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| This was taken on my flight back to the city. Not a fan of the prop planes or turbulence :( |
I
just got back to the Big Apple after a well-spent week visiting family and
friends in the good ole state of Tennessee. The ride descending into TriCities
was absolutely gorgeous. The beautiful mountains were in the distance. My parents
came to the airport to take me home. Well first we met my husband’s parents as
a sort of “welcome home” dinner.
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| East TN is beautiful! |
Afterwards we went home , turning
on ‘Muddy Creek’ road. Indeed we are back in the south. There’s a cow pasture
on that road as well. (Sidenote-my parents actually called 911 to report a cow
in the middle of the road a few years ago. True story. That does not
happen in New York.)
Unfortunately
I spent some of my week visiting my orthopedic surgeon’s office. All of the
physical activity I engaged in over the past few months really took a toll on my right
knee. I ended up making the decision to see my doctor in Johnson City. He’s
the one who did my surgery in 2007 after two other doctors said nothing was
wrong. He’s the best. So I had an appointment Wednesday, MRI on Friday, results on Monday. It was rather nerve racking, especially with the prospect of
having surgery and knowing it would have to be in Tennessee. It was a long stressful
weekend waiting for results. I’m happy to report I do not need surgery,
just physical therapy and taking it easy for a few weeks.
Let
me just take a minute and say that being in a long distance relationship as a
girlfriend and even a fiancé is not comparable to being away from your husband. I
missed him so much while I was Tennessee. The first night in my room I pulled my suitcase and my
laundry basket onto the left side of my bed because it felt so weird not having
him there. Of course when I took an afternoon nap, Rex was more than willing to be my cuddle buddy.
Even though I missed my husband so much (how exactly did we go 2 months at a time not seeing each other for two years, I'll never know) I was glad that I was able to participate in a number of things while I was
in TN. One of which was my “hooding”
ceremony at ETSU for the class graduating in May 2013. I graduated a semester
early but had made strong friendships with these girls so it was nice to
celebrate with them. After our ceremony we went out to catch up and sang
karaoke (Spice Girls “Wannabe.” There’s no video of it. Thank goodness.) It was really fun!
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| Class of 2012 and 2013! |
Another
fun thing I got to do was to visit the new Y and Aquatic Center. Almost two
years ago I started volunteering with the Kingsport YMCA as a part of their Communications/Marketing
team. I was able to go to a donor’s event with my parents and father-in-law (who's on the board) and
see the building that I had been hearing so much about. It's awesome!
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| I was a teeny tiny part of the Y team. It's incredible to see the handiwork of so many people finally pay off and to see the finished product. Kingsport will be blessed by this facility. |
On
Sunday I went to our home church, where Chris and I got married in January. It’s a special place
to us. While I was there I taught Sunday School to my 7th and 8th grade girls and sang in the choir, just like old times. It was a blessing to be able to reunite with old
friends. (I did hear “so…do you have a job yet?” more times than I can count. Remember during my last blog saying I wanted a job before I
went…yep that was why.)
During
our Sunday service we had a special guest speaker, Abby Rike. Abby was on the
Biggest Loser. Her husband, five-year-old daughter and two week old soon were
killed in a car accident six years ago. Her testimony and book (which I
finished in six hours on a two plane rides deserves its own blog post which I
will write after this one.) She is an incredible lady and gifted speaker.
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| Abby and I after she spoke. |
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| Her beautiful book! A must read. |
That Sunday evening was the
AmazinGrace 5k race. I had planned on walking the whole thing but around mile 2
my knee was not having it so I rode the medic golf cart until the start of mile
3. Then I hopped off the cart and walked to the finish line. I finished last but
I still finished.
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| My parents |
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| Dad and I! (Representing Beantown! woot woot!) |
The
highlight of my week came from seeing people I hadn’t seen in a while such as
my parents, my in-laws, my husband’s grandparents and special friends who are
like my family. I am very blessed! Check
out the adorable picture from my five-year-old friend Abe!
So onward to this week, which will
be a busy one indeed. WE'RE MOVING! To another apartment in Brooklyn. After spending months looking at
apartment listings, Chris noticed one last Wednesday that not only was in our
price range but also had everything we had talked about (2nd
bedroom, dishwasher, washer/dryer (thank you sweet baby Jesus!). A true diamond
in the rough. He saw it in person that Friday and after a little bit of drama (we
had it, then oops, no we didn’t. ) He finally signed the papers and we’re
moving next Saturday. My parents are driving up to help us with the move. We're so excited and are so thankful for an answer to prayers. We can't see this opportunity as anything other than a God thing, who's timing is truly perfect. So our adventure as newlyweds in the Big
Apple continues....
I know we have so many people praying for us and it's a huge blessing. Please continue to pray for my knee to heal, a job opportunity, safe travels for my parents and a smooth move for us.
Philippians 4:6-7 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
