The desire to start a blog has continually increased after moving to Louisville. With our family and friends well over 600 miles away...it will be a way to stay connected and update them on our life in a city with four seasons.
I remember learning about the seasons in elementary school, but never have I ever experienced them like this! Moving to Kentucky in July we had a glimpse of a Louisville summer. In my opinion it was very similar to home. HOT. HUMID. STAY INSIDE kind of weather. Then the leaves started to change to colors I have never seen before. They are absolutely beautiful. I love driving up Springdale Rd to go on campus and drive through all the vibrant leaves on the road. I wish I would have taken a picture of them the other day. This tree is right outside of our apartment. Unfortunately the wind blew all the leaves off the other other day so I am very thankful I took it last week.
Next week we may get to experience our first snow! I've seen snow one...maybe two times while we were in Georgia. This is going to be an interesting winter.
So enough about fall, I wanted to try to cover from July 1 to today in a blog. Bear with me :)
Our first visitors came just 5 days after we moved to our little 2.5 bedroom home. (picture below of the layout) I'm pretty sure they were built in like the 70s judging at the weird angles....but so thankful for campus housing.
My parents and nephew Braydon needed to make sure we were safe and okay. Being the baby girl and the first to move outside of Georgia...Mommy and Daddy needed to check on me. We visited the Louisville Slugger Museum, Church Hill Downs, Railroad Museum, and ate at new restaurants. Found one of the best pizza places in town. Boombaazz! We had such a great time!
My parents and nephew Braydon needed to make sure we were safe and okay. Being the baby girl and the first to move outside of Georgia...Mommy and Daddy needed to check on me. We visited the Louisville Slugger Museum, Church Hill Downs, Railroad Museum, and ate at new restaurants. Found one of the best pizza places in town. Boombaazz! We had such a great time!
After they left I began to nanny this handsome fella, Andrew. I guess I made a pretty great first impression because the next morning I had an excited three year old running at me with open arms with lips proclaiming he had missed me. I knew at then we were in love :) Seriously...how can you not love this kid. We have played countless days of ninja turtles, watching Despicable Me, racing, parks, and have had lots of fun.
Chad began school not too long after and is just a few weeks away from completing his first semester. Ever since we moved here, God has continued to affirm his calling for Chad to be a pastor one day. It has been a battle to figure out if he should jump into something now or for both of us to get plugged into a church and just serve for now. We are towards the end of our church visits and think we have decided on one. Please be in prayer for this. We have been a part of some really great churches growing up and it's hard to not compare a new church versus what we are use to. There were many times before we moved here that we were worried about how we would pay for all of this, but God has provided in so many ways through generous families back home, both of our jobs, and this semester Chad won free books. We were able to get his $500 worth of books for FREE!
Another blessing has been this charming and precious bundle of joy! Our days have been filled with smiles, coos, snuggles, and sweet memories. Meet Benjamin :) It is crazy to think he is now 3 months old. I pray that when we have babies that they are half as great as this one.
In September, my parents were able to come up for my birthday and surprised us with a sweet blonde beauty and her handsome red headed sidekick. This trip we visited the zoo, more restaurants, downtown, and picked apples at Joe Huber's Farm. It is nice when the parentals come so that you get free dinners!
October flew by so fast but so many exciting things happened! We visited close friends in Alabama and watched our Eagles play, my best friend got engaged, Chad and I watched The Office from start to finish, celebrated halloween at the zoo with Michelangelo (AKA Andrew), grandparents visited Louisvile, and some of our newest friends had their first baby!
God truly blessed me with this gem 20 years ago. So excited to stand by your side as you become Mrs. Mathis!
Now here we are in November and caught up! So far we have celebrated Chad turning 23...this number is quite significant. We now have a basketball goal in our living room, celebrated with the Kaminskis, and looking forward to Chad's family visiting for Thanksgiving, meeting my parents half way in Chattanooga and staying in a cabin.
Congratulations if you have made it this far. I have successfully completed my first blog- well finished my first blog. Hopefully it won't take 5 months again to update!
Please continue praying for Chad and I as we continue this journey together in Louisville. I am so blessed to be married to such a Godly man who challenges me to pursue godliness every day. I'm not sure what the Lord has in store for us but I know that he will be faithful every step of the way.
We love and miss you,
The Hester Family
