Wedding date

We've decided on a wedding date: April 12. Sarah's brother Jonathon is in the air force, and he will be deployed from the end of April until September in Qatar. After pestering his boss and his boss' boss, he learned that he cannot get leave for a summer wedding, so we had to bump up the date to April. Yes, that means we might be a little busier than normal, but it also means that the stress of wedding designing simply will not have time to set in. We'll just have to go with what we can do! While I return to school on Wednesday, Sarah still has the rest of the week off from rotations, which means she'll be scouting out reception and ceremony locations. Today she found her bridesmaid dresses online (still waiting on measurements before she orders them), and she ordered her wedding gown from eBay. I'm not allowed to see it, but I hear that it's beautiful. Praise God for His assistance in the process so far!

Busy, busy break

Sarah and I figured out last night that since her exam on Friday, December 21, we have been in a car for at least two hours every day except Christmas Eve. We drove for 6.5 hours to her home near Pittsburgh, visited Punxsutawney for the Living Christmas Tree and home of the famous groundhog, then to Holland, then Chicago, then Holland, then near Pittsburgh, then finally to Pittsburgh. The travels have been very pleasant and even productive for wedding plans. Monday we head back to Philly for New Year's and my lesson planning for this coming semester. I'll be sure to have pictures soon.

Merry Christmas!

Christmas break has been wonderful so far. I've been blessed with the opportunity to visit friends and family (including my future family!), and there still over a week of it left! Today, we're heading to Chicago to visit my extended family for our traditional Christmas celebration. Sarah's been a big hit with everyone, and I don't expect that to change with my cousins, grandparents, and aunts/uncles.

Praise God for His Gift to us that first Christmas! As my headmaster Seth said, Santa comes if we've been good...but Jesus came because we aren't. What a gift...

How to give a man-to-man hug

This is pretty funny.

Wedding website

It's official! Sarah and I have our wedding website up and running. Nope, we still don't know when or where we're getting married, but we're getting there. Visit http://sarahandericwedding.blogspot.com for updates (you can sign up for free e-mail updates, too). I'll try to keep most wedding info on that website...however, if I get super excited about something, I'll make sure to post it here too.

Return to Holland

My plane safely touched down in Grand Rapids' Gerald R. Ford International Airport this afternoon at 4:40pm. (hint: do your holiday traveling a week ahead of everyone else...it makes for a much more relaxed airport experience!) I'm in Holland until Thursday morning. Maria, Mom, Dad, and I went to 84 East to visit Jordan at work at eat some dinner. We also made a few stops on the way home for Christmas gifts. It felt like I haven't really left!

Our house has become a home for technology! My dad snagged a GPS for our Corolla, so now family members don't have any excuse for finding their destinations. Also, he and my brother recently purchased brand new computers. Yes, it makes some technology drool start to come out...but it's fun to see/experience new stuff. I'm considering a new laptop myself, and this isn't helping me. =)

I have to sleep on a couch for the week, but that's my own fault for moving my bed to Philly. Looks like the start of a nice, relaxing week in Holland. Woo hoo!

Soccer champions!!!

Tonight Laura (4th grade teacher) and I went to our school's championship soccer game. We were playing the team that had one the previous four years, and WE WON!!! A 1-0 shutout, no less. The kids got pretty into the game, and it was encouraging to see how unified they became in pursuing a common goal. We even made signs during some free time in class today. Here's a video I made of the night's festivities:

Too bad this doesn't happen more often

I tell ya what, if you want to bring a smile to someone's face, just tell them you got engaged this past weekend! I've really enjoyed watching others' reactions to the news of my engagement with Sarah. Responses have ranged from loud shrieks to quiet tears to logical questions to thankful praises. It almost makes me want to do it more often! Well, maybe not. =)

I'm working on a website for our wedding plans. More info on that to come when school stuff slows down.

Report cards go home with students today. I'm not terribly excited about them--I find myself analyzing each number much more deeply than needed. After getting engaged this weekend, I was in no mood to do them! However, I did finally hunker down and finish them yesterday evening. There was much rejoicing! (well, from me at least...we'll have to see if my students are rejoicing after their parents see them tonight)

Our engagement--the pictures

Interested in seeing the pictures? Click here!

Our engagement--the video

We're engaged!!!

Yep, we sure are. This morning, I asked Sarah Elizabeth Gardner to marry me, and she said yes! (the exact quote, through a clenched hug, was “of course I will marry you!”) More details, pictures, videos, websites and plans to come. But for now, we’re reveling in the excitement. After all, we now know the who, what, and why...how much harder can the when, where, and how be?

Christmas shopping tip

Before I buy anything online, I make sure to check StealDeals.net to make sure there aren't any coupons. I usually check the website twice a day for the latest deals from companies--including free product promotions like Arby's free milkshake.