Happy New Year

2009 was filled with many wonderful memories. As I look back 12 months seems fast. Last year at this time we were living in our tiny apartment going to school. This year we are living in a bit larger apartment and living in the "real" world. We have been so blessed this year and I am overwhelmed by God's provision.

I am not big into making New Years Resolution because too many people, me included, don't follow through. Ambition is a different story...so this year my plan is to begin "training" for a 1/2 marathon. I have learned that running is mental thing and I obviously need to work on that side of my mind! :) It has been a desire of mine for a long time and now is the best time to start. Not only will it be good for me but it will also be good for Nala because she won't go stir crazy in the winter months. Now that I have declared it on the blog...I will HAVE to do some follow through because I have many family members that will ask me about this ambitious goal.

Looking ahead into 2010 we have plans already... grad school, school debt removal, vacation planning, church finding, tax season, and learning to stay put in Hartland on the weekends!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

WE HOPE YOU AND YOURS ARE BLESSED THIS YEAR!

Roommate Christmas 2009

We had another wonderful Christmas celebration with the roommates this weekend! The big difference this year was that the boys were invited! WHOA! It was really fun to have them with us. The events of the evening include watching the Whitewater (7 of the 8 are Whitewater alum), us girls exchanging gifts, eating dinner at P.F. Changs, spontaneous comfy pants purchase, and games! It was a great way to start off Christmas week! Merry Christmas to all! Our task this year was to make a recipe box for the person we picked. I picked Tina and I made her a mosaic box. It was fun and I think I did a nice job for my first piece. Here are the finished products and a close-up of mine.

We had a roommate photo shoot...of course! I will spare you the many pics by posting this "classic" Christmas picture pose picture!

THE PANTS! I love them! We had lots of laughs which is one of the best parts of getting together with these girls.

Games with the boys! We played Partini and Catch Phrase. Good times.

Our favorite picture of the evening. These girls are so wonderful and I am glad to have such great friends. We get together and its like we are living together again. Thanks for a great time girls! (boys too)

10 Exciting Things

1. 2 days of school until Christmas Break!
2. The parent Christmas program at school is on Monday. I can't wait for all the parents to see it because it is super cute and all the hard work payed off.
3. Our school Christmas party is going to be a blast on Tuesday!
4. Sara, Gerardo, and Katy come home on Tuesday.
5. Ashley comes home on Wednesday!
6. The Christmas celebrations on both sides of the family.
7. The Baby Sprinkle!
8. Hopefully, a fresh snowfall for the Costa Ricans! :)
9. The Christmas Eve service...it totally sets the mood for the entire holiday season!
10. TODAY = ROOMMATE CHRISTMAS!

Pictures to come soon! :)

11. Kyle and brothers are going to the Packer game...they are excited about that! :)

Cookies, Family Pictures, Nala, & Snow!

We got a new camera as one of my black friday deals! It was very exciting! Here are some pictures from the last week. The holidays must give me a burst of energy because I have running around like a crazy! Hope you are having fun getting ready for the holidays.
I AM SO EXCITED!

A good teacher...

Always asks her students to help her think of ideas for THEIR Christmas program. We talked about it during our morning meeting this morning and WOW, they were brilliant. We have a bunch of ideas and I am going to work on the supplies. Go third graders!

Sidenote: I love my class. They are great kids and I am so thankful for them. We had a fabulous friday where we got tons done but also had some fun. WOO!

HELP!

My class is doing the "FOOD" portion of our Holiday Around the World Christmas Program at school. I am having problems representing the food so the audience will be able to see it...ANY IDEAS? Here are some of my ideas... posters with a large picture of the food, having the food on a plate and revealing it with the silver dome cover thing. Let me know the brilliant ideas you have...I think I might be on good idea overload!

Always Learning

I am learning big lessons about all the things I want in life all the time. Let me just tell you the list of my wants right now; to finish grad school, to have a baby, to buy a house, to have my full-time+ job, etc. HELLO, lets talk about unreasonable. Those are just the big things, I am not even including all the small things like a couch, kitchen table, and a ridiculous number of Vera bags. So, throughout this holiday season(and on) I am really going to really work on being content with all the blessings in my life. I have NO reason to want...it is good to have goals but I need to slow down and be content. I am a self-proclaimed "rusher" so it is time for me to slow down, appreciate, and wait for the Lord to show me the way.

"...for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content."

Phil 4:11

It's Beginning to Look A LOT like Christmas...

OUR FIRST TALL CHRISTMAS TREE

(I wish the camera would capture the soft glow of the tree)

It's beginning to look and feel alot like Christmas. I just love this time of the year. I hope you and yours cherish the time together this holiday season. I am looking forward to so many family gatherings in the coming weeks. Thanksgiving was just the beginning!

For Katy Lou

Hello Miss Katy! Nala can't wait to see you in a few weeks. She was playing with her toy wreath and kept getting it stuck on her head. Aunt Krystin and Uncle Kyle thought it was funny and decided to take a picture. We can't wait to see you soon! Love you!

For the rest of my blogging family/friends...Katy Lou loves Nala...she wanted to see some more pictures. :)

Excited?

I think Kyle might be excited about opening weekend!

I Love My Birthday...all birthday's actually!

I had a lovely birthday weekend. Kyle and I began by going to the Melting Pot for dinner. Delicious! It was our first experience and it was a very romantic setting!

(This picture should be lower but I can't move it)

Naomi and I are very lucky to be birthday twins! We met everyone for dinner at Highland House! It was fun to see everyone.

On Tuesday night, I met my "rooms" for dinner to celebrate! It was SOO fun to be with them all again. We had a great time planning our Christmas gathering!

The weekend before my birthday Kyle and I were at home with my parents. We decided to celebrate my birthday. My mom made me my favorite chocolate cake with delicious frosting, we went out to dinner at the Olive Garden and had in depth discussions about garlic, and BEST of all ... I got my new VERA bag. It is darling! :) Another gift was a tree skirt and stockings for Christmas. You are really going to want to come to my house after Thanksgiving because it is going to be one FESTIVE place! :)

Year 23!

24 is upon me .... HOLY COW... where has my life went. I just can't believe everything that has happened in year 23. It has been QUITE the year! Now I shall reflect...

1. I celebrated my first birthday as a married woman.

2. I taught in a 7th grade and 3rd grade classroom. I loved them both but preferred 3rd.

3. I graduated from college.

4. I learned many lessons about being married.

5. I learned many lessons about living on a budget.

6. Kyle and I lived with my parents.

7. I had my first classroom at summer school.

8. My youngest brother graduated from high school making my parents empty nesters.

9. Nikki and Emily Ann got married.

10. I got my first teaching job! WOO HOO

11. I was/am exhausted from that teaching job!

12. I had the swine flu!

13. Kyle and I drove to PA to get Nala on his golden birthday...we had dinner at the Cracker Barrel! YUM!

14. We moved to Hartland only to find out how perfectly close it was to both our jobs.

15. I was accepted to grad school.

16. We got bikes to help us stay fit.

17. We found out that we are going to aunts & uncles AGAIN x2!!! WOO!
18. We celebrated our one year anniversary by going to Door County!

19. Brett Favre went to the Vikings.

20. We learned to go to bed very early because of our old age! :)

WOW...I told you it was quite the year and I am sure much more happened that I can't remember at the moment! I really feel very blessed by the life God has given me. My husband is so kind, my puppy is cute, my family is wonderful, I LOVE my job, I have great friends, and I am excited about the future. Thank you for being part of my 24 years on this earth! :)

All about K & K

I am relaxing my morning away... I get to go school for half day! WOOHOO Here is a fun little couples survey that I just saw on another blog. What a perfect way for me to spend my morning. Enjoy!What are your middle names?

Elizabeth and Robert (I hope to carry on the Elizabeth tradition with my own children)

How long have you been together?

We dated for 4 years and have been married for 1 year and 4 months.

How long did you know each other before you started dating?

Since 4th grade. The sparks weren't flying for me til much later. :)

Who asked who out?

Kyle asked me out.

How old are each of you?

24 and 23...for about a week more!

Did you go to the same school?

Different high schools, same university...after I switched!

Are you from the same home town?

Nope, our hometowns are 20 minutes apart which is perfect!

Who is the smartest?

Kyle is way smarter than me...academically. I am more socially smart...I think!

Who majored in what?

Kyle - Accounting

Krystin - Education

Who is the most sensitive?

HAHA...depends on the day.

Where do you eat out most as a couple?

Chili's...surprise,surprise!

Where is the furthest you two have traveled together as a couple?

Costa Rica

Who has the bad temper?

Well, that depends on the situation.

How many children do you want?

4...it has to be an even number! :)

Who does the cooking?

I do...which is becoming more of a chore lately cause there are so many other things to do.

Who is more social?

We are social in very different ways and at the moment I can't even describe it.

Who is the neat-freak?

Both of us, right now, we are both slobs!

Who is the most stubborn?

Kyle! Nobody is going to believe this. :)

Who wakes up earlier?

Me but I love it when we wake up at the same time...it is the perfect morning then!

Where was your first date?

Brewers Game in Eric's car....I thought I was going to puke from all the crazy circumstances.

Who has the bigger family?

Kyle....there are A LOT OF PEOPLE!

Do you get flowers often?

Just enough.

How do you spend the holidays?

Since our families live so close we are able to spend them with both. This year we are going to spending Thanksgiving at my parents, most of Christmas at Kyle's.

Who is more jealous?

Me. I like to think Kyle is very jealous but just doesn't show me. :)

How long did it take to get serious?

I kind of decided that since we started dating right before college we had to decide if this was the real deal or not...we decided it was and now we are married! :)

Who eats more?

We can both hold our own.

What do you do for a living?

Me - 3rd Grade Teacher

Kyle - Tax Accountant

Who does the laundry?

Since our current laundry situation is letting it all pile up in 3 laundry baskets and then taking it to my parents to wash, we both do the laundry. I CAN'T WAIT FOR A LAUNDRY MACHINE!

Who’s better with the computer?

Kyle.

Who drives when you are together?

Kyle...I don't like to drive.

What is "your" song?

We have many!

Oink! Oink!

The title comes from Dad Dieringer who keeps texting me saying, "Oink, Oink!" He thinks he is really funny...it did make me giggle. I officially have the swine flu. BOOOOOO! If you haven't had it, I sure hope you don't get it, it is the worst sickness that I have had in my whole life. My mom agrees. So, pray for me to heal quickly because I hate missing school AND the Halloween party is this week and I will be so sad if I have to miss the first party of the school year.

Momentous Week!

Kyle bought me flowers...TWICE! What a lovely man he is!

For B-RAD!

We go to the dog park every day. It is a super nice park with lots of hiking trails that we have not ventured out to yet! We enjoy going because we get some fresh air and some exercise while there for an hour. And Nala runs like a crazy dog the whole time. We really go for her well being. So, this post is for my dad because we wanted him to see Nala working the brush...this is what she is supposed to do when she hunts.

A DAY IN THE LIFE OF KYLE AND KRYSTIN

Us...with less responsibility! :)

Yes, I know you all are wondering about how we spend our days. Just you wait... it is very exciting! I am also out of ideas on what to post about and need to be a regular "poster" cause I appreciate it from others (hint, hint)! So here is a day in the life of Kyle and Krystin.

5:30 am - Wake Up, Take Nala outside, shower, get ready, etc.

6:25 am - Krystin leave for school, Kyle hang out at home

6:45 am - Krystin arrive at school and begin the day

7:30 am - Kyle leave for work

8:00 am - Kyle arrive at work and begin the day

FROM NOW UNTIL ABOUT 4:15 we are both busy at work/school. At school...it never stops!

4:45 pm - Arrive home

5:00 pm - Take Nala to the dog park/make dinner (or hopefully it was done the night before in the crock)

6:00 pm - Eat dinner

6:30 pm - 8:30 pm - Clean up and begin "homework" Kyle does CPA test studying, I do school work...we do this while watching TV, well, I do.

8:30 pm - Start thinking how brain dead we are feeling.

9:00 pm - BED...HAHA!

And then we do it again. It really is a wonderful life.

OH I do have news. I have applied to Grad school! Nikki and I are going to be doing a 2 year masters program through LaCrosse...if we get accepted! This puts off buying a house and a baby but I feel at peace about the decision. Primarily because I have had most of my teacher friends tell me not to do it while I have kids. So, this is our life. And I have posted so I don't feel so bad about not posting now. :)

Here we are at Emily's wedding. Everything is going well. Kyle has a CPA test on Tuesday, so please be praying that he will pass it. We are busy busy busy! The weeks go super fast and the weekends faster. It is fun to be in the "real" world. Okay, I am kind of brain dead at the moment so this is all that I can think to write. Have a great weekend!

Our Apartment Video

I know you have all been waiting for it! Here is a quick video of our new apartment, just like last time, I apologize for the shakey hands and quick turns. We are enjoying living here and are still working on making it homey. I can't imagine how we are ever going to fill a house when we are already having problems filling a two bedroom apartment. Enjoy the video and come visit! :)

New Do...

I decided that I needed to look more mature since I am a little school teacher now. :) AND I couldn't get my long hair dry in time in the morning. Hope you are having a good weekend!

CRAZINESS!

Hi! Life has been incredibly crazy this week. I haven't been coming home until about 7 every night. I have met all my students and have the room all ready. It is pretty cute. I will try to remember to take pictures tomorrow. I have only have one minor breakdown but that is only cause Nikki asked me if I was going to cry and it suddenly happened. HAHA We are slowly settling into our apartment because I haven't been around and Kyle doesn't want to do anything without my approval. :) I am just so thankful for what God has done in our lives within one week and just reflecting on our first year of marriage it is quite amazing! I am pretty excited for what God has planned for Nikki and I at Summit Elementary! It is amazing to be able to work so closely with a friend that I love! We are on opposite sides of the building but it is nice to say "HI" to each other in the morning and "BYE" at night. I am just bewildered about how God has given this major gift to me. It has been a busy week and I love every minute of it. Well, I am excited to see some of the family this weekend. I thought I should just give a quick update to let you know what's up since we have kind of found the area that we are settling in. LOVE YOU ALL!

I AM A TEACHER!!!

I am a teacher! I can't believe it! School starts on September 1st and the ball is rolling. I am heading to school tomorrow to organize my classroom so I know what I have. The job is in Oconomowoc, Wi which is about 15 minutes from our new apartment in Hartland. I will be teaching third grade at Summit Elementary School. I am in total amazement on how God totally orchestrated all of this. I have learned alot about prayer during this time and it is so exciting! I don't know when I will be able to post next since my life is all about third grade now. I will try to keep everyone posted on our lives in the next few weeks, right now it includes moving into our new apartment, transitioning Nala to the new apartment, Emily's wedding, shower, and bachelorette party, getting my classroom ready, starting school, and kyle's starting work. WOWSERS!!!!! Prayer for sanity is in store...Thanks again to everyone who prayed about this job. It is such a blessing and we are so thankful for everything God has provided for us. I will blogging with you again soon!!! Love to all!

Interviewing...

The second interview went really well. I will find out by Monday if I get the job! I really enjoyed meeting the third grade team. We will see what God has in store for me this year! :)

Interview...

Tomorrow I have an interview at Summit Elementary School for third grade. Please pray for me...this would be the job of a lifetime! HAHA

It's Almost Over...

Summer is coming to an end very quickly! We had a great time Up North! The weather was perfect, the water was a nice temperature, and company great! Jordan and Josh left for Stout football camp yesterday and it really feels like summer is over. My parents will be empty nesters when Kyle and I move out. Within the next two weeks we will be completing lots of mini-projects for our new apartment; redoing a desk, dresser, and kitchen table. I will also be attending one more bridal shower for Emily and then throwing the Bach party. We will be moving into our new apartment. We have already taken one trip with the kitchen stuff. There is an opportunity of a third grade teaching job at my friend's school. I have applied and maybe the connection will help. School starts soon so they will be acting quickly. Prayer is appreciated. It is amazing how fast life goes. Happy End of Summer! :)

Quick Update...

Kyle and I are heading up north this weekend! I am super excited because I have not been to Minocqua for a long time.
Anyways, here is the update. On Saturday we are signing our lease for the Country Aire apartments in Hartland, WI. We are excited about this and we get to gradually move things into the apartment which is super nice. We ARE getting the two bedroom, so plan on coming to visit.
Kyle has playoffs for church softball and Saints baseball the next few weeks. He is pretty pumped about it. He starts his job on September 8th. As for my job search, it continues. I continue to apply but have also started to put my name in for subbing. God is definitely growing me in the area of patience and relying on Him to show me what His plans are...not what my plans are...the control freak in me is going to have to give up sometime. :) I was doing a little study the other night and this was the question, "What does the Lord, as our Good Shepherd, want to provide for you?" I have been pondering that, it is part of the Becoming a Woman of Simplicity bible study. If you have insight, please share.
Last night I thought I had lots to put on this update but I guess not. Oh yes, Nala is doing great! She is lots of fun! That is all for now...have a great weekend!

Mariah's Senior Pics

I love this picture because it is just so joyful. She isn't getting it printed but it was fun to take.

This one is probably the favorite of everyone!

Mariah, Josh's girlfriend, has become a great friend of mine since they have been dating. She is definitely part of the family. Her senior pictures got cancelled on Sunday and since she was all ready to go Josh and I took her to Harrington to take some...she no longer has to pay lots of money for senior pictures cause we got some good ones. Mariah has a touch-up program so she was able to whiten her teeth, clear blemishes, etc. It was super fun and here are a few of our favorites.

Wordless Wednesday: People who bring joy to life...

The list could go on and on...