Week 41: Moving week!

I am quite late with this post, so I am really sorry! To be honest, I have not been on my laptop since Friday! We have been super busy post-move, but more on that next week, I am just going to recap through Sunday, then next weekend I can update you on our first week back in northeastern Ohio!

So Monday (April 22) I was off work, which worked out well because there was something wrong with my brakes, so the truck went into the shop and I stayed home and got a lot done. There were a lot of calls to make about changing our address, so I updated our renters insurance, my liability insurance and studied while Jonathan was at work. When he got home we went on a walk to go see if the truck was out, it wasn't, so we went back home so I could work on applying for boards and Jonathan could do some computer work as well. In the evening we went on a walk with Graham to get some ice cream and catch up with him, it had been awhile, plus, ice cream is always good!

Trivia! (Graham is on the right, Dillon is to his left)

My week got a little crazy because my preceptor's son was sick, so she wasn't there most of the day. Thankfully, I had learned quite a bit of what was going on, so I could go in on my own and get some things done in the office while she was gone. After I got home we went to the local boutique to see about a graduation dress...unfortunately I didn't find one that I liked, but the store was really cute! Afterwards we went to get the truck washed and fill it with gas, then we went to J. Marie's the Dillon and Graham for trivia night. To be completely honest, I was not looking forward to it. Trivia isn't really my thing at all, however, it was a good time, even though we didn't do very well. The company is probably what made it fun!

Wednesday I worked alone again in the morning and was home by 4:30, which was nice. We had leftovers, I studied, Jonathan got ready for Bible study on Thursday, then we did the dishes together, worked on some packing, he called about changing our address for his different insurances, the bank, credit cards, stuff like that. After that we took the car to drop it off because, you guessed it, BOTH of our vehicles needed some love before we left Wapak...I guess that's just how it goes sometimes! 

Thursday Jonathan worked from home and I didn't have to go to work until three. Thankfully, I had to go to Ada to get shots, so Jonathan got a little bit of peace and quiet...our apartment was not really set up for both of us being home and one of us trying to work. I did the thing where I went straight from work to small group then we came home and worked on a plan for the next day. Jonathan's car wasn't fixed by the end of Thursday, so we had to get a little bit creative! As another little blessing, I was working in Coldwater and my trip to work involved me going right past Jonathan's work. Friday morning we left a little earlier than I usually do, stopped for donuts so Jonathan could celebrate his last day in the office and I went to McDonalds to do some wrap-up computer tasks before I had to be at work. My preceptor and I got to meet with the representative of the county I was working in to talk about pharmacy and some of the legislation and hot topics at the state house, so that was really interesting!

After work on Friday, I went back to Wapak, paid for our vehicles, dropped off our equipment to Spectrum to close our account there, went and got gas, then packed a few things before I had to go get Jonathan from work. On our way back from there, we stopped and picked the car up, then we went back home and packed up as much of our stuff as we could, we also called the Landis parents to solidify our plans for Saturday. Around 9:30 Mom and Dad came and we finished packing the rest of our things into the totes they brought with them, then we chatted and went to bed for a short sleep before Saturday morning came!

We were surprised when we pulled into the garage!
Graduation gift form Grandma and Grandpa, we are
both excited about it!

Neither Jonathan nor I slept very well, too much excitement! Jonathan and Dad went to get the truck and trailer in the morning and they stopped by to get us some donuts for breakfast on their way. We started loading up around 7:30 and by 10 we were on our way! Thanks to the help of Brian and Matt, we were super efficient and got out of there pretty quickly! On the way home we stopped for Arby's to fuel up, then we got home around 1:30. Kyle, Grandma and Grandpa, Aunt Bev and Uncle Ron were here when we got home and Ken and Pam were here shortly! I have no idea how quickly the unpacking got done, we had so much help it was just a complete whirlwind! By the end of the evening we had the living room basically unpacked and the kitchen put together. Grandma, Aunt Bev, Mom and Kyle brought food for us to eat and we all relaxed and had dinner together, which was a really sweet time. Once everyone left we continued to get some things put together until we were just too tired, then we finally went to bed.

Our new neighbors!

Unfortunately, neither of us slept well that night either. There was still a lot to do, so we got up in the morning, had breakfast and went to do some shopping. We had quite a few things we needed to get since our household now requires a bit more work! On our way back from shopping we dropped some stuff off at Grandma's and went to pick a few more things up at Mom and Dad's. When we got back, Jonathan hung up curtains and cleaned the garage while I worked on unpacking my clothes, trying to finish getting the bedroom put together. After quesadillas for dinner, we continued in our unpacking and then went to bed pretty early. It was a long day and we were both exhausted from all of our lack of sleep! 

Our life is a little displaced, but it is going really well and I will continue to update you in future weeks!

[Prayer Requests]

- Jonathan adjusting to working from home

- Alli passing the NAPLEX/focusing on studying

- Establishing friendships in our new community

Thank you for all your love, prayers and help as we have been moving! We so appreciate all of it! Love you all and can't wait to share more about our life that feels very ever-changing right now! Have a great rest of your week!

Love,

Alli and Jonathan

Week 40: Happy Easter!

Happy Easter! This was our FIRST holiday we got to be at home for! Now, we definitely missed seeing family, but waking up in our own bed in our own apartment was pretty awesome. Definitely something we enjoyed doing. Last week was another good one, lots of stuff to do to get ready for our move next weekend.

I don't know if I have talked about it much, but we are moving back to Minerva from Wapakoneta next weekend. Jonathan and I knew going into this that we were probably only going to be here for about a year and we both have a strong desired to live closer to our families. Initially we were looking to move into the Louisville area because it would be more of a middle space. God tends to laugh at all of our best plans though! About the time Jonathan and I were sick of apartment hunting and had no sense of direction or security in our move, my parents and Kyle found a duplex in Minerva that they all really loved. It was not really what we had planned, but once we saw it we just knew it was where we needed to be. Since then, there have been so many things that have just fell into place and we are both really excited to see what all comes from following where we have been lead. Jonathan will be working from home with the company he has been working for here, so he is going to be coming back to this side of Ohio a few times a month for work, but we are excited to see how it goes! I will be working for Discount Drug Mart, which is where I interned for 4 years in school. It has been a great place to work and them offering me a job is the main reason we are moving back, although it helps that the move aligns with our ultimate goals of being closer to family! So it is an exciting time in our life! 9.5 months of marriage and we are going to be relocating, but we are excited to move together, mainly because we enjoy doing everything we do together!

All that being said, our lives have been pretty mundane recently! Monday we had pulled pork sandwiches and leftover potatoes (those were not very good, I will be honest about that), but the sandwiches were pretty good, Jonathan really liked them! Which is great since I just whipped a recipe randomly off of Pinterest. I worked by myself and got a lot done at work. It was great to be able to accomplish a lot and get ahead.

Tuesday I worked 9-7, which is a bit of a long day, but they go by really fast! While I was gone Jonathan sold my dresser! In all honesty, I posted it on Facebook Sunday, had 3 people message me on Monday and it was gone by the time I got home Tuesday! We were happy to get rid of it! Our duplex is going to have significantly more closet space than either of us have now and we were not super content with the dresser to begin with. I sold it for what I bought it for in July, I should have charged more, I think people would have gone for it! When I got home, Jonathan had burritos ready, so I was quite thrilled with that, we got to just enjoy the evening hanging out together. 

Wednesday was a chill day too, we just had leftovers and spent the evening doing who knows what...honestly...neither of us can remember what we did on Wednesday, so obviously it wasn't much! I know I had a quiz, which ruins most things. Thankfully, it was my last and it went really well, so I am finished with those! Thursday I was off in the morning and basically did as little as I could, I really wanted to get a lot done but my body was begging for some relaxation and I just listened. I also got my background check done for my NAPLEX, so first step is done! At 3 I left for work and then I went straight to small group afterwards. Jonathan came home and got his area for working from home set up, then met me at small group. 

Friday Jonathan got to try working from home and it went really well! He thinks it is going to be a good set up. When I got home we just relaxed, watched some shows and then watched Daddy Daycare, which is SUCH a cute movie. Eddie Murphy does not disappoint. Jonathan got a nice surprise and we just relaxed and enjoyed an evening at home.

Yesterday was rainy and yucky, but we got a lot done! I made breakfast enchiladas Friday night and baked them in the morning. It was a new recipe and I must say - they were absolutely delicious and they were also great as leftovers this morning! We did a lot of packing and laundry in the afternoon, then I got some studying done and Jonathan got to relax and play some guitar. We got a semi-early but kind of average Saturday-timed lupper from Lee's and watched Antman and the Wasp, it's a Marvel movie and we were not disappointed. The humor is great and the story is interesting, what more can you ask for? After that we just kind of chilled, watched some baseball and went to bed at a descent time.

Easter selfie!

Today we went to church, our first time being at Harvest on a holiday and our lasts Sunday being there as regular attendees! Afterward we went to the store to go grocery shopping. Sadly, Aldi's was closed, but good for them for closing on Easter! Our grocery run was pretty minimal since we are trying to move with as little food as possible! When we got home we unpacked our groceries and did some chatting, then we had steaks and potato waffles, which was another new recipe. I didn't do super well with it, but there is a lot of potential going on there! After lunch we talked to the Haas fam, then we went on a nice, long walk around town/to get things at Dollar General (because we are super classy). Once we got home we chatted with the Landis fam, then we had dinner. By "dinner" I mean, Jonathan had popcorn and a milkshake and I just had a milkshake...Jesus is alive, people! We are CELEBRATING over here! While we ate, we watched some Cheers, now we are sitting here watching some surfing while we each complete a few things on our laptops. Last Sunday evening here in Wapak!

Our next week's menu is...well...lacking at best, but functional! We are just trying to use what we have, trying to live minimally. I think one of our meals is going to be pizza at a local restaurant, which is something we are both looking forward to! There is going to be a lot of packing for us to do before Saturday, but we are super excited and ready for what is coming next! Get ready for some exciting news next week! We have had a lot of it recently! 

This week is our last week in Wapak, it's my last week of rotations and it's Jonathan's last week of working in the office, so we have a lot of "lasts" going on! Thankfully, we are excited about the "firsts" coming up and can't wait to share all of our new things with you. We appreciate any prayers for these "firsts" as well. Even though we are excited, we aren't naive and we know that we are facing some challenging stuff! A few specific things you can pray for would be: 

1. Moving and everything that goes along with that - adjusting to a new community and dynamic

2. Jonathan adjusting to working from home

3. Alli passing the NAPLEX

We just love all of you so much and appreciate all of your support. Thank you for being there for us and for caring about our life! The lil Landis fam is just so stinking blessed and we have so much fun sharing what is going on in our lives with all of you. Have an awesome week! 

Love,

Alli and Jonathan

Week 39: A Surprise from Jonathan...

I feel like our week has just been good. It has gone by fast, but it hasn't been too busy or overwhelming, just a good week. Monday we tried a new swiss steak recipe with mashed potatoes, it was delicious! Jonathan got the potatoes ready for us when he got home, I studied after we ate, Jonathan went on a run and then we went on a walk to enjoy the pretty weather. Tuesday we got to go on a walk as well, but we had chicken alfredo for dinner instead. Honestly, the first part of the week was just pretty normal and chill.

Please enjoy this fun photo of Jonathan's
 mustache, this was my surprise!

Wednesday it got a little bit crazy. I had a presentation to do in the afternoon, so my preceptor and I left Coldwater at 3 and headed to Versailles for a presentation to a group of Parkinson's patients. It was a really great experience! Unfortunately, they had a lot of questions that we did not know the answers to! We tried to keep the medication information simple, just sticking to the basics, they wanted a lot more about one of the specific medications. The group was supposed to last from 4-5, I didn't leave until 6, so I got home a little later, but Jonathan and I had a lot to talk about when I finally did get home! He made BLTs to go with some of our leftover mac and cheese. He surprised me when I got home with his new facial hair...it didn't last for very long, but it was quite a shock! The next morning it was gone, but it brought about a great laugh!

Thursday was another crazy day. I worked from 9-7, but she let me leave at 6:30 from Minster so I could get back in time for small group. Jonathan spent the evening with Dillon, they went on a run and then got dinner at J. Marie's. He enjoyed getting to catch up with Dillon, getting to see his new motorcycle when they met up for dinner. Small group was great, we are enjoying our last few weeks there before we move.

Friday was a great day. I worked in Minster from 10-4, so I got the laundry almost finished before I left for work, then when we got home, Jonathan folded the towels, I got a grocery list together and we went to Aldi to go shopping. Usually we shop Sunday after church, but this week we had the Steiger's over for the evening on Friday, so we had to do a little bit of shopping. We made them pork chops, roasted potatoes, green beans and corn with fancy milkshakes for dessert. We loaded up on yummy stuff to go in the milkshakes - chocolate chip cookies, oreos, peanut butter cookies, powdered peanut butter, chocolate, it was all delicious! The Steigers are our go-to people for games, so we played Azul and Splendor, both of which were very fun. Afterward, we sat and talked for a little while, they didn't leave until around 12, so it was a late night, but totally worth it!

Saturday we had a lazy morning with chocolate chip baked oatmeal, then we went on a walk to the post office and then to some of the shops around town. There is a really cute boutique that I enjoy and then there is a shoe/leather shop that Jonathan wanted to go to to get some shoe polish for his nice leather shoes. It was a really neat little store! I hadn't been there yet, but Wapak's downtown is just too cute. Afterward, I did some studying and Jonathan did some work on the computer. Later we got ready and headed out for a date night! We went to Applebee's for lupper. Both of us got something new and we were not disappointed! It was very delicious. Then we head to the mall to do a little bit of shopping and we got to see Elise Steiger at Old Navy! To finish off the evening, we went to see the movie Unplanned, it is a new, pro-life movie about abortion. It was a good movie, we both would highly recommend it, but not without a warning that it is pretty intense. Jonathan had to step out at one point to make sure he wasn't going to puke in the theater and we each had a Sprite when we got home because we were still nauseous. Eating should take place 2 hours before or after the movie, it is rough. The "R" rating is not because it shows anything inappropriate, but because it is very intense. It shows an abortion, the process of a drug-induced abortion and a situation with complications - all of it involves a lot of blood. Thankfully, after the first half-hour or so, most of that is done and it becomes a little easier to watch. It was a really informative movie and opened my eyes to the culture in the organization of Planned Parenthood and I thought it was interesting to see the perspective of someone working in the clinic. Once we got home, we just drank our Sprites and watched something different and less heart-breaking so we could sleep a little bit better. 

Today has been a good day, church was wonderful, as usual, we had BLTs and mac and cheese when we got home, then I studied and Jonathan did some work. We called and talked to both of our families, watched some NCIS, and have got to do a bit of relaxing! For dinner we had chicken-bacon-ranch sliders (which were fantastic) with smoothies and popcorn/chips. It was a really nice, summery meal! 

This week we are going to have burritos, pulled pork sandwiches and breakfast enchiladas! Yummy stuff! It is looking like a pretty good week coming up, only two more weeks in Wapak, so we have a lot of stuff to get to doing while we are here! We hope everyone has a great week, talk to you soon! We love you all!

Love,

Alli and Jonathan

Week 38: It's Beginning to Feel a lot like Springtime

Oh my goodness! What a great week it has been! We have been so enjoying the spring weather. We have been on a lot of walks around town this week, so that has been awesome, it finally feels like spring and we are loving it. Wapak is such a cute little town and we love walking around and looking at all the super cool houses, it is also a great time to chat and enjoy some good quality time together!

Monday was my first day of my new rotation and I am really enjoying it so far. It is community pharmacy, so it's what I enjoy doing and it is giving me all kinds of joy! We had chicken enchiladas, they were fantastic, and then I got a lot of studying done and Jonathan worked on some different projects that he had to do this week. It was a slow week for him at work, but we have enjoyed our slow week at home catching up on everything. Tuesday was much the same, but we had lasagna soup and Wednesday was also similar, but with leftovers. Exciting week here at the Lil Landis house! But it tasted good, allowed us to get a lot of stuff done and I have studied a ton!

Thursday was different, I had to work 3-9. Thankfully, my preceptor let me leave at 7 so I could get to small group. It was great to be able to go to small group and see all of our friends! For sure a long day not seeing each other, so that made for a long day.

I was a little too excited for the movie...

Friday made up for Thursday, since we both got home by 4 and we got to relax and just not do anything. Jonathan spent the day at Celina High School talking to a class about engineering and what they do at Fanning Howey. I got home and started laundry, then we relaxed and watched Christopher Robin (the live Winnie the Pooh movie) and God's Not Dead, the 3rd one. Both of them were great and we enjoyed just hanging out at home.

Post bike-ride!

Jonathan's huge cone!

Saturday we went on a spontaneous bike ride in Lima, then we went to Pete's for ice cream - which was amazing. I got a cookie dough avalanche and Jonathan got a raspberry/vanilla twist cone with krunch kote. We were both very happy! When we got home, Jonathan napped, I studied and when he woke up, we went to the Dailey's for a bonfire. It really felt like spring and was great to spend time with our friends around here! When we got home, Jonathan watched some basketball and I did some studying and got ready for bed. It was a completely relaxing day!

Sunday was busy, as usual. Church, groceries, meal prepping for the week, 5 hours of studying, Jonathan did dishes, started some packing, organized our finances and went to play volleyball. When he got home, we had BLTs and baked macaroni and cheese - which was fantastic and very tasty. The evening got away from me, which is why this wasn't written until this morning! We are ready for the rest of this month and are really excited for the upcoming week. Not a lot going on, but we are waiting to see! Chicken alfredo and swiss steak are on the menu, so it should be pretty tasty! Hope everyone is going to have a good week! Love you all!

Love,

Alli and Jonathan