Love Is

 Over the past year or so, I've thought about this blog post a lot. What I wanted to say and who I wanted to write it to - you or Austin directly. But the last few months have thrown everything else out the window. Until today. 

Today is World Suicide Prevention Day. Last year, I wrote a blog post about the day and considering just sharing that again today. But then as I was looking through my Memories on Facebook, I saw this post from my Mom. 

I clicked the link to listen to the song. And immediately fell apart. 

Music is a powerful tool. 

Which reminded me of why I'm now writing this post. 

After Austin passed, his high school graduating class decided they wanted to collect money to commission a choral piece of music, written and composed in Austin's memory. (If you don't know, Austin was a choir director and a damn fine one at that.) And that's exactly what they did.

They reached out to composer Connor Koppin, who is also a Wartburg grad. And in turn, Connor reached out to Brian Newhouse, a poet he's worked with often on different pieces. 

Here's where I want to tell you that not only was this a perfect and amazing way to remember and honor Austin, but the process of the entire thing was very much needed for us as Austin's family. It was cathartic in many ways. And for that, I am so grateful. 

Brian reached out to us as family and asked if we would mind having a conversation about Austin and why this piece was being commissioned in his memory. It was during that conversation, that some real healing started to take place among us. For me, at least, it also felt like this piece was being created for a larger reason. During that call, Brian told us a bit about his personal life and it was like an immediate connection - Brian would have the right words for this song. 

A few weeks later, we got a copy of the music, along with a digital recording of the music and parts, but no voices singing along. Even as someone who can read music, I had a hard time putting the music and words together. But the more I listened to the music, the more I read the words, and the more I sang along, the more I fell in love. 

STOP here if you aren't interested in my interpretation of the music or if you want to listen to the song yourself first. Skip to the video at the end of this post.

 

While I surrounded myself in the music and lyrics, I couldn't help but think how beautiful the music and composition sound. But I also recognized that it an extremely hard piece of music. It was not a song that most choirs would be able to pick up and have ready within a few rehearsals. But I liked this aspect. I thought 'this is totally Austin'. First, he would have enjoyed the complexity of the music, the challenge for his choirs. And second, his life was not easy; it was hard and complicated. And you can feel that in the music. 

To me, this song feels like a letter to Austin. We're telling him all these things - how we carry his name and love fills our hearts. And as the music changes, it's like we're yelling these things at Austin because he's no longer listening to us. Then the line "so that one day you may sing" is so quiet and peaceful - Austin finally listened. And he was finally free. And we can praise God by singing holy, holy, holy because he is free from pain and sorrow. He is singing again in heaven. 

Here are the lyrics: 

A river carries your name through every bend of my heart.
May this love named for you, return to you.
Swarming your shadows to the depths of the sea. 
A river carries your name.
A new sun rose on the day of your birth.
It floods each acre in the fields of my heart.
Let this love bind your shadows.
Let this love bind your shadows, send them reeling into silence. 
So that one day, you may sing:
Holy, this breath is holy.
This living holy.
This love, holy, holy, holy. 

And here is the premiere performance of "Love Is" by the Tipton Chamber Choir from March 2020, with an introduction by Brianne Magill.

I apologize for the quality of video; I was holding my cell phone and Jacob may have been whispering to me during some parts. :) 

If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, you are not alone. Please call the National Suicide Prevention Hotline: 800-273-8255.  

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! :)

The Sun will come out Tomorrow!

Austin and I have gotten our lives back! "Annie" is officially over! Our performances were just this past weekend on Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. And for the first time in at least recent history at the Grist Mill Theater, all four shows were sold out!! Pretty big deal!

Each show was awesome! The audience was just what we needed as a cast to get that extra energy and enthusiasm on stage. There were no major screw ups or anything. The music was great (obviously with such a great music director! ;-) haha), the lines were given smoothly and no one tripped on stage! :)

Overall, the show itself was a great success. We heard a lot of positive feedback. But more importantly than that, were the friendships that we made at Grist Mill during our two months there. Rehearsals were long and often, but we met some really great people! Every person in the show or helping with the show really made it so much fun. And although I think Austin and I (and probably everyone else in the show as well...) will enjoy our free nights and weekends again, we're really going to miss hanging out with everyone.

Here are some pictures for you to enjoy from the show! 

Austin makes the best faces!

See? 

Meg and Grandma J. came to the show!

John and Austin during warm-ups

Before our second show

Mr. Warbucks and Drake like the dress! :) 

Mom & Dad Zaruba came as well!

After our third show

As you can see from the pictures we had a good time! 

The cast of "Annie" 

If you want to see more pictures, they're up on my Facebook page! :) 

Keeping Busy

Okay, now we've definitely been keeping busy!

Annie rehearsals have been in full swing for a while and with our performances next week, we're really working hard! Rehearsals are pretty much every day from 6:30pm until around 9:30 or 10pm. Last night it was 10:30. This makes for a rather long day. Especially on the days I have orientation at work. On orientation days, I have to be at work by 7am which means my alarm goes off at 5am and I'm out the door around 6am. Those are very long days. Luckily however, we don't have any orientation days next week, the week of our performances! So I'm very happy about that!

Annie has been a good experience for us! It's gotten us out of the house actually doing something! (We like to really just enjoy the time we have to ourselves right now and normally not have to do a whole lot of anything. But I know that this has been good for us for when we do have little ones running around and keeping us busy in the future!)  We've also met a lot of really great people! The cast is a fun group to work with! It's also been great having the chance to get back on stage and for me, to really sing again! It's been so long since I've gotten to sing, you forget how much you love it! And it's been fun working with AJ, with him working as the Music Director and as a fellow cast member. I think we were both a little nervous about it since we like to butt heads so much... ;-) but it's been really good and really fun to work with each other.

Another bit of exciting news is that AJ has gotten a part time summer job!! YAY!! :) I might be a little bit more excited about this than he is... haha! AJ will be working at Enterprise at the Omaha airport. Basically he will just be driving cars back and forth between some locations at the airport. So it's pretty simple, just part time and just for the summer! Plus, it's at the airport! And if you know AJ, you know how much he loves airplanes!! I just hope he keeps his eyes on the road while he's driving and not up in the sky watching the planes!

As soon as he has that schedule worked out, he'll also be doing voice lessons for some of his students. So he will be keeping busy this summer! Which is good. For both of us. :)

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! :)

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! :)

Losing the Music?

Okay... so this post is obviously not about Austin. It's pretty hard for him to "lose the music" as a music teacher... :) This is really just going to be one of those rambling posts that probably don't make any sense. I might do an update at the bottom, so you could always scroll down and read that if you want to skip this section. :) 

A couple of weeks ago, AJ had the opportunity to have some of his students perform at a local town celebration - one of the towns in the district. He was a little short handed since they had only had two days of school to practice before hand, so I got volunteered to help out. (I didn't really have a choice... haha) So we had a quick performance in Macedonia for probably about 30 people. It was a short concert, but the students he had there did a great job. But it made me realize something - how much I miss singing.
 
This past weekend, AJ and I drove up to Minnesota. On the way, we listened to our recordings from our wedding - songs that we had song and songs from the Wartburg Choir. Again, I realized how much I've missed singing. The Wartburg Choir was much more than just singing - it was about a family, about emotion, about story-telling, about praising God... and I miss it so much. 

At home, I decided to sit down and spend some time playing the piano. Something I keep telling myself I need to start practicing again so I don't lose that talent. I tried to sing along to some songs while I played, but I've never been very good at that. AJ and I also took a big stack of song/piano books that we've brought back home with us. Although we only have a small electric piano right now, I'm going to start playing again. 

We also went to church on Sunday - luckily for us, it was a service with a little bit more music than normal and some of my favorite hymns (although I think I probably have like a hundred!). Since moving out to Council Bluffs and now Oakland, AJ and I haven't really gotten into a church routine. We found a church we really like in Council Bluffs but now that we're living in Oakland, we're probably much less likely to drive all the way to CB to go to church. There isn't a Lutheran church in Oakland, but there is a Methodist church just down the road from us that has a pretty active church choir - or so we've been told. I think they're starting to put a bug in AJ's ear about potentially taking over the choir director position there... but for now, we both want to try to get back in that habit of going to church every weekend and getting involved in the choir. 

Music has always been such a big part of my life growing up - piano lessons, violin, flute, school choir, community choirs, church choir, different honor choirs, singing at friends' weddings and even just singing around the piano with my family. Music has always played such an important part in my life. It's allowed me to connect with my family, meet some incredible people, travel the world and of course - meet the love of my life. More than all of that - it's a way that I've always praised God. It's always been my number one communicator to Him. I'm not sure why I've let it slip through my fingers. But I am determined to keep music as a big part of my life. After all, it is a lot of who I am. 

Okay, now for the updates on our life. :) August is pretty much gone and the month went by pretty quickly! For some reasons, I am grateful for that. I'm very much looking forward to getting our finances under control come the month of September. I was also glad because AJ has started school again and I'm not sure how much longer he would have lasted around the house. :)

We were able to spend a couple weekends up in Minnesota - one the second weekend of August. We drove up on Thursday night and on Friday, AJ, Megan, Dan and I all went out for lunch - kind of like a "last sibling meal" before Dan headed off to college. It was nice for us all to be home one last time (we think the next time this will happen will be Thanksgiving!) and I think my parents really appreciated it. However, it might have made it a little bit harder on them once we all left. They are now officially "empty-nesters" but I think they're dealing with it pretty well. ;-) We were also able to help with the freezing corn this year! We had to since we always steal so much of it when we go home... :) But as always, it was a lot of fun. Although... no one warned me a head of time about having to actually go pick the corn! So my allergies did not appreciate that. And it also brought back some "great" memories of my time at Pioneer... haha
We were also up in Minnesota just this past weekend. We drove up to my parents house on Friday night but left again Saturday morning to drive up to New London to see some old high school friends. We were celebrating our second baby shower of the group and will soon have to celebrate another couple more! :) It's very exciting and it was great to see all of them! We did send the men out to the bar during the actual shower part so they wouldn't get bored, but then enjoyed dinner and some games later that night. I'm so grateful that all of my high school friends and I have managed to stay as close as we have after high school. We all miss seeing each other so much and try to get together as much as possible - which can be challenging as we all live in different cities and states! But we make it work whenever we can! On Sunday we spent the day with my parents and had lunch with them and my grandparents. It was great to see them and we definitely appreciated the amazing home-cooked meal! :) On our way back home, we decided to make an impromptu stop to see Amanda and Thor - and that is always a good time. :) 

This week starts off my busy season at work and I start my traveling. I will be out of the office much more than I'll be in it for the next couple of months, but I'm very excited about going out and talking to students about UNO. AJ is also getting in the full swing of things at school with All-State auditions, preparing for his fall concert and organizing an All-School Talent Show. It's going to be a very busy fall indeed! :) 

Siblings in our school colors/shirts

Wartburg vs. NDSU :)

High School Friends

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! :)