January 9th, 2012

Today David started his first day of classes! He was super excited to do so. His schedule for today looks like this:
Monday 9-950 Intro to Philosophy; 11-1150 Lifetime Fitness; 12-1250 Christianity and Western Culture II;
1-350 (no I didn't mess that up, this class is really 3 hours long!) Hermanutics

We also were checked in today by our new RA Shane, who had a super cool Irish accent! We didn't have any major problems with the apartment when we moved in, so there was really nothing to report. He and his wife, Luana just had their first daughter who is 3 weeks old! I am excited to meet Luana and their daughter.
I have gotten a few more things unpacked this morning, and David did an awesome job with the living room :)

Yes, the playpen is in the closet. For now :)

I have already washed dishes :)

He is having so much fun with his big new space to play!

I also tried the sling for the first time today! How do we look?

While Matthias was in the sling, we took a trip to the laundry room. We met our neighbor across the hall while heading out. She's a nice Russian woman, and she welcomed us to the building. We also met a friendly International student from China while in the laundry room. His name is Chuck and he lives here in Jenkins on the 6th floor. He is just starting his education here, and is majoring in Biblical Studies! That is what I will be majoring in when I start in March.

Tomorrow night there is a meeting for all new Jenkin's residents on the main floor here in Jenkins. Maybe we'll see Chuck!

Well, ttfn!

Our Move to Jenkins

Well, it is the start of our brand new adventure here in Chicago on the Moody Bible Institute!

We decided to move our things here last weekend, and were delighted with our new apartment!

Thanks to our awesome Flood parents, Dave and Toni, our helpful brothers, Clayton and Joseph, and the lovely Aunt Mary Hodges, we managed to get the majority of our things into our new apartment. Matthias loved it there!

After unloading and setting up a few things we headed back into Janesville for David to work one more week before going back to Chicago for good. We stayed with my awesome family, Manuel, Amy, Hannah, and Josiah Tafoya. 

After a great week at my parents, we headed back down to Chicago with my mom and dad and Toni Flood. With their help we got the rest of our things successfully moved in. And are now in the process of unpacking and organizing!

And now we are somewhat settled in and ready to start the week!

FWD:

My Playdoh message :)

update! 1/9/11

   Hello family and friends! I have a free moment before the hussle and bustle of work and school start back up tomorrow and just wanted to let ya'll know how we're doing!

  First of all, for all who don't yet know, David and I are now expecting our first child! I am due August 12th.

   David is figuring out all of the school book he'll need for this semester for his various classes. The classes he'll be taking this spring are; New Testament Survey, Christianity and Western Culture 2, Research Writing, Music Theory 2, Guitar Lessons, Choir, and Oratorio. We are both especially excited for him to start his New Testament Survey class, as we're longing to know more about the bible and who Jesus was. Pray for he and I that he would be able to have peace and perseverance to get through tough courses and that I would be able to be a good support and help-meet.

   He is still working here and there for a apartment complex owner, fixing up apartments and doing general cleaning for the building itself. David needs to soon find a job with a more permanent and heavier schedule as I will no longer work when our child is born.

   We also need prayer concerning which church we should get plugged into. We desperately want to be used in the Christian body but don't really have a clear focus as to what we would do. We are starting by sending out an email to Jenkin's married residents asking them to come together for accountability and fellowship; but we would really enjoy serving in other areas as well.

   Today we went to Park Community Church just down the street from us for the second time, and we both enjoyed it! We have also been going to a church called Missio Dei which is a part of the Acts 29 church group. We would generallly like to go to a church that is smaller and offers great community.

   I am still working as a nanny for the Sorensons and have been enjoying it very much. Bailey and I get along super well and she is teaching me patience as well as other things. The Sorensons have been a Godsend. Lindsey has been there for me when I need someone to talk to, she has offered me Godly advice for my marriage, and God has used them to provide for David and I financially. We are truly blessed by them!

   As far as my pregnancy goes; I have already had my first prenatal check up which was NOT fun... but was productive I suppose. I could not believe the amount of blood that they took from my arm for testing!!! Six tubes to be exact. That was the only time I had felt faint at the sight of blood. I will be soon scheduling my next appointment, which will include getting to hear the heartbeat of the precious life inside me! :) I have had mild morning sickness, but have not thrown up in the last 3 days! I am currently at week nine (since Friday) and my baby is the size of a green olive.

   David and I were blessed this Christmas season by our generous family with many wonderful and practical gifts which included; fresh contacts, a bed set(comforter, sheets, pillow cases, and bed skirt), a cart full of groceries, and finances. We had a wonderful time with the Floods and Tafoyas during our break, and are very thankful for their generosity, love, and support. We stayed at my parents in a spare bedroom they finished off just for us! Thanks so much mom and dad :)

   We hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and new year! Thank you for your prayers and support as we head into the new semester of schooling and working here in Chicago.

Love

Audrey and David (&baby in the making)

Wow! The snow can make a busy city look beautiful! You can't even see the buildings!

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First snow in Chicago!

First snow in Chicago!

Sept. 17th&18

I had been waiting two weeks, and finally, they were here! The Tafoya family joined us in Chicago this weekend to visit and experience the city. They arrived on Friday at about 6 or 7. They surprised us with yummy snacks, and birthday presents for David! They hadn't eaten dinner yet, so we ordered a Chicago style pizza from Giordano's Pizza. Then, David and I shared The Princess Bride with them and (thank goodness) we all laughed :)
The next morning, my dad and I made a super yummy breakfast of eggs and toriso (a Mexican sausage-type meat). We used flour tortilla shells to eat it with. This is a meal that my dad would make for us kids some Sunday mornings for breakfast, and it was treat to cook it with my dad and eat it with my family :)
One thing I had told my family we should definitely do when they got here, is go to the Lincoln Park Zoo. It's the one I had been taking Bailey too, it's free, engaging, and huge! Josiah in particular was very excited about going there. But unfortunately, the weather didn't look too promising. We decided to venture there anyways, planning to take advantage of the animal houses if it rained. Josiah was relieved :) Here are some pictures of the day:

My little monkeys :) 

This is a zoo animal!??? Apparently it's a sand cat.

Can you find Josiah?