Remember the Hoveys?

Sorry its been so long since we've last posted. I'll try to catch you up on the life of the Hovey's as quick as possible. Since March we've had a variety of events happen in our lives. Abby and I sang in the Easter choir at our church. We made a trip to Breckenridge to sight-see in the beginning of April (they still had Christmas decorations up, but it was still snowy, so it fit the scene). We also got to go to a Denver Brass concert, which was a treat for me, since it was the first brass concert I've been to since leaving UNI.

Breckenridge
Breckenridge

Breckenridge

Mid April Abby and I bought a new car! We purchased a 2008 Toyota Camry. Abby has been enjoying it to drive to work in during the week. The MPG is great. It is red and will be a good car for road trips later this summer.

Abby's cousin Laura came out to visit at the end of April. They went to Rocky Mountain National Park, Red Rocks Park & Amphitheater, and did some shopping together. We all went to the Denver Museum of Nature and Science as well.

Museum of Nature and Science
Museum of Nature and Science

Rocky Mountain National Park
Rocky Mountain National Park
Rocky Mountain National Park

Abby surprised her family by coming home to visit Mother's Day weekend. She got to see some of her in-laws and a lot of her family, and Stephen and Carrie's (who were in our wedding party) twins. I was unfortunately left behind studying for finals that weekend. I finished finals and played my trombone at Denver Seminary's graduation ceremony.

Some of our favorite neices!

Paul's parents and his oldest brother's family

Stephen and Carrie and their precious twins!

Paul studying for finals...

This summer I am taking Greek I and Greek II, though I am only auditing, which means that I sit in on class, but don't have to turn in assignments or take exams. That also means I won't recieve a grade for it either. Greek will be very beneficial for me since I want to end up in a church where I can do some preaching, even though it is not actually a part of my degree program. Otherwise I have just picked up some more hours at Lowe's for the summer months. Abby continues to work, enjoying her time helping people to heal and stay active, though if her commute were a little shorter she wouldn't mind.

We're looking forward to Abby's family coming to visit next week. We'll also be coming back to Iowa in July and August for family weddings. My little brother is getting married in July and Abby's cousin Laura is getting married in August. So we have a couple road trips to make!

Visitors from Home

We have been blessed to have people from home come out to visit us in the past month. As our previous post said, Chris was here for a weekend. He went to class with Paul, and got to meet with Paul's philosophy professor, Dr. Doug Groothuis (Grote-hIce). Paul and Chris also played guitar together, some video games, enjoyed some 70 degree Colorado weather, which was followed the next day by 30 degree weather (go figure). We also ate bison burgers, went to hike in Waterton Canyon (where we saw bighorn sheep AND our neighbors who live across the hall) and went to chapel on campus. Abby was able to spend some time with us too. She spoiled the boys with lots of good cookin' and sweets. It was sad to see him go.

Paul and Chris at the Columbine Memorial

Chris, Paul and Abby at our Apartment

But we didn't have much time to wait before our next Iowa guests came out. Abby's parents, Dennis and Melanie, were out last week and we did a little bit of everything with them as well. Abby and her parents went to downtown Littleton while Paul was at work on Saturday. We all went to church and then to the Castlerock outlet mall, where the ladies shopped while the men sat in the food court and studied. Dennis and Melanie got to visit Life Care Centers of Aurora, the facility where Abby works. We had ice cream cake in honor of Dennis' birthday (just a little late). Since Paul had midterms last week he spent a lot of time in the library, but thats okay because Dennis and Melanie did too, enjoying the quiet, studious atmosphere. Melanie went to a quilting shop, and the two of them also got to visit the Columbine Memorial. Otherwise the three of them went to Waterton Canyon and checked out some other things in town while Paul was studying. They also did a good job spoiling us. They left Thursday night. Amtrak was a little behind schedule, but they made it home okay Friday afternoon.

Dennis with his ice cream birthday cake from Coldstone. What a set of lungs!

Dennis at Waterton Canyon on the South Platte River

I think he's ready for a swim! But your guess could be as good as mine.

Melanie at the quilt shop

Dennis and Melanie getting on the light rail to head to Union Station. We miss you!!

Paul is on spring break now, which means trying to catch up on reading and trying to get ahead on papers. In reality its only a break from class, not homework. Abby has transitioned to outpatient therapy at work (she is still with the same company, just in a different role), which she has been enjoying. We're both looking forward to singing in the Easter choir this Sunday at church, and time celebrating the resurrection of Christ with people on campus with fellowship and food. We both have said that we will miss being at home with family on Easter Sunday. We miss everyone back home! Which is a great segue to reminding people that we are still open to visitors coming out!

Exciting updates!

Much has happened since we last posted. For those of you who don't already know, Abby has passed her boards and is now a fully licensed physical therapist! God was gracious and gave her plenty of focus and good memory. The glory is all the more his since Abby only got 2 1/2 hours of sleep the night before a 5 hour test! But she had peace in her heart and did very well. We're all very proud of her great accomplishment. Don't ever expect her to go to school again, at least any time soon! You can call her "Dr. Hovey" if you want. She likes "Abby" better.

Paul has started up another semester of classes, and is already on his fifth week of school. He is taking a New Testament survey course, two ethics courses and Introduction to Logic. He is still working at Lowe's on the weekends.

In spite of the start of another semester, we've been able to do a lot more socializing with people we've been getting to know, especially since Abby is free from studying. Its been good to make some more personal connections, and invite people over that have hosted us before.

Paul's sister, Elizabeth, had a baby girl on February 21st, Gracelyn Jordyn Guinn. Everything went smoothly and they are now home from the hospital. Congrats Bess & Bob! Of course grandma and grandpa rushed out to Omaha to greet their new grandchild. We can't wait to meet her!

This weekend we are looking forward to having our first out-of-town visitor of the year. Chris, who was Paul's best man, will be out for the weekend. And, another invite for all of you, if anyone wants to come out (as if I have to say "if"), let us know and we'll get some plans in place! Keep in mind that Paul graduates in May 2009, so you may lose your reason to visit Colorado quicker than you think! In the meantime, Chris is the sole benefactor of our possessions in our will. And yes, that includes our fine antique cars that we drive! Especially noteworthy in our collection is the automatic starter on the '89 Buick LaSabre. Yeah, I thought you'd start drooling! Anyhow, enjoy some pictures from our life!

Our apartment became a temporary beauty salon!
Paul & Annaka... chillin'
From our hike in Waterton Canyon
On the South Platte River
The two of us in the canyon enjoying 60 degree weather in February.

Its Official...

Its official!! Abby is a working professional!! In spite of shock and disbelief on the part of both of us, Abby has officially recieved her first official paycheck for doing what she's been doing without pay for 7 months! For a time she was confused and didn't exactly know what the piece of paper was (it'd been a while since she's seen a paycheck with her name on it). Abby has been working at Life Care Centers of Aurora for a couple weeks now and is getting more comfortable with her job. Way to go, Babe!

In other news, Paul spent 8 hours today watching two of the three "Lord of the Rings" extended version movies back-to-back with a friend. Suddenly he feels like a slacker next to his working wife. But not to worry, he'll be paying for it next week when classes start back up. He's also been working ahead of schedule on a research paper that is not due until March. Suddenly, he feels not so bad about himself. He is also looking forward to teaching the youth group of his church for two weeks in February. Hopefully they come back :-) Prayers appreciated!

We're back!

After a brief hibernation, the Hoveys are back to the blog world! We apologize for the lack of activity for the last couple months. We were without internet for a month and then with Paul taking finals, Abby's graduation, and organizing Christmas plans, time got away from us! We hope you enjoy catching up on what's been new with the Hoveys! Paul is looking to begin another semester at Denver Seminary in a few weeks and Abby will begin her first job as a PT on January 8th. She continues to study for the boards she will have to take in January to become licensed so any prayers are appreciated! We hope this finds all of you well and we wish you many blessings in the new year!

Finally...graduation!

It's official...after 2.5 years of graduate school, Abby graduated with her Doctorate of Physical Therapy! Here is a picture of her being hooded during the ceremony. She looks pretty happy!

This is Abby's physical therapy class. There are 34 of them. Who knows, one of them may be your PT someday!

Paul is equally happy that Abby is finished with school. They made a point to recognize family members and friends who have had to also sacrifice a lot while their loved one was going through school. Abby agreed that she feels like the names of several family members and friends should be on her diploma since their support and encouragement got her through the challenges of school!

Abby, Sara, Amy, and Tanya...Three of Abby's best buddies from her class. These girls were a huge support to Abby throughout PT school and have become treasured friends. They will all be staying in Iowa to work.

We went to Old Chicago after graduation to celebrate. Abby felt blessed to have so many friends and family members there to celebrate with. They have each played significant roles in helping her get through school!

The Christmas fun begins...

The Sunday evening before Christmas Eve we had planned to drive from Strawberry Point (from the Glew Christmas) to Paul's parents in Maquoketa so we could enjoy some time with him. My parents lead the way since they were headed in that direction back to Clinton. Unfortunately the Iowa weather got the best of us. It took us an hour to drive from Manchester to Peosta and finally we gave up in Peosta! I never thought that one little hotel there would come in handy for us! We had a fun time staying with Mom and Dad at the hotel. We even brought in a crock pot full of chili left over from the Jackson Christmas for supper! We were more prepared than we thought!

We spent Christmas Eve at Paul's Grandma's in Maquoketa. We gave Alyssa some fun books for Christmas. I'm not sure if Paul or Alyssa is more excited!

Paul got in a few rounds of Kings Corner with family! We headed to Clinton later Christmas Eve night to go to the Christmas Eve service and enjoy time with Abby's family.