Remember Me

Regardless of whether you agree/disagree with the war, let us not forget our fellow Americans are fighting to keep us and this world safe.

Can we move to the south???

Here are some pics from our vacation. We loved Charleston and Savannah so much! Those 2 cities are just full of character, tradition, southern charm, and rich history. Oh, lest I forget...AMAZING food! Yum....shrimp and grits....and of course, a little sweet tea for my honey!

A Bridge at Magnolia Plantation in Charleston

Beautiful Charleston Architecture

A cool cemetary...this had some Revolutionary War soldiers buried here and also 2 signers of the Constitution

Typical architecture along East Bay St.

Jason and me at Fort Sumter

Beautiful Sunset at Sullivan's Island

Our friends John and Amy in Greenville. She's due anyday! We can't wait to meet baby!

Famous Forsyth Park... notice the haze...it's actually smoke from the Florida fire!

For any Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil fans...this is the Williams-Mercer home

And we can't forget the famous Paula Deen's restaurant...I can just feel my cholesterol goin up! I love her!

The Rest of God...

A special friend gave me a wonderful devotional and I read an amazing passage yesterday.

(From God) I lead you. The way is clear. Go forward unafraid. I am beside you. Listen, listen, listen to My Voice. My Hand is controlling all.

Remember that I can work through you better when you are at rest. Go very slowly, very quietly from one duty to the next--taking time to rest and pray between.

Do not be too busy. Take all in order as I say. The Rest of God is in a realm beyond all man's activities. Venture there often, and you will indeed find Peace and Joy.

All work that results from resting with God is miracle-work. Claim the power to work miracles, both of you.

Know that you can do all things through Christ who strengthens you. Nay, more, know that you can do all things through Christ who rests you.

(God Calling by A.J. Russell, Pic by Anatolij Blaszewicz)

EVERYTHING by Lifehouse

AMAZING!

"How can I stand here and not be moved?"

Bye-Bye Bermuda...

I'm a little late on updating our Bermuda trip...mostly because I wanted a little break. One thing has happened after another and I've reached a time where I feel like I can finally breathe.

We officially said "no" to the Bermuda option last Friday. The time we were there proved one thing to me--God did not want us there. I don't understand why, but I've learned it's not my job to desire comprehensive understanding. I firmly believe in a greater plan, and this opportunity did not make the cut.

Bermuda is an amazing place to visit, not a place personally I would like to live
I saw the most amazing beaches I have ever seen. Coral green water, and salmon pink sand...oh I miss it! Wonderful green vegetation, hidden flowers, manicured buildings. Awesome. Is Bermuda a good place to run/walk...defintely no. Since this is a favorite pasttime for Jason and me, it would definitely be hard to adjust to their very narrow streets lacking sidewalks. You have mopeds and vans with horrible exhaust racing past you on the winding streets. Not my idea of a relaxing place to walk. However, the beaches are amazing places to walk, I must say. So coupled with drinking unfiltered rain water, the presence of rats and large frogs (yeah, I abhor frogs...I know I'm weird), concerns about their health care system, and the outrageous living costs, I must say Kansas looks better and better.

I experienced racism, something I've never felt before
This was a big sign, I felt, that this is not the place for us. I had noticed early on in the week that I would say hello to some people and they would just stare at me. However, that was nothing compared to the incident that happened the last full day of our trip. I was out exploring the island and I walked back to Jason's office to meet him for lunch. As I was approaching Seaboard's office, I greeted a lady, and she looked at me and said, "F***ing White Trash!" Hmm...I think she must have gotten kicked off the Bermuda welcoming committee and she decided to take it out on me. To say I was hurt and confused is an understatement. I know I'm a little delicate as of late, but regardless, to be told these words would not make many want to pack up all their possessions and move thousands of miles away from the comforts of home.

However, I did not walk away from this experience without absorbing something. Racism is absolutely disgusting and to think that minorities in this country encounter this on a day-to-day basis outrages me. There is never a time or a place for racism, EVER. This hurt a lot to have a complete stranger utter such disparaging words to me. Yeah, I know I'm not white trash (white trash does not exist by the way...unless you're throwing away white paper), but still to hear someone with such anger unleash on me, definitely hurt my heart. I think what hurt the most is that this lady is holding such pain in her soul and she wants someone else to feel her pain. I have to remind myself not to hate her, but to pray for her that she may know joy and love, not anger and hatred.

So we're moving on...I can't say I know why we were presented with this opportunity to only close the door on it. But I know we can be assured we made the right decision.

Ok, God...what's next???

The good parts of Bermuda....

So we have a big decision, but we have enjoyed some of the beauty...

Just Beautiful...Horseshoe Beach

I love my hubby :)

There is no question there is a God!

Happy Feet!

Front Street

Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta-Jones live in Bermuda, and this is her favorite store...Jason's boss's wife sees them a lot at the beach, in fact Michael actually helped her calm her son down one time

We still don't know...

This decision has been a hard one on us. When we tell people we're thinking about moving to Bermuda everyone says, "Of course, you should." When we were first presented the idea, I said the same thing. But I wish it were an uncomplicated decision.

America is a good place to live...and cheap
First of all, I feel like we're trying to make a decision at a low time in our lives...a Pastor said one time, "Don't make big decisions in low times." In this situation, we don't have much choice. I know this is 2 years, but when we start to weigh our lives in Kansas versus here, I know our quality of life will not be as high. Yeah, I know, you probably don't believe me...because it's Bermuda. Well, when you start considering we'd be paying 3 times our current mortgage to find an apartment that is 1/5 as nice as our house, it makes it a little harder to say yes.

Bermuda is beautiful...but you pay A LOT to enjoy it
Financially moving to Bermuda could or could not be financially beneficial. Everything is so expensive...I know I've said that a lot, but it really prohibits your lifestyle. We would want this "sacrifice" to put us ahead financially, and it may or may not.

Most native Bermudians do not like Ex-Patriots (Non-natives who go to work in Bermuda)
They view Ex-Patriots as people who take their jobs...tourists they like because they bring revenue. Ex-Patriots are seen as taking their jobs; however, these are jobs that typically only for specifically qualified people. In Bermuda, businesses are required to advertise job openings locally for a few months before they're allowed to open it up to outsiders. So do we want to move to a place that people don't really like us? I can't say that's very welcoming. With that said, though, there are a lot of really nice and friendly people here though.

We have a great life in Kansas
Do we really want to give that up? We love our friends, neighborhood, house, cheap groceries...this has really made us appreciate the life we have. Part of me thought that this move would be a refreshing start after some difficult times. But I don't want to make our life more difficult by taking us out of our comfort zone at a critical juncture in our lives.

With that said, I wish we knew what to do. Jason and I feel so confused and it's made it hard to really enjoy our time here because we have such a decision weighing on our shoulders. God has not revealed it so clearly to us, and I wish He would say yes or no.

Viewing a House!

I'm to be looking at a house today...this most likely will not be available when we move but from the pictures, I would love to have a place like this...it's in our price range. Hopefully we can find something similar...Oh, and this house has apartments within...we would not have a place this big!

The Exterior (it's new construction, hence the lack of landscaping)

The Living Room (Most homes have fireplaces...guess 55 degrees is too cold in the winter!)

The patio off the Master Bedroom...I could get used to this!

Bermuda... yes or no?

Well, this Bermuda trip has been an experience...and we've only been here a day and a half! When we were flying in, it was a cloudy view, but seeing Bermuda was just amazing. I had never flown into an island before, so it was an awesome thing to see. It definitely felt like we were going to land in the water as we were descending! I think it's so amazing that there's this little community out in the middle of the ocean.

I've learned a few things while we've been here...

1. You need to say "Hello, how are you?" to everyone! It is considered rude here to not say hi. This morning I was walking back to the hotel, and I said "Good Morning" to most people. This, I like.

2. This is the most manicured place I've ever been to! The houses and buildings are immaculate...always painted perfectly. Flowers are everywhere and they are beautiful. The city has so much character with the architecture and style.

3. There is reverse discrimination here. I have never experienced that before! Last night we went to eat with Jason's future boss (possibly) and his wife. His wife was dressed up, but she was wearing jeans. The maitre de scolded her for wearing jeans, yet there were 3 or 4 other people there wearing jeans. It is a strange thing to feel like a minority, yet, I'm glad that I can empathize with those who are discriminated against on a regular basis.

4. Things are expensive, I mean expensive. I knew this coming in, but it's still a strange thing to see tomatoes for $6.99/pound, Wheat Thins for $4.50, 2 liter of Coke for $3.50, etc. Electricity bills (including electricity only) runs about $450/month. It sure makes the Gardner utility bill seem low! The ironic thing is, the coffee prices are extremely similar to Starbucks...guess we know Starbucks really is overcharging! I know why Starbucks hasn't come here...they'd have to charge $8 for a cup of coffee and even the locals wouldn't pay that!

5. There are hardly any commercial restaurants here. I was dumbfounded when we saw there was a KFC opening this week! At least there will be one comfort restaurant if we are ever homesick!

Those were my latest observations for Bermuda. It is an amazing place and I hope we can know for certain if this is where God wants us. We surrendered this decision to Him and I know He won't disappoint if we come here or stay in Gardner. We know one thing for sure, in this decision, we've learned what a wonderful life we have in Kansas. We adore our friends, we love our neighborhood, we love life there. But we can't be afraid to get out of our comfort zone for awhile. In God' hands....

Our little munchkin...

So the doctor told us it's important for us to grieve through this process and truly reflect. This may be cheesy for anyone else, but it's near and dear to my heart.

We always called our baby "Munchkin" and the few things I know about Munchkin are:

1. Munchkin loved fried chicken (definitely got that from papa!)

2. Munchkin loved Country music, got that from momma & papa

3. Munchkin loved ice cream--got that from momma, all our kids better love it, because there's no way I'm getting through pregnancy without it!

4. Munchkin wanted momma to eat all the time, yeah, I'm really ok with that.

Munchkin-Momma & Papa loved you a lot and we can't wait to see you in heaven. :) Save us some ice cream. :)