Small Town Life

It's official...we're small town people. It's amazing how quickly we became acclimated to our new environment.

This past week...
I didn't have to tell anyone we were buying a house because everyone I ran into already knew.

Without thinking, I waved to all oncoming traffic on my way to work.

I felt out of place at Wal-Mart because half of the people there were in overalls. (I continue to tell Aaron that I need a pair, but he just laughs at me.) 

I got stuck in "traffic" on my way to work...or (in other words) I got stuck behind a tractor on my way to work. 

I also came to realize that... 
My weekend excitement now involves a trip to a Wal-Mart where I will run into at least a dozen people I know.

My car stays filthy because of all the dirt roads, and there are about 1,234 bugs on my windshield. (By tomorrow I may reach 2,000.) 

It is normal to see an old man riding through town on his lawn mower...with a small trailer on the back.

And...the closest mall is an hour away. (sigh) 

O' the joys of small town life...

The Perfect Home for Us

The past few weeks have flown by...literally. We've been looking at a specific house for quite a while now, and we finally made an offer about a week ago. After many evenings of counter-offering back and forth with the seller, we finally had an accepted offer. Praise God I have an attorney for a husband so that he can read all the small print that I signed this week because I really had no clue what I was signing. I could have been buying a shack down the street for all I knew. 

Our new house really is perfect for us, and I really hope it wasn't a shack listed in the contract. (If it is, it's a really expensive shack.) This house fits our personalities so perfectly, and we can't wait to start enjoying our new home. We close on May 26th, so let the paperwork and inspections begin....I'm already exhausted, and we are still 6 weeks away from closing.

A Busy Day

My sweet husband works so hard throughout the week, and he didn't get a break today. As I'm trying to think of what we did today, it really wasn't that much, but it was run, run, run...all day long, so at the end of the day, we're a little exhausted. Not to mention, Aaron has a case he's preparing for on Monday, so when I came back from grabbing a load of laundry tonight, this is what I found....

 

I love my husband, and I'm so thankful for him and all his hard work. 

Just another week...

We've been in Illinois for 22 days now, and for 10 of those days, I've been sick. Yes, you're correct. That is almost half of the time that we've been here. Believe me, each time that number gets larger, I ask myself, "Is God trying to tell me something about Illinois?" I don't really think that about Illinois...I don't yet anyway. Once I've been sick for more than half the time we've been here, I may begin to actually question it.

This week I started my new job. Despite how excited I was to actually not have to work for a change, I was actually excited about the job. I'm working as a receptionist at a dentist's office, and it's a perfect fit for me. It's all about detail and schedules...which I'm all about. The best thing about it is that it's a Christian dentist that strives to have a Christian atmosphere in his office...which I love. I've been saying this all along on this journey that Aaron and I are on, but God really is orchestrating everything in our lives. It's so amazing to look at the things that are happening in our lives and see His hand in it all.

Everything comes and goes so quickly, just like the weather, but in the end, God is faithful and true to His word. He's always providing for our every need, and even though I'm complaining about how I've been sick for so long (just with a cold by the way...nothing serious), it's always so amazing to see God's hand in it all. Aaron and I prayed the other night that this horrible cold of mine would go away. Yesterday, I started to feel just a tiny bit better, and today, I'm a little bit better than yesterday. I know that these clouds (or at this time a cold) will pass, and I'll be on my way to sunny (and hopefully warmer) days.

This week is just another week, but it's another week where my God is at work in my life and in our marriage. 

St. Patty's Day

Yesterday, we had Ma & Pa Kaney and Mom & Chris over for dinner. We had Irish Stew (minus the beer - I was afraid to put it in the stew because I thought it might make it taste weird), and I made green popcorn. Both were delicious, and I think I might try to do the popcorn again for another holiday...maybe the 4th of July (red, white, & blue) or Christmas (green & red). I've been munching on the leftover popcorn all day. Yum!


I almost canceled our evening with them though because I wasn't feeling well that morning, but as the day progressed, I felt much better. Today, however, is another story. I think that little green leprechaun left me a nasty present...a terrible cold. But I'm praising God that this "present" came before Monday when I start my new job because that would have been terrible to start my new job and be sick.  

Do you think if I'm thankful enough to have this cold now that the Lord will make it go away by Monday?

Chris Tomlin

Andrea (my sister) bought her and I tickets to the Chris Tomlin concert in Madison as my birthday present. The concert was last night, and it was a blast! (Next time, I'd love to bring Aaron with me. He would have really enjoyed it.)

Andrea, Gina (one of my sister's good friends), and I left late in the afternoon yesterday to head up to Madison for the concert. We had a perfect plan set for a perfect girls night out. We would get to Madison early, eat dinner before the concert, enjoy the concert, and then head home. Until...my sister announced half way up to Madison that she forgot the tickets at home. Luckily, we were only half way to Madison, and Gina had a family member that lived closer to where we were. Gina rescued us by calling them to see if we could print off the tickets at their home. It all ended up working out just fine, and it made for a great laugh by the end of the night. We weren't able to eat dinner out at a restaurant, but we ate pizza and bread sticks at the concert. We were all really excited about the pizza and bread sticks by the time we got to the concert, and I'm not sure if it was because the pizza and bread sticks were really that good or because we were all starving by the time we got them...either way, it ended up being perfect. Our plan for the evening didn't work out just like we had anticipated, but it was still a perfect evening none the less. We made it to the concert in plenty of time, we had a great time at the concert, and my favorite part was that it was a great night of worshiping my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. The worship was amazing, and that was all I really cared about.

Thanks, Andrea, for a great birthday present!! It was really a great girls night out!

Aaron's First Day

Aaron had his first full day of work on Monday. I'm so proud of him!! I would have taken a picture of him on his first day, but I knew the answer would be "NO!", so I didn't even ask. Thankfully, Aaron can't say no to his Aunt Barb. We're staying with his aunt and uncle (Barb & Terry) for a little while until we can find a place of our own, and she was able to snag him as he walked out the door. (No, I did not secretly ask her to do it for me.) She showed me the picture later and told me how she took pictures of each of their kids on their first day of school, and she just couldn't resist taking a picture of Aaron on his first day. And I'm so thankful she asked for the picture!

Doesn't he just look so handsome with his suit on? I'm a little bias, but I think he's the most handsome attorney in the world! Of course, he's a little older than he was when his mom took pictures of him going to his first day of school, and he has a briefcase in his hand instead of a backpack, but he's still just as cute now as he was then.

Did I mention how proud I am of him?