Jumping

Midway through my freshman year of college, I realized that I wanted to focus on teaching English as a foreign language overseas. I began college with a plan to pursue a major in secondary English education and hoped to use it in international schools. On a whim, I registered for a TESOL class in the second semester. I loved the class and decided that TESOL/TEFL would be a better fit for me long-term. There was just one problem...the university I was attending did not offer it as a major. I had two options: change to an independent study major (and buy a car and drive to classes at the state university 30+ minutes away) or return to Minnesota to live at home while attending a local college. My professor advised me to move home, feeling that I would be able to get a better and more affordable education. So at the end of the school year, I packed up and said goodbye to Kentucky.

I visited a couple schools in Minnesota, but none of them were a good fit. My parents lived and worked on the campus of a small college that offered a single degree: cross-cultural studies. I knew that cross-cultural studies would help in transitioning to life overseas and working with people from other cultures and I couldn't beat the staff discount on tuition. An added bonus was that Chris also attended the college! I graduated in May of 2003 and Chris and I spent the next school year in Brazil on internship. During that time, I did some English teaching and really enjoyed it!

After returning to the U.S., Josh was born and life got busier. We spent 7+ years managing apartments and Chris returned to school. A couple years ago, he graduated and we left the life of on-call managing. We have spent the last almost two years living with my parents, which we love! It has been a blessing for Josh to have more people around. He enjoys gardening and yard work, especially after years of apartment living. We are embracing being a self-employed family, with all its ups and downs.

Last year, I came across a posting about a CELTA class (certificate for English teaching) in our city. The timing wasn't right (too late to apply and I had just committed to staying an extra month at the job I was leaving). At the time, there were no other options listed for the class in the future. I was disappointed, but hoped that a similar opportunity would arise someday. Last December, I discovered that the class would be held again this spring. I applied (which was a nerve-wracking process) and was accepted!

I begin my class on Monday. Everything I've read and heard about it leaves me nervous, but hopeful and excited as well. I don't where this new journey will take me, but I'm trusting that God will continue to open the doors as I go. Self-employment has allowed me to take time away from working to take this course. I am grateful that the company I sew for is willing to put me on hold while I pursue this dream. Chris is taking on extra jobs to cover my school costs and not grumbling (so far) about the extra chores of laundry and cleaning coming his way! (Love you!) I am blessed with friends and family who are willing to watch Josh and cover for me. (We are homeschooling now, which means no free daycare--school.) I'm taking a leap that is scary, but I'm trusting that God will guide me along the way!

Art

I live with two artists. Chris and Josh love art. Josh wants to paint ("like, pictures like Papa, not walls") when he grows up.

Every year, Josh's school has a spring musical. The staff have kids draw pictures based on the story and pick their favorites (usually combining elements from several kids). The chosen pictures are used to design the T-shirts, posters, and programs for the musical.

This year's story is "The Lost Sheep Story". Josh was thrilled to find out that the shepherd from his picture was chosen, along with a sheep from another student. Way to go, buddy!

Mama

My mom had a birthday yesterday. I was too busy dealing with a tantrum (not mine, Josh's) to say "happy birthday" until much later. =( Sorry, Mom!

My mom is awesome!

My earliest memory of her was when she was pregnant with my youngest sister. She was so beautiful (still is).

She homeschooled many children over the years (my sisters and I and lots of friends). She was smart and patient and let me read when I finished my work.

She (and Dad) travelled around the world with us (3 girls) in tow many times (and once did it without him).

She raised her daughters to love other cultures, foods, languages, and most importantly, God!

She loves my dad (tomorrow is their 31st anniversary)!

She never misses a birthday (and hates when her travels force her to).

She moved me halfway across the country for college and didn't flinch when I decided to switch schools and move home at the end of freshman year.

She drove me to local colleges, trying to find the right fit for my new major (and I'm sure jumped up and down when I chose her alma mater).

She didn't bat an eye (at least that I saw) when one sister and I decided to get married within 6 weeks of each other (with our other sister's high school graduation and open house right in the middle).

She did all the legwork (pricing, options) to give us both wonderful weddings.

She loves her sons (in law). Sometimes we wonder if she likes them better than us girls.

She loves Josh. She came to his birth (along with everybody else) and visited me almost everyday during our 2 week stay in the NICU, bringing me food and Starbucks and flowers. She will take him for an overnight, even when she's had a crazy week at work.

Josh wanted to marry her and cried when I told him he couldn't.

She opens her home to family and friends and lets them stay.

She goes out of her way to pick me up, especially when it was the dead of winter and I was stuck at home with a baby and no car.

She has to be ordered to leave the dishes alone when she comes over to babysit.

She deals with staff around the world and works well over 40 hours a week and still gets phone calls and emails at home, but doesn't complain.

She is my mama and I love her!

Flocks, rocks, and a giant who mocks

Josh's school just finished musical week and now they are enjoying a much-deserved day off. The kids spent all week in dress rehearsals and shows. Needless to say, by Thursday night's show, they were a little tired.

Art

Recent art by Josh

A letter to a friend

Self-portrait

Wall-E

(Josh didn't draw the giraffe. He added himself riding it.)

Moving in

At the end of June, my supervisor approached us about moving to one of the other buildings within our company. We took a while to think about it (24 hours) and decided to go for it. A month later, we moved. We are loving our new place, but are still trying to settle in after a busy month. I am looking forward to setting up my space. I finally have my own space for sewing (and it's not the dining room table!). The house is still full of boxes, but I'm hoping to get them out of here soon.

Death of a computer

My trusty laptop (bought in early 2003 and lugged around the world) has finally died. As we were trying to think how we could replace it, someone approached us and said they had been working on getting us a new (used) laptop. My cousin works at a company that has something to do with computer games...quality control, design, or something. He had an opportunity to purchase computers that were being traded out for newer models and, knowing that our laptop was old, decided to replace ours (we had helped him clean and repaint his new home). This idea came to him and he was working on it secretly before our computer ever showed signs of dying! I'm enjoying this "new" laptop and realizing how slow my old one really was. =)

I need a vacation!

It's been a crazy couple months. We've had at least one apartment on the market since September and the last one finally rented this week. I'm so glad to be done with that, at least for a couple months!

I desperately need a vacation! This is how my week has gone so far...

Monday:
Got up, turned on the computer and was greeted by a message saying that a hard drive failure was imminent, so I should please back up all my data. Proceeded to spend the rest of the day and night (when not showing apartments, walking people through the application process, driving Chris from work to class, picking Chris up from class, and remembering to feed the small child wandering forlornly around the house).

Tuesday:
More of the same, but finally resigned myself to the fact that even though I probably wouldn't get everything off the computer, at least I had the most important stuff covered, turned off the computer and left the house. Went to the store to pick up a ready-made meal for a friend who recently had a baby (cause who has time to cook when trying to salvage a computer). Rushed from one end of town to the other to drop off the meal, then back across to pick up Chris from work for his eye appointment. (We went last week, but apparently the insurance company had cancelled his policy, even though we've still been paying for it.) Went home to do some lawn and gardening work at our building. (Didn't know at the time that it was almost 100 degrees out.) An hour later, someone hit our car parked on the street and didn't bother to leave any info. I spent the next half-hour on the phone with the insurance company scheduling repairs. Finished off the night with a birthday party for my brother-in-law, where I wasn't much fun (don't you love those headaches you get from crying to much).

Today: Dropped off the car at the repair shop, picked up the rental from the insurance company (so worth the extra bit of premium we pay for it). Took Josh to a play at the school he will attend this fall. (He's going to full-day preschool.) Back home, I found that while I still couldn't get online, the computer was running again and I was able to back up a few more things and delete stuff I didn't need to save. Ran Chris from work to class and am now enjoying the AC and internet at Mom's (cause with all the craziness we still haven't gotten the AC running in our place).

Chris and I are going away this weekend to the great north (almost to Canada...can't take the rental there, so I guess we'd better stick on this side of the border). It's our 7th anniversary, so we are leaving Josh with the highest bidder (3 offers, so far...). My grandparents move tomorrow and my other grandparents and an aunt are coming for a visit this weekend. It will be a busy week, but at least I'm getting a break halfway through!

Goodbye, Dugans!

Pictures from the airport last week, saying goodbye to the Dugans. Despite loving travel, I hate saying goodbye. Based on some of these, I'd say I'm not the only one.

Recent news

In the last month (a quick glance):

Josh took up photography...
A "cousin" was born...
Goodbyes were said...
A sleepover was successfully pulled off...

Demise of an old friend

Toastmaster Rice Cooker (T. Rice Cooker, Rice Cooker)

May 2002-February 2009

"Beloved Dinner Helper"

Survived by Toaster, Blender, Wafflemaker, Foreman Grille, and many dear friends, including Chris, Hannah, Josh, and the large sack of rice.

Burial Service at the Alley Dumpster, 5 p.m., Thursday

"We will miss you, Rice Cooker! You always added the perfect touch to a meal!"

Doctor visit and snowfall

We said goodbye to Josh's pediatrician today. She's quitting the clinic to spend more time with her family. She will still be working at the hospital near us, but I really hope we never have to run into her there (meaning, I hope Josh never needs to go to the hospital). She has been a great doctor! I have no idea where to start with replacing her.

Josh is now 41.25 inches (75th %) and 39 pounds (50th %). I measured him around his birthday last month and he was exactly 41 inches. He grew .25 inches in 3 weeks! He's already growing out of his 4 year jeans (just one brand, other pants still fit). He's 2 months ahead of last year (same brand, size 3's, too short in April). At this rate, he'll be out of the 5's by Christmas (before he turns 5). I sure hope he slows down a little. At least summer is coming (hahaha...it's snowing flakes the size of ping-pong balls).

Speaking of which, have you ever tried to drive in snow like that at night? Everyone would pull away from the stoplight and then hit the brakes and weave back and forth, trying to avoid getting hit by the snow. It was pretty funny. I left the house in rain with the occasional slushy glob and was driving through 1.5-2 inch chunks of snow within .25 miles. Josh is pretty excited that the snow is back, but I'm ready for the warmer weather, especially since Josh can squeak by on his shorts from last summer. It would be nice not to have to buy a new winter wardrobe in February!

The 4 year-old and other events

I now have a 4 year-old. Josh turned 4 last week. His top wishlist item was a red skateboard "like Papa's". No red skateboards in town, but we managed to find a blue skateboard his size. He likes it, although he still prefers Chris's sometimes (since he can sit on it and scoot up and down the hallway).

He had a joint party with Dida, since they have almost all the same friends and their birthdays are 3 weeks apart. It was a Pirate & Princess party. The girls all showed up as princesses and the boys came as pirates (and one Buzz Lightyear). The kids had a blast running around and eating Kraft dinner (mac-n-cheese) and chicken nuggets, followed by cupcakes. The evening was finished off with a viewing of Veggietales' "The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything Movie".

On Josh's actual birthday, we had a family party at my parents' (although my dad missed it due to a work trip). We had a pirate cake and pizza. Chris's parents came up from points south to join in the fun.

We also took a family vacation (long weekend) and went to the cabin with some friends of ours. Their youngest is a month younger than Josh. The two boys are best buddies and loved getting to share a room. We were afraid that they wouldn't sleep at night, but Josh, who doesn't sleep during his afternoon quiet-time, was out in 10 minutes every night. They were up around 7 each morning, laying in bed and telling each other stories about Lightning McQueen. It was great to get away for a few days, play some Settlers and Wii, sew, and have some great talks.

Christmas Past

Wow! I can't believe it's been so long. Between work and the holidays, I feel like I'm just catching my breath. And my internet has been acting up, so it's been impossible to get on long enough to write anything, let along post pictures. After 2 odd workweeks, Chris is headed back to a normal week tomorrow. The advantage of a small company is that everyone took a vacation day on the 26th, in addition to the holidays on Christmas Eve and Day. So we were able to relax with family here and points south of the river. It was great spending time with Chris's family and see some of his cousins. Chris's parents have a new dog, a miniature poodle named Scooter. He isn't shaved like a poodle, but looks like a little lamb. But he is loud, no inside voice on that dog. We ended up drying lots of tears for Josh. Whenever he ran across the room or got up suddenly, Scooter would yap at him. But by the end, Josh was dealing with it better and he even picked out a present for Scooter to give him the next time we're down there.

Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving! Hope everyone has a great day and weekend. We're headed to my mom's and then I work at Operation Christmas Child Friday and Saturday. If you haven't done a box and live in the area, we are accepting and processing boxes until December 6 (possibly as late as December 10). Check out the EZGive option to track your box as it travels around the world. This year's boxes are going to different regions. In the past, we've sent boxes processed here to Central Asia and Eastern Europe, as well as Iraq. This year, boxes are going to Trinidad, several African countries, Nepal and a couple other countries.

Fall Festival

Spiderman asleep on the couch (He lives in this costume some days.)

"Kids love clowns, right?"

Yeah, she really loves it, Rae-Rae!

Pirate Josh

The pirate with green hair (to match his parrot, Pirate Parrot, who incidentally appeared to be asleep the whole night)

Laundry Routine

I have 6, (no wait, make that 8) loads of laundry calling my name in the living room. I don't mind doing laundry, but I like to do it when Chris is home, because Josh is a terror in the building laundry room. He gets so excited and has to poke and peek at everything, which means dropping a load in the machine takes an extra 5 minutes. So I've learned to make it a treat to come with me (for sanity's sake) and usually he stays in the apartment with Chris building towers or racing cars.

The best part about laundry day (besides the clean clothes) is folding it all. I time it so that the last loads come out of the dryers about 10 minutes after Josh goes to bed. By the time I lug it back into the apartment, Chris has a movie or a season of "Friends" cued up. I quickly dump the laundry all over the couch and we fold the laundry together while we watch TV. It may seem cheesy, but this is the best part of the week. I am guaranteed a movie/TV night with my hubby (and I know he won't fall asleep, because he's folding clothes) and the laundry gets folded in half the time it would take me to do it alone.

But tonight, Chris has already been asleep for half an hour, after a long weekend without much sleep. So I'm on my own for movie night tonight. Little bit sad, but at least I can pick a fun chick flick this time (because movie night means he gets a say in the choices). Off to do laundry and watch...

Bach-ing

Chris and Josh are bach-ing it this weekend. I'm off to WI again. But this time with a crew of girls, the Crafty Chicks. We (all moms) are looking forward to uninterrupted sewing, quilting, scrapbooking and girls' movie nights for 3 days! But we will miss our guys and our kids (who will probably have so much fun, they'll be sad to see us come home).

Guess that movie...

Josh looked up at me as we walked across the breezy parking lot today. "Happy Windsday, Mama!" (Complete with a smirk...he was curious if I would recognize who he was quoting. Can you?)

Cold zoo

We spent the afternoon at the zoo yesterday. It was our last day of family vacation and Josh was so excited to go. We bundled up and headed out.
Josh's first request is always the dolphins. He's pretty sad that the dolphin show has been cancelled, but one of them was doing laps in front of the window, so he felt a little better. There were several divers doing some maintenance in the shark tank. One of them was drilling, while the other two were warding off sharks with long poles. And some of the sharks still got a little too close. One of the zoo volunteers commented, "Sometimes the sharks are a bit aggressive."

Next, we went through the Russian coast exhibit. It opened this summer and the "swimming" bears (they were swimming the first time we went) are Josh's favourite. The Amur tigers were growling and the leopards were very alert. They looked like they were waiting to escape. One of them spent several minutes tracking Chris with his eyes. We ducked into the education center, where Josh spent some time trying on various animal costumes and playing with puppets.

Finally, we went through the Tropics trail. Here is one of the river otters. Stinky, but cute and fun to watch!