Howdy Neighbor

Never has the movie Fried Green Tomatoes more fully described my life until now. Brad and I recently noted our one year anniversary of moving to Illinois. We have experienced a pleasant time, especially at the student apartments.

When we had first moved in, we were the only people in our two-bedroom building that did not have children. I loved it! The evenings were peaceful and the days are filled with joyful sounds – even when the kids were not getting their way.

That is, until last week, when two girls moved over from the dorms. We have been harassed on a regular basis as they insist we are trying to be inconsiderate and rude by walking to and from the rooms in our home. Apparently, they expect us to float about the place, never touching the floors to make a peep, never dropping things by accident, and never living a normal life.

Well, yesterday I’d had it. I was helping Brad clean out his closet and a book slipped out of my hands (at 5 pm, mind you). After girl #1 yet again banged on our floor with her broom, I marched myself downstairs and made it clear to her that we are doing normal life activities in the privacy of our home, that she can submit her complaints to the apartment manager, and under no circumstances is banging on her ceiling acceptable. She informed me that we were not going to talk about it and proceeded to slam her door in my face.

So here is my question to the disruptive, passive aggressive souls of this world – Why on God’s green earth do you insist on behaving in such a way and then not expecting repercussions? Why, at 5 in the evening are you bullying me for cleaning my apartment or dropping a book when at 2 in the morning, you have your loud friends over without a care? Why would you think that you bother no one, but that the world is out to get you?

This fiery little Italian girl, daughter of the acclaimed, spicy Judy, simply wants to live in her apartment without being paranoid. Apparently that is too much to ask.

So, in the words of Kathy Bates, “Face it girls, I’m older and have more insurance! TOWANDA!”

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School Buses, Sweet Corn and Anniversaries

I have a new disdain for school buses. In our apartment complex, if I am leaving at the same time the bus arrives, I get trapped as the driver insists on stopping the bus directly behind my obviously-reversing vehicle. The children should be congregated prior to her arrival, but without fail, someone is running late. Which means, I'm now running late.

Brad made huge strides this summer. He will now eat corn on the cob, rather than cutting it off. Congratulations, honey!

Yesterday was our 2nd anniversary. Today is the year anniversary of my first interview with ID. Tomorrow is the year anniversary of making the decision to bail out on SFG. All decisions that led me here today.

It's About Time... Update

The week has increased in loveliness, but only after random spurts of snow, which we have miraculously and quite nicely been without since the beginning of January.

Brad is wrapping up his first semester at Lincoln Christian College. His business classes have been enjoyable and the friends he has made are keeping his social tank full. In March, he joined a group of students on a mission’s trip to Knoxville, Tennessee where they framed homes for Habitat for Humanity. (During which time, my dear friend, Cara, kept me entertained and well fed.) He still works part time for Fastenal, but is seeking supplemental income for the summer. If you hear of anything opening, please let us know.

I have been working for Integrity Data just over three months. Angie, my coworker, teacher, and friend, has been doing a wonderful job teaching me new concepts in Accounting and training me on the procedures we use at the office. They have also dubbed me Photoshop Girl, Scully Building Photography Girl (a building my boss purchased off the Town Square), Donut Retriever, and just the other day I was presented with a miniature door…still not sure what that is all about. We have daily Foosball games, birthday sing-a-longs (which really should be outlawed), a never-ending candy dish, and lots of laughter to spread around. Needless to say, it is one of the best places I could have ever chosen to spend eight hours a day. (And we get real work done too!)

Brad and I have been enrolled in Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace University. We are in Week 3 of the program and moving right along. There have been tears, laughter, and gnashing of teeth, but we wouldn’t trade the experience or the wisdom we have gained and will continue to cultivate.

My love of photography and the endless possibilities therein, continue to grow. This summer I will be spending some time assisting in weddings with my mentor. Brad continues to be a significant part of my business, surprising me with equipment and always being along for the ride. It really excites me to have him on board with my adventures.

The family has certainly been a blessing – near and far. We miss Brad’s family like crazy, but know that our time apart will soon be remedied with a visit of some nature. It has been wonderful being near my family again, watching the little ones grow up with a closer perspective.

And friends...where would we be without our friends? These are the people who have to deal with us on a regular basis and continue seeing us! These are the people who have held our hands through stressful situations and laughed with us through silly situations. They don't have to, but they do anyway. We appreciate you.

I have a yob!!

That's right folks, Lindy is finally employed for the long haul! I spent the past four weeks trying to woo my way into the hearts of people in Illinois. Starting Monday, I will be employed as a Whatever They Need at the Moment Assistant. The blessing lies in this... I will be averaging at least 30 hours (probably closer to 40 for awhile) which makes me eligible for the full time benefits of the company. Another blessing is that the work environment is one of the healthiest I have been a part of in five years. The commute may be what kills me in the long run as the company is located 3 1/2 minutes from our apartment!! I will need continued prayer as I set out on this journey of 8-5 life doing tasks that may not be my first love, but something I am trained well in, as I try to take on the burden as the financial means of the family, and attempt to support Brad in his studying efforts. Thank you for your encouragement! This is a gift at just the right time.

The Past in a Nutshell

So, you may be wondering what could possibly entice us from leaving the beauty of New England to live amongst the prairie of the Midwest… Shall we return to the beginning of our marriage? I’ve heard it is September 2nd, 2007 (a date I forget regularly for reasons unrelated to the fact that it was one of the best and biggest decisions of my life, so don’t be worried).

Brad and I moved into my apartment in Derry, NH following our fabulous honeymoon at Avalon Acres in Durango, Colorado. We made friends with several squirrels and cats that meandered past our generous outdoor food supply. Needless to say, we did not make friends with any of our neighbors as many of them refused to make eye contact. Only a few months later, we decorated for Christmas with a ten dollar clearance tree and partially working lights I managed to pick up for free at a yard sale. We began our marital journey simply and lightly.

For a first year of marriage, life ran rather smoothly. We awoke each morning for work, took advantage of the local library, frequented the Saturday matinee at our local theater, began attending Rockingham Christian Church in Salem, joined a wonderful small group on Mondays, spent many evenings going on “Hannaford dates” at the nearby grocery store, and nearly wet our pants with excitement when we discovered TWO Red Box locations within five minutes of our home (making a total of three boxes between my place of employment and home).

Then we got bored.

That isn’t unusual for the two of us. It began with dreaming of absurd relocations to the Northwest or putting all of our possessions in storage and cancelling our cell phones to go on several six month adventures throughout the country. Unfortunately, in the midst of our idealism we are realists to a fault. We would love to play, but we wanted to be wise.

Brad began taking online classes through Southern New Hampshire University. He had enough to increase his appetite for more, but realized that the amount would not be satisfactory in his current situation. I was on the fence with my job, knowing it was not a career I wanted, the only attachment being with people (who I miss very much!). We decided that Brad’s pursuit of finishing college was the direction we desired.

Within six weeks, he had been accepted to Lincoln Christian College, we put in our notices at work, and were packing up and heading to the Land of Lincoln! Ripping life-as-I-had-come-to-know-it like a band aid actually helped with the transition.

Brad will be studying under Michael Gowin (also our wedding photographer), and many other brilliant faculty, in the Business program. Classes begin January 15th. He has been employed part time with Fastenal, which is conveniently flexible and located only five minutes from home.

I am a professional job hunter. For the first two months I had filled my time as a temporary assistant for my friend’s grandmother (she is amazing!) and now am contracting for a month at a business conveniently located three minutes from home.

We have begun attending Lincoln Christian Church and will hopefully begin a small group after the holidays. We have been blessed by friends of my past. They have truly taken us under wing. Many of our weekends have been dedicated to traveling around the state (including Indiana) to see family and friends who have been too distant for the past five years.

So here we are at Christmas, one year later. We have a more interesting decorated tree in our two bedroom student apartment. There will be countless hours spent with family in the next couple of weeks. It is frigid.

And our life is peaceful.

Christmas Letter 2008

Dear Family and Friends,

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from our new lives in the Land of Lincoln!

It is with great pleasure we announce the latest and greatest in our lives… The undertaking of our very own wind farm!! That’s right, upon relocating to the prairies of Lincoln, IL Brad decided that the little gusts of wind needed ownership, they needed a place to be trained, grown, and developed into the best wind the earth could ever want. This is also Phase 1 of “Going Green” for the Illinois Belleys. In Phase 2, we hope to restore the ancient Asian tradition of binding feet to reduce our carbon footprint.

Lindy has realized that the duty of a wind farmer can be quite demanding. She arises with Brad every morning to gauge the ferocity of the little wind pups. (Early on, we discovered that nurturing the wind from infancy provides greater opportunities for fine-tuning that may not be possible as say, teenage wind.) One of the hardest things to train a wind pup is how to drive rain horizontally while flicking water up and under umbrellas; similarly, driving dirt into open eyeballs is another skill quite difficult to master. Brad makes certain their training dust is always available.

It takes approximately three human months, or seventeen wind years, for a pup to reach maturity. We have yet to see a full maturation process, but the little guys have been budding into beautiful creatures right before our eyes.

You may be wondering, what’s next for the wind? Once a year, as a last hurrah, we let them run wild through a local trailer park. What they don’t realize is that it is also a final lesson in working together, forming an unstoppable force. But, the inconvenient truth is the bittersweet moment will be drawing near when we must release the wind to be harnessed by Al Gore. We know they’ll be in good hands and used to better the earth one breeze at a time.

It is our hope that this letter finds you in good health and joyful spirit for the upcoming Christmas season! And the next time you are frozen because of blustery gust of wind, ask yourself, did he have a cultivating home?

Blessings and Love, Brad & Lindy

To celebrate Brad's birthday we took
our wind to a local amusement park.