A look into the life of the Ross'

Almost the end...

2011-05-07T20:25:00.000-05:00

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...

2011-04-29T11:32:00.000-05:00

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!

2011-04-28T20:50:00.000-05:00

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...

2011-04-10T19:09:00.000-05:00

...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

2011-02-17T19:12:00.000-06:00

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...

2011-02-12T10:08:00.000-06:00

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,

New Friday! Y A Y !

2010-04-09T22:18:00.000-05:00

I just LOVE Fridays! Fridays mean that I have MADE IT through a whole week with out tearing my hair our or chewing my students heads off!

I don't know if I have said this already but Brady and I are plannin on going to Puerto de San Jose, Guatemala on a mission trip and we are getting EXCITED! We just sent out letters this week and I had to QUICKLY send of my passport to change my name! EEK! So main focus... please pray that all the logistics would work out as we prepare for this!

Here is where we will be going!

Here is the next Friday Fill-In

1. In 1992, I was __6 years old and would only wear dresses that you could "twirl" in___.

2. __I wish that life was all___ laughter and smiles.

3. Do what you ___can____, with what you ____are given___, where you ___can____.

4. __Sitting poolside with Brady...that__ is where I'd like to be.

5. The trees and flowers are telling me __that its SPRINGTIME and time to run and play outside, take advantage of the beauty the Lord has made__.

6. __???___ that just keeps going on.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to __laying in bed and watching tv___, tomorrow my plans include _working out, cleaning, grading, and birthday party for some of Brady's friends__ and Sunday, I want to __go to church then do NOTHING for the rest of the day_!

Thats All!

Friday Fill-In / Good Friday and Easter Weekend

2010-04-02T09:46:00.000-05:00

Found this on another persons blog...

1. All you need is __to know and believe that God gave his only son to die on the cross for our sins, the last sacrificial lamb___.

2. ___Brady acting like his goofy self___ fills me with laughter.

3. Each generation, as it grows up, __gets more and more lazy (coming from a teachers point of view___.

4. __Parents not doing their parental job____ is something I have a hard time dealing with. (Again, from a teachers point of view)

5. A trip to ___England and Italy___ is what I need.

6. __Give___ and you get back.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to __watching "Clash of the Titans" for Brady's Birthday___, tomorrow my plans include __working out, getting letters ready for Guatemala, and watching the traditional "Ten Commandments" on tv___ and Sunday, I want to __be in awe of the amazing blessing our God has given us__!

On to another subject! Brady and I have decided to go to Guatemala this summer with our Church from June 22 - June 30. We are so excited but please pray that we woud be able to raise the money needed, that we would be prepared to share the Love of Christ, that we would be a light for those that dont know Christ or are going through major struggles, and that the hearts of the people in Guatemala would be softened to Christ.

Thats all really,

City with Character

2010-03-01T18:38:00.000-06:00

HELLO EVERYBODY!

Why is it so hard sometimes to think of how I should begin a post like this...I guess it should give me an idea of what some of my students will be going through this wednesday for Writing TAKS.

ANYWAY, Things have been going well lately! There is not much to update on, but I will share what I did this past weekend...I had a LOVELY brunch with my good friend Eloise at a joint called "The Egg and I", and that was proceeded by a walk around that area. We went to some quaint little shops and it was really enjoyable. I specifically liked Paper Capers (an AWESOME stationary store) and The Kitchen Dawer (a place that has ALL TYPES of gadgets).

After I hung out with my dear friend, I decided to take lunch to my loving husband who was working all day. On the way to bring lunch to him I drove down a street I had never been and I fell in love...now I know that there are countless amounts of eloquent houses in Tyler but I was really struck by how beauiful these were...

All in all it was a good day, and it made me want to find a neat older house with character to move in to.

And now... I am sad to say, as I mentioned before, that Brady was working all weekend so his stories are somewhat dull.

All I can say now is that we are extremely delighted that Spring Break begins next week. Here are our scheme:

Go to Allen, Saturday to Tuesday. In allen we will have a few eloquent dinners, some intimate family time, and a lovely show of Phantom of the Opera. (We are all extremely excited except for Brady).
Possibly go camping/backpacking Wednesday-Thursday. This will only happen if Brady does not get asked to work.
Friday-Sunday, VEG OUT! Hopefully we will get to take some time and relax and rejuvnate ourselves.

Other than this I have nothing new to add. Hope you all enjoy your week. =D

February Blizzard in TEXAS! Feb. 12, 2010

2010-02-14T20:27:00.000-06:00

Well, we here in Texas got an early Valentines Day present from God. He gave us a day off of school and a day of beauty to reflect on all the amazing things that the Lord can do, and this is just a SMALL bit of what he does.

Here are my pictures...not many an totally doesnt do justice to what was outside my apartment Friday morning.

Al l in all its been a good Valentines Day Weekend... Brady and I cooked to celebrate the holiday. I ate a Filet and Brady had a tuna steak...with asparagus and twice baked potatoes...I must say that I did well!

Hope you all had a WONDERFUL Valentines day!

We're BAAAACK!

2010-02-06T18:56:00.000-06:00

We'll we never offically left, but I have been BUSY BUSY BUSY with school, so I'm just now getting some time to update!

We have been living a pretty boring life since the holidays. I have been working like a MANIAC, teaching, doing math camp to help the lower students, helping at basketball games, and going to a CRAZY bible study. This has all been very good, but VERY exhausting. I am really enjoying te bible study; I am going with a few other girls from my Young Marrieds Group at Grace Bible. I am very excited about getting to know these girls a little better!

Brady on the other hand, has been sitting on his butt all day! Just kidding he has been working hard taking classes, doing homework, and working up at Trinity Mother Francis. He now is officially working every other weekend there.

The only excitement, is that Brady's father, Tim, got in a motorcycle crash on MLK Day. He hit a dog going 35-40 mph and was sent to the hospital. He had some cracked ribs and some lacerations on/around his eye. He was not able to work for about 2-3 weeks (which was VERY good for him) but finally go his dr. approval to go back to work Monday.

We are SOOO thankful for all our family and friends, that we are here to spend time with them.

Hope everyone is doing well!

No one except God comes before family.

2009-12-15T20:03:00.000-06:00

In continuation from what I last wrote...I will repeat that I love this season because it gives me a great chance to spend some quality time with my husband and our families.

One of my FAVORITE Christmas traditions occurred this past weekend. Brady and I drove up to Allen to go to Cheesecake Factory and Christmas Tree shopping with my parents and Will. Brady and I played hide and go seek with Will in the Tree Lot.

Here is our AMAZING tree that fits perfectly in our apartment.

And our Nativity Scene... I noticed today that it looks like the 3rd wise man is Boogeying because he's so happy to be there for the birth of Christ!

And all my Santas!

After Friday, Brady and I drove to Longview and we went to a Tacky Christmas Sweater Party! The only bad part was that I left our sweaters in Dallas!!! Brady was a little frustrated (with good reason) but we worked things out in the end... Brady enjoyed the fact that he got to see his old school mates!

And so that brings me to the end of all I have to say...this time.

Thanksgiving has come and gone...

2009-11-29T18:55:00.000-06:00

But we still need to remind ourselves daily of the amazing things the Lord has given us and everything we are thankful for...

Brady has joined a softball team with our church and in the past month, we have really enjoyed playing/watching the game! Hopefully in the next few years I will find a place where I can join in the sports other than just watching.

Brady and I have also enjoyed spending time with the Young Marrieds group at Grace Community Church. We have done many things so far with these LOVELY people. These are pictures from our Fondu and Fun night.

Here is our First Thanksgiving as a married couple. The Ross clan is gathered in the living room watching some HUSKERS football!

My FAVORITE!!! Brady's cousin's son...Eli...HE IS ADORABLE and a very QUIET child.

To wrap things up: tonight I made Hawiian Pork Tenderloin... it was very yummy and Brady BETTER be thankful!

That is all,

Holiday Season has begun!

2009-11-09T17:23:00.001-06:00

Well! We are now in the beginning of November and I am FINALLY having time to send out an update. October flew by in a flash with my school and Brady's classes.

Just a few notes:

2nd six weeks I am only failing 2 students...I like to give credit to the fact that I worked my BUTT off and called/emailed parents 74 times this six weeks (which was really only 5). It may be a pain in the butt to sit there and do ALL that work but I could not believe how supportive most of the parents were.
It looks like Brady might get all A's! He has one class that is making him work VERY hard for it but hopefully in the end it will pay off. (By the way I am SOOO PROUD OF HIM!
We went to the State Fair with my family in Dallas. I love this family ritual because I love the junk food at the fair and I really love sitting in the cars and dreaming of when I can get rid of my old klunker! The hard thing was that we went to the fair on OU/Texas game day so it was REALLY BUSY and we went to Mary Poppins (excluding Brady and Will because I would NEVER hear the end of it if I dragged them in).

Finally, The Holiday Season began with the Halloween Festivities! We started off with going to a halloween party with our Grace Commuinty Chruch Couples and carved our pumpkin. It was too cold for me to wear my regular costume so we were HARDCORE HUSKERS FANS!
We also decided that I am allergic to real pumpkins because when we were carving the pumpkin (which was pretty gross in general) my arm decided to break out and start itching all over. But that didn't stop us!

Then, for ACTUAL halloween, Brady and I went to Lynsie O'Steen's Halloween Party in Dallas.

We had SO much fun and I got to wear the costume that I hand sewed! Brady and I hung out with Jessica and Lynsie most of the night and it was a BLAST!

Now, I am so excited that we are in November because it is getting closer to Thanksgiving and closer to CHRISTMAS!!! (MY FAVORITE!)

We miss everyone that's back in Tyler and we hope to be able to visit again soon!

LONG TIME

2009-09-27T15:24:00.000-05:00

I am sorry that it has been so long guys!

In a shortened version I will let you know what has been going on since Brady and I moved into our apartment.

I started teaching a Chapel Hill Middle School in Tyler, TX and it is amazing so far! This is my classroom.

Right now the biggest class I have is a class of 22 students...compared to last year when that hit a high of 30 students....muchhhh better!

Also i have pretty good students this year. It is more time comittment because i have to make my own lesson plans each week but I can be so much more flexible and I really enjoy working at this school.

Through school I met a sweet girl that works with me and she introduced Brady and I to Grace Community Church. We started going to church there about 1 month ago but we really enjoy it and we ended out going to the membership class this weekend.

I also went to my brother in law's first triathalon and REALLY enjoyed it. At some point I would REALLY like to do it too!

Other than that things have been good. Speaking for Brady and myself...we REALLY like it here in Tyler. There are some really great people and its a great community.

Finally, I would like to ask everyone to keep the John Tyler High School community in their prayers, for the family that is dealing with a death and for the students and teachers in that school.

I will post again soon! =D

THE NEW LIFE IN TYLER TX!

2009-08-13T18:09:00.000-05:00

Well now, Brady and I moved into our new apartment week ago...number 726!

I...no WE have been working hard to get our apartment where we want it although there are still many things that I want to do that will have to wait for the moment...

As you walk in the door you look to the left and see our living room... I really want to paint a few walls and one of those is the wall by the fireplace.

Then as you look to the right you see our dining area overlooking the kitchen... in this room I want to paint the wall behind the kitchen bench.

Then you walk down the hall and find on the left is the Den/office aka Brady's Room. This I am doing nothing to, it is his to take care of. =D

Then keep walking down the hall and take a right into our island bathroom...with two showers..weird.

Then finally we move to our room...which has the most left to do. There will be many pictures and such in the room when I am finished...

All in all, WE LOVE THE NEW APARTMENT! We love the lay out and where it is located and everything! We are so excited to be in our first "home".

Loving Florida and the Family

2009-08-05T18:46:00.000-05:00

Well, I am back from the gorgeous land of Destin, Florida. Brady and I accompanied my mother (Susan), father (Bill), and little brother (Will), and we had a blast!

Our trip began by a 12.5 hour trip leaving Allen, TX at 4:30 AM (which was supposed to be 3:00 AM). We all slept except dear father and mother, who did all the driving.

We really enjoyed our trip and we went to the beach just about everyday! It only rained one day and it was for about 30 min so we were really blessed with the weather.

Other than enjoying the beach and relaxing, doing nothing...I really enjoyed the food...although I am not much of a fan of seafood.

We went to Stinky Fish Cafe our frist night. Then we went to Pompano Joes where we got some GOOD apetizers and i got a GOOOD chicken sandwich with pineapple on it.

After those two restaurants we went to The Back Porch and we went to an AMAZING lunch cafe called Smiling Fish Cafe where i got an AMAZING spinich salad!

We also played TONS of card and board games at night. We played a card game called Onze, which is so fun but VERY competitive, and something called Settlers of Cattan which took just as much time to explain as it did to play.

Anyway, in all Florida was a BLAST but We can't wait to move in to our apartment on FRIDAY!!!!

The beginning of our life together!

2009-07-20T20:09:00.000-05:00

Well we (mainly I) decided to create a blog to keep our family and friends up-to-date on what has been going on as we are traveling and living away from so many people that we love. So if you are not aware of what Brady and I have been doing, here is a semi-quick, updated version.

On Saturday, June 27, 2009 Brady Ross and I got married. We had an amazing time at the wedding and reception and hope everyone enjoyed it too.

We left the next day to go to Grand Cayman and we had an amazing time. We went to the botanical garden and stingray city one of the days.

Since then we have been enjoying time with our family going back and forth between Longview and Dallas. We also got to spend sometime going to see the Harry Potter movie with my family.

My thoughts on the HP6: I enjoyed the movie but really decided that I WILL NOT read the book before the 7th movies. There is too much that happens in the book that is left out of the movie and that is changed.

The past few days Brady and I spent in Kansas City at the Ross Family Reunion. It was fun to spend time with all of his family but It was too bad that Brady's parents werent able to go because of work comittments.

Well, Brady and are are in Longview for a few days and then are going to Florida with my family. I will probably post after we get back!!!

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