Apartment and Work

I move into my apartment next week! :) September 10th is the move in date so we will spend that whole weekend getting everything set up! I am SO excited! The living area is pretty huge, so if anyone ever wants to come visit, we can set up an air mattress for you. :) Once we start moving, I'll be sure to post pictures and all sorts of other information.

I started work today! I didn't do a WHOLE lot today because it was a lot of orientation and shadowing stuff, but I think I'm going to like it a lot! I am only going to be working in the Memory Care/Alzheimers section. There will only be 6 residents there. That is GOOD because I can be more personal with activities and just in my relationships with them. That is BAD because that means I'll be all the more attached to them. :( Once I get going with my own stuff, I'll post more about what I do there.

So things are pretty crazy but a lot of good things are happening and I am VERY excited about it all! :)

WOW!

I have AWESOME news! I just got a call from The Pointe a little while ago and they offered me something new. I will be working partially as a Caregiver (which is what I was planning on doing the whole time) and partially as an assistant to the Activities Director! WOW! That is what I am studying therapeutic recreation for! This is an AMAZING opportunity for me and I am so blessed that things have been working out as nicely as they are! I will be working Monday through Saturday from 10am-6pm. I am so excited about all of this and I can't wait to get started! I start on Monday, so I should have a lot more information to share next week.

Matt and I also spent most of our morning checking out prices on those apartments we like. :)

New Orleans Mission Trip

There is a small group from our church here in Austin that is taking a mission trip to New Orleans Labor Day weekend. Unfortunately I won't be able to go (but it is because I got a job - yay!) but Matt is still going. There are some of the youth who are in need of financial support. The cost per person is $150. Sonrise was gracious enough to give enough money to fully support Matt and to help some with the cost of someone else's trip, but there is still a great need for some of the others. If anyone feels compelled to pitch in and support any of our teens, I know they would appreciate it! :) Let me know if you're interested in helping out. Thanks!

Click HERE to see a video about the church that they would be assisting. (This is also the same church that Matt and I visited over a year ago and considered working with for the summer)

I GOT THE JOB! :)

I got the job and I start on Monday! I will have more information on Monday and Tuesday once I get in there and have my orientation and so on - so I'll keep yall updated! Thanks for the prayers! :)

Job Update

Well after WHO KNOWS how many job applications I finally have a pretty good lead on a job! There were a few places that I really liked better than the others and wanted to hear back from. I heard back from a couple of them saying that they had filled the position so I was kind of bummed about that. Monday afternoon Matt was driving me around places and I was just going in and dropping off my resume and we had gone to about five places when I got a call from one of the places I was interested in asking me to come in and interview! I was so excited!

It is a place called The Pointe. It is an assisted living and Alzheimer's Care place. It isn't really the most glamorous job by any means, but I think it would be good experience for me considering my field of study. The official job title is "Caregiver" so I would be doing all sorts of things to help out the residents. It could be stuff like picking up their room, doing their laundry or visiting with them. It could also be assisting them while they shower, or cleaning and changing them. The pay is average, but the hours are really good AND they offer full benefits!

I went in yesterday and met with someone and she said that she really like me and she thought that I would be a good fit, but NOW I have to meet with the director and she wasn't in at the time. SO I am going in today at 3:00 to meet with her. I am pretty nervous about it!

So... I don't OFFICIALLY have the job, but it looks promising. I have to keep reminding myself that I DON'T have the job yet so I can't feel TOO sure about it or I am going to be all the more disappointed if I don't get it.

Please be praying about it that things work out! :)

A Day In San Antonio

Matt and I went to San Antonio yesterday just for the day! Jason & Summer and the boys were also in San Antonio so we got to meet up with them for supper on the riverwalk - so that was fun! Here are a few pictures from our day...

First we went and watched the Dallas Cowboys training camp! We were on the 5th row so we got to see all of the action. It was pretty fun! We were both decked out in our Cowboys gear. :)


Here are a few pictures of the Cowboys stretching and practicing:

Number 82 is one of my favorite players, Jason Witten.

After the Cowboys practice we went downtown and went to the Alamo! It was too late to take a tour, so we just got some pictures.

This was our attempt at taking a picture. Some man saw us and offered to take one for us (the picture before this one)

We walked around the Riverwalk for a while then met up with Jason & Summer and the boys for supper at Casa Rio on the Riverwalk. I didn't get any pictures, but Summer took a few, so you'll have to check her blog for those when she gets them up. We had fun visiting, feeding the ducks and making tortilla faces. :) Summer said, "It's weird how yall live in Austin, we live in Fort Worth and somehow we end up meeting up in San Antonio!" :)

After supper we went to the Landing to hear Jim Cullum and the band. We went and saw them when we went to San Antonio with Matt's parents in May. Matt used to go in high school when the band would take trips to San Antonio. He always loves going there! He said last time, then again this time, that he couldn't live there because he would spend too much money going to the Landing every night! It really is awesome! They are amazing musicians and we really enjoyed being there. I also enjoyed a tasty chocolate martini! It sounded disgusting to me, but the waitress reassured me that it was good and she was right! It was dark in there, so you can't see a whole lot, but here is a picture of the stage at the Landing before they started:

We didn't leave the Landing until close to 11pm, then we headed back to Austin! It was a really fun day!

Matt headed off to Athens today to spend the rest of the week with his family before school starts up and I am heading to Gainesville tomorrow!

Still searching for a job... I would be so thankful if something came up. So far I have only gotten notices that the position has been filled or that they aren't hiring anymore or whatever. Nothing encouraging. Keep praying about it please! :)

We are under 3 months until the wedding! Yikes! :)

Youth Retreat

This past weekend we took the youth on our "end of summer retreat". We went to a place in Burnet on Lake Buchannon. It was a very relaxing weekend and we enjoyed just sitting around hanging out with the youth group! Of course, I forgot to take pictures, so here are a few that I stole from someone's facebook! :)

Matt and I got the youth a pontoon boat... but then we didn't get to ride on it because we couldn't put that many people on there. But here they are about to take off:


I'm not sure when this was taken, but I'm going to guess early in the morning... that is my "early morning" face. See what Matt has to look forward to? ;-)

We got a private show one night! Matt is so talented and I don't think he really knows just how talented he really is! Lately I have been really pushing him to go visit his friend David (who has recording equipment) and record a few new songs, but it has just been an issue of finding the time. I know it would be an awesome CD if he could do it!

Two of the youth (our youth group couple) making their pizza. We all paired up and made pizzas for supper that night. They were yummy!

While the youth were out on the pontoon boat, Matt and I went out on a canoe. We went out pretty far to an island and got out to walk around the island. It was pretty fun until we got ready to leave and I couldn't push the canoe back in the water because I kept sinking to my knees in mud. It was funny, but it was also pretty scary when I couldn't get out!! Matt just thought it was funny. He enjoyed it a little too much I think. ;-)

We also made spray paint tshirts. I had never heard of doing that before but it was really cool and everyone had a great time! I don't have any pictures of our shirts, but I'll try to get one to post on here - they're pretty cool! :)

We had a great time and spent a lot of time just hanging out and relaxing!

This Week

Well I hope those last few posts got me updated on my blogging! Sorry it has been so long. I could give you a whole list of excuses, but it isn't worth it! :) Things have just been busy.

This is my last week working at the Y doing swim lessons. It has been a lot of fun and I'm really glad I did it, but it has also been very exhausting! Just being out in the sun for so many hours every week just wears me out.

Since swim lessons wrap up this week, I have been on the search for a new job! Just yesterday and today I have applied for about 25 jobs... so HOPEFULLY I will hear back from someone soon.

One of the main reasons I really want something to become available really soon is because Matt and I found an apartment that we just fell in love with! It is SUPER nice and one that we would've never looked at because it looks like it would be way out of our price range but it isn't! It is actually cheaper than some of the tiny, old run down apartments that we've looked at! I don't know how in the world their prices are so cheap, but I like it! It is in Cedar Park and the complex is only 2 years old so everything is really new. It is in a really safe, quiet area and it is gated. They have a big business center where we can get a wireless connection, an AWESOME pool, and a huge apartment! It is a one bedroom, one bathroom but it is very spacious! The giant bathtub had a small part in making me fall in love with the apartment.... ok, a BIG part! :) They are actually Luxury Apartments and they're super nice. :) So that is a little bit of incentive. Here are a couple pictures of the model room from their website. This is the room we looked at, and the one we would get if we're able to. Now, just imagine all of this really nice furniture replaced with hand-me-down furniture that doesn't match and it looks like home sweet home! ;-)

Be praying for my job situation that something will become available! Not ONLY so we can have a nice apartment, but just because I need a job! :) ....and the apartment would be nice too! :)

Wedding Stuff

As of Friday it will be just 3 MONTHS until the wedding! Time is passing so quickly! We have gotten a lot done, but it still feels like there is a whole lot more to do! I went home a few weeks ago when Matt was on Trek and mom and I worked on some things.


The biggest thing is that we booked a photographer! We went back and forth about what to do as far as pictures, but Matt and I both really wanted good pictures, so we found someone that we all really liked and, even though it was WAY more expensive than what we had in mind, we booked them! Even though it is a lot of money, it is a good price considering the quality of the pictures and what all you get with the package. Plus, they cut us a deal since our wedding is going to be so small. We got to meet the woman who would actually be the photographer for us and see her work and we were really impressed with her. Here is a link for her portfolio: http://www.photosbymichaels.com/portfolioaudrie.htm We will get two photographers (Audrie will be the head photographer) so that will be good so that we can get some different pictures. Plus, the main thing that I wanted, we get a CD with all of the images and all of the rights to print them as we please. There are other things with the package, but that was the main thing I wanted.


Some other wedding updates are that we picked out a wedding band for Matt! There isn't a picture of it online or I would post it, but take my word for it: It's cool! :)


We also chose an excursion for the cruise! It is called "Ultimate Adventure". We went back and forth for a long time trying to decide what to do, but we ended up picking this one because it had more of a variety of activities. Here is the description of it:

- Begin your adventure with a high-speed boat ride along the coast, admiring the lovely scenery.
- Arrive at Punta Sur Ecological Park’s Crystal Beach, on the southeastern corner of the island, where you’ll see a stunning 4-mile stretch of white sand beach.
- Discover the colorful tropical fish and local marine life as you snorkel above one of the coral reefs, just off the shore.
- Enjoy kayaking with friends and family through the amazingly clear and tranquil waters.
- Stroll along the pristine beach or relax in the hammocks or your lounge chair, taking in the beauty of nature that surrounds you.
- Satisfy your appetite with a Mexican buffet of fresh tropical fruits, guacamole, salsa and much more.


Sounds good to me! :)


We also picked a hotel for the wedding night. We chose the Omni Mandalay in Las Colinas. That is the same place that Jason & Summer and Brad & Nova stayed! That actually is NOT why we picked it, but that is just how it ended up! We started out with a list of about 20 hotels and bed and breakfasts and eventually narrowed it down to that one!


I think that is about all of the wedding news I have for now! Keep praying for good weather so we can have the ceremony outside like we would like! :)

Fan in need of a tan!

Matt and I went to a Round Rock Express game on Thursday night because we thought it was the night where you get free umbrellas. We got there early because usually on promotion nights it fills up a little faster. We walked in and we didn't see anyone handing out umbrellas or anything so we stopped to check the calendar to see if we just misread it or something. As we were standing there, two girls walked up to us and asked Matt if he would like to be the "Fan in need of a tan" and win a month of free tanning. Haha! We laughed about it for a little while then he agreed to do it. After the second inning they put him up on the big screen and introduced him as the fan in need of a tan! :) It was pretty entertaining. The funny thing is that after we sat down Matt said, "I sure hope I don't see anyone here that I know!" A few minutes later we heard someone say, "Hey man you're in my seat" and we turned around and the youth minister from Belton was there with his youth group and they were sitting in the section right next to us! Haha! They thought it was hilarious that Matt was going to be on the big screen and kept poking fun at him, but after the camera guy got Matt on the big screen, he turned around and got their group too. :)
Now, Matt isn't going to go to the tanning beds, and I am certainly tan enough that I don't need to BUT.... I have these awful tan lines that I need to get rid of! So I figure I can go a couple of times just to get rid of these lines before the wedding!

Check out these tan lines! :(

YIKES! I definitely need to do something about that! ;-)

Here is a silly picture of Matt at the Round Rock game... :) Haha!

Oh yeah, umbrella night was Friday night (the next night) but Thursday was Lotto ticket night. Sounds boring, I know, but I ended up winning $20 on a scratch off! So it wasn't too bad. :) Except for that the Express lost....

Trek

A few weeks ago Matt went on Trek with the church. Unfortunately they didn't get to summit, but I think they all still had a great time - I know Matt did. This was his first time going on Trek so it was really a neat experience for him. They are all out of order, but here are a few of his pictures from their trip:

The whole group:


Matt repelling:

One of the teens, Brandon, leading the group:

This is Matt's pack:

You can click this link to see some of his other pictures in a Kodak Gallery:

http://www.kodakgallery.com/ViewSlideshow.action?&collidparam=284909772114.962548772114.1250032959652