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!

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:

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...

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!

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.

And this is why.


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

Big week!

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!