recent happenings

we have been in our new house about a week and a half now. we had a great group of friends who helped us move in. we are so thankful for their friendship & help!
we moved the same weekend as my dad's 60th birthday, and we were planning to surprise him the next day (sunday) for lunch. it turned out that since the move went so smoothly (and quicker than we thought, thanks to my sweet engineer husband who streamlined everything), we were able to go to augusta that same saturday (my dad's actual birthday) and surprise him for dinner! he was not expecting it, and we had a great visit.
we are slowly getting things unpacked, but i am seeing that it is going to be a process. this is the first time in my life i've moved where i didn't have 2 weeks or a whole summer off of work and school to get settled.
we are getting used to our new location and driving a little further to get places. downtown doesn't seem as far as i thought it would. i went to liz's birthday downtown last week (but unfortunately didn't take any good pictures!). tonight i had dinner at the nosedive with my sweet girls from bible study, as an end-of-the-study party. i am sad that we no longer have a central location to meet. the four on the left are new moms or moms-to-be, which is exciting! these girls have challenged me in my faith and "spurred me on to good works," which i thank God for!

life in 'south cackalack'

(chris' term for south carolina.) we are now south carolinians! though i'm sure chris will protest that this label is in letter only, not in spirit (he was, is, and always will be a georgia boy). anyway, i've spent a lot of time this week in greenville county offices but it has paid off - i now have a SC driver's license and our car tags! the people of south carolina seem to be in love with the palmetto tree, as it is on everything around here.

we're settling in our new place nicely. the move was definitely the easiest one i've ever had - thanks to the movers and me not having to rush back into school or work for a couple of weeks. we're in the suburbs but only a ten minute drive from downtown greenville...it's really the best of both worlds. we've been downtown a couple of times so far. last friday we went to main street jazz, which should have been called main street easy listening because the band was a little more poppy/mellow than we expected. last night we went to downtown alive which is something similar only it's on thursdays instead of fridays. well, we only sort of went to downtown alive. it actually got canceled because of some expected rain (which never showed), but we still went downtown to eat with liz and some of her friends. liz is one of chris' friends from high school who moved here a couple years ago. she was also one of the guest book/program attendants at our wedding and caught my bouquet.

while chris is working all day during the week, i'm learning my way around town - at least to the essentials like publix, target, and the mall. i never thought i would say that i'm almost tired of shopping! i'm just not used to having this much free time, and there's only so much i can do before i exhaust all of the stores in the area. it seems like things happen in extremes because i went from being uber busy with school & my internship to being super UNbusy now. i may even be slightly looking forward to starting my class week after next!

two updates

1) i have now officially been accepted to clemson as non-degree student! i'm refraining from posting any more collegiate logos and, at chris' request, not calling myself a tiger. i'm just excited to know that my summer plans are secure. one step closer to being license-eligible!

2) chris and i have decided on an apt in greenville - yay! after some deliberation over another apt complex and renting a house, we're going with this location because it gives us a little more space for a comparable price. my favorite feature is the double vanity in our bathroom - no more sharing the sink!

happy easter!

this year is our first easter together - and away from our families. we decided we wanted to spend this weekend here at our own church. also, my parents stay busy easter weekend due to preaching/piano playing commitments at each of their churches. it occurred to me in the middle of last week that if we wanted easter dinner we'd have to prepare it ourselves! fortunately our sunday school class decided to have a brunch. after chris & i filled up on pigs in a blanket, monkey bread, hash brown casserole, fresh fruit, sausage/egg casserole, biscuits, etc. we weren't even hungry for lunch! that was the perfect precursor to a restful afternoon nap.

one challenge i took from today's sermon is DO put all your eggs in one basket if that basket is God. i'm really going to miss our church and the friends we've made when we move. i trust that God has a purpose for us in greenville - church-wise, career-wise, otherwise... one of my professors has said that nothing truly worth doing in life comes without anxiety/struggles beforehand. i find that i rely more on God when i'm uncertain of and have little control over my circumstances - in other words during times of transition like the one we're beginning.

as far as seeing our families, we will be going to augusta next weekend for a visit - the first time since christmas!