I'm So Thankful

A tradition with many families is saying what you are thankful for around the Thanksgiving table. With my work changes, I've started thinking of all my blessings a little early this year.

My wonderful, supportive husband

Great parents, sister, in-laws, and extended family

Being able to challenge myself in a job career that I am loving

A precious pooch that makes me smile every single day

A house that is a home

My husband's career and his strong work ethic

Friends that I am just as quick to call whether I have great or sad news

Happy Thanksgiving!

New job, Week 2

I've officially started my second week at Tabor! Although new jobs are always overwhelming, I'm really enjoying all my coworkers, and I am excited for my upcoming projects!

The door to my office - It was all ready for me even though the name plate hadn't arrived yet.
My office! I need to hang up my degrees and find some art for the walls. I joked with my coworkers that I didn't want to bring a Uhaul on my first week of work. Everyday I have been bringing more items to make it feel like me.
View from my desk

The Arch

Kevin and I had fun at the arch in St. Louis on our vacation!

We headed to the top in an egg-shaped tram car. It was a little small on head room.
We enjoyed the view from the top.


Kevin liked viewing the arch from the outside, also. And, we spent some time looking at all the welds. FUN ;)

St. Louis Presentation/Vacation

We left for our vacation on Halloween after church to drop off Benton at my parents' house and stay over at Kevin's parents' house. We had dinner with Kevin's parents, and we saw some of their trick-or-treaters. Our favorite costume was a toddler giraffe! Although, there were two pretty cool cats, also (Kevin's sisters R&R).

We knew we would miss Benton so much, but we also knew he was in great hands!


Benton relaxing before we left on our trip.

We arrived in St. Louis on Monday afternoon. Our room in St. Louis was amazing at Hilton at the Ballpark. We were on the 24th floor, and we had the most amazing view!

We were only two blocks from the arch!

Monday night we ate at a great local Italian restaurant, Charlie Gittos. It was really yummy! Tuesday, we slept in, walked around downtown, and then had couple's massages at Indigo Massage and Wellness. We both agreed that it was the best we've had so far! Kevin spent the rest of Tuesday and Wednesday preparing for his presentation on Wednesday afternoon. He did a great job! I went shopping and found some cute clothes for my new job and read a book.

Thursday, we ventured over to the arch! We also lounged around the hotel's pool that afternoon, and we went to a friend's restaurant Thursday night, Farmhaus. It was delicious! We headed home on Friday, and it was so great to see our pup! It was a great trip!

Wonderful Sendoff

The library was so gracious and kind to me last night, which was my last official night there. James, a clerk with a sense of humor (you'll see it on the cake), ordered the cake and brought me chocolate rice cakes that I could eat. My friend Christine brought Braums ice cream, and all the wonderful staff at Westlink bought a beautiful flower arrangement (a mum plant inside a real pumpkin!). My boss Tracie also gave me such a beautiful and thoughtful gift: a gorgeous wood business card holder with my name personalized on it! The cards and well wishes made me teary more than a few times. I will miss all the great people at the library, and I am so appreciative of all their support as I start my career in higher education!

Vacay

Kevin and I are going to St. Louis early next week for vacation! This turned out to be perfect timing as I will be starting a new position shortly after getting back.

Kevin is presenting his research on cold formed steel at an engineering conference on Wednesday (Nov 3) afternoon in St. Louis, and I wanted to go along with him for support. We had been planning on taking a vacation this fall, so it seemed like a good idea to stay for a week and make it a vacation.

On the agenda: couple massages (the day before Kevin's presentation to help relax), museums, shopping, fun restaurants, sleeping in, the arch, river boat, walking around

I'm so excited! Benton will be staying at my parents' house while we are gone. I'm sure he will be spoiled rotten when we get back, but it should be a vacation for him, too! They love their grandpup.

Big News!

I'm happy to announce that on November 8th I will start as Tabor College Wichita's (fondly referred by everyone there as TCW) Academic Support Coordinator!

I think it is still sinking in that I have finally found a position that matches my education and interests. This past year and a half really taught me a lot about being patient (admittedly something I have not always been), and in many ways it has given me a chance to grow outside of my professional experiences. That being said, I'm ready for this!

Needless to say, Kevin is very happy for me! After the first interview with Tabor went so well, we celebrated with a night out going to On the Border and a movie. Last night I worked at the library, so I didn't get home until 9:30pm (like typical Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays - not going to miss those hours!), and I came home to a DELICIOUS flourless torte he had made! We also watched a movie he had rented (SATC2 - which I was also very excited to see).