Guess what?

I'm expecting! I'm sure that many of you are surprised, because Neal and I didn't tell anyone that we were trying. It's more fun to see everyone's reaction that way! We have only been trying since November, so it did happen a little earlier than we thought it would, but we are so excited about the months and years to come! We have already had our first two doctor's appointments and so far, everything is normal. I'm very tired and I pretty much feel sick all of the time, but I have only actually experienced the "getting sick" part just a few times. I am learning to keep plenty of crackers and snacks nearby, because keeping food in my stomache does help. I'm sorry that I have not posted every week like I promised at the beginning of January, but I could not post the last month or so, because there was only really one major thing going on in our lives, and I still needed to keep it a secret. Now, plenty of people know, so it's time to announce it to the "internets!" Here are few pictures from the last few weeks (and for some reason, they are in backwards order - blogger is not cooperating with me tonight!):

9 weeks - on the day that it snowed and snowed and snowed . . .

6 weeks - a couple of nights after our first appointment (keep in mind, I had a big meal right before this picture - I miss big meals!) Also, I promise I was not annoyed to take this picture - just very, very tired!

Home pregnancy test - it was so hard to get a clear picture of this!

Stay tuned for updates! My next appointment is in about a week and a half when we get to hear the heartbeat for the first time. Pray for a healthy heartbeat! Also, my next belly updates will be debuting my new shorter hair - the long hair was no longer looking or feeling healthy, so it was time for a change. By the way, I think I am just one of those people who shows early, because working in a junior high, my students guessed that I was pregnant about 2-3 weeks before I announced it to them. I finally had to tell them, because I could hear them whispering about it. They are absolutely fascinated by it, and they want to talk about it all of the time. Also, if I am ever eating anything, they say things like, "You eat a lot!" or "Look at you feeding that baby!" It is definitely never a dull moment in my class right now. I'm sure they will provide me with many laughs - although I don't really want to laugh when I have a student who immediately says to me, "Mrs. Helf, I knew it! You were gettin' fat!" when I told announced the news to one of my classes. Think before you speak!

I just want to say that I have loved experiencing everyone else's pregnancies and babies - you all have really prepared me so much for what Neal and I are experiencing now. I feel so blessed to have known so many people who have already gone through this who can give advice and answer my questions. At the same time, it really is hard to believe that I actually get to be the one who is experiencing pregnancy and not just listening to other people's stories. I feel like I have waited for this for such a long time and now it's actually here! It is definitely amazing and I wouldn't trade it for the world - even when I feel sick! I am so thankful for what God is doing in my body right now to make sure our little one is healthy and I am excited for the journey that we get to take over the next months.

This week was a pretty typical week at school. My kids were surprisingly relaxed after the break - I didn't really have any behavior issues, which is not normally the case after so much time off from school. Usually I have to "re-train" them! I also gave all of my classes tests on Friday, which is my favorite type of day. My kids are quiet, busy, and easy to manage. I just have to walk around making sure no one is cheating. We did get an unexpected extra holiday when school was cancelled on Thursday for "ice" and "freezing road conditions." I put those in quotes, becuase when I woke up and took the dogs out, nothing at my house was frozen! In fact, I had wet grass and puddles in my backyard. However, I'm sure there was some type of treacherous conditions out in my school district, because our superintendent always makes sure there is a very good reason before closing our schools. Plus, it seemed like every other school district was closed as well. So, I was able to sleep in, run errands, and finally take down my Christmas decorations. If you don't know why my decorations were still up, read my last post! I am so glad to have that chore done, but now my house looks so sad - I miss Christmas! This also meant I had one less item on my list for this weekend, giving me time to work on other fun stuff, such as keeping my resolution to keep my blog updated.



In other news, Neal and I made an awesome soup this week - Spicy Bean Soup from Giada de Laurentis (Everyday Italian on the Food Network). It was delicious and very spicy. Before I give you the recipe, a few tips:

• Be careful with the coriander. If you use too much, it will bring out too much spice from the other spices.
• Don't add extra crushed red pepper if you don't really like spicy foods. Neal always adds extra crushed red pepper to everything, and this time he was sweating from the spice.
• Make sure to give the soup plenty of time for everything to soften up and blend.

Here's the recipe:

Ingredients:

• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 onions, chopped
• 2 celery stalks, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 1 carrot, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 1 red bell pepper, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 6 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1/2 cup chili powder
• 1 tablespoon ground coriander
• 1 tablespoon ground cumin
• 2 teaspoons dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper, optional
• 2 (14 1/2-ounce) cans diced tomatoes with juices
• 1 (11 1/2-ounce) can tomato juice
• 1 (6-ounce) can tomato paste
• 1 (3-inch) piece Parmesan cheese rind, optional
• 2 teaspoons salt, plus more to taste
• 8 cups vegetable or chicken broth
• 2 (15 1/2-ounce) cans garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
• 2 (15-ounce) cans cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
• 1/2 cup dried green lentils
• 3 cups broccoli florets (frozen or fresh)
• 2 zucchini, cut crosswise into 1/2-inch thick rounds
• 2 yellow crookneck squash, cut crosswise into 1/2-inch thick rounds
• 1/2 cup freshly shredded Parmesan
• 1/4 cup thinly sliced fresh basil leaves

Directions:

Heat the oil in a heavy large stockpot over medium-high heat. Add the onions, celery, carrot, bell pepper, and garlic, and saute until the onions are translucent, about 15 minutes. Add the chili powder, coriander, cumin, oregano, and crushed red pepper, and cook for 2 minutes. Stir in the tomatoes with their juices, tomato juice, tomato paste, cheese rind, and 2 teaspoons of salt. Add the broth, garbanzo beans, cannellini beans, and lentils. Stir in the broccoli, zucchini, and yellow squash. Bring to a simmer over high heat. Decrease the heat to medium. Simmer, uncovered, until the lentils are tender and the mixture thickens slightly, stirring often, about 20 minutes. Season the stew to taste with more salt, if desired.

Ladle the stew into bowls. Sprinkle with the shredded cheese and basil, and serve.

I hope you enjoy this as much as we did! This is also a great meal to make as a couple - Neal and I split up the prep duties, so it was much easier.
Have a great week - here's a picture of our dogs in their winter coats! Too cute!

I'm Allergic to San Antonio!

So, I'm not really allergic to San Antonio, but on our New Year's trip down south, I had major allergy issues. Something must have affected me with all of these different cold fronts and parts of Texas that I visited over the holidays, because I had watery, red, itchy eyes and I COULD NOT breathe through my nose. I also went through so many kleenex that my nose was rubbed raw - definitely, not fun. I am still getting over the sniffles, but I am no longer relying on Mucinex or Claritin for relief. We met our good friends Brantley and Adrienne in S.A. to celebrate their 5 year wedding anniversary, ring in the new year with fireworks, etc., and eat good food. We had a blast! Adrienne and I were also able to get in some good shopping time, as well. It was so fun to look at little girl baby clothes with her, since she just found out that they are having a girl!

We also spent a day at Sea World, and I felt like a kid again. My favorite show was the sea lions, Clyde and Seymour - I thought it was hilarious when they "barked!" Plus, there is a little sea otter that makes random appearances throughout the show - what a cutie! I also touched a dolphin. Even though they are have a very tough skin, it is definitely as smooth as I expected - I have always wanted to touch a dolphin, and I remember visiting Sea World as a kid and not being able to do this each time, so I guess this was a kind of a dream come true for me.

While I am so happy that I experienced a New Year's Eve with over 250,000 people, I think once was enough. It was cool to see the countdown on the needle in San Antonio followed by an excellent fireworks display in Hemisfair park, but I did not enjoy trying to get back through the crowd to our hotel after it was over. We tried to stay together as a group, but we were separated when a fight broke out between some girls and Brantley had to take a punch to shield Adrienne from getting hurt. Let me just say that as a junior high teacher, I can attest to the fact that girls in fights are vicious, and this fight was no exception. I couldn't tell if it was two separate groups fighting or if it was two guys on one side and two girls on the other side but who happened to be fighting over the same thing, but whatever the situation, we were caught in between and for a few minutes, I was worried we would be stuck there. It finally moved on, and we were able to get out, and I was so grateful to make it back to our nice, warm room at the Hyatt. Can I take a moment to say that combined with the cold weather, the large group of people, and the difficulty of keeping up with everyone in a group, that this was not the place for young kids, however, I saw and tripped over multiple strollers and kid carriers. I have to ask the parents who think this is a good idea, "Really? That seemed like a good parenting decision? Really?" Hopefully, I will not become one of these crazies whenever we have kids.

Neal and I just thought that our trip was ending on Saturday and that we would have a day to relax before school started back up, but my car had other plans! We left San Marcos (yes, we hit up the outlet mall) at about 6:00 pm and began the trip back to Fort Worth, and just south of Austin (in Buda, which I am told is the outdoors capital of Texas), the car would no longer accelerate. Neal steered us over to the shoulder of I-35 where we sat for about an hour and a half calling our insurance's roadside assistance looking for towing companies and any place that might still be open to fix our car. When we realized that nothing would be open on a Saturday night, we found out about a Firestone that would be open on Sunday morning and called a tow service to take us to a nearby hotel for the night. I would like to thank Brantley and Adrienne for putting up with our multiple calls to have them look up hotels, towing services, and auto repair shops in the area on their Iphones. It is currently Neal's wish to have an Iphone, but I am actually trying to fight it, because I do not want to get one and become totally dependent. However, I will concede that Iphones did help us on Saturday night!

We ended up meeting Casey, our tow truck operator who shared with us that last year on New Year's Eve, he was hit in the jaw by someone with a sledgehammer who didn't want his truck to get repossessed. Casey only has four real teeth on his bottom jaw, has metal plates in his face, went through extensive plastic surgery, and had to go on disability for most of the year. Fortunately, the guy was caught and is now in jail for the crime. My face hurts just thinking about what he went through! So, Casey towed us to a brand new Comfort Suites where we actually had a very relaxing wonderful night. We hung out at the hot tub, had cookies and milk, finally had a king size bed (our hotel in San Antonio only had rooms with two double beds available by the time we booked our room), and walked to McDonald's for a gourmet dinner of chicken nuggets and french fries. In the morning, we called another tow (after a delicious filling breakfast) and spent the day at Firestone while they took apart my car and put it back together again. The problem was apparently the timing belt which is supposed to be replaced after 60,000-70,000 miles and I have about twice that many miles on my car. This belt is supposed to have notches all the way around that fit into other parts of my car, but my belt had places where those were completely worn off. We are so lucky that it didn't cause any other serious damage and that they were able to replace it and get us back on the road that afternoon.

As I was sitting in the waiting area with Neal, I began to think about how grateful I am that we could afford to get our car taken care of, that we were even able to go on this trip in the first place, and that we both stayed remarkably calm during the entire situation (even though, we were both panicking on the inside). I thought of this, because Neal and I both like to watch Sunday afternoon football, and as we were watching the Texans beat the Patriots (Yay for their first winning season!) and Dallas shut out the Eagles on a little tiny television that had a glare from the flourescent lighting in the waiting room, the manager at the Firestone said to us, "Sorry, you have to watch this on such a bad television." I wanted to say, "Are you crazy? I may take for granted that we have a nice TV at home, but I am so blessed to get to watch TV at all." There were quite a few people that came in to get their cars worked on who couldn't pay for stuff that only cost $50-$70 or who had to spread out the repairs their car needed, because it would be too much at once. Even though we aren't making as much as we did at one point, Neal and I are still very well off compared to much of the world. We are truly blessed, and I am thankful to have been reminded of just how much I have to be grateful for. And, now my car is working again - even more to be thankful for!

We did make it home last night, and I am now back to work preparing my kids for their semester exams next week. Sorry I don't have pictures this time around, but I let Adrienne take them all, since it is silly to have two cameras taking the exact same pictures all weekend - plus I am kind of scared to see myself in the photos from this weekend since I wore glasses most of the time and everyone kept asking me why I was crying (I wasn't really crying, but my allergies really were that bad.). I promise to have more pics in the next post! Happy New Year!

So much for free time. . .

I can't believe that it has been since the summer of 2008 that I actually updated this! One of my New Year's resolutions will definitely be to actually blog once in awhile. It's funny, but reading my last post about the summer of 2008 is almost identical to what I could have written for this past summer - except with a more recent set of pictures. I guess you could say we are creatures of habit.

Since it's the end of a year, how about a recap of this year's events! I am still teaching at a local junior high school, and since our enrollment is up, I am actually teaching four Texas History classes and two World Geography classes. I spent the summer writing new curriculum for our district's geography teachers and this summer I will work on curriculum for Texas History. Someday, I hope to teach all ninth graders - not that I don't care for my seventh graders, but the "training" part of seventh grade is probably going to give me blood pressure problems! Neal is working on his masters in Accounting along with an MBA at the University of Texas in Arlington. He plans on finishing the MS in Accounting in the Fall 2010 when he will start a new job with an accounting firm - YAY! We will be back to two incomes again!

We still have two adorable pups who basically have us wrapped around their little paws, but in general they are pretty well-behaved and so worth having around. Neal's sister graduated from Harding last December and she now leaves nearby, so she can "puppy-sit" for us if we need it. I also have a new baby sister named Madison - that is a long story, but the short version is that my dad is remarried and had a "surprise" this year. I will admit that I was not excited about this news at first, but now, I am just happy that everyone in the situation is healthy and happy. I am done trying to predict the outcomes of these types of situations.

In May, Neal and I finally placed membership at the church we had been visiting for a long time. We actually decided to do this, because they needed volunteers to help out with children's Sunday school classes in the summer. Churches generally want people to be members if they are going to teach classes, so we placed membership and spent our Sunday mornings in the summer with an awesome group of second graders! Neal said the funniest thing about why he wanted to sign up, "I know that we will have kids someday, but I really don't know how to talk to them, so this will give me an idea of what they are like." He was really nervous about it, but he was much better at talking with them than I was. I realized that I am much more comfortable with junior high kids.

We also found a small group at our church that is made up of younger couples (for once, we are one of the couples who have been married the longest) and one couple who have children our age. The McNeeses host our meetings at their house and provide us with plenty of food, laughs, and wisdom. We really love where we have ended up. Recently, we even took ski trip to New Mexico with a couple from our small group and had a blast (even though, I played "Mom" and watched everyone's stuff at the bottom of the mountain)!

We spent the last week visiting family for our tour of Christmas. It was fun, but I am worn out! Neal and I are spending the next few days being very lazy until we drive to San Antonio to meet our friends who are flying in from Nashville for New Year's. I can't wait to celebrate with them!

Madison and me

Red River, New Mexico

So, in conclusion, life is pretty great right now! I can't wait to see what 2010 will bring!

Remember Me?

I am really bad at updating this!!! I guess I can blame it on busy summer, but I know I have definitely had more free time than during the school year. Well, here's what I've been up to:

-lots and lots of professional development!!! This was pretty much the entire month of June, and the hardest part is that some of it was spent training on topics that I am already very well versed in, but at least I got it over with.

-painting our bathroom and bedroom (unfortunately, I have not gotten to the bedroom, but Neal has promised to help when he has some time off coming up between jobs in September) That's right - Neal has a new job, and he starts in the fall! We are so excited about this, but I have to wait and tell you more later.

-visiting Brantley and Adrienne in Nashville! We had a blast, and it made me really want to try and convince them to move back here ASAP! No offense to those of you with children, but it was really nice to get to hang out as couples, and not have to worry about the logistics of kids. We also love the fact that they are basically in the same stage of life as we are (Adrienne is almost finished with school), and we've known them longer than any of our other friends. By the way if you met Brantley and Adrienne while they lived here in Fort Worth, they said to tell you hello.

-visiting my grandparents in Northern Alabama - it was so great to see them and show Neal the sights around where they live (gorgeous views!)

-visiting National Geographic in Washington, D.C! The only downside of this trip was that Neal did not get to come with me, but I learned a lot of really great information about geography concepts, conflict in Europe (especially in the Balkans), and an awesome new way to teach about borders in Europe. I think that the National Geographic Society really knows how to do training for teachers. I was a fantastic experience, and I get to go back next year!!!

-playing Guitar Hero! This is my new guilty pleasure - Brantley and Adrienne got me to play, and now I'm addicted! I challenge to come to my house and battle with me -Aerosmith style!

Now, I am just back at home getting geared up for school to start soon (yikes!), and I am trying to spend as much time as possible relaxing at the pool, reading, etc. And, this is totally off topic, but I realized when I logged on that several people had left comments on my last post, and I didn't get e-mails about them. I didn't want you to think that I purposely did not publish them, but since I teach junior high, I have to moderate, so none of my little darlings leave "sweet" messages to me on my blog - if they stumble upon it. I will try to stay on top of the comments better so it does not seem like I am ignoring you. Thanks for reading! Here are a few pics from our summer:

Penny taking a nap with Neal on the way to Nashville

With Brantley and Adrienne after church

My Nana and Grandpa

Neal enjoying the view of Lake Guntersville


With the human footprint - this is how much you will consume in your lifetime!

Bank Robbery in Keller!

So, I know it has been awhile, and I have lots more to update, but this is breaking news! My husband works for a bank, and while he was at work this morning, a man came in to rob his bank. I didn't find out about it until later, which is probably a blessing, because I would have been worried sick about him being there. Apparently a man came in with a gun and pulled it on the manager who he directed to get him money from the tellers. The head teller was able to tell Neal about it (thank goodness he was away from his desk talking with her), and he went back to the breakroom to call the police. The robber then tried to get away in the manager's car, but for some reason that did not work out, so he went to the drive through to hijack a car. He asked a lady to drive him, and while she was pleading with him to let her get her kids out of the car, two former Army guys tackled him and held him until the police arrived. I have to admit that I am very glad that Neal has been told not to ever do that, because I would hate to think what could have happened if that tackle had gone wrong and he had somehow been in the middle of it. I have to say that this is too strange a coincidence that this happened the day after we signed up for new life insurance policies. Right now, I am just trying to wait patiently for my husband to return home, so I know he is safe. We will definitely be praying prayers of thanks that no one was hurt, and that he was able to stay out of harm's way! If you want to see the story is the link to it on our local news: http://www.wfaa.com/sharedcontent/dws/wfaa/latestnews/stories/wfaa080613_lj_bankbandit.2ae66b56.html

I especially enjoyed the part about his "disguise" - he wore a wig and a fake beard.

Movie Recommendation

In case you didn't know this about me, I am kind of a documentary fanatic! When I got an e-mail from my curriculum coordinator about a screening of the documentary Split: A Divided America at our district administration building, I couldn't pass it up. As teachers, we were invited to watch the film and provide feedback on using the film in classrooms and how to develop the curriculum. The director even flew in from New York, and we got to speak with him about his movie! It was very cool! Anyway, the film was about how Americans are so politically divided and how we got to this point and why we should encourage dialogue about our differences. It was really interesting, and I was so impressed with how non-partisan the movie was. The makers of the film travelled across America and asked the same six questions of each person that they met. The questions really encouraged some honest (and sometimes harsh) dialogue about why people disagree so much in our country. Plus, the historical background behind these differences was very accurate and informative. They were also able to interview some very big names in the business and management of politics in our country. The best part of the film was the humor infused throughout which I believe is of utmost importance when it comes to encouraging people to openly discuss their differences. So, if you love documentaries as much as I do, I highly recommend this film. It gets an A in my gradebook! Also, he mentioned that he is planning on making a documentary film about campaign financing, and if it is as good as this, I can't wait to see that!

In other news, school is almost out, it's starting to feel like summer, and I can't wait! I'm not going to lie - it has been a challenging year, so I am definitely ready for a break. Unfortunately, I know it's going to fly by, but I still can't wait to rest and just chill out at home. I did find out that I get to take a trip to Washington, D.C. this summer for a geography training. While I won't really have time for sightseeing and Neal won't be there, I can't wait to go back to D.C.! It's nice to get to go somewhere different! That's it for now, but in my next post, I'll tell you about our trip to Vegas!