Mr. and Mrs. Kraus Blog

The wife and I have been in Minnesota now for over 2 weeks. Things are going great here! First, it’s just really good to be back in the Midwest. Immediately after my arrival, I fell in love again with the state of Minnesota and life among it’s inhabitants. I love the attitudes of the people, the things they talk about, and the hard Midwest work ethic ingrained in them.

I love my new job! The first two weeks went great. Everyone there is really nice and gets along with one another. Another great thing is that everyone really likes the boss. Those two things are such a blessing. I’ve heard stories of when fellow employees don’t like each other in the workplace, and it doesn’t sound like a good environment to work in. Furthermore, when the employees get along, but have a common dislike for the boss, I would think that could get really old too. I’ve been lucky and had good bosses and fellow employees, so I’m not speaking from experience. My point is, this place does not suffer from either of those two problems, and I really love that.

Then there is what I do all day at work, my job responsibilities. I love what I do! It’s exactly what I have always wanted in a job. I enjoy it so much in fact, then after I begin work in the morning, before I know it, the clock is saying noon and it’s lunch time already. Same thing after lunch. Before I know it, it’s time to go home for the day. There is plenty of work to be done there at all times, and it fun, fulfilling work. I’m doing pretty much all programming so far, but am really enjoying it. I’m excited to do the sales part of my job description when they are ready for me to do that too. When I was on my own, I really enjoyed that part of the business too, so I am certain this new job is only going to get better as I take on more responsibilities.

The wife is doing well too. She applied for the college in town and is awaiting an acceptance letter. They told her it would be 3-4 weeks before she hears back. I am so proud of her for getting on that right away. I know she’s going to do great!

We are really enjoying our family and friends in town. One of my best friends and his wife live just a minute away from our apartment and we love spending time with them. We also enjoy going over to my mom’s place and chatting with them. I am developing a great relationship with my sister too. She is really growing up to be a great young woman! Sometimes we even get together with her on Friday nights. Other family we have gotten to see in town since we got here have been my Grandma J and my aunt and uncle that live next door to her. We went over there last Monday evening for rice and beans, and homemade apple pie. Grandma, you are such a wonderful cook! We ate the leftovers for 3 straight days! Please come over to our apartment sometime and let us cook for you in return. I also got to see my other best friend/cousin this weekend. It was great hanging out with both of the buds! Oh, and I can’t forget those family members that helped us unload the moving truck! It was great seeing all of you and thanks for the help!

I’ve been keeping in touch with my brother in Florida too. It sounds like he is doing really good there. He got moved to a different store and is really liking it. He doesn’t have as far a drive, and he really enjoys the customers at that particular location. I was proud to hear too that my sister-in-law was awarded “Teacher of the Week” recently as well! How long have you been there? About a month? Good job! Well, we miss seeing the Florida family, and hope they are all doing well.

Lastly, the wife and I are extremely excited about the church we are joining here! We love it! Today was our third service. We are going to get involved there too. Today after the service they had a little fair in the community hall were everyone could sign up to help depending on their talents. I am hoping to get involved in the music ministry, whether it’s playing guitar or doing sound board, and helping out with the direction of the church website. The wife wants to get involved in youth group and sports ministry, and might sing in the worship band. We both signed our names on a bunch of lists, and we’ll see what the needs of the church turn out to be.

We joined a Sunday night Bible study. There are 5 couples total, including us. Our good friends from down the street are in it too. Everyone is so nice, and I think we will develop friendships with all of them. Currently, we are doing the 40 Days of Community. It’s something we did at our old church in Florida, and it is highly recommended.

That’s it for now. Any family or friends in the area that want to get together, don’t hesitate to call or stop by!

Chad Kraus church, Minnesota, Mrs. Kraus

Something very exciting happened on Friday. Our house went under contract! There was not much activity on the house for a good month and then all of a sudden there was a surge of interest, and one of them stuck. So we are very excited and the closing date is supposed to be early October. Though, we are aware that “stuff happens”.

Why are we selling our house?

The main reason is because Mrs. Kraus is interested in finishing up her 4 year college degree at some point. We thought that would be immediately after the house sold, but now she loves her full time job so much that I’m not sure exactly when that will be. One thing is certain though. Without Mrs. Kraus working full time it would be very difficult to afford our current house. Before we got married I had 2 roommates to help. And it’s ok that they are gone because my wife helps now. But to lose all help and take on college bills would be trouble. At any rate, we will be better positioned now for when she wants to go back. We’ll either buy something smaller, or rent.

Thanks to all the friends and family that prayed for us regarding the house. Mrs. Kraus and I ultimately desire one thing above everything else. And that is for God’s will to be done in our lives. We want to live where He wants us to live. If that is our current home, great. We enjoy living here. If it’s somewhere else, then we are excited to see where that is!

Comments from old site:

Written by Carol
Posted: Tuesday, August 14, 2007 at 8:21 PM

WOW! Sarah called me last night with the news that you have an offer for your house. I know that you put a lot of landscaping in this year to make it more attractive. I’m excited to see what God has planned for you in the next months—Jeremiah 29:11 Carol

Chad Kraus Florida, Kraus House, Mrs. Kraus

I love weddings! Last weekend Mrs. Kraus and I flew to Minnesota for my best friend Chris’s wedding. We had a GREAT time! Not only is it perfect weather up there this time of year, but it was so fun seeing every one. We got there on Thursday at 2:30 and my other best friend Aaron picked us up from the airport. And yes, it is ok to have two best friends. Three amigos kinda thing. Anyway, the first thing we did was drive to Mankato for Chris’s bachelor party. As far as bachelor parties go, everyone was very well-behaved. We just hung out, played video games and ate some good food. I got to see Adam and Lisa’s pad and it was really nice.

After the party, the wife and I crashed at my mom’s new townhouse. It was very nice and I was really impressed with it. She seemed so happy too, and very proud of her new pad. Sounds like she really loves the neighbors and pretty much everything about the place. It was nice to see mom so excited.

Day 2 we drove to Sheldon, Iowa. We decorated the reception hall and had the rehearsal dinner, which was a luau in the park. Everyone had on Hawaiian shirts and we had burgers on the grill. We stayed at a hotel that night, and I had some fun with the buds sitting in the hot tub, watching a Twins game, teasing Chris about his last free night on Earth, and playing a little Clubhouse Games and Bomberman on DS.

Then Saturday was the big day! The wedding was very nice and everything went off without any problems. The bride and groom looked so happy, and everyone had huge smiles on their faces. Be sure to check out all the wedding pictures I have posted. Take a look at the gallery! We stayed in the hotel again that night, and the next morning we had breakfast at the Family Table. The happy couple opened their wedding gifts and we all said our goodbyes.

After that we head back to Aaron’s house, which by the way is very nice. We took a relaxing walk around his neighborhood and enjoyed the brisk air. The following day we flew home to Florida and it was back to work the same day.

The wife and I really enjoyed the trip. Ever since I started dating her I have joked about moving back to Minnesota. Only thing was, I was serious but it was a joke because she never would have gone for it. But after this trip she has changed her tune. I think she’s starting to like Minnesota, and she has made some friends there too. Could there be a change in the winds? You never know, but we’ll pray about it. One thing is for certain– if that turns out to be the case, it’s certainly a slightly colder wind than here!

Comments from old site:

Written by Lisa P
Posted: Friday, June 8, 2007 at 10:08 PM

What great pics from the wedding! FMD forever!! (Adam & Chris should have done the “antlers” too) Amanda, Minnesota really IS a great place to live. The cold winters aren’t so bad when you’ve got someone to snuggle up with. :o)

Chad Kraus Aaron, Chris, Minnesota, Mrs. Kraus, wedding

By no means am I a good fisherman. I have been going fly fishing when I get the time, and I have a long way to go before I know what I’m doing. But I am having a blast! I go down to the lake in Fellowship Park next to my church before sunset because that seems to be the time when the fish start biting. When the bugs start swarming, the birds start making a unified squawking noise, and the sun starts to set, is when the fish start biting.

I have gone fishing twice in the past few days. Mrs. Kraus and I went out with Captain Jeff on Sunday evening. We caught lots of brim, and one small bass. The bass was a lot of fun to catch because it jumped about five times. Mrs. K was fishing with a standard rod and reel and she got a huge bite from a large bass. She shouted, “Oh my gosh!” as an impressive bass jumped out of the water and through the air. It was so big, and fought so hard that it ruined her reel! (Crappy Big Lots reel). Unfortunately, it got away.

I went out alone today after work. I caught 2 fish! One small bass, and one brim. The bass was great fun because, surprise surprise, it jumped. I don’t know why I love that so much, but I really do. It’s especially great with fly fishing because sometimes they jump out of the water to get the fly off the water’s surface. I was proud of myself today because I made some tough casts to get the fly in the right spot to catch those fish. It was crazy windy today, so it gave me a sense of accomplishment. Oh, I really shouldn’t brag though because no tree was safe. I definitely caught more trees and plants than I did fish today.

My evening ended right before dark when I had cast past some weeds and started to pop my fly every few seconds. After 2 pops, WHAM! A huge bass jumped out of the water and tore my fly right off the line. It wasn’t even on the line for a second. It just tore it right off. That initially ticked me off, but what followed was very thrilling. The bass continued to jump out of the water, three times! And it was HUGE. I wouldn’t say it was as large as Lorrie’s fish a couple weeks ago, but definitely impressive. I think it was ticked off because the hook was probably lodged in the side of it’s mouth. That’s the only reason I could figure it would keep jumping. Maybe next time it will let me catch it so I can snap a picture and take that hook out of it’s lip!

The wife and I are thinking about going out to the lake tomorrow after work to kick off Memorial Day Weekend. We will be making a trip to Bass Pro Shop soon too to get her a new reel. I also need to buy some more flies, because those trees I keep catching like to swallow them! At least the fish usually give them back.

Chad Kraus Captain Jeff, fishing, Florida, Mrs. Kraus