Holy Outpouring: A Visit

We loaded up the minivan with four kids, one Grami, a box of Cheez-its and a bevy of kid quieting suckers and headed down to Auburn, AL.

We went down for an aerospace wedding. Two of Michael's former classmates reconnected post college and got married this past weekend. I am so thankful for this great group of friends who made class a little less boring and studying a little more fun.

The memories are so sweet of this quaint town on the plains. Although the college memories are wonderful, the ones that really tug on my heartstrings are those of our young family. Michael and I left our families in Memphis, TN and cleaved with each other in Auburn's married student housing. We paid $340 for rent and it included utilities AND cable. Our senses also paid greatly with the new neighbors love of burying eggs and eating them rotten and gigantic roaches pooping on all of our clothes. Up until that point, I did not know roach feces had a distinct smell, now the synapses have made the connection and upon the smell, I am immediately taken back to that cinder block apartment. Sound wonderful? Those were wonderful times. Honestly, I do not think Michael and I half cared about the living conditions as long as we were together.

Our old apartment is now the practice field for the band, but this is the exact type of structure we lived in.

Pouty Preteen

Once we had our sweet little Emma, momma decided we had to find a new dig. Enter 650 North Ross Apt. D 11.

Sweet toddler

Two rooms of our four room apartment

At $450 a month we had to pay for our own utilities and cable, but we could swing it because by now my awesome husband had landed a job as a Graduated Teaching Assistant (otherwise known as GTA) for a large sum of $700 a month and free school! "That's half of your rent!", you say. When I was a senior in high school, Michael joined the Air National Guard. He was on track to becoming a pilot, but decided it was not the life for him. This landed us another $230/month for a weekends worth of work. We also activated the Montgomery GI bill which brought us from the day we got married until the day we graduated exactly. Cha Ching, that was another $600! I think often about that decision he made and God laying on his heart to join, but then years later to lay it on his heart that it was not a career path to pursue. It was over half of our meager provisions during that time of our life and I am so thankful that God saw ahead and provided for us in this way. Our acting budget for the first couple of years? $1500 a month and we were content.

My laundry room. I would walk across the courtyard to the laundry mat with Emma and a pocketful of change in tow.

Little Emma and my days were filled of going to the park, meeting with daddy at Toomer's for lunch, story time at the library, cooking A LOT for daddy, crafts at home, coloring with chalk, mommy and baby swimming lessons, meeting our favorite friend, Leah, for shaved ice or lunch at Jimmy John's and living a waltz of a life with one child at home. Now, we are living at the tempo of a 160 beats per minute heart pumping dance song. Seasons of life...

So happy I made her sit in her old swing

Michael walking Emma through how they used to chase squirrels.

As with all seasons of life, you can make your lists of "I won't be happy until" and believe me I would get stuck in the ruts of doing this. I won't be happy until: we make more money, my tub is not yellow and my tile is not brown, my day consists of more than entertaining a toddler, we are not living above drug dealers, when are out of a town full of skinny college girls in their game day outfits and I am walking around with a post baby belly, etc... But then God would take captive those thankless thoughts and replace them with my "I am so blessed" list: I am blessed with provisions despite mistakes, an energetic and enthusiastic toddler with whom I had the privilege of spending my days , a hard working husband who held together a GTA position, graduate school and a family of four, getting to raise my daughters in a wonderful college town, etc...