Now that Derrick and I are pretty much settled in, I can officially post more.
So as you may or may not know, we just moved from Florida to Missouri. It's really more exciting than it sounds! Actually, in the two weeks we've been in Missouri we've done more than we ever did in Florida. 1) Because Florida is super-hot and I hated going outside. 2) It's dirt cheap to do things around here. 3) Things are much more accessible here. 4) The food is a million times better, and my chef-of-a-husband will agree!
It is with deep regret and sadness that I must tell you my Macbook, Alice, doesn't seem to have survived our trip. :( I tried to keep her safe with me the entire time, but the previous issues I've been having with her seem to have reinforced themselves, thus, she is deemed unusable. I believe the time has finally come to invest in a new laptop. We had a wonderful, prosperous life together.
Our trip was an adventure, I was a bit worried about us taking a 16 foot truck with our car attached to the back of it. Rusty (our cat) made the first leg of the trip rather gruesome to endure, but at least his howling and wailing and thrashing around kept us awake! After he realized we weren't going to keep him in that plastic box forever, the next day of travels he simply slept, only pausing to meow when Derrick started singing. :)
We traveled through Florida (obviously), and stopped for rest in Birmingham, AL. The next day we started to see the leaves and grass become greener and fuller as we traveled further north through Mississippi, Tennessee, Arkansas, and finally Missouri. Derrick pulled over at the Missouri/Arkansas state-line and decided to fulfill my "Be in two places at once" spot on my Bucket List. Then we continued through the Ozarks until we met our final destination in Springfield, MO!
Our apartment is a significant upgrade from what we came from. I'll post pics once we're finished with it. Derrick is in love with the fully equipped kitchen, Rusty enjoys snuggling into the cove above the fridge all day, and I find myself dancing and twirling on the wood floors.
We've spent the first two weeks unpacking and exploring the town. I've taken Derrick to all my favorite places to eat, and he hasn't been disappointed once. Our favorite is the Indian restaurant,
Gem of India, where you can find authentic Indian food that is all made in-house. Derrick kept telling me he was full, then would proceed to fill another plate!
Of course I took him to
Lambert's, because any foreigner has to experience getting a hot roll thrown at their face and fresh fried okra!
We toured some attractions in both Springfield and Branson including
Bass Pro (HQ), the
Titanic Museum, and the
Branson Landing. We also strolled through
Nathanael Greene Park, which has become quite magical since I last time I was there! They've expanded their strolling gardens, included a butterfly garden, have set up jungle-jims along the trails for kids, and have a whole new recreational building. However, I think the most magical part about it was seeing fireflies for the first time since I moved to Florida!
I've also had the opportunity to meet the team at the new salon I will be working at. I finally take my state boards this week, my theory test is Wednesday and then next Monday is my Practical in KC. Then, finally, I shall be a licensed cosmetologist! In the mean time...Derrick has already become rather good chums with my old friend, Josh...the two of them have been gaming together into the wee hours of the morning!
We are very excited to finally be able to get involved in ministry more. Derrick has found a liking to the churches here, namely the one we've been streaming videos from all the way down in Florida,
James River. I'm incredibly excited to get back into the women's ministry, and he's looking to get plugged in as well. We'll be starting to go to a Couples Life Group next month in hopes of meeting other Christian Couples who also share a passion for living a solid, purposeful walk with Christ.
That's all I have to update for now. Once things are officially slowed down I plan to be updating much more. Now that we have an oven I'm going to indulge in my baking skills! I've also joined a new cause in which I get to read and review books before they're published, so I'll most likely be posting some of those reviews here.
I hope you all are well and God is blessing your lives immensely!
What makes life on this
frightful sod so exquisite
is God's merciful propensity
to perform divine tasks
amid deeply flawed people.
Beth Moore
