Merry Christmas from the Belleys!

As the most wonderful time of the year draws inexorably closer, we are reminded of the trials and blessing from the past years. Although our previous Christmas letter was undeniably funny, this year we decided to take a more straight forward approach. BULLET POINTS!!!!!!

2009

• Lindy procured employment with Integrity Data, Inc in downtown Lincoln. She holds the title of “Business Services” aka Job Security.
• Brad shifted employment from Fastenal to a weld shop to the line at the “Box Factory” to Logan County 911 Dispatch which he currently works for. He tends to speak to the population that only comes out in public for the county fair.
• Brad changed from Lincoln Christian University’s undergraduate Business Administration major to their Hargrove School’s Leadership and Management major. This is an adult program that allows him to work full time while taking night classes.

2010
• A run-in with the crazy downstairs neighbor at LCU’s Student Housing, who accused Lindy of not being a Christian because of our placement of the ironing board, encouraged us to begin house hunting.
• Lindy celebrated her golden birthday…29.
• House signing + possession = WALLS TO PAINT!
• We got babies! Lindy’s Gramma helped fund the adoption of two, adorable kittens named Cool Breeze and Dirt Diver. It was the most dear and precious thing to do with Gramma, it brought her as much joy as it would have to see our own babies! The adventure was the final, precious memory we made with her as she passed away in August.
• Attended the death-defying Belley family vacation to Rivermen in West Virginia.
• Our awesome House Warming Party was a success. Live music, great friends, delicious food. It may become an annual event, so keep the first weekend of October available next year.
• Eleven year anniversary of Judy’s death (Lindy’s Mom) came and went.

• Mark, Brad’s dad, had surgery before Thanksgiving that has left him on a long road of recovery. Please continue prayers of healing!

• Made a trip to New Hampshire to see the Belley clan.

• Brad turned 26 and now qualifies for the 26-40 checkbox on the church connection card.

• We got a special birthday surprise from Brad’s parents – Tickets to the Patriots v Bears game!!! Which the Patriots won, of course. :)

• Celebrated the Lord’s birth with friends and family.

Thank you for perusing your way through what could easily be confused with an office memo.

Each and every day we count ourselves blessed to be surrounded by such great people. Merry Christmas and God Bless!

Brad, Lindy, Cool Breeze and Dirt Diver

"Can you ever just be whelmed?"

Meet Cool Breeze and Dirt Diver.  Brad and I picked out these two adorable kitties on Saturday.  They are currently residing at my work in a spare office (thanks Patrick!) until we can take them to their new home this weekend.  Having the little creatures around has certainly caused me to laugh at a time when I would otherwise shut down.  We are quite excited to move into our new home, but the responsibility that lies ahead is a bit daunting.  Not to mention, Brad's work schedule has him gone most evenings when we would likely be working together on a project.  I'd like to think the house is causing stress and the cats are causing relief, balancing me out to a "whelmed" feeling. 

Back to packing.

Inkin' Lincoln One Tattoo at a Time

                                    

Where will curiosity and offerings of free food get you on a beautiful Saturday afternoon?  For me and Brad, it will walk us into the Grand Opening of Styx Tattoo in Lincoln. 
I can always count on Lincoln to make me giggle. There is nothing quite like a ribbon cutting ceremony containing red-coated Chamber Members surrounded by bikers and their ladies in corsets. Ahhh, now that is a sight to behold...
 
In the days leading up to the opening of Styx, I have had many conversations with people who are concerned with the clientel it will draw to our otherwise homey, quaint square.  There have been valid concerns and support voiced along the way.  In my own experiences, I have met many kind-hearted individuals who choose to turn their body into a canvas.  They have never been a threat to me.  (Of course, most of them are musicians or youth ministers.)  However, I work next door to this new venture and wanted to know what it is about. 

The owners appeared very friendly.  You can count on the fact that they are going to be running a tight ship.  They have already stated that under no circumstances will they tattoo a minor, nor will they "ink" anyone who appears intoxicated with drugs or alcohol.  They have a very clean establishment.  They are well-situated on a college town square (and we all know how these Christian College students act when they breathe in the scent of freedom) where a majority of LCU report to never have visited.  From a sheer business perspective and in regards to growth of commerce in our small town, unless they tatoo and piece all of their potential clients in a few months, I have no doubt that this establishment will be around for a long haul.  With the way they intend to operate, I have determined that I would rather have a place like this in town than another bar. 

Truthfully, their presence is difficult for me to accept because I am not typically comfortable in the atmosphere of said parlors. I enjoy the quiet personality of our downtown and hate to see it littered with neon signs and flashing lights.  Will I avoid that corner at night if people are hanging around outside? Absolutely. Will I try my very best not to judge the people I see going in and out of there? Yes.  I encourage you to do the same.

So, welcome to town, Styx.  Try not to disappoint us.

Moving Again!

You are reading this correctly. We are packing up all of our things and moving yet again. This time, however, we will be relocating to our "new", old and crappy house! *That is what Brad calls anything with character and charm. Now you know what I call him.

Many of you know that we have been enjoying the Midwest Life as a married couple: we both appreciate our employment, we like the community, and we really, truly soak up the slower pace of life. So much that we have decided to make Lincoln our home indefinitely.

This means a number of things for our immediate future. 1) We have the obligatory packing to do. 2) We have repairs to make, walls to paint, and floors to refinish. 3) We have a month to do it, but with Brad's newest hours and our upcoming family vacation, neither of us will be available at the same time. How will I be able to reach and lift? Who will keep Brad focused and motivated?? Needless to say, every spare minute we will be sinking our fingers into the project.

We invite you along on our journey. Hopefully, we will have some interesting stories and humorous images to share. Please let us know if you have any desire or time to help out. The pay isn't great, but the company and homemade cookies are to die for!

*Closer to May, we will be notifying family and friends with our change of address and phone numbers.

My Midnight Warrior

3 a.m. Lindy hears noise like someone came into their apartment. She waits and hears more noise, turns to awake her husband by the whispering of his name, "Brad." No response. "Brad!" Still no response. She shakes him gently, then more, then violently. Finally he awakes, "Wha?" "It sounds like someone is in the apartment. Go look." He finds his glasses, stumbles out of bed, bounces down the hallway walls, comes back with nothing to report. "It sounded like someone came in the door," She said. "Well! That was dangerous! You should have told me first!" Um. "'It sounds like someone is in the apartment' isn't enough warning?"


I love conversing with my husband in the wee hours of morning. I feel so safe!

Uninspired

Lately I have been utterly distraught with the fact that I'm not writing. It was always an outlet for me and quite enjoyable, to say the least.

Could it possibly be that my life has slimmed in interest, it's too full to pick apart the details, or I'm just plain boring?

Personally, I think the blogging community has changed. Facebook and Myspace have ruined our desires to follow one another. *Sigh*

Howdy Neighbor

Never has the movie Fried Green Tomatoes more fully described my life until now. Brad and I recently noted our one year anniversary of moving to Illinois. We have experienced a pleasant time, especially at the student apartments.

When we had first moved in, we were the only people in our two-bedroom building that did not have children. I loved it! The evenings were peaceful and the days are filled with joyful sounds – even when the kids were not getting their way.

That is, until last week, when two girls moved over from the dorms. We have been harassed on a regular basis as they insist we are trying to be inconsiderate and rude by walking to and from the rooms in our home. Apparently, they expect us to float about the place, never touching the floors to make a peep, never dropping things by accident, and never living a normal life.

Well, yesterday I’d had it. I was helping Brad clean out his closet and a book slipped out of my hands (at 5 pm, mind you). After girl #1 yet again banged on our floor with her broom, I marched myself downstairs and made it clear to her that we are doing normal life activities in the privacy of our home, that she can submit her complaints to the apartment manager, and under no circumstances is banging on her ceiling acceptable. She informed me that we were not going to talk about it and proceeded to slam her door in my face.

So here is my question to the disruptive, passive aggressive souls of this world – Why on God’s green earth do you insist on behaving in such a way and then not expecting repercussions? Why, at 5 in the evening are you bullying me for cleaning my apartment or dropping a book when at 2 in the morning, you have your loud friends over without a care? Why would you think that you bother no one, but that the world is out to get you?

This fiery little Italian girl, daughter of the acclaimed, spicy Judy, simply wants to live in her apartment without being paranoid. Apparently that is too much to ask.

So, in the words of Kathy Bates, “Face it girls, I’m older and have more insurance! TOWANDA!”