Yahooo!

We almost have a house!! I say almost because we haven't closed yet, but the house you see at the top of this post will probably be ours in less than a month! We went and looked at it on Thursday night along with a few other houses. There were two we really liked, but this one won out in the end. I'm so excited about it. I'm completely confident now that the other house was not for us and that God wanted us to have this house. In the process, He was able to show His power and faithfulness to us. It really made me have a lot more peace about buying the house when I had seen and I knew that God could take it away if this was not what He wanted for us. He is so good and so kind. We love it and can't wait to move in!

Blessing in Disguise?

Well, thank you for praying for us and for being excited for us. Turns out we didn't get the house. Long story but in the end, the sellers rejected our offer completely. We could have gone back with a much higher offer but decided that it was a closed door that we've prayed for God to bring if he doesn't want us in a certain house. So we've decided to keep looking. I'm glad that I didn't get really set on that house like I said. I know now a little bit more how the process goes so it was a good learning experience. We'll see!

On another note, Raj Bhavsar from the Olympics Gymnastic team of 2008 came to my school to talk this past Tuesday! He went to my school - Bear Creek Elementary - for Kindergarten through 5th grade and his first grade teacher still works at my school. She called him and asked to come and speak to the school so he did. He actually was a great speaker for children. He was interesting and clear and kept their attention for almost 30 minutes. That's hard to do when they're all squished and sitting on a cold gym floor. I could have gotten a picture with him at the end but I didn't have my camera. I almost left my kids in the gym and ran to get the camera for the sole purpose of putting the picture on this blog, ha, but decided against it. Sorry guys, you'll just have to read about it this time.

First House!

So, I've mentioned here and there on the blog that we have been looking for a house. We went last weekend and looked at some houses. Our favorite from the search got a contract put on it this past week. We trust the Lord. Then, we went to look again this Saturday. We looked in a different neighborhood this time. Interestingly enough, looking in this area helped us decide that we'd rather live in the first area based on location and some other factors. We're glad we looked so we wouldn't be thinking what if. Well, the last house we looked at was some guy's batchelor pad that was messy and just not a good house to end on. So Ben asked our realtor if we could look at one of the houses we had looked at the weekend before. I had kind of dismissed it because I was hoping for the other one that fell through. So we went to it and I really was able to see it with new eyes. I was able to picture ourselves in it with our added touch to it. We prayed about it, talked about it, thought about it and today, we made an offer on it!!! Wow, it's such a big step but so exciting. Thanks for prayers and advice and excitement as we get closer.

People talk about guarding their hearts while dating or before they meet that someone, well I feel like I have to guard my heart from this house. I tend to get really excited about things and on the opposite spectrum, really disappointed. I've learned this about myself and so until things are final, I am trying to not let myself get too attatched to it. I won't even post a picture of it until we know for sure. But I trust the Lord and I KNOW he has a plan for us. He has brought us to this house and I love the security of knowing that whether it be this one or another one, He has a soverign and loving plan. Yay! I'll keep you posted....

My thoughts tonight

Oh blessed Friday. After having a Monday off (it was quite refreshing by the way), this week at school has flown by. I always know that I can make it through the week when I get to Thursday. My class has library on Thursdays and even though its only 30 minutes, it really gets me over the hump of the end of the week and on to Friday. Fridays are great. I always get Starbucks on Fridays - the only day I let myself indulge in breakfast out. Also, on the Fridays that Ben works, he goes with me too. Such a treat. Then school. I've realized about myself that I don't get stressed as easily with lots of work to do but rather with lots to do that I don't know how to do. Is this like most people's stress or is it different? I'm not sure how other people's stress is. Anyways, Fridays, I don't have to decide what to do. Spelling Test, Reading Test, Math quiz or game, science, and then the day is over. I don't have to go to bed early on Fridays and of course, sleeping in on Saturdays.

This weekend, Ben is playing golf on Saturday morning and then we're probably going to look at more houses (yay!). After looking last Friday, there was one we really liked, but today there was a pending contract on it. Sad. But we have prayed that the Lord would lead us in this process and shut doors that he doesn't want us to go through (ha literally!), so we trust that that house although lovely and wonderful, wasn't for us. So we press on!

It's been a good week. We had our 2nd night of Bible Study and the group is slowly gelling. I love how the group begins to form and pray for each other and get closer. We're studying Ephesians for a little while. I studied Ephesians in college, but I haven't read it in a while. It is such an amazing picture and now reminder of who I am in Christ. It fills me with such security and hope knowing all the things God has done for me in Christ and through the Holy Spirit.

One last thought - we watched the Office tonight and it wasn't as funny as usual. I wanted to hear more about the Dwight, Angella, and Andy drama. Last week was such a dramatic episode and then nothing in this one. Maybe next week!

Saturday

So, I have a 3 day weekend. One of the perks of not working for a big company and instead working for a school...you get random holidays off like MLK day and Presidents Day. I plan to use my day getting organized, taking back some pre-Christmas purchases that didn't make it as gifts this year, reading my new book, and watching some girly movie from Red Box that I never got to see and that my sweet but obviously male husband, wouldn't like.

Ben and I just got done preparing for a lesson we're teaching tomorrow in our Sunday school class. I'm actually pretty excited about it. It's about marriage and the roles of a husband and wife. I feel very under-qualified to teach on this as I am a far way off from being perfect or even excelling at my role, but I am learning just as everyone is and its an opportunity to share truth and encouragement. On the other hand, its a subject I'm actively experiencing and that I have a little bit of experience in (a year and a half almost!).

Today we went and looked at houses. It was very informative and fun and also a little overwhelming as we begin to look at all the options. We're just going to trust the Lord and see where He takes us!

Washington DC

This year we got we went to Washington D.C. with my family partly for vacation and the other part for a family funeral. It was such a nice time with family. We got there New Year's Eve and stayed until January 5th. Here's the run down....

New Year's Eve, Wednesday

We flew in and then immediately went to the Air and Space museum that was within walking distance from our hotel...as was mostly everything. That night, we paid a taxi driver to take us around to all the sights of DC at night. Its amazing how they make things light up when its dark outside. We saw the Christmas tree, the Lincoln memorial, the Jefferson Memorial, drove by the Capitol building and the White house. Oh, but did I mention that it was about 25 degrees outside with the very cold wind. It made things exciting.

Thursday

This was the day we walked the entire city. We took the subway out to Union Station to catch this tour bus. Turns out the tour bus wasn't going to leave for about 30 minutes so we decide to walk to the mall (where all the monuments are) and catch the bus there. Well, we ended up really just walking the entire city and paid for a tour bus we hardly used. When we needed it, we couldn't find it and when it was there, we wanted to go somewhere it couldn't take us. Alas, I recommend just walk the mall, don't pay for a tour bus. We had a blast though.

Friday

More museums and sight seeing, The Spy Museum, the Portrait Gallery, and more. Such fun!

Saturday

Operation Spy - This was an event at the Spy Museum where you got to act like you were a Spy. We were given a mission to find a nuclear trigger taken from this made up country called Quandar. It was fun and totally Ben's type of thing. He did great and was integral in solving the mystery with the group. Then we ended the day with none other than ESPN Zone. It was like a Dave and Busters meets Sports Bar - 3 levels, games, and tvs everywhere. Our table had its own tv right in front of it so we watched some play off game and I have no clue who won but I do know that I got a delicious cookie and ice cream dessert!

Sunday

We went to the National Cathedral for church. It is an amazing church and it was a unique church service. It was very different from what I'm used to but I liked getting to experience a different type of service.

Monday

This was the day for the funeral for the person in our family. He was honored to be able to buried in Arlington National Cemetery. The ceremony was so respectful and honoring and such a privilege to get to see and be a part of. Then we flew back home, just in time for work the next day!

Here's some of my favorite pics from the trip...

Keith (brother), Dad, Ben, and I at Arlington Cemetery

The White House up close at night


The Capitol building from down the street from our Hotel

A store that sold only Cupcakes!! So so yummy. I got a peanut butter cup cupcake. Wow.

Arlington National Cemetery with donated wreaths. This is only a fraction of the amount of graves. It was incredible.

Me at the tip of the National Mall (not for shopping)

Andrew (my nephew) and I at the Liberty Bell. For some reason, I'm only wearing one glove.

First ride on the Metro

Andrew, Anne (sister), and I at the hotel about to brave the cold