Beus Family Blog

Family and Friends,

We're back! We've had this blog partially written now for about 3 weeks and

here we are finally finishing it (it's a smattering of highs and lows from

the month of October and a bit of November). Here we go:

 

Jeremy & Brittany's Highs:

#1: We had the pleasure of spending a week and a half in Washington with my

family in the middle of October (we're clearly a bit behind these days).

The great excuse for the trip was that my little brother Evan just returned

home from his mission in Argentina. It was of course great to see Evan and

how much he has grown since we saw him last (spiritually--he actually lost

weight physically). We also got to see his homecoming talk which was

fantastic. Seeing the rest of my family was also great, especially since it

had been nearly 2 years since we had seen any of them. We finally got to

meet three (relatively) new additions to the family (Livia, Clara, and

Michael) and the rest of the family finally met Jacob. We enjoyed wonderful

fall weather, super food, and of course the best company we could ask for.

It was hard to leave.

#2: While in Washington we got to see our good friends Parker and Jenny

Jones (who used to live in College Station). We were excited to find out

that Jenny is very pregnant with a little girl.

#3: We received a rather unexpected but extremely well-timed tithing

blessing earlier last month. Brittany made a routine check of our bank

account one morning and discovered a $750 deposit from the University. She

called me at work to inquire as to the meaning of this. This was news to me

and was certainly nothing we had been expecting. Earlier this summer the

University overcharged me for my fees and credited my account afterward,

but I knew for a fact that I had not been overcharged for the fall

semester. I called student financial services to figure it out and to make

sure this wasn't some sort of mistake. I was informed that this sum of

money was a grant given by the Financial Aid Office and that this sort of

thing happens on occasion. In my previous four years I had never heard of

or experienced such a thing but I was assured that the money was in fact

real and that we need not worry that it was a mistake. In bewilderment, I

asked the person on the phone "so the financial aid office randomly and

benevolently gives grants to students who didn't ask for them?" He

responded "yeah, I guess so." Needless to say we consider this to be a

pretty terrific tithing blessing. With our over-the-top utility bills of

late and other unexpected expenses, this money was just more than enough to

handle everything without having to dip into our savings.

 

Jeremy's High:

A more recent high is that I interviewed for an assistant professor

position at a business school in Canada (University of Manitoba) last week.

It was a 2-day affair and it all went fairly well--the program is a great

fit for me and the people were super nice (they took me to dinner in the

fanciest restaurant I have ever set foot in--I had a 4-course meal with

lamb shank and creme brulee being the two highlights). But...

 

Jeremy's Lows:

#1: Although the job would be a great fit for me, it's located in Winnipeg,

Canada. That's about 3 hours due north of Fargo, North Dakota and Brittany

and I are just not sure if we could live there (even if only for 3 years or

so). I expect to hear back from the University by the end of the month. In

the mean time we are hoping that some other leads pan out so I don't

potentially end up with only an offer from U of M (which still remains to

be seen of course). We're praying hard that the right thing will work out

for us, whatever it is (with the hope of something a tad warmer).

#2: (back to speaking of the Washington trip) Throughout our entire trip,

Jake never adjusted to Washington time. Although we would put him to bed in

accordance with Washington time, he decided he was done sleeping every day

between 3:30 and 4:00am (the kid was accustomed to waking up between 5:30

and 6:00am every day Central time). Good thing I had Sportscenter waiting

to greet me each day even at those unholy hours (and a wife who let me go

back to sleep by 6:00 or so).

 

Brittany's Highs:

#1:Since we returned from our trip I finally dropped the early morning

feeding I was still giving Jake-- I know its a little over due; I just

wasn't ready to let go. So now he officially sleeps through the night and

we both get uninterrupted sleep.

#2: My Jakey is officially one year old. He is such a delight and a

blessing in our home. This past year went so fast. He doesn't walk yet,

but he seems to really want to. Oftentimes we put him down and he will just

stand there by himself until eventually he plops on his bottom and goes

after whatever he wants. He has taken just a few steps by himself recently

(maybe by Christmas he will be good at it) and is still learning to

coordinate his feet but his balance is excellent. He loves to be with his

brother Levi and get into trouble. I recently found them both underneath

the kitchen table hiding and eating candy. Jake loves and I mean LOVES the

bath. He splashes everywhere and by the end of his bath the person who is

bathing him is literally soaked. He also seems to really love animals and

gravitates towards them. We just can't get enough of him. It's been a

wonderful year.

 

Brittany's Low:

#1: The heat continues to persist here in College Station. The weather has

literally been acting like a yo yo. One day we want the A/C on and the

next we need our heat on (today we have our A/C on). If the weather could

just stay a little more consistent I would be thrilled. And isn't high time

the A/C was off?! It's November.

#2: I would really like to know where we are going to end up next year...

 

Levi's Highs:

#1: Visiting grandma and grandpa and seeing my aunts, uncles, and cousins.

My uncle Evan even took me for a ride on a tractor a few times.

#2: I went to a pumpkin patch with my cousins. We looked at pumpkins,

played on a giant castle made of hay, ran around in a corn maze, and I

learned that apples grow on trees (who knew?).

#3: Candy! I went trunk or treating and made quite the haul--I know because

I took inventory at least three times (and have eaten all the candy since

then--sharing of course). I think I was well-positioned for a bounteous

evening with the fantastic, head-turner of a costume my mom made for me

(see attached pictures).

 

Levi's Low:

Leaving Grandma and Grandpa's house. I really miss my grandparents,

cousins, aunts, and uncles. I cried when we left.

 

Jacob's Low:

Cow milk. My mom has been trying to force the stuff down my throat lately

and I don't understand it. Do I look like a cow? What's wrong with the

human milk I have grown up with? It's warmer and, frankly, better.

 

Jacob's High:

#1: I turned one!

#2: Bathtime! I like to splash...a lot. Since my attempts at doing so in

toilet water are generally thwarted (despite Levi's kind assistance), the

bath is really the only time I can let my hair down so-to-speak.

 

At the rate we've been going lately, Happy Thanksgiving!

The Beus Family (Texas Branch)

Done