I have had several requests for an update on how we are doing here in South Carolina and you know that I am such a people pleaser that I must oblige everyone!
1) We finally have all the boxes unpacked and almost all of our pictures are up on the wall.
2) We had our first visitor, my best friend Julie, come stay last weekend. Much fun and much needed.
3) I am learning that small towns are different than big towns. People like to drop by. The right thing to do is to invite them in, offer them a cup of coffee, etc. - not leave them standing on your porch in the cold until they have to ask if they can come in. Make extra coffee so that if you offer it you actually have some.
4) People are more important than projects. (see # 3)
5) We went to a gala for the museum here in the county. It was black tie optional so I wore a floor length dress (that I already owned and have worn for multiple occasions.) They had nice food but they also had ribs and oysters on the half shell. I am sure I was quite the sight - the new pastor's wife (since that it my name now) standing in my floor length dress eating ribs and throwing back some oysters. Good thing I am not much for formality myself.
6) I love Charleston (which is good since I am making my second trip in less than a week this weekend). And I do read everyone of the historical markers as Rodney Carroll trained me.
7) Community is a good thing. You can find community at a rambunctious meeting planning children's Sunday School, in phone calls from friends (thanks, Susan and Leanne) and on facebook chat.
8) You can be the pastor's wife and still have trouble reading your bible everyday. Good thing that my bible-reading plan is for shirkers and slackers.
9) Change can be hard and it takes time. And when people shoot down your ideas, you get over it. Because sometimes you remember that it is not about you, it is about God. I don't mean that in a Sunday School kind of way. I mean that in the very real sense. No more preaching from me.
10) I have enjoyed being home with Judah. It is frustrating that he refuses the 10 sippy cups that we have tried when he is supposed to be off the bottle in a month. If anyone has tips, I am open to suggestions. Correction: I am desperate for suggestions.
That is all for now. Next time I promise there will be pictures of Judah.
I know everyone probably thinks that we abandoned the blog. However, I just didn't know how to get started back posting. It has been six months since my dad died today. I guess I was afraid that if I actually typed the words that it would make it more real, so I have avoided blogging. In actuality, we have been trudging through the reality of his death everyday for these past six months. It really sucks. I miss my dad.
Some other things: Alabama football (okay, so we are working on that), loving on the puppies (Bella tolerates it, but Eddie runs away), playing with his basket of farm animals (and putting said basket on his head), and hats - he pulls the hat off your head, puts the hat back on your head (kind of), and puts the hat on his head. We need to get him a hat in his size!
My mom and dad came to visit us a long time ago also. Judah ate sandwiches and tried to feed them to his Granny and drove his walker around with no pants. He also went to a museums in Columbia and Charleston - this was a trip with his Grandaddy. By the end, he was so tuckered out that he tried to sleep at the dinner table.
A long, long time ago, Judah's Nana and Aunt Mandi came to visit him here in Saint Matthews. We went to Charleston one of the days they were here and ended up going to the Aquarium because it was so cold (that's how long ago it was!). Here are some cute pics of Judah from the trip.
I don't know what my problem is that I have not been blogging. Almost everyone in the family is now on facebook and it is so much easier just to post pics of Judah there. I know that he is almost 17 months old now but here are some pics from 14 months. He was wearing size 12 months when he was 14 months old but some of the clothes just wouldn't cover his baby gut. I am blaming his Aunt Mandi for the first picture since she is holding him in that one. Due to the fact that I have a laundry porch, I have to sort my laundry in the kitchen. He loves to get in there and throw the clothes around. It's not very helpful but it seems to keep him occupied.
All this for me???
the red pencils
Janet sings a song
The legal team
I had such a great time at my going-away party at the Trustee's office. I felt very special - I already miss everyone! Here's some of the pictures.
I am still really behind on blogging but wanted to post some pics from our move. We have loved, loved being in Cahaba Heights so it was hard for me when we put our house on the market, even though one of our good friends, David Mackle, listed it for us. We had two contracts that fell through but fortunately the third time was the charm. JM brought up his mom for packing detail and she is a packing machine! As you can see, Judah was in charge of the laundry. I just dropped in to take pictures every so often.
