December in Madison

It’s amazing how quickly time flies.  It seems like just yesterday that December began, and now it’s almost over.  It’s been a busy but good month for us so far!  Here are a few highlights.

The first weekend in December also marked the first snow of the season.  Apparently it is incredibly unusual for it to be this cold so early on, but winter has defiantly arrived in Madison, North Carolina and with it has come snow and ice. 

The first snow came on Saturday, December 4th.  It started snowing around noon and continued into the evening accumulating into a whopping inch and a half of snow.  It’s amazing how a blanket of freshly fallen snow can change the world from looking dry and dead to fresh and beautiful. 

We also had an ice storm just a week and half later which resulted in the schools being closed for two days.  The roads weren’t all that bad, but at the same time they were not safe for busses.  As a result we were able to share the 16^th and 17^th together at home; what a sweet and unexpected blessing!

Living in a small town is quite different from living in a city.  Life here is a little slower and seems to focus around the town itself.  We had the privilege of experiencing a little of this on the 11^th when we went to the Madison Christmas Parade.  The parade lasted for almost an hour and was full of church groups, sports teams and other various organizations from the community.  It was quite the town event!  Certainly something to look forward to as our children grow up. 

Speaking of children growing, our little one sure is!  Jon and I have started measuring my tummy every week just for the amusement of seeing how much it has grown ( along with checking my weight each week, which is also quite fun).  The current report:

Pregnancy Week: 26

Tummy Growth: about 12 inches since pre-pregnancy… my belly is currently 34 inches around

Weight Gain: About 17 pounds, putting me at a whopping total of 113

I have been told to expect much more growth over the next few months… Guess we will just have to wait and see what the end results are. 

Many of you have asked for a “tummy” picture… well, until recently there really wasn’t much to see, honestly.  In the past few weeks however this has changed, and so, to satisfy your curiosity….

This past weekend, December 17^th and 18^th, Jon’s Dad came up for a visit.  We greatly enjoyed getting to share the weekend with him; he even helped us make Christmas cookies!  And we must admit that he makes some pretty awesome peanut butter kiss cookies!

Though this is a wonderful time of year, it is also a difficult time for our family as it was this time last year that Jon’s mom went home to be with our Lord.  It’s hard to believe than an entire year has passed without her.  Yet in the midst of grief we are able to find joy, for we do not mourn as those who have no hope.  We have learned that though suffering is so bitter, it is also sweet, for somehow though suffering we come to know our Lord a little better and understand Him a little more.  This has certainly been a difficult year and we miss Mom greatly but we also look forward to seeing her again someday.  As you think about us, please keep Jon’s entire family in your prayers; it is greatly appreciated.

Well, today was the last day of school before Christmas break, just one of the many perks of being a teacher!  We are excited about having from now until January 2 to enjoy one another’s company, fellowship with friends and reflect on our Savior.  May you all have a wonderful Christmas and rejoice in the joy of our Lord during this season.  May we continually abide in Him, for it is only in this that we can truly live. 

Love and a Merry Christmas to you all!

Turkey for Two

This year we had the option of traveling to MD / DE to be with family for Thanksgiving or just staying at home and enjoying a quiet, restful holiday.  Though we would have greatly enjoyed getting to share the holiday with family and friends up north, we decided (for a number of reasons) that it would be best for us to simply stay home this year.  We must admit, it was a little odd not being surrounded by people on a holiday that lends itself to large gatherings, yet at the same time it was nice to share the day just the two of us.

The morning was spent completing various tasks around the house and getting ready to cook our Thanksgiving meal.  Around noon the cooking began…  We spent the next two hours in the kitchen together preparing homemade rolls, sweet potato casserole, green bean casserole, stuffing, apple pie and of course, a turkey and gravy (well, not a full turkey, it was just a 3 lb turkey breast, which still provided lots of leftovers!). 

Our baby turkey took a little longer to cook than expected, so what was supposed to be a 2:30 meal turned into about a 3:30 meal, but it was still oh so tasty!  For some reason, food always seems to taste better when prepared with people you love, and this was definitely one of those meals!  Try as we might to make smaller portions we have yet to successfully accomplish this task.  Granted we did not have enough food to feed an army, but we will be enjoying yummy leftovers for several days (which neither of us are complaining about!). 

After dinner we enjoyed a walk together, watched a movie and spent some time in the Word.  Though it was not our “traditional” Thanksgiving, it was very enjoyable and provided some much needed rest!  We hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving as well.  Know that we are exceedingly grateful to be a part of your lives!

And now, may the Christmas season begin!  = )

Making Dinner
(Jon made the sweet potato casserole all by himself!)

Our Yummy Apple Pie

Carving our little turkey

Our candle light Thanksgiving dinner

Jon's finished plate

My Finished plate... notice a difference?!?!

Uprooted and Replanted

As many of you may know we have been in a state of transition for quite some time now.  I will briefly try to update you on our lives over the past several months. 

In May Jon graduated from CIU and as the school year came to an end, so did my job at HOPE Academy.  We spent the month of May packing up our first home and preparing to spend the summer traveling and moving.  And thus the “uprooting” began…

June was a busy month as we spent two weeks in China visiting Jon’s brother and sister-in-law, a week in Delaware with Heather’s family and then a week at the beach with Jon’s family.  It was great to visit with everyone, but as the end of June grew nearer, so did our desire to once again have a place of our own to call home.

In the beginning of July we moved to a small town in North Carolina called Madison where Jon had received a teaching job.  We moved into a rental house under a month-to-month contract, thus allowing us to have a temporary dwelling while looking for a more permanent place to call home.

School started in the end of August and with it came an incredibly busy schedule.  Being a first year teacher is draining in general, but even more so when you have to make your entire curriculum from scratch and are teaching from 6^th grade to 12^th grade!  Jon loves teaching though and has done very well as a first year teacher. 

Once school started the months seemed to fly by!  September and October were busy with school and looking for a more permanent home.  Finally, in the end of October we were preparing to move again!  We were quite ready for this move since we only unpacked the necessities at the first house and thus had essentially remained in the state of transition that had begun in May. 

November is here and with it is the crisp fall air.  We are currently in the midst of unpacking, cleaning our new home and still trying to stay on top of daily life and teaching.  We have been quite busy but are very grateful to finally have our roots re-planted in solid ground as we begin to make a home again. 

Oh, and for some exciting news (which most of you already know… but some of you may not).  We found out in July that our “forrest” is about to grow as we are expecting our first child come spring!  We waited until we heard our child’s heartbeat to share the news, and so come the end of September we were finally able to share our joy!  We recently had our first ultrasound.  Everything looks great, but we are waiting until our little blessing makes their way into this world to find out their gender.  We are expecting our child to be here some time in the end of March! 

We hope you all are doing well as you prepare for the holidays and look forward to hopefully keeping you a little more updated on what our Lord is doing in our lives through this blog.