Tuesday, January 10, 2017

The latest and greatest from St. Louis...

It seems like every time I call or visit with someone to catch up I end up saying, "So pretty much the same as last time..." There really aren't a lot of big or progressive things going on in my life right now. But that's ok, it's the small and simple that make the greatest difference, right?

So, for the most part, things are pretty much the same as they were months ago when I wrote the "5 years of updates," but there are a few things worth sharing! First of all, Gabe is now in Trimester 9 - our of 10! That's right! Less than 8 months until graduation! AND, less than 5 months until we move back home to Springfield! :O And we actually know now that we will be able to move home in May. At the end of last trimester, Gabe applied to some extra clinic opportunities hoping to guarantee that he would be finished with his required adjustments, new patients, etc. by the end of this trimester. He was accepted into LCC, one of the clinics that works with Logan University and does community outreach (aka - lots of patients). We were super excited and are very grateful. He's liking it pretty well so far. He goes every Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday from 12-7, in addition to his regular clinic hours on campus Wednesdays from 12-4 and class every morning from 7:30-12. On top of which, he has a class on Saturday and Sunday for a couple weekends, as well as the occasional seminar. Ya, he's pretty busy right now. Thankfully, his time at LCC and his weekend class only last until mid February.

But for the meantime, his busy schedule has left mine feeling rather empty. But trust me, I'm not complaining. Since moving away from home after high school, I've come to realize more and more how introverted I actually am. So while I miss the extra time with my husband, I have no problem with the extra quiet time by myself at home. The only challenge is trying to make sure I'm still being productive and not a total bum...which I think I'm at least partially succeeding at. :) I spend Wednesdays babysitting and Thursdays at the temple. Other than that I'm trying to devote a lot more time to scripture reading, and just reading in general, as well as cooking a good dinner every night and keeping the house clean. And seeing as how I cook and clean like I do everything else in life - very "thoroughly"...ok, slowly - it fills my time up pretty well. Plus it also leaves my schedule open for phone calls, visiting teaching, preparing young women lessons, and spending time with friends. Oh! And I'm now trying to spend some time each week doing, or at least reading, family history. Anyway, it sounds kind of boring, but I like boring. :)

Our time here in St. Louis has gone by so quickly, it's crazy. We are SO excited to move back home and be closer to family (and farther from the city), but there are definitely some things about St. Louis that I'm going to miss. First of all, our ward. Seriously, our ward here is amazing. Before moving up here Dad gave each of us, myself and Gabe, a recorded Father's Blessing. In mine he talked about the ward that I would go to in St. Louis and how I would enjoy it and how it would bless my life and fill my cup each week. I can't even express how completely I have seen that fulfilled. I've served with the young women pretty much the entire time we've been here and I have absolutely loved it. I have come to know and love a lot of the women and families in our ward, but I have especially loved the relationships I've gained with the other young women leaders as we have worked and served together. Everything about it has been a blessing - I've learned so much, grown so much, been shown so much love and kindness, and had so much fun. Secondly, and I'm sure even more profoundly, I am going to miss serving in the temple each week as an ordinance worker. Words truly cannot express how my testimony of and love for the temple has grown over the past 2 1/2 years through serving as an ordinance worker. The temple is everything. It has given me so much strength and sustained me so completely to be there each week. I honestly can't even begin to imagine the void that I will feel not being able to come to the temple as often or to serve in the same capacity. But I am beyond grateful for the time and opportunities that I have had. Our time here in St. Louis really has been short, but it has changed who I am and impacted my life forever.

2 comments:

Jenessa Adams said...

I love this. My life has seemed pretty simple lately too...because I have been so used to the fast paced life of ice skating, coaching, running, etc etc. Now it's just take care of myself, my home, my calling, and my husband. It's kind of nice but it can take effort to make sure I'm not being idle...which I am not too good at anyway. I love reading more and taking walks. Sure is great to have these quite times before they become more scarce. You are a great lady and I am grateful to have you as a sister!

Nancyann said...

It's good to know that I'm not alone! :) This past summer and fall I started going for walks a lot more and I loved it. I wish I was motivated enough to go walking in the cold like you do...but I really don't enjoy it. I definitely try to take advantage of the warmer days though. :)