Lots to look forward to!

|Originally posted April 17th, 2008 by Claire|

Well, after 2 days of SNOW in April, we think (we PRAY) spring is here to stay. I simply can’t wait for all the trees to be green! The other day we were driving down the mountain, where spring is already in full force, and it was literally breathtaking. Sometimes I can’t believe we get to live somewhere so gorgeous!

So last weekend was a lot of fun! We have friends now, so that’s been nice. Last Saturday we went for a walk with our friends Chuck and Meghann….

Then, we met up with our friends Adam and Laura and Rob’s boss and his wife, Carey and Leann, to embark on the most Boone-ish adventure we’ve been on since we moved here: Contra Dancing. Somehow, we ladies managed to convince our men that going to a barn in the middle of nowhere to engage in a combination of square dancing, line dancing, and what I call “Jane Austen dancing” (the kind where you’re all in a line, trading partners, and moving down the line) would make for a fun Saturday evening. And it really was a blast - not to mention a great workout. We were sweatin’ to that bluegrass for sure! Here are some pictures of the night:

Adam and Laura:

Carey, Leann, Rob, and me:

A string group that came down from New York as part of their tour:

And, to top off that glorious weekend, we even went down to the mountain to the “big city”. This means that I got to go to Target. Very exciting.

Okay, now for the super-exciting stuff!!

1. Rob and I are moving to a new rental house! We have been casually looking around for somewhere that will allow us to have our dog, Baby, who’s currently hanging out with my parents in Memphis. So we found this SUPER CUTE red house in an adorable neighborhood, and we put down a deposit! The house is only a couple of years old, looks and feels really new and clean and fresh on the inside, and it’s close to town. Oh, and it’s SUPER CUTE. My words, not Rob’s. But he thinks it’s “really nice”. And we can have pets there! We move in May 1st.

2. My family is coming to visit us on Memorial Day weekend! We can’t wait, we can’t wait!!

3. In their car, they will bring Baby. And thereafter, we will be her people, and she will be our dog. And wherever we go, she will go also. We are happy.

Thanks for reading!

The newest member of our family...

|Originally posted April 10th, 2008 by Claire|

Well, after several days of promising to write this blog, I’m finally following through. Here’s the latest on our lives in the Boone-docks!

As Rob mentioned in his last post, I GOT A JOB!! And a darn good one, too. I feel so, so, so, so blessed to be working at OASIS, Inc. as their new Shelter Case Manager. A couple of weeks ago, I had dragged Rob into a tearful self-pity fest that I would never, ever find a meaningful, challenging job in Boone and that I would just have to work at McDonald’s and ruin my resume for LIFE!!! (Are you picking up on the fact that I was feeling a little melodramatic that day?) The very next day, I got a call from OASIS asking me to come in for an interview. The day after that, I interviewed, and an hour later, they called to offer me the position. And the day after that, I started work. Maybe God was trying to help me eat my words and teach me a thing or two about trust…just a guess. But it was a whirlwind of a week!

Now, two weeks later, I am absolutely LOVING the job. To recap, OASIS works with victims of domestic violence and sexual assault by providing crisis counseling, information, shelter, legal and medical advocacy, safety planning, etc. I am their new Shelter Case Manager (their previous one is leaving to get her Masters), which means that I will be working directly and frequently with clients. A typical week might involve taking crisis calls, counseling women who come to the office, going to the ER to provide support and advocacy for someone who has been checked in for domestic abuse or sexual assault, attending court with women who are facing civil or criminal cases related to their abuse, and spending one night a week at the shelter with a pager that could wake me up to respond to an incident in the community (I would go to the ER or the police department, basically). I am SO humbled by all the responsibility, because I know I have tons to learn in order to help these women, but I’m already having an incredible time at OASIS. I love all the people I work with (there are about 11 of us, all women, lots of young married/engaged gals). I love the variety and unpredictable nature of the job - no day is the same, and sometimes I’m driving around in the community, going to meetings, etc. AND…I get to speak Spanish!! I will be the organization’s Spanish-speaking liaison, and I can’t tell you how good it feels to know I’ll be using my degree and this skill I’ve worked so hard to develop! I’ve already had the chance to speak quite a bit of Spanish just in the first couple of weeks. Anyway, I’m rambling. Bottom line: I love my job, I’m thrilled, God is good.

In other news, we recently had to say goodbye to one special member of our family and welcome a new one. Caden, Rob’s beloved truck, just wasn’t making sense for us financially, so we sold him to someone at Samaritan’s Purse. Parting is such sweet sorrow. Rob’s handling it very bravely, especially for someone who named his car (Caden means “kingly”) and talked to it like it was a real person. Not that I don’t do the same exact thing to Ricardo Alejandro Velasquez IV (my baby blue Toyota RAV4), or Cuatro, as I like to call him. So anyway, we sold Caden, and for a fraction of the money we sold him for, we bought a champagne (…ick) 2000 Chevy Malibu with only 77,000 miles on it, leaving us with a nice chunk of change to pay off a few things. We haven’t named the Malibu yet, but perhaps someday we will come to love him (or her - the gender is TBD) as we did Caden. Rob is doubtful. And so am I.

Well, we might be doing something fun this weekend that’s worth documenting with pictures, so check back in a little while for more updates! Below are some pics of the vehicle transition, along with a pretty pic of the view from our front yard. We’ve seen the first hints of spring this week, but we can’t wait for full blown green trees and flowers everywhere! We’ll put up some pics of Boone when that time comes.