No two alike..

I really love fall, and we have been truly blessed this year by an extra long fall. For nearly the first time in my memory, all of the beautiful fall colors have remained intact up through Thanksgiving. Everyone predicted that we would have very poor fall colors this year since we are in the extreme drought area. They were wrong though, as it has been one of the more beautiful autumns in my memory.

One thing I love about fall are the leaves (duh). Throughout my life I have been on the quest for the perfect leaf. Yellow, red, orange--it didn't matter to me, as long as it was the perfect specimin. Recently, however, I realized that even though I was constantly searching for the perfect leaf, I could never find one that was exactly "right". There was always some mis-coloring, some hole burned into it, or some other sort of blight. This was a discoraging endeavor, until I learned to look beyond the blemishes on the leaves, and see them for their indivudal beauty. Now, rather than looking for the most perfect leaf, I admire each one for their uniqueness and personal beauty.

I'm trying to apply this principle to my interactions with other people, and I have found that, when I do, I feel less stress and resentment toward those that have caused me anguish or irritation in the past. It's just one more thing to let go of, which makes me an overall happier person. I know that *no one* else has this problem. :)

May Our Efforts Be Worthwhile

So far my classes have been really interesting and fun, and I have been learning a lot. I am extremely overwhelmed on a day to day basis, so I would appreciate your prayers. I've been trying to get enough hours in at work so that my co-workers know that I still work there, and so that I can get enough money to pay the bills. I find that I look forward to Sabbath more and more because the true meaning of a day of rest has really come to hit home with me recently. I get discouraged with my life at the moment because sometimes it's hard to remember why I'm doing this in the first place. Even though I may say that it is so that I can get out of my current job situation, it has to be more than that. It is because I am trying to do what I feel God has called me to do for my life. It is becuase I want to do something that actually matters.

I have had a lot of doubts about this whole going back to school process. For example, my first two assignments didn't go that great, and it is discouraging to me. A lot of you who know me know that I am a perfectionist, if not an over-achiever, so not doing my perceived best is damaging to my fragile ego. :) This is also a lot of work, probably more than I envisioned it would be, and I hope that it is worth it in the end. In a prayer at the beginning of class this week my teacher prayed for "our efforts be worthwhile." I couldn't have said it better myself.

Another update...

I guess that's what this blog is turning into--an update on my life. Things tend to go at warp speed sometimes, so it's hard to remember what I should blog about, but here goes...

I'm back to school! And unfortunately, I don't mean as a teacher (yet). Through the help and coaxing of one of my favorite SAU teachers, I am now enrolled again and working toward elementary certification. I have tried for over 4 years to get a high school history job (as most of you know, it hasn't been an earnest search for 4 straight years, as hiring is done only at certain times of the year). Someone once said that a good definition of insanity is doing the same things over and over and expecting different results. I've decided to stop that pattern, and that's why I'm back to school. The job openings will be greatly increased, and I think it will be a fun and exiciting venture.. so think of me... please. :)

Greencard is still not on the way yet.. and we are becoming more and more frustrated. (another prayer request, please!) It's not that it's taking so long, but that they are supposedly processing applications from March of this year, and ours was December of last year. Also, that they keep transfering our applications back and forth between Missouri and California for "speedier processing"--what the notification letter says (HAHAHAHAHAHAHA that's so hilarious.. arent they funny?!?). Another frustrating thing is that each time we receive one of those notices A) I get excited because I think that it's our summons to interview for the greencard, and B) it says we can not contact them regarding our application status until 60 days after the notice is sent. Is that not crazy? It seems that they make it hard for the people who want to be here legally!! Anyway.. just pray for us, please.

We're still working on the house (and the slow progress is a test of my patience.. but it's still coming along). I'm tired of summer. This has been the most frying hot and draught-filled summer I can remember, and I'm ready for it to be over. I'm tired of fleas, flies, spiders, ticks, mosquitos, and yes, even the simple cricket I am finished with. All of the abovementioned creatures have made me their food, save for the crickets and flies, though they no less as pesky. They found some West Nile mosquitos not too far from our house, so I am extra-through with mosquitos. I wish them all a long and happy dormant winter.

Here's some pics for your viewing pleasure...


This is my friend Priscilia from church. We went on a picnic Sabbath with her and her husband Bob. They're having a baby in January and just found out it's a boy! :) Yay! Priscilia for Brasil tomorrow to see her family, so I wish her happy travels!


We had a birthday party for Heather last night. Much fun was had by all. :)


Kristen came up for the holiday weekend, so here's a picture of the three of us.


And finally, another picture of Halie, since she is the cutest dog in the world. Hahahahahaha

At last, the House...

Ok, so I haven't updated my blog in two months. That is pretty sad, even for me. At Kieren's request, I am attaching some pictures I just took of the house. It's sometimes depressing to me the amount of time it is taking for us to get settled in and to get things how we want them to be. Even more depressing is how much money is required for this endeavor. Still, we feel that we are tremendously blessed to have this house, and we are enjoying living here. So here we go.. this is our life on Sunday...

Halie enjoys living in her new home, but agrees that moving is exhausting!

Charles puts together our new table saw.. for flooring, trim, etc. Fun!

Halie sits in the stair landing of the new house. She likes the light from the window...

Our room.. notice matching doggie bed..lol

At last--we have a walk in closet, complete with sunny window. :)

Pumpkins in our window.. I just thought this was a pretty picture. Enjoy! Comment! Return here again soon!

Much needed update

I'm so surprised Kristen hasn't prodded me to update my blog yet. Maybe she's just given up on me, since I haven't posted in like 7 weeks. Maybe she's too busy on myspace to notice (j/k). At any rate.. here I am, with an exciting update:

We bought a house!!

You know how sometimes things you don't plan on happening are the best things that happen to you? We weren't looking for a house AT ALL, but this one seemed to just fall in our laps, pretty much. Charles & I both felt like God wanted us to get this house, so we did. Right now we're busy fixing it up and having a great time planning what we can do to it to make it look better. It's not an old house by any stretch, it just has some quirky things that we would like to change: flooring, wall-colors, lighting challenges, and curb-appeal. It's a lot of work, but has been fun so far. We have just a few more things to do before we move in--replace kitchen cabinets (arghhhhhh! They look like they're from a beach condo in the early 80s), lay down wood-flooring, and maayyybeeee fix lighting. I really like recessed lighting, and so we may do that before we move in. There will be less things to get dirty that way.

Other things have been happening too, like our immigration status. We are getting really really really close to getting the green card. Unfortunately, we have booked a flight to Canada on the 22nd of June. That's 10 days from now. If we do not have the green card by then we will have to re-schedule our trip. Sad. Charles is really looking forward to going home. He hasn't been there in nearly 2 years, thanks to the pending immigration status. The price for tickets sharply escalates later in the summer, so I am praying that we will have the green card in 10 days (the age of miracles is not passed, is it not??) Please pray for this...

Other than that, we are looking for teaching jobs, and just having a nice summer. We'd love to hear from you, so leave a message, email us or call. I will be posting pics of the house shortly. Bye!

from last Thursday

Life has been going 90 to nothing lately, but I had to pause and post two adorable pictures of Samantha, and a couple from when we went to visit Charles' cousins up at Laurelbrook. My grandfather (aka "Po) keeps her two days a week, and so thus, I get to see her when I come home from lunch. Tell me--isn't she precious?? Also, the last few pictures are of Charles' cousins and second-cousins who we went to see up at Laurelbrook. They're pretty cute too. :)

My life has changed...

I find myself doing odd things lately, thanks to having Halie around. For instance, I put bows in her hair. Before I got her I always said that I would never do that to a dog. Poor thing. Thanks to my dog, I now know that 5am exists. I now know how difficult it is to go back to sleep after taking a dog out to pee at 5am exists. Thanks to Halie, I now do what I used to make fun of Becki Mcrae for--brushing a dog's teeth. Actually, she was right. If you're going to have a dog living in your house with you, they need to have good breath, right? Same goes for other humans you live with. But really, this whole puppy experience has made me realize how much work it's going to be to have children. Cleaning up after them, feeling guilty for leaving them in the care of others, waking up with them in the night.. And the best part is--it will be as much fun as having a puppy, and more! :)

Halie-Belle is here!

So we have had Halie (Halifax) for a week now, and I thought you might like to see some pics of what my friend calls "the cutest dog she's ever seen" (Halie's trying to not get a big head..lol).
This is her curled up in my lap Friday night. We're buddies already...

Visiting my mom and dad's Sabbath.

Playing in the yard this afternoon


We're so glad that spring is here...

We're going to be dog owners!!

Can words express the joy in my heart? Scarcely... I had given up the thought of getting a dog, since my grandparents/landlords are so against it. But when a friend of theirs decided to get a puppy she found in Texas, Po was the first one to say "do you think Manda would like one, too?" This was the shocking thing, because he's always been the one who is so anti-pets. (mainly for allergy reasons I think). So, you can imagine how quickly I said, "of course I want one!" Woohoo!

I'm so excited. One reason I think that this was meant to be by the Lord is that, a) I've been wanting a dog for over 3 years. b) It's the only one that Po has said I can get. c) I have read a lot about both of the breeds who parented my new puppy: The King Charles Cavalier Spaniel, and the Coton. Both are exceptional breeds, and ones I would have loved to have, but they cost way more than I could ethically and in good conscience ever pay for a dog. :) The mix of both of these has provided a beautiful and healthier dog than the Cavalier on it's own (that's the story at least). They're called Cavatons. Doesn't that sound snooty? Oh well.

So my next problem is finding a name. I will open it up to anyone who reads this: What should I name my adorable new pet? If you're nominated name is chosen, I will send you something cool in the mail (because most people who read this do not live in TN). I'll have to think about what that may be, but please send me your name ideas. I have less than 2 weeks to decide (that's when the plane comes). Thanks!

I put the FUN in Financial Education

Financial education is fun, I must admit. I had the privilege of visiting a group of K-4 kids at a school 45 minutes away from here on Monday to talk to them about saving money and the like. Kids are so interesting to me, because they’re so spontaneous in the things that they say. I asked them what types of things they were saving for, and I was very surprised when a few kids said they were saving for college, and another girl said she was saving for her first car. The most realistic, or I should say, short-term goal-setter, was a girl who said she was saving for a pony. Impressive! I mean, besides my car, the most expensive thing I have ever purchased was my wedding dress. I was never a good saver. All of my money went to Southern anyway, so why save for other stuff?

Later I asked them if they had any questions, and boy did they. They wanted to know all about robbery, and if we had had one before, and what we would do if someone took all of our money and then customers came the next day and they wanted to withdraw money from their account. One kid asked me: “You know that thing where you put in your card, and type something with the numbers, and you get money out?” “Yes,” I answered, wondered what was coming next. “Is there someone standing behind there putting the money through, or what?” I smiled and told him it was run by computers, but people have to fill it up with money from time to time. I think they enjoyed meeting me, and visiting them was way better than what I do on a daily basis.

Making Winter Worth-While

Last night we made the most wonderful hot chocolate ever. You must try Abuelita's hot chocolate mix sometime--it's in the Mexican food section of many grocery stores. I have had it several times before, but have never made it the way it's suppose to be made. Instead of being a powder, there are little chocolate triangles that you melt in hot milk. You're suppose to blend it all together in a blender, adding some sugar, but I always figured it wasn't worth the hassle to drag the blender out (I was sorely mistaken). When you try to make it without the blender, what results is small clumps of chocolate floating in warm milk--not so tasty. I usually make it with soy-milk too, much to Charles' disappointment, but last night we decided to use the real stuff. We took to blending up the hot milk with the chocolate and brown sugar until it had a layer of frothy foam on the top. Needless to say it was so tasty it made me sing (Charles too). Unfortunately, I drank so much of it that I almost lost it all while watching Grays Anatomy (this time it wasn't the blood and stuff that made me queasy). Needless to say, it was a nice evening, and fun was had by all.

An update on life.. with illustrations!

Hello all.. I wanted to take a moment and tell you that we have added our first pets to our little family..lol. We're bird-parents now! I want a dog really badly, but alas, can't have one until we live somewhere more permanent (that will hopefully allow us to have a dog). So, then.. the parakeets will have to suffice for the time being. Granted, I would get more love and affection from a goldfish, but nonetheless, we have pets now. I'm happy.

Also, we had snow last week, which, if you live in Tennessee, is quite a big deal. I am going to post some fun pictures I took before I went in late to work. It was a bummer to have to go to work on the only snow-day of the year (so far), but I guess that's life in the adult world for you.

My pretty car in the snow...

Self-portrait, after just waking up... (scary I know)
I was so excited about the snowfall that I woke up at 5:00 in the morning to see what it looked like (it's been too long for us Tennesseans). I looked out my back patio, and guess what I saw? A raccoon eating some oatmeal we threw out the night before (composting project). He was so cute! Too bad I couldn't get a picture.. by the time it was light outside, all that remained was this...

Finally, me and Samantha. Is there anything cuter than a new-born baby? Well, a 70+ year old grandfather taking care of his great-grandaughter ranks pretty close. Po is going to be keeping Samatha on Tuesdays and Thursdays (guess where I'll be during my lunchbreak.. hee hee). She's so sweet...

That's all for now, but check back soon because I will post more pictures as fun things happen in our lives. :)

Waiting on the World to Change

This morning I cried over a bowl of cereal. Not really over the bowl of cereal, but as I was eating breakfast I saw something on TV that pained my heart. ABC is going to be broadcasting tonight a piece on 20/20 that Diane Sawyer has been working on for the last year, called Waiting on the World to Change. In this piece she follows three children who are growing up in the poorest and most violent city in America: Camden, NJ. I was moved by the one child they showed this morning–4 year old Ivan who has lived on and off the street with his mom and his little brother. His dream was to live in a home with his family and to go to school to learn to read. They showed that their Pastor had rented them a room to live in for only $50 a week. The room was dimly lit by one lightbulb, and it seemed cramped and dirty by most American standards. The boy’s response, however, blew me away. He said, “I’m so proud, and I thank the Lord for giving us this home to live in.” This, from a 4-year old? How ungrateful am I?

The next scene shows little Ivan on the first day of school. He’s walking to school with his mom, and he’s scared. She tells him that it’s ok to be afraid, and that she won’t leave him in a place he is not welcome. They showed little Ivan working on numbers with a school administrator. He knew the number three, but was stumped when the man asked him how many meals we eat in the day. His family usually only ate once, at best. That broke my heart. I can’t handle seeing children in poverty without doing something about it, can you? How can we sit by and let something like this happen, not only in N.J. but in places closer to us?

Maybe that’s why there are TV programs like this, because there are people in the media who care about others, and hope to make a difference in what they do. I want so much to have a career like that, and maybe that’s why I’m so drawn to teaching. So this is my challenge to you: Do what you love in life, and make a difference to someone in need. Could there be any greater joy in life?

In Search of Something

At the behest of a dear friend, I have decided to make another blog entry. I have taken a holiday hiatus, but I am now back. I hope that everyone had a very happy Christmas, and great new year. I can't believe it's 2007 already!

Is it just me, or does it seem like people are always looking or searching for something? Poor Charles has lost a valuable set of keys for nearly a week. After tearing apart the entire house, and two vehicles, we are at our wits ends to know where they might be. We have prayed lots about this, but still they haven't turned up yet. Our only hope is that they may've fallen out in my grandmothers car when we rode with them last Friday. It must happen quite often (the key losing) because I saw a friend in the post office this week who had also lost her keys. Unfortunately, she knew that she had lost them in the post office and was still unable to locate them. I don't know why these things happen, but regardless, they do.

I choose to say that people are looking for stuff, because it sounds more upbeat and positive. It sounds pessimistic to say "I lost something", because it seems like lost things aren't found as often as things that are being looked for. Just an observation.

People are looking for lots of other things as well, from the simple to the complex: The perfect dress for an important event, new shoes that have to be just right, the perfect pet, a great college or grad program to attend, a new house, a great job, or the man/woman of their dreams. Right now I am officially looking (once again) for a teaching position. I sent my resume and letter of interest to an Adventist school in an undisclosed location this week. The posting said they were accepting resumes until January 27. When I sent mine on the 9th, I got a reply back that they were interviewing someone that evening that they would most likely hire. I really wish that if they already had people in mind for this that they wouldn't even bother posting the position. Or, better yet, don't say that they're accepting applications when they really aren't. It's really hard looking for positions after all this time of not finding any. I find myself being sucked in to really negative feelings and self-talk, which casabotagely sabatoge me if I'm not careful. Please pray for me as I go through this process, and also please pray that Charles can get his greencard soon so that we can enjoy this process together. :)