Happy Birthday to us!

The Rusch family is fortunate enough to have both Chris and Tina's birthday in December, which results in a pretty crazy month for us.  With two birthdays and Christmas in the same month, by the end, we are ready to take a long winter's nap.  For Chris's birthday, his mom came to visit.  We went to PF Chang's with his family earlier in the week, and then opened his presents, had a yummy dinner at home, and went on a tour of Christmas lights on his birthday.

opening presents with Mom watching

 

A scrumptious dinner of gyoza and ice cream dessert

the best lights of the night--found in Orem

For my birthday, Chris made me a wonderful breakfast in the morning, and then after work I opened presents, and we took the TRAX to go to dinner at Tucano's and visit the lights at temple square.  It was the best birthday ever!

Eggs Benedict.  Yummy!

Dinner at Tucano's.  If you are part of the "birthday club," you get a free meal the month of your birthday.  Too bad ours is both the same month!  We would get really sick of it if we cashed them both in!

 

 

Finished

Well yesterday was my last day of volunteering at Farrer elementary school. Though overall it was a good experience I am glad that I won't have to put in any more eleven hour days.

This afternoon I am going to prep for tomorrow's classes (something I have not had the time to do), wrap Tina's birthday presents, and take a long walk.

Speaking of walks, today was the first day I have walked to work in about three weeks. It felt so good to be out there with my backpack slowly plodding to work. I am excited to walk home too this afternoon.

All in all, things are good and I am happy.

Chris

OK, what does that mean?

The post about "Kids Learn About Immigration" is to promote a project that I am doing for my class that I need a little bit of money for.  If you are interested, go ahead and click on it!  Thanks

Kids Learn About Immigration

Kids Learn About Immigration

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Am I his mother?

Yesterday, I went to Smith's to pick up a prescription for Chris.  The man at the counter asked me the name and date of birth for the person's name and date of birth, which I gave.  I told him that it was his birthday tomorrow, and he said to wish him a happy birthday.  Then he asked me if I was his MOTHER!  I said, "No, I am his wife.  But I will be offended that you said that."  He laughed and apologized.

It was very very funny!

It's Beginning to Look a lot Like Christmas

Today, we decorated our little abode for Christmas.  This was quite the ordeal, since it meant that we had to visit our storage unit (before dark, nonetheless) and get out the Christmas stuff, which was, coincidentally, clear in the back of the unit.  I decided that since we are cramped for space, and since we are trying to make life easier for ourselves this time of year, that I am only decorating using the Christmas tree and the nativity from Israel.  I am not going berserk with the Snow Village and the entire huge box of decorations that I own.

OK, here is the best part about our Christmas festivities.  On Monday night, for Family Home Evening, we made a paper chain to count down until going to Atlanta for Christmas.  My husband, the elementary school teacher, said that we should color the outside of the papers with holiday decorations, and then write on the inside of the papers why we are excited to go to Atlanta.  Funny.  Possibly the best part of the Family Home Evening was singing, "Here We Are Together."  The chorus went something like this: "There's Chris and Tina and Chris and Tina."  Silliness.

Steps forward: Grad School

Yesterday I got some good news in the mail. I got a letter of acceptance to library science from Clarion University. Clarion is small school in Pennsylvania which offers a very affordable online master of library and information science. This is good news. I am excited about this. The program is very affordable and flexible, something I need right now.

Clarion is my second choice. Right now I am focusing on the University of Alabama. If end up going with Clarion I am sure that I will get a great education that will prepare me for new career in library and information science.

Chris

Thanksgiving

We had a great time going home for Thanksgiving.  It was fun to spend time with family.  The only downer part was when Chris sprained his ankle playing basketball with the boys.  Other than that, it was great!

Eagles flying

We went home for Casey's eagle court-of-honor, and to spend one last weekend all together as a family before Carter leaves on his mission at the end of December.  It was a ton of fun!  All of the boys got their scout shirts put together, so that we could have a picture taken of all of them.  Here are some great pictures from the occasion:

Silly boys!

Anna and Max had the great idea of making a choo-choo train during the refreshments after the court-of-honor.  They also raced across the gym.

Anna and Me

About a week ago Tina and I went over to Taylor and Katie's house. I was working on a homework assignment and Anna wanted to see what I was doing on my computer. So, I said that she should come sit with me so she could help me work on my assignment. I asked her," Anna, what do good teachers do?" Because she is in pre-school and is an expert on this she said," They tells stories, read books, and sing songs." Her information was so insightful I included it in my paper.

Here is the picture we took together on my MacBook laptop. Anna is the greatest.

Thankful

I sprained my ankle yesterday but as of this writing am doing much better. Never let anyone try to tell that having your foot perpendicular to the rest of you body is every a good idea. I tried it yesterday playing basketball and boldly affirm this is never a good thing. You'd think that after about the fifteen or so times I have sprained my ankle, I would have learned this very important lesson. I guess I wanted to see if I could get a different outcome this time around and sure enough got the same results.

Despite hobbling around, this has not diminished my enjoyment of Thanksgiving one bit. I am thankful I had decided to bring my basketball shoes and wear them during the game. They have pretty good ankle support and helped lessen the severity of my injury. I am thankful that Mom and Dad Davis happened to have some spare crutches that I could use to get around. I am thankful my wife helped me out by taking care of my dishes and doing things for me so that I could rest my ankle.

Finally, I am thankful that there are people at home who are going to help us by putting in our new washer while I am not able to do it myself.

All in all, things are good and I cannot complain.

Chris

Things I am grateful for

• A wonderful husband who honors the priesthood, fulfills his calling, and helps me open jars too
• Being married to my best friend
  
• A great family who all love me
• A great job where I get to do what I went to school for
• My college education
  
• A great calling in the church where I get to serve
• Cute little kids in our ward who make me smile
• Cute students who make me smile
• The Atonement of the Savior
• Modern medicine
• Good health
• A niece and nephew who are adorable and make me laugh
• Great in-laws
• Life
• A good home
• Having a washing machine and dryer in my home
• Movies
• Date nights with my husband/best friend
• Having a nice car that gets me around
• Being able to cook, and having a husband who likes to cook too!
• A great ward with a great bishopric (the 2nd counselor is especially handsome . . . not that I'm biased)
• Insurance--we have used a lot of it this year with the new car and Chris's surgery in August
• Running, cold tap water that I can drink out of the tap
• Living in a great country
  
• So much more . . . 

I love Thanksgiving time!  What are you grateful for?

Casey made the Team!!!

Casey made the team and Tina and I are excited for him. He loves basketball and has worked really hard. I am glad that he has found a sport he loves as I played sports year round in high school and loved every minute of it. There are some things you learn from team sports you just cannot learn in a classroom.

Way to go Casey.

Congratulations!

Casey made the basketball team!  Yippee!  We are so excited for you!

Tag

What are your middle names?  Christopher Andrew Rusch and Tina Marie Rusch.
How long have you been together? We met on August 20, 2008 and have been together ever since.
How long did you know each other before you started dating?  About five minutes.
Whose siblings do you see the most?  Probably mine, but both of our siblings live in town.
Do you have any children together?  Not yet.
What about pets?  I don't want to have any.  Chris wants a dog, much to my chagrin.
Did you go to the same school?  Yes, but at different times.  Chris has done all the BYUs.  I just did BYU-Provo.
Where do you eat out most as a couple?  We are eclectic--we love trying new restaurants.  Chris especially loves to find hole-in-the-wall places to eat at.
Where is the furthest you have ever traveled as a couple?  To Georgia--last Christmas, and for the reception.
Who does the cooking?  We both do--I do most of the night-to-night cooking, and Chris does the cooking where he makes a mess out of the whole question.
Who is more social?  We are both pretty social.
Who is the neat freak?  Me.  Definitely.
Who is the most stubborn?  Depends.
Who wakes up earlier?  Me.  Not by choice.
Where was your first date?  We actually met online, and Chris asked me to meet him at Gloria's Little Italy.  As Chris says, before we even talked, he felt like he had been struck by lightning, and knew that he needed to get to know me better.  Even though we met online, we found out that we lived about three blocks away from each other.
Do you get flowers often?  Often enough.
Who sings better?  I like to think that I do.
Who does the laundry?  I have forbidden Chris from touching it.
Who is better with the computer?  That one is a draw!
Who drives when you are together?  I prefer it when he drives.  Sometimes, if he is really tired, I will, but he usually does.
Who picks where you go to dinner?  It is a combined effort.
Who is the first one to admit when they are wrong?  Depends.
Who wears the pants in this relationship?  We both do.
Who eats more sweets?  Me.
Who cries more?  Me.
What's your best day together?  I think just whenever we have a day to be "us," and go run errands, or go to the temple together, or make dinner together, or go to a museum, or whatever.
Where did you honeymoon?  Disneyland, California.  It was the best ever!
Favorite date night?  Just whenever we can be together.
Favorite TV show to watch together?  Honestly, we never watch TV.  Sometimes we watch the Food Network, because Chris loves it.  We also love watching history documentaries.  Dorky, I know . . . 
I tag:  Whoever wants to be tagged!  Let me know if you copy this, k?

The Davis family

Or is it the Chris and Tina Rusch family?  We aren't sure . . .why in the world did we go in the middle?

Happy Halloween!

We had a great Halloween!  Like Chris says, no one remembers the reason for the season any more.  To which I replied, "What is the reason for the season?"  Weird.  We were happy to have the day off of church stuff, since we had church meetings every day last week!

We went to deliver a birthday present to Randah, whose birthday is on Halloween.  Then, we went to look at our old house on Stratford Drive, which is right by where she lives.  Isn't it cute?  A new porch has been built onto it, but the numbers are still the same as they were when we lived there!

Then we went to Taylor and Katie's to celebrate Halloween.  We saw their kids in costumes, and watched The Others together.  When I was taking pictures of the kids, Max was being so cute!  After I would take the picture, he would come over and say, "See, see," and I would show him the picture.  Then he would point to it and tell me who was in the picture: "Max.  Anna."  It was just too adorable to be able to talk to him!  We also gave a birthday present to Carter, whose birthday is on Thursday.  It was way fun!

Hope everyone had a great one!

 

Bishopric Update

Things have gotten really busy for me since the last time I wrote anything here. As predicted, my new calling is pretty time consuming, especially this week considering that this Sunday is ward conference. I am looking forward to having this week over and done so that we can get things back to normal, or, at the very least, figure out what normal is.

Tina has been a great support. She is very understanding about how I have these meetings that will go on often for undetermined lengths of time. The biggest help has been having an agenda and while the meeting is happening, determining if an item really needs discussing. I have found that some things on the agenda can be handled with a phone call or an email. I wonder what it was like for bishops who did not have cell phones, email, and other modern technologies which make communication easier.

Spiritual Insight:
Here is more or less the spiritual thought I shared in last night's bishopric meeting. I like reading the New Testament. I also enjoy reading books, essays, and articles that help explain things by putting them into their proper context. That's what N.T. Wright does in his "For Everyone" commentary of the New Testament. In a very engaging and readable way, Wright provides background into the political, religious, and cultural issues of Jesus which helps to flesh things out one would not normally get from the text if they were to read it straight through. One example of this the putting new wine into new bottles found in the Gospel of Luke.

Wright makes something clear very clear. Jesus was not a reformer. His message had little, if anything, to with reforming the current norms and culture of his time or anytime. He was not a tinkering politician who believed that a new program, initiative, or appropriation of funds for an already existing program would fix Israel. What was needed was a complete and utter turning of things upside down. He was going to make a new Covenant, not only with Israel, but with the whole world and establish a new kingdom.

As I think about the wine skins and the new wine spoken of Luke and its' context within the New Covenant/New Kingdom framework, it tells me something. It tells me that reform is not the answer and, in fact, will make things worse. Reform is not a sustainable solution.

Individually this means that each person needs changing to contain the new wine God will put in them. Everyone needs to be reborn such that they may be vessels to contain the spirit God will put in them.

This might sound esoteric to some, but this message really speaks to me.

As David McCollough would say, "That's my post."

Movie suggestions

For our wedding, Chris and I got a free subscription to Netflix for 3 months from my wonderful brother and sister-in-law.  I think that any day now, we are going to cash in the subscription.  We made a list last night of movies that we would like to get, and, I will be honest, it was a pretty sad list!  Does anyone have any suggestions on some great movies to watch?

Chris's new calling

Today, Chris was sustained and set apart as the 2nd counselor in our ward's new bishopric.  He was also ordained to be a high priest by his father, who came from Atlanta to do it.  It was a wonderful, and exciting experience.  I think it will be a great new adventure in our lives.  I am also excited that the new bishop's wife has two kids and needs my help during sacrament meeting, so I will not be the "single lady whose husband sits on the stand."  I am thankful for Chris and that he can perform everything that he needs to for this calling.  I hope to support him through it all, even though I know that it will be busy and time-consuming!

Idaho Falls

Next week Tina and I have Thursday and Friday off. For second year in a row we are going to spend our fall break in Idaho Falls doing whatever our hearts feel like. I know that both of us could use a break from work and I know Tina will like having a break from four preps and the over 200 kids she works with just about everyday. Me, I always like changes in routine, so getting away for a few days will be really, really, nice.

At first we were planning on spending some of that time up at her parents' cabin in Island Park. But after realizing that was not going to work out, we are content to spend some time in town, doing the things we do when we are there. One thing that might be fun will be to take a drive up the highway to the gas station where there are square Ice Cream cones. The fall colors will be out and the drive is just gorgeous.

So, let the countdown begin. Today (Thursday) marks the one week mark before we head out.

Favorite parts of fall

1.  Pumpkins . . . we don't have any yet, but this year, we might have to invest!

2.  The weather--much cooler than summer.

3.  Wearing sweaters

OK, this is my sweater collection.  I know, I know . . . it is ridiculous!

4.  Peaches are in season.

5.  School is back in session, so my schedule is back!

6.  Halloween decorations.  Those are by far my favorite.

7.  Yummy things to eat . . . pumpkin pie, pumpkin bread, apple crisp, soup, the list goes on and on . . .

8.  Leaves are changing colors.

9.  Lots of fall breaks at school . . . UEA break, Thanksgiving, Columbus Day, Labor Day

10.  Thanksgiving is almost here.

Come to D.C. with me!

I said that I would never do this . . . but it was far too tempting.  If I get 15 kids to sign up, I can get a free trip to Washington D.C.  And if I get 30, Chris can come with me.  But right now, it is not looking so good.  We have 6 signed up.  So, if you or anyone you know is interested in traveling to Washington D.C. from April 5-10, go to this site and register.  The trip number is 30247.  Come!  Come!  It will be fun!  The cost is only $1861, which I know sounds like a lot, but really isn't.  You only need to deposite $99 to register!

Just a few more days

I am having one of those "I don't want to be at work" kind of days. But I guess that I will just have to power through. If I could have it my way, I would be at home and in bed. But I guess since I am here, I might as well get some stuff done. One thing I have to look forward to is that tomorrow my class is going on a field trip and I will get to stay back with the kids who can't go. Those days are always kind of cool and really laid back. Plus the kids will leave at 1:30pm and we will have our weekly core team meeting.

One thing I am really looking forward to is going to the temple on Saturday. Carter (Tina's younger brother) will receive his endowment in preparation for his mission. Carter will be serving in the Carlsbad California Mission where he will preach the Gospel in English. I am excited for him because I served in California and think he is just going to love it. Way to go Carter!

Another thing I am really looking forward to is going to Atlanta for Christmas. For the past couple of years my parents made it a point to visit their children who live in Utah (there are three of us out here: Matt, Nathan, Tina, and me). Sadly, they have not been able to make the trek this year. My dad took a lot of time off during the Spring for my wedding and for Matt's graduation and, if he wants to take time off during the Holidays, can't use any vacation between now and when all of us come home. It is sad, however, the upside is that Tina and I will be home for the entire Christmas break. We will miss saying goodbye to Carter, but will do that before we take off. All this just makes me wish my parents would retire and move closer to where we are.

I am also looking forward to finishing the last of the Raymond E. Feist books I checked out from the BYU Library. There are four in the series and I am a little more than half way done with than the fourth. This is the first time since reading Lord of the Rings I have read something that was not a stand alone book. While they are not the greatest when it comes to literary value, they are lots of fun and the story is kind of cool.

Well, I really need to get some stuff done before the kids get here. I will write again soon.

-Chris

The Weekly Roar 10/4/09

Tina and I are glad that one week has come to an end and that another is beginning. We are excited because this week marks the last full week of work before we go up to Idaho to spend the UEA break with Mom, Dad, Casey, and Uncle John and Aunt Lisa. I guess that both of us will just hunker down and tough it out until next Wednesday afternoon when we will get in the car and head for Idaho Falls.

Tina and I enjoyed General Conference. One thing about the conference that has really made me happy is how quickly the sessions have been uploaded to LDS.org. And, as if things could not get any better, the Priesthood session is now available for download. I think this is great. It will make putting them on the old iPod so much easier. I plan on working my way through the sessions starting tomorrow morning on the way to work.

After months of talking about it Tina and I are going to work at the Provo temple. We were interviewed and set apart on Friday afternoon. While we are both very busy, working in the temple will bring great blessings into our lives. Tina feels that this is the only chance we will have to do this for quite some time. She is right. Once the kids come along we will not be able to work as temple workers for a long time. I am looking forward to learning more about the temple. The downside is that Tina has forbade me from working in the cafeteria :-)

On Saturday I filled out two applications to graduate school. Right now I am seriously considering the University of Alabama and Clarion University of Pennsylvania as my top two choices. I am going to apply to a third and possibly a fourth school and then see where the chips fall.

Right now I am leaning towards Alabama. One reason is the program's cost is very reasonable. Another reason is the mascot. A huge Elephant can destroy anything. In all seriousness though, UA is very respected and I have heard that their program is top notch.

This week we are going to get a new calendar to count down the days until we go to Atlanta for Christmas. Tina says I am in charge of that. Right now there is just over two months until we hop on that plane and head to Atlanta for two weeks. It will be good to spend time with the family, especially with our nephew Jack and the greatest miniature schnauzer in the world, our little friend Ebby (Tina wants me to clarify that Ebby is not her friend and that I am one of those "weird dog people" to which I say, "Dogs are people too!").

Well, that's about it from the Rusch's. We will see you next or so.

Chris

It's suddenly fall

I love living in Utah. One reason I like living in Utah is that Utah has four distinguishable seasons. It is nice to experience all of them in their fullness as opposed to Georgia which only has two; middle of August and pollen.

Having the seasons is nice. My only complaint is here they do not gracefully transition from one to another. It's like the last day of summer rolls around and the temperature is therefore obligated to drop fifty degrees. It is quite the shock to the system to have months of summer weather with temperatures in the 80s and 90s and then abruptly wake up one morning to a blistering 38 and have ice on your windshield.

The only thing I am asking is a graceful period of transition where one season gradually departs giving to its' incoming brother or sister. That's all I want. I want a slow transition from Summer to fall without being shocked into having to break out the sweaters and the winter coat overnight. Is that too much ask. I think not.

Nirvana

Once again, I have reached what I like to call "grading nirvana," meaning the period when all grading is over with.  Forever.  Or, until tomorrow morning.  Seriously, I am going a little crazy with the FOUR PREPS AND TWO HUNDRED AND FORTY STUDENTS that I have.  I found out today that there was a study that showed that classes are much more effective when they are small.  Duh.  Even though I reached nirvana a tad late (I was supposed to do it Friday, but there was NO WAY!), I feel really good reaching it!  Oh, I just remembered that I have a stack of tests to grade.  Sigh . . .

Weekly Roar

I (Chris) have a new goal. My goal is to post at least once every week to our blog. It shall hence forth be named the weekly roar. It will be more or less an account of the interesting and not so interesting things we have done during the past week, or so, depending on how I am feeling what I feel like writing about, so here goes.

Well, the weather is changing here in Provo. It is the middle of September and for the first time in months I got out a jacket. We were heading out the door for the Ryan Shupe and the Rubber Band concert in Orem when Tina wondered out loud if she needed a jacket. She decided she did and I decided to grab one as well. I wasn't sure if I needed it but was glad I decided to follow my wife's lead because it did get a little chilly. Not blisteringly cold mind you, but cold enough to be glad you had a good sweater with you.

The change in weather also makes me happy because it means that it won't be much longer until I will be able to break out the sweaters Tina's father gave me at Thanksgiving. Over the years he had amassed an impressive collection of sweaters that he can no longer wear. So, at Thanksgiving he gave them away. I cam away with a lot of them and Tina can attest to the fact that I love them and am excited for the weather to turn cold so I can wear them again.

Tina and I have been pretty busy with work. While my job is pretty intense while the kids are at school, Tina has the tougher job. This year she has four preps for four different classes. She is teaching two regular history classes and two gifted history classes with all that comes along with that. I saw the number of papers she had to go through and grade this weekend and could not help but feel for her because there was nothing I could do to help. So, I folded the laundry. I guess in a round about way that helps.

Our families are doing well all things considered. I have not yet convinced my parents to come out this fall to visit. I would really like to see them before Christmas, but based on the way that my dad's travel schedule is looking I am not so optimistic. I guess I can live with waiting a little over three months to see my family. Thankfully Tina's family is nearby and we will see them frequently as Carter and Colby are in school at the BY academy, Matt and Nathan are close by, and we are going to make some trips home to Idaho Falls as we feel the need to scratch our itch to get out of town.

Yesterday and today were stake conference. I like stake conference. Partly it is because instead of three hours of meetings come Sunday we only have to endure two hours. It is a nice break. Also, we were blessed to have a general authority come to our conference. I liked him. Anyone who frequently references Truman Madsen is okay by me. In all seriousness he was very good. Some of the things he said really caught my attention but I will not go into those here.

Well, that is about it. Tina and I are looking forward to Monday and Friday nights respectively. Tomorrow night (Monday) we are going to have dinner and family home evening with Taylor and Katie up in Lehi. On Friday night we are going out with some other couples in the ward to celebrate a birthday. Speaking of friends, I am really excited that my old friend Ryan and his wife Liesl will be moving to somewhere in the Provo/Orem area. I don't know where they are going to move, but once they come down here it will be so much easier to see them. I am excited because now I will have someone who will be excited to go with me to the comic book store.

So there you have it. All the goings on of the Rusches from my perspective.

Until Next Week.

Ah, the joys of home ownership

So for the last little while, our tub has completely grossed me out.  The caulk has been what I call gross-o.  I have explained to Chris that there is a difference between "gross," which just means that it looks nasty, and "gross-o," which mean that it completely makes me want to gag.  Our tub was gross-o.  We went to Home Depot and got the supplies needed.  Then we took off the gross-o caulk, and replaced it with good caulk.  It now makes it so that I can shower without gagging, which is always a good thing!  The best part is that we had a gift card to get the supplies, so we did not even need to spend money on the venture!

New car, New hair, and One year!

A lot has been going on lately, so here is the long and short of it . . .

New car: A week ago, Chris and I went shopping for a new car.  We went to the Larry H. Miller dealership in Murray, because we saw that they had a 2008 Honda Civic Hybrid that was exactly the same color as the wrecked Honda Civic Hybrid.  We had to take Chris's brother with us, because Chris was still recovering from his surgery.  We drove it, and loved it, so we bought it.  We actually like it a lot!  There have been a lot of improvements on the newer model, most significantly, a built-in navigation system.  We think that is a very cool thing, since we are both directionally impaired.

Here is my handsome husband posing with the new car!

New hair: I decided that I am sick of having to get my hair dyed every 6 weeks or less, so this time that I went, I actually had it dyed my natural color.  I have wondered for years what that would look like!  It actually isn't too remarkable, which is a good thing!  It is also healthier and I think it will be easier to manage long term! It is actually, surprisingly enough, not that different.  I have not received any comments on it yet, which I guess is a good thing.

One year: Chris and I celebrated that tomorrow is a year from the day that we met today.  We went to PF Chang's for dinner, and got, quite possibly, the best meal that I have ever had at that establishment.  One year down, with many to go!  We really did have fun reminiscing about a year ago and how we both felt after meeting each other at Gloria's Italian restaurant in Provo.

In other news, I counted up my total number of students in my classes, and I have a whopping total of 242!  Wow!  How in the world am I really supposed to teach them all?  I think that most of my time this year will be spent on classroom management, which is too bad, since I have a lot of other stuff that I would like to do too!

If you were around in 1919

I thought this was funny . . . .

If you were around in 1919 and came upon the following poster. .

I mean, seriously, would you quit drinking?

Sadness

Here are pictures of our totaled car!