A Long Overdue Upddate

So apparently it has been a very long time since I've updated my blog. Combine that with a lot of life changes and here we are. So much to catch up on!

1) 'The Move': Henry and I have known since we met that if he wanted to continue to work his way up in Oak Harbor Freight Lines he/we would need to live somewhere else for at least 2 years so he could work 'outside the umbrella'. This requirement has been hanging over us to a point since we got married but I had a job that I loved at Seattle Christian and we weren't ready to pick up and move. This spring the 'moving' wheel started turning. Anna was due at the end of May and I was hoping to teach part time at SCS. With enrollment being down we learned that that would not be an option. So, I decided that I would sub and possibly tutor to keep myself in the 'teaching' position and financially contribute. We had heard about a position that was opening up in Stockton, California, not far from Ripon. We talked seriously about the idea of moving there but decided it wasn't right for us. Henry learned that Oak Harbor would be opening a terminal just outside of San Diego, CA and that they would be needing a terminal manager. He interviewed with the disctrict manager. The interview went well. We were torn. After much prayer and thought we decided that if the right things fell into place we would go. Just like that things started to happen. Henry got hired at a salary that we could live on. He flew down to Escondido to look for housing with the help of his boss's wife who does real estate. That same day I got a call from a staff member at Seattle Christian asking about possibly renting our condo. The most wonderful family stopped by to check the place out and asked if they could sign a lease. What?! It couldn't be that easy... It was. We're renting our condo to a fabulous Christian family who is sending their 4th grade daughter to SCS. He's a police officer. It could not have worked out better. That same day Henry and Terri took a wrong turn while looking for a rental and found a beautiful house for sale that was significantly underpriced. They called the realtor who was selling the house on a Friday night at 7:30. Miraculously she answered her phone and Henry and Terri were able to go in and check it out. The house was exactly what we were looking for. It's perfect for us. We put in an offer the next day and it was accepted that afternoon. So, within two days we were able to find a renter for our Condo, without even listing it, and buy an ideal house. Amazing!

2) Anna: Anna is now 5 months old. She has grown and changed so much I can hardly believe it! I had to go shopping for a few new clothing items for her yesterday because she is growing out of most of her 0-3 month clothes. Most of her 3-6 and 6-9 month clothes are long sleeved winter clothes which may not work overly well in Southern California. So, off to BabiesRUs to find a few new summery things on clearance that will work for this warm fall. In some ways I did pretty well and in others I failed miserably. I was doing great until I decided to see if I could find any deals at Baby Gap (I LOVE their clothes!). There were some things on sale so I picked out a shirt and a pair of leggings. Then there was a sign that read "Buy 1 pair of jeans, get the second for $10". Ugh oh. So now Anna has two incredibly cute pairs of jeans that were on sale but still a little pricey. Did I mention that they are SO cute?
Anna was a trooper with all of the hubbub of the summer. July 8th she flew with us down to San Diego at the ripe old age of 7 weeks. July 21st she flew with us to Montana. August 10th she flew with me to Milwaukee for best friend Suzanne's wedding. August 28th she flew with us to San Diego where we are now. We should have opened a frequent flyer number for her!

SIDE NOTE: Everything written above was written about 6 weeks ago with a few changes made tonight to keep things correct. I finally sat down to hopefully finish it!
So we've been in Escondido for 6 weeks now. The Lord has TRULY taken care of us! We have been blessed with an amazing church family, which is a huge thing! I joined a Mom's Group that I dearly love and have also started attending a Bible study with some of the same women. It has been wonderful. Anna and I are adjusting to life at home and loving it. However, about 1 1/2 weeks ago my friend's dad, who is the superintendent at the Christian school here approached me about my math teaching experience. The high school math teacher here was recently diagnosed with cancer and needed surgery and will need treatment. He asked if I would be able to sub. It seems crazy to me that God will use me for what He has planned even if I don't seek it out! So last week I subbed for three days at Calvin Christian and thoroughly enjoyed it. This week I will sub two days and next week three more. It has been nice to get back in the classroom and also to have a little extra income! It has been a bit of a struggle, though, finding child care for Anna without having any family down here. God has taken care of that in amazing ways and I'm confident that if He wants me to continue at Calvin he will continue to work that out. At this point I'm hoping to be able to commit to two days a week. I know for the student's sake it's nice to have consistency, but for my and Anna's sake it's nice to be home together a few days a week. :)

So, there's still nothing on our walls and our only painting attempt (the guest bathroom) didn't go at all how we wanted, but our house is beginning to feel more and more like our home. I can honestly say we're doing well and are happy here, which is a wonderful blessing! If you could, pray for us that we would continue to meet new friends and fit into the community. People have been wonderful so far and we are blown away by the community here.

Well, Anna is 'requesting' that I end this and feed her... immediately from the tone of her cries. :) We pray you all are doing well and are healthy and happy!

AUNT JOAN: I tried to put up pictures! There is a banner at the top of the website that reads 'Image uploads will be disabled for two hours due to maintenance at 5:00PM PDT Wednesday, Oct. 20th'. I guess you just aren't meant to get pictures yet! I'll keep working on it :)

Love from California!