New County, New Fair

It must have been about a month or so ago that the TV ads began. And Ella definitely noticed them. She heard the words "fair" and "Rochester" and figured out pretty quick that the fair was coming here. The commercial was on a few times. And every time it was - even if she was in the next room - she heard it. "Is the fair here yet?" is what we heard from her just about every other day.

So, when the time finally arrived, we knew we couldn't let it pass without a visit. We had gone to the county fair last year when we lived in Iowa, so we figured we better go and see how this county's fair stacked up.

So here is our evening, in pictures:

Riding in the Hot Air Balloons:



The Flying Elephants aka the "Jumping Jumbos":



Mini Donuts (they are the "talked about" fair food around here):


Petting the "pony":


The Airplane Ride:



The whole family got to ride in the ferris wheel:



Riding the Carousel (she's petting her horse here):


We definitely made a night of it. And seeing that smile on Ella's face was worth every dollar we paid. :)

Our Future....

Golfer! Dave thinks she is the next (just a sec, let me go do a little internet research to find out the name he used, I keep forgetting). Okay, found it on the LPGA website - Michelle Wie. So, here she is, the next Michelle Wie!



Dave was pretty excited to "win" the auction for this golf club set for her on e-bay. Just before she swung her club at one point, she looked at Dave and said "Watch me Daddy! I'll show you how to get it done!" Ha ha! That was definitely her quote of the day.



Okay, so seriously though, I am happy to report that we FINALLY do know where we will be living next! Yay! Dave was officially offered the chaplain position in Racine, WI. So it looks like that's where we will be moving. I wanted him to be the one to post this, but he took too long, and I couldn't keep all of our friends in suspense any longer, so I'm finally announcing it!

Our trip to Racine last week went very well. Dave had an extremely enjoyable time during his interview on Wednesday. He is rather excited to join the team there. It truly feels like an almost perfect fit, and he is very comfortable there. A true night and day difference between how his interview in Bakersfield went. We are certainly thankful that he was not offered that position, and that this is where he will be going. There definitley IS a reason for everything! It most definitely is the better position for him, and I think he will thrive there. He was kind of like a fish out of water in California, and I don't think he is quite ready for the environment there yet. I guess you can't easily take the midwest boy out of the midwest - even though that was kind of my hope when the job search process began!

So now begins the task of finding a home to move to. Hopefully finding something that fits the criteria we are looking for and is within our budget will not be too much of a challenge. Please pray for us through this process. Oh, and ask anyone you know if they know anyone in Racine that has a place for rent! Hee hee!

Just One Thing Bright and Beautiful

Last Saturday night, as I was helping Ella to get ready for bed, we heard Dave yelling from downstairs. "Ella! Come look outside! There's a rainbow!" She quickly runs to the stairs before I could stop her. Uhhhh.. Dave, she's kinda in the buff right now. So he quickly tells her to go upstairs and finish getting dressed. We quickly put on jammies and look out her window. Wow! Yes, this definitely WAS a RAINBOW! We hurried outside, where it was sprinkling just a little, and stared in awe at the sight that we saw in our Minnesota sky.



I wish I could capture the beauty that we saw in pictures, but they just don't really do it justice. I don't think I've ever, in my entire life, seen a rainbow this huge. And how cool to be able to see both the beginning and the end. A "double rainbow" I guess it's called. Definitely not just the small bit of prism that we can sometimes see when the sun shines through the rain.

Oh yeah, this rainbow was definitely dance-worthy. And that's just what Ella did.



"All things bright and beautiful, all creatures great and small, all things wise and wonderful, the Lord God made them all."

Oh what an awesome and good God we have.

Stuck on Politics

Okay, before your expectations are raised too much, NO, I have just about zero interest in discussing politics. But apparently for Ella, the interest in all of the candidates is starting early. Although from the looks of things so far, she's definitely spreading her vote around.


So, should I be concerned about her first political statement?


"Stuart Smalley" as senator? Hmmm.. The daily affirmations never won me over. So, do you think he'll be good enough, smart enough, and that people will like him? I sure hope not. Now, if Jack Handy were running, that would be a whole other thing. (:

I guess it's a good thing we are moving out of Minnesota soon.

Where our Next VB Family Window will Be Located

So, you want to know what our future holds? Where we'll be 2 months from now? Okay, just look up. Higher. Yep. That's where the answer is. As of now, it's up in the air. But here's a summary of what the past few months have brought.

So, a few months back, Dave and I had pretty much determined that we were both on the same wavelength as to the area that we felt he should direct his energy in his job search: hospital chaplaincy. For one, this is the area where he feels the most comfortable in and excited about - I guess you could say "called to" - right now. And for another, the whole issue of there being a time constraint on when he needs to move on to a different position doesn't lend itself too well in the area of finding a job as pastor of a church. So it was settled. There would be no more energy exerted on looking at vacant churches, scouring the Banner classifieds, requesting church profiles, sending out letters, etc. etc. etc. The entire focus would be on hospital chaplain positions available. So the search began.

Dave soon discovered that the days of sending out the resume are somewhat over. Each and every position he found required an on-line application to be filled out. And these weren't just basic, one-page applications. They were extensive, exhaustive, and quite time-consuming. So he did have to narrow down the field somewhat. Many hours were spent on his laptop, by our kitchen table. He made a list of cities that represented the applications filled out. The cities were all over the map. Then - our first phone call. A sister from a hospital in Bakersfield, CA wanted to talk with Dave. The anxiety and excitement of the reality of the situation finally set in.

So, Dave survived his first phone interview. About a half hour later, they called back and said they wanted to fly him out there. The flight, hotel, and rental car arrangements would all be made. And he would be going to visit on July 1. So what did this mean? If they were going through all of that, certainly they must be VERY interested in him. It was looking pretty good for this California-blooded girl to maybe be getting back to her home state. And how exciting that we may end up about three hours from my parents and family!

Fast-forward to about five weeks later. Dave called me just after returning to his California hotel room, having survived the gruelling day of his on-site interview. The news came - he was not offered the job. Apparently, they really needed someone who could do much of the end-of-life paperwork - something that the chaplains do not handle in his current residency hospital. But it was really rather odd hearing this news. It would be expected that I would be really disappointed, really sad that this option was taken away. But I wasn't. In fact, I was almost relieved. Very odd indeed.

After his day of travel, and lots of thinking and reflecting time, he returned home. And he said that the more he thought about it, the more he realized that that hospital definitely would not have been a good fit for him. There were quite a few red flags - things that made him uneasy. But he also said that if he had been offered the position, he definitely would have taken it. After all, it was a "bird in the hand," right? So logic would say that this was for the best. But still there was that little blow to his ego.

And now we were at square one again. And there was even less time to figure something out. We had given our two months notice, planning to move out of our townhouse at the end of August - a mere six weeks away. But had no clue where we were moving to. August 20 is the last day of the residency. The paychecks stop. Our health insurance stops. My mom is stressing. Dave is stressing. Me? Well, for some reason, I'm not stressing so much. I suppose I should be, but for some reason I'm not. I know things will work out. I know that Dave has the gifts and talents that will be a wonderful asset to any hospital. They just need to find each other. And, we always have Gerrit and Michelle's basement - they told us a few months back we could always move there if need be. But I don't think they really thought we actually may end up taking them up on it. (:

So, this brings us to where we are today. Well, the good news is that things are looking pretty good right now. Through a personal contact, Dave was put in touch with a hospital in Racine, WI that is looking for a full-time chaplain. Dave had a phone interview with one of the heads of the department last Tuesday. It went EXTREMELY well. He had a wonderful conversation with her. But there was another woman that was also one of the heads of the department, and he needed to interview with her as well. So, more waiting for her to contact him. The weekend came and went, and then Monday morning, they finally were able to get in touch with each other. Apparently, she had been trying to e-mail him last week, but the messages never went through. So on Monday he had his second phone interview for this position. And it went just as well as the first one. Yay!

We are driving out there next Tuesday, and he will have his on-site interview on Wednesday. Although we know that this job is not a certainty, there are a few things that make it very appealing. First of all, half of the position would be in the field of mental health - which is the area that was Dave's absolute favorite over the course of the past year. Second, there is a CRC and a CSI Christian School in Racine. Considering that there is both a need and a desire to stay connected to the CRC, this would be a huge blessing for us. And third, geographically it would be a wonderful area. It is close to Chicago, so flights to CA would be reasonably priced. And it is close to his family and my grandparents, and driving distance to many of our close friends. I could definitely see some road trips to Grand Rapids and Pella in our future. Woo hoo! (:

So, now that you have read (or at least skimmed) my novel of a post, please keep us in our prayers as we continue this whole job-search journey. And please pray for Dave next Wednesday as he once again will go through the interview process. We don't have any definite answers as to where we will be living next, but things are looking very good. And we know that God knows our future. And we know that he both has been and will continue to be there to provide the strength, peace, and comfort to get through any and all of the disappointments and joys in this process.

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Oh, and what post would be complete without a picture of Ella? Here's one of our FIRST PIGGIES! Aren't they cute? She's studying her book about how the digestion system works from Uncle Paul and Aunt Dana.

A Metamorphosis in Our Home

The day after Ella and I returned home from Iowa, we were sitting out in the front yard and I noticed a cute, furry little caterpillar crawling across our driveway. We watched it for a bit and then got the idea that maybe this would be an opportunity to give Ella (and ourselves) a great science lesson. So Dave found a jar, Ella gathered up grass, leaves, and sticks, and these items created a new home for what then became our new pet caterpillar.


It didn't take long, and the caterpillar made himself at home at the very top of the jar. That night, we could tell that he was already beginning to spin a cocoon. The next morning, we no longer had a caterpillar in a jar, but a cocoon in a jar. So now we just waited. And watched. And waited. And waited some more. Many nights were spent reading "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" and "The Caterpillar and the Pollywog." Two weeks went by. My parents came and went. Dave flew out to California. I'm not sure exactly how many days went by, but it was close to three weeks. Then, the day finally came. I woke up, checked the jar and noticed something quite different on the top. What was it you ask? Well, it was this little creature.


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So, not exactly a beautiful butterfly. But definitely a beautiful example of how amazing God's creation is. And a priceless experience for Ella.

Playing Catch Up!

Wowza! 2 months sure did fly by! Sorry about the super long break from posting, but I'm back! So, without further ado, here are a few pics from the last little while.

In June, Ella and I made a drive to Iowa to visit with some friends there. We had such a wonderful time - Ella played so well with Abby and Sam, and I had some great conversations with Greg and Sarah. And meeting new little Gabe was definitely one of the best parts of our visit. It was definitely worth the 4 hour drive!

Ella and Sam

Ella and Abby - don't they look like twins?

Demolishing (and later re-building) the wagon

"Baby Gabe" Isn't he just the cutest!?

Then, later in June, my parents made there way over from California to visit and see our home here in Minnesota. It was wonderful to see them again since we hadn't seen them since our trip out there in November. And I think it was a much-needed time away for them as well. I hope they were able to relax a little! We didn't exhaust them too much, I don't think. Although Ella certainly did keep them entertained! Here are a few pictures from their time here:

Playing Dolls with Beppe
Ella modeling her new dress from Beppe! (and eating junk food that probably was given by Pakke)

Ella and her Pakke



Yes, we definitely did enjoy seeing them, and it was sad to see them go. We will miss the constant brewing of coffee, the many hands of Rummy, and the many hours spent sitting outside. Thanks for bringing the cans of California almonds and the jars of the yummiest Dutch applesauce! Ella is enjoying them both!