Open House...can somebody get me some coffee?

Today starts our annual Free Open House at work. All the parents who want to come can drop in on our classes all week. Last year wasn't so bad, only one class with about eight parents in it, the rest with two's and three's. The biggest stress is having to iron my clothes so I don't look like a complete slob...and we have to wear button up shirts. Better be careful what I have for lunch, or I'll be doing twice as much ironing.

I finally bought a phone card to try to get a hold of Dale. Why I didn't do it earlier, who knows. Now I just gotta figure out the time difference so I don't wake him up in the middle of shut-eye.

Still waiting for Mari's visa paperwork to show up. I hope it comes soon, we'd like to get working on it. I got a bunch of Lonely Planet books for reading up on Europe from the library yesterday. That will be a fun trip to plan. We might go April of next year, but we're not sure yet.

Well, I'm off to teach the kiddies!

Post #2...almost the next day!

Saturday is all finished, which is kind of nice. I'm currently watching The Amazing Race 3...filmed in 2002-3 I think. Somewhere around there. It's a cool show. One thing I read today in Acts 3 stood out a little bit. We are currently teaching our 4th graders stories about Jesus and how he healed people just by speaking. This power was given to the disciples, and in Acts 3 it is impressive to me how even we can have that ability. That's a great part of the Christian life. Tomorrow is Sunday, we'll have another day off. Yay!

Doings and Goings On

Today, I finally got out of the house. I HAD to have a Starbucks mocha before I went nuts. The cookie was good, too. Needing a little outdoors fix, I stopped in at Wild 1 and bought some Nikwax Fabric and Leather for my boots. I might put a little on my wife's new Merrel shoes also.

Today the office is pretty quiet. The sixth grade teachers have a meeting for their fall trip to Nasu-dake. It's a cool volcano with steam vents and such. I have to make a couple of lesson plans and then I'll be basically good for the day. I have an hour to do that, should take five minutes, so no problem.

I'm really excited about my plans to go to western Honshu and Kyushu this winter. I want to really test my travel experience and ability before we begin to plan for Europe. The goal is cheap and fun. Hopefully they become synonymous for my wife. That would make everything perfect.

Yesterday was my mom's birthday. Happy birthday, mom! She's the greatest supporter of sons that a son could have. Dad is, too!

I need to get a hold of Dale pretty soon. I feel guilty about not contacting him in so long, but it is a difficult process to do. Hopefully I can get it figured out. I miss you, Dale! We pray for you and your safe return everyday.

Well, that'll be all for now. Until I think of something else to write....

Steve