Changes

If you’re on my email list, you’ve probably already gotten an email from me with the following news…and most of you who read this probably fall into that category, so this will be a bit redundant. But on with it, on with it! I accepted the job at Alma (no more money, though) and Mitch got transferred, with a promotion, to Fifth Third in Mt. Pleasant! We went down yesterday afternoon so he could meet with the folks down there, and within an hour he had a job offer and a raise. Within two hours after that, we had checked out four places to live and chosen one that we both like. It is in a complex called Country Place Apartments and we think it’s right down the road from Andrea and Gabe. It has two bedrooms and one is actually large enough for our bedroom furniture. (Surprisingly, many of the places we checked out would not accommodate a queen-sized bed and two dressers.) The living room is not as big as our current one, but it should be fine for our monstrous sectional and various other furniture pieces. The dining area is about the same as our current one, but we are planning to replace whatever light is in there with the cool one we currently have (think UFO hanging from a silver rod). And the kitchen has more cupboard space, more counter space (I think) and a dishwasher! Yesssss! That will free up a good 20-30 minutes each evening because we won’t be washing everything by hand. Our unit is on the second floor, which means we have a balcony, and it’s bigger than our current one. We’ll have a place for our grill, some patio chairs and maybe even a little table. Oh, and they allow pets, for a small monthly fee. Now when things don’t work, we can get them fixed without worrying about getting caught with an animal.

So here’s what our lives will look like for the next few weeks:
This weekend: Adrienne’s visiting! Play time!
Next week: Start packing (ugh)
Memorial Day weekend: Go to my parents’ for my cousin’s gorgeous wedding and a rollicking Memorial Day party at the cottage (By the way, apparently everyone I sent an email to about the new jobs was accidentally invited by my grandparents to come to the festivities. I’m sure if you want to show up, they won’t mind…hehehe!)
The following week: Finish packing
Friday, June 3: Mom, Dad and Bobby bring massive trailers and trucks
Saturday, June 4: Load ‘em up, drive to Mt. P, move in to new apartment…party with the ‘rents!
Sunday, June 5: Unpack, settle Mitch in, and then I have to come back to Cadillac to finish my stint at Mercy
Monday, June 6: Mitch starts as the sole office manager at Fifth Third in Mt. P
Wednesday, June 8: My last day at Mercy, and a reunion with my hubby in our new place
Thursday, June 9-Sunday, June 12: More settling in to our new apartment
Monday, June 13: My first day as an Alma College admissions rep!
ASAP: Recruit Gabe, Baleja, Davenport (hopefully) and others to sign up for a summer volleyball league, if possible!
Also ASAP: Have fun get-together(s)!

Whew, it’s a good think I just live for whirlwinds of activity!

On a more serious note, I cannot stop thanking God for all these blessings. Despite all the times I was frustrated, scared, worried and didn’t trust him the way I should have, he’s still made everything work out better than I ever anticipated. He forgives my impatience, my desire to have everything happen the way I think it should, and my need to feel like I’m in control, and slowly, he’s helping me realize that the more I trust him, the more patience I’ll have; the more I let him work things out in his time, the more content I’ll be; and the less control I try to keep, the more I’ll see his work in my life. I’ll close with a verse that always gets me thinking:

“Don’t love the world’s ways. Don’t love the world’s goods. Love of the world squeezes out love for the Father. Practically everything that goes on in the world – wanting your own way, wanting everything for yourself, wanting to appear important – has nothing to do with the Father. It just isolates you from him. This world and all its wanting, wanting, wanting is on the way out – but whoever does what God wants is set for eternity.”
1 John 2:15-17 (The Message)