Some New Things

This is just a post to update you all on a few things...

1. Last week I had a job interview in Moline. God had it planned that I would not get the job. I have a complete peace about it.

2. Yesterday I was asked to move from Elementary Director to Director (of all) of our church's VBS. Perhaps this is why God didn't want me thinking about moving this summer? Again, I am filled with peace, as well as humility...God will use my weaknesses to make this work.

3. I start my new grad program on Monday. I am nervous yet excited. I am now working toward a Masters in Public Administration and Local Government. I have lots to learn.

4. 6 days and 1 hour left until school is out. Poolside, here I come!

5. Oh! And this is fun...my students threw me a surprise party yesterday! Just for fun and to say "thanks." It was the cutest thing. I never knew they were so capable of running the show!

Hard at Work

Wow! We got so much done this weekend at the house.

We (I) ripped up the blue carpet in the office, living room, and dining room.

We (I) ripped up carpet in the pink bedroom.

All of the rooms had some interesting tile underneath. In the dining room, which used to be a bedroom, I found a zillion hairpins from Marcus's great-grandmother. Kind of funny. :)

My mom and I stripped wallpaper in the office and pink bedroom.

Marcus worked super hard and sanded and stripped the dark blue paint from the porch. We want to make it into a three-season room. Together, we worked on painting the mint green a nice soft "latte" color with white trim.

The projects continue and I'm so glad we're not living there while the house is torn up! However, it was fun to stay there for the weekend.

Below are a few collages of before, during, and after pictures of the various projects that went on this weekend. You can click on them to make them bigger.







We still don't know when we're moving, but I'll keep you posted. :)

Britt's Birthday Bash

Yesterday was my sister's birthday!

We had a lot of fun...

First, we all went over to the park across from our apartments to play softball.

Then, we parted briefly for dinner and reassembled for American Idol.



Then, midway through American Idol, we went to Maggie Moo's for ice cream. Really, who needs to watch AI for 2 hours!? Here's the birthday girl and her hubby:

...Then we got back with 10 minutes left of the finale. It was perfect timing!

Here is Lindsey's response at the winner:
Here's mine:

HAHA. It was a lot of fun. Happy birthday Sis!! :) I'm so glad we're neighbors!

Parents for the Weekend

3 AM feedings...little to no sleep...hundreds of diapers...whiny kids...

Okay, so it wasn't exactly that kind of parenting. Nope, it was the fun kind! (With well-behaved, adorable children whose parents came home after we had only spent about 28 hours with them!)

Wow, what a weekend!

Two fun and important things took place this weekend:

1. Marcus's sister, Becca, graduated from Trinity! CoNgRaTuLaTiOnS, BEC!

2. Our friends, Peter and Erica, were out of town for a wedding, so we got to watch their three fabulous kiddos!

Put it altogether, and what do you get? Lots of family and lots of fun!

Selah and our niece Katie had fun together. The older kids also had a lot of fun. They got to play, watch movies, and hang out together while the adults could get all caught up. It's always fun to see family.

Marcus's brother and sister-in-law, Scott and Robin, had their black belt test for TaekwonDo. It was so great to see. They've been working hard. Needless to say, the kids LOVED the board-breaking and everything else. Let's hope they don't try it at home...

Below are my fave pics of each of the Hang kids from the weekend. They are just precious! ...not to mention hams in front of a camera! :)

I found this collage maker thing by Picasa and wanted to try it out...here you can see more of what our weekend entailed. (You may notice Selah wearing the dress I made for our niece, Katie...well, turns out it was too small for her, so I passed it on to the next little lady I knew.)

This might go without saying, but this afternoon after Peter and Erica came home, Marcus and I went home and both laid down for a much needed nap! Marcus has been fighting off a cold and was such a trooper this weekend. We had a lot of fun, but were definitely tired. As we laid down for a nap, we discussed:

M: How long should we nap?

A: Forever.

M: That doesn't even make sense.

A: You're right. I guess that'd be sleeping, not napping.

M: No, that'd be death.

Thanks for letting us watch your wonderful kids! :) You know they hold a special place in our hearts.

New Post, finally

Hi friends!

It's been awhile since I posted! We've been busy...but not taking pics. :( Sorry!

We've had a fun week or so seeing friends and family, working, and enjoying the nice spring weather we've had lately.

I forgot to announce that my sister moved in to our apartment complex! We jokingly call ourselves "Dormies" because we just walk outside and in the other door and we're there! We now see each other almost daily. It's the best!!!

Last night I made her a skirt for her birthday. And I'm not worried about posting that because she already saw it...I needed to try it on her to adjust a few things. I'll post a pic of her in it after I officially give it to her for her birthday next week.

With the extra fabric I trimmed off the hem, I made myself this headband:


On another note, did anyone see The Office last night!?!? HOLY COW!!!! There is only one show I regularly watch, and that is it. Last night's episode was great (especially the end) but I won't give anything a way. Check your DVR or go to nbc.com to see it for yourself! :)

Third Dress

This is my third attempt at a dress. I'm getting better! It's for our niece...let's hope it fits! :)

A Taste of the Future

Today I woke up at 4:45, drove up to my local Illinois Education Association headquarters by 6:00 and hopped on a bus with other Lake County educators to go to Springfield for the IEA Lobby Day.

I was excited to get a taste of state government while also making a difference for Illinois' teachers.

We gathered outside of the capitol...about 2,500 thousand of us...

Here I am with two other teachers from my school. Yes, everyone got a hat- I actually wore it because I forgot my sunglasses! HA!

Just like on TV and in the movies, everyone was chanting and protesting aspects of Governor Quinn's new budget proposals.



This is kind of a cool picture as the storms were rolling in. Thankfully the rain didn't start till we hit the road. :)

In the capitol...

We sat in on a bit of a House Session.

...and then that was it! Four hours to get there, four hours spent there, and four hours back. It was an interesting day and I definitely learned a lot. We were even able to meet up with one of my friends who works for the governor. She gave us some great insights and I felt a positive vibe from her for the changes Governor Quinn is hoping to make in Illinois. It's a long road to fix the many problems in our state...

Maybe one day I'll be back there...(for a job!?)

Homeowners!

Below is a famous family picture of Marcus's great-grandfather, William Helstrom and his wife Marie and three of their eight children, one of whom would be Marcus's grandmother (not pictured). His great-grandfather built this house in 1914 (though other family records indicate it was earlier). His great-aunt, one of the kids in this picture, lived in it until this past summer when she and her husband moved into a nursing home.

...and here we are in front of it after yesterday's closing! We are very excited and it was very hard to lock the door and leave. :( I absolutely love my life up here in Deerfield, but being in our new home certainly made me want to stay.


Marcus's sister Missy and I started peeling the wallpaper. Just a bit, to see how easy or difficult it would be. Our nieces joined in and we got pretty far in a short amount of time! Who'd have thought it would be MORE pink underneath!!? Our niece Maddy was very confused as to why we would ever want to change it. ;) She kept saying, "This is going to my room!"


Thanks, Missy! Anytime you want to come over and keep peeling...your parents have keys! :)

Wednesday was AWFUL and GREAT all at once.

Work was bad. BAD. The kids are going crazy and I am running out of patience. I am on "E" in my patience tank. I need a break from them.

After school, my friend and colleague went over to Starbucks and brought me back a Frapuccino to help cheer me up. :) It did!

Then, I went to go teach two horn lessons. After that I went over to my friend Erica's church (I was in the neighborhood for a horn lesson anyway) for the Cubbies Awards Night in which her kids participated. They were so cute. Way to go, guys! I don't think I could even memorize that many verses.

After that, Erica took us all out for Frostys at Wendy's. YUM! What a special treat. I also had a model try on the dresses I made. Kayleigh is a natural model, it was hilarious. She put them on and instantly started posing for the camera. They were both too big on her, but I let her keep one of them...

Since I'm posting from work and don't have my pics on this computer, I'm using one of Erica's pics. Well, why am I giving her credit? I took the picture! ...but with her awesome camera. :)

Monday!

Wow! What a Monday! I wish all Mondays were so good!

It was 3:30 at work and I looked around and saw that my job was done. Everything for the next day was ready. All the papers were graded. Odd.

I leisurely stopped by Target on my way home and since there was no traffic so early on, I was home by 4:15. 

Over the weekend I finished all of my homework for grad school and am done for the semester. 

What does a busy bee like me do with herself at 4:15 with no homework to do and no papers to grade?

Well! Let me tell you! I got all caught up with my VBS prep-work (I was a little backlogged). 

I practiced my horn. 

I made dinner. 

I went to the gym. 

I made a dress!

Now that's what I call a good Monday. :)

Blue polka dots with a white glittery sash...

The pictures make it look bigger than it is. Maybe a size 3? 4? And it's not so satiny-shiny...I admit my camera is not the best. :)