Saturday, December 29, 2007

Getting Settled

We enjoyed a wonderful Christmas with our families. Wednesday, December 26th, we were blessed with helpful hands loading the moving truck and our car, as well as helping pack the remaining items (which were not a few). Also, we were blessed with a delicious lunch provided by our friend Michelle from upstairs. Thank you to all! What a blessing!

The guys had the "fun" challenge of trying to strategically fit everything into our moving truck. When all was said and done basically everything fit (my mom will have to bring one of our laundry baskets and a baby bouncy seat with her when she visits in the spring).

Steve drove the moving truck while I napped a good portion of the time on Thursday, December 27th. My parents followed behind in their car (we towed our car behind the moving truck). We made pretty good time, inspite of driving slower with the truck. We reached GR a little after 9pm. A group of friends were there, ready to unload us. We weren't planning on unloading until the next day, but what a blessing to get it out of the way! We were all unloaded within 3 hours. Thank you!!

Our apartment is all-around smaller than our home in MN was. (Except we have another bedroom here). After unloading, we had a narrow walkway amidst towering stacks of boxes through the livingroom and kitchen (the bedrooms were pretty clear, as well as the bathroom - so that we could unpack into them.) Yesterday, Steve and I spent our time unpacking and made quite a dent. It's been enjoyable so far and we look forward to continuing settling in.

Sunday, December 2, 2007

Moving - 4 Weeks and Counting...

For anyone who's available and would like to help us with our move:

Wednesday, December 26th we plan on loading the vehicles
Thursday, December 27th we leave for GR, Michigan
Friday, December 28th we plan on unloading at our apartment in GR

If you're available to help us pack here in MN, please let me know and we can arrange a time.
If you'd like to help us load on the 26th, please let me know and show up at our place.
If you'd like to help us unload on the 28th, please show up at our new place anytime, we'll be there all day.

Email or call me for details of how to get to our place(s). Thank you!

Trip to Grand Rapids, MI

Steve and I are very grateful to the Lord's goodness and faithfulness during our trip to Grand Rapids, MI. We headed out a couple days after Thanksgiving on Saturday, November 24th and came back home on Friday, November 30th.

Steve took this picture just after we passed Mackinaw Bridge. It was a bit windy. We hit some weather on the way to GR, so it took a little longer to get there than anticipated. (Our little Focus just isn't that same as Steve's Jimmy was!) But we made it!



We found and secured a place to live! We were able to get a deal on the apartment because the seminary where Steve will be attending has an agreement with the apartments. We're very grateful!




We visited the college that Steve has about 1 year left at (after that he'll attend seminary). We also visited the Seminary, attended worship and checked out the bookstore.




We had a nice time visiting with some friends, connecting with our church family and getting to know the area a little bit more. We applied for work, opened a bank account, saw our midwife, etc., etc. It was a very encouraging time for both Steve and I, as the "puzzle pieces" came together quite nicely. We're so grateful to the Lord.

And now... we've a busy 4 weeks ahead of us, filled with packing, work, Christmas parties, baby showers, etc., etc. But all is well and we look forward to it!

5 Months Along

I'm five months along now. Things have flipped. Up until about a month ago, Steve was more sick than I this pregnancy. But, this past month has been the most trying for me as far as health is concerned (overlooking the weekend of the incarcerated uterus). I've been fighting some type of cold or virus for pretty much the whole time. Yesterday I couldn't keep food down. Looking forward to feeling well again! :) I'm thankful that Steve is doing well, though!

Monday, October 29, 2007

Steve's 30th Birthday!


On Saturday the 27th, we celebrated Steve's 30th birthday (Oct. 23). Thank you to those who came out. We had a lot fun! Steve managed to blow out his 30 candles in one breath! He was completely surprised to receive the Settlers games - thank you!

Baby on Board!

I am now 4 months along - getting a little belly! The pregnancy has been enjoyable for the most part. I only had nausea a couple times, and short-lived (5-10 minutes each time), for which I am very grateful.

At 12 weeks, I had a rare pregnancy complication known as an incarcerated uterus which caused urinary retention. In English, that means I couldn't urinate. Very painful, but thankfully the uterus is all straightened out now and all is well.

Oct. 28th was the first time Steve and I got to feel the baby move!

Moving!

Just after Thanksgiving, Steve and I will trek out to Grand Rapids, MI to find housing and work. We'll be there for one week. Please pray that the Lord will be gracious to us. Looking forward to it!!

We will be heading out for good sometime between December 26-31, depending upon when we can move into our new place.

Steve starts classes on January 4th.

Act of Faith - final performance


We performed our final drama, "I Will Go" on October 19th and 20th at 2 & 7pm both days.This play was in the works for over three years. By the grace of God, He made it what it was. It was a wonderful experience for me to watch Him bring in the right people to make it all happen. The cast was great!I trust the Lord used it fully for His glory, as He was there, blessing it all along the way. Praise be to Him!And now... Act of Faith is "said and done". After eight years, it's sad to see it end, and yet I'm thankful for the years we had. I'm especially grateful that we were able to end in the way we did. And only the Lord knows, perhaps down the road someone will pick up where we left off and run with it.