Our New Life

Mike and I at the Lebanese festival last night!

Our nephew Calvin!

            Where to begin. A lot has changed since the last time I posted…We drove through 7 states,  temporarily “lived” in 6 different locations, were blessed with our first nephew, enjoyed summer weather in Texas then fall in PA then summer in Texas then fall in VA then summer in Texas then fall in Texas all in 2 weeks, had a huge scare within my family, discovered the riverwalk, started new jobs, left all of our old friends, made a couple new friends, left a church we love and found a new church we love, saw the Alamo, bought our first book/comic book in 2 months, watched Dabke dancers and ate authentic Lebanese food, wiped out our finances, celebrated our first paycheck in over a month, got hooked on Twilight, learned to live life without cable and DVR, rediscovered how crazy being a nurse can be and how frustrating being a waiter can be, felt completely displaced, and finally, after all of this, began to feel a little more at home.

            So to sum it up, we’ve been through a lot. To go into detail about these things and more would leave you all putting saline drops in your dry tired eyes and wishing you hadn’t kept asking me to update our blog :) It has been an eventful couple months, with ups and downs (more than we had anticipated and a couple that we could definitely have done without), but it is all part of the experience and the adventure, and in the end these things have already made us stronger. My new friend and fellow traveler Lauren already has one previous assignment under her belt, and her advice is always helpful when I start flipping out. There are days that she reminds me, “this isn’t forever”, when one of us is having a crazy night at work. She also said that although it might not feel like it now, there will be a day when these 5 months are over and regardless of what happens next, you look back on the experience and you realize how you have grown as a nurse and a person. She said that though she did not see this at the time, she realizes now that she’s become more confident with all that she has done and learned, and overall has become a stronger person.

Enjoying the pool while we can

Me and Lauren, my fellow traveler!

It is good to know that someone else felt the way that I am feeling now. I know that in a few short months I will probably look back on this and be so grateful for all of the good and the bad, not only with my job but with life. Though I am frustrated beyond end regarding the difficult bumps in our road, I also feel blessed (when I really take the time to analyze things) by all that we have been through and how we have had to rely on God during the good times and the crappy times. I also saw how family comes together in those crappy times, and in the long run, no matter where we are, how much money we have, what exciting adventures we undertake, the most important thing is that family loves each other and supports each other in every way possible. I know that we couldn’t have made it home to be with my parents if it weren’t for Keri and Angus, and I know (although I am a pain in the butt nurse-daughter) that my parents were grateful for our support while we were there and for my sister’s support and guidance from far away. I know this sounds cheesy, but it all kind of ended up as a big “circle of love” and it brought us all that much closer.

Me and Mike going to an auction...just kidding:)

Now that I said this would be short and it ended up being a rambling novel, I will close this blog entry by thanking you all for your thoughts and prayers, and by inviting you all to come visit, any day or any time – as long as you let us know ahead of time so we can buy an air mattress. If you can’t visit, care packages are always welcome or at least a card or letter or even just a picture! I guess I didn’t mention how our mailbox is always empty, and that we currently have only 3 pictures and 1 card to remind us of home and those we love :)  We miss you all more than you can imagine, but we wanted to let you know we are doing well, we’re enjoying Texas, and we will try to be better about keeping you posted as we learn more about this new city!

Our address for those who are interested:

5600 Babcock Rd.

Unit # 8307

San Antonio, TX 78240