Out of Hibernation!

Well, long time no write blogger readers!  It appears that yet again, the sub-zero winter temperature have kept Andee and I from doing anything "blog worthy" aka, taking pictures of fun events that usually involve something outdoors.  Well, we are back!  And with the far above seasonal temperatures we have been having for the past week, it appears that Spring is back too!  Time to get out of hibernation, and back to doing the things that we love to do outside!

Let's start from the beginning!  It has been nearly 3 months since my last blog, and life has been going along pretty normally.  I have been enjoying working at Prairie Lakes Church for the past few months, as well as loving my Women's bible study and singing on the Worship Team, and Andee has been enjoying......well, okay, he has mostly just been working....a lot.  If I'm being honest, it feels a little strange to not have something scary and unknown hanging over our heads and monopolizing our thoughts.  In fact, it actually feels a little weird to feel quite settled with no major plan changes, moves, or decisions in the next couple years.  Dare I say it, it's a little uneventful and not all that exciting?  Wait, NO!  I take it back!  Don't let God hear me say that, not another move!!!  All joking aside though, it's been kind of nice to just go to work with dependable jobs and consistent income.  Sometimes Andee works a million hours a week (only a slight exaggeration...), but hey, at least he gets paid!  And so do I!  We can actually afford our lives; can I get an Amen!?  So, life is good!  I wonder what crazy plans God has in mind for us coming up?  I have a sneaking suspicion it may involve little blankets and big bellies....but let's wait for God to figure all that out, shall we??  Distraction photo!  Andee and I enjoying a Retreat Day with Andee's Residency Program on a beautiful sunny winter day!  Enjoy!

Back to Spring!  After a terrible terrible 4 weeks of inpatient medicine and 85+ hour work weeks for Andee, he is quite enjoying his 9-5, Monday to Friday Pulmonology rotation for 2 weeks!  Perfect timing to coincide with the arrival of an early Spring here in Iowa!  For the last week or so, Iowa has been experiencing near record high temperatures ranging from about 13-20 degrees Celsius (with yesterday hitting a whopping 26 degrees!)  It's been many months, but Andee and I were able to enjoy lots of beautiful walks in our neighborhood, as well as lots of other fun activities!  Be jealous Canada - Iowa Spring's are yes, unpredictable, but can also be quite warm!  Not so much for winter, but stay with me here! 

Just this past weekend, the warmest to far, Andee and I had the whole weekend off, and so we took advantage of the time and the weather by having a 'Date Weekend!'  As well as our warm walks with nothing more than a light jacket or fleece, (one day we wore t-shirts!), we busted out our summer balcony furniture!  We enjoyed a meal outside for the first time in a very long time, and with beautiful Spring temperatures and very little wind (a rarity for Iowa), we enjoyed our meal with a beautiful view of an Iowa sunset!  Perfect!  We (Andee) also put together our latest purchase, a new outdoor fire pit and grill for the balcony!!  It is amazing!  We spend an evening outside, in WINTER by the way, and had a campfire complete with spider wieners, smores, and pop!  It was magical!  Don't believe me that we were having a winter fire?  Well, I of course took pictures!

Another aspect of our Date Weekend involved taking our cars in for a much needed oil change, and getting our summer tires put back on the Canadian car!  Okay, so it doesn't sound like much of a date, but while the cars were in the shop, we enjoyed some McDonald's ice cream while in the sun chatting and enjoying the weather.  McDonald's, ice cream, sun, Spring, and getting things accomplished at the same time while doing no actual work?  Now that's my kind of date!

On top of all of the awesome Spring adventures we participated in our Date Weekend, we went out for a delicious brunch at Morg's in Waterloo!  A small, cute place with amazing reviews (Canadians - think Angelique's style) and giant portions!  I ordered a typical breakfast meal, which could have fed a small family, and Andee ordered a pancake (just one) that was literally twice the size of my face!  Needless to say, we had brunch the next day complements of Morg's leftovers boxes!  Delish! 

I shall end off by posting a variety of pictures of my Aloe cat, because, well, you know, I love him!  Please note the one 'guilty cat' picture where he is jealous of our stuffed animal Tard (Grumpy Cat), and we caught him in the act!  Also, an adorable comic that my Papa drew depicting a blond 'cat lady' with spoiled cats....sound familiar?  I loved it so much that I framed it!  Until next blog, if you are reading this, chances are we love you!  And if we don't know you, we love you anyways!  Talk soon!

A Holiday Blog

It seems I have not posted a blog since before American Thanksgiving!  So, here is my holiday blog!

Back in late November, we were invited to Kyla and Paul's Thanksgiving with their family.  Nice Americans inviting us to their festivities!  Andee was supposed to work all day Thursday, but ended up arriving home at 9am - just in time for the Macy's Day parade!  I guess no one wanted to be in the hospital for the holidays!  All three men at the lunch were on-call, and no one was called in!  A Thanksgiving Miracle!

We were also invited to a couple Holiday parties in December!  We celebrated with some of the Residents at Paul and Rachel's place, and the PLC staff at the church!  I always appreciate when people take the time to plan out a fun celebration for all their friends and family to enjoy!

I also received a wonderful Christmas gift from my parents - a new Keyboard!!  Now that I have a piano in the apartment, all I do is play and sing!  It is so much fun!!

The best part of this Holiday season is that Andee and I were able to drive home for Christmas!  We traveled 12 hours each way with a very uneasy kitty, but as long as he was sitting near us, he was happy and sleepy!  I love my Aloe Cat!

Andee was able to take a half day on the Friday before his vacation week, which left just enough time to make it home for Christmas with my Dad's side of the family!  It was great to see everyone all in one place - Christmas is wonderful like that!

We were also able to get together with our High School friends that we love!  Everyone was somehow free on the same day at the same time.....a Christmas Miracle!  Since 4 of us are living outside of Canada for the most part, it was really great to see everyone!

We spent Christmas Eve Dinner at Jamie and Tiffany's place in Toronto!  Delicious food was everywhere, and we got to hang out with some family that we hadn't seen in a while!  Excellent!  We were also able to spend Boxing Day Dinner with Andee's family, and more delicious food was had by all!  We gave and received some nice gifts too!

We were also able to spend Christmas morning with my family, and Christmas Dinner with my Mom's side of the family!  Again, everyone was in one place at the same time!  So great!  We opened some fun gifts, had a delicious Christmas breakfast and a delicious peameal roll dinner!  I love my family, and I am so happy that we were able to see everyone this Christmas!!

We also made a pit stop on our way back to Iowa to Route 80 World's Largest Truck Stop!  We got some food, and looked around at all the fun trucker stuff, including a huge truck inside!  Fun!

And of course, no blog of mine would be complete without a plethora of adorable cat pictures!  Also included is me and a leopard Christmas Tree.  Perfect!!!  I know you were anxiously awaiting them, so here they are!!

The kitties also received surprise gifts from Aunt Nancy - Cat tents!  They seems interested, so we let them try them out.  Aloe cat quite enjoyed his cave.....and then Mr. Purr.....well, see for yourself!  Enjoy!

Well, it is now New Years Eve, and we have safely made it back to Iowa!  Speaking of safety, I am filled with joy at the wonderful plan God had us on this year in 2014, and the assurance and safety we have when we rest in His will!  There have been so many blessings for Andee and I this year, that I will definitely miss some, but here is a brief list of all the major blessings that God has given us this year!  Be warned, this year has been AMAZING and so filled with God's faithfulness!!

• Finding peace in God's will during the Residency Application and Interview process
• Andee matching at Northeast Iowa Family Residency Program
• Having over a month off to visit Home in Canada
• Andee Graduating from Medical School and a Family trip to New York
• An "all expenses paid" Family Graduation trip to Mexico 
• A smooth transition moving from Illinois to Iowa
• A much simpler Visa application process
• Finding a wonderful Church and Apartment in Iowa 
• Getting a work permit after 4 years of volunteering
• Andee and I both making actual money
• Finding a paid position at Prairie Lakes Church and being part of the Worship Team 
• Andee and I being treated amazingly at our jobs
• Able to travel home for Christmas 
• An increase in our faith and our desire to trust and follow God's will for us....because He is good and He is faithful!!

WoW!  We are truly blessed!!  May your New Year be filled with many blessings!  We love you!

Hello Fall, Are You There?

There have been lots of changes since my last blog, the first of which I am always overtly unhappy about.  In a matter of one day, Iowa has officially moved into the miserable season of Winter.  And when I say one day, I mean that we went from a beautiful high of 17 degree early November day, to a high of 0 degrees the next.  It literally happened in a day.  We went from what I would consider a warm September day, to freezing January temperatures overnight.  Since then, the temperature has not risen above freezing for almost 2 weeks now, and has only gotten colder and more disturbing.  Is this really November??  Get me out of here!!  Oh wait, this coldfront is happening across the US and Canada.  I think it is time for a vacation!  There.  All my Winter pessimism is out (for now), and I shall continue with the much less depressing and much more entertaining blog!  At least we are not in Buffalo, which accumulated over 6 feet of snow!  It's the little blessings!

Let's talk about the Fall - and I mean the REAL Fall; not this sneaky Winter pretending it's Fall.  On a beautiful warm fall day in late October, Andee and I decided to take a walk around one of the Prairie Lakes near our church.  There were little critters everywhere, including grasshoppers, fuzzy caterpillars,and we even spotted a preying mantis!  I had never seen one in real life!  It was super amazing!  One of my favorite things on this earth is admiring the creativity and diversity of our great God revealed in nature and wildlife.  Of course, I am a lot more appreciative of this when it is warm outside - Ha!  In the late afternoon, Andee and I also managed to carve a couple pumpkins to get in the Fall spirit!  I decided to veer from my standard pumpkin face and move to something a little more creative - a cat.....okay so maybe not so creative.  I like what I like!  A wonderful day of Fall festivities!

The following week was Halloween!  I love dressing up, but on a tight budget, we did what we could!  I was a cat (so predictable) and Andee made his second appearance as Howard from The Big Bang Theory!  We went out for dinner with a few friends, followed by an get-together with some of the Residents.  Fun!  Happy Halloween!

Continuing our Canadian tradition, we decided to put up our Christmas tree the day after Halloween!  With Canadian Thanksgiving in early October, we get a full two months of Christmas prep!  Just as it should be!  And no one was happier about this than our sweet little Aloe cat, who quickly claimed his spot under the tree.  The holiday season is always one of my favorites, excluding the crappy weather of course.  It's the most wonderful time of the year!

The same day we put up our tree I received a very long anticipated item in the mail - my Employment Authorization Card!  Which meant, in God's perfect timing, that I was officially able to start work at Prairie Lakes Church as the Receptionist - just 2 days after receiving this card!  God is so Good!!  So, for the first time in over 4 years, I will be receiving a regular paycheck!  Hallelujah!!  Four years ago we entrusted our bleak financial situation to the Lord as we embarked on this fantastic, difficult, and expensive season of life, and He has blessed us so much and given us everything that we needed and continue to need in terms of financial provision.  We are now even in a state financially where we can start to bless others - and I am loving this!  I seriously cannot praise Him enough!  They even had a nice sign at the front for me when I started my first day!  PTL! 

Later in the month, a few of the Residents were able to be involved with a Resident Jeopardy competition in Des Moines, where all the Family Medicine Residency programs in Iowa competed for a trophy!  The University of Iowa even put us in in hotel for the night, and we enjoyed a glass of wine and hors d'oeuvres during the competition.  Northeast Iowa Family Medicine Residency program came in a respectable third place, and it was fun to make the trip to Des Moines!  For dinner, Andee and I went to Zombie Burger and had the most deliciously disgusting fried Mac and Cheese burger with a side of fries and gravy.  It was amazing!!  Too bad it's 2 hours away!

The next day we visited the big mall in Des Moines - Jordan Creek Mall.  If you know me well, you know I am not much for shopping, but what I do enjoy are Christmas decorations and atosphere - and that is exactly what we found!  And not only that, but there was a giant Bass Pro Shop in the mall, where we found lots of old animals that lived a long life, and after passing gave their lives for us to marvel at their beauty and sheer size and strength!  God made some pretty amazing things!  We didn't buy much, only a couple Christmas gifts, but it really got us in the Christmas spirit to see so many beautiful decorated trees!  We arrived home just as the snow started to fall, and were greeted by a very needy kitty!  Life is good!

Since August, I have been a part of PLC's Worship Team, and I just love worshiping the Lord and leading others into worship through singing!  It is one of my favorite things to do, and I am so blessed to be part of such a great team!  Somebody captured this great shot!  Love it!

Andee and I are also very excited to announce that we will be home for Christmas!  In just one month exactly today, we will be driving through the U.S and Canada making our way home to Christmas shenanigans aplenty!  We were extremely fortunate to get this week off, and we are making the most of it by trying to see as many of our Canadians as possible!  Hoping and praying for good weather for the drives, and we will see everyone soon!