It has been a very long time since I have updated, but I'm back again without much new to report.

We survived the holidays. We didn't go anywhere.....my family all came to us, and we had seen DH's family at Thanksgiving. Not traveling was nice, but since we weren't, DH didn't really take any time off, and that wasn't so nice! Maybe we will try something different next year.....

2010 has been treating us well so far, although we have had a lot more snow and cold weather than average and certainly more than I would like! We have had three snow days already....hopefully no more! My February is always pretty busy on the weekends due to choral festivals and contests, but as of today, I am through the worst of it, with only one more contest (AKA Saturday that I have to work) on March 20. We finished our second grading period on Friday (we have trimesters rather than semesters where I teach) and knowing that I am in the final third of the school year starting on Monday is quite a psychological boost! "Five weeks until spring break" has a nice ring to it, too!

The boys are all doing well. Luke finished his basketball season and really gained a lot of experience and skill. I think he will try to play again next year. He is not doing a spring sport (HALLELUJAH!) and I took advantage of the lull in his schedule by signing him up for guitar lessons starting tomorrow. Joel is currently on the middle school swim team, which is huge, and because of that, the coach made the decision that 6th graders only swim in exhibition heats at home meets, which lightens our schedule a little bit also. He is signed up for soccer in the spring and is planning on running track as well. Nathan is in a little basketball league that practices once a week and has games on Saturdays. It has been good for him. He is also signed up for spring soccer.

DH is as busy as ever, although he has finished his two year term as OB/Gyn Chief, so that is one less meeting for him, which is nice. He was very, very busy with surgeries at the end of the year, but things have been much lighter since then. I imagine he and his partner will be pretty busy this fall, though, due to all of the cold snowy weather we have had! He and I are planning a trip for this summer to celebrate our 20th anniversary.....I am really excited about it! We finally have a week in July chosen, and childcare worked out, thanks to my *wonderful* MIL. We haven't quite settled on where we are going, although we are very interested in Grenada. For me, the planning is almost as much fun as the trip!

The boys (and by extension, moi) will be pretty busy in June. Luke will most likely participate in a summer basketball league, and the other two will be on summer swim team. I have heard that the Parks Dept. is planning on starting soccer later in the spring than usual, which means it will extend into summer as well, so there may be some conflicts there that will have to be worked out. Luke will be spending a week at camp at the end of June, and then will be going on a mission trip to Jamaica at the end of July. I am hoping we can steal some time away as a family, maybe in Chicago for a few days, although we have a nice spring break trip planned as well, so who knows.

I guess the biggest development lately is that Luke has a girlfriend. Her name is Jessica and she is really a sweet girl. She was not in choir, so she was never one of my students, but I remember hearing only good things about her, and from what I have seen so far, they are all true. She is about 5 ft. tall, which is comical because Luke is 6'4. They don't get to hang out very often because Luke has been busy with basketball and she dances with a local studio and has class almost every night. They had one class together last trimester, but none in the trimester coming up. Usually they get together once a weekend here or at her house to watch a movie/eat. We have gotten to know her family pretty well, and we seem to have similar values as far as I can tell, which is nice. Her dad is a pilot for Fed Ex, but grew up Amish, which I think is fascinating. He is really interesting to talk to and a very nice guy. I guess I am comfortable with the relationship as it exists right now.....honestly, the hardest thing about it is knowing that it probably won't last, because I really, really like Jessica more each time I am around her!

Work for me is good, probably the best year of teaching that I have ever had. My principal is not anyone's favorite (poor communicator, the kind of guy that talks a good game but doesn't follow through.....the current nickname for him is "Billy Mays") but doesn't have much effect on the day-to-day workings of the school and especially of my classroom, so all in all he is pretty benign. Many districts around us have announced cuts to their budgets, but so far we don't know what the future holds for us. I think I am safe in assuming I won't be moving to full-time status anytime soon, which is fine with me!

I am going to close by attaching some photos that I have been meaning to post. The first few are of my new furniture, which we got in time for Thanksgiving, and the last is a picture proving that Luke is now taller than DH....the difference is even more pronounced now.

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