End of the School Year

I know... I've been a lousy blogger lately. I've been slacking and I have no good excuse. Or maybe, I was just waiting until I had plenty to talk about? :) But whatever the case, we are at the end of another month. Most of May was pretty quiet but things are starting to pick up as we head into summer.

On Friday, May 6th, AJ took his choir to Large Group contest in Elk Horn, Iowa. I was able to go along on this event. I am proud to say that the Riverside Choir earned a Division II rating!! This was a big improvement over last year's score and I know AJ and his kids were all very excited! That next week, AJ had his last middle school concert of the year and that always went great! My mom actually came down to save the day as AJ found himself without a piano player! And she did great! After the concert, AJ received a number of compliments on the program and how much improvement parents, staff and school board members had seen from the previous year. And you could tell that those kids just love AJ! :) We actually created a Facebook fan page for the Riverside Music Program that can be found here if you're interested! We have been posting updates along with pictures from the different events. Maybe we'll even get some videos up there!

For some other exciting news, AJ has found a summer job!! And I'm not really sure who is more excited, me or him. :) He will be teaching summer school at the Salvation Army in Omaha for the summer. This should be a great experience for him! Unfortunately, he doesn't get much of a break as he starts on May 31st, but I think he'll still enjoy it. His last day of school with the kids is May 25th and then he just has a day of professional development and a clean-up day for his office/classroom. It's hard to believe that AJ has finished his first year teaching. It has been an amazing year - even if it was a little bit of a roller-coaster at times. I am so proud of him for all he has accomplished this year and am really excited to watch as he continues to grow the music program at Riverside. I'm pretty sure they're all excited too!

This past Saturday, AJ and I headed up to see Amanda and Taylor and help them out in their new home! We were put to work as soon as we got there, sanding, taping and painting the upstairs bedrooms. We had a lot of fun while we were there and it was great to see them! We also made sure we got some quality time in with our clans-baby who is as cute as ever! After that, AJ headed back home while I headed up to Minnesota for the weekend. AJ had to be home for Riverside's graduation on Sunday as well as school Monday and Tuesday. I took some vacation time so I could enjoy some of my brother's last events.

On Sunday, Dan had his last piano recital. And he rocked it. It amazes me how good he is. It was a pretty big event since his piano teacher, Mary Ann was also my sister's teacher, my teacher and even my mom's piano teacher! With Dan and I both having 11 years of piano, Meg having 10 and my mom having about the same, we estimated that Mary Ann had given our family close to 1200 lessons over the years! She has made a huge difference in each of our lives. And on Monday, Dan had his last high school choir concert. Again it was a great concert and fun to see the choir director again after so long! It really made me miss my high school choir days! :)

That's about it for our updates right now. The next couple of weeks will be pretty busy and we're looking forward to being able to spend some times with both sides of our families!

Mother's Day

This blog is dedicated to our mothers. AJ and I each took the time to write up a little something about each of our moms. We want them to know just how much they mean to us - even though words can hardly describe it. We love you!

Trish Reedstrom, Mother of Liz for 25 and half years... 

Mom. I'm not even sure where to start. You've made me the person I am today. I am the way I am, because of you. You've taught me everything I know. Even when you didn't think you were teaching me lessons about life or love, you were. Because I was always watching, always listening. Always wondering if I would ever grow up to be half the amazing person you are. Your faith in God is the number one thing I love most about you. Because that faith shapes every other part of who you are. Your faith, to me, is so unwavering, so strong, so sure. Your faith makes you a loving individual who cares for everyone. It makes you passionate about what you believe in. It makes you want to be involved in a number of things so that you can share your faith and your love.
You are an incredibly talented person - whether it's quilting, cross-stitching, cooking, gardening, playing the piano or singing, scrap-booking or studying to go back to school. You've taught me that no matter what - if you want to do something, you can do it. You were always there to help me up when I fall, to hold me when I needed a hug, to tell me it was going to be okay when I wasn't sure. You were always there celebrating along with me whether it was high school or college graduation, my first real job or getting married. And although I joke about you always crying at these events, it's just proof of how much your love shines through for us kids. You are the person I look to for everything. You are the person I've never wanted to disappoint. You are the person I want to be proud of who I've become and know that I've become who I am because of you. You are the person I strive to be like - in all ways of life. You are the type of mom I pray I can be to my kids someday. 
You always give me the help I need - even when I'm too proud to ask for it and at the same time you're never overbearing. You always give the best advice and somehow always know the right answer. You've always been the best mom a girl can ask for. You were always there for all the friend drama, all the boyfriend drama, all the homework problems, all the big life decisions. You were always there for when it mattered most.
There are so many memories I'll never forget... the late nights at the dinner tables, trying to learn my spelling words, our sing-along's around the piano, going for bike rides on the Red Jacket Trail, taking meals out to Dad and Mark during harvest, traveling to Guatemala for the youth trip, making you clean my earrings after I pierced my ears because I was too scared, the bedtime stories, letting us play dress up in your old clothes, the singing of "I'll love you forever, I'll like you for always, as long as you're living, my best friend you'll be.", the summer vacations and always making sure we learned something along the way, holding me as I cried over love lost, crying when I found my wedding dress, and pulling me aside at my wedding to give me some additional wisdom. And so much more.
Every day I've been blessed with an amazing mom. And every day I thank God for that. Every day I thank God for you. I will love you until the sky ends. And I'll love you forever. I'll like you for always. As long as you're living, my best friend you'll be. I love you Mom. Happy Mother's Day.

Lora Zaruba, Mother of Austin for 24 years...

There are days when my head is swimming with too many details: the school schedules, the bills, the laundry, and the phone calls to return and don’t even get me started on the amount of emails that have stacked up.  Perhaps Mom, you feel the same way.  Your list may be a little different, but your brain is swirling with stuff just the same. I wish I could give you a hug and let you know that everything is going to be fine but then I remember that I learned to deal with these things from you! You’re the master! I can hear your voice in my head and it says, “Simply make a list of what needs to get done and then do it.” Or “Take it one day at a time!” and even my favorite and most often used- “Just breathe.” It really is a pretty amazing mental phenomenon, the sound of your Mother’s voice; it is quite possibly the most unexplainable comfort. Whenever I feel down, I start to think about the influence you have had on me- I remember the hugs, the tears, the laughs and the conversations that make me who I am today.

Mom, let me be honest. When I talk to Jesus, I think about the times we used to pray. Prayers at night before bed or prayers at church/Sunday school, and when I was young I didn’t quite understand. I am grown now, I talk to Jesus from time to time and I admit- you have come up.

I tell Him how much I love you.

I told Him how I wanted him to give you strength through Grandpa’s passing

I ask Him for forgiveness for all the mean and unfair things I did to you when I was young.

I admit to him that I miss being young sometimes because of how close we were

Most importantly…

I thank him- for you.

 

Thank you Mom for being there my whole life
Thank you Mom for being there when I was feeling down
Thank you Mom for giving me a peace of mind
Thank you Mom for buying me things even if I didn’t need them
Thank you Mom for walking the miles and guiding me through the path to success
Thank you Mom for your laughter at the stupid stuff I did
Thank you Mom for being all that you could be and even more
Thank you Mom for your gratitude and understanding
Thank you Mom for believing in me
Thank you Mom for being you

But most of all?

Thank you Mom for showing me how to love unconditionally

Happy Mother’s Day!

Where does the time go?

I cannot believe it is already May. Seriously. I have no idea what happened to April?! That seems to be happening a lot lately... first - March disappeared... then April and now May will probably be gone before we know it! And no - I'm not even wishing for time to speed away! AJ has just a little over two weeks left of school and I've already been here at UNO for almost four months now! In just a short month, my baby brother will be graduating high school. I have no idea where the time goes...

I feel like I need to throw in these "update blogs" every once in a while even though who knows if you all even want to be updated on our lives - it's not like we have anything too exciting going on! haha But I'll continue to do it so at the very least it helps me try to figure out where the last month went.The last time I wrote an update blog I was still down in Kansas City for some college fairs. And as much fun as those can be and nice to get out of the office sometimes, I'm glad to be done traveling for work now... at least until this fall again. And I think AJ would say he's glad to have me home too, but I guess you'd have to ask him that!

After that, April seemed to just quietly slip by. I did spend about a half a week out for the count with a bad sinus infection, which was really no fun. Then it was Holy Week and we were off to Minnesota for the Easter week to spend with my family. We were able to make it back in time on Friday to attend a Good Friday service with my family as well, which was really nice. On Saturday I went to a baby shower for one of my high school friends while AJ went to the farm with the guys. (aka my dad, uncle and second cousin) I heard they had quite a fun time themselves, even if AJ wasn't suppose to tell us about it... haha The baby shower was a lot of fun and it was great seeing so many friends again. Although it's hard to believe we're all growing up so quickly and buying houses and having babies! Or at least they are - AJ and I aren't quite there yet! haha

On Easter Sunday we woke up for a sunrise service and celebrated that He has Risen! Easter Sundays are always one of my favorite Sunday's of the year! So much joy and celebration! We had some family over for dinner which of course is always a good time. We were even able to get some four-wheeling in with the nice weather before we needed to pack up and head back to Iowa.

The next week was fairly quiet. It was my little sister's 24th birthday and AJ and I also celebrated three years since we had gotten engaged. This past weekend, my sister came in for a visit! It was so nice on Saturday that we went for a  picnic at the park across the road from our apartment. We then spent the next couple of hours just soaking up the sun! Megan and AJ even got a little sun burned! That night we had a dinner party with Megan, one of AJ's co-workers and his date. It was a big success and a lot of fun! After dinner, we headed to Omaha to see the production of Les Miserables. It was absolutely fabulous. On Sunday, we took Meg back to Omaha for a famous Jones Bros Cupcake so that her trip would be complete. :) After that, we spent the day relaxing and enjoying the breeze from outside.

On Monday, AJ had his last high school choir concert of the school year. It was amazing! You could really see how much the kids have learned over the year and how much better they sounded! You could see that AJ was doing an amazing job and getting through to these kids. It was a great concert. We did start a facebook page for the vocal music program at Riverside that can be found here if you're interested. ;-) This Friday, the choir has large group contest and AJ and the kids are very excited and eager for this - really hoping to improve their score over last year. Then next Thursday is the final middle school concert. After that, just some preparation for graduation and the school year will be over.

Another piece of good news is that AJ received his contract for next school year and already has it signed and returned! Not that I had any doubt about him getting a contract again, but you never know with the state budget cuts what could happen. So we are very excited that he will still have a job! :) For the summer, AJ is currently looking for some temporary work (mostly due to his nagging wife... haha) to keep him busy during his "time off". I'm also looking for a part time job because the life of an admissions counselor is pretty slow during the summer months so I thought I'd see if I could find something else to help keep me busy as well. And the extra money never hurts! ;-)

That's about it for my updates right now. I'm sure you've all enjoyed them! :)