My new Job!

Ok so this will be a quick post, but I feel like it's necessary to let you all know that I LOVE my job! Cam has been getting up with me in the morning, making me breakfast and coffee, and making my lunch. I've loved that part of having our mornings together. My first day he took some pictures of me -- I was jumping for joy to say the least.

Hair still wet, coffee and lunch in hand, SUPER excited!

So far I've only worked three days but I can't wait to go back! There are so many wonderful things about this job and I'll list them some time soon, but for now know that the Lord has provided in BIG ways for the Smith family!

Celebration weekend

This weekend was jam packed with fun for Cam and me. On Friday night our friends Caroline and John Mark came over to have dinner with us. After eating our delicious blue cheese burgers grilled by my wonderful husband we sat down for a night that never ceased to be filled with laugher. John Mark was one of Cam's groomsmen and has now asked Cam to be in his and Caroline's wedding in July. We're very excited to make the trek to Dallas to celebrate with our friends.

Saturday morning we slept in as much as my excitement could contain. I woke up with the wonderful idea of a breakfast date. Right now Cam and I are house sitting until the end of May. Currently we live 2 minutes walking distance from "The Loop". This is basically a long street filled with all kids of attractions -- music and great food. Cam and I decided to walk to St. Louis bread co. to grab a bagel then off to starbucks before heading home to study. We really enjoyed being able to walk to grab breakfast and our time with one another.

Cam enjoying his bagel

My over photogenic shot of starbucks

 Once we got home Cam hit the books and I read until our evening of Audrey. Glen and Audrey Woita are two very important people in our lives. Glen is an elder at the church Cam and I attend here called Crossroads. Ever since last summer they have taken Cam in as a son. As soon as I met these two they began loving on me as well and have never stopped. This year is Audrey's 50th birthday and we were honored to receive a request of serving for her surprise party. It was a beautiful display of celebrating the dignity, value, and worth of one of God's beautiful daughters. Cam and I helped serve through out the night and enjoyed meeting all of the people close to Glen and Audrey.

Sunday rolled around and after church Cam and I invited a couple of our friends over for lunch. Soren, Emma, Tim, and Ally all enjoyed a delicious chicken potpie made once again by my husband before we ventured out to the local carnival. Emma and Ally are a real treat to be around. They enjoy the thrills of youthful events as much as I do which made my chocolate covered banana and snowcone AMAZING!

Cam and I rested for the entire Sunday and prepared for my big Monday ahead...

My husband

Today just happens to be one of many that I delight in my husband! Every morning we wake up, eat some oatmeal together, drink our coffee, and he heads off to school. While I stay home right now and clean, shop for groceries, make some meals, and basically relax -- Cam stays dedicated to school, spends time with friends, exercises, engages in small group, hosts an out of town friend, reads, contacts old friends and family,and serves/loves/listens to me every single day.

This morning I particularly missed him. Maybe it's the realization of starting Monday I will leave our house at 7:10 and not return until close to 6 that made me appreciate him just a little more. Today I get to go grocery shopping, buy some scrubs for work on Monday, fix dinner, hopefully exercise, and anxiously await my husband coming home. Simply thankful for him today!

Provision

At the end of last week I hit a real low when I can honestly say I just didn't believe God would provide. It had only been two weeks in St. Louis, but each day that I spent at home was another day that I felt completely unworthy. I interviewed for a job at a local pediatric dental office on Friday and fell in love with it. I had another interview on Monday for a local bakery, but all these offers just seemed to good to be true. I kept telling myself the lie of your aren't worthy of this, there is no reason for them to hire you, and because you don't believe God wants good things for you and will provide you're going to be stagnant and learn your lesson.

My hopes were set high on this dentist office and I was scared. I sent out an email to close women in my life who I knew would be faithful in prayer. My prayer request wasn't one of let me get the job, but more of please pray for my heart right now and the lies I'm feeding myself. All too often I convince myself that I have to earn my place before God and really am just unworthy of Him or anyone else unless my performance or personality says otherwise.

Fast forward to Monday afternoon and I got a call from the dentist office. Without a single thing on my resume or even an amazing interview I was offered a full time job doing my dream. God is a good father who is merciful and loving to His children. He provided my dream job that I did not earn by my performance or personality, but simply because he chose to provide it. I have a feeling many of these lessons are to come and though my initial reaction is to be fearful the promises of scripture continue to ring true in my head.

This is the song I sang over and over this week.

Come boldly to a throne of grace,
Ye wretched sinners come;
And lay your load at Jesus’ feet,
And plead what he has done.

“How can I come?” Some soul may say,
“I’m lame and cannot walk;
My guilt and sin have stopped my mouth;
I sigh, but dare not talk

Monday I start my new job and am reminded once again my God is faithful, my God is good, and for no other reason than Jesus I am able to boldly approach the throne of grace as a wretched sinner

Pirates Game!

Our first week in St. Louis was a real wake up call. Cam doesn't have classes on Monday, but they are the day he works hard to prepare for the week ahead. I'm a little embarrassed to say that we both threw temper tantrums for 10 minutes before we came to grips with not being on our honeymoon anymore. This week I was able to go to class with Cam and kind of orient myself with the city... well just the area around us. (I'm directionally challenged and was afraid to venture out on my own) This week was a real struggle for me as I started applying like crazy to any and every job possible. I was left home alone while Cam went to class and had real feelings of loneliness, being unworthy, unwanted, bored, and anxious.

That Friday our friends Tim and Ally came over to cook us a welcome and congrats meal. It was delicious and so refreshing for me to be around people. Ally has family from PA and before we knew it Cam had mentioned the pirates were in town the next week and Ally said lets go. That night we bought tickets to the cardinals vs. Pirates game and Cam was ecstatic.

Fast forward to Tuesday night and we're headed to our first game at Busch stadium to watch Cam's beloved Pirates. Our friends Tim, Ally, Emma, and Matt came with us and really made our trip a ton of fun!

Notice the Erskine Campus Ministry jersey that happens to be Pirates colors!

Beautiful view of the city at Busch Stadium

And so it begins

About a year ago, Cam and I started dating the week before he left for seminary...crazy I know. My first visit to see him in St. Louis we spent time with some of our good friends now, Emma and Soren. One of many things that impressed me about this couple was there blog they made to keep up with family and friends. So now, thanks to Emma and Soren I am going to do my best to keep a blog of well our life here in the big city!

It's now almost 4 weeks since we've been married and time has flown by. There are so many things that have happened since we left our treasured life in South Carolina. Our wedding was absolutely AMAZING! Through out the week of our honeymoon Cam and I reflected on that special day and really are just in awe of how perfect our wedding day was. A couple of the main reasons why Cam and I wanted to get married out at the barn was that is where we met, heard the promises of God, I became a believer, and established relationships that became family. Our wedding was a display of each one of those and beyond what we could have ever expected. Our honeymoon was just what we anticipated. We had a week of relaxation in 85 degree Florida sunshine. A week where Cam and I focused completely on each other and had absolutely not a worry in the world. 

At the end of that week we made the 12 hour trek to our new home together in St. Louis. As we came within about an hour's distance snow started popping up all around us. I was jumping out of my seat with the excitement of snow. Cam on the other hand was a little less than excited to see more snow from the winter that has dragged on here in St. Louis. 

This was our first picture in front of our very first house together :)

Later that night we started opening presents from the wedding and of course I went a little overboard. A few of our presents were at the house, but most of them were at Cam's old apartment and in the back of Hannah's car. With excitement and a little bit of begging Cam agreed to drive around town rounding up the rest of our presents. That night we opened each one and not only were able to recount memories of each person, but also to recognize the many ways that God has and will continue to provide for us. 

More than a little excited!

After 3/4 of the presents were opened I was finally able to let Cam open some

And so our story had begun!