Let me explain...there is too much, let me just sum up!

Where do I start? Okay, a picture montage of the things I need to catch up on. It will be quick...again.

Nick's step-sister, Jessie, came to Dallas for work, so she stayed with us an extra day. It was SO nice to spend some time with her. We haven't seen her since November, and things were so crazy that there that we didn't get to spend too much time talking. So, it was nice to have her with us for a little while. We went to dinner at Joe T. Garcia's and shopped at the Stockyards. Loved having her here!!

I am now in Nashville, TN. Here is a picture of Stefanie and Matt at the hospital as we were getting settled. Stef's water broke around 4:30 on the day I arrived. Michaela waited for me to get here before she decided to make her appearance. We went to the hospital and tried to settle in for what we knew could be a long night. I don't think any of us were prepared for just how long the night would be though. Stef really wanted to have a natural birth and delivery. The doctor was totally okay with that, but she thought it best to put a time limit on it. So, if nothing had changed by 5am, then Stef agreed to begin petocin. After a long night, the drug was administered and then her contractions gained in strength and frequency. She was a trooper, but after sixteen hours of labor, she was tired and weak. She talked with her day nurse, Elaine, and they agreed that an epidural would be ideal at this point. Stef needed to rest before she had to push this little girl out of her body. It was the best decision she ever made! She was able to rest and relax a little before pushing.

Here is the result of all Stefanie's hard work. She is here, and we love her very much! She listened very intently to me today while I told her all about the family to which she now belongs. She is a lucky little lady to have the parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and great's that she has! A new era and a new generation of this family has begun, and I feel so blessed to be here and a part of her life. We have much to be thankful for!

I'm An Aunt!

She's here and she is GORGEOUS! More to come.

Nashville

This is where I am right now. This is where I will be for a little while. I have lots and lots to catch up on as far as posting is concerned, but that will have to wait for another day. I have finished a book and almost finished another. We had more company, and now there is this whole Nashville, waiting for Michaela to arrive thing. We will have lots of fun stories to share, I am sure.

Mom Halasz Comes to Visit!

Nick's mom came to visit us in April, and I cannot believe I haven't blogged about it yet. She was here about a month ago, and she was in Texas for a week. She spent the first few days of her stay with J.B. and Savanna in Hamlin (I think) TX. We went and picked her up for the last leg and spent a few days just hanging out in DFW.

We went to the Galleria Mall to do a little shopping. It is a huge mall with a skaing rink at the lowest level. Nick has been saying for months that we need to go there, just to see it, and this was the perfect opportunity for him to do that and show part of the city off to his mom as well.

I think we took the majority of the pictures from that weekend while we were there, and I have to thank Cindy for sending these to me. Oddly, I didn't take a single picture the entire weekend! Not that I didn't have good intentions. We went to the movies. We went to downtown Fort Worth and spent some time roaming around Barnes and Noble. I love that place! I could live there.

This is what we spent the majority of the week doing though! We relaxed a lot and just enjoyed the time with family!

Our First Anniversary

What a whirlwind of a first anniversary we had! I am beginning to think that the first few days in May are not really good luck for us! Nick and I started to plan our anniversary weekend at least six weeks ago. We decided that it would be really nice if we could find a cabin to rent for the weekend, take the dogs with us, and just disappear into the wilderness! So, we talked to a guy who rents out his cabin, and made reservations. We were supposed to contact him a few days later with payment information, but for two, almost three, weeks we could not contact him via phone or email. Both really frustrated with this, we decided to scrap the idea and just go camping. Well, we have been talking about buying camping equipment for a long time, so with a gift for our anniversary, we went and got a tent and some sleeping bags and made a reservation at Eisenhower State Park on Lake Texoma near Denison, TX.

So, Saturday morning, May 1st, we woke up and started to pack up the Tribute. Note here that I was in a little bit of pain when I first woke up, but I didn't think anything of it. We were so busy that I just pushed my uncomfortable left side pain to the back of my mind. We headed out around ten, and after several stops along the way, we made it to our campsite and got all set up!

We took the dogs on a little hike. We played some games. We hung out and relaxed. And all the while, the pain in my side worsened and worsened. This picture is probably the last time I smiled the entire day. Nick made a killer dinner, and I built a fire. After dinner, we tried to relax, but I couldn't get comfortable or sit still. Nick kept asking me if I wanted to go home, and I really didn't. I just wanted to curl up in our tent with him and sleep. I finally gave in and told him that maybe I would be happier in my own bed. Then I lost my dinner in the bushes and Nick packed up our campsite in about ten minutes.
We made it to the Texoma Medical Center and checked in to the ER. After seeing the nurse and then a doctor, he decided that I had a gastrointestinal infection, gave me antibiotics, and sent me on my way. I hardly slept the entire night, and I threw up anything I put into my system.
Sunday was not much better, but by the end of the day, I thought I was getting better. I was wrong! Sleepless night #2 was just as miserable as the night before, so Monday morning, I asked Nick to come home after his morning meeting to take me back to the ER.
This time, we checked in and the nurse and the doctors were much more on top of things. They took blood, gave me some pain killers, and ordered a CAT scan. This was a totally new expereince for me, and the technician who did my scan thought he would have a little bit of fun at my expense. As he was adding iodine to my IV, he asked if I had ever had this done before. When I replied that this expereince was totally new for me, he laughed and said, "Well, you never forget your first time." Then I proceeded to look completely shocked and my face turned red as I tried to figure out whether I had actually peed my pants or not. Of course, I had not, but holy smokes! Why does it do that?
Anyway, I had a kidney stone. I was put on meds, and after another miserable day yesterday, I am much better today. This is good because today is a busy, busy day! Glad to be feeling better. I hope it continues!

My Soap Box!

I feel the need to rant and rave a little bit. I have this issue, and it is what I used to tell my students is my Soap Box Issue--meaning that it is one of the few things I would preach to them about. The topic at hand is all about how we treat people. Perhaps all those years of reading the Golden Rule poster actually rubbed off on me, so thank you, Mom. I am beginning to ramble, so let me get to the point.
As part of my new responsibilities at church, I am working a little bit with the Young Women. We all know that being a teenage person today is challenging enough, so why is it that they have to make it harder for one another? The ways in which we treat one another, simply just as fellow members of the human race is so important. People are mean and hateful and hurtful to one another, and there is absolutely no reason for it. None! Where does the responsibility fall to teach this simple idea to the next generation? Why are they not getting it? Why does it bother me so much? How am I going to instill the love of everyone into my own children when the world continually tears one another down?
At the end of my Senior year in High School, I had an unusual expereince. In AP English one day, a girl who not many people liked or were nice to pulled me aside before class one day. She had a gift bag in her hands, and she handed me the bag and said, "I just wanted to give you this as a 'thank-you' for being so nice to me when no one else was." I had no idea what to say to that. Honestly, I never remember going out of my way to be nice to this girl. I just remember that the lesson of that Golden Rule forever cemented into my heart and head that day. "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you." Where is that in our world?
I am not perfect in this. I stick my foot in my mouth more often than not. Everyone knows that I can't hide my emotions. I don't like every person on the planet. I don't think we are meant to. Other people are part of the big test of life. It is how we deal with others that counts. It is how we treat them when we are angry. It is how we treat them when we are hurt and upset. It is how we treat them when we have hurt and upset them. Our attitude towards others is important.
I am not saying that anyone should roll over and take a beating from someone who doesn't understand how to treat people. We have a right to stick for ourselves, to be leaders, to tell others that it is not okay to treat me in such and such a way. It is okay to be an authority figure and expect that others will treat you with the respect demanded by your station. It is not okay to treat others badly because of that station or position, however. Some of the best leaders live the Golden Rule very well. So, share it. Spread it. Remind your friends, neighbors, children, students, strangers that the Golden Rule still exists. That it still applies. That it can work miracles in someone's day.

I Miss This...

I am feeling a little sentimental and homesick today, so I thought I would post about all the wonderful people and things I love and miss back home. I am hoping that this visual journey will remind me of all the wonderful things I have from the past and present...then maybe I will not be so...pensive? sad? melancholy? Let's see.

In no particular order...

I am not sure if I used this picture because I miss my parents or because I miss school. I do love school and learning, but I miss my mom and dad a lot. I was looking at pictures from Holly's graduation last week, and I love how much my dad smiles in pictures when we are in cap and gown. I think he might be proud of us. My mom just radiates happiness all the time, but I love pictures of her laughing. I am blessed by some truly wonderful parents.

Here they are. Amber and Kristie. These two are responsible for my having some of the best times I have ever had! There are lots and lots of memories associated with one, or both, of them. Our lives are so very different now and we are so very far apart. However, I would not be the person I am today without them, and I miss them both like crazy! I think about them both everyday.

I seriously love everything about this picture, but it represents the mountains. I love them, and I miss them. How could you not with a view like that? I used to think that I didn't take for granted the views I was so blessed to have everyday. I thought that I appreciated enough the gloriousness that is Colorado. Now, I am not so sure that I did. I think a person has to miss something to fully appreciate what it is that they loved about a place to begin with. I miss hiking. I miss the view. You have to search for a view here, and while I am learning to find them, I miss the ease with which I could admire the handiwork of our Creator.

I miss these people. I have some amazing grandparents, and I hate that growing up has meant that I am farther away from them. They are pretty incredible.

I think that the Konopka's are amazing people. They have just been on my mind a lot lately, and I miss being able to hang out for dinner, or dance all night. I am pretty lucky that they are still a part of my life after all these years! Thanks, guys, for being awesome friends!

There is nothing to say here except, I miss you! I love you! I wish I was there to help you with all the changes going on right now, and I swear...I am going to call you tonight! XOXO

I just can't wait to come home and see all the changes that have happened in your life! The new place! We need a dinner night. I certainly miss having those nights with you. You are incredible, Jen!

Sometimes when your life doesn't take the direction you expect and you are thrown into the unknown, there are people who turn out to be the BEST thing that could have ever happened to you. When I went to work at PVHS, these people turned out to be the best thing that could have happened to me. Now that even more changes are happening in their world, I have reflected a lot on how lucky we all were to have become friends.

While this appears to just be a really cute picture of me, it is actually a picture I took while setting up my classroom last year. I miss it. I miss teaching. I miss having a classroom. I miss having students. I miss the paycheck too, but being a teacher is awesome and challenging and hard!

Yep, I even miss summer camp...not because I miss working all summer long, but I miss the people I worked with. We had some crazy summers, and I certainly miss the staff dinners. :-)

Finally, I miss every single one of these people every day of my life! Sometimes I feel like beth does in Little Women. She never wanted to see things change or for her sisters to grow up and move on and away. I don't feel that way exactly. My siblings are happy and their lives are interesting and exciting and fun. I miss them because I can't see them everyday. That is the hard part. We are still as close as ever, and I know that this is something that will not change. My family rocks!