Time to take a Deep Breath...

"I sure wish I blogged more."...*proceed laughing.

I realize that this blog has sort of become something I update when the notion strikes me. But then I guess it always was. Hope no one is too disappointed because that's probably never going to change. Few and far between, that's how I roll here in the blogosphere.

Yesterday I pressed the "save and turn in" button for the last time this semester. I can't remember ever feeling quite as relieved as I did in that moment. Finally. Done. Breathe. And it was a lovely moment, a don't even think about what I need to do for next semester kind of moment. Nice.

Since that moment approximately 24 hours ago, I have been thinking about what to do with my new found freedom. Browse pinterest for waaaay too long. Check. Stalk old and new friends on facebook. Check. Talk to Doug about how his hair looks fine for the 15 time today. Check. Read most of my new book with anxious anticipation and then force myself to stop and save some for tomorrow. Check.

Hmmmm.

So this led me to consider the deeper things I have been wrestling with lately.

What do I do with all of these textbooks that clutter my living room?

Should we make an offer on the house we super like but they are asking way to much for?

Why does it matter so much to Doug that I use a coaster for my tea?

How do I get the microwave to stop beeping SO LOUD?

What should I make for potluck on Sunday?

How do I get this smell out of this one couch cushion?

Should we rent or buy?

Should we pay this adoption agency or wait for the state to do our homestudy for free, in their time?

Deep stuff huh?

Nope.

So as I walked the halls of sleeping kids for the 7th or 20th time overnight, I considered this:

"Therefore, as you received Jesus Christ the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving." -Col. 2:6

Am I walking in him?

Am I rooted in him?

Built up in him?

Am I established in the faith?

Am I abounding with thanksgiving?

That's better.

I breath easy because I have been received and receive Jesus Christ the Lord. Not because a semester is over or because my husband loves me enough to pay way too much for Christmas wrapping paper. 

Deep breath.

Moments...

I just had a moment where I realized that my 3,000 word paper isn't going to write itself. In that same moment I was both nervous and excited about the process that I know I am embarking on in my (seemingly) never ending journey with school. That moment made me think. Many years of practice, study, and guidance has brought me to a place in my life which I am able and willing to conquer an assignment such as a theology paper on Prolegomena, Revelation, Theology Proper, Providence, or Humanity...I get to choose.

Moments like these have been happening to me frequently as of late. Moments when I realize a bit of the meaning of past experiences in my life. Many life experiences have come and gone and left me wondering with expectation over what the purpose would be for going through so much. My life, like most people's, has been full of a great deal of good memories as well as a few not so good memories thrown in there for flavor.

Both the good and the bad have played a part in shaping me into the person I am today and in these moments I find myself in awe of the intricate careful hand of God on my life.

I am grateful, for the first time ever, for having experienced life as a student in a boarding school setting. Now that I am on staff at a boarding school, I appreciate the deeper level of understanding I naturally possess with the kids because of that experience. My compassion is greater, my patience is longer lasting, and I recognize the look of fear and excitement in their eyes only because I remember and can actually physically feel inside what their eyes subtly show. Moments of complete understanding and a caring spirit come from the gift of experience I would otherwise not have.

I'm thankful for these moments, moments that make up days, which meld into weeks, that eventually become years of memories, experiences, a life lived.

Logging on the Yukon...

First off, we already have fallen in love with the area and the Yukon River but we especially appreciated the Yukon and this barge for bringing our things to us so quickly!

 The other day a friend asked us to come and help bring in some drift wood from the river, here are some pictures from our day. We had fun helping pull logs in as he brought them to shore on his boat.

Doug and Martin

Doug and geared up

Getting logs from the river.

 Once we were done he took us out on the boat to enjoy the beauty of the Yukon and to see Galena from a different viewpoint.

 SO PRETTY!

Alaska...

We made it to Alaska! After a long trip from North Carolina, a lovely visit with family and friends in Washington and then a final short flight North...we are here!

 While we were in Fairbanks, we got to play tourist for a day and saw a part of the pipeline:)

 Here we are about to board our flight to Galena!

 This is a shot of the Yukon River as we flew over it...right before we landed in Galena!

This is a blog update.

I was reminded the other day that I have a blog. I don't update it much. Sorry about that, it has fallen quickly to the bottom of my list of to-dos over the last couple of years. Also, I spent a great deal of time over the last few years writing, and reading, and writing about what I read, and then reading more and writing more. Honestly after all of that reading and writing the last thing I wanted to do was sit down and write some more for a open forum diary of sorts.

So, for my four or five faithful readers...here is an update on our lives right now!

Update topic #1: School. I am fairly certain that I did post last December after graduation but just in case I dreamed that posting here is the info. I graduation from SEBTS in December with my BA in Christian Studies. It is a nice feeling, having that degree done. I didn't take much time to enjoy a break from school though and I am now working on my Masters in Intercultural Studies online at SEBTS.

Update topic #2: Location. Over the last few years we have been praying and listening and waiting for direction as to where we should hang our hats for the next phase of life. A few months ago we felt that we should pursue opportunity to live, work, and serve in a village in Alaska. Of course, God had worked out every single detail and we have been enjoying the pleasure that comes with moving to a place for no other reason than that God told us to.
Last month we were still in NC and right now we are in Washington enjoying time with family and friends. Come June 16, we will be headed north to Galena, Alaska and once we get there we will be able to share more with you about what we will be doing, where we will be living, etc...Nothing is a secret, we just have to get there and find out first then we can let you all know

Update topic #3: Adoption. Hands down, the most common question we have been getting about our move to Alaska is surrounding our plans to adopt. Let us clear up all (or at least some) of your questions and/or concerns. Yes, we are still adopting. Yes, we can adopt in Alaska. Yes, adoption takes time.

Graduated...

On Friday, I received my diploma for completing my BA at the College at Southeastern. I am so glad to be done with the work load and very grateful for the opportunity to learn at such a great school!
Enjoy pictures!

                                 Standing outside (it was cold) waiting to walk in!

                                Dad came to witness the end of my 12 year college journey!

                                  It's done! I am so grateful for support from this guy!

                                                         Shadow picture:)

                             ~Proof that it really is my name on that diploma!~

                                             

1,000 for 1

We have officially launched our 1,000 for 1 campaign. As we raise funds for our adoption, we want to involve as many people as we possibly can. Our desire is to be able to tell our child(ren) one day that thousands of people cared enough to help bring them home to us!

In order to do that, we need lots of help!

Here is the task:

Step 1. Say YES! Commit to complete the task within TEN DAYS!

Step 2. Think of 10 people.  (oh come on, you have way more friends/family than that! Think small groups/Sunday school from church, immediate or extended family, coworkers, or just give it all yourself on behalf of someone)

Step 3. Ask those 10 people for $10 each. (no biggie, cash, check or credit…we take them all) We also have a link where you can give online: Here

Step 4. Send us the $100 and the first names of each person who gave. (text, email, or snail mail…whichever you choose, let us know so we can ensure the funds get to us and to the correct account!)

Go ahead and complete step one now and let us know that you want to be one of the many who choose to care for our child right now!

With all our love and a huge amount of thankfulness,

Doug and Heidi

The announcement...

As we are moving forward with plans to adopt, it has been fun to announce to our friends and family that the McClure family is growing. The timing is unknown, many many details are yet to set into place, but we know that this is how our family is to grow and we love it.

In an effort to communicate just how wonderful this adoption thing is, I have tried to sit down and write out why adoption is so close to our hearts. My writing abilities fall short, so for now read how this blogger shares about their desire to adopt. Maybe soon I will be able to put it down in words but she does a good job of capturing what we want to communicate about what we believe about adoption.

https://www.youcaring.com/adoption-fundraiser/baby-mcclure/74477

Here we go!

Doug and I have been wanting to pursue adoption for a while now and are finally taking the plunge! In order for us to go forward, we need help raising financial support for our home study, tickets to our child's home country, attorney fees and adoption fees.
We are super excited and a bit nervous for so many reasons!
There will be more updates to come but in the mean time, consider how you would like to give to help us reach our goal!

Hello out there...

This time of life I am in lends itself to a good amount of busy-ness. I don't love being busy however the class load I am taking demands my constant attention. It's almost over, this whole college experience. I am happy about that and at the same time know I will miss this daily-learning-something-new thing which challenges and stretches my mind.
The fact of the matter is, this school I am in, it makes me read A LOT and write A LOT. There are thousands of words going in my brain through books and hundreds of words coming out in papers. Words, SO many words! So when it comes to sitting down to type and email or text a message, I find that I have run out of words...or the desire to express them.
So, friends and family...I do care about you and think about many of you daily. My expression of that may be scarce right now. Just don't take it personally, know that I care, I'm just lost in a swirling tornado of this thing called college. I would promise to do better but I know that things are not going to change until after school's done...December 13th guys, December...maybe I should start a countdown!
Until then...

Goodbye 20 somethings...

So tomorrow I turn 30. Leaving my 20s behind. For the last decade I have had the hardest time remembering my age. People would ask and in attempt to conceal the fact that I couldn't remember, nor had the ability to quickly do the math, I would answer "20 something". They'd laugh as if I was too modest to tell my real age...ha, modest, that's funny. To be clear, modesty is something that does describe me when it comes to my dress however modesty does not describe me in any other sense of the word. Opinions, zeal (for getting what I want), etc...not modest, not me.
Aaaaanyway, I started this post because I have been thinking about the fact that I will not longer be 20 something and feel the need to commemorate leaving this age that has served me well over the last ten years. When I think back to ten years ago as I turned 20 all I can think of is how very clueless I was about life in general. Ten years later, I still have a lot to learn but I go about my life in a much more informed and (hopefully) mature manner than I did back then. Many things have changed about me and how I make decisions, however so many things have stayed the same.
~I still love dogs, THAT will never change.
~I still hate being told no, "I'll do what I want" is a frequent phrase used in our house, it's a joke now but only  because we both know just how ridiculous we both are about doing what we want. This one goes right along with "I'm doing it because I want to, not because you told me to."
~I still have some strange, innate devotion to do things differently. This never happens on purpose but whatever the mold is, I don't fit.
~I still remain completely surprised and overwhelmed at how lucky I am to be part of my family. They really are great and somehow I get to be in the mix of a totally loving, devoted and supportive family.

There are probably a lot more things that are the same...one of them happens to be that I bore easily so I am going to move on to how much has changed!
~I got married...this is definitely a highlight! There is so much I can say about how much I have grown and been stretched into a better person through being married. Doug is my encourager, my sounding board and loves me more than I deserve. I'm so glad to be his wife and look forward to the day I post five more years of being married to the man I love.
~I moved more times than I'd like to admit, I had a few addresses in Jackson, TN,  a few in Longview, WA and have banked a few in North Carolina as well. I'm a super packer now and I wonder just how many moves are in our future!
~My family has grown, aside from being married, the addition of nieces and nephews has grown our family. Each one with  their own personalities, likes and dislikes, it is so fun to watch them grow up even if it is from far away!

My 20 something years have been great! Goodbye 20's...hello 30's!!!

Fun project

One of the bathroom walls in our house has been bugging Doug since we moved in. He had a few days without work so he found some things to do around the house. One of his projects was re-taping and mudding the wall in the bathroom. Since he had the vanity down off the wall, I had the idea to paint it with an accent color.
I found a gallon of paint at Lowe's for $5, yeah for discounted, returned items!
I had a bit of a difficult time capturing the change in our bathroom since it is a 'nook' so it is hard to get a good angle. Anyhooo, enjoy.

Before

After

I love it and we are thinking to use this color somewhere else as an accent wall...just can't decide where.

A walk in the park...

One of our favorite places to go for walks is Joiner Park. It is just a few minutes from where we live and is a great place for Dallas to run. The other evening we got there right as the sun started to set and it was so pretty!

Doug and Dallas, ready to go!

setting sun...

Us.

We can't seem to get enough time outside these days. The leaves have been beautiful this fall and sunsets like these are so fun to enjoy! We sure are enjoying fall in North Carolina...now we are hoping for some snow this winter to top it off!

Fall...

We have especially enjoyed fall here in NC. We loved the fall in Washington but somehow we enjoy it more here. I think part of it is that it isn't too cold to enjoy so while we walk the dog, we aren't freezing cold the whole time! Today I got some shots of our walk to share. The leaves are beautiful!

Dallas

so many leaves and the cat in attack mode

I love scarf weather!

Waiting patiently to get walking again...puppy dog eyes!

Christmas decorating...

We already got a head start in decorating for Christmas this year, so today we finished up by putting up our tree! Yet again, we say kudos to whoever thought of pre-lit Christmas trees! It makes the whole decorating (and take down) so much easier!

Our Christmas town set up under the tree...what building will we add this year???

Doug, putting the star on top!

Decorating the tree.

Someone thinks we have provided him with a nice place to sleep.

Happy Birthday to Doug...

Doug's birthday was last month but we managed to stretch out the celebrations until last weekend! 

Cupcakes for his actual birthday...

 Last weekend we went to the fair for the afternoon...it was a beautiful day!

 Doug loves this ride! It is SO high up and then drops you in a free fall.  I will not ride it but Doug did twice!

 And of course, we had our fill of some yummy fair food! We enjoyed seeing all of the many, many choices and finally deciding on this place. That polish sausage was huge!

 We spotted this jerky stand, it made it into our pictures because it is Heidi Joe's Jerky, we didn't buy any though, it wasn't the best.

 Doug getting ready for a free-fall!

 We also had tickets to the Michael W. Smith concert that evening that was at the fair. We were ready to sit and relax a bit by the time the doors opened! Here we are waiting for the concert to start.

 The first few songs were a bunch of 'the oldies', we loved it because we knew them all!

 As the night went on, he got more and more energetic, he has lots of fun at his job! 

We had a great time too!

 After the concert, the sun had gone down so all the lights were on and the fair felt like a whole new place. It was so neat. Then the fireworks started and we watched them over the lights of the Midway. The pictures all came out kind of blurry but you get the idea.

Happy Birthday to Doug! We always love reasons to celebrate and this was a great year!