around the corner.

two weeks ago ticketmaster flew into my beloved nashville to announce to us they are shutting down echo in june. although it should not come as a total surprise, it caught us off guard and saddened our tight-knit community.

needless to say, i tacked on a few more days to my trip back west. it was a great and meaningful week and a half spent with family and friends in arizona. i will be sharing more reflections and pictures from my trip soon.

i do want to say, though, that i fear it will be difficult to find the same community i found at echo elsewhere. these people befriended me, mentored me, and laughed with me since my orientation a year ago. the inviduals that made up echo cared about their work, their clients and each other. where do you find people so ready to affirm your strengths and cover your back when all goes wrong? who gives you hugs and cookies when your day could not get any worse, or high five you in celebration of your accomplishments? my echo friends and colleagues do. i do not know how i found myself so fortunate enough to work with such fun, intelligent and talented people, but i have been incredibly blessed to be a part of this. i have learned, and grown. i have been stretched to the limits and i have found myself surprised at the confidence my teammates have in me. they have believed in me more than i even believed in myself. i am a better person for working here. i will miss you all, fellow echo peeps.

i return to the office tomorrow to continue helping with the transition and train those hired to carry on our services.

i am not sure what is next for me. not really a clue. but i'm at peace about the next adventure. the Lord clothes the lilies of the fields and feeds the sparrows...what do i have to fear? i am on the adventure of a lifetime! who knows that tomorrow brings. all i can say is, i'm excited for whatever awaits me around the corner.

carpe diem,
christy

fred montoya

grandpa with my cousins. grandpa and dad.

grandpa montoya passed peacefully with his wife and kids around him on friday, april 10th, 2009. there is so much about him i will remember for always, some of which is a part of who i am now. he loved to travel and garden, but he loved his family the most. he was so proud of his kids and us grandkids.

i am so grateful for the relationship i had with him. i will remember how he tickled me when i was little, his visits with grandma out east to see me, our conversations. i'm sure laughs and tears will be exchanged and shared when amanda and i fly out on friday.

happy easter. because of Christ's resurrection, i will see grandpa again, someday.

te quiero abuelo.

summer? what is summer?

i love the rain. i really do. and i've done my best to embrace the winter season this year. but enough is enough. the cold weather and its rain need to go. i feel as though warm weather is a legend or myth that has been passed down for generations. it's like i've heard all about this "warm weather" my whole life, but i've never actually experienced it. sure, there might be a day here or there where it's been decently nice and the sun was out for more than a few hours, but to be able to go to sleep without my space heater and electric blanket on at night?! the thought is unfathomable! Even the idea of 65 degrees in at 8:30 in the morning is like Christmas, on a summer day, of course. has it really been that long? oh dear.

i'm craving a hammock. i don't know if you can crave things like hammocks, but i grew up with one in our backyard, and just the thought of taking a nap in one with my favorite blanket on a sunday afternoon makes me really happy.

this.that.and the other.

good news: my yearly review at work last week went extremely well. not-so-good news: no raises due to the economy. dumb economy.

i'm not running the half this year. not enough time in the day. i feel good about it.

i bought a fedora this weekend. i'm super excited about it, mostly because i love the word "fedora." no pictures yet. my sister thinks i look like i'm going to mexico. haha...not so sure about that one.

we planted some seeds in transplant containers for our garden. basil. lemon basil. dill. cilantro. nasturtiums. carnations. peas. spinach. the rest we'll plant straight into the ground on garden day. garden day for us: april 25.

we have some new friends next door. we hung out with them last night. i laughed from 9pm-1:30am straight. love it.

in charge of children this morning during church. simon wet his pants. learned about palm sunday. glued bugs on crosses (not sure about that one), and passed off sadie's poopy diaper to kelley, who is now my hero forever.

turned in my deposit for my trip to kibera. OH! and our team just launched our very own blog. you can read our profiles, posts and more about our trip. we still have some work to do on it, but we'd love for you to stop by!

photo shoot with Sabrina and her darling Gabriella coming up this week. looking forward to it.