Blogworthy Birthday

As many of you may know, my birthday just recently passed. Twenty-four doesnt feel much different from twenty-three, but my birthday certainly left an impression on me. I will walk you through my day so you can better understand why it was so outstanding.

I woke up on the morning of the 18th just like I always do: before the sun and to work before 7 am. Not thrilled to work on my birthday, I was hoping the day would fly by. My mood instantly began to brighten when I found my classroom door decorated by my friend and co-worker, Lo. As I progressed into my room, I saw a HUGE balloon, my favorite guava pastries and a sweet card- it is such a great thing to work with your friend :)

my door

Before I knew it, the bell rung and in flooded my students. Much to my surprise, they had all remembered it was my special day! One by one I was welcomed with birthday hugs and sweet  wishes. They quickly got to work and began making me cards and gifts. By the time the late bell rang, I was adorned from head-to-toe in handmade paper jewelry (in every color construction paper you can imagine). The only person more proud of their creative handiwork than them, was me. I felt so loved as I wore their ridiculous looking rings, bracelets, necklaces and crowns all day. My desk and floor could not contain the layers and layers or cards and artwork they gifted to me.

Before

After

yum

Midway through my work day, I was surprised by my handsome hubby! He brought me the biggest basket of gourmet chocolates and completely brightened my day. It was a good boost right before I participated in the Teacher Turkey Trot Race. The combination of my competitiveness and my students cheering me on, led me to the win! I beat out fifty some other teachers- in the rain I might add! I must admit, I thought I was going to pass out afterwards!

huge gift bag

After work, I went home for a quick nap and then out to my favorite sushi spot!!!!!! On the way there, Pedro got a call making him an official job offer to work on a movie out of Nashville- more on that later. It was a fantastic night with some of the most fabulous people I know and love.  I got presents that were practically the size of me and enjoyed every second of the day.

As if all my other gifts weren't enough, Pedro got me a puppy! I have wanted one for so long and finally I have one! Introducing our divalicious Demi LaTorre :) We named her after two great women who have passed away on Thanksgivings in the past, DEbbie Gwaltney and NoEMI Vega. If you put the names together it equals DEMI! She is furrier that we hope our future children will be, but we couldn't love her more! She was 10 wks old when we got her and she is already house-trained. Pedro says she is smart and stubby, just like me! She stays downstairs in our house, lets us sleep all night and puts up with our crazy schedule. I guess you could say she is perfect.

our sweet girl

Love these two

My birthday couldn't have been better. The thing about it that stands out is not that I was spoiled and showered with love and gifts, but the heart to which everything was done. It was everything I could do to not burst into tears each time a student gave me a gift. There is just something so sincere and pure about a kid who has nothing, giving you their favorite stuffed animal. Nothing quite says I love you like a hand-made gift from a child who is considered "homeless." You see all of my students receive free lunch due to their family's financial struggles. My eyes filled and refilled with tears as a student who desperately needs new shoes, handed me a fresh bouquet of roses. No tangible gifts could compare to these memories. My little third graders continue to change me. I have no doubt that by the end of the year, they will have taught me more than I could ever teach them.

Demi makes us a family of 3

Its time for the holidays now and we are wishing you all nothing but the best! 

Until next time,

The Nomad Newlyweds

Just a tidbit.

Sometimes we dont say the things that need to be said. I'm not quite certain what holds us back when it comes to this topic. Whether its our lack of enthusiasm on the subject, our drifting minds that seem to lose connection with thought every couple seconds, our carelessness when it comes to the emotional needs of others or plain ole' pride and fear of rejection.... we are just plain selfish sometimes. What's interesting about this to me is that we seem to have no problem whatsoever, spending countless hours wasting time talking about absolute nonsense. But the things that others need us to say, to encourage and uplift them, build their dreams, melt their heart or even just cause a smile, seem to be the furthest words from our lips. 


Busyness is the culprit in my life. I hate that word. Havent we all just become too busy? It seems to be our excuse for every shortcoming we have in relationships. "Sorry I'm just so busy." Its not a bad thing to be busy and in motion when it comes to productivity or pursuing our futures, but we can control how busy we are and what we are willing to sacrifice on behalf of our choices. I pray we make decisions with our time that we will not regret one day down the road. I pray that we wont be too busy planning ahead that we miss what could have happened with the people around us today. 



In the words of my precious husband, "Sometimes you just gotta flip over the table and put back only what really matters." I hope you will join me in doing that today!


Just a thought :) 


On that note: I am going to throw my to-do list in the trash, and go spend my night talking and cuddling with my guy.

One Life.

I swear I will never wait this long to blog again. Seriously, this is ridiculous! So much has gone on that it will be impossible for me to fit it all in here. I will do my best to cover the important stuff but make no promises that I will remember everything! Here goes nothing…

Summertime Shenanigans.

I think we appreciate each "season" for different reasons. Pedro and I are particularly fond of summertime because we enjoy the sunshine! Afterall, everything is better with a tan!  Summertime brought some of our very favorite friends together and we enjoyed doing life together while we could.  Some of our closest friends are helping lead Hope In Motion Institute, which has been going amazing!  Other than that, we spent our freetime this summer making memories with our friends studying God's word together,  geocaching (which is like treasure hunting with the world...google it), watching movies, swimming and hot tubbing, and finding plenty of time to eat. We didnt sleep much, but it was worth it. 

As part of the seasons of life, there are rainy days and times of drought. That seems to apply most in relation to the patterns of opportunities our lives. We have no idea what tomorrow will entail, but we know it will be exciting! We are maximaizing every moment we are given and trying to remember to enjoy the journey...even if we have to pencil it in.

We hit the big one year in July! One year seems anticlimactic when you have been together over 7 years, but we know that one year of marriage is a huge accomplishment. If year one is the hardest in marriage as they say, then we are off to a fab start! We managed to find a few days to sneak away and be alone to celebrate. It was perfect.

Hope in Motion Institute wrapped up at the end of the summer and it was more than we could’ve imagined. It was so successful in fact, that we are now hosting a Fall term of the institute and will be also doing a Spring semester as well! We are so proud of the young people who are dedicating their time to this ministry.

In August we thought we would be moving back to Nashville. But sometimes our plans are just that…plans. I got called for a long-term subbing position and went in for the interview.  Substitute teaching seemed like a perfect fit to our lifestyle and a job I could accept or deny each day. Basically it was a very non-committal option. To our great surprise, I was called almost immediately after the interview and offered a 3^rd grade full –time teaching job. Confused, I made certainly the lines of communication were clear in the interview and they understood I had no experience in the field. They insisted that they had faith I could do the job and pass the certification testing without the schooling. Trusting God to open or shut the door, I took the test and passed on the spot. I became a teacher that day.

God continues to teach us that we can walk confidently into any situation and know that He will equip us.  I feel so honored that I get to pour into and help mold the lives of 16 kids in my classroom everyday.  Our plan, for now, is to be in Fort Myers at least through May to fulfill my commitment as a teacher. After that, the sky is the limit! We absolutely loved Nashville and could totally see ourselves settling down there at some point down the road.

Pedro has been on the road like crazy lately between doing shows with KJ52, Anthem Lights and speaking with Hope In Motion.  He is slowing down for a bit now to focus on some new endeavors that we will release at a later date. He turned the big 2-5 in September, hard to believe he was 17 when we started dating.

Finally Fall.

We started off October out on the road in Charlotte, NC.  It was such a blast to explore downtown Charlotte and then finish off the weekend with him performing a huge show with TobyMac, Brandon Heath, The Almost,  and KJ52. We really do love the opportunities to travel we have been given. We cannot wait for November to get here… it seriously cannot get here quick enough! We are planning to be in NYC to do the Hope In Motion presentation in schools there. New York City is one of our favorite places and particularly special because we got engaged there! Then we are heading straight from there to Miami to go on a week-long cruise. We will be on the Music Boat Cruise where Pedro will be performing. Shortly after that will be my birthday and then Thanksgiving! The holidays are our favorite time of the year with great weather and family! We were hoping for seasons this year, but maybe next year we will actually be somewhere that it gets below 85 degrees.

We are celebrating the small things right now and loving getting to be part of things like my little brother Josiah entering high school and watching him bloom into quite the singer and musician at his performing arts school. We still have Babyman all the time and just adore that sweet boy like if he were our own! We have so many friends getting married and having babies all around us and we are loving seeing our friends grow up and start new lives. Our most recent adventure is that we are moving into a new place here in Fort Myers. Not sure how we are going to find the time to pack and move but we have 3 days to do so! Ready or not, here we go!

God is so faithful to us and we pray that as we continue to pursue Him and become like Him, we will be most effective in this life and as it effects eternity. I hope our journeys serve as a testimony of God’s grace to you. Thank you for loving us enough to keep up with us.

The bottom line is that we only get one life to live and we are going to make sure that we make the most of every moment...not in a reckless way, but in an abandoned-to-self, committed to the Kingdom kind of way.

The 

     Nomad 

                Newlyweds

Always in Motion

Nesting Nomads.

I know that the words "Nesting" and "Nomad" aren't typically paired in the same thought, as they appear to be contradictions. Well, those two words seem to be the most fitting to describe what we have been up to lately. We are busy as usual, but making time when we find free moments to settle back into our Florida condo. Not gonna lie at all, we have super mixed emotions about being back in Florida for a while. Time with family and friends who know and love us has been priceless and we wouldn't trade it for the world. But we cant get over missing our new Nashville friends either! The last couple months have been filled with planning and scheduling and of course some traveling too. Our most recent travels took us to Nashville, Kentucky and Orlando! We were gone for 2 1/2 weeks, but didnt stop! We caught up with friends, Pedro spoke at a youth camp, I was in a wedding, we shot a tv episode, had a few photoshoots, and somehow managed to make it to Disney for the Vega family vacation! We are taking advantage of every second we have and know that we are exactly where we are supposed to be right now. God is so faithful, He's doing things through us that we could never do on our own.

Checking In.
Since I last blogged, we (as promised) shot our first episode of MXTV. In fact we have since shot 3 episodes! The first took place on the east coast of Florida in Ormond Beach. The second one we shot in Nashville, TN and the third in Atlanta, GA. The footage is being edited by the production team now and we will share it when its ready.We are having such a blast doing MXTV and are learning so much along the way. Hope In Motion Institute has also begun and is off to an unbelievable start! We have an incredible group of leaders in the line up and we are confident that students lives will be changed! Thankful doesnt even begin to describe how we feel. Our leaders are making HUGE sacrifices to be involved this summer. Our fantabulous team believes in what Hope In Motion does and is passionate about investing in these kids' lives. Week 1 was an amazing success with the students getting to know each other. We can already see a sense of community developing among the kids as they begin to open up to us and each other.We still have financial and material needs for both of these ministries so please spread the word to those who may be able to help. Since both MXTV and Hope In Motion are non-profit organizations, funding has to be raised. Please pray that God will provide us with the means to continue to do the work He has cut out for us!

The Process.

One of our favorite quotes is "The Process facilitates the Promise." This is something that over the years we have continued to remind ourselves....and still tell ourselves today. This statement could not be more true for us and serves as such a source of encouragement in times of hardship. We have officially entered into the season of our nomadic life where we have to travel separately quite a bit. We have been so fortunate thus far to do the majority of our traveling together since we have been married. However, this summer will be crazy between Hope In Motion Institute and touring festivals. People often ask us "How do you guys stay sane with all you have going on?" Our response is simple, "We take it one day at a time, together." With that in mind, pray that God will strengthen us to support each other and be united even when we may physically be in different places. It is in times like this when we are so grateful for the communication skills we have developed over the last 7 years of our relationship. It just goes to show that God really does prepare us for what He has prepared for us.

Sidenote.

I have to take a second to brag on Pedro. He is such an amazing provider. I am so thankful for the manor in which he leads me. He is by far the most hardworking person I know. He juggles so many different roles and passions and does so eloquently with balance and patience. I am so challenged by his integrity and genuine devotion to Christ. I love that he is so strong but humble. He is strong about what he believes but not stubborn to think that he knows it all. He makes me want to be a better person by the way he is always longing to learn from everyone around him. I feel so at peace knowing that I am always safe with him by my side. 

Today.

Today we have been married for 11 months....CRAZY. These 11 months truly have been the best 11 months of our relationship to date. We loved being friends, then we loved dating, then we loved being engaged, and now we love being married. Its funny how you think you love someone as much as it is possible and then before you know it, you love them even more. It truly astounds me how after 7 years together, we keep falling more in love. I'm not trying to be mushy, just being honest. People say that the first year of marriage is the hardest, at it has definitely come with many uncertainties and outside chaos, but internally, between the two of us, we couldn't be better. Everything is trial and error and quite frankly, we have learned that it is better to be wrong in most cases than to be right. It is mind-blowing to think that everyday there is someone waking up beside you who genuinely wants to do all they can to make your day better. Not only do we pursue knowing God deeper everyday, but we pursue each other's hearts and how to become better for the other. This journey we are on is one filled with excitement and I cannot wait to see what the rest of our life together will entail. I share all this in hopes that those who read this will know that love can be new every morning, it can grow and not fail, it can fall down but always find its way back up. I hope that our love is contagious. Start today to approach every relationship with true grace, not just a talked about grace but an acted on grace. You can radically change the temperature in your relationships by making a conscious effort to outdo the other person in kindness, rather than spitefully keeping record of wrongs. We can choose to love with a love that doesnt fade but instead flourishes. 

Action.

Sometimes one word, one moment and even one statistic can change everything. Like in the story of Cinderella, one shoe changed her future! For us it was one statistic that turned our world around. We recently heard that "26,000 kids around the world will breathe their last breath today due to starvation." That seriously does not sit well and keeps us up at night. That right there is why we do what we do. People dont always understand why we arent concerned with having a 401k, owning a home, having a cozy job with health benefits, or the "American dream." But our dream is to give all we can to those in need, to hold nothing back and go wherever we are led. It may not be normal but its the only way we know how to be. It certainly is grounds for uneasiness at times and involves risk, but how can we expect to truly be led unless we are first made blind, right? We often battle with thoughts of selling all we own and traveling around the world to serve communities and bring them a message of hope. But as for now we are being faithful to what our creator has set before us, where we are at. And so we fervently strive through our imperfection to be Hope In Motion.

Until next time...

The Nomad Newlyweds

Nomad Newlyweds.

Our Nomad Newlywed name seems to be sticking and rightfully so. We are still up to our ever-traveling ways, and thats just the way we like it! Since we last chatted, Pedro and I have made some big decisions which I am stoked to tell you about (later in this blog). Those decisions started with us taking a quick trip back to Nashville to tie up some loose ends. We decided it would be best for us to stop paying rent for two places in two separate states. So we flew to Nashville packed up our place there and put everything in storage. It was certainly interesting packing up everything ourselves with no help! Poor Pedro only had me to help with the lifting... and what a sight that was! A 6'2" guy trying to carry heavy furniture with a (not even) 5' girl.....you do the math!!! But we survived as usual and have limited injuries to show for it. While in Nash, we got to spend some MUCH NEEDED time with our village (small group) and say our "see ya laters." We went to this really cool worship event that our church, Journey church, put on. It was called SPACE and was just a really unique night. There were different groups of people who led worship throughout the night and our Pastor shared as well. The room was candle-lit and had different stations or "spaces" to worship in. Some worshipped through song or drawing, others by writing/journaling. There were places to take communion in your own time and if your not a chair sitter, there were pillows to sit on too! It was an artistic night of worship to say the least. Pastor Jamie was so sweet and invited us to spend some time with him before we left also....we are so gonna miss Journey church! Although there is so much about Nashville that we love, our first and only desire is to follow God's will for us. We are sad to leave  but are confident that it wont be a forever goodbye. 

Pitstop.
After literally packing every square inch of our car to the the brink, we hit the road and headed toward Florida. We prayed that our tires would last for the trip since our car was so heavy. It was crazy! Along the way, we made a pitstop in Atlanta and spent time with some of our family faves, Xavier and Denise. It was so good to catch up on what amazing things they are up to. It felt like no time at all had passed since we had hung out. We are so lucky to have them as family, but more importantly as friends. We love them and are so proud of them for the tough journey they have embarked on and are enduring through, fighting for their dreams. 


Fury of Floridian Festivities.
We have literally not been back in Florida for more than a week and are still trying to catch our breath!  Spring has officially sprung and brought with it the never-ending season of babies and weddings and all the showers that come with it! One part of spring we are not particularly enjoying are our new-found allergies. Congestion and sneezing are our new middle names! Pedro has been doing a ton of speaking, 5 times this week already... 4 school assemblies and 1 youth group. He is also teaching lots of drum lessons too. As if he doesn't have enough going on, when he finds any spare time he does p90x or goes to the baseball field/basketball court. I am starting to substitute teach and have been spring cleaning like crazy! I am also exploring ideas of how to refocus on music. Truth is, I have staying busy and making lots of excuses as to why I dont have time for music. I am putting an end to my lame excuse-making and making it a priority.

Dont Miss This.
So everyone has been asking, "what's next?" Our primary focus right now is Hope In Motion. We are so excited that it is in the process of becoming its own non-profit organization. The paperwork is all finished and in the hands of the proper authorities! We are starting to raise funds and cannot wait to see how many young lives will be changed through Hope In Motion. Our team is growing already and we are so blessed to have amazing people on board. We still have several school assemblies before this school year ends, so pray that God will continue to speak a message of hope through our team. We are also thrilled to announce that this summer will kick off the very first ever Hope In Motion Institute! The institute will be an 8 week program for high school and college age students to become equipped to make a difference in their sphere of influence. We know kids still want to have a summer so the program will only be about 10 hours per week. Some of the training areas will include music, drama, lighting, sound, speaking, follow up, etc. This will enable us to take students into their schools and have them actually get to be part of the team on stage and setting an example to their peers. 


Sneak Peek.
Hope In Motion is going global! We were just given the opportunity of a lifetime to bring our message of hope on tv! Within the next couple of months Pedro and I will begin hosting a show called MXTV.  We are shooting our first episode this month! Each episode will cover a different topic that youth face today. We will go into more detail later as this new endeavor unravels. We feel so honored to have this incredible platform and take it on with much humility.

It has been unbelievable how much we have learned in such a short period of time. As Christ followers, we often become accustom to going through the motions of saying and doing the "right" things. But what good is it to say common cliches such as, " I just have to trust God" if they are just empty words from a distrusting heart. We can honestly say that we have learned what it is to trust God. And that in itself is something we are so proud of. We are trusting him with our futures, our finances, our relationships and location. There are definite moments of discouragement and displacement, but we remain steadfast to the goal at hand. Sometimes the cost seems great, but when we put it in perspective it far pales in comparison to the sacrifice made for us. We hope you enjoy keeping up with us.


Love,
Your Favorite Nomad Newlyweds

Nashville Newbies.

Guitar Drop

Moving out of state truly was leaving home for us. We left family, friends, mentors, accountability...our whole support system. Still being in our first year of marriage, we desperately long for community as we know it is absolutely vital in our lives. But despite our hesitations and hang-ups, we more desperately seek God's will for our lives and want so badly to be used to our utmost wherever and whenever He leads. With heavy hearts and tear-filled eyes, we set out on the road to Tennessee....knowing we'd face sure adversity, but anxious to see what we would learn. We packed up our car with all we could fit and trusted God....in the midst of unanswered questions its all we could do.


New Year. New Everything.
We brought in this new year as Nashville Newbies. Having lived in Nashville less than a week, we decided to check out downtown and listen to music while welcoming 2011. Last year's New Years we spent in NYC eating pizza before going downtown for the ball drop in Times Square.... and getting engaged! Since that is such a fond memory, we decided to make it a tradition to chow down on some NY style pizza before joining the festivities. Nashville is charmingly referred to by most as "Music City," but we soon came to realize that it is mot popular for the Christian and Country music industries (which go hand in hand). Surrounded by cowboy hats at the New Years "guitar drop," we worried that we would have a hard time finding ethnic people and indie music....but not to worry, we found both later! 

Our Precious Godson

Missing family. Building Family.
We have grown to love a thing called webcams!!!!! We make it a priority to talk to my family several times a week and love that we actually get to see their faces....Thank you technology! They miss us too but probably not as much as we do them ;-) My mom said it best like this, "Miss you both so much, it feels like both of our arms have been cut off. We will live, but definitely not the same quality of life." Perfectly put. From this point forward, it will be impossible to tell our story without including the names of our Nashville besties/family: Alan, Brycie & Avery-Jade Powell. What an incredible blessing and truly a godsend they have been to our lives. We are not sure we would've survived our Nashville move without them. Not only did they open their home to us our first week there until we found a place of our own, but they truly have opened their arms and hearts to us. We cant say enough good words about them, honestly. Another major perk of living in Tennessee is having our sweet godson Tatum and his lovely mommy Brittany only 45 min away! Tatum will be 4 in April and we are loving getting to see what an amazing lil man he is growing up to be. And more exciting news: Brittany is getting married to Clint in June... I am so excited to get to be part of the wedding preparations and cant wait to be celebrating with her as a proud bridesmaid so soon!!! We have also enjoyed being within a 3 hour drive of Pedro's family (dad, stepmom &brother) who live in Birmingham, AL. We are sooooooo thankful to them for bringing up Pedro's furniture and helping make our house a home. It has been such an exciting new experience for us  to have his family living close by and definitely brought us closer in heart too! 


Finding Community.
Our very first Sunday in Nashville we decided to try a church by the name of Journey Church. We had three, totally unrelated, sources all suggest the same church for us to try. Without question, we knew we had to at least check it out. It was very clear during that first service, that we were home! We absolutely fell in love with Journey church. We loved the worship style, giving style, artistic forms of worship, the pastor and leadership and most importantly, the people! We quickly got plugged into a village (home group) and began building relationships that we wouldnt trade for the world. Pastor Jamie George, his wife Angie, and 4 children are amazing!!!! Sundays and Tuesdays have become new highlights of our week; Sunday mornings because of our church gathering and Tuesday nights because of our village time at their home. Our village consists of married couples, dating couples, engaged, singles and a variety of ages and backgrounds....Just the way we like it! We have so loved hearing everyone's stories and getting to share our own. Its true what they say, you never can tell a book by its cover. Note to self: If you are ever feeling as though you dont truly know someone or connect with them, take turns telling stories, you will be surprised how much you have in common and how much you didnt know about them. Its never too early or too late to swap stories either, even if you have grown up with someone, you will be shocked to hear details that molded who they are that you never knew occurred; and furthermore, you may just be altogether challenged by seeing through their perspective. All in all, best way to truly connect with people...you will laugh and cry together and forever have conversation starters from that point forward. We have so loved getting to live life with this random group of he's and she's....we are like a never ending puzzle where everyone has a place, no two pieces just alike, and where adding new pieces makes the picture more beautiful. Needless to say, the leadership and people who make up Journey church have spiritually motivated and captivated us.

Random.
There are a few randoms things to add about our Nashville experience. For one, we saw puppies be born for the first time ever at one of our new friends house...so cool! We have also reconnected with the Shicks family in Nashville, they are the family that many of you may know who started the Bridge youth center in Fort Myers. Their new son-in-law has done a bunch of collaborating on music with Pedro...they are great friends to us. Oh and did I mention that we almost died in the snow?!? Our car slid down a hill and almost off a cliff while trying to get home from work. I jumped out of the car and Pedro pulled the e-brake, leaving our car there overnight. Good news is that we got snowed in from work the next day and got in some quality time! We have noticed that American Idol ex-candidates seem to be everywhere in Nashville and we have met several. We have experienced many "worlds colliding" moments, especially when we became good friends with some of Nae Nae's best friends from college down in Fl...small world! One fabulous find for us was finding a sushi place in West End Nashville that also serves burgers.... very random! We also tried fried pickles and cookie dough egg rolls for the first time...yum! I'm sure there are many more but those are just a few random firsts for us.

Supporting Alan's band on tour

The Industry Life.
Nashville's music industry circles are not quite the same as those we have experienced in New York and California.They are alike in that it is all about networking and who you know, but different because it seems like in Nashville, everyone knows everyone! The music community in Nashville seems to be a smaller, family style group. Likewise, Nashville has a big city feel but is still homey enough to raise a family. As for Pedro's job specifically, it was not exactly what we had in mind or expected. Pedro accepted the job at a management company (that will remain nameless) managing one christian artist, doing all of his day in and day out booking. We quickly found out that he was also doing work for 5 other large artists! Having to learn so much on his own, with no leadership or instruction, Pedro did an amazing job of keeping his head in some very trying situations. Already working crazy hours, his work never stopped coming in and his boss would email him all day and night long. At that point, he had to put his foot down to preserve our time and not bring work home with him. Long story short, it was not what he bargained for! Things were renegotiated and although it was a pay decrease, he agreed to stay on with the original terms in place and getting to work from home. I am so proud of his wisdom and discernment.

It seems like everyone in Nashville is in some way involved in the music industry....musicians, managers, singers, producers, you name it! We are so thankful that we have been able to build a strong friendship with Alan & Brycie during this time, as it seems we are in very similar places in life! Alan is in a band called Anthem Lights that is signed to the christian label, Provident. He has been touring and has had to be away from his wife and precious new baby girl. We have been thrilled to get to help with the baby and be family to them. We have so loved keeping Brycie and baby AJ busy while he's out ministering through music. The music industry life may not be a normal lifestyle but it makes it so much easier when you are surrounded by people who love you and understand. We are so proud of them for how amazing they have done through this transitional time in their lives and have been honored to be a part of it. We only have a 1 bedroom apartment in Nashville right now but we have had people stay with us quite a bit. Our friend George Moss is on Winter jam tour with KJ52 and stays with us when in Nashville. Brycie and the baby have stayed with us some weekends while Alan is gone too. We love opening our home to people we love... just wish we had the rest of our furniture so they didnt have to sleep on our couch or air mattress! One really unique lesson we have learned is: when we seem to have the least, we have the most to give!

When it Rains, It Pours.
Just about the time where Pedro decided to make some changes at work, rough waters came our way elsewhere. I came down with strep throat, paid a ton of money  on doctors fees and meds and then had to take a week off work! Just as I started feeling better and was able to return to work, we started having trouble getting in touch with the girl who was subleasing our condo in Fl from us. We started getting worried because she seemed to disappear and she was renting our place fully furnished! In a nutshell, we were devastated that she moved out without giving us any notice and without paying! It just goes to prove, You REALLY should never to business with "friends." So sad. Still trying to make sense of how to salvage that situation, we then realized we were experiencing identity theft and money was being stolen from our accounts!!!! Talk about an attack... we were just trying to remain positive and not have a mental breakdown at that point. All of that literally lead up until last week as we prepared for our trip to FL. We were so ready for a break and definitely couldnt wait to just get some sun(Vitamin D really does make make us happier)! Maintaining 2 places and paying added bills has definitely not been easy, but all in all we are somehow surviving! Hardships seem to only make us closer as a couple and that is more than enough for us.

Pedro's way of showing me love while sick

Decisions, Decisions.
So here we are.....clueless but ready, worried but willing. We are here in Fl for a DJ Morph and Dro music video shoot, to see family/friends of course and pack up our condo to make the permanent move to Nashville.We have yet to take a break and truly enjoy this weather because we have been too busy trying to make decisions, knocking on doors, and waiting to see what opens up. But we are resting in the comfort and intimacy that comes only from seeking Christ. One immediate need we have is finding good jobs. To be honest, we are very unsure about what our next step is, and whether or not we will be able to make this move permanently. At this point, we are fervently praying that we will be sensitive to God's voice and selflessly be obedient to its  direction. We are still holding steadfast to the promise that God never will leave us or forsake us. We know that where ever He leads us, He will certainly provide for us. Most importantly, we are confident that He will continue to stretch us, grow us and draw us closer unto Himself. We desperately long to not just live, but thrive. We long to be used to our full potential in relationship, our love for music, and being hope in motion to as many who need to hear and see. 

That brings you up to date with us. Now that we are caught up, I promise my entries wont be so extensive! We hope you enjoy keeping up with us and thank you for being part of our story as it is being written!