Rejoicing and Mourning...

Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. - Romans 12:15

That's all that we can do. I am so struck by the fact that there are wonderful things and terrible things all happening at the same time...

Rejoicing over new life and mourning over sickness and death

Celebrating life and the delightful good things...birthdays, promotions, coffee with a friend, a yummy meal, new babies, getting ready for the holidays...

Mourning and grieving over sin and brokenness...abuse and injustice, lost jobs, broken relationships, cancer, those who don't have family...

Praise the Lord for mercy. It's only by His grace that we can handle the reality that there is good and bad, rejoicing and mourning, celebrating and grieving. Praise Him for His presence...

Today...

Today...is Veteran's Day. I have to be honest, there have been years when the day has gone by and I didn't really think about it. And to continue being honest, I would not consider myself particularly patriotic. I am so very thankful for the freedom and safety we have as American's - but I also really struggle with the fact that we have SO much when most others have SO little.

Today, however, I've been thinking about it more. Both of my grandfather's fought in past wars. My grandmother asked me to go with her to the borough hall in the next town where there was a flag flying in my grandfather's honor. Being there, watching her look through the flags to find the one with his name on it, looking at all the flags and thinking of the people who have fought and are fighting RIGHT now....wow.

So as I think about it, here is my conclusion: regardless of your political affiliation or your opinion about the current war we are fighting...we HAVE to be thankful.

Two years ago in Kazakhstan, huge portions of the country did not have heat for the winter. Newborn babies were freezing to death in maternity wards because hospitals did not have heat. Well, hospitals in the poorer parts of the country - the electricity was going to the homes, businesses and restaurants in the wealthier parts of the country so the people who could afford it were nice and toasty. I thought of that almost every night last winter and I'm thinking of it again as the weather turns chilly.

Yes there are people in America who struggle. Very sadly there are people here who sleep outside during the winter. And yes, as a country we make plenty of mistakes. But as a country, we experience freedom and comfort in abundance. So again - whether or not we agree with our government, we have to be so very thankful because by default we enjoy the fruit of the sacrifice of many individuals and families.

1st Hospital Day!

Today is the first (of what will be many by time school is over) day that Chris will be at a hospital and have his own patient! He'll do the patient's history and basic exams (eyes, ears, nose, throat; basic cardiac, muscular, nerve; etc.) He's nervous but very excited!

For those of you who know Chris you know that he has a great smile when he's really smiling...but that he hates posing for pictures :) So...here's what I got:

Doesn't he look so professional!


I tried to make him laugh so he'd really smile :)


Tough guy headed out the door!

He's working so hard and I'm so super proud of him. He's very much looking forward to the nice long break that he'll get for Christmas...that starts in 5 weeks!

Tomorrow I'm off to upstate New York with mom and Bub for the weekend to spend time with Jon and Jess and go to Jess's baby shower - I can't wait!

New Jersey Moments...

Chris surprised me and got us tickets to Seton Hall's first pre-season game this past Friday night. Being that I grew up watching them play...it was a fantastic surprise.

Definitely getting back into the college basketball scene now that Chris is in school there.

Go Pirates!!


The fall weather continues to amaze me. Even the rainy days are just beautiful. Walking through the fallen leaves from different trees is like walking through a rainbow...



We had a church dinner last night. We love our church family in Tennessee and miss them terribly. But...we are very thankful that we are making friends and getting connected at the Rutherford Bible Chapel. And I have to say...the cuisine at a church dinner in New Jersey further proves the cultural differences between the north and the south. There were no green beans, no casseroles, no mac and cheese. There was chili and pulled pork, good American staples. Then there was a delicious variety of Indian food, and of course the chicken parm and baked ziti - wouldn't be Jersey without the Italian food. Chris and I had to laugh at how different it was...

We really like the ethnic and cultural diversity around here (and we love that that's reflected in our church). I'm doing some ESL tutoring and enjoying it. The hardest part is not getting to spend more time with the girls. They are in middle school and I can't imagine how hard it is to be new in middle school...and not speak the language. I could get really excited about spending a lot of time in immigrant communities...

For those of you who care what the garage looks like these days...Chris treasures his study breaks.

Happy November!

Flying days...

I love the fall. We walked to church yesterday - it was cool and crisp, the sun was shining, the leaves were brilliant. It was beautiful. This morning as I walked Shadow, it was chilly and quiet and the leaves rustling beneath my feet were soothing. Fall is a time that makes me want to take a deep breath and absorb the peaceful moments.

While I am very much enjoying the season...I'm feeling a little torn. In some ways I want the days to go slowly so I don't miss anything. But in other ways, I have to admit I like that they are flying by. I like that the end of Chris's semester and seeing his family is in sight.

I'm also feeling torn about about my perspective. In some ways I like the idea of this season of life (Chris being in school) being a quiet one for me. I can enjoy being at home, working and helping Chris...not taking on much else. But then the other part of me is really enjoying the friends we are making and things I'm getting involved in. I don't want to run around crazy, but I like days that are full - productive time at the computer for work and then time spent investing in people.

So...I've decided to be okay with the fact that I have moments of just wanting to watch from a distance, but more moments excited about diving into the new friendship that the Lord has for us here in New Jersey. Enjoying the quiet moments and the crazy ones, thankful that the time is going quickly, but at the same time soaking up as much as I can as it goes...

Back to the routine...

I am so, so thankful that Chris was able to join me for the last few days of my trip to Maryville. I really don't have words for how much I love the sight and sound of Chris and his friends working and laughing in the garage...

In our friends' house, where we spent most of our time for the few days we were in Maryville together, the living room shares a wall with the garage. So as the girls and I sat there and talked we would occasionally hear uproars of laughter from Chris and the guys in the garage. Music to my ears.

Not only is time in the garage a good mental break from school for Chris, but the garage is where they connect, where they have fun and have real conversations about what's really going on. I am eternally grateful to the men in Maryville (you know who you are even though you're not all in these pictures...) who are real community, the church, to Chris.

Honestly, I don't have many more pictures :) Never remembered to use my camera when I was hanging out with the girls and had no time to use the camera for all the work stuff that went on!

Because I don't have the energy to go into all the work details...it suffices to say that my time in Marville was a very productive for work and wonderfully refreshing for me personally.

And now it's back to the routine. At the computer working, sitting in class, cooking with Bub, studying, looking for ways to get connected in Rutherford.

While we really miss everyone in Maryville and it was hard to say goodbye again, the trip was a good opportunity to see that we can stay connected with people from a distance and that's it is possible to stay connected with Maryville people as we connect with people here in Rutherford.

Praying that whether close or far away, that you know real community...

Surprise!!!!!!!!!

This picture is Chris and Curt, in the Newvines garage....in Maryville TN....about 20 minutes ago!!!! Chris came to Maryville! He had off today and tomorrow for fall break. When we talked about it before we didn't think it would work, but Chris made it work! Of course I'm soooo excited to see him, makes it even MORE fun for me to be here. But...mostly I'm excited that he gets guy time!!!!



Other pics from my time in Maryville...

Birthday celebration


Chris and some of his favorite girls - I arrived for a short visit with some friends this afternoon....and there he was!!!





Work has been busy and stressful, but good. Seeing friends has been fantastic. More later, just wanted to share my surprise with you :)

Travels and Tests...

Sorry for the lack of updating...things have been a little busy recently. I'm at the airport in Charlotte at the moment waiting to go to Knoxville. The trip is for work, but I am very much looking forward to seeing friends. Very bummed that Chris could not come (can't miss class)...but hopefully it will be a good trip. Main purpose for the trip is a video shoot we're doing for work. It's all I've thought about for the past few days so I don't feel like writing about it at the moment - sorry! For those of you interested I'll fill you in another time...

On an exciting note....Chris did SO WELL on his first practical exam. For this practical he had to do a patient examination in a certain amount of time. I won't tell you that he did PERFECT on it...because he wouldn't want me bragging about him. But he did :) He works so hard and I am so, so proud of him.

I have to say...I'm enjoying being in New Jersey, but the South is just less stressful. Ya'll have a good week :)

Probably won't be an update until after I get back to New Jersey, which is on the 18th.

The weekend in food...

My dear husband turned 27 yesterday.  His requested birthday breakfast?  Biscuits and Gravy :)  I hear that for a Yankee I make pretty good gravy.  So... we started the day with a nice breakfast.

After Chris spent most of the day studying, we decided to try our hand at being local.  Chris thought finding a local pub sounded like fun - the reviews of the one we found said things like "...best burger you have ever had" (Chris was hooked) and "...if you're not local and your last name isn't Italian, be prepared to feel very out of place."  Chris did say his burger was the best he's had since living in NJ, and I think we an okay job of blending.  We sat at the bar waiting for a table.  The guy sitting next to us...works on motorcycles and wants to move to East Tennessee!















For weeks my grandmother has been talking about the vegetable market that she goes to.  I went yesterday to stock up - she and I are spending the next 2 weeks detoxing.  The market is basically an indoor, year-round farmers market.  Great selection, great prices - no more supermarket produce for me!

The gist of the detox is to cut out foods that are hard for your body to process to give your body and break and a chance to clear out your systems/organs:  lymph, digestive, liver, kidneys, etc.  So we'll be cutting out processed food, caffeine and alcohol, sugars, wheat, pork...
So I was intrigued when I read on a friends blog that she put spinach into a fruit smoothie.  She assured me that you could not taste the spinach.

So Bub and I kicked of the detox this morning with a strawberry-banana-peach-almond milk-spinach smoothie.  It was delicious!  The banana was the strongest flavor.  Other than the very green color - you'd never know it had a ton of spinach in it!  Not sure how much I'll blog about the detox.  If you have questions let me know.  This is my 3rd (or 4th?) time doing it and I'm a big fan.  I really like the idea of once a year just giving my body a break, making a concerted effort to get rid of some of the junk that has built up.  There is plenty of really yummy food to eat, just takes a little effort.  Read about it HERE and let me know if you have questions....(and just because it says "for women" it can be for anyone - Chris has done it before and felt like it made a difference).  Oh - and we're using THIS natural supplement to aid in the detox...

Doesn't it just make you want to try it??  :) 

Little House...

I wanted to be Laura Ingles Wilder when I was a little girl.  We were not allowed to watch a lot of television...and I always chose Little House on the Prairie.  So...it was really special and really fun that mom, Bub and I got to go see Little House on the Prairie the musical to celebrate Bub's birthday.

In honor of Bub I wore my red heels.  She and mom looked fantastic and were wonderful company, as always.  We went to this really great new cafe in Rutherford.  I will most definitely be going back there - they have wireless internet and reasonably priced tea and coffee drinks.  It'll be a nice change of pace for work :)

The musical was fun - they combined a lot of books/seasons/years of the story into a few hours...but it was still very entertaining.  We got there a few minutes late because we ended up going through Newark (crazy traffic, the crazy New Jersey driver in me came out...but that's a whole different story.)  But...since we were late we had to park the car in the back parking lot.  After the show we took our time leaving the theater, waited in the long line for the ladies room and started making our way to the car.  But...since it had been a little while and our car was behind the building...Melissa Gilbert was out there!  So, we snapped a few pictures and since there wasn't much of a crowd left - got her autograph :)

Yup - that's a woman wearing a bonnet getting her autograph - there was a lot of those!

 

This morning we had a lovely breakfast and wandered around the Rutherford farmers market.  I do have to say I felt pretty Laura Ingles today.  We bought apple cider at the market that was pressed yesterday and  I made an apple pie that made the house smell oh-so cozy...

And...Chris is studying his brains out.  Yes...that entire peace of paper is covered with information he had to learn between Friday and Monday

Happy reminiscing :)