My heart is full

Thankful

- I'm thankful today is my Friday.

- I'm thankful that Andrew did the dishes tonight.

- I'm thankful we live so close to Uptown.

- I'm thankful for sitting on the porch in a blanket talking to that Ginna girl.

- I'm thankful for extra reserves of patience when preschool crazy happens. 

- I'm thankful for preschool parents (and my own parents) who are so encouraging.

- I'm thankful for the artwork on my fridge that a little boy gave me.

- I'm thankful for walks with a friend who asks good questions.

- I'm thankful for God's provision for me in so many little ways.

- I'm thankful for coffee.

- I'm thankful for a husband who takes care of a dead snake in our yard. (eeps!)

- I'm thankful when Bible verses come to mind just when I need them.

- I'm thankful for my mama who is one of my favorite people to talk to on the phone.

- I'm thankful for a quiet night at home.

I have so many things to be thankful for.

Life lately

I need to start blogging again. I love going back and looking at what we've done. Here's life lately and in no particular order.

So, we live in the Wild West. It's definitely not Myers Park. I pass by this every day and I've always wanted a picture of Westside C(arrie). Andrew has always said "no" until one night when we drove by it and no one was out there so then he said "yes".

 We've been going through Narnia and Andrew finished reading to me The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe at Bearden park in Uptown.

Beach with the fam and this is how that Ginna girl checks her phone. She makes life fun!

The whole crew!

Andrew became a deacon at church. So proud of him and thankful for this opportunity.

 Meeting my friend's babies!

Bridal showers!

Story + Snack at Rozzie! I read The Very Hungry Caterpillar to my friend's children then we had a snack. The cucumbers were not even touched. Ha! :)

My main man.

This lady got married and looked amazing. So happy! :)

So Andrew

I was going through a few pictures I took from my cousin's wedding when I found this one. This is so Andrew. He is always playing with his wedding ring. I love natural, candid shots of real life.

FOUR

It's been FOUR years in the Queen City! Four years ago I moved from NYC to Myers Park. It was a really hard time of my life and on a whim, I picked up and moved back South. I'm so glad I did. Tonight I was reminiscing about that lil house on Manor Rd. with C&MK. How I still pass by J. Crew and remember those 4am wake-ups so I could be ready for roll-out at 5am. I knew a handful of people in Clt four years ago and now the Lord has blessed me with a husband I love and community- people who feel like family to me. I'm so thankful! 

God is good to us. So good.

CCC

Ok, Andrew knows all of this so it's not a surprise to him.

I love being married. Love it. Love my new last name. I just miss, a lot of the time, being CCC. Hardest part about getting married (which is probably so strange to most people). Maybe it is because names (in this case, initials) are very important to me. I love to hear what friends are naming their babies, getting my class roster is so fun, and I even tell my sister, "You're definitely not a Jenna. But you're such a Ginna.". 

Tonight, after the first day of preschool (!!), Andrew took me to Triple C Brewing Company in SouthEnd. Yeah! I've been wanting to come here for a while. Perfect tonight because Thursday is my Friday and I don't make dinner on Thursday nights during the school year (14 three y/olds exhaust me. love them and love my job, but exhausting.). 

My name has changed and I love but I'll always be CCC. (AD agrees. :)

Thankful

Ok, so this post might make more sense if I give you my current setting: dark, dreary night and it's 65 degrees out. August. Yes, that's right. Oh and Andrew's out getting beer with the dudes.

Anyways, I just heard this one song on Pandora which I listened to a lot last fall (and this day really reminds me of fall) which made a lot of thoughts & feelings come back. 

Last fall was really hard. A high school friend took his life last June and then in September a family friend took his own life. I still think about them (a lot of times when I'm doing the dishes... don't know why) and it's hard to wrap my mind around it! So heartbreaking. I feel everything so deeply which can be good and can be really hard. 

Tonight also reminds me of Rozzie. I've been thinking about Rozzie a lot because this time last year we we were in the process of putting in an offer, etc. This house was a short sale... nothing, nothing is ever short about a short sale. From the time we looked at the house (July) to the day we got our keys (December), a lot of waiting happened. We were homeless and at one point had to stop telling our closest family & friends the latest news because it was that much of a ridiculous roller coaster. It wasn't until the night before we closed ... I'll say it again, the night before we closed, until we knew 100% we were getting Rozzie. 

I'm so thankful for this house. I remember driving by last fall and wondering if this is where we'll live. Wondering if that's where we'll have dinner every night and if that's where we'll sit on the porch. It was sitting empty for 2 years (which means I'm still dealing with cobwebs) so I never saw it with furniture/other people's stuff ... blank slate for us!

It's funny what waiting does to a person. After waiting for 6 months for Rozzie, I often find myself so incredibly thankful to the Lord for such a blessing. I can't believe He gave it to us!

We also want to use Rozzie to be a blessing to others so that's why we'll have a Johnson & Wales student live with us this year! She'll be in France this fall studying French pastries (um, hello!) and then will be with us til May. 

So there's my retrospective Saturday night rainy day post. God is good all the time and every good and perfect gift is from above!