Engaged!!

That's right- I'm engaged. Of course, I spread the news like wild fire because I was so extremely excited, but it's not just a rumor you heard on facebook- it's entirely true.
It happened October 30, 2008 on Matt Moody's front porch. I went over after work and he was just sitting in the rocking chair waiting for me. I didn't think much of it because it was a beautiful day. We sat there and talked about our days and he suddenly had a reason to stand up. As we were standing there, he put his arms around me and started talking about houses. This isn't really anything new because we speak of futuristic things without being realistic about them. So, he mentioned that we need to have a house with a good view from the front porch. We kept discussing the matter until he said "don't hate me, but before we have a house" and he put his arm around me with a ring in his hand. I was in utter disbelief, laughed, and asked if he was serious. It took me over 30 minutes to actually believe what was happening. I was shaking and just kept repeating "Oh my gosh". He told just about everyone we know and no one gave it away. He was going for shock and surprise and he succeeded beyond measure. It's wasn't romantic, it wasn't some intricate plan to confuse me, he just fooled me into believing that he was completely incapable of saving money and then BAM--a ring on my finger.
I enthusiastically said yes once I calmed down and we started planning...there's going to be a wedding this June!!!!

Hiccup

I hate the hiccups. I believe sister Katy hates them more. Well, at least she hates when I have them. She yells at me to control them in any and every way possible. But, sometimes I just can't. Sometimes the spasms rack my diaphragm for what seems like an eternity with no end to the annoyance in sight. I think life feels like that too sometimes. Completely uncontrollable. The middle of a semester in school makes life a little crazy. The madness of students failing. The madness of students having to pass the Georgia High School Graduation Tests. The madness of our school not making AYP (annual yearly percentages) and the madness that causes for my free time. There are some fabulous things about working in urban schools, but there are also hardships that, when juxtaposed to my previous teaching experience, seem horrifying and uncontrollable.
I do not fear the uncontrollable, I'd just like a few days off to slow down.
I do get time with Katy and Christen this weekend. Maybe even a GT/FSU game!
Wish me rest...

Surprised?

Five months later I'm still alive. But, that's about the only thing that is the same since June.
Well, I'm still dating Matt- so that hasn't changed.

But, I have a roommate. A really great roommate. We met through a mutual friend, ate lunch together at Chik-fil-A, and signed a 6 month lease. She's really fun and sweet and I hardly ever see her because of our crazy schedules. But, the saturdays filled with football and boyfriends are really fun.

I also have a job. It's a crazy job. It's a job I'm technically not qualified for. But it's the job that God gave me. I'm working at an urban school in East Point, Ga. If you recall I live in Cartersville which is north of the city, and yes, East Point is south of the city. That means I drive 60 min everyday to work. And, I'm teaching ESOL (English for speakers of other languages). Luckily it's a literature class, but it's still to kids that are struggling to get a grasp of the language. Insane. Yet, somehow, I like it. Public schools on the other hand....not so much.

It's been cool to see how God has provided for me in ways that I wouldn't really imagine. He gave me a wonderful person to split the rent with, a great place to live, a steady job, and a boyfriend that is in the same city. God has shown time and time again that my plans are not his. He stopped me from getting a job at Starbucks. He stopped me from moving in to an apartment by myself. He has stopped me from being conceited because I'm in a new place, with new people, doing things I have no idea how to do. So, it's a complete learning experience. But, it's an awesome one. And, I'm so glad to be where I am. Everyday gets better (even though some days seem 10x worse). I'm in a good church, in a good small group, and getting to know lots of good people. I can't imagine being anywhere else right now. I know I'm where I want to be.

Quarter of a Century

Yea...the big 25...mid-twenties...I'm old.

I'm also in America again. I arrived a few days ago and have been getting back into the life here- although I don't really have a life here. So, life here is hard to get back into. I don't feel too far gone, there are still Starbucks on every corner and more stuff than I could ever need in the Target facing north and the Wal-Mart facing south. But, I'm adjusting and loving the fact that I get to be with my family and friends here. Loving that I get to be with Matt.

I still don't have a job or a place to live. Those are pretty high on my priority list right now. In fact, I'm a little nervous about both. I know God will provide. I know things will work out, but I'm not super excited about the rough process. I think it's already been harder than I imagined. I think things are 'falling into place' a little slower than I hoped. It's not even been a week since I landed on this side of the ocean, so I'm not freaking out. I'd just really like to have a job, have some security and have a place to call home...those are my prayer requests and my greatest needs.

On the other hand...it's great to be home!

The Brothers Grimm Spectaculathon

Brothers Grimm

For a picture overview: look at the album. To know what happened in the play: read on.

For those of you who have never heard of The Brothers Grimm Spectaculathon before- here's a brief synopsis.

There are two narrators who present the stories, although they often find themselves involved in the stories. Rapunzel is a rebellious teenager whose mother made deals with the devil, and enchantress and Rumplestiltskin. Rapunzel is locked the tower by the enchantress, meets her prince, is banished to the desert, finds her prince, and runs away with him.

Rapunzel's mother used to be known as Gretel. Classic tale- kids eat house, witch tries to eat kids, kids kill witch. simple.

The witch from H&G used to be a fishergirl who caught a talking fish who granted her two wishes: to never go hungry again and to have magical power- thus- a witch in a candy house.

The Talking Fish used to be friends with the Frog Prince. The frog prince becomes human again when, you guessed it, he's kissed by a princess (after much coaxing).

The grandson of the Frog Prince and Princess was a dwarf- who worked in the mines. One day, he and his friend found snow white under the spell. However, this snow white is an emancipated princess and kills the wicked witch and takes her prince.

Snow white has a daughter who is kidnapped by a needy old grandmother. This daughter becomes Lil Red. Sharing and Rainbows is the moral of this story.

And the final scene: Cinderella. Except we're out of actors. Oh well, Matt will just have to play everyone in the show. Cinderella cooks and cleans, and birds bring her a dress and she walks to the ball. After the shoe is lost, the step sisters end up cutting of heels and toes to fit in the shoe-but the prince figures it out. So, Cinderella gets her prince.

And the finale- in 3 minute the entire plot is told again in reverse order.

I had a great time working with these kids. As you can tell from the pictures, everything looked great. Not only did everything look great- but the kids did a super job. I'm so incredibly proud to have worked with them. Do I ever want to direct a show again, that's up in the air. But I sure am glad I did this one!

Insanity

Life lately has been insane. Luckily, it calmed down a bit after the Eger field trip and NHS induction ceremony passed. Yes, the NHS ceremony was last Monday and it went well. No complaints here. Well, one- only one boy was inducted- where are all the high achieving, servant leaders in these 10th and 11th grade classes?!

Following these adventures, I've been insanely overwhelmed by the ominous cloud of the high school play. Of course, it's been more fun than I could have imagined- but also much more stressful. Saturday we put in 9 hours working on set. When I left, I felt as though a lot had been accomplished. Included in the pictures below are those of our working set; it isn't completed yet but it is nearing the final stages. For that I am pleased.

The other couple pictures are from the toga-wearing 9th graders. They 'performed' (I use the word lightly) the greek tragedy - Antigone. They just read from scripts and dressed up, but I think they had a pretty good time. It sure was more interesting than sitting in chairs all class long.

So, I'm looking ahead to the craziest week of my life. Our show opens Thursday night. There's a lot to do before then. Keep my actors and my sanity in your prayers. As ridiculous and crazy as this show is, I still believe God can be honored by our effort and senses of humor. I push forward hoping that the final production will bring smiles to a few peoples' faces and a laugh or two out loud for the actors to thrive on.

Spring Updates

9th Grade Battles

After reading the novel Eclipse of the Crescent Moon by Geza Gardonyi, I decided to take the ninth grade class on a field trip to Eger, Hungary- the site of the novel. While it was a very educational trip, it was also fun. We visited the castle/fortress where the Hungarians fought off the Turks for 30 days and won.
We also visited McDonalds.
And the last stop on our trip was Geza Gardonyi's house. It sits on the hill above the fortress and has an amazing view into the walls of the fortress. It was inspiring to see his rows and rows of books and the exact desk where he sat to write Eclipse of the Crescent Moon.

It was stressful to plan and lead a field trip, but I'm glad I got to go. Not only did I learn a lot, see a lot, and enjoy the 9th graders...I got experience just a little more of Hungary.

Eger

Excitation

Exciting things are happening.
1. I get bagels and Starbucks coffee for breakfast because it's teacher appreciation week- and I'm a teacher! Amazing.
2. Yesterday, I was driving to church on a two lane road and was passed on both sides at the same time- clearly my little red isn't fast enough for the swift Hungarian drivers- especially the motorcyclists.
3. We sang- "I'm desperate for you" in Hungarian in church yesterday...it's not that I love that song- but it reminds me of my good time in New Orleans- and now I've experienced it in Hungarian...awesome.
4. I have a month until the play goes in front of a crowd...I don't know if that's exciting or scary
5. My glasses broke. The only way that fits into the category is that the event instigated more excitement in my already crazy week. Plus, now I get to wear Hungarian glasses- that is after I have an eye examination on Friday and order them ;) Contacts for now (also not exciting).

Cheers and Happy Monday!

Matt and France...but not together

2008-03-20, Paris

Life since January- it's been a whirlwind. School is going well. Classes are crazy, but I'm still enjoying it a lot. It's challenging to keep the kids enthusiastic- but some of the ridiculous things I come up with (rock/paper/scissors game) are a good break in the lecture monotony. They're fun for me too.

I've cast the play I'm directing- The Brothers Grimm Spectaculathon. I'm very very nervous and very excited about how this whole thing is going to happen.

During Matt's spring break, he was able to come visit again. Aside from my parking somewhere that caused me to get a boot on my car, we had a really good time together as the picture above proves.

This past week has been my Spring Break, and I took the opportunity to travel again- Paris, France. It was a very welcome break from the craziness that life had built up to be. The other pictures in the album are from that trip. Our 4 nights there were filled with metro rides, kilometers of walking, historical sightings, and amazement with the size and beauty of the city. The people were especially nice and never rude. We were very pleasantly surprised with every aspect of the trip.

I still have 4 days left of break..I plan on working hard and resting a lot. I'll keep you posted...

I Don't do Resolutions

I don't do resolutions because I can't keep them. I lose focus. I lose determination. I fail. So, instead of resolutions this year- I'm setting goals. I'm not calling them resolutions because I fear the failure of not being resolved. But, if they're called goals, I'm able to mentally psyche myself up to achieve the end result, to complete the task, to conquer the goal.

So- this year's GOALS are as follow:
1. I will designate my daily quiet time for certain focuses. My 10th grade girls' bible study is reading Galatians- one day will be for that. Matt and I are going to read through a gospel together- one day will be for that. I want to pray more specifically for my students and school- so one day will be spent with more focus on prayer. I want to read through a book on Discipline that Christen gave me- so one day will be for that. I'm sure I'll double up one or two- but you get the idea.

2. I will pursue and master (maybe) Biblical Integration. I'm determined to figure out how Biblical Integration works - really. I've understood the concept for some time. And, I'm sure I've actually done it once or twice. But, I want to be more intentional and more consistent with integrating Biblical truths into my classroom content (even drama!).

3. I will find a job in America. I guess you understand that to mean I'm coming home this summer (for good). You'd be right in that assumption.

There are many more things that I want to do this year (including Paris), but these are the top 3 of the goals I long to meet throughout the next 12 months. Of course, I'm going to start pursuing them now so that I'm not procrastinating. But, my goal is to look back at the year 2008 and be able to say that I challenged myself throughout the entire year always seeking to be more disciplined, to be a better teacher, and to be a more faithful follower of Christ.

A Terry Family Christmas

Family Christmas 2007

For some reason, my family took multiple pictures this year during Christmas. Perhaps it was because we're not all together that often. Perhaps it was because Katy was determined to get the 'perfect' family picture. Or, perhaps it was just because we actually enjoyed being together. The truth of the matter is- I had a really good time with my family this Christmas.

It's not that I've not enjoyed my family in the past, but this year was special. I'd been away from home with little communication for quite some time. Plus, my little brother and sisters aren't so little anymore- it makes being around them much more bearable. I think I laughed more and just had pure fun this Christmas season- for that- I am very thankful.