So Many Things

::PHEW:: I finally took the time to upload all of the photos that have been on our camera for a while. Here's what we've been up to over the past few months in photo form:

This is Annabelle, the daughter of our friends Dan & Becca. I lived with Becca in a little house called 12 Feet Inn at Miami, and she's one of my dearest friends. It's been nice being able to connect with her again. And we love Annabelle! I'm pretty sure she has a crush on Seth. And she loves Bou. A girl after my own heart.

This was my first ever homemade cherry pie! This might not be a big deal for some, but it was a huge accomplishment for me! For Father's Day, we had a cookout at my parents' house. I offered to bring the dessert, and my dad requested cherry pie. I wanted to give him the best, so I had to go the homemade route! Next time, I'll use a different type of cherry to make it a little sweeter, but Kroger only had two options at the time. My fingers were stained for at least a week, but it was worth it!

A huge plus of being back in Ohio is the fact that we're now only a few hours away from my grampa! He's my only living grandparent, and very dear to my heart. When my dad was a single parent, he helped out a lot - taking us to school, to doctor's appointments, watching us when my dad was called out to fight a fire...and he would always cook the bacon for our BLTs. I wish he would take my parents up on their offer to move in with them, but I don't think he'll be leaving Cleveland any time soon. I love visiting with him, taking him to Golden Corral (the only restaurant he will go to), and listening to him tell stories about his days in the factory or when he was pursuing my gramma. He's a very inspiring, almost-94-year-old man. I love him very much.

This photo was taken while Seth and I were up with his parents at their cottage in Michigan. We love being able to go up there. It's so peaceful and relaxing. I went for a few runs while we were there, and the image above was my background. Listening to "Strawberry Swing" while I ran...those are the moments that make me thankful for this life.

A piece of California came to Ohio!!! Seth and I were SO excited that we were able to go to the Switchfoot concert at Kings Island. I almost burst into tears when they sang the song "This Is Home". It was great to see Bobby. I think that may have made Seth's year. :o)

Alright, that was just a little taste of the past few months. Next post, I'll put up some photos from our recent vacation with my family to Cape Cod. Much love to you all!

Kel

Life in Cincy

Hey everyone. It's been a little while since our last update, and we have some good news to share. I (Kelly) actually got a new job! Through a friend of Seth's, I was connected with the president of Boca Restaurant Group, David, who owns two restaurants in Cincinnati - BOCA and NADA. He was looking for a personal/administrative assistant, and he asked me to join their team! This is currently my second week on the job, and I'm really enjoying it. David is a Christian and also works in partnership with our home church here in Cincy, Crossroads. He is truly a wonderful boss. I do everything from plan his travel to pick up his drycleaning to implement organizational strategies, etc. Every day is different, which makes things really exciting. I definitely feel like this position is the perfect fit for me. While I truly enjoyed working at the Anthropologie in Cincinnati, I couldn't pass up this amazing opportunity and had to say goodbye to the girls. They made my transition to Cincy smooth, and I am grateful that I had the opportunity to meet and work with such a friendly crew. I have thoughts of going back part-time, but we'll see how things go.

On another note, Seth is still looking for a job. Not much else to say here except KEEP PRAYING!!! We still have faith that God will bless the desires of Seth's heart, and we KNOW that God has something absolutely amazing in store for him. There are many days where Seth is disheartened, and desperately misses his job at North Coast. But we do our best to keep looking forward instead of backward, and focus on all that the Lord has blessed us with.

I have a few photos that I'd like to post so you can all see what we've been up to over the past couple of months, but I'll have to do that at a later date since the photos aren't currently on my computer. We miss you all...and are very hopeful that we'll get to come visit in the fall!

Much love,
Kel

Good News

Hey All!!!

Just wanted to give you a quick update on the job situation.

While Seth is still diligently searching for a job, I received some good news at work a couple of weeks ago. As of next Monday, I will officially be full-time at Anthropologie, which also means that we will finally have health benefits!!! WAHOO!!! God is continuing to provide for us, and we are SO thankful!

Please continue to be in prayer for Seth, that God will provide him with a job soon.

Love from the midwest!

Kel

Hey Friends!

It's been a couple of weeks since we last wrote, so I thought I'd give you all a quick update. I'm still working at Anthro part-time, although with picking up some extra shifts I'm working around 30-32 hours a week. I've taken a step back from looking for admin assistant work, allowing myself some time to refresh my outlook. Seth is still diligently looking for graphic design work. He has done some volunteer graphic design work for the 0-18 group at Crossroads. It would be amazing if that brought about a potential job opportunity, but we're not holding our breath. We know that God will continue to provide for us during this transition. He has and is continually blessing us, and we're so thankful.

Seth's birthday is this coming Thursday (his golden birthday - 28 on the 28th!), and we're going to celebrate with family this coming Friday. Be sure to send him some love! Other than that, there's nothing big on the immediate horizon - we're just anxious to hear about the arrivals of Baby Girl Syres and Baby Girl Nagel!!!

Love you all.

Kel

P.S. Bou says "hi"...and wants to give a special shout-out to Josh, Aaron, and Schtine-Teet. :o)

The Flying Pig Marathon - Sunday, May 3, 2009

Well folks, I've officially run my second marathon, finishing close to 30 minutes faster than I did in the San Diego Rock 'n' Roll Marathon last summer (official time: 4:14). I definitely surprised myself. I was certain it was going to downpour when we headed into Cincinnati, but after drizzling for a bit, the clouds called it quits. While the day remained cloudy, it was certainly great conditions for running 26.2 miles. :o) My brother Scott and I ran together for about the first 12 miles, and then he got a cramp he needed to stretch out so we went our separate ways. My dad and my little sister Ginny ran the half marathon portion together as well (SO proud of them!!!). Anywho, I thought I'd upload the video that Seth took of me as I was nearing the finish line. It's pretty cool to hear my family cheering SO loudly for me!!! :o)

Missing all of you Californians.

Our New Place • After Shots

Here are the current shots. We still have to hang a few things on the walls and rip down that foul wallpaper in the bathroom and paint it, but we're just about there.

Click photos to enlarge.

Our New Place • Before Shots

We now live in Cincinnati for those of you who live on Mars. Here are "before" photos of our place. We also have an upstairs but not much is happening up there yet. We'll post photos of that later. "After" shots are on the way...

Click photos to enlarge.