Sisters are Forever Friends

I just got done spending most of the last three days with my two sisters.  One of them, "J," is a teacher like I am and the other, "A," is wonderful enough (umm..or would that be PATIENT enough) to listen to all of our stories and then still even take personal vacation days to come up to help us in our classrooms.  We typically spend one day in my room and one day in "J's" either cleaning, rearranging furniture, sorting books, or one of those other million things that teachers have to do to get prepared for our next group of students.
  **Sidenote:  I'm so glad I wrote about rearranging furniture!  It reminded me to e-mail the custodians about putting 3 more desks in my classroom.  That reminded me to e-mail a teacher friend about some things I found online that she might like, which reminded me that I also needed to e-mail my teacher sister.  I almost forgot that I was doing this blog...until of course I e-mailed my sister.  I think I might be able to create a teacher version of If You Give a Mouse a Cookie with all of that.  :)  But until then, back to my sisters...

Both of my sisters are younger than I am, but I am quite certain I would be identified as the youngest by anyone that doesn't know better.  ;)  "J" is the middle and yes, she fits that label well.  My mom and dad both make sure their grays are covered (well, actually my dad's haven't been covered since the box of hair dye turned it some funky shade of red) and I am sure the majority of those grays were the result of the zest for life my sister had.  She actually still has that zest along with this amazing giving nature.  She is always doing something for someone else.  She also has this amazing way of staying connected with her friends and loved ones. 

The youngest of us sisters is "A," and she could best be described as organized, punctual, and cheap...I mean frugal.  It's okay.  I can say this about her as she knows how well that being frugal has worked out for her.  If it wouldn't make a mark on her spiffy car, she would proudly stick a bumper sticker titled, "Frugal and proud of it!"  You may be thinking that she doesn't sound like a whole lot of fun to be around.  Quite the opposite actually.  "A" is a complete jokester.  Some of my favorite Christmas gifts from the past have been the following:  an old pair of my glasses from elementary, books that were mine as a teen, some horrible goat soap, and an old-time cassette tape full of old-time country songs. 

When my sisters and I get together, we always seem to have plenty to talk and giggle about.  This time around we reminded "A" about all of the times she used to lock herself in the bathroom as a child (she's quite possibly more stubborn than I am and is well known in our family for her ostrich tantrum--head down on the floor, butt up in the air).  We would write notes to her and slide them under the bathroom door begging her to come out.  Of course when we shared these stories, Ms. Freaky Memory (she remembers everything) doesn't seem to recall this at all...but she does remember the time we locked her out of the house. 

I am sure I could share stories for a long, long time.  Growing up our in the country with only 4 TV channels provided us with plenty of time to play together and make memories that will last a lifetime.  Here's to creating many more!

To close things up, I'd like to share a perfect quote about sisters: 

Having a sister is like having a best friend you can't get rid of.  You know whatever you do, they'll still be there.  -Amy Li

Five Praises

1.  FRIENDS-I seriously have the most amazing friends ever.  I often will think of them throughout the day and just smile. Oh how I could go on and on about them...but, I will just say that I cannot imagine my life without them.  They are true blessings!

2.  CHURCH-I have been a member of 4 different churches in my lifetime and have found all of them to be SO different even though they have all been Lutheran churches.  This of course means that I have had MANY pastors as well.  Just as a teacher in a classroom can "make or break" a good portion of a child's experience in school, I believe it is the same for a pastor in a church.  During my teen years, I was blessed with Pastors Mary and Gary.  They were young and married and brought such life to our church.  For the first time ever, I couldn't wait to go!  Thankfully, it is the same for me now at my current church.  Pastor John never ceases to amaze my husband and me.  We truly leave church feeling inspired, motivated, and thankful.  I am mostly just so thankful that Ian has been able to be part of this church family (as he just came out of his room playing his guitar--wonder where he learned about that?).  He used to scream when we had to leave church--he knew it was good even at the tender age of 2.  :) 

3.  PATIENCE-I find it very odd that one of my best characteristics as a classroom teacher is patience; yet I find myself asking for God to help me with that when it comes to anything outside of the classroom.   At any rate, I do believe that my patience for those things that are out of my control is improving.  Perhaps it is because God keeps placing those situations in my life to test me. 

4.  COOKING-I love, love, love to cook.  I have so many recipe books and find myself looking up new recipes all of the time.  I am thankful that I was given the talent and interest to do so.  It is been an extra blessing as we are trying to cut down on our spending.  I never thought I would be baking my own buns, making my own softened butter, taco seasoning, syrup, etc.  Cooking is a great escape for me as well.

5.  FAMILY-I know I have shared them before in my 5 praises; but they are worth repeating.  :)  I have so many loving family members (including those that live with me of course).  Neither Chris or I grew up with a lavish lifestyle (quite the opposite actually), but we knew we were loved, we learned how to work hard and value what we have, and that's the kind of "rich" that is for me.

Trying to Make Light of a Dim Situation

So, Chris and I have been trying to conceive since April 2010.  It was a huge leap of faith to decide to do this as bringing Ian into the world healthy was not an easy task and I swore he would be our only child.  

When I found out that I was pregnant in September, we were elated!  Ian was so excited, too.  He would tell us that it was his biggest dream come true.  Unfortunately I miscarried at the end of October.  It was such an incredibly painful process--physically and emotionally.  Actually, the whole conceiving process has been a very trying and emotional rollercoaster and there have been many times in which I just plain wanted off the darn ride!!  But for some reason, I continue to keep going. 

A few weeks ago, my doctor said that he would like to try a drug called Clomid.  Now I am not a drug-taker.  If I have a headache, I let it get to the point of nearly crying in pain before I take something.  I also am not a fan of needles.  So, you can imagine my level of apprehension when he told me that I would take one drug by mouth for 5 days and then have to use an injectible for 2 days!  I came home and discussed it with my husband and some dear friends and ultimately decided that I would go for it.  Of course I still held out hope that we would be able to conceive without the drugs during my current cycle.  I found out this morning that it would not happen...the Clomid would be necessary.  The really unfortunate part is that when I would need to go in for the 3 days of ultrasounds after taking the drugs, we will be back at my parents' house in MN.  So, this next cycle is out. 

I often question whether God is telling me, "No...this is not my plan for you," or if he is saying, "This is not my plan for you right now." I mean, how many times can something not go as you planned before you say, "Alrighty then...enough is enough."?   For right now, I guess I still feel like I need to keep trying. 

So of course, I have a plan.  It took a few hours of being mad, disappointed, sad, etc.  But really, who can stay like that for too long?  First of all, I am going to enjoy my trip back home with my family.  Second, I am going to enjoy some alone time with my hubby as we celebrate 11 wonderful years married to each other.  My third plan is to fully enjoy turning 40 on my birthday which is just a couple of short weeks away.  Fourth, I am going to continue to improve my health with the Couch to 5K program we are doing.  Finally, I really am going to make that appointment with the acupuncturist this time.  I have read that it can improve your chances of conceiving and I am all for a natural way to help with that!  Beyond that, I am just going to hand my worries over to the one that can handle them better than I.  :)

Taking Time to Relax & Enjoy Family

We were able to take a mini-trip this past weekend to see my sister and brother-in-law.  We don't see them as often as we would like as the miles between us equal a good 4-1/2 hour drive.  That's hard to squeeze into a weekend.  We were lucky enough this time to be able to leave around lunch time on Friday and stay through until late afternoon on Sunday.  That's the way to go! 

On Friday night, I was able to go to a Relay for Life with my sister. It was so wonderful to have the time to chat, laugh, and walk at the same time. We rarely get those moments with each other anymore, so I enjoyed every minute of it (with the exception of having to dodge dog poop every lap we made--YUCK). Meanwhile, the boys stayed back home and played some pool.

Saturday was the day Ian was waiting for the most. "Why?" you ask? Well, the boat ride of course! My brother-in-law has a pretty new fishing boat and since the weather was beautiful, we were able to venture out for a boat ride and some fishing. The last time that Ian was on a boat ride was when he was three, so I couldn't wait to see his expression when we took off. As imagined, it was awesome! He laughed and laughed and laughed. I told my husband last night that I wished I had thought to do a video instead. His laughter was priceless. Talk about the lighter side of life! Those are the moments you hang on tight to and bring back out when life is a little heavy.

Five Ian Praises

Today is my son's birthday and like most kids, he has been counting the days and hours until this big day arrived.  Most of you probably know that bringing Ian into the world was not easy!  I was admitted into the hospital at 28 weeks, where I stayed until he was delivered at 35 weeks.  He was in the NICU until his actual due date and we spent the majority of the time there (from admittance on) being told that he may have Down Syndrome or some other developmental issue that would follow him the rest of his life.  After weeks of many weeks of testing, we said, "Enough!"  I didn't believe in my heart that anything was "wrong" with him.  Thankfully, we were right.  In honor of my sweet boy, I'm going to make my five praises all about him today as he is one of the biggest blessings in my  and Chris's life and is truly a miracle.

1.  I praise God for your ability to just join into a new group of kids and make conversation.
2.  I praise God for your wonderful sense of humor and ability to bring smiles to the faces of so many!
3.  I praise God for your intelligence.  You are such a smart kid.
4.  I praise God for your love of music.  You are a delight to listen to, whether you are singing or making up songs on your keyboard.
5.  I praise God for you, just being you! 

I love you, Sweet Pea!!

A Much Lighter Closet

Okay...I said I would post the before and after pics.  Hopefully I am not the only one who uses their closet as the "hiding" area when you need to clean up quickly.  :)  I am quite proud of how much I got rid of and the closet is so much more airy! 

When You Marry a Teacher...

Chris and I have been together now for nearly 13 years.  When we first started dating, I was a Head Start teacher.  It didn't take him long to figure out that a lot of my time outside of my job would be consumed by...yep, you guessed it--my job!  Along with my free time being taken by my job, he also learned that a whole lot of my money and living space would also be used for my job.  I am pretty certain this is the norm for teachers.  We love our jobs and do about anything we can to make learning for our kids the best it can be, even if that means the giving of our money, time, and space in our homes!  :)

Here's the deal.  Teachers tend to be collectors.  Chris learned early in our relationship that you DON'T THROW ANYTHING!  "Do you want me to save this butter container, Sweetie?"  "How about this baby food jar?"  "What on earth are you going to do with juice lids?"  Oh, yes.  We teachers are creative creatures and I never wanted to throw anything for fear that it could be used for some center activity or art project in the future.  Honestly, here's the problem:   There really is not time for art projects anymore and there just isn't time in our day to create and put together a lot of extensive center activities.  Plus, I am growing weary of all of these items taking up space in my classroom and home.  It is time to lighten these two living spaces up and this is the time to do it.

I am going to put myself out there and post some pictures of my two "homes."  My real one and my school home.  In my defense, please note that I have been accumulating classroom items for 13 years.  With the exception of the summer that I spent at United Hospital on bedrest with Ian, I have devoted my summers to taking coursework and improving myself as a teacher.  Also, I do the majority of my lesson planning at home because it's just too difficult to find time during the school day to do so.  This means I bring a lot of resources home and keep them here.  The first picture will be of my bedroom closet (yes, school stuff makes it there also) which I am lightening up today.  Stay tuned for before and after shots.