Our 1st trip back "Home"

Over Labor Day weekend we were able to travel back home to South Bend/Elkhart for the first time since moving to Arizona. The Saturday we flew in was also Notre Dame's first home football game of the season.. so you can only imagine Eric's excitement. As soon as we got off the plane, Eric headed to the parking lot to meet his grandma who drove him straight to the stadium, and I waited around the airport for my luggage. My mom and brother were the first family members I saw; lots of hugs and tears from my mom. Then each person slowly started to trickle in. My sister Katelyn and her boyfriend Tim walked in to surprise me. Then I saw my brother-in-law walk in carrying a little bundle in his arms with my sister following behind. I ran over to my sister and cried like a baby. I had missed the last 3 months of her pregnancy and missed the birth of her first son, my first nephew. It was so awesome to see them walk into the airport and surprise me. Then I saw the most handsome little face of my nephew, Zephaniah. I got to hold him in the airport, it was all I cared about doing at that moment. It was great! Not only did I get to spend lots of time with him and my family while we were home, we also attended the first Notre Dame home game. My brother and I drove to the Notre Dame area, as close as we could get, then literally ran about 1.5 miles to Notre Dame stadium to make it in for the kickoff. It was like walking into my home when I walked into the stadium. Funny how even something massive like a football stadium in the fall can feel so much like home.
Besides the game, we got to spend lots of time with Eric's family as well. Sunday we celebrated Eric's sister Candice and her fiancee's engagement with a party at Eric's grandparents. It was so good to be laughing with family again and making memories. We got to see our dog again, Rockne, who remembered us and even wanted to snuggle in bed with us every night. We've missed him too. We spent time with my family and close friends too, sharing what has been happening in their lives and letting them know the adventure God has brought us to in Arizona. It was hard to leave. I didn't realize how much I missed all the big trees and grass, cool air, and open land. More than anything how much I missed having family so close. But then I realized too, when I was in Indiana, how much I missed the mountains and warm air. How I love the independence Eric and I have here in Arizona. We knew after coming back home to Arizona that God has us here for a reason and He is aways good. He is teaching us what it means to rely on Him and each other. Our marriage is growing and maturing and God is showing us how to really trust in Him.

Here are a few pictures of our trip home.

Good Things from God

Just wanted to share a few good things. God has been showing us his beauty and glory in different ways, allowing us to have joy. Last week I shared that I might have had a hernia and had been having a lot of anxiety about it. I went to the Dr. today and it is NOT a hernia, but probably an inflamed muscle or tendon/ligament in my hip from a sprained hip or some sort of muscle injury. No surgery required thus far. I got lots of x-rays today and will go to an orthopedic surgeon next week. That Dr. will look at what type of injury it might be, if I should get a cortisone shot and possibly an MRI to see if anything is torn. So, I'm praising God that it's nothing too serious. Trusting Him is not always easy, but He still provide comfort and shows He has good things for us.

Another GREAT thing is that my new nephew was born on Saturday morning! My mom called me at 2:30am AZ time (5:30am IN time) to say my sister was at the hospital and the contractions had started. Everyone (but us) was headed to the hospital. I was able to get on Skype with my younger brother and sister for 2 hours while we all waited in the waiting room at the hospital together. My mom was in the delivery room with my sister and was texting me with updates. She later came out and told us Zephaniah Lee was born at 9:33am. My entire family: mom, dad, Katelyn, Michael Wayne and Eric and I (through Skype) were all able to go into the delivery room to see Tracy and Chris and to meet Zephaniah all at the same time. It was really special and I was so thankful to be a part of it even though we live across the country and 3 time zones away. Zephaniah was 6 lbs 12 oz., 19 1/2 inches long. He has my sister's eyes and Chris's nose and lips. He has dark hair and the cutest little yawn. Below are some pictures of him. Now we're really excited to go home in less than 2 weeks to see our family and hold our newest little member. It's so funny how much love I have for this little guy, even before he was born. I can't wait to be a doting Aunt, even when I'm here in AZ. We are so grateful that he is healthy and here finally!

August Adventures

Here we are in the middle of August already! How time flies! We have been living in Arizona now for about 2 1/2 months, and so far so good! Since my last post a lot of different things have happened. We have become season tickets holders for the Arizona Cardinal (I didn't say this was going to be in order of most important.) We took a weekend to travel 2 hours north to Flagstaff, which is 7000 miles above sea level. So there were gorgeous mountains, lots of trees, cute little shops, and great little restaurants. We stayed in a little cabin in the woods. Literally. It was a one bedroom, one bathroom, no internet or TV. We cooked dinner for ourselves and just enjoyed being together without the white noise of life. We went hiking in the morning and went to the Cardinals football training camp both days. Eric was excited to get a few autographs. Having these tickets also means attending games, so we went to the pre-season game yesterday. It was very hot outside as we walked around to see the sites, 112 degrees! But we have great seats for the season and look forward to attending games together.
We've both been busy at our jobs, but enjoying them! I am making new friends at work and learning how different their "west coast" backgrounds are to my country mid-western roots are. It makes me grateful how I was raised. We're also enjoying the new church we just became members at. It's a large church with great opportunities to get involved. We're joining a couples group soon and have also volunteered to serve in the children's department and nursery.
Speaking of nursery... my sister, Tracy, is due anytime now! Her due date is August 28th, but I think she's ready to go now. I can't wait to meet my little nephew and love on him! We are headed home over Labor Day weekend for the Notre Dame game, Eric's sister's engagement party, time with friends and family, and to snuggle with my little nephew!
Another "Adventure" we have had in August is the possibility that I might have a hernia. I've had some pain in my lower right hip/pelvic area since the week we moved here. It's been off and on, but has increase in the last month. I went to an OB/GYN last week, and don't think it's anything gynecology related, but I go in for an ultrasound tomorrow morning just to make sure. Then I see a regular Dr. next Monday and we're very much praying that a hernia is all it is. If so, it will require eventual surgery, so for now we are leaving it up to God until we have more answers. We're praying for healing and that the surgery can wait until after our trip home.
During this waiting time, and this questioning... my heart has been in a tug of war against the Enemy. My thoughts have been filled with worry and fear and I'm crying out to God to free me of this captivity. He is doing amazing things in my spiritual life in the last few days. I have started a devotional book called Breaking Free by Beth Moore with a long time friend whose living in California now (that's another blessing to share later). Along with reading that and being halfway through Captivating, God is revealing amazing things in my life about freedom in Him and having peace from Him. God is showing me why He had brought us here to Arizona.. .and showing us how we are going to grow!

July Happenings

The first few days of July we were so blessed to have Eric's parents here to celebrate the 4th with us and to see what our life is like here in AZ. It was so good to see family, and familiar faces. It was great to show them our new life here and let them know waht we've been up to. We picked them up from the airport Sat. night July 3rd and spent the morning of the 4th climbing the steep side of Camelback mountain. It was quite the tough climb not only for Eric and I, but definitely for inexperienced hikers like his parents. But it was worth it in the end.




We went to church after that and spent the afternoon in the pool. That evening we had a cookout with the rest of the family here in Peoria and watched fireworks across from our apartment complex.






On Monday we traveled up to Sedona, which we discovered is one of the most beautiful places in the world. It's a national forest full of mountains, red rocks, natural bridges, and creeks and streams. It's gorgeous and we took a hike up to Devil's Bridge. Below are some pictures of our adventures.






On Tuesday, July 6th, I started my new job at Grand Canyon University as a faculty scheduled for the online courses for the college of health sciences. Since GCU started their online programs last year, they have grown to like 30,000 students taking online classes. I am one of the people who schedules the professors to teach those courses, but I only schedule for the college of health sciences. Eric's parents were still here, so they went to one of the old western towns south of Phoenix. That night we went to a Cubs/ Diamondbacks game. It was good to see friendly Cubs fans and cheer for our favorite team with them! Eric's parents left the next morning and returned safely to a very flat Indiana. Eric and I are returning home September 4-8th to attend the Notre Dame home opener, celebrate his sister Candice's engagement to her fiancee JT, to see my new nephew Zephaniah (who is due to be here around Aug 28th), and see all our family and friends.. and our dog Rockne! We can't wait to go home and hug everyone again, especially our new nephew and our puppy who we miss very much. So we'll be excited to see our family again and have that feeling of home :)

Eric and I have been attending Christ's Church of the Valley (CCV) in Glendale and are hoping to get involved with their small groups there soon. It's a very very large church, but has great opportunities and great challenges and encouragement. We miss having friends around and miss our small group from church at home. We haven't met a lot of people here our age, so we're looking forward to making new friends. We've been able to Skype with our friend Becca, which will now become a weekly event :) Anyone else wanting to catch up, we do have Skype and we love seeing you and knowing what's going on in your lives!