6 months. 3 suitcases.

If you aren't impressed by the title, then you must not know me very well. It is epic! I would usually take two suitcases home from school for the weekends. I patted myself on the back for this one! Let’s talk about how unbelievable this is. I had to pack a heavy wool coat, a trench length rain jacket, scarves, hats, boots, jewelry, makeup, and clothes for six months, and I made it with about 130 pounds! The two big suitcases are almost packed to the max 51 pounds, and my carry on suitcase is about 30 pounds at the moment. I spent a few days this week organizing and preparing for the big pack. I picked and organized my jewelry box and makeup bag, decided on which scarves, hats, gloves, and boots to take, and made piles of clothes that were “gotta go”, “need to go”, and “would be really cool if it fit.” “Would be really cool if it fit” pile sadly didn’t make the cut. After three days of strategically organizing, I laid my piles and piles of things in the floor and the magical packing wizard made it all fit. Thanks, Daddy! I’m going to have to fly him to London to pack me up to leave.  Some days my over-planned, intensely organized, and extremely prepared tendencies come in handy.

Packing=Check!
Yes, we had Christmas last Saturday! Our tree has been up since October 1:)

Everyone has been asking me if I’m excited and/or nervous. I’m both! I’m extremely excited about starting this chapter of my life and for all of the fun memories ahead; however, if I wasn’t a little nervous I would be crazy. Moving to a foreign country without any family or friends for six months is a big deal, so of course I’m a little scared. I do have the peace of knowing that this is what I’m supposed to be doing and that God has big plans for me ahead!

My first real “see you in April” was a couple of weeks ago in Starkville. Half of my friends left and I just yelled bye like normal, but when they left I broke down crying in the parking lot. It hit me that I wouldn’t see them until the spring. Missing everyone is going to be the big challenge for this leg of my journey. I don’t think I would handle the distance as well if it wasn’t for technology. I have Facebook, Twitter, email, Skype, and this blog, so I won’t be out of touch with anyone with a computer. My parents are going to introduce my adorable, low-tech grandfather to Skype soon. I’m sure that I will have some great stories from that experience.

Pa is not pumped about my trip, but he's excited for me anyway.

Saying bye to my family Sunday is going to be difficult, but I’m positive that the next few months will fly by and my time away will be completely worth the trouble. Tab will be seven months pregnant when I get home, so she won’t even look the same! If anyone is bored in the next six months, please feel free to call my mother to chat about life, the family, or Christmas. I’m glad that Tab is pregnant to take mom’s mind off of me being gone! (Another example of God’s perfect timing!) I’m all packed, so now I get to hang out with my family until my flight Sunday!

The Mommy-to-be and me!

All prayers for safe flights and comforted hearts Sunday are greatly appreciated. The next time I update I’ll be in LONDON!!!

I’m going to be an AUNT!!!

Tab and Jason are going to have a baby!!!

Baby McKay is due on June 4^th. This little one has excellent timing! I will be returning home from London in early April, so I will be back to feel her kick, throw a fun baby shower, and put the finishing touches on her room.

It feels crazy to love something so much even though I can’t touch, see, or hear it. I am ecstatic and bursting with love at the thought of becoming an aunt. I can’t imagine what Tab and Jason are feeling! I hope she wanted a summer baby because I feel like that was a little of God’s planning in our family. I’ve been dying to be Aunt Tiffany for 4 ½ years now, but the timing is finally right! God knew that I was going to London long before any of us did, so He decided to send us Baby McKay when I get home! He knew that I wouldn’t be able to stand being away from that baby for six months! When I got the job I had a moment’s hesitation wondering if she would end up having a kid while I was gone, but that quickly fled when I prayed one prayer about it. Our family has been praying for this baby for years and years, so I knew that God already had the timing worked out. (Even before she met Jason I started praying for her kids and mine) Three months later, Tab told us that they are having a baby and she is due in June 2012! I depend relentlessly on God's perfect timing. 

Baby McKay is going to be beautiful! Just look at her parents!

I always told Tab that her first boyfriend that I liked was going to be her husband. Jason McKay was the first boyfriend of hers that I liked. He works hard for their family, treats her like a queen, and leads their family spiritually like God intended the man of the household to do. Our mom and grandmothers started praying for our Christian husbands when we were babies ourselves, so this match was a couple of decades in the making. He delivered Tab’s, so now I’m just waiting on mine! Haha. In my personal opinion, I think Tab and Jason made a great decision in waiting to have kids. I know this isn’t the right decision or in God’s plans for everyone, but it was right for them. They gave themselves time to get to know each other as husband and wife and after boyfriend and girlfriend but before mom and dad. They are one of the sweetest couples I know and I am so thankful to call them family!

Disclaimer: The doctor has not said if it is a boy or a girl, but I will be referring to Baby McKay as a girl until I have irrefutable evidence otherwise. I have never thought of Tab having anything besides a little girl. My brain cannot/will not/doesn’t want to think otherwise. I will love Baby McKay if she turns out to be a boy, but I sure hope he likes ties and seersucker suits! Everyone is already ragging me that she is going to be a boy, but I have a peace that she’s a girl. Watch!

Reason #968574 for a girl: I doubt Jason would be too happy if I did this to a little boy! 

Get ready! I am going to be an obnoxious aunt that always posts cute pictures and stories about what cute things she does. She has already hung the moon in my eyes! 

My Mabel

This is an article that I wrote about my grandmother, Mabel Brady, for the Unity Baptist Church bulletin. She was an unbelievable woman that touched so many lives. I am so blessed to have had her in my life and to carry her memory with me each day. Her legacy lives on in each of the lives she changed and each of the hearts that she helped to lead to Christ, including mine. 

"Prayer warrior. Those two simple words can describe the life and legacy of Mabel Bryant Brady. She was a loving wife, mother, sister, aunt, mother-in-law, Mam-Maw, friend, and neighbor. Mabel married Jeff Brady on November 23, 1957, the day they began a life of service, love, and laughter together. Their new little family began to grow with the births of their sons, Randy and Barry. Years later, the family tree grew again when Barry married Nancy, and they had one daughter, Mindy Brady Forsman. The tree grew even more when Randy married Cemmie, and they had two daughters, Tabitha Brady McKay and Tiffany Brady. She was the sister to three brothers, and sister-in-law to fourteen others. Needless to say, the number of lives she touched with her love and grace within her family and within the community is immeasurable.

Mabel was a stay-at-home mom, which really meant fantastic cook, immaculate housekeeper, delightful Sunday school teacher, and patient baby-sitter. She had many titles, including champion cherry pie maker, notorious chair sleeper, lover of polka-dots, social butterfly, fantastic hugger, unequivocal "Red Light, Green Light" player, obsessive weather watcher, and most importantly,  a walking testimony for following God’s will. The scribbles in the prayer notebook beside her Bible were so much more than a list of names. She reverently, deliberately, and constantly prayed over each name. She prayed for their well-being and their healing, for their future and their past, for their problems and their blessings, and for God’s will to be done in each of their lives. She was a prayer warrior.

Mabel left this earth to walk the streets of gold on June 15, 2001. She may be absent in body, but she still surrounds us with her spirit. Close your eyes tight enough and you can feel her loving hug. If you never had the privilege to meet Mabel Brady just look around at one of the lives she touched or one of the souls she helped win for Christ, and they will tell you her story, the story of a true woman of God."

Mam-Maw and Pa

Mam-Maw's family, The Bryants

Mam-Maw with her brothers and their wives
(You can match the boys up by their heights in the previous picture)

Because it was well built

I was so blessed to have been born into a strong Christian family. Both of my grandmothers were amazing prayer warriors and if I grow up to be even half the woman that they were, then I will be proud.  My grandmothers were actually friends before my parents even met.

Mabel Brady, Mam-Maw, My Paternal Grandmother

Lillie Hamaker, Granny, My Maternal Grandmother

Tonight I ran across my paternal grandmother’s journal that she kept while they were building their new house. The first page must have been written a few months or years before because it is her prayer that they will get to build a new house. The rest of the journal chronicles every move made from the groundwork to how she hung the curtains and arranged the furniture.

 “Dear Lord,

I want to that new house. If it’s your precious will for us to build it. Help us to accomplish it debt free. I have prayed for it and believe it’s your will for us. It’s our dream come true. We will dedicate it to you knowing it was your will for us to have it. I pray for some good years to live and enjoy it. My Jeff has worked so hard and has tried to be honest and put you first and give to you that which belongs to you and help other along the way. Bless him, but if it never comes true we will love you and live for you anyway. Bless our sons and their wives and children. May each one of them be saved and live for you. Thank you Dear Jesus for every blessing in our lives. We love you and our family, all our church family, our pastor and family. Keep them all safe and close to you.”

Mam-Maw only got to live in her new house for 2 ½ years, but she was so proud of it and thankful for it. They built the house in six months and finished it debt free. My Daddy spent every day for over six months at Mam-Maw and Pa’s working on the new house, except for days when “Tab had a ballgame today” or “Ran is taking a weekend off. They are going to Alabama for Geri’s Birthday.” (she was referring to my maternal grandmother) She was so thankful for his work on the house and for everyone else that helped out too. She would write down what she made them for supper and even what the temperature was that day. I miss her every day, but reading her words in her handwriting makes me feel closer to her.

She always took good care of her sick grandbabies! 

She wrote, "August 19...Tiff was sick with red throat today. Missed school, went to Nurse Med, got shot, stayed with me today." Then, I must have been very sick because she wrote, "August 20...Tiff still sick, goes to doctor has bronchitis, still coughs a lot. Is with me today." Now I'm thankful for those sick days when I got to spend extra time with her!

As a proud grandmother she made sure to write down all of the important things. haha (see highlighting) 

"Tiff won Spelling Bee in her Classroom"

I think her journal could be a step-by-step guide of how to build a home, literally and spiritually. Begin and end with God, but don't forget to put your hard work and effort into His plans. The last page of her journal says it all.

“This is Sunday, January 3^rd. It’s so very cold today. We went to church this morn. About 19 degrees. As I wind this down, and finish this journal I am so very very thankful for the blessings this year. Thank you Dear Lord for letting us move in our new home. We owe it all to you. Amen.”

Mam-Maw enjoying Christmas in her new house!

As for everyone who comes to me and hears my words and puts them into practice, I will show you what they are like. They are like a man building a house, who dug down deep and laid the foundation on rock. When a flood came, the torrent struck that house but could not shake it, because it was well built. But the one who hears my words and does not put them into practice is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. The moment the torrent struck that house, it collapsed and its destruction was complete. Luke 6:47-49

I’m moving to London…with high hopes that I return with an amazing British accent!

I have always had big dreams, but I never would have imagined that I would be packing up and moving to London for six months after college graduation! My family and friends are spread from the Carolinas to California’s coast, so I am going to have to try hard to keep everyone updated from across the pond. I hope my blog will make the miles between us seem shorter.

There have been quite a few moments in my life where I have stopped and consciously thought this is where I’m supposed to be, when I’m supposed to be here, doing exactly what I’m supposed to be doing and going to London is one of those moments! I am a self-confessed obsessive planner, but over the past few years God has been intently working on making me completely dependent on His plans instead of my own.  Looking back I am in awe of how God has been moving the little puzzle pieces in my life to get me exactly where He wants me.

Two summers ago I interned with CMT in Nashville and fell in love with the city, the people, and everything about it.  I really felt like I was home in Nashville, but I had to head back to Starkville to finish up my last year at Mississippi State University.  As an obsessive planner infatuated with Nashville, my senior year of college was naturally filled with dozens of job applications for Nashville, several job interviews in Nashville, and lots of tears when nothing seemed to work out. I tried to play it cool so no one would know that I was scared to death, but I was stressed to the max. I finally woke up one day and realized that I needed to have a little faith.  I had not gotten to that point in my life without a lot of divine intervention and guidance, so why should deciding my future be any different? When I finally let go and gave God control things didn’t fall into place immediately, but I finally had peace while I was waiting.

A few of the CMT Consumer Marketing Crew

A major component of my Marketing Management course at MSU focused on a marketing plan for the MSU EcoCar. I chose to use my ties with Girl Scouts to create fun outreach activities for EcoCar to specifically hit their target audience.  Endless hours of research for the Girl Scout EcoCar project ending up overlapping with my tireless job hunt in early February. I found an open Marketing and Communications Volunteer position at Pax Lodge in London, England on the Girl Scout website and I immediately began the application process. On May 7, Karen Rangel-Griffin’s wedding day and my sister’s 26^th birthday, I received an interview request! Then, my interview ended up being on May 21, Danielle Carter-Williams’s wedding day! I think these dates must have been good luck. Please note how the length of this process conflicted with my severely impatient nature! I think this part of God’s plan to increase my dependency on His plans, not my own.

Karen's Wedding Day

Jump back to April. I still had not heard anything from London, so I was stressing and trying to figure out what to do with myself. One week before graduation I got a call from one of my supervisors at CMT, Driv. She said that she needed help during May and June to coordinate CMA Fest.  I think I said yes before she could finish explaining the position! I finally had a job in Nashville, even if it was only for a couple of months. After dreadful finals and a wonderful graduation, it was time to move to Nashville. I LOVED being back at CMT! I feel like my co-workers there are my long lost best friends and I couldn’t wait to wake up and go to work every day this summer. I also loved living with Amy Kinslow, one of the amazing people that I met my first summer in Nashville. (Amy is an amazing graphic designer, and she even created the lovely silhouette on the header of my blog and in my application video. Lots more on Amy to come!) The day before my last day freelancing at CMT I received an email from London! One door was shutting in less than 24 hours when God opened another one. See why I think God is teaching me to wait on Him and not be anxious for anything.

Cap & Gown Time!

Amy & I freezing at Steeplechase 2011

Love, love, love our hats!

The following weekend I moved back to Ripley while I was in limbo about my future plans. Moving back to a town where Wal-Mart closes at 10:00 pm was not my ideal situation, but it has turned out to be a huge blessing too. (more on that in another post) The email from London was informing me of the “tasks” that I had to complete which would be the deciding factor on the position. The first task was to create a yearlong marketing plan for Pax Lodge. This took lots of thought, planning, and time, but all of my marketing courses and time at CMT really paid off. My second task was to "Prepare a creative informational advertisement about yourself." That was it. There weren’t any specifications, requirements, or suggestions. My mind was racing in a million different directions and there were thousands of different things that I could do for this task. I finally decided on a YouTube video explaining my love of Girl Scouts and a little of my work history. I’ll share the link, but excuse my accent. I can’t wait to see what kind of looks I get in England when I say bright, white, or light.

 Pax Lodge Application Video

The waiting game began again after I submitted my tasks. Waiting from February until July doesn’t really seem like that long now, but it was excruciating. I didn’t tell anyone at the time, but I had an amazing peace about the process and a comforting feeling that I was going to get the position. A few weeks later I was hanging out with the newlywed Griffins when I got the email I had been waiting on. I was the newest Marketing and Communications Volunteer for Pax Lodge in London, England! I was on cloud nine. I thanked God for this amazing opportunity and began a flurry of phone calls sharing the good news!

That is the long rambling beginning of my London adventure story in a nutshell. I fly out on October 30^th, so stay tuned for more pre-trip updates! 22 days!