Almost the end...

Really and Truely, it's almost the end of school!

...for Brady, he has finals next Friday (2 tests and they are both on friday!) He is so excited to be able to go full time to TRANE and work! By the way, he is LOVING LOVING LOVING working there!

I however, and just waiting WAITING WAITING for school to be over! We have 2 weeks of regular classes and then 2 weeks of classes with only the students that have missed too many days or failed a class or TAKS test.  And that seems FOREVER AWAY! The only thing that will make this week go by quickly is the fact that I am going to Dallas on Tuesday with a friend/co-worker for a conference on Wednesday and that I am going with Brady, the Socia's, and Andreia and August Williford to a Rangers game next Saturday!!! YAY!

I'll post more on that later but I'll leave you with this...

1. Man vs. Food is my favorite TV show right now because the food looks AMAZING!

2. Go to page 45 of the book you're reading or of the book closest to you; go to the 6th paragraph and make a sentence out of 7 words from it: I run over the car and hide.

3. I am watching Fantastic Mr. Fox for the first time.

4. My legs hurt after long power walks.

5. Take some time to relax and enjoy the morning.

6. My dog needs a bit of lovin and some treats!

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to finishing this movie tomorrow my plans include Sleeping in, going running, laying out, and takin it easy!

Had some free time...

So I'm doing a Friday Fill-In. :)

1. I love to spend time with good friends.

2. A wink and a smile.

3. It's how you talk to and treat others.

4. You don't tell me! (don't like this one, but its all I could think of...)

5. Well, would you do the dishes :).

6. I have never seen spring peepers.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to watching some UT Tyler baseball, tomorrow my plans include laying out, reading, and spending time with friends and Sunday, I want to RELAX!


Enjoy...

TAKS IS OVER!

Hallelujah HALLELUJAH! I am so glad that is done with...now just wainting for the results which should come in AROUND May 18th.

Now that that's done with... Brady and I have some very exciting news... and no, I'm not pregnant.

BRADY got his first Job in the Electrical Engineering field and he started YESTERDAY! It is at TRANE and he is working in a Control System Engineer Co-Op. He is working on a team that is developing a more effecient compressor for TRANE air conditioning systems. He is SUPER excited and is ready to "just be working and not going to school".

After Brady found out about the Job/Co-Op we starting the CAR HUNT! We had been talking since almost January about getting a new car to replace Brady's Tahoe (due to the high gas prices and cost of repairs on his vehicle). He is being totally sweet and driving my car around for the next year or so.

I got this:       :)

That's all.

In Springtime...

...The only pretty ring time
Birds sing
Ah, ding-a-ding
Sweet Lovers Love
The Spring.

-Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory

Things have been going well this new year of 2011. (Can you believe that we are in the year 2011? It seems like 1996 was just a few years ago.)

For anyone out there that follows this...we dont know anything about the Air Force yet...just for a little update. Which is a bummer becuase I really want to get a new car since Brady's Tahoe and my Cavalier are both about to die. We have decided to wait until we know something for sure about the Air Force to make any decisions about car shopping. I agree but it's really hard to know that we might get a car soon and not to just want to run out and get it right now.

...as you can see I need to learn self-control. :)


On another note, we have been spending alot of time with our friends Katie and David Socia and Andreia and Jeff Williford. We have become so close that we had a Spring Break adventure with them which took us to Beaver's Bend, Oklahoma. Probably one of the top 10 weekends of my life so far...behind getting married, going on our honeymoon, and a few other great vacation weekends.  Here are some pictures to enjoy.

Also, as many of you know there have been some CRAZY things going on in the area of teaching in Texas public schools. Our school district was anticipating a 10-15% cut in our budget (I may be a little off because I tend to block out conversations that depress me). However, due to the fact that we have 75 (or so) students moving up from 5th to 6th grade next year which increases our student to teacher and student to staff ratio, and due to a few riffed positions we do not have to lose any teachers at Chapel Hill Middle School. So inconclusion, my job is safe...until Summer when the Texas Legislative actually meets.

I think that is all I have this time.

Freedom isn't free

There are many religious, financial, and militant standpoints that I could talk about with this title and I would gladly talk about them but this post is specifically to talk about one of these.

My husband has always felt that our freedom in the United States of America isn't necessarily free. More specifically that every man that serves for this country is paying a price and giving to our Great Land. Since I have known him he has shared with me his passion and excitement for the possibility to serve our country. At first I really was opposed; I hated the thought of being a wife without her husband, thinking about him leaving for an obscene amount of time. However, as I have spent more time with him and learned more about the different options I have become more comfortable with the idea.

All this is to say that Brady has applied to an Air Force program called TDSP. In September, a recruiter with the Air Force came to the Engineering Program at UT Tyler about this program and how they need officers in the Air Force that are interested in Developemental Engineering and other technical areas. Of course Brady was extremely interested and he could only think of one thing in his mind.

So the specifics are that he would apply for the program by taking a physical test and a aptitude test, then put an application and letters of references to a Lieutenant Colonel that is in HR for the Dallas area. Then if he passes all of those areas, he will be put infront of a TDSP board to decided whether he would be of beneift to the Air Force for his specific area. If he is accepted then we would get a housing allowance and E3 pay while Brady finishes school, then as soon as he gets his degree he would go to Alabama, to the OTS for Basic Officer Training for 3 months. If he graduates from that he would get orders for 4 years and there are a number of locations that we could be stationed at.

Actually, looking more into the program I am getting really excited too! I even started looking more specifically into the areas that we might be stationed. We could be in Colorado, San Antonio, Florida, Massachusetts, or Ohio (at least those are the possibilities that I would like). I have been watching alot of HGTV so I've been looking at what type of homes we would like to have as our first home. Even what style of decorating that I like.

As of December, Brady has completed and passed all areas except for his application going to the TDSP board. The meeting was scheduled in January, then moved to March, and now the Board is meeting in May and we wont know until JUNE! I feel like this time waiting has inched along like a catapillar trying to cross a side walk. I see the future possibilites that are ahead but I feel like I am getting too excited and need to be content since we are for sure going to be here until next May.

So now, you are all up-to-date on what is going on in our life. Please pray for us as we venture into this area of possibilities and pray that God would reveal his plan for our lives.

Thanks and I leave you with this...

"A young man who does not have what it takes to perform military service is not likely to have what it takes to make a living." - John F. Kennedy

A long time...

I dont know if anyone else read this before I stopped blogging but I know it has been almost a year (ten months to be exact) since I have written. So if you for some reason like reading this, I apoligize for the abrupt ending.

BUT today I am back! There are many things that have happened since my last writing.

APRIL- Busy, busy, busy with school and TAKS season for school

MAY- Got a second job working at Genghis Grill in Tyler...great food and great oppurtunity for SHOPPING!

June (very exciting month)- Got a DOGGIE, Went to Guatemala on mission, and Had our First year anniversary!

July- Relaxed, played some summer softball, and went to FLORIDA/KANSAS with the families!

August- Brad Paisley concert for Brady and birthday for ME! Also, I accepted a position as (Co)Math Department Head at CHMS.

September- School and State Fair

October- School (re-thought my decision in August) and SFA Homecoming

November- School (re-thought my decision in August) and Harry Potter 7

December- School (re-thought my decision in August) and Brady applies for TDSP Officer Program with Air Force (will talk more about later) and Holidays with both families

January- Made a new years resolution to have a better schedule (six weeks so far of following a schedule!) and spent even MORE TIME AT SCHOOL (see August again...) trying to get everything ready for MATH CAMP.

February- FINALLY getting a little break from school (a few snow days here and there), but nothing extremely significant yet this month...or at least nothing I am going to talk your ear off about right now.


So now, after 10 months in 3-5 minutes (depending on how fast you read), you know what I have been doing and it basically can be summed up by saying that SCHOOL HAS TAKEN OVER MY LIFE!  Really I have more to say but I don't want to bore you any more and don't want to over-do my first time back.

Thanks for reading,