A Southern Mix of Lost and Found

"I grew up in a little farm-town, a Southern mix of lost and found, but most folks seemed to stick around.... whoa-oh!"

-Andrew Peterson "World Traveler"

Hello, Friendsies!
      I am sorry the post about the DIY coffee-house decor hasn't gone up yet! My internet has been spazzing out and wouldn't send the pictures from my tablet to my laptop so I need to figure that out before I can do it. :P

      Oh my goodness. Guys, life is so hectic but SO exciting right now! In just over a week I am leaving for Romania. I will be on the plane and in Paris a week from Saturday. CAN YOU BELIEVE THAT? And then from Paris to Hungary and from Hungary to Romania! My brain is already ticking with all the things I plan to draw and write in my travel journal. I have made a solemn vow and promise to keep up my travel journal even to my own annoyance because I know that when I am seventy years old, I will be wishing I was more patient at twenty and had taken time to write about my journeys. Plus, I don't want to lose any of the writing inspiration I am assured I will collect. :) My friends and family have been SO supportive of this trip. I really want to thank Mama and Leah and Anna especially since they aren't going to Romania but they have worked just as hard as Sarah and I.

      One sweet friend saw I was looking for a crossbody/messenger/tote bag for my trip and offered to buy Sarah and I each one of our choice. I ended up choosing this beauty:

The Baccini crossbody-shoulder-gaucho bag 

     It is made of Italian sheep-leather (isn't that cool?) and supposedly comes with a long strap for carrying cross-body. I love the look of this bag...it's PERFECT for a trip to Europe, don't you think? And it is leather like my travel journal. Woohoo!

      Yesterday I took Matthew and Sarah into the Beach to catch the Wednesday 50% off all clothing sales at Salvation Army so we could load up on the few items that our whimsical Virginia weather doesn't require us to have; Sarah has spent almost the entire winter wearing short-sleeved shirts, and I don't even own a coat! Or at least I didn't till...

Yep! It's a plum-purple woolen, double-breasted pea-coat! 

   A very tiny thing few people know about me is that I have always wanted a pea coat, and I have always wanted a purple pea-coat. God was totally behind this item because it as at the Goodwill that doesn't have 50% off sales, but for some reason yesterday ALL the winter coats were 50% off! It's the most beautiful thing...there was a London Towne brown coat that was cute too, but when I saw the plum colored one, I knew it had my name on it. God also provided the shoes we needed (Mine and Sarah's black shoes were both literally falling to pieces. Like...soles flapping. It's what happens when you live in the countryside), as well as other items like a brand spankin' new pair of dark-wash jeans (I despise light-colored denim) and several adorable sweaters. When we got home Leah slightly complained, "How is it that we go out for weeks in a row and never find a thing and you go out one day and get it all?" I could only answer with the truth: I guess the Lord knew I had just over a week to get it together and hardly any time to be spared. :)

      But Sarah and I weren't the only ones that scored big...we turned Matthew into Neal Caffrey. :D

And do you see Sarah and I photo-bombing in the background?
 NO idea what that was about. I am very interested in what she was staring at on the laptop, apparently.

      The time is soon approaching and my wander-lust grows with each day. The stress I had been formerly dealing with before we got the kinks with funding worked out has been lifted, and I just feel that God is going to do wonderful things in my personal life with this trip. :) 

      It y'all could pray for Sarah and Matthew and I (and the rest of the team) that would be great because we are going to be writing up our testimonies, including how God is working in our lives and how we are affirmed in our faith and then speaking those testimonies over in Romania. :) Exciting! But a little nerve-wracking, as the things that are so beautifully simple in my heart and head get knotted when I try to make them come out. :D I have asked Jesus to give me His words, and I know He will. Pray that my heart will be quiet enough to listen. :D 

    In other news, I am re-reading A Severe Mercy by Sheldon Vanauken and finding I love to write in books. Haha. Sing ho for funny new habits! Also, some friends of ours are coming down from the Richmond area to conduct a Seder meal for our church family...can't wait to celebrate Jesus as our Passover Lamb! <3 :)