big ups and little downs.

"The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.”
Job 1:21b

God is gracious and faithful, but not without reminding us that we desperately need Him. Here's a small glimpse into the few big recent happenings in our life:

1. We found a place to live! Hooray, we wont be homeless. Evan flew out to Colorado over Memorial day to spend a weekend searching for our next apartment. This was the first weekend we had ever spent apart. It kind of felt like we were dating again. Texting throughout the day, calling each other before we fell asleep. I decided I like my queen size bed much over the couch at my parents house. Anyway, he flew out with several appointments made to look at apartments. The first day he spent searching proved to be really disappointing and fruitless. He saw apartments that were too small (even compared to our current place!), falling apart, and smelled like smoke. At the end of that day, we were pretty much expecting to move in with his parents. But by the end of the next day of searching he had found a few that we actually liked, and ended up settling on one. Its another one-bedroom apartment, but its in a much better up-kept building, a little larger than our current place, 85 dollars a month cheaper, and it has COUNTER SPACE!!! WOOOOO!!!!!! I have already made a diagram to scale of what our furniture arrangement will be, picked out paint colors, and started shopping for/creating some new decor. This is the only good thing about moving frequently. :)

2. This one is huge. Since Evan has been accepted to Denver seminary and plans to start in August, we figured it would be good to apply for some financial aid. After all, if anyone is in need of financial aid, its us. So, apply he did. And guess what?? He kinda... sorta.... GOT A FULL RIDE TO SEMINARY!!!! Oh man, it still floors me to think about it. The thought that we don't have to take out any more school loans, that we could actually pay off our other debt, that we could possibly afford to buy a house when he graduates... I cant believe it. God blessed us far beyond what we could have asked or imagined!!

3. Here is the most recent news/change in our life. So, we were planning on me working until the third week in July, then using the last week to relax/finish packing, and then the last weekend in July loading up the truck and heading to CO. Last week the woman I nanny for approached me and told me that she was laid off and could only afford to keep me until the end of June. This means that we are without income for the entire month of July (Evan's job also ends at the end of June). Initially, obviously, I was a little freaked out. How are we supposed to live without income for a month when we live paycheck to paycheck? But, after some quick financial calculations, Evan and I have realized that we'll be just fine. Our last month of rent is already paid, so we don't need to worry about that. As far as moving, we are still moving the last weekend in July but once I am done with work, we will be moving in with my parents for four weeks! Honestly, I am pretty excited about this. We will get a good chance to spend time with my family before moving away from them. Plus, it will feel much more like a real summer since we'll have all kinds of free time. The stresser obviously is that we wont have any money coming in, but by living with my parents, we will eliminate a few hundred dollars worth of bills that we would have to pay if we continued to stay in Chicago. These circumstances have their ups and downs. We just pray for continued peace and God's provision. Of course, this also means that we have to have our entire apartment packed up in less than three weeks.

4. Finally, I am on the search once again for a job. Few things are more stressful. We are praying hard that the Lord will provide income for us once we get to Colorado. I would like to nanny again (I think...), but we're almost at the point where I will do anything.

So, that's about everything. Lots of exciting, scary things. Mostly, we cant wait to see what happens next.