March Madness

No, I am not posting about basketball. But we did have quite the March.

After deciding to not live in the city or near the beach, I proposed an idea to Eric.  Just because we live in the suburbs doesn't mean we can't do exciting things! So I came up with a motto... An Adventure a Weekend! My goal is to do something out of the ordinary once during every weekend. Whether it be bowling with friends, dinner out on the town, or just taking a walk along a bike path, whatever it is, it has to get us out of our apartment. We need to embrace the time we have together and not take any moment for granted!

I would say we definitely accomplished my goal for the month of March!

The first week in March we lived as home and dog owners. We house/dog sat for some friends. We lived in Bedford and drove an SUV for a week! We also ate at some of the local restaurants and enjoyed a week of cable and DVR. We were livin the high life!

Meet our borrowed dog - Diego.

The second week of March, Eric went to San Diego to present his paper at a conference. He experienced more adventure than I did that week, but I lived vicariously through him, so it counts. I also slept over at my parents', which was a nice change of scenery.

Eric sent me flowers while he was away! Isn't he the sweetest?!

A real thrilling adventure was going out to eat at 9:00 in Boston on a Wednesday! It was restaurant week, so we lived it up and went to the Oak Room at the Fairmont Copley Plaza. It was fun getting dressed up and being treated like VIPs. My uncle arranged to surprise us with a bottle of wine when we got there! It was so nice. It felt good to slow down for the night and talk. With everything going on in our lives, we have a lot to talk about but very little time to talk.

The weekend of the 18th, we went up to Loon with my family. We all stayed at a condo... yes, 14 of us in a one bedroom condo with a loft. It was a lot of fun! Eric and I went skiing on Friday. It was the perfect day! We were skiing without layers and got sunburns! We took Isaac and Caleb which was so entertaining! They are great skiers! We swam, played the marble game, watched movies, and laughed. A lot.

The last weekend in March we went to Kittery to hang out with Eric's sister, Liz, and brother-in-law, Pete. They cooked us a delicious lunch and then we practically stole clothes at the outlets! We ended the night at a cool music festival.

I think I'm going to like this new goal of ours. It's working so far! Next month will be quite the adventure! We're going to Europe for 2 weeks!

Piece by piece

So I've been doing a lot of thinking as the deadlines have been approaching, Eric is graduating in May, his thesis is due in a few weeks, he's applying for jobs, I am considering a transition, our lease was up, and the thought of moving out of state was on the table. It's all so overwhelming! But God is in control. We are taking care of everything piece by piece.

1. Without any job offers, we decided to sign another year of our lease. This was a hard decision because our rent increased, we didn't know where we'd be working next year, and I had this urge to move someplace where I didn't have to get in my car and drive everywhere. We thought about living in the city. We thought a beach would be nice. But... we decided to stay where we are. It's convenient. It's cheaper than the city. And most importantly, it's within an hour from every single member of our family. We chose not to leave the most important people in our lives. So we're here in Billerica for another year!

2. Eric's thesis is almost done!

3. Eric got a job offer. He has to decide by Friday. (It's looking good!)

4. I have started to apply to grad. school. I'd like to get my masters in either reading or teaching English. I am also taking an online class to get my certification in teaching English. I have until August to finish it.

It's amazing how everything is working out.  Listen to this... At one point Eric said, "Worst case scenario, you take someone else to Europe". He was scared that he'd have to defend on one of the dates that we were going to be away. I said that there is no way that I would be on our vacation while he was home defending his thesis! And guess what?! I get to bring my husband with me!  Eric's thesis is due April 13th. We leave for our trip on April 14th. He gets to choose the date that he defends it and then the final draft isn't due until May. God is good.

Doing the Limbo

As most of you know, Eric is job hunting. It is exciting and nerve-racking all at once!  We fasted TV for the month of January to ensure that this next life journey is God-centered. It was much easier than I thought it would be! It's amazing how productive you are when TV isn't an option. Rather than watching TV, we read books, exercised more, and of course, spent time in prayer together. After the month, we heard God telling us, "Okay, time to take action". We still don't have any clear vision of where to apply but we have faith that God will take care of that part by opening doors and closing others. Eric applied to one company this week with a job description that fits him to a key. His professor/boss recommended him for the position... and the best part is... it's right down the street in Billerica! Our heart's desire is stay in state where our family and friends are but, of course, we are willing to go wherever God calls us. We joke, and secretly hope that God calls us to Hawaii!

As for me, well, I'm stagnant until we decide where Eric will be. Because his job is more narrow and specific, we decided to let his next job be the deciding factor of our next move. We have faith that God will provide something for me. I decided to get certified in teaching English. Urban teaching is still a desire of mine and having that certification makes me more marketable. It is an online class that I have 6 months to pass. After taking the beginner course, I will be able to take the "Teaching Young Learners" course. I am excited to start studying!

We ask that you keep us in your prayers as we need to make a decision about our lease next Monday. Our lease is up and we have to decide whether to re-sign for the year or sign something shorter but more expensive. So our lives are a little bit in limbo, but we're excited about what's to come! Thanks for all of your support and prayers!

"My heart is happy..."

Those are the words of Josiah on his way down to spend the night at our place! He told Sandra, "my heart is happy because I get to play video games tonight".

I begged Eric to have a slumber party with my three favorite little guys... and because he's a sucker for some quality uncle/nephew time, he said YES! We had such a fun time! We had chocolate chip pancakes for dinner, ice cream for dessert, and some serious "screen time"!

Click on this picture. Isaac and Josiah's faces are priceless. 

Playing Mario

I make the BEST chocolate chip pancakes, Isaac said. 

Cycling

Watching Winter Wipe Out with Uncle Eric (Look at the 40 year old man sitting on the edge of the couch lol)

Snuggling and watching Toy Story 3

Apparently I am not ready to be a mom... I was excited to sugar them up but then expected them to fall asleep by 9:00! Whoops! I ended up having to sleep on the couch to quiet their giggling so they'd sleep. At church, the first words out of Caleb's mouth to Sandra were "I'm tired". But... at least they had fun and we created some great memories!

A Quick Update

It is my third week back to school. I have one new student, so now I have 8. She is a really sweet girl and seems to fit in with all the kids. We had two snow days last week, plus MLK Jr. day, and another possible snow day on Friday! Days off are always more fun when the snow is falling and there is no where to go -  especially when I get to spend the whole day with my wonderful husband! I mean, don't get me wrong, snow days definitely put a wrench in my lesson plans, but quite honestly, I love them! We'll catch up, we always do, so why not enjoy the season! (However, I might think differently when I don't live in an apartment where people plow and shovel for you!) 

This past weekend was Eric's 24th birthday. We are now the same age. I always tell him, I'm wiser and "wear the pants" because I'm a WHOLE 28 days older than him! ;) We had a fabulous time celebrating his life on Saturday with family and friends! I invited all of Eric's family over. It was the first time they were all over. My parents came, and two of Eric's best friends and their girlfriends. It was a great time! We played video games and ate really good food! We had a slumber party with Eric's sister, Liz, and her husband, Pete. Eric and Pete stayed up all night playing Madden. Eric was glad to have a play-date! On Sunday, we went to Eric's dad's where we had the best brunch ever: homemade cinnamon buns, fresh fruit, bacon, sausage, pancakes, french toast, and eggs benedict with crab cake. (My first time trying eggs bene, and mmm mmm mmm!) EVERTHING WAS DELICIOUS!!! Then we went over to my parents house for an unfortunate ending to a wonderful weekend... the company was great but the Pats game could have been better.

For Eric's birthday present, we put some money towards printing and framing some of his favorite photos. The apartment looks 1 million times better now that we have pictures on our walls! It's so nice to look around and see 1) the beauty of God's creation in the photos and 2) Eric's amazing photography talent! So if you want to see some amazing art, you should stop by and visit! We love company!

(I was too busy hosting to take pictures of the weekend but as soon as I get them from Alan, I will post them.)