Answered Prayers

It finally happened. Mason has a new job!!! We have been waiting for this for quite some time (a little over a year actually). He has applied at countless places and has even had a few interviews here and there, but nothing ever came from any of them. As you can imagine, we were getting very disgruntled. When he did work, it was great, but it seemed like the company he worked for just couldn't give them enough to stay busy for long, so he spent A LOT of time unemployed.

Well, last spring Mason took the paraprofessional praxis so he could apply for that type of a position this fall since he wouldn't have his 60 hours yet. When positions finally came open in the school districts he applied, but still heard nothing. Finally, on August 29th, Mason got a phone call from the Waynesville R-VI School District about a couple of interviews that would be held that Wednesday (the 31st). One was at Freedom Elementary which is where I taught 5th grade my first year of teaching; it's a 3-6 school. The other was at East Elementary which is a K-2 school. Mason acted like both interviews went well, but felt very confident about the one at East. With the interviews out of the way, he was able to relax a little and just wait. Luckily, he didn't have to wait long. Friday morning around 9 I received a text message from Mason saying that human resources had called and wanted to offer him one of the jobs, and it happened to be the one at East Elementary. He obviously accepted, and he is now just waiting on the paperwork to really make it official. I'm definitely proud of him, and it's a huge weight lifted off our shoulders. Even though he's a little nervous about starting, I know he'll do fabulous! To celebrate, we spent last Saturday in St. Louis shopping and getting him a bunch of clothes so he had something appropriate to wear that wasn't old ratty t-shirts and jeans with holes in them! ; )

Not only did Mason get a job on the 2nd, but so did my brother and Mason's sister! My brother had been searching for jobs ever since he graduated in May and had been on countless interviews, with no luck. But that particular Friday, he was offered TWO! Talk about a lucky day!! We (Mason and I) have been praying for quite some time that something would fall into place for not only us, but for my brother and his sister's family, and it finally did! God definitely had something in mind for all of us, we just had to be patient and wait!

Other than that, I have been staying busy with school starting. It has been going well and I have a pretty good group of kids. Mason's classes are also going well (at least that's what he tells me) and he's excited that after this semester he'll hopefully only have roughly a year left until he graduates. Speaking of Mason, remember the accident we had? Well, he had to go back to court again on the 7th, and it was decided that he is going to have to do two years of unsupervised probation. It really only applies when he's driving, but if he would have any kind of moving violation in those two years, it's possible he'd have to go back in front of the judge who has free range of punishment...ugg. Here's hoping we don't have to even worry about that!

On another good note, we've begun the house-hunting process. We've looked at 5 so far, and there's one that really caught our attention. We have several more we are going to be looking at in the next couple of weeks so that's pretty exciting as well. We definitely want to make sure we take our time so we find something that will really work for us, especially since we don't have to be out of the house we are in at any point.

I think that's about it as far as updates are concerned. We are going to Iowa next weekend for my cousin Amy's wedding..woohoo!! And luckily, it happens to be Dunkerton's homecoming so we will have the opportunity to attend the game and watch my brother coach. And then the following weekend we will be going to Branson for the 5K and to wander around Silver Dollar City. Guess I better get back to running in a hurry..: ) Even though the Hawkeyes lost, it's been a pretty good weekend so far! Hope the rest of you have had a great one also!

School's In Session

School is officially back in session! I'm not exactly sure where the summer went, but it sure flew by! We have only had two days of school, but I'm hopeful I have another great group of kids. Aside from all the craziness, I always enjoy the start of a new year. Everyone is fresh and excited to be there (for the most part). Not only that, but now that I'm starting my 4th year of teaching (wow, time flies), I feel a lot better about my own abilities and what I should expect. Mason is also getting ready to start school again. This will be the beginning of his third year and he is getting close to that halfway point, which is great! He will definitely make a fabulous teacher someday!

Other than that we have been staying busy, as always! My best friend Lindsey got married at the beginning of this month so we traveled up to Western Iowa for all the festivities. It was a beautiful wedding and it was wonderful getting to see everyone again.

She sure made a stunning bride! I didn't get a great picture of her handsome husband, but he looked great as well! : ) Speaking of weddings, my cousin Abby is getting married today! We definitely wish we could be there, but I'm sure that she and her groom Matt will have a fabulous day!!

We do have a little piece of not-so-great news...remember the car accident we had a couple weeks before our wedding? Well, because another person was involved, Mason had to go to court. They actually ended up setting another date for court because Mason's attorney didn't care for the judge he was supposed to have. But, the attorney said that even though we probably wouldn't have to pay a ticket or have it put on his record, that Mason may have to have two years of unsupervised probation. It's pretty frustrating, but we'll just have to wait and see what happens.

He's also been on the job search for quite awhile too, and so far, we haven't heard back from anywhere. But, we did hear a little piece of information the other day that does sound slightly promising regarding a possible job opportunity. I don't want to say too much in case it doesn't pan out, but please keep us in your prayers that it will work out! Every little bit can help!!

We are also pretty excited because we will be traveling up to Iowa again mid-September for my cousin Amy's wedding! Since JJ (my brother) is helping to coach football again this year at Dunkerton, we are going to drive up a little early because homecoming happens to fall that same weekend. We always look forward to visiting Dunkerton and everyone there, of course!! The following weekend we are heading down to Branson to spend some time there. As far as we know, Mason's mom and step-dad will also be coming with us, so we are really looking forward to it. While we are down there, aside from visiting the strip and Silver Dollar City, Mason and I will be running a 5K! The money will be going toward the cancer foundation. I haven't ran a 5K since college so I'm pretty excited! We were doing a great job of running everyday, but I started getting shin splints so I had to back off a little. They've finally gotten better so I need to get back into the swing of things so I don't die while running! : )

Well, I better get some cleaning done around here. It kind of looks like a tornado hit...have a fabulous weekend everyone!

Honeymoon

The day after the wedding was also a whirlwind as we had to bring everything back to the house, finish packing, and then head up to St. Louis to our hotel. Unfortunately that morning, I had a sore throat that moved down into my lungs as the day progressed, so by the end of Sunday I already had cold which stayed with me the rest of the week. It didn't keep me from doing anything, it was mostly just a nuisance. We were up and at 'em by about 3:00 Sunday morning so we could catch the shuttle to the airport to get on our flight. I have to say, the flights from St. Louis to Dallas/Ft. Worth, and then from Dallas/Ft. Worth to Cozumel were a couple of the worst flights we had ever been on. When we left St. Louis we were in a storm and when we got into Cozumel, we were dealing with Tropical Storm Arlene. Needless to say, there was a ridiculous amount of turbulence and we were both very happy to be back on solid ground!

Since we didn't get in until Monday afternoon, we just relaxed and hung out around the resort for the rest of the day and all of Tuesday. We did some swimming at the amazing pool they had, took some naps, and enjoyed the delicious food they offered.

This particular pool happened to have a lazy river, and was right by one of the outdoor restaurants, so we had drinks brought directly to us as we swam!

On Tuesday we had scheduled to go on a tour to Chichen Itza over on the mainland on Wednesday, but at about 10:00 Tuesday night they called and said that because of the weather they were going to have us go Thursday instead. So when we woke up on Wednesday we decided to go snorkeling. If we booked through our resort we got to go see three reefs. We were really excited because Mason had gone before and had spoke so highly of it. When we got out to the first reef we were probably about a mile off shore. Unfortunately, the water was still so rough from the tropical storm that when we got in the water it was very difficult to swim and really enjoy what we were doing. So I was that person that held on to the boogie board our guide had for anybody who got tired. Except I held on the entire time. Haha By the time we got back in the boat from the first reef, I was sea sick from the waves, and Mason had no intention of getting back in at the last two because of how rough the water was. Because of this, we ended up just lounging around the rest of the day.

On Thursday we were up and leaving our resort by 6:00 in the morning to head to downtown Cozumel to catch the 7:00 ferry. From Cozumel to Playa Del Carmen on the mainland it took roughly 30-40 minutes. Once we got there we found our driver and took the two and a half van ride down to Chichen Itza. It was definitely worth the long trip, and was probably one of the neatest places both of us had seen. The amount of history we learned about the Mayans was fantastic, and it was amazing to see a place that has been preserved so well for such a long period of time.

Our tour guide, Oscar, made it an exceptionally great experience. He had a quirky sense of humor and was incredibly knowledgeable about all parts of Chichen Itza.

After such a long day full of travel and exploration, we came back to the resort, ate dinner, and crashed. We were exhausted! Friday morning we woke up and decided to go swimming and lay out since it was one of the first days it was actually sunny! The whole week it was cooler in Mexico than it was in Missouri, in large part because of the tropical storm. They were in what the locals called the "tropical depression." So it wasn't overly hot or sunny the entire time we were there. Later on that afternoon, we went to have our hour-long full-body massages. Let me just say, they were AMAZING! It's definitely something we will be doing again at some point! After our massages we went back to our room, got ready, and ventured to downtown Cozumel to do some shopping. We ended up spending a lot more than we meant to, but we got some nice jewelry!

Unfortunately, this brings us to Saturday morning, the day we had to leave. Mason was ready to get headed back home, but I would have been content staying there another week! However, by the time we did get back, I have to say it was definitely nice to be back home. It was a fabulous vacation, and I'm thankful we were able to have that time together following our wedding!

Since the honeymoon we have stayed very busy traveling and getting odds and ends squared away from the wedding. We ventured up to St. Joseph to see Mason's mom and sister, and I spent about five days in Iowa. I went for Lindsey's (my best friend) bridal shower and bachelorette party and then spent some time with my family. We will be up in Iowa again the weekend of the 6th for Lindsey and Jake's wedding, so we are definitely looking forward to that. Other than traveling, Mason has been applying for several jobs so we are saying our prayers that something will come along soon! Any additional prayers would also be very appreciated! Otherwise, we're just trying to enjoy what's left of summer because school will be starting for both of us before we know it!

6.25.11

It's a month later and I'm finally sitting down to write about our wedding! The first month of wedded bliss has gone incredibly fast, and before we know it school will be starting! Right before we got married I talked about how we had gotten in an accident and were looking at a 2006 Cobalt. We ended up getting it and are happy with the decision. There are a few cosmetic things that need to be taken care of, but nothing too serious, which is good. And since it had lower miles, we are hopeful that it will last us for a while yet! We also realized it is the exact same year, make, model, and color as my Grandma Steffen's. Hers is in better shape though, with a lot fewer miles. : )

Once we got our car situation figured out, we were able to focus on the wedding. The most stressful day was Friday because we had to get the hall and the park set up for the rehearsal and the dinner. It actually went much smoother than expected, and when we made it to the actual rehearsal all stress went out the window. Everyone arrived on time and were extremely cooperative and helpful throughout the entire rehearsal. We even had a couple of chuckles, especially when Mason asked our deacon when he was allowed to kiss me. Following the rehearsal we went over to Schuman Park in Rolla where we had a grill out and got to talk and hang out with everyone. I'd post some pictures of it, but the majority of them are already on Facebook.

After the rehearsal dinner, the majority of us went back to the hotel to relax for the evening. It was great getting to see everyone who had already come in from out of town, and we spent a lot of time talking and catching up. Surprisingly enough, when I finally went to bed, I got a great night of sleep (very unlike the whole week prior), and was ready to go the next morning! Rather than go into all the details about the actual wedding day, I will simply say it was wonderful. It was definitely more than what Mason and I expected and it went very smoothly. Like I told the girls before I got ready to walk down the aisle, I wish there was a way to bottle up the many emotions I (and I'm sure Mason) felt throughout the day. It was wonderful, and I know Mason and I had a blast. We can't thank everyone enough who helped to make our special day so successful.

This is one of the many pictures our amazing photographer took. She was fabulous and we can't wait to see the rest!

It's official, I'm a "Heavin." : )

Goodbye, Elantra..

A sad day has come. I had to say goodbye to my Elantra. Almost two weeks ago, Mason and I got into a pretty serious accident. We were coming home from Springfield on I-44 from a little pre-wedding shopping. There was a car on the side of the road, which we later found out had run out of gas, as the driver was one of the first responders. Mason went to merge into the left lane after looking in the side mirror. Unfortunately, he did not look over his shoulder because there was a Jeep Cherokee in his blind spot. By the time we realized what was happening we had already hit once. We believe that it startled the other driver so much that she swerved left and back right again, and we were positioned so that she was pushing us down the road nearly sideways. Keep in mind this was at 75 miles per hour. Luckily we didn't roll the car and Mason was able to maintain enough control to drive smoothly into the median. As we were coming to a stop we looked back and saw that the other driver's car was rolling. It rolled probably 2-3 times before it finally came to a stop. We called 911 while Mason went to check on the other driver. She was able to get out of the car and only had a few minor cuts, which is a miracle since she wasn't wearing a seat belt. The ambulance and other responders came shortly, and they took the lady to the hospital just as a precaution. As far as we know, she is doing fine, and didn't have anything other than some cuts and bruises, thankfully. We still felt pretty bad about it since we were technically the ones that caused the accident.

After assessing the damages to our car and realizing it was going to be totaled out, we found out it would cost a minimum of $2300 to fix the basic necessities (two new doors, new front fender, tires, and alignment). By the time insurance would go through we would probably have to pay roughly $500 or $600 out of pocket. Since it was a 2001 with nearly 140,000 miles on it, we decided to look around a little first. We found a 2006 Cobalt with only 84,000 miles on it. Yes, we will have to pay a little bit more than it would cost to get the Elantra fixed, but long-term it will hopefully be a better choice and last a little longer. I told Mason if he wrecked anymore cars, he was getting a bicycle to ride to work. He agreed. :)

As I write this, a lady is coming from State Farm to take the title, which is pretty sad, but it is what it is. It's been real, Elantra, but it's time to move on to bigger and greener pastures.

Aside from the craziness that Mason and I always seem to stir up, we are only 4 days from "The Big Day!" I can't believe it. Other than the whole car situation, I'm doing pretty well as far as stress is concerned. Even Mason and Duane have chipped in a little to help with cream cheese mints for the reception. What studs!

Gus helped too! :)

We are just excited to see everyone, have a great day, and then spend the following week relaxing in Mexico! See many of you soon!! :)