It Takes Some Getting Used To

When we moved a little over a month ago, we stepped into a new world of sorts.  I've mentioned that it is more rural here, and it is a challenge to get used to the changes.

We now have to make a trip "into town" when we need to hit the stores.  That for me is really very strange.  My last home in NJ was off a major highway, and I had oodles of stores at my fingertips. Where we lived both before we moved and where we live now is nothing like that, but now we are even more remote.  I find that I now really have to plan my trips so I don't waste gas.  If I need to run to Walmart, I might as well go to Kmart, and perhaps even Lowe's if there's something I could possibly need there.  The only problem with this is that just last week I tried this idea (except a different store combination and more stops), and I found myself exhausted and starved before I was even close to being finished.  So my efforts to save on gas left me without any myself!

Though we didn't move THAT far away from where we lived before, it is far enough where I needed to wave goodbye, at least on a weekly basis, to my favorite grocery store.  I love that store, because it is a bit of home- the same store I always used to shop at (different location, of course).  I spent this past year really getting to know the prices and the sales, and I felt like I was doing a good job with our food budget.  I can still shop there on occasion, but a weekly trip doesn't make sense both in terms of gas money and in the time it will take me to go and return.  So I've had to attempt to get used to a new store.  Brian's mom, who came with me on my first trip there while picking up some necessities, can attest to the high prices.  (She is the bargain queen when it comes to food and there are few wiser in this area.)  However, it is the closest store to me, so I've determined to make do and look for the deals.  I go slowly throughout the store and take my time, looking at price tags carefully, and deciding what I can get there or what I'd be wiser to get elsewhere. It can be frustrating because I feel like I've taken a few steps backward when it comes to food budget planning, and I hope to find my new rhythm soon enough.

That is just shopping.  I'm still trying to get used to these windy, curvy roads that nearly make me nauseous when Brian drives (he drives too fast), and when I drive people are on my tail because apparently this Jersey girl is only used to flat, even roads.  Then there's the constant looking out for deer, because they're a plenty!  Then again, never mind the deer, because a bear ran across the street as I was driving home yesterday!  Thank goodness he was in front of the car ahead of me, but I couldn't help braking like a frightened student driver nonetheless.  As for the other driver, he zipped along, seemingly unfazed.

Welcome to the Poconos!  It's a new life, and it will certainly take some getting used to.

Back to School

Today was the first day of school for Brian, and with that comes a bit of sadness for me.  I grew quite accustomed to spending so much time with my husband this summer, and it is difficult to watch him go back to work.

That may sound silly to some, but being a teacher is akin to being a slave for ten months.  I'm being facetious here, of course, but it is demanding.  Brian doesn't simply work a 9-5 job and at the end of the day he's free to put up his feet or do as he pleases.  I've worked many jobs myself, the standard 9-5 as well as teaching, and they are vastly different.

Where I came home to mountains of papers to grade, Brian has to constantly be playing back his band rehearsals so he can take notes and see where his students need to improve.  He also must keep listening to the songs he is having his band perform and study the scores so he knows them like the back of his hand.  On top of all of this, he works one or two nights a week at the downtown music center where he gives lessons.

Then there are the dreaded weekends, which happen more than I wish, where he is involved with some band competition or judging or what have you.  I dislike those most of all.

If I sound like I'm complaining, I apologize, for that's really not my intention.  It is simply that I miss my husband when he is not here, and I also hate to watch the stress that he must face throughout the school year.  I think that is the hardest part for me.

However, in spite of all of this, I am grateful for his job and the fact that it provides for us.  Brian is a good provider, and just as he works hard on his end, I work to make our home a haven that he can find solace in no matter how cruel the day has been.  It is my pleasure to have a hot meal waiting for him when he comes home, just as it is my joy to serve it to him so he can simply sit and enjoy.

It's a challenge getting back into the routine as we both are trying to deal with the alarm clock at 5:20.  I get up with Brian, too, because I like seeing him off to work, and I know it helps him to get going when I am up with him.  I always have his outfits picked out and ironed, I make and pack his lunch, and I prepare his breakfast.  These are just small things in my mind, when he is working so hard to provide for us.  Yes, Brian worked this hard before we got married, but it is my hope that the things I do make life easier for him, and a little happier, too.

The First Year

One year ago today, we looked like this:

I was thinking about that day, exactly at 1:30, when I was lining up behind my bridesmaids with my father at my side.  It's funny that I don't normally remember all things clearly, but I remember that so well.  I remember how I felt, sort of breathless and nervous.  I even remember standing in the foyer and watching a few people come in- almost, but not quite, late- including a few of my students.  It felt surreal that my long-awaited wedding day had arrived.

I would be lying if I said that my wedding day was the best day of my life, but don't go getting the wrong idea.  I was happy to marry my darling, but I really don't like ceremonies, especially ceremonies that I am in!  I really could have done without all the hoopla, and I tried to have very little of it as possible.  I was so glad when it was OVER, and I could focus on the future with my husband. We could finally be together all the time, without having to travel to another state to see one another. Our wedding day led to the best days to come because we could spend them together.

Before getting married, of course we knew that marriage is hard work.  I think we'd have to be living under a rock to not know that.  Brian and I come from two different worlds.  My parents are divorced and his have a very happy and solid marriage.  I'm so glad that one of us does.  It is wonderful to have that example before us.

We knew it would be hard work, and we'd have to agree that it is.  It is good work, however, the kind of work in which both parties should persevere.  I've spent this year trying to be my husband's help meet.  I know that I am, but I also see the areas in which I have fallen short.  It is my goal to be better this next year. I want to not only serve my husband with such things like cooking and cleaning, but I want to bring out the best in him.

Just as I am his help meet, I'd be lost without him.  I need his companionship and his strength when my emotions are off kilter.  I can lean on him when I'm too weak on my own.

Our goals for this next year include growing closer to God and each other, and loving and serving one another better.  When we moved two weeks ago, we decided not to reorder cable (we had the basic before).  Television is such a huge distraction (even though we didn't watch those horrible shows on these days), and since we've gotten rid of it, I can honestly say I'm not missing it.  Instead of mindlessly sitting in front of a screen, we can talk more.  We also have agreed to begin online Bible courses together- for free!  It is just another way for us to connect and to grow.

We are excited about the future.  It is strange to say when we've been married for a year, because it still seems like yesterday, and it seems like ten years, all at the same time!  I am blessed to have found someone willing to put up with me, and I know I love Brian more today than I did on August 20, 2011.  What a blessing he is to me, and I pray that I will be to him for all of his days!

Here we are today!  It's not a close up photo, but for fun I put on the same headband and earrings that I wore as a bride.  Maybe I'll do that every year on our anniversary!

P.S.  Happy Birthday to Brian's mom!  If anyone reading this was at our wedding, you might remember singing to Brian's mom last year at our reception.

Unpacking

This is pretty much what's going on in our house right now:

We've been unpacking, little by little, trying to do something small each day.  I have been tempted to take all of our things, throw them out, and start over.  It is quite challenging to find places for odds and ends.

Our house is not huge by any means.  That would have been silly to buy a very large house, considering it is just the two of us right now.  That aside, I'm glad it isn't a huge place.  The bigger the place, the more tempted we are as human beings to keep bringing in more items to fill it.  As it is, Brian and I both need to downsize and get rid of a few things along the way.

I have been opening up a few boxes that I've had packed for a year.  At our old apartment, there was no point in unpacking everything due to the lack of space and our intention to only stay there for a short time.  As I am looking at items I haven't seen in a while, there are mixed emotions.  Some things I'm really quite happy to see and enjoy again.  Others I haven't missed, and it makes me ask the question, "Do I really need this?"

It is so easy for our stuff to begin to own us, rather than us owning our stuff.  The last thing I want is a home that is bursting at the seams because we can't part with a few items.  It is hard to get rid of things, whether it has some sentimental value (for ex:  a gift) or some useful value (for ex:  teaching files).  I know I personally need to look at some of my things with a more critical eye and give them the old HEAVE-HO.

It will take us a while for our home to be what we want.  We still have to move quite a few pieces of furniture from NJ, and when we have those, that will enable us to truly settle and unpack more items even further.  I expect the whole process of getting settled to take a few months at least, while we figure out where this and that are going.  This doesn't count the things we will do to improve our home (adding blinds, ceiling fans, etc.)

Until then, it is one day at a time, and I have to remind myself (or Brian reminds me), that there is no deadline here.  It is a little bit every day that will enable us to cross the finish line.  We're just happy we have a house and the time to take.

Oh, Deer, Can I Bear It?

We moved approximately twenty miles and a half an hour west, and ever-so-slightly south, yet it is a different world here.  Before the move, we were on the border of NY and a hop, skip, and jump from NJ.  Though vastly different from my former stomping grounds of the Jersey Shore, it provided some convenience, albeit not the convenience I had once been used to.

Our move has taken us into the Poconos, and convenience isn't the word that comes to mind in our new community.  We are now more remote, perhaps more so than either of us has ever been before. It's an adjustment for us both.

Since we've moved in our new house, deer have graced us with their presence just about every day. For the people that live here, it is very likely no big deal.  Brian and I, however, usually stop what we're doing and whoever spots the deer first calls the other to the window.  We've had bucks and does who love to snack in the brush between ours and our neighbor's land.  It's been fun to watch them, but I can't help but get a bit nervous when we go for walks and we see deer right in front of us. Okay, so I know they won't hurt us... but an animal is an animal, and for sure and for certain they carry some nasty tics.

We've also had a turkey scurry through our yard.  It is kind of funny to think that once upon a time, our ancestors would have not let dinner get away!

My only real worry is bears.  We've been warned, by various people, that a bear may pay a visit. Brian is trying to train me on what to do if I see a bear.  Lesson 1:  Don't scream.  Lesson 2:  Walk away slowly.  Hmm.  He knows me too well.  There's no saying how I'll react if that day comes. Lord, I pray it is not soon!

Moving In

The above cake was made by Brian's sister in celebration of our new home!  She came down with her husband and kids, and so did Brian's parents, all the way from upstate NY to help us move this past weekend.  One of Brian's best friends also joined us, and a friend from our church brought a trailer which enabled us to move our furniture without renting a truck.  Three cheers for saving money!

Things are rather messy right now, so I'll skip any photos, but we are loving our new home.  It is a castle in comparison to the apartment we left behind.  Some of my favorite things are my new kitchen, which has an island, and our deck.  After being in that stuffy apartment, it is wonderful to have our own area OUTSIDE.  I haven't lived in a house (a full house, not a part we were renting) since I was nineteen, and I almost forgot what it feels like.  Just the upstairs alone of our new house is bigger than our old apartment, and there's another floor!

We are mostly staying upstairs right now because our boxes are sort of all over the place downstairs, but I keep thinking when we do get set up down there, this place will feel even bigger!

We still need to move some items from NJ- some of my old furniture as well as furniture being given to us.  We will have to rent a truck for that, but once that is done, we'll finally be settled.  If you're keeping track, I was just moving one year ago to PA as I was preparing for our wedding, so I am looking to not go anywhere for a long while.  I want to unpack and not see another brown box for a long time!

As I said to Brian's mom when I unpacked my teapot, "It's home when the teapot is on the stove ." We're so grateful for this house, yet we are ever mindful that this home is only temporary.  We never want to get so settled in this life that we forget that each day we are striving for our heavenly home. May we be ever mindful of that!

We're Homeowners!

After biting our nails for the past week and having our closing delayed once, we are happy to say that we now officially have our own home!  We'd like to introduce you:

We are just ecstatic beyond belief.  God has been so good to us.  We officially began our house-hunting on March 31.  We must have looked at two dozen houses all together, which included two that I saw without Brian.  We made an offer on June 10 for our house, and a little over a month and a half later, we are thrilled to say it is finally ours.  We got a great deal and paid far less than its market value.  I am a bargain shopper to the core, and I'm happy to say our house was a bargain, too!

Now comes all the hard work, and believe us when we say there is a lot!  But it's quite all right with us.