Christmas and New Years

I have been planning to make a new post for awhile now. But my computer and Steven's computer were both not working properly. We finally got Steven's working. but mine is still not cooperating. My pictures are on that computer, so for now pictures are going to have to wait. But they will be here eventually.

We went to Colorado with my parents right after school got out and stayed for 5 days. We came back before Christmas. It was BEAUTIFUL. And I never really believed it, but the cold really is different out there. Single digits in Colorado feels like the 30s or 40s in Florida. Crazy.

Steven really enjoyed skiiing, because he is good at it (like he is at everything.) I did not enjoy myself the first day and a half.;Probably because the majority of the time was spent either falling in the snow or getting up from falling in the snow. I cried many tears of frustration. But in the end, I got the hang of it and could ski down the entire trail without falling. I was proud of myself. I promise to post pictures soon.

We spent Christmas in Jacksonville and stayed until New Years. Keith and Jane took us to Disney's Hollywood Studios and to St. Augustine for Ripley's Believe It or Not and ghost tour. Overall, the break was great but went by far too quickly. I was not ready to return to school on Monday AT ALL. But I survived and will continue to survive until this year is over.

I am behind on my New Year's goals; I haven't written them down yet. I have been lazy (which believe it or not, is one of my goals to work on.) I guess I wanted to start my goals a week after everyone else. As soon as I decide on my goals I will post them again.

So long to anyone who actually reads this. And with my sporadic posting could be no one.

Laura

Birthdays!

Well, my birthday was a month ago and I failed to post then. But Steven's birthday was yesterday and we had a pretty good day!

We had the official birthday dinner on Friday: Ribs (hamburgers for me), homemade fries and mac and cheese. I made a Chocolate Chip Cheesecake Pie for dessert. It did not turn out perfectly but it tastes good!

I woke up before Steven and got everything ready to make Chocolate Chip Whole-Wheat Waffles. They are normally Steven's breakfast of choice. Steven was still not awake so I got to work on making him a card. It was simple, but he seemed to like it. I even wrote him a silly little poem to make it like a real greeting card.

Once Steven woke up, I made the waffles (which, for whatever reason, have been giving me a lot of problems lately. They are sticking a lot and the mix is not making very many waffles, even after I double it.) After breakfast, it was pretty much time to go up to the game.

The Gators FINALLY put together a non-stressful, offensive game. I don't care if most people thought it was boring.. .I loved seeing the offense do something for once. Even if the opponent was less than stellar.

After the game we came home to let the traffic clear out some and then went to Chick-Fil-A. Chick-Fil-A gives you a free meal on your birthday and we had coupons and a gift card! We both ate dinner for about $3. It was GREAT!

Now we are gearing up for Thanksgiving in Lakeland. Hopefully, I can get better at this.

Changes

Well, a lot has happened since the last time I blogged. I am no longer a 4th grade teacher. My unit was cut 2 weeks after school started so I had to go back to Kindergarten. I am disappointed because I LOVED 4th grade. The Lord showed me in the short time I was there that I don't have to be afraid of older kids. Unfortunately, now I am not enjoying Kindergarten as much as I used to. I am finding it very hard and frustrating to reach the kids. They just don't seem to care much.

Football season has started here in Gainesville, so our weekends are pretty much consumed by Gator games. So far, we are undefeated. Keep it up boys!

Steven's classes are going well. He doesn't seem to have quite as many tests as normal, but a lot more little projects. He only has about 16 more weeks until he starts his first internship. He will be doing his first 3 internships in Jacksonville, which means I will be in Gainesville alone. It will be lonely, but it will be Gator softball season, which will keep me busy.

I am going to try to update again soon. I need to come up with a theme or something for my blog.

Laura

So long, so long

I must sound like a broken record but obviously I am not very good at this blogging thing. But I am going to try to get better. In the months that have passed since my last post I have been rehired at my school. I am going to be a 4th grade teacher and am feeling more nauseous every day. I am very nervous, but excited at the same time. It will be a new adventure and I have a feeling I might end up loving it!

This past weekend, Steven and I went down to Lakeland to help my parents with some things around the house and have a garage sale. Steven put up crown molding in my parents spare room and it looked great. We went to a Rays/Red Sox game as well and were treated to a home run fest! We saw 6 home runs over the course of the game (unfortunately, none came our way!)

The Trop!

Steven and I after the game! We Won!



My pseudo little brother Caleb also got married this weekend and we went down to the wedding in Lake Placid. It was a beautiful wedding, but it is hard for me to believe that little Caleb is married. But it did give me a chance to catch up with all my old friends.

The cute grooms cake!

I am really going to try to work on being more intentional about blogging, but I feel like my life is so boring and I don't have anything to say. But everyone has to start somewhere.

Run, Run, Run!

Well, apparently I am not very good at this whole blogging thing yet. I really just don't have anything interesting to say and that makes it difficult.

This past weekend Steven and I ran the Gate River Run is Jacksonville,which is a 15k. This is the 4th year we have run in the race. Every other year I was able to finish the race, but not without walking some. This year I REALLY wanted to run the entire thing. Since January, I worked really hard. I ran all over the University of Florida campus, stadiums, hills, winding ramps, long distances, etc. I felt great in the days leading up to the race. But I tend to get race anxiety. All the people and noises stress me out instead of pump me up. But I am happy to say that I easily made it through the entire race. I felt GREAT throughout the entire run. It was awesome and I was so excited. We finished the race is 1:39 and change. It isn't great, but it is better than ever before. And the best part: I wasn't even sore the next day! It made all the other days of soreness totally worth it!

School and the Weekend

Well the weekend did not start off all that well. I found out at the end of the day on Friday that my contract will not be renewed for next year. Thankfully, I still have a job for the rest of the school year. However, I will not have a job next year which concerns. I really want to find another job teaching since it is what I love to do. Steven and I are prayerfully considering what we should do next.

After hearing the news, I shed some tears, but I was determined not to let it ruin my weekend. Our friends Josh and Becca were coming to stay with us for the weekend and we were going to Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure on Saturday. We had such a great time. We rode the rides, talked and laughed a lot. I am so glad we went because it took my mind off everything happening with school. We love when Josh and Becca visit because we always have a great time. Steven and I didn't do anything super special for Valentine's Day. We had a nice dinner at home, watched Jon and Kate plus 8, and exchanged gifts (we each got each other a book.) It was simple, but nice.

Please pray for us as we begin the search for a new job for me.

Trying something new!

I have been thinking for awhile that I wanted to start a blog since I know so many people with blogs. I wanted to give it a shot and use it as a way to get into writing again. Sometimes I really miss writing and this will provide an oppurtunity to write.

Unfortunately, my first post is not a happy one. I am in serious danger if lossing my job in the next few weeks. The state is cutting the Marion County operating budget by $27 million and our county has decided that the solution is to cut all first and second year teachers. Obviously, I don't agree with them. Public education in Florida is already mediocre and eliminating good teachers is not going to help students be more successful. Class sizes will more than likely increase and "special" classes such as art, music and pe, will either be eliminated or drastically reduced. I never thought that as a teacher, I would be worried about my job. I am praying that I will trust in the Lord to provide a way for me to either keep my current job or provide a new teaching job somewhere else. I truly feel that teaching is my calling and is the only thing I really want to do.