We're going North.

We leave today. You know, just for phase one of our big move. It's a long process and will end up being multi-day. I'll try to gather lots of good pictures and non-eventful stories. 


We'd really appreciate prayer over the next few days. There are quite a lot of details that need to fall into place. AND Brad and Dad are driving a HUGE truck. Gigantic. Boston has tiny roads, y'all...


Later, Jackson. It's been great. I'm sure we'll be back.

The I Can Fly Challenge

This one shouldn't be too hard to guess, based on the title.

That was my best pose for...

Peter Pan! Peter Pan always sort of made me uncomfortable, but I can't even identify why that was... Maybe because I was worried they could never get home and see their family again? Anyone else have that experience? Just me? Ok...

Character: Peter Pan from Peter Pan

Outfit: 

*Green top from Ross 2010 (tax-free weekend, no less!)

*Black shorts from Old Navy 2008

*Red earrings from Stein Mart 2010

*Leather/pearl necklace was a gift from my boss for Christmas 2011

Disneybound inspiration board:

More to come!

Images from here and here.

The Woodland Creature Challenge

I apologize for being SO behind on character updates. We've been crazy busy around here and are about to get even busier: tomorrow is Moving Day, Phase 1. AGH!

Here's my Woodland Creature:

Guesses? Here's another clue:

If my outfit wasn't obvious enough and the second picture didn't fill you in, the title of the Challenge might have tipped you off. I was going for...

Bambi. When I was little, my friend, Jacob, and I often played Bambi and Feline while our parents were at choir practice. How funny is that?

Character: Bambi from Bambi

Outfit:

*Brown skirt from Wal-Mart, circa 2009

*Shirt purchased with a Banana Republic gift card (Thanks, Jameses!) in 2010
*Awkward pose courtesy of me...Disneybound Inspiration board: 

More to come very shortly!

Images from here and here.

La la la la la la

This past Sunday was our last time at church in Jackson (sniff...can't really think about it too much). I always love the music at CCC, and this past Sunday was no exception. It made me all smiley that we sang not one but two songs that Brad and I included at our wedding. Aw.


Over the past few weeks, I've been compiling an playlist to remind us of all the music we love at CCC. It's, by no means, comprehensive, but we're loving it so far. And, bonus- I thought I'd include a list for you, too, in case you're searching for a CCC playlist, too.


1. Christ is Risen (Matt Maher)
2. Revelation Song (Kari Jobe)
3. Highly Exalted (Robin Mark)
4. Lord, I Need You (Chris Tomlin)
5. The Lorica (Gayle Salmond)
6. Saviour King (Hillsong United)
7. Trisagion (Fernando Ortega)
8. Hallelujah (Craig Smith)
9. Sing to Jesus (Fernando Ortega)
10. One Day (Robin Mark)
11. Sing His Love (Caedmon's Call)
12. Your Name (Paul Baloche)
13. Be Unto Your Name (Travis Cottrell)
14. 10,000 Reasons (Matt Redman)


Also, on the CCC site there are links to songs written by members of CCC! So much goodness out there. Enjoy!

The Precocious Challenge

Amiee and I have a little tradition every Christmas. Well, technically, we have a LOT of traditions, but we have one that is far more little kiddish than our other traditions. We always watch a movie starring a heroine that looks a little bit like this:


Any guesses? 
Every year, Amiee and I watch (and quote and sing with...and maybe even dance with):

Eloise! This is one of our favorite Christmas movies, and we're pretty unapologetic about it. I don't even remember when the tradition started, but we do it every year.

Character: Eloise from the Eloise series

Outfit:

*White top from Amiee's don't-want-it-anymore stash at the end of 2011.

*Red beads from Ukraine.

*Red shoes from my wedding.

*Black skirt from Kyleigh in 2010 (originally from J Crew).

Disneybound inspiration board:

I really loved this outfit. I almost didn't even want to change. :)

Images from here and here.

Thoughts.

Our house is very different now- from the last time you "saw" it. Thank goodness! I'll try to take some pictures soon. The biggest factor is that my dad is awesome. He's awesome at a lot of things- like pediatrician-ing, particularly- but he has a super power that you may not know about. 

He's Super Mr. Packing Man.

When he was in college, he was bitten by a radioactive spider...er...he worked for a moving company. He learned to pack boxes- quite literally- like a pro and how to pack a truck. He and my mom came up Tuesday and stayed until last night (Happy Belated 4th of July, by the way- I love being an American!) and Dad went into Packing Mode. All day Monday, I went through the whole house, evaluating and making decisions, and made a (actually 2) HUGE piles. I sorted one pile into all kitchen-y things, but the other pile was of whatever my hands touched that could be packed. It was quite large and rather precarious. My parents came into town, I helped a little bit, I went to Zumba for an hour, and when I came back, the piles had magically disappeared. 

Super power, I tell you.

In other news, we already have our first set of Red Sox tickets for when we get to Boston (less than a week after arrival!). I'm not a baseball fan, but apparently, if you live in Boston, you must be. Brad promised to buy me a hot dog or nachos or something, so at least I have that to look forward to.

Mom and I have already started scouting out grocery stores and coupons to help off-set those high, New England prices.

Amiee has been making a verbal list of places to visit in the week that she's there. Harvard, downtown, the bay, and maybe Freedom Trail. You know, in addition to touring Boston College and unpacking with us. 

I'm still in auto-focus, so I haven't really started processing the emotions of the fact that moving is so eminent, but I am being rather efficient. We've started our list of goodbyes that need to be made, as well as restaurants that need to be visited.

We're trucking along. Making progress. 

Things to love about my life right now.

I find myself starting to feel sorry for myself a little too easily these days. It starts with feeling overwhelmed and morphs quickly into a little moping. The moping is mostly because I feel scattered and a little lost at the moment. I know why we're moving to Boston. There's no question that that's where we need to be. However, as I have no job, no friends, no church, no kids or pets, no school to pursue currently...I feel a little superfluous. I know I'll look back one day and see this as an awesome time of learning, but right now, it can be frustrating. So, in order to discipline myself NOT to think of the frustrating things, I made a list of the things I love right now:

1. I love that we still have almost two weeks to spend with friends in Jackson.

2. I love that we had a four-hour dinner with our friend, Karen, the other night. Just talking about her trip to Germany.

3. I love that we still have one more Sunday at church and are going to hang out with our small group that afternoon.

4. I love that I'm finally seeing some progress in the packing-up department. We're making headway in what we'll be storing, clearing out cabinets and closets, and letting go of things that we don't need.

5. I love that we're pulling together a last-minute 4th of July celebration, starting with Jackson friends on the 3rd and my family on the 4th. We'll get to see fireworks this year! (even if those fireworks come after we sit through a baseball game in the muggy heat)

6. I love that Amiee's taking summer classes and we can hang out before Brad and I move.

7. I love that there's a beach vacation with the Boswells on the horizon!

8. I love that I woke up to a text message with good news from a friend this morning.

9. I love that I'm getting to flex my culinary creativity muscles in an attempt to use up the food we have without spending extraneously or wasting anything.

10. I love that there may be some rain in the next few days.

I'm hoping that I'll be able to keep this perspective over the next few days. The house is more crowded with stuff than ever, but I take that as a good sign. We're pulling out of Jackson in 24 short days. Wow!

The Tiny Bird Challenge

I went rather colorful this week. Also, I didn't really think my outfit through before choosing a location for breakfast with Mom and Kyleigh. Here's what I wore:

It's kind of funny that I wore this because we went to a local place called Latham's. Latham's is primarily a meat market (true story) but also serves breakfast...its primary demographic being retired men. I was a little out-of-place with my color palate and level of dressiness. Oh well. Breakfast was awesome, and I fulfilled my purpose. Here's my character:

Not the raccoon- although his coloring does fit in better with my usual clothing choices.

Character: Flit from Pocahontas

Outfit:
Fun fact: The majority of my outfit were actually gifts from my mother at different times. 
*Brown skirt from Mom (via Wal-Mart, I think) circa 2009
*Teal shrug from Mom from Stein Mart, I think.
*Pink top from mom from...I don't know where.
*Sandals are from Senegal. We go way back.

Disneybound inspiration board:

A friend at church today said something that sort reminded me of wearing this outfit: "I think you should do something everyday that makes you uncomfortable." I sort of feel that this outfit was out of my comfort zone, but I'm still glad I did it. Be sure to check out Amiee's challenge updates, too!

Images from here and here.