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.