28 Days and Counting

Things have still been pretty calm in our lives the last couple weeks. We are down to 28 days, or 4 weeks, from today until Abram gets home from Missouri. A couple of weeks ago they decided to make his class a test group to add a Field Training Exercise (FTX) after their construction vehicle training. So that extended his stay by 5 or 6 days. He will for sure be home on March 23rd though. They promised this time. Ha, anyone familiar with the military knows that doesn't mean anything...

Abram is still enjoying his training. He likes the training part but isn't crazy about the downtime and living situations. He is dealing with it, though. Today they found out they're moving next week so maybe that will make his living situation a little better. He did pass his final PT test yesterday. He scored 229 and needed a score of 180. So he passed with no problem. He's worked with four vehicles now; the dump truck, the scoop loader, the back hoe and he just finished with the hydraulic excavator today. Tomorrow he starts using a bulldozer. He loves driving and operating all the different vehicles.

I have continued with student teaching. I'm coming up close to the end of my middle school stay and moving to the high school. I still enjoy it a lot and am learning new things all the time about teaching such as, walking around the room more, making eye contact with students while playing music, catching students by name when they start side bar conversations, and how to run a music program. I've been busy outside of school with teacing private students, teaching theater classes, talking with Abram, and cleaning a little. I had to finally clean out everything in my room at my parents' house because my room is being taken next week by my brother.

It's crazy how fast 2 years goes by. Even looking back at Abram's two-year mission it feels like it wasn't a whole two years. This last leg of his training feels like it is lasting forever and we get to talk on the phone every night! But anyway, my younger brother is getting home from his mission in Toronto, Canada next Wednesday! We are so excited to see him. I can't believe it's time already. His room was taken over by another younger brother so now he needs a new room and mine is the only free one right now. So I had to clean it out. :) When Abram was home over Christmas we brought home a few boxes of about the last of his stuff at his parents' house. Those boxes are sittting in our work room and now the boxes of my stuff are sitting there, too. So guess what we are doing on the weekends when Abram gets home? :D

The Friday before Valentine's Day a large box was waiting for me at home. I was on the phone with Abram when I walked in the door and found it and when I looked at the label and told him where it was from he told me I wasn't allowed to open it till Monday! So I waited patiently all weekend and this is what I found when I opened it Monday night:



It is so cute :) The dog is holding a little version of itself! Hopefully this year was our third and final Valentine's Day apart from each other. And that's a little of what's been going on with the two of us!

Not much going on

There's hasn't been too much to write about the last three weeks. I've kept up with my student teaching and he's been busy with his training. We are getting more and more anxious to finally get to be together for more than six months in exactly 39 days and more than 3 months together as a married couple! When we are both busy with our respective duties we are fine but when we're not, all we can do is be anxious.

But the good news is that we do get to talk every day. He usually texts me a few times early in the morning (he's up at 4am, which is 3am in AZ) and lets me know when he's leaving for the course. That's about the time I get up to get ready for school. Then in the evening after we've both made it "home" we are able to text some more and then talk on the phone the last 30 minutes before he goes to bed. It is so nice to be able to talk to him every day. And on the weekends we get to talk all the time!

Speaking of Abram's training, he has been enjoying it a lot. The first week (weeks go from Wednesday to Tuesday) they just spent time in the classroom and had a couple tests. He got 100% on the first quiz and then 96% on the big exam. He was a little upset that he missed that one question because it was silly, of course. But I was still proud of him. :) After that first week they started on the dump truck, which he loved. They hurried up and finished it this last Monday, a day early, because they were expecting a snow day on Tuesday, which they did have. They had another one on Wednesday and finally got back to almost full training on Thursday. Now they are using the scoop loader. They trained on Saturday this weekend because they thought Monday might be a snow day so we will see what happens.

I have been able to teach a lot, especially this last week as the teacher was out sick. So it became my classroom (with a sub on the side, of course)for four days. It was so fun! I gave out lots of grades, changed 6th grade seating, handed out new music, and wrote bus passes. Oh yeah, and I taught 6 classes a day. I really got the full teaching experience (well, minus some of the extra clerical work) and I loved it! So I guess I'm in the right field. :)

So that's what's been going on with us lately. We are excited to know that February is a short month and Abram gets home in March. That makes it seem sooner.