Summer Pictures

I've been terrible about keeping up to date on this blog, but I wanted to post some pictures from the past few months.

In early August we went to a Cubs vs. Rockies game with our friends, the Bunces. We met the Bunces when we were living on the Oregon coast, but have stayed in touch over the years. They recently moved to Kansas, so they drove to CO for the weekend so we could attend the game. Being huge Cubs fans, they (meaning Josh) brought us Cubs shirts to wear. The funny Tom Sawyer hat was the free gift they passed out to all ticket holders.






Then of course there were a lot of pictures taken while we were living with Tim and Amy, mostly pictures of our niece Isabelle. Here's a montage of a few pictures with Isabelle this summer, and by a few I mean a lot.






Painting a frame for Buela (Grandma Bev). She has the Chapman/Ankeny-tongue-out-while-concentrating.




Photo Booth with "Butta" (Aunt Melissa)

Office Time

I interviewed last week for a job working at Mennonite Brethren Biblical Seminary as the Administrative Assistant to the President and Director of Advancement. The interview went well, and they actually called me back later that day to begin reference and background checks, so I was feeling pretty hopeful about it.

Today I was offered the position, and I am going in tomorrow to begin orientation. There are some important meetings next week that the president would like me at, so that's why I'm starting so quickly.

The position is part-time. It used to be a full-time position, but due to cutbacks it's been reduced. At first I was feeling hesitant about only working part-time, but I've grown to like the idea. I've been surprised at how much I've been enjoying running errands, having the afternoons at home to relax, work-out, and get dinner ready. I think this will work well for now.

I'm looking forward to the job. There's been no one in this position for the past year. Actually, the old president resigned a year ago, and this new president has been interim until now, so there are some changes going on in the office. I will be working in a beautiful old house on the second floor, and I have a nice big office to myself, connected to the President's office. I'm excited to use my administrative skills to be organized and to help keep track of schedules and all the other tasks they will be throwing at me rather quickly. It sounds like there's been a need for someone to be back in this position, and I'm excited to work hard and do my best. I'm also thankful for this job, because there really aren't a lot of jobs out there right now, and the location and position I'll be in is perfect for where we are living. I've been slightly bummed out lately as I read all of my teacher friends' Facebook updates about starting school again and setting up their classrooms for their students, so I'm happy to have a job to focus on again. I'd love to be teaching, but I know this is where the Lord has us right now, and I'm ready for it.

The Armpit of California

There's a lot I could write about. We've been in Fresno for almost two weeks now. A few things about Fresno that I'm excited about:

-Today I made $1.81 taking my boxes and other recyclable materials to one of the local recycling plants. I'm happy to have discovered that Fresno is a very recycle-friendly town. There are places everywhere that recycle everything from the usual bottles and newspaper to metal, wood, and just about anything you can think of.

-Farmer's Markets and fresh fruits and vegetables. Today I learned that if we tried a bit, we could basically buy all of our food (except coffee) from within 200 miles or so, meaning it's very easy to buy locally. We are right in the middle of a beautiful fruit region, especially oranges and peaches, as well as a variety of other items such as raisins, nuts, and rice.

-It's warm here. It's been about 100 degrees every day since we've been here. Granted, that's very hot, but it also means the sun is out a lot, which makes me happy. Plus, we have a pool right outside our apartment unit.

-This town is bike friendly. Michael has been riding his bike to work, and there seem to be decent bike lanes and bike trails.

-Almost every gas station in town offers cheaper gas if you pay cash. This is one more incentive for us to continue our Dave Ramsey-style budget and finances by living on our budgeted cash each month.

-Fresno has been called the "armpit of California," and partly this is because of how close we are to so many things (but also because an armpit usually stinks, and a lot of people could write a list of reasons they don't like Fresno.) We are within an hour or two of the mountains and Yosemite National Park. We are only a couple hours to the beach. We are less than four hours to Disneyland.

-We are in a very multi-cultural area. There are a lot of Africans, Mexicans and other Hispanics, as well as people from a lot of other countries. This means on a daily basis we get to interact with people from all over the world. It also means there is a variety of ethnic restaurants to choose from. We've already eaten at an Ethiopian restaurant and a Lebanese restaurant. We can see how the Lord has used our time in Africa to prepare us for being here. Now that we've been to Africa we can better understand African culture and thus African ways of thinking and working, which helps us empathize and have patience that we might not otherwise have or understand.

-We are happy to have found a decent apartment and a place to call home. We've met some great people already, and have a lot of peace about being here. We are still getting used to the heat, and to the layout of the city, but Fresno is already beginning to feel like home.