Year 3, Week 15: Back to Work!

 SURPRISE! I am actually writing two weeks in a row! It has been a good week - we have gotten a lot done and have enjoyed all of it!

Monday Jonathan went back to work and I had to try to enjoy my last day off alone. Of course...the whole day ended up being packed full of tasks, but it was necessary and got a lot done! I had two doctors appointments in the morning, stopped at Drugmart to grab a few things...but the milk man had hit the generator and blew our whole building so there was no electricity. Instead, it was a great time to chat with Amy since there was nothing at all for her to do! No electricity makes it hard to operate in a pharmacy! After we had a nice time to catch up I went grocery shopping then came home, made apple muffins and got our pork loin in the crockpot! For dinner we had pork loin, gravy, mashed potatoes and corn. It was a new recipe and was absolutely delicious! For sure a keeper. After Jonathan was done with work we ran to the library, then while we ate we watched Richard Jewell...it was a really good movie. Definitely something I didn't know a lot about. Super informative and seemed to be pretty close to the real story! They actually worked with Richard Jewell's mother and lawyer to make sure it was as accurate as possible. 

We both were at work Tuesday - it was my first day back...I was definitely not ready for it! Thankfully we had power the whole day, it was the only day of the whole week that there were no outages. While I was gone, Jonathan practiced some music after work and got a few other things done. Wednesday was my day off as usual, they didn't have power for a few hours, but it came back up pretty early. I did a flu clinic in the afternoon, stopped a Verizon to get a new screen protector...they didn't have it in yet, then went to get milk at Mom and Dad's before I came home and started ribs for dinner! Jonathan went in to get a new phone while I was finishing the ribs, baked potatoes and green beans. Mom and dad stopped by quick in the evening, then we sat down to watch Masked Singer...but it wasn't on...so we just relaxed the rest of the evening.

Thursday Jonathan and I both worked. He raked leaves and chatted with one of the neighbors before he went to band practice. We had leftovers for dinner, just separately because he was gone by the time I got home! His first band practice went really well and I enjoyed some time in the evening by myself! When he came home he brought the Catletts over so Aaron could look at our water. It is fine, just has a lot of sediment in it and we want to get it cleaned up. It was nice to get to chat with them for a little bit! Jonathan sees them a lot since he helps with videoing and now goes to band, so it was a treat for me! Afterward we watched the debate (that we didn't know was on) and enjoyed discussing that! Very glad that we are coming close to the end of election season!

Friday we both worked again, but I didn't have to go in until a little later because the electricity was being fixed...it went out for an hour or two the day before because the generator wasn't working well and they brought out a smaller one, so Friday they actually fixed it and put us back on real electricity. I picked up Subway after work and we had dinner and watched a few TV shows. It was a great, relaxing evening.

It was my short weekend off, so Saturday we put dinner in the crockpot, Jonathan worked on his big project that is going to be due here in a few weeks and I cleaned the house. I went and got more milk as well and chatted with Mom for a little while. In the evening we watched a show then played Forbidden Desert and Gin Rummy. We hadn't played games in a long time...it was SO much fun! First time we ever actually won Forbidden Desert, so that was awesome. Sunday afternoon my mom had a shower for me, so we both had church and then went over for the party. It was so much fun! We loved seeing everyone and had so much fun going through all of the cute little baby things! It was fantastic and we are so blessed by our family and friends. Thank you all for all the love and support you have given us over the years...we couldn't do it without you. Our baby is already so blessed to have you in his/her life and we cannot wait for you guys to meet! Thank you for helping shape us into who we are as a family.

Love you all,

Alli and Jonathan

Here are some pictures from the baby shower!

Year 3, Weeks 10, 11, 12, 13 and 14: Moving, Michigan and Vacation

Hello! I hope everyone is doing well. It has been absolutely crazy here...but we are so glad to be where we are. Sorry it took us so long to give you an update!

September 14-20:

Jonathan went to Celina to work for Monday and Tuesday, he and Dillon went on a run, ate dinner and then went to see Graham! On Tuesday Jonathan got to go see the new building his company is going to be moving to, so that was super exciting. He said it is really neat! It's an old bank building, so there is a super cool vault and it overlooks the middle of town. He stayed a litte late, but was still there when I got home! Wednesday we did our last walk-through of the house and Jonathan's parents came with us so they could see it for the first time. Afterwards, we went to Almost Heaven for ice cream...which was super delicious. Thursday we had an ultrasound in the morning, then we both had to work. Jonathan worked late to get ahead on his project, then he multitasked and made chicken for our chicken quesadillas....which were delicious. Friday I had a follow-up with my doctor from the ultrasound and they told me I would need to have some more ultrasounds just to make sure everything  was going where it needed to be. It was a rough day for me getting the news about more ultrasounds, but we made it through. I worked 2-10 that day and Jonathan mowed and spent some time with Kyle while I was gone. The weekend was spent packing and getting ready for the impending move. Saturday we went to hang out at the Landis' for Pam and Dustin's birthdays. We had soup, cornbread, seafood nachos and a delicious peanut butter pie! Sunday we went and worked on the changing table, then Jonathan and dad went to mow the lawn at the house while Mom and I went and packed my kitchen.

September 21-27:

I had a short day on Monday, so Jonathan made soup and we hung out at home in the evening. Jonathan's super long meeting started on Tuesday, then he went to get a lawn mower with his dad and spent some time with his grandma and grandpa. Wednesday I had my glucose test, had to get some gifts for a few of the girls at work, a DQ cake, made some phone calls and had stuffed shells for dinner! Thursday we had leftovers and watched the first Masked Singer of the season, then I worked the weekend. Jonathan spent Friday in the third day of his meeting and spent the evening packing, running and working on the rocking chair. He worked on Saturday, then we had leftovers again and went through our finances and impending changes. Jonathan was on the media team on Sunday, then he and Dad mowed again, we had dinner at my parents' house and figured out what we wanted to do on Monday.

September 28-October 4:

Monday I went for groceries, picked up a few things at Kohl's, got my hair cut and made Po-Boys for dinner. In the evening we did some more packing with Mom, Dad and Kyle...but ended up getting rained out. It was okay though! Tuesday Aunt Bev, Uncle Ron, Dad and Mom came over to finish the packing while I was at work. Wednesday, September 30th, 2020 was a REALLY big day for us! I had an ultrasound at 7:30, so we went that and then went out to breakfast together at Athen's restaurant in Canton. We knew that we would be signing the papers for our house at 10:15, but we hadn't been told if we would be getting keys or when any of that would actually be happening, so we just enjoyed a nice little breakfast the two of us. After that, we ran home, packed a few more things and then went to the lawyer's office. When we got there, the garage door opener and a set of keys were sitting on the table, which got us very excited. After a LOT of signing, it was officially ours and he handed us the keys and garage door opener! On our way out, the other owner handed us his set of keys. We were overjoyed and so thankful! It took 10 weeks (6 longer than expected), but we were finally able to drive to our house and unlock the door on our own. It was AWESOME. The day was perfect, we made a few calls, did a walk through on our own and then went back to the apartment to finish packing. My aunt, uncle and dad came to help us get everything loaded up, then we made the trek over to begin the unloading and cleaning process. Ken and Pam got there pretty soon after and started pitching in as well! When Mom got off work, she joined the party, Grandma and Grandpa came down separately, Grandpa when we were ready for his load and Grandma brought dinner. Jonathan and I had to go finish everything with the apartment, then we came back around 6 and had lasagna, garlic bread, salad, grapes and cookies for dinner! By about 8:30, we had everything unloaded and Jonathan and I had somewhere to sleep, so it was about as good as it could possibly get and we spent our first night in our new house! During that crazy process I also got a call saying that we would need to do another ultrasound at Akron Children's just to make sure everything was okay. They have better machines there and can get better pictures, so that information was the only negative of the whole day! Thursday they called and scheduled my appointment before I even left for work. It was a short day for me, which was awesome. Jonathan worked in the morning, then he and Dad pressure washed and he was mowing the lawn when I got home. Mom, Dad and Kyle came over to help us get everything in from the garage that was left so we could pull our cars in. While they were there, Jonathan had a presentation for work for a class at ONU, so they stayed an hung out with me until he was done. The next day we left for Michigan! We rode with the Prusias and Philip, then we met Mom and Dad at Chili's for lunch and caravanned the rest of the way there. We went back to Holland, like we have done for the past few years, but first we stopped at Shem's place to get him. Once we got to our house we relaxed a little bit, then had sandwiches and Oktoberfest stew. In the evening we did some trivia, played telestrations and sequence and just enjoyed time together. Saturday was our exploring day, but first we woke up for french toast for breakfast with two of Shem's friends. After they went home, we went to Grand Haven this year for some shopping, ate at The Copper Post and went out on the pier there. Once we got back, the three of us ladies napped while the guys went outside and played bocce ball for awhile, then we played hearts, had chili for dinner and wrapped it up with some trivia! Sunday morning Shem had to go back for clinicals, so we said our goodbyes to him, then loaded up and headed home ourselves. We stopped at IHOP on our way home, then made a few more stops along the way before our last stop at the Dalton Dariette for their last day of the season! When we got home I went to get some groceries and we did some unpacking and a few tasks at home. 

October 5-11:

I worked Monday and Tuesday all day while Jonathan was in Celina. Surprisingly, I actually made it through a night at home alone, which is a huge accomplishment for me. Jonathan stayed at Dillon's, watched the game, then came home and got a few things done around here Tuesday night. Wednesday Dad and Grandpa came to fix my dryer, then Jonathan and I had my ultrasound in Akron and by the grace of God everything was fine! Such a blessing! We stopped at Grove's and Kohls on the way home, ordered a dishwasher, got my ring cleaned and made sausage gravy, biscuits and mashed potatoes for our first meal together in our new house! It was fantastic. Thursday we both worked, I had a short day and Jonathan was mowing when I got home. We were supposed to leave for Florida that day, but unfortunately they were in line to get hit by a hurricane, so that was the last straw for us. Between all the unplanned doctors visits, delayed moving process and now the hurricane, we decided to have a staycation instead. So Friday Jonathan ended up participating in a meeting for work, then we ran to the orchard, bulk food store, Aldi's, Aunt Bev's and Grove's to get our dishwasher. Once we were done running around we went to load up more things at my parents then came back and they began the dishwasher project. My parents ate corned beef cottage pie with us and we all worked on getting the house in order a little bit. The dishwasher project continued into the next day, unfortunately. We ate lunch outside on our table back in the yard, then they finished that project up, we ordered pizza for dinner and when the dishwasher was done we put the kitchen away. Sunday we went to church then finished the first floor of our house for the most part! For dinner we went to my parents for a fish fry with my grandparents as well. It was super delicious! We ended up staying and watching a movie for a little while.

October 12-18:

Sunday night I started with some pretty severe back pain. I ended up throwing up because of it and had a really rough evening. Monday morning the pain came back, but I thankfully had a doctors appointment. They sent me straight to the hospital to find out I had a kidney stone, which was actually good news because it means baby is absolutely fine. It was quite a long day, so we ended up spending the evening eating leftovers and watching Saving Mr. Banks instead of getting a lot done. Jonathan did a few things while I napped, but we just counted it as a sick day since we were both "on vacation" anyway. Tuesday I felt a ton better, so we tackled most of the upstairs of the house, then Jonathan went out and did some pressure washing while I made corn flake chicken for dinner, then we watched Ghostbusters. We had to go back to the doctor's office since I didn't get to go to my appointment on Monday and I needed to get shots as well. I actually passed my kidney stone while we were out! So I was glad to be done with that. We had Red Lobster for lunch, did some shopping at Kohl's, JoAnn's and BestBuy while we were there and then came home, had leftovers for dinner and watched the Masked Singer and I Can See Your Voice. Thursday we had fajitas for dinner, watched the movie Yesterday, finished doing some cleaning and organizing and Aunt Bev and Uncle Ron brought us our shower gift! It is a beautiful toy chest for baby Landis! We are super excited about it!!! Saturday was another fun day. We spent the day in Cleveland with Sara and Dustin, ate lunch together, explored their area of the world, played games and enjoyed great conversations and ice cream at the end! Sunday was our last day of our vacation, which was sad. We had church, Jonathan got a hair cut and cleaned the stairway before the Browns game, then we we organized the basement and had pizza at the Haas' to wrap it all up. 

Overall, it wasn't all what we planned, but the Lord had a lot of other, better things involved, and we are very thankful. We really enjoyed having time together just the two of us in our new home and we are glad to have it all in order now! We hope you are all doing well and staying safe. Enjoy this BEAUTIFUL fall we are having!

Love,

Alli and Jonathan