TrevorAndKayla

Quentin Is Home!

2011-02-26T18:12:00.000-08:00

Quentin and Trevor enjoying an former pastime

Quentin is back in Texas. He got off and out of Minot on my (Kayla's) birthday, February 8. We spent two consecutive weekends in Fort Worth getting to see him, and now we are all down in Georgetown. We have enjoyed eating, shopping, and conversation today, and we are planning on celebrating Kyra's third birthday tomorrow! Trevor and I will not be able to make her party, so we are excited to get to spend this time with her and her wonderful parents.

Earlier this month, we had a crazy beginning to February. I ended up getting a total of five (paid) days off for weather, four of them being consecutive. I was as thankful as ever to have my best friend two blocks away. We enjoyed some knitting and crocheting to a background of Oklahoma!, Pride & Prejudice, and State Fair. Grandma Crowe wrote down her dishcloth pattern for me at Thanksgiving, and those days off finally gave me a chance to practice! Trevor, however, went stir crazy and was thankful to be able to return to work when the roads improved.

I also celebrated my 25th birthday with the Clinards and the Dowells the weekend before my birthday. My friends were gracious enough to go out to eat at Olive Garden with us, and then the Clinards had us over for cookies & board games. We had a blast. It is such a blessing to be able to keep old friendships in new stages of life, particularly with how much I cried over moving away from friends, these four included, in 2008!

Winter Weather

2011-01-22T15:15:00.000-08:00

Well, it finally got winter cold in Dallas. Two weeks ago we had snow on a Sunday, and this week we had cold rain.

Trevor and I currently have four blankets on our bed. The bottom is a simple cream-colored cotton blanket that we bought with a Walmart gift card on our first New Years Eve married when our apartment heater broke.

The three quilts pictured here each have a story as well:
-The cream quilt with purple detail at the top of this photo was our hostess gift at my Lubbock bridal shower.
-The middle quilt was made by a friend from Georgetown named Fran and her mother. It was our parting gift at our farewell potluck at Georgetown CoC.
-The quilt at the bottom of the picture was Grandma Crowe's graduation gift to Trevor. I got a quilt at graduation, also, which is at my parents' house: a quilt made out of all my middle and high school t-shirts.

In practical news, Trevor is enjoying his job and I might be starting to get the hang of my "new" school (I will have been there six months on February 11). We are making all sorts of goals for the New Year. We got eye exams over Christmas break, gave blood today to get our blood types and a base number on our cholesterol levels, and we are scheduled to go to the dentist next week. Other than that, we're just plugging along.

-Kayla

Placing Membership

2010-10-03T14:39:00.001-07:00

After visiting three different churches and feeling fully welcomed by all, we placed membership last week at the church we felt we would be the best fit at, Richardson East Church of Christ. We have received a booklet in the mail of all of the ways we can participate in various church ministries, which we are perusing and considering. Our friends Matthew and Jessica Dowell placed membership the same day. Now the only large component we are missing in Dallas life is a job for Trevor!

This weekend has been a busy one for us. We enjoyed dinner with Mark, Ruth, Evelyn, Dale, Curtis, and Claire, walking for SCTNow on Saturday morning with our friends, the Clinards, seeing Claire and Curtis again along with Claire's best friend from Ft. Worth, and then an evening, church morning, and afternoon with Les & Deatra.

Sidenote: To learn more about and/or donate money to Stop Child Trafficking Now, visit my donor page. To sign a petition for the children brougt out of trafficking, visit the body shop website.

We are looking forward also to visiting Johanna in Witchita Falls and seeing her as Emma in the musical, Jekyll & Hyde. Break a leg, Johanna Lee!

Life in Dallas

2010-09-05T13:40:00.001-07:00

We have now been in Dallas for a month and a half. Kayla started her job on August 11 at a Methodist child care center in Dallas. Trevor is still waiting to hear back from a job he interviewed for this past week, and we have been hunting for a church home. Our apartment is unpacked and we have been doing well at keeping it nice thus far.

I (Kayla) am looking into doing a charity walk called SCTNow, with the possibility of Trevor joining me if work allows. There is an article on the website about Child Trafficking in Texas that blew me away, since I normally think of that type of thing being an overseas thing. There are walks across the US. Visit the website to find out more.

Thank you for all the prayers that went up on our behalf on this change. We are still adapting in some ways, but, overall, we have settled in to life here in Dallas.

Moving Day

2010-07-20T17:04:00.000-07:00

Well, we packed up our Georgetown apartment and loaded it up, with the help of Claire and Curtis and a couple of men from church:

We caravaned with Claire in the XTerra and Curtis in Trevor's Kia to Dallas. Then we signed our new lease, paid our rent, and met Matthew and Jessica to unload the truck.

Thanks to everyone who helped. There is still much to do with unpacking. Trevor is still looking for a job; I will start with Preston Hollow United Methodist's preschool later in August. We got to visit Richardson East Church of Christ with the Dowells this weekend.

Six Month Update

2010-05-31T09:39:00.000-07:00

In the every day making a living, we have not had much to write about, but here is a quick update:

Trevor and I enjoyed our first out-of-town trip since Johanna's wedding last July. We met my parents in Abilene to watch our dear friends, the Dowells, graduate from ACU.

In February, I joined a weight loss group called First Place 4 Health. Here is the result:

Now I am in the "maintenance stage", which means I have to learn to apply all that I've learned about food and exercise and actually carry it out for the rest of my life to stay at a healthy weight and lower my risk for Type 2 Diabetes and heart disease, both of which run in my family.

The big job news is that Trevor is still at McDonalds, but he withdrew from management and is working crew level again. The scheduling was against him, and we hardly had any time to see each other and communicate, much less enjoy spending some time together. He is now looking into different options of where to go next for a job that he will actually like.

Two Updates

2009-11-11T14:19:00.000-08:00

-Kayla-

I have a new job . . .kind of. As you will see, it is more like changing lanes than turning onto a different street.

First of all, why I needed a different job: the person who moved away in May, allowing me to take up her full-time job when the mother's day out school year ended, moved back in September. Since she has more experience and is really good with the 12-24 mo. age group, she got her position back. I worked three weeks in a class that had no assistant teacher until they could hire an assistant teacher with an education degree. (At least one teacher in every classroom from 3 1/2 yrs. up must have their degree; since the head teacher in the class I worked in didn't, the assistant was required to.) When they hired a new assistant teacher, I kind of became "the extra", working on days they needed me and not working days they didn't (today included).

On MONDAY, I went into work and was told that the lead teacher position at a different Primrose campus (under the same owner and area director) had opened in the 2 1/2 yr. old class and that my name "came up" for the position. It is further away from my apartment, and the hours are early (7am-4pm), but the pay is better, not to mention the reliable hours. I start my new position on Monday. It ought to be an interesting ride . . .

~~~~~

The situation with Abilene is this: our lease runs out in July 2010. Trevor's contract with McDonalds (saying he will work in management six months or pay back the money that McDonalds paid for the management training classes) ends in December. We would like to get back to Abilene, but we're trying to do the best in Georgetown until that time.

Rain, Rain

2009-10-09T08:03:00.000-07:00

We may still be paying off debts, but we have no car payments. In addition to Claire's Saturn that Trev has been using since his freshman year of college, we now have a little green Kia Rio that gets Trevor to work and back. We paid $3000 in cash, and then we got a deal from a local insurance company that insures both cars and adds in renter's insurance for about what just the national-brand insurance was charging for just the Saturn.

Trevor's job has gotten a bit more hectic. His store got a new store manager who does her shift managers' schedules a bit differently, so Trev is now working most Sundays. However, unlike before, once every three weeks or so he gets both Saturday and Sunday off. I asked off of the worship team on the weeks he'll be at church so that I can sit with him.

My job is a bit crazy, too. I've spent the last two and a half weeks working with the four-year-old class (I'm normally with the one-year-olds) while they found someone with a teacher's certificate to fill in the position. I really enjoyed working with kids who speak in full sentences, although there are new issues with that stage (such as tattling).

We are, in fact, thinking about moving back to Abilene, the main issues being finding jobs and our current lease. (We are scheduled to live there through next July.) We're kind of waiting to see what happens.

-Kayla

2009-08-01T12:05:00.000-07:00

For now, Trevor and I are working . . .and working . . .and working! We are also helping out with the upcoming Praise Team launch at church (me singing and Trev on sound system), hanging out with our Warwick family, and spending what time we have together more carefully than we use to. Our new one-year lease started today, so whatever we do for the next year will be based in Georgetown.

For what might be the last time we take time off of work for awhile, Trevor and I went to Abilene this past week to witness the "formal exchange of vows" of our friend Johanna and her husband Luke who eloped in January. Because they eloped, all three of my bridesmaids were married within a year and a half of our wedding. It was strange being the old married couple after being having the youngest marriage we know of at church. This may also have been the last time all of our friends are in Abilene at the same time . . .

. . . at least we have each other!

Recent happenings

2009-06-11T16:38:00.000-07:00

So, Kayla started full-time at Primrose a while back and has enjoyed having one work schedule, rather than two. This week, she's even been the only teacher in her class (which has been an interesting experience for her). She's also been doing VBS this week. She's been working with two teens, and has found it amusing to be the experienced person in the room. But she's really enjoyed VBS.

I finished up my training for shift manager today. It's been about a two or three month process, but I finally finished the last class. It's been a fun experience overall. I've gotten to know other people from other stores, and met some I wish I could work with. But we've got to spread around the talent, rather than keep it all at one store, right? So, today I graduated from McDonald's BSM (Basic Shift Management) course. We had a little ceremony that friends/family could come to and everything. I was on the Dean's List (which means I made 90 or above on my final test) and earned the Archie Award (which means I scored better on all tests than anyone else). Yay! And it's in my permanent employee file, which is also a plus. So, I've just got to finish up my action report (which proves that I went back to the store and took steps to improve operations based on what I learned through BSM) and then I'm completely and totally finished. Next month I officially start on the managers' rotation.

In other news, Kayla and I decided to sign a one-year lease renewal. So, we're staying here in Georgetown for a while longer. We're still not sure what we'll do this time next year, but that's not for another year. Right now we're just trying to save up for a second vehicle (since my schedule is going to be variable now that I'm a shift manager). But since Kayla's gone full-time at Primrose and I'm getting a promotion at McDonalds, that shouldn't be far away now.

We had an interesting realization the other day. By the end of our lease next year, we'll have accomplished almost all our goals that we set after deciding to not go immediately on an internship. We wanted to get our finances in order, which we have. We know how much we owe, and we know what our cost of living is. We wanted to become financially stable, and we've been paying for the bulk of our expenses (with some help from parents), and our financial situation is only going to get better. We wanted some more time to mature in "the real world," and that has been coming along well. Pretty much the only goal we haven't achieved is to pay off our loans. But we're ahead of schedule, and (what's more important) we know that our payments are reasonable amounts.

So, what this all means is that by next year, we could be in a good position for going on that missionary apprenticeship that we have been hoping to do. We don't know what's ahead, but our dreams may not be as far off as we thought they were. We'll see what the future holds when we get there.

Take care, everybody,
-Trevor

Job Updates

2009-04-17T07:20:00.000-07:00

Well, both of our jobs are changing - in a good way!

I will be starting full time hours on May 4 at Primrose (child care) while continuning with Bright Beginnings (mom's day out) through May 21st. This means both more money coming in and more hassle going out, but it should be worth it. I am sad that this opportunity had to come through my coworker leaving - she's taught me everything I know as far as actually being in the classroom - but I'm glad to have a shot at full-time work.

Trevor has finally gotten approved to train for management, which means he will have to attend classes in North Austin on Wednesdays for a while. Still, this is a great opportunity as we're trying to earn extra money.

Our next financial goal is to buy a car by the end of the summer so we can stop stealing Curtis's truck when we need a second vehicle. We want to be able to pay in cash. If anyone wants to contribute to this effort, by the way, any help will be welcome!

-Kayla-

Working for a Living

2009-03-24T06:11:00.001-07:00

-Kayla-

We've been working paycheck to paycheck to paycheck to paycheck to paycheck - yes, five paychecks in one month that don't add up to a whole lot, but meet our needs. Not much has changed, but we've been kept busy with work.

The biggest change is that Trevor is now beginning the process of management training at McDonalds. He may be getting a promotion to crew trainer within the next month along with a little bit of a raise.

My plans are to finish out the school year working two jobs. I won't be returning to the mothers-day-out next year, although I may not be gone forever. (If I'm not overseas when I have small children, I may be back.) I will be ready to go fulltime at Primrose, the educational childcare, on June 1st and am looking forward to a bit more of a daily routine.

Harvest Sunday is this Sunday at church! The New Zealand missionaries, whom we've never met, will be there, and there will be an auction that Sunday night for the weekly family missions trip to Mexico. It's been a long time since we've been in a missions-charged environment, and I'm really excited to see what happens.

I suppose that's all for now. I must be getting to work.

Missions?

2009-01-28T10:28:00.000-08:00

Trevor and I had an interesting experience the other day when we went to the bank to close our credit card account. Making friendly conversation, the bank rep. asked us if we were students. We told him no, he asked about our degrees. Trevor replied "Missions" and we said we wanted to eventually be missionaries . . .

We got down to business. He tried every argument to try and get us to keep our card (I hope we didn't cost him his bonus!), but finally did what we asked.

As we stood up to walk out the door, he said, "Now, wait? What are you wanting to do? Go to another country, hand out pamphlets, that sort of thing?" We tried as best we could to describe what we wanted, but since there was nothing of the sort in his own experience, we never quite got to an understanding.

WOW! Pamplets!? Is that what the church is known for these days!? I myself received one in high school entitled "Heaven or Hell" or something like that. I tried to tell the guy I didn't need it, but some well-meaning youth pastor probably told them to be sure to get rid of all of them. He didn't even stand around and talk when I finally did take it. (It went in the trash shortly after he left. I'm pretty sure that this is often the response.)

Where is the relationship? Where are the crowds in awe of the work of Jesus? We talk so much about "planting seeds" - but Jesus calls us to the HARVEST! (Luke 9:37-38)

So here I conclude that we could all afford to pray a little bit about
1) any work we know of in the church that is reaching out relationally to the world and
2) how we ourselves can do better (and I KNOW I could be doing better!)

. . .and step off my soap box.

Long Time, No Write

2009-01-14T10:09:00.000-08:00

-Kayla-

Sorry about the long pause between posts! As you will see in a short moment, we've had a busy month and a half!

First of all, we've just finished a string of travels: we went to Madil for Thanksgiving, Fort Worth on our way back from Thanksgiving, Abilene for a weekened, and Lubbock for Christmas. My allergies kicked up the day we left for Thanksgiving, and had become a full-blown sinus infection by Christmas. (Seven drugs in different forms later, I'm feeling much better.) We celebrated our anniversary in December by going to a nice late lunch at Red Lobster and Christmas shopping for ourselves and our families.

Now for our most recent news: Trevor's new job! Thanks to a new friend we met just a month ago, Trevor has been hired as a crew member at McDonalds. He started 15 minutes ago! If he and the job get along, there will be possible opportunities for more hours and possibly eventually managment. I told him that I want a picture of him and me together in our work uniforms. We'll see.

Petti John

2008-11-21T18:38:00.000-08:00

We'll be at Petti John! It turns out that the school will be closed on both Thursday and Friday. I'm glad my sweet hubby's tradition is not going to be broken this year, and I'm excited about seeing everyone!

-Kayla

More Job News

2008-11-16T19:41:00.000-08:00

-Kayla-

For a couple who had very little news for three months straight, a whole lot has been happening recently.

The most recent is that I started a second job (I am now working at Primrose School of Round Rock as well as Bright Beginnings Preschool) on Monday, and on Tuesday we found out that Trevor's job was more temporary than we originally thought (tomorrow may be his last day). The main thing is that we still have some pretty good income, although Trevor is going to try to find a job pretty quickly so that we have even better income as the grace period for our student loans wears off.

We've also made a couple of good financial decisions recently: first, we paid three months of rent upfront when we signed our lease. We also finally shredded our credit card(s) at our Financial Peace University class. Next week is our last week for the class, and, although it has been super helpful and fun making new friends, we'll be glad to have those two hours on Sunday back.

The bad news about my new job is that we may not make it to Petty John after all. I requested that Friday off but don't know if I'll get it, being a new employee and all. If we DO get it, that kicks a lot of our flexibility for the other holidays, too. We'll just have to see.

Trevor says the good news is that we still have each other. *grin*

All Moved In

2008-11-07T07:39:00.000-08:00

Trevor and I are technically moved into our apartment. We are taking our time on some things (like our huge collection of books) since there's no "get out so someone else can get in" at Curtis and Claire's house. Having said that, we are still in the very slow process of unpacking. Between work and church, we have had very little time to dedicate to it, so we're getting a box or two a day done. Still, it's been nice to see our dishes again :-)

Apartment Approved

2008-10-25T06:33:00.001-07:00

We will move into our new apartment on November 1.

EXTRA! EXTRA! READ ALL ABOUT IT!

2008-10-22T08:33:00.000-07:00

Guess what! We actually have some news!

So, we got the "we-need-to-move-out-on-our-own" bug a while back, but at the time we were planning on going on a two-year apprenticeship in Fall 2009, and didn't have a good income, so we figured we just had to be content for the time being.

Well, we found jobs (finally) and also joined a group in Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University (which some friends from church talked us into. I mention both together, because they worked together to produce a new direction for our immediate lives.

The Dave Ramsey class has actually been a very helpful thing for us. It's helping us learn to better manage our finances (which is important at this point, so we don't screw up our future finances). One of the biggest impacts that it has had on us was to encourage us into a new path than what we had planned out.

One of Dave Ramsey's financial tools is called the debt snowball. Basically, you work on paying the minimum payments for all your debts, and figure out how much extra you can pay per month. You pay the minimum payments on all debts, but put all the extra you can into the smallest debt. Then, once that's paid off, you move that same amount of money to the next smallest, and thereby cause a "snowball".

The important effect of this debt snowball idea was that we realized that with $400 a month above the minimum payments, we can be rid of our student debts in 6 years or less. So, we talked it over and decided that it would be more financially responsible to get rid of our debts first, then look at going to the mission field. That way, we have to raise less money for funding, and we have a few years to grow and mature.

So, once we decided we were going to pay off our loans first, we also got a much stronger drive to move out of the parents' house. We realized we were able to afford it, and went apartment shopping. Today we signed the application (not the lease) and are waiting for approval (which we're not too worried about). We actually even got to use a bit of Dave Ramsey's teachings in the process. Dave says that one important thing to do is bargain. So we offered to pay the first three months rent upfront (upon signing the lease), and got a bit more of a discount than they were already offering. Yay! If all goes well, then we'll be moving into our own apartment on Nov. 1.

Bright Beginnings

2008-10-06T06:47:00.001-07:00

Well, we are into the second month of my preschool teaching job! My kids range in age: my youngest will turn two in March, my oldest will turn three in November. They're great. They're a handful (or two or three), but they're great. I save all of the more complicated art projects for Thursday when I have an all-day aide.

Trevor is now earning commission at his job in addition to hourly! We are excited because it means that, soon enough, we will be able to move out and pay extra on our student loans. We're still trying to figure out all the budgeting stuff, but we're learning a lot from Dave Ramsey and spending a lot of time together adjusting all of it to our own situation.

Hope all is well.

-Kayla

For those of you who may be looking for a job soon . . .

2008-09-23T19:11:00.001-07:00

-Kayla-

I learned to edit my sophomore year of high school by taking at least an hour on each essay to read it backwards a sentence at a time. I eventually grew out of this habit as grammar became more natural to me and I started to edit as I went along.

*All of that to say* - if you're using an old resume, make sure you haven't handed out several copies of it with a job you had a year and a half ago listed as "current".

I have an interview tomorrow for a YMCA after-school care program, and this resume is updated.

Finally! Some news!

2008-09-18T17:36:00.000-07:00

--Trevor--

So, I am proud to announce that I finally have a job! Yay me! It's contract work through Kelly Services, working for a insurance claims adjuster office. In essence, I'm going to help process all the claims that are popping up since the hurricanes blew through. I'm getting paid a decent wage (yay!) and can work somewhat flexible hours after training. So that's really exciting. I don't have to sit around the house all day anymore!!!

And, what's more, it's a job that will actually help me develop marketable skills. This is primarily a data entry job, which means that it will give me direct, practical experience for a lot of clerical positions. Which is good, because this is a temporary job. Once the claims are all completed, this job goes bye-bye. So it's nice that I can actually get a longer term benefit out of this. The downside is that I don't know how long the job will last. It could be a couple month, or closer to a year, from what the guy told me. It all depends on the amount of work.

So, once again, YAY! And this concludes the news.

First Week on the Job

2008-09-06T07:33:00.000-07:00

-Kayla-

First of all, Trevor is waiting on a phone call from a middle school about a job. Pray, pray, pray.

Second, this past week was my first week at Bright Beginner's Preschool. I came home from the first day sore and kind of out of it (as my dad says, I'm like my mother: I can go, go, go while I have to, but, when it's over, I crash). I reviewed once again the exact ages of my children and both impressed myself and laughed at myself for not looking sooner: I just about have guessed the birth order of my students after only one day with them.

It's definitely interesting working there as a non-mommy myself. It is (as I suspected it would be) both an advantage and a disadvantage. I have a lot of book learning that is very useful for teaching (for instance, being able to tell birth order and adjust to what that age needs). However, there is a lot of very practical things I know very little about, mainly from not having kids of my own (diapers, telling moods, finding the age-appropriate discipline).

It's going to take some adjustments for both me and the kids, but I think we'll get there. Besides, I'll be able to do more as the year goes on and the kids get older. Right now I just have to keep them from walking out the door and stealing each others' food!

Job Search

2008-08-23T13:07:00.001-07:00

-Kayla-

Well, Trevor and I have officially been unemployed for about three months. My Bright Beginnings job starts on September 2, which means the next paycheck we are guaranteed will be in October. We are more thankful than ever for free housing and a fridge full of food. A bit of recap of our job search:

I interviewed at the beginning of the summer for a preschool teacher position at a childcare. After that interview, I got offered the job, but the interview had made ME decide it wasn't the job for me. I then interviewed at Bright Beginnings, and was a bit more comfortable with working with little bitty ones only two days a week and teaching them what I have been taught to teach them - the Bible. After accepting that part-time job, I got a call to interview for a full-time job which, by that time, I couldn't take. I interviewed at Starbucks last week, asking for a time frame. They said 48 hours. It's been 5 days. I think I missed it.

Trevor worked a temporary job at a truss assembly plant and had to drop it in order to finish up some class work for graduation . . .and didn't go back because he could barely do anything when he got home. Since then, he's had an interview or two that haven't yet called back. This week, he's applied at Taco Bell and the Chiropractor's office. *Hopefully* we'll hear back from the office.

It is really difficult to find balance when unemployed. You feel lazy if you stay home all day, but you risk missing a call if you go out. You want to get the best job you can, so your are reluctant to apply for smaller jobs (even when anything would help) when a better job offer is up in the air. Needless to say, we feel as if we've gotten into a kind of cycle that we're just ready to get out of.

In the meantime, we are slowly and surely looking more at what it will take in the coming year or year and a half in order to go on a missions internship.

Mostly, though, we miss our friends in Abilene. We miss Taco Tuesday with Johanna and Ariel, teasing Matt and Jessica and getting teased, and discussing married life with Ben and Marcella. And, of course, Sunday at Minter Lane. We were very socially blessed in Abilene (in a way that was also a spiritual blessing), and we miss those blessings being more accessible.

Now we just have to get our chins up and figure out what blessings (and plans) God has for us here in Georgetown. Praying for that would be more helpful, I think, than praying for us on any other point (not that we would mind any of it).

Time?

2008-07-31T13:15:00.001-07:00

-Kayla-
I suppose it's about time we updated, but I was hoping to have news about new jobs when I did. We are still waiting on calls.

We will be going to Abilene this weekend to see our friend, Josh White, get married. We are so excited about getting to see a variety of our friends!

We also (finally) made a visit down to south Austin this past Monday to see my mom's extended family . . .with a very unfortunate reason: to visit my grandma in the hospital. We showed up in time to hear that she is going to be fine, and it was good to see everybody.

I have gone so far to two work days in preparation for Bright Beginner's Preschool. I am to have the two-year-olds, which means I will have to deal with diapers, but I'll be okay. I have one and a half bulletin boards done. My lesson plans are coming along a lot easier than I originally expected because of all the wonderful resources I've been shown and given during the workdays. It will be nice to be doing something that makes money again, even if it's not a whole lot.

To Alabama and Back Again

2008-07-16T08:08:00.000-07:00

--Trevor--

So, we took about a 1-1/2 week trip to visit my grandparents; first Mawmaw, my dad's mom, near Tyler, then my Grandma and Granddad (mom's parents) near Montgomery. In addition to family, we also got to see our friend Jenna, who lives about 15 minutes away from Mawmaw, and my old youth minister, Dub, and his family. We got back on Monday, safe and sound.

So, after a vacation, it's back to the job hunt again. As a reminder, Kayla's got a PT job at the church's preschool. We're both checking out job possibilities with the local school district, seeing if we can get jobs as educational assistants, or something like that. I don't know how much luck we'll have, but it's a nice idea that we might have most of the same vacation time/breaks as we did before graduation. We'll see. Not much else to report.

Trevor's Haircut

2008-07-03T16:22:00.000-07:00

Trevor finally took his brother's advice and got a hair cut. Quite a haircut.

And he saved money by doing it himself (mostly - Claire helped finish off the back.)

Kyra likes him a lot more now that she can see his face better:

Side view:

So Trevor could still have me on his Facebook profile picture:

-Kayla

A Couple of New Tidbits

2008-06-29T13:13:00.000-07:00

First of all, Georgetown C of C has been looking for a preacher for months (since a little before we got married, I believe). Today, they announced that Tim Curtis and his wife Belinda have accepted the position and will be here in August. We got to personally meet Tim when he visited a few weeks ago, and he went to school with and is a friend with Randy Harris, one of our Bible professors and a great inspiration on campus. From the little we've heard of from him (the conversation, sermon, and e-mails from today), Trev and I are very excited about this new preacher. We're also excited for the children's minister and the youth minister who will finally have a bit of help in the ministry department - they've been taking on all kinds of stuff!

***NOTE: I almost forgot to mention that Tim also use to work with Tommy Drinnen, my missionary supervisor in Ghana!***

Also, we have decided to travel a little this summer after all. Since jobs hadn't come as quickly as we hoped, we decided it would be worth it to make a trip to see Trevor's grandparents in Tyler and in Alabama. We haven't seen his Alabama grandparents since the wedding (where we saw them briefly) and they've been an incredible part of Trevor's upbringing. We feel that this is a great opportunity to visit now.

Trevor and I spent the entire past week teaching kids that, "There's nothing my God cannot do." We'll get through this unemployment thing fine. We'll get through to our visions for missions if they truly are aligned with his vision. VBS reminded us that God is in control . . .and that we'll be fine without kids of our own for a while yet!

VBS

2008-06-25T07:11:00.000-07:00

-Kayla-

Thanks to an unexpected amount of 4 and 5 year olds at Georgetown Church of Christ, this is officially the 7th year I have worked in some capacity with children during the summer. I keep meaning to take pictures, but I get so into giving instructions and such that I forget. Maybe tonight.

Coach, the children's minister, called me on Monday morning. On Sunday night, the first night of VBS, twenty-one 4 and 5 year olds showed up. We've had about twenty-eight both Monday and last night spread out over two classes (the original teacher and us).
It's definately been an interesting experience because the majority of our prior experience is with teens and school-age children. I worked with the little ones some at Sugar N' Spice in High School, but not to the point of being in charge of fourteen of them. It's also reminded me that I'm officially a married adult with a college degree - my role with children has changed since I was sixteen!

My phone interview for my first job working with kids over the summer (the aforementioned Sugar N' Spice) I can still remember. The reason I dropped drum major tryouts and a couple of youth group trips was the following job description (paraphrased): "I want teenagers who can show the kids that you can be both cool and be a Christian." That got me so excited that I took the job . . .and ended up with a bachelor's degree in Children's Ministry!

Still no takers with the jobs - it's even more difficult for me now that I'm not available full-time during the year (because of my job at the pre-school). I did get a call that I had to turn down. I've made my commitment, though, and I am certainly excited about getting to teach Bible lessons all year long. Trevor is just now beginning the job search all over again. We could both use some prayers on those accounts - not neccessarily that we get jobs soon, but that if God is timing it like this on purpose, we won't get discouraged but will use the time wisely.

God bless.

Kind of Where We Are

2008-06-20T04:47:00.000-07:00

-Post by Kayla-

Well, Trevor is currently at his last day on the construction job. He's decided to look for a different job that is not quite so far away and not quite so exhausting on his muscles. This past week, he put in an application at Home Depot and I put one in at the Yankee Candle Store (that smells so good!). We haven't heard back from either yet, but it's only been a couple of days.

Trevor's birthday was yesterday, but we haven't had a big birthday dinner yet. He wanted to wait till the weekend because of how tired he is at the end of a work day. He did, however, let me run and get him some Blue Bell Vanilla Bean Ice Cream. (I asked him if he wanted cake, and this is what he asked for. It sounds like another very prominent male in my life . . .Dad.)

We also got a very nice surprise in the mail yesterday: our security deposits from University Parks Apartments. After a year, you forget that they owe you money, so it's like opening a present when you get it. It was lovely.

Anyway, we're still trucking, trying to find our place here. We've been going to the young professionals class on Sunday mornings at church, and I think we can enjoy it despite it's being a different atmosphere than the scholarly Minter Lane college group. We asked the teacher and his wife if they knew of any young married couples, and there are some around; we just haven't met them because of summer vacation. Of course, it won't be the same as having Ben and Marcella or Matt and Jessica in the area, but hopefully it can be just as good (and that's a promising thought).

I hope everyone out there is okay. Feel free to leave a comment every so often (blogspot readers) so we can know that our blog is being read.

Marriage and other things

2008-06-14T12:30:00.001-07:00

Well, Sunday is Father's Day, as well as our six month anniversary. We know six months will be nothing when we've been married for ten, twenty, or thirty years, but considering months is all we have right now, six months is quite an accomplishment.

Also, I have a job, but it does not start until September, and it is a very small, two days a week job. I am working at Bright Beginner's Preschool as a teacher, probably with 3-year-olds. It doesn't pay much, but it's a great opportunity to actually get experience in that thing which I just graduated with a degree for. I'm still looking for that second job; something hourly and simple.

-Kayla

"Work a forty hour week for a livin'...

2008-06-10T18:54:00.000-07:00

...just to send it on down the line"

So, the past two days at my new job brought the Alabama song "Forty Hour Week" to mind. So, here's the details. I'm working a full-time job at a truss assembly plant. Essentially, we manufacture large sections of what will become rafters or floor supports, etc., so that the construction crews can throw up a house/building much quicker. I work on the back end of one of the saw machines, taking the cut lumber and stacking it on pallets.

I work 7am-3:30pm, with 2 breaks ("lunch" is 9-9:30, and a 15 min. break at noon). It's not bad work, it's just not very stimulating either. The only part I can really complain about is having to stand for 8 hours a day. My legs (especially my heels) have been killing me the past couple of days. I'm beginning to understand the term "hard work," though. This is the hardest I've had to work since...possibly ever (definitely since before college). We'll have to see if I can hold out. I thought about quitting after the first day (oh, that day sucked). But I decided I should give it a few weeks, give my body a chance to adjust to real physical work.

As a cross-cultural missionary hopeful, this job is an unexpected training field. First, I'm one of 4 white guys (not working in the office) that I know of. Most everybody else is Hispanic (and most of them just speak Spanish). So, I'm already in a cross-cultural setting with language barriers. My job training came from a guy named Veto (spelling?) who spoke just a spattering of English. So, it was more of a monkey-see/monkey-do learning experience. It's so incredibly frustrating when you're used to being able to ask questions to clarify what you're supposed to do, but don't have any effective way of communicating. But, little by little I have been learning my job. I've also been trying to take advantage of the language situation. While I don't really know much Spanish, I've been trying to listen to the guys when they talk, to pick up on the diction and pronunciation, and try to pick out words here and there.

I must say, this has been an interesting experience. It seems that I'm having to redefine myself, as it were. It doesn't matter how funny I may be - I don't speak Spanish, and even if I did, jokes often don't translate well. It doesn't matter how hard working I may be - I'm new at this, and therefore rather incompetent. It doesn't matter that I have (almost) graduated from college - "higher education" doesn't mean much in this environment. So many aspects of who I am seem to be completely (or mostly) irrelevant in my new work environment.

That is not to say that I am irrelevant, however. I, me, the person underneath everything else, is probably the one relevant part of who I am there. I am a child of God, in the middle of a crowd of broken people. I talked to Fernando, one of the bilingual guys. He noticed my ring and asked how long I'd been married, then how old I was. He asked if I was sure I had married the one for me, someone who would "stand beside me and fight for me." I'm wondering if he thought I was an idiot for getting married so early in life. See, he is divorced, and not too long ago, his girlfriend left him for someone who was more financially well off - and had 2 kids w/ his ex-wife and 1 w/ his ex-g/f. I just kept wondering what part I might play in his life. I mean, I'm this young adult, fresh out of college, with little life experience. It's not like I can counsel him on what makes a great marriage/relationship. I'm still figuring it out. I'm still learning who I am, what I care about, and what I dream of. Other than who I am, I don't really have anything to offer. The question is, how do I make a difference? How do I, as irrelevant as I may be there, do something greater than just a job?

-Trevor

Job Find #1

2008-06-07T09:16:00.000-07:00

Well, Trevor has found a job for now. He has been hired by a hiring agency to work construction in a little town northwest of here. He needs to bring his own work boots, measuring tape, and 22 oz or more hammer, only one of which we had to buy.

I am waiting to get calls about interviews, including one from a volunteer situation. Because they are between volunteer coordinators, I need to wait till Monday even to have work for no pay to do! I am trying to get out of the house so that I don't get accustomed just yet to the house-wife lifestyle. We need money more than that . . .and I would have to learn very quickly to cook.

One Link Added

2008-06-03T07:15:00.000-07:00

We now have links to the blogs of all four locations (on trevorandkayla.blogspot.com, not facebook) to the right of the posts.

Arrival

2008-06-01T06:58:00.000-07:00

Well, we've finally made the last trip to Georgetown. This time, we're staying for more than a weekend: it could be over a year. All of our "stuff" is here, too, which makes the garage an exciting place to try and walk through. My hope is that we can bring a lot of it in soon, particularly in the areas of books and movies, which were the first things to come down here.

We spent a good week with my parents last week. We were able to both spend time with them and get a lot of rest, although it took Trevor less time to relax than it did for me. It's always difficult after a long period of stress to realize that, no, there isn't anything demanding on your to-do list, and, yes, it is a good thing to take a break from labor for a while.

Trevor and I both have interviews this next week: his on Tuesday afternoon, mine on Wednesday morning. He's interviewing at an insurance type place, and I've got one at a pre-school. Both are outside of Georgetown.

There is still a lot to do as far as settling in is concerned, but we are, for the most part, here. It feels good to actually have job interviews lined up, even if neither work out. We're still actually doing what we're suppose to be doing.

We have done very little still on the apprenticeship, but a family from the Burkina Faso team is going to be on furlough in the fall and have extended the invitation to go out to cokes with them when they get here.

Game Plan

2008-05-17T16:57:00.000-07:00

All right, I think we're actually going to make progress on this apprenticeship thing.

Today we at lunch we discussed our game plan. It wasn't a new discussion, but this time we actually wrote a couple of things down.

Game Plan:
1) Give info - send the teams information about us and our apprenticeship goals
2) Get info - learn about the teams and their work
3) Review info together
4) Prayer/Meditation/etc.
5) Decide

We also discussed what info we're going to include in #1.

-Kayla

Emotion Intensive Transitions

2008-05-13T06:47:00.000-07:00

I have gotten a lot of complaints that this blog is not helping people keep up. The problem is either nothing has been going on OR everything has been going on at once, making it pretty difficult to get it all clear. So, here's what I can get out:

I'm graduated. I have a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Ministry to Children and Families with Suma Cum Laude (highest honors). Grades for this past semester come out on Thursday, and waiting for them is always my least favorite part of the semester.

Our Maymester starts this week, even though class is Monday through Friday of next week. This Thursday, Missions Focus beings. This is like a three day workshop with a different topic every year. This year's topic is "Empowered Coaching" with Dr. Tom Wymore: "An interactive discovery of how to release people into their full potential through redemptive, caring listening." Then, I will take a course for pass/fail without credit called Missionary Anthropology and Trevor will be taking Fundamentals of Spiritual Nurture.

This past Sunday was the wedding of our good friends, Ben and Marcella. I got to be a "candle lighter", lighting candles on the ends of rows in preparation for the bride's (solitary) entrance. It was beautiful. There were about twice as many people there as there were at ours (Ben and Marcella are both from Abilene), and the reception was a bit fancier.

This wedding was intense for several reasons. First, this is the first wedding that Trevor and I have been to where the couple were very close friends of both of ours. Second, this is the first wedding that we've attended since our own - I suddenly was more nervous for the couple than I've ever been before. My evaluation of married life up to this point is that I would really dislike it if it weren't for Trevor (seems odd, but it's true).

Finally, this was the place where I had to say good-bye to Johanna and Jessica - they'll be back next semester and I won't be. That morning during service had been the prayer over the ACU graduates, and I cried during that (as did Marcella on her wedding day - I feel kind of bad). Of course, every sentiment of the wedding - Marcella's dad's homily, the music Ben wrote for the wedding - made me cry. By the time Jessica and I said good-bye at the end of the day, we were both out of tears. It was a very bittersweet day. We are so, SO happy for Ben and Marcella, and excited about how we've started this adventure at the same time and can grow with each other as couples. On the other hand, we're leaving our entire support network, including this new married couple friend of our own age.

But we're also ready to be settled into Georgetown. As I told Trevor yesterday: "I want a home."

Plans

2008-03-24T19:18:00.001-07:00

I was hoping that by the next time I posted our plans would be coming along, but they seem to be getting less clear as we go.

First of all, we have decided not to necessarily head out on our apprenticeship in January of 09. We are now looking at the possibility of leaving at the end of that summer, depending on what other things are going on with our family and friends. We know there will be at least one wedding to attend: Eric and Amy's.

Second, I have only begun looking into the possibility of getting an MLS (Masters of Library Science). I have joined a group of library student workers interested in MLS degrees and had a discussion with Curtis' nephew who is currently getting his MLS online. This is the way I would need to go if I chose this degree because I could work on it while out of the country. It would certainly be advantageous when we got back and needed vocations, but it is a big commitment to make just yet!

Finally, we aren't sure about graduation. We are sure that we will be staying for Maymester for Trevor to finish his degree and for me to get another missions class - I've actually only had two!

A book written by our exegesis professor, Glenn Pemberton, and published last semester had this to say about God's call:

"God's people did not receive a calling by sitting around waiting to hear the voice of God or trying to discern the will of God for their lives . . .those God called were living out faithful lives when God interrupted. They were in the middle of doing what God had already placed before them to do . . .God's call comes when it is leas expeceted to people who are already doing what they understand to be God's will (Even Saul), not when a person is waiting and watching for a sign from heaven before they do anything."

This made me ask the question, "What do I already understand to be God's will." The answer at the time of this book was: get married and finish my education. One down . . .then, we'll see.

Kayla

General Idea

2008-02-12T19:42:00.001-08:00

The general idea of this blog is to keep family and friends updated about our preparations for a one to two year apprenticeship in foreign missions. We are still in the very beginning stages of this vision, but we hope to keep everyone updated as best we can.

The following five locations are possible destinations:
Mexico City, Mexico
Moralia, Mexico
Czech Republic
Burkina Faso, West Africa
Chaing Mai, Thailand

Current stage: discernment
Prayer Requests: The best encouragement and help we could receive right now is through prayers about which location to dedicate our next two years or so to. Pray that God will make it clear the place where we will best fit in the interests of doing his work. Also, pray that this discernment process will help us grow as a new married couple.

"Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." Matthew 28:18-20

Missions Blog

2008-01-31T19:31:00.000-08:00

This is our blog to keep our family updated on the process of our missions apprenticeship. More to come.