An end to 2013

2013 has been quite the year - to say the least. It has, by far, been the most exciting, challenging, wonderful, frustrating, thrilling, amazing, exhausting, surprising, incredible and miraculous year. We've made a lot of mistakes, learned some hard lessons, grown into parents and created a ton of memories.

We started the year by announcing we were expecting a little bundle of joy! It was great to finally be able to shout about it! :) And my morning sickness had pretty much disappeared so I was finally able to enjoy the rest of my pregnancy.

Austin had a very successful spring with his Choir at Riverside, which made it very bittersweet when he decided to accepted a new job so we could be closer to family. Saying goodbye to such a supportive community after three years was very hard and the longer we're away, the more we miss them. We also celebrated my sister's graduation from seminary, a major accomplishment!

In June, we welcomed Jacob into this world and everything changed. We immediately fell in love with this sweet little boy. We spent the summer adjusting to life as new parents, while also packing and getting ready to move. Luckily we have great family and friends who made all of this so much easier on us!

This fall Austin and I both started new jobs, which has been very challenging for both of us for different reasons. I think that we both agree while we love being closer to family, a big part of us wishes we were still back in Western Iowa. But every day, we grow and learn something new and hoping there's a shift and we can start enjoying what we do. We also celebrated 4 years of marriage in October. Hard to believe that much time has past already!

We're ending the year celebrating with family, remembering the good times from the past year but also ready to move on to new beginnings in 2014. And here's hoping we can do exactly that. Cheers.

Closer and Closer!

It's almost Baby Month! It's hard to believe, I don't know where these last 8 months have gone! Last week we had a doctor's appointment and we had our last ultrasound before the baby comes. This was basically just to check the growth, do some measurements and make sure the baby was in the correct position - head down. Everything looked great! Baby is head down and measurements were right on track! The doctor estimated the baby was weighing in right around 5 1/2lbs. So if the baby gains about a 1/2lb a week from here until my due date, that would be about a 7 1/2lb baby! Again, all just an estimate, but that's a size I'm okay with! :) I also had the Group B Strep test done and that came back negative so no antibiotics during the birth. So, overall the appointment was great and things are progressing already. During the ultrasound as well, we tried to get another look at baby's face but again, it had a hand up there the whole time! Throughout this entire pregnancy, every ultrasound has shown a little hand in front of the face! The doctor made a comment that this is probably how the baby is going to sleep when he/she arrives! I don't doubt it! But I am eager to finally get a good look at this little one! :) 

That appointment was also the first of our weekly visits! We're now at the doctor's every week until this baby comes. So we had another appointment yesterday! This was just a quick belly check - measuring right on track at 36 1/2 weeks! And listening to the baby's heartbeat, which was in the high 140's. So everything is great! 

Now that we're basically a month out and that the baby could come early, we spent some time this past weekend making sure we have everything ready for when this baby comes! We got the bassinet set up in the bedroom. Looking at it, it's hard to imagine that soon a little baby will be sleeping in there! I also got most of the hospital bag packed! I just need to add a couple more things and then some clothes for Austin as well. One thing that we meant to do, but didn't get done yet, is install the car seat! Need to make sure we know what we're doing before this little one arrives! 

I also have a small list of things to go and buy that I would really like to have or need before the baby comes. Hopefully we'll get that done this weekend. And finally, just going through all the amazing things we got from baby showers and sorting out what we need right away and what can be packed until we move. 

Austin finished with school last week, or at least with students. But that doesn't mean he hasn't been any less busy! Right now he's been spending a lot of time working on the choir CD and getting that finalized. Riverside is actually doing a Celebrate Riverside day this upcoming weekend and Austin will be there, along with the new director they hired, to showcase all the amazing accomplishments the choir had over the past year and sell CDs. It will be his last hurrah at Riverside, so a bittersweet day for sure. He's also been busy packing up his office at the school and I'm amazed at how much stuff he's accumulated over the past three years! 

A couple of weekends ago, we traveled to Dubuque for my sister's graduation from Wartburg Seminary! It was pretty awesome to see her graduate after four years of hard work! I'm excited to see where the next phase of her life will be! It was also nice to spend some time with family while we were there, even if it was just a short trip. Although I must also say, that this trip was my last before the baby comes and I was very excited about that as well! Long car rides have just gotten too uncomfortable for me! It's nice to know I don't have any long drives until after the baby comes! This past weekend, Austin went back to Tipton for a friend's wedding. It's never fun being apart from him and I was praying the whole time he was gone that I wouldn't go into labor! But I think he had a nice, and again short, trip back home. It will be nice once we move to be closer so that these short trips won't be as much of a hassle - especially since we'll have a baby to bring along! 

So that's about it for us. No big plans now until this baby arrives! I'm hoping now that Austin is done with school, he'll be able to do some more packing around the house for me. :) He'll also be doing some voice lessons up until the baby comes. I'm also still working and plan on working as long as I can. Although it is getting a little bit harder every day! As the due date gets closer, I'm becoming more uncomfortable. I've also had some of my morning sickness return, which isn't fun at all. Let me tell you, it's a lot harder to bend over a toilet at 8 months than it was during my first trimester! Ha! I'm also have more and more heartburn when I lay down to sleep at night, so that's been keeping me up as well. I know, I know - the lack of sleep is just preparing me for when this little one is here, but I'd sure love some sleep now! :) 

Baby This & Baby That

With our doctor appointments taking place every two weeks, they've been pretty boring. So nothing really new to report. These visits are just a quick check - weight, blood pressure, measure the belly and baby's heartbeat. Nothing too exciting, except for hearing that heartbeat! :) I believe that we'll have one more ultrasound before the baby comes to check the growth, but I don't know when that will happen. 

It's crazy to think we're already in May and that NEXT MONTH is when this baby is coming!!  I think we're slowly getting more and more prepared for this baby. The first thing being birthing classes! We started a four week course last Thursday night. The first class was pretty basic - talking about different symptoms and what to do, what to look for with signs of early labor, some breathing techniques, etc. We also got a tour of the birthing center at the hospital we'll be having the baby at and that was pretty neat. I'm really interested in our next class because we'll be talking about pain management. :) 

Another way we're getting ready is with some pretty awesome baby showers being thrown by some pretty awesome people. :) My aunts threw us a great baby shower a couple of weeks ago when we were back in Minnesota. It was a lot of fun, great to see so many people and we got some really great stuff. Austin's family is throwing us a baby shower this weekend as well! We are so grateful and blessed to have such awesome family and friends! It also makes it more real as we start to get more and more baby stuff around the apartment! 

And speaking of our apartment, my nesting skills are coming in handy! As we'll be moving after the baby comes and we only have a one bedroom right now, I'm using my nesting energy to start getting ready for the move! Austin doesn't really enjoy this as much as me. :) I'm making sure we go through everything before we pack anything and get rid of everything we don't need. It's been great to get rid of a bunch of junk! And then we've slowly started packing up things we don't need on a day to day basis. 

That's about it for baby news. In other news, we spent a weekend in Minnesota a couple of weeks ago for the wedding of a very close friend of mine. It was the same weekend as the baby shower so needless to say it was a long and exhausting weekend - although a lot of fun! 

As the school year is coming to a close, Austin has been wrapping up with final concerts and performances. He has had a lot of great things happen at the end of the year as well! The first was a day at Solo/Ensemble Contest. Austin took 17 entries and walked away with 9 Division I (Superior) ratings and 8 Division II (Excellent) ratings! This was a record day for the choir! The choir also had a workshop day with the Wartburg Choir and during the workshop they performed for the choir and received comments and tips from members and Dr. Nelson. It was a great experience and the students really learned a lot! The Middle School concert was next and it was a great concert! The students really worked hard! Next the Concert Choir and a Treble Choir went to Large Group Contest and after two amazing performances, each group walked away with a Division I (Superior) rating! Finally, Austin had his final high school concert. Again, it was a great performance and the students did an outstanding job! The students also presented Austin with flowers and a card and thanked him for taking a "Division IV choir to a Division I choir". He then received a standing ovation from the crowd. It was amazing to see the support that Austin has received for the past three years at Riverside. 

This weekend we're heading to Tipton for our baby shower and to see a Cedar Rapids Titans game and see Ariel dance. But it'll be a quick trip as we have to return Sunday morning to get ready for the Choir End of the Year Awards Banquet on Sunday afternoon. The following weekend we're off to Dubuque for my sister's graduation! It'll be two busy weekends but should be great times with family! After that I'm done traveling until after this baby comes! I'm taking the rest of those weekends to rest and nest! :) June will be here before we know it! 

My thoughts on our new adventure

Three years ago, Austin and I made the decision to move to Western Iowa when Austin accepted his first teaching position at Riverside. At the time, it was a huge decision for us. We were newlyweds, I had a great job and we were living in an area where we had been throughout our college years. We were comfortable where we were. In fact, you can go back and read old blog posts from that time to see how we came to the decision to move and what that all meant for us. 

I'll admit right here that while there was some excitement over our move, especially for Austin to start his first teaching job, I was somewhat leery about moving to Western Iowa. After Austin had officially accepted the job, we came out here to start looking for apartments. I really wasn't impressed by what I was seeing and had some doubts about if this was the right decision or not. But we found an apartment we liked, in time I found a great job in Omaha and we started to make this our home. 

Now if you were to ask me if I think we made the right decision three years ago, I would say absolutely. This is where we were meant to be at this time. We've developed some great friendships with people and have some very supportive communities that we belong to. 

My co-workers at UNO became close friends very quickly and have made going to work for the past two years feel nothing like work. :) I've been blessed to work with such a great group of people and in an environment where we can have fun together both at the office and outside of work. 
The staff, students and parents of the Riverside School District have also been of great support to us. They welcomed us into their community with open arms. Again, I say that we've been blessed to get to know many of them throughout different events and activities. We actually moved to Oakland after our first year out here and being a part of this district has been great. Austin has really been able to grow the vocal music program from the ground up over the past couple of years and that would not have been possible without the support of the community. 
I would also say that we've been extremely blessed to be a part of the Grist Mill Theater community. After participating in the production of "Annie" last summer, we made some great new friends. This group of people is one of the best that you'll meet. Welcoming, supportive, fun. It was a great experience that left us with some great new friendships. 

When we had family or friends come and visit us, many of them would say how great of a community we're apart of and how lucky we are to know such great people. And I would agree. Austin and I are both so grateful for all of these friendships and the support we've gotten over the past couple of years. It's meant a lot to us. 

The one downside - and I mean it, there is literally just one - of living in Southwest Iowa is the distance to our families. It's a five hour drive to my parent's home in Minnesota and a four hour drive over to Austin's parents in Eastern Iowa. This has been hard for us as family means everything to both Austin and I. And I know I should feel lucky that we don't live any farther away than we already do! I think five hours is definitely my limit. 

And so we've always said that at some point, we want to get closer to our families again. Especially when we decided we wanted to start a family. But deciding if now is the time to leave Riverside hasn't been an easy decision. We tried (unsuccessfully!) to convince our families to move here so we wouldn't have to leave! :) But in the end, we want to be closer. And with a baby on the way, Austin started applying for jobs. 

I do want to say here that Austin wasn't going to apply for just any job. We weren't looking to leave Riverside because we didn't like it - nothing could be further from the truth. He was only going to apply for jobs that put us closer to family and that would potentially be in larger school districts. We were also looking for larger areas so that finding a job for me hopefully wouldn't be too difficult. 

And there were some jobs that fit what we were looking for, mostly back in Eastern Iowa. He applied early and we didn't really think we'd hear back from any of them that quickly. Soon I had left for Minnesota for two weeks for work and that's when things started to happen. 

On the Wednesday of the first week I was gone, I had a text from Austin saying that Dike-New Hartford had called him and wanted him to come interview Thursday - as in the next day! And while I thought "hm, that's really fast!", I was also excited. For those of you that don't know, DNH is located about 20 minutes west of Cedar Falls and Waterloo - where we lived before moving here. In fact, my old job at Kruger Seeds was actually located in Dike! So this is all very familiar territory for us. The Cedar Falls/Waterloo area, being just 30 minutes south of Wartburg, is about as close as we're able to get to halfway between our families. The drive is three hours up to my parents and just two hours down to Austin's. 

So Thursday, Austin drove over to Dike for his interview and I anxiously awaited his call to hear how it went. Finally he called and told me all about it. He said he really like the people he met with, thought he could get along with them really well and thought the program would be a great program to come into. He also said that they were doing more interviews on Friday (the next day) but were hoping to have an offer out to someone by Friday evening. Well, in our experience, these things tend to get stretched out and so we weren't expecting to hear from them right away. 

Well Friday comes and before the day is over, Austin is calling me telling me DNH has offered him the job. And that they want an answer by Monday. Well I'm not sure how Austin was feeling but I was a little bit shocked! That wasn't much time for us to consider everything and the worst part was that I was still in Minnesota while Austin was back here at home. Not being together to make such a big decision was frustrating. 

We spent a lot of time on the phone that weekend, going over everything. The benefits of taking the job, the stress of moving with a newborn, me having to find a job, being closer to family, taking a look at the district and seeing if it's a place where we could stay for a long time... etc. It was a lot of back and forth. In the end, it's about putting it all in God's hands and letting Him guide us to the right decision. The only problem was that a weekend isn't a lot of time to try and listen for an answer. 
In the end though, a decision was made. Austin called me on Monday and said he was going to accept the job. Looking at the position and the school district, he felt comfortable in saying that it feels like the right fit and a place where he can continue to grow professionally. And that's really all that matters. Everything else surrounding the move will fall into place in due time. I'm confident in saying that God will help us. 

And so that's where we are today. We're moving back to the Cedar Valley. The place where we went to college, where we met, where we got married and where we started out together. We're both very comfortable in the area and that's helpful to us as we start to plan our move back. We'll be able to get involved in a new community with the school district and we're also looking forward to going back to a community that we were a part of - a community at Zion Lutheran Church. Austin directed the choir and the bell choir there for two years before we moved and we're both looking forward to being back to such a great church family. 

We're excited. We're excited about the move, about the new possibilities and new adventures that will come our way. There's a lot to be nervous about it as well, but definitely a lot of excitement. But there's also a lot of sadness. Leaving this area is going to be hard. Maybe even harder than we're anticipating. There are going to be some hard good-byes. Some of which have already started. 

Austin and I will both agree that we will treasure our time that we've been out here. We've grown as individuals, as a couple and professionally. I know that we were meant to be here for the last three years. We've learned a lot and done a lot. We've met some amazing people. It's been a great experience. 

But now it's time we make that next step. We're starting a family. We're ready to start settling down in a place. We're ready for new adventures. And there are sure to be some adventures in our future. 

Beginning of Fall

The start of fall is here. You can't really tell by the weather yet, but you can by the activities! We have had some nice cool fall-like days and they've been great! I'm looking forward to when this is the case every day! To me, there is nothing better than a nice cool fall day. But there have been other things that tell us fall has arrived.

Austin has started school. This will be his third year teaching already! It's crazy how fast time flies! Austin was definitely ready for school to start this year. The week before school started  he was at the high school or the middle school until 10pm or later getting things and his classroom ready! I admire his commitment and the focus he had those days, but at the same time I was ready for him to be home when I was getting ready for bed! :) This year, while the final numbers are still being determined as students finalize their schedules, it looks like Austin will have his biggest choir yet. It's amazing to see the choir grow under Austin's leadership. If you haven't done so already, head over to Facebook and "like" the Riverside Vocal Music page. That way you can keep up-to-date on everything that is happening at Riverside.

Another thing that tells me fall is just around the corner is my work schedule. It's quickly filling up with college fairs and before I know it, I'll be scheduling my high school visits as well. This will be my second year of fall travel season and I guess we'll see if it will be as busy as last year. My guess is yes. :)

A couple of things that we've been able to do to enjoy the last of summer... A couple weeks ago we were back in Macendonia for Donia Day, the town celebration. Austin was a judge for the parade. It was a fun day and we got to see a lot of people from "Annie" that we hadn't seen in a while, so that was really great. We also saw probably the coolest thing I've ever seen during a parade. The John Deere Implement just down the road had a pretty sweet surprise for all the kids. They had one of their tractors pulling a grain auger and the arm swung out over the streets and from it dropped hundreds of Tootsie Rolls! It was pretty amazing! And the kids loved it! 

This past weekend we went up to Minnesota to spend some time with my family. Originally we had planned on going to the Minnesota State Fair. But then we found out that weekend was going to be the time to harvest grapes at my uncle's vineyard. Well that is just simply something we can't miss, so we ended up helping out with that instead. It always promises to be a good time.

We normally spend the morning picking grapes and then celebrate the end of the harvest with a big potluck and lots of drinks to go around! This year was no different! Now, as you may already know, this summer has been particularly dry with not a lot of rain. Well Saturday, this was not the case. The one day pretty much all summer it decides to rain is the day we're out harvesting grapes. Well it made things interesting at the very least. It was pretty cold and very wet, but we managed. 

Harvesting in the rain!

By the end of the day we were very tired, wet and muddy. But the harvest was a success! I also got second place in the "Perfect Bunch" contest! I was really aiming for first because that prize was a giant wine glass that fits an entire bottle of wine! But second place wasn't bad! 

My second place bunch!

Overall it was a great, but very tiring, weekend! Both Meg and Dan were home as well. It's always great to see them before the busy fall begins!

This next weekend we're heading to see the other side of the family in Tipton! We're having a big party and I think it's going to be a great way to wrap up the summer! It'll be really great to see this side of the family as well since it's been a while!

Dog Days of Summer

I realize that I haven't written a blog since last month. And I really don't have any excuses. With Annie over, we had all of our free time back! Maybe I just haven't written because nothing too exciting has happened since Annie... well that's not completely true either. :)

With Annie over, Austin and I were both excited to have our evenings and weekends back. But that first week or two right after the show, I have to admit: I was bored! I couldn't remember what I use to do with all my free time before Annie! I wasn't even sure what I wanted to do with my free time now! But that has past and I'm back to enjoying my free time again. I do still get a bored a little easier but I'm trying to enjoy doing nothing while I can... as people keep reminding me - whenever we decide to have kids, our free time is completely out the window! :)

Over the week of July 4th, Austin and I traveled up to South Dakota for a family reunion! My cousin and her family had recently moved there where her husband is the director of a bible camp. The camp is right on the lake, along with a retreat center - which is where we stayed. We were so excited to head up there to have a mini-vacation and to spend some time with the family. However, we ran into a little bit of a problem about 20 miles outside of Council Bluffs. 

Yup. We got a flat tire... It was the first time either Austin or I had ever gotten a flat tire so we weren't entirely sure of our skills to change a tire. We did have a spare in our trunk but we called a tow truck to come and help us out. Well it was close to 100 degrees outside and after waiting in the heat, Austin decided to just try and figure out how to change the tire. At this point, a state trooper had pulled over to make sure we were okay and see if we needed any assistance. He helped Austin get it all started but then told us he had to leave because a man up the road was threatening to jump in front of traffic... yeah.

My hero!

Austin got the spare on successfully and we had called up to a place in a small town just up the road and they had the tire size we needed! So we slowly made our way there, got our new tire and $150 later, we were on our way! Luckily we didn't run into any other problems on the way there!

Once we made it to South Dakota, we enjoyed a few days relaxing on the lake and hanging out with family. We had a lot of fun. We went paddle-boating, tubing and playing on the water toys, that you can see in the picture below. 
 

We had a great time and it was hard to leave! I think everyone agreed that it would have to be something we should do every summer! :)

Since then, we really haven't done to much. Austin is still enjoying his job at the airport, mostly I think because it gets him out of the house! He's also been working with students doing voice lessons and next month, he'll be taking some students to All-State camp back at Wartburg. I think Austin is ready for school to begin again and start working with all of his students for another great year at Riverside! 


For me, the summer is also going well at work. Orientation days are definitely the busiest but the free lunch makes up for the early morning those days. :) I can tell that fall is starting to get closer because college fair invites have started coming in and soon I'll be scheduling high school visits again. I've also been working on creating our new books for the school year. These are the books that we give out at college fairs, high school visits and campus visits. I've really enjoyed doing this and it's helping me keep busy. Another exciting thing is that our entire office will be heading to Denver in October for the National Conference for Admissions Counselors. I'm so excited to get back to the great city of Denver and to hopefully learn some new things!

I think that's about it for us. We're just trying to get by in this heat wave that's hit the US. I hope you all are staying cool as well! Enjoy the rest of the summer before it's gone! :)

An Infomercial

Are you a fan of Mr. Austin Zaruba?
Do you like his energy and enthusiasm?
Do you enjoy his music and teaching abilities?
Do you love watching him dance up on stage as he directs?
Are you sad because he lives so far away and it's just plain hard for you to get to all of his concerts?

Well you're in luck!

The Riverside Vocal Music Program has created a new website full of all Mr. Z's concert videos! Starting back from his very first concert during his first year teaching in 2010 all the way up to the present!

(Okay, well maybe not quite yet to the present time... We're still working on loading all of the videos from different concerts and events. We manage about one a week! So keep checking back until we've got them all up to his last spring concert!) 


So, check out the website here: https://vimeo.com/riversidevocalmusic

And enjoy the musical talents of the Riverside Vocal Music Program! They've come along way in just two years! It's pretty cool to watch the first concert and then to watch them again just this past spring! You can also tell how much they admire and respect Mr. Z! So way to go!! :) 


ENJOY!

Some Music Updates

I seem to be averaging about one blog a month... I can't blame it on us being too busy because while we've been busy, we haven't been that busy. So I'm going to blame on it on the fact that we just don't have a lot going on. We can be boring people. :)

AJ has officially finished up with the school year. Okay, well not quite yet. He still has two more weeks of school but when it comes to all of his concerts, performances, etc. he has finished. The Middle School concert at the end of last month sounded great and he had those kids doing some pretty difficult music for their age! They sounded great. The High School concert also went really well! He was able to show off some of the smaller group talent and showcased all of his seniors that will be graduating. My Mom and Grandma actually made the trip down for the concert and I think they really enjoyed themselves! They just kept saying how amazing the choir sounded and the quality of music they're singing. They also kept commenting on how much fun AJ seems to have when he's up there conducting. And it's true - he just dances away on stage! :) He brings a level of energy and enthusiasm like none other and the kids respond to it. They were so focused on him the entire time - very professional! And you can tell how much they respect him!
AJ also had his Large Group Contest back on May 4th where the choir traveled to Elk Horn, Iowa to perform in front of three judges. The choir sang their very best, did an outstanding job and walked away with an Excellent (Division II) Rating! And they really deserved it! (Well, actually I think they deserved a Division I, but I'm not a judge!) They sang a level 3 difficulty of music and for a program so young and still growing, they rocked it. They did really well. AJ and I have been working on putting together videos of all his past concerts recently and when we were watching the video of his very first concert at Riverside - with only like 12 kids - it was amazing the difference in sound they have, the level of professionalism while on stage, and how much more talent they have now. It's been fun to watch them grow as a choir.

AJ also decided to start some traditions at Riverside. This past Saturday, he held the first ever Riverside Choir Awards Banquet. He asked students and parents to help bring food and we had a nice little brunch on Saturday morning. AJ then spent some time explaining everything that they had done throughout the year and then presenting the students with their awards (letters, pins, bars, etc.). It was a really neat thing and fun for those students to get recognized because they really deserve the recognitions. Another tradition he has decided to start was recording the choir singing songs from throughout the year. So last week I took off work to help with the project. We spent all morning at a local church in town recording the choir singing a number of different pieces along with some small groups. For the first year of doing this, the CD will have 20 tracks on it! And with the sale of all the CDs, the money will go straight back to the Music Program, which is really great. So, because I know you're all interested... :) if you want to buy a CD, I've included the order form below. You can also go to the Riverside Vocal Music facebook page and download it there too! And just in case you haven't already, you should go to the facebook page and "Like" it so you can stay up to date on all Riverside Vocal Music stuff! 

I think that about does it for us right now. "Annie" rehearsals are still going great and I really love being back on stage and singing again! I forget how much I miss it! 
More from us later - as soon as some things happen! :) 

A little of this and that

Things are starting to get busy for us around here! Usually summer is a time to relax and take things slow... but at least for the beginning of the summer, that isn't going to be the case for us!

I decided to audition for "Annie" - the community theater show where AJ is music director this summer and landed the role of Grace Farrell (secretary to Mr. Warbucks)! I'm pretty excited and definitely excited to be back on stage - for the first time since 2005! - and to be able to do some singing again! We started rehearsals this past weekend and it looks like "Annie" is pretty much going to consume our lives until the end of June! :) Not that I'm complaining, I think it's going to be a lot of fun and it's with a great group of people!
We have performances June 21st - 24th so let me know if you want tickets! :)

Even though we've only had two rehearsals, it's been fun to watch AJ work with all the little kids in the show! It never ceases to amaze me how well he is with kids. And I'm sure most of this is because he's just a big goofy kid himself! :) But it's just so much fun to watch him in his element! I've been lucky enough to be able to do this quite a bit lately!
Last month AJ had 15 students from the high school that went to solo/ensemble contest. Basically for those of you that don't know, this is a competition the students go to where they've prepared one or more pieces of music and perform in front of a judge. The judge will then score them on a number of different areas and give out a rating that ranges from Division I (Superior) to Division IV (Poor). The 15 students that AJ took were the largest group of kids to go to contest from Riverside. Of those 15 students, they walked away with 8 Division I's, 6 Division II's and one Division III. It was an outstanding day for those students! You could tell how hard each of them worked and how much they wanted to do well, not only for themselves, but also for Mr. Z! :)

Tonight AJ has his last Middle School concert for the year and the last High School concert is next Monday. He also has Large Group Contest this Friday night. Large Group is essentially the same as solo/ensemble contest, only the choir goes and performs as a whole in front of three judges. Last year the choir received a Division II. This year, with a choir that is practically tripled in size, AJ is hoping to walk out with a Division I. He and the students have been working very hard. AJ also found out recently that he has just under 50 students signed up for choir next year! This is just amazing considering that the started with just around 12 his first year - just two years ago! He is really doing some great things with the Riverside Vocal Music program!

For some other great news, we heard back from H&R Block about our amendments for the previous two years of state taxes and we will be getting some money back!! We'll actually be getting back right around $1000! So we're very excited and this is going straight into our emergency fund - as part of our Financial Peace University learning. And speaking of FPU, we have officially graduated! We had our last class last week and we're kind of sad it's over! It has been a lot of fun going to class every week, learning some really great things, but also meeting and getting to know some other people in town. It'll be strange now having to go to class now every Wednesday! And I would say it'll be nice to have our Wednesday nights back, but we've moved on to "Annie" rehearsals now!

I think that's just about it for us right now! If I don't post anything for the next two months, now you know that we'll be busy! :)

Future planning?

Life here at the Zaruba's is going pretty well these days. We had a pretty great day last Friday actually. I got a call about mid-morning from Progressive letting me know that the other insurance company had accepted liability for the accident! This in itself was awesome news!! But what made it even better was the fact that our car repairs hadn't been finished yet so the bill was going to get sent directly to the other company - we didn't have to pay a dime! I was one happy camper. And then to make things even better, we were able to pick up our car on Friday afternoon - repairs were done and it looked as good as new! It was a relief to have this all taken care of and we were so blessed that everything worked out in our favor.

Last weekend was pretty busy for both AJ and I - we each had to work all day Saturday. AJ was working with Riverside's speech team and they had districts all day. The great news is that they did have a couple of students make it to State so they'll be heading over that way soon. I think AJ is going to continue to help out with the speech team, especially within the area of Musical Theater. I think he really enjoys working with these kids and he's talked about getting more involved next year.
I on the other hand, was busy all day in Omaha working at our Housing Showcase on campus and then later Saturday night at our Dual Enrollment Hockey Event. It was a long and exhausting day, especially after being on my feet all day. I can tell you that AJ and I both slept soundly on Saturday night! 

Our classes at FPU are continuing to go well. We took a big step this past week and cut up all of our credit cards. That was a little hard for me to do. We had recently taken them out of our wallets and locked them up in our safe-box, but I liked having them there in case of an emergency. But as Dave Ramsey teaches us, we should really have an emergency savings account instead of using credit cards. And so that's what we're working towards. We are still learning a lot each week; this class has been very beneficial. I would encourage anyone who has ever considered taking this class to do it. Or if you haven't considered it but would like to feel more financially secure, this is the class to take. It has been well worth the time spent so far. 

In a couple of "great news" stories... our clans-baby is officially one year old now! It's hard to believe it - even more so for his mom and dad I'm sure! :) He celebrated his birthday party last Sunday but since AJ and I were both so exhausted from working on Saturday we were unable to attend. Hopefully we can make it up there soon to see the little man and of course his parents. :) I also had a very close and dear friend of mine get engaged recently! After the phone call I was literally jumping up and down! I am so excited for her and her new fiance as they start this adventure of wedding planning and the journey of marriage together. I wish them both a lifetime of happiness! :) 

Other than that, AJ and I continue to have conversations about our future. This is something that we discuss quite often actually. We talk about when we would like to start having kids possibly, where we see ourselves in five years, etc. The thing is that every time we talk about our future, it always seems to change. I shouldn't be surprised but sometimes I feel like it can be discouraging. I know that all of our talks of future plans are just that - plans. Plans change. And with so much unknown about the future, it's hard to set any plan in stone. But that doesn't mean I wouldn't like it to be so. 
With each discussion, it seems one of us always has a change of heart about something. But this is always a reminder about the compromise of marriage. Finding a "plan" that we can both agree on. Talking about a future we're both happy about. And most importantly, remembering that things are not always going to work the way we want them to. Things are going to change, our plan is going to change. We have no control over many of these things. Most important we need to remember to trust God. To ask Him what He plan for us is. What His future for us looks like. And we must remember to be quiet long enough to hear what He is telling us. 

I have no fancy title for this one...

You know, sometimes I'm just not good at keeping up with regular blog posts. Not that it really matters because I don't know who really reads these. But I feel like sometimes I have so much to say that I'll have like three blog posts I'll want to put up all within like three days. Other times, like now, I have nothing to say for a month. Oh well, such is life I suppose. We don't always have blog-worthy events going on at home! 

But since it has been a month, I figured I better update you all on our life! January was a good month for us. Nothing too big or exciting but I would say a pretty good start to the new year. AJ got quickly back into the swing of things at school, preparing for upcoming solo/ensemble contest and then large group contest later down the road. Although I think I speak for AJ and probably all the kids at school, that because of the mild winter we've been having, they're a little disappointed that they haven't had any snow days yet this year! But who knows, winter could definitely still come and surprise us! We'll just have to wait and see.

AJ did get some exciting news a couple of weeks ago though about a possible summer job! There is a community theater in Macedonia, which is just about 10 minutes down the road from Oakland and part of the school district. They are putting on a summer production of "Annie" and want AJ to be the musical director! It should be a great gig for him too! The performances would be at the end of June so he'd be able to get some extra cash and still have the month of July to relax and enjoy his summer vacation. Plus, AJ is is exciting for the experience, to meet some new people, network and to get in some practice before he has to put on another musical next fall at the high school.

AJ also got some other news a couple of weeks ago, although I'm not sure this one is as exciting. AJ has to get his wisdom teeth removed. They've been bothering him for a while and I think he's ready to have them out! So we go in this Friday for the procedure. And then I will get to spend all weekend taking care of him! :) I'm a little excited to see if he swells up and looks like a cute chipmunk! haha But in all seriousness, your thoughts and prayers would be greatly appreciated that the procedure goes well and for a fast recovery! We all know how much AJ loves to talk so hopefully he'll be back up and talking again shortly afterwards! :)

Things at my job are going great right now as well. It's starting to pick up and get busy again. I'll be visiting high schools here starting next month and doing some college fairs in March. While the spring is definitely quieter than my fall travel season, I'll still be plenty busy. Another great thing about my job is that I still have my job! When I first started, a year ago as of January 18th (woot!), it was only for a one year temporary position. Thankfully it was extended for another year and hopefully I'll even be hired on in a full time position - at least that's what we're working on! :) I also have to say that I've been very thankful for the mild winter so far. With my drive being a lot longer than AJ's into work, I'm glad we haven't really had any nasty weather. It's made my commute much more easier!

AJ and I are also trying to get a head of our finances. Even after two years of marriage, there are still things that surprise us, or that we argue about when it comes to finances. I think it's probably a struggle for a lot of people. So we're taking some financial planning courses. Maybe you've heard of Dave Rasmey, but he has these Financial Peace University courses that are taught all over the country. And there's actually a class taking place at the church in Oakland that we attend. So starting tomorrow, Feb. 1st, we'll be attending a 13-week course. It should be pretty interesting and hopefully we'll learn a lot and get a lot out of it. Maybe we'll even figure out how to do our taxes! I have to say that when this time comes every year it makes me nervous. I hate filing taxes. You never know what to expect. And this year is even more difficult with me working in one state and living in another. I think the whole process is entirely too difficult for the average person to understand. So I think AJ and I might just bite the bullet and meet with someone to help us this year.

Well, that's about it. That's all we've been up to recently. More to come as soon as more happens. :)

Happy New Year!

Well, as quickly as they came, the holidays are now gone. But I think I speak for both Austin and I when I say that we had a great holiday season this year.

Last year over the holidays, I was unemployed. As such, we were able to spend more time with family since AJ has a bigger break over the holidays off from school and so it worked out very nicely! But then of course I got this job. Come to find out, the university shuts down the week between Christmas and the New Year so we were able to enjoy just as much of a relaxing break this year with our families!

We started out in Tipton, spending the actual holidays with Austin's family. We had a blast - as we always do! :) We played board games, Wii games, ate A LOT of food and of course, had our traditional scavenger hunt! AJ's parents would always make a scavenger hunt for the kids growing up and it's something they continue to do, only now Matt and I get to join in on the fun as well! But this year, I decided to mix it up a little bit - we created a scavenger hunt for them! It was fun to see them "run" around the house and yard looking for their clues to find their present this year! Although, I'm not sure we'll make them do it every year... :) We even had time to make some awesome gingerbread houses... and one boat. haha Overall, it was great to be back in Tipton and spend some much needed time together with the family! It had been way too long! Here are some pictures from our time there! 

After spending some time in Tipton, we headed up to Minnesota to see my family. I think they were eager for us to get there because they were waiting on us to open presents! :) Again, we enjoyed being able to just spend some relaxing time with family and seeing old friends while we were there. We also enjoyed watching an old video that we made last Christmas while our parents were away... it was quite funny. :) We even got some snow while we were there - very little!! - but enough to make it feel a little bit more like Christmas. Otherwise it was a very brown Christmas - everywhere (home in Oakland, Tipton and Minnesota!). And I mean brown, no snow whatsoever. Not even piles in the ditch. It was very sad. But anyway, we did get a light dusting in Minnesota just in time to celebrate the Reedstrom family Christmas. We had a houseful and it was so much fun! We always have a great time! 

We did celebrate Mom's birthday while we were around on Friday night before we all had to leave as well! We decided to drive back home on the 31st so that we could spend a relaxing New Year's Eve at our house - really just being a boring old couple. :) But it was good to be home after being gone for so long. We really wish the rest of our family would just decide to move so that they would all be closer to us! ;-) And it was nice to have a relaxing day on Sunday before AJ had to go back to work on Monday. AJ had a professional development day on Monday, so no kids yet and then he even got the afternoon off. But that meant he was stuck at home with me cleaning the house, putting away Christmas decorations and re-organizing all of his clothes! :) I would say it was a very productive day!

Over break, AJ did have some excitement when it comes to his high school choir! They were featured on a local radio station that was featuring local talent singing Christmas songs! The recording he sent in is absolutely great (if you haven't heard it already!) and the radio even did a little bit of a back story!! You can listen to it here and you really should!!

And now it's back to the old routine of things, but in a new year. I love the start of a new year. It's a new beginning, a fresh start. A time for resolutions, although who really ever keeps those... haha The new year is a time to make new commitments. New ideas. A time for new adventures. And that's really what AJ and I are hoping for this year. We have some new ideas, some new plans and hopefully some new adventures in the works!

But, at the same time, you have to stay somewhat down to earth. You have to also realize that things don't always work out. Resolutions aren't always kept. Plans don't always go accordingly. But that's okay too. Because in one year, there will be a chance for another fresh start.

December already?

I've decided it was time for another update blog post. I mean, I know how much you all love these! ;-)

November came and was quickly gone again. Sometimes I can't believe it's already December! But November was still a fairly busy time for us. I was busy finishing up my high school visits and AJ was busy preparing for his all-school talent show. I spent some time up in Minnesota for a friend's baby shower and it was so good to see my high school friends. We always have a great time whenever we can get together! But you can tell we're all getting older as our gatherings now include babies! :)
The all-school talent show went great for AJ and I think he was really pleased with all the acts and how well all of his students did. And then we even had some visitors! Amber and Ariel came over and the three of us (we left AJ at home...) went to go see Breaking Dawn. We've seen the last two Twilight movies together so it's become a fun tradition for us!

And then it was already Thanksgiving! We spent the weekend up in Minnesota with my family. It was great to not only have some time with just our immediate family, but to also spend Thanksgiving day with our extended family as well. And again, you can tell we're all growing up as we now have little ones to entertain us throughout the day. :) AJ especially had fun playing Ring-Around-the-Rosie with them! We spent the rest of the weekend relaxing and enjoying our time off from work. We did do some Black Friday shopping - but not until later in the morning! And seeing some other friends while we were home as well. Overall, it was a great weekend! And plenty to be thankful for!

And now it's December! We welcomed December with a bit of snow on the first but nothing that really stuck. And then that first Saturday we had quite a bit of snow! It was one of those really beautiful snowfalls with the big fluffy flakes. Unfortunately, we were in Omaha for the day as I was at work and we had some shopping to do. Luckily though, we didn't run into too many problems on the drive home. Now however, all of snow has melted! And I must admit, I don't like it. I'm a big fan of having a white Christmas! Must be the whole growing up in Minnesota thing... :) But I need to have snow on Christmas. And from what my parents tell me, they don't have any snow back at home either! So here's hoping that we do get another snowfall that sticks - here, in Tipton and in Minnesota! Give me snow! :)

On Dec. 2nd, AJ had his Middle School Winter Concert. The fun part about that is that he had family that came over to surprise him! I knew ahead of time and it was fun to see his surprised face at the concert! His Mom, Grandma, Aunt Lisa and Amber all came for the concert. It was fun to have AJ walk around the corner and see them standing there! We are so blessed to have such amazing family that supports us so much! The concert itself was also amazing! Especially for a middle school concert, the sound was very good. The students were engaged and focused on what they were doing! AJ definitely knows what he's doing. I think his family were very impressed with the quality of concert it was as well, for being a middle school concert.

This past weekend we had some guests come and hang out with us! My friend Amanda and her baby Thor drove down for the weekend! The visit had been a long time coming and we were so happy it finally happened! We had a fun-filled weekend of playing with Thor and getting in some quality clans-people time! :) On Saturday we spent most of the day in Omaha at one of the malls. Amanda wanted to take Thor to see Santa! And the pictures she got were priceless! Definitely worth the 45 minutes we spent waiting in line! We all got some shopping done and ended the day at the Cheesecake Factory - which made my husband very happy! :) On Sunday we all just relaxed and didn't really do much of anything! Although we did give Thor a bath and taught him how to splash... haha They drove back home yesterday (Monday) and it was sad to see them go! We had a lot of fun! And we got a pretty good idea of what it's like to have a baby around 24/7! :) Not quite sure if we're ready for that yet... haha

Our string of visitors didn't stop there however! Yesterday we also welcomed my parents into town! They came down to see AJ's concert last night! It was wonderful of them to drive down and always great to see them! Plus, it was the first time my mom had seen our new apartment! After the concert we all went out for dinner and definitely had a good time! No offense to my sister and brother, but it was nice to spend some quality time with just AJ and my parents. I'm not sure we've really ever gotten the chance to do that. And it was really great. Again, we are truly blessed to have such supportive families! :) And today, before they headed back home to Minnesota, they drove into Omaha to see where I work and walk around UNO's campus! It's always fun to show off the place where I work and tell them about campus! :) I was even treated with a Jones Bros Cupcake before they left! Lucky me! And AJ... we of course bought one for him too!

So, as I mentioned, last night was AJ's High School Winter Concert - and his last concert for the year. The concert was incredible! It's been amazing to see how far the choir has progressed in just one short year! AJ has tripled his choir size and you could definitely tell the difference in the concert last night. Their sound was so good and the level of singing has definitely improved. AJ just has a way with students and knows how to get them to focus on what they're doing and to really put on a great show. The level of one of the songs they did was so impressive - it was a very difficult song - an All-State song, especially for such a young choir like AJ's but they did outstanding! Like I said, they've come a long way in just one year and it'll be exciting to see how Contest will go this spring and what will happen next year! It was a great concert!

I was thinking last night during the concert about when AJ first got offered the job at Riverside. I remember thinking that after he accepted the job, even though I somehow knew it was the right decision, I couldn't imagine leaving Northeast Iowa... I couldn't imagine living in Council Bluffs, in a place that was so foreign and far away from our family and friends. It was hard for me to picture what our life would be like here. But last night, as I watched AJ conduct the choir and watch how the kids responded to him, I can't imagine us being anywhere else right now.
Yes we're far away from our family. But this is where we're suppose to be. I know that without a doubt. This job at Riverside has been the perfect job for AJ. It's allowed him to really build up a program. It's allowed him to start making a name for himself. It's helped him to really develop his teaching skills and styles and to develop the program. We're in a community that has welcomed us with open arms and one that simply adores AJ. I love tagging behind AJ after a concert to listen to all the amazing compliments he receives from parents and members of the community. I love hearing AJ come home and tell me the nice things that the principal said to him that day after observing his class. I love reading emails that AJ gets from mentors or parents that talk about how they've never seen a skill and energy level like his from a second year teacher. I love being able to be so proud of my husband.

Not only has this place been great for AJ and his career, it's also been perfect for mine. I remember having to leave Kruger, a place where I've become comfortable and try to figure out what I was going to do over here. I remember applying for job and job, just trying to find anything. And then I was lucky enough to interview at UNO for the Admissions Counselor position. Getting in to admissions work in higher education is something I've always wanted to do since I graduated. I worked as a student in Wartburg's Admissions Office and loved it! But it can be hard to get into the field without having experience! So I have been so grateful for the opportunity I've been given here at UNO. And I believe that this job has helped me realize that I want to continue my career in higher education. Trying to figure out what I've wanted to do with my life has been a struggle of mine since college. And while I still don't know entirely what I want to do in life, I know I would like to stay within education - specifically higher education. And that's a good feeling.

I know I say this a lot, but God really does know what He's doing. It's just always amazing when you think back over the past year or two and you can see how everything has fallen into place exactly like it's suppose to. Looking back and and then looking at the present, seeing everything is how it's suppose to be, it makes going through those rough patches easier. It's helpful to know that those rough patches are sometimes necessary to make you stronger or to help get you to the place you are now.
Everything just takes time. Time and patience. And that's something that not a lot of us have. God's timeline is much different than ours but His is the one that counts. And it's always good when you can finally see that.

So, I strayed a bit and didn't just keep this an update blog but hopefully that's okay. :) And anyhow... right now I think AJ and I are both looking forward to Christmas break! One thing I love about my job is that we get the week off in between Christmas and New Year's! And since AJ also has a break, this means that we get some extended time with our families!! Which we love!! :) So next week we'll be heading to Tipton for a Zaruba Christmas and then the following week we're driving up to Minnesota for a late Reedstrom Christmas. It should be a great, fun and relaxing time! Now if it would just hurry up and get here! :)

A year ago...

It's hard to believe but it's been a year since we first moved to Western Iowa. Last year this time we had just become Council Bluffs residents. I remember how different and foreign everything seemed back then! Now this place is very much a part of us.
This past weekend we made yet another move. We swear this is going to be the last for a while! :) And we've made our home Oakland, Iowa. We're really looking forward to all the benefits of living in a small town and living in the school district! Plus, we love our new apartment! A big thanks to all the help we had and made the move quickly and smoothly! I must say, it's much easier carrying things down three flights of stairs, rather than up! And we have everything in our new apartment and a majority of things unpacked already! Again, we are so grateful for all of our family that came and helped us!

I know that this is the last thing you're suppose to do, but I'm wishing away August. And I'm sure most people will think I'm crazy and believe that's the last thing they'd want to do - wish away the last month of summer before a crazy and busy fall/school year starts again?! Yes... And as much as I'm looking forward to this new school year (for both AJ and myself) that's not the reason I'm wishing for September. I love summer and I am sad to see it leave. But AJ and I are paying dual rent this month - necessary in order to get our lovely new apartment and while we have the money to do that, we don't have money to do anything else. haha We're both so looking forward to the month of September and getting back on track with our finances. Being able to pay a lower rent and with both of us seeing a little bit of a pay increase at our jobs, we're looking forward to being able to start putting away some money into our savings account again! And we're going to especially need to start saving if my family is planning a "last" family vacation next summer to Harry Potter World! :)

But other than those reasons, I am sad to see summer come to an end. It's been a great summer for both AJ and I and I think we've been fortunate enough to be able to see quite a bit of our families as well, which is something we always look forward to. This fall will be a new experience for both of us though! AJ will be in his second year of teaching and is excited to go back with a year under his belt. I know he's already got some big plans in place and is excited with the growth of his high school choir. This fall is also really going to teach me about the aspects of my job because it is our busiest recruiting season. I will be on the road a lot to high school visits and college fairs. While I'm use to traveling for my job, I think this is going to be more than what I've done in the past. But I truly am excited for it and ready to start talking to high schoolers about UNO!

AJ is heading to Waverly this weekend to go back to Wartburg for a few days and he's taking some Riverside students with him! They're heading there on Saturday for a three day All-State Music Camp! I know AJ is so excited to bring them back to Wartburg and to also see some of his fellow music teachers/friends. I'll be eager to hear what the students thought about Wartburg as well! :) So I'm going to spend the weekend enjoying the new apartment to myself, finishing unpacking some boxes and getting things in place. I'll get some pictures taken and posted soon so you can all see our new digs! :)

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!

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! :)

A Birthday, Homecoming, Anniversary and Concert

Well, it's been a busy couple of weeks in the Zaruba household. My 25th birthday has come and gone. We spent the weekend up in Minnesota and it was really nice to spend some quality time with my family. It seems like it had been forever since I had been home! The weekend was spent taking some more senior pictures of Daniel, eating a lot of food, having drinks with some friends and hanging out with my family. It was a great weekend! But again, it was too short and the end came too quickly.

Last week seemed to crawl by. Probably because AJ and I had such an amazing weekend planned out! Finally Friday came and it was the start of our Anniversary weekend! AJ even surprised me by sending a dozen roses to my office! The note on the card said: "A rose for every month we've been married." Loved it! :)

That night, AJ got into town and we walked down Main St. in Cedar Falls and stopped at Indulgence. There we enjoyed a nice glass of wine while sitting out on the sidewalk, enjoying the amazing fall weather. Then we had 8pm reservations at Bourbon St. It was the first time AJ had ever eaten there and it had been forever since I was there and wow was the food amazing! The best part was we had a $50 gift card from the hotel in honor of our anniversary. After dinner, we walked back to our hotel - The Blackhawk Hotel in Cedar Falls. It's a very cool old hotel that still has the vintage look and feel to it. The room was so neat and they had roses on our pillows and rose petals all over. We also had some champagne and chocolate. It was a great night.

Saturday morning we drove into Waverly for Wartburg's Homecoming. We went to a friends house for some home made breakfast which was great! Then we attended the Homecoming parade before making our way to campus. We spent pretty much the whole time running into people we knew from college and catching up with them. It's also so great to get back on campus and see the people who have been such a big part of our lives. It's truly like going back home. Wartburg's community is so close-knit and it's always nice to go back and be a part of that - even if it's just for a little while.

Before leaving town, AJ and I picked up our anniversary cake. The Waverly Bakery is where we got our wedding cake from. One of the cool things they do is give you a free cake for your one year anniversary. This is one thing that AJ was really looking forward to! For the past year, AJ has not let me forget the fact that he didn't get any of our wedding cake on our wedding night except for the small pieces we fed each other. So this free cake was a big deal for us... okay, for AJ. :)

That night, we stayed at a small hotel in Toledo, IA that had some themed rooms. It was a lot of fun because it was so different than a normal hotel. Our room was called Aces Wild and had a casino theme. This was a surprise to AJ until we got there and I think he really enjoyed it. We ordered in pizza, ate some cake and enjoyed some wine. It was another perfect night.

Sunday morning we were able to sleep in, which we did! Then we packed up and heading west back home to Council Bluffs. Yes, that's right, I said we. :) I took Monday and Tuesday morning off from work. On Sunday we pretty much just relaxed around the house and enjoyed each other's company.

Tonight was AJ's first concert at Riverside High School and I wouldn't miss it for the world. He did an outstanding job! And I was not the only one to think so! These were just some of the quotes I heard after the concert:

• Phenomenal! Just great, night and day difference from last year!
• You bring so much energy to the program.
• What a great concert! You really pick songs that the kids enjoy singing!

Of course AJ would be modest and tell everyone that it's really the kids that are doing great and he just waves his arms. But he does give them a great energy and he works harder than he gives himself credit for. It always amazes me to watch AJ when he's up on stage and in front of his choir. You can just see the passion in his eyes and when he talks and when he's conducting. You just know that AJ is meant to be in front of a choir. He makes it all look like so much fun too! And it really makes me miss choir! We did record the concert so if any of your are interested in watching all or some of it, just let us know.

All in all, it has been a great weekend and past couple of weeks. I'm not looking forward to having to leave again tomorrow. It's getting harder to want to leave Council Bluffs every time I get over here. It feels a lot like home (even though I don't live here) and it's so nice to be able to sleep in my own bed next to my husband!

Well, I have a lot of other thoughts, but this blog is more of a recap. I'll be sure to get those thoughts down for another blog! I hope you are all enjoying the nice fall weather before the next season comes along... :) God Bless.

Three years

It's been three years. Three years ago, I ran into a bit of bad luck but within 24 hours of that event, my luck had turned around. AJ and I started dating. I'm not sure either of expected what the next three years to bring, but we have been grateful and blessed by everything. Especially of the fact that we're coming up to just about a month away from our one year wedding anniversary - something we're very excited to celebrate! :)

This past week, I was out in Nebraska for the Husker Harvest farm show. I was able to take yesterday (Friday) off and spent it here in Council Bluffs with AJ. Luckily for me, this weekend was also Riverside's Homecoming! So yesterday afternoon I drove to Oakland to watch the Homecoming parade - which AJ was judging. It was so much fun to watch all the students throughout the parade and see their school spirit! And it was nice to continue to meet more of the people that AJ works with. Throughout the parade and then again at the football game that night, I heard numerous comments and praises from other faculty and community members about AJ. How excited they are to have him at the district, all the good things they've heard about him, how he brings so much enthusiasm to his work, and so on and so on. It made me so proud! :) I know without a doubt that AJ is putting his very best into all the work he's doing at the school, but it's so nice to hear it from other people to. And to hear that they appreciate all he's doing so far - and he's only getting started! It also made me feel very welcomed into this community and very excited to become a part of that once I'm over here full-time.

The parade and the football game were both a lot of fun. And I felt much more in place this game as I had ordered some Riverside Bulldogs sweatshirts for AJ and I to wear! Unfortunately, the football game didn't go quite that well... when we left at the beginning of the 4th quarter, the score was 0-57. But that didn't waiver any of the school spirit from the crowd! And that was good to see!

AJ has cast the musical for You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown and they start having their first practices this week! And his high school choir has also been chosen to sing at the SIAC (School Improvement Advisory Committee) meeting this upcoming Tuesday, which is being held in Carson, IA. He's also been getting students to sing the National Anthem at various sporting events and singing the Pledge of Allegiance every morning at the middle school. Hopefully all this exposure will help him to continue to build the program and get more students involved!

Full-time Teacher; Part-time Lover

Finally, after much nagging (as a good wife should know how to do...), I finally got AJ to sit down and write up a blog on this experience during his first couple of weeks at school. It is below:

Wow, what an experience- my very first full time teaching job! For those of you that have read the earlier blogs – I am the new 5-12 Vocal Music instructor for Riverside community schools in Oakland, IA. If you were even the least bit curious as to how it is going for me, I hope to settle your wanderings in this blog- Here goes nothing…

Week one:

The very first full week of this new chapter in my life was actually more about learning than it was about teaching, The very first day of the week I was stuck at the UNairconditioned High school for the new year kick-off for teachers and staff. Sweat dripping down my back, I listened as the principal, superintendent, veteran teachers, and AEA professionals sprinted through their important information just so they could get to their offices to sit in front of a fan. I was already overwhelmed and to make matters worse I still had to find time to go to the middle school to sit through the exact same thing! As I staggered out of the auditorium I was able to find myself a few hours of planning time to get some copies made and some rearrangements done around my makeshift office. I really can’t explain to you how it feels to have 4 years of college waiting to be able to have an office to call my own – now I had it and I didn’t know where to start. When the first day was finished I was able to do some extra planning at my apartment back in Council Bluffs before finally calling it quits late into the night – only to do it over again the next day.

At night I can’t help but think about how nice it would be to have my lovely wife by my side. She is my rock, my comfort and my best friend. I would need to learn how to live in a new place, doing a new job, and meeting new people without her. This was something I thought we vowed never to have to do. I want her here, but I also want her to be happy which means staying at the job which prevents her from being with me. Our checking account likes her being there too!

The second day was much like the first – only THIS time I was at the middle school and was attempting to do much of the same things I tried to do at the High School. To my dismay, I was only able to get a fraction done due to mandatory meetings and curious faculty that just ‘needed’ to meet the new director. Don’t get me wrong I DO love it that people are so interested in me, but I also would like to have everything ready for the very first day of school. I ended up planning at the school until early evening before finally calling it good and heading back to my apartment.

The first day of school was finally here- I had a good night’s sleep all my stuff in my car and my confidence to boot. I was finally on my way to start my career and I was anxious/nervous/excited/ and everything in between but most of all – I was ready.  The bell rang and my choir students started to file into the room as if it was just another day at school – if only they knew how important they were to me. I did my speech, I talked about rules and expectations, and I talked about my hopes for the year. The students didn’t look terribly impressed, I expected that because choir students do expect the choir teacher to SOMETHING musical during class. After the students left I had 2 study halls of a mixture of students that just sat quietly and stared off into space like most students do during a study hall – which makes it much easier for the teacher! Now that the study halls were finished – it was now time for me to head down to the middle school and meet the 5^th grade students for the year! I wasn’t expecting what was to happen next.

The 5^th grade class started to file in, bouncing and trotting along like it was recess one after another… after another.. after another… until I had close to 45 fifth graders in my classroom at one time. I knew that the only way to get anything done was to establish the rules about talking very stern and very fast. So I did. By the time class was done – I was exhausted and so were they. I knew that they had not enjoyed the class or me very much because of how strict it needed to be. I was desperate – so I turned to a fellow teacher who gave me an idea of how to split the class into two smaller sections. I took this advice and ran with it – the new principal (who was having a MUCH harder time than me) accepted the idea and told me do please do what made me happy- so I did!

The last two days of the week went about like the first day, and by the final bell on Friday – I was ready to hibernate and see my wife. We went to the state fair with my sister and my soon-to-be brother in law, but to my surprise when Liz arrived – she was alone! Originally, she was going to come with a friend from work but backed out at the last minute which allowed Liz and I so stay in a Jacuzzi suite at a local hotel. Which was my idea that she stole!!! That little stinker!

Imagine if you will, that you are going to prison and you are looking at your loved one and saying your goodbyes. You are about to go to a place that is scary, unfamiliar, stressful and lonely. How would you feel? Pretty helpless? Sad? Depressed?   Well, those are the feelings I feel each time I leave my wife and have to do a 4.5 hour drive alone towards the place I am trying to call home. Nothing like being a full time employee and a part time lover….

I am in the middle of my second week here at Riverside and I must say that it is pretty much how I expected it to be – It is a lot harder to be away from my lovely wife than I originally thought, but the relationship I am building with my students is beginning to form and I can tell that it will continue to grow throughout the year. Stay tuned for more updates for the year AND about the musical that I am doing at Riverside: “You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown” based on the comic strip ‘Peanuts’ by Charles Schalk.