I just quickly want to solicit your prayers as Josh is gone for 5 months for training. He can come home occasionally during that 5 months, although not often and typically if he does, he is home no more than 30 hours. It is a pretty strict training and stressful at that so please say a prayer for him! I already miss him and he has only been gone 4 days.....
Josh and I got a Wii for a late Christmas present to each other. While getting Wii, he also decided to get Wii Fit, which is supposedly hard to come across. I can officially say I am addicted! It is so fun and not to mention, can be a little workout too! Ladies, if you wanna see some funny stuff....get your husband doin' the Hula Hoop on the Wii fit! Too funny! Our best friends Mac and Hannah came this weekend and we ended up spending a good bit on the Wii fit! Here are some pictures from the Wii and dinner at Arties, a fantastic restaurant here in N. Virginia.
Here are some pictures of our trips to Atlanta and Tampa during Christmas break! We really enjoyed time with our families as always! Hope everyone had a blessed Christmas and happy new year! 
We went home to Florida to visit my family! We had a blast and are so thankful that we could all be together. I was especially grateful because I was able to see my grandparents who have not been doing well. My grandaddy opened up more than he normally does and was very emotional with all of us sisters (and rest of the family). He told us again that he prays for his family (everyone by name) every single night. He also opened up and told us that he didn't know if he was going to make it to see his grandchildren again. He cried and I cried. My grandaddy has always been such a great father-figure for me and my sisters. I love my grandparents so much and am so thankful for their love for all of us.
A little blurry but all four us at their house
Painting Pottery
Our bowls--yay! I painted a rooster and Hannah has a red and yellow design in a black bowl....she messed her's up so ended up painting everything but the design black. ha ha Hannah
Our hunter men!
Josh and I went to visit Mac and Hannah in Lynchburg. The boys planned on hunting and Hannah and I were going to have a day of painting pottery (which is so fun if you have never done it). We had such a good time as always. So Josh and I got there Friday night and we just hung out. Saturday morning Josh and Mac got up bright and early to go hunting. Both of them were stoked to go hunting. Hannah and slept in and then woke up to have breakfast. We were super lazy for a while and laid on the couch and watched "The Devil Wears Prada." Well, when we finally got ready and were leaving around 1pm, low and behold the boys came home. Now we thought that was just strange...and probably not good news. They came inside and were completely bummed because that said they saw not a one deer out in the woods....they even fell asleep in the woods because they must have gotten so sleepy and bored looking for deer. No sight of em' so they came home. Poor boys!
Well, Hannah and I left the boys and went to do our thing...lunch and pottery. We decided to do a large pasta bowl, which ended up taking forever! We watched people come in, paint, and leave as we were there from about 3-9 (I think). We had a ton of fun and I can't wait to see what our pasta bowl look like when they are fired! Ladies, if you have never painted pottery before it is a lot of fun!
I think most, if not all know that I teach high school Spanish at a great public school in Vienna, VA. There are many days when I simply forget that my students may be struggling in different areas of their lives (i.e. addictions, lonliness, rejection, school stress, peer pressure, abuse, family issues, etc). Yesterday I was brought back to reality and reminded of these issues.
After one of my students received one of her graded assignments I think she realized it was time for her to stay after and speak with me. I could tell she was very stressed and discouraged and she was asking what all she could do to improve her grade. She mentioned she was not doing well in one of her other classes as well.
This particular student is a typical cheerful cheerleader (smiling, laughing, outgoing, etc). Despite her normal cheerful spirt I could tell there was more going on in her life than just grades. I simply asked her if everything was going alright and tears filled her eyes as she began to sob. She stayed for a while through a 30-minute SAP (which is a student assistance period) and through most of her math class. She opened up about her family life (divorced parents, father married new wife and is having a baby). It was clear that she was so very hurt.
I listened to her, but also shared my parents story and my (almost non-existent relationship) with my father. I also shared with her that I thought it was okay if she did not want to be close to her father right now, but may decide to draw closer to him as she heals.
After we finished chatting I just hugged her and hugged her more. She cried again and I just got all teary-eyed because I remember how I felt about my parents divorce (even at 18 yrs old) and the way my dad treated all of us (including my mom).
It was a great reminder to me that I need to remember that these teenagers may be going through so very much and I may never know. As a teacher it is important that I remember that and learn to be a compassionate teacher. I pray that God will give me a compassionate heart for these teens.
View of the Potomac River looking out of GW's house 
Josh, me, Kara, Kurt
Washington's home
Kara a
nd I
Kurt and Kara
This past Wednesday my sister-in-law Kara and her husband Kurt came up to visit. We had a great time! Most of our time was spent eating....ha ha! We toured Mt. Vernon, went downtown
see the National Mall, and relaxed at our house and watched TV and movies. It was nice because we never felt any need to get up early and rush everywhere, which is exactly how I like it!
