Long time, no blog.

Wow. I didn't even realize how long it has been until just now. Life is crazy. Here is a little update on my life over the past month and a half: For Thanksgiving, Tom and I went to Raleigh and an intimate dinner with his parents. Just the 4 of us. Later that night, I flew up to Syracuse, NY, where my parents already were, to spend some time with my mom's side of the family, especially Grandma. there was some snow on the ground when I got there, which was nice to see since I don't think we'll be seeing any in Washington, NC this year...On Friday, my parents, my grandma and I met my mom's sisters and their families at Plainville Turkey Farm restaurant to have anothoer Thanksgiving feast. They had a big buffet with all the traditional fixings. I ordered fish instead. I flew home on Sunday afternoon.

On Monday, I called my mom to see if they had made it to NYC yet. My dad had meetings in the city on Tuesday, so my parents decided to spend a few extra days in NY and enjoy themselves. When my mom answered the phone, I could tell by her voice that something was wrong. She said she was at the urgent care with my dad because he had been having severe stomach pains all night/morning. They didn't know what was wrong yet, but she said she would call me when they knew more. It turns out that it was his appendix. They took him by ambulance to a nearby hospital and he had an emergency appendectimy. I don't know why, but for some reason I was really scared. Late that night when he was out of recovery, my mom put him on the phone. As soon as I heard his voice I started crying. What a mess...

SO THEN, that Friday night (are you keeping track of all this?) Tom and I went out to pick up some late night Bojangles. After we hit up the drive-thru, we headed to the ATM to get some cash so we could buy a Christmas tree on Saturday. Well on the way to the ATM we got into a head on collision with a drunk driver. I passed out at the point of impact, so I don't remember the airbag hitting me or anything. I can't even describe how surreal the accident was. When I opened my eyes and realized what happened, I looked over at Tom and in the back at Clive, and thought, wait, is this a dream? Is this really happening? It was really scary. It wasn't until the cops arrived that we knew the other driver was drunk. They cut the breathalizer off at .26. By the grace of God, we all were okay. Clive was shaking for about 20 minutes. Neither Tom nor I had any major injuries although we are both still in some pain 3 weeks later. The truck was totaled.

After that, Christmas kind of got pushed aside. I could barely move for about 3 days, so we never ended up decorating for Christmas. Bah humbug. I guess there's always next year.

We spent Christmas back and forth between our parents' houses in Raleigh and Cary. It was nice to spend some quality time with them. I saw Marley & Me with some friends and cried harder than I ever have before at a movie. It was ridiculous. At one point, I really thought that I might have to leave the theatre. Two days later, my parents asked me how the movie was, and I started crying AGAIN just telling them about it! It was embarassing. Needless to say, I love my dog. I'll attach some pictures when I find the camera cord.

Swig & Splash

This is what the painting class/party was called that I went to on Monday night. One of my co-workers has a friend who is an artist and she does these classes to make some extra money. Basically it was 5 girls drinking wine and having a great time painting. Here's a photo of my painting. Check out her website: ericacoker.com

Welcome to a Small Town

One of the biggest things I've noticed since moving to Washington is that literally everywhere you go, you see somebody that you know. Let me first remind you that Tom and I have only been in Washington for a couple months. The point being that we don't even know that many people. If we already run into somebody every time we leave the house, what is it going to be like in 5 years? I'm not saying this is a bad thing; it's just an adjustment; just a part of life in a small town. So when I went to the gym this morning (we just joined 2 days ago), I was not at all surprised to see my supervisor on one of the machines. Of course I did the mature thing and made a bee-line for the women's locker room. I mean, the gym is an awkard place to run into somebody, right? I'm pretty pumped that I actually went to the gym this morning. One of the main reasons we chose this gym was because they have a pool. It's been a long time since I swam laps and I really enjoyed it. Of course I didn't have goggles though, so my eyes were burning from the chlorine for the rest of the day. I guess I'll add those to my WalMart list. One of the other things I like about a small town is how everybody says "The WalMart" instead of just "WalMart". I've noticed that I have picked up this habit as well.
I was really bored last night because Tom is out of town and there was nothing on TV, so I started watching The Ghost Whisperer. Has anybody seen this show? I never watched it before because I thought it looked pretty stupid and I'm not a huge fan of Jennifer Love Hewitt. Okay, it was really good. I'm not gonna lie, I watched a couple episodes in a row. It has a kind of crime drama feel to it. You should check it out.

GOOD LORD

This is what I was thinking today at work when I was trying to grab a second to breathe. I told my supervisor that I needed a bigger desk. It's been a week since I've been officially done with training at my job. Last week was still kind of slow...which I hate. I would much rather have something to do that just be sitting at my desk, twiddling my thumbs, BUT this week has been crazy. Since Monday, I've been slapped with 6 cases. I feel like I've been running around like a chicken with it's head cut off; but truth be told, I kinda like it. It's just such a cool job. On top of work really picking up, Tom and I have been super busy with Young Life, and MOVING! Yes, we finally moved in to our house this past weekend. We actually closed on it today, so we now officially own it. The move went really well. We were very fortunate and grateful to have several people from Young Life help us, as well as my brother Alex. During the process, all the "movers" decided that our couch was just too big to fit into the back den where we wanted it (it's an older house, so the doorways are small). Well later that day, after everyone left, Tom and I decided that we WERE going to get that couch into the den. One side of the couch is actually broken from when we moved into our "old" house in Raleigh, so we thought we had a little wiggle room. GOOD LORD. I'll just say there was quite a bit of swearing involved and some more breaking of the couch. But--the couch is in the den! There are a lot of things we'd like to change or add to the house, so we're trying to prioritize and realize that it's not going to all happen at once. I would attach some pictures of the house, but Clive chewed up my digital camera a few weeks ago. Seriously. I could rattle off a million things that my dog has destroyed over the past month, but that's another story for another day. Needless to say, we don't have any pictures to show anyone. So if you wanna see our house, you'll just have to come visit!

So Much to Say

I have so much to write about, but I don't want this to be 5 pages long, so I'll just commit to writing again tomorrow.
The other day, Tom and I were listening to NPR and they were interviewing 3 different soldiers re: their experiences in Iraq. At the end of the program, one of the male soldiers read a poem that he wrote as he was leaving Iraq. It was so moving that both of us got choked up. We looked it up online later. His name is Brian Turner, and it's called "Night in Blue":

At seven thousand feet and looking back, running lights
blacked out under the wings and America waiting,
a year of my life disappears at midnight,
the sky a deep viridian, the houselights below
small as match heads burned down to embers.

Has this year made me a better lover?
Will I understand something of hardship, of loss,
will a lover sense this in my kiss or touch? What do I know
of redemption or sacrifice, what will I have
to say of the dead--that it was worth it,
that any of it made sense?

I have no words to speak of war.
I never dug the graves in Talafar.
I never held the mother crying in Ramadi.
I never lifted my friend's body
when they carried him home.
I have only the shadows under the leaves
to take with me, the quiet of the desert,
the low fog of Balad, orange groves
with ice forming on the rinds of fruit.

I have a woman crying in my ear
late at night when the stars go dim,
moonlight and sand as a resonance
of the dust of bones, and nothing more.

Under Contract

Sorry it's been awhile. Last week Tom was out of town and I was staying with someone in Washington (with no internet access). The cool thing is that the house I was staying at is actually my future house! Tom and I are officially "under contract" for buying our first home. I am so stinkin' excited, I can't hardly stand it. I'll take a picture soon and post it. The plan, as of now, is to move in around Aug. 15. YAY!!

For the past 2 weeks, I've been training in Kinston for my job. It's been going really well and I am still loving my job, which is unusual and new for me. The mortgage lady we're working with actually made a crack about the number of jobs I've had over the past few years. I was thinking, "Um, you don't know me that well, so you're not allowed to say stuff like that". ANYWAY...today in training, we had to watch this documentary on a child who was severely abused and eventually died at the hands of his parents. It was so sad. I really had to do everything in my power not to break down and cry. I seriously pray that we never have to deal with a child fatality in Beaufort Co.

On a more positive note, I think Tom and I are going to see the movie 'Stepbrothers' this weekend, which I'm super excited about. "This is how we do it..."

Working Girl

I've been postponing this blog because I wanted to get a picture of my office, but I keep forgetting to take one and I don't want any of my coworkers to see me taking the picture in fear of them thinking that I was, well...stupid. So maybe I'll post a picture later. ANYWAY, I LOVE my new job. I was pretty nervous about, but I have an awesome team (there are 6 of us in my unit) and a wonderful supervisor. I just can't say enough good things about them. On my first day, they had put a big banner in my office that said 'Welcome Kristen'. They also put together a little welcome basket with some practical and some funny things in it. For the past 2 weeks I have been training/reading the PS manual/shadowing other workers. The reading part can get boring, especially if I'm doing it all day, but most of the information is interesting and important for me to know. It's mainly all the laws/statutes/state policies regarding child protective services. I love it when I get to go with other workers out into the field. Starting next week, I will have 4 weeks of intensive, formal training and then I will start getting cases of my own! It has been hard getting used to the 8-5 routine. It will be nice when we are actually living in Washington, because right now we are living in Greenville so I have to get up extra early to make the commute. blah. BUT...we found a house in Washington that we want to buy, so hopefully it won't be too much longer. More on the house later...

Cliveman

Cliveman is what we affectionately call our dog, Clive. He is such a sweetheart and really just a great dog. Yesterday Tom called me at work (more on work later)and basically said that he had just saved Clive from drowning. Here's what happened: Tom was throwing the bumper into the river for Clive to swim out and bring it back. Well the water was kind of choppy and Clive couldn't see the bumper on one of the throws. He did however see the crab-pot with a neon orange floating device attached to it (the same color as his bumper). So he tries to get it, but of course he can't because it's attached to a giant crab-pot underneath the water. He swims hard for about 5 minutes but gets nowhere. By this time he's starting to struggle and has gone under a couple of times. Tom is trying to yell at him to "release!" "drop it!"...but Cliveman will not give up. So what does my heroic, wonderful husband do? He strips down to his shorts and jumps in after Clive. He swam out and brought Clive back safely to the shore. I'll say this: it's a good thing I was NOT there. When you don't have children yet, your dog becomes like a child to you, and I would have been hysterical, thinking that Clive was gonna drown. So this blog is dedicated to Cliveman. Here are some pics of him in our empty house in Goldsboro, and hanging his head out of my car window. Don't be jealous, he's the cutest dog in the world.

Wow.

I feel like we've been moving for a month. Which we kind of have, I guess. This past week was crazy...Tom got back from Windy Gap on Sunday and immediately the process began. For the next 2 days we were packing up the rest of our house. On Wednesday we got a Uhaul truck and some high school students helped us move everything in to the truck. Then on Thursday, we drove the Uhaul to a storage unit in Washington and some folks there helped us unload everything. When we finished with that we got to go look at houses (yay!). Back to Goldsboro. Then first thing Friday morning, I left to go to Raleigh for one of my best friends' weddings. Yay Holley!! It was awesome. I had soo much fun hanging out with my best girl friends for 2 whole days. Tom came up for the wedding on Saturday evening, and then we drove back to Goldsboro after the reception. At that point, our bed was the only remaining thing in our house, aside from a few boxes. So yesterday and today were spent cleaning the house and packing our remaining belongings on to a trailer attached to Tom's truck. Then off we went to Greenville where we are staying temporarily until we find a house in Washington. So basically after all this rah-rah I decided that no matter what the cost, I will pay movers to move all of our stuff out of storage and into our new house. We haven't had internet since we got back from Windy Gap so that's why it's been so long between blogs. But now we're back online! Thank God...I really cannot live without internet. Here are some pictures from our assignment at Windy Gap. It was an amazing month. Thanks to everyone for making it so awesome!

And there it is...

Do you ever think that you can "will" yourself out of a certain situation? Like if I just pretend like it isn't true, then it won't be?
I went to see the camp doctor yesterday because my ears were hurting and I've been having headaches for a couple of days. So I'm sitting outside for awhile with this camper who is also waiting to see the doctor. Then the nurse comes out and says we can come inside and wait if we want to. I've already figured out by this point that there is a kid inside with a horrific bloody nose. So she says, "Neither of you have a problem with blood, do you?", kind of laughing. I nonchalantly say "No" along with the camper. This of course is a COMPLETE LIE; let's just say that I have passed out on multiple occasions. But I'm trying to play it cool, thinking a bloody nose is no big deal. And then, there it is, that oh-so familiar feeling of my face being on fire, my stomach getting nauseous, and my head feeling light. Thankfully, I have come to recognize these warning signs and I immediately bent over and put my head between my knees (I don't think anyone noticed, or at least didn't ask what I was doing). The feeling eventually passed and I once again admitted to myself that I'm just a squeamish wussy, and that's probably never going to change.
Oh and the doctor said I just have fluid behind my ears from sinus stuff. Wha-wha.

Within me lives a purpose....

I have been so frustrated with the internet access here at camp, I almost threw my computer off of the porch this morning. Needless to say, it's been awhile since I've had some solid online time.
Well, it's day 5 of week 2 on our assignment. Let me give you a little picture of what's been going on: fried okra, creamed corn, hashbrown casserole, fried chicken, green bean casserole, cornbread, fried pickles, apple cobbler. No folks, that's not the entire left side of the bojangles menu...that was my dinner last night. Yikes. I tried to go for a "jog" this morning, but it didn't work out too well (i.e. I can only jog for about 1 minute before I'm completely worn out and then have to walk the rest of the way). I've come to realize that I have a pretty distorted view of myself. Somebody took a picture of my parents and I last week while they were here, and when I saw it I thought, "Either the camera adds 50 lbs. or I AM FAT". I definitely always think I look better than I actually do....not sure if that's a good or bad thing, but I'm gonna try and work on it.
A week has gone by since I was offered (and accepted) a position with Beaufort County Child Protective Services. Basically, I will be investigating and assessing reports of child abuse or neglect and working with the families. I never wanted to work in CPS before, but this job just fell into my lap and I am pretty sure that this is what the Lord wants me to do. It is going to be very intense and emotionally draining. But now I think I understand my purpose in being here at Windy Gap for a month. REST, and prepare. I think the Lord really wants me to have this month of down time to draw closer to Him so that I can truly help these sweet children of His that don't deserve to be abused and neglected. I know that I can do it with God's help, and nothing less.
I've taken a few pics since we've been here, but I haven't figured out how to post them yet, so I'll try and get those up soon. Off to see Sex and the City in Asheville!

A Weepy Hot Mess

Well Tom and I arrived at Windy Gap on Friday for our month long assignment here. So far it's been great. Great people, great food, beautiful surroundings, and perfect weather. So yesterday, the first group of campers arrived and apparantly I decided that weeping was the appropriate response. If you've ever been to Young Life camp before, then you know that when you arrive, this huge group of people (the work crew) is waiting for you, jumping up down, screaming and cheering. Yesterday was the first time that I had witnessed this without actually being on the bus, and my eyes just filled with tears. I don't know what it was...I think I was just so excited for these kids that were arriving, knowing what lies ahead of them this week. So that was cryfest #1. The next blubbering moment came at club last night. We were singing Your Love is Deep, and I was sitting in the back running the powerpoint. Most of the room was sitting down, but in front of me were about 6 campers with special needs...all standing up, arms stretched far apart (doing the motions for the song), and singing with all their hearts. It was such an amazing sight, and I couldn't help but well up with tears AGAIN. Then the speaker showed a video of some olympic event where the runner pulled his hamstring half way through and his dad came down from the stands and helped his son hobble his way across the finish line. The runner was painfully sobbing in his father's arms....and there I went again. WHAT IS THE MATTER WITH ME?! I'm gonna chock it up to PMS this time, but if this continues I'm gonna need to get checked out.

I love birthdays!

Yesterday was such a great day. Tom and I left Goldsboro around 10:30 yesterday morning to head to Cary for my family birthday celebration. We got to my parents house and had some lunch, and then my mom took me to get my hair did where shegets her hair did. That salon was seriously like a sitcom. Everybody was talking to each other across the room while all the cutting, coloring, and perming was going on. When I first walked in, they thought I was there to get anupdo for PROM. I was like...um,I'm 25...(I mean, do I really look that young??). So I sit down with my stylest and she asks me how long it's been since I've cut my hair. I sheepishly
uttered, "uh...almost a year". I swear the whole place got silent and everyone gasped. It is however, sadly true. If you've seen me lately you know that my hair looks like a horse's mane. So needless to say, it took a long time for her to do my hair, but I LOVE IT! I would attach a pic, but that would be awkward.
So after my hair was beautified, my mom and I headed off to Crabtree for some shopping times. I needed to get some new clothes for our month long stint at Windy Gap coming up. If you really know me, then you know that I'm not a big shopper, but I got so lucky yesterday! I found everything I needed and in a relatively short amount of time. By the way, the Gap has great stuff right now: you should go check it out.
After my shopping list had been crossed off, mom and I met up with the rest of my family at The Cheesecake Factory. It was soo good, but of course way too much food (I really had to unbutton my pants as soon as we got in the car). Everyone was there: mom, dad, Tom, my older brother, his wife Tanya, and their babyKyleigh, my younger brother Alex, and his girlfriend Jen. That's the whole crew. Kyleigh was cracking us up the whole time. She was dancing to the music and would freeze with one hand up in the air and a serious face. It was hilarious....I think my brother's going to post the video onyoutube. I'll attach the link if he does.
Then Tom and I headed back to Goldsboro, where we pulled out the couch bed and watched Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade on TV. I mean, is anybody as excited as I am about the new movie? I LOVE Indiana Jones!
So that wraps up my wonderful "birthday" (my actually birthday is Tuesday). It couldn't have been better. It's gonna be sad when I get too old for my parents to make birthdays a big deal anymore.

Hitlist

So you know when you have DVR/extended cable, you get all those extra music channels? Well right now I have the "hitlist" blaring as I start to put together boxes and pack up the house. It's kind of sad. For the past 2 years, we've been living in Goldsboro where Tom has been in an internship for Young Life. Last week, he was offered the Area Director position in Washington, NC. We are super excited to be moving there, but it's still kind of sad. Goldsboro has definitely become home to us and I guess it's always hard when you're closing a chapter of your life and moving on. We will certainly miss the friends we've made here, along with:

the wonderful smell of hog farms
driving 5 mph behind a tractor on a two-lane road
the eternal threats on church marquis' (actually we really will miss those..)
the long-standing trash burning tradition
the slam packed Pizza Inn buffet (okay, we'll really miss that too)

But on a serious note, we will truly miss the wonderful people here. Thanks for a great 2 years!

Why NOT me?

So I really enjoy reading other people's blogs, but I always thought that I wouldn't have anything interesting to post on my own. Well I was talking about it this weekend with my friend Jan Archer and she said it's always the bloggers that write about the everyday, ordinary stuff that she enjoys, and she encouraged me to JUST DO IT. So here it is, a work in progress. Seriously, tell me if you ever get bored.