Keeping Up with the Fosters

It’s Friday, and that is a fact to rejoice about because I am absolutely exhausted. As if getting married two and half months ago wasn’t a big enough life change, several things have been happening around the Foster household that have been keeping us more than busy. Here’s a little insight into what’s going on:

• I am ALMOST done with my training at work. Yes, I have been in training for four months, but at the end of October, I will officially be done! I’ve described the training process to several people as the equivalent of being in another semester of college, except for this in this particular semester, I study/do assignments/take tests/sit on learning conference calls for 40 hours a week. And it’s all about insurance. I have learned A TON, but if you knew me in college, especially my senior year, you knew that going to class and studying didn’t necessarily happen for a total of 40 hours a week. Ever. So, it’s definitely been difficult and mind-boggling, but it will definitely pay off.

• For the first two months of our marriage, Greg was the perfect house-husband. He ran all of our errands, cleaned the house, and went to town on decorating. He hated it. BUT! The tides have changed. We are so excited because Greg has been asked to be the Worship Pastor at The Exchange DFW in Keller, TX! Yes, we do have to drive about an hour anytime we go to church, but whoever said that God was going to provide in “convenient” ways? Oh wait, they didn’t, so we are more than blessed to be asked to come on board with this church. This is going to be quite the adventure for us because it is not only a job for Greg, but it’s a place for both of us to grow and serve. I could not be more excited to join with this body of believers and serve alongside Greg.

If you're in the area, come check The Exchange DFW out!

• I am currently training for the Dallas White Rock Lake Half Marathon. It’s difficult. I’m in the middle/end of week four. The training is 12 weeks long. My legs hurt. I’ve always wanted to run a half marathon and decided that it was time to finally commit. Not only to achieve my goal, but to keep myself in shape since I sit at a desk all day! Ugh! I’ve “attempted” to train for the Bear-a-thon at Baylor for the past two years, but always gave up because I never have had the time nor enough sleep to train appropriately. I also tend to develop tendonitis in my knees when I run longer distances or hills, so we’ll see if they behave and I can make it through the end. It’s iffy.

• What I’m currently reading:

• Les Miserables 
•  I read this book back in 7^th grade and it immediately became one of my favorite books. Now that several years have passed and I can’t quite remember what happened, I decided to read it again!

• The Pioneer Woman’s: Black Heels to Tractor Wheels 
•  My mother, after hearing me say that I wanted to read this book several times over the past year, bought this book for me for my birthday. I can barely put it down! Aka, I’ve put Les Mis on hold. For now anyways….

•  Greg and I have joined a Life House at The Exchange and it’s complete with 4 other young married couples with “no kids”. That was the rule for joining the group. NO BABIES ALLOWED. We are definitely the “youngest” couple of this crew, but really looking forward to doing life with these people.

• I am SO excited about this Saturday night! To celebrate my birthday (yes, the celebration still continues!), Greg and I are joining my family and going to the Haunted Catfish Plantation in Waxahachie! We saw a special on this old plantation a year ago and we’re finally getting to go experience it for ourselves. Update to come soon!

• The Moose is getting lazy. What a surprise? Now that he’s a city dog, his favorite pastime is sleeping and playing chase in the house. He’s a spoiled pooch.

• I’ve been crafting! We’ve been doing several decorating projects around our little humble abode and trying to spend as little money as we possibly can! Because I love to decorate, I had tons of good foundational stuff from college that I’ve been busy painting and “re-doing” to match our new little house. Here's a pic of one of the lamps that I re-did with my momma!

• I just spent way too much time on Pinterest looking at food, and now all I want to do is bake and cook and try tons of new recipes. It’s a wonder Greg and I are both not 400 pounds. Food is definitely one of our biggest expenses (even with me cooking at home almost every meal!) and it is definitely a shared hobby/loves in our house. The Fosters love to eat.

• Speaking of food, we were blessed by an elder from church the other night. He graciously funded a VERY nice date night for us in honor of Greg coming onboard at The Exchange. We couldn’t have been more thrilled! We ventured around the corner from our house and ate at Houston’s. Neither of us had been to a Houston’s before, but we both enjoyed some delicious steak (which we hadn’t had since our wedding) and glasses of delicious wine. It was a celebration indeed. I am so proud of my Gregory.

Other than all these oddities, Greg and I are just loving getting to spend time together and learning what it means to be honoring and loving spouses. Some days are great, others are not so great, but I’m definitely realizing more and more that the little things don’t matter, and it’s my biblical role to love and support my hubby ALWAYS.  I am far from perfect at this, or anything else for that matter, so it gives me even more of a reason to depend on the reality of God’s Grace and Mercy daily.

“For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”

Hebrews 4:15-16