life

Well, we’ve been here a little over a month now and have encountered our first snag.  On Tuesday this week I was starting a load of sheets in the washer.  The washer was filling up with water and I decided to brush my teeth (laundry stuff is in our bathroom).  I turned on the faucet and noticed the water pressure was low but figured it was due to the washer filling up.  Then I turned it on again to finish up and no water came out.  I went to the kitchen faucet and no water came out there either.  I had to finish brushing my teeth with bottled water…cold bottled water from the fridge (my mouth didn’t like that).  I called Justin at work and he said he would look at it when he got home.  I was concerned because I hadn’t yet showered for the day (I’m thankful I didn’t decide to shower instead of laundry or I would have been mid shower when the water stopped).  Justin and his coworker Ed came over to assess the situation.  None of the breakers were tripped but there was loss of power for the water pump, garage door opener, a few outlets and lights.  They had to go back to work but Justin put in a claim for our home warranty we luckily have.  The disclaimer said we would hear something within 24 hours.  23 hours later and no shower (having to go to the grocery store to use the bathroom because we are on well water) Justin finally heard from an electrician.   I don’t know all the details but something slipped out of a junction box?  in the attic (very random).  So we are now back to normal. I was so glad the electrician came yesterday and in just enough time for me to shower before church.  Showers feel so good after you haven’t had one in awhile.  Now the electrician is due back sometime to look at some outlet questions we have.  I’m just glad to have water!

Happy Birthday Matt and Brandon! I hope you both have an amazing day.

So we were in Best Buy tonight and Justin says…”oh honey before we leave I need to look at that laptop thing.” And I said, “Laptop thing for the living room? You want me to help you find something to help you be more comfortable while using your laptop in the living room? ;)” and as we were heading that direction I said (in a joking matter), “what if I put my foot down and say no?” and he said, “Then I would tell you how cute you were and do it anyway.”  In the end I won…for now haha.  He didn’t find any he liked. And why were we in Best Buy this lovely Friday night…my sweet husband took me out on a “date”.  We were on a mission.  With a $10 bill we managed to both eat supper and still go to Ritters for some custard with $.63 to spare.  He even opened the door for me 🙂  Best Buy was our entertainment for the evening.  I guess you can call us cheap dates.  It was a great time though 🙂  Thank you Honey!

Today I’m having a pretty good day. Apache (black cat) decided to let us sleep in this morning by not meowing at all hours of the night and morning…so props to Apache. We’ve gotten to be lazy together this morning and were able to call and talk to Debra Conn, one of our friends (we consider family) from Shelby. We haven’t had a chance to really talk to our friends back in NC since we’ve been here. The first week we were simply trying to find everything and then along the way we’ve been painting and just flustered. We hope to truly reconnect with everyone in the coming days so hang in there. It was so nice to talk to Debra. We really do miss talking to her.

Now Justin is heading out to a charity event I believe with Jason Powell to drive BMWs. Sounds like more of a treat to me 😉 I hope they have a great time and don’t wreck any of them. I’m off to Lowes to buy our dining room paint and start rolling the walls now that the priming is mostly done.

I forgot to mention in my last post, and thanks to momma moore (she reminded me), Java got quite the welcome to South Bend. Not long after we signed for the house did Mark and Kem Meyer arrive (Justin’s boss’ boss to be technical). It was free frozen custard night at Culvers for dogs and they wanted to welcome Java to the area so they took her for a ride to get her special treat while we went out to grab a bite to eat. I did feel bad that she managed to get our of her collar while there and they had to chase her down but I’m glad it ended well. That was so awesome! I just kept saying…”I can’t believe they really took Java”. I know Java had a ball and we really thought it was a special treat. Thanks Kem and Mark and kids!

I really hate that I haven’t been able to update this like I planned. Justin and I were supposed to sit down together and type our experience contemplating this move and all the prayers that were answered along the way. We haven’t gotten to that due to the move and finishing up school and training our replacements at work. Now we are in South Bend and trying our hardest to get settled and adjusted.

Justin and I had stayed up until about 11pm or so on Sunday night trying to get everything ready to head out in the AM. We woke around 1:15am and gave the cats their pills and were getting dressed and ready when we heard voices outside our bedroom window. Then a knock. Then at the front door. Our dearest and best Crestview friends had come to see us off one last time (they all had to be up for work in a few short hours). I call them friends but they are definitely family in our eyes. It was so sweet and it made the final good bye from NC a lot better and easier. I didn’t even take time to pause and get all emotional when pulling out of our driveway for the last time. God surely knew that we needed distractions to help us through this transition.

Justin’s mom, dad, and sister made the journey with us on Monday, August 4th. We met them somewhere on highway 74 and made the trek in 3 cars. I had the cats and Justin had Java. I must make a note that we were able to find Justin’s family on 74 because there was an illumination of the highway when we passed them. They had been pulled over. I just knew his dad was going to be so mad and that the trip was not getting off to a good start. It turns out he got pulled over for going too slow hahaha. He was trying to let us catch up with him. That was a blessing that he was pulled over just to see if he was ok.

Justin, David, and I had a few spells along the way of fighting the snoozes but we were able to make it here in enough time to meet Diane (our realtor) at the house to check on the improvements since the inspection. We were also able to leave our family and pets at the house while we went to sign the millions of papers for the house. As we pulled out of the driveway to ride to the office for the signing, we passed our ABF trailer getting ready to pull in.

Once we returned and the house was officially ours, we found our family already vacuuming, cleaning, and starting to unload the truck. We were met, however by Stacey (Justin’s sister) as she informed us that one of the cats (Pixel) had gotten into the walls by a small hole behind the washer. We had put one cat in each bathroom since they were still waking up from the meds and were hissing and unhappy. Oops! We couldn’t coax Pixel out but eventually Justin unscrewed a vent from the wall and pulled him out. Gotta love adventure.

Before long Justin’s boss Jason and his family arrived along with Justin’s coworker Ed and his family. They brought flowers and water and pizza! They came several nights and Ed and Jason helped Justin and David build a wall separating what was called the family room, making it our master bedroom on one side and a dining room on the other. They even helped paint. Cary sent flowers a few days later. It was definitely wonderful and a God send to have so much help moving in. Thank you guys!

Justin’s mom, dad, and sister were able to stay until Saturday and we had a lot of fun shopping and just being together. We even primed and painted while Justin was at work (he started on Wednesday, August 6th). His boss was even nice enough to let him go early the days he worked that week so he could continue to move in and spend time with family.

Justin’s family was able to experience New Community on Thursday to get a glimpse of the services we will be attending. They even got a tour of the church. On Friday we put our brushes aside and went to Lake Michigan. The dunes were so beautiful, yet not the easiest to climb haha. I’ve never seen one.

Now Justin has been at work this week and I’ve been trying to do things here and there (what I can while Justin isn’t here) and have been trying to enjoy a little bit of free time. I have been looking for jobs online and trying to find the best strategy for finding work. I know that God has it all under control and I know that even a year ago I wouldn’t have been as certain. God really has been working in our lives and I am confident that “He knows the plans he has for me, plans to prosper me and not to harm me, plans to give me hope and a future.” Jeremiah 29:11 (Justin’s favorite verse). I just need to work on patience.

Please continue to pray for Justin and me. It’s definitely an adjustment but we are excited about what the Lord has in store for us here in Indiana. We miss you all! Please keep the emails, phone calls, and comments coming. It makes us feel at home.

Justin will hopefully be posting pictures that we have taken along the way on his flickr soon. Keep checking and email him to encourage it haha (love you honey!).

Today at approximately 7:45pm my group and I officially handed in the FINAL assignment of my Masters requirement. Now I just sit back and wait for the grade due by the 29th. I am so excited that I don’t exactly know how to feel. One big milestone down…now to pack. My parents and Kelly are coming down tomorrow to help with some more packing and cleaning. Our house is no longer our house as of Wednesday. Heather has been so gracious to allow us to stay until the 4th. What a whirlwind. I can’t wait to have more time to blog and catch everyone up. Please keep up the prayers.