5 Things

I thought a blog was due before we leave the great state of Kentucky.

We're currently packing our house. Let me just say a few things about this. First, this is the sixth, yes sixth, summer in a row that we have moved. Second, my idea of eternal damnation is packing, moving and unpacking on repeat. Third, once we began packing, my sad feelings about leaving Kentucky were extremely fleeting. Now, I'm begging to be back in Kansas! The disruption, the mess, the chaos. It's not for me. Get me outta here (my house, that is)!

 Now, I have to give a shout-out to our awesome parents who are coming to Kentucky to help us move. Kyle and I were about to rent a moving truck when my dad told me "No!" he is going to bring a trailer from the farm to move us because his truck gets at least 14/15 mpg pulling a trailer while moving trucks get like 2 mpg. Oh my gosh. Can I just say that I love my dad? This is what my whole life has been like. Farmer man to the rescue. I love it. On the flip side, both of our parents ask us if we're packing every time we talk. And they both have told us that we better have everything packed when they arrive. This is when I became convinced that everyone must agree that packing/moving is a source of eternal damnation. No one wants to do it. And you only help people move because you either love them or they're giving you free pizza. Or, often times, both. I guess I will just use this blog to publicly assure our parents that I don't expect them to help us with the packing -- just the loading, driving and unpacking ;). Seriously, though, we're really happy our parents get along so well and are coming to Kentucky, together, to help us move. We're so grateful for such awesome people. While many members of our family made it out to visit us while we were here, for our parents, this visit is a little too soon. The last time 3/4 of them were here is when they moved us out here! Sorry, for that. We're feeling the moving love, though.

As we plan to move cross country, can I say that for me the equivalent to having children is having plants? Moving plants. What a chore! You take them with you because you love them, even though they're so fussy. You can't leave them in a hot car, their sun/watering/temperature schedule gets wonky and they get to looking pretty beat up after a couple of days. Is this what having children is like? At least plants can't ask the never-ending question of "Are we there yet?" But, I love these plants and they're DEFINITELY coming with. So, I better just get over it now. I'm just kidding about kids by the way. I can't wait to have perfect, squishy babies.

Now, onto the main purpose of this blog. What an experience Kentucky has been! I am convinced that everyone needs to live out of their home-state and culture at least once in their lifetime. Kentucky is very different than Kansas, y'all. Now that we're moving back, I honestly feel like I am a Kentuckian moving to Kansas rather than a Kansan moving back to Kansas. Of course, I've always been a Kansan at heart, but here are five things that I am going to miss about Kentucky (besides the seminary, duh):

1. The appreciation for wine, bourbon and food that they have around here. Now, I'm not really into the whole bourbon scene, but I love the state pride that comes with producing your own wine and bourbon. Not to mention...bourbon balls. Little chocolate truffles that you might jump off a bridge for. Eating cheese/drinking wine, pairing beer with food...it's what people do on Friday nights around here. Whole Foods has an entire shenanigan dedicated to this type of thing on Fridays. I'm in love with it. I've gained such an appreciation for creating drinks, growing food and thinking about the ethics of it all.

2. Trader Joe's, Meijer, Aldi, the Farmer's Market. I turned into a real grocery snob here. I'm not sure I can recover when I move back to Winfield. I'll go down fighting, I just know it.

3. Horses, Derby things, fences, white rocking chairs on every porch, and amazing southern homes. The scenery! Don't make me go.

4. Our church. I'm weeping now.

5. All of the towns that we're near -- Cincinnati, Nashville, Louisville, Lexington, etc. 

Life in Kentucky is incredibly fun! So different and sweet. I'm SO glad so many of our friends and family were able to visit us while we were here.

To be fair, here are five things that I am looking forward to upon our return to Kansas (besides being close to family/friends):

1. El Maguey, College Hill Coffee, Neives and legit Mexican cuisine, in general.

2. The Leoti Fair. Magical.

3.  Visiting the farm more often. (Did I tell you that Kyle and I have been talking about exploring the possibility of having chickens when live in our own house in Kansas someday?)

4. Seeing Southwestern/Winfield in the Fall.

5. Watching the sun set.

Please pray for us as we make this transition. Also, please pray that the Lord will lead Kyle to the perfect job. Other than that, we will talk to y'all on the flip side.