What's Josh Up To?

I've had several people ask what Josh is doing now, so I thought I'd take a moment and update my blog for those who are interested. As you may remember, Josh had planned to join the Marines last winter after he finished his first semester at Crown College. As part of the military physical, the doctor decided that Josh had to take a special test to see if he had asthma (because he had been on prednisone due to a severe case of bronchitis a few weeks earlier). Unfortunately, he failed the test. They told him that he could retest at his own expense after 6 months.

Josh decided to return to Crown College and finish out the year. His plan was to get a full time job over the summer in the Minneapolis area near his girlfriend, Katie, get his own apartment, and take on-line classes. The problem has been the economy; there are very few full-time jobs available. Over the summer, he has been living at home and working part-time as a cashier at the grocery store. He decided to re-take the asthma test recently and unfortunately failed it again. While he is disappointed that the military is out of the picture, he is kind of relieved that at least he knows what he is NOT supposed to be doing with his life.

Josh will be living at home this fall, taking a full load of on-line classes, and continue to work at the grocery store. To supplement his part-time pay, Josh has been donating plasma twice a week. He also just got a seasonal job working at the Iowa State football games as an usher. He is really looking forward to getting to watch all the home games! While he misses not getting to see his girlfriend as often as he would like, he is content for right now. We are praying for God's direction in his future.

Shoe Shopping

Tonight I babysat Bryce and Hailey while Zach and Andrea went out on a date. After dinner, I took them to the mall to buy Hailey a pair of new gym shoes. Her old ones are too small. In fact, she jumped from a size 5 to a size 7 in just two or three months.

While at Payless Shoes, Hailey really got into trying shoes on. We probably tried on a half dozen pairs. Each time she saw me with another pair, she would plop down on her bottom and hold her foot up for me to put them on. Then she and Bryce would run down the aisle and back to "see if they were good shoes". I figured the best pair of shoes to buy her were the ones that didn't fall off when she ran and didn't make her wipe out!!

Sunday Afternoon Hike

Jeff is feeling pretty good since his surgery and felt well enough to go hiking in the woods this afternoon. It is warm and humid today - at least in comparison to the unseasonably cool weather we've been having. Dodger decided to go swimming in the lake/pond. We found a spot for him that didn't look like pea soup, but he still came out with mud up to his elbows and stinking like crazy. Of course, he needed a bath.

How is it that a dog loves to romp and play in the water, but is allergic to the bath? Dodger just seems to know when it's bath time. He slinks off and tries to hide while I'm getting the towels and soap. It's also hard to convince him to climb into the tub. Once there, he is ready to jump out if I am not constantly watching him. He does smell much better afterwards.