December: practically half over.

Things are great! Packing/organizing/cleaning is in full force. We're set to move out of our important in about 3 weeks, and we'll be leaving Kansas a week after that. Between now and then, our calendars are full of both fun and necessary things...making the time fly either way. This is going so fast!!!

Last weekend I went to visit my lifetime best friend, Amy. She moved to Nashville a few months ago, and it was my first time to see her place and her life there. It was great! Some awesome girl time was had! We went downtown and she showed me around the area. It's a really cool place!

It started snowing!

Amy in her adorable aparment!

It was sad to leave Nashville, because I know moving to Colorado will keep me from seeing Amy another long span of time. I suppose we've gotten used to talking on the phone, though. :) Once I got back, I started thinking much more about our move and all that had to be done in a timely manner. Justin is busy on his end with out-processing from the army, so I've focused on getting the packing ready to go. Trying to see friends and say our last goodbyes to people in Manhattan. Hope we get to everyone! Pray for time management and that things are in order for a smooth and stress-free transition. Also, I'm waiting for a call for a position that I'm really excited about! Pray for God's leading. :) 'Til next time!

It's getting chilly...and other random updates!

We're back from Colorado for Thanksgiving and had a fabulous time! We even drove around town to do some more house hunting. At this point, we're just checking out neighborhoods. By the time we actually want to buy in February, I'm sure we'll have a whole new set of houses to choose from. We moved around some furniture in my mom's apartment to get things ready for our temporary living situation. It will be great! We're so thankful that we can save some money while we search for a house.

The 7 hour one-way trip in the car to Colorado is starting to get a bit tiresome. I've made that drive, back and forth, now three times. Then again, it's worth it to see my mom. :) One more drive back there, and we're settled for good! But, I'm already anticipating some very EXCITING and important events of some close friends next year. So, I expect I'll be back to Kansas to visit before long.

It wasn't as cold in Colorado as we thought it would be. We're both excited about the snow, and the fact that it's a dry cold...unlike here in Kansas. Now that we're home, Manhattan feels waaay colder than over Thanksgiving weekend in Colorado Springs.

Please continue to pray for our job situations in Colorado. I've applied to some full-time positions that I'm still waiting to hear from. Justin is getting registered to start college classes when we arrive, but he will still be looking for part-time work. We know God goes before us and will have the perfect jobs waiting. And THAT is a relief. We will continue to get things ready for moving, and look forward to everything ahead of us. :)

6 weeks to go!!

Boxes are being collected, I'm making my to-do lists, and moving companies are being researched. We can't believe it's nearly 6 weeks before we get on the road to Colorado. My emotions are becoming mixed. I'm realizing how settled we've gotten here...the friends we've made, the church family we will miss, the familiar places we see driving through Manhattan. It's all a bit nostalgic. In April, we will have lived here for 4 years. Time went really fast, and offered pretty cool opportunities along the way.

Looking forward to new beginnings, though! We can't wait to have a house with a pet!! Anywhere we have lived has not allowed them. And eventually we're excited to grow our family in other ways. :) But that will wait just a tad longer until we become settled in our home and job situations.

In the mean time we are celebrating Thanksgiving with my mom, and our new friends Erik and Audra (Hi guys!! hehe). They have two sweet kids, and took in my mom's dog (Marty) when she couldn't keep him anymore. So we're excited about getting to see everyone.

Also, since our move is so inconveniently timed around Christmas, we have decided to lay low and celebrate in the smallest way this year. We're not able to travel to California like we usually do, and our finances are focused on our move and continued saving for a house. I don't even think I'll decorate, seeing that everything will be in boxes...sheesh. But, we have been invited for Christmas dinner by some good friends of ours that live very close to us. So, that will be special. I'll be updating again as it all draws closer. Thankful for God's faithfulness is our job situations, and that He goes before all our plans. :)

Halloween!

We had a blast for Halloween, even though we celebrated a few days early! Some friends of ours had everyone over for a get-together, and we got to dress up. One of Justin's favorite holidays is Halloween, so he had fun getting celebrate. And I hadn't dressed in a costume in a really long time, so I had fun getting silly! :)

 Dressed as circus freaks, Justin was the tattooed man, and I was the bearded lady. We had a great time, and enjoyed getting to see some friends one last time before we all part ways. This was probably our only official Halloween celebration, because even though we offer a generous supply of candy to trick-or-treaters, they don't seem to frequent our apartment complex very much. So, here's to a quiet night tomorrow, while eating candy meant for the children.

Dum dee dum...

Well, we finally got our car back. BUT, not in time for our trip to Colorado springs a couple weeks ago. Somehow, we managed to get there in the truck (I guess it's a more reliable vehicle than we thought!), and we had a great time! God blessed it all anyways. :) Justin got a chance to see where we'll be living, and we both now know that we love it there!



Manitou Springs- So cute!!!




Walking through Manitou




The leaves are starting to change there. :)



 House hunting is now in full force, but we really still have 2 months until we move. So, we do have plenty of time to make a decision. I'm glad I have flexibility substitute teaching, so I can put focus on what needs to happen on my end of the move. I've started cleaning out closets and taking things to Goodwill. That always feels nice. Plus, fall is our favorite time of year, so I've been spending lots of time decorating and making autumn goodies! We'll be going back to the Springs for thanksgiving, and that will be the last visit before we move for good. It's coming soon, and we're excited...but, it will be tough to leave good friends we've made in Manhattan.

Patience, patience, patience.

A few weeks ago, I got into a car accident. I was blessed that both of us drivers were OK, and the damage was minimal to the other guy's car. Unfortunately, my car was not....and has needed extensive repairs. While I thought we'd be picking it up this afternoon, they have said it will take yet ANOTHER week to have it finished. Justin's driving a rental car that it sure stinks to keep paying for, and we're supposed to go on a trip soon....so we need
the car back!!! Pray it gets done in time, and that God gives us peace while we wait. We are blessed that I can drive Justin's car in the mean time. So that's good.

The countdown is alive and well for time in the military to end. Justin's working hard on getting things done to be out processed. I've started making lots of fun lists to get things cleaned out and packed in a timely manner. All in all, we're praying that things go smoothly with our move and our transition out of the security we've gotten so used to. God is already showing us opportunities and ways he will take care of us.

Philippians 4:19 tells us "But my God shall supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus." He gives us what he knows we need, even when our sights are set on something else. Glad He knows us better than we know ourselves. :)

Hurry up...and wait.

Part of what creates our reliance on Jesus are those times where everything is at a stand still, and we're just waiting for the next thing to happen. At least that's how I feel. We should always have him at the foreground of our mind, but of course...we're human. So, maybe he creates these pauses in life to help remind us where our priorities should be.

Justin gets home sometime next week from training. I miss him. But, the next four months will go by fast hopefully once he does get here. We have to wait to get out of the army. We have to wait to buy a house. We have to wait to move. sheesh. Lord, give me patience and help me realize that my thoughts should be of the here and now, and what you are doing this very minute.

Also, after visiting my mom in Colorado Springs last weekend, Justin and I have decidedly moved our house search there. It makes sense to move toward my mom (since she's awesome. ha.) and we would have the seasons (and mountains, and farmer's markets, and every restaurant we've missed living in KS and NC. Oh, and Costco and Ikea. hehehe) It was a gorgeous place. So, Justin and I are going to go on a trip in October, hopefully to check it out more. And then we'll visit for thanksgiving. Leaving the final trip there for our big move at the end of December. We'll see how it goes! Praying for direction along the way.

God has other plans. And aren't we glad!!

This week, I spent time in Orlando with my Dad. He flew from California to meet and help me search the area for somewhere we might like to live. Justin is at a training camp, and was unable to make the trip with me. And seeing that this is my first time purchasing a house, it took a lot of stress away to have my Dad here with me. The first day was somewhat successful, and he found some neighborhoods that might work. Ultimately, we were searching for somewhere quiet, safe, and a great place to raise a family. The next day we met with the realtor, and she was amazingly helpful. She showed us some properties, but it wasn't exactly what I thought we would find within our price range. I was a bit disappointed, but I thought I'd give it another go the next day. To cut this story short, Orlando is not the place for us like we thought it was.

Also, we've very much gotten used to the quiet lives we lead in Kansas. To think of moving to a huge city again wouldn't fit the ultimate desires of raising our kids in a peaceful place. So, the search continues. We have an idea of where to look next, but we're letting God have the reigns and lead us to his perfect plan. I take huuuuge comfort in that. At any rate, we will be done with the military at the end of December. Where we live after that is still up to Jesus.

Even though this week wasn't as "successful" as a I thought it would be, it was nice to spend time with my Dad. We found some cool places to eat, and spent a day in Cocoa beach. And I had frozen yogurt!!! BIG win, seeing that it doesn't exist where we live in Manhattan (and no folks...TCBY doesn't count!).

Well, better get to bed before my early flight tomorrow!

Lauren <3
"As for God, His way is perfect..."- Psalm 18:30

Let's blog!

I've always admired those that can steadily update curious family and friends through a well-written blog. So, I've moved to start one of our very own, however mundane or exciting. Plus, now that I'm a college graduate, I don't want to lose my English/ writing skills that I spend endless hours running through a word processor... (Man, I'm glad those days are over...for now...)

2010 has been somewhat uneventful, with the exception of a few extraordinary events that have kept us on our toes. January to May, I was student teaching. My best friend, Amy, came to visit us from California and gave me a nice getaway from the madness of planning lessons. To say the least, that was the most stressful semester of my college experience, and I'm glad it's over.  My family came to visit for the big graduation day, and our great friends, the Straubs came too! I was glad to share that with them. Now, Justin and I have some fun student loans to keep in mind. :)

Amy and I in Aggieville

We were given some wonderful time to relax this summer. The heat has prompted lots of BBQing and summery cuisine. Justin is quite the BBQer. But, we may have overused the BBQ, because now the igniter doesn't work. Every time we'd like to use it now, I put my husband's life in jeopardy, because he has to light it by hand. Needless to say, he's lost his finger hairs quite a few times now. We'll be purchasing a new grill quite soon!

In July, Justin took his summer leave, and we went to Germany! My Dad's B-I-L was nice enough to give us free stand-by airfare through Delta, and we went on an adventure. We flew into Frankfurt, then took a train to Leipzig and stayed the night. It was fabulous to show Justin a lot of the places I had seen while studying abroad there. We then took the train to Berlin to spend the remainder of the week. It was a great time, and I was thrilled to use my German...especially, since that doesn't get to happen as often as I would like.

Justin eating a Doener in Leipzig (like a turkish gyro)- so yummy!!

When we arrived back to KS, we realized we were six months away from the end of Justin's military contract. This got our wheels rolling as to how we wanted to transition into "real life." While we're not able to go back to California (simply because it's so overcrowded and so expensive), we thought Florida was the next best thing. What's completely wonderful is that we have complete freedom to decide where we should go next. Ergo, our adventure! God knows our ultimate destination, but we are really excited to see how we get there.

Justin has a few options that he's looking into for what he'll do in Orlando. We'll disclose that as our move draws sooner. I'll ultimately be teaching, although I wasn't able to find a position for this school year. Hopefully next year!

Tonight, Justin will be traveling to Louisiana for a month for training he doesn't need/want, because he's not deploying... and that's what this training is ultimately for. I'm leaving for the airport as well, to go Orlando to meet my Dad. He's been awesome enough to go with me to look at houses (Oh and we're buying a house!).
Justin would love to go, but with only 5 months or so left, it seemed best to get this ball rolling. It's pretty exciting, I just wish he could be there, too.

Also, today is our 5th year wedding anniversary!! How fast this time has gone, and I'm thrilled that it's not even close to over. Thank you Lord for his many blessings in our marriage and these last 5 years. I love my husband.

August 15th, 2010- 5 years after our wedding. :)

Well, now that you're a little more caught up with what we've been doing, maybe our next blog entry won't be as long (thus probably more fun to read!). This could be fun! Thanks folks! More later. <3