I've been MIA

Hi ladies! I can't even remember the last time I posted on here. There's no good reason for being so quiet, although I really don't have much interesting to say! :-) But I will fill you in anyway. You guys have been on my mind a lot lately, and I think its because I feel so out of touch.

The last year has been a strange one. I got laid off last October, which in some ways was such a blessing. I got to focus on school and got to make a few extra unexpected trips home to visit my family. As far as school goes, I finished my classes at the end of August (the weekend of the reunion!) and I finished my internship hours in October. My internship was such an eye opening experience! So, since then, I have been job searching, though its been hard to do because of the economy in general, and because getting everything together for my licensure papers has been a headache. It looks like I can submit all of that tomorrow, though, and I have had about 5 interviews in the last few weeks so things are looking up! My graduation date is December 11, and I'm really excited because my parents and grandparents are planning on coming down.

I've also gotten to visit Minnesota a whole 5 times this year - two unexpected trips in the summer contributed to that. I lost a good friend of mine from high school very suddenly in May, so I went up for the funeral. That was a very hard time. Some good things came out of it, though. My best friend Erika and I got some great time together, which hasn't happened since high school. Later this summer, a friend of ours interviewed for a pastoral position up there, so I went up with him while Shawn was in South Korea. That was a GREAT weekend of quality time with my family. Then this fall, we went up in October for a wedding, and I spent about 12 days there before and during Thanksgiving since Shawn was in Trinidad for business. Through these trips, I got to meet and spend time with my new niece Natalia! She's such a sweet baby - already 6 months old. Madeline is already 3. Time is flying and they're growing so fast!

The tough part about the year is that I have experienced first hand a period of depression. I had all the classic symptoms for about 6 months. I gained weight, slept weird hours, withdrew from people, had no motivation. The only real trigger I found was losing my job - even though I hated it, it was something that was a part of me and I didn't realize that I felt so worthless without it. There's no real logical way to look at this time in my life. I just realize now that I'm coming out of it and it was very dark and very confusing. I won't say much more except to say that there's so much more to it than what I'm writing...its just not worth writing about! :-)

We've also been talking about babies and trying to conceive. We've been off birth control for about a year and a half. I haven't been ovulating at all and seem to have some other issues. We keep going back and forth as to when the "right" time is to be more aggressive with medications, etc. I think we've decided to let me get settled into a job and then we'll really try everything. In the meantime, I'm trying to lose some of the weight I gained over the last year. :-) We'll see how that goes - seems impossible sometimes!

So, Shawn's been doing well, although he's obviously been out of town as much as he's been home this year. The travelling will hopefully slow down next year, but there's no guarantee. It's been tough, but in some ways it has made us stronger. It's just a phase in our life that we're walking through. Between his travelling, my travelling and our house guests, it seems like the past 6 months have just flown by.

I am praying that Angie is as comfortable as possible in this final month! Also that Liz is adjusting well to having two little girls to care for. I'm praying that Kimmie is staying sane being the mommy to a baby boy and busy little girl and that you'll be peaceful with whatever decisions you make regarding jobs and homes. Jennifer - that you're enjoying being a great mommy of two, as well, and hopefully taking some time for yourself. And Jamie, that you're growing and learning as a new mommy! (although, I'm sure you're doing a GREAT job!) And Juls, I'm praying that you're able to keep being such a great mom to those precious kiddos and that you'll find some peace of mind during this difficult time! I know that doesn't cover everything, but I want you guys to know you're in my thoughts all the time. I miss you!