tomorrow

I get to go home tomorrow! I am so excited to get to see my parents, I haven't seen them since Thanksgiving! And I am excited to see my brothers who I haven't seen since this summer. I saw my sister in December, so it hasn't been quite as long since I have seen her, but I am still glad we get to see her. She still has a lot going on with her boyfriend but I can't get involved, it is none of my business (at least not right now). And, we get to see Jason's parents which is always nice. They are amazing people. We have a friend travelling with us because we are going to the Firey Food Show that is in town this weekend, yummy! Hopefully we get in enough family time. Yay for going home tomorrow!

September or October

Well, my sister went to the doctor's today for the first appointment after she found out she was pregnant. They say she is either 8 or 12 weeks pregnant, probably 8, or so the doctor says. This means she is probably due October 9. She has an ultrasound on March 12th to find out for sure. Her and her boyfriend are not doing so well but they are trying really hard to make it work right now. I hope she doesn't force it because a divorce in the future is much worse than not getting married in the first place. She has a lot to work through and I do not envy her (other than getting to have a baby, of course). She needs a lot of prayer. Anyway, no matter what I will have a new niece or nephew by October of this year. At least this time I will be around much more because I get to move back to Albuquerque FOR GOOD in the middle of October (the weekend of the 17th to be exact). Then I will only have to come back to Lubbock if I want to!! I am so ready to be done with school! Speaking of, gotta go be productive. Prayers are appreciated!

Student teaching info!

I finally learned information about student teaching next semester!! I am so excited because it is finally becoming real that I am going to be a teacher in less than a year. I have a ton to do before then, like get a few teachers to fill out checklists for me that say I am "fit to teach." I also have to make it through the rest of this semester, move home, and get my placements both here and in Albuquerque. Oh yeah, I officially get to student teach half here and half in Albuquerque, woohoo! I will take that stupid class that they threw at me half here and then half online, which I guess I can handle. The teacher didn't have to do that for me, so I am really appreciative of her allowing me to do that. Yay for things starting to fall into place! Now Jason just has to get a job and then we will be made in the shade with Kool-ade!
My sister has her first doctor's appointment tomorrow about the baby. I am still upset about the whole situation but I feel more at peace about it than I originally did. I am trying to stay open minded about how God wants me to talk to her and how to react to her when she talks to me or asks me questions. I don't exactly know what to pray for regarding that situation other than for her to accept Christ ASAP. If you have any advice I would love to know. I will post the info I get after she gets back from the doctor, so you can pray more specifically if you are interested.
OK, off to bed. I can't wait to get to see my family on Friday! Too bad my grandparents don't want to see us bad enough to wait in Albuquerque one more day... don't even get me started. Adios y Dios te bendiga.

Unexpected Grace

Today at church I learned about grace. I learned that the world expects judgement so we should show them grace and they will be taken off guard. Christ taught about grace and how none of us will ever deserve it, but He gave it to us anyway, as long as we ask. We also must make the most of every moment and every opportunity to share our faith, and to show grace to the world, so they can see God's love through us. This message was incredibly powerful to me, especially in light of the recent situation.
Last week we learned about the Prodigal Son, and how his father was so excited that the son would come home, even though he had basically said "I wish you were dead, dad" and then squandered all of his stuff. This message was also really powerful to me, and I hope I am able to apply what I learned to my life.
I know God is speaking to me, and He isn't exactly being subtle. I just hope I don't let Him down (too badly, because I know I will mess up). Thank you, God, for being excited when your wayward son comes back to you, and for the grace you give us every single day.

Closing in

Last night was so much fun! Some friends came over to the house: I helped her address all her wedding invitations and the boys played with the dogs and played video games. After that we went to eat at Dion's, yummy. I am so going to miss these friends that it pains me to think about moving away from each other in May. At least we get to hang out with them over spring break while we are skiing in Taos. They are just awesome.
Well, only two weeks of class left before I go into the classroom for the rest of the semester. I have so much to do until then it is ridiculous, not to mention I am going home next weekend so I have to get most of everything done before then. I have projects and lesson plans, and most of it has to get done this week, yikes! I will try to finish a quilt today, after working out and finishing laundry. I have had this quilt for a few months now and am so close to being done that I just want to finish it. Tomorrow will be homework all day after church...
I am so ready to go home! I haven't seen mom and dad since Thanksgiving! And I haven't seen my brothers since this summer. Seeing my sister might be awkward and uncomfortable, but hopefully it won't be. I am so sad about her situation and I know she doesn't exactly feel the same way, but I just want to be there for her and help her make appropriate decisions now that she is in this situation. She probably won't listen to me because she will automatically assume I am telling her what to do, but that is completely untrue. Hopefully we can figure out a way to communicate that is effective for the both of us.
Ok, on to be productive today. Yay for going home on Friday!

Life is coming

Oh my goodness, in less than a year I will be a teacher. I can't even believe it. Before then a lot of things have to happen:
I have to get through the rest of this semester which is rapidly closing in on me.
Jason has to find a job
We have to find a house in NM
We have to move to NM
We have to get our house and life in order
I have to do student teaching, half here and half in NM
I am going on a couple of vacations and hopefully a mission trip

AAH!! I have to tell myself every day to just take a deep breath and I will get through. Jason has no job prospects at the moment, which is unfortunate, but I guess seeing how the economy is it isn't all that surprising. Hopefully by March, but it could be longer than that. We don't know how we are going to afford a house unless we get some help from our parents (which could happen) because nobody will give us a loan right now. Thankfully we will not have any debt when we graduate, which is a huge blessing, but there are still a lot of things to take care of once we graduate. One day at a time...

Today is my cousin's surgery for her biopsy. If you could pray that it would go well that would be fantastic.

I can't wait to go home...

To the point

Today the message in church was about The Prodigal Son (Luke 14). Needless to say it spoke right to me. Our pastor spoke about God's love for us, including the wayward children who squander everything He gives them, and how He rejoices when anyone comes to Him. This really spoke to my heart, especially considering the current situation. I know that God will rejoice the day my sister comes to know Him, but it is so hard to wait for her to find Him knowing that He wants a relationship with her, and with all of us, so badly. I love my sister dearly, and I want the very best for her. Yes, I am was angry and didn't do a very good job censoring my earlier posts as much as I should have, but I can't lie to myself either, because God knows my heart. I want her to be so happy and healthy, and it is hard for me to watch her make mistakes and get hurt, whether in relationships or just the daily struggles of life. And I love her baby boy. He deserves nothing but the best and I just want to give that to him. I know it is not my place to "mother" him, that is my sister's job. I have realized I have a lot of emotions to work through in all of this, but with God's help I know it is possible. And my sister told my grandmother about the situation last night in a very mature way and I guess the conversation went really well. This is a much more mature way of doing things compared to the past, so at least she is making progress.
The boys are adjusting nicely back home. Mom tried to get Sam to answer the phone when I called but he refused. I'm not sure he knew it was me though, because he probably would have done it if he knew. The boys absolutely adore their nephew, it is cute to hear about.
On to homework and housework. I finally have time to focus on all the things I need to take care of around here. Thanks for the prayers.

Valentine's Day

Today was such a good day, much better than yesterday. I got to sleep in finally, so that was a great start to the day. I am starting to get over all the emotions of the week and I am feeling much better about everything.
Jason got me some beautiful flowers for Valentine's day, then I was able to quilt all day long which got me one step closer to finishing this project. Then, Jason went to the grocery store, my very least favorite chore on the planet. He came home and cooked a delicious steak, salad, mashed potatoes, and bread dinner. And to top it all off he took me to Sheridan's (where the rest of Lubbock was at the same time, apparently). It was a much better day than I expected because of the way the rest of my week was.
My family is having dinner with my grandma tonight and my sister is planning to tell grandma about her pregnancy... let's just say I am glad I am not in the same state when that conversation takes place. My grandmother will not be pleased, to say the least. We all have the same thoughts and feelings about this situation, but my grandmother will let it all be known loud and clear when she hears the news. Not that I blame her, mind you. My sister kinda deserves to hear it all right now, but I am still glad I am not there for that.
My poor mom... she is having a very tough time with all this. She is already going back to counseling, just like the last time this happened. It really helped her last time, so I am glad she can go talk to someone about everything. Hopefully her and my dad can get on the same page about everything and present a united front for my sister. My dad is a very accepting, forgiving guy, but sometimes that isn't the best way to handle my sister (she assumes he is OK with what she does, even if he isn't). I wish I could be as forgiving as my dad, and that is something I am struggling with daily, but I think it is going to take me more time.
If you could pray for my parents, that they will know how to handle this situation and how to tell my brothers. If you could also pray that my sister would come to Christ, hopefully sooner rather than later. And that her first baby boy will not suffer because of the choices she continues to make. I am so nervous about how this is going to affect him, but I have to remind myself that God is in control. Romans 8:28- And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to his purpose. While my sister may not "love Him" right now, my parents, husband, and I do, so there has to be good in there somewhere where He will glorify Himself.

This week

Ok, so here goes...
On Saturday my parents returned home with David and Sam from Ukraine. They were gone for 9 weeks and it was so great that they were able to return home and everyone could settle in. My sister seemed like she made it through the time they were gone just fine, with a few bumps in the road but she handled them OK. Man, how things have changed since Saturday...
I recently found out that my 14 y.o. cousin is going through one of the scariest things possible. She goes in on Tuesday to have a biopsy done on a lump on her neck to find out if she has Lymphoma. She is such a strong, brave young woman, but this would be scary for an adult, much less a teenager. I am praying she is able to make it through this next week with good spirits and just take it one step at a time. I am also praying she is able to see God through all this and come close to Him again.
Then, Tuesday morning I found myself at the hospital for a horrible stomach virus. They also found a few things wrong with my G.I. tract so I am going to have to have follow up appointments for that in the near future. That was a rough day on both Jason and I, but thankfully my teachers are understanding.
Then, to top it all off, last night I called my house to ask my family to send me a picture for a project I am working on. While my sister was looking for the picture she tells me she is PREGNANT!!! She already has a 22 month old... and she will turn 20 in March. I am at such a loss for words I don't even know what to think. Mostly I am furious, but I am also sad for my parents and irritated with the whole situation. Don't get me wrong, I really like her boyfriend, they just don't get along and can't make it work. They are going to go to counseling at my parents church to see if they can't work through their differences, and their main goal is to get married before the baby is born, YIKES!! They have dated for 6 months and have broken up at least 4 times in there. Seems obvious to me.
So yeah, that is my life this week. I can hardly think about school and all the stuff I have going on there. Project after project, lesson plan after lesson plan... Not to mention I have a husband and a house to take care of. I know the Lord will never give me more than I can handle, but I am really going to need his help to get through this one...

Trying this out

I've decided to start another blog where I can just talk about anything and everything since my other one is really just for my quilts and projects. My life is chaos right now and I need an outlet, and what better place to keep friends and family up to date with my life.