Junk in the Trunk

That's the question we've been asking lately, "How much junk can we fit in our trunk?" as we are trying to figure out how much and what type of luggage to take with us to Slovakia.

We thought originally we could take two bags (or possibly more) each up to 100 pounds....nope!  As the lady at the airline counter said when referring to the instructions for luggage online "it's clear as mud!"  And indeed, figuring out what to take as far as luggage goes (and how much can go in it) has been just that.

BUT, we have finally figured it out after returning some previously purchased large bags...

We can take two bags each neither exceeding 70 pounds.  So we have decided to each take one of these:

That would be a rolling duffle bag and a trunk each.  We think the rolling bags will work well for all our clothing/personal needs.  Then the trunks should come in handy for more house related items.  

Whew, we're glad we got that figured out (even though we still have some time left).

Now to add all our junk to the trunks ;)

Double Thanksgiving

This year Jas and I got to celebrate Thanksgiving not once, but twice.  We usually switch holidays back and forth with each set of families, but this year we wanted to make sure we hit up both families.

First we went to Hickory for my family's meal.  We ate up some deliciousness, played games, and had a good 'ole time :)

Umm mmm...look at that bird above!  Then we headed back to Durham and celebrated with the Palmer side of the family.  And we indulged in this guy...

Who got fried up during this process...

We also played games, and then we decorated the house, AND our dog (whose picture is a bit blurry)...

Two great meals/days spent with family.  Oh, and wouldn't you know our families made nearly the EXACT same Thanksgiving meal?  Only difference...stuffed shells at the Palmers.  Cool, huh? ;)

Happy Thanksgiving!

What I am Thankful For...Jason's Edition

1) For a God that loves me despite all of my flaws. A God that provided a way for me to spend eternity in His presence.
2) For a wife that loves me despite all of my flaws. A wife that is a daily reminder to me of the grace of God that is poured upon my life. A wife that is my best friend! I Love You Charity! You are my only one!!!!
3) For a family that supports us in our transition to Slovakia even as we cause changes in our whole family structure with our move.
4) For a church family that loves us and supports us as we prepare to move to Slovakia.
5) For the Southern Baptist Convention. The more involved we get with them the more I realize how blessed we are to know them. They truly have a heart for the Gospel to be proclaimed among all people. Their prayer and encouragement will always be cherished.
6) For Sushi. I just like it a lot!
7) Bella- The world's greatest dog! Seriously...she can destroy every other dog in the world with her amazing ability to do tricks at my command! She also doesn't eat her own poop like other dogs that I know.

BUT the thing that I would like to encourage everyone with is this...
Everything that we are thankful for are blessings that God has bestowed upon us. Remember we have been blessed so we can be a part of God blessing the rest of the world and making His name and glory known. So as you reminisce about the blessings that you are thankful for, don't hoard them to yourself, share them with the world around you and take part in making the nations glad. Read Psalms 67.


Jason

Things I'm Thankful For: Charity's Edition

"I will give to the Lord the thanks due to his righteousness, and I will sing praise to the name of the Lord, the most high."  -Psalm 7:17

Thankfulness (in no particular order):

*Parents who are supportive (while it not necessarily being easy) of our decision to move to Slovakia

*Selling our big item furniture

*In-laws who are willing to let us live in their basement :)

*My relationship with a Savior who is so much bigger than my biggest worries and fears

*Really good books (even though they pile up and I feel like I can't get through them all!)

*Friendships (both old and new!)

*Hot tea! (you can be thankful for the small things too, right?)

*A man who makes me laugh and smile, and I'm speaking of this one:

Stay tuned for Jason's edition coming tomorrow (I can't believe it, but he's going to blog...I know, my jaw dropped too!)

They got shot!

I shot Packy and Steph!

Haha, I just thought that would be an interesting opening ;)

But really the other day Jas and I got to shoot some photos for Packy and Steph.  They are photogenic, which really makes for good photos.  And I have to say, it was a fun time.  Packy encountered some dog leftovers, Jas fell out of a tree, and well, here's what we ended up with:

See, I told you they were photogenic...
We love these guys...and we're thankful for them!

And finally,

We brought the tripod to get one of the four of us.  I think it came out nicely, don't you?

Punkin' Pie Puddin'

Thanksgiving is right around the corner!  That's exciting :)  And with that in mind, along with my love for all things pumpkin spice, I wanted to try a new recipe in preparation for next Thursday.

Enter Punkin' Pie Puddin' (found here).

I love pumpkin pie.  And pudding.  That makes this the perfect little fall treat!

Here's what ya need:
*1 small package instant vanilla pudding mix
*1/2 cup canned pumpkin
*1 3/4 cup milk
*1 cup whipped topping (I used more)
*1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
*gingersnaps

Here's what ya need to do:
1) Mix milk and instant pudding together following package instructions.
2) Add in pumpkin and pumpkin pie spice.
3) Whisk in the whipped cream until all is creamy.
4) Serve it up! It's way cuter if they're served individually, but you can also just leave it in a big bowl, you know, family-style.
5) Crumble gingersnaps on top and stick one in there for delicious decoration.

Then, eat up!  It tastes just like a punkin' pie in your mouth only with a different texture.  Umm...

I think heaven might taste like pumpkin pie.  Or punkin' pie puddin'.  What about you? :)

Prayer Card Shoot

On Sunday Jas and I had a date with our friend Rae.  Yep, a photo date.  She took pictures for our soon-to-be prayer cards.  And I just have to say--she rocks!

We went out to an old house on church property and we went to a field with some amazing fall color.  They turned out great, THANKS Rae!

If you guys ever need a photographer, she's a good one!

Don't believe me?  Take a look!

Ah, FALL Color...

The past few days I have been digging this color.  Why fall has come so seemingly late, I'm not sure, but yesterday Jas and I took part in a "photo shoot" with Rae and the colors were captivating!

So I decided to get out there and capture some of the color.  The lighting one afternoon was fading and today it was overcast, but I still like how some of them turned out.

Enjoy the color!  What an amazing God we have...

Need Your Help!

Friends (particularly those in the Raleigh/Durham/NC area) we need your help!

We have finally decided NOT to crate our things and instead to just pack it all up in bags :)  We're excited about this decision, but it means we need YOU to help us out!

We have a few things that need good homes...

Take these for example:

-light colored wicker basket with cream-colored liner (medium sized)

-two large lime green storage drawers

-one smaller lime green storage drawer

-two canvas baskets with see-through windows (off-white color)

-darker brown woven basket (small-medium sized)

-two large brown/tan woven baskets with lids (awesome!)

-blue/white Rowenta iron

-silver over-the-door shoe rack

-two large, long, see-through under-the-bed storage boxes

-two black file folder holders (horizontal-not upright, if that makes sense)

We can negotiate prices, but we're talking cheap here!  Think the best yard sale prices you can imagine :)  Or do you know of a friend who may need/could use any of the above?  Let us know!

From Football to Futbal

Last Friday night and last night we attended Northern High School football games.  Jason played football there and it has a special place in his heart.  Me, well, I don't mind football, but would much prefer to watch basketball and soccer.

However, I did enjoy watching our friend DeAndre rock the field!  We've gotten to hang out with him the past two years and he's a quality guy.  So, we snapped a photo with him post-game last Friday.  Sadly, they didn't win, but they did make it to the play offs which was last night.

(Yes, I do wear funny hats like this one that Jason affectionately calls "the blueberry")

We will miss (especially Jas) watching NHS games, but we are trading them in for FUTBAL games in Slovakia!  And we are just stoked about that :)

Bring on those headers and yellow cards...yeah!

Official.

Well, it's official...we are headed to Slovakia!

We are a lot of things right now.  Tired. Excited. Overwhelmed. Anxious. Super thankful. Prayerful. Ready.

This past week was FULL.  Session after session of information and lots of meetings.  Throw in some paperwork, time spent with new friends, and finish it off with an appointment ceremony and we're pretty wiped out!

The next few months hold a lot for us.  Between figuring out what to pack to take, selling off a last few items, preparing some other things, and spending time with our families, we'll be pretty busy.  It's a new season of life for us and we've already learned a lot.  As I often say, though, we have so much more to learn.

And our first email update will be coming out soon--if you'd like to receive it, let us know!

On the Road Again

On the road again...well, kind of.

We're hitting the road Saturday for a trip to Greensboro/Winston-Salem for our long-awaited IMB Appointment week.  We will be attending lots of meetings, learning a lot, and participating in an appointment service on Wednesday night.  We're excited and anticipating the week!

It's doubtful there will be any posts this upcoming week, but you can take a look at this quite hilarious picture (from Halloween time) and laugh out loud like I do every time ;)

Hope everyone has a GREAT week!

Friday Fotos--Reminiscing

It's been a while since I've done a Friday Foto and they're technically supposed to be funny, but these are of the reminiscing kind.

As I was looking back through some photos for a Christmas craft, I stumbled upon these precious pictures of our pup.

The time is drawing closer for us to leave (approx. two months left in NC!), and we are realizing we will be leaving many things (other posts to come on that), but we'll be leaving this little girl, too!

*tear tear*

Yep, it's true, we will miss that darling face...

Creative Journal Time!

When walking through Michael's, I always have to browse the dollar section.  The other day I just so happened to stumble upon a little, simple journal.

It seemed to be saying, "Charity, buy me, I have lots of potential!"  So, I obliged.  I also picked up some cute flower brads while there thinking they would make nice adornments.

Doodling has always been a hobby of mine and so I set to work decorating the front and back of this journal with interesting designs.

I then replaced the brand on the front and back with my own, hand-made labels, and added a flower for effect.  I think it turned out just how I was hoping...I'm glad because that doesn't always happen, ya know!

One of my family members may just see this in their stocking this year ;)

Yay for it being time for Christmas crafting! Maybe I'm a little early? Nahhh...