Count Your Blessings

This is an exciting post for me to be able to write! As I write, I wish you could all see the JOY I have...

So living overseas is rough and uncomfortable, at least so far. And if there were one thing I had to choose that I was not completely prepared for, it would be being away from family and friends. I mean, I KNEW I was going to be in a different place for ten months, that I would likely not see any familiar faces except through Skype during my time here, and I was prepared to lose contact with some people, and I was prepared to feel disconnected and a little bit forgotten.......I thought. 

And I would be lying straight to your computer screen if I said I hadn't felt those things since August 6th. But who wouldn't feel disconnected?!

It's crazy...I missed my parents moving to a different town, I missed my brother and sister-in-law moving into my parents' old house, I missed David getting an internship with the Cowboys, I missed Joshua leading worship in a football stadium, I missed cooking for him during his first round of tests, I missed my old roommate's Aggie Ring Day, I missed all the Rangers' baseball talk between my friends, and I missed getting to see my precious "8th grade girls" start high school. I'll miss Thanksgiving and Christmas with my family, I'll miss one of my friend's weddings, seeing old friends in Canyon....the list continues. 

But more days than not, I feel remembered and I feel connected to the life I have/had back in Texas. And the only reason is because I have incredible friends and family that are, whether they know it or not, incredibly encouraging to me! 

*I have a Mom who still sends me pictures of the dogs! And who has never taken more than a 24-hour period to respond to an email filled with encouragement. And who still sends me a text reminding me of birthdays in the family

*I have a nutty Dad who still says "atta girl" when he hears I tried cow heart. And who still reads every blog post on his iPhone, even though he probably has to ask the young kids at work how to do it. 

*I have a boyfriend who texts me everyday, Skypes me more than I imagined, fills me in on what he's doing that week, or what's going on at church. And has tried multiple times to Skype me in on a Wednesday night worship with the youth. And reassures me I can do it on my rough days

*I have two old co-workers, one that said "That's why you're still my favorite...I'll take care of that for you!" and the other that said "Can't wait for you to be back so I'll have someone to talk baseball with."

*I have a Reece (and family) that hooked me up with an awesome laundry basket. And who told me "You're right where you need to be" 

*I have an "8th grade girl" that told me "We all miss you so much! We were talking about you 2 Sundays ago" and who also told me "I'm facebook stalking you..." haha I loved it! (Jordan, don't be embarassed, it's awesome!)

*I have a boyfriend's mom, Melissa, who's using her resources to hook me up with a guy at the embassy here so I maybe don't have to leave the country again! And who also let's me know I'm missed

*I have a boyfriend's dad, Scott, who so graciously showed me the new small can of Dr.Pepper over Skype so I wouldn't feel out of the loop when I return to the States haha

*I have a brother, David, who took time out of his busy schedule so that we could find the absolute best way to text each other (iMessage, if you're wondering...). All on a Friday night - just like in college when I would text him, home alone, feeling lame on a Friday night!

This is not an exhaustive list, by far! It's only from this week!! So what I was also unprepared for is how much encouragement and love I would feel from my friends and family, all the time! Your words and emails and skype dates and pictures and ways you still include me in your everyday life are priceless. 

So I'm counting my blessings, and haven't found a stopping point!