You win some, you loose some

Well, I have my lovely little laptop back! Meaning I'm back in Georgia/Alabama....of course this means I've affectively lost all cellphone reception and therefore we can say goodbye to my constant iphone use. *sigh*

Anyway, we got "home" at around 8:30 or so last night and I have already struggled pretty hard to have a good attitude about coming back. Having not been here long enough to give GA a concerted effort to become home, I have felt a little lost when people have mentioned "home". To be honest, its hard to make sense of that word when you're living in someone else's space. However, I was greatly convicted by my attitude about the whole thing ( i.e. my complaining) during my quiet time a few days ago when I was reminded of the verse, Luke 9:58 "Foxes have holes and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no where to lay his head."

Oh burn.

I've actually used this whole little passage in Luke, about different people coming to Jesus and saying they want to follow him, but each one of them has some sort of hang up, several times to challenge people with what is holding them back from fully following Christ...and here I am being the BIGGEST offender! So, I admit to you, my dear readers, that I have a long way to go in really being truly sacrificial when it comes to my walk with God-and my first step is to stop complaining about living in the middle of no where, in a house that is not my own.

OK! Here's to 2010, right? Its gonna start great...I'm happy that our friends Wes and Tina are here visiting from Washington. Seeing Tina is truly a treat and it reminds me that, really, deep down, its PEOPLE that make up "home" for me....Tina feels like Home and so I will soak her in for at least a week. ;-)

Abigail is...the 2009 edition

As we all know, I'm a big fan of facebook/twitter status updates...because seriously, sometimes I don't have time to write a whole blog post! And it turns out that if I go back and read all my little "one liners" from the year, you do, in fact get a sense of the whole 365 days all rolled together. So, yeah, this is more for me than you...but if you wanna read one really long sentence fragment: Here's to 2009...

is back in Washington...is excited about a new weeks worth of coffee dates :-)...has made a decision. New york ( conference) here I come!...is watching snow fall and trying to keep her feet warm...is getting excited about the Nav. Conference this weekend...wants to go home...lost 345 lbs on her wii fit! These babies WORK! ....loves her Navigator girls and can't wait till Saturday...is off the chiropractor to get an attitude adjustment.....Is excited about Amy's Baby Shower tomorrow! YAAAAY!....is headed to Canada tomorrow!...Question: Can Abigail hit up every coffee shop in town in one morning? Answer: yes. Yes, she can....This new iPhone case looks like an industrial tool and weighs fifty pounds, this baby better work!!!...Is embarrased that she was caught watching Gossip Girls in the gym....hating on the dude with the lawn mower under my window!!! Doesn't he know what time it is?!?...Going to Ash and Karissa's wedding today! Yay!...Watching a woman pay with pennies in the self checkout line. 234 pennies. One. At. A. Time....Is thankful for katie who treated her to lunch and made the whole day better....QT for the morning: Jer 9:22-24....Boast in the Lord!...Books in the mail from my husband! He knows me well...Bethany and I have perfected TV show watching....Woo! Tejas here I come!...First day with roomie: me locked out. Guess the days of going to the gym without a key are over! ...Things I don't love about Washington: traffic...Back from oregon, a shower and then off to Seattle for a baseball game.. Whew!....John Connor has a serious god complex....unwinding after a great Bible Study!...Now has a tan on only the front side of her body...I'm sure this looks weird, but luckily I cannot see my own backside..I'm a fan of the box fan...So excited about Katie's shower next weekend after an afternoon of planning and scouting with Cindy!... Eating a salad and watching the West Wing...riveting, I know....Laying by the pool reading a mag... Reward for crazy morning...Unhappy? Pray, read the Word and then go get a pedicure....Yummy fresh strawberries from the Dupont WA...this town would be perfect if it only had a grocery store!...Chillin in Seattle with Bethany and Chuck....Getting ready for Mike and Katie's goodbye party ( still in denial about the goodbye part)...Pride and Prejudice and Zombies to read in the sun... Although this book cannot be read in large quantities- ugg!....Can't.stop.watching.west.wing.....I love my town... This is my kinda 4th of July parade...Someone needs to come kill this yellowjacket it's disturbing my calm.....All peopled out....now I'm ready to sit in solitude and do a QT...Last morning with the kiddos- we've been having fun!...I GET TO SEE MY HUSBAND THIS AFTERNOON!!!!!!!!!!!! (!)...Happy 2nd Anniversary to my wonderful husband!...since I doubt she's on FB right now...I'm safe in saying that I'm headed to a surprise engagement party in a matter of minutes ....Death Cab For Cutie, I give you a solid A ...Listening to Kings of Leon...my summer 09 bandthatilove.....Brett has been gone for one hour and 20 minutes. And I'm waiting to feel better.....Loving the 200 ( now 196) Otter Pops in my freezer!...Too much dark chocolate w/ sea salt, too late at night. I'm WIDE AWAKE....71 and sunny....THIS is the washington summer I signed up for....Picking Amy up at the airport in an hour! WHO'S EXCITED?!?!...hiking, kayaking and now its time for Indian food! GOOD DAY!...Lindsay is the greatest roommate in the world.... Kidney stone Abigail is not to be taken lightly...September's magazine subscriptions by the pool... It takes one hour to read each, I'm gonna be fried...I just accidently sent a stranger a note saying "Kudos on your sobriety" with their DVD they bought from me. OOPS!...who throws a good coffee? @amybushatz and @karissathomas and I-THATS WHO!....fridge smell found: a sliver opening between floor and seal=place where badness is...BUT HOW DO I GET TO IT!?!? Looking for things to stick into sliver opening to elevate the smell-any ideas?!...Likes it when all of her friends become friends with each other....Welcome baby Morris! Congrats Wright Family! ( this is such a good day)...going to bed! Had a lovely day with Mary and Mimi...I have beautiful inlaws!...Making tea and turning on the fireplace-its Bible Study time...These are the 1st three consecutive minutes that I've been in one spot since 11 hrs ago. Washington to Iowa. DONE... In bed with my hulu queue...perfect recovery from yesterday!... Had a lovely coffee morning with Cindy...Can't. Stop. Taking. Pictures. Of. Leaves....What a difference a day makes! I just got told my "house packing" got moved up a day and now I'm freaking out!..Praying for Tina! Check out my Note if you want more details!!...Wait Thirty minutes and then goodbye fancy pants apartment ( I'll miss you)!!!....Heading to Kansas: last step in the Get Husband Back Plan. Wooooooo!...my car was broken into last night in WA...thank goodness for good friends....I got him!!!!! Praise God!....Goodbye Washington! I will miss you ( the people, not the upcoming winter months. Hehe)...Been staying in 3 star hotels all week= free wifi and parking. Get to the 5 star joint= pay for EVERY LITTLE THING...Santa Fe is a really weird town. But I'm getting an 80 massage tomorrow and my first real latte in days- so who cares?!...Heading back on the road today...loved spending time with Brett's family...Woke up with a doozy of a toothache... Happy Birthday, Abigail, Happy Birthday....Personal growth is not my forte. And, once again, if you want to reach me...you can try my cell-but then you'll need to email me....Wishes she had a magic wand that made friendships happen faster.... Under the weather...not sure where that term came from, but I feel it....Resting up for our trip to TEXAS tomorrow...

Waiting

Wow, ten days gets you out of the habit of writing big time, but then once you start you can ever so slowly remember how to put sentences together...


And so here I am after only a few hours, at it again. This time I'm inspired by thoughts of the Army....well, I take that back and raise that to all the military. Because, seriously, there is nothing like being separated from your family and there is DEFINITELY nothing like being separated from your family over the holidays. I suppose in some ways I was really lucky last year because after Brett left his leaving was followed in relatively quick succession by very important events: My Birthday, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years, His Birthday...pause...Valentine's Day. So yeah, that was incredibly hard. I missed my husband for every single one of those events. But we got them over and done with and we moved on. Or I should say, I moved on...I moved on so well, aka. I dealt with my amount of sadness, loneliness, anger ( at life for dealing us such a hand etc.), fear in such quick fashion that the wounds have all but healed. I've got my husband back! And I faced my birthday and thanksgiving this year with shear thankfulness just because Brett was here and not there ...but, now, getting to my point...I forgot the feelings and emotions. And I NEVER want to forget, especially for the sake of those going through it right now.

My heart is especially with Bethany this holiday season. She is not yet an army wife, but the girl is a PRO already! She deals with Chuck being deployed and in very dangerous situations on a daily basis with an amount of grace that I can only marvel at...when she called me after Chuck was in an IED explosion she was SO INCREDIBLY calm it nearly made me calm ( haha!)...seriously the girl is relying on something higher than herself.

My heart is with Jenn, who's husband just deployed for the first time with the Army Rangers- and in the weeks after he left she's faced not only loneliness ( living in a relatively new place), but also sickness and a car accident! I don't know WHY other horrible things decide to pile on top of the already horrible things of life, but she's dealt with it well. I know she is seeking God and praying her little heart out-and knowing that's how she's dealing blesses me.

My heart is with Sarah, who's husband is in one the most dangerous parts of Afghanistan-he's already lost his battle buddy once-and he has to wait in a line for hours just to call her for a few minutes, every two weeks when he's back on the FOB. Sarah is dealing with serious health issues and a recent miscarriage all by herself, with a strength that is truly unearthly.

And last but not least, my heart is with Amy, who after six months is waiting expectantly for her husband to come home for Christmas, only to hear that it might not happen. The Army's way of changing plans on us is often heartbreaking-but probably never so much as around the holidays...times when we feel the emptiness more.

I am so grateful to know these ladies...and many more! Women who are IN the military and women who are married into it...who face emotional hardship such as these ( and far worse I'm sad to say) at times when most American's could not fathom such "injustice". I am a better person because I have experienced, along with these women, some of the "inconveniences" of life-inconveniences that are for a far greater purpose than just us and our little lives.

This Christmas I am praying for the service men and women and their families, for I am truly grateful for their sacrifices-both great and small.

For my fan

So, apparently its been ten days since my last blog, which I was told by my one fan. Or at least the one person who's made any mention that I haven't been blogging. Thanks Amy.

Anyway, I'm sure those ten days where busy doing something. I probably did some Christmas shopping and some preparations for Brett's GOLDEN BIRTHDAY celebration...

*side note* In my family golden birthday's are a big deal, and lucky for Brett he married in before he had his ( i.e. he turned 26 on the 26th of Jan. last year) however, not so lucky for him-he was in Afghanistan at the time so he asked ever so politely to postpone the celebration to this year. What "celebration" you ask? Well, basically every day until your birthday-starting at the first of the month, you get a present every single day until your birthday. Now, don't get too excited...most of the time the presents are little things, sometimes they are silly or things that you just practically need ( new underwear, anyone?) but its always fun to open presents and this way you get to open one every day! Brett's going to be spoiled in January!

So, I think I only have like 5 more presents to go...and not to brag but I think Brett's going to be excited with some of his random presents. This year I "discovered" ( I'm probably like a million years behind the hipsters who knew about this site years ago) www.etsy.com and bought quite a few presents for friends from there...AND I found the most AWESOMELY nerdy present for Brett's golden birthday ever ( I'll try to remember to post pictures when he opens it!)...and I feel so good about my purchases because you're usually supporting some starving artist out there with every purchase! ( or at least that's what I tell myself! hehe)

In other news, I'm excited about Christmas this year...its kind of a special year since its the LAST year there will not be any babies in the Abt Family Christmas! Crazy to think how things will be different next year! AND we found out yesterday that my sister is having a GIRL and YEAAAAAH! I'm so excited about her! Now that I know ( I reeeeally thought she was having a boy) I can't imagine anything different and I'm already imagining my sister and Ryan with an adorable little girlie.

In other other news I'm also excited for my friends this holiday season....I feel like its going to be an eventful year for several of them, aka. Amy's getting her husband back from Afghanistan any day now-this I'm glad about for several reasons, one her twitters are depressing ( just kidding, sorta) and also it'll help me feel LESS guilty about not being there to support her these last few weeks before he gets home. She was SO totally fabulous for me on BOTH ( R&R and redeployment) of Brett's homecomings, helping with distractions and preparations I am utterly sad that I did not get to return the favor! HOWEVER, I *am* delighted, on the other hand, that I got to introduce her to the wonderful, Tabitha, who's going down from Vancouver to visit Amy in Washington this weekend for moral support. As I always say ( or I do now), if you can't do it yourself, send one of your totally fabulous friends to do it for you...

Ah-HA!

So, wow...I should have asked you guys for recipes a long time ago...especially since it meant that I found out about SEVERAL OF YOU having SECRET BLOGS that you DIDN'T TELL ME ABOUT. OK, so maybe they weren't secrets...but *i* sure didn't get the memo! So now I'm super excited and following you all on google reader, which is the greatest thing on the internet next to facebook ( which has been acting up lately, so I'm not a happy camper, and hulu.

Anyway, the recipe and food suggestions were super great and I love the internet for hooking me up with each one of you...oh, and those of you who didn't post recipes ( Amy, I do not have you chili recipe...pass that on to everyone in the comments, if you don't mind)...I'd love to have them! And I hope that others will benefit from my question too!

In other news, Brett and I got our household goods back from the army today. I haven't seen our belongings since October 29th. That's right. OCTOBER and it was sad to see them being put directly into storage. *sigh* Luckily, I have a saintly husband who went through many a box with me to find several items that I CAN NOT LIVE WITHOUT. Example: my dry erase wall calendar.
Does this not show how totally uptight I am?

I also could not live without Brett Bear. Even though I have the ACTUAL living and breathing Brett around now, its nice having the hot-water bottle version too.

Oh. And my shoes.

So, yeah, like I said, saintly husband.

Question...

Here's something I've been pondering of late ( being back in a house full of boys will do this to you)....what is your favorite go-to "feed lots of people" meal?
Something yummy, but not horribly terrible for you, or overly expensive would be good...

Let's here your thoughts in the comment box! ( I'm going to be super sad if I get no comments here..)

progress

The past few days, when thinking about blogging, I've thought "naaaaah, there's isn't much to say...", but now that I'm here I'm realizing that a lot actually happened this week! So yay for that!

Anyway, I'll try to figure out a way to start...this week we got practical things accomplished ( which you know that I LOVE. There is nothing like checking things off the to-do list to make me giggly!)-and in accordance with that, this monday Brett is getting his last two wisdom teeth taken out, and then on Tuesday our household belongings are being delivered to a storage place that we rented ( ugg, yes, these two things should NOT be happening in quick succession-but what are you gonna do?!)....I cannot WAIT to have our belongings back within grasp! While I know its going to be ridiculously difficult to FIND anything that we want among all the vaguely labeled boxes "kitchen", "books", "bedroom"....I am INTENT upon finding several things that I feel like we cannot live without for six months. Wish me luck. :-(

This week we also got started on getting involved with the navigator ministry here at Fort Benning. It is very different from Ft Lewis, in that there are 5 or six different studies going on throughout the week, focused on different groups that are working, living here at Benning. Each of the different bible studies is run by different groups of navigator laborers and they have pretty much ALL said they needed help! So we've decided to visit each one of them in the next few weeks, and pray that God shows us which one we should plug into!

The first study we went to was INCREDIBLY cool-it was reaching out to guys who are in basic training and on the night we went, for the first time, the ministry had access to a bunch of guys who were being chaptered out of the army....it was incredible to see the turn out of guys who were hungry for some comfort and some answers and it was absolutely awesome to see the few laborers ( ministry dudes) that were there, being surrounded and eagerly listened to!! I had the privilege of praying for what was going on with the other girl laborer there, and it was neat for once to not be "involved" in the traditional sense but to remember that pretty much NONE of the work that is being done is from ourselves, but from God. It was also super cool to see the group that God gave Brett that evening. He had about six or seven guys in his group and every single one of them was intent upon his every word. The little groups were all in the same room and at the end of the night, once they all started to break up and go there separate ways, Brett's group just moved in closer! It was like every time I looked over there were six little bald heads just a little bit closer to Brett's!! Needless to say, Brett was totally pumped after that, and I think we were both reminded that all the annoyance of fitting into a new place and the little worries about trying to look cool and be liked are really NOTHING in comparison to getting to share some Good News with guys who are hurting and going through a difficult time!! THIS is why we feel so passionately about ministering to the Army! There are SO many guys out there who are struggling and looking for answers, guys who need to know what real Love and Compassion is!! Ahhh! I just hope that we, in all of our failings and faults, can some how share that with some of them!

Annnyway, on Thursday Brett headed to another study, but I stayed home because, as we all know, I like to catch new sicknesses when I go to a new place...so of course I was feeling not-so-awesome, but, luckily on Friday-after having dinner with one of the guys who was on Brett's team in Afghanistan and his wife ( that was pretty cool!! Two worlds colliding!), we got to go to a Fun Night, that that particular bible study was throwing! So I ended up getting to meet a lot more of that bible study anyway! This group was much more mixed, guys and girls and reminded me a lot of the dynamic of the Ft Lewis ministry ( awww! I miss them!), and we had a super fun evening playing Catchphrase.....

So yay for making new friends and hanging out with people more! and Yay for being reminded what all this moving and this crazy army lifestyle is all about!! This week I also got to have a few one on one conversations with some girls and that encourages me, that while I do not yet know where I fit into the mix here-there are a lot of wonderful people to get to know. I just need to remember my Quiet Times from this week and the verses that I've been getting, like:

" Be strong and let your heart take courage all who wait on the Lord." Ps 31:24

Because I told you to...

Go to your nearest theatre and watch the movie Blind Side...you will be inspired and you will possibly cry ( like I did...four times.)

It will be a MUCH better and uplifting experience then watching, say, Twilight: New Moon, which was so incredibly awful that you'll have to laugh just so that you will not cry at the state of the world, a world that thinks that this is quality....Although, there is this one scene where Bella's ( whiny so-called-heroine) head gets a teeny tiny bit of blood on it, and Jacob ( the probably manic-depressive warewolf) WHIPS OFF his shirt and starts dabbing at her head.
I mean, I didn't blame him...if I had had to take steroids, and therefore put my body in serious risk, at the tender age of 16 so I could get that buff...well, I'd probably make every excuse to show it off too....
Anyway, that's what I got out of THAT movie...and the moral of the story is, go see Blind Side.

In other news, this weeks goal is to make friends. I had a very short lunch date today which was progress and I was invited to a party tomorrow night which will hopefully be more progress...wish me luck, I must be at my winning-est. hehe.

Any time...

So, I think I've "rested" enough...Feeling a bit on the bored side today. Its not that there wasn't enough to do...Brett and I worked on various to-do lists that we'd both piled up-but I think the major thing is that we've have no social circle as of yet. I don't think I've ever been so excited about a Sunday-the idea of getting to go to church where we'll get to talk to OTHER PEOPLE is mindblowing.

Also...I think my southern accent is coming back. Fabulous.

The Big Picture...

"All the end of the earth shall remember and turn the Lord,
and all the families of the nations shall worship before You.
For the kingship belongs to the Lord, and he rules over the nations."
Ps 22:27-28

I'm excited about this holiday season, may we ever focus on what's truly important: His kingdom come!

Getting shinier

So, here we are. This is Georgia. A Georgia which is apparently nice and sunny most of the time, but decided to make me feel nice and at home since arriving-thus being bleak and rainy. Nice. Thanks Georgia for pulling out all the stops ;-)

Anyway, last night Brett and I were driving home from a dinner engagement and we discussed how TIRED we were! Yet once we stopped to think what had been going on in our lives the last few weeks it was concluded that we were more emotionally tired than anything. In short, new lives are tiring to get.

How's this new life going, you ask? Well, that's tough to say...I've been waiting to write this particular blog post until a time when I wouldn't burst into tears at the slightest thing and I think that'll be today! hahaha! In short, I am continually impressed that while I keep thinking that with each move it couldn't POSSIBLY be MORE SO than the LAST move ( aka. I am prepared this time), I am always surprised to find there are NEW things to get used to and new things with which to rely on the Lord for strength.

This time the major blow came about a week into our cross-country trek, when the Woods called and offered us their home to live in for 6 months. Now, I'm going to take a big deep breath and try to explain what this means:

Ok, so the Chuck and Deb Wood are a Navigator couple who are actually over the Navigator Army ministry altogether. This basically means that they travel for MOST of the year. Before they took this job, they ran the Nav ministry here at Fort Benning. In fact, it was through Chuck that Brett got involved with the Navigators back in 2004/2005. Brett actually lived with the Woods during the 18 months that he was at Fort Benning...which brings me to their house. They have a "ministry" house. Its basically a nice sized four bedroom home, but it also has an added apartment ( with a kitchen, living area etc-this is where Chuck and Deb now live when they are in Georgia between travels) and also an added meeting room and a bunk room. All of this added together and you get a house that is perfect for having guys move in and live so that they can have closer discipleship training-which is one of the key principles and main focuses of the Navigator ministry. Its also great for bible studies and ministry functions...

Annnnywho, the Woods called us up and said that starting in January there would not be anyone living in their main house-and they were wondering if we'd like to move in.

Pause for dramatic affect.

I think I've been very disappointed with everyone that I've told about this piece of news, because EVERYONE has been excited for us and said what a great idea it is...when deep down ( ok, it hasn't been deep down at all) I have been crying and moaning and complaining about this EVER SINCE THAT INITIAL invite....why the complaining? Well, because it meant putting all of our things in storage. It meant moving again in six months ( remember how much I HATE moving?), it meant sharing my first months back with my husband with more ministry demands, it meant putting on clothes when I leave my bedroom ( no roaming a house where there are other people in your PJs!), it meant living in a house where my iphone gets zero reception, it meant living a good 20 minutes from any stores or coffee shops...and countless other "inconveniences".

In short, I was faced HEADLONG with my very shallow/selfish/spoiled ( hey! Look! I'm an alliteration of character flaws!) self.

Now, I'll be honest with you...I spent a WHOLE YEAR diving head long into ministry. I was ALL about it! I was one hundred percent on board. And some little part of me thought that I DESERVED a break. That I deserved to have what *I* wanted for a change...and wow. Until this whole housing thing came up, I didn't even realize that's what I was thinking...

So yesterday I woke up to an email from my dear friend Tabitha-who laid the proverbial slap down on me ( it should be noted she did it in this oddly encouraging/ nice way that I should really try to master) basically equating me with Jonah. Ouch! She was right! And THEN to pile on the coals of Truth...I went and did my quiet time...and I JUST SO HAPPENED to be reading about Moses going to Pharaoh and asking over and over again that Pharaoh do what God was asking ( and Pharaoh kept hardening his heart) and yeah...we all know how THAT turned out. And THEN I turned over to my New Testament reading and I JUST SO HAPPENED to be reading about the Rich Young Ruler in Matthew. DOUBLE OUCH. Here I was crying over an iPhone and here was a dude turning his back on following Jesus because he couldn't seem to give up his riches.....I don't think it takes an English major to see the parallels there.

As you can see...this move has not been an easy one....and I'm going to go ahead and say THEY NEVER WILL BE. But what I WILL go ahead and say, is that if you'd like to shake up your pre-existing assumptions about yourself, your relationships and most importantly your priorities and walk with God...you should consider moving. It'll be hard, but I have great faith that at the end of this I'll be a little bit shinier ( think gold being refined illustration here).

OH and I'm keeping my phone. It gets reception pretty much everywhere but in the house, and even there I still get text messages and voicemails...so I still feel pretty in touch.

*Other business:
If you'd like the new Brett and Abigail address and the new Brett and Abigail landline phone-number you can email me or message me and I'll get that to you right away. ALSO some of you have been asking if Brett has a cell phone number. He does not. I you still have his 817 number, delete that...you'll disturb some poor old lady if you call it. He'll be getting a new number soon!

Too much personal growth

So, you may be wondering why you haven't heard from me since arriving in Georgia/Alabama...well, the reason for this is mainly because I'm being asked ( by life) to do SO MUCH personal growth right now that I literally had to take a nap because it was so tiring. And, well, personal growth is definitely something I like to talk about AFTER THE FACT so that I don't look so self-involved and lame.
This, of course, means we'll have "testimony worthy" blog posts in like a month or something after all the holiness and the growing happens-but until then I'll just have to hope that any post I do will not have the complaining and whining seeping through TOO MUCH.

Oh, and remember when I posted that little video of me talking? The one where I shared the last message that I shared at the Navs study in Washington that I did?! Well, I talked about "first weeks" in that little talk. I talked about how totally horrible and bleak everything seemed and that in times like those you have to have faith and read your bible and be reminded of His promises etc. etc.

Well, turns out I need to start preaching to myself pronto, and it also turns out that when you're in the middle of "first weeks" it is INCREDIBLY HARD to see the light.

And just so you'll know kind of the general direction from which I'm coming from...my iphone does not work on the street where we're living. ZERO COVERAGE. It works pretty much EVERYWHERE ELSE but here. It's pretty much like life slapped me in the face and then laughed at me.

In lue of a party...

So tomorrow I turn 26.

I know that I'm going to become an adult because for the first time in my whole life I did not do a count down to my birthday, and I did not tell everyone, including strangers on the street that my birthday was in *so many* days for an entire month...and I have not gone on and on about it on my blog.

Of course, as much as I would like to say that the reason for this change is that I have become super mature in the last year, this is probably not the case. Instead, I'm going to point to the incredible amount of LIFE going on around me that I do not have the time to stop and celebrate such blasé things as my birth.
*psssshhhh*

Haha! Just kidding! We're going to celebrate anyway! We're going to celebrate in newest fashion: By starting a brand new season of life and by counting the blessings of the past and present.

Tomorrow Brett and I will be crossing the border into Georgia and begin a new life there. I admit I'm scared. And I admit that I've never been more homesick than I am right now. Its on your birthday that you miss your friends the most ( and as we all know friends and family are our home). But I count my blessings too. I have Brett home from Afghanistan and I thank God every day that He got us through a year long deployment. If you believe in miracle, just know that a successful deployment is the longest drawn out miracle that you can ever witness....

And for the past four days we've spent some lovely time with Brett's family in Texas ( and a teeny tiny bit of my family scattered in for bonus)...and I am struck yet again by how blessed we are to have such supportive families. ( Oh, and a big shout out to Jillian who I am TREMENDOUSLY glad to count as part of that family now that she's finally an official Vermeulen-not to mention a fellow army wife! YAY!)

I am also glad that we got to go to my church for prayer meeting on Wednesday and thank God for those lovely saints there who prayed for us and supported us while Brett was deployed. I am glad that they are as much our family as anyone....and speaking of such "family"-I am also thankful for the beautiful last day in Washington-where we got to spend the day with Judy and with Bethany and Amy and Karissa and Ash and Lindsay and Isaac and the Strouds and the whole STS gang....it was pretty much the perfect day. Perfect.

And I am thankful for all the many wonderful wonderful friends that I carry with me wherever I go....even so far as Georgia.


So here's to the year 25. It was a doozy.

And here's to 26 no doubt it will be JUST as interesting.

Week One & Texas

So, tonight we arrived in Texas and gave our family a giant huge....how far we've come! And for Brett this was the first time seeing our families in a year and half ( seriously?!? wow!)..but before all that we had to get from the Grand Canyon to Nacogdoches....


So, there are no pictures with this post, probably because my camera got stuffed down at the bottom of a bag-and, well, bags once they are packed and unpacked every night for days and days on end-things start to oddly expand. Sufficient to say you'll have to make do with my wordy accounts of what happened next:

After the grand canyon we were off to Santa Fe ( with a stop over night in Gallup, New Mexico). Now, some of you thought we were headed to a hotsprings spa in Arizona, and well, so did we...but turns out thinking really loudly doesn't ACTUALLY get you reservations so...oopsy.

And thus we headed to Santa Fe, New Mexico instead...this is a place i have thought little about in my life and had done absolutely ZERO research on before arriving. However, this was a little pre-view lesson of:
Life Can Go On Even if Abigail Has Not Planned And Or Prepared For It. And we ended up having a lovely, albeit over-priced time...
Highlights of Santa Fe:
80 minute massages. The movie Away We Go. The mailbox that looked like R2D2. Comfy Beds. walking in the snow. Dinner at the unpretentious dinner after a pervious meal at a snobby restaurant.

After Santa Fe ( which ended up being a better stop because it was a nice distance between our pervious destination and our NEXT destination which made for more enjoyable driving days) we headed to Lubbock, TX to stay with Brett's college friend Stephani and her husband Jason and their ADORABLE 3 month old son Alexander. Seriously, had the sweetest disposition and the brightest smile...and I could have totally eaten him up-if Baby Eating wasn't so frowned upon.

And then that brings us to today! We hightailed it across Texas to arrive in Nacogdoches in time for Dinner with Brett's family and then a quickie before bed chat with my parents...

And then, then I had to write this post-because, to be honest, even though I didn't actually talk about anything life-altering in this post, I've actually had a pretty life altering week...and blogging is one of my greatest "calms". I cannot tell you how good it is to get at least a FEW ( if not the most straight forward and surface) things "on to paper" so that they will no longer plague my mind.

I am hoping that in the next few days I will be able to steal a moment away to type up the HARDCORE post and the only hint I'll give you is this over-dramatized facebook status update that I made a few days ago:

"Giving things up for Jesus stings, but it's totally worth it."

So, there you go! I'm basically giving away the surprise ending there...but believe me there is PLENTY more to that story to come!!

A Grand Maker indeed!

I think sometime God has things a little bit difficult just to remind us that He's there. If today had started out bright and sunny and perfect, I'm not so sure I would have seen His magnificence in quite the same way...
As it was, we woke up in our hotel ( that we'd arrived at late the night before) near the Grand Canyon to pouring down rain. Not the "clear weather" I'd prayed for, for our one day to see this wonder of the world!!!

But, we decided we'd go look at the "big hole in the ground" ( I just came up with that...clever, I know) anyway, since we'd come ALL THAT WAY...and surely we'd be able to see something!?! RIGHT!?!?

Well...not really.

When we arrived it was super de douper cloudy and rainy. And yet I dutifully took pictures of the canyon anyway. ( looking at them now, they are basically pictures of clouds).

Example:



But then, AMAZINGLY ENOUGH, it started to clear!!! And it was as though God just unfolded this beautiful piece of artwork that He'd created just for us!!





We then got super into it and started to think we should spend MORE time there than we'd allotted...but just as soon as we got greedy and started thinking about going back and getting more pictures...the clouds started to roll back in. Time to head back on the road!!

And just in case, I wasn't fully aware of God's providence on this whole trip so far, this is what we saw driving into New Mexico from Arizona:

California: Redwoods

Yesterday Brett and I high-tailed it out of washington and made it all the way to California and found a lovely hotel by the sea and woke up this morning to the sound of waves crashing. We then spent a day driving through Redwoods-which, I gotta tell you was something I've wanted to do since I was young and saw in some book a picture of a car driving through a tunnel in a Redwood tree! I felt very blessed getting to spend the day with my hubby taking in some of the splendor of God's creation!

A Tina Update

Well, friends, I'll be sharing from Brett and my travels in the next few days...but first I have something amazing to share with you! Yesterday I got to spend some time with Tina and she was good enough to let me share some pictures from her experience with you...now, normally I would not be down with sharing this kinda pictorial story with you-because I don't have the strongest stomach...but seeing as I had to experience it in person and so many of you were so faithful to pray for her even when you couldn't see her, I know Tina would want to share with you some of the incredible detail of the miracle God performed in her life.

Bare in mind that these first images were taken only two weeks ago and the last two were taken yesterday!
( isn't she beautiful!?)

Once again, thank you for praying for Tina and thank you for continuing to lift her up as she deals with recovery from the traumatic experience. She texted me today to say that she was able to READ her bible during her quiet time ( without listening to the audio Bible) for the first time today. God continues to heal her body!

Into Northern California

I'm currently working on a "Tina Update" and "Last Day in Washington"
post but it's hard to find Internet time that's not my phone... But
until then the trip is going great... And this is what we woke up to
this morning in Crescant City, CA...

Stage one: complete

So, I'm currently sitting in the Kansas City Airport, getting ready to head back to Washington and thus stage one of "The Master Plan" will be complete. "Master Plan" seems a bit much, but that's what popped in my head so we're gonna go with it...besides I'm a bit much, so there you go....

First of all, in my last post I promised I'd give you the stalkerish run down of what the next two weeks hold for Brett and I and now I will fulfill said promise:

Stage 1: Already complete! That consisted of coming here to Kansas and re-unite with Brett. Done and DONE! (Yay! Being married is infinitely better in person. And if you're ever planning on getting married yourself ( if you aren't already), take it from me....have it be an "in person" marriage as much as humanly possible.

Stage 2: Return to Washington.
I'm currently doing this right now, and Brett will be doing it in a couple of hours. This is excellent news, since for a little while we thought he wouldn't get to leave until tomorrow. But, now I'll get to see him again at 7pm tonight! yay!

Stage 3: Spend a moment in Washington.
Basically a day. But, Brett has people he definitely wants to see ( fair enough)...and its already hard for me to think about having to say more permanent goodbyes to our loved ones in Wash....but at least we'll get to do it together! So we're spending tomorrow with as many packed in good moments as we can!

Stage 4: Start the road trip! We'll be heading down the West Coast towards San Fran and in the early part of next week we're hoping to hit up a childhood friend of Brett's ( seriously, they met in elementary school and re-connected via the magical facebook) and see the Redwood Forests ( a childhood dream of mine realized. Are they really that big?! We're going to find out!!!)

Stage 5: We'll continue on with the driving and break it up by stopping by for a quickie visit with Brett's college friend The Newtons. I'm going to go ahead and call them my friends too...because they're super cool and the kind of people that I feel that geographical challenges are the only thing keeping us from being super tight. hehe.

Stage 6: Finally get out of California. And now to another Abigail Childhood Dream. A little bit off the trek but TOTALLY worth it...we're going to see the Grand Canyon. ( is it really that awesome of a hole?! We're going to find out!!!!

Stage 7: And just in case you think we're ONLY going to be driving ( although the previous stages don't mention it very much)...we'll be stopping to spend sometime at an Arizona Natural Hot Springs ( and spa! which I doubt is natural...but perfectly wonderful nonetheless).

Stage 8: Hot tail it onwards....stopping to visit The Biggs Family for a moment in time. ( Sadly bad timing meant that Brett and I are missing out on a Reunion Weekend with his College Buddies...but we thought we'd fit in as many of them along the drive, as we could to make up for it...it won't be the same, but we PROMISE to try to make it to the next one. Meh!) ...and then continue on with the driving.

Stage 9: Now that we're finally in Texas we'll enter into full-on Family Mode and that'll start with a visit with Brother Joshua. ( Sounds amish when I say it that way. awesome.) and then do another All Important Detour to....

Stage 10: Nacogdoches! Where we'll be spending every possible second with Brett's Mom as we possibly can. Sadly we won't be there for Thanksgiving-but we're hoping to make up quantity with quality here.....

Stage 11: ( I'll turn 26 somewhere around here...and while Birthday's are a VERY BIG DEAL to me...It looks like it might just get passed over this year, and for once I don't mind AT. ALL. I must be finally growing up(!!) )
And finally the fun will be over and we'll put our heads down and start REALLY HARDCORE driving and finally end up...at FORT BENNING, GA. Where we will live....


*Editors Note*: It has been FAR TOO LONG since I've had my husband around, and this was made self-evident by how many times I had to go back and change the word "I" to "we". Seriously, Army....you stink sometimes.

surrealness

So you have totally not experienced Surreal until you've lived in Kansas for two months, had to say good bye to your husband for a year and THEN 12 months later RETURNED to that same Kansas where you use to waste time all day in preparation for your husband to leave you...only to find yourself WASTING TIME all day AGAIN in preparation for his return.

Anyway, because that last paragraph was a bit on the murky side, let me re-cap:

Yesterday I spent alllllll daaaaaaay ( until exactly 11:25pm) waiting to get Brett back from the LONGEST DEPLOYMENT IN THE HISTORY OF MY LIFE* ( * I say this because there have actually been much longer deployments...and for the families and soldiers who have dealt with that over the many years of the United States Army...all I can say is "wow". )...anyway, a goodly part of that day was spent dealing with the ILL-TIMED BREAK-IN that happened to my car while parked at the Ghetto Apartments in Washington. Luckily I have two non-ghetto friends who live in the Ghetto Apartments and they took care of it like PROS. ( although this is the SECOND time I've been in Kansas and had Amy call me to tell me that my car window is broken. THIS is a pattern I'd like for us to break. for reals.) ...and the rest of the day was spent in levels of praise and thankfulness as I thought about how AMAZING God has been to Brett and I in the past year.

I can honestly say that God took something awful and hard and uncomfortable and lonely and painful and scary and He USED IT! He used in all sorts of amazing ways. I am actually really proud of how I spent my year. I know that sounds pretty self-involved but this blog is self-involved so deal with it. But, yes, I'm proud. And I am amazed by the work God has done in the lives of those people that I've spent the last year with...seeing how much they have grown and how much their lives are a testimony of Christ...well, it was an honor to be a part of that. All by God's grace.... Yesterday I spent a few hours with the girl that I lived with when I was here in Kansas the first time around and it was truly incredible to see how God is working in HER life! Just one more way in which God has shown himself to be faithful.

Anyway, back to yesterday: Finally at 11:25pm I got my husband back and it was oddly normal. It was SO normal having him in the car with me...so normal talking to him. I had to remind myself that it was actually MONUMENTAL. And I also had to keep reminding myself that it was permanent. That two weeks from now he will NOT leave, he'll continue to stay. Of course, one of the reasons I have to keep reminding myself of this is because the Army makes it HARD TO BELIEVE. Namely because Brett had to be BACK AT WORK at 5am this morning. Which....mathematics time....FIVE HOURS after getting Brett back, I had to return him to the Army until 6pm tonight. And then we have to do that again tomorrow. So, yeah, I have to pinch myself. Because the Army doesn't like to make it easy...

Stay tuned for what I'll call How to Best Stalk Abigail over the next month...when I will give you a play by play of the COAST TO COAST roadtrip that Brett and I will be taking to get from Washington to Georgia.

And now I will leave you with the first picture of Brett and I reunited.