Happy New Year, I can hardly believe that it is 2010. It seems like 2000 was just yesterday yet somehow ten years has gone by.
This year has been so full of life, good and hard. Phil and I were talking a couple of days ago about where we were this time last year and were simply amazed at how much has happened and changed over this past year. We decided that we wanted to start a new tradition of looking back over our year and thanking God for all that He has done and taking a moment to re-cap our last year. So we sit snuggled on our couch in our living room remembering….
January (from Katie’s perspective)
Well, really we must start in December of 2008. Phil graduated from Northwestern with a degree in Accounting and was hired by Shoreview Community Center as full time staff immediately. For Christmas we headed to New Mexico to spend with my extended family. Though it was vacation, Phil and I were both thinking and planning for the future during this trip. We wanted a house, but were unsure if we were supposed to stay in Minnesota or move to New Mexico where we both would have jobs and be closer to my family. While we were there we even looked at a few houses to possibly buy. One day I remember coming back from looking at a awesome house with a beautiful pool out back and many other great features. Phil and I both sat down on the couch and I cried because we felt lost as to what we were supposed to do and where God was leading us. We decided that when we got back we needed to see if we could get a mortgage and if so start looking for a house. We prayed about it and said that if God wanted us to stay in Minnesota he would make it clear to us by making the house come through….
OK, onto January! When we got back from New Mexico we met with our mortgage lady and on January 17th sat down with our realtor and discussed what we were looking for and where. We went out house shopping a few times and started getting greatly excited about buying a house! Because we were still living in our apartment we needed to have two month notice so after praying and thinking about it a LOT we decided that we would tell our apartment we would be moving out by March 31st! We drove back from the apartment office looking at each other like we were crazy, we did not have a house but we still felt like God was leading us to give notice!
February (from Katie’s perspective)
On February 5th I had my 23rd birthday. That Saturday we went house shopping again with my Mom and walked into 1000 Roselawn Ave. The house was in great disrepair, Phil wanted to walk right out and not even look at the house! Mom and I, being the visionaries we are, started seeing potential. After looking at a few more houses we went home and Mom and I both could not stop thinking and talking about this house. We called our realtor and asked if we could go and see the house again the next day. After seeing it for a second time Phil started to see the potential. The next day we put an offer in on the house and signed final purchase agreement papers on Thursday that week for a closing of February 27th, exactly three weeks after seeing the house for the first time! From the day we closed until we moved in we spent every last minute we had cleaning, packing, painting, mainly being crazy people with little to no sleep! We were overwhelmed by our friends and family who supported us and helped us do some really dirty work!!
On February 5th I had my 23rd birthday. That Saturday we went house shopping again with my Mom and walked into 1000 Roselawn Ave. The house was in great disrepair, Phil wanted to walk right out and not even look at the house! Mom and I, being the visionaries we are, started seeing potential. After looking at a few more houses we went home and Mom and I both could not stop thinking and talking about this house. We called our realtor and asked if we could go and see the house again the next day. After seeing it for a second time Phil started to see the potential. The next day we put an offer in on the house and signed final purchase agreement papers on Thursday that week for a closing of February 27th, exactly three weeks after seeing the house for the first time! From the day we closed until we moved in we spent every last minute we had cleaning, packing, painting, mainly being crazy people with little to no sleep! We were overwhelmed by our friends and family who supported us and helped us do some really dirty work!!
March (Phil’s view)
The entire month of March was painting and cleaning our new house to move in and then cleaning and painting our apartment to move out. From the day we closed, we spent almost every waking minute, other than work, at the house cleaning and painting. The house was unbelievably dirty and grimy. We put at least two-three coats of paint on every wall. Most of the ceilings needed 5-6 coats of paint to completely cover up the tobacco and smoke stains from the previous owners. We purchased the house from the children of the people who built the house in 1949. Since then, they did very little updating of the house and almost guaranteed they did not paint at all. So many of our friends and family spent countless hours at our house and we couldn’t have cleaned and painted as much as we did with out them. The weekend of the 14th-16th Katie, her sisters and her mom had a wonderful opportunity to lead worship for a women’s conference in Normal, Illinois, Hearts at Home. They would lead worship for two identical conferences later on in the year also. On March 21st, after three weeks of cleaning we got about 15 people to help us move our apartment into our new home. Yet another amazing show of love from all our friends and family. The next day was not as much fun. Katie’s mom and sister packed up their belongings from their farm in Wisconsin and moved to Albuquerque, New Mexico where Jane’s family lives.
The entire month of March was painting and cleaning our new house to move in and then cleaning and painting our apartment to move out. From the day we closed, we spent almost every waking minute, other than work, at the house cleaning and painting. The house was unbelievably dirty and grimy. We put at least two-three coats of paint on every wall. Most of the ceilings needed 5-6 coats of paint to completely cover up the tobacco and smoke stains from the previous owners. We purchased the house from the children of the people who built the house in 1949. Since then, they did very little updating of the house and almost guaranteed they did not paint at all. So many of our friends and family spent countless hours at our house and we couldn’t have cleaned and painted as much as we did with out them. The weekend of the 14th-16th Katie, her sisters and her mom had a wonderful opportunity to lead worship for a women’s conference in Normal, Illinois, Hearts at Home. They would lead worship for two identical conferences later on in the year also. On March 21st, after three weeks of cleaning we got about 15 people to help us move our apartment into our new home. Yet another amazing show of love from all our friends and family. The next day was not as much fun. Katie’s mom and sister packed up their belongings from their farm in Wisconsin and moved to Albuquerque, New Mexico where Jane’s family lives.
April (Phil’s View)
The kitchen in our new house was the room needing the most updating. So much so that the first day we owned the house we had torn out all of the overhead cabinets leaving just a few base cabinets and an old countertop to make up our kitchen. Despite this, we were not discouraged from having 14 people over to our house for Easter dinner. We always have and always will enjoy having large gatherings at our house, and this was no exception. The day after Easter, April 13th, we got out a sledge hammer and got rid of the rest of the cabinets as well as the epoxy flooring in the kitchen. All we had left was a few pipes where the sink had been, a refrigerator, stove and sub-flooring. This was the first of many large and minor remodeling projects around the house. With little to no previous experience Katie and I completely remodeled the kitchen in three weeks. We bought, assembled and installed new cabinets from IKEA. We installed a new porcelain tile floor. We re-did much of the electrical to accommodate our new appliances. We also installed the dishwasher and sink plumbing. The only thing in the entire kitchen we did not do ourselves was the countertops. We had a contractor come and install cement countertops which with our white cabinets and new appliances looks amazing. The entire month of April was spent working on the kitchen, either planning or actual remodeling.
The kitchen in our new house was the room needing the most updating. So much so that the first day we owned the house we had torn out all of the overhead cabinets leaving just a few base cabinets and an old countertop to make up our kitchen. Despite this, we were not discouraged from having 14 people over to our house for Easter dinner. We always have and always will enjoy having large gatherings at our house, and this was no exception. The day after Easter, April 13th, we got out a sledge hammer and got rid of the rest of the cabinets as well as the epoxy flooring in the kitchen. All we had left was a few pipes where the sink had been, a refrigerator, stove and sub-flooring. This was the first of many large and minor remodeling projects around the house. With little to no previous experience Katie and I completely remodeled the kitchen in three weeks. We bought, assembled and installed new cabinets from IKEA. We installed a new porcelain tile floor. We re-did much of the electrical to accommodate our new appliances. We also installed the dishwasher and sink plumbing. The only thing in the entire kitchen we did not do ourselves was the countertops. We had a contractor come and install cement countertops which with our white cabinets and new appliances looks amazing. The entire month of April was spent working on the kitchen, either planning or actual remodeling.
May (from Katie’s perspective)
On the 9th our countertops were installed and we celebrated a completely re-modeled kitchen! However Phil and I are always moving quickly onto the next project so May 10th we tackled the huge overgrown bushes that were all around our house. My Mom gave Phil her chainsaw when she moved and we put it to good use! There were many bushes as well a as a pine tree that we cut down. Phil’s parents helped us out by bringing their large diesel truck to pull all of the stumps out. We then quickly brought loads and loads of black dirt in and made flower gardens around the house. The whole yard changed dramatically! And once again Phil and I were exhausted!
We hosted a few different parties, one for the youth group volunteers and the Memorial Day with friends and family. It was great to be able to use our “new” yard and beautiful new kitchen! We watched the trees bloom, the grass turn green and felt so grateful for all the God has provided!
We also had two girls from Northwestern move into our basement for the summer, Jen and Brittany. They worked for me at the Student Center for the summer and it was a lot of fun to have them here and be able to share the amazing house God blessed us with, with others.
On a personal note, May brought about the finalization of my parents divorce. Though this was extremely hard, it was also good to know that it was finally over and that we could start to heal and get over all the hard stuff. Both Phil and I were (and are) so challenged to live our lives in a way that we are dealing with the baggage in our lives. Though this was so hard it is so awesome to know that God will not waste this time in our lives and that if we let him, we can grow more to be like Christ in these situations.
On the 9th our countertops were installed and we celebrated a completely re-modeled kitchen! However Phil and I are always moving quickly onto the next project so May 10th we tackled the huge overgrown bushes that were all around our house. My Mom gave Phil her chainsaw when she moved and we put it to good use! There were many bushes as well a as a pine tree that we cut down. Phil’s parents helped us out by bringing their large diesel truck to pull all of the stumps out. We then quickly brought loads and loads of black dirt in and made flower gardens around the house. The whole yard changed dramatically! And once again Phil and I were exhausted!
We hosted a few different parties, one for the youth group volunteers and the Memorial Day with friends and family. It was great to be able to use our “new” yard and beautiful new kitchen! We watched the trees bloom, the grass turn green and felt so grateful for all the God has provided!
We also had two girls from Northwestern move into our basement for the summer, Jen and Brittany. They worked for me at the Student Center for the summer and it was a lot of fun to have them here and be able to share the amazing house God blessed us with, with others.
On a personal note, May brought about the finalization of my parents divorce. Though this was extremely hard, it was also good to know that it was finally over and that we could start to heal and get over all the hard stuff. Both Phil and I were (and are) so challenged to live our lives in a way that we are dealing with the baggage in our lives. Though this was so hard it is so awesome to know that God will not waste this time in our lives and that if we let him, we can grow more to be like Christ in these situations.
June (from Katie’s perspective)
In June we took a little break from major house projects and did smaller things around the yard and house. My job keeps me extremely busy through the summer so we just did not have the time to do huge things! Phil was asked to be in a wedding of some really close friends, Charlie and Lindsay Grill, in June and greatly enjoyed being a part of their day as a groomsman. I celebrated one year of working for Northwestern as professional staff through my yearly employee review!
In June we took a little break from major house projects and did smaller things around the yard and house. My job keeps me extremely busy through the summer so we just did not have the time to do huge things! Phil was asked to be in a wedding of some really close friends, Charlie and Lindsay Grill, in June and greatly enjoyed being a part of their day as a groomsman. I celebrated one year of working for Northwestern as professional staff through my yearly employee review!
July (Phil’s view)
July was a somewhat quieter month. We continued to enjoy our “new” house and share it with friends and family every chance we got. A group of friends and us went to Stillwater for fireworks on the 4th and then came back and spent the evening playing games and enjoying each other’s company. Katie’s job at Northwestern finally got classified as full-time after more than a year of being in limbo between her school year job and her summer job. We also got to see and spend time with Katie’s mom, Jane, again in July. She came up at the end of the month for a little more than a week.
July was a somewhat quieter month. We continued to enjoy our “new” house and share it with friends and family every chance we got. A group of friends and us went to Stillwater for fireworks on the 4th and then came back and spent the evening playing games and enjoying each other’s company. Katie’s job at Northwestern finally got classified as full-time after more than a year of being in limbo between her school year job and her summer job. We also got to see and spend time with Katie’s mom, Jane, again in July. She came up at the end of the month for a little more than a week.
August (Phil’s view)
August was another month of immense change. Katie decided that pursuing her Masters of Organizational Leadership was a more important long-term step than staying with youth group at church which really killed her. I thought that since Katie was going back to school to get her Master’s degree I might as well do the same and just like that we were both scheduled to be back in school in late September at Northwestern. Jen and Brittany moved out of the basement on the 9th to move back to school and the same evening Katie, her sister Emily, my friend Alex and I ripped out the ceiling of the basement in the first step toward finishing/remodeling half of the basement. This was so that Emily could move in at the end of the month. The next day was Monday August 10th, our two year anniversary. We took a break from our basement remodel to spend the day canoeing down the St. Croix River, what a wonderful day! We are amazed to this day at how quickly time passes. As the next two weeks progressed the basement continued to improve. We replaced the electrical in the entire basement, installed new recessed lighting fixtures, built a wall and closet to make a bedroom area, and installed a new ceiling. If that wasn’t enough we tore out the staircase and built a new one. And we did all of that in two weeks! No one can ever say we didn’t work hard enough. August 20th brought one of the hardest events of the year. I was laid off from the Shoreview Community Center and immediately our income was more than cut in half. We had just purchased a house, were in the middle of remodeling our basement, starting school again and just starting to have to pay off our current school loans. We spent many hours and days in prayer uncertain of the future. At the end of the month Emily moved in to a 95% completed basement, we weren’t able to get carpet installed before she moved (and we still haven’t been able to but it’s on the horizon).
August was another month of immense change. Katie decided that pursuing her Masters of Organizational Leadership was a more important long-term step than staying with youth group at church which really killed her. I thought that since Katie was going back to school to get her Master’s degree I might as well do the same and just like that we were both scheduled to be back in school in late September at Northwestern. Jen and Brittany moved out of the basement on the 9th to move back to school and the same evening Katie, her sister Emily, my friend Alex and I ripped out the ceiling of the basement in the first step toward finishing/remodeling half of the basement. This was so that Emily could move in at the end of the month. The next day was Monday August 10th, our two year anniversary. We took a break from our basement remodel to spend the day canoeing down the St. Croix River, what a wonderful day! We are amazed to this day at how quickly time passes. As the next two weeks progressed the basement continued to improve. We replaced the electrical in the entire basement, installed new recessed lighting fixtures, built a wall and closet to make a bedroom area, and installed a new ceiling. If that wasn’t enough we tore out the staircase and built a new one. And we did all of that in two weeks! No one can ever say we didn’t work hard enough. August 20th brought one of the hardest events of the year. I was laid off from the Shoreview Community Center and immediately our income was more than cut in half. We had just purchased a house, were in the middle of remodeling our basement, starting school again and just starting to have to pay off our current school loans. We spent many hours and days in prayer uncertain of the future. At the end of the month Emily moved in to a 95% completed basement, we weren’t able to get carpet installed before she moved (and we still haven’t been able to but it’s on the horizon).
September (from Katie’s perspective)
In our two and a half years of marriage we have been continually amazed at how God has provided for us. Once again we were able to witness God’s hand so evidently working in out lives by providing a job for Phil exactly two weeks after he was laid off from Shoreview. Phil started working at Black Box Resale Services on the 3rd just in time to celebrate his 24th birthday! (Can you believe what an old man he is?) We had yet another party at our house to celebrate Phil’s birthday and Labor Day with friend and family. Phil still has some friends who work for the Air Force Falcons football team and they were able to get us FREE tickets to the first game in the new TCF Gophers stadium. Though we were sad the Air Force lost the game it was an absolute blast to be at the game and enjoy some great time together. We also started out first class for graduate school.
In our two and a half years of marriage we have been continually amazed at how God has provided for us. Once again we were able to witness God’s hand so evidently working in out lives by providing a job for Phil exactly two weeks after he was laid off from Shoreview. Phil started working at Black Box Resale Services on the 3rd just in time to celebrate his 24th birthday! (Can you believe what an old man he is?) We had yet another party at our house to celebrate Phil’s birthday and Labor Day with friend and family. Phil still has some friends who work for the Air Force Falcons football team and they were able to get us FREE tickets to the first game in the new TCF Gophers stadium. Though we were sad the Air Force lost the game it was an absolute blast to be at the game and enjoy some great time together. We also started out first class for graduate school.
October (from Katie’s perspective)
I started out October by flying with Emily to Chicago where we met Mom and Marta and rented a car to drive up to Grand Rapids Michigan for the second Hearts at Home Conference that we lead worship at. It was an amazing weekend spent with my sisters and mom. I was so thankful for the time we could be together and really enjoy each others company.
As it started to get cold, we realized that our furnace was not working and in need of replacement (if you would like the full story it is in a earlier post.) Thankfully we were able to get a new one installed and are plenty warm in these cold winter months!
We also started a small group of five couples from our church. Phil and I are really enjoying building friendships with everyone and are so grateful for the group!
I started out October by flying with Emily to Chicago where we met Mom and Marta and rented a car to drive up to Grand Rapids Michigan for the second Hearts at Home Conference that we lead worship at. It was an amazing weekend spent with my sisters and mom. I was so thankful for the time we could be together and really enjoy each others company.
As it started to get cold, we realized that our furnace was not working and in need of replacement (if you would like the full story it is in a earlier post.) Thankfully we were able to get a new one installed and are plenty warm in these cold winter months!
We also started a small group of five couples from our church. Phil and I are really enjoying building friendships with everyone and are so grateful for the group!
November (Phil’s view)
As November started I was once again faced with looking for a job. My position with Black Box was a contract position and my contract ended on November 2nd. Once again we were seeking God’s guidance and wisdom as to where I was supposed to work and once again we were amazed at His provision. Two weeks again to the day I started, with a different contract agency, at Thomson Retuers in Eagan, MN. The drive is a little more than I’d like but it’s a good company and the pay and benefits are great. God is so amazing! The third Hearts at Home conference was in Rochester, MN over the weekend of the 6th-8th and because it was so close I was finally able to go with and support Kate. It was a lot of fun. Our remodel of the basement got a little closer to done as we finished the basement landing and coat closet toward the end of the month. And once again we hosted a holiday gathering with 14 people at our house. My family came over for Thanksgiving dinner.
As November started I was once again faced with looking for a job. My position with Black Box was a contract position and my contract ended on November 2nd. Once again we were seeking God’s guidance and wisdom as to where I was supposed to work and once again we were amazed at His provision. Two weeks again to the day I started, with a different contract agency, at Thomson Retuers in Eagan, MN. The drive is a little more than I’d like but it’s a good company and the pay and benefits are great. God is so amazing! The third Hearts at Home conference was in Rochester, MN over the weekend of the 6th-8th and because it was so close I was finally able to go with and support Kate. It was a lot of fun. Our remodel of the basement got a little closer to done as we finished the basement landing and coat closet toward the end of the month. And once again we hosted a holiday gathering with 14 people at our house. My family came over for Thanksgiving dinner.
December (Phil’s View)
December was a month that brought little change for once. We finished our first semester of grad school (both with a 4.0 GPA!!) On the 20th we had yet another holiday gathering at our house. The Buckles’ Christmas was here. We had to move it to the 20th instead of the 24th. Reason being on the 21st, Katie and I as well as Emily and Leif had to be at the airport at 4:30am to get on a plane bound for Cancun Mexico. Katie’s amazingly generous and loving family paid for a trip for 14 family members to spend 8 days in Cancun. Everyone agreed that it was by far the best vacation ever and the timing couldn’t have been better. We spent each day snorkeling and swimming in the ocean, reading and relaxing on the beach and we even went scuba diving in the second largest barrier reef in the world once or twice. This is the vacation by which all other vacations will be measured for a long time to come. Much to everyone’s chagrin we had to leave 80+ degrees to return to Minnesota earlier this week. Despite having to deal with the cold it is always nice to be home. We were home for New Year’s Eve and, can you guess, we had a party.
Well, you have made it to the end! It is amazing to look back and see so many hard things that happened this year, but also so many amazing wonderful things. We are reminded daily that God has a plan for us and our lives and is taking care of us everyday. We are so thankful for all that has happened and are so excited to see what this new year holds for our lives!
December was a month that brought little change for once. We finished our first semester of grad school (both with a 4.0 GPA!!) On the 20th we had yet another holiday gathering at our house. The Buckles’ Christmas was here. We had to move it to the 20th instead of the 24th. Reason being on the 21st, Katie and I as well as Emily and Leif had to be at the airport at 4:30am to get on a plane bound for Cancun Mexico. Katie’s amazingly generous and loving family paid for a trip for 14 family members to spend 8 days in Cancun. Everyone agreed that it was by far the best vacation ever and the timing couldn’t have been better. We spent each day snorkeling and swimming in the ocean, reading and relaxing on the beach and we even went scuba diving in the second largest barrier reef in the world once or twice. This is the vacation by which all other vacations will be measured for a long time to come. Much to everyone’s chagrin we had to leave 80+ degrees to return to Minnesota earlier this week. Despite having to deal with the cold it is always nice to be home. We were home for New Year’s Eve and, can you guess, we had a party.
Well, you have made it to the end! It is amazing to look back and see so many hard things that happened this year, but also so many amazing wonderful things. We are reminded daily that God has a plan for us and our lives and is taking care of us everyday. We are so thankful for all that has happened and are so excited to see what this new year holds for our lives!
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