First off, I'd like to start by saying that while I don't feel I over-post about Jacob or my feelings about it, I know some people don't understand this pain and get frustrated with hearing about it so much. At first I thought, I don't care if people get annoyed, did they lose their child? I wanted to stick it to them. But, after giving it some thought I decided that I will use my blog to document my feelings, troubles, victories, etc. that way no one is "forced" to read my stuff. So, thank you to those of you that understand this is not a simple hurt that only requires a band-aid, but a significant loss that is requiring repeated surgery on my heart, soul, and mind. This is for me, but it helps to know I'm not walking alone (please don't tell me I'm not alone, that I have God; I know. Not the kind of alone I meant.)
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I knew this milestone was coming up. I was aware, I even mentioned it to a few people. But it didn't hit me until last night when I got an email from Similac about my baby's progress and the kind of diet I should be eating. I was getting ready to get in bed and all of a sudden I had this nagging feeling that I HAD to journal. I haven't journaled or even opened my journal since the day we found out we were pregnant. I was scared to read the words I wrote when I was filled with joy, happiness, and dreams of the future. I tried to tell myself that I didn't have to journal, I'd do it another time, but that didn't work, it was not an option.
As I opened my journal, I read the last part of my last entry:
"I can't believe I am a mommy! I have a child! My husband is a father. We are so blessed and loved. Thank you Lord for our blessing!
Estimated due date: April 18, 2014
We can't wait to meet little (boy name) or (girl name)
<3"
That immediately brought tears to my eyes and made me think. Do I still think we are so blessed and loved by the God of the universe? Yes. Do I still thank God for our blessing of 6 weeks? Yes. How can I answer yes to both of those questions? The only answer I can give is that God is faithful, just, loving, and knew what was going to happen long ago. He is using pain and suffering in my life (especially this past year) to bring me closer to Him and I could not be more grateful for that.
Now, Emily, what is this milestone you started talking about? Thank you for asking, I knew I would get off track, there is so much to say!
I would have been 12 weeks today, finishing up the first trimester. Tonight would have been a night full of tears (which it still might be) but these would be tears of happiness as we shared the news with our parents and siblings. Sometimes I wish we had kept the videos we made for each person so we could look back and see the happiness and hopefulness we had. I asked Phil to delete the videos as soon as we found my uterus empty. I didn't want anything left. I deleted pictures off my phone, but had already saved them to my computer, so I still have them. I would give anything to be able to send those videos tonight, wait by the phone for everyone to call us, and talk about the last 12 weeks. We would be telling my parents they would now have 5 grandchildren and telling Phil's parents they were grandparents for the first time. Amy would have another neice or possibly her first nephew and Keith would finally have the title uncle. But I don't get to do that. Not today at least. Not for months or possibly years.
I can't think of much more to say now. I'm coming up blank. So I'll finish with two of the things I wrote last night.
"I would have been 12 weeks tomorrow. Our baby would have finger nails and toe nails. But there is no longer a baby inside me."
"Jacob doesn't know me, and I will never know him."
Friday, October 4, 2013
Monday, September 2, 2013
Grateful, Re-directed, Focused
These three words sum up how I am feeling; grateful, re-directed, and focused.
Grateful:
I cannot explain how thankful I am for all the love, support, and prayers Phil and I have received since we lost Jacob. I really wanted to share what was going on in our lives, as it very much defined the last week or so and is helping form our future. I did NOT expect that my blog post would have over 520 views, that so many people would take the time to private message me, and that through a time of sorrow we would come out the other side knowing each other more deeply. We are still processing our loss and working through the stages of grief. They have been extremely evident in me and I have been able to recognize them as they have come so far, allowing me to communicate with Phil.
Please know that we so appreciate all your kind words, questions, checking in, and prayers. I do not think we will ever be able to fully express our appreciation, you have been amazing. Please continue to keep us in your prayers.
Re-directed:
Our life has taken a few sharp, unexpected turns lately. It has left me feeling hazy and confused. This weekend Phil and I sat down and talked for hours about our future and what we want it to look like. (If you know anything about me, you know this kind of conversation is necessary for me!) We shared opinions, discussed options, and made tentative plans. We fully understand that God can always change our plans, but we hope and pray that our plan is always aligned with his, and if we get off target we know he will guide us back to where we need to be. It feels great to have some landmarks for us to aim for and work towards.
Focused:
I am determined. I will not allow the trials I have endured this year pull me down. I will not be the girl that had a tough year and gave up. I will not be a sob story.
I will continue to press on, growing in all areas. I will continue to and better cling to God, becoming a more Godly woman. I will use the lessons learned to help myself, but more importantly, help others. And surely, because we live in a broken world, I will walk towards new trials.
Because I have been re-directed and am now focused, I have some work to do. I have goals and I will meet those goals. Most of them are personal and unfortunately I can't share them with the world just yet. But, I can share my health goals!
I have been pretty open about my weight struggle and my Weight Watchers journey since January. Between January and June, I lost 25 pounds, but after taking the summer 'off', I have gained back about 5 pounds. I am pretty pleased with those results. I was not exercising regularly and ate quite satisfactorily all July and August (I'm surprised I only gained back 5!) I always wanted to lose weight and be healthy before I got pregnant. When I found out I was pregnant, I was kind of bummed I wasn't in better health, but knew I could still work on it throughout the pregnancy. Now that I am not pregnant, I have a very obvious chance to work on my health!
I talked about doing a 5k before, but never committed to it. I was a wuss, I didn't want to do it unless I had someone to run with me. Now that doesn't matter anymore. Of course I hope to have friends to run with, but I will run a 5k by myself if I have to! I have registered for two different 5k's! I have 11 weeks until the first one, the Turkey Day 5k, and the 2nd is two weeks later, the Santa Hustle. I have a training program on my phone to help me work up to the 5k, and I'm pretty nervous, I've never run more than 1 mile before! I also have a few body weight exercises planned out for this month to do after my training program. I will be re-starting WW too!
I feel empowered and am so excited for this fall and all that it will bring! Please continue to check in, ask how my training is going, and pray!
Grateful:
I cannot explain how thankful I am for all the love, support, and prayers Phil and I have received since we lost Jacob. I really wanted to share what was going on in our lives, as it very much defined the last week or so and is helping form our future. I did NOT expect that my blog post would have over 520 views, that so many people would take the time to private message me, and that through a time of sorrow we would come out the other side knowing each other more deeply. We are still processing our loss and working through the stages of grief. They have been extremely evident in me and I have been able to recognize them as they have come so far, allowing me to communicate with Phil.
Please know that we so appreciate all your kind words, questions, checking in, and prayers. I do not think we will ever be able to fully express our appreciation, you have been amazing. Please continue to keep us in your prayers.
Re-directed:
Our life has taken a few sharp, unexpected turns lately. It has left me feeling hazy and confused. This weekend Phil and I sat down and talked for hours about our future and what we want it to look like. (If you know anything about me, you know this kind of conversation is necessary for me!) We shared opinions, discussed options, and made tentative plans. We fully understand that God can always change our plans, but we hope and pray that our plan is always aligned with his, and if we get off target we know he will guide us back to where we need to be. It feels great to have some landmarks for us to aim for and work towards.
Focused:
I am determined. I will not allow the trials I have endured this year pull me down. I will not be the girl that had a tough year and gave up. I will not be a sob story.
I will continue to press on, growing in all areas. I will continue to and better cling to God, becoming a more Godly woman. I will use the lessons learned to help myself, but more importantly, help others. And surely, because we live in a broken world, I will walk towards new trials.
Because I have been re-directed and am now focused, I have some work to do. I have goals and I will meet those goals. Most of them are personal and unfortunately I can't share them with the world just yet. But, I can share my health goals!
I have been pretty open about my weight struggle and my Weight Watchers journey since January. Between January and June, I lost 25 pounds, but after taking the summer 'off', I have gained back about 5 pounds. I am pretty pleased with those results. I was not exercising regularly and ate quite satisfactorily all July and August (I'm surprised I only gained back 5!) I always wanted to lose weight and be healthy before I got pregnant. When I found out I was pregnant, I was kind of bummed I wasn't in better health, but knew I could still work on it throughout the pregnancy. Now that I am not pregnant, I have a very obvious chance to work on my health!
I talked about doing a 5k before, but never committed to it. I was a wuss, I didn't want to do it unless I had someone to run with me. Now that doesn't matter anymore. Of course I hope to have friends to run with, but I will run a 5k by myself if I have to! I have registered for two different 5k's! I have 11 weeks until the first one, the Turkey Day 5k, and the 2nd is two weeks later, the Santa Hustle. I have a training program on my phone to help me work up to the 5k, and I'm pretty nervous, I've never run more than 1 mile before! I also have a few body weight exercises planned out for this month to do after my training program. I will be re-starting WW too!
I feel empowered and am so excited for this fall and all that it will bring! Please continue to check in, ask how my training is going, and pray!
Saturday, August 24, 2013
Jacob Eastman
Jacob: believed to be derived from a name meaning "may God protect"
This post is dedicated to my child, Jacob, who will never feel the pain and suffering of this world. Jacob will only know Heaven and our God.
I found out I was pregnant on Tuesday, August 13. It was one of the best days of my life. I was beaming all day, and remember crying tears of miraculous joy on Phil. We were both so excited, we could not believe we were parents! I prayed daily for my baby's health, soul, and life, but also prayed for God's will to be done and mostly, for me to accept his will-no matter what it was.
I started spotting Friday, August 16 and got very nervous. It continued every time I went to the bathroom and finally on Wednesday, I called my doctor. They sent me in for blood work to get my HCG count and suggested a possible ultrasound. I had a feeling something wasn't right, but didn't feel like I was having a miscarriage. On that day, I believe I accepted the fact that the baby was not going to make it, but hoped it would. My HCG count was 11,000 right on track for how far along I was and scheduled an ultrasound for Friday, the 23rd. The spotting slowed down a lot Thursday and I started to gain more hope that I would see a yolk sac, my baby, and the heart beat on the ultrasound-as that is what is common to be seen at 6 weeks. The ultrasound tech started taking the pictures and when she took pictures of my uterus, there was nothing in it. She told me there was a mass in one of my tubes and is highly suspicious of an ectopic pregnancy. We talked to a nurse, a doctor, had more blood work, and within 2 and a half hours I had received the methotrexate to end the pregnancy. I just wanted to go home. I had been holding in my tears for too long and, though I know the medical staff was working quickly since an ectopic pregnancy is a 'medical emergency', it seemed as if they were taking their time to get everything done.
Once we got home, I was a complete mess. Phil had been such an amazingly strong support, that he was holding it in for me. I asked him to let go and we both cried together over the loss of our child. I told Phil I wanted to name him, I was hoping for a boy and it felt right. He quickly came up with Jacob, told me the meaning, and our baby boy was named.
Last night was probably the most difficult night of my life. I never thought at the age of 25 I would mourn the loss of a child, and the loss of our future. We had already planned how we would tell our parents and siblings; we made videos on the day we found out we were pregnant. We planned on me having a big belly in Hawaii for Christmas. We planned that April 2014 was going to be the first time we would meet our child. Now that is all gone. The future I was so looking forward to can never exist. Yes, we do plan to try to get pregnant again in the future, but this time frame will never be what we hoped it would be.
Today I am feeling hollow, like nothing is affecting me. Phil can get a giggle or small smile out of me, but everything else is just happening around me right now. Phil seems to be doing OK, at the very least he is holding it together for me.
The next steps in this process are many. I have to have blood work twice this coming week to check that my HCG levels have indeed dropped (meaning the pregnancy has stopped growing). If by Thursday my levels have not dropped, I will receive another dose of the methotrexate. I have to have my blood monitored until my HCG count is below 5, which could take a month or 2 or 3 months. The only scary thing we have to watch for is severe stomach pains or shoulder pain, which would mean my tube has burst and I will then need emergency surgery. Obviously we want the medication to work to avoid surgery, so you can be praying for that.
How you can be supportive:
-Allow me to grieve. This will take some time. I imagine this will effect me for years to come, especially around August 23 and April 18-the due date.
-You can absolutely tell us you are sorry for our loss and that you are praying for us.
-Please do not ask when we will try to get pregnant again. We do not know, nor are we in a place to be making that decision right now.
-Pray for our hearts and state of mind.
-Pray for the methotrexate to work quickly so that the number of times I have to get blood work done in and after September is kept to a minimum. We will be losing our insurance August 31, so everything will be out of pocket.
-Please do not be offended if I do not seem interested or 'present'. It is not you. At the current moment, I do not feel interested in anything at all. I feel like I could sit on my couch and stare at the wall all day.
-If you are pregnant or become pregnant in the near future, please PLEASE do not shy away from me. Though it will be difficult at times, I want to be there for you through your pregnancy and rejoice when your baby is born!
Thank you for your prayers, tears, condolences, and support during this time. Phil and I are working together to deal with everything correctly so that we may move on when the time is right.
I'd like to end this post stating that I wish my baby could grow and meet each and every one of you. But, I know that God is in control, He is sovereign, and my boy, Jacob, is with him right now.
This post is dedicated to my child, Jacob, who will never feel the pain and suffering of this world. Jacob will only know Heaven and our God.
I found out I was pregnant on Tuesday, August 13. It was one of the best days of my life. I was beaming all day, and remember crying tears of miraculous joy on Phil. We were both so excited, we could not believe we were parents! I prayed daily for my baby's health, soul, and life, but also prayed for God's will to be done and mostly, for me to accept his will-no matter what it was.
I started spotting Friday, August 16 and got very nervous. It continued every time I went to the bathroom and finally on Wednesday, I called my doctor. They sent me in for blood work to get my HCG count and suggested a possible ultrasound. I had a feeling something wasn't right, but didn't feel like I was having a miscarriage. On that day, I believe I accepted the fact that the baby was not going to make it, but hoped it would. My HCG count was 11,000 right on track for how far along I was and scheduled an ultrasound for Friday, the 23rd. The spotting slowed down a lot Thursday and I started to gain more hope that I would see a yolk sac, my baby, and the heart beat on the ultrasound-as that is what is common to be seen at 6 weeks. The ultrasound tech started taking the pictures and when she took pictures of my uterus, there was nothing in it. She told me there was a mass in one of my tubes and is highly suspicious of an ectopic pregnancy. We talked to a nurse, a doctor, had more blood work, and within 2 and a half hours I had received the methotrexate to end the pregnancy. I just wanted to go home. I had been holding in my tears for too long and, though I know the medical staff was working quickly since an ectopic pregnancy is a 'medical emergency', it seemed as if they were taking their time to get everything done.
Once we got home, I was a complete mess. Phil had been such an amazingly strong support, that he was holding it in for me. I asked him to let go and we both cried together over the loss of our child. I told Phil I wanted to name him, I was hoping for a boy and it felt right. He quickly came up with Jacob, told me the meaning, and our baby boy was named.
Last night was probably the most difficult night of my life. I never thought at the age of 25 I would mourn the loss of a child, and the loss of our future. We had already planned how we would tell our parents and siblings; we made videos on the day we found out we were pregnant. We planned on me having a big belly in Hawaii for Christmas. We planned that April 2014 was going to be the first time we would meet our child. Now that is all gone. The future I was so looking forward to can never exist. Yes, we do plan to try to get pregnant again in the future, but this time frame will never be what we hoped it would be.
Today I am feeling hollow, like nothing is affecting me. Phil can get a giggle or small smile out of me, but everything else is just happening around me right now. Phil seems to be doing OK, at the very least he is holding it together for me.
The next steps in this process are many. I have to have blood work twice this coming week to check that my HCG levels have indeed dropped (meaning the pregnancy has stopped growing). If by Thursday my levels have not dropped, I will receive another dose of the methotrexate. I have to have my blood monitored until my HCG count is below 5, which could take a month or 2 or 3 months. The only scary thing we have to watch for is severe stomach pains or shoulder pain, which would mean my tube has burst and I will then need emergency surgery. Obviously we want the medication to work to avoid surgery, so you can be praying for that.
How you can be supportive:
-Allow me to grieve. This will take some time. I imagine this will effect me for years to come, especially around August 23 and April 18-the due date.
-You can absolutely tell us you are sorry for our loss and that you are praying for us.
-Please do not ask when we will try to get pregnant again. We do not know, nor are we in a place to be making that decision right now.
-Pray for our hearts and state of mind.
-Pray for the methotrexate to work quickly so that the number of times I have to get blood work done in and after September is kept to a minimum. We will be losing our insurance August 31, so everything will be out of pocket.
-Please do not be offended if I do not seem interested or 'present'. It is not you. At the current moment, I do not feel interested in anything at all. I feel like I could sit on my couch and stare at the wall all day.
-If you are pregnant or become pregnant in the near future, please PLEASE do not shy away from me. Though it will be difficult at times, I want to be there for you through your pregnancy and rejoice when your baby is born!
Thank you for your prayers, tears, condolences, and support during this time. Phil and I are working together to deal with everything correctly so that we may move on when the time is right.
I'd like to end this post stating that I wish my baby could grow and meet each and every one of you. But, I know that God is in control, He is sovereign, and my boy, Jacob, is with him right now.
Tuesday, February 12, 2013
Disney Vacation!
Hello blog readers...all 5 of you. If you follow my posts of Facebook (which if you are here, you most likely do) you now know that I get to celebrate my 25th birthday at DisneyWorld! I could not be any more excited. Read on for details and how we came to decide our vacation!
Why: I had been to DisneyWorld for my first time in 4th grade with my Odyssey of the Mind team and GATE teacher.
What's Odyssey of the Mind? Glad you asked! Each team has 6 people I believe, 1 person being the director-I was the director in my group. It is a creative, problem solving competition for elementary-college. Our team created and performed a short skit about make-up coming to life to help an actress prepare for her debut, I still think it's pretty creative so many years later. The teams also compete in an event called Spontaneous. The judge gives you a problem and you go around the circle coming up with as many creative solutions as possible. Anyhow, those 2 scores are added together to get your final score. So, my team competed at our local competition and moved on to the next round. We then flew up to Reno to compete at state and won that competition which sent us to...DisneyWorld for the World Finals! (World is held in Iowa this year, I think we won the right year...) All that to say, that was my first time in DisneyWorld and it was a complete blast. It was the first year Animal Kingdom was open, so there wasn't much there yet but I can say I was among the first people to go! We ended up placing like 52nd out of over 100 teams, so we did pretty well, but had a great time in Florida.
Phil grew up vacationing in Orlando for Christmas with his family. They weren't really 'Disney' people though, having 2 boys, so they spent most of their time at Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure.
Phil and I honeymooned in Orlando and spent the week at Universal Studios because those tickets are far cheaper than Disney tickets, plus we love thrill rides and Universal is known for that! We ended up going to Magic Kingdom and Hollywood Studios for 1 day and had a great time. Very short lines in January!
Then, we went back about a year later and did another week at Universal, centered around seeing the new Wizarding World of Harry Potter! Again, we did 1 Disney day but this time we did Epcot (only 1 ride and it made me incredibly sick) and Magic Kingdom.
I told Phil that I while I love Universal Studios, I really wanted to do a Disney vacation just the two of us before we have children. Once we have kids, our vacations will be about them and making sure they have a great time. And after they are grown, we probably won't be interested in a Disney vacation by ourselves. So, the time has come for us to take our adult Disney trip!
We were planning to visit family this July; Vegas and Boise. We were going to be out of town for about 2 and a half weeks to be able to see everyone long enough that made it worth while. After crunching numbers and really sitting down and figuring this out, we realized that this trip was going to be very long, tiring, expensive, and not give us time to really vacation and just be the two of us. We know we will be in Boise for Christmas this year, so we will be seeing our family then. After realizing this, I went to my favorite website www.disneyparks.com/fun and entered in my dream vacation information to see what that would look like, all while Phil rolled his eyes. After getting all the details right, we were both surprised that we could totally afford this wonderful vacation-just the two of us! Alas, our Disney vacation was taking form...
When: We were originally planning on being out of town for 4th of July, so we thought about going then. But then I kind of jokingly said we could go on my birthday, totally expecting to go for 4th of July. Phil thought about it for a quick second and said, yes for your birthday! Ahhhh!! It took me about 30 minutes to realize this year isn't just another birthday, it's the big 2-5 (Phil realized this immediately and is the reason we are going then)! What a special way to welcome that age! Then we realized that we went on a mini-vacation for Phil's 25th, and the Eastman 25th birthday vacation celebration was born.
We will be flying out early Thursday, July 25 and coming home Thursday, August 1. My birthday is July 27, so we'll be able to be in one of the parks that day and get my birthday button!
Where: Well, if you haven't realized by now, we are going to Orlando....we are going to be staying on-site at Disney's All-Star Music Hotel. It's one of the value resorts, AKA the cheapest they have and kind of corny with the themed decor, but its cute and fun and a place to sleep. I wanted to stay in the All-Start Movies hotel, but since Phil was being so wonderful in letting me take this trip, I let him choose the hotel and he wanted to do the music one :) I actually stayed at this hotel when I was there for OM, we were stuck in the Country building (bleh) so I'm hoping this time we get the rock-n-roll building ;)
What: We have 5 day tickets to the Disney parks, we opted out of park hoppers since it adds like $150 to be able to go to different parks in a day. We figured we can commit to one park a day and save $150. We'll get to go to each park once, and then repeat our favorite on our last day-I'm curious to find out which park we'll repeat, what do you think it will be?!
While this is a DISNEY trip, we do love our Universal Studios....and we have 1 day of no park activity available...Usually we take 1 day to just sleep in and take multiple naps, so we might do that. But, we are also thinking of doing Universal one day, and to be clear it would be Islands of Adventure so we can do Harry Potter again (even Phil who isn't a fan of HP LOVES the new addition to the park) and the Hulk, Spider-Man...so many amazing rides there!
If you haven't noticed yet, I am SO excited this dream vacation is finally happening! I can't tell you how many times I have visited the Disney vacation planning website trying to find a way to make this happen. I love how Disney really helps keep up your excitement for your trip, they send you emails with details, videos, ideas, etc to get you ready. Of course a lot of this is trying to get you to spend more money, but it makes me feel like a 5 year old on Christmas morning. The video they sent us today (you can see it here) literally had me covering my mouth is awe of how it is customized and how fun and exciting it is! I love getting my "Eastman Family Vacation" emails and I can't wait to get our adorable package with tickets, coupons, and final details in the mail in June.
Well, that is all for now. I apologize now for the massive amount of Disney things I will be posting on Facebook and pinning in the coming months. I am excited and will be sharing my excitement with you :)
Why: I had been to DisneyWorld for my first time in 4th grade with my Odyssey of the Mind team and GATE teacher.
What's Odyssey of the Mind? Glad you asked! Each team has 6 people I believe, 1 person being the director-I was the director in my group. It is a creative, problem solving competition for elementary-college. Our team created and performed a short skit about make-up coming to life to help an actress prepare for her debut, I still think it's pretty creative so many years later. The teams also compete in an event called Spontaneous. The judge gives you a problem and you go around the circle coming up with as many creative solutions as possible. Anyhow, those 2 scores are added together to get your final score. So, my team competed at our local competition and moved on to the next round. We then flew up to Reno to compete at state and won that competition which sent us to...DisneyWorld for the World Finals! (World is held in Iowa this year, I think we won the right year...) All that to say, that was my first time in DisneyWorld and it was a complete blast. It was the first year Animal Kingdom was open, so there wasn't much there yet but I can say I was among the first people to go! We ended up placing like 52nd out of over 100 teams, so we did pretty well, but had a great time in Florida.
Phil grew up vacationing in Orlando for Christmas with his family. They weren't really 'Disney' people though, having 2 boys, so they spent most of their time at Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure.
Phil and I honeymooned in Orlando and spent the week at Universal Studios because those tickets are far cheaper than Disney tickets, plus we love thrill rides and Universal is known for that! We ended up going to Magic Kingdom and Hollywood Studios for 1 day and had a great time. Very short lines in January!
Then, we went back about a year later and did another week at Universal, centered around seeing the new Wizarding World of Harry Potter! Again, we did 1 Disney day but this time we did Epcot (only 1 ride and it made me incredibly sick) and Magic Kingdom.
I told Phil that I while I love Universal Studios, I really wanted to do a Disney vacation just the two of us before we have children. Once we have kids, our vacations will be about them and making sure they have a great time. And after they are grown, we probably won't be interested in a Disney vacation by ourselves. So, the time has come for us to take our adult Disney trip!
We were planning to visit family this July; Vegas and Boise. We were going to be out of town for about 2 and a half weeks to be able to see everyone long enough that made it worth while. After crunching numbers and really sitting down and figuring this out, we realized that this trip was going to be very long, tiring, expensive, and not give us time to really vacation and just be the two of us. We know we will be in Boise for Christmas this year, so we will be seeing our family then. After realizing this, I went to my favorite website www.disneyparks.com/fun and entered in my dream vacation information to see what that would look like, all while Phil rolled his eyes. After getting all the details right, we were both surprised that we could totally afford this wonderful vacation-just the two of us! Alas, our Disney vacation was taking form...
When: We were originally planning on being out of town for 4th of July, so we thought about going then. But then I kind of jokingly said we could go on my birthday, totally expecting to go for 4th of July. Phil thought about it for a quick second and said, yes for your birthday! Ahhhh!! It took me about 30 minutes to realize this year isn't just another birthday, it's the big 2-5 (Phil realized this immediately and is the reason we are going then)! What a special way to welcome that age! Then we realized that we went on a mini-vacation for Phil's 25th, and the Eastman 25th birthday vacation celebration was born.
We will be flying out early Thursday, July 25 and coming home Thursday, August 1. My birthday is July 27, so we'll be able to be in one of the parks that day and get my birthday button!
Where: Well, if you haven't realized by now, we are going to Orlando....we are going to be staying on-site at Disney's All-Star Music Hotel. It's one of the value resorts, AKA the cheapest they have and kind of corny with the themed decor, but its cute and fun and a place to sleep. I wanted to stay in the All-Start Movies hotel, but since Phil was being so wonderful in letting me take this trip, I let him choose the hotel and he wanted to do the music one :) I actually stayed at this hotel when I was there for OM, we were stuck in the Country building (bleh) so I'm hoping this time we get the rock-n-roll building ;)
What: We have 5 day tickets to the Disney parks, we opted out of park hoppers since it adds like $150 to be able to go to different parks in a day. We figured we can commit to one park a day and save $150. We'll get to go to each park once, and then repeat our favorite on our last day-I'm curious to find out which park we'll repeat, what do you think it will be?!
While this is a DISNEY trip, we do love our Universal Studios....and we have 1 day of no park activity available...Usually we take 1 day to just sleep in and take multiple naps, so we might do that. But, we are also thinking of doing Universal one day, and to be clear it would be Islands of Adventure so we can do Harry Potter again (even Phil who isn't a fan of HP LOVES the new addition to the park) and the Hulk, Spider-Man...so many amazing rides there!
If you haven't noticed yet, I am SO excited this dream vacation is finally happening! I can't tell you how many times I have visited the Disney vacation planning website trying to find a way to make this happen. I love how Disney really helps keep up your excitement for your trip, they send you emails with details, videos, ideas, etc to get you ready. Of course a lot of this is trying to get you to spend more money, but it makes me feel like a 5 year old on Christmas morning. The video they sent us today (you can see it here) literally had me covering my mouth is awe of how it is customized and how fun and exciting it is! I love getting my "Eastman Family Vacation" emails and I can't wait to get our adorable package with tickets, coupons, and final details in the mail in June.
Well, that is all for now. I apologize now for the massive amount of Disney things I will be posting on Facebook and pinning in the coming months. I am excited and will be sharing my excitement with you :)
Tuesday, October 23, 2012
Amazing
I know I just posted a blog about an hour ago, but I feel like I need to write another one dedicated to God and how He is working in my life right now.
I mentioned in my previous post that my pastor challenged me with jumping into the deep end of the pool in regards to my relationship with Christ. This was a week ago Saturday (today is Tuesday) and there have already been crazy changes in my life.
**Sorry this post is not well organized, try to bear with me**
First of all, our church is going through the book of John and the series is called Authentic Jesus. The section we are currently on (John 4-12 I think) is titled Authentic Revelation. The past few weeks have focused on John 4 where Jesus meets the Samaritan woman at the well-famous story, if you've been in church you've probably heard the story, or at least heard it referenced. Here is one of the things I learned about this story:
-When people needed to go from Judea to Galilee, instead of going straight north through Samaria, they would go out of their way and go West to the opposite side of the Jordan River because there was a prejudice about the Samaritan people. But, when Jesus needed to get from Judea to Galilee, he went straight up through Samaria, where he met the woman at the well.
The story goes on to the point where Jesus explains to the woman that he is the living water, that whoever drinks of this living water will never be thirsty again. But those who drink of the water in the well, will be thirsty again. The woman is like us, dense, and doesn't get it. I didn't get it before either. Thankfully, Pastor James likes to break it down for us so we can get a better understanding of Jesus.
Switch to another thing...
I joined a small group last week that is doing the Beth Moore study on the book of James. Here's how little bible knowledge I have, did not know James was Jesus' younger half-brother. That's a pretty important fact that I just never picked up on, WAKE UP EMILY!!!! Since I joined the group a week after it started, I did all of last week's homework yesterday and learned all about James' upbringing. Today I have done 2 of this week's lessons (because I'm a slacker and put it off) and had to stop before moving on to the next lesson because of what it said at the end. She had us write 1 Kings 18:21 in our book and asked if God was saying anything...oh boy, you bet he is saying a LOT!
1 Kings 18:21
"And Elijah came near to all the people and said, 'How long will you go limping between two different opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal, then follow him.' And the people did not answer him a word."
Jaw dropped. Totally convicted. Oh my golly.
Switch....
You know my weight has been an issue for me. I'm lazy and I like to eat. However, this needs to change. A friend of mine told me about this free website called Setting Captives Free, that offers programs to people that are addicted to any number of things, food being one of them. Food addiction is something I've wondered about for some time, but never let that thinking get too far. The basics of the program is that you feast at The Lord's Table (being in the Word and talking with God) daily and get satisfaction from that and not from food. As people we have a need to be satisfied and will search the world for something that will quench our need, but the only thing that will truly satisfy is the Lord. They give you two eating plan options, but really the focus is on feasting on the Word. I started this yesterday and am already struggling. Prayer is welcome!!
Did you catch what I said in that last paragraph? Let me say it again, "As people we have a need to be satisfied and will search the world for something that will quench our need, but the only thing that will truly satisfy is the Lord." Maybe if you change the word "need" to "thirst" you'll see the connection that I saw.
The food addiction program I am working on is helping me to DRINK THE LIVING WATER to never be thirsty again-which is what Pastor James is preaching on at church-and just so happens to be the thing that I struggle with, as it is said in 1 Kings 18:21, that I need to follow God if I believe in him and stop living a "double life!"
WOW! I hope that hit you as hard as it hit me. It completely blows my mind that when you are in God's word, he really, truly speaks to you. You can be looking at 3 different things, like I am, and see the same message being yelled at you in all 3 things.
If you struggle with any of these same issues (which if you followed my erratic post here, you'll know this is really 1 issue) please let me know! I'd love to walk alongside other believers that are struggling in the same area, or perhaps you have already conquered this area and can provide some encouragement.
You are loved. :)
I mentioned in my previous post that my pastor challenged me with jumping into the deep end of the pool in regards to my relationship with Christ. This was a week ago Saturday (today is Tuesday) and there have already been crazy changes in my life.
**Sorry this post is not well organized, try to bear with me**
First of all, our church is going through the book of John and the series is called Authentic Jesus. The section we are currently on (John 4-12 I think) is titled Authentic Revelation. The past few weeks have focused on John 4 where Jesus meets the Samaritan woman at the well-famous story, if you've been in church you've probably heard the story, or at least heard it referenced. Here is one of the things I learned about this story:
-When people needed to go from Judea to Galilee, instead of going straight north through Samaria, they would go out of their way and go West to the opposite side of the Jordan River because there was a prejudice about the Samaritan people. But, when Jesus needed to get from Judea to Galilee, he went straight up through Samaria, where he met the woman at the well.
The story goes on to the point where Jesus explains to the woman that he is the living water, that whoever drinks of this living water will never be thirsty again. But those who drink of the water in the well, will be thirsty again. The woman is like us, dense, and doesn't get it. I didn't get it before either. Thankfully, Pastor James likes to break it down for us so we can get a better understanding of Jesus.
Switch to another thing...
I joined a small group last week that is doing the Beth Moore study on the book of James. Here's how little bible knowledge I have, did not know James was Jesus' younger half-brother. That's a pretty important fact that I just never picked up on, WAKE UP EMILY!!!! Since I joined the group a week after it started, I did all of last week's homework yesterday and learned all about James' upbringing. Today I have done 2 of this week's lessons (because I'm a slacker and put it off) and had to stop before moving on to the next lesson because of what it said at the end. She had us write 1 Kings 18:21 in our book and asked if God was saying anything...oh boy, you bet he is saying a LOT!
1 Kings 18:21
"And Elijah came near to all the people and said, 'How long will you go limping between two different opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal, then follow him.' And the people did not answer him a word."
Jaw dropped. Totally convicted. Oh my golly.
Switch....
You know my weight has been an issue for me. I'm lazy and I like to eat. However, this needs to change. A friend of mine told me about this free website called Setting Captives Free, that offers programs to people that are addicted to any number of things, food being one of them. Food addiction is something I've wondered about for some time, but never let that thinking get too far. The basics of the program is that you feast at The Lord's Table (being in the Word and talking with God) daily and get satisfaction from that and not from food. As people we have a need to be satisfied and will search the world for something that will quench our need, but the only thing that will truly satisfy is the Lord. They give you two eating plan options, but really the focus is on feasting on the Word. I started this yesterday and am already struggling. Prayer is welcome!!
Did you catch what I said in that last paragraph? Let me say it again, "As people we have a need to be satisfied and will search the world for something that will quench our need, but the only thing that will truly satisfy is the Lord." Maybe if you change the word "need" to "thirst" you'll see the connection that I saw.
The food addiction program I am working on is helping me to DRINK THE LIVING WATER to never be thirsty again-which is what Pastor James is preaching on at church-and just so happens to be the thing that I struggle with, as it is said in 1 Kings 18:21, that I need to follow God if I believe in him and stop living a "double life!"
WOW! I hope that hit you as hard as it hit me. It completely blows my mind that when you are in God's word, he really, truly speaks to you. You can be looking at 3 different things, like I am, and see the same message being yelled at you in all 3 things.
If you struggle with any of these same issues (which if you followed my erratic post here, you'll know this is really 1 issue) please let me know! I'd love to walk alongside other believers that are struggling in the same area, or perhaps you have already conquered this area and can provide some encouragement.
You are loved. :)
Too Many Thoughts For One Title
Does your brain ever have so many ideas swarming around in it that you can't seem to get any of them out? Like a bunch of little bees buzzing around the hive all waiting to get out to explore the world, but instead of lining up and taking turns to exit the hive, they all try to escape at the same time? That's my head right now. So many things are bouncing around; thinking about how much life has changed recently, where we might be in a year, how much I love spending time with Phil, and more...This blog is an attempt to fill you in on the many things buzzing around my head. I'll head the paragraphs so you can easily see which ones you care to read :)
Phil's School
Phil has successfully completed the first half of his first semester of college-woohoo!! This might not seem like a big deal to some of you, but let me put this into perspective. Phil finished high school in 2005 and the following fall went straight to work at Albertson's. He did not take any classes or even really think about going to college for a long time. Near the end of my schooling we decided that he really needed to attend college-whether it be for ministry or something else. You all know how we ended up at Moody if you've read my other posts so I won't bore you with the same story. But, for someone who by his own submission, did not do well in school and has been out of school for 7 years it is quite intimidating to go back. That's why so many people warn you to go to college immediately because the chances of going back are so slim. I'm so proud of Phil for being a freshman at the age of 25, while there are others that are 17 that still don't know how to do laundry. I think I've mentioned this before, but Moody is like the Harvard of bible colleges. I think the admission rate was 1 in 8 this year and many people that Phil has gotten to know had to apply more than once to get in. Phil got in on his first try, early decision and is doing GREAT in his classes! Please feel free to send him encouragements through Facebook or text-I know he would appreciate that! :)
Church
As mentioned in my last post, we are attending Harvest Bible Chapel Chicago Cathedral Campus. Not only are we attending, but we are "ambassadors" that help the campus pastor with anything he asks; mostly greeting people, helping with offering, parking, etc. Phil attends a college-aged male small group and while he is there, I hang out with a few of the other wives whose husbands attend the same group. We had the opportunity to enjoy dinner with our campus pastor and his wonderful family about a week ago and shared some of our hopes and desires for ministry in this church. Pastor Brian is very intuitive, and has challenged me with some things to work on. Actually, I don't know that he knows that he challenged me-but I took his advice as a challenge, so thanks Brian :) Per this challenge, I have joined my first female small group and am attacking my daily bible reading and prayer time with intensity. I'm excited to see where this will take me! Phil has been asked to start/lead the college ministry at our church. We feel the immense importance of this position and are not taking it lightly. We would really appreciate your prayers for a strong beginning to what we hope will be a great ministry in our church.
Work
I don't think I've posted since I was hired at my new job. In case you are out of the loop, I am now working for Chicago Public Schools as a middle school writing teacher. My first week and a half were spent setting up my classroom, observing other teachers, and planning how I want my class to run. Last week was my first week with students and it was one I will probably never forget. According to CPS's website, my school is 97% African American. I'm not sure what the other 3% are because I haven't seen any other races to my knowledge. This is not an issue for me, however it is different from anything I've ever experienced. I am working on trying to figure out how to meet my students where they are academically, which is below grade level, and how to relate personally. I already had a few discussions about how I will not change to meet their expectations, but they will need to change to meet my expectations. Prayer for strength and wisdom would be great!
Home
Phil and I LOVE Chicago. Absolutely, 100% love it. We could do without the humidity, but this city is amazing. At dinner tonight we both shared how we feel that this is our home-which is strange considering the facts. Phil was born and raised in Boise, Idaho; and though he loves Boise, he's always been a big city guy living in a small city. This is his first major move and he is doing so well adapting to his new environment. I, on the other hand, have experience moving. We moved quite a bit up until I was 8 when we moved to Vegas. I lived there 11 years, and then lived in Boise for 4 and a half years. I kept feeling like Vegas was still my home and that Boise was just a place I was living for the time-it was never home. But, we've been here just over 2 months and this crazy city is absolutely home! We are looking forward to spending the next 4-5 years here, and know it will be difficult to leave if the Lord leads us elsewhere (which we imagine he will).
What if...
I am such a booger to myself. I get myself amped up about what if this happens, or what if this happened this way instead of what really happened?! While I believe planning is an important skill to practice, I also believe I over-plan and over-day dream...a lot. This weekend we were walking at Navy Pier and talking about how insane it is that we live here. Honestly, could God have showed us any more favor? Allowing Phil to study at one of the best bible colleges in the world, and putting us in this outrageously large, diverse, intriguing city? Providing a job for me that I want to do, that uses my skill set? Mind. Blowing. Then, we started talking about the other schools we had been looking into, had Moody not worked out, and that got me really thinking about how different life would be if we were at one of those schools. I'm so thankful for a husband that lovingly told me he was going to make the call on where we would go for school, because if it was up to me, we'd be in sunny Florida, or hot Arizona. I honestly think that God was testing my faith in him and submission to Phil. I think that if I had decided to not submit to Phil, that we wouldn't be here today. I think God would have allowed us to go to one of the other schools, and we wouldn't be experiencing the amazing blessings we are currently receiving. Again, nothing against the other schools, but this is 150% where God needs us right now.
Some things we are looking forward to
-Since both of us are employed, we have set up a plan to get ourselves out of debt (minus school loans) by March of 2013!
-Getting the college ministry up and running. Our first event is November 27!
-Spending our first holiday season in the city. Although we wish we could spend time with family, we are excited to start new traditions here.
-Continuing to grow closer together and to God
-Hopefully having some visitors in the city! Start planning your trips! :)
Phil's School
Phil has successfully completed the first half of his first semester of college-woohoo!! This might not seem like a big deal to some of you, but let me put this into perspective. Phil finished high school in 2005 and the following fall went straight to work at Albertson's. He did not take any classes or even really think about going to college for a long time. Near the end of my schooling we decided that he really needed to attend college-whether it be for ministry or something else. You all know how we ended up at Moody if you've read my other posts so I won't bore you with the same story. But, for someone who by his own submission, did not do well in school and has been out of school for 7 years it is quite intimidating to go back. That's why so many people warn you to go to college immediately because the chances of going back are so slim. I'm so proud of Phil for being a freshman at the age of 25, while there are others that are 17 that still don't know how to do laundry. I think I've mentioned this before, but Moody is like the Harvard of bible colleges. I think the admission rate was 1 in 8 this year and many people that Phil has gotten to know had to apply more than once to get in. Phil got in on his first try, early decision and is doing GREAT in his classes! Please feel free to send him encouragements through Facebook or text-I know he would appreciate that! :)
Church
As mentioned in my last post, we are attending Harvest Bible Chapel Chicago Cathedral Campus. Not only are we attending, but we are "ambassadors" that help the campus pastor with anything he asks; mostly greeting people, helping with offering, parking, etc. Phil attends a college-aged male small group and while he is there, I hang out with a few of the other wives whose husbands attend the same group. We had the opportunity to enjoy dinner with our campus pastor and his wonderful family about a week ago and shared some of our hopes and desires for ministry in this church. Pastor Brian is very intuitive, and has challenged me with some things to work on. Actually, I don't know that he knows that he challenged me-but I took his advice as a challenge, so thanks Brian :) Per this challenge, I have joined my first female small group and am attacking my daily bible reading and prayer time with intensity. I'm excited to see where this will take me! Phil has been asked to start/lead the college ministry at our church. We feel the immense importance of this position and are not taking it lightly. We would really appreciate your prayers for a strong beginning to what we hope will be a great ministry in our church.
Work
I don't think I've posted since I was hired at my new job. In case you are out of the loop, I am now working for Chicago Public Schools as a middle school writing teacher. My first week and a half were spent setting up my classroom, observing other teachers, and planning how I want my class to run. Last week was my first week with students and it was one I will probably never forget. According to CPS's website, my school is 97% African American. I'm not sure what the other 3% are because I haven't seen any other races to my knowledge. This is not an issue for me, however it is different from anything I've ever experienced. I am working on trying to figure out how to meet my students where they are academically, which is below grade level, and how to relate personally. I already had a few discussions about how I will not change to meet their expectations, but they will need to change to meet my expectations. Prayer for strength and wisdom would be great!
Home
Phil and I LOVE Chicago. Absolutely, 100% love it. We could do without the humidity, but this city is amazing. At dinner tonight we both shared how we feel that this is our home-which is strange considering the facts. Phil was born and raised in Boise, Idaho; and though he loves Boise, he's always been a big city guy living in a small city. This is his first major move and he is doing so well adapting to his new environment. I, on the other hand, have experience moving. We moved quite a bit up until I was 8 when we moved to Vegas. I lived there 11 years, and then lived in Boise for 4 and a half years. I kept feeling like Vegas was still my home and that Boise was just a place I was living for the time-it was never home. But, we've been here just over 2 months and this crazy city is absolutely home! We are looking forward to spending the next 4-5 years here, and know it will be difficult to leave if the Lord leads us elsewhere (which we imagine he will).
What if...
I am such a booger to myself. I get myself amped up about what if this happens, or what if this happened this way instead of what really happened?! While I believe planning is an important skill to practice, I also believe I over-plan and over-day dream...a lot. This weekend we were walking at Navy Pier and talking about how insane it is that we live here. Honestly, could God have showed us any more favor? Allowing Phil to study at one of the best bible colleges in the world, and putting us in this outrageously large, diverse, intriguing city? Providing a job for me that I want to do, that uses my skill set? Mind. Blowing. Then, we started talking about the other schools we had been looking into, had Moody not worked out, and that got me really thinking about how different life would be if we were at one of those schools. I'm so thankful for a husband that lovingly told me he was going to make the call on where we would go for school, because if it was up to me, we'd be in sunny Florida, or hot Arizona. I honestly think that God was testing my faith in him and submission to Phil. I think that if I had decided to not submit to Phil, that we wouldn't be here today. I think God would have allowed us to go to one of the other schools, and we wouldn't be experiencing the amazing blessings we are currently receiving. Again, nothing against the other schools, but this is 150% where God needs us right now.
Some things we are looking forward to
-Since both of us are employed, we have set up a plan to get ourselves out of debt (minus school loans) by March of 2013!
-Getting the college ministry up and running. Our first event is November 27!
-Spending our first holiday season in the city. Although we wish we could spend time with family, we are excited to start new traditions here.
-Continuing to grow closer together and to God
-Hopefully having some visitors in the city! Start planning your trips! :)
Thursday, September 20, 2012
Full
Don't you just love it when everything feels right? You're driving (or in my case riding) on your way home or maybe you're on your couch and positivity and thankfulness are just oozing out of you. Been there? Felt that? That's how I feel right now. Absolutely, 110% full. I feel like I could go on a speed walk for miles and not get tired. OK, maybe not miles, but you get the point.
If 2 months ago you asked me what our first month of Chicago living would look like I would have told you many things. I was going to get a teaching position and start the school year in a classroom. We were going to meet and know so many people and instantly have a connection. School was going to be easy for Phil and we would still have tons of time to spend together. We would go out often, exploring the city together and enjoying the finer things Chicago has to offer. Oh naive Emily, how silly you were.
After a little over a month of living in Chicago I am here to say life has not gone as planned, but I am absolutely positive this is exactly where we are supposed to be right now. I am so thankful and grateful for this time in our lives and am doing my best to embrace it.
Marriage: The first week we were here we were inseparable. It was so exciting exploring this amazing city of ours together. Unfortunately, that didn't last as orientation came upon us and Phil was bogged down with obligations. Things were tough the first week of classes after that. I felt alone and whenever Phil was home he wasn't really 'home' he was busy with school work. After the first week I told Phil how I was feeling and he has been such a trooper to make time for me in the midst of deadline upon deadline looming in on him. Struggle truly brings you together, if you fight on the same team instead of opposing each other. My husband is such a lover and I love that he has the need to cuddle up to me the moment he walks in the door.
Church: We officially have found our church home! We are so thrilled to call Harvest Bible Chapel our home. We are a part of the brand new (opening this Sunday, September 23) Chicago Cathedral campus. The building is one of the few to escape the Chicago fire and stands beautifully to this day in the heart of the city, and only a short 5 minute walk from home! We cannot wait to get involved with this growing ministry that "unapologetically proclaims the authority of God's word." We have made some good friends that attend this church and live in our building. God has made himself more visible to me here and I am still working on what that means exactly. When I get a better idea and can put it into words I will definitely fill you all in!
School: Phil is doing a fabulous job in his classes! While I knew he would do well, neither of us knew how strenuous this education was going to be. Moody is often referred to as the Harvard of Bible colleges. In the past 4 weeks Phil has already written a paper longer than any paper I had to write and continues to have paper after paper, something I never had to do in my education. Today he scored 100% on a quiz, I'm so proud of him! He has done an exceptional job of creating a schedule for himself to get all the work done. He is even talking about starting papers...EARLY!
Work: As you probably know, Phil was offered a job with Moody the day we arrived. He is the night shift custodial supervisor. Up to this point that has meant he helps clean, schedules, and is introducing new efficient practices for the workers. Beginning in October, he will no longer be cleaning and will be strictly supervising and working towards creating effective means by which his employees will work. I am a part-time after school nanny to 2 sweet little girls. They are 4 and 6 and simply adorable. Due to the Chicago Public Schools strike I had the opportunity to work with the 6 year old all day while the 4 year old was in preschool for 6 days. This was good for my relationship with the little girl and our checkbook. I am still searching for teaching positions or full time gigs, but will continue to be content if this is what God has planned for me for awhile.
Health: I am overweight, yes that Facebook picture you've seen of me where I look large and in charge was not photo-shopped, it's me. This is something that I have been wanting to work on for so long but have simply been lazy about. When we arrived I would be walking to the train station for an interview and have to stop because my ankles and legs hurt so badly. I had shin splints (thought those were over with when I was done with track) and inflamed ankles. I was miserable walking around, I hated it. If Phil was with me I'd have to make him slow down because I simply couldn't handle the pain. It occurred to me this week that I was walking much faster, like super speed walker, and had zero pain! Hallelujah! I'm assuming this has to do with the fact that I walk every day so my body has gotten used to it, and as of today I have completed my first week of P90X! I definitely did not complete every work out, nor did I work until exhaustion every day, but I did work hard and am proud of myself. The scale has barely moved, but I can already feel a difference in my body.
I am full. Full of love, joy, excitement, anticipation, and thankfulness. The Lord has brought us here, at this time, with these people for a purpose. I am beyond grateful for this opportunity and am praying we use this time wisely.
Thank you to everyone that has lifted us up in prayer. You are being heard and while some specifics may not be working out the way we were hoping for, God is working His plan for the betterment of His kingdom and the fact that we get to be a part of that is more than enough.
I'll leave you the way Harvest Bible Chapel ends each service, "YOU ARE LOVED."
If 2 months ago you asked me what our first month of Chicago living would look like I would have told you many things. I was going to get a teaching position and start the school year in a classroom. We were going to meet and know so many people and instantly have a connection. School was going to be easy for Phil and we would still have tons of time to spend together. We would go out often, exploring the city together and enjoying the finer things Chicago has to offer. Oh naive Emily, how silly you were.
After a little over a month of living in Chicago I am here to say life has not gone as planned, but I am absolutely positive this is exactly where we are supposed to be right now. I am so thankful and grateful for this time in our lives and am doing my best to embrace it.
Marriage: The first week we were here we were inseparable. It was so exciting exploring this amazing city of ours together. Unfortunately, that didn't last as orientation came upon us and Phil was bogged down with obligations. Things were tough the first week of classes after that. I felt alone and whenever Phil was home he wasn't really 'home' he was busy with school work. After the first week I told Phil how I was feeling and he has been such a trooper to make time for me in the midst of deadline upon deadline looming in on him. Struggle truly brings you together, if you fight on the same team instead of opposing each other. My husband is such a lover and I love that he has the need to cuddle up to me the moment he walks in the door.
Church: We officially have found our church home! We are so thrilled to call Harvest Bible Chapel our home. We are a part of the brand new (opening this Sunday, September 23) Chicago Cathedral campus. The building is one of the few to escape the Chicago fire and stands beautifully to this day in the heart of the city, and only a short 5 minute walk from home! We cannot wait to get involved with this growing ministry that "unapologetically proclaims the authority of God's word." We have made some good friends that attend this church and live in our building. God has made himself more visible to me here and I am still working on what that means exactly. When I get a better idea and can put it into words I will definitely fill you all in!
School: Phil is doing a fabulous job in his classes! While I knew he would do well, neither of us knew how strenuous this education was going to be. Moody is often referred to as the Harvard of Bible colleges. In the past 4 weeks Phil has already written a paper longer than any paper I had to write and continues to have paper after paper, something I never had to do in my education. Today he scored 100% on a quiz, I'm so proud of him! He has done an exceptional job of creating a schedule for himself to get all the work done. He is even talking about starting papers...EARLY!
Work: As you probably know, Phil was offered a job with Moody the day we arrived. He is the night shift custodial supervisor. Up to this point that has meant he helps clean, schedules, and is introducing new efficient practices for the workers. Beginning in October, he will no longer be cleaning and will be strictly supervising and working towards creating effective means by which his employees will work. I am a part-time after school nanny to 2 sweet little girls. They are 4 and 6 and simply adorable. Due to the Chicago Public Schools strike I had the opportunity to work with the 6 year old all day while the 4 year old was in preschool for 6 days. This was good for my relationship with the little girl and our checkbook. I am still searching for teaching positions or full time gigs, but will continue to be content if this is what God has planned for me for awhile.
Health: I am overweight, yes that Facebook picture you've seen of me where I look large and in charge was not photo-shopped, it's me. This is something that I have been wanting to work on for so long but have simply been lazy about. When we arrived I would be walking to the train station for an interview and have to stop because my ankles and legs hurt so badly. I had shin splints (thought those were over with when I was done with track) and inflamed ankles. I was miserable walking around, I hated it. If Phil was with me I'd have to make him slow down because I simply couldn't handle the pain. It occurred to me this week that I was walking much faster, like super speed walker, and had zero pain! Hallelujah! I'm assuming this has to do with the fact that I walk every day so my body has gotten used to it, and as of today I have completed my first week of P90X! I definitely did not complete every work out, nor did I work until exhaustion every day, but I did work hard and am proud of myself. The scale has barely moved, but I can already feel a difference in my body.
I am full. Full of love, joy, excitement, anticipation, and thankfulness. The Lord has brought us here, at this time, with these people for a purpose. I am beyond grateful for this opportunity and am praying we use this time wisely.
Thank you to everyone that has lifted us up in prayer. You are being heard and while some specifics may not be working out the way we were hoping for, God is working His plan for the betterment of His kingdom and the fact that we get to be a part of that is more than enough.
I'll leave you the way Harvest Bible Chapel ends each service, "YOU ARE LOVED."
Tuesday, September 4, 2012
Central Elementary
Today would have been my first day of school with students had I found a teaching job here in Chicago. Since this morning I have fought back tears thinking of last year, my first year teaching. I keep pushing these thoughts aside hoping they will go away but they keep surfacing, so I figured I needed to write it out and get it all out there so I can move on.
It all started when I was cleaning out my voice mailbox this morning. I still have the voice mail where Principal Cindy Thomas offered me the job. It is the happiest, most joyful, encouraging message I've ever received and I plan on keeping it as long as I can.
I look back on this time last year, working at my apartment complex with a hostile boss wondering why God didn't give me a teaching job. I was so frustrated and down on myself, and it really didn't help that I hated going to work every day. I never really published this, but I was let go from that job in mid October. Thankfully, I had a job interview that day at a middle school for a PBI Assistant position (the interview was before I was let go, thank goodness). I didn't really want to work with middle schoolers, they were always 'weird' to me and I felt like I couldn't relate to them, but I wanted to get my foot in the educational world. I think the interview was a Wednesday or Thursday and I was offered the job Saturday and started that Monday.
I loved that job! I ended up absolutely loving my students. I was around 6th, 7th, and 8th graders but mostly worked with 6th and 8th. I came home smiling every day, even though the days were challenging, it was extremely rewarding.
I was still checking the websites for teaching positions, mostly hoping to score some interview practice for the next year. I got an interview for a 1st grade position at a different Nampa school and did very well. They ended up giving the job to someone that student taught there but the principal gave me many compliments and said to use him as a reference for any other interviews.
Well, I used him alright! I saw the posting for a part time kindergarten teacher at Central and although I didn't want to work part time, again I figured it was practice interviewing and/or a foot in the door! I sent Cindy an email on a Friday introducing myself and name-dropped. I got a phone call that afternoon from Cindy asking me to come in to interview!! She said they already interviewed 3 people (Nampa schools are required to interview at least 3 people) but she was willing to wait until Monday to interview me because of my recommendation from the other principal.
Monday came, I interviewed, and although I didn't feel like the interview was great, I had a feeling I got the job. The next day I went with my parents and grandma to a winery and on the way home my amazing voice mail came through. I immediately started crying and called Phil at work to tell him the great news. I had about a week and a half (half a week of which was holiday) to prepare before I had students.
Fast forward a little bit...the staff at Central was SO welcoming, many people went out of their way to introduce themselves, offer help, and made me feel at home. My first day with students came and went quickly and I knew I was where I was supposed to be. For the most part the staff wanted to be there and made work fun. I was remembering my first Friday at the school the secretary played the annoying yet catchy "Friday" song over the intercom and it put me (and I hope everyone else) in a great mood. Now every time I hear that song I think of that day.
I could go on and on and on about the amazing people I worked with, how encouraging Cindy was, and how I miss my little kiddos that are 1st graders now. But, I'm going to stop because I'm crying again and it hurts just a little too much right now.
Thank you to everyone at Central, my students, their parents, my husband, family, and my God for the fantastic time I was able to spend as a Central Elementary School Teacher.
It all started when I was cleaning out my voice mailbox this morning. I still have the voice mail where Principal Cindy Thomas offered me the job. It is the happiest, most joyful, encouraging message I've ever received and I plan on keeping it as long as I can.
I look back on this time last year, working at my apartment complex with a hostile boss wondering why God didn't give me a teaching job. I was so frustrated and down on myself, and it really didn't help that I hated going to work every day. I never really published this, but I was let go from that job in mid October. Thankfully, I had a job interview that day at a middle school for a PBI Assistant position (the interview was before I was let go, thank goodness). I didn't really want to work with middle schoolers, they were always 'weird' to me and I felt like I couldn't relate to them, but I wanted to get my foot in the educational world. I think the interview was a Wednesday or Thursday and I was offered the job Saturday and started that Monday.
I loved that job! I ended up absolutely loving my students. I was around 6th, 7th, and 8th graders but mostly worked with 6th and 8th. I came home smiling every day, even though the days were challenging, it was extremely rewarding.
I was still checking the websites for teaching positions, mostly hoping to score some interview practice for the next year. I got an interview for a 1st grade position at a different Nampa school and did very well. They ended up giving the job to someone that student taught there but the principal gave me many compliments and said to use him as a reference for any other interviews.
Well, I used him alright! I saw the posting for a part time kindergarten teacher at Central and although I didn't want to work part time, again I figured it was practice interviewing and/or a foot in the door! I sent Cindy an email on a Friday introducing myself and name-dropped. I got a phone call that afternoon from Cindy asking me to come in to interview!! She said they already interviewed 3 people (Nampa schools are required to interview at least 3 people) but she was willing to wait until Monday to interview me because of my recommendation from the other principal.
Monday came, I interviewed, and although I didn't feel like the interview was great, I had a feeling I got the job. The next day I went with my parents and grandma to a winery and on the way home my amazing voice mail came through. I immediately started crying and called Phil at work to tell him the great news. I had about a week and a half (half a week of which was holiday) to prepare before I had students.
Fast forward a little bit...the staff at Central was SO welcoming, many people went out of their way to introduce themselves, offer help, and made me feel at home. My first day with students came and went quickly and I knew I was where I was supposed to be. For the most part the staff wanted to be there and made work fun. I was remembering my first Friday at the school the secretary played the annoying yet catchy "Friday" song over the intercom and it put me (and I hope everyone else) in a great mood. Now every time I hear that song I think of that day.
I could go on and on and on about the amazing people I worked with, how encouraging Cindy was, and how I miss my little kiddos that are 1st graders now. But, I'm going to stop because I'm crying again and it hurts just a little too much right now.
Thank you to everyone at Central, my students, their parents, my husband, family, and my God for the fantastic time I was able to spend as a Central Elementary School Teacher.
Thursday, August 23, 2012
Chapter 7: Chicago
If I had to summarize my life into chapters, I would have just begun the 7th chapter. I sat down and actually wrote down the chapters and their titles to try to see where my life shifted and what event/age/location created that life shift. It's interesting-though it makes sense-that the last 4 chapters have been in the last 4 years of my life.
Life is constantly shifting in your 20s. Think about it, before your 20 you're in high school and your life is all about friends and activities and who has the coolest new outfit from the mall or whose boyfriend has the best car. Around 18 another chapter opens when you graduate, either you go off to college or you start working, if you do neither of those and you sit at home, we'll have a 'let's do something with yourself' discussion. From here on out, life can go in so many directions. My life opened a new chapter called Marriage, and while that chapter is still open and will remain that way to the end of this life, it inter-weaves with other chapters.
Anyway-I think you catch my drift...
Life changes. A lot. Quickly. Many times without your permission.
Chapter 7: Chicago
Disclaimer-My dear friends, this will be long and extremely detailed, read at your own risk.
Chapter 7 doesn't start in Chicago, it doesn't even start when we drove out of Idaho. It started back in March 2011, but I have a previous blog on everything that led up to us choosing Moody, you can find that on your own, you're a big kid ;)
This move had been long coming. WAY TOO LONG COMING! With over a year to think, pray, consider possibilities, and dream, I made it way more difficult than it needed to be. Needless to say, roller coaster is a great metaphor for how I felt the past few months. Everyone kept asking, "Are you excited?!" and at first I put on a brave face and said yes, but after a while I got real and said, "Well, I was about a year ago, now I'm just ready to do it already!" This response was not well received.
Side note: It's quite funny when you are going through a major life change, because people will always ask, "Are you excited?" It works for marriage, baby, moving, school, basically all things that are in their very nature, exciting! Many times I would want to say, "OF COURSE I'M EXCITED, I'M GETTING MARRIED, WERE YOU NOT EXCITED?!" But, I would respectfully say, "Yes! Here are some of my wedding details that I know you want information on..."
Back to my story, let's start in...July! This month was great. I started packing, which I really enjoy. I got to sort through everything, throw stuff away, decide where to put it, ahhh I love organizing! :) We started saying our good-byes, first to The River Church, then to Phil's Albertsons friends, and then to our close friends. It still hadn't really hit us (at least me) that we were leaving, so these good-byes went over very well. There was no crying, heart-break, or anything of the matter because we were still about a month out from actually leaving!
The end of July we drove down to La Quinta, California with my aunt, uncle, grandma, cousin, and the boyfriend. Thankfully, we actually got a vacation and had a great time with everyone. We celebrated my birthday in awesome fashion and hung out into the wee morning hours every day. We really got to know my aunt and uncle and really enjoyed spending time with them. Then, it was time to work. And by work I don't mean 9:00-5:00 M-F. I mean Monday 9:00AM-Sunday 5:00PM, pretty much non-stop. This allowed me to not dwell on us moving, it didn't even allow me to think of it because I was so busy-such a blessing! After the pageant, we spent time with my parents and Amy, Spencer, Talon, and Wade. Love my little nephews!
We flew back to Boise, finished packing and spent 2 nights in our packed up apartment. We were able to hang out with Phil's parents during that time which is always fun! Then we stayed with our amazing friends, Chris and Bethany, and their little curly headed kid, Valerie. We always have such a great time with them and were so thankful for their hospitality and allowing us to stay with them!
We packed up our moving truck on Saturday, said our teary-eyed good-byes early Sunday and drove off away from our loved ones. While the drive was uneventful and led me to count train cars, it was not boring. Phil and I have this "old couple" ability to sit together and not have the need to always talk because we enjoy each other's company so much. We did talk though, it was a 14 and a half hour day! We drove through Idaho, Utah, Wyoming, Nebraska, Iowa, and finally, on day 4, Illinois.
Driving into the city was SCARY! Phil drove a 16ft. Penske truck towing our car in morning rush hour into downtown Chicago. We safely made it to campus and got all checked in with IDs (my picture is hideous) and fobs to get into the buildings. We finally got to see our apartment, and if you follow me on Facebook you've seen the pictures of our AMAZING view! We get to look at Trump Tower and Sears Tower-now you might be thinking, I thought it's called the Willis Tower now. Yes, you are correct, but if you're in Chicago you better call it Sears Tower! We got everything moved into our apartment and finishing setting up house the next day.
The following week was spent exploring the city, eating, walking, eating, walking, and some interviewing. Phil is the new night shift custodial supervisor for Moody, a great job right on campus with weekends off! I am interviewing for nanny positions and have applied to a couple of other businesses around home. I've had no luck with teaching. I still apply to jobs online but have pretty much accepted the fact I won't be teaching, at least not this year.
Phil started orientation yesterday and is currently napping on the sofa. We would appreciate prayer for him as he jumps back into school, something he hasn't done for 6 years, that he would create healthy study habits and find his groove back into this thing called school. I would love to have a job ASAP, so you can include that in your prayers as well. Today has been my first struggle, it's weird being the supportive wife with nothing to do. I know I'm here to support Phil, but I do need an income and something to do to interact with people at some point, soon.
We love it here. It's been a wonderful week filled with new experiences. We are looking forward to meeting people and creating relationships that will last a long time. Please, if you get the chance to come to Chicago-DO IT! We would love to have you stay with us, (1 bedroom apartment so we have a couch and a floor to offer) and would love to show you around this spectacular city.
Chapter 7, to be continued....
Life is constantly shifting in your 20s. Think about it, before your 20 you're in high school and your life is all about friends and activities and who has the coolest new outfit from the mall or whose boyfriend has the best car. Around 18 another chapter opens when you graduate, either you go off to college or you start working, if you do neither of those and you sit at home, we'll have a 'let's do something with yourself' discussion. From here on out, life can go in so many directions. My life opened a new chapter called Marriage, and while that chapter is still open and will remain that way to the end of this life, it inter-weaves with other chapters.
Anyway-I think you catch my drift...
Life changes. A lot. Quickly. Many times without your permission.
Chapter 7: Chicago
Disclaimer-My dear friends, this will be long and extremely detailed, read at your own risk.
Chapter 7 doesn't start in Chicago, it doesn't even start when we drove out of Idaho. It started back in March 2011, but I have a previous blog on everything that led up to us choosing Moody, you can find that on your own, you're a big kid ;)
This move had been long coming. WAY TOO LONG COMING! With over a year to think, pray, consider possibilities, and dream, I made it way more difficult than it needed to be. Needless to say, roller coaster is a great metaphor for how I felt the past few months. Everyone kept asking, "Are you excited?!" and at first I put on a brave face and said yes, but after a while I got real and said, "Well, I was about a year ago, now I'm just ready to do it already!" This response was not well received.
Side note: It's quite funny when you are going through a major life change, because people will always ask, "Are you excited?" It works for marriage, baby, moving, school, basically all things that are in their very nature, exciting! Many times I would want to say, "OF COURSE I'M EXCITED, I'M GETTING MARRIED, WERE YOU NOT EXCITED?!" But, I would respectfully say, "Yes! Here are some of my wedding details that I know you want information on..."
Back to my story, let's start in...July! This month was great. I started packing, which I really enjoy. I got to sort through everything, throw stuff away, decide where to put it, ahhh I love organizing! :) We started saying our good-byes, first to The River Church, then to Phil's Albertsons friends, and then to our close friends. It still hadn't really hit us (at least me) that we were leaving, so these good-byes went over very well. There was no crying, heart-break, or anything of the matter because we were still about a month out from actually leaving!
The end of July we drove down to La Quinta, California with my aunt, uncle, grandma, cousin, and the boyfriend. Thankfully, we actually got a vacation and had a great time with everyone. We celebrated my birthday in awesome fashion and hung out into the wee morning hours every day. We really got to know my aunt and uncle and really enjoyed spending time with them. Then, it was time to work. And by work I don't mean 9:00-5:00 M-F. I mean Monday 9:00AM-Sunday 5:00PM, pretty much non-stop. This allowed me to not dwell on us moving, it didn't even allow me to think of it because I was so busy-such a blessing! After the pageant, we spent time with my parents and Amy, Spencer, Talon, and Wade. Love my little nephews!
We flew back to Boise, finished packing and spent 2 nights in our packed up apartment. We were able to hang out with Phil's parents during that time which is always fun! Then we stayed with our amazing friends, Chris and Bethany, and their little curly headed kid, Valerie. We always have such a great time with them and were so thankful for their hospitality and allowing us to stay with them!
We packed up our moving truck on Saturday, said our teary-eyed good-byes early Sunday and drove off away from our loved ones. While the drive was uneventful and led me to count train cars, it was not boring. Phil and I have this "old couple" ability to sit together and not have the need to always talk because we enjoy each other's company so much. We did talk though, it was a 14 and a half hour day! We drove through Idaho, Utah, Wyoming, Nebraska, Iowa, and finally, on day 4, Illinois.
Driving into the city was SCARY! Phil drove a 16ft. Penske truck towing our car in morning rush hour into downtown Chicago. We safely made it to campus and got all checked in with IDs (my picture is hideous) and fobs to get into the buildings. We finally got to see our apartment, and if you follow me on Facebook you've seen the pictures of our AMAZING view! We get to look at Trump Tower and Sears Tower-now you might be thinking, I thought it's called the Willis Tower now. Yes, you are correct, but if you're in Chicago you better call it Sears Tower! We got everything moved into our apartment and finishing setting up house the next day.
The following week was spent exploring the city, eating, walking, eating, walking, and some interviewing. Phil is the new night shift custodial supervisor for Moody, a great job right on campus with weekends off! I am interviewing for nanny positions and have applied to a couple of other businesses around home. I've had no luck with teaching. I still apply to jobs online but have pretty much accepted the fact I won't be teaching, at least not this year.
Phil started orientation yesterday and is currently napping on the sofa. We would appreciate prayer for him as he jumps back into school, something he hasn't done for 6 years, that he would create healthy study habits and find his groove back into this thing called school. I would love to have a job ASAP, so you can include that in your prayers as well. Today has been my first struggle, it's weird being the supportive wife with nothing to do. I know I'm here to support Phil, but I do need an income and something to do to interact with people at some point, soon.
We love it here. It's been a wonderful week filled with new experiences. We are looking forward to meeting people and creating relationships that will last a long time. Please, if you get the chance to come to Chicago-DO IT! We would love to have you stay with us, (1 bedroom apartment so we have a couch and a floor to offer) and would love to show you around this spectacular city.
Chapter 7, to be continued....
Tuesday, June 26, 2012
Too Much Grey's Anatomy
I really enjoy Grey's Anatomy. I agree with most people that the earlier seasons were WAY better than the newer seasons (and I'm totally bummed Lexie died) but I still watch it to see what mayhem they come up with! However, watching that show has given me some nervous thoughts about surgery...too many people go in "healthy" and end up dead on the table...
Last night I woke up a few times with a bad pain in my side. I thought maybe it was just upset stomach so I decided to just go back to sleep. I woke up with this pain and decided to take it easy this morning and go into work later. After getting up and really feeling the pain, I went to the internet and typed in lower abdomen pain. I had a feeling it was my appendix, but wanted to see what other options there were. As mentioned in the above paragraph, I love watching Grey's but it has made me very scared to ever have surgery-what if I'm the one that doesn't wake up?! It turned out that the only other symptom of appendicitis I had was a swollen abdomen-it looked like I had gained 5-10 pounds over night!
I called my mom and talked to her, confirming a ride to the hospital if necessary since Phil was at work. She told me to call my doctor and talk to one of her nurses. So I called and left a voice mail. After 2 hours of waiting, my mom came to pick me up and I called the doctor again. I said, "I left a voice mail about 2 hrs ago, and haven't heard anything. I think I am having issues with my appendix, is there anyone that I can talk to now?" The operator said, "Oh yes! One moment!" And a triage nurse was on the phone instantly. I told her about my symptoms and she told me to come in.
As I was getting into the car with my mom I called Phil to let him know what was going on-up to this point he had no clue anything was wrong. I didn't want him to worry if the nurse didn't think I needed to go into the Emergency Room. Of course, he wasn't happy I didn't fill him in sooner and left work to come with us.
The doctor agreed that it was probably appendicitis, but could also be ovarian cysts. He wanted to rule out appendix first, so they took some blood and I had a CAT scan. They gave me a contrast through my IV to help make the pictures turn out better. The contrast gives you this really crazy warm feeling, it starts up by your head and neck and travels down your stomach to your...private areas. It was the weirdest feeling-and once it reached down south, it felt like I was peeing. I told the lady I was pretty sure I was going to the bathroom but she laughed and told me I wasn't. Thankfully, she warned me beforehand that the contrast would make me feel that way, so I knew to expect it.
About 30 minutes after the scan, they came in to tell me my appendix is great and all my reproductive parts look good too! Whew! However, my lymph nodes were swollen and that is what was causing the pain. I guess this issue is really common in kids and teenagers, so my body must feel young =] He said there is nothing specific that brings this on, nothing but time and rest to heal it, and nothing will come of it in the future! What a relief!
I ended up feeling kind of silly for going to the E.R. for something that insignificant, but the doctor reassured me that he thought it was my appendix too and I was right to come to the hospital to get it checked out.
I spent the rest of the day on a liquid diet in bed watching The Hills. I'm feeling better, still have some pain, but not nearly as bad as this morning! I'm looking forward to feeling better 100%!
Last night I woke up a few times with a bad pain in my side. I thought maybe it was just upset stomach so I decided to just go back to sleep. I woke up with this pain and decided to take it easy this morning and go into work later. After getting up and really feeling the pain, I went to the internet and typed in lower abdomen pain. I had a feeling it was my appendix, but wanted to see what other options there were. As mentioned in the above paragraph, I love watching Grey's but it has made me very scared to ever have surgery-what if I'm the one that doesn't wake up?! It turned out that the only other symptom of appendicitis I had was a swollen abdomen-it looked like I had gained 5-10 pounds over night!
I called my mom and talked to her, confirming a ride to the hospital if necessary since Phil was at work. She told me to call my doctor and talk to one of her nurses. So I called and left a voice mail. After 2 hours of waiting, my mom came to pick me up and I called the doctor again. I said, "I left a voice mail about 2 hrs ago, and haven't heard anything. I think I am having issues with my appendix, is there anyone that I can talk to now?" The operator said, "Oh yes! One moment!" And a triage nurse was on the phone instantly. I told her about my symptoms and she told me to come in.
As I was getting into the car with my mom I called Phil to let him know what was going on-up to this point he had no clue anything was wrong. I didn't want him to worry if the nurse didn't think I needed to go into the Emergency Room. Of course, he wasn't happy I didn't fill him in sooner and left work to come with us.
The doctor agreed that it was probably appendicitis, but could also be ovarian cysts. He wanted to rule out appendix first, so they took some blood and I had a CAT scan. They gave me a contrast through my IV to help make the pictures turn out better. The contrast gives you this really crazy warm feeling, it starts up by your head and neck and travels down your stomach to your...private areas. It was the weirdest feeling-and once it reached down south, it felt like I was peeing. I told the lady I was pretty sure I was going to the bathroom but she laughed and told me I wasn't. Thankfully, she warned me beforehand that the contrast would make me feel that way, so I knew to expect it.
About 30 minutes after the scan, they came in to tell me my appendix is great and all my reproductive parts look good too! Whew! However, my lymph nodes were swollen and that is what was causing the pain. I guess this issue is really common in kids and teenagers, so my body must feel young =] He said there is nothing specific that brings this on, nothing but time and rest to heal it, and nothing will come of it in the future! What a relief!
I ended up feeling kind of silly for going to the E.R. for something that insignificant, but the doctor reassured me that he thought it was my appendix too and I was right to come to the hospital to get it checked out.
I spent the rest of the day on a liquid diet in bed watching The Hills. I'm feeling better, still have some pain, but not nearly as bad as this morning! I'm looking forward to feeling better 100%!
Recap
It's been quite some time since posting, so allow me to fill you in with the latest happenings in the lives of Phil and Emily...
Phil is no longer on staff at The River Church as of June 1. We still attend and will continue to attend and serve until our final Sunday on July 15. We hear there will be a BBQ after church that Sunday in our honor so be sure to be there!
I finished up my first year of teaching and really struggled with some strong emotions that I wasn't expecting. The end of the year came up so quickly, it truly caught me by surprise how fast everything happened. On our last day of school we had Kindergarten graduation. All the students were in little white caps and gowns, and my students had bright colored leis. They sang a few songs and just melted my heart! I had a few parents come up to me afterwards to take pictures with me and tell me their child enjoyed my class and thanked me for being their teacher-such an honor! The few things that led my emotional days:
-turning in my letter of resignation
-looking at pictures the day after graduation
-cleaning out my room while candidates were interviewing for my job
-realizing I left my job without having another one to fall into
June has been a great month! Phil preached the first Sunday and we took off to Vegas after church. We got to meet our new nephew, Wade Kingston, and had a TON of fun with Amy, Spencer, and Talon. I struggled a bit with wanting to move back, Vegas still feels like home, whereas Boise/Meridian/Eagle has not felt like home yet. I took Phil by EVERYWHERE I could think of including all my schools, places I visited often, restaurants, you name it-we at least drove by with me pointing out the window telling a story! Phil was a great listener and seemed to enjoy my stories. :)
In the middle of our vacation, we drove out to California. We visited with one of my best friends, Hayley, and got to meet her wonderful boyfriend! It was such a blast spending time together just talking, it felt like our old UNLV days. After a great day with Hayley, we spent a full day at Six Flags. We LOVE roller coasters!! Unfortunately, we rode a very wet water ride early in the day, add that with tons of walking, and thighs that rub together and you get a very uncomfortable evening...We drove to Anaheim that night and stayed in our hotel in preparation for Disneyland! We thought we were going to be murdered that night when we were woken up at 1:30 AM to drilling right by our room, but luckily we survived! The next day we opened up Disneyland-we rode 8 rides within the first 2 hours (all the major rides that take FOREVER, it was awesome!) We watched Fantasmic, which is fantastIC, and met some super nice people-a pastor and his wife from Sacramento and a family from Reno. The next day we went to California Adventure and opened that park up too! We had a lot of fun and did more relaxing that day since there is less to do in that park. We got FastPasses for World of Color and met some Kiwis (people from New Zealand) before the show. That show is probably one of the best things I've ever seen! So amazing!
We headed back to Vegas in time for me to have a phone interview with a school in Chicago. I was pretty sure I nailed the interview-and low and behold I had an email an hour later asking me to come out to Chicago to interview in person! After thinking about it and talking through it, we decided I needed to take this opportunity, so we booked some flights and a dorm room at Moody (where Phil will be attending school this Fall) for me to stay.
We drove back home and I was in town for a little over 24 hours before heading out to Chicago. Unfortunately, Phil couldn't come with me since it was so last minute so I traveled by myself. The traveling part I don't mind-however the sitting in a small, hot dorm room with nothing in it by myself was not good. I cried. I missed my husband and wanted to be home. It was a very rough evening alone in Chicago. My interview was the next day-ALL day and then I went straight to the airport to come home.
The next few days were EMOTIONAL! This move is finally sinking in. After talking about moving for over a year, and knowing we were moving (but not where) for 10 months, and knowing we were moving to Chicago for 6 months, you'd think I have had enough time to sort out my feelings right?! WRONG-too much time is just as bad as not having enough time. Phil has been such a trooper dealing with my crazy emotions.
I'm waiting to hear back from the school I interviewed with-no answers yet. The public school district and the smaller suburb districts I've applied to have just begun their hiring process, so I am hoping to be able to interview for some of those positions soon as well. I have been praying that I would have a job by the end of June-it doesn't look like that will happen, but I know God will provide for Phil and I. He'll make sure we are taken care of!
Phil is no longer on staff at The River Church as of June 1. We still attend and will continue to attend and serve until our final Sunday on July 15. We hear there will be a BBQ after church that Sunday in our honor so be sure to be there!
I finished up my first year of teaching and really struggled with some strong emotions that I wasn't expecting. The end of the year came up so quickly, it truly caught me by surprise how fast everything happened. On our last day of school we had Kindergarten graduation. All the students were in little white caps and gowns, and my students had bright colored leis. They sang a few songs and just melted my heart! I had a few parents come up to me afterwards to take pictures with me and tell me their child enjoyed my class and thanked me for being their teacher-such an honor! The few things that led my emotional days:
-turning in my letter of resignation
-looking at pictures the day after graduation
-cleaning out my room while candidates were interviewing for my job
-realizing I left my job without having another one to fall into
June has been a great month! Phil preached the first Sunday and we took off to Vegas after church. We got to meet our new nephew, Wade Kingston, and had a TON of fun with Amy, Spencer, and Talon. I struggled a bit with wanting to move back, Vegas still feels like home, whereas Boise/Meridian/Eagle has not felt like home yet. I took Phil by EVERYWHERE I could think of including all my schools, places I visited often, restaurants, you name it-we at least drove by with me pointing out the window telling a story! Phil was a great listener and seemed to enjoy my stories. :)
In the middle of our vacation, we drove out to California. We visited with one of my best friends, Hayley, and got to meet her wonderful boyfriend! It was such a blast spending time together just talking, it felt like our old UNLV days. After a great day with Hayley, we spent a full day at Six Flags. We LOVE roller coasters!! Unfortunately, we rode a very wet water ride early in the day, add that with tons of walking, and thighs that rub together and you get a very uncomfortable evening...We drove to Anaheim that night and stayed in our hotel in preparation for Disneyland! We thought we were going to be murdered that night when we were woken up at 1:30 AM to drilling right by our room, but luckily we survived! The next day we opened up Disneyland-we rode 8 rides within the first 2 hours (all the major rides that take FOREVER, it was awesome!) We watched Fantasmic, which is fantastIC, and met some super nice people-a pastor and his wife from Sacramento and a family from Reno. The next day we went to California Adventure and opened that park up too! We had a lot of fun and did more relaxing that day since there is less to do in that park. We got FastPasses for World of Color and met some Kiwis (people from New Zealand) before the show. That show is probably one of the best things I've ever seen! So amazing!
We headed back to Vegas in time for me to have a phone interview with a school in Chicago. I was pretty sure I nailed the interview-and low and behold I had an email an hour later asking me to come out to Chicago to interview in person! After thinking about it and talking through it, we decided I needed to take this opportunity, so we booked some flights and a dorm room at Moody (where Phil will be attending school this Fall) for me to stay.
We drove back home and I was in town for a little over 24 hours before heading out to Chicago. Unfortunately, Phil couldn't come with me since it was so last minute so I traveled by myself. The traveling part I don't mind-however the sitting in a small, hot dorm room with nothing in it by myself was not good. I cried. I missed my husband and wanted to be home. It was a very rough evening alone in Chicago. My interview was the next day-ALL day and then I went straight to the airport to come home.
The next few days were EMOTIONAL! This move is finally sinking in. After talking about moving for over a year, and knowing we were moving (but not where) for 10 months, and knowing we were moving to Chicago for 6 months, you'd think I have had enough time to sort out my feelings right?! WRONG-too much time is just as bad as not having enough time. Phil has been such a trooper dealing with my crazy emotions.
I'm waiting to hear back from the school I interviewed with-no answers yet. The public school district and the smaller suburb districts I've applied to have just begun their hiring process, so I am hoping to be able to interview for some of those positions soon as well. I have been praying that I would have a job by the end of June-it doesn't look like that will happen, but I know God will provide for Phil and I. He'll make sure we are taken care of!
Sunday, May 13, 2012
91
That's how many days are left until Phil and I move to Chicago.
...
...
I don't mind leaving Meridian.
I don't mind leaving my job [though I will miss my kiddos]
I am so excited to live in a new city with so much to offer.
I can't wait to learn more about Phil and myself as we live 1800 miles away from our families.
I am ready to learn more about my God and His will for our lives.
Why am I feeling nervous. anxious. scared. confused. lonely?
The gravity of this life changing decision is finally hitting both Phil and I. I think we were both keeping a strong front for the other, and our real feelings didn't break through until watching one of our favorite shows, The Office. It was Michael's last episode where he is saying goodbye to everyone. It is a silly, sort of sad episode the whole time except for the end. The exchange between Jim and Michael shows a true friendship and how much it hurt both of them that they would not be seeing each other every day anymore. Pam and Michael's scene really hit me hard seeing how much they cared about each other. Throughout those 2 scenes I was holding my tears in, sneaking peeks at Phil to see if he was crying. He was just as close to crying as I was and finally I lost it and laid there hugging Phil. Since then, I have had a few moments where I have come close to losing it again, but have held it in.
I decided I needed to journal my feelings and fears so I can remember what to thank God for after He gets me through each trial stronger and closer to Him.
Here are my fears/hold ups:
-Not being as financially prepared as we had hoped for
-Not knowing where I will be working and as the primary provider while Phil is in school this makes me very nervous
-Leaving our families [1800 miles is far]
-Not being around for family events [birthdays, weddings, vacations, life]
-Leaving amazing friends
-Wondering if we will be able to save money for after school
-Not knowing what to expect...in every area
-And after finishing school; finding a job for Phil, buying a car, finding a new home, and starting a family all in the same year or 2
Here is what I am excited for:
-A new adventure
-A true urban lifestyle
-Being independent
-Making new friends
-Finding a new church family to call home
-Serving in our new church together as a couple and feeling out possible ministry opportunities for our future
-Preparing for the rest of our lives
-Being closer and closer to starting our family
-Having a better idea of where we will serve after school (what type of ministry and where geographically)
I know this is not a coherent list or explanation of what is going on inside my head. I don't think I can make a coherent list; my mind is constantly going and going, from one topic to another, trying to plan one thing and jumping in to plan another.
Yes, I am happy about our change.
Yes, I am excited to move to Chicago.
Yes, I am nervous and anxious at the same time.
Yes, I am counting down the days.
Yes, I will miss you.
Yes, we will try our hardest to come back to visit.
Yes, I am ready, but not completely.
Sunday, February 12, 2012
Chicago
The rumors are true, Phil and I are moving to Chicago! Allow me to fill you in with what's been going on with us the past 11 months....
March(ish): Just like I told Phil he would marry me, just like how I told Phil to start a band, I told him he was supposed to be a pastor. I don't know why God decides to use me to tell Phil what He wants him to do, but He continues to use me as a vessel through which to speak to Phil about his future. This was an EXTREMELY hard idea to swallow. If you don't know already, I am a pastor's kid, always have been. Growing up I said I would NEVER EVER marry anyone going into ministry. Being a pastor's kid was not an enjoyable experience for me and left me with a sour view of ministry and the way it works. So for me to feel that my husband was to be a pastor, I knew it was truly from God.
I told Phil a year or so before this revelation that he needed to go to school. He needed a college education, whether it was to be a worship leader, or a videographer. So, once we prayed together and decided Phil really was supposed to be a pastor, I began searching for schools.
I LOVE planning; whether it's planning finances, vacations, grocery lists, or simply our future, I LOVE IT! So, searching for schools was a ton of fun for me. We knew the local schools were not an option due to not being accredited, too expensive, or disagreeing with theology. I asked Phil where he would like to live so I could search schools in those areas. He told me that wasn't the right way to go about it, anywhere that had a great accredited school that held the same theology and wasn't too expensive was an option. Of course, I searched by location to find those schools. :) I searched California (way too expensive), Washington-Seattle area (not many accredited schools, if any), Las Vegas (only 1 school and it's a secondary campus for a large school), and back east (North and South Carolina, Tennessee-but Phil absolutely did not want to move over there).
Finally, we settled on Moody Bible Institute. It was actually one of the first, if not the first, schools we looked at. It sounded amazing; tuition-free, it's in downtown Chicago, holds the same beliefs we have, far from everyone...BUT I couldn't accept it. I wanted to move somewhere more like Vegas-warm, sunny, and full of people. So, I found a school in Kissimmee, Florida-nice and close to Orlando (we LOVE it there), good beliefs, and relatively inexpensive. I showed Phil both schools, laid out the pros and cons for each and heavily supported the school in Florida. Phil asked me to stop looking at schools, give him time to think and pray, and that he would make a decision.
Summer: I tried to not bring the school in Florida up, but of course it was the only thing I was "planning" at the time, so it was brought up often. Finally, one day Phil told me he was pretty sure he knew what school he was supposed to go to...I was SO excited, I was going to move to sunny Florida, enjoy the beach all summer long, be nice and tan, be able to visit Disney World and Universal Studios all the time...and he told me he felt God was calling him to Chicago...I was crushed. Yes, I cried. Yes, I pouted. Yes, I was a submissive wife and threw out all my information and paperwork for the school in Florida. BUT, I still wasn't convinced. I just knew I wouldn't be able to live in gray, freezing cold, ugly, stupid Chicago. I knew I would be miserable and depressed. So, I told Phil that we had to take a trip there to see if I could handle living there in that awful city. Finally, a vacation to plan for! Planning our trip helped me amp up for the actual trip and made me excited about Chicago. I researched different things to do, places, restaurants, living, and public transportation.
July: Phil got licensed for ministry and earned the title, "Pastor Phil". I call him Pastor Pill, because it's easier to say and much more fun. :)
September: My dad got sick, really sick. He was diagnosed with Sepsis and the only reason it was caught early enough was because he has a fake knee. When a person has a fake body part, infections generally attack that area first because it is foreign matter. His knee blew up in size, he had the shivers, high fever, and just looked awful. Thankfully, he went to the hospital and was immediately checked in. While he was sick, Phil had to preach for my dad. I believe he taught 4 Sundays in a row while my dad was in the hospital and then as he was healing at home. This was a rough time for me emotionally and physically and mentally for Phil. On the last Sunday that Phil was covering for my dad, my dad asked the church to bless us financially for our trip to Chicago for stepping in and doing such an amazing job preaching. Of course, this had everyone asking, "Why Chicago?" "What are you going to do in Chicago?" We weren't telling anyone other than family (and a few close friends) why we were going, so we had to partially fib and say, "We just wanted to see what the city is like" or "I hadn't been there in a long time and wanted to go back." Our wonderful church gave us enough money to cover our expenses while we were out of town, a huge blessing!
We got to Chicago on Monday afternoon, rode public transportation into the heart of the city and checked into our sketchy hotel. We got some food, took a nap (traveling takes a LOT out of you) and then got dinner. We didn't explore much that first day. The second day, we had a tour of the school scheduled. We walked over to the campus and had our tour with a school group from Norway. Phil loved talking to them and hearing about them and their culture. They told us about the horrific shootings that had recently happened and how it had affected their country. After viewing the campus, we walked down to the Magnificent Mile. The Magnificent Mile is a shopping district full of amazing stores and boutiques. Within the Magnificent Mile is the Water Tower Place Mall which had the American Girl store and a Lego store (both of us LOVED acting like kids there), there is the 900 Shops with wonderful stores like Bloomingdales, Diesel, and UGG. After window shopping, we went up to the John Hancock Observatory and listened to the audio tour telling us all about the city of Chicago while seeing it from 94 stories up! Later the night, we took the bus to the Navy Pier, and then headed back to the John Hancock for dinner at the Signature Room on the 95th floor. The dinner was amazing and we watched the beautiful city of Chicago as it disappeared from us as a cloud rolled around the building! Unfortunately, we had to go home the next day, but we had a blast and both absolutely fell in love with Chicago.
November: The application for early decision was due December 1. I asked Phil to have everything done by Thanksgiving to give extra time in case something went missing. He finished his app and it was officially in God's hands whether Phil got admitted to the school or not.
December: I started to get nervous. I had complete faith in Phil that he was more than good enough to get into the school, but for some reason felt we needed some back up plans. I told Phil about my feelings and he told me I could find some other schools in case Moody didn't work out. So, I went back to my school in Kissimmee, and found another school in Phoenix, Arizona. I was torn, because I would rather live in Florida, but the school in Arizona seemed better. Phil was leaning towards Arizona as well, and we were both so confused as to what we were supposed to do. We began the application process for the other schools but waited to complete everything until we got our answer from Moody.
January: Moody posted on their Facebook that the early decision letters would be going in the mail on the 17th. Enter super freak out mode. I could not sleep, when I did sleep it was awful, I was cranky, rude, and it was all due to an immense amount of stress I was holding. The week of the 17th came and some people that live closer to Chicago started posting on the Moody Facebook that they had been deferred to regular decision (April). This was when I REALLY started to freak out. I had been praying and praying and praying that God would give us a clear yes or no, I was pretty sure I couldn't handle not knowing where we would be moving to until April.
That weekend, Phil's band, Floors & Stories, played at a high school camp up in McCall. I decided to go up as well, but stay in a hotel and have a mini-getaway. The letter still hadn't come before we went up so we still didn't know if he was accepted, denied, or deferred. We were starting to wonder if ANYONE got accepted, until finally, a few people posted that they were accepted. This made us feel better, but still extremely nervous. We got home on Sunday, and low and behold, a letter from Moody Bible Institute was in our mailbox. We got inside, put everything down, and looked at each other. I was begging Phil to open the letter and I wanted to look at it with him, but he told me to sit down and let him read it to me. I sat on the sofa, and waited. He took a deep breath, and opened the envelope. He started reading, "Dear Philip, we are delighted to inform you that your application for Fall 2012 has been accepted...." and immediately I broke down sobbing. I jumped up, still sobbing, and hugged Phil tightly. We read the rest of the letter, and still sobbing told him how proud I was of him. Phil began making phone calls to our parents and siblings to tell them the good news and I sat with the letter in my hands, staring at it, and even left a tear stain on the bottom of it.
We were SO excited, we wanted to yell our news out to the world! But we couldn't. We had to wait until the right time. We had to tell our church before we could tell our friends and make it "Facebook official". Let me be honest, that SUCKED. It was all I wanted to talk about, but I couldn't talk about it with anyone but Phil and my parents. We set the date to tell our church family and waited.
Finally, the day came, Sunday, February 12, 2012. Phil gave an amazing sermon on the Prodigal Son, with a lesson that I never got from that parable before. He did a great job. Then, my dad got up on stage, and began preparing our church body to hear the news. Phil got on stage and asked me to come up with him. He told them, and finally, the word was out. After church, I was finally allowed to put it on Facebook and I did. :)
I am so proud of Phil for being courageous enough to take on the calling to be a pastor. For being willing and wanting to begin college at the age of 25. For being a supportive, loving, and compassionate husband to me. He is truly amazing and I know God has big plans for him and I. We look forward to finding out what those plans are, but in the mean time, our plans are to finish out the summer in Meridian, and then head out to the Midwest and to find our new home in the wonderful city of Chicago.
March(ish): Just like I told Phil he would marry me, just like how I told Phil to start a band, I told him he was supposed to be a pastor. I don't know why God decides to use me to tell Phil what He wants him to do, but He continues to use me as a vessel through which to speak to Phil about his future. This was an EXTREMELY hard idea to swallow. If you don't know already, I am a pastor's kid, always have been. Growing up I said I would NEVER EVER marry anyone going into ministry. Being a pastor's kid was not an enjoyable experience for me and left me with a sour view of ministry and the way it works. So for me to feel that my husband was to be a pastor, I knew it was truly from God.
I told Phil a year or so before this revelation that he needed to go to school. He needed a college education, whether it was to be a worship leader, or a videographer. So, once we prayed together and decided Phil really was supposed to be a pastor, I began searching for schools.
I LOVE planning; whether it's planning finances, vacations, grocery lists, or simply our future, I LOVE IT! So, searching for schools was a ton of fun for me. We knew the local schools were not an option due to not being accredited, too expensive, or disagreeing with theology. I asked Phil where he would like to live so I could search schools in those areas. He told me that wasn't the right way to go about it, anywhere that had a great accredited school that held the same theology and wasn't too expensive was an option. Of course, I searched by location to find those schools. :) I searched California (way too expensive), Washington-Seattle area (not many accredited schools, if any), Las Vegas (only 1 school and it's a secondary campus for a large school), and back east (North and South Carolina, Tennessee-but Phil absolutely did not want to move over there).
Finally, we settled on Moody Bible Institute. It was actually one of the first, if not the first, schools we looked at. It sounded amazing; tuition-free, it's in downtown Chicago, holds the same beliefs we have, far from everyone...BUT I couldn't accept it. I wanted to move somewhere more like Vegas-warm, sunny, and full of people. So, I found a school in Kissimmee, Florida-nice and close to Orlando (we LOVE it there), good beliefs, and relatively inexpensive. I showed Phil both schools, laid out the pros and cons for each and heavily supported the school in Florida. Phil asked me to stop looking at schools, give him time to think and pray, and that he would make a decision.
Summer: I tried to not bring the school in Florida up, but of course it was the only thing I was "planning" at the time, so it was brought up often. Finally, one day Phil told me he was pretty sure he knew what school he was supposed to go to...I was SO excited, I was going to move to sunny Florida, enjoy the beach all summer long, be nice and tan, be able to visit Disney World and Universal Studios all the time...and he told me he felt God was calling him to Chicago...I was crushed. Yes, I cried. Yes, I pouted. Yes, I was a submissive wife and threw out all my information and paperwork for the school in Florida. BUT, I still wasn't convinced. I just knew I wouldn't be able to live in gray, freezing cold, ugly, stupid Chicago. I knew I would be miserable and depressed. So, I told Phil that we had to take a trip there to see if I could handle living there in that awful city. Finally, a vacation to plan for! Planning our trip helped me amp up for the actual trip and made me excited about Chicago. I researched different things to do, places, restaurants, living, and public transportation.
July: Phil got licensed for ministry and earned the title, "Pastor Phil". I call him Pastor Pill, because it's easier to say and much more fun. :)
September: My dad got sick, really sick. He was diagnosed with Sepsis and the only reason it was caught early enough was because he has a fake knee. When a person has a fake body part, infections generally attack that area first because it is foreign matter. His knee blew up in size, he had the shivers, high fever, and just looked awful. Thankfully, he went to the hospital and was immediately checked in. While he was sick, Phil had to preach for my dad. I believe he taught 4 Sundays in a row while my dad was in the hospital and then as he was healing at home. This was a rough time for me emotionally and physically and mentally for Phil. On the last Sunday that Phil was covering for my dad, my dad asked the church to bless us financially for our trip to Chicago for stepping in and doing such an amazing job preaching. Of course, this had everyone asking, "Why Chicago?" "What are you going to do in Chicago?" We weren't telling anyone other than family (and a few close friends) why we were going, so we had to partially fib and say, "We just wanted to see what the city is like" or "I hadn't been there in a long time and wanted to go back." Our wonderful church gave us enough money to cover our expenses while we were out of town, a huge blessing!
We got to Chicago on Monday afternoon, rode public transportation into the heart of the city and checked into our sketchy hotel. We got some food, took a nap (traveling takes a LOT out of you) and then got dinner. We didn't explore much that first day. The second day, we had a tour of the school scheduled. We walked over to the campus and had our tour with a school group from Norway. Phil loved talking to them and hearing about them and their culture. They told us about the horrific shootings that had recently happened and how it had affected their country. After viewing the campus, we walked down to the Magnificent Mile. The Magnificent Mile is a shopping district full of amazing stores and boutiques. Within the Magnificent Mile is the Water Tower Place Mall which had the American Girl store and a Lego store (both of us LOVED acting like kids there), there is the 900 Shops with wonderful stores like Bloomingdales, Diesel, and UGG. After window shopping, we went up to the John Hancock Observatory and listened to the audio tour telling us all about the city of Chicago while seeing it from 94 stories up! Later the night, we took the bus to the Navy Pier, and then headed back to the John Hancock for dinner at the Signature Room on the 95th floor. The dinner was amazing and we watched the beautiful city of Chicago as it disappeared from us as a cloud rolled around the building! Unfortunately, we had to go home the next day, but we had a blast and both absolutely fell in love with Chicago.
November: The application for early decision was due December 1. I asked Phil to have everything done by Thanksgiving to give extra time in case something went missing. He finished his app and it was officially in God's hands whether Phil got admitted to the school or not.
December: I started to get nervous. I had complete faith in Phil that he was more than good enough to get into the school, but for some reason felt we needed some back up plans. I told Phil about my feelings and he told me I could find some other schools in case Moody didn't work out. So, I went back to my school in Kissimmee, and found another school in Phoenix, Arizona. I was torn, because I would rather live in Florida, but the school in Arizona seemed better. Phil was leaning towards Arizona as well, and we were both so confused as to what we were supposed to do. We began the application process for the other schools but waited to complete everything until we got our answer from Moody.
January: Moody posted on their Facebook that the early decision letters would be going in the mail on the 17th. Enter super freak out mode. I could not sleep, when I did sleep it was awful, I was cranky, rude, and it was all due to an immense amount of stress I was holding. The week of the 17th came and some people that live closer to Chicago started posting on the Moody Facebook that they had been deferred to regular decision (April). This was when I REALLY started to freak out. I had been praying and praying and praying that God would give us a clear yes or no, I was pretty sure I couldn't handle not knowing where we would be moving to until April.
That weekend, Phil's band, Floors & Stories, played at a high school camp up in McCall. I decided to go up as well, but stay in a hotel and have a mini-getaway. The letter still hadn't come before we went up so we still didn't know if he was accepted, denied, or deferred. We were starting to wonder if ANYONE got accepted, until finally, a few people posted that they were accepted. This made us feel better, but still extremely nervous. We got home on Sunday, and low and behold, a letter from Moody Bible Institute was in our mailbox. We got inside, put everything down, and looked at each other. I was begging Phil to open the letter and I wanted to look at it with him, but he told me to sit down and let him read it to me. I sat on the sofa, and waited. He took a deep breath, and opened the envelope. He started reading, "Dear Philip, we are delighted to inform you that your application for Fall 2012 has been accepted...." and immediately I broke down sobbing. I jumped up, still sobbing, and hugged Phil tightly. We read the rest of the letter, and still sobbing told him how proud I was of him. Phil began making phone calls to our parents and siblings to tell them the good news and I sat with the letter in my hands, staring at it, and even left a tear stain on the bottom of it.
We were SO excited, we wanted to yell our news out to the world! But we couldn't. We had to wait until the right time. We had to tell our church before we could tell our friends and make it "Facebook official". Let me be honest, that SUCKED. It was all I wanted to talk about, but I couldn't talk about it with anyone but Phil and my parents. We set the date to tell our church family and waited.
Finally, the day came, Sunday, February 12, 2012. Phil gave an amazing sermon on the Prodigal Son, with a lesson that I never got from that parable before. He did a great job. Then, my dad got up on stage, and began preparing our church body to hear the news. Phil got on stage and asked me to come up with him. He told them, and finally, the word was out. After church, I was finally allowed to put it on Facebook and I did. :)
I am so proud of Phil for being courageous enough to take on the calling to be a pastor. For being willing and wanting to begin college at the age of 25. For being a supportive, loving, and compassionate husband to me. He is truly amazing and I know God has big plans for him and I. We look forward to finding out what those plans are, but in the mean time, our plans are to finish out the summer in Meridian, and then head out to the Midwest and to find our new home in the wonderful city of Chicago.
Thursday, June 23, 2011
It's been awhile...
Why hello there. It's been awhile since I last blogged. I've thought about writing something a couple of times, but never felt I had anything great to say. I still don't think I have anything super interesting...but who knows, maybe someone will enjoy reading this...
*I have a job! No, not a teaching job (although my apps are still out), I'm working for Riverstone Residential Group as a leasing consultant. Want to know the best part?! I work where I live! That's right, I walk out my door, take a left, and ta-da! I'm at work! It is so awesome, I love it. You can't beat great pay with absolutely no travel-although I do get to drive our golf cart around. =] We're hoping to get a rent discount in the next 2 months (90 days after hire date) which would be fantastic! We're looking at saving close to $200 a month! I'm very happy with my job, I can definitely see myself doing this for awhile if no teaching jobs are available to me.
*I have not been following a healthy diet, not at all. Fortunately, I waited long enough to eat super un-healthy that I haven't gained much weight back from my HCG. I did about a round and a half of HCG and lost a total of 25 lbs. Right now I'm down about 21 lbs from when I started-which is still awesome! I feel better than I did and have more confidence, but I'm still much more overweight than I should be. I'm taking the Jillian Michaels Jump Start pills right now. I just finished the first week of "Detox and Cleanse" pills..and it sure does clean ya out! Tomorrow I start the "Fat burning and Probiotic pills" for another week. My plan is as follows:
-finish up the Jillian Michaels pills by June 30
-Gorge July 1 and 2 and start HCG round 3
-Start HCG diet July 3 and continue until drops are gone (probably only about 2 weeks since its not a full bottle)
-Wean myself off the HCG diet and low calories
My goal is to lose 15 lbs this round which would put me about 10 lbs from my original goal. I really think I can do at least 15 if I stick to the diet this time and walk every morning before work with my [mother-in-law's] weight vest on. I will absolutely keep you updated on my progress!
*Phil and I rearranged our living room furniture today. I really like it. We moved things around so we can get another chair/love seat/something to sit on in the room. Usually when we have guests over, someone [me] ends up sitting on the floor. I found a couple of chairs I really like!
Papasan chair
LoveSac PillowSac
PillowSak (just like the one above but much cheaper, knock off brand)
They are all pricey, but hey-my birthday is coming up in about 1 month! =]
*I need a hobby, says my dad...and I agree. I love my days off lounging around, but I do need something to do, people to meet and hang out with, something to keep me busy. I love my alone time, but I think I might be alone and at home a little too much...if you know of any activities/hobbies you can suggest, let me know! Preferably something that either costs very little or nothing at all would be great since we're saving every little penny we have!
Speaking of hobby.....I have Pretty Little Liars on Netflix and I'm going to go watch an episode before Phil gets home for his lunch/dinner. Have a fabulous night!
*I have a job! No, not a teaching job (although my apps are still out), I'm working for Riverstone Residential Group as a leasing consultant. Want to know the best part?! I work where I live! That's right, I walk out my door, take a left, and ta-da! I'm at work! It is so awesome, I love it. You can't beat great pay with absolutely no travel-although I do get to drive our golf cart around. =] We're hoping to get a rent discount in the next 2 months (90 days after hire date) which would be fantastic! We're looking at saving close to $200 a month! I'm very happy with my job, I can definitely see myself doing this for awhile if no teaching jobs are available to me.
*I have not been following a healthy diet, not at all. Fortunately, I waited long enough to eat super un-healthy that I haven't gained much weight back from my HCG. I did about a round and a half of HCG and lost a total of 25 lbs. Right now I'm down about 21 lbs from when I started-which is still awesome! I feel better than I did and have more confidence, but I'm still much more overweight than I should be. I'm taking the Jillian Michaels Jump Start pills right now. I just finished the first week of "Detox and Cleanse" pills..and it sure does clean ya out! Tomorrow I start the "Fat burning and Probiotic pills" for another week. My plan is as follows:
-finish up the Jillian Michaels pills by June 30
-Gorge July 1 and 2 and start HCG round 3
-Start HCG diet July 3 and continue until drops are gone (probably only about 2 weeks since its not a full bottle)
-Wean myself off the HCG diet and low calories
My goal is to lose 15 lbs this round which would put me about 10 lbs from my original goal. I really think I can do at least 15 if I stick to the diet this time and walk every morning before work with my [mother-in-law's] weight vest on. I will absolutely keep you updated on my progress!
*Phil and I rearranged our living room furniture today. I really like it. We moved things around so we can get another chair/love seat/something to sit on in the room. Usually when we have guests over, someone [me] ends up sitting on the floor. I found a couple of chairs I really like!
Papasan chair
LoveSac PillowSac
PillowSak (just like the one above but much cheaper, knock off brand)
They are all pricey, but hey-my birthday is coming up in about 1 month! =]
*I need a hobby, says my dad...and I agree. I love my days off lounging around, but I do need something to do, people to meet and hang out with, something to keep me busy. I love my alone time, but I think I might be alone and at home a little too much...if you know of any activities/hobbies you can suggest, let me know! Preferably something that either costs very little or nothing at all would be great since we're saving every little penny we have!
Speaking of hobby.....I have Pretty Little Liars on Netflix and I'm going to go watch an episode before Phil gets home for his lunch/dinner. Have a fabulous night!
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Done?!
I did it, I graduated from Boise State University! I officially hold a bachelor's degree in Elementary Education...can you believe it, because I can't!! It doesn't really feel any different. I think that's because I haven't taken classes for a year, so I feel like I've been done with school and in the work force for a year already-though I haven't made any money...
I'd like to brag that I'm one of the lucky few people to graduate and have a full time job right away. I am so excited and ready to start making money again and have a job that stays in the office and doesn't come back home with me. I'm still applying for teaching jobs, but due to the current status of education and the economy I'm very doubtful I'll be hired.
I'm still waiting to hear if I got a G.A position so I can do grad school. That is the only way we can afford it-if it is free! They are making their decisions this week, so I should know soon!
After reading a friend's list of goals for herself, I feel compelled to do the same thing. What a perfect time in my life to do so-just graduated from college and starting a new job! I will be working on that list throughout the week and hope to have it up and available for you to see soon!
I'm off to work-have a wonderful day!
I'd like to brag that I'm one of the lucky few people to graduate and have a full time job right away. I am so excited and ready to start making money again and have a job that stays in the office and doesn't come back home with me. I'm still applying for teaching jobs, but due to the current status of education and the economy I'm very doubtful I'll be hired.
I'm still waiting to hear if I got a G.A position so I can do grad school. That is the only way we can afford it-if it is free! They are making their decisions this week, so I should know soon!
After reading a friend's list of goals for herself, I feel compelled to do the same thing. What a perfect time in my life to do so-just graduated from college and starting a new job! I will be working on that list throughout the week and hope to have it up and available for you to see soon!
I'm off to work-have a wonderful day!
Sunday, March 6, 2011
Where Am I Headed?
Being in my last semester of college, heading into my last 8 weeks of student teaching I have NO idea what I am going to be doing 9 weeks from now for a job.
NOT.
A.
CLUE.
I'm OK with not knowing, because I DO know that Phil and I will be taken care of because we put our faith in God and allow Him to make sure everything works out for us.
BUT, I also know that I need to have as many doors available as I can to be opened by Him.
a) I decided to hold off on grad school. Most of my reasons for wanting to do grad school were financial-holding off on paying loans, and making more money once I'm teaching. However, in the financial state of our economy, many districts are not going to be paying for extra education or experience. So why would I spend another $12,500 for my masters to get paid the same amount of money if I didn't get my masters?!
b) I have been in contact with two managers about possible job opportunities (part-time while I'm in school and full-time in the summer)
c) I have officially enrolled in the ABCTE (American Board for Certification of Teacher Excellence) program to become fully endorsed and highly-qualified in math and English; allowing me to teach middle school or high school math or English. This is opening up more than double my job opportunities. At this point, I am hoping to get hired on a provisional certificate as a high school teacher for this coming school year (2011-2012). Please keep this in your prayers!
So-those are the steps I have taken and are continuing to take to give God the chance to bless our lives through a job, and hopefully the beginning of my career. Where am I headed? I have no idea, but I am content with not knowing just yet. =]
UPDATE on weight loss...
drum roll please.....
19.6 pounds! SO close to my goal for spring break....really hoping I get there! Then watch what I eat while I'm in Florida so I don't gain it all back...
Well-I'm off to study for my exams! Have a great Sunday!
NOT.
A.
CLUE.
I'm OK with not knowing, because I DO know that Phil and I will be taken care of because we put our faith in God and allow Him to make sure everything works out for us.
BUT, I also know that I need to have as many doors available as I can to be opened by Him.
a) I decided to hold off on grad school. Most of my reasons for wanting to do grad school were financial-holding off on paying loans, and making more money once I'm teaching. However, in the financial state of our economy, many districts are not going to be paying for extra education or experience. So why would I spend another $12,500 for my masters to get paid the same amount of money if I didn't get my masters?!
b) I have been in contact with two managers about possible job opportunities (part-time while I'm in school and full-time in the summer)
c) I have officially enrolled in the ABCTE (American Board for Certification of Teacher Excellence) program to become fully endorsed and highly-qualified in math and English; allowing me to teach middle school or high school math or English. This is opening up more than double my job opportunities. At this point, I am hoping to get hired on a provisional certificate as a high school teacher for this coming school year (2011-2012). Please keep this in your prayers!
So-those are the steps I have taken and are continuing to take to give God the chance to bless our lives through a job, and hopefully the beginning of my career. Where am I headed? I have no idea, but I am content with not knowing just yet. =]
UPDATE on weight loss...
drum roll please.....
19.6 pounds! SO close to my goal for spring break....really hoping I get there! Then watch what I eat while I'm in Florida so I don't gain it all back...
Well-I'm off to study for my exams! Have a great Sunday!
Sunday, February 13, 2011
Some thoughts...
I haven't blogged lately, mostly because nothing very exciting has gone on.
Some of you have been curious about my diet and weight loss. I just finished week 2 of my HCG drops diet and am feeling GREAT! So far I have lost 13.8 lbs in just 14 days! It sure has been an amazing journey, not super fun, but not horrible. The worst part of this part of the diet is the lack of variety in what I can eat. Here is a normal day for me:
Breakfast-coffee with 1 tablespoon of whole milk and 2 Stevia sweeteners
Lunch-4 oz. steak and a handful of veggies (either broccoli, cucumber, or asparagus)
Snack-apple (at school and only sometimes)
Snack-Melba toast (at home)
Dinner-4 oz. steak and a handful of veggies (either broccoli, cucumber, or asparagus)
I generally only drink water, but I sometimes get an iced tea from McDonalds since a large is only $1.06 =]
I have had 2 cheat days. This week was a very slow drop in weight (relative to last week) and many people that are on or have done this diet suggest a cheat day if you plateau in your weight loss. So on Friday my mom took me out to Baja Fresh and I had steak fajitas. It was SO good, I had tortillas, sour cream, guacamole, and chips.. mmmmm It did help restart my weight loss. Then today we had people over for lunch and they were all having Jimmy John's-so naturally I had one too. I'm hoping it'll give me a great start to my last week of taking the HCG drops.
I am 10.6 lbs away from my spring break goal (6 weeks away) so if I lose half a lb a day, which is less than what I am averaging now, I should get there! I'm really hoping I can reach this goal, as it is only half way to my full goal at the end of the summer!
On to something else....
Friends.
It is so hard as a married woman that doesn't go out to bars, clubs, or girls night to find and keep friendships. This is something that is really getting to me right now. I've been pretty bored lately on the weekends and week nights and would LOVE to hang out with people, but it just doesn't seem to work out.
I'm not writing this to make anyone feel guilty or feel bad for me because I don't want that. I'm simply stating my frustrations with my current situation.
Why is it so hard to find women around my age in a similar place in their lives in such a 'nice' community (nice as in generally nice and kind people)? I don't have an answer and I don't expect anyone to give me an answer-again just venting.
Well, I need to get back to finishing my valentine's for my precious students. Have a wonderful Valentine's Day filled with love and appreciation!
Some of you have been curious about my diet and weight loss. I just finished week 2 of my HCG drops diet and am feeling GREAT! So far I have lost 13.8 lbs in just 14 days! It sure has been an amazing journey, not super fun, but not horrible. The worst part of this part of the diet is the lack of variety in what I can eat. Here is a normal day for me:
Breakfast-coffee with 1 tablespoon of whole milk and 2 Stevia sweeteners
Lunch-4 oz. steak and a handful of veggies (either broccoli, cucumber, or asparagus)
Snack-apple (at school and only sometimes)
Snack-Melba toast (at home)
Dinner-4 oz. steak and a handful of veggies (either broccoli, cucumber, or asparagus)
I generally only drink water, but I sometimes get an iced tea from McDonalds since a large is only $1.06 =]
I have had 2 cheat days. This week was a very slow drop in weight (relative to last week) and many people that are on or have done this diet suggest a cheat day if you plateau in your weight loss. So on Friday my mom took me out to Baja Fresh and I had steak fajitas. It was SO good, I had tortillas, sour cream, guacamole, and chips.. mmmmm It did help restart my weight loss. Then today we had people over for lunch and they were all having Jimmy John's-so naturally I had one too. I'm hoping it'll give me a great start to my last week of taking the HCG drops.
I am 10.6 lbs away from my spring break goal (6 weeks away) so if I lose half a lb a day, which is less than what I am averaging now, I should get there! I'm really hoping I can reach this goal, as it is only half way to my full goal at the end of the summer!
On to something else....
Friends.
It is so hard as a married woman that doesn't go out to bars, clubs, or girls night to find and keep friendships. This is something that is really getting to me right now. I've been pretty bored lately on the weekends and week nights and would LOVE to hang out with people, but it just doesn't seem to work out.
I'm not writing this to make anyone feel guilty or feel bad for me because I don't want that. I'm simply stating my frustrations with my current situation.
Why is it so hard to find women around my age in a similar place in their lives in such a 'nice' community (nice as in generally nice and kind people)? I don't have an answer and I don't expect anyone to give me an answer-again just venting.
Well, I need to get back to finishing my valentine's for my precious students. Have a wonderful Valentine's Day filled with love and appreciation!
Friday, February 4, 2011
My week
WOW-what a week.
First off-I started my diet, no-I started my new lifestyle. I have done amazing, I'm so proud of myself. I have not cheated once and have lost weight! (I'm waiting until the week mark to publish what I've lost so far). I don't think I have ever been this successful and this determined to be healthy. My goal is to lose 40 lbs by my birthday-July 27, I think it is TOTALLY do-able!! Phil is even losing weight! He isn't doing exactly what I'm doing, not nearly as strict, but he is doing a great job!
The first day SUCKED-big time. I was so hungry, my stomach hurt; it was BAD. But, the next morning, the scale gave me inspiration to keep going. I haven't been hungry the rest of the week, and have actually had to force myself to finish my meals. I'm so excited to see how much weight I lose at the end of this 'diet' and then continue to lose and then maintain my ideal weight.
Unfortunately, my mentor teacher's father was sick in the hospital at the beginning of this week and passed away on Tuesday evening. She has been out of town the entire week so I have had the privilege of subbing and running the class. Luckily, I already make all the lesson plans and teach all day so the only thing that was really different was that my mentor wasn't physically there.
It was a good week! We had some issues, but there will always be SOMETHING that's not perfect. I'm so grateful for the experience of 'having my own classroom' I only wish it was under different circumstances. We aren't sure when my mentor will be back at school, it could be the middle of next week or the following week. So I will be subbing and on my own for at least part of next week-good for experience AND for my wallet!
The worst part of the week is that I have barely seen Phil. He has had mostly night shifts at work- so I get home from school, see him for about an hour (maybe) and then he heads out to work. He is at an UnderOath concert tonight-his favorite band-with his best friend. I'm glad he's able to do things with his friend!
I will fill you in with my exact weight loss on Sunday! Have a great weekend!!
First off-I started my diet, no-I started my new lifestyle. I have done amazing, I'm so proud of myself. I have not cheated once and have lost weight! (I'm waiting until the week mark to publish what I've lost so far). I don't think I have ever been this successful and this determined to be healthy. My goal is to lose 40 lbs by my birthday-July 27, I think it is TOTALLY do-able!! Phil is even losing weight! He isn't doing exactly what I'm doing, not nearly as strict, but he is doing a great job!
The first day SUCKED-big time. I was so hungry, my stomach hurt; it was BAD. But, the next morning, the scale gave me inspiration to keep going. I haven't been hungry the rest of the week, and have actually had to force myself to finish my meals. I'm so excited to see how much weight I lose at the end of this 'diet' and then continue to lose and then maintain my ideal weight.
Unfortunately, my mentor teacher's father was sick in the hospital at the beginning of this week and passed away on Tuesday evening. She has been out of town the entire week so I have had the privilege of subbing and running the class. Luckily, I already make all the lesson plans and teach all day so the only thing that was really different was that my mentor wasn't physically there.
It was a good week! We had some issues, but there will always be SOMETHING that's not perfect. I'm so grateful for the experience of 'having my own classroom' I only wish it was under different circumstances. We aren't sure when my mentor will be back at school, it could be the middle of next week or the following week. So I will be subbing and on my own for at least part of next week-good for experience AND for my wallet!
The worst part of the week is that I have barely seen Phil. He has had mostly night shifts at work- so I get home from school, see him for about an hour (maybe) and then he heads out to work. He is at an UnderOath concert tonight-his favorite band-with his best friend. I'm glad he's able to do things with his friend!
I will fill you in with my exact weight loss on Sunday! Have a great weekend!!
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Revelations
No, not talking about the book in the bible. I like to think-a lot. I enjoy planning and figuring out the details to anything and everything!
Teaching
This past week was the first week that I have truly considered not teaching and questioning the last 5 years of college. Teaching is no longer the fun, creative process it used to be. Don't get me wrong, it is still fun most of the time and you still need to be creative-but in different ways. You have to plan your lessons around the curriculum chosen for you, there are kids that don't have parental help or support, you have to progress monitor a handful of kids, pull kids out of class to test them on reading and math skills, kids are going in and out of class for interventions....the list goes on.
It has taken some reflection and talking with Phil to realize that teaching is what I'm supposed to do-even if it isn't the 'funnest' thing all the time. =]
Grad School
Grad school was never in the plans for me. I never planned on continuing my education, I figured 5 years of college was enough for me. Another reason I didn't want to do grad school was that I didn't like any of the programs I knew BSU had. Last week I started doing some research and found out that BSU offers a masters of educational technology. After reading up about the program I knew it was for me. Not only can I get my masters, but I will also be a certified technology integration specialist.
Grad school isn't super expensive on it's own-but on top of my massive undergrad loans, it is just outrageous. After doing some number crunching, I have realized that
A. I can't afford to NOT do grad school. We won't be able to pay student loans right away, even if I got a teaching job right away. I have to stay in school to keep my loans in deferment. Once I have my masters degree, I'll make more money-leaving me able to pay my student loans.
B. Though I MUST do grad school, I canNOT PAY for it. As I already mentioned, my student loans are HUGE. Let's just say my monthly payments will equal to paying on a really nice, expensive car...I will be applying for scholarships and grants to pay for tuition (if you know of any good scholarships, please let me know). I have also applied for a graduate assistantship position. As a GA I will get a tuition waiver (AKA free school) and get a nice stipend for the year. We are hoping and diligently praying that I will be offered a full-time GA position for 2 years (the time it will take to complete my degree). If this happens, I will also be looking for a part-time job to help pay my bills. The stipend will then be used towards my undergrad loans, leaving my loan payments MUCH more do-able.
Weight
If you have read my older posts, you'll see the post about how I have let myself go since moving to Boise. I have a plan set in place to get myself back into shape and more importantly, healthy.
I will begin the HCG drops diet next week (if everything goes as planned). This is a strict diet, only allowing 500-550 calories a day. The good thing is that this only lasts for 3 weeks. After the 3 weeks, you are allowed 1400-1600 calories a day. I should finish up this diet right around spring break.
After the diet is over, I will continue eating right (hopefully my appetite will have changed and I won't want the bad food anymore). I will also be working out very hard.
Here are my goals:
-Lose 20 lbs through HCG by spring break (end of March)
-Lose another 10 lbs by graduation (May 14)
-Lose the last 10 lbs by my birthday (July 27)
Yep, you read that right, I want to lose 40 lbs in the next 6 months. I believe I can do it, and I really hope I can stick to my plan.
That's all for now.
Teaching
This past week was the first week that I have truly considered not teaching and questioning the last 5 years of college. Teaching is no longer the fun, creative process it used to be. Don't get me wrong, it is still fun most of the time and you still need to be creative-but in different ways. You have to plan your lessons around the curriculum chosen for you, there are kids that don't have parental help or support, you have to progress monitor a handful of kids, pull kids out of class to test them on reading and math skills, kids are going in and out of class for interventions....the list goes on.
It has taken some reflection and talking with Phil to realize that teaching is what I'm supposed to do-even if it isn't the 'funnest' thing all the time. =]
Grad School
Grad school was never in the plans for me. I never planned on continuing my education, I figured 5 years of college was enough for me. Another reason I didn't want to do grad school was that I didn't like any of the programs I knew BSU had. Last week I started doing some research and found out that BSU offers a masters of educational technology. After reading up about the program I knew it was for me. Not only can I get my masters, but I will also be a certified technology integration specialist.
Grad school isn't super expensive on it's own-but on top of my massive undergrad loans, it is just outrageous. After doing some number crunching, I have realized that
A. I can't afford to NOT do grad school. We won't be able to pay student loans right away, even if I got a teaching job right away. I have to stay in school to keep my loans in deferment. Once I have my masters degree, I'll make more money-leaving me able to pay my student loans.
B. Though I MUST do grad school, I canNOT PAY for it. As I already mentioned, my student loans are HUGE. Let's just say my monthly payments will equal to paying on a really nice, expensive car...I will be applying for scholarships and grants to pay for tuition (if you know of any good scholarships, please let me know). I have also applied for a graduate assistantship position. As a GA I will get a tuition waiver (AKA free school) and get a nice stipend for the year. We are hoping and diligently praying that I will be offered a full-time GA position for 2 years (the time it will take to complete my degree). If this happens, I will also be looking for a part-time job to help pay my bills. The stipend will then be used towards my undergrad loans, leaving my loan payments MUCH more do-able.
Weight
If you have read my older posts, you'll see the post about how I have let myself go since moving to Boise. I have a plan set in place to get myself back into shape and more importantly, healthy.
I will begin the HCG drops diet next week (if everything goes as planned). This is a strict diet, only allowing 500-550 calories a day. The good thing is that this only lasts for 3 weeks. After the 3 weeks, you are allowed 1400-1600 calories a day. I should finish up this diet right around spring break.
After the diet is over, I will continue eating right (hopefully my appetite will have changed and I won't want the bad food anymore). I will also be working out very hard.
Here are my goals:
-Lose 20 lbs through HCG by spring break (end of March)
-Lose another 10 lbs by graduation (May 14)
-Lose the last 10 lbs by my birthday (July 27)
Yep, you read that right, I want to lose 40 lbs in the next 6 months. I believe I can do it, and I really hope I can stick to my plan.
That's all for now.
Saturday, January 15, 2011
Looking forward to 2011
After 2 full weeks of 2011 it's been a pretty good year so far! There are so many exciting things going on this year! If you know me-you know that I am always looking FORWARD to the next thing (and usually the thing after that, and maybe even the thing after that =]). So, I figured I would share with anyone who reads this about our plans for 2011!
January: We have already celebrated both our dad's birthdays and I have begun my last semester of college.
February: We plan to celebrate Valentine's Day at the same restaurant that Phil proposed to me at-on Valentine's Day-Barbacoa. The Valentine's dinner there is SUPER expensive, so we are planning to go either the week before or after V-day.
March: The first week of March I'll switch back into 4th grade for my last 8 weeks of student teaching. For spring break we are going with Phil's family back to Orlando (where we honeymooned). While we're there we're going to Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure. While we're there, we get to go to THE WIZARDING WORLD OF HARRY POTTER!!!
We're hoping to get to go to Disney World's Animal Kingdom and Epcot too!
April: Phil will be 24 this month! I can't believe my hubby is going to be 24-sounds so old. hehe =] Our brother will be 21 this month as well!
May: I will finish my student teaching the first week on this month! Hopefully, I will have some sort of job by this point to help with bills. On May 14, I will be a COLLEGE GRADUATE! I'm kinda excited. =]
June: In June Phil and I will both be working-a lot. We will also celebrate my parent's anniversary and my mom's birthday!
July: We are hoping to go out to Vegas for our good friend's wedding! Kayla and Rey are getting married on July 23-I'm so happy for them! Then, on the 27th-I'll be 23! =]
August: By this point, I am hoping to have a teaching job secured. We will most likely be going to work for Miss American Starlet the second week of August in La Quinta, California. Then, at the end of the month-I am really REALLY hoping to be preparing to begin my first year as a teacher!
September: School (or work) will be in full force. I think this is one of the months where we don't have anything special going on (YET!)
October: This month we will celebrate our 2nd anniversary on the 17th. We stayed at The Grove hotel in downtown Boise on our wedding night and for our first anniversary-we're hoping to stay there again (in the same room!)
November: We get to celebrate our nephew, Talon's, 2nd birthday! Maybe this year we can celebrate in Vegas with them (or wherever they live at that point). Then, 2 days later, it's my sister (and Talon's mom) Amy's birthday! We will probably be celebrating Thanksgiving with my family this year, so we will be in town!
December: Finally December, one of my favorite months! This month will be really cold-then nice and warm! If everything goes as planned, we will be celebrating Christmas and New Years with the Eastman's in...Hawaii! We will be on the island of Kauai-we're really excited, neither of us have been before and we know it will be a great time!
Well, there's 2011 in a nutshell. Looking forward to seeing what else it brings our way!
January: We have already celebrated both our dad's birthdays and I have begun my last semester of college.
February: We plan to celebrate Valentine's Day at the same restaurant that Phil proposed to me at-on Valentine's Day-Barbacoa. The Valentine's dinner there is SUPER expensive, so we are planning to go either the week before or after V-day.
March: The first week of March I'll switch back into 4th grade for my last 8 weeks of student teaching. For spring break we are going with Phil's family back to Orlando (where we honeymooned). While we're there we're going to Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure. While we're there, we get to go to THE WIZARDING WORLD OF HARRY POTTER!!!
We're hoping to get to go to Disney World's Animal Kingdom and Epcot too! April: Phil will be 24 this month! I can't believe my hubby is going to be 24-sounds so old. hehe =] Our brother will be 21 this month as well!
May: I will finish my student teaching the first week on this month! Hopefully, I will have some sort of job by this point to help with bills. On May 14, I will be a COLLEGE GRADUATE! I'm kinda excited. =]
June: In June Phil and I will both be working-a lot. We will also celebrate my parent's anniversary and my mom's birthday!
July: We are hoping to go out to Vegas for our good friend's wedding! Kayla and Rey are getting married on July 23-I'm so happy for them! Then, on the 27th-I'll be 23! =]
August: By this point, I am hoping to have a teaching job secured. We will most likely be going to work for Miss American Starlet the second week of August in La Quinta, California. Then, at the end of the month-I am really REALLY hoping to be preparing to begin my first year as a teacher!
September: School (or work) will be in full force. I think this is one of the months where we don't have anything special going on (YET!)
October: This month we will celebrate our 2nd anniversary on the 17th. We stayed at The Grove hotel in downtown Boise on our wedding night and for our first anniversary-we're hoping to stay there again (in the same room!)
November: We get to celebrate our nephew, Talon's, 2nd birthday! Maybe this year we can celebrate in Vegas with them (or wherever they live at that point). Then, 2 days later, it's my sister (and Talon's mom) Amy's birthday! We will probably be celebrating Thanksgiving with my family this year, so we will be in town!
December: Finally December, one of my favorite months! This month will be really cold-then nice and warm! If everything goes as planned, we will be celebrating Christmas and New Years with the Eastman's in...Hawaii! We will be on the island of Kauai-we're really excited, neither of us have been before and we know it will be a great time!
Well, there's 2011 in a nutshell. Looking forward to seeing what else it brings our way!
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