It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas....

FINALLY! In talking with Jacob this weekend, we've decided there are a few things we very much miss about Minnesota. First, our friends. We just haven't quite made local friends yet. We have all our friends from college that are near Nashville, and we see them lots more than we did while we were up north, but we miss that weekly fellowship a lot. Second, snow and cold. Yes, I know..this is coming from the precise one who whined about it being SO COLD for SO LONG the last 2 winters! However, it's been a ridiculous weather pattern in the south this year. Only this week did it get below freezing for the first time! We long for heavy jackets and boots... It only now feels like it should be Christmas time. I can't believe it's next week! This brings me to our Christmas picture.... here are some blooper pictures of us trying to bribe Klondike into looking at the camera!




And now, finally, success! He hated the ears, too. :)

THE BAR

There were definitely shouts of joy here in Nashville Friday afternoon....Jacob passed the bar!! He will be sworn in as an attorney by a judge soon and then begin work for a firm practicing family law. What a relief to have this waiting behind us! :) Praise the Lord!

The time is drawing near...

Bar results come in a little over 24 hours! Jacob is anxious, but at peace. I wish he would get on here once and a while, but he's not that into blogs. :) Maybe someday... So for that reason, you get to hear from me(Jen) about the matter. I think I speak for both of us when I say that the bar results will bring more than just a right of passage into a career. For 3 years he has worked so hard towards this goal that has finally come! Getting to this point the Lord has taken us places we never thought we'd go, apart or together. Getting the results of this test will bring for us a sense of settled. To this point, our entire married life has been centered around a "what's next" theme. My jobs have been uncertain and varied, we've moved 3 times out of the 2.5 years we've been married, we've wondered and prayed and dreamed of a time when we had an idea of what was to come. We've watched our friends get married and buy houses, able to put down some roots with secure jobs and incomes. It seemed that day for us would be SO far away...
All this has been harder for me than for Jacob because I'm a very "planned" person or "control freak", if you will. (I'm not proud of this and I'm working on it... slowly but surely) I like to know what's next, I like to look forward to things and plan for them (I'm also a little OCD...) and I haven't been able to find anything surrounding our lives to be concrete. It's been full of questions to which we've prayed and prayed and prayed our way through. God has been faithful to us despite my desire for control and longing to be settled. No matter how upset I have been with Him for the questions, He still provided the answers in His time. And as always, it's worked out perfectly according to His plan. We've made it... we're here at the end of this particular journey in our lives and it is filled with hope. Hope and excitement for what is to come in the next year as Jacob gets his career started and we finally settle for a while at least. I am constantly amazed at the way God directs us through things and then at the end, when we look back it all makes sense.
So- beware Friday morning if you hear yells and shouts of joy- don't worry. It's us celebrating this new chapter in our lives that's been a long time coming!

It's been a while....

I don't think I realized it had been so long since my last post! I can't believe it's October, the time is flying by. Currently, life is going well for us. I love my job and have just started there full time as opposed to half days. I like it for a lot of reasons:

1. Little kids are inspiring, even though they drive me crazy. Everything is new to them and fun for them. I had forgotten how exciting learning that the grass is green or the sky blue could be..

2. I get to move around the building a lot and no 2 days hold the same things. I spent all day last Friday with the babies (up to a year old). It's the most time I've ever spent with babies and I was thrown in with 8 of them! I honestly feel more prepared for my own babies now (someday..) so that's a plus.

3. I enjoy the people I work with.

I look back to when we left MN and I see SO many ways God has blessed us, my job being one of them.
Jacob is still waiting- 18 more days! October 19th is the big bar result posting. They will post them online somewhere that morning and it can't come soon enough! The blessings have been coming the last few weeks just as he was getting frustrated with this process. He's got an interview for a clerkship at the end of October and has had the opportunity to meet with some Christian lawyers who were very encouraging and helpful. He's also found numerous job postings in the past week that he has applied for and not heard from yet. The doors are opening slowly, finally!!
Another little blessing is Klondike- he's 6 months old this week. He is a challenge and a great pre-child experience for building patience. He's spoiled but well behaved. :) Here's some pictures of him now at 15 pounds.

A new adventure

My new adventure comes in the form of a job!! I start Monday teaching music, computer and doing odds and ends at a preschool here in Nashville. I'll teach music one day a week, the computer program one day a week and hopefully will be the "floater" the other 3 days. A little different than what I'd hoped to be doing this year, but an answered prayer none the less! It's part time, about 5 hours a day, but I'm ok with that since hopefully Jacob will have a full time job here soon. He's working hard on all sorts of applications and has gotten some positive feedback. Things are starting to fall into place and that "lost" feeling is subsiding. We still haven't found a church and we still miss our friends in MN, especially on Thursday nights. This weekend we're going down to Auburn to visit Jacob's family there. We're taking Klondike so it should be an interesting trip... 4.5 hours in a car.. maybe we'll all survive!!

Weddings and Forever Friends

"Some people come into your life and quietly leave. Others come in, leave footprints on your heart, and you are never, ever the same".
The girls in the above pictures are what I like to call my "forever friends". More like sisters, really. The top picture is from yesterday. Alison married her soulmate, Richard, in a beautiful outdoor mountain ceremony. It was perfect for them and a wonderful afternoon. Alison's wedding is the last of the three of us (Becca married Chad last October). It was an exciting day but brought up more emotion than I thought it would. As we waved goodbye to them yesterday, my heart was smiling but my tears surprised me. Alison's wedding closed an era and opened up a new chapter of our friendship. We've all been through the college years, the dating years, the ups and downs of relationships, watched each other meet our now husbands, and stayed up late nights talking about the future and wondering what life would be like "when we're all married and have to be adults". Now, here we are. The years have gone by and we're living those dreams that seemed so far away. We're all married friends and fortunately our husbands do enjoy each other's company! I'm a little mournful of those days gone by, but I am excited to have babies and share the next years of our lives together. There are just some people you know that no matter what happens or where you go you'll always be friends, I'm grateful the Lord gave me friends like these.

Happy Birthday, Jacob!

That's right Jacob is 26! Here's a picture of Klondike helping him open some presents last night. We had our parents and some friends join us for dinner to celebrate. In other news, the BAR is over! Jacob feels like it went well and is relieved that he can have a life again. We will find out October 19 how he did. He's spending this week filling out applications and sending out resumes, so hopefully we'll hear something soon. Schools here officially started today so it looks like I'll be finding a non-teaching job. I thought about subbing again, we'll see how that goes. I'd like a consistent job, but beggar's can't be choosers. :) I'm sending my resume to some preschools and some music lesson places, also. I really can't believe it's August already. The summer came and went incredibly fast! Except for the heat, it tends to linger longer than anyone would like and it's hotter this week in Tennessee than any time on record since 1990! When they said that on the news, and then followed it with "that was 17 years ago, folks" (yes, they say folks on the news in TN!) I felt a little aged. It doesn't seem like 1990 should be that long ago. Here are some pictures of our time at Center Hill Lake with my parents last week. It was nice to get away for a few days.

Time flies..

I can't believe July is almost over. This summer feels like it's been a whirlwind and we haven't quite touched ground yet. We are ready for some routine and some steady activity. Tomorrow will be a first step towards that goal.. the BAR is here! Jacob takes it tomorrow and Thursday for 6.5 hours each day. He's ready, but nervous. Pray for him if you think of it in the next 2 days. Other than that, we're still searching for a church. It's a lot harder than we thought. We both forgot how many churches there are down here to choose from. We know what we're looking for, but it's just taking a lot longer to find it than we thought. We both feel a little "homesick" for Minnesota this week as we continue to settle here. It's different than we expected to be back home. A big reason is that we're back here, but we're not where we were or doing what we were doing when we were here last. I never imagined it would be such a huge feeling of starting over in a familiar place. This weekend we are going to the Wesley picnic. It will be the first time we've been back to Cookeville or Tech as married people! It will be exciting to go back to the place we met, surrounded by the people we knew then. We're still waiting on jobs, but the Lord is bigger than our worries and fears. Next week Jacob digs into the job search full blast. Schools start in 2 weeks so there's still some time for me to hear something. We shall see!

Happy Anniversary!

That's right, today is our 2 year anniversary! It's gone by fast but we both agree they have been the best 2 years of our lives. We're going to celebrate at P.F. Changs tonight- one of our favorite restaurants. Other than that, Jacob is studying all day... we're on the countdown! Bar Exam = 16 days! Our puppy is growing so fast. Klondike weighs almost 8 pounds, he's 3.5 months old and already learned to sit, stay, come, and go outside to do his business. He's precious. :)

Settling In

I feel like I sat down in front of the computer intending to post about a million times in the last 2 weeks and something always comes up to distract me away...
We made it safely to Tennessee! Our only adventures included hitting a bird (it was quite amusing) and avoiding a bike tire that came flying off the van in front of us and bouncing down the road. If anyone tries to tell you that driving through Illinois is boring they are completely correct. AHH We arrived to the smiles and elated faces of family and a few friends who live close by here in Nashville. It was so good to see our little Klondike, too. He's been a blessing this week as we've unpacked and started to work through the emotions of starting over in a new place. It's settling in that we're here now and not jumping on a plane in a week. While we're excited to be "home", it still feels strange. We miss our MN friends a lot and the fellowship we had with them. Thursday night was a rough evening... I can't remember a Thursday night we've actually been home in the last 2 years! We've begun the search for a church down here. It will be a long process I think. We both want FBC to move down here! I'm not sure we're far enough removed or that we've been able to find the closure yet from leaving FBC so it's making our church visits tough. God has a place, we just have to be open to finding it. Jacob is studying hard, only 5 weeks till the bar! The summer is dissappearing quickly. Time to clean up a bit, our parents are visiting this evening. :)
"There's nothing like returning to a place familiar and unchanged to discover how you, yourself has changed."

Our New Puppy!

Klondike is a part rat terrior, part spitz. He weighs 3.2 pounds and loves to play! We brought him home yesterday morning and he is already very comfortable with us and loves riding in the car. He rode from Nashville to my parents house (about an hour and fifteen minutes) without whining or even getting squirmy! We wore him out yesterday.. he slept 13 hours last night and then took an hour nap after being awake for 30 minutes this morning! He SO much fun!

He did it!!

Jacob Thomas Thorington
Juris Doctorate Degree
University of St. Thomas School of Law
May 12, 2007

The day we've been waiting for...

This was taken December 13, 2003, the day Jacob graduated from TN Tech and decided that Chemical Engineering wasn't his call after all. We had been dating just 6 months and there was a LOT of fun twists and turns ahead for us. And now, here we are...4 years later getting ready for his graduation from St. Thomas School of Law! What a crazy 4 years it has been, but I wouldn't trade it for anything. While it's been fun, it's definitely time for him to be out of school. So on Saturday around 2pm you will hear a large "WOOOHOOO" coming from downtown Minneapolis as Jacob recieves his degree and we face the next chapter of our lives. God is so faithful!

R.I.P. Henry Fitzgerald

Yes, he passed on this morning. Despite Jacob's best efforts to keep him healthy and happy, Henry just wasn't strong enough to fight whatever fungus he had. Leopold is still strong and happy, however! Henry joins Alvin, Theodore, Simon, Scarlett, Clarance, Thomas and Fiesty in fish heaven... maybe we should consider getting a dog, they're probably a little more hearty!

New additions....

These are pictures of our fish- Henry Fitzgerald is the dark blue one and Leopold (aka Leo) is the lighter one. We've had Leo for about a year and Henry has only been here for 2 weeks. Henry won't eat, we don't know why but it won't. Jacob even bought little beta tanks for them and he still won't eat. My husband is crazy about these fish... if his fish care is any sign of his future parenting skills, we're gonna have some lucky kids. :)

"When you can't see His hand, trust in His faithfulness."

I've learned over the last few years that there is one constant in life: change. We grow, we mature and we are constantly evolving into who we are meant to be in the Lord, even when we don't understand anything that's going on around us. Jacob and I have been doing a lot of growing in the last week and a half. Lots of things have happened that have given us important pieces to the puzzle that is the next chapter in our lives. For a long time we've struggled and felt pulled between returning to the place where we started or remaining here in the place were we've grown together and established ourselves as a married couple. Both contain huge amounts of blessings. We've prayed, we've worried (more me than Jacob) and we've talked and struggled for the right answer. Not until last week was the message God gave us clear. Through a string of events (my job cut, his class in TN, etc.) we've found a peace from God that He is calling us to return to Tennessee this summer. It's going a hard transition and it's filled with so many emotions than I cannot even begin to process them right now. We're excited to be closer to our families, all of our siblings are getting close to college graduations and have important events in their lives that we will now be able to attend. Our grandparents are getting older and being closer to them we'll be able to see them often in these next few precious years.
Yet, we're also very sad to leave. God has blessed us with AMAZING friends and an AMAZING church family who have indeed been our family for 2 years. I know we will keep in touch, see pictures on blogs of the new babies and the big things happening in their lives and ours. But I cannot tell you how much God has blessed us by placing all of them in our lives and how hard it will be to say goodbye. (I'm going to stop that now, I have a feeling there will be lots of tissue used in the next few months and I currently am at the bottom of a box!)
So there's our big announcement, our answer to months of prayer. In mid-June we will be executing this move to TN. To where exactly- well, we're not sure. Will we have jobs? Well, not really certain about that yet either. Will Jacob pass the bar? Um, we certainly hope so! What we are sure of is that God has provided for us SO abundantly thus far and we know that will not stop. He knows what going on and by taking this step we feel we're being faithful to Him, no matter how much it hurts or causes crazy emotional rollercoasters. So, as the old saying goes, "We don't know what the future holds exactly, but we have hope for we know Who holds the future."

Finally..

SPRING BREAK IS HERE! I've been waiting for weeks and it's finally arrived. This week is going to provide some MUCH needed relaxation, reading time, cleaning time, prayer time and husband time.(not necessarily in that order) Then I can go back next week (Tuesday, not Monday :) ) refreshed and ready for the last 2 concerts of the year and to finish out on a good note. Last week was pretty icky and I started to hit major burn-out teaching. It was all I could do to get up and get there in the morning, the whole time praying for a good attitude and motivation to do my job well. The week I get back I have my 5th grade choir concert. I pray they will not forget it all over break! It's been a challenge teaching choir this year, but one I feel like I've risen to meet. Honestly, i don't like teaching choir, I'd much rather teach band. I started out feeling inadequate, went to apathetic, and then after much prayer decided to meet the challenge head on and beat it. We will see if the my efforts have paid off on Thursday, April 12. The good news about teaching choir is I won't be doing it next year. First of all, they cut choir (to save money..ha) and second of all, I got cut- Friday morning no less. That's what I get for being the low man on the totem pole! While it totally sucks, I know it's just an open door for something else God is doing. It would definitely be nice to know what that might be, but in time it will come. I feel ok about it because my principal is very supportive and said she would like to have me stay- she's said that all along. It's been a good year.. but it ain't over yet. So rest and relaxation here I come and then... who knows. :)

Fun with Friends

We have spent the past 4 days with some wonderful friends from TN. We went to college with Chad and Becca. Becca and I were always meant to be friends- we went to High school about 5 miles from each other, our bands did a joint concert when we were freshman in high school (and we think we sat next to each other), when we got to Tech we stood beside each other (never talking, mind you) in Women's Glee, she and my roomate were partners on a project.... and it goes on and on. Yet, we always just said "hi" and went on with life until our junior year at Tech when she came to the Wesley Foundation one Wednesday... and ever since we've been truly best friends! It's really a funny God-thing story. They came up to visit this weekend and we got to hang out for the first time as married people. They got married last October, so we haven't had a chance to hang out until now. We had SO much fun! Jacob and Chad played the PS2 and really enjoyed each other's company so it gave Becca and I lots of much needed catch up time. We, of course, visited the Mall of America.. I had forgotten how much fun it is to shop at NY & Co with her! I really, really miss them and hope we're closer someday so we can spend more time together.

Ready for Spring

What a great few weeks it has been! I know, I've got to do better than one post a month! Where to begin... the first part of March started with my 1st/2nd grade program at school. It was "Bugz: A Picnic Adventure" and by far the cutest musical I've done this year. As you can see, they are all dressed as bugs and they sang SO well! I praise God for the patience to work with and organize 160 kids in 7 different classes. This musical was the most fun... but the most stress-filled.
After that, my parents came for a visit. It was great to see them.. and they got to see our 2 feet of snow! I do miss being close to them. Jacob has been working away at his applications. He will be taking the bar in TN on July 25 AND 26th. (Crazy 2 day test) He's going to be taking a bar review class in TN starting May 21st so if anyone is bored for a month, come on up and visit. I could use the company! I'm getting nervous as the summer approaches and crunch time comes for job finding and moving decisions. April 15 is our "decision deadline" and his bar final application (yep, there's 2) due date. Spring is upon us... hallelujah for 70 degree weather!!

A wonderful break...

Today is the final day of my 4 day weekend. I'm quite greatful for the celebration of our presidents.. :) Jacob also had the time off, of course, he has every Monday and Friday free from classes. It's been SO relaxing and so great to finally be able to leave school stuff completely at school. I have a bad habit (I hear this is a problem for 1st year teachers) of not being able to stop my brain from thinking of ways to make programs come together, or ways to teach music using new fun ideas. Even when the school day is done, it stays with me. It is completely mentally draining to not let it go. I seriously dream that I'm teaching some nights, and then use the ideas in my dream in class the next day because they were really good ideas! However, this weekend has allowed me to unwind enough to not even think about school. I'm LOVING it. Don't get me wrong, I love my job and enjoy what I do very much. I just needed a break... and it's been great! I've worked on my quilt(it's almost complete), read my book, plan to actually paint my nails and gotten the house cleaned up, not to mention had some "Sidney time" with season 4 of ALIAS. Originally my parents were coming up this weekend but my mom ended up getting a stomach bug on Thursday night. I was really bummed at first, but I think it worked out for the best. They had time to get well and I had some much needed "me" time. They're still coming, just postponed for 2 weeks. I've also had some wonderful time with God this weekend, it was much needed. I feel revived and energized again by His word, prayer and some time to journal (a hobby that has unfortunately gone by the wayside in the last few months). I had forgotten how much just writing my thoughts down really helps me clear my head. So, tomorrow our routine starts back up and I'm actually looking forward to it. Bring it on...

Punxsutawney Phil Predicts...

Happy Groundhog's Day! For some strange reason I cannot explain I have always loved Groundhog's Day.. and the word Punxsutawney. Here's old Phil's official forcast, taken from his official website: www.punxsutawneyphil.com
"On Gobbler's Knob I see no shadow today.
I predict that early spring is on the way."

YAY Phil, we'll see you next year!

I sure hope he's right.. it's DARN COLD out there!

Your mission is....

We have recently aquired a somewhat unhealthy addicition: ALIAS. The life of Sidney Bristow has both Jacob and I quite intrigued. If you haven't seen it, well, be warned that if you start, you can't stop. I had a roomate in college that would disappear when it came on every Wednesday night.. and now, I know why! Agent Bristow is a double agent for the CIA and for SD-6 (a company who's alias is an undercover branch of the CIA, but really they're evil). Her missions are incredible and the people who surround her make it just enough drama to keep you hanging. Anyhow, we're on season 2 and counting, DVD's of TV shows were a really good idea!

Christmas...

YAY for Christmas. It's my favorite time of year, not necessarily for the trees and decor (though i do love that stuff) but mostly because it's the one time of year we get to go home and spend quality time with EVERYONE in our family. (and the Jesus' birth thing is pretty important, too..) The bottom picture is Jacob's family a few days before Christmas and above is my family a few days after Christmas. This year was very "untraditional" for both Jacob and I. We alternate spending Christmas Eve/Day in Manchester and Columbia. Last year we were with my family, so this year we were with his. This pattern caused many past traditions to be shifted around. My family has always gone to my Gran's on Christmas Eve.. for as long as i can remember we all gather there, have dinner, open presents, take a million and one pictures by the tree and then we head home for the 11pm church service. This year- well- there was Christmas at Gran's, but on the 26th. And the church service was quite similiar at Jacob's church, just at 6pm instead of 11.
Now on the flip side- Jacob's extended family lives in Alabama so they always venture down there the day after Christmas. Not so this year- We ventured before Christmas and managed to see everyone in just over 24 hours! It was an adventure and fun to see and meet everyone in his family. We also squeezed in an Auburn basketball game to see his brother Garret look snazzy in his suit as the manager.
Above all, this Christmas tradition switcheroo made me realize that it doesn't matter when you see everyone, but that you get to see them. It made the reality that we're adults sink in even more! Jacob's mom made the comment Christmas morning that in a few years it'll be really different- lots of little people running around. That makes me REALLY excited, but also sad to let go of that last little bit of "childhood". Soon, going to grandma's will be going to my parents house or his parents house.. which is crazy to think about! Overall, I'm glad we've shaken things up with traditions. It makes it easier to move on and realize that it's ok to allow new traditions to come through. So, bring it on 2007, it will be quite a year!