Gettin' in the Groove of Things

Three of the five weekends we've been in Louisville have been snowy! The school kids must be frustrated around here because the only time it's been snowing has been Friday - Saturday. So most schools haven't missed a day. But it's been peaceful and beautiful, and we've been staying in anyways as Jason's been studying hard and we are still getting our place settled.

Jason started classes two weeks ago, and my temporary job started the day after. I took a job as an Administrative Assistant for the VP of Operations at the seminary, and I am absolutely loving it. I'm filling in for a lady who just had a baby. Thankfully I was able to train with her for three days, but her baby came early, so I've been on my own for a week now. She's planning to come back in three months, so I'm still on the hunt for a permanent full-time job. Jason and I are both ready for the job searching to be over. It will be a relief when I've got a good-paying job, because right now we're not sure if he needs to be looking for one too. Our preference is that school can be his full-time job.

The temp job been such a blessing - we ride to the seminary in the morning - I go to work, Jason goes to class. When he's not in class, he's studying, and then we ride home together after work!! Also, we've been taking advantage of the workout room at the seminary, and are loving the indoor track!

Jason really loves his classes, especially Greek! He had the alphabet down before the first day of class, and has been teaching me some words. He's learning so much in all of his classes, and I'm enjoying hearing him talk about everything. I'm taking a class too - well, it's not for seminary credit, but it's with the Seminary Wives Institute. It's really cool! Well known professors at the seminary and their wives volunteer to teach class every Thursday night for two hours for wives of seminary students to help prepare them to serve alongside their husbands. I'm taking "Redeeming the Time," which basically helps you manage your time and your household!! Our homework the first week was to buy a planner! So I'm not spending quite as much time as Jason studying for my class...

So far, we've spent every other two weekends with one set of our parents - I'm not sure how it's worked out that way. My parents came three weekends ago, and Jason's parents came in from Indiana yesterday. Beth, Jason's sister who lives here, bought Beatles Rock Band and we rocked it way into the night last night. Even my in-laws were jamming! We're looking forward to spending more time with them today and tomorrow.

Our church in Spartanburg (Hope Point) has been sponsoring an orphanage in Haiti for several years. Jason and I sponsor a child at the orphanage - Stevenson. Two men from the church (good friends of ours) are going to Haiti this next week to help find a new home for the orphanage and help out with many other things. Please pray for their safety and that they are able to help so many hurting there.

A few shout-outs to friends of ours who have just had or are about to have babies: Congrats to Jamie and Brandon on the birth of James Bradford, Congrats to Shane and Kristin on the birth of Halle, and we are praying for Kelley and Jonathan as their TWIN boys are due this coming week!!

Louisville Slugger Pics

Here are more pictures from this past weekend.

Jason and me posing with one of the bats Mickey Mantle used at some point.

My parents and Babe Ruth!

Love this! Wish we had room for this in the living room.

Two Weeks Goes by Fast!

My parents came to visit this weekend! It was a last minute trip, and obviously they had forgotten about the treacherous trip up two weeks earlier, or they probably wouldn't have attempted it again!! Thankfully there was no snow on the roads. It was so great to spend time with them and show them the city.

If you know my parents, you know that working out is an important routine they have - no matter where they are (vacation, out of town, etc). I really admire this. So they went with us to check out the gym at the seminary. I WISH I had pictures of the exercises my dad was doing. At one point, I looked over and he was lying on his back on the workout bench, doing reverse crunches!! My mom is a pro too. I really think they'll become certified trainers once my dad retires from dentistry. They are incredibly fit!!

After recovering from the intense work out (I tried keeping up with them), we took them to the Louisville Slugger museum and factory. It's amazing! There's so much baseball history and memorabilia from current famous players. We saw bats that were being made for famous baseball players like Jay Bruce (the Reds), Ken Griffey Jr (Mariners) and Brian McCann (Braves).

We love living in Louisville! So thankful my parents came to visit!

Backing Up, Just a Bit...

I wanted to share some pictures of events that happened right before and during our move to Louisville. We had an incredible time with good friends at our favorite pizza place - the Brick!! - the Sunday night before we left Spartanburg. Even Rick and Jane came too! Props to Josh for ordering a salad!! Jason finally let me order feta cheese on the pizza, which has become a joke because apparently no one we go with ever thinks feta is a good topping. But it was delicious! Our trips back to Spartanburg will definitely include a stop at the Brick with friends! We went back to the Ramantanins afterward for the Wii tournament that lasted late into the night. If you're looking to spice up a gathering, pull out Wii Bowling and require that everyone only wear socks on the hardwood floors....right, JP? We will make sure we've got the video camera rolling next time.




Jason's wonderful Bible Study guys and their wives got together for a dinner in our honor. Even the Iluzadas were in town from Texas and were able to make it! Mattie Joy and Savannah were so much fun! We enjoyed spending time with these dear friends, and are so thankful for the times we share with them. These guys have been a huge encouragement to Jason the past few years, and we will both miss his Tuesday nights at the Zions.




You've probably already heard from me or my parents, but the snow was crazy as we drove through Tennessee and on to Kentucky! At one point in our trip, we were driving about 30 miles an hour on the interstate, and you can imagine I was gripping on to the wheel for dear life! I've never been so thankful for 18-wheelers! I tried to stay behind one as long as possible because it was really hard to see the ground! We were relieved to make it to the hotel in Knoxville and park the moving truck for the night.





Our first morning in Louisville, after a long night of moving our stuff in through the snow, Jason's car of course wouldn't start. Thanks for my parents for donating a new car battery! That afternoon, we took my parents on a brief tour of the seminary. Here they are soaking it all in. It was so beautiful with the snow!


That night we had Christmas with the Reads! Matt, Sara, and our niece Lyla surprised everyone by coming. Lyla had been sick, so we didn't think they would be able to make it. We love our precious niece Lyla and nephew John so very much! It was so much fun to watch them open up gifts. I miss living near my family, but it is so wonderful to live closer to Jason's.


Hopefully soon we'll post pictures of our place!

First Week Recap

This first week has been fun and challenging! It was very hard to say goodbye to both my parents and Jason's parents after they helped us move in - through the snow! - and help us start to get settled. We've still got boxes to go through, but for the most part, have our new home put together. We're lucky to have great upstairs neighbors - Hannah and Tyler. They've been living here for two years and we hope to become good friends with them.

Jason's sister and brother-in-law and our adorable nephew live five minutes away from us! It was so fun to go over there Monday night and be able to hang out and watch a basketball game. In the past, we've only been able to spend limited time with them at holidays, but now we live in the same city! Above is a picture of the duplex we're living in. We've got the downstairs and love it!

I'm so thankful for the part time job I have right now, as it is the only job either of us have right now! I did have an interview this past Monday, but after praying with Jason and thinking through our finances, I didn't take it as we wouldn't be able to afford our rent and Jason's tuition from the income. The part time job is giving us a bit of a cushion as I continue hard searching for a full-time job, and trust that God will provide!

We've laughed and cried this week alot! Since Jason hasn't started classes yet, we've spent alot of time together, which has been great, but we're also looking so forward to meeting new friends. Hopefully that will happen soon as he starts classes and I join the SWI (Seminary Wives Insitute) at the end of the month. Also, my sister-in-law, has invited me to join the book club she's in, and I'm really excited about that!

We've already become huge Skype fans! We've loved our conversations with Anna, Mary, my parents, Jason's parents and the Ramantanins! Especially Johnny showing off his muscles from all the new working out he's been doing with Josh. We are so thankful to get to talk to friends and family over the internet. If you've got an account, let us know!!

New City, New Blog!

Thanks to the encouragement from friends, we've decided to start a blog to keep our friends and family updated with our life in Louisville! Hope you enjoy reading about the Reads!