I feel like my life has been a non-stop circus lately. Pretty much since Memorial Day weekend with Matt's graduation.... his fam and my parents and Jordan and Al and Evangeline here (which was SO much fun!!). Then my mom was here until the next Friday. And then packing mode commenced!
Pretty much most of my weekend time and days off have been filled with packing, researching housing or other things in Merced, chores around the house, and walking/jogging with Samson. I have been trying to do a little less on weeknights to give myself a little break, but sometimes that still doesn't happen. We've also already been busy cramming in when to see all of our friends before we leave. And for some reason I thought that my Thursday night church softball league was still a good idea in the mix of all of this... I must be crazy!
A side note on adding to the chaos... people have been getting moved around to different rooms at work as well as 2 new people starting... so it is just as crazy there as my home life is.
Moving progress report:
We have a moving company scheduled to load our stuff on Monday July 20. They will load everything and pack our furnature up and send the truck on its way. We got a $2800 moving allowance from Matt's school, which should only leave us with about $1000 to pay (this was a HUGE answer to prayer!).
It's a long story, but searching for housing, particularly an actual house to rent has proven rather difficult and time consuming with little results. I started looking at some apartments instead... and found a really nice looking complex that is only 0.7 miles from Matt's school (he could bike there). There is even a brand new dog park across the street! We are waiting to hear their decision about allowing Samson. They allow dogs up to 30 lbs, and then it's kinda a case by case basis beyond that. They also offer 6 month and month by month leases that we could choose and then possibly find a house once we're there. If it works out, I will post more info.
Matt and my last day of work is Thursday, July 2. Then from July 5-15 we will be gone camping both in Michigan and Washington. Then we return for final packing and cleaning, ah! We do have pretty much everything packed that we don't need right now.
Saturday, June 27, 2009
Monday, May 18, 2009
A Big Job and a Big Move!
Last week and weekend have been super busy for us, so I haven't had any time to write about our big news! Matt got a job offer last Wednesday for a high school science position at a small Christian high school called Stone Ridge Christian High School in Merced, CA. After a long stressful weekend of thinking, discussing, and praying... we finally decided to take the offer and move to Cali! It was a hard decision because it is going to be a ton of work for Matt, especially as a first year teacher. He will be the entire science department at this school of only 50 students. That means he will have 5 science classes plus an added math class to teach every day. But after his amazing student teaching experience with a great cooperating teacher and professor, we decided that he could handle it.
This decision was very hard on me at first. It took some time for the idea to settle and for me to get over my selfishness about it all.... the possibility of me facing year 3 after graduating of not doing what I have been waiting and waiting to do. Thoughts like, "when is it going to be my turn?" "how patient do I have to be?" "how am I going to get going on renewing my teaching certificate before it expires?" "I have worked so freaking hard all through college and then for 2 years working in a daycare so that Matt can finish school, and now it's all about him again?" I guess you really realize both your sinful nature and the hardships of sacrifice in a marriage through something like this. I started feeling less anxious and more peace about it as I focused more and more on God's provision wherever we are. So I am trusting in Him A LOT right now. Because I am very confused about His big plan and what He has in store for me, so trusting that He knows much better than I is all I can do. Now I am getting more and more excited about our move and what a great opportunity this is for Matt, and am waiting once again to find out what God has in store for me.
What else? Let's see... Merced is 13 hours from Seattle, 40 min from Modesto, 60 min from Fresno, 2 hours from Visalia (where Matt's g-parents and 2 aunts and uncles live), and 2-3 hours from: Sacramento, San Francisco, and Yosemite. We are very excited about all of our hiking, camping, and general travel possibilities. I am excited for the sun and warmth, but not quite ready for the July/August heat that we will be first entering I don't think.
We have so many details to figure out and take care of, and about 2 months to do it. We are hoping to make it to the DeKoekkoek camping trip/reunion earlier in July, and then come back and finish packing and leave around the week of the 20th? All plans are so tentative right now, but that what we have so far! MANY more details to come!
On a very different note, Jordan and Al and Evangeline get here tomorrow night! I am SO excited! It's going to be an awesome, crazy busy weekend!
This decision was very hard on me at first. It took some time for the idea to settle and for me to get over my selfishness about it all.... the possibility of me facing year 3 after graduating of not doing what I have been waiting and waiting to do. Thoughts like, "when is it going to be my turn?" "how patient do I have to be?" "how am I going to get going on renewing my teaching certificate before it expires?" "I have worked so freaking hard all through college and then for 2 years working in a daycare so that Matt can finish school, and now it's all about him again?" I guess you really realize both your sinful nature and the hardships of sacrifice in a marriage through something like this. I started feeling less anxious and more peace about it as I focused more and more on God's provision wherever we are. So I am trusting in Him A LOT right now. Because I am very confused about His big plan and what He has in store for me, so trusting that He knows much better than I is all I can do. Now I am getting more and more excited about our move and what a great opportunity this is for Matt, and am waiting once again to find out what God has in store for me.
What else? Let's see... Merced is 13 hours from Seattle, 40 min from Modesto, 60 min from Fresno, 2 hours from Visalia (where Matt's g-parents and 2 aunts and uncles live), and 2-3 hours from: Sacramento, San Francisco, and Yosemite. We are very excited about all of our hiking, camping, and general travel possibilities. I am excited for the sun and warmth, but not quite ready for the July/August heat that we will be first entering I don't think.
We have so many details to figure out and take care of, and about 2 months to do it. We are hoping to make it to the DeKoekkoek camping trip/reunion earlier in July, and then come back and finish packing and leave around the week of the 20th? All plans are so tentative right now, but that what we have so far! MANY more details to come!
On a very different note, Jordan and Al and Evangeline get here tomorrow night! I am SO excited! It's going to be an awesome, crazy busy weekend!
Sunday, May 10, 2009
Matt's Birthday
Happy 24th birthday to Matt! I made him a yummy cake (which we dug into the day before...). On his birthday we got to go to Craig's Cruisers (a gaming/mini golf/lazertag/go karts place) for a volunteer celebration for church. We got the buffet and 2 activities paid for, so we chose mini-golf and go karts :).
Matt got the drums for Guitar Hero World Tour from Josh, Amy, Carissa, and I... which he LOVES :-D.
On Friday we got to take Samson for a walk together for the first time. And it was an amazing warm sunny day. I also went for a walk at work that day... we walked our preschoolers to the Fulton Street Farmer's Market... and they did amazingly well! Except for it was the first week the market was open and it was a little disappointing.
Samson got neutered this week and seems to be doing great. We did get a nice little break from him Thursday night while he stayed at the vet for observation :).
Matt got the drums for Guitar Hero World Tour from Josh, Amy, Carissa, and I... which he LOVES :-D.
On Friday we got to take Samson for a walk together for the first time. And it was an amazing warm sunny day. I also went for a walk at work that day... we walked our preschoolers to the Fulton Street Farmer's Market... and they did amazingly well! Except for it was the first week the market was open and it was a little disappointing.
Samson got neutered this week and seems to be doing great. We did get a nice little break from him Thursday night while he stayed at the vet for observation :).
Sunday, May 3, 2009
Fabulous Spring Weekend
This was by far one of the best and fullest weekends I've had in a very long time. I am real tired out, but it was fun and productive with even a little bit of relaxation! On Friday night, Zach and Sarah came bowling with us again to celebrate Matt's birthday (Tues May 5). Then we surprised Matt by going to Old Chicago for dessert afterward! Yum!
Saturday was the Tulip Time festival in Holland! My friend Carrie from small group and her 18 month old, Cohen, came with me, and it was the most beautiful sunny, warm, spring day. The flowers and trees were all in bloom and absolutely breathtaking. Not to mention the good old Klompen dancers :). I did some reading in the sun (my favorite way to read!), then took Samson for a walk on the trail when I got home. Then my friend Bethany from work called because we had talked about watching a movie, and she wanted to go for a walk as well, so I went on another (plus all the walking around Holland... lots of miles logged for that day!)! Then we watched Slum Dog Millionaire.
On Sunday we bought flowers for the planter in front of our big living room window :). There are pretty much only 2 kinds of flowers that grow well in shade, so that's what we got: begonias and impatiens. That looks so much nicer.
I am absolutely loving the spring weather! At least I'm loving it on the sunny days double to make up for the rainy ones. Today I had a half day at work, so I took Samson on the trail, then went for a bike ride without him on another trail. It was the perfect sunny 70 with low humidity to do some jogging without overheating either of us.
More about Matt's birthday tomorrow to be posted later! Oh, and it's Evangeline's 1st birthday tomorrow as well, what a big girl! (Whom I get to see in just over 2 weeks! But I'm not counting down or anything...).
Saturday was the Tulip Time festival in Holland! My friend Carrie from small group and her 18 month old, Cohen, came with me, and it was the most beautiful sunny, warm, spring day. The flowers and trees were all in bloom and absolutely breathtaking. Not to mention the good old Klompen dancers :). I did some reading in the sun (my favorite way to read!), then took Samson for a walk on the trail when I got home. Then my friend Bethany from work called because we had talked about watching a movie, and she wanted to go for a walk as well, so I went on another (plus all the walking around Holland... lots of miles logged for that day!)! Then we watched Slum Dog Millionaire.
On Sunday we bought flowers for the planter in front of our big living room window :). There are pretty much only 2 kinds of flowers that grow well in shade, so that's what we got: begonias and impatiens. That looks so much nicer.
I am absolutely loving the spring weather! At least I'm loving it on the sunny days double to make up for the rainy ones. Today I had a half day at work, so I took Samson on the trail, then went for a bike ride without him on another trail. It was the perfect sunny 70 with low humidity to do some jogging without overheating either of us.More about Matt's birthday tomorrow to be posted later! Oh, and it's Evangeline's 1st birthday tomorrow as well, what a big girl! (Whom I get to see in just over 2 weeks! But I'm not counting down or anything...).
Saturday, April 25, 2009
Busy Week
It's been a very busy week! I had something up every night, and I am definitely not used to that anymore, it was exhausting. Parent teacher conferences Monday and Tuesday nights, Marcia and her kids came over to meet Samson and visit Wednesday night, and our first softball practice Thursday. The end of the week was much better than the beginning at least :). We enjoyed catching up with Marcia and softball was fun to get back into. Our games start in June instead of May this year though.
Samson weighed in at 22 pounds at the vet this morning! He's growing and growing. He's learned some new tricks too! We taught him to "sit" and "shake" (as in shake hands/paws... although he gets confused with this one sometimes and just sits and puts his paw up when we say "sit"), and I was going to work on "come" this weekend, but I need to be outside with more space and it's been rainy and stormy. We can take him on walks now! I was so excited that I even took him on a walk in the rain. I was babysitting Lacey and it wasn't raining when we left for the trail, but we knew it was about too, so we were prepared. It really started coming down on our way back, and since we were already all wet, we got to stomp in puddles! She had a blast :). I don't think Samson was a big fan of being all wet though. And then he was pretty muddy, so we came home and gave him a bath, so he's my fluffy white smells good puppy again :). He's pretty pooped from his shots today, which works well with a rainy day. And I really can't complain too much about today's weather, because yesterday was 85 and this is our first real spring t-storm of the season.
Here is a link to some pics that Josh took when they were here for Easter.... if it works... here's also 2 of them: http://www.new.facebook.com/album.php?page=1&aid=2012638&id=1146240016#/album.php?aid=2012638&id=1146240016
EDIT: You have to sign into Facebook to see this... or go to my wall and click on the link if you have it, sorry.
We've both heard from several schools lately that their positions have been filled, so that is a little discouraging. But we are still sending more out. I sent 2 apps to WA this week: Federal Way and Renton... I am trying not to get my hopes up, but if you're looking for something to pray for.... especially the Federal Way one because Matt applied there as well.
Matt's student teaching is still going super well, but he is going to have a lot of work to do and stuff to turn into Calvin soon as the semester ends.
I am feeling a bit unmotivated/discouraged/sick of work lately. I want to move and get "real" teaching jobs so badly. I am ready to do some real teaching, and get away from all of the potty training, tattling, disciplining, and long days.
I am starting to get really anxious for my family to come visit! Less than a month now! I miss them so much, and I will still miss the other half of them... and have no idea when the next time I will get to see them is :(.
Samson weighed in at 22 pounds at the vet this morning! He's growing and growing. He's learned some new tricks too! We taught him to "sit" and "shake" (as in shake hands/paws... although he gets confused with this one sometimes and just sits and puts his paw up when we say "sit"), and I was going to work on "come" this weekend, but I need to be outside with more space and it's been rainy and stormy. We can take him on walks now! I was so excited that I even took him on a walk in the rain. I was babysitting Lacey and it wasn't raining when we left for the trail, but we knew it was about too, so we were prepared. It really started coming down on our way back, and since we were already all wet, we got to stomp in puddles! She had a blast :). I don't think Samson was a big fan of being all wet though. And then he was pretty muddy, so we came home and gave him a bath, so he's my fluffy white smells good puppy again :). He's pretty pooped from his shots today, which works well with a rainy day. And I really can't complain too much about today's weather, because yesterday was 85 and this is our first real spring t-storm of the season.
Lacey and Samson after his bath :)
Here is a link to some pics that Josh took when they were here for Easter.... if it works... here's also 2 of them: http://www.new.facebook.com/album.php?page=1&aid=2012638&id=1146240016#/album.php?aid=2012638&id=1146240016EDIT: You have to sign into Facebook to see this... or go to my wall and click on the link if you have it, sorry.
We've both heard from several schools lately that their positions have been filled, so that is a little discouraging. But we are still sending more out. I sent 2 apps to WA this week: Federal Way and Renton... I am trying not to get my hopes up, but if you're looking for something to pray for.... especially the Federal Way one because Matt applied there as well.Matt's student teaching is still going super well, but he is going to have a lot of work to do and stuff to turn into Calvin soon as the semester ends.
I am feeling a bit unmotivated/discouraged/sick of work lately. I want to move and get "real" teaching jobs so badly. I am ready to do some real teaching, and get away from all of the potty training, tattling, disciplining, and long days.
I am starting to get really anxious for my family to come visit! Less than a month now! I miss them so much, and I will still miss the other half of them... and have no idea when the next time I will get to see them is :(.
He got his toy stuck around his neck...
Saturday, April 18, 2009
Today...
An added note about today... I got so much done and the yard look great! There are 6 yard waste bags sitting in front of our house right now. I also went running, got some sun, and wore out Samson.... in addition to talking to Christina on skype this morning, both my parents and my friend Natasha this afternoon! What a great Saturday :). Now for some rest and food...
Spring Has Arrived!
Yesterday was 70 and today will be too! And even better, I only worked until 12:30 and could actually enjoy the warm sun in the yard with Samson. I did a little work out there, played with Samson, and then sat and read a book in the sun for a while - fabulous! However... I overestimated my pasty white skin that has resulted from a Michigan winter... and underestimated the spring sunshine's intensity after 3 hours out in it... the result being that I got burned in April! No worries, it was WELL worth it :). But I may want to consider some sunscreen this afternoon. I went for a quick bike ride on the trail yesterday too! Today I think I will go for a run, then do some more cleaning up of leaves and sticks in the yard.... yesterday I filled a bag picking up shingles.
Let's rewind... Matt got a lot done with sending out resumes and working on applications during his break last week. We also got all of our gates up to keep Samson safe and confined. And he got to pick up a few extra days at Costco. Matt's fam came up on Saturday around noon. The boys got some work done at the house and us girls ran a few errands and got things ready for more of the fam to come Sunday for Easter. We went to a great Easter service on Saturday night that focused on looking forward to our ressurected bodies and lives in the new earth with Christ! Easter was a very nice day too. It was sunny and 50s and everyone had a good time playing with Samson, of course.
It was kind of a busy week this last week. I had my last day of watching little William after work, we will miss him around here! And then we had small group, and I have parent teacher conferences next week, so I was working on preparing forms and such for those.
Let's see... Samson updates: He did wonderfully with all of the people and excitement of Easter weekend, I was amazed at how well he did! But then he took a turn for the worse when we got back to real life. After all that attention and a week at home with Matt on his break... Samson was SO mad at us for locking him up and leaving him on Monday. He barked so much that night, even when we were in the room with him! We ended up having to put him in his cage, which usually calms him down after just a few min of barking. But he went strong for 45 min until we let him out! Then he kept barking during the night too, of course. Matt ended up sleeping on the living room floor next to his cage! And then we had small group here Tuesday night and he was going crazy too... I felt bad for all the barking. But oh well, he's adjusted back to normal now at least.
One week from today he gets more shots and can go for a walk or run with me!! It's killing me not to take him out to do that this sunny weekend. He is also getting so big! He was at 18.5 lbs when we weighed him last. We can really tell because we had to make us cage bigger again... pretty soon he won't need a divider in there at all... and then he'll be in a bigger cage after that... I am so not ready to have that big cage in my house yet!
I don't remember if I put on here before, but our friends Zach and Sarah just bought a house less than a mile away from us! We are so excited for them and hope we will get to enjoy the closeness for a little while at least. Also, we are ecstatic that our friend Christina got into the speech pathology graduate program at the University of Washington in Seattle! She and her husband Dan will be moving there from Japan in August. Now even if we don't get jobs and move, we will at least be able to see them when we visit my family. And it was a really hard program to get into, she was on the waiting list, so way to go Christina!!
I am so full of energy and excited for spring and all that goes along with it: exercise, biking, grilling, dinner on the deck, playing in the yard, walks with Samson, more daylight, softball (which starts later this year I guess, games go June-August), and summer! Thank you Lord for giving us different seasons! I can't wait for everyone to start blooming more also, it gets SO beautiful here in west Michigan :). Although my allergies could beg to differ... they are already going strong, thank goodness for Claratin D (but too bad it costs nearly $1 a pill!).
Let's rewind... Matt got a lot done with sending out resumes and working on applications during his break last week. We also got all of our gates up to keep Samson safe and confined. And he got to pick up a few extra days at Costco. Matt's fam came up on Saturday around noon. The boys got some work done at the house and us girls ran a few errands and got things ready for more of the fam to come Sunday for Easter. We went to a great Easter service on Saturday night that focused on looking forward to our ressurected bodies and lives in the new earth with Christ! Easter was a very nice day too. It was sunny and 50s and everyone had a good time playing with Samson, of course.
It was kind of a busy week this last week. I had my last day of watching little William after work, we will miss him around here! And then we had small group, and I have parent teacher conferences next week, so I was working on preparing forms and such for those.
Let's see... Samson updates: He did wonderfully with all of the people and excitement of Easter weekend, I was amazed at how well he did! But then he took a turn for the worse when we got back to real life. After all that attention and a week at home with Matt on his break... Samson was SO mad at us for locking him up and leaving him on Monday. He barked so much that night, even when we were in the room with him! We ended up having to put him in his cage, which usually calms him down after just a few min of barking. But he went strong for 45 min until we let him out! Then he kept barking during the night too, of course. Matt ended up sleeping on the living room floor next to his cage! And then we had small group here Tuesday night and he was going crazy too... I felt bad for all the barking. But oh well, he's adjusted back to normal now at least.
One week from today he gets more shots and can go for a walk or run with me!! It's killing me not to take him out to do that this sunny weekend. He is also getting so big! He was at 18.5 lbs when we weighed him last. We can really tell because we had to make us cage bigger again... pretty soon he won't need a divider in there at all... and then he'll be in a bigger cage after that... I am so not ready to have that big cage in my house yet!
I don't remember if I put on here before, but our friends Zach and Sarah just bought a house less than a mile away from us! We are so excited for them and hope we will get to enjoy the closeness for a little while at least. Also, we are ecstatic that our friend Christina got into the speech pathology graduate program at the University of Washington in Seattle! She and her husband Dan will be moving there from Japan in August. Now even if we don't get jobs and move, we will at least be able to see them when we visit my family. And it was a really hard program to get into, she was on the waiting list, so way to go Christina!!
I am so full of energy and excited for spring and all that goes along with it: exercise, biking, grilling, dinner on the deck, playing in the yard, walks with Samson, more daylight, softball (which starts later this year I guess, games go June-August), and summer! Thank you Lord for giving us different seasons! I can't wait for everyone to start blooming more also, it gets SO beautiful here in west Michigan :). Although my allergies could beg to differ... they are already going strong, thank goodness for Claratin D (but too bad it costs nearly $1 a pill!).
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