A New Family Member!
“Saving one pug won’t change the world, but it will surely change the world for that one pug.”
- Northern Illinois Pug Rescue
Socks (left) meeting Lexie
This was a big weekend in the Stroud family. On Friday, Gerald called me and told me his coworker had a friend who was giving away her pug because she couldn’t take care of it and he suggested maybe we take it home. Initially he said the pug was two years old and of course, I was excited about the possibility of having a pug for free. We scheduled a time to visit the pug, Chloe, on Saturday.
My mom and her pug Lexie came to meet Chloe with Gerald and me on Saturday. Gerald’s coworker has a big, male pug named Socks. Lexie loved all the pugs! Chloe’s owner was there and she told us Chloe was actually five years old (later from her old paperwork we found out she’s really six), which made more sense to me from when I saw her picture. She’s very gray and I was sure she was older than two.
To make a long story short, we ended up bringing Chloe home with us. I’ll admit I wasn’t too sure about it, which seems funny coming from such a pug-lover. It sounds bad, but I was a little unsure because of her appearance. She’s a little scraggly and she doesn’t look like the other pugs I’ve owned (breeder pugs from show dog parents). I was also concerned about some of the eye problems she has and if we’d be able to handle any medical bills she might have coming. She’s not very trained and is almost like a puppy even though she’s six years old already. I even told Gerald that I wasn’t sure if we should keep her.
But Gerald gently reminded me that Chloe is still a pug and she needs a good home. She’s been passed around to a few homes already, possibly a little neglected, and even had puppies at one point in her life. She probably hasn’t even been to the vet in a year or so. Gerald told me it’s like how God chose to love us despite all our ugliness and our faults. Still, God adopted us into His family. Similarly, I need to show Chloe love despite the fact that she isn’t exactly what I pictured when I thought of getting my own pug. After spending more time with Chloe, she is starting to grow on me. My mom sent me the quote at the top of this post from the Northern Illinois
Chloe with her favorite toy
Pug Rescue site late last night and it makes me teary because it’s so true. We will probably have up to 10 years with Chloe if we’re lucky, and although we didn’t get her when she was a puppy, we can give her a new and different life from what she had before. She needs love. She needs to learn what it’s like to be loved by a family. Chloe wasn’t just adopted into Gerald’s and my family, she’s coming into a whole family that loves pugs. My mom and sister are going to help us take care of her (mostly because Gerald and I aren’t home for at least 10 hours a day). So Chloe will be a much-loved pug. Lexie, who is three, will enjoy having a playmate, although Chloe actually plays with toys more than Lexie does!
Although Chloe’s a dog, this adoption was truly challenging me to look beyond outward appearances and to love her in spite of her imperfections. It really is a great picture of God’s love for us. How can I not love this pug? Hopefully we can change Chloe’s life for the better.
So enjoy a few more pictures of our new pug!
She really loves this toy
Chloe & Lexie
Our new family
Our floppy-eared pug
Privilege as Blessing
On Monday I read an interesting Her.meneutics post by one of our Tyndale authors, Caryn Rivadeneira. In the article, Caryn shares about a talk by model Cameron Russell about how her success is based on privilege–in her case, her beauty. You can watch her talk in its entirety here. In response to this, Caryn writes:
“Talking about success based on privilege is more than uncomfortable and complicated—it’s scandalous. We just don’t do that. At least, not us boot-strapping Americans. We want to talk about how hard we’ve worked, how many hours we put in, how much we sacrificed. Few of us are willing to talk about the level to which our success comes through natural gifts, our own legacies or ‘genetic lotteries.’ This is a shame, especially among Christians. To deny our privilege means we deny the gifts and blessings God has given us…Beyond that, when we ignore our own privilege, we fail to recognize that others don’t enjoy the same privilege. If we go on believing our success is all about us and our hard work, we can in turn believe that others don’t enjoy the same success merely because they are lazy.”
I agree that it often is privilege and not just our hard work that helps us succeed in life. When Gerald was looking for a teaching position last year people would always tell him it’s about who you know. It’s the connections you have within the school system that will help your resume get noticed in the midst of the hundreds of applications districts get for a single position. He got his current position not by knowing someone, but partly because he is a male elementary teacher. How can I make that assumption? Because the school was trying to decide between Gerald and another candidate for the position and both were men. Obviously the school was looking for more male teachers. Privilege at work.
This isn’t something we should be ashamed of. Like Caryn says, we need to see these privileges as blessings from God. After all, He is the One who made these things happen. When I read Caryn’s article, I just came of the 30 Hour Famine with my church’s youth group. This semester we’re going through the book of Ecclesiastes, which happens to be one of my favorite books of the Bible. As I read the article, I was reminded of one of the main points from the Bible study we did on Saturday during the Famine.
Ecclesiastes 3:9-14 says:
What does the worker gain from his toil? I have seen the burden God has laid on men. He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end. I know that there is nothing better for men than to be happy and do good while they live. That everyone may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all his toil—this is the gift of God. I know that everything God does will endure forever; nothing can be added to it and nothing taken from it. God does it so that men will revere him. {bold emphasis mine}
Mexican sunset in the Riveria Maya
Most of Ecclesiastes seems depressing, but there are these hopeful reminders like the verse I bolded above. The writer talks about how pointless it is to seek after wisdom, pleasure, and work because life is just a vapor. It’s gone after a moment. Then there are these positives where the writer reminds us that we should enjoy life because it is the gift of God. Ecclesiastes refers to what happens “under the sun,” apart from God. One of the main lessons we wanted the teens to remember last weekend is that your work, the things that bring you pleasure, and wisdom are all not meaningless if we remind ourselves that all those things are gifts from God. God wants us to work hard. He wants us to enjoy life and He wants us to be wise. We recognize that we don’t have control over what happens in our lives–only God does. I reminded the teens that we didn’t choose where to be born. They could’ve been born in a third world country and grown up not knowing when their next meal would come. We all could’ve been handed a different lot in life and yet we’re where we are because God placed us here. I don’t think that means God is heartless for placing certain people in difficult living situations and others in a life of privilege. It’s another reminder that we don’t understand where we fit into His great plan for the world. If we try to figure it out, it’s just “chasing after the wind.”
When we give up our desire to control our lives, we have the freedom to enjoy life.
So it’s my hope and prayer that in all that I do, I do it knowing that God has given me gifts, talents, and the ability to enjoy His blessings and creation. It’s only right that I give glory and praise to the One who deserves it all.
30 Hour Famine
Posted by Christy in youth group, youth ministry on January 28, 2013
Building a soccer ball for our TRIBE game
This past weekend I did World Vision’s 30 Hour Famine again with my youth group. If you’re not familiar with the 30 Hour Famine, it’s an event run by World Vision where youth groups fast for 30 hours in order to get a taste of what it feels like for children around the world who face starvation and malnutrition every day. The teens participating in the fast raise money from donations, which World Vision then uses to help feed these children and their families. Usually when youth groups do the Famine, it’s a lock-in event. They begin the fast on their own at noon on Friday and end the fast together at 6:00 p.m. on Saturday. I did the 30 Hour Famine when I was in youth group so I always had fond memories from that weekend. That’s why I love doing it with our youth group now.
For the past four years when I’ve done the Famine as a leader, I’ve been able to get through the entire 30 hours without really feeling hungry. At first I felt guilty that I didn’t feel hungry at all because I wasn’t experiencing hunger like we were supposed to, but I also see it as God’s provision for me as a leader. It’s hard to lead 30 or so youth in a weekend of events when you’re suffering from hunger too. Last year I even increased my fast to 40 hours, but I still don’t remember feeling very hungry the entire time.
This year, however, was different and I came away with a couple lessons. I ate lunch a little earlier at work and then started the fast. Usually the fast isn’t too bad on Friday because you’re only missing one meal. As I drove home from work, I kept thinking about how nice it would be to just eat a little snack. I wasn’t even that hungry, but I just wanted to eat something. I realized how much I take food for granted. Even though my body’s not telling me I need food, I decide to eat it anyway because it’s so available. When I got home, I was tempted to eat some candy we have sitting out and later at church I was tempted again while putting together some bags of pretzels and marshmallows for an activity. No one was around in both of these situations and it would’ve been so easy to just take one bite, but I resisted.
It’s funny how the food I wanted had little nutritional value. The things that are good for you are always the things that take more work and effort. We exercise in order to stay fit. We have to cook to try and eat healthier meals and read labels to make healthier food choices. We need to put in time and effort in order to see results and successes at work or school. We have to invest time and energy into our marriages and relationships. We need to spend time reading our Bible, praying, and seeking the Lord in order to have a better relationship with God.
During our games on Friday night, I felt a little lightheaded, something that happens whenever I’m really hungry. I didn’t feel like I was starving, but I knew then that this fast wouldn’t be as easy on my body as past years. I drank more water and that helped, but I definitely felt more out of it at different times during the Famine. It was hard trying to lead Bible studies when I couldn’t focus as well. I can only imagine how the kids felt trying to sit there and pay attention. It gave us an idea though of how hard it is for malnourished children to pay attention in school when they’re hungry. It’d be nearly impossible to do well.
Our youth group’s fundraising goal this year was $4,500.00. I’m not sure what our final total was yet, but I think we reached it or maybe even exceeded it. Thank you to those of you who donated to my online page! I exceeded my personal fundraising goal in just two days! Praise God for your generosity and heart. 
We watched a video from the Catalyst conference during the Famine that showed the testimony of Michelle, who was a
Youth leading worship!
Compassion child from the Philippines. I’d actually heard Michelle’s story on Moody radio before, but I was moved again by seeing her testimony. Gerald and I are talking about sponsoring our own Compassion child. It’s a small sacrifice we can make each month that has a huge impact in a child’s life.
This post might be a little disjointed because I’m still tired and recovering from the weekend. I went home Saturday night after our break-fast meal and crashed. I got nearly ten hours of sleep that night! Obviously right now though my sleep cycle’s getting messed up again (it’s 11 p.m.). Though weekends like this are tiring and I give up most of my weekend for the youth, it’s worth it. The kids all filled out meal tickets before they could eat to share what they learned or how the Famine weekend impacted them. I can’t wait to read some of their responses to see what God was doing in their hearts. These kids never cease to encourage me!
Another Wedding!
This has been a busy last week of the year. It was full of family, friends, & celebrations. This past weekend, I gained another brother when my little sister got married. The wedding was beautiful (I wouldn’t have expected less from an artistic bride), but I think I’m still recovering from it. It was a long day, but I’m so glad I was able to be a part of it as the matron (sounds old) of honor. As we went through wedding week, it reminded me a lot of where I was almost exactly one year and five months ago, except this time I walked down the aisle in a different role.
So here are a few pictures from the wedding for your viewing pleasure.
Wedding Uggs for the bride from her bridesmaids
I got a lot of MOH ideas from Pinterest, including one of having women write letters to the bride for her to read as she’s getting ready on her wedding day. So I had bridesmaids, friends, women in our church, fellow pastor’s wives (my sister’s now a pastor’s wife), her new sister-in-law, and our mom write letters for the book. I just put them all in a binder and had the last letter be a letter from the groom.
Reading Letters to the Bride
Wedding Pug
We loved that it snowed a little on the wedding day after not having much snow at all this month. It made for some beautiful wedding pictures. I can’t wait to see how they all turned out!
Beautiful bride
I hate walking down the aisle since I don’t like being the center of attention, but I loved how they did my hair & the dress (by Landa Designs). I walked way too fast in my own wedding & I walked fast here too.
Photo by Jenn Lee
Here comes the bride
Even though this next picture is a little blurry, I loved watching Pearson (the groom)’s face. They didn’t do first look pictures, so the first time he saw his bride was walking down the aisle. He could barely hold back his tears. Precious moment.
My sister kept the decorations simple–mostly just candles, but it looked beautiful.
First dance
Centerpieces
Sprinkles cupcakes instead of a cake
My husband & me
And for your viewing pleasure, my husband surprised my sister & her husband at their wedding reception with a Gangnam Style dance along with his little dance crew. The kids are so cute!! My hubby’s got some good moves of his own too. He’s a WAY better dancer than me!
Birthday Weekend Recap
From my first b-day celebration on Dec. 1 at Buca di Beppo & then Liquid Fusion
Last weekend I celebrated my birthday, but I’m finally getting around to writing about it. I can’t believe how close 30 is getting! That doesn’t even seem possible to me. I know 30 isn’t that old, but I’ll be a little sad to leave my 20′s–this is the decade of transition and where everything big seems to happen (graduation from college, new jobs, marriage, etc.) Maybe the fact that I can still pass for being in high school (this happened not too long ago…like a few months ago) contributes to my disbelief that I’m getting older. I’ll be grateful for this youthful appearance one day (being petite doesn’t help me), but at this stage in my life, I don’t necessarily want to look older; I just want to look my age. (Sorry, side rant).
Speaking of being older, I got to spend my birthday weekend still dealing with shingles. Yes, you can get shingles in your 20′s apparently. As I waited for my prescription at the pharmacy, I noticed all the posters and information about shingles and the shingles vaccine–all geared toward adults 60 and up. How ironic that I, a young adult in my 20′s, was standing there with the disease. The antiviral medication they prescribe for shingles is the same as the one they prescribe for herpes, so one of my friends told me don’t be surprised if the pharmacists tell you, “Be safe.” They didn’t say anything to me, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they looked at me and thought I had herpes rather than shingles. At my age, that would be the more likely guess. The strange thing is, although shingles is not supposed to be contagious (unless you’ve never had chicken pox or the chicken pox vaccine–you would get chicken pox from someone with shingles–and even then I think you’d need to be in contact with their rash), my boss just had it at the beginning of November, then I got it at the end of Nov/early Dec, and another member of our team might have it right now (but her doctor’s not completely sure if it’s shingles or not). Still…this is too much of a coincidence.
Birthdays are not nearly as exciting or anticipated when you’re older. Since my birthday was on a Saturday this year, I slept in. I would’ve gone for a run, but my shingles were bothering me. Gerald went out and brought me two cupcakes and roses though for breakfast. I got an email from Noodles & Company about a buy one, get one free dish offer if you try their new pork so we went out and had that for lunch and then went grocery shopping (my suggestion). Exciting birthday, I know! When we came home, I ended up taking a nap. Apparently when you get older, you get more tired.
Then we went out for dinner with my family in Evanston–Joy Yee’s Noodles & Argo Tea. I really just wanted to go to Argo Tea and the closest one is in Evanston. All the rest are in Chicago. They need to expand to the northern suburbs!! My family had cake back at my parents’ house so I could have my obligatory birthday picture with the pug.
The rest of my birthday weekend was uneventful, but I did get this amazing origami Winnie the Pooh from one of the girls in my youth group!
Then after church, I took Lexie out to see Santa Paws! Santa doesn’t look too jolly though.
Lexie’s not looking at the camera because she was so distracted just being in a store. I even let her pick out her Christmas present afterwards. Yes, we’re those crazy pug people.
So this was a good way to kick off the crazy month of December. The birthdays are done. Next comes Christmas & my sister’s wedding!
In Everything, Give Thanks
It seems funny that I should write a post on Thanksgiving on the first day of December, but I was so busy spending time with the people I’m thankful for (and doing things I’m thankful for), I just didn’t get a chance to write this post. But as I was reminded from numerous social media posts last week, Thanksgiving is not a day; it’s a lifestyle.
There are so many things I have to thank God for this year, so I’m just going to list them. This list is more for myself so I can remember how God was continually faithful in my life even when I was less than faithful to Him. If you’re reading this, I hope you are encouraged to look back to see how God has been working in your life–even in the little things.
So far in 2012, I’m thankful for…
- A home to live in (though not necessarily the way I’d hoped – read parts 1 & 2 of that story) – We still need to be thankful for the things God doesn’t give us
- A family vacation to Puerto Vallarta (I’d still love to go back!)
- Celebrating one year of marriage with Gerald
- Finishing TWO half marathons! Allstate & Prairie State
- A great job at Tyndale working with amazing coworkers (I can’t wait to share our new team photo…soon!)
- The opportunity to do PR for Olympic gymnast Shawn Johnson’s book, Winning Balance, where I got to go on my first book tour. This was a great learning experience for me–not to mention fun.
- Winning first place in my age group in the Long Grove Heritage Run 5k (I’ve come a long way in my running)
- Two successful bachelorette parties planned for my sister (her wedding’s this month!). I think she loved them.
Heading out for a Cupcake/Chocolate Tour & Blue Man Group!
Afternoon Tea at The Drake then a scavenger hunt & Les Miserables!
- Gerald getting his first teaching position – I’m so proud of him.
- The crazy jr. high kids in my youth group Bible study who are teaching me how to study the Bible differently so I can make it relevant to their lives.
- The opportunity to return to Taylor for my 5-year reunion & seeing old friends
- Somehow God has been providing for us financially even when we’re horrible at figuring out a budget
- A weekend of pug-sitting Made me happy. (By the way, you can follow our family’s pug on Instagram).
Lexie’s curious about fish…
- A successful chalazion surgery on my eyelid (I guess I was all worried for nothing)
- Great parents & in-laws who are so supportive & generous to us
- The ability to run (and the chance to run a Turkey Trot with my cousins on Thanksgiving)
- A wonderful husband who I love doing life with
- Continuing new married life traditions–like going down to the Christkindl Market in Chicago
And since today is December 1, I’m thankful to my mom for all she’s done for me. Today is her birthday!! Most of all I’m thankful to God for loving me & for the gift of salvation. I’d be nothing without Him.
Slow Cooker Whole Roast Chicken – Chinese Style
The recipe says to season it with salt and pepper, but I don’t always do this because with the hoisin and oyster sauces, it’s already quite salty. We don’t need that much sodium.
Reunion
Snapshots from Homecoming weekend
Last weekend I went back to Taylor University for my 5 year reunion. I hadn’t been on campus in at least three years, so I was excited to see all the new things they built and to see some old friends. I was a little sad that none of my close college friends were going to be back on campus, but Rachael, who was my roommate for three years, happens to live near Taylor still, so I at least got to see her.
My husband was on a 3-day overnight trip with the 5th graders at his school, so he was exhausted by the time he got home on Friday. He was still a good sport though and came with me to Indiana for Homecoming weekend. We got a later start leaving than I wanted, but I think that helped us miss rush hour traffic. I just didn’t like driving in the dark the entire time (country roads at night = pitch black) and arriving at 11:30 p.m.
I woke up early Saturday morning for the Homecoming 5k (I gave Gerald the option to sleep in, which he did). I never ran this race while I was in college because I hated running back then. I’m still amazed at what I’ve accomplished as a runner over the past three years. So it was fun to be able to come back and run a race on campus. The race was very low-key. They didn’t even have chip timing, but they did have a clock and you were supposed to pay attention to your own time as you crossed the finish line. Luckily for me, I had my trusty Garmin to help out too. The race started out too fast and I wasn’t able to keep the sub-8 pace, so I knew I wouldn’t get a PR. My final time was 24:36 (splits: 7:48, 8:07, 7:55, 0:44 for the last 0.11 miles). So not bad, but not my best. My training schedule hasn’t been working out too well for the Turkey Trot 8k either because of weather, schedules, etc…but that’s another story.
After the race, I went back to the hotel to get Gerald. We ate breakfast there and then headed back to campus to browse the
Heidi & me at the 5-Year Reunion Cookout
bookstore and explore the new science building. The science building is AMAZING. I wish it was there when I was a student! I wouldn’t have had many classes in there, but still. I love how they have all these verses and quotes on the walls. It’s very cool. Then we went to my 5 year reunion cookout at the President’s house. There weren’t a ton of people there from my class, but it was a good number. It’s weird seeing people there now with their spouses and kids. I guess we’re getting older! I even randomly ran into my friend Heidi. She wasn’t in my graduating class, but they let her come to the cookout anyway.We went to the football game (another activity I rarely did when I was in college except for once a year for the first game). Taylor has a nice new football field with artificial turf. Very impressive. I also wanted to see the new two-lane pool, which was closed, but it was still cool to see where it was.
The highlight of the weekend for me was getting to have dinner with my old roommate Rachael and her husband Chris. They’re expecting their first baby any day now, so whether we saw them or not was dependant on when their baby decided to make his arrival. Thankfully (for me), he’s holding off and we got to spend time with these precious friends. We ate at Thai Smile, which is where I first had Thai food. Gerald and I often had Thai food together while we were dating, so I really wanted to take him here. He’d been to Taylor before, but now I finally had time to take him out to Muncie to eat. It didn’t disappoint!
Chris, Rachael, me & Gerald at Thai Smile
Overall, the weekend was enjoyable and even a little relaxing (which was good for Gerald coming off his school trip). It reminded me why I love this school. Even as I walked to the race check-in in the cold, dark morning, a man made brief conversation with me. As I waited for the race to start, one of the older alums (who graduated over 25 years ago) came up to me and started chatting. I loved seeing my communications professor, Donna, and just how she wrapped me in a big hug when she saw me. It’s this community that drew me to the school in the first place, and I know it’s going to keep me coming back. Oh, I also loved that my husband wanted to buy a Taylor hoodie. He didn’t go there, but now he wishes he did.
Looking up from the center of the new science building
The mosaic at the center of the science building
Lots of spiral stairs!
Gerald & me outside the new football stadium
Race Report: Prairie State Half Marathon
In front of the starting line before the race
This race report is a week late. Last Saturday I did the Prairie State Half Marathon, my second attempt at the 13.1 distance. Going into the race, my goal was, of course, to beat my first half marathon time of 2:24:30, but I also just wanted to finish around 2 hours (under would be fantastic). I actually felt nervous on Friday about the race. I’d only done 9 miles as my long run training for this race and I would’ve preferred to have at least done 10 miles to get in the double digits again. I knew the end of the race is mostly a mental battle anyway, but I would’ve felt more confident having gotten more mileage in training.
Anyway, race morning was COLD! It almost felt like winter–the temps were in the 30s or 40s, but the real feel was in the 20s with the wind. I was prepared for less heat than my June half, but I wasn’t prepared to whip out my Under Armour already. Cooler weather is great for running though and the temperature was perfect, actually. By mile 4, I took off my gloves. A little later, I rolled up my sleeves, and by the halfway point, I removed my fleece headband (to keep my ears warm). The only problem then is having to hold these things while running. They weren’t throw-away clothes for me (and I needed them again after I finished & got cold again).
As the race started, I tried to focus on not starting out too fast. I wanted to try and stay between a 9-10 minute mile pace the entire race. I was able to stay in that range for most of the run (my Garmin really helped with this). Most of the run was on crushed limestone on the Des Plaines River Trail. It’s wooded and there aren’t many places for spectators to watch. My husband was great about coming out with me, mostly because I also told him he could fish in the lake while waiting for me to run (it’s boring and cold for spectators). There was this one stretch though by a park that had tons of spectators lined up and cheering as the runners went by. Even though they weren’t cheering specifically for me, it’s energizing and encouraging to have them there.
The course was good (just an out and back run), but there were a few times where I almost sprained my ankle or tripped/fell because parts of the ground might have been uneven or because I stepped on some forest debris (there were these round ball-like things…not acorns, something else). It happened multiple times so I was just praying I wouldn’t get hurt. I saw a couple other people stumble like that too. Scary! Every time it happened, I’d try to pick up my feet more.
I felt pretty good for most of the race, but I started hitting my wall around mile 9 or 10. My longest training run this time was 9
Approaching the finish line (I’m the one in back)
miles, so this kind of makes sense, but I was definitely feeling tired. I kept telling myself I didn’t want to walk because running slowly was still faster than walking. I did walk through the last few water stations (I was running out of water from my own hydration belt). Mile 12 was my slowest (10:12) even though I was reminding myself that I was almost to the finish line. Some marathoners passed me at that point. Just after the mile 12 marker, there were photographers taking pictures and one of them said, “You just got lapped,” referring to the marathoner who ran by before me. That’s real encouraging…but I didn’t really care because I was close enough to my goal time.
I knew as I approached mile 12 and got back into Independence Grove that I wasn’t going to get a sub-2 hour time, but I figured I might as well try to get as close to it as possible. I picked up my pace for a little while, but ended up slowing again (that last mile always feels so long). We got a headwind as we were nearing mile 13, which wasn’t fun, but once I passed that last mile marker, I stepped it up and sprinted that last 0.1 miles. I always do this in training, which I think pays off, since I had a pretty good time for that last portion according to my Garmin. Gerald was able to catch me finishing too because I called him when I hit mile 10 so he’d know to start heading to the finish line.
My official finishing time was 2:03:33 and I’m happy with that. It’s still 20 minutes faster than my first half! I placed 16th in my age group out of 69 people. Next time I’ll be aiming for a sub-2 hour half marathon. I took last week to do a couple recovery runs and today began training for my Turkey Trot 8k.
Congrats to everyone who ran the Chicago Marathon last weekend too!
Me with my supportive husband
Half Marathon #2 complete!
House Hunting Part 2
Furry friend we found on one of our house visits
Over a month later, I’m finally sharing part two of our house hunting story. I’m sure the few of you who read this blog were on the edge of your seats with anticipation. 
I do want to do a better job of keeping this blog updated though.
So I left off with my uncle offering us the possibility of renting a house he would purchase in Illinois.We were extremely excited about this and started working with our realtor again but this time upping our budget and looking at detached homes (opposed to townhouses). We looked at so many homes online (Redfin is a great site) and spent a lot of Saturdays visiting potential homes. There were a couple we visited that we really liked and thought my uncle should put an offer on but he and his wife decided to wait. At first this was hard because we had to remember that it wasn’t our money so it wasn’t exactly our purchase, but there were also things that we didn’t necessarily love about the house (small bedrooms, the kitchen is not open to the family/living room, etc. So in the end it was a good decision.
Finally after a couple months, my uncle decided to withdraw his offer to buy a home as an investment property because the Canadian dollar was no longer stronger than the U.S. dollar. Gerald and I were disappointed. I wondered why God would let us go through all this only to come up with nothing and to end up renting our condo for another year. Looking back though it helped us to do a lot of that house hunting because now we have a better idea of what kind of home we like (and we discovered a suburb we both really like…although it’s pretty far from where we both work).
So maybe in about 5 months or so we’ll start house hunting again, but in the meantime our goal is to save for a bigger down payment. The goal would be to put at least 20% down on a home (something I got from Dave Ramsey’s site). Whatever happens though, we just have to trust that God will lead us to the right place to live–whether we buy or rent again. Yes, it’s nice to own a home, but I had to realize that it’s a luxury. It’s not a necessity. As long as I have a roof over my head, I have all I need. I don’t always believe that, but I’m trying to work on being content with what God has given me. I already have more than I need.
Upcoming Races
5.25.13 The Color Run - Racine, WI
