It's beginning to feel a lot like fall! Actually tomorrow is the first official day of fall, and for that I am excited.
Here's the update on life with Josh and Paula--I finished student teaching in May and got my IL teaching certification shortly thereafter. Yay! Josh quit his job in July so that we could attend our friends' (Robert and Julie's) wedding celebration in MN that month. Prior to that, my wonderful dad dropped off my mom's old Honda Accord from CA, since both of our trucks broke down for good at the end of spring. Those poor trucks just couldn't take it anymore. We got back from MN, and since we had the use of a great car and no jobs to tie us down, we decided to continue our road trip by heading out to PA, stopping by to visit our friend Ruth in Ohio. She's preparing to be a missionary in Croatia! Then we saw Robert and Julie again briefly (at his house this time) on our way to spend a few days with Jenny Bisht, my beloved former roommate from my first year in Taiwan. We even got to take Josh on a day trip to our nation's capital! We had a great time seeing Jenny, then stayed a night with my old college roommate Blaire, also in PA. We took the long way back, visiting our friends Nathan and Alissa in Michigan. What a great trip! Thanks for your hospitality, everyone.
In late July, most of my family came out to visit and attend the Shinners family picnic. Good times had by all. Since they left, Josh and I enjoyed a few months of unemployment. We filled out endless applications and attended many interviews, but all we landed were a few odd jobs, so we've mostly been living off of my student loans and the grace of God! Meanwhile, I've gotten my thesis almost done, which means we can move out of here (IL) at the end of October. We are ready to move on, but I am glad for the chance to enjoy one more real autumn. On our way back to CA we look forward to visiting our good friends Josh and Emily in MO!
AND HERE'S THE GOOD NEWS: We are very grateful after a long search to announce that Josh got a job a Party City, which will last through Halloween--perfect! After a successful phone interview, I am going in to Christian Heritage Academy this week to observe and meet the principals, in hopes of becoming a substitute teacher there. Finally, our job hunt looks like it's coming to an end. Other than that, my thesis is my main focus, and I am doing my final presentation on it October 21st! Can't wait to be 100% done with grad school! (Well besides for paying my debt.) Thanks for stopping by my blog and God bless you with a bountiful harvest season!
