New Adventure

I suppose I'll just pretend I only blog every six months just to keep everyone wanting....But we all know that the truth is that blogging is about #37 on my list of priorities. And I'm ok with that. But we have big news that is totally blog worthy. 

We are moving!

 

It has been a season of looking toward the Boyd future and placing a dozen options on the table. After long talks of where our hearts are and where our hearts want to be Charlie and I both felt very excited to pray about moving to Florida. With much prayer and consideration we both felt perfectly peaceful about uprooting our Waco life and transplanting it a little closer to my family. While this is a huge step for Charlie, who has never lived outside of Texas, it will be a homecoming for me. It has been over 12 years since I permanently lived in Panama City and I am excited to be returning. Of course the draw for us is family. While it will be hard to part with our Texas roots we look forward to sharing a closer life with Mom, Dad, Jessi, Nate, Lilly, Layla and Grandmommy and Pop. And who wouldn't want to live near the beach?! 

 

Most people have asked "Is there a Jimmy John's there?" And the answer to that is "no." Charlie feels like his two year career with the Jimmy is coming to an end. But that just leaves adventure ahead of us. No, we don't have jobs lined up. No, we don't have a house. We feel like those are things the Lord will provide along the way. Our aim now is to finish well in Waco, soak up this last season with these friends, and focus on transitioning out of Texas. For now our plan is for Charlie to finish up with Jimmy John's in January and us head out early February. 

Please pray we follow the path the Lord has already laid out before us. That He would go before us as our Provider, that He would give us vision for ministry, and protection from the enemy as we walk out in faith. If you are here, we will miss you. If you are in Florida - see you soon!

This Weekend

Charlie and I had such a fun and random weekend I thought someone might be interested in taking a peek into a "normal" weekend for us. Friday night we cheered on Baylor basketball then stayed up WAY past our bedtime to see "The Hunger Games" with Bobi. Saturday we slept in (because we do not have kids yet and we will sleep in on the weekends as long as the Lord allows us - unashamedly) then splurged and went out for doughnuts. Charlie had a frisbee golf game so we did our usual sharing of the dogs at Cameron Park. He always takes Duke - Duke will stick right by his side, sit while they all throw, and generally behave himself because he is a sweetheart. But since one of Tusker's favorite past times is fetching - frisbee golf is not a spectator sport for him. So I end up taking Tusker somewhere else in the park and try to keep him out of trouble. This trip I found a perfect spot in the East Brazos area - its much quieter and less populated. Plus there is a big boat launch area that is PERFECT for him to fetch sticks in the river. He has gotten so brave - even if I throw a stick and he can't find it, he will just swim around until he finds any random stick and bring it back to me. This is a picture of when he couldn't find a stick so he brought back a dead fish. Most of the time he will jump around and bark like crazy until I throw something again. But when the fish hit the shore he just dropped it and looked at me as if to say "Mom I don't know what this is, it's freaking me out a bit. What do I do?" It was hilarious.

We also officially became friends with a small army of neighborhood kids. There are four brothers that live across the street and this weekend they were joined by a cousin. They are 13, 11, 8, 6, and 4. I was working on something in the yard and the next thing I know Charlie and I have spent two hours entertaining them - playing with the dogs, taking turns sitting on the motorcycle, revving the engine and trying on Charlie's helmet. Charlie's favorite quote from Stevie "I got more gaming stuff than anybody.....except for Obama." They are a trip and I am sure this spring and summer they will find any excuse to come hang out. Just so Mimi knows, the porch is already a magnet for little neighborhood boys, late night talks with friends, and naps in the shade. Thank you!

Spring Break

 So happy to have Mimi visit us this week! Mom got to come visit the ever increasingly warming state of Texas - and we rang in Spring with a bang. With visits to Lowes, Walmart, Target, Hobby Lobby, and HEB we filled the Boyd casa with warmth and merriment.

I'm not sure I am going to be able to keep up with all the new plants on the front porch. Our house has an amazing front porch and swing, but Mom helped us spruce it up with some greenery and new furniture. Now it is the place to BE! We expect much reading, time with Jesus, and naps to ensue...

 

Even more time was spent in the kitchen - decorating as well at cooking. Even though Charlie and I were still "home" it really felt like a refreshing vacation.We are so blessed to have such an amazing family - moms, in-laws, brothers and sisters. I can't wait to grow up and be like my Mom.

Texas Christmas

The Boyds got to celebrate Christmas early with Charlie's side of the family this weekend. Friday night we celebrated ours and Robert and Donna's anniversaries. We had a super fancy dinner at the Yacht Club in Horseshoe Bay that was super amazing. Saturday we had lunch with Grandma (Robert's mom), our first Mexican meal of the weekend. We had a great time exchanging gifts and taking pictures.

Grandma Klaeger, Me, Bobi, Robert, Donna, Charlie

Saturday night we had movie watching and present opening time. Even though it was a week early, it isn't hard to get in the celebrating spirit. Sunday was Christmas in San Antonio at Meme and Popo's (Donna's parents). This family ALWAYS has Mexican food for Christmas - lots of dips, chips and tortillas. The adults do "Chinese Christmas" exchange and the little kids run around a scream for a few hours.

Our traditional seat at Meme and Popo's

It was a whirl wind weekend but we had a blast. We will surely miss this side of the family as we embark for Florida on Friday. Love you Robert, Donna, Bobi and Megan!

England

Last month I had the privilege of joining a construction team from my church to do some ministry at our church plant in Sheffield, England. The first church planters arrived there about 5 years ago and now the church owns a building. It was previously some sort of industrial warehouse so our team sought to help make it an amazing place for worship. Their main projects were - a stage, a sound booth, large doors for the main entrance, electrical work, and building and installing cabinets and appliances in the kitchen. My primary objective was to make sure they didn't go hungry! No, I did not pick up a hammer the entire time, but I did my best to assist Susan (the team leader) and Mary (the team administrator) run as smooth a trip as possible. We made sure the guys had water, snacks, meals, and fulfill any other needs that they may have. The team did a GREAT job at going above and beyond on all of their projects. The Sheffield church was truly blessed by their hard work and as were we by their English hospitality. I had the honor of staying with my good friend Jessica Peters (who attends Sheffield Hallam University) and making lots of memories with her. Here are some highlights:

English countryside, plenty to see on hours of train rides.

The main worship area, stage in progress

Building beautiful external doors (and a legit Defender in the background)

The sound booth

                                                              

This is City Center, just outside of Jessica's flat where I stayed.

Our Team!

A day at Chatsworth Castle (where they filmed Pride and Prejudiced)

We had a fancy meal with the girls. I LOVE ginger beer so this ginger infused sparkling lemonade was a treat! Not to mention the white chocolate mousse and meringue

Jessica and part of the gardens

We had a fun, short day to tour London.

 

 

 

 Thank you to everyone who supported me financially and with prayer. It was a joy to serve the church.

July

At the end of a day on the ropes course some times I debrief the day by asking everyone in the group to share a "highlight, lowlight, or insight" (thank you Shane for teaching me that one). So I have decided to answer those questions to debrief the month of July at the Boyd Banda.

Highlight: Our first roomie! Carole officially moved in this month. Charlie and I wouldn't know what to do with ourselves in this big ol house all alone. Carole helps fill the space with jokes, free coffee, funny notes on the fridge, the smell of healthy cooking, and my favorite text "im going to the store, need anything?" Some people might think it's a little strange to have roommates once you are married, but it sure works naturally for us. We are just a bunch of friends living in the same space - sharing just comes like second nature.

Lowlight: The weather. Not once this month have I woken up, let the dogs outside, and the temperature gauge be below 80. Two days this month it didn't hit 100 - on those days the high was 99 - might as well! And our rain accumulation? 0 inches. I will say, it did rain one day, but I suppose not enough to record. So we sweat, take showers, and sweat some more. Of course overall this is a petty thing to call a "lowlight" but I just HAD to complain about it to someone....

Insight: The Holiness of God. Not kidding. I feel like lately the Lord is calling me into the Holy of Holies - to gaze on His unending beauty, love, power, goodness, passion, justice, and on and on I could go. I love that we will never see or understand His fullness as long as we have breath. I will never come to a place of complete understanding or intimacy with Him in this life. Every day there is something to look forward to - so I ask for revelation. And His revelations just make me want to be with Him more. They take me away from myself and point me toward His heart - His heart for His people and His purposes on the earth (as Antioch Community Church puts it).


So now I am off to the ropes course! High today - 103 degrees - I will be wearing a safari hat and sun screen.

Some Purls

Just finished a couple of projects for a friend. The headband is for super special Miss Kiralese - I added a removable flower for her to choose her style. The blanket is for baby Kolter. This was my first attempt at a blanket - and it was ambitious! I found a pattern for a "snuggle bunny" but decided to turn it into a teddy bear. I really hope Kolter likes it! And of course we always need a picture of the dogs. I decided to use Tusker as a model - he was not amused, but Duke gave him some lovin anyway. I am still selling things to help raise money for a mission trip I am going on next month. I will be working as a helper on a construction team that is working on a building project in England. Our home church has a church plant in Sheffield, England and we will be helping them build out their new building. I still need about $600 in the next few weeks. Of course let me know if you would like to help support me - I could knit you something in return!