October

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Faithfulness

Great is Thy faithfulness!
 Great is Thy faithfulness! 
Morning by morning new mercies I see 
All I have needed Thy hand hath provided 
Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord unto me!
-Thomas Chisholm

This hymn/poem is on repeat in my head this morning.

Loneliness has been a constant battle here in Louisville. We have not made many friends and due to crazy work hours (Way crazier than teaching! Hard to believe I know.) do not get to go out very often.  We have not been able to go to church. Our neighborhood folks are great, but there is nobody our age. But last night for the first time, I felt completely welcome amongst a group of strangers.

I met S for the first time the weekend of Derby. Her parents were guests at the inn and she came by to check them in. She lives across just across the park from us. I invited her to have breakfast with her parents at the inn, but she had classes that weekend so I did not get to talk to her again. A couple of weeks later, I went to a gentle yoga class at the Y. It was my first time to go (and last might I add) and when I walked in I heard my name. S was there! I pulled my mat beside hers and then we met J afterwards for a quick bite. J and I joke that we have 1 friend- S. Sadly, we don't get to see each other too often, but every couple of weeks we go to dinner. I am so thankful for the way God placed her in our lives.

S invited me to dinner last night. Over the course of our friendship, we found that we share a love for community and intentional living. S had heard about a house through one of her friends and last night was her first time to go as well. Immediately when we walked in, we felt welcome. There was no awkwardness, no judgement, but lots of fellowship. Everyone brought a dish. Simple meal. Afterwards everyone moved into the living room for discussion. We listened to a passage from the book A Monk In The Inner City and then discussed what another world would look like to us. Everyone spoke. Common themes in every answer. The night ended in signs of peace. I felt like crying the whole time because God was faithful. It was the best evening spent in Louisville so far and I can't wait to go back.

This morning I woke up feeling refreshed and my heart a little lighter. He is truly faithful and knows our every need.

Thank you S for your friendship. You have made our time here much happier.

Museum Day

A few weeks ago, we went to Cheekwood Botanical Gardens to see the tree house exhibit. The Rainbow Fish tree house was my favorite. The scales were made from old CDs and the lips were made from pool noodles. So creative! (Of course, we had to stop for fish kisses.)

The Frazier Museum is currently running a Princess Diana exhibit. I cannot wait to go! Princess Diana (and all of the royal family for that matter) fascinates me. I think she was the epitome of poise and class (based on her wardrobe, service work, and interviews). The museum is also hosting princess teas. Tiara anyone?

Anyways, I say all that because you should check into your local museums and gardens this weekend. The 29th is the Smithsonian Museum Day so many museums are free! What a great way to spend time with your family for free.

Homesick

J and I both agree that we are a little homesick. We miss our families.

Yesterday, we were able to spend the day in Nashville for pottery shower for the soon-to-be Ellis family and for a birthday party for this cutie... Jakson (my nephew) turned 4. The time went by too fast.

We are missing so much. Next week my sweet cousin Katie is getting married, but I will be here helping with a wedding at the inn. I have not gotten to hold/meet J's nephew and by the time I see him, he will probably be talking (apparently he can already "moo" ;) ). It stinks.

Being a grown up isn't always fun.

Anyways, if you could say a little prayer for both J and I we would both appreciate it.

It's All About The $

Having a job with very few bills (no rent, no utilities, no phone!), I knew it was past time to get a hold of my finances when we moved here. I was even more motivated when I heard about some acquaintances paying cash for their house. (Yep, you heard me right... 30 year olds paying cash for their house.) Growing up, I was not really taught about money so it was time for me to learn.

Enter Dave Ramsey.

I went to the Dave Ramsey Financial Peace website and found a class that was about to start in Louisville. J and I signed up and 13 weeks later we are finished.

Dave has "7 Baby Steps" for financial freedom.

• Step 1: Save up $1,000 to start your emergency fund.
• Step 2: Pay off all non-mortgage debt using the debt snowball.
• Step 3: Save up 3 to 6 months of expenses to complete your emergency fund.
• Step 4: Invest 15% of household income into Roth IRAs and pre-tax retirement accounts.
• Step 5: Work on college funding for children.
• Step 6: Pay off your mortgage early.
• Step 7: Build wealth and give!

In Financial Peace, you will learn how to accomplish these steps, but you will also learn how money works in general, how to be gazelle intense in paying debt off, and so much more.

While honestly, J and I have not followed everything we learned (not that we disagree, but we just haven't), I will say that I think we both agree this is the best thing we have done as a couple. We are able to speak more openly and honestly with each other. We have been able to share concerns, fears, hopes, and dreams with ease. We are more on the same page now then we have ever been. We have already completed step 1 and now are working on step 2. :) (Step 2 is going to take a long time.... oh student loans.)

No matter your financial status, I would encourage everyone to take these classes. We had people in our class making more money than I could dream of and people who were on the verge of bankruptcy and everyone benefited.

Thank you, Dave Ramsey for changing our lives.

Fall To-Do List

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(1) Try a new soup recipe
(2) Re-read The Great Gatsby (Need a refresher before movie comes out)
(3) Visit a nearby winery
(4) Pop up dinner party
(5) Decorate pumpkins (Can't decide if I want to paint or carve)
(6) Take a mini-vacation (This does not include Nashville, Tennessee, but possibly might include Nashville, Indiana. ;))

What is something you must do this fall?

Review of Summer

At the beginning of the summer, I wrote out my summer rules. Let's review...

My favorite summer day spent at the State Fair

1. Pick berries.
2. Make homemade ice cream to enjoy on the back porch. (I really want to use my Jeni's cookbook.)
3. Attend a concert. (Forecastle anyone??? J and I went to several concerts: Trampled by Turtles, The Vespers, Shovels and Ropes...a little bluegrass in the Bluegrass state
4. Visit a horse farm. (When in Kentucky...) Well, we went to the Derby Museum for the first time and saw a horse so we might can say this one is half done ;)
5. Stay at another B&B (Looking at Symphony Hotel in Cincinnati.)
6. Play tennis with J. (We have a court right across the street that has appealed to both of us.) We finally bought tennis rackets and have gone to play late at night when there is nobody to laugh at us. :)
7. Picnic lunch and nap in a park.
8. Host a dinner party. (Hopefully we will have friends soon!) We'll count the Julia birthday dinner. ;)
9. Go antiquing. Went to Jo-Lay's with my parents.
10. Ride my new bike often. (I might add purchase a basket for bike too.) I did get a cute basket and ride my bike pretty often.

5.5 out of 10.

It's hard to believe that summer is gone. Apparently it flies by even when you do not have a summer vacation. Already looking forward to next summer. Maybe I will finish my list. :)