A Little Birthday Bash

My wonderful husband decided that since we were traveling to D.C. for him to attend a medical conference that we might as well celebrate my birthday just a few days early and spend the first night at the incredible D.C. St. Regis.  He lavished me with gifts when we arrived; and, in the morning, ordered a pot of steaming coffee and a basket of flaky croissants.  He insisted I stay in bed, wrapped up in a fluffy robe while sipping coffee and reading the paper.

I thank the Lord that He gave me a husband that knows me well.

Never Forget December 7th

Remember Pearl Harbor
"History in ev'ry century records an act that lives forevermore.
We'll recall, as into line we fall, the thing that happened on Hawaii's shore.

Let's remember Pearl Harbor
As we go to meet the foe.
Let's remember Pearl Harbor
As we did the Alamo.
We will always remember how they died for Liberty.
Let's remember Pearl Harbor
And go on to victory."

The recovered anchor from the USS Arizona

All the remains at the surface of the USS Arizona

Throwing a lei in honor of the fallen soldiers of Pearl Harbor

Dreaming of Nantucket

Hunt and I were blessed last month to be invited by a friend to join them at their rental house in Nantucket for a week.  And we didn't even blink before responding with an enthusiastic YES!

I had never been to Nantucket before and it had been many years since Hunt's only visit.  I wasn't sure what to expect, but I knew that it could only be reached by ferry or plane, that it had a very charming town, several beaches that you accessed with jeeps over the dunes and a very "New England-y" feel.

We came across on a ferry and took our suitcases over the cobblestones to main street.  The first night on the island was a Lobster bake party and was a fitting way to kick off the week.

The rest of the week we walked all over the town, peeped into the little shops, ate exquisite food, enjoyed some very fruity drinks, bounced along in the jeeps to the different beaches, lounged by the gorgeous pool, were attacked by monster mosquitoes while navigating the sand dunes, ate huge dinners of fresh fish and island-grown tomatoes, were spoiled by maid service and a HUGE laundry room (yes, I washed our 9 days of dirty clothes before we left), and generally loved every single moment.

 

 

Our lovely home for a week - it was an old barn that was transformed last year

The awesome pool and patio...heavenly!

The pool was the perfect stress reliever....

Our lovely, lovely room

I could spend a lot of time in here very comfortably

The back of the house in the moonlight

Exploring downtown Nantucket:

Downtown Nantucket water meter cover

The famed Murray's Toggery shop on Main street - home of "Nantucket Reds"

Hunt got to relive his high school days driving a jeep - notice the pup?

An American flag Nantucket style

And I got to realize my high school dream - except it wasn't a VW Cabriolet...

Hunt impersonating a whaling captain on our rainy day exploring

The Lilly Pulitzer jeep!

Lobster Eggs Benedict - it was a pure miracle that I was able to grab a picture before it disappeared.

On several days we took the jeeps out to different beaches were you would drive through the dunes to get to the water...and then you drove over the beach to the spot you wanted to lay out your towel.  Pretty convenient if you had a sand pass on your jeep!

The house had jeeps for us to adventure around the island...beautiful open dunes to drive (and jostle) through...

Which way?!? Soft sand...or softer sand?? (Exploring Eel Point)

Ok, path chosen...for now...

Stopping at Millies for a bite at the end of Madaket

Mystery rum drinks at Millie's...one was already getting snatched up!

The veeeery low-key airport...want to watch an episode of Wings, anyone?

Right for arrivals, left for departures...

On another night, on another part of the island...we enjoyed a clear night at the Cisco Brewery, right next to Bartlett's Farm where they grow the most amazing hydrangeas and tomatoes.

The island brewery - Cisco brewers

Trying out the cisco brewery offerings - lovely night with live music!

Why do Katherine and Grant look cute and we look like trouble??

Have I mentioned that Nantucket is FULL of hydrangeas?  There were so many different colors, types and they were amazingly abundant.

Beautiful pink hydrangeas near the pool

The island was bursting with hydrangeas!  So many varieties I'd never even seen!

Love the long afternoon shadows

I loved this kitchen - it was such a treat to cook in!

Eating outside one night with all the crowd.

See who's at the end of this row of flower boxes??

More beautiful flowers on the streets of Nantucket

Our view leaving Nantucket from the back of the ferry...

We hope to be able to go back some day - but our week there was a fantastic treat!

Going Home

My "home" is with my husband, but I can't help but say that I'm "going home" when I travel to Atlanta. Especially when it means going to my parent's house.

Going home is...

• flying over the city I know so well with its sparkling lights at night
• being wrapped in a blanket of softly-humid warmth when I step out of the airport
• the porch light shining as a beacon down the dark street
• the smell of pine needles and gardenias when I pull up in the driveway of my parent's home
• the scent that can't be described, but it's my parent's house
• the beautiful white furniture in "my" bedroom that I've had since I was six
• my bedside light softly gleaming, waiting just for me
• the mattress that is so familiar my body fits into it like a pair of favorite jeans
• my mother's smiling voice waking me gently before she leaves for school
• my father's pot of coffee waiting for me on the counter
• the whole house vacuumed and cleaned as if I was special company coming to stay
• familiar pictures in frames that bring a smile to my face
• watching the birds flit around my mother's bird feeder right outside the kitchen window
• Chick-fil-A goodness being right down the street
• dinner with my parents at our regular Mexican spot
• discovering that the enormous gardenia bush has given me a gift of three new blooms

Home is an anchor of love, certainty, and familiar comforts.

I thought we were in New England

...and that we could stop worrying about being impacted by hurricanes!

Irene wouldn't bother us one bit except for the fact that Hunt and I are supposed to travel to Atlanta this weekend for not one, but two weddings of dear friends. And while I am very happy that the bride with the outdoor wedding on Saturday no longer needs to worry about being pummeled by wind and rain, it does appear that the eye wall of Hurricane Irene is passing very close to Boston Sunday evening...right when we are due to be flying into Logan airport.

It doesn't really impact me since I am able to work from any location as long as I have an internet connection. It greatly impacts Hunt since for some reason he can't perform long-distance emergency interventions in the cath lab. (I've asked him to look into it, but it appears without some kind of meta-physics miracle, it's not going to happen) So, I may have to attend solo. Which stinks. Along with many of my girlfriends who have husbands with jobs that cause them to travel or be restricted to certain locations, going solo to weddings is something of a norm in our lives. I wouldn't care so much if it weren't for the fact that my husband is so unbelievably fun. He brings a lot of humor to just about any situation and, to top it off, he's a great dancer. All in all, a fantastic wedding date.

So, Irene, woman-to-woman here, could you just keep moving further east please?

Round Abound

One of the most confusing and anxiety-inducing things that I've encountered while driving is trying to navigate a traffic circle. On Nantucket Island (where there is not a single traffic light) traffic circles, or roundabouts, are a very popular traffic control tool.

Having successfully driven through one of the world's most complicated traffic circles in D.C.'s DuPont Circle many a time, I can safely say that Nantucket's roundabouts are some of the scariest – and most confusing – that I've encountered. I'm not sure if it's that people are in vacation-mode, or that there is very little merge room to get into the inner or outer circle, or that everyone seems to be driving a massive Land Rover Defender.

As a driver it can be hard to guess what your fellow drivers are about to do...especially since there is usually very little use of signaling in Nantucket roundabouts. You literally have to prognosticate where a 2-ton SUV with a ramming bar on its front grill is about to turn off or keep going 'round.

"Hmmm...I see a little bronze blond woman with a massive diamond in a Lilly Pulitzer dress on her cell phone plowing her way around the circle in her over sized tank...should I risk it and try to gun it off the line and get in front of her so that I can turn off on the next road...and what if the antsy distracted texting teenager to my left is thinking about making the same move? Better not risk it. Oh wait, she appears to be turning off...is there someone tailgating her or is she blocking the path and giving me an in? Go, GO, GOOO!"

{sample of my inner monologue as I am driving someone's very nice car on Nantucket}

Who would have thought that I would ever say that navigating through D.C. is easier?

This inevitably brought to mind a funny short from Tom-Tom introducing their line of Star Wars characters reading off directions for their navigation devices. See what Darth thinks about roundabouts...

We are alive and well

in WUSTAH!

Yes, I know it's been a while. Yes, I have neglected this blog. Yes, I've had a million and one ideas about things to post. Yes, I'm amazed at how people with multiple small children find the time to post and I am only taking care of me (plus one husband) and can't seem to find the time.

And yes, we are now officially residents of Central Massachusetts. The good doctor tells me that he's making all my dreams come true by moving me to snowy New England away from people who say "y'all," any hope of finding a Chick-fil-A nearby or decent college football. We shall see. But, I do have to say that, so far, I love the lower humidity, noticeable lack of palmetto bugs, and hearing thick Boston accents.

And with that, out goes the old:

And in comes the new:

You'll be hearing from us soon...

I think I'll go to Boston...

Or 30 miles west of there...if you want to get technical.

"She said I think I'll go to Boston...

I think I'll start a new life,

I think I'll start it over,

where no one knows my name..."

- Boston by Augustana

I have to admit, more often than not, this upcoming move swamps me with emotion. Not necessarily fear, or apprehension, but just a sense of unknowingness. If that is even a word. It's as if the world beyond June 30th falls off a cliff, like it's the end of the world. And I know that sounds pretty melodramatic, but so much of what our life will be like is a blank slate. We don't know where we will live, what I will do for work, what Hunt's schedule or workday will be like, whether he will have to work every single holiday this upcoming year, if there will be a church that we connect with, and if we will find other like-minded couples to spend time with.

Many of my close girlfriends have walked this road ahead of me. They have followed their husbands or their careers, and gone to new towns, either permanently or temporarily, found new jobs to help support their family, made new friends, planted themselves where they were, and done it lovingly and with excitement.

And a big part of me is excited. I am SO excited for Hunt that he will become an interventional cardiologist. This is career-changing, a dream realized and a prayer answered.

Yet, a part of me is quietly grieving. As much as I did not expect to be going anywhere near Atlanta, I had held out hope. Maybe much more than I had even realized. I had a little dream of returning to working in ministry at North Point in some capacity. Of going to work and feeling like I was good at my job, appreciated and valued. To be able to be in a church that we enjoyed, that helped us grow as a newlywed couple. To be able to spend time with many of our closest friends who are married and are followers of Christ. That our family would be just a short drive up the road.

But that is not what God chose for us. Not yet, and maybe never. Just writing that makes me tear up. I am coming to grips with the fact that living in Atlanta near family, working in a job I excelled at and enjoyed, among a community of vibrant believers may not be what the Lord has in his plans.

It is MUCH harder to be content and joyful in the midst of circumstances that might not be exactly what you would chose.

Hunt is so good to remind me that this is exactly what the Lord has chosen for us. That he knows infinitely more about what is best for us. And what will accomplish his purposes. That he chose to put us in this location, in this time, for this season. And for every season that will come. And Hunt is wise to say that he is glad that it's the Lord who is choosing this and not us since our knowledge and wisdom is incomplete. And I love my husband for challenging me in this area.

I desire so much to be joyful and content no matter the setting. I feel guilty over not cultivating this well since my life is amazingly blessed. I have a wonderful husband, I have a roof over my head, I never go hungry, I have clothes (sometimes even new ones!), and we are free to worship Christ and enjoy immense freedom and prosperity as Americans.

I can see and sense that we are being stretched and refined by the Lord during this time. I am learning what it means to grow my relationship with the Lord outside of an environment where I am constantly encouraged to do so. To be a loving and supportive wife, to daily go to a job and work as if I'm working for the Lord, to not give in to sadness over what I've said goodbye to, and to celebrate what I have right in front of me. But, for now, I have to admit, I'm struggling with all of this...but, praise the Lord that I have a husband who hugs me and points me to scripture rather than trying to reason and logic me out of my emotional funk.

LORD, you are my God;

I will exalt you and praise your name,

for in perfect faithfulness

you have done wonderful things,

things planned long ago.

- Isaiah 25:1

(emphasis mine)

Funny how the Lord gave me exactly what he knew I needed in that moment and in Hunt as a husband. And I'm so grateful that he saved Hunt for me. Because, ultimately, I would choose this path again and again to be his wife and go with him wherever we end up. Now I just need to learn how to walk this path well and with consistent joy and peace along the way!

And the winner is...Massachusetts!

Now that the ink has dried on the contract I feel safe in sharing that Hunt has landed an interventional cardiology spot at University of Massachusetts in Worcester, MA.

Yes, you heard that right. MASSACHUSETTS!

I get a chill down my back just thinking about winter. And, even better, winter 30 miles west of Boston out in the plains.

But, don't get me wrong, it is a BLESSING from the hand of our heavenly Father. Hunt had been applying for positions that started July of 2012 (the medical training years run July to June). UMASS noticed that he is wrapping up his general cardiology fellowship this June. And it just so happens that one of their fellows for 2011 found herself pregnant. Which meant that she needed to defer by a year. So they brought Hunt up on a special trip and soon after offered him a spot a year ahead of what we were expecting.

So, we are moving to Worcester the last week in June.

That means:

1. Hunt gets to be an interventional cardiologist - Praise The Lord!
2. You pronounce that: WOOSTAH or WUSS-TAAH
3. I need to find a new job in the Worcester area.
4. I will be packing up our things...yet again...after having packed and moved a total of 4 times in 2010.
5. We don't know a single soul in Worcester...though we thankfully know a few in Boston.
6. We do know that there is a Target, Wegmans and Trader Joe's in the Worcester area. We will survive.
7. We both got heavy-duty cold-weather gear at Christmas. Maybe we should have foreseen that this was in store rather than Florida or Louisiana...
8. I will be needing to get my hands on some real-deal thermal underwear.
9. Did I mention yet that I have to find a job? In this economy. My job search to move to D.C. in 2010 about did me in. It is a very real possibility that I will be waiting tables to get us through.
10. Rent is cheaper in Worcester than it is in D.C.! Hallelujah!!!
11. I fear my southern accent will make me a target for the locals. I am sharpening up on my sarcasm skills.

I will soon be reporting from (30 miles west of) Beantown!

And We're Back!

We've somehow managed to survive ten fabulous days in the islands of Hawaii and are back to start our normal routines as Mr and Mrs!

But first, loading up the rental truck with my furniture and wedding presents and driving up to D.C. with Dad! Thank goodness for Daddies that save up for their daughter's dream wedding, are willing to help move their adult-age child and do it all with a smile.

Back to D.C. soon!

A New Year

So much has happened since I last updated! As a recap:

The weekend before Christmas

• I went up to DC to attend the Cardiology Department party with Hunt the weekend before Christmas
• A huge blizzard also decided to come up to DC
• Hunt and I evacuated DC so that we would be able to get to Atlanta in time for me to work the Christmas services the Sunday before Christmas
• 18.5 hours later, after one snow-drift rescue by 3 snow plows at 4:30 AM in Richmond, one glorious stop at Waffle House, many hours of conversation, we arrived safely in Hunt's civic.
• DC was snowed in with 2 FEET of snow and we had risked our lives to NOT be in a winter wonderland right before Christmas. We now wonder what we were thinking.
• It was wonderful to go to Buckhead Church's Christmas service as an attendee. Seeing those who had given their life to Christ or been baptized in the past year going up to light a candle sent tears streaming down my face. Please Lord, let me never take my job for granted.

Christmas!

• Mom was diagnosed with SWINE FLU! On the day that my brother Brad and his wife Anne flew into town for their first Christmas with us since they've been married.
• We stocked up on Lysol, face masks, hand sanitizer and bravely entered the petri dish otherwise known as my parent's home.
• Mom was a trooper and (while wearing a mask) managed to play the part of consummate hostess (with Anne and myself playing bit parts) for the Christmas celebrations and feasts that were prepared.
• Anne, Brad, Hunt and I went by ourselves to Johnson Ferry Baptist's Christmas Eve service at 11PM. I love this tradition, and love singing "Silent Night" right before midnight in a church full of people holding candles, and then singing "Joy to the World" when it becomes Christmas morning.
• Dad surprised Mom with a David Yurman necklace. It was caught on video. I would say that he did very, very well with his gift giving plan this year.
• We went to see Avatar 3D as a family. Awesome graphics. Awful story line.
• Our dog Molly suffered through the presence of Brad and Anne's miniature Schnauzer, Kaiser. I come to think that Molly thinks that she is a human and has no idea what this bouncy, excited creature is that invades her home every so often. She is not the playmate that Kaiser wishes she would be. But, their interactions entertains us!

New Years and everything after...

• Hunt and I drove back up to DC so that I could spend his birthday with him (on the 30th!) and celebrate New Years together.
• We made it to DC without fearing for our lives. Even when we stopped in Gaffney, SC.
• Brad, Anne, Mom and Dad drove up to Nashville for the Clemson bowl game - again, Mom was a trooper to have been fever-free but still very weak. So glad that they got that family time together!
• Hunt and I tried out a new restaurant (new to us) in DC for his birthday. 1905 - highly recommend it. It maybe had 10 tables, a very cozy atmosphere and excellent food. Happy Birthday Hunt!
• We went to a black-tie party at the National Building Museum for NYE. Unfortunately, the hosts hadn't planned for the large crowd and we were forced to stand outside for close to an hour trying to get in. In the rain. Thankfully, Hunt gave me galoshes for Christmas, and since it can be hard to get cabs after midnight on NYE, I thought it would be good to wear them and bring my party shoes in a plastic bag. Pre-planning has never worked so well. I avoided looking like a drowned rat by putting the plastic bag over my head. Don't try this at home kids!
• The rain didn't bother us all that much since we were happy that Hunt didn't have to be in the hospital on-call like he was last year.
• It was so good to get extended time with Hunt - though he worked at the hospital every day that I was there - even New Years day - we had many dinners with friends, ate taco soup and cornbread, watched movies and generally got to act like a couple that lives in the same town.

One of the things I find hardest is to take down all the decorations after the holidays have come and gone. I am thankful that I still experience a sense of child-like magic with every Christmas. I love the music, the cookie-making, the gift-wrapping, the movies, the parties, and the soft glow of the Christmas tree greeting me every time I walked through the door. I hope that feeling never goes away.

Happy New Year everyone!