This week...

This past week was kicked off by a good ol' desert party involving both sets of parents at our tiny one bedroom apartment. The cause for celebration were the birthdays of both our fathers the end of August, but with everyone's busy schedule, we finally made it happen, and it was fun. I like both sets of parents to get together every once in awhile so Bryan and I are reminded that we don't have to live in such a divided world! Having more than one or two people over also reminded us why we are soon moving to a larger apartment (the end of October) so that our computer desk is not crammed into our kitchen and we can buy a real dining table and have real sit-down dinners with family. Bryan and I are both excited! With the way housing prices are these days, we think we will be in this next apartment for a longer time. Probably when I am eight months pregnant with future children (see next paragraph) will we finally buy a house. Hopefully by then we can afford it!~ But I do enjoy apartment living, for its coziness and convenience. We will take advantage of the maintence-free lifestyle as long as we can!

On the topic of children, we are proud to announce that our cat Fuz has made tremendous strides in the last week. We purchased a tent for him (leopard print, thank you) at a garage sale back in early August for a whopping .50. More as a joke, we introduced Fuz to it and all that it had to offer. Mostly, a mouse that hangs by a string in the center. He walked by and batted at the mouse every now and then, but on Sunday night, at our family gathering, he finally went inside the tent, got cozy and took a long snooze. And this is where his resting place is now on most nights. However, Fuz is a wanderer and he finds places to rest that he sticks to consistently for awhile, but eventually moves on to another location. I think his next move will be back to our leather sectional. Additionally, on Thursday night, our friend Annie came home as we were standing outside with Fuz (who I like to occasionally let out so he can snoop around) and she brought out a leash for him and he LOVED it. So on Saturday, as a reward for Fuz's good behavior on a trip to the vet (to get more treatment for his eye condition) I bought him a leash and now he thinks he is tough stuff. He especially likes to rock the commando crawl as he bravely hunts down any animate or inanimate object that poses a threat. Now, I wouldnt think of myself as a cat lover, but Fuz has warmed his way into my heart. Except for the mornings he sits on the table as a I eat my cereal and he tries to get his paws into it.

So on the subject of children I am praying God will one day bless us with the ability to produce, but just not now. I am consistently reminded of why we are not ready every time Bryan and I go to Costco! While Bryan and I just like to pick up a few favorites and mostly shop bedding/electronics, we see parents with multiple carts loaded down and just imagine how much money they are pushing around. I would love to have three kids, but when I think about all the school lunches I would have to make, and how quickly bulk items are used up in a family, I would rather wait. Not to mention, the cost of diapers and formula is ridiculous! But waiting for kids is not strictly monetary. I think I like to teach and take care of children but I am also not mentally and physically ready to have children in my presence at all times. I do think that when Bryan and I have kids it will be all up to God's timing anyways, and I feel selfish for even assuming I will have kids. On Wednesday night, I went to a church study group (we call it community group, for future reference) where two couples attend and are trying to have kids but so far are unsuccessful. It always pains me when I see people who can be the best parents ever, and they are unable to concieve. And then there are girls, like at the house I sometimes volunteer at, who mistakenly become pregnant and are not ready to take on the responsibility of parenting. I know God has a reason for this, but it is not clear to me. However, with the track history of my family (my sister and I were both originally unintended) and the get-pregnant-quick tactics of my sisters, I am fairly confident Bryan and I will be okay, when the day comes. By the way, I think I forgot to mention that my third sister, Heather, had her baby Lilah two weeks ago. Though it was a struggle for Heather, both are now healthy and happy. I got to spend a few hours with just Heather and Lilah (and Nick was in and out) yesterday and it was very nice. My oldest sister, Naomi, is expecting her third (the first boy!) in January, and my parents are in Idaho right now celebrating the first birthday of my second sister Nicole's daughter.

So this weekend is on its way out and back to another week of school! I think this blog is long enough, and should last all of you who are interested the next week or so, until I have time to blog again. This is a three day week for my first graders, who got a kick out of the fact that I have to "go to school" (a conference for teachers) on Thursday and Friday while they "get to go shopping!". The rest of this afternoon will be consumed by another discouraging trip to the gym and then the long anticipated season premiere of Desperate Housewives! If you ever want to be unmotivated in losing weight here is a fun fact for you: Each pound of fat is 3500 calories, so if you want to lose 40 pounds (at least) like I do, you are looking at working off 140,000 calories, assuming you do not pack on more calories in the meantime.

Have a great week!