.:Homeowners:.

Well... we're almost homeowners. Drew and I have started the long, arduous process of buying our first home. It is incredible how much goes in to it, but you should expect nothing less when it's something this big and important. With all the craziness going on, we've found ourselves praying more and more. I am so thankful for faith, let's just say that! I think I would tear my hair out if I didn't have faith that everything will be taken care of in God's time. Just the thought of it makes me feel better!


The house has 3 bedrooms (plus office), two and a half baths, updated kitchen, nice backyard, security system, and a mud room to die for! It's just amazing. It's everything we could have dreamed of for a home and more than we could have asked for in our first! We want to stay in this house for as long as possible, so we picked a place that is within the school district we want our kids to go to. Go Jackson Timberwolves!


If everything goes according to plan, the whole thing will close two days before Drew is set to go to Japan. Ack! That means I will be doing the tough stuff without him. We have agreed tentatively on paint colors for the rooms that need it, and I am hoping to have this done before he returns. White for the office (currently burgundy), slate gray for the living room (currently forest green) and light blue for the master bedroom (also forest green).


I'm not sure why I am going in to such detail at this time, since we don't even have the house yet. I am just so beyond excited for everything that this house stands for.


Andrew, I am so in love with you and so thankful to be making this journey together. Thank you for being my rock and my sanity as I hope I am also for you. You bring so much joy and excitement in to my life and I thank God for you every single day.

Front. Cream and green... (May paint outside one day!)

Updated kitchen. He was an electrician, I hear. A good one by the looks of it!

Living room. See the green? Not my cup o' tea!

Master bedroom. Not a fan of the green. Drew chose light blue.

Office in the front of the house. SO excited to have an office!

Backyard. There is an actual backyard!

My bad ya'll, my bad...

So it has been just shy of a year since I last posted anything. My bad. The sad part is I have no idea what to post now, either. I just know I need to. So much has changed in the past year.

Drew and I moved from Redmond to Bothell, then just a few short months later we moved out of our apartment in Bothell to live in my mom and stepdad's house while they moved to Australia for the year.

About mom and John... They are going to get a divorce. While sad, it is for the best. They both deserve more than what they were giving each other. I just want them to be happy.

This does NOT mean I am losing my family. I am terrified of this happening, but I refuse to let it. I talk to Amanda almost on a daily basis even with her in a different country. {She comes home with my mom in the 22nd!} I will never lose her as long as it is in my control to do so. In fact, I have more plans for our future together than ever! It will be a challenge once Drew and I move out and we aren't all living together. But, it is something that is worth my time.

Speaking of moving out. We have NO idea what to do next! Ha ha! Mom will be home and staying in the room that used to be mine while Drew and I stay in the master bedroom that used to be hers. Strange, yes, I'm aware. It is going to be CRAZY in the Lockleer/Pettersen household. But, we will make it work as long as we all can because we need to. You don't get opportunities to only pay $300 a month to live in such a fine establishment all the time. We want to buy a house so we don't have to move for a while. We want to settle. I want to decorate! I hate living in a shared space where nothing is truly mine. But, I am so thankful for this time because not only has it allowed us to save, but it has given my mom and John a little peace of mind to know their home is being well maintained.

Oh did you ask about kids? No? Well, I'll tell you anyway. They are in our future! We have a tentative TTC timeframe and that is the best news to little ole me. I want to make babies with that tall, dark and handsome husband of mine. He is going to be the most amazing father.

So many changes coming up. So much to look forward to and to be nervous for. The only thing that is keeping me sane is that I am trying my best to do it according to God's plan and not rush everything. He has been so good to us and I can only hope that I show that love around.

I have an opportunity to sing on the music team at my church and I am SO EXCITED! I feel that God has been calling and I finally listened. We will see how it actually goes. But, I'm so giddy for what it could mean.

I hope to update more often. But, that is a silly hope because I probably won't. I suck. I know. :-)

.:Moving:.

The Pettersen's are moving. We currently live in Avalon Redmond Place where our lease is ending on February 28th. I got our notice on our door that we will need to give them 20 days notice if we are planning on staying or leaving and asked for a forwarding address. Whoops... We weren't planning on looking for an apartment until about two weeks before our lease end. We needed to step up our game a little.

Last Satuday we decided to take some time and go around to our favorite apartments on Bothell Everett Highway. We want to move to Bothell because that is where both of our families, our closest friends and our church are all located. I am more than willing to take the hour commute to be closer to everyone. It's so very worth it in my opinion.

We started at Providence. Too expensive, bad living room set up. Next was Madison Park. "Come back later." Then we went to Parklane Townhouses. BLEGH. Too expensive, too old. Then we went to Avalon RockMeadow which is where my brother and Lynnette live. "Come back later." So, we hung out in the parking lot for a spell before heading back to Madison Park. Now we're getting somewhere! The place was lovely. Just the right size. We were hoping for a 2 bedroom, 1 bath, but they didn't have that available. It was still a little more than we were willing to pay, so we left and hoped for the best at Avalon.

Now, we already live in an Avalon Community and I personally love it. They have been so great to us. We got there, sat down with Terri and talked shop. She had a two bedroom, one bath available now and another available literally the same day as our lease goes up, which was a little more expensive, but looked like our only option. Terri told us about the deal that was going on where you would get $500 off the first month's rent and said that she would be able to do that for us if we got the apartment that was open now. Problem is, we would NOT be able to pay for two apartments in February. Terri left to "see what she could do". She came back after Drew and I talked about options with a kicker. She would extend the deal on the first months rent out to February 11th, with the deal we would only have to pay just over $150 for the month of February. We handed over our security deposit right then. We sign the lease and get the keys on February 11th and as of February 12th we will be living in Bothell!

.Little Bit Of This.

I'm awful at updating, aren't I? I also have a Tumblr that I don't seem to touch. Fail.

Husband:
   Drew is doing great. He's still at Google Maps doing work he can't talk to me about due to his NDA. Meh... He's healthy and he's beyond excited for Christmas this year. It's our first Christmas as a married couple and we've decided to do things our way. Normally I (we) would stay at my mom's with my siblings and have to take sleeping aids just to fall asleep. (I'll miss sleeping with my sisters and brothers, though.) But, this year Drew and I are going to stay at our home and open presents together and then head over to my mom's. I'm so excited to wake up in my own bed next to my husband on this special holiday. I can almost gaurantee that I will be waking up at 6AM. It doesn't matter how old I am, or how much I don't care that it's Christmas morning, I still wake up at the ass-crack of dawn. I've tried to sleep in. It doesn't work.

Finances/Giving:
   No, I'm not going to tell you detailed stuff, don't worry. I just wanted to share an idea I've had. We had the Charity : Water founder, Scott Harrison, speak at our church on Sunday. I feel like we could probably give more. So, I had a pretty nifty idea. What if after the holidays are over, we total everything we've spent on gifts, and match that in a donation? Not all at once or right away, because we didn't prepare for an idea like this. But, just shortly after the New Year. It would be a nice idea, I think I'm going to push for it.

Work:
   Work is going great. I was promoted to Office Manager a couple months back and I have really been trying to make sure that Dawn (my manager) knows that it was the best decision. I love being able to help in new ways that are more advanced that when I first started. I am learning so many new things and am eager to learn more! I'm no longer being complacent in my job, which was how I was with basically every job before I came to DLI.

Friends:
   My best friend in the entire world, Stephanie Pierce, it 12 weeks pregnant. I am absolutely over the moon with excitement for her and her husband Mike. She is as close to me as a sister, so I will love this babe like an auntie really should! And spoil it like crazy! :-) One of her younger sisters is also pregnant, so next year is going to be filled with babies and love for that family! Jessica and I recently got together for dinner and hair. I love that girl. :-) She chopped all my hair off for me and I freaking LOVE it!

Family:
   My family rocks. There isn't really much going on. They are just awesome people.

Vacation:
   Drew and I are planning a trip to Kauai, Hawaii in October for our conjoined birthdays. I'm beyond excited. I get to introduce him to all my family on the island, including my great grandma Kruse! ACK!

My little sister is truly talented. She took Drew and I's Christmas pictures.

Jack Johnson

Apparently I love Jack Johnson more than I thought I did. I felt so at peace this last weekend while I sat there listening to him sing.

Drew and I have been house sitting for the past week and a half for my boss, taking care of their home and their dog, Felix. Saturday morning, we slept in and left the house at 11 to meet his parents back at our apartment so we could all go to the Gorge together. Drew reminded me that we had an extra ticket and we should see if someone could come on short notice, or we'd sell it at the gate. I immediately called my big brother, Danny. But, unfortunately Danny was already on his way to work and wouldn't be able to make it.

We had almost made it to the Gorge when Danny texts me and tells me that he's all bummed because he got out of work early, and wished he could come out, thinking he wouldn't make it in time. It was 4:00, I told him to get in his car and hurry his ass up because Jack wouldn't go on until close to 8:00, if not even later. He made it during the second act and got to see all of Jack!

The Gorge was so hot and I was very uncomfortable. I live in Washington for a reason, people... I love the rainy, cold weather! I don't know what to do with myself when it's all hot like that. Hot was sadly only 82 degrees... But, still. I got a really cool Jack shirt, as did Drew. I'm excited for the weekend when I can wear it. It's super cute and makes me happy.

My least favorite part of the day? PEOPLE SMOKING WEED AROUND ME. By the end of the night my eyes were on fire and I was coughing a lot. Which is lame because I was the only one who seemed to be affected physically. I was also not a huge fan of the hippie standing right in my way. We were in an area where everyone was seated, my idea is if you want to stand, then go on down to the main floor, don't put us out. I was also slipping down the little incline we had, which was a pain in my back by night end. But, worth it. :-) All worth it for good seats and a great show.

Can I tell you my favorite part of the day? It was sitting between Drew's legs during the acoustic encore, listening to him sing "Angel" and "Better Together" to me. My heart flutters when I think of him.

Pictures!

{Pity Party} Birthday Party

Well here I am, 24 and livin life. My birthday was an odd one this year. For instance, it was my first birthday as a married woman. And unfortunately for Drew, he had to see the dark side of what that meant.

It ended up being a bummer because with short notice to our friends, many people weren't able to come to dinner with us. I'm not going to lie, it hurt. I cried right there at the dinner table in front of Drew, Kyle and Kristin. I was embarrassed, but mostly depressed. I feel like Drew and I are able to make it to nearly everything our friends invite us to, no matter the time frame, but everytime we do try to make plans, still no matter the timeframe, no one is able to make it. (Another reason I can't wait to move out of Redmond and closer to our family and friends.) So, we learned a valuable lesson... Events take planning. I'm just glad it happened with my 24th and not my 25th!

I hope I don't sound too down about my birthday, because I'm really not. I learned another valuable lesson while standing in between Drew and Steph during worship on Sunday. Just because they couldn't make it, didn't mean they didn't want to, or that they didn't love me. I threw myself a pity party for my birthday and I'm not proud of it or happy about it. I'm so very thankful for my loving comments all over my facebook wall and for Kyle and Kristin for graciously coming to the Crab Pot (even though Kyle doesn't like seafood. He had a burger.) and celebrating life with me. I'm thankful for Stephanie wishing to make my birthday better with something that is meaningful to the two of us. I'm thankful for my mother in law for taking me out to lunch on Saturday and for my mother for treating me to getting my nails done on Saturday and lunch on Sunday.

It was a low key birthday and at this age, that should be good enough.

Watch out 25... I will have a fun event even if I have to throw it for myself! I just want all the people I love in one place. :-)

Drew and I at the Crab Pot. Picture taken by the Bishops. (No, I couldn't get rid of the red eye.)

"How can I pray for you today?"

It's an interesting thing when you have a relationship in which you try to keep God centered. You have a different level of respect for your spouse. You find yourself wanting to pray for them, and grateful with they pray for you. You feel stronger, like you can take on anything.

Drew has taken on a role as head of our house. It is his job, no matter how early I wish to go to bed, to come in to the bedroom with me and pray with me. I know it's something he is passionate about, so I also remind him if he forgets or is distracted.

We also have this thing we do when we are talking throughout the day where we ask, "How can I pray for you?". It's monumental the effect it has on our relationship. It's hard to believe that I could love this man any more than I already do, but it just keeps growing! (Like I mind... HA!)

I'm trying to also put it in to play with those that I talk to during the day, too. I started today when I emailed Stephanie. It feels SOOOOOOO good.

My amazing man and I at the races, with the parents + Max.