Update!

It's high time for an update - we've gone a month and a day without a post! Lots has happened in the interim, and I'm afraid there is no way to include even half of it. I'll just jump right in though: After a lot of decision-making, waiting, back-and-forth, and then final decision-making, Ben has started a new job. That is the biggest development around here, for sure--and a huge blessing! God is good, and He provides, even though it often requires a lot of patience and trust on our part. But that is where the joy comes in, is from having trusted Him. Anyway, he's working as a contractor at an Army base (Ft. Monroe) about 45 minutes (more with traffic) south of us. He is enjoying it a lot so far, and will enjoy it even more when he finally gets a computer, finishes getting his security clearance updated, etc., so that he can jump in full-fledgedly with the work.

Because of that happening, we immediately had to do two things: (1) Get him new clothes, and (2) look for a 2nd car. The clothes part was somewhat easy. We went to Kohl's and JCPenney and got most everything there; we also found another couple things at other stores. He now has an actual business attire wardrobe (albeit a limited one) so he can go to work without looking like a graduate student ;-) I will add one aside here before moving onto the car search: as a female, I have always struggled with clothes shopping. I do like it to a degree, but only to the extent that I can find things that I like and that fit--AND that are reasonably priced. Men's clothes are SO simple! As soon as you know your size, you just have to look for it--unlike women's clothes, where a size 6 in one brand really is like a size 10 in another brand, etc. I especially envy the whole tie thing. Tie shopping is so much fun. Not only are they one-size-fits-all, but they are so pretty! Ironically, I found a lot of ties pretty and nice that Ben did NOT find appealing at all. I guess maybe ties are made for wives, who are assumed to be doing the shopping for their husbands or something. We got Ben a number of ties, which we finally BOTH agreed on (see picture!).

Now for the second, more expensive task of finding a car. (Fortunately, all of this is an investment that you hope is repaid by the salary that is now being added to the household income!) Background: As most of you know, we have been doing without a 2nd vehicle since moving to VA, and it's worked quite nicely--plus saved lots of money! Now, though, as much as I love to be dropped off at 7 a.m. and stay at work until 5 or 5:30 p.m., um, that is JUST not a sustainable schedule for me! 10 hours of work, with no way of getting very far except on my own two feet (in dress shoes, at that), is just not doable, esp. since I sometimes have to get places for my job. So, knowing this, we - or rather the dad of my dear friend Susan - did a mad search for cars this past week. We found a super good deal on a car - or, again, I should really say that Susan's dad did. And so after a few days of running around, opening a credit union account, transferring money, learning how to even get a loan (I am clueless!!), I finally bought it officially this past Friday (with it getting picked up today by Susan's dad, aka Dad II, and then transferred to my dad, who has it for safekeeping until we go get it). So, that is a huge relief. (In case you are wondering, it's a 2007 Honda Accord EX, silver color. I'll post pictures when I have it--I haven't even laid eyes on it yet!) The only thing I'll say is that it had best last for awhile as I do not really want to go through the whole car-buying process again for awhile!! That was complicated, and only possible for me to do because of help. (Thanks, Bruce!!) Ben would've helped except he had started his job and was just not in a position where he could help except on weekends or at nights, and that's not possible when you both need the car ASAP and are needing a loan (since banks are only open during the weekday business hours).

Anyway, amidst all of that, we went to a Gordon Lightfoot concert this past Wednesday (see above). It was my anniversary gift to Ben. He and I like Lightfoot even though we're young, and even though neither of us likes other oldies very much. But Lightfoot is different--his songs are like poetry, and they are so much more lyrically and musically interesting and complex than a lot of modern-day music. For me, it's more the sentimental memories behind his songs that keep me listening--it reminds me of Ben's and my dating days, but even before that, it reminds me of when I was little, and of when my brothers were little. I can remember hearing the song "Cotton Jenny" when I was little, especially, and I can remember my mom, dad, and I taking turns bouncing baby Daniel around trying to get him to be quiet while listening to "Race Among the Ruins," "Summertime Dream," or some other hit of his. It was sometimes the only way to shut him up (that and the vacuum, hairdryer, or other loud noises).

So, anyway, the concert was really good, and it was amazing that the same singer my mom saw in concert when she was 18 (I won't say how long ago that was ;-)) is still giving concerts today. He is now in his low 70s I think. Amazing, too, that while his voice is noticeably older, he still sounds like himself! Here are some other pictures. It was held at the Landmark Theatre in Richmond, which is a really old, famous building:

In addition to that, work has been insane for me, and we have had other things going on with church, etc. Oh, and we can't forget the baby birds we have been watching hatch and eventually learn to fly, from our own front porch. (This happened last year too, as you might recall. Ben likes to set up a pot, hanging horizontally off the porch, so they will nest in it.) Here is a picture of a couple of the babies, whom I caught on the verge of flying one day--aren't their little mohawks so cute?!

This week we are going to Atlanta for the long-awaited graduation of my brother, Daniel, from high school. Yay! It will be fun to see him graduate across the same stage I did 10 years ago! (I can't believe I'm that old...) We are excited to see family, go to a Braves game while there, and of course get some time away. Monday, Ben will drive my new car back while I fly back to get to work Monday.

It's almost summertime. It was HOT yesterday, but today it's cool again. I wish the warm weather would be here to stay! I guess that's about it for now. I'll post pictures of Atlanta when we get back! Also, I have read a couple of great books and some really thought-provoking articles lately and may write about those soon as well.