It is finished!! Finally!!

We got a new entertainment center for our graduation gift. So we got it like 3 weeks ago (from my favorite store, IKEA) and began putting it together. With the floors of our apartment being so old because it's an old factory, they are not level. We were NOT going to place our tv on the entertainment center to have it fall over from being top heavy. So, we got one that has to be screwed into the wall - but we didnt have the right screws. This week, we got the screws and FINALLY had time and energy to get it all put together, attached to the wall, and decorated. Here's the final product:

One Wicked Night

This past weekend, we (Chris, Cari, and I) went to see Wicked at the Fox Theater in Atlanta. It was quite possibly the best show that I have ever seen - even though we were in the VERY last row in the balcony. Even Chris said that it was his favorite one that he has seen. Early Saturday, Chris and I went to get Cari from Mom and Dad's house and we took her to our house to get ready. We rushed around like chickens with our heads cut off to make sure that we left on time. Then we went to a Japanese grill place called Nagoya. It's the first time that I've ever been to a place like it (Mikata and Japanese Imperial Steakhouse are similar). It was a little weird sitting with people that we didnt know - especially ones that were kinda rude and didn't speak. Sadly enough, there was one woman who came alone and ate all by herself and didn't speak to anyone at our table. Then at the end of the meal, the waitresses came out and sang her Happy Birthday. What a sad birthday dinner!!


Anyway, then we left for the theater. Cari was very beautiful! You cant really tell it in the pictures, but she wore a maroon velvet dress with rhinestone buttons on it and she had a perfect hair day - really, perfect! I am really glad that she got to come and spend some time with us. She's been having a really hard time at school and it was a real blessing to get to take her some where that she wasn't going to have to worry about getting made fun of or laughed at for being who she is. She's like no one that I know and I love her more and more for it each day. I really admire her honesty and the example that she chooses to set by how she lives her life. It's inspiring to me. She even talked to the person sitting beside us at the theater. I don't know anyone else who can makes friends with ANYONE she meets. :)


Here's some pictures:













































The only other new thing that happened this week is that Chris and I started taking Kempo (Karate) and Modern Arnis (Stick Fighting). When we were going through our pre-marital counseling, our pastor said that we should find a hobby to do together. Our hot weather hobby has been kayaking, but since its getting cold, that wouldnt work anymore. So, this is what we decided to do. Maybe.....MAYBE......I will put up some pictures of it........or at least of HIM doing it. LOL!

An Ode to Moms...well, kind of

This is not actually an ode (since i am in english teacher, i can't give people wrong information). However, i came across it and it made me think of my friends that have been blessed with the ability to be stay at home moms. I made sure to use the word "blessed" because staying at home for me has been miserable! I know that sometimes all the work they do can be taken for granted - especially when you clean all day long and at the end of the day its barely a dent in the things that needed to be accomplished. The thing I hate the most is that i can do ALL the dishes in the sink and by the time i get dinner ready, the sink is full again. The laundry is overflowing and I don't even have kids yet. Poor poor Chris! :)

So, girls, this story is for you. I admire all your hard work and if no one ever says thank you, today I say THANK YOU for your sacrifice, patience, and hard work. Here's what would happen without it. Enjoy!


In honor of the MOMS:
A man came home from work and found his three children outside, still in their pajamas, playing in the mud, with empty food boxes and wrappers strewn all around the front yard. The door of his wife's car was open, as was the front door to the house and there was no sign of the dog. Proceeding into the entry, he found an even bigger mess. A lamp had been knocked over, and the throw rug was wadded against one wall. In the front room the TV was loudly blaring a Cartoon channel, and the family room was strewn with toys and various items of clothing. In the kitchen, dishes filled the sink, breakfast food was spilled on the counter, the fridge door was open wide, dog food was spilled on the floor, a broken glass lay under the table, and a small pile of sand was spread by the back door. He quickly headed up the stairs, stepping over toys and more piles of clothes, looking for his wife. He was worried she might be ill, or that something serious had happened. He was met with a small trickle of water as it made its way out the bathroom door. As he peered inside he found wet towels, scummy soap and more toys strewn over the floor. Miles of toilet paper lay in a heap and toothpaste had been smeared over the mirror and walls. As he rushed to the bedroom, he found his wife still curled up in the bed in her pajamas, reading a novel. She looked up at him, smiled, and asked how his day went. He looked at her bewildered and asked, "What happened here today?" She again smiled and answered, "You know every day when you come home from work and you ask me what in the world I do all day?" "Yes," was his incredulous reply. She answered, "Well, today I didn't do it."

This one is for Emily! :)

Let's see...what's been going on in the world of the Morgans?? Biggest news of all is that I finally quit my job at the preschool. While it was rewarding emotionally, it was not paying the bills and my principal was a true Cruella Deville! I told her 2 weeks before my last day (which was last Friday) that I was going to be leaving. She said ok and wished me well and told my supervisor to tell me not to tell my students or their parents. I held out as long as possible and made it to Wednesday before my last day and I had to tell them. I'm sorry, but that was as close to asking me to lie to them as you can get. Last time I checked, not telling the truth on purpose is pretty similar to telling an outright lie. So, I told the parents that I am close with and she came in on my last day and chewed me out in front of the K4 class. (I haven't mentioned that I was not even with my class Tues-Fri because I was used as a substitute instead). She kept saying over and over again that "THERE WAS A WAY WE DO THINGS HERE." In the end, I am glad that I chose to tell them on my own because there was no telling what she would have told them about me. She made my job so frustrating because she would stand up at meetings and lead devotionals that would make you believe she was an awesome Christian example but when you saw her life and the actions she did in the name of the school, it was pretty hypocritical. It's really been an eye opening experience into why people can be so put off to Christianity. When the principal of a CHRISTIAN school has moral issues and she is supposed to set the tone for her staff, it's difficult for teachers to be salt and light. I am going to pray for her because she doesn't have a clue about what her staff struggles with or how to encourage people. Oh! I am waiting to hear back about a high school teaching position. It would be with a 9th grade class. I am really trying not to get my hopes up, but it is very hard. I am also going to keep looking for other jobs. So, keep me in your prayers. I really need the decision to be very obvious!

On a different note, I saw Nights in Rodanthe today and it was so great. Be warned - it's a tearjerker, but sometimes that is just what I need. The story actually made me appreciate Chris alot more. We have seemed to argue over everything we talk about lately. I don't know if it's because we've started getting used to each other and that just serves as an excuse to be rude to each other or if it's because we are just stressed out or what. I really have been trying to work on it. It always makes me so angry at myself when I take things out on him that have nothing to do with him. Like when I get mad at a situation at work and I bring it home and take it out on him. You would think that after doing it over and over that I would begin to realize what I am doing - but no! It's so frustrating. He has been under alot of stress from work this week because he gained alot more responsibility. One guy was moved to another plant until Christmas and the other one was fired, so essentially Chris gets all their projects. It's not an impossible situation, but it has definitly put on the pressure. I just keep reminding him that they would not give him the projects if they didnt think he could do the job. For only being there 4 months, I think he is doing a great job!

As far as tomorrow goes, I am ready to experience my first day of true unemployment. It will literally be the first day that I don't have class or work to return to. As soon as I graduated, I started my job the very next Monday so there was no break for me. It's going to be wonderful for a few days, but after that I am going to get stir crazy alone( - no baby for me to take care of like Em and Kelly-yet). So, plan for tomorrow is to go work out, do some laundry, eat lunch with mom, and look for a new job. After that -- nothing to do but nothing :)