Life in The New Town

I apologize in advance. This one is going to be a list of randoms. Otherwise I would spend FOR E VER and probably several posts saying what I could have said a little easier in short bursts. I shall give it a try- and try not to be too wordy. No promises.

1. I quit- Well, I did it. On May 28th, with relatively few tears, I walked out of my classroom for the last time. After it was all said and done, I feel a tremendous amount of peace. I know leaving was the right thing. I will probably be fine until August until I start dreaming about getting my classroom ready, and I start seeing facebook posts about teachers going back- then I know I will miss it. But, then I will remember all my Monday morning guilt ridden tearfests over leaving Isaac all week and I will be fine.

2. Reverend Russell- Yes, that's right. On June 28th I will officially be the wife of a minister! The real thing. Ry is being ordained at our new church. I am so proud of him. We both know that he is called and we are ready and willing to give our lives to whatever God has in store. We know it won't always be that simple, but I'd rather rest in God's hand than be anywhere else. And the world needs more Rylands. He has such a great heart, he constantly amazes me and I am so proud of where he is leading our family. And the poor guy is stuck with me.

3. Hope- I met my new OB, Dr. Gibbens, who will be delivering Hope in October. I LOVED her. She was so attentive, thorough, patient, and professional. I felt very good about our choice to see her. She did a full exam and an ultrasound. We found that Hope is definitely a girl and we looked at all of her- her brain, her heart, her kidneys, her lungs, her spine, her bladder, her bones, her face- and she is perfect. She is growing right on time for her October 15th due date and is a very healthy, wiggly, little cupcake. I cannot describe how thankful I am that God put her together so well. He answered my prayers for a daughter and has made her healthy and complete. I am now praying that He will finish this good work that He has began in me & keep her cooking until she's done.

4. I moved- I am now living in our rent house with Ryland and Isaac. I am so thankful for the provision of a place we can stay for free- but it just does not feel like home. It is FULLY furnished and decorated, but as selfish as it is, it is just not my stuff. Its really hard to let yourself relax when you are worried about taking care of something that belongs to someone else. I did bring my own dishes, I am planning on shampooing the carpet, and I am going to try and put away some things that are in the way. I am hoping that I will settle in soon- I may just need more time. I wish we had room for family and guests. Ry's parents are coming up and I hate that they can't stay with us. I guess you just have to take the sweet with the bitter.

5. Isaac- I love him. I love him. I love him. It is hard for me to imagine how I can possibly love Hope this much. He runs full speed all the time, He says new words everyday- today he told me "more milk". He loves animals and knows tons of names and sounds. He loves baths, french fries, and tickling people. His name means laughter and he is full of it. He is a light in a dark world and I am so glad God chose me to be his Momma. He actually has a lung infection right now. He has had a yucky cough for about 6 weeks, no fever, no weird symptoms- we tried allergy medicine and cough syrup, but neither have worked. We went to our new pediatrician for the first time today and she said his lung capacity was only functioning at about 90 %. She compared it to walking pneumonia, he feels okay, but his lungs need some help. He'll be fine soon with the help of a nebulizer and some antibiotics.

6. Geeking Out- From time to time I will start indulging my self in some time wasting thing that is maybe a little nerdy. Right now Ryland and I are watching vlogs (video blogs) of this family in Idaho. They call themselves the Shaytards. They crack me up! They vlog and post their videos on Youtube. They do things like shoot guns, jump out of windows and roll their windows down with their 3 kids in the car wash. Yes it is geeky, yes it is a little voyeuristic, but they are hilarious.

7. Home- Our house is STILL on the market in Guthrie. We have only had one looker since last time I blogged. I am frustrated. I want to sell it so we can buy a place of our own here. I am so ready. I want to really live here, no strings attached. Please pray that our home will sell.

8. New Job- I am going to be working at our church's preschool this fall. I am going to be teaching music, 3 days a week, to kids from tiny little babies to 4 year olds. I am so excited! It is a departure from what I am trained to do, but it will be a fun challenge and NO DIAPERS! I can't wait to start.

9. Summer Plans- Since the Tulsa Zoo is 15 minutes away, we bought a year round pass so we will go on any cool days we can manage. Isaac's Mimi Cyndi is going to be up next week so we plan to soak up some Mimi time then. We have weddings for Riann and Trent & Steph and Todd planned, we are going to Arkansas to Ry's parent's for a weekend in July, we are going to Tenkiller for a few days in August, Ry is going to Falls Creek and Tulakogee, we will see my parents a lot, and hopefully have a home closing or two mixed in there. I am also committed to cooking more using e-mealz. For $5 a month, they plan my meals, send me a grocery list, save me money, and make my life easier. We have had 3 meals so far and really like it. It saves me time and money- both of which I always seem to be short on. :)

10. New Church- I love our new church. I have loved every church we've had an opportunity to serve in, but this is just different. Ry fits here better than he has anywhere else. He is able to use all of his talents and we are really making great friends here. I am so happy to see Ry like this. He is awesome and is so well received here- again, proud wife moment.

That's all folks!

Mindy

Updates: A Comedy in 3 Acts

Act 2- Dare You to Move

As I stated in my last post. One of my biggest prayers over the last year has been that God would make it possible for me to spend more time at home with Isaac. Please don't get me wrong, I love my job. Teaching is my passion and calling. I am in a career where I get to witness miracles. As much as I love teaching, I love Isaac more. But at the same time, if God asks me to stay at work, I will, because He knows best. But I am happy to share that God has released me from teaching for a few seasons and is giving me more days with Isaac.

This post is dedicated to the amazing past and the bright future.

Last Septemberish there was a classified ad in the Baptist Messenger. Let me be quick to point out that we do not peruse the Baptist Messenger for career opportunities- we have never been that way. Ryland's jobs have come through recommendations from other people or word of mouth. Let me also point out that we are not unhappy with Ryland's current job. I don't want anyone to get that idea either. Anyways, I believe that God showed it to me for a reason. The way the description was written, it was seeking a "Worship and Media Arts Pastor" for a church that had everything form senior adults to a skate church. Something about it made me tell Ryland that the description sounded like it was perfect for him. He is amazing at media stuff and even more phenomenal as a musician. We were actual speaking with another church about a different position at the time and God very clearly told us that job was a "no". So several weeks later we came back to that ad and prayed about the possibility of looking into it. God confirmed to both of us that He desired for us to proceed. We dusted off Ry's resume and sent it in. Over several months, a few phone interviews, a meeting or two with the search team, and a lovely weekend meeting the church family, God called us to go to Central Baptist Church in Owasso, Oklahoma.

We have no doubt that God lead us every step of the way to this place. There are some amazing blessings that were wrapped in with this new job.
1) Ryland's income is increasing enough that I am going to be able to stay home part time. I am planning to work at the pre-school at their church three days a week and take Isaac with me. I get Mondays and Fridays to be a stay at home mommy. I am crying with joy as I type this. God is so good! Don't get me wrong, we are not going to be rich, we just have an opportunity to scale back in some areas and make it work.
2) My two childhood best friends live in Owasso. Charity, Aubrey, and I were born within 2 weeks of each other, grew up in church together, went to school together, have been through EVERYTHING together. And I have no doubt that God has planned for us to be back in each other's lives for a reason. My Morgan from my teenage years is also across town. I am so excited!
3) I am 40 minutes away from my parents and grandparents. I have missed family things for 9 years and I am looking forward to making up for lost time.

Things that are sacrifices:
1) Lane and Jilian- Ryland and I are both leaving siblings here in the OKC metro. I don't even think we know how much we are going to miss them yet. I have loved being part of my nieces and nephew's lives. I love that we can randomly meet for dinner or be together for any tragedy or celebration. This part hurts.
2) 9 years of familiarity- The Edmond area has been my home since Fall 2001 when I moved here as a little college Freshman. I know this area. I have many precious friends here, and I love it here. This place is the setting to so many sweet memories. My first job, our first married home, our church homes, our alma mater. I will always love Edmond.

People ask me how I feel about it all. The only word that really fits is bittersweet. I am so thrilled to go, but just as sad to leave. I know that there are challenges ahead and so many sweet changes. We would be wrong to stay when God has so clearly set this in our path.

To my UCO Broncho Brothers and Sisters, HPBC, Ignitioners, EPS co-workers, WRBC Family, and my beloved brother and sister-in-love- You have all worked together to weave a tapestry of beautiful memories that have changed and impacted me in so many ways. There is not enough time for me to write it all out- it would fill books upon books. Thank you for investing in me, supporting me, grieving with me, and rejoicing with me. I will never be able to repay all that has been given to me. May God bless you all. Thank you for filling my life with beauty.

To my new family at Central, and my long neglected friends and family- Get ready, this is going to be epic!

Gratefully and Tearfully,
Mindy