our cross country trip

Last month Joe and I went on a cross-country road trip to bring my car from Connecticut to Washington. We put 4,500 plus miles on my car over 2 weeks! Highlights of the trip:

* Aimee finally convincing Joe to stop driving after 940 miles at 4 am after the first day of driving (Groton, CT to Terre Haute, Indiana)
* Visiting family and friends along the way
* Our day visit to Grand Canyon National Park (brrr...)
* Singing the "100 bottles of beer on the wall" song all the way through
* Eating at Cracker Barrel (yum, they don't have many in New England or Washington)
* Hampton Inns

After leaving Oklahoma, we decided to take the southern route on I-40 through Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona to avoid potential bad weather. (It's a really beautiful drive that I would totally recommend.) So, we got to stop for a day at the Grand Canyon. There was snow and ice all over the ground, and I was a little nervous because those fences weren't high enough for me.

People were really loving the opportunity to throw snowballs off the edge of the canyon and one girl ran to throw her ball and I was just thankful she didn't slide, lose her balance, and fall in!

shooting blanks

On Saturday I went canvassing the neighborhood with the church we are settling into here. We were inviting people to the Easter Sunday services and a children's Easter Egg Hunt. I don't know why it was so hard for me to find the guts to actually go. I guess I'm afraid someone will scream at me or their dog will attack me. (I really am afraid of big dogs.)

It reminded me of something that Pastor Russ (my pastor in Connecticut) said awhile ago that stuck with me. He was speaking about how followers of Christ are so afraid to step out in faith and witness to others, but the Enemy is really shooting blanks. He uses our fear to prevent us from sharing Christ. By giving into that fear, we allow him to have power over us, when often the fear is unfounded.

We went to about 20 houses, and no one screamed at me. (No dog attacks either.) And one person seemed genuinely interested in coming to church. On other occasions when I've shared with people about Christ, they are more open, interested, and hungry for spiritual truth than I imagined.

I was encouraged. And in the end, really glad that I was able to walk into the line of fire, only to realize that it wasn't as dangerous as I thought.

working from home

I've been doing a lot of thinking about working from home lately.

Joe and I moved to Washington in January, and so far I haven't been working outside of our home. Originally, through doing a Bible study called "Marriage Without Regrets" at our church in Connecticut, we learned about the importance of the woman being a worker in the home and by looking at the creation account in Genesis, that the woman is created to be man's helper and companion. I also was encouraged by Heather Koerner's articles "Why I'm at Home" and "Ten Things Now to Stay at Home Later" in Boundless, an online Christian magazine.

Joe and I hope to be parents sometime in the future, and if we are fortunate to have children, I would like to stay at home with them. But by no means is this a simple or easy choice for me. The intellectual, independent side of me has thoughts like, "But I can work too. Why did I go to college if I'm going to stay at home with kids? What is my purpose and am I really doing enough? Will my mind be challenged enough? Is there some way I can contribute to our family income without a typical 9-5 job outside the home?"

And the more I think and learn about it, the more hope I have that I can work from home, doing something that builds on skills I already have, doing something that I won't hate. Something that allows me to spend time with my family and help Joe. For me, with my background in business and finance, maybe it's learning how to prepare tax returns, become a medical transcriptionist, or purchase and manage a rental property.

I guess only time will tell. I feel compelled by my faith in the Lord, and his guidance, to look into this, and am beginning to see the wisdom of His ways.

why am i blogging?

I decided to try it. I've really enjoyed reading some of my friends' blogs and being able to easily find out what's going on in their lives.

But, I think the thing that seems to appeal most to me about blogging is a way of remembering everyday life, a simple life memory or thought that I would otherwise forget.

If you ask me about someone's phone number, birthday, address, last name, where something is in the house, the schedule for the week, or some other kind of fact/data, I'm your girl. But put me on the spot and ask me to remember an actual life experience, a memory, from my childhood or even last year, and I feel embarrassed because my mind just doesn't seem to work that way.

Plus, I like writing. Especially when I don't have to interview people.

So, I'll try out this blogging thing. Looking back, looking forward, randomly rambling, and hoping I can create a simple memory or two along the way.