Tuesday, December 29, 2009

Winter Break

Wow! We have been traveling fools! We came to Florida on the 19th, went on a cruise to Mexico from the 24-28, and are driving to Jacksonville tomorrow until the 3rd. We have had a great time visiting friends and family. It is amazing how fast the kids are growing up, which is forcing us to come to grips with the fact that we are indeed.... getting old. :(

I could write pages about our break but I will make a lit of the highlights. We have pictures posted on facebook so feel free to check them out and see pictures of our trip.

* Meeting Cross for the first time
* Giving Cross and Sara the blanket that I made
* Seeing my parents church help over 500 families with gifts for their children
* Watching movies with my siblings
* Watching my sister be a terrific mom
* Cruising the Gulf with the Shumbera's, Milton's, and Brkich's
* $25 tour of Cozumel with bonus stops at Mayan Ruins, shopping, and the best picture spots on the island
* Talking a lady down from $200 to $50 for a silver Tanzanite ring
* Winning $30 in a game of Bingo
* Seeing how big the 3 Shumbera trio has gotten
* Wings with Rodney
* Spending QT with Brad
* Staying up late and sleeping in


There were many more memories made but I can't remember all of them. We hope you had a wonderful Christmas and wish you a Happy New Year!! We are hoping for a much better 2010 than 2009 and are expecting great things to happen!

Thursday, November 26, 2009

Happy Thanksgiving!!

This year I have felt like a bit of a scrooge with the holidays. We didn't decide to cook a Thanksgiving meal until yesterday at 3:00. Brad and I made a turkey breast, corn pudding, green bean casserole, and bread for our mini-meal. It was a quiet day without the rushing around that normally occurs, which was nice for a change. We were joined by 3 furry friends instead of humans, which left more food for us!

In a year that has been one of our hardest, I am happy to say that I can still look at everything I have and count my blessings. There are other people who are worse off than we are. Here are a few of the things I am thankful for:
  • Brad
  • Family
  • Friends
  • Daisy Girl
  • Having a job that I enjoy
  • We can live off of one salary
  • Health
  • Many, many more things!!
I hope you all have a blessed Thanksgiving and welcome to the holiday season!

Monday, November 23, 2009

Where has the month gone?

I feel like this year is flying by!! November has been uneventful, which is fine with me! I started the month off with bronchitis, which I seem to get at least once a year. After staying home from work for 2 days, with Brad taking care of me, I felt MUCH better! We had a chili cook off through school that I planned. It was a fun weekend but a busy one making sure we have everything that we need. Our team didn't win but we had a fun time. Brad has found a few job opportunities in the area and applied for them. However, nothing yet. I have to remind myself every now and then that everything happens in God's timing.

We are getting ready for our trip to Florida. We finally sat down last night and made a flexible plan as to where we will be and when. I'm excited to meet Cross and get to hold him. I'm also excited for our cruise over Christmas as well as spending time with family members. As for Thanksgiving, we are hanging out at home and having a quiet break. I am looking forward to the break. This is the first time all year we have had any days off so I have plans to do ABSOLUTELY NOTHING!!! Well, I am working on a little surprise and this will give me time to finish it (hopefully). I hope you all have a great Thanksgiving.

Saturday, October 31, 2009

October Update



I can't believe how fast October has flown by! I know Daisy looks so excited here! :) This picture is from our pumpkin carving night and camouflage day at school. We had Red Ribbon Week this week and I dressed up as Pippi Longstocking for Book Character Day. I have also included a picture of the pumpkin that Brad and I carved. We didn't go with the traditional Halloween pumpkin, but the butterfly template that Brad made for me years ago while teaching kindergarten. How crazy is it that teaching kindergarten was "years ago"?? Things on the home front are going well.  The job search is still going... nothing really popping up but Brad is applying for every position that pertains to him. I've been busy at school with my 4th graders. We have booked and paid for our cruise over Christmas and we are looking forward to a fun time with friends and family. We are going to start  planning our trip to Florida now. Hooray!! I've been working on a healthier me. First, I gave up caffeine. I thought this was going to be impossible but I haven't even wanted a diet coke or mountain dew. Then, my doctor gave me a blood test and it listed foods that my body is sensitive to. On that list I had 30 foods including some of my favorites: bread, chicken, scallops, and wine. I have tried to stay away from these things as much as possible, with an occasional splurge. Giving up bread and chicken has been the hardest. However, in the past 2 months I have lost 11 pounds so it is working! I'm hoping to hit the 20 pound mark before we go to Florida. Then, the challenge will be to keep it off during the cruise. We don't have any plans for Thanksgiving. We'll probably do our own thing and stay in town. I hope you all have a Happy and safe Halloween!

Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Nice day for a white wedding!

Brad and I went to Austin for 5 days last week for Dave's wedding. It is hard to believe that Dave is married but I am excited for him and Sarah. Dave is Brad' best friend from college and was the Best Man in our wedding. He cried at our wedding and I was pretty sure he would cry at his own. He did... right when Sarah started walking down the aisle. We had a busy few days of wedding festivities and visiting with old friends and making new friends. I would have to say it was a successful trip and a beautiful wedding!
Brad and I are getting ready to plan a trip home. I am looking forward to seeing everyone, meeting Cross and going on a cruise! Until then, we are enjoying each other's company and keeping things rolling here in B/CS. The weather has been beautiful and I am so glad that fall is here!

Sunday, October 4, 2009

Working towards a healthier me...

At school, I started a weight loss competition to help all of us that are wanting to lose weight. So far we have lost a total of 41 pounds all together!! I hit my 10 pound mark this week! 10 pounds in a month! I can't believe it. I went shopping last night for a dress for Sarah and Dave's wedding in a few weeks. I am part of the house party so I wanted to find something other than dress pants to wear. I found a dress that is something I usually wouldn't wear but the best part is I had to go down a dress size! The 18/20 dresses swallowed me so I had to go to a 14/16. I'm slightly between sizes but I was happy to have to go smaller. :)

On another note about getting healthy, I went to the doctor about a month ago and she had me take a food allergy blood test. I got the results last week and it was amazing. Many of the symptoms are not necessarily noticeable but could be why I am having a hard time losing weight. On my list of foods I am sensitive to I had 30 foods!! I was giving my friend a hard time for having 23 and I had 30!!! On my list were some of my favorites including bread, chicken and tomatoes.

So this program is very interesting. Here is how it works. You give up the foods on your list for 90 days (which will take us right to cruise time). After 90 days you slowly introduce one of the foods back into your diet and see how your body reacts. If your body has any kind of reaction, you stop eating that food or at least know how you will feel if you eat it. With the program, I have access to a nutritionist that I can chat with online for a year for free! They take the foods on your list and give you recipes or meal suggestions. I will keep you updated on how its going.

Monday will mark a month without caffeine. I can't believe it! I usually drink a diet mountain dew or diet coke at least 3 times a day and even more if we go out to eat. I have been drinking sprite and water. Diet Cherry 7-up has become a new favorite. I am amazed at how much energy I have. I don't have that mid-day slump around 3:00 when the kids leave. My kiddos informed me that I was in a bad mood for the first week. Ha ha! Now, all I need to do is add exercise to my routine. :)

Saturday, September 19, 2009

Where did the last month go??

Man, this last month has flown by! I know we are not through Sept. yet but it has been a month since school started and since Cross was born!

School is going well. I have started a new blog Tales of a 4th Grade Teacher and am trying to make my entrance into the blogoshpere! I am trying to keep it anonymous to protect the innocent! Ha! Check it out.... it's my new project.

Sara is keeping me updated on Cross and I get pictures almost daily. He is so cute and I can't wait to meet him.

We are in the full swing of football season. Brad and I are excited about the UF vs UT game today. In our Yahoo pick'em Brad is currently beating me by 2 points and he makes sure that I understand this. However, I cam back from a second to last spot all the way up to a 2nd place spot! Go me! I made my picks half asleep... guess that's the way to go. Daisy is spending football season asleep. She has a good life!

Saturday, August 29, 2009

I've survived!

The first week of school is officially over! It was a long week but I think I am going to have another great year. I have some great students and a few students that were in my class this year. The hardest thing about the week was getting up early. I believe I was in bed by 9 every night. Hopefully, this next week will be better.

Being an auntie again is fun! We are so blessed to have so many nieces and nephews. :) I make sure Sara sends me daily pictures of Cross and talk to her almost every day to find out what he is doing. I can't wait to see him and probably will around Christmas.

Brad's job search is still going. Please keep this in your prayers. There isn't much around here but we know that God will open a door for him. Daisy is keeping him company during the day, making her own pillow forts on the couch and occasionally barking at the neighbors. She's become quite the grouch!

Well, that's a quick update in the lives of the Shumbera's. Not too much going on here and we are okay with that! Feel free to leave comments! :)

Thursday, August 20, 2009

It's a new year!

School year that is! This week I have been busy going to staff development and planning for the school year. Tonight we had Meet the Teacher and I met some of my students. I am very excited for a new challenge in 4th grade. I am going to have a great opportunity to learn a lot about Texas history since that is all that I teach in Social Studies this year. So, wish me luck as I venture into the new school year and I will keep you updated on any new adventures.

Welcome Baby Cross!


Cross was born on August 19, 2009 at 3:27 pm. He weighed 8 lbs. 7 oz and is 21.5 inches long. I am so excited to be an aunt again but I am having a very hard time being so far away. Sara said that he is perfect in every way. Mom is staying with her for a while and I'm sure Sara is happy to have the extra help.

Saturday, August 8, 2009

It's been an exciting week!






Katie and Chris surprised us with a visit!! Katie came to work and helped me decorate my room and we did some fun science activities with my jump start kids. Today I took my third graders to Ben and Jerry's where we attacked the Vermonster, which has 20 scoops of ice cream, whipped cream, bananas, brownies, cookies and all the toppings you can name! I had a feeling they would eat it all but had no idea they would and boy, did they!! I put a picture of before and after and have a lot more pictures of the madness on my facebook.

Monday, July 27, 2009

2009-2010 School Year

After a long wait, I have finally found out what I am teaching this year. I am moving up to 4th grade and I am self contained (which means I will keep my students all day)! I am VERY excited. My principal is working hard to get a Smart Board in my room. So, I have to move rooms yet again but this seems to be my home for this year. It will add another TAKS tests so instead of 2 tests, my kids will take 3. However, I know they will do great. :)

Sunday, July 26, 2009

After popular demand:




This weekend we spent the weekend in Houston to celebrate our 6th Wedding Anniversary. We went to dinner with my friend from elementary school Amie and her family on Friday and had a blast. Her kids kept us laughing the whole night. On Saturday, we spent the afternoon in the museum district, visiting the Holocaust Museum and The Museum of Natural Science.

After some rest we decided to go to dinner at P.F Chang where the night got very interesting. First, Clyde Drexler (who I didn't recognize and Brad had to explain who he was) held the door open for me!! (I have added that to my list as well as sitting on Carl Malone's lap when I was little.) Once we were seated, I had a nice view of Clyde the Glide and was asked a million questions about what he was eating and if he was using chop sticks or not. As if that was enough excitement the REAL drama started. Brad and I were enjoying our lettuce wraps when all of a sudden a fight broke out and we had a view of it all!!! The "mall cops" came over and "arrested" the guys while they figured out what happened. However, it was one guys 5 friends and a girl telling what happened. Then, the real (genious) cop came over and pulled the girl away from the guys to figure out what happened. After a lot of talking and several minutes of OPD (Other People's Drama) the guys were both released. Turns out, one guy was upset because the Valet guys scratched up his car. Then, him and this other guy got into a fight over a girl. No one knows how it happened for sure but our waiter tried very hard to get the scoop for me.

We spent Sunday at the Astros game where they lost. However, it was very cool to see them play in Minute Maid Park since we grew up watching them during Spring Training in Kissimmee. It was a great and memorable anniversary. I start Jump Start tomorrow so it is back to work for a few weeks before a few days off. I am ready to get back into a routine and stay home for several weeks before traveling again. I am thankful my job does not require me to travel. Thank you all for the anniversary wishes.

Sunday, July 5, 2009

Come tweet with me....

I'm on twitter! Come follow me... my username is kshumbera.

We are very hot in Texas with temperatures over 100 every day. I just got back from a conference in Austin and enjoyed my time there. On Thursday I am leaving for Florida for almost 2 weeks. I am looking forward to seeing everybody again.

Hope everybody is enjoying the summer. :)

Sunday, June 14, 2009

Summer Lovin'


We have had an exciting week this week. My dad came in town from Tuesday through Friday. We played a lot of video games, introducing dad to our world of Xbox, Wii and Bryan-College Station. We ventured out to Messina Hof one day and had a great time touring the vineyard and tasting some delicious wine.

This weekend our friends Sarah and Dave came from Austin to visit. We spent some time at the pool and the guys cooked pork chops on the grill. We hadn't seen them for a few months so it was nice to visit with them.

Our summer will be pretty low key. Brad is still searching for a job and hoping for a new challenge. I have a few weeks of workshops with one week in Austin for a conference. Other than that, my plan is to read, relax by the pool, and watch the whole friends series that a friend so graciously let me borrow! Now, back to watching the Magic hopefully kick some Laker booty!

Saturday, May 30, 2009

I can't believe it...

This year has flown by! I have been so blessed with the group of students I had this year. We had a lot of fun. Yesterday was the last day of school. It was bittersweet and I am proud of the growth my students made this year. I was truly blessed with the gifts I received: $110 from the parents, $30 gift card to Target (my favorite store ever!), a Willow Tree figurine (which I collect and love), a yankee candle and some handmade cards.

Brad and I are looking forward to our time together and are hoping to set into a summer routine quickly so we don't sleep the summer away. Dad is coming in June as well as a couple workshops to keep me busy that month. In July, we are going to an Astros game with some friends on our anniversary! It will be cool to watch them play since we grew up watching their spring training. I am running Jump Start, a 2 week summer school program at my school at the end of July. We have a few things to keep busy with. I plan to spend some time at the pool and read some books. R & R here I come!

Sunday, May 10, 2009

Relay for Life





Thank you to everybody that donated to Relay for Life. I have posted some pictures of the cape that I made in honor of all my family members and friends that have battled cancer. It was amazing to see the survivor's and the community coming together to raise money to fight this horrific disease. Our school raised over $3000 for cancer research!

We have 3 weeks left of school and then I will have some R & R time by the pool! Brad is still looking for a job and we are waiting for the right door to open up. Daisy is enjoying her time home with Daddy and anxiously waits for mommy to get home from work every day. She has even been sleeping in the bed at night and has become quite the princess.

Saturday, April 25, 2009

April Showers bring May Flowers

At least, I am hoping for some beautiful blooms after all of the rain we have had. We have spent a lot of time relaxing, watching movies, and gearing up for the end of the year. I am really going to miss my third graders when it is time for them to go.

Relay for life is in a few weeks and I am preparing for that. If you haven't gotten me names of cancer survivors (or victims) please send them to me ASAP so I can add them to my cape. :) The walk is May 8th and 9th and its not too late to donate to the cause.

We found out a few weeks ago that Sara is having a baby boy in September! We will have nephew number 9!!!

Brad is still looking for a job and we are hopeful that something will turn up soon. In the meantime, we are enjoying our time together and many nights (and days) in the pillow fort!

Monday, April 6, 2009

The first weekend in April!

This week we went to the Rangers vs. Royals game in Arlington. It was hot and windy... can you tell?? These pictures were before the sunburn came. Our friends got free tickets and invited us to the game. We had a blast and decided that we need to hang out with Krissy and Dave more often.
On Friday, I took my kiddos to the park for Fun Friday. They dared me to go down the "bumpy" slide thinking that I would not do it. I am such a cool teacher!

Monday, March 16, 2009

Step 1: A Plan

Ok we have come up with a plan to conquer the latest life change! Brad and I went to lunch today and talked about where we want to go and if we are ready to leave College Station. We have decided that we are going to first, target this area as well as Houston and Austin. Then, we will look into Florida, North Carolina, and Washington, DC. We also talked about him possibly teaching high school in the fall.

I really feel like God brought us here for a reason and another door is going to open up. We have made some great friends here and we really like the area. Keep the process in your prayers that the right door will open. We thank you for your thoughts and prayers!!

Saturday, March 14, 2009

Rough Week

This has not been one of the best weeks. I went to the doctor on Wednesday and found out I broke my toe. However, that isn't the worst news. Brad was laid off on Thursday. We are going to begin the job search on Monday and we will keep you updated. Please keep us in your prayers during this time and that doors will open. :)

Saturday, February 28, 2009

Relay for Life


Cancer is something that has definitely touched our family. In May I will participate in Relay for Life with the "Southwood Valley Superheroes". Please click on the link below to donate to this cause. I am trying to raise $100 but would love to exceed my goal. The following site will direct you to a page where you can donate. http://main.acsevents.org/goto/kshumbera

Fun with pictures



I created this picture at a workshop on Saturday.Thought you might enjoy it.