from our front door to yours…

(This friendly greeting at our door was passed on to us compliments of our friends at the Madison Surgery Center.)

Updates:

• The boys are in school, Westmeade Elementary. They seem to be adjusting well and actually like school. They say it’s easier than home school. They are also playing baseball – we have a Fall season here that goes through the end of October. They both play their first games this weekend and are very excited. They are enjoying having access to a swimming pool and would like it if we took them fishing but haven’t had the chance yet. They call their friends in Madison whenever they get a chance and have made a friend already here at the apartments.

• Gene is networking in the community and seeking that perfect part time job to accompany the song-writing gig. He is LOVING it here. We have attended a couple song writer’s nights as a family already.

• I (Juli) will begin working at the Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt on Sept. 8th. I am looking forward to that. I’ve had a lot of time to get the house settled, get library cards, my TN Driver’s license and my TN Nursing license (that has been a lot of work too!) We are getting there.

• Over Labor Day weekend we took a little vacation to Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge – the Smokey Mountains this past weekend. The boys finally got to go to a water park and we of course, went to Dollywood. We had a blast, got sunburnt and celebrated our birthdays.

We enjoy getting emails! We’d love to hear what is going on in your lives too. We miss being around people we already know and love while we look for opportunity to get to know the community here and develop new friendships. We are on an adventure…and are grateful we have a God who goes before us each step of the way!

Shalom Y’all

An adventure…

I’ll call this one oh, I don’t know…maybe I should have a art naming contest…but you don’t see art like this when you hire professional movers!

here we are…

So, we are in above our heads – in boxes. It is getting better but today I became overwhelmed with all the stuff and had to take a nap. We rid ourselves of much stuff before we left and I think when I am done unpacking we will have another truck load for Good Will. Today it’s books, yikes!

The boys are off to a good start at school.

After 3 days in “non-regulation” cargo pants, we finally found the “uniform store” and come Monday morning they boys will be donning their regulation cackies and belts!

Honestly, I was doing just fine with all of this until this morning when we attended a gathering of a new church plant here. They were meeting at Panera, in a week of flux before having access to a new facility. The topic, anxiety.

Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:5-7)

Evidently I have anxiety that I need to manage. I didn’t need to sit and think about it. Three years ago I discovered that I would survive a great deal of daily stress and anxiety. So, I know that I will in fact survive this. Entering back into nursing after a time out was very stressful. Every day I felt incompetent, I lost a lot of fluids – sweat and tears. I prayed during that time – unceasingly -for supernatural infusions of knowledge and peace. While it wasn’t always tangible, God heard my cries for help. He gave me mentors and friends that would come along side and encourage and teach, He gave me times of joy and adventure that would make the unpleasant times bearable. He will do that again. In just a couple years from now, I will be back on my way to feeling comfortable in my surroundings!

SHALOM.

We’re moving to Nashville… tomorrow.

It’s sad to say our “see ya’ll laters”. I’m a little overwhelmed with them all this morning – a cry was almost triggered this morning by a Reba song. (I quick left the room when I couldn’t find an Olympic event to get caught up in.) Our pets are all in their new homes. Cassie adopted Clyde and is no doubt loving him more than he has ever been. Bailey is giving Mac a new home and adventure. Freddie is  was a Madison fish, he didn’t survive the heartbreak.

No crying today, there is too much to be done.  

At the same time, it’s an adventure and we are all looking forward to finding out what is around the bend for us. The boys will start school on Tuesday, the first day we will be there. They have their new school clothes and lunch bags…oh, we still need school supplies.

Speaking of much to be done, I better get back to work. Mom and Dad will be hear soon, possibly expecting me to have more done and Gene is backing the truck into the drive right now. 

SEE YA’LL LATER!

lemon-aid

This weekend we held a moving sale. No moving sale would be complete without a lemonade stand – or lemon-aid. (You can’t see Spencer’s sign in the picture well enough, it says “Lemon-Aid” and there is a small picture of a thirst guy and an ambulance.)  Like any young entrepreneurs, the dream was a bit bigger than the reality.  Honestly if it weren’t for the tip jar, they would not have even covered their expenses. The boys eventually got tired of waiting for people to come to them and went out with their lemonade. They got out from behind their table, out of their chairs and went door to door. In doing so, they noticed that next door work crews working in the heat on our neighbors home renovations and offered them lemon-aid. They seemed to greatly appreciate the break and later walked over as a group and put money in the tip jar, which the boys thought was very cool.

This is how we should be with the gospel of Jesus. When those we hope to reach out to don’t come to us, we should go to where they are and show them the love of Jesus. When our plans are not going as expected, remember the mission and revise our plan. The boys wanted to serve lemonade, they wanted to make some money. They served their lemonade and as far as profit – received more in relationship and kindness than they ever could have made selling $.25 lemonade. In the end, the lemonade stand became more about good friends working together and reaching out to others. (Although they did make $2.45 ea. after expenses.)

instead of the waterpark…

Before Spencer broke his arm, we had planned to take a trip to Noah’s Ark water-park for summer vacation. Instead, we spent a couple fabulous days in one of our favorite places – Chicago. Public transportation, museums, pigeons, people, the lake, the lights… fabulous. We had a great time and as an added bonus, Renee (Gene’s sister) and Mike were able to meet up with us for a ride on the water taxi and lunch on Navy Pier!

      

 

 

 

 

It really was just a matter of time.

“No more monkeys jumping on the bed.” – they learn that little song in pre-school, hear it all their lives, and then still have to learn it the hard way.

for Spencer’s story about how him and the little green guy came to be best buds…go to Spencerlanium.com

Here is a shout out to Maggie, RN in Meriter’s Emergency room. To Patty in Meriter’s PACU. To Stacy on Peds who kept the popsicles and jello coming!… and of course, Dr. Duck who straightened Spencer’s arm! It was a long day, by the end of it I think Spencer was seeing it all as quite the adventure. We all knew that for Spencer, it was all just a matter of time. 

 

 

East Madison Little League, Minors Championship

(If the slide show effects are distracting, click on the show and you can view just the pictures. Sam and Spencer prefer the effects!)

Sail On…Ahoy!

“You came to this planet to be remarkable. You do that by being yourself, using your gifts, and shining your light. … It is your obligation to swing for the fences. Whether or not you make the home run is beside the point.”

I just returned home from meeting with a friend. Tara, not her real name, works here on the Northeast side of Madison, we’ve been getting together occasionally for the past 3 years. Today Tara shared with me some of her dreams -things she wants to do with her life. Among other things, she wants to conquer her fear of roller coasters and learn to ski before she is 25. She is thinking about her life and wanting to make the best of it. As I listened to her talk, my thoughts went on a path from “she is so young, plenty of time” to “she is on the right track, how can I be a part of encouraging her” to “if she just does what is on her list now, and then makes another and another, she will end up just where she belongs.” Tara, as many of us are, is in a battle with the voices that are telling her what would be a good use of her life, what would indicate success. (She should be getting married and having children – that would be a good use of her life.) Real or imagined- those voices can be real “dream killers”. Tara will be on the right track if she knows what she is about and sticks to that. We are not all meant to live the same life. We all have dreams, they take on many different shapes. I have many conversations about dreams, goals, and how to we ought to live our lives out in relation to them. It is a passion of mine to see people relating properly to their dreams and not giving up on them and allowing them to die. I love to see dreams released. That is where I see the glory of God.

I left our meeting feeling encouraged. We discussed taking another step on this journey together, I committed myself to pray for my friend. I arrived home with my sails full. I opened the door to the sound of a house full of boys playing – and waiting for lunch! The wind was picking up. Then, as we popped the pizzas in the oven, Gene delivered a couple updates regarding our progress in partnership development for our next adventure. As he did, the wind just seemed to disappear- just that fast. Now, with my sails luffing, “in irons” I sat.

Now, while I have not become an avid sailor, I did learn a little something that has been useful to me in life so, here is a a little sailing lesson:

Being ‘caught in irons’ refers to a boat sitting at, or very nearly, head to wind with sails luffing and no forward motion. Left alone any boat will eventually drift out of irons with a 50-50 chance of coming out on a desired tack. here are a number of situations which can cause a boat to go into irons, the most common of these is a failure to complete a tacking maneuver. o bring a boat out of irons under control it is necessary to examine the effect of the rudder. A rudder generates steering forces by virtue of the flow of water along it’s surfaces in the same manner that lift forces are generated by the airflow across the sail surfaces. So, if your sail is not taking you forward, look to what can – consider another tool, the rudder in this case

Did you know that Levi and Strauss began making durable clothing because they weren’t making enough selling their tents to miners? Did you know that Milton Hershey wen bankrupt before he started making chocolate bars? When one dream dies, another will be born in its place, if you don’t give up.

To establish a network of life-changing, reproducing communities of Christ followers both locally and globally that impact their communities as they live out the Kingdom life.

We will not give up, we will move forward – we’ll position the rudder, do the work of getting ourselves out of irons. We will work hard and do the next thing. My latest life coaching mentor and author Vicky Moran says this, “you don’t have to do it all today, buy you do have to do today’s share.” My friend Lavon said to me today, “Just do the next thing, don’t project yourself out so far”.

So, when you are sitting in irons, the wind and the sail is failing to move you forward, consider the rudder. What gifts, what advantage, what skills do you have to get you moving forward? I am glad to have mentors, friends who believe in us. Today, God sent a friend who despite her own exhaustion, picked up the phone when I send up my flare. Our major advantage: We are kids of the most High King! We are certain of our calling. So, Sail on!

Thanks for sitting in on my therapy session… this one comes free.

a great horse property in Illinois…and it’s for sale!

If you have or want to have horses…there is a great property – in Illinois -for sale! If you have horses, or would like to have horses, it’s an ideal place to live! Check it out!

2915 207th St N – Port Byron IL 61275 (Click here for map) 

Move your cursor over the pics for descriptions.

 

O.K. So, my parents who live in Illinois are preparing to relocate -to Tennessee. “What a coincidence!” you may say. (We are also trying to sell our home in hopes of one day moving to Nashville.) They are moving South to be outside, enjoying their equestrian life all year long. Another coincidence, my sister and brother-in-law are also moving their family to Tennessee, when they sell their home (Moline, IL). That’s right! They are hoping to live within an hour or so of Nashville. So, the move we were making away from family – at least it won’t be all family. Cool, ey?!

So, if you know of anyone who lives in Illinois – or would enjoy relocating – this property is a great find!

(Reply in the comment section if you need more information and we’ll get it to you.)

Please pray with us that all of our homes sell soon and we can move into our next adventure!

on my things to do before I’m 40…

Advanced Life Support Provider certification is a very intense, anxiety producing process. If you have test anxiety, which I do, this is one of the most adrenaline saturated days imaginable. Even for those who work with this stuff every day, it’s nerve racking. You would think that there was really a life at stake when the testing begins. Well, maybe that is the case – it’s just not the dummy lying on the table that we are hooking up to monitors, intubating, defibrillating… It’s the RN who is now tachycardic (heart racing) herself and finding it hard to breath, or think as she drowns in adrenaline. Needless to say any more, I learned a lot and it was worth the celebration when it was over. I have now been certified in adult and pediatrics – the running of codes in my sleep is beginning to subside (post traumatic stress).

The rose was from my wonderful husband – it probably should have been me getting him a gift for putting up with me the days leading up to this course!