And So It Begins

With only a couple weeks ahead of us before we officially move, we have begun the oh-so-fun process of packing. The organizing and culling isn't so bad, but it's living in the chaos that's starting to get to me a little! I am glad we have the time to really try and do this systematically, but I think the walls are starting to close in. Here are a few snapshots of the current state of the Johnston abode:

I do know, however, that on the other side of this lies a beautiful new place to live with LOTS more space. So packing...bring it on.

Jesus Is My Friend

Most days in the business we call the Christian music industry, we spend our time looking towards the future, looking for new artists, and trying to stay on the "cutting edge" of our culture. But every once in awhile we take the time to look back and pay our respects to those who paved the way for today's artists. Today I would like to give you a glimpse of some of our trail-blazers. I believe you will find this video quite inspiring and just plain awesome. In fact, there is really only one word to describe it...ZAP!

Please enjoy.

New Beginnings

Well, today was Dan's first official day of work as a PA. You know, it's kind of weird how there is so much pomp & circumstance that goes along with graduations, so many official markers along the way like diplomas & certifications & exam results, but not a whole lot of grandeur for the first day of work. But as I thought about it, today really felt like the official ending of the last 2 1/2 years of school & rotations. The official ending, but also an official beginning of sorts, too. The official beginning of employment, of 2 incomes, of a new routine (that will last more than 6 weeks!), of carpooling, of the responsibilities that go along with being a certified Physician Assistant. It may seem a little lame to some of you (it did to him!), but I just had to take a picture to capture the important landmark this morning. Here he is folks...doesn't he look official?!



It also marks the end of our time in our cozy little Trevecca apartment. While we don't have to be out immediately, we have been in the process of looking for a new place for a little while now. And last week, I think we found the place! We really were only looking at apartments, hoping to upgrade to a 2-bedroom, and trying to decide what area of Nashville to which we'd like to relocate. We had found a nice apartment and had all but signed the paperwork (actually, we'd even done a little of that) when one of my co-workers mentioned that their townhouse was available for rent as of that day. That day was the same day we intended to give our official payment to the apartment complex to reserve the place...so we had to make some quick decisions. But our friends are so great, they worked with us on the price and said they'd give it to us for the same price we were going to pay for the apartment!!! Hmmm....apartment or a WAY more spacious townhouse for the same price? Tough question :-)

While the final details are not completely nailed down yet, we are soon to be the new tenants of this lovely home! Here are a few pics from when our friends lived there...so this is obviously their stuff, but it will give you a pretty good idea:




Did you notice all of that beautiful kitchen space?! Yeah, I can't wait! We won't be moving until the first of October, but we are THRILLED to have this in front of us and so very grateful for the ways in which the Lord provides above & beyond. Now we have plenty of room for friends to come visit us, so please, book your trips to Nashville and come see us!

Watcha Think?

I have (obviously) been messing around with my lay-out a bit and am trying to figure out how to spruce this blog up a little. I thought that might entice me to write a bit more frequently...we shall see. One thing I've been trying to figure out is how to create one of those cute headers for my page...you know, so that oreo pic is actually centered and I can do something fun and creative with the wording, etc. Anyone have any tips? I need all the help I can get when it comes to something creative like this :-)

IT'S OFFICIAL!!!

Dan passed his boards!!!

He just called me a little bit ago to let me know the good news, and let me tell you -- that was a very happy phone call :-) I asked him to take a picture of himself to capture the moment...which he refused, so I borrowed this happy picture from a few years back just after he proposed. I figured the sentiment was similar.

We're headed out tomorrow for Shelby's wedding in Lincoln, NE, so I'll be out for a few days again. Not that I've been so wonderful about updating my blog everyday that you'll miss my presence in blogging world...but just thought I'd let you know anyway :-) Hopefully I'll have a few wedding pics to share when I return.

OH....and I think we founda place to live! But you'll have to hold your breath until we get back and nail a few more things down with that. I'll just say that we're VERY excited about the possibility...

Until next time, folks...we'll be out celebrating!

I'm Alive!

Just a quick note to let my faithful reader's know that I'm alive & I think I have finally quit swimming! It's been a long and at times overwhelming month, but I am happy to report that I have survived. Today is my first day back in the office and I can honestly say that it feels good to be back. Here's a quick snapshot of the last few weeks with more details and pictures to follow:

July 25th - last day in the office, pack up and load the truck!
July 28th - said good-bye to Dan & headed to Estes Park, CO
July 29th-August 2nd - Set-up and preparation for our event
August 3rd - 8th - Music in the Rockies!! (you have no idea how loaded those 4 little words are...)
August 9th - Finally - we headed HOME
August 10th - last Sunday for Kingdom Kids (no sleeping in for me!) & a good-bye party for our dear friends Tyler, Annie, & Sam
August 11th - Back to the office to unload the truck, then finally some down time with Dan
August 12th - up early for a trip to the chiropractor, a fun day of hiking with Dan, then our final good-bye dinner with the Jones' -- a very tough good-bye
August 13th - CLEANING, cooking, etc....Mamma Johnston & sister Mandee (Dan's sis) arrive
August 14th - off to Anderson, South Caroline to move Mandee into college! A long but fun day of traveling
August 15th - Orientation Day for Mandee, switch hotels, rent a car, and Wal-mart for school supplies
August 16th - Move in day! Lots of re-arranging, Target-shopping, & putting-together a dorm room...then off to North Carolina for a beautiful wedding & reception in the mountains!
August 17th - Enjoy a beautiful breakfast at the Inn, some pool time, then back to South Carolina to spend some time with Mamma J
August 18th - Finish some final details for Mandee (buying books, Financial aid office, etc.), final lunch together, then the 3 of us hit the road back to Nashville
August 19th - FINALLY HOME...until we leave next week for Shelby's wedding!

Whew! That made me tired all over again just thinking about everything :-) But even though it has been crazy, there were certainly some fun times in there and some very memorable experiences which I will try and recap for you over the next little while. I probably have enough blogging material for a year, but we'll see how much I'm able to catch up on before life speeds up again.

On another note...Dan takes his boards on Friday!!! Please be praying for him as he continues to study and make his final preparations for that big scary thing. While I was away at MIR he spent a week in Chicago in an intensive review course and did quite well on the practice tests he took every night. He feels like he'll be ready by Friday - but it's still a little nerve-wracking when everything you've put into the last years rides on a single test. Anyway - I have confidence in him and I'm sure he'll do great! But we'll both be relieved to have that ugly thing behind us.

Okay, that's all for now. But don't worry - I'll be back this time :-)

just keep swimming, just keep swimming....

So I still haven't posted those pics I promised...but that's because those pics are at home and I really haven't been there much lately. I leave for Music in the Rockies (affectionately called MIR around here) in 1 week and 3 days. That translates to not quite 6 work days left...and on the last day we load the truck. Typing that sentence just about gave me a massive heart attack right now...NOT QUITE 6 DAYS LEFT?!?! Wow, I've got a lot left to do......

I was here (in my office) until just after 10:30 last night filling in housing charts. And I've basically been a travel agent for the past month, booking flights for all of our artists and speakers. (side note...I just went through the terms flight attendant and stewardess before I could think of travel agent...I need more coffee I think) Oh the joys of event planning!

But it's not all sad and stressful...there really is a lot I look forward to about MIR. I get to meet lots of great people, hear lots of great music, work from an office that is actually a cabin, and of course, enjoy the breathtaking beauty of the Rocky Mountains:

I had a dream the other night that MercyMe's private jet landed at my Grandparent's house and I began yelling at them to immediately get back on the plane because they were going to miss their scheduled class time. I'm not sure what that means other than that I've been thinking about flights and schedules far too much lately. Oh, and Keith Urban was in that dream, too. I don't even know what to say about that.

I think I'll just keep looking at the picture and remind myself how wonderful if is to breathe deeply of fresh mountain air completely void of humidity. And it seems to help me to sing that catchy little song from Dori on Finding Nemo - just keep swimming, just keep swimming, just keep swimming, swimming, swimming....