Meet the Mr. and Mrs!: January 2009

Monday, January 26, 2009

Time Flies

I know the saying goes "time flies when you're having fun," but it seems to fly pretty well enough when you're sick, too!

It's been an interesting couple of weeks. I finished student teaching on January 16th, but spent the majority of that week sick (teaching with no voice is not fun!) and passed it on to Jesse too. We've both been pretty under the weather ever since.

In the past week, we've both made trips to the doctor to try to find out what's going on. I had very swollen lymph nodes around my neck, a terrible cold, and Jesse and I both have sinus infections. We're on the meds now, so hopefully will be on the mend soon :)

I got frustrated yesterday about being sick for nearly three weeks now, and complained that I had been hoping to use this time when I don't have a job to get a lot of things done around the house. Jesse agreed with me that of course it's not fun to be sick, but also reminded me to be thankful for having this time to allow myself to be sick--instead of trying to keep going while I'm feeling this way.

It's a wonderful feeling to be free from student teaching. I loved the experience and the opportunity to learn, but it's so exciting to realize that from now on, whenever I work as a teacher, I'll get paid for it! After four months of full time teaching with no pay, this is an exhilaratingly wonderful feeling!

It's been a long four months. It took a lot for me to be able to let go of being self-supported (I've worked full time since I was 17) and to trust that God would get us through on Jesse's earnings. I've learned a lot about trust lately, and a lot about letting go! I'm so thankful to have Jesse as a husband and know that I can trust in him to provide for me. God does an amazing job of that for both of us, too!

Since I am without a job right now, I will be working very hard in the next few weeks to find positions as a substitute teacher. It's not the most thrilling idea to me, but that's pretty much all that's available this far into the year. I have sent my resume to a couple of private schools, but will also be making trips to different public school districts to get my name on their lists too.

Anyway, please pray that positions will open up for me! Also, please pray that whatever big, bad sickies Jesse and I have will go away soon!

Monday, January 5, 2009

Happy New Year!

Don't think we're crazy, but....we camped out at the Rose Parade this year!
When we found out that we only lived about 6 miles away from the Rose Parade route, we decided we had to do it at least once! Most people we talked to before going laughed at us and told us that it was kind of a one time thing--like we'd get it out of our system after this. We weren't sure what to expect, but I'm so glad we went!

Our friends Kelly Warneke and Jesse Sipan joined us for the celebration, and we all headed out to the route to claim our spot around 4pm the day before. We came equipped with sleeping bags, jackets warm enough to weather a blizzard, hats, gloves, and tons of food. Here's a peek at our car if you didn't believe me!

It was especially fun to be at the parade in person because we actually helped out with a few of the floats! Jesse and I went with a group from church to Pasadena Sunday before last to work on floats. It was a lot of fun. I had never done it before, but Jesse's been doing it for years, so he's a pro!

Here we are working on floats!

The Alhambra float

Jesse and Jesse grilling our dinner

The girls set up camp

Jesse and Kelly

Our front row seats! We were right on the curb and had a great view of the whole parade.
It was so much fun to be there!

There it is!

Christmas

Well, I'm sitting on the couch with a glass of wine and the amazing salad I made for myself a few minutes ago (Jesse's leading youth group right now, and no, he won't mind missing out on this feta-topped balsamic goodness), and nothing on tv is as interesting as my memories right now.

Christmas was wonderful. Jesse and I both felt better in the morning than we did on Christmas Eve, and we were able to drive up to Oxnard to be with my family in time for opening presents. Jesse's mom joined us up there, and we all had a wonderful time!