Dave Barnes

During college I was introduced to a wonderful, sweet, completely romantic man. I became slight obsessed. I made (along with Katie) a playlist for what we like to call "Love Song Friday", and it was pretty much filled with his wonderful words of love. His name is Dave Barnes. If you haven't heard of Dave, you should go to itunes right now and download something of his. Anything will due. It's all wonderful. I am a complete sap though, so please realize that they are pretty romantic.

I just discovered this gem and thought I would share it with those of you (Katie) who love Dave Barnes as much as I do.


"God Gave Me You"

I’ve been a walking heartache
I’ve made a mess of me
The person that I’ve been lately
Ain’t who I wanna be

But you stay here right beside me
Watch as the storm goes through
And I need you

God gave me you for the ups and downs
God gave me you for the days of doubt
For when I think I’ve lost my way
There are no words here left to say, it’s true
God gave me you

There’s more here than what were seeing
A divine conspiracy
That you, an angel lovely
Could somehow fall for me
You’ll always be love’s great martyr
Ill be the flattered fool
& I need you

God gave me you for the ups and downs
God gave me you for the days of doubt
For when I think I’ve lost my way
There are no words here left to say, it’s true
God gave me you

On my own I’m only
Half of what I could be
I can’t do without you
We are stitched together
And what love has tethered
I could baby, never undo

God gave me you for the ups and downs
God gave me you for the days of doubt
God gave me you for the ups and downs
God gave me you for the days of doubt
For when I think I’ve lost my way
There are no words here left to say, it’s true
God gave me you, gave me you.
Gave me you."

Christmas Pictures

Here are a few pictures from Christmas. :)

Our door decoration.

The decor on the bookshelf

Our first tree!

Christmas parade in West Lafayette

Chris's tool organizer.

His new hoodie.

His headlamp from me and Drew.

My new sleeping bag. I also got new boots, but they aren't pictured because I got them early.

Ice Skating

My strawberry cake that I made for Ben's birthday

We celebrated Christmas the Saturday before so we didn't have to haul all of our presents home. And also because we wanted to start our own traditions. We had Screwdrivers and breakfast casserole. Classy, I know. But it was oh so good! Then we opened gifts and stockings as we watched it snow. :) We watched movies and were super lazy all day. Just like it was Christmas!

Our Chicago Trip- 2 moths later :)

A few months ago, early November or late October, Chris surprised me with a trip to Chicago! It was so fun and a great weekend away!

We took the AMTRAK! Before Dinner

Our Cheese Fondue at The Melting Pot! So good!

My martini and Chris's beer.

Our "Ying Yang Fondue"- it was dark and white chocolate!

All of the dippers

At Navy Pier

Again

Our Hotel- It was right across from Trump Towers

Our View

The bean

I really needed to hear this today!

"Trials build patience, make us strong, and teach us that sometimes prayers and truffles do go together."

When your patience is finally in full bloom, then you will be ready for anything, strong in character, full and complete." James 1:4

"The Godly woman faces her challenges with prayer, a sense of adventure, and a great pair of boots." (or in my case, flats.)

I don't think Jamie realized what a blessing her gift would be in getting me through the day. :)

Ramblings

I've come to realize that teaching is one of the most rewarding and frustrating professions.

Frustration: High School students are moody. Extremely moody. And I have to say, the target for all of their problems seems to be whatever teacher irritates them first.

Reward: I had one student break out in song while reading. Hilarious.

Frustration: They don't care (or at least put on a front that they don't care). Well, some do. Overall though, they are focused on sports, who's dating who, who's not dating, parents, cars, you know- the fun stuff! The stuff that I too focused on. :)

Reward: Hearing a students say, "Wow, I finally get it. Thanks!"

Frustration: After going over a what a thesis is and it's importance many times, a students says, "Thesis? What's that?"

Reward: Hearing students make funny, sometimes accurate and sometimes not, comparisons of any short story to "The Hangover". Great movie by the way!

Frustration: Pushing a cart around all day, and sitting back and watching as the administration makes a room for a study hall. I'm not bitter at all.

Reward: Feeling very proud when one of "my kids" scores a touchdown or makes a goal.

Frustration: Constant complaints- about absolutely everything.

Reward: Laughing. A lot.

Frustration: Teachers who do nothing in their class, creating students who expect to do nothing in every class.

Reward: Feeling like I might actually be making a difference in at least one person's life.

That's it for frustrations and rewards for now. I need to start writing them down as they happen.

Expect a "Tales from the Court- Take 2" soon.

Aside from school, everything is awesome. Softball conditioning has started and will go in full swing in March! I am pumped- though I will probably be exhausted.

I miss my friends. I don't get to talk to them as much as I want, and it really sucks.

A Girls weekend is in the works! Woohoo!

My head is swelling again. :) I guess the doctors appointments will start soon. A swollen eye/ forehead, does not make for a very attractive me.

Indiana schools have serious problems. Beginning with the fact that we don't have 1/2 days.

My husband is the coolest. I am so completely blessed.

I had a student ask me the other day if I planned on teaching the rest of my life, and it made me start to think. I am 22 years old. Can I teach everyday for the next 40 or so years. I'm not sure. That's probably a better questions after year 5 or 6.

Hmmm.... these are all of the ramblings I have. :)

Thought of the Day

"The good things God has for you are more exciting than a clearance shoe sale and a box of chocolates put together."

It's been a while...

Obviously I haven't posted in a while...
Life has been crazy lately! With 2 trips home, Christmas parties, the Holidays, and school- there hasn't been a ton of free time, and when there is- I relax. :) I don't' have pictures from the holidays uploaded yet, but I will! I actually don't have much today at all, considering I am at work. :)

What I do have is this: Jamie gave me an awesome desk calender for Christmas, with the sweetest and most uplifting quotes! I have decided to post them every few days, so that everyone can appreciate them!

"Rejoice in every day of life." Ecclesiastes 11:8 ~I love this because I get so caught up in work and other things that I forget to rejoice in the everyday. The beautiful snow that is covering the ground, my amazing students, my super awesome husband, my family and friends, cooking with Chris, lounging around, walking the dog, and all of the other things that make my everyday wonderful! It's a sweet reminder to appreciate the small things of everyday.

And one from the past:

"There's more happiness in a single moment of God's presencethan in anything else in life (and He doesn't mind if you sweeten the happy moments with a little chocolate). " ~For me, this quote says to see God in everything, and to spend time with him every day!

More to come- the bell just rang and it's time to teach the future leaders of our country. :) (Scary thought, huh?)

My Christmas Wish List

These are just a few things I am asking for this Christmas... :) Mainly this is for my wonderful hubby (who will have a copy of this everywhere he looks as the holidays get closer.) The only questions is if he will care, or will do his usual, "I can't get you what you ask for because then you will know what you're getting."

I want boots. :) They don't have to be these, although these are currently on sale at REI outlet and are pretty perfect (Hi-tec snowflake chukka boots). I want some that aren't just cute, because I want them to be practical. These are good because they have a good sole, waterproof, and warm! Size 8, light brown/tan is a must.

I would love a Kavu Bi-Coastal Shoulder (not regular) bag- in black preferably.

I don't necessarily want this sleeping bag... any would be fine. Chris says I need one I can take backpacking, but I am not too sure about that yet.
These are the main things, I think.

Question of the Day

Okay, so this is a few days late, but this is my new favorite student question. I am not happy that it was asked, but it still makes me laugh.

Student: Mrs. Middaugh, when I end a sentence in a question mark I still have to use a period at the end, right?

Me: Why would you need a period at the end?

Student: Well, I have to make sure you know it's the end of the sentence so that you don't think it's a run-on.

My thoughts: I think we have bigger problems to worry about than run-ons.

I should also add that this student is a senior.

And I should also say, I don't have perfect grammar and mechanics at all times, but seriously? A period after a question mark? This is going to be an interesting career.

An update on life...

It seems that the ability to relax is not a gift that Chris and I have. It's go, go, go all the time! Which I like, most of the time, until it effects my mood. I just don't understand how people have children... if we are this busy and have no kids, I can't imagine what life would be like with them. I think the same way when it comes to keeping the house clean and picked-up. If two of us are this messy I wonder what it would be like with children... crazy.

Any who- Chris is loving graduate school. I think it's a little harder than he realized it would be, and I must give him credit; he does more than just play with fish all day. Apparently there's a lot of math associated with studying fish... I'm not sure, but I know he spends a lot of time figuring out math problems. He also began teaching a lab for sophomores called Fish Ecology. I think he really likes it, though it's definitely out of his comfort zone.

I love my job every day- some days more than others. Every now and then I wonder if I am crazy, but I never think that I made the wrong choice by becoming a teacher. I know this is right where God wants me- for now. I feel bad for my students sometimes, because I am absolutely clueless... but they hang in there. The push me on a daily basis, which is pretty cool... sometimes intimidating, but I need it. Hmmm... I am still pushing around a cart. Which sucks. But hey, it's a job, and I have great students! I still forget at least one thing a day in my office and have to send someone to go get it. I also tend to be late for many of my classes. I do have to say that I forgot how whiny high school students are. It's absolutely ridiculous! I have started adding to assignments when they complain about having too much homework, or moving up a test when they say they don't have enough time, which I know is very mean, but it's working. They don't complain as much. :)

As for life outside of our jobs, we try our best to sit around the house and do nothing, but it usually lasts about an hour. Then we find a project we need to do around the house or errands that need to be run. Ya' know. Important stuff. We also are trying to get a college and twenties group going at our church, so that's a ton of fun. It's in the works, but we're excited!

We still love it here. A lot. If only they had mountains and stuff we would be okay. And if our friends and family would move here all would be perfect. :)