I hate to admit it, but sometimes I process my life in "blogs" - meaning as life is unfolding, I picture how I would write about it on my blog in my head.  Unfortunately, I can't keep up with writing all of these posts like I want to, so instead, I'm sharing the titles of the blog posts that were never written :)

-Celebrating our anniversary by reliving "our dating days"
-The Dr. visit that would never end
-Hosting Hannah, a really refreshing friend
-Ellie's new best friends... Emmi & Ty
-Getting to the pool isn't as easy as it seems
-Why we'll never be able to pick a church
-Elllie :: A Little Mommy
-Why being the second child isn't so bad

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Meanwhile, I will attempt to summarize our life by saying it truly feels like one step forward, and two steps back.  We've had some of the same conversations a hundred times as we try to make decisions and put plans in place for the ministry this fall.  We've had plenty of hiccups as we attempt to reserve rooms, print table tents, order t-shirts, prepare Bible studies, plan events, etc. After LOTS of praying, planning, and preparing, we can't believe today is actually here! Noah is on campus with some students right now helping freshmen move in.  Ready or not, here they are!  


After a season of preparation, we are so very ready for this season of implementation.  We are throwing out a lot of lines just seeing what works and what doesn't. We're praying for the Lord to connect us with a whole lot of freshmen (and returners!) in the coming weeks and months. THANK YOU for praying!

It's amazing how your idea of a good day changes SO much over time.

In college a good day would've been sleeping in, lots of time with friends, beautiful weather, no studying, and lots of time with friends :)

As a newly married couple a good day would've meant sleeping in, lots of fun things planned, lots of time with Noah, going out to eat (and not having to cook!) basically a long date!

As a new mom a good day would've included a full night of sleep and time to snuggle with my baby!

As a busy mom of two babes, I feel like a good day is when

- I get a shower
- I get time with Jesus in the morning
- I read books with the girls!
- We make it for a walk around the neighborhood (and a stop at the park)
- The girls naps overlap and I get a 15 min nap myself
- I have a plan and opportunity to make dinner :)

Oh how life changes, and I am so so grateful for that! We are so very blessed and loving the little years! Life is crazy, but we wouldn't have it any other way!  

What we expected:

a quiet month... meaning we would be really lonely and have tons of time on our hands 

What we experienced:

a crazy busy fun month full of visitors and activity! 

We're very very grateful for this month as it made the transition feel much easier! We're tired, but SO thankful! If we wouldn't have been busy, I think we would've been really sad! It's been a sweet month of reconnecting with old friends (now that we are back in WI and live closer to family and friends) and getting time with our Champaign friends (who have come to visit us!) 

If you know me, you know one of my top values is FUN and it has truly been a month of FUN! We celebrated my grandpa's 90th birthday with the most rocking birthday party you could imagine for a 90 year old!, spent time at my parents for "Grandma Lu & Bompa camp"  with Ellie & Josie's cousins, spent a week on the Lake in Minocqua with Noah's family, went to Aunt Chelsea & Uncle Matt's baptism, celebrated Uncle Brady getting engaged to beautiful aunt-to-be Casey, met up with my family for Concert on the Square in Madison, attended 4th of July festivities in Whitewater, enjoyed a visit from two of my dear, dear college friends Jolie & Colleen and a visit from our very special Champaign friends (The Hubbards & The Youngs), spent time with our dear "new" friends The Schuellers, visited the Jefferson County fair and the list goes on.  

We have done our best to get to know the area- attending multiple churches, visiting the libraries, going to story time at two different libraries, walking around campus, going to the park, playing in our backyard, going to the farmer's market, etc.  Noah even got to go hang-gliding!!

We absolutely LOVE our house, and the town is starting to feel a bit like home. We feel very spoiled right now as we have had the best of both worlds (We are back in WI and getting to see our WI family and friends more BUT many of our IL friends have made the trek to visit us, so we've gotten to see them too.) :) 

The girls are doing very well and are at incredibly fun ages! I hope to post pictures soon-but let's just say, they're adorable! :)

Somehow we're already to August.  In our line of work, August is NOT a quiet month! Our EDGEr moves in this weekend, we're hosting a LAUNCH UWW- Navs lunch and prayer gathering, Noah turns 30, we're celebrating our 6th anniversary, and oh yeah, it's the beginning of the school year! We're looking forward to another full month! Praise the Lord for the rich blessings He has bestowed on us as we make our home in Whitewater!

Hello friends.  My "Friday Updates" often haven't been on Fridays this summer.  I'm all over the place!  Hopefully we'll get a little more consistent when the semester starts :)

Today is the debut of an occasional series, "Things we didn't know about campus ministry life."

Every job has its perks and quirks.  Katie and I often joke about the quirks we experience.  Some are larger, some are smaller.  Some are annoying.  Some are just funny.  From time to time, I hope to share some of the quirks of our works...the things we had no idea we'd experience when we were beginning a career in campus ministry.

Today's quirk is STUFF.

It's amazing how much stuff we accumulate in our work.  Part of this is due to having an office at home (which is currently pending, as we put a guest bedroom/office in our basement).  I have all my stuff there, plus other resources we'll need later in the year:  bible studies, books, office supplies, etc.

But there's other stuff too.  When we left Illinois, I chuckled as I offloaded on the other staff a trunk-full of boxes, books, bags, volleyballs, you name it.  There was a certain pleasure in getting that stuff out of our hands, and out of our basement!

But sure enough, upon our arrival in Whitewater, we've inherited another load of STUFF.  Tubs and boxes of sound equipment, banners, bibles, books, markers, nametags, giveaway bags, old candy, a water cooler/dispenser, and on and on. And we haven't received the huge box full of sound equipment yet!  Oh, and some kazoos!

Much of the stuff we'll put to good use in our fall recruiting and large group meetings.  But I don't know about the kazoo.


We'd appreciate your continued prayers as we plan and pray to get ready for the semester.  Nick, our EDGE Corps staff, moves here later this week!  We're so excited he'll be colaboring with us!

Happy Monday, friends!

-Noah