stanek family blog

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-14T11:08:00.002-06:00

Joyful Memories Christmas Card

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Family Pictures Fall 2011

2011-12-14T10:34:00.001-06:00

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First Day of Preschool 9/14/10

2010-09-17T10:13:00.000-05:00

2010-05-07T10:24:00.000-05:00

2009-11-08T07:28:00.002-06:00

Well life continues to chug along! Tim is working part time at Eastview and working as a substitute teacher part time. He actually doesn't mind it at all, and is wondering if teaching might be something he'll want to do someday. And he always comes home with the FUNNIEST stories about a high schooler who was trying to act tough, but really just made a fool of himself/herself, or an auto mechanics co-op class full of country boys that invite him to go crap shooting after school. :) So funny.

Jack is almost 3 and so uninterested in potty training that I'm wondering if he'll ever use the toilet in his whole life. At this point, it's not looking good. I realize that most kids don't start until after they're 3, but Jack is so smart that we had hoped it would be easier than this! But I try to remind myself that even though he IS so smart and has the vocabulary of an older child, he is still 2, so our expectations shouldn't be higher than they would be for the average 2 year old.... I'm just so tired of changing poopy diapers...

As for me, my counseling degree has been put on hold. It ended up being too much for me to handle at one time. I wish I could just take one class at a time, but you don't get loans for that option :( And we can't afford to pay for each class at this point in time. I'm fine taking some time off. Tim is still trying to decide if/when he wants to start taking classes again, and I want to hold off on making decisions about my own degree until he has settled into what he wants to do. I'm learning a lot about patience!

We still love our house, but as Jack gets bigger and wants to run around more and more, it has started feeling smaller and smaller. I've been dreaming of getting a house... and for now it will just remain a dream :) Someday it will happen!

I've been working lately on being content with what I have - not just content, but joyful! I so easily get stuck in ruts where I feel like everything is annoying or irritating and everyone is just so selfish and thinks only about themselves. Well... that would make ME all of those things, too, wouldn't it?!? I get so inside my own head and could stay there for days if I didn't make the conscious effort to try and think less about myself and focus on others. This sounds bad, doesn't it?? Well that's my struggle. I THINK too much. Life would be so much better if I could just quit thinking about stuff. Just invest in others - love on others, and life would be easier to take, I think. There I go... thinking again!

What happens when a 2 year old and his daddy get into a roll of tape...

2009-08-27T20:07:00.001-05:00

Weekends!

2009-04-17T17:21:00.003-05:00

So, long story short, Tim no longer works at State Farm. This has been both a relief and a struggle at the same time. Financially there is a pretty big gap between what he was making and what he is making now. Nonetheless we are able to pay all of our bills and still have enough to buy groceries, gas and diapers (hopefully not too much longer for these though!)

But - for the first time in our marriage - Tim doesn't have to work on the weekends anymore!!! I cannot even begin to tell you how exciting this is. I had an idea, but I didn't fully realize how much we were missing out on "us" time. We had pretty much become like ships passing in the night as far as us each needing to be at work at opposite times, so we'd pass off Jack duty to one or the other as we walked out the door for work or another evening activity. Rarely were all three of us at home at the same time for any longer than a night's sleep.

We are having a blast - we took Jack to the zoo today, and tomorrow we'll hang out some more! It is definitely worth having less income to have weekends all to ourselves now. God has always taken care of us, and He will continue to do so, but with the added bonus of more quality time together! Yay! Let the good times roll :)

Messy Us

2009-02-13T14:45:00.002-06:00

Life has been really great lately. Tim has found his passion at seminary, studying apologetics and theology, and at work, as an associate junior high minister. I've been able to (barely, at times) stay afloat between work, school, and home life. Jack is the biggest joy of our lives. Even as a 2-year old, he manages to make us laugh our heads off every single day.

But while we are thriving, I have a confession to make. Our house is a MESS! It is the one part of our life that we simply can't keep up with. The main level gets cleaned the most, because that's where we spend the most time, but our bedrooms and the basement sit completely trashed 24/7. We moved into our new home vowing to keep it nice and treat it as the blessing that it is, but so far we have failed miserably.

I'm having trouble deciding if this is something that I should be concerned about. One of my counseling professors talked with me and my in-class client once about my client's huge amount of stress over working full-time, being a mom to a 5-year old, and trying to do all of the housework, thanks to her deadbeat husband (in her opinion). My professor's take on it was, what's the worst that could happen if you just accept a messy house? If it lowers your stress level to minimize the cleaning and housework, then why not just let it be? Worse things could happen than having a messy house. I liked that.

It worked for me for awhile, trying to convince myself that it's okay to just leave my home a wreck. As long as it doesn't become unhealthy or anything gross like that, I had to remind myself each morning as I stepped over toys and sippy cups and old mail, then it's okay to just let it go and worry about it when I have the time and motivation. But the fact that I had to try and convince myself of this daily convinced me of something else: I am definitely NOT okay with a messy house. I certainly don't require perfection, but I can't live in a mess. I just can't - the mess stresses me out almost as much as trying to keep up with cleaning it.

So, my last few weeks have been trying keep up and clean whenever I have a chance, even if it's just a few small messes at a time. I'm still really bad at keeping up with the laundry in our bedrooms, but I have managed to have small victories, like making the bed every day (for the first time in YEARS!), and keeping the three of us in clean clothes, even if that means washing three outfits the night before we need them. I've also been running the dishwasher more often, even when it's not completely full. (I am all about efficiency, so I have a hard time running it when it's not completely stuffed full of dirty dishes. But, if it means taking dirty dishes off of the tables and counters and getting them clean, I will do it now. Otherwise they'll sit in there for a long time.)

I'm trying to do better. I think I missed the memo about how to be a good cleaner, or about why I should be motivated to clean my house. I absolutely hate taking the time to clean. If I have a rare free moment, I want to plant my booty on the couch and relax on facebook or watch my DVR'ed reality shows. But I guess if I hate the mess, I should do something about it. It's kind of the same thing that I've always thought about if I hate feeling fat, I should do something about that too instead of just complaining about it.

So anyway, if you come to my house and you notice I haven't swept the floor or dusted any piece of furniture in what looks like a long time, I probably haven't. But I'm working on it. I do want to take pride in my home, I really do. I just... am working on it :)

2008-11-25T17:23:00.002-06:00

We are so ready for Thanksgiving. This week has been crazy between Jack's sinusitis, both of us working, and my rehearsals every night so far (including tonight!) for the Christmas Concert.

We are so lucky to have the rest of the week off. Tim and I both have tomorrow, Thursday, and Friday off, then he has to work Saturday. Thank goodness for holidays! We definitely need this one!

Brief Update

2008-11-07T10:48:00.004-06:00

News on the homefront:

Lisa - I have celiac disease, so I'm having to completely change my diet. It's not as hard as I thought it would be, especially since my sister was diagnosed a year ago and already knows a lot about living gluten-free. I'm also still working full-time and going to graduate school.

Tim - Just took a part-time job at our church as Associate Junior High Pastor!! He has changed his State Farm job to a part-time position, and will be working both part-time jobs for now. He is THRILLED!!! He is also seriously considering starting back up at seminary in the spring.

Jack - Hilarious kid, growing and talking more and more every day.

Mini-Van Momma

2008-08-29T07:21:00.003-05:00

Yes, friends, it is true. We traded in Tim's Mitsubishi Galant for a mini-van - a Chevy Venture to be specific. It has no bells and whistles, I have to actually open all the doors myself and the seats do not fold into the floor. But it is a mini-van with plenty of space.

It was actually Tim's idea, too! He even drove it to work this morning (which, I must say, I was looking forward to driving it today, so I am rather jealous.)

After talking with the folks at the shop, we found ourselves in a place where neither of our cars were highway safe. And since I will be driving to Lincoln many many times in the next few years, we needed something that I would be safe driving down there. So now, we still only have one car payment that is less than $100 more than we were paying on the Galant, we are paying less in insurance, AND we have a highway-safe vehicle. Good deal all around.

My only complaint is that none of the seats in the van have arm rests!! What is up with that ??!!

2008-07-31T21:05:00.002-05:00

Buy a house? Check
Pack up and move? Check Check
Start grad school? Check
Take care of a toddler? Check
Work a full time job? Check

All within a week of each other?

Check.

I need a vacation.

New house!

2008-07-25T18:13:00.006-05:00

Well, we are (almost) officially homeowners!!!

We bought the townhouse, and are so anxious to move in. We will have a full finished basement with a laundry room!!! We may even get a kitten, to complete the picture :)

Hopefully we will be closing on August 8th, but it could be as late as the 15th. Can't wait!!

Here are some photos that the previous owners posted on the realtor's website:

2008-07-05T08:44:00.004-05:00

I'm horrible at keeping up on here.

Life has just been grand lately! We just got back from a little mini-vacation at Tim's parents' house, who are in Washington D.C. right now so we had the whole place to ourselves. We spent a lot of time napping, reading and playing with Jack at the park and it felt wonderful to just be away together. We realized that it was the first time the three of us had gone anywhere over night just with ourselves - we're usually with other people. It was lots of fun.

Other fun thing is that this week Tim VOLUNTARILY quit the computer game that he had been playing religiously for a year and a half now. He decided that there is more to life than sitting in front of the computer, and I definitely agree :) He bought a brand new Taylor guitar and has been spending his free time getting back into learning songs and playing old worship tunes. (And writing a song for Jack called "Juice" - it's funny.) I am so happy for him - he is by far a happier guy these days.

Work is the same ol' same ol' for both of us. I'm getting adjusted into the Children's Department and working full-time, and Tim is still doing the same old thing. I'm trying to enjoy this last month or so before my life blows up with busy-ness with the start of my Seminary classes, but I would be lying if I said I wasn't excited to go back to school. (Around December I'm sure I will take that sentence back, but oh well.)

Regardless of what job I end up with (I'm still not even sure that I want the typical "counseling" job!), I think that this experience at Lincoln Seminary will be good for me in lots of ways. The people, professors, and classes will be a new environment to me and I am really looking forward to it.

We could really use some prayer, though, in deciding on where to live. We are currently renting a pretty cruddy townhouse in a pretty cruddy neighborhood in Bloomington with a pretty cruddy landlord, and I am dying to buy a house. But with Tim currently in limbo with when and where he'll want to get back into ministry, buying a traditional house would be silly. So, the ever-determined person that I am, I discovered these townhouse/condos in my brother's neighborhood that have tended to sell pretty quickly in the past. The price is in our price range, we wouldn't have to take care of the lawn, and it's in the school district that I would want Jack to go to if we live here that long. Not to mention they are fairly new and really super nice on the inside. It would also be nice to have something TO sell when the time comes to move, as opposed to what we're doing now - renting - where we'll get nothing when we move out.

So anyways, this is our current dilemma. To buy or not to buy?

I'll try to keep up more often, I promise!

Just something I read today...

2008-05-31T11:13:00.000-05:00

I liked this:

When I say... 'I am a Christian' I'm not shouting 'I'm clean livin'.''
I'm whispering 'I was lost, Now I'm found and forgiven.

When I say... 'I am a Christian' I don't speak of this with pride.
I'm confessing that I stumble and need Christ to be my guide.

When I say... 'I am a Christian' I'm not trying to be strong.
I'm professing that I'm weak and need His strength to carry on.

When I say.. 'I am a Christian' I'm not bragging of success.
I'm admitting I have failed and need God to clean my mess.

When I say... 'I am a Christian' I'm not claiming to be perfect.
My flaws are far too visible, but God believes I am worth it.

When I say... 'I am a Christian' I still feel the sting of pain..
I have my share of heartaches, so I call upon His name.

When I say... 'I am a Christian' I'm not holier than thou.
I'm just a simple sinner Who received God's good grace somehow!

Health insurance!

2008-03-17T11:32:00.002-05:00

I am (almost) officially a full-time employee at Eastview!!

I have yet to sign the contract, but I have been asked to take over for a retiring administrative assistant in the children's ministries department!

This is my first full-time job, complete with benefits. Very exciting stuff! I never thought I'd be so thrilled about medical insurance and 401k's!

I admit - I am a little nervous about how my schedule is going to look. That's a lot more time away from Jack. But I'm pretty sure that I'm still going to have Fridays off, so I'll still get my three-day weekends with him, which is more than regular full-time working moms can say.

I won't be starting until May 1st, so I'll have the rest of this month and April to enjoy my part time hours and a VACATION! before starting up.

This means that, come August, Tim will be able to reduce his State Farm hours to part-time status and dive into his seminary degree full time, which is awesome! I am so happy for him! And I will be able to start too! Just one night a week of class, which isn't bad at all!

I know we're going to be busy, but - it's worth it. We're going to be busy pursuing our passions, so it's all good.

Now I'm just ready to get started... I hate waiting!

I am a freak.

2008-03-01T14:57:00.003-06:00

And this is why.

A color-coded packing list? 5 weeks in advance? Lord help us.

Big week!

2008-02-29T08:55:00.004-06:00

This week has been a long one - work wasn't too fun because most of the people I sit by were at a conference, and all kinds of people were having problems and issues with mission trips.

Here's a breakdown of other things that happened this week:

Tim was asked to help out with the jr. highers at church on Wednesday nights.

There were more hints at work that my job will probably be going full-time, but still nothing certain.

The seminary class schedule came out, and I discovered that I can take 9 hours in the fall by only going to class one night a week.

Jack and I were invited to go to Florida in April!! (This one I am super excited about... I need a vacation very badly.)

And finally - our tax refund was deposited into our bank account this morning, so at lunch time today Tim and I are going to pay off 4 big bills, and bring our savings account up by a lot. That is such a great feeling!

So we have lots to ponder and plan at the moment - but all good things!

Perfectionist?

2008-02-22T18:22:00.003-06:00

So tonight a mission trip leader called me, wanting to know why there was information missing on a report I created for him. Granted, there are a lot - and I mean a LOT of people going on this trip. But still, whenever people point out my mistakes it literally turns my entire day around. I go from having a good day to a bad one, in a matter of seconds.

Does this make me a perfectionist?

When someone points out something that I did wrong or missed, it makes me feel like a failure. If I could run to the church and correct the report this very second (6:26 p.m. on a Friday night), I would. Unfortunately I can't because I don't have access to a certain area of the building. It is going to drive me nuts that I made this mistake until Monday at noon, when I go to work and fix it.

I guess it would be weird if I was okay with making mistakes... so maybe it's not a bad thing that I dwell on them, eagerly looking forward to the moment when I am able to make it right.

But one could also make an argument that it is a matter of pride. Maybe I am so prideful that having someone else notice my shortcomings is more embarrassing because it is more of a shot to my pride than anything else.

I don't know. All I really care about right now is getting back to work so I can fix that stinkin' report!

A first for me

2008-02-12T21:09:00.002-06:00

So this is the first blog/comment/whatever you want to call it that I've ever posted about politics. Normally I really don't care about government officials or even (cringe) who is running for the President of the United States (don't hurt me). I guess through my different stages of life, I've either been too caught up in my own little world to pay any attention to what's going on, or just too immature to think about the world and this country in the "big picture" perspective. Who knows?

But the burning question on my mind tonight is this - how can anyone who calls themself a Christ follower support presidential candidates who are pro-abortion/pro-choice? I've recently had a handful of close Christian friends who have expressed their support for one specific candidate who I know for a fact is all for abortion, and that completely baffles me! Killing another human being is one of the most obvious sins, in my opinion, so anyone who supports someone who wants to allow it is completely crazy!

I realize I'm on the slow train on this one - it's probably a debate that's been going on for years now. And I also know that there are hundreds of factors that are considered in who to support for President. But I feel like this is such an obvious choice for us as Christians - support the candidate who is pro-life!!

Anyway, that's what's on my mind tonight. Take it or leave it.

Seminary

2008-01-30T16:18:00.000-06:00

Well, it's official!

Tim and I are both students at Lincoln Christian Seminary!

I got my acceptance letter just a couple of days ago, and I am so excited!! I will be getting my Master's degree in counseling, and then ultimately will get certified as a school counselor (I think). Sooooo we might be moving to Lincoln!!??

I also might be going full time at my job - or I might not. And Tim might be able to quit State Farm - and then again he might not. We don't know for sure about anything except that we are both going back to school.

Now we just wait and see how the whole plan is going to unfold...

Christmas 2007

2008-01-04T15:47:00.000-06:00

Christmas this year was lots of fun. Jack got TONS of cool new toys which keep him occupied for hours at a time (pretty nice for mom and dad!) He got a new piano and a drum, along with a few other toys that play music and sing songs. He is going to be a musician for sure!

2007-12-17T14:52:00.001-06:00

Well this morning Jack's pediatrician diagnosed him with "Papular Acrodermatitis of Infancy" or Gianotti-Crosti syndrome, and a touch of eczema.

Basically he's got this rash all over his face/ears, arms, hands, legs/knees, ankles, and feet. It doesn't itch, he doesn't have a fever, and he's acting perfectly normal. It's just a rash that comes from a virus that isn't contagious or anything, and it lasts for about 4-6 weeks before it goes away.

Poor kid looks way worse than he actually is.

Jack's First Birthday Party!

2007-12-10T15:55:00.000-06:00

Well yesterday was Jack's First Birthday Party! I still can't believe he'll be a whole year old! Unfortunately the ice kept almost everyone that we invited from being able to make it, so that was a bummer. Just one family of three showed up. (Yay for the Edwards!) But it didn't matter, it was still fun to celebrate Jack's birthday.

I made a little cake in the shape of a "1" for him to dig into (this was the part that I was so excited about - I had no idea what he'd do!) It was so funny because he wasn't quite sure what to do with the cake. He basically played with it the whole time, then only after a little taste from his Daddy did he start eating up all the cake that was stuck to his hands. Then after a quick bath, we opened presents, and he got lots of new toys, clothes, and books. He is so glad to have some "big boy" toys! He was seriously getting bored with all that little baby stuff.

So anyway, even though there weren't very many of us, I think that Jack had a good day. After the party we came home and he stayed up way past his bedtime playing with his cool new toys.

Yay for birthdays!!

First snow!

2007-12-07T14:56:00.001-06:00

So last night was the first "good snow of the season. You know, light and slowly falling - no wind or anything, just beautiful white snow.

Jack was totally enthralled by it. It's funny to think that these are things that he is experiencing for the very first time. He had never sat in, tasted, or played with snow ever before.

It was a big moment!

2007-12-04T17:11:00.000-06:00

I was so thrilled to have a space of my own to decorate for Christmas this year that I thought I'd post some pictures from decorating day for you guys.

Enjoy!

Holidays are the best

2007-11-20T11:14:00.000-06:00

And here I am again - two months have gone by without a post...

Woops.

Anyways, nothing super exciting happened to us between the last post and this one - just working, living, and growing.

But lately things have started to get very exciting because if the upcoming holidays. Last year the holidays were sort of clouded over with the pending arrival of our little bundle of joy, so this year we really get to focus on the reason for the season and just be thankful and joyful that we are where we are and that we have a very happy little family.

Now for each of our updates:

Jack: He can walk! Now - I say he can walk because he can - we have him on video taking a few wobbly steps across the room. But most of the time he just chooses not to. Crawling, afterall, is simply easier. I haven't gotten him to take any steps for a couple of days now, but we're going to keep trying. He's also doing this very funny thing of trying to imitate words that we say. So far he can "say" "Poopy" ("peeeee"), "It's hot" ("ssss haaaa"), "Book" ("boo") and "Laura" ("lelelelaaaah"). The big news, though, is that we're preparing for his first birthday party in about 2.5 weeks! I can't believe that he'll be 1. Crazy how fast time goes.

Lisa: No real big news for me. I've been sick for the past week, and am actually looking forward to going to work this afternoon. Tomorrow we get to take dinner over to a friends' house that had a baby last week. I am SO excited to meet this little guy! Sometimes I think that I missed my calling to be a OB nurse - the whole pregnancy/birth process absolutely astounds and fascinates me and I always get so excited when another friend is expecting (there's going to be another small group baby in April!!) Besides being sick and loving babies, my main focus at the moment is getting all of our holiday plans made and Christmas shopping done. I am super excited about Christmas this year - Jack's first Christmas that he'll be big enough to open his presents. Can't wait :)

Tim: No real big news for Tim, either. We've been really thinking and praying hard about his going to seminary in January, and I think that it's going to work out. It will be very good for him I think because he's been kind of "stuck" in the doldrums that is State Farm for awhile now and could really use a good refresher on the bigger issues of life and faith. I'm very excited for him. But we could definitely use your prayers as he struggles to find satisfaction in his current job.

Well that's about it for us - like I said, just working, living, and growing. But loving every minute of this life together.

Til next time -

P.S. - The picture is of our little JACK -o-Lantern on Halloween. We had a great time!

We're moved!

2007-09-10T14:56:00.001-05:00

Well, we moved into our townhome on August 1st, and we are loving every bit of living here! Having an upstairs and a basement, a fireplace, a back patio, and our very own washer and dryer is awesome! I really feel like we have a "home" now. I'm in the process of hanging things on the walls and really putting a personal touch on the decor, and it's a lot of fun.

Jack is loving the fact that he is finally able to get around! He is crawling like a mad man, up the stairs, into the fireplace, behind the couches, under the computer desk, and all sorts of other places he isn't supposed to go. One of his favorite things to do right now is crawl over to the back sliding doors in the kitchen and shake around the vertical blinds that are hanging on it. Hey - it's the simple things in life, right?

I am really getting into my job at Eastview. With more experience comes more confidence, so I am feeling more and more confident in what I do every day. I am learning so much about what it takes to be a missionary and go on the field both for the long term and the short term. It is not for the faint of heart!!! I am able to interact with awesome, awesome people all over the world on a daily basis, and for that I consider myself lucky. I am always kept busy and am making some really good friends, too. All in all, I am 100% glad that I took this job. Praise God for making my job decision so clear!

Tim is still at State Farm, and is still in the Quote and Bind department. We're crossing our fingers that he is able to post out for a different position within State Farm, and transfer out of Quote and Bind. He is very good at the job, but (understandably!) it is just not even close to what he wants to do with his life. So please pray with us about that!

I am really getting excited about the fall weather coming, because that means football games, sweatshirts, autumn leaves, and holidays!! As a matter of fact, I think I'll go get out my fall decorations right now :)

Happy fall!!

moving

2007-07-30T08:41:00.000-05:00

Sorry, it's been a while since the last blog (assuming anyone is reading this), but here goes.

Lisa mentioned last time that we had a 90% chance of moving. Well, make it 100% because we are moving into a townhouse in TWO DAYS! I am so stoked to be moving into our own place, and we are so grateful to Lisa's parents for letting us live with them for 7 months to pay off a lot of debt. We're in a much better position financially than we were this time last year.

Other than that, not much has changed. Jack is continuing to grow and we are very proud of him. I'm still at State Farm and I'm planning (keep your fingers crossed) on taking a seminary class in the fall. Lisa is still at Eastview helping the church and bringing in extra income for our family.

I finally feel like we are just starting to get our feet on the ground after a long time of being up in the air.

Summertime

2007-07-03T14:40:00.000-05:00

Well... July has begun, so I feel like I should put up an update with what is going on in the Stanek family.

I am finally starting to really get the hang of my job. Today I had someone ask me if I would "volunteer" to help do something for someone else, because they knew that if I was doing it, it would be done right. That felt good. Feeling confident at my job is helping me feel confident in other situations, too. I think that while I was staying home with Jack, for whatever reason, my confidence level was slowly on the decline. Confidence in what, you ask? Mostly just in everyday social situations where I have to interact with others that I may not know very well, or in things that I need to do that I haven't done before, etc. I didn't really have a problem with that until after I had been at home with Jack for about 3 months. I noticed that I was significantly more withdrawn than I used to be - probably getting a little too used to not having much daily interaction with people.

But regardless, working is good for me. Working part time is good for my family too, because we rarely have to find a babysitter for him, and we aren't losing the majority of my paycheck to child care costs. So all in all, I am very happy with my job.

Let's see... what else is new....

Jack just got his first tooth on June 30th! I thought the teething process would be a lot more "painful" (for me) than it was. Jack wasn't extra crabby or anything - the only thing I noticed was that he slept a bit more than usual, and even that could be attributed to his growth spurt. So it was quite a surprise when I put my finger in his mouth and felt a tiny sharp thing poking out of his gums!

He's also rolling around the floor from front to back and back to front, until all of a sudden he's all the way on the other side of the room! I think he will be crawling any day now.... That will be interesting - and very exciting, Jack is so ready to be able to get around!

In other news, there is a 90% chance that we will be moving into a townhouse in the beginning of August! We are super excited about that, but there's no lease or anything yet, so I'll give more details later on...

Happy 4th of July!

Happy First Anniversary to Us!

2007-06-18T19:31:00.000-05:00

One year ago the Tim and Lisa Stanek family began!

This has been the best - and most eventful - year of my/our life, and we are having a ball.

Congratulations to us for one whole year of marital bliss! =)

furniture

2007-06-11T08:36:00.000-05:00

Well, now that Lisa is working, we are looking seriously at places to live. We found a great townhouse close to our old apartment, that would be an awesome place to live. It has a fireplace, it's large, has a partially finished basement, etc, etc. We are also looking at a "luxury" aparment behind Buffalo Wild Wings. They call themselves luxury apartments, but I wasn't wowed. They are nice, don't get me wrong, but I wouldn't use the word luxury to describe them.

We are also starting to look at furniture. We went to furniture row yesterday to look at head boards, coffee tables, and kitchen tables. We found a bunch of nice stuff that we really liked, but we are waiting to purchase them. While we were shopping, a sales guy made his sales pitch to us and kinda just stood there, waiting for me to break the silence. In a sales environment, the first person to break the silence typically loses. Well I wasn't going to break it, but my awesome wife said something like, "if you want to leave, you can, we may be a while." My hero.

Take that, State Farm!

2007-06-01T08:10:00.000-05:00

I have officially accepted a part-time position at church as the administrative assistant to the Director of International Ministries (20 hours) and the Director of Young Adult Ministries (5 hours). The pay isn't phenomenal, but it is enough to get us into a place of our own, and a nice one at that!

And the best part is that I get to pick my own hours! As long as they add up to 25, my boss said it really is up to me when I want to come in. AND I don't work on Fridays. So from Monday through Thursday, I get to come in on my own schedule. The good part about this is that I will only need someone to watch Jack for 1.5 to 3.5 hours on Tuesday mornings - that's it. So we won't be canceling out my income with childcare costs, AND Tim and I won't have to leave him with other people except for once a week, only for a couple hours. During the summer, I'm probably going to leave him with my sister, but the search is on for someone in the church to watch him once she goes back to school in the fall.

This week was an interesting week. I was called to come interview for a full-time position at IWU's library where I used to work, but as I thought about it, the work I would do there wouldn't even be remotely close to what I want to do with my life. The work I'll be doing at the church puts me much closer to what I want to be doing, and I know that I will be a much happier person if I like my job. So it sort of came down to more money vs. a happier, but poorer Lisa. I chose the latter. There is potential for my job at church to go full time eventually, so I'm trusting that God will provide until that time comes, and I am very happy with my decision.

Yay!

Jobs jobs jobs

2007-05-21T16:19:00.000-05:00

And the job search continues...

Had a pre-interview and testing at State Farm last week, went pretty well. Will be following up later this week to hear what they think of me.

Still waiting to hear about the job at IWU's library.

Got a call today from a staff member at Eastview about a part-time administrative assistant position, but I missed the call because I (of course) have misplaced my phone. Hopefully he'll get back to me and tell me more. A part time job would be great, unless the pay is canceled out by childcare costs. But before I think about that part, I need to find out more about the job. Keeping my fingers crossed that he's flexible...

I have sent my resume to a local library and have heard nothing so far.

I also have my resume in for both an administrative assistant in a guidance counseling office at a local junior high as well as a teacher's aide at the same school.

Pretty much, I think that job searching should be considered a legitimate career. It takes skill to tweak a resume just so many ways in order to fit 500 different jobs. (I exaggerate, obviously, but still...)

Hopefully something works out.

mother's day and dead dogs

2007-05-15T07:05:00.000-05:00

On mother's day, Lisa and I, and the whole family went to Paxton to visit with Lisa's grandparents. Because Jack woke up extraordinarily early this morning, I was already tired to begin with. We all drove to Paxton in the Schaumburg family Mini-van. Because the drive is long, and there is literally nothing to look at on the drive except for baby corn, I brought my portable DVD player. While Eric, Lisa , and myself were watching The Emperor's New Groove, we were jolted back to reality with a quick swerve of the van. The next thing I know, I am looking up at a dog running in front of the van...

The next thing I know after that, there was a big thud, and we ran over something. I look back to see a dog in the middle of road trying to get up, but failing miserably. We ran over the dog. It was quite sad. We turned around at the next intersection to go a) pull the dog of the road, or b) put the dog out of its misery (I'm not sure which, and didn't bother to ask). But by the time we got back to the dog, it had a) gotten up and walked away, thinking about how lucky it was to be alive (not likely), b) been picked up or dragged off the road by another car, or c) disappeared into thin air. Either way, it was crazy. This kind of put a damper on our day. Stupid dog.

We spent the rest of the day lounging around Lisa's grandparent's. There is a weird family thing that Lisa's family does where they all play baseball together (grandparents, aunts, uncles, kids, neighbors, everybody). It's weird to me because my family never does anything like this. But I digress. Because I don't like baseball and did not want to play, Eric and I went to the local watering hole and fished. We caught nothing but weeds. It was still fun to sit on the dock and cast.

(there are new pictures of Jack on his baby blog)

cinco de mayo and baby teeth

2007-05-06T21:43:00.000-05:00

Well, I learned something new this week. Apparently when babies start to teethe, they get congested. So Jack doesn't really have a cold after all... because his first tooth is starting to come in!! Tonight, Tim said he could see Jack's bottom front teeth through his gums, and he put his finger in there to point to where he could see them and all of a sudden the poor kid's gum started bleeding. Which is exciting because a) his first tooth is coming in! and b)we now know why he has been extra fussy and congested - but at the same time is no fun because he is extra fussy. But it's all good - I know this whole teething thing comes with the territory, so we can take it. Some other milestones we hit this weekend are: he rolled over on his own for the first time (and only time... he hasn't done it again since, but we're working on it)!; and he started eating cereal from a spoon without crying or spitting all of it out! He is growing so fast :)

In other news, Tim and I had our own little Cinco de Mayo celebration on Saturday night, and it turned out to be quite the experience. We decided to head over to Fiesta Ranchera (a Mexican restaurant that I really like, but Tim doesn't really... but he is nice enough to go with me anyways), and as soon as we walked in the door we were blasted with mariachi music set to the beat of a cranked-up bass line. We were seated in the very back of the restaurant, in the section next to the private party/bar room... along with a table of about twenty drunk, 40something women, one who was wearing an obscene "crown" - clearly a bachelorette party. We were just there for a nice Mexican dinner. We didn't sign up for what came next. Apparently a group of college kids had rented out the back bar area, and had gotten bored of staying in their designated room. About six clearly inebriated college-aged guys came stumbling out, into our section of the restaurant, which also was where the sound system was set up and blasting music, and the drunk middle-aged women thought it would be cute to stand up, scream "WOO HOOOO!" at the top of their lungs and... uh... I guess the word would be "dance" with these young guys... but they definitely weren't doing the waltz, if you know what I mean. I'm pretty sure I was blushing just watching. We ate as fast as we could and got the heck out of there.... especially when we realized that these guys were probably the same age as most of these ladies' kids. Sick. The worst part was that there were families with children in there. There was a dad sitting in the booth behind us with a little girl about 7 or 8 years old. He had to keep telling her not to be scared, that the music was just playing loud, and that the people dancing just wanted to have fun. We left no tip. Not just because of the nasty display of drunken dancing (Tim said in the middle of it all, "I feel like after all this, the restaurant owes me something." I couldn't have said it better myself.), but mostly because our waiter was too busy pouring the drunk people more drinks to even stop by and refill our water glasses. After that, we bought margarita mix, rented Night At The Museum, and headed home for some good, clean Cinco de Mayo fun. The moral of the story is - do NOT go to Fiesta Ranchera on Cinco de Mayo. Or if you do, refuse to sit in the back of the restaurant. But really, just don't go there.

Also - today I walked at graduation! It was a little awkward because I basically haven't talked to anyone from IWU since Jack was born, and it was also kind of a long, hot ceremony. But I'm still glad I did it. It was a nice way to say farewell for good.

Well I'm tuckered out from trying to comfort a teething baby and walking around for 4 hours in killer high heels that kept getting stuck in the muddy grass (graduation was outdoors), so it's bedtime for bonzo!

babies can't blow their nose (happy Daena?)

2007-05-04T08:40:00.000-05:00

Jack has a cold.

This means that he has trouble sleeping, eating, breathing, and sucking on his passie (that's pacifier for all of you who aren't in on the baby lingo). And Jack has always been quite the drueler and now it is only amplified. He now has snot and spit coming out of his face. It's no good, no good at all. And the poor kid can't blow his nose. We do have one of those baby snot-sucker things, but I'm afraid it is woefully inadequate. We need something that runs on electricity...

Not much else is new on the home front. We took some dinner to some friends of ours yesterday who have recently had a baby. I have already forgotten what it is like to have a newborn. Jack is growing by leaps and bounds!

From Lisa

2007-05-01T08:57:00.000-05:00

Well didn't Tim do just the best job setting up this blog? I'm impressed.

Anyways, like he said, I've been able to stay home with Jack since he was born, but now I'm starting to look at a couple job opportunities. Today I have a job interview (prayers would be nice!), and if this one doesn't work out then I'll probably be staying home a little while longer. Which would be more than okay with me, but I'll still be keeping my eyes open for other family-friendly jobs.

And also like Tim said, I'm really ready for a vacation :) So I'm crossing my fingers for maybe a weekend away for our one-year anniversary coming up next month. Next month?! Wow - it's hard to believe that we've been married almost a year already. It completely flew by. I also can't believe Jack is already almost 5 months old! Where has the time gone? Oh well, I hear that the older you get, the faster time goes, so I suppose I should get used to this, shouldn't I?

Well, it's time to put Jack down for his morning nap so I guess that wraps it up for today!

initial updates

2007-05-01T07:33:00.000-05:00

For now I'll just update everyone on what is going on with us...

Tim - I'm working at State Farm now selling auto insurance. It's nothing great, but it's paying the bills for now. I'd like to end up with a higher paying job within State Farm, and eventually end up back in youth ministry. It's a long haul till then though. I'm just trying to enjoy my life in the here and now. I'm also addicted to a video game called World of Warcraft. It's fun.

Lisa - Lisa is currently a stay at home mother (and what a great one she is). We are considering the possibility of Lisa finding a flexible job to help us in the income department. This isn't something that we are crazy about, but if a job comes along, I think she would take it. Lisa is also in desperate need of a vacation. We're working on it :)

Jack - Jack is four and a half months old and the joy of Lisa and I's life. We are extremely proud of him. For now, he is standing (with a little help from Mom and Dad), smiling, laughing, crying, whining, yelling, talking, eating, and pooping. We are working on him being able to turn over. When we put him on his stomach, he puts his arms out to the side and arches his body (imagine a skydiver).

TV SHOWS we watch include: lost, american idol, heroes, survivor, the office, and the amazing race.

getting started

2007-04-30T17:42:00.000-05:00

I saw one of my buddies who has a blog about his family and I thought it was a great idea. So here I am starting a blog so everyone can keep up on the newly formed (June 2006) Stanek Family. Woot.