Happy Saturday friends! I hope the start to your weekend is going great! It has been over a year since I updated on our move from Tennessee to New York and in many ways that seems absolutely unbelievable. I thought today would be the perfect day to update on our move up to New York as I receive so many questions each day about how things are going, how work is going, how we are settling in, etc. In many ways it is completely surreal that last month marked more a year and a 1/2 since the process really began and a year since we moved again (from Albany to upstate New York). In some ways it seems like just yesterday that I was in Tennessee teaching, that we were looking at Spring Break and yet other times it seems like years because so many things have taken place... time is funny like that- isn't it?
Overall
Overall, I would say that we have been met with peace in deep ways as we have moved back to upstate New York. Honestly a peace that is beyond on our understanding because there is still a lot of things that are up in the air and we appreciate prayers for those. A verse that we have continued to believe for and pray over our home, our lives, and this season is from Psalm 37:
Overall, I would say that we have been met with peace in deep ways as we have moved back to upstate New York. Honestly a peace that is beyond on our understanding because there is still a lot of things that are up in the air and we appreciate prayers for those. A verse that we have continued to believe for and pray over our home, our lives, and this season is from Psalm 37:
"The lowly will possess the land and will live in peace and prosperity."
Personal
Personally there are some things happening in the private areas of life and I definitely covet prayer for them. I am grateful for this community. We rejoice that mom is continuing to heal from her knee surgery and also appreciate your prayers for this as she continues to heal. It is a LONG process and your prayers truly mean a lot. We also appreciate prayers for financial resources as the cost of having to stay after surgery in NY (unexpectedly for over three weeks) ... has been difficult. Thank you.
Personally there are some things happening in the private areas of life and I definitely covet prayer for them. I am grateful for this community. We rejoice that mom is continuing to heal from her knee surgery and also appreciate your prayers for this as she continues to heal. It is a LONG process and your prayers truly mean a lot. We also appreciate prayers for financial resources as the cost of having to stay after surgery in NY (unexpectedly for over three weeks) ... has been difficult. Thank you.
December Caravan Shop
December Caravan re-opened and it has so many beautiful new creations- with our focus being on Key Chain Junk Journals that are not seen anywhere else! Thank you so much for all of your support of this shop which is truly a blessing.
Bungalow
Right now we are in a continuous process of cleaning out things from our time when we lived here with my dad and grandmother and also unpacking lots of our things that we have already moved in. We definitely appreciate prayers for energy and for our emotions in this process. Sometimes grief hits very deeply and the process is painful and other times we both have small smiles at precious memories. I definitely look forward to sharing more in the upcoming weeks!
Blogging
I am truly grateful for all of your sweet support, love, and encouragement! It has been lovely to be back into blogging full time again in the last several months and I am so excited about several blogging collaborations that are coming up in the next few months!! Thank you again for all of your support!
If you are a brand or sponsor and desire to work with Caravan Sonnet, please reach out to the team at: caravansonnet@gmail.com!
Library
I didn't share much about my leaving the library this past summer. To be honest... it was a very painful experience ...at first and then a beautiful blessing. After mom ended up in the ICU this summer and needed additional help, I took all of my vacation days to care for her. As it became obvious that we were looking at a longer time of care needed and mom's knee made it impossible for her to walk at all without aid, I made the decision to take a leave of absence. A few days later it became obvious that mom would need more help than a leave of absence time.
When I made the decision to resign, I was met with such hatred that I had the board president screaming at me on the phone and accusing me of taking a local job as a professor full time at the university nearby. I had already shared that I would be teaching one class (months prior to all of this - back in May when I signed the contract and shared it all over social media and here on the blog for the record) and that it would happen outside my hours of the library (on the days that the library was closed). At the time I was met with support and now it turned into the oddest thing as they implied I was leaving the library not to care for my mom, but for this job.
I was shocked. If I was leaving for a different job I would have just told them. I never had a contract with the library - never signed anything and it was always stated as just share with us if you want to leave. I was leaving for serious reasons and it was such a tender and difficult time as a caregiver and to be met with the way that this was handled ... it honestly was extremely painful and hurtful.
I tried to explain that I had also resigned from that job due to helping my mom and instead of being listened to a rumor started in the small town that I had lied and was teaching full-time at the university. It didn't matter that I don't have my PhD and couldn't even teach full time anyways, the rumor that was started was that I didn't care about the library or the people that came in (this broke my heart as I had developed dear relationships with people) and it was believed. I was told that I was lying because my name was still listed as an adjunct professor on the university website. It didn't matter that I offered to even have a letter sent from the Dean saying that the website was not updated properly ... to this day if I run into someone from the library I receive a cold shoulder (or no answer to my "hello") and sarcastic comments about my mom and her "supposed knee issue".
It was hurtful, it was harsh, and it was completely untrue.
At first I felt hurt that when I started at the library there had been complete disarray (financially and also circulation wise). There were hundreds of books that had not been cataloged just laying around, books that hadn't been ordered in months, a children and teen room downstairs that hadn't been properly tended to (I am talking books switched around in the computer system and on shelves mixing non-fiction and fiction), stacks of books that were supposedly withdrawn that were brand new, circulation that had been held up, hundreds of books upstairs that needed to be taken downstairs, finances completely disorganized, bills that hadn't been paid, and the list went on and on and on and on). It literally took me 4 hours one day just to clean out my desk and 4 trashbags of junk, dirt, trash, ect later. It was so sad to see how this small town library that I have always loved got to where it was at. It was a lot of work and it felt like a waste of time to be honest after so much work to bring it up to a functioning library.
On the night before I officially resigned I walked back into the library one last time to collect things after being gone with my mom for over 4 weeks and was met with an unfortunate "surprise". I was in shock to see that the same things that I had encountered when I started... all that I described above ... was exactly again how I found it after being away for a month. I took pictures because I was in so much shock. I had suspicions that there were two women who were silently doing things to ruin the library and destroying things behind the scenes. I had suspicions but to see it confirmed was actually a healing process for me. In that moment I definitely realized it was time to "dust my feet off" and move on. I had done what I could and I was at peace with that. As I forgave those who had been so cruel and vindictive I found peace and honestly have totally forgiven them and am free from all of that. I truly wish each of them the best, but am so thankful to not be in a situation of such toxicity and weird things. It was not a healthy environment and I am grateful for the Lord severing all of that time.
And the Lord's blessing on his people continues to be true. Within a week later the Lord opened up a new job that has been beyond incredible and I have been so so thankful.
Teaching
I am often asked if I miss teaching right now in this unexpected season, I wanted to clarify yes.
I am often asked if I miss teaching right now in this unexpected season, I wanted to clarify yes.
Yes. Yes. Yes... definitely yes.
More than words can express.
More than words can say.
DEFINITELY yes.
Writing
AHHH my little heart is bursting!! This is definitely a year for books being released and there are so many exciting things that I can't wait to share with y'all!!! Thank you for all of your support! You can find all of my books HERE!
Teachers Pay Teachers Shoppe
This has been such an exciting adventure to be on! Thank you for all of your support of this shoppe and for spreading the word about it! You can find the shoppe HERE! The one huge favor I have is for y'all to share this shoppe with those you know and love! Thank you SO much!
December Lane Etsy Shop
December Lane has been currently placed on hold. To be honest I am not sure at this point if they will be opening back up. There are some other projects right now that have my time and attention so I am prayerfully considering what to do next about this!
PhD
I have actually applied to a different university and am waiting to hear results of this! I can't wait to share more!
Church
One of the things that I was most excited about was getting back involved in a church community and finding other people my age (single and married). Honestly... it has been hard to do this. After the pandemic most churches in our area closed. It has been hard to connect with other Christians right in this area and it definitely has made this moving process feel a lot lonelier and I know that I am not the only one feeling this way right now. At this point we are continuing to listen to church online but I hope that in the future this can change and change quickly.
We also see ourselves as missionaries in this area. We might not be on the other side of the world, but it is a completely different culture and there are numerous lost people right here without a thriving church. We covet your prayers for this and how we can start to meet some needs.
Social/Friendships
This has been a season of care-giving and as I am coming out of that I am taking one day at a time in numerous ways, and this is definitely one of them. I think anyone who moves understands all of the emotions that come with finding your "place" in a new space. And that wording of "new space" may sound silly because we have lived here before, but it is a new space, since I was so extremely ill when we lived here before. I am grateful for grace in just giving myself time to adjust. I definitely don't have the social life that I would like to have, but again I think some of it is a mixture between moving, adjusting, work schedule, and timing.
Dating
I am giggling as I write this... there are some stories to share about some dating site adventures but nothing that is happening in this department right now. Haha. I am giggling because I would say this is one of the most asked questions I receive ALL the time. For personal reasons I have always kept my dating life private on this blog (out of respect to the men and out of respect for just the need for a personal boundary line) but right now... no, I am not secretly hiding any story.
Yes, I have been asked this numerous times. Yes, I desire to be married more than I could ever express and yes, I still pray faithfully for my future husband every single day. Yes, my heart aches to be married, and yes I so appreciate your prayers. Thank you so much for caring so much. I am so grateful for your love and prayers for me also in this area!
Thank you so much for reading today... I am so grateful for your prayers, for your love, and for your support in this season. I hope that you and your loved ones have a wonderful weekend!
Want to read through all of the moving updates? You can find them all below:
Moving from Tennessee to New York
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