Good People & A Mississippi Backyard

We have a few weeks down in Memphis & it feels like home. One of our favorite parts is by far the river. There are a few parks we go to almost every day to walk by the river. The Mississippi is right in our backyard & it's so fun living by something I've only heard about for my whole life.

Tender mercy!! I met Geovana at church our first Sunday. She's from Goiânia, Brazil and we've been able to practice lots of Portuguese and English these past weeks. We went walking one morning and the sunrise was BEAUTIFUL.

If I needed any motivation to wake up early, this was it. One of the prettiest mornings ever.

The weather is finally cooling off a little bit, making for great night drives with the windows rolled down & music turned up :')

We've had fun exploring and I'm grateful that we've had a good chunk of time to get to know the area and people before Justin's schedule gets crazy. The first game of the (pre) season is in 2 days! Can't believe it's already this time of year again but I'm so excited for Justin and what's in store.

A friend from our branch, Niall, plays professional soccer for the Memphis 901. It's almost playoff season for them & we got to go to a game and support! I hadn't been to a MLS game in forever. It was a fun environment & more intense than I remembered. Kelsey, Niall's wife, sat by us and explained everything throughout the game. I love soccer, but there are a lot of rules we didn't know. It was a great night & we've loved getting to know Kelsey & Niall since then.

We hit the Memphis Zoo and got to see real pandas. I guess only a few zoos in the US have pandas so we checked that off our list! Justin & I have gotten to spend a lot of time together lately and I feel like we've finally "caught up" on being with each other. From when we were dating until this past July, there have been dates in the back of my mind of when we'd be apart next. We've been together for almost 3 consecutive months with no nights apart & I'm so grateful for this summer.

Reality is about to kick in and away games are back on our calendars. I'm so grateful for Justin & how hard he works. These basketball experiences have shaped parts of our marriage & love for one another. It's going to be a good season!

Aaand I couldn't close this post without talking about Ally. One more big blessing has been getting to know Ally. She and her husband are here for school & are in our branch as well. I love her! So grateful to God for putting good people in our path! <3

We love you already Memphis!

Willingness Opens Doors

One of my USU professors taught me the phrase, "Willingness opens doors". If we're aware of a situation and willing to change or enter into it, there will be opportunity.

Justin and I have been learning sign language for a few months now. We're trying to be better about taking online classes and practicing.

This morning I was on a run and passed a kiosk that was set up.

Coming up to it I saw they were missionaries for another church and they were using ASL (!!). I continued my run and on the way back I stopped and started signing with one of the deaf missionaries.

**Good thing you can be out of breath and still sign because there was no way I was going to carry on a conversation.

I told her I was learning sign language and wanted to learn more. We signed for a little bit, she gave me some websites, and I finished my run.

It made my day! I'm grateful we could be in the right place at the right time and cross paths.

We Made It

After many speculated conversations of where we would end up, lots of decision making, miles flown & driven, words prayed, and a whole lotta other stuff, we have a home!

We know home is where the heart is. We loved living with family and in hotel rooms but home is also where all of your things are unpacked and you don't have to wear the same outfits for months at a time. Ha!

We made it to Memphis & everything is unboxed and in its rightful place. I hope we get to stay here for awhile because I do not want to pack & move again for awhile...!

We said bye to our family in UT and drove 17 hours (in one day!!) to Oklahoma for our first pit stop. I had never driven that far or long in a car in one sitting. We shuffled through audiobooks, podcasts, playlists, and talked to lots of people. Thanks to everyone who called us!!

The traffic was only bad in Albuquerque, New Mexico because I don't know where the rest of the NM population would live other than there... ;)

After spending a few days in OK, we packed up again and headed to our final destination, Memphis.

The drive was green and beautiful! Memphis is in the very southwest corner of Tennessee. We do our Walmart shopping in Arkansas, live in Tennessee, and Justin plays his G League games in Mississippi.

It was surreal crossing the bridge into Tennessee! Knowing that this was our new home, I just wanted to get out of the car and see everything. I know after weeks and months, we will become familiar with the ins and outs of Memphis and I'm so excited for what we'll create here.

Justin's parents followed us out to help us unpack & settled. We love them!!

Nothing like BBQ to welcome you to Tennessee! Grandpa and Grandma Wagner had told us about this restaurant, Blues City Cafe, they had visited when they were in Memphis.

The next morning, Justin took off to start his workouts & meet everyone. He loves the environment and can't wait for training camp and the season to begin.

While he was gone, we set off to find our church, the Memphis temple, & Target (the three essentials).

Along the way, we met Hallie & Ginny Mayes.

After walking around the temple grounds we were hoping to find someone who could tell us more about the wards in the area. Right when we were walking towards the church building, Ginny walked out. She introduced herself and talked with us about the area and temple and before we knew it she was inviting us to have lunch with her.

She brought us to her restaurant, Fat Larry's, named after her late husband.

We spent a good hour talking with Ginny and her daughter, Hallie. It made my month meeting them & having lunch. They are full of goodness & I felt so uplifted after being with them. It was one of the kindest gestures I've received & I'll never forget our first day in Memphis.

We stopped at our church building where our branch meets each Sunday. We love our branch! Can't wait to get to know everyone better & be a part of that special group.

We broke our apartment in with our first home cooked meal. :') Memphis is great & we're so ready to be involved & experience it!