A Month of Memories

One characteristic that I often respect in others is their ability to make memories - to create special moments with friends and family and then to cherish them.  My problem is, I always seem to have misplaced my camera somewhere and have to rely on the memory making of others!  Such was the case at several special events we've had lately, and now that I've borrowed the pictures from friends, I thought I would share them with you.

As the co-sponsor of the Senior Class at ICSB, this year I was responsible for encouraging (guiding, prodding, and sometimes forcing) the students to plan a huge fundraising auction.  It's our last big fundraiser before the kids plan their senior trip, and since we had almost half of our money still to raise, I felt a lot of pressure for this event to be a success.  I found myself extremely stressed out the weeks leading up to the big night - it seems that the Lord still has a lot to teach me about how I am never in control :) 

We also served a taco salad dinner - this pic is of me at Tesco with all the tortilla chips!  Yummmm!

The morning of the big day it snowed over 10 inches, and since we don't even have a shovel at our house, I had to use a plastic sled to scrape a path out of the driveway.  (I actually got stuck in the driveway and my roommate and some high school girls had to push me out!)  I took this pic later in the day, but you get the idea!

Anyways, the auction happened, the kids worked hard, people came, and people spent their money for a good cause!  And now we are going to be able to go somewhere warm and sunny in just a few short months! 

Here are some pics from the event.  We had an Olympic theme - costumes and decorations, and sold fun items like Peanut Butter, Cake Mixes, Bath and Body Works, Lucky Charms, and much, much, more!

Another highlight of this past month was our Spiritual Emphasis Week here at school.  Each year we take one week to be especially intentional about encouraging our students to walk closer with the Lord.  We shorten academic classes and lunches, and add a chapel hour to each day.  We also have small groups and enrichment times on campus during a few evenings.  This year the high school focused on tangible ways they could grow closer to the Lord.  It was exciting to watch how He worked in their lives and I can't wait to see some of the things He taught them play out in their everyday lives. 

On a lighter note - here are some more fun things I've been up to lately...

Last month meatballs were on sale at IKEA for 100 HUF (around $0.50 for 10 meatballs and some mashed potatoes).  This is all that was left by the time I got out my camera.

We had a surprise birthday party in Algebra 1 for one of my students.

In Geometry we ordered pizza, cut it into different shapes, and found the area.  Not to worry - we ate some pizza, too!

This weekend was the High School Valentine's Banquet.  We had dinner at a hotel right on the Danube - so much fun!  Happy Valentine's Day, everyone!

An Overdue Update

So much has happened since I last added an entry to this blog, and I as I begin, I'm a little hesitant about what I should include.  For the sweet few of you who actually read these - hope you enjoy my ramblings.

For the last couple of months I've been homesick.  Living thousands of miles away from family, it comes and goes on a regular basis, but lately I've just wanted to sit on the couch in my parents' living room, drink some coffee, and hug my mom.  It's a long way and a good bit of money, so I decided I was just going to tough it out here in Hungary.  Then, in November, my tax refund (enough for a trans-Atlantic flight) arrived.  I prayed about the decision, talked to some people I respect, and ended up buying a ticket home for the week of Christmas!  Yay!

I was supposed to leave on Saturday....

As you probably know, it snowed a great deal on the east coast that weekend and things didn't go as I had planned.  My flights were cancelled and/or delayed for 24 hours.  I spent 5 1/2 hours on hold with Delta and listened to "Frosty the Snowman" more times than I'd like to recall.  I spent 6 hours in the Budapest airport on Sunday chatting with a professional basketball player who had been on the cover of Sports Illustrated.  I ran through the airport in Paris and still missed my flight to Atlanta (along with at least 30 other people).  I stood in line for 2.5 hours and met a lovely missionary from the Mercy Ships who was trying to get to Albequerque to see her family and a saxophonist from the music conservatory in Paris.  I spent the night in a hotel in Paris (much less exciting than it sounds).  And then on Monday I made it home to Kings Mountain.  Ahhh....

My time in the US had been shortened to only 3 and a half days - definitely not the way I would have done things.  I missed seeing some of my closest friends and that was a huge disappointment.  (Sorry I didn't get to give you a good-bye hug, B!)  But I did have a wonderful time with my family.  Even with all the rushing and hurrying around to see people, I had a blast.  I am so thankful for the time I had, and I'm sure the Lord is teaching me quite a few lessons about Who is in control in the process.

Here are a few pics my mom took while I was at home.  I got them from her facebook page, so they're sort of tiny :)

My cousins Laura and Challen and me on Christmas day.

My cousin's son putting the nativity to sleep.

My wonderful grandparents.  Love you Nani and Papa!

After my whirlwind trip in America, I ventured back to Hungary to meet my friend Laura.  She was my roommate for two years here in Hungary and came back for a Christmas visit.  It was wonderful to see her and we had so much fun together. 

We went to the Christmas market...

had dinner with friends...

and enjoyed being tourists in Budapest.

School begins tomorrow - it's going to be a whirlwind of a semester!