Ruminations on '08 and '09

Yesterday, I put away all the Christmas decorations around the house. This is usually such a melancholy time for me. I play my Christmas music one last time and reminisce about the past year. This time, however, I played a mix of music and really thought about what was coming up in '09. I wonder if the difference is that now I'm seven months pregnant and really looking forward to having a baby to hold in my arms, rather than lugging around the extra weight around my middle! :)

2008 has been a great year for us. First of all (of course) we're pregnant! However, I also got to go on a Hawaiian cruise, visit family in the Middle East, and enjoy living close to my own parents once again. My second year of teaching at Camas High School has been great! I feel like I've finally grown into who I am as a teacher and am having a blast. I've always known I loved teaching, but there were always hardships and troubles before. This year, I actually feel like a real adult in a real career. (Pinocchio has finally become a real boy!) It's hard to describe, but God has definitely performed a great work in my life.

2009 promises to be great, but might hold it's own challenges as well. Our son is due on February 25. I'll take two months off and then return for the last six weeks of school. Mohit's project will be completed sometime in February (deadline is end of January), which will free him up some. However, we're praying there aren't anymore layoffs in March!

Just some thoughts as I'm sitting at home, slightly bored, and procrastinating doing any real work!

Let it snow! NOOO!

Ya know, I thought that when we left New Hampshire, we had escaped winter weather that included snow. Of course, with "climate change," you can never know what to expect. :) We started off with a few snow flurries and ice that shut down school the week before Christmas break. I thought it was a little over done until I realized they don't salt or plow the roads. In fact, chains are required here, whereas in NH, they weren't even allowed because they always cleared the roads.

Missing school wasn't the worst part of it all. Now, I'm stuck in the house, unable to go anywhere, because our chains weren't working correctly. It has been fun trudging through the snow with Mohit to walk the dogs, even though it's freezing with high winds. We're expecting several more days of this, but after Christmas it's supposed to warm up. I'm hoping things melt away quickly! Oh well, at least we'll have a white Christmas this year.