Sunday morning skipping

This past Sunday was by far one of my favorites in a long time. The night before we had friends over and we stayed up super late catching up on life & eating pie. We climbed in bed and I was dreaming of sleeping in late. Our alarm went off too early, or so it seemed, and without even thinking about it we hit snooze. And continued to snooze again, and again. Honestly, this not that far off our usual Sunday morning, except that I normally get up after one snooze and get ready for church, then go back in and wake Will up. The poor guy is always in a state of sleepiness due to his job. But this Sunday, I kept hitting the snooze button. I'd think, next one I'll get up. Finally, I told Will, let's just turn it off & sleep in so we pulled the covers back over us and happily slept for as long as we wanted. 

I eventually got up, because I can't actually sleep that late anymore, made some tea, and grabbed my journal. Pulling the curtain back just enough to let a little light shine in on my side,  I settled back into bed. Will slept soundly by my side and I happily read for a while. Finally, around noon or so, I woke him up. We decided we'd make a little brunch to go with our coffee/tea (round two of tea for me). I whipped up some buttermilk from milk and lemon juice, gathered the ingredients for biscuits and cut in the butter. Since it was Sunday and why not?, I used my largest biscuit cutter. I wanted big, fluffy ones that I could smother in jam. Will fried up some bacon and a few eggs, while making a big cup of coffee. This is what I dream of: slow mornings with my favorite person, buttermilk biscuits topped with homemade strawberry jam and some new tunes spinning on the record player. 

Growing up, I always felt like there was this requirement to go to church every Sunday. Even in college, I felt this guilty feeling if I skipped a week. Eventually some sweet friends pointed out to me that I shouldn't feel forced to go and that no one is keeping an attendance log. There's nothing wrong with skipping every once in a while to catch up on sleep or in my case, catch up with your husband. This past Sunday was delightful and I didn't feel one ounce of guilt about missing church. It was exactly what we needed after a very long & frustrating week. I am thankful for sleeping in, homemade brunch, and a God who loves me even if I take a day off.

***Addition: After reading this weeks later, I want to add a little note. I recently read a book review on this book that basically said we no longer need to go to church, we should just sit at home, be comfy & drink tea while thanking God. I totally disagree & completely believe we desperately need the church. We need community and accountability. After rereading this post, I realized it came across more like that book. This post was more about rest and how every once in a while, it can be beneficial to rest and catch up with your spouse who works 65+ hours a week.

Dog days of summer

Even though summer officially just started in terms of the calendar, we have been feeling the heat for a while. We have seen plenty of days in the 90's with a heat index of 103 or so. On Sunday, our AC went out so we have REALLY been feeling the heat. The situation is confusing, but in short it could have been fixed Monday, but now it will hopefully be fixed on Friday. I'm working hard not to wallow in self-pity over here, but I must admit that I have treated myself to an icee and lots of popsicles. Thankfully, my father-in-law brought over a window unit so we have that cranked up in our bedroom so sleeping hasn't been too bad. I'm struggling to have patience and trying to remind myself that AC is a luxury that many do not have. We are working hard on being positive and not complaining (too much).

Other life updates: the triathlon I was training for got cancelled. Not sure if I mentioned that on here before?, but yes, quite a bummer. I have to confess that once I heard it was cancelled I really slacked on the workouts. This week I am teaching VBS at our church which has been great, a little exhausting, but wonderful.

Here are a few scenes from summer thus far.

devouring popsicles to fight the heat. these are from trader joes & are delicious, strawberry & mango flavor.

a little slow morning time with some fresh south carolina peaches on my bowl of cereal

heaven on earth, i'm convinced. last week i spent at least two hours at the beach daily (eek, sorry but it was awesome).

lazy summer days have included a few naps for the two of us

scenes from last night: cereal in a mug (because its too hot in this house to turn the stove on) & a good read, all while sitting directly in front of the window unit & air blasting on my face.

Dinner Club

About two months ago, I read the book Bread and Wine by Shuana Niequist and fell in love with her writing style and ideas. You will find a lovely mixture of recipes, life stories and faith that will leave you craving for a full house and delicious food.

Some of the ladies in my small group had heard about the book and decided it could be fun to read it and then meet weekly to make some of the recipes. At the end of the book, she separates it into four dinner clubs & provides a main course, salad, side and dessert for each week. Our first dinner club was two weeks ago where we had steak au poivre with a cognac sauce, simple greens with a light vinaigrette, risotto with mushrooms and a (healthy-ish) blueberry crumble. Everyone came over to my house and provided one of the dishes or wine. For hours we sat around our farmhouse table, with make-shift chairs due to the extra number of people, and it was wonderful. The salad was light and tangy and the perfect match for the steak. At first bite, I fell in love with risotto and ate more of that than my steak to be honest. It was savory and somehow risotto just feels comforting. And lastly, the blueberry crumble (with vanilla ice cream) was divine!

Week two began with mango curry chicken served over rice, goat cheese biscuits, a green well salad (topped with dried fruit & candied walnuts) and flour-less brownies to finish it off. Our sweet neighbor made the biscuits and I absolutely loved seeing her husband walking down the street carrying a piping hot cast iron skillet full of biscuits. We had a few more come this week so we again crammed in a few more chairs and sat extra close, which made it even more fun. Seeing my house full, connecting old friends with new friends and having a really loud dinner (where you laugh so hard you cry) makes me so happy!

I'm already looking forward to next week (bacon wrapped dates, white bean soup, feta watermelon salad and dark chocolate sea salted toffee)! I would encourage you to read this book & try out a few dinner parties of your own. Shauna Niequist talks a lot about how it doesn't need to be perfect or even fancy, just welcoming people into your home and sitting around the dinner table with folks creates such a bond and builds wonderful community. So don't be intimidated or feel like your house "isn't nice enough," people don't notice those things ... they care about feeling loved and appreciated. AND people love to help so don't feel like you need to do it all on your own; I'm learning to give guests a job and let them wash some dishes.

I intended on taking pictures this week, but let's be honest once I saw those biscuits it was useless, I wanted those things in my belly immediately. Maybe next week, but no promises!

SUMMER!

I've been missing from this space for a week or two because things got pretty crazy. May was an incredibly busy month and I've got to say that I'm a little happy to see it go. Hello June & welcome summer! Our last day of school was on Friday so I am officially in summer mode (although actually not officially because I still have a few teacher workdays left).

It was a great school year and I am proud of myself for a successful first year of teaching. I learned a lot & feel confident that we accomplished so many things. I am already excited to implement new things and improve on a few things next year.

Summer is by far my favorite season and I am thrilled that I will get to enjoy it fully. I plan on spending some quality time at the beach and being outside as much as I can (I am actually doing some work & volunteering this summer so I promise I'm not just hanging on the beach every day)! I'm sad that Will will be working crazy hours & that I won't see too much of him, but we'll get to enjoy the weekends together. Here's to beach days, the smell of sunscreen 24/7, Kohl's custard and lots of backyard hangouts!

Pictures from blueberry picking last week:

Friendships

I am currently doing a study on Nehemiah, which can be found here (I highly suggest it!). So far it has been wonderful and really changing my outlook on the day. I find myself hurrying to get out of the shower & boil some hot water for tea so I can settle in for just a few moments & read the day's devotion. 


Today, I read about Nehemiah asking for help from the Israelites to help him rebuild the wall & defend Jerusalem from an attack at the same time. The study then led me over to Hebrews for this verse, "... and let us consider how to provoke one another to love and good deeds, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more, as you see the day drawing near" (Hebrews 10:24-25). It was a great reminder that we are called to be in relationships, to seek our friendships and encourage one another. We need to ask for help from friends and return the favor to them. Nehemiah was not afraid to ask for help from others because he knew if they combined their talents and efforts they could complete the work for the Lord. 

Today I am thankful for friendships, near and far, that challenge me, encourage me and spur me on to new adventures. For women in my life who would do anything for me, and I for them. Thankful for sweet friends that have traveled with me, studied with me, run & pushed me (sometimes literally when running) through challenges I thought impossible. For friends who have shared hospital beds with me and sat in on difficult doctors visits, women who comfort me and make me laugh. For friends who do the weirdest things with me & throw themed parties like you've never seen. Thankful for new friendships and old ones. Today I am thankful for friendships that last through years, life changes and miles of distance & for people who I can call on when the storms roll in or if celebration is in order. Let's remember the importance of friendships and "provoke one another to love & good deeds."

^ sharing a hospital bed shout out goes this lady, thanks friend.

^ themed parties & costumes like you won't believe, these girls know how to have fun & take things WAY too far.

^high school graduation, we would then go on to be roommates/housemates all four years of college 

A bittersweet ending

Wednesday tutoring is nearing the end as the school year quickly comes to a close. It is truly a bittersweet end as I have so loved getting to know these sweet kids & (hopefully) providing a little extra help on homework and schoolwork. It has been such a joy to see them grow both academically and socially. I have seen one of them go from speaking only Spanish and not understanding a word of English to being able to look at word problems in English and figure out what they are asking all on her own! How incredible! 

We still have plenty more work cut out for us as we work on getting them up to speed with their classmates, but oh we have made strides! I'm sad that my Wednesday afternoons won't be filled with a car full of kids, laughing and screaming. I sure will miss pulling into their trailer park and seeing the kids lined up waiting to pile into our cars. But, I am hopeful that this is the beginning of a long relationship with these guys and their families. I am excited for what's to come & I know that we will have visits this summer. So thankful for the opportunity to love on them & eager to see more changes in years to come. 

pictured above: Darlin, Jocelyn, Rikci, Bryan (photo taken by little Miss Melanie).

Film incentives & trusting

I realize that many of you may not be familiar with the tax incentive program for film in North Carolina. Currently, film companies receive a rebate to encourage more film business to come to North Carolina. Recent studies have shown that for every dollar of credit issued, $9.11 in direct spending was generated by the film industry in North Carolina. Film companies & their workers support local businesses, restaurants, hotels... not to mention they provide thousands of jobs to locals. 

The film incentive program in NC is set to expire at the end of this year. In the next month, the "short session" of the General Assembly will be held and if not mentioned or renewed, the film incentives will simple expire in December and film companies will choose other states for work. What does this mean for us & so many others that work in film & support their family through this industry? Well, we're honestly not sure, but most likely the work will go away & we will either have to move elsewhere or pick a new career. 

I feel hopeful that they will re-up the incentives, but there is a very real chance that they won't. Our friends that also work in this industry are starting to talk about back-up plans and discussing moving if it came to that. Will and I have talked about it and we keep coming back to this: We really love where we are and don't want to move, but if thats what happens we may have to do that. We basically have two plans going right now, one where we will be buying a house in Wilmington next summer if all goes well, or the other we will be using some of that saved money as we transition to a new place/new jobs.

At first, I felt really worried, job stability has always been (thankfully) something that Will has had. I felt anxious at the possibility of starting all over and going back to being uncomfortable and having to search for new jobs, friends, a home etc. But, I've had a lot of time to mull it over at this point (we've known that this was coming for a while now). I feel at ease and am trusting that we will end up where we are supposed to be, whether that be the land of the pines or elsewhere. 

So we would appreciate prayers. We've rallied in downtown Wilmington, contacted local representatives and now all we really can do is pray. The short session begins May 14th and will last about 6-7 weeks so we should know pretty soon if the film incentives have been renewed. I know this is good for us, to be forced to simply trust & let the decision be made for us. Updates to come for sure.