"Ghaw-ga"

we are here in newnan, ga. suburban apartment complex living at it's finest! definitely different than east nashville. tony's a little panicky b/c it's a little too "clean" around here! =) but i think scotty likes it. we have a balcony and he likes to sunbathe out there, he does not like, however, the straw that's laid around the landscaping. it's very funny to watch him! also, he's not helping out around the house at all and tony says he's not a good secretary during the day. =) we very well may do something different when our lease is up or even before - for a couple of reasons one being that my drive is not too bad to the main clinic but it may be that i'm at one of our satellite clinics more often than i thought which is closer to atlanta; and another reason just that this isn't "us" - we need east nashville city life or country farm life, we're not so much "suburbans". we're adjusting but miss tennessee and east nashville and our house. it's very weird to be somewhere we don't know anyone. this time zone is weird too and i'm still getting adjusted to it... it's like jet lag! moving on the weekend of time change didn't help! weird!
the job is good. everyone is really nice and i know if i'm there long enough i'll make some good friends. i'm not on my own yet which is totally fine with me! i feel like i need to go through medical school before being allowed to do this! but i am seeing pts with the other nurse practitioner, we're kind of tag teaming. it's been good to have the "instruments" in my hands and touch patients again, it'll all come back to me.
we got a new car! it's an 08 subaru outback. we traded in my jeep and tony's audi - so thankful those are gone!! the audi was burning oil and smoking so bad i felt bad for driving it and others having to smell the awful smell! i'm sure it was great for our health too! and the jeep..oh the jeep looking so pitiful with it's busted tail light covered in red duct tape and the front and back passenger windows taped because the tracks broke so the windows wouldn't stay up. i loved that jeep though and was a little sad to see her go, i made tony take my picture with her before we left her at the car lot.
it's been a test being here. lots of little frustrations that build up, lots of emotions being away from "home", family and friends especially after such a hard year last year. tony's mom is doing really well though by the way. she has finished her radiation so that is all of her treatment. she won't have scans done for a month or so because the radiation has to die down and the inflammation it causes needs time to resolve for the scans to be accurate. his aunt, mechelle's sister, though is undergoing some testing because of some suspicious findings in her breasts; i'm sure they are being more cautious with her because of mechelle too. the day that we left nashville we got luke's birth certificate in the mail, so that was really special to get and for it to come on that day. it's not official like the live birth certificates but it's something and it's meaningful to me.
well, that's about it i guess. hope you are all doing well, call or email any time, would love to hear from you!

Reminder once again

"Do not be afraid, stand firm and see the deliverance that the Lord will accomplish for you today. . . the Lord will fight for you, and you have only to keep still." - from Exodus 14: 13-14

Wow what a verse! And how hard is it to "keep still"? I have come to realize, at least in my head it's not always reflected in my actions, that if I stand firm and am still that life happens better. This may seem obvious to some but for me I've had to learn this through experience and even after learning that it's the better way I still forget and have to be reminded. For me standing firm and still is me not pushing for things to happen, sometimes it's obviously not the right time, other times it seems like right timing but the "door" just won't open and the more I try the more "locks" and "bolts" are added to the "door" to keep me from going through. It's also being quiet - literally and in my head and heart - almost not thinking, not trying to decide anything, just waiting and listening for instructions.
We are in the process of finding housing and moving to the Atlanta area, I'm starting my first nurse practitioner job, we are still healing but also want to continue to grow our family. Personally, I struggle with maintaining any consistency with lots of things - reading scripture, having specific quiet, prayer time, exercising. I repeatedly say things and treat people in ways that I don't want to - it's like I don't learn my lesson the first time..or even the fifth time and that gets old to me and probably much more quickly to those around me. But if I will stand firm and be still this scripture says that the Lord will accomplish what needs to be done. So maybe instead of trying to work on the list of things I think need workin' on (and I love making those lists!) I should focus on two things - standing firm and being still. Two things! - Doesn't that bring a sigh of relief?!