Oh Sweet Caroline: September 2009

Hi Blog friends, I have missed you!

It has been entirely too long since I have posted and many of you have asked where in the world I have been and what I have been doing. The answer is I have been all over doing all sorts of exciting things! Here is the quick run down...

Monday August 24: Leave Port-au-Prince and have a nightmare traveling experience including sobbing all the way to the airport, a retirement celebration for the airplane I was about to get on (not so comforting), a high fever and a terrible cold, a lightning storm, and a night at the Red Roof Inn in Miami (not on my original itinerary)

Tuesday August 25: Finally arrive in Houston and spend the next day on the couch resting and recovering.

Wednesday August 26: Drive to Austin to see some family and friends one last time. Great catch up time!

Friday August 28: Drive back to Houston and start packing the rest of my belongings for the move to Nashville, TN

Sunday August 30: Drive 13 hours to Nashville. Mom and I spent the next few days moving into my apartment and seeing a little bit of Nashville

Thursday September 3: Fly from Nashville to Seattle to meet Dad, Brad and the whole Fontenot crew for Labor Day weekend. Well, really to see LSU play UW. Click here to see pictures from the weekend.

Monday September 7: Fly from Seattle back to Nashville where I will stay put for a while. At least that is the plan.

I have absolutely loved Nashville so far. The weather has been phenomenal and there is so much to do, it is almost overwhelming. I can't wait until I really feel like this is home. I spend most of the days taking care of annoying things you have to do when you grow up and move (banking, postal stuff, insurance etc.) and looking for a J-O-B. That dreadful word. I am in the process of applying for something long term that would begin in January of next year, but in the meantime I need to pay the bills. I have heard heartbreaking story after heartbreaking story about unemployment and I am very aware that things could be much worse, it's just not a fun time to be looking for a job.

Did I mention I love my roommates and my new apartment? Because I really do.

Meet Christina and Allyson. These two sweet girls grew up together in San Antonio but went their separate ways for college. Allyson to Wake Forest and Christina to UT. Christina and I were coincidentely (or divinely, as we say) next door neighbors in our dorm freshman year of college. We instantly became friends and lived together in an apartment our sophomore year (Allyson actually lived there for a summer too!). When it came time to decide what we would do after college, we both wanted a new adventure and knew how fun it would be if we went somewhere together. We started thinking about Nashville and when we realized Allyson was too, it just made sense that we would all live together.

Oh, you want a quick tour of our apartment? Okay!

I took a cute picture of our front door, but then realized it probably wasn't a great idea to be giving out our address, being three young single girls and all! So this is the view when you walk in the front door.

Our cozy living room

The kitchen where we hope to spend a lot of time becoming better cooks. Read about one of our previous attempts here.

This is my bedroom

Two decorating trends that I am OBSESSED with right now are bold prints and birds.

We are so excited about having visitors so if you find yourself in Nashville or just want to come for no reason at all, we would LOVE to host you!!!!

It has been a very odd transition since I got back from Haiti. I have felt every range of emotions you could possible feel. I am so excited about this new adventure in my life, yet I am mourning the end of the my time in Haiti. I am lonely in an unfamiliar place, yet God has comforted me. I feel totally lost in this new city, when at the same time I know it just fits. I cry myself to sleep many nights because I long so badly to be in Haiti, but God never fails to wake me up the next morning with new joy. I am really clinging to the Psalms right now. I find myself saying over and over "whoever wrote this totally gets what I am going through" I also cannot stop listening to the song Healer by Hillsong. Here, just listen (don't forget to turn the music off at the bottom of this blog)

All 3 of us in this apartment need jobs. Nothing is impossible.

Carmelo WILL get his VISA this week. Nothing is impossible.

Amos and Story should be home with their parents. Nothing is impossible.

These kids are dying and today, all I can do is pray. Nothing is impossible.

Tons of money has been raised for Medika Mamba. And Tara will run a marathon! Nothing is impossible.

Even if no one here understands how I feel, God does. Nothing is impossible.

Will you pray with me for these things?

I am learning a lot about this transition time and will share more about it later. I have written several posts in very emotional states and then later deleted them. I have a few thoughts on how you can support the people you know who have had an experience like I have. This blog has definitely helped me process a lot. I can write things here that I don't want or have the chance to talk about. I can go back and remember exactly how I felt when something happened. It lets me share with you too.

But still ask me about Haiti, because I am not over it. I hope I never am. How could I ever get over the two months I spent with these faces?