To blog or not to blog...

I've decided to try this whole blogging thing...after much persuasion from my best friend, Sarah Ellen (she will be so proud!), and after learning that many of the other moms (or mom-to-be, as in my case) in my Life class at church do the same.

So let's get started: My name is Carolyn Rutherford and I have been married to my sweet hubby, Paul Rutherford, for 4 years this November. Paul and I officially moved to Raleigh, NC in June, 2011. I say "officially" because that was when we started living together full-time again. We had quite the interesting living arrangement for about 6 months. Let me explain. Paul and I met, got married, and lived in Greenville, SC, where he worked for a company (we will keep it anonymous...you just never know). After earning his Master's degree, he (we) felt that it was time for him to move on and find something different, something both more challenging and rewarding. After about a year of searching in the Greenville area, Paul and I decided that maybe it was time to widen our search. We prayed about it and came up with the decision that we would feel comfortable with him searching within a 6 hour radius of Greenville. It was amazing, as soon as we made that decision, job interview opportunities started coming in...and all from the Raleigh area. After a few phone interviews, face-to-face interviews, and prayerful consideration (and some tears), we decided that Paul would take the job at BCCC (again with the anonymous thing...but if you figure it out, that's OK) in Raleigh, NC. Now, I am a school teacher, and if you know anything about the teaching profession, you know that teaching positions seem to be few and far between right now. Districts seem to be "excessing" more teachers than they are hiring. So with that being said, we made the decision that I would finish out the school year teaching at my (then) current school, while we tried to sell or rent our house in Greenville, and I would join Paul in Raleigh in the summer. Paul was very blessed to find a wonderful roommate, Joe, in Raleigh (well, Durham), someone that he and I both felt comfortable being around together or alone. (We had a whole escape plan the day with met Joe for the first time...different story for a different day.) Paul moved in with Joe on December 4, 2010 and started his new job on December 5. Thankfully, Paul and I were able to see each other every weekend, either he would drive to Greenville, or I would drive to Raleigh. After about 2 months of me living in our house on a daily basis by myself, I lost it. I just couldn't stand coming home to an empty house and going to bed by myself anymore. I wasn't eating well. I wasn't sleeping. I was miserable. So, we decided to see if we could rent our house. It rented in less than 2 weeks!...so I moved in with one of my dear friends, Meghan. Oh, and I failed to mention that the week before we moved all of our stuff out of our house, I found out that I was pregnant! We had been trying to get pregnant since May the year before, so I was so incredibly excited and a little in shock at the same time. Us getting pregnant during all of this craziness HAD to be God's plan...I mean, I only saw my husband on the weekends. Anyway, March, April and May were quite interesting months. Paul and I lived apart during the week and together on the weekends...with one or the other of our roommates. I am not going to lie, I was ready to move into a cardboard box, ANYTHING as long as it was with my husband! I am so thankful for Joe and Meghan allowing us to live with them, but it was great to find a place with my hubby! We decided to rent a place in the neighborhood where my husband works for a year until we can figure out his (our) next career move. My last day at BA was on Friday, June 3rd and we moved to Raleigh on Saturday, June 4th. The move was bittersweet. I really miss my family (Mama, Daddy and Squirt...Kristen, my 20 year old sister), my friends, my job, and my home church. I didn't realize how hard it would be to leave the place where I have lived my whole life, 28 years.

So far, Raleigh has been great! We were blessed to know a few people before we moved here, so that has really helped. We were able to find a church to get plugged into, which was a huge thing for me and Paul, since after all, we both not only grew up in church, but MET each other in church. Jasper (our 9 pound miniature poodle) and I walk Paul to work everyday, well almost everyday. I have graciously taken over all of the household responsibilities, now that I have more time on my hands, and I have even started couponing (if you have any tips, I would LOVE to hear them) and cooking more! These last 2 weeks, however, have been difficult. Last week, my mom, Debbie, was admitted to the hospital with Pancreatitus. It was really the first time that I felt as if I don't live close to my family anymore, which was hard. I felt guilty for not being there, and I felt guilty for not wanting to go since driving by myself is getting more difficult and takes longer the further along in my pregnancy I get. This week school started, and I didn't. I feel as though a little part of my identity has been taken away, but I know that once little Grace is born, it will all be worth it.

I am excited that on Saturday, I will be 29 weeks!...so only 11(ish) weeks left to go until miss Grace Pennington Rutherford makes her grand debut! It's funny how Paul and I seem to count everything by weeks now.

Well, I better run. I think that I've done a pretty good job for my first post...feel free to say otherwise.

Thanks for reading,

Carolyn