Things we learned in September

Sister dates can still happen even when they are 2 hours apart: Holly took a vacation day to hang out in the Tri-State area with Kelly towards the end of the month. We spent the weekend watching Jeopardy, treating ourselves to coffee and donuts in the park, shopping until we (nearly) dropped, Cold Stone and pizza...oh, and a small little concert with Jonny Diaz and Chris August! :)

Shew- not too shabby for Kelly having a 15+ hour day and Holly working 8 hours + 2.5 hours of driving!

Even though we're April babies...HELLOOOOOOOOOOOO fall!!!!! 

Holly learned, in relation to giving blood that if you eat a Papa Burger approximately 40 minutes before hand and drink 96 (yes, 96) ounces of water from morning until your donation time, you will be good to go! 

Cooking for one is an adventure in and of itself: Yes to leftovers! How did we ever manage without them?

It's a shorty! What did you learn? (Better late than never, eh?) 

FIIIIIIIIIIIVE GOLDEN YEARS!!

August 20, 2011- day of blog launch

August 20, 2012- One year after blog launch

August 21, 2013- Two years and one day after blog launch

August 21, 2014- Three years and one day after blog launch

August 25, 2015- Four years and four days after blog launch

August 20, 2016- Five years after blog launch

What a difference five years can make!! Three apartments, two Bachelor's degrees, six jobs between us (soon to be seven!), two pet babies, one fellow, dozens of mini road trips, one "big" vacation to Florida, 2 ALEP trips, approximately 500 episodes of Frasier, ER, Intervention, Doctor Who, Sherlock, and so much more, numerous answered prayers, numerous hugs, laughs, tears, sleeping-in days, friend visits...

Here's to the future! :)

The responsibility of reaching out

Holly and Kelly: Earlier this week Kelly confided that she had been feeling a little down and lonely lately. Changes in routine, daily lives, that sort of thing have caused some disarrayed emotions. I (Holly) suggested that perhaps she reach out. And then she made a point, and it stopped us dead in our tracks:

"Why do I have to be the one to reach out?"

Again...good point. It's not exactly a surprise that life has handed us a little bit of a curveball lately. But then she made a comparison...to bullying. Have you ever noticed that when someone becomes a victim of bullying, he/she gets advice such as, "Oh, just ignore it." "Stand up for yourself." "Don't let it get to you." Why is it hardly ever taken back to the one inflicting the bullying in the first place? Yeah, sure, the bully will get dragged to the principal's office...But, at least in our experience, it's never the bully's responsibility to quit bullying. It's the victim's responsibility to quit behaving, or simply existing, in a manner that warrants bullying in the first place.

Do you get what we're saying?

Kelly then spun the example to people who suffer from depression: Part of the recovery process is that they're encouraged to check in with a trusted friend or accountability partner on a regular basis. While I appreciate the notion of staying in touch and maintaining open lines of communication, especially with someone who's just gotten out of an unsafe or traumatic situation, it seems a little backwards to me: Shouldn't the person suffering from depression be checked on as regularly as they're checking in? And perhaps they are. But do you get what we're saying?

We're certainly not trying to guilt-trip anyone or make anyone feel bad. Please believe us! Life is busy and crazy, and we're certainly grateful that we have amazing people in our lives who don't hold that against us. But it's certainly not an excuse. So how about a challenge? The next time you hear of a friend or loved one in your life going through a hard time, or a rough patch, don't wait to hear about it on Facebook, don't wait for them to reach out to you. Make the first move. And be consistent! (That's what we struggle with the most!)

Sometimes getting better is about being better.

Things we learned in June

Sometimes the answers you're looking for may not be what you'd expect. Kelly is back in a boot! :(
It's hard going from 1000 to virtually 0 overnight, but we learned grace (and are still learning), and that sometimes, life makes us take a break to make sure we get ourselves where we need to be.

House-sitting (and dog sitting) is very time consuming. The next thing we knew we looked up and it was almost July and more than a week had gone by!! But it's gratifying to be needed, and to help friends of ours. Plus, kittens!

Again, life is short. A beloved Berea professor passed away mid June after battling an aggressive form of cancer. Life, whether it's shared, lived, or new, is a gift.

Having no internet is doable, but somewhat of an inconvenience. We love our local coffee shop and library as much as the next gals, but eventually being there for 3+ hours takes its toll.

We have some of the greatest friends. June was the month of Summerfest, cookouts, a birthday dinner to the Cheesecake Factory, and a surprise attack on Holly's room!

It's never too late. Holly's boyfriend got baptized the last weekend of the month. It was a beautiful evening, a beautiful moment, and a reminder that no matter where we get in life, no matter how big of a mess we make of our lives, God is right there waiting for us with open arms. We simply receive and accept His truly amazing grace. And if we seek Him with all that we are, He will be found by us.

Quite a busy month for us! What did you learn in the merry month of June? 

A Generalized Life Update #3

Kelly: I realize, well...we both realize it's been a while since we've written last. It's kind of surreal to me how fast this month has already gone by, and it has literally gotten away from us. A lot of things have come up and unfortunately, time on this blog has been placed on the back burner. I suppose that's how it goes, right? Anyway, I've been dealing with some personal struggles, mostly with my ongoing foot/ankle pain, and ever since yesterday I'm back in a boot. It kind of stinks, and I'm already struggling with my limitations and what I can't do and what I shouldn't do. Not to mention the unwelcoming stares of passers-by as I thump along, and it really just gets old after the first few times. Might as well hold a big sign up that says "YES I AM IN A BOOT PLEASE STOP STARING AT ME." I'm starting to feel a little discouraged, but your prayers, silly comments and humor are really helping, so if I haven't said thank you, then thank you. I read everything that you all post for me, and you have no idea how much they mean to me. It's those little things that keep me going. So again....THANK YOU! :) 

Sis and I just finished another stint of house/critter sitting for I believe the fourth year in a row. It's always nice to just get out of your own place for a while and have some adorable yet sometimes rambunctious pooches just love on you while you love on them right back. Our only living grandparents aren't in the best shape either. Granted they're 89 and 90 and I think it's finally starting to show. It's been a few years since I've seen them, but judging on the conversations I've had with my folks, it's evident that times are changing. They're changing, we all are, and a lot of what's been going on is something new we've all had to learn to navigate. How fast this month has gone has been a reminder of how quickly time just seems to get away from us, and suddenly those little things we take for granted are gone and then we realize how much we miss them. Let that be a reminder for all of us; be thankful and grateful for right now. But all things considering, we're doing all right. The weather is MUCH cooler and sis and I are looking extremely forward to some family time in Ohio this weekend for 4th of July. 

Holly: I do a lot of blog/newsletter writing for work and for an earlier blog I wrote, "Hi, can anyone tell me what happened to the month of June?" Time just flies, and we are already halfway through to what's, for me, been a pretty great year! 

Speaking of work, I've been doing quite a bit of traveling. One of the components of working for GA HQ is partner site visits. This year all of our partner sites are divided up into regional groups, as much by geography as possible (we have a few outlying sites), and so my group comprises our sites in Floyd, Wolfe, Breathitt, Owsley, and Menifee County, all in Kentucky. Yesterday I was in Wolfe county, earlier last week in Menifee, and Floyd at the beginning of the month. This is my first year making site visits and it such a rewarding component of the job! It's so refreshing to put faces to names, to put faces to numbers we spend a lot of time crunching, and to hear firsthand from the families we serve just how much of an impact this program is making. Very affirming, especially when the "daily grind" feels sort of like a grind. Mid July I'll be wrapping up my visits.

Things between my Aussie/the boy/J are going quite well. It's hard to believe it's been almost 6 months, and every day his heart and who he is as a person just continues to win me over. He was baptized last weekend, the 26th, and it was a powerful and beautiful moment. The Lord has really made Himself known to us as we continue getting to know each other, and I've learned so much about myself and what it means to be a caring and supportive partner. We have had some "serious" conversations and are looking forward to the future, but ultimately we're both praying for patience and wisdom and asking HIM how we fit into the plan He has for us. Oh....and he is coming with us to Ohio this weekend :)

Yoda and Wiley continue to delight us with goofy antics and plenty of cuddles and purrs. They're such joys!

Here, look at some pictures! It'll likely be after the 4th until y'all hear from us again. So be safe, tell your loved ones you love them (to their faces, not to Facebook), eat lots of yummy food, laugh, and hug someone.

So much selfie!

Somebody call Charlie Eppes for a little social network analysis...

Nothing fancy; just a road I (Kelly) posted this afternoon with some God-chasing song lyrics. 2 likes so far.

A selfie of me on Christmas. 65 likes...and a few comments. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ok...now it's Holly's turn...

A picture of God's creation, with an encouraging reminder to stand firm in our faith even during downpours: Nothing. Nada. Zip. 

A pic of my Aussie and I. 55 likes...also with a few comments.

Do you see our point?
Please don't misunderstand us. Relationships are wonderful. Having to go to work on Christmas and bring joy to others is wonderful. But what about deep, from-the-gut life stuff that shows how much we've grown, changed, etc? Why is everyone suddenly all akjfdbnakdljbgfiawuer when your relationship status changes?

We encourage mindfulness: Why are you really "liking" that? Yes, those things we mentioned are wonderful. They truly are.

Kelly: Did anyone see my little comparison at the top of this post? I thought it was a bit strange. Then again, maybe I don't. Today's culture is gripped with selfies galore, and for what? What is the purpose? I am guilty of posting the occasional selfie, usually when I'm just being silly. Sometimes it's to make a point, like the one on Christmas where I didn't get to spend time with my family and just put it up as a reminder that some people don't get to spend holidays with their families. That was it, that was the point. 

I guess the point is to just perhaps be a bit more mindful of not only what we post, but why we are attracted to what we are attracted to? What is the point of that selfie? Am I trying to gain something from this? Is there some sort of point I'm trying to get across? Did something really great happen? Did something really awful happen that you are trying to bring awareness to? I know it may seem silly, but these are the things we should be asking ourselves. It's something I try to do. 

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.

The meatless results (and a house update?)

H and K: It has been seven days since our last post, and if you remember, we took it upon ourselves to go one week without meat.  So...how did we do?

Honestly, we didn't find it too challenging.  Some days, it was hard walking up Main Street and catching a whiff of the cafe's burgers, or resisting devouring an entire order of chicken wings from Papaleno's.  We did have one "cheat" day, Saturday, in which we attended a cook-out sponsored by Kelly's work.  We didn't go too crazy, though, in the sense that we both had just one chicken wing. Fried rice became a good friend of ours. Our weight didn't really change either, which we kind of expected, but that's ok, considering that wasn't the end goal.  We were just curious...and a little bit broke.  So will we do it again? Probably.  We had to get pretty creative with some of our recipes, but overall we enjoyed incorporating more veggies into our diet. The drastically reduced cost of groceries for the week was a good incentive, too!

And this concludes our one week without meat.  We learned a lot, had a good time...but honestly, if anyone would care to drop off a couple of steaks or a rotisserie chicken, that would be pretty amazing.

Switching gears a little, and we're just going full disclosure here, because we can do that here.  In case some of you are a little behind, we are in the process of moving, this time into a house.  We do have a house lined up, although we've only seen it from the outside.  However, here's where the situation gets a little hairy: The family that is living in the house now is waiting on a closing date for a house they're buying.  Once they get their closing date, they will move out, and we will move in. We are not buying, we're renting (Just in case that wasn't clear).  We do not know when this closing date will be.  It's been two weeks since we first made contact with our eventual landlord.  When I called him last week, hoping to affirm my fear of him not giving the house away to someone else, he informed me that they still had not reached a closing date, but that he still had our contact information and would reach out to us when they closed.  That was a week ago.  We still have not heard anything.

Honestly...it's been hard.  Our many frustrations with our current living situation, for reasons we don't wish to discuss at this time, have nearly reached a tipping point.  Let's just say it's gone on too long. Period.  In addition, it's just the waiting...the waiting and waiting for a phone call.  My (Holly) hopes soar every time my phone rings, and plummet when it's someone else besides the phone call we're anxiously waiting for.  It's the doubt...the doubt of wondering, nearly agonizing ourselves, if this is ever going to happen at all.  It's discouraging- another day that passes with silence, with no news. But through all of this, we've learned a lot about grace, and we are thankful for that. I (Holly) read Proverbs 3:5-6 recently, and I've been heavily meditating on that, relying on that promise in God's word.  We've been praying.  We've been praying a lot.  And still waiting.

So that's where we are right now.  If you feel led to pray for us, please do so.  And pray for the family that is waiting on a closing date; it's probably just as frustrating for them, if not more so, than it is for us. But we KNOW that something better is coming, and we KNOW that God is faithful.  It's just that some days are easier than others, and we thank God that He can handle our joys and our frustrations as well.  Thanks for following along with us, as always.  We hope to hear something soon.

It's a God thing!

Holly: So we're pretty happy this evening.  

 And apparently I am part contortionist.  Anyway...yeah, it's been a good day today! :)

Last night I wrote a post on my VISTA blog about VISTA turning 50 and what, essentially, being a VISTA means to me.  I shared it on my Twitter page as part of a social media campaign raising awareness for this celebration.  This evening I got this:

Yes, that is the AmeriCorps VISTA twitter page linking up MY blog for all the world to see!  They mentioned my blog! Say freaking WHAT? :D

I don't mean to sound preachy, but I can't take any of the credit for this.  It's all God.  He knew EXACTLY what He was doing when He sent me here, and I am so thankful and beyond blessed (and undeserving!!).  I don't know who runs VISTA's social media platforms, but it's humbling to realize that out of all the thousand some-odd VISTAs out there, they chose to showcase what God is doing for me and through me in wee little Berea Kentucky.  It's humbling to realize that people in Washington DC could read this, my own personal blog I started just so I could remember this year.  Yep...chalking this up to yet another pinch-me moment!

Kelly:  For me, my "God thing" most of you already know about, as my Facebook continues to blow up with likes and comments from today's status. Ever since I did clinicals where I work (which was like almost 4 years ago) and ended up on the substance abuse unit, I was like yes. This is the kind of nursing I can do and want to do and would be very happy there. So I'm where I am now and am thoroughly enjoying it while winding through the occasional bumps and valleys and all of a sudden another opportunity for an opening on such unit comes up. Except it's during the day and not on my shift (3-11). On a whim, I apply internally for it, which I did on Tuesday. And this didn't just come out of nowhere; I've been ready for a change in job for a bit now; not leaving where I work, rather just doing something else. Anywho, I come into work yesterday and the scheduler tells me the job is mine once my current position gets filled. I was like....really? I honestly didn't think I'd even get the job. You see, there was an opening on my shift on the same unit back in the fall. I applied for it but didn't get it, which I was pretty bummed about. My state of mind on Tuesday after handing in my application was well if it's meant to be then it'll happen. And it did. And it IS!!! I was talking to a co worker last night (whom I have appointed as my "work mom") and we were like if you work hard and do well it'll pay off. I then said that never in my life did I have anything handed to me; I always had to work for it.

I was reminded of a song from mine and Holly's BME days and some of the simplest words were "with God I can." And for me it's been with God I can....and I just fill in the blank. At our house, we have a God is Good because...board. Last night when I got home from work I wrote because He knows our desires and provides. With God I, we, you, can do what you dream to do. And if you're reading this and are discouraged with whatever is going on in your life, I encourage you to please hang in there. Keep the faith; the darkness and shadows eventually have to go away. You can do it! As for me, I can't wait to see what God has in store for me and this new position.

Joy unspeakable. Faith unsinkable. Love unstoppable. Anything is possible

One Last Time

Holly and Kelly: Dear readers, we apologize for not updating in a while. It has been a very crazy month of going here there and everywhere. But we are fine, all is well and now we are back. Thanks for hanging tough and bearing with us.

Yesterday was the final hurrah. The big finale. The movie to end all movies. The Battle of the Five Armies. And it was glorious.  It was also a time of gathering. As you all know, in September we attended ALEP (see our post on ALEP weekend here!) and met some pretty awesome people during that time. It was discussed at that time that there was a group who usually met up in December to see the current Hobbit movie in Nicholasville (about an hour from Berea). This group met up at Shaker Village the night before for a merry gathering, since it's almost Christmas. So needless to say we jumped all over that! We stayed at the village Friday night and got to meet up with some of the folks we met in September for snacks, conversation, laughing, a long slideshow and a little bit of tasty wine. Come Saturday we rolled out to Brannon's Crossing in Nickyville and gathered at the theater for pictures and a bit of singing, such as Misty Mountains and I See Fire- which was pretty incredible. Before we knew it there were other people taking pictures and videos of all of us, as the majority of the group were in costumes. It was awesome. Truly awesome. We kept saying "I love us." This group, these movies, as Kelly said, it was a celebration of the Christmas season, the love of Tolkien and Peter Jackson's work, how the books/movies have impacted us and our lives, and celebrating each other.

Now for our movie opinion; we LOVED it!!! We don't want to give too much away, because that's just not nice and we went into this movie having read no reviews, not viewed any clips, or seen anything else other than just the trailer.  We expected a few things, naturally, just because we're fairly familiar with the book, but it far surpassed our expectations!  There were quite a few moments that really surprised us, and of course, there were things that we weren't too thrilled with (but that's the case with the previous 2 Hobbit movies, and even LOTR too).  But what really made this movie special, aside from it being the last Middle Earth hurrah, was the company that was able to witness this cinematic adventure with us.  Many we met from AL3P, but we didn't get to have as many in-depth conversations and fellowship as we had wished (though there was still plenty!!), so it was really memorable to share life with these people.  We all come from such different walks of life, such different parts of the world, and when we all come together united by this love for Tolkien, wonderful things happen.  Now every time we see Five Armies, we'll think of this group, this family that we've been so fortunate to be welcomed into.  Plus...Billy Boyd's closing song is complete perfection to the end of an incredible movie series...and to our parting.  We will see each other soon, though.  There is no such thing as goodbye!

So ends this day
The road is now calling
And I must away
Over hill and under tree
Through lands where light has never shone
By silver streams that run down to the Sea
Under cloud, beneath the stars
Over snow one winter's morn
I turn at last to paths that lead home
And though where the road then takes me, I cannot tell
We came all this way
But now comes the day to bid you farewell

One Last Time! (Photo c/o Kelly Gable) 

Stories: A night of tobyMac (and others!)

Holly and Kelly: Keeping up with the spirit of concerts, our second concert in one week (Yes, you read that correctly.  We are blessed!) was on this past Friday night.  We bundled up, as it was quite, quite cold and after a pit stop at Five Guys for some food, we made our way over to a church in Lexington to see tobyMac and company.  It.  Was.  Packed!  We ended up having to park over at Mejier, which in relation to the church is a few blocks away.  But all of that is completely irrelevant.  The show was awesome!

The icing on this cake was that we got to share this experience with some folks from our church, which sweetened the deal, so to speak.  I (Holly) see a lot of folks who attend my church as family, so it was just one big happy familial gathering to us, and I know without a doubt Kelly and many others feel the same way.  Anyway, you don't want to hear me ramble on and on anymore.  The show opened with Ryan Stevenson, a fairly new artist in the CCM industry.  We are familiar with a couple of his songs via the radio, but it was really special to see just him, his guitar, and his voice.  His testimony is pretty incredible as well: One of his songs "Holding Nothing Back" was penned at a really difficult time in his life, including his mom passing away and he and his wife losing their twins.  It's amazing what God can do though.  It is.  He played four or five songs and he got a standing ovation when he was finished.  It made him cry!!!  What a powerful moment.  It's like something for KING & COUNTRY says "When you merge the power of music with the ultimate power of the Gospel, it not only has the power to change your day, but to transform your life as well."  A pristine example of that is what we saw at the opening.

After that was Matt Maher, whom we haven't seen since ICHTHUS of 2008, before he was really popular.  I loved his show then and I loved him this evening as well.  He played a new song "Because He Lives" and I think it's his best song yet.  Such simple words, but such a strong reminder of who God is and who we are in Him.  One of our favorite songs by him is "Lord I Need You", which is about a kajillion times better live.  Take my word for it!  We've been fans of his for a while so seeing him was an added treat to the already great evening we were having!

Finally, tobyMac came on!!! He has been around the block for quite a while now; he started out in a group called dcTalk back in the late 80's/early 90's with the current lead singer of the Newsboys (Michael Tait) and the former lead of Audio Adrenaline (Kevin Max).  Went solo not long after that and the rest is pretty much history.  We first saw him at ICHTHUS of 2006; we broke our curfew to wait in line and talk to him.  He's a super cool guy, y'all.  We saw him again at Winter Jam of 2010 (I think....), and it was a great high-energy show.  The show this past Friday was no exception whatsoever!  And it was loud.  Oh man, was it loud!  But it was such a great time.  I had completely forgotten just how big his heart is for God.  It was beyond inspiring!  He had a good mix of some of his older stuff, and some of his stuff that I know really well, as well as some new stuff, which I can't WAIT for his new album!  What was especially cool about the show is that he brought the previous "acts" back on from time to time to do some stuff with him.  One of my favorite songs by tobyMac, "Speak Life" was written by Ryan Stevenson!!! I didn't know that! Something that he said, though, and it's still with me: Someone walks up to you on the street and asks who are you.  There are a million different answers to that: a sister, a Christian, a friend, a twin, a doctor, a mom, and the list goes on and on.  The only "label" that matters, though, is that we, YOU, are a disciple that Jesus loves.  In the Bible, John referred to himself as "the disciple that Jesus loved".  Guess what? We are the same!  How cool is that? :)

My favorite picture! 

Definitely a memorable evening, beyond all reaches of the imagination.  An added bonus: We got to hang out with Ryan Stevenson after the show for a few minutes.  He is unbelievably sweet!  I posted a couple songs below.  I hope that you are encouraged, both by the stories on this page and the stories in your own life.

Ryan Stevenson- Not Forgotten

tobyMac- Speak Life

Matt Maher- Because He Lives

Here we are with Ryan Stevenson afterwards! :) Thank you to the nice lady in line behind us for taking the picture

Three cheers for H and K!!

Holly: Ach!! That magical all-elusive date has come and gone again!  How time just seems to march right on by.

Yesterday was August 20th, THE THREE YEAR ANNIVERSARY OF OUR BLOG!!!!!!!!!!!!! :D YAAAAHHHOOOOOOYAAAAAAYYY!!!

I still can't believe we're chuggin' along, and that we are.  They say "what a difference a year can make" and what a year it has been!  It seems like just yesterday we were celebrating 2 years of this blogosphere of wonder and now here we are again, 3 years strong.  3 years of not running out of stuff to talk about.  Imagine that! So much has happened this year and we still have so much more to look forward to!

I think we're going to keep at it.  In fact, there is no "I think"; we ARE going to keep at it.  Thank you all, once again, for chuggin' along with us.  Here's to many more years!

Kelly: Trying to type this with a kitty on my lap (a Yoda kitty to be more specific) will be most interesting. Like I say every year when this comes up, I never thought it would make it another year. This has been the first full year of our lives we are both working "full time" and neither one of us are in school. It's been fun and awesome and by far the most crazy! Hard to believe how fast the time seems to go, and it feels like this year went by the fastest. But yeah. 3 years. This blog idea was born after the two of us came home from our respective abroad endeavors and decided this would be not only fun for us but a bonding experience too. We have enjoyed coming back to this blog, even though we haven't been able to post as much in a while, but still. This isn't just for us, but all of our readers too. We want this to be a safe place to read our thoughts and to explore your own thoughts on the topic at hand. We don't do this to get it out there and see how many people will follow it in one day, no.

That's one of the great things about this blog and the fact we write it together; there's always something to talk about! Often I see stuff on the news or hear something on the radio and still after all this time tell myself "that would be good to blog about." And we do this too with conversations we have. So there you have it. Three years! Here's to hoping we'll have a four year post next year!

August 20, 2011- date of blog launch

August 20, 2012- one year after blog launch

August 21, 2013- two years and one day after blog launch

Today! August 21, 2014- three years and one day after blog launch.  With Yoda :)

The Car Wash Guy

Holly: Today I'm going to share a simple reminder of trying to find the joy in life.  Because, let's face it, we all ride that struggle bus sometimes.

Every day on my way home from work I drive past a fairly busy intersection in Lexington- for those of you who may be familiar, it's Richmond Road/New Circle.  A few days a week, there is a man who stands under the New Circle overpass, and he wears a sign advertising for a nearby car wash.  He is so animated, with the biggest smile on his face, that you just can't help but smile, honk your horn and wave yourself.  Like I said, he's there a few days a week, but not every day.  One particular day I was just struck with this thought: here is a man, who is wearing this big bulky sign, and he stands and waves at traffic for hours and hours and hours, day in and day out.  I've seen him when it's been 90+ outside, I've seen him in the rain, I saw him during the RIDICULOUS cold.  And yet, he's always smiling.  Always.  I can't imagine that would be the most stimulating and glamorous of jobs, but yet there he is, always smiling.

Admittedly, life is not easy.  That's just the reality of it.  But something I've learned over the years being on my own is that we really don't have it as bad off as we think we do.  Sometimes we just get SO bent out of shape over what someone says, what someone does, traffic issues, and for what?  Hey, I struggle with this myself...still.  I truly believe we are called to be spreaders of joy and life, and you just can't do that when you're all bankjbhakljdhfbaw over some silly little thing (Sorry to burst your bubble, but sometimes we just need to get over ourselves, am I right?).  Now that doesn't mean that you have to be happy-go-lucky-ray-of-sunshine-puppies-and-rainbows-24/7-even-when-life-stinks-out-loud.  No.  It's ok to be frustrated.  But sometimes, you just have to put on your big old car wash sign and just SMILE.

Kelly: So much we could learn from this guy. Seriously. Here's a man, literally doing the job nobody else wants to do, but he's doing it without complaining. Perhaps he's complaining on the inside, but that's not what we see. How often do we complain about things in our life? About our jobs? About what's going on in the world? I know I complain, sadly, about my job a lot, mostly about things I have no control over whatsoever. But the thing is, I can change my attitude about the situation. We live in a world full of choices, and if your day sucks and there seems to be no way out, there's a choice of how we can exercise that. If I come home after a long day and the kitchen is a mess, there's shoes and stuff all over the floor and the cats are running around like some of my patients off their meds, I can choose how to react. I can be really pissed off and yell at the cats and leave some sort of passive aggressive note on the counter or text message to Holly for not cleaning up the kitchen, or....I can calmly tell the cats to please stop acting like idiots, clean up the kitchen and the stuff on the floor. Again, full of choices. Or if we have a crappy day, we can either be bitter and fume about it all day or just let it go.

I'm not saying it's not ok to ever be angry, frustrated, wigging out, whatever, because it is. It's going to happen. But we can always choose to not be angry, frustrated or wig out. We can take it how it comes, and like the car wash guy, just smile. Hey, I'm saying all of this just as much for myself as I am for anybody out there who may read this. Something I try to remember when I'm angry or frustrated about something is this; is this a bad day or just a bad moment? Is this situation/person/whatever really going to ruin my entire day? Yes, we will have days where we're sweating and running around like mad with no end in sight, and some days it will be cold and gray. Just remember though that there might be a guy in Lexington with his car wash sign, standing there with a big smile on his face. Yeah, he's there because he has to be, but nobody asks him to smile and be friendly I'm sure; I'm sure he just DOES that. If he can smile through any weather, so can we. So can I.

10 Reflections

Holly: Flying solo tonight, for a couple of reasons: 1. Because Kelly is currently writing her own post for her nursing blog, and 2. Because she told me to post this.

I didn't want to, but like I said, Kelly told me to.  Earlier this week we finished our viewings of all the 10th Doctor episodes of Doctor Who (minus The Day of the Doctor...).  Probably some of the most breathtaking (literally!), beautiful, heartwrenching, poignant, and emotional 2 hours of TV we've ever watched.  Talk about an emotional rollercoaster.  ANYWAY...last night I put a pen to paper, and this is what happened.  Hope you like it.  

10 Reflections
written 2/28/2014

Barcelona

first impressions: cute, crazy, a bit manic

and alone

so alone

But there was someone else
Her name was Rose

she made you better

the only one to say those three words directly to you

You and Rose

tumbling headfirst into strange worlds and creatures

Together

Then the parallel- cruel separation

Am I ever going to see you again?

No! was the resounding cry

but fate would have it otherwise

You understood

You became human
You knew what it was like to love and be loved

The love you gave and showed made us all fall in love with you

we followed you once more, with Martha, then Donna

I think you need someone

So alone
Saving the world with your family at your side
Donna: the metacrisis
she must never remember any of it

Utter heartbreak

Rose, then Donna
No more

resigning to travelling alone
trying to make everything right

So much power in the face of loss

the bonds of time are too easily broken

I've gone too far

And with time comes an end

He will knock four times

The end

The all-too-bittersweet end

The final hurrah to a journey of adventure, wit, and love

Your greatest asset and enemy

Every life is sacred

The love you gave and showed made us all fall in love with you

and so

We will sing to you, Doctor.  The universe will sing you to your sleep.  This song is ending, but the story never ends.

In a world of despair, you gave hope

In a world of darkness, you were light

never afraid to wander, to marvel, to grieve

Regeneration begins again

one last round of silent farewells, final glances and moments, rueful acknowledgments

Back to the TARDIS, the blue wooden sanctuary

I don't want to go

But go you did

much like the inside, our hearts shattered, almost beyond repair

the face physically changes, but yours will be imprinted on our hearts until the end of time

We wish to thank you, but the words seem so small

please believe we will never forget

our 10th Doctor

our Mr. Smith

our lonely angel

our soul

Vale Decem

A Generalized Life Update

Holly: A lot of things have changed for us in a short amount of time.  So here's what's going on.

We have been at our new apartment for about four weeks now.  While it still has its messy places, its boxes of stuff with nowhere to go, and a washer that still needs to be hooked up (any takers?????), we are feeling very at home and happy.  This morning we finally had to turn on the AC after putting it off for a while now...Berea Municipal is scary.....more on that later.  Wiley is contently snoozing on a student hand-me-down armchair and Yoda is....well...somewhere around here, probably getting into some kind of mischief.

A week ago I started a second job, back at University of Kentucky.  It's only part time, and it's only through the summer.  Essentially I play mail clerk and get slides for the pathology department.  It's pretty boring, actually, and the commute is pretty wretched, and I'm still not entirely sure how I feel about it, but the ladies I work with are quite pleasant, so that helps.  I have applied for a position in the biology department there and my application has gone on to the hiring officials, so we will see about that; I'd basically be helping to run UK's biology labs, and it would be full time and NOT temporary.  We shall see.  Just praying that God will show me where to go and what to do.

I still work Old Navy, but on the weekends now.  Even though my UK job is only 3 hours a day, it's a TON of driving in Lexington, and my poor car just doesn't get the gas mileage it used to.  I'm coming up on six months at Old Navy.  Considering earlier posts I ranted and raved about quitting...well, it's just amazing what can happen and how God can use you.  I really love working there.  I've become friends with some pretty awesome people there too.

Life is pretty good, peeps.  Pretty darn good.  :)

Kelly: I've been out of college for almost four weeks now...WOW!!! That is crazy for me, and it still hits me at random at times. Like...whoa, I'm not a college kid anymore. But I've got some great news to share as well! Earlier this month, I scheduled to take the boards (NCLEX). I currently hold a provisional RN license, which means that I can still work, but I have to be supervised by an RN or ARNP until I pass the boards and become an RN. Well, I took the boards yesterday! It was intense and it took me over 2 and a half hours to answer 202 questions! I got my results this morning and I PASSED! I'm now a Registered Nurse, so maybe I'll just start signing my name Kelly Korb, RN, BSN! ^_^

BUT...I still don't have a job yet! :( There haven't been any new openings in a few places, so for now I'm on a standstill. I plan on making some phone calls today to some jobs I applied back in March, so we'll see! Several applications have been referred rather quickly, so that's good news! It's just a matter of time I suppose, but I'm looking and applying to at least one job every day. If not applying I look every day! I'm just praying that God will open something up for me. Maybe He just wanted me to pass the boards first. :)