Well....

I was going to try to write something....but there are too many thoughts going through my head for me to write coherently. So, instead, I changed the look of my blog. Hopefully soon I will be able to sort my thoughts into something reasonably interesting for you all to read.

Pictures!

So I finally took some pictures of the apartment! I had kind of been waiting until we got all our furniture, but I couldn't wait any longer! The only thing we don't have yet is our dining room table, which is in the process of getting painted!

Click HERE to see the pictures!

(There were way too many to put them on here!)

Update!

I know you all have been waiting for an update from me, and I'm sorry I haven't gotten one on here earlier! Life has been pretty crazy this past month!

Kaleb and I officially moved into our new apartment on June 4th. We are loving it! :) Pictures to come later. We don't have all of our furniture yet, but it is coming along nicely! The dogs are here with us and although they seemed pretty confused the first night, they are also doing well, and considering they are both sacked out right now, I'd say they are comfortable here. :)

Vacation Bible School was last week. Kaleb and I were both very involved in that: Kaleb with sound/light type stuff and me with the preschool. It was an amazing week! We learned about how our Faith can take flight and how to travel with truth!

Work has been pretty consistent. Business is booming, which can make for good or bad days depending on how you look at it. :)

On the not-so-bright side, my computer crashed last week. It wouldn't turn on and stay on. Thankfully, my amazing dad was able to get my documents and pictures and music off my computer and on to their computer, so I didn't lose anything. Tonight, he and I went out and picked out a new computer for me, which I am currently using. :)

Well, I need to head to bed as I have to work at 8 tomorrow and am pretty tired. More to come later!

APARTMENT!!!!

Okay, so those of you who don't know....Kaleb and I decided probably 2-3 weeks ago to move in to an apartment together. There were several reasons, but I won't go into all of that here, but we are both VERY excited!!

All of a sudden, the apartment search drastically changed. Now we were looking for a two bedroom rather than one bedroom, that allows dogs, and has washer/dryer hookups, with a different price range, too. We first tried to look at a nearby apartment complex that is fairly new, and looks really nice. Mom and Dad had looked there for my sister and her husband when they were moving back here, so they knew what they were like. At the same time, we looked into another apartment complex, that was a little farther away, but was also nice and met all our requirements. The second one, we soon found out, didn't have any openings until July 1st. So, we put that one on the back burner and started looking more closely at the first one. Through a telephone conversation with the complex, we found out that they do not allow first time renters (which we are), so that meant that place was out, too.

We were starting to get a little discouraged (or, I was, at least), but we knew that we really had just begun our search. (I was probably the most discouraged simply because I had been looking through apartment stuff for several months already.) Soon, we found a house that was 1.5 stories plus a basement. We went to take a look at it, and there were a lot of positives, but also a lot of negatives. Pretty quickly, we ruled that one out.

Then, we revisited a complex that I had looked at before, but had ruled it out due to cost. But, with Kaleb and I both contributing money, we were pretty sure we could afford it. So we went to look at an apartment a couple of weeks ago. We realllly liked it, but we just had to make sure it was going to fit in our budget. We picked up an application packet anyway, and after running some numbers, we discovered we could do it!

So, we turned in our applications (after a lot of phone conversations in which we tried to figure things out) last Thursday (the 5th). On Tuesday, I called because we had not heard anything about our applications yet, on whether we had been accepted or denied. She told me she would check on it and call me back. She called me back a few hours later and said that everything looks great and our lease was all drawn up and ready to go. She started talking about the apartment and I had to stop her and ask her if it was an upstairs or downstairs apartment. I really thought they would give us a choice, since they told us they had both available. However, she hadn't asked that question and had already drawn up our lease. So anyway, she informed me it was an upstairs. I asked if they had any downstairs ones available and she said they might be able to move things around and get us a downstairs one instead. I told her we would much prefer the downstairs apartment. So, once again, we hung up, with her telling me she would call back.

We heard nothing from her the rest of Tuesday or at all Wednesday. So I called again on Thursday asking if they found us a downstairs apartment. She informed me they had been working on it, so she was going to check to see how far they got and she would call me back. Ugh. Let me tell you, at that point, I was not a very happy camper. They seemed to not understand the concept of calling someone back. So I waited several more hours until she finally called back. They found a downstairs apartment for us and had re-drawn up the lease. Yay! She and I started talking numbers on how much our monthly rent was going to be, etc etc. After hanging up with her, I finally felt like this whole process was actually going to happen! I was beginning to get excited. :) I called my mom, and through talking to her, realized that the monthly rent that she had quoted me seemed way too high for what we had figured out. So I called back again (much to my dismay), but this time talked to a different woman. We got everything figured out, but since the monthly rent changed, our deposit was going to change, too. So she told me she would have the other lady figure it out and call us. Sigh.....let me tell you, I have been learning a lesson on patience this week...

Okay, so, she hadn't called me back by 2pm today. Oh, I forgot to mention, we set up an appointment to sign our lease on Saturday (tomorrow), at which time we needed our deposit, which had to be in a cashier's check, so we had to know the amount today so we could go to the bank to get the check before tomorrow. Whew. So, I had to call again and figure out what our deposit was going to be. Well, finally, we got it figured out, and after I got off work, my dad and I went to the bank to get the check. So, tomorrow morning, at 10am, Kaleb and I will be heading to the apartment office to sign our lease and turn in our deposit! YAY!

Our move-in date is June 4th, which is only 3 weeks from tomorrow!!!!!! :) We are both SUPER excited and thankful that God provided for us, even though there seemed to be a lot of obstacles. Thank you to all of you who were praying that we would find a place. Oh....in case you didn't realize....both Lily (Kaleb's dog) and Snowbelle (my dog) will be coming with us. :) That leaves Mom and Dad alone in our big empty house :). Even though the four of us are rarely home at the same time due to busy schedules, I know we have all thoroughly enjoyed being together this past year. I think I can speak for all of us when I say that we know change can be a good thing, but that doesn't always make it easy. Pray that God will bless us through this change and strengthen, rather than weaken, our faith in Him and our love for each other.

An Update: Finally!

I know it has been a while since I've posted anything and for that I apologize. I'm not really sure where the past few months have gone!

Here's what's been going on:

--I finished my class about a month ago. It was pretty easy and it went by quickly. I got an A.

--I am still teaching the 3 and 4 year old Sunday school class and still loving it.

--I am still doing childcare for the women's Bible study on Tuesday mornings. We still only have 3 kids. It ends the first Tuesday in May.

--I am still a Cubbie leader on Wednesday nights, although that also is ending, at the end of April.

--I am still working 40+ hours at Culver's, although I did receive a promotion and a raise. I am now the co-2nd Assistant Manager.

--I am still looking for an apartment. I haven't really looked at any, except one today, but I'm having a hard time finding one that is in my price range, allows dogs, and has washer/dryer hookups.

New things that are happening:

--VBS (Vacation Bible School) is coming up quickly. I will be heading up the preschool department and teaching the lessons. I'm excited! :)

--Also, this fall, our church is starting a new curriculum for preschool through sixth grade. It is going to be a big change for everyone, but it is very exciting stuff! I will be teaching the lessons for the 3-5 year olds for that, as well.

--Snowbelle is still healthy, so to speak. Recently, the vet tested her to see if she has Cushing's Disease, like he thinks she does. The test came back a strong positive, so this past Thursday, we started her on medicine to help treat the symptoms of Cushing's Disease. The disease is caused by a tumor on her pituitary gland, which is too small and too hard to access to remove it with surgery, which leaves us with the medicine. In two weeks, I will have to take her in to have her tested to make sure the dosage of the medicine is correct. I will have to do the same thing at 1 month, 6 months, 1 year, and every year after that. I'm hoping that in a few weeks, we will notice some positive changes in her!

Busy, busy, busy...

I have been keeping busy these past few months, as I'm sure you all have as well! And, as if I wasn't busy enough, I just added two more things to my schedule each week.

Here's pretty much how it goes for the next 8 weeks:

--Today marked the first day of an 8-week online class that I need to finish my Iowa certification. There are assignments due every week, by Sunday.

--Today also marked the first day of me providing childcare during the Women's Bible Study on Tuesday mornings from 9-11:30am at my church. Today was an easy day--only three kids.

--Every Wednesday night, from 6-8:45pm, I am again at church, as a Cubbie leader in AWANA. The Cubbies are the 3-5 year olds. I am a co-leader of the yellow group, which consists of 7 kids, one 3 year old boy, three 4 year old girls, two 4 year old boys, and one 5 year old boy.

--Every Sunday morning, from 9-10:15am, I am the lead teacher for the 3 and 4 year old Sunday school class. We usually have 11-12 kids each week.

--On top of all of that, I am also working 40+ hours at Culver's Restaurant as a Crew Chief (manager).

Sounds pretty crazy doesn't it?? It doesn't feel that busy....yet. Of course my class also just started....

In other news, Snowbelle had another appointment with the vet, during which they collected urine from her bladder and tested it for crystals (which eventually turn into stones) and for bacteria growth (which turns into an infection). Both tests were negative, which means, at this point, Snowbelle is completely healthy. Yay! She is restricted to JUST her dog food---no human food (which we have been following for several years) and NO treats! I think that will be the hardest part on all of us! Although, we have decided that when she would normally get a treat (after a bath, getting her nails clipped, etc), we will just give her a small amount of her dog food. We also have to soak her food in water in an effort to increase her water consumption, which will hopefully keep her bladder clear of infections and stones. She really could care less that she now pretty much laps up her food instead of chewing it...except for the wait period between when we put food in her bowl and when she actually gets to eat it (we soak it in water and she has to wait for it....which she hates!) I also have to take her in every 6 months to repeat the two tests mentioned above. Hopefully, with the strict diet, increased water consumption, and the frequent check-ups, we will be able to catch any infection or stone growth early so she does not ever need surgery again. I am not sure if the vet even would consider a 3rd bladder surgery on an aging dog (she turns 11 in May).

As far as the apartment search goes, I am still working on paying off my car (less than $200 left!) although I do have all of Snowbelle's medical bills paid off! Hopefully in the spring/early summer, I will have enough money saved up to get an apartment. I have, however, packed up a good portion of my room (all stuff that I don't need/use right now). The guest room next to my room has several stacks of boxes already! Although I will dearly miss living with my parents and brother, I can't wait to have a place to call my own!

Recovery

Snowbelle's surgery last Thursday went great! I dropped her off a little after 7:30am that morning. By noon, I heard that she was out of surgery, but still under anesthesia; the vet wanted to know if I wanted her teeth cleaned as well. I said yes, then later I got another call saying she was awake and alert! They removed all of the stones without any complications (Praise God!), and the surgery went quicker than expected! I was originally told that she would have to spend the night and I could pick her up Friday. However, the vet felt so great about the surgery and Snowbelle was doing so well, that he discharged her Thursday night and she got to come home.

Considering she just had surgery a few days ago, she is doing fantastic. She is practically herself, except when it comes to eating. We think that is because her mouth might hurt some from her teeth being cleaned and having some teeth pulled. She still eats, but she just takes a little bit longer to eat than before. She is currently on 3 different medications: one for pain, one antibiotic, and one for inflammation. The antibiotic and the anti-inflammatory one are both liquids, so she takes those fine. And, even though she has been taking antibiotic pills for over 2 weeks, she really fights us with this new pain pill. Apparently it tastes horrible, and no matter how far back in her throat we try to put it, she still tries (and usually succeeds) to spit it back out. Sigh, oh well.

Anyway, I have to go to work soon, but I just wanted to let you all know how great Snowbelle is doing! Thank you all for your support and prayers!!