pictures... finally!! :)

So... this insane amount of snow hit Monday night... right after Ryan was safe and sound in North Vernon. School was cancelled, however, this entire week, and needless to say... I have been a bit bored. The internet in my little apartment just came back on this morning so I am back!! But, I come back with apologies... I really wanted to get these pictures up Tuesday and Wednesday... they were taken then... but I was snowed in and actually Ryan came and rescued me yesterday and took me out for the first time last night!! I checked my email and facebook and then we ate dinner with a family from church. And I couldn't get these all loaded quickly enough. So here the are before and after shots now!! Welcome to my new little apartment!! :)

KITCHEN
Before...
I'm not sure that I need to comment a lot through this... the pink table is fabulous, don't you think? ;) Just kidding. I call it my ugly little apartment. :)

And the other side of the kitchen.

And this is my storage... that shelf above the sink... there's little ones to the right as well.

After...
I can't paint nor get rid of the pink table... but I kind of like it now. :)

The other side of the kitchen... A big fridge should be coming to take the little guy's spot February 3rd. I am SO excited about that!! That little dude is full... and he's just got like apple juice and eggs in there!! ;)

Another shot of the kitchen. There's a desk on that far wall. I'm not a big fan. But I can't put it anywhere else... I didn't want it in the living room. So in the kitchen it shall stay.

And here's a better shot of my shelves!

LIVINGROOM!
Before...
Wow. Wow is totally just how I felt when I walked in here. The walls are TEAL!!! Just look around... the pictures say it all...

Ok... see the lamp... scroll down for a closer look...

"Hmm." Are my thoughts.

Check out the random plant in the corner. Nice.

After...

And here's what it looks like now!! I love it!! :)

I used her two tables with those lamps to make myself a book case... I covered my couches with brown sheets and bought some fabric to make those pillows. :) Doesn't it just look so different... and nice!?! :) (I mean, the walls are still teal, but whadya do?) :)

Another shot of the livingroom... my sweet friend Colleen let me borrow her entertainment center. I like it! :)

There was this mural on the wall in that painted doorway... of a white picket fenced bird garden. We all know how I feel about birds... and honestly, it just didn't match anything and so I covered it up with that brown paper and bible verses. It looks a lot better now. :)

BEDROOM!
Before...
Check out the wall!! It flowers!! ;)
And the ceiling fan cracks me up!

After...
And this is how it is now... I had high hopes that the nasty desk in the kitchen would be in here... it would be an office slash bedroom... but the doorframe is crooked and the desk won't fit through the bottom of the door. :( So... it stays in the kitchen... and this is the bedroom.

BATHROOM!
This room I didn't do anything to... I guess I took a clock down. But I don't think I can do anything to it really, so it remains as is...

Here's the little bathroom... the wallpaper is nice and inviting... full of BIRDS!!! :( Haha. :)

This is my shelving unit and lamp for the bathroom.

This is my little shower. Not so bad!! Actually the pressure's really nice!

This is my favorite part of the apartment... the deck!! :) It's the length of one side of the house and the entrance to my apartment. There's some chairs out there and it will be incredibly nice in the spring and summer!! :) I love it!!

Another hot shot of my deck!!

This is my kitchen window... I'm excited to take random shots of this awesome tree outside it all year. :) I love how the snow is so think on the branches... isn't it gorgeous? I feel so blessed! :)

So that's my little apartment!! :) It's quite cozy!! Anytime you're near North Vernon, you should call me up. I'd be more than excited and willing to let you come visit my little APT. :)

Love you!
-Kara Joy :)

he's home!!!

welcome home, my love!! :) i love the beard. ;)

i miss you!

In less than one hour, Ryan will be walking around on American soil once more! I can't even begin to describe how stoked I am! :) Last night I spent the night for the first time in my brand new apartment!! It's lookin' so good!! I'm anxious to finish unpacking my bedroom, take pictures, and get them up here! It looks so different than when I first walked in!

There's a song stuck in my head this morning and my heart is aching to see and be with so many different people. Last night at church a girl in our youth group sang "O How He Loves You and Me" with her Mom and the girl sitting next to me made fun of me when I leaned over and told her "I miss my Mom!" cuz when she looked at me to respond I had tears in my eyes. She said, "You're crying!?!" I told her my Mom and I used to sing together and she just shook her head. :) But I just miss people!! I miss my Mom, Dad, Caleb and Anna... probably most because I last lived with them! I miss Ryan. I miss Amy and Chris. I miss Jonathan and Kate. I miss Brenda. I miss Rachel and Allison and Keith and Amanda. I miss B-Train. I miss Mellow and Rainsyl. I miss Krissy and Hillary and Beth and Molly and Katie. I miss Before Tomorrow... all of those boys: Josh, Jordan, Joe, Tim, Tyler, Jake, Chris, Harold, Jeremiah, Wes, even Lizzers, Abby and Courtney! I miss James and Jordan and Whitney. I miss Angie. I miss all those MESPers. I miss Mark and Holly. And then... the one I miss the most... I miss Grandma Burkey. And this song is stuck in my head...

"This world is not my own, I'm just a'passin' through. If heaven's not my home, then Lord what would I do? The angel's beckon me from heaven's open door, and I can't feel at home in this world anymore."

And then, I miss a lot of other people too. More than likely, if you're reading this, I miss you too! So... today... may you feel loved by me and know you're missed. And insha'allah... God willing... we will meet again soon!!

Love you!
-Kara Joy

:)

Quote of the Day:

"Don't let your best so far be the standard for the rest of your life."
-Q. (I forget the dude's name... will insert tonight!)

I've been working the past few weeks as a substitute teacher in a period detention classroom. This week I was offered the position full time which I am taking!! Praise the Lord! And yesterday they told me I could decorate the walls. I came across that quote last night when I was moving things into my apartment (going through a box of books), and I think it's going to be the center of one of my walls. I hope these kids can see that they can do better, that there's hope, that I believe in them. It gets so frustrating sometimes and I just want to shake them! Today I discussed grace with two guys and didn't write them up when I should have. I continuously ask myself... "How can I make a real difference? How can I get them to stop coming to my classroom?" I like working here... I just wish I could do so much more to help these kids!! Pray that God would give me opportunity to do just that, and possibly provide a part-time job not just to supplement this teacher's income, but a place where I can really use my skills as a social worker and desire to empower others at the same time.

In other news... Ryan comes home in three days!! :) I am so excited and can't WAIT to get pictures of my new little ugly apartment up here for all the world to see!! I love it!! Last night I worked hardcore on the living room. Tonight is the bedroom. The kitchen's pretty much set... I need to do a little more rearranging because this ridiculous massive desk is now in the kitchen and I don't want it in the living room and the bedroom door is crooked and the desk won't fit through the door (even with the door off the frame!) I hate that stupid desk. I don't know where to put it, what to do with it, it's so freakin' bulky and ANNOYING!!! Once I get pictures up here if ANYONE has suggestions as to where that stupid thing might look a little less awkward, I'd LOVE to hear them. I'll ask again when I post pictures next week.

So anyway, life is good!! And God is good!!
I love you, miss you, and want to hear how you're doing!!

Many blessings,
Kara Joy :)

i'm a north vernoner ;) sha-bang!

It's Official!!

I LIVE IN NORTH VERNON, INDIANA!!! :)

Whoot whoo!! And I changed my address!! My new address is... uh, wait, that's creepy. This is the internet. ;) If you want it, lemme know... I'll hook you up... and even make you cookies if you wanna come over and visit!! :)

I really really want to put pictures of my little apartment on here... it's quite the work in progress!! But!! Ryan comes home from Korea in a week and I kind of want to wait and let him see it before he sees it online... so I'll put pictures up come next Tuesday or shortly there-after! It's a great little place... little kitchen, bedroom, sweet big living room area, and little bathroom. It is a bit ancient... it's the entire upstairs of this lady's house so it's not exactly an apartment... it's the upstairs of a house made into an apartment... so I've been working really hard to make it nice and live-able! It's fully furnished which is such a blessing... I have a big bed, two sweet couches, a really nice desk, and then of course tons of stuff in the kitchen and bathroom to use. One of my favorite parts is the location. It's about 2 blocks from down town, so great little neighborhood and really nice for walking or riding my bike come spring. My most favorite part... it's an upstairs apartment, so it has great windows (I always think of Christina in Egypt and her love of windows whenever I find a nice window like these!), AND!!! It has a fantastic deck outside!! Porch style... and I can't WAIT til it's not so cold and I can sit outside on it!! Oh, it has some little porch chairs too!! :)

Pictures on the apartment soon to follow!!
Have a great day! :)
-Kara Joy

Ryan, we miss you!!

Hi, Ryan!
We all miss you a ton!! Hope Korea's rockin!
From North Vernon to Pohung...
Love, Joy & Peace!
-Your youth group and lady :)

Hello friends and family!! So sorry that my postings are few and far between!!

To catch you up a little on the happenings of life... last Friday I moved to North Vernon, IN. I'm currently staying at Ryan Goode's house while he is teaching English in Korea. As of my moving, I had 3 weeks to find a job and an apartment before he returns home. This past week I have applied out the wazoo... and I'm actually starting as a substitute teacher in a position I'm hoping for full-time at the middle school. I have another job interview on Thursday, need to call another organization tomorrow to set up another interview, and this week my goal is to shop for an apartment or housing unit! ;) I'm really excited about being Ryan's neighbor, and it's looking good so far!! I just gotta keep it up, keep praying, and hope that God will continue to provide and open doors so I can stay here!

On top of house-sitting for Ryan, job hunting and apartment shopping, I am also taking care of Ryan's puppy dog, Claxton (both pictured above). It's been quite the trip so far. I've never lived with a dog... and I'm not sure I ever want to again! He's a good puppy, but he does smell. I've been wanting to bathe him all week, but have been rather afraid of him! My fears were conquered tonight with help from some of the teens in Ryan's youth group. Pictures and videos are below...

This weekend was also our family Christmas in Ft. Wayne. I had so much fun!! I went up on Friday night and stayed with my cousin Kendra (in the green sweater), and then hung out in Ft. Wayne all day Saturday with all my cousins, Aunts, Uncles, and then my family of course. (Minus Kate... she sure was missed!) We had so much fun!! AND!!! I finally now know how to make my favorite soup in the world made special by Uncle Steve and Aunt Pat!! Green bean, ham and potato. Ah. It's to die for!! (Seriously!) Oh, and!! I got the card game Rook from Grandma Nelson for Christmas!! That was fun... we had game gift exchange and stole games from each other until we ended with the one we liked!! And then I played Rook all afternoon with my Aunts, Uncle Steve, and Momma! Oh, I love my family!! :)

Step 1: Getting Claxton into the Tub.



Step 2: Washing him, hoping he sits!
Step 3: Drying Off!! Watch out, Brittany!! :)


I'm having technical difficulties with captioning the photos... but, as you can see... we made cookies tonight and then gave Claxton a bath. It was very interesting! :) I'm just glad I didn't have to do it myself!
Here's the final product... a clean and not so bad smelling puppy dog!!


This video's kind of funny... Hannah decided she wanted to dance with Claxton. I thought he was going to eat her!! But he didn't. And he probably enjoyed the excitement. I'm never exciting. I just sit around and every now and then I talk to him, but yeah, I'm boring compared to this!! :)
Have a great day, everyone!
Oh... and check out Ryan's blog for updates
on what life is like teaching English to 8 year olds in Korea!

happy 2009!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

it's 2009! how crazy is that!?!

new years is supposed to be a great time to reflect on the past and anticipate the future, and plan for some hardcore new years resolutions. i like the reflecting and pondering part... but i'm not good at new years resolutions. i'm not really into dieting or crazy health goals... i want to be healthy, so i'm striving to live healthy. i'd rather not set myself up to be disappointed later... i know myself and any new years resolution that would sound remotely good enough to post online would not happen three months from now. ;) so... i don't know what i would resolve to do for this next year. i would like to read some books on topics i think are boring (seems like a stately thing to do), and i would like to learn how to bake bread like my momma. other than that... i got nothin.

as for reflecting... i can't believe that the past four years at college flew by and are over!! i mean, dude, i'm an adult!! how crazy is that? (do adults say dude?) ha. i'm thinking back over my life... i still have dreams i have yet to fulfill... serving God in a foreign country, being a social worker and advocating for those who can't speak for themselves, visiting churches all over the world, getting married and serving God with some hot fellow... all those things have yet to happen... but i feel like this new year is just the beginning. in fact... here's what i'm anticipating in the next year or so...

this week, tomorrow in fact, i am moving to southern indiana where my ryan lives and serves as an associate pastor. we want to be neighbors, and i'm seeking a full time job, and possibly a part time job as well. i want to work, pay off student loans, and live in an apartment by myself. i really want to put my hard earned social work degree to use!! in may i'm traveling back to the middle east with a team of students from olivet, and i dream of the day when i'll move and work overseas... focus on the student-loan time is now!! and yeah... i anticipate that i'll keep dreaming and just live every day on purpose anxious for where God will take me next as i trust in Him!

happy new year, friends!!

i hope your new years morning is excellent (faster than mine... working at a panera where we had one customer at 6am, one at 6:15, and not another one until 7:40... everybody's sleepin!!).

much love,
kara joy