From My Side of the World (and Small Joys volume 8!)

Hello from the Midwest, dear friends!  After months of planning, anticipating, losing sleep, stressing, packing, etc., I have finally arrived in Indianapolis and am writing to you now with my trusty Earl Grey tea on my coffee table from a mostly unpacked and organized apartment.  There's still a stray box here or there, mostly filled with those things that I knew I shouldn't have brought with me but did anyways.  My brain is so all over the place that I'm not entirely sure how to start this post, but I suppose to start I'll just say that for the first time in many months, I feel at peace.  

It's kind of weird to say that, considering that I only know a handful of people up here and considering that I have yet to find employment, but I can honestly say to you that my soul feels an overwhelming sense of peace and my heart feels full.  The move went smoother than any move I've ever done in state or in the same city before, which is amazing.  As usual, God has been faithful and has crushed every fear that I had regarding this move.  My sweet future sister-in-law and brother-in-law, Ashley and Chris, made the trek with us last week with the Budget truck and my Honda civic; we arrived in a timely fashion, unloaded the entire truck that night, and returned the truck Saturday morning with not a single issue.  I am so thankful for Ashley and Chris and how they just poured out their love on us during this move.  They witnessed a few tense moments between Scott and I as we snapped at one another over silly things, but they were so gracious and loving in their interactions with us and were so enthusiastic to help with unpacking and putting furniture together.  I don't think I'll ever be able to thank them enough for their help and servant-attitudes that they displayed.  

I've spent most of the past week unpacking and putting things in their new homes, and I think that the apartment is finally starting to look like a home.  If I had to pick my absolute favorite part of it, it's hands-down my view.  Here's what I see when I wake up each morning outside of my bay window (this looks like a night-time picture but it's actually as the sun was rising the first morning that I woke up here):

The view at night isn't too shabby, either.  I've been blessed to have Scott over for dinner every night so far since I've moved in, and I have insisted on leaving the blinds open during dinner even though it's dark out just so we can see the city lights.  He's busy studying for his boards for dental school, so it works out that I can use my spare time during the day to cook yummy meals for us.  Our dinners together are his main study breaks during the day; he resumes studying pretty quickly once they plates are cleared from the table.  It's actually kind of funny that I ended up with this view; it's not what I had originally wanted for our apartment (though, had I known what it looked like, I would have requested it from the very beginning).  I was looking for an apartment on the other side of the building that was a little bit less expensive since its view was of another building; but for $50 more a month, I think I got the better deal.  They did not have any of the less expensive units available for a November move-in, and I'm ever so thankful that they didn't.  I actually have this same view from my bedroom window, so it's nice to wake up in the morning and see this as soon as I open my blinds.  

The city itself is quite fun.  I've visited before and enjoyed different aspects of the downtown Indy area, but as a resident, it seems quite different.  For my first weekend here we went to a Colts game in Lucas Oil stadium with Ashley & Chris.  Unfortunately the Colts lost to the Rams (and we were seated by an obnoxious Rams fan for the whole game, quite to our dismay), but I still had a great time soaking up the NFL experience.  

Since I haven't done a "small joys" post in a while, I think I'll toss that into this post and share my small joys from life in Indy so far.  Here's what I've got.

No. 1: Nightly dinner dates with my fiancé. I already mentioned this, but it's amazing to me that we went from seeing each other once every 2-3 months to seeing each other on a daily basis.  It took 7.5 years to get here, but we are finally in the same place! I always joked that we made long distance look easy, but probably wouldn't survive when living in the same city.  I think I might have been wrong on that one!  I've been a little hard on him lately because he's the main person I know here, but he's been very good to me and very helpful with things around the apartment and with helping me navigate the city.  I'm so thankful that he is living right down the road and will soon be sharing this apartment with me as our first home together.  

No. 2: Nesting.  I don't really know if you can call it nesting when you aren't pregnant (trust me, I'm not. It'd be the second immaculate conception if I was!), but I feel like that's what I've been doing lately-- putting together our home and making it feel cozy.  There's still some clutter here and there, but mostly it's looking lived-in.  

No. 3: New restaurants! I never used to think of myself as a "foodie," but I'm starting to realize that I very much am.  I love trying local restaurants and new dishes that are specific to the region I'm in.  I've already found several restaurants here that will be staples for when friends and family come to visit!  Scott was good to me and took me to a good old BBQ joint last Monday so I could get my taste of home in.  I even found some sweet tea up here which is a rare find in these parts of the country :)

No. 4: New friendships.  Don't misread this: I was by no means sick of my OLD friendships (to be truthful, I have either FaceTimed, Skyped, or talked on the phone with at least one friend every day since I've arrived), but I'm thankful for being included in Scott's group of friends and that people have been reaching out in friendly ways to me so far.  I was kind of nervous about only knowing a few people up here, but everyone has been so lovely to me so far and I can already feel deep bonds forming with some of the people I've met here.  I've even been able to reconnect with friends from NC-- a sweet friend, Kayla, who is from Wilmington AND went to Carolina, was my lunch date yesterday and showed me around the city a bit.  This week I'm planning to meet up with Marissa who lived in my neighborhood junior year and who is good friends with some mutual friends of mine.  I'm so thankful for these two ladies and the fact that I can have people in Indy who can relate to North Carolina life as well.  

No. 5: Down time.  For the first time in a very long time, I have time to do quiet time every morning, read books for fun, write letters to people, take my time getting ready, and drink my coffee slowly in the morning.  It's been so nice to have this down time, though truthfully, I'm already starting to look for other ways to fill my time.  I've realized that my down time is very me-focused, and I need it to be focused on other people and their needs.  I'm still actively searching for a job and plan to continue this job search, but I'm also looking for some volunteer opportunities to fill my down time with while I look for a job.  More to come on the job search below, it's a major struggle and something I'd love your prayer for. 

No. 6: Snow! I know that at some point I'll look at snow as the obnoxious thing I have to scrape off of my car early in the morning before work, but for right now, it's fun for me.  We had one little snow sprinkle last week that lasted from late one night until mid-morning the following day, but it was fun to be able to sit inside and watch without worrying about how I was going to get anywhere in it.  

No. 7: Home-cooking.  This is something that I slacked on in my last few weeks/months in NC.  I was so busy and stressed with packing and working on moving details that I barely cooked a thing.  It's been so fun to have time to spend in the kitchen again thinking up what I want to create for the week.  I know once I start working I'll miss the time I had to put into this, but cooking meals at home is something I hope to always find time to do.  It's so under-appreciated in our society now, but it's one of those joys that eating out will never be able to fulfill for me. 

No. 8: A church home.  I was so happy to be able to attend church with Scott this weekend for the first time in months.  He has recently switched churches (I didn't actually know this until today!) and the church he currently attends seems to be rooted in the Gospel and with their hearts on being intentional, missional Christians.  Scott and I will likely do some pre-marital counseling through this church to supplement the counseling we will do with our pastor, James, via Skype before the wedding.  This is the first time I've not had to church-hop in my life and it's just lovely.  Scott said we could try other churches if I wanted to, but I am very happy with the church he's going to and the message, worship, and fellowship that is cultivated there.  

I feel like I'm reaching an end here with Small Joys. Usually I like to do 10 but this week I think I'll stick with 8.  My brain is starting to shut down and I'm thinking it may be bed time for this funemployed girl.  Speaking of funemployment, it's actually only fun for so long and I think my "fun" time is expiring.  Please keep my job search in your prayers over the next few weeks! I'm by no means in a desperate situation for one, but would very much like to be back in the nursing world with challenges and goals to aspire to reach.  I'm not the kind of person who can sit around for too long without something to do... so I'm realizing work is good for me.  I've contacted the nurse manager who gave me a halfway job offer a few months ago to let her know I am here now, and I am hoping to hear back soon about if some of these hiring freezes are almost over! My prayer request is for me to find a job where I can serve those around me with love and that until I find such a job, that I would steward my time well and make it all about others and not about myself!

Lots of love from the Midwest.  Can't wait to talk to you more soon!

Grace & peace, 

Cristina