The Month of June

How did it get so late so soon?  It's night before it's afternoon.  December is here before it's June.  My goodness how the time as flewn.  How did it get so late so soon? ~ Dr. Seuss

I guess it being June 20 means the year is about half over.  Hard to believe, I suppose.

We just passed the 6 month mark til Robert graduates.  It's interesting because when we moved here I hadn't moved since I was just a few months old.  I honestly had no idea what to expect.  Would we find kindred spirits immediately?  How long would it take to find jobs?  What would we look for in a church?  How do you learn where everything is in a new town - grocery store, doctor, gas stations?  On top of all of that I was learning how to be a wife and how to be an adult outside of school.  I guess a positive part about not knowing is that you aren't cynical yet, but a good thing about knowing what is like to move now is that I know that it will be difficult, but that it does get better.  I think we all know that it takes me a long time to adjust, so I'm not going to try and pretend otherwise, but for some reason I just feel more ready for this next move.  We have no idea where we will move, but I just feel peaceful about it.  We might move somewhere that we absolutely love and we'll live there forever, we might dislike living there so much that we move quickly, or it might be a place that we love but still don't stay for long.  It doesn't really even matter what it's going to be like because God already knows what's going to happen, He has cooler things planned than I could ever imagine.  It's also kind of nice not knowing everything because it would be awfully overwhelming to know everything that's going to happen in the rest of my life.

At the start of this month Robert took an intensive summer school class for one week that was Monday-Friday, 8:00-5:00.  He finished that class, and then headed to Baltimore 2 days later.  It's interesting to see how different my days are when Robert is out of town.  My days consist of way less talking, less laughing, much more sleep, boring meals, and frantic mornings making breakfast and lunch.  He had a great time Baltimore, and we're very glad he got to go.  The main bummer was a huge storm that made the 4 hour drive home turn into 7.5 hours and left me at home without power, a dead cell phone, and nothing to do for 6 hours.

This week was Vacation Bible School, and it was great!  Last year I was in charge of preschool music, and it was super fun but very time-consuming.  It was difficult to get home at 5:50 and need to be at church at 6:15.  This year I helped with preschool snack.  I guess I'd just like to encourage you to not let lack of time be an excuse for not serving others.  Sure, if you have tons of extra time and the desire then go for it and pursue a leadership position, but just because you work full-time doesn't mean you can't do anything.  

Summer Happenings

Memorial Day was so nice.  It was my perfect kind of day - a day full of ticking things off my list.  We had gotten back to town late the night before so it was nice to have a day to recover and catch up from being gone the week before - unpacking, sorting mail, laundry.  I can tell you that in my short time as a "homemaker" I have learned that it is always worth it to clean your house before you leave for a bit trip.  It's so nice to come home to a house with your bed made, no dirty dishes, no stinky trash, and no clutter to be found.  Definitely worth it.  I also like to unplug everything in our apartment before leaving for a trip.  I don't know exactly how much money this saves us, but I know it sure doesn't hurt.  We also turn the AC up to 80 or the heat down to 65.  Having lower electric and water bills is just an added benefit of traveling.

Anyway, with our extra day off we returned an item at Pet Smart, sold a table and lamps, made a deposit at the bank, and did some spring cleaning.  It was so wonderful that Robert had the day off as well!  We ended the day with a barbecue with our dear friends Forrest and Anna.  We brought the potato salad and homemade ice cream.  They furnished the veggies and meat.  And let me tell you, they went all out with the meat: pork chops, burgers, hot dogs, ham, and spam.  Wowie wow wow!

I don't know about you, but starting the work week on a Tuesday pretty much makes the whole week feel out of sorts.  You would think it would make it faster having a four day work week, but I just spend the whole week confused on what day it is and feeling behind.

We wrapped up the week with a weekend trip to the Outer Banks to meet up with Robert's mom and her husband.  The weather was a little cool, but it was actually nicer than originally predicted.  We got to hang at the beach, swim at the pool, hike up a sand dune, eat lots of tasty food, and enjoy cable tv (which we don't have at home).

This week is pretty nuts.  Robert is in an intensive summer school class which means he is in the same class Monday-Friday, 8:00-5:00 for one week, but then it's over and he has three more credit hours under his belt.  He's taking Biblical Manhood and Womanhood - a class which he wasn't interested in, I suggested he take, and he is now enjoying.  Score!  After this class he will have four days to recover before he goes to the Southern Baptist Convention's annual conference.  That's another summer school class.  He'll be gone for three days and will get another three credit hours.  He's really looking forward to this one.  It should be a great experience with lots of time for networking for his future career.  Another benefit?  It's FREE with not tuition cost.  After mid June he will be finished with classes for the summer, and he'll be finished with his assignments by the end of June which will leave all of July and most of August for him to enjoy just working and not having to study so he can get ready for his FINAL semester.  It's going to be so strange when he's finished with school.  We've never known each other outside of school.  I'm excited to see what it will be like.  I know everybody talks about how being in school is sooooo much easier than being a full-time employee, but with two years of full-time experience (I know it still isn't a ton) I can say that I love the fact that I leave work at 5:00 and am free as a bird until 8:00.

Also, I've been inspired by Ann VosKamp's 1000 gifts and wanted to respond to her Joy Dare for June 3.  Today's dare is is to find 3 gifts from today's conversations:

1. Talking with Robert on our nightly walk - Robert and I have found that we both chat more and listen better while we're walking.  I highly recommend it to anyone who feels like they're in a slump in their conversations with their spouse.
2. A surprise call from my Dad after I got home from work - Isn't it great to have parents who think about you throughout the day?
3. Hearing about a job interview that my friend's husband has - It's awesome to hear how God is providing for His people who are seeking His heart.  It also gives me hope and inspires me as we start to think about our future after Robert graduates.

What gifts of conversation did you hear today?

Also, an update on Mittens: She loves my parents, and they love her.  We couldn't have better caregivers for her.  I think they like her almost as much as Robert and I do.  They have been great to give us daily updates and pictures of her.  Her second birthday was on Sunday, and they made sure to treat her like the princess that she is.

Birthday party complete with a banner, kitty cat Pate, and "It's Your Special Day" plate

Jack of all Trades

I think the best way to describe my summer so far would be a blur.  The summer has been packed with classes, boring reading assignments, studying, writing papers, making presentations, babysitting, exercising, and babysitting some more.  Just call me the Jack (or Jane) of all trades.  I have had such a weird perception of time.  At some points it feels as though time is flying by (i.e. I'm about to complete twelve graduate hours in nine weeks!), but at other times it seems like time is standing still (i.e. Will summer school ever end?  It's been going on forever!)  Do you ever have weird perceptions of time?  I feel like I'm the only one.  I'll talk to people about how I'm in an eleven month masters program, and they'll say stuff like, "Oh, that'll just fly by!"  While I'm glad they don't say stuff like, "That'll feel  like forever," it leaves me feeling like a weirdo for thinking time is slowly ticking by.  Whenever I think about it like I've completed 15 years (skipped third grade, graduated college in three years) of formal education and have 1 year to go it feels cool, but when I think about it like I've only been enduring this torture for seven weeks but have about 36 weeks to go it feels like forever.  These four classes have been totally brutal.  I have six classes and my capstone left.  I go between thinking, "That's not bad.  I'm 40% of the way finished," and "I'm only 40% done?  I have to do this six more times?  I'm never going to making it."  I'm probably the only person who thinks about this kind of stuff.  Now you know what's going through my mind.
I was taught quite the lesson in patience this week.  I'm basically the perfect example of type A personality.  Wikipedia describes type A as: ambitious, aggressive, business-like, controlling, highly competitive, impatient, preoccupied with his/her status, time-conscious, and tightly-wound.  Yep, that's me in a nutshell.  I've always been the "work first, play later" type of gal.  Anyway, with these online classes I've been having to wait on the professors and students A TON.  Usually, with a class I try to get everything done ASAP.  The first few days/weeks are intense, but after that I can chill.  Well, with these classes I have only been getting on assignment at a time.  It's totally not the way I roll.  Needless to say, I have absolutely NO control over the situation.  I would never say, "Hey you - professor who is 20 years older than me who has a PhD - do things the way I want which is NOW."  Totally not socially acceptable.  So I've waited.  And guess what!  Everything is turning out okay.  Weird. ;)
Robert comes home in exactly three days!  Take a moment.  Let it soak in.  I've made it 80% of that way.  Only 20% more to wait.  When Robert comes home I'm never letting him leave again.  Just kidding, but he needs to stick around for a few weeks at least.  I've gotten several emails from the team and from Robert.  God is doing great things in SA.
My mom's middle sister (Dana) has been in town this week.  She was here to re-decorate Memaw's sunroom.  It looks beautiful now!  The color theme is yellow, green, red, and white.  Totally not Christmas-y though.  It's super cute!  Dana brought her adorable nine-year-old Corgy, Danny, as well.
I'm watching the Cardinals play  the Mets.  Right now it's 4-4 in the bottom of the 7th.  Let's get it, Cards!

Session 2

On Friday I will officially be finished with session two of summer school.  Yayyyy!  The lame thing is that my two online classes span session two AND three so the fact that session two is ending doesn't mean I'm finished with more classes.  However, it does mean that once this week is over (Friday) I just have three more weeks before I have officially made it through summer school.  August 4 = no more summer school for me ever...hopefully.  I'll get almost three weeks off (20 days to be precise), and I plan to live it up.  Starting off the break by spending a lovely weekend away with Robert's family which will include hitting up Schlitterbahn.  I've never been there, but I've heard it's pretty sweet!  Then when we get back Robert and I will hop in the car with my parents and venture to McKinney, Texas to visit Mom's middle sister, Dana.  I haven't been there in about a year and a half, and Robert has never met Dana or her husband so it will be great!  Plus there is soooooooo much to do in the Dallas area.  Once we get back I'll stick around home for a week and a half and spend my time babysitting, sleeping, and staring at the wall (I'm seriously looking forward to that bit).  Robert starts RA training August 12.  It'll be lame because he'll pretty much have about 2 seconds of free time each day so we can't hang much, but that means I'll have more time to stare at the wall!!!  Maybe I'll even go help him unpack and get ready for the year.  Two gold stars for being the girlfriend of the year! ;)

I've been learning a lot lately.  Of course, I've learned a lot in my classes, but God has been teaching me even more this summer.  These classes have revealed to me yet again that I CANNOT do everything (or anything for that matter) without Him.  When I started summer school I literally thought I was going to go insane and drop out.  I would repeat, "God, let your strength and peace flow through me," to myself and pray that it would be true dozens of times throughout the day.  When a situation arrived where I felt unsettled, overwhelmed, or frustrated I would repeat these words to remind myself that God is here.  He's here when I recognize Him, but He's even here when I don't recognize Him.  With God's help I've been able to learn that I don't have to do everything on my own.  I can always rely on Him, and I can even count of close friends and family to lighten my load.  Believe it or not, but they actually enjoy helping me.  With everyone's help I managed to get A's in my first two classes.  I am positive I couldn't have done this alone.

So now when I start to feel overwhelmed and get the jitters that were my close companion during session one, I remind myself that God was there then, and he's here now.