A Few Pictures

 Tucker just leaning on Marc like he's a piece of furniture

 David came to visit me at work! I thought he looked so cute in his Lee jeans and flannel!

 Miss Ab knew we were going to send this picture to Uncle Marc so she was acting like a goofball

Marc and I made grilled cheese and tomato soup for dinner a few weeks ago. He was cutting the grilled cheese and says "How would you like me to cut it?" As in, in rectangles or triangles. I say, "Oh it doesn't matter - just cut." This is how my sandwich was presented to me. This guy makes me laugh! :)

Pillow Resolutions

Huge announcement in the Pensyl household. We have found a way to resolve the pillow issues we seem to frequently have during the darkest hours of the night.

When we were in Disney World the hotel had a king size bed with...you guessed it...king size pillows! Marc was rolling around as he woke up on our last morning there and said, "These pillows are great! We should get them for our bed." I realized he was absolutely right! We have a queen size bed and two king size pillows fit perfectly across it so now no matter where Marc rolls his head there is pillow there!

First world problems though - we almost have too many pillows now. We have our new king size pillows, our original pillows, and the pillow shams. So when the bed is made and they're all on there it's like pillow central.

We may have a new issue developing though. Marc likes to "hug" his original standard size pillow, but every morning it's on the floor. That isn't the problem. The problem is that when he's getting up he picks it up and tosses it onto the bed and it frequently lands directly on my head. Eh. You win some and you lose some, right?

First Day of Work

I started the new-part-of-my-existing-job at Calvary a week ago and am LOVING it! I've spent this week learning, doing, cleaning, organizing and creating a rhythm for myself.

Things I've noticed with the job change:
1. I move around during the day a lot more and I really like that
2. I get to talk to and interact with PEOPLE, not just their voices through the headset in my ear!
3. People talk about God a lot more. No one ever talked about God before. I like this change!
4. People say "God bless you" when getting off the phone with me and it throws me off every time. I'm always like "I didn't sneeze, what the heck?...Oh.." and by then it's too late and I've said some string of words and then the phone call has ended.

I'm getting to do what I love doing, what God has designed for me to do and it makes me so happy!

 This is my going to work on the first day photo - Marc wanted a "natural" looking shot

This is MY going to work on the first day photo - I wanted a smiling/facing the camera one

For the record, I still got to work on time even after all of this photo taking hubabaloo...

The Pillow Caper Strikes Again

Well, well, well guess what happened AGAIN in the Pensyl household?

The alarm went off Thursday morning and as I rolled over I noticed that underneath my head was very...flat. I felt around with my hand and felt...nothing. I peeked over the side of the bed to see if my pillow had fallen off the bed...no pillow. I got up on one elbow and:

Sara: Marc. Did you take my pillow?

Marc: What? No. 

*pause*

Marc: Oh wait. Hahahaha yes. Ahhh that's funny, I was holding mine and my head was on yours.

Sara: Suuuuuuper funny.

I realized that since he apparently took my pillow while I was sleeping and it didn't wake me up and I had been sleeping for who knows how long without a pillow I couldn't be too upset.

I think I'm going to have to buy more pillows for the bed so we can have a pillow reserve for Marc to use and I can keep mine. Marc's birthday is next week, pillows will be accepted!

An Actual Conversation That Happened In the Pensyl Household

After an intriguing conversation regarding nose hair trimming this morning while we ate breakfast, I was lucky enough to witness this conversation later in the day:

Scene: standing around the counter in the kitchen

Sara: Marc plank, it'll be funny
Bart: What is the deal with planking? It's so dumb.
Marc: I know right?! *high fives Bart*
Bart: Girls think it's funny and they do it all the time.
Marc: Girls are stupid.
Bart: Yeah. Girls have cooties.

Then Bart leaps onto the counter in a near perfect plank.

End scene.

What the Pensyls are Looking Forward to in 2012

The Pensyls have some exciting things they're looking forward to in 2012:

1. A trip to Disney World in January to celebrate Marc's birthday (the big 3-0!)
2. A trip in June to the Dominican Republic with the HSM seniors to work and see the boys and girls at the orphanage
3. A trip to Maine with friends in early August - fresh air, God's creation, and time with friends!
4. Approval by the Philippines government to be parents
5. Possibly a referral for our little boy or girl who is ALIVE AND OUT THERE! (Isn't that just so fun to think about? It blows my mind!)
6. New jobs that will lead us to new relationships and new, yet unknown, things!

2011 - A Year of Change

I don't like change very much, but I've learned that change isn't negative - it means new, it means growth. 2011 has, unintentionally, been a year of changes for the Pensyls. All "unplanned" in a sense, but wonderful.

We switched which side of the garage we park our cars. It's phenomenal - I can just back out and turn around under the basketball hoop and then pull out of the driveway front first!

We switched which side of the bed we sleep on. I really love this. I've slept so much better. I think it's because I don't have the door or the alarm clock on my side of the bed anymore and the subconcious pressure to be on guard isn't there anymore.

Marc wants to switch both of these things back. We're in negotiations.

In July we began the process of adoption - we're excited about this and hope that at some point in the next two years we'll have a little boy or girl increase the Pensyls to a total head count of 3!

In September Marc accepted a new job with Habitat Forever. He is loving the work he is doing and the crew of guys he is working with. The new job has meant some changes for our family, Marc is feeling fulfilled and we're excited for new beginnings! Also, Tucker and Lily have gotten to sleep on the bed while Marc's been traveling so they're really liking the new job! :)

I accepted a full time job with Calvary which I'll begin January 13. We're excited about this career change for variety of reasons - the biggest being that I feel like I am really following a passion, a desire that God placed on my heart several years ago (2006ish). Again, the new job brings a lot of changes for our family, but we know God will continue to lead us if we lean into him for our heart's desires and trust in His plan for our family.

If anything, 2011 may have forever changed my thoughts on change. I'm not afraid of change as I was for years - change means good, wonderful, new. The changes of 2011 were perhaps just a segue into amazing developments in 2012 - we're holding on for the ride!