A Good Weekend and a Busy Week

Well, it is officially VERY COLD here. We had been having some really nice weather for January, but over the weekend it turned bitterly cold with single digit temps and then yesterday it started snowing off and on all day. Not so much fun since I had to drive up to Punxy for dinner with John. But, we made it...more about that later.

We had a really good weekend. Saturday, we went to Monroeville, which is about an hour SW of Indiana. We were pleasantly surprised to find a really good mall there as well as some really nice restaurants. There are not a whole lot of places to shop or sit down restaurants in Indiana so it was nice to spend the day wandering around. We actually went there to go to Sam's, which is John's favorite store :-), and we ended up having a really great little road trip. We walked around the mall, which actually has an Orange Julius, Chick-fil-a and a Kirklands....all of which I associate with mall shopping. Our mall in Indiana does not have these things, so now we know where to go to get our Chick-fil-a fix. :-) We went to lunch and Office Max and then headed home. Sunday was a nice and relaxing day. We had over one of John's classmates for dinner. She lives right up the street from us and she and John are going to carpool to school. This is a great answer to prayer as it will save on gas money and wear and tear on the car. We were both off Monday for a holiday and just spent the day working around the house and getting John more organized for school.

Yesterday, we both headed off to school and work anticipating a great day. And it was a great day....but it started snowing. Now, those of you who know me well know that I do not enjoy driving in snowy conditions. This would not have been a big deal except that I was supposed to make the 45 minute drive to Punxutawney, where John is in school, to enjoy a fine dining experience with he and some of his classmates. I had really been looking forward to this so that I could meet some of his classmates.....but it started snowing....So, I watched the snow fall off and on all day yesterday. It wasn't too bad, and I was determined to get to Punxy. The road were really slushy. Some of them were cleared pretty well, some of them were not. I went about 40 mph the whole way. It took me almost an hour to get there, but I made it and didn't hit any deer or skid off the road, so I felt good about that. We enjoyed a really good dinner at "Mary's Place" and then made the return journey. I followed John the whole way home, so that was a little easier. :-) It ended up being a really nice evening and we had some great food!

We have a busy week ahead of us with school and work. Pray for John. He is not in the kitchen this block and his classes are very challenging. If he can make it through the next two weeks, I think he'll fly through the rest of the semester! I'll talk to you later...

Back to the Old Grind

Well, school has started again for John. And with school has come the snow. We have had a very mild two weeks with temperatures in the 50's and 60's. It has just been beautiful. But of course, now that John has to drive 40 minutes up to Punxy in the early morning, it has started to snow again. :-) But, that's life here in PA I guess.

We have seen God move in so many ways since our move. He has provided for every need and blessed us beyond measure the past few months. It is almost hard to get back into a "normal" routine. We both feel as if we have really settled in and are beginning to enjoy life here instead of feeling like outsiders. We are really excited about what God is doing in our church and hope to be able to join a couples Bible study in February. We have really missed our Sunday School class in OK and the encouragement we received for our marriage and hope this Bible study will provide that encouragement again. And, we are still going to the YMCA on a regular basis and its half way through January!!! We really are enjoying it and are taking it slowly. This is for my benefit more than John's. :-)

John is set for a very busy and challenging semester. I think he came home a little overwhelmed yesterday, but I'm praying that he will just take things one day at a time and learn as much as he can this spring. It will make his summer semester so much better! We will have some pretty big decisions to make in preparation for next year. There are several options John could explore that could possibly be more beneficial than continuing on with Baking and Pastry Arts (too complicated to try to explain here), but for now, that is still our plan. Please pray that we will continue to seek the Lord about these decisions and recognize His will for us. We have nothing to fear because we know the One who is in control, so we just need to be willing to follow where He leads us.

We love and miss you all! Have a great week!

Update.....

There is not much going on around here. The most exciting thing that happened was I got my first paycheck last Friday. Yea for payroll!!! Other than that, John is enjoying his last week of break and I am having a better week at work. Last week was a little rough with end of the year stuff, but I got through it. John and I are enjoying going to the Y together. I was a little sore after the first day we weightlifted, but it really is fun to go and workout together. No other news to report, so have a great week!

Happy New Year!

I don't usually get too excited about New Year's. Other than my friend Charlanne having a birthday, I don't usually think it is that big of a deal. But, I am really looking forward to the new year. God has done so much for John and I this year and I am looking forward to what He has in store for us this year. I know it will be a year filled with different challenges, but I know there will be some great victories for us, too!
One thing I am really looking forward to is taking advantage of our new membership to the YMCA in town. We decided to spend some of our Christmas money on a membership and can't wait to get started. We are making an effort to be more health conscious this year and I think it will be fun for us to do this together. It is also very important for us to stay focussed this year. This is especially true for John. We are here for one purpose....to get John through culinary school. While we have gotten involved in church, John especially has had to sacrifice some activities that he enjoys in order to stay on task with school. I am very proud of him and expect he will only do better in school as he works toward his goal of becoming a pastry chef. I think we both understand that a few sacrifices now will be worth it in the end. God has richly blessed us and I look forward to His new blessings this year!