New House

Husband is asleep...in-laws are asleep...but I'm not tired! So I'll write a quick post :o)

Patrick and I have moved into our new house, FINALLY! It only took 4 months of looking, 5 rejected offers, 1 failed inspection, living with my parents for two weeks and finally we're in. It's only been a week, and already we've been hard at work with home improvement projects. South Scottsdale is considered "Old Town" for a reason :o) Our house was built in the 50's but has had some remodeling since then. Still more to be done while we live in it. Many of the boxes are unpacked, and drawers and shelves are being filled. Now that I can step back for a moment, I'm incredibly grateful for all God has blessed us with. I'm so undeserving, and yet so blessed.

The dogs absolutely LOVE the pool. I don't LOVE fishing the dog hair out of it, but I guess its a small price to pay for happy children :o) And I can't say that I blame them-the weather is really starting to warm up, so having a pool makes me feel better about leaving them outside when I have to go somewhere.

We already love Scottsdale. We're closer to a lot of friends, closer to a lot of shopping, events, culture, work, things to do!! And I know everyone says, "Oh...SNOBstale or SNOTsdale" but honestly, our neighbors here are 100x more friendly than our neighbors ever were in Mesa. They have gone out of their way to make us feel welcome. It's what I'd always hoped in a neighborhood. And good thing too because our backyard block fence is only 5' tall!! No skinnydipping for me I suppose :o)

We're so grateful to my parents for letting us stay with them for a couple of weeks while we were trying to close on our house. It was stressful, as the house buying process can be, but definitely made me realize what an incredible family I have. We could not have done this without them.

Patrick's parents have been helping us unpack and it has been so great, especially since I've been busy with grad school-which is fabulous by the way. I know they're in shock by the heat, and can't believe it when I say, "It's not even 100, it's actually kind of nice." They look at me like I'm a green alien or something. But if you live in 70 degree weather year-round, I can see how the level of comfort in AZ would be slightly different :o)

I haven't taken any pictures (mostly because I'm holding out for the "after" pictures, since I'm currently looking at the "before") but will in the next couple of weeks as we continue to get settled.

It has been a long process, but was worth the wait. I bid you farewell from the new place I call home. Good night!

Time to brag

I just need to brag on my husband for a little bit. He is moving up in his new company so fast he's back in training for a new position. Wasn't he just hired a couple of months ago? you ask. Yes. I'm just as amazed as you are. And yet, it doesn't surprise me. Patrick is one of the most driven people I know. He has a natural gift to make the system better, learn the necessary skills and rise to the top faster than...um...anyone. (I know I'm biased, but I don't think that's too much of an exaggeration). If you've talked to him at all recently you can tell how passionate he is about his work too. I've had people say to me, "How can anyone be so excited about something like finance?" The answer? I don't know. I personally, was not designed for that work. But My Love, he was. Now he's in the process of refining his ideas for his new business. He told me it will come to completion in one year. Yeah, I don't doubt that.

But more than incredible work promotions, Patrick is the most amazing husband I know. He knows when I'm stressed, when I'm tired, when to encourage and support me, when to ask me if I'm ok and when to leave me alone. He knows how to diffuse my anger, how to point out my wrongs gently, and how to love me the way I will feel loved. His demeanor is endearing to all, and remarkable to me. And most importantly, he knows how to be the man God designed him to be. Of course he's human and makes mistakes, we all do. But never have I met a more incredible person than the one I married that beautiful January day when the rain clouds parted and the sun shone down with it's beautiful rays beaming (that actually did happen).

To the perfect man for me, the one I could not be more proud of. I love you.

::pant:::pant:::WHEW!!

I'm really impressed by the Virtual Academic Center USC has for the MSW (Master's in Social Work). Honestly, the first thing that pulled me in was the flexibility of having an all-online forum. That, coupled with my long-standing desire to be a Trojan and USC's rank of one of the top THREE schools for Social Work. It seemed like an all around good situation. So I wrote my entrance essay, and submitted my application...and was accepted!

I ordered my books online (sorry budget), and started browsing the Virtual Classroom. It is the craziest, most innovative education platform I've ever seen! This program has "live" classroom time (webcam and phone needed), study groups online, a library system that is ridiculous (if you can't find something within the USC library system they will purchase it for you for free!), mobile apps, 24-hour student support just for the online students, online office hours, technical support, student caucuses (cauci? :) and is RELEVANT to the job market now and society now. I am totally blown away. I sat in front of my computer last night watching all of the orientation videos and I probably said 4-5 times to Patrick, "Wow. This is no NAU." Don't misunderstand-my undergrad at NAU in Music Education was perfect for me then, and was exactly what I needed in my education including the necessary experience that most undergrads don't get. BUT! USC has got it going on. I will say though, all those things come with a very large price tag. But to have the networking that USC offers, the field-experience right here where I live, and this kind of education...long term it will be worth it. Did I mention I will be finished one year from September?! Yeah, pretty amazing.

Now it's crunch time. We're closing on our new house on Friday, moving in Saturday. I start classes the following Tuesday. Phoenix Christian finals and graduation that same week, while I'm unpacking, remodeling and purchasing new kitchen appliances. Oh yeah, and we're singing at church Saturday and Sunday :o) That's how I roll. I like to cram tons of stuff into as small a space of time as possible, lol. Please pray for us in this busy but necessary time. I'm excited for the new things coming up!