Writing again...

So I guess it's time to crawl out of my hole and start writing again.

(Although it isn't entirely my fault for not writing, our wonderful computers hard drive crashed again, losing all my pictures, documents, etc. Therefore, she was at the store getting fixed for a while too.)

So, most of you probably know that we are back in the states now... safe & sound. We are so grateful for being able to come back with no obstacles hindering our departure. I tell you what, nothing makes me more grateful to be back in our homeland than hearing about the devastation Haiti has just experienced. I can't imagine still living in the DR and dealing with that fear & havoc.

So here's a quick synopsis of what we've been doing:

we went straight to NY from the DR and we had a wonderful time up in the snowy north with my family & friends. There's nothing like spending the holidays cuddled up in a blanket next to a fireplace, listening to Christmas tunes and watching the snow fall. It really is magical :) We first intended to stay there, if we had means of working and paying our bills. However, we got overwhelmed with discouragement and decided to come to Texas where we thought the chance of landing a job was greater. So we made the trip by car from NY to Texas. Ironically, we did that road trip exactly a year ago right after we got married. I really hope this doesn't turn into an annual tradition! haha Luckily we got to see some family along the way and that made the trip even better.

We spent New Years Eve (and our One Year Anniversary) in Kansas City, MO with some of my family. Unfortunately we both got the flu and ended up going to bed at 9pm that night. Not quite the way I thought my first married anniversary would go... but I was just glad to be with him. Actually, now that I think about it... we still need to celebrate our anniversary :)

So here we are back in Texas.

Travis' parents have been so wonderful to us and offered us to live with them until we get our feet on the ground. What a blessing that has been for us! Our time right now is being spent by countless hours on the computer for job searching & networking, and of course playing scrabble and farkle.

Travis and I are just trying to survive at this point. Yes it may seem dramatic, but we have encountered a lot of trials in only one year of marriage. Our first four months of marriage Travis worked 7 days a week on nights so we never saw each other, we've already moved 5 times (once internationally), I've had two different jobs in the last year, we established our own tourism company in a third world country (and you know all the obstacles that came along with that), and now its as if we are right back where we started. We have nothing to show for it, and that sometimes gets the best of us.

While our friends are starting to buy their first homes & all their fancy furniture & climbing the ladder at their jobs we are living with our parents and both unemployed. Trust me, we still have it wonderful but these are just the thoughts that Satan tries filling our minds with... that we are failures and will never amount to anything, that we have silly dreams and are immature. But, at the end of the day we must remind ourselves that we truly desired to take the risk that we did. I firmly believe that we would have always regretted it if we didn't try... so now we must recover from our risk. I believe the Lord has something really neat in store for us, it's just the patience that might kill us in the mean time :)

So, please pray for direction for us. For the peace of God to rule in our lives and to not be anxious about what we should do. Above all, I just want to use these experiences to help others and offer encouragement in some way.

Love & Miss ya'll!
D

ps- the picture is of Deer Park, Texas