Elijah's Promotion + Our Apt's Organization + So much more! // August life update

      We started August off with a bang with dinner with a couple from our church! They're a couple within our church's married group, and they are actually the hosts of our small group! Adam & Kanisha have shared their stories as individuals and as a couple a few separate instances, but we just enjoy them as a couple so much in the few small interactions we've had with them, so we wanted to have dinner. We tried to get together with them back in July, but their daughter got sick, and then they all eventually got COVID, so we had to postpone for a few weeks. Our dinner was quite spontaneous- a text earlier that day from Kanisha if we would wanna have dinner with them, and before we knew it, it was 6:00pm and we were driving over to their home. The conversation was so amazing, and they were so encouraging as well. Just getting to talk life and past and future with them was so casual and fun.

 The first weekend of the month was our church's Activate conference weekend! I had the honor of taking photos for several of the sessions in that conference, and it was amazing to see lives changed and touched! The Lord really worked on many people during that conference. And all the sessions are live on our church Youtube page if you wanna hear them! Seach for "Activate 2022" on the Rock City Corpus's YouTube page.

     Last month, Elijah was promoted to Assistant Manager (not Assistant to the manager, cuz that's a completely different position), and he's been doing a phenomenal job! Unfortunately for both of us, that means his shifts are a couple hours longer than they were previously, which means that he gets home later and that's sad for me, but also his hours in the week are almost doubled and that's tiring for him. Please just be in prayer for constant energy for him because it's an adjustment! But he's doing a really great job, and both myself and all of his bosses are so proud of him. Some shifts he's in charge of closing the store all on his own, and other shifts, it's his job to run the entire kitchen line and make sure things are being done smoothly. I've stopped by to see Elijah a few times when I'm running errands or getting off a shift of my own, and it's really fun to see him in his element. He handles the kids really well and seeing him crack jokes with his other managers is fun to see. Please be in constant prayer as this is a new adjustment for him as well as me! We know this is where the Lord has him right now, but it's still an entirely new thing to get used to.

     Work for me is going really well! The summer has winded down, which means shifts are becoming extremely more chill than they were during the hotter months. I've been handling a lot of the closing shifts, and the closing shifts at the specific location that I'm at, are very slow, meaning the shift is a solo one. I've been taking books and notebooks and trying to stay busy with deep cleaning so that the time goes by a little quicker, but it's an adjustment for me in comparison to the busier shifts earlier in the summer. I have been opening another one of our shops on Saturday mornings with the same team each Saturday, which is always so fun! Saturday mornings are almost always busy and doing that with the same people I only see once a week, it's a little treat! I really love my co-workers. :)

     Elijah and I have been working on organizing our apartment a little better recently. Everything had a place when we first moved in, but it wasn't exactly the best spot for everything, and it had been feeling a little crammed. So, we took the initiative to just buy some extra shelves and storage containers and purge a little bit, and the space is looking much better! We have clear storage bins (as opposed to boxes) in our balcony storage closet, making things so much more organized and more secure! We also got a shoe rack so shoes have a specific spot and aren't taking up vital cubby storage in the closet. Plus we now have a key ring/rack by the front door, so our wallets and keys don't get thrown on any counter and unable to be found hours later. A few things that aren't much, but they do make a big difference! One of the biggest things I wanna tackle during the month of September is to get a wreath and a doormat! Our front door looks so bare and I'm ready to give it a little personality! I'm also still in search of the perfect patio furniture- maybe before the holidays roll around, I'll be able to find something that we like!

     Our honeymoon trip is only a month away, which is so exciting! We booked a few excursions already, but we have a whole list of things that we're wanting to do that are going to be booked in the next few weeks!

     With work shifts being a little drag lately, I've been trying to get into the habit of reading again. But like, reading for fun. I don't remember the last time I did that?? But last Christmas, I got the Lord of the Rings books and I never really got to read them like I've always wanted to so that's what I've been up to this month! Granted, I've only gotten five chapters into the first book, but I'm working on it! It's so fascinating to see the differences between the books and the movies. I've only ever done a book/movie comparison once or twice before, so this is really interesting. (The last book/movie I compared was the Hobbit and Anne of Green Gables.

     Elijah and I got to attend another monthly marrieds gathering with our church and our marrieds small group! They recently started these small groups within the marrieds group, which Elijah and I enjoy so much more than the group settings because we're more introverted people and we appreciate smaller gatherings as opposed to bigger ones. More intimate meetings cause better conversation and closer friendships from our experience, so we were really excited when they started doing that. However, this summer, their monthly meetings have been in big group settings (I guess because of schedules and ease), but this month they went back to the intimate gathering in individual homes, which was very exciting. We got to talk about a lot of different things, and Elijah and I got to share a bit of our testimony as a couple at this meeting, which was really neat. We've always said that our story would be a testimony for others, and it's amazing to see the conversations and social settings that the Lord sets up for us to be able to talk and share. Only the Lord could orchestrate such interactions for His glory to be revealed through our testimony.

     I follow a bunch of influencers on Instagram and almost weekly, one of them is doing a giveaway of some sort. Most of the time, the giveaway is for baby-related items cuz a lot of the people I follow are young moms, so I don't enter alot of the givaways cuz they don't pertain to me. Also, I don't win barely any of the giveaways I enter cuz thousands of people enter them and I'm just one person! However, this month I entered a giveaway with this brand called Eye Buy Direct and I surprisingly won!! Which was super exciting cuz who doesn't love winning giveaways?? But I won a pair of glasses + prescription lenses up to $200 in value, which meant that I had basically no limit on the website! I've always worn square/rectangle-shaped lenses, but Elijah has been telling me for years that I would look really good with round-shaped lenses! Picture Harry Potter. So, since this is my first pair of glasses since we got married, I decided to take him up on his recommendation and lemme tell ya, I'm so glad I did. I have never really been confident or felt beautiful in glasses ever until now! I love these glasses. I normally only wear my glasses one day once a month and I normally dislike it! I've never loved how I look or feel in glasses- contacts have always been my go-to for many different reasons. But these glasses make me feel so beautiful- which is a first for me! Since getting them in the mail, I've almost worn them an entire week at a time. I just love them so much! Plus, they have a blue light feature which makes me feel a little better about my eyes, when I spend a lot of time editing photos on my computer or using our entirely digitalized register at work.

     Last month, I got pictures taken of me by a sweet friend and fellow photographer, Faith. She was helping me rebrand myself for my photography business, which was super fun! Getting branding shots was super fun and hanging out with her is always a good time! Well, after a few weeks, she sent me the finished product! I love how they turned out. Thanks so much for your work, Faith!

     My computer has slowly been deteriorating in the last few months, so we've come to the conclusion that it's time to replace her. She's been a solid computer for the last 4-5 years, so she lived a good lil PC life. I've spent a lot of free time on the internet, researching the best computer for the best price that'll give the best performance. Unfortunately for my bank account, I think a Macbook in some fashion is the way to go. Please pray for my current computer to work and last long enough for us to set aside enough money for a new laptop! I know laptops are investments and it'll last us a long time, but it's still a big trigger to pull! I'll probably be working on more photography sessions in the future to put money aside for that!

     One thing I've been really focusing on this month, is to stay present and content in all circumstances. I'm trying to limit my time on my phone or watching tv, as well as not getting so worked up about things. With Elijah's promotion, it's changed his hours significantly. And change in his job is not something I handle well, as much as I hate to admit it. If we have more than three days where our work schedules conflict, it affects me mentally. I start to miss my husband a lot more. And when our schedules conflict, that means more time that I have to myself. I'm trying to remain more self-conscious about how much time I focus on non-healthy things like tv and instagram. And I don't wanna become so invested in the social media world that I don't focus on time with my friends and co-workers and my husband. But when you focus too much on social media and the highlight reel that it is, you can start to feel like you're missing out on life and your life isn't all that great in comparison to others. I'm focusing on staying content in my life because it's a dang good one. I have been blessed in so many aspects, and I want to focus on the blessings instead of the inconveniences! Having opposite schedules as my husband isn't ideal in the slightest, but I will focus on the fact that we're both blessed enough to have really great jobs! And when I'm bored at home, I will focus that time on doing things that I enjoy doing and Elijah doesn't necessarily care to do. It's all about perspective.

Thanks for hanging out! Check back in later for September's update.

Always
Becca

photos from my rebranding shoot!

photos from my rebranding shoot!

I made chocolate chip cookies one night and decided to take a pic

new glasses!

I bought macarons one night and took pics (but also ate them)

lo mein + orange chicken takeout for lunch one day

mr assistant manager working before bed!

reading on slow work shifts!

fun lil day off! plus red lipstick is my fav

sometimes date night is pizza and some tv and I love it