A New Chapter

Last semester ended in stretch of insanity.  Over the final 3 weeks of the semester, I had over 60 pages of writing to turn in, in addition to finishing up classes and 5 final exams.  Once all the school craziness had finished, we immediately began packing up our apartment and selling off all of our furniture.  Somewhere in there Christmas shopping had to happen, and we spent most of the week around Christmas at my parents' house hanging out with family and friends and building an extravagant gingerbread scene (more on that later).  We then packed the rest of our belongings into our car and my sister-in-law's car, whose husband had driven out with Jeff's other brother-in-law to help us move our things across the country.  We drove to Nashville first, stayed the night, and then drove the rest of the way the next day, arriving just outside of Dallas just in time to watch the Eagles beat the Cowboys for the divisional title.  This Eagles fan was very excited!

So why all this craziness?  When we found out last summer that my father-in-law had cancer, I decided to load up on classes so I could take my final two classes in the spring online.  This would give us the freedom to go out to Texas and spend time with Jeff's family, helping out wherever we were needed.   Thankfully, my father-in-law is doing much better now, and is c recovering from a bone marrow transplant.  A lot of things just fell into place once we decided to move forward with this plan, for instance, Jeff found a replacement at work and had several months to train him, and our lease would run out right when we were planning on leaving.  The only major thing that could derail the plan at that point was if I didn't pass all of my classes.  Taking 6 was a huge stretch for me.  My migraines got worse with all the extra work, but it somehow all got done.  My final semester of college would be two online classes, Fundamentals of Music and Introduction to American Art History.   These two classes are all that stand between me and graduation in May!

So now we're in Texas.  We don't know how long for, but right now we're just enjoying the time we have with family and settling in to a new chapter of life.  With such a small load, I have more time to do the things I enjoy, like reading books for fun and working on hand-lettering.  I'm really excited about the time I have to spend with my adorable nieces and nephews too!  I never thought I'd live in Texas, especially just outside of Dallas, but it's shaping up to be quite the adventure.

farewell to Carrboro!

A Reunion in Atlanta

Just a week after we got back from our trip up North, Jeff and I headed back out on yet another trip.  I had just started my second summer session class (a seminar on terrorism) that Thursday, and that weekend we'd be heading down to Atlanta, Georgia to celebrate the wedding of a dear friend of mine, Ruth, whom I had met and become close friends with while I was in Jordan.

We left at 3:30am on Friday morning to drive down to Atlanta - painfully early, but totally worth it since it meant I would get to spend some time with Ruth and Janelle (my last roommate in Jordan) before the wedding festivities got too crazy.  We had a lovely breakfast together, complete with lots of stories about the bride and groom and how all of us had met.  Afterwards, we went to the church to help set up some of the decorations.  Back at Ruth's house, Jeff had been helping Ruth's brother-in-law cook shrimp for the wedding reception.  It was fun to see a little of the process that goes into it, as well as see Janelle demonstrate the proper way to eat shrimp.

That afternoon, we went to a local park where the rehearsal dinner would take place.  Jeff helped man the grill, and I helped put up streamers.  It was an "Up" themed dinner - one of Ruth's favorite movies.  There were balloons and bird houses and lots of delicious food.  It was so much fun!

my sweet friend Ruth

We left a little early since we were staying about an hour and a half away.  My great-aunt and uncle live in a beautiful home high up in the hills with a gorgeous view.  The best part - it's called Rivendell.  We got there just in time to see the last bit of the sunset fade away.  The next morning, some of my cousins came over for breakfast, and we got to spend time catching up.  We also played spades, and I learned how to shoot a slingshot.  There was something oddly satisfying about launching acorns into the air...

the beautiful view

shooting acorns

clearly, the love of Tolkien runs in the family...

After breakfast, we packed our nice clothes into the car and headed back to Atlanta for the wedding.  It was a beautiful service.  Ruth was a radiant bride!  After the ceremony, there was this tunnel of swords thing that her brothers led, which was really fun to watch. "A kiss to pass!" they would say, blocking the newlyweds' path with their swords.

a kiss to pass...

friends from Jordan reunited!

Janelle, Ruth, and me

The reception was party!  There was dancing, lots of yummy southern food (although I didn't eat the shrimp, still don't like seafood...), delicious punch, and of course, I had a very handsome date :)

my studly husband :)

After the reception, I changed back into comfy clothes, and we headed back to Rivendell.  Janelle joined us, so we could hang out the next day before we had to leave.  We spent a couple hours talking on the porch with my great-aunt and uncle, and found out that Janelle met some of my family in India when she was student teaching.  Small world!

The next day, we had a big breakfast, then we went on a short hike to see some nearby waterfalls.  Then we went to the lake, went out on a paddle boat, then went down the big rock slide next to the lake (the water was so cold!), and then finished off with dip in the swimming pool.  Aunt Andrea made the most delicious pork tenderloin, with this fantastic chipotle plum sauce.  After stuffing ourselves full of food, we packed our things up and said our goodbyes.

It was a quick trip, but it was a great weekend celebrating marriage and enjoying the company of friends and family.

Jeff, me, Aunt Andrea, and Uncle Rich

A Trip Up North

In between summer school sessions, Jeff and I took a few days off to go visit family up in Pennsylvania and New Jersey.  We got to walk around Valley Forge, hang out with cousins, collect some eggs, visit Longwood Gardens, celebrate my granddad's retirement (at 78!), and play lots of card games.  Here are some fun pictures from our trip:

Jeff getting some Lego time

picking strawberries from the garden

I LOVE this place! - the beautiful ruins at my cousins' farm

the newly-built fantastic herb garden

visiting Valley Forge National Historic Park

pretending to be a soldier

The log cabins at Valley Forge

Checking out the inside of the log cabins

The deer are totally not afraid of people in Valley Forge - I was within 3 feet of this one!  Didn't even flinch...

Americanization: one of the stained-glass values in the George Washington Memorial Chapel 

the woodwork in the chapel took years - and was done all by hand

I loved the stone work!

collecting fresh eggs

the eggs we collected

all dressed up for Grandpa's retirement party!

my cousins - getting flashy with their bowties and pocket watches

Grandma and Grandpa showing off their dance skills

at Longwood Gardens

hanging out on an old cedar-of-Lebanon

a super cool tree house

some of the flowers were huge!!!

watching the fountain show

hanging out with my sweet husband in the greenhouse

playing spades with Grandma and Grandpa - Jeff and Grandpa won...