Better lay off my man, if you don't wanna go to Fist City.

Hello hello!
Whitney reporting here.

We've had a great few weeks in Louisville, and that may be coming to a close as Layne begins class tomorrow. There goes the freedom, the free time, but hopefully not the free meals. (Thanks, Dr. Parker.) Last night we enjoyed tapas and Comfy Cow (only the best ice cream on this side of the Mississippi...And on the other side) with 5 of the 6 Baylor grads at Southern seminary.

Joel, Layne, Dr. P, Me, and Katherine Ann

We stayed out til closing time, as Dr. P told us of his escapades while studying abroad, including a sleep in Napoleon's old bed and friendship with a German baroness. We stayed later for his marriage counseling, and now I'm happy to say that I have Loretta Lynn's "Fist City" down pat. 

Watch out, ladies...

We've also had our next door neighbors from Ohio over for dinner, and as Allen came in, he whispered, "What's an enchilada again?" As Layne pointed out, Mexican food is the same 4 ingredients mixed up in different ways. So if it sounds Me-hee-cano, then you can count on some meat, some beans, some cheese, and some tortillas. And that's what we had, for you guys who were real curious.

Our other 2 neighbors came over to play Risk. Took 2 nights to finish this one...Like old times again, just me and the boys playing Risk, angry at La(y)ne by the end of it. (Kidding!) But we had a good time with our Bachelor Pad seminary grads next door.

We've also found the best park for running that I've ever been to. It's called Cherokee Park, and it was designed by the same man who designed Central Park. It has a huge 2.4 mile lane for running and biking, and there is plenty of shade and PLENTY of hills. There are also tons of trails like those of Cameron Park, but they seem more runner-friendly. I've only fallen face-first once. And our burning hot shower has only seared my cuts and bruises twice.

We've visited a few churches, but tonight at Sojourn the Baptism service was awesome. They used a metal tub sculpted like a coffin to symbolize the death of the old life and the raising up to the new life that is found in Christ. Their testimonies were awesome, and the place exuded with joy. Sojourn is real artsy, with a loud Coldplay-indie-folk-type band and solid preaching. They're about to move into a beautiful Cathedral a few blocks down, and its in the middle of a not-so-nice area of town. They seem very engaged in ministry with the people directly around them, and I like that. We've enjoyed it so far but plan to visit a few other places.

In other news, I watched the two boys that I'll be nannying for part of 2 days this week. Here's Chernet and Tedi outside the Southern pool:

 They are super energetic and a ton of fun. They're both 5 and from Ethiopia, and Tedi (on the right) is a really great boy and very helpful. Chernet (below) is very loving and loved to tickle my arms and kiss my cheeks. He only knows numbers, letters, mom, dad, and "Excuse me" in English. Kinda lucky for him though, because at the zoo when we were supposed to stay on the path and not touch the kangaroos, he didn't understand me and could walk after the kangaroos as much as he wanted. I might try that technique myself next time I want something good, like touching kangaroos.

Here's the water splash area at the zoo. We ran all throughout the zoo until we found it! No time for animals when you have water spraying out of a ship and its cargo.

To sum it all up, it's been a fun time in Louisville so far. We are excited about the future, and I have an awesome husband to share it with: 

simplify.

...that's the only username I could think of whenever the technician asked me on the spot what I'd like to rename our wifi network. Whit rightfully critiqued it as "dumb" upon her returning from her third crusade to Bed, Bath, and Beyond. But after hours of extensive unpacking, hanging, leveling, and drilling, I've come to the very un-American conclusion we have too much stuff. I'll be supressing my OCD deisres for more Container Store products (so we can store more stuff) and opt to donate or throw out anything that is not emotionally nailed down. Yvon Chouinard (you may wear him as the founder of Patagonia) once said, "The hardest thing in the world is to simplify your life." He's right. It took several hours of personal and marital stress to communicate the point and I'm praying now not to lose a grip on it.

1 Timothy 6:6-8 

But godliness with contentment is great gain, for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world. But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content. 

This verse has put me on my butt several times. Whether it be experience or clothing, technology or real estate, the human heart never ceases in consumption of something. And too often, it'll take anything. 1


My gracious in-laws and parents helped us immesnsley at the start of our journey not just with packing but also with advice and encouragement. They certainly deserve the first shout out. Thanks one and all! We continue to pray for you, please pray for me and Whitney as well as she begins to use power tools, specifically prayers of "drilling discernment." 2

Louisville has been incredible. There's so much of the city that's easy to fall in love with. Gang-chain restaurants have been shoved out in favor of local pubs and burger joints. To quote my mother "the house building must've stopped sometime in the 1960's," which is true, much of the zoning is a throwback to an older time. We've been here for 5 days and enjoyed each hour of it, except the two severe thunderstorms but even those were welcome reprieves from triple-digit-Texas. At the end of the day, how could we not enjoy life with a house like this? 3

Ya, maybe in a few decades. 

But for now we're in a niche apartment about 4 blocks, a dangerous road and a super busy railroad crossing from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. (pictured-actually-below)

Seminary Lawn with Norton Hall in the background.

Here are some streaming photos of our move-in days:

Tool room

The Dreamatorium.

Living room in progress 4

Front door, final product

Whitney's winter clothing Part IX

____________________________________________

1My wife and friends will be quick to point out I left books out of that list. Yes, I know. I have a working theory on verse seven.

2 Come to find out, the square ikea peg and round hole do go together with a little elbow grease, just don't place anything on the shelf.

3 Every house around us is beautiful with blue paint and white trim, so I shouldn't be surprised Whit wants to take down realtor numbers, right?

4 Please contact (817) 239-5703 if you have an extra dvd stand you're considering throwing out.

Greetings

Hello dear family and friends! Welcome to our blog! Here we will attempt to post weekly or bi-weekly (depending on how boring or exciting our week was) to let you know what's happenin' in our lives over here in the Southeast. Or is it Mideast? Who knows. 
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