Going Boldly: Atlanta or Bust!

The Hubster and I are moving tomorrow. 
The first move of our married life. 

We've been waiting, dreaming, and praying for tomorrow for over a month (and in some ways, longer). 
He'll be taking a new IT job, I'll be back to doing child care (in addition to Etsy), and we'll be closer to my family and many of our friends.

The Burrow is almost packed. I'm hiding out in our room as I type because it's the last semblance of order in our home. There are boxes and spreads of the last remnants of packing everywhere. 

This move is our dream.
But it's a little heartbreaking to leave our first little love nest. 
We spent our wedding night here. 
This was the first place we welcomed our parents to our home. 
Friends have come up from Atlanta, over from Covenant, down from Cleveland...
More than once faces have lit up in surprise at how often we have company...and just how many people you can fit in our little home! 
John painted these walls and built our furniture with love and care, turning a (very) humble mobile home into a sweet little cottage. 
We grew veggies in the summer, filled wine bottles with flowers, and hung succulents in the windows. 

Obviously we'll still do many of these things in Atlanta, 
but there's something about the first time. 
Our first home.

Woven in all these things are our friends, especially all the lovely ladies I've had to tea. 
One of them, probably the Burrow's most frequent visitor, asked me yesterday how it has been saying our goodbyes this week. 
Honestly, I've been trying not to think about goodbyes.
We're all grown up, and Atlanta isn't far--that means there will still be visits and teas...
 
But I'm going to miss hugging JE and NS almost every day, swapping chocolate chips with SS in the library, whispering in class with KR and MK, Sunday afternoons with our small group...

Then I look forward:
Meals and games and walks and talks with Mom and Dad. 
Tea and coffee with MD, MH, S&FtP.
The Reelets--who are growing up way faster than I care to admit. 
Meals and homework and life with A&AS. 
Breaks and holidays when "my girls" come to town, and we go to the Forum or out for Mexican, or a night in at our new apartment.
New friends that we don't even know yet--other newlyweds, young families, small groups, John's coworkers...
Visits from out of town friends--and a guest room to host them!
Perimeter.
My favorite bike routes.
The luxuries of Target and Trader Joe's. 
A sunroom-studio that I am determined to transform into arting heaven. 
An aquarium--and eventually a cat and dogs, too. 
The Someday Knightlets.  

I hope we'll name our new home...and all the homes yet to come. 
It's an old tradition that delights me. 
I can't put into words the rush I got when I realized that everyone was catching on to calling our home here "The Burrow." It still thrills me. I smile every time. 

So, we gather our skirts (proverbially), our belongings, and our courage and go boldly further south. 
We are blessed. 
We have been blessed here, and blessings won't stop with a move. 
We will grow--in wisdom, love, experience, relationships, blessings, and grace. 


"The Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.  Amen."  (Philippians 4.23)

Adventure well; Live fully. 
HAK

Bonkers for Board Games OR 10 Reasons to Play More Board Games

I grew up playing board games...
      ...Lots of board games. 

Every Sunday afternoon within living memory, Mom, Dad, and I would gather in the kitchen around 3:30pm, one of us would choose a game, and the challenge was on. 
For three rounds (a chance for each of us to go first, I presume), we would vie for the win. Almost, it sometimes seemed, for the title of Champion for that Sunday. 

Granted, I went through the usual teenage jerk phase where I acted like games were dumb, but, for the most part, I loved it.

Clue, Rat-a-tat-Cat, Rummikub, Sorry, Mexican Train... all of them were the bomb dot com if you ask me. 

Then, when John and I got married in May, it didn't take me too long to figure out that we didn't really own any games. A chess board, Uno, Things, and a few decks of cards...that was about it. Crisis. 

And, so, every cent of birthday and Christmas money went to board games, and I got a lot as Christmas presents, too.  Now, we're set: backgammon, checkers, chess, Connect-4, Risk, Monopoly, Taboo, Yahtzee, Rummikub, Clue... The list goes on. 

John and I have played more rounds of Backgammon in the last three weeks than you would believe. And Yahtzee, and Connect-4. Risk, Monopoly. Clue when Mom and Dad were here; Rummikub with Jane Ellen last night.  

So last night I started thinking. While most of us may agree that board games are valuable, we may not have given a whole lot of thought to why. Here's my list:

10 Reasons to Play More Board Games:
1) Community. Some general chatter occurs during games, the family is together in the same room. But it's simple--you talk about the game, maybe related things. It's easy, pleasant. 

2) Relaxation. There's so much hype today about the need to "unplug." Take an hour and play some games. It's a great defrag. 

3) Mental Exercise. Most games involve some strategy or problem solving. You're developing brain strength and stamina in a relatively low-stress. way. 

4) Healthy Competition. Sibling rivalry, general bickering...these things are too common in our daily lives. Games give us an opportunity to compete with each other in a positive way. This includes learning to lose (or win!) gracefully, game talking without trash talking, and sometimes even rooting for another player. I told John recently that one of the things I love about Yahtzee is that I feel like I can root for him even though we're competing. I want him to roll that awesome four of a kind; I can suggest that he take the full house because he may not roll another. Sure, ultimately, I'm trying to get more points than him, but that's not added up until the end, and, to some extent, the chance element of the game will determine a winner. In the meanwhile, we can cheer each other on as we roll and fill up our score cards.

5) Blow off steam. This is connected to healthy competition and relaxation. Sometimes we're just wound too tightly from the other stresses in our lives. Having another avenue of focus and competition can give us a chance to lighten up about the more serious parts of our lives.

6) Humor. Last night, John, Jane Ellen, and I played the.slowest.game of Rummikub EVER. After a few turns, though, it became flat out funny. Our two minute turns became group efforts of board organization in hopes of seeing something new in the hopelessly unhelpful patterns before us. I'm sure there's some rule about board reorganization somewhere, but we were all in on it, and we found it hilarious.

7) Team/Relationship Building. Some games require more cooperation or negotiation, and these are also valuable skills. Plus, group games like Imagin-iff, Things, Taboo, or Apples to Apples facilitate learning about each other as you play. For John and I, games have helped us learn about each other's skill sets and ways of thinking. he will smash me at Chess every time and Connect-4 almost every time. But I'm more likely to win at Bananagrams. This is because he is more mathematical and strategic, where as I loooove words. We trade off playing games that he's good at, I'm good at, or that we're fairly matched at so that we can both be challenged and both have a chance to win fairly often. This in itself is a form of teamwork and bonding so that game time stays fun.

8) Time passing. This may sound silly, but, seriously, can you think of a better way to spend the countdown to New Year's? My family traditionally played Monopoly (or some variation) or Taboo on New Year's Eve, and John and I continued that this year. Chips, salsa, and champagne optional. ;-) 

9) Inclusive. There's a game for nearly every age--from Candyland to Risk, you can probably find something to engage the whole family. C'mon, not even movies do that very well. Plus, older siblings can enjoy/learn about teaching younger siblings their favorite games and tricks. For the record, I still love Candyland. 

10) The bottom line is that games are FUN. We too often forget them in our age of movies and video games, but the tactile, simple competition and amusement that boardgames offer is timeless. Go dust one off tonight!


Adventure well; Live fully. 
HAK

PS I think all of the above applies to friends as well as family. Just sayin'. ;-)

Why the Hubster is a German Shepherd

I don't know how many of you have seen my Hubster when he gets really happy and excited, but he just sort of shakes all over as though he might burst. I love to tease him about this, joke that he's like a dog wagging his tale. But lately, I've been thinking about the dog analogy. 

I came to the conclusion late last night that my Hubster is like a German Shepherd. 

 Photo Credit: Anne Almasy                                     Photo Credit: doozydog.com

1) The wagging thing. I think it's seriously funny and adorable. John works really long hours, so when he has the energy to get really excited and happy, it's a treat!

2) Cuddling. The Hubster loves to cuddle. No objections here--I do, too!!

3) He loves to be outside doing something active. Biking, hiking, rollerblading, walking...you name it. 

4) He's always game for an adventure...unless it's really late at night, then refer to number 2. ;-)

5) He loves learning new things. The Hubster has been studying for IT certifications, and I love watching his motivation and listening to him explain things about computer networking that are way over my head. 

6) Good naps are practically a sport. This used to bug me...but I've been learning the fine art myself lately, and I'm appreciating it a lot more!

7) Food. Lots of GOOD food. My man loves his nutrition and a yummy experience--good thing I like to cook! 

8) Toys. Granted, the Hubster far prefers his Nokia Lumia to a frisbee, but you get the idea. Also, he takes seriously cool photos on that thing. Like this one:

Photo Credit: John Knight

Now, these things are all true, endearing, and wonderful about my Hubster, but I think there are more meaningful comparisons to be made, too. German Shepherds can be wonderful family dogs, but they also command our respect because they are powerful animals. Likewise, my Hubster is tender, but he is also admirable and commands my respect.

9) His love is very deep and true. I read an article yesterday that suggested that our society fears and thus demeans mens' love--the way a man loves his wife and the way he loves his guy friends. It got me thinking. I see that depth and strength of love in John. It's powerful, and I think the article may have been on to something when it suggested that we are anxious about that kind of power in our society. After all, it was love that took Christ to the cross for our salvation. J.K. Rowling showed us in her villain, Voldemort, how detrimental, shriveling and deadly it can be to underestimate love. We don't want to make that mistake--underestimating the love of our spouses, fathers, brothers, or Savior. As John's wife, I have a lot of security from his love, and I don't ever want to take that for granted. 

10) He provides. While we may not think of German Shepherds as providers, we do, I think, consider them working dogs. John works very hard to meet our needs and to pursue his desired career in IT to take care of our family. I think we have really experienced God's blessing on that work in these 7ish months of marriage, too, as we have been blessed more than we ever dreamed. 

11) He protects. Everything from falling asleep with one arm wrapped around me to investigating things that go bump in the night to killing scary spiders to making sure my tires are full of air before I drive to Atlanta...John looks out for my safety and peace of mind. 

12) He is patient. In dogs we tend to classify patience as loyalty, I think, and John is loyal, but I really want to highlight his patience. In the words of Steve Brown, "No matter what your husband says, you are hard to love." This is true of me, and I am daily reminded of how patient John is with me. What a blessing!

There you go...a somewhat humorous way of looking at 12 things I love about my Hubster. I hope all of you are as blessed and loved by your spouse as I am by mine!

Adventure well; Live fully.

HAK