Moving Forward

With an incredibly busy August and lack of internet recently, I have done quite the horrible job blogging. Most of you have heard our news or seen posts on other forms of social media, but I wanted update here as well.

As you read in the previous post, we have been living with my super sweet and gracious Aunt Vera during this time of transition. Once we decided to stay in Birmingham, I obviously needed a job, and we needed to determine our future living arrangements. Late July/early August I accepted a position with EyeCare Associates in Trussville and have just finished up my first month on the job! (Yay real world and paychecks!!) I'm very excited to join this team of doctors that provide eye care to the Birmingham area and beyond, and it is so nice to be back in patient care after my "summer break!" If you're in the Birmingham area and need an eye exam, new glasses/contact lenses, or have any concerns about your vision (or your child's vision), I'm gladly accepting appointments in Trussville! ;)

The last four years of living in Birmingham were spent in a apartment. We were tired of renting and wanted to settle into our own place, so we looked into buying a house. Our expectations and styles were very different. I would be perfectly happy living in the land of Joanna Gaines, and Jesse would have a stroke right after she painted the brick and distressed the wood. So after several long conversations, making lists of priorities, and looking at photos and listings, we bought the first house we walked through. Can you believe it? WE bought the first house we walked through! When we found the listing, we didn't even have a realtor yet. Thankfully we acted fast and swept up our new abode - out from under the open house. :)  We love it. And really still can't believe that we found everything we (realistically) want in a single home. While it was a difficult decision to decide to stay, we were blessed over and over again throughout the home-buying process. It was such an unexpectedly peaceful process, we know that we are where we need to be. We can't wait to see how God will use us here in this city. Many thanks to our awesome realtor and lender who guided us along the way and went above and beyond!

We moved last weekend with the help of several incredible friends and family members, and have most things put away already. It has truly felt like home from day one. The first night we slept in the house, I woke up in the middle of the night, and in my slumber I panicked a little with the realization of home ownership. "What did we just get ourselves into? This is a lot of responsibility. Did we buy too much house? It's a lot easier to rent, why didn't we just keep doing that?" I reassured myself we made the right decision, rolled over and back to sleep. We're excited what the future will hold for this space. Eventually we will grow our family, but in the meantime we want this home to be open to friends and family. We want to use it to build and strengthen relationships with others. We don't want it to just be a haven from the stressors of life and work, but a place for being intentionally present in other's lives. I don't know what that really looks like yet, other than feeding and housing you; maybe hosting a community group or Bible study in the future. So, if you'd like to visit, need a ride to the airport, want to tinker on a project in the garage, want to prep some freezer meals in the kitchen, want to throw a steak on the grill, we're probably game. Just ask. Or say yes when we ask you. :)  Here we are looking especially tired after 3 days of moving boxes and unpacking:

Which Way Do We Go?

The verdict is in, folks.

As many of you know, we have been deciding (for quite some time) about moving to California vs. staying in Birmingham.  (Apparently there's no where in between that piques our interest.) What I didn't mention in my (long ago) post about our last trip to Cali, was that I had a few job interviews while there, we looked into housing, and Jesse was calculating what it would mean for him to change the course of his current career.

We've been weighing the pros and cons for months. California would be fun and adventurous, and we have some family there now. I mean,... have you seen my pictures of how beautiful it is?! However, Birmingham has become home, and we've grown to really love this city over the past few years! I'll save you the excruciating list of the benefits and risks we weighed, and the pros and cons of each.  We're indecisive people, but with the blessing of having an aunt that let us move in with her while we pondered and prayed, we were able to take the time to make the best decision for us.

I'm not going to lie, this summer was hard time. I never thought I'd be 27 years old, freshly deemed a doctor, and have no where to work. I felt a little like a bum while I sleep on someone's bed that isn't mine and while I haven't contributed to our income when I am able. But I'm incredibly thankful for a husband that is willing to pause and reflect and help direct us where we should go next, and that we're in a stage of life that allowed us to do that. I'm always anxious to go and do, and this time has really been good for me to relax, slow down, and breathe a little. It's also helped me to remember that I am not in control of this life of mine. Sometimes you have to sit back and wait on the Lord to direct you, and not plan your life for Him.

There's a couple of things I want to clear the air about that we encountered along the way through our decision making. None of these are directed at any one person, and I'm not trying to call anyone out. We have heard a lot of generalities that just simply aren't valid. Moving far away from people doesn't mean we love them less. Putting that many miles between us and many of our loved ones wasn't an idea we took lightly. We have several friends that have moved cross-country from their families and it's an admirable season of life. It's a big deal to leave all you've ever known with all of your belongings for the unknown that lies ahead. These friends have been able to encounter so many new people and experiences because of the choice to move and do life in a different place for a while. Secondly, California is not just full of crazy liberals. In our two trips to Cali, we encountered so many kind (and conservative) people! We were greeted by so many strangers who genuinely asked about us- where we were from, how was our day, have we enjoyed our stay. Genuineness that rivaled Southern charm, in fact. We were there through a weekend and went to church with our family on Sunday, where we were welcomed and worshiped next to fellow believers the same way we do at our home church. You can't judge an entire place by what you hear on the news or even the majority of a state's political view. This is one of the main reasons I have enjoyed traveling so much. When you go somewhere with no assumptions and immerse yourself in a different atmosphere or culture, you see the world from a different perspective. Sometimes it confirms what you felt you knew deep down, but mostly it molds you to be more open-minded to others. This has turned into a tangent, but this relates to where we are as a society today. We stay confined within our normal, or comfort zone, and when someone different from us does something different than what we normally do, we get defensive and protective, or angry. The issue of racism and stereotyping has been heavy on my heart for months now. We watched the ESPN series on OJ Simpson, which is an excellent documentary of racism in America. While we were watching historical news reports of brutal force by the LAPD on African Americans and riots in LA, I was heartbroken as my mind flashed back to the Baltimore riots just last year. How are we still here?! Then these past several weeks of absolute disgust that have played out between our police and the black community. I haven't said much about it, because honestly there's not much to say other than we need change. We can cast blame all day, take sides that just exacerbate the segregation of our people, but it all boils down to sin - hate, pride, envy, murder - it's all sin. When Christians don't act like Christians and love others with the same love that Christ loves us, then we are failing. That's the only answer.

So to bring this full circle, I am proud and excited to tell you that we are choosing to stay in BIRMINGHAM. Birmingham - a city known for violence and hate during the Civil Rights movement. A city known for segregation "over the mountain." A city that has made a few national lists of poor places to live based on poverty and crime. Through living here we've come to know a city that, today, is continuously working to overcome racism. A city that is growing and revitalizing its downtown area to meet the needs of those that live there and turn run-down buildings into thriving businesses. A city that has people passionate about where they live and where they spend their hard earned dollars. We are excited to stay and be a part of this city's transformation! Some of you reading this think Birmingham is too small to be considered a "city," and others think it's too big and scary to even drive through. For us, it's just big enough, and we can't wait to continue to check off restaurants and activities from our Birmingham bucket list we compiled in case we were leaving. So, stay tuned for many more adventures in the Ham!

The Hunt Begins

In May we will be moving to Birmingham for Jesse to start work and me to start school.  We have been looking online for a little while trying to get a heads up on apartment hunting.  We had a few places picked out and went up yesterday in hopes of finding the perfect place.  Our friends Hannah and Adam, who will also be moving to Birmingham soon, went with us and had a few places of their own picked out.  Our choices were typical apartments in the Homewood area while they chose more historic style apartments closer to downtown.  Unfortunately, none of us found anywhere that we thought we HAD to live at.  But here is what I learned from our trip:

1)  I need to start studying a map of Birmingham today so that I will know my way around by May! :)
2)  There are a billion places to live in Birmingham, we just need to figure out what type of place we want and in what type of area.
3)  I don't know what type of place I want or what type of area.
4)  I realized how much I am going to miss our little trailer.  I get in moods sometimes where I am tired of living here, but now I almost wish we could just plop it in the middle of downtown Birmingham and not have to pick a new place to live.  It may be a little shabby in places, but Jesse's parents have put a lot of love into it to fix it up. We are so grateful for all the work they have put into it.  It will soon be for sale and the next owner will be lucky to get it!

We finished apartment looking sooner than expected so we stopped at the Birmingham Botanical Gardens on our way back.  It was the first time we have been there.  Of course, during this time of year not many things were blooming, but it was a nice, peaceful place to end our visit and stretch our legs before the ride home. It will definitely be on the top of our to-do list when we return in the spring/summer - it will be beautiful then!

Needless to say, another Saturday of hunting will be in our future - hopefully with better success.  If any of you have recommendations, we are gladly accepting them!