Our Christmas Voyage

As many of you know, Nate and I travel quite a bit for the holidays. We spend time in Omaha with my dad and step-mom, then head to Columbus to spend time with my family, and then hit up Grand Island to spend time with Nate's family. We are currently on destination 2 of 3 so far. We spent time in Kearney/Grand Island for graduation and then headed to Omaha to spend time with my dad and step-mom and our good friends Micah and Amee Yost.

We arrived in Omaha on Sunday morning and went to church at Christ Community with Micah and Amee. After church they had us over for a delicious lunch and to see their new home! The Yosts have moved all over the midwest the past few years, claiming routes in Kearney, Omaha, and Kansas City. Micah found a good job in Council Bluffs, so the two built a house in Omaha and moved in after Amee graduated from KU.

Nate and Micah have been good friends since their good 'ole Nebraskats days...they spent many days in the Fine Arts Building at UNK being best friends with Dr. Cisler ;) and we all sang in the choir together. Nate was the bestman in Micah and Amee's wedding and Micah was a groomsman in ours. We met Amee when she started at UNK...we instantly hit it off and we even played a huge role in their engagement and were both in eachothers weddings. Amee and I enjoyed many coffee and pastry dates while she was at UNK. But the majority of our relationship has been long distance ;) Haha...we talk quite frequently via telephone.

Though we live far, far away from eachother, we have continued to be great friends and hope to continue this friendship for many years. They are a solid, Christian couple who we enjoy very much!

After spending time with the Yosts, we spent a day and a half with my dad and step-mom. We went to the movie Desperoux with them and my step-sister, her husband, and their two beautiful children :) Then on Monday we went to a coffee tasting at Dunn Brother's Coffee and had great conversation over tasty coffees and pastries! We don't get to see them very often, so it was nice to spend the time with them even though it was short.

We are now in Columbus and will then head to GI on Christmas morning....will blog more! Hope everyone has a merry Christmas!

UNK Alum :)

Well...on Thursday night after Nate's concert, we decided to make the trek to Kearney for graduation. The weather was terrible that night; it had snowed almost 4 inches in just a few hours. Not only was it snowing, it had rained earlier that day which made for treacherous road conditions. However, Nate had his mind made up that we were going to
Kearney that night so I could walk at graduation....he's not stubborn at all :) It took us 3 hours when it normally takes us 2 hours, but we arrived in one piece and stayed with good friends of ours, Danielle Lear, her fiance Jesse Velenti, and their puppies (thanks for letting us crash with you!).

We had a small reception at Harmon Park with a good friend of mine who also graduated with a Language Arts degree. It was so nice to be able to celebrate the day with our family and friends! Thanks to everyone who was able to come!

It does feel very nice to be done, but Nate and I are about to start another page in our educational endeavors. I will be taking a 3 hour graduate course this spring through ESU 16 and then will take 6 more hours at UNL this summer. Nate is planning on taking 9 hours at UNL this summer. We feel so blessed to be able to continue our education this far!

So, I do want to say thanks to a few people...thanks Nate for being so patient, kind, and understanding the last 2 and a half years...you are the best husband a gal could ask for! Thanks to my parents and family for always encouraging me to try new things and supporting me in my educational pursuits!

I Celebrate the Day

On my way to school this morning, I was listening to My Bridge Radio...the Christian station in this area. The song "I Celebrate the Day" by Relient K came on and I fell in love with the lyrics...they say so much. Here they are...enjoy :)

And with this Christmas wish is missed
The point I could convey
If only I could find the words to say to let You know how much You've touched my life
Because here is where You're finding me, in the exact same place as New Year's eve
And from a lack of my persistency
We're less than half as close as I want to be

And the first time
That You opened Your eyes did You realize that You would be my Savior
And the first breath that left Your lips
Did You know that it would change this world forever

And so this Christmas I'll compare the things I felt in prior years
To what this midnight made so clear
That You have come to meet me here

To look back and think that
This baby would one day save me
In the hope that what You did
That you were born so I might live
To look back and think that
This baby would one day save me

And I, I celebrate the day
That You were born to die
So I could one day pray for You to save my life

Jazz choir...

As many of you know, Nate has a jazz choir here in Og. Tonight they had their Christmas party at one of the student's homes; it was a fun night...they really are a good group of kids. We ate lots of junk food, played Wii and Mafia, and took some time to get to know the kids a little bit more. The pictures above are from a pancake feed the group sang at last week. The OHS Christmas concert is on Tuesday, so be looking for more photos!

Check out this article....

My sister in-law, Amy was interviewed for an article in Friday's Lincoln Journal Star...check it out at: http://journalstar.com/articles/2008/12/12/news/local/doc49431432d0f4c256531638.txt

Summer plans...

I know it is way early to be planning for summer, but Nate and I have already began planning. Nate will be starting his Masters at UNL this summer. He will be taking 9 hours in 5 weeks to work towards a Masters of Music Education. He is very excited to get started :) He is so much like his sister Amy. Both Amy and Nate are teachers who want to grow in knowledge and experience because they care so much about their students. I look up to Nate and Amy and hope that I can be as successful and motivated as they are!

I will also be taking 6 hours of graduate credit at UNL this summer! About a month ago I applied for the Nebraska Writing Project. I had never heard of it, but the teacher across the hall from me gave me a flyer for the program and encouraged me to apply. So, I did...and I got an acceptance letter yesterday. The project does a variety of things, but mostly (from what I understand) it gives teachers a chance to develop and share meaningful writing lessons and projects. The program also allows time for teachers to work on their own writing. Luckily, both Nate's classes and my classes will be during the same 5 weeks. We feel so blessed to be able to have these opportunities to further our education and to have wonderful family who will let us crash at their place during this time (thanks Amy and Pat)!

To read more about the NWP, visit: http://www.unl.edu/newp/

It's beginning to feel a lot like Christmas...

Christmas is my FAVORITE time of year! I love cold weather, Christmas music, the coziness of spending time with friends and family, and most importantly, celebrating the birth of our Savior.

We put our Christmas decorations up about a month ago because we knew we were going to be so busy. Our decor is modest, but we love lying on the couch by the light of the Christmas tree...it really is beautiful.

Today we did some hardcore baking. We spent almost all morning making goodies for our neighbors (we of course, saved some for ourselves!). Earlier this week two sweet little kids from across the street brought us a plate full of cookies, so we decided to return the favor. We made almond bark covered pretzel rods, buckeye bars, peanut butter and chocolate vanilla wafers, thin mints, and marshmallow fudge. Nate was a good sport and helped me out :)

We hope everyone is enjoying the holiday season and we are looking forward to seeing as many family and friends as possible over break...

We have an exhaust fan!

Doesn't Nate look thrilled in this photo?!?! Last weekend my mom, dad, and brother made the trip down to Og to help us put in an exhaust fan....it was a bigger endeavor than we thought. My dad and Nate worked on the project from 8:00 on Saturday night until 4:30 on Sunday morning! Apparently they had a few issues with the wiring...I woke up about 4:30 to find two holes in the hallway wall...just a minor set back :)

But we do have an exhaust fan now. Nate and I are slowly learning how to be more handy, but I am so thankful for patient (and handy) family members who are willing to take the time to teach us. So, thanks mom and dad! Love you guys!