Pictures of Pasadena

Well, you've seen pictures of our apartment - how about some pictures of Pasadena?

I miss these people.

That's all.

Our New Apartment

I tried to post a video of our new apartment, but our stolen internet connection is too slow. (I know, I know - we're working on not stealing anymore...we'll get there...) So, I'll do some pictures instead.

We'll start with the office.

Here's the kitchen...

...and the living room, complete with Jeremy watching Seinfeld...

And look, we have a kitchen table!

And, hey, more kitchen.

For some reason, I can't get the pictures of the bedroom to upload, but basically what you can see is the bed and a window...so it's not that cool. But we have a closet and our cool red wall-hanging, too, and I made some pseudo-curtains by draping some sari cloth over the window...so it's neat.

So, there's our apartment, in all of it's glory. All 550 square feet of it. :) What do you think?

Our New Home

A friend of mine suggested I just update my blog and tell everyone to read it so I don't have to keep giving the same update over and over on facebook, so I thought I'd take her up on that advice. :) So, friend of mine, here it is!

Jeremy and I are in California, and we love it! The weather has been fantastic - sunny and 70s and rain only once (and by rain, I mean drizzle for awhile, still warm, and sunny after that). But, more than that, the people in our apartment complex couldn't have been more welcoming. Everyone eats together each Friday night, and one couple has taken us hiking and to a nearby farmer's market. There are also plenty of dogs for Charlie to play with! And that's not to mention the great view of mountains AND palm trees all in one sight - one of my favorite new features. We're having a great time!

Our apartment is small, but we like it. It's actually 100 square feet larger than our last one, but it's got two bedrooms. As of a few hours ago, all the boxes are unpacked and everything has a home; there are just a few boxes to go into storage and we're finished. I guess that's the nice thing about not having a ton of stuff; it doesn't take long to unpack! But it's a much nicer feeling to sit in an apartment that's full of your stuff with pictures on the walls than to sit in an apartment surrounded by boxes.

Up next: we start our classes at Fuller on March 30th. Until then, we'll be job hunting (with a few small leads from some conversations with Fuller people this morning), hunting down necessities like TV and internet (I'm currently stealing from someone across the fence, I think...), and getting to know the city a little better.

In other news, Jeremy has a green card interview! We'll have to go back to Detroit, but the interview is scheduled for April 6th. We're excited it came so fast, and in some ways feel like God is playing a little joke on us, since so much of our Seattle vs. Pasadena decision making banked on this interview. Nonetheless, it seems very clear that God has brought us to Pasadena, so we're trusting we'll learn more and more of why as we go on here.

Speaking of God (nice segue, huh?), if you remember to pray for us, we'd really appreciate it! We're getting a little nervous about finding jobs here; we learned this morning that Fuller has a hiring freeze on campus as of a few months ago, so that takes out a lot of potential leads we thought we had. They have given us some other options and some helpful places to look, but it's still a little scary to hear news like that. We're also starting to get organized for the green card interview, finding supporting documents, pictures, and stories to help prove that our marriage is real. So, those are the two things weighing most heavily on our hearts; but really, we're mostly thankful for how God has brought us here.

Now that everything's set up, you can expect pictures of the apartment soon. Thanks for reading!

Florida to California

Wow, it's been awhile since my last post. But, rather than dwelling on that, I'll just continue as if I never stopped.

Jeremy and I just returned from 10 days away in Disney World for a long-overdue honeymoon. We've been married 9 months already, but with a big trip to Malaysia this summer (which doesn't count as a honeymoon because we hung out with family all but 1 day) and having to work and finish school, this was the best time to do it. We had a great time meeting Disney characters and letting ourselves be swept away in the world of Disney.

And now we feel as though we're leaving our childhood behind and entering into the land of grown ups. In only 8 days, we pack up all our earthly belongings in a U-Haul, strap in our dog, and drive from Michigan to California to start at Fuller Seminary. (For those of you who are feeling confused, Seattle fell through due to economic and immigration issues, but it's a long story - if you want more details, just ask.) Jeremy and I have never seen the LA area, we have an apartment but we've never seen it, we don't know anyone there, we don't have jobs...it's a bit of a terrifying situation for two people who like to plan out big decisions and weigh options and know details! But, we're excited for the next step and excited that we get to do this together - and, of course, it will be nice to have some sun and blue sky (or maybe brown with pollution...) for a change. :)

So, since we re-entered the real world after the Magic Kingdom, we've been running around tying up loose ends and preparing for the big road trip (in a giant vehicle...towing a small vehicle...) California, here we come!

But for now - how about some more pictures from our trip to Disney?

Beauty

I will only say one thing about the historic election that took place 24 hours ago.

Barack Obama was born in 1961. Martin Luther King, Jr. gave his "I Have a Dream" speech in 1963.

It is a incredible, beautiful thing that a black man who was born into a segregated America is now America's president.

Fall

Fall is by far my favorite season. I love the colors, the colder weather, the scarves, the apples and peppers and squash. And so, here is my tribute to fall. :)