vroom vroom...

well, life's been a crazy busy roller coaster these days!
i've been subbing mostly every day, and then trying to make cards in the evenings, and still trying to relax sometime in there too! haha.
but our big news for this week - WE GOT A CAR!!!!! its nothing too pretty, but it was a GREAT deal, so i'm proud of it. its a 93 toyota corolla. i bought it today and drove it home! (after i got insurance, of course). =)
here's a few pictures so you can see:




i was pretty nervous to drive on the left side of the road, but so far its been ok (all like 1 mile that i drove around base and back to our apartment! haha). it will definitely be nice to have as it was about 40 degrees this morning while i was walking to school! the winter weather is starting to set in, so i'm thankful that the Lord provided us with this car at just the right time.

other than that, not too much to tell. i'll be doing a craft show on december 1st on base, i got asked to sell some of my cards there, so we will see what comes of it - it should be a fun time, i hope! and i am going to decorate our christmas tree this weekend and am excited for that.

they really are into christmas here in sasebo! more than i thought they would be! when i was walking around out in town a few nights ago, i was pleasantly surprised to hear christmas music playing and see lights everywhere:




and i bought this cause i was feeling festive: (hehe)


ben's still out at sea, so keep praying for him. we're praying they are home in time for christmas, and we are looking forward to spending the holiday together. =) hard to believe this time last year there was a ring under the tree for me! much has changed, and it's neat to see where God has brought us in just a year's time. hope you all are doing well and remembering all the things to be thankful for this week. i sure am thankful for all of you! =) happy thanksgiving from japan!

cards galore...

so i finished with my big order of christmas cards this weekend! woo hoo!
and here are some of my favorites that i've made over the past few weeks...









and here's one i made last night for a non-christmas order, too: =)


hope everyone had a nice weekend! i'm enjoying having today off of school for veterans day... the only thing that could make it better is if ben was home!! =/

big news!

well hello friends!
i have been waiting til ben and i could talk and make the final decision before i shared with all of you... but this week while i was subbing at the elementary school (on base), the principal interviewed me tuesday (on the spot - caught me totally offguard!) and wednesday the HR office called and offered me the job! -- a full-time position to start in january, because the teacher is leaving in december. so after freaking out and shedding some tears and sending up lots of prayers and talking to my sweet husband and my parents, we have decided that it's a great opportunity that the Lord kind of just laid in my lap, so i'm going to take it! i am so thankful that ben and i were able to talk yesterday! and they wanted my answer by today, so i told them this morning that i accept (even though i'm scared out of my mind!!) =) i really feel like the Lord blessed me with this, because i absolutely HATE interviewing, but i didnt have any time to stress over it because she interviewed me on the spot without any warning, and then they called the next day to offer me the job! i know it's going to be a huge learning opportunity for me, but i'm thankful in how the Lord worked out all the details. =) so yeah! you guys can pray for me as i start preparing to take over. it's a combined 5th/6th grade class, and i will hopefully get to meet the kids and see the class and talk with the current teacher sometime in the next 2 weeks while i'm there subbing. =) God is good, and this will DEFINITELY keep me busy this spring when ben is gone again. just wanted to share with you all! now the next thing is for us to buy a car so we dont have to keep walking to work everyday! hehe.

ps: i know you've seen this picture, but i think like it portrays quite well how i feel about this big new job and undertaking! haha. =D


hope everyone enjoyed their extra hour of sleep!!

week 3...

3 weeks almost down, about 6 more to go... and well, its been a busy and hectic week!
i went in for my first day of subbing at the elementary school on tuesday, and before i left that day had already been asked to sub wednesday and thursday of this week, plus a 2 week special ed placement for an aide who's having surgery on her wrist! so between now and thanksgiving, i will be at school everyday! =) but what a blessing, because i've really enjoyed it... and even gotten over my intimidation of doing high school. (i did high school science and PE this week!) i told my mom that i keep forgetting... i keep getting older, but they stay the same age! haha. =)

also i've been keeping busy making cards! i have gotten a few smaller orders to work on in the midst of the 200 card order, and have really enjoyed it! this is one of my favorites of all the ones i've done so far:


and, i'm writing this blog to you on our new DSL connection! for those of you who have tried to talk to us on the phone over the last few months, you know it's been spotty at best. =/ but this connection already seems to be quite a bit faster than the cable we had here, so i am so thankful! it's definitely worth the extra cost if it means we get to talk to all you, who we love!

ben and i haven't had much of a chance to talk this week because either the ship phones/email have been down, or our connection made it hard for him to hear me... so that's been a bummer. and work is still super busy and stressful for him, and he keeps getting woken up in the day time and then having to stay up from then until his night shift is over. so pray for strength and rest for him, if you think about it. he's such a trooper and does such a good job. i'm so proud of him. =)

well, just wanted to update! hope everyone has a nice weekend!