This will be a long week!

Saturday Matt and I went to Bamberg. He had been to the PX there and I toured it with my SNAPS group but he hadn't seen the sights. We parked at the train station and walked the same route that my SNAPs class did. Thankfully I have a good visual memory and there are city maps every where! I showed him the market square where a farmer's market was going on. Ohhh we wish we had Euros!! Everything looked SO fresh and yummy! There was even a cart selling roasted chestnuts :-) We even looked in a few stores including a music store and an awesome shoe store! I'm going back there and getting myself some scrunchy black boots for only 19euros!Whoop! Matt was really impressed with St. Jakob's. He asked "Why do catholics have such big churches??" LoL he'll really like the church in Frankfurt when we go! Now THAT's a cathedral! He wasn't as impressed with the crypt like I was but he did think the Pope's body/sarcophagus from the 1500s was pretty cool!

After the tour around Bamberg which only took us 2 hours we started to head home. On the way out though we saw the Real store which used to be Walmart. Apparently all the Walmarts in Germany were bought out by Metro (Real). I guess Germans didn't like the American ways of working (no dating superior employees) and the customers didn't like other people bagging their things! Weird! Anyways Real was just like Walmart (minus baggers lol) except it didn't have an outdoor section for Matt...however it did have a HUGE bike and rollerblade section lol. But just like a true Walmart you could buy produce/meat AND tires in ONE store!! :-) Yes we were so excited. We went down every aisle hehehe

Today we went to church and while pulling up at exactly 9am we were wondering if church had been cancelled because no cars were there. When we got out of the car another man from church rolled down his car window and asked "Did you forget to set your clocks back too?" DANG!!! Today was Germany's daylight savings time. Whoops! So we killed an hour grabbing breakfast. After church Matt got packed up and I took him to the train station. He's going to Vilseck for the week for a HazMat class. No bueno :-( He's only been gone 3 hours and I've already cleaned the house spotless. Just waiting on the clothes to dry and then all the laundry will be done as well! I already miss him...

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Busy Day!

Wow so today FLEW by but that's because I was SO busy! This morning I went to PWOC and it was so much fun chatting with all the girls. I'm going to miss them next semester! Maybe I can convince them to attend the Monday night PWOC as well...

As soon as that wrapped up I went straight to the school and did my background check. At first the secretaries were saying I had to wait until one but I made it clear I wasn't leaving so they finally sent me to the library where the aide helped me with the computer. Man she wasn't kidding when she said I'd be gray headed before I was through! Even having that packet filled out it still took an hour and a half! And in the end I didn't even have to do it right then! Ugh she said I had 14 days but she just needed it before I actually started. Oh and the whole needing 10 years of addresses- even after telling her that I was 12 ten years ago- psssh I only needed 10 years OR until I was 16yrs old!! Dang that's annoying. But she highlighted the things I missed like dates, etc and I'll go back the day before I start to fix it. I also have to have my fingerprints scanned and printed.

When I left the school I went straight across the street to the commissary and bought the ingredients to make my friend Melissa dinner. She just had a baby a week ago so we've all taken turns cooking her dinner. Then I went home and cooked her dinner as well as started cooking my pumpkin spice muffins. I got the dinner done and one batch of muffins then I had to take the food over to her house and rush to Ledward for our FRG meeting. After a very brief FRG meeting, Jen and I ran to the commissary again while waiting on Matt to get off.

After all this I finally got to come home. And make us dinner and the remaining 3 dozen muffins. And clean the kitchen. Whooo I'm enjoying sitting here :-) Friday I am babysitting a 4 yr old girl for the afternoon and on Monday I'm going to volunteer in the classroom I am going to be student teaching in! I figure I'll volunteer there every day until I begin subbing and when I'm not subbing. The more the kids get to know me now I figure the more comfortable they'll be with me student teaching.

Speaking of student teaching I've confirmed with my supervisor, gotten registered for my content test the first week of December, and had UTT send me the supervisor handbook/rubrics. WhooooO!

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Happily Tired

Baby just left. We had a busy day full of blocks and reading and playing outside. And lots of poopy diapers lol. I'm happily exhausted and I still have to clean up all the "toys" (hahaha at my house his toys are my cooking utensils and trash like boxes and empty juice jugs. oh and my exercise ball- he doesn't seem to mind). Barreto is out of the hospital and goes back tomorrow morning to get a biopsy and the results of his stomach and allergy tests. They are also going to test their home to see if there's any toxins there.

I want to go somewhere this weekend!! Playing outside with the baby for an hour in actual SUNSHINE made me want to be out of this house even more! The last week its been cold and overcast. I don't mind the cold but would like the sun to make an appearance every now and then! Today it was so foggy I couldn't see out my windows at home- scary since our backyard drops off into a straight down hill lol. We're going to drive over to Bamberg and Rothenburg since Matt's never seen either (except the PX in Bamberg) and sight see. Maybe we'll pack a lunch since the euro rate is so bad...

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Words of Affirmation

You know its so amazing to be told that you helped someone- even when you thought you didn't! In the book I'm reading- "First Days of School"- he said years from now the students you thought you didn't reach will come back and tell you that you impacted their lives. It's so true and I'm not even a teacher yet!

In the last couple of days I've gotten 2 random posts on Facebook thanking me for helping them. One was a woman who I took Intermediate Math with freshman year that I "tutored" with the help of another girl. She said if it wasn't me and the other girl that she wouldn't have passed math that year. And then a guy I had as a freshman the first time I was a Freshman Mentor just thanked me for helping him his freshman year getting acquainted with the school and everything. It just feels so good!

For too long I was friends with such negative people and constantly being surrounded by people like that makes YOU be like that too. In fact one girl in particular once told me I was mean! I've NEVER been called mean! Matt also told me not too long after I started living with this girl that I was becoming more mean like her. Now THAT hurt. But when she told me that I called my BFF Adri who reassured me that I was one of the "nicer" girls in our group in high school lol. I think being told that by this person and then remembering Matt's words led to my slowly backing away from her- and not quick enough! Ever since we quit speaking (her choice, I wanted to remain acquainted but after a few things she said and did that could never happen) I have noticed such a change in my life. I met other people that I used to not speak too because they weren't "cool" enough for this girl and ended up making such GREAT friends!! I regret not spending all of my college life with these new friends but it was a learning experience. The other day Adri reminded me that I've always been such a positive person and to remain that way through this time in Germany. It's true- before and after this girl I was and am a positive person. It's amazing how carried away you can get without even knowing it!

I guess the lesson of this blog is always choose your friends wisely and remember to surround yourself with the type of people you aspire to be. And to always be helpful and nice- you never know who's life you're touching!

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I Want a BABY!

Ok so Jen called me at about 4 and told me Barreto was having another allergic reaction and that if it got worse she wondered if I'd take the baby. Not 10 minutes later she called and asked for the ambulance phone number and to ask me to come for the baby. I guess the rash spread quickly and he was having other symptoms I won't disclose so it was bad. Anyways I got to hang out at her house with the baby for about 30 minutes then I took him to pick up Matt for dinner. In the car he was so cute, he was bobbing his head to Trace Atkins =-) We got Matt and then went to Conn to get Matt burger king but they had closed earlier so we tried Popeyes but they had just closed so we were forced to go back to Ledward. Matt got practice taking the baby in and out of a car seat as well as feeding one in public. Oh and changing a poopy diaper in the seat of a car lol. The baby and I came back and he played for an hour or so with Bedtime Elmo in the background (I've gotta get that kid some Barney!) and then about 8 I put in Lilo and Stitch and he snuggled up with me and watched it for an HOUR before getting fussy! He drank a bottle but was still awake so I took him in the bedroom where it was dark and cold and rocked him. 6 minutes of playing with my hair and he was passed out. Jen picked him up at about 10...I almost cried when he left! Was hoping to have a snuggle buddy for the night. After he left I just watched the rest of the new Gossip Girl episodes- so good! Now I'm gonna go read some more of "First Days of School" by Harry Wong. I can't wait to start teaching!!!

Barreto has to stay the night in the hospital and here in Germany people can't stay the night with you without paying a $50 euro "hotel" fee- crazy right?!?! Hopefully he'll see the doctor and get this figured out! I know Jen is very frustrated because it's hard to understand the German doctors plus not having her family there with her so please keep them all in your prayers.

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Digital Scrapbooking

Thanks Amanda for your help ;-)

I made these to practice with Photoshop and to possibly use as the header on the blog. Tell me what you think!

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God speaks in many ways- even Blogs!

Wow so I just read through this incredible, inspiring, and heart wrenching blog.

www.bandssullivan.blogger.com

PLEASE read it- start from the very beginning.

Synopsis: 29yr old air force wife is diagnosed with breast cancer while they are stationed in Japan. Removed tumor in Hawaii and then moved home early from Japan to San Antonio to do chemo. After finding out she had cancer she also discovered she was pregnant. There are ups and downs during the pregnancy but the ending is just....the baby was blessedly born 3 weeks early and after 1 week in the NICU was able to go home. The family of 3 spent the "happiest days of our lives" the next 2 days and then the mother began having seizures due to post partum angiopathy (?). Sadly she died 4 days later.

Where's the inspiring part in this?? Just read the blog.

This family truly lives through the Lord. They are doing exactly what PWOC is preaching in our bible studies in Philippians 4:8 to "honor what is true, etc" Throughout all this horrible HORRIBLE stuff they continue to thank God and praise Him!! If only we could all be so wonderful...

This hits really close to home for me. This couple is military, stationed far from home, childless (at time of prognosis), started a blog in Korea, etc. This weekend with raging homesickness on our minds Matt and I joked about what could we do to get sent home before our 3 years is up. We heartlessly laughed that even if one of us got cancer the Army would keep us here. How horrible are we? Pretty dang horrible. Thank God that MY God is a forgiving one. Sara and Brady LOVED being in Japan (and were in Korea before that) and they "lived life to the fullest" while there. They were DEVASTATED that they had to be sent home 18 months early.

Well I'm sorry family and friends back home but I am now officially feeling blessed to be here with my husband- and for the fact that both of us are so healthy. I am publicly pledging here and now to ALWAYS praise God- even during the horrible. I don't think ANY story has hit me so hard. Is this what being "Saved" means?....

PS. Thanks Mom for pushing me to read this ;-)

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