Remembering 9/11...

It's been 10 years. Ten years since that day that changed America. That changed us all. It was a day like no other. An attack on America, that folded out on live television. Everyone watched. Everyone watched in horror. In shock. It was a day that changed America.

I was a sophomore in High School. It was picture day at school and I had on my favorite light pink sweater. I was sitting in Mrs. Ehlers' Spanish class, our classroom right by the Superintendent's Office. Someone came up the stairs and motioned Mrs. Ehlers outside. They were whispering and we couldn't hear what they were saying. Mrs. Ehlers walked back in, with this look of shock and utter disbelief on her face, stared at us for a moment, then went back out into the hall. I remember wondering, what is going on? When she came back in, again she looked at us with that look on her face and told us, "Your country has just been attacked." I remember not understanding. I remember questioning how could that be. Mrs. Ehlers told us briefly what had happened, what she knew. And then she told us, "I don't know who your God is, but whoever He is, you need to pray to Him right now. You need to pray for your country." The rest of the day is a blur and I really don't remember much else.

Looking back, even as a sophomore in high school, I don't I understood what really had happened that day. I didn't understand how everything was going to change. Sometimes I wish I could remember more, wish I understood it better. But every year, every anniversary, I look back and read news stories, look at pictures, watch video. And every year, I understand more. As I've grown up, I've watched how the events of Sept 11th have changed so many things - the unity we feel as Americans, the patriotism we share, the increased security at airports, the War on Terrorism and the rise of the voice of the American people.

Watching video of that day and the days after, reading stories, listening to survivors and looking at pictures, I have a lot of emotions and thoughts that run through my head. I think about how lucky we were that some of the planes weren't full. I think how there was enough time in between the impacts and the collapses of the building, that many people did get out. I think about all those brave men and women of firefighters and police officers that ran into the building to help who they could when everyone else was running out. I think about the people of Flight 93 who fought back so there weren't any more deaths elsewhere. Their stories are incredible and the sacrifice they made were unbelievable. And the continued efforts of rescue and clean up for the days and months after - each of those people deserve our thanks.

And while what happened to America on that day was horrible and should never be forgotten, I can't help think about the areas in the world where things like attacks or suicide bombers happen daily. We are blessed to live in America where we do feel so secure a majority of the time. I can't imagine living in a place where you feel constantly under attack. How do you live like that? How is that okay? I have to remember that there are places like this and that so many people are much worse off than we have ever been. And for that, I am grateful. Grateful of where I live and for all the people that make that possible.

And at the same time, I think about hate. To me, what America stands for is freedom, for opportunity. What American doesn't stand for is hate. And I am ashamed to admit that 9/11 did bring out some hate in people. I'm not saying I haven't been angry about what happened, because I have. But never hate. Yes, there are some people out there who hate America, but we shouldn't hate them back. In watching a documentary on TV today they showed video at an Islamic Center in New York just days after 9/11. People had called and left messages of hate. Messages about how they hoped they would die and that people would be coming after them. And that makes me just as angry as the events of 9/11. I just don't know how people can hate like that - especially to a group of people that are completely innocent and just as hurt by the events of 9/11 as the rest of us. There are bad seeds in all groups of people - that is true for America too. But it doesn't mean we hate that whole group. That is not American. And that is something I feel like we didn't learn correctly from 9/11. But 10 years later, maybe there is still time to learn.

It's hard to believe 10 years has pasted. But it is still feels like a recent event to most of us. Especially with all the media we have available. And I think it's good that we have so much video and pictures, it keeps it real, it keeps it recent. It makes it so that we don't forget. And we never should. 9/11 will always be in our hearts. Along with all of those people who lost their lives that day. We will remember. 

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

PB&J: Straw Poll

It's official (officially). The 2012 Presidential Election race has begun. This past Saturday, August 13th, the Iowa Straw Poll was held in Ames, Iowa. For many, this is viewed as the official "kick-off" of the presidential race. At the Straw Poll, Iowa Republicans take a vote on if the election were right now, who they would vote for. At the Straw Poll on Saturday, Congresswoman Michele Bachmann won with 29% of the votes. Ron Paul came in second and Tim Pawlenty came in third (who has also already dropped out of the race). Luckily (in my opinion), the Straw Poll has no actual pull in the Presidential race and those that win the Straw Poll have historically lost later on and not gained the GOP candidate position.

The fact that someone like Michele Bachmann could have so much support is actually scary to me. I'm not so much frightened by her far right-wing ideas and positions as I am to her (and the Tea Party's) inability and unwillingness to compromise. This is not what is best for the country. Everyone has their own ideas and opinions on issues - that is good, that is what's great about America. But because everyone has such different ideas, we - as a nation - need to learn how to work together to find a compromise that is going to make a majority of people happy, or at least some-what happy. And this is what the Tea Party is unwilling to do! And if they continue to act like stubborn teenagers, things could go downhill very quickly - as we saw with the financial crisis in Washington or even the government shutdown in Minnesota. A successful democracy must be about compromise.

There seems to be a lot of other talk around that doesn't make much sense either. Again, going back to the financial crisis - politicians on both sides are trying to come up with answers to fix the problem. And while I still believe that some sort of compromise is going to be our best bet, I am amazed at some of the suggestions being thrown out there. I like to watch a show call The Daily Show on Comedy Central with Jon Stewart. I actually like watching this as a (one of many) source of news. My reason for this is because Stewart tells how it is - from all sides. One of his recent clips was about some of the solutions to help with our nation's debt. I was just astounded by some of the things I heard. The description basically said this: "The government could raise $700 billion by either taking half of everything earned by the bottom 50% or by raising the marginal tax rate on the top two percent." I mean, why should we ask the top two percent to give more when we can ask everyone else - who might be just barely getting by - to cut back and give more of what they don't have. I just don't understand the logic.

I sometimes wonder if I should stop paying attention to politics and what goes on in Washington. The things I hear just end up making me upset and if I stopped paying attention, I could be blissfully ignorant! Ah... wouldn't that be nice? haha

Pictures of our new place!

Okay, here they are! The pictures I know you've all been waiting for! :)

Living Room

Living Room & Kitchen Island

Built-in Entertainment Center (ignore the board under the TV...)

Built-in Book Shelf & Window Seat (with additional storage)

Living Room towards Kitchen

Dining Room

Bedroom

Bedroom  (door goes to bathroom)

Bathroom

Washer & Dryer (in bathroom)

Kitchen looking towards Living Room

Kitchen with all custom cabinets

Our "Little Italy" Center :)

Our Deck

 Well, there you have it - our new place! We would love to have you all come visit anytime! :)

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! :)

PB&J: News & Money

There have been a couple of things that have happened in the news recently that I thought I would talk about...

The biggest and most exciting (I think) is the news that came out of New York a couple of weeks ago! So much to celebrate as New York became the largest state to recognize same-sex marriages. Hopefully this will keep the ball rolling in other parts of the country.

Maybe more of a serious issue and one that is running on a deadline is the Debt Ceiling talks and the budget crisis. Now I will admit, that there is not a lot I don't understand about the economy, the debt ceiling or how the government's budget works. In fact, I know very little. However, when the President addressed the nation last night (6.25.11), I listened. And what I heard was that Congress was not working together - like they should - to reach a compromise in time. And if that isn't done, a lot of damage could be done to the United States. I heard that in the past 8+ years, things were not done correctly to help our deficit. I heard that some in Congress (specifically Republicans, it seemed) were not willing to compromise but instead were putting their own political agendas in front of the need of this country.

When I heard this, I thought of what has happened recently in Minnesota and their state shutdown. That lasted more than a week. And, when I look at it, the same thing was happening in Minnesota that is right now in the capital. Members of Congress (again, mostly Republicans) are not willing to work together and find a compromise. And because of this, in Minnesota, the state shutdown lasted for days and was devastating to the entire state. Finally, Governor Dayton decided to go with the proposal from the Republicans - not because he agreed with it, but because he knew it would be for the better for the state of Minnesota. But in my opinion, it shouldn't have ever reached that point. The Republicans and the Democrats should have worked together from the beginning so that the state never needed to shut down. This is their job - the job they are elected to do. And if they can't do it, then they shouldn't have that job. 

I think the same is true for our elective officials in Washington. If the budget doesn't get balanced in a fair way, there could be serious consequences for years to come. And the American people shouldn't have to pay those consequences because our elected officials couldn't work together. 

I don't do this a lot and maybe I should, but today I took the time to write my elected officials. Right now they are Rep. King, Senator Grassley and Senator Harkin. You too can contact your representatives and ways to find out who they are and how to contact them can be found here. This was my letter. 

I listened to President Obama address the nation last night about our financial crisis. I also listened to House Speaker John Boehner give his response. After listening to both speeches, I agree with what President Obama stated. There needs to be a balanced compromise. Cuts do need to be made. But we should also stop the Bush-era tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans and ask them to contribute to this problem.

I ask you to work together, find a compromise. No one will ever be completely happy - but we can find a happy medium. That is your job as our elective official. Put politics aside and help this country.

Thank you.

While I was searching for the sites to contact my elected officials, I came across another website. This website is called Votizen and it is a place where you can contact your representatives, sign open letters that other people have written or write your own letter and get support. There was one letter that caught my attention on this same subject. I thought it was well written and straight to the point. I added my signature. I've included the link to that letter here. I encourage you to read that letter and if you feel the same way, to join the site and sign your name too. 

To be completely honest, who knows if our elected officials ever even see these letters or notes that we send them. But somebody must be reading them. And sending nothing - especially if you feel so strong about something - is worse. 

With the Iowa Straw poll just around the corner and caucuses and primaries not long after, the debates have started for the next Presidential election. It's our right and our duty as Americans to listen to what the candidates are saying and then voting in these elections. That is how we can make a difference. But, if you're still a skeptic about our democracy, I'll leave you with this quote I heard while out in Colorado for the DNC back in 2008. "Voting is a lot like peeing in the ocean. It might not make much of a difference, but it sure feels good once you've done it."

Moving on... again!

Apparently, the time has come to move on, again. :) Austin and I have decided to move to a new apartment! We're really hoping that this will be our last move in a while because after all the grief our parents have given us... (the fourth move in four years... not bad, right?) I'm not sure they're going to help us anymore. haha

We have been talking about moving out of Council Bluffs for some time now. While we love our current apartment - we're not in love with the management or the cost of renting. We don't feel we're getting our money's worth. We've also discussed wanting to move so that we're living in the Riverside school district - something that will be helpful to AJ! So we started looking and came across two different apartments - each with their pros and cons (we know, we made the list). In the end, we went with our gut (and a smaller bill) and have decided to move to Oakland, Iowa.

Oakland is about 30 minutes east of Council Bluffs. It has a population of about 1,400 and is home to the Riverside High School. We found a very cute one bedroom apartment with custom kitchen cabinets and a built-in entertainment center and bookshelves. I am also very happy to say it has a whirl-pool tub in the bathroom! :) We're both very excited and AJ is extremely happy about being so close to the high school. We're really looking forward to getting move involved with the community and going to school events. While it is going to be a longer drive for me to go to the office, it will be a great location for when I'm doing high school visits since my territory is in Western Iowa. I'll be sure to post pictures once we're moved and settled in.

So for now, we've spent most of our time packing up boxes and getting ready for the move. We spent a great 4th of July weekend in Tipton and spent most of that time outside and in the pool. 

It was a wonderful weekend and so great to relax and enjoy time with some family and friends. I look forward to this weekend every summer since it has become a tradition to spend it at the Zaruba pool. And the weekend never seems long enough, either! :) Other than that, we haven't had too much of an exciting summer. AJ is getting a little antsy around the house (although packing has helped!) and is ready to get back to school. He will be taking a group of students to Wartburg in a few weeks for an All-State Camp and I know he is looking forward to that - especially to show the kids what a great school Wartburg is! :)
 

In other terms of "moving on"... AJ and I went see the midnight showing of the last Harry Potter film last Thursday. It truly is, in my opinion, the end of an era. It took some convincing to get AJ to go to the show with me - he remembered all to well the last midnight showing we went to where we didn't get to sit next to each other and couldn't even enjoy the show with all the kids around. I explained that none of that mattered because it was such a big deal and a great end to something wonderful. I am happy to say that we were able to sit next to each other this time and everyone was so focused on the movie that we were able to thoroughly enjoy the final movie. It also made me think - as I held AJ's hand and cried during the movie - why this was such a big deal. And the reason it was such a big deal is because I've literally grown up with these books. I started reading them as they came out. I wanted for each new book to hit the shelves. I even went to a midnight opening of one of the books! I grew up along side Harry and his friends. It had a large affect on my life. And one that I am forever grateful for. I've always been a fan of reading, but it is such a wonderful thing to see so many people get excited about the release of a new book. And I know that I am extremely lucky to have actually grown up with the books, but I'm also looking forward to reading these books to my children someday, showing them the movie - and helping they'll understand why I love them so much. Harry Potter will always have a spot in my heart. And I'm not sure I'll ever be able to say "Mischief Managed".