A Yellow Year

So, somehow I have managed to let an entire year pass since my last post. I'll be honest, I know why. There are a few reasons really but the most poignant ones are: comparison and time. Obviously, as a woman, I struggle with comparison. "Other bloggers are so much more interesting than me...they have so much more wisdom or so many more thrilling adventures..." Blah blah blah, you know how that goes.
The other reason is time. Since my last post I have been hired at a new job that is full time. I am now the Assistant Manager at Yellow Dog Bread Company in downtown Raleigh. I simply love love love my job! I get to talk as much as I want, drink really good coffee, eat way too much bread, and give people a warm place to come hang out with friends and family. It has truly been a place where I can love on the people of Raleigh and connect to the community here.
Alex works with me as well. Yes, that's right, you are reading this correctly. My husband and I work at the same coffee shop/bakery. And no, we are not in need of a break from each other.
It has been perfect working with Alex because if we had full time jobs at separate places, volunteered at church twice a month (like we do), AND tried to have meaningful friendships outside of work... I would never see him! So it works out really well to at least be near each other during our work week, so then we don't feel so starved for time with each other over the weekend. Plus, we moved out here to North Carolina to help with a church plant and to do ministry together - if we aren't good at working together then I think we should reevaluate our calling!
Watching the way Alex can act in his gifts with our customers is so touching. He really is pastoral while serving people their daily coffee. He remembers their names, their families and their stories. We were talking just the other day about how he knows his calling is to be pastoral but that being a barista doesn't mean that he isn't a pastor. Just because we aren't full-time staff at a church somewhere does not make us any less effective in ministry by bring bringing the heart of the church to our everyday lives. Alex loves and cares for these people just the same as if he were given the title of "pastor."
It is so fulfilling working at Yellow Dog together because we really do treat it as if we were doing ministry or missionary work there together. I wouldn't trade the connections I've made, the lessons in leadership that I've learned, or the fun I've had over this past year. I want to bloom where I am planted. I want to be known as a hard worker. I want to keep the humility and respect that a barista must have for and towards others. And I want to live a life on mission for God's Kingdom no matter what my vocation title is. In the meantime, we have been so blessed to be given these jobs, I don't ever want to forget that.

Anyways, so that is where I have disappeared to. I have disappeared into a world of drizzling apple turnovers.

 A world of pouring latte art.

 And a world of fun - working with some seriously amazing people.

Oh also, Yellow Dog was recently featured in The Fresh Exchange  - check it out!
And I promise not to vanish into thin air like that again...

Furnishing On A Budget: My DIY Painted Rug

I'm going to tell you how I took this rug from drab to fab! Oh gosh I just love cheesy lines like that. Ok, so I posted before about my project with my hubby to build a bike rack for our apartment - well the cost-effective furnishing endeavors continue with this little redo project.

It has taken us months to make this apartment feel like home. When you are working missionaries in a new city, it can take quite some time to save up for furniture. That's why I'm trying really hard to use what I've got to make this place feel cozy and comfortable. And what I've got is a sad-green (that's the best way I can describe the shade it is) woven rug my friend Mikeah donated to me a few weeks ago. I had some green place mats so I was hoping it would work in the dining area. Because, you see, we have some pretty ugly tile as our flooring in this place so anything to cover some of it up was greatly appreciated.

The only real problem I had with the rug was the fact that it had to be placed right next to my RED couch - can you say "Christmas" anyone???

After deciding something had to be done, I began my research. There are tons of posts on pinterest and google about redoing rugs (especially these woven Ikea ones). The only thing I was hesitant about was: with dying, you need a washer and dryer to complete the process (which I don't currently have) - or with  painting, people reported that the paint dries a bit stiff and changes the "feel" of the rug. I really didn't want the feel to change too much so I decided to start the process of dying it.

Step 1: Bleach the PooPoo Out of the Rug
I dragged the rug out onto our little porch and filled a cleaning bottle with bleach from Target and sprayed it evenly over one side of the rug.

I had read in someone's blog about bleaching this way if you taped off a design and just wanted the untaped sections to be bleached it works well. I didn't want any green at all so I sprayed the whole thing (you could bleach the rug in the tub but I used much less bleach this way - since no one will be turning over the rug to see the undone side). I let the rug dry overnight outside.

Step 2: Rinse & Rinse Again
I dragged the rug into the tub and rinsed the bleach out that way. I let it sit a minute and then ran the water again to make sure all the bleach was rinsed off. After squeezing most of the water out, I hung it outside on the porch railing to dry overnight.

The side that I bleached still had a light green tint to it but it was mostly cream looking. I read a few more blogs about people ruining their washers and dryers with dying projects, or staining their bathtubs so I decided maybe that wasn't the best option after all. I changed my mind and decided to paint it after all.

Step 3: Use a Foam Roller to Paint on Your Base Color
I used regular flat latex interior paint in an "off-white" color and mixed it 50/50 with water. I read about someone doing this and it kept the rug from getting too crunchy.

Above you can see what the underside looks like in comparison. I was so pleased with the difference I almost stopped there and just had a cream rug. But, with most DIY projects...it's hard to stop once you start. Now comes the fun part...

Step 4: Tape - Very Carefully and Meticulously (you will hate tape after this)
I chose an alternating stripe pattern because I refuse to have a trendy chevron rug...and because I am way too lazy to actually design one.

For this pattern, all you have to do is tape in straight lines horizontally all the way over the entire rug. I used 1 and 1/2 rolls of 1.88" width painter's tape from Walmart. Then use a knife (yes I did use a steak knife from my kitchen) to cut a lateral line down the rug at the 1/3 and 2/3 width marks (I totally guessed but if you are more precise you can use a measuring tape and a long plank for these steps). Then just strip of the little sections of tape in an alternating pattern!

Step 5: Use a Foam Roller to Paint on Your Top Color
All I did for achieving the grey color was to add a small bottle of black acrylic craft paint to the half gallon of off-white that I had left - I cut paint 50/50 with water again.

I used a foam roller that was about the width of my stripes - but you can see I still ended up painting most of the blue tape...heehee. Be careful doing that though, because as my husband found out when he was helping me, the tape doesn't have the best grip on woven surfaces and so can shift very easily. I let the paint dry for a few hours and then removed the strips to reveal my beautiful creation!

There's the green side flipped over so you can see how drastic the change is. The grey parts are a little more stiff because that is where the most paint ended up on the rug. It's not all that bad though, and I have hope that it will soften up over time. I made sure to spray some scotch guard over it too to protect it for longer term use.

I tried putting the rug back under the dining table but I decided that it actually looks much better in the space by our bike racks where my desk is! I'm so proud of the result - yay for being poor!

A Visit to Virginia

I grew up without any sisters living in my home. But that doesn't mean that I didn't have a big sister. This is Hannah - technically my best friend Rachel's older sister but I claim her as mine too. Eight years ago she moved to Virginia after marrying her hubby Steven. You can imagine how excited I was to figure out that they live only 3.5 hours away from us! So, after all that is going on with my family back home, we decided we needed a weekend away with some dear friends. 

I did the driving since Alex worked an opening shift on Saturday. He's so cute when he sleeps (heehee).

When we arrived in the Newton's driveway I knew we reached the right place when the voices of 4 excited children came rushing out the front door. They all charged me and gave me a huge group hug. Seriously, the best therapy is the greeting of children! 

On Sunday we went out for lunch at a Deli with Steven's folks. Of course I got a tuna melt. I always try the tuna melt at any new place I haven't been to before. This place was extra awesome because there is free soft serve ice cream after your meal! 

You can see that Steven and Alex have something in common...bearded husbands are the best.

We had a little time before church so we walked around a bit in Norfolk. I think the neighborhood we were in is called Ghent. There is a great little coffee shop right up the street from the church that roasts their own beans. Stella was a thumbs up. 

What a refreshing service we enjoyed at Big House Church! Adam Cates is the teaching pastor but he also leads worship in rotation with the other musicians. 

Since we were first time visitors, we got to take home a worship CD that the church has put out. The songs they write are beautiful lyrically. And at the end of the service we were prayed over.

The whole evening was exactly what we needed! Thank you Jesus!

Monday was a relaxing day. We took the kids for a long nature walk around a lake.

It was so nice to feel like auntie and uncle  again.

Those kids did more to rejuvenate our excitement for ministry than they may ever understand.

They have such a curiosity for God's creation. They collected berries and pinecones and leaves. We threw things into the lake to see if the fish would eat them. There was spinning and piggy-back riding and racing. It was a glorious day. It was an awesome weekend. Watch out Newtons, we'll be back for more!

The End of One Story

Ah, it's good to be back. I took a month off from blogging to get into the swing of things in our new life here in Raleigh. I've decided there is no such thing. My life is not one that can be predicted from week to week...there is no "swing" to things. But you know what? That is A-OK with me. I never wanted a cookie-cutter life. I always loved the idea of having an unpredictable and adventurous life. Well, now that I have one, I'll admit it can be a bit exhausting. Fun, but exhausting. Honestly, I wouldn't trade it for the world.

A few weeks ago I found out that my parents are going to divorce. They have been married for 28 years. When I think about that amount of time...and how I've only been married for less than two years...I can't even wrap my head around it. I haven't even been alive for that long yet! At first I felt so detached from the whole situation. I live so far away from Oregon now, I'm married, my husband and I are our own family - I guess I really have left my father and mother to cleave to my spouse. Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love my parents and am so sad for what they are going through...but my head and my heart naturally approached the situation differently than I think I would if I was still more dependent on them.

I haven't had a chance to talk to all of my brothers yet (I have 4 of them). The two that I have talked to are still going through a bit of the shock phase. My youngest brother lives at home, as well as the middle brother. Luke, the youngest, has been really helpful at home with my mom. He hangs out with her, goes to appointments with her, he's just one of those real gems of a guy. I'm super proud of what a good man he is. The next one up from him in age lives with my oldest brother in another house. Adrian is pretty disappointed about the whole situation. It is a messy divorce. I haven't connected with Nik (the other one that lives at home) or Alex (the oldest) but my husband and I are going to Oregon for a few days at Christmas, so it will be good to chat with them all face to face.

Fortunately, both of my parents are surrounded by amazing people. Their friends love them and turn them towards truth, healing, and God. It is going to be very different seeing my parents on separate occasions now. They came for a visit a couple weekends ago. My mom stayed with us but my dad stayed at a hotel. It was odd having to coordinate visits and making sure we wouldn't let them run into each other in town. I am happy that I'm old enough not to feel a need to "choose sides" because otherwise this would be much tougher. I think about how so many families have gone through this, and often there are still younger children living at home. It makes me realize how much each decision we make can effect so many others around us. My prayer right now is that our family can still have a sense of togetherness...even if not all of them are together anymore.

Furnishing on a budget: $30 DIY Bike Rack

Since moving to North Carolina from Oregon, we have been on a very (and I mean extremely) tight budget. At the beginning of the month our friends helped us with our bills because all the moving expenses completely drained our resources. So needless to say, this young married couple hasn't been having very many date nights...

But now that pay checks are starting to stagger in and replenish what we spent to move out here, we are slowly being able to think about furnishing our apartment. I have all these cute ideas in mind (thanks Pinterest) but don't have the money to pull them all off yet. You've gotta start somewhere right? So we decided that maybe starting with the things that demand a certain amount of space should be worked out first. Namely, our bikes. 

I wasn't even really into biking until we went down to one car last year and Alex had to start commuting to work. He got super into the whole fixie craze and has since purchased me one (the bottom bike in the above photo) and spends a lot of time researching ways to make his bike cooler. Anyways...our apartment is much bigger than our place in Portland - 755 sq feet - but still not huge. So, we wanted to find the best way to store our bikes inside (we live on the first floor so it would be way to easy to take them off our back porch) without creating a giant contraption of hideousness. Cue Pinterest searching. We found lots of great photos but nothing that made us perfectly satisfied. Finally, Alex came across a photo of a DIY bike rack that used a 2x4x8 that propped against the wall with hooks in it for the bikes. 

We set out to Home Depot with our $50 bike rack budget for date night. Once we showed an employee what we were working on, he suggested we just bolt the wood board to the wall with lag screws and skip the part where we would have to build an anchor for the leaning version. Genius. We had the man cut 6 inches off the board (because our ceiling is only 8 feet high we were worried the board would be a tad tall) and went home with our supplies: 

1 - 2x4x8 (minus 6 inches) ($2.95) 

2 - 5/16 lag screws ($0.60 each)

2 - fold down bike hooks ($6 each) 

1 - Behr "maple leaf" paint sample ($3.95) 

1 - 8oz can of Minwax Wood Finish in "dark walnut" ($4.98) 

1 - paintbrush ($1.15) 

Total = $26.23 + tax

We called our buddy Justin to borrow a stud finder and a power screw driver. We started by pre-drilling the board and held it up to pre-drill into the wall for accurate placement where a stud was. Then we painted one coat of the Behr paint, followed by one coat of stain an hour later. We had to let the stain sit for 8 hours to dry thoroughly. The next day, I held the board up while my husband screwed in the lags. Then we attached the bike hooks and voila! 

Not too shabby! 

Emmaus - A Jesus Church

We officially launched our church this week. Sunday at 10am in Cary, NC was our first service in the location we have booked for a year. The Cary Arts Center is a beautiful building. It stands at the end of the street through the quaint downtown area of Cary, so the road literally leads to Emmaus. 

There was so much preparation that went into this service. The music team held three different practice sessions during the week leading up. I was worried I might lose my voice before Sunday! Don't worry, I didn't. Everything went wonderfully. It almost felt like, as a church plant, we cheated. We totally skipped the step where you meet in a school cafeteria and have really bad equipment for worship and the "kids ministry" meets out in the hall. We were able to go right into full swing with stocked up kids rooms, great sounding instruments, projector screens, and video for pod casting. An awesome beginning. 

The whole day was like we have been doing this for years. The team knows each other so well. The band has fun up on stage together. And we held a cook out in the park across the street afterward like a huge family. This really is a huge family. They take care of each other. When we were worried about how to pay our bills our family gathered around us and helped us pay for our rent. I was floored to watch four different families give us money to pay our bills. I was very humbled. It's always a hard thing to admit you can't pay for something, but then to accept other people's money is even harder. I don't know how to express what it has done to change my understanding of "generosity." On top of that, exactly what we needed came in - on the first of the month - all the money we needed was given to us. Amazing. Or as some of us have been joking: Emmaus-zing. 

God took care of us yet again. Why is it so stressful to trust Him after He had been faithful every time? Gosh I'm stubborn. He knows that. He knows I'm stubborn. He loves me anyway. 

This week, Alex and I have been enjoying a slight lull in the chaos before youth group starts up. We were able to go explore a bit at the North Carolina Museum of Art. 

There is a lovely greenway with art and a nice bike path throughout the grounds. 

Yes, in the above photo, that is my husband credit carding a naked statue. He has a great respect for art. We are hoping to get my bike up and running so this can become our new bike route. It needs some tuning up and we are just waiting until our bank account is a bit more stable. 

The museum has live music and movies on the weekend, so I think we'll try to enjoy one of those options this week or next. Even in poverty we have found ways to enjoy free dates. Being creative with our time together has been so good during the stress of last week's financial crisis. Oh and we're also going to go explore a big garage sale in Durham to see if we can find some furnishings for our empty apartment! 

Life in Raleigh

We've survived the first week. Survived the spiders, mosquitoes, and humidity. They are still here, but we've survived the first week, so I figure we can probably keep going a bit longer. The first week has also been a learning experience. I've learned that pretty much everybody who said good things about the area was telling the truth, and everyone who said negative things lied to my face. This place is as green as I heard it was. It is, however, not flat! There are hills and hills and hills. No mountains around with snow capped peaks or anything, but hills galore! Poor Alex was looking forward to an easier bike ride to work every morning, not the case. The people here are also so warm and welcoming. They speed like mad people on the freeway, but they are so nice about it. A woman cut me off the other day while I was waiting to pick up the two boys I'm nannying from school. She pulled over and got out of her car, walked up to my window and apologized for doing that. I've never in my life had a driver apologize to me. It's almost scary how cordial these North Carolinians are. My Portland sarcasm is going to be a shocker.

Our jobs are going well. Alex fits right in with his new work team at Starbucks in Cary. And the family I'm working with is very fun. The boys are...well...boys. I'm accustomed to boys though, four brothers will do that to you! They told me they want me to pick them up from school for the rest of their time at the academy - that they don't want to have to start taking the bus next year because they like me better. Score one for the nanny.

We are still painfully poor. We were able to pay for all of our moving expenses and our August prorated rent, but the next month is almost upon us, so we are scraping together all of our pennies to make end's meet. Alex wanted to rent a Redbox movie last night but I told him we couldn't afford the $1.29 until our next paycheck. *Sigh* so pathetic. I'll admit, I have been stressing about it a bit. I want to tell myself that I trust the Lord to have brought us this far and not leave us now. I want to tell myself that He'll give me that peace that passes understanding...but I simply don't right now. I won't fake it 'til I make it. I don't believe in that. I'd rather be honest.

So, honestly, I was crying last night thinking about how we can't even buy laundry detergent right now. Fortunately, our team has been so great to let us come over and use laundry machines, or make us dinner. Anyways, this morning I woke up a little depressed. I had watched Becoming Jane a few days ago (oh I do love girly movies) and there's a line where Jane's father is encouraging her to marry a guy she doesn't want to but he is wealthy: "Nothing breaks spirit like poverty." I thought about that when I woke up with a small grey cloud over my head. I don't want that to be true of me. I want to have the same fervor for Jesus that I do when things are going smooth with my life circumstances. Then Alex texted me from work with a verse he had read today. It is Romans 8:32 - "He who did not spare His own Son, but gave him up for us all, how will He not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?" I don't know an onomatopoeia for conviction. But if conviction makes a sound, it rung loudly in my ears as I read that out loud. Ok, Jesus, you've got this.

I am sincerely looking forward to watching how this all works out for my good...and His glory.