oh! oh! real quick . . .

i would be ENTIRELY remiss if i didn't say a big ol'

happy birthday!!

to the amazing kelley kirker. here's how things would be going if we were celebrating together. . .

there are no words to sum up how i love that girl. so i'll just leave it at that.

the view from here

i know i haven't written much - i've been busy. there has been city to expolore, people to meet, and lots of reading to be read. at last, though, right now, this evening - there is pie crust to be made, an andrew peterson cd to be absorbed, whiskey to be drank (or is it drunk?) and a post to be blogged. honestly - life feels almost as good as i know it is.

the past two weeks have been a blur. school is much more consuming than i expected for both justin and myself. we both spend a lot of time reading. any spare time i've had has been spent looking for a job and attempting to make this apartment my own.

for those of you who know me well, i seriously doubted this school thing at first. now, i can't imagine why. every day i get to go to class and talk about things that matter. my primary responsiblity right now is to come home and read works by these great men of God about the One who truly matters most. already i've had to read the likes of os guinness, sinclair ferguson and lesslie newbigin - i'm talking whole books, people. not to mention articles by guys you won't know but probably should. it's almost not like school (until i hit 11 pm and i've been reading since 3 with only minor breaks - then it's exactly like school). my favorite thing for now has been ferguson's book on the Holy Spirit. it's hundreds of pages on the person of the Holy Spirit and it's so intriguing and genuinely life changing. i challenge you to read about the person of the Holy Spirit and it not rock your world at least a little bit.

besides that there's the job search. after only one week i've gotten to the point of desperation. what does that mean? it means i've started thinking that manual labor jobs don't sound so bad after all. it means that youth ministry doesn't look that good on an application for a high-end cookware store. it means that i've gotten really good at writing down my last three employers and their contact info. it means that i have to rest in God's provision in a way that i only had to talk about before moving here. i'm really thankful for the whole thing.

for now, i'll leave you with this:

" The Spirit's role in Jesus' ministry is now evident, He serves as the heavenly cartographer and divine stratagist who maps out the battle terrain and directs the Warrior-King to the strategic point of conflict. he is Christ's adjutant-general in the holy war which is waged throughout the incarnation." - s.f., The Holy Spirit

just a few minor adjustments

that's right, city of a thousand sights. you know what that means? it's magic code for sprawling metropolis with more interstates than my gps can handle. it means the sheer amount to explore is exhilarating and overwhelming. it also means that it can take up to 45 minutes to get somewhere in the same town. for me - it's an adjustment.

so that's where we are - here in st. louis. so far, i like it. it's not alabama, it's not south carolina, it's not home yet. but, i love our apartment (pics to come soon) and everyone has been almost over the top friendly - even the babies, and there are millions of those here in seminary housing. (by the way, i'm not drinking the water. literally, i'll only drink it if it's been through the brita filter. my scientific brain know it's biologically impossible for this kid thing to be 'in the water' and yet, there are SO many babies). i've already found a running route, two trader joe's and a dozen frozen custard places. there are also a few familiar faces here, even a couple who have known me since before i was a mrs. and that has made this whole thing much easier.

we're adjusting: adjusting to being away from the only home we've know as a married couple, adjusting to not having cable (i watched the wendy williams show today)or a spare bathroom, adjusting to washing all dishes by hand, adjusting to being full time students and not in full time youth ministry. it all just feels really different, a little foreign and like it will be normal soon enough.

fun things - like picture of my vintage oven - coming soon. until then, i'll just be here adjusting.

strong nor'easters

today, i would like to move to maine. or maybe massachusetts. really anywhere that i could live in a cute little new england house with painted shingles. once there we (because you all would come with me) would eat lemon basil pasta with crab that we caught ourselves and sit on the porch drinking wine and wearing light jackets - because in the northeast there isn't a heat index of 105 degrees like there is here. wouldn't that be so lovely?

things found while packing, nights 1 and 2:

yes, we're spending our evenings drinking beer and packing. i hate packing (thus, the beer) but i love finding things that i either a) lost or b) forgot that i lost. Here are my favorites from last night:

-boating license

-marriage license

-electronic bugs

-pictures of me as an awkward jr. higher

Tonight got even more fun:

- multiple wedding gifts still in boxes

-box of 'justin things' (yes, as if i were a cheesy teenager). it included concert tickets, valentines cards, 1st anniversary cards, a corsage, and some other sentimental little tidbits. i laughed at myself. but it's kind of sweet, right?

-mothers day present intended for 2007

-and this shirt from my trip to maine with my family

ahem, i have an announcement

well, this will be old news to some of you - but in less than three weeks the husband and i will be leaving birmingham for the gateway to the west: st. louis. then we will be staying there. honestly, it's that second part - the part where we stay there - that is a little hard for me to take. don't get me wrong, i'm excited, we have big plans for the lou. i'm sure it will love us (justin has a past with the city, so we've got that going for us) and maybe, maybe, i will one day love it. but not like i love birmingham, not like i love the south with its sweltering heat, one snow per winter, and football obsessions. i can't talk about it right now. instead, i'll just leave you with this: the view from the nosebleeds of busch stadium. readers, meet my soon to be home.

someone help me

i need new music in a major way. something upbeat, a little indie, and that invites me to sing along while sitting or driving alone. if it were a little southern it wouldn't hurt.

give me your suggestions, otherwise i'll continue listening to this little gem on repeat (which, sadly, has been my default). what is wrong with me?