We're in!

We plunked down our money, signed our lives away, and got the keys to our first house! It is so exciting! We are really happy with the home and have spent the last several days unpacking, buying furniture, gardening, and using our very own dishwasher! (This was Jocelyn's happiest addition as we haven't had a dishwasher yet in our married lives.) The house is still very much in process, but we have some fun projects planned and are trying to just take our time and enjoy every step. We have new living room furniture (super comfy) and a beautiful dining room table, so that is fun, plus David did his first home improvement project by converting drawers into a built in garbage holder for me. We have not attempted any projects of Randy DeGreef proportions yet, but maybe soon! :) Another bonus of this house is that the previous owners worked really hard on a garden, and now everything is getting ripe, so we get to eat it! (It does seem unfair to eat the fruits of another person's labor, but they moved to Stevens Point and I don't think the postal service allows the sending of produce.) We have cucumbers, several varieties of tomatoes, onions, squash, beans, and maybe pumpkins. So even for someone who is not a huge veggie fan, it is exciting to go out every day and find more goodies. I'm sure we'll have more adventures and projects to post about, so TA-TA FOR NOW!

PS. Notice the quick turn around since the last post. This may be an all time world record for the Pinkerts!

Lots of changes...

First off, Jocelyn has accepted a chemistry teaching position at Little Chute High School (Home of the Mustangs), and we are both excited and nervous about the new change. The job seems like a great fit, and there are lots of possibilities for develping new curriculums and being involved in coaching. But since Little Chute is up in the Fox Valley area, that means that the Pinkerts are moving out of Madison! As excited as we are for the next stage in our lives, we will miss all our friends tremendously. We guess it just means that there will have to be more planned camping outings (High Cliff State Park is just 20 minutes from us) and perhaps even some group road trips!

Another exciting change is the purchase of our first home! It is a beautiful 1.5 story house, with plenty of space and even a 3-seasons room. The lot is really what drew us in, as it is filled with huge oak trees, is completely enclosed by greenery, and has a backyard that is right up against a park for all our cross-country skiing and bocce needs. We have lots of room for guests, so if you're in the Appleton area, please stop on by! We have enjoyed the house hunting/purchasing process but are definitely ready to just move in and make it our own. Our closing/move in date is August 7, so we are almost there. Here is a picture to give you an idea, with more to follow:

Address: 637 E. Hoover Avenue, Appleton, WI, 54915-2078

Just for you Andrea

We are now so far behind on our posts that we're not even sure where to begin! So we will just take each month one at a time and catch you up! February finished with lots of game nights, concerts, and snuggling up with hot chocolates. We even went to see the Shrine Circus to celebrate David's 27th birthday! It was quite entertaining, and if it has been a while since you've seen a circus show we highly recommend it. March started with several sporting events, a wedding, some date nights, and Jocelyn finally getting to sub! For spring break we headed down to Hot Springs National Park in Arkansas, and the weather was beautiful! We went digging for quartz crystals, watched a few horse races, went hiking a lot, and drove home through Branson, Missouri where we watched the Dolly Parton Dixie Stampede show (on Jocelyn's birthday)! It was the perfect show to see in Branson! Starting in April, Jocelyn has been coaching the Abundant Life track team. They are fun to work with and she has enjoyed watching them improve throughout the season. April also started Jocelyn's interview process at Little Chute High School. As many of you know, there is much more to this story, but we're going to leave you in suspense until the next post (which I promise will be sooner than the last post). Then we should be mostly caught up and into May! So until next time....

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow...

We have been doing quite a bit of cross country skiing this winter and we are lovin' the amount of snow that we've gotten. Three snow days and several delayed starts for David (ah remember the good ol' days of waking up to find out school is canceled! Don't you wish they still did that for regular work!) So we have taken advantage of all the snow and free time to go exploring on our skis. We only live a few blocks from the arboretum so that is where we ski the most. But we also went to Governor Dodge State Park with some of our friends (and their husky) recently to enjoy the winter weather. It was a beautiful day, with fresh snow, and even a hint of sun! One of the best parts was having Suka (the husky) pull you along on your skis as he runs out in front of you on a harness. He can really get you moving! It was a great time and hopefully we'll get out a few more times before the spring thaw sets in (which in Wisconsin is usually early June).

So much for keeping my posts up to date!

So it is now the middle of February and according to this blog we just finished Christmas! So HAPPY NEW YEARS! We started out 2008 with a fantastic Murder Mystery Party with our Life Group, where everyone was a character in the plot and information was slowly revealed about who dunnit! Everyone played their part wonderfully, complete with costumes and accents! A great time was had by all. Jocelyn finally finished up her student teaching at Abundant Life Christian School, and has been completing her final requirements and paper work to make graduation official. ALCS was a great experience and Jocelyn really does miss the students and staff. They threw her a little going away party that was very sweet and made her feel very special. Another happy note is the addition of a new baby to our Life Group, Jackson "Action" David (Marcy) Meyers (ask me about the Marcy part sometime if you're interested!). He is a cutie and we had the opportunity to babysit him to give Dave and Angie a date night together. We enjoyed being with little Jackson, but we feel we are not quite ready for that next stage yet. Luckily we can have all the fun of being Auntie Jocelyn and Uncle David for awhile! We got to take a little weekend vacation with all the Pinkerts and spend some time at an indoor water park in Wisconsin Dells. It was great to feel warm and summery, and of course it was fun to hang out with the whole Pinkert gang. We then took a little weekend vacation up to Oshkosh to visit the Loe side of the family, because Jocelyn's Grandma and Aunt were there to visit. It was wonderful to have everyone together, even though Jocelyn's Aunt beat everybody at every new game we taught her! :) With Stuart's wedding approaching this summer, we are excited that everyone will be together again soon. Well that's all the big stuff that happened in January, you'll have to wait a little longer to find out about February!

Life Update for December

So much to update about! This might be a rather long post, but it should be interesting. We’ll start from the date of the last post (end of November) and head toward the present. Of course the Christmas season is upon us and so there has been lots of cutting down of trees, wrapping of presents, and celebrating with parties throughout the month of December. We got an early Christmas present with a joint “SNOW DAY” where we got to sleep in, go cross country skiing, and snuggle up together with a cup of hot cocoa. Snow days are one of the big pluses of both being teachers! We had a sad turn of events when our pet hamster, Chestnut, passed on to the great hamster-ball in the sky. He was a fun little guy but we are glad that he is not in pain any more. On a much, much happier note Jocelyn’s younger brother Stuart just got engaged to his long term girlfriend Carrie! They are a wonderful couple and we are sure that they will have a beautiful future together. For more details and pictures from the engagement you can go to Stuart’s blog (see the link S. Loe under Friends and Family on the left side of our blog) and read all about it. Most recently David competed in the Madison West High School Alumni Swim Meet. He did a great job and it was super fun to watch him swim again! We are now celebrating Christmas with family and having a very relaxing vacation. We hope all is well with you and that the blessings of the season are yours in abundance.

Compassion International

We just started sponsoring a child through Compassion International (http://www.compassion.com/sponsor_a_child/default.htm) and wanted to share his story with you so he could be in your prayers as well. His name is Nshimiyimana, he is almost 8 years old, and he lives in Rwanda. Nshim lives with his mother, father, and 3 siblings, and he enjoys singing and playing ball games. His mom and dad are sometimes employed as farmers and Nshim is responsible for carrying water and gathering firewood. Nshim lives in an area that is being devistated by HIV/AIDS, as well as still bearing the deep scars of a terrible civil war. We are excited to get to know Nshim and be a part of his life even though we are thousands of miles away. We have been so blessed in so many ways and we want to pass these blessings on to others who are in need. We hope you will join us in praying for Nshim and his family, as well as taking a moment to be truly thankful for all that you've been given.