Things I've been thinking about lately:

Health Insurance - It's time. Jason has successfully found what looks like a good plan that is affordable. We've resisted insurance for the last year and a half but now it feels like it's time to suck it up, grow up a little, and have coverage if anything happens. Why does it have to be so darn expensive and complicated?

Babies - I feel like I'm surrounded by them lately and it's wearing Jason and I down on our strict "we're waiting at least 5 years to have kids" policy. Talk about expensive and complicated! Surely we can't be ready for this yet, but as I was writing out our goals for the future in my grad school application I realized we're never going to be ready for kids. They are absolutely never going to be convenient. So now it's all about finding the least inconvenient time to have kids, because we do want them, and I'm thinking it could be sooner than we all thought. Scary.

Jobs - we've had a semi-offer for a full-time position here in Colorado with the Navigators in the fall. Now we must decide, do we really want to go back to school or should we start working? I can see many pros and cons to both sides and it is still very unclear to me what the right choice will be. I'm trusting that it will be revealed as the summer goes on. It basically has to be.

Dogs - No matter how many dogs I see here, or how many puppy kisses I get from friends' dogs, I can' t stop missing sophie. I'm not sure if I'm going to make it the whole summer. I'm thinking about begging for her to be allowed to live with us here. Then there's the issue of getting her out here... it most likely won't happen, but on days where I miss her a lot it helps to think I may get to see her before late August.

Camp - We're going up to Eagle Lake today to meet with the entire leadership team. Our staff arrive on Thursday to begin staff training. Enrollment for Eagle's Nest is rising daily. It's getting exciting and way to real. I think I can run a camp. I guess we'll see.

T.V. - I think I've been watching too much lately. I'm hoping the craziness of camp with nip that in the bud.

Greentree - I miss our church back home so much. I downloaded two sermons today and I can't wait to listen to them. I miss our friends there and the refreshing community we were a part of there.

Nannying - I had a dream the other night that we were a family's indentured slaves, I mean nanny's again. It was such a relief to wake up and realize that is over.

Friends - I miss lots of them and email and phone calls don't quite cut it.

God - I'm learning more about him every day and it's pretty awesome. I feel like if everyone could understand the gift of life through Jesus Christ and its core message, no one could turn it down. It's so simple, so beautiful and so freeing. Hallelujah

Ch-Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes

There has been a lot of unexpected excitement on my humble blog lately! The comments have been fun, uplifiting and thought provoking. I enjoy a good debate! It makes me realize that there are people reading this blog that I probably don't know and will never know and that is really cool to me. All comments are welcome-some may not be taken seriously-but all are welcome!

We have arrived! Day three of the job and things are hoppin'. It feels so great to be here. To finally see the facilities we'll be using, and to plan with people I can ask questions to only an office away instead of 14 hours away has been fabulous. Jason and I are living in a little house called the Bungalow, which is also affectionately known as the "hobbit hole." This is not because the people here are obsessed with the Lord of the Rings. No, it is because way back when, when the founder of Colorado Springs built his castle (which is now the Navigators conference center/hotel) he also built his children a life-size doll house. This doll house is now our real house. Pretty spiffy if you ask me. The only room you feel like a giant in is the bathroom. Other than that it is quite cozy. We would have no right to complain if we had to live in a tent all summer on this property because it is so, so beautiful. It's inspiring just to look around you while you're on the property. You can see some of the rock figurations from the Garden of the Gods just down the road. We also back up into a huge canyon of red rock. It is awe inspiring. The comic relief around here are the turkeys. One of them flew over my co-workers car yesterday while she was driving and she nearly ran herself off the road in shock! There's nothing quite like waking up to the sound of turkeys roosting. I'm thinking about making an afternoon competition with the kids and whoever catches a turkey wins a prize. =)

I am just beside myself with happiness being here and I'd love it if the summer lasts a long, long time.

Okay...

So, apparently someone out there thinks this about my new job,

"I don't really think being a camp director is THAT big of a deal. It seems like that job is meant for young people." comment posted conveniently by "anonymous"

I guess my excitement pissed you off or something. Well, I'm still excited and it is THAT big of a deal to me. Does this make me naive? I guess so in some people's opinions. If we can't get excited about the little things in life, the little steps that we hope take us closer to our goals, than what can we get excited about? Do I have to wait for my first 6 figure pay check or something?
Erica, thank you for your kind and uplifting comment. I guess you understand why I'm excited. And I am still excited, thank you very much, and trying not to absorb the negativity in that comment.

Administrative Assistant No More

I can't believe another month has passed by since I've written. So sorry.

Yesterday was my last day at the counseling center. Someone asked if I was sad about leaving and I simply said, no. This job taught me a lot about what it means to serve others, to think about others' needs and thought patterns over my own and that was very valuable. This job was not one that I could do well naturally or truly enjoy though. I am most thankful for the experience of assisting the directors and learning from their good and bad points. I worked for 4 very different people with different styles and I was able to pick up a lot by working with them. I thought about keeping a journal of the things I observed and I never did it. I regret that now, especially since two weeks from today we will be in Colorado as the directors of Eagle's Nest Day Camp. *I hate it when I have good ideas and then laziness keeps me from following up - I've gotta work on that.
I really hope that Jason and I are good leaders for our staff and our kids. I want our camp to be a well run machine, but one that is open to last minute ideas and changes in plans due to incliment weather and such. I want to be a leader that notices the little things everyone does to keep the big picture running smoothly. I want to motivate people to give their best, not just for me or for the kids, but to be true to themselves and their potential.

Everyone has to be given a job when they're young that they're not quite qualified for, but know they can do with a little luck, lots of hard work and endless prayers. This is that job for Jason and I. It's that first "break," that "five years of experience," type resume builder that will finally give us some credibility in the adult world. It's kind of tough trying to take on adult things when the adults look at you and still see a college kid (more likely a high school kid in my case...I'll appreciate it when I'm 40). I'm intimidated by our job this summer, but I'm really excited and I'm so glad there's only two more weeks ahead of us before we're out there and diving in head first, praying we get everything planned and in order before the staff arrives for training on May 26th! And then there's the packing, and that I am dreading.
This time of life is hard in that respect. This will be our third move in our year and 3 months of marriage. The worst part is that I know there will be at least two more in the near future. One when we come back to St. Louis in the fall, and then another if/when we don't want to live in my parent's basement anymore. Have I mentioned we're going to live in my parent's basement? Free rent during seminary=no school loans, so we have to at least give it a shot. We like my family a lot, so we hope it will work out. This is one of those things I swore I would never do and look at me now. Why do I even tell myself the things I'll never do? I always end up doing them. It's like the cosmos has to prove me wrong on any solid yes's and no's I come up with. Oh well.

It is a gorgeous day and everything is in bloom. The dogwoods all boast flowers of pink, purple, yellow and white. The trees have tender new leaves with the lime green color of spring. Each time I go to my car there's a thick layer of yellow pollen on my windshield. It was the kind of morning where you wake up and know you just have to get outside, so Jason and I spent the morning at Kaldi's coffee shop and the surrounding up and coming DeMun neighborhood. We ate a yummy breakfast of eggs over toast with tomatoe and melted cheese, and the best chai in town and then it was off to walking through the beautiful neighborhood Kaldi's lies in. It has been amazing living in St. Louis again these past 7 months. This city is experiencing a re-birth I never would have known was possible when I lived here as a child. The city is tearing down the old condemned buildings and replacing them with neighborhoods, playgrounds and parks. This is the first time I can recollect seeing new buildings, condos, shops, restaurants and lofts springing up everywhere downtown and in the surrounding neighborhoods. I think our generation yearns for the urban lifestyle where a coffee shop a grocery store and a city park are only blocks away, and in St. Louis it's happening. It's really exciting and it's been fun to talk about where we'd want to buy our first house or condo should we end up in St. Louis for real. I never thought that I'd want to live in St. Louis again, but we love our church so, so much and the city is coming to life in ways I'd always hoped it would. I guess we'll see. I guarantee in three weeks I'll be writing about Colorado Springs being my dream place to live and how I never want to leave again. But for today, St. Louis is beatiful in the spring and I'm content to be right where I am.