employed :)

i love reading other people's blogs and get a little disappointed when there's nothing new to read. and i know i don't write very often on here, but there's just not a whole lot going on in my life. for example, a typical day looks like this...

i wake up and am very soon eating cereal (what else would you expect!) while flipping back and forth between the today show and good morning america. if i don't have much on the agenda for the day, i usually keep the tv on for another hour to watch oprah. then i usually motivate myself to do some sort of household chore and figure out how i can get out of our place for the day. a couple times a week i go tutor some students in math. and then if matt or either of the high school varsity teams has a game, i'll go watch some bball at night. sounds ideal, huh? well it was.....for the first week or so. but this kind of schedule was really starting to take a serious toll on my emotions and attitude. but.......God has been faithful again and i am now employed! i got a call today with an offer for a part time administrative assistant position at a condo association. i think it's about 24 hours a week, but i'm discussing the final details on wednesday with him. and that's just perfect because i'll have a few days to do homework come january when i start classes for my masters in teaching. God is good.

this past friday night matt and i went to the timothy christian vs. chicago christian basketball game. it's a rivalry that is similar to a pella christian/pella game or western/unity....with a lot less fans to pack the stands. we asked another teacher to come with us, but she's really not into the whole sports scene. after we asked her, she says to us....you guys sure to do go to a lot of basketball games! (ok, so this was our 5th game in the past 4 nights but who's counting...). my response to her....going to basketball games is just what you do in the winter. isn't it? :)

it's hard to believe that in 9 short days we are going to be starting our whirlwind christmas tour starting in minnesota, making a very short stop in grinnell, and then continuing on to michigan only to return to chicagoland a short 10 days from when we started. we're starting to pray for safe, dry roads already. i hope everyone is enjoying their holiday shopping, parties, and other festivities!


i realized that we probably won't be getting christmas cards out this year, but here is the picture i would have used if we did. consider it our e-card. :) Merry Christmas!

thanksgiving

happy belated thanksgiving to everyone! matt and i just returned from a great weekend - a relaxing 4 days that completely wore me out...if that's possible. when we arrived at the van wyk family farm, we were greeted by my mom, but a few short hours later we were in company of 6 more. and by noon the next day, we had a party of 13. celebrating a holiday of thanks while being surrounded by people you love - there's not much better. (we missed you ben!)

in this thanksgiving season, i am reminded again how much i am blessed. looking at the past year alone, i have so much to be thankful for.....a wonderful husband, new friends that have made and continue to make the transition to our new community so much easier, a place to live, matt having a job he loves, getting 2 more sisters-in-law in the next year, and a wonderful family...just to name a few things.

for the rest of the weekend, matt and i didn't stick around the whole time....unsurprisingly. on friday we made the trip up and back to hollandale minnesota for sara kooyenga and brian brower's wedding. what a beautiful wedding - congrats sara and brian!! and an added bonus....the beretta got to return to the homeland.....and for matt that was well worth it.

now it's back to normal...at least for 2 1/2 more weeks. then it's wedding and christmas time!!

the gym

lately i have been trying to frequent myself at the gym....if a gym is what you can call it. it's just a small section of a strip mall and has couple rows of treadmills, ellipticals, and some other machines with a bunch of weights in the back. but it's cheap and it does the job. and as i pound away the steps on the tread mill, i've come up with my own "gym trends" as an attempt to avoid the boredom of working out when the scenery never changes.

it seems like every time i go, no matter what time of day, there are always a few kinds of people represented at our small gym. there's always someone-who-dresses-in-anything-that-i-would-think-would-be-very-uncomfortable....for example, jeans, sweatshirts, or polo shirts. then there's always the-guy-who-is-truckin-along-on-the-treadmill-sweatin-up-a-storm-and-wears-a-gray-shirt-which-really-shows-how-hard-he-is-sweating-and-working.....and they also seem to be the ones that make me feel guilty that i'm just jogging along at a comfortable pace. there's always a lady-that-can-walk-and-walk-and-walk-for-time-on-end-without-seeming-to-get-bored and the guy-who-can-run-on-the-treadmill-and-watch-the-tv-at-the-same-time (which is a pretty hard feat cuase the tvs are directly above the row of treadmills. i tried one time and almost fell off like a dizzy uncoordinated runner). and then there's me....i represent the does-a-girl-really-sweat-that-much-or-get-that-red-in-the-face-just-from-working-out-for-20 minutes? group.

every time. every group is represented. never fail.

and i'm not criticizing at all cause each and every one has the will power to be there, which we all know is pretty tough. actually, i'd just say a little "good job" to whoever my neighboring treadmiller might be......but i feel like i may get a look that says, stop talking to me during my misery, or keep your sweat to yourself.....so i'll just keep jogging along with my headphones on.

happenings of my life

this is where last weekend brought me....back to iowa for my sister's state volleyball tournament. really, how could i resist watching good volleyball, especially with my little sis is playing? nevermind the long drive by myself....i guess you could say i take after my parents. :)

i can now say that we have had our first day of snow here in willowbrook. as much as i resisted it, even i will say that it was a very beautiful snow...it wasn't that cold outside, the wind was not blowing, it was coming down nice and soft like in a snow globe, and most importantly...most of it didn't stick on the ground. now if only the rest of winter could be exactly like that......needless to say, i had a happy husband.

well, my dog walking days are over and i'm keeping myself busy with some math tutoring a couple afternoons a week and then if i'm lucky, some substitute teaching. because my phone isn't exactly ringing off the hook for sub jobs, i got a tip from an 8th grader's mom of a part time office admin position. i applied for that, so we'll see if that will work out. otherwise, starting in january i will be begin night classes for the masters in teaching with certification program at aurora university! it's a 2 year program and in the end, i'll come out with a master's degree and a teaching certificate. getting to this point since moving here has been quite a whirlwind of emotions and questions, but i'm just glad to be moving forward and hopefully making more progress towards a career that i enjoy.....and just a job in general. :)

k 9

this weekend matt and i decided take a shot at our amateur photography skills again. this time we went to the forest preserve that we pass every time we go to church or school. we were almost disappointed when we started walking down the path and ran into a leash-less dog area. we didn't have a dog or a permit so we found a map and headed a different direction. it was quite chilly, but at least we don't have any snow yet....




speaking of dogs, last week i expanded my resume since being here in the western suburbs by adding dog-walker to the list. yes, that's right...professional or not, i was paid to be a dog-walker. so i don't sound too desperate, a teacher at school had part of her house damaged by a fire. her dogs had to be confined to a smaller area while the repairs are done and she wanted someone to let the dogs out while the workers were in the house. and that's where i came into the picture.

i never realized how much of an adventure walking dogs can be......between not looking awkward doing a uncomfortable-paced walk/jog b/c the dogs keep pulling you faster and faster no matter how quickly you go.....or the ability to start conversations with people b/c they want to pet the dogs......or keeping them from ripping the leash out of your hand when they see another dog across the block or a flock of geese in an open lawn.....or the ever glorious job of being the pooper scooper......i guess it's all part of the job.

little things

i think it’s ironic that the littlest things in life can make such a big difference...but it happens all the time. so maybe i shouldn’t be so surprised when God speaks big things in small ways. the other day i stopped by the school to pick up something and say hi to a few people. i started chatting with a teacher that matt and i have become good friends with and in no more than a couple minutes into our conversation, she was giving me a good dose of firm and pointed direction/encouragement. a vague example, i know, but the details are just that. what’s bigger is that i almost overlooked God’s gracious hand in the whole encounter until i retold the story to my mom and she pointed it out to me. i’ve been told a million times to listen to the still, quiet voice of God, and i try. but if i would listen a little harder…how much more could i really see and hear?

last week while matt was away at teacher convention, i decided to take a little trip of my own. so i called up my grandparents in michigan and less than 24 hours later showed up on their doorstep. the drive was absolutely gorgeous …the company was great…and i even came away with a dozen authentic Slenk pig-in-the-blankets. and the cherry on top was being able to make a quick stop in portage to visit a good college friend– i’d say it was a pretty successful trip!

and because i think every post is better with pictures, here are a few pictures of the season that i wish would hold on just a little bit longer…

constant changes

in the whole 2 ½ months that we have lived in the western suburbs, no two weeks have seemed to be the same. i say that because i am once again the end of one thing and looking for something else to start. last friday marked the end of my time as an aide in kindergarten…which is what i thought would be the case a few weeks ago when i last wrote in my blog. but i was asked to return for two more weeks on a part time basis. now that it’s all said and done, i can honestly say that i really enjoyed my time in the school and was able to make a few friends through the deal. and by friends i mean people my own age, not the 5 and 6 year olds that tackled my legs with hugs every time i walked into the room. they give their friendship to almost anyone in a matter of…oh…a day.

so what’s the plan now? well, i am presently working on getting my substitute teacher certificate. hopefully i can stay busy with that and we’ll see where God leads me from there.

just one last story to cap off my life in the kindergarten classroom …the theme at timothy this year is “they will know we are Christians by our love” so for one activity, all the kids made these red and white bracelets with a heart bead on them. they weren’t allowed to wear them until the following day, so you can about imagine how excited they were to put them on when they came to school the next day. well one little boy ran over to the table and immediately turned to the teacher and i, shouting “i got my bling bling on!”…which all of the other kids immediately thought was funny and tried to repeat. i don’t know which made me laugh more…they boy that said it the first time or the little white girls that tried to imitate him.

and this week i will have another ending - our last volleyball game is wednesday. as i have said before, it’s been a great season and i’m really glad i had the opportunity to coach this bunch of girls. but now it’s my turn to play on a city league team and i’m verrrry excited about it.