I will rise.

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...

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 :)

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

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....

.....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

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!!!

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.