Cake in a mug?!

Recently the kiddo and I attended an impromptu birthday party. It pretty much sprung up the day before but we were excited to go just the same!  It was in one of those indoor jumping house places and was pretty amazing. She had 2 hours to run, jump, scream, slide, and climb until her heart was content. 

We reached the point in the party where we sang happy birthday and ate pizza. Shortly after the pizza...Claire asks me, "time for cake??"  ...ummm...I didn't see a cake in sight. LOL! I quickly told her lets just see what we can figure out at home. She's an extremely easy going child - so she agreed. 

I had 1 yellow cake mix at home and 1 can of white frosting. Bleh!  I did NOT want to waste my energy throwing this ridiculous cheap cake together only to eat 1 slice. So I took to the interweb and Pinterest!

There I found this wonderful "brownie-in-a-mug" recipe!  We were excited to embark on an experiment!

We used the recipe found here http://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/brownie_in_a_mug/

I sat her on the counter and we went to work!

Sugar - check

Flour - check

Oil - check

Cocoa - check

Vanilla, Salt, cinnamon, and water...stir...

Pop in the microwave and BAM!  Happy audience!   We had some heavy cream on hand so I showed her how to make whip cream!   Overall great activity, yummy, and it was super fast and easy. Mama and kiddo give this little experiment a thumbs up!

Check back later for more reviews or crafty ideas!!

Delayed Happy Birthday post

This day has been a long time coming!  Eve is ONE today!  The little monster didn't want to share her birthday with St. Patty's or her great grandma...she wanted her own day.  (ha well jokes on her because she shares a birthday with American Express)  She also shares a birthday with Dane Cook, Queen Latifah, and Mike Rowe!

The above picture is one of my favorites...this is pretty much Eve's outlook on life.  Whatever you have in mind for her...she sticks out her tongue and does what she wants to do.  This little bundle of tenaciousness will (and already has) push me to limits beyond myself.  I don't pray for her as much as I should...and want to change that this year.  I must admit, the prayers regarding Eve have been more selfish in nature in the past year. "please help her stop crying, go to sleep, stay calm..." and on and on..."give me the strength to deal, to function w/out sleep, to feel better..."

That said, Eve is FULL of life.  Her whole body smiles when she's happy.  She loves to mimic sounds like 'Uh-ohhh' and 'Dadda' She LOVES her Dadda!  Whenever she's happy she's usually saying, "Dadda, dadda, dadadada,"  Brian loves this!  She loves eating bananas and string cheese and is still VERY in to babyfood and her bottle.  Transitioning this one is going to be a super challenge!  Eve loves dancing and hitting things.  We sometimes have to take toys away from her because she likes to hit her head with them. LOL

She loves her sister, Claire get the biggest laughs and the biggest smiles from Eve.  It's nearly unfair! I love watching the both of them grow older together and interact more every day.  I'm excited for the day when Eve says, "Claire," or "sis/sissy"  That will MAKE Claire's little day...maybe even week.

With that - I will leave you with some of my favorite pictures over the past year.

Brand new...so tiny!

Claire loved Eve from the start.

Love this one <3 <3

First dress Eve ever wore!  LOL Christmas time!

She was SO proud of herself when she learned to stand

Eve loves being outside!

There is hope - share this journey with me!

This is an old picture of my sweet Claire - I just love it SO much.  Look at that face - not a care in the world, so happy and expectant - worry free.  Don't you wish you could have that expression?  A worry-free and hopeful outlook...what a joy.

From the beginning we are wired for hope.  As we grow and mature things come into our lives and attempt to rob us of this precious God given gift...yet many remain resilient!  What is it that causes us to keep fighting, stay strong, and move forward?  What is it that causes us to look the other way, our strength to fail us, and just plain give up?  It's hard to make a blanket statement when answering these questions, but I do know what has made the difference in my life.

Regardless of what is going on right now - you NEED hope...and I know where to get it.  This is real folks.  It's this hope that has changed my life.  Forever.  There's no substitute, no quick fix, no other way to get it.

My church is doing a 12 week study on HOPE - the thing that EVERYone needs.  Everyone - no exceptions.  Our pastor challenged us to invite 1 person to church in the coming weeks and since I work from home and my closest friends are attending this series - I'm putting it out there on facebook and my blog.  Don't let fear or cynicism get in the way. COME get hope and your life will be changed for the good.

Click HERE to find out where to go and what time.  We go at 9am on Sunday morning at Rolling Meadows campus.  If you come - we will take you to brunch!  Have kids?  We have an AWESOME kids ministry (where I'm sometimes the storyteller...more on that in the future).

God has taught me SO much through this place...I can't even begin to articulate in this post how my life has been changed.  I'm not asking for you to give me anything, buy anything, or sign up for anything.  I'm asking you to come so your life can be impacted for the better...forever.  You will NOT regret the decision to come.

How to catch a Leprechaun???

Earlier this week I was explaining to Claire that we needed to wear green on Thursday for St. Patrick's Day.  This brought up the subject of Leprechauns.  I honestly cannot remember the last time I even thought about leprechauns...probably in the 90's when all those creepy movies were made! She made sure to inform me that IF we catch a leprechaun...he will HAVE to give us all his gold!  Now, this fascinated me because we really haven't talked about St. Patty's at all...also because I really don't remember ever believing this as a child so I thought it was adorable.
I asked her if she wanted to see if we could catch one...she said yes!  I later texted her babysitter that was coming that night and let her in on the project.  She came through with shining colors!  She showed up with gold coins, a box, decorations, and lots of stickers!  Brian and I left - and they went to work!

Fast forward to this morning...

Claire was slightly concerned that there was going to be a random leprechaun sneaking around the home.  She refused to go anywhere in our home by herself.  I had to prod and pry her away from my bed to come into the bathroom to see the green toilet water. (of course because the leprechaun had to go potty before he escaped)...let's just say she was slightly disappointed there was only ONE coin of gold in the bathroom...

We had to enlisted Dad in the next venture.  There was NO WAY  on earth she was checking out the trap w/out him.  The next video is about 3 minutes of...well..truthfully pretty anti-climactic footage, nonetheless, I'm posting it because I still think it's adorable.  Once we found the one gold coin - she was convinced we should put it back because he would be mad if we took 'em.

In the end, the leprechaun left behind a couple handfuls of coins, a green bracelet, a cookie picture of himself, and green potty water.  Maybe next year little leprechaun...maybe next year!

GREAT weekend!

I am SO LUCKY!  Not only do I have an amazing family that has come out to see me this year ALREADY, but I have an awesome "in-law" family.  IF there's one thing I'm going to beat into our girls' head...is that when you get married...you get the WHOLE PACKAGE...so make sure you love his family.  And I do!

Eve - 11.5 months

Claire - 11.5 months

This weekend was so much fun.  We played in the pool at the hotel, we did crafts (by we I mean Grandma and Claire), we watched the basketball tournament (well..Papa did...then he would tell us about the highlights and close calls), we ate deep dish pizza, and the most amazing cupcakes. If you're curious...go here. cutest, tastiest cupcakes here)

We hung out at home and were a family.  Yesterday was supposed to be the date of my little one's 1st birthday party...however unfortunately we had to cancel due to sickness.  I've put up pictures of the girls at 11 months of age...how different are they?!?  I can't even believe how light and straight Eve's hair is!

Here they both are below as well. Claire and her little curls and Eve with her big smile.  These two are so much fun (when they're not sick - lol). Hope you're having a wonderful day!  I know I can't wait to see their little faces every day!

New Goal!

I have a new "goal" in mind for 2016...to use less chemicals in my home.  I work full-time outside the home, am a mom of two crazy girls, and am still primarily responsible for keeping the household running smoothly.  Did I mention I have a loving, yet extremely cynical husband that is resistant to anything new or different?  This is NOT going to be an overnight (or easy) process.  I'm starting slow and working my way through our home.  I figure - our clothing touches our skin every day, so why not start with laundry?  Full disclosure, a friend of mine sells Norwex and most things I'm going to try will be their products, that said, I'm also going to be exploring other options as well as making my own if need be!

I am testing out Norwex's laundry detergent this month.  My friend, who's a consultant, was having a "Leap Day" Sale (her site is here)!  The package weighs 2 lbs - I can't even believe how light and small it is.  I could stand to never lift an awkward tub of liquid detergent again, hahaha!  I got it for $26 and, since I have a top loading H/E machine, I'm able to do at least 66 loads.  IF I had a front loader I could do 100.  Not bad!

If you're like me - at this point you would wonder...well what about fabric softener?  Norwex also has dryer balls that take the place of fabric softener.  They bounce around in your dryer, separating clothes and, in turn cutting dry time, leaving your laundry fluffy and (mostly) static-free. If you want to read more about dryer balls (and how to make them) I would go here.   I didn't have the money for dryer balls, so I made some of my own.  They turned out GREAT!  These bad boys cost me roughly $8.00.  Well worth the time spent making them!

Now I have a chemical-free laundry plan!  I will let you know how it goes!  I'm terribly excited and can't wait to update you.  Yes...I am a dork and I'm excited about laundry solutions.

In other news we've basically been fighting this virus from the darkside and are slowly but surely recovering.  I'm sad we are not having a BIG first birthday carnival bash for Eve as I was so excited about her own little photoshoot with a smash cake and carnival themed party.  I'm hoping to have some excuse to use my good friend's wonderful circus decorations soon!  In the meantime we will continue inching toward our 3 to 6 months of expenses savings account.

Happy Saving!  I will leave you with a couple recent pictures of the girls!

Three...Two...ONE...

Ok - I know I've posted a lot this week on facebook, and I have started my new lovely Craftymaxine page, but I just MUST share this with you.

As I mentioned before - we started our journey to being debt-free in December.  We have seriously been ridiculous about watching every single penny in this household.  We signed up on everydollar ,  had budget committee meetings, sold a ton of stuff on facebook, and ate a lot of leftovers.  Dave Ramsey always says, "beans and rice, rice and beans, baby."  For us it more looked like PB&J, ramen and grilled cheese LOL!!

So - to share "the program" for those of you who aren't familiar.  Dave Ramsey has a financial process call the "baby steps."

1 - save a beginner $1000 emergency fund
2 - list your debts smallest to largest - then pay off the smallest one and "snowball" from there
3 - save 3 to 6 months worth of expenses in a full-on emergency fund (building off the initial $1000)
4 - put away 15% of your income into retirement
5 - save for kids college
6 - pay off mortgage (yep you read that right)
7 - continue to build wealth and give generously

We also listen to the Dave Ramsey show just about every day.  Both Brian and I feel that we could field 90% of the questions on that show by now.  Although it seems as though the same questions get asked...there's just something about surrounding yourself with things that push you toward your goal rather than take your attention away from it.  If you have ever listened - they do this "debt-free scream" segment on the show.  Various people come to the studio or call in to tell their story of becoming debt-free.  (Debt-free generally means that you have paid all debt except for your home.)

Brian and my story is a bit all over the place, If I had to guess - this is how I think our debt-free scream would look if Dave Ramsey were to let us do a debt-free scream in his studio.

***Usually at the beginning Ramsey asks how much the person/couple made at the beginning and at the end, how much they paid off, and how long it took...***

Amount paid off: 15K
3 months
Dual income

Ramsey - "So what happened a few months ago that made you want to be debt-free?"
B & R - We just got tired of making the money we make...and not really having anything to show for it.  We were pretty good at paying off our CC every month, but still our savings account was pretty low and we felt a little like we were in a hamster wheel.  Every year that tax statement would come and we'd be pretty surprised at how much came in VS how much we had.

Ramsey - "What would you say the secret to becoming debt free is?"
B:  "Not spending money."  "It's also about being content and being thankful for what God has provided us."  "There were times I'd just need to walk away from my phone or not go into certain stores, because it would just breed discontentment."
R:  "Both parties need to be on the same page...I mean...literally the same WORD on that page. Both need to be fighting for every penny to go toward debt - no deviation.  Another important thing to this is that when both are on board - one can help the other one come off the ledge.  Even in this short period of "gazelle intensity" there were some rough moments where one of us would get very frustrated.

Ramsey: "What was the biggest budget fight you guys had?"
R: "To get on a budget."
B: "Convincing me to stay on a budget."

Ramsey: "Now that you are at the top of the mountain, looking down, would you say this journey was harder or easier than you thought it was going to be when you started?"
B: "WAY HARDER, It sucked." he would continue, "It was like someone had a dollar on a string and every time I thought we were about to grab it, it would get pulled out of reach again."
R: "It was harder - I always listen to these debt-free screams on the show and I really just wanted to be THERE.  It was frustrating knowing that we had made poor choices and knowing that we did this to ourselves.  I could honestly have cereal for dinner every night if it was JUST me, but it wasn't just me, it was Brian and our two kids that were making sacrifices as well.  That was the hardest part, knowing that everyone, kids included, was affected by our mistakes with money.

Ramsey: "What was the hardest part of this journey?"
R: Not having the option of buying things right now.  It's very difficult to get used to waiting until the cash comes in before buying what you want/need to buy.  In December it was SO HARD to not buy Christmas gifts when I found something I liked!!  Christmas shopping was bittersweet.  It was fun to try and figure out a less expensive 'thoughtful' gift, but really hard to pass up something I knew someone would like because it was over budget.
B: Not sure...hmm...I would say the whole process sucked.  The biggest thing is that we didn't buy Christmas gifts for each other - and I really miss doing that. (we haven't in a while to save money).  It was hard limiting generosity at Christmas time.

Ramsey: So - there is a couple in their 30's with two kids out there in debt - what would you say to them, now that you know what you know?"
B: "Follow the plan." "You don't know better."  "It's not worth the points (credit card points)."
R: "So true!!" "It's so hard to humble yourself and just trust the plan."  "Admittedly I LOVE points!!" LOL.  "I would say if you are staring down a pile of debt and are afraid of "depriving your kids" - take a step back.  there's just SO many more ways you can show you love your kids outside of spending money on stuff.  Claire and I made cookies, played play-doh, cut, glued, and colored, made hideous pasta necklaces, and had play dates with friends.  None of which cost us extra money.  We need to stop equating spending money on our kids with loving them.  I STILL struggle with this, but it's SO so true.  YOU CAN do it and you absolutely will change your kids lives for the better.  We are only in baby step 3 now, but I have faith that we are in on something BIG!

Ramsey: Well done guys - very well guys - that's awesome!  Here we go - get ready guys - Brian and Rachael in Palatine, making a certain amount of $$, paying of Fifteen thousand dollars in just 3 months - let's hear it.....count-it-down...your debt-free SCREAM....

THREE - - - TWO - - - ONE - - - WE'RE DEBT - FREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!

(((((((FREEEEEEDOOOOOMMM))))))

Ramsey: "haahahahaa - I love it I love it I love it!!!"

Love is in the air!

As I mentioned in my previous post - we have a lot going on at the Shoebox home!  Eve is finally at a place where I can let her play a few minutes at a time and she will actually entertain herself!  YAY! I knew this day would come!  Okay I may be overplaying it a bit, but I gotta say that Eve is definitely a whole DIFFERENT baby than Claire was.  Let's just say she challenges me in new ways.  :)

Yesterday was Valentines Day.  As a child, Valentines day is incredible...a whole day (or hour at school) devoted to you getting cute notes, candy, and snacks that you wouldn't otherwise be able to eat during a normal school day.  Claire came home Friday super excited about all the little Valentines she received - and knew (and shared with us multiple times) which child gave her what candy/sticker. Thankfully at this age we were just told to bring 10 Valentines...and the teachers took care of distributing them (no names needed because 3 year-olds cannot read.  BRILLIANT!

Yesterday was about enjoying my family (even if one of them is a teething monster right now) and watching the peaceful snow fall.  It was about enjoying coffee drinks with Brian and Claire and talking about how delicious Dad made them (and how we could actually taste the LOVE that was put in there!)  It was about putting the sermon into practice - VERBALIZING LOVE.

Hands down - Brian did an amazing job.  Of course some of the epic compliments and comparisons had a sarcastic ring, but at the heart was a true blue genuine act of love.

With that - I will leave you with a short clip of yesterday.

New Year - New Things!

Here are my precious girls taking an adventure in a "boat."  Claire's fake american girl doll is along for the ride.  Their love for life and sense of humor is just so inspiring.  I have wanted to post on this blog SO MUCH during these times of change - but as life would have it...there are so many hours in the day!
That said - Here I AM!  Posting again!  There is so much I want to tell you about, but really this post is all about reintroducing my little shoebox.
A shoebox is a place to keep odds and ends tucked away "safely" and it's easily pulled out and rummaged through at a whim.
We are coming up on Eve's 1st birthday in March!  What a year it has been!  She's anything but an "easy" baby, but her precious smile melts much frustration away...and she's recently been sleeping all night, so has definitely gone up on the likability scale. LOL

SO - what could I possibly share with you? Hmmmm - I would say one of the things we are most excited about is becoming debt-free.  Brian and I decided in December to completely abandon the use of credit cards.  WHOA!? Say what???   Why on earth would we choose this in December??  Well - we did and we have made some serious progress.

I'm excited to share with you that we did not go into debt further during December and the BEST thing about not using credit during December is that there's no looming January credit card bill!  YES!  That was the first big personal "win" I felt.

We have been following the teaching of Dave Ramsey and listening to his 3 hour podcasts pretty much every day since we started.  Let me just tell you - that is a whole lotta Ramsey in one's life!  It get pretty overwhelming at times, but at the end of the day we decided that we just make way too much money to constantly be wondering "where did that go??"  As Ramsey would say, "We got sick and tired of being sick and tired."

So HERE we are. Since December we have paid off nearly $8000.00 worth of debt. Can you even believe it?  We are SO PUMPED.  Now we have just $3500 left and we are biting, clawing, and scratching our way to the end goal.  I will definitely be posting the day we say GOOD-BYE to the annoying costly debt!

Well - that's a good update for now. I will close with a couple of pics of my crazies.

First Time

I know I haven't written in a loooong time, and it's likely it will be a while before I get the chance to again.  I just have to take one minute to document this momentous occasion. 

I'm sitting in my bed - the house is quiet, it's nighttime.  It's a little past 9pm, the girls are sleeping and Brian is at an all men's meeting at the church.  I'm technically supposed to be logging into work and setting my OOO message, but I couldn't help but stop and reflect for just a moment.

Tonight is the last night of truly being "renters."  You see, tomorrow is the day we close on our single family home.  I've been out in Chicagoland for over 10 years and never lived in a home that wasn't attached to a neighbor (or two or three). 

There's just something about buying a single family home.  Maybe it's the yard...the 3 bedrooms...the giant "attached, but not" garage...?  I don't know?  All I can say is that despite the amount of work it's going to be...I'm excited.

I'm looking forward to living in a neighborhood where neighbors TALK to each other...where we don't have a train in our backyard...and where I don't wake up at 3am to back-up-beepers and crashing metal.  I'm ready to be rid of countless FLOW-master mufflers and crotch-rockets zipping through the streets of the neighborhood. 

I'm sure the new home will have its fair share of annoying squeeky floors and 1960's-ness to it...but it will be OUR 1960's ranch...and OUR squeeky floors.  I know I'm romanticizing...but that's OK - our lives have been unsettled for 2-3 years now.  I'm ready.  I can't think of a better time to move - right before the Holidays!!!  I know the next two week will bring more stress than I want to think about right now, but in the end...we will have our home.  The girls will grow up there.  We will go through awesome times and tough times - together. 

I feel so blessed.  The Lord did NOT have to give this to us.  Once again we are experiencing an overwhelming portion of GRACE.  I'm so humbled and grateful.

I can't WAIT until closing!

It's been a long time!

Ok so it has like been over a year since I posted on this blog. I may or may not have given it up for a while. I'd love to catch you up...but a fear that's impossible.  I have something important on my mind so I'm just going to start there. 

I've recently been doing these devotions through a She Reads Truth app. It's honestly one the best things especially when you have a new born laying on you. It's so easy to pick it up and have access to solid devotionals written with women in mind. They are short, to the point, and challenging in nature. 

That being said I'm fulfilling a challenge made to me on this app...so here we go!

1)The question was, "How is spiritual mothering already taking place in your community?" 

Answer: The picture of "spiritual mothering" in the book is quite amazing. An older woman teaches women my age the secrets of cooking as well as provides deep spiritual truths during her regular meetings with the younger women in the church. This is awesome, however not something that I see going on in my life right now.  However! What is going on is an incredible bond and commitment among the women my age in our small group. Yes, I've certainly had some mothering by one or two of them haha, but really we are all there to take care of each other and it's unlike anything I've ever experienced.

2) Has a godly woman influenced you in your growth in the Gospel?

Answer: yes. These same small group women have challenged me in my walk more than anything.  From Jess's discipline to Sara's ability to memorize to Kristin's ability to put Scripture to practical action to Becca's words of gentle truth when I'm struggling...  All of these women have had a major impact.

3) Has mentoring a young believer impacted your life?

Answer: This was convicting.  A while ago now I served in the jr. High ministry at our church, but since having kids I stepped away. I believe I've also had an impact on my small group friends, but I think this question is more pointing towards seeking out someone who is younger, both physically and spiritually.  This has me thinking about the few younger girls I have in my life and how I could apply Titus 2 with regards to them. I haven't worked everything out yet, but I want to do something.  I'm just not sure what that looks like yet. Of course, I can't forget that I have 2 girls of my own that I am responsible for mentoring and hope someday they have and are mentors as well. In the meantime I will ponder this more and hopefully this will be the start of a new-ish blog series/season for me. 

#shesharestruth #shereadstruth

Landed.

There's so much I want to share with you right now! I'm so humbled by God's provision and timing...it's hard to even know where to start. I guess I will start with the most exciting news...but not without some back story. Yesterday I had what I thought was a final interview with a fairly new player in the IT staffing industry. I must admit I was very skeptical in exploring the opportunity. I couldn't ignore that a trusted colleague in the business had been working there and was loving it.

I talked with the recruiter and we seemed to hit it off right away. She shared the role with me and for the first time in a while I became truly excited about a job opportunity as well as the company. I was invited to their office the very next day to meet the team and one of the co-founders. I won't lie...the meeting was exhausting! It was all extremely positive, but when you are engaged in the interview process with 6 people in the matter of 2 hours...it wears you out! I walked away feeling extremely energized and excited. The recruiter assured me I'd me talking to the CEO within a couple days. Meanwhile I was exploring other opportunities...but I couldn't help but have this one on my mind constantly!

The interview with the CEO was yesterday. We were on the phone for nearly an hour. He was extremely professional, engaging, and warm. His vision and passion for this company was clear and contagious. The next thing I know I was booked for a 6am flight out of Midway this morning! I got up at 3:30am and was at the airport going through security at 4:30! Crazy.

When I arrived in Atlanta I was a bit disoriented. I really didn't feel like myself at all. The recruiter picked me up from the airport and I felt completely at a loss for words. For the life of me I couldn't make conversation. My mind was completely useless. I was starting to get nervous that I would not do well. We arrived at the office and went in. At this point I didn't even notice I kept my coat on for an unusually long period of time. So much so the recruiter drew attention to it! Oopsie haha.

Well I'm not sure what happened between removing my coat and sitting down with the first person on the schedule to meet...something clicked. (Thank you to those of you praying). I was back! Excited, focused, and ready to land this job.

The afternoon flew. At the end I found myself shaking hands with the CEO and joining their team!!!!!!!

I start Monday! Lots of work to do from there on out, but I'm excited. Now we are in the process of working out daycare for my little monster. This whole process was incredible. So here I am on the other side knowing the Lord is faithful and he does indeed answer prayer. This is one of those posts I will refer back to when things get tough. Oh...and those other job opportunities? Many of them dropped off one by one as I moved forward in this process. Verifying in my mind and heart that this is the opportunity for me!

 

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Days 3 and 4

What a crazy week it's been.  At this point I'm so overwhelmed with the response I'm getting - I don't know what to do with myself!  I'm so grateful for all my contacts and friends!  I just can't deny that the Lord has allowed me to make some of the best connections this week.
There's been so much activity I couldn't possibly go in to everything and still keep your attention.  I suppose the best thing I can do is just tell you about the opportunity that most excites me. 

Tomorrow I have a final interview with a small staffing company located in Naperville.  The commute is going to be long, but I believe it will work.  I would be corporate recruiter for this staffing firm.  I'd be responsible for finding talent (recruiters and sales people) to come work for this company.

In other news - our house got a facelift this weekend!  I will post pictures soon!  Our dear friends from our small group gave up a Sunday and worked at our house to get it sell-ready!  We have freshly painted walls in the living room and foyer.  It really does make the place brighter.  We still have a lot to clean up and finish, but I'm so encouraged by how much got done today.  I seriously don't know what we'd do without such great friends.

Well - this is just a quick informal update - nothing staggering.  I just wanted to check in!

Encouraging

What a day!  You know - there's just nothing like a day filled with productive activity!  I talked with so many people today my head is still buzzing with excitement.
My day started at 6am and I was on the train to the city at 7:11.  I met a good friend in the business for coffee and from there my day really took off!

I talked on the phone from 1:30 to 4:30 -right up until the time I had to pick up Claire!  Crazy!

I now have a face to face interview on Friday and two informal meetings next week. (to see if it makes sense to pursue something more)

Claire and I even found the time to run to Ikea and grab some new curtains for our living room - productive day for sure! 

Tomorrow I have an 8am phone interview and a networking lunch meeting.  I'm anxious to see where all this goes!

Accountability

OK, I know the comic is cheesy, but I needed something light after my last post. 
I've decided my previous post is going to lead to a new type of blog for me during this season of my life.  For those of you stopping by to see cute pictures of the kiddo (and random news about the family (ahem grandma) please keep checking in!  I will still give updates!
Right now, since I have the extra time, I'm going to write about my journey (such and epic word) to finding a job.
Some of you might or might not know that Friday was my last day with a company that I absolutely loved.  It's a bit of a long story how I came to leave, so I won't bore you with the details.  We're going to start with today - moving forward.

I'm not sure if I will write about every day, but I'm going to try to be pretty consistent.  Mostly for my benefit because I want to look back at these days and see growth in me.  I want to see where I had problems and where my successes were.  Afterall - that's why we document things right?  To look back with fond memory or to avoid repeating the same mistakes over and over again.
So here it is -
Day 1 of my job search.  I finished my resume and am now in the process of posting it on the job boards.  This is a new experience for me.  I don't recall searching for a job this way since I was fresh out of college.  Humbling. 
I had a phone interview last week and a phone screen with a recruiter today.  I also was able to reconnect with an individual with 20 years of experience in the industry.  My talk with him went very well and he highlighted a potential opportunity that could be available in a month or so.  The position sounded like a perfect match for me, so I was very encouraged. 
The afternoon was spent organizing a few meet-ups and chats for the remainder of this week.  I don't want a single minute to be wasted.
Tonight I sat down to memorize a verse that I believe will be helpful as I move forward. Matthew 11:29 - "Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me.  For I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls."  The main part of this that stands out is "and learn from me"  I MUST learn something from all this to avoid repeating a similar scenario in the future.
As I move forward I'm praying for an open mind and open heart and ears to hear.  I don't want to be reliant on my own strength, wits, or will to get out of this.  I know the Lord has a plan and a place for me.  I'm seeking His direction.  And now - every day I will be accountable for updating this blog on what I've been doing and what I've been learning.

God at Work

I go to Harvest Bible Chapel in Rolling Meadows and yes...I admit I completely borrowed their logo for God at Work above. 
I started attending in late 2006 and never looked back.  A series of hard, traumatic circumstances drove me to seek the Lord and really find out where I really was in my faith.  To tell you the truth...I was a poor excuse for a Christian looking back at that time in my life.  The difficult circumstances were from a combination of my poor choices and "life happening" all at the same time.
I don't enjoy testimonies that glorify the wrong in the past, so suffice to say in a matter of 8 months time I had gone through a divorce, lost one brother to suicide and my father to lung complications, and was in a rebound relationship that I knew I needed to end.  I had nearly no friends, was living alone, and wanted to stop the world so I could get off!
I entered Harvest on a cold December day.  I instantly knew that this was where I should be...that God was going to use this church/these people to mend what was broken and what I had selfishly ripped apart.  The 1st person I connected with there invited me to her small group - and the Lord used those amazing women to start the healing process. 
Fast forward a few years and here we are - I'm married to an amazing, caring, godly man and have a beautiful daughter. We go to a couples small group now and couldn't ask for a better group of people. 

Life now isn't perfect...actually far from it.  The last 3 years have been chalked full of trials, consequences, and overall hard financial times.  Some are a result of bad decisions, some (I'm sure) trials allowed by God to refine us, and some...well...maybe just life happening.  All that to say - God has never let us down - not even one time. 
A close friend of mine said she believes God is trying to teach me (us) something and this is why these past 3 years have been so incredibly hard.  As hard as it is to admit...I tend to agree with her.  As I look back thus far I see us closer as a couple, better with our money, more reliant (not perfect) on the Lord for needs, and closer on a spiritual level.  This is just scratching the surface really...and merely things I can list off the top of my head.  God has given us a family away from our families in other states.  He's provided money when we least expected it and used various people in our lives to bless us beyond our wildest prayer.  He's brought friends in our lives when we needed it most - but perhaps were too proud to really ask.

This is my 1st blog in 2014 - I have put off writing it for 2 months because every time I started to type something...it just didn't seem "right."  This seems right.  I'm beginning my 2014 blog year by declaring that I trust the Lord in everything and I know where my provision and strength comes from.  I'm drawing a line in the sand...no more am I turning to fear and fret.  I see the Lord has grown me in this over the years and I know I'm not perfect but am increasing in victory.  I've never really been sure if "prayer reallyworks" in the past, but I can say without hesitation it DOES and it will become more and more a vital part of my weekly, if not daily routine. 
The last 3 years have been hard...but they would've been impossible without the Lord.  Impossible.  So now - as I embrace this new chapter in my life...as I look for God to provide my next job I'm NOT afraid, but excited and expectant.  He's been faithful before and will continue to be faithful  This year might be the hardest yet...but I will continue to seek Him...I strongly believe that He is teaching me how to not be shaken and to trust in His name.

Psalm 62:6-7
⁶ Truly he is my rock and my salvation;
    he is my fortress, I will not be shaken.
⁷ My salvation and my honor depend on God;
    he is my mighty rock, my refuge.

Thanksgiving 2013

Gobble gobble!

So I'm averaging about 1 blog post every two months or so.  Ya...I know pretty lame.  How am I ever going to catch everyone up?  Truth is, I really can't so I will start with the most recent event - Thanksgiving.
The day before Thanksgiving both Brian and I had to work so we got a pretty late start on our drive to MI.  We left the house a little after 6:30 and headed off to Lansing!  Claire entertained herself for a solid 30 minutes before getting too fussy then just kinda faded off to sleep without much trouble.  Answered prayer!  The trip was roughly four hours even though we came across some lake effect snow near St. Joseph.  We arrived at Grandma and Papa's around Midnight. 
Like usual we spent some time catching up, but before long we were all headed to bed to rest up before a big day of eating.
Claire decided that 6am was a great time to get up at Grandma's.  We went downstairs and played with all of grandma's fun toys and occupied ourselves until the rest of the family emerged from their beds. Grandma and Papa headed off to Mass and seemed to return before I knew it!  Soon after a few cousins showed up and the house was buzzing with activity.  The kids were playing, and the women were mapping out their strategy for Thanksgiving night shopping.  We discovered that all the deals we were interested in were happening that night! For the 1st Black Friday that I've been in MI -we did NOT get up at the freakin' crack of dawn.  I'm selfishly hoping this whole Thanksgiving night shopping thing continues!
Before long we were on our way to Mandy's where we ate until our tummies were well past content.  Turkey, potatoes, gravy, stuffing, cranberries, green bean casserole - YUM!  Oh and did I mention lobster bisque?!  Ya, Mandy does it up right when she hosts a party.  We ate like kings.

Photo op while I waited in line at Target!

Right around the time I wanted to doze off to sleep - the troops were preparing for the shopping trip.  Target at 6:30 (they opened at 8pm) and Kohls right after. 
Note to self.  In 2 years when you are ready to do this again - pack hand warmers and bring a hot chocolate to drink while waiting in line - oh and bring warmer shoes - fake Toms just won't work well!!!
As time ticked by the Target workers would come and go - handing out maps of the store and made sure to draw attention that we could easily save 5% on every purchase with our Red cards - if we didn't have a Red card they were ready and waiting to sign us up.
Overall - we were in and out of Target in 30 minutes!  Kohls too a little while longer - then some really committed shoppers went to the mall after that - I did not.  It was extremely productive!  I have 1 more gift to buy for Christmas and I'm done!
Friday Papa made us all Walleye from the fishing trip during the Spring - YUM!  Claire is a fish stick snob - will not eat them out of the box, but couldn't get enough of  Papa's fish!
The ride back was smooth - no complaints here!  What a wonderful way to celebrate the Holiday!

Next order of business - wrapping gifts!!

Papa reading a book to the kiddos

Nate getting the swirly he asked for!

Claire spent a lot of time on Papa's lap this trip!

Kid's table!

What a great family!

Move your feet - lose your seat...or is that really the rule?

Too long.

I haven't written in an incredibly long time.  It's actually been so long that I don't even know where to start.  I think I might just start where we are.  So, where are we? Be prepared...I'm feeling incredibly scattered right now and the following thoughts are going to show it!

We are still in our townhome.  We have been trying to sell it since July and so far we've had no luck.  The feeling is bittersweet because on one hand I want to get out of this house, but on the other I don't know exactly where we'd go at this point?  Brian has done SO much to this place and I really would love to share it on this blog, however that's just not going to happen right now. HA.

Let's see - what else?  This past weekend we had our good friends Stef and Dan and their little boy, Jake, in town.  It was just like old times!  We laughed, joked, and ate together.  I miss them so much.  I know it was incredibly stressful and crazy for them to move away, but I can't help but hope their time away is super brief and they're back before we even know it. 

We are on a new budget.  It has been incredibly difficult to watch our spending after a summer of spending.  I have become acquainted with Aldi - that's a whole new topic in and of itself.  I do most my shopping at Wal-mart and plan my meals for the week every Sunday.  We've done well the last 2 months and I'm looking forward to making more of an effort to save and plan ahead.  Somewhere along the line this year, we stopped thinking ahead and started living in the NOW!  Not wise. We are getting this corrected.

You know, I'm learning a lot.  These past couple months have been hard.  They have been hard financially, emotionally, professionally, honestly in just about every way I can think of and express.  As I get into the habit of writing again I will share with you some new things in my life and some things Brian and I have walked through together.

I must say that during this time God has been extremely close and I also consider myself incredibly fortunate to have the friends and family that I do. 

With that - I think I will call it a day.  I'll leave you with a couple pictures - my little sunshine is growing!!

 She just loves her bear!

 Visiting her friend Jasper - she discovered the biggest bear ever!

 NEW girly carseat! Yes - it is THAT PINK in real life!

NEW puffy vest!! She loves it!

Vacation!

I love vacation. Who doesn't, right? I was especially looking forward to this vacation because I get to spend time with my awesome family who I very seldom see...and miss dearly. What made the trip even more special was that Brian's parents were coming with us!

Our week started in Denver where we visited Garden of the gods and the New Belgium Brewery. The trip has been full of driving!! This has proven difficult with a 1 year old. Poor Claire has fallen subject to a diaper rash of the absolute worst kind. It's the hardest thing in the world to clean her after a dirty diaper because she just cries and cries because it hurts so much. Thankfully after a day of staying on top of Lotramine, A and D cream, and corn starch....I think we might have it to a manageable level. What a day!

Although we have had ups and downs, we are having a good time and are excited to continue our adventures in Chadron. We got here in the early evening after a grueling 6.5 to 7 hours on the road. Brian did such an awesome job getting us to Nebraska despite his exhaustion. During the last hour of our jour eh I honestly thought I couldn't entertain Claire for even 1 more minute...I just wanted to be out of the vehicle! Claire's cries and whines truly reflected how I felt!

When we pulled up to my grandmas house my heart swelled inside and the awfulness of the journey seemed to melt away as I said hello and hugged all my family members. Seeing my grandma was, as always, priceless. I love that we made it. It hasn't been a perfect trip so far, but we will make some good memories and hopefully grow closer as a family.

Tomorrow is the parade, buffalo burgers, and homemade ice cream!

At the pool with grandma Barb

A little hesitant at first

 

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