Christmas, New Years, Student Teaching and Graduation

It's only taken me 3 weeks to finally get back with news but I did make it! As I said in the last post, Ciara finally made it home and we went over to see her on Christmas Eve. It was a glorious reunion! We spent some time just talking and starting to catch up but we barely made a dent. Most of it will have to wait till March when we can all be together again but we plan to share pictures, videos, and stories. Here is the picture I had been waiting to take for over a year!



After visiting Ciara, we spent the evening at Abram's parents where I got to participate in my first Christmas Eve with the Joslins. Even though it's the third Christmas I've known them, it was the first time I've participated in those festivities. I liked it! Abram was getting pretty anxious to find out what his Christmas present was and somehow talked me into doing Christmas the European way. Maybe it was the fact that he was only home for 2 weeks and I wanted us to have a good time that I said yes. So when we got home I let him open his present that evening. Here's one of my trees (we had another in another room) and Abram anxiously opening:





And the gift is......



All 11 Star Trek movies! I knew I would regret it probably some day but so far I'm good. :) We watched the first one a few days later and I actually liked it. Now I need to watch 2-6 again. :)

Christmas Day we went back and forth between both of our parents' houses. We started off at the Joslins for present opening. Since they had a 7-year-old there we couldn't start too late and my family always starts really late. So after some fun over there, we went to the Benitez house for breakfast and present opening. That was fun too and about the time we finished with that, we were back to the Joslins to talk with Abram's brother, Joseph, who is in the Philippines. After a little time doing that, we came right back to my parent's for dinner and then talking with my brother, Daniel, who is in Canada. He gets back in just a few weeks from now and celebrated his 21st birthday today. It was a busy but fun Christmas!

New Years was similar to Christmas. We spent New Years Eve with my family (and Ciara) playing games, drinking cider and having fun. Then we had the annual Joslin New Years Day dinner the next day. I decided after the holidays that having two families is more fun then I ever expected!

I started my student teaching the first week of January on Tuesday after shipping Abram back off to the base on Monday. I was thrown into teaching pretty quickly and it was so fun! I felt ready to go for it and my mentor teacher thought I was ready so she let me go for it. I had made a connection with so many kids in those first four days that I hope it's still there when I return this week.

I took this past week off from student teaching to go to Missouri for Abram's basic training graduation. His parents and I went together and had a blast! We flew out on Monday night, arriving in St Louis just before midnight. We were able to get into the USO at the airport with my military ID so we went there and spent the night on recliners. Not our best night's sleep but it was free, warm, and convenient so we appreciated it.

Tuesday morning we took off in our rental and headed to St. Robert, MO. It had snowed all day Monday and all night so it was pretty wet out there but we made it just fine! When we arrived at our destination that afternoon we just took things easy and went to bed early since we needed to catch up on our sleep. Wednesday was family day, but really it was 4 hours in the afternoon and by the time we got out of there late and had to get him back early, we had just over 3 hours together. But it was fun and SO good to see Abram. He looked so cute in his ACUs and Eyepro.



We went to the museums on base, had lunch, and he showed us some training sites on base. It was fun! Thursday was the big graduation. We were up and out the door early and it was worth it. Here is at the graduation in his seat:



He looks so good in his dress blues! And lucky for me, he had to stay in them all day. :) We didn't do much that day but sit around at the hotel and relax because there's not much to do in rural Missouri in January. But the time was SO nice. Here's a few more pictures from the day:








It was a great trip and we finished it off with a stop by the St. Louis Temple on our way back to the airport on Friday. Unfortunately, we had to leave Abram behind at Ft. Leonard Wood to start his advanced training this week in horizontal construction in the Corps of Engineers. The Temple there is beautiful and easy to find!




And that is what has been going on the last few weeks! If you're still reading either you really care about what's been going on with us, or you like to waste time on the computer like me! ;)

Update :)

Just a quick night before the night before Christmas. Abram made it home with no problems on Sunday morning. We have been enjoying our time together and are looking forward to our first Christmas together in the next two days. Ciara, unfortunately, was not so lucky. She got snowed in! I guess Europe, and definitely including England, got a lot of snow real fast so she was stuck there an extra FIVE DAYS! She did finally make it today about 4 hours ago. We have yet to see her, as we thought it most appropriate to let her family be with her today and for us to stay out of the way. However, we will probably stop by to see her for at least a few minutes tomorrow. We are very excited to see her!

In other news, we learned today that Abram's brother and his family will be moving up here to the valley from Tucson soon since he was offered and accepted a job in downtown Phoenix! That means our only niece will be up here close to us now :) Things are great and I am sure will stay that way for a couple more days!

This Weekend!

The weekend I've been looking forward to for weeks is finally here! I officially finished up school early this week and my grades are very good so far! There's only one I think might be lower than an A but I'll have to wait and see. Maybe it'll be an A-. I spent the rest of the week since finishing my finals on Monday playing Pooh shows, cleaning house, running lots of errands, and spending some time with my sister. I also supervised junior high kids this morning at their school music assembly. I've been sure to keep myself busy so the time passes quickly as I get more and more antsy.

So what do I have planned for my last day before seeing my best girl friend and husband on Sunday? I have five gigs! Five! Well, sort of. I start off with a one-hour rehearsal with my cousin who is getting ready for a music competition in January. Then I go and do three Pooh shows. There's at least one Saturday each year where we do three shows in one day and tomorrow is this year's day. Haha. After that, I am headed to play a choir concert at a church not far from the theater, meeting my Mom for some dinner on the way. We're playing the concert together and she's coming from another show out a little further. By the time I get home in the evening I'll be ready to sleep the night away and see my husband in the morning!

Abram's experience at basic training has been good overall. He said he enjoyed it and still likes the Army, which was good news! He's all set to graduate when he returns in January, having qualified in everything he needs to. He was a little disappointed that I was doing all the holiday decorating without him but since I haven't gotten either of the Christmas trees up yet and Grandpa and I just decided this week to get some lights up outside and bought the hooks and lights today, Abram will get to help with almost all the decorating next week! We'll have to work fast to get it all done before Friday...

I will be sure to bring an update next week on how the glorious reunions were for your enjoyment but until then, enjoy the weekend. :)

Almost There

I just got back from ASU where I was working on the last assignments for my computer class. I did get them done and a few hours before it was no longer December 10th but it feels so good to have another class crossed off the list! I only have two more classes to finish up. One of them all I have to do is go play my violin for a few minutes. Although, it takes several hours of practice to do that well. :) Then I have to film myself teaching for 20 minutes and write a 5-page paper for another class. I will be all done with all of that by Tuesday morning so the end is in sight!

Just like I've almost made it through the semester, Abram's almost made it through boot camp. We had a little concern when he had trouble passing his shooting. He didn't qualify the first two times he tried but I knew it would happen the third time because there was a lot of fasting and praying going on here at home. Those things haven't failed me yet! He called yesterday and said he finally qualifies on Wednesday. Not only did he qualify but his score was pretty good. He had to score 23 and scored 27 this week. Great blessings come to those who wait! :) He finishes up his training next week and will be headed home that Sunday for his two-week break. While we were on the phone yesterday he asked me if we could plan a little get-away for a couple days during that break. He wants to repeat our honeymoon with the same hotel and everything. I guess it was good the first time ;) So while we talked I booked it for a couple days after Christmas.

In work news, Winnie the Pooh is up and running. We opened last week after a long week of rehearsals. It runs through the 23rd so I will stay pretty busy with that on the weekends and the week leading up to Christmas. I've got a couple extra holiday jobs to play next week, too. My work schedule is lighter than in years previous this year. I'm not sure why that is but I'll take it so I can spend time with Abram.

As a quick end note, military health insurance is wonderful. I highly recommend it ;)

Thanksgiving Fun and More

My first Joslin Thanksgiving was wonderful! It was my in-laws' year to have as many of their children as possible over for Thanksgiving and most of us made it. We had three complete couples (two of Abram's brothers and his sister along with their spouses) and then two halves. I was just a half unfortunately this year, but next time we will both be there. :) It was a day filled with surprises and lots of fun.

I had planned to sleep in Thanksgiving morning but about 7:20am I woke up when I received a text message. Usually I don't wake up to them because all they do is vibrate, so I must've already been partially awake or something. Either way, I was happy I saw it right when it came because it was Abram! He had been given his phone for the entire day so that was a great way to wake up. He was very sad to missing all the festivities at home but knew that he needs to finish what he went there for and that he'll be here next time.

He is doing overall very well in training. He is passing everything or in the position to pass everything, which is great news, except for one area. Earlier this week he had shooting qualifications and didn't pass. He needed a score of 23 and only received a score of 20. But they made them test on a range they had never practiced on, it was extra windy, and he was one of a few that didn't get a second chance to try and with a drill sergeant coaching him. So it seems things were a little unfair...BUT! He has been told they will probably get another chance in a few days so let's hope all goes well! Or else he's stuck there a little longer...

I will be starting tech week with Winnie the Pooh tomorrow and the show opens next Friday! So this coming week will be very busy with that and the end of school. It is the last full week of classes! Only 23 days until I get to see my husband and my best girl friend! Life is feeling pretty good right now.

And now that I have been running Abram's Suburban for 15 minutes (I try to take care of his stuff for him!) as I've been typing this, I will call this good and return later with more news. When there's something worth writing about. :)

Christmas Village

I love having my own house to decorate the way I want :) Ok,it's not really my house but really, I run things around here. Since Abram's not here and Grandpa doesn't have much energy to decorate, I get to do it! And that's totally fine by me because I love doing it. :) I'm trying to make my living room look good so I took out the summer fans sitting underneath the piano and am going to move the stacks of records sitting under the other piano to another room and will get most of the books and magazines out of there temporarily.

Last night I finally (after 3 and a half months, oops) finished getting all the contents of the kitchen put back away after the remodel it had. Those contents were sitting on the table in the formal dining room, which is directly adjacent to the living room (and looks like a part of that room). I had better plans for that table for the next 6-7 weeks.

My grandmother passed away over 8 years ago and she loved decorating her house for the holidays but in the last 2-3 years of her life had a lot of trouble doing it herself. So her granddaughters (my sister and I) would come to help. I kept up with her traditions the first 4 years or so after she passed away but the last 4 years or so have not been so good. In addition to the Christmas Tree, the other main attraction in the house was the Christmas village. For years she collected items for this village and ended up with 12 buildings and plenty of figurines, trees, and other accessories to make the most adorable village. I always enjoyed setting the village up but the last few years it just hasn't happened. So I decided to put it up this year!

For years the village was set up on top of an old, large stereo (which consequently, the aforementioned records were inside of). Abram and I talked Grandpa into getting rid of the stereo, which doesn't work well and I have never seen him use, when we moved in. So I needed somewhere new to put the village. Enter the formal dining room table! So I spent 2 and a half hours setting it up tonight and it looks beautiful! The next phase of decorating won't happen until next Friday so I will enjoy just this one for now.

Here is a picture of it tonight. The lights were off in the room but the flash gets rid of that effect. I wanted to take a picture from the long side, too, but the camera battery died just then! So this is it for now. Hopefully the picture does it justice!

4 weeks to go!

I just realized that in four weeks from today, I will be completing my last day of classes in my undergrad career. Well, I still will be in school next semester and won't graduate until May but I will be student teaching so it will be a little different. :) Eight days after classes end I will be all done with finals and will almost be ready to celebrate. I'll still have to wait four more days for my best friends to get home! Abram will be home for his two week Christmas break that weekend but the night before that our best friend who introduced us to each other will be home after her 18 month mission! I am so excited to see her! So just shy of 6 weeks from now I will have a great weekend. :)

In other news, I didn't get a phone call from Abram this week. Something must have happened that kept him from being able to do that. I did get a letter from him last week and an email on Sunday, though. He made it through the gas chamber experience better than he thought he would and has been performing well on his physical training. He didn't do as well with the rifle simulator as he had hoped but I am sure he will get better. He still has plenty of time to go!

I am keeping busy with school, work, and Winnie the Pooh. This is the 15th year in a row that the theater company (VYT) that I work for has put on a production of A Winnie the Pooh Christmas Tail and the fourth year in a row that I have been on the production team. I have been the assistant music director and I have such a great time doing that every year. I have been going over to rehearse with the cast at least two nights a week and then some time on Saturdays. So that keeps me busy and away from home. Since I have nothing to come home to now anyway :) Well, I better get back to some school work or something!