Boards are over and done with and the news is good. Now I can finally relax in the evenings! We celebrated with a big family breakfast this morning, Kevin's parents, siblings, and our nieces and nephew. Then we had a more personal celebration with just the three of us going to the mall to buy a few work clothes. It has been a good day. Tonight we'll barbecue with some of Kevin's friends and then off to bed to rest up for my second week of work.

Two days in and so far so good. I think I chose the right profession, I even think I chose the right job. The only thing I'm having trouble with (besides enormous test anxiety for Saturday) is being away from Kevin and Jonah for such long stretches of time. I leave just after seven and get home between six and seven, then Jonah goes to bed at eight and I have to study until I go to bed. I know things will get a little easier after I take boards (assuming that I pass boards, which... I really hope I pass.)

I need to get to bed. Big day tomorrow. Again.

I start work tomorrow and take boards in less than a week. To get my mind off my anxiety, I posted some pictures.

Jonah loves to strum this guitar. He's getting pretty good. He may or may not be a musical genius (we think he probably is, though).

With all the cousins today at Grandma and Grandpa Hove's house.

He loved watching the big kids splash around!

On the way back home, exhausted from playing (also probably tired from being up last night from 1am-4am screaming and kicking me in the stomach. But he sure is sweet when he sleeps, isn't he?)

Pool Day

After living here for about three weeks, we finally got around to seeing the neighborhood pool.

He's wondering why we haven't left yet. Can't we see he's ready?

Don't forget the sunscreen!

Loving the water. I have about six million pictures like this but Picasa only lets you post four at a time.

Sure, I probably should have been studying, but it was a really good day (and the break probably did me good).

The house is coming along. We painted the living room blue (but the color turned out more purple) and the dining room/kitchen green (it turned out much truer to the swatch). It's starting to feel like home. We still have a lot of work to do but I imagine it will happen over the next few weeks, months, years. Kevin says that's how houses go, there's always fixing up that needs to be done. Right now our major projects include getting rid of the bee hive inside our garage wall and making our yard presentable. We're still trying to get pictures hung.

I start work on Monday. I take my boards a week from Saturday. I'm trying to relax and do what I need to do - study, get errands done while I still can during the week, get the house set up. Next week is going to be a big week. I'm looking forward to it and I'm sure all will be fine but it's a big week.

We're still working on moving in.  There were some delays with our furniture.  We should get most of it next week, except the bridge that makes up the top of the entertainment center.  That part is backordered and isn't supposed to come until August now.  When they called about the delay, I went in to see if there was another entertainment center I liked as much that I could order instead.  But the one I picked originally was the best one, so I guess it's worth waiting for.

I spend every day split between getting the house set up and studying for boards.  Most mornings I'm at a coffee house, nursing a new caffiene habit and cramming.  Afternoons and evenings I'm spending time with my boys or fixing/organizing/cleaning around the house.  Kevin says that when you own a house there is always something that needs to be done, so maybe I should get used to the feeling of my to-do list constantly growing...

Jonah turned 11 months old yesterday!

It's been a very busy week. We had a wonderful time in Missouri. Jonah became proficient at walking and got to know his cousins a little better. It was so good to see everyone.

We survived the flight home with just the two of us, and it wasn't as bad as I thought it might be. And now we live here:

It's a nice house, isn't it? I like it much more than I even thought I would. It's a lot of work getting it set up and we're nowhere near finished, but we're making progress. Jonah's room is done except for wall hangings, both bathrooms are finished, and the kitchen is getting really close. Living room and dining room furniture is on it's way next week. I'd like to get the dining room painted, but we have to see if we have the time and money to do that before I start work on the 22nd. Once we get everything done, it's going to be a beautiful little house for us.