SO... I guess all 3 of you want an update huh??

WOW!! It's been a while, sorry.

OLD JOB UPDATE = It's over, finito, done, adios, see ya later, I'm gone! BUT, my super sweet co-workers that appreciated and supported me threw me a going away party. :'-) They even got Matt and I a gift card to Low*s to help us settle into our new home. They rock! Well, most of them rock.

OLD HOUSE UPDATE = Our house is still for sale. We had an offer that came in ironically from a friend of ours (she requested a showing and then figured out by the pictures on our walls in the listing photos that it was our house). The offer was the best that she could do, but not what we needed to even squeak by. Our counter offer was the best we could do, but not something she could afford. So we wait. We all hope that if the house is still on the market in a few months that we will be able to work something out. It would be nice to sell it to a friend that I know will love it like we did.

NEW JOB UPDATE = I HEART MY NEW JOB.

OK fine, I will expound on that statement. My first day I was greeted with, "Jill, we're so glad you are finally here! We are taking you to lunch at Tony's today - I hope that's OK. You don't have other plans do you?" SWEET! All the ladies in the office are really nice, and most of them are in my peer age group. They have staff socials, are all friends on Facebook, and actually like each other.

I'm TOTALLY overwhelmed with all of the training material I have to learn in order to do this job, but practice makes perfect. I finally got completely settled in with the job today with UTC ID card, my own laptop with email that works, shared Google calendar, and my desk has been "moved in" for a while. All I need now is for my new Blackberry Curve to arrive FedEx (supposed to come today, have no idea why it didn't) and I will be SET.

I will be gone to Knoxville for a whole week next week for training (to learn and be certified to train foster parents). We leave Monday and return Friday :( That's the longest Matt and I will have been apart since we got married and it's the week before our 1 YEAR ANNIVERSARY! BUT, I will get a chance to see friends and family that I don't see very often while I'm there.

NEW HOUSE UPDATE = Everything is going along as planned. The inspection and appraisal are done and we expect to close the week after our anniversary and move the next weekend. YAY!!!!! We are blessed that we don't have to wait for our house to sell to go ahead and get into our new one. It isn't the IDEAL situation, but we are ok. Our current house is adorable and will sell when the right buyer comes along. In case you need a reminder as to why we are excited, THIS is our new house!!!


Isn't it adorable?? We just LOVE IT! Now, if only I could motivate myself to pack a few boxes. HMMM.

MARRIED LIFE UPDATE = September 20th is our 1 YEAR ANNIVERSARY! I can hardly believe it. The first year is full of adjustments, but we have weathered it well, enjoyed 99% of it, and we are immensely blessed. In case you didn't know, I have an AMAZING husband that I love more than I could ever express. He even helps with the dishes and does his own laundry in addition to being good to me. Does it get any better than that??

UPDATE: Life is moving quickly, get out of its way!!!!

First, I know all [2] of you have been waiting on the "big reveal" of our kitchen face lift! Matt worked SO HARD on the new doors and drawer fronts. They really look wonderful and have breathed new life into that tired old kitchen. In addition to the cabinets, I painted the walls a hot new color and put fresh white paint on the wood trim. I was also really sick of all of my cookbooks just stacked on top of our microwave. So we hung a new shelf above the spice rack and it looks FAB if I do say so myself! Without further ado...

BEFORE



AFTER!!!

Second, you all [probably] read about my NEW JOB that I am starting next month. We are both so very excited about this position and what it means for our family. I will be happier and have much more flexibility. I can do paperwork from home or wherever I choose. And because it involves some nights and a few Saturdays, I will have time off during the week to do things like workout, clean and shop while Matt is at work, so that we have quality time at home together. I will also likely have Fridays off with Matt (who has every other Friday off), so that is something else to look forward to.

Third, this NEW JOB also means that we are buying a NEW HOUSE!!! No, I don't get to enjoy my new kitchen for long, but the new owners will (let's hope that the potential buyers love "New Avocado" as much as I do)! Matt and I fell in LOVE with a house down the street from our friends Meghan and Daniel a few weeks ago. We went back and forth about it with the owners, prayed a lot, and decided not to make the move until we knew about the job. We stayed the course with the improvements we wanted to make to get our house ready to sell (hence the kitchen face lift). We knew that if it didn't work out with us getting the new house, at least we would be living in a prettier house than we were before! Here is the flier from our dream house! Now, pray the inspection and appraisal goes the way that we hope!


Now you are all updated on what happened LAST WEEK!!! Matt said on Sunday that he didn't want to start a new week. We'll never top the week we had last week. Our friend Debbie said, "the only thing missing is a baby!" Thanks Debbie, we will wait a while. :)

THE CALL

SO, yesterday I got "the call." No, not from God to enter the ministry. I received the phone call that I've been waiting on for a long time. Remember when I took that long break last month because I had a lot on my mind that I felt like I couldn't talk about? Or an opportunity that I had been waiting on for a while that might not be worth it? Or do you remember me feeling really trampled on?

Well, all my prayers have been answered. My heart is at peace. I have no worry or fear, only joy and anticipation!! I am starting a NEW JOB on August 31st!!! My concerns about time are at ease. Yes I will lose some evenings and a few Saturdays with Matt, but I will also have more time at home while he is at work to do things I don't want to do when he is there!! So the time we do have together will be less guilt-ridden and much higher quality. :)

I even did a little happy dance in my cubicle (that I WILL NOT miss working in!) to celebrate!! SEE?


Well you can't REALLY see the essence of the dance, but it's a self portrait - very difficult!

SO, thanks to everyone who has walked with me through the "dark valley" and prayed for me. I appreciate all of you. For those who didn't know what was going on, just be happy for me ok?!?!?!!!!

Praise and Trust

A couple of girls in my small group have adopted this motto in the last month or so, and I think it's my turn. I've got a couple of things in the hopper and I'm feeling better about life in general. At least things are MOVING instead of me feeling STUCK like I did here.

So that's what I'm going to give my God, praise and trust.

"I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go;

I will counsel you and watch over you."

Psalm 32:8

Health, Love and Wealth...

And Time to Enjoy It. That's what the pewter plate reads that was given to us for our wedding by GP and Grandy (Matt's grandparents). It sits in a plate holder on top of our refrigerator. The same plate spent many years in GP and Grandy's kitchen, and it meant so much to us when we received it. And now, today, I realized how much more I treasure the gift and the blessing inscribed on it.

My friend Karson faces a very long battle ahead of her, that started this morning with the first of her INDEFINITE chemo treatments (that's right, indefinite, straight from her doctor's mouth). I noticed our plate this morning, and it rocked me to the core. It sits beside the bananas, and I get a banana for breakfast every morning, but today I really noticed it and read it for the first time in a while.

Life, love, family, friends, time are such precious gifts from God. Brian preached about it Sunday. The way we choose to spend our TIME each day, each task, are the most important decisions we make. No one is ever faced with their own mortality wishing that they spent more time at the office getting work done, or the gym trying to perfect our physical appearance, or in the yard trying to have the greenest lawn on the block. When faced with the big stuff, life or the end of it, we want more TIME with the ones we LOVE.

I am possibly facing an opportunity that may take more TIME from me than I am willing to give. Even though I've been waiting a while on an opportunity, this opportunity just may not be worth it. I can wait a little more, I guess. In the end, I will thank me for it. Right now, I have HEALTH (thank you Jesus); I have LOVE from an amazing man and so many family and friends; I have enough WEALTH to be comfortable. In light of all of that, I choose to spend the TIME I do have enjoying it!

I feel

I feel like a mangy dog that no one wants around, so they just keep kicking it until it gives up and leaves.

BAD BAD BLOGGER!!!

So, January was busy, and up-and-down, and February is turning out to be more of the same! We are still enjoying our “Little Man,” but Matt did admit that puppies are much more work than he ever dreamed!! If we keep it up with the nicknames, poor Einstein will never learn his real name! So far he is Little Man, Einstein, Einie, Stinker, Bad Dog, and a few more that aren’t printable! He’s actually a really good dog, quite smart (when he wants to be), and also quite stubborn! He does think that Isis is his own personal squeaky toy that runs! I think she hates him, but then I did catch her giving him a short kitty-bath on his head the other day. Anyway, we’ve decided if things get really bad and we have to give up cable, we will still be well entertained! Here are some recent pictures of "the kids."

sleeping in the sun together, aren't they precious??

Naptime is a war for laps

SISTERS :)

We thought there for a couple of weeks that Matt might have to go to Raleigh, NC for 6 months with his company to help build a relationship with a new client. Luckily, Matt doesn’t have to go, and he still has a job here (for now)!! YAY! Prayers are needed that MESA continues to get work past the current jobs due in the fall. We are a little worried that after they are done with the current job, his hours will be cut back to 32/week (much of his company is already on this schedule).

As for me, I’ve got an election, budget cuts and the like to survive between now and July 1. I continue to pray for guidance. I’m not sure where the road will lead me, but I’m confident and hopeful.

In other news, I went on Walk to Emmaus last year in April. For those who don’t know, Walk to Emmaus is a spiritual retreat weekend meant to grow and deepen your relationship with Christ. It is named for the story of the disciples traveling on the road between Jerusalem and Emmaus just after Jesus was crucified. Jesus appeared to them on the road and walked with them, but they didn’t know who He was until He revealed Himself to them. Beyond that, I can’t explain it, you just have to GO!

Anyway, our Sunday School teacher and a mentor of mine, Jayne Griffin was my sponsor on the Walk last year. I had an amazing experience and everyone always says you go when you are supposed to. That was true for me and I really believe it’s true for Matt too. When Matt first moved back to Chattanooga he expressed interest in going on Walk to Emmaus. Jay Baumgardner and our friend Daniel Oakley agreed to cosponsor Matt. They turned in his application and the Emmaus team called him for 2 different walks. Both walks he turned them down because of class work in grad school. They told him to fill out another application when things weren’t so busy. He never did. After I got back from my Walk I asked him if he still wanted to go. He said yes, so now I get to be his sponsor (which is pretty cool)!! I got a call that Matt will be a pilgrim on Men’s Walk #42 in the Chattanooga-Lafayette Emmaus Community at the end of March!!! YAY!

I am working on a TON of sewing and craft projects that I hope to post pictures of when I’m done (and they are given away)!! This will be a busy next few months for my hobbies. I pray you all are as blessed as we and this post finds you well.