John and I are going to be moving into a house in Cooper City at the end of the month - yes, we are totally excited! When we first went to look at the house, the lady who lives there told us that she had pet chickens. Yes, chickens - as in Kentucky Fried, Cluckin', Rotisserie, etc. She took us out to her ENORMOUS backyard and in one corner of the yard was a little henhouse and when she called, 2 chickens came running towards her. It was unbelievable! She said that she had a friend who had them and raised them for their eggs (2 a day!). They required so little care and were so inexpensive that she decided to get a couple of her own. They stay outside, are not nearly as dirty as you would expect, and are extremely quiet. She treats them like pets and they provide her with fresh eggs - I'd like to see a cat try that one!!
So of course, John (being the redneck that he is) decided right then and there that since the yard was already set up for chickens that we should have them, too! The thought of having farm fresh eggs totally appealed to me and with the understanding that he would do all of the dirty work, I joyfully agreed to the idea.
Unfortunately, John was born without an ounce of patience so while I was in Tampa this weekend, he went out and bought 2 chicks. When I came home, he took me to pick one out for myself and now we are the proud owners of 3 chicks - Prissy, Sheryl, and Georgia - and John and I are obsessed!! John built a tiny mansion for them yesterday out on my sister's back patio and we are constantly checking on "the girls." Everyone we have told has looked at us like we are insane, but we think it is great! I would have loved to have waited until we were in our house, but I'm not complaining.
Pictures of the girls are coming soon...
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Sunday, September 21, 2008
Sunday, September 14, 2008
Only in Georgia...
We passed this SUV on our drive down from Georgia to Florida...I miss living in Georgia!
Thursday, September 4, 2008
Back In Florida
I'm sitting in a Starbucks in Pembroke Pines drinking my first Pumpkin Spice Latte of 2008 while I wait to have lunch with a friend. I needed to get some stuff done (paying bills, catching up on email, working on our budget, and updating my resume) and I figured this was as good a place as any. There is a cowboy-looking guy in the corner on his laptop, 2 suits in another corner who look like they are playing Battleship with their dual tiny laptops, a guy and a girl discussing religion (very interesting!) and an annoying beeping sound that no one behind the counter seems to be hearing. Yes, I think I could do this everyday if I could only find someone to pay me to do it!
It has been a very strange week. We had some family from GA come down to FL with us and they left this morning. We've been going out to eat and going to get facials and pedicures and spending lots of time visiting with family, so it has really felt like we have been here for a visit and will be heading back to Peachtree City any moment...but we're not. We've looked at a few houses and will continue our search this weekend, which is extremely ironic since this was the weekend that we had planned on moving into our new house in GA. I've had one interview that didn't go the way I had hoped it would, but it encouraged me just the same. Yes, it has been a strange week and the Pumpkin Spice Latte magic doesn't seem to be doing anything to improve things besides increasing my craving for another one...
Thankfully, things are not as "gloom and doom" as they have been over the past 2 weeks. John has a job - a very good job - at a time when there are over 10,000 pilots in America looking for flying jobs. Yes, we are blessed. We are living with my sister and her husband and our niece who all seem to be as happy to have us living there as we are thankful to be living there. We have family here that loves us and spoils us more than anyone ever has - we are blessed. We have a handful of friends who have kept in touch with us despite weirdness and distance who are now within driving distance and anxious to see us again. We have the hope that in 2 years, we will be back in GA with lots of wisdom and maturity.
Things could be a lot worse - God has been showing me that in so many ways over the past week. Despite the rotten history and memories that seem to be hidden in certain spots all around Fort Lauderdale, it is nice to be in the place that I called home for 99% of my life. So many things have changed - including me - and I hope that I don't miss out on the changes that still need to be made in me. I'm excited to see where God is going to lead us and what He has in store for us here!
It has been a very strange week. We had some family from GA come down to FL with us and they left this morning. We've been going out to eat and going to get facials and pedicures and spending lots of time visiting with family, so it has really felt like we have been here for a visit and will be heading back to Peachtree City any moment...but we're not. We've looked at a few houses and will continue our search this weekend, which is extremely ironic since this was the weekend that we had planned on moving into our new house in GA. I've had one interview that didn't go the way I had hoped it would, but it encouraged me just the same. Yes, it has been a strange week and the Pumpkin Spice Latte magic doesn't seem to be doing anything to improve things besides increasing my craving for another one...
Thankfully, things are not as "gloom and doom" as they have been over the past 2 weeks. John has a job - a very good job - at a time when there are over 10,000 pilots in America looking for flying jobs. Yes, we are blessed. We are living with my sister and her husband and our niece who all seem to be as happy to have us living there as we are thankful to be living there. We have family here that loves us and spoils us more than anyone ever has - we are blessed. We have a handful of friends who have kept in touch with us despite weirdness and distance who are now within driving distance and anxious to see us again. We have the hope that in 2 years, we will be back in GA with lots of wisdom and maturity.
Things could be a lot worse - God has been showing me that in so many ways over the past week. Despite the rotten history and memories that seem to be hidden in certain spots all around Fort Lauderdale, it is nice to be in the place that I called home for 99% of my life. So many things have changed - including me - and I hope that I don't miss out on the changes that still need to be made in me. I'm excited to see where God is going to lead us and what He has in store for us here!
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Excuse Me While I Kiss This Guy
While packing up the house yesterday, I came across one of my favorite books. It's called "Excuse Me While I Kiss This Guy" and it is chock full of misheard lyrics to popular songs. Taken from the song, "Purple Haze" by Jimmi Hendrix ("excuse me while I kiss the sky"), the book contains hundreds of hilarious lines that people have mistaken for the actual lyrics to songs. Here are a few of my favorites that don't contain swears:
- Misheard: "Cinnamon Gum" / Real Lyrics: "Should'a been gone" -- "Oh Sherry" by Steve Perry
- Misheard: "The Cuervo Gold, The pinecones rush in and make tonight a wonderful thing" / Real Lyrics: "The Curevo God, That fine Columbian, make tonight a wonderful thing" -- "Hey Nineteen" by Steely Dan
- Misheard: "She sees the hat and is she gonna touch it?" / Real Lyrics: "She seems to have an invisible touch, yeah" -- "Invisible Touch" by Genesis
- Misheard: "Four hundred children and a box of oatmeal" / Real Lyrics: "Four hungry children and a crop in the field" -- "Lucille" by Kenny Rogers
- Misheard: "Let's pee in the corner, Let's pee in the spotlight" / Real Lyrics: "That's me in the corner, That's me in the spotlight" -- "Losing My Religion" by R.E.M
- Misheard: "Kick a chicken with it" / Real Lyrics: "Getting jiggy with it" -- "Getting Jiggy With It" by Will Smith
- Misheard: "Hold me closer Tony Danza" / Real Lyrics: "Hold me closer, tiny dancer" -- "Tiny Dancer" by Elton John
These are just a few of my favorites!! Do you have any to add to this list???
Sunday, August 17, 2008
The Past 36 Hours
I have spent the past 36 hours lying in bed in the fetal position. No, I have not finally gone insane - I have been dealing with another IBS attack. My stomach started hurting earlier in the week with John's announcement and quickly progessed into a full blown attack with the planning of the move (8 days until we leave), wrapping things up at my job, crying hysterically for 2 days (too long to even try to begin to explain), and finally surrendering to the plans that God has for us. It literally felt like Freddie Krueger was trying to claw his way out of my insides - I have never felt pain like that before and I am not looking forward to feeling that way again any time soon. Thankfully, I was able to stay in bed all day yesterday and all night last night. After sleeping a lot and taking a really good pain pill, I feel much better today, physically. Mentally, however, I am trying to pace myself to only think about what I have to do today and not what needs to be done over the next 2 weeks. I want everything done now and I have to remind myself that I only have one week left to spend with my friends and family here. I need to make sure that I use my time wisely and don't waste it watching the Olympics or Gilmore Girls re-runs in an effort to put off the inevitable. We are moving back to Florida. Even as I type that, it still hasn't sunken in. Yes, there are a lot of positive things about going back, but it's the "going back" part that has my head spinning. I am a "moving forward" person - hence the name of my blog - and going backwards seems equal to giving up, losing, failing, and missing it somehow. I know that there is a reason for this and I know that God is going to blow our minds with what He has waiting for us in Florida - but in the meantime, I am confused, frustrated, disappointed, and somehow clinging to the truth that this life is not all that there is and that He knows what He is doing.
Please pray for my health to stay extra-strong over the next 2-3 weeks. Please pray for John and I to keep our eyes on Jesus and not on our circumstances. And lastly, please pray for us to learn the lessons we need to learn from this - I would hate to go through all of this only to come out of it exactly the same.
Please pray for my health to stay extra-strong over the next 2-3 weeks. Please pray for John and I to keep our eyes on Jesus and not on our circumstances. And lastly, please pray for us to learn the lessons we need to learn from this - I would hate to go through all of this only to come out of it exactly the same.
Thursday, August 14, 2008
Our A-Mazing Small Group
This past Tuesday, we had our final small group gathering. I had no idea when we joined this group last September that these people would not only become great friends, but would also be the support and encouragement that would get us through this past year. With 2 other pilot couples in the group, it was so awesome to have other people around us who totally understood all of the issues that pilot couples face. John and I both feel like we have known these couples forever and are really going to miss each of them.
This is Monee and Dru. Monee has had all kinds of health problems and many of them reared their ugly heads this year. She is the most giving person I have ever met in my life! She is so much fun to be around and I am going to miss eating giant bags of peanut M & M's with her! Dru is expecting her 3rd child and is the textbook definition of the perfect mom. She is incredibly hilarious and has an amazing story of how God transformed her life. She works with the Middle School girls at Southside and does a fantastic job.
This is Daniel and Monee. They are both pilots and John and I bonded with them at the very beginning of our group. Daniel works for the FAA and thanks God every day for his job. Because of his job, Monee can no longer pursue aviation as a career, so she is back in school to get her MBA. You have never met anyone with as much ambition as this girl! Daniel also volunteers at the Peachtree City Fire Department and has really been a huge encouragement to John.
This is Jenn and Dan - our leaders. Jenn just took her test to become a Pilates instructor and is very passionate about health and fitness. She is also a great mom to their one-year-old, Karina. Dan works for GA Pacific and has had a very successful year. They have also faced some family health issues this year that have not been easy. John and I have had the privilege of apprenticing under Dan and Jenn and are really going to miss them.
This is Dru and Travis. Travis was a pilot for Turner (yes, as in Ted) and recently left there to work at Flight Safety. Their 2 kids - Caitlin and Logan - are the most adorable kids on the planet! Although these guys are much younger than us, we have learned so much from them.
Although it is hard to leave our families up here, it is equally hard to leave these friends who have become our extended family. We are completely convinced that life was intended to be lived out in community and we are so incredibly thankful for this community we found at Southside.
This is Monee and Dru. Monee has had all kinds of health problems and many of them reared their ugly heads this year. She is the most giving person I have ever met in my life! She is so much fun to be around and I am going to miss eating giant bags of peanut M & M's with her! Dru is expecting her 3rd child and is the textbook definition of the perfect mom. She is incredibly hilarious and has an amazing story of how God transformed her life. She works with the Middle School girls at Southside and does a fantastic job.
This is Daniel and Monee. They are both pilots and John and I bonded with them at the very beginning of our group. Daniel works for the FAA and thanks God every day for his job. Because of his job, Monee can no longer pursue aviation as a career, so she is back in school to get her MBA. You have never met anyone with as much ambition as this girl! Daniel also volunteers at the Peachtree City Fire Department and has really been a huge encouragement to John.
This is Jenn and Dan - our leaders. Jenn just took her test to become a Pilates instructor and is very passionate about health and fitness. She is also a great mom to their one-year-old, Karina. Dan works for GA Pacific and has had a very successful year. They have also faced some family health issues this year that have not been easy. John and I have had the privilege of apprenticing under Dan and Jenn and are really going to miss them.
This is Dru and Travis. Travis was a pilot for Turner (yes, as in Ted) and recently left there to work at Flight Safety. Their 2 kids - Caitlin and Logan - are the most adorable kids on the planet! Although these guys are much younger than us, we have learned so much from them.
Although it is hard to leave our families up here, it is equally hard to leave these friends who have become our extended family. We are completely convinced that life was intended to be lived out in community and we are so incredibly thankful for this community we found at Southside.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
