good-bye Virginia friends...

a few of our good-bye pics...

even though this song is kinda dorky... its so true... we have some very very special friends that will forever be in our hearts...

Packing up the dreams God planted
In the fertile soil of you
I can't believe the hopes He's granted
Means a chapter of your life is through

B will miss his auntie kk

 But we'll keep you close as always 
It won't even seem you've gone 
'Cause our hearts in big and small ways 
Will keep the love that keeps us strong 

b & nanny, beach buddies

 And friends are friends forever 
If the Lord's the Lord of them 
And a friend will not say never 
'Cause the welcome will not end 
Though it's hard to let you go 
In the Father's hands we know 
That a lifetime's not too long 
To live as friends 

our little family with Meema...
we will miss her SO much!

 And with the faith and love God's given 
Springing from the hope we know 
We will pray the joy you live in 
Is the strength that now you show 

b & his buddy ty

little cuties

 We'll keep you close as always 
It won't even seem you've gone 
'Cause our hearts in big and small ways 
Will keep the love that keeps us strong 

b's hero

b & his big boy friends 

 And friends are friends forever 
If the Lord's the Lord of them 
And a friend will not say never 
'Cause the welcome will not end 
Though it's hard to let you go 
In the Father's hands we know 
That a lifetime's not too long 
To live as friends 

bye baby olive... you're in our hearts sweet girl

l o v e

i'll miss ALL my dear nursing friends

 Though it's hard to let you go 
In the Father's hands we know 
That a lifetime's not too long 
To live as friends 

bye bye paw paw... see ya soon!

love my co-workers

bye bye house

love these girls!

 And friends are friends forever 
If the Lord's the Lord of them 
And a friend will not say never 
'Cause the welcome will not end 
Though it's hard to let you go 
In the Father's hands we know 
That a lifetime's not too long 

To live as friends 

we'll miss you hammy & gdaddy

family

my heart

the staunton kids! keeping up with the tradition!

we love auntie betsy and uncle pat!

gdaddy and his boy

bye bye great- grandma

love you baby olive

our last night with the fam...
b & his 2 favorite people... gigi & uncle caleb

and we're off :)

beauty in faithfulness

Could it be chance?  Or maybe just luck?  Or is the beautiful faithfulness of God's blessing?

Psalm 36:5
Your love, O LORD, reaches to the heavens, your faithfulness to the skies.

I have been reseaching, investigating, googling, and calling every prospecitive nursing job over the past few months in our preparation to move to Dallas.  After much prayer, and many chats with my nursing friends, I decided to look into travel nursing.You may ask, what exactly is a travel nurse?  It is " a nursing professional who works with a staffing company and typically works at a hospital or healthcare facility in a temporary assignment that is usually 13 or 26 weeks. Travel nursing started as a means for these facilities to fill scheduling shortages resulting from census increases, maternity leaves and vacations."  I found 2 smaller travel nursing companies that I loved... they seemed very helpful in looking for the exact nursing job I wanted and needed for this season of our lives.  Even as of August 1, there really didn't seem to be the exact job position opening up.  We moved out of our house, packed up our belongings in storage and headed to Staunton, Va to spend a week with my family prior to our move.  Still no job on the horizon... but I felt peaceful that God was at work.  If He call you, He equips you! 

I got a call during our first day in Staunton from Aureus Medical Staffing Company.  They had just recieved an opening for a job at Children's Medical Center in Dallas in pediatric hematology/oncolgy unit!  IT WAS THE EXACT HOSPITAL I WANTED, WITH THE EXACT JOB I NEEDED! 

                                                   

Ummm, yes it is HUGE!  I am just slighty overwhelmed at the thought of going from my smaller, home-town, family-oriented CHKD to Children's in Dallas... but how can I deny that the Lord worked out every detail?  Even until the last minute, my God proved His faithfulness... He has known how much we need to make to provide for school, He knows my hear to still be home as much as possible with Barrett, He knows that I did not want to have to drive far, He knows that I wanted to work in my passion, oncology... He knew it all and provided "more than I could have asked or imagined!" 

I spoke with the manager at Children's and she said tha there is great potential for me to stay on as a full-time nurse if I like it there and they like me.  She said there are some open positions that need to be filled... so we will see!  I also have the option of staying with my travel company and getting another travel assignment here in Dallas if I decided that I don't want to stay at Children's.  I will be starting my 13 week assignment on Monday! 

I just had to share this story because it is one of beauty!  The beauty of God's faithfulness... it has left me speechless and captivated!  Jesus knows the details of our lives and He cares!  He wants us to JUMP OFF THE LEDGE and watch Him move! 

So... this weekend we will celebrate His faithfulness... but we will celebrate differetly than we used to.  We will celebrate with apple juice, frozen chicken fingers and poscicles... because that is all we have right now in our fridge. :)  But we know that a paycheck is coming soon and it is ALL BECAUSE OF JESUS!  He is worth celebrating!

Psalm 89:8 

O LORD God Almighty, who is like you? You are mighty, O LORD, and your faithfulness surrounds you.

 

home

i can hardly believe that we have been here one week... sometimes i can't even believe we are really here and we are really this peaceful.  we already feel so comfortable calling this home.  yes, there are a few things that we are having to go without... but it has already been SO worth it!  we have been completely overtaken by the Spirit of God & completely overwhelmed by His provision.

i am learning how to give up so many little things that i have been accustomed to...  here there are small rooms, one old bathroom, no dishwasher, no storage space, trusting God for $, etc.  but ray and i have both said it more than once this week... the spiritual food we are receiving has crowed out our need for anything else.  all we want is more of Him.  "home" is starting to mean something new to me...

this past thursday we left for the new student encounter retreat.  it was a time in both our lives that we will never forget.  we have been soaking in the presence of God... basking in His great mercy... repenting... confessing... worshipping... just seeking the heart of God.

we just returned from a cook-out with all the new families that arrived on campus.  it's an amazing community of believers here.  it has been wonderfully encouraging to meet new moms and their kids.  it feels like everyone we talked to is in the same boat... huge step of faith to be here.  it's a sweet place to be when you come to the end of yourself... and the only thing that remains is Him.  

ray starts classes in the morning.  b will start his little preschool too.  i am going to work on getting the house back to a semi-livable place. :)  more to come about my new job soon... it's another God story!

this is a new song we just learned, but it has become the cry of our hearts...

"Holy Spirit, You are welcome here.

Come flood this place and fill the atmosphere,

Your glory, God, is what our hearts long for

to be overcome by your presence, Lord."

t e x a s... finally

our house is in disarray, but our hearts are oh so happy... we are finally here.  all the plans, all the waiting... we are finally getting settled in our little nest here at CFNI.  our life has definitely been turned upside down; as it seems we have now entered a country all of its own... TEXAS! 

my little guy is nestled right by side, snoozin away, swallowed by our new warm yellow comforter...  (buying new comforters is just a must when you move into a new home)...

the ride out here was thankfully less than eventful... we met our burgers and fries quota this past week, drove 20-west for what seemed forever, saw old friends, opened up 24 Dollar Tree presents with Barrett (most of which are now broken and in the trash), paid what seemed a million dollars to the gas stations along the way, and stared at a Budget truck for countless hours.  But my personal favorite memory from the ride here was having my best friend by my side for the entire trip.  We laughed, did ALOT of catching up, and it gave me peace of mind knowing she was right by my side.  we were overwhelmingly blessed on our way out here... very thankful!

the past 2 days have been nothing but unpacking... but its actually felt like Christmas!  i love opening each box and figuring out where things will go.  i really like our new home.  its small and old... and just right for us right now.  we have all been a little more thankful the past few days.  ray has been unloading, hanging curtains, setting up all the electrical things, and doing whatever i ask... and all with a great attitude! ;)  things are still a mess for sure.  but there are more important things in life... like blogging and snuggling. :) 

tomorrow starts orientation (and they include the spouses).  i love how they are SO family oriented here.  we have already been greeted by some smiling faces!  even barrett has some new friends already!  we leave Friday for the Encounter Retreat as a family... to seek the Lord before school starts on Monday.  Such a privilege to be at a school that puts Jesus first!  so excited to be standing beside ray as he starts his journey... really i couldn't be more thankful for him!

we're here. we're ready. more to come from T E X A S...