plans.

I was supposed to get married right after I graduated college.

At least, that was the plan.  I was pretty confident I knew how it would all go down- meet someone my freshman year of college, start dating sophomore year, get engaged senior year, and get married not long after graduation.  There was probably a white picket fence thrown in there, too.

But as my senior year approached, I realized that plan wasn't very likely.  I mean, not to put God in a box, but it had been over a year since I'd even been on a date, so meeting someone and marrying them all within the next year seemed rather unlikely.  I wrestled with this for a bit, mourned the loss of that dream, and then a new dream started to grow in my heart.  As much of a homebody as I was, I started to dream about adventure.  As I watched friends plan their post-graduation lives around serious boyfriends or fiances, I started to wonder what I could do and where I could go after graduation.  I considered countless options, plead often with God for direction, and finally got an answer.  

The call to go to New Orleans was the most direct, clear call I've ever felt.  In my life, I've wrestled over many decisions, big and small- should I go to JMU?  should I go home or stay out tonight? do I buy this shirt or save my money? - but the decision to go to New Orleans was simple.  My heart had been invested in Hurricane Katrina relief work since my December '05 trip to Mississippi, and when I received that voicemail from the human resources director of Crusade saying, "Hey Rebecca, give me a call back.  I think I know what God has for you next year," I knew something big was coming.  After receiving the details about the opportunity to intern with Crusade, coordinating relief work in New Orleans, I gave the 'spiritual' answer of, "Let me have 24 hours to pray about it," but in reality, I knew immediately that this was God's answer.  The only thing to pray about was a joyful overflowing that God had answered my prayers to use me and my unique giftings the following year.

So that was how the story of my post-college life began.  God said, "Not now," to my desire for a husband and instead granted me an adventure I'd never dreamed of.  He gave me the chance to become a capable adult, thousands of miles away from my family.  Beautiful girlfriends and late night talks.  The chance to heal from some wounds as I served a city that had some of its own healing to do.  Culture... jazz music playing on the streets, local art, amazing architecture, and the MOST incredible food in the entire world.  A one year internship turned into two, and by then I was hooked on New Orleans and decided to stick around for a while... which is a good thing, because as it turned out, the Lord did have marriage in my future- He just wanted to bring that husband to me outside of Virginia.

Almost exactly five years after moving to New Orleans, I left.  I left a changed woman- quite literally.  I had a new last name, a new confidence, and a new sense of style (thanks to some great girlfriends who refused to let me continue to buy clothes that were a size too big).  I spent two years in Tampa, and then, 7 years after leaving, returned to Virginia.

Virginia is good and wonderful and I will write soon about all that life is now that I'm back, but I am so very grateful for the journey I've been on in-between.  I'm glad that Jesus knew what I needed better than I did back when I was 18, and I'm thankful to be exactly where I am right now.

a tribute to Tampa

It took me a long time to fall in love with Tampa.

In my defense, we had a rough start.  Leaving a city where you spent 5 life-changing years + moving somewhere where EVERYTHING (marriage, job, house, friends, church, restaurants, culture, etc) is different does not exactly = love at first sight.

But somewhere in between those first few tear-stained "I just want to go home to New Orleans!" months and that early morning almost 2 months ago where we put our final belongings in our cars and waved good-bye to our little yellow house, I started really feeling like Tampa was home.

It was so many things...

It was our neighbors. It was the chats we had standing in our yards when we just happened to be outside or coming home at the same time- sometimes just a 2 minute "hey, how are you?," and sometimes 30 minute conversations that turned into going inside, talking for hours, drinking wine, and laughing at the antics of their little boys.  It was the way they introduced us to the best local restaurants and the joys of Gasparilla.  It was watching my sweet husband build cardboard-box houses in our front yard with Jaxon and Jude, and cracking up as Jude, then 3, carried Willow all around our house, saying, "I'm strong!"



It was our little yellow house that we loved so dearly.  It was the way I would snuggle up with my new husband on our couch, thinking, this is marriage, this is my life, this is my home with my husband, the man I've been waiting my whole life for.  It was the nights spent eating red velvet cake on Cori's birthday and the meals I made as I learned to love cooking dinner for my family.  It was the starting our tradition of decorating our home for Christmas the weekend following Thanksgiving, putting up our Christmas tree and hanging lights.  It was the way our street was packed every Thursday night in our final 6 months in Tampa when we hosted a community group, filling our home with people who wanted to know about Jesus.  It was the way we would laugh at those community group dinners and then the way the girls would cry together later as we shared our hearts, challenging and praying for one another.  

It was my job, my co-workers, my preK kids.  It was the pride I felt as my 4 & 5 year olds sang "The Continents of the World," and I the laughter I couldn't help but give in to as I donned a purple wig while teaching my class about which primary colors make the different secondary colors.  It was the way I got to know my co-workers in snippets of conversation throughout the day, squeezing in deep friendships in between tending to skinned knees on the playground and art activities.  It was the bracelet my co-teacher gave me not long before we moved that said, 'Embrace the journey' and the reminder that this part of my journey will always have a piece of my heart.  

It was the weather, oh, the weather!  It was the way I loved 'Florida cold,' which meant that the lows in the winter were in the 40s, as opposed to the teens.  It was the way I could throw on leggings, boots, and a cardigan with a sundress and be set to go, even in January.  It was the way we were so close to so many beautiful Florida beaches. It was the vacations Florida made it so easy to have- weekend beach trips, snorkeling in the Keys, days in Disney World, a cruise. 




It was Sunday mornings, worshiping with our church family, feeling so surrounded and encouraged in friendship.  It was being challenged and stretched and grown while listening to our pastor preach and in debriefing with Cori afterwards.  It was running around after the adorable little children after church, because I swear, aletheia produces the absolute cutest babies I've ever seen.  It was lunches with Steph and Wes, some of our very favorite friends, and the ways we complemented each other so well as couple-friends. 

It was all that, and a million more that I won't list, mainly because my alarm goes off in 7 hours and I should probably go to bed sometime between now and then.  But, true to my blog name, I am thankful in every season (get it?!) and Cori and I are extraordinarily grateful for our time in Tampa.

six for saturday.

Wow.  I have been completely MIA on this little blog the last few months.  I'm in the process of making a photo book for our second year of marriage (I did the same thing for our first) and was re-reading my blog posts about our cruise last summer to remind me of everything we did.  It reminded me how much I love having a little documentation of my life- because there's no way I would have remembered every detail about that trip if I hadn't blogged about it right after I got back!- and decided to get back into it.

I'm not going to try to catch up on every detail of our lives since I blogged last, but I'll hit some (random) highlights, in no particular order.

1. We got iphones!



Finally, finally, finally, Cori and I joined the rest of our generation and got rid of our flip phones.  We have loved the convenience of having internet access at all times and have spent more than one night, sitting on the couch next to each other, playing Words with Friends... with each other.

2. Our city group (Bible study) is awesome.


Months ago, at the start of our city group, we had mentioned that we would have different themes for dinner.  We meant themes like Italian, Mexican, etc... but my sweet hubby thought we meant party themes and said, "Like dinosaurs?!"  So for our last city group of the semester, we had a dinosaur theme.  Dino buddies chicken nuggets, bbq labeled land before time limbs, salsa labeled dinosaur guts, and more.  And yes, I did get dinosaur wall decals from the Dollar Tree.  And yes, they are still on our walls, a week and a half later.

Ridiculous dinner themes aside, this study has been SUCH a blessing to Cori and I.  We absolutely love the area of town we live in, but until this semester, most of our church and its ministry has been in another area.  We have love love loved watching God use aletheia to reach Seminole Heights, and it has been one of the biggest joys of our time here to open our home for this weekly gathering.

3. I. love. the. beach.

  

We spent Memorial Day weekend at Fort de Soto beach and then Siesta Keys, and this Thursday I went with a couple girlfriends to Clearwater.  So beautiful.  SO happy.

4. Year 2 is in the books!


On Tuesday, June 25, Cori and I celebrated two years of marriage.  Cori pursued me all day long, leaving me sweet messages on sticky notes, and after work we went to dinner.  We ate at Bern's, a famous steakhouse in Tampa, and let me just say- it was AMAZING, every bite! Year two with Cori has been even sweeter than the first, and I'm so blessed to have this amazing man as my husband!

5. We love our neighbors.
Sadly, I have no good pictures to post, but considering we've spent the last 2 Saturdays with them, it's fair to say that they are a HUGE blessing in our life here in Tampa.  Last weekend we went to a park with them- disc golf for Cori and Nick, playground and exploring the woods for me, Bird, and the boys- and today, after a failed attempt to go tubing (booo, rain!) we went to Mellow Mushroom and saw WWZ with them.  But one of the best things about having neighbors you like is that you don't even have to go anywhere- some of our best times with them have been standing in our yards or randomly popping over to their house.

6. We're coming home.

source: qadesigns.blogspot.com

And not just for the weekend.  I'm sure anyone who cares enough to read this blog already knows this, but it's definitely the biggest thing happening in our life now. After years of living away from Virginia, (4 for Cori, 7 for me) we're moving back.  Cori will be attending the Physician Assistant's program at JMU (goooo Dukes!), so as of this August, we'll be living in Harrisonburg.  We are so sad to leave (see 2, 3, and 5 above), but are so very ready to start living life closer to our families again.  Some of us (cough, cough, CORI) are crazy and are excited for the cold weather, but even I have to admit that it'll be beautiful to experience fall again- and fall in the Shenandoah Valley is absolutely stunning.  We welcome any prayers for this time of transition in our life, particularly as I continue to search for a job.





Phew.  I do believe I'm done for the night.  Time to head towards bed... here's to hoping I don't dream about zombies! ;)

a few thoughts on 2012.

So, one of my sweet NOLA friends, Katie, reminded me that it's been a while since I've blogged.  It's been a chill weekend, so I decided it was time to do a little catch up.  My friend Jenny answered these questions on her blog, so even though I know it's been 2013 for several weeks now, I figured better late than never.

1. What are you most thankful for?
The typical answers are the most true- Jesus, my husband, family, and friends.

2. What were the highlights of 2012 for you?

Finally feeling like Tampa was home, celebrating a year of marriage (and going on a cruise!), a few trips to NOLA

3. What are you hoping for in 2013?

More time with family and friends, a closer relationship with the Lord, running at least one half marathon, and maybe figuring out what I want to be when I grow up :)

4. What were some of your favorites of 2012? (clothes, movies, songs, TV shows )

My recent obsessions have been my colored skinny jeans (blue, purple, and red!), and living in Florida, all of my sundresses get a ton of wear.  As far as movies go, we saw the Amazing Spiderman and the newest Batman movie this summer, both of which we really enjoyed.  Netflix has provided us with most of our television enjoyment and we devoured Parks and Rec last spring, and are currently IN LOVE with Friday Night Lights.

5. Who was God to you in 2012? 

I think the biggest thing I've learned this year is to be more thankful for all that God has given me- the big and the little.

thankful.

By the time we arrive in Virginia for Christmas, it'll have been a year since I was last home.  It's kind of crazy, considering when I was single and lived in New Orleans, I found my way back to Virginia for any number of reasons... Thanksgiving, Christmas, spring break, weddings, bridal showers, etc.  But marriage and moving changes things- now there's 2 plane tickets to buy, 2 states full of people we love, 2 futures to save money for... and you know, the occasional cruise to go on.

All this to say, we didn't make it back home for Thanksgiving.  Of course, we were sad to miss out on time with our families and friends,  but we made the most of it.

We- along with the rest of Tampa, apparently- went to Cracker Barrel for lunch.  Seriously, it was crazy packed!

Can't go to Cracker Barrel without playing this game!

My meal- some of my faves- ham, green beans, and mac and cheese!

Cori's meal- the Thanksgiving special. Ham, turkey, green beans, stuffing, sweet potato, and biscuits- all for $8, I might add!

Dessert- SO yummy!  Pumpkin pecan streusel pie.

pretty much amazing.

 After our feast, we went camping.  We'd been talking for years about going camping, and we decided to take advantage of the long weekend to do it.  We drove out to Fort Desoto Park for the night and had a wonderful time.  We decided that next time, we'll have to stay a bit longer and bring some friends.

Our tent :)

Sooooooo... we didn't realize that in order to have a fire pit, you have to rent one from the camp store.  We didn't get there in time to do that, so we made do with this.  

Hot dogs = classic

dinner!

....and dessert! Somehow s'mores are the best thing EVER when you're camping. Delicious!

me and my tentmate for the night :)

Definitely not your traditional Thanksgiving, but definitely wonderful all the same.  We have soaked up the long weekend with lots of quality time together, doing some shopping, movie-watching, sleeping in, reading.... and it's only Saturday!  We're heading off soon to play frisbee golf and then cash in on a gift card for dinner at Carrabba's.

Happy Thanksgiving, y'all!

pretty much the perfect weekend.

After the non-stop fun in New Orleans and then jumping right back into a week of work, I was more than ready for some quality down-time with the hubs this weekend.  And I'll be honest... it was pretty perfect.

Friday included Chick-fil-a, asparagus, and smoothies, not to mention the newest episodes of the Office, Parks and Rec, and 30 Rock, a good book (Insurgent, because yes, I do highly enjoy young adult literature), and an early bed time.

Saturday started off slow- sleeping in, going for a run, prayer time with Cori, and more reading.  But then we decided to take advantage of Tampa's streetcar, which was celebrating its 10 year anniversary with free streetcar rides.  We spent the afternoon/early evening riding the streetcar, walking by the bay, and eating dinner at a cute little restaurant called the Fly- which had some AMAZING shrimp and grits.

streetcar = love.  also, we met some new orleanians who were in town for the game!

streetcar celebration special = buy one get one free ice cream at coldstone! YUM!

beautiful.

I love living by the water!

We ended our Saturday night with a couple episodes of Friday Night Lights.  Perfect!  

Sunday morning started normally- we got up and went to church.  Buuuuuut we left a little early so we could go to the SAINTS GAME!  My sweet, sweet husband bought us tickets so we could watch the Saints play the Bucs and the Raymond James Stadium in Tampa.  He also brilliantly decided we should avoid the costs and craziness of the parking lot, so we parked our cars in a nearby parking lot and rode our bikes to the stadium.  I'm honestly not sure what my frugal hubby was more excited about- the game, or our free front-row parking!

The game was AWESOME!  It was a little crazy in the 4th quarter and it took my heart beat a while to beat at a normal pace, but we WON and it was so wonderful.  I will say, it was weird to be at a Saints game with so many people cheering against the Saints- not to mention a little confusing for me, since with things like penalties I tend to just cheer when other people cheer since I don't completely understand- but it was SO fun.  The Raymond James Stadium is beautiful- Cori especially loved it- but we will definitely be sporting some sunburn this week.  I miss the air-conditioned Superdome!

Who Dat fans!

What's that?  Up by 7 at half-time?  Don't mind if we do!

tattoo!

WE WON!!! WHO DAT!

Oh yeah... one advantage to cheering for the visiting team?  As we were walking back to our bikes, we noticed a crowd of people standing by the buses the Saints had arrived in.  We waited for about 45 minutes and our patience was rewarded because LOOK WHO WE SAW!

Yep!  That's my boy, Drew!

He signed our cup!  I'm just a little excited here...

Ahhhhhh it was just all so wonderful!  And of course, I had to cap off the day with a picture of our black and gold sporting kitten...

cuteness!

As always, the weekend went by way to fast, but I've got to say... it was pretty terrific. :)

home sweet nola.

Last week, I went home.  

'Home' is a confusing word for me to use, because it could mean any number of cities and states- Tampa, FL; Richmond, VA; or New Orleans, LA.  And while all 3 are definite homes for me, this time, I mean New Orleans.  And the thing is, it will always be home to me.  I will always feel a familiar sense of belonging when I see the New Orleans skyline, I will always crave Snoballs when it's hot outside, I will always cheer on the Saints, and I will always love the precious city I spent five years living in.

But I digress.  One of my best friends in the world, Kim, got married last Saturday, so I took off two days of work and flew to NOLA on Wednesday night.  It was so precious to be there a few days early; because of the distance, I missed out on so many of the little parts of Kim's engagement and wedding planning, so it was such a joy to do random, insignificant things like go with her and her parents to drop off welcome bags for the out of town guests or help put together the bags of cookies they gave as favors.

We got manicures, ate poboys with her and Matt's arriving family, went to a food truck festival, and spent time at the Willow house.  Oh the Willow House... I lived there with Kim for three years before getting married, and having time with her and my precious former roommates, Amy (who got married after living there one year with us), and Laura (who moved in after Amy moved out), and of course, Katie (who was never actually my roommate but I've known forever and moved into my room when I moved), was just wonderful.  

I also managed to squeeze in time with two other precious New Orleans friends- a walk with my friend Shannon and her son Noah, brunch (and a ride to the airport to pick up Cori!) with my friend and favorite former co-worker, Sara.  I just love those friends!

Friday night we went to the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner.  This is the only picture of me from that night, and shocker, I'm hanging out with a small child... also known as Ava, Kim's ridiculously adorable niece and flower girl.

I'm pretty sure she's giving me advice on something really serious.

After a sweet rehearsal and delicious dinner, we headed to the Columns to meet up with more friends.  The Columns is this beautiful, historic building and one of the classiest places to get a drink in New Orleans.  We actually returned there on Saturday morning for Kim's bridal brunch...

All the Willow House Girls! Laura, Amy, Kim, Katie, Me

The rest of the day was spent doing a little shopping and then getting ready for that night's festivities.  Kim and Matt got married at the beautiful Opera Guild.  Again, sadly, I have very few pictures, but hopefully I can post a few once Kim's photographer posts them.

me, Tori, Lindsay

As the wedding party was made up only of family members, Kim sweetly asked me to pass out programs, and let me say- this was pretty much the perfect job to give the girl who's moved away and hasn't seen anyone in a while because I got to be the first one to see some of my favorite friends.  After a high-pitched greeting and huge hug, my friend Arthur commented that I was a great greeter... but don't worry Kim, I was civilized with your family. ;)

After a wonderful ceremony, we enjoyed a fabulous reception, full of yummy food and dancing.  Lots of dancing!  And I have to share this... Kim and Matt invited Red, the 83 year old neighbor who lives across the street from the Willow House.  Red has been the kindest, sweetest neighbor... he always sits on his front porch and I think has adopted himself as the unofficial grandpa of all the Willow House girls.  At the reception, he told Cori to sit next to him and instructed him to take care of me.  He was just too precious for words and I'm pretty sure that this wedding was one of the highlights of his year.  Love it.

Katie and Red

Sunday morning, Cori and I went to Redeemer Presbyterian Church and then out to lunch with some of our favorite friends- Katie, Laura, Corey, Carl, and the Kostrzewa clan- Melanie, Ken, Avery (2 years old) and Eliza (4 months old).  I'm pretty much in love with these friends AND I'm just a little obsessed with Babylon, the restaurant where we ate.  I'm telling you, few things make me happier than a chicken schwarma with home-baked bread from Babylon.  Yum!

We spent some quality time with the Kostrzewas and other friends from my relief team- Danielle, her hubby Andrew, and Adelle.  And of course, we took a little walk so we could get a snack...

SNOBALLS!!!!!!!!!

It was a non-stop trip, and I was exhausted this week... but it was worth every bit.  New Orleans... I will never get over you.  I just won't. :)

Speaking of which- we're going to the Saint's game tomorrow!  They play the Buccaneers here in Tampa, so we're donning our black and gold and cheering on our boys.  Who Dat!