Sunday, April 22, 2012

Cute.

A little 5 mile hike up Green Mountain near Boulder yielded not only some beautiful views, but also some cute little flowers and some cute little deer! So thankful that hiking season has returned!






 

Monday, April 16, 2012

Wrapping Things Up.

It's my last week with the Polar Program, and I have so many mixed emotions about it. I am so thankful for what this job has done for me, yet I feel deep down like it's not the right place for me to be.

This job allowed me to move to Denver, which has proven to be one of the biggest blessings in my life. I am in love with this city, with this state, and I feel that there is absolutely no better place for us to be than right here. We have experienced so much beauty here -- not only in the mountains and breathtaking landscape, but also in the friends we've made and the relationships we've formed. We're so blessed to have found Denver Pres, and we just cannot believe how incredible the community is there. What we love about it is that it is real community made up of real people. People who aren't afraid to talk about the hard stuff in life, and who aren't afraid to expose their failures. People who really desire to pursue the Lord, and who desire for us to know him better too. People who will go out of their way to help us, like our friends that picked us up from the airport, bought us groceries AND made us dinner the night we got home from New Zealand. Plus, it is a community who likes beer and wine, which makes retreats and get-togethers really fun. :)

This job also allowed me to establish a career, which is something I'm so thankful for. I've always been envious of those who know exactly what they want to do or be when they grow up, because I've never had an inkling of what I wanted to pursue as a career. I've had lots of ideas -- everything from a physical therapist to a lawyer to an architect -- but nothing in particular ever emerged as my "calling." While that has been frustrating, it has also been a blessing in disguise. You see, I'm a Type-A person who needs to control every aspect of my life. Usually a good thing, because it makes me really organized and very disciplined. However, not having control over my career has been a difficult exercise in faith, and I think God's used it to teach me about trust. Did I ever want to work in HR? Nope, not really. But after being in this line of work for a year and a half, I actually see how it is a really good fit for me, and how God kind of just plunked me down into it because I'm good at it. I'm a people-pleaser (again, sometimes a fault), but I love helping people, I love the customer service aspect of HR, and I love the challenges that HR can bring (read: employee relations). Who knows what will happen, but I'm really glad that I landed where I did!

This job also got me on a sweet trip to Antarctica and New Zealand. I don't really think I need to say much else about that. :)

I'm so grateful for my experience with the Polar Program. But, I do feel like it's time to move on, and I'm so thankful that God opened up a door with Arcadis. Can't wait to begin the next leg of the journey!

Peace, Love, and NextSteps.


Tuesday, April 10, 2012

One Year.

This past Sunday marked our 1 year anniversary, and I just couldn't believe the way the past year has gone. All the twists and turns and promotions and travel -- it is just crazy what can happen in one little year.

Even though Mike and I have been together for a (really) long time, this past year has made me even more thankful for him. I'll keep the mushiness to a minimum, but I am amazed at the tenderness and grace he shows me on a daily basis. He loves me when I am most unlovable (usually any time after 10:30pm, when I start getting crabby and mean). He loves me when I am insecure and scared (like when I decided to go to the bottom of the world for 2 months). And he loves me when I get super emotional (like when I started bawling after our entire stack of dishes came crashing down off the shelf). And I'm so thankful for it.

Mushiness is over now.

So, where are we after one year of marriage?

Six months after landing his new job in property management, Mike got promoted to Asset Manager and now gets to experience the joys of being the "Go-To" guy for any and all issues a tenant has with their apartment! Everything from leaking roofs to bed bugs to heat issues to broken appliances to "my apartment smells like Pine-Sol" -- property management is always exciting!!

Obviously, I deployed to Antarctica and got the chance to travel New Zealand; experiences I'll never forget. With Raytheon's contract ending on March 30, I shifted into job-hunting mode upon my return to the States, and in a few weeks, I'll be starting off on my next adventure: working in HR for a company called Arcadis. I am SO excited about the opportunity!

We've gotten involved in the Children's Ministry at our church -- teaching the K-1st Grade Sunday school classes once a month. We definitely enjoy teaching the kiddos and coming up with creative ways to occupy them for 30-45 minutes, but our favorite part is the hilarious things the kids come up with. Somehow, they manage to work in Star Wars or "I Know More Spanish Than You" competitions into our Jesus-focused activities. Very amusing.

Other than that, we've just been doing the usual snowboarding, hiking, and exploring Colorado! We are so blessed to be where we are, and we are so amazed at the life God's given us. We can't wait to see what the next year brings. :)


Peace, love & mawwiage.