Long Time, No Post!

Hey Ya'll,

It's been so long since I have posted any sort of update on here! There are several reasons for this.
1. For a long time, I didn't feel like anything had changed enough to make it worthy of an update
2. We had a TON of visitors in the last 2 months (yay!)
But, now I feel like I should fill you in on what's been going on, so I'll do my best to give you a fly-by!

Visitors:

Like I said, we have had lots of visitors lately which has been AMAZING. First, my two best friends from SU visited at the beginning of September. This was a huge deal to me for several reasons. For starters, they are poor college students/church interns, and decided to spend their precious, hard-earned cash to come visit us! Secondly, I hadn't seen them in 3 months, which is way too long. It was so fun to have them here! We jammed as much as we could into the 4 days that they had here. We all the best tourist-y (and free) things to do in Chicago like the Lincoln Park Zoo, visiting the bean at Millennium Park, walking around the Magnificent Mile, and going to Navy Pier. We also spent time at the beach, ate a lot of good food, and best of all, got to spend lots of time chatting and catching up on life. Here are some of my favorite pictures from their visit here!

Enjoying the sunshine in Millennium Park!

Meeting Josh after work

Seeing the bean!

Two weeks later, my cousin Brian and his wife Rebecca came to visit! Brian is a Notre Dame alum and they came to go to a big ND game in South Bend, Indiana which is about 2 hours from Chi. This was awesome for us, because they decided to stay with us before the big game! We had so much fun eating deep dish pizza with them for the first time, and bringing them to some of our favorite local spots. It made me really happy to have family around, especially family that I don't often get to spend 1 on 1 time with. I'm hoping they decide to make it a yearly tradition! Here is a picture of us enjoying our night together!

Enjoying a beer at our favorite local spot, Reservoir

Two weeks after they left, my parents came for a visit! Now this was a really big deal for me because my mom made their plane reservations the DAY we moved to Chicago. This meant that I had been looking forward to this visit literally since we got here. I was like a giddy little kid waiting for them to arrive. When I finally saw them and hugged them, I could have just burst with happiness, and rightfully so, since it had been 4 months since I had last seen them. They stayed with us for a whole week, and we did our very best to make every waking minute count.

 We ate amazing food (both my dad and I cooked, and we went to a variety of delicious local restaurants), saw many of the famous Chicago sites and museums, and did lots of shopping/exploring. My mom and I were even able to squeeze in a DIY project, and both my parents helped me fix odds and ends around our apartment (thank you!!). My mom always says that when all of her kids are  at home she sleeps best because all of her "people" are close by and safe. That's how I felt when they were here, except I didn't want to sleep because then I would miss time with them! Needless to say, it was so good for my heart to have them here. So much so, that I was crushed when they left. This year will be the first year that my family will be scattered during the holidays, and we don't know the next time we will get to see each other (sob). So, for now, skype will have to suffice! Again, here are some favorite shots of our week!

Seeing Josh's office, walking by the water, watching the UW game!

Watching the UW game, Standing outside the Art Institute, Walking along Lake Michigan!

Eating AMAZING greek food in Greek Town!

Standing outside the Zoo

In other news, not much has changed. We are still in a huge adjustment period. We are still amazed at how much this move has grown our marriage and brought us together as better friends than ever before. And, we are still amazed at how challenging it is to adjust to this new life stage, new city, and new "normal". The good news is that this whole experience is teaching us more and more what it means to trust Jesus. We are learning  to trust Him with our fears, our hopes, and our plans for the future. 

I personally am learning how to trust Him in absolute uncertainty and in waiting. I am still avidly searching for a job, and I can get very weary after looking for 2 months with hardly any response. I am having to constantly remind myself that Jesus knows when and where and how I will get a job. I am also having to remind myself what a blessing it is to be at home during this time, and am praying often to be able to enjoy it, and to have purpose in the waiting. It is so easy to continue to look ahead to what is next, what goal is out in front of me, and how will I get there. It is much harder to just be fully present and completely content in where I am right at this moment. I am often consumed with a future me who will be content in X job making X amount of money in X amount of time. Lately, I am praying to be fully satisfied and content in Jesus, regardless of my circumstances. I am praying to have utmost joy in the now, rather than banking on joy in future circumstances. 

So, that's where we've been for the past 2 months! Thanks for checking in and for thinking about, praying for, and encouraging us along this journey!