Travel Blessings

This post is mainly for me so I can look back in the years to come and remember all of the places Erik & I were able to visit while we lived in Indo. And I thought my "followers" may enjoy a recap as well. We have truly been blessed to be able to have the means to travel to all of these wonderful places and we will look back on these trips and be so thankful for the things we saw and who we were able to see them with. Praise God from whom all blessings flow!

Year One
Trip 1 {August 2011}: Bali

Our first trip to Bali we packed everything in. I remember being so thrilled to see the blue sky and just relax and not think about work. We went with Chris and Katie and also met up with our friend Kaitlyn a few times. 

Highlights: Seeing the Indian ocean for the first time, making the first of many wonderful CAKE memories (favorite of the trip: Katie and I laughing hysterically at our husbands attempting to catch a gecko-aka klotok), McDonald's delivered poolside, bike riding through Ubud, snorkeling for the first time, and many romantic dinners at sunset on the beach. 

Trip 2 {November 2011}: Roslin Orphanage in Kupang, West Timur, Indonesia

For this holiday, we had the wonderful opportunity to visit an orphanage with 8 other teachers from our school. We took them supplies they were in need of but spent a majority of the time just hanging out with kiddos and helping around the orphanage. It was one of those wonderful, and yet at the same time, sad experiences. Leaving was super hard, but I am so thankful we were able to go. Indonesian orphans will always have a very special place in my heart.
Highlights: Hanging out with baby Joel (pictured), teaching the kids to sing He Knows My Name and other worship songs, rocking precious babies to sleep, and watching the kiddos fall in love with Erik. 

Trip 3 {December 2011}: Singapore

For our first Christmas holiday (before Christmas itself) we ventured over to the one and only Singapore. It was our first time out of Indonesia, and we were a little bit excited about it. We have visited Singapore 2 more times since then - we LOVE it! For this trip, we were able to meet up many days with our friends Ben and Taryn. I will never forget being able to speak to a waitress in English and have her understand me for the first time in about 5 months.
Highlights: Fresh air, Universal studios, the Singapore Zoo and the Night Safari (even in the rain it was still wonderful), and Chili's!!! 

Trip 4 {December 2011}: Borneo

After we came back from Singapore, we celebrated Christmas at home in Jakarta, and then we set off an adventure like no other down a river on the island of Borneo/Kalimantan. We went with Chris & Katie, our friends Sam and Heather and their kiddos, as well some teachers from another SPH school. We sailed down the river for 3 nights and saw lots of orangutans, monkeys, birds, and lots of cool plants. It was definitely an adventure we will never forget!
Highlights: Seeing orangutans up close and personal, playing card games on the boat (jungle speed!!), the breeze from cruising down the river, and lots of great chill time with Chris, Katie, Sam and Heather. One of Erik's favorite memories was taking a jungle shower in the rain! :) 

Trip 5 {April 2012}: Turkey and Greece

This is probably one of our favorite trips. It was so hard to choose just a few pictures because everything we did, saw, and experienced was amazing. We heard from our friend Kailtlyn (who also went on the trip) that a teacher from another SPH campus was going to lead this trip- so we jumped right in on the opportunity! We spent the week following Paul's 2nd missionary journey including places like Istanbul, Antioch, Colossae, Corinth, and Athens.
Highlights: It's so hard to choose just a few but here goes .. feeling the fresh air that was so cold and wonderful it chapped my lips, wearing a sweater and scarf for the first time in 8 months, Turkish food, hearing Dan preach from a passage in the Bible while we are sitting in the place the story actually occurred, did I say fresh air already??, making more memories with Chris & Katie which include "sneaking" out to stick our feet in/swim in the Mediterranean Sea and celebrating Erik's birthday in Greece at a restaurant with a view of the Parthenon, and laughing so hard on the way back to the hotel (for no real reason at all) we were crying.

Year Two
Trip 0 {July 2012}: Narita, Japan

It doesn't really count as a "trip" so that is why I called it 0. But, it is still worth mentioning because we actually got outside of the airport on our way back to Jakarta from the US at the end of the summer. We (with Chris and Katie) explored the city (well one street) of Narita (an outlying city near Tokyo). We enjoyed some yummy Japanese food, I got to drink some Dr. Pepper, and we were able to have a good nights sleep and caught up on jet lag before getting thrown back into the busyness of work.

Trip 1 {August 2012}: Back to Bali again! 

Since we loved Bali so much, we decided to go back again for the Lebaron holiday. This time, we brought more friends! Chris, Katie, Glenn, Gretchen (new friends who had just moved to Jakarta), and our friend Madi (who I knew from Corban who had also just moved to Jakarta). Since we had been to Bali before, we enjoyed a lot of relaxing by the pool. But we were also able to enjoy some things we didn't get to see before like the lake temple. We love sharing new memories with great friends!
Highlights: Relaxing by the pool, yummy food and drinks, enjoying a coconut with Erik at the ocean temple at sunset, a sweaty but memorable trip in the back of a "truck" to Ubud. 

Trip 2 {October 2012}: Vietnam and Singapore 

For this holiday, we explored a new place and revisited Singapore. This trip was especially special because we went with Chris and Katie AND Jordan (Erik's brother)!! Jordan came and visited us for the month of October and he was able to join us and we were thrilled to travel with him! We packed a lot in to our visit. We visited the city of Hanoi, cruised (on a lot nicer boat the the one in Indo) down Halong Bay, and ended our time with a quick visit to Singapore.
Highlights: Getting to travel and explore a new place with family, Halong Bay (everything about it), laughing at the boys singing karaoke on the boat, eating at a rooftop restaurant in Hanoi with Erik and Jordan and laughing so hard, Quiznos and Subway in Singapore!  

Trip 3 {December 2012}: Australia 

This was one of our favorite trips (probably a tie with Turkey/Greece). Again, it was hard to choose just a few pictures because it was all SO amazing. We (along with our favorite travel buddies, Chris and Katie) spent close to 3 weeks exploring this wonderful place. We visited Sydney, Melbourne, and Adelaide. We were blessed in each place to have friends to stay with. We were in Adelaide (with our friends, the Cheeseman's) for Christmas and we were so thankful to be spending the holiday with a family! It was also cool to celebrate Christmas during the "summer".
Highlights: Fresh air and blue sky, seeing the Opera House, lots and lots of yummy food and drinks, the blue mountains, seeing the Stafford's, eating lunch outside a cafe on a cool side street in Melbourne, driving down the Great Ocean Road, Christmas with the Cheeseman's - they made us feel like family, and seeing lots of beautiful beaches. 

Trip 4 {May 2013}: Thailand

Thailand was my favorite Asian country that we visited. I loved the people, the sights, and the food. We traveled with our wonderful friend Lindsey (who I miss SO much) and our friend, Kris, who was visiting from the US- SO fun! This trip we visited Bangkok and Chaing Mai. We visited lots of interesting temples, ate lots of yummy food, sweated A LOT, and relaxed at our awesome hotel.
Highlights: Eating street food and enjoying coconut ice cream on Khao San Road in Bangkok, LOTS of laughing, beautiful sunsets, relaxing by our pool, our sweet hotel receptionist, and riding an elephant for the first time! 

Trip 5 {May 2013}: Bali & Yogyakarta 

Later in May, we had a long weekend so the girls took a trip to Bali to celebrate 2 of the girls who were getting married and also to say "see ya later" to some girls who were moving back to the US. While we were at the beach, Erik, Chris, and Glenn traveled to Yogyakarta to hike an active volcano! We both loved our time with our friends! :)
Highlights (for me): Bike riding (again) with matching shirts, movie marathons in the hotel, breakfast by the beach, relaxing by the pool, and a fun, yummy, "fancy" dinner out. 

Year Three
Trip 1 {August 2013}: Lombok, Indonesia

 Surprise! We actually didn't visit Bali again this time for the Lebaron holiday ... but pretty much. Lombok is an island off of Bali that we had heard many people say is a nicer, less crowded version of Bali- and they were right! After visiting, we were bummed we hadn't found this hidden gem of a place before! This time we traveled with Chris, Katie, Glenn, Gretchen, and Mike and Meg (friends from Oregon who had just moved to Jakarta). We spent a lot of time relaxing by our huge pool, laying out on the beach, snorkeling (a much better experience than before), and of course had lots of yummy food and drinks.
Highlights: Our hotel, snorkeling - we saw lots of cool fish and coral - the water was so blue, cramming 8 people + a driver + suitcases into a 8 passenger car with very little trunk space, and getting my tan on! 

Trip 2 {October 2013}: Tokyo
 

This trip was very special to us because it was the first trip that we actually took just us. Not that we don't love traveling with friends, but we were excited to get our of Jakarta just ourselves and enjoy our most favorite place- Disneyland!! Other than visiting Disney (which is what we did for 3 of the days), we explored the city of Tokyo (which I loved). The city was so organized and clean - and the food was delicious!
Highlights: Sipping a Chai Tea Latte outside while wearing a sweater, the weather, Disney (everything about it), Fantasmic, and getting to spend some quality time with my favorite person on earth. 

Trip 3 {December 2013}: Thailand, again

When trying to decide where to go for this Christmas holiday, we had a lot of options, but decided to return to Thailand! We did some of the same things (in Bangkok) but also had lots of new adventures like staying in a Bungalow in the mountains, visiting beautiful waterfalls, riding elephants, rafting down a river, and exploring the quaint city of Chaing Mai on our own motor bike. This time we traveled with Mike, Meg, Stephen, and Madi.
Highlights: Ummm riding an elephant bare back, view from our bungalow porch, sweating a lot less than when we visited in May, and a breakfast date every morning  in Chiang Mai with just my hubby and me.

Trip 4 {April 2014}: Paris

Another one of our favorite trips that will be hard to top. We were blessed with the opportunity to lead/chaperon a trip of grade 8-11 art students to Paris. Even though we were "working", it was still a great break and we were able to see so many places and we enjoyed spending time with each other and the students.
Highlights: Eiffel Tower, Versailles, Monet's Garden, the weather, the blue sky, the food, Disneyland, and hanging out with some pretty cool students! :) 

We have also spent time exploring our area over the years. We love exploring Jakarta and the surrounding areas and have come to love many things about this place we have called home for the past 3 years. 

Pictures from Bandung, Lippo Karawaci county club (we spent a few 3 day weekends there just relaxing), and Kemang. 

Phew! If you're still with me- glad you hung in there! I am overwhelmed with thankfulness as I reflect on all of the wonderful places we have been blessed to see throughout our time here. Traveling will definitely be something we will both miss about living overseas and we will always treasure this special time in our lives. Thank you Lord!

Bye for now <3

PS. I left out our trip to China mainly because it wasn't on a school holiday and because I already have a whole blog dedicated to the trip. If you haven't read it - check it out here: Maria's Big House of Hope

The Last Few Months

Well, it's been a while since I have written last and I thought it was time to catch everyone one up on what's been going in the life of the Fry's. It's been a jam packed last few months.

Christmas break was full of relaxing, special time with each other and friends, and a great, memorable trip to Thailand. We decided to spend the first few days of break in Jakarta and we were so glad we did. It was nice to chill at home after a busy few weeks at school. We also got to enjoy a special Christmas Eve service with our sweet church family- and the Trammell's (Chris' parents) were here visiting so we got to see them. On Christmas morning after we celebrated with some small gifts and stockings, we headed to visit Thailand with our friends Mike, Meg, Stephen, and Madi. It was such a fun trip. We saw some beautiful temples, had some yummy food, stayed in the middle of the mountains in a bungalow, and rode some elephants. It was definitely a memorable Christmas!!

{check out tons more pics on Facebook if you haven't seen them already}

After we got back from Thailand, we had a few days to rest and unpack and then Lauren arrived!!! It was such a sweet time with her. She was able to stay here for about a month so she really got to experience life with us which was so special. She spent plenty of time walking around Kemang with us, coming into school to spend time with my students (they really loved her), watched some basketball games, hung out with our friends, and we spent lots of time hanging out together at home. Besides just hanging out in our area, we were able to take a special trip to a nearby(ish) city called Bandung for La's birthday. We stayed in a cute hotel, saw the area, and visited the popular volcano there. It was so much fun- and really memorable. The time Lauren got to spend with us will always have a special place in my heart. I am so thankful she was able to come. What a blessing!!

Thinking back, it really feels like just yesterday Lauren was here. February has flown by! I can NOT believe next week is the last week of the month. We have been crazy busy with lots of different things. School is super busy for Erik especially. A few weeks ago, Erik's basketball team finished up the official season with the league we joined this year. The boys did a great job and ended up placing 5th in the league- which is great considering this is our first year participating in the league- the team has come so far! Even though the official season has ended, the boys (and other sports teams) are still practicing and playing games that are usually organized and put together by Erik (lots of work and details). So, Erik definitely stays busy with planning and organizing all of that stuff and also teaching PE classes on top of that. In Grade 1, we have been busy with reading month (fun special events and dress up days), Valentine's day fun, and other random fun stuff. My kiddos have been 1st grade for more than half of the year now, so they are closer to 2nd grade than they are to Kindergarten anymore, and I can really see their growth! :) Even though we both stay busy with school stuff, and it can be easy to complain about it, we both love our jobs and God is doing awesome things in our school and in the lives of our students and we are so thankful to be a part of it! 

And of course another HUGE part of the last few months has been the amazing fact that I am carrying a human being in my belly! :) :) It is such an exciting time and we still really can't believe it's real. When we saw the little shrimp for the first time, we were both elated. What an awesome thing to experience. We also got to hear the heartbeat and we saw it move around. I am about 13 weeks now, and we love keeping up with how the baby is growing inside of me - right now baby is about the size of a plum. So much fun and an amazing miracle to be a part of! The most fun was telling my kiddos, they were SO excited for me.

As Erik and I begin to think about having a family, and moving back to the States, it is an exciting and sweet time. But at the same time a little scary and sad. It's weird thinking about having less than 4 months left here and if it's anything like the last few months, I have a feeling it's going to fly by. In April, we are going on a trip with the high school art students to Europe (we are SO excited). It will be our last big holiday and we are very much looking forward to it- and how special that we get to spend it with each other and students - in EUROPE! :) We are still praying hard about where God wants us to be when we move back to the States. Erik is in the process now of searching and applying for jobs. So please join us in praying that we would have wisdom and that God would lead us. It's a little scary not knowing exactly where we are going to be, especially since we have a baby to think about. But we are trusting (most of the time, haha) and we are super excited to see what God is going to do. 

Well, I think that's about it for now. Thanks for sticking with me until here - and thanks as always for your prayers, love and encouragement. We love you all! 

Bye for now <3 

Decisions, Faith, and Bitter-sweetness

I am not sure really how to start this blog really. I debated even writing one about this to be honest because it is kind of hard to know what to say at this point. But I am excited to share with you all what God is doing and I am very excited about our future! :)
As many of you know, our decision to stay in Indo for another year or not was to be made earlier this month. We had basically been talking and praying about this since last December when we decided to stay again for this year. Thank you to family and friends who prayed with us and for us for the past year about this current decision. So, through much prayer and many long discussions, we feel that God is calling us back to the States, meaning these next 6 months will be our last in Indo (at least for now) :). It was not an easy decision as I'm sure you can imagine. We love so many things about our jobs and life here, but we feel strongly that our time here is coming to an end and we feel loads of peace about our decision which I am so thankful for. This is not the time to start talking about all of the things I am going to miss about this place (that time will come). Like I said, we still have 6 months here that we are pumped about. It's not the time for goodbye's yet and I am not thinking about them now. But I know these next months will be full of bitter-sweet moments. We are SO excited to move back to the States to be closer to family and friends and to experience all the little things about the US that we have missed so much (fresh air, Taco Bell, and driving for example). But we are sad to leave this country that we will have called home for the past 3 years. We love  many things about Indonesia - but mostly we will miss this school, our students, our church, and the wonderful, life-long friends we have made here. I know that we won't be able to get through the next few months without the Lord's help, so would you please join us in praying for these things ...

• That we will finish out this year strong. As cheesy as that sounds - we really want to continue to pour into our jobs and students here for the next 6 months. Please pray that we won't 'check out' and that God would continue to use us for the remainder of our time here. 
• Jobs! Obviously, we need those. Well, mostly Erik. Please pray that jobs (PE preferably) would come open and that things with applying and interviewing wouldn't be too complicated. We are open to different places - so if you know of any openings, please let us know! :) 
• Details. In order to be qualified for teaching jobs we have to have up to date teaching licenses and because we have been here for the past 3 years, we some extra steps to go through to make sure we have everything we need to teach back in the States. Please pray that those little details would fall into place and we wouldn't have to be too stressed out worrying about all of those little things. 
• Faith and trust. We are stepping into the unknown which isn't my favorite. I like to have a plan and as of right now we have no "plan" at all. We believe that God is in control, but sometimes I easily forget and I try to take control and then I get overwhelmed and stressed. Please pray that we could continue to trust in God's sovereignty even if/when things seem difficult, sad, or stressful.

Words can't express how thankful I am for those of you who have supported and encouraged us, and prayed for us through this season of our life. And I have no doubt that you will continue to do so and we are so blessed by and thankful for that.

This verse will always be a favorite of mine, and it has really encouraged Erik and I through this time. We truly have sensed "God's wholeness" and I could say it again and again that God is SO good all the time. And all the time God is SO good ...

"Don't fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God's wholeness. everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It's wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life." {Philippians 4:6-7; The Message} 

Bye for now <3

Service Week & Thanksgiving

This last week, as you may know, was service week at our school. All of the students from K-12 were involved in serving others somehow. The older students went off campus around the Kemang area and out to serve others and build relationships. Erik lead a group of 9th graders out to a place called Kupang. They spent the week in an orphanage and nursing home. He returns later tonight and so far I have heard many positive things about his week and I am looking forward to hearing more details about what God did during their week there... We also had lots of fun in my class learning about what it means to serve others! :) Here is how our week in 1st grade looked {warning: this blog contains mass amounts of adorable pictures}

On Monday, all of the 1st grade classes (3 classes) met with some Kindy students and read to them. We talked about being good examples and what it means to show service in this way. 

 

Throughout the week we talked about what service means and how as 6 year old's we can still serve others. In our class, we focused on serving the cleaning staff at our school. We made cards for them and spent some time in the kitchen baking bars to give to them. The students had a hard time at first understanding why they didn't get any of the bars we made - but they were really excited about giving them to the cleaners when the time came. I love watching my students beginning to grasp the fact that everything isn't about them. They were sincerely excited about serving others in this way, and I hope and pray that attitude continues throughout their lives!

Getting ready to serve what we made to the cleaners ... 

We also spent time during the week talking about Thanksgiving and being thankful. We talked about the story of the 10 lepers in the Bible and the kids took time to think about all of the things they have to be thankful for. It's very easy for my students (and myself) to take for granted what we have, but I was proud to see them think of the many things they have to be thankful for.

On Thursday, we celebrated Thanksgiving! The kids got to wear "fall" colors and our wonderful class parents made us a yummy Thanksgiving lunch to enjoy with all of the Grade 1 students. It was lots of fun!

After the yummy lunch, parents were invited into the classroom to make a craft together. We were packed! :)

Today (Friday) we wrapped up the week by reflecting on what we learned. We also spent time decorating our class for Christmas - one of my favorite things to do! {I mean it IS the only thing you should be doing after Thanksgiving day, right?!}

It was a tiring but fun and sweet week with my kiddos. I am so thankful for my job and for my wonderful co-workers and students! Thanks for continued prayers- we have 3 weeks left until Christmas break! Time is flying and we are loving life and so blessed! We love you all! 

Bye for now <3

Big Girl Decisions Part II

It's Sunday in Jakarta and we just got finished Skyping with the Fry fam. Last year, I dreaded Sunday's. I still have some rough Sunday's this year too, but they aren't near as bad. This year our wonderful church added a Saturday night service that we have attended regularly and so that has made Sunday's a relaxing, Skyping, sleeping in late, breakfast cooking, watching football kind of day {War Eagle btw}. Which is what we need. And this Sunday is even better, because we have a day off on Tuesday- so it doesn't make Monday seem so bad.

Anyway, as we were Skyping and catching up with the Fry's I realized that there is much going on in our lives right now. I have been wanting to blog about what is going on in our lives and hearts for a few weeks, but it is a little hard to talk about at this point because final decisions haven't been made officially yet. I will do my best to explain the decision process we are going through at this time, but bare with me as I may be a little vague.

Last year at about this time, I posted this blog: Big Girl Decisions. If you didn't read it, check it out. We were at a very different point in our decision making process last year. And even though this year we are feeling led differently than we were at this time last year, there are still hard and big decisions we are praying about and making, and we are feeling some of those same emotions we were feeling last year at this time. For those of you who aren't aware of the process, we sign a year by year contract. We sign our contract before the Christmas holiday (around December 14th). So as we are coming up on this big decision, here are some things you can be praying for us and with us about:

First at foremost we are seeking wisdom. We believe that there may not be a "right" or "wrong" decision in this circumstance, but we do believe strongly that God has a plan for us and we want to do what is best. Our first desire is to glorify God, so whether we stay here or move back to the States, please pray that our desire would be to honor God. It's easy to let emotions and desires (which aren't necessarily bad) seep in and cloud our decision making process. Not that we aren't letting our desires help us make our decision, but we just want to make sure that we are seeking God first throughout the process.

Be praying for the remainder of our year here. This big decision is overwhelming and exciting but we don't want it to take away from the moment we are living now. We want to be all here. We believe God has us where he has us now for a reason, and we don't want to forget that.

Once our decision about staying or going is made for sure, I will be able to ask for more specific prayer requests. I wanted to let friends and family know where we are at now. I know that even though this blog is not specific, that many of you will join us in praying. It is exciting and scary not knowing exactly what is next for us. God is working in our lives and we are excited about our next stage in life and ministry wherever that may be.

We love you all. Bye for now <3

A Letter to Teenage Girls

I am usually not one to blog about my opinions. It's not that I think it's not good to blog about opinions. I think it is mostly because I am insecure. I care wayyy too much what others think about me. And putting my thoughts and opinions about something on the internet makes me very vulnerable. But this topic has continued to be pressing me and I feel like I just need to get my thoughts out there. My hope and prayer is that this will encourage and challenge young girls. I am not claiming to be an expert in relationships or love, but I remember what it's like to be a Christian teenage girl in this generation {I have only not been a teenager for 5 years} and I hope I can offer some advice. So here goes ...

Dear teenage girl,

The first thing I want you to know is that you are created by a loving maker and you are beautiful. The Bible says that you were wonderfully made. The Message translation puts Psalm 139 like this:

"You know me inside and out you know every bone in my body; You know exactly how I was made, bit by bit, how I was sculpted from nothing into something. Like an open book, you watched me grow from conception to birth; all the stages of my life were spread out before you, The days of my life all prepared before I’d even lived one day."

I love that! Did you know that those words are REAL and TRUE? God knew YOU before you were born. He wanted you! He planned you. And God doesn't make mistakes. So stop caring what other people say. I know it's easier said than done, trust me, I cared. I cared a lot. But looking back, I know that it doesn't matter. Is it okay to buy cute clothes, wear makeup and do your hair? Of course. Should you let it control you? Should you look in the mirror and think you're ugly in no makeup and sweat pants? No. Don't let the world tell you what to look like. Look like you want to look like. If you don't like makeup- don't wear it. If you don't like dresses- don't wear them. If you love high heels and big necklaces- wear them. Be you. God made you perfectly. You are perfect. Please believe it. Don't let boys tell you're not. If a boy ever tells you he doesn't like the way you look, if you like the way you look, then tell that boy goodbye and don't think about it. You are perfect. Period.

With that said, be modest. Good guys like it. I promise you. When I was 16ish, I liked it when guys looked at me. I liked attention. Well, I don't look back on those times and think "man, that was nice." I think back and I am embarrassed. I wish I cared more about what boys thought of my insides back then. Care about what guys think of your insides. You'll be happier. I can assure you of that.

Another thing I want you to realize, sweet girl, is that love doesn't happen like it happens in the movies or love songs. Now, don't get me wrong, I listen to Taylor Swift. A lot. And I have watched my fair share of chick flicks. But I wish I didn't listen to it as much as I did when I was in high school. Or I wish that I knew that it wasn't real. I am blessed to be married to the love of my life and my best friend. I am crazy in love with him and I think our love story is romantic and special. But sometimes, I think it's not "good enough". Does my standard of not good enough come from The Bible? Sadly, no. When I am having my insecure moments of thinking mine and Erik's love story isn't passionate or fairy tale like, I know I am comparing our relationship to the relationships in movies or love songs. I am sorry to break it to you, but realistically speaking, we don't passionately kiss in the rain. We don't slam doors when we are arguing and then passionately make up. We don't always cuddle or hold hands every second of the day. Erik doesn't stand outside my window and sing to me. We don't go on canoe rides through a lagoon. Don't get me wrong, those things aren't necessarily bad. And maybe in some relationships, things like that do happen. But not in mine. I don't think it's realistic to think that all relationships should be like that. Yes, wait for a guy who treats you special and spoils you. Wait for a guy who loves you for you. But if you are waiting for the kind of love that Taylor Swift sings about or that Nicholas Sparks writes about, I think you might either be waiting for awhile, or if you do find someone, you will end up never feeling satisfied. Do your future husband a favor and don't watch that stuff so much. Don't read romance novels for a little while. Read God's word. Make a list of standards based on God's word, not what the world says.

Girls, I am speaking to you from experience here. I know what it's like. It's still tempting for me to look in the mirror and not be happy with what I look like. It's still tempting for me to feel disappointed with Erik when he doesn't love me like the guy in the current chick flick I just watched loved the main character. I am not sure, but I believe that if I knew a little bit more about how damaging trusting in what the world tells me I am supposed to look like and act, and how my relationship with my boyfriend/fiance/husband is supposed to be like, I could have saved myself some heartache and some disappointments.

I pray this letter doesn't discourage you or make you feel guilty. I hope it reminds you how special you are. I hope it reminds that God has a wonderful plan for your life. I hope it reassures you that not all relationships are like movies. I hope it gives you hope.

Thanks for taking the time to read this letter dear one.  You are so loved.

Love, Amanda

Busyness and God's Grace

Again, here I am not believing how fast time is going by. I seriously can't believe September is almost coming to a close. I guess it's true that time flies when you're having fun ... or when you're extremely busy ;). But really, this last month has been fun, wonderful, and busy.

Because Erik and I both had somewhat of big changes {Erik mostly} this year, we both feel busier. I adore teaching Grade 1, but it is a change to my schedule and routine a little bit, so that has taken some getting used to. I am excited that my kiddos can actually do writing assignments, take spelling tests, and do homework, but it makes for more grading! :) Erik has been very busy getting the sports program underway and he is working hard on the PE curriculum as well as head coaching the basketball team. I am a proud wife for sure - he is definitely the best Sports Coordinator I know! With teaching, planning, grading, meetings, practices, tournaments, and emails to keep up with, sometimes I feel like I never see my husband. A few weeks ago, all the busyness hit me and I had a thought that this is how the whole year was going to be. Never seeing each other. Never spending any quality time {yes, I am dramatic and think NEVER when it's actually not never}. Thankfully, I have a WONDERFUL husband who knows how to love me and make me feel better. He has truly done an amazing job at balancing work and home. It is hard, and we are still working on it, but I am so blessed by a husband who cares for my needs and does his best to be the best husband he can be - and the best teacher/coach/co-worker he can be.

Besides having a husband who does such a good job of making me feel secure and loved during this busy time, I also have a wonderful Creator Father who has blessed us with many unexpected blessings this year. Since we started consistently going to our church {IES South} we have really wanted to join a life group. The opportunity presented itself again this year, and we felt led to join one. We have only met twice but man, have we been blessed by it so far. We get to go meet in a real house, enjoy fellowship with 6 other believers that work with us at school, and about 15 other believers of all different ages, from all different types of places. It is a refreshing and much needed night out during the week. At first, I was dreading adding "one more thing" to our list of things to do, but I can already see how the Lord is going to bless us and grow us during this sweet time of fellowship with our church family.

Each year we are also blessed by old friendships and new. I was so excited to come back this year to dear friends that we have worked with for 1-2 years now, and to meet new ones. I have said this before, but God has used my girlfriends these past 2 years to bless and encourage me in ways that I wasn't expecting. I am already being blessed by the sweet friends in my life this year and I am so thankful for them and how they also help me cope with the busyness. Not only do we enjoy investing in and spending time with our friends, we have already enjoyed spending time with our students. I am loving my Grade 1's and each day I fall more in love with them. I have also been able to spend some time with some Senior School girls which is really fun for me! :)

God is really oh so God to us. Even with the busyness of this year, I feel God's presence and I know he is working in our individual lives and in our marriage. A couple specific prayer requests:

~ Erik is overloaded with planning and organizing. He has a lot on his plate and sometimes feels like he doesn't have time to get it all done. He never complains about this (not even to me hardly) but I know he sometimes has a hard time not feeling stressed out. Please pray that he would feel the Lord's peace and presence as he continues to work hard at developing and organizing the sports and PE program. Pray for wisdom as he desires to balance working with all his heart, but making sure he leaves time for God, me, and relaxing :)
~ Pray for me as I continue to get in the swing of things with Grade 1. I am feeling great about how it is going so far, but please pray for me as I am learning new curriculum and trying to figure out the best way to help 6 year old's learn what they need to!
~ Pray for us as we are studying The Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren with our life group. Please pray with us that we would be open to the Lord's plan for our life - especially at this time when we are praying about what he has next for us.

Thank you so much for all your prayers and love. We constantly feel them!

And of course ... I would never blog without pictures of some sort ;) So, here are a couple pics of my sweet kiddos!

 

In Science we have been learning about plants. We talked about their environment and then we took a little "field trip" to our school pool and observed the plants in their environment.

 Doing mosaic art and just being plain adorable :)

Well that's about all from me, folks. OH .. one more thing ... only 19 days left until Erik and I are on a plane to this place ...

 

Praise the Lord for Tokyo, Mickey Mouse , and a vacay with just my best friend and me! 

Well bye for now my friends <3