grace eventually.

This is Avery at 2 months. Isn't she so dang cute?! Where the heck did those 2 months go? Next weekend I get to practice being a mom. Claire and Chris are taking the boys to Branson while me and the rest of her family play the Avery shuffle. I'll have her all day Friday and will be staying a couple of nights with her. I'll let you know how that goes. I do have an update on my recent pros/cons list, but I'm just not ready to share it yet. Soon, I promise. Thanks for checking in. Hope you're all doing well. If you get a chance, check out some of my favorite blogs to the left. I just found out that my old roommate from Chicago, Cindy, and her husband Dan just bought a house in Brooklyn with another couple and they're renovating it to live and also to rent out one of the floors. They've made some major progress and the 3rd floor apartment looks great! I'll be in touch soon. I open at Starbucks tomorrow for the 5th time since last Tuesday!

Last weekend we celebrated Claire's 30th birthday...I think we're pretty hot at 30:) This has been a strange week...I've had some amazing encounters with friends and even my Mom. My life continues to get more and more confusing it seems. Tomorrow is Jill's last official day as the interim children's pastor and then I will transition into her position until they hire someone. I've learned that they're not just looking for a children's pastor but a Director of Christian Education that will be responsible for children and adults. Seems like a big job if you ask me. I can't tell you how many times I get asked if I'm interested in it. The answer continues to be, I don't know. I've got quite the pros/cons list going on and they're pretty even.

Pros:
-an actual salary
-full-time ministry
-move out of my parent's house but will still be close!!!
-be a part of Garrett, Grant and Avery's lives on a daily basis

Cons:
-quit Starbucks (which is also ministry for me) and a job I love!
-extended time in Ruston
-not many opportunities to meet people my age
-don't really feel connected/spiritually challenged at Trinity right now

Needless to say this list has not brought much resolution. I suppose it's not time yet. I am grateful that I have opportunities to consider. I want to be open...staying in Ruston long-term has never been something I even wanted to consider. As I mentioned in my last post, in my head I'll move out of Ruston after Christmas. I just don't know what awaits me around the corner. As Becca pointed out to me yesterday, one thing's for certain, my "time of rest" is officially over. I've already started planning my vacation in October...good friends, fall foliage and the beach will be included!

Due to financial reasons, my friend, John has decided not to move to GA on Saturday. Although I'm sad for him, I'm also relieved to not have to say goodbye yet again to someone I love. I know the day will come when he will move away, but there's certainly the possibility that I'll move first. In the meantime I'm grateful for many more hangout times.

As promised, here are a couple of pics from The Police concert. As you can see, we were very far away, but like I've said before, it was well worth it! And might I add, Sting is HOT!

First, let me start by saying that the advantage to working at a coffee shop is that you get free or discounted coffee. The disadvantge (I'm sure you're thinking there can't be one) is that at 2am one still can't manage to fall asleep. I find that a little annoying, however, it gives one the chance to catch up on the old blogger. I just got back from another whirlwind trip to TX to visit April and the highlight of the weekend was going to see The Police in concert Friday night! Oh my gosh...AMAZING! Although they looked like ants from our seats, it was so worth it just to be in the same room with them. I'm still waiting to get some decent pics from April of the actual concert but this one was taken before the concert started. We're hot, yes?:) The weekend turned out to be one of concerts. The next night we drove back to Houston to see Marc Broussard. He's a LA boy, you know! Needless to say we were much closer to him. I probably could've even touched him if I wanted to, but I really wasn't up for getting arrested for harrassment! He, too, was well worth the money...his voice...wow! This is probably the best pic of him we got all night! It was a great weekend and I wish I could've stayed longer. April just bought an amazing house, and I'd be lying if I said I haven't considered moving to The Woodlands! However, I have 2 jobs right now that are all-consuming. My children's ministry position is going well. We had a successful VBS/VBX (VBX is what we did for 3rd-5th graders). I got to hang out with the 5th graders and they were a blast! I finally began to feel like I was getting the hang of my new job until this past week. Since then things have become a tad stressful. The interim children's pastor just announced that she is moving at the end of the month. Her husband is being transferred to FL! Although I'm certainly excited for them, I'm not sure where that leaves me exactly. It looks like I'll be filling in for her the month of August and hopefully not before. My big project for the summer is a 6th grade event called Vertical Extreme that will be happening July 23rd-25th and I'd rather focus on it than worry about what needs to be done for her job! Yes, I've thought about the possibility of moving in to this position full-time, but I'm not sure it's for me. At least that's where I'm leaning right now. I'm still stuck in this weird place between full-time ministry and Starbucks. Some people probably think I'm crazy, but as I've mentioned before Starbucks has been and continues to be a good fit for me. I'm still not quite ready to give it up yet. In fact, it looks like I'll be promoted in September which means I'll be staying in Ruston a little longer. I still can't believe I've been here 6 months! It's flown by and the Lord has proven himself faithful through it all...even when I'm doubting, which is pretty much everyday. I'm grateful for his faithfulness and I continue to wait on Him for my next move. In my head I'll move after Christmas at the latest. I haven't succumbed to the idea of staying here longer:) It's now well after 3am and I actually have to work tomorrow. Yay for time and 1/2 holiday pay!!! Goodnight, Blogger and Happy Fourth of July!!!