Summer Pictures

Here are some pictures of the past few weeks:

A night at Wonderland...



Fourth of July in Groom...

Trivia Question

What movie is this song from (turn your speakers on)?


Hmm?


Need a hint?


:) ~jen




***Updated July 13***
Renay wins the trivia question... it was Karate Kid!
Thanks for playing, Renay! :)

No longer missing!

Boomer has been found. A lovely family a few blocks away called this morning letting us know that they may have found our dog. Caden and I loaded up and went over there and sure enough... it was Boomer. Caden was so excited to see his long lost friend. They are out in the backyard playing right now! :)
~jen

Still Missing

Boomer is still missing. I had really hoped that we would find him at the shelter yesterday since they had been closed for the holiday weekend. No such luck. Caden seems to be handling it better each day. It's still hard when he goes out to the back yard to play and his friend isn't there.
Hopefully Boomer is safe. Maybe we will still find him.
~jen

Sad day

Earlier today we discovered that our dog, Boomer was missing. Somehow he managed to escape from our yard. We made our way through the neighborhood searching for him, but never found him. We went out to the pound this morning and again this evening, but no luck there. Caden is having a hard time this evening. It's hard to sit and wonder all the what-ifs. Hopefully Boomer is safe. Hopefully we will have him home soon.
~jen

Our latest family pictures

Birthday Pictures

Last Sunday we had Caden's birthday party at the golf club. We intended on it being a swimming party, but the weather didn't cooperate. All day long I watched the clouds build and just as soon as the kids jumped in the pool, the thunder and lightening began! That's the last outdoor party I plan! Here's some pictures of the party:




For Caden's actual birthday we had a birthday breakfast, complete with a birthday donut-cake. That's a huge donut!

Hopefully he enjoyed his 6th birthday! :)

~jen

Happy Birthday Sweet Caden!

My baby turned six today. How time passes too quickly. We had a birthday breakfast this morning, complete with a birthday donut "cake" (pictures to come later... it's been a terribly long day!). Hopefully Caden thought today was special even though it was a crazy day crammed full of errands and what-nots! :)
~jen

What else??

I'm afraid to even ask the question. One would think that we have had enough with the AC saga. Now lets add a broken garage door and a shattered window. Both happened today within 30 minutes of each other. I don't have a clue on how either one happened. All I know is that I can't shut my garage door and one of our beautiful double-pane windows with blinds in-between the glass is completely shattered. I can still hear the tiny crackling of the glass. What else?
~jen

The AC Saga Has Ended!!!

We finally have a working air conditioner. I could have cried as I walked into my house from Cody's golf tournament realizing that it is a cool, 71 degrees right now... which, honestly, it is down-right chilly! I guess since we've been living with indoor temperatures hovering around 86 for 14 days, it's going to take some time to adjust!

I am so thankful that this is behind us and that the issue was finally resolved. It should have never lasted as long as it did, but it's over now. For those of you who live close by, be sure and call me so I can tell you who not to use to service your AC or heating units! :)

Thank you for your prayers and calls. Dad, thanks for answering my many questions about air conditioners. Rebecca and Toby, thanks for your offers to stay the night. I really appreciate everything.

~jen

Happy Father's Day!

A Father means so many things...

A understanding heart,

A source of strength and of support

Right from the very start.

A constant readiness to help

In a kind and thoughtful way.

With encouragement and forgiveness

No matter what comes your way.

A special generosity and always affection, too

A Father means so many things

When he's a man like you...

~Author Unknown~

Happy Father's Day, Dad. I love you so very much. Thank you for being such a wonderful father to BJ and I. Thank you for being such a wonderful grandfather to Cody and Caden. But most importantly, thank you for always loving Mom and taking such good care of her.

~Jennifer

All is ...not... well

The AC guy arrived with a new compressor. However, after installing it, he discovered that it was only part of the problem. After running the AC for 30 minutes, he noticed that part of the line was freezing up. According to him, this is due to shoddy workmanship on some duct work from the previous owners... that we now get to fix ourselves. It's not covered under the home warranty. AND... if the compressor goes out again because of the current duct problem, a new compressor won't be covered under our home warranty.

So... basically that leaves us with still no air conditioner. We can run it for 30-40 mins at night only, but each time we run it we take a chance of freezing up the line and blowing out the new compressor. We can't afford to take that chance. I could literally cry right now. We have endured a temperature of 85+ inside our house for over a week now. For those who live here, you know how hot and windy it has been lately. I haven't gone to bed earlier than midnight-1:00 since last Monday. My stomach aches. My head hurts. The kids complain that it's so hot. My house has a musty smell now. I can't cook at night, the laundry room is like a sauna whenever I do laundry. I'm going to cry.

I know there are so many other "wrongs" in the world right now, much worse than us not having a working air conditioner... but please say a prayer for us.

~jen

Prayer Request

My cousin and his wife had a baby girl 8 weeks too soon earlier today. Please remember them in your prayers. A long road is ahead of them.
Thanks,
jen

First Major Issue with the New House

Well... it happened. Something within the house broke. 56 days into the American dream... we haven't even made a payment (making that check out tonight)... and a major appliance within our home goes kaput. You might be wondering to yourself... what could it be? What valuable, much-needed appliance could it be?

Here's some hints...
It was 106 degrees yesterday (which by the way was 2 degrees from the hottest ever recorded high temp for the city; according to Doppler Dave).
It was 100 degrees today.
It is supposed to be 102 tomorrow.
This appliance provides much needed relief from 100+ degree temps.
This appliance causes our electricity bill to skyrocket during 100+ degree temps.
This appliance is well-missed right now!

Are you figuring this out?

Yes... you guessed it. That major appliance that decided to go kaput during the hottest first few days of June in history is our air conditioner.

The compressor is ruined... no longer with us... cooled it's last house. The kicker is that the AC repair guy tells me after a thorough diagnosis that it will be A WEEK TO A WEEK AND A HALF until he can get a new compressor in and installed. I know my jaw dropped to the floor when he told me that. I looked at him with what I am sure was a dumbfound expression of "WHAT?".

After he left and I slowly began to process what he had just told me, I called and complained to the home warranty company. Hopefully we will have this resolved tomorrow and will be able to find another contractor who can install a new compressor much sooner.

Please think of us as you sit in your comfortable homes cooled to a crisp 72 degrees (or lower), while our thermostat reads 82 degrees at 9:20 at night!

:)
~jen

Random Post

It amazes me how certain smells can take me back to a certain time or place...

Here's my favorite (and peculiar) smells and memories...

-Fresh Tar: Reminds me of Six Flags

-Super Bubble Bubble Gum: Sunday mornings on the Joy Bus in Electra, Texas

-Tabu Perfume: A hug from my Great-grandmother, Wylie

-Fried biscuits shaped into donuts: Sunday mornings before worship at Grandma and Pa's church in Electra, Texas

-Hawaiian Tropic tanning oil: All those summers laying out by the pool

-Perm: My granny's beauty shop behind her house

-Moth balls: Grandma's toy closet in the spare bedroom in her old house in Electra. (Grandma is a firm believer in the power of a moth ball!)

-Lake water: All those summers at Lake Diversion

-Old Spice: A hug from my dad. (Not sure if he still wears Old Spice!)

-Fresh Mint: Our first house in Amarillo. There were mint plants on the side of the house.

-Mountain air: Many summers at Pine Spring Christian Summer Camp.

-Noxema: Sunburns

-Apricots: Mom's apricot pie

This list could probably go on and on. It's amazing though how a certain smell can take you back years! Love those memories!

~jen

Cardboard Testimony

Last week I received an email from our church. Included was a link to a video posted to YouTube. This video was from a service a few weeks ago. It was an amazing video that brought me to tears. We were not in attendance that Sunday because Caden and I were not feeling well.

After watching the video I was disappointed that we were not there. I can only imagine what it would have been like to see this part of the sermon in person.

Here’s the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RvDDc5RB6FQ

So after watching the video again this afternoon (I received an email from a friend with the video attached) I began thinking about my own cardboard testimony. What would mine say? I’d have several, but here are the ones that stand out the most:

Pregnant before marriage…. Forgiven thru His mercy and grace

Failed my family, my children, and my friends… making a commitment to renew my spirituality

I don’t know how to end this post. I don’t know what words to say. I hope the video was worthy of your time. Hopefully it will help us all grow in some way.

~jen

Last days...

Where to begin…

Last Wednesday Crockett held its 8th grade Awards Assembly. Cody was awarded the President’s Educational Award for Outstanding Academic Achievement. I am also proud to tell you that he received a “Commended Performance” on 3 out of 4 of his TEKS exams this year. We are so proud of how Cody has excelled this year; not only academically, but in football, basketball, and golf as well. As this school year comes to a close and Cody graduates from Middle School, I still can’t believe that he will be entering high school this fall. Wow. Where has time gone?

Last week was Caden’s last week at Kid University Pre-school. I can’t believe how quickly a year passes. We’ve seen such tremendous growth in this precious child. We watched him write his name backwards (nedac) to being able to write perfectly, Caden Thomas Conrad! He’s learned so much at school this year and we are so very thankful to his teachers, Ms. Keri and Ms. Teresa. Never once did I worry about Caden while he was in their care. I knew he was going to be taken care of, loved, and that he would be treated like one of their own. Thank you, Keri and Teresa for a wonderful year. We’ve loved every minute of pre-school!

Last Thursday night Caden graduated from Pre-school. It was an emotional evening. The tears started as I walked into the auditorium 10 minutes before the ceremony even began! It was a special ceremony, one that I won’t forget. It’s hard to believe that my precious baby will be 6 years old next month. It seems like it was just yesterday that we were preparing for his arrival. Now we are preparing for Kindergarten! How time flies….

Here are some pictures of the graduation ceremony:

Birthday Wishes

Happy Birthday dear Mom,
Happy Birthday dear Mom,
Happy Birthday dear Mom,
Happy Birthday to you!

I love you and wish I was there with you!

Love,
~jennifer

Here's the latest with us....

Sorry for the delay in posts. It's been a crazy few days/weeks lately. Here's the latest:
Mike took his trip to San Diego last week and made it home safely Saturday evening.

I am doing a little better from my recent illness (bronchitis). I'm still not 100%, still coughing quite a bit and still run down. Hopefully I'll get better soon.

Caden seems to have caught my bug. He's coughing, running a fever, and looks like he doesn't feel too well.

Cody's doing fine. Itching for summer to get here. Only 3 more weeks until school's out!

Here are a couple of prayer requests...

-My mom has not been feeling well for some time. Mom, I love you and I hope and pray you are better soon.

-My grandfather (Dad's side of the family) had a heart stent today in Denton. Everything went well and he should be going home from the hospital tomorrow.

-Mike's grandmother is in the hospital here in Amarillo.

Hope everyone had a wonderful Mother's day yesterday. I received some roses from Mike and the boys earlier last week. It was a wonderful surprise. (By the way, that's 2 years in a row for flowers on Mother's Day! I'm liking the trend that's being set!!) Thanks, Mom and Dad for the purse. It's really cute.

Guess this is all for now. Nothing too exciting going on here. Just trying to get well and keep everyone well.

:)

~jen

New Job Day 6

Well... it's been 2 weeks since I started my new job and I have to say... I love it! It is a crazy, fun-filled, exciting, learn something new every day kind of job! The 12+ hour shifts are hard. We stay until the last patient is seen and on most nights I have been home by 8:45. Tonight, it was 9:15... but that's ok because I am off tomorrow! The good thing is I just work 3 shifts a week... so it's not that bad. Everyday I see something new. Everyday I say a prayer for both my boys when I see a teenager or small child come in because they've smashed their fingers, or stepped on a nail, or flew off their bike and skid across the pavement. Today I had to give a little 6 year old a shot... today was her birthday. What a way to spend your birthday! We both were in tears by the end of it! All was made somewhat better with a snack and juice box, though.

I learned today that my fellow co-workers have a bet as to when I will break. They seem to be waiting for me to snap at a patient, doctor, or even one of them! Well, I'll show them. I'm stronger than they think! I'll just keep smiling... :)

I am really excited to continue to see these relationships form between my co-workers. There are some really great, fun, love-their-job, people working in this office!

All in all... I really have enjoyed these past 2 weeks. It's been hard, but a great learning experience. Everyday I see something new (and totally out of my comfort zone), but each day it's getting a little easier.

The boys seem to be adjusting to the change. Cody's accepted more responsibility at home and has done a great job of watching Caden a few evenings.

Everything seems to be going well so far!

Our biggest challenge will occur next week as Mike leaves us on Wednesday for a business trip to San Diego, California. He will be gone until next Saturday. He is going to the Honda Car Show with the owner of the dealership that Mike works at. I would really like to go with him (which is not an option) because the entertainer of the car show is Reba McEntire. Man... would I love to go to one of her concerts! He's already told me twice how excited he is to go! (Not really... if he could find a way to skip out on it he would, but since the boss is there... he'd better not!)

2 weeks later he has a 3 day trip to Dallas. He's going to be super busy this month. Hopefully we will be able to survive while he's gone. Luckily, I've been able to work my schedule around his so that I will be home to get the boys to and from their activities while he is away.

Guess this is all the latest with us. It's so late. I am so very tired... I'm going to bed. It will be morning before I know it! Maybe a nap will be possible tomorrow afternoon! :)

Bye for now....
~jen

Home safe...

Cody arrived home safely Sunday afternoon from the Lakers/Nuggets game. He said he had a blast. He and his friend had a great weekend together. A big thank you to Russell for taking them and bringing them home safely.

Cody brought a few things home. He bought a new Lakers shirt, they got a T-shirt and headband from the game, and then he also brought home... pink eye. Lovely.

Mike took him to the doctor yesterday. He started on some drops and also got an antibiotic for his respiratory infection.

I'm watching Caden pretty closely. Pink eye usually makes it's way through all the family members! I had thought this morning that Caden may have the start of the infection, but his eyes are clear this afternoon. I decided to keep him at home with me today instead of possibly spreading the infection to his pre-K classmates.

That's all the latest for now... :)

~jen

Prayer Request

Russell (Mike's brother), Cody, and a friend of Cody's will be traveling over the weekend to Denver to attend a Nuggets and Lakers basketball game on Saturday afternoon. Please pray that they will have a safe trip.
Thanks...
~jen

Revenge of the Bird

Mike called my cell phone 3 times in a row yesterday afternoon. I had it on vibrate and if it's in my jacket pocket, I don't always feel it vibrating. On the third call, I felt it vibrate and once I could get away I noticed he had been trying to call a few times. He knew I was at work, so I knew he would only call if it was something very important... like the kids are hurt or something worse.

I called him back and immediately asked "what's wrong?". He responds-somewhat out of breath- "I just about had a heart-attack!". I'm thinking... a real heart-attack, do I need to call an ambulance... what's going on!? I asked him if he was ok and his reply... "yeah, after almost being attacked by a bird in our house... I'm ok!". My response... "WHAT??? WHY IS THERE A BIRD IN OUR HOUSE? PLEASE DON'T TELL ME THERE IS BIRD CRAP EVERYWHERE!!!". His response... (much calmer now)... "I got the bird out, but -yes- there is some bird crap (he didn't use the word 'crap') in the kitchen.". My response... "how much bird crap?". Him... "just a little, which by the way... I can't clean up right now because I have to get back to work.". Me... "no, no, no... you need to clean that crap up now.".

Well... guess what I found when I got home.... bird poo (I'll stop using the word 'crap'). But I will confess last night I called it something worse than poo or crap once I discovered just how much "poo" was in my kitchen! (Anyone ready to come over for dinner now?) Then I immediately started thinking about my cream colored carpet... wondering... why is there only bird "poo" in my kitchen? Did the bird magically appear in my kitchen and only poop in there... or is there bird poo elsewhere... blending into my carpet... that I can't see. Believe me, I will probably vacuum my carpets 10 times today!

We have no idea how the bird got in the house. Hopefully it was just a one-time deal and there will be no more unwelcomed guests (of any variety!)

Welcome to home ownership!
:)

~jen

Craft Project

I took a trip to Hobby Lobby this afternoon. I wanted to just look... but you know how that usually turns out. Looking turns into putting something in your basket to think about while you continue to look. Before you know it you're standing in line with 10 items checking out.

I decided to find something for my kitchen wall. I love pictures. I have boxes of pictures. Nobody ever sees them because they are in boxes. I decided to make a quilted photo board. I don't know what they are really called... that's just what I am calling it. Here's some before and after pictures of my newly decorated wall in the kitchen.

I am planning on re-doing this photo board later. I'm one of those who hurries through the project because I am so excited to see it finished. I need to use a different type of ribbon. This ribbon is very sheer and I am noticing that it is starting to fray where I inserted a tack. Also, I think the next one I make will have a solid back. I used a canvas art frame to stretch the material around. It worked well, it just doesn't give much of a quilted look and the pictures don't stay in place very well. I have too many pictures in this one... I just had a hard time deciding which ones to put in there!

Joys of Home Ec.

Cody had to make some oatmeal cookies for his Home Economics class. It's not called "Home Ec." anymore... it's called Life Management. I wish they had a Life Management class for adults. :)

Here's some pics of him baking away! By the way... the cookies were a little... different. Not horrible, just not a good 'ole oatmeal cookie. These had whole wheat flour, dried apricots, and walnuts in them. I spent $15 on the special ingredients. He made 9 of them. 2 went to his teacher for his grade. I tried one. Mike said "no thanks" after seeing the apricots in them. The other 6 went into the garbage along with the $15 in cookie dough. :)

~jen

What's for supper?

Well folks, I've cooked supper for my family 4 nights in a row now. I know... it's amazing. (I hope you are detecting my sarcasm.) We have been in a serious rut of eating out. Night after night we seemed to rotate thru the local fast-food places. It was convenient while we were packing and moving. But it got old real fast (and expensive).
Caden's pre-K teachers and some friends of theirs have created a recipe blog. Check it out for some great recipes. I visit it almost daily and have come across some that sound wonderful. I've haven't tried any yet... but have found a few that could easily become fast favorites of mine! :)

~jen

Mr. Caden

What a mess this child is! Here's the latest:

He needs a separate fork for each part of his meal. Tonight he needed 2 forks. One for the hamburger helper and one for the corn (he refused to eat the black-eyed peas... otherwise he would have needed 3 forks!). Then he needed another for some strawberries and whipped cream.

He questioned my knowledge on where corn comes from. He finally believed me that corn comes from seeds and grows on a farm. We had cut corn at dinner and he seemed to be confused about how that cut corn got off the cob.

He proclaimed in a exhausted tone this afternoon... "Mom, we have 3 more letters to do at school." (Each week at pre-k they learn a new letter.) He then said... "we've done like 10,000 already. I'm glad there is only 3 more to go."

Most of our conversations we have had lately has to do with his upcoming birthday. On the way home from daycare this afternoon he asked if Aaron (his cousin) would be wearing his glasses at the party. At the dinner table this evening he discussed his upcoming birthday plans. He wants his party at Mr. Gattis. Not in the party room, in the cartoon room so he can watch cartoons while he eats. He then mentioned that for his 2nd birthday party (we have always had a small party at home with Mike, Cody, and I. Which by the way... he was quite upset that Mike and Cody didn't have 2 birthday parties last month!) he wanted to make sure we had corn on the cob and a cherry cake to eat. He made sure that I knew that we had to use the "corn-picker-uppers" (word-for-word from Caden) for the corn on the cob. (Corn-picker-uppers are those plastic things that you insert in both ends of the cob to be able to pick it up easier.)

This precious child of mine makes me laugh daily. It is amazing how his little mind processes information. How he comes up with some of these things boggles my mind! :)

~jen

All in a day...

So here's the highlights of the day...

Last night I awoke from a dead sleep after hearing a loud thump... Mike had actually rolled off the bed onto the floor. Of course, my first reaction was "oh, my goodness... are you ok?". Then it progressed to "what the heck is wrong with you?". He got up off the floor and then walked around the living room and then came back to bed. He assured me he wasn't hurt and that him falling out of bed must have been my fault. I must have kicked him or pushed him out of the bed. Wrong. Guess again dork... you just rolled off the bed in a dead sleep! Immediately the giggles started. It took me a while to go back to sleep because all I could picture was him falling out of bed! (Thank goodness he wasn't hurt. He did confess this morning that he was dreaming when he fell out of the bed!) :)

(In all fairness... I've fallen out of bed once before. And Mike isn't really a dork!) :)

While getting gas this afternoon (gas prices... ugh!) I gathered up some trash to throw away. Unfortunately the hand that had the trash also had my keys... yep... I threw away my keys in the nasty gas station trash can (which was 3/4 of the way full!). I had to dig thru who knows what to find my keys... which I did.

Caden decided this afternoon that Boomer sure would love a refreshing beverage. Because, after all he must be bored with just water day after day. So Caden went to the garage fridge and grabbed Boomer a Coke. He opened it and poured it into his water bowl! Poor Boomer only got a few sips before Mike realized what he had done and emptied the water bowl!

This is just a sampling of my crazy day.

Oh... the joys of living! :)

~jen

More pictures...

Here are a few pictures... more to come later.


View out front door/entry:



Entry and dinning room:

Tray ceiling and dining room light fixture:

Another view of entry and dining room. Yes... that's a cradle in the middle of the room. I kept hitting my head on the light fixture (I did it 3 times in 1 day... the 3rd time I broke down crying because it hurt so bad!) so I put the cradle there so I wouldn't hit my head anymore! (One would think that I would have learned my lesson after the first time... but oh no, it took me ramming my head into the fixture 2 more times!)

View of living room from dining room. To the right is the hallway to the boys bedrooms and guest bath. To the right of the fire place is the sun room/3rd living area and the closed door is the entry to our bedroom.



Another view of the living room. I love all the features of this room. High ceilings, recessed lighting, the fan... it's a really neat and huge room. Now if it only had furniture!


Our realtor gave us this "C". I think it looks very pretty on my mantel!


That's all for now. It's been a major accomplishment to get these 2 rooms completely emptied today. Unfortunately... most of the boxes just went to my bedroom until they get unloaded and put up! I'll try and post some more pictures later today or tomorrow.

~jen

Just the latest...

Moving in is going slower than I want. We are still living out of boxes. I still can't find my alarm clock! (Which is very frustrating!) I'm one of those paranoid people who has to have 2 alarms set (I use my cell phone and the alarm clock)... just in case. Mike's been nice to set his cell phone alarm for me so I have a back-up (especially on those mornings that I have to get up at 4:30!).

Back to the boxes... my room seems to have become the dumping ground for all of those things that don't really have a home yet. It's fine... because our bedroom is twice the size of our old room. However, the boxes are getting very old, I've tripped over them more than once. I am ready to have my house set the way I want it and have everything un-boxed!

I hope to post more pictures of the other rooms of the house later today. I need to get some boxes cleaned out first. The pictures won't be too exciting as 3 of the rooms don't even have furniture yet! It may be a while before we actually purchase furniture for them! Moving is terribly expensive! :)

Hope all of you are doing well. Caden, Cody, and I seem to be suffering from some major allergies lately. We finally received some rain, so hopefully that will clear out the air a little bit and there will be a little less sneezing going on!

Cody has 6 weeks of school left. I cannot believe how quickly this year has passed! These next few weeks will fly past very quickly! He's excited for the summer golf tournament season to start.

Caden's doing well. He is finishing up his last few weeks of pre-K. His teachers assure me he is doing well. We've seen such growth in Caden's speech. I feel confident he will be ready for kindergarten this fall. He is so excited about being a Knight (his elementary school's mascot) this fall!

I am doing well. This will be my last week as a nurse educator. I am sad to leave my current job, but we've been just getting by financially these past few months. I've realized that I need to work somewhere that is more stable, more consistent. I am excited to start my new job at the Urgent Care Clinic. I am excited to get back to nursing. I've missed my interactions with the patients.

I guess this is all now. Hope everyone has a great day. :)

~jen

New House Pictures

Here are a few pictures from today. More to come later...

~jen

New house!

Oh... the joys of moving. This time around it is truly a joy since we are moving into our very own home. The internet/cable guy arrived earlier and hooked up our internet and cable. The satellite guy is here getting the satellite up and running. So... we are just about set on the important things (according to Mike and Cody!)

I've unpacked my kitchen and utility room. I even plan on making our first meal in our new home tonight (that's the plan at least... I am desperately in need of a nap... so it may be pizza tonight... but we will at least eat on actual dishes and not paper plates!). :)

My other goal for the day is to get Caden's room done. I haven't started, yet. But... I promised him his room would be ready so I'll get it done.

I'll post some pictures later tonight. I still have some rooms to get cleaned out before I get some good pictures!

~jen

PS... Happy Birthday to Marcia and Angie... hope you both have had a great day! :)

Last post at our old home

I’ve waited until now to do this last post at our old house. The closing is complete. The house is ours. We have finally realized the American dream. There’s a mix of emotions right now. Happy, scared, thankful, tired (and the work’s only half-done!), sad (we’ve lived in this house for almost 7 years… we’ve lived so much in this house), worried, relieved… the list goes on and on. Most of all I am thankful and happy. We have talked about buying a house for many months. I have prayed so many prayers for us to find a way to buy a house. Those prayers were answered. I am truly happy and blessed.

The next post will come from our new home. Call my cell to stop by anytime to take a look at the new house… but consider yourself warned… you may end up moving a box or 2 while you are there! :)

~jen

Boxes, packing, and more boxes... oh my

The saga continues. More boxes, more packing... it never ends! We did get a movable storage building delivered to the house yesterday, so that has helped. (It is one that will be moved to the new house by the storage company and then once we are finished unloading they come pick it up.) At least I feel like I am making progress when I actually take a box from my house to the storage building!

I don't know if we will be ready to move on Monday or not. We got the final word today that everyone (both realtors, the title company, the bank) is ready to close. Talk about waiting until the last minute... we close on Monday! We did get a small repair settlement from the seller's. It doesn't cover much, but I guess it's better than nothing! Hopefully we can get the contractor doing most of the work to come down some on their price. We'll see what happens. We close on Monday at 11:00. Very exciting and scary at the same time.

Please remember us in your prayers as we go through this major life-changing event. I know that is will be stressful over these next few days to weeks trying to get settled into the new house. Hopefully within a few months it will be all that I dreamed it would be! :)

~jen

New job

Well... many of you know by my earlier email (and for a few of you... phone calls) I was offered a job at our hospital's Urgent Care Clinic. I had to sit through an interview with the director and five other nurses (I think I told someone earlier that it was 6... but as I sit here and count... it was only 5!). 5 or 6... it was still overwhelming to say the least. It was very relaxed and casual and once I relaxed a little it went very smoothly.

I feel as though a great weight has been lifted off of my shoulders. As sad as I am to leave my current job (because I truly love presenting our medical lessons) I know that this move is the right one financially. We have been struggling over the past few months. We've been fine... but with the added house expenses, moving expenses, taking off work to prepare for our move... things financially could be very difficult in the next month or so.

I know that there was a greater power in all of this. I know that my (and your) prayers were heard. And more importantly they were answered. God is good. :)

I pray now that I will be happy with this new job. It's going to be hard those first few months. Adjusting to the 12+ hour shifts again will take some time. Adjusting to a different kind of nursing will take some time. I am confident though, this is a good fit for me and I will enjoy the job.

Again, thank you for your prayers. I really appreciate all of your sweet "best wishes" and "congratulation" emails.

~jen

Prayer Request

I have my 2nd interview tomorrow at our Urgent Care Clinic. Please say a prayer for me. I have given an advance notice to my current employer. I have been so stressed these past few weeks, not only worried about the house, but things at my current job have been on a rapid decline.
I need to go back to work on a more full-time, steady basis. We need better (less expensive) health insurance.
I am saddened that this job didn't work out. I love teaching the kids. I love what we are doing to hopefully help decrease the number of teenage pregnancy and STD rates.
I feel like I have been unhappy with my job for the past 18 months. I am ready to find something that I enjoy and something that benefits all aspects of my life.
Thanks,
~jen