Christmas Miracle

So...I have my own little Christmas miracle to share.


My genius big bro, Ryan, got ALL of my pictures back that Caleb deleted!!! Thanks, Ry!
Pics to come later :)

December

Hi everyone! I had a bunch of pictures to upload today such as my Thanksgiving turkey, my new haircut, Polar Express pictures from school....however, my husband (accidentally) deleted ALL OF THEM! Oh well, I guess we still love you Cal!
So instead of pictures, I will just have to tell you a little of what we've been up to this month.
First, I chopped my hair off! I was so tired of it so I decided to cut probably between 8 and 10 inches of it off recently. It a really cute 'do...the only down side is I pretty much have to straighten it for it to look good. It is not a cute style for curly hair. Straightening isn't so bad because I have been straightening it so much that it's not really curling anymore! I know...none of us knew that would ever happen!
In my last post, I told you that I was in charge of the turkey for the Bruner Thanksgiving. I must pat myself on the back here a bit, because it was pretty delicious! Thanks to mom for helping out! It was so good that I will be cooking another one this week for Christmas! Let's hope I can repeat that performance. Also, not only was it my first time cooking a turkey it was Cal's first time carving one (which he said wasn't too hard because with my awesome cooking skills it just "fell" right off the bone!) I've decided that cooking a turkey isn't too bad, I just wish I had a house big enough to house Thanksgiving. Transporting it is probably the most difficult part! Maybe next year....

I have been really busy with school lately. We had our "Polar Express Day" on Friday. It was a lot of fun & the best part was I got to wear PJ's to school all day! Then we watched the movie in the high school auditorium on the big screen...it was like being at the movies! The kids had a good time and it was well worth all of the preparation. Now I'm off for two weeks which I plan to spend getting healthy! We have both been sick with awful coughs so I am hoping that some time off will get us healthy soon.

So...like I said I don't really have any pictures to upload, but here is one of my new haircut I had on my phone. It's not the best picture of me...but you can see the new look! Merry Christmas, bloggers!

Lately

So...clearly I have been quite the blog slacker lately. We have been so busy lately with weddings, parties, showers, etc. that I cannot find the time to blog. We had our last wedding of the year last weekend. Our best friends Kathryn & Brandon got married. Caleb was a groomsmen & I was the MOH. It was a busy few months leading up to this wedding but it was so much fun to be a part of B & K's big day. Here are some pictures of the weekend...

These two pictures are actually from Kat's Halloween bachelorette party. She was an 80's bride & we were 80's bridesmaids!

In all the madness, I did not get a pic of me & Kat on the day of the wedding but here we are at the rehearsal!

Me & Caleb at the reception.
My toast.
Photo courtesy of Candice Haase (garden rose photography)

AND FINALLY...Mr. & Mrs. Brandon Beck :)

In other news, Caleb is working for Beau Mitchell Construction & joined the Carpenters Union. He's not too thrilled about this but we are grateful for a job. Tomorrow, I will be cooking the turkey for our Bruner Thanksgiving. I will let you know how this goes! Happy Turkey Day to everyone!

Kindergarten

So it's been awhile since I have posted, because I have been SO busy lately. About a week before school started, my principal told me that I would need to change to Kindergarten for the year. I was very proud of myself & took the news very well (probably because no matter what he told me I just had a feeling that I would have to change) until he told me that I would have to change classrooms. My old first grade room was completely finished and ready to start school. So on top of teaching Jumpstart everyday until school began I have to move classrooms and prepare to teach a new grade level. For those of you not in the education field that = a big deal.
So...now I am a K teacher at least for the time being. I didn't think that it would be as big of an adjustment as it has been. Those kids are LITTLE! I'm am amazed at the difference a year makes.
I had every intention of posting some pictures of my new classroom, but forgot my camera at school...but be prepared it has a pretty sweet little treehouse/hut. :)

In other news, Caleb is still working in Lafayette. They told him he could work at least through October. I am just really praying he finds something else because he hates this job. He is trying to be positive and enjoy it as much as possible; so he keeps telling himself "At least I have a job, at least I have a job."

So that's what is going on with the Bruners...sorry our life is not too exciting :)

P.S. Yesterday Caleb and I were at church and the kids were up front before he went down for kid's church and a man was talking to the kids about cereal (he later related it to making good choices). The man asked the kid about where you find different kinds of cereal & he was asking about the cereal on the very top shelf at the grocery (ya' know the healthy, grainy stuff) and this boy answers "Uh, organic!" and was absolutely disgusted. Apparently this boy is only fed organic cereal and does not enjoy it. Caleb & I were laughing hysterically. It just reminded me a little bit of my own childhood & that ridiculous peanut butter we used to eat. :)

Mr. and Mrs. Hohenberger

My Bf since elementary school got married over the weekend. Lauren was beautiful & the day was amazing. Best wishes to the newlyweds. Here are some pics from the weekend.

Bruner-mobile

As I told you in the post Our First Insurance Claim, I was involved in an accident a few weeks (okay a month!) back. The insurance has been a total mess and we will be switching as soon as this claim is resolved. However, there has been something good about the whole situation...MY NEW CAR! It's a bit of an upgrade from Sally Sunfire, but it gives us plenty of room to grow (don't get any ideas people!) and we will be driving it until the wheels fall off! Caleb & I bought it on Wednesday. Caleb was trying to put it off until tomorrow (b/c we all know how much he LOVES to spend money...okay so I'm just as bad) but yesterday, I conviced him enough was enough and we just needed to do it...kind of like pulling off a bandaid. I was glad we went then because (drum roll, please)

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CALEB HAS A JOB STARTING TOMORROW!

It's a temporary position at Westbread LLC until Sept. but there is the possibility that it could become a permanent position after that. So please be in prayer that he enjoys it and come September something will work out. The only down side is it's a bit of a drive. It's in Lafayette, outside Lafayette actually, so today it took him a little over an hour to get there today. But I think he is just be glad to be getting out of the house and doing something. I am glad because I go back to work the 27th and was really concerned with him sitting at home by himself all day thinking about not having a job while I went to work.

Anyway, here are some pics of the new vehicle. Oh...it pretty much has everything you could ever want/need in a vehicle...it even has an air compressor in the back! Now I'll just have to learn to air up a tire! :)

One Year

Caleb and I celebrated our one year anniversary yesterday. We didn't have any big plans because he had a bachelor party for one of his friends all weekend and I was at the lake with some friends as well. We took about a 4 hour nap and ate dinner and a year old cake then went for a bike ride and watched a movie! The cake wasn't as bad as I was expecting however, neither of us finished our slice and we threw out the rest. :)

Our year old cake!

Our First Insurance Claim

Sorry for not posting in awhile, we have been sooo busy lately! We have 5 weddings this summer, 1 in September & 1 in November! We had our first one this weekend. My roommate from college, Casey, got married over the weekend. Here are some pics from the weekend.

Jenna, the MOH and I (her wedding is in August)Caleb and I at the wedding reception

Friday before we left, I was driving home from my last day of summer school when someone turned out in front of me. He, of course, does not seem to have insurance so we are currently dealing with that. I of course had just spent 2 HOURS last weekend cleaning/sweeping her out (for the first time in the 3+ years I have driven her). Here is the damaged Sally Sunfire:

Front

Not happy.

We haven't heard what the plan of action is, but looking at the pics and what I think she's worth I'm guessing she's totaled.

Finally, today we went out to Walton for a bit to visit with our dads since we weren't around this weekend. We took Riley swimming for a little at Caleb's mom and dads pool. He had a great time! I have a video of him playing in the pool that I'll upload later, but its taking 18 years to do it. Check back soon :)

Busy, Busy, Busy!

We have been very busy lately. Last weekend, I drove to New Albany, IN Friday night for a friend's shower. Drove back Saturday and cleaned the new apartment while Caleb was in a bachelor party in Indy. Moved Sunday & Monday. Worked Tuesday. Drove to Illinois to meet baby Rease Tuesday night & Wednesday. Worked Thursday & Friday. Caleb graduated Saturday...Today we don't have much to do. We are the library right now because we don't have our Cable and/or Internet hooked up. We are going to survive the summer without it to save some money. The library is right next door so we can come here to use the internet when we need to.

Anyway~ I have tons of pictures of the last week, but am not even going to try to upload any from here at the library. BUT here is one picture of me & Baby Rease. It's not a great one of her, but it's all I could get to easily here. She's beautiful. I cried practically all day Thursday at work while showing my friends her pictures. Oh well~only 9 more days of school then SUMMER VACATION! I'll be heading to Illinois a lot I'm sure :)

Admiring my new niece, Rease!

P.S. Abrah got this new straightener for Mother's Day & we tried it out on my hair. It worked! So...I went and bought my own :)

Get ready to Read!

It's been awhile since I've posted, so I'll update you on some things we've been doing lately. We are preparing to move so I've been busy packing up our apartment. How we accumulated so much stuff over the last 10 months is amazing to me. We are hoping to move this coming weekend, but I have yet to hear from our new apartment complex on whether or not the apartment will be ready then or not. Our current apartment is currently a mess as you can see from the pictures...

I have quite a bit of the packing done. That means I can't cook this week b/c I have no dishes :( Darn...we will have to hit up all of our favorite Tippecanoe County restaurants before leaving town.

In other news...Caleb will be finishing up his last semester this week! He has two finals: one Friday & one Saturday and then he is officially finished! He is more than ready to be out of college. He is, as I type, packing up all of his supplies in studio to put into storage.

Last weekend we celebrated our last Grand Prix. Caleb couldn't attend breakfast club because he was working on installing a green roof on one of Purdue's buildings, but our friends Brandon & Kathryn over for the weekend. Here is Kat & I in our costumes:

Other than that, Josh, Abrah, & Riley came to visit last Friday night. We went to dinner & the mall. I forgot to bring my camera but here is a picture of Riley and I at Easter.

Finally, yesterday Megan (my bro's gf) had her senior prom on Purdue's campus so they called when they got to town and we met them at the Union to see them. They looked awesome! Actually, I saw another girl with Meg's dress on right before I saw them (don't worry she was from Attica not Carroll...they were also having there prom at the Union). I was worried for Megan for a minute that another girl would have her dress at her own prom! Here is a picture of them..I'm semi in love with Megan's dress...I wish Caleb and I would have worn something like this to our prom :) I could have NEVER convinced Caleb of wearing those shoes to prom though. So way to go, Woody!

Okay, that's one LONG post! Don't expect another for awhile! Probably not til a) we are all moved and settled and I have pictures of the new place b) Caleb graduates or c) MY SISTER CHELSEA DECIDES TO HAVE HER BABY! Whichever comes first :)

HEY BETHANY!

Okay all you Twilight fans out there...

Did any of you know about this?

http://www.stepheniemeyer.com/midnightsun.html

Update: Book Reviews

So in my earlier post Book Reviews, I said that I was working on reading Multiple Blessings. I finished the book a few days ago and thought I would give my critique.

Multiple Blessings Review: C+

It was a quick read. Exactly what I expected from it. Takes you through their story up until about the time they get the TV show Jon & Kate +8. Worth reading but don't expect too much from it.

Book Reviews

This week is my Spring Break off of school. Doesn't feel much like spring though. Last week I rented the movie Twilight. I enjoyed it so much that I decided to read the books. There are four of them in the series. The movie is about the first one. I started the first one last Tuesday and finished the last of the series yesterday. I figured it up: that's 2442 pages in one week! Too bad I actually had to work 4 of those "reading days;" I would have finished them up much quicker! I teased last night that I probably had enough time to read them another time through before going back to work Monday. (Caleb did not like that idea). I chose instead to watch the movie again and start my next book. I am now reading Multiple Blessings by Jon & Kate Gosselin. I'll give you my review of that next post!

Twilight Series Review: A+

Multiple Blessings Review: Check Back Soon

I also recently started Tony Dungy's second book Uncommon. It was a gift from my mother-in-law for my birthday. I loved Tony's first book, but was not highly impressed with this one. I read the first part of it and decided I needed to pick it up again at a later time. I loaned it to another teacher over break so maybe when she returns it I'll begin it again.

A Deer, A Race, & A Birthday

This title pretty much sums up our weekend.

Friday Night I had the Kokomo Reading Council's Young Author's Conference. This is an event that encourages kids in Howard County School's to write their own books. My class participated and had their books displayed Friday night at IUK. It was good night and a lot of families came out to see the books. On the way home, I hit a deer. Props to Sally Sunfire for holding strong. Other than some deer hair stuck in my hood and my headlight being a little janked up, she's perfectly fine! I tried to get a picture of the hair, but my camera batteries are dead. Maybe later.

Saturday we went to Logansport for Jeremy & Mandy Hall's 5K Race to honor their son's, Connor, first birthday. We had a good time and were amazed at all the people that came to support the Hall family. Here we are before the race:

We joined the Johnson family during the race. Josh & Caleb ran together and finished pretty well. Abrah and I were planning on walking with Riley, but he of course had other plans. He felt that he needed to "race" too so he ran some of the race. He did great for his age group; he did, however, set Abrah and I back a little! Oh well! It was a good time. Here is the Johnson family before the race:

Finally, today is Chelsea's birthday. Happy Birthday, Chels! We want to visit sometime soon, but are thinking it will just be when Baby Corwin arrives! Hope you are having a great day! Get some rest! Love ya! Here are 4 of the 5 sister's at Chelsea's recent baby shower and Uncle Cal with his new niece. I want to clarify that Chelsea's face was not allowed to be in the picture of Caleb & his niece. Cal insisted that it be only he and the baby. Sometimes I wonder if we should allow him to be around these children :)

Happy Birthday, Peri!

My baby cousin Peri is a TEENAGER today! I can't believe it! Happy Birthday to you, Peri! We love you and hope you have an awesome day celebrating! Xoxo...

Congrats Brandon & Kat!

Our great friends Brandon and Kathryn got engaged over Valentine's Day weekend.! We are so happy and excited for them! We don't know many details yet, but can't wait for the wedding! Even Caleb, he loves weddings now that he's been through one himself and knows what's going on! We love you, B & K!

...Speaking of...Is B & K open for the season yet? I have been craving it a little....:)

My Favorite B Things

My friend, Leslianne, gave me this challenge. If your up for a letter, comment and I'll send you your letter!
These are in no particular order!

1) Baseball: Gotta love those Cubbies!
2) Books: I read at least 2 a day...picture books anyway! I wish I had more time to read "grown-up" books. Although, I sometimes like the picture ones better :)
3) My Boys in Blue: It took some creativitiy, but a found a way to include my beloved Colts!
4) Bernard, Andy & the whole Office gang: Best show on TV. period.
5) Bed Pillows: Just ask Caleb. I have issues.
6) Babies: duh?!
7) Bruner, C.: I think he's kind of neat.
8) Brother & Sisters: Not the TV show. Having siblings. As I've grown up, I realize how lucky I am to have 6 of them. Marrying an only child might have helped me realize this :)
9) Bulletin Boards: All the other teachers out there probably think I'm crazy. I know the ones at Western do :)
10) Blogs: I'm not as into blogging myself as I thought I would, but I do like to read about other's lives.

Well that was fun! Let me know if you want to join in!

Happy Belated Birthday, Tom!

So a few days ago was my Uncle Tom's birthday. Chelsea posted a Happy Birthday Blog for him, but couldn't find a picture. I was cleaning up some files on my computer today and this is what I found! So Happy Birthday Tom!

Love ya!

Lazy

The title of this post is two-fold.
1. My apologies for being a "lazy" blogger. But we just haven't had much going on in our lives right now. Caleb is busy with school and preparing his resume, portfolio, etc. for the job search to begin soon. We have discussed our plans for what to do in May when our lease is up here. We aren't sure yet, but plan on going and talking to a bank about loans and such. We cannot wait for that process to begin. Not. Other than that, I have been busy with the Great Banquet coming up. I am really looking forward to it and am so excited with the team that God has chosen for it. Now, I just need some guidance from him for my talk.

2. I've been "lazy" all day. We had a snow day off of school today so I haven't done much. I worked on some Banquet stuff, fixed dinner, and layed around. Now I am baking some cookies, but looking at the dough, I'm not sure how they are going to turn out. They were just a mix that I wanted to use for the Box-Top so it's not my fault if they're gross. Oh well, Caleb eats anything!

P.S. A Box Top contest has begun, so to my family...save your Box Tops!!! :)

Happy Birthday, Ryan!

Today is my brother, Ryan's birthday! Happy Birthday to him! Hope you have a great day! We love & miss you!

Tribute to Tony

The Bruner's are a bit saddened this evening as Tony Dungy has bid farwell to our beloved Indianapolis Colts. We were both expecting it, but still sad to hear it for certain. Here's a little tribute to Tony...We love you!

Pac-Man: FINISHED

So Caleb got an XBox 360 for Christmas. I was not too excited about until I realized that it came with a disc of old arcade games! I was even more excited to learn that Pac-Man was one of them. I LOVE PAC-MAN. Here are some pictures of me FINISHING Pac-Man. That means I beat the game. I know this is a dorky post but oh well :)

1.82

Caleb has been working late this week at the bookstore. Tonight I thought I would be nice and have some dinner ready for him when he got home. I ate earlier, but I made some chicken for him to make some burritos with. I used an entire package thinking I would have some leftovers for a quesadilla or salad tomorrow for lunch. Caleb got home and made his burritos and I when I looked I realized he had used all 3 chicken breasts! All 1.82 pounds! He added some peppers and lettuce to his burritos so I'm estimating he ate over 2 lbs. of food! He was pretty proud of himself and wanted to make sure my brother Ryan knew of his feat tonight. I didn't think to get pictures of it from the beginning, but here is Cal enjoying the last of his chicken burritos! :)

2008 Favorites

2008 was a pretty great year! Here are a few of my favorite moments:

• I got my first "real" job.
  
• My best friend got engaged (and that's no joke).
  
• Caleb came home from San Fran.
  
• I gained a new bro-in-law.
• I quit the Dog Shed...FOREVER!
  
• The metropolis of Walton is no longer my home.


• I got a new roommate...oh he's my husband too ;)
  
• I got my dream job teaching first grade (Okay so my dream job is to actually be the next Harry Caray but I'll take what I can get).


• My littlest big sister is preggo!
  
• Cal & I attended the first ever professional football game at Lucas Oil Stadium.


• Riley learned his favorite aunt's name :)

And here are a few of my favorite pics of 2008! (Sorry...an attempt was made to get these in chronological order but it just wasn't happenin'!)
He cannot resist me...truly.

Mr. & Mrs. Dave McIntosh

Cal & his entourage

Disney Bride & Groom

Florida was a bit wet when we were there.

Breakfast Club :)

Halloween 2008

He's home!

Camp kids

Although 2008 brought some tough memories too...it was pretty great! Can't wait to see about 2009!