Here comes another year...

I'm entering my 26th year. Here's where my life is.

I'm married to a wonderful man who loves me.

I'm living in Colorado (which is on fire, by the way).

I am living in a motor home with my husband and 3 cats. And I love it.

I'm unemployed. Which is not too bad. Other than having to look for a job and running out of money sometimes, I'm kind of enjoying it.

Overall, life is pretty good. I had a great birthday eve with Ben. Then we had a fun birthday dinner with his family. The day after we got to have dinner with my aunt and my cousin's wife and daughters, and I got to spend a birthday gift card . It has been a really fun couple of days.

Birrrrrrrrthday.

Welp. My birthday is on Sunday. I turn 26. I'm...not that excited. I feel kind of weird about turning 26. I'm entering my LATE 20's. What? Ben and I are going to celebrate tomorrow with sushi, Starbucks, and watching the second Sherlock Holmes movie. I am excited about that. Those are some favorites of mine. I would love to go on a mountain drive or something too. But that might have to come later on.

I applied for a job at the company one of my best friends works at out in Missouri. I couldn't believe it when I saw the listing. From everything she's told me it is a great company. She's putting in a good word for me, which is fantastic. I'm a little excited about it. I've only ever had one job that I didn't get because I knew someone, so I feel a little more positive about this than any other job I've applied for yet.

Happy Things

Some things are making me happy lately. 

These beauties. 

Sunflowers are my favorite.

There are going to be a lot right next to the motor home.

I love them. So pretty.

 Summer reading.

My mom sent me a whole stack of books by one of my favorite authors.

A place to sit.

It's been too hot, but I'm hoping to spend some time out here.

Pretty toes. 

I never paint my toes, but I couldn't resist these colors.

And just for funsies...  

This is what Ben drove while we were dating. I think we probably decided to get married while sitting in it.

What doesn't make me happy is that it doesn't rain here. And when it does, it's just short showers. Ben said rain is such an event, that he remembers the whole neighborhood coming out on their porches to watch it. Don't know how I will live without rain...

God bless our Camper.

We have officially moved into the motor home. I. Love. It. I'm a little surprised. I was hoping for the best, but I wasn't sure what to expect. It's not the easiest thing to do, and there are kinks to work out still. But it is really an enjoyable way to live so far. And the cats are enjoying it too, which is a relief.

Since the last picture update we have put up curtains, installed the cat door in the bathroom door, and Ben made our desk and put it in. Things left to do are to get the fridge working and make it so we can use the toilet (just for #1 during the night. ha.). Oh, and put our pictures on the wall.

Curtains up! At least some of them...

Home built desk!

Want to hear about something fun I did recently? My mother-in-law, two sister-in-laws and I went to this place where you spend an evening painting a picture. They provide the materials and teach you how to paint it. Of course you bring your own style, and you can add your own creative touches if you want. The night we went we painted a sailboat. I don't think mine is anything amazing, but it's pretty cute. I didn't really stray too much from the model, but my style of it came out different than the one the teacher painted. It was neat to see how each person painted the same thing, but every single person's looked different. It was definitely an enjoyable way to spend an evening, and I wouldn't mind doing it again sometime.

Me, Laura, Nichole, and Jan.

In regards to the job search, I've had an interview and some rejections. I haven't heard back from the interview. I've looked at listing after listing...and it feels like trying to wade through jello. I'm beginning to wonder if I should put time and energy into finishing up my doula training rather than focusing totally on getting a job. I still need to take a childbirth and breastfeeding class, and I need some more clients. My deadline is October. It feels like a leap. But I've been thinking a lot about jobs, what I want to do, what I don't want to do, dreams, purpose...and this could be the right thing to do at the moment.

Home and job happenings.

Painting turned out to be a nightmare. We had to go get a second can of both colors, and they gave us the wrong color of both cans somehow (I know I asked for the exact same colors). Then we had a ridiculous amount of trouble getting one of the colors we needed...Anyway, we finally got it all sorted out, and finished painting. Then Ben put the floor down in one evening, and we put our futon in.

Our floor that turned out great!

The most expensive piece of furniture we've ever bought.

Towards the back, the gray that caused me so many issues.

Towards the front: Ben is measuring for his desk and our friend Caleb is hanging out on the futon.

Ben wants to get the desk built before we officially move in. I am getting excited about getting in there. I am planning where we will put our stuff, how we can maximize our space, what kinds of things I need to best organize...that is some of my favorite stuff to do.

No news on the job front I afraid. Well, no good news. I know I didn't get the job at the church which is kind of a bummer. And now, I'm not sure where to look. I don't want to just go for any office job that I find searching the internet. I'm not sure why, but I just feel weird about it. Plus, Ben doesn't necessarily like that idea either. And I don't know how profitable driving around trying to find churches and giving them my resume would be. I feel very stuck in this area of my life.
 
Ben's job is going well. He's improving and getting faster each day. He has been exhausted every day when he gets home though. Part of that is probably because it has been hard for him to get used to going to bed early enough. We try every night, but somehow we end up staying up later than we means. I'm sure will get the hang of it. Since I'm not working I get up a little before him to make him breakfast and fix his lunch. I love being able to do that for him. I hope I can continue that even when I get a job. Which I at once am dreading, and hope will be soon.

Good Jorb.

I applied for another job yesterday. It is a part time office manager position at a church. I kinda want it. The church is really close to where we live, it is one that we have some connections at...To me it seems like it would be great, but God may have other plans for me.

This is the third job I have tried for in Colorado. This process is certainly taking some time, but I honestly don't mind. It's nice to have a break from work. Ben has been great, because he is fine with me only applying for jobs I want. He isn't pushing me to just get anything for the sake of me pulling in a paycheck. It is a nice feeling, but at the same time it is hard not to feel the pressure of "I NEED A JOB!" I've almost always had a job since I could drive, with some times of exception during college. But Ben's job seemed so providential, that I am hoping I have something like that waiting for me as well. I'm trying to keep my eyes and ears out for it.

Ben is at a safety meeting right now, because he starts work on Monday! Everything has worked out so well with him getting this job, down to the details that would be stressful if they didn't go a certain way. It would be eerie if we didn't think it was God working in our life...

In other news, we started painting the motor home! I am hoping we get that finished today, and I want to get the floor finished before Monday. I wouldn't mind if we could have our first night in it this weekend. I'm ready to see how it is going to go. I will post some more pictures once we finish the interior.