sorry so late

hello to everyone. we hope that you and yours had a very wonderful holiday weekend. ours was very relaxing. we didn't go anywhere, but had lunch with my family then dinner with some friends from church. it was great! we ate a lot of turkey and everything, too, along with a homemade pumpkin cheescake that is the best thing i've ever put in my mouth before! anyway, we finally figured out an easy way to post pics, however, we have to do them one at a time. i don't like that at all, so if anyone wants to offer any advice, we'd greatly take it. there's not a lot going on with us. we're still striving for christmas break (for janie) and working through a few more productions before christmas. i just wanted to say hi. i hope everyone has a blessed day and that we hear from you soon!

Another good one of Petey. Isn't he adorable!!!!

Meet Petey, our new dog. We adopted him today from the Humane Society and we love him. He's part feist part jack russell. Happy Birthday to Ben and Janie!!!!

How lovely

Our nephew Michael

Fun times with Mimi and Papa in Chicago

Our niece Tessa

fun times with jennifer in atlanta

Our niece Zoe in Chicago

the winery in new hampshire

good times

Tornados

so, i'm sure as many of you have heard, jackson was swarmed with tornado warnings and watches all day yesterday. i knew it was going to be a rough day teaching and so at about 1:15 (during my planning period) i heard a siren. i walked outside and didn't hear it, but then i walked back in and heard the sirens again. after that, my principal comes over the intercom and says "teachers, please move to your safe places...we'll be fine, but move to your safe place." i ended up with a homeroom in the girls' handicap stall with 19 little 3rd graders and a substitute teacher. crazy! kids were crying and then some were fake crying. we ended up with all students in the hallway, and sirens going off for 2 more hours. i talked to ben at about 3:00 wondering if everything was ok in jackson. he said it was, but then jackson took a little bit of damages from wind, and milan did the same. however, i didn't leave school until 4:15ish (when i normally leave at 2:55) and turned onto the highland exit from the by-pass to hear sirens going off yet again. they went off straight until 5:15. i finally made it to vip and my awesome husband. we then drove to kirby and pricilla's house where we had breakfast for dinner and one of the best times ever. brian denker (without cindy because she's in germany...she comes home friday though!), ben hickey, jon jones, melissa gruver, and jenny johnson. it was a blast! what real community is all about and why we love Christ Community Church. anyway, all of this to say that we are safe, and that life is normal, because we got countertops in our kitchen today!!!!!!!!!!! they are B-E-A-U-T-I-F-U-L!!!!! we can't wait to have people over for dinner. not everything's connected yet, but it should be by the end of november!!!!! we CANNOT wait! (can you tell we're excited!!!) anyway, love to all, and i hope to see some of my friends that have moved and are moving away from j-town this holiday season. merry Christmas to all and to all a good night! (maybe it's a little early, but we've been listening to Christmas music since October...we're ready!)

I was just thinking...

Ben and I have been reminded lately that God is working constantly in our lives. After the caziness of October, it feels so good to actually have time to hang out with friends (which we have missed so much) and be together. We had our kitchen worked on last weekend and (if you can believe it) it will be done in about 4 WEEKS!!!! Now, for those of you who don't know, since Ben bought the house, we haven't really had a kitchen. We gutted it before we got married, and it's now been 2 months (today, actually) and finally in 4 weeks we will have a kitchen! YEA!!!!! Every morning when I am leaving for work, I tell Ben bye and we pray for good days. This seems so arbitrary, but it really is so encouraging to start your day off with, "Lord, please be my strength and allow me to have a good day." I do have to say that I have had a great day almost everyday this week and, hopefully, I'll continue to do so. We are really excited about not traveling a lot, but we do have some little things planned for November. We're going to see Ben Folds with our good friends Joe and Leah, and then we're here for the rest of the month! NO MORE TRAVELING!!!! Well, praise the Lord for good days and for calm months. I pray God's blessing on you today and congratulations to Chad and Holly on the birth of Abbigail Grace Cossiboom, born October 30, at 2:45 A.M. She weighed about 7 lbs. and was 20 inches. Be praying for rest for Chad and Holly. Blessings!