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Wednesday, August 29, 2012

moving, part 3: we made it

we made it



and we did it all in one day

and it would not have happened

without all the sweet friends 

who prayed

brought us snacks
(intended for the trip, but also got us through the first four days)

drove the truck!

brought us breakfast at 6 a.m.

and did I say prayed?

we were on the road by 6:15 a.m.


and made it to our destination at around 6 p.m. that evening

Google Maps don't lie


we had a bit of a rough start

ended up doing two moves in two days

and I'm sorry, but I just don't feel like telling the whole story

but the following morning we arrived at our new home

it wasn't quite ready for us, so we hung out at the park for a while 

it was a nice break for the girls


once we got word that the place was ready to begin moving stuff in

we didn't waste any time

which was good, because at this point I think we were all running off adrenaline

the guys did amazing, and God even sent some of our new neighbors to help us too


and He sent us a sweet friend to bring us dinner

and another new friend who brought me flowers

we live in a complex similar to a military base, maybe

all the houses are connected

everyone has a front yard in the courtyard, but we all just kind of share the space

and there are kids everywhere

Aidan made about twenty friends in the first hour


And even though, i'm still going through my little grieving process

God has been so sweet and gracious to me 
by bringing some amazing people around us to make me feel so welcome.



No time was wasted, because the day after move in, Jason had orientation

and the Lord gave me even further confirmation that this is exactly where we're supposed to be



and the girls
well, the girls now have something, they've never had before

a front yard




so during breaks from being outside

I worked on unpacking



and I've been doing it ever since

Greetings from Oregon!

moving, part 2: I don't even know where to begin

I don't even know where to begin

a month ago we started packing

two weeks ago the goodbye dinners began

and a week ago today we said goodbye to our little house

the house I walked into after my honeymoon

the house I brought two babies home from the hospital

the house that hosted Sunday night dinners for our CCS group

the house that i first watched Arrested Development and Downton Abbey in
(haven't seen them? shame on you)

the house filled with so many memories I couldn't even fill a book


can you tell i'm grieving?

all in one day, it all changed

and I'm not handling it as well as I thought I would

don't get me wrong, I'm not doubting this move AT ALL

God and I were talking this morning, and I thanked Him for making it so 

abundantly clear this was the direction He wanted our family to go

seriously, if He wanted to make it any more clear 

He'd just have to put a big OREGON tattoo on my forehead

not necessary, I get it

I just miss the familiarity

I miss knowing Trader Joes is down the street

I miss walking to the park, my park

my clean non-sketchy one

but most of all 

I miss these wonderful people









and i just realized in all these photos

i'm wearing the same shirt

and I'm slightly mortified

but not completely

I've been living out of a suitcase for three weeks

so I'm excused






some goodbyes didn't get recorded

like with the Hill family, who you don't know

but I wish everyone did, because they're amazing


some goodbyes were from friendships that had just started


but that's the thing about friendships

they aren't based on distance

or time

they're just there

always

and that makes me less sad


moving, part 1: longest weekend of my life

the weekend before the move might have been the longest of my life

but I didn't want to miss any event

however, i ended up missing several because 

apparently August 18th is everyone's favorite date

but before I get to that

let me talk about August 17th

which is one of my favorite dates

and its all because of this little face

Happy Birthday, Haley!


this one turned two on August 17th

and so we canceled packing for the day and celebrated

the day began at the mall

at a place called Hop 'n' Play


and that's exactly what kids do there

in fact there is so much hopping and playing that to get a decent picture is impossible

which is why I have none

things got even more exciting when Grandma and Aunt Corrie showed up



and then of course the massive play-date at the park was the icing on the cake






And then the celebrations continued on August 18th

but not with the birth of my kid

but a shower for the birth of my cousin's

I was there, my family was there, and so was Pinterest



it was so much fun, and my girls did pretty well considering they were the only kids there

of course it didn't hurt that my aunt has a giant trampoline in the backyard


more hopping

and this may have been one of my favorite pictures of the day

three sets of sisters, cousins, friends


we said our goodbyes

and then it was off to shower #2

or more appropriately, A Bridal Blessing

for this hott thang!

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when you work in youth ministry

one of your incredibly long, unceasing prayers

is that the students you work with

wait for

choose

marry

a godly woman or man

one who is actively growing in the Lord

one who seeks His will first

and you pray for this, and pray for this, and pray for this

and when it happens its the most joyous occasion EVER!

well that woman

in the middle of that picture

was our answer to that prayer

and it was an incredible privilege to be able to bless her


and the mother of the groom introduced us to a new version

of the old toilet paper bride game, which in my opinion is WAYYYYY more fun

we decorated the little girls

              

they had a blast, we had a blast

it was awesome

Sunday morning

was busy with church, goodbye lunch with some of my favorite people in the world

no picture of them, but YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE

we came home, cleaned like mad-people before our walk-thru

and then these amazing people came over

                                   

brought us dinner, helped us pack, and cleaned for us

and then the final move prep began

Monday: Clean and move furniture to garage
Tuesday: pack truck and do final cleaning
Wednesday: say goodbye to the Bay Area

And you know what?
 those same people, and a few more
came back each day

I can't thank you all enough


Monday, August 6, 2012

Bloggerversary

So I was catching up on my Morning & Evening devotional this morning. 

Coming across a beyond-great quote from Charles 

(yeah, we're on a first name basis now)

I decided to share it on instagram.


which is when I realized

I think I've shared this quote before

why yes

i have

a YEAR AGO

it was second post on my blog

which is when I further realized

i totally missed my bloggerversary!

oh well, that's ok

i've forgotten worse things

and I'm not super big on celebrating

but it is kind of crazy to think that its been a year already

and its awesome to look back and see all that the Lord has done

and all that has changed

like these faces

      

          


I'd have to say after a year

the title of my blog still stands

i am carrie in chaos

but its not that my life is out of control

its just that I understand that my life is out of MY control

and as long as its under His control, I'm good with that






by the way
do you love coffee and tea?
of course you do
so join acuppakim's mug swap
two days left to register

Thursday, August 2, 2012

provision and pinterTesting

  
Praise the Lord!
He provides!

the day after my last post
we got a lead on an apartment!

And yesterday, i sent in our deposit.

How gracious He is to my weak faith

this place almost seems too good to be true
which only confirms that its completely from the Lord

however, I must admit
upon seeing pictures of the bedrooms
i got a weird twilight zone feeling

                                    current place                                          new place

                   

crazy right?
which leaves me to only one conclusion
green carpet and awesome landlords must go together


****

now I took a break from the PinterTest kitchen last month
cause we just had a lot going down
still do
but i'm back

and since we're prepping to move
major cleaning is happening around here

we have a gas stove
and I've never known to how to clean the grates

ENTER PINTEREST

zip-loc and ammonia

that's it

put your grate in a gallon zip-loc bag

add a couple tablespoons of ammonia

let sit over night


next morning you'll see the dirty grease filled ammonia


grab some gloves
and then take a sponge
and wipe or scrub clean.
depending on how bad it is
mine was bad
see the clean side vs. the dirty

GROSS doesn't even describe


MAKE SURE IT GETS RINSED THOROUGHLY
you can rinse while you wipe, or rinse after
just make sure you rinse, rinse, rinse in warm water

then use that brand new stove-top
to make something delicious

like this...

  I shared this recipe a while ago
but its worth repeating!

It doesn't cost a fortune to make
it doesn't take a whole lot of prep time
and its OFF THE CHART GOOD

its our small group's favorite
and was nominated to be our final meal together

so here it is


6-7 pieces of bacon (cut into small pieces)
1 medium onion (chopped)
6-7 potatoes (cubed) - I only like to use about 4
2 (10.5 oz.) cans of cream of celery soup
1 cup of milk
1 cup of heavy cream
1 tsp dried dill week
1 tbsp of butter (optional)
1 sourdough bread bowl (MUST)
serves 4-6

Add bacon to pot first
cook on Medium heat until crispy
keep all that grease inside

then add onions and cook until translucent


add clam juice from both cans
reserving the actual clams for later

then add your potatoes


the recipe calls for 6-7 cubed potatoes
but i only use about 4 so it doesn't overpower the clams

cook and cover until the potatoes are tender
15-20 minutes, but depends how tiny your cubes are

stir occasionally so potatoes won't stick

then add clams, celery soup, cream, milk, and dill weed


stir together
and add butter, letting it just melt into the chowder

cook about 30-45 minutes or until thickened

spoon it into a bread bowl, or just a plain bowl
and feel pure goodness go down to your tummy


Happy Pinning!
Happy Testing!



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