Family Picture

A couple of weeks ago we were able to celebrate Grandpa Mihalek's 90th Birthday. Here is our family picture, minus a few family members, at the celebration. What a fun group of Mihaleks! They are so full of joy and energy! I am so lucky to be part of this family!

Another Snow Day

Yesterday was our second snow day of the year! Nate and I got to enjoy a wonderful and busy day together. Nate's school appeared first on the screen. I thought to myself, "It must be really bad for them to cancel!" So I laid there patiently in bed...5 minutes...Where is my school?...10 minutes...Okay this is so not fair!...15 minutes...I'm just going to get up and get in the shower because I'm going to have school...20 minutes...FINALLY! I DON'T HAVE SCHOOL!!

Now is that any way for a teacher to act?! I do LOVE what I do, but it is so nice to have a day to get things done around the house that I don't get done until the weekend. Nate and I have been extremely busy with school. Science Olympiad is in full swing and report cards and conferences are coming up for the both of us. All we do is school work lately!

So what was the day like? On snow days usually you get to go back to bed, but I am like a little kid excited for a day off! I didn't even go back to sleep because I was so excited for the day off! I got ready and was cleaning by 6:30 a.m. I scrubbed the house from top to bottom. Finally I got finished around 10 a.m. We don't even have a big house!

After the cleaning spree, Nate and I decided to run errands. We took a nice drive down by the beach to see how the lake looked. We even saw some Coast Guard men practicing their rescue techniques in the river. Brrrr! Crazy men! After our drive I hauled Nate with me to Meijer where we did a little grocery shopping. Fun times!

When we returned home it was back to school work. Nate of course wanted to go help my mom with her computer. He loves to find anything other than his school work to do. After a couple hours of looking for viruses, Nate once again was successful in helping my mom with her never ending computer problems.

Our snow day was coming to an end rather quickly. Jaime returned home with us so she could babysit for our small group meeting at our house. She just loves watching the little ones and keeps them under control. (Maybe she'll be a teacher some day!) We ended our snow day with our friends, studying the bible and praying together. What a great end to our fun, but busy snow day! Maybe we'll have another snow day tomorrow?! It's looking pretty blustery out there. A teacher can wish, can't she?

Happy Birthdays!

This weekend Nate and I attended two wonderful birthday parties. On Saturday we celebrated our best friends Rich and Darcie's beautiful daughter's first birthday. Joy turned 1 on January 19. She is such a special little girl. Little sister to soon-to-be 3 years old Grace, Joy is a bundle of smiles and giggles and love. We love spending time with the Jackson girls (and Rich and Darice too!). There is never a dull moment! The cutest part of the birthday party was Grace thinking that it was her birthday. I was reminded, like I am every day at school, that little children have no concept of time. We had a great celebration with our friends and their family! I love kids' birthday parties because I am reminded of how special children's lives are and what a blessing they bring to our lives.

After the 1st birthday party we headed over Mom and Dad Mihalek's house. Anissa and Graham flew in from Nebraska for Grandpa Mihalek's 90th birthday party. We spent time playing with Graham Saturday night. He was so hyper and moved so quickly without his cast on! We love spending time with him and Anissa too!

Sunday after church was the birthday party. What a wonderful celebration with family and friends. It was so much fun spending time with Nate's side of the family. We haven't seen some family members for over a year so it was nice catching up. It was also neat meeting some of his family for the first time. Below is a picture of Grandpa and Grandma Mihalek at our wedding last year.


I look at the two special loved ones we've celebrated this weekend. Joy is just beginning to explore what God has in store for her life and has so much to look forward to. Grandpa has celebrated many birthdays and has experienced many blessings. I pray for these two during this next year of their life. May God bless them both! Life is truly a blessing and it is such a joy to be able to celebrate life with friends and family!

Our First Christmas Home!

Nate and I had our first Christmas together at our house. We both woke up early, got ready, and went in the living room to open our presents. We were so excited that we forgot to take pictures of our first Christmas at home together. Oh well, maybe next year! It was fun watching each other open the presents that we had put so much thought into. My favorites were the goodies in the stockings. Nate spoiled me. He is so wonderful!

After we opened our presents we went over to my parent's house and spent some time with my family. It was so nice being able to spend time together. Grandma came over and it is always hilarious watching her open presents. She makes the cutest sounds. Here are some pictures of our time together.

Jaime is going to be the next woman pro golfer so my parent's had to get her her very own putting green. I have to say, she is pretty good. Nate better watch out this summer. I think Jaime is going to give him a run for his money out on the greens!

Chad loves to spend time out doors hunting. Grandma got him a hard case for his bow and arrow. He just had to start to put everything together right away. He was just like that as a little kid too!

My mom and dad got me the cutest finger puppets for my classroom. I know as soon as I bring them to school the kids will want to play with them. I thought I would keep them home for awhile and read stories to Nate. I think he would like that!
Boys and their toys! Believe it or not, besides tech toys, Nate loves manly things for the house. My parents got him a wet/dry vac. He was pretty excited! I know he can't wait to use it!

This Christmas was also special because we got to go to Nebraska to visit Nate's side of the family. My father-in-law and mother-in-law were so nice to let us ride with them out to Nebraska after we had Christmas with them at our house. While we were at Craig and Anissa's house, Graham showed us how he blows his nose. How cute that was! He grabbed a kleenex and blew. He smiled after he did it. I've never laughed so hard.

Here are a few more of Graham and his Uncle Nate. They were so cute together. There's even a picture of Nate and me doing dishes together. What a sweet husband!

This was a wonderful Christmas! Nate and I are so blessed to have wonderful friends and family around us at special times during the year. We can't wait for the many Christmas celebrations to come!