A Christmas Miracle

It's still unbelievable even though it's almost over. My entire family was at my new home for Christmas and saw my new classroom and new puppy. It couldn't have been sweeter or more amazing. I could have had a little more sleep though. :)

My parents and Evan left for Wisconsin this morning. On the way back Mom found out she has another traveling job just outside of LA...where Kyle is living right now. God is truly blessing us!

Bryan and Kyle are hanging around the rest of the week so we get to spend New Year's together! That'll be exciting!

The house is still a wreck. I tried to keep up with the chaos and surrendered yesterday. So instead my Mom stepped in and made a large breakfast (to finish off eggs we didn't eat) and cleaned my kitchen, dishes, and a few other random things that were on my list to do that just didn't get done. So, I can walk into my kitchen right now and it looks nice! What a blessing!

The rest of my Christmas break I'm hoping to just relax and enjoy it! I have a few things from school to do, which reminds me....I haven't shared with my bloggers that I'm being recommended to the Board of our school district for the Kindergarten position! It's not officially done yet, but when they meet I'll be a real teacher! Wow, I can't believe that all my hard work, years of school and training has brought me to the moment I've dreamed of. Being a teacher! I'm so excited, yet still nervous! I have so much to still learn!!

Also next week I have new student registration at the local community college. I have to take an Arkansas History course to be a certified teacher in Arkansas. I was excited and I still am a little, but I can see how this is going to be a balancing act. It's only one night a week and a hybrid class so half of it I can do online at home. But that still takes time out of my day that I could be adjusting and investing into my husband, class, or others. Well, I just trust God knows what he's doing and will give me the strength to get through the next five months. I'm already planning my vacation this summer. :)

Have a great rest of the holidays!

SURPRISE!

So my husband pulled a surprise on me this week. We didn't have the best weekend, I don't even remember what all the tension was about. Probably something silly and petty. Anyways, he asked me on a date in the middle of the week...Tuesday night to be exact. Nice surprise! (Side note: he does have Wednesday off so I think there was a second motive there)

He turns it into this mysterious date that he's not telling me what we're going to do. I asked what I needed to bring and the response was nothing. He did however prepare two bottles of hot chocolate for the road. Hm. There truly aren't that many things to do in West Memphis and as we're driving I notice we aren't headed toward the bridge. So my mind is scrambling trying to figure out why he packed hot chocolate, I'm only wearing a sweat shirt, and we're staying in town.

Only minutes later we reach our destination. A park. Not just any park though. A beautifully decorated park. The trees have Christmas lights all over them. The water tower and gate was lite up too. Oh it was beautiful. They had Christmas music playing softly to add another touch.

Not only that but when we drove around the corner it was crowded. When I say crowded, I mean like Martin, Tennessee crowded. A side street covered with people is uncommon. 10 - 20 cars within a block and it's not rush hour, is uncommon. Guess what we found. The West Memphis Christmas Parade! Oh it made me so happy. He didn't even plan that part. :) So we watched the second half of the parade, nothing special and no candy might I add. And after that took a walk in the park.

It was such a simple night, but made my week. Just having the chance to spend time with Matt, giving each other undivided attention outside of the house is very refreshing.

Oh and I have to add that although I had a million questions running through my mind, I didn't ask them. I love small surprises like this and Matt hates giving them, so I wasn't going to ruin one of the few chances I would get at this.

Have a wonderful weekend! Mine will be full of preparing for the next school week and watching three of my beloved niece/nephews.

Staying Thankful

It's Thanksgiving morning! The first and only day so far this week Matt and I have off together. Of course I still wake up early; my body doesn't understand sleeping in anymore.

Today we're going to the in-laws down the street for some Thanksgiving food and spending time with family. It's bitter sweet, like most years. I have so many things to be thankful for and God's truly blessed my little family. Even with all that, I can't help but remember my side of the family is no where to be found. Since everyone is so spread out and Thanksgiving doesn't have a lengthy enough holiday break, we usually don't get to see each other.

This year Mom is in Pennsylvania working and Dad's flown out to be with her. Evan is in Wisconsin, probably eating with family or friends. Kyle is in California eating with friends and Bryan is making his first turkey and Thanksgiving dinner with friends in New York. So everyone has somewhere to be, it's just not together.

On a positive note, in less than a month we'll all be together! I know my last post was about my family coming too, but I LOVE my family and miss them so stinking much! If you know us at all, you also know we aren't the richest people in the world. So something like this is even harder to orchestrate.

One thing I'm very thankful for right now is my job. I have three more weeks in the school to reassure the administration I can teach. If they aren't convinced I'm still a sub, if they are I get the classroom for the rest of the year! No pressure right? Having a holiday is helping me SO much! My day off yesterday was spent half at school organizing and half at home organizing more stuff! I'm hoping to pop in tomorrow, grab a few things to do this weekend and take care of a few other details. That way the week starts great and I don't have to be nervous when administration walks in to observe me. That's coming very soon, I can feel it!

So this is a mess of information that I thought I'd share and get off my chest. :) Have a great Thanksgiving and if you're off the rest of the weekend, enjoy it! Remember all the things you're thankful for and that God is the ultimate provider of them all!

Christmas in November

I was the person who rolled her eyes at people who skipped right over Thanksgiving and put up Christmas decor. Growing up we bought freshly cut trees on Christmas Eve, due to the drop in prices, and spent the day or evening setting it up. We waited until mid to late December to do our gift shopping and put all the presents under the tree just before opening them the next day. There were years we didn't wait quite as long as Christmas Eve, but close enough right?

So this year is my first with my own home and a little bit of cash. Not much mind you. Enough though to buy a large, sadly fake due to my husband's family traditions, tree and host Christmas. Not only do I have the privilege of hosting for my in-laws but my family is coming too. Oh yes, I'm thrilled! I wanted a holiday and my mother-in-law graciously let go of Christmas, not all the cooking of course. :) This is perfect because Christmas is when my side really tries to reassemble ourselves and spend a long weekend or if we're lucky a week together. My family hasn't been together since May 2008, so we're all very excited!!!

All of this to say, November 1, 2009 my small Christmas tree and very few decorations were brought out. Oh yes, and my Halloween pumpkin was still on the porch at that point. Someone drove by and later told me they thought it was funny. We have a nice window in the front that displays the little tree perfectly to see when driving down the street. I would probably laugh if I saw that at other house too.

Slightly ridiculous? Yes. But to me it's not the decorations that I'm excited for. It's that I'm settled into a community with my husband and Kyle's coming from California, Bryan from New York, and my parents and Evan from Wisconsin. I miss my family so much and though the distance has helped me grow, I'm ready to be close to them again. It's remarkable how we've stayed in touch so well. I can't wait to show off my home, my puppy, and just spend time with my favorite people in the world who know me better than anyone else.

So this November I officially became crazed and slightly obsessed with Christmas. I can now roll my eyes at myself.

Too Much Shopping?

My Mother-in-law and Sister-in-law shop like no one's business! To give you a quick glimpse, they are both almost done with their Christmas shopping. Yes, it's not even Halloween yet. I haven't started.

Anyways, they live a block down the street from us and since I'm usually not doing anything when they plan a day of shopping or even just a trip to Wal-mart they call me. For someone who can't resist spending money this would be a bad mix. I however have trouble spending a lot of money on myself. I do however love buying things for my new home and Matt. What keeps me in check is my husband.

When I get great deals I love sharing them with him, so when I don't he knows I spent money I should not have. That rarely happens these days. My shopping buddies always say I make them look bad because they spend, spend, spend and I don't. I must say it makes me feel that much better about how Matt and I spend our money.

Last night we ran to Wal-mart to buy things for Robin's bathroom. Of course money was spent on more than just that. I was super excited that I found toothbrushes for $0.75 a piece and a new shower curtain for $1.50! We don't have anymore toothbrushes and our old curtain is getting quite dirty, so this was a good spend.

Allowing myself to purchase things we need occasionally keeps me from spending a lot at once, which would include unnecessary items. I used to plan it all out. Which trip I would buy toothpaste, soap, etc. I've loosened up and it's given us opportunities, such as this one, to save money. I absolutely love good deals and saving money!

Provision

It's way past my bedtime! However, my Mother-in-law visited, we watched a movie, and are finally getting ready for bed. I thought I would take this time to share a few things with you....

1) I'm STILL unemployed, but doing better. I've been back and forth with my attitude about this season in my life. I have been frustrated when I look back and think I just spent 4 years preparing to teach, yet do not a classroom. I'm content now. :) I've been developing my cooking/baking skills, grocery shopping on a tighter budget, raising a puppy, being a better disciple, and a better wife. Life isn't what I though it would be, but it's "His plans; not mine".

2) Since I'm unemployed, we have almost no money. We crunched the numbers at the beginning of the month and saw we were short a few hundred. Not good. God is faithful and so much bigger than numbers and money!! Doing my part through pray and faith He has provided. My student loans won't kick in like I thought they would AND I found a program to apply for that could postpone payments for a year. Nice! AND THEN, today we got a check in the mail. We didn't know this company even owed us any money at all. PRAISE THE LORD! Matt and I strive to spend our money wisely and invest it into things that will better our family (and future family).

3) I'm also delighted to report that I've found my calling in the church. I've grown accustomed to the fact that I have some leadership skills and love using them in Christian environments. Our church, like so many others, participate in something called Discipleship Walk. Long story short, I'm passionate about it, others getting the experience, and could exercise my strengths. The next one is this Spring and I'm praying God provides the money, time, and opportunity for me to go.

Well, that's all for tonight...this morning. I'm excited to tackle the to-do list with Matt tomorrow....today. Kinda reminds me of Dad and Mom running errands together on the weekends. :)

Motherhood

People say that before you have kids you should try raising a puppy. That wasn't our intention when we got the newest member of our family, but it's turning into some good learning experiences.

It's the little things like cleaning up waste and listen to the yelping that tend to drive you crazy. Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love Bo! She is so cute, but still learning that going potty in the house is NOT acceptable. Learning patience and a balance of discipline and love has been fun.

I do have a confession to make about losing my patience with Bo. She refuses to go to the bathroom when it's raining. She sits under the tiny overhang on the house and waits for you to come let her in. Trust me, I watch. One potty break though, I didn't watch for one reason or another. So not even a minute later in walk the dogs and a puddle of pee on the carpet. I lost it! She had been going to the bathroom in the house all day and I was stressed out from something else; aka not in a good mood. I literally had to put Bo down and scream before doing anything! If I had not I would have disciplined her out of anger and not to correct her behavior.

I was so shocked that I felt that way. I can count on my hand the number of times that I've lost my temper like that. It was scary, but very eye-opening. Oh my goodness I'm not ready for children! I know if God provides them He will also provide the necessary skills to raise them. I just don't think now is that time!

On a lighter note, I LOVE the weather today! It's finally feeling like fall! So I went outside and did some yard work. I really don't like yard work, especially because it's a lot right now since the owners before us didn't take care of it. Now I have four very large piles of leaves to pack up. :)

I took a break to get back to my Betty Crocker side of being a wife. It was time to put the lasagna together for dinner tonight. I'm falling in love with my crock pot! I planned meals for two weeks and I think we'll have food for four weeks! PTL! I'm not the best cook and crock pots make the cooking beyond easy. You mix together whatever you're cooking and leave it for hours to cook itself! I think it's the best invention ever for those of us who are no good at cooking!

Well, this is very long and props to those of you that have read the whole post.

For such a time as this....

Death can really change people. This can be for worse or better. I have an old high school friend, Raymond, who passed away today. I'm still in the shocked phase and not believing it yet. I probably won't until the funeral, if I get to go. I haven't seen him in...well it's been a couple years, but I'll never forget him.

Raymond could always put a smile on your face. He was part of the "group" I hung out with during those four years of my life. He truly had a great smile that you couldn't help but smile too. It was a sudden medical emergency that took his life so it's not something anyone could plan for. How young! He graduated with my older brother and most of my friends. :)

I haven't seen many high school friends since parting ways for college and it will be so nice to see them again. Please pray with me that God works in their lives and mine. That instead of getting mad and turning their backs on God they look to Him for strength and comfort. This could be a great opportunity for God to show His compassion and love through Christians. Pray that people will be saved, because we know God has the power. Many of my friends know what I believe but haven't chosen that path for themselves. I long for God to use this to save them.

I have a deep desire for God to show me who He is in more spectacular ways than I have known. I yearn for others to experience Him as well. To know what I feel. To know you're NEVER alone, no matter how much it feels like it. That there is someone who will listen to you cry and comfort you. Lord, be with me, be with us through this season in our lives.

Saturdays

I love Saturdays. Mostly because Matt doesn't work and we have time to catch up. Some Saturdays are spent doing literally nothing and then there are ones like today. What a productive day so far!

We've cleaned the house, together, and I've started my first meal in my crock pot. I'm so exited! We're having friends over so I hope it turns out well! I'm going easy and making BBQ Sandwiches and chocolate chip cookies for dessert.

I'm still frustrated with some of the layout of our house, but it can't change until we have more furniture. Our front room, that's an entrance into our home, is a room I can't figure out what I want to do with. It's not closed off and is split with the room next to it with some pillars. I've thought about making the first room a sitting room and the one next to it for kids. Most of our family has kids and it would be easy to sit and have "grown-up time" and be able to keep an eye on them. We could even watch them from the kitchen. Well, we have plenty of time to figure it out because I have to get a job before we spend more money. :)

I hope you have a great and productive Saturday today!

Coffee?

Sometimes I wish I were a coffee drinker. Even something like cappuccino, frapucino (I can't even spell it!), latte, whatever. The taste of coffee is just not comforting to me. I'm partially grateful; it's one less food or beverage to get addicted to. The downside is that I don't go to places like Starbucks much. I LOVE the setting, but can't pay $3 for some hot chocolate I could make myself, ya know?

If I had to point to something that pushed me away from coffee, it would definitely be my parents. You can ask any one of my brothers. They were either turned on or off of coffee because of our Dad and Mom. EVERY morning they would have a cup with breakfast and another on the road. Often their work place would have coffee so yet another cup was gained. And living in Michigan it is cold 80% of the time and coffee is a warm beverage... so naturally they would have it in the afternoon or evening as well.

With that said there was always the coffee breath smell they could never rid of. Oh and Mom would reheat her drink in the microwave and forget it. We would later go to heat up something else and laugh or roll our eyes when we would find her coffee mug still there. Sometimes we even would leave it next to the microwave and she wouldn't notice until hours later! And the memories of Dad leaving his mugs under the driver's seat of the car. Some people pill up trash, never would Dad. He would however have up to four mugs at a time under his seat. I guess there would be more except he probably ran out of room!

Oh my coffee woes! Maybe my taste buds will change, but until that day, coffee shops will be a rare and special occasion for me.

The First

I've never been big on blogs. Why would someone want to read about my life? Well, I've become very interested in other people's blogs and have found it to be a great way to keep people updated when I can't talk to them regularly.
So if you have a blog and know me, feel free to follow along as I follow you.