Baby, Car, JOB!

As we have entered the month of April, Stephanie and I are feeling as if the baby could come any day now. The official due date is not until the 28th, but our midwife thinks we'll be on the early side of that. Stephanie is still working, although she moved to eight hour shifts this past week, instead of twelves. That is a good thing for her, and she's planning to keep going as long as she is able. I enjoy the irony of her going into labor while she's at work (although it wouldn't be ideal). Most people make the trip from home to the hospital, but because we're having a home birth, she'd be going from the hospital to our home. I can just picture her co-workers saying, "Quick let's get you down to . . . oh wait . . . home?"
Baby prep is plugging along in our home. I finished painting the "nursery", and now we just need to get some things up on the wall. We also bought a used car last Monday. We wanted to get a four door with good mileage, very reliable, and decent storage. After several weeks of research and some test driving, we settled on the Pontiac Vibe (actually identical to the Toyota Matrix). We're really happy with it (although I hate that it's red . . . again!) and we just sold the Focus yesterday. Yes, I realize these cars are nearly identical. Many friends may not even notice we got a new one. Still, it is quite a bit bigger, and I have to admit - I'm really excited to have cruise control for our frequent road trips. As I look at it next to some small SUVs, I realize the overall interior size is quite comparable, but the gas mileage is WAY better.
I hope she doesn't mind me saying, but Stephanie shed a few tears as she said goodbye to her faithful little car. It was sad. The decision to remain a one-car family was not an easy one. I always assumed that once we had kids we'd get 2 cars, but as we looked at it more closely, we realized that we will be just fine with one car. We came to the conclusion that if we have 2 cars, we will drive 2 cars, and now that we don't have 2 cars, we'll find alternatives, which is a good thing. We can bus, bike, bum (rides), and it will save us some money as well as save the world from the strain of another car driving around.














The last thing I need to update you all on, my faithful readers, is this: I have a job for next year! God has provided, and we are so thankful. I found out about 2 weeks ago, that there are significant needs in the social studies department at my school for next year and I'll be working pretty close to full time (at least .92 FTE). I'll be teaching U.S. history, global issues, and one section of government. Ok, this post is too long, so until next time . . .

I'm still alive

The idea of blogging has been really intimidating over the past few months because It usually takes a lot of time (time that I have, but just don't want to spend). So I'll keep this update very short so that I might be less inclined to be intimidated in the future.
I'm teaching, loving it, but sometimes being stressed. I'm still playing Xbox - beat Mass Effect twice, gave up on Assassin's Creed after it lost my data twice, beat Fable II, and I'm now playing the game responsible for the downfall of Western Civilization - you guessed it GTA IV. I resisted for so long, but after it got game of the year and I saw it for 17 bucks I caved, and I'm glad I did.
Stephanie is still pregnant, and it shows :) We're having a boy and want to name him Caleb. As far as middle names go, we disagree, so we'll see. If all goes according to plan he'll come screaming (or maybe not) into our lives in about 2 months. We are very excited!
Next year's job prospects are iffy for me, but God will provide. He is good.
That's all for now.

The battle for the kitchen!

Here's a post I wrote a couple months back and never posted. I've seriously been neglecting the blog, in case you haven't noticed.

Shortly after we found out Stephanie was pregnant she began having cravings. She tried the vegan thing for about a week of that time, but shortly after, started eating meat and dairy once again (not all the time - but here and there). She knows she doesn't need this stuff to be healthy and grow a healthy child (we've known and heard of quite a few people who have remained vegan all through their pregnancy with great results). Still, when she feels like crap already, she really just wants to eat what she can to make her feel better, and often that's a piece of chicken or some mac' n cheese. I even tried making vegan mac 'n cheese one night, and we both thought it was really good. Still her craving was for Kraft :) and she had to have it (she waited until the next day). Basically, most of the things I cook for dinner haven't sounded very good to her, and we've been cooking separate meals most nights.
Honestly, this has been pretty hard for me to deal with. It's been a huge hassle for both of us, and I've given up questioning it, and have finally just accepted that this is the way it is. She works until 7:30 or 8 pm many nights so on those nights I try to cook dinner before she gets home.

Since I wrote this a few months ago, things have gotten a little better. We've started trying to find more common ground in our menu, and we're just getting used to getting in each other's way in the kitchen. We're bracing ourselves for how having a child will make things even more complicated. Of course, because of nursing we hopefully won't have to deal with that for another year or so.

some permanency would be nice

Lately life has been very busy. It makes sense now that I think about it, because I currently have the heaviest class load of any year I've taught, and next semester will be even heavier. Did I mention we recently bought a house that needs a lot of work and we also have a child on the way for April?
I've taught more hours in the past, but never had three different classes to prepare for, one of which I have never taught in the past. I am so thankful for the job I have, really enjoy it, and know that jobs like this are hard to come by in Michigan. God has been good. Still, I find myself longing for something better. And when I say better I mean-- permanent. In my four years of teaching I've never done the same thing two years in a row, and I've never had a completely full time job (though I certainly work 60 hours per week). Having my own classroom this year has been amazing, but I hope some day soon I can take the next step to being a real teacher :) by landing a job where I can teach the same thing 2 years in a row and benefit from having some lesson plans and experience! Some day it will come, I'm sure.

house pictures

We've got a tentative closing time of this Friday at 2 pm. We're thrilled, of course. Here are some pictures of the vacant house. The owner left us some nice surprises- A t.v. in the kitchen (which Steph hates), mounted kitchen radio w/ cd, some area rugs, porch chairs, a few tools, work bench, and a bunch of other stuff. Not bad. Here are some pictures!
For those of you reading this on Facebook, you might have to click on "view original post" above to see the pictures. That'll send you straight to the real blog.

Coming up for air . . . and a house!

Yesterday I got home from work at 2:30 and the storm blew in about that time. After a few loud cracks of thunder I panicked and started to batten down the hatches (close the windows). While I was surfing the net, wasting time in the wonders of cyberspace, I heard a loud slamming door and the screen went blank. The power was out and I was submerged into a world of darkness. In some ways being without power can be a good thing. I was forced to light a candle, sit by the window and study Spanish (something I desperately need to do before my July 12 test). I suppose its nice to be reminded that we can survive without power, and it forces me to find other ways to waste/spend time. As for now, I'm cozied in at Kava House using he internet; feels like coming up for air.
A lot of this time has also been spent dreaming about or new house! We made an offer on one we really loved on Tuesday and later that night we heard that they had accepted our offer. Last night we had the inspection and it all went well. We should be closing sometime in the next few weeks. The place is a 100 year old 4 bedroom house in the East Town neighborhood of Grand Rapids, and we love it. It's one block from the main drag of East Town (Lake Drive) which is full of cool businesses and also major bus route. We talked to the owner for a while last night and he filled us in on some of the great neighbors and history of the house. It was really nice and we were grateful for his time and kindness. Obviously I'll be posting a lot more on this in the near future. 507 Norwood, here we come!

the almost summertime update

SEATTLE This past weekend I had a great time visiting friends and family in the Seattle area. It was only a three day venture, but it was time well spent. As our friend Jeremy was getting married, much of the time was spent on wedding stuff. Derek Wright stayed with me at my parents' house and let me tag along with him and his rental car - a nice little convertible. A couple highlights were a fabulous rehearsal dinner at Salty's, a day hike on Rattlesnake Ledge with my pops, hanging out with my parents and grandma, a get-together at Dustin and Jenae's new place, and of course the wedding. Here are some pictures from the trip:


SUMMER At this point I have three finals to give and then I'm done with school completely. After Friday, I'll finish up a little bit of grading, clean up my crap, and then I'm free for the summer. For those of you who haven't heard I got a job at a different school for next year. It is a much bigger Christian school and I did my student teaching there, which means I already have a lot of good connections with some good people. It is sad to leave my current school as I like it a lot, but I'm currently only 35% FTE and am looking forward to the boost up to 81% next year. That's the main reason for the change. This summer I'll continue to work at the bakery part-time, and I'm hoping to find something else to help make money and give me less free time to spend money. Painting is one very good option. Jehova Jireh! Because of the new job, the month of August (especially the second half) will find me pretty busy to be sure - planning, decorating, organizing, etc. before the storm hits (school starts).

rest deprived

Lately I've been feeling exhausted. I've always been someone who likes to get a good solid 8 hours of sleep every night, and getting 6 to 7 hours instead may have something to do with that. I often get home from the bakery at 10:30 pm and get right back up at 5:30 am to get myself on the bus to school. Still, a lack of sleep is not the problem. I think what I'm really dealing with is a lack of rest. We all need rest, and by that I mean we all need to take time to do those things which rejuvenate us. That's my real problem. I've lamented my lack of progress on my latest video game projects since I started the second job. But lately, even sitting down to kill bad guys hasn't filled the tank like I thought it would. What I think I need is more time to be still, more time to pray and listen, more time to read my Bible and other good books, observe sabbath, and more quality time with my wife.

new job

Yesterday I started a new job. Don't worry I haven't quit my teaching job; and don't get your hopes up; I haven't got a full time teaching job. The past couple months I've been scrounging around for work in a mile radius of our home at local Coffee Shops and Cafe's. Finally last week we went to a local bakery down the street from us. I'd never really been there before, but it seemed like a pretty cool environment and I asked if they had any openings. About a week later I had the job. This place is kind of a coffee shop/bakery/pizzeria/deli/everything! It's pretty cool, but of course pays minimum wage. I'll mostly be running the register, making hot and cold caffeinated drinks, making sandwiches or the occasional pizza, and generally keeping things tidy. I'll probably be working two or three shifts a week, which will be great, and won't conflict with my school schedule at all. I don't know what it is about minimum wage jobs at really cool places, but I've already been told by three people (including my wife), "that's awesome! I'm so jealous". I guess all professional types harbor a secret desire to work in a cooler place than they currently work, and get paid way less. Makes sense to me. So yeah, be jealous!

Back home and thankful

Stephanie and I had a good week in Seattle, hanging out with family and friends, but it is great to be home. I'm glad Stephanie got home first, to turn the heat on. It is currently 7 degrees outside, and last night was probably colder. We kept the heat at 45 while we were gone and I'm sure our furnace had to work pretty hard just to keep it there. I heard it'll be about -10 degrees in Green Bay today for the Packers Giants game. I don't know how these psychopaths can sit in an outdoor stadium like that, but I guess some things are worth freezing your balls off. No thanks!

So, here's a good story. I'll try not to make it too graphic. The following are the contents of my stomach yesterday.


a small bowl of multi grain Cheerios








three or four pretzel bites, mmm.






and for desert . . . a few bites of fruit & nut delight








The crazy thing was I wasn't even hungry. More importantly, I wasn't confident I could hold down anything more. 8 hours in airports and airplanes has never felt so miserable. It's days like yesterday that make me so thankful that I am generally healthy, and that not every day is like that.

the first update

Stephanie and I have now been in Grand Rapids for about five months and I have to say we're enjoying life here. We live in the East Hills neighborhood and have just about everything we need within walking distance, which is a dream come true. Stephanie is enjoying her job as a nurse at Spectrum's Meijer Heart Center, and I'm enjoying sitting around a lot and playing video games and reading (and subbing a couple days a week). This will all come to an abrupt end for me as I start my new job teaching Spanish at a small Christian High School on January 28. It's only part time so I'm praying about other options to fill in the cracks. It would be nice to find some work painting, but I'm really looking for opportunities in the non-profit realm, or maybe I'll finally try my hand as a barista. We hope to buy a house this summer, although my semi-employment hasn't helped that cause much. We also got a puppy in September, and that has been a lot of fun, as well as a lot of work. Her name is Lola. That's it for now. More news, preachy rants, and curiosities to come!