Yes, I know it's been forever! but I fought for 30 minutes to remember my password for blogger so I think I'd better post about what we've been up to the last 5 months.
a couple weeks before we moved to WI we had some pics done to remember how much we loved living and working in Chicago. here are just a couple.
This Marilyn statue is now in a museum in CA. it was moved just a few days after we had this photo done.
After the trip to Utah we road tripped the stuffed we had in storage there back to Chicago. A day or so later we flew to NY for Brett's graduation.
We spent some time on Broadway and in Grand Central Station.
We went to ground zero.
We took the ferry to the statue of Liberty. My family went to Staton Island.
Then finally we were able to move to Janesville, WI and settle down after what felt like a lifetime of living out of a suitcase.
We rented a home in a Neighborhood about 15 minutes away from the Hospital Brett works at. We knew about 5 families in the neighborhood and felt so blessed to find the house! we could fit four of our Chicago apartments inside our home! we LOVE the space! We love having a yard but have no clue how to manage it, so we are doing our best...
Well Janesville is where Paul Ryan the Vice Presidential candidate for the republican party lives. I haven't run into him yet but it is a small town and I think my neighbors kids go to school with his kids. During the campaign I went to a rally held at Craig High school in town.
One of my projects once we got to Janesville... found this on craigslist for 20 bucks!
Before
After!!!
My other project! I was going crazy here!!! I know, I know... In Chicago I was working full time, doing my church calling and for a lot of it taking 20 credit hours to finish my degree... I would have paid for a day of peace and quiet there... and then we move to Janesville, so peaceful, so quiet, usually never hear a siren! There are a million parks and bike trails everywhere and the people are so kind! I was loving the peacefulness of this town and I still enjoy it but after awhile I was feeling a little trapped...
This town is so wonderful if you have a family, but for someone like me... it's not so... eventful... especially since I was used to all that Chicago, Atlanta, Miami and the Bahamas had to offer...
In the residency program, in my church and my neighborhood there was not another person in my situation... nobody I could call to hang out that didn't have to wait for their kids to wake up from a nap... Don't get me wrong, the people here are SO amazing and kind. But it was just a huge change from Chicago where I could take adult gymnastics and dance classes, pedicures, manicures, shopping, lunch etc with gal pals in my same state of life...no kids, hubby gone a lot... but it just wasn't the case here... I almost got a dog but our landlords really didn't want that...
So I started applying for jobs but there wasn't much offered here... anyway I was getting stir crazy trying to keep busy exercising, biking, organizing our home... I taught dance and tumbling in the Bahamas and have wanted to teach again but never had a situation where I could.
After some encouraging from a great friend, I thought what the heck. So Brett and I turned the basement into a dance studio.
It was a lot of work and we are renting so we had to make everything non permanent. But, we did it. I LOVE teaching and my students are so wonderful! I just wish every child that wanted to could have the chance to learn to dance. There is so much good that comes from it. Get this, the job I wanted was offered to me after I started teaching dance and found out that we were expecting so I turned it down.
The week we were about to finish the studio I got a call from Brett's phone but it was a fellow resident saying that Brett was in the ER... I was like no, he is in OB...what is going on. Anyway, I got to the ER as fast as I could because Brett had had a seizure at work and was having tests done. When I got to the ER it was a sight I never hope I see again. my rock was laying there ice cold, no color, and frail... They did all kinds of tests and we stayed the night so they could do a EEG the next day. All the doctors and residents that Brett works with stopped by and offered their support. It was a interesting situation having no family around and having people who we've only known for a few months offer all kinds of help. Bret's EEG turned out with some interesting waves and they ordered a 48 hour EEG but that couldn't be done for a few weeks. This is a picture of when I was taking the electrodes of his head.
Brett had to wear all this covered in gauze for 48 hours. Brett was so excited to get all this crap off his head, he was so miserable! and we were curious as to when we'd find out the results and hoping that everything was going to be ok.... Well we got all this off his head and that was a highlight that was short lived because right after I took a couple pregnancy tests and found out that we were expecting baby Burtenshaw!
We were so happy, this was a good day. This was also the week that I started teaching dance classes. so although it was a good day it was an overwhelming and exciting week as well. Once I found out we were expecting my mind has been going crazy with all I need to eat, not eat, do, not do, buy and get ready...
Debbie came to visit in October and we loved having her with us! We headed up to Madison, WI and took her all around Janesville.
We won the ward halloween party with this super easy costume!
Thanksgiving was so wonderful having family with us! Mandy, Kieth and Katie came and spent Thanksgiving with us! It was so fun!
After Thanksgiving we headed to Chicago to get Keith and Katie home, and we went to the German Festival! it's beginning to be a Burtenshaw family tradition.
The next day we took Mandy to Williams tree farm in Beloit and found this beautiful tree!
Anyway the tree is down and out and I will post about that later... probably in another 5 months.
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