Lindsey Edens

Well Hey There, Summer!!

2010-06-30T14:14:00.000-07:00

Funny thing....I originally began this post on June 7th, and left it because I got busy, and I am just NOW getting back to it. And now.....July!?!? Already!?!? Whew. Summer!!! SLOW DOWN!!!!

Busy, busy, busy little bees hardly describes it for the Edens!! I have days where I don't even feel like I am on summer break because we work at or for the house all day long!!

Before summer even began though, I wrapped things up at Calhoun, and this included packing up the ENTIRE school for summer construction. It is no doubt going to be absolutely gorgeous when we return in August, but the work to pack up was unreal. I came home every day for the last 2 weeks of school drenched in sweat and covered in dust. I was a sight!!

But the year did end very nicely and while I always adore summer break, it was really hard to say goodbye to "my babies." We had such a sweet, sweet group this year and my parents really spoiled us!!

Celebrating one of the kids' most favorite days of the entire school year, EVER.....FIELD DAY!! I love all the different facial expressions happening here :)

So then it was from packing up school to packing up home. I have been very blessed in that, Jonathan's work schedule has allowed him to work from home and be available to help out (which I am L-O-V-I-N-G this summer work schedule....he gets to be home with me!!!). I know that will all change soon (actually, as this post comes up-to-date from my original start, that all may change next week), but I am so thankful to have had him like I did for the month of June. God continues to really just allow everything to work out so very smoothly for us, and we are so grateful.

On top of packing to move, we also painted 2 rooms at the house, got the floors refinished, and got the studs up in the master suite renovation for the closets. That project had been put on hold until we got completely moved OUT of the apartment and moved INTO the house...which was official as of today, June 30th.

The Dining Room we painted a very pretty blue color.

And the front bedroom, the guest bedroom, we painted gray!!

No one else could handle the stress (or was OCD enough) of perfectly lining the blue tape and paper. He did it just right!!

Patching all the nail and screw holes in our plaster walls was THE hardest work I've done in a while. My arms hurt SO bad!!

The Edens and our spanking new refinished floors. The floors are gorgeous!!

This is one of my favorite shots...I love that you can see my shoes' reflection in the floors.

The floors in the office. They turned out better than we ever could have imagined they would!!

And the studs are up for the closets in the master bedroom and next up is electrical.

We spent ALL day this past Saturday, and ALL day this past Monday making the major trips with 2 truck beds, 1 trailer, 1 luggage buggy, and my car. We spent the weeks prior to today (the 30th, our move out date) packing and working at the house. Last night, we went over to our apartment, got the very last load, and my mama and I cleaned, mopped, and vacuumed everything until the entire place was spotless.

So technically, aside from all the work, we were able to get everything moved in 3 trips!! It's really and truly amazing how much you can accumulate after just being married a little less than two years!!!

There were some quite comical events that took place during these trips. Not so funny then, but looking back now, very hilarious!!

Hilarity #1: After trying to beat a storm ALL day Saturday, we got on the road from Central to Piedmont, and said storm (aka-black looming cloud) followed us, literally right over the truck, the entire way.

Hilarity #2: Over halfway to Piedmont, because I WAY overpacked the luggage buggy with my clothes, the left tire went flat. Pulled over to pump it up, no go. So flat it wouldn't even take any air!! So, what do you do?? Got to make it to the house before the sky falls out. No worries....hoist up into the bed of your Toyota!!!

It's amazing how much work, effort, and sweat we have put into this move. We have worked so hard and so have both sets of our parents. They have helped pack, move, paint, and done anything else you can think of to help us -- even fed us at times!! We COULD NOT have done it without them!!

I am beyond mentally and physically tired, and my body aches most mornings when I wake up, but, I KNOW it's all going to be worth it in the end!!

So as you can see, June has went by in the blink of an eye, and we really haven't done much of anything except move and work on and in the house. Not a lot of "summer" events happening for the Edens, but....summer's not over yet!!! July is filled with America's birthday, our birthdays, and our anniversary, so we shall see what's to come!!!

Graduation

2010-05-14T15:12:00.000-07:00

A few shots from Jonathan's MArch graduation from Clemson...

Shaking fellow architecture graduate's hand, President James F. Barker :)

Yeah!!!

The architecture boys!!

After Jonathan's graduation, I planned a drop-in for close family and friends at our church's MPR. Here are a few pictures!!

Yes baby, yes!!!

You have no idea how excited we were!!!

His face was on the cake!!!

We are so appreciative to all our friends and family that were able to come (and to those that weren't able to come) to show their love and support. We could not have made it through the past 2 years without any of you!!

2 Years Later

2010-05-14T14:25:00.000-07:00

Done and finished.

Complete.

And there's a Masters of Architecture degree to prove it.

2 years ago, in August of 2008, Jonathan and I (and I do say the both of us, because if you have ever been through ANY type of degree program while married, you certainly realize that both partners go through it) began the journey to becoming one step closer to his title of, Jonathan Edens, AIA.

As long as I have known him, Architect was his goal.

In 5th grade, if you asked Jonathan what he wanted to be when he grew up, the answer would always be.....architect.

He is one of very few people that I have ever encountered to set a goal at such an early age and never waver from it. Ever. Everything he has done in one way or another has led him to where he is right now, completing his MArch degree, and ready to take the next step.

The process to become a licensed architect is not only misunderstood, but also underestimated. The time, effort, studies, and sacrifices are somewhat comparable to obtaining a doctorate. And even furthermore, there is the misconception that the pay is comparable to what those in the doctorate field are paid (not even close....think much lower).

And now that he has completed the rigorous 6 years of combined graduate and undergraduate studies, he must begin a series of 7 tests, known as the ARE, which to no surprise, are not free and not cheap.

At this point, he is basically a little over halfway there.

It must also be said that, these past 2 years have been many things to us.

While the MArch degree has afforded us opportunities, experiences, and relationships that we couldn't have gotten anywhere else, and cherish with every bone in our body, it was definitely not an easy road.

We were married July 19, 2008, left for our honeymoon, returned home, and in a mere 10 days, we moved to downtown Charleston to begin the 1st semester of graduate school at the C.A.C.C. Now, while Charleston is a beautiful city with much to offer, if you can imagine, it might be the ideal place for newlyweds.....that is of course, if you don't count the fact that said newlyweds will never see one another. And when I say never, I mean never. As in, the husband will come home at 4AM on Saturday and Friday nights only to sleep 2 hours, then get right back up at 6AM to return to studio (not including the ridiculous weeknight hours). This happened every single weekend.

The C.A.C.C. program is the most demanding semester of the MArch degree, and if you were to ask Jonathan if would he like to take a trip to Charleston now, his answer is (and will remain for at least a few years I am sure), "uh.....heck no." We now say that, if our marriage (especially at the newlywed stage) could survive that, we can survive anything.

This was and continued to be a trend throughout the remainder of his graduate program. Luckily, we dated throughout our undergraduate programs, so I was accustomed to the demands of studio on an architecture major. However, it's completely different when you're married, and moreso, newlyweds.

I say all of this not to complain, but to remember how humbling the experience was. We learned a lot about ourselves and one another (which, when you've dated 8 years prior to marrying, aside from the obvious things, you can imagine that there wouldn't be much more to find out); how we handle frustration, how we should handle frustration and anger, how to effectively communicate with one another, and so much more.

Now at the end of the graduate degree road and looking back and taking the time to reflect, I realize that, while it felt like the hardest and at times, worst experience, I am thankful for every second of the past 2 years (even Charleston).

It has made us the couple that we are today and has made us better spouses, friends, and hopefully, better Christians.

Fall semester, 2008, Charleston

Spring Semester, 2009, Italy

Fall semester, 2009, Clemson

Spring semester, 2010, Clemson

May 7th, 2010 was a wonderful day in the lives of the Edens. My husband moved one step closer to achieving his lifelong goal. Throughout his entire experience he consistently exuded diligence, determination, discipline, integrity, and perseverance.

And I have never been more proud of him.

Since everyone has been asking.....

2010-05-12T17:09:00.000-07:00

...........I thought I would answer all at once!! :)

Sorry it's been so long.....I miss blogging, but, we have been SUPER, CRAZY BUSY!!! So much and so many exciting things have been happening, and they've taken up a lot of our time.

Anywho, back to the question that everyone is asking.....

"When are ya'll moving in/officially settled in the new house???"

Okay. Here's the deal.

When we moved back to the States from Italy, while staying with my parents for some time, we looked for an apartment here in Clemson. We finally found one in June of last year, and signed a year's lease....putting us here until June 30th of this year. Then, we were able to officially move into our new house the day we signed, but of course, with a June 30th lease, there's no rush.

So, in addition to having to completely and totally pack up our home life to make the move, I am also having to completely and totally pack up my classroom at work (due to construction in our classrooms). This is a lot of packing up and I despise packing up and moving, and we've already done it 4 or so times since being married.

BUT.....with school not ending until June 5th for me, our ending lease date has actually turned out to be a huge blessing!! This gives us time to gradually pack up home all the while packing up school, and allows me to finish out the school year with less stress. We did however, tell the offices of our apartment building that should someone come wanting to begin a lease date June 1st, that we were completely willing (since this would save us an entire month's rent - cha ching!!) to make the early exit.

Got the key.....it's OUR home!!!

The overlap in lease and purchasing also allows for some MAJOR renovations that we have decided to do before moving in. We're taking a wall out that stands between the master bedroom and the back 4th bedroom to create a lengthy, elongated, open living space. This is Phase 1 renovation of probably like 200 in the new house!! Ha :)

Although it's a lot of work, sweat (and some blood), we are SO excited for the end result(s)!! And I mean, c'mon.....I'm married to an architect....he was born for this stuff!! :)

Let the renovating fun begin...

The master bedroom before.

The "Clemson" (4th) room before.

The architect hard at work :)

Wall down in the master bedroom.

Walls coming down in the "Clemson" (4th) room.

Walls are down and all that's left are the studs.

YEAH!!! Looking good and ready for the next step!!

This is a sketch-up of what the final product will look like!!

This is just a touch of what all has been going on out at the new house. Next up (after we complete the structural renovations to the new and improved "master suite"), is the refinishing/redoing of all the hardwoods in the house.

Keep checking back, because I intend to update on all the progress!!! :)

So to answer.....we will officially be IN with nowhere else to go on June 30th. :)

Well, I had intended on blogging about the other exciting things going on in our lives right now, but I don't think I can keep my eyes open to handle it....so next time, for sure!!!

Rainy Evening Update :)

2010-04-20T17:48:00.000-07:00

If anyone out there is a committed reader, I apologize for the sporadic updates. This time of year is ridiculously busy in wrapping up the school year, with all of Jonathan's end of the semester/end of graduate school dealings, AND all of the housing paperwork....there's just not enough hours in the day.

Work, home, run, clean, more work stuff at home, dinner, sleep.

Repeat day in and day out.

BUT, on this nice, rainy spring evening (thank you Jesus for sending the rain.....we haven't seen nearly enough "April Showers" to clean out some of this pollen), I have a few moments to sit down and catch you up!!

1. In dealing with all the "moving madness," we had to make some insurance decisions and after doing so, would receive a great deal of mail regarding our new insurance. Well......the insurance company just went on ahead and sent our paperwork to our new address (this was all that they had since we were working with them to get home insurance)!!! Needless to say, our lender, Amazing Amy, had to hand write our current address and FWD all of this mail to us, BUT, it was SO INCREDIBLY AWESOME to see our NEW, PERMANENT address on paper. So cool. :)

Niiiiice. Ignore the blur; I wasn't about to post mail with our address. Regardless, that's exciting!!

2. Again, if you are a dedicated reader, you'll remember from a previous post that, dear friends and family have been keeping us updated with texts and calls as they make "drive-bys" in Piedmont. :)

With the arrival of Spring and all the beauty outside that comes with, we have a dogwood tree right outside our beautiful home-to-be that has bloomed beautifully!!! We received and update on this via text by Jonathan's mom, Sandra, about a week and a half ago.

White and gorgeous!! Cannot wait to see that from the window in the Great Room!!

3. BIGGEST UPDATE: WE'RE CLOSING!!!!!!

Tomorrow, April 21st, is the BIG DAY!!! We have actually been VERY lucky, or so I'm told from previous homebuyers, in the matter of our closing date. It has only changed twice and we're only about 20 days off from the original date that was set. Because of Palmetto Heroes that I had previously posted about as well, the paperwork from state housing kept getting delayed, hence the closing being delayed.

We were told last week, that this week would be it, and then received the call via our lender this AM that the paperwork had been processed and packaged up and we're good to go for tomorrow afternoon.

YES, YES, YES, YES, YES!!!!!!!!!!!! God is good and the Edens gone have a HOUSE tomorrow!!

4. Praise Him, He IS good, He answers prayer!!! If you remember that dreadful test that I also previously posted about, I PASSED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! YEAH!!! God is SO good, and it is ONLY because of prayer that I passed and I can PROMISE you that!!! I have a really interesting, funny story behind taking the test, so, if you're interested, you should ask. :)

MY CERTIFICATE OF COMPLETION!!! Hahaha!!!

5. Jonathan had his final, senior thesis review of his academic career a week ago today!!! This is a HUGE accomplishment and moves him just one step closer to achieving his ultimate goal of becoming a licensed architect. I have never been more proud of him in my life. He has worked so unbelievably hard not just this semester, but for the past 2 years, and it has definitely paid off. It went really well, and, as I predicted, he kicked butt. That's just the way it is. :)

Right after presenting!! And oddly enough, we did NOT plan to match. I promise. He didn't even see me that morning before I left for work and of course when I left, he was still in bed. We're just cool like that. :)

Excited is an understatement!!! Done and DONE!!

So other than housing and school for us both, that's about all that's been going on. Kind of boring I know.

We're keeping plenty busy and definitely enjoying the spring sunshine!! Aside from exam week and graduation, Jonathan will pretty much be all finished up with his MArch degree this time next week. And the pool opened FINALLY this past Friday, so I predict lots of sunshine in my future!!

We definitely do not deserve it, but God is SO good!!! Happy Spring!!!

Reflecting: The Cross

2010-04-02T15:52:00.000-07:00

Over 2,000 years ago a man died on a cross.

Celebrating Good Friday, I have spent much of today reflecting on the cross and its purpose in our lives.

The cross is:

Eternal life.

Salvation.

Grace.

A bridge.

Sacrifice.

Mercy.

An answer.

Truth.

Redemption.

Forgiveness.

Love.

Sin taken away.

Selflessness.

Life everlasting.

These are just a few words that I have thought of throughout the day as I reflected on what the cross means to me and my relationship with Christ. I hate that it takes a holiday for me to put that much thought into something so significant, something that should really be the drive of my daily walk with the Lord. If you haven't, I encourage you to take a moment and remember the sacrifice made some 2,000 years ago, and I encourage myself to remember this the other 364 days of the year.

One of my most favorite pictures EVER. I captured this right outside a beautiful church in Dublin, Ireland. God is all nations, and all people.

New Furniture!!

2010-03-26T20:31:00.000-07:00

I almost forgot to share one more exciting, housing detail!!! Last weekend, we went furniture shopping for the new house and found a GREAT deal!!

We spent all day Saturday checking out different places, most of which aren't your typical furniture stores (Ashley, Ethan Allen, Rooms to Go, etc.). We find ourselves going in, making a complete circle, and then walking out of those type stores. They have great stuff, it's just not our taste.

Our last stop of the day was at a furniture outlet in Anderson, where the seller buys floor sets, and then sells them at wholesale.

When we first walked in, we were immediately thinking, "nice stuff, definitely not our taste though." This was until we entered the MASSIVE warehouse with all the floor sets. As soon as we walked in, we both saw the perfect coffee table.....which was huge for us because we have literally been on the look for a coffee table for 2 solid years. We asked about the pricing, which was very affordable, and after walking throughout the rest of the warehouse, actually ended up finding 2 more matching pieces (an end table, and a console table)!! This was unusual because whatever the seller gets, not only is there only 1 of it, but it's rare that he gets matching pieces. We asked the price for these 2 pieces, all still affordable, and the seller then actually combined all three pieces at an unbelievably lower price!! We had no intentions of buying that day, but the price was too good to be true and we couldn't turn it down!!

Console Table

End Table

Coffee Table

Most of you are possibly thinking, "eesh......" but it's a retro/contemporary style, which we like. We have some great ideas for our new home, and we think these will look awesome in the great room. We can't wait to get moved in and see!!

Since getting married, we've moved more times than we want to count, and our living situations have not required purchasing a whole lot of furniture. With that being said, we don't really have a lot to take to our new house. We bought our bed that we had been longing for from IKEA when we lived in Charleston, but couldn't buy all of the matching bedroom pieces at the same time. We managed to get the matching 6 drawer chest of drawers for our 1 year anniversary, and still would like to add a couple more pieces. Aside from that, there really aren't many other pieces that we have that are worth "holding onto," so these 3 pieces were a nice addition for the new house. We have other pieces in mind that we need/are looking for, but, you've got to crawl before you can walk!! We'll add and get what we need over time; I think we have a tendency to be on the "picky" side. I mean after all, we are getting a house of our own. And as far as I'm concerned, we can sit on the floor in our brand new, beautiful home; who cares!! :)

Overdue Update :)

2010-03-26T20:16:00.000-07:00

It's been a month since I last updated, and my sincerest apologies!! So much has been going on and we have just been super busy.

The latest housing update:

When I last posted, we made an offer, the seller accepted, and it was the "odds and ins" to be taken care of at that point. Inspections are completed. Found an attorney. Found homeowners insurance. Appraisal done.

Now on to the final stages, the paperwork.

We qualified for the Palmetto Heroes, which I'm sure many of you have recently heard of; a housing grant for first time homebuyers who are employed as firefighters and EMS, police officers, and teachers who meet specific criteria. Our lender actually shared this program with us 1 day prior to the program being reinstated in the state of SC, and therefore, we were able to get our paperwork ready very quickly. This program works on a "first come, first served" type deal, and we were one of the first applicants that were "put in" that morning of reinstatement. A HUGE shout-out to our lender for making that process VERY easy!!! Since then, we've only had to provide the necessary paperwork and conditions to make it ours. This amount of money, $7,000, went directly to our loan amount, lowering it, and consequently lowering our monthly payment.......

amen!!! Praise Him for providing this bonus to our home buying process!!

We then filed our taxes, with plans to file an amendment for the $8,000 incentive for first time homebuyers that we also qualified for and will see in our bank account in about 6 weeks. On top of that, after filing our taxes, we realized we would be getting a sizable amount of money back, which could in turn be put towards our new home........

again, another huge amen!!!! God has provided so many "bonuses" to us in this whole process, and we have NO idea why. We have been abundantly blessed and our cup runneth over!!!

And finally, our bank loan for the amount of the house has also been approved, and we have turned in all the necessary paperwork, but there is one thing left to do to finalize things, and it's on me. I don't know how familiar any of you are with buying a home, and/or if this is something that has not been required in the past, but I have to take a "Homebuyers Test." Yeah.....a test. I do NOT test well, no matter the type of test, and I hate tests.

There's an entire study guide (119 pages long in fact) that I must "study," then I have to call the Homebuyers Association, answer questions for 10-15 minutes, and if I pass, the loan goes through. And this would NOT be a problem if Jonathan could take the test, but the loan is in my name therefore I have to take it.

My stomach is in knots and this test has loomed over me ever since we discovered its necessary existence. If you are reading this, please pray that I can make it through the questions and that God will provide the answers. I know I cannot do it by myself, that's for sure. This may seem like no big deal, and that I might be overreacting, but it's a big deal.

Lots of family and friends have also been driving by the house and noticing lots of things going on. We've gotten a lot of calls and texts from them wondering what it's all about, which we've really enjoyed!! :) When the appraisal was made on the home, there were some things that were required to be done by the seller before we could close. The seller took the last week off from work to get these things taken care of; hence windows being all over the place, trucks/people all around, and all the work that's been going on in general.

A shot sent via picture message from a family member who caught some of the work going on while driving by!! Haha!! Notice the windows, and it's hard to see, but the added stair rails as well.

As far as closing, we were set to close on March 31st, but with the Palmetto Heroes grant, the paperwork has pushed this date back (as well as my completion of the aforementioned test). We're now looking at the first or second week of April, pushing to close before the 12th.

So as you can see, all in all, God has showed up in MAJOR ways for the Edens throughout this process. He is amazing and we praise Him for how He watches over us and provides for us in big ways. Thanks to everyone for your love, support, and prayers throughout our 1st home buying experience. We are not finished yet though, so please continue to lift us up as we finalize things and get ready to move into our first home ever!!

1 Step Closer....

2010-02-26T20:13:00.000-08:00

Well, it's time for the weekly "housing" update.........and it's a good one!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

When I last updated, we had potentially found the perfect house, had been to look at it with Amazing Amy, and we were trying to prayerfully make a decision (although, if you'll remember, we wanted to JUMP on it because we loved the house so much).

All of this had taken place on a Thursday, so over the weekend, we were constantly discussing it, the pros and cons, and getting things in order to make an offer. On Monday we had planned to make our first offer, but then decided to check with another lender to compare prices before doing so. So most of Monday was spent gathering information and making calls. Our other lender did not get back with us until Tuesday, so all day was spent going back and forth between the 2 lenders, comparing prices.

Eventually we got the best deal possible, and made plans to officially sign and make the offer that afternoon. By the time I got home from work on Tuesday, around 5PM, Amazing Amy and Jonathan were waiting on me to go through the paperwork. We signed everything, and made it official. The seller had from 8PM that night until 8PM Wednesday, 24 hours, to get back to us with a yes, a no, or a counteroffer.

So Wednesday at work I was so anxious it was awful. I could barely concentrate on anything. I also kept my phone on vibrate, at my desk, sitting right beside my computer. This is something I NEVER do; typically I turn my phone off as I'm walking into the school each day, and it doesn't get turned on again until I walk out of the building in the afternoon.

I couldn't help but walk by my desk and check for a call from my hubby almost every 20 or so minutes. It was terrible. Finally at about 1PM after not hearing a THING, Jonathan emailed to say he had heard nothing (ha!!). Not what I was waiting for!!

So the end of the school day comes, and coming back in from dismissal, at about 2:45PM, my phone vibrates. The seller received our offer, and basically asked for another, more reasonable offer. So we discussed our options, and had already decided our final offer before even putting the original offer in, and called Amazing Amy around 3PM to deal for us.

Oh the torture of time. Jonathan had a playoff game for intramural basketball at 5PM, so off to we went to try and take our mind off of waiting, waiting, waiting. I was sitting in Fike, the rec. center at Clemson, with Jonathan's phone right by my side. I literally picked it up to check the time every 2 to 3 minutes.

Finally, at almost 6PM, the phone rang.

It was Amazing Amy.

And the seller had accepted our offer!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Whooooooooooooooo Hooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :) :)

Amy told me the news/details, and since Jonathan was still in the game, I told her I didn't understand any of the details, so he'd be calling her back, ha!! Either way, I was bursting!! The game ended, and upon telling Jonathan, he called Amazing Amy right back.

The rest of the evening, we were a little bit in shock. I don't think it had sunk in (and really still hasn't) what was happening. We were beside ourselves with excitement, and of course made the necessary calls --moms, dads, sisters, grandparents, aunts, and uncles!!

A closing date of March 31st was set, and of course may change. We were put officially under contract with the seller as of Thursday evening, and now we are sifting through paperwork, making the loan official, dealing with an attorney, and getting the home inspected. Just taking care of all the odds and ins so that we are able to close and make the home officially ours.

Home, sweet, Home :)

Up close of the front. This is the first shot I saw when I screamed, "I WANT THIS HOUSE!!!" :)

The Great room, another major selling point for me.

Not a very good shot, but, yes. These are the ORIGINAL doors from when the house was built in 1926. And the original crystal door knobs as well.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

So basically, within less than 1 week of seeing the "perfect" house, everything had fallen into place. There might be some skeptics out there, but this has always been how things seem to unfold Jonathan and me. We know what we want and we know what we don't want. We are BEYOND thrilled and we cannot WAIT for everything to go through so that we can close, and have the keys in hand.

It really is the most precious, perfect house, and I literally daydream about it all the time now. I imagine what everything I do will be like when living in our new home. :)

We cannot say how grateful we are for all of the support, love, prayers, and encouragement we have and continue to feel from all of our family and friends during this significant time in our lives. We hope for this still, as we are just getting started with such a big step in our family.

I say it all the time, but it doesn't change it one bit --we are so unbelievably blessed. Praise Him for His goodness and mercy even when we are so undeserving!!!

So Ya Wanna Make An Offer???

2010-02-19T15:25:00.000-08:00

The million dollar question.

Let me bring you up-to-date on the house search for the Edens :)

Last time I posted, we were just getting started with the whole buying a house process. That was on Friday. Since then, Amy the Amazing Realtor (that's what I'm calling her anyways, hehe) sent us two listings based on a) our desired location, and b) a very specific spreadsheet of house needs/wants/desires/dislikes/etc.

The Edens with our Realtor and long time friend, Amazing Amy!!

So, she went with this and was able to find a few that we really liked, specifically 2 houses; one in Powdersville and the other in Piedmont. We decided on Saturday to go and see them (on our own, just the outside) in the snow. They were even more appealing :) We then made an appointment with Amazing Amy to go see them both, officially, on Wednesday of this week.

The consensus:

The first was not in bad shape considering its age, but a lot of the inside was outdated, hence a lot of necessary work (we're talking shag like carpet that is fire red and deep black.....yeah.). The price of the house was very attractive, but the difference would definitely be put into immediate use for updates. All in all, a not so much "live-in ready" deal going on.

1st house in the snow.

The second ended up being somewhat of a HUGE disappointment because Jonathan had fallen instantly in love with the outside......great area, huge/well kept yard, fence in the back, culdesac.

Now, I'm just going to have to be honest with you about all of this, so.......as soon as we stepped in the door it smelled like wet dog. Eeeeewwww, yuck!!! The owners had also made some "improvements," but had done a pretty messy job of it. It was not a good situation.

Sadly enough, I could not get past the smell. Even when we got into the car and had left, I told Jonathan I could still smell it on the tip of my nose, and felt like it was saturated into my clothes.

2nd house in the snow.....GREAT outside, not so much on the inside.

With 2 no's, we had to do some re-thinking.

We got Amazing Amy to do another area search, this time more specified and more along the lines of where we were thinking originally. So Amy said she would email some later that night, and home we headed for some dinner.

Sitting on the couch together, we get her email. She sent two listings; the first with about 20 houses, and the second with only 2.

So we start looking, and, we come to #1183217.

And I start screaming. More specifically, "THAT'S OUR HOUSE!!! I WANT THAT HOUSE!!!"

We read through all of the information, checked out all the pictures, and it was just too good to be true. So naturally, I pick up the phone and call Amazing Amy at almost 9 o'clock at night (but she's the amazing realtor, so she doesn't mind at all). As soon as I call her and share the news, she says, "I knew it!! I said to Ryan (her husband) that's the one, that's the one they will want!!" I love it!!! So very excitedly, we planned to meet the next day (today) to have a look. We also made an appointment for another older (very beautiful) home on the same street, with a lot of the same features.

I barely made it through the my day on Thursday because I was so excited for our visit!!! I met up with Jonathan and Amazing Amy at the house, and as soon as we walked in, we felt the same thing we had while looking at the pictures. It was adorable!! We spent some time walking through, and Jonathan took some pictures. After about 30 or so minutes, we walked across the street to the other home, and although very beautiful, we only spent about 5 or 10 minutes in it. So back we headed to the "perfect house," and we discussed what would be our next step with Amazing Amy if we choose to move forward.

Everything in me is screaming......LET'S MAKE AN OFFER NOW!!! But, we're trying to do the right thing, and we're taking some time to investigate the house some more, sleep on it, and most importantly, pray about it. I'm not going to get into details of the house, I'll do that if we make the next move, but, I will say, it just feels right. There are so many factors that make this house feel like the right one.

But again, I'll save those details for later.

And, if this one does become "ours," I will then post pics :)

But for now, I'll keep you in suspense!!

In the meantime, please pump up the prayers because we're hoping to make a decision in the very near future. We really, really feel good about this, but certainly do not want to rush into anything.

Thank you so much for the prayers, support, advice, and encouragement that so many of you have already been giving us!!

We are tremendously blessed by our friends and family!!!

Just Call us "Property Virgins!!"

2010-02-12T22:08:00.000-08:00

So........we're doing it.

We're really doing it.

We're going to buy our 1st home :)

We have been going back and forth about this decision for about a year now, weighing the positive and the negative, and we truly feel like it's time to take the big leap!! We just cannot justify paying rent anymore because we're not getting anything back from it.

Jonathan and I seriously considered making this move last spring when we were going to be coming back from our semester in Italy and into Clemson for his final year of graduate school. We thought about the idea of spending the next 3 years in the Clemson area, as well as getting the 1st time home buyer's tax incentive, but the timing was just not right. And looking back, we are SO thankful for making that decision.

So here we go.

We met with our mortgage loan officer at our bank this week, and she really amazed us at not only how wonderful she was, but that we were actually pre-approved for our loan!!! And the amount was more than we had thought, so that was a bonus too. We had decided not to get our hopes up before meeting with her, but as it should turn out, we were good to go!!

We also have the most unbelievable, amazing realtor in the world, Miss Amy Blume Grubbs!!! She's half the reason we want to go through this whole process and in just 3 days, she has already done so much for us. She has given us a listing of homes that are not only in our price range, but also fit our "house criteria" and our desired area. We have been very good friends with Amy for a very long time, and cannot wait to embark on our home journey with her by our side!!

In addition, we are trying to make the April 30th deadline for the extended tax incentive. So, we know this will be a very tiring and somewhat stressful process, but we are BEYOND excited about finding the perfect 1st home. We already took the time today, to drive to our top 2 choices on our own and just scope them out to see how they looked in the snow!! :) :)

And we also know that this process will take a lot of careful consideration and prayer. If you're reading this, we want you to please keep us in your prayers that we will not only make the right choice and that things go smoothly, but that everything will fall into place financially as well. We've moved around a LOT in the short year and a half that we've been married, and we're just ready to be settled in a place that we can call ours and possibly raise children in.

Just a timeline of where we've called "home" for whatever length of time since July 19, 2008:

The Moore house, our home for 10 days, July 2008 - August 2008. The time frame between getting back from our honeymoon and making the move to Charleston.

Our home for 5 months, August 2008 - December 2008. A Charleston single in downtown Charleston, SC.

The Edens House, our home for 3 weeks, December 2008 - January 2009. The time frame between moving from our home in Charleston, until it was time to leave for Italy.

Our home for 5 months, January 2009 - May 2009. The villa in Genoa, Italy.

We then spent 1 month, May 2009 - June 2009, back and forth between both parents' houses before moving into our apartment.

Our final stay, our apartment in Central, SC. 1 year, June 2009 - June 2010.

I plan to continue to update the blog as we go through the home buying process, so keep checking back to see where we end up!!!

Dear John......You Are Such a Hottie!!

2010-02-06T08:51:00.000-08:00

If you were able to go see Dear John last night, on it's opening night in the theater, you realize that there is no better fitting title than that :)

Channing Tatum is too adorable.

Some super fabulous friends of mine had a Girl's Night Out last night and we were able to see the movie that has had ladies waiting in anticipation for months now. The movie turned out to be pretty good and more than anything, I loved that it did not follow your typical Hollywood "boy meets girl, they fall in love, everything goes perfectly" plot. Life is just not always like that so the movies shouldn't be either. The movie also, from my understanding, does not follow the book or end like the book, and there are some truly tender moments in the movie with John and his dad (I have a VERY soft spot for people such as the character of his father).

AND, the movie is filmed in our great state of South Carolina!! We represent ourselves well with a shot of the beautiful crescent moon and palm tree on a blue background flying high in the sky on a beautiful Charleston beach!! In fact, Jonathan and I were living in Charleston in the fall of 2008 when they were actually filming scenes at the CofC. We saw the movie crew madness and even the actress, Amanda Seyfried, walking around campus. It was awesome, and I had been dying to see the movie since then (especially knowing it was based on a Nicholas Sparks' book....he's awesome too).

With all of that being said, ladies, you might as well go and see this movie.

Even if you don't like what some call, "chick flicks," you can at least appreciate this movie. It reminds you of the life thousands of couples in our country have to live everyday; one is off fighting for our freedom while the other is at home being brave in their own way. It made me appreciate those individuals even more than I already do.

(And who doesn't want to stare at Channing Tatum's adorable self for 2 hours!?!?)

And I was just so thankful to finally be able to get a girls night with some of the most sweetest, dearest friends ever. I love each and every one of them to pieces and we had a blast together!!

I mean after all, my dinner was a big ole' bag of popcorn, a huge Mr. Pibb, and a molten chocolate cake from Chili's.....that SCREAMS successful girl's night out!!! :)

One of the fabulous ladies I got to hang out with on our GNO, Mrs. Katie Moody!!! Man was I happy to see this girl!!! :) :) :)

(This is the only picture captured from our GNO......believe it or not, I left my memory card at home so I wasn't able to get any pictures. I know......that's CRAZY if you know me at all. I was too busy getting pumped to see all my favorite girls to worry about my camera. And sorry for the resolution. Don't you just love how camera phones make everyone look so distorted and "alien like??" Right Katie?? Haha!!)

The 100th Day of School

2010-01-30T08:40:00.000-08:00

Friday, January 29th, was the 100th day of school for this year. The 100th day is one of the best days of any day in kindergarten or 1st grade....by far!!

The tradition in 1st grade (that I was able to participate in when I taught 1st grade) is that all the teachers and students dress up like they are 100 years old.

In kindergarten, we do a lot of counting to 100. We count 100 fruit loops to make necklaces, draw 100 pictures to make a headband, create a picture that uses 100 neon stickers, count out 100 snack pieces to mix together for a 100th day snack, and we read tons of 100th day books, among many other things!!

The kids LOVE it; it's almost better than Christmas, and we teachers love to see their excitement!! They are 100 days smarter!! :)

Hip, Hip Hooray for the 100th Day!!!

Making necklaces with fruit loops

K-02 friends are the cutest!

K-02 with all of our 100th day gear!!

Enjoying our 100th day lunch!

The best way to end the 100th day?? With a 100th day Snack made by K-02!!

God's Humor and What Really Matters :)

2010-01-27T16:45:00.000-08:00

We all know that God is many great things, and one, is that he has a really good sense of humor.

Over a year ago, last December, Jonathan and I made a very big purchase as we got ready for our trip to Europe. After much research and discussion, we decided to buy a wide angle lens for our Rebel XTI. Prior to this, Jonathan had one that we were using, but it belonged to his firm, Neal Prince, and was mainly for work photography (although we made it work for most other types of photography as well).

This was a BIG, BIG purchase for us; considering the finances necessary for the actual trip, but one that we knew would pay itself 10 times over in the long run.

Well.

When June rolled around, we had a lot of different wedding festivities going on for my sister-in-law's upcoming nuptials, all of which required lots of picture taking. As a result, we were constantly charging batteries, switching lenses, taking the bag here and there, uploading pics to this computer and that one, and spreading our camera and accessories all over the place.

June 25, 2009, the night of the wedding rehearsal, our brand new, not cheap, wide angle lens purchase goes missing :(

If you've ever experienced this, you know that awful sick feeling you get when something so expensive is just gone. Like that. We have spent the past 7 months in turmoil over this, racking our brains, retracing every little move from that night, and praying for it to show up and not be lost forever.

As it should turn out, I was in Pelzer at my parents house last night in one of the upstairs bedrooms, my sister's old room, piddling in some drawers. There is an antique nightstand beside the bed that I happened to open, and as soon as I did, to what did my wandering eyes see inside, but a perfectly preserved wide angle lens safely secured in its case.

Oh man. I think I jumped clear out of my skin. I immediately ran to get my phone and call Jonathan to tell him the GREAT news.

At first he was so shocked I don't think he believed me, but once it sunk in, we could not help but laugh at ourselves. The whole situation from that night and why we put it in the nightstand instantly came back to us.

With that being said, as I went into my day today, it quickly progressed into "one of those" kind of days. Frankly, I think it's "that" time of year......which I am affectionately beginning to call the "wintry blues." And as I had some time to reflect at the end of the school day, it occurred to me what a terrible wife I have been lately in terms of my time given to my husband, and not just time spent, but time listened and time attended. So I decided that I would leave school as soon as I could, come straight home, do nothing school related, house keeping related, errand related.....just Jonathan related :)

Among other things, we decided to do something during our evening together that we had wanted to do over Christmas break, but did not have the wide angle lens to do so with. So we did just that. We grabbed all the camera gear, hopped in the car, and drove to campus to get some late afternoon/early evening shots of Tillman. Oh, I love Tillman. We took turns taking shots, and being that Jonathan is a WAY better, more talented photographer than I am (especially in the architectural aspect), he took the time to show me some different things that I could do.

We had a great time, and I couldn't stop giggling because I looked pretty silly in some of the positions I had to take while getting some shots from the ground. He of course just stood above, directing me, while students were all over, walking the campus, staring. I'm sure they were thinking we were crazy :)

Getting some interesting shots......

.........and the result!!!

It's been a good past 24 hours on the home front. I love how God doesn't hesitate to put humor in the way He works in our lives and getting to spend any amount of time with my husband is always precious. I am so glad I was reminded today of what (who) really matters and means the most to me in this world!

The Barrier Islands

2010-01-17T00:54:00.000-08:00

As most of you know, I was given the great opportunity of heading down to the Barrier Islands with our 5th graders this past week as a chaperone. We left on Monday morning, bright and early at 6AM, and returned on Wednesday evening, around 6:30PM. I do not have a whole lot of experience with 5th graders, but as it should turn out, they're just the same ole' kids you had in 1st grade, only bigger and with a more extensive vocabulary!!

This group was especially special to me because, it included the students that I student taught in my first experience at Calhoun (and they are some of the greatest, sweetest students I have come to teach yet!). I was so excited at the thought of getting to hang out with them for a couple of days and reconnect.

I really liked the way the trip was scheduled because for each part, I was with a different group of students which allowed me the opportunity to get to know more of them. I had a group that I was with in my cabin (Osprey A, what what!!!! YEAH!!), a group for meals (TABLE 6, YEAH!!), and a field group that I led with another teacher for all of our activities. The meals were unbelievable, the camp staff really enjoyed our kids, and the field activities were a lot of fun (especially the mud pit.....the kids LOVE the mud pit).

I know the kids had a great time, but it was an awesome experience for me as well. I am so thankful to have been able to go, and hope to attend again in the future!! :)

Osprey A and B girls outside of our cabin.

Some of my AWESOME girls from table 6!!

The kids in the MUD PIT!!!

Our group on the beach, after the mud pit :) With black eyes.

Team building time, working together.

Cabin Osprey A on the beach!!

The beach in the afternoon sun :)

Barrier Islands 2010, what a trip!!! :)

Spiller the Great.

2010-01-10T19:46:00.000-08:00

I'm sure if you're not part of the elite, us TIGER fans, you're tired of hearing about the "GREAT CJ Spiller."

Well......get used to it.

Because this kid is going places and quite frankly, he's going to do great things. You're going to see a lot of him. He's one of the best players to ever play in Death Valley. Even if you're not a TIGER, you'd be crazy to deny that he's one of the greatest players of our time, and possibly, the greatest player in college football this season (despite what any Heisman vote said).

I say all of this to say that I just felt like CJ deserved a "shot-out" on my blog.

He had some incredible moments during his career, broke lots of records and created some new ones, took us to victory and got us the W many times, and more than anything, he was a *TEAM* player with a heart of gold. He always contributed his success to the team and the fans. He was always humble, and he gave credit to the One who deserved all the glory.

CJ, you will forever be #28 in TIGER hearts, everywhere.

"Because I love Clemson too much. I've told them you'd have to literally shoot me to get me off the field!" -CJ Spiller in his post-game interview after winning the 2009 Music City Bowl.

We love you CJ!!!

Will it come??

2010-01-07T17:15:00.000-08:00

Will it show up??

Those little white flakes that we long for so??

Only time and temperature will tell.

Now, I know there was a big snow for you folks here in the states last winter, but I was in about 3 times as much snow in Europe and come the end of winter there, I had had my fill for the time being.

But, the last time it snowed in the states for me was almost exactly two years ago, in the winter of 2008, January 16th to be exact. I was not yet a married woman, living at home in Pelzer with my parents, teaching 1st grade at the 'houn.

I remember the "talk" that went on all day prior to the falling of the white powder, and how anxious I was for it to come. I remember chiming in with my teacher friends, "Yeah, I agree.....let's hope for just that 2 hour delay so we're not making up the snow day when it's warm and sunny come June....." but secretly, I hoped the snow would fall for an entire snow day. That evening I kept my eye on the TV and repeatedly asked my parents (like one of my students), "do ya'll think it's gonna happen??"

Well, about 10:00PM that night, it came. I went nuts. I just happened to be on Facebook with two of my dearest friends, JTurner and sweet Mere, when it all went down (literally). We then began what turned into a 2 hour or so constant messaging of giddiness and excitement over the beautiful snow. It was pretty much like we were having an all out giggling, all girls slumber/snow party together, just over the computer. We also all 3 simultaneously took pictures of the snow, and posted them on Facebook for each other to see.

It was one of the best snow "nights" EVER. Period.

I wonder what this snow will bring?? Another giddy, giggling girl fest with some of my favorite friends?? Will it even come???

I guess only time and temperature will tell :)

Pictures from our 2008 Snow Adventures!!

(I could not get access to JTurner's pics, but they were the ones that inspired them all!!)

The snow in Pelzer.

Letting the snow fall on my face!!

The snow at Meredith's apartment in Anderson.

Meredith enjoying the snow!!!

Already???

2010-01-03T16:10:00.000-08:00

Is it time?? REALLY??? Time to head back to work ALREADY?!??!

Oh man.

Time to get back to the ole' grind, back to reality.

Do not get me wrong; I LOVE my job, I am very thankful to have it considering our economic times, and I have missed my sweet babies like crazy......but this has been the most relaxing, fun break ever. I have really enjoyed every last minute of it, to the fullest!!

Christmas 2009 :)

Last year, Jonathan and I really didn't have the opportunity to experience our "first" Christmas as a married couple as it should be; we weren't "settled" anywhere, and spent most of the break stressing/preparing for our trip to Italy. It was a good Christmas, just busy, busy, busy.

And it was a lot of work, and we just weren't able to truly enjoy the holidays.

Christmas 2008 :)

And it also still really blows my mind that this time last year, we were a mere 3 days from beginning the European journey of a liftetime!! Such wonderful memories :)

Genoa, Spring Semester 2009

We spent all day today taking down EVERYTHING and cleaning from top to bottom. Now, I had intended on doing this LONG before today, so that I could fully enjoy my last day of break. Of course, that didn't happen. I did manage to spend one day this past week doing some laundry/mild cleaning, but ended up being completely lazy the rest of the week. And of course, on my last day, I would be consumed with a migraine most of the day (which if you know anything about migraines, they pretty much enable you from getting anything done).

And with that being said, I have to say that I am incredibly thankful for a husband who helps out around the house so much. I could NOT have gotten everything on my list accomplished without him today. He worked so hard and football was on ALL day!!

We still have some major bathroom cleaning to get done, but for the most part, we were little cleaning fairies today!!

So the Christmas cleaning begins. Oh my.

I am just so thankful for the opportunities we were given to spend with each other, family, and friends this holiday season. We took full advantage of every day we had. We ate good (I have GOT to jump in full speed with my workout schedule first thing tomorrow), did a lot of fun things (including house/dog sitting for President Barker....I just can't let that one go yet), and got some amazing, very much needed gifts.

I guess all those joys are what makes it SO hard to go back to work. Tomorrow will be unbelievably hard, and I will probably be beyond exhausted when I finally get home, but, there's nothing like getting back into the routine!! Once I do, hopefully life won't be too hard ;)

Good luck to all my fellow teachers out there.....we WILL survive!!!

......And if you need motivation, spring break is just 64 or so days away!! Hehe ;)

Goodbye Oh-9, Hello Twenty-Ten!!!

2009-12-31T08:57:00.000-08:00

Whew!! It's been awhile.....things have just gotten so busy that I neglected my poor, little blog. To me, that's just a reflection of how truly amazing this year has turned out to be!!

2009 might just go down in the history books as one of the best years yet. So much has happened, and Jonathan and I have been blessed in so many ways this year. When I think back to everything, I am amazed at not only how merciful God is, but how much He loves his children and pours His grace on us daily.

In honor of 2009, I've decided to end the year's blog posts with a list of the 10 best moments/happenings for 2009.

The Top Ten in Oh-9:

10. House/dog sitting for President Barker and meeting him and his wife in person.

9. Being at every home game to watch the greatness and talent of CJ Spiller in his final year as a Tiger. That boy is going to do great things.

8. Seeing the Tigers play for the ACC Championship for the first time in 18 years. We will tell our children about this one for sure.

7. Seeing historical landmarks in person that I had previously only read about in history books.

6. The countless first time experiences and many different people we met during our travels. Europe has afforded us some very special lifelong friendships.

5. Traveling all over Europe with my best friend.

4. Signing a lease that was longer than 5 months so that we could finally have a somewhat place of our "own."

3. Getting my job back at Calhoun and the many blessings that continue to follow this.

2. Celebrating our 1st wedding anniversary with the love of my life.

1. Finally joining our church, alongside my parents.

The President's house, THE best running back in the country, and an ACC Championship game.

Stonehenge, the Parthenon, and the Roman Coliseum.

Luca, the Italian boys, and my #1 traveling buddy!

A place to call home, the amazing Calhoun Kindergarten crew, and leftover wedding cake for our 1 year anniversary.

As you can see, 2009 was nothing short of a landmark year for the Edens and we have nothing to do but to give all the glory to God. He has given us all that we have needed and much more.

2010 will no doubt have its ups and downs, but I pray that no matter what, we will lead a life pleasing to our Father.

I leave you with my favorite New Year's song by Regina Spektor. Hope 2010 brings you and yours lots of happiness!!

Happy New Year!!!

Tune-in Thursday

2009-09-10T05:20:00.000-07:00

Listen of the Week: Wait and See, Brandon Heath

This song is so amazing. The first line of the chorus is what made me truly fall in love with it; "There is hope, for me yet, because God won't forget, all the plans he's made for me..."

I heard it on the way to work Tuesday morning, and being that my drive is so long (35-40 minutes there and back each day) I have a lot of time to think about things, whatever they may be.

Being in a new grade level (kindergarten), as well as coming on board a bit later than when everyone else started, I have many days where I become very discouraged about how I'm doing in this new environment. I haven't gotten the confidence quite yet where I feel comfortable in this new curriculum, setting, and set of responsibilities. Everyone thinks, "Oh, kindergarten and first grade are not that different;" oh.....but yes they are!!

I'm truly loving EVERY minute of my new kindergarten life, but It's taking some time to become adjusted to this change. I know that eventually the self confidence will come because, He's not finished with me yet!!!! :) :) :)

Tune-in Thursday

2009-09-03T19:26:00.000-07:00

Listen of the Week: TIGER RAG, Clemson Tiger Band

In true fashion, with my Tigers season opener against MTSU this Saturday at 6:30PM in THE Death Valley, what better song for this week's Tune-in Thursday.......I LOVE MY TIGERS!!!!!!!!!!

I cannot tell you how unbelievably, amazingly, off the wall PUMPED I am for Tiger Football to be here!!! We missed out last fall because we were in Charleston, and Jonathan's rigorous school schedule did not allow us to do any traveling to the upstate.

I WILL be wearing my orange at work tomorrow (and it's color week this week, and the 2 colors for Friday are black and white.....well, I'll be wearing orange, hehe!!) and I will be shouting to the top of my lungs and jumping up and down with 80,000+ of my friends on Saturday evening in Death Valley!!!

GO TIGERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Speaking of friends.....

2009-08-29T07:50:00.000-07:00

In relation to my choice for this week's Tune-in Thursday, something amazing happened to one of our friends on Tuesday. I wanted to share that day, but of course, the school week got the better of me.

One of our dearest and bestest friends, Brad, became a father.
This was huge because Jonathan and Brad have literally grown up together and lived some of life's greatest moments together. Their friendship is so awesome!!

Isaac James Dalton was born on Tuesday, August 25th, coming in at 8lbs, 2oz, and 21 inches long. I don't know that I have ever been more excited for a baby to arrive!!! He is beautiful. And I cannot wait to hold him in my arms and love all over him.

Brad and his wife, Amanda, live in Columbia so we were not able to be there for the birth like we really wanted to. :( We hope to plan a day to drive down to meet Isaac very soon. And I have insisted that I be called "aunt Lu-Lu...." so we'll see. :) :)

Congrats to mom and dad!!! We love you both, and precious Isaac, more than we could ever express!!!

Baby Isaac!!

Okay. This one just melts my heart. Seriously.

Tune-in Thursday

2009-08-27T21:13:00.000-07:00

Listen of the Week: These Friends of Mine, Rosie Thomas

I've been super busy, so I chose something very simple for this week's Tune-in Thursday. Rosie Thomas is an artist that I discovered almost exactly a year ago while we were living in Charleston. I fell in love with her sound and style of music immediately. This song is the last one on her album, "These Friends of Mine," and since the first time I have heard it, it always puts a smile on my face. I've been thinking a lot lately about my friends and how thankful I am for each one of them and all the wonderful memories that we have shared together. Although many of us are spread out all over the state of SC and other surrounding states, and we are so busy with the day to day life, there isn't a day that goes by that I don't still feel that connection to each one of them. I love my friends so very much and I am so blessed to have them in my life.

If you are one of those friends (and you know who you are) this song is for you!!!! :) :) I think about you each day and hope you are living and loving every moment of today!!!

Sidenote: I did not like the video that was put with this song, so for this week, you just get the music :)

Ahh!!!!

2009-08-24T19:20:00.000-07:00

Life has been CRAZY lately!!! CRAZY, but SO, SO good!!!

Updates coming soon.....can't wait to share what all has been going on!!!! :) :) :)

I will leave you with one picture (very low quality) to tide you over until I have more time to blog.....

Our AWESOME kindergarten team for 2009-2010!!! I love them!! :)

Tune-in Thursday

2009-08-20T20:18:00.000-07:00

Listen of the Week: The Weight of Lies, The Avett Brothers

Hey all, this is Jonathan (Lindsey's husband). Lindsey asked me to be a "guest" writer this week for "Tune-in Thursday" because she had to go to bed. She has been busy all this week with her shiny new classroom at Calhoun. So, here goes:

This is a song that I have been listening to non-stop since I got this album. This is by the Avett Brothers, not a new band...just new to me, from North Carolina. I really like their sound. They pull their style from many different influences, but still manage to retain a heavily "southern" sound. There are two brothers who play the guitar and banjo (primarily) and a third guy who plays the upright base. "The Weight of Lies" is a fantastic song that showcases the band's incredible songwriting talents (be sure to listen to the lyrics....it's good stuff). But don't take my word for it:

Tune-in Thursday

2009-08-13T10:38:00.001-07:00

Listen of the Week: While I'm Waiting, John Waller

I don't know why I continue to be surprised by God. He is never failing, and always shows up, in whatever way, at all the right times. And, although I know He is faithful in all His promises, I still allow myself to be surprised when He does His thing. That's called -not having enough faith in My father. I'm working on that and I have been given some great opportunities this summer to do so.

This week has been......well......a week full of waiting. Waiting on opportunities, waiting on answers, waiting to see friends who I haven't seen in far too long.....just a whole lot of waiting. I haven't been in contact with anyone outside of my husband much at all this week, nor have I spent much time on any technological outlet (Facebook, Twitter, Chats, etc) that so wonderfully keep us afloat with what's going on in each other's lives. A lot has been going, a lot that I just haven't been quite ready to share with others. The job situation has come to a peak I believe, and I wanted to wait to see what God was going to do before I shared with others. I can't wait for Him to reveal His plan for me; He has shown up in a mighty way in just the past 24 hours. But most of all, when He gives me His answer, I can't wait to praise HIS name, and tell others about what HE did.

This song is perfect for this week's Tune-in Thursday; ironically enough, I discovered it today. Yeah, I know. God is good. It is my theme song for this week, and today specifically. It's probably old news to the rest of you, but I just discovered it (thanks to an awesome friend who had posted some of the lyrics as her status on Facebook). This song is from the movie, Fireproof, and oddly enough, my parents sent a package to Jonathan and I while in Italy that included this movie. We never (and have still not) seen that package. Therefore, I have yet to see this movie and had no clue of this song. If we had received that package, we would have no doubt, already watched the movie and I would be very aware of this song, because it's awesome. Instead, I heard it for the first time on a day like today.

Ironic?? Not even.

God giving me peace?? Definitely.

This song came to me in His timing, which was perfect. And always will be. :)

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I would also like to add, that as soon as I finished this post while listening to HisRadio, this very song was the next song to come on. No joke. Wow. I just had to come back and share that. Too cool not to.

Tasty Treats

2009-08-09T19:15:00.000-07:00

I didn't realize when I got married that I was getting my very own Chef Boyardee (or in my case, Chef BoyarJonny). This weekend was filled with all SORTS of yummy, delicious, and tasty meals made by the one and only, Chef Jonathan.

Here's what we had:

Dinner for two on Friday night.....

...broccoli and cheese, grilled, seasoned shrimp, and grilled tilapia with homemade blueberry sauce. Oh my word.

Always have to get the chef with his hard work!!

Dinner on Saturday night....

.....spicy shrimp and tuna sushi roll. My man KNOWS what I like!!

Saturday night's treat....

Chocolate, cinnamon, ice cream and coffee drinks.

Chef Jonathan was pretty excited about these lil' drinks!!! I LOVE how big he's cheesin'!!

I know ya'll don't think so, but, I promise.......I do cook!!! :) :)

Tune-in Thursday

2009-08-06T11:10:00.001-07:00

This one is very, very special and I have been excited to share it with you all week!! ;) I truly hope you will take the time to listen.

Listen of the Week: Lord, You're Holy, Whitefield Baptist Adult Choir with soloist, Holly Randle

There aren't enough words to describe the talent that God has blessed our church with. Every Sunday is more than a worship experience; it's like revival. God continues to show up each and every week in a way that is simply indescribable through our music and worship.

Our choir has put out two CD's, both of which are amazing. My favorite time to listen to them is when I have some distance to go in the car, by myself. You can honestly have an unbelievable worship experience with the Lord and be moved in a mighty, might way.

This particular song is on the choir's 2nd CD and while listening to it this past weekend, it dawned on me that several of the songs would make for great Tune-in Thursday's. One song in particular was really moving me and I so badly wanted to be able to share it with others. I am always raving about the sounds of Whitefield, and this way, some of you can get a taste of it instead of just having to use your imagination.

The song did not have a video; it was just the music. So I took some time, and made a video for this incredible song and uploaded it to my YouTube account. I used a couple of pictures from the web, but most of the pictures you will see are my own; from our travels across Europe. It's amazing....after all of the places we were able to see, I can sit through this video and tell you EXACTLY where each of these pictures came from and what country and what church they were taken at. They are that significant in my mind and the experiences meant that much to me. What better way to connect the beauty of Christ........through sight and sound.

This video has been shared on Facebook already by Miss Holly, the young lady who sings the beautiful solo. If you've already seen it, that is awesome!! And, if you haven't, I hope you enjoy it and are touched as much as I am every time I hear the choir praise Him. If you've never joined us, I invite you to come experience Whitefield. We would LOVE to have you!!!!

One year has passed already??!?!

2009-08-04T20:39:00.000-07:00

Our 1 year wedding anniversary has come and gone. And I cannot believe it has already been 1 year!!!! It has FLOWN by, but then again, we've been to A LOT of different places, seen A LOT of different things, and done A LOT!!! It's been the most incredible year of my life....so far. ;) When you're married, I imagine it just gets better and better with the one you love as each year passes.

Two very fun shots from our wedding day, courtesy of the fabulous Lindsey Mart!!

Just a brief (and I know what you're thinking....Lindsey be brief???? yeah right!!! but I promise) run through of our non-eventful, but very easy going and relaxing weekend together.

Jonathan gets off from work on Fridays at 12pm so that made for a nice, early beginning to our weekend celebration of our first year of wedded bliss. :) :) We went and spent some time laying out by the pool, (which is always FAVORITE of mine) and then came back in to nap!! We also LOVE naps!!

After piddling 'round the house (if you're unsure, "piddling" is a word Southerners use to express that they are doing pretty much nothing) for a couple of hours, we finally decided around 9pm to think about dinner. In addition to researching a weekend get away (which was extremely expensive and out of our budget) Jonathan had also planned to take me out for a nice dinner. I suggested, to save money, that we go to the grocery store and cook together instead!!!

So off to Ingles we went, and so began "Anniversary Appetizers." My favorite thing to order when we go out to eat are appetizers, so my creative husband decided, why not get all the ingredients to make all of my favorite appetizers.....brilliant idea!!! So, while I did some more "piddling" that night, my amazingly thoughtful husband went hard to work in the kitchen making, "Anniversary Appetizers!!" They were oh, so very delicious!!!!

Cooking up a storm of appetizers in the kitchen!!

Final touches.....oooo, weee!!! Looks good!!

THE spread.

Mmmmm, those shrimp crackers were my favorite!!!

So we kicked back with Madea Goes to Jail and devoured our "Anniversary Appetizers......" it was a great way to get our anniversary weekend started!!!

Saturday, we didn't really do anything "anniversary" related, but we were able to spend the entire day together!!! That is certainly enough for me. :) That morning we were at the McCall 50th Anniversary Celebration (which I will blog about eventually, ha!!) until late that afternoon and then we rushed, and I mean rushed back to the house, changed clothes, freshened up, and headed just a few miles down the road to Occasions at Wedgefield to see one of my most favorite people ever, Loretta, get married!!! Loretta and I not only worked together at Calhoun, but I had the honor and pleasure of doing my fall practicum with her senior year in college. But, there's a later post to come about all of those fun things!! ;)

The 50th Anniversary Cake!!!

She was a GORGEOUS bride!!!!

So Saturday came and went pretty quickly and we were pretty tired. Which led to our actual wedding anniversary, Sunday, and some sleeping in (yeah...we skipped church, whoops!!). Oh it was sooooo nice!!! Jonathan actually got up before me, but I didn't even hear him, and when I woke up around 10:30am, there was a WONDERFUL smell coming from the kitchen!!! My bebeh had gotten up, went to the grocery store to get my favorite breakfast items that we didn't already have, and he made me a DELICIOUS, candle lit breakfast!!! Ohhhhhhh it was amazingly good!!! It was such a simple thing, yet so very thoughtful. It was the perfect way to start off our anniversary day!!!

My favorite part to our whole anniversary day!!

After this awesome breakfast, we had stuffed ourselves full, so what better thing to do then go BACK to bed, hehe!!! ;) ;) Yeah, we didn't wake up again until around 3:30pm that afternoon!!! LOVE it!!!! Then we went outside and played some, hung out by the pool, and watched some tube together until dinner.

For dinner, we had some options and then chose a mutual "gotta taste for it" place, and ended up at the Chinese place. Sooooooo goooood. :) AND, to top it all off, THIS was my fortune:

I know it's hard to see, so, it says: "Today is a good day for being with a companion!!"

Back at home we immediately dove into our anniversary cake!!!! Oooooooooooo it was gooooood!!!!! :) :) It really was!!! And SO pretty!!! Gretchen is the WOH-MAN and our wedding cake was dee-vine!!! It was neopolitan, all 3 flavors!!!

For memory's sake, our actual wedding cake on our wedding day.

And our anniversary cake....LOVED our colors!!

Us about to dive in!!

Look at all those flavors!!!

After we STUFFED ourselves, we discussed our anniversary present to one another, which we had hoped to be a set of chest of drawers. Probably sounds like nothing big and over the top, but we have little to no furniture with all of the traveling we have done in our first year of marriage, and since money is so tight right now, being able to get this for one another was going to be HUGE!! My clothes have been nicely folded, but lining the entire bedroom wall since May, so I was REALLY excited about this purchase!!!

We purchased a set that we have been looking at for some time at IKEA, which is part of the MALM series and also matches our bed, so it was perfect!! Jonathan's parents just happened to be passing through Atlanta that night on their way home, so they so very graciously stopped by to get it and then dropped it off that night at our apartment around 10pm. Jonathan went to town immediately putting it together, and it was set up with clothes and everything before we went to bed!!!

Putting it all together.

And the final product!! So nice!!!

All in all, it was the perfect way to celebrate our 1 year anniversary. We have so much to be thankful for and have had an incredible first year. I can't wait to celebrate many, many more years together!!! :)

Tune-in Thursday

2009-07-30T20:46:00.001-07:00

Listen of the Week: Over the Rainbow, Israel Kamakawiwo'ole

This song is sweet, simple, and to the point. There are many versions of this song, originally sung by Judy Garland for the movie The Wizard of Oz. In fact, the title is usually referred to by most people as Somewhere over the Rainbow. I however, like this particular version which I first heard on the movie, 50 First Dates, with Adam Sandler.

It's the song that my daddy and I danced to at my wedding. :)

And, it was a favorite song of a dear friend who passed away this summer, which she used in her classroom on a daily basis.

I hope you like it too!!! :)

Blessings :)

2009-07-26T21:06:00.001-07:00

This weekend was not only awesome, but also a reminder of just how GOOD God has been and continues to be, to our family. We are so very, very blessed. I know for sure that I do not tell Him thank you nearly enough, and yet, he still keeps pouring blessings all over us.

Just wanted to share a few of those blessings from our incredible weekend.

1. A husband who loves me so much, that he would think to bring home 2 hot dogs from Skins to his wife for lunch.

Oh, he is my special friend!!!

2. Dinner at Ryan's on Friday night with Jerry and Sandra (Jonathan's parents). Haven't spent quality time with just the two of them in a while. Conversation was refreshing. :)

3. Staying up until 2:30AM that night watching McCall videos and reminiscing with Jerry. Those videos are great.

Just a small taste of the awesomeness that is Camp McCall. :) Hilarious. Thanks Whamm!!!

4. After said stay up, being able to sleep in until 12PM with my husband on a Saturday, with nowhere to have to rush off to.

5. "Yard sale sittin" with Grandmother Dot and Papa Charles and just talkin' 'bout nuthin'.

6. Grilling out burgers with Jerry and Sandra that were not just any ole' burgers, but chilly burgers. Oooo weee baby. My favorite. Mmmm, pour on a lil' bit (a LOT) of Texas Pete, and go to town baby!!!! YUMMY!!!

Cutting up fresh potatoes to make fresh fried potato strings. They were SO good!!!

7. Homemade ice cream over at Judy's on the front porch swing. Talkin' 'bout the good ole' days and just enjoying one another's company.

8. Church at Whitefield. Enough said. If you want to hear the most amazing music EVER, come see us!!!

9. Lunch in downtown Greenville with Rick and Muchell (my parents), then furniture browsing. Precious memories.

10. Movies with my mama. Just me and her. :) Need I say more???

Self portrait before going into the theater. Hehe, we couldn't get the camera to work properly!!

11. Jonathan and Rick golfing. BAHAHA!!! I bet that was fun(ny)!!!

12. Watching Dennis Swanberg with Rick and Muchell. That guy is HI-larious.

13. Dinner at Cracker Barrel (SURPRISE! haha) with Rick and Muchell. Again, another quality time with parents and refreshing conversation. It's so cool that we began and ended the w/end the same exact way.......parents, eating, and talking at the restaurant for at least an hour after we finished until they were about to close!! :)

14. The MONSOON of a storm in Central after we got home. It was AWESOME!! Sat on the screened in balcony and just listened. So cool.

We managed to get a video of the rain. It's dark and you can't see very well, but you can hear really good!! That's all that matters anyways. :)

It's kind of blurry, but if you look hard you can see the rain!!!

Rain down.

God is so full of love and grace. I hope everyone had a wonderful, summer weekend!!

Tune-in Thursday

2009-07-23T15:56:00.001-07:00

Listen of the Week: Hallelujah, Gavin DeGraw

Gavin DeGraw is one of the most talented singer and songwriters of my generation. I was introduced to him by a good friend in college, junior year. The first song that I ever heard by DeGraw was Chariot, which I am sure will eventually make it to the Listen of the Week. He is by far, one of my most favorite artists, and his songs from his first album are incredible. He sings solo, unless you count his piano......which he is ridiculously talented at tickling the ivories. His first album had so much talent behind it, but unfortunately, when his second came out, he succumbed to the "pop" world of music. It was very disappointing and almost "Britney-like" (referring to the one and only Britney Spears of course).

There is a flip side to this though....DeGraw released his 3rd album in March of this year, and he took it back to the soul!!! It's amazing and much like the first. Look for some of those songs to hit the Listen of the Week as well.

DeGraw does a lot of cover songs, and Hallelujah is a cover from Leonard Cohen. He has an amazing voice, raw talent, and although yet another secular singer, this song speaks to me in so many ways in a spiritual manner.

Hope you enjoy!!!

He caught up with me!!!

2009-07-22T13:09:00.000-07:00

My husband loves the fact that he is married to an "older woman" (by a mere 9 days, sheesh) and also loves to remind me of this. So, when those 9 days have passed and his birthday comes, I always like to remind him that he has finally "caught up."

I think that it is only fitting to bring out some old photos in his honor, to reminisce, like I did when I blogged about my own birthday. Just a few:

Only THE cutest little baby boy ever. We will be SO lucky if we have a son and he turns out half this precious!!

#86 Baby!! Nothin' like high school football!! Those were good times!!

Painted up and rubbin' the rock. Does it get any better than that?? I think not.

25 and still young as ever!!

His birthday was last Wednesday, the 15th, and although he had to work (blah), we made up for that with all the fun stuff we did!!

The Tuesday before his birthday, we had his parents and Tyler and Rebekah over for a cookout out by the pool in our apartment complex. They have some grills and picnic tables, so after we finally got all the necessary ingredients, sides, and tools to get it going, we had some DELICIOUS burgers for dinner!!! After we finished eating outside it began to get dark, so we went inside our apartment for some coffee and my hubby's favorite.....chocolate chip cookie cake!! And this year's had a very special message written upon it. :)

Oh it was so exciting to be able to put that on his cake for the first time!!!

We were so thankful to be able to spend this time with our family, especially since T and R were making the big move back to Mississippi that Thursday, and we may not see them again until Christmas.

The Edens and the Bradys :)

All the boys helped cook up the burgers, but Jonathan's mom teased that he knew he was getting older because he had to cook his own birthday meal!! :) Which is so very true...I don't know how many times growing up that my sister and I would say, "let's have dinner with daddy" for Father's Day or his birthday, and he would end up cooking the meal himself. It was only until recently that we started cooking meals for him....or just going out to eat instead!! Ha!!!

Grilling out hamburgers for everybody.

Regardless, we had a GREAT time together celebrating the birthday of the most amazing 25 year old that I know.

The next day, on his actual birthday, my parents treated us to dinner at the restaurant of Jonathan's choice to celebrate. He chose Applebee's because he said that it's really good and we actually hadn't been there since before leaving for Europe. They were happy to oblige and we had a delicious meal!!! My dad even requested a dessert for the "birthday boy!!" Ha!!! He received an ice cream sundae and I believe he enjoyed every last bite.

He also thoroughly enjoyed his gift from them, which came in very handy for our anniversary gift to one another!! :)

Every man loves tools I guess!!

That night when we got home after dinner, we just enjoyed one another's company and we had some cookie cake and coffee to top off our dinner. That's one of the reasons why I love Jonathan so much. It doesn't take a whole lot to make him happy. Just the simple things in life.

He is an amazing man and I am so very, very blessed.

Hope your birthday was everything you wished for love!!!

Something New

2009-07-16T14:29:00.000-07:00

OK.

So I'm going to try something new for a while, just to liven things up around here on the blog. I KNOW that my life is not that interesting, and as a result, I also know that ya'll get tired of reading the same ole', same ole'.

With that being said.....

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Music. Love it. Always have and always will. It's such an integral part of my life. I even dedicated one entire post a couple of months ago describing why music was so amazing.

So here's what's going to happen on a weekly basis:

A "listen of the week" will be posted for your enjoyment (or to your dismay). I find myself learning more and more as each day passes, just how significant music is in my life. One song can evoke enough emotions to turn a truly terrible day into a truly remarkable day.

I also encourage you, at any time, to let me know your thoughts about any song that I post (likes or dislikes....I will not be offended :) I promise), or to even share a song of your choice. I'm always looking for great, new music to add color to my life!!!

So.....here we go.

Listen of the Week: Coldplay, Fix You

I find it only fitting to begin this new, weekly posting with this song. First of all, Coldplay is probably -and this says A LOT about a band for someone who loves music as much as I do- my most favorite band of all time. They haven't produced a single album, containing a single song, that I don't love. For years they have written the soundtrack to my life. And although a secular band, this particular song is a great pick me up and, more importantly, reminds me of the way Christ "fixes us" when we are broken.

Enjoy.

A Quarter of a Century Old

2009-07-08T21:25:00.000-07:00

Just as I wrote that I loved July, it is truly shaping up to meet my expectations thus far.

Monday, I celebrated my 25th birthday. A quarter of a century old. Man.

It's weird to look at myself in the mirror and think, "Girl, you are 25 years old!!"

25 is not old, it is still so very young. But from what I've been told (as so many refer to it as), it's that "dreaded downward slope" to 30.

When I think about myself and being married (and the fact that I could start having children if we were ready for that right now), I still see my 21 year old self as a Clemson student, or even sometimes, my 17 year old self in high school having the time of my life!!

I guess it's just as they say....age is JUST a number!!! Because to be quite honest, I'm 25 and I feel FINE!!! :) :)

Just a baby, maybe 2???

17 and in high school...I think this was taken at Christmas time??

College, Senior year and 21...man THOSE were the days!!!

And 25!!!! God is so good and it's been a GREAT run so far!!!

So what did I do to celebrate?!? Weeeellll.....

My birthday week began this past Friday night, before my actual birthday on Monday.

And yes, you read that right, I said my birthday week. Truth is folks, I'm rotten....spoiled rotten that is. Ever since Jonathan and I have been together, when my birthday rolls around, he has created this tradition of week long events and gifts to celebrate (anything from a special dinner he cooks and a movie together to a small "goody" such as a favorite soft drink and candy). It has carried on ever since, and may possibly end when we have kids, so I'm soaking each day of each birthday week up while I still can!!!

That Friday night we went to Fuji in Anderson. I love, love, love, love (and a million more loves) sushi, fried rice and white sauce, and a salad with ginger sauce. Italian food use to be my favorite cuisine, and still ranks pretty high, but for about the past year, I have been loving me some Japanese. I had been craving sushi for a couple of weeks and talking about it non-stop, so when my sweet and very thoughtful hubby so casually offered to take me out for an early sushi birthday treat that night, I quickly (and very happily) obliged!!!!!

And I ordered just that.....a salad with ginger sauce, 2 rolls of sushi, and fried rice saturated in white sauce!! It was delicious and the company was even better. We had the best time.

Ooooo I love that sushi and ooooo I love that boy!!

The weekend went on and we celebrated the 4th with a cookout, and later that evening, fireworks in Pelzer as well as some that we shot ourselves at home. It was a really good fourth of July, spent with family and one another!!

Fireworks in Pelzer

My mom and my aunt Rita also cooked a DELICIOUS birthday meal for me on Sunday night including my most favorite dish EVER, my aunt Rita's broccoli casserole. The two of them also made me homemade strawberry cupcakes because they both know I'm much more of a cupcake girl than a cake girl. Well.......supposedly neither of them are good at making cupcakes and apparently they had an interesting, yet fun experience while making them.

Despite the look (and mess) they were SO GOOD!!

When Monday finally came, it was probably one of my best birthdays yet....definitely in my top 5 of all time!!!

Jonathan and I stayed in Pelzer Sunday night (so that I was able to attend services in Gaffney the day before for my friend that passed away and so I could enjoy my mom and aunt's birthday dinner) and he had to work :(, so I spent the day with my mom and aunt Nan. That morning we went to Beechwood Farms in Marietta. Apparently my mom used to go here a good bit years ago, but hadn't been in forever. We were able to get some good, fresh vegetables that I'm sure will make for some delicious country dinners. It was nice to spend time with both of them and to be way up in the mountains. There's just something about being outside, in the South, getting fresh veggies. I loved it!!!

Beechwood Farms with my fresh veggies!!

The front of the farmhouse and fresh okreeee!!

My aunt Nan then treated us to lunch at the Mexican restaurant and, well, Mexican is always a favorite!!!

The rest of the afternoon I just chilled out, took a nap, and spent some time outside with my mom. Finally (after wanting to spend ALL day with him), Jonathan came by to get me so that he could birthday treat me. :)

All last week I had been saying that I wanted some "cheap" birthday cake (you know the kind, from BI-LO with the really good icing), and I think he must have gotten the hint!! I got my cheap birthday cake with purple and orange icing (GO TIGERS!!) and instead of flowers, which I usually get, I got a "bouquet" of gossip magazines!! HA!! It was AWESOME!! He knows me ALL to well, and there couldn't have been a better gift. If you know me, you know that (unfortunately) I LOVE my Hollywood gossip!! Very creative and very thoughtful. Oh!! And my birthday card ALSO said my new name, "Lindsey Edens...." since this was my first official Edens birthday!!!

Check out that name...I'm an Edens.

My "bouquet" of gossip magazines, love it!!

He then made the mistake of asking what I would like for my birthday dinner, and I asked could we have Japanese again (yes, only 2 days from when we last had it)!! Ha!! Of course he said yes, and we found this AWESOME place in Easley that is just like a Japanese steakhouse, but cheaper. I got my salad with ginger sauce and hibachi chicken again, and yes, I smothered it in white sauce. And, because it was my birthday, I let myself have a tall, big glass of Dr. Pepper....mmm, mmmm good!!!! :) :)

Dr. Pepper, white sauce, and my hunny....good birthday.

We got home, and because I have recently been pulled into the greatness that is the series "Heroes" by my dear husband, we watched about 4 or 5 episodes before the day was up.

And oh what a great day it was. :)

Remembering

2009-07-07T08:25:00.000-07:00

Last Wednesday I received a phone call from not only one of my best friends, but a previous co-worker at Calhoun, the school I worked at.

It was one of the saddest phone calls I have ever received. My heart broke as she told me that a strange man had taken one of the most amazing women I have ever had the pleasure of meeting and working with.

I know that by now you are all aware of the killing spree that began over a week ago, on Saturday, June 27th taking the life of a peach farmer and ending a little over one week later, on Monday, July 6th, with the discovery and death of what law enforcement had deemed "a serial killer."

In the midst of what we can only presume as, insanity, this man took the lives of 5 innocent people of the Cherokee County community. It has been all over the news, and unfortunately, we may never know what was in the mind of this crazed man.

I could go on to say so much more, but instead I just want to say that, I think it is so fitting that the killer was found on the same day that so many individuals in the Anderson community had taken the time to honor my friend, Gena Linder Parker. There just simply aren't enough words to sum up the person that she was or the life that she lived.

She was a remarkable friend, teacher, and person. But even more importantly, her faith in Christ stood out in everything that she did and every word that she spoke.

This post is in memory of her!! :)

Gena, we love you and we will miss you so much!!

JULY!!!!

2009-07-01T08:44:00.000-07:00

It's here!!! My most favorite month EVER is FINALLY here!!!!! I love, love, love July....it's a very exciting, event filled month for our family. It's one of those months that I know even after having kids of our own, will probably still be a really big deal every year.

But, you might be thinking....why on earth does this girl love one of the hottest months of the year?!?! Well, here's just a few reasons why:

1. All of the coolest people have their birthdays in July:

July 1: One of my favorite girls EVER, Alice.

July 4: Jonathan's uncle Randy.

July 6: George W., 50 Cent, and best of all, ME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

July 15: My sweet, sweet hubby.

July 31: The most adorable baby boy on the face of the planet EVER, Henry (who is the son of our AMAZING wedding photographer, LMart. Yes, she definitely photographed our wedding only 10 days from her due date!!).

Me and my girl Alice...way back in the day!! :)

Celebrating our joint July birthdays last summer (this was also only about 13 days before we said, "I do!!")

2. Independence Day people!!!

July 4. Who doesn't love celebrating this amazing country that we have so graciously been given to live in?!?! Fireworks, family, and food. Thank you God for blessing us with this great country and the men and women fighting everyday to make sure we continue to have our freedom.

4th of July 2007...about to shoot some fireworks with my girls!!

Oh I miss the days when my besties worked at the Fireworks stand and HOOKED US UP!! ;)

3 OUR WEDDING ANNIVERSARY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

July 19. Aside from the day I decided to let Jesus be my #1, this is, by far, the BEST day of my life. There is no doubt that our 1 year anniversary will be very special...after all, we have had one of the most special 1st years of marriage!! It's been a whirlwind and I wouldn't change 1 single day of it. Can't wait to celebrate the first year of many, many more to come!!!

So young!! This was taken the day Jonathan moved into Clemson, Freshmen year!! I have the very first picture ever taken of us, but it's backed up on an external hard drive.

And a more recent one of me and my hubby at his dad's 50th birthday celebration!! Oh I'm in love!!

So, those are my top 3 for sure. Of course we all know that July is also filled with sunny days, poolside days, family filled days, and so many other things that make life worth living. I hope that you enjoy this month as much as you possibly can. :) :)

A few more pictures....

2009-06-22T14:25:00.000-07:00

....from our busy, busy, busy past couple of weeks!!!

Some from Father's Day:

Reading his cards from all of us kids.

Polo Cologne...he knew!!

Stetson Cologne

Gran Torino!!

And some from the NPA Summer Social:

Sharing our study abroad stories!!

It's been a while.

2009-06-22T08:10:00.000-07:00

Happy Father's Day!!!

I hope everyone has had a great day with the men in your life and if they've already gone on to be with the Lord, I pray that He brought you comfort and peace in knowing that they wait with our Heavenly Father for the day when they can be with you again in Paradise!!!

We had a nice, laid-back Father's Day.

We went to church this morning at Whitefield and heard a phenomenal message from our Youth Pastor, Jeremy. It was incredible, and for me personally, it really hit home. So many times I spend the day either wasting my time, precious time that I can NEVER get back, or thinking/worrying/looking forward to things to come in the passing days, weeks, or even months. Even when getting excited about future events (that isn't harmful really), I realized today that I simply need to look at what is in front of me and take it for what it is. I am so guilty of thinking past today; I really struggle with this.

Jeremy made it so real this morning, in my face I could just feel God asking, "Lindsey, why can't you just take today and let go of tomorrow...or the next day....or even next week???" Don't get me wrong, of course we have to look to the future to make plans and things of that nature, but, God truly wants our hearts in the day to day. I want to be much more aware of this, and I really want to live for the NOW and not the WHEN.

I mean, if you had only 30 days left on this Earth, what would you do? How would you spend your time? God allowed me to put some things into perspective today, and hopefully I can better prioritize my time and live for today.

But, I was telling you about our Father's Day and instead shared that!! Back to the matter at hand....we had lunch with Jonathan's family and it was so good to take a break from all that's been going on and enjoy one another. I don't feel like we have really been able to do that a whole lot with either of our families since we've returned home from Europe. I'm hoping to be able to do that more often this summer. And Jonathan's 2 precious cousins (age 8) had a blast texting back and forth with me while at the restaurant. Oh we start them off TOO YOUNG!! :)

After lunch, Jonathan and I went window shopping in Easley because we have been searching for the perfect shower curtain for our guest bathroom but haven't had a whole lot of luck. The colors are red, silver, and white, but there aren't a whole lot of red shower curtains out there (we're also rather picky).

We weren't home for maybe 20 minutes when my parents called to let us know they were on their way. We had planned to take my dad out for supper to a local pizza place in downtown Clemson that he loves. We have been going to Peppino's for over 10 years now, since Ashley was a student at Clemson!! And since Ashley wasn't able to come up from Savannah this weekend, she treated our dad to dinner and then afterwards, we had planned to hang out by the pool, but, it started raining a good bit. So instead, we gave my dad his presents, and then he and my mom were on there way back home after hanging out for a while at our place.

So that was our Father's Day, and I hope yours was just as much of a blessing. :)

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It's been almost 2 weeks since I last posted but as you can see, we've been busy, busy!!

We celebrated my father-in-law, Jerry's 50th birthday!!!!! Whew!!! :) Haha!!

The old man!!

We also had the summer social for Jonathan's firm, Neal-Prince, this past week in Greenville. The food was so good and of course I haven't seen his co-workers since the Christmas before we got married, so it was great to catch up with everyone.

And, my sister-in-law, Rebekah's wedding is THIS WEEK!! It's finally here!! I cannot believe it....it felt like when they got engaged back in August that it would be FOREVER before the time finally came. Jonathan and I have been busy working on some things for the wedding and rehearsal dinner, so we've been pretty busy getting that stuff taken care of.

And of course with the wedding on Friday, there are all sorts of super fun "lead up" events happening this week, so we're not slowing down yet!! I am so excited for Rebekah and her fiancé Tyler!! The wedding will no doubt be beautiful, but more importantly, I am thrilled at the commitment they are making to one another and the journey they are about to begin together. Marriage is sacred, and a wonderful, wonderful blessing. I pray that God will bring the two of them all the joy that He has and continues to give Jonathan and me. The wedding day is so much fun, but it's just the beginning, and only gets better every day after that.

Me and Jonathan with the Bride and Groom-to-be!!

I hope you have a great week, I know we will.

Lots of fun things planned and we're in wedding mode!!! :) :)

I will rise.

2009-06-08T08:25:00.000-07:00

Jonathan and I spent Sunday in the Belton/Pelzer area for church, showers, and such before heading back home late last night around 10PM.

We drove separate cars back because I had left the truck that I am currently driving at my parent's house on Thursday evening and hadn't yet had the chance to go and get it.

Of course I love and cherish every moment I get to spend with my amazing husband, but it doesn't matter who you are, a good "me" time is always necessary every now and then. Having that quiet time alone, I think, better helps you to evaluate where you are at the moment, and, to just think about things.

During this "me" time I was listening to HisRadio, and a song came on that, I have heard a couple of times since returning to the States. We've been home just a little over a month now, and while probably old to most of you, this song is very new to me. Like I said, I've heard it maybe 2 or 3 times, and each time I fall in love with it more and more. For me, it was a great message of encouragement, because lately, I am finding myself more and more "down" about my current job situation (although, there are SO many families out there facing a much more difficult situation than we could even begin to comprehend). It was exactly what I needed.

I will Rise

Chris Tomlin

Most that have heard this song associate it with the loss of a loved one. I can see that, but, God chose to use it in a different way to speak to me. No matter the uncertainty that I feel, God has called me for a purpose. And His time He will reveal His purpose. The grave could not hold the King and he faced death. How can I not arise to His calling when I am held by so little compared to His sacrifice for us???

My prayer is that I will simply allow God to love on me. And when He does call on me, whether it be for a job opportunity, or more importantly, to share His love with others, I want to rise. And grab hold to the faith that can bring me through anything that comes my way. And I pray for strength and trust to do so.

Thanks for letting me share. :)

Just had to share...

2009-06-03T22:01:00.000-07:00

The coolest thing happened tonight.

After Jonathan and I had finished up some of our nightly routines -cook dinner, eat, clean up, workout- it occurred to us that we had remembered earlier in the evening that we most definitely needed a few grocery necessities (ie - loaf bread, sandwich meat, etc.).

Now, could we go on without these few items??? Sure. However we've really been eating a lot of sandwiches lately, and to save money, it helps if Jonathan is able to take his lunch instead of eating at the awful downtown, overpriced restaurants (which we just simply do not have the money for).

Lately, given our current situation (along with an enormous amount of the rest of the US population, no doubt), we have been really, really strapped financially. So, even a venture to the grocery store for just a few items could seem almost impossible to us.

Well. God, as He always does, showed up just in time. And that's exactly what He does. He shows up when we most need Him yet least expect Him. This past Christmas, we were given quite a few gift cards to various restaurants and stores, and, being that we were about to move to Europe for the next 4 months, we put these away as they would be useless there (seeing as how none of these establishments existed).

We re-discovered them upon returning (during our move to our apartment), and I had put them altogether in a small basket near the front door. As we were getting ready to leave tonight, Jonathan happened to notice them. He pulled the stack out, and of all places, the one on top was for Wal-Mart. Which just so happens to be 5 minutes down the road. Which just so happens to be where we usually get groceries. Which just so happens to be where we were going.

Man. If that isn't God showing up in a BIG way, then I don't know what is. May seem like something very small, but for us it was huge. We had no idea how much was on it, or if we had even used it already, but regardless, we took it with us. We very quickly passed through the grocery section, getting what we thought would be necessary in the next week or so and anxiously made our way to the check out.

Would you believe it?!!?

After ringing up our groceries, we gave the card to the lady explaining our knowledge (or lack there of) about the card, and our grand total came up to about $6!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The card was worth $25 bucks and hadn't been used yet!!!!!!!!!!! We got all of our necessities for $6 bucks!!!!!!!!! We were very, very excited and this was a great way to end our day. After feeling stressed about making the purchase, we left with huge smiles on our faces. Thank you Jesus. :)

I think the best way to sum up our evening is in two ways, both of which were shared with me by 2 amazing friends from my CAA family. I don't know what I would do without their love and encouragement. Lately, I have been really discouraged with the current state of the school(s) budget(s) and the job situation surrounding next school year, and both of these friends just happened to send these my way this week. Thanks SO much Barbara and Renee'!!!!

The first was a verse that, I'm sure most of us have memorized because it was one of those verses that you grew up learning. One of the "popular" verses I call them. It comes from Philippians chapter 4 verse 19: And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus. We know this verse, but, how often do we really forget the true meaning. It was good for me to be reminded.

And the second was so on target it's crazy. It was an email that I received talking about God's blessings and that, just because one door closes, doesn't mean another one isn't going to open. It reminded me that God always has my best interests in mind, and, to never forget His blessings and to always trust Him and to let my worries go. Much easier said than done. Much easier. It also included a verse that encourages to trust so that God can lead you to amazing opportunities. It comes from the 3rd chapter of Revelation in verse 8: I know your deeds. See, I have placed before you an open door that no one can shut. I know that you have little strength, yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name.

It's good to be reminded. And it's GREAT when God shows up in a big way. :)

Oh so sweet :)

2009-05-30T17:22:00.000-07:00

My husband is so wonderfully thoughtful. :)

Today after getting back from laying by the pool, I wasn't feeling very well (I actually almost fainted.....I think the sun got to me since I haven't laid out in quite some time and I don't think I had enough water in my system either), so Jonathan offered to make dinner tonight.

Oh man. I LOVE:

Good ole' chicken.

Cooked carrots.

Sweet corn.

SALAD!!!

And toast.

I am so very, very blessed. My husband treats me like a princess and I love him so much!!! Thank you God for good food, a kitchen to prepare it in, and a loving husband!!!

Lately

2009-05-27T14:40:00.000-07:00

Sorry. It's been a while. There has been a lot going on since we last talked!!! I'll give you a brief run through:

-My car bit the dust. Yeah. Officially.

We were already down to just 1 car (mine) when we returned from Italy, because Jonathan's parents still owned the title to his car, and we hadn't yet had the chance to transfer that. Jonathan started back work at Neal-Prince for the summer the week we got back and since then he had either been riding to Greenville with his mom or I had been taking him back and forth.

On Tuesday of last week (May 19th), I had picked him up and we were in the Easley area headed to get dinner at Publix. We got about 1 mile away from Publix on Hwy. 123 headed South, when my car started making this AWFUL scrapping sound and the engine just cut off!!! We coasted into a "Cash Country" and Jonathan got out to check the damage. All of my "signal" lights (you know...the ones that light up in the display that signal you need to stop and fix something, ha!!) came on and as far as he could tell, he figured it to be some type of belt problem.

Ohhhh meeeee. So, we called my parents to come and get us and just walked over to Publix, I got some sushi (mmmmm love it) and then we walked over to Bojangles so Jonathan could get some chicken and we sat and ate our sushi and our fried chicken and waited on my parents to come.

We had my car towed to a local mechanic that Jonathan uses, and we were down to zero cars. What do we do???

THANKFULLY, Jonathan's very sweet grandparents let us borrow his papa's Dodge Ram truck. I look HILARIOUS driving this big ole' dodge!! It even has a CB antennae and the front plate says, "Tractor Man!!" It is a trip seeing me in that big ole' thing!!! :)

Because of this, Jonathan had to take the following day off, but this was good because we were able to take care of getting the title to his car transferred, paying the taxes on it, and getting his new license. This cost TOO much money, but put his car into working mode. Yay!!

-Jonathan's car goes kaput.

Yes, you're right that would put us down to technically, zero cars. But, thankfully (again) we had the big ole' truck!! :) After putting the new plate on and taking it for a drive, every time Jonathan came to a stop, his car cut off. And I personally didn't feel comfortable with my precious husband driving to work with his car in this condition (on Hwy. 85 and in downtown). SO. Back to driving the 1 car (truck) and taking him to work everyday.

Eventually (this past weekend), Jonathan put some new oil in his car and did a couple of other things and got it up and running!! YAY!! Back to 2 cars!!! He's got his 3000GT and I've got my big ole' dodge!! :) :)

So, in the meantime, we got a quote about fixing my car, $1500 (which we CANNOT afford to pay), so we are currently looking at other, cheaper options.

Until then, the Escort is out, but the 3000GT is in. :)

-We're in the middle of moving in and getting settled.

YAY!! After signing our lease agreement and other various forms on May 15th, then waiting out all the rain we've had, we FINALLY spent our first night in the apartment on Sunday, May 24th!!! :) :) :) The entire week in between, my wonderful husband was back and forth with his dad, and a time or two with our amazing friend Derrick, unloading all the tons of bins that we have had in storage and the attic with all of our stuff in them. We also had some larger pieces of furniture in storage that needed to be brought to the apartment.

After all of this was taken care of and after a SUPER busy weekend, on Sunday Jonathan's awesome parents helped us get my clothes (some...haha!!) up and stayed for several hours doing whatever we needed them to!! Sandra alphabetized our movie collection and hung our shower curtains among many other things and Jerry, well, he lined our kitchen shelves and complained the whole time!! HA!! Just kidding, because it was VERY tedious work and had he not done it, I don't know if it would have ever gotten done!!

Carrying his wifey over the threshold :)

Hanging curtains

Lining shelves

Since Sunday, we've been unpacking everything and organizing and deciding where we'd like to put stuff. It's so exciting setting up house....a lot of work, but SO exciting. I LOVE our new apartment!!! I mean love, love, love, LOVE!!! It's HUGE (or at least compared to what we've had for the past year as we've been moving around)!!!!!

Also, I have to say that it has been like getting married ALL over again (or even Christmas) with unpacking all of our stuff. A lot of our wedding gifts we didn't even take out of the packaging or even use because of our year of traveling. They were simply opened the day after our wedding and put right back into storage!! Some of it we forgot completely, or didn't even know we had. It's been so exciting!!!

AND, I will probably KISS my oven AND my dishwasher AND my washer and dryer for the next 12 months!!! I cannot tell you how THRILLED I am to have all 3 of these.....life is GRAND!!! :) I have probably used the dishwasher about 20 times already in the past 3 days!!

Washer and dryer.... Dishwasher....

And oven!!

-Still on the job hunt.

I'm supposed to hear about my interview that I had last week by the end of this week. Please pray that if this is God's will for the summer, that it will work out. We really need the extra income. And if this isn't what I'm supposed to do this summer, I know that God will reveal something even bigger.

Also, I'm still waiting to hear about the state of things for next school year. So, wait patiently I will. :)

I think that's about it. I did have the pleasure of taking photos at Rebekah's Bridal Shower this past Saturday which was a BLAST!! I cannot believe the wedding is only 1 month away!! She got tons of great stuff and I am so excited for what the future holds for her and Tyler. Marriage is awesome!!!

Me with the happy couple-to-be :)

We also had lunch with LMart today in downtown Greenville at Brick Street Cafe. She had Henry with her and we finally got to meet the adorable little man!! He is so funny and too cute!!! It was SO good to be able to spend time with Lindsey just hanging out and of course, eating!! ;) They're making the move tomorrow to Milwaukee for the next 4 months, so you can imagine how busy she'll be with that and Henry, so keep them in your prayers!! Thanks for treating us Linds...you are a great friend!!

Well, that's all for now I suppose. Hope your weekend is GREAT!!

So, this weekend....

2009-05-19T08:17:00.000-07:00

.....we didn't get a whole lot done. :(

Our move kind of turned out to be a big loss this weekend because of all the rain that we had. And don't get me wrong, if you know me at all, you know that I will be the first person sitting inside with a good book (or blanket ;) hehe), truly enjoying a rainy day!! It's the BEST sleeping weather for sure.

HOWEVER, when you have not only had no permanent home for 9 months, and even moreso, only 1 bedroom with a bed and 2 dressers to call your own for 4 months, you're ready to make that move!! :) And by saying that, it does not mean that we are not unbelievably thankful for the opportunities that we have been given to travel, move around, live in Italy, and meet such great people. We just want to feel settled.

Either way, it's spilt milk at this point. We did manage to get a good bit of stuff loaded, so we just have to get it up to Central now. We hope to move a little bit each night this week after Jonathan gets off from work. He works every day until 6PM, so that doesn't give us a whole lot of daytime, but if we work hard, we can get it done.

We did have some fun stuff going on this weekend that definitely made up for the loss of not being able to get moved in. Rusty, Jonathan's cousin and childhood friend, got married to Heather and it was a beautiful wedding!! These boys grew up playing together every day because they (along with all the rest of the neighborhood kiddos) stayed with Jonathan's grandmother during the summer and in the afternoons after school. I think it was really neat for Jonathan to see "little" Rusty all grown up saying, "I do!" We originally weren't going to be able to make it to their wedding, thinking that we would still be traveling in Europe, but we're so glad it worked out that we were able to be there to share the day with them. Heather was GORGEOUS and the colors she chose were so chic!!! I loved it!! If you want to see a few photos from it you definitely need to check them out at Lindsey Mart's website. I'm sure some of you are saying, "Wait...I recognize that name!!" That's right...they too, like us, used our fabulous wedding photographer!!!

The Edens with the Branyons!! :) Heather was GORGEOUS...and Rusty looked handsome too!!

Me and my love at the wedding. We always wish, after going to all these weddings, that we could do ours all over again...it was just too much fun!!

This brings me to another highlight from this weekend....getting to spend some time with LMart!! We hadn't seen her since our own wedding, and Jonathan and I both have always said that after hiring her as our wedding photographer, we gained so much more than that. She is definitely a friend that we will cherish for many years to come!! We had a blast talking and catching up with her, seeing pictures of adorable baby Henry, hearing stories from her recent, crazy, traveling life, and in all the wedding fun, she even managed to sneak in a picture for old times sake of the Edens. We love her!!

Sunday was my daddy's 55th birthday!! 55!! I can't believe he's 55 years old. He doesn't look that old, or act that old, or even just seem that old to me. After church, Jonathan and I had lunch with he and my mama at Olive Garden (after not being in Italy for about 3 weeks, we were able to use some of our Italian with the waitress, haha!! It was really funny!!) and later that evening we also got to have dinner with him as well. Pizza...the Moore's love their Italian I guess!! Ha!! I'm so thankful we were able to spend the time with him. Aside from the rain (which means no golfing, and if you know my dad, that's not a good thing) and having to go into work for a couple of hours in the evening, I think he had a good birthday!!

Sidenote: In between coming home from Italy and moving and having my belongings in 3 different places, I misplaced my camera (this is VERY tragic if you know me at all)!!! So, VERY sadly and unfortunately, I did not have my camera for Mother's Day or my Daddy's birthday. I missed out on some really good family photo opportunities. So, I jacked a camera and took these 2 quick shots to show my awesome mama (for Mother's Day) and my awesome daddy (for his birthday)!! :)

Me and my daddy...55!!

And me and my mama...only a week after Mother's Day, ha!!

I have an interview for a summer job this morning, so if you're reading this, I would more than appreciate a quick prayer that it works out. That would be a HUGE blessing!! And maybe later this week I'll have the time (and internet) to post a couple of moving pictures and/or pictures of the apartment. Until then I am busy, busy with lots going on!!

Home sweet Home

2009-05-15T08:22:00.000-07:00

Yes folks, you read that correctly, we're officially Stateside and have been since almost 2 weeks ago, Sunday, May 3rd. I apologize for not blogging sooner, but we've been busy visiting with family and friends, as well as looking for a more permanent residence.

It's been really good to be home although we miss our friends in Italy very much!! We are so thankful for the past 4 months and the opportunities that God so graciously gave us. We have seen a lot, done a lot, and met a ton of folks along the way. It was definitely the trip of a lifetime, and we will never forget the experiences that we were able to share together as newlyweds. We have made new, lifelong friends (Clemson classmates as well as our Italian buddies) that we will cherish for years to come. We are beyond blessed, and I hope that we never cease to give God thanks for this daily.

The only luggage we were allowed to take for 4 months worth of living!!

Finally...SWEET TEA!!!

We are SO very happy and proud to announce that we have found a permanent home for the next year!!!! :) :) :) You have NO idea how ecstatic we are about this. The past year has been simply amazing, but let's face it, picking up and moving every 4 to 5 months is not fun. In case you weren't aware, here was the living situation for the first 9 months of our newlywed marriage:

July 19: Got married and left for honeymoon.

July 30: Returned from honeymoon.

July 30-August 9: Stayed between both sets of parents in Pelzer and Belton (living out of suitcases).

August 9-December 17: Packed EVERYTHING we had and either put it into storage or took it to our very little Charleston single for Jonathan's 1st semester of graduate school with Clemson.

December 17-January 6: Stayed in the basement room of Jonathan's parents' house in Belton while living out of storage bins and suitcases, and simultaneously making everything we owned fit back into storage (plus some because we acquired some furniture while in Charleston being that we had NONE when we moved down there) OR into 1 suitcase (for our trip to Italy).

January 6-May 3: Lived in a beautiful, huge, old villa in Italy for Jonathan's 2nd semester of graduate school. Although immaculate, we had 1 small bedroom to call our own. We only took clothes with us.

May 3-May 15: Again stayed between both sets of parents in Pelzer and Belton (living out of suitcases).

I have to say, that we have definitely not had the typical 1st year of marriage!! It's been WONDERFUL and I wouldn't change one, single thing about any of it, but definitely not typical. I also have to say that the hardest time was probably in between Charleston and Italy during Christmas break. We had NO clue what to pack and what to leave behind, and we just wanted to enjoy the break and spend time with family and friends. It was a GREAT Christmas, but definitely the most exhausting one that we have ever experienced. We worked more than we rested, and we were packing (whether that be in a suitcase or into storage) up until the morning we flew out for Italy. I can't wait until we have Christmas this year in our new, permanent home. :)

Mother's Day 2009...Stateside and back with the land of the livng!!

Now that brings us up to speed. We actually searched ALL last week for a 1 or 2 bedroom apartment in our price range (which wasn't a whole lot). We found something early in the week, but knew that we needed to keep on searching for the best deal. When it all came down to it, on Friday we had narrowed it down to 2 apartments, 1 of them being the favorite from earlier in the week. We put it down on paper, compared savings and prices, and in the end, our favorite was the one. God is SO good!!! :) :)

Now I am just waiting on my precious, amazing husband to get home from work so we can head on over to get our key and start moving things in. We'll be in the Clemson/Central area so that Jonathan is only minutes from campus. He has one more year of graduate school, which will all be spent in Clemson, and next May he will graduate with his MArch degree from Clemson University and be 1 step closer to fulfilling his life's dream of becoming a licensed architect. :)

Keep us in your prayers as we move this weekend and as I continue to wait on God's timing for not only a summer job, but an answer about this fall. I know that He will make a way and provide for us no matter what, but the need for summer work is immediate, and my heart truly desires to be back in the classroom at Calhoun this fall. I love what I do and I am truly passionate about it. Teaching is my calling and I miss it terribly.

2nd 10 Day Trip....Here We Come!!!

2009-04-02T17:32:00.000-07:00

Well, if I still have any readers at all, 1) I'm shocked, and 2) Thank you for being so dedicated!!! I'm not sure why, but lately, I have just lost the will to blog. I was thinking about two or so weeks ago, that I was doing pretty good and up-to-date, and then I realized that, when I got behind on blogging about our 1st 10 Day Trip, it just snowballed after that.

I haven't blogged about so many of our adventures since then -day trips, our 4 day road trip, spring break, countless good times with the Italians in Genoa, the Villa party- I feel so bad for leaving you out on such an exciting time period of my life!! So, with that being said, when things die down after returning (if they ever do; it seems like I keep saying that over and over and over, but it's true....we go NON-STOP), I hope to spend some time blogging for about a week and catching you up. After all, blogging is very much like personal journaling, it's just on the world wide web. And, overall, I enjoy it. :) :)

Anywho, as I said, 2nd 10 Day Trip...here we come!!! We leave tomorrow for what I am sure will be, yet another whirlwind trip!! For this journey we're going to visit cities Italy so that our travel time is minimal and limited to only trains. We're going to areas that we have not yet seen and I am VERY excited and looking VERY forward to the trip.

It will go as follows:

We'll leave EARY on Friday morning, April 3rd from Genoa at about 6:15AM. Yeah. Blah. From there we take a train to Venice (SO, SO, SO EXCITED....been waiting on this one since before we even came!!) and stay for 3 nights until leaving on Monday, April 6th for Padova. While in Venice we will also take a day trip to Murano, which is known in the States for its beautiful glass.

After spending 1 night in Padova, we'll take a private bus early Tuesday morning April 7th, where we'll visit various sites throughout the day to our next city, Vicenza. The next day, Wednesday, April 8th, will be spent visiting areas on our own in the morning, with a guided tour in the afternoon.

The group will spend three nights here, but this is where my trip takes a different journey.

The group will awake the next morning, Thursday, April 9th, and take a day trip out of Vicenza to Verona (think Romeo and Juliet). Upon returning from Verona, they will spend their last night in Vicenza and head to Bologna on Friday, April 10th. They will spend 2 nights there, with a day trip to Parma on Saturday, April 11th, and after spending Easter morning in Bologna, the group will return home to Genoa on Sunday, April 12th around 6:45ish PM.

So endeth the 2nd (and final) 10 day trip.

And to top it ALL off, our weather is supposed to be SUNNY, SUNNY, SUNNY for the entire trip...upper 60's, low 70's. Yeah!!! :)

Now, I did say my journey took a different path, right?!?

Well, it most certainly does!! And one that I am VERY, VERY, VERY excited about!!!

My mama and daddy are coming to visit us in Europe!!!!!! I can't begin to describe to you how excited I am about this AND how I have been looking forward to this since FOREVER (we've known they were coming and they've had their flight booked since January). I will be leaving the group on Thursday morning, April 9th, to take a train from Vicenza back to Genoa. I will go immediately to the airport to meet/pick them up (as they will be arriving that morning). We hope to spend the day relaxing and letting me be their personal tour guide around home. The next morning, we're off by train to spend the weekend in ROME!!!! Although I have already been, it's so exciting to be with them for their first trip to the beautiful, Italian city. What better opportunity for them to see Rome, but at Easter weekend?!?

We'll stay in Rome for 3 nights (at the most FABULOUS hotel that our class stayed at while traveling there earlier in the semester; we got a GREAT discount) then head back to Genoa on Monday morning, April 13th. They have a good 3 solid days before they fly back home on Thursday afternoon, April 16th. I hope to show them some more of Genoa, and take a day trip somewhere in the French Rivera.

Being that neither of my parents have ever traveled to Europe, this trip is so important to me. I want them to have the best time and see as much as possible during their short, 1 week stay.

So there you have it folks. That's the Edens' journey for the next 10 days. Please, please keep us in your prayers as we travel all over this beautiful country because they are much needed, and much appreciated. Please also, if you read this, say a special prayer for my parents as they make the long flight over and back to the States. This will be my mama's 1st time flying....EVER!! And her first series is about 12 hours. So keep us all in your prayers. Thanks!!! :)

Until next time, ciao!!!!! :)

OH YES - If you want to be slightly jealous while we travel, have a look at some of the hotels we're staying in:

Venice Hotel - You HAVE to look through the photos; our admin. assistant said this is one of the number one "most romantic" hotels in all of Italy....she says it's fabulous and perfect!! Doesn't work too well for the single students, but sure does work out nicely for us married folks!!! ;)

Padova Hotel - Quaint, but very nice nonetheless.

We weren't given websites for the other 2 (1 of which I will actually not be staying in) but our admin. assistant also boasts very highly of the "super nice" hotel in Bologna.