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.

More Christmas fun...and a bridal shower!

Nick played a few tunes on the piano for us on Christmas morning. He has maintained his ability to play LOUD and enthusiastically as always! :)

What a Kodak moment for the in-laws! Paul and Erica occasionally need their space from the crazy Glew family and enjoyed reading on the couch while occasionally giggling at the conversations the Glews were having in the kitchen. Nice fashion statement, Paul! Glad you're comfortable around the family!

Christmas morning at the Glews!

We traveled up to Paul's parents the Thursday after Christmas to spend the day there. Paul's mom broke her wrist several weeks ago so we enjoyed helping her out. We kept the house warm baking sugar cookies and making a beef stew all afternoon! Niece, Alyssa, and Abby put a lot of time into the sugar cookies displayed above but had great fun doing it!

Ashley Buch (Abby's friend from Iowa) and Abby went to a bridal shower for Sharon Henry (middle) while back in Iowa. Sharon gets married in January in Pennsylvania. Sharon mentored and discipled both Abby and Ashley while they were at Luther College.

Trick or Treat!

Our two neighbor girls, Katarina and Annaka, came trick or treating over at our place tonight! Annaka was dressed up as Belle from Beauty and the Beast and Kat was a very noticeable tourist! They were off to go trick or treating at Hudson Garden's next to the seminary. These two girls have brought Paul and I so much joy since we've been here...always making us laugh and bringing a new sense of "life" to our living experience on campus.

A little braggin' on the hubby!

Paul has been a fantastic support for me since we have moved out to Colorado. I don't know what I'd do without him! I of course have had my ups and downs being so far away from family and friends and I guess you could say I have been a little more emotionally "unstable" at times than what Paul has been during this time of transition. Thank goodness that the Lord made men so different from us women! I can't imagine two of me right now! Anyway, I guess all of this to say, even though I miss all of you back home dearly, I feel blessed that the Lord gave me Paul. We have had a lot of fun out here together and believe that this journey has strengthened our marriage! We're looking forward to what the Lord has planned in the days to come!

Paul and I were supposed to go stay up in a cabin in the mountains last weekend but found out they were forcasted to get 14 inches of snow. We know our '89 Buick can handle a lot but weren't sure we should put it up to a challenge like that! We made the best of it and got semi dressed up and had a date at Texas Road House for supper.

Last Monday I came home from work to see these beautiful flowers sitting on our kitchen table with my name on it! One of those "just because" gifts from Paul! I told him he is welcome to take more study breaks at Flowerama anytime! :)