POOR KITTY

My poor kitty! I picked him up from the vet this morning and he was sooooo grumpy. The lady barely gave me any instructions...she just said read this sheet, but I was late to work, so I didn't have time. She did say not to let him run around or jump on anything. How am I supposed to do that when he's home by himself all day - and he's a cat. That's what cats do! Well, the minute we got home he ran away from me and ripped open his left paw! It was bleeding all over my wood floors. So I quickly picked him up and nursed him. I resorted to locking him in the bathroom with a warm towel, his litter box, some food and water. I went home at lunch to check on him and he was so pathetic. He couldn't even walk straight. Needless to say, I'm going to baby him tonight. Poor kitty!

NO KITTIES/NO CLAWS

Bwana got neutered and declawed today. I was so sad to leave him at the Vet all by himself. He's never been to the Vet - heck, he barely even leaves the house! He sat on the armrest between the two front seats while I drove. Poor guy...he loved the car ride and the whole time all I could think about was the fact that he had no idea what was about to happen to him. His manhood being taken away...his only defense system. Hm...Am I overreacting?

Joining the Church

Matt and I officially became members at Calvary Baptist Church of Holland, Michigan! Well, I think I had become a member two or three times before, but this was his first. Here's our official membership picture.

We are really excited about God's work at Calvary. We will be signing up for a small group come November and can't wait to dive in!

SNOW ALREADY?

Ok, so I'm a little late on this news...because it happened last Thursday, but SNOW! ALREADY? Yeah, it snowed a little bit in Michigan last week. The happy summer/fall time is slowly fading away...and now we're on to the real reason Michigan exists - to TORTURE it's inhabitants with mounds and mounds of snow! Maybe it's not that bad...but the first snow always seems so horrific!

Kids at the Neals

We had 16 high schoolers in our living room last night! Boy are we glad we have a larger house than in Kentucky. Matt and I went to the girls' basketball game and then invited everyone over to our house. We thought it would be a good chance for us to start interacting with the kids ouside of the school setting. It was a lot of fun. We played "Apples to Apples" which was nothing less than chaotic. 16 different conversations, yelling, oh and trying to play an organized game! 11:50pm didn't come soon enough. Mr. Neal retreated to bed around 11:00pm. I was left to entertain and clean once everyone left. Popcorn ground into my area rug...popsicle wrappers littering the floor, empty plastic cups with remnants of Mt. Dew in them? Amazingly it only took me a concentrated 15 minutes to get my home back in order. Needless to say...it was worth it. We both woke up this morning feeling refreshed and good about what had occrred the night before. We could have never imagind that this is what God would have for us. But here we are...and we're loving it!

Back to College?

Matt has been studying quite a bit for his job as Bible teacher. He said this morning, "I feel like I'm getting my Masters in Bible Theology!" Studying is a regular part of our life. I'm typing this blog from September Woods coffee shop on the north side of Holland. They have a wonderful Christian setting and wonderful coffee. White Heather blended to be exact. Reminds us of college.

NEW POST...YEAH!

Ok, so I heard through the grapevine of comments that I needed a new post! (JEN) So here I am writing about our exciting life in Michigan. Actually, I'm having a blast here. Went to my sis's b-ball game last night. They played awesome, even though they lost by 7. They are a small private school and played a class C public school and gave them a real run for their money. But, I must tell you that Mr. Neal's wife is now known as the "screamer." I didn't realize how loud I was at the game. But I get so passionate! It's like life or death out there. I usually sit on the front row and scream at the girls, at the other team, at the refs...etc. And quite often I'm exhausted the next day - like today. I think I could have run a marathon and not felt this tired! :)

Back from Southeast Asia...On to TEACHING!

We arrived home from Southeast Asia on August 20th and hit the ground running on the 21st. Matt started work during those weeks, preparing for his classes and meeting LOTS of new people. And today is his FIRST DAY OF CLASSES! He just called during his break to say "so far so good." I'll get the real story tonight. I'm treating him to a dinner out - mostly so he can get his mind off the first day jitters - and secondly because we need a date!

Also a busy labor day weekend for us...Matt's parents were in town with their two foster kids (Daisha and Jamal) and his sister's family of four. Busy, but lots of fun.

If you get a chance, feel free to email or call us. I'm sure Matt would love some encouragement during his first week.

HOT HOT HOT!

It's is so hot here! The temps have been up in the 90's, but the heat index is over 100 degrees. Matt and I have been staying the nights over at my parents' house (left). (We're getting our AC installed on Monday.) They are in Phoenix for the week, so we have free reign. Each day we go to our house after work to get clothes and are dripping wet by the time we leave. Thank God for parents with AC! Matt started work this week and is already overwhelmed by the amount of preparation he needs to do before school starts. I guess as a first time teacher, that can be pretty intimidating. But he seems to be taking it in stride. He's excited to continue studying the curriculum. He'll hit the ground running when we get back from Malaysia. I'm also enjoying my job. This is my first full week and I've already started quite a few projects. My first priority has been designing an invitation and corresponding documents for our Annual Banquet in October. It's been a lot of fun. I've also been slowly updating the website. Most importantly, the job keeps me busy - which I like. We leave for KY on Monday the 7th and then fly out to Malaysia on the 9th. Be praying for us! We'll return on the 20th and Matt leaves the next morning for a teacher's retreat. He's going to be exhausted and has to give a devotional. Pray that God gives him the strength (adrenaline) to make it through!

And yes, this is our "ketchup and mustard" bathroom. Fortunately, I was able to find a shower curtain that matched perfectly. I don't hate it...but we might try to work with it later on. For those of you that know us...we did so much work on our last house, that we're protesting paint, caulk, flooring, etc. for a long, long time. Hope you enjoy these pictures. Life is going well with us. We're exploring Holland and the surrounding area. We're going to our family cottage tonight for a quick "break" from life. It'll be nice to get away for a day or so. We miss you all and hope that things are well in our "old Kentucky home"!

Our kitchen. It'll do for now - but eventually we will be painting the cabinets white and possibly the rest of the kitchen red. It's definitely bigger than our last kitchen.

Master Bedroom.

Our Living Room.

Well, I'm having problems posting the rest of the pictures right now, so I'll try later. At least you can enjoy the picture of the dining room!

Yeah! We're finally in our new house in Michigan. It was a long and exhausting move...but with lots of help from friends and family, we're finally settled in. I have attached a few pictures of the new home. A big thanks to LEE & CANDACE NORDINE who not only drove all the way to Holland with us, but also helped us hang curtains and move furniture all weekend. We couldn't have asked for better friends. Enjoy the pics.

Our new house! We're busy packing our KY house right now. It's so much work. We finally had to take a break and decided to check mail at the library. Our official move date is Friday and we're starting to get really excited! We have friends from KY that are driving up with us to help us make the 6 hour trip. Isn't that awesome!? Well, as we have time, we'll keep you posted!

I know I don't get to write much on here, mostly because we don't have the internet at home and my only time to update the blog is when I have some down time at work. This is my last week at work and I’m training my replacement, so I have a little down time today.

A new development in our move is that I got a job at the Holland Rescue Mission as their Development Assistant (www.hollandrescue.org), which is only a few blocks from the house we purchased! It's quite a bit like my current job, but with more of a PR focus, which I like. I will be doing all of their events and fundraisers, plus dealing with the media.

I must say that God has been very good to us over the past few months. We have seen his hand working in every step we’ve taken towards this move. It’s not been easy by any means…But, we know that he is faithful in providing for our every need.

Pam, Sheri and I at the Nine Hole Chamber Challenge Golf Outing. This was my last time running a golf outing for the Northern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce. And it was a beautiful, sunny day!

And finally, here is a picture of Matt and Boogaloo - yes, I said Boogaloo! (He named her too!)

Our new kitty kat - "Bwana" means Mister or Master in African Swahili (Matt named him obviously)