I'm having a big glass of it after a very intense yoga class and it is VERY refreshing! It's been a long time since I have posted but I felt compelled to update. I'm back in Winston-Salem and for the first time it feels like I'm settling in here! I bought a car (many of you have seen pictures on facebook - it is a purple 2008 Honda Fit) and last week my mom visited and helped me unpack the rest of the boxes. Kevin and I were moving around so much since we were married there were boxes we had never unpacked even in our last apartment!

Kevin is working in north Concord - which is a bit of a commute for him but so far he doesn't seem to mind. Next week my quartet starts rehearsals and we have several concerts in the next couple of months. I'm also getting some work subbing with Charlotte Symphony and am playing a recital at UNC Wilmington in November so I should have enough to keep busy.

The best thing about settling in is that I can be here more to meet with friends and to hopefully contribute to spreading the gospel here. I'm not a very outgoing person and it's always a struggle for me to get out of my shell but this week I've been working hard at trying to strike up conversations. I've met some very nice ladies at my yoga studio and a few of my neighbors. I just hope I can get up courage to start talking more about Jesus!

I hope everyone is doing well - I miss you NYC friends (and other friends around the country!) but I'm glad to be back to see my NC friends!

Have a blessed day!!

Love,
Emily

Thanks for all the prayers on behalf of my audition.
I didn't get the job, but it was a great experience preparing and I'm hoping all the practicing will help me win a job sometime in the future:) It was disappointing to get so far in the process but I know I have to trust that God knows what is best for us now and He'll show us where to go when it's the right time.

The best part of working so hard is being able to relax now with Kevin's folks in Indiana!! We should be back in the Carolinas next Monday.

Love you guys!
Emily

i'm trying to think of something profound to say but it doesn't seem to be happening. kevin and i just got back from St. Louis on tuesday - i had an audition there for the symphony. there are three rounds of auditions and i've been called back for the next one in a couple of weeks. i'm trying not to think too much - i would love to stay in north carolina, or be in new york, or to move to st. louis. each possibility holds so much opportunity! but it is also scary. i've met so many wonderful friends here and i don't want to leave just when i've started to feel comfortable (aside from the driving bit) but it would be great to have a position in a seemingly financially sound orchestra (and we'd be only 4/5 hours from both of our folks) hmmm...anyway i have to leave it up to God (but isn't it hard to wait?)

hope everyone out there is well and if you are at bible study in manhattan on tuesday night, look out, i may just crash the party;)

love,emily

After two months in sunny Sarasota Florida we arrived back in Winston-Salem late last night. It was a great time but it's good to sleep in a real bed, as opposed to an air mattress!

in the last couple of months we:
- lived in a pool house and made friends with our rentors (who have 4 rescue dogs and a white dove named JR)
- got to hang out with our awesome cousins!
- learned how to roast our own coffee beans (Kev should have a blog about it soon)
- had a great visit with parents and met up with friends at the FC lectures
- got to meet brethren at the church in Bradenton
- ate delicious amish pie, and a lot of good sushi!

i performed 4 different operas an average of 10 times each:) good times, great music:) and took my first orchestra audition. i didn't get the job but am on the sub list in Charlotte now. we're praying that we will find more permanent work now that we are back:)

i still miss my new york crowd, but i hope to see everyone around here soon!

love,
emily

This time next week I will be married to my best friend! I can't believe it's almost here, I feel like a little kid waiting impatiently for Christmas morning. In fact, I don't think I've looked forward to anything more in my entire life!

In school, when I was fourteen, we were asked to write a letter to our future selves - our science teacher said he was going to save them and send them to us in ten or fifteen years. He never sent the letters but I remember exactly what I wrote.
It was at a very difficult period in our family's history - I had just been baptized and my dad, a catholic, was extremely upset. There were fights and debates all the time and I would often go to bed crying. So I wrote in my letter to myself "If you aren't married by this time, make sure you marry a christian who thinks like you."

Years went by and I started dating. When I got to college the influence of my non-believing boyfriends gradually led me away from Christ and into the world. I never took my own advice. When I came back to the Lord my life changed but my struggle to find a companion wasn't over. There were many days I thought I would continue to be alone. But finally, last September my prayers were answered!

I wanted to express today how thankful I am not only to have found a christian, but a true soul buddy. I never really understood before why it was so important, if one is to get married. Now every time we worship together I am strengthened, when we pray and sing together I am renewed in my spirit and when we study the bible I am reminded that I need to put God first in my life. I still have temptations and struggles but I have someone encouraging me, instead of trying to pull me back into the world.

I don't think anyone has to be married to be fulfilled in life or to be the best they can be for God. But, in my experience, the wait to find a soul buddy has been well worth it, and I pray that all my friends who are searching will be patient and wait on HIM.

Love,Emily