Photos of the house...

Here are some photos of the house:

Master Bedroom/Bathroom

Kitchen/Dining Area

Nearly finished landscaping for the new house...

Well, here are some pictures of the nearly complete landscaping for the new house. I still need to put down the mulch as well as plant a Kwanzan or Yoshino flowering cherry tree next year.

Enjoy!

Photos of the Backyard:

Photos of the front yard:

The Great White Shark

At Monterey Bay Aquarium....

Christmas Party 2006

Carrie and I had a wonderful time hosting our annual Christmas party, Saturday, December 9th. We had over 65 people show up over the course of the party. We were blessed to have people from church, work (Lilly and old school), family, old friends from Virginia and even Carrie's Aunt Barbara from Minnesota.

Mozart, our poor cat who is afraid of strangers, chose the wrong room to hide in because the majority of the kids who came chose that room to jump up and down on the futon which the cat was hiding underneath. Since then, he has miraculously decided that strangers are OK! :)

Of course, Harrison was in heaven with all of the attention!

We felt tremendously blest to have a home to entertain friends and family!

Blessing to everyone this season as we remember the TRUE meaning of Christmas!

Joshua and Carrie

Day trip to Monterey Bay and Carmel

Aunt Barbara arrived yesterday morning, and we had a nice relaxing day. In the evening, she helped with dinner so we had a spinich souffle, chicken, and lemon pudding cakes. Yum! Today, since Joshua and I both had the day off, the three of us drove over to Monterey Bay and Carmel.






Our trip was wonderful! We went to the Monterey Bay Aquarium, which is literally on the bay, and we saw sea otters, blackfooted penguins, a great white shark, a sun fish which is 500 pounds and just a year old, and a lot of other fish!
The building itself is unique since it is a refurbished building from Cannery Row. I had forgotten how neat the building is. Joshua and I were at the aquarium the day we got engaged, so it holds special memories for me. We all loved the exhibits.

Then, we drove to the Highlands Inn in Carmel for a late lunch. One of Joshua's coworkers suggested it for the view of the ocean, and it was breathtaking! The hotel is built on a cliff overlooking the ocean. We sat up in the lounge (a room full of windows) and ate our lunch as we gazed onto the ocean. It was raining at this point, but the rain added to the view. Amazing! We'll definitely go back to Carmel and spend more time. Again, we were in Carmel the day we got engaged, and it was a beautiful town. I now know why a certain friend of ours visits her uncle and aunt in Carmel all the time!

Tonight, once we got home, Joshua made fudge for our party tomorrow. We have over 60 people planning on stopping by! It's going to be crazy!

Time flies...

Yes, we are still alive, and yes, I still want to blog. However, our schedules haven't allowed us much leisure time. We had a wonderful time in Virginia, saw my family and several of our friends, and now we're busily preparing the house for my cool Aunt Barbara to come visit this Thursday and for our traditional Christmas party this Saturday! On top of that, I played catch up at work last week, so we're not quite back to a normal routine. But, it will be great to have Aunt Barbara as our first house guest in our new home, and we're looking forward to having a house full of people on Saturday!

Update

Well, it is obvious that I haven't had time to blog for a while. Both of us are staying very busy. It's hard to believe October is almost over.

Joshua is loving his new job! He is driving all over parts of Northern California visiting doctors, and he is very thankful for his position. Joshua enjoys the interaction with the doctors and office staff, and occasionally with the animals at the doctor's office as well! One office had three dogs and 10-11 birds! He's learned a lot about diabetes (his area) and loves representing his company.

We're still in the process of settling in. After dinner is done and lunches are prepared for the next day, we don't have a lot of time in the evening to work on our home, but we have made progress. Joshua has added plants and trees to our lot, and it looks great! The inside is coming along slowly, and hopefully this weekend, we'll be able to upack and organize a lot.

By the way, we did book our tickets for visiting Virginia at Thanksgiving! Yeah!

New home...still settling in.

Joshua and I moved over Labor day weekend into our new home! We have so much space, and it is beautiful. The house is truly a blessing from the Lord. Now, I'm working on adjusting to my new commute and unpacking. The unpacking is going quite slowly. Part of the slowness is due to the fact that almost all of our boxes are in the garage. So, it makes finding specific boxes difficult. But, it will get done in time. Also, since Joshua and I have decided that we have too much stuff, we're planning on going through them together. However, he is away right now at training in Indianapolis (he's planning on seeing Kevin and Amy on Sunday). So, a lot of the unpacking is on hold.

The other reason the unpacking is going slower is that I now have a commute. When we lived in Folsom, my job was 10 minutes from our apartment. Now, my drive is about 50 minutes! But, I am thankful for our house, so the commute is worth it.

I'm hoping I can get a lot done with the house before Joshua returns. We'll see...

Sculpting, creating....landscaping :)

Over the last two weeks, I was able to design and implement with the assistance of the Stoever kids - Lindsay, Zach, Jordan, and Tyler - the redesign and freshening up of Pastor Greg and his family's front yard. I appreciate their willingness to let me kind of run things while at the same time, create landscaping mini-me's of the Stoever mixed quartet.

Here are some pictures of the finished product:

Carrie slides home...

Tonight was our final night this season with the River City Rats church softball team. We ended our season with our record in tact...0 - 9...meaning, we were successful at losing every game with a terrific attitude. :)

Carrie scored her first run tonight by doing her version of sliding across home plate. You can ask Carrie later about it...:)

I am very proud of her getting out there every game and playing considering she had never played softball before. Her game really improved over the last couple of months and I'm looking forward to seeing her play next season.

BTW...East Coast buddies, Janice was also on our squad and made an AMAZING stop tonight at third base as well as catching a line drive over her head robbing the other team of at least a double. :)

New address...new home...

Carrie and I received the keys to our new home today. :) Let the mayhem begin! LOL In the next week, the house is being painted, hardwood floors installed, appliances delivered and installed, furniture delivered and we move out of the apartment and into the house. All while I am still taking home classes for my new job and Carrie is still working through her close week. Deep breath and hold it...for a very long time! LOL Oh, did I mention window coverings and backyard lanscaping as well? :)

Here are some of the before pictures:

Time flies quickly

It seems like time flies quicker when you need more time. We're signing papers for our house tomorrow and closing on the 24th. Then we move September 2nd, just 2 1/2 weeks from now. Joshua and I still need to organize everything in our storage unit so moving goes smoothly and make sure the apartment is ready to pack. So, if nothing gets posted between now and after we move, there's a reason! We're both very excited about our new home, and we're looking forward to having a home again!

New job...

I'm very excited in regards to my new job with Eli Lilly and Company which I began on August 18th. I've been doing some intensive home study before heading to Indianapolis for more intense training. I'm very excited about representing diabetes related products as well. These products are necessary to assist people in their daily lives and increase their overall quality of life.

Lilly is a company committed to creating first-in-class medicines that enable everyday people to have higher quality of life. I'm excited about working with a solid team of people who have made me feel right at home from the word go. For instance, I received a phone call from a team member in a different region just checking in on me seeing how everyone was going. Wow...I so appreciated that.

Today, I went on my first field ride with my territory partner and was able to connect and be introduced to physicians that I will be interacting with in the territory and introduce myself to them. :)

New house update...

Well, we will be, Lord willing, closing on the new house in Elk Grove on Thursday, August 24th then the mayhem...hopefully controlled :) begins. During the first week, the hardwood floors will be installed in the great room and all bedrooms, we will need to finish painting or have someone paint the house and move in during Labor Day weekend. This is rushed although we are excited about the opportunity of being back in a home and being able to really make this a home together. Carrie unfortunately had to move into a home that I had spent the previous 3 years making mine so now she will have the opportunity of placing her own unique stamp on the home. :)

Lipizzaner stallions...

Friday night, Carrie and I had the opportunity of seeing the Lipizzaner stallions performing at the Stockton Arena with my parents and Grandma. We had FANTASTIC seats!!! Wow, those stallions were amazing at the sheer size and physical strength as well as the gentleness.

Left to right: Mom, Carrie, Joshua, and Grandma

River Rats Softball...

Sounds strange...I know...blame it on the pastor's kid. :) The River City Grace Community Church intramural softball team got off to a glorious, abeit rocky, start on Thursday with a 15-3 loss against a Presbyterian church from Downtown Sac. That in turn spurned Carrie and I to practice this Saturday and I must say that Carrie is a quick study learning how to wack a softball and throw better. This Thursday should be a better showing for our team, Lord willing. Hopefully, I won't keeping hitting long fly balls to left field. :(

House hunt...

Well, the house hunt may finally be over. If all goes the way it has seemed to go with my employment search, Carrie and I will most likely be living in Elk Grove, CA which is located about 25 minutes south of Sacramento.

It has truly been an answer to much prayer and patience as we have watched the Lord open and close doors for Carrie and I in our house hunt as well as my employment search. In regards to the house hunt, we put three different contracts on three different homes, entering escrow on one which we were tied up in for nearly 3 months. The Lord miraculously allowed us to back out of that contract and now has opened the door for a home in Elk Grove. We will be centrally located for my job, Carrie's job, church and family.

The house will finish being built toward the end of August and is by the same builder that my parents purchased from nearly 2 years ago. http://www.woodside-homes.com/ssi/v2/8CommPageV2.asp?State=NCA&Community=Heritage%20at%20Bilby%20Ranch We will be purchasing the Heritage 4020 plan, elevation C.

Please be in prayer as many things need to happen between now and then. :)

One year!

One year ago, on June 29th, we arrived in California after driving five days across the country. It was definitely a relief to be done with our "road trip." I am very thankful that I grew up in Virginia and am now living in California. Parts of the country were wonderful to see, and other parts bored me after the first hour!

This was taken the night that we finished packing our townhouse.

My brother David helped us drive, and we're grateful he could share the trip with us. No, this is not our apartment! It is my in-laws home!

Actually, three years ago on June 29th, Joshua and I decided to go out for our first date! So, that date is special for other reasons!

Babies, babies, and more babies!

Well, if this is the year for babies, I think this past week was the week for babies. Joshua and I know of five couples who had babies in the past 10 days! Two of our couples from Bible studies in Virginia had little ones. Jonathan and Christine had Abigail Jo and Pat and Laura had Benjamin Robert. Then, at our church, Blair and Mandie had Graydon Stone, and Russell and Sharon had Ruth Grace. The last little one to arrive was our newest nephew Noah, who came on Thursday to Karsten and Kim! Congratulations everyone!

June 26

June 26 was our second anniversary. It's hard to believe it has only been two years since our wedding. So much has happened in those two years. Last year, at this time we were on the road to California, and our first anniversary was actually observed sometime between Ohio and Iowa. Needless to say, we didn't celebrate until we were settled in our apartment. Since we didn't take a trip (just for our anniversary), Joshua planned for us to spend the weekend up in South Lake Tahoe. He made a great choice!



We stayed at the Black Bear Inn Bed and Breakfast. Very cute!
We went hiking on Monday to see a waterfall that flows into this lake.

I'm standing in front of Emerald Bay - part of Lake Tahoe.

My handsome husband.

Lake Tahoe is beyond the strip of woods separating the two bodies of water. We actually drove between them, and it was awesome to be able to look over on either side of the narrow strip of land, which was also high above the water.

We had a wonderful time, and we hope to be able to go back in the near future! I love you Joshua with all of my heart!

Promises

Romans 8:28-30 "And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren; and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified."

Jeremiah 29:11 "For I know the plans that I have for you,' declares the Lord, 'plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope."

Job 42:1 - 6 "Then Job answered the Lord and said, 'I know that You can do all things, and that no purpose of Yours can be thwarted. Who is this that hides counsel without knowledge? Therefore I have declared that which I did not understand, things too wonderful for me, which I did not know. Hear, now, and I will speak; I will ask You, and You instruct me. I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear; but now my eye sees You; therefore I retract, and I repent in dust and ashes."

Habakkuk 3:17 - 19 "Though the fig tree should not blossom and there be no fruit on the vines, though the yield of the olive should fail and the fields produce no food, though the flock should be cut off from the fold and there be no cattle in the stalls, yet I will exult in the Lord, I will rejoice in the God of my salvation. The Lord God is my strength, and He has made my feet like hinds' feet, and makes me walk on my high places."

Cars!

Joshua, Janice, and I saw Cars on Saturday night, and I highly recommend it! It is extremely funny, and it has a great message. I didn't think I would like it, but I'm glad I saw it. I would definitely see it again.

Back on the house hunt...

Joshua and I are back on the house hunt. We finally decided that the house we found wasn't worth the struggle. When we found out at the beginning of May about the title issue and potential probate proceedings, we wondered whether we would even get the house in the end. Since it appeared that we would, Joshua and I decided to wait. However, in the past couple of weeks, we haven't been able to agree with the sellers over repairs and such, and after we decided to extend the escrow period because of the issue with the title (the sellers' issue), they decided to get pushy. So, after trying everything to resolve the disagreement without success, we withdrew from the contract. Now, the only issue remaining is to convince the sellers to instruct the title company to release our deposit, which is rightfully ours. We thought we found the house, and instead it became a headache. However, the one thing I know for certain is the Lord is still in control, and His plan will be carried out.

It has been a hard three months. We have had several struggles with Joshua's middle school, he has been looking for a job, and we've been searching for a home. Now, in the last two weeks, we've had a huge issue with his school, we're trying to get our deposit back, and we're back on the house search. Through it all, the Lord has been faithful to remind us of His promises, and we are so thankful for our church family. It would be easy for us to wonder if we made the right decision moving to California. We both had fine jobs, a home, a church family, and friends. However, we firmly believe the Lord brought us to this area, even with all of the difficulties, because He wanted us to be at River City Grace Community Church. We have been blessed with the messages, and recently, they have been dealing even more with the sovereignty of God and His timing and purposes. I know the Lord has a reason for what we are going through, and hopefully in the end, we will be able to look back and see how He refined us and deepened our walk with Him. By the way, Janice, you should get the sermon tapes from May 7 and May 28.

Job search update...

Joshua's job search continues although positive progress has been made with second interviews happening in the next couple of weeks. The Lord moves in mysterious ways guiding our paths and leading us toward different careers. He has been interviewing with several large pharmaceutical companies for sales positions. He still interviewed with a large school district in our area for a High School Biology teaching position and is waiting to hear back from them.

We are excited to see how the Lord moves, opening and closing doors.

On another note, Tuesday night was Open House at his school...a time for teachers to "show off" their classrooms and student work. He demonstrated the Sound Wave Machine for parents and staff as well as some his students' most recent work.




Interestingly enough, he had a unique visitor to his classroom, the Superintendent, Dr. Kelvin Lee. Dr. Lee was highly impressed with Joshua's classroom, the student work and especially his application of science to the Music Appreciation Exploratory class. He told Joshua that the school and the district were lucky to have him teaching for them. Joshua then told him that he would not be teaching next year and Dr. Lee was shocked and asked why. He could not believe what Joshua told him as he looked around the classroom.

Joshua and I both know that the Lord is ultimately in control though it make cause Dr. Lee to question what exactly IS going on at this school if they are not renewing a teacher's contract of this high caliber.

Friday night adventure

There is a drive in movie theatre in Sacramento that we pass everytime we drive to Sacramento. It has six large screens, and at night, you can see different movies being shown. Joshua and I have never been to one, so we figured we should check it out. Last Friday, we checked out the information about the showings, and we planned on seeing Ice Age 2. As the start time coincides with the setting of the sun, we knew we could pick up burgers from In-N-Out and get there before 9:00.

We got there in plenty of time, and the grounds for the theatre are not much to look at. It's obvious that it is a low budget place, but as you are there to watch a show from your car, it really didn't matter to either one of us. We found out that we would be seeing two shows; Over the Hedge would be first.

So, we saw Over the Hedge. The lighting wasn't the best in dark scenes, but since you are outside, that's part of the experience. It was a cute show, but all the time, I was wondering when it would get done so we could see what we really came for. By the time it was over, it was 10:30, and we waited until 11:00 for Ice Age 2. Now, Joshua is not a night owl, and even though I like to stay up later than he does, getting home around 1:30 or 2:00 in the morning doesn't appeal to me. We were both getting sleepy, but we decided to stay. In the end, we were forced to leave, not because of tiredness, but because of technical difficulties. The screen went blank and the sound stopped, and even as we were driving away, we could tell the movie still was not running. At least we saw one of the films. I don't think we'll go back to see more films at the drive in movie theatre, but I am glad for the experience.

Pictures of house...

Here are some pictures of the outside of our home. We do think we will be getting it, but we don't know when. As you can see, the outside is not that attractive.


This is the outside of the master bedroom. We will make sure the windows both have shutters!

This picture shows the sidewalk leading to the front door. We will be taking out most of the bushes and trees.

This is the corner of the lot. Again, trees and bushes will be removed. I do like the corner windows.

4 years ago...

I remembered today that I graduated from Shenandoah University exactly four years ago. In a way it seems like more time has passed than four years, but then so much has happened in that time. My graduation was a huge deal to me because it closed a chapter in my life (that was probably filled with too much studying) and allowed me to enter full time into the workforce. Graduation also meant that I would have different duties, and as I majored in accounting, I would be starting to study for the CPA exam. Looking back, I'm not sure if I should have made such a big deal about graduation. Yes, it is a recognition of accomplishment, but that day is done and over with, and the knowledge you acquired is more important than the day.

I have a friend from church who is graduating this May, and to her graduation is more signaling the ending of studying versus a great accomplishment. She and her husband are also expecting their first child this August, so they do have more to focus on, but her perspective on graduation started me thinking. If I could turn back time and redo my graduation, I think I would approach graduation with a perspective somewhere in the middle.

It's a small world after all....

Believe it or not, some friends from our church here in Sacramento were out at the Together for the Gospel (http://blog.togetherforthegospel.org/) in Louisville, KY, and they literally ran into Mike, Pat and others from our church family in Northern VA. They started talking and low and behold, they both knew Joshua and Carrie Briggs. It is wonderful being part of the same body of believers!

Update on probate...

I just spoke with Barry, our realtor, and the escrow officer, title officer, "current" owners with their lawyer are working toward resolving this technicality within the time that we are scheduled to close. :) They aren't promising anything although they are purposefully working toward the close date staying the same. Please keep praying!

Complications with the move...

Last night Carrie and I found out that there might be a snag in the purchase of the house on Tamalpais Way. It seems that the deed was not recorded until the day AFTER his death, hence the need for the wonderful institution called the Probate Court. It looks like we could be potentially delayed 60+ days before being able to close.

Please pray for Carrie and I as we decide how to proceed.