Busy!

I promise I will try to upload some pictures this week. I have 200+ pictures on my camera that need to come off, and I want to show you guys how pretty it is here!

Jake had his 26th birthday last week. We celebrated by going out to Longhorn Steakhouse. It was good food, and of course we both ate WAY too much. I also got him the new Zac Brown Band cd (he LOVES them) and a gift card to Dicks, which he spent on golf stuff. He was pleased, and we had a fun day!!!

This last weekend was fun too. On Friday (Jake has Friday-Sunday off) we stayed around town but seemed to run lots of errands, and watched movies. On Saturday we went to a touristy town in Southern Maine called Freeport. It's a cute town with lots of shops and places to eat and, because it's in New England, it's all really cool to look at and old looking! We spent the day there, and even when it started raining, we really enjoyed stretching our legs and going into lots of stores. They also have (I think the one and only) L.L Bean store there. It's so big they have four buildings for it!!! Jake made me try on coats for fall/winter. I'm pretty sure we'll go back there around October to get me a good coat. I don't want to freeze come winter!! :)

I leave for California on Thursday. It's bittersweet to be going because I don't want to leave Jake, but I wouldn't miss my best friends wedding for the world. It'll be a short trip and I'll be back Saturday. And the nice thing is, that because Sunday is 4th of July, Jake has Monday off!! Which means we'll still get a two day weekend together before he heads back to work! :)

Fala comes a week from today!!! Assuming my moms driving goes as planned. I absolutely cannot wait, although the first few days here will be hectic. Another family friend of the Burke's will be spending a day here next week, and they have a German Shepherd!! Hopefully the two dogs get along well, I don't want Fala's first day here to be a bad one!

Good news!!

Well this week has been, and will continue to be, a busy one. Kelsey, Jake's sister, is getting married on Saturday! The quiet house of just five people will go from that to 22 people in just three days!!!! It's going to be crazy, but fun!!

Jake and I found an apartment we loved, but after lots of thinking and praying, decided we just can't afford it right now. And I mean, we really can't. But I can't help but be bummed about losing it. It was SO nice, and it had a washer and dryer included, which is SO rare anywhere!! So I'm still looking for apartments while Jake is off to work, then we talk about them when he gets home.

Still no luck on the job front. There is a possible opening at a dog kennel, but we won't find out for a few more weeks. I'm praying about that one. I REALLY want a job, but I want it to be a job that I do enjoy so badly. There are a lot of openings at little fast food type places (Tim Hortons, Dunk'n Donuts, etc), but I really wouldn't enjoy that type of job. So I'm still looking and doing my best to not get discouraged.

Back to the people visiting this week... my best friend (Kelsey and Jake's cousin) will be here soon!!! She is in the wedding, so she's traveling from CA to ME tomorrow, and will arrive around 12 midnight. So I really won't see her until Thursday, but I still couldn't be more excited!!

Two weeks from Thursday I myself will be going back to Cali, for Christina's wedding. She is the one coming out here tomorrow. I am the maid of honor and through God's good grace have been given a plane ticket. I will be sad to leave Jake for a few days, but I'm excited for the wedding. :)

AND! Fala comes in about 3 weeks!!!! My mom and Fala leave TX around July 2nd, and will be here in about 3-4 days. I CAN'T WAIT!!!!!!!!!!!

We're here!

Well, Jake and I arrived in Orrington, Maine this past Thursday. We had a very fun trip traveling across the country visiting my mom, sister, and brother! It broke our hearts leaving Fala in Texas, but she will be back hopefully within a month. I miss her very very much, but I know she's loving it there! She has a Boxer friend to play with, a beach to swim in, and a nice air conditioned house! Really, it doesn't get much better!

Maine weather has treated me decently so far. The past four days have been sunny and warm. Today is cold with rain off and on, but I'm finding myself enjoying it more than I thought I would. I hope my attitude will last like that for quite some time!

Maine is beautiful. I had forgotten just how pretty and green it is out here! Right now at his parents house I'm in our upstairs bedroom looking out the window and even though it's dark and rainy, it's still gorgeous. I'm working on getting pictures up here so everyone can see what it's like. This house is magnificent... 6 bedrooms, 4 baths, and tons of land... I love it! I'm enjoying being in such a big, comfortable house before heading back to an apartment. :)

Speaking of apartments, Jake and I have been quite the busy bee's searching for some. So far, it's either too expensive, or they don't accept dogs. I'm doing my best not to get discouraged, but it is hard sometimes. I know the Lord will provide.

I have also been busy the last few days finding jobs, calling places, getting resumes sent in, etc. Surprisingly, the Orrington/Bangor (the big city Orrington is near) has TONS of dog kennels/daycares! WAY more than Camarillo ever had! I'm shocked, but very pleased! I've called four places already, 3 are not hiring, but 1 is willing to look at my application. I would love to work at a dog daycare again, I think I would love it!

Not sure what else to update on. When I get off my butt to take pictures, I'll try to remember to post them. I also have pictures I took on our trip, but I don't feel like posting them right away. :)

4 days

Well, about half the house is packed up. It's sad and hard to see it all in boxes again. I had finally just unpacked and became content with how things looked, and now it's a mess again. Oh well.

I'm still excited to move! I know it'll be super fun to go on the drive across country, I just LOVE doing that.

Dawson went to his new home yesterday. I'm sorry I didn't post much about him, but hopefully once life settles down again I'll be able to do that, AND a wedding post, AND a honeymoon post. :)

Camry goes to her new home on Wednesday. :( She is going to a breeder keeper I have known through GDA for the past six years, and Camry has stayed with her multiple times when I was in class when I worked for GDA. I know Camry will love it there and will be loved in return, but I am at the point now where I'm constantly holding back tears. I'm trying not to think about it, but I'm afraid that when I finally am forced to confront the fact that she's leaving, I'm going to absolutely lose it. *sigh*... I am NOT looking forward to Wednesday.

The Lord has really blessed us in preparations for this move. He's given us extra money and cash thatw ill certainly help, and He has settled our hearts and prepared us for this.

Maine, here we come!

9 days

We are moving to Maine in NINE days!!!!

After much deliberation, Jake and I decided to go with a moving company to get all our stuff across the country. We looked at things like U-Haul, Penske, etc, but those were all incredibly expensive. We've been a bit wary of moving companies, but this one really did have a good price, and we've looked them up on the Better Business Bereau, and they got a good report. So we're crossing our fingers that this all pays off! The movers come on Thursday the 20th to pack all our stuff, then Jake and I will head out early Friday the 21st. It'll be nice to only use our car on this trip; less to worry about!

On the trip we'll be stopping in La Porte, TX to see my mom and her husband. We'll also be dropping Fala off there so we don't have to take her the whole way. When Jake and I find our own place, Fala will come back to be with us!

Next stop will be Ft. Walton Beach, FL where my sister and her husband live. We're planning on only staying one night there, but we may end up staying two nights. I guess it depends on how tired we are!

After that we'll be headed to Sterling, VA to visit my brother and his wife and kids. When Jake and I drove across the country back in November we got to visit them, but only for the day. This time we'll be spending the night with them as well!

After that we'll just trek it on up to Maine. It should only be a day and a half drive from there.

I am looking forward to getting the Western states out of the way. Compared to the dryness of the western states, the east coast is beautiful and I can't wait to get back there!!

Jake and I have started (slowly) packing. His last day of work is this coming Friday, and after that it should only take a day or two of serious packing to get all our stuff in order. We're trying to get rid of a couch, a bookshelf, and a dresser, so we may have to take those to the dump eventually too.

I'm still excited and optimistic about this move!!!! When I get a little worried, I am reminded that this is what God has intended for us, and He will take care of us!

Ready for some crazy news?

Jake and I are MOVING!!!! Yep, we're headed back to Maine. I'm SOO excited. When I first met Jake I told him I've always wanted to live on the East Coast (like Maine, Rhode Island, etc.). We took that to be a positive sign, but still wanted to give CA a shot.

Jake found a job here, but it's paying about half as much as his previous job was in Maine. Which isn't fair, considering it's WAY more expensive to live here than it is to live there! And I didn't have a job, and have only have horrible interviews, so that wasn't good either. But we've been making it work for now.

But lately we both feel God working in both our hearts, preparing us to make this decision. And when it came down to it, it was incredibly clear where the Lord is leading us! Jake's old job was offered to him as soon as he called his old boss, and his parents offered to let us stay with them until we found our own place, so it just felt so right!

We will be moving soon. Jake put in his two weeks notice at work today. Our hearts and heads are already in Maine, and we're ready to pack up and head out.

The sad news is, this is the end of the road for Camry and I. The breeding manager will find her a GREAT home, and Camry will be happy here. I am so so sad to be givng her up, but I'm also so excited to start somewhere new!

Fala will, of course, be coming with us. :)

And the name is...

Dawson!!!!


I love the name, and I've always wanted to receive a male black lab from a "D" litter so I could name him that. I, of course, completely forgot about this when I was first told I could name the puppy. When Jake and I were driving to work yesterday though, he said "what about Dawson?" I freaked out and said YES YES YES!!!!! Turns out, he only said that because we were passing Dawson street at the time. Jake said he liked the name, but wasn't sure if it was a dogs name. So I gave him the day to think about it, and told him if we couldn't find one we liked more by Friday (today), his name would be Dawson. So, today arrived and Jake and I still hadn't found a name we prefer. So I just sent the email in to GDA, saying that his name would be Dawson. :)

I just can't wait. I have to seriously puppy proof this apartment, and I'm not quite sure how I'm going to do it. But I'll figure out a way. So today will be lots of cleaning and puppy proofing, just how it should be the day before you get a puppy! If I had more money, I'd buy him brand new toys, but for now he'll have to be okay with Fala and Camry's hand-me-downs. :)

I'll try my hardest to post pictures of him this weekend! If I don't though, rest assured come Monday you'll see some pictures of the baby!