warning

speaking of scary movies...

we just got back from the imax. remember, the one i was excited to go see?

yes.

we just got back.

we watched i am legend with will smith.

DO NOT GO SEE THIS MOVIE.

the previews looked great and i'll have to admit that it was a well written movie. however, the previews are very misleading. it is a scary, scary movie.

if you choose to go see it, great. just expect to be scared. i didn't expect to be scared. i expected a sort of light-hearted, impactful movie like will smith usually stars in. not the case.

i spent half of the movie either looking down at my fingernails or squeezing my eyes shut with my head on michael's shoulder and my arm trying to crush his. i did let him and donny (his buddy that is in town) know that i would be happy to leave at any time. of course, you almost have to finish a movie that you start like that.

it really is a good movie. but, had i known the scary factor, i wouldn't have gone. i just feel like i needed to warn my friends.

whew. now my tooth hurts from clenching my jaws, my neck hurts from sitting on the 4th row of the imax (the biggest screen in the universe!!), and my legs hurt from being so tense through the whole movie. i think i'll go pray over my apartment and try and go to sleep

with the light on of course...:)

headaches cause silly thinking

• every year, i procrastinate on christmas shopping. this year...no different. i have one present taken care of and i only have 10 days left.
• i'm a little worried that i need glasses. i think i see everything fine, but i have headaches...a lot. it always hurts behind my eyes and in the front center of my forehead. i'm tired of whining and i know michael is tired of listening. i did test my vision at the hearing/vision screening the nurse gave my kids last week. i wonder how accurate those things are. hmm...
  
• we didn't sign up for vision insurance for next year. the deadline was october. michael wanted to. i said no, we don't need it. it was only like $3.90 a month for the both of us. oops
  
• i traveled again this weekend. but i'm back already. soooo glad tomorrow isn't monday.
• there are five days left until christmas break.
• michael and i are taking our first vacation together (not counting our honeymoon, of course). we're going to vegas for new year's. :)
  
• michael will not tell me, or anyone else for that matter, a single thing he wants for christmas. jerk.
• the apartment is finally coming together. when mom and dad came in friday morning, they were both pretty shocked. mom couldn't believe how much work we'd done! that's gotta tell you how bad it looked when we unloaded the u-haul.
• i've been feeling blog pressure really bad lately.
• i think we're going to the i-max tonight. i'm really excited because we don't get out and do stuff much but, i'm really tired and...you got it...i have a headache.
• i can't wait to watch ellie belle open presents on christmas morning.
• i walked out of the bathroom in jason's deli today and saw a woman at the salad bar that made my breath catch. at first glance she looked exactly like my granna. that is my dad's mom who passed away 11 years ago. whoa, i can't believe it's been that long.
• i'm jealous of sarah's beautiful ornaments hanging in her living room window. well, i'm jealous of all her christmas decorations for that matter. i want christmas decorations!
• i'm sitting on my bed in the bedroom blogging because michael is watching a scary movie about ghosts and stuff (messengers) and i just can't handle stuff like that. seriously scares me. i can't stop thinking about movies like that and then they freak me out in the most inopportune places; like the shower for instance, while i'm washing my face and have soap on my eyes. i sometimes have to make a mad dash for the water so i can open my eyes even though i know there is nothing there. sad, i know. (for the record, he did try and change the channel, but because i was blogging anyway, i left and told him to watch it.)
  
• since the "7 things about me post" i keep thinking of the dumbest things i could put on there. for instance, every time i go to the bathroom in a public place, i never use the first section off the toilet paper roll. i throw it away and go for the next piece. someone's hand touched that. now, every single time i'm in the bathroom, i think about that blog. it's really annoying.
• i had a funny thought last night in the hotel room i shared with my parents. how many couples sleep together on those tiny beds when they get the room with two full/queen beds and it's just the two of them. i just wonder, that's all.

my new sister, mandy lou

i must be the luckiest girl in the whole world. growing up, i had two fantastic brothers and no sisters, although i always wanted one. my brothers have been my best friends forever. a few years ago, i was blessed with my first sister ever, sarahpie. on saturday night, december 8th, my baby brother began the addition of another sister for me.

it will be official sometime early 2008, but it already feels right to me. mandy is such a wonderful girl. she is absolutely beautiful, Godly, sweet, and caring. she makes matt feel like a million bucks and that makes him act like a million bucks! :) they treat each other wonderfully!

they are the sweetest couple and i feel so honored to have mandy join our family. i have always wished for the most wonderful women for my brothers. Jesus has blessed them and our family both.

mandy, i love you so much and i am so excited for you to be my sister. i can't wait to hear about wedding plans and to know you for the rest of our lives. i love you sister!

mandy and matt at picaso's during the engagement celebration dinner matt planned.

my beautiful sisters, mandy lou and sarah pie.

us: the henry (kotze) daughters

matt and his new family

mandy and her new family!

they henry/kotze's

bangers and mash

pronounced: bangas and mash

this is an english dish that michael has eaten forever. the first time i had it was a few months ago, when we stayed on the riverwalk. we ate at an english pub there.

to explain, it's like big pork sausage links (so they taste like breakfast sausage) with mashed potatoes and some gravy. occasionally, chefs also include Dijon mustard across the potatoes and sausage links.

i was totally weirded out the first time michael ordered this. i'm sort of iffy with sausage things. i like my sausage thin or ground and really, really cooked. like, almost black cooked. it just makes me feel better to eat it a tiny bit crispy.

however, it's totally delicious. i love it. it has the best flavor together. if you're ever in a restaurant where bangers and mash is on the menu, you would not go wrong to order it.

tonight, michael made this meal for dinner. as soon as the potatoes were ready to mash, he realized we didn't have any milk. i ran out to get some while he finished dinner. the potatoes ended up a little lumpy and a tiny bit runny, but they had the best flavor (he knows i love pepper so he puts a ton! yummo!). he did an incredible job on dinner...again.

it's funny because a lot of times when he starts cooking i start feeling a little nervous that it's not gonna be good, but it always is. always. i feel really lucky to have a man that can cook.

thank you, Jesus.

on dancer, on prancer

marme just called me on my cell phone during work. being the really great teacher that i am...i answered it. ;) my kids were in the neighbor's room watching a christmas video (see i told you i was a good teacher).

we chatted for a few minutes and then she told me that she had updated her blog. i turned to read it while i was on the phone with her.

i laughed so hard at the "worst Christmas gift" and "santa's reindeer" that i almost peed in my pants.

it was freakin hilarious!

19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer?On Dasher, on Prancer, on Donner, on Blixen. On Comet, on Cupid, on somebody and Dixon and Rudolph. Am I close?

can't you just see her sitting there trying to sing the song and think of the reindeer's names? Blixen? Dixon? what on earth? who the heck are they? it's hilarious! it's even better if you say it in rhythm like the song, especially when you get to the part "on somebody and dixon and rudolph." i crack up every time i look at it.

that was the best about-to-pee-in-your-pants conversation i've had in elevendy million years. it's especially nice to have that conversation with the only other person who would pee in her pants with you, marme. :)

you're the best and i love you.

quitter

no matter how much work i've done unpacking the apartment, it still looks ridiculous. there is stuff everywhere and anyone would be surprised to know that i've done hours, HOURS, of work unpacking. it's hard to tell, that's all.

last night, michael proclaims that "we, (um...excuse me? we?) "should finish unpacking everything tonight."

yeah.

we start on the boxes of our clothes which is the most of what is left and the boxes are just so huge. now, let me just point something out here: because i wake so early in the morning, i have decided that the guest bedroom closet will be mine and i will get ready in that bathroom. that allows michael to sleep and makes it to where i don't have to be so quiet. when we brought all of our clothes here, i told michael that he was going to have to share part of his huge closet with me.

did he?

no.

his clothes take up his entire closet. the hangers are all beautifully spaced, just like i dream for them to be. his dress shirts are together, all his pants are together, his jackets are together. it's a beautiful, large walk in closet.

my closet, on the other hand, is one of those slide the doors one way and then the other types. it has three tiny bars. one is the tall one for hanging things like dresses, the other two are on top of each other for shirts and pants. i got rid of a load of clothes and my hangers are basically hanging on top of each other. there isn't even room to push things to one side to hang something better or look through the clothes to see what you want to wear. it's insane!!!!

did we finish unpacking?

no.

as soon as michael was finished with his closet (which, ahem, the bottom of is still very messy-i would do justice to a closet like that), he sat on the couch and watched tv. really, i'm fine with that. but then, as the night wears on into midnight, he keeps telling me to stop unpacking.

hey buddy, if you wanna be a quitter that's fine. but don't try and talk me into it.

i'm no quitter.

(except for today after school. i'll be a quitter. a few nights of staying up until midnight and waking early has be worn out. i'm taking a nap when i get home!)

daddy

i miss you daddy.

thank you for all of your hard work this weekend.

baby girl loves you.

i can't wait to grow up

that's what i thought anyway.

but growing up means being away from your mommy sometimes.

i miss my marme.

it's hard to be away from my marme.

i love you my marme.

moving is hard work

my wonderful family helped me pack up my house in a jiffy this weekend. sarah, ashley, marme and i started packing on saturday after lunch. we packed again on sunday after lunch and i did the last few things on monday morning. michael, daddy, landon and lennon (with some help from me) spent monday morning packing up the trucks.

then, daddy, landon, michael, marme and i drove to san antonio and unpacked everything into storage and into our apartment. michael and i took them to eat for their hard work and sent them on their way. it was 12:30 before they got home. poor guys. we were so stinkin' tired. now, i'm still tired because i've been staying up late trying to unpack stuff and put it away. my apartment looks like a storage building. there are boxes everywhere. EVERYWHERE.

monday night, i had to get my daddy to move a dresser out of the bathroom so i could go in. i nervously picked a box that i thought might contain the sheets to our bed and cut it open. i was right! you could not walk into our tiny kitchen. boxes, blankets and random things blocked the entrance. michael started using my bathroom because of all of the stuff in the floor of his. crazy.

i spent tuesday night putting everything up in the kitchen. i spent last night going through other boxes and finding lamps and such. i also put everything up in my bathroom. i must say, it's nice to have bathroom rugs again. on our balcony, i have two huge boxes. one is for other boxes i take apart when i empty them, the other box is for the paper things are wrapped in. they are both already full.

if you walked into my apartment right now, you wouldn't know that i've done a single thing. it's insane!!!! our plan is to unpack our clothes tonight and that should help make things look a lot better. those boxes are huge!

i'll post before and after picks later...when it's after. those of you that know me will understand how it's been hard for me to live in a place that looks like this.

whew. moving is hard work. reliving the move through a blog is hard work, too.

i think i'm ready for bed again...

packing

we have come back to san angelo this weekend (four hundredth weekend in a row) to pack. we figured we'd get it out of the way.

last night i walked slowly through every room. i sat on the couch and gazed around at my beautiful living room. i stood in the doorway of the kitchen. i laid in bed starring at my bedroom. i memorized every detail.

does it seem weird to be so attached to a building? well, whether it does or not, i am. it was my first home away from my parents. my first home that held things that were only mine, not my beautiful mother's. it was my first home with my husband. it was my first home that was mine. it was mine.

now, it will be someone else's.

i do feel a sense of relief, but also a sadness. this makes the move which happened in august seem so final. it's good i guess. michael and i can get on with life. we can do things which we have wanted to do. being without that extra mortgage payment will make that stuff easier.

with all of the things people are going through right now, being sad over leaving my house seems so unimportant. but, if we cross your minds, just throw up a quick little prayer. i'll really appreciate it.

first tree trimming

i heard through the grape vine that my beautiful neice got to trim her first Christmas tree yesterday. could this be true?

i can't wait to see pictures.

ps-i do believe that as our first Christmas as husband and wife, we may not have a Christmas tree to put up. the one we have is elevendy million feet tall. we've thought about going out to get a smaller one, but we won't be here for Christmas day and we probably won't even be here most of the weekends in decemeber. especially if our house sells. :(

top secret

this is so top secret that i'm not even blogging about it. i'm just "writing it down in my journal". we don't want to jinx the situation.

we have a contract on our house.

whoa.

it happened the monday before thanksgiving and we've been trying to not get excited about it. you know, every contract has that "get out of it, if..." clause. we just didn't want to be stuck telling everyone we'd sold our house and then having it turn around on us.

yesterday, michael talked to our realtor. we are supposed to close on the tenth. the buyer wants to move into our beautiful house on that day.

i don't know if i'm happy or sad. on one hand, i'm happy. i'm relieved that we won't be making a house payment on a house we're not living in. i'm sad that we're leaving our first home together. it's so beautiful and it was so, so mine. now, i'll shove my stuff in a little apartment, but we'll be happy. we'll be able to sit on our couch and lay in our kind sized bed (yes, we're moving our king size bed into our apartment). it's gonna be great!

michael has been really great throughout this whole process. i'm happy for him that part of our financial worries will be taken care of. he is such a great provider.

so, if you know the secret way into my journal, which you do if you're reading this :), and you now know our top secret secret, you can pray that everything goes according to plan.

thank you Jesus.

you might be a teacher if...

• you realize that a wet paper towel and a band aid will heal anything.
• you are late for everything in your life except for PE, lunch, and dismissal
• you love high heels but settle for flat, comfy shoes from 7am-430pm weekdays.
• you can say, "you are driving me CRAZY!" to a bunch of six year olds and they just laugh.
• you get excited when your autistic student tries mashed potatoes.
• you hurriedly have your students make "I'll Miss You Cards" for the leaving college student while she's out of the room, and...you succeed.
  
• you leave soon after the kids, a lot, and you save the getting ready for the morning during journal time...(i mean, i don't do that. but some people might...)
• you need a nap, basically every day.
• you get so stinkin' ready for a break.
• breaks like thanksgiving, christmas and spring break are your saving grace.
• depending on the year, you get back after a long break and realize how much you missed those kids that drive you crazy.
• every year, at the end of may, you get sentimental over the kids that drove you crazy. how could any other class be as wonderful as this one?
• one day you think there has to be something better than teaching and the next...you wonder how you got lucky enough to get a job this great.
• you hate 10:00pm, because after your nap right after school, you're not sleepy enough to go to bed but you know if you don't go to bed, the next day's nap will be even longer. geez.
• you write silly blogs about being a teacher.

good night, all.

a cold, icy windshield

this morning, when i got out of bed, michael with eyes still closed said, "baby, wake me a few minutes before you leave and i'll start your car and take jules outside."

so sweet. i thought about not waking him. i should let him sleep, right?!

wrong!

i woke him and my sweet husband gladly got up, put on a sweater and shoes and went downstairs to start my car. he did take jules out and then even came back up twice to get warm water to help thaw the ice from my windshield.

what a wonderful husband.

i love the opportunity that a cold, icy windshield provides for my husband to be my knight in shining armor.

thanks baby!

oh...btw

landon and sarah are watching the cowboys game too...

at texas stadium. live.

jerks.

happy thanksgiving

it's thanksgiving day 2007 and exactly a week since my last post.

uh...sorry.

thanksgiving for us this year is a little different. my entire family happened to be in san angelo on saturday, including my nanny and pawpaw. it was sort of a last minute, thrown together decision to have thanksgiving dinner on saturday night. doing that would allow landon, sarah, ellie, matt, mandy and nanny and pawpaw to all be here without having to come back today.

so, saturday afternoon we all left crystal's shower and headed out to the grocery store. the turkey, dressing and all the sides were prepared and pumpkin and pecan pies were even baked and ready for the dinner. it was so yummo! thanks to nanny and marme! i made the mashed potatoes and sarah made the green bean casserole. i guess mom figured she'd initiate us in to the thanksgiving dinner cooking a little at a time. thanks for that marme!

since that day, we've been playing shang-hi rummy like crazy, eating pumpkin pie and drinking egg nog. it's been really nice. well, nice for everyone except michael. he's sort of been on a losing streak and he doesn't deal well with losing. party pooper.

michael and daddy started working on the floor again the other day. they've got the hallway and guestroom done! they've got quite a little system down and the two of them together are just cranking out the work and making it look easy. :) i think tomorrow is set aside for the living room and golf! it's looking really great! i know mom can't wait until it's done!

today michael, daddy, marme and i had a weird combination of food for lunch. roast chicken, dressing, fried potatoes, corn bread, beans, pea salad and tostitoes (i promise, pea salad on a crunchy, salty chip is amazing!). it was sort of different things that sounded good to everyone just thrown together. it was really good. we ended the lunch with a game of cards. michael lost...again.

at 3, we sat down to watch the cowboys and have been here ever since. it's a good game (well, the cowboys are winning so that makes it good enough, right?!!). i'm sitting in front of a beautiful fire and the rest of the family is spread around the room watching the game and napping. it's freezing outside and that makes all of us happy.

i hope that everyone is having a great thanksgiving. enjoy your day off and your time with your friends and family.

love from the henry's & kotze's.

blueberry muffins encore

they were so YUMMO!!!!

side note:
michael woke up with me this morning and asked if i wanted him to make me a begal. (he was asleep last night while i was baking) i said...sure, baby! thank you! he was half way done before he saw the muffins. such a sweetheart! i'll eat muffins tomorrow morning...

blueberry muffins

they're baking in my oven right now.

i know, i know. it is 9:30 PM but i don't ever leave myself enough time in the mornings to make breakfast. this is my solution: make it the night before, heat it up in the microwave.

they smell delicious.

i might have to have one tonight.

as a snack.

hot.

with butter.

and a cold glass of milk.

uh...i gotta go. yawn...to bed i mean. you know...i'm sleepy...

a trip worth making...a lot

i had such a great weekend.

michael and i traveled to san angelo and spent time with family and friends.

i got to help my sister and brother start unpacking their house and organize their stuff (sadly...one of my most favorite things to do, organize). i got to spend a ton of time with ellie belle. i even got to sway and swing her to sleep on sunday afternoon. it was marvelous.

on saturday night, i attended my very first play date with the girls. yeah-i was the only one there without a kid. who cares?! i love all of those kiddos enough to be there without my own. it was really fun and really great spending time with everyone. thanks for the invite, jenny!

sunday morning, i attended a wonderful church service with fantastic worship and some pretty amazing preaching. i just don't know how we will ever find a church here. my dad will always be my most favorite pastor.

so, right in the middle of the hottest november i've ever been a part of, michael and i traveled 3 hours home and 3 hours back to have a wondeful weekend with friends and family.

thank you, Jesus, for the blessings.

jo+seph=us...part II

i was one of three henry kids growing up.

there was my older brother landon. there was my baby brother matt. then, me. the only girl...right smack dab in the middle.

i loved it.

most girls would hate something like that but my brothers and i were always so close. sure, we had our arguments. sure we knocked each other to the ground a few times. but for the most part, we were thicker than thieves. best buds. we were family.

there were plenty of days in my childhood that, although my brothers were my best friends, i dreamed for a sister. wouldn't it be so fun?! that bond with someone. a girl. just like me. someone to play with and imagine with and fall asleep talking with. i knew it wouldn't happen, but hey, i could dream.

as i grew older i began to realize that one day, when my brothers married, there would be other girls in my family. i was also blessed enough to know that when they did marry, their wives would be loved by all of the family.

one thanksgiving day, a few years ago in odessa, texas. i drove landon to the airport to pick up his girlfriend. it would be the first time the family would meet her. i was a little nervous. this girl, sarah...landon talked about her a lot and when he did, his eyes would shine. his smile could not be contained. what if she took my place? what if she was his new best girl? how would i deal with that? the i realized that i already knew. no one could take my place with landon. of course his wife would be his best girl, but we would always have a special spot for each other. if this girl stuck around, everything would be fine. the closer we got to the airport, the more excited i got. something told me this wasn't just an ordinary girl.

landon and i walked into the airport together and i stood back as i watched my big brother walk over to a beautiful brown haired, brown eyed girl. her smile lit up the room when she saw him. they hugged and kissed and then i made my way towards them. sarah and i smiled at each other and hugged. i loved her instantly.

we went back to san angelo and sarah stayed at my apartment with me and slept in my room. we stayed awake talking until 3am. it was all about landon and the way she felt about him.

over the next few months and years, as sarah and i got to know each other, i realized why i never had a sister growing up. my sister, the one that i was supposed to love and cherish and who would cherish me was right here. i would love sarah like my own flesh and blood sister for the rest of my life.

sister-
i love you so much. i am so glad my brother found you. you are such an amazing part of our family and my life. i feel blessed that God chose to stick you with the henry's for life. we will grow old being sisters and for that, i couldn't be more greatful. i hope you have a wonderful birthday and i so wish i could be with you. i love you a ton. jo.

whoa

i just realized how much stuff i wrote in my christmas traditions post.

i understand if you don't read it. geez.

that's just overwhelming.

christmas traditions

• two years ago we started a christmas eve tradition. my mom and i make michael a potjiekos (poi-ki-kaus...it's afrikaans and means "little pot of food"). it's made in an actual potjiekos (little case iron skillet thing that hangs over a fire or sits on the stove). it's a south african dinner that michael, and now mom and dad and i love. it sort of ends up like a stew. we serve it with curry rice. it's delicious! we listen to ladysmith black mombaza (a south african group) while we're cooking and eating. michael almost cried the first year when he walked in the house and realized what we had done. his first bite was so wonderful to see.
  
• my granna (my dad's mom) used to make bows for our christmas present wrapping. since she died, there is one bow that remains in our family. each year, someone else gets the bow. it's always really exciting to look under the tree and see who's present the bow is on. it's a great reminder of our granna.
• we have gotten pj's as one of our presents every year for as long as i can remember. we get to open one present on christmas eve. it's always the pj's. that way, we have them on all night and have something new and cuddly to wear for presents the next morning.
• stockings are always our favorite and the first thing we open. mom passes out the stockings and we sit on the floor and pull the contents out one at a time. it's fun!
• dad is santa. we all sit around and dad passes out the presents. we take turns opening them. it makes the morning last a little longer and it makes each present feel that much more special. that was a great thing to start.
• one present is always a movie. when you get a thin little present, you know it's a dvd. you just don't know which one!
• we always drink egg nog from these four stemware glasses that mom has. they have holly around the center and they look delicious filled to the brim with cold egg nog.
• mom always makes us belgium waffles for breakfast. well it's usually about 10-11am by that time. we have it all together with peanut butter and syrup and a big glass of milk.
• for an early evening dinner mom always makes chicken fried steak with all the fixins. i know that doesn't sound like a traditional christmas dinner but we also do this in honor of our granna. it's a great thing to look forward to.
• we always, always go to the movies on christmas day. i'm not sure how that tradition got started, but it did and it's great. sometimes i hate being some of the people that cause the theater people to work on christmas day, but...i go anyway. it's a great tradition.
• we always have a jigsaw puzzle out to work on while everyone is in town for the holidays!
  
• the "big family" tradition is that we always have, at some point, christmas dinner and christmas at nanny and pawpaw's. it's so comforting. we usually all sit at the same places at the table every year. we use nanny's gold flatware. we have all of the yummy dinner stuff. when that's finished and the ladies have cleaned up, we move to the living room for presents. pawpaw always passes them out and everyone opens. we always draw names and buy one present for who's name we drew. (except that amy and i always get each other presents, that's our own tradition!). pawpaw and nanny get everyone a present and they always open all of their gifts last. someone reads the nativity story from the bible. in years past, uncle guy, uncle terry, and occasionally paw would play their guitars and sing (go donkey song!). my favorite thing: nanny's peanut butter balls covered in chocolate and these little cookies ( like the shape of a little cup) baked with a reese's peanut butter cup in it. yummo!

these are a few of our christmas traditions. i'm sure i left some out, but wow are they fun to remember. i know this year, and as the years bring new babies to our family, we will begin even more traditions. it's a wonderful feeling and i'm glad to be a part. i love christmas!

mandy lou...

to my (our) future sister:

i have heard that there has been talk of a possible blogspot started by you.

i, for one, second this notion. i believe that in all of the wonderfullness of blogspots, we will be able to communicate with each other and really become sisters, no matter the distance that spans between us.

i would request that you, most definitely, absolutely have to, begin a blog. especially with the possible changes coming in the future. it's a great way for us to stay in touch and me find out what's going on with the...ahem...planning.

really-i love you and would love to read about your life! ;) no pressure!

i love you
jo.

my love,

you have been gone from me long enough.

i know i used to spend a week without you all the time, however, i am no longer used to this feeling and prefer to be with you whenever possible.

i totally don't mind leaving you and letting you leave me to hang out with friends or play golf or go shopping. but, when you go to new york for 5 days, my heart begins to get a little sad. i may seem okay the first couple of days, and i might really be, but still...come home, my love. your trip has been long enough.

i miss you so.

just found something to write about

there is a new commercial on tv.

it's a welch's grape juice commercial. a little girl is scared and she tells her daddy that she thinks a monster may be in her closet.

he looks over and sees a billion glasses of grape juice on the floor around the closet door.

the little girls says, "but don't worry daddy, the antioxidants will protect me."

it's supposed to get the "ah" factor and be really cute and sweet.

i hate that commercial.

question...

do you ever go through times where you just don't feel like you have anything to blog about?

that's where i've been for the past week or so. i just don't feel it.

the problem?

i know how i feel when i check everyone else's blog 4 times a day and they haven't updated in a few days. after 12-15 checks of seeing the same title, it's just downright annoying (especially if the title isn't very good. you know...like RTP VI...)

it's stressful people. so now, i apologize to anyone i have annoyed by asking you to update your blog when you didn't have anything to say. i also apologize to anyone i have annoyed by not updating my blog as often as needed.

forgive me?

RTP VI

HELLO!!!!

someone post something about rock the pumpkin! i need details and pictures!

this was my first year to miss RTP and i was very sad. i thought about everyone all night long.

someone let me know how it went...

please...;)

nice...

apparently, my principal has been telling a lot of my coworkers that i am a great teacher.

she left me a note saying, "mrs. kotze, great lesson! you're kids are lucky to have you for a teacher!"

that would make anyone feel good. and, i for one, think it's kinda nice.

thanks mrs. pantuso!

um...stuff...i guess

• HEB brand egg nog might actually be better than gandy's. that might be the best news of my life since i can't find a stinkin' container of gandy's anywhere in this city.
  

• i brought my nice crystal stemware to san antonio so i could enjoy my egg nog in style. it's totally the best that way.
  

• lamb curry is delicious. life is good with a husband that can cook.
  

• sometimes after a nap, i feel even worse than i did before i laid down.

• i'm sick of all of the paper work involved in being a teacher. if i didn't have to always be entering the same information into a million different documents, i might actually be able to teach. I WANT TO TEACH! isn't that what i signed up for?

• thinking about landon and sarah's house in san angelo makes me super happy.

• i'm watching dog the bounty hunter right now. why? no clue.

• i'm ready for our house to sell. (is that right, ree?)

• if michael calls me and we get off the phone after a couple of minutes, he always calls back to talk a little more. it's cute.

• crystal loved her baby shower invitations. thanks jenny! (nov 17th)

• jules loves to go out on the balcony as long as the door is propped open with a flip flop.

• it's almost my sister's birthday. i wish i was going to be with her on that day.

• egg nog sounds really good right now.

• so does curry with rice.

• but not together. egg nog. then curry. yummo.
  

another observation

my principal came in this morning to observe me teach.

i wasn't overly nervous about the whole thing, so everything went smoothly. i had to call on a few kids to stay on task or whatever, but principals actually like to see redirection.

my last observation was done by my vice principal and when i got my paperwork back, everything looked great! she said i had done a great job and she was very impressed with my teaching style and my way with the kids. that's good...

my head stinkin' hurts now. i mean i could take 5 advil if i had them right now.

starring at the computer screen isn't really helping a whole lot...

to seph

i can't wait to hear about the walk. i prayed for you gals all weekend.

i cannot imagine how tired you are (that's why i haven't texted you yet this morning), so i hope your husband takes care of the baby one more day, and let's you sleep late. but, if i know you, you missed her so badly that you woke up with her. if so, maybe you'll have time for a nap.

i love you so much and am looking forward to your post about the 60 miles (holy cow!) you walked this weekend. i love you and i'm very proud of you.

mama's cookin'

need i say more?

no.

but i will anyway. marme cooked michael and dad's birthday dinners on sunday afternoon.

chicken fried steak, mashed potatoes, cream gravy, corn on the cob, peas, butter rolls, and fresh brewed sweet tea. then she topped it off with a black forest cake (michael loves it!).

it was so delicious. i mean, stinkin' delicious! we stuffed ourselves big time. it was the most pefect meal ever created. there is nothing, nothing in this whole world, like mama's cookin'.

thanks marme! you're definitely the best!

happy birthday baby!

michael-

you are the love of my life. i can not even begin to imagine my life without you. you are an amazing man, a wonderful provider, a leader in our home. i am more in love with you now than i have ever been. i know that that is going to continue forever.

i am so proud to be your wife.

i hope you have such a wonderful birthday! i love you!

saturday morning comfort

i lay in bed yesterday morning, sleeping.

michael had awaken just a little earlier and was laying in bed quietly. he's recently begun a quest of reading the Bible in a year.

i began to hear the quiet turning of those oh-so-thin pages of the Bible.

my husband, was laying in our bed, next to his sleeping wife, reading the Word of God.

there is no better feeling in the world.

thank you, Jesus, for the blessing of a husband yearning to know you more.

i've been tagged

Seven things you never knew about me and now wish you didn't. Or as you put it...Seven strange/weird/crazy things about me:

1. I hate smacking gum and clicking pens. When I hear either of these annoying habits, it consumes me so much that I cannot focus on anything else. If someone behind me in church is clicking their pen, I lose all focus in the sermon and picture the person behind me totally obliviously, pen clicking with their thumb. When someone around me starts smacking their gum, I can do nothing but stare at them until they stop. Geez.

2. I never make my bed in the mornings, but I always make it before I go to sleep. I don't go as far as putting the throw pillows on the bed, but every inch of the sheets are straightened, pillows fluffed and cover pulled up and folded back smoothly. I then get in the bed and hardly move until the next morning.

3. I am in love with all things organizational. I can shop in an office supply store for hours. Pens, paper, notebooks, sharpies, file cabinets, rubbermaid containers, post it notes...I'm obsessed.

4. My shower routine has been the same for as long as I can remember: wet hair, shampoo (leave in), soap up, rinse shampoo, conditioner (leave in), shave, scrub feet with pumice, wash face, rinse conditioner, rinse face and body, turn off water, squeeze hair, towel off. Continually, making sure JAWS isn't coming up through the drain. Honestly.

5. I think pizza really is my favorite food. Remember when you were a kid in school and you were asked what your favorite food was? Most everyone said pizza. I think mine really is. I beg for it all the time. I think Michael is a little disappointed that my tastes aren't a little more refined.

6. I cannot stand the hamburger meat that looks like intestines. I will go to another store just to buy a different kind. Blah! That is so disgusting!

7. I drink pickle juice from the jar...a lot.

I tag seph and amy!

thanks for the tag, but...

it's gonna have to wait, crys.

i have just enough time to check the last two blogs before heading our to our Stallion Stomp (the school's fall festival and once a year fund raiser). i have to work our booth because my room mom couldn't get enough people to sign up. poor thing.

i'll be the master of...the pig races. (don't worry, they're toys)

i promise to post my tag as soon as i can this afternoon.

i laughed at every single one and could identify with at least one thing everyone wrote.

crys-i often have the typing thing going on as well. thank goodness though, it's not during every conversation.

just for the record...

defensive driving online, has to be so much worse than anything else.

you see, in person or on video, the defensive driving continues whether you're paying attention or not. online, there are elevendy-million slides all less than one minute (except for the 20 minute videos). when each slide is complete, you must hit the continue button.

the stupid thing does not go on without you. you have to sit through every stinkin' minute of the six hour training. yucko!

it took me all day, but thank goodness it's finally over.

defensive driving

stinks!!!!

i'm doing it right now online.

yes...right now.

it seriously takes six hours and i had to finally go to sleep last night. the thing is, i procrastinated...again, and i have to get it done quickly so it can be overnighted to my mother.

she's going to save my patootie and take the certificate to the court for me.

i was speeding, okay!!! and it wasn't even very fast. my mom was with me. she was irritated with the officer as well. (thank goodness i didn't get in trouble!)

i hope it will be over soon...

all smiles

i had such a great weekend.

it was wonderful to sleep in my own bed and take a shower with real water pressure. it was wonderful to see my marme and daddy. it was absolutely wonderful to see my sweet ellie belle.

it was wonderful to see my friends and their kids! love 'em!

it was wonderful to sit in my daddy's church on sunday morning. it was wonderful to see angela, rw, christal, michelle, crystal, and all of the other ladies.

it was wonderful to hear ree singing behind me in the middle of worship.

it was such a wonderful weekend and i can't wait to do it again!!!!

for seph

it is so fun getting to see ellie. thank you for letting her come and play. i hope you and landon have a wonderful weekend. here is what we've done so far:

last night as soon as i got into town, i picked ellie up from randy and tonya's (they didn't want to let me take her). we went over to jenny's where she played and laughed at mason and was then awed over by troy. she wouldn't stop smiling at him.

ellie and troy (her future fil) ha!

this morning, i came to mom's and she was already dressed in this cute little dress and smelling oh-so sweet! we played all morning (except for her short nap with me in the chair!).

laney still can't figure out if she likes this little person or not. but, ellie sure likes her! this is the one time she got close enough to touch her!
i think she knows what a computer is for! she kept wanting to play with it! she must know she can reach her mama this way...



so-she's doing great although i'm sure she misses you. i'll post more pics as soon as i have some! we love you!

i'm so excited

we're going to san angelo.

we're going to san angelo.

hurray! i'm so excited!

i get to spend some time with my friends, their kids, my parents, my NIECE, my husband and our home. oh...and LANEY!

we miss laney, but not as much as jules does. it's hard to be away from your best friend!

they're gonna die when they see each other.

i've never looked forward to a three hour drive so much in my life.

see everyone on sunday?! i sure hope so!

kids...

during snack time.

mrs. kotze looks at jason, "where's my fruit roll up?" as he shoves the last of two in his mouth.

mrs. kotze: "What?! you didn't even bring me a fruit roll up?"

jason: "i was hungry."

mrs. kotze: "you don't care about your teacher, or what?!"

david: "well, you have to care about yourself and bring your own snack."

mrs. kotze's mouth drops open as she stares at the boys in shock.

mady: "kids. they think they're so mature..."

stress unloaded

i guess i didn't realize it, but i may have been more stressed than i thought.

right at lunch time, i was hit with a huge wave of exhaustion.

thank goodness for long science experiment videos.

and, the six pack of 1 liter dr pepper's one of my student's brought me this morning.


it's just that i'm too tired to even drink one of those.

it's over

thanks for all of your sweet, encouraging comments.

my observation is over.

the only real reason i was nervous is because this vice principal is sort of...well...negative. she nit picks to find something wrong.

i'm sure there will be things wrong on mine as well. i just didn't really pay her any attention.

because i'm new to this district, i'll have another observation next semester. that one will be done by the head honcho. #1 principal.

she's the opposite and very encouraging. she'll even change a score if she feels it doesn't reflect you correctly.

i'm just glad it's over.

a teacher's report card

i have my observation tomorrow.

for those of you who are not teachers, you must still know what i am speaking of.

think back. you were in elementary school. it was the day that your teacher dressed up and wore red lipstick with a big smile. she had on her special school stuff necklace laced with wooden school houses, apples, ABCs and 123s. it laid nicely on top of her red shirt under her denim jumper. she planned an outrageous lesson and was really nice all morning. that is, until her principal came in.

the principal sits in a chair, and watches...everything. she makes notes about everything. the teacher, the students, the lesson components, technology?, redirection, relativity, understanding, whole group tasks, individual tasks, a product that shows students comprehension, a well behaved class and a relaxed teacher.

fun.

this is me tomorrow. without the fancy getup, of course.

i'm not really that nervous about it. but it does make you wonder what you'll do if your autistic kid breaks into hysterics and you (for really, the first time) can't calm her down. or, what you'll do if the boy who pulls down his pants and hits people does something else that he should be sent to the office for.

oh well. i'll get through it. i always do. and if my kids act crazy, well...that's just part of the job.

whoa

as i'm sure many of you did, i sat on the edge of my couch last night, jumping back and forth between joy and exasperation.

after 5 interceptions and a few bad runs, the boys just kept getting that extra chance to win the game.

nick folk. his longest kick was in college. 52 yards if i'm not mistaken. this game winning kick was from 53, and he did it!

twice!

i was so nervous for that ol' boy, but as soon as that second quick sailed over the goal post i fell in love.

anyone who can pull out a win like that deserves some love.

thank you, nick folk, you big ol' kicker boy, you. thank you for allowing the dream to live on.

you're the man.

my sweet family

these were taken right after our run tonight (yes...we ran!!). that is why jules' tongue is hanging out everywhere.

aren't they so cute?!

baby ellie

while i was looking through my camera to post the awful pics of the previous post, i stumbled upon this sweet picture of my beautiful niece when she was a few days old.

she is so tiny and sweet and i love her so very much. she's my ellie belle and i will forever be proud to be her auntie jo.

the dumbest couch in the whole, entire universe

we have a couch.

a wonderful couch.

a pretty new, greenish, long, nice big couch.

a couch that we can both lay on, together and feel great.

a couch who's cushions don't move all over the place.

a couch that isn't ugly.

it's down right pretty.

i love our couch. there's just one problem...

that couch is in san angelo.

the couch that i sit on everyday is the dumbest couch in the whole, entire universe.

this is michael's old couch. when he got it, he got it from a friend. it was old before he even got it. it's one of those couches with the three back pillows semi connected to the couch. it has fluffy arms and 3 cushions on the bottom that move no matter how you sit on them. of course, when the bottoms move, the back cushions slide on down and mess up everything. the couch is a tan color and was torn up by michael's dogs. it's been sitting in my mom's garage for about 2 years for the garage sale. it didn't sale.

this couch didn't even sale at a garage sale.

we decided that since we are leaving most of our stuff at our house in san angelo to help it sell (which apparently isn't working like we had planned), that we would bring this old couch here and just buy a slip cover for it.

we did that.

i hate it.

i think at least 3 times a day i say, "i hate this couch. ggrrr. this is the dumbest couch in the whole, entire universe!"

if for no other reason than having a nice couch to sit on everyday, i'm ready for our house to sell.

i hope you never see anything this embarrassing in my house again...

the dumbest couch in the whole entire universe:

i promise, this happens so fast. it takes so much energy to make it look nice, and then a sit or two later and it looks like this. can you imagine how much this annoys someone like me?

ps-i think i misused the word "sell" sale" about a million times. i have no idea which i'm supposed to use where. sorry to all of you english people! you can let me know, if you wish!

new name

i'm thinking of renaming my blog.

any suggestions?

friends and fun

yesterday we went to a surprise birthday party for michael's friend fremont.

he, his wife and his son live about 2 hours away.

we decided that we would drive to new braunfels and ride with our friends jimmy and jill. they are so fun!

it did take a while to get out to fremont's house. and we sat there with a bunch of people we didn't know, but we had a good time.

jimmy and jill are so fun to hang out with that we ended up having a great day! the cool thing is that they are only 30 minutes away from us!

i love having friends and having fun!

a great sick day

i spent the week looking forward to friday.

it was the longest week of my life.

because i knew mom and dad were coming in, i called in sick on friday. everything was ready for the sub on thursday afternoon before i left. as soon as i walked out of the school door, my mind never returned to school...until now (and that's just because i'm blogging about it).

mom and dad got here really late on thursday night. the boys carried in our washer and dryer and mom and i carried in the smaller stuff and set up the air mattress in the guest room. michael insisted we give mom and dad our bed. so, we did and we slept on the air mattress. it wasn't too bad.

friday, michael and dad got up early, had coffee and went to the valero texas open. they walked around in the humid heat for hours. after that, they played a round of golf and by the time we saw them later that night, they were sore and tired. it was a pitiful sight.

mom and i spent the morning talking and chatting and having fun. we got ready slowly and then went to one of our favorite spots, jason's deli, for lunch. after lunch, we got manis and pedis from some really funny vietnamese men and headed over to the LaCantera mall for a little shopping. we didn't buy anything except for some really good marble slab ice cream.

we stopped off at target and then headed home. we took jules on a short walk and it was time for dinner. he headed out with the tired boys and had a delicious cheeseburger from longhorn cafe. we came home, hung out and, shortly after, all went to bed. everyone was so tired!!! the boys from spending all of their energy and mom and i from our relaxing manis and pedis. ;)

it was really fun to have them here and i can't wait to see them again.

a visit with mom and dad makes for a wonderful sick day!

blogger annoyed

well, i thought it would be really fun to change my blog background. it took like a week to find something i liked.

i spent the few hours looking and figuring out how to change the thing and make it work, and now i hate the fact that i can't put any new sidebars on my page. i do not have a sidebar of my favorite blogs to visit and that is just really hard for me.

anyway-i found this nice little serene template and loaded it. then, i found other cute ones from pyzam, like christal's and angel's. i tried to go there. now, since i have gone to that site, my computer is screwed up. there are constant pop ups and "malicious scripts detected". it's super annoying.

i'm sad to say that i think i am just going to go back to the regular blogger templates and get on with life.

grrr. i hate it when things don't work out like you want them to...

i get to see my mom today

i get to see my mom today!

i get to see my mom today!

i get to see my mom today!

na, na, na, boo boo!

for the other henry child who wanted to see mom this weekend and then found out she was already coming here! ha! can't you see? i'm the one she loves the most!

oh! and i get to see my dad today!

i get...i'll stop.

but i am just as excited to see my daddy!

another thing...

i'm sooo tired.

i am just tired.

school has been rather crazy. i got a new student who happens to be autistic. she was in second grade, and doing rather well, but her parents wanted her moved back down to first. i'm fine with her being in my class, but it does take a lot of energy and patience to be her teacher.

also, i'm getting sick. sort of. i'm so sick that i just might have to take a day off this week. i think i may have enough strength left for 8-9 more hours of school and then that's it. maybe my marme will come take care of me...;)

in regards to that, preparing for a sub (with this new student) is quite taxing. i always have a very organized sub folder with a long, detailed note, lesson plans, seating chart, lunch count thingies, attendance sheet and paper for them to write me a note on. now, however, i am having to write another long, detailed note to include directions for dealing with this sweet new little girl.

parent/teacher conferences are going on right now. the parents who don't show up take as much energy out of me as the parents who do. how can you sign up for a time, that you chose, for a conference and then not show up? not even call? jerks.

my days are going from 7:00am-4:30pm without a break. i'm with students or my student's parents that whole time. even during my conference period. my work day actually lasts longer than that because now all of my planning time is taken over by parents. so to get ready for the next day, i have to spend more time at school. yuck. it's tiring, but hopefully it will be done soon.

in the midst of all of that, i am trying to teach 19 children all of the objectives that need teaching in a first grade classroom. of course, one of those 19 children also needs to learn the objectives of real life. such as:

It is inappropriate, for more than one reason, to tell a girl and a boy to look under the lunch table so that you can pull your pants down and expose yourself because you think it would be funny.

That is not funny. At all. Ever.

it just hit me

i think i've named another post "newlyweds" prior to this one.

that's just annoying.

newlyweds

living with my husband is such a great thing!

we do all kinds of stuff together. stuff we wouldn't normally do if we were in sa. he'd be playing golf or something. ;)

we grocery shop together. we do laundry together. we take jules for walks together. we cook and clean together. we hang out, laugh and talk together (i guess that one should be normal, huh?!). we even, most nights, go to bed together (getting michael in bed at 10pm isn't always the easiest thing to do).

it's fun. i feel totally loved and cared for by my husband and i am totally in love with him.

thank you, Jesus, for this wonderful time in our lives. it was definitely needed and you knew just what you were doing! it's awesome!

boat 34

i've been working on my blog style for a few days now.

i couldn't ever figure out what to do.

i went to the site that rw and ang got their templates from. i had a hard time. i found a few i liked, they wouldn't work. i finally figured out why they wouldn't work so i changed it. of course, when i changed that little thing, others wouldn't work and now i can't figure out how to get my blog html back to the way it used to be.

...huh...it just makes me scratch my head in wonder.

why do certain things have to be so difficult.

anyway, for the time being, template boat 34 it is.

today...

i have checked blogs about elevendy-million times.

it's starting to hurt my heart. everyone is either busy at work, or busy with work at home.

i should be teaching...

ang...rw...

how do you get those really cute blog templates?

i know

i don't like this look either, but i was tired of the other one.

when i have more time to make something i like, i'll change it again.

until then...sorry. :(

sunny earth worms

ramen noodles overcooked are sort of like earth worms that have been in the sun all day.

gross and slimy.

my flowers!

finally i get to brag! here are the flowers from my honey!

happy birthday flowers. michael arranged them himself. didn't he do a great job?! he said, "i don't know why they call that stuff baby's breath, it seriously stinks!" cutie!

6 month anniversary flowers and candy.
they arrived at school! it was such a sweet surprise!

thank you baby! you're the best husband in the whole world!

pictures of Grant, finally

this is my first time to hold sweet, Grant. these pictures were sunday afternoon, right after the retreat. isn't he perfect?grant stretching out in my lap.

jenny helping big brother mason, hold his new baby, grant.

this is right after mason stole grant from me.

mason was so proud to show off grant. he grabbed my hands and drug me to grant's room as soon as i walked in the door. sweet boy.

grant relaxing. such a hard life. ;)

skinny mama. could this woman seriously be the mother of that 3 day old baby?

sweet baby kisses.

mama and baby in the infamous glider.

it was such a thrill to be able to spend time with grant. he is such a little sweet heart. i miss him already. of course, our mason was quite the host, introducing me to the baby and then staring at me until i gave the baby to him. he's such a funny little guy.

troy, jenny and mason-i'm so happy for you. i'm glad you have this new little addition to the family! i miss you guys! love you all!

ummm...our new tv

well, our tv is about 3 weeks old, but this is how it lived for the first two weeks.
yes, it's sitting on top of a Rubbermaid container. don't laugh!

this is the tv after we bought a cheap stand from target.

better, huh?

quiet, working time

there are many times that i follow my directions for a project with, "okay, this is quiet working time. so...no talking."

i said that today and aisley said, "it's always quiet working time around here."

because of that i decided to let them listen to music. i don't have a cd player so i have to put the cd's in my computer and turn the speakers to face the kids. i have few cd's. 3 of them came in a pack. a "Silly songs for kids" pack. uh...okay.

i put a cd in, listened for a minute, kept skipping songs and finally took it out. i put in another cd and eventually did the same thing. i said, "sorry guys, that music is annoying me." come to find out, it was annoying them too. ;)

when i took out the second cd, i decided to put my overshadowed worship cd back in. i did, and i turned it down just a tad. a few kids looked over and logan mentioned that he could hear my music. i left it playing.

when mady came over to ask if i could turn the music up, i did.

my kids sat, calmly and quietly, working on a project for 35 minutes with worship music playing in the background of their minds.

it was lovely.

thank you, Jesus, for unexpected times of worship. thank you for placing me in this position for a reason. let me make a difference in these kids. a difference for you.

i tried

i tried to post some pics.

some of grant.

some of flowers.

some of random things.

but mainly some of grant.

it wouldn't work? what the heck?!

aisley

i have a little girl. she is the cutest little thing. she is really petite, blond headed, brown eyes. she's a little spunky. dresses a little funky. she's really, really cute.

she's also really sweet.

the other really sweet thing is that the librarian sells ice cold dr pepper in a can in the library. i often, on days like today, send aisley to the library with my 50 cents to get my heaven.

today she came back smiling like crazy. i had given her a quarter and a nickel. crazy mrs. kotze.

i sent her back with the right amount and she was very thrilled that i got to "keep my soda!"

aisley then brought her snack up to me to open. i looked at it. it's an oreo cakester. have you ever seen this? it's an oreo, but instead of the chocolate cookie, it's chocolate cake with chocolate filling.

i looked at aisley with huge eyes as i opened her package. when she looked back at me, her eyes grew huge and she smiled. she rubbed her hands together and said, "mmm! chocolate on chocolate!"

how cute is that?!

birthday surprises

i have never had to spend a birthday without my parents. sounds a little crazy, huh? but it's true. in all of my years, my parents have been there. this birthday was going to be a little different and i was going to be a little sad.

i woke up monday morning and groaned. why hadn't i taken my birthday off?! i thought about calling in and i asked michael if we should both take the day off for my birthday. he sort of chuckled and then said, "well, um..no. this is the last week of the month and i really need to be at work." fine.

i got up and went into my bathroom, turned on the light and was greeted with the sight of a dozen beautiful red roses and a card. it was from my husband. i cried. i read the card, standing in the bathroom, in my t-shirt, at 6:15am, with puffy-sleepy eyes and cried at my first birthday card from my husband.

while i got ready for school, michael made me breakfast. you guessed it! an eggo with pb and syrup and a cold glass of milk.

at school, we all got subway and delicious chocolate cake. it was a nice lunch.

however, at the end of the day, i was getting on to a student when a movement caught my eye. i looked into the hallway and there stood my marme and daddy. my mouth dropped open and as i walked towards them i said, "what are you doing in this city?!" (it was in a pretty whiney voice so my kids were looking at me kind of weird but they cheered up when they saw what my dad had in his hands).

cupcakes.

on thursday of last week dad said to mom, "i know you're going to be tired when you get back from the retreat, but be prepared because on monday we are driving to san antonio to take my daughter cupcakes for her birthday." it was so wonderful!

my kids got to meet my parents and my parents got to meet my kids (uhh...weird). they all liked each other a lot! the kids especially liked my parents because, HELLO!!! CUPCAKES!!!

i left right after school and we drove the .2 miles to the apartment. we hung out for a little while and when michael got home, we went out for a birthday dinner. ph changs. it was so stinkin' good!

it was such a great birthday surprise!

thank you marme and daddy for driving all of those 6 hours just to bring your baby girl cupcakes on her birthday. you are the best!

thank you baby, for the beautiful roses, card, breakfast, and the sweet surprise of knowing my parents were coming and now letting me call in sick.

i love you all so much. i am so blessed.

overshadowed

it's such a sweet feeling.

this retreat was more than i could've ever dreamed it to be. i have so much to say about how God has changed my life. it was amazing.

one of my favorite parts of the weekend was being able to look around and see 32 other women worshiping God in their own way. i wrote about it several times in my journal. those are scenes i do not want to forget. i know God met each of us this weekend and moved us to a new place.

last night on my way home, i put the overshadowed worship cd in my cd player and turned it up. it led me to such a sweet place of worship. i love that.

i will post more when i'm not at school. believe me, i have plenty to post.

thank you, my redeemer, for such an amazing time with you. you are my love. my protector. you are more than worthy of anything i could ever give you. thank you for teaching me to accept you, what you've done for me, and how you feel about me. i am so in love with you.

i feel like...really, really bad

i'm just saying that i feel like blah. it started last night and it's getting worse. it feels like allergies or a cold and i'm hoping for allergies that will clear up when i get closer to west texas.

my head hurts. my nose hurts. my eyes hurt. now, my tummy kind of hurts.

this is a hard thing to handle when you have 18 six year olds running around like crazy.

i don't want to feel bad during the retreat. help me, Jesus. take this stuff away.

Baby Wilde

We have a new addition!

Grant Austin Wilde was born around 11:15 on September 21, 2007. He weighed 8 lbs 1 oz (pretty good for a baby who is three weeks early ;). Grant is 20 inches long.

Jenny had a pretty good delivery, she says. It was painful but by the time she got to the hospital, she was far enough along to get an epidural. She says she only had to push about 5 times before the baby made his appearance.

Jenny and Grant are both doing very well! She was about to eat when I spoke with her! She was starving. Grant was not, he had already eaten, pretty well I think. ;)

Jenny says to tell everyone hi!

Congrats Jenny, Troy and Mason. We can't wait to meet that new little boy!

yes...pray

pray specifically.

there is someone incredibly interested in our house. she told our realtor that she wants it. she also asked a lot of question which really give us the idea that she seriously does want it and money is not an issue for her right now. her husband comes to see it tomorrow.

i guess we'll know after that.

please, jesus.

thank you Sister, for having everyone pray!

the importance of having the correct kitchen untensils

have you ever tried to get wet spaghetti out of a pot with a spatula?

have you ever tried to really stir kool-aid in the bottom of a plastic jug with the handle of a spatula?

have you ever tried to refrigerate leftovers without any tupperware?

have you ever tried to open a can without a can opener?

you know, there really is a use for all of those things. certain jobs require certain utensils. make sure you always have the correct utensils on hand. life is hard without them.

beth

it was so wonderul to read your blog this morning. i miss you dearly. just the other day i was thinking about our small group. we got to see each other at least 3 days a week and talk and hang out. those were fun times and seem like sooo long ago.

i am so glad to hear that your student teaching is going well. i still wish i knew what school you were at. i guess when i text you my email address, you can email me and let me know all of that fun information. i love to read the stories of your students. the boy who "showed" you his "bad finger" is one of the funniest stories so far. i also love the one about something being wrong with hair. just wait until you run out of eyeliner and your kids ask you what's wrong and when you explain that you ran out of makeup, they tell you you should go to the store and get more. or, it was always fun for a kid to look at my id tag (in which the picture was taken a couple of years ago during the summer after my trip to hawaii) and tell me that i look better that way and i should look like that again. gee, thanks.

my kids here are pretty good. i have a few stinkers, but for the most part i am really enjoying these kids. i must say, that as badly as i wish you could bring me lunch and chat with me, the chick-fil-a's aren't as good here. what?! i know. it's sad, but it's true. there's just something not as good about them. enjoy the one there for me. drink a really good dr. pepper in honor of me.

i'll be in sa every weekend for the rest of this month, but maybe sometime soon, you can come visit me here and we can just talk and hang out. sounds like fun, huh?!

i hope you get to take a nap after school! i know i'm hoping for one for myself too. have fun and i'll talk to you soon. i miss you and i love you.