November is half gone . . .

Actually, it's more than half gone, and I still can't believe it! Only 3-4 weeks of classes left for the semester. I don't even remember when the midterm happened!
Last weekend my brother was here once again visiting Megan and staying with us. He's been here three times this semester, and he is such a wonderful visitor because he's grateful for everything and is so low maintenance! After he leaves the apartment seems very empty. While he's here, he and Megan hang out in our living room a lot and it feels more like we have a real home with real visitors!

Right now Michael has another movie going, and I'm wondering which homework assignment I should pick up first. How nice it must be to be home for a weekend with no homework hanging over you so you can really enjoy a movie! I can hardly wait for Christmas break when I will still be going to my internship five days a week but won't have any homework becasue I will be between semesters! Woohoo! Then I will finally have a chance to undergo the joys of finally merging all of mine and Michael's files into one filing system, deep cleaning the entire apartment, and working out some financial savings options with Michael. . . obviously Christmas break isn't quite the same anymore once you have your own place!

This will the first Christmas that Michael and I will spend as just the two of us, and we are hoping to start our own traditions this year. Does anyone have any ideas of what we could do as far as traditions go? Or would anyone like to share with us their own traditions for inspiration sake? I know that looking at Christmas lights in Boise is a definite must in this area, and I think it would be really cool to go ice skating on Christmas day! I will have to find out if the ice rink is open on that day!

My internship has been very challenging lately! Last week I had to terminate one of our favorite clients because she broke too many rules, and then she challenged my termination this week so I had to work all of that out with the director. Then I had to have a confrontation with another of our usually productive clients over the fact that he came into the shelter drunk two nights in a row. I was told that I handled it very well, though, which was a confidence boost that I have been needing lately!

Megan, Michael and I will be coming to Lebanon next week on Wednesday. I am looking forward to homecooked food not prepared by myself (although I know I will be helping, it's not me who's in charge!). Michael and I have admitted that we are very homesick, and wish we were closer to our families. We will most likely move back to the area after graduation!

By the way, everyone mark Wendy's graduation on your calendar! It'll be May 13, 2006! And then, FINALLY, I will be done with school!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Please keep me in your prayers as this last semester will be very challenging! Any of my friends who may be graduating, too, let me know the date! I am thinking specifically of Sara!

Well, I believe that is the update for now. I'm sorry there are no pics this time!

Odds & Ends

I'm sorry this post is so delayed! Life has been slightly crazy lately. Two weeks ago Michael when on an overnight job in Sun Valley. He had an interesting experience: They were working on the heating system in the house of a Mr. Steve Wynn, who owns a few of the biggest casinos in Las Vegas as well as one in China or something. So it was a $300+ million house, and it housed one of the original self-portraits by Picasso. (We looked up Forbes' 400 richest people in America and apparently Mr. Wynn falls within the top 200 if I remember right.) Michael said they told him that when Mr. Wynn is actually staying in this vacation home the gas bill is $40,000 a month. Can you imagine???? That's quite a bit more than Michael and I make in a year! I guess at another job site Michael found a computer in a garbage can. It had a monitor with it as well. He's been working on removing the 40+ viruses he found on it so that eventually it can become our printer server in our apartment, as well as just another toy that he can play with.
Last Friday Michael then spent with the youth group of our church for their all night Halloween party. When he came home, he was sore all over. Apparently he slipped on the gym floor doing a relay type race and landed on his lower back and rear end. Then later the group went to the ice rink in Boise and played broom ball, which is like hockey without skates and you use brooms to whack the ball. I guess at one point he fell and whacked his elbow on the ice. and one of the teens accidently smacked him in the ear with a broom stick. He came home unable to lay on his left side and with a nasty sore cut on his ear. He came home to a very sick wife, who was not very high-functioning either! And to make it even better, my brother came to visit that weekend so of course all homework was forsaken!

I wanted to share some pics that Forest and I took of some of the signs of autumn here in Nampa. The rest of the year, Nampa is really not much to look at, but fall brings out its hidden beauty. Just driving to work this time of year is so breath-taking for me! In Lebanon there aren't many trees that are able to hold more than one color at a time, but here all of the trees seem to be like rainbows! For our 3-month anniversary, Michael and I took an hour and a half drive up north of Boise and I got to see a green part of Idaho for the first time. Mostly pine trees, but so many so close together and all along the Payette River, which was so refreshing to just watch and listen to. It reminded me of the drive to the cabin we stayed in for our honeymoon in Washington (with pine trees instead of firs). It was such a relief to realize for the first time that Idaho is actually beautiful!

After a crazy work week where I spent WAY too many hours this week, I may finally be getting fully well. Work has been CRAZY as the colder months are coming and so many more people are asking for services at the shelter.

Today's project for us was a trip to Home Depot where we purchased some plywood to put in between our box spring and the mattress on our bed. The full size bed is already pretty small, but lately it's been pulling us down into the center, making the bed feel even smaller! I took a nap on the "corrected" mattress today and it seemed to be much better. :)

I hope you all are doing well! Only 2-3 more weeks until Thanksgiving! I've been trying to make sure I'm thankful early this year. :)