My Phone... part 2

It was stolen. $370 of downloads. I was so irritated. Thank goodness for ATT, they took care of everything. I am sad...

Don't call my cell phone. It is off. Call my house phone. If you don't know it, email me.

Again, I'm sad.

~N

6 months!

Matt and I have been married 6 months today! Totally crazy. We have learned so much and are continuing to learn. We are having fun learning how to be together and spending lots of time together (making up for the long distance, I suppose!)

On Thursday, my last day of school, Matt and I planned a trip to Tahoe, just for a night. We stayed at the Montbleu on the Nevada side of Tahoe. We got there around 4 and explored the hotel. It was pretty nice. We were cheap and got the 2 queen sized beds versus the 1 king because it was cheaper. Whatever though, we sleep on a full so queen is bigger!

We played the Deal or No Deal slot, I lost 20 bucks fast and could no longer play. (I over think and just wanted to keep my money). Matt was winning a lot so we kept going. We ate some yummy Mexican and had a margarita (which was really strong). I learned how to play Roulette, which Matt won at also. We ended 20 bucks up!

The next morning I got a manicure from the spa! Very nice...and then we drove home. Chain control was in effect so it was a LONG drive home. But, we made it in time for Laura and Eric's rehearsal dinner!

It was a nice time to get away!

~N



Winter Wonderland!



Driving



The Road



The manicure was great. The nail polish actually stayed.

The Longeneckers!

So, Laura and Eric's wedding was beautiful! I am so happy for them. They day went smoothly. Laura looked stunning, Eric was handsome, and they were both super excited! Now they are on a cruise! I love them both and can't want to have some married friends in town!



Laura and I at my wedding!




Laura and I at her wedding!



So beautiful and happy!




The only picture with Eric in it!



Me and Matt!

We have been married 6 months tomorrow! Yay! We went away to celebrate last week, I will post pictures soon!

~N

Oh, the things I learn...

This week in my first grade class was crazy, crazy but fun. The kids were wound up on Monday and I really hard to get as much academics in as I could. The pressure to get all these kids to read by June is really setting in. We did a lot of Christmas crafts and activities. Wednesday, as we were getting working I had one of my lovely little guys poop his pants, for the 2nd time in a week. I just shook my head and sent him out the door.

On Thursday, we decorated cookies, we had a Christmas sing, Santa came to visit, and it was a day of fun! One of my little guys, whom I adore and hold very dear had to go to the bathroom so I sent him off. A few seconds later, one of the 2nd grade teachers brought my little guy in and told me she would be escorting him to the bathroom. She came back and told me that he had walked to the grass part right outside my classroom, unzipped his pants, and begun to pee.

Funny thing is, a few days prior he had been taking a long time to go to the bathroom so I told him from now on I was watching the clock. So the next few times, he was coming back SO fast. I made him promise that he was really going to the bathroom.

Sure enough, he was, he wanted to make me happy by not taking too long to go. Lesson learned, first graders are resourceful...don't time them when they go to the bathroom!

Busy, busy, busy

I have a crazy schedule these next few weeks:

Thursday 12/18 - Last day of school for Christmas break! Matt and I are going to Tahoe to spend a night away!

Friday 12/19 - Laura's rehearsal dinner

Saturday 12/20 - Laura's wedding...crazy!

Sunday 12/21 - Youth Christmas party

Monday 12/22 - Work on classroom, surgery at 3:30

Tuesday 12/23 - Lesson plans/classroom

Wednesday 12/24 - Christmas Eve

Thursday 12/25 - Christmas Day

Friday 12/26 - Christmas with Matt's dad

Saturday 12/27 - Christmas with Matt's mom

Sunday 12/28 ~ 1/3 - Mexico Mission trip

Monday 1/5 - back to work


Oh my, I need prayer! I will post pictures as much as I can!

~N

My Phone...

...it's gone. Lost. Stolen. Who knows. It's gone. Don't text it. Call my house phone if you need to get a hold of me. I'm bummed! I'm irresponsible!

~N

My husband

I love my husband! I love being married! I love having a Christmas tree to share with someone. (He cares a lot more then he puts off!) I love sharing a bed with someone. I love Matt...

Today, I came home and the kitchen was cleaned, the floor was mopped, the family room was picked up. We had been so busy lately, barely at home, and when we are we are exhausted...so our house has fallen through our fingertips. Today, Matt made me smile. I know he just wanted to do something nice for me. I love having a husband.

Thank you Matt! Thank you for being my best friend and loving me for who I am!

~N

The Joy of Teaching

This year has been a lot tougher for me than last year with teaching. I've felt burnt out a lot more and I feel like I am working a lot more hours. First grade is just a lot tougher than second, which I expected but I just get worn out

This week though confirmed to me why I am a teacher and why I will stay a teacher. (Besides the fact that I know the Lord has called me where I am). I have a student this year who at the beginning of the school year I thought would be one of my more difficult students. He was REALLY low. REALLY REALLY low! For the last couple of weeks there has been a change in this little boy. He is sitting taller, he is able to sit still, and more importantly he is reading! READING. I sat down with him on Thursday and we read a little book together and he read it. With some help but more reading then helping. On Friday, I tested his sight words. (I do a weekly sight word test). He had a long list of sight words that he did not know. I asked him if he knew any on the page as I was writing something down and he just started reading off the words. As I began formally testing him he began to get more and more excited with the words that he knew. His voice got higher with excitement, he was looking at me for approval. I was so excited. He only missed 4. 4 out of 30! I was so proud of this little boy. He was so proud of himself. I had tears in my eyes as I watched his pride. I looked at him and said you can read! I called his mom to let her know...I hope she is as excited as I was!

This is what makes teaching worth it. I did not do anything for this boy but give him an opportunity to learn. I am so thankful I could be there to help him!

My class!


~N

Thanksgiving???

Wow! Thanksgiving has already come and gone and I don't know where it went...I had a week break? I'm more exhausted then I was when break happened.

My break started with meeting Hayden. We went to church on Sunday and Matt led worship for the first time! My parent's came to see him and I think it made him a little nervous. He still did great. I think I get more nervous then he does. That night I had the chance to go to youth group and see Matt lead the Bible study. He did really awesome with that too! The kids are super involved and I could tell Matt loves to lead it. My teacher instincts kick in though and I constantly want to simmer the kids down. I resisted though.

On Monday I went to my classroom to work on somethings but I caught a cold and didn't go the rest of the week. However, I did not get enough done.

So, early Thanksgiving day (like 4am early) we headed out to Riverside to see Matt's family. The drive went pretty well and pretty quick. It was great to see Matt's family and spend time with them. It was hard at the same time because I knew my parent's didn't have very much family around, my brother and his family were at her family's, and this was my 2nd year in a row being away from them. Praise God they are so understanding! They know that as their kids grow they are not going to be around as much. It would be even harder if they gave us a hard time!

We had a great time at Matt's Aunt Jill's house spending time with his family, playing games and eating yummy food but let me tell you, we were so tired!

The next day was a wonderful day to hang out with Matt's mom and stepdad, Mike. We went and spent time with Matt's Grandpa Russ. Whom I asked if I could call him grandpa too, he said yes! :) We had good conversation and I learned so much at about Matt's grandma, which is really great because she is such a beloved person in their lives. Then we went to this great restaurant that Matt's older brother told Mike and JoAnn about called Viva Madrid. It was so yummy! We ate lots of tapas and drank wine and talked. We went and walked around in a little Christmas shop and bought some ornaments. It was just a nice, relaxing evening!

The next morning we got to see Matt's sister's new house. It was a great house and it was fun to spend time with Sarah, Josh, and the girls.

I really didn't take any pictures, sorry! I just forgot! I have lots more to post and now it is time to get ready for Christmas! Yay! Anyone get their Christmas tree yet?

~N