The grand recap

Two months and one day ago I boarded a flight with the babe in my arms and the dog stowed somewhere below the cabin. I had with me enough belongings to live with for a week until Matt arrived with the moving truck. Thus began the next big step in our lives...the cross-country move. It is hard to believe how much time has flown by. In October we came to the decision to move and since that time it has been a whirlwind of plans, activity, upheaval, God's provisions, and a variety of emotions. It's been almost a month in a half since I let you guys know how we are REALLY doing. I dare say it is time for the grand recap!
























Karis the Heiress
First things first, let's talk about the adorable 18 lb, 7 month old bundle of joy living under this roof. Karis continues to bring such joy to Matt and I. At least once a day we find ourselves racing to get to her room before the other just to look at her while she is napping. Never before have I thought something or someone could move me like she does. In fact she moves me to worship. I know it sounds a little odd, but it's true. Lately as I play with her I will often find myself talking to God, thanking him for all of our blessings. I snapped these pictures of her the other day as she was playing in her crib.

Community Life
On to other news: Currently, we are living in Florida, with my in-laws, looking for employment and a place to call home, and caring for our infant child. Hmm...life has a way of throwing some unusual twists in it! No one ever PLANS to be in these situations. And yet here we are, and quite surprisingly we are enjoying life. First I've got to speak to one interesting aspect of our current living situation--community living. Two families under one roof. Not ordinary or American by any stretch of the imagination. And yet I have found myself appreciating some aspects of it. I think our culture is one of the few cultures that does not have a more multi-generational approach to family life. While I do not want this to be a permanent way of life, there are a few blessings coming from the arrangement. I have appreciated the free babysitting which allows me to catch up on some much needed rest. Also, I do not have to feel solely responsible for the care of a household. My favorite part, though, has been around dinnertime. There have been a number of meals where my mother-in-law and I work together and bring our different ideas together to create a meal. A lot of times the finished product includes the time worn southern recipes that she has perfected over the years. Those dishes mixed with my favorite Cuban dishes passed down from my mother's family makes for a funny and yet altogether homey mixture of meals. Imagine the table set for four, a highchair, Cuban black beans and rice (or some other Cuban dish), mac 'n cheese, broccoli casserole, mustard greens, and the always present biscuits. (I'll be honest, I am coming to looove biscuits. ) It's a strange fusion of cultures....we're living on the Cuban-Dixon line!

Working Man
As for Matt's job search, we are learning how large a task it is to start over and look for a new job, especially when you are also looking for a complete career change and new city to call home. The process has started off from ground one with some personality tests to help Matt determine exactly who he is and what he would be good at. After that, it was on to rebuilding his resume. With that now under his belt, Matt is shooting off his resume to anyone and everyone related to tech/project management positions. We remain hopeful and excited that we will find a new home and he will find a fulfilling job.

Daily Bread
I've got to admit, though, these last few months have not been without some bleak moments for me of not knowing where we are going, what we are doing, and when it will all take shape. Being a wife and mom I find that security is a major factor in my happiness. It is a challenge to keep this need for security from becoming an idol. Over and over I am being reminded to trust in God through the uncertainty and the waiting. I read a wonderful quote in a recent Notes from Toad Hall which spoke to me. Author Margie Haack writes,

"Thomas Oden writes about the Lord's Prayer and the larger meaning of receiving our daily bread: 'Ultimately the bread we most pray for is the clarity and truthfulness of our own purpose and destiny.' That is what I crave, I'm hungry to understand my purpose, to believe that human finiteness is okay, and to know and believe when God made us to live in daily-ness he said, 'It is good.' I'd like to live with certain clarity that though the day inevitably comes with suffering, it's still good, and I would like to gratefully receive that day with all its shuffling and waiting as a gift." -Margie Haack

My day is filled with the ordinary aspects of being a wife and mom: cleaning, comforting, loving, feeding, etc. That is my job right now, trusting that the Lord will guide us to our eventual next
step. But in the mean time, life is exists in the ordinary, even as we shuffle and wait.

Thanks for coming along with us through this journey, guys. And we'll let you know as new developments take shape.