3.5 weeks and counting down. . .

Sweet treasures, only 3 weeks left of work--so excited and ready for the summer! I wish my husband had a 9.5 month-out-of-the-year job, but this is not the case. However, I will have plenty of time to clean and pack our entire house, get ready for my BFF's wedding, and hopefully finish my own wedding scrapbook.

That's what summer is all about!

We are still getting excited for the move. It's becoming more real--after we went, I realized that soon my best friends will be thousands of miles away.

Time to be the "new girl" again. However, I think that being the "new girl" is always a beneficial part of life. It's a huge challenge, it pushes us out of our comfort zones, and you have the opportunity to focus more dependence on God.

We all want to depend on living, present, visible people: parents, friends, co-workers, spouses, etc. for our happiness, comfort, and protection. We want to depend on others to meet our needs. However, those of us who know the Lord know that this is not a beneficial way of life. . .we need to depend more on the Lord than on others, even our spouses! Our spouses cannot meet all our needs; they may fail us at times (even though they are WONDERFUL). GOD however does not do this. God meets all our needs. God is there for us even when we deny Him. God forgives us even when we are evil, mean, and discouraging.

Thank heavens for God's mercy and grace. I forget. He remembers. He is faithful when we are faithless.

Currently, I'm trying to focus energy on wedding events for the BFF, finishing this year by doing fun activities with my students, and keeping the house as clean as possible because we're moving soon!

Since the trip to Seattle, I've deduced that bread is not a friend, but a foe. I was sad to make this discovery, but the introduction of extreme protein to my diet had made my stomach calm down. I am so grateful to the Lord for the man that we talked to in "Super Supplements." Right time, God's perfect timing; now I can stand up straight all day at work! I am so thankful to the Lord for taking us there so that I could begin the healing process.

"Oh, how He loves us so...

If grace is an ocean we're all sinking. . ."

SCATTLE

For some reason, I like to give everything a nickname. Or make up new words to describe things. So we've started calling Seattle "Scattle." It's a fun nickname.

We got back super late (or really early?) Saturday morning and are still trying to readjust to the 3-hour time change. Quite a challenge. I think I felt it more on the way there because I'd had a long day of work. Now M is feeling it worse on the way back. :( Poor pookie.

We really had a wonderful trip. God was very provisional. We looked at several apartments and really got to know the areas we are interested in out there. We found an apartment that we really like and it's in a good location, so we're pretty much depending on the Lord to ensure that there is an open apartment for us in July. God really came through on the trip, plus I was very thrilled to have my husband all to myself (pretty much) for a week. We've both been working lots and we've had a busy year (getting married, GAA, other random events). It was wonderful just to spend time with him and have a stress-free, enjoyable week.

I had a job interview and have a "back-up" job secured, but I am continuing to seek God and try to find a job in early intervention. I'm also looking into some jobs teaching English as a second language--that'd get some good stuff in for Asia!

God also greatly blessed us with some family time. At what point can I say "my cousins," I'm not sure. But "my husband's cousin's family" welcomed us into their home, got us a car to drive, and allowed us to share some fun times with them. It was nice to go to a place where my dietary needs were considered--that has never happened before so I was feeling very blessed to see almond milk and dairy-free products. What a great bunch of folks; plus time with kids is always fun. We are looking forward to more fun times in a few weeks when they visit Florida!

For now, I am signing off. . .I'm off to pick up my sweet from work because he had a late meeting! Hallelujah, praise the Lord.

Thank you God. <><