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Moments of time in Chicago:

Do you guys like the new design? Is it TOO girly??

Feel free to change it!

are you guys allowed to? How do I make it so you're allowed to?

Angel

This is my life now at the clinic. This angel of a lady who passes out cookies for her job (part of the company's advertising is giving free cookies to local businesses) brings us cartons of cookies weekly for FREE!!! They are made at Sam's and are always chewy and fresh tasting. There is an assortment of snickerdoodle, chocolate chunk, macademia nut, and M&M... it's all so good.

The problem is, I keep skipping meals to eat 7-10 cookies a day, really throwing off my whole "diet thing". Just give it time and I'll be blue and fuzzy and will only answer to "Cookie Monster" as my name. (Maybe THEN Carl will love me)

I had a good visit to Panama City. I thought only going for one night would feel too short and I'd be sad to leave so soon, but I felt like so much was done and had lots of bonding that I didn't feel sour at all leaving on Sunday. For the first time I'm really, genuinely excited about moving to Panama City. God is crazy like that.

Also, last night before bed I felt such peace. It was awesome! I just feel like before I was in such a slump and right now is the complete bounce back from that. Anyway, so last night, for the first time, Matt decided to help me work on the budget and balance our account. He hated it, but knew that it was a good idea to be more involved in that area (yay)! So when we finished balancing our account, paying our bills, etc. We realized that RIGHT NOW our goal for a moving budget is already reached, everything in our account is in the green and we have the exact amount of money we need to do everything we want for our 1 year anniversary (one day of buying junk food, one day of disney world, and one day of seeing 3 movies). I love budgets and I love it even more when they work. (Obviously God helped us with that too)

So I think that's it. We are studying Roman's in our small group and that's really fun...however I don't know what we're gonna do when Jess isn't there tomorrow night because she's the one who comes with all the background info for us to debate about.

Love you guys!!!

-Janelle

p.s. i couldn't get the spacing right

The changes that change us

Hello family,

Well, no big developments have happened in my life, (ie new job, marriage, etc.) But, life is surprisingly good. The other day I was flipping through my quiet time journal and I came across an entry from before I moved to Jacksonville. In fact, at that time the QT journal was just a journal. In this entry I was writing about the mistakes I had made the night before and the hangover I was currently struggling with. Reading back on the life I had compared to the life I live now was shocking. The changes in my life have been so slow and natural that I didn't really even notice them. But now, after reading that entry I feel excited. There really is a God and he is really working in my life and shaping me! It's so terribly exciting!

As many of you know I have been feeling frustrated at my job lately. But, again, while I was reading through old entries in that journal I read one from when I first moved to Jacksonville. In this entry I was scared because I had moved without a job and I was having trouble finding one. But, I wrote that I knew God would provide the right one. He did provide that job and it really is not so bad. (I make way more money than I should.) I don't know how long the paper I'm working for will last, but while it's here I'm going to be thankful that God provided it for me.

Also, Janelle and I have decided to get baptized. I wont speak for her, but I will explain why I'm doing it. I was baptized when I was 7 and I don't remember it at all. (Well, I remember there was an echo at the lake - that's right, we still lived in Indiana when I was baptized.) My life has changed so much and I feel like I've made a real turn around. I've finally dedicated my life, (not just my Sunday mornings) to God and I want everyone to know it. So, the plan is for mom and dad to come to Jacksonville on the weekend of June 25 where Dad will baptize us with all our friends as witnesses on Saturday, June 26th. I wont lie, I'm super excited!

If you think of it, please be praying for my neighbor and friend, Meghan Crafts. She and her husband are going through some rough times and it looks like her husband is pretty set on getting a divorce. Last night she was revealing to me how scared she was because she had nowhere for her and her son, (1-yr-old) to go. I felt like God wanted me to offer her my place. As you know, April moved back to Panama City and I'm in need of a roommate. Her lease is up at the end of July so she might come and live at my current place for a month. My lease is up at the end of August, then she and I will try to find an affordable 3BR place for us. I'm honestly hoping that it doesn't come to this and the two of them, (her husband's name is David Crafts) work things out. So, please keep the situation in your prayers. If we do move in together it will be a big adjustment for me, but I know that God will see us through it and reveal his love to her in amazing ways.

I love you guys and am always thinking of you!

Jessica

Summer Schools and Summer Jobs

This is my desktop background at work.

Hey everyone!

By now, a few of you know that I recently found employment in Chinatown, but I'd like to elaborate on the details. Basically, about two weeks ago, some of the Americorps workers at the Pui Tak Center -- where I volunteer as an ESL (English as a second language) tutor and pronunciation teacher -- told me they had a summer internship position opening and suggested I apply. Well, I almost forgot about it, but applied at the last second and got the position! The job is about 30 hours a week with a $2000 stipend, plus a $1000 tuition waiver upon my completion of the program. With the tuition waiver, it works out to about $10 an hour -- and a big bonus to my resume.

My focus at the Pui Tak Center is twofold: (1) build a foundation of curriculum for future pronunciation teachers and (2) conduct an ACT Prep class for ESL high school students. I'm much more excited about objective (1), especially since they didn't tell me anything about number (2) until after they hired me.

In the meantime, I'm taking two classes this summer, which means I should be able to finish my masters degree by December. However, teaching at the Pui Tak has led me to reconsider pursuing my doctorate. It It's something I'm still quite wary of, but I'm becoming less and less off-put by the notion of teaching as a career. I've looked into the program at the University of Illinois Chicago (UIC), and I think there's a very good chance I could not only get accepted, but go entirely for free.

In addition to opening teaching opportunities, a PhD also means I will: (a) have a better shot at working for the Federal Reserve, (b) have a better opportunity to become a published researcher and writer, and (c) possibly price myself out of working for a baseball team. I'm not so sure about point (c), but it seems probable -- and disheartening.

Anyway, if there was one thing I would want everyone to pray about, it would be about this -- about school. I almost feel like God deliberately kept me from other job opportunities this summer (I turned down two jobs, and didn't hear back from dozens of others) so he could specifically get me to teach.

Outside of that, I shaved -- as many of you already know. Each day I wake up and say, "I'm going to grow my beard back today." And then I go shave again. I really feel like my hair is getting too long to not have a beard, but it's so hot outside!

Mom, when you get here, can you help Jamie give me a non-Mohawk hairstyle? We don't know how to do it.

In other news, Daniel graciously paid for this month's MLB.tv subscription! For those of you using that service, please be sure to thank Daniel! I've become too poor of late to afford that extra payment -- also our internet asplodes about every ten minutes.

I'm so excited about mom, dad, and Jessica coming to Chicago! Jamie and I keep talking about all the places we want to take our family, and now we will finally have a chance!