by His stripes we are healed

Easter.

1. Friday was absolutely beautiful. I didn't have work (yay!) and so I spent most of the day at the farm doing random things, riding the four wheeler, and helping with the annual Easter egg hunt.  

Looking at the cows. 

Notice, Cecily has found her way into the trough. :)

And now, she's trying to be like one of the boys. Such a farm girl :) 

The hunters

Let the games begin...

look at all those eggs

They must have found a gold mine

making friends

Jenny and I dyed Easter eggs while Cecily found something more exciting to do. :)

2. Rant. *Ahem* I went to Walmart the other day and was totally appalled by the amount of stuff, bunnies, chocolates, chicks, and all assortment of other pink, yellow, and blue springy things labeled as  "Easter".  I'm sorry that's not Easter. Now I enjoy a few little traditions, but it just sickens me that the Easter Bunny is every where and Christ, the cross, and the empty tomb have all but vanished.   Seriously, why are we taking pictures with our screaming children sitting on the laps of gigantic creepy pink bunnies with who-knows-who behind the mask? 

(switch out a few things here to Santa and Rudolph and you have my Christmas rant)

3. Nathan and I spent Easter Sunday in Washington church and then the afternoon we went with his family.  Thanks to Rebecca (Matthew's fiance) now being in  the family, the spotlight has shifted. :) It was a quite enjoyable afternoon and evening with plenty interesting stories and lots of laughter. 

4. Let' s not forget what Christ has done. He lives. He took our punishment. It is no longer our life but his. He gave himself for us, let us live each and every day giving ourselves for Him. 

For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth. ~Job 19:25

But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. ~Isaiah 53:5

I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me. 

In Christ
~Michelle

Mediapolis

Last weekend was busy, as usual.
Friday night Nathan and I went to Matthew (Nathan's Brother) and Rebecca's singing shower. 

Saturday we thankfully were able to spend a wonderful relaxing day at the apartment. We took a walk outside in the gorgeous weather, worked on little projects around the house, and generally caught up on much needed time at home. 

Saturday night we went to Communion. I've been going for quite some time now and each year there seems to be something different that sticks out to me. It was a beautiful and peaceful evening.

Sunday, Nathan and I and Matt and Lena went to Mediapolis to visit Brooke and Cory W.  It was my first time in the new Oakville-Mediapolis church.  It's very big and open and nice, but all the same I think I prefer the character of the older church. :)

We went on a walk after church in slightly drizzly weather, caught up on each other's lives, ate supper, and were on our way back home. It was a really nice weekend and It was wonderful to get together with Brooke again. :)
Sadly, I once again did not take any pictures. 

I went back to work on Monday very refreshed from the weekend. :) Although busy, that's the way weekends should be. 

In Christ
~Michelle

We bought a house.

No, I'm not kidding. 

We really weren't looking for a house or planning to buy. We had planned that once our lease was up we'd start looking. Occasionally though, we'd peruse the listings online.  Last Thursday, Nathan emailed me a link to a house, and I fell in love. Not thinking anything would come of it Nathan asked Ron W. (our family realtor) if he knew anything about it. And before we knew, we were going to look at the house on Saturday morning. 

Still, I was not really thinking anything would come of it or that we'd decide in a month or two. When we got to the house at 9:00am we were informed that an offer had already been made on the house and we had only until noon to decide and make an offer. Well, I loved it. Nathan loved it. The location was great. The price was perfect. We were in a tough spot. :)
 Through providence, a few days before, Nathan had set up a meeting with the bank at 10:00am. Nathan and the loan office talked about the possibility while I texted my parents freaking out. 
We met with Ron, signed papers and made an offer. 
By 4:00pm, our offer was accepted. :)

I was slightly, ok a whole lot in shock. 

Here it is!!!! :)

(screenshot from google maps)

For any of you who are wondering, it's 4 bedroom, two full baths, it has a detached garage, a really nice kitchen, and a nice living room area. The basement is not the best, but what can you expect from a house built in the 1920s? We're closing on June 2nd.

I know with just buying a car it seems like a crazy financial decision. But, compared to what we are renting for, we think this is a better decision than renting longer.

God truly provided this house for us and everything about the circumstances is His work. We feel incredibly blessed and excited. :)

In Christ

~Michelle

what's in a name?

So, at work part of my daily routine is to check the Commitment Report, which shows the local arrests from the previous day. I check it to make sure none of my clients have been arrested. :)

Anyway, my coworkers and I have a grand time laughing at some of the names.  Below I have listed real names that some real people are really named. Now just for the record- these names are from all different races. I promise. 

Oh, and try to say these out loud. I dare you. 

Females:
Cloryne (...meet Bleach) 
Archissa
Astonishing (Shocking, I'd say)
Brittney Sexione (um, eek what if she was not so good looking?)
Shetoria
Latillery
Latisharaie
Scinquala
Preshus (Eek, I know I can't spell, but at least use spell check before you sign the birth certificate)
JanishaBo
Tetreanna Lascheal
Lasashai
Candreain
Titrasha
Fredtasia (Maybe they were hoping for a boy?)
Datitanna
Shiketra
Shontay (isn't it sad when this begins to sound almost normal?)
Johnnice (what about John not nice?)
Shaniecia Tanyka
Shesna

Males:
Jawaun
Demon  (seriously, you would name your child this!?)
Dicqtric (I still struggle pronouncing this)
Jacari
Dericco
Tyjavious (let's hope he just shortens it to Ty)
Quotae 
Danathe
Quinterius
Tarawa (try saying this)
Bentarious
Dejarual Laquette (yikes, that is a mouth full)
Cassanova (Oh, really)
Ketorius

I hope you have been thoroughly amused. :) Please, please, I beg any future parents to think before you name your child. It may seem cute now, but next too a mug shot...it's like "no wonder they turned out that way." :) tehe

In Christ

~Michelle 

Our Exciting Announcement

*tehe*
So, We bought a car. ;)

The car I have been driving isn't mine. It actually was my parents and they have just been letting me drive it for the past 6 years.  Since I'm all married and moved out, we thought it was about time to get a car of our own.

Farewell to the purple Lumina, and hello Impala. :)

Kary was our lovely and wonderful sales woman. When she showed us this, I may have been nearly drooling over it in the lot. And, then when the salesman showed us the price, I could barely keep from jumping up and down right there (I may have done so at home).

God provided for us. It was on the low end of our price range, and we were able to pay in cash. Plus it's super cool and shiny.
Ooo. And it was an old police vehicle so it has a cool red button that allows you to leave the car running without keys in the ignition. :)

In Christ
~Michelle

and the crazy life continues

Work has actually settled down, but the craziness seemed to shift to our evenings around here. 

The past few weeks we've rarely had a calm evening.
  I went to Brooke's baby shower (which was a lot of fun :) I got to catch up with her and meet little Shanna). Nathan had a church brother meeting the same night which worked out well. 

I got to spend one evening recording for the Zion's Harp project. I have done it before and loved it. It's wonderful to see so many people come together and sing beautiful songs of praise to God.

 Nathan and I went out to Princeville for a chili supper at his siblings school. It was a much over due visit. His Aunt isn't doing well with health issues so we visited her as well. 

We spent one evening at a visitation for Sally F.  Since we were out, we turned it into a date night and went out to eat. 

I got the privilege of taking Cecily ice-skating. She loved it. She wanted to go faster and do "tricky axles." So, I pulled her off the ice and spun her around a bit, which she loved.  I was quite sore from stooping over for an hour and a half. 

Iskates :)

wanting to get away and ice-skate on her own

oh and see those orange cones way in the background. She nearly had a meltdown when I wouldn't let her play with them. :)

'keep going shelly'

Saturday and Sunday, Nathan and I had a group of U of I alumni over. We played games, talked, had a few 'U of I silences', and of course ate food.  We had Greg and Diana over night and Jake got to keep Tristan. 

Sunday morning

 It was great to catch up with everyone and have the group back together. 

 Sunday,  after church, Nathan and I went with Aaron and Kendra to Brittney and Chris A's wedding reception.  It was great to see her and meet him again, but I also got to see Vince and Breana F. and their little guy. 

I'm thankful work has been quiet, or else I may have gone a little nuts. Of course I probably have already anyway, so it wouldn't have mattered. :)

In Christ
~Michelle

love the crazy

After this week I think I've decided I might be an adrenalin-junky. :)
This week was nuts...and I loved it.  The crazier my job is, the more I love it. 

Story #1
I have a client who ran away (aka went on run) to Chicago a few weeks after I started. He's been living in a shelter in Chicago ever since.  Because he's been on run, my responsibilities for him have been less than they would be for my other clients.  He is refusing to come back to Peoria so we've been looking for a more permanent place for him in Chicago. This week I was mediating between him and a possible placement (he couldn't get a hold of them).The hard part is he recently went on run from the shelter, has been sleeping on trains, and has to use random stranger's cell phones to call me.  

Story #2
One of my clients is pregnant. She is also in a very abusive relationship with her boyfriend. She called her therapist the other day crying that he had been locking her in the apartment, throwing her, beating her, and he stole her glasses. During the phone conversation the therapist heard he swallowing pills. I tried calling the client and she did not pick up. So, the therapist and I drove to her apartment to check on her. She was alive, thankfully, and said she had only swallowed two pills. But, we stayed with he for an hour making sure she was ok and not suicidal. I eventually went through the apartment and confiscated all of her medication before we left. 

Story #3
Thursday I took my client to court in Lake county (north of Chicago). It was supposed to be a routine court with the Judge checking in with him and seeing if I was doing my job right.
I wasn't feeling well  and was hoping for a smooth day. Ha. :)
 On the way there I realized I was going to the wrong address and my GPS quit working.  The map I had printed no longer was taking me to the correct place. So, I called Nathan and had him help me figure out where I was. 
Here's the picture- I'm  driving 70mph in Chicago rush hour traffic, with a fever, in a rental vehicle with terrible blind spots, talking on the phone (hands free) to Nathan, with a client who is borderline some-mental-illness-that-is-socially-awkward and who keeps trying to turn my radio on to rap, and running completely out of money trying to pay the tolls.  
um. yah. I may not have been enjoying the adrenalin then. 
We finally made it to court and settled in to wait to be called.  In court my client threw me a curve ball. He asked to be released from DCFS guardianship, and the Judge released him. I pretty much sat there speechless. We got it all worked out though. He went home with his grandparents, and I headed back to Peoria. 

The drive home was much better though. I started feeling better and got to listen to my own music, and sing along very loudly. :)
I got home in plenty of time to get ready for potluck. Yup. I hosted potluck that night. Really though, It was a great night and  a wonderful way to end the day. We had Troy, Ellie and Cyrus, Kendra and Aaron, and Wendi and Daniel.   

Friday, I got back to work to crazy amounts of work due to all 3 of the above stories.  But, as usual it all fell together and by the end of the day I was on top of things again. 
On the way home I picked up Kayla and then Carli and Kandace joined us. :) Nathan was going to be gone for the night so I took the opportunity to have a girls night. It was great fun. I realized I am getting older as I can't stay up til 2:30 as well as I used to.

Saturday we broke out our ice skates and I skated for the first time all year. :)

:) ice skates

That's my crazy life these days. :)

In Christ
~Michelle