Experience Fall in Boise

Ok so this is me writing finally! See I don't even have to say my name after me because that's how long its been since I have written on our blog : ) Well, I was very productive this weekend, probably due to all the free coffee drinks Derek is bringing home for me to try, but anyway I was productive which is a wonderful, wonderful thing. So, today (monday), we decided that since I have little homework for once and before the leaves fall for winter, we would take a 'mini' color tour around Boise. We wanted to head up to McCall, but I think that will have to wait for Thanksgiving break. The rest of this post is going to be pictures of our 'mini' color tour. We do miss Michigan, but we discovered Boise is incredibly beautiful too.

                      This picture didn't turn out well, but I wanted you to see the yellow moss on the mountains.

   The night of this beautiful sunset, Payette decided she would act like a monkey and climb the screen... joy.

                                   This is the sunset from last evening out the front of our apartment.

                                               Paye checking out the leaves at our apartment.

                                                               Bogus Basin Road.

                                                               Meridian town square.

                                            Our 1/16th done pumpkin that Payette is hiding in.

The city from the mountains.

                                                         Harrison... my favorite road in Boise.

Hey, how about that, we still know how to blog

We are in our fourth week of our young married’s group at church and we are really excited about what is happening there. I have to admit that it was difficult to enter into the group with couples who have known each other for a long period of time, but we were immediately welcomed and have loved getting to know each couple more. We have been doing a study from Craig Groeschel’s book ‘Weird’ and are really taking to the book as well. If you ever need something to read, I think it is a pretty cool book. But, you don’t have to take my word for it! But-dum-bump! I certainly hope somebody caught the reading rainbow reference that just happened. Seriously though, the group is knock-out. I know I have said that in previous blogs, but as time has gone by it is really more of a comfort to have that group to lean on and share this stage with. As we have encountered new things after moving to Idaho, it has been crazy to go through certain situations and such a comfort to talk to people going through the same things (moving across country) and not feeling alone in that. Maybe that sounds hokey, but we are so blessed to have them.

We have been able to spend time with a couple who were married a month before us and moved to Idaho from Boston earlier this summer. They both went to college back east and moved to Idaho so she could pursue a job in youth ministry and he had to cut his education short to move too. They have been asking the same questions about purpose and the struggles for him to find work and settle in here after feeling like they would never leave Boston. It is tough to fill out so many job applications and to work so hard at a new school and we feel relief to know that there is an understanding of what it all means and how unique this stage is for them and us.

Not only has it been great to spend time with them, they were able to tell us about something that has been convicting them for a while now and how we (Chelsea) is an answer to their prayers. In southwest Idaho there is, naturally, a large population of mormons and a strong pull for non-believers to be approached and drawn to the mormon church. One interesting thing about that is that Bridgepoint Church (the church we go to) is the only Christian church in the treasure valley with a deaf ministry. So there is a very large group of people in the deaf community who have become mormons because the mormons market to the deaf community in a very intentional way. They accommodate the deaf and hard of hearing and even go to Bridgepoint parking lot and try to convert them. So there are so many deaf people here who don’t know the truth because there are few churches with programs, let alone interpreters. So our new friends (Alyssa and Randall) were very excited to learn that Chelsea signs. They also have had a shortage of men in the children’s ministry and there is a cool way for us to serve. I am still not convinced that they want to be our friends for our character and not simply to recruit us. Seriously, that’s a joke, they are awesome and are not using us. Haha

Our church has been really awesome too. We are so blessed to have found a place to attend every Sunday and to know people, and have them pursue us and love us. Even in the short time we have been here it is crazy to see how the church is growing. We were talking about it last night and realized how lucky we are. When we got here it was stressful to have to seek out a church and after a crazy experience it was so easy to know where God was leading us. Already we feel like we are part of their family. We know people from both campuses and we see them inside and outside of church and it is a strange thing to feel so connected to them after two months time. The worship team is so talented and they give the church such a lively pulse and really prepare our hearts for worship. We gather in an old school and there is a tiny door to get in and out and a small lobby with a few small rooms and people park in like four different lots and walk to church. But it’s sweet! Every Sunday there are more and more people coming. We just opened a video overflow room and the church has already purchased property to build a large church in the future. We are extremely excited about what is happening there and we are blessed to have been lead there. We wanted to attach a link to their webcast if anyone wants to check it out. We are going through a series called courageous and it is so convicting and has been a real game changer.

http://babchurch.org/media2.htm

We haven’t been doing a good job about being here in Idaho. It is like we put a countdown clock on when we will move back to Michigan and we haven’t been intentional about being here and trusting God to do something here and not let us grow complacent.

In our neighborhood we have this Little Ceasers with the best sign waiver in history. We have told people about this guy, but we decided people really need to know. This guy sells pizzas through dance. I think he also causes accidents on the road. It’s incredibly sad to see other businesses compete with this kid…there is zero chance of beating him. Just check him out.

I challenge you to beat that.

Chelsea is going through mid term meetings now…I cannot believe it is that time! She has had several tests recently and has done well. We are thankful for all of the prayers for her schooling and tests! She continues to work very hard and has received so many praises for her talents and compassion with her clients. Her supervisor is very impressed with Chelsea and her ability to work with both of her clients. Chelsea has such a gift and it is something that cannot be taught, it is just nice to hear non biased opinions that confirm her gift. Chelsea was also elected treasurer for her organization NISHLA (national Speech-Language Pathology Organization, so looks good on the resume)! Little miss popular, winning the vote! I am proud of her, and cannot believe her involvement. I don’t know how she does it. To me it is a big deal, even if nobody else thinks so. She is a remarkable woman and I could not be more lucky to have her as my wife.

I have officially started working at Starbucks and am happy to be getting more hours each week. It has been very interesting to learn the job and try to know everything quickly. I am hoping to keep working hard and waiting to see where the job will lead. Everyone is very friendly and Chelsea loves the free drinks, so it seems to work out well. I am thankful to have found something, but I keep putting my resume out in hopes of finding more work. It is more difficult to find work than we anticipated, but I think things are going better now and they will continue to improve.

The weather is cooling off finally and our leaves are changing. The mountains have also found a new color as the sun lowers its position and it’s hard to believe they are real. The backdrop looks artificial, like it was painted on a screen and sits there to hide whatever is behind. We hope to find time to take a drive soon. Apparently nobody here has heard of a ‘color tour’. We hide that lingo now. You can only take so much harassment for being an out of towner. It’s impressive to have someone say ‘you’re from the Midwest, aren’t you’ after saying four words to them. Is there something wrong with the way we talk? Anyway, the trees are more red and yellow-green with very little orange and brown. We will see if that changes, but people say it’s different. That probably sounds really stupid. Who cares about the colors of the trees? Well, we do. We like the fall, so trees we will tell you about. There is a road in central Oregon that is rated top ten fall drives in America, and it is very tempting to take that drive soon. It really is pretty here, very little rain and cooler weather and bonus, no AC and no heat. What’s up low utility bill!?

 We snapped these while driving

 And, our blog wouldn't be complete without an update on our crazy kitten.

She practices the affirming self hug...dork

She loves the bathroom. We caught her sleeping in the sink. We didn't fuss too much because, after all, it's better than the toilet.

I think this is her way of making sure we don't brush our teeth and sneak into bed without her.

I love Pure Michigan ads! I have always heard mixed feedback on those, but I really love them. Whenever they came on the radio I loved to imagine the location, or season or event that is being advertised, but I have never seen one on television…until now! We were watching a show this past week and there it was, a Pure Michigan ad. Awesome, right. Wait until we move away and start to miss Michigan. I am sure nobody else is as excited about that, but it fired me up. But as much as we are missing Michigan, Idaho is proving to be beautiful in its own way. We met a few people who had previously lived in the Midwest and we learned that the fall in Idaho brings a different kind of color, and is spectacular. We are excited to see it and will definitely put pictures up.

           

Chelsea and I started our Young Married’s group last week with six other couples. We are so excited about the group. It was like going on a blind date, couples style. We didn’t know what to expect because we didn’t know anybody in the small group. Everyone or every couple is unique and brings something really fantastic to the group. People with kids, newlyweds, transplants, locals, but everyone loves God and seem equally excited about the group. As hard as it has been to get used to being in a new place and navigating through new places and people; we are so blessed. Blessed to have this church that is so incredible with people who love to share that with us and who are enthusiastic to do so. I really feel like all of the sudden we are here for more than just school. I guess that was already a given. I do know how this experience has been & will be good for our marriage and a unique experience, but now it is revealing itself. Make sense? I don’t know if I could be with someone who is not exactly Chelsea right now, in this place. And despite not having any clue what we will get out of our time here in Idaho, that God is shaping us in such a cool way. It is just exciting for us and we appreciate everyone who prayed that we could finally see that.

          

Finally, I found a job that might last more than a week. After talking to a couple people from Boise I learned that there are a lot of jobs that aren’t what they seem and fall apart out of the blue. Thank you craigslist.org for giving us so many creepster jobs to work at for a week at a time. No seriously, people are starting these crazy jobs and then the company will disappear, shrink or cut hours within a week of hiring… that’s weird, right? Anyway. STARBUCKS! Alright, a real job for the time being, and one with insurance. I am thankful to have found the job and been hired. I don’t know what to expect, but hopefully I fit in well. Not architecture, but a step in the right direction.

           

Chelsea and I are still trying to figure out what the next move is for her surgery. The doctors told us the surgery is necessary, but not urgent, so we are hoping that this week we can figure out our insurance and the most cost efficient way to have it done. Please pray for her to feel well and for the cyst to not cause too much pain before we can handle the procedure. The good news is that the cyst isn’t causing a whole lot of pain now, but we have heard that it comes and goes.

(FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO DO NOT LIKE CATS OR NOT INTERESTED IN OUR CAT…. YOU ARE ADVISED TO STOP READING)

Everything else is constantly changing, mainly our little feline. Everyone who has seen pictures of her admit she is cute. She is, really, in pictures that is, but when Payette is awake it is ten kinds of crazy. Every day she finds a new way to go wild. When Chelsea leaves in the morning she usually starts to wake up and while I am with her she literally runs up the walls and completes a marathons worth of laps around our apartment, all the while looking for trouble at every turn. She is growing like crazy and can now jump from the couch to the kitchen counter. Jump from the chair to the dining table. Jump onto the top of the book shelves. Jump up on the T.V cabinet and paw at the screen. Jump up the blinds, up our legs, into the dishwasher, refrigerator, and cabinets. She is as sneaky as they come. This weekend she did something very new and fun…she jumped into the toilet. Sooo uncool. I’m not sure if ‘little turd’ is the right or wrong nickname because she seems to have taken it too seriously. We have done a good job at shutting the lid, but Chelsea usually flushes the rogue comb hair down the toilet and mistakenly left it up. We did (thankfully) just clean it though! We did however figure out a way to keep her off of our counter. I moved the couch six inches further away to see if it would stop her. Fortunately I was watching her when she tried the next time and completely missed…any landing platform. Yes, air ball all the way into the wall. I love cat bloopers and love the live action more. The real trouble is getting her off of the dining table now. We moved the chairs to the wall and away from the table, didn’t work. And every time she gets on the table we yell at her to get down. Her response is to flip over and try to act cute, but getting down only happens by accident…falling off (you can watch in the video below).

But, there is a solution to keep her busy. She is nuts about plastic bags and chasing strings. Thus is born the floating bag courtesy of the ceiling fan. She goes bonkers.

           

Drying off post 'Jon Jump 2011'

Passed out

Thank you for all of your prayers. I cannot believe how blessed we are. Thank you for enduring my post again and especially our cat pictures, haha.

Welcome Fall! Why is it still hot?!

I am having an incredible amount of trouble with the idea that autumn begins tomorrow. We are stuck in the 90’s through next week and my feng shui is totally off. Not a complaint, really, but I do not get this state. We simply have lost track of time and it feels so wild. We hope everybody back home takes time to enjoy ArtPrize! At least take a stroll for us.

For anyone who is going crazy for an update; the past ten days seem to have been…busy. At least for Chelsea, who is working her tail off and doing a crazy sweet job. I am bias, for what that is worth, but she is indeed the best student at ISU and certainly my favorite. HIPPA doesn’t want us to get too involved, but I do know that she is really doing well with both of her clients. Chelsea has stepped out of generic teaching guides from her books and planned activities custom to each client and their individual interests. Chelsea also had an opportunity to lead her group study this week and managed to have a really good time. I am really proud of the way she lead the group with ease and the approach she took. It was the first time she came home from school with all good stories. That sounds really bad. Chelsea, the sweet girl, seems to come home with another student’s paper with poor remarks on it or yogurt spilled everywhere. I don’t know why she’s so unlucky, but this week was good, except for the raspberry juice in her purse. We could have done without that.

I’m sure a majority of people know this, but a week and a half ago Chelsea found a lump on her throat accompanied by pain. We went to the med center and they referred us to the ENT where we found out about thyro-glossal duct cysts. Chelsea and I were worried about what the lump was and what our next move would be, but luckily the science of it all intrigued Chelsea enough to distract from what was going on. Chelsea gave me the full recap of what the doctor was doing with the camera down her nose, and every bone and tissue it passed. If anyone needs info on the nose and throat, I can field questions now. I really was grateful for something to take her mind off of other concerns. We scheduled an appointment for an ultrasound at the big hospital and were told that they would be able to discern what the lump was, as we hadn’t received a definitive answer at that point. But the visit produced no information and all worry as the weekend arrived. Monday morning we were finally able to reach the office to find out if they had the results before her Wednesday follow-up appointment. On the phone the lady told Chelsea that the problem was simply an inner ear infection and to just keep taking meds and to forget the Wednesday appointment. This news made absolutely zero sense and really threw us for a loop. Why would the lump in her throat be caused by an inner ear infection? It wasn’t. The lady gave her the wrong patient’s information. Nice! Seriously, bad luck, all the time. We found out at the appointment that the original prognosis is 90% certain and that she will need surgery to get the lump removed. We are still praying that they don’t find something else and that we are able to figure out the best route now. We appreciate every prayer for the process and that there is no more bad news. So as of now… they are saying it is a thyro-glossal duct cyst.

I don’t like having Chelsea go through this stuff right now…ugh, this is life, right? I don’t know why, but I was hoping to lift Chelsea’s spirits after her appointment by going to the pet store to look at the cats. I don’t know why I think that is a good idea. But while we were there we saw a tiny gray and white female kitten in a litter of six and Chelsea loved her. Chelsea told me that she had always wanted a cat exactly that description. What was I suppose to do? Yup, we got the cat. I blame Ruby Stacy for this. If we didn’t miss her, I swear…

Thank goodness she is used to sleeping all day because it seems too difficult to share space with her sometimes. Her tiny body is easy to miss and I don't know how many times we have kicked her.

I’m really hoping we don’t regret this little pistol. She is 8 weeks old and a little nugget of trials. She has a lot of trouble finding her litter box and this brings Chelsea great joy. No sarcasm there. Chelsea loves watching me clean up the pee…and the poop…three times. She loves her. What have I done? We struggled picking the right name and had great suggestions from Annalie (Grayfur- yes that is one word), MackenzieTaylor after Taylor Swift) and Brayden (Meow), but wanted to find something with significance to Idaho. My vote for Hemmingway after Ernest Hemmingway, who lived in Ketchum until he committed suicide, was (Chelsea’s words here) shot down. Granted, the story is morbid, but I really like his literature, and seriously, ‘shot down’… choose different words. We reached consensus on Payette after the Payette River, a branch of the Snake River in southwest Idaho.

We really didn't want to give her a bath on the first day and scare her to death, but she really smelled. Drowned rat.

Payette is such a heavy dreamer. She kicks like crazy and does this sucking/ licking thing while she sleeps and it is definitely entertaining.

As promised I included a picture of the painting we completed. Chelsea and I collaborated on the painting. The painting was inspired by the Grand Tetons at sunset and of course some pictures of Payette Grayfur-Taylor-Meow  Bruinsma.  

Did you see that Michigan game! (Derek does blogging)

We are so happy to have made it through this past week! What a crazy time. Since our last post Chelsea has met with her first client who is 71 years old, with aphasia and apraxia. Despite her attempts to freak out and be overwhelmed, the first meeting went well, and he seems to be an awesome guy. We were both stoked to hear Chelsea only had one client because it would be easier for her to slip in to... so then she received another client the next day. Forget that easily slipping into thing. Her second client also has aphasia and is a real gnarly 72 year old guy. There are stories about some of the other clients going around and it really sounds like Chelsea lucked out and is feeling a lot better about clinic. The homework, well, that's another story. Now that she is in clinic and things are rolling, Chelsea is adapting to planning her sessions (each client she see's twice a week plus they have group therapy for an hour each day which totals on tuesdays and thursdays to a good 11 hour straight day for her), filling out her reports, preparing for class, reading, and random assignments. I really think the work won't be so bad once she finds the routine. At least that's what we'll stick with.

This is what our Saturday night was like. We are so excited to have a second bedroom equipped with a door, so it is quiet, a desk to study on, great lighting, and plenty of room. But, our living room was apparently the best spot to set up shop. I'm becoming a tip-toe pro thanks to my strong desire for Arnold Palmer and m&m's. I called this the kitchen blockade.

 Chelsea was not thrilled with the workload and the need for every notebook and resource. In all actuality, I wanted Chelsea to be with me during the Michigan game because she was predicting every touchdown. My clairvoyant good luck charm. The thumbs down was for both the homework and first half score.

These are stress zits...'do you see these? I'm freaking out!'

I feel the need to point out these three books are still wrapped. I'm not sure I even want to know how much money is wrapped up in these things. Please read the books, even if it is only to make me happy. I guess I would just make the argument for what should be 'required reading'

I am very happy that Chelsea's embarrassing picture of the week isn't another close up of my face. Great, right? Chelsea still thinks I look like 'a turd'. Allegedly that's her term of endearment. The painting should be done by the next post. I really hope it won't be deemed the embarrassing picture of the week.

 This is a little random, but it was my new discovery this week. This is our local library and I thought it was pretty sweet. LEED certified and it is hard to miss, declaring 'Library!' on every elevation. I even parked in the economical parking spaces next to a prius and a ... dodge neon? Well, at least they had segregated parking to make people feel bad about their vehicle choices.

I started painting houses last week. Wait, let me clarify; I started taping off every inch of a new house last week. I love being the new guy! I have had five job interviews and I am still waiting to hear back from them, but the job hunt continues.

All things considered the week was pretty chaotic with school and job search. The stress was at a high and we were freaking out like pro's. It was awesome to be reminded how God has gifted us and to not get too comfortable and lose sight of what's good. Especially given the significance of 9/11 we are just so incredibly blessed to have family, friends and each other.

Chelsea is working on school work, so thank you for enduring my post. She did want me to include a note to tell everyone about her flowers. Although she did say 'I don't think my flowers are going to grow' this week, she finally saw the fruits of her labor today. We forgot to take a picture of her little green sprout, but I'm sure (with Chelsea's enthusiasm) that you will see one at some point.

Oh, and that Michigan game was awesome! Go Blue!

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.