stresses of life

So life has taken a little crazy turn as of late!!

First of all, Joe has been having stomach issues since this past July, and has lost about 35 lbs due to it. The last couple weeks he has not really been able to eat at all, and finally got in to both a primary care doctor and a gastro doctor. The gastro doctor put him on a liquid only diet, so he has just been drinking ensure. He had a CT scan yesterday and will have an endoscopy on Tuesday in Rockford, with a follow up appointment with the gastro on Thursday. So we are very anxious to get some answers. Its been really hard having him not feel good and not being able to eat. we are very anxious to having him feel back to normal soon!! Prayers are appreciated!!

Second... Joe is being trasnfered to ATI in Rockford, which is very exciting for us because we'd love to be closer to my parents and I would also have to travel a little less for my job as well since I'm based out of Rochelle and see patients in Rockford. So now we're trying to figure out how we can get out of the apt we are currently in. Joe is to start in Rockford the beginning of December, but to break our lease it would cost $3000 or we can find someone to sub-let it. So that is what we are trying to do. We will see. It is sure hard to just be patient tho and trust that God will carry us through this. I hate not knowing what is going on. We don't want to find a place up there until we know that we have someone to live here...so if you know of anyone looking for an apt. in Aurora, let us know!!! Its such a nice apt, we really love it, I just wish I could move it to Rockford with us!!

Other than that I am loving my job and we are having lots of fun with Elsie. She has a little cone on now cause she had surgery and keeps trying to lick her stitches. I feel so bad for her ha ha. But she has been a great companion for us!! Good stress reliever when we are stressed out!! Thanks for keeping us in your prayers!

my new job so far :o)

So I am loving my new job at Unity Hospice. I feel like I"m still getting into the swing of things, but since I am working with my friend Brittany, its wonderful to work along side her and kinda pick up things as I go. I was working at both Unity and the Coach Outlet, but finally had to quit at Coach. It was just too much to do both. So my last day was Monday at Coach and I'm so relieved to just be working one job now.

Tomorrow Elsie is having surgery (she has to be spayed) so I'm hoping that goes well and this weekend we're going to Rockford for the weekend to be with mom and dad. Our friends Dan and Kristin just got married in Florida and are having their reception in Rockford this weekend as well so we will be going to that :o)

Joe has been not feeling so great lately, so we're hoping we can get him feeling better very soon. Why does it have to be so difficult to get into a doctor!? Right now we are both in limbo with primary care doctors, what a pain!!

new job!

I got a new job! I will be working at Unity Hospice which is based out of Rochelle, IL, as a full time social worker. I am so excited to start!! This kinda fell into my lap because I had applied to this place (Unity Hospice) back in June and they wanted to interview me the week I was on my honeymoon and I said I could after I was back. Well by the time I was back they had hired someone and it turned out to be a good friend of mine from Grad school!! So now there is someone part time retiring and they are replacing her with someone full time cause the caseload is so big, so my friend emailed me right away and asked if I'd be interested and the people already knew who I was because of calling me before. So I interviews and they hired me on the spot which was great. I will be starting on Oct 13th and will have half of the district as my case load and my friend Brittany will have the other half. I will be traveling a lot but be able to meet with families in their homes and at nursing homes. It will be great! I can't wait to start. God is good :o)

Elsie

Joe and I have his sister, Carrie, and her boyfriend, Keith, here for the weekend and we've had a great time so far. We even got a new puppy!! Her name is Elsie and she is a little daschund puppy. We are in love :o)

busy and blessed!

Its been a while so I figured I'm due for an update. Life has been a little insane lately and today I finally have a day to catch up! I have been juggling working at both Marianjoy Hospital as a Registry Case Manager and also picked up a part time job at Coach Outlet as well, so I have been very busy between the two!! Joe is enjoying his job, and has gotten involved at Harvest Bible Chapel which has been great. My schedule has been funny though lately, so I feel I haven't been able to spend as much time with Joe as I wish I could!

This weekend I have Saturday off (HURRAY!!) and Joe's sister, Carrie, is coming to visit with her boyfriend for the weekend! I am really looking forward to having her here and just having some "fun time" together!

I have also started training for a 10K run in November. I am pretty excited about it. Running has been really therapeutic for me! I love it. I am up to 5 miles and tomorrow I am running 6 miles. It seems to be getting easier which is a really good thing :o)

We also recently joined a "Newly Married Couples" small group through Harvest and are really enjoying getting to fellowship with others our age! Its been such a blessing to have friends who can relate to exactly what we're going through and the stress of "just starting out." Its been a huge blessing to Joe and me. We have our small group tonight...I can't wait.

Well that about sums up life for us right now. Joe has been wonderful to help me balance the jobs and helping out around the apartment, I definitely have a wonderful husband! I am blessed :o)

best hubby ever

So I have the best husband ever... I haven't been sleeping well lately, so I decided to take a nap after church. Joe called me and woke me up from my nap (I didn't even know he wasn't in our apt) and said that he went to get groceries and needed my help bringing them in if I could come downstairs and help him. So I went out to his car, and SURPRISE! he got me a new Schwinn bike! I love it. I had an amazing bike in college and it was stolen, so now I finally have a bike again to ride. We took a couple of bike rides today and are looking forward to finding some new bike paths to ride on :o)

Mom and Dad came to town yesterday and went to the outlet malls with us, for dinner and to church. It was great to see them. Its so nice that they are close enough to buzz in for the evening :o) Its been a good weekend.

Now if only I could sleep, work will come early tomorrow morning!!

the job front and life in general

So i guess i haven't posted on here for a while. Life has been good, just busy as always! I was in my wonderful friend Becca's wedding on my birthday, August 8th, and then this past weekend Joe and I went to starved rock to go hiking for the day and my parents ended up meeting up with us. It was great.

On the job front:

Joe just started his new job about a week and a half ago at ATI physical therapy and is loving it. I'm so happy. He is planning on going back to school for physical therapy and will start applying for schools shortly. On my end, work at Marianjoy Hospital is great, I love it, although its an on call job and I have been wishing I had more hours. Time will tell, I'm just grateful I have something at this point, and am trying to remind myself of how fortunate we are to have jobs at all right now...

John is back at school now and my parents are back to life without children at home. John's girlfriend Kelsey will be going to school in the same town as John, and just moved to school today. Lots of changes! Mom just started inservice for her year and Dad is busy as always at work. :o)

Joe and I have also been looking at other churches in the area. We have LOVED our home church, Springbrook, but are hoping to meet more Christian friends our age. The last 2 weeks we have gone to Harvest Bible in Naperville and have loved it. It is a totally small world. I have run into so many friends from Rockford that are now attending the church and living in the area. Its been great. Fun to catch up with old friends. God knows where is best for us :o)

I'm Employed!!

This week has been a good week!  Tuesday I had a phone interview with Marionjoy Rehab Hospital in Wheaton, IL and then was asked to come in for another interview today, Thursday, for a Case Management position there.  Today I went in for the interview and they hired me on the spot.  It went so well.  They are trying to speed up the hiring process, so I will be starting on this coming Tuesday already!  It is an on-call position, so I will be getting paid hourly, but it is EXCELLENT pay, so I'm happy, and they said I will have lots of hours!  So that is not a concern at all.  Also, it is a great way to get my foot in the door for a full time, salaried position at the hospital.  I can't wait to start :o) 

Thank you for all your prayers :o) 

This weekend Joe and I will be heading back to Rockford for our friends Becky and Ben's wedding.  I am a bridesmaid in the wedding and am excited to celebrate with my friends.  Never a dull moment this summer!  Weddings galore!

This coming week Joe and I are also babysitting for 3 wonderful kids of our close friends.  Always something going :o) 

The picture above is from last weekend.  Becky and I went to visit Cherith who lives downtown now for some quality girl time :o)  Becky (in the middle) is my friend who is getting married this weekend!

Have a great weekend!

Job search & 4th of July festivities

Still no job... looking for a job is not a fun thing to do in this economy.  Hopefully one will turn up soon.  For now its been lots of applying, handing out resumes, and keeping the apartment clean.  I feel like the second there is any dirty laundry I'm doing another load, just to keep myself busy.  I think that is a definite sign I need a job :o)  So I'd appreciate any prayers for that!  

This last weekend we went to see fireworks in Chicago with our friends Bill and Coty which was a lot of fun, and this coming weekend I'm going to Rockford on Friday for a friends Bachelorette party, Joe has a wedding in Michigan on Saturday, and I'm going to Chicago for some girl time with Cherith and Becky.  Never a dull moment :o)  

Happy 4th...just an update

This week has been a little discouraging.  Looking for a job has not been so much fun, and I'm missing friends from Rockford and my family.  Hopefully I'll feel more at home around here soon.  Joe and I are going downtown tomorrow for fireworks with friends though which will be fun and then heading back to Rockford on Saturday to be with my family :o)

In other news, our wedding pictures are up on Ryan Timm's site. 

You can see them by going to: http://www.ryantimmphotography.com/index2.php

Click on Clients in the lower left hand corner

Enter password: JL061309

Enjoy your 4th of July weekend!!

Life as a Wife

The honeymoon is over...it is back to reality.  We had a wonderful wedding though and it was great to see family and friends.  We had a fun time in Jamaica as well.  Now we're back home and trying to get used to "married life."  It has been kinda a challenging start to marriage since I've been busy looking for a job and Joe is hoping to go back to school at the end of the summer.. I know it will come together, its just hard to have patience.  :o)  

This last weekend we went to our first friends wedding as a married couple, it was kinda fun.  It was a strange feeling to be beyond the wedding planning point and to be enjoying someone else's.  :o) 

Pictures are not posted on the photographers website yet from our wedding, but he does have pictures posted on his blog.  They turned out amazing.  I can't wait to see the rest of them!! 

Well I'm off to do laundry and clean.  Always something to do.