Welcome to our new home!

Holly: Hey everyone, it's just me today! Kelly is currently day 5 into a 10 day mission trip in Huancayo, Peru! She will tell you all about it once she returns.

I'm on my lunch break right now, and since taking a break outside really isn't much of an option thanks to all the bloody rain we got last night/this morning, I figured I would share a few pictures of our new place. Aside from having to come home to just myself and the kitties every night for the past almost week, I am quite pleased.  We think it's an older building, and it has a few quirks, but again, I am pleased! The location is very ideal- I can make it to work in just under 20 minutes, same will be for Kelly too. It's about 5 minutes away from the first Richmond exit off the interstate, which is where a lot of our Richmond favorites are located.  A little more than 5 minutes the other way, and you're in downtown! We're pretty fortunate! :) Plus, it's QUIET, and it's a beautiful neighborhood! I've been there almost a week and haven't heard a peep from our neighbor, and the only other noise is perhaps a few late-night rabble rousers out hooting and hollering, but that is it! Now if the cats would stop getting into stuff in the middle of the night, I'd be golden.  The unpacking process has been slow, but it'll get done when it gets done.  It's liveable right now, which was my goal from the start.

Anyway, onto the very brief tour.  More pictures to come once more gets unpacked and put away! :)

This is the living room as of Monday evening, so barely 48 hours after everything had been moved in. It's a little small, but it's cozy. This is the view from the bottom of the stairs that lead upstairs.

Living room as of yesterday! A bit more has been unpacked, but not too much has changed, with the exception of some Time Lords and hobbits on the wall :) Notice my two helpers completely unaware they're getting photographed.

Living room from the kitchen view. This still isn't all of it.  Again, small, but cozy.

The kitchen, which is the perfect size, honestly. I was not sold on the border at first but now it's growing on me. I love the cabinet colors too!

The bedrooms aren't pictured yet; there's 2, and they're HUGE. They're also still full of packed-up stuff, so stay tuned! There's also a little patio space (currently occupied with empty boxes and totes), and a little side yard.

So there you have it, folks, our new little humble home! God gave us what we need, even if it isn't necessarily what we wanted at first! In the long run, we'll be saving money, which is always a good thing, and we hope to have people over soon.  If you would like our new address, let me know :)

A Richmond chapter begins

Disclaimer: There is a lot of talk about God in this post.  We believe we can ONLY give the credit to Him! Once you read this, you will see why. If you have any comments or questions, please feel free to speak to us privately about them.  Otherwise, enjoy the story, and if you feel inspired, praise with us! :)

H: Wednesday we found out that moving into the house was no longer an option, without any real concrete explanation.  Disappointed and frustrated didn't even begin to scratch the surface as to how we felt.  I wrote in my journal for a long time, pouring out my frustrations and anger to God.  Yes, I was angry.  I don't like being angry, and I even apologized.  There was no holding anything back.  At one point I wrote, "I've learned in the journey of becoming a follower of Jesus is that we still have an obligation to show Your love, even if we don't feel like it."  Quite frankly, I didn't feel like it.  We had spent the last two months praying, putting our faith in people following through, only to be left empty-handed and disappointed.  I went to bed unhappy that night, utterly defeated and spent.  I'm surprised I got any sleep at all.

Kelly was due to come home from Ohio Thursday, so I shared with our house church members that we would not be there, so we could spend the evening catching up, relaxing, and discussing our next steps.  But what I didn't mention was that Thursday morning, I heard that still small voice, something, in my gut say, "You shouldn't go to church tonight."  I couldn't explain it.  (That was the first God moment, although I didn't know it at the time)

We went out for Chinese and we'd barely been home five minutes when Kelly got a Facebook message from a co-worker of hers, saying she had spoken to somebody about a duplex available in Richmond (God moment #2). On the phone, she said that a couple was going to look at it the next day, and asked if we could look at it that evening.  We dropped everything and drove up there.  Yes, it was that split-second of a decision! We had no trouble finding the apartment and were immediately taken to the location and the quietness of the neighborhood, despite it being right off the interstate.  Kelly's co-worker arrived a few minutes later and we asked how she knew the landlord.  This was her response (another God moment):

"Oh, I just talked to her on the phone just now.  I've never met her before.  I was just driving through here and I saw the sign out front, and I thought 'This is for Kelly. I want her to be in a safe neighborhood.'"

We were like ARE. YOU. KIDDING. ME.

Jennifer, the landlord, arrived a few minutes later.  In addition to her infectious personality, she mentioned that a police officer lives down the street and that her niece works at the preschool nearby (Remember the talk about a safe neighborhood?) We helped ourselves to looking around, and, admittedly, it is a downgrade in terms of size and space, but we've learned over the last year that we've had too much space.  The rent is more than $100 LESS than what we're paying now, and the place was near immaculate, there was new carpet, a small patio outside, plenty of parking, a washer and dryer hooked up (!!!), and, most importantly, Yoda and Wiley are welcome! :) Needless to say, it was not a difficult decision.  By the end of the night, a key was given to us and we had signed the lease!

The drive home was a combination of a daze and utter exuberance. God had shown up! Big time.  If we had gone to church, we would have missed the Facebook message and, ultimately, the phone call, the apartment would have been shown tonight and probably taken, and we would still be stuck waiting until the end of next month.  But now, there is no more waiting, and we have a cute new duplex in Richmond waiting for us.  All thanks to God!

K: While reading this, I thought of Holly. Gave up a UK, full-time benefited job for what she does now for the sake of being happier and less stressed out. I also think about getting my first job; that moment and time when I was just ready to give up was when I got the magic phone call. That's what happened here last night; God gave us what we needed, not what we wanted. I remember so many times praying "God just get us this house. Just get us this house." I'm not going to say it was as if my prayers were falling on deaf ears, because I don't believe that. Rather I just felt that this house we were seeking so hard for was just not going to happen. I always had this small notion in the back of my head that it was just going to not work out. Perhaps that was God's way of saying that He had something better for us. Because let's face it, the last thing we actually needed was MORE space and more money to be given for rent.

I truly believe that God talks and shows us what we need in a lot of mysterious yet awesome ways. I remember walking into that duplex and was like "this is it." That "aha!" moment. I don't believe in coincidence. I think coincidence is just one of the many ways God speaks to us. Though I can't hold claim to actually hearing His voice, I can hold to the fact that His fingerprints were ALL OVER THIS. There's really nothing more I need to add to this. It's all been said. We are excited to begin this new adventure and see where else He will take us. My ending is this; if you're waiting for something and feel like throwing in the towel, that's usually when a corner will turn. Sometimes it's not a good corner, but in our experience it usually is. Keep the faith, and remember that God is good.

Cats and children: one and the same?

Holly and Kelly: So it's true. They really are similar. At least we think they are. I mean come on, look at those faces? Aren't they cute?!

So the two of us have conjured some thoughts in which our cats and having children are the same. Not that either of us have children, but we've babysat before and many of our friends are mothers of young children and share their children stories...which we are always delighted to hear about! Having said that, here's some of the things we came up with.

No privacy
If you are a guest in our house, please remember to shut the door. Otherwise you might get a nice lap while you're in the bathroom taking care of things. (Yeah...may be a too much TMI, but it's true). In our house when we want a moment's peace, we shut doors....until the screaming and clawing begins. Until the sweeping of feet under the doors start too.

No personal space
None. At all. Pretty self explanatory. The two of us have had computer notes corrupted by random kitty text, or a sudden lap interruption during that really good part in that book or the running of the cats over the couch, furniture, house, laps, etc, causing the occasional spilled beverage or mild heart attack. Or the sometimes tampering of the book, DVD set, or laptop (See below). Get used to bum in the face and swatting your hair/scarf/necklace/any dangling object within their reach.

Wiley's into the Eppes brothers, too. 

Being awakened all hours of the night

Can't remember when either of us had a night of UNINTERRUPTED sleep. Oh, by the way, ever get the feeling someone's watching you? Yeah, it's probably one of them.

Yelling/disciplining/breaking up fights
"GET OFF THE TABLE!" "STOP IT!" "HEY, KNOCK IT OFF!" "PLEASE STOP BODY SLAMMING EACH OTHER INTO THE FURNITURE!" "NO, YOU'RE NOT GOING IN THE GARAGE!" "BE QUIET!" Kitty discipline in our house involves forced cuddling for at least 2 minutes. They hate it.

The teenage years
Cats exhibit blatant passivity concerning your arriving/departing.
"Oh.............................hi.  See you later.  Let's destroy the house while they're gone."

Traveling
2 options. Either take them with you or find someone to stay at the house and take care of them. Lest we forget the Great Traumatic Move of May 2013.  Completely amazed the cops/animal control/the FBI were not called on us due to the excessive wailing coming from Wiley's cat carrier.  We're fairly certain he did not recover.
One last thing: You definitely cannot make last-minute plans.  "Oh wait, the cats..."

Messes
Litter on the other side of the living room.  Yes...the other side.  Downed Christmas trees.  Poo on the floor.  THE BIRD.  A mini-flood in the kitchen.  You name it.

Food 
You were finished with that, right? Because sticking their faces in water glasses/cleaned off dinner plates is the norm. Yoda especially likes eggs, while Wiley is ga-ga for ham. See "personal space"; dinner sometimes gets uncomfortable. Would you like a set of yellow eyes watching with your bowl of soup? Make that 2 sets of yellow eyes...

There you have it! Yet despite the grievances they sometimes bring us, we love our pet babies and we wouldn't have it any other way! And sometimes we use the good times to our advantage in which we get the opportunity to have a little bit of fun.

"Enjoy the journey of life and not just the endgame." -2012 in review

Kelly: Great quote by a great individual. Starting tomorrow is 2013. WOW!!! It is amazing to me how fast this year has gone by! So many wonderful blessings have been achieved by this year that I can't even begin to comprehend. Moving into our own place, falling in love with 2 of the greatest kitty cats in the world (just a bit biased), getting introduced to Sherlock and LOTR, and for me, being one more semester closer to graduating with a BSN degree!!!!! May 5 is the day! Almost four months to go.

Now normally, next would follow a list of cookie-cutter resolutions, such as I want to lose weight, get closer to God, save my money, etc. I'm not doing that for 2013. I have resolved to not make any resolutions. Instead of resolving, I am going to ENJOY. Enjoy what God has given to me, how He has blessed me and I am going to enjoy growing in Him more as a follower instead of merely a fan. I'm going to enjoy being healthier, because I am healthier, but I'm going to enjoy a treat every now and then and not feel guilty about it. I'm going to enjoy my last semester as an undergraduate and not just seek the end result which is to walk across a stage for 10 seconds, shake Dr. Roelof's hand and have him give me my degree. No. I'm going to do my best to enjoy my last semester and take advantage of every opportunity to be joyful and to thank God for His joy that comes through knowing Him.

I'm ready. I'm ready for what 2013 has in store for me. Though I'm not entirely sure what it will bring, I am prepared for whatever may come my way, good or bad. If the good comes, I will do my best to give credit where it is due. If bad comes my way, I will do my best to not run from the situation but instead face it and rely on God and my own strength to get through it. I refuse to be stagnant, go through the motions and blame others for my own wrong doings. I will be responsible for my words and my actions. But most importantly I will continue to grow as the daughter in Christ I am destined to be. How will I do that? I don't know yet, but He knows. And I have resolved to give everything to Him. Ready or not 2013, here I come!

Holly: We have come to the end of another year.  I think this one has gone faster than any I can remember in a long time.  When I started out the year I was still in school.  Since then I've graduated, gotten my degree, bid "see you later" to some pretty amazing people, moved out on my own, had a couple "real" jobs.

I did note some resolutions at the beginning of the year.  I honestly don't remember them (all except 1...ask me about it, it will give you a good laugh! lol).  I could do that now, but like Kelly, I'm not going to.  Instead, like her, I'm going to enjoy LIFE!!!  I'm going to smile, laugh, cry, be enthralled, swept away, mesmerized, scared, worried.  I'm going to make time for my friends, both near and far.  Saying "please", "thank you", and "I love you" go SO far!  There are people in my life who have inspired me, challenged me, in numerous ways...I want to tell them!  I'm going to read an ACTUAL book!  Or several, Lord willing.  I'm going to thank God every day for what I have and ask for His mercy to shower those who are not as fortunate as I am.  I'm going to wait with bated breath for the return of Sherlock and our first glimpse at Smaug.  I have several potential job opportunities awaiting me even as I type this; I'm going to get my bearings, investigate, and move forward, always seeking God's will.  I don't know if that includes Old Navy.  We will just see.  Most importantly, I'm going to do my absolute best to live like Christ.

I honestly don't know what awaits me in 2013.  Maybe I'll get a job I could have never imagined...or there's one waiting for me right now and I just don't know it yet.  Maybe I'll meet my future husband.  Who knows? But I'm 22, I'm still young and eager for life!  2012 was such a great year for me; 2013 can only get better! :)

I hope that all of you who read this are able to look back at 2012 with smiles, laughter, and even perhaps a few tears.  In 2013 I hope that if you are weak, you will look to those you love for strength.  I hope that if you are weary, tired, that you will get rest.  I hope that if you have been in the despairing shadow of unemployment, opportunity will come.  I hope that if you have been faced with some difficult circumstances, that you will summon your inner strength to accept them with grace and move on.

Be safe, everyone.  Thank you for an amazing year.  See you all when the ball drops.  :)

Potpurri post #3

Kelly: Cut myself shaving seven times tonight. UGH!!! This is going to be a very...very long summer. I'm already 2 weeks into my summer class and it's been somewhat interesting so far. I'll just be happier when that class is over and all I have to do is work. I plan on doing lots of reading, so if there are any book suggestions please let me know. I have a few that I would like to read; My Utmost for His Highest, Heaven is for Real, The Reason for God and the Case for Christ just to name a few. In the meantime, I will FOCUS FOCUS FOCUS!

Yoda has been with us for a week yesterday. It's amazing to me how far she has come since last Friday. When we brought her home, she didn't leave her cat carrier for a few hours. We were getting pretty worried, until she came out and started exploring. Wiley wasn't too pleased; he hissed and tried to attack her on a few separate occasions. Poor Yoda was banished in the downstairs bathroom when we had to leave. Within two days she was wandering around like she owned the place, and she and Wiley are buddies now! They run around and play, lick each other, but still haven't slept together. As I write this she is sleeping beside me on the arm rest of the chair. She's become quite the cuddle bunny. Still trying to work on leaving us alone while we sleep. The both of them try to come in the room; we have blankets in front of our bedroom door. That reminds me...I'll have to post some apartment pictures later for those of you who haven't seen them yet. That's about all for now. Really not much has gone on...Holly and I have been struggling to find something to blog about. Thanks for sticking with us though!

Holly: Kelly and I have been on a bit of an ER kick for about a month now.  Great show if you've never seen it before.  I'm a big Dr. Carter fan...have been for ages.  I just love his storylines and his character (next blog topic, sis???).  Right now I'm on Stumbleupon.  I still haven't "started" my job yet...silly HR still needs to get me into the system and make me a UK email address/web account so I can finish online orientation classes and thus start my job.

sldhfksjdflskdjflsasdkjfla

I'm currently reading from a new author: Patricia Briggs.  Recommended by my adviser last semester, it's a fantasy type series, but some are set in modern times.  Sort of like Harry Potter.  Sort of.  I've only read one book but I'm almost finished with it and I like it.  We shall see how the rest go.  Our neighbor's dogs are barking.  Our other neighbor across the street has a bajillion-year-old Mustang that he insists upon starting up at about 5 in the morning every morning, only it takes about six or seven times to actually get the car started before it leaves.  And it's not the quietest of cars either.

We're also working our way through the Harry Potter movies; just finished Prisoner of Azkaban tonight.  My favorite, personally: I love Professor Lupin and I think it follows the book the best.  I've also picked up knitting again for the first time in almost a year.  Yay.  :)

Back to stumbling.  Enjoy your Memorial Day weekend all!!!! <3

Internet, TV and Wiley; first apartment post!

Kelly: And at last, this small space is starting to feel like home. The three of us are on the newly installed internet, the TV is on and Wiley is running around playing. In case you don't know who Wiley is, he's our cat. And we all love him dearly. He loves to play...and wake me or Holly up at 2 in the morning to do so. He loves to cuddle too; there's nothing like coming home from a long day and seeing that furry gray face purring. It's as if he's saying "hello. I'm happy to see you. I hope you had a good day."

Yes, that picture is him. I love him. It's like having a child. Ok, enough about him for now. The remainder of this blog will most likely include something he did. You all have been warned. Anyway, I am really starting to get into the swing of being on our own. I'm actually enjoying it. I won't enjoy paying the bills that will soon be coming, but for now I'm choosing to enjoy it and focus on my summer class. Ew. Since the subject of my class is about humor, I'm thinking about doing my project about Whose Line is it Anyway. Thoughts? Let me know! :] Ok, now I've got to do some more homework. Life never ends for a student, doesn't it? And sis just popped me on google talk. Ahh, there's never a dull moment.

Holly: I just posted an album of pictures on Facebook titled "Post-Berea".  I provided the disclaimer that the contents will include mostly Wiley and our second cat Yoda, who has not entered our home yet, but will perhaps by the end of the week (trying to settle into a routine still...).  

As it stands life is pretty stagnant for me right now.  I am still not employed, but I have my third interview for a job on Thursday.  This involves a commute to Lexington, upon which I have never driven before but have been several times.  Prayers/good vibes would be greatly appreciated as I would REALLY like to have this job.  I'll post more about it later.  Until I become employed I'm just trying to relax and rest and keep the apartment clean.  

It's sort of strange being a Berea alumni.  I graduated almost two weeks ago and it's so weird being in Berea and not having the student mindset.  I don't have to worry about homework or tests or papers or any of that stuff, and I find myself growing bored and restless at times.  Yesterday I was on campus trying to find a printer for Kelly and I was just walking around thinking "Wow, I'm done.  I'm going to miss this place." Hopefully the internet and more campus visits will help.  I need to visit people.  I miss so many Berea College people, it's ridiculous.  

I'm getting loved on by a fluffy gray purring mass.  I hope all are well.  <3

I think it's time we've rediscovered all the ground we have covered

Kelly: Oh my goodness, it has been far too long! The month of April is wrapping up tonight!!! Anyway, a LOT has happened since our last post. For starters, we are signing our lease on Thursday!!!!!! Good well wishes/prayers/voodoo that it all goes well! We are also in the beginning of FINALS week! I only have one more to go; and today's went great! Walked out of class feeling good and I passed! The hardest class of my major, which PROVES that it isn't impossible! Because with God, all things are possible!

Anyway, I am going to share a story about something that just happened very shortly. Holly, a dear friend of ours and myself ventured to go furniture shopping. The store was closed, so we went to get some food. At this restaurant (this is for our non-American readers) some of the waiters bring your food on roller skates. I happened to notice this one guy was very skilled on his set of wheels. However, as we were about to leave, I saw him skate very fast around a corner and take quite a seemingly nasty spill! Me and another lady who was there got up and made sure he was ok. But he got up without missing a beat and rolled off, probably humiliated. A few minutes later, he came back and picked up something on the concrete; a piece of his tooth! Without even missing a beat, I told him to put it in cold milk (it helps preserve the tooth and the enamel). And I was like...OH MY GAWD I LEARNED THAT IN ONE OF MY NURSING CLASSES!!!! He was very appreciative and the manager made a phone call to the college dentist. I walked away and was like...yep. That's why I'm in nursing. :]

Holly: Ok...first off, I don't like this new Blogger set up.  Anyway....

BUSY BUSY BUSY BUSY week! I had a job interview today, yay!  It went well (I had a phone interview for this same job last week so today was the in-person interview).  My stuff is now being sent on to the actual JOB and I should hear something next week! Yay! So I haven't been hired yet....but they still like me! :)

The Sonic spill was quite tragic, props to my sis for knowing what to do!  P.S. The lady we ended up chatting with was actually an alumni of Berea.  I love talking to random Berea alumni! Made me happy! :)

This is my last week as a Berea College student.  It's kind of bittersweet.  I still feel like I just got here but at the same time I feel like I've been here forever.  It's going to be really hard talking to students and working for what might be the last time.  Anyway...trying not to think about that!  No tears until graduation, WHICH IS SUNDAY! AAHH!!  Final tomorrow...it's my biggest one and I need this class to graduate, but I have faith that God will see me through. 

So yeah...life.  Changing.  Kind of scary.  Will blog again soon (we promise, and apologize for our long delay).  Please charge it to our heads and not our hearts.  <3

Sort of how we feel right now...lol! ^^

Movin' on up...to a deluxe apartment in the SKY-YY-YYYY!!!!!!!

Holly: Ok..."deluxe" might be a bit of an exaggeration! But if you can't figure it out from the title, then I'll just share it now:

Kelly and I have a place to live now!!! w00000t!

It's nothing spectacular...well, ok, again, sort of a lie...the current tenant is a current student who happens to be graduating with yours truly and, in essence, she's leaving us the majority of the furniture and STUFF and the timing could not have been more perfect!!! Anyway....

Nothing spectacular, I mean...it's not huge or anything, but it's perfect for us and it meets our basic needs.  It's clean, it's not far from campus, it's in a pretty quiet spot, it has a (teeny tiny :]) porch, two floors, and, from what we know, a reasonable, nice, not-psycho landlady.  And it will do just fine for our sweet Yoda as well; Yoda is our heartbreakingly sweet, cute, and petite black-and-white feline who currently resides with my Genetics professor in her office with three other kitties, a fish, and a guinea pig.  Post May 6th festivities, though, and she's as good as ours!  Tomorrow, if I can sneak out of my class for a few minutes, I will be calling this (from what we know) reasonable, nice, not-psycho landlady just to sort of introduce ourselves and ask a few more questions.  But yeah...it's a done deal. 

Now if I could just get a job..............

Kelly: Yesterday, sis and I also had the lovely opportunity to help a friend find a roof over her head. She's moving to the big city of Lexington to pursue her Master's in Sociology (dear Lord I hope I didn't butcher that). We all had a blast locating, rating and viewing, minus the sketchy guy and the three-legged dog. Yeah. Super sketch. ANYWAY, it gave us good findings too. In a year from now I will be almost done with my degree and will be most likely seeking employment in the city; hey, it's better money and oodles more opportunities. I will MAKE the 45 minute drive once a week to church!!!!!!

Just looking and seeking got us all excited to be on our own! Having a place to call our own is something we all have longed for just for the sole experience! So yeah! Starting May 4 (hopefully), sis and I will be starting to move some of our stuff in. Our goal is to have all of our stuff in by May 12 since summer classes start on the 14th. Unpacked or not, well that's a different story.