Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas to everyone! Praying you have had a blessed holiday as we celebrate the birth of our Lord.

I don't have my Christmas pictures loaded yet, so I'll leave you with a picture that probably would have ended up on a Christmas card this year...if I had found the energy to do them. I'm saving my energy for next year's baby shower invites, thank you cards, and birth announcements. :)

Baby and I are doing well, and this upcoming Friday will already mark 10 weeks! Where has the time gone to? Josh & I (and the rest of the family) are looking forward to heartbeats and ultrasounds next month. I'm still queasy off and on, and the little bit has me tired off and on, but overall I am doing well.

Have a blessed evening!

Christmas Giveaway!

Christmas Giveaway on the Munck's blog. Check it out at http://muncksquiver.blogspot.com/ before tomorrow evening.

Sorry there's no link. My posting tool bar is being weird right now.

7 weeks and counting...

I won't post much tonight because I need to get to bed soon. I'm hoping that once I get past this week and on to Christmas Break (WAAHOOO!) that I will have time to maybe post a little more often for a few weeks.

We are still feeling blessed with the new baby on the way, and we thank everyone for your congratulations. I've been asked by a few how I'm feeling...

My "morning" sickness started on Monday, but I have been fortunate to only have some nausea and loss of appetite (i.e. no loss of breakfast, lol). When I'm not feeling nauseous I'm usually ravenously hungry. It's a funny yo-yo to experience. I'm more tired lately, and I find myself getting to bed on time if not early. Naps are always welcome (a luxury of having the first child). My hormones have shocked me in that I haven't gone off the deep end. With the exception of the week when Homer went missing (and he's still gone, bless him), I've have a relatively sane pregnancy so far. I have an occasional ache or twinge every once in a while, but mostly I'm just chugging along trying to make it to this Friday.

Josh & I will get to go hear the heart beat mid-January, and we'll get to have the first ultrasound the following week. I'm looking forward to hearing and seeing who God has blessed us with!

EXTRA! EXTRA! READ ALL ABOUT IT!

As we pass from a season of being thankful to a season that 'tis joyful, Josh & I are happy to announce some special news...

With God's blessings, we are due for our first child on July 28th of next year. Hallelujah! "Miss Amanda" is going to have a baby. ;)

Thanksgiving at a Glance

Wonderful Wednesday

Out of many things to be thankful for, one thing I'm thankful for is....

Wednesday off from school! I have time to prepare for family coming up today and tomorrow, plus I got a wonderful night of rest before starting my day. ;)

Thankful for 3 years

This is a wonderful week of celebration for our family. Tomorrow, the 22nd, is mine & Josh's 3rd anniversary. I love him more each day. ;)

Happy birthday to me!

(Yes, that's me.)

Twenty-eight years and counting. Looking forward to what this next year will bring. ;)

:(

Still no sign of my Homer. Not sure if he wandered off to find another home, or if he was ill, and we didn't realize it. I still miss him, but I've made my peace with it for now. I'll turn my focus back towards my Christmas decorating. ;) Pictures to come hopefully sometime between now and the end of Thanksgiving break.

Face on the milk carton

MIA for three days now. Where has he gone to?

He's been attacking our other cat, Athena for months now....which is why we made him an outdoor cat months ago (to separate them). Now he's up and gone missing. Still love the rascal despite his delinquent behavior. Breaks my heart to think he might not ever be back. Time will only tell.

Autumn colors

Tinkerbell in Training

Quick Halloween pic

Here we are at the Block Party...Cheesing it up a little bit, both representin' our workplaces. (Photo courtesy of North Cleveland Baptist's photo booth.) Our church had a booth selling baked goods, drinks, & caramel apples. We raised about $300 towards a mission trip next year. My idea of fun on a Halloween night? Not being at the block party. lol. But at least we had good fellowship, & I was able to spend the evening with my hubby. I have a sneaky suspicion that our booth may become an annual outreach event. More pictures to come.

A few moments from this weekend...

Campin' in the Sticks

I mentioned on the blog a few weeks ago that we were going to camp on the evening of October 7th. I have finally found myself a few spare moments to share some of the pictures from the evening.

We had some friends and family up to our property on a Friday evening. We enjoyed food, fellowship, and a chilly evening outdoors.

Here I am on my first "real" sleep in a tent, outside camping adventure. Oh so brave...You can see the light from our cabin in the background.

Here's a view of the campground from our front porch.
And an evening view from the night before (when Josh set up) showing the tiki torches & lantern glowing.
Some of our smoky sittin'.
On the left is Christen (wife of Justin, who was the youth pastor at our church before Josh was), me in the middle, and on the right is Denise (wife of Josh, our church pastor).Here is Christianna entertaining herself for a moment with some of the books and toys that Aunt Amanda brought up from the house.
Here's our tent "circle."
Here's the tent where I spent the night. Overall, sleeping outside is not a fantastic experience, but I got a few hours of sleep. I played catch-up that Saturday afternoon with a 4 hour nap. I faired better than some of the others who came who decided to sleep in our cabin instead.
Here are some of our tired campers enjoying breakfast by the fire. My hubby is sitting down on the other side of Jared (Josh's friend, who is in the red). Justin is in the background on the other side of Christen.
Here's view of the mountains from where I was sitting.

And here's Aunt Amanda, lending her hat to Christianna for a photo op. Overall, a fun experience. I definitely enjoyed the time in fellowship.

In case you missed it...

Cleveland Daily Banner ran a story yesterday which talked about the award I won back in July.

http://www.clevelandbanner.com/view/full_story/16062555/article-Gowin--Holder-receive-Riggins--Schimmels-awards-at-Lee-U-

I'm also linked to on the Lee University page as well.

http://www.leeuniversity.edu/newsEvents/newsDetails.aspx?Channel=/Channels/All+Content&WorkflowItemID=89e90f8c-7df2-4c19-9e10-92d978bee440

To God be the glory! ;)

You know you're an early childhood teacher when...

...You manage to buy something for you classroom almost every time you are at Dollar General or Wal-Mart.

...You always refer to going to the bathroom as "going to the potty"...even when you're talking about yourself.

...You don't wonder why the dinosaur has no hands, you simply wonder who chewed them off.
...You have pictures like this on your computer where you are working on labels for your shelves.You take pictures of random creatures and plant life so that you can use them in your science center.
You not only stop to look at seasonal t-shirts at Wal-Mart, but you then proceed to buy three because being a school teacher means sportin' seasonal wear. (Being careful, of course, to avoid anything that looks too "teacher-y."
...You wander outside at 10 PM on a late Wednesday night after church, and proceed to walk over to your Sassafras tree. You begin to shake it vigorously so as to knock down the "dinosaur footprint" leaves that you can use for a 3-D craft for a dinosaur unit the next day....You're sitting at the computer at almost 11:00 PM at night, wondering why you didn't finish that lesson plan (that's being evaluated tomorrow) a little earlier than now.

Back to work, my friends. Thought I would allow my brain a quick break. ;)

If you've ever donated to Susan G. Komen, you may want to read this.

WARNING: This article approaches the topic of sexual education, which may not be appropriate for young eyes. The first part of the blog is about the article.

That said, I am a youth pastor's wife, it's not like I'm going to be talking in expletives.

I found out something interesting about the Susan G. Komen foundation the other day. Our pastor's wife let us know about this information from Chuck Colson's Breakpoint website. As someone who would like to help "Save the Ta-Ta's" I believe will be finding a different breast cancer organization to give my funds towards.

I don't profess to know everything there is about Planned Parenthood (PP), and I realize this is a single conservative view (albeit from a reliable and legitimate Christian author) of the organization. There's a chance that PP does some worthwhile things, but I wouldn't want an organization that considers abortion as a viable option to be anywhere near the children I teach or my own children. I am 100% pro life, and that makes them a huge "NO" in my book. Finding out about the other things that their organization endorses and/or has allowed to happen only makes things all the more certain. And finding out that Susan G. Komen gives money toward their organization, although for a great reason...breast care services...made me disappointed indeed.

Here's the article.

And here's my soapbox...

This article got me thinking about sex education in general. I don't know how "grotesque" PP's sex ed teachings are and how young the girls they are giving contraception to are. I will say, that I know too many teens who know exactly what they aren't supposed to do before marriage, and they do it anyway. I think there is a healthy way to educate children about what sex is, what the dangers of doing it before marriage can be (both physical and emotional), and how to protect yourself from those dangers. The best, and Biblical way to do it, and the way both my husband and I followed, is abstinence. As I believe most any Christian will (or should) tell you, is this only true way to protect yourself and follow God's teachings.

Unfortunately, through our working with youth, I have come to the all too realization that our teens (and even younger children) are playing with fire way too early...and they won't listen to reason. With hormones raging, and the "It won't happen to me" philosophy, it leaves me with some hard questions. Yes, I am upfront and honest about sex, that pre-marital sex is not an option, and the damage that you're left with if you choose to go that path.

Here are my hard questions for the evening:
What should we be doing for these teens who are damaging their well-being? I know that God blesses us with healing after we make mistakes, and He can even bring blessings in disguise. But, there are always consequences to any action, good or bad. What do you do for a teen who is chipping away at his/her future? How do you make sure that child stays safe while not enabling him or her? If a 14 - 15 year old has already had multiple sex partners, and is trying to walk the right path, but still keeps stumbling, what do you do to prevent that teen from the inevitable fact (that I learned way before they taught it in health class that, "Sex makes babies."

TGIF!

Here's to truly thanking God for an end to a tiresome week.

And, here's to an evening of roasting hot dogs & marshmallows over the fire, enjoying an evening of fellowship with family and friends, and sleeping under the stars.

May I just say that I have never slept outside in a tent before....

Here's to new experiences!

What's going on with Mrs. Amanda?

Still saying busy, but I thought I would take a moment to let you all know what's going on with me.

The new job is still going well, and I'm slowly getting stuff done in my room. My co-teacher and I tackled room arrangement yesterday, and we added a Cozy Corner and gross motor area. I am blessed to have plenty of room, shelves, and storage in my classroom. I went after a VERY messy storage closet today, and I am happy to report that there is in fact a floor in that room. Go figure! As for the shelves, well I will finish finding them another day.

I'm looking forward to Nillie Bipper this upcoming weekend -- Saturday and Sunday -- from 10 AM - 5 PM (I think). Hope to see some of you there. It's always so much fun! ;)

Foothills was fun, and we enjoyed good food, entertainment, and some sales. I had great people beside me on each side. My least favorite time of the week (and I believe Josh's favorite) was the lawn mower races that took place right behind my booth. LOUD! :( My favorite time was holding Christianna while she took a nap (Josh & Jenny went to the Demolition Derby).

Gotta go do a little more work before bed. We're having some young couples up from church the weekend after Nillie Bipper. They're going to camp up here over night. The house is quite messy, and it's mostly my education stuff & the clothes I'm switching out for fall, so I have to get back to it.

Sometime I'll work on some more lesson plans. We're themed for oceans this week, the next two weeks will be dinosaurs, and then I'll focus my attention to some of my favorites -- fall, harvest, pumpkins, Thanksgiving....AND then it will be Christmas! When did that happen? This year sure has flown by quickly.

Favorites in my class this week: Sand dough (salt dough recipe mixed with sand), beach towels in home living, and these little critters which I have called sea urchins. They were so easy to make!

Oh, and did I mention I ran my car into a ditch last Tuesday? (Of course I didn't.) A little too preoccupied on my 6:30 AM commute to work. Luckily I only got a slight bruise from my seat belt, and the only real damage is cosmetic (a scratched bumped, torn off ground effect, and a trip to the mechanic for an alignment). I thank God it wasn't worse, I didn't hurt anyone but myself, and that I went in a ditch instead of down an embankment. And, of course, for my wonderfully sweet husband who didn't care about the car, but more about not having the right chain available to tow me out with the Explorer. (We borrowed one, and he bought the right kind for us that afternoon to have...just in case...so we don't have to borrow again...Hoping to never have to use it.) Glad we have good neighbors. ;)

That's enough for now, I guess. Housework: a necessary evil. ;)

Monday

I had a good first day at my new job. No time to blog now. I have housework, lesson planning, and jewelry making to do this evening. Between finishing up the fair this weekend, starting a new job, and getting ready for Nillie Bipper in two weeks, I'm quite busy. ;)

Just thought I would give a quick update.

GOD IS GOOD! Celebrate with me!

I will be starting as the head pre-k teacher (through HeadStart) at Taylor Elementary School next week. I will substitute until the paperwork is completed. I should be official by the 26th. ;)

Hallelujah!

Can you tell I'm ADHD this evening?

(Picture I took last year. lol.)

Come to the fair this weekend! Looks like a lot of fun, and you can see me. Haha. :)

Here's the schedule.

Foothills Country Fair

General Admission: $5 daily (Hand Stamp available for same day re-entry)

You may purchase a pin for $10 to receive admission for all 4 days.

Children 6 and under admitted FREE

Active Military admitted FREE with ID

Parking is free every day!

PRAISE!

I have an active teacher's license! WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOOOOO! Hallelujah!

Thanks for your prayers. :)

We've made it halfway through the week!

No need to for extra exercise time today, my friends. Between dancing like a fool with a bunch of pre-kindergarteners, and then running back in forth in a gym for about 45 minutes today with children who don't seem to ever get out of breath (unlike their substitute teacher), I am content with a good day of exercise. I sense soreness tomorrow...which will probably get worked out doing the same things again for the next two days. I love my job. :)

Your Spanish word for the day: correr - to run

Common uses in an ESL classroom: Corre! (Run!) and Correremos. (We will run.)

And now I go back to more packing (and a hot shower to end my day). Foothills is fast approaching...Gotta set up tomorrow!

Check out the Munck Sisters' blog for a giveaway of an ADORABLE apron!

http://muncksisters.blogspot.com/

Tuesday

Today has been a bit better for me. My emotions have stayed in check. I haven't gotten any medical or employment updates, but my focus is geared toward this weekend right now. It's the local Foothills Country Fair, and I have a booth for my jewelry. I'm working towards getting most of my items ready this evening because tomorrow night we will get home late from church. I will have to set up Thursday after work.

I'm gonna get back to it. Hoping to make it to be by 9:30PM so that 5:30 AM doesn't look so rough tomorrow.

It's Monday.

Every had one of those moments where you suddenly come to terms with all the things in your life that you can't control...and you freak out....and then you think of all the things that you can can control, but you feel defeated from all the things that you can't control...so you freak out again?

I do believe this is where faith in God comes in (and lots of prayer). After all, if I wasn't faced with the realization that I am utterly unable to concur life on my own, then why would I need to rest in the arms of my Creator?

Has anyone noticed that it's only Monday? Oh Lord, give me strength for tomorrow...and the day after that...and all the days following. Praying you all have a blessed week, and that we all find comfort in the arms of our Father in heaven.

Keep me in prayer, my list of requests grows longer....

My job (still waiting)

My health (waiting on blood work about my thyroid and insulin levels)

My role as a leader in ministry

My mess -- i.e. our home -- Which has grown in clutter to the point that I'm so overwhelmed by it, I can't figure out what to do about it.

My emotions (stress + PMS + a week full of getting up at 5:30 AM = ROLLER COASTER)

Tonight I will take the time to count my blessings before I go to sleep. After all, they do far outweigh my worries.

Seek and find...Where's the spider?

Can you see it?

Try again?

How about here?

Aha! There he is!

A (creepy) little solider, protecting our cherry tomatoes from bugs.

I never cease to be amazed by the small things in life. I think animal & insect camouflage is such a cool thing that God added to nature. This little guy blends in so well with the dying leaves on the plant that those little critters probably never see what's coming. Makes me extra careful when I go to pick the ripe tomatoes. :)

The sky is grey and the light is far.
The sea is a rage within my heart.
I turn my sight to the crashing waves.
I cry in the night just to be saved.
Cause I need eyes to be my guide.
I need a voice that's louder than mine.
I need hope and I need You.
Cause I can't do this alone.
Grace I call Your name.
Oh won't Your smile fall over me.
I'm cracked and dry on hands and knees.
Oh sweet grace rain down on me.

I need You grace.
I pray for dawn a new day to live.
I pray for mercy only Jesus gives.
Though darkness falls and a million cry.
I believe over all there's a greater light shining for us.

I enjoy the meaning behind the song, and the way it sounds, but I'm not much of a fan of the YouTube video.

Phil Wickham -- Grace

And waiting

I am still waiting on job information, and I have the feeling it might be next week now before I know anything about it. I know it is all in God's timing. Please continue to pray for my job situation and also my teaching license. My license has been pending for about two weeks now, and it would be great if it would become active soon.

Also, I haven't been feeling well for the past few days, so hopefully I will get past my sinus ick over the long weekend.

Hope all of you have had a blessed week. ;)

Still waiting

No news yet on the job front, but I did have the opportunity to get another training out of the way today. I've been pleased to network with some other teachers as I have subbed & trained. If anything this helps me know a few more people before I leap head first into my own classroom. ;)

Keep praying! God is in control.

Prayer Request

"Bee still and know that I am God." Psalm 46:10

Please keep me in prayer. I am hoping to hear back about a potential pre-k job that I interviewed for last week. I will possibly hear something tomorrow or Tuesday. For everything to fall in to place my teaching license needs to go from pending to active. To God be the Glory for whatever happens this week. ;)

Perfect words for an imperfect time

I never ceased to be amazed at God's perfect timing. As much as I try to remember it when dealing with the unknown, I often fail. Today his timing came for me through the way of my devotional. I'm in a stage of my life where I'm dealing with a lot of disappointment and uncertainty. As blessed as I certainly am, there are some big "What if" questions in my life including my career and when God will bless us by allowing our family to grow. I'm trying my best to put my trust in Him, but I find the human part of me getting in the way. He sent me a perfect message today to remind me of why I feel like I do right now. It mentions situations totally beyond my ability to handle them. I have many of those that I have been playing tug-of-war with God over the past few months. I really am in a position now where I have no control over what is going to happen next. It amazes me how perfect these words are for me today.

The devotional comes from Jesus Calling: Enjoying Peace in His Presence by Sarah Young. It is written as if God is speaking to us directly, and I highly recommend it to anyone who needs a short one page devotional to refer to each day. I was blessed to receive this copy from my mother, and I have not only used it for myself but also shared it on occasion with the youth that I work with. (I do not claim to own this material. All rights belong to the author & publisher.)

August 18

EXPECT TO ENCOUNTER ADVERSITY in your life, remembering that you live in a deeply fallen world. Stop trying to find a way that circumvents difficulties. The main problem with an easy life is that it masks your need for Me. When you became a Christian, I infused My very Life into you, empowering you to live on a supernatural plane by depending on Me.

Anticipate coming face to face with impossibilities; situations totally beyond your ability to handle. This awareness of your inadequacy is not something you should try to evade. It is precisely where I want you--the best place to encounter Me in My Glory and Power. When you see armies of problems marching toward you, cry out to Me! Allow Me to fight for you. Watch Me working on your behalf, as you rest in the shadow of My Almighty Presence.

Revelation 19:1; Psalm 91:1

I hope these words bless you today as much as they have blessed me.

From then...to now. Oh, how she grows.

With the exception of the first picture below (that I took), the rest of the pictures below are from my mother-in-law's camera. She got a digital camera back at Christmas, and since she's not very computer savvy, all of her pictures since Christmas just got developed at Wal-Mart. I borrowed the disks from her to get some pictures that I knew Josh & I would enjoy. I'll post a few of them over time.

I noticed as I flipped through the pictures how much Christianna has grown. I had forgotten how small she was!

November 2010 (less than a week old)

Christmas 2010
January 2011 (I had the special opportunity to feed her the first bottle she ever had. (Mom & Dad were out celebrating their anniversary.)
Valentine's 2011
Spring 2011 (Sleeping on Papaw's hand) So cute!
Summer 2011
A few weekends ago.
Oh, how she grows. I'm looking forward to Josh & I having our own children one day. For some reason, Jud & Jenny won't let me take this one. lol.

Cute craft

The lion puppet pictured above came from one of the kits pictured below.

I found them at Hobby Lobby the other day, and I thought that they were just too cute. They are super simple to make. The felt (hand-sized) puppets come with pre-punched holes that you "sew" with the floss & needle provided. As you can tell from the lion, I went with a slightly different stitch than pictured. I thought it might hold up better. I then took the pre-cut pieces & glued them on with tacky glue and let them sit over night.

Honestly, crafty people, such as myself, could probably look at the pictures and make their own patterns for felt, but for only $4.99 for four puppets, and all of the patterning, cutting, and hole punching work already done for me, I really didn't mind paying the price. Also, if you use one of the 40% coupons found online most weeks, then you could get it cheaper if it is not already on sale. I plan to use mine in a dramatic play center one day or for story sacks.

So, for those of you reading my blog who have small children. This might be a craft you would like! ;)