Moments.

I've been having lots of....moments....lately. Not necessarily bad or good moments, just ... moments.

I mentioned this earlier, but this past week I got an email from my SIL Lora telling us that Joel had gotten sick, and ended up in the hospital. I don't know about you, but it's difficult to open up your email account and see the subject line, "Joel" (insert your family member's name) and to read about his getting sick and being what feels like worlds apart. He's doing better today, and thankfully Lora is back in Nica now, but getting email updates on your brother's health puts things into perspective. I don't know how many of my readers (ha!) have met Joel, but he is one of the greatest guys I have ever known, or probably ever will know. Joel (along with my other brother Z and BIL N) is the standard when it comes to what I want in a guy - someone who loves God passionately, looks on the positive side, and is constantly growing in maturity and faith. So getting these emails has made me stop and truly thank God for who Joel is - and to remember not to take him for granted.

I had the opportunity to attend a concert on Saturday night with Aaron. The choir teacher at my school auditioned for this super talented group of singers, and made it! It was totally worth the price of the tickets, let me tell you. None of it was in English, but I think it made me listen harder to the songs. This is the type of concert where they have, like, different sections (movements?) of the song - where there is a long pause in the music and the next part starts...which means a song can last for like....a solid few minutes. And the people attending this concert know the ettiquite for this type of thing - you don't talk, clap, or utter a sound during these little pauses...I quickly learned. Towards the end of the concert my program slid off my lap and landed with a slap on the concrete floor. Oops. :) I was blessed by the music that night - and Aaron was too. Plus stopping for a little 'bucks before and after doesn't hurt...

Sunday was magical (I recently added the word magical to my vocabulary because my friend uses it all the time...I am such a follower!) I woke up super early and went for a walk in the crisp fall air. No joke - it is southern Cali and the air was crisp. Listened to my ipod and walked around the block. Love it. At church I got to hear the choir sing, they sang In Christ Alone, which will always bring me back to the chapel at Calvin College every time I hear it. Gotta love it. After church Aaron and I picked up some Cherry Coke and went to a friends' house for lunch. He recently bought a house - his own house - and he wanted to cook roast and have people over to christen the house. So...Cherry Coke I brought. After a wonderfully satisfying meal, Aaron and I booked it to Oak Glen - where he took me on our second date way back when. Oak Glen is this huge apple orchard with tons of fun stuff like pumpkin patches, free samples of apples, expensive cider and apple crisp, and TREES. Beautiful, beautiful trees. Aaron and I walked along this path that led to a stream and just basked in the beauty of creation. The whole time we walked I kept saying, "This is just like a cross country course I ran in high school! This is the part where I'd charge up the hill, and my mom and Cody (the dog) would be standing here watching. And this is where my dad would stand and yell out what place I was in...and here's where I'd pass a bunch of girls in the finish!" Thankfully Aaron let me be nostalgic for a bit. We drove back to my house and had dinner together, then I graded papers and Aaron sat with me. All the while I was thinking, "This is all I want. I can do anything if Aaron sits with me." :)

I normally dread Mondays. If you are a teacher, or in a career at all - you probably know what I am talking about. Sunday night rolls around and you start freaking out about how you will ever make it through the next 5 days of constant interaction and high energy. But God is so faithful and good - He makes Himself known to me all day long, and renews my passion for teaching even on a Monday. If you are a teacher reading this, you can probably relate to my day: I planned a lesson with a few different activities, not quite sure how the class would react to the main activity, and if they did poorly with it, class could potentially be ruined that day. Thus - the anxiety of a Monday. Miracle of all miracles - my Monday was fantastic - kids got it. I taught straight up to the bell - with most of the kids with me - so it was a good day in the teaching world. Added bonus: a knock on my classroom door during study hall - with a good lookin' gentleman holding a Starbucks cup and a letter - for me. Thanks, Aaron.

So I've got arthritis. Maybe you already knew that. Last winter/spring I found out I also had hip bursitis and fibromyalgia. Big words that mean to me - extra inflammation, chronic pain, and chronic fatigue. I don't know how I make it through the day, honestly, because when I get home, no matter what time it is - I can fall asleep in a matter of minutes, and still sleep at night! Twice last week I took 3 hour naps in the afternoon and still slept through the night! I don't know if it's a Kleinsasser gene or if it has to do with my chronic pain...but I am exhausted all the time. But I am thankful - because it causes me to slow down and thank God for the things I am able to still do.

Music. Tonight I went to our high school's band and choir concert, and can I just say it was phenomenal. Truly. One of my favorites (although it is hard to choose!) was an African song sung by the all girls choir. They had three soloists that I have taught in class and I did NOT know they could sing like that! Whew! Tears were brimming in my eyes as I listened. Good stuff. I gotta get me to more of these musical events...it seems to stir something in my soul. Does that make sense? Anyway, I may or may not ask one of my current students to sing her solo from tonight in class tomorrow. :)

And that's it. Those are the moments I have been having. Nothing too earth-shattering, but moments nonetheless. Can I tell you that half the time what gets me through my day is knowing I get to see Aaron at the end of it? Tomorrow he's done with his stuff around the same time my day gets done at school - so we get to chill. Something about that just gives me more motivation to teach - know what I mean?

Okay...long enough post tonight. Hope all is well in your part of the world.