Well, we said goodbye to the Bay Area and our family and friends last Friday early morning. It was bittersweet. We are happy to move onto another assignment as our first one was quite challenging but are sad to have had to say (for now) bye to our family and new friends.
These folks have become part of my family :) This is Shivangi, her husband, Bhairav and her (two - other one was sleeping) son. These boys are WAY too cute, funny and smart! Loved spending time with them. They were so gracious to invite us over and feed us, make us chai (one of my comfort foods), and provide us with good conversation. They also celebrated my birthday last year, cake, candles and more food :)
This is Glenn and Julie (their 4 kids are not part of this pic!). We met this family "randomly" through a church we contacted prior to moving out to California. They graciously invited us over for their Thanksgiving dinner and opened their home to us telling us to come over anytime. They are a couple whose lives glorify God through service. They are wanting to do some pretty cool things with displaced veterans by helping them to be self-sustaining and have an incredible vision of what the future could hold. Very excited to see what happens!
This is Pelican Pete and nameless (he doesn't have a name...yet) enjoying their first views of Washington state all covered in snow. Given to us by the Gschmeidler family :) They will be journeying with us during our travel nursing adventures!
So grateful I was able to meet up with these two lovely ladies, Mansa and Usri, before leaving! They are old roomies from my Gainesville days. We met up halfway and they both came from work AND Mansa had to go back to work after. (It was pretty late). Fun to catch up with old friends!
The only ones we didn't get pics with was with my cousin, Pran and her husband, Raju :( Pran called me and checked on us several times during the beginning of the assignment and was so sweet and encouraging. There is something about having family nearby to talk with and visit. They are so giving and caring! Didn't get to catch up with them before leaving but that's ok because that will give me a reason to go back :)
Our obsession with Philz. The BEST coffee in the country. Nat is a coffee connoisseur and she thinks so her self. This was our last Philz run. I was praying that cup would last a long time. We were so sad.
BUT then we showed up in Spokane and came across Dutch Bros! The SECOND best coffee introduced to us by my best friend, Robin, who we stayed with in Colorado. (Thanks, Robin!) We knew this was a good start to our assignment.
We had a 14 hour drive (driven in one day). We drove up north through California, into Oregon (so looonng and boring on the west side no wonder people went crazies on the Oregon trail) which the speed limit was 55. We may or may not have been stopped...oh and no cell phone talking allowed while driving in Oregon and Washington. You're welcome.
We watched the temperature drop the farther north we drove. I have NEVER been in this kind of weather...and I really like it. Nat LOVES it. The snow makes everything so beautiful, it's like being in a magical winter land. This is how a real winter should be! Not hot and humid! Although I do miss being able to run out in tshirt, shorts and flip flops to grab something from outside but here we have to wear tights, pants, long sleeve shirt, jacket, snow jacket, wool socks, snow boots AND gloves. Wooh!
Our first snowy day in Idaho at our new home.
It was flurrying! Love watching and being in snow as it falls. I feel like a little kid.
This assignment has been more than we could have asked. We live in Idaho and are renting from one of the nicest couples we could have met coming into this (and everything is furnished!), travel to Washington for work, have 12 hour night shifts, both have the SAME schedule, and the people at work are so friendly and team oriented. During orientation we made friends! As in, friends we are keeping in touch with. Not something we experienced so quickly on our first assignment. Nat and I like to say, "people are warmer here." We really are enjoying where we are and the assignment we have. We know that not everything will be perfect but we just feel at peace and not stressed. I think working together also helps!
We have so much fun at work. It's nice to work with someone you already know. We help each other out when we can and keep each other laughing throughout the night. Not to mention our runs to Dutch Bros and new friend, Kale (it could be pronounced Kel, not sure how to pronounce his name since we are not sure if he has an accent), who knows our names and has full fledged conversations with us at the window. Ahhhh, life is so nice right now. Thankful for the small things and that this assignment has turned out so well.
Thank you to all who have been reading this and keeping us in your thoughts and prayers!
