We've Moved!

Here I am back to give an update of our crazy busy lives.

As soon as I came home from camp we had to really crack down and find a new place to live. It was decision time. There were two apartment complexes that had what we were looking for. However we just weren't sure about where their location and what kind of time it would add to Rob's commute. We decided to give it one more week and really look to see if there was anything out there that we might like and would be better. So Monday morning I jumped on the internet to look at craigslist. To my surprise there was a house for rent in the area we were hoping for with what we wanted that had just been posted a few hours before I got on. The price was a little high for our liking but we decided to go look at it anyway. We really liked it. The guy who was trying to rent it was really nice and willing to work with us. He was originally going to give us the 12th month free but I asked him if we could pay the 11 months worth of rent over the 12 month period to lower our monthly payments. At first he wasn't willing to budge but later that night he called us back and said he had thought about it and he would let us extend the payments.

So the house seemed to have everything we wanted minus a few downfalls and the one apartment we liked had everything we wanted minus a few downfalls. The big decision was going to have to be made. Both Rob and I are not very good decision makers so it took us a few days to mull over what we wanted to do. We finally decided to go with the house and so the packing began.

We were originally going camping over Labor Day weekend so we decided we needed to move by the 23rd to keep everything on schedule. Oh the packing, it was so much fun. Rob hates packing and moving so it was like pulling teeth to get him to help. My good friend Diana came to my rescue. She came over a few nights with her hubby to help us get things rolling. D was really great because she cracked the whip on Jason to help which helped motivate Rob to help too. Thanks D for being the enforcer. On Saturday the 16th we decided to really make a dent so we bribed the guys for their help. D and I had a pretty good stack of boxes ready to be moved so we told the guys they had to take at least two loads over to the new place and then they could go golfing. Wow, that was a good bribe. They worked really hard and took a lot of stuff over. I was very impressed at how much they were able to get into Jason's Jeep. After a few more hours of hard working women we had most of the apartment packed up so it was time for us to relax for the rest of the day.

The big moving day came and we were very fortunate to have been able to borrow the box truck my boss owns for the company. It worked so great. We were able to get everything we had in the truck in one load to the house. Well ok, so we didn't quite get everything over in one load. I ran out of boxes so I still had some things I needed to go back and get and our kitchen table didn't fit in the first load. Minor details compared to the big scheme of things.

We had some great friends come help do the manual labor of packing and unpacking the truck. We are lucky to be a part of a church that is made up of fabulous members who are willing to offer their services. They came and worked hard for a good few hours and they just might have lost a few pounds from all the sweat they produced too. It was a very warm, humid day. About a half an hour into it I looked at Rob and it looked like he had knelt down on something really wet. He was sweating so bad that even his pants were wet at the knees from stepping up into the truck. By the time we were done moving my poor hubby looked like he had taken a shower in his clothes. Don't ask him how much he loves the weather here in Illinois; you might get an ear full.

We are living in the new place now and I'm slowly getting things put away. We have both been so busy with other things though that our bed is still on the floor and we're wearing our clothes out of boxes. Last night was fun trying to find the right box with the cinnamon in it. :-)

What is keeping us so busy? Well Rob is ending his Family Med rotation and has been studying for quizzes and tests. He has also been preparing for Cub Scouts and running to keep up with our training schedule for the upcoming marathon. I've been busy with running with Rob and seminary. We had our Seminary Kick-off on Sunday to get the kids registered and excited about waking up at 5 AM the next morning. We started Seminary bright and early on Monday morning. Some, well ok most of the kids weren't happy with us when we had told them we would be starting the same day as school. Schools here in the Midwest do things a little differently that those in the West.

First, just about each school is in their own district and they run off their own schedule. One of the things Rachel and I had to do to prepare for our class was to find all the districts in our ward boundaries and get a school schedule so we could put together a seminary schedule that would somewhat coincide with the kids. That was a lot of fun. There are five school districts in our area all with their own schedule. Second, they do weird things with start times, early releases and random days off. So the reason most of our kids weren't happy with us starting seminary on the first day of school is because most of them didn't have to actually be at school until eleven. Rae and I held our ground though and we started on Monday at 6 AM. All is well. We have had an awesome turn out every morning and they have been doing a really great job at getting there on time. It is the first week though so we'll see how long that lasts. Our class is a little bigger than we were expecting. We have had about 18/19 kids every morning. Monday morning when we had to keep adding chairs and then an extra table so we could fit every one we were a little surprised to say the least. How awesome is that!?

I think this year will be so great. We have amazing kids and I think I am extremely lucky to be able to spend every morning with them, even if it is when their eyes are still glazed over with the early morning haze. :-)

Now the continuing task will be to keep getting myself out of bed at 5 AM, planning lessons that don't put them to sleep, keeping them coming and coming on time, and sharing my love for the gospel and for them. I hope you all know that I love this gospel. We are so lucky to have such a wonderful Father in Heaven who loves us and wants us to be like him, Gods and Goddesses with the fullness of his joy and knowledge. I am truly grateful for this new calling and the opportunity it is giving me. I get to whole heartedly study the scriptures and the life of our Savior for this next school year. Also, I get to be lifted up by 18/19 beautiful spirits of some really amazing teenagers. That alone should help me get my sorry rear end out of bed every morning.
We love you all, even those of you who stalk our blog and don't tell us about it (Rae). :-) Have a great rest of the week and don't be afraid to check back in a few days to see if I'm still awake or if I'm dead on my feet. Zzzzzzz.........

"Happily Ever After"

Girls camp has successfully come and gone for another year. The weather was great all week, a little hot on some days and threatened to rain on another but it all turned out fabulous.

This year the theme was "Happily Ever After" so we had a lot of princess decorations and princess parties. I got to wear a little fairy pin all week because I was a "fairy god mother" to the girls. The Stake camp directors did a fantastic job planning and preparing for this years camp. They really wanted the spirit to be with us during the week and I would have to say their hard work paid off. They put on some really awesome devotionals and helped the girls to really know that they are true princesses of a king. Our Heavenly Father loves each and every one of them. I am so lucky to have been a part of another great year at camp.

(This is Laraine dressed up for the fashion show)

I was a little stressed with everything on my plate before I left but once we got to camp nothing mattered. I was there with the girls, having a good time and it made all the stress worth it. I was the lucky recipient of countless hugs for a whole week and I cried right along with them during the testimony meeting. I was completely exhausted on Wednesday after I woke up early to go running then we had a long day of rotations and a five mile hike. They made it up to us though on Thursday. We had a few devotional rotations and then we hit the day spa! Spa day was to reward the girls of all their hard work and to provide service experiences. When you went to the spa you had to take a friend with you. You and your friend performed service to one another by performing the spa treatments on each other. My lucky friend (Laraine) and I gave each other hand and foot massages. I felt much better after that.

(watch out for poison ivy)

Camp came to a close on Friday and we practically had to drag the girls away. It didn't matter how dirty, tired, exhausted or sleep deprived they were, they did not want to leave. I too was a little sad for the week to come to a close because on Sunday I was being released of my YW calling. I had a very had time sitting through relief society that day.

I am a very lucky girl to have been able to spend a whole year with such incredible girls. They are amazing and beautiful daughters of God. I love you all!