Well, the Broadway program is over. And I happy to announce that all went well! I was so proud at how my drama class "stepped it up" this year. Allow me to explain:

I had great plans and visions of my drama class jumping out of the baptistry and dancing on the choir modesty rail; it was going to be so cool! Well, our pastor saw us practicing and told our Principal that we would not be able to do the number- this was on Tuesday afternoon and the show was on Thursday. The reasoning was partly safety, but mostly because it was the church auditorium. I was so devastated. The kids had been practicing for 2 months on this number, it was difficult to learn and choreograph. I was in a difficult position of telling the kids they couldn't do something when I myself didn't agree with the decision. I left for the afternoon to clear my head. . .and slowly the Lord began to speak to me.

I had to come to grips that God had placed me at CBA, and whether I agreed or not, I was to obey my authority. I had to realize the difficulties that come into my life are God testing me-will I have the right attitude, will I trust Him, etc. . . My kids were a little upset at the outcome, but I was able to share my heart with the kids and challenge them to do move on and trust God. I am amazed at the resilience of my kids. They grumbled a bit, but then we revamped the number. And, the new number was better than the old one. So, God is good. His ways are best. If we have the right attitude, if we trust Him, if we abandon our ways and do what God asks-He will give us something even better than we could have ever imagined!

I am so thankful that my husband and kids were able to attend along with my best friends Bobbi, Julie and Shelly. Usually my audiences consists of parents, grandparents and their guests, but I had my own people in the audience that night!!

I have posted some pictures of our dress rehearsal that day. . . enjoy!

Broadway or Hollywood?!

My drama class had their annual "Broadway Review" where we perform scenes and songs from Broadway shows. I will be posting more on this later. . . but, I brought home a little derby hat and mop that we used for "Step In Time" (a song and dance number from Mary Poppins). My boys are having so much fun with them!

Little Zach now gets the broom and hat and does his "step in time" routine on our fireplace all the while singing the showtune and snapping his fingers to the rythmn. He's definietely going to be Broadway bound.


Austen saw the hat as an opportunity to be "Durango," a cowboy character he has invented. He took the hat outside with his rifle and pretended to be shooting the big Indian, which happened to be me . . . you gotta love boys! Anyway, I'm thinking Austen is the next Clint Eastwood. . .

Whether Broadway or Hollywood, my boys are already stars in my eyes, and I can't wait to see what God has in store for them!!

IT CAN BE DONE

I actually went to Wal-Mart yesterday and only spent $0.97!! Who goes to Wal-Mart and spends less than a dollar?! Okay, I must confess that I had forgotten my purse, and had to use the change in my pocket. Had I had my purse, I (more than likely) would have spent tons more! What is it about Wal-Mart that makes you put things in your cart that you don't need?! I don't care if I have a list or not, I undoubtedly, come home with more than I intended to buy! And I always find myself needing to go to Wal-Mart! I swear I am there every day of the week. Infact, there is this cutie, old lady who is the greeter in the mornings. . . she knows us and just waits for us to come-she loves the boys!

Anyway, mums the word- I would hate Mark knowing that I spent less than a dollar at Wal-Mart-he'd expect it be done all the time!!

Students

I thought I would post some pictues of my highschool students today. God has placed some great kids in my class this year, and I am so thankful for each and every one of them.

The first picture is of my senior high drama class. We are working on our annual scenes from Broadway that we do with the music department. It is a lot of fun! This year we are doing scenes from Tarzan, Mary Poppins, Lion King, and My Fair Lady. We are doing tons of choreography and it will be interesting to see how the administration will feel about our class jumping out of the baptistry for our Step in Time scene. God has shown Himself mighty in this class. So much of what we are doing is new territory this year, but God has been good in allowing the kids to learn everything quickly, and in giving them the exctiement to try new things.

The second picture is of my senior high speech students. This class is so special to me. We have seen God do great and mighty things in our class. I have two boys from Tawain, and they got saved in our class this year. Through this event the class has grown so close to each other, and to God. This is the class where we share many personal prayer requests, and praise God together when they are answered. It has been neat to see the kids grow. This picture was taken on Spirit Day-Decade/Costume Day

The last picture is of my student teacher that I had last semester. Bobbi came at the beginning of the year and was with me for the whole semester. God was so gracious in bringing us together. We both went through some difficult trials this year. Together we saw God do an amazing work in our lives.

The Hiding Place

This past weekend I read the book by Corrie ten Boom entitled, The Hiding Place. It is the story a family who hides Jews during the World War and end up being caught and taken to several concentration camps. The story follows the two sisters, Corrie and Betsie. Let me just say that seldom do I read a book from cover to cover in one setting. Time (or should I say my boys) usually doesn't allow me to do so. But, I found myself restless early one morning, which led me to the bookshelf. . . I literally couldn't put it down! I learned several things from this book that had a definite impact on me.
First, how amazed I was that Corrie and her sister Betsie were able to praise God during the most difficult of circumstances. How often do I praise God for the difficult times that happen in my life. There are times I get so wrapped up in my circumstances that I find it too hard to pray to God let alone praise Him! Too often I look at the negative side of my troubles allowing myself to get down in the dumps and feeling sorry for myself. When in reality, God places those things in our life so we can get a better glimspe of Him. It is during those times of difficulty that I need to praise God for what He will do in my life and praise Him for the opportunity to get closer to Him.
Second, Corrie and Betsie were so hungry for the Word of God that they were willing to risk their life to have the Gospel with them in the prison camps. How hungry am I for God's Word? How often do I take my Bible for granted? Sad to say, there are times when I can easily forgo my devotions becuase the morning was too hectic and I didn't have time to squeeze them in. These dear ladies read and reread their little New Testament-it was the one thing that sustained them through the year in the concentration camp. What a challenge to me! May I never take God's Word for granted and may I hid His Word in my heart!
Third, after Corrie was released from the prison she traveled the world spreading the message of hope and forgiveness. She ended up forgiving those that treated her wrongfully in prison, and shared the Gospel with the German people. I think I would have been bitter and angry the rest of my days. How easy it is for me to hold a grudge. How many times am I willing to forgive those people who wrong me? I am challenged to always show God's love to those around me, even when I have been mistreated.
There is so much I could share, but I will leave you with these. My favortie quote from the book was this: There is no pit too deep where He is not deeper still. I have always loved this quote, but it meant so much more to me after reading the book. In the midst of my difficulties, God is always with me. No matter how deep I think the pit is, God is deeper still.

I've been tagged!!!

All right, Dora-you got me and here's my list:

A-available or single? Married; refer to previous posts
B-Best friend? Shelly Marie Hart! We have been best friends since we were 2 years old!
C-cake or pie? Actually cobbler and Blackberry cobbler to be exact
D-drink of choice? Sweet tea or Hazelnut Mocha from Starbucks
E-essential item I use everyday? My hairdryer
F-favorite color? Orange
G-gummy bears or worms? Gummy worms-I like to slurp them up like spaghetti.
H-hometown? Normal, Illinois-and I've heard enough jokes about that!
I-indulgence? A pan of brownies, and I do mean a PAN!
J-January or February? February because it is a shorter month. . .
K-kids names? Austen and Zachary. I went from A to Z (I'm done!)
L-life is incomplete without? My husband and kids, God, and Grey's Anantomy
M-marriage date? June 14, 1997
N-number of siblings? None, I'm numero uno and I AM NOT SPOILED!!
O-oranges or apples? Apples, but I must have caramel dip
P-phobias or fears? I am deathly afraid of BIRDS; once a bird flew in my house and I had to
shoo it out;yikes!
Q-favorite quote? "There is no pit too deep where God is not deepter still"-Corrie tenBoom
R-reasons to smile? My boys, its Friday, and I'm visiting my friend in Wisconsin-Bobbi
S-season? Fall; I love all the beautiful colors
T-tag 3 or 4 people. Uh, pretty much everyone has been tagged, so I'll wait for the other lists
U-unknown fact about me? I once won a contest where I had to catch a greased pig
V-vegetable you don't like? Sweet potatoes
W-worst habit? I'm addicted to Reality T.V-American Idol
X-
Y-your favorite food? Mashed potatoes and gravy
Z-zodiac sign? Scorpio

The Engagement

Okay, so on to the good part. . .
So, the summer of '96, Mark moves to Illinois. He was working in Illinois for the summer and had plans to move to Wisconsin for the upcoming school year. I was working at Kroger's and we both had different schedules that summer. We barely saw each other.
It happened one week that I got Thursday through Sunday off; that rarely happened, so we planned to go out on Thursday night. I was super excited!
Mark picked me up that night, and as we were getting ready to pull out of my driveway, he stops and says he has to give my mom a baby shower invitation from his mother (Later, I found out that Mark had told them he was going to ask me to marry him that night).
Well, we were on our way. Mark was planning to take to me to this place called Gill's; we love to try new places and we love little "mom and pop" little places. We started driving out in the boondocks and I thought we were lost. I asked if he knew where he was going and he said he would have to pull over at the next farm house to get directions. We stop at the farm house and there is a horse drawn carriage in front. I remember thinking that it was pretty cool. Soon, Mark gets out of the truck and opens my door. And I'm thinking what in the world in going on? All of the sudden, the carriage driver comes over to me and asks me if I'm going to Gill's. I nodded yes, and he says that he is our ride for the night. At this point I still have no clue I'm going to get proposed to, but I'm thinking what a great opportuinity for Mark. We head to the restaurant, eat, and head back to the carriage. The whole night, Mark is cool as a cucumber. He never let on that anyhting special was going to happen. On the way back to the truck, Mark pulls out a dozen roses. I'm shocked and excited and then I notice him counting the roses. He yells at the driver, "Stop! There are supossed to be 12 roses, there are only 11 here." I was a little nervous because I certainly did not want to get the guy mad and have to walk back to the truck. I told Mark that it was okay, and he said that it was not okay! The guy, hands me a flower box, which I opened and there was a single rose with my ring in the middle of the rose. Mark got down on his knee and asked me to marry him. I was so surprised. The driver had a camera and he had been taking pictures of the whole scene. So, there I am crying and then smiling for the camera. It was fun. We went back to my house and celebrated with my family and his family. That was on July 11, 1996.
We got married on June 14, 1997. It is hard to believe it will be 10 years this summer. Time flies when you're having fun!!