Moving Day

A few highlights from yesterday:

Thank you soooo much to everyone who helped us! We appreciated it alot! Today we're settling in and I completely forgot that it's New Years Eve! I guess I should make it kind of a big deal since it's the end of a decade but I think I'll probably just go to bed early :) We have a very long couple of weeks coming up! Well, off to unpacking some more!

Happy New Year everyone!

The Blizzard

I found my camera dock! Yay!

I'm sure if you live in the Midwest, you have a blizzard story from last week's crazy blizzard! We left really early on Tuesday so we beat the storm, however, when we returned home after being gone a week, we came home to this:3 1/2 -4 feet of snow, COVERING our driveway! No joke, no exaggeration..

It covered our steps!

Aaron trying to snowblow...thankfully our neighbor let us use his snowblower!

I love snow but this was a little excessive :) And, it's only December! I wonder what January is going to bring!

No Camera Attachment!

We're here!! We're in Mankato!! It doesn't seem real quite yet but I'm sure it will soon! I was soooo excited to finally blog about 3 things that have happened in the last week (Christmas, the snow, and moving day) but our computer was all packed up! This morning as I sat at our computer, I reached for my camera dock attachment only to find that I had forgotted it in my other car that is still in Cherokee!! Out of all the things to forget, I forgot my camera dock!??!! Where were my priorities at?? :)

Yesterday was a crazy day to move!! I just KNEW that it would snow as it has rained (try downpouring sometimes!) every other time we have moved!! Yesterday was icy, cold, and snowy! At 8:30pm, we finally had all of our things in storage and a few things out to live off of for the next few months! Pictures are to come and I might be playing catch up for the next few days! Adios for now!

It's Beginning to Look Alot Like Christmas!!

SNOW! EVERYWHERE!

I love it when it snows on Christmas, but, WOW, did it ever snow! I can enjoy it now that all my family is where they are supposed to be and we're stuck in Mankato with the Willey side! My brother had quite the time getting from St. Paul to Humboldt, IA last night but I'm sooooo glad he and Monica are safe and sound!

Here are a few pics from our Christmas Eve:SNOW!

Christmas Eve Brunch with the Willeys

Merry Christmas Eve!!!!

Christmas!

So, our house was completely packed up by Friday night except for a lonely little Christmas tree still up with presents under it. Aaron and I went to a young couple's party on Friday night and on the way home we both got the idea

Let's just open up our gifts tonight so we can pack up the tree

Usually we make Christmas special, have traditions, blah, blah :) BUT, this year, we got home and opened our gifts as fast as we could! It was actually hilarious and we might try it again! :) The strange part is that it feels like Christmas has already come and gone because everything is already packed away! Oh well...next year maybe we can keep the tree up until Christmas. Here's a few pics from our random Christmas:

The lonely little Christmas tree

Random, unprepared Christmas picture :)

Our Presents

Aaron totally surprised me! I forgot that Season 5 JUST came out! Guess what we watched ALL Sunday afternoon??

Merry Christmas from the Willeys!! Hope your Christmas is wonderful as you celebrate with family and friends!!

Week of Goodbyes :(

This has been a sad week :( Although we're not technically leaving leaving until Jan. 6th, this week has been our goodbye week because of the busyness of the holiday season! Wednesday we said goodbye to our youth group, Friday I said goodbye to my students and coworkers, and then today was our goodbye to our church :( *sigh* I will miss everyone here so much!!! Here's a few pics from our final youth group party:

Christmas Celebrations!

Christmas is in a week.....I can't believe it!!! We've done a few things in the last week to celebrate Christmas.

On Monday, my coworkers and I had a wonderful Christmas party together! Although the weather was a little scary, everyone was able to make it and we had a great time together!

Two weekends ago, my parents came and we decided to really get into the Christmas spirit by seeing the Sioux City Community Theatre production of "White Christmas". It is by far my favorite Christmas movie so it was so fun to see the play!

Sadly this year I'm not into the Christmas spirit as much as I usually am by this time. :( I'm actually sick of Christmas songs already! I'm hoping that I snap out of it and get in the spirit by next week!! Hope you're all enjoying your Christmas parties and family/friend gatherings!!

Step 3: Finding New Jobs

Today I'm going to thank my Education professor, Susan Johnson for her wonderful advice to me a little under 3 years ago. She advised me to get my MN teaching license even though I was moving to Iowa. I questioned her advice at first thinking I wouldn't be moving back to MN to ever use it (and MN licenses are much more expensive than IA) but I took the tests and got my MN license. Now because of it, I can sub the day I move to Mankato! Thank you, Dr. Johnson!

Today we're updating our resumes, filling out applications, calling up schools, etc... Not the most fun thing to do, but it needs to be done!! :) And thankfully, we at least have something we can fall back on: substitute teaching. Oh the joys of substitute teaching...some days are fantastic and some days are CRAZY but in a strange way, I actually enjoy it. Well, I must go and keep filling out my applications....things are working out!!! :)

Better Late Than Never

With our house selling and all, I completely forgot to put up a few pictures of Thanksgiving :) We had an incredible Thanksgiving! One of my favorites!! I LOVE my family....they are so great!To work off all our delicious food, we spent plenty of time playing foosball! However, my sister in law, Monica, was unstoppable! She is like the foosball pro so Aaron and I are practicing up at youth group to beat her at Christmas!

We also connected with my cousins and saw all the new babies!

And, we spent some quality time with the kittens that I've wanted all my life :) haha! I always asked for a cat when I was younger but it never worked out. Finally, when my parents moved to my grandparents farm last year, they got kittens!! So cute :)

Step 1 Accomplished!!

We accomplished Step 1!! WE SOLD OUR HOUSE!!!!!! I still can't quite believe it and I know that things could still fall through until our closing date of January 6th, but tonight we signed all the papers to sell!!! Woo hoo! We are soooo excited! :) Thank you, Lord, for answering our prayers with a yes and for paving the way for us to move!

Step 2: Waiting

Sometimes waiting can be difficult. When I was young, I couldn't wait to grow up. High School - couldn't wait to be in college. College - Couldn't wait to be married. Married - Can't wait to have kids. Why is it that I/we always have to be looking to the future?

This week has been different in that Aaron and I are enjoying this sweet and precious time of waiting. We cannot do anything about our future. We can't sell our house any faster, it's too early to apply for jobs, too early to pack, too early to buy a house, etc. So we wait. Although we've definitely had our share of anxiety, we're soaking up the peace we feel as we walk, talk, and pray together. We've been spending almost every afternoon here:


Ahhhhh, peaceful, eh? So, although we're at a turning point in our lives, I can definitely say that I will look back at this time and remember it as a precious time of waiting and relying on God. What a great week :)

First Step: Selling Our House!

Our house is officially on the market as of today!!! It feels a little strange that most of my friends/family are recent homeowners and here we are selling our first home already! I would be lying if I said this was an easy step for me. I get majorly attached to homes and even told my mom and dad that I would stay in a house all by myself just so I wouldn't have to move in 7th grade. This is probably going to be one of the hardest things about moving. However, GREAT news, we have our first home showing on Saturday! Now all we have to do is keep our house spotless for the next 10 weeks and pray that someone will buy it!

Newest Additions to the Family

I can't decide if my blog title is mean or not :) BUT, before you get the wrong idea, our newest additions to our family are tropical fish!!!! :) Aaron is an AVID tropical fish collector and we unfortunately sold all of his fish when we got married :( We didn't know where we would be living and our first apt. wasn't too pet friendly so we sadly said goodbye to Aaron's fish and all of his tanks and supplies :(

However....we have been on the lookout since finishing our basement and came across a STEAL of a deal this past weekend! We purchased a used 90 gallon tank and Aaron was so excited, he made a shelf for it yesterday and set it all up! All we need now is tropical fish :)

90 gallons all ready to have fish live in it!

One of Aaron's former fish that we're hoping to replace :)

Yea, how exciting! Well, I need to head out..I have teenagers invading my house for the last campfire of the summer!! Have I mentioned how much I love working with teenagers? They are so fun :) Gotta run!

Worlds of Fun= Ummmm...FUN!

We are back from our vacation to Kansas City! It was kind of a last minute deal (deciding like a week before that we wanted to go somewhere close yet fun for our anniversary/vacation). Thursday we spent the whole day at Worlds of Fun theme park and Friday we spent the day at Oceans of Fun waterpark. Honestly, Aaron and I felt like little kids running through the park and we managed to go on every ride except two! It was hysterically fun and a memory that we won't forget :) Our fave ride was The Patriot (those of you who have gone to Six Flags, it's the Batman ride...the track is above you and your feet are dangling the whole time! Ahhh...the best!)

I LOVE rollercoasters!!

So, that was our trip and now we are back for the last two weeks of summer break! We have had such a great summer! I would have to say it has been one of my favorite summers ever because of the quality time we have had with each other, friends, family, etc. It has been so great that I'm extremely sad to see it go! But, this season must come to an end so I will accept...but not for another two weeks :)

Back in High School?

Aaron and I are officially becoming engulfed in the culture of high schoolers. I mean, seriously, how can we not be when we hang out with them a ton and learn about all the cool gadgets?? So, today we did three things to show we are actually getting younger and not older:

1) Our youth group students are HUGE texting maniacs. I guess, who in high school isn't?? So, we have entered the world of contacting students via texting...wow does it make a difference! We aren't quite as fast at texting as they are, but hey at least we're trying!

2) I got a cell phone today! I know...just a few years behind but I did have a cell for quite a while until we got married and then have not had one for almost three years! Today we added another line finally :) We are having fun with our new phones! Erika's Motorola Krave

Aaron's enV Touch

3) We prank phone called people today! :) Haha...oh my goodness! Who does that anymore?? Since we had a new number that no one knew about, we took advantage of it! Don't worry, we only pranked our parents and a few people who had it coming :)

Tomorrow we are going on vacation and someday soon (maybe!) I'll update on our summer. It has been such a fantastic summer that I hate to see it end! Adios!

We're Back!!!

We're back from our mission trip!!!! Everything went amazing....here's some pics :)Leaving bright and early Saturday morning

Among the hurricane damage that we saw

When we arrived on Sunday we hit the beach right away :)

Monday morning we started our work: drywalling, taping, mudding, and sanding a home that needed repair after the hurricane

Galveston is the most hot and humid place I've ever been. After only a few minutes of working each day, we were drenched in sweat!!

Each evening we had time off to do activities. They included: mini golfing, beach walking, shell finding, shopping, carriage riding, and the funniest....seagull feeding :) One of our students was chased by seagulls and we got it all on video :)

I loved every minute of it...even the hotness...but it does feel good to be home! Speaking of, I better get going so we can celebrate the Fourth of July! Happy Fourth of July everyone!

Getting Ready for Texas!!!

Today we had Bible Study with some of our youth group students and as we were talking about Texas, I realized that I am not prepared at all! I'm not mentally, physically, or emotionally ready for the trip!

So, first step when I got home: Prepared mentally. We thought through every thing that needs to be done to make our house ready for being gone a week, our dog ready to go to the dogsitter (aka my parents), and what to bring along in our luggage.

Next: Prepare physically. We're in the process of that (and I'm procrastinating by blogging :) Bags packed, van packed, first aid kit packed, blah, blah, blah packed :) Clean house, mow lawn, laundry, etc...

Last? Prepare emotionally. I'm usually okay in this area but I have to admit after last year's car accident on our way back from Salt Lake City, I know I need to prepare a little more in this department this year. Not with an anxious or worrisome spirit but with a heart that is also ready for the unexpected to happen and faith that God is in control no matter what happens!

Today I turned on the Today Show and caught a segment on Galveston, TX hurricane relief! I couldn't believe it! I'm so pumped to go and help out :)

Already 2 Weeks?

Yikes...two weeks since my last post. I guess I'm not as reflective right now :) Aaron and I have been so busy with Fun things! We have had just an incredible few weeks together and with other people...have you ever had those times in life that are just so blissful and "perfect"? Well, that's been our last two weeks. Thank you, Lord, for the multiple blessings of these weeks!

Yesterday was a hot one! I look like a lobster and even worst because I realized last night that only one half of my face got the burn and the other not so much. Lobster and Two-Face? But, yesterday was a glorious day. After running a bunch of errands while Aaron was working, we went to the lake in the evening, strolled along the beach, picked up Tropical Sno (I think this is just an Iowa place? Correct me if I'm wrong), picked mulberries until our hands were drenched in purple, and spent some quality time together laughing and talking. I love my husband :)

We've had some crazy weird weather going on here lately...I'm sure everyone has! Thursday morning we woke up to heavy rains, crashing thunder and lightning...a delightful summer storm! We both love storms so at first it was just cool and I thought "When I hear the siren, I'll run to the basement". Then I thought to myself, "What if MY house is the house that gets hit by the tornado that eventually makes them turn on the siren?" Common sense overruled fun that morning :) However, we drove around town immediately after the storm and the electricity in our town was out! Trees were everywhere and it did some significant damage. It took four hours for the power in our house to come back on. It was quite the memory!

Those are just a few tidbits of our week, but I'm going to leave you with some more of the Beautiful flowers in our yard...our former owners rock to have planted so many gorgeous plants for us to enjoy!
In the event that I will forget to blog before this weekend, we are leaving for our summer mission trip with our youth group this Saturday! We're headed to Texas this year to help with hurricane relief! If you're the praying type, please keep us in your prayers! Thanks!!

What We've Been Up To

We have both had a busy couple of weeks which is the reason for the lack of blogging. In short sentences, I'll tell you what we've been up to.....

The Willey yard looked like this before getting fixed...it is fixed now

Sunday, May 31st-Aaron went to Canada
Erika went to her parents

June 1st-June 5th-Aaron fished
Sadie woke Erika up every morning at 5:00am
Sadie made a new....friend/enemy-Freddie the cat

Erika helped her parents tear off wallpaper...she will never wallpaper her house
She took a little time to relax in the hammock
Aaron caught a big fish

Friday, June 5th~Erika and her mom met Aaron's mom and sister at the Chanhassen Dinner Theater to watch "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers". She LOVED it....

Sunday, June 7th~Aaron and Erika both came home in time for VBS week
Wednesday, June 10th~Aaron found a baby raccoon in the road
Its mother was dead
He picked it up to take it somewhere
The place he took it to was closed
It got stuck in his trunk
He got it out
It is in a kennel in the garage until tomorrow

How absolutely random but that was our last few weeks...hopefully next week will be normal??

And So It Begins....

Destruction!!!!

Maybe we can plant a little flower on top until it gets leveled out?? It could be a new trend, perhaps!! Hahaha....oh the memories :)

Highs & Lows

Oh yeah....I have a blog. I had nearly forgotten :) I've been meaning to write for a while but honestly have been too lazy because.....

I'M ON SUMMER BREAK!!!

I know, I know...It's not fair to all of you who still have to work when it's 90 degrees while I'm hanging out at the pool, getting a tan, enjoying the sunshine with youth group girls. :) Anyways, enough about that, I thought I would give a quick synopsis of the last few weeks. We've had some highs and some lows in our week.

Highs:

*Senior's Night Out with our graduating seniors!!
*Sleeping in!!
*Running every day at the beautiful park in town
*My flowers are beautiful!! I will post pictures as soon as some more blossom :)
*Being able to stay up late without having to get up early!

Lows:

*Saying goodbye to our seniors...it was more sad than I envisioned it would be
*Last youth group for the year
And now...to the most significant low that has been occupying our time:

Remember the "little water damage" that I blogged about? Well, unfortunately, we found out it isn't such a little problem. We have a tree root in our sewer line and because of the extent of it, we will need to rip up our front yard and install a new sewer line.

We just looked at each other with complete shock because we will need to completely remove our beautiful plants we planted last year, our yard will be a mess until grass grows again and, of course, the money issue involved in fixing it. As any couple would be, we were sooooo discouraged. However, a few days later, I had this overwhelming calm feeling about the whole thing. I kept thinking "It's only material things...It can be replaced."

So, as we go into the process of watching our front yard be destroyed, I pray that I would remember how trivial of a thing it really is and how in the long run, it won't matter :)

There you have it.....the post I should have written a week ago! :)