Moving on

We helped Mom and Dad move yesterday, into a nice rental house. It was sad moving them out of the old house. They've lived there since I was about 7. Pretty much all of my childhood memories are from stuff we did at that house. We set up a few haunted houses in the basement, pretended we were Indians after swimming in our pool, played with Legos and Playmobiles for hours at a time, and had many super fun birthday, Christmas, and Thanksgiving celebrations there.

 

It really was a great house to grow up in. :)
And yesterday was the last time we got to be there.

But we will move on. We (particularly me) must not dwell on the past, holding on to it and wishing things would stay as they were before. Instead, we should accept the fact that change is inevitable, look back on our childhood memories with fondness, and move on.
The future is bright.    

Day 30

I read Psalm 18 the other day, and thought it was really good. The first 3 verses are probably my favorite of the chapter. It goes like this.
"I love You, O Lord, my strength. The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge. He is my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. I call to the Lord, who is worthy of praise, and I am saved from my enemies."
It's hard to explain, but these verses are very comforting to me. I guess it's because it's saying how strong God is, and that I will be safe if I lean in to Him and rely on Him.

Today is the 30th day in a row that I've posted on here. Yay! :) I gave myself a challenge and I rose to it. Now if I could just do the same thing for exercising....

Day 29

Today is this handsome man's 30th birthday!

There is so much I could say about Quentin. He's my best friend, my lover, my encourager, my confidant, my leader, my darling. He is kind, patient, gentle, loving, honest, gracious, hard-working, others-focused. He's always there for me when I need him. He takes the time to get to know me well. He challenges me to live for Jesus and do things that would please God, and he is never harsh when he does this.

Quentin favorite things include coffee, plants, hugs, church, spending time with family, reading Scripture, cuddling with me on the couch, teasing our cat about being chubby, and doing special things for me. He has a wonderful sense of humor and is not afraid to laugh at himself. He is extremely loyal and faithful, and has never made me doubt this for a second.

Quentin, my sweetheart, I am beyond grateful for you. I'm thankful that God created you, brought you into this world 30 years ago, and shaped you into the man you are today. I'm humbled that God chose you specifically to be the one who is my husband. You are far beyond what I deserve or could have imagined. You are one of the very best things that happened to me. I love you more than I can say.

Happy birthday!

Day 28

Wow, only 2 more posts after today 'til I make it to 30 in a row. Time flies!

Speaking of time, I'm thankful for time savers. Take a crock pot for instance. I just prep a few things, put them together in the crock pot, and turn it on. Then when dinner time comes, dinner is already ready to eat. It's super helpful when I'm not gonna be home much, like today. We're leaving in a bit to hang out with the Whitakers for Quentin's birthday celebration (his birthday is tomorrow), then going straight to small group. So, we have to wait 'til after small group to eat dinner. By that time, I won't feel like making dinner, so I'm using the crock pot. I like modern inventions.

At church this morning, the message was about embracing your identity with Christ. Basically, if you want non-Christians to be attracted to Christ and the church, you have to truly identify with Christ and live differently than the world. You have to display Christ to others - be like Christ.  

Day 27

Praise Jesus, I feel better today! :) No appendicitis or anything like that. It was possibly from something I ate. Ended up not going to urgent care, which was good 'cause I got better.

Here's a recipe I've tried that I really like. It might sound weird to have sweet potato in a cookie, but it is so tasty!

Sweet Potato Chocolate Chip Cookies

2 cups pureed sweet potato (about 2 medium sweet potatoes) 
1/2 cup oat flour (can be sub. w/ another kind of flour)
1/2 cup nut butter
2 eggs
3 T maple syrup
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp clove
1 tsp cacao powder
1/4 tsp allspice
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
3/4 cup dark chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 

1. Boil a medium pot of water. Peel and dice sweet potatoes, add to water. Cook till they can be easily forked. Once they are done add to the food processor and pulse till smooth. Let cool.

2. Mix dry ingredients- oat flour, spices, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Cut in the nut butter with a fork or a pastry cutter if you have one. I ended up using my hands.

3. Add eggs, maple syrup, and vanilla. Mix in sweet potato and then chocolate chips. 

4. Scoop onto parchment paper or foil lined baking sheet- I used a mini ice cream scoop. Then press down with a fork.

5. Bake for 15-17 minutes. Cookies will be moist and soft.

(this is not my picture. It's from another blog.)
 

Day 26

Our house listing on realtor.com now says that it's under contract. :) It's been under contract for 6 days, but now it's more "official".

Well, I've been feeling totally crappy since about 4pm yesterday. Boo, sickness! I might go to urgent care later when Quentin gets home. Especially since I can barely eat anything without feeling nauseous. At least I'm able to drink water. Prayers for healing would be awesome.

Day 25

Today I brought our earnest money check to our closing attorney's office. Mom came with me, and when I was done she took me out to eat. She is so generous! The chicken salad sandwich was really good. :) And, since we were somewhat close to my future home, we got to drive by the house so Mom could see it. She approves.

When I checked the mail after getting home, I saw a package with our wedding photos that I had ordered. It was fun looking through them again, not on the computer. One day soon, I'll start putting them together in a scrapbook. Fun times are ahead!

Day 24

It seems like I just started this 30 day challenge, and now I only have 6 more posts to write after today.

Random fact Wednesday: Possibly my favorite breakfast combination is a fried egg with avocado and tomato. It might sound weird, but it is so good! Especially with a slightly runny egg yolk. Mmmm.

I just finished packing the 5th box for moving. Making slow and steady progress! I'll try to pack more later today, after I do laundry and make a fresh batch of granola. I love being home all day. It gives me time to work on things that need to happen. :)

Happy Hump Day everyone!

Day 23

One year and 8 months ago today, Quentin and I started dating. Seems like I've known him for longer than that.

To be honest, when we started dating I was a bit skeptical about it ending in marriage. I hardly knew Quentin at all, so I wasn't sure if our beliefs and values would match. Also I didn't want people to make fun of our height difference. (I'm 5ft, he is 6ft 3 in.) That was a silly reason, now that I look back.

Today I am so glad that, despite my initial skepticism, I said yes to dating Quentin. I found out that all of our most important beliefs did actually match. And I got used to the height difference; now it makes me feel more protected. (and when I can't reach something, Quentin can get it for me)

In other news, the sun is out! :)

Day 22

The sun came out for a few minutes just now. It was good to see sunshine again, since it's been hiding for the past 5 days. :)
I found out that South Carolina is flooded in multiple cities, with interstates and bridges closed. This hurricane is no joke. I pray that everyone is safe.

Totally random fact: on Mondays I usually give Mabel some hairball remedy medicine. I put it in her food bowl when it's empty, and won't give her more food until she eats the medicine. The problem is that she refuses to eat it. So she'll go for an entire day without eating. I usually end up having to put the medicine on her paw so she'll lick it off, which she hates. You would think that after multiple times of this happening, she would get the idea that if she just eats the medicine from her bowl then I wouldn't have to put it on her paw. Silly cat.

Day 21

It is very windy today. We could feel it pushing on our car on the way to church this morning. Yeah, random fact...

Here are some verses from 1 Timothy, which I've been reading through.

"For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all men " - 2:5-6

"Have nothing to do with godless myths and old wives' tales; rather, train yourself to be godly. For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come." - 4:7-8

Day 20

We are officially under contract for the house. :) Now we have to get it inspected and find an escrow agent to help with the title stuff at closing. There's a lot that goes into buying a house. But it's worth it!

Oh yeah, my parents' house is under contract now. They're getting a rental house in about 2 weeks. It's kinda funny that everyone in my immediate family is moving this year. It's a fun change though.

In other news, there's a flash flood warning for our area due to the rain left over from a hurricane. Thankfully we're not in a flood plane. I hope everyone stays safe out there!

Day 19

Oh my goodness, I can hardly believe it!
The sellers gave a counter offer and we accepted it. We are signing the contract for the house tonight. What? Is this really happening? My dream house is basically ours. I'm super excited!

We're not able to move until November, due to our apartment lease. But that gives us extra time to get ready. I think I might go pack a few things in a bit. :) Ah, I'm so excited!

God is so good, and generous beyond what we deserve!

Day 18

We gave our apartment staff our 60 day notice of intention to move. And we put an offer on the house I wrote about. We are still waiting to hear back from the seller, to know if they accepted or if they have a counter offer. Waiting for something like this is kinda hard. I'm so excited that we might get to have our own house by the end of November! I kinda want to start packing today. But I guess it's still not 100 percent certain until our offer is accepted. There is a good chance though!