authenticity: Austin

there are days now that make living in Houston seem like a lifetime ago.

a life filled with smiling days, golden sun and breeze.

and although the time in Austin is short, if I'm really honest it's been hard.

hard to swallow, hard to keep down and blink back the water that's ever springing from my eyes.

it's not what was expected.

it's not as easy as it was.

my heart keeps longing for what was.

hanging to any feeble thread of life as it used to be.

work as it used to be.

and yet my body is here.

in this new, foreign place.

new people, new rules.

and it makes me wonder:

is this what we wanted?  is this really what God gave?

is this really good?

and it is. my mind knows it is,

but my heart's still lingering on something else.

the boxes are gone

and we are officially moved in.
It's Friday and I'm just plain done in.
It seems like months ago we were packing up and leaving Houston, and it's only been a week.
Let's just say we've crammed enough in this past week and a half to last any normal schedule at least a month.
This Friday is especially sweet, it's the end of our first (although short) week at our new jobs,
and the start of our first weekend in our new home.

We're all settled and we worked seemingly around the clock (with LOTS of help from our wonderful families) and everything's in it's place.
While my heart still resides in Houston, this new place is looking and starting to feel a lot like home.

(Our awesome master bedroom--looking good thanks to my sister in law, Kara, and her rad skills)

I'm hoping to have some sort of normal schedule soon, and a little bit of regular life happening.
But until then, I'm going to dance because all the boxes are gone and I finally have my pots in my kitchen.
have a great weekend, friends.

____________________

to celebrate the end of the boxes, I've left the coupon code MOVEIT up for 40% off in my shop!

Goodbyes are no fun

So much has happened in just a short amount of time.
Let's hit the big stuff:

1. Sam got a job with State Farm in Austin.
2. I didn't know if I could get a job in Austin in time to move with him. Plan for me was to stay here and work at my job until I found one.
3. Two weeks later, I've got a job at UT that starts the same day as Sam's job.
4. We've got a place to live.
5. and we're even sneaking in a little vacation between jobs

and this week is our last week here in Houston.
Goodbyes have started, and it seems that I will never quit crying.
we have been so unbelievably blessed by friends.

we're sad, happy, anxious and everything inbetween.

this week is a hard one.
but it's going to be filled with soaking up our place.
and eating a lot of frozen meals.

but come Friday, we'll be loading up our truck and headed to Austin.

big news

there are times in my life when God's movement seems so clear.
at every turn there is evidence of His hand moving--in ways I never thought possible.

This season is one of those for us.
He's moving.
Sam has landed his dream career; we're moving closer to our family.
and in the midst of all the crazy, and not knowing what city I will live in,

I have a job. I have a job.  Only a handful of applications sent out, but after just a few days, I got an email to interview.
and then then interview two days later.
On the Friday we would (already) be in Austin for Sam's grandmom's funeral.

After being recognized by a professor after taking his class 3 1/2 years ago,
repeating a conversation with my boss as my very first answer to a question (PCR troubleshooting for you science geeks).
It became evident that all that was going on was a bit of divine intervention.
and Sam and I saw all that was moving around us, stunned and astounded by the God who cares enough to orchestrate it all.

As of July 19th, I am employed by none other than the University of Texas!
I'm thrilled to be able to work in their labs, and do a bit of switching from cancer to genetics.
________________

More news:

We have a place to live! Lots of phone calls, pictures, and some help from my amazing in laws--and we've got an apartment!

Apartment to apartment is much preferred to having to put all of our stuff in storage for a time!
________________

And EVEN MORE news:

With all the boxes, moving, patching, and painting going on in our current place, it's a bit of chaos.
My etsy shop will VERY soon go on vacation until we are settled in our new place, so THIS WEEKEND ONLY it will be open (Until Sunday)

Use the code MOVEIT for 40% off. 

I'll open again as soon as we're settled and unpacked--but it may be August before that happens, so if you've been eying something take this advantage to get it (and cheap!)

we've begun

packing.
with under 3 weeks until moving day, it's time.

slowly going through the house and getting rid of everything we don't use was yesterday's goal.
and then pictures started to come off of the walls.
Spackle went up, and the tears started to flow.

in the two years we've lived here,
we've gotten married and made some great memories.
great friends, great experiences.
and yet, it's time to pack.

so as all of our stuff goes into boxes,
we're trusting that the same will be true for our next home.
knowing that He is able to do and provide more than we can imagine.

Houston list

We're three weeks away from moving day! The boxes are starting to pile up in the guest room, and I'm still not sure just how to get so much newspaper and packing material, but it's starting to get real.

We're moving.

we're MOVING.

We've spent almost 2 years in Houston, and have really come to love this big city. It was a change and complete shock at first, but it grows on you!

so since we're three weeks away from the big move, we've complied a list of things we would like to do, and some we would like to do again!

  it's going to be a packed three weeks of finishing up some summer classes, packing, moving, saying goodbye, but we're going to cherish every minute of it.

if you've got something you think we should add to our list, let me know!
we want to soak up every last bit of our city before we leave.