Little update on the to-do list!

A few posts ago, I posted my initial list of to-do's before our move to Boston in just a few short months (we still don't have an update on when or into what we will move, but we will be going up for a whirlwind apartment-hunting trip in just a few weeks!). I was inspired with this list- in part- by a series of posts on Young House Love where they tackle neglected projects that have been piling up (they call it their "Dude, get on that already" project).

I've maintained some motivation this week and actually gotten a couple of things done! Here's an updated list:

1. Gather up and deliver the bags of items to be donated to the youth group garage sale, as well as the J Crib garage sale. (I actually have four bags ready to go---they're just hanging out in the back of my car right now.) We got four or five bags dropped off to the youth group! I still have things that will need to be donated and have started on the next round of bags.

2. Finish packing up (as in boxing up) the remainder of our winter clothes. Tape and label. (I started this process for my clothes a few weeks ago.)

3. Sort through and evaluate items in our closets: bedroom, office, guestroom, coat closet, and game closet. We're blessed with a lot of closets! (I need to get this done preferably before the aforementioned garage sales.)

4. Sort through all of our magazines and determine which to keep and which to donate. Check! I sorted through my Real Simples (granted, I didn't get rid of many of those), Southern Livings (I didn't get rid of just tons of those, either...I figure I'll want their inspiration and comfort when living far away from the South), All Yous (don't worry- I clipped all the coupons and recipes out first!), and my beloved National Geographics (my parents unexpectedly got me a subscription several years ago, and I thoroughly enjoyed them). I already gave the NG's that I didn't keep to Julie to use with her kids, and the other magazines are awaiting a final destination. If anyone is interested, holler at me!

5. Finish up the pile of in-progress crafts and projects so that those items will be completed (and thereby consolidated/excess stuff thrown away) before moving.

6. Go through the storage boxes that have been under the beds all year and literally haven't been gone through once. I think this says a few things: a) we don't need that stuff b) we don't know what to do with it or c) there are treasures in there that I will kick myself for not discovering before now.

The list isn't diminishing by leaps and bounds or anything, but it's nice to see progress, all the same. The unfortunate part is that as soon as I can strike one thing off the list, 3 more things pop up. C'est la vie...

The Purple and Shiny Challenge

Remember how I sort of cheated with my character in this post? Yeah...I sort of did it again. 

I just really liked the board and had the clothing for it, ok? It's cheating with the same movie, though. Does that change things? As in, does it make it less cheat-y?

I have no idea what she does or if she's awesome or annoying, and I'm not loving the LSU-ishness. However, I like the look.

Character: Meg from Hercules

Outfit: 

*Purple shirt from Ross 2010.

*Gold camisole from...I don't know...2004? Maybe? It's been around for a while.

*Brown pants from Kohl's 2010.

*Gold-ish sandals (that you can't see) from Ross 2010.

*Gold earrings from Francesca's 2011.

Disneybound inspiration board:

Coming up in May: Disney Princess/Leading Lady month! Yay! Amiee and I have already been plotting. 

Happy weekend!

Images from here and here.

I never thought I'd miss Jackson, but...

...there are definitely things I'm going to miss. Being only a few months out from our big move (sorry- we don't know when we're moving...we don't have that nailed down yet. We're still working on it!), I'm starting to think about and process the Jackson things that I really love. Some things don't surprise me at all...

Christ Community Church.
We LOVE our church. LOVE it. It is full of truly fantastic people who love God, love us, and love the Church. We've grown a lot and are constantly encouraged. We'll definitely miss events like Epiphany Progressive Dinner (did I never mention this? We totally have a progressive dinner for Epiphany. Love it.) and Jesus Feast and Easter. We'll miss the little guys that we take care of in nursery, our small group (choking back big tears), our church leadership, and our friends. The wedding or baby showers that happen about once a month. We'll miss it all.

Union University.
Not only does Union foot the Bill of our Lives, it's just a special place to us. We each spent four incredibly formative years of our lives here. We met here. We got engaged here. One of Union's Core Values is that it's People Focused (as a good Union alum and employee, I feel that I need to include the other three for you: Christ-Centered, Excellence-Driven, and Future-Directed.), and we love that about Union. The majority of the professors here hold terminal degrees and are widely respected in their fields, yet we know many of them on personal levels. We have meals in their homes, coffee with them on campus, and chats in the hallway. We go to church with at least 12 faculty/staff members that I can think of off the top of my head. It's an incredible place, and we will be SAD to leave it.

Picasso.
It's a pizza place. BEST BBQ chicken pizza in the world. YUM.

J Crib Urban Ministries.
Brad's been working with J Crib for 5 years. He's invested a lot of time, energy, and prayer into his guys. I've been volunteering in the kitchen for the past two years. We'll miss our fellow workers, in addition to the students that are a part of the program. Tonight, one of the gal small group leaders pulled me aside to tell me that she was thinking about us leaving the other day and realized how sad it would make her. That simultaneously made me sad and happy. Is that weird?

Our relationships.
Amiee will still be here! Rachael will be here, too! Amiee and I are super tight, and we're not looking forward to being a gazillion miles apart (again). We love our siblings and have enjoyed living so close to them. We'll also miss other friends, like Kyleigh and Karen and the other Kylie. Our church friends. Brad's mentor and friend, Dr. Padelford. We're not looking forward to the goodbyes.

Some things that I'll miss suprise me a little, though...

Zumba.
Particularly my Zumba class. I really enjoy those ladies and our instructor. Who'da thunk?

Our house.
I've grown rather attached to our little house over the past two years. We've gotten things settled and have our personalities stamped all over it. It will be sad to remove ourselves and leave it bare and empty. I hope it finds good people.

"My" Kroger.
Admittedly, I do not enjoy grocery shopping. When I got back from Ukraine, I had a minor freak-out about grocery shopping in a place with so many options. However, I've gotten into a groove, I know where things are, and I can map out a pretty efficient plan when I got buy groceries. Now, I'll have to start over. Shucks.

I get sentimental, apparently. This post reminds me of these two posts of yore. Sigh...I write when I have too many thoughts to process in my head. I expect there will be more posts like this to come. Have I made you want to visit Jackson yet? :)

The Double Trouble Challenge

It's funny how each week is a new adventure in outfit-choosing. I've never looked at my closet so strategically on a regular basis before. Amiee and I have both benefited from this little no-buying-clothes project in the sense that our options and perspectives have broadened. I've been wearing things the past few weeks that I had previously completely forgotten that I owned. How awful is that? Makes me feel that I've been wasteful up until now. Yikes!

This week, Amiee and I decided to do something a little fun (or, at least, fun for us). The collaborative effort helped with that whole being-creative-with-our-clothing aspect of the challenge.

Here's this week's picture:

Or maybe I should have said that the above is one of this week's pictures. Here are two more:

You can even spot Julie in the mirror! She's a great sport.

Can you tell who/what we are? I'll help you out.

Character(s): the Siamese cats from Lady and the Tramp

Outfit:

*Black shrug is from...maybe Papaya? I'm really not sure. I'm fairly certain that I've had it since 2010, though.

*Black cami is definitely from NY & Co., 2008.

*Tan top is from Ross 2011.

*Denim trousers from Ann Taylor Loft, 2011.

Disneybound inspiration board:

Like how we mixed things up for ya? You just never know what we have up our sleeves. Muahahahaha. Or maybe I should just insert some sort of wicked "meow."

Images from here and here. Remember to check Amiee's blog!

And so we prepare.

One of the things I have had very much in my thoughts on moving is that we have a lot of stuff. Don't get big or grand ideas- we don't have an inordinate about of belongings, but we definitely have enough to make me hyperventilate when I think about having to pack, move, unpack, and find permanent locations for those items in a probably-much-smaller-than-we-currently-have living establishment. That was one of the reasons behind my decision to do No Buy 2012: to make sure that I use what I have and don't add to our already plentiful pile of possessions.

For the past few weeks, I've been trying to be intentional about a) not buying anything that's not strictly necessary (house-related items, cute things, stuff-just-because-I-have-BBB gift cards- and-coupons) and b) sorting through our belongings and culling out what we don't use or have multiples of. It's sort of an overwhelming task, so I'm trying to get started now and try my hand and not being stressed when it comes time to pack it all up.

Here's my list, of sorts:

1. Gather up and deliver the bags of items to be donated to the youth group garage sale, as well as the J Crib garage sale. (I actually have four bags ready to go---they're just hanging out in the back of my car right now.)

2. Finish packing up (as in boxing up) the remainder of our winter clothes. Tape and label. (I started this process for my clothes a few weeks ago.)

3. Sort through and evaluate items in our closets: bedroom, office, guestroom, coat closet, and game closet. We're blessed with a lot of closets! (I need to get this done preferably before the aforementioned garage sales.

4. Sort through all of our magazines and determine which to keep and which to donate.

5. Finish up the pile of in-progress crafts and projects so that those items will be completed (and thereby consolidated/excess stuff thrown away) before moving.

6. Go through the storage boxes that have been under the beds all year and literally haven't been gone through once. I think this says a few things: a) we don't need that stuff b) we don't know what to do with it or c) there are treasures in there that I will kick myself for not discovering before now.

There's waaaay more that will need to be tackled, but this is my "master list" for the time being. I am hereby setting a goal of accomplishing one of these tasks within the next week. Someone hold me to it, please!

I've never done this before...

Move to graduate school, that is. I've moved, and I've even moved by myself (you know, to Ukraine); however, I feel that this is different. For one, Brad and I have a lot more stuff together than I did in my 4 trunks (don't get me wrong- we got a lot of stuff into those four trunks, right Mom/Amiee/Mrs. Twila?).

I also knew that there were people in Ukraine waiting to meet me and show me the ropes. I've never done this whole moving-cold-turkey business before. We have a few very (very) loose connections with people in Boston but nothing of any substance so far. The task of finding a place to live seems rather monumental right now, and we've been talking/thinking about it so much that I've found myself dreaming about it (not in a happy daydreaming way...like, when I'm trying to sleep and shut out thoughts of moving but can't way). Oi. That gets old.

My family has moved a few times when I was growing up; we mostly moved around Alabama (if you don't count the time we picked up and moved to the Middle East), but that doesn't count because I was responsible for very little. This time, though, Brad and I are the totally responsible party. Yikes! When did we grow up and earn that title?

We have a fantastic support system, of course, who will (and have already volunteered to) help with packing/planning/moving. It's not like we don't have friends and family. However, it just seems like a very extremely grown-up thing to do.

Is it weird that I'm far more nervous about moving to Boston with my other half than I was about moving halfway around the world by myself? I think it is.

Things I've been pondering about this move:

1. Where will we live?
I feel like we're playing MASH (anyone remember that game??): house? shack? apartment?

2. Where will we go to church?
I can't even really talk about leaving Christ Community right now. It's almost my very favorite part of living in Jackson.

3. What kind of job will I get?
I LOVE my job here and never want to leave it.

4. Who will be our friends?
We don't have any friends in Boston. Will people like us and want to adopt us into their friend circles?

I think about these things every day. I realize that this time next year, I'll probably roll my eyes at myself for having these thoughts, but they're very real right now.

I think I'll just stay here, thankyouverymuch.

(ok not really...)

The Lurks in the Church Challenge

This week, something funny happened with the character outfits. I had decided which character I wanted to be, without mentioning it to Brad. Coincidentally, the very morning I was planning to be my character, I didn't see Brad before he left for work (i.e. I didn't see what he was wearing). Here's what I wore:

I was going for this guy:

See how I was trying to hunch over? It doesn't look like it too much, but I really was trying. Here's the picture I had Brad take of me that afternoon:

And here is what Brad had been wearing all day:

How funny is that? We both ended up wearing the same colors and looking kind of Quasimodo-ish. Also, how do you like our attempts at being hunchbacks? We should maybe keep our day jobs...

Character: Quasimodo from Disney's The Hunchback of Notre Dame

Outfit:

*Green shirt is, I think, from Ross in 2010. I think.

*Brown skirt was a gift from Mom when she came to Ukraine in 2009. It's from Wal-Mart.

*Cross necklace was a graduation (from high school) gift from some family friends.

Disneybound inspiration board:

Although this outfit was fairly easy to pull together, I sort of felt like I looked like a tree all day... Here's hoping next week's is a little less woodsy-looking. Check out Amiee's most recent outfits here and here!

Images from here and here.

He is risen indeed.

One of the things I really love about our church is that we follow the Church calendar. Not a calendar of events that happens at church (although we do have a very active calendar of events) but rather the traditional calendar the church began long ago. This is particularly meaningful to me (as well as our little body of believers) around Easter.

Easter has always been meaningful to me, of course. It's Christianity's holiest day. However, in following the Church calendar, our church here really builds up to Easter as a climax, bringing all of the phases of Easter preparation into full focus.

I wrote a little bit about Ash Wednesday last year. It may be one of my favorite services of the year, which is a little weird, seeing as how it's the beginning of a period of "trial." The fact that our whole church goes through fasting and praying together, breaking our fasts on Sundays and studying what fasting/praying/suffering looked like from Jesus' standpoint, makes the process so real. There's so much accountability (but not judgment) and solidarity: experiencing something together that is designed to remind us of Jesus' journey.

Palm Sunday is a big day at Christ Community. As one friend says, "It's the day we let our Freak Flag fly." It's a little bit true. In keeping with the spirit of "palm" Sunday, we actually use palm branches during our worship time. We start in the parking lot and walk into the church while singing Hosanna (imagine this song done in a cool acoustic way with a jembe keeping time) and waving our palms. The kids LOVE it, and- weird though it may be- it absolutely puts us in the frame of mind that surrounded Jesus as He made his triumphal entry.

Holy week is just the best time of the calendar at CCC. Palm Sunday, of course, begins the week. Side note: this year, Brad and I were actually in toddler nursery on Palm Sunday (after the palm part of the service...oh man. Adventures.)

Maundy Thursday is really unique: we celebrate a Passover meal together: Jesus Feast. We partnered with another church in town and celebrated a Passover meal that we pitched in to prepare, walking through the phases of the Passover, discussing the significance of each element, and observed Communion together. It was truly a neat experience. I love the thought and care that goes into the music for every service. We sang the song "Table of Plenty" at the beginning of the feast, and the further along we got into the service, the more tangible the lyrics became:

Come to the Feast of Heaven and Earth

Come to the table of plenty!

God will provide all that we need

Here at the table of plenty.

Tenebrae on Good Friday is one of the most somber experiences I can think of. Growing up in a Christian home, Easter observance has always been a part of my life. Unfortunately- and this is of my own doing- I often fail to grasp the significance of Good Friday and just skip to Easter. During the service, we went through the seven last sayings of Jesus, each saying punctuated by a short commentary done by different men in the church. Each man brought out truths, promises, and realities from biblical bases and personal experience. As each commentary wrapped up, one of the seven candles (almost the only light in the room) was extinguished- until we were left in darkness, contemplating the last moments of Jesus and the weight of his sacrifice. The whole church sat in silence and darkness, and I promise you, I felt the despair of the crucifixion (as in, the actual death scene) for the first time. I felt cold and creepy and alone (sort of like the description of a Dementor attack in Harry Potter). We left in silence, which hammered the impact of the service home even more.

Then Sunday came. CCC is a raucous little church on Easter Sunday! Our elders describe our little group as an "Easter people," and boy, are we ever. We sing loudly (and not necessarily well) and there is no containing the joy and excitement on Resurrection Day. This song is a staple (and no one cares if we're all off-key. Amiee is never off-key, though. It's good to sit by her if you can). But, the best is when we sing "Low in the Grave He Lay." There's just nothing like it.

Low in the grave He lay

Jesus, my savior

Waiting the coming day

Jesus, my Lord

Vainly they watch his bed

Jesus, my savior

Vainly they seal the dead

Jesus, my Lord

Death cannot keep his prey

Jesus, my savior

He tore the bars away

Jesus, my Lord

Up from the grave He arose

With a mighty triumph o'er His foes

He arose a victor from the dark domain

And He lives forever with His saints to reign

He arose! He arose! Hallelujah, Christ arose!

The Strongest Challenge

My character this week kind of feels like cheating to me. I've never actually seen the movie. I'm not sure if we weren't allowed to as children or if we just never got around to it or if we just weren't interested...but it never happened. Here's my character for this week:

This outfit sort of happened accidentally. I had already planned to be another character this week and had thought about doing this one another week. However, when I was primping...er...getting ready for the day, I realized that I could be a character without even trying. Victory! Here I am, giving you a clue:

Hercules! Grrrrr. I don't know if Hercules actually growls, but it seems like the appropriate thing to do. Brad even pointed out that my neckline looked very Grecian. Totally did that on purpose...or maybe not.

Character: Hercules from Disney's Hercules

Outfit:

*Navy shirt was a cast-off of Amiee's that I snagged. At the end of 2011, we pulled out our clothes and accessories that we didn't want and let each other prowl through the stash to see if we wanted anything of the other's. It was very profitable for me; not as much for Amiee. Not sure what this says about my clothing tastes...

*Yellow cami from New York & Co. 2010.

*Dress pants from Kohl's 2010.

*Gold jewelry from 1996 when my family lived in the Middle East. Great forethought, Mom!

Disneybound inspiration board:

I think this is a really pretty outfit, and I sort of wish it was mine. Sigh. Check Amiee's updates here.

Images from here and here.

And we have a winner!

We did it. We made a decision about where we will be moving next year. Last time I wrote about things, it looked like this. The whole process of praying through and deciding where to move next has been rather nail-biting. For the past several weeks, it's been very back and forth and up and down. We did narrow things down to three places about 3 weeks ago. Here's what we were working with:

All three had their pros and cons, professors that Brad wanted to study with, program offerings that stuck out, financial packages, etc. This week, though, we got down to the nitty gritty, continued praying, and felt that we could move ahead with an answer. Here's where we're moving:

We're moving to Boston! And yes, I'm aware that the winters are brutal (lucky me- I'm already prepared with winter gear. Remember how I lived in Ukraine?), that Bostonians have accents, and that there isn't sweet tea. Amazingly, despite those things, we both feel really good about the decision and are looking forward to what lies ahead.

What was that? You want to know the details of the education side of things?

Well, Brad will be studying at Boston College, pursing a master's in Church History. His area of interest is the early Church fathers (he wrote his undergrad thesis on Irenaeus and gnosticism...his interests are wide and varied. Speaking of which: Mrs. Tidwell, Brad is going to guest post soon with his thoughts about food and ethics!), and Boston College has a good program for that ("that" being Church history). Even better, BC is part of a consortium of universities (including Harvard and Gordon Conwell) that allows students to take classes from any of the schools in the consortium- up to half of his course credits can be taken at schools other than BC. Crazy, right?

We've started making a list of stuff we'd like to do while we're there. Many trips to Fenway are at the top of Brad's list. Maine and Vermont are on mine, as are Martha's Vineyard, New York, and- since we'll be much closer- Prince Edward Island. We're saving our pennies, starting now.

So that's our update. The Lord has blessed us quite abundantly with this opportunity. We're working on nailing down our timeline and a plan for the next few months, which I know are going to fly by before I'm quite ready.

Never fear: we'll keep you posted.

BC image from here.