Caleb and I Looking Fancy

A Whirlwind Michigan Thanksgiving and the Loveliest Wedding

Caleb and I just got back from Michigan Monday morning at 2am. Just in time for me to work at 9. We are both very tired from our very eventfull and short time in Michigan. We arrived in Michigan Thanksgiving day and had a great, relaxing day with my family. My mom made a ton of food and I ate until I hurt. The next day I spent running errands with my brother and helping with last minute wedding emergencies for our friends Dan and Emily, who were getting married that Saturday. We had the rehersal dinner (Caleb was a groomsman) and the guys kidnapped the groom for the rest of the evening. All of them, that is 16 guys, got stuck in an elevator for 45 minutes. Nobody came to rescue them and they ended up breaking out and climbing out of the elevator. I guess it was a good bonding experience, because Caleb said it was the best part of the night. I found out later that they thought the elevator jammed because one of the guys was crowd surfing in the elevator and kicked a button with his foot...
Anyway, Saturday was great. The wedding was at the Kalamazoo Institute of Art a fun, non-traditional, very cool place to have an evening wedding. I used to teach kids' ceramics and art classes there about 4-5 years ago. The "alter" was a big, orange, Chihuley glass sculpture. Our dear friends Dan and Emily wrote their own vows and they were so heartfelt that I was leaking all over the place. We've known Dan for many years and we love that he has Emily. She is lovely, and bright, and funny, and adventurous. There were so many friends that we hadn't seen in years at the wedding. It was a Kalamazoo reunion. We are so blessed to have so many wonderful friends all over the place! Caleb and I danced the night away and bid everyone a very sad farewell.
We left Michigan early on Sunday and now we are back in Providence. Caleb hit the ground running and has been in his studio pretty much the last two days. He has an impossible amount of work to fininsh before the semester ends. I'm pretty much just planning on not seeing him until December 14th. He is doing great though. He is making interesting work and being invited to be in shows.
I'm trying to figure out what to do with my life. I can't keep having dead end jobs. Most of my girlfriends have careers of some sort, and I need to committ to something as well. I'm thinking about several things, all very different, right now. Grad school for couseling, working at an adoption agency, or becomming a sommelier. I'm just not living up to my potential, and I want to be proud of myself and to make Caleb proud too. I'm open to career ideas if anyone has any. I need to do more research and pray about it. One thing I am wary of is spendint a ton of money on school and a lot of time. I sure am not getting any younger and deffinitely not any richer. We will be rolling in debt after Caleb is done with school. Anyway, I want to be excited about something and tackle it with passion.
Okay, time to go to bed. Tugboat is all snuggled next to me and nice and warm.

On our way to michigan for thanksgiving

Our New Home and Caleb's Birthday

I'm back again. Sometimes there is so much time between my posts that I wonder if people will just give up and stop checking my blog. Please don't! We moved again. So that resulted in chaos and loss of internet access for a short while and also lack of energy to do anything other than try to get this apartment to look like home. I forgot to mention that there was a lot of drama surounding getting this apartment. We looked at a bunch of places, most nicer and much more money and had actually put money down on an apartment and were planing on moving into it the following week. We had gone through a real estate agency and gave them the check. The landlord contacted the real estate agency the day before we were going to sign the lease and said he had found somebody else to rent the place. The agency was very upset, out of a commission and we got screwed. We found out Thursday night and had to be out of our apartment by Wednesday. Thank God, he protected us from another nasty landlord, and from spending more money on a place than we should have anyway. I was really nervous the next several days, and had to keep praying for trust and belief in His provision. We ended up signing a lease late on Saturday. It was actually for an apartment we had seen Thursday night after we found out we were homeless. It is cheap and with a little t.l.c. will be cute. Caleb said our new apartment is kind of like living in a cabin. There is no hallway, just rooms connected with doorways, giving a cozy, albeit awkward feel. It is very much like a cabin. Our landlord is nice and relaxed, not insane like our last landlords were. There are still boxes everywhere, but we have gotten somewhere with the living room and kitchen, so it is livable. Tugboat likes it too. Caleb built me some kitchen counters and storage, so it looks very user friendly and kind of industrial. My red kitchenaid looks rockin' on the white counters.
Caleb turned 28 on Wednesday. Old man. Actually, we are the same age for four months. I surprized him with a massage and dinner. It was our first home-cooked meal in our new place. We had Mediterranean swordfish wraped in prociutto with garlic roasted potatos and tiramisu for dessert. We both layed down with a belly ache after that meal. So good, but so rich.
Caleb is liking school a lot more now. He is busy all the time and I'm amaised that he hasn't gone crazy yet. He is still patient and kind to me regardless of the pressure he is under at school. I am very thankfull for my husband! He has been asked to show his work at a new media conference in Scottland and at a gallery in Germany. They asked him. How cool is that! He is pushing himself to excell and be very proactive in making connections with the right people and seeking critical imput on his work. If anyone can make it, it is Caleb. -By the grace of God.
I'm doing well too. Long walks outside have helped. I take the kids I nanny for to the park everyday. We went to the zoo yesterday and it was such a nice change in our routine. So much work though! Getting them all ready and their snacks and outfits and diapers and strapped all in safe to their seats and folding up the enomous stroller and heaving it into the trunk.... Anyway props to all the supermoms out there that take their tiny kids everywhere. I just felt proud that we did it.
I miss my girlfriends in Seattle! I really miss Friday's excellent wives club. Haven't found any excellent wives here yet. ;-)
I hope you ladies are still meeting every week. What book are you reading? I'm reading, "The Dangerous Duty of Delight", by John Piper. Really thought provoking.

So Many Boxes, so many Moves