day 24 (and going off on a tangent)

day 24--where i live

We live in Lexington, Kentucky...home to horses, the famous UK Wildcats basketball team, Keeneland, and Johnny Depp (oh and George Clooney!).we've been up here since August 2009 as part of a church plant that started while i was still pregnant with judahbug. I like it up here as far as you know, having friends to hang out with. it's not like we are in South America away from everything we love and hold dear. .....but (and that's a BIG but...)....i miss our families! they are the best thing, and yes, i didn't realize it until i didn't have them anymore, but i really really miss every one of them! i miss allen's mom's cooking, his dad's perverted jokes, james' hugs, my dad's awkwardness, my mom's laugh, my grandma's crazy unexpected comments, and my papa's puzzles. i miss going to my grandparents house on sunday afternoons for lunch and then stopping by allen's parents' to hang out for the rest of the afternoon. i miss greer (yes, i really do miss it!) and the small town-y ness. i miss knowing all of the roads, shortcuts, pretty places...being able to drive down a road i don't know and know that it's going to end up somewhere i am familiar with. i miss publix. yeah...i did spend 6 years of my life there, so i DO miss it..i miss my friends that are left in SC. i NEVER get to see them when we visit, and it makes me so sad. i miss the fact that most of my life has happened there (at least all of the important stuff), and i most likely will never move back :(

there are SO many things i miss, but there are some good things about being up here. it gives allen and i a chance to make a start that's kind of "on our own" in a way. i mean, we have lived by ourselves (pretty much) since we got married, but we've never had to learn how to cope without the whole "falling back on the families" thing. if something ever happened to us at home, allen's dad would be there in a second, and i am sosososoooo thankful that he always came to the rescue. i miss having that safety net, but i think us being up here is helping us to learn alot. we'll always have our families...i know if something came up or someone got hurt, our family would be up here in a second. they are pretty cool that way ;) but yeah, we are finally getting the chance to be big kids now, or should i say, adults?? we are up here out of our own choice and now we get to learn some more...oh...and there's probably some other good perks from being up here...new restaurants, pretty scenery, and new places to explore..

on another note..i guess this has to do with our "where we live" part of the blog..we will be moving to a house in paris, kentucky. it's about 13 miles or so from where we live now. it kind of came out of the blue. one of allen's co-workers' family members is moving to Arizona to take care of a grandbaby and will be gone for an extended period of time (at least 2 years) and they needed someone to live in their home and take care of it. so...we are doing it. honestly, it came out of the blue, and we totally weren't expecting to be able to live in this home. we had a price in our heads of what we were willing to pay, and when we walked in the house, we both thought there was NO way our number would be met. BUTTTTTT....God is very good and somehow we managed to not only meet our number, but get this wonderful home for $100/month less than we'd hoped! it's crazy!! soooooo....in mid november, this wonderful couple will be venturing to AZ and shortly after, allen, judah, and i will be moving in (for at least a year, probably longer). i'm SO excited, you have no idea! the house is kind of out in the country. all of our friends are just not gonna visit. but i'm still happy. the house is off a very country road that is home to nothing but horse farms and beautiful farmland all the way around. it is a grayish whitish color, vinyl siding with a red tin roof. there is a HUGE backyard with a firepit, apple tree, garden, man cave, storage, well, and even a side yard that's separately fenced and always shaded. there's a small, screened in front porch that leads into the living room (which is really spacious!). off of the living room is the master bedroom, which is nice and cozy...and it's got windows!! i'm so glad we get to move into a house with some natural light!! haha..going through the living room there is a hallway. to the left is a bathroom, and to the right is an office/walk through bedroom type thing and another bedroom through that area, as well as another bathroom. i think there's a utility room also. going back out into the hallway...at the end is the kitchen, which has all new appliances and granite countertops. off the kitchen is the laundry room and a door to the outside (that isn't used unless it's an emergency). there is a back porch/sunroom at the end of the kitchen that goes out to the back yard. the owners are still finishing it up so it can be ready by the time we move in. but yes, i'm so excited, thankful, speechless, happy, grateful! judah has a yard to play in! i have a place to go running where i know i won't be encountering crazy traffic constantly. and i can be out where life is a little more quiet. i love the city of lexington, but i'm really happy to be in an area where it's less hectic..and less traffic!!!!! there will be pictures to follow...as soon as we go back and i can get some ;)


wow, that was a long post. until later...