It's so hard to say goodbye...

Matt and I are headed out of state this coming Friday (we have one more full day left in Iowa). The excitement is getting to me. That and the fact that we really have most useful things packed which makes it very real that this is in fact happening. (this pic is to attempt to show how much of a disarray our current house is in).

Matt and I have lived in or around the Waterloo/Cedar Falls area for pretty much all of our lives. We are on our way to Littleton, Co so that Matt can attend seminary. I am hoping it is fairly quick and painless for me to find a sustainable job.

The things I will miss about Iowa:

Sweet Corn

Lightning bugs

Being close to both of our families

Long life friends

Not having emission checks on our vehicles

Accessibility to farmland

4th of July with family and friends

My nephews; Jacob, Gabe and Judah

Prairie Lakes Church

Boating on the Cedar River

And the list could go on...

There are however, things I will NOT miss about Iowa:

Getting my car egged while being parked on the street

Humid summers

Long, dreary winters with snow that never goes away

Having to travel to get to any major destination (Adventureland, decent malls etc.)

Yep, it's official, there's more I will miss than I won't. It's going to be hard to leave on Friday. This is all for what we believe to be a step that will equip us to better serve communities all around and share about the redeeming power of Jesus. Hope it's worth it! :)

We'll be back to visit. At least by Christmas. See you next time from Colorado!

The Scoop

So i titled this blog 'taking us to the next step.' The reason for this is that Matt and I are in limbo about what is happening in the next 3 months of our lives. We have no idea. so here is what's happening in our little world right now. I am graduating in December with my B.S. in social work. I will be done with my internship hopefully around the first week of December and ready to enter the real world, or the masters program which will only take a year but doesn't start until May.

We HAVE to move out of our humble misshapen apartment on or around December 9th because neither one of us will be students anymore, unless i come back in May, but they won't let us stay here while not signed up for classes. We didn't move out of our apartment last summer because we didn't want to sign a year long lease in case we were going somewhere out of this area in January. Matt's job at the church is going really well and there is a hopefulness that he will get on full time come January... once again this isn't for sure...yet.

We are interested in doing overseas missions sometime in the future. If we were to sign on to something right now it would take 3-6 months to plan and fundraise and take care of all of our business here before we'd be ready to leave. But then there's the burning question of if i apply to get into the master's program and get into it and Matt gets a full time job should we even think about leaving?? And then do we buy a really cheap home or an even cheaper mobile home so that we are earning some equity?? Or do we get an apartment and risk being here for another year and a half in rental housing only to find we're going to stay in or around Cedar Falls for a very long time?? The problems with buying is that we really don't have all that much money. I haven't been working because my internship isn't paid and Matt is making enough to get us through but there's really no way we can afford much more. It's hard also because to get a rental home that is decent enough for us to stay in for a while will probably end up costing as much as a mortgage payment. we think anyway.

We are anxious and yet very bust at the same time and so we are not thinking much about it and that makes me more nervous because i do not know what is going to happen and with how fast this semester is going, December is going to be here before we know it!!