Keep praying!

Just a quick one this time. Since my last blog I've felt and seen everyone's prayers. Just last Wednesday Steven came home and said his deployment got pushed back a few weeks. Now he won't be going until after Thanksgiving. Which means, if it gets pushed back just a few more weeks he won't have to go at all! How awesome is God? Thanks for all of your prayers and keep it up! :)

What's been going on?

Well, not a whole lot really if you want to know the truth. Since we got back from Indiana a few weeks ago Steven and I have been pretty much hanging around the house on the weekends, getting our work done and just enjoying each other's company. I love spending time with my husband because we have so much fun together! Last week at Bible study I was asked the question, "what's the best thing about being married?" My answer was, "It's like having your best friend around all the time." It truly is. We can make fun of each other, wrestle with each other and laugh until it hurts!

We had an FRG meeting last week where we found out Steven's deployment window was the week of November 16th. As of now that's about 4 weeks away. :/ I'm not sure if I'm just not really thinking about it or it hasn't really registered with me yet how long that time is going to be. I remember thinking through the last deployment that I never want to go through that again. And I didn't think we would have to. He was supposed to be out of the Army in October of this year but now he can't because of the stop loss. So we'll have to make it through another one. I know that God will be with me through it all and he will keep Steven safe. I was reading in my Bible the other day in Luke where Jesus says,

9 "So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 10 For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened."

This got me thinking, "ask and it will be given to you". Well, what I really want to ask God for is the keep Steven home and not deploy. But can I ask for that? Is that going against God's will? So I've decided to word it like this, "Lord, I really don't want Steven to deploy but if he does please allow him to be able to minister to the men he's with and keep me close to you throughout the deployment." So I'm still asking God to let Steven stay home but if he has to go I want him to be able to work for God's kingdom.

So sorry this post didn't really have much of a point. I just wanted to share a little of what's been going on with me. I'm going to leave you with some pictures we took through Steven's FRG. A professional took them and we really like them! What do you think?

Family time

What a great weekend I just had!!! First of all, for those of you who have not heard yet, I'm an aunt! Landon Matthew Hahn was born on Thursday afternoon at 4:27 pm. Steven and I had plans to go to Indiana over the weekend so we made a side trip to Fort Bellvoir, Virginia to see Matt and Alicia at the hospital. They were super excited and Steven and I were so glad we could meet our nephew (especially before any other family members)! He is a cute little boy and the mother is doing fine. I can't wait to spoil him like any good aunt would do.:)

After we got to Ft. Bellvoir we stopped in the hospital around 8:30, stayed for 2 hours, then went back to the hotel room because we left at 5:00 the next morning. So even though it was a short trip it was well worth it!

When we were in Wakarusa we were able to celebrate my grandfather's 90th birthday! I'm so glad I was able to be there and celebrate with him. This was also the last time Steven would see my family before he deploys in November. So there were a lot of reasons to go up north and I'm very happy that we were able to do it.

ZuZu dancing at my grandpa's birthday party

It was nice just to spend some time with my family. I won't be going back for Thanksgiving so I won't see them again until Christmas. At that time I'll be able to spend more time with my nephew, actually get to visit with Matt and Alicia, and spend good quality time with my family. It seems that I don't realize how much I miss my family until I visit them again. So I don't know if it's a good thing or bad thing but I'm glad I can spend time with them. I guess when you are away from them you realize how much they mean to you. I think that if I lived in Indiana I wouldn't appreciate them as much and all they do for me so I'm happy I can see what a blessing they really are!

Wonderful husband!

My husband is wonderful! Would you like to know why? Here's the story...

It was Wednesdsay evening, Steven did not have to work that day and he had been cutting up a tree that fell in our yard all day. He also went to Lowe's to get more stones for our landscaping. This happened all while I was at work. So when I get home after school he was still hard at work. When I got home I took a shower and started making dinner. He tells me that a guy from work is coming over to pick up something. I ask him who this guy is, he tells me I don't know him. Then I ask him what he's getting, he says stuff. Okay then, nevermind. So I start dinner and in the middle of it I stop to dry my hair. As I'm walking out of my room I see a big trailer that has been backed up to our front door. I think to myself "What is this guy getting? Our furniture?" But on the side of the trailer are the words JML Music. What did my husband do? The man is standing in the back of trailer and asks me how I'm doing. I say "...fine..." and then he uncovers a piano!!! Yes, a piano!!! My husband went and bought me a piano! What a surprise! He then tells me to go to the cupboard above the washer and in there were flowers and a card. I open the card and inside he wrote the sweetest things. He told me that he wanted to get me something special because I am such a selfless person and never ask for anything. He knew I had been wanting one so he just went and bought it. How wonderful is my husband? It's a really nice piano, a Wurlitzer that is about 5 years old. When he told me how much he spent on it I'm glad he did it without me. Because I probably wouldn't have bought it but I'm glad I have it now. So thank you Steven for the wonderful gift. I'm so blessed to have someone as wonderful as you! And thank you God for blessing me with a great husband who fulfills my needs and makes me happy.

Piano?

Here I sit, supposedly working on lesson plans for next week but not really wanting to. So what better to do than blog to my wonderful friends?

I'm in need of a piano or keyboard. Here's why. I was just standing in the hall after school talking to our music teacher about nothing really. She brought up how she had a nightmare about our principal being upset with her because she hadn't chosen a Christmas program yet for this year. After we all got a good laugh at that she was saying how it's so hard to put on a Christmas program when she's trying to play the piano and direct at the same time. Then she looks at me and says, "You can play the piano right?" I look at her and say "Um, yeah, not extremely well but I can play." So she asked me if I would play for the school Christmas program. After I thought about it for a few seconds I decided it would be fun. I'd like to tune up my piano playing skills. The only problem with this endeavor is that I don't have a piano or keyboard! I could just stay after school everyday and practice but that would get old real quick. So I'm now in the market of buying a piano. Unless someone has a keyboard they're not using. Then I'd be cool with that. I've always wanted to have a nice upright piano though so if I can't find a keyboard we'll go for a piano. Steven already said it would be okay with him since he just bought a new deer rifle. He spends money worse than a girl! But we figure with all the extra money we'll be making during his deployment we can use it to spend on things that will last and we'll use.

So here's my last request. If you or anyone you know has a keyboard I would appreciate borrowing it for a few months. I'm going to Indiana the first weekend of October so if any of my Hoosier friends have an extra one lying around I could borrow it and bring it back at Christmas time.:)

Better late than never!

Last Monday on our day off Steven and I decided to do a little landscaping in the front yard. Okay, that's a lie, Steven wanted to do the landscaping. I was happy just paying someone else to do it but once we got started it was kind of fun. We took many a trips to Lowe's but I think we got a pretty good start on it. We only got half of the front finished because we ran out of supplies and we just haven't had time to work on it since. Hopefully it will get done in the next few weeks.

Laying the hose to find the perfect line.

Digging our trench. I told Steven we should just make it really deep and have a moat around our house but we were both too lazy to keep digging.:)

Putting in the foundation

See, I helped!

The end result

Being tested...

About a week ago I was reading in Proverbs and came across Ps 139:23. It says
"Search me, O God, and know my heart;test me and know my anxious thoughts." I then asked God to test me. How often do I ask to be tested? My prayers are usually something like this "Dear God, help me to have a great day. Be with Steven as he's at work. Watch over him and my family, etc., etc., etc." I don't ask very often to be tested but when I did, God brought it!
It was the first week of school which is always extremely tiring. Especially when it's a full 5 day week. It consists of teaching the students the rules and procedures of your classroom and the school if they're new, doing lots of getting to know you activities, no breaks throughout the day because there are no resources the first week, and lots of extra time spent after school discussing curriculum with team members. I'm exhausted every day I come home and as you can probably guess extremely tired by the end of the week. Not only is it a tough first week for everyone I felt extra pressure with my class and curriculum.
My principal called me this summer and wanted to know if I'd like to teach a 2nd/3rd grade combination class. She said there were a lot of very bright 2nd grade students and I would basically be teaching 3rd grade curriculum throughout the year. I thought it sounded like a good idea. I've never had a class with all bright students so I thought it would be a change. I usually have one or two IEP's or EC students in my classroom who need extra help and resources to grasp the curriculum. But later I find out I can't teach just 3rd grade curriculum because these 2nd grade students aren't set on going to another combination classroom next year to learn 4th grade material. So then I'm told I will be doing thematic units. This sounds like a great idea to my principal but for someone who has taught 3 years at the same school where you shared lesson plans and everything was done by the book it seemed like a big undertaking to me. I didn't even know where to start! How was I going to be sure I would cover all the standards needed? How would I know it would be on a grade appropriate level for my students? How would I find the time to plan all of this? So I went to my principal with my concerns and she stated that it might not be happening anyway because there were more 2nd grade parents that wanted their students in my class and 3rd grade parents who wanted their students out. The 3rd grade parents didn't think it would be accelerated enough for their children. Which is understandable because the 3rd graders are smarties too. So then I was told I would do a 2nd grade AG or gifted class but still teach on themes. Now, as you may have noticed before that was my main concern on teaching these kids. I didn't know how to make themes. I'd done a few in college but that was 4 years ago and it's not like it was really all that good. So I asked my principal if I could just teach the 2nd grade regular curriculum at a faster pace and then use themes and accelerated materials at the end of each 9 weeks. She said it sounded like a good idea. So the plan was to give my 3rd graders to the other 3rd grade teachers and gain a few 2nd grades from the 2nd grade teachers. That's how it was left yesterday afternoon.
But wouldn't you know, my ADD principal (and I mean that in the kindest way, I really do love her!) tells me this morning that we're sticking with my classroom the way it is and themes! *sigh* What's a girl to do? It doesn't seem like anything is stationary. It's all up the air all the time, my job, Steven's job, etc. So my principal and I talked after school and together we're going to do our first theme on the Beijing Olympics This begins in 2 weeks. And you might ask what do we have planned? Nothing so far! So here it goes. I'm sure it will all work out. I asked to be tested and I am definitely being tested. I never thought it would be with my job. It's usually with the Army but it's always in God's hands. I just have to keep the faith and know that things will work out! How about you? Have you ever asked God to test you?

Speaking of Steven's job. He's almost 100% sure that he will deploy to Iraq at the end of November for a year. Now being 100% sure in the Army is about 75% sure in civilian life but right now that's what we're planning for.