almost there

it's confirmed. i'm officially one of those bloggers that binge blogs every once in a blue moon. for awhile, there wasn't anything new so i was secretly waiting 'til something bigger happened. little did i know that everything was going to happen all at once!

on wednesday, april 15th, i had an interview with an insurance company in midtown that i was less than excited about. i was still holding out for all the red tape at polytechnic to get taken care of, so i hadn't taken my recruiters off the hunt yet. one of them got me this interview so i figured i should go with it. i interviewed on wednesday at 3pm and had an offer the next day by 3pm. it was ridiculously fast and high-pressured, which was strange and uncomfortable. i told them i needed by five at least to think about it, and my recruiter said that should be fine. i called up my would-be boss at polytechnic and showed her my cards and explained the situation to her. i asked her where they were at in the process with the hiring and she said that they were very close, but there was just one more step. the provost's signature. still without a solid offer or an answer, i called back my recruiter to let her know that i would need until tuesday to think about the job offer and look into the company some more and talk it over with my husband. that whole weekend jed and i prayed that we would get a call before tuesday from poly with a job offer so i could confidently turn this other junk job down.

on monday, april 20th, my boss at poly called to let me know that my job offer was in the mail! she wanted me to start on monday, april 27th! after much celebration and many phone calls, jed and i made plans to head back to the city on wednesday to do the apartment hunt. (note: we had spent the weekend babysitting four of our nieces and nephews in pa, entertaining them with such frivolities as bonfires and ice cream and hide and go seek in a pitch black house. only one kid cried!) jed had lined up for us to see five apartments on wednesday, so we took the early bus in on wednesday morning and hit the streets with the goal in mind of making a move on the may 1st weekend.

after the first three apartments, we weren't sure if we were going to need to settle for less than best, because after all it is new york. place number 1 had two bathrooms and two bedrooms, but the bedrooms wouldn't have been able to house an ant farm. place number 2 was nicer, but the floor in the corner of the living room went up like a pinball machine. we would've had to level our couches with phone books. place number three was similar to number 2, but no pinball affect. the hardwood floors just rippled near the kitchen sink.

then there was place number 4. awhile back, jed and i had walked through clinton hill and scouted out the area for the supermarket and hang out places, and tried to get a feel for the best area to live in the clinton hill neighborhood. one street we pined over because of the beautiful stoops and cosby-like brownstones was clifton place. if we could live on clifton place, we'd be somewhat central to where we needed to be and we would be in a safe neighborhood with a nice tree-lined street. well, place number 4 was on clifton place. it's a 16-unit building from what we can tell with four floors and pretty (but extremely worn) marble stairs. jed called the guy on tuesday about seeing a place he saw on craigslist, but that apartment had already been rented. "but," said the dude, "i do have another one in the building that i can let you see. plus, i'll offer you one month of free rent if you want to see it." so of course, we added that to our list. the reason this one hadn't gone yet was because the reno wasn't even close to being finished. we walked in and the contractor was there with a worker and we literally stepped over ladders and paint cans to view the place. but goodness, it was gorgeous! and exactly what we had been praying for.

it has a wonderful garden tub that would be perfect for jed to soak his back in, a nice master bedroom, plus a great living area that could house lots of people, host a good-sized bible study, or bunk family and friends. there's also a smaller second bedroom that for now, will be more of an office for jed, but could also be a future bedroom. the bonus is that the kitchen has about 5 times the counter space and storage i ever had in greenville. (if you visited our little greenville place, you'll realize that's not much, but still!!) we are very thankful and excited. as we walked through the apartment, the contractor told us we could let him know if there were any small changes we wanted and he would see if he could accommodate. out of that, we're getting a few light switches moved, a cabinet sink instead of a pedestal sink in the bathroom, and a ceiling fan in the living room!

we put money down on it wednesday afternoon because anyone who's anyone in new york has always told us to snatch it up if we like it. thanks to the bad economy, we got a month of free rent, no broker's fee, reno accommodations, AND we will be paying about $300 less per month than the people across the hall for a way nicer place. we got the deal of a lifetime - God is so good!

after measuring and revisiting our new home, we've made a list of things that will have to stay in south carolina. one of them is our circular dining room table that we loved so much. we did find a good home for it, but we needed a cheap replacement so today seemed like a good ikea day. we took the bus down and it was a beautiful ride! the more we're here, the more we love brooklyn. it's a wonderful home. before we left for ikea, we looked online and saw a couple of tables that we wanted to check out at the store. one of them was way way way out of our price range ($349 to be exact) but it was seemingly perfect for the space we're trying to fill but also versatile for seating about 8-10 people. when we got to the store, we went through the showroom and saw the table we loved but weren't planning on buying. until we saw the price tag. as we walked up to the table, we saw a red slash through the $349 with a $99 sign right above that. immediately, we asked an ikea worker if that was right, and she confirmed it was. holy cow. apparently, ikea chooses three items every week to go on a major sale. this week, it was our table and today was the last day. wow! we had to catch a cab home with it since there was no way i was going to be able to lift a 92 lb. box up and down subway stairs plus carry it on the walk home from the stop.

so my first day at work is on monday, and we're both so incredibly thankful for a great job opportunity for me! oh, one other miracle. we had 63 days before we had to pay for our cobra insurance so we would have continuous coverage, and monday happens to be day 60. usually, there is a waiting period before benefits kick in, but when i talked to the hr guy at poly, he informed me that benefits commence the first day of employment! how awesome is our God!! jed is still on the hunt with one particular lead that we're hoping will go through, but we're learning that with higher education, it takes forever. my opportunity was a fluke to happen this "fast." but now that insurance is kicking in sooner rather than later, jed will be spending time in the next few days finding good doctors here in new york.

the last couple months have felt like a series of "frowning providences" where we knew that God was there and taking care of us, but we often questioned exactly what was going on, what our place was in the whole thing, and what exactly we were supposed to be learning. i don't know if we have any more exact answers to those questions except that we know that we're doing today what we're supposed to be doing, but we sense an overwhelming presence of God's kind hand on our shoulders these last few days and we are amazed at how the details are falling into place. by God's grace and with the help of his Spirit, we are enduring, and that endurance is causing much joy to be known in seeing more and more provisions of his love.

i realize this is incredibly long, but i couldn't leave any detail out in what God is doing to further his kingdom here and in our hearts. below are some shots of the new apartment (still under construction). we truly hope you will be able to know God better and understand his love more by reading what he is doing here in brooklyn in small and big ways.

our street, clifton place

neighbors across the street

standing in our room looking out into the living room

standing in our kitchen looking into the office (2nd bedroom)

note to self

this might be a bit of an open post because i'm taking a slightly different approach. i am too lazy to keep a beautiful, leather-bound, recycled paper-filled, handwritten journal, so this whole blogging deal sometimes serves the purpose of what a journal would be. except for the "available to the whole world" thing.

since i last wrote, not much has changed. rephrase: not much with our circumstances has changed. we are both still unemployed and of the vagabond persuasion, but we're really hoping that this week will be the week. i interviewed at polytechnic for the second round of interviews on march 31st, and it went really well. i was told i would hear by the end of the week last week, but i still haven't heard anything so i'm going to give them 'til mid-morning tomorrow and then i'll give them a courtesy call. jed is still patiently waiting to hear back from berkeley college where he interviewed and was very well received by the staff he interviewed with. we're very aware of how slow the process tends to move in the educational environment, so in one sense we feel somewhat thankful that we both got through the interview process decidedly quickly comparatively speaking. one of the people that i interviewed with at poly told me that when she was hired on, it took her three interviews that were strung out from august 'til november before she was hired in december. fortunately, the positions i've interviewed for (both at poly) are empty positions that they'd like to fill "quickly."

we missed the april 1st deadline for an apartment, but occasionally there are still nice apartments available on the 15th of the month, too. should we hear back from either of the positions we're waiting on, we'll do the apartment hunt right away and see what's available for middle of the month. if we don't find one for the middle of the month, we'll wait 'til may 1st. what's another 15 days, i ask you?!

so, after that explanation, though we're progressing bit by bit, our circumstances have not exactly changed. but let me tell you, i really think we have changed. neither of us have gotten tattoos or pink hair in honor of new york culture, but the refinement of our reactions and the continual struggle of our hearts are things that i really pray will be with us forever. the things we've talked through and are learning are heavy things that we haven't faced in our young lives yet. but it's good! after enduring a day where tears felt way too fresh, i can't believe i'm saying that it's good, but i really think it is good. these trials have been instigators to conversations we might not ever have had, struggles we might not ever have felt, and lessons we might not ever have learned. because let's face it, who in their right mind would voluntarily go homeless and unemployed in this economy? if we would've known how crazy it would've been we might've waited a little longer. but we didn't, and it's been great! i probably sound sadistic, but i'm serious. and let it be put on the record, i will never ever again take for granted my silly earthly belongings. they are gifts from God, but they're sitting in storage in south carolina 'til further notice (see above paragraph).

i really thank God for this time. i won't lie to you and say i wake up every morning saying that, but in all the clarity God is giving me at this late hour of the night, i really mean it. we're very privileged to be able to learn and even suffer because it's through these sufferings that God gives us endurance, and through that endurance we build character, which in the end, after having seen the promises of God fulfilled, we possess a Spirit-given hope that cannot be shaken. i love that promise.