Camping

Alex and I celebrated the holiday by going camping with our friends, Benjamin and Alaina. We went to Tyler State Park for Friday and Saturday night. Here are some highlights:
-I locked the keys in the car on Friday night after laughing about a roommate that did it in college. It took us four hours to get it open.
- We went canoeing in Tyler lake and had a race. Alex and I cleaned up.
- We made three course meals with a silicone spork/knife/spatula.
- I made Alex shower on Saturday because we were going to be in tight quarters in the car.
- The plug for the cooler was not in basically the whole weekend so my carpets smell like baby vomit and dog poop. Ew.

Teaching Grandmother THE INTERNET

Lesson 1: How to turn the laptop on

Beth: All you do is push this button.
Grandmother: How do I push it?
Beth: Uh, you just hold it down until something happens.

Lesson 2: This is a mouse

Lesson includes: holding the mouse, doubleclicking on the desktop, single clicking on the internet, not moving the mouse while you're clicking, not right clicking so that you pull up something you don't know what to do with.

Lesson 3: Here is gmail.

Lesson includes: finding a username that includes her miniature chihuahua, practicing typing in the password correctly, and trying not to confuse her about the jumbled words google makes you type in so that you can prove you're not a robot.

Lesson 4: Here is gmail (part 2)

Beth: Okay, click on inbox.
Granmother: Can I click anywhere? How does the computer know I want inbox?
Beth: It doesn't. You have to click there.

Lesson 5: Repeat lessons 1-4 with patience.

What a fun experience. In a day and age where babies come out of the womb with a facebook account, it is cool to see how someone who has NEVER been on a computer before learns about it. The questions that she asked were very interesting to me.

In other news, school starts tomorrow and we are sleepy. I also rediscovered an old blog (welderbeth.xanga.com) I'm going to start updating that one, too. This one will be reserved for updates on Alex and I.

Goodnight!

A Declaration of Independence

That's right. Alex is officially done with Frito Lay as of Friday morning. I'm not sure that it has actually hit us yet. It probably will tomorrow when we actually get to wake up together and eat breakfast and leave at the same time. It's kind of crazy to think about.

For a year and eight months, Alex and I have had completely different sleep schedules and for ten of those months, we had different days off. It has been challenging for us physically and spiritually and we are anxious for this new chapter to become real to us.

Alex's employees threw a party for him last Wednesday night and I got to go. They could not say enough positive, loving things about him. The impact that he has made on people at Frito Lay is impressive, to say the least. God used him to encourage many people and we know that is the reason that he was there. Pretty cool stuff. I cannot say enough how proud I am of my husband.

He starts school (a pre-school camp, actually) tomorrow. That's fun. We've been going to WalMart and perusing the back-to-school section. Back to the grind and being poor college students! We're exploring cheap food options again (rice, beans, chicken). Any meal invitations over the next 16 months will be appreciated. :)

AND about a week and a half ago, we got back from Estes Park, Colorado. My family goes every other year and stays at the Y Camp there. It was a blast and a nice break from work.

Here are some highlights from the trip:
- On the way up, we stopped at Trinidad, CO. Then we took a short day trip to the Great Sand Dunes National Park. It was...really hot.
- Once we got to Estes, my dad and I decided that we wanted to scare my sister and her friend Caitlin. We bought this really creepy doll and mounted it on a ski pole. We were going to sneak outside their window after they went to bed and then wake them up with the creep-o doll. Unfortunately, they discovered the hiding place before the plan came to fruition. BUT my dad and I got a good laugh about it for at least two days before they discovered it.
- Alex and Leah got to go rock climbing. Their guide could do pull ups with his fingers and told them that he went up and down Longs Peak in four hours (a hike that took us 12). I think he was a little bogus.
- While they were rockclimbing, Caitlin and I rented a tandem bicycle at the marnina. We almost died....at least 3 times. For those of you who think it's easy, it's not. There's no way Kermit the Frog and Miss Piggy could have ridden one. The first time we tried to get it started, we rammed it into the bathrooms. The third time, we actually ran into some people and Caitlin ended up on the ground. After that, we rented scooters from a lady who lives in Austin during the winter. She showed us all her pictures of scooter accidents. We rented some 50 cc scooters and rode them around for an hour while trying not to swallow bugs.
- Leah, Caitlin, and I went on a tour of the world famous Stanley Hotel. This is the hotel that inspired The Shining. It is supposedly haunted. The tour was interesting, needless to say. I got some pictures of some orbs (ghost spirits) and our tour guide could read auras. We made a spoof video of the tour back at the cabin and it provided an hour of entertainment.
- On the Sunday before we left, we all did Longs Peak. It's a 15 mile round trip hike and you gain alot of elevation (i.e. a buttkicker). We were on the trail at 2 am, shortly behind the bridal party (that's right- someone was getting married at the summit). It took us about six hours to get up. The sunrise was unbelievable and the pace was really slow. Towards the end once you get past the boulder field (climbing over rocks for 1.2 miles), you have to go over this thing called The Ledges. You're basically climbing across rocks that are slanted. If you fell, you would most definitely get hurt. It was pretty nerve-wracking. Leah, Alex, and I were all trying to stay alive and I think the elevation was making us a little loopy. I laugh-cried at least twice. We thought once we got across those, we would almost be there, but once we rounded the corner....yikes. It was basically straight up bouldering and loose rocks. Leah stopped and said she couldn't go any further. Alex and I pressed on for a little bit. I stopped about halfway up that cause I wasn't sure if I could get down safely. Alex got 250 feet from the top of Longs, but it had rained the day before, which made the summit technical. At one point, he slid 15 feet on his stomach. He decided, then, that he had a wife and he needed to live so he came back down.

Leah and I got chased by a marmot, which caused more hysteria. I was afraid Leah would fall off the mountain out of fear of the large rodent. I screamed, "Throw rocks!" We laugh-cried again. I fell on the boulder field on the way back and cried again. We were so exhausted and it was a trudge down. When we got to the car, I cried again. When we got back to the cabin, we all ate and then passed out. It was quite a hike. I'm glad that I did it, but I won't do it again. I'm satisfied with what I did. Alex wants to try again but he'll have to find someone else. :)

Actual school at the shelter starts August 24th. I'm excited!

Haiku

Alex and I sometimes rap about our day. However, beacause I feel that the world is not ready for that awesomeness, I would like to share our more meditative way of communicating.....haikus (syllables- 5,7,5). Enjoy.

ABOUT OUR DAYS

I had to go to work.
Work has lots of poopoo heads.
Desks are for sleeping.
-Alex

Today I sat down.
The computer was on too.
My eyes- they were dry.
-Beth

A FUNNY STORY

At the water park
was some unexpected poop
in a bathing suit.
-Beth

Undercooked beef tips
Look of fear, run to bathroom
Bucket held my pain.
-Alex

ABOUT SHARING A FULL SIZE BED

North Korea invades
Peace treaty not an option
Sharp elbow attacks.
-Alex

Here I draw the line
You are on my pillowcase.
North Korea, leave.
-Beth

OUR FAVORITE MEAL

Hidden vegetables
in my warm chicken nuggets
after dinner toots.
-Beth

Catfish are good food.
Sometimes I cook it with spice.
Why do I do that?
-Alex

ABOUT OUR APARTMENT COMPLEX

Neighbors are so fun
but when they smoke weed outside,
my jackets smell bad.
-Beth

ABOUT OUR DOG

Gracie, people hands
She opens our doors and sleeps
Chewing on tampons.
-Alex

Happy Father's Day.....

to the coolest Father ever!


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=upGCMl_b0n4

Being an adult....

is tiring. I am full swing into my new job. I am really really loving it. The kids are so cute, the people are so nice, but I am tired all the time. Who knew that working full time would be exhausting? Gosh, when's my next nap?

Here are a few tidbits that you might enjoy:
- We took the kids to Hawaiian Falls (a small local waterpark) and I was in charge of the kindergarteners and 1st graders. One of my kids pooped in her bathing suit and I had to "take care of it". Wow.
- We were writing a note to our executive director and while the kids were signing it, one of the English speaking first graders asked if she spoke Spanish. I said that I didn't think so and I asked why he wondered. He looked dejected and said, "Oh, I wanted to sign my name in cursive." (as in he thinks that writing in cursive means you're writing in Spanish)
- I have the distinct honor of driving our 10-passenger van because the summer teacher isn't on the insurance yet. I was really nervous about it. On my first ride with the kids, I hit the curb on the way out of the parking lot. One of the kids said, "I thought you had your driver's license" to which I replied, "Hey! I don't need you to be rude right now!"
- This past Friday, we got the chance to go to some professional cooking classes. While the kids were eating lunch, I went back into the kitchen to get a cupcake and one of our first-graders was dancing (read: pelvic thrusting) to the music playing in the kitchen. hahahahaha.

Alex got officially accepted into grad school and he starts August 10th. He is really pumped. He's been such a great husband while I'm transitioning into this new job. God has really blessed us with some great friends and family. We'll keep you posted on any new developments!

Houston, we have a plan.....

and, by george, we are sticking to it. I have come to believe that it is the plight of newlyweds to be plagued with plan-lessness. That is why we are not currently in language school (as we planned last year), I am not learning how to be an ESL teacher (as I thought in the past six months), and we are not entering the Peace Corps (as we planned in the last three months or so). Instead, we are joining the circus (just kidding!). Alex got an email yesterday informing him that he has been accepted to the fulltime UTD MBA program (yippee!). That means that soon we will both have a normal sleeping schedule, time to spend together, and a relatively odor free laundry hamper. That also means that we will have less money, but we will survive because I have been stocking up on "luxuries" that we won't be able to afford (read: Brita water filters and exercise pants) and practicing my coupon clipping skills. Alex has also been turning the A/C off whenever he walks past the thermostat, but I will donate plasma to have our air set at 77.

When I came home this morning, this is what I found on the back porch:

Then, I hit the pinata with hatred because I am morally opposed to them as they normally promote selfishness.

And this came out of it:

Once the toast came out, I turned to Alex in confusion and he screamed, "You're the breadwinner!" Only my husband would come up with such a ridiculous (and awesome) idea to celebrate my cool new job and the fortunate demise of his sucky one. Love it.

Speaking of my new job, I start tomorrow. I have two days with the woman who currently holds my position and then next week will basically be a domestic violence bootcamp, which I am pretty excited about. I get to learn about all aspects of the shelter and meet with the women and counselors. Yay! My only concern is the traffic in the morning. Yikes, I-35- we meet again.

So, that is what is new and concrete in our lives. I leave you with some updated pictures of us, taken via our new laptop. (In yet another money saving venture, we waited until my old laptop wouldn't turn on reliably anymore before purchasing a new one. Who cares if you basically have a desktop for your coffeetable (because the battery stopped charging) that is missing a C key? LAPTOP FOR SALE)

PS- Scarborough Fair was loads of fun and all of you should go this weekend (the last one!) if you can. Say hello to King Henry and the Archduchess for us.

It's ALIVE!

Why, hello, temporary fence. You look like you could corral a few canines. Dog park has been revived (thanks so much to our neighbor, Jesse, for designing it!)

Black bean brownies

-I got my ears pierced over Easter. My mom and sister went with me. I stalled for about an hour, not because I was afraid of the pain, but because I wasn't sure if I was ready for the life change. I am NOW an earrings wearer. I'm still muddling around in that new identity. After the lady at Claire's did it, I guess I was kind of shellshocked, and she kept saying, "You're making me nervous. You're making me nervous" and she gave me a sucker. A coworker asked if I got to hold the Claire-bear. I didn't. Also, my paranoia is coming out and I think that my ears may be infected, despite my having followed the directions to a T. My ear may fall off, resulting in a face nub, which is worse than any other.

-Easter was awesome. Alex and my dad went camping in Arkansas and got rained out. Mom, Leah, and I ran around the North Dallas area for two days and then we had an Easter lunch with some of our neighbors. It was a super fun weekend.

-The Re-Opening of Dog Park will happen on Monday. One of our crafty little neighbors Jesse (who incidentally successfully completed the cinnamon challenge) built the temporary fence. I'm thinking about purchasing some balloons and grilling hotdogs.

- Al and I traveled to Norman, Oklahoma to visit his sister who is a freshman at OU. It was really fun to see campus and meet her buddies. I have decided that I do not enjoy the name Norman for a town. It's like naming a town Robert or Edward. Weird. We saw the movie "Knowing" with a balding Nicholas Cage. It was slightly bizarre until the ending and then it went off the charts. I did not enjoy it.

- I offically officially accepted the job at Genesis Women's Shelter this week. The director called me and we talked business. When she told me my salary, I audibly gasped (apparently) because it was way more than what Alex and I were expecting. When I ran upstairs to tell Alex, his reaction was to fall on the bed and say, "Thank you, thank you, thank you!" If Alex gets into the fulltime MBA program at UTD, he could totally quit Frito Lay and get a part time job. Beth as the breadwinner, here we come!

- SO, since we are shortly going to be poorer than we are currently, we've started clipping coupons. My neighbor, Sarah, turned me onto this website (www.thegrocerygame.com). You have to clip coupons. You pick a store (we picked Kroger) and then the website gives you a list of what is on sale at Kroger and the coupons that correspond to it. Kroger doubles and triples some coupons so we get some stuff for FREE! This week we're getting free toilet paper, sausage, frozen veggies, and brownies. It's a pretty sweet deal. You pay $10 for 8 weeks. If you're interested or have any questions about it, let me know.

-AND, finally, I must share with you a new recipe that Sarah gave me and I've just tried. Ready?
BLACK BEAN BROWNIES. I know it sounds gross but you seriously need to try this. I've made about 9 people try it and they've all been amazed at delicious they are. Here's the recipe: SERIOUSLY. Try it.

Ingredients:
1 16 oz can of black beans
1 box of brownie mix (I've only tried the fudge brownies so far)

Method:
1. Open the can of beans. Rinse them off in a strainer.
2. Put the beans back into the can.
3. Fill the can up with water.
4. Puree that in a food processor or blender (the beans and the water). There will be small lumps but it's okay.
5. Mix the black beans/water into the brownie mix and bake according to the box (I would put them in a 9x13 pan).

You do NOT add oil or eggs. Only the black bean and water puree. I know it sounds gross but it's really good.

New Beginnings

I got that job. I got the official call this afternoon, after which I danced around, woke Alex up, and got my dog riled up. We still need to work out the details (like salary and start date) but she's not going to interview anyone else. Wheeeee! I will probably write a blog about it later this week.

I also forgot to mention that we have possibly found a housechurch that we like. Last October, I found this lady's email address on some blog related to Metroplex House Churches and emailed her. I didn't hear back from her until the beginning of March. We've met with them twice now on Sunday mornings and they're an amazing group of people. What we really like about it is that it's a great mix of people. We have all ages, married, single, with kids, without kids. This past Sunday, we talked for about an hour and a half about what God is doing (and has done) in people's lives and one of the kids was struggling with the question of why God allows death (particularly of her kittens) to occur. Some people shared past struggles of abuse and how God has healed them. Basically, everyone is very open and comfortable and Alex and I both have felt God moving. Yay!

Dog Park vs. The Man

That's right. We got a note on our door this week telling us that we will incur a $25 fine if our dogs are off the leash, which basically menas that our complex is trying to kill dog park. BUT I called an emergency (top secret) dog park meeting at our place yesterday and 8 of us got together and discussed our various options. We are going to meet with our apartment manager tomorrow morning to discuss our proposal of a temporary fence that we could put up and take down so that we can actually still get together in the evenings. I'll let you know how it goes. I might make a powerpoint presentation to show how serious we are about our dog park time.

Here's what's new. I am in the process of interviewing for a teaching assistant position at a women's shelter here in Dallas. Just this past year, they started a school that is inside the shelter for students who do not have the documentation yet to be enrolled in public schools. The class size is average 5-6 (with a certified teacher AND an assistant!). I would be responsible for helping tutor and mentor these kids while they're in the midst of a really tough, transitory time. I had my first round of interviews last Thursday and it went really well. I am going to have my second round on Monday at 11am. I'm very excited about this job because......

Alex wants to get his MBA, preferably as a fulltime student. If I got this job at the women's shelter, I would be the breadwinner (can I get a woot, woot!?!) and Alex would work part time and go to school full time. This is exciting cause then Alex wouldn't have to work at stinky ole' Frito Lay anymore. Whee! What a great and exciting time for us! We'll definitely keep you posted!

Everybody Zumba!

I (Beth) am currently in Washington DC visiting my friend Emily but she is working today so I am updating all of my web communities.

Nothing new has really happened in the past month. Alex had an interview with JP Morgan a month ago, but we haven't heard back yet. If anything, it has made Frito Lay nervous and they may try and change some things around to keep him on. That would be AWESOME!

I'm starting to think about post-Girl Scouts life and trying to figure out what the next step is. No luck yet. I'll keep you posted. My neighbor, Sarah, and I have been going to Zumba at the Dallas Rec center near us. It's a dance aerobics class (think Latin Jazzercise) and it's super fun. Because of my work schedule this week, I got to go 3 times, so I'm skinny-minny for the time being.

These past couple of weekends have been busy. My parents came over for my dad's birthday extravaganza. We did Medieval Times, laser tag, the Stanky Leg, and the Farmer's Market downtown. It was really really nice to have them in Dallas. Last weekend Alex and I drove to Houston to visit Nanny and Bob and then came back up through College Station. It was a wonderful (but exhausting!) trip. Gracie came along and annoyed me and pooped on the Kornegay's floor. Thank you, dog.

Next weekend, my sister and company will be coming up to stay with us for the weekend. That should be really really fun.

Schmupdates

As I sit here typing this, smoke from our neighbors' highly possible illegal activities is wafting into the livingroom via a hole in our closet, despite the towel I have stuffed under the door. Looks like I'll have to air out my winter coat before work tomorrow. What a perfect time for an update!

- Alex and I have begun the process of looking for a small group. Our "gypsy church" (thanks, Brooke!) just isn't getting us the fellowship we need right now. I have not abandoned the idea of having to depend on the Lord for fellowship, but, for now, Alex and I need structure and people who can pour into us. We have contacted some small groups (found through this website: www.iamsecond.com) and we're going to try one on February 8th. Yay! I am excited about meeting some new people and reconnecting with an established group of believers.

-I scared Alex really bad last week. Sometimes, while he is in the shower, I will come into the bathroom and brush my teeth. Usually, I accidentally turn the light off on my way out, which is Alex's cue to yell at me. Well, last Wednesday, I turned off the light and shut the door (like normal) but I stayed in the bathroom. It was pitch black, of course, and Alex began his usual tirade to get me to come turn on the light. When I didn't respond, he leaned out of the shower (I could see his glow in the dark watch) to flip the switch. At that point, I grabbed his arm and yelled. He slapped me in the chest, looked me in the eyes, and yelled for a good five seconds. It made me laugh all day. hahaha.

- New plan for the future! I went to Abilene this week to visit my family and my dad suggested that Alex and I look into the Peace Corps. Strangely, this had never really crossed our mind but we looked into it and it has now become our favorite option. We are currently in the process of applying and from what I hear, that process is long and daunting. You need to apply nine months to a year before you can leave. We would like to go next January so we're applying now! It's very exciting to see how things will pan out. The program that we are really interested in is working with youth in Jordan. Peace Corps also has a large operation in Morocco, which would be awesome too.

-Work for both of us has been frustrating lately. I haven't had a normal work week in a while, which has resulted in missed paychecks and a lack of routine. Alex's job is same ole', same ole'.

-The neighbs are good. We dog-sat a couple of weekends ago and that was an experience. Max is the equivalent of Gracie's boyfriend, and they are quite the pair. It was nice to be able to be nice. We had a Wii date with some other neighbors, which basically resulted in us laughing more than we actually played.

That's about all the new stuff for now. Drop us a line and let us know how you're doing!

Fun fun fun til' her daddy takes the Tbird away

Someone recently asked me what Alex and I do for fun. The question initially stumped me but after a few days of thinking about it, I have come up with a list of things that we do for fun. So, here you go:

- Visit ethnic grocery stores, like El Rancho
- Play bocce ball, especially with Gracie
-Hang out with our neighbors. This we enjoy so much that we do it daily.
- Host parties for our friends
- Play board games like Boggle or Settlers of Catan.
- Dance in our livingroom.
-Try new recipes
- Paint
- Recently, we've been rock-climbing.
- Making funny faces
- Playing the alphabet game
- Reading and studying the Bible together
- Go running or biking
- Trying new places to eat
- Watching movies in our pajamas
- Talking politics
- Getting slurpees from 7/11
- Walking to places
- Spending our gift cards leftover from our wedding
- Wearing the dog out as much as possible
- Telling funny stories
- Playing music together (guitar and piano)
- Photography
- Trying new activities like the State Fair or mountain biking
- Traveling
- Playing "Who Wants to be a Millionaire?" online and losing big time
- Arguing about who is past the line in the bed (It sounds dangerous but we usually end up laughing until we can't stand it anymore)
- Watching the dog

Those are just a few. I think the reason I was stumped was because none of these things are very big (i.e. we don't plan many activities- they just kind of happen). Alex and I usually have a blast when we are together. It doesn't take much to keep us happy!

Starting off the New Year with junk food....

That's right, folks. Alex and I had my high school buddies Chris and Joe (with minor appearances by Emily and Benjamin) over for a small New Year's celebration. Instead of trying to guess what they wanted to eat, once everyone got here, we drove to WalMart and I instructed the boys to buy what they wanted. We ended up with a cartful of microwave burritos, pizzas, chicken wings, chips, Cokes, and some awesome garlic toast. Needless to say, I hope that our menu last night is not indicative of our diet for this year. When it actually became 2009, we were wwatching Casino Royale and I just happened to glance at the clock. It seems like the older we get, the less exciting and more tiring New Year's becomes. Oh well, Alex and I look forward to 2009 as we continue to find our niche in Dallas. We are excited about what God is doing and can't wait to see how He continues to work.

Christmas was very very relaxing. Alex took the last of his vacation so he had a whole week and a half off. It was nice to have him home! We had a small celebration with the Wise family before Christmas. My family came from Abilene and stayed with us. Alex and I took them rock climbing. Each time we go, I am impressed by Alex's ability to scale the walls so quickly. He (and my sister) is a natural!

The actual Christmas celebration was in Fort Worth at my Grandmother's. It was an excellent time to visit with my family. We did a Chinese gift exchange, had a huge delicious lunch, went caroling, and some of us participated in the cinnamon challenge, where you try to swallow a tablespoonful of cinnamon. None of us completed it but we have some really funny pictures (http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2633180&l=87d3d&id=8300453). Then Alex and I went back to Abilene where we stripped wallpaper in my parents' kitchen.

Now, we're pretty much back to the grind but it's okay. It's nice to be back in the routine of things.

I hope that your holidays were just as wonderful as ours. Let us know how you are!

The Reason for the Season!

I'm excited to have some time off to celebrate Christmas. God has been teaching me lately about the intricacies of the Body of Christ and I am thankful that He appreciates diversity among the brothers and sisters of Christ. We pray that you and your loved ones have some time to spend some good quality time celebrating what God did for us on the first Christmas.

Alex has this week off for work. I don't know if he'll know what to do with himself! I worked last week, but I have off two weeks for Christmas. Yippee!



Here's how much fun Alex and I are having. ALOT of fun. This past week we took a gingerbread house over to our Iraqi family's house and here's how it turned out. Their English is getting so much better and we are getting to have more abstract conversations. They are simply wonderful people. They gave us some cheese rolls (boureg in Iraqi) that were unbelievable and we served them to our neighbors today and they were a big hit!

Which berings me to our next fun activity. Today, Alex and I hosted a White Elephant Gift Exchange party for our neighbors. It was lots and lots of fun. We ate good food, had a trivia game, did the gift exchange, and then Alex did a toast where we shared with them how big of a blessing they are. Honestly, God has blessed us BIG TIME this year with amazing friendships with very cool and very sweet people. THEN, Sarah wanted to go Christmas caroling, so a couple of us went caroled around the complex. Here's a video of us doing 'O Holy Night' which is Susan and Sarah's favorite.

Merry Christmas!

Beth and Alex are busy bees

Goodness this has been an interesting week. Here are some highlights:

-Please be praying for Alex's work situation. He is basically doing a two person job but getting paid for one. The situation is affecting his performance- not because he's doing a worse job but there's so much to do that he can't get to it all- and that affects his bonus and raise. Frito Lay is not being very fair to their employees right now. He almost had to work Thanksgiving which launched a major hissy fit from me. He has been applying elsewhere and it's still slightly possible that he could move up to Frito lay headquarters in January.

-My job is going good. We're discussing goal setting this week, which in my opinion is the most important. We're trying to instill in these girls that the decisions and choices they make now are going to affect them in the future. Last week, we had a dance party and I fell doing the Cha Cha Slide but don't worry- I'm okay; only my pride was bruised (just kidding!). It's been interesting but this six weeks has been a welcome break from the more difficult schools.

-Alex and I had the opportunity to attend the First Annual Victorian Ball in Waxahachie, Texas. Our neigbor, Susan, with the help of her husband, Richard (see below) put it on. It was SO fun! Many of our neighbors showed up and Susan taught us different Victorian dances. I led the parlour game of the night and it went over really well (despite being a little nervous). We took my grandmother from Fort Worth to the ball. She's in the picture below with the young ballroom dancer. When Grandmother and I walked in, we immediately thought that she was going to have to take the stairs. Then a guy came up behind us and said we could take the elevator. This building is about 100 years old so I was feeling dubious about the elevator. He opened these closet doors and Grandmother and I peered into this dark shaft that didn't have walls. It was basically a platform with wires attached. Grandmother looked at me and said, "We can take stairs." But the guy pressured us to try it and we did and we're still alive, so that was an experience.

-Tonight we took our Iraqi family to North Park mall to see Santa. It was wonderful. They are familiar with Santa (AKA Baba Noel in Iraq) but they had never seen him before. The five year old was SO SO SO excited. She stood at the little fence and yelled his name and said that she loved him and blew him kisses. I wish I could put pictures up. It made her night! He gave her a book with coloring sheets and she carried it like it was the most important thing she owned. What a blessing to be able to share that moment with them. Next week, we are thinking about taking some movies and kids' Christmas books so we might be able to explain the story behind Christmas. We might make a gingerbread house, too!

That's about all our exciting news for now. Please let us know what's been going on witchu. I'll leave you with a conversation I had yesterday with one of my girls.

Girl: You're married?

Beth: Yeah.

Girl: You don't act like you're married.

Beth: Um, how do married people act?

Girl: Happy and joyful

Beth: Errr, okay....

She then began to back pedal while I chuckled under my breath. I also had a conversation with a girl this week who asked me if I had ever considered dying my hair and then cowered in disgust when she noticed I had a nose piercing. Much love from the junior high ladies...

Giving thanks

What an excellent week we have had. I didn't have to work at all this week, so I got to hang out with some of my lady neighbor friends. On Monday, we painted. Look at this! Sarah did a sweet Cat in the Hat and Sabrina painted Alex and I anime-style. It was very fun and very relaxing.

For Alex's birthday, I took him rock climbing. This was only my 2nd time but Alex was a pro at it. I'm not a huge fan of heights but I scaled the walls pretty quickly. Alex did crazy stuff like climbing on horizantal cliff faces. Yikes!


We had a wonderful Thanksgiving with Alex's family. I think we might have perfected our jalapeno soup recipe. We got to play a rousing game of Mad Gab, too. It was very nice.

We spent almost all yesterday with our Iraqi family. I took the mom and both daughters shopping at the Galleria. THAT was an experience! I have never been shopping on Black Friday before, especially not with two children under the age of 5. I took them to Old Navy and the mom loved it! The mom was awed by the beautiful mall and there was an ice skating show going on. I had quite an experience trying to corrale the children while the mom tried on some clothes. Not being able to speak Arabic definitely puts you at a disadvantage when a kid is crying. I put slippers on my hands and clapped them to distract her. It didn't work. The kids got tired around noon so we went home early. Hopefully, the mom and I will get to go by ourselves soon. She loves sales!

After shopping, Alex and I took the entire family to the Dallas World Aquarium. It was SO fun! They had never seen anything like it. It was really crowded but they had a blast. We are getting comfortable enough around them to joke and their English is really improving. I taught the mom the word "cute" and its proper usage. The dad kept saying "snack" instead of "snake" at the Aquarium and I explained the difference. Alex is going to start helping the dad look for a job. This next week, we are eating at a Middle Eastern restaurant to celebrate Alex's birthday and sometime we're going to go see "Baba Noel" (i.e. Santa Claus). So fun!

Wedding pictures!

If you are a glutton for punishment and would like to look at all 800ish pics of our wedding and engagement, click http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0CZsnLZy5bMX0w. Furthermore, if you would like copies of said pictures, please note the name of the picture and let me know (alex.and.beth@gmail.com). I'll print them off at a Walgreens near you (classy, I know).

Ah, community living....

Sorry it's been a while. So many new friends, so little time to blog!





We FINALLY got our wedding album (our fault, not theirs). I'm currently uploading our pictures to my Shutterfly site, so I can share them with you. Stay tuned. I just started the upload and it says that it should be done in a day and four hours. So......



Oh gosh. We've been so busy with our new friends. This past weekend was loco. I went skateboarding with our mother-daughter neighbors. We did it for about an hour at a local park and it was SO FUN! Hopefully next time we go out, we'll get some pictures.

Then Alex and I went to this adorable little girl's first birthday party. It was fun shopping for her and it was even more fun to see her eat her cake and be surrounded by people that love her.

Sarah, my new neighbor friend, made this awesome bear cake. Please take note, because I will probably never have enough patience to make this.

After that, on Saturday, Alex and I went over to some other neighbors for dinner and it was just plain fun. We hung out and they told us about their lives. God is being so good in filling our time with opportunities to love on people. It certainly makes things interesting!

We have hung out more with our Iraqi family. Last week, we had them over for dinner at our place. I had to go to a Middle Eastern meat market to buy halal (similar to kosher) chicken for my chicken and rice. We also had lots of donations from family and they were SO appreciative. The wife wanted almost all the kitchen stuff we had so it was nice to help her feel more at home. Next Friday, I am taking all the females shopping at some malls and then we are all going to the Dallas World Aquarium. Super fun!

Tonight we took them to McDonalds to eat. It was interesting because we got to help them out with ordering food. Our cashier was hispanic and she asked where they were from. When Alex and I told her that they were from Iraq, she didn't know where it was. The realization struck me that this Iraqi family has to not only deal with learning English, but having to deal with the multicultural aspects of America.

My work is much better. We just started our new six weeks sessions at new schools. Both of the schools that I am at are wonderful! It's a nice change from the last session. One of the schools, Sam Tasby, is in the refugee area of Dallas so we have girls from all over the world. It is so neat! Alot of them don't speak English (they have been here a couple weeks) but they are just so sweet. The school has a really positive atmosphere that makes my job much easier. Also, I found out through facebook that an acquaintance, Kirsten, from college is a science teacher there so I went and found her this Monday and we had lunch. I'm getting to work with some different coworkers this time, so I'm excited about getting to know them better.

Alex's work is going....There have been a few mini crises that have disappeared after much prayer. We just signed another lease for a year, because we're not sure about what the job situation will be in January. I know he would appreciate your prayers about his career. He is trying to refocus on building relationships with his employees and loving on them.

We are so ready for Thanksgiving! Hopefully we'll get to see all of you soon.