Survive Chaos: Check!

 This last month has been totally ridiculous and overwhelming. :)  After tomorrow, I'll have had six kiddie music performances in the last week and a half.  We've had things all weekend for the last five weeks, and had (on average) only one night/week without something scheduled for the last month.  I wish I had taken pictures of our house....or my car...or my closet....or especially our kitchen, but I don't think I would have had the courage to post them!  You'll have to just take my word for it - our lives were CHAOS!

Even though we have a mini performance tomorrow, I really would say that this last Tuesday was the end of the "crazy".  Last night I recovered, and this morning I was feeling pretty carefree! Until... 

At lunch my principal reminded me that I needed to give back the high school key I had borrowed for our concerts.  Yeah, sure, no problem!  Oh wait - I had NO IDEA where the key was!  Now, I'm pretty notorious for misplacing things and have learned to just let it go and find things when I find them.  However, losing a key to the high school during the first year of a new job is NOT the way to win people over.  Enter: Panic Attack.

I looked all over my elementary room during my free minutes for the rest of the day - nothing.  I broke my sugar fast at a gas station on the way home and only came up with a stomach ache.  I looked under every car seat and in every nook and cranny of my purse - nothing.  More panic.

Chris was awesome (as always!) and agreed to go to my elementary room to help me look for it.  And thankfully, after 20 minutes of searching every nook and cranny, we found the key at the bottom of a bin full of egg shakers.  EGG SHAKERS!  Sometimes I wish I could trade my mind in for a better model!  One that doesn't put keys in the egg shaker bin.  

And at that moment, I became officially stress free. :)  I am now re-entering the world of the living, the world of blogging and goal-getting and working-out and being social.  

Anyone wanna hang?!?!

Peace ya'all!

Birthday Bash!

I turned 27 on March 31st...and it was a great day. :)  I don't usually have real huge expectations for birthdays, but I definitely felt loved.  Chris woke me up with singing...and (in true Chris style!) a banana with a candle in it.  I actually had strep on my birthday, and the night before had said that nothing sounded good except a banana.  SO - although it sounds pretty ridiculous to hand your wife a banana with a candle in it on her birthday, he was actually being very sweet!

I had to go downstairs for the next part, and this is what I saw!

He had decorated the night before...awesome job Farley!

SO fun!  He really outdid himself this time. :)

And...a TOTAL surprise, he got me a kindle!  I can hardly put it down, I'm so excited! 

The rest of my actual birthday was really fun.  Although I was dealing with strep I went to school (and didn't breathe on anyone!), and got lots of birthday wishes from adorable kids. :)  I had a doctor appt. after school, choir practice after that, and then went to Valentino's with Chris to have a date and play around with the Kindle.  It was a great day!

THEN - Birthday celebration #2 with the Stellmaker Family.  First, I adore my family.  I felt so loved, and feel especially glad that everyone is home right now.  Matthew's living at home until June, Amy and Matt were there, Papa's at mom and dad's right now, and Cindy (a family friend and our Iowa-aunt) got to come.  It was GREAT!

I asked for money to go toward a bike, and in true Stellmaker-style they all got creative in how they gave it to me.  This was the most creative. :)

I asked for money to buy a bike, but my family doesn't do things boring - so mom took me on a scavenger hunt.  What was at the end?  A money tree!

Love this family so much. :)

The only unnecessary part of the evening was the April Fool's Day prank played on the birthday girl.  :)  I haven't eaten sugar since middle of February, and could finally eat some on April 1st.  I've decided to continue not eating white sugar except at celebrations...and this was a CELEBRATION!  So when the oreos came around I was pretty excited - until I bit into two oreo cookies filled with TOOTH PASTE!!!!  Thanks a lot brother! 

Thanks for such a great birthday everyone...I feel very loved. :)

An habitual contempt of meanness...

Check out this quote.

"It should be your care, therefore, and mine, to elevate the minds of our children and exalt their courage; to accelerate and animate their industry and activity; to excite in them an habitual contempt of meanness, abhorrence of injustice and inhumanity, and an ambition to excel in every capacity, faculty, and virtue. If we suffer their minds to grovel and creep in infancy, they will grovel all their lives." --John Adams, Dissertation on the Canon and Feudal Law, 1756

We definitely don't talk like this anymore.  We don't even think like this!  I'm still trying to wrap my mind around what he's saying, but I know it's good stuff.  I also know that we don't have much of it in our country anymore!

I've had a couple of conversations about the state of our education in the U.S. lately, mostly spurred on by questions raised in "Waiting For Superman".  Even in Iowa, there are moments when I feel shocked at how little kids know/can do.  And to be honest, we have AWESOME teachers at my schools.  I can only imagine places like New York NY, Austin TX, Washington D.C.  So how have we missed the boat so badly?   


Anyone?  


Off to watch "Waiting for Superman"...

Quarter-Year Goal Reflections

I've realized that we're 1/4 of the way through 2011.  Last year I set my goals at the beginning of the year and didn't think about them again 'til the end - and it didn't go so well. :)  SO - I decided I should do some reflecting a bit more often this year and see if things improve!

Goal 1 - Catch up on scrapbooking
      * I've printed pictures and started, but am having a REALLY hard time finding motivation.  Where I am currently, it just seems silly to spend so much time and effort and money on a scrapbook.  I've decided that I AM going to keep this goal, and will get caught up through our India year and travels...however, I'll be doing some serious re-evaluating about whether or not I want to keep scrapbooking our lives so consistently in the future.  Maybe just big vacations and birthday/Christmases?  We'll see...
 
Goal 2 - Become active/involved at Cornerstone
     *We've finally committed to a small group, and are working to get to know them better.  I think we'd both like to do something else to be involved in the weekly workings of the church, but I'm not quite sure what that'll look like.  I'd personally like to be involved in short-term missions organization, but have NO idea how to get involved in that.  The church is so big that it feels really overwhelming to try to connect with people sometimes.
 
Goal 3 - Get trained in foster care
     *We're scheduled to start classes on June 6th!  10 weeks, 3 hours each...bring it on!
 
Goal 4 - Become conversational in Spanish
     *I'm TOTALLY failing on this one.  I think I might need to find a conversation partner - anyone?  I'm realizing that learning Spanish really hits my pride hard...it is so hard to speak it for me!  I have a hard time speaking in English, so Spanish is a real kicker. 
 
Goal 5 - Save up to buy a nice bike
     * Saved some money, and asking for bike money for my birthday (9 days away!)


Goal 6 - Have a garden/do some canning
     *Mom said we could have a garden at her house - but I really need to start some seeds growing.  I also need to do some research and get a plan for the garden.  Anyone have some tips?
 
Goal 7 - Work through my elementary curriculum
    *I have a plan to meet up with a Minnesota friend (go Marie!) for a week-ish this summer and work through it together.  I also just went to the National Kodaly Conference and got a TON of new ideas, so this goal doesn't scare me anymore.  Yay!

Goal 8 - Level 1 Kodaly Certification
    *Also saving money for this, and should be able to register for the July session at Drake within a few weeks.  


Goal 9 - Finish a marathon
     * Hmmm...yeah...ah...so, this one is hard.  My plan is to run the Minneapolis half marathon in June, then run the Chicago marathon in October.  HOWEVER - I apparently need to actually start running in order for this to happen!  I may be discovering that running just isn't a big passion of mine - I'm wondering if biking might be better.  I had a conversation about triathalons the other day, and have been thinking more about that type of race too.  I think I will just always get really bored with long-distance running...unless I have a consistent running buddy, which I haven't been able to find yet (for the daily runs).  I might run a 5K this Saturday, maybe that'll get me going!

Goal 10 - $18,000 of student loans paid off, $4,000 in savings
     *After tomorrow we may have an official "plan" to knock this debt out.  More to come later!

AND: the +1....
Goal 11 - Be more intentional with communication/interaction.
     *I've been trying to be better at this...started a book club with some sweet ladies around the country (world, I guess!), have been trying to meet with people regularly, and got 250 texts a month!  I know I know, totally awesome. :)  I'm realizing how INTENTIONAL I have to be, as this is just not a natural personality trait of mine.  I'm really good at being in the moment...when I'm with that person, I am TOTALLY there.  HOWEVER, keeping in contact is NOT my strong-suit, and I really wish it was.  Phones scare me - I need help. :)

______________________________________________

Year Focus:

Bearing Fruit 

I've done a lot of meditation on bearing fruit and thinking about how I could/should bear fruit, but getting down and dirty about bearing Christ's fruit is a different thing - especially intentional interaction with non-believers.  I fear man so much...icky feeling!

______________________________________________

Extra Goal: Read 24 Books
    *I'm on book 7, but a lot of those have been audio books.  I'm counting them because I just really don't have a lot of time during the school year (elementary has so much prep!!  Who knew?!), but I'd much rather be actually reading them.  I have a list, hopefully I'll be able to carve out time once concert season is done and we get closer to summer. 

FINAL REFLECTION: I guess I've started or have a plan of action for most of these - but I'd much rather be farther along!  Hopefully by the half-year mark most of them will be much further along. :) 

Announcement!

HA - PSYCH!  No baby's yet.  :)  Did I get anyone? 

Even though it's not quite as exciting...

Chris got a new job!!!

And that is actually SO exciting to us!  Chris has been working in Marshalltown since we moved back - and has had to leave at 6:00 AM every morning.  It's an hour commute, so we miss 2 hours together every day, and it just hasn't been optimal.  SUCH a provision from God, but not the best-cast scenario.  Ya know?!

He's been looking randomly for a new job, just off and on.  A couple of weeks ago he saw a posting for a job at Iowa State - applied, got an interview, and 2 days later they offered him the job!!  

It's literally a 5 minute drive from where we live right now, and would only be a 15 minute commute if we end up moving back to Story City.  AND - he thinks he's going to love what he'll be doing.  

We are SO ready for him to have more energy, get more sleep, and not fall asleep at 8:00 every night.  WAHOO!  

Praise God for His provision, both in August and now!

**And don't worry - we won't be changing our sport loyalties any time soon. :)  GO HAWKS!

Irish Family Fun!

Last weekend we had the Farley Family wedding shower for Amy and Matt....I'll let the pictures speak for themselves. :)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Love this family!

We're signed up!

Just a quick blog - we are officially signed up to start our foster care class on June 6th!  It's a little later than we were hoping, but the classes are all really full, and that was the first one we could get in to.  I have no idea when God will bring timing together for us to start taking kids in, but it feels good to at least be on our way.  YIPPEE!!!

Kansas Trip

I just transferred pictures from our SD card to my camera, and realized how many posts I've been missing out on!  So without further ado - here's our January trip to Kansas!

Cookie and Dave are friends of Chris' aunt and uncle who happened to be going to Woodstock at the same time as us.  They had been there before, so we met up with them before we even went and had pre-Woodstock friends...it was WONDERFUL, and we loved them from the second we met them at the Boondocks truck stop. :)  They had been planning to stay for 5+ years when Cookie was diagnosed with stage 3 cancer and they ended up coming home early fall of this last year.  This was the first time we got to see them since they've been back, and it was SO great.  

Steve (our good friend from India) drove down from Minnesota on Friday and picked us up after work.  It's about a 6 1/2 - 7 hour drive, so we left right away and got in around 1:00 AM.  I've inherited the overwhelming persuasion to sleep in any moving vehicle from my dad, so I slept the whole way while the boys drove - thanks guys!

They were waiting for us when we got there...of course we talked for an hour or so, then sleepily went to bed.  We had randomly picked to visit them on their "butchering" weekend, so the next morning we jumped right in.  Every year they connected with 5 other families in their church and butchered 3 hogs to split among them.  And here's what it looked like!

It was SO fun!  I thought I'd be really grossed out, but I actually loved getting down and dirty, and involved in grass roots, REAL food production.  I'm a farm girl in exile I think...I even love the smell of pigs!  I told Chris that we HAVE to live in the country wherever we go next...

After the butchering we had a big pot luck in the farm house, then proceeded to wash dishes for approximately 3 hours. 

At this point in the weekend I stopped taking pictures and just enjoyed it all.  We visited some thrift stores in Newton, and then had a GREAT meal with Chris' aunt/uncle/cousin.  And to top it all off, we of course ended the night with a game of Settlers. :)

SO much fun with people we love dearly. 

6 Down, 18 to Go

Here's one big post about the books I've read so far!

Book 1: Angela's Ashes

 This is such a great book about the issues and poverty in Irish history.  I especially like it because I got my dad to read it - and he SPED through it!  For those of you that know my dad, he spends years on one book, and yet has read this and the two sequels in less than 1 month.  LOVE IT!  

Book 2: Radical

This book is life-changing, challenging, and frustrating all at the same time.  I'd recommend it to ANYONE who loves Jsus and wants to respond to His call in their lives! 

 Book 3: The Eye of the World

Book 4: The Great Hunt

Book 5: The Dragon Reborn

Book 6: The Shadow Rising

  

This is actually a confession: I may be turning into a nerd.  These books are part of "The Eye of the World Series"..Chris started listening to them on audio books on his way to work, and since there are 14 books in the series, he knew he'd be entertained for a while!  Somehow he got me into them, and we are now walking around our house with phone speaker blaring loudly, talking about Isedai and Parryn Abara and the Ayeel.  Seriously, we are nerds.  But we're nerds together!  We've even started using some of the book's phrases...we call each other "Shade of my heart" now...isn't that poetic?!  I know it's not technically reading, but I am consuming books, so I'm going to count it. :)

 Here's my list of next books to tackle...

1. Revolution in World Missions, by J.P. Yohannan (almost done)

2. 'Tis, by Frank McCourt

3. Teacher Man, by Frank McCourt

4. Jesus Among Other Gods, by Ravi Zacharias

5. The Normal Christian Life, by Watchman Nee

6. The World is Flat, by Thomas Friedman

7. Factory Girls, by Leslie Chang

8. Born to Run, by Christopher McDougall

Any other recommendations?!

Serious Catching Up!

So, this is a catch-up post.  I really am bad about posting since we've come home, but I guess it's because so many of the people I want to share things with are so close to me - I'd rather just tell them!  But, there have been some fun events to share, so here we go!

1. We gave our dogs to Chris' dad, Tom.  This isn't necessary (or even at all) a fun event, but it was totally necessary, and a good decision made.  While we LOVED (and still do!) our dogs, Lexi had some serious anxiety around new people, and with foster care in our future and a family coming closer (still off a ways, but we're thinking!), we thought it wise to not have a nervous, growly dog around future children.  Since Lexi and Sam have been together forever, we thought it would be cruel to split them up...and Sam sheds SO badly, that I wasn't too excited about having crawling children around piles of dog hair.  So, two Fridays ago we had our tearful goodbyes, and Tom graciously agreed to take them forever.  We seriously love these pups, and were so glad to know we'll be able to see them so often.  I'll probably cry like a baby when I see them this weekend....oh boy!

2. Amy's wedding is SO SOON!  2 weekends ago we had a wedding work day in Cedar Falls, and got SO much done!  It's seriously impressive how organized Amy is...what a girl!  I can't wait for her special day, and especially for us to have the same last name again. :)

3. We had a GREAT weekend with Rachel and Brian.  They hadn't seen our house, so they decided to come up on Saturday afternoon, spend the night, and go to church with us on Sunday.  It was a WONDERFUL time of hanging with comfy people we love, talking through serious things, and just being together.  Love you guys so much!

4. I'm on a white-sugar fast.  AHH!  There were a number of people that inspired this very spontaneous commitment (Steph, Kelly, Kim) and I'm going 'til the end of March with some friends.  I think we're up to 4 of us already, anyone else want to jump in?!  This has already been SO HARD for me...especially since my order of Girl Scout Thin Mints came 2 days after we started the fast (oh, the irony!).  We've labeled honey and DARK DARK chocolate (anyone eaten 85% cocoa chocolate before?!) as "okay", but everything else is out.  I'm already feeling better, although I'm afraid I might be replacing my sugar cravings with salt.  Hmm...

5. I decided to run the Minneapolis Half Marathon and Chicago Marathon...and even have a running buddy (yeah Laura!).  Gotta get going on these yearly goals!

6. NO SCHOOL TOMORROW!  Which would explain the ridiculously late time that I'm posting...yippee!  Here's the "To-Do" List so far...

- Run, yoga video, clean toilets, wash hardwood floor, go to library, make book list, middle school concert songs picked and ordered, plan 3/4th grade concerts, write preschool songs in music notebook, 2 weeks of lesson plans, buy white cardstock, print recipe cards, print picture for bathroom, "Community" e-mail, make arrangements for OAKE convention, make plans for taxes, make a few phone calls, make hair cut appt.

I LOVE days off!

7. We went to a Chris Tomlin concert a couple of weeks ago - and it was totally sweet. :)

8. I've officially decided to ask for money to go toward my bike goal for my birthday.  Yippee!

9. Something's wrong with my jaw, it just keeps hurting for no reason at all.  Lock jaw?  What is that even?  Dumb!

10. I auditioned for a community choir in Ames last Friday and got in - I'm SO excited to be able to sing "real" music again!  I have a feeling it's going to be such a good release each week.  Yay!

11.  We get to go visit Katie and Eli in Chicago next weekend, and I'm so excited!  We might also get to see some friends from Woodstock while we're there...and their new baby girl. :)

And, that's it!  Have a great Tuesday everyone!