Blessed

I'm dedicating this blog as sort of a huge THANKS to God for all that he has done for Tim and I over the past few months. I got back from running with a friend yesterday and it just sort of hit me how blessed we are.
Our lives took a turn back in early March when Tim started talking to me about moving up to North Carolina. I was very much against it at first---I mean, who wants to leave the comfort of home, great friends, family and job to go and live 500 miles away? So the praying began. It was very simple: open the right doors for us, help us to listen to You. Once we found our house in April it began to sink in that we were REALLY moving away! It was then that I realized that I had no friends up here, no crossfit (our gym where we've worked out and trained for over a year), no home church, NO TARGET or anything else that I'm used too. My praying grew a little more specific: give me just one friend, help us find a wonderful church, please let me find a job, help me with homesickness...what will I do without a Target around?
It's now close to the end of September and Tim and I feel a little more settled in. We've been able to meet some really nice people up here! We've found a church that we both really like, I've got a couple of girlfriends (not just the one I had prayed for), we've found people that are into fitness like we are (and will do the bootcamp we're hoping to start in a couple of weeks), I now have a job (yay!!!), I have someone to run with in the mornings, I haven't been really homesick in weeks---and the last time I went home to GA I really missed being up here! And lastly, Target's only 40 minutes away, and Wal-mart's not THAT bad.
God really is good, and He absolutely has the best interest of all of our hearts. He does hear us when we pray, but chooses when the answers come. He is full of love and wants the best for us. He expects us to listen to Him when He speaks and to follow where He leads. It's so simple...yet why do we sometimes make it so hard? I've learned that just because God may not answer a prayer in a week (or in 4 weeks) that it's ok. He probably has answered it in a way that I wasn't aware of...an even better way. I encourage you all to stay steadfast in your prayers, because God really and truly is good.

Family

Here are mom, dad, Brody and Caroline

Here is Brody and his "trick"...and yes, that is his passy in his mouth! And of course, a picture of Caroline during the best part of her day!

For the past few days I have been blessed to spend some quality time with my precious niece and nephew. I recieved a phone call from my sister b-e-g-g-i-n-g me to come down and help her watch the kids so she can pack up her house. Any mother out there knows how difficult it is to really get something done when you have 10 month old babies discovering a whole new world on their knees.

Mornings at the Jenkins' house start off with a bang! "Quick, get the bottles heated...change those wet diapers...get that shoe out of her mouth, don't let him eat the dog's food!" Brody and Caroline started crawling a couple of weeks ago and have officially taken over the house. My sister and brother-in-law are moving in the next week to a new (and much better laid out) home! I wish them all the best on their new journey :o).

"Hanna"

This morning Tim and I woke up to lots of wind and rain as Tropical Storm Hanna makes her way through our town! It's just so crazy to me that we would get a tropical storm up here, but we are only 90 miles west of the coast. Today will be one of those fabulous days where we can both sit on the couch and watch football all day long. No painting the outside of the house, no picking vegetables from the garden.....just pure laziness!

To catch you up on this past week: I'm still waiting to hear back about substitute teaching. I did apply for a position at a bank up here and it went really well. I'll hear back sometime early next week and hope to have a job by the end of next week. I'm most excited about this because it's one of the FEW jobs that actually pay well above the $6.55/hr that all the other jobs pay. No wonder Taco Bell has been looking for a manager for 6 months now!

Tim's been doing really well! He had his picture taken for the newspaper this week introducing him as the new physical therapist in town. Who knew I married such a celebrity?!? While he's been off at work I have been given a "honey-do" list at the house. As if me being a domestic goddess wasn't good enough, I'm now stripping wallpaper! I was slighlty dreading this task, but once I got into it I actually enjoy it! Who knew?

Well, I'm off to the couch to finish my coffee and see what's happening on ESPN. Ya'll enjoy your morning!