Reading and rattlesnakes..

It's been awhile since I've written, so it's time for an update. Blake is in his 3rd week of school. He loves it. He spends the majority of the time reading and doing projects. True scholar. I have already had my 1st week of work. I love it. All in all, we love Abilene. Still looking for a church, but that'll come. Our dog has adapted quite well to our new home, and the whole Berryhill bunch seems to be pretty satisfied. As promised, here are a few pics of our house.

Master Bedroom

Dining room

Kitchen

Living room

View from the street

The neighbors could be better... last week as we were heading out the front door to walk the dog, we found a little present on our doorstep. The 6 inch rattlesnake just looked up and smiled while we slammed the door. I hate snakes. Blake hates snakes. Not cool. Blake did his manly duty of killing it while I jumped up and down and screamed like a girl. It took me about 4 days to use the front door again. Hopefully, this was just a chance encounter, but I'm constantly on the lookout now. It's always been my greatest fear that Sam (dog) would find a snake in the backyard and try to play with it. She's just dumb enough to do it. Death to all snakes.

Other than that, we're doing great. My family - mom, dad and brother- came down yesterday to see the house and eat dinner. We had a good time, but it made me a little homesick for Midland. I know, I know, I was there last week, but we still haven't met (or had time to meet) new friends, so the weekends can be a little lonely. One thing is definite, though. We are meant to be here. We feel it everyday. I truly believe God wouldn't have let things line up as well as they did (selling and buying houses quickly, jobs, etc) without us having a purpose here. It's exciting and we're enjoying this time of change. :)

Life thus far..

So, it's been a week in Abilene. What we have learned so far:

- Life is made up of three things: Waking up, Working all day, and going to Wal-mart
- Buy bug spray. Lots of it. The mosquitoes are terrible here.
- Oh, and Abilene is also spiderville. We've counted about 25 since we've been here. (And this is not cool. If there is any type of animal, vegetable or mineral we shun, it is any form of arachnoid. Eww.)
- Take water everywhere you go-- it's always 300 degrees outside
- Packing tape can fixes almost anything!

Other than that, we've been pretty boring this week. We opened our last box yesterday and breathed a sigh of relief. Blake has been wonderful about transferring all of our moving information and taking care of all the fine details. I have been busy beautifying the house and trying to make it into a home. Other than that, nothing big.

We tried out Southern Hills Church of Christ today. It was great, but it really made me miss GCR. It's weird to walk into a "church" and not know anybody. I haven't felt that in over 25 years. Still, we hope that we will find the place that God wants us to be. We still miss our friends, though.

Love you, and please come visit soon!
Laura

Moving Day.....

6 a.m. - The alarm violently shakes me from my slumber. Reluctantly, I wake up to find that it's moving day. Time for some sustenance. Only one place to go... can I hear a starts with a J and ends with umburrito? With somber faces we took in our last meal and posed for a loving goodbye picture to remember the beauty of a large sausage and egg burrito at a moment's notice. We will miss thee.

8 a.m. - Last minute packing and box sealing. Boxes are the bain of our existence.

9 a.m.- A large red truck and trailer enter our driveway with three movers. Let the moving begin!

12 p.m.- Truck dead. Blake performs his magic and heals the battery miraculously. What a man. On the road for the trek to Abilene. Blake rides solo, while Sam and Laura sing tunes of joyfulness in perfect harmony.

1:00 p.m.- Sam decides she wants to live in Big Spring and leaps over Laura's seat in a mad rush to make her break for it at Dairy Queen. After a massive race and some mad football skills, Sam is recovered and goes quietly back to car. After Laura is revived, they return to the highway, with dog tied to seat of car.

3:00 p.m. - Pull up to the house. Movers nowhere to be seen. Last known location: exiting highway as Blake continues to Abilene. Movers eventually show up and perform great feats of unloading, taking off doors and fitting refrigerators through hallways. Angels really do walk on earth.

5:30 p.m.- Movers drift away to provide another miraculous service to other new homeowners. Box opening begins, and we continue until sunset.

12:00 a.m.- We close our eyes to wake to another day of cardboard and trips to Wal-mart. Goodnight, Abilene.

-Blake and Laura (and Sam)

A Place to Live?

First off, thank you for all the wonderful going away parties and gifts. Y'all have worn us out with your love! We appreciate all the sweet notes, hugs, presents and mountains of food you gave us. We will definitely be getting a gym membership to walk off all the extra calories.

In other news, the house is packed, I'm done with PT school and we have already turned in our cable box/internet stuff. We're ready as ready can be and can't wait until the moving trucks get here. Sam (our dog) acts like she knows that some kind of change is coming. We're a little worried about her reaction once everything begins on Saturday. She loves car rides, but we're concerned about this one because it will be the longest one of her life.

Anyway, we're excited about getting to Abilene and starting our "new" life. I will post pictures of wherever we end up living as soon as we get there. :)

-Laura

Busy weeks ahead

So, here it is.. my first post on our new blog. Since we are moving to a different city, I thought it would be a nice idea to start a blog so you can keep up with all of our new adventures in Abilene. A lot of excitement awaits us, but we're also heartsick because we feel like Midland is really our home. My parents and brother are here, all of our true friends are here, our church family... it's such a big step for us to take. We fought God on this for a long time. I had to keep asking Him if He were kidding. Nope. Reality strikes! Still, I am excited about starting a new life together as a full couple. It will no longer be Blake the youth minister and his wife Laura- now we will be the Berryhills. And that's just fine with us. It will be nice to live a life outside of the spotlight.

Blake is struggling with the move, too. Youth ministry has been his life for at least the past 10 years. It was a childhood dream that came true, and a calling that was fulfilled. I'm sure it does feel confusing to go from the server to the served. I'm glad for him. He needs spiritual nourishment, too. He loves learning, and this will be a wonderful chance for him to enjoy school without worrying about a full-time job and juggling career with academics. We're flip-flopping roles! How weird! I know he's looking forward to it, it's just such a drastic change.

I'm worried about friends. I don't seem to have a problem making them, yet I'm anxious about having to meet new people and make new relationships. At work, the closest person to my age will be about 20 years my senior. That's great, but it would be nice to meet some couples in our life stage. Nobody will replace the friends I have in Midland. Nobody. They have been the biggest blessing in my life. For three years, they have ministered, cared and encouraged me in a way that is so unknown to me. For the first time in my life, I have AWESOME girlfriends. I'm going to miss y'all so much. Please stay in touch. I'll do my best. You're always welcome to come to our new home. I will miss watching your kids grow up and seeing you start a family, but who knows.. maybe we'll be back someday :)

Anyway, those are the thoughts for today. Here's a list of the upcoming events in Blake's and my life:

July 26-Aug 1 Blake at Pine Springs (girls' week anyone?)
Aug 2 Blake's going away party at GCR
Aug 6 Laura's last day of school -- FOREVER!
Aug 8 Moving day
Aug 24 Blake starts school (again)
Sept 1 or 2 Laura's first day as a "real" physical therapist

Much love,
Laura