Hindsights and insights - moving to Clarksville

Moving across country at 30 something with 2 kids was much easier than moving across country at 50 something with 2 dogs. The dogs had nothing to do with it being harder. So I guess me being older was the hang-up? :-)

It is possible to find a new hair dresser who can do a nice job with my hair, however, she will never really replace my friend Jodi. There is just something special about going to Jodi.

I had a roommate most of the first 2 months I lived here. While I like the freedoms that living alone has, meals are much more enjoyable (and delicious!) when there is someone to share them with. Besides, magically the house gets clean. That NEVER happens by magic when it is just me!

It is possible to teach an old dog new tricks - the house came with a grill. I learned to use it and it is fun and easy!!

Just because the house has 300 square feet more than what I moved from does not mean everything will fit nicely. Shapes of rooms and storage areas make a huge difference. The joys of change!

Having a garage is a nice as I thought it would be! Now that is a joy of change!

I went from one dream job to another dream job. However, the job I left was truly a dream while the job I came to was a dream of the nightmare variety. Thankfully that has gotten better! - but it will never be the dream I had in good old ABQ.

I have always heard pastors use family members in sermon illustrations, but I have not been accustomed to being the family in the sermon illustrations - until my son became my pastor!

I had no idea how beautiful Tennessee is. And though there is much about life in ABQ that I miss, for me, the beauty of the desert does not hold a candle to the beauty of grass and trees and real seasons!

I left long time friends to be near family. I love being near family. I miss my dear friends much more than I realized I would. I guess it is a joy gained and a loss encountered. Somehow they balance out? Not all the time.

If you are counting calories to get ready for your daughter’s wedding, you can get creative if you work at it. I discovered such tricks as how to make a small serving of egg nog equal a fresh peach! :-)

Contra dancing and country dancing are not the same thing but both are a lot of fun.

Picking up dog poop out of the grass is a chore. Picking up rained on dog poop out of the grass is nasty! Picking up frozen dog poop out of the grass is not so bad.

Traditions move too! Oreo and candy corn turkeys were once again on our Thanksgiving table. Cranberry banana marmalade made its 25th annual appearance. Can’t believe Kara was 7 months old the first time I made it. We don’t know how to do Christmas without it. A jar even went to Brazil this Christmas for Kara’s soon to be in-laws!

I always thought I had a great sense of adventure. What I discovered in this move is that short term adventures in a lot of ways are much easier to enjoy than long term adventures. Traveling for a week or a few is a whole different thing than moving permanently. There is no going back home to routine. Now that the deed is done I really can not go back to life as I knew it. It was harder than I realized it would be to learn everything over. And just because a store says ‘Wal-Mart’ or ‘Lowes’, does not mean it is laid out like the Wal-Mart or Lowes that I am accustomed to. Ah the joys of change!

Just because you buy a cute, nearly new house with a pretty kitchen does not mean that there will be ANY drawers in the kitchen! I did not know until I moved in that a kitchen could exist without drawers - but I have learned to cope! More joys of change!

I am glad that God promises never to leave me or forsake me. His Book remains my constant companion and I draw strength from Him for every day. He has given me joy and beauty here in Clarksville and in Albuquerque. He has walked with me trials in the past just as He will in the future. I would never want to experience the joys or the difficulties of change without Him. He truly uses each experience to help me become more of who He wants me to be.

It is looking like a home!

I am not sure how well these photos actually show what I have done, but hopefully it will give you an idea. The only room I have painted is the living room. The rest of the painting will have to wait until after the wedding. I have a dress to sew a zillion beads on and 2 flower girl dresses to make! Anyway, the living room is blue on 3 walls and brushed pearl on one wall. It came out really nice, but is a little hard to see in the photos. I have all my lilac stuff up in my bedroom and bathroom. I have things up on all the walls in every room in the house except in the office/sewing room, which is still a disaster waiting to be unpacked an made right.

As you can see I now have a small fenced area for my boys. I also have a great doggie door too. It is so nice not needing to put them in crates all day. Brutus goes in and out no problem. Buddy paws and paws and paws and finally works up the nerve to go in or out. Thankfully he does it!

It is fun having my own place that I can paint, decorate and do doggie doors and fences the way I want!

Fun with my girls!

I was not on call this weekend so asked if the girls could spend the night with me. They came over at 6pm on Friday and I took they home about 24 hours later. We had such fun! Emery is posing by the tree in my yard that we spotted after our walk. We decided it looks perfect for decorating at Christmastime. We also went to SweetBerry for frozen yogurt after dinner. On Sat morning Em helped me make banana bread. Emery's job was to peel and mash the bananas. I happened to catch the shocked look on her face when she accidentally dropped both the peel AND the banana in the trash! We unpacked the box of toys that I moved out here. She had such fun recounting memories as she pulled things out of the box! Glad I let her do the unpacking. Being around my little girls is sure fun!

Emery

Last night Debbie & Greg Rockhold had me and the rest of the Miller clan over for dinner. Emery greeted me at the door with a huge hug and 'I drew a picture for you Gramma!'.

She explained the two drawings. On the left is 'a picture of the Gram Debbie that used to live in Albuquerque'. On the right is 'a picture of the Gram Debbie that used to live in Colorado.' 'On the other side I drew a rainbow for you!'

Yes, it is already fun living near Emery and Adalyn!

Made it!

I got to Nashville about 4:30 this afternoon. It was easy to find Donna's place with my phone. We went to the mall just so I could walk since I have been sitting for 2 days (and the mall because it was too hot to walk outside). Had tacos for dinner at her place and then took a driving tour of what is near her place including where her classes will be.

Tomorrow we will do breakfast together at a famous pancake restaurant near here. Then off to Clarksville. Donna will come too. We will have lunch with Jenn and the girls and get to see my place. Jenn has my keys and garage door opener.

Yay!!

Sent from my iPhone

A long day driving

Here are a few pics from my day and a little recap. I left ABQ about 8am and arrived at my hotel about 9:30pm (10:30 AR time).

Brutus cried almost the whole way to Amarillo, TX. After that he would make it about 90 miles past a walking break and start crying again. Once we hit OK City I guess he gave up. No more crying, just happy when we got out. Buddy was fine in his crate all day. And of course happy for walks too.

The abandoned gas station is one place I stopped for Brutus. I thought he was desperate to poop or something. He only wanted out. So no more emergency stops. I picked places like 'Love's' the rest of the day.

I ate jerky and dried apples and a couple cookies throughout the day. It was much too hot to go in somewhere to eat and leave the dogs in the car. Got something to drink each time I gassed up. That worked out well.

I made it all the way to Russlleville, AR by 9:30 MST. I drove just under 800 miles today. That leaves just over 400 miles for Sunday. So I will sleep until I wake up and enjoy a free breakfast, then hit the road bound for Nashville and Donna's place!

As you can see I have my air mattress set up on top of the bed I rented for the night. It is nearly midnight here in AR. So I am off to sleep!

Leaving

Just turned in my key. This is officially not my home any more! Tennessee here we come! (Brutus is crying in the back seat!) he will have to get used to being in the crate the next couple days. We went for a walk before I put him in there. First stop coffee to drink with my protein bar. Then I am on my way!

Moving day is coming!

As you can see, my moving trailer is here and my place is chaos! But as of today my new house is empty. The carpets are clean. And it is just waiting for me to move in next week!

I plan to leave ABQ on Saturday morning. Will stay somewhere in Arkansas that night. Sunday I will arrive at Donna's place and spend the night with her. Monday I will arrive in Clarksville and get keys to my place. My stuff should arrive Thursday. I will have 3 days to unload.

I will rent for about a month and then close after I can show the underwriter a pay stub.

I will be glad when my life feels a little organized again. But it is all rather exciting!

Emeryisms

I did not take very many pics when I was in Clarksville. I guess I was having too much fun just being in the moment! But I have put a few random ones I got in this blog. Mostly I thought I would share some things Emery says that I think are cute!

Emery shortens Grandma Debbie to - GranDebbie

She has always called her 2 grammas, Gramma Debbie Colorado and Gramma Debbie Albuquerque. The Rockholds have already moved to Clarksville and I will be there soon. So I asked Emery, what are you going to do with 2 Grandma Debbies? Her reply - “Play with them!”

If she is racing with you, for example to finish breakfast first, she says, “I’m going to beat you up.” Or if I finish first she says “You beat me up!”

If she is happy with Adalyn she sort of leaves the ‘d’ out of her name and calls her A-alyn” If she is not happy with her it is a very emphatic “Aa - Tah - Lyn, stop that!”

After her bath Jenn asked Emery, when is the last time you went potty? She answered, “Well, maybe did I or maybe I didn’t go a ‘lil pee-pee in the bath.”

Clarksville, TN - my new home

It has been an exciting week in Clarksville. I interviewed for a home care nurse position on Monday. They offered me the job on Wednesday and I signed the offer on Thursday. I start on August 23! Right after signing those papers Jenn & I met my realtor for some serious house shopping. We looked at about 8 homes. The last one said "This is it!" as soon as I saw it. I really think it is the cutest house in Clarksville! I made an offer which they countered with very minor changes. Tomorrow we will finalize the offer. So, unless God does something to stop the process, 278 Harold Dr. will soon be my new home! The bottom photo is the front of the house. On the top is the living room looking at the bay window and the view out the back from the deck. Also included is a picture of the kitchen and the back of the house. It is 1500 square feet, 4 bedrooms, warm and welcoming! It was built in 2005.

I had not planned on moving out to TN quite so soon, but the job is really just right for me and I would lose the opportunity if I did not take it. I turned in my 2 weeks notice by phone today and emailed a letter of resignation tonight. My last day at Cedar OB/GYN is August 6. Then I will spend about a week packing and closing out my life in New Mexico. I hope to time it so I can close the day I arrive in TN. That way I only have to unload a truck once.

So now all the details! How to get my stuff to TN will be my biggest thing to figure out. I also want to put a doggie door in the house and a small fenced area off the deck for the dogs. I have notified Greenbriar that I am vacating. They will begin showing the place next week. It is in the prettiest area of Greenbriar and has some extras that should make it very attractive to someone who would want a 3 bedroom. I do not anticipate any trouble getting it sold quickly.

Boy will I need a mower! Lilac bushes are going in soon too! This will be the prettiest place I have ever lived.

So pray for me for wisdom in figuring out all the details. I have felt God's guidance in all of this. I am excited to see the rest unfold.

Job interview

Hi all! I spent almost 2 hours at Guardian Home Health today. The director and the clinical coordinator both spent time with me. I got a tour of the place. It was very positive and they both said they want to hire me. So tomorrow Lynette (the director) will do the background check and the reference checks. She will figure out what they can offer me. She expects to call with an offer by Wednesday.

As long as it is a reasonable salary, I will take the job. The job and the company seem to be a good fit for me. Once they make me an offer we will just need to negotiate a starting date.

Thanks for the prayers. Keep them up for finalizing the job details and house hunting on Thursday!

Love, Debbie

Sent from my iPhone

Last time?

This could well be the last time I fly out of ABQ as a resident of the city. I am on my way to Clarksville, TN for the next 8 days! Can hardly wait to spend a few days with Kevin, Jenn, Emery and Adalyn!

I have a job interview at Guardian Home Healthcare. It will be at 3pm on Monday. I have Thursday set aside for house hunting. Pray for both of these things please. I would love to work in home care again. I need wisdom regarding whether I should rent or buy.

I will keep you posted!

A Big Day Tomorrow

Tomorrow I am teaching Sunday School. We'll be talking about Noah thanking God and God making the rainbow. So I made a snack to go along with the theme.

I also made a Brazilian treat called queijadinhas for the pot luck after church tomorrow. We are celebrating our mission trip.

Today I am putting the final touches on a DVD I am making of our Brazil trip.

It should be a nice day! Hope your Sunday is a great one too!

What a great 4th of July!

10 years ago Cezanne got me a great red, white & blue vest. It seemed perfect for wearing to church on July 4th. I did not know she had one too. We showed up to church as twins! Everyone got a kick out of us and of course thought we had planned it!

We had lunch out together as we usually do after church. Then we had a special treat. I had invited our friend Stacey to go to the festivities at the balloon fiesta park. Stacey blew us away - she had 2 VIP tickets for the event that she could not use. So Cezanne and I went as VIPs - We got to park in a special easy to get in & out of lot and had Bar-B-Q dinner in a reserved area. We could come & go from our reserved seating as we pleased. It had umbrellas for shade while the sun was up. They took the umbrellas down as it got dark. We got to see the balloon glow and fireworks from our own spot.

What a fun day and special way to top off the day! Thanks Stacey. It was awesome!!

Nurse's Week

We had a great lunchceon at work yesterday in celebration of national
nurse's week. Amazing how pretty our breakroom can look with a little
help. If you see a nurse thus week give them a hug!!

The flood water level

Yesterday one of the photos I put on my blog showed the flood level
was 46ft and the water was 59ft and rising. It got up to over 62ft
last night and is hanging right there ever since. Kevin is headed to
see if he can get some video of what the church and surrounding area
looks like.

He says he is not swimming to get video though. There is 70 million
gallons of raw sewage pumping into the water daily. The sewage
treatment plant was flooded and had to be evacuated too. Same thing is
going on upstream in Nashville. So Clarksville is getting a double dose.

Wow! It is all hard to imagine!

Sent from my iPhone

Awaken Church is under water

Sometime today the Cumberland River hit 13 feet above flood stage. I think that number was before it actually hit its highest point. Awaken Church lost everything except their expensive electronic equipment which was located high in the building. The shop owner next door had a boat that they took the equipment out in. I know Kevin will blog more details, but thought you'd want to know this much. They appreciate everyone's prayers so much. Kevin says he is getting a great workout swimming to help with rescuing stuff from Lassiters too! One Lassiters store is located very near Awaken Church.

As I worked out at Curves today I could just imagine the Curves in Clarksville that I have been to. It is in the same parking lot as the church. As I got on each piece of equipment I could picture where the water is on that equipment in Clarksville. Curves is blocked from view by the poster in this last photo.

It is hard to imagine how much damage there is in Clarksville, Nashville and surrounding areas. Mind boggling that that much water can fall in 48 hours.

Awaken Church is flooded

Kevin and Denver waded through chest high water to get into the
church. They moved up high anything they could salvage. They can't
take anything out because they would need a boat to remove it in. The
water is supposed to rise 2 more feet before it subsides. They had
everything insured, but not flood insurance. Jenn sounds good. I cried
when I saw the picture. I will be able to post that after I get off
work. Jenn says they have shed some tears too but they are doing fine
and will need to wait until the water subsides before they really know
what to do.

Sent from my iPhone

Flooding

Kevin just texted that the river is supposed to rise 2 mire feet. He
is on his way to see what he can rescue from the church and from
Lasaters coffee at that location.

Sent from my iPhone

Flooding in TN

The first picture is where Kevin's church had their sunrise service on
Easter. Yesterday the place was submerged under 4 ft of water. Today
you might not be able to see it. The cars are flood destruction near
Clarksville. The very wide river is the street and parking lot near
Kevin's church this morning. He has not yet been able to get to the
church to see if it flooded last night. It will be a miracle if it
didn't. Please pray for Awaken Church, Kevin & Jenn and Tennessee. The
flood damage is massive and mind boggling. Kevin & Jenn's house was
spared and they are all okay. We know that God is in control of even
flood waters and He has a plan though we might not comprehend it just
now.