Home is where the hog is.

When You're Hot, You're Hot

2011-08-03T15:49:00.002-06:00

It's hot.

Like 115 degrees kind of hot.

So, I was in a workshop today (on the second floor of a lovely building) and the a/c did not get turned on until we all arrived. Normally, not a big deal, but since at 8:00 this morning it was nearing 90 degrees, it was a big deal.

I figured I'd be fine. I wore capris and a light t-shirt. I had my ice water.

But, folks, it was HOT.

I tried fanning myself. Chugging my water. Nothing was helping.

So, I ventured outside of my workshop to try to find a cooler spot in the building.
I passed the bathroom and figured I might as well go while I was there.

And then I had a great idea.

I started fanning myself with my shirt and it felt great to get that fabric off my rather large belly.

And then I thought how great it would be to get that fabric off my legs.

So......

I sat in the bathroom in my bra and undies. And it was glorious.

TMI? Maybe. Just keeping it real, folks. Just keeping it real.

After some time I figured I should get dressed and go back to my workshop.

A friend was outside waiting on me afraid that I was sick or something. I just smiled and said, "Oh, no... just hot!"

Hey, when you're preggo and it's 115 degrees outside you do what ya gotta do.

I'll try to refrain from wearing my bikini out of the house tomorrow.
But sometimes, a girl's gotta do what a (pregnant) girl's gotta do.

It's a....

2011-08-01T14:24:00.002-06:00

GIRL!

And we are thrilled. hubby's first comment after finding out that it was a girl was "this is going to be expensive" of which the ultrasound tech added in "for the rest of your life, buddy!"

Hubby might have also commented that she looked like a zombie. She'll appreciate that later, I'm sure.

But, seriously, we are so excited about a sweet little girl entering our little family.

I might also be huge. I just looked a picture of a woman 32 weeks preggo and I'm bigger than she is at 19 weeks preggo which makes me slightly scared of how big I'm actually going to get. The thing is, my weight gain is pretty much right on target if not a little under of where I'm supposed to be. (I seriously don't give into cravings unless they are healthy). So, we shall see I guess.

Nonetheless, we are thrilled. My husband the planner had to do something in order to prepare so he went ahead and painted the nursery and has helped organize stuff for me this summer. I guess we are nesting a bit early. Or we know the craziness that fall and winter are in our house with husband coaching and all.

It's hard to believe that our sweet little girl zombie, I mean baby will join our family in 4ish months!

I took ballet once....

2011-07-25T11:50:00.003-06:00

Since today is noticeably cooler weather (aka the sun isn't out) I decided to get some of my outdoor chores done like vacuuming out the car and weeding my garden. Stuff I've been putting off for far too long.

I've got some pretty flowers. And I've also got some pretty weeds. Well, not pretty, but the weeds are almost as abundant as the flowers. It was bad.

Did you know that lots of creepy crawly creatures like to live in weeds? Did you? Well they do.

While weeding today in my yoga pants and stretchy tank top I came across several. One very large spider decided to make it's grand appearance while a man jogging decided to come along. He got a nice show of this preggo girl screaming and awkwardly racing to the other side of the yard.

Folks, I don't move like I once used to. My once graceful jump is not more of a roll/crawl/finally get on my feet and instead of running it's more like waddling really fast.

You're welcome Mr. Jogger Man for your entertainment of the morning. Come back another time and I'm sure I can recreate my delightful performance.

Since it's been 2 years...

2011-06-29T21:13:00.002-06:00

Since it's been nearly 2 years since I've posted I figured I might as well rejoin the blogging world. Hello again!

Rather than attempt to capture what all is happened in 2 years I'll just pick up with what is happening now.

We're pregnant! And very excited about it!! I'm 14 weeks and a few days and our due date is December 27th. I've only been sick a few times and it's always at night. I have awful indigestion though, folks. Awful. In fact, at church tonight while reading the Psalm the word "indignation" looked like indigestion... I almost got excited that I was going to find a cure right there in the Psalms! :) I can't complain though, we are very blessed and excited. Maybe I'll update more than every 2 years now with a sweet baby to blog about. :)

Neglect

2009-07-13T20:24:00.005-06:00

I feel like we've (more I) have neglected this thing recently, but I'm bored enough now to update this thing so here it goes:

We've bought a house. We signed the contract last week and our waiting patiently (not really) to close. The house is a foreclosure that is owned by Freddie Mac. This is a good and a bad thing. Good because we got a phenomenal deal (I'll describe the house in a bit) bad b/c its taking forever to close. Now for the house:

It is 4 bed 2 bath 1680 square foot, and in fabulous shape. We have to do nothing, but will probably paint some. More pictures will follow I'm sure. We close officially August 25th but will hopefully close sooner b/c of school. On that front...

I signed my contract today to make my job official. I am now a Civics, and World History teacher at Soutwest Jr. High in Springdale. I'm really excited about this job. Springdale is the district that I wanted to be in, and I'm really excited to be teaching (somewhat) older kids. Everybody that I've met has been really great, and I'm excited to get started. My room, which was a disaster, is nearly done, I've almost finished my coaching certification, I think I'm going to coach wrestling in some way shape or form, I've started (a little) planning for next year and last but not least, I have my first every professional development workshop tomorrow.

It's a pretty exciting time. Sarah is still looking for a job, but we are both confident that something will come up but it will mostly likely be last minute, it tends to be that way in Springdale.

That's all for now. I've got to take the dog out.

where do i even start?

2009-06-26T20:19:00.002-06:00

so much has happened since i last posted. we'll just stick with the past 2 weeks b/c that has enough to update you on to last us a while.

...............

2 weeks ago today we got married. it was amazing. we had a HUGE storm the day of our wedding which included a tornado and by the time our wedding rolled around the sun was shining and i still got to have my outside reception. amazing. i'll write more about this later.

................

we went on our honeymoon and had a ball... even though a lady jumped off our cruise ship the first night. awesome.

................

oh yeah. jamie was offered a job the day of our wedding. yes. we are amazing like that.

...............

we were just pre-approved for a home loan today. we are probably going to put in an offer for a house tomorrow.

..............

i am continually humbled by God's provision and faithfulness. when we took this leap of faith to move, i knew that the Lord would provide, but i'm still shocked at how He continually blesses us.

...............

i'm exhausted and this is all i can muster for now.

.............

the end.

2009-06-05T16:26:00.001-06:00

So...

finding a job, a house, finishing up the plans of a wedding, and being sick all at the same time isn't a bit stressful. nope. not one bit.

Interviews

2009-06-05T08:00:00.002-06:00

Quick update on the job scene. I had a phone interview with Washington Jr. High in Bentonville last Thursday, and went to see them in person this last Monday, I also have an interview in about half an hour at Southwest Jr. High in Springdale. I'm really excited about both. Sarah has an interview this afternoon at Bayari elementary here in Springdale, and in other (kinda of funny) news, Sarah's dad has an interview today as well. gotta love the job hunt!

The end is drawing near...

2009-05-23T14:59:00.002-06:00

As much as I've complained and grumbled about Colorado and hating living here... there are some good points, which I feel like you should know, and I should remember.

1. Last night we went over and hung out with some of Jamie's work friends. We had a lot of fun. The people (very few) but the people that we have become friends with are really great people.

2. Tonight we are going to hang out with some of my work friends. I'm excited to spend time with them... they are very wonderful people and I will miss them.

3. Today was Simla's graduation and it was really sweet... being in a small school, you have the ability to really impact kids and Jamie has certainly done that. He gave his 7 seniors (there were 26 total graduating) that he's had in class/coached gifts and the crying of the girls ensued. It was sweet to see how much Jamie has touched them... I know he'll be missed next year.

4. While my job situation has been less than ideal this year and really made this year very challenging and discouraging, I have some amazing parents in my class. Some of the mom's got together and got me flowers, a sweet card, and a cake that said "Happy Birthday, Congratulations, and Goodbye Ms. Lyman". They made it a surprise and we did the little "celebration" with my second graders and the kindergartners (I know all the kinders pretty well since I share a building with them and they are all almost all siblings of my 2nd graders). It was really sweet to have 28 kiddos sing "happy birthday to you, cha-cha-cha.." with such enthusasim. I WILL miss my sweet kids and my sweet parents. I am truely blessed by them.

5. It is nice to walk into the local grocery store and have the owners recognize you.

6. I couldn't be more pleased to be leaving Colorado. I can't wait to be in Arkansas, but there have been blessings here in Colorado which I am very thankful for.

End of School

2009-05-22T07:59:00.002-06:00

So today is my last day, and I have to admit, it is a bit bitter sweet. Significantly more so than I expected. I have truly enjoyed my time here. This is a wonderful school. I am continually amazed at how good the staff and administration is here. I've also been impressed by the kids. There are some that drive me absolutely bat shit crazy but others that I really enjoy and will miss a lot. I've gotten close to a lot of my kids, particularly my athletes. When I started my career I had absolutely no desire to coach I wanted to be a teacher and an academic, not a meat-head. I have discovered though that coach (particularly wrestling) is something that I particularly enjoy and want to do again. So the adventure once again ends, but it also begins again. Marriage, Mexico, and Arkansas here we come!

Overwhelmed

2009-05-19T20:35:00.000-06:00

So, we are moving in 10 days and I'm SO far behind on packing it's not even funny... packing 2 houses and 2 classrooms makes for a LOT of packing, a LOT of boxes, and a LOT to do.

I'm ready for these 10 days to be done.

10 things

2009-05-17T19:37:00.003-06:00

1. I would just like to state that our cake decorator for the wedding just won a food network challenge. yes. awesome.

2. I am going to marry a very wonderful man very soon. Yesterday we went out to celebrate my birthday since we won't be able to celebrate on my actual birthday at The Melting Pot (my all time favorite restaurant!) When we got there we just had to wait a few minutes b/c we had a reservation... but as our hostess was seating us she asked if we were celebrating anything special... Jamie said it was my birthday so she said happy birthday and whatnot and then she said "Are you getting married soon?" And this is where I got kinda confused... how would our hostess know we are getting married or why would she ask that? But I blew it off and said "Yeah, June 12". Well, we got to our table and there was a beautiful bouquet of daisies (my fav) on our table. :) When Jamie called to reserve our table they had asked if he wanted any flowers or balloons for me for my birthday and he has said that it was for his fiance (which is where the hostess' comment came into play). Our waiter obviously knew it was my birthday and about the upcoming wedding but the manager came over too to wish us well which was pretty impressive. But we had a wonderful meal and came home to have a wonderful evening together. It was very sweet. I love him.

3. I hate packing.

4. I can't wait to buy a house and not move for like 20-30 years.

5. I can't wait to be back in Arkansas.

6. Only 6 more school days.

7. Possibly my least favorite chore is folding and putting away laundry hense while I have a HUGE pile of clean stuff piled up in the bedroom.

8. We went to see Star Treck for my birthday too (which I was NOT excited about b/c I HATE, I mean HATE Si-Fi) but I loved it. You should see it.

9. I have soooo much to do, but can't seem to get motivated to do it.

10. I have a really cute dog and a really cute future husband. Life can't get much better than this. :)

16 little days that feel like years

2009-05-13T20:26:00.001-06:00

We are moving to Arkansas in 16 days.

PRAISE GOD.

I can't wait.

reflections

2009-05-02T21:52:00.003-06:00

As I was driving home one day last week, I was thinking about what I've learned from this experience here in Colorado. The lessons are vast in number. Here is what I can think of.

1. Everyone should move 1,000 miles away from their family and friends at least once in their life. If you think you appreciate those people now, move away from them and you'll never take them for granted again.

2. Research, research, research before you blindly take a job in a place you've never seen before. :)

3. Planning your grocery shopping for an entire week (like can't forget one thing at all) is a difficult job.

4. Planning your grocery shopping for several weeks at a time is VERY difficult when you don't know the next time you'll be able to go into civilization because of snow blizzards.

5. Driving into snow drifts isn't a good idea. It's rather difficult to get out.

6. There is no point in doing your hair when you have 50 mile an hour wind everyday.

7. Being able to drive 5 minutes to Wal-Mart, or any sort of civilization is a wonderful, wonderful thing.

8. Being the only teacher that teaches your grade is very, very difficult and exhausting.

9. Thinking the best of people is always a good thing, but you will often be very, very disappointed.

10. I've learned that I wouldn't trade this year in Colorado for anything. It's possibly been the hardest year of my life (and I think I'll look back on this when I'm old and probably say the same thing) but I've learned more about life, love, teaching, family, friends than I could have ever imagined. I feel like I've gotten about 10 years of life experience in one small year. I'm glad that we moved, but I'm even more glad (you can't imagine!) that we are moving back home. There is no place like home... that's for sure.

Random assortment of thoughts

2009-04-26T21:53:00.003-06:00

-So we're like 45 days from the wedding. Sarah's freaking out a bit.

-The upside to this is that I get to play a lot of video games.

-We have 16 days of school left, this couldn't come soon enough.

-I really want Sarah or I to get a job soon.

-I also really want to buy a house.

- My dog tried to eat through her color.

- We have a chance of snow tomorrow, its the end of April.

- Sarah has done a ton of stuff, thank you notes, invitations, etc.

- Does anybody else find it slightly ridiculous that we had to spend $80+ just for postage for the invitations?

-I started packing my house today. There's a lot of crap that we're moving.

- Abita Strawberry Lager is about as good as it gets.

- I really want enchiladas right now.

- I've also decided that I don't like having Monday's off as much as I thought I did.

- Let me explain this. Up till a few weeks ago I hadn't actually had a full three day weekend, I've now had two, and honestly, it makes the weekend kind of long and boring.

- I think the above is mostly because we live in Simla, an hour from civilization.

The hell that is Colorado

2009-04-16T08:44:00.002-06:00

So dear friends for all of you that have ever thought about moving to Colorado, let me advise against it. It is now the middle of April. This weekend we are expecting somewhere between 12-30 inches of snow.

While this would normally be a good thing, i.e. snow day tomorrow, for Sarah and I this causes a fairly large problem. Sarah is supposed to fly to Arkansas tomorrow at 4 for a couple of wedding showers, and then on Monday she has a meeting with a principal (we are really hopeful about that!!) now when we booked this flight we booked it as late as possible to avoid snow. We being normal reasonable southern folk never considered that it could possibly snow the last half of April, let alone snow 2+ feet.

So here is our predicament, starting tomorrow morning about 2 it is supposed to begin snowing, and not stop till Saturday afternoon. Don't you love Colorado.

It looks like now that I just might be making an unscheduled and unfortunately brief trip to Arkansas.

Joy, Joy, Joy.

2 months

2009-04-12T20:11:00.002-06:00

In two months I will officially be Mrs. Sarah Stallings. While I have tried not to jibber jabber too much about our wedding (I find it annoying when others do this). This post is dedicated to the wedding. So read on if you like.

1. Living 1,000 miles away from any bridesmaid makes life a little more difficult I think. While some brides have "invitation parties" where everyone comes to help address, stamp, lick envelopes of invitations- I, my friends, do not have that luxury. I have taken on the task of doing all invitations by myself. While this might not seem like that big of an undertaking, our "smallish" wedding of 150 has somehow grown to be well over 200. I'm guessing once it's all said and done we'll be at about 230ish. 230. 230 invitations. 230 invitations to stuff, stamp, lick. It's a lot.

2. I've started having these wedding day nightmares. For example, some how my wedding dress turned into a red/white seersucker wedding dress and my shoes were hot pink. In my dream, I was very concerned (not about the seersucker) but about the fact that my shoes and dress did not match. I also had a dream about people fainting during the ceremony, me BAWLING throughout the whole thing (we are talking SOBS, okay? not the sweet I'm in love and getting married crying, the I just lost my best friend SOBS).

3. Planning a wedding long distance is just not the easiest thing to do. And I'm really nervous that I'm forgetting something really important... like vital to the day important.

4. While we want our wedding to be elegant, we want it to be simple too. And fun. Hense why we decided to go with a BBQ/picnic type reception. I just hope that other people enjoy our "style" of wedding too.

5. Going back to the whole invitation thing- I decided not to hand address all the wedding invites (is that tacky?) Since I would be writing everything myself (too daunting of a task) and have heard horrible nightmare situations of printing directly on the envelopes, I decided to go with clear labels that our invitation designer designed herself (it ties in w/ the invite theme). Is this bad? I hope people don't think it's tacky. It's for my sanity people... just remember that.

6. One last thing- Right now, I am planning a wedding, looking for a new job, and getting ready to pack up and move within two months. How crazy am I?

Because He Lives

2009-04-10T07:40:00.001-06:00

I woke up singing this song this morning. Perfect for Good Friday.

Because He Lives
Words and music by William J. Gaither
© 1971

Matthew 28:6
"He is not here: for he is risen, as he said.
Come, see the place where the Lord lay."

God sent His son, they called Him, Jesus;
He came to love, heal and forgive;
He lived and died to buy my pardon,
An empty grave is there to prove my Savior lives!

Chorus
Because He lives, I can face tomorrow,
Because He lives, all fear is gone;
Because I know He holds the future,
And life is worth the living,
Just because He lives!

How sweet to hold a newborn baby,
And feel the pride and joy he gives;
But greater still the calm assurance:
This child can face uncertain days because He Lives!

Chorus
Because He lives, I can face tomorrow,
Because He lives, all fear is gone;
Because I know He holds the future,
And life is worth the living,
Just because He lives!

And then one day, I'll cross the river,
I'll fight life's final war with pain;
And then, as death gives way to vict'ry,
I'll see the lights of glory and I'll know He lives!

Chorus
Because He lives, I can face tomorrow,
Because He lives, all fear is gone;
Because I know He holds the future,
And life is worth the living,
Just because He lives!

We're Moving Again (to Arkansas this time!)

2009-04-07T18:54:00.002-06:00

So, as you may have noticed from the new title of our blog... we are officially moving to Arkansas on May 30th! So, here's the story of how this came to be.

As you may or may not know, I hate Colorado. A lot. There are various reasons that I have for this hatred the number one reason being that we have no family here. Let me tell ya- family means a lot. It's hard not having close friends here, not having family, and living in towns that well, just plain suck. I can't really begin to express to you how out in the middle of no where we are. We are out there. WAAAAAAY out there.

Jamie and I have been toying with the idea of moving back to AR since December. It was really just an option, not a serious consideration yet at that point; however, the longer that time went on the more appealing the idea became. We eventually said "We'll move to AR if we get jobs there." And we started applying. What finalized it was Spring Break. When we came back from Spring Break we started saying things like "WHEN we move back to AR" instead of "IF we move back to AR".

Notice that I have made no mention of jobs thus far. That is because we don't have jobs right now. We are completely trusting in the Lord that He will provide for us in whatever way that may be. The funny thing is- we are very at peace about this whole thing (and if you know Jamie and I, that's very not us). We know God is merciful and will take care of us. We know that we have family and friends that will do whatever they can for us. And bottom line is, we know that we will be happier in AR. Maybe much poorer, but happier. And that's what matters to us in the long run. Who cares if we are poor the first few years of our marriage (who isn't?) we'll be with family and friends and be happy.

So that's our exciting news. Moving and getting married within 13 days of each other. Crazy? Sure, but it's just another great adventure!

stuck in the snow

2009-03-30T19:01:00.002-06:00

Since my day as been more eventful than it normally is, I feel it is necessary to tell you about it. So here we go.

Well, first off- you should know that we are back in Colorado. And today is the day that we were taking our puppy, Tonks to get fixed, microchipped, and another round of shots (I know, horrible!) So when I woke up and it was snowing outside I didn't really think twice about leaving for town (we are in Colorado afterall, it snows all the time right?) It was just those pretty snowflakes that gently fall from the sky. Real innocent looking ya know. Real innocent looking.

When it snows, I always drive (you'd rather have the Arkansan driving than the guy from Lousiana after all) so we head off with puppy in tow. I quickly realized that this innocent looking snow was not so innocent after all. It was blowing. BAD. And starting to come down more. I didn't panic though. I could still see at least 40-50 feet in front of me. I made it to the vet without a problem and then we decided to continue our treck into the Springs. THIS my friends is where the problem lies. We were on the road maybe another 5 minutes when I couldn't see. At all. Couldn't see the road. Couldn't see any other cars. Couldn't see. AT ALL. But I keep driving because, well, I can't see where to stop. I managed to make it about halfway to the Springs where we stopped at the post office to mail some things and then headed out again (going back home would have been just as dangerous right?) Well, needless to say we made it fine and this isn't where the humours part lies.

Fastforward a few hours to the vets office where we are picking up our poor puppy. We are leaving and I start backing out and somehow decide that I can make it in my little car through a snow drift that probably comes up to my knees. And this, my friends, is where the fun begins. I got stuck. Can't go forward, can't go backward. And my fiance is asking me what in the world I was thinking trying to go through this drift. All I can manage is a strug. So he gets out to push. And push. And push. Nothing works. So I convince him to go back inside and ask for help. And help comes in the form of a shovel and vet assistant. And they shovel and push and shovel and push. And eventually we got unstuck. But it was exciting. And Jamie has been making fun of me all evening because I thought I could make it through the drift. And I feel slightly stupid (okay, REALLY stupid) but you have to give me credit that I drove in my first blizzard and didn't get us killed or anyone else and getting stuck in a drift isn't THAT horrible. It could have been worse. So don't make too much fun.

Leaving

2009-03-28T19:11:00.002-06:00

Tomorrow morning we are leaving to go back to the horrible state of Colorado. (I should really work on my attitude towards this state I suppose). I guess that I thought that each time that we came back and left it would get a little easier every time, but I don't think this is true. In fact, I'm quite sure that it's NOT true. I dread leaving. I don't want to leave. I don't want to go back to Colorado ever again in my entire life, but I still have to go and endure at least another 2 months of life there. Hopefully that will be the end of it and we will be back in Arkansas. Hopefully.

On a more cheerful note and since Jamie and I are apparently obsessed with hymn lyrics these days here's one of my favs that will be a congregational hymn at our wedding. :)

O Love that will not let me go,
I rest my weary soul in thee;
I give thee back the life I owe,
That in thine ocean depths its flow
May richer, fuller be.

O light that followest all my way,
I yield my flickering torch to thee;
My heart restores its borrowed ray,
That in thy sunshine’s blaze its day
May brighter, fairer be.

O Joy that seekest me through pain,
I cannot close my heart to thee;
I trace the rainbow through the rain,
And feel the promise is not vain,
That morn shall tearless be.

O Cross that liftest up my head,
I dare not ask to fly from thee;
I lay in dust life’s glory dead,
And from the ground there blossoms red
Life that shall endless be.

God be merciful to me

2009-03-26T14:50:00.002-06:00

God, be merciful to me,
On Thy grace I rest my plea;
Plenteous in compassion Thou,
Blot out my transgressions now;
Wash me, make me pure within,
Cleanse, O cleanse me from my sin.

My transgressions I confess,
Grief and guilt my soul oppress;
I have sinned against Thy grace
And provoked Thee to Thy face;
I confess Thy judgment just,
Speechless, I Thy mercy trust.

I am evil, born in sin;
Thou desirest truth within.
Thou alone my Savior art,
Teach Thy wisdom to my heart;
Make me pure, Thy grace bestow,
Wash me whiter than the snow.

Broken, humbled to the dust
By Thy wrath and judgment just,
Let my contrite heart rejoice
And in gladness hear Thy voice;
From my sins O hide Thy face,
Blot them out in boundless grace.

Gracious God, my heart renew,
Make my spirit right and true;
Cast me not away from Thee,
Let Thy Spirit dwell in me;
Thy salvation’s joy impart,
Steadfast make my willing heart.

The South

2009-03-22T20:56:00.002-06:00

I cannot begin to tell you how wonderful it is to be back in the South. Here are some of the great things that have happened thus far:

1. Some of you may not know this, but if you have ever lived somewhere else other than the South then you will know... there is a different smell in the south than anywhere else (no it's not the smell of chickens or cow poop). It's the smell of humidity. Moisture. In the air. Now, granted when I lived here I complained with the best of them about the humidity that we always have here, but when you live in the DRIEST place EVER moisture is a welcomed relief for the dry skin/chapped lips/moisture ridden hair. I love humidity. And I love the smell of humidity. It's quite wonderful.

2. After church today, Jamie and I (along with my family) went and looked at houses. For us. Beautiful houses. New houses. That we can afford. We want to buy SO bad and we are so hoping that we can get this particular house by June.

3. Speaking of houses- my parents are remodeling their house and totally didn't tell me! They wanted to surprise us- they aren't totally finished yet, but they've totally redone the bathrooms and all the bedrooms and are getting ready to finish the rest of the house within the next couple of months. Pretty exciting.

4. We have a MILLION things to do while we are in town. I'm not quite sure that it'll all get done, but we'll see.

5. Did I mention that I'm sick? Thursday morning I woke up with a fever and my neck (where your lymph nodes are were VERY swollen). I decided that since spring break was around the corner and I did not want to be sick that I would break down and go to the doctor (i've been sick on and off for about a month). Turns out I had/have all this fluid build up in my ears that was now in my lymph nodes and I had beginning stages of strep. Perfect. So I'm on a bunch of meds (and not contagious) and got a nice lecture from the doctor about how I should go to the doctor as soon as I feel bad before it gets worse. yada yada.

6. So, now my turn to brag about my wonderful soon to be husband: Jamie had asked me about what I wanted for my birthday (he likes to plan ahead) and I said that I would like a strand of pearls (even though I figured we couldn't afford them) to wear on our wedding day but made it clear that I was probably too expensive so not to worry about it. Well, today we were all out shopping and mom and i went off without jamie. before i knew it jamie was asking me to come to kay because he needed to know the size of my neck(haha!). You see, he found a strand that he thought was beautiful, but didn't know the right size of the necklace so even though I know I'm getting a strand of pearls for my birthday/wedding present I'm so excited. He spoils me terribly. And I love him so very much.

7. I'm very exhausted so I realize that all of these things don't realy go together, but there you have it. For now at least.

Home

2009-03-20T06:53:00.000-06:00

Dear friends,

In about 36 hours we will be in lovely (and likely wet) Northwest Arkansas. We will be in town until Sunday. We would like to see as many of you as humanly possible.

Love,

Jamie and Sarah.

Spring Fever

2009-03-18T20:24:00.002-06:00

I'm not sure if any of you have experienced the phenomena of "16 7 year olds who are tired of winter and ready for spring" or not, but let me tell you something, it's not fun.

I don't know that I could express to you how ready I am for Spring Break. These children need it. I need it. We ALL NEED IT. Or we will all drive each other crazy.

Let me tell you what this looks like. I have a pretty good class of kiddos. HOWEVER, this spring fever means that all claws and teeth come out (even out of my way sweet kiddos) which results in me nearly losing my mind and wondering why it is that I do this day after day. And then some kid says something like "you should get a prize for teaching us miss lyman- you're the best!" and then two seconds later doing something that drives me up the wall.

spring break. do not delay. we all need you terribly.

Of Love and Life

2009-03-17T20:02:00.003-06:00

Rewind back to my Senior year of college Christmas break. I spent part of my break with my roomie and her family in Kansas. I needed to be out of Arkansas and away for a while to relax and recharge. It was a wonderful, wonderful break. While I was there I talked with a very wise woman. We talked about love and life and such. She asked me what I thought about love and I didn't really have an opinion. I knew love existed. I could see love. I could love. I knew I could be loved by friends and family. But I didn't know that I could be loved romantically. We talked about romance and love and such and she told me "Sarah, when you meet the man that you will marry it will be EASY. You almost won't have to work at the relationship... it'll fall into place and when you do have to work at it, you won't mind working at it because it'll be so good. And when you find the man you will marry it will happen FAST. You'll feel like you've known him your whole life and you'll be engaged and married before you know it."

She couldn't have been more right.

Not even two months after we talked Jamie and I were dating. It was easy. It was fun. I ENJOYED it. I loved spending time with him and I felt like I'd know him forever after a month. And it was fast. We dated 6 months and then we were engaged. It seemed silly to wait to get married when we knew so quickly. We will actually be engaged longer than we dated. Crazy huh? Dated 6 months. Engaged 9 months. And then we'll be married.

And here I am... just as she said. I haven't talked to her since Christmas break of my Senior year and I need to go back and tell her how very right she was.

LIfe... for the past, oh 6 months

2009-03-15T19:18:00.003-06:00

So, I thought that maybe I should let the world know what is happening in our lives since I've failed to do that in, well... months. oops.

So here we go.

1. Life has been a blur. Maybe that's why I haven't updated. Jamie has had wrestling every weekend since we got back from Christmas break and I've filled my time with random things like cleaning, school work, and occasional shopping. This past weekend they had a tournament at home and I got to be the announcer. It was fun feeling like I knew what was going on (even though most of the time I didn't) people sure thought i know what I was doing!

2. We got a puppy. Now THAT my friends is where most of my time has gone to. We got her two days before Valentine's day because one of the moms of a kid in my class was trying to get rid of these puppies for her neighbor.... she brought the last two of the litter up to school and another teacher got one and so this one little lone puppy was left. Well, I learned that the people were going to put the little puppy to sleep if they couldn't find her a home within the week. So, I came home to Jamie and told him about the whole situation and we went and got her that night. After all, who could resist such a cute little face? (meaning Tonks' face... not Jamie's :) )

She's just a BIT excited in this one...

And then to add on to all of that... our wedding is less than three months away (holy cow!) so I'm trying to get ready for that. School has been NUTS. Spring Break is next week so we are attempting to start packing for that AND I'm looking for a new job next year (my principal knows so I figure I'm safe in saying that right?) So, life is just a TAD busy these days. So that's us! Maybe I'll update sooner next time!

2009-03-04T11:25:00.001-07:00

So I really suck at blogging. Maybe one of these days I'll actually sit down and tell you something exciting about our lives. But isn't it fun to keep you guessing? I think so.

Puppy and wrestling

2009-02-16T10:14:00.002-07:00

So Sarah and I have a puppy now. We got her a few nights ago and are really excited, I'm sure that she'll blog about the dog later (and do a much better job that I do) but for now she's at home puppysitting. She is a half Chihuahua half Corgie, but she looks more corgie.. So far its been a good experience. She's picking up fairly well on potty training, and hasn't been too terribly aggravating.

In other news, Varsity wrestling is almost over. State's next week. We qualified three kids, so Thursday, Friday, and Saturday of this week I will be coaching wrestling at the Pepsi Center in Denver (where the nuggets play) I'm pretty excited. If we wrestle as well as we can we can realistically place all three of the boys and possibly get a few in finals which would be awesome.

Sickness and the like

2009-01-29T08:12:00.002-07:00

So to begin with let me just state that it is incredibly frustrating to move to Colorado and only have one snow day as compared to Arkansas 4 so far. This is afterall, the great northern wasteland, with snow and polar bears isn't it? Nope all we get is cold.

In other news its that time of year again! The time for everyone to get sick. I missed school yesterday feeling like crap, and we think that Sarah has the flu. Oh how I love winter.

nothing important.

2009-01-21T19:12:00.002-07:00

1. so... ya know that "not" new years resolution that i made about not saying yes to everything (especially at work), i just blew that one out of the water today. i'm now the GT primary grade coordinator or representative or something like that ... in my defense.. when you have a new principal and you are the new gal you can't hardly help but say "yes" especially when something along the lines of "i think you would be perfect for this position" is said. yes, i'm a sucker. i know.

2. we went to zach and carole's wedding this past weekend in dallas. i was WONDERFUL to be with friends again. WONDERFUL. and all day monday i was sooooo down b/c we weren't with them anymore. so i just keep savoring the weekend and look forward for one that to come (hopefully sometime in the near future).

3. people have started planning wedding showers for us...and i can't wait! i need things! like in my kitchen and my living room and bathroom! and i'm excited to see people that i love dearly (and it will more than likely result in me getting to fly into AR in april! amazing!)

4. jamie and i have gone into this crazy we are going to loose weight thing. it's actually working. quite well. and i'm very pleased with myself.

5. i love jcrew

6. zach and carole's wedding this weekend made jamie and i SO excited about our wedding. we can't wait.

7. our wedding is going to be WAY cute. you should come.

8. i can't wait until the cruise after the wedding. SUN. and WARMTH. two things i don't get much of in this place.

9. as much as i complain about the weather... we have had really nice weather this week that will be followed by a blizzard this weekend. stupid weather. i'm ready for spring.

10. i'm actually more ready for june 12 than anything. it will be a great and wonderful day.

know

2009-01-10T19:43:00.002-07:00

I think one of the greatest desires in life is to be known and to know. I've found that with Jamie. We just get each other. We understand. We know.

But I think that most people desire to be known by a person of the same gender too. To have a best girl friend or guy friend that just knows.

Sometimes I think I'm odd.. I don't really realize that I need people until I'm with people. (confusing huh?) You see, I'm so far away from my friends it's like I forget that I need that companionship until I'm with them again and then I remember. I had coffee with a good friend today and I remembered. So then I called my best friend from home and we talked for about 2 hours... we talked about life, and love, and work, and struggles, and I love the fact that we just get each other. We know each other. We can go without talking for months because we are both so busy and pick right back up where we left off and she just GETS me. I don't have to justify my feelings or thoughts to her. She just understands.

It's nice to be known.

Back to the grind

2009-01-09T07:09:00.002-07:00

So if anyone was incredibly worried we made across the vast hell that is Kansas and arrived safely in Colorado. We had a few adventures getting back; driving to Wal-mart in quasi blizzard to take back and a get a new TV stand, nasty Kansas flatness, and stinky new neighbors, but other than that it was an uneventful trip. Arkansas/Louisiana was amazing, I cannot possibly express how great it was to be home. Seeing friends was amazing, and I think that is what I miss the most, we have friends here but nothing like we do at home. The bachelor party the weekend before we left, was, even though I got to stay one night, the highlight of the trip. It was also great to see family, and just be home.

School's been rough this week, not that the kids have been particularly bad or that this has been a bad week, its just been long. Being a school teacher is great because of the breaks but it is really hard to get back into school shape after two weeks off. Let me explain school shape, I'm on my feet walking around between 5-6 hours a day, on top of that I'm talking almost all of that time, while trying to keep 5-25 hooligans from destroying the classroom. I've been tired, and my voice has also been tired.

We have a wrestling tournament this weekend. It's an overnight trip, which will be an adventure. We're going into the mountains and its supposed to snow. I'm not driving. I enjoy wrestling, I'm not a good coach yet but it's a fun sport and one that I enjoy more and more.

Also on a final note, my TV is set up. It is beautiful. Also I have Xbox live so if you read this and have an Xbox you should either get it back, or give me your name so you can dominate me at Halo. Sarah plays too by the way.

My NOT New Year's Resolutions

2009-01-02T14:20:00.004-07:00

Every year I make a list of things that I want to do in that year. Generally, very typical things like loosing weight, yada yada. And while I like setting goals for myself, sometimes it's just too much to think about at one time. It becomes another scary list to try and complete and we all know that I have PLENTY lists in my life. So here are all the things I'm NOT going to do this year. (It makes it seem so much easier).

1. I'm NOT going to fall into the media trap of what is "beautiful".
I'm beautiful. Enough said.

2. I'm NOT going to stress out on my wedding day.
I just won't do it. I'm going to enjoy my day. I'm going to be happy. I'm going to celebrate the love I share with the man of my dreams. And whatever happens, happens.

3. I'm NOT going to let work consume my life.
I'm going to work the rest of my life. But I don't want work to BE my life.

4. I'm NOT going to think about all the things that I don't have, but seem to think I can't live without.
I have an ugly orange chair and an ugly blue couch for living room furniture. But I have living room furniture which is a nice thing.

5. I'm NOT going to pretend to be someone I'm not.
What ya see is what ya get. I've done the pretending thing before and vow to never to it again.

6. I'm NOT going to try to please people all the time.
As much as I'd like to think that I can make everyone happy, I can't. And it's rather pointless to try.

7. I'm NOT going to say "yes" to everything that people ask me to do.
This one is for work. When you are the youngest person on staff by 15 years you often get fingangled into doing things that other people don't know how to do (i.e. all technology).

So, there ya have it. All the things that I'm not going to do this year. Kinda nice.

this time of the year...

2008-12-19T16:43:00.002-07:00

So.... it's Christmas break. And I couldn't be happier. Other than the fact that I still have approximately 15 MILLION things that need to be done before we leave tomorrow. Like doing laundry (i'm not sure how two people can generate so much clothing that needs to be washed in one week, but whatever), and tidy the house, and clean out the car, and PACK, and load the presents, and put away the christmas tree, and you know all the other millions of things that I'm sure i'll find that i need to do before tomorrow morning.

but i'm excited. today it kinda started to feel like christmas to me. i went into town to pick up my wedding dress! drop off bags upon bags upon bags of stuff to the goodwill, picked up some picture frames for the parent's engagement pics, got coffee, listened to christmas music in the car... it was enjoyable. kinda a crazy day, but enjoyable.

and i can't wait to see both of our families. it's going to be great. and go by far to quickly. but it's still great.

and can i just tell you that i recieved possibly THE sweetest gift from one of the parents of a kid in my class? she crocheted jamie and i an afgan. yeah. a christmas afgan. i nearly cried. i have some really great parents in my class. :)

One more day

2008-12-19T07:41:00.002-07:00

One more day and we are on our way home.

I think the hardest part of the year (at least the year to date) has been the three weeks since Thanksgiving. College was great, you get back, a week of classes, finals and done. It was the perfect schedule. But this? Yuck! The kids are ready to go, I'm ready to go, I can't start anything new, the kids don't want to do anything its just a battle. I have also discovered that adding to my list of people I don't like (mainly stupid people) I have a new category...stupid parents.

One class has been exceptionally good though, for the past week I've been teaching my World History girls Latin, and we have caroled to the elementary kids its been a good time, and something that I am definitively going to do again.

For anybody that is remotely interested in our schedule:
We leave tomorrow from a wrestling tournament hopefully about 12
We'll be in Arkansas till the 26th when we leave for Louisiana
We leave to head back to Arkansas on the 31st
I'm going to be in Oklahoma at a lake the 2nd and 3rd
And then the 4th we're headed back to Colorado.

Cheers, and happy Christmas.

Sore

2008-12-17T19:26:00.002-07:00

I've been working out with a couple of friends for roughly a month now. We intend to keep it going for as long as possible. I'm not really working out for any reason other than I know that it's good for me and I LOVE how i feel after i work out.

We are doing this circuit work out. Basically, we have all of these different exercises and we start out with a high weight and only do 5-7 reps, then we lower the weight and do 10-15 reps, and then we lower the weight one more time and do 20-25 reps. And let me tell you it's hard! I'm constantly sore! But i love it! I know it's working and that makes me feel good as silly as it is. We are going to do a weight loss workout in a couple of months and I'm looking forward to that as well. It's fun. And I figure it can't hurt since I am, in fact, getting married in less than 6 months now!!! :)

a few random things...

2008-12-09T15:06:00.003-07:00

1. i got a snow day today. it has been wonderful

2. i am making my first attempt at cooking a pot roast in the crock pot today. you can't really mess up something in the crock pot, right?

3. i use lysol antibacterial wipes all the time. i'm kinda of OCD about them actually. after i cook i ALWAYS wipe down the whole kitchen with them. always.

4. we have our christmas tree up. it's kind of a charlie brown tree. it's small. but it's a tree. which is something.

5. i have never seen this much snow in any winter in arkansas... ever.

6. i finished ALL christmas shopping and wrapping about 2 weeks before thanksgiving. amazing. i know. probably the only time in my whole life that it will actually happen.

7. only 7 more work days until christmas break. i can't wait.

8. when i was little, the one thing i looked forward to as being a teacher was grading papers. it's possibly the least favorite part about my job.

9. some of my co-workers might come to our wedding (which is in AR). they are pretty amazing.

10. jamie's birthday is on friday. last year on jamie's birthday, i was at a coffee shop working on a paper. he was their going on a date. with another girl. i like to remind him of this often because i think it's quite amusing. :)

Christmas

2008-12-07T18:30:00.002-07:00

It doesn't feel like Christmas.

I've been trying to figure out why this is the last few weeks. We have the Christmas tree up and decorated. Shopping is done and presents are all wrapped and under the tree. We have snow. It's cold. I made Christmas cookies and candy yesterday. All you need right?

Wrong.

I think I've finally figured it out.

1. I've never experienced a Christmas time outside of Arkansas. Ever. In my life.

2. I don't have any of my friends around that I associate Christmas with.

and 3 (here's the big one)

I'm not near my family. And this is the one that I think gets me. I'm so used to being near my family and things that are familiar. As odd as this is one of the things I miss the most is the familiarity of Arkansas. I mean, when we were home for Thanksgiving I knew all the back roads to take and all the fun places to go and I saw more people at the mall that I knew in one day in AR than the whole time in CO. I miss that. I miss being comfortable. And I want it to feel like Christmas.

home

2008-11-25T09:17:00.002-07:00

So we're leaving to go home today. I can't wait. Thanksgiving is my absolute favorite holiday of the year. It's hard to beat the food, the football and the family.

We're leaving Simla right after school and driving to my Aunt's house tonight. We pick up Heidi from the airport Wednesday, then Mom and dad and Lis will get in Thanksgiving day. Sarah and I leave after we're done eating on Thursday to head to Arkansas. During this time we will see friends and do some wedding stuff. We leave to come back up here on Monday. The 6 days off of work will be amazing. The driving not so amazing. If anyone is curious between now and January 18th Sarah and I have more than 5000 miles on the road. It should be fun!!

Thankful

2008-11-21T16:25:00.002-07:00

So, despite resent circumstances, I still have a lot to be thankful for. Sometimes I forget how much I have to be thankful for until things start going downhill. So, here are some things that I am thankful for today.

1. Being Healthy- granted right now, I'm not healthy, I'm sick. But it reminds me that everyday that I wake up healthy, I need to be thankful for it.

2. My job- though not always pleasant, I have 17 precious children that I have the privilege to educate and shape their lives. It also pays the bills.. even though a teacher's salary is by no means generous, I live comfortably.

3. My family- This year, I not only have my own family, but I have Jamie's family too. And they are wonderful. I couldn't have asked for better in-law's. They love me and support me and have welcomed me into their family with open arms.

4. My fiance- Jamie is more than I ever could have imagined in a husband. I was flipping through my journal the other day and I had written down things that I wanted in a future husband, Jamie goes above my expectations. He loves me for who I am yet, he encourages me to be a better person each day. He supports me, encourages me, listens to me, understands me. He
has already become the spiritual leader of our future household. I am so blessed by him.

5. New Friends- The people we have met here in Colorado have already blessed our lives and I am looking forward to getting to know them more and more.

So there are just 5 of the MANY reasons that I'm thankful today.

i am sick.

2008-11-20T06:47:00.001-07:00

VERY sick. since 3 o'clock this morning.

I was going to go to school quickly to get things ready for my sub... couldn't even make it out the door.

it's bad. very very bad.

Friends and Homesick

2008-11-15T22:11:00.003-07:00

Tonight Jamie and I went over to a couple's house from church (where another couple joined us too) and we had a blast! Dinner was great, conversation was great, we played games. It was wonderful. It's nice to have friends finally.

Thanksgiving is coming up soon. I'm excited. And I'm not (which I feel HORRIBLE for saying). You see, I've finally gotten over this homesickness thing because in some ways I suppose I've forgotten what home was like. But going back home will just remind me all over again of why I want to be there and thus bring the homesickness back. Jamie and I talked about this tonight on the drive home... he said that I'll cry when we leave and it'll be hard for a while, but I'll eventually build tolerance.

I just know how miserable I felt the first month we were here... I don't care to experience it again. (Jamie said he didn't care to experience it again either since I cried pretty consistently everyday). :)

Apparently, it's winter... I didn't get the memo

2008-11-10T20:50:00.002-07:00

So, it snowed roughly 4 inches today (give or take). I was not aware that November is considered winter these days, but apparently it is. I was in the Springs most of the day today running errands and dr. appointments and it sprinkled rain while I was there but as soon as you hit the outskirts of town... watch out! It was a bilizard! (at least to my Arkansas eyes, it was a bilizard). The roads really weren't that bad. It was just snow... no ice so it wasn't too slippery unless you hit your breaks too fast or turned the wheel too fast. They had snow plows out at 4:00 or so. BUT let me tell you that snow on a dirt road is a different story. I have never experienced this phenomona... it was exciting.

I stopped off at my school on the way home to grab some stuff to do tonight. Our parking lot is dirt. I was very thankful that no one was there. Much more slippery than I expected. Then you also have to consider that the roads that Jamie and I live on are, in fact, dirt. Turning isn't the most pleasant thing I've ever done on a dirt road. Let's just say I prayed a LOT while on the dirt roads today.

Jamie and I have debated back and forth if we will have school tomorrow. If we were back at home in Arkansas, we wouldn't have school for 2 or 3 days. We figure we'll have school tomorrow. I guess we'll find out in the morning!

Other exciting news: We bought my wedding ring this weekend! It's beautiful. It's stunning with my solitare diamond. Here's the link:

http://www.helzberg.com/product/engagement+%26+wedding/new+arrivals/1-3ct+tw+diamond+solitaire+ring+wrap+1687603.do

Yep, it's winter. And it's November. And I need snow shoes BADLY.

Change

2008-11-06T17:30:00.002-07:00

I was thinking about what a different place I am in that I was just a year ago. There are SO many changes it almost boggles my mind. There are the obvious, I'm in Colorado rather than Arkansas. I'm a teacher rather than being in college. I'm ENGAGED to an incredible man.

But I'm also more confident in myself. I really believe that I'm worth something. I'm an adult. I'm an almost wife (I take care of Jamie's house like I'm his wife). I'm a teacher. I'm just so different. But it's such a good different. A lot of that I have to thank Jamie for (especially my confidence and self-worth). It just really boggles my mind though to think about what a different person I am now.

I used to think that I hated change, but this change I like, a lot.

History

2008-11-05T09:34:00.003-07:00

I saw history last night, probably the most historical moment of my life.

I voted yesterday. For the first time, I actually voted and participated in the system, and my vote counted. I voted for a candidate that I have supported and followed for 4+years, I voted for a mine who has inspired me, and inspired others. Last night, watching the coverage, I found hope again in the political system and the country. I know I'll get flack for this for falling prey to a pretty speaker, but I don't care. A lot has been said and written about how we as a country can elect a black president just a few decades after the civil rights movement. I am proud of that country. I am proud that race wasn't a big issue in the actual vote. I am proud that for once the majority of people looked past their bigotry and elected the man that they thought would do the best job.

We elected a candidate last night who, if nothing else, inspires the crap out of people like few before him. Watching and listening to his victory speech last night, I saw a million people full of emotion, many their eyes filled with tears. At McCain's party there were maybe a 1000 old grumpy white men. I feel that my generations voice is finally being heard. I feel that a candidate that relates to me has finally won. I'm inspired, and I'm excited.

I'm disappointed though, still by the ignorance I hear around me. I expect adults to have a certain degree of intelligence.. What I have heard since last night was how quickly the country was going to go down the drain, how disgusted people were with the new president, how he was an evil man and the anti-christ. I expect this out of my kids, their kids, but I expect better out of adults, and that disappoints me. Is it too much to ask for people to examine the man and his policies and not believe the propaganda. God forbid we elect a man who's middle name is Hussein, he hast to be a terrorist. God forbid we elect a man that can string together 3 words competently! He speaks well!!! He must be the anti-christ!! Grow up. Gain intelligence, get beyond your partisan bickering. The world will not end, if John McCain had won we would have been fine, he didn't we'll still be fine.

I'm inspired and I'm hopeful, but we still have a long way to go.

Idiot of the week (well month really)

2008-11-04T09:39:00.003-07:00

As you all know I teach 8th graders and some high school kids, as you also know, or at least I hope you know, today is the election. Being the brave and idealistic young teacher I decided to tackle the election the issues and the candidates head on. Wow! While I heard the usual Obama is a terrorist, a muslim and was born in Iraq (that was a new one) I do have a new all time favorite. One of my students who is by no means dumb, said without pausing "If Obama gets elected he'll give free cheeseburgers and health insurance to the lazy people sitting on their couches, and I'll have to pay for it" without skipping a beat ADD boy responds in all seriousness "Wait! Does that mean they'll take my Xbox?" to which Makeup girls responds "No Muslims don't play Xbox."

I love the eigth grade, and please vote.

Update from a freshman: Michelle Obama hates white people, and John McCain is keeping P.O.W.'s in Vietnam and not telling us.

Doomed.

2008-11-02T15:58:00.002-07:00

I feel like I've been doomed by all Christian women.

You see, every woman I seem to know (especially Christian women) seem to get this great pleasure out of cooking and cleaning and doing "house wifey" things. I, however; do not. And I have this great guilt because of it. Sometimes (and I mean a great once in a while) I enjoy BOTH. I generally enjoy cooking (but not always) and RARELY enjoy cleaning. Despite the great dislike I manage to cook everyday (generally homemade stuff at that) and thoroughly clean once a week.

humph.

Surely there is another woman who feels the same?

stockings

2008-10-28T19:32:00.002-06:00

so, jamie and i have been looking for christmas stockings. we hated everything that we saw. so, i got the brilliant idea that i would crochet us stockings. sunday i got my yarn and i eagerly started crocheting on the way home (since it's a 45 minute drive). I continued crocheting when we arrived at jamie's house. and most of the afternoon. i started over approximately 25 times.

you see, i have crocheted many scarves and even baby blankets before... i've never attempted a stocking. and i've never followed a pattern when crocheting. i just do it. the stocking... not so much. it was bad. very very bad. (keep in mind that i'm a MAJOR perfectionist, too) i decided that if we wanted to have stockings within the next 3 years... we should continue looking elsewhere. so, we found these:

http://www.potterybarn.com/products/p9773/index.cfm?pkey=choliday-stockings-tree-skirts&cm_src=sch

(sorry i don't know how to embed the link into a word)

they are very traditional. and cute. we even got them monogrammed. and i won't go crazy trying to crochet two stockings for the next three years.

ramblings.

2008-10-25T12:36:00.002-06:00

colorado is an interesting place to live. i hate to admit it that it's actually starting to grow on me (shhh! don't tell). Granted, i did not say that i liked it... it's just growing on me.

we have found a church. the sermons are like sitting through bible classes at JBU which neither of us mind. the pastor used to be a seminary prof so it all makes sense. sometimes i get antsy. i'll be the first to admit that, but we feel very welcome there... they have normal theological believes and there are people our age. we feel like we can get involved pretty quickly... so it's a good thing.

did i mention that i bought jamie and xbox for is birthday (yes, his bday is in december... i just happen to be very sweet) and fable 2? did i also mention that i'm the STUPIDEST person in the world for buying such a thing? actually, it hasn't been too horrible. he is trying to pay attention to me... gotta give him credit for that right? :)

i carved a pumpkin with my kids at school on thursday. it was very fun, and my kids were too cute saying "be careful miss lyman! don't cut yourself!" and "you are a really great pumpkin carver miss lyman!" yes, i know i'm a good pumpkin carver... i went to school for four years to do amazing things like that.

and halloween is on friday... boy are they excited! my class is one of the few classes that is allowed to dress up (it was left up to teacher discretion) and they can't wait. they are very funny kiddos and i really do love them dearly even if sometimes they make me want to pull my hair out. :)

and it snowed last week! not in simla or ramah (the towns that jamie and i live in) but in calhan (where i work)... there was just enough to cover the ground and make the sidewalks at school icy. i nearly died that day. it snowed in october. and the windchill was negative 11. NEGATIVE 11. it was colder than the coldest day i've ever experienced in AR. it is going to be a long, and very cold winter.

and now, i am off to get my hair done (i truly enjoy days like this... it is rare that i have time to pamper myself).

i'm old.

2008-10-19T21:03:00.003-06:00

so as mentioned above, we bought a new washer and dryer. super capacity too. i have just successfully completed 3 weeks worth of laundry (for two people) in an evening. my mom said that i sounded as excited about this washer and dryer as jamie was about his very early birthday present from me (his xbox). i'm pretty sure she was right. i feel like such an old woman for being excited about a washer and dryer, but it really is amazing compared to the rinky dink washer/dryer at my house that you have to dry each load 3+ times for anything to actually be dry. Or the washer that you can wash 2 pairs of jeans in and then it's maxed out. so... i'm excited. can't help it.

i think we found a church. we've gone there for two weeks now and are really impressed. it's only about 50-75 people and they meet in an elementary school, but we have felt very welcomed by the people. the church has legit theology AND there are people our age (a MAJOR plus for me). so... we'll see i guess. :)

an update on my grandma: they transfered her to a burn unit in tulsa and are doing a skin graft on her leg on tuesday because it's a third degree burn. they have her on a TON of pain meds so mom says that she's rarely awake at all. Her arms and hands are really swollen and bandaged but they will heal ok. the doctor says right now everything seems fine, but if healing does not go well there is a possibility that she could lose her leg. hopefully, that won't happen.

and thanksgiving is like in a month. and i can't wait.

washer/dryer

2008-10-18T22:13:00.001-06:00

We bought a washer and dryer today. We fit the dryer into Sarah's car, we'll do the same with the washer tomorrow. We are adults now.

when it rains, it pours...

2008-10-17T18:51:00.002-06:00

We'll this has certainly been a week. I got strep throat for the first time in my life (thanks second graders) but that is minor in comparison to today.

So, my grandma lives out in the boonies. So far out in the boonies that they don't get any trash service which means that she burns her own trash. Usually, not a problem. Until today.

She was outside burning the trash when some leaves nearby caught fire. She went over to stomp the fire out (like she's done many times in her life) but the fire caught her pants on fire. Thankfully, a neighbor had come by to chat with her and probably more or less saved her life. Her hands, arms, and legs are all burned. Severely enough that she is being transferred to the Tulsa Burn Unit tomorrow morning. Mom said she seems to be doing okay... she says she's not in much pain (she's a very tough lady) but they put her on morphine anyway.

Today, I hate living in Colorado. I want to be in Arkansas near my family and my grandma.
Pray for us. Infection is a huge worry at this point. I'm not ready to loose my grandma.

Wind

2008-10-11T12:08:00.002-06:00

i was informed by some of my co-workers that someone (who knows who this person is) did a study and it has been proven that the windiest spot in the U.S. is the intersection that I live on.

i think it's true.

if you saw how crazy my hair always looks, you would believe it too.

My life doesn't suck... I promise

2008-10-04T22:15:00.002-06:00

So, after reading that last post that I wrote I realized that it really sounded like my life sucks. It doesn't. There are some days that are just plain and simply- hard. And for whatever reason, I posted on that day. SO.... on to more uplifting things.

One of my best friends lives in Colorado Springs and I got to see her a couple of weeks ago and it was WONDERFUL. Seeing a familiar face and talking with someone that understood me and my heart was great. I really appreciate those times more than ever before.

Also, I kinda have a new friend here in Simla... the head football coaches wife. Granted she's nearly 10 years older than I am and has 2 children, she's one of the most "normal" and "real" people I've met thus far. It's been fun getting to know her and her 2 sons are really funny. Jamie and I enjoy hanging out with their family.

We are also visiting another church tomorrow. I REALLY hope that this one is normal. It will be nice to find a church home and start getting involved. I'm hoping that we might get to meet some really great people through church.

Also, I've actually been enjoying all of the high school sports. We went to a volleyball game (one of the few sports that I actually know more about the rules than Jamie) and viewed all of the homecoming festivities that followed (which were quite interesting... they go all out up here! a bonfire, car smashing, parade... crazy!). This was one of the first times that Jamie's football boys actually made connections of who I am... along with many of his other students. I got stared at a lot.

And finally, on a side note (I promise I'm not trying to sound like one of those really annoying brides-to-be that brags and only talks about her fiance...well, maybe only a little :). I have a very sweet fiance. I've been looking at tote bags to throw all my wedding stuff in (like when I go to dress fittings, cake tastings, make-up trial runs and such) so I don't have to carry so much. I hadn't bought anything yet, so he ordered me a super cute tote bag with my NEW initials on it and surprised me with it today. It was very sweet. :)

Home

2008-09-28T22:38:00.004-06:00

I'll be the first to admit that I've always wanted to just pick up and move somewhere new. And I'm SO glad to say that I've done it. It's been hard, fun, exciting, and a total adventure. But I miss Arkansas. Desperately. I don't know that I've pinpointed exactly what it is that I miss. I think it's the familiarity. I miss knowing how to go places without having to think about it. I miss knowing shortcuts going around town. I miss going to Wal-Mart and seeing half a dozen people that I know. I miss going to Mom and Dad's for Sunday lunch. I miss being within 10 minutes of pretty much any place that I wanted to go. I miss my family. And I miss my friends (although the majority of my friends are scattered all across the U.S.). I miss having someone to go shopping with and I miss having someone who just "gets" me. (Granted, Jamie "gets" me more than anyone else, but I'm talking about someone of the female gender.)

I knew it would be hard. I'm glad it's hard in fact.... it's a great learning expereince. But I'm not a country girl. And I live IN THE COUNTRY. And I'm 22. Not 32 (the general age of most people that I know).

But there are good things too. The weather is wonderful. The mountains are fabulous. And the love of my life is here... which makes it completley worthwhile.

But I miss home.

Do you know what it means to miss...

2008-09-26T12:05:00.003-06:00

I love my job, and I really am loving Simla, and Colorado in general, but I miss the south. Having lived in the south my entire life, and leaving it only rarely, I have taken for granted the oddities that I have come to love. Particularly I miss Baton Rouge and Northwest Arkansas

I think the biggest thing that I miss right now about Baton Rouge is the city itself and the energy. I miss driving by a Raising Cane's, or going to a movie at the mall. I miss the smell of wet in the air all the time, I miss sooo much LSU football. People like football here, the Bronco's are a big deal, but the college game is not cared about as much. I miss the rabidness of LSU fans, and of SEC fans in general. No matter what people say there is no conference like the SEC. What I miss the most about NWA is all my friends. I was incredibly lucky to live with my friends for about 4 years. Not being able to see them everyday, to walk over to one of their rooms to play video games or just to talk, not going out to the porch to drink beer or moulded wine, is something that I find myself missing more and more and more. I have friends here. I like the people I work with, and Sarah is here. But i desperately miss my friends.

While this might sound like a depressing post, its not intended to. It's fall, and I love this season most of all, but it makes me think of home, of family, and of friends. Regardless of all this the job is going well. We have a big test coming up in football tomorrow (I hate playing high school games on Saturday, doesn't make a bit of sense) and we'll see how that goes. My parents are also here which has been nice, we're going to head into town tonight so that should be a lot of fun.

Funny story of the week time. While not as funny as the last one, and a story that is probably lacking in general funnieness. We had a kid at football practice get a head injury the other day. It was a relatively minor one so we weren't too worried but we needed to go through the motions anyway. The first thing we did was ask him to remember the phrase: grapes apples oranges. He did...kinda of. His response when we asked him was "Apples! No, damn!! Grapes, peaches, No damn... Grapes apples oranges, No damn, wait damn That was it huh? The response of the coach was that he was the first person to every possibly get a concussion that didn't have a brain.

Cheers, and long live the south!

Fall

2008-09-21T20:01:00.002-06:00

Well its fall, or it will be tomorrow. Time is moving along quickly. This will be a fairly long and random post/update since its been a while. We've been in school for about 6 weeks, though it seems a lot longer, and I (jamie) have finally received my first paycheck. One of the worst part about being a new teacher is that in most districts you have to wait a month to get paid. For me is was a bout a month and a half of working before I actually got paid. Now I enjoy my job, love the school and the kids, but there is no way in hell that I would do what I am doing for free. Way too much stress and way too much time. So being paid (and being paid what I think is well) was nice.

School is going well, and I feel as though I have learned a lot. I have learned that teaching without technology is hard, I have learned that staying one step ahead of your class is sometimes all you can do, I have learned that having no school on Mondays is one of the greatest things that a school district can do for the sanity of its teachers, and I have learned that 8th graders can either be some of the most horrid creatures on God's green earth or some of the most fun. I really enjoy teaching, its been kinds of surprising, and the district that I am in is really good. If I need something they get it. They want me to succeed and have helped in every way that they can to see that I do. They people that I work with are great, from the principal to the janitors, I feel comfortable. Football is going well too. The varsity is 4-0 and should be ranked this week and the JV is 1-0, with a game tomorrow. I call the offensive plays for the JV and am the line coach for the varsity. I have decided that coaching is easily the most stressful thing that a man can do. You have absolutely no control of what happens when the kids get on the field. All you can do is yell (loudly and frequently) and hope that they hear and remember what they learned in practice.

We're also getting used to the area. I love it here. I like the small town, and Colorado. It's beautiful. I love driving into the Springs and seeing Pikes Peak the whole way in. The trees are starting to change too, and they are gorgeous. I think my favorite part about here though is the weather. I've had my AC on two days, and it was on because I was sick and wanted it on, not because I need it. It's nice, especially on the wallet.

To end my funny story of the week, and yes John, I'm stealing this from you. My last hour of the day I teach Jr. High P.E. The class is made up of 6th-8th graders who, for one reason or another do not play sports. Most days the class is similar to herding cats, no order and just trying to keep the kids in line, some days though it is OK. Last week when we were waiting for the bell to ring I had a child come up to me and say "Coach Stallings! Look at this" the child is pointing at both his chin and his upper lip. I respond "What am I looking at" student says "I have a pimple! And I'm growing a mustache!" at this point I'm trying (hard) not to laugh. The student then proceeds to say that he is becoming a man (and will be one when the mustache grows in) and that with the pimple he will be able to get the "hot girl" in class (who happens to be standing about three feet away). What makes this story funny, to me at least, is that the child was dead serious when he said it. O the joys of P.E.

jamie

Wedding and Weekend

2008-09-12T16:17:00.002-06:00

So... we've really got a lot done for the wedding... like I'm kinda surprised at our progress. We have the church reserved, we have a pastor, we have a reception site, we have attendants, we have a photographer, i think i've found my shoes, i have a good idea about the bridesmaid dresses. I feel like only being engaged for a few weeks that's a lot to have done! Kristin and I are going to go wedding dress shopping soon (i'm so excited! and i'm so glad she is close by!) and Jamie and I are going to a bridal faire on sunday (i roped jamie into going with me by telling him that we could register to win a free honeymoon but he had to be there to do it! :) so sneeky... i know)

This weekend is gonna be NUTS... Jamie is on the road for football and won't be back till late tonight so I'm on my own for this evening (which may mean venturing into the springs to do some shopping! :) ) although i must go home first do make myself not look like i'm from the 80's (today was 80's day today...

Then Saturday I have stupid class in the monring, but Jamie and i are going on a date saturday evening... dinner and a movie! HURRAY!

Sunday is church and the bridal faire

Monday starts parent/teacher conferences for me.... boo! i'm not excited about this

but it should be a good weekend. nonetheless.. i'm gonna go home!

love!
s.

Cold

2008-09-09T09:36:00.003-06:00

It is cold in Colorado.

Actually, it's not that bad, but I'm used to September still being summer. It's actually fall here and the wind makes it feel like winter.

My house has HORRIBLE insulation. Last night I slept with fleece pj pants, a t-shirt and sweatshirt on. Then I had a quilt, comforter, and another huge blanket on after that. I was never warm once during the night. It's going to be a VERY cold winter.

I could have turned the heat on; however, I refuse to turn on the heat in SEPTEMBER... i'll break down and do it eventually, but it's just too soon.

Today started out horrible by the way: spilling my entire cup of coffee on my desk/floor, copy machine jammed, and spending time taking care of those things meant that I didn't have time to do others. Which I should go do now, but I needed to vent.

And my job is hard. Much harder than I ever expected. I hate not having another 2nd grade teacher. It has to get better eventually.

Random things from school...

2008-09-04T16:13:00.002-06:00

So, my kids crack me up... here are a few favorites:

Me: Who can tell me the three parts of the water cycle?
Student: Evaporation, CONSTIPATION, precipitation!

Me: Who can tell me what Labor Day is?
Student: It's when everybody has babies... duh!!

Student this morning: So, Miss Lyman we can all come to your wedding, right?

The other hilarious thing is that I've convinced them that there is a desk fairy that comes around a night time and puts treats in desks that look nice and neat and organized. And I mean that EVERY one of my kids believes it. So, last night the desk fairy came for the first time and you would have thought they found gold in their desk. They were so stinkin excited... she even left them a note! :) it was cute and i could hardly keep from laughing.

They are funny kiddos. We had a really great day today. Thank goodness!!

Yes, we are engaged!

2008-09-03T16:23:00.000-06:00

So, as you have probably seen... we are engaged! Jamie proposed on August 31st on the top of Pike's Peak... here's the story of how it happened...

My parents came into town for Labor Day weekend. The arrived late Friday night and I knew that Jamie had planned on asking for Dad's permission sometime that weekend. Saturday morning Jamie got to my house and talked to Dad and Mom about marrying me and then let them in on the plan of how he would do it. We ran around on Saturday and all day Jamie was giddy and being super sweet. I didn't really think anything of it. So we planned on going to Pike's Peak early Sunday morning since it usually rains in the afternoon. We left the house about 6:45 and the whole way there Jamie was super quiet. When I asked him about it, he just said that he was "tired" (which he really was since he didn't sleep the night before because he was so excited and nervous!) We stopped before we went up to Pike's Peak to go to the bathroom and I gave Jamie a hug and he quickly grabbed my hand and kissed me and moved on (because I almost grabbed the ring box! I realized all this after the fact ;) ) When we got to the top of Pike's Peak, Jamie said he wanted to take a picture with me so I followed him over to the spot. When I caught up with him he said, "So, Sarah... I have a question for you." My heart started pounding because I was hoping that he would ask me. Then, he got down on one knee and said, "Sarah, will you marry me?" Of course I said YES!! and we hugged and kissed and whatnot... I was literally floating on cloud 9 and I still am!!

We are getting married on June 12, 2009 back in Arkansas. I'M SO EXCITED!!!

Engaged

2008-08-31T16:03:00.005-06:00

We're engaged!!

Pay Day

2008-08-28T11:26:00.002-06:00

I got my first paycheck today! I feel like I've earned every cent of that money... too bad there weren't a ton of bills that need to be paid. Teachers aren't paid enough... but there's not too much I can do about that.

Jamie and I are going to go out to dinner tonight to celebrate my first pay check. Going out to dinner is a HUGE treat for us since it takes about 30 minutes to get to the nearest restaurant... we never go out turning the week either since he doesn't get done with football until like 7:00. It will be a late dinner, but I don't care... it's one less night I have to cook! I honestly don't know how my mom has done it all these years... teaching all day and then coming home to a family to cook for and then help us with homework and get us to bed... I'm exhausted everyday and cooking for two is plenty much less doing anything else when I get home. I was just thinking yesterday that I need to clean both mine and Jamie's houses but there's just no time... and I'm too tired to do it! Granted, the houses aren't that bad, but some things still need to be done.... all well... I guess I'll figure out a balance to how to do all of this eventually.

Mom, Dad, and David are coming up this weekend. It should be fun... we'll go to Pike's Peak and Garden of the Gods and maybe do some shopping? I'm excited nonetheless... this is the first weekend I've had off in about a month I guess. Jamie and I will probably go to the Simla picnic on Monday... One of our friends who we graduated with will be in town so we'll get to see her... I'm so excited just to see someone I know for once!

My kids have been crazy these last few days... I don't know what the deal is... this afternoon we are going to have a little heart to heart. :)

Okay, I should head out... need to get some stuff done before they come back from recess.

-s.

Wasting Time...

2008-08-26T16:31:00.000-06:00

So I'm at school and should be getting things together to go home, but I'm not... so I thought I'd write. I just finished 2 of 3 grad classes yesterday... thank goodness! Just three more classes for the other one and I'm DONE for this semester at least. I REALLY want to start my counseling program for grad school; however, we've decided that Jamie will start with his admin degree first and then I'll go for counseling... but I can't hardly wait!

I REALLY wish that there was another 2nd grade teacher here... it really would make my life so much easier... it's so hard being the only one in your grade and having to come up with ALL the ideas to do things... all of you with teams, be glad! I'm jealous.

Ok... I really should go... I have a mound of papers to grade and need to tidy up a bit before I go home and cook up some dinner for us tonight.

-s.

2008-08-24T17:22:00.002-06:00

So...

We went to church today for the first time... the previous weeks we have been completely exhausted and just needed rest... we've both been working 6 days a week (and we still are) but today we made it and we won't go back to this particular church so we've got to look more which we expected... but the process is just frustrating...

Jamie took the job of being the assistant wrestling coach yesterday. It means practices right after football is over and lots of Saturday meets but it's $1700 which we could definitely use. I figure I'll occupy my time on Saturdays with school stuff and other planning :)

We'll write more soon.....

The first week

2008-08-16T18:39:00.002-06:00

Well the first week is over. I (jamie) have had a long one, my shortest day this week (not counting Monday, which was a funeral and driving) has been 12 hours, Sarah's been just as bad. We have both been going to bed about 9, it's ridiculous. Football is going well. I am really enjoying coaching, and I have a pretty good group of kids too. I like being in the classroom as well. Simla is a really great school, with a lot of support from everybody, and 4 day weeks. In other news, the past two days it hasn't gotten above 60, it's crazy. It's August not January. That's all I have time for now.

Cheers

jamie

It starts tomorrow!

2008-08-13T11:49:00.001-06:00

The first day of school is tomorrow! Pray we survive (or at least I do.... Jamie will be great). I feel like I'll never truly be "caught up" with everything... So our first day of school as real teachers begins!!!!!! :)

Some bad news....

2008-08-09T06:26:00.002-06:00

It seems like things continually get busier and crazier for us. Yesterday morning, Jamie's grandma passed away. It wasn't totally unexpected, but it's still not easy. Jamie just headed out to Texas this morning and will stay until after the funeral on Monday. Thankfully, he works for great people so it wasn't a big deal about missing inservice on Monday. So, keep Jamie and his family in your prayers... Jamie is doing really well... remarkably strong and brave but this weekend will be stressful and the first day of school is Thursday so he has a lot on his plate.

-s.

Quick Update

2008-08-05T15:24:00.002-06:00

So, just thought I'd write a quick update. Things are going well for us. Jamie started football practice yesterday and two a days start next week. I (Sarah) am currently in a grad class. It's interesting to say the least and I'll be glad when it's over. I also start another class on Saturday since I am a new teacher and hold an Arkansas teachers license. And school starts a week from Thursday. We both have back to school BBQ's coming up soon and my classroom is a disaster area right now! So... there's a lot to do and I don't think it'll slow down anytime soon! We get internet at our houses on Thursday so we should be updating more regularly!

-s.

So we're here

2008-07-31T16:23:00.003-06:00

As you can tell from Sarah's last post we've been here a few days. Its been good, but hard. A lot of work has went in to setting everything up and it's still not done. I (jamie) have been unpacking and setting up my apartment, it is essentially done, all I'm waiting on now is internet and satellite, its supposed to come next Thursday, I'm ready for that. I got my keys to my classroom today, I really needed too as well. I have a lot to work to do, teaching a subject that I've never had a class on and rarely studied is going to be a challenge to say the least, but I think it will work out and be an enjoyable experience. The room is nice, I have a lot of work to do to get it ready but it should be OK, I still have a little while till school starts. Football camp starts Monday, it's been five years since I played, but I feel like I should do OK as a coach (I can teach a small girl how to block).

Simla is OK, it will take some getting used to be so far away from everything, especially being so far from everything (40 minutes to Wal-Mart) but it will work, and we are both excited about being here and the upcoming year.

jamie

We are HOME!

2008-07-27T21:37:00.002-06:00

So, we arrived in our new home this afternoon. It's been a tiring couple of days with all the driving (this is by far the longest I've EVER driven... usually I'm a passenger, not a driver) and everyone is exhausting. Nonetheless..... Jamie's place is great. We decided on a second floor apartment because it was nicer and much cleaner. It has a balcony that we can put a grill on which we are excited about and all in all should be a great place... now my place.... that's another story. I cried when a I saw it for a number of reasons... mainly because I am tired. It will be fine once it is decorated a bit. It's just.... old. and no one has lived there in a long time. and it's from the 70's. So... it's not amazing and considering that my apartment in Siloam was really beautiful this is a major downgrade, but it's ok. Heidi and Melissa (Jamie's sisters) are going to help me decorate and that will help it look a lot better and more homey. Everyone keeps reminding me that I probably won't be living there for long which makes it okay too. :)

Anyways, today has been stressful. We are all tired and stressed so sleep will do us some good. Tomorrow we will unload and Tuesday shop for some new curtains and stuff for me (like I said.... my place needs some love).... So life should be interesting the next few weeks. I get my classroom key tomorrow! I'm REALLY excited about that.

So here we are.... we'll update soon!

-s.

The Loading Begins

2008-07-24T20:06:00.004-06:00

So at last after days and days and days and days of packing, we are ready to load. Sarah has more stuff than I ever believed was possible. Hopefully we will be able to fit everything and then be on the road for Sunday.

And so it begins...

Side Note: I really don't have THAT much stuff... keep in mind that I've been living in a house for the past year so I have everything for a kitchen, living room, bathrooms, bedroom, etc. He'll be glad I have it all once we get there... I'm sure of it :) -s.

So we're moving

2008-07-23T12:37:00.001-06:00

So Sarah and I (jamie) are moving. We're both teaching in Colorado. I am teaching 3 differant history classes and coaching football. Sarah, is a second grade teacher. We plan on updating this (likely less than we intend to now) regularly to keep people updated on our lives, to avoid mass emails, and to stay away from those damn facebook notes. To start this off I'm posting the note that Sarah wrote about our job discovery.

Yes, yes... it's a surprise to me too! As of today, I was just officially offered a job teaching second grade at Frontier Charter Academy in Calhan, Colorado. It's a rather interesting story and for those of you who know how incredibly frustrated I've been with the school systems in this area this is such a huge blessing! So, for those of you who don't know... here's the story of how all this came to be:

All summer long I've been applying for jobs tirelessly and it's been really frustrating not getting any calls, interviews, or anything. About the end of June I had a break down and just decided to quit. My own efforts weren't getting me anywhere and I was very discouraged. I figured that if the Lord had a place for me, He would be the one to get me the job, not me. So I was done. About this same time, Jamie had just been turned down by a school in this area and was really discouraged as well; however, about 2 hours later a friend we graduated with messaged him and said that her dad was looking for a social studies teacher in Simla, CO. Jamie figured it wouldn't hurt to at least look into it. So before we knew it, he had a phone interview and then was flown out there to have a formal interview. Of course, they loved him and offered him a contract. This meant a long distance relationship for us, which we weren't excited about, but totally willing to do.... after a lot of crying and discussing, we decided that it was best for him to go ahead and take the position.

While Jamie was out there, he discussed with his boss the fact that I was looking for a job as well. The day that Jamie accepted the offer from Simla, his superintendent called and said that he had a friend who was a principal and was looking for a second grade teacher and wanted to know if he could pass my name along. Of course, Jamie said sure. About five minutes later, I got a call from this principal and we set up a phone interview. The interview went GREAT. I wouldn't have changed a thing and the next day I was "unofficially" offered the position. The school board had the meeting today and I was officially accepted as their second grade teacher! I'm amazed at how gracious the Lord is and His perfect timing. It's a school I did absolutely nothing to get into. I guess it just goes to show that He has a perfect way and it usually doesn't involve us. So... my first day of teacher inservice is the 30th of July! So, it's a fast move, but I'm excited. I'm really looking forward to what is ahead!