"Before the Morning"

We have had an amazing first year of marriage! We moved to Huntsville, began working, and bought a house within our first year.

I really take teaching for granted until I lose the opportunity. I love what I do, and I can't think of anything else I would enjoy more than teaching. It's also what I was born to do. God put a desire to love, care, and help children. Yesterday I received my pink slip, and my contract was not renewed. It was really really tough yesterday and really tough today. I'm hoping tomorrow will just be tough, and maybe on Sunday, I'll be alright. I know in the grand scheme of things, this is not a big deal. There is a lot of other stuff going on with other people, and I should just be grateful for what I have. But I still need time to grieve, and I feel like God is okay with that. He wants me to deal with my feelings free of guilt and condemnation. I just wanted to share a song I heard on the radio today that really helped me...

"Do you wonder why you have to,

Feel the things that hurt you?
If there's a God who loves you,
Where is He now?

Or maybe there are things you can't see
And all those things are happening
To bring a better ending
Someday, somehow, you'll see, you'll see.

Would you dare, would you dare to believe
That you still have a reason to sing?
'Cause the pain you've been feeling,
It can't compare to the joy that's coming.

So hold on, you gotta wait for the light
Press on and just fight the good fight
'Cause the pain that you've been feeling,
It's just the dark before the morning.

My friend, you know how this all ends
And you know where you're going.
You just don't know how you'll get there
So say a prayer
And hold on, cause there's good who love God.
Life is not a snapshot, it might take a little time,
but you'll see the bigger picture.

Would you dare, would you dare to believe,
That you still have a reason to sing?
'Cause the pain that you've been feeling,
Can't compare to the joy that's coming.

So hold on, you gotta wait for the light.
Press on, just fight the good fight.
Because the pain that you've been feeling,
It's just the dark before the morning.
Yeah, yeah, before the morning,
Yeah, yeah.

Once you feel the weight of glory,
All your pain will fade to memory.
Once you feel the weight of glory,
All your pain will fade to memory,
Memory, memory, yeah.

Would you dare, would you dare to believe,
That you still have a reason to sing?
'Cause the pain that you've been feeling,
Can't compare to the joy that's coming.

Would you dare, would you dare to believe,
That you still have a reason to sing?
'Cause the pain that you've been feeling,
Can't compare to the joy that's coming.

Come on, you gotta wait for the light.
Press on, just fight the good fight.
'Cause the pain that you've been feeling,
It's just the hurt before the healing.

Oh, the pain that you've been feeling,
It's just the dark before the morning.
Yeah, yeah, before the morning
Yeah, yeah, before the morning."

- Josh Wilson

Thanks for your prayers!

- Christie

Sick Day

Today I am using the only sick day I have due to a fever among other things. So I thought, "Why not write on the blog that I have neglected?" So that's exactly what I'm doing. The few people that read this may be wondering what's going on with us. Nothing really exciting has happened, but I'll write about all the little details that have happened.

Well, since the last time I updated was in mid-November, I guess I can talk about Thanksgiving. For Thanksgiving, my 1st grade class did the cutest play ever! They sang songs, read poems, and performed jokes/skits. After the skit, we had a little feast with the parents back in the classroom. Almost half of my class checked out that day, leaving me with only 11 students...easy day!

For Thanksgiving, we went to Montgomery. We ate Thanksgiving breakfast there, a Barbarow/Elm tradition. Since we ate so early, we had plenty of time to make it to my parents' house in Alpharetta for an early dinner. It was a busy day, but a good one. The following day, we traveled to Auburn, which is thankfully only 2 hours away from Alpharetta. And we won, so it was a great holiday!

So after Thanksgiving was the SEC Championship. Another great game! Actually, it was probably the greatest game this year, according to how we played. Pasadena, here we come...

After that comes Christmas. Chris was going to go to Baltimore for a business trip the week of Christmas (Monday-Wednesday...Christmas was on a Friday), so I decided to go with him since I could. Also, my aunt and uncle live near Washington, D.C., so I thought I would go visit them for a couple days while Chris was working. Then came the blizzard. Our flights were canceled, and we stayed home. We traveled to Alpharetta on Tuesday or Wednesday (don't remember) to spend a while with our families. We stayed there until January 1st. We came back home to bring Mimi here so she could take care of our dogs while we were in Pasadena! On January 2nd, we went to Nathan and Steph's wedding!

Chris and I went back to work on Monday, January 4th. We left for L.A. on Wednesday. We were on separate flights because I decided to go about a week later than Chris, and I also didn't want to take a half day off of school. Well looking back in hindsight, I wish I did that. My flight left from Huntsville at 4:15. I made it to the airport in plenty of time. The problem was that I had a 45 minute layover in Chicago. We landed in Chicago earlier than expected, so I was thinking, "Everything is going well. I'm going to make my flight." Well then, the pilot comes on the loudspeaker saying that we would have to wait for a gate to open. We wait, and wait, and wait some more. Well now it's past the time for my flight to L.A. The flight attendant said that they weren't waiting on us, even though most of the people on the flight were on that flight to L.A. She told us to make other reservations. So the people next to me call to be put on a waiting list. They put my name on it too. 15 minutes go by, and the flight attendant comes on the loudspeaker saying that they are waiting on us. So everyone cheers, and I'm happy again. We finally get off the plane, and run to our gate. When I get there, the couple who put me on the waiting list was with me. The American Airlines people said that they only had space for 2 more people, and there were 3 of us. I still don't really understand why, except that they gave away my ticket to someone on standby. They said whoever was left would make the 8:55 flight to L.A. So I told the couple to go on ahead. It is about 7:30 p.m. now. Well, they get on, and they're getting my ticket printed, or so I thought. So I asked, "I'm definitely getting on the next flight, right?" The guy says, "Ma'am, I'm doing all I can. I said I would try to get you on that flight. If not, you'll be on the 8:30 a.m. flight tomorrow morning." I said, "That's not what I heard." Then I start crying...uncontrollably. I call my dad (Chris is in the air now) and tell him what's going on. I was too hysterical to do anything sensible. He kept saying to calm down. While I was bawling, I heard the AA people whisper, "She's crying..." To shorten the story, the AA guy made a few calls, bumped the person flying standby on the 8:55 flight, and put me on it. I know why I was emotional-I was flying alone and thought I was stuck in Chicago overnight by myself-but I don't know why I was crying uncontrollably. So I get my ticket, check it, and walk to the gate. The AA people were following me and showing me where to go. I really didn't and don't care what they thought/think about me because I made it there. I'm definitely not happy with American Airlines because what they did to me wasn't right. I should have been able to get on my originally booked flight, but instead, they canceled my booking.

But it was a great trip! I had a lot of fun in L.A. I went to my first national championship, and we won it! Everyone asked me, "Did you see any celebrities?" Well yes, I did...Kirsten Dunst. We were at Intelligentsia Coffee in a trendy neighborhood. We ate lots of good food, had lots of coffee, did some sightseeing, and of course, shopped.

Now, we're back to the daily grind of things. We're still enjoying our jobs, making good friends, and getting involved in our new church. I'm so grateful to God for placing us in Huntsville/Madison. I've met so many wonderful, amazing people and look forward to everything else God has planned for us.

I guess it's back to resting for me, though I admit, I just did laundry and am tempted to clean the house...

-Christie

House Photos

I realized I never posted pictures of our home since we owned it. The pictures I posted were ones that were taken before purchasing and moving into the home, so here are some pictures for your viewing pleasure.

Master Bedroom

Fireplace

Great Room

Kitchen

Another View of Kitchen

Master Bathroom

Hall Bathroom

1st Bedroom

Another View of 1st Bedroom

Backyard

Marlowe peeping out of the fence

Our Home

Our E Flag

Marlowe sleeping

Us

- Christie

Home Alone

The title of this entry is for two reasons:

1.) I am home alone because Christopher is in Baltimore.

2.) I am currently watching the greatest movie of all time (with a little exaggeration), Home Alone.

I guess you could say I'm getting in the Christmas spirit. Christopher already put up our lights, and it looks amazing! And today I began watching my Christmas movies. I will probably watch all of them about 3 times each before Christmas. I'm one of those people that gets excited way too early, and then when it gets close to being Christmas, I'm kind of tired of the music and decorations, but never the lights or movies. I'm going to start doing my Christmas baking because it's fun and it tastes good. Gingerbread is next on my list.

Since I rarely update this blog, I better make up for the lost time. I love my 1st graders! They are hilarious! I have a lot of funny quotes from them. I made a list of them that I will post at a later date. They are a lot of work, but at the end of the day, I'm making a difference in these children's lives, and I know it's worth all of the stress and hard work.

Chris is still enjoying his job. He hasn't had to travel much, though he is traveling this week.

We've been busy going to the football games and working. I'm just trying to keep my head above the water, but I know in a few weeks, it will be a little easier. I'll have Christmas break and free weekends.

We're still enjoying our home, though it's a bit cluttered. Today I cleaned, and hopefully tomorrow I'll clean the clutter. Once I clean the clutter up, it reappears the next day, but I suppose that's what happens when you're busy. We also have uninvited guests - mice. If you're a member of PETA, I encourage you to stop reading. We've been using sticky pads to trap the little boogers. Well, once it worked, and once a mouse got away. All in all, we have disposed of two mice so far and suspect a dead one to be under the fridge. Last weekend, I woke up and went to the kitchen to brew some coffee. Well, unfortunately that didn't happen because I found blood on the floor on my way to the pantry. There were bloody mouse prints all over the floor. I cleaned it all up, but it was leading to the refrigerator, so I assume it's under there. There has been no blood since then. I used to think it was cruel to "get rid" of sweet, innocent rodents. But they're not sweet or innocent. They have pooped all over the house and ate our food. So now I've declared war, and I will win.

I hope everyone has a good November!! And since I'm watching Home Alone, I have to put a great quote in the post..."When I grow up and get married, I'm living alone!"

-Christie

God Is Good!

It has been a while, and I'm sorry for that! Things have been busy around here. We have settled into the house. The only thing left to do is eliminate the ridiculous amount of boxes in the middle bedroom. It's one of those things that will take quite a while though, so I have no idea when it will happen. Christopher will be working on that.

Christopher's job is going well. He has traveled a total of two weeks and will probably travel a little bit in the future. He's busy, but he loves his job.

Well, since I'm talking about jobs...I now have a job! I am now a first grade teacher! I am really excited about it. I have been going to the school a few times the last two weeks to get acclimated to the routine. I feel pretty prepared now to teach in my own classroom. I love the students, the faculty and staff, and everything else about the school. I even have my own smartboard, document projector, and a microphone that goes around my neck. I'm excited about integrating technology into the teaching material. I spent an hour today just playing with the smartboard.

We've also been busy traveling for football. With jobs and football, there's really not much time for anything else. Maybe one day we'll figure out how to work and have free time, but that time probably won't be coming any time soon...

Christie

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Livin' the Life

We have finally moved into our new home in Huntsville, AL (actually Harvest). We've actually been here for about 3 weeks, but it's been busy, so please excuse our absence. We're so grateful to have a place of our own as we begin our lives together. We're still not completely settled in since it takes so long to unpack boxes. We're close, but we had over 200 boxes and not enough space to put anything. I guess we didn't realize that we have accumulated too much stuff. Luckily, our parents have helped us settle into our new home. Christopher's mom came to help us paint the week after we moved in. We finished painting the kitchen and great room, which make a world of difference. I can't wait to have the whole house completely painted! I already bought new paint for our bedroom, which needs it badly. My parents came last week and helped unpack boxes, get rid of clutter, and complete some projects. We now have lots of shelving in our closets, so Christopher can actually put his clothes up! Hopefully, by the end of this week, we will look like we're settled in (minus the paint). And maybe I can paint our bedroom as a surprise to Christopher, who is currently in New Mexico. I'll put inside pictures up after the house looks clean, but for now, enjoy the outside of our house. Keep in mind, these pictures were all taken before we owned the house, therefore, it looks much better now.

Our home before we owned it

The neighborhood and cul de sac

The creek behind our house