7 YEARS!!

This Sunday will be mine and Steve's seven year anniversary. I already did my top ten reasons why I love him, so now I have no clue what to write. Yea, 7! Sooooo, here's a history of us in 7 minutes:

August 1997- We met. God told me that I was going to marry Steve and I told God that He would have to get us together, because Steve was TOTALLY not my type. A few days later, he threw pine cones at me and I was even more convinced that Steve was NOT the guy for me.

October 1997- We started hanging out. We convinced everyone that we were brother and sister, but on October 31st that backfired when we fell in love. Ooops!

January 1, 2000- Steve proposed at the count down to year 2000. Y2K. It was a formal ball in New Orleans and I bought a (fake) diamond crown to be random. Everyone thought that I was a real creoe princess and took many pictures of me, with me, and of me and their children. It was too funny to pass up the opportunity so I just played along. :o)

May 12, 2000- I graduated from Texas Wesleyan University. (yea!!)

May 20, 2000- Steve and I got married at my parents church in Mineral Wells, TX. To this day, parents come complaining that we set the standard too high. Every kid there wants a wedding as beautiful and perfect as ours was, and thus far, no one has been able to reach it. For the past 7 years we hear, "the wedding was beautiful, but not as beautiful as Sarah and Steves." :o)

August 18, 2001- Nathan was born at barely 37 weeks. 7 lbs 2oz, 18 inches.

October 2001- We bought our first house.

April 2004- Sold our first house, and lived with the inlaws.

August 2004- Moved to Bryan

January 14, 2005- Beautiful K-mad was born at barely 36 weeks. 6 lbs 2 oz, 19 inches.

June 14, 2005- bought our second home.

YEAH 7 years!!!

....and the good prevail

I just want to take a time out to brag about my husband. He has spent the entire school year under the watchful, critical eye of a very (unable to come up with a word.....bitter, perhaps?!) lead teacher. She has yelled at him, written dirty e-mails to him and about him on a weekly basis, and created an environment where he just couldn't win no matter how hard he tried. Through all of this he has kept his head down, his Bible open, and just silently took her daily attacks. While all of the other teachers have bad mouthed her, Steve has stayed Godly through this entire year. Steve just got his TAKS scores back and his class's scores were among the top scores in the 4th grade. They were the second best in writing by a mere two points and they far out shown the lead teacher's scores. It just goes to show that although the lead teacher tore Steve down outwardly piece by piece, he didn't change inwardly and thus proved that he is a great teacher. I am so thankful that Steve was able to focus, and teach through this year and that his kids did amazing well on their TAKS scores. God's hand was really in Steve's students achievement.

Job Search Update- We had a long talk a few nights ago and Steve has decided (against my judgement) to apply in Houston, CyFair, and Waller ISDs. I would much rather curl up under a rock, eat worms and die a very slow and painful death in hot pink spandex, than move back to Houston, but he has agreed that if he gets a job there that he will live with his parents and communte for the first year (or two). Because I am submissive, I will move back to the horrid, dreadful, evil, fat city when he feels well suited and comfortable in a new school. He has already scouted out houses!!! From our last experience living in Houston, he knows my distaste for the pre-saved Ninevah...uh, I mean Houston but he knows that I will support and follow wherever he is called to go. So please be in prayer for us!!!!!!!!

Clean up, clean up, everybody everywhere

Nathan's class participated in a school-wide clean up day today. He proudly showed me his sticker and excitedly told me all about it. He appraoched mid-paragraph (yes, he's a talker) and his little face dropped. "I have very sad news...." he pre-empted his story, "we were NOT allowed to pick up glass OR dead animals..."

Torn

This morning Nathan was banging two wooden blocks together trying his very hardest to keep the beat to a song. "Look mom!" he proudly exclaimed, "I am keeping beat!" The first thought that popped into my mind was 'awwww my baby is going to be a bass player!!' (It has become very evident to me that all bass players who are any good in their field cannot clap to the beat if their lives were dependent on it.)

I try to avoid reading blogs in which the writer types like they are thinking out loud, but since you guys are my friends and family, I thought I would share our delimma with you. For the last few months our band and family has been touring to every major Texas city every weekend to play shows. We stay with friends and family to cut the cost and we eat a lot of PB&J sandwiches and popcorn. We even go meatless one or two meals a week so that we can have gas money to tour. We LOVE our house, our church, and city. We love everything there is to love about where we are, except for the music scene. When we play in major cities and the kids sing along to our music, they mosh and have a great time. There is a single moment during every show that I hear at least one gasp and someone shouts one of my favorate things to hear in the entire universe, "oh my gosh, this is my favorate song!!!!" When we play in our city, however, not a single friend shows up. The crowd is new and different every time, but we can't draw them in. They don't dance, or sing. It's like a naked dream. You know what I am talking about... When everyone is staring at you and you realize that you somehow left all of your clothes at home.
All this to say that Steve does not have a job next year. He has no friends in our city, and other my love and passion for being here, has nothing to keep him here. We both love this city and all of the great (free) things to do here, but as our Dallas manager pointed out last Saturday, we're not even here to enjoy them. Do we stay here for the great family environment, or do we move on for the sake of the band (and better schools)? My plan is to stick it out at least for another two years until we are completely debt free and then move. Steve's plan would look really bad if I wrote it down, but it has a lot to do the things that frustrate me and it would mean moving soon. I know that everything is in God's hands and that we will submit to whatever God plans for us, but it sure is hard when Steve doesn't have a job for next year.