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

My favorite bouquet

A Dislocated Elbow, An Impromptu Party, and a New Apartment (hopefully)

I haven't had internet service in about a week, so I appologize for not posting in so long. Last week was both the worst week here yet and also the best. Let me elaborate.
On Tuesday I accidentaly dislocated Franklin's (the little toddler I'm a nanny for) elbow. I had a baby in one arm and Franklin in a room he wasn't supposed to be in, refusing to budge. I had his hand in mine and was trying to coax him to move and I lifted him momentarily by his arm into the hall. I didn't realize he was hurt until we were having lunch and he wasn't using his arm. I felt sick to my stomach and absultely guilty. I hurt him. The poor little boy ate lunch with one hand and when I lifted him out of his highchair he started to cry. I called his mom and left a message and was able to get ahold of his dad, who is an orthopedic surgeon. I didn't know if his arm was sprained or broken or what, but I was terrified. His dad thought it was probably dislocated and told me to drive the kids into his office so he could take a look at it. It was a tearfull 45 minute drive to the office and my mom graciously answered a blubbering phone call from me and reasured me that it was only by the grace of God that she hadn't accidentaly killed us kids when Matt and I were growing up. I think that was comforting.... So, I walked into the doctor's office shaking and holding Franklin and baby Anna in her car seat. Franklin's grandpa and dad work together and are both doctors so they checked him out and gave him an ex-ray just in case. No broken bones, just a dislocated elbow that was poped back in place and the kid was fine. Meanwhile, I was in one of the rooms being comforted by the nurses as I fell apart again as soon as Franklin started crying. They reassured me that this kind of thing happens all the time and that its easy to fix. I thought for sure I was fired and expected the parents to be angry. Instead I was blown away by the grace and kindness that they showed me. I told them that I would never intentionally hurt Franklin and that I totally understood if they wanted to talk to me about the incident. Instead, they asked me if I was okay, and said that if this is the worst thing that happens it's no big deal. Apparently, Franklin's three year old cousin had the same thing happen to her a few weeks ago. I had no idea that this was a fairly common thing. Poor babies! I think the fact that both of Franklin's parents are doctors (and his mom works in an ER) helped because they have a different perspective on what an emergency is than the average person. Also, we didn't have to go to an ER, we went to his dad's office. God is gracious and good. I think that the hardest part of the whole thing was forgiving myself. On my drive home, I was thinking about the day and just feeling really terrible and exhausted. Then I remembered that my God forgives me all the time for all the crap I do, and that His sacrifice covers it all. I realized that if God can forgive me, than I probably should too. The rest of the week Franklin got extra kisses and snuggletime.
On Friday, as I was driving home from work I thought I didn't want to face an empty apartment again, with no plans and the possibility of eating dinner alone. I called Caleb and told him to invite anyone who wanted to come over for dinner and I would roast a chicken. I have to admit I also knew that Caleb would be more likely to come home for dinner if I made an event of it. We ended up having ten people over and hung out until about 1am. It was so nice to have a housefull of people. I think it was the best night we've had here so far. I feel like I really live in a place once I can start welcoming people into my home.
Speaking of home, we put in an application for an apartment today. We won't know until Monday if we get it, but it would be a lot bigger and in a much nicer neighborhood than we live in now. It's also quite a bit more money so I'm a little nervous about affording it. We can pay rent, I'm just not sure we can heat it! We have eleven days until we need to be out of here. It will be so nice not to live in a stessfull situation with crazy landlords. Pray that we have the energy for all this, since it will be a midweek move and I can't take the day off and Caleb is incredibly busy.
I'm going apple picking tomorrow. I'm so excited. I will be going with that girl, Cecelia, whom I've mentioned before in a previous blog. By the way, she did end up calling me and we have hung out a few times since. I'm looking forward to a day outdoors and crunchy apples and cider. We may even make applesauce. I'll post pictures for sure.
It was 54 degrees with thunderstorms in Seattle today. Providence was 75 degrees and sunny. I'd still trade locations, but it's been a lovely fall.