Snowstorm in April

Yes, we certainly did get some snow on Saturday/Sunday. Our friend Jeremy said he measured 10 inches on his picnic table in the morning. That is a lot of snow for April 20th! Living in Indiana we always thought that the weather did some crazy things there, but I'm not sure I've ever seen that drastic of a change in such a short period of time. Thursday it was probably in the 60's and Saturday it got down to 18 and we got 10 inches of snow. Incredible.

I took the younger staff kids sledding in our yard yesterday. I'll try to post some pictures later. We had a lot of fun.

Signs of Spring

I know this is not a fitting picture for a post title "Signs of Spring" but even as I write this, I am looking outside at a snowstorm. I just took this picture today. It is supposed to snow most of the day with accumulation up to 5 inches I think. So far this month, it has snowed at least a little bit almost every day. There have been a few exceptions, including last weekend and we definitely took advantage of the nice weather. My poor tulips which have been coming up nicely keep getting covered in snow.

A few weeks ago we had a college group here and we took them on a hike on the ranch. It was a nice day and its always beautiful at the top of the ranch.

We went on a bike ride on Friday evening and on Sunday afternoon, John played tennis, and we went to Missoula to enjoy some fishing and shopping, and also watched part of a triathlon. We didn't catch any fish, but it was a nice day down by the river anyway. John had planned a fishing trip with another guy for today, but obviously that didn't work out. We are really looking forward to the warm weather sticking around, but are glad to have the snow because any precipitation we can get now will help this summer. So, I guess we will just wait a little longer for spring to really stick here. I think spring is the season that just gets pushed aside. One day its still winter and the next thing you know its summer. Spring is not really a season, but more of a few random days spread out through the "spring" months. We will enjoy what nice weather we do have, and appreciate the snow and rain while it is still coming. Aren't the mountains beautiful?



We have less than 6 weeks of school left! We are excited for a change of responsibility for awhile. Summer break also brings many exciting things, such as family visiting, summer work groups, camp, fishing, etc.

One last thing... This is a rough time of the year for many of our students. I don't know what causes it, but many of them are really struggling right now. Keep them (and the houseparents, and the rest of the staff trying to work with them) in your prayers.


Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen. ~Ephesians 3:20-21

The Wait Is Almost Over

I'm sure you're all dying to know about our apartment. Okay, maybe not, but I'll show you the pictures and give the update anyway. The apartment is basically finished. Unfortunately, the road to get to the apartment is MUD. One of the guys that has been working up there says that some days you can't even get back there without four-wheel drive. So, we are still waiting. It has thawed out considerably, so they are going to be getting some gravel down on the road soon. When that happens, we should be all ready to move in. We walked up there today to check it out. We hadn't seen it since they finished it, and now we are even more excited and ready to get in it. I took some pictures of the finished product. Enjoy!The awesome laundry room with high efficiency washer and dryer


Brand new kitchen table

MUDDY road

Happy Birthday John!

Tomorrow is John's 25th birthday. Today his class decided to have a big birthday celebration for him. This was pretty special because the students in his class planned and made everything for his party. They made taco dip and homemade tortilla chips, which were both wonderful! They also had cake and cookies and pop. It was really a big celebration.

They had planned this all week last week, and asked for my input and help in a few situations. They even invited me and my students to come over and join the party this afternoon. I was also responsible for getting John out of the classroom so they could set up, so this afternoon I asked him if he could come to my room to help me with a math activity one of my kids was doing. Little did he know that I have 3 kids in the same math book and 2 of them had already done the activity earlier that day and I didn't really need help with it at all.

We had a great time, and the kids really enjoyed planning such a fun surprise for their teacher. My students even got into it- They could barely keep a straight face and keep working when he came in for the math problem. It was wonderful to see them so excited about doing something special for someone else. It was fun to see them work so hard to pull the whole thing together. They were so giving and truly wanted to do something special for John. I know he felt loved.

I wish I had thought to bring my camera to school today, but unfortunately I didn't so I don't have any pictures.

Long Winter

We have had a long winter, but the weather has warmed up a little at list for awhile. That's not to say that winter is over; we actually got enough snow to cover the ground again this weekend, even though it has been in the 30s and 40s for several weeks now. We even got out and went on a bike ride a few weeks ago- the same weekend that we went skiing. I've never done those 2 activities in practically the same area in the same weekend before.

We've been busy and the weeks have just flown by since Christmas. I can't believe that it is almost March already. Before we know it, summer will be here. It just might snow again tonight though- They are calling for a few inches, but we'll just have to see.

School is going well. Some days we feel like we get accomplished and other days we feel stressed all day and get no where. My class has been improving this quarter in a few areas. They are finally starting to get their required work done -they are supposed to get 10 books done each quarter since they all work in different books and at different levels, and my class has been really bad about not completing their work this year. I told them at the beginning of the quarter that if everyone got all of their work done we would have a party and watch a movie. I don't know if that has been the motivation or if they kicked it into gear for another reason, but they just might make it. Recently I've had some really good days with my kids. I've felt a little more relaxed and laid back and they are working more independently at times so I feel like I can give them the attention they need and deserve. Hopefully they will keep up the good work.


We are excited about spring coming and being able to get outside more. We should be moving into our new apartment soon. As soon as the propane tank is in and the road is graveled it will be ready, but we haven't been given a time frame for those things. We'll be sure to post pictures of the new place once we are moved in.

Scout

We have had our dog, Scout, now for a year and a half, and I can't imagine what we ever did without him. He is really the best dog we could have asked for and we really enjoy having him. Here are some of the things we love about him, or just funny things that he does.

1. Scout is a great soccer player. He will chase a soccer ball around the yard for hours if we let him. I discovered this when I was teaching PE last year and he would come down to the field with us and I had to hold him back to keep him from hogging the ball and not letting the girls play soccer.

2. Scout is usually very playful and active, and since we live on a ranch he gets to run free and play all day long. That way he isn't really hyper when we come home in the evenings.

3. Our cat Raleigh sleeps in Scout's doghouse with him. They are best friends and keep each other warm in the winter.

4. We have a Kong toy that Scout absolutely loves to play fetch with. Unfortunately, because it is round and looks like a ball, things with this shape are the only things Scout will fetch. Forget throwing a stick, or a rope toy, or basically anything that is not round or bouncy. When we were gone at camp during the summer, Scout was with the work teams on the ranch quite a bit and they liked playing with him. Since his toys were in the house, he started finding rocks and dropping them at people's feet so that they would throw them for him to fetch. Seriously, he came up with this all on his own. Now he can amuse himself with a rock just like a soccer ball. We're only afraid he will break his teeth one of these days, but there is no stopping him now.

5. Even though he is a lab, Scout HATES water. We have tried a few times to get him in a lake or played with the hose with him, but he is not at all interested. And he absolutely hates baths.

6. When kids are in serious trouble here at the ranch, they are often disciplined by having to go out and shovel manure. Scout thinks that these kids are his best friends. He stays with them all day and plays around, then walks home with them and won't leave their side. One day, one of the kids who was in trouble was given the job of moving rocks out of the road. Every time he moved a rock, Scout would pick it up and put it back in the road, like they were playing a game. I'm sure the kid didn't think it was very funny, but the housedad who was watching him sure got a kick out of it.

7. In the summer, when bears are out, we often have several around the ranch. Scout is excellent at sniffing out the bears and scaring them away, or letting us know that they are there so that we can see them. I'm not sure I saw a single bear this year that Scout didn't spot first. It makes us feel a lot safer hiking knowing that he is with us. Of course, these are usually small black bears on the ranch. I'm not sure what he'd do if we came across a big grizzly, but I'm sure we'd be safer than if we were alone.

Christmas in Montana

We've been meaning to post about our wonderful Christmas for awhile, but have been busy getting back to work at school. This year, we had the privilege of hosting Christmas with my family for the first time. My parents and Amber and Shawn and Lacy and Steve all flew out and we celebrated Christmas here in Montana. We still haven't moved into the new apartment which we were disappointed about, but the big house worked out well with all of the guests. We had a lot of fun playing pool and board games at the house, and going skiing 3 times while everyone was here. Even my parents got out and skied.

The first day skiing was a disaster. The place we went was not great for beginners, so after everybody else did the lesson on the bunny slope, we took off up the mountain. I'll spare you all of the details, but there were many funny incidents, including a pile up at the bottom of the ski lift ramp when Amber fell, then mom missed the spot to stand up and ended up jumping from about 3 feet in the air, followed by dad who also fell. The three of them ended up in a pile at the bottom. I'm sure they didn't think it was funny at the time.

We tried again a few days later at Big Mountain, one of the best ski resorts in Montana and had a great time. The beginner skiers were able to buy only a beginner area lift ticket, so there was no danger this time of getting somewhere and not being able to get down. Everyone had a really good time that day. My mom did end up with a black eye however, when she fell on her ski pole. I talked to her today and she said it is almost healed. I'll not embarrass her by putting a picture on here.

On New Year's Eve we went to the church party and brought in the new year with prayer with all of the staff and kids from the ranch and some of the people from town. It was a good time as well.

We really enjoyed having everyone here and can't wait to do it again soon. If anyone else wants to come visit, we have plenty of room and we can take you skiing!