Where oh where have I been???

First off, an apology for having taken a break from blogger. I've been traveling out the wazoo the past month and I have pictures to prove it! :) I also have some great news to share! And the second apology is that this post will be all over the place today, so deal with it :)

A quick recap (depending on accurate memory, might be in chronological order):

-A reunion with my husband's old youth group at the lake. Having 20 people in one house and on one boat was great and I really got to bond with more of them.

-A fun bachelorette party that I hosted and consequently doing karaoke for the first time and absolutely LOVING it!

-Seeing my best friend get married last weekend and doing lots of girly matron-of-honor things in the process. And totally realizing how much I miss living in the mountains...

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And the great news is....??

My husband got a job!!! Wahooooo! Or as Beth Moore is prone to yell, "Yahoojah!" This is a major answer to prayer that began waaaay back in March. Brent has been out of work since early April, but God knew all of this and extended plenty of grace our way as well as provision through wonderful friends and family. We are looking forward to be able to pay those people back with blessings too :)

Brent begins his first day next Monday and he is thrilled and itching to go to work. It's funny how God works things out, because this job was unexpected and happened very quickly. The blessings of this job are beyond what we had hoped for as well; fully paid health insurance (we don't pay a dime), a generous retirement plan, quick commute (only 4 miles from our home), a cushy office, and a salary above what other interviewers and companies were not willing to pay. We are so blessed to have God's favor on us!

Because of the surge in income, the renovations (yes, they are still ongoing...pictures are in the works) can resume again...both bathrooms and new carpeting. God also added a little bonus and we were able to finally sell the leftover wood flooring.

It's strange how I feel like our life was on 'pause' and then all of a sudden, the gears started whirring and we're going full throttle again. Through it all, God was there and He sustained us. Yes there were times when I doubted that, but He gave me grace for my unbelief. I will share more about this time in our life in the next post.

So I promised you some pictures....

The dock and the surprisingly fast pontoon boat
Our really good friends, Rachel and Jeremy with Samaria (other friends' daughter)

Amanda and I waiting to sing karaoke
The beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains

Amanda as the lovely bride
Me walking down the aisle