pittsburgh and tennis tournaments

Well I was kind of dreading this week when I thought ahead on Sunday to everything I had going on. Little Sibs Day on Monday, chapel on Tuesday, conditioning Wednesday, parent visits on all three days, plus leaving early Thursday morning for a 3 day trip to Pittsburgh for Mennonite Educators meetings with Bethany. Now that things are going it feels much more managable. I need to remember to break weeks down into days instead of looking at the big picture. Things don't feel as overwhelming that way.

I am trying to be excited about this upcoming weekend in Pittsburgh. I just hate that it will take up half of the weekend. The good news is that we are staying in a nice hotel and I get to room with my friend KP. That will make everything better. Too bad we have to go to lots of meetings and sit around all weekend listening to people talk.

Conditioning for the Bethany tennis team started last week. At my call out meeting a few weeks ago the team decided to start conditioning right away. As a coach I have to be excited about that, I just wasn't sure I was ready to get going. As always though, being around the girls gives me so much energy. It will be fun to start easing into the season again.

Seth is probably going to have more fun this weekend than me. He and Joel are signed up for a tennis tournament, both singles and doubles, over in Elkhart starting on Friday. He's spent the last few days trying to quickly get into better shape. We are going to try and hit tomorrow at the racquet club. It has been a couple months since either of us have picked out our racquets. It should at least be interesting!

gearing up for a 4 day weekend

I think it is safe to say that Seth and I have adjusted to our regular work schedules again after an extended Christmas break for me. I am not as confident saying that about Sophie though. After months of her being able to play outside during the day while we are working, she has seemed very sad about being left at home alone. If it is possible for dogs to have depression than I am fairly certain that she is suffering from it. I do my best to spend time with her in the evenings, taking walks and playing with toys, but it isn't nearly as much fun as running around with 2 other dogs out in the country! At least she has Sue's chair to sit on when she is on our porch!

As far as I know we have no big plans for the weekend. We are having dinner tonight at the Claassen's, who we always enjoy getting together with. I am continueing to be the official book keeper at home girls basketball games and our second to last regular season game is this Saturday afternoon. I have really enjoyed being at the games and watching the teams compete. It has made me somewhat regretful that I did not play basketball all the way through high school, but there is no changing the past.

Seth and Joel continue to stay busy at the shop. We were all dissapointed last weekend to watch the Colts lose. Seth and I blame ourselves, because they never play well when we watch. Other than that, not much is going on.

Sarah

we disappeared again

After doing so well with updating our blog this fall, I have fallen back behind again. You would think with three full weeks off that I would have had plenty of time to write an entry or two. Not the case though!

As I mentioned above, I had three full weeks off for Christmas. They were wonderful. I stayed up late, slept in, read books, watched TV, scrapbooked, jogged, did school work, spent time with friends and family, and just mainly relaxed. Coming back to school this week was not as difficult as I thought it would be. A part of me was ready for more structure to my days. The biggest adjustment is always altering my sleeping schedule.

Seth and I got to spend Christmas with both of our immediate families. We spent Christmas morning and early afternoon with my family and the later afternoon and evening in Middlebury with Seth's family. It is always good to be with family. Rebekah was able to come home for 11 days, which is the longest trip she's made home since she moved away 5 years ago. Although most of her time was spent with Chris Westerbeek. It was still good to have her around. Colin also had 3 weeks off from school. So everyone was around for an extended amount of time.

Seth and I spent New Year's Eve at Jeff and Mariko Claassen's house with friends and Seth and Joel moved into a new shop in Middlebury. Seth and I celebrated our 4th, yes 4th, anniversary at the end of December. Wow! I can't believe it has been 4 years already. We also said goodbye to Dave and Sue Bontrager as they moved to Colorado at the first of the year. We will miss not having them around.

I got a good chunk of my lessons done for the sociology class I am taking. I took my midterm earlier this week and will be ready for my final after I finish my last lesson. I have enjoyed reading, studying, and thinking again. I think I will start another class after I finish this one. Next on the list is a political science class. I have also signed up to take my social studies content Praxis test for the middle of March. This is a requirement for a teaching licence in Indiana. I also have to take a pre-professional test that I signed up to take in May. I want to get those two things done so that I can apply for next falls Transition to Teaching classes at Goshen College.

Well I think that covered the highlights from the last month of my life. This picture was taken on Christmas day and it was a momentous moment when Mom and Dad let Sophie come upstairs to be with the rest of the family. See how happy she looks in her Christmas sweater!

Oh yeah! I dyed my hair dark brown, but it actually came out black! Yikes! I am hoping it calms down a little!