Life in the Lowcountry

I'll be honest, for the longest time I really didn't like living in Beaufort.  I didn't feel connected to that many people and just didn't feel like this town was a good fit for us.  For months I've been praying for contentment, and God is really changing my heart toward living in the Lowcountry.  It's been amazing!  For the first time the other day I actually got sad thinking about moving in June.  I'm finally at the point where I feel like Beaufort is home.  We have several really awesome friends, and we're plugged in to our church community.

A few weeks ago I wrote a post about loving life in Okinawa.  Well, here is my tribute to loving life in South Carolina.

We've done several weekend treks with our friends Shane and Melia, and several weeks ago our exploring took us to Columbia for my first ever basketball game.  Though I've never been much of a sports fan, I found that going to a real game with friends is a ton of fun!  It was a UK vs. USC game, and I was surprised to see that there was more blue in the stands than garnet!

We have an awesome small group, and we meet every week at our place for food, fellowship, and studying the Truth of God.  It's so encouraging to be surrounded by those who can encourage us in our walk with the Lord.

I'm still working as a teaching assistant in first grade, and though it can be a frustrating and exhausting job, at the end of the day, I still love all my students and I wouldn't want to be doing anything else.  God has a way of reminding me why I want to teach.

Sometimes my job is especially fun, like on Books and Blankets Day where all the teachers are supposed to dress up like storybook characters.  Yesterday I dressed up as a pirate and went around to several different classes to read pirate stories.  It definitely reminded me of my glory days as a library storyteller.  Yep, reading to kids is still my favorite thing ever!

We've had several visitors to Beaufort since we moved here last June.  Most recently, my sister-in-law Holly came to visit.  It was wonderful to catch up with her and spend time relaxing and hearing more stories from Zambia.

Like I said, we've done lots of exploring with our friends Shane and Melia.  Since Patrick took up photography he wants to go to all the scenic places around Beaufort to take pictures.  It's been fun to check out different areas of South Carolina.  This picture was taken at Hunting Island about 30 minutes away.  

Though I don't spend much time on base these days (and subsequently don't feel as connected to the military), there are some really beautiful sunsets that can be seen there.  Yet again, I'm glad Patrick has taken up photography!