3 months later...

A few pictures from the last couple months:

July

I went home for the fourth of July for a fun time in Oklahoma with my mom's family.  I "worked from home" (or was on call? - I don't know, but I didn't actually do much!) that week while spending a few days at the lake enjoying the extended family while baking in the Texas/Oklahoma heat!  Somehow I didn't take a single picture that week, so the few here are courtesy of Natalie's blog.  She came to visit me for a few days before the family headed to Oklahoma for our reunion.

Super fun to see Natalie!  Can't wait to meet her sweet baby girl, due at the end of next month! :)

The parents. So thankful for both of them!

La Hacienda!

My all-time favorite: La Hacienda fajitas.  What more could a girl want??

This isn't actually from my weekend at home, but I didn't want to leave Laura out.  Here we are in New Orleans in June!

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The week after Oklahoma, I went to New York with a few girls from church.  We had a great time exploring the city, but my favorite part was seeing The Lion King on Broadway.  It was so fun and I was thoroughly impressed by the level of skill of the actors!

In front of a Central Park fountain - me, Cerrelle, and Brooke.  Not pictured is Dorle.

August

August I had a sweet birthday celebration with some friends.  It was the night we got the hurricane (and the week of the earthquake!), so it was a memorable time.  I have just been so blessed by the people I've met here!

Can you tell we took this on auto off a bookshelf? :)

Our hurricane damage.  Thought the hurricane wasn't bad until I walked down the street...

Thankful it wasn't this - just a few blocks south of us.

Our earthquake damage consisted of a broken mirror that fell off the wall and shattered and two cracked windows.

September

The fun suprise for September was a weekend with Dad in NYC.  He called me last Sunday night to say he was going on a last-minute trip to New York for work.  I worked four 10 hour days, took off Friday, and rode the bus up Thursday night to see him.  It was a lot of fun!  It was a short trip because I had to be back in DC by Saturday afternoon, but we got to spend some good time together trying a couple restaurants and walking around in the pouring rain.  The hotel was just a couple blocks north of Times Square, which was really awesome.  The last time I spent extended time with my dad was also when he was on business - only in Botswana!

Taking advantage of a dry moment for a picture - yummy hamburgers at Bill's!

And a not-so-dry moment in Times Square!

Also, in September was a trip to the fresh fish market with a new friend that resulted in a delicious dinner of salmon, PW "Crash Hot Potatoes", and a couple other yummy sides.

Settling in

I've been at my job for over a month now and I've gotten to the point where I actually feel like I know what I'm doing.  A definite plus!  The job is a bit different than what I was expecting, but mostly in good ways.  The range of things I do is huge.  A sample: refinance property (what???), grocery shop, change homeowner's/car insurance, pick up dry-cleaning, register a non-profit as a 501(c)3...

So I'm never bored and I'm daily having to do research to know what in the world I'm talking about.  I literally knew nothing about mortgages, car insurance, homeowners insurance, non-profits, or even reconciling accounts before I started this job.  Sometimes I feel like I still don't know anything, but I'm learning. And go0gle is a wonderful thing! :)

The family is wonderful.  They are very kind and respectful and I have enjoyed working in their home.  Today, my boss brought me ice cream in exchange for staying a few minutes late to chat about a few things. Obviously she's learning my weaknesses...

In other news, I spent a fun weekend in New Orleans for my cousin's wedding two weeks ago.  It was great to see everyone and we had a fun time!  It was the first time in a very long time that the whole extended family (minus one) was all together, so it was a great opportunity to catch up.

Life in D.C. continues to be a big adventure.  I am LOVING my church.  It is filled with people who are seeking after the Lord and I have been stretched and challenged immensely.  I am so, so thankful.  I've had the opportunity to meet lots of new friends and there have been some great opportunities to serve as well.

There's more to share, but it will have to wait until later.  And maybe eventually I'll post a picture of something cool...

Eeeek!!

I have a job!!  After a little over two months of searching, about 8 interviews, and over 100 resume submissions (can't believe it was that many!), I have been offered a position and have accepted.

The job? Personal Assistant to an interior designer here in D.C.  I know. Kind of crazy.  I will be helping with a wide range of her needs, but my focus will be assisting with her business and a non-profit organization that she just helped start.  I am very excited!  It fits well with my past experience, will prepare me for just about anything in the future, and will be fun!

Oh, and I start tomorrow morning. I accepted the position at 4 this afternoon.

And in honor of my last day of being a stay-at-home-not-mom (as one of my roomies would say), I baked bread and cleaned the kitchen.  I will miss these days of domestic bliss (truly, I will), but totally loved them while they lasted!  I got to do SO much that I never would have gotten to do if I had jumped straight into working.  Examples?  Babysit adorable kids from my church, and in the process meet their sweet moms.  Meet with my language partner and share the Gospel with her (more on that later because it's awesome).  Host my awesome mom AND my sweet friend Hannah from Tennessee. Ride the Metro and explore the city.

Thanks for everyone who prayed for me, encouraged me, and offered their assistance in my job search.  It means so much and it's hard to believe that this period of searching has officially ended.

The Lord has truly been faithful and I can't wait to see how He uses me in this job and in my life in D.C.!

A Picture Update

Cherry blossoms at sunrise with my roomies last week. Very early, very fun, very beautiful. :)

Long Overdue

As of yesterday, I've survived D.C. for two weeks!  Transition is always interesting because in some ways it passes so fast yet in other ways it drags on.  Such has been my experience this time around...

The Lord has been just incredibly faithful in every aspect of my life here.  The people He has placed around me have been friendly and encouraging and I can forsee them becoming great friends!  I've even gotten babysitting jobs - so many that I'm having to turn some down.  That has been an unexpected blessing of income, community, and a break from the house.

Overall, I am loving it here.  I love my church, I love my roommates, I love my house, and I have met some amazing people.  I never could have guessed how much I would enjoy city life, but it has been great fun so far.  Capitol Hill just feels so much like a big college campus, except filled with professional adults!

I have taken the Metro to the grocery store several times and that was definitely the experience that left me feeling super urban.  The only drawback to the Metro is that it has left me completely without an understanding of the layout of the city.  So, via Metro I know how to get somewhere, but I have no idea directions-wise where it is in relation to my house.  I haven't yet figured out how to solve that problem, but hopefully it will just come with time!

Job-searching fills most of my days, which honestly is frustrating - not the searching, just the not knowing.  Obviously it is necessary, but it's not exactly what I would call fun... However, I've made some good connections and am excited to see where I'll end up!

And with that, I need to get back to the searching.  I'll try to make the next update a little more timely, but I make no promises! :)

...

Let me find thy light in my darkness,
thy life in my death,
thy joy in my sorrow,
thy grace in my sin,
thy riches in my poverty,
thy glory in my valley.

-From "The Valley of Vision," p. 1

Made It!

I'm officially in D.C.!

Stay tuned for more on God's amazing faithfulness in orchestrating this fun new chapter of my life...

"Your steadfast love, O Lord, extends to the heavens, your faithfulness to the clouds." -Psalm 36:5

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The last couple weeks have been a flurry of business, yet with an overwhelming, ever-present sense of God's grace.  Seriously, I have yet to even be stressed; I'm just enjoying spending time with people here before I transition to new community in D.C.

I went to Oklahoma a couple weeks ago to visit my sweet friend Natalie and her husband, Matt.  Natalie and I have been friends since kindergarten and had a great time catching up.  They just moved from D.C., so they gave me lots of super helpful hints on living in the city!  Here are a couple pictures that Natalie took while I was there.  There are others on her blog.

Last weekend Mom and I went to New Orleans for a couple days because I really wanted to see my grandparents before I move.  It was a GREAT trip.  We visited Oak Alley Plantation, the WWII museum, ate lots of delicious Cajun food, and visited a lot of family.  The trip ended far too soon, but Mom and I both had a blast.

The Grandparents with a Model A at Oak Alley.

At Oak Alley.

The WWII museum with the grands and Dad's Aunt Gloria.  My grandpa is a WWII veteran, so he got to wear a "WWII Veteran" necklace and people thanked him for his service the whole time we were there.  It was really neat.

 
Until next time...