Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Friday, June 11, 2010
My beyond amazing present from my darling husband! A hand-crafted dresser!!!
Ciaran amazes me more and more with each passing day. That he was able to build this beautiful creation just astounds me. I will treasure this present for the rest of my life!!!!
Tuesday, June 08, 2010
Monday, June 07, 2010
Saturday, June 05, 2010
Thursday, June 03, 2010
My 4th block class!
Hehe, yes it's almost empty...the 30 seniors are gone and now I only have one junior (not pictured) in my 4th block class.
Wednesday, June 02, 2010
Tuesday, June 01, 2010
Monday, May 31, 2010
Summer in Pictures
Memorial Day, a day to honor those who have served our country. I'm so incredibly grateful for the sacrifices our service men and women have made so we can enjoy the freedom that we do in this country!
Memorial Day is also when summer starts, at least in my mind...although the school calendar does say something different. So even though I still have two weeks left of teaching, I want to start my summer project. But first I need to make a disclaimer. I have very little experience with photography so the project that I'm starting will probably frustrate you expert photographers out there.
So the essence of the project is simply this. I'm going to try to post a picture every day ending on Labor Day (the end of summer). I'm sure many of the pictures will be mundane, and I'm ok with that. So here's my first day of summer. I'm sitting in my apartment, sick with a bacterial infection, but I've had a wonderful morning with the Lord! There's nothing better than the quiet stillness of the morning and some ice-cold water, my Bible, sermon notes, and journal. Hope everyone's having a blessed day!
Memorial Day is also when summer starts, at least in my mind...although the school calendar does say something different. So even though I still have two weeks left of teaching, I want to start my summer project. But first I need to make a disclaimer. I have very little experience with photography so the project that I'm starting will probably frustrate you expert photographers out there.
So the essence of the project is simply this. I'm going to try to post a picture every day ending on Labor Day (the end of summer). I'm sure many of the pictures will be mundane, and I'm ok with that. So here's my first day of summer. I'm sitting in my apartment, sick with a bacterial infection, but I've had a wonderful morning with the Lord! There's nothing better than the quiet stillness of the morning and some ice-cold water, my Bible, sermon notes, and journal. Hope everyone's having a blessed day!
Saturday, May 15, 2010
Saturday, February 20, 2010
New Year's Resolutions
It's been a long time since I last posted. With the rumors of FB converting to a paid subscription, I decided it was time to become reacquainted with my blog. As the title of this post implies, I'm reflecting on my new year's resolutions today. This is usually the time of year that many people begin to abandon their once earnestly-created resolutions, but by God's grace, I haven't abandoned mine yet. I love new year's resolutions and a lot of prayer accompanies the formation of those specific resolutions. This year my resolutions consisted of:
1. Spend quality time in the Word every day.
I have three very different 90 minute preps this semester at work and so knowing that was quickly approaching (the semester started February 1), I knew this needed to be at the top of my resolutions. I am a very task-oriented creature and I knew with an increasingly demanding schedule, my time with the Lord would be reduced to half-hearted prayers muttered on my way to and from work, before meals and bed as I focused on my "almighty to-do list." And I refused to let this happen. I want my life to be lived for the glory of the Lord and it's impossible to do that in my own strength. Thus my emphasis on the Word and quality time with the Lord. Although there have been a few days where my time in the Word consisted of a cursory glance at best, I have kept my Discipleship Journal Bible Reading Plan by my bed every day and that has served as a reminder to get in the Word before racing off to work and before going to bed. I even put up a few post-it notes around our apartment reminding me to make God my #1 priority.
2. Become debt-free by December 31, 2010
Ah, to be debt-free. Ciaran and I started listening to/watching Dave Ramsey on TV last March after discovering his methods at my local library through one of his books, The Total Money Makeover. Ciaran and I have begun what we think is shaping up to be an awesome financial journey. We listened to The Total Money Makeover book on CD on one of our trips that winter to Freeland/Saginaw and we began to embrace the commitment to becoming debt free as soon as possible. We crunched numbers again in December and committed to continue to keep living ultra-frugally and the hope was to become debt free by the end of this year. This month during our second budget meeting of the new year and after much prayer, we've decided to temporarily suspend our debt snowball and to take all of the money that would go toward the debt and put it into our emergency fund savings account. I am expecting to be pink-slipped at the end of this school year and now there is a possibility that even Ciaran could be pink-slipped. With this knowledge, we feel it is much more financially responsible for us to save up in case Ciaran does lose his job. If he doesn't lose his job, then we will empty out whatever money we saved over these next couple months and apply it directly to our debt and hopefully we'll be right back on track. So although this resolution appears to have been forsaken, it really hasn't. Our goal is still very much to become debt free before the end of the year.
3. Merge to living solely on Ciaran's income.
This resolution is closely tied to the previous, but deserves it's own separate place because of its importance to our future. As we became more acquainted with Dave Ramsey and his "Total Money Makeover" we also began to adopt his mantra of "Live like no one else, so one day you can live like no one else AND (more importantly) give like no one else." The essence of this is that we will be content with living below our means (living like no one else...or more accurately: living as a minority of the population do) so that one day we won't be living paycheck to paycheck and be able to give to those in need. Since we were married, Ciaran and I have purposed to live on just his income and save whatever I make. It has yet to happen, some 17 months later. Some months we have been very close and other months, not so much. When we committed to becoming debt-free, it gave us the motivation to use most of my paychecks to paying off debts, but we still haven't completely arrived. And now that layoffs could be around the corner, we really need to step up our resolve!
And just when we thought February would be the month we would finally achieve this resolution...I found out that the front two tires on my car need to be replaced. Oh well, here's hoping by March we'll be able to live off of only Ciaran's income! :-)
4. Exercise a minimum of three times a week
And lastly, I always have to have a fitness resolution. I've met this every week so far except the week of February 1st because I got a nasty gastrointestinal virus that week that left me pretty weak. I needed to have this resolution because exercise always seems to be the first thing to go when my work week gets intense. And I notice such a difference in my work ethic and general mood when I don't exercise. So to keep my motivation, I've been ordering workout DVDs through our Netflix account. I love variety and this really helps knowing I'll get one new workout to try a week.
Well, that concludes my new year's resolutions update. And for those of you who are very familiar with my priorities in life and are looking at that list and wondering where Ciaran is in those resolutions....hehe, well we're only 17 months into our marriage so it's still a honeymoon. By God's grace, I haven't needed to have a resolution yet for keeping him a priority second to the Lord. My time with him keeps me sane and balanced. I feel incredibly blessed to have such an amazing husband. Between having the Lord and Ciaran in my life, my days are very happy! Hehe, so that's why he's not there. I do try and find new ways to encourage him every day and support him, but that's more like a fun game for me! So there's my quick disclaimer. ;-)
OK, this post is incredibly long. I promise, subsequent posts won't be this lengthy. Have a wonderful Saturday!
1. Spend quality time in the Word every day.
I have three very different 90 minute preps this semester at work and so knowing that was quickly approaching (the semester started February 1), I knew this needed to be at the top of my resolutions. I am a very task-oriented creature and I knew with an increasingly demanding schedule, my time with the Lord would be reduced to half-hearted prayers muttered on my way to and from work, before meals and bed as I focused on my "almighty to-do list." And I refused to let this happen. I want my life to be lived for the glory of the Lord and it's impossible to do that in my own strength. Thus my emphasis on the Word and quality time with the Lord. Although there have been a few days where my time in the Word consisted of a cursory glance at best, I have kept my Discipleship Journal Bible Reading Plan by my bed every day and that has served as a reminder to get in the Word before racing off to work and before going to bed. I even put up a few post-it notes around our apartment reminding me to make God my #1 priority.
2. Become debt-free by December 31, 2010
Ah, to be debt-free. Ciaran and I started listening to/watching Dave Ramsey on TV last March after discovering his methods at my local library through one of his books, The Total Money Makeover. Ciaran and I have begun what we think is shaping up to be an awesome financial journey. We listened to The Total Money Makeover book on CD on one of our trips that winter to Freeland/Saginaw and we began to embrace the commitment to becoming debt free as soon as possible. We crunched numbers again in December and committed to continue to keep living ultra-frugally and the hope was to become debt free by the end of this year. This month during our second budget meeting of the new year and after much prayer, we've decided to temporarily suspend our debt snowball and to take all of the money that would go toward the debt and put it into our emergency fund savings account. I am expecting to be pink-slipped at the end of this school year and now there is a possibility that even Ciaran could be pink-slipped. With this knowledge, we feel it is much more financially responsible for us to save up in case Ciaran does lose his job. If he doesn't lose his job, then we will empty out whatever money we saved over these next couple months and apply it directly to our debt and hopefully we'll be right back on track. So although this resolution appears to have been forsaken, it really hasn't. Our goal is still very much to become debt free before the end of the year.
3. Merge to living solely on Ciaran's income.
This resolution is closely tied to the previous, but deserves it's own separate place because of its importance to our future. As we became more acquainted with Dave Ramsey and his "Total Money Makeover" we also began to adopt his mantra of "Live like no one else, so one day you can live like no one else AND (more importantly) give like no one else." The essence of this is that we will be content with living below our means (living like no one else...or more accurately: living as a minority of the population do) so that one day we won't be living paycheck to paycheck and be able to give to those in need. Since we were married, Ciaran and I have purposed to live on just his income and save whatever I make. It has yet to happen, some 17 months later. Some months we have been very close and other months, not so much. When we committed to becoming debt-free, it gave us the motivation to use most of my paychecks to paying off debts, but we still haven't completely arrived. And now that layoffs could be around the corner, we really need to step up our resolve!
And just when we thought February would be the month we would finally achieve this resolution...I found out that the front two tires on my car need to be replaced. Oh well, here's hoping by March we'll be able to live off of only Ciaran's income! :-)
4. Exercise a minimum of three times a week
And lastly, I always have to have a fitness resolution. I've met this every week so far except the week of February 1st because I got a nasty gastrointestinal virus that week that left me pretty weak. I needed to have this resolution because exercise always seems to be the first thing to go when my work week gets intense. And I notice such a difference in my work ethic and general mood when I don't exercise. So to keep my motivation, I've been ordering workout DVDs through our Netflix account. I love variety and this really helps knowing I'll get one new workout to try a week.
Well, that concludes my new year's resolutions update. And for those of you who are very familiar with my priorities in life and are looking at that list and wondering where Ciaran is in those resolutions....hehe, well we're only 17 months into our marriage so it's still a honeymoon. By God's grace, I haven't needed to have a resolution yet for keeping him a priority second to the Lord. My time with him keeps me sane and balanced. I feel incredibly blessed to have such an amazing husband. Between having the Lord and Ciaran in my life, my days are very happy! Hehe, so that's why he's not there. I do try and find new ways to encourage him every day and support him, but that's more like a fun game for me! So there's my quick disclaimer. ;-)
OK, this post is incredibly long. I promise, subsequent posts won't be this lengthy. Have a wonderful Saturday!
Sunday, May 31, 2009
Commencement
Today marked the first graduation I participated in as a faculty member. It was enjoyable to watch my seniors graduate today.
And while we're on the topic of school...we have 6 1/2 teaching days left and I am beat. I keep willing myself to grade these piles and piles of papers and tests, but I'm just too spent. So I'm going to spend some time with the Lord now and pray that He will provide the strength to get through the rest of the day and the remaining time I have in the classroom this school year. And regarding the many inquiries about pink-slipping..... Yes, my district pink-slipped a number of teachers, but dear Brenda (pictured above with me) decided to retire and saved my job. So I have at least one more year at H.C.!!!
Thursday, May 21, 2009
Reality Check
In the craziness of the final three weeks of school, I received a much-needed reality check tonight, in the form of an audio message given by a woman I have never met. Her name is Rachel Barkey. She is a married woman and a mother of two children. And she's dying. Her message pulled me back to what matters most in life: Christ. I urge you to listen to this, whether you are a Christian or not. It really put things back into perspective for me.
http://deathisnotdying.com/death-is-not-dying-event-audio/
http://deathisnotdying.com/death-is-not-dying-event-audio/
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Friends, Soccer, Church
Ciaran and I had a fun weekend! Unfortunately, I once again forgot to take pictures of said fun weekend. Oh well. The Skidmores came to visit us with James (a young man who is staying with them). They were here for a soccer tournament that James was playing in this weekend. Friday night we enjoyed a few hours catching up and then Saturday we woke up early and headed off to watch James play. A few severe thunderstorms cut our day short, but it still was fun to be out watching soccer again. Then while James was out socializing with his teammates, Ciaran and I took Dave and Teri around town and to our high schools. Then we enjoyed a nice meal and fellowship together. I have missed this family so much since moving down here and it was so awesome having them here this weekend.
Then this morning (thanks to the lead/research provided by Dave and Teri) Ciaran and I went to visit a church about 40 minutes from us. As many of you know, I've been really struggling going to an Arminian church here in town, but there was a clear absense here with regards to solid Reformed theology. There are a number of Reformed churches here in town, but not any (that we have found yet) that truly hold to Reformed theology. Well, we made the journey over there and visited RBC. And what a great visit it was! As Ciaran and I left the church at the end of the morning, he looked down and me and said, "Well, we'll definitely be going back there again!!!" Hahaha. So true. I have never felt more welcome at a church, the worship was so Christ-exalting and the message was so awesome. I am SO excited that we have found a solid Reformed church. The only down-side is that it's a long drive which would be a nightmare come winter. But right now, as we fastly approach summer vacation, I'm determined to enjoy attending this church while we keep looking for a solid Reformed church closer to home.
And that's been it for our weekend. Hope everyone's had an enjoyable weekend as well!
Then this morning (thanks to the lead/research provided by Dave and Teri) Ciaran and I went to visit a church about 40 minutes from us. As many of you know, I've been really struggling going to an Arminian church here in town, but there was a clear absense here with regards to solid Reformed theology. There are a number of Reformed churches here in town, but not any (that we have found yet) that truly hold to Reformed theology. Well, we made the journey over there and visited RBC. And what a great visit it was! As Ciaran and I left the church at the end of the morning, he looked down and me and said, "Well, we'll definitely be going back there again!!!" Hahaha. So true. I have never felt more welcome at a church, the worship was so Christ-exalting and the message was so awesome. I am SO excited that we have found a solid Reformed church. The only down-side is that it's a long drive which would be a nightmare come winter. But right now, as we fastly approach summer vacation, I'm determined to enjoy attending this church while we keep looking for a solid Reformed church closer to home.
And that's been it for our weekend. Hope everyone's had an enjoyable weekend as well!
Saturday, April 11, 2009
Remembering the Fun of Christmas
YAY! It's so nice to have found this USB cord! Here's just a small sampling of all the fun we had at Christmas (a VERY small sampling b/c I still haven't switched to a digital camera yet, so most of the photos from my side of the family's fun were not done digitally). :-(
First, we have the kittens Carter, Ciaran and I got Mom for Christmas. We ventured off to Frankenmuth a few days after Christmas to go to this amazing animal rescue mission and there we picked out the newest additions to my Mom's household: Jake and Jesse. Here they are hanging out in my brother's lap/legs. :-) These cats are so amazingly awesome and so sweet and social.
And now we shift to Ciaran's parents' house.
It's party time. Ciaran's parents throw the best parties!
Happy New Year! We're shivering and just about to go in after lighting sparklers outside in the first few minutes of 2009.
Ciaran and Shea goofing around while Neeva and I try to take the perfect picture of it.
Ciaran and I with his Uncle Om and Auntie Ann.
The hottest pop group on the face of the planet!
[Note: Ciaran wrote this caption.]
First, we have the kittens Carter, Ciaran and I got Mom for Christmas. We ventured off to Frankenmuth a few days after Christmas to go to this amazing animal rescue mission and there we picked out the newest additions to my Mom's household: Jake and Jesse. Here they are hanging out in my brother's lap/legs. :-) These cats are so amazingly awesome and so sweet and social.And now we shift to Ciaran's parents' house.It's party time. Ciaran's parents throw the best parties!Happy New Year! We're shivering and just about to go in after lighting sparklers outside in the first few minutes of 2009.Ciaran and Shea goofing around while Neeva and I try to take the perfect picture of it.Ciaran and I with his Uncle Om and Auntie Ann. The hottest pop group on the face of the planet![Note: Ciaran wrote this caption.]
And that concludes our fun little walk down memory lane. Good times at Christmas and New Year's. Well, now that we have our camera hook-up, stop back in to see more pictures posted in the weeks to come. Enjoy your day!
Hanging out with Shea and Neeva
Neeva, Ciaran and SheaDavid, Shea and Neeva stopped in to visit for a couple hours last night on their way home. Even though it had only been a couple of days since we last saw them, it was so awesome to spend some more time with them. Ciaran and I absolutely adore these two kids. Here's a few pictures of us hanging out at our apartment.
Neeva, Me, and Shea smiling big for Uncle Ciaran
Neeva and Shea winding down at the end of the night to watch some TV
Hanging out at Uncle Ciaran and Auntie Michelle's? Neeva gives it a thumb's up. And now that we've found Ciaran's USB cord for the camera, I'll be posting many more pictures! I still have a few highlights from Christmas that I wanted to share and I completely forgot about until we starting snapping photos yesterday night. :-D
Friday, April 10, 2009
Good Friday
"Alas, and Did My Savior Bleed"
Words, Isaac Watts (1674-1748) / Music and new and alternate lyrics, Bob Kaufflin / Sovereign Grace Praise
Verse 1
Alas, and did my Savior bleed, and did my Sovereign die?
Would He devote that sacred head for such a worm as I?
Was it for sins that I had done He groaned upon the tree?
Amazing pity, grace unknown, and love beyond degree.
Chorus
My God, why would you shed Your blood,
so pure and undefiled,
to make a sinful one like me Your chosen precious child?
Verse 2
Well might the sun in darkness hide and shut his glories in,
when Christ, the mighty Maker, died for man, the creature's sin.
Thus might I hide my blushing face while His dear cross appears,
dissolve my heart in thankfulness, and melt my eyes to tears.
Words, Isaac Watts (1674-1748) / Music and new and alternate lyrics, Bob Kaufflin / Sovereign Grace Praise
Verse 1
Alas, and did my Savior bleed, and did my Sovereign die?
Would He devote that sacred head for such a worm as I?
Was it for sins that I had done He groaned upon the tree?
Amazing pity, grace unknown, and love beyond degree.
Chorus
My God, why would you shed Your blood,
so pure and undefiled,
to make a sinful one like me Your chosen precious child?
Verse 2
Well might the sun in darkness hide and shut his glories in,
when Christ, the mighty Maker, died for man, the creature's sin.
Thus might I hide my blushing face while His dear cross appears,
dissolve my heart in thankfulness, and melt my eyes to tears.
To listen to this song and worship our precious Savior with other cross-centered songs, check out Sovereign Grace Music's site here.
I always feel in such a somber mood on Good Friday. Reflecting on what my precious Savior did on the cross is always a sobering time, but a much needed time. It is my prayer that as we lift our thoughts Godward today and consider our precious Savior's sacrifice, that we would all be drawn into a closer and deeper walk with Him as a result. Have a blessed day!
I always feel in such a somber mood on Good Friday. Reflecting on what my precious Savior did on the cross is always a sobering time, but a much needed time. It is my prayer that as we lift our thoughts Godward today and consider our precious Savior's sacrifice, that we would all be drawn into a closer and deeper walk with Him as a result. Have a blessed day!
Thursday, April 09, 2009
Spring Break
Ciaran and I have been on spring break for almost a week now. It has been such a nice time off from work, especially considering what a nightmare work had been for the last two weeks for me; I was in desperate need of this break. We headed back home to visit family for a few days. We didn't get to see everyone that we wanted to, so we're sorry if we missed you on this trip back home, but our time at home always seems to be a bit of a whirlwind. The best suprise though came on Saturday when we found out that our niece and nephew (Neeva and Shea) were in town! We had such a blast with them. And they're going to come and visit us tomorrow at our apartment on their way back home. Ciaran and I got home yesterday night and after dinner we looked around the VERY QUIET apartment and he smiled and asked if I was missing the kids, and wow was I ever. He was too. They are just too much fun! :-)
As for today, I haven't gotten all I wanted to get done because I've been feeling a little under the weather. I've actually been camped out on the couch with a heating pad for the past couple hours. Ciaran and I are going to grill burgers tonight on our new grill (we got it just about two weeks ago), so hopefully I'll start feeling better soon.
And as I've been doing a lot lately, I'll now share with you my newest online interest. And nope, it's not a blog this time. It's something called the FlyLady Forum. For those of you that enjoy FlyLady and are looking for a little motivation or encouragement, I cannot recommend this forum enough. It is so great! It really helps get me motivated to get housework done. I like the Fun and Games forum the best. So if you're into FlyLady, check it out. Well, I need to go get some more Advil in me and hopefully I'll be off this couch in another hour or so. Enjoy your night!
As for today, I haven't gotten all I wanted to get done because I've been feeling a little under the weather. I've actually been camped out on the couch with a heating pad for the past couple hours. Ciaran and I are going to grill burgers tonight on our new grill (we got it just about two weeks ago), so hopefully I'll start feeling better soon.
And as I've been doing a lot lately, I'll now share with you my newest online interest. And nope, it's not a blog this time. It's something called the FlyLady Forum. For those of you that enjoy FlyLady and are looking for a little motivation or encouragement, I cannot recommend this forum enough. It is so great! It really helps get me motivated to get housework done. I like the Fun and Games forum the best. So if you're into FlyLady, check it out. Well, I need to go get some more Advil in me and hopefully I'll be off this couch in another hour or so. Enjoy your night!
Monday, March 23, 2009
My Morning Routine
Tammy over at TammysRecipes.com is now hosting the "Making Your Home a Haven" series that I have loved for so long over at the Biblical Womanhood blog. So in keeping with the Monday challenge, I have included my morning routine below. This was a good reminder, especially since I have been struggling a lot more with getting up and getting things done right away before heading off to work.Morning Routine:
1. Get up, prayer, shower, get dressed
2. Empty dishwasher and eat breakfast
3. Finish getting ready and pack lunch
4. Make Bed & Time with the Lord (Bible reading)
5. Put out Hotspots for 2 minutes ala FlyLady
And that's my morning routine. My weekend morning routine is a little more complex, but that's the gist of it for most mornings.
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Staying Balanced in Extreme Busyness
All right, so the title is a bit misleading. Am I managing to stay balanced in the midst of exhausting busyness? Absolutely not in my opinion. Lately I've been feeling like I am hovering on the side of a cliff. On one side, the stable land side, is a balanced, God-centered life. The other side, the huge canyon, is a crazy, want-to-pull-out-my hair and scream-at-the-top-of-my-lungs, completely-losing-it life. Hehe, ok, maybe that was a bit dramatic, but you get the gist of it. But I've had a number of people ask me in the past week to post/give advice about how to stay balanced. So take this post, or leave it. But know that what is shared below is coming from someone who definitely doesn't have it all figured out yet and has so much room for growth. And Lord willing, He'll keep giving me day after day to walk with Him and learn how to glorify Him in the midst of my busyness.
So first of all, and especially to my dear teacher friends, is my walk with the Lord. Can we possibly do everything that is on our plates every single day? No. But I can commit to getting up a few minutes earlier than I normally would and begin my day in prayer and commit my long to-do list to the Lord and ask Him to give me His priorities for my day. Now when I ask Him for His priorities for my day, does that necessarily mean that my grading will always be caught up? Absolutely not. Does it mean that my apartment is tidy every single day? Nope. Does that mean my dear husband is enjoying three-course meals every night? Nope again. Sometimes God shows me that following up with a student is more important for my after school time than grading that big pile of papers the day they were turned in. Other days it means not cleaning my apartment as perfectly as I want to spend more concentrated time alone with Him, digging into His Word. And other days, it means giving up exercise time to prepare and have that nice three course meal and quality time with Ciaran. So again #1 for me is place God first no matter what. Spend time in prayer, get His priorities and spend time in His Word. All my strength comes from my Creator and no where else.
The close second for me is making Ciaran my #2 priority. After being a child of God, my most important calling is being Ciaran's wife. I find by taking a few minutes to see how I can help him in his work for the day or if there is anything he wants/needs, I am so much more peaceful. There's something about following the Lord's directives that sets my day aright. More often times than not, Ciaran doesn't have anything for me, but when he does, I derive so much joy from serving him and being my husband's helper.
Another thing for me is exercise. I'm prone to extreme fatigue. My optimal night's sleep is somewhere between 9 and 11 hours. Obviously getting that much sleep is rarely an option, so hence the need for exercise. Here's my workout regimen and some DVD's that help assist that.
Cardio: Minimum 3 times a week
To get my cardio in this winter and early spring, I have been using:
-Leslie Sansone Walk At Home 5 Mile Fat Burning Walk
-Cathe Friedrich's Basic Step + Body Fusion (I can just opt to do the cardio portions, or if it is a strength training day, I can do the weights, abs or lower body work)
-Karen Voight's Ultimate Circuit Training (actually has a cardio only option on the DVD menu)
-Keli Robert's The Ultimate Step Workout
Strength Training (minimum 2 times a week, trying to work up to about every other day)
-Tamilee Webb's I Want That Body
-Cathe Friedrich's Basic Step + Body Fusion
-Karen Voight's Ultimate Circuit Training
-Cathe Friedrich's All Step (I only use this for the shoulder work segment toward the end--it's amazing)
Stretching, Pilates, Etc. (At least 3 times a week)
-Cathe Friedrich's Total Body Stretching
-Tamilee Webb's Total Stretch for Beginners
-Windsor Pilates
-A.M. & P.M. Stretch
-Windsor Pilates Back Workout
And that's pretty much what I'm doing. I occasionally switch in stability ball, medicine ball or kettlebell workouts for strength training if I'm bored or I pull out one of my five other step aerobics tapes that are really old. But those listed above are pretty much my go-to workout DVD's that are keeping me motivated at present. I'm still not in the shape I want to be in because my workouts have to be so short, but they are helping fight my fatigue.
And as for keeping my apartment fairly decent and presentable and laundry clean, well I've been using the FlyLady system of cleaning since last March and I have to tell you... this has been a Godsend since getting married and working a job with such long hours!!! I've also adapted it to my classroom and it has made such a difference.
And as for cooking, well I simply just force myself to sit down and make a menu plan every week, then I grocery shop with Ciaran with that menu in mind. After grocery shoppinjg, I post said menu plan to our fridge. And every night before I go to bed, I check what's on the menu for the next day, pull out the necessary meat from the freezer (if applicable), prechop or prepare anything that can be done ahead of time and it seems to make meal preparation a little simpler when I get home completely exhausted from work. But once again, poor Ciaran is getting his fair share of freezer meals and take-out this year. I aim to prepare four solid meals a week, sometimes I do more, sometime less, depending on both of our schedules. Ciaran also is a great cook and jumps in on some of the days when I'm drowning in papers or just need a break. (My two current favorites that he makes are salmon and beef enchiladas...and we just bought a gas grill that should arrive a week from tomorrow, so I'll get to enjoy his amazing grilling soon--I've missed that since we've moved down here).
Well, that's enough commentary on the attempt to stay balanced and semi-sane in the midst of busyness, hopefully I'll be able to post more later this week. I hope everyone is enjoying this gorgeous Sabbath.
So first of all, and especially to my dear teacher friends, is my walk with the Lord. Can we possibly do everything that is on our plates every single day? No. But I can commit to getting up a few minutes earlier than I normally would and begin my day in prayer and commit my long to-do list to the Lord and ask Him to give me His priorities for my day. Now when I ask Him for His priorities for my day, does that necessarily mean that my grading will always be caught up? Absolutely not. Does it mean that my apartment is tidy every single day? Nope. Does that mean my dear husband is enjoying three-course meals every night? Nope again. Sometimes God shows me that following up with a student is more important for my after school time than grading that big pile of papers the day they were turned in. Other days it means not cleaning my apartment as perfectly as I want to spend more concentrated time alone with Him, digging into His Word. And other days, it means giving up exercise time to prepare and have that nice three course meal and quality time with Ciaran. So again #1 for me is place God first no matter what. Spend time in prayer, get His priorities and spend time in His Word. All my strength comes from my Creator and no where else.
The close second for me is making Ciaran my #2 priority. After being a child of God, my most important calling is being Ciaran's wife. I find by taking a few minutes to see how I can help him in his work for the day or if there is anything he wants/needs, I am so much more peaceful. There's something about following the Lord's directives that sets my day aright. More often times than not, Ciaran doesn't have anything for me, but when he does, I derive so much joy from serving him and being my husband's helper.
Another thing for me is exercise. I'm prone to extreme fatigue. My optimal night's sleep is somewhere between 9 and 11 hours. Obviously getting that much sleep is rarely an option, so hence the need for exercise. Here's my workout regimen and some DVD's that help assist that.
Cardio: Minimum 3 times a week
To get my cardio in this winter and early spring, I have been using:
-Leslie Sansone Walk At Home 5 Mile Fat Burning Walk
-Cathe Friedrich's Basic Step + Body Fusion (I can just opt to do the cardio portions, or if it is a strength training day, I can do the weights, abs or lower body work)
-Karen Voight's Ultimate Circuit Training (actually has a cardio only option on the DVD menu)
-Keli Robert's The Ultimate Step Workout
Strength Training (minimum 2 times a week, trying to work up to about every other day)
-Tamilee Webb's I Want That Body
-Cathe Friedrich's Basic Step + Body Fusion
-Karen Voight's Ultimate Circuit Training
-Cathe Friedrich's All Step (I only use this for the shoulder work segment toward the end--it's amazing)
Stretching, Pilates, Etc. (At least 3 times a week)
-Cathe Friedrich's Total Body Stretching
-Tamilee Webb's Total Stretch for Beginners
-Windsor Pilates
-A.M. & P.M. Stretch
-Windsor Pilates Back Workout
And that's pretty much what I'm doing. I occasionally switch in stability ball, medicine ball or kettlebell workouts for strength training if I'm bored or I pull out one of my five other step aerobics tapes that are really old. But those listed above are pretty much my go-to workout DVD's that are keeping me motivated at present. I'm still not in the shape I want to be in because my workouts have to be so short, but they are helping fight my fatigue.
And as for keeping my apartment fairly decent and presentable and laundry clean, well I've been using the FlyLady system of cleaning since last March and I have to tell you... this has been a Godsend since getting married and working a job with such long hours!!! I've also adapted it to my classroom and it has made such a difference.
And as for cooking, well I simply just force myself to sit down and make a menu plan every week, then I grocery shop with Ciaran with that menu in mind. After grocery shoppinjg, I post said menu plan to our fridge. And every night before I go to bed, I check what's on the menu for the next day, pull out the necessary meat from the freezer (if applicable), prechop or prepare anything that can be done ahead of time and it seems to make meal preparation a little simpler when I get home completely exhausted from work. But once again, poor Ciaran is getting his fair share of freezer meals and take-out this year. I aim to prepare four solid meals a week, sometimes I do more, sometime less, depending on both of our schedules. Ciaran also is a great cook and jumps in on some of the days when I'm drowning in papers or just need a break. (My two current favorites that he makes are salmon and beef enchiladas...and we just bought a gas grill that should arrive a week from tomorrow, so I'll get to enjoy his amazing grilling soon--I've missed that since we've moved down here).
Well, that's enough commentary on the attempt to stay balanced and semi-sane in the midst of busyness, hopefully I'll be able to post more later this week. I hope everyone is enjoying this gorgeous Sabbath.
Friday, March 20, 2009
Andy Stanley Revisited
Hehe, all right, I know that title alone may have pulled a few Midland Free people (from the old days, i.e. 2005 or so) to this blog. Andy Stanley isn't really a name I have come across lately. But there was a time in the past, that I heard the name mentioned frequently...hehe, almost ad nauseaum. :-) I'm not a big fan, never have been really so you can imagine my interest when a blog I frequent had a post entitled "Good, Bad, and Ugly--Andy Stanley on Preaching." Well of course, I had to click right over and see what the post was about. I invite you to do the same if you are so inclined. The pastor who authors the blog (The Dead Theologians Society) brought up a few points that have concerned me for quite a few years. Yes, Andy Stanley has a noble passion to see pastors as effective communicators, but often I find he does so at the expense of the Truth. Make sure you check out the post. Hehe, did you catch the name of the blog? The title alone makes it worth visiting. You all know how much I love my dead theologians. :-) Which, by the way, I still enjoy--I'm gobbling up Jonathan Edwards' The Religious Affections again. ;-) And the blogger is a pastor of a little church over in Bay City, just an FYI.
Also, if you check out the blog mentioned above, make sure you click on the Recommendations tab before you leave. I love his book recommendations--they are most helpful!
Also, if you check out the blog mentioned above, make sure you click on the Recommendations tab before you leave. I love his book recommendations--they are most helpful!
Worn Out
Whew, people weren't kidding when they said that March is one of the most difficult months to teach. I am WORN OUT! I still love my job, but man do I need a break. The kids are squirrely, I'm exhausted and you combine those two ingredients and you have a recipe for frustrating days in the classroom. I'm drowning in papers to grade once again and I just want to sleep. But nine more school days and it will be spring break. Goodness, it can't get here soon enough. I am so worn out I actually opted to stay home tonight instead of going to watch Ciaran play soccer. Now you know I'm exhausted when I opt out of watching my amazing husband play soccer. :-) Speaking of my dear husband--we celebrated our six month wedding anniversary on Thursday!! Can you believe it?! Time really does fly when you're having fun.
And as for my exhaustion from work, Nicole and I attempted to remedy that last night after dinner. I got this new workout DVD, it's a five mile walking DVD (12 minute miles). I am so out of shape, I was huffing and puffing after two miles. Then we did some ab work and we both were so sore today by 4th block. Praise God though for encouraging friends to keep me motivated to work out and choose healthy activities to help remedy my exhaustion.
In other news, my mom is really quite sick right now, so please keep her in your prayers. I am so grateful for family and dear Christian brothers and sisters who step in and have been caring for my mom, especially when I am two and a half hours away from her. Thank you all of you--you have been such an answer to prayer!!!
And as for my exhaustion from work, Nicole and I attempted to remedy that last night after dinner. I got this new workout DVD, it's a five mile walking DVD (12 minute miles). I am so out of shape, I was huffing and puffing after two miles. Then we did some ab work and we both were so sore today by 4th block. Praise God though for encouraging friends to keep me motivated to work out and choose healthy activities to help remedy my exhaustion.
In other news, my mom is really quite sick right now, so please keep her in your prayers. I am so grateful for family and dear Christian brothers and sisters who step in and have been caring for my mom, especially when I am two and a half hours away from her. Thank you all of you--you have been such an answer to prayer!!!
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Football?
Ah, I've been remiss in not mentioning any football news here. Unfortunately the demands of my job have kept me from fully indulging in a lot of Chelsea action. But I am looking forward to Champions League quarterfinals. I love Champions League so much and both Man. U. and Chelsea are heading into quarterfinals. I'm hoping our two teams don't end up having to play each other before we can both make it to the finals. I really would like a Man. U v. Chelsea Champions League Final. Well, here's hoping. All right, that's about it for football thoughts tonight. Back to grading papers I go.
Currently Reading
I just got a new book today. It's James R White's The Potter's Freedom: A Defense of the Reformation and a Rebuttal to Norman Geisler's Chosen But Free. Oh my goodness, I've only read a few pages and it's already impossible to put down. Since I've been attending an Arminian church for almost six months now, it is so refreshing to go back to the Bible and be reminded of "God's sovereignty and the perfection of the work of Christ" (13) and read and pick apart the "thoroughly biblical theology of man's deadness in sin and God's kingly freedom" (14). If you're looking for a book to take you back to God's Word and counters Geisler's confusing and disturbing Chosen But Free, then this is the book for you. This book came highly recommended by a good family friend and her pastor and even though I only just began reading it today...it simply is too good to put down.Happy Reading!
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Hitting My Stride?!
I've been meaning to post something about teaching for quite a few weeks now, and something always arises to prevent it. But tonight, I decided to set a timer for fifteen minutes and blog for just a little bit. For those of you who had to listen to me complain first semester about all my struggles with teaching, I wish you were here now. I am LOVING teaching. I don't know what changed or really when it changed, but sometime around the end of February I found myself smiling at the end of the day as I surveyed the piles of student work or my desk piled with research for my lesson plans. I found myself relishing the time in the classroom and having a reputation for being crazy and passionate about English Language Arts. And all I can do is praise God for helping me transform my time in the classroom into a form of worship of Him. Because I think that was the root cause of the change. It's so hard to put into words, but take yesterday for example. I looked around at my thirty-four students in my fourth block and I just felt as if I was going to burst with joy. Here I was, coaxing reluctant and sleepy fourteen through eighteen-year-old students to get excited about Arthur Miller's The Crucible and I was acting out stuff all dramatically and I realized....oh my goodness, I think I am finally hitting my stride as a teacher. The kids were smiling and actually looking at their text and I don't know, it was a cool moment for me. And I've been having moments like this almost every other day for the past couple weeks. Praise God, work isn't something I dread any longer!!! While Ciaran and I were on our way to the grocery store last night, I shared some of this with him and he was actually pretty surprised because he said it wasn't really until his second year of teaching that he really started to experience some of the things I described to him. And you know what, I really have to attribute this to the Lord. I was praying so hard about this all of January and in one of my times alone with Him, He reminded me that all work needs to be done for His glory and so I prayed that He would help transform my heart so my work would become a form of worship. And now, almost two months later, I'm starting to feel this a little. Praise God! All right, my time is up to write, I hope these jumbled thoughts make a bit of sense. If not, maybe I'll be able to carve a little bit of time out of my schedule tomorrow to post some more.
Saturday, February 21, 2009
Saturday Doings
This post was supposed to have a few pictures to accompany it since I meant it to be a glimpse into a typical Saturday in our household. But alas, we forgot the camera in Ciaran's classroom. Oh well, maybe next Saturday. All right, here's a list of doings for the day.
-An early morning grocery run to Meijer, battling the blinding snow and wind
-Donuts at a local bakery
-English Premiership soccer viewing (back in bed)
-Time alone with the Lord and to-do list making
-Cleaning and laundry
-A short nap
-Making tacos and Spanish rice (yum)
-More cleaning and laundry and paperwork
-Grading papers
-More laundry
-A drive around town to look at houses
-Making stir-fry and egg rolls (so we don't have to cook tomorrow)
-Michelle: Blog patrolling / Ciaran: Woodworking videos online
-Devotional Time/Review Sunday School lesson for tomorrow
Just a brief recap of our day. See dear family, I told you we have an incredibly low-key life down here! And this was a pretty typical Saturday, except usually (when we aren't getting a lot of snow) we head in to our classrooms for at least a couple hours--sometimes we go to our individual rooms to work, or I pack up my work and take it to Ciaran's shop so we can be together. Fun stuff eh?! I hope everyone's having a wonderful Saturday. Have a happy Sabbath tomorrow!
-An early morning grocery run to Meijer, battling the blinding snow and wind
-Donuts at a local bakery
-English Premiership soccer viewing (back in bed)
-Time alone with the Lord and to-do list making
-Cleaning and laundry
-A short nap
-Making tacos and Spanish rice (yum)
-More cleaning and laundry and paperwork
-Grading papers
-More laundry
-A drive around town to look at houses
-Making stir-fry and egg rolls (so we don't have to cook tomorrow)
-Michelle: Blog patrolling / Ciaran: Woodworking videos online
-Devotional Time/Review Sunday School lesson for tomorrow
Just a brief recap of our day. See dear family, I told you we have an incredibly low-key life down here! And this was a pretty typical Saturday, except usually (when we aren't getting a lot of snow) we head in to our classrooms for at least a couple hours--sometimes we go to our individual rooms to work, or I pack up my work and take it to Ciaran's shop so we can be together. Fun stuff eh?! I hope everyone's having a wonderful Saturday. Have a happy Sabbath tomorrow!
Thursday, February 19, 2009
A Challenge
I don't know if any of you are like me, but I love patrolling blogs. I'm the classic lurker. I rarely post comments, but I keep up with about twenty or more different blogs weekly via my Google Homepage. I read blogs focused on everything from biblical womanhood to missions to teaching to personal finance. And then of course I read the blogs of family, friends and even mere acquaintances. Some would argue that blog reading can be an incredible stealer of time(and they are right in some instances), but lately as I struggle to develop good quality female Christian friendships in this new town, I find myself consistently encouraged and challenged by the women who write many of these blogs. In the coming weeks, you'll probably see many posts related and written in response to some of their posts. Take yesterday for example:
I was doing my daily blog patrolling and saw a post on my Google Homepage from the girl talk blog entitled "School of the Word." This, of course, greatly intrigued me and I clicked on it only to receive an excellent challenge as I navigate these upcoming years as a married woman without children. The post is directed toward single woman, but Ciaran and I have been discussing a lot lately how to use these years (years in which we do not have children) wisely. In the post, Carolyn Mahaney encouraged us to use this time to study doctrine and grow in our walk with the Lord; to diligently pursue this time in study. Then the post linked to a list her husband C.J. recommended as "must-reads." Topping the list was J.I. Packer's Knowing God. I have read bits and pieces of this book over and over, but I know I have never read this book cover to cover. So last night, I got into bed an hour early and curled up with my Bible, journal and Knowing God, and dug into the riches to be found there. Oh what a sumptuous feast! God drew me so close to Himself in that simple hour and I fell asleep meditating on the character of God. What a perfect evening.
Well, I've spent enough time typing away here tonight, but before I end, please be in prayer for Ciaran and I in the coming weeks. We are going to be meeting with the pastor of the church we've been attending since October, to discuss doctrine/theology, membership, serving in the church, etc. We've been holding off for quite some time hoping to catch wind of a local church committed to Reformed theology, but haven't been successful thus far. I'm fine with getting more deeply involved in an Arminian church (in the absense of a clearly Reformed church) as long as I know that right up front. Hence our meeting coming up in the next couple weeks. Please be in prayer for us to maintain a humble and surrendered heart to God as we navigate this process. Thank you so much!
I was doing my daily blog patrolling and saw a post on my Google Homepage from the girl talk blog entitled "School of the Word." This, of course, greatly intrigued me and I clicked on it only to receive an excellent challenge as I navigate these upcoming years as a married woman without children. The post is directed toward single woman, but Ciaran and I have been discussing a lot lately how to use these years (years in which we do not have children) wisely. In the post, Carolyn Mahaney encouraged us to use this time to study doctrine and grow in our walk with the Lord; to diligently pursue this time in study. Then the post linked to a list her husband C.J. recommended as "must-reads." Topping the list was J.I. Packer's Knowing God. I have read bits and pieces of this book over and over, but I know I have never read this book cover to cover. So last night, I got into bed an hour early and curled up with my Bible, journal and Knowing God, and dug into the riches to be found there. Oh what a sumptuous feast! God drew me so close to Himself in that simple hour and I fell asleep meditating on the character of God. What a perfect evening.
Well, I've spent enough time typing away here tonight, but before I end, please be in prayer for Ciaran and I in the coming weeks. We are going to be meeting with the pastor of the church we've been attending since October, to discuss doctrine/theology, membership, serving in the church, etc. We've been holding off for quite some time hoping to catch wind of a local church committed to Reformed theology, but haven't been successful thus far. I'm fine with getting more deeply involved in an Arminian church (in the absense of a clearly Reformed church) as long as I know that right up front. Hence our meeting coming up in the next couple weeks. Please be in prayer for us to maintain a humble and surrendered heart to God as we navigate this process. Thank you so much!
Sunday, February 01, 2009
Hyundai Superbowl Commercial
My favorite Superbowl commercial this year was the "Angry Bosses" Hyundai commercial. I have it below, check it out. Now for the reason this is my favorite. Ciaran and I are about to buy a Hyundai Elantra and a Hyundai Sonata. My local mechanic told me to unload my car ASAP since I've already dumped more money into it than its worth (he told me this back at the beginning of January) and since Ciaran's car was totaled back in November, we've been searching for two cars this past month. After a very long month of car shopping, we've finally settled on the two cars as I've mentioned above. This week we're working on financing and hopefully by this weekend we'll be proud Hyundai owners. But as we've sought the counsel of family members throughout this big decision, we've been struggling with the proper pronunciation of "Hyundai"; every person has pronounced it differently. So being the rather anal person that I am, I looked it up this afternoon after church and found that it's pronounced "Hunday, rhymes with Sunday." When I told Ciaran how to remember how to pronounce it, he laughed. Then we're watching the Superbowl tonight and this commercial came on and at the end they comment on the proper pronunciation of it. Too funny! We laughed. Enjoy the commercial.
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Drowning in Papers and Praying for our New President
It's finals week at my high school and I am drowning in papers to grade. But as I grade these piles of papers I am praying for our new president. It's been so fun to watch the inauguration unfold today, but with each passing hour, God has given me such a fervent desire to pray for our new president, his family and the entire new administration. Then I stumbled upon this prayer by Albert Mohler on his blog. Check it out here. Please join me in praying for our new president and his administration!
Thursday, January 15, 2009
True Woman Manifesto
Today's program on Revive Our Hearts with Nancy Leigh DeMoss, a radio program I enjoy listening to/reading the transcripts of, highlighted the high calling we as Christian women have. As I read, I followed the link to the True Woman Manifesto. After reading this I felt compelled to sign it. Then when I looked at the signatures, I was dismayed to see that there were very few/if any signatures from the Tri-Cities. Oh ladies, read this manifesto and if God leads you to, sign it here. I printed it off and I plan on reading it weekly. All right, just had to share. Check it out if you have a chance!
Monday, January 12, 2009
Some Great Marriage Books
Tonight I thought I would share some of my favorite books about marriage; books that have challenged me, encouraged me and above all pointed me Godward as Ciaran and I have made our way through these first (almost four) months of marriage. And now, without further ado, here they are:
Love that Lasts by Gary and Betsy Ricucci
-I haven't finished this one yet, so I'll need to write more about this one later. I picked it up because the authors are related to C.J. and Carolyn Mahaney (they wrote the foreword to the book). As the subtitle suggests this book is all about marriage meeting God's grace and what that looks like. So far it's been thoroughly biblical and challenged me to make sure that our marriage finds its purpose entirely in God. So good. Hopefully I'll be able to write a whole review soon.
Sacred Marriage by Gary Thomas
-I've only skimmed this one so far. The whole premise focusing on shifting our eyes off of ourselves and our own personal happiness and seeing marriage as a way in which God molds us to be more like him. Challenging and oh so convicting.
The Most Important Year in a Woman's Life/The Most Important Year in a Man's Life by Susan Devries, Bobbi Wolgemuth/ Robert Wolgemuth, Mark Devries
-I love how Ciaran and I can work through this book together. One half is for me, the other half for him and we "meet in the middle" to answer questions together concerning our reading for each chapter. This book addresses all of the typical first year issues. I love how this book is teaching me to become a student of Ciaran and eventually to become an expert on him. And it's challenged me to keep Ciaran as my main priority, second only to God. Especially this year, in the busyness of a move to a new city and a new (very demanding) teaching job, it's only too easy to lose sight of my priorities; this book has kept me going back to what's most important.
When Sinner's Say "I Do": Discovering the Power of the Gospel for Marriage by Dave Harvey
-This one's all about the gospel's power to transform our marriage. Oh how I love this book. It's one of those that will always be close by my bedside; one to read over and over again! Check this one out immediately!
Love & Respect by Dr. Emerson Eggerichs
-This book has really challenged me and opened up my eyes to how important it is for me to show Ciaran the respect he deserves. There are so many ways that I don't show him respect, without even realizing it. It's been fun to read through this and ask Ciaran about how true each of the points are for him and then when it's been true, it's been so amazing to see how God changes my heart so that I can be a better wife to my dear, beloved husband.
The Power of a Praying Wife by Stormie Omartian
-I've already highlighted this before on this blog, but I had to include it here because it has had such a profound impact on our marriage, primarily my own personal outlook on our marriage. I find that if I begin my day on my knees praying for Ciaran, his day, his needs, ways I can be a better helper to him, all of this right away, I find that God pours out his grace...as opposed to the days when I hit the ground running and try to be a "good wife" in my own strength. And on the days when I am at a loss and just don't know what to pray, or am too tired to form a coherent thought (and there's been days like this...my job wears me out), the written out prayers at the end of each chapter have served as wonderful starters for my conversation with the Lord. Love this, love this, love this!
A Wife After God's Own Heart by Elizabeth George
-My most recent purchase. Ciaran got A Husband After God's Own Heart by this author's husband. I've only read the first fourteen pages so I don't have a lot to write about, but I can say that I love how George immediately places the emphasis on God and how our relationship with the Lord is key and must come first and foremost.
The Excellent Wife by Martha Peace
-OK, so this has to be my absolute favorite book about becoming a godly wife. I don't even know where to begin to do this book justice. It's absolutely amazing and challenging and convicting! I'll write a real review later so I can go on and on about how wonderful this book is.
There's my list of current favorites and please, if you have any suggestions for great biblical marriage books/resources, don't hesitate to add them to my comments.
Love that Lasts by Gary and Betsy Ricucci
-I haven't finished this one yet, so I'll need to write more about this one later. I picked it up because the authors are related to C.J. and Carolyn Mahaney (they wrote the foreword to the book). As the subtitle suggests this book is all about marriage meeting God's grace and what that looks like. So far it's been thoroughly biblical and challenged me to make sure that our marriage finds its purpose entirely in God. So good. Hopefully I'll be able to write a whole review soon.
Sacred Marriage by Gary Thomas
-I've only skimmed this one so far. The whole premise focusing on shifting our eyes off of ourselves and our own personal happiness and seeing marriage as a way in which God molds us to be more like him. Challenging and oh so convicting.
The Most Important Year in a Woman's Life/The Most Important Year in a Man's Life by Susan Devries, Bobbi Wolgemuth/ Robert Wolgemuth, Mark Devries
-I love how Ciaran and I can work through this book together. One half is for me, the other half for him and we "meet in the middle" to answer questions together concerning our reading for each chapter. This book addresses all of the typical first year issues. I love how this book is teaching me to become a student of Ciaran and eventually to become an expert on him. And it's challenged me to keep Ciaran as my main priority, second only to God. Especially this year, in the busyness of a move to a new city and a new (very demanding) teaching job, it's only too easy to lose sight of my priorities; this book has kept me going back to what's most important.
When Sinner's Say "I Do": Discovering the Power of the Gospel for Marriage by Dave Harvey
-This one's all about the gospel's power to transform our marriage. Oh how I love this book. It's one of those that will always be close by my bedside; one to read over and over again! Check this one out immediately!
Love & Respect by Dr. Emerson Eggerichs
-This book has really challenged me and opened up my eyes to how important it is for me to show Ciaran the respect he deserves. There are so many ways that I don't show him respect, without even realizing it. It's been fun to read through this and ask Ciaran about how true each of the points are for him and then when it's been true, it's been so amazing to see how God changes my heart so that I can be a better wife to my dear, beloved husband.
The Power of a Praying Wife by Stormie Omartian
-I've already highlighted this before on this blog, but I had to include it here because it has had such a profound impact on our marriage, primarily my own personal outlook on our marriage. I find that if I begin my day on my knees praying for Ciaran, his day, his needs, ways I can be a better helper to him, all of this right away, I find that God pours out his grace...as opposed to the days when I hit the ground running and try to be a "good wife" in my own strength. And on the days when I am at a loss and just don't know what to pray, or am too tired to form a coherent thought (and there's been days like this...my job wears me out), the written out prayers at the end of each chapter have served as wonderful starters for my conversation with the Lord. Love this, love this, love this!
A Wife After God's Own Heart by Elizabeth George
-My most recent purchase. Ciaran got A Husband After God's Own Heart by this author's husband. I've only read the first fourteen pages so I don't have a lot to write about, but I can say that I love how George immediately places the emphasis on God and how our relationship with the Lord is key and must come first and foremost.
The Excellent Wife by Martha Peace
-OK, so this has to be my absolute favorite book about becoming a godly wife. I don't even know where to begin to do this book justice. It's absolutely amazing and challenging and convicting! I'll write a real review later so I can go on and on about how wonderful this book is.
There's my list of current favorites and please, if you have any suggestions for great biblical marriage books/resources, don't hesitate to add them to my comments.
A Great Book Giveaway
One of the blogs I frequent a lot as I read about biblical womanhood (Passionate Homemaking) is offering a free giveaway of a book that I have been wanting to buy in the next few months. And they are starting a book club on February 1st. Now I really need to get this book! Check it out if you are interested in biblical womanhood and practicing hospitality.
Sunday, December 21, 2008
Worship at Home
I woke up at 3:30 this morning with some kind of intestinal virus and so being that it's the Sabbath, Ciaran and I worshipped at home together. I missed being at church (I really am starting to love the church we've decided to settle in at), but there was something nice about "church" at home this morning...even though I felt like vomitting through most of it. ;-) We listened to an old Mark Driscoll sermon online. The focus of the sermon was on God's foreknowledge and God's sovereignty. I love how doctrinally rich Driscoll's sermons are and he opened the sermon reading John 18 -19:1-16 to focus us in on Jesus as the King. Sooo good. We then used YouTube to listen to a number of worship songs and ended our time of worship in prayer. Even though I was sick, it was still a nice morning worshipping the Lord through the Word, music and prayer. Praise God that we don't have to be in a church to worship Him, that we can gather anywhere and worship him in spirit and in truth. But even though it was a precious time with the Lord, I still can't wait for Wednesday night when we'll be back home and worshipping at E Free on Christmas Eve with all of the believers there!!!!
This afternoon Ciaran let me sleep until my fever broke and then we watched the cartoon Grinch on TV and now we're about to watch White Christmas. Ciaran needed to get some work done at school today, but he offered to stay at home with me this afternoon since I'm feeling so crummy. He's so good to me. Hopefully I'll be feeling better by tomorrow because I myself have a ton of work to get done at school yet too. I don't want to have to cart home too many papers to grade; I know I'll have at least 90 papers to grade at home, but I'm going to try and get the rest of it done here before we head north late on the 23rd or early on the 24th. Well, I think it's time to watch our movie now. Hope everyone's enjoying a restful and joy-filled Sabbath as we prepare our hearts for Christmas!!! Enjoy your day!
This afternoon Ciaran let me sleep until my fever broke and then we watched the cartoon Grinch on TV and now we're about to watch White Christmas. Ciaran needed to get some work done at school today, but he offered to stay at home with me this afternoon since I'm feeling so crummy. He's so good to me. Hopefully I'll be feeling better by tomorrow because I myself have a ton of work to get done at school yet too. I don't want to have to cart home too many papers to grade; I know I'll have at least 90 papers to grade at home, but I'm going to try and get the rest of it done here before we head north late on the 23rd or early on the 24th. Well, I think it's time to watch our movie now. Hope everyone's enjoying a restful and joy-filled Sabbath as we prepare our hearts for Christmas!!! Enjoy your day!
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Hoping for a Snow Day
As the title shows you...I'm REALLY hoping for a snow day tomorrow. When I was in high school, I didn't really consider that teachers might get just as excited as us when considering the possibility of a snow day. But what I most certainly never considered was that teachers get EVEN MORE excited about the possibility of a snow day than the students. At my high school today, it was all we teachers could talk about and you should have seen us all piling out of the school today, heavy-laden with all our papers to grade over break, ever the optimists about the potential for this snow day tomorrow. The idea of a whole extra day to grade and lesson plan tomorrow just fills me with glee! To make matters worse, or rather to highlight my greediness for said snow days, I have to admit that while Ciaran trudged off to school on Monday, my friend Nicole and I were allowed to lounge because at 6:10am, we received the phone call that our district was without power and we didn't have to report to work. :-) So here I am, just about to enjoy a beautiful two week break and I only have taught three days this week and yet I'm still hoping for another day off. Pretty sad isn't it?! Let's chalk it up to first year teacher fatigue. ;-) The worst part is, my dear husband (who had to work on Monday) also has to go back and teach on Monday and Tuesday of next week, while I joyfully sit in my empty classroom getting ahead on lesson plans and unit planning for next semester. That's the only bad thing about teaching in two different districts...our calendars are different and oftentimes when one of us has a day off, the other doesn't. Well, here's hoping that both of our districts are closed tomorrow so Ciaran can get some rest before going back to work on Monday and Tuesday...and that I can get my grading caught up. :-) OK, thanks for letting me post these silly little hopes here tonight. Ciaran and I are now off to my school's choir concert; I have a ton of kids singing in this event tonight...I'm really excited! Enjoy your night!
Friday, December 12, 2008
For a Good Cause
Today at the high school I teach at, the students kicked out a bunch of their teachers and administrators and sent us to the curb in front of the high school for the day. Our mission, to beg for donations from passing cars to help us give twenty-six needy families in our community a wonderful Christmas. I was a little uncertain about this since it was my first experience with this annual event, but it ended up being SO much fun. To get me to the curb my students had to bring in money (we worked on raising the money for the past two weeks) and a dollar sent me to the curb for one minute. I stood outside, in the freezing cold and snow for just about an hour each block. I was so proud of my students for raising this money! After a day of chasing vehicles (my favorite was the massively large cement truck that my friend Nicole and I rushed--the driver ended up giving us a substantial donation), and standing in the freezing cold, I am exhausted, but have a wonderful memory to take with me from this first year of teaching. The other highlight from the day was explaining to very confused looking drivers that our students had kicked us out of the school. As soon as I would say that part of my little rehearsed spiel about our mission, the drivers would almost always laugh and hand me a bunch of money. One gentleman laughed and told me he wished he and his peers would have thought of kicking their teachers out for a day back when he was in school. And for those of you wondering who exactly was supervising our students as we stood outside all day...well never fear, we had a whole host of substitutes at the ready to take over our classes for us once we were banished from the building. We teachers also gave up our planning blocks to cover other classes. I actually only had one sub in my room today, the others were my colleagues which I think was fun for the kids too. Seeing your psychology teacher in your English classroom is always interesting, right?! In the end we raised over $6,000 dollars which was really exciting. What a fun day!
Saturday, December 06, 2008
Praying for my Husband
One of the greatest privileges I've discovered in the past two and a half months of marriage is praying for my husband. I started praying daily for Ciaran last year when he was in New Hampshire, but now that we're married, my prayers for him have taken on a whole new dimension and I consider it such a privilege to support him in this way. And I wanted to share two wonderful resources that I have been using to aid my prayer efforts.
First I want to highlight Revive Our Hearts' "31 Days of Pryaing for Your Husband." I love this resource because each day has a different focus for prayer and then it has accompanying verses. The website also has a PDF download available for those of you that do not like the web format and want to print it out. I especially appreciate this because I love anything that I can easily access online.
The next resource aiding me in my prayer efforts is Stormie Omartian's The Power of a Praying Wife. I love this book so much! Each chapter has some commentary and personal reflections on the topic for prayer and then she actually has a written out prayer that you can pray word for word or use it as a starting point. Some of the topics for prayer include, his work, his finances, his mind, his purpose, his priorities, his obedience, his walk, his talk, etc. This resource is truly invaluable to me right now as it guides my prayers and keeps me focused on praying with an eternal perspective.
First I want to highlight Revive Our Hearts' "31 Days of Pryaing for Your Husband." I love this resource because each day has a different focus for prayer and then it has accompanying verses. The website also has a PDF download available for those of you that do not like the web format and want to print it out. I especially appreciate this because I love anything that I can easily access online.
The next resource aiding me in my prayer efforts is Stormie Omartian's The Power of a Praying Wife. I love this book so much! Each chapter has some commentary and personal reflections on the topic for prayer and then she actually has a written out prayer that you can pray word for word or use it as a starting point. Some of the topics for prayer include, his work, his finances, his mind, his purpose, his priorities, his obedience, his walk, his talk, etc. This resource is truly invaluable to me right now as it guides my prayers and keeps me focused on praying with an eternal perspective.
Sunday, November 30, 2008
Back to the Grind
I can't believe Thanksgiving break is over already. It feels as if Wednesday was only yesterday and I was beyond giddy about heading home to spend some quality time with family. And now it's Sunday and I'm back at the apartment, eagerly counting the minutes until Ciaran gets here. I didn't even get to go to Midland Free today for church because of the snowstorm. And my dear husband is driving all the way from Petoskey in this snowstorm too. He had to go up there to get a car for us to use from his brother's house. Ciaran, for those of you that don't already know, was in a car accident just about two weeks ago and so we're down to one car right now, which has made for an interesting two weeks with our crazy schedules. But thanks to his parents, we're going to have a car to use now until we are able to buy a new one.
And Thanksgiving was wonderful. I spent some quality time with my mom and her family and then spent some quality time with Ciaran's family and friends; we even got to go to a Spirit game while we were in town which was fun. But I'm struggling with feelings of dread tonight. My flesh is crying out against having to get back to the grind of work and the inevitable, hectic busyness of it all. It was so wonderful to have a few days to just veg and sleep and read and spend undistracted time with the Lord. It's hard not to be homesick when every visit is so absolutely wonderful. Goodness, now I'm feeling sad. I better go spend some more time with the Lord. And hopefully Ciaran will be here soon. :-)
And Thanksgiving was wonderful. I spent some quality time with my mom and her family and then spent some quality time with Ciaran's family and friends; we even got to go to a Spirit game while we were in town which was fun. But I'm struggling with feelings of dread tonight. My flesh is crying out against having to get back to the grind of work and the inevitable, hectic busyness of it all. It was so wonderful to have a few days to just veg and sleep and read and spend undistracted time with the Lord. It's hard not to be homesick when every visit is so absolutely wonderful. Goodness, now I'm feeling sad. I better go spend some more time with the Lord. And hopefully Ciaran will be here soon. :-)
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Another View of the Ceremony
This was the most idyllic setting. I felt ushered into God's presence as soon as I walked down the aisle. It was so perfect.
Another picture!
I'll keep posting these as I find them, but there are about 300 images for me to wade through, so I'll probably only be posting a few favorites each day. Sorry for the delay. This one makes me giggle because Ciaran (as always) was making me laugh uncontrollably. I had been SO nervous before the wedding so it felt REALLY good to laugh at one of his jokes just minutes after the ceremony was over.
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
A Much Better Day
After my grumbling and complaining about my day yesterday, I figured I needed to post today to share that God gave me such joy in my job today that all of my fatigue melted away. God is so good! And now tonight, as I sit here getting some paperwork together before our 7pm finance meeting, I feel joyful and contented with the work God has blessed me with. Praise God and thank you for your prayers when I was being a grumbler yesterday. :-)
Also, for those of you who love hymns, Covenant Life Church out in Maryland are memorizing hymns. Here's the link to Joshua Harris's blog post about it. They are memorizing "Amazing Grace" this month...sooo good. Next month is" Before the Throne." I love these hymns, especially "Before the Throne"!!! Check it out when you have a chance!
Also, for those of you who love hymns, Covenant Life Church out in Maryland are memorizing hymns. Here's the link to Joshua Harris's blog post about it. They are memorizing "Amazing Grace" this month...sooo good. Next month is" Before the Throne." I love these hymns, especially "Before the Throne"!!! Check it out when you have a chance!
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Another Tuesday
Tuesdays, my favorite day of the week...not really. A long day at work, a staff meeting, fast food for dinner because I'm just way too tired to actually cook, watching a really, really bad movie while grading papers....the only highlight of my day was when my colleague and friend, Nicole, arrived here at the apartment and Ciaran got home from work. Nicole lives an hour and twenty minutes from our school and so Ciaran and I frequently make our guest room available to her so she doesn't have to make such a long commute every single day of the week. Tonight and tomorrow night are two of her nights to spend with us, so we're now watching Dan in Real Life as we grade papers, trying to erase Sweeney Todd (the really, really bad movie we just watched the end of...we missed the beginning of it, thank goodness) from our memories. Tomorrow is Wednesday, the middle of the week. I hope it's a better day than today.
On a more positive note, I was patrolling blogs tonight and came across this quote on the Girl Talk blog:
"It is faith that enlivens our work with perpetual cheerfulness. It commits every part of it to God, in the hope, that even mistakes shall be overruled for his glory; and thus relieves us from an oppressive anxiety, often attendant upon a deep sense of our responsibility. The shortest way to peace will be found in casting ourselves upon God for daily pardon of deficiencies and supplies of grace, without looking too eagerly for present fruit." -Charles Bridges
Wow, did I need this quote today. I desperately need for God to give me a fresh burst of passion and cheerfulness in my work. Nicole and I were talking tonight about how different teaching is from our dreams of teaching when we were in college...we both set out to change the world (or at least our small part of it); to make a difference, and yet we seem caught in a battle with papers and apathetic students and politics and sheer exhaustion. But I know that as I spend some extended time with the Lord tonight, He will revive me and give me the strength I need to keep going. Gotta love the first year of teaching. At least God has provided me with a wonderfully supportive husband (he is an absolute treasure; I realize this more and more with each passing day) and a great colleague who is fighting through her first year of teaching as well.
On a more positive note, I was patrolling blogs tonight and came across this quote on the Girl Talk blog:
"It is faith that enlivens our work with perpetual cheerfulness. It commits every part of it to God, in the hope, that even mistakes shall be overruled for his glory; and thus relieves us from an oppressive anxiety, often attendant upon a deep sense of our responsibility. The shortest way to peace will be found in casting ourselves upon God for daily pardon of deficiencies and supplies of grace, without looking too eagerly for present fruit." -Charles Bridges
Wow, did I need this quote today. I desperately need for God to give me a fresh burst of passion and cheerfulness in my work. Nicole and I were talking tonight about how different teaching is from our dreams of teaching when we were in college...we both set out to change the world (or at least our small part of it); to make a difference, and yet we seem caught in a battle with papers and apathetic students and politics and sheer exhaustion. But I know that as I spend some extended time with the Lord tonight, He will revive me and give me the strength I need to keep going. Gotta love the first year of teaching. At least God has provided me with a wonderfully supportive husband (he is an absolute treasure; I realize this more and more with each passing day) and a great colleague who is fighting through her first year of teaching as well.
Monday, November 10, 2008
ESV Study Bible
All right, so I've been meaning to post about this for quite some time now. Has everyone had a chance to see the new ESV Study Bible?! I absolutely love this Bible and it was well worth the wait! The study notes are amazingly rich, the color maps are so helpful and the extra articles are theologically precise. Then tonight Ciaran and I were perusing various Bible reading plans online and I saw in our new Bible that it references this website for Bible Reading Plans. Check it out! Ciaran and I have pretty much decided on the "Every Day in the Word" plan, but all of them look really great. What I loved so much about these plans is the option to print them like my old fashioned Discipleship Journal plan that I have done for years, or you can access the text online complete with audio versions of the daily passages or have them e-mailed to you or sent to your cell phone. This is brilliant. No more excuses from me as to why I can't complete my daily reading. :-) It's at my fingertips no matter where I go! Ciaran and I aren't waiting for January 1st to dig into this new plan; we started tonight and it was such a nice time sitting here in our living room listening to our Bible passages online together...so much better than watching TV as we unwind from a long day. Check this site out when you have a chance! Night!
Sunday, October 19, 2008
1 Month Anniversary
Ciaran and I are celebrating our one month wedding anniversary today! I can't believe it's already been a month! After church today, we watched a movie and then Ciaran announced he had a suprise for me. Now before I share what the surprise was, I have to share that I have been experiencing my first bouts of homesickness the past two weeks. Especially on beautiful fall afternoons have I been experiencing my worst pangs as I miss the beauty of home with the woods and the fall colors and the smells of home with bonfires and apple cider and donuts, etc. So today Ciaran drove me 20-30 minutes (I didn't time it b/c I was too curious as to where he was taking me to pay attention to something like that) to an apple barn and there I got to enjoy fall in all its brilliance and get apple cider, donuts, all of the fun treats that I get all of the time back home. When I asked Ciaran how he found this place, he told me he asked all of his students if there were any apple farms nearby and this was the only one they knew of. And I thought no place had better apple cider donuts than Bayne's...well Gull Meadow Farms just might have them beat with their glazed apple cider donut. Oh it's sooo good! I have the sweetest husband in the world...I still can't believe he took the time and effort to give me a taste of home by finding an apple barn for me. All right, I don't have time to share anymore because Ciaran and I need to run a few more errands before dinner tonight, so I have to end here. Hopefully I'll be able to find more time to post later.
Thursday, October 02, 2008
At The Cross
I love this song. I'm sitting in my classroom tonight prepping for parent/teacher conferences that will take place next Tuesday afternoon and evening. As I sit here working on paperwork, I have this song playing over my classroom speakers. It doesn't matter what point I'm at in my life, nor does it matter what mood I'm in...this song always is a wonderful balm on my soul. The perfect reminder of who I am in Christ; that my whole life is wrapped up in Him. Enjoy your night.
At The Cross
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UFbe9yNHMjM
P.S. And for those of you looking at the time of this post and concerned that I'm neglecting my dear husband, have no fear...he's coaching tonight until sometime after 9. :-) I'll get home before he does.
At The Cross
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UFbe9yNHMjM
P.S. And for those of you looking at the time of this post and concerned that I'm neglecting my dear husband, have no fear...he's coaching tonight until sometime after 9. :-) I'll get home before he does.
Thursday, September 11, 2008
A Thursday Night Thought
Next week at this time, it will be the night before my wedding. Oh my goodness. I have been so caught up with teaching and lesson planning that I haven't had a good moment to really consider this. I'm entering my last week of unmarried life. And what am I doing this last week you ask? Well, teaching and lesson planning and grading papers (because it's all I seem to do right now). Late tomorrow night I plan on making the 2.5 hour drive back "home" because Saturday I have my final wedding dress fitting. After that I'll be working on stuffing and addressing wedding announcements while packing and once again lesson planning/grading papers. Sunday it's church and more packing and heading back to BC to work in my classroom. Then it's four days of teaching and then Thursday afternoon, my mom and cousin Katelen will make there way down to BC. After giving them a tour of HC, it will be time to head over to the place I'm staying, pack my stuff and then get to Ciaran's soccer game. My mom's going to get to see Ciaran coach at his new amazing school with the INCREDIBLE soccer stadium. I'm so excited! And that will bring me to exactly this time next week.
I am so in awe of God and where He has brought Ciaran and myself over the past seven years since we met. Our relationship is truly a testimony of God's abundant and amazing grace that He lavishes on His people. We cannot help but humbly stand in awe of how He has grown us and provided for us every step of the way. It is such a surreal thing to be sitting in my classroom tonight, typing away at this computer and looking around me at my "new" life and the new life that will be stretching before me come next Friday and I just have to look heavenward and praise our great and awesome God for bringing us here. Words cannot possibly even scratch the surface of what I'm feeling tonight.
I am so in awe of God and where He has brought Ciaran and myself over the past seven years since we met. Our relationship is truly a testimony of God's abundant and amazing grace that He lavishes on His people. We cannot help but humbly stand in awe of how He has grown us and provided for us every step of the way. It is such a surreal thing to be sitting in my classroom tonight, typing away at this computer and looking around me at my "new" life and the new life that will be stretching before me come next Friday and I just have to look heavenward and praise our great and awesome God for bringing us here. Words cannot possibly even scratch the surface of what I'm feeling tonight.
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
I Have a Job!
I have a job!!! I am the newest English teacher at HC in BC. Well, actually, it won't be official until the board clears it Monday night...so it's almost official. I met with the superintendent today and even had the opportunity to get into my classroom for the first time! Ciaran and I are beyond excited right now and we're teaching at rival schools which will be so much fun during soccer season! I start new teacher orientation next Wednesday...everything is happening so fast.
God also provided me a place to live for the weeks leading up to our wedding. I will be staying with a very sweet Christian couple. The wife is a fellow English teacher at the school. I feel so blessed and overwhelmed by how God just keeps abundantly providing for our every need in this hectic, but oh so fun season of our lives.
God also provided me a place to live for the weeks leading up to our wedding. I will be staying with a very sweet Christian couple. The wife is a fellow English teacher at the school. I feel so blessed and overwhelmed by how God just keeps abundantly providing for our every need in this hectic, but oh so fun season of our lives.
Monday, August 11, 2008
Wedding Planning and Interviews
I'm sitting in my hotel room in BC working out wedding plans and waiting for Ciaran to finish coaching soccer for the day so we can meet up for dinner. I had my first teaching interview in BC today (my last one was up near Lansing). And I'm also waiting to hear back on two other applications I have out at area schools. It's already August 11 and I don't have a job yet; I may be subbing again this year if things keep up this way. :-)
And what wedding plans am I working on today? Well, I'm all about finding our location right now. Ciaran and I would ideally like to be married in an outdoor setting at an area B&B; something low-key and simple. We want a simple Friday evening wedding and return to work on Monday. We hope to go on our honeymoon during spring break (if we end up with the same spring break that is) or sometime next summer. After spending the afternoon on the phone, I have two appointments made for us to visit some B&B's tomorrow in the morning...Henderson Castle and Castle in the Country. We'll see how the visits go; I'm excited! :-) I'm also looking at a place called Greencrest Manor, but I haven't checked their availability dates yet. Both of the two we're visiting tomorrow currently have both our ideal dates available.
Oh and I found my wedding dress already. I hate shopping so I was dreading that task a bit, but it proved to be incredibly simple. I tried on maybe six dresses total between two different places and once I tried this particular one on, like my cousin Katelen said, it was immediately clear it was the dress. Simple as that. I love simple! Sorry I can't give any more details, Ciaran tends to frequent this blog in spurts...don't want to risk him finding out any details about it. :-)
Well, that concludes my interviewing and wedding planning update. Hopefully I'll have a chance to write again sometime this week.
And what wedding plans am I working on today? Well, I'm all about finding our location right now. Ciaran and I would ideally like to be married in an outdoor setting at an area B&B; something low-key and simple. We want a simple Friday evening wedding and return to work on Monday. We hope to go on our honeymoon during spring break (if we end up with the same spring break that is) or sometime next summer. After spending the afternoon on the phone, I have two appointments made for us to visit some B&B's tomorrow in the morning...Henderson Castle and Castle in the Country. We'll see how the visits go; I'm excited! :-) I'm also looking at a place called Greencrest Manor, but I haven't checked their availability dates yet. Both of the two we're visiting tomorrow currently have both our ideal dates available.
Oh and I found my wedding dress already. I hate shopping so I was dreading that task a bit, but it proved to be incredibly simple. I tried on maybe six dresses total between two different places and once I tried this particular one on, like my cousin Katelen said, it was immediately clear it was the dress. Simple as that. I love simple! Sorry I can't give any more details, Ciaran tends to frequent this blog in spurts...don't want to risk him finding out any details about it. :-)
Well, that concludes my interviewing and wedding planning update. Hopefully I'll have a chance to write again sometime this week.
Friday, August 08, 2008
We're Engaged!
Ciaran proposed on Tuesday night!!! Just wanted to post the exciting news. And we haven't set a date yet. I have an interview at a high school on Monday (just ten minutes from where he will be teaching this year) and once that is over we're going to begin discussing wedding dates. Sorry this is short and lacking fun details, but we're up in Petoskey right now. We brought Ciaran's ten-year-old nephew up here to visit Uncle Damien (Ciaran's second youngest brother) and of course to tell him our good news.
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