Joslyn is here!!

It's been an incredible two years since I wrote Jacob's birth story. And now, here we are again to remember Joslyn's. We are so grateful to God to be able to be parents again. And now that Joslyn is here, we realize it's an even greater blessing to be able to be HER parents. Here is her sweet story.

When we got pregnant with Joslyn, we were so excited to be able to plan for another home birth. Jacob's birth at home was so fulfilling and peaceful, that we knew we'd like to have Joslyn at home, as well. To be able to pick up right where I left off with my midwife, Christie, made me feel so secure and calm about the whole process all over again. 

At 38 weeks pregnant, I started labor. Justin and I were so excited and went out for date night to celebrate. When we got home, my contractions were gone. I was so disappointed. This start and stop of labor (called prodromal labor) happened 3 more times before my due date. It was an emotional roller coaster. Contractions were happening, but not getting stronger or keeping consistent.

On my due date, April 19th, I woke up having more contractions. I was convinced this wasn't any different than the other times. Our little family of three got ready for Sunday morning church, ate some breakfast, and went on with our day. By lunch time, I wondered..."maybe this is real?...but nah." I took a nap while Jacob did. By 5pm, I was more convinced that it could be real labor so I called Christie. She agreed to come by and keep us company. When her and our birth team arrived, I still didn't want to believe it. We didn't even tell anyone that labor had begun because I didn't want to get others' hopes up just in case. Christie checked me when they first arrived, and I dilated from a 4 to a 6 while she was checking. She remarked how incredible that was. I was pretty stoked, myself. This WAS real! I remember saying, "I'm so excited!!" in between contractions. Once labor started progressing more quickly, I was not as excited as I needed to focus much more on each contraction. 

Jacob was so thrilled to have everyone there. He was hyped and having a great time.

 He and Justin frosted Joslyn's birthday cupcakes that I had made that afternoon.

SPRINKLES.

 The birth team set up our home with all of the birth supplies. 

Justin and I worked through more contractions together. When he was needed to help Jacob, I remember feeling our midwives stepping in to help press on my hips, or lay a hand on my back. My eyes would be closed through a contraction, but I felt SO supported, SO loved. I was not alone. It was an amazing feeling to have these supportive people around me in the comfort of our home while I labored. There's nothing like it.

Jacob hugging on me through a contraction. I'm SO glad he was there.

I had planned to labor and birth in a birthing pool. We started to fill it and I got in, but Christie checked on my progress and mentioned that baby Joslyn was in a posterior presentation (sunny side up). We needed to get her turned in order to deliver more effectively. So we had to leave the pool behind, and move to my bedroom.

The pool was great for my back labor, even though we barely got to use it.

Justin was great support the whole time.

Our photographer said I mentioned here,
 "I'm so excited she's finally coming!!" after all of my stop and go labor.

They had me try lots of different birthing positions to turn our little girl. This part of the labor was incredibly exhausting and difficult for me. I felt contractions DEEP in my back, and had little relief from any counter pressure used by Justin or my midwife. One of our assistants used one of our woven wraps (used for babywearing) and had me get on my hands and knees. She wrapped it around my belly and shook it from side to side. This is called "sifting." That combined with the different positions we tried did the job in turning Joslyn to a better anterior position once again. She was so incredibly wiggly during this labor, it was hilarious. But she maintained a good heart rate every time Christie checked her with the doppler.

Checking Joslyn's heart rate with the doppler. I love this picture. :)
So privileged to have carried my babies and have these stretch marks.

Jacob was asleep for the night at this point, and that worked out well because I remember the next parts of my experience as very intense and the most difficult.  I spent a lot of this time on my hands and knees through contractions. 

I wrote some encouraging thoughts and scriptures and left them around the room. 

 I believe God gave me the strength I needed to get through the rest of labor. A bit more dilation needed to happen before Joslyn could come the rest of the way down. Christie said I could push if I felt the need. I tried, but didn't get very far. She had me get on my back and bring my knees to my chest.  Justin held my right knee and held my head up. I remember him putting a wet wash cloth on my head and kissing me. Such amazing support during the most difficult parts of my labor. I'm so thankful for him. Before I knew what was actually happening, I was pushing. In three giant pushes, Joslyn was born. My water broke as she came out and Christie helped me pull her onto my chest. It was incredibly fast. All I could say over and over was, "I'm so glad she's here! I'm so glad that's over." Haha. 

SO relieved and elated she was finally born.

Little Joslyn Claire

Hanging out with Daddy

Post Birth snack!

Justin and Carmen, another one of our awesome birth assistants, 
weighing Joslyn at 7 lbs. 1 oz. 

Hey sweet girl!

It was not as easy of a labor as Jacob's, that's for sure. But, I could not be happier with the experience. The freedom, fulfillment and comfort that it brought me to birth at home again was invaluable.

I cry when I think that Christie delivered both my babies here. We are forever thankful to her. Through both pregnancies and births, she brought me peace of mind and was serious about keeping us safe. But, she also helped us remember to trust the process and know that babies know how to grow and be born when all is going well.

Our midwife, Christie, and one of her adoring fans. :)

I'm thankful for what I've learned about birth while we've lived in Colorado Springs. There is a huge community here of birth professionals ready to give women the birth experiences they're looking for. I've learned so much from them on Facebook and in the mommy meetup groups I've joined. Our sweet friends and family have rallied around us to pray, bring meals, and offer other kinds of awesome support. We feel SO taken care of and are enjoying our sweet time as a family of four. Life is GOOD. Thank you God for how He blesses us immeasurably!!

(All photos courtesy of JCDC Photography.) 

Welcome to the world, Jacob!

This is the story of our son's birth. Thanks for taking the time to read through it and treasure it as much as we do! :)

The day before my due date, Justin and I thought it might be a good idea to spend time with good friends. I needed something to take my mind off the fact that although the calendar was “ready” for this baby to come, my body might not be. And who knew when our son would actually make his appearance. As we sat with friends talking and laughing, I noticed I started to get contractions. Nothing too painful, but definitely coming in pattern. We went home appreciating what a great evening it had been, but brushed off any kind of high hopes that labor might be starting.

At 1:00 am on April 8, 2013th (my due date), my body awoke with a wave in my back and lower abdomen. Again, I brushed it off, tried to breathe through it and fell back asleep. If this was indeed labor, my body would continue and I would definitely have to wake up with each one. Well…I did. Each one lasted about 30 seconds, and came seven to eight minutes apart. By morning, they were steadily arriving at seven minutes apart and 40 seconds long. Justin and I agreed it would be a good idea if he stayed home from work, and we geared up mentally for a long labor. I called our midwife, Christie, and let her know things were starting. Her great advice suggested we do something fun. This was the time to distract ourselves in spite of what was ahead. I finished cleaning up the house, made sure all of our birth supplies sat in proper order, and made our son’s Funfetti birthday cake for visitors to enjoy in the first few days.

Every five minutes, I was interrupted by contractions, still surging in my back and abdomen. Leaning over the kitchen countertop and back-and-forth pacing helped relieve the pain some. But I could tell they were getting steadily more intense.

 Justin and I went to Target around 1:00 pm to browse and buy some snacks for the long night ahead. I loved walking around the store, enjoying the excitement I felt. Every five minutes, I made my way into an aisle to breathe and rock my hips. I remember telling Justin, “People must think I look crazy.” But we were doing our job keeping busy, for sure!

Once we got home, we tried to take a nap. I couldn’t be still for more than 15 minutes, and realized it was too intense to lie down. I suggested Justin keep sleeping to be rested for later, and I went downstairs to continue breathing through each contraction. When he woke up at 4:00 pm, I needed him to stay with me. He offered the best support by pushing on my lower back during each contraction. Also, he told me how great I was doing. Much needed encouragement!

At 5:00 pm, I started thinking about how much I wanted Christie to be here. We called her and she offered to come over to start setting up for the birth. I knew things were progressing, because I felt such incredible relief to see her walk through our front door. After nine months of her invaluable support, she was here, and it was almost time to meet our baby.

She sat with me through a few contractions, and helped me to remember to relax. I vocalized loudly through each one, as they were getting to be the most difficult I had felt so far. I knew I wanted to get in the labor pool soon. But she asked to check my progress before doing so, in order to know how much further we had to labor. She looked up at me surprised, and told me how I was already 9.5 cm. She said, “we might have time to get the pool ready.” I was so thrilled, in spite of the intensity each contraction brought!  Who knew things would happen so quickly for me as a first time mom!

It was about 6:00 pm at this point, and she rushed to call her assistant, Carmen, and organize necessary supplies. Justin and I continued to work together to get me as comfortable as possible. I asked God for strength under my breath. He was with me.

They got the birthing pool ready, but the water was too hot…not a usual problem at home births. Things were progressing at a rapid pace. I started having the uncontrollable urge to push, so they helped me quickly into the tub. The water provided great relief. I started getting sleepy in between each contraction.

 Pushing was the most difficult part for me. I remember feeling quite out of control. It was painful, but Justin, Christie and Carmen encouraged me to push past it because it needed to happen for this sweet baby to come. Christie had me reach down and touch his head. He had so much hair!  (I had secretly wished the whole pregnancy that he would have lots of hair, as Justin and I had nearly none as newborns.) This was the perfect motivation I needed to give one last good push.

After only 26 minutes of pushing, and 16 ½ hours of total labor, I felt my son’s body slide out into the water behind me at 7:49pm. The best feeling I have EVER experienced. I turned around, Christie put him on my chest, and I looked at Justin in complete disbelief. All I could say through my tears was “oh my gosh, oh my gosh…” He was here, he was real, and I had a face to put to his name…Jacob Adam. He was more perfect than I could ever imagine.

He gave a faint cry. Christie and Carmen went into action to make sure he became more responsive. He had come so quickly, that he needed a bit of help to get going. I was amazed when Christie gave him a few breaths mouth-to-mouth. How thankful I felt that she would do that without hesitation. Justin and I stayed calm because we knew we were all in good hands. I prayed. I talked to Jacob and told him I loved him. He finally got more color in his body, and we knew everything was fine.

They helped me to the bed and got us cleaned up. I could care less about what they were doing around or to me. I couldn't stop looking at my sweet boy. They checked him, Justin weighed him, and I got to cut the cord. It was all so fun to witness and watch. 

Christie and Justin weighing Jacob

Justin laid down next to me and we stared at our baby together. What a surreal feeling to be relaxing comfortably in my own bed, together with my husband and son in OUR home. I don't feel like I did anything heroic. I really believe that anyone who wanted to choose home or natural birth could do it. The outcome is well worth the effort!

6 lbs 10 oz, 20 inches long. Pure sweetness!

When Christie and Carmen packed up and said goodbye to us in the living room, I didn’t know what to say at the end of such an event. I am so glad they were part of our story. “Thank you” still doesn’t feel adequate enough. Justin and I thank God for such a peaceful and safe experience. We knew we were blessed, but Jacob is no doubt the greatest blessing to us so far. 

...and only 3 weeks to go!

Couldn't sleep. I have been processing ALOT lately. So I thought I'd catch up with the old blogeroo.

The end is in sight! This is simply amazing to me, because I cannot remember what it's like to NOT be pregnant. 9 months is a long time! But, for good reason. All of your emotional, mental, and physical ducks have to get in a row. So, I am thankful to have had that time to process what a change this will be.

Justin and I are ready. Every day that passes allows me to move away from the denial I've been feeling and embrace the excitement of having a new little life in our lives. I suppose the change of lifestyle was truly daunting! But sweet friends around me have reminded me that the joys of motherhood outweigh the spit up, sleep deprivation, and spontaneity of a young married life. I'm grateful for their words of encouragement and Justin's willingness to listen to me when I've had my freak-out moments. :)

The nursery is done and functional. I meet with my midwife for the last time this week before I see her in labor. Everything is going well with my body and the baby. Even though I'm exhausted like crazy, am sick of eating (imagine that...) and have occasional hip pain, I still have nothing to complain about. I'm STOKED that this pregnancy went as well as it did. It's a blessing from the Lord!!! Our only prayer now is that our little   boy is healthy, and that we have a safe delivery. To see Justin become a daddy is probably my other most favorite part of all of this. What a team mate God gave me! And I'm super glad he will keep me laughing during labor.

Going to rest in the new excitement God gave me last night. Glad that He is my source of joy and that everything else is like really good cake icing. Mmmm, cake...

9 weeks to Parentdom...

Justin and I are in the home stretch. I finish work in 2 weeks. Friends have started fun preparations for our baby showers (SO BLESSED.) We have a lot more to do to get ready, but I would say we're in good shape. I don't know if I can say I'm in good shape, then again... I am nearly 8 months pregnant. I'm confident that my body is doing what it needs to in order to keep our little boy healthy, but it sure is unnerving when even T-shirts stop fitting. Already thanking God for the energy he will give me to get this baby weight off when the time is right! Very thankfully, I'm well within average weight gain limits. Can't wait to start training for my next half! Don't worry. My priorities are in order. :)

Justin and I have had lots of time together lately to realize how much things are about to change. We know good change is coming, but can't help but realize that it's HUGE change. That can be a bit overwhelming to me at times, but Justin is great about bringing me back to Earth. So thankful for an even-keeled husband that trusts in God and reminds me that I need to do the same. In the beginning of the pregnancy, 9 months seemed like FOREVER. But now I'm realizing how smart God was. He realized we would need this time to prepare, in every facet. Now with only 9 weeks to go, 9 months doesn't seem long at all!!!!

I'm starting to get "practice" contractions, and I'm getting VERY excited to see how my body will perform during labor. God made me for this. He will be with us. And He will be my strength and peace throughout it all. Justin and I have been taking birth classes, and I am already fascinated to see what an amazing coach Justin is. I think I picked well! ;) And having close friends around us that are in the same season of life is also beautiful. God always has support ready for us when we are in need. We are always taken care of.

Lots more to report soon, I'm sure. I'm looking forward to this year and my time as a stay-at-home-mommy. I have big plans to help bless my family and others. I'm already  realizing what a new time of ministry it is that I'm entering. That means my arsenal will consist of the Bible, pinterest, crafts and lots of cooking/baking ingredients! Justin is wonderful to provide for our family while I take care of our son. So I'm thrilled to help provide in other ways to return the favor. I'm overwhelmed with God's favor and blessings on our family.

16 weeks to go!

Today marks 24 weeks of pregnancy. Justin and I are looking at about 16 weeks until life really gets cray cray. We're enjoying every moment. Not stressing too much about getting everything done. I'll be done working in mid-February. And I'm sure that will give me enough time to make adjustments to the nursery, shopping, etc. It does seem to be going fairly quickly!

Latest news is that we're having a BOY!! Could not be more thrilled. We could have sworn it was a girl, so it was the ultimate awesome surprise to find out a little man was coming our way. He's given his mommy the easiest pregnancy ever, so I could not be more happy about that. And for all of those wondering if we have a name picked out...we're keeping his name a secret until his birthday! :)

I really love my job, so in a way I'll be sad to say goodbye. But it's been a great chapter and it's a great addition to my resume. Having special forces soldiers for students has been hilarious and a bit challenging (you can't write a tough guy's name on the board to give him a warning...). But, I've made great connections with other instructors and God knew it would be another piece in his giant puzzle of a plan for me. I feel blessed. And after taking some very important time to be a full-time wife and mommy, I know I will be in a classroom again one day.

Justin got a promotion a few weeks ago, and now has a permanent Systems Engineer position at ISS. He loves his job and coworkers. I feel thankful that he feels fulfilled and respected in a job he really likes. He feels pretty blessed, too.

Justin's mom, brother, and one of his sisters are coming to spend Christmas with us. We look forward to a fun time relaxing with everyone in our jammies. Showing them around Colorado Springs will be great fun too!

So here's to the time between now and April 8th (or somewhere around there, since only 4-5% of babies come on their due date). We can't wait to meet our little guy, and then introduce him to everyone else! The joy and support we feel with his arrival is exploding compared to the joy we felt on our wedding day! It's pretty spectacular to see how love multiplies. God is good!

15 weeks!

The pregnancy insomnia monster has struck. I've been sleeping so hard the last few months that this seems uncanny to me. Achy back, rumbly tummy, and mind spinning all make for a bad night's sleep.

My 15 week mark has hit. This is going by really fast and really slow at the same time. It's safe to say that I'm officially starting to show. Any pictures I've taken until now just looked like crazy bloat, so I won't be cataloguing those. I wish we would have been better about documenting weekly pictures, but from here on out I will...now that I have a 'goomba,' as Justin likes to call it.

It sure is an exciting time for Justin and me. Knowing these next 5 1/2 months (that's it??!!) are the last we'll have as just the two of us is CRAZY. Since I was 15, it's been just the two of us...in our adorable, lovesick little bubble. Crap be getting real! I look around, and seriously wonder where the time went. We're grown-ups, with a house and pets, and are gonna be parents. I'm just not sure when it will feel real! God is good.

I've started looking at what types of things we'd might want for the nursery and that has been fun to go online "shopping." Hoping not to be overwhelmed once I go in-store to revise my master list. Prayers will be appreciated. (only half kidding...)

I'm really looking forward to meeting whoever is growing inside me. First, I'll settle for finding out if it's a boy or girl. Only a few more weeks until we find out! This does put a temporary damper on planning purposes. Then, I'd like to be sure I've felt him/her move in there. Pretty sure I've felt it, but it's a real bummer when you can't tell the difference between your unborn and digestion.

All sarcasm aside, thanks to everyone who is feeling joy with us. It's been a real blessing to know others are sharing in our excitement! :)

We're having a baby. Whoa.

I suppose this is more like two seperate blog entries, but it seemed fitting to keep them together. We've recently found out and announced that around April 8, 2013, we're going to be parents! What??? Yeah. It's pretty awesome. I'm now 12 weeks, was blessed to only be exhausted and have no appetite, and we saw/heard the heartbeat. What a cool experience. There's a beautiful side to all of this, and an interesting side that I didn't know to expect. The interesting part started to manifest itself once we told people. (Read below for all of that.) The beautiful side is exactly as we imagined. We already love this little baby, we love eachother, and our family is expanding in both love and size. I get weekly email updates reminding us what size the baby is this week and how it's developed over the last week. (It's a lime right now!) God's intricate creation is happening inside me right now. It's unbelievable. What do you mean it's the size of a lime, and already has fingernails?! It's made me think twice as hard about the value of life and how quick people are to dismiss a pregnancy. God is good to give us such a gift.


***This part is really not meant for the masses. We know so many people that love and adore their children. All parents are of course entitled to vent, be exhausted and have a break. I suppose this is more for the people that choose negativity over positivity while raising their children. Read on if you would like.

Let me start with something I'll never forget. There was a family I watched recently while I was waiting to get a haircut. She had 3 sweet kids with her, all well-behaved and relatively quiet for young children. She was upset with them for no reason, like they were bugging her just by being there. You could tell how broken their little spirits were, and it made me want to cry. I suppose it was because of this that reminded me of people who can't look past the burden of parenthood...thus producing this rant and going hand-in-hand with a few comments made to me about becoming a mom.

"Our new chapter" is the best way I can refer to the newest development in our lives. It doesn't convey negativity or unreasonable expectations. It just conveys a continuation of our journey. Are we freaking thrilled?? Heck, yes. :) We are going in with an open mind!

 Since we've announced our pregnancy, I've received a myriad of reactions, such as those below (Pardon the sarcasm about to ensue. Perhaps it's my RAGING hormones. Ok, not really.)

- ::cackling laughter from a coworker I barely know:: then he said, "Just you wait until that thing comes out. EVERYTHING will change." (To which I replied in thought, "No, really. Perhaps, that's why we chose to wait 7 years into our marriage. Plus, that's just rude.")

- "Are you excited?" (This one should be a given. We're married, have stability, and I'm not a teenage drug addict. Of course, we're excited!)

- "Congratulations, you two will make great parents!" (Why thank you! We love that most people are excited for us. We feel prepared in the sense that we can find strength and wisdom in the Lord. And He is the best parent, can I get an AMEN?)

The best one I keep hearing is, "Just wait until you have kids!" So, is this supposed to be some kind of sage wisdom?? I don't really get it. Apparently, all of our time, money, and sanity will be lost on this new creature. Oh boy, we can't wait.

Instead, I would like to focus on the good of having a child. God is blessing us! We both realize what a cherished gift this is. If I'm not mistaken, Psalm 127:3 says, "Children are a gift from the Lord; they are a reward from him." Cool. Let's focus on that! We get to train this kid in the way he/she should go! I get to do my daughter's hair, or help my son look for bugs. Parenthood is going to be epic!

I'm sure some sleep deprived parents might feel like I'm coming from a place of ignorance because I haven't been there. But, we have seen many friends and family members go through the ups and downs of parenthood, so we feel like we have at least a 1/1000th of an idea of how hard it might be. It simply saddens to me to hear parents talk about their children like they're a burden. Plenty of people out there wish they could have that burden, with sleepless nights and all.... We're praying God will provide us the patience, energy, and excitement to do right by this little lime. Thankful we have him to lean on.

A new record...

...for not posting a darned thing. It's nearly the end of August, and I have been neglectful since January? Yeah, that sounds about right. Bust! Blog fail. Well, I'll do my best to pick up the pieces and start anew.

Things are pretty spectacular. God is good. He provides everything we need. His timing absolutely blows me away!

So, in June I felt the need to step back from my church responsibilities and find a new job. We still love our church and are so thankful to be able to continue to go there. I just realized I wasn't managing my stress very well. At all. God had already ligned someone up to take my position, too! So, I took the summer off and started looking for a teaching position. Had an interview, and a couple of phone calls, but no real leads. But, trusty old craigslist (I don't always recommend this, folks...) led me to a full-time, temporary contract position on Fort Carson teaching German to SF soliders. Whaaaa? Freaking AWESOME. The contract lasted 7 weeks, and here I am with 2 weeks left. I've been able to meet lots of great people and will have a place here in the future should they have a need for extra German Instructors. I finally can say I used my degree, if even for a short time. Life is Good.

On to my story about how fabulous God's timing is:  About the time that I felt the pull to stop working at our church, Justin got an incredible paid internship at a software company. It was to only last the summer, but he's been asked to stay on with the possibility of a permanent position/raise in the near future....again, about the same EXACT time that my contract position ends. Allow me to say, "whaaaa?" again. Because that's the only sound I can make with how excited I am.


Some of you might be asking "What will you do next, Lauren?" (I doubt you care that much, but I will still humor you.)  God knows. :) I have a few ideas for the near future, but as of now, I will devote myself to keeping up with the house and doing home projects. I'm pretty content with whatever God has for me. He knows what I want before I even know!


Ohhhh, and my brother got engaged!!! Which triple rocks!! We're really happy for them and will be attending their "nuptials" (I really hate that word...) sometime in May 2013. What a party!

That's all for now, my friends. Until next time. (Maybe not as long until next time, but no promises.)

5 months?!

Sad day. My last post was 5 months ago. Maybe life became boring enough to me that I didn't think you all needed an update? Or we got REAAAAAAAALLLLLLYYYY BUSY. Yeah, that one.

August and September passed, and I settled into my job at the church. Many people don't realize what that entails. I didn't either! Thank your local church office and/or pastor today. They work their booties off.

We realized in September that we could actually qualify for a home! God bless the VA and the loan they granted us for 3.75% and no down payment. We are eternally grateful, and would have had to wait  LONG time to ever purchase. We found a fantastic house smackdab in the middle of everything we love, and closed on Oct. 7th! That means we have officially been living in our new abode roughly 3 months. Come visit!

Christmas has since passed and we had a lovely time celebrating in our new home, not traveling anywhere. No stress of catching our flight on time. Just a nice hot cup of brew and fuzzy slippers. Sigh.

We spent the new year with some of our dearest friends. And now we will look forward to what this year holds for us. 2011 was solely spent cultivating our new life in Colorado springs. Now, 2012 might be a time to relax? Probably not, but we are grateful for the excitement and how-not-mundane life always seems to have. Now, I have to clean and grocery shop. I guess that's pretty mundane. :)

Since May....

Since May, a few things have changed. But...most things haven't. We still love our apartment, our pets, and living in Colorado Springs. Justin took summer classes, and is really enjoying and excelling in school. I'm glad he is able to focus on things without having to stress about a job. He starts fall classes on Monday, and is pretty pumped.

I continued my job through August, and my director position turned into day camp counselor for the summer. It was exhausting and stressful at times, and ultimately I wanted to be doing something more. I started my job search again...much to my dismay. As if I hadn't done that enough since I graduated... I was ready to be settled into a position.

And God worked in his perfect timing yet again! I was offered two wonderful jobs within hours of each other. I prayed for discernment and hoped I would make the right decision. With a huge peace in my heart, I was offered and accepted a job at our church as the office administrator! I just ended my first week, and I'm amazed at how fulfilled I feel. I am finally using the extent of the gifts God has given me! I love people, helping them, organizing, and creating. All of the reasons I wanted to go into teaching! But with the doors continually closing on teaching positions, I feel this is another great way for me to use my gifts to glorify God. I am thrilled to be working with such a great team of people!

Justin and I have also started training for my first (and his second) half marathon in October. We have been fairly active for the past couple of years, but this is the most I've ran in quite awhile. The closer we get to the race, the more running feels like a part time job. It feels incredible to be in this great of shape, and we still get to eat almost everything we want. :) We're still hiking, swimming, and biking on our off days for cross training. LOVE living in Colorado.

Summer here was not as hot as I imagined it would be. It topped out at mid-90's, and there was usually an afternoon thunderstorm to cool things off. I love the rain!

Now that we've been in this apartment 5 months, we have decided to resume our house hunt in December. Living in the apartment was great for saving money, but we're ready for a bit more space again and a yard for the pets. Excited for that chapter to unfold!

Since life has become a bit more uneventful, my blogging has become less frequent. That's all. Nothing personal. :) Til next time!! <3

All settled in.

Things are great. We moved into that apartment we wanted. We have two pets (Marty, whom we have adopted back into the family from some awesome people that had him the last year or so since my mom couldn't have him anymore, and Piper, our new kitty from the pound). They didn't get along at first, but now they're quite sweet with eachother. :)



Piper is the most talkative, playful, loving cat there ever was! We got pretty blessed finding her!

Here's Marty with his cool hair cut a while back before we got him. :)



We finished decorating our place, too. What a relief. Here's a few pics of our favorite features! We've done even more work since I took these...



Our neighbors here are relatively quiet, but sometimes things get "exciting" around here. haha We have a nosy old lady neighbor, but everyone needs one of those! She's very nice.

My job is going well, and I'm gearing up to close our site for the summer and work as a summer day camp counselor. That should be great fun. I am, however, looking and praying for a teaching job in the fall. God is good and will have me where he wants me, whether that is in my current job or in the classroom. Justin's taking summer classes and continuing to go to Army Reserve drill once a month. We're hoping to get to California in spite of all that this summer! It's been too long since we've seen some family!

Other things keeping us busy are checking out trails in the area. We hit one today, in fact, with Marty. We've been so much more active since moving to Colorado. Being outside here is contagious. Most everyone here appreciates being in nature so much, that you can't help but join in. So, that's exactly what we've done. We have plans to buy bikes soon and trailblaze that way. We live NEXT DOOR to our gym too, so that helps us out just a bit as well. :)

Hope everyone's doing well. We're so happy and content where we are right now. It's been great to add pets to our little family! Good training for parenting one day! ha.

Decorating's fun. :)

Not much new to tell, folks. But we are 99% sure we have found an apartment to move into on our own. It's right next to our gym, and VERY central to everything we'd like to be close to. The hugest blessing is how cheap the rent is, how it pretty much meets all our needs, and how water is included in the price. Marty will be coming to live with us shortly, we hope. Next week we'll hear back from the complex about our exact move-in date and we'll get some keys. They're anticipating April 13th or so. We'll see!

Started picking out color schemes for each room. We're very much downsizing from our last apartment in sq. footage, but also in rooms. We've never lived in a one bedroom before, but it's fun learning how to make it work. We might have to keep a small storage unit, but we're confident that this apartment will tide us over for a bit longer until our house buying can be successful. We're in really no hurry. :)

I'm so excited to get our stuff back out of boxes. I've missed my kitchen stuff and cook books...not to mention, the 12 piece Pampered chef cookware set that I have yet to use!! Can't wait for that one. :)

God is GOOD.

Hey folks. Well, it's March now...and pretty far into it. Since our last entry, things have changed amazingly! I have a job, Justin quit his (long story and VERY good), and we are getting ready to move into our own place. Now, if I might expand on all of that...

A few weeks ago, I was getting incredibly frustrated at why I was NOT getting calls back about jobs. I had gone to a Valentine's day tea with some of my mom's friends and our neighbors, and they specifically prayed for God's will, timing, and that I would have multiple positions to choose from when the time was right. Honestly, I had been praying all these same things on my own, and was feeling very discouraged at how I couldn't see God moving. I left it alone and kept looking for jobs. Keep in mind, Justin and I had already decided to "settle" and not worry about buying a house just yet...

My birthday was March 7th, and it had been on my heart the week prior to get a job for my birthday. Well, thursday the 3rd, I had seen an ad online for a Director position for a before/after school program. I called and told them I was very interested. The lady on the other line said, "Oh I know you! Your name was passed on to me by someone else in the company. We'd love to have you try out the position tomorrow afternoon!" :) :) :) Turns out, an interview I had went to a few weeks before had led me to this job. Now, I'm the new site director for a great program, with great kids, in an amazing area, and I love it. In addition to this awesomeness, I received 4 more calls (all before and around my birthday) for interviews. God is SO GOOD!! I was able to pick my job. WOW.

I realized the minute I stopped putting limitations on my job search (mostly with pay), God opened the door and allowed me to work in the most perfect place. He ordains every specific little thing, because He loves us. Jeremiah 29:11 could not be any more true. (For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.)


Justin's job was a blessing for a time in that it covered our income transition. The problem was that his boss was giving him only midnight shifts and was unwilling to consider Justin's school schedule. So, Justin has been exhausted trying to juggle both, and staying up all night before having to do homework/ go to class does not fly. He made the decision to quit and focus on school. God has blessed us in that we're financially able to allow Justin to focus just on school, without having to hold a job (as I had that privilege while in school, as well!) With all that said and done, he is much less stressed out.

My mom has also gotten a job!! She has been trusting God for his timing as well, and accepted a full-time position for the ministry phone center at her school. She's very excited to be working again. And even this very minute, she is in Nicaragua on a missions trip! Pray for her and her team! :) Living with her has really helped us all a lot financially. That was a big blessing.  And now that we're all a bit more settled, Justin and I are going to start looking for a condo or apartment for ourselves. We're stoked about having a pet and our own space to decorate again. AND we can't wait to get our stuff out of storage. Big sigh.

Tonight we became members of an awesome church family at Rock Family Church. They added a Friday night service that is pretty exciting, and a great alternative to Sunday's service. We're hoping to get more involved there and meet some more great people. Just tonight we met some really awesome young married couples that we're excited to get to know! God's working in all aspects of our lives!

Wow, I am so blessed and thrilled to be resting in God's promises. He never fails!

What a relief.

February is coming to a close this evening, and I have not blogged...because I genuinely did not have anything to report. Until now.

Justin has been working at his job for a few weeks now, working for a security company. Trying to balance it around his school schedule has not been easy. They are requiring him to work many midnight shifts, and we both have not been too fond of that. So, hopefully things progress for him in the work situation, because he's already starting to feel overwhelmed. We are blessed and excited that he found work though!

I still have no job. BUST. It's been a frustrating two months since we've been here. But, it's actually been frustrating since I graduated college. And that's been almost a year. I thought once I had my Bachelor's, things would magically fall into place, and I'd automatically start that "big people" job I've always wanted. Although grateful for my opportunities over the years, I've grown tired of odd-part-time-jobs that last for less than a year. I really would like to start a career and grow into its relationships. I have so much to offer!!!! aughhhhh. Ok, end of rant. :) Today I spent a lot of time praying and pouring my heart out to God about my situation. I asked him to take control, because I'm too tired to do it anymore. He answered. :)

Justin came home and said he had been doing a lot of thinking. He says that seldomly, so I know he meant business. We sat in the kitchen and talked. We agreed that this is not the right time for us to buy a house, simply because I am not finding the caliber of jobs that would allow for it. If I could teach, it would work...but it's mid-schoolyear. So as an alternative (a MUCH less stressful, more enjoyable one), we are postponing our house hunt. I can start any job I want, without worrying if it will pay enough to qualify for a home loan. We don't need that kind of space anyway, because kids are not coming for another good couple of years. Justin's in school and enjoying this new life out of the army, and kids can come when he graduates. I will use this time to find something else to do. I'm looking into graduate programs now, and that excites me. In a few months, we'll move into a rental home. And hey, that's ok. :)

We're both still really young, and things do not need to happen all at once. Stupid of me to think that they did! I'm glad Justin and I are so close to be able to talk through these decisions together. He blesses me, and I'm thrilled to be his wife.

It is obvious that God has been working in both of us lately to bring us to this smart, sensible conclusion. Tonight we ate dinner with a calm in our hearts, and a huge sense of relief. Excited to continue to see God work!

It's nice to be home.

Today is the 23rd of January. We have been here a little over two weeks, but it certainly does not feel that way. It went pretty fast. Driving around town now feels almost second nature...which is crazy considering what a bigger city this is compared to Manhattan!

Justin starts classes in the morning, and I have...not so much to do. Oy. The job search is tedious and requires a lot of God-given patience. Justin is also actively looking, but has school to also focus on. All I know is I have a Bachelor's, and have filled out A WHOLE BUNCH (technical term) of applications to big girl jobs. God's got my hand in His though, because the message I have been seeing/hearing (basically since we got here...in all types of facets....)is that delay is always for a greater reason. He is a great God with a master schedule, and will use me in a huge way when the time is right. I am super anxious to see what that will be (and when), but my free time right now is to draw closer to Him and listen.

I have taken pictures since we got here, but alas...left the camera cord in a storage box somewhere, and won't get the opportunity to upload until we find a house. In spite of all things, I feel at home here. Justin and I are constantly looking at the mountain range around us while we drive through town, and saying, "Can you believe we live here?!" It is so beautiful and a great testament to God's ability to create gorgeous things/places/people.

We're here!!!!

Hellooooo Colorado. :) We arrived Friday, January 7th, in the evening. Our things were picked up the week before we left, and we spent the final week in Kansas getting things finalized to leave. Justin feels very relieved to be done with active duty and all the paperwork that came with outprocessing! We spent time celebrating that relief over dinner with awesome friends on our last night in town. We sure will miss all the fantastic people we met while in the military.

The drive felt longer than normal, simply because we had to be in seperate cars. The wind was awful on our way here, but we made it! Saturday was a whirlwind getting things set up and making our room cozy. We are renting the back bedroom of my mom's apartment until we can find a house to buy. In the mean time, we're really enjoying spending time with her and saving some money while we're at it! It's nice to live near her again. :)

We ended up having to buy a mattress, because the air mattress we planned on living on while our stuff was in storage had a huge gash in it (assumedly from the move). So although it was not something we planned, the new mattress is a much comfier alternative!

Today we went to Justin's college and he registered for classes and bought his books. SUPER grateful that the military is reimbursing him for his school. And they give us a living stipend. Not too shabby! He's excited and I'm so glad for him. He is also going to find a part-time job to fill the rest of his time. I'm still looking for a full-time position. I've applied at the local colleges and universities for different positions, still hoping to stay in the field of education. Being that it's the middle of the school year, I don't see many opportunities to teach in the near future. And substitute teaching is just not going to cut it financially for us... we both know God has the perfect jobs lined up. My goal to be happy in my career is to work with people and use my degree to some extent. We will see what comes our way!

Once we get our jobs, we will begin the house search more aggressively! We've started a relationship with a great realtor and we know she will be excellent to work with. That's a whole new piece of exciting!

So, I guess to sum this up...new state, no army, new jobs, new weather (more snow!!!!! :) ), new house soon, and closer to family. Rock on! Jesus keeps blessing the socks off of us. We give him all the glory for the success in our lives!

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.