Hello Family and Friends! We hope you are doing well as you read our Christmas blog post. We have found it the easiest way to write our Christmas letter now by posting it to our blog. However, we do hope that you will catch up on other posts from this year. Unfortunately, I have done a terrible job at keeping up with posting through the year. Last year, one of my New Year's goals was to post at least once a month. Well that didn't happen. So in 2011, I am going to try to post more regularly through the year. This time, I am going to just think of it as posting my/our thoughts or moments. Some days I just want to share what God's been teaching me/us, share a new recipe or hobby, maybe tell a joke. I just want to become more active in leaving you with something to read about our everyday lives.
This Christmas season, Josh and I are thankful for family and friends. You're support and prayers have been appreciated as we have transition to a new place to live and a new journey as Josh pursue his degree in Physical Therapy. Josh's program is intense and keeps him very busy. If he's not in classes he's studying at home. He has been working really hard and I am very proud of his dedication and perseverance. It's hard to believe that his first semester will be over after next week. Although, finals will prove to be hectic. Josh looks forward to a couples weeks off school and then in January he will have his first clinical where he will be able to apply what he has been learning. That will be a good break from classes and a great chance to learn by doing. That's so much better than reading textbooks:)
I am still looking for a job here. I have been seeking God's guidance on what kind of job I should look for and whether I should pursue further endeavors within my field. I have been in touch with a couple companies and I had one interview. So far nothing has worked out or I didn't feel the job was right for me. I really desire to use my passions and gifts that the Lord has blessed me with. I am realizing that I can do those things in volunteer work and everyday life, they do not just have to be my job. With the restrictions in WI regarding school counseling and other areas of counseling and social services, it may be best for me to get a job in a office as I have had before and try to volunteer working with teens somewhere. The biggest blessing of not having a job right now is the time we will have with family over the break. It's nice to have the freedom to travel and not feel so rushed.
We hope that you are all doing well during this time of year. May it be a pleasant time that you can share with other family and friends. We are trusting that the Lord will bless you in new ways this Christmas and through the New Year. We look forward to learning what is happening with you in 2011. We keep you in our thoughts and prayers. During this Christmas season may you experience God's love and comfort above all things and remember Christ's birth and God's faithfulness.
Merry Christmas,
Josh and Jenean
Thursday, December 9, 2010
WAY TOO LONG
It has been WAY too long since I posted anything on our blog. Actually, since last Christmas, almost a year ago. Last year I sent out blog address in our Christmas cards so that everyone to read our Christmas letter instead of printing it our for each card or emailing it to a whole bunch of people. However, as I prepare to send Christmas cards this year I realized that when I add our blog to the card there may be only one additional post since our Christmas letter last year. Therefore, I am going to post snapshots of each season from this year. Hopefully this will highlight the year and make up for some of the posts I should have been adding all along. I posted Spring 2010, Summer 2010: Part 1 and 2, Fall 2010: Parts 1 and 2. Winter 2010 will be posted after the new year so I can add pictures from Christmas and time with family.
Fall 2010: Part 2
Josh and I like to carve pumpkins each year for Halloween. We never really set them out, it's just the act of carving and creativity that we seem to enjoy and something that we can do together! If we can we like to go to a pumpkin patch to find our pumpkins. This year we found a pumpkin patch very close to us with the cheapest pumpkins we've ever bought. Both of us got fairly large pumpkins for $3 for both. We'll be going back there next year. We also went the last weekend they were open, so maybe that had something to do with it. Of course I cooked the seeds and ate them all myself...YUM (Josh doesn't like the seeds, which means I don't have to share!) We didn't have any trick or treater's, but we wanted to be prepared just in case. Our preparedness just left us with more than enough candy for the last couple months.
We were able to enjoy Thanksgiving with Josh's parents and brother this year. They came to visit us in WI and we enjoyed there company. Josh had a couple days off from classes. Thanksgiving dinner was really great and easy this year. Everyone brought or made something and this year, against my usual hosting and decorating desires, we used foil pans for the dishes and had a buffet style Thanksgiving dinner. Quite the opposite from last Thanksgiving:) Our table really isn't big enough for the place settings and the food. And our kitchen is definitely not big enough for each of us to be preparing things and then washing all the pots and pans afterward. So buffet it was, which turned out to be a great option and then clean up was about 10 minutes with everyone's help. We either put foil on the pans with food and put them in the fridge or threw them out because they were empty. All that was left was the place settings which were rinsed and put in the dishwasher. It was great! Any of the bowls and such from preparing the dishes were washed before dinner so it was a piece of cake. More time for taking a walk and relaxing.
We went for a walk through the beautiful seminary property that is next to our neighborhood. The guys brought a football that occasionally got tossed as we were walking and talking. Then we spend time relaxing and working on crossword puzzles and regular puzzles. We watched a movie together one night and went out to eat for Chuck's birthday (actually that was the day before Thanksgiving). We ate at this great Italian place north of us...it was very delicious! Probably the best Italian food I've had.
We were able to enjoy Thanksgiving with Josh's parents and brother this year. They came to visit us in WI and we enjoyed there company. Josh had a couple days off from classes. Thanksgiving dinner was really great and easy this year. Everyone brought or made something and this year, against my usual hosting and decorating desires, we used foil pans for the dishes and had a buffet style Thanksgiving dinner. Quite the opposite from last Thanksgiving:) Our table really isn't big enough for the place settings and the food. And our kitchen is definitely not big enough for each of us to be preparing things and then washing all the pots and pans afterward. So buffet it was, which turned out to be a great option and then clean up was about 10 minutes with everyone's help. We either put foil on the pans with food and put them in the fridge or threw them out because they were empty. All that was left was the place settings which were rinsed and put in the dishwasher. It was great! Any of the bowls and such from preparing the dishes were washed before dinner so it was a piece of cake. More time for taking a walk and relaxing.
We went for a walk through the beautiful seminary property that is next to our neighborhood. The guys brought a football that occasionally got tossed as we were walking and talking. Then we spend time relaxing and working on crossword puzzles and regular puzzles. We watched a movie together one night and went out to eat for Chuck's birthday (actually that was the day before Thanksgiving). We ate at this great Italian place north of us...it was very delicious! Probably the best Italian food I've had.
Fall 2010: Part 1
Josh and I moved to Thiensville, WI in August. Thanks so much to our friend Ben for helping us pack on the Lombard side and for Josh's brother Mike for helping us unpack on the Thiensville side. Thiensville is a small town inside of another town just north of Milwaukee. Thiensville is apparently about 1 mile by 1 mile large. This is a sign in the center of town
We have gotten settled in to our new apartment in a nice wooded area right next to the bike path. I have been able to walk and bike a lot since I don't have a job yet. Josh is very busy with school everyday and is working really hard on his schooling. We are thankful for this opportunity for him and adjusting to our changes in schedules and energy. We have become accustomed to living in an area quite the opposite of our shopping and restaurant mecca in Lombard. Here we generally have to drive to another town to go shopping or go to a restaurant. With my days off, I have learned the area towns and what each one has to offer. It is wonderful being so close to Lake MI. Concordia is on the bluffs of the Lake and it is beautiful.
My parents came to visit us shortly after we moved in. We showed them around the area and it was nice for me to have them hear during the days while Josh was at school. We went downtown Milwaukee and walked the river walk. Mom and I saw a bridge boat house and the bumpers on it looked like a Pandora necklace. We laughed...until we learned that an area artist actually used recycled materials to make the boat house, lamp posts and some other areas of the river walk to really look like giant jewelry. We thought it was just a fluke! It was really neat after we realized it really was suppose to look like jewelry.
In October, I had the great blessing of going to visit my brother Justin and his family in Dallax, TX. I had so much fun with them. We went to the Texas State Fair! I got my picture with "Big Tex" and they had the most incredible petty zoo ever. There was a giraffe, zebra, llamas, kangaroo, buffalo, alpaca, emus, cows, goats, a turtle...I think they were just missing a lion and an elephant and it would have been a regular zoo. Julie and the kids and I also went to a fall event at a park where there was a petty zoo, you could milk the cows, go for a hayride, hold baby chicks and pick out a pumpkin to take home with you. I managed to bring my little pumpkin home on the plane with me. Airport security were a bit confused when my backpack went through the x-ray machine. The guy asked if I had a sqaush in my bag:)
We also went to the Dallas Zoo...and I love zoos!!! It was a great zoo with a cool safari area and tram that we got to ride through the park. I was able to watch Bailey play in a couple of her softball games. She got to play the pitcher while I was there. One of there games was really intense at the end and all the parents were screaming and getting it to it. Bailey's team took the win and it was really fun to watch.
Thanks to Justin , Julie, Bailey and Braden I had a great time visiting them. I was able to see the kids the week of their birthdays and take them each out to get something for their birthday. I also had a chance to see an old friend from junior high, Cori. She came to Justin's church on Sunday and then we went out to eat lunch. It was great to see her and catch up on a lot of time that has gone by.
We have gotten settled in to our new apartment in a nice wooded area right next to the bike path. I have been able to walk and bike a lot since I don't have a job yet. Josh is very busy with school everyday and is working really hard on his schooling. We are thankful for this opportunity for him and adjusting to our changes in schedules and energy. We have become accustomed to living in an area quite the opposite of our shopping and restaurant mecca in Lombard. Here we generally have to drive to another town to go shopping or go to a restaurant. With my days off, I have learned the area towns and what each one has to offer. It is wonderful being so close to Lake MI. Concordia is on the bluffs of the Lake and it is beautiful.
My parents came to visit us shortly after we moved in. We showed them around the area and it was nice for me to have them hear during the days while Josh was at school. We went downtown Milwaukee and walked the river walk. Mom and I saw a bridge boat house and the bumpers on it looked like a Pandora necklace. We laughed...until we learned that an area artist actually used recycled materials to make the boat house, lamp posts and some other areas of the river walk to really look like giant jewelry. We thought it was just a fluke! It was really neat after we realized it really was suppose to look like jewelry.
In October, I had the great blessing of going to visit my brother Justin and his family in Dallax, TX. I had so much fun with them. We went to the Texas State Fair! I got my picture with "Big Tex" and they had the most incredible petty zoo ever. There was a giraffe, zebra, llamas, kangaroo, buffalo, alpaca, emus, cows, goats, a turtle...I think they were just missing a lion and an elephant and it would have been a regular zoo. Julie and the kids and I also went to a fall event at a park where there was a petty zoo, you could milk the cows, go for a hayride, hold baby chicks and pick out a pumpkin to take home with you. I managed to bring my little pumpkin home on the plane with me. Airport security were a bit confused when my backpack went through the x-ray machine. The guy asked if I had a sqaush in my bag:)
We also went to the Dallas Zoo...and I love zoos!!! It was a great zoo with a cool safari area and tram that we got to ride through the park. I was able to watch Bailey play in a couple of her softball games. She got to play the pitcher while I was there. One of there games was really intense at the end and all the parents were screaming and getting it to it. Bailey's team took the win and it was really fun to watch.
Thanks to Justin , Julie, Bailey and Braden I had a great time visiting them. I was able to see the kids the week of their birthdays and take them each out to get something for their birthday. I also had a chance to see an old friend from junior high, Cori. She came to Justin's church on Sunday and then we went out to eat lunch. It was great to see her and catch up on a lot of time that has gone by.
Summer 2010: Part 2
The other trip that Josh and I were able to take this summer was for a family Reunion near the Mammoth Caves in Kentucky. Mike road with us for the trip. We stayed at a Jellystone campground that Josh's mom's side of the family had arranged. Thankfully they arranged for cabins because it was HOT!!! It was really great to spend time with Marilyn's family for the week. We enjoyed time at the pool, water slide and putt putt course on the campground.
We truly enjoyed our time with the Fraizer family. It was nice to spend time with the cousins and their children in our cabin and we had a nice evening one night around the campfire. We were able to get some great pictures of each family and the whole family that will be cherished by all.
Of course we took a tour of the Mammoth Caves. It was really spectacular. I had never been in a cave before. Josh was a bit too tall for some areas and there was one small spot where all of use had to dug and then jig jog our way through a small spot. We got to see a cave cricket, which the park ranger told us was rare to see while were were in the caves. They turned all the lights off at one point so that we could really tell how dark it is in a cave. Hannah and Madi did great with this and weren't even scared...great job girls! At the end of our tour, the we all got a picture with the park Ranger who gave us our tour.
We truly enjoyed our time with the Fraizer family. It was nice to spend time with the cousins and their children in our cabin and we had a nice evening one night around the campfire. We were able to get some great pictures of each family and the whole family that will be cherished by all.
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