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!