wow. the busyness of... summer, wedding planning, birthdays, anxiety of moving to a new place and town and job and.... everything. is setting in. It is moments like these that you don't know whether to laugh, cry, or yell. It's crazy, because, moving for us-- or at least for me-- is going home. I pretty much guarantee that the first moment I step my foot onto Conway soil and march through the "new" Wal-mart doors for my milk and eggs that I will be a new woman. You will probably spot me and wonder why that woman looks so happy to be in Walmart. It's because I love that town! I believe God has our domains chosen from the foundation of the world and he has a reason for the boundaries of our lives that He Himself draws with His own two hands.

However, it is amazing how wherever you dwell--whether happy or lonely-- can very quickly become a sense of security and a source of familiarity. We have dwelt in two VERY humble abodes during the last year and a half of our stay in Searcy. And I do mean humble! The very first home was borderline poverty level, but you better believe that I turned that place into a home with curtains and all. You know it's bad when I seriously was PRAISING God that the paneling was painted. I couldn't believe that I had painted paneling to work with, compared to the other married housing that did not. That place soon became a refuge even though it's tiny 500 square foot walls often closed in quickly and drove us straight to the Sonic to get a bit of reprieve in the shape of a chocolate milk shake with extra whip cream and extra chocolate. These are the things that I will miss.

We shared our first Christmas in this little place. And we shared our first year here. It was marked with many fond memories and small town things like taking walks on campus and watching the debuting dollar movie down town as the "big" event for the week. I fear we may never see this quiet season again in this way until we are seventy. We also shared our very first married fights here, large and small, important and unimportant. We quickly learned that marriage was about a covenant and fighting for what does not feel good or easy along with giving up things like squeezing toothpaste in the middle. Here are a few pics from our first year at 700 East Center Avenue.

This was our first Christmas together. As a married couple. :)



I was soo proud of the work that was put into turning that little abode into a Christmas home! I was determined! And very pleased that I found a place to hang my stockings.... On either side of the tv...



This one was taken after we were snowed in with just about nothing to do!



So to wrap up this little post, we got kicked out of this precious apartment because of mold. About two months before we were supposed to make our trek down central Arkansas for good, black mold infested the place and took up some major residence in my lungs. It was both comical and annoying. I would wake up hacking at night and Seth would just look at me like, "those are some major allergies! maybe she's blowing them out of proportion..." thank goodness i wasn't! More proof for the pudding that this was the real deal and we needed out! When I saw the stuff show up on my black winter boots, I was done. I marched that black boot right up to the college Housing Department and got a reaction big enough to send us to an upgrade. And this was an upgrade. Air conditioning, dishwasher, and TWO rooms! Two rooms!! We didn't even need both of them! I feel guilty to this day for storing our stuff in that second bedroom.. All that to say that my lung testing was clear the very night we moved out. I didn't even fill the "early onset asthma" prescription prescribed for my health.

Here was our last meal in the mold-infested apartment. It sounds like we're getting the lethal injection the next day or something.... haha ;0

Couldn't Come Soon Enough

Well, well, well. I haven't touched this little page in a very long time. We all know that the purpose of blogs are to fulfill a place, personally, where we can go and pour out all of our thoughts and feelings. It is an outlet. Much less for the reader. More for the writer. And I am perfectly fine with that. Coming from a family of four girls, I have been well accustomed to the fact that if there is anything a stockdale girl knows how to do... it is to talk. My next aspiration is to be able to listen. And do it well.

For now, I must tell you about the thrilling little moment I had the other day. While on a very hurried trip to Hobby Lobby last week, I stepped into the door and something took away my breath. It was the sight of fall. Plain and simple! It was ceramic pumpkins and little scarecrow signs that read "fall's here!" and door hangers and spicy pumpkin candles and candy dishes for candy corn and further aisles filled with glorious shades of burnt orange and red. It looked something like this:



Let me tell you...normally, when I see the next seasons' items out 3 months early I about have a panic attack from the anger that I might run out of time to get everything done that I need to do in this season--much more to enjoy it! But this is the one season I welcome with open arms if it commerciallly comes TEN months early! It's so different than seeing santa clauses in the middle of fall or heart shaped teddy bears in the middle of Christmas or Easter bunnies the week of Valentine's Day for crying out loud!!! I just don't mind this one even in the heat of summer.

I must not have realized how busy this summer has been, until, when at the instant sight of a ceramic pumpkin, something in me longed to rest. To reflect. To quiet the busy summer schedules, as fun as they may be, and to turn the sunblock in for a nice cup of joe in a starbucks window. Summer is so wonderful for getting together with family, eating messy watermelon on a bright green lawn (or dried up weeds), celebrating the independence of our country, or even getting a much-needed vacation. But, somehow, fall beckons you further still. Further into your soul. Further into a personal time of a much-needed vacation with God. It helps you to look beyond a dayplanner and settle into a much needed routine, and not just one that involves sharpened pencils and pick up lines. One that allows your soul to rest and acknowledge that, indeed, there is a time for every season. And this one couldn't come soon enough.