Driving without a GPS...I think that means we are Idahoans now

It finally feels like we are here. We have found a favorite farmer's market, grocery store, and shortcuts around town. The best news, so far, is that we have found a Church that feels good. The culture is vastly different in Idaho and it has been more difficult to find a church with similar beliefs. But we were able to visit Bridgepoint Church for a second time on Sunday and are so grateful to have found a community with strong ideals. Bridgepoint in Meridian is a subsidiary of the main campus in downtown Boise and is filling their existing building to the max, which was awesome to see. We see it as an incredible opportunity to grow with the church in our time here.

 We are finally getting used to being here and have stowed our maps (for now) because these roads are starting to look familiar. We have also stopped checking the weather channel after watching three weeks of 95/ 100 degree weather and zero chance of any clouds.

 And then it rained for the first time!

 At least we think it did. The rain didn't stay very long. And not that we don't love the sun, but after living in West Michigan our whole lives, you just get used to the rain.

 We are so thankful for everyone back home praying for us. This week has been tough. School is rolling and the job search continues and it has been tough. Not a whole lot of good news, but it has been nice to finally have similar schedules. We rarely ate together last year because of conflicting work schedules, but that has honestly been one of the biggest blessings. Making dinner and having that time together has been our favorite thing about this new season of life we are in. It also makes dining out easier to forget.

We are really starting to feel more comfortable here and are excited to discover more. We have loved being within biking distance of so many amenities and actually been able to ride our bikes to those places without getting nailed by traffic (Greenridge joke). There is this awesome running trail across the street that has been so awesome. He have been in the habit of running at night to beat the heat and have been able to watch the sun go down over the trail with few people to compete with on the path. It has been quite the tease however; the trail goes by baseball fields and it is commonplace to find softball games every night. We are still trying to find a way to get on a team. We are looking forward to the Holiday and the opportunity to spend some time discovering. We have really loved the kindness of new friends and meeting natives because they know where the cool spots are. Hopefully the work load is at a minimum so we can take advantage of our free time and new sites.

Pictures from hike and first day of graduate school

This is the trailhead we took off from. It looks like a dune, but it is actually a hill of hard dirt.

 Dereks 'no butt' looking at the trail map.

 Only part way up, and hotter than the day is long. I tried to get the capital building in the background. Not successful.

 Looking over Boise.

 "Back to school, back to school, to prove to my hubby I am not a fool". No, he doesn't think I am a fool, but to pump me up, I have to admit we did listen to that clip from Billy Madison a few times : ) But in reality...this is a picture of me being fake happy because Derek forced me to take a 'first day' picture with my backpack showing and all.

 and this is my payback for him making me take a kindergarten 'first day' photo. HA.

Life This Week

Today, Derek & I tried out a new church. Last week, we went to one and we like it, but it was a second branch off from their home church which is in Boise. We went to the branch they just started up due to growth, and this one was in Meridian. We really liked it except it was in like an old daycare that they turned into the church. So it just didn;t feel like a place where we would find small groups, community, etc. Today's chruch was nice too, it was an actual church, but we still don't feel like we have found the right fit. We are planning to try out another one this coming saturday evening, this way sunday if we like it we can go back to one of the first few, or try a new church.

After church we ate some lunch and packed up a backpack to go out for a hike. We didn't end up arriving at the trail until about 4, so we brought a ton of water and no expectations. It was 97 today, so as we got higher up, it basically felt like we were walking through desert with dirt flying up in every step. Definitely is not the same type of hiking as we are both used to. It was fun though, and we learned better places to start from for next time.

Derek has still been on the job hunt. This week he work on getting ahold of people at each of the firms. Unfortunately, only one firm sounded semi-confident. He had sent over some work to Hummel last week to a guy he met while we came fo a visit. When we called, the guy said that they didn't have anything right now, but that he was impressed with Derek's work and would let him know if they picked anything up. He also told him to continue to call and check in because they have been getting side jobs lately. Other than that, the plan is to not apply to any jobs other than architecture for a few weeks. Derek is going to work on some new projects to send in, his portfolio, as well as checking in some more with other companies.

Ugh, sorry this is getting long. Lastly, I have my first day tomorrow. I actually only have one class from 1-2:30 for the time being. So we will see how that goes. I think the class tomorrow will be one of my hardest for this semester. I am quite nervous.

This one is long enough, so more later. Love you all.

Pictures!?

                       Trying to get some pictures to work, so hopefully, here is my bengal I.D!

Trying to blog

Before I begin, I just have to say that in our deciding what to name our blog, Derek was dead serious when he came up with the title "Dutch Oven". I nixed that pretty quickly. Ok, now that I got that out...(no pun intended) we can start.

Well, as you all know, we have made it safely to Idaho. This week we finished unpacking and setting up home. Derek has been on the job hunt, while I did some school stuff. Today I had orientation, which was pretty boring, but probably a good thing to go to. I learned a few things, got my picture taken for my ID card (so it's official, I am now a bengal), and acquired a parking permit. The rest of this week is suppose to be in the mid 90's so I am hoping that before summer officially ends for me for two years, maybe we can spend an hour or so laying out by the pool.

Ok, so now that you are all caught up, we are going to explain a few things about our blog. We decided to start a blog as our best attempt to keep in touch with everyone close. It is our hope that we will stay on top of updating so then it is up to you whether you choose to follow or not. Our hands are clean! We will be sending an email letting you know when we update the blog because we want it to stay within close family and friends, as we (or most likely Derek) may be sharing some family-only material. So in order to get to the blog, you can either follow the link through the email update, or just go to...

walkinginpaintedshoes.blogspot.com

anytime you want. Alright, well since you probably won't get this for a few days since I need to collect all your emails, I am going to quit for tonight. We miss you all already. It is weird that even though it hasn't been long, we miss you all more knowing we are just not a short drive away. That seems to definitely be the most difficult part of our move so far. Please be praying for Derek and his job search. Talk to you all soon.