Seriously?

Good grief. It's been a month and a half since either of us posted. I could just put the first sentence from Amy's last post on this one, because we're still feeling that way. I suppose I should get us caught up. Let's see...Katie has been volunteering everyday with the Summer Kid's Program at the middle school, and she is a great help to the teachers there. Amy has been working every other day and most of her off days are spent at Camp Oak Hills. This week she is there for Adventure Camp, an annual outreach our church does for kids from the Red Lake Reservation. I'm excited to hear how it all went when she gets back. I don't want this whole post to be about me, but since I've been so delinquent in posting, I'll try to summarize the crazy roller coaster of a road God's had me on these past few months. When I got back from Poland, I began looking for a job. Everything in me wanted to be back at Kal's, making it very hard to think about working somewhere else. I think more than before I went to Poland, I felt acutely the loss of that stage of my life, because I no longer had my trip to look forward to. A week after I got back, a family friend of ours approached me about a job that sounded too good to be true. I went and interviewed for the job, and I really thought I was going to get it. I ended up waiting more than three weeks for them to make a decision and to find out that I didn't get it. I was quite confused, because it sure had looked like God was providing like only He can do, but I guess He was just doing it in a different way. Shortly after that, I got hired at a phone book publishing company here in town. It was 40 hours a week, and it had benefits, and everything. Shortly into this job though, I was already struggling so much that I knew I had to do something. The job was fine, the people were fine, but I felt so isolated sitting in my cubicle everyday with just my computer and a pile of papers and very little interaction with people. I gave it three weeks, which I know doesn't sound very long, but at that point, I was past the scariness and intimidation that every new job brings, and I felt a lot of peace about leaving. I gave notice, and my boss said I could be done in just one week, since I wasn't yet at the point of being too missed when I left. So I was done there on a Friday, and Monday, I was hired at Applebee's as a hostess. I liked working there, I couldn't say I loved it, though. But I was completely planning on being there for a while, then maybe going on a longer missions trip or something. I didn't really know what. Then three weeks into working at Applebee's, I got a call from the people at the business I had applied with in March, the job I didn't get. They said that the person that they hired didn't work out, and would I come in for another interview? I was so confused. But I figured I should at least go in for the interview. So I did, and they said I would know by the next week if I got the job. They called the next morning. I decided (kind of on the spot) to accept. I honestly had no idea what God was leading me to do. I didn't feel a huge sense of confirmation or direction. I will say, though, that I had an extremely strong sense of His presence, and I figured that's all I really need. I talked to my manager at Applebee's and even though I said I would certainly work all the shifts he had me scheduled for, he said he was having trouble giving people the hours that they wanted anyway, so he cleared almost all my shifts out, and I started the next week in my new job. It's at the TransCanada pipeline office, and my official title is "Office Clerk" (I'm serious, the nameplate on my door says so). I have been there 7 and 1/2 weeks now, which is about as long as my last two job combined :-). I work 30 hours a weeks, which is WONDERFUL. I didn't realize it til after I was done there, but the shift schedule at Applebee's was not something I wanted to do for long, since it was almost all nights and weekends, cutting into lots of family time. Now, I'm done at 3 every day, leaving lots of time to come home, help with supper (!!!), and enjoy my family. I can say honestly that I like this job, I don't know if I'm to the point of loving it yet, but I really enjoy the people I'm working with, and I like the challenge of learning new things (and believe me, there's a lot to learn). I know I sound like a broken record, but it's going to take a while to love any job after Kal's. I can't ever seem to find words powerful enough to explain what it was like to work with my dad every day, to be in the presence of so many wonderful Christian men, and to feel so secure in where God had me. But I can also see in these past few months, just how perfect God's timing is. Although I certainly would rather have gotten this job in the first place, I know that there have been many things that He needed to show me in that time in between. And I give all the praise for what He has done. It was certainly much more emotional than I am portraying here (I am a girl, after all), but I'll spare you all the drama. I am still working at the Sanford Center, though there have hardly been any events this summer. This fall, though, I will be one of the Guest Services supervisors, so I'll be putting in more hours there, which I couldn't be more thrilled about. My new job can be flexible with my hours, which will allow me to be at the Sanford Center for just about anything I want to be there for. I can't, can't wait. This summer, we've also been enjoying having lots of friends over for badminton, volleyball, and Kubb, as well as lots of sister bike rides along the Paul Bunyan Trail. I celebrated my 21st birthday on July 26th, which brings up the following pictures:Amy actually bought this salt and pepper shaker set for me in December, while I was with her, because I thought it was so cute. She said, I'm going to buy this for your birthday, so you have to forget about it by July :-). This would be number 23. Bop and Nanny found these for me in an antique shop. Our cousin Carson said they must have gotten bumped on the head. So these are #24. These are from Aunt Peggy and Uncle Shane. The coal pieces on the mouths are the holes for the salt and pepper to come out - #25. These ones I found at a garage sale...#26. Well, there's been a lot of other stuff happening lately, hence the severe lack of blogging, but that about catches you up for the time being. Summary of everything: God is God, and that's all I need.