:(

Being 1500 miles away from my fiance is not one of my favorite things. I'll be solving that problem at around 9:51 p.m. tomorrow night. :)

The hunt

We were on a mission: Mom, Vivi and Tricia. 75% off ribbon at Jo-Ann Fabrics. Two Jo-Ann Fabric stores in the area. The result: many yards of silver ribbon, lots of blue glass beads, a happy bride-to-be, and a happy set of parents when the bride-to-be calculated that the centerpieces will cost between $50-75 total. Ahh...success. :)

Figuring things out

Forgiveness has been given and our wedding parties are nearly complete. The date is nearly set in stone! Stress is starting to lift (for the time being!). A few more things need to be figured out though before I put the link back up to the wedding webpage and officially announce (again!) our wedding date. Decisions, decisions, decisions. :)

Have I mentioned how happy I am to be marrying Nate? :)

Maybe you've noticed...

...that I removed our wedding webpage link and the post from the 22nd about our wedding date. No, the wedding is not off, don't worry. I have made a huge mistake and treated two of the people who are most dear to me as if they didn't matter. I need to go and ask forgiveness and get a few things worked out before I can re-post all the information. I truly feel horrible for what I did. Keep checking for a re-posting.

Changing looks

Maybe you noticed, maybe you didn't...my blog posts are no longer a column in the middle of the page, but are now filling about 2/3 of the page. That would be because of Nate. This morning I was looking at changing my template and he said he could do something about that, so he did. I have a very cool fiance! :) I'm excited that it's not so much looking like a column right down the center anymore. *Smiles*

And it begins...

Most of the ride home from the airport with my parents was spent discussing the wedding already! I'm glad I got to spend a few days down in Texas just enjoying being engaged to my wonderful fiance (yes, I'll be using that as much as possible for a little while longer). My parents had lots of questions, but are being very nice and allowing us to make the decisions.

:(:(:(

I miss my fiance already--after spending ten days with him, twelve hours apart seems like a lot longer than it really is. Plus I'm super tired from traveling all day, so that doesn't help. I know, four days isn't that long, but I'm tired and feel like being a little sad about it.

We just opened all our gifts. I hope tomorrow will feel a little bit more like Christmas with the real meaning and all attached. Oh, by the way, it is officially Christmas day. Merry Christmas! I have to change my posting time back to EST.

My very sweet best friend Lisa and her sister Kendra left a balloon and card with skittles in my bedroom as a congratulations for getting engaged. Speaking of which, there are two very important people I have to ask an important question of yet. I'd better do it soon since I'm already counting on them!

FYI

On the people mover at the airport, you are not supposed to stand in the lane that says "WALK".

Temporarily taken out

See post on Christmas day for why

Staying in College Station

Unfortunately, we weren't able to make the trip to Houston this morning for church. A combination of issues: car shuffling and too much driving were the reason. I would have written on here last night to tell you, but I forgot with all the movie watching and good dinner eating we had going on. Not to mention Bust-A-Move 2 on the PSX--very cool--I'm completely addicted! I'm bummed we didn't get to go, even though church here was nice. I really like Nate's church (soon to be my church too :) ) and I would have like to meet Jen, since we haven't met yet.

Haircuts by Tricia

Nate was very brave to let me cut his hair on Thursday. It is only the second time in my life that I have done this--the first time being Drew Poppleton's hair--but I am learning exactly how he likes it done. I had to make three or four passes before I was done and I did cut it a bit too short, but he is forgiving. It looks good now after his mom tidied it up. Give me a couple more years and I'll be a pro!

Shouting it from the rooftops

Most of you already know this, but there may be a few that I missed. Six days ago, on December 15, Nate asked me to be his wife! And I said "Of course I will be your wife!" It's all very exciting and fun, but simultaneously tremendously overwhelming and frightening. I can think of no one else I would rather spend the rest of my life with, though. Nate is as near to perfect for me as they come. We value and appreciate all of your prayers as we begin to learn how to bring our lives together. Yay!!!

Traveling around

Just to keep you updated on what I'm doing down here in the great state of Texas. I am enjoying being here so much. The weather is beautiful. Being with Nate everyday is such a gift after so much time apart (ahem--57 days!).

On Sunday we went to Houston to visit his church--Christ the King Presbyterian Church. I liked it a lot including the Sunday school class afterward during which we studied Psalm 45, which happens to be a wedding song (hmmm...). We then went out to lunch at a place called Guadalajara and had yummy food there. There are palm trees in Houston--very cool. Nate took me to his apartment and then we walked over to where his classes and office is at Rice University. It's a very nice neighborhood with lots of trees and older houses.

Sunday night was our first date with some other exciting happenings of which I am not permitted to tell on here yet :). We went for a walk and then out to the Cotton Patch for dinner. We have started reading the Chronicles of Narnia together and have been reading a couple of chapters every night.

Monday we packed up and drove to Dallas-Fort Worth area to visit Kate and Andy at Kate's parents house. We are getting in the habit of reading out loud during part of the drive. I read The Two Towers to him while he drove. That night Kate's parents took us out to a Christmas show called "A Cowboy Christmas" and to dinner at Angeluna, a very nice restaurant. Unfortunately, Nate got food poisoning and was sick in bed all of Tuesday. I did my best (I'm still learning) to nurse him back to health.

Today has consisted of driving back from Kate's and going to see The Two Towers. It was pretty good, but we were in the very front row because we got there too late. It was still good to see. We also had a delicious dinner made by Joy, Nate's mom.

Basically, I'm having a wonderful time. I couldn't be happier. Nate and I are so thankful to God for our relationship and we continue to rely on him as we move into new territory. :)

Those crazy Texans!

So, the first thing I noticed is that all the stoplights are horizontal instead of vertical, so the red is on the left, the yellow is in the middle and the green is on the right. They also have ceiling fans outside on their back porches. I thought that was pretty strange. I'm also enjoying the "Y'all" used quite frequently down here. It's been gorgeous weather. They even have the windows open during the day!

I suppose I shouldn't speak too harshly about them since I am soon to become one of them. ;) More on that later once Nate (finally!) writes on his blog.

Happy days are here again!

Not that I'm not happy when I'm not with Nate, but I am quite a bit happier and more smiley now that I am in Texas to see him. :) :) :) I'm looking forward to spending the next 8 or so days with him, as well as time spent getting to know his family better (They are so welcoming and friendly and fun :) ), and see Kate and Andy. Yay!

Getting ready

I'm [almost] all packed and ready to go. Lisa and Kortnie are driving me to the airport in the morning. I'm excited to fly. This usually happens when I'm getting ready to fly somewhere--I get really excited to fly and then halfway through the trip I'm ready to get out of the plane because there is no leg room.

I'm hoping to blog a bit while I'm down South (with the birds in Texas, as Kayla from the daycare said :) ). Going ten days without blogging seems a bit much, so I'm sure I will. Yay! Only 16 hours left! Goodnight.

Can this day go any slower?!

I know, probably a bad question to ask because I know it can. I feel like I've done so much today and it's still only 4 p.m. Just over 24 hours until I get off the plane in College Station, Lord willing. Have I mentioned that I can't wait to see Nate? :) And I'm also very excited (and somewhat anxious, but less so now since his mom, Joy, has been reassuring me that I have nothing to be anxious about :) ) to meet his family--Jeff, Joy, and Cara.

Well, back to distracting myself and packing.

Heat wave

It's been in the 40s for the past couple of days, which has been wonderful! I was quite amused at Jen's post yesterday about being cold when it was in the 50s. It's interesting what a different perspective one can have on what is cold and warm. Just a week and a half ago it was in the single digits and snowing up here, and now the 40s is a welcomed heat wave for us. I don't know what I'd do if it was in the 50s up here--I think I might run around in a long sleeved shirt without a coat.

Last day surprises

I got to the daycare this morning at 8:40 a.m. because I'm working for Lisa. As I walked in the door, Jed yells into the classroom "Miss Tricia's here!". I peeked in the classroom to see somewhat disappointed looking children--apparently they weren't quite ready for me to be there yet. So I told them I had to go and hang up my coat yet and would be right back. About 5 minutes later, Miss Melissa told me that they were ready for me. I walked through the door into the now darkened room and put on my best surprised look when the kids all jumped up and said "Surprise! Happy last day!". It was quite adorable. :) Then they handed me a book they had made for me. The front says "We will miss you, Miss Tricia" and each page has a traced handprint with a message from a different child. It's so precious! I will be showing it to everyone! It's even bound and laminated. I felt loved. :) My best friend (the one behind this, I'm sure) Lisa is so sweet for making me feel so missed.

I stayed at the daycare until 3 p.m. today working on a class book for the kindergarteners. I was taking my time in leaving--something I rarely do because I'm usually so busy. The added benefit to spending lots of time there is that the hours go by quickly and every hour gone by is one closer to me being about 1500 miles south of here. I can't wait!

One of my favorites

Before I tackle balancing my checkbook, I wanted to share this song with you written by Timothy McNinch. It's one of my favorites because it is so full of so many good truths. Enjoy :):

All Glory Be To God Alone

All glory be to God alone
For His great love revealed
For how could I have e'er known Him
But He foreknew me?
All of grace, I had no part
In His Salvation freely giv'n to me

Before there was a world to save
Within the mind of God
A choice was made, that I would be
Forever His child
In time and space the Savior came
His blood the ransom for my soul paid

Behold the faithfulness of God
Who sees His good work through
A heart of stone He replaced with flesh
And called by His grace
All my sin He put on Christ
And with His righteousness He then clothed me

The One through whom this world was made
Will bring it to an end
And in His glory we will share
For eternity
Rewarded for works no our own
But of our Lord, to Him be all glory!

Amen.

Celebrating

One exam down, four to go. I had my ED 369 (Classroom Management) exam tonight. I think I did well on it. It feels so good to be done.

Before going to my exam, I went out to dinner at Bennigan's with my small group members from the InterVarsity Fall Conference in November. They are all from the Kalamazoo area. All but Andy came--he is in Australia visiting a friend. We had a great time--lots of laughs and good conversation. Jeff had this card for a free dessert and so all five of us shared this decadent (:D) White Chocolate Chill Out. It was quite yummy. I really enjoy hanging out with them.

Just in case you wanted to know

At 6:20am (EST) on Tuesday morning, there will be 100 hours left until I see Nate. If you didn't care to know that, then too bad, you shouldn't have read it. :) I'm allowed to be excited when I haven't seen my boyfriend in 52 days. I'm just praying no big blizzards come to Michigan before the 14th.

Una semana mas

Yay! In just about one week exactly, I will be just about flying into College Station, TX! Just keeping you updated on the countdown. I'm just a tad excited. :)

Some Christmas season thoughts...

...from J.I. Packer's Knowing God in the chapter "God Incarnate".
This is a long one, but worth the read and something good to think about. I'm sharing this because it's something that I need to think about too:

"The Christmas message is that there is hope for a ruined humanity--hope of pardon, hope of peace with God, hope of glory--because at the Father's will Jesus Christ became poor, and was born in a stable so that thirty years later He might hang on a cross. It is the most wonderful message that the world has ever heard, or will hear.

"We talk glibly of the 'Christmas spirit', rarely meaning more by this than sentimental jollity on a family basis. But what we have said makes it clear that the phrase should in fact carry a tremendous weight of meaning. It ought to mean the reproducing in human lives of the temper of Him who for our sakes became poor at the first Christmas. And the Christmas spirit itself ought to be the mark of every Christian all the year round.

"It is our shame and disgrace today that so many Christians--I will be more specific: so many of the soundest and most orthodox Christians--go through this world in the spirit of the priest and the Levite in our Lord's parable, seeing human needs all around them, but (after a pious wish, and perhaps a prayer, that God might meet them) averting their eyes, and passing by on the other side. That is not the Christmas spirit. Nor is it the spirit of those Christians--alas, they are many--whose ambition in life seems limited to building a nice middle-class Christian home, and making nice middle-class Christian friends, and bringing up their children in nice middle-class Christian ways, and who leave the sub-middle-class sections of the community, Christian and non-Christian, to get on by themselves.

"The Christmas spirit does not shine out in the Christian snob. For the Christmas spirit is the spirit of those, who like their Master, live their whole lives on the principle of making themselves poor--spending and being spent--to enrich their fellowmen, giving time, trouble, care and concern, to do good to others--and not just their own friends--in whatever way there seems need. There are not as many who show this spirit as there should be. If God in mercy revieves us, one of the things He will do will be to work more of this spirit in our hearts and lives. If we desire spiritual quickening for ourselves individually, one step we should take is to seek to cultivate this spirit."

If you made it through this whole thing, then thanks for sticking with it. Like I said, I can't point a finger at anyone else because three of my fingers point back to me to show me that I have just as much to ask God to work on in me and to work on. This is something I've been thinking about this Christmas season and hopefully for a long time after too.

A few more

"Are you going to climb, or are you going to talk"-Tricia to Lisa
"I'm going to talk"-Lisa
*Singing and doing arm pumping motion*-"America, America..."-Lisa in response to George W's "And I'm confident we can do this because we are America and we can do anything we put our minds to in this great country"

This is only funny to us: Wall climbing quotes

"How do you say 'Who picked this stupid wall anyway?' in Spanish"-Lisa
"Are you sure you've got me?"-Lisa as she was sliding down the wall when Tricia was supposed to be giving her tension
"This wall is kicking my tail"-Lisa and Tricia
"There's a crack in the crack"-Angie
"You all loosened up there?"-Lisa to Tricia as she dances with punching motions to the thrash metal music before climbing her last wall
"Why do you get all the quotes"-Tricia to Lisa
"I guess we know who's the funny one"-Lisa to Tricia
"Sweet potato gut, sweet potato gut, if I don't get some I'm gonna pinch you in the butt"-Lisa singing Tricia's childhood song in her own version
"What rhymes with vomit?"-Tricia trying to be as funny as Lisa
"Comet"-Lisa
"Sweet potato comet..."-Lisa

The Usual Suspects

Unless you have some serious issues with profanity and violence (I mean, watching them in movies--it's a rough one), you need to see this movie. I won't write any more than that because I don't want to ruin it. Good movie--see it!

New faces

I drove out to Bangor yesterday afternoon to meet my mentor teacher, along with many other people, for my internship next semester. Bad news first: it's a 35-40 minute trip (when the roads are clear) which means I will be rising when the rooster crows at 5:30 a.m. And if I want to have my devotional time in the morning, then I'll be getting up even earlier. No more late nights for me. There is much more good news than bad, though. My teacher, Kathy Quarles, is very laid back and loves teaching first grade. She has been a teacher for 26 years, so I can glean from her experience. She has also taught second, third, and fourth grade. The cool thing she said to me, was "This is your classroom, so whenever you feel ready, I want you to start taking over." It sounds like she wants me to have the best experience possible and she is willing to let me have that responsibility of being in charge. There are only 15 students in the class, which is another great thing. I'm both excited and overwhelmed at the thought of next semester, but I know that everything has prepared me well for this experience.

*Singing* Hallelujah!

Lisa and I are DONE with classes. We both had our last class of the semester today! And we're going to Panera tonight for dinner for the first time in Kzoo. What a good day! I'm also excited that I didn't get a headache today because I've had a tension headache every day this week.

I also taught my last lesson for my pre-internship today. I made the lesson into a game where the students were playing against the teacher and they loved it, plus they were showing their knowledge of first letter sounds of words. It's always exciting when a lesson goes well. The cool part was that it was supposed to be only on first letters of words sounds, but it ended up also going into rhyming words, counting tally marks, and the social skill of good sportsmanship when you are winning (Miss Tricia lost 14-0--quite happily :), but I had to teach them not to be mean to the person who is losing).

Baby, it's cold outside

I've been listening to this song on repeat for the last two hours while talking to Nate. It's one of those that gets in your head, but you have a hard time remembering the lyrics, so you just keep repeating the same lines. :) It's quite an appropriate song since it's in the single digits up here in North country. Some people had temperatures that reached over 70 today and like to rub it in as much as possible. That's okay, I can take it. I'll be down in those warmer temperatures in about 10 days. :)

Have I mentioned lately how wonderful Nate is? And not just in some mushy way--he is far above just that mushy wonderful in my book. I couldn't ask for a better best friend and boyfriend. 10 days until I get to actually see him when I talk to him. :)

It's late and I need to get some sleep. Goodnight.

Quitting while I'm ahead

I won! I finally won Solitaire after trying about 50 times. It's a good feeling. :) I've been playing Solitaire for the past two hours while I desperately search the Internet for resources for my science center. I found all I need on spiders and I beat Solitaire. It's a good morning. :)

Less than two weeks left until I fly to Texas! :) I'm very happy about that.