
Be of sin the double cure,
Save from wrath and make me pure

Not the labor of my hands
Can fulfill Thy law's demands;
Could my zeal no respite know,
Could my tears forever flow,
All for sin could not atone;
Thou must save, and Thou alone.

Nothing in my hand I bring,
Simply to Thy cross I cling;
Naked, come to Thee for dress;
Helpless, look to Thee for grace;
Foul, I to the fountain fly;
Wash me, Savior, or I die.

While I draw this fleeting breath,
When my eyes shall close in death,
When I soar to worlds unknown,
See Thee on Thy judgement throne,
Rock of Ages, cleft for me,
Let me hide myself in Thee.

Last night was so much fun, but I am so thankful for another three weeks...now that the reality of moving across the world has finally soaked in. We will be home in just ten short months, but that is the longest and farthest I have ever been away from the comforts of my life. 

I am so thankful God loves me so much that He wants to push me out of my comfort zone so that I may seek Him more, rely on Him more, talk to Him more, crave Him more, worship Him more, and truly feel that I can't live without Him. 

Three of Eric's best friends (Luke, Austin, Eric, Robert)

Thank you so much to everyone who came! It truly meant a lot to us and we ARE SO THANKFUL for each one of you!!

 

The Fourth and Friends

This July 4th was a productive one. We spent the day packing and the evening celebrating. At one point I thought it ironic how we were preparing to leave America on a day we are suppose to be celebrating living freely in America. Anyways, we still have a long ways to go on the packing, but managed to pack our "winter" bag.

That evening we went over to a friends house and celebrated with our sweet small group. We had a lot of fun together, consisting of tons of food, games, good conversation, sparklers, and those pop thingys (know what I'm talkin bout??). Two of the girls are pregnant (three if you count Jen and Brad, who moved away a couple months ago, we are sad!!). Elizabeth was past her due date, and Sarah is due in a month! Thankfully, Elizabeth made it through the night without going into labor, although I'm sure she would have been thrilled!

Thomas and Eric lookin' like twins in their blue vnecks and khakis

The boys

The girls. Two are pregnant: Elizabeth (left of me, and she actually just had her baby!) and Sarah (right of me, still pregnant)

This bad boy created some excitement

Cameron and Addie playing together. Cam is an older boy, and we looked over and caught him hugging on her. He's super cute and really sweet, so for now, we don't mind :)

 Then, on Friday, we headed to the lake to have a great weekend with two other couples. We have been friends we these guys for awhile, and Eric has known Robert and Luke for a really long time. They lived together in college, but knew each other long before then. Since we are moving in August, Robert wanted to get us all together for a weekend...and let me just say, Robert and Jessica (his wife) served us the entire weekend. I felt so loved on by these two, and they did such a great job planning everything. We love these two couples, and they will be missed by us a ton! Pretty bummed I didn't get any pictures, but we plan on making this a tradition, so I'll get em next time!

A Sheep Wedding

 ...Once again, I apologize for the picture Iphone 4 quality, I forgot our "real" camera.

This past weekend was so much fun. A weekend filled with a lot of details that needed to work out, but once they worked, it was smooth sailing. Well, sort of. There was one minor hiccup, but I'll get to it in just a minute.

It started on Thursday morning. Addie Grace had her 9 month doctors appointment, so we headed out of our house, both of us all packed up for the next few days. Eric was in Richmond for work, so he stayed put and waited on me to meet him there. Her check up went great, we got in the car, then oops. I bumped into another car. A car that was parked. And yes, it left a mark. So there I am, in the middle of the parking lot with a baby in the car, writing a note and my phone number on a torn piece of paper which I left in the dude's windshield. Great start to the morning. I decided to just go ahead and call Eric. I felt awful. Now we have to spend money we don't have, all because I hit a parked car. What a dummy. So I called Eric, and he pretty much surprised me by his response. He laughed at me. He thought it was hilarious that I hit a parked car. Okay. I guess I'll take laughter over annoyance?

Anyways, Addie stayed with my parents for the weekend. After her appointment, I dropped her off with good friends who watched her for a couple of hours, then so graciously drove her to Elon to meet my dad and sister, who were then, driving her back to their house for the rest of the weekend. (Elon was just a meeting point). I met Eric in Richmond, dropped my car off at R and J's, then headed to DC. We have friends that live in DC who moved from Raleigh over a year ago, so we thought it would be super fun to stay with them Thursday night and catch up. We arrived in DC, around 3:30ish and hung out with Allison and the kiddos until Nick got of work. Once he was finished, we headed out to a local restaurant that had AMAZING burgers and shakes.

After dinner, we went back to their house and hung out til bed. Friday morning we woke, packed our things, and headed to our final destination: Pittsburgh, for Todd's wedding, in which Eric was a groomsman. Eric and Todd have known each other since middle school, but really became close friends when they started following Jesus in high school. Since then, they have had such a sweet friendship that has consisted of praying for one another, supporting each other, and just having fun together. We love Todd and has been a consistent part of our family. He has stayed with Eric and I numerous times over the past years, and Eric's home in Greensboro served as Todd's home after his parents moved to Tennessee. We always wondered who Todd, our single brother, would marry...or if he would EVER marry. He is a stellar guy, who desires to be close to the heart of God. Last summer, Eric gets a voice mail from Todd, saying that he met his wife. And that he did, Becca. She is so sweet and so perfect for our Toddles. We are so excited for them and so pumped we were there to witness such a SWEET day.

The rehearsal dinner Friday evening was such a fun time of hanging out, eating, and sharing about Todd and Becca. We met tons of fun, new people. After the dinner, Lowland Hum (Daniel and Lauren Goans) played a concert for the wedding party and many of the out of town guests.

On Saturday, I woke up in a KING BED all by myself. GLORY.  Not the by myself part...the KING bed part. AMAZING. Eric spent the night with Todd and the other groomsmen, and I didn't see Eric until I got to the ceremony. The wedding on Saturday was beautiful. It was held on a sheep farm, where Todd worked during Seminary.

After the ceremony, we walked up a hill to a beautiful white tent overlooking the sheep. Seriously, it was so beautiful and the reception was filled with such fun details. There was corn hole and a bon fire with smores!

This was probably one of the cutest receptions I have ever attended. Todd and Becca love to read, so each table was a theme of their favorite books. For example, one table was The Giving Tree. That table had the book in the center, with dried flowers. Each name card matched the theme of that particular table.

This sweet friend and I did summer staff together SEVEN years ago! She is so fun and it was great to be able to catch up and dance our hard-core rap together ;)

The head table

My sweet friend, Becca. We have been friends for a long time, so it is always fun when we get to go to weddings together!

Charlie was Eric's Young Life leader in high school. He is a fun guy, and we are glad him and his awesome wife, Kelly, came up for the wedding!

Some of the wedding party

Todd and Becca Murden

Eric and Robert are like brothers. Their moms have been best friends since before they were born!

Cornhole

This is by far the coolest and most creative guest book I have ever signed. You pick a date, I picked July 11 for our anniversary. You write a note on the date you chose, and then decorate it with water colors. It was so fun!

We had SO MUCH fun and wouldn't have missed it for the world. Todd and Becca's relationship is truly a special one! Thanks for inviting us and letting us witness such a special, fun, creative, joyful, Gospel-centered day! We love you two!

Nashville

This past weekend Eric, Julia, Matt, and I ventured to Nashville, TN for our race. I decided not to do the full marathon, due slightly to the fact I would have an inadequate amount of time to train well. Maybe I'll do a full in our new country...that would be awesome. Well, deciding not to do the full was a decision that I am SO glad I made seeing how it was pouring down rain our entire race. I'm not talking about a drizzle that turns your hair frizzy. I'm talking about drenched clothes, soggy socks, and dripping hair. Water was pouring off our noses. It was normal to land in a puddle that covered your entire shoe and made you glad you put on waterproof mascara. Yes, I put on makeup. And also to mention it was cold. So yeah. Not exactly the ideal race weather. Thankfully poor weather didn't stop hundreds of spectators coming to cheer us on or the make-shift fully stocked bars that people set up outside their houses as they watch thousands of runners pass by at the crack of dawn. OR passing out bacon as people ran by. We really rely on these guys and their bacon for motivation. Regardless of the rain, it was still an entertaining run and the spectators were so encouraging. The actual run wasn't too miserable, it was after we finished. Freezing cold, numb fingers, just standing there in the rain, already soaking wet. But we had fun and I would definitely do this race again.

We stayed with our good friends Chris and Marie. It was so much fun to spend time with them and catch up. I love and am so blessed by my friendship with Marie. We have known each other for a few years now, and always have the best time together. We can literally talk about anything and everything. And we do. They were great hosts and pointed out all the hotspots of Nashville, from where Taylor Swift lived to where Scarlett and Gunnar play duets at the Bluebird.  After the race, we were so freezing all we could think about is how to get warm. Matt had this brilliant idea of going to the local Y and relaxing in the sauna and hot tub. And that we did! Saturday evening, after our naps, we went to Burger Up, then we cruised through downtown Nashville listening to all the Honky Tonk music from afar, and ended up at Frothy Monkey and enjoyed some hot chocolate. We were so worn out from the day that we crashed hard that night.

Thanks to my parents who watch our most loved and valued Addie Grace! We had a blast in Nashville but I definitely missed my sweet baby!

Julia and I before the race...starting to get soaked.

All of us after the race...completely drenched and freezing.

Marie and I at dinner.

My handsome hubby and I at Frothy Monkey

Matt and Julia at Frothy Monkey

Eric's birthday

HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my favorite husband in the world! 

This is Eric's last birthday before we move across the world, so I wanted him to wake up to something fun. Because if I'm honest, when we get to where we are going, I probably won't know how to find a balloon or even sugar because nothing is in English. Oh dear. But anyways, if you didn't know we were moving, we are. In August.

I woke up before Eric on Friday morning (his actual bday), to surprise him with Pioneer Woman's cinnamon rolls. You can click here for the recipe. UH-MAZ-ING. Seriously...I had to give some pans of rolls away because I could not stop eating them. I think I only ate sugar for the entire morning/afternoon on Saturday. Anyways, I started on the dough Thursday evening, which worked out great because Eric had class and wasn't home. I also decided to "decorate" the kitchen with balloons and streamers the morning of his birthday. Something fun to remember about this birthday in the States.

So he woke up, we ate cinnamon rolls, drank plenty of coffee, and he opened my gift. This gift may seem a little thoughtless, but actually, a lot of thought went into it. For awhile I had no idea what to buy. I kept thinking how we are moving to a completely different country in a few months, so what does he need that won't be "extra baggage" for the move. He mentioned something about language learning material. But that was all he mentioned. So I thought it would be a great idea to get him an Amazon giftcard. You can buy anything and everything from there, but with a giftcard he had to spend the money. If I just gave him money, he probably would've stored it in his hidden cash stash saving up to buy something ridiculous like an airplane or something. 

Then off to work, Eric goes. That night we had our small group, which we love love love. Seriously, we have the best small group. We are friends and we love being with each other. On Saturday, the celebration continued with Eric's sister and her husband who came into town where we got to hang out with them for a few hours. Then I decided to continue the celebration into night, where we met up with two of Eric's bffs and their wives...and it just so happens all of us wives are great friends too! We all went downtown and enjoyed a dinner at Sitti. Thanks to Dara who watched our baby girl :)

After dinner we came back, sang "Happy Birthday", enjoyed Eric's birthday cake, and hung out for a couple more hours. We love these sweet friends and are so thankful we could celebrate with them before we leave in August. It was such a fun weekend, thanks to all those who celebrated with us :)

Sorry about the horrible picture quality

Needtobreathe

Last week I went to a NeedToBreathe concert with some favorite friends of mine. We met at Tyler's Taproom in Durham for dinner then headed on over to the dpac to go to the concert. Drew Holcomb and the Neighbors opened, whom I have been a huge fan for a couple of years now. We had such a great time, and I'm so thankful for these girls.

NeedToBreath was AMAZING. They sound in person exactly as they do on CD which is incredible. I could have thoroughly enjoyed the music even if I went by myself...but definitely WAY MORE FUN with friends.

Wilmy Half

This past weekend I ran my 4th half marathon with six dear friends. This was a "first" for all six friends, which is my favorite. It is always SO FUN to run a half marathon with people who have never ran "that far" before. It is so fun to see their faces as they accomplish a goal they set out months ago. It is so fun to see the how nervous/excited they are the night before and morning of. Every half I have completed, I did so with someone who has never run 13.1 miles.

My first half was a small one in Cary.
My second was in Kiawah, SC.
My third was in Savannah, GA.
My fourth was in Wilmington, NC.

They say "hardcore" runners stay away from the whole conglomerate races, such as the Rock n Roll series. That "hardcore" runners support the local races in the community. I think that is a great idea and love doing that, however, I love to make my races a means of seeing a city I've never seen...through running and with good friends. Whether that be a a big conglomerate race or a local one, I'm not picky. In fact, I have signed up for my second Rock n Roll race in Nashville, April 27.

Anyways, all of us girls (besides one, who was with her new hubby) stayed with Stacey's family, who lives in Wilmington...we love a free place to stay! We got there Saturday afternoon and woke up at 4am Sunday morning to start preparing our bodies for the long run to the finish! AND everyone DID finish!

My next race, as I said before, is in Nashville on April 27th. I signed up for the half marathon...which will be my 5th. Then I started thinking...who the heck runs 5 half marathons without running a full? SO, I'm switching. I'm switching to the full marathon in Nashville. 5 weeks away. Crap. That means I'm running 15 miles this weekend. Shoot. I got this. You can pray. I hope I stick with it and don't chicken out...

All that to say, I love all of you girls who made Wilmington so fun! Congrats on such an accomplishment! If someone asks if you are a runner, you better say, "Yes! I am a runner." Let me know when you are ready for your second race :)

Super Bowling

For me, Super Bowl Sunday is typically more about good friends then a football game. Don't get me wrong, I like football and can easily get into a game when I watch it, but I don't keep up with the NFL. I was a little more interested in this Super Bowl because of the Harbaugh brothers and Kaepernick's story but other then that, I was just excited to hang out with my friends and eat good food.

Since last summer, Eric and I have been in a small group with six other couples and it has been SO FUN. There is a good mixture of comedy and seriousness within our group, and I absolutely love being around these people. Our small group is growing, seeing how three of the girls are pregnant! Two with a 2nd child and one with a first!

These are the current small group kids (with 3 more on the way!): Cameron, Eve, & Addie. So we tried to get a kid picture. We tried. Eve loves Addie. When we got there, she ran to us saying "Addie, Addie," so that means she pushed Cameron out of the way during the picture so she could get to Addie.

This wasn't from the Super Bowl hang out but I love these girls and are thankful we are in a small group together. Sarah was also here, but I think she was letting the dog out...or something like that. We may or may not have been watching The Bachelor in this picture...