Well, it seems that it has been Christmas-Time for quite a while, and with that.. This post is well overdue. Anyhow, I am writing it right this moment and that is that (as they say)!
Caleb has been working very hard this Christmas season, and I am so proud of him! He wrote and directed the children’s Christmas play, which was preformed this past Sunday evening, Dec 15. It went quite well, and I was especially pleased with how well the little ones sang and said their lines. I always enjoy these types of things, and it was neat to be able to be in on the action and help Caleb. He has also been re-working the youth group style a little bit, this way it will provide more avenues for connection, we think and hope! Our youth group kids are so important to us, and we know that we can go deeper, and this new direction will help us get there! We are both very excited about this adventure, and it will all begin in 2014! Students: get ready for Next Generation Student Ministries!
This week, I will be finishing up my last class for the online semester of Fall 2013. To be honest, I am so ready for a break! Actually, I don’t even know when my Spring classes start.. I haven’t gotten a schedule! Perhaps I need to email someone.. Oh, and for those who don’t know, I am going to graduate in the next fall, the Fall of 2014, with a Christian Ministry Leadership degree – an online degree offered through Barclay College.
Christmas is a short six days away, and Caleb and I will spending our Christmas holiday together, in our little home! Unfortunately, we weren’t able to get out to either of our family’s homes this time, but we are so thankful that we can just be together. After all that long-distance, sometimes it is weird to me, that neither of us will have to leave after the break is over! Silly, isn’t it, that I still fall back into that mindset? But anyways, the happy news is that we will be together, celebrating the birth of our Savior, and also celebrating being married for almost five months!
The time has really flown by, and it sure does not feel like I have been here almost five months. It is not easy.. I will tell you that much. Each and every day I miss my parents, my brothers, my sister in law, my grandparents, my neighbors, and my close friends from Washington. In case you didn’t know, North Carolina and Washington are really far apart. To be exact, I checked on Google maps just now, and (depending on how you go) it would take a minimum of 43 hours to drive, and it is somewhere around 2,842 miles from my house in NC to my parents house in WA.. That’s really, really far. But the good thing is that love can travel a multitude of distances! I am thankful for mail, for cell phones, and for my computer. I can write letters, send quick texts, have a phone conversation, send emails, or even skype! Technology certainly does help :)
Some fun facts:
-about a month ago, Caleb and I attended a marriage conference (thank you mom and dad!) and we were awarded a couples devotional for being married for the least amount of time! There was another couple who got married the weekend before we did, so it was close and I was very surprised!
-Two weeks ago, I think it was, we went to a tree farm and cut down our very first Christmas tree! I have always liked living out in the boonies.. Trees are abundant! Now we have it decorated and I love it!
-We hosted a Christmas party for the group we attend on Monday nights. It was fun, and our house was packed! Prior to this, I think the most people we had in our house for more than 10 minutes is four or maybe five.. But this party brought in a total of 22 or 23 people! We did a white elephant gift exchange (fun fact within a fun fact: over here, they call this game “dirty Santa”!) and I got a fruitcake.. And Caleb got these strange little trinkets! A few of them are cute, but one is for sure super creepy..
-I have been making good use of the sewing machine my parents gave me for my 21st birthday this year! This past week I sewed curtains for the kitchen, and before that I had been practicing making little bags and such! Soon, I will try to incorporate zippers.. Oh and I also sewed an ornament for Caleb! It’s my favorite!
So, just because I haven’t kept up to date on this blog very recently, don’t be frightened about us :) we are so happy, and so in love, and so blessed by our Jesus! Day in and day out, he has provided for us and we are continually concentrating on being grateful for his provision. In a letter my grandmother wrote to me recently, she added this on at the end and it made my heart miss her, but I was glad she wrote it.. “P.s.s. Just remembered the good news of God’s gift to us is not only true here in Washington, but also with you in North Carolina. Let us celebrate the birth of the Christ Child wherever we are”. Do not dismay, whoever you are! The Lord came so that he could know us better. He lived with us to relate with us. He became one of us, and then he saved us!
Have a very blessed Christmas, from my heart to yours!
Changes will come 