We Graduated! We Moved! It's Monday! :)

Last Friday, April 29th, was the big day! Luke and I graduated college. :) What an awesome 3 years... we left so thankful for our experiences at the University of Valley Forge and equally excited for what lies ahead.

The week leading up to graduation was craziness. Last assignments, graduation practice, my mom coming to town (and going out to BBQ with her... yum!), lots of goodbyes and then a busy busy graduation/moving day on Friday. We had so much help from family and friends... no idea how we would have made that move without them!

Luke with one of our AMAZING packing helpers :)

super sleepy girl... couldn't make it through service without a nap :)

Friday night after graduation, pictures, a yummy dinner with lots of loved ones in our nearly empty apartment, packing and checking out, we left campus for the last time as residents. Both Luke and I felt that we didn't want to rush the drive home. We've done that drive so many times this past year... every weekend, driving two hours each way to commute for work/church. It was a very sweet time, as always... just the two of us with our baby girl sleeping in the back seat. We listened to part of an audiobook and ate late night chick-fil-a sandwiches. :)

^^ Such a tough goodbye.. the amazing family I worked for while at school. Love them!

Luke's dad graduated from the same school :)

The past few days back in the Gettysburg area have been great. It does feel pretty unreal to be back. Today I was running around town getting groceries (a million thumbs up for living close to Aldi again!) and stopping by the bank while Luke was home on a lunch break. I couldn't stop smiling... it just feels like home here. The funny thing is, we felt very "at home" at school, too. It really was our home for three years and we embraced that. A big thing Luke and I have learned is that we can make anywhere home... but this home sure seems right.

One of the biggest changes for us is Luke's schedule. It's very special having the evenings to spend time as a family (with no thoughts of homework). This evening we took a walk around town, went to the playground, made stir-fry for dinner, and played outside. Luke just put our sleepy girl to bed... after she had some crazy time jumping from the coffee table to the couch. :)

All those silly little details to say... we are very happy in this time of transition. So happy for the past three years, so happy to know we are where God is asking us to be.

God gave us insanely wonderful friendships and memories and a beautiful life at UVF... we're looking forward to discovering life here again. :)

Hope you've had a great start to the week.
Love,
Bonnie


A couple things I'm into right now...

1. I love budgeting. I think it's creative and fun (usually) and makes me appreciate our money more. I came across this post by Lydia "Our Budget Under $1700" and loved her money saving ideas. Check out her other posts under "money talk"... they are all so fun and practical.

2. Like I mentioned above, I'm back to grocery shopping at Aldi. Today I tried out a new routine... I bought dairy, produce, and meat at Aldi (and a few other things) and the rest of my groceries at Target. I like doing this because Target carries the brands I prefer, but for some things, the brand really doesn't matter (like milk or fruit). I tried this routine today and ended up $6 under budget (goal is $90 per week)... woohoo! I like the Target Cartwheel app and checking our Aldi's weekly ad online. What's your grocery routine like? What else are you into right now?