Happy Birthday, Amy!

Amy with her husband, Dean

The older I get the more thankful I am for my sisters and the time they sacrificed to take care of us younger kids. Whether it was coaching my basketball team or picking us up on snow days, while my mom was at work, so we wouldn't be all alone. My sister, Amy, and brother-in-law, Dean, would come every Thursday evening, while my mom worked,  to make sure we had dinner and did our homework. We would watch jeopardy and see who could get the most questions right, while yelling at the contestants to wage it all (or ourselves if we kept track of our points). They would even come to our games and be our biggest fans along the sidelines of whatever sport was in season. They didn't just do this a couple times but they did this for 5 years. I think it conditioned me to look forward to Thursday every week and even now,Thursdays hold a special place in my heart.

All the siblings: Katie, Amy, me, Chrissy, Johanna, Leighann, and John

I am so thankful to them for the time they invested in our lives and I know that I am a better person because of it. Thank you, Amy! I love and appreciate you. You are making a difference in people's lives with the time you sacrifice and the love that pours out of you daily. I wish that we lived closer together and could not just have the best summer ever! (our mantra for the summer I lived with their family in Florida) but could have the best life together side-by-side serving Jesus and loving others. I hope you have a wonderful birthday!

City Living

Adam's view from his office

Since the New Year, our lives have been a little crazy. I had been commuting down to Wheaton every Monday morning and back on Wednesday evening, staying at his parents in between. Then I would rush back on Wednesday and get ready to finish up the work week in Milwaukee. I wasn't working out consistently, cooking, cleaning, or getting enough sleep. I felt like I was always busy rushing back forth between the two places. Adam had the same problem come February except he was commuting an hour and half to two hours one way no matter if he was coming from Wheaton or Milwaukee. We were driving a lot and spending a lot of money on gas and eating out.

Surprisedly enough, the move to the city has made our lives simpler. We are both in one place everyday. We both take public transportation and so even though his commute is still 30-45 minutes, he gets to read. Before we moved, I can't tell you the last time either of us read a book but now we've both started our 2nd books this week. (what?!?). We are both working out consistently, eating better (I'm cooking again ;), spending more time together and getting rest. It feels so nice after all the craziness. We got in our car over the weekend and we had only driven it 60 miles in a week and half and 30 of that had been to come to the city from Wheaton. Haha It's been nice.

I hope as it gets warmer, we'll get to enjoy the city more. So far though the move has been good for us and I'm thankful for that.

This week.

our apartment is out of control.

We've been up to our ears in projects this week, whether it's work, personal or gift related. I was in charge of making the family calendar for both families this year, which means I made 8 different versions of the calendar between the two families. It was really fun to look at pictures and see the final product but lots and lots of work. All of that to say, I have thought about blogging numerous times but just haven't gotten around to it. (I don't even want to show you the other things I haven't gotten to this week, a.k.a our apartment and laundry…. It's bad.) The laundry isn't totally my fault though because our dryer has been out of commission for the last week and the repair man is late ever time he is suppose to come by like 2 hours. He was supposed to be here an hour ago so maybe he'll be here in a hour haha

I start a new part-time gig next week and then go back to full-time come the new year. This fall has been an incredible learning time and I have been very grateful for this time to heal (so many pinched nerves and pain in my neck/back but it's getting better!) and for a very supportive husband! God also provided so many odd jobs and work for me to be able to keep up skills and incoming money for us. It's been incredible. I'm thankful to go back to full-time though because I'm a schedule girl. The fall has had it's challenges because I don't always work well without a schedule. There have been so many things (devotions, neck/back exercises, relaxing, working out, etc) that have suffered because I just kept forgetting to do them. But this week has been great and I think things will continue to get better as I get back in the groove of things.

Katie's last night with us is tonight. (boo!) We've had a lot of fun times and she has been a constant friend while Adam has been so busy. Speaking of Adam, he took his last exam last night and graduates on Sunday. Whoot! Whoot! We are so excited over here ;)

Anyways, I gotta get back to designing some wedding invitations but wanted to a least blog one time this week.

Happy Weekend!

Give Thanks

I am feeling very blessed these past couple days. So I thought I would share the wonderful things God has blessed me with.

1. Awesome in-laws. From coming to visit us to letting me crash in their space once a week, I am so blessed to have them semi-close.

2. Speaking of my in-laws, reminds me of my awesome husband. He is beyond busy yet he still takes the time to show me he cares and help me out. From coming home early from the library so he can see me before I go to sleep,  helping me carry stuff to my car for my Wheaton working days, to leaving the song Unconditional Love by Katy Perry playing when he leaves to the house to let me know how he feels (aww cute.).

3. Katie- The timing could not be more perfect for Katie and Jack to come stay with us (well for me at least). Originally, she was going to come in the summer but I’m so thankful she is here in the fall because I would be soooooooo lonely without her while Adam is in the libary every night. I have friends in Milwaukee, y’all but I have had a lot of freelance and driving lately and sometimes it’s nice to have someone to hang out with that you don’t have to travel to see.  Also it's nice to have a a fellow gluten free-er. We've been cooking/baking a lot together and now I have so many new recipes!

4. A kind stranger- Once a week, I let myself have a fancy coffee on my way to Wheaton. It’s a treat during this time where I have to get up at 4:45 and make the 2 hour commute. Eventually, I’ll wean off that drink but for now it’s a nice treat to get me out of bed. A couple weeks ago, when I went to pay for my drink, the cashier told me that the car in front of me had already paid for me. I have heard of that being done and have done similar stuff in youth group but have never been on the receiving end of that. It seriously made my day that a complete stranger would bless me in that way. So I decided to do the same. I mean I was happy to pay for the next persons drink (Way happier than I would have been to pay for my own). It’s amazing what a blessing something small like that can be to someone.

5. Work- Since I went part-time,  I have not only enjoyed my part time hours at Wheaton but have had enough work provided each week through freelance or odd jobs. I'm getting to work on all different kind of projects and meet all kinds of people. It's been an adventure.

Happy Thursday!