After
a lot of down time in these weeks before school starts, I have been contemplating the last year of my
life, actually our lives, and trying to determine what to make of the
whole thing.
Andy
and I had, what could be referred to as a ‘whirlwind’ romance! We met on the
Sunday before I was headed to NOLA for Preview Weekend to determine if the
seminary was really God’s calling for me (which it was). Almost immediately, he
was looking for jobs in the NOLA area. By Saturday he’d asked me to officially
be his girlfriend. When I came home the following Tuesday, I was standing
in Louis Armstrong Airport with my mom terrified that he might have built me up
in his head and when he saw me, he’d change his mind altogether. Mom assured me
that if this was the man God intended for me, that I would know b/c that’s what
I’d asked Him for; calm assurance. Sure enough, he picked me up at BWI
and whisked me off to dinner at a cute little Italian restaurant in Baltimore.
As I was looking at him from across the table, I knew. I knew with calm assurance
that I was going to marry this man. Two weeks later, we were in La Madeleine
and the subject came up. At that point, we both knew and started to decide how
it could work with my move to NOLA. And the rest was CAH-RAZY!
My folks had invited him to visit on my trip to TX to store some of my things
at their house and ‘transfer custody’ of my baby, Diesel. He worked out some
crazy schedule, used up all his leave time, and we were off to TX.
It
has been said that a good test for a relationship is to take a long distance
road trip together; if you survive that, you’ll probably make it! We had a
blast! It was a great time of teamwork and getting to know each other
better. After receiving my dad’s blessing (and coming home with the
wedding retinue purchased, courtesy of my parents!), we were well on our way.
Two weeks later, Andy asked me to go to the Nationals vs. Orioles’ game and
proposed to me during the 7th inning stretch! He was so excited that
the ring literally jumped out of the case! This was the start of a
pretty amazing sprint for wedding planning. We found an awesome venue
(Thanks Celebrations at the Bay!) that took care of most of the details with
only 2 visits required from us to handle details. My close friend,
Shellie, was my indispensable wing woman with all the rest! My oldest sister
found the bridesmaid dresses, Andy’s guys outfits were super simple, and our
parents found their own outfits based from our vague “whatever you’re
comfortable in” instructions. (Although, I did find out that my oldest niece
found my mom’s dress. Thanks Dee!) Two of my
closest friends in Idaho agreed
to come out and photograph the wedding and reception (b/c Jill and Deborah
rock!). And most of my sisters and best friend were my bridesmaids. It
was so crazy close that we could not expect to have all of our family and
long-distance friends there, but we were so excited for the people who could
come!
Most
of the week of the wedding is now a blur b/c we were not only receiving
out-of-town guests and family; we were also attempting to pack up all of our
worldly possessions for the move (which proved to be harrowing!), arrange for
transport for our bicycles, Andy’s motorcycle, and Andy’s Camaro (which was
taken to FL by Andy’s parents on an auto train b/c they were so AWESOME to
store it for us for awhile, Thanks Bob and Jill!). In addition to ‘move
packing’ we had to pack for our honeymoon and try to say good-bye to all of our
friends and family we were leaving in MD.
Our
wedding day was perfect! It was exactly what we wanted (okay, minus +100 deg weather) and, with only a few minor
exceptions, it went off without a hitch! We loaded up into the town car and
were whisked off to our hotel in DC where we would try to get some rest before
our early flight to Maui the next morning!
Our
two weeks in Maui were also perfect! We snorkeled, drove
all over the countryside, shopped, took a catamaran cruise, swam in the ocean,
I overcame my fear of heights by zip-lining, saw Uncle Willie K in concert, ate
A LOT of good food, visited a beautiful lavender farm, drove to the top of Mt.
Wannahockaloogie (actually, I think it’s Haleakala), and generally just enjoyed
being together! It ended with a trip to Lubbock
to celebrate our niece and new nephew’s, Dee and Drew, wedding! Which then became
a trip to Flint to pick up our
trucks from my parent’s (who so AMAZINGLY offered to drive them from MD so we
could maximize our two-week honeymoon, thanks Mom and Dad!). We opened gifts
and then packed up our suitcases and headed down to NOLA for yet another
adventure of unpacking into our new apartment.
I
was the first to arrive in the apartment and I have to confess…I cried! It was
SO SMALL and it was not at all like the schematics that were online!
Thankfully, my parents stayed for a few days and helped us move in as much as
they could. Actually, I should say they helped Andy as much as
they could b/c I was off to Orientation and all of the business of becoming a
new student. A few weeks after we got here, Andy got a job as a lineman at
the local airport and, for awhile, had fun being part of an environment with
which he was familiar in the Air Force! He got to see a lot of big named people
come through and hang out with some military pilots that passed through during
training exercises.
My
first semester was pretty incredible! I was taking Old Testament Survey,
Adolescent Psychology, History of Christianity-Reformation to Modern, and
Spiritual Formations. This was a
relatively reasonable start to my Masters education. I was challenged in my knowledge of the Bible
like I have never been before! (Which was why I came here in the first place!)
My OT professor, Dr. England,
pushed me harder than I’ve ever been pushed academically and spiritually!! He
gave some of his class time and some of his office time to help me walk a bit
more thoroughly through what I was learning and test my previous, error-filled
theology. My mentor, Dr. Jackson, opened
my eyes to some of my own family dynamics and personal development in AdPsych.
It was kinda cool to learn how birth order can affect a teenagers personality
and how most of it doesn’t apply to me because I am an only, youngest, and
middle child all-in-one! My favorite
part of that semester was coming home and sharing everything I was learning
with Andy!!! I would be reading something in a textbook and then question him
about his view or ask for clarification on a construct with which I was
struggling; 2 hours later I had to force myself to get back to my reading so I
was prepared for class the next day!
We
were blessed to have a visit from both sets of parents during the fall break
and I got the benefit of my dad and Bob reading through my OT mid-term and
helping me to ensure they were coherent! LOL! Thanksgiving was with my parents
and little brother and his family in TX! (We also got to visit our groomsman,
Chris Kissell, in Dallas for
awhile!) We also got to Christmas came quickly and we got to celebrate with Andy’s
folks again. It’s always fun to figure out the holidays during your first year
of marriage! Each person comes to the relationship with traditions and
preferences and the joy (or frustration, whichever way you choose to handle
it!) is in blending the two and/or coming up with your own traditions! Andy and I had fun with it! Adding to the fun was spending New Years with
our neighbor friends, Garth and Lori! What a way to bring in the New Year!
I
had the privilege of working for Dr. Jackson during the Youth Ministry Institute
Conference in January as his note-taker. What a great opportunity to listen to
a variety of speakers whose love of teenagers was readily apparent in
everything they AND to make a new friend!
Mary Margaret was such a blessing to me going into my spring semester and an
EXCELLENT walking partner! Speaking of the new semester, I took Hermeneutics, Youth
Culture, History of Christianity: Early Church to Reformation, and Spiritual
Formations 2. This was a much harder semester because I was being pushed a bit
further in my understanding of how to study the Bible. Also, my theology was
tested and stretched! It is amazing how much I thought I knew about the Bible,
God, and all things related to the two. I am humbled by my arrogance. It challenged my understanding of God’s grace
and discipline, as well as pushed me to overcome some long-held untruths about
God’s relationship with man. By the end
of the semester I was emotionally and spiritually drained; but not in a bad
way! Mostly in the sense that I needed a break! LOL!
I
had already decided not to take summer courses as a result of that need for a
break and it turned out to be a good decision because Andy was unexpectedly
fired from his job at the beginning of the summer! There was no warning and
seemingly no provocation; which, as it turns out, is not necessary in LA
because it is an ‘at-will’ state. WHO KNEW?! Thankfully, after a day or two
spent online applying for jobs and submitting his resume at various locations,
Andy remembered a contact he’d made at a local FORD
dealership. After sending him home to talk to me about the hours and ensuring I
would be okay with the long hours, Andy accepted the position as a salesman! He
finished his training in under 6 days (which was a record), and has been
learning his new trade over the summer.
While it has its ups and downs, he seems to enjoy meeting new people all
the time. It has a taken a LOT to adjust
to an unpredictable paycheck, no income for the first month, trying to catch up
on overdue bills, and learning to live with much less than we have had to so
far. But Yahweh has been faithful, our families have been faithful, and we have striven (with difficulty at times) to remain faithful to this new
lifestyle.
It
looked like this strain would mean me not being able to take classes this
semester, but Yahweh provided in HUGE ways this summer and has made it possible
for me to register for classes and not have an unmanageable bill every month!
Praise Him!!
And
so, I begin this semester with much excitement and a little nervousness!!! Yahweh is good and he proves himself to be
trustworthy and able to care for all my needs, and sometimes my wants, no
matter how much I worry.
