Heatwave :)

Did you know that 3+ days above 90 degrees is considered a heat wave in Boston? I think my fellow Texans would (or probably are currently) laugh at this statement. I should have you know though that it has been much hotter here than in Waco this week. Today we topped out somewhere in the upper 90's with (as the weather man put it) "oppressive" humidity. You would think that having spent a whole summer in Northern Africa without AC and temperatures frequently flirting with 120 degrees that I'd be tougher. I guess something has happened over the past couple years, or perhaps humidity really makes that big of a difference.

Today, we were blessed to get a window AC from our neighbor from Belarus....it wasn't until late in the day, but still was a huge blessing as we'll be able to sleep in comfort tonight. Most all the stuff in her apartment is handmade by either her or her mother, so she is a super talented and way cool lady. She offered to teach me some stuff, so hopefully that will lend to a great relationship. We are so thankful for her tonight! Jeremy was able to bless her also by helping to put her newer window AC in her window (she got a newer one and that is why she could give us her older one. Something that Jeremy and I have discussed several times is that part of our role as Christian's in Boston is to make big strides in blessing, serving, and healing our community. Isn't interesting how God seems to bless those who strive to be a blessing even more than they could bless? Read: It is not at all our agenda to seek our own blessing (remember I hate that word agenda) in building relationships with others, however, I find that God always has blessed us and continues to bless us way more than we can bless. You can continue to pray that God would continue to show us practical ways to serve others. Pray also that we'd see needs and and be able to heal hurts.

Lastly, I thought I'd post a funny picture of Billy.... Tuesday we came into our bedroom and found him sitting in this location. We aren't sure how he got up into the window, but he did. I guess he needed to be closer to the outside air.

Pictures of the apartment and news from Jeremy

Sorry, I know we promised pictures of our apartment, and at Lara's request, an inclusion of pictures of life from the dogs' views. Ten days late is better than never right?

This is the view from the front door. That white thing is a really cool and old thing that buzzes our guests in down stairs.
This is our living room. That blanket is Billy's usual sitting location if he isn't out on the porch. This is the couch that we basically had to take apart and push through the door. My mom got me this rug as part of my birthday present... :)
This is our kitchen while some have told us is very large by Boston standards. It actually has more storage than my kitchen in Waco. I actually really like it. Oh, and there is an actual pantry in here (with a door) that you can't see opposite of the toaster oven in the corner. If I walk in here, Billy assumes that I've come to open the door to "his" patio.
This is our bedroom which is actually a really good size. The bed is on an angle to give us an extra corner of storage to shove things behind it. I interrupted Jack's nap by taking this picture.
Here is our tiny bathroom. Off to the right you'll see our room divider type door, basically it just covers you so no one watches you pee.... however, you can hear someone peeing when it is quiet from any room in the house. What a way to become intimate with your guests, huh?
Here is Billy on his porch. He just lays out there and suns himself and watches the birds and squirrels. I think he'd live out there if we'd let him. I have more to say, but Jerry :) wants to blog, so I'll let him do that and write later so this isn't too long.

Jeremy here:
So last week looked about like every week for me as far as job searching goes. I've been throwing out lots of seeds but still haven't seen a harvest. Towards the end of the week I sensed a bit of doubt and anxiety creeping in to thwart my confidence in God's promises of taking care of us. I'm extremely happy to say that it was short lived as the Lord has rejuvinated my faith by revealing to me that I had passed the FE (Fundamentals of Engineering) Exam. Some of you are familiar with this test and the prayers that were lifted in preparation for it. Though passing this test is not a stipulation of graduation or becoming a working engineer, it is the first half of the process of becoming a certified professional engineer, which comes with a lot of perks in the future. To now be able to put my FE certification on my resume will surely make it more attractive to employers. Anyways, I was not able to study for the test at all. Studying or taking practice test are essential for passing this exam, therefore, my expectations for success were quite low and had already decided I'd take it again in the future. My passing of this test is truly a testament to God's hand on Chelsea and I. I cannot thank those enough who prayed for me in this endeavor.
More from me tomorrow. Chels wants to go to bed.

Naked Bibles and Wet Dogs

Jeremy here:

Now for those of you who satirize me for my concern of my Bible's well-being, as made known by my Bible buffer box (BBB), I'll have you know that I ventured out sans BBB last night to church. Chels and I were in charge of dinner last night so we had to carry it over to TJ and Deanna's. Having carried my naked Bible with the food, upon arrival to their home, low and behold a slimy residue resembling that of the chicken spaghetti contained in our casserole dish had tarnished the pristine leather of my Bible. It is my belief that under no circumstances should any soul mock me again with the use of my BBB.

Today, we took the dogs out to the reservoir nearby our apartment. Billy has been curious about the water the past few times we've walked, but today while walking down to sneak a drink, he slipped off a rock and went for a swim. He came up with algae hanging off his tail and head and mud everywhere. Later during the walk we threw Jackson in the reservoir since we were already going to need to give Billy a bath. Jackson did not appear to appreciate his swim nearly as much as Billy.

We're official!

Well, we got our Mass. driver's licenses in the mail today. They sure don't have it very together at that office. They had to redo Jeremy's about 3 times to get it right, and the expiration date is still what they originally had his birthday as. More importantly though, apparently I'm an organ donor now. I didn't ask to be one, but my license says I am. I guess the guy could see that I had good organs and decided to mark me. Since we now have the capability to post pictures I'll post the copies (we got the software that had been lost to upload them). I blotted out the number so that you all couldn't steal our identities (cause everyone wants to be a smelly man named Jeremy right?). We'll post pictures of the apartment this weekend.

On a more serious note....

Well, I thought it was about time for an update after the weekend and to post some requests. The webcam is up and running.... it was great to see our small group last night. :) We've worked on the color since and next time we talk to someone we won't be red!

One of the jobs that Jeremy applied for today called him today for an in-person screening tomorrow. Then another person called who saw his resume on monster, but she wanted something for her company that Jeremy couldn't do. Regardless, it is just good to hear something and know that he isn't sending these resumes out into cyberspace never to hear anything again. Pray that the screening goes well, and that he'll get an actual interview. It is a different type of position than he'd ideally want, but not out of his field.

Pray that we'd be more patient with each other. Being solely around each other 24/7 is getting to be a bit much for us both. We've been quick to biting comments the past few days.

Last night Jeremy and I went to the home church that we had a connection with that we made in March. Both Jeremy and I felt at home and unawkward. We felt as thought the church was open and real with each other and that we were like minded. We are going to go back next week. Praise for that!

Pray that we as individuals and as a couple would continue to grow in faith and in our prayer lives. I feel that we are being stretched in that now. Although it still isn't that difficult to have faith that God will provide, pray that we'll continue to see that even as time goes on.

That's all for now!

For now, that's all....

Correction....

I was re-reading the blog after it posted and realized that I said that I was happy that all my clothes fit. I mean't that I am happy to say that they all fit in my tiny closet. :)

IKEA, the weather, and more...

Well, the past couple days have been productive. Jeremy is not content with leaving boxes around the house, so he's been driving me pretty hard to get it all put away. We've picked a bank and gotten that settled to. We ventured out to IKEA today, which Jeremy surprisingly loved..... he was worse to have along than a child. He had to look at EVERYTHING..... we were in there for over 3 hours, but emerged with a bookcase, TV stand, some organizing thing for Jeremy's closet, and some potpourri. All which were must haves for our little, cozy abode. He'll write about his experience later. TJ and Laura... we did manage to get a bookcase similar to you all and also got it in the car with some creative arranging.

We are watching the weather for the rest of the week right now, and just found ourselves saying 84 on Friday! ugh.... what a miserable and hot day. It is interesting how thoughts change given the circumstances and lack of air conditioning.

Also, I am proud to let everyone know that all my clothes (minus my 3 coats which reside in Jeremy's closet) all fit. I guess I downsized just enough.

As for the dogs, Billy loves his porch..... we'll have to post a picture of him sitting out there. If we'd let him, he'd sit out there and stare for hours in a very stoic stance. He also likes to poop on the sidewalk in front of the Temple on our block which he's done two out of two walks so far. I guess he's just making a statement in his own way. Jackson is having a bit tougher of an adjustment, but I think he'll make it just fine.

Ok here's Jeremy....

So I feel I'm starting to get a bearing on the layout of this city. Our drive to IKEA today was quite a comfortable commute. No jolts across 4 lanes of traffic or anything like that. That IKEA was something else. I was fascinated at the level of thought and detail engineering that went into creating such a successful furniture store. So where do they get all those spare flat screens, xboxes, PS2, and books they use for the mock rooms? And a cafeteria? Dude! Not to mention their cheap prices. They've won me over, I can garranteeya that much. Anyways, it was nice. Enough about that.
The place is looking more and more like home as the boxes vanish. My stress levels seemed to be elevated by the large number of boxes. The Lord has been taking good care of us. Setting up our bank accounts went well. We aren't as far from the grocery store as we had originally thought. Our neighborhood seems to be very (almost eerily) quiet. We feel quite safe and secure here, especially for the sake of Chelsmels. Back to work. Aufwiedersehen

We have arrived!

So, most of you have heard a bit about how the first couple days have been going, but as promised, we are going to begin to write it all down. For the first time, we'll both write for you (you should feel blessed).

Right now it is about 60 degrees.... move in day it was about 90. It was gross and grueling. Never try moving to a 4th floor apartment without an air conditioner on a day like this. We were all drenched in sweat within minutes of starting and all day. Thanks to my parents and Andrew and Kristen for their help... we seriously would not be moved in without them. All was well that night as we went to a restaurant that had a large LCD screen per table and watched the Sox and the Yankees. That was a good end to the day.

We have done a bit of grocery shopping, and in case you wanted to know.... a gallon of 2% milk is $4.29 here. We'll be poor just due to Jeremy's milk drinking habit. Guess it is cheaper than supporting some other types of drinking habits. :)

There is a lot of Jewish stuff in our neighborhood. We haven't met any practicing Jews or any that claim Judiasm, but it is interesting to find multiple temples, kosher restaurants, etc. We also have a Zen Karate place near us.... I guess we live in a hodge podge area.

We are so excited about our neighborhood and our apartment building. One of the things we prayed for was a good neighborhood that was safe and also people who were friendly and interested in building relationships. This was definitely answered. We have some very friendly neighbors including a former Russian architect from Belarus. We share a porch with her, and she loves our dogs. Please pray that we continue to have opportunities to meet and talk to neighbors.

Finally, I registered for classes for grad school and registered to go FULL time! I'm very excited. Perhaps if a summer nanny thing doesn't work out, I'll apply at the little supermarket in hopes that I'd get a discount on our groceries. Haha.... Alright, Jeremy's turn.... hopefully we'll get pictures on here soon.


Jeremy here...

dido

Love Jeremy

...just kidding. Na but seriously. Man that move-in day was intense, and I ain't talking about no indian reservation. Thanks for everyone's prayers. The Lord held off the rain strategically, once again, just as he did when we were moving out. I am very excited about our future here. The apartment is adorable. It doesn't seem as small as we thought. It must be the old high ceilings. Someone come visit us soon. Not that we are lonely quite yet but just to share our new life with. I love being able to keep the windows open at night since we are on the fourth floor. It's like we're camping out every night. It's going to take a bit longer to get used to the streets than I thought. I'll tell you what, those street sign locations and colors are wild (difficult to folllow), not to mention the mysterious sudden street name change as you travel. I had a chick behind me today lay on her horn just as the light turned green. These people mean business. I need a job. Please, keep praying about that situation. I know I'll get one, just pray for patience and my future work place along with fellow employees. I can't wait to meet some locals and dive into the culture. One more thing, pray that amidst all the changes taking place, Chels and I will not lose sight of our purpose and keep us selfless in everything we do here. Thanks for your support!