Blessed

Within the last month, our lives in Oregon have pretty much exploded. Exploded probably isn't the right word, as it seems to carry with it some sort of negative connotation... I'm inclined to say blossomed, but it's so cheesy, that it hurts me just to type it. Semantics aside, everything has just sort of come together all at once, and we are feeling so incredibly humbled and thankful.

There are so many fears that go into the type of big move that we took. When you're a control freak who's obsessed with financial security, it's even tougher. Why did I quit my job in the middle of a bad economy? What if I never find another job? What if the student loan payments are too much for us later on? What if we never make friends? And the list of 'what if' scenarios went on, and on, and on...

I think I've summed up the first 4 months of our life here in my previous posts, so I'll spare you from hearing it again. Bottom line--we had to make some adjustments to our new normal. It's not that life was bad, in fact, our marriage was really solid and we learned a lot over those 4 months. It's just that everything is exponentially better now. So let's just focus on all the awesome stuff that has happened to us just in the past 4 weeks:

• We started going to young marrieds at Northwest Hills (where the head pastor is a Westmont alum, no less!) and met some really wonderful, genuine people. We now have friends that we are going to dinner and frozen yogurt and coffee with. It's so great!
• Jake started playing drums again. He played last weekend, and will hopefully play again in a couple weeks, if he can make it work with his work schedule.
• I just got the most perfect job. I have applied for plenty of random, part-time jobs since we got here, and even interviewed for a couple. What has been so crazy about this job offer is that we had finally adjusted to our new, smaller budget. We had stopped the slow bleeding from our savings account and gotten to the point where we realized I didn't NEED to work. On that same note, I had recognized that the move in general was going to drain our bank account to some extent, and there was a dollar figure that I told Jake I was not comfortable with our savings going under--we're officially only $200 shy of crossing that line. Money aside, the job is nearly perfect in every sense of the word. It's on campus, so it's flexible (having a schedule that changes every 10 weeks doesn't necessarily lend itself to finding a job) and convenient. It's part-time during the school year and full-time during the summer. And it's actually something I really WANT to do! It's exactly what I was after when I was considering going back to school to get my MPH! I'll be part of a small team, so my job will include wearing many hats--everything from school gardens to nutrition education to community cooking classes. I start Monday!
• Also, I'd be remiss if I didn't mention the stunning weather we had over the weekend. Saturday was a bright, shining 55 degrees. I was in a light jacket and capris, Jake was in shorts, and we took our pups for the longest walk down by the river. We didn't plan to walk that far, but it was just so stinking warm and nice we couldn't bear to be inside. (Yes, I just used the words 55 degrees and warm in the same paragraph. I know, I don't recognize us anymore either). You appreciate the nice days so much more when they are fewer and far between.

On top of all that, Jake and I get to spend the weekend in the wonderful Northwest city of Seattle. We are SO excited! Counting our blessings and feeling thankful for sure. Have a great weekend!