Brianne here :). Our precious little princess Kaylee-bug turned 2 on Saturday. It's surreal to try and think back to when she first graced us with her sweet smile and beautiful little eyes. I remember the first time I got to hold her in the hospital. It was 10 hours after she was born, and she was in the NICU. She was so tiny, but had the cutest little face. Was she really mine? After only a few minutes of holding her I didn't want to let her go. I've been blessed to have her by my side almost every day for the last 2 years now. She brightens my day as soon as I wake her up in the mornings, and she melts my heart every night before bed. I always knew that I had a destiny to be a mother, but I could never have dreamed how much joy I would get out of it. Jon and I feel like the luckiest parents in the world, and we are doing everything we can to show her the love she deserves.
Kaylee got to see her Grandma Lani and Grandpa Joe on Skype the morning of her birthday. That was so neat for all of us. They got to see her open her presents and Kaylee got to see their faces again!! They got her many new things and a "Pika" cat that she now sleeps with every night. She calls it "My Pika" every night. We also got a card from Aunt Ashley in the mail and were once again blown away from this young lady who has now become a permanent part of our family. If you are ever blessed to meet her in person, Ashley Clark is one of the most selfless people you will ever know. Her heart has been wrapped around Kaylee ever since she was her daycare teacher over a year ago. I still remember the day when I came to daycare to pick Kaylee up and Ashley showed me how Kaylee could sit up on her own! Then, during one of my lunch visits, Kaylee walked to me for the first time after help from Ashley. We received a beautiful note from Ashley, along with birthday money in a card for Kaylee. We were blown away by the generosity and kind words. We took Kaylee to Target on Sunday and bought her a few things from Ashley. The first thing is something she needed....her own bookshelf. She has inherited all of my old books, and now has a bookshelf full of them! Then we let her pick out some things, a Dora bath toy and some fridge magnets that teach the letter sounds. She loves all of it, and even has some money left over. However, I've now discovered that we need to get her a Dora doll for night time because she gets upset when we wont' let her bring the Dora bath toy to bed :(. So maybe this weekend we will get her a Dora doll for bed. Who knew that letting a toddler watch Dora one time would have them hooked??
Jon and I went to church on Sunday, and my mother-in-law, Trynn, joined us. It was another fantastic service by Pastor Ken Hubbard at Citipoint. One of the phrases that Pastor Ken tells each Sunday goes something like this (forgive me if I missquote it): "What you have is not all that you can have.....who you are is not all that you can be....and where you are is not where you have to stay!" This phrase speaks volumes to me. God has an amazing destiny for our family here in Washington and to think that this time last year we only thought it was a dream that may never become a reality. It has been, and will continue to be, the ultimate test of faith thus far. To place your future in the hands of someone who you cannot see is hard for many people to understand. However, I take one look at our little angel and remember what miracles God did in Kaylee's life when she was young and it all becomes reality. For those who do not know the story of Kaylee's healing, I will give you a summary. Kaylee was diagnosed with reflux when she was only 2 weeks old. She could not keep down any liquids without it being thickened first. At 4 months of age she developed RSV and was in the hospital for a week. Then she developed food allergies and was allergic to all orange and yellow vegetables, and developed skin sensitivities. She would not get well and I felt like a failure as a mother. Finally, after Pastor David Brown (Victory Church, Amarillo, TX) taught a sermon about healing, and after I spoke with my friend Jamie about the power that a parent has over their children, I got serious about my desperation. I knew that this little baby was not meant to be on 6 prescription medicines at once, and she certainly was not meant to be unable to drink liquids like every other baby around her. It took total submission to God's power for me to give it to Him and claim healing over Kaylee's little body. The miraculous healing was instantaneous. The next day we took away all medications and she has not had one single complication from them. You can't deny that, to see it with your own eyes. One day your baby is suffering and the next day she is healed! That is why we know God has wonderful plans for our lives, and that is why we know He will provide. If he can heal our baby girl, he certainly can make sure we are provided for.
I am so thankful that Jon and I took the leap of faith to come here. I miss my family and friends so very much though. It's hard not having them around to visit and hang out with. I miss lunch dates and pedicures with my mom. I miss the Sunday afternoons we had at mom & Joe's with Kaylee and Kolton. They had so much fun together. I am glad Kaylee is in daycare now though, so she has more friends to play with. She is doing well, and we are so proud of her.
Happy 2nd birthday baby girl. Thank you for reminding mommy and daddy each and every day how very lucky we are to have you in our lives!!
Monday, August 30, 2010
Sunday, August 22, 2010
Finally! Now *this* is home!
Hi everyone, Brianne here. I am supposed to be working on homework right now but have an overwhelming desire to call up everyone we know and tell them all about this weekend. However, that would rack up quite a few long-distance cell minutes, so it would probably be best to post an update here :).
Even though we've been here a little over 3 weeks now, it just hasn't quite felt like home yet. I'm slowly finding my way around this side of town, and I know where the essentials are (gas, bank, groceries) but it's still hard to navigate without using the GPS. In fact, I have a little silent celebration each time I find my way back home without it. Also, living in the midst of boxes that still needed to be unpacked is beyond stressful. Not to mention we managed to not pack a box that had all of our good cookware in it. How do you miss a box of dishes?? I have no clue, but we did. So I've been unable to cook meaningful dinners either, but we still have managed to make it work :). Not having a secured job yet has also added to the feeling that this is not quite "home" just yet. Well, almost all of that changed for us this weekend.
We finished unpacking almost all of the boxes and got the office set up. It still needs some organization, but as you know that is what I do best so it shouldn't take too long. I put up curtains in the living room and the kitchen, which created a more "home-like" feel. More pictures were hung on the walls as well. Although our apartment has begun to look like a picture gallery for Kaylee-bug I love every single one!!
The main thing I wanted to share with everyone what Jon mentioned below. We found a new church home! Last night it was about 10pm and I realized we had not found a new church to visit this morning. Jon and I were both so busy and distracted this week that we had not taken the time to find a new one. I immediately went online and started researching. We just had to find a new place to visit. Yes, we could go back to the church from last week that was "just okay" but we know it is not the place for us so why not do our best to keep trying? I literally spent 2 hours online searching online profiles, reviews, websites, and facebook pages for over 30 churches in our town. Not a single one of them had the philosophies and ministries we were looking for. There are a lot of "reformed" churches here, which is very bizzare. All of the non-denominational churches were still too traditional and did not have specified ministries for men/women/children/couples/singles, etc. After becoming very discouraged I decided to expand my search to the next biggest town....Mount Vernon, WA. It is about 30 miles away. People travel all the time to church, so perhaps we just are going to become one of those families who get up early on Sunday morning to drive 30 miles to church. That's okay, right? Well....ladies, try telling your husband who is half asleep that you want to try looking for churches to visit the next morning that will require him to wake up 1 hour earlier. Good luck with that :). Yes, Jon thought I was crazy but I knew it was just the sleep talking.
I started my search for Mount Vernon churches, specifically looking for a contemporary church that had a growing ministry centered around teaching the ENTIRE Bible even if it hurt. I then found a website for Citipoint Church. Have you ever been shopping for that perfect dress or pair of shoes in a store, spending hours trying things on and once you are about to give up you find....THE ONE? That is how I felt the minute I opened the website for Citipoint and began to listen to the preachings of Pastor Ken Hubbard. You see...I had found a couple of churches I wanted to visit in Bellingham but once I watched some of the preaching I just knew it was not the one. Many of the teachings were in story-like mode, and did not reference specific scripture. I wanted a preacher who would get down to the meat and potatoes of God's word, even if it meant ruffling up some feathers. Pastor Hubbard does just that. He is honest, to the point, and willing to challenge you. So that was it, we were just going to have to visit this church, no question about it. I was not going to give up until we did, even if it meant driving out of town. Then.....I discovered they have a new campus right here in Bellingham!! The only problem was, I didn't know anything about the Bellingham campus and whether or not they had childcare. So, I wrote a message on the church's FB page asking if they did. This morning, I checked it and Pastor Hubbard actually had replied to my message and said yes, they had childcare and would love to have us come. So, we had breakfast, got Kaylee ready and headed out the door. The new campus is actually located within an industrial park and looks like a cabin. It's small, and you could tell they just moved in because there were still original signeage from the previous tennants in place that were now covered up with temporary Citipoint signs. On our way back to the nursery we passed by the room where the praise team were having prayer time. We stood in the hallway until they finished so that we would not interrupt. Just hearing them pray immediately made Jon and I look at each other and smile. Kaylee went into the nursery and we headed into the small sanctuary. Three of the 4 walls were lined in windows, showing the beautiful surroundings of trees and plants. Jon and I were nervous. Could a little tiny church like this have as much power as their main almost-mega-church in Mount Vernon?? Our answer came when the praise team started singing. The two guitarists and 1 drummer had as much passion in them as an entire praise team. They didn't need the lights, and they didn't need the huge screens. They didn't even need a large audience. They left their hearts on that stage and opened themselves up to what God had for them during that service.
Have you ever felt a hug from God? I'm talking about one that makes you tear up inside and out, and it gives you a feeling that God is telling you "It's going to be okay"??? I felt that 2 weeks before we left when we attended Victory, and I finally felt it again this morning. This branch of Citipoint is going to do amazing things for the Kingdom of God, and Jon and I are blessed to be a part of it. Jon is excited to start making friends and becoming involved. I know that God is taking care of our family. Look at what He has provided for us so far!! Jon has a job, I have a temporary one (and have faith the new one WILL come this week!) there is food on the table, a roof over our head, and now a wonderful church to call home. I know we are going to experience wonderful things here. I can finally say, this feels like home now.
Even though we've been here a little over 3 weeks now, it just hasn't quite felt like home yet. I'm slowly finding my way around this side of town, and I know where the essentials are (gas, bank, groceries) but it's still hard to navigate without using the GPS. In fact, I have a little silent celebration each time I find my way back home without it. Also, living in the midst of boxes that still needed to be unpacked is beyond stressful. Not to mention we managed to not pack a box that had all of our good cookware in it. How do you miss a box of dishes?? I have no clue, but we did. So I've been unable to cook meaningful dinners either, but we still have managed to make it work :). Not having a secured job yet has also added to the feeling that this is not quite "home" just yet. Well, almost all of that changed for us this weekend.
We finished unpacking almost all of the boxes and got the office set up. It still needs some organization, but as you know that is what I do best so it shouldn't take too long. I put up curtains in the living room and the kitchen, which created a more "home-like" feel. More pictures were hung on the walls as well. Although our apartment has begun to look like a picture gallery for Kaylee-bug I love every single one!!
The main thing I wanted to share with everyone what Jon mentioned below. We found a new church home! Last night it was about 10pm and I realized we had not found a new church to visit this morning. Jon and I were both so busy and distracted this week that we had not taken the time to find a new one. I immediately went online and started researching. We just had to find a new place to visit. Yes, we could go back to the church from last week that was "just okay" but we know it is not the place for us so why not do our best to keep trying? I literally spent 2 hours online searching online profiles, reviews, websites, and facebook pages for over 30 churches in our town. Not a single one of them had the philosophies and ministries we were looking for. There are a lot of "reformed" churches here, which is very bizzare. All of the non-denominational churches were still too traditional and did not have specified ministries for men/women/children/couples/singles, etc. After becoming very discouraged I decided to expand my search to the next biggest town....Mount Vernon, WA. It is about 30 miles away. People travel all the time to church, so perhaps we just are going to become one of those families who get up early on Sunday morning to drive 30 miles to church. That's okay, right? Well....ladies, try telling your husband who is half asleep that you want to try looking for churches to visit the next morning that will require him to wake up 1 hour earlier. Good luck with that :). Yes, Jon thought I was crazy but I knew it was just the sleep talking.
I started my search for Mount Vernon churches, specifically looking for a contemporary church that had a growing ministry centered around teaching the ENTIRE Bible even if it hurt. I then found a website for Citipoint Church. Have you ever been shopping for that perfect dress or pair of shoes in a store, spending hours trying things on and once you are about to give up you find....THE ONE? That is how I felt the minute I opened the website for Citipoint and began to listen to the preachings of Pastor Ken Hubbard. You see...I had found a couple of churches I wanted to visit in Bellingham but once I watched some of the preaching I just knew it was not the one. Many of the teachings were in story-like mode, and did not reference specific scripture. I wanted a preacher who would get down to the meat and potatoes of God's word, even if it meant ruffling up some feathers. Pastor Hubbard does just that. He is honest, to the point, and willing to challenge you. So that was it, we were just going to have to visit this church, no question about it. I was not going to give up until we did, even if it meant driving out of town. Then.....I discovered they have a new campus right here in Bellingham!! The only problem was, I didn't know anything about the Bellingham campus and whether or not they had childcare. So, I wrote a message on the church's FB page asking if they did. This morning, I checked it and Pastor Hubbard actually had replied to my message and said yes, they had childcare and would love to have us come. So, we had breakfast, got Kaylee ready and headed out the door. The new campus is actually located within an industrial park and looks like a cabin. It's small, and you could tell they just moved in because there were still original signeage from the previous tennants in place that were now covered up with temporary Citipoint signs. On our way back to the nursery we passed by the room where the praise team were having prayer time. We stood in the hallway until they finished so that we would not interrupt. Just hearing them pray immediately made Jon and I look at each other and smile. Kaylee went into the nursery and we headed into the small sanctuary. Three of the 4 walls were lined in windows, showing the beautiful surroundings of trees and plants. Jon and I were nervous. Could a little tiny church like this have as much power as their main almost-mega-church in Mount Vernon?? Our answer came when the praise team started singing. The two guitarists and 1 drummer had as much passion in them as an entire praise team. They didn't need the lights, and they didn't need the huge screens. They didn't even need a large audience. They left their hearts on that stage and opened themselves up to what God had for them during that service.
Have you ever felt a hug from God? I'm talking about one that makes you tear up inside and out, and it gives you a feeling that God is telling you "It's going to be okay"??? I felt that 2 weeks before we left when we attended Victory, and I finally felt it again this morning. This branch of Citipoint is going to do amazing things for the Kingdom of God, and Jon and I are blessed to be a part of it. Jon is excited to start making friends and becoming involved. I know that God is taking care of our family. Look at what He has provided for us so far!! Jon has a job, I have a temporary one (and have faith the new one WILL come this week!) there is food on the table, a roof over our head, and now a wonderful church to call home. I know we are going to experience wonderful things here. I can finally say, this feels like home now.
It's the end of the world as we know it...
Jon here. Yes, it's true, I've signed up on Facebook. I think there may be a scripture in Revelation talking about this right before the world goes nuts? Oh well, just doing my part. I figure this will probably be the easiest way for me to communicate with everyone as things get even busier around here. So hunt me down if you wish, I'm on there. I probably won't be checking every fifteen minutes and I don't think I'll ever get phone updates, but I'm sure I'll check it every now and then. Hey, give me a break, it's a miracle I signed on in the first place!
God has blessed us with an awesome church, somewhere that feels very comfortable, but challenging as well. I look forward to diving in and making friends as well as growing in my walk, and this is the place we've been led to. It's called Citipoint and the main campus is in Mt. Vernon. I encourage everyone to check out their website as the pastor is doing an awesome series right now on the seven deadly sins. It's great being at a church that tells it like it is, something I always loved about David and Connie Brown. If you are in Amarillo you should definetely check out Victory Church as they are amazing and have a lot to give. It is so wonderful that we have our Father to come to every second of every day. Hope everyone is doing well, miss you all.
God has blessed us with an awesome church, somewhere that feels very comfortable, but challenging as well. I look forward to diving in and making friends as well as growing in my walk, and this is the place we've been led to. It's called Citipoint and the main campus is in Mt. Vernon. I encourage everyone to check out their website as the pastor is doing an awesome series right now on the seven deadly sins. It's great being at a church that tells it like it is, something I always loved about David and Connie Brown. If you are in Amarillo you should definetely check out Victory Church as they are amazing and have a lot to give. It is so wonderful that we have our Father to come to every second of every day. Hope everyone is doing well, miss you all.
Sunday, August 15, 2010
Ready for a new and exciting week!
Hi everyone, sorry we haven't posted lately. We've slowly been getting more and more boxes unpacked, but we're still not finished. The only rooms that are 100% finished are the kitchen and Kaylee's room. Well, actually, I still need to put up the pink & brown polka-dots on Kaylee's walls but I'll get to that next weekend probably. Kaylee's bathroom is almost finished, but we still need to buy a few more things after we get paid. Right now, the "office" is the holding room for about 12 more big boxes. We put up lots of pictures today, yay!! I don't have them all up yet, but the majority of Kaylee's pictures are up, man did I miss those! We will still have more though as soon as I can get the family pictures that Colby took for us.
Jon starts his new job at Anderson Paper Company tomorrow in Ferndale. He'll be taking the car every day since it's easier for me to take the bus right now. I have an interview on Tuesday with a temp company, so hopefully they can find me something ASAP. I'm still able to work at the legal services company that I'm temping for. I think I can still work there the rest of this week, which will be very helpful! They are so nice there, and it really would be a neat place to work if I was going to be here long-term.
Kaylee starts her new daycare tomorrow too!! Daycare has been one of our biggest points of anxiety throughout this move. We knew that we needed to get Kaylee into daycare as soon as we could, simply because that is all she has ever known and she LOVES to go play each day. The problem was, I didn't know anything about the centers here and I wasn't sure how we would coordinate drop-off/pick-up with only one of us having a car right now. Well.....apparently God had that under control too because we just so happen to be located NEXT DOOR to a daycare center! Now of course, I did lots of research before picking this one merely for convenience. It turns out that they have 3 centers throughout Bellingham and Ferndale and have been open since the early 1990's. There are many opportunities for the children there, especially when they get older. So, every morning I will take Kaylee for a short stroller ride to daycare, drop her off, then take my bus to work. I'll walk over to the center to pick her up afte 5pm too. It's actually good that we will be walking because their parking lot is tiny! I'm so excited though, and we've been telling her that she is going to go to her "new class" tomorrow :) and she's happy. She still asks about her old classmates and teachers every few days but now I think she knows she gets to make new friends.
We visited a church this morning here in Bellingham, WA. I won't say the specific name here, only because I am going to point out why we are going to continue our search. Kaylee did wonderfully in the nursery though. As soon as she saw the other kids she went right in! This church has a membership total similar to that of our home church Victory. We decided to attend the 8:30am service because it was closest to when we used to go at 9am. Well.....the service was just dead. The worship was out of date, with songs that we used to sing when I was on the praise team in high school. We're talking 10+ years behind. Granted, we learned that they were in search of a worship leader, but still. They had a HUGE stage that was equipped wtih lights, fog machines, and sections for multiple instruments, but none of those resources were being utilized. It was very strange. I think we became spoiled to the awesome worship team of Victory :) because we were pretty bummed. Also, the audience was not engaging at all. Out of 200 people I saw maybe 5 that were into the worship. At Victory, you'll have a hard time finding 5 people that are NOT engaged in the worship service! So, skip ahead to the teaching. Their head pastor's name is Grant and he is very young. He's probably in his early 30's? He has wonderful potential, but we were not challenged by the sermon today. We did not learn anything new, and scriptures were taught generally, not specifically. Jon and I both knew this is not the place for us but I am still SO thankful we at least went. I sent an email to one of the pastors at Victory asking them for any suggestions. We want a church that is not afraid to teach the ENTIRE Bible, and a pastor who will not sugar-coat the truth. An awesome worship ministry would be a plus too, and a loving nursery is essential. I know we will find one, but we're headed in the right direction.
Hopefully we can find an internet plan sometime soon. I need to cancel my internet card service with Verizon this week. The service here is just not up to the speed I need for school. Like tonight, I can get on here or browse all I want but I can't keep up with the multimedia needs of my online classroom. Hopefully we can find something reasonably priced. I'm also going to try to find Kaylee a pediatrician this week. She will need to be updated on her exams after she turns 2. Which reminds me, I need to figure out what we're doing here for her birthday! Aaaa, I hadn't even thought of it yet. Good gosh.
Well, I better head to bed since I have to get up early tomorrow. I hope everyone is good. We're so thankful to have such wonderful family and friends who support us. We're also extremely blessed to have gotten a gift from my mom which will help with daycare for the next 2 weeks until we get Jon's first paycheck. Mom, if you are reading this, I love you so much and I miss you more than you know. I can't wait until you come to visit for Thanksgiving!!!!!
Jon starts his new job at Anderson Paper Company tomorrow in Ferndale. He'll be taking the car every day since it's easier for me to take the bus right now. I have an interview on Tuesday with a temp company, so hopefully they can find me something ASAP. I'm still able to work at the legal services company that I'm temping for. I think I can still work there the rest of this week, which will be very helpful! They are so nice there, and it really would be a neat place to work if I was going to be here long-term.
Kaylee starts her new daycare tomorrow too!! Daycare has been one of our biggest points of anxiety throughout this move. We knew that we needed to get Kaylee into daycare as soon as we could, simply because that is all she has ever known and she LOVES to go play each day. The problem was, I didn't know anything about the centers here and I wasn't sure how we would coordinate drop-off/pick-up with only one of us having a car right now. Well.....apparently God had that under control too because we just so happen to be located NEXT DOOR to a daycare center! Now of course, I did lots of research before picking this one merely for convenience. It turns out that they have 3 centers throughout Bellingham and Ferndale and have been open since the early 1990's. There are many opportunities for the children there, especially when they get older. So, every morning I will take Kaylee for a short stroller ride to daycare, drop her off, then take my bus to work. I'll walk over to the center to pick her up afte 5pm too. It's actually good that we will be walking because their parking lot is tiny! I'm so excited though, and we've been telling her that she is going to go to her "new class" tomorrow :) and she's happy. She still asks about her old classmates and teachers every few days but now I think she knows she gets to make new friends.
We visited a church this morning here in Bellingham, WA. I won't say the specific name here, only because I am going to point out why we are going to continue our search. Kaylee did wonderfully in the nursery though. As soon as she saw the other kids she went right in! This church has a membership total similar to that of our home church Victory. We decided to attend the 8:30am service because it was closest to when we used to go at 9am. Well.....the service was just dead. The worship was out of date, with songs that we used to sing when I was on the praise team in high school. We're talking 10+ years behind. Granted, we learned that they were in search of a worship leader, but still. They had a HUGE stage that was equipped wtih lights, fog machines, and sections for multiple instruments, but none of those resources were being utilized. It was very strange. I think we became spoiled to the awesome worship team of Victory :) because we were pretty bummed. Also, the audience was not engaging at all. Out of 200 people I saw maybe 5 that were into the worship. At Victory, you'll have a hard time finding 5 people that are NOT engaged in the worship service! So, skip ahead to the teaching. Their head pastor's name is Grant and he is very young. He's probably in his early 30's? He has wonderful potential, but we were not challenged by the sermon today. We did not learn anything new, and scriptures were taught generally, not specifically. Jon and I both knew this is not the place for us but I am still SO thankful we at least went. I sent an email to one of the pastors at Victory asking them for any suggestions. We want a church that is not afraid to teach the ENTIRE Bible, and a pastor who will not sugar-coat the truth. An awesome worship ministry would be a plus too, and a loving nursery is essential. I know we will find one, but we're headed in the right direction.
Hopefully we can find an internet plan sometime soon. I need to cancel my internet card service with Verizon this week. The service here is just not up to the speed I need for school. Like tonight, I can get on here or browse all I want but I can't keep up with the multimedia needs of my online classroom. Hopefully we can find something reasonably priced. I'm also going to try to find Kaylee a pediatrician this week. She will need to be updated on her exams after she turns 2. Which reminds me, I need to figure out what we're doing here for her birthday! Aaaa, I hadn't even thought of it yet. Good gosh.
Well, I better head to bed since I have to get up early tomorrow. I hope everyone is good. We're so thankful to have such wonderful family and friends who support us. We're also extremely blessed to have gotten a gift from my mom which will help with daycare for the next 2 weeks until we get Jon's first paycheck. Mom, if you are reading this, I love you so much and I miss you more than you know. I can't wait until you come to visit for Thanksgiving!!!!!
Monday, August 9, 2010
Home Sweet (Almost) Home
I'm sorry that Jon and I haven't been able to update everyone in a few days. I've been informed by my dad that the world needs a "Griswald Adventure" update :). It's been a crazy week so far. I'll start with the not-so-good news first. I had my job interview on Friday. It didn't go as good as I had hoped. I walked in and was greeted by two very "Type A" women who knew what they wanted and got right down to business. The interview was with Escrow Legal Services. It is a small agency of 9 women who all work in lateral positions. Even though I applied for a receptionist position, my job would actually entail much more. I would start and end the escrow process for any transaction. The manager started off by asking normal questions about who I was and she wanted all the crazy details about why I moved from TX. After that, she told me she would like to be very candid with me and asked why in the world I applied for a receptionist position when I am clearly overqualified and have huge life goals. I told her that I would also be candid with her and let her know that I needed to find a job and knew that I could do this job perfectly and thought I could contribute to their company with all of my experiences so far. She agreed with me that I would be perfect for the job but then asked me how long she could realistically expect me to stay, knowing well that I would graduate soon with a college degree. I told her that if they chose to hire me I could promise them 1 year and after that I would not know how long because it might take me a while to find the government job I am longing for. I told her that yes, they would be going out on a limb to keep someone they knew would not stay forever, but I could guarantee them 100% quality service and loyalty. She actually was surprised I was so honest and thanked me for it. I'm not expecting to hear back from them, and although many people have told me I should have just lied and told them I didn't know what the future held, she would have seen right through me. She was a very strong and smart woman, someone I could learn a lot from if I worked with her for a year. So, my job search continues and tomorrow I will call the two temp services that I applied to and see if they have any prospects. There was one legal secretary job open, which I reluctantly applied to. I know I can do the work, and it will only be for a year. I think I can last that long and perhaps the attorneys won't be as harsh (?).
Another bump in the road this week has been little missy. Kaylee was sick with a nasty stomach bug that had her under the weather for 2 days. She had a fever and other symptoms (which I will spare you from). We got her some Tylenol and Motrin, and today she seems to be much better. I know she is so ready to be in our new home though. She keeps asking me "Kaylee go home?" and it makes me tear up every time. She is so innocent, and just wants consistency. I am hopefully that by this time tomorrow night she will be tucked in her bed....in her new room. Right now though, all she wants to do is what was familiar on the ride up here, which is watching Bee Movie and Veggie Tales. I have tried and tried to keep her away from the TV but she seems to find comfort in it, and is otherwise very stressed, so I ablige. I hope 2 weeks of DVDs won't be too damaging. She sure is adorable though, and her excitedly happy moments make all the stress worth it.
We had to pull hard today to get the maintenance issues fixed at our apartment. The floors were finished yesterday and look great, but the repairs were not finished. We finally had him there today with us personally so we could make sure it was all completed. It was, and I feel so much better now. The cleaning guy still did a shotty job but oh well. Then, this morning before we headed out to meet the moving truck, I fell hard and popped something in my ankle. I was trying to catch Lilly in the yard and twisted my ankle on uneven ground. I heard a loud pop and then pain shot up my leg. Looking back, I was extremely overdramatic (who, me??) but I let out a loud scream. Part of it was pain, part of it was exhaustion, and part of it was more emotions I had held in the last few days. I was disappointed the truck didn't come until today, I was disappointed my interview sucked, I was disappointed Jon was also having trouble finding a job, and I was disappointed that Kaylee was stressed. I missed my parents, I missed my friends, I missed my church! I hadn't worked on homework like I needed to, all I wanted to do was sleep, and now I had a bum ankle and had to help move us in?! Everything just escalated. Screaming felt better, but now my ankle hurts like fire. I can't put a whole bunch of weight on it, but Jon, Jeff (my brother-in-law) and I were the only ones who could move us in. I had to push through and I did. I put ice on it tonight at home and it feels a bit better. If it continues to hurt I will get it checked out but not having health insurance kinda puts a kink it that for a while.
Ready for some good news??? I bet! Well, we are officially moved in! Jon and Jeff managed to unload the entire trailer in about 5 hours. I couldn't have asked for a better brother-in-law to help us. He didn't complain for a second and just kept pushing until it was all done. Jon was amazing and kept his calm the entire time, probably just enjoying completing such a huge project with his younger brother. The guys hauled it all in and I directed traffic since I couldn't do much. Tomorrow we will go back and put everything up and get Kaylee's room set up. I can't wait to show her our new home!!
More good news?! JON HAS A JOB! My amazing husband pursued a local paper company several times and they finally bit the bait. He starts work on Monday and will be working half a day as a warehouse worker and half a day as a delivery driver. We both need to change our driver's license to Washington though, so hopefully we can do that soon this week. More good news? I found an amazing coffee shop with free wi-fi. Yes, I get excited about things like this. It's "Woods Coffee". It's a cabin-like atmosphere and we visited it in December. Well, I just spent an hour here, wrote 1 of my 2 midterms, and have free internet. Yay!! Plus, they have great coffee....an essential for late nights.
I'm sure I lost most of you at the beginning of this novel, so for those who have stuck around until the end I wanted to say thank you for still wondering about us. The short texts/emails/fb msgs mean the world to us. Just knowing that our friends and family are concerned and hopeful means a lot. I miss you all so very much, Jon does too. Kaylee misses her daycare class dearly and asks every morning about them. We are going to adjust okay after we move in, and I just pray that I can find Kaylee a new daycare to attend so she can make new friends. She absolutely blossoms in that environment and I consider it a gift we can give to her daily. Tomorrow will be busy for us, and I have 1 more midterm to complete before 8pm tomorrow so I won't be on much.
To my Graceland girls, I miss you all dearly and promise to get back on when I have more time. To our friends back home, we miss you and hope all of you are well and happy. Aunt Ashley, Kaylee plays with her new toys every day, and we miss you so much already! To my parents, I miss you all so much and Kaylee does too. Not a day goes by that she does not ask for each of you by name at least 5 times. She knows you in pairs. "Granpa & Connie, Sulous (Louis) & Kimmy" and "Grandma, Grandpa, and Coco (Kolton)". She misses you and I can't wait until we can Skype our first message together so she can see you. We love you!!!!
Another bump in the road this week has been little missy. Kaylee was sick with a nasty stomach bug that had her under the weather for 2 days. She had a fever and other symptoms (which I will spare you from). We got her some Tylenol and Motrin, and today she seems to be much better. I know she is so ready to be in our new home though. She keeps asking me "Kaylee go home?" and it makes me tear up every time. She is so innocent, and just wants consistency. I am hopefully that by this time tomorrow night she will be tucked in her bed....in her new room. Right now though, all she wants to do is what was familiar on the ride up here, which is watching Bee Movie and Veggie Tales. I have tried and tried to keep her away from the TV but she seems to find comfort in it, and is otherwise very stressed, so I ablige. I hope 2 weeks of DVDs won't be too damaging. She sure is adorable though, and her excitedly happy moments make all the stress worth it.
We had to pull hard today to get the maintenance issues fixed at our apartment. The floors were finished yesterday and look great, but the repairs were not finished. We finally had him there today with us personally so we could make sure it was all completed. It was, and I feel so much better now. The cleaning guy still did a shotty job but oh well. Then, this morning before we headed out to meet the moving truck, I fell hard and popped something in my ankle. I was trying to catch Lilly in the yard and twisted my ankle on uneven ground. I heard a loud pop and then pain shot up my leg. Looking back, I was extremely overdramatic (who, me??) but I let out a loud scream. Part of it was pain, part of it was exhaustion, and part of it was more emotions I had held in the last few days. I was disappointed the truck didn't come until today, I was disappointed my interview sucked, I was disappointed Jon was also having trouble finding a job, and I was disappointed that Kaylee was stressed. I missed my parents, I missed my friends, I missed my church! I hadn't worked on homework like I needed to, all I wanted to do was sleep, and now I had a bum ankle and had to help move us in?! Everything just escalated. Screaming felt better, but now my ankle hurts like fire. I can't put a whole bunch of weight on it, but Jon, Jeff (my brother-in-law) and I were the only ones who could move us in. I had to push through and I did. I put ice on it tonight at home and it feels a bit better. If it continues to hurt I will get it checked out but not having health insurance kinda puts a kink it that for a while.
Ready for some good news??? I bet! Well, we are officially moved in! Jon and Jeff managed to unload the entire trailer in about 5 hours. I couldn't have asked for a better brother-in-law to help us. He didn't complain for a second and just kept pushing until it was all done. Jon was amazing and kept his calm the entire time, probably just enjoying completing such a huge project with his younger brother. The guys hauled it all in and I directed traffic since I couldn't do much. Tomorrow we will go back and put everything up and get Kaylee's room set up. I can't wait to show her our new home!!
More good news?! JON HAS A JOB! My amazing husband pursued a local paper company several times and they finally bit the bait. He starts work on Monday and will be working half a day as a warehouse worker and half a day as a delivery driver. We both need to change our driver's license to Washington though, so hopefully we can do that soon this week. More good news? I found an amazing coffee shop with free wi-fi. Yes, I get excited about things like this. It's "Woods Coffee". It's a cabin-like atmosphere and we visited it in December. Well, I just spent an hour here, wrote 1 of my 2 midterms, and have free internet. Yay!! Plus, they have great coffee....an essential for late nights.
I'm sure I lost most of you at the beginning of this novel, so for those who have stuck around until the end I wanted to say thank you for still wondering about us. The short texts/emails/fb msgs mean the world to us. Just knowing that our friends and family are concerned and hopeful means a lot. I miss you all so very much, Jon does too. Kaylee misses her daycare class dearly and asks every morning about them. We are going to adjust okay after we move in, and I just pray that I can find Kaylee a new daycare to attend so she can make new friends. She absolutely blossoms in that environment and I consider it a gift we can give to her daily. Tomorrow will be busy for us, and I have 1 more midterm to complete before 8pm tomorrow so I won't be on much.
To my Graceland girls, I miss you all dearly and promise to get back on when I have more time. To our friends back home, we miss you and hope all of you are well and happy. Aunt Ashley, Kaylee plays with her new toys every day, and we miss you so much already! To my parents, I miss you all so much and Kaylee does too. Not a day goes by that she does not ask for each of you by name at least 5 times. She knows you in pairs. "Granpa & Connie, Sulous (Louis) & Kimmy" and "Grandma, Grandpa, and Coco (Kolton)". She misses you and I can't wait until we can Skype our first message together so she can see you. We love you!!!!
Saturday, August 7, 2010
Ready for our stuff!
I don't think I've ever been more ready to move in somewhere. It will be great to have our home set up and for Kaylee to get back to something that she knows. We're very excited for Kaylee to make some new friends and get her into a daycare and for us to become involved in a church that we like. It's still kind of hard to think of this as anything but a visit as that's what it's been for the last 7 1/2 years. We are now realizing that this is our life, and it's going to be a great one. I can't remember the last time I really enjoyed being cold, but this is feeling awesome, and I do not miss the Amarillo climate one bit that's for sure! I am getting tired of the recycling thing though, Texas just got me used to throwing things away...
Thursday, August 5, 2010
"I'll take it from here. Thanks for trusting me"
This has been one whirlwind day, and I really should be spending time on homework but I just can't wait to share with everyone what happened. We woke up early today (well...I woke us up early, sorry hun!) and we went into Bellingham to see our new apartment around 9:30am. If you have never signed an apartment lease without first seeing it, let me tell you....your nerves go crazy. I tried not to show it, but I was very nervous while signing that 12 month lease. Will it be big enough? Will it be clean? Will Kaylee like it? Can we really afford it? We signed, got the keys, and then went to take a look. When we first walked up to the entrance we started to get a bit nervous because it looked a little beat up. However, most apartments are so I wasn't worried, yet. Then we walked in and Jon and I both became upset. Jon was visibly irritated and dissappointed. I tried to keep my spirits up and reminded him that I could make this a nice place for us and the issues we see now were just cosmetic. A home is what you make of it, and the love you share inside of it anyway, right? Well, the apartment itself was not clean. The floors were very dirty and honestly we thought we would have to spend the entire next day cleaning. I was heartbroken because I found this place after spending 3 hours each night for about 2 weeks. I made the decision that we should go with it, and it is an affordable housing complex. When I saw how dirty it was I thought that perhaps this is what affordable housing might be like, maybe WE are supposed to clean it before we move in?
Although we were dissappointed, we accepted the fact that this was our new home and we would do our best with it, even if it meant cleaning for the next couple of days. We knew that we had a roof over our head and we accepted what we had been given. Then we walked back to the car and the leasing agent, Jessica, who I had worked with over the phone for a few weeks came out to talk to us. She stated that she had rented out so many units this month that she had not personally inspected this one yet. "How did it look?" she asked. I replied, "We are going to have to do lots of cleaning honestly." She then asked if one of us could come back with her to the unit so she could see it. I stayed in the car with Kaylee while she watched Veggie Tales. Jon and Jessica went back to the unit and she was shocked at what she saw. She appologized for the condition of the apartment and began taking notes as to what needed to be changed. She had a legal tablet in her hand and every single line on it was filled with something that either needed to be cleaned or replaced. Included on the list was: deep cleaning of bathrooms and kitchen, new vinyl flooring throughout every room that had it, repositioning the toilet (apparently it was crooked?), a new heating unit in the kitchen, new countertops in the kitchen, and much more. She immediately sent her maintenance and cleaning personnel to our unit to fix everything. The flooring guys will be there tomorrow.
I'm amazed, and feel so very blessed. We had accepted our apartment for what it was, what we thought was the best we could do. God had bigger plans. I honestly feel that our willingness to accept any roof over our head that we could get was trippled in blessings by Him once He knew we trusted Him. I knew it was not the best it could be, but I knew God was taking care of us and it would get better. It's almost like I felt Him saying "I'll take it from here, thank's for trusting me". I know we have many people in our lives who doubt the faith that Jon and I have. They wonder how we can pack up and move across the country based on faith that our God, whom they can't see or touch, will take care of us. For those who we love dearly that doubt, I hope the blessings we encounter continue to affirm the promises God has already set out for us to discover. The scarriest thing in life you can do is trust someone else with everything that is dear to your heart, but I know I can't trust anyone else with this much of my life. No one is built to take care of it all but God, and I sure am glad of that fact!
Also, before we even arrived at Jon's parent's house yesterday there was a voicemail on our phone. A legal services company had called to schedule an interview with me on Friday. It's a receptionist position that I applied for about 2 weeks ago, and I have an interview scheduled in downtown Bellingham tomorrow at 2pm. I'm excited and nervous. I know they will probably say I am overqualified but I hope that they see my heart and know that I just need a job so that we can take care of our family. I'll let everyone know how that goes.
Kaylee did okay today, but she is still confused. I can't wait until our apartment is set up and she understands this is her new home. She keeps asking to go home and every day she goes through the list of her daycare classmates and says "Jaymen in class? Kiki (Nikki) in class? Jenny in class? etc. It breaks my heart to see that she understands they are not with her, but I just have to remember it will be okay.
For now, tonight everyone. We love you all!!
Although we were dissappointed, we accepted the fact that this was our new home and we would do our best with it, even if it meant cleaning for the next couple of days. We knew that we had a roof over our head and we accepted what we had been given. Then we walked back to the car and the leasing agent, Jessica, who I had worked with over the phone for a few weeks came out to talk to us. She stated that she had rented out so many units this month that she had not personally inspected this one yet. "How did it look?" she asked. I replied, "We are going to have to do lots of cleaning honestly." She then asked if one of us could come back with her to the unit so she could see it. I stayed in the car with Kaylee while she watched Veggie Tales. Jon and Jessica went back to the unit and she was shocked at what she saw. She appologized for the condition of the apartment and began taking notes as to what needed to be changed. She had a legal tablet in her hand and every single line on it was filled with something that either needed to be cleaned or replaced. Included on the list was: deep cleaning of bathrooms and kitchen, new vinyl flooring throughout every room that had it, repositioning the toilet (apparently it was crooked?), a new heating unit in the kitchen, new countertops in the kitchen, and much more. She immediately sent her maintenance and cleaning personnel to our unit to fix everything. The flooring guys will be there tomorrow.
I'm amazed, and feel so very blessed. We had accepted our apartment for what it was, what we thought was the best we could do. God had bigger plans. I honestly feel that our willingness to accept any roof over our head that we could get was trippled in blessings by Him once He knew we trusted Him. I knew it was not the best it could be, but I knew God was taking care of us and it would get better. It's almost like I felt Him saying "I'll take it from here, thank's for trusting me". I know we have many people in our lives who doubt the faith that Jon and I have. They wonder how we can pack up and move across the country based on faith that our God, whom they can't see or touch, will take care of us. For those who we love dearly that doubt, I hope the blessings we encounter continue to affirm the promises God has already set out for us to discover. The scarriest thing in life you can do is trust someone else with everything that is dear to your heart, but I know I can't trust anyone else with this much of my life. No one is built to take care of it all but God, and I sure am glad of that fact!
Also, before we even arrived at Jon's parent's house yesterday there was a voicemail on our phone. A legal services company had called to schedule an interview with me on Friday. It's a receptionist position that I applied for about 2 weeks ago, and I have an interview scheduled in downtown Bellingham tomorrow at 2pm. I'm excited and nervous. I know they will probably say I am overqualified but I hope that they see my heart and know that I just need a job so that we can take care of our family. I'll let everyone know how that goes.
Kaylee did okay today, but she is still confused. I can't wait until our apartment is set up and she understands this is her new home. She keeps asking to go home and every day she goes through the list of her daycare classmates and says "Jaymen in class? Kiki (Nikki) in class? Jenny in class? etc. It breaks my heart to see that she understands they are not with her, but I just have to remember it will be okay.
For now, tonight everyone. We love you all!!
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