Happy 7 Years Baby!

I can hardly believe it, but I've been married to the love of my life for 7 years!  We didn't have a huge celebration this year...except that we left Will with mom and dad, so we had time to ourselves, and I guess that felt huge!

Chris got off work early and we got a couple's massage (Chris' idea and TOTALLY awesome!), then went out to eat at Olive Garden in Ankeny.  During supper we had a really great conversation inspired by the marriage study we're going through with our small group.  We asked/discussed these questions...

1) What are you concerned about?
2) What do you desire?
3) What are you willing to do about it?
4) List 7 inexpensive, simple things that the other person can do to make you feel loved.

The questions were so open-ended that it really encouraged great conversation.  I feel like I learned a lot about Chris' heart for where our lives are right now and where he wants to lead us.  He thinks deeply and has lots of dreams, but (unlike me who just says everything that's on my mind!) is so introspective that sometimes I don't know what he's been thinking unless I specifically ask.  Before Will was born we seemed to have more time to have those conversations, but since he's been born it's been much harder to find that time.  

And so, with a simple supper and a great conversation, we celebrated 7 years of marriage.  We've had lots of adventures, lots of change, lots of relationships, and lots of growth in those years...and I can't wait to see what the next 7 bring! 

Love you babe!

Memorial Day Family Reunion

Since my parents have built their dream house, they've been really faithful to fill up the rooms as much as they can.  One of those ways has been hosting family events, since they have a space big enough to accommodate a large number of people.  For Memorial Day weekend, mom invited everyone to come celebrate a bunch of things in one fun-filled weekend :)

Uncle Matthew met Will for the first time!

Papa made his famous whole-wheat waffles. :)

We had a really neat memorial service for Nana...

...and planted a tree in her honor.

A celebration isn't complete without a cake from the Quality bakery!

Snuggle time meeting Uncle Doug!

Olivia was such a good helper with Will!

"Uncle" Matthew doing his thing with the kiddos.

Just love this picture!

We had a birthday celebration for Papa...89 years old!

The kids all took turns holding Will :)

Papa with all the "May-babies" (3 were born on May1st, 2 were born on may 3rd!)

Can't have a trip to Story City without having a ride on the carousel!

LOTS of this over the weekend...hanging out and visiting.

We hung out all weekend!

Snuggle time while meeting Uncle Doug

Papa's other specialty - rides on the lawn mower!

They threw us a baby shower...so fun!

Our prediction for when the next baby will show up. :)

Hmm....not sure that one fits right...

Buddies

Weirdo :)

Off they go!

Don't tip over!

Master Griller!

Slip 'n' Slide,,,

And some serious water-game competitions

The whole crew!

It was a GREAT weekend, filled with laughter, noise, chaos, conversation, and great memories.  We missed the California Ouimettes, but otherwise this was the largest family reunion we've had in years!  We love family. :)

A Week of Blessings

Every week is filled with untold (and sometimes unrealized!) blessings. We get to experience life and love -we get to have deep conversations and laugh hard with friends - we get to eat hamburgers off the grill and taste homemade ice cream.  :)  Sometimes we forget to see the blessings.  And sometimes God makes the blessing impossible to miss!

This week was one of those times.  :)

Huge Blessing #1: My new job! (check out my last post for more details)  This one blessing will impact our schedule, our money, my talents, and my dreams.  It's like God custom-designed this blessing for our lives!

Huge Blessing #2: My sister's new job!  Amy and Matt have been living with us for 3 weeks, and during that time Amy had 3 job interviews and was offered 2 of them! (kind of unheard of in the Cedar Rapids area...especially when she didn't really have any prior connection to the schools!)  She actually originally wanted the only one she didn't get offered, but once again God knew better, and the one she ended up accepting is a MUCH better fit, and will bless their family immensely!

Huge Blessing #3: We paid off our debt!  We've been chipping away at our debt since we got married, but because of life circumstances, the progress always felt pretty slow.  India set us back quite a bit, but also pushed our butts into gear as we experienced what it was like to have choices taken away from us because of money.  When we got back we started being really intentional about using our money frugally, but when we started thinking about having a baby, we realized that I wouldn't be able to stay home if we didn't get this debt paid off!  And frankly, we had had enough of our choices being made for us. :)  So we packed our apartment up, moved into my parent's basement, and spent as little money as possible for 14 months.  Two cars and 4 student loan chunks later, we are officially debt free!  We still have our house, and are planning to put that on the market in the next couple of weeks.  Hopefully in the next year we can sell our house and get a down-payment saved up while we're still living with my parents.  WAHOO!

This debt thing has been interesting, because we could have gotten it paid off a lot sooner if we'd made the "tough" choices then.  However, I was thinking about what we've done, where we've lived, the experiences we've had, and I wouldn't trade any of them.  So, I feel like I can rest in the knowledge that things are just as they should be!

God Knows

These last couple of weeks have been a reflection time for me as I've waved good-bye to many things (sleep, control over my schedule, to-do lists, my profession) and said hello to their replacements (exhaustion, sweet cuddle time, a focus on important vs. urgent, the new job of motherhood).  Even writing this blog post is different - I'm pecking it out one-handed at 4:00 AM while nursing, and will definitely need multiple sessions to get it finished. :)  

It was really hard for me to process the fact that I wouldn't be in the teaching world for a while.  I LOVE teaching, and felt a little like I was losing one of my ministries, not just a job.  It took awhile but I eventually allowed God to pry away my controlling little fingers and rest in His provision for our lives.  And just when I did...

Like God so often does...

He turned things upside down... :)

Webster City contacted me before Will was born to let me know that my old high school choir position was going to be available if I was interested in applying.  I told them that I really wasn't interested, unless there was a possibility of something part-time (which was a joke, since the full-time job was completely overwhelming...no way it could be turned into part-time!).  HOWEVER, the principal called me last Wednesday to tell me that they wanted to turn the job into 1 1/2 time, and since I wasn't looking for anything full-time, they wondered if I'd be interested in the part-time job.  And oh yeah...I could pick what I did, how many hours I worked, what days I came in...and salary was negotiable!

We decided to at least check it out, and after they approved every single one of our requests - we accepted!  I'll be working 2 flexible days a week, and will basically just be supporting the full-time choir director: running sectionals, accompanying, giving lessons, helping with administrative things.  :)  VERY few outside of the day commitments...my mommy dream job! 

It was amazing how God waited until I had surrendered, and then gave me what I didn't even dream was possible.  Part-time teaching jobs don't come around very often...part-time teaching jobs with everything you could dream up?  Only when God decides to drop them in your lap.  :)