Winter?

Hey Everyone,

Ben and I are sorry that month has passed since our last post. Wow, this last month has gone by so fast! We have had several things happen in the last month. We have celebrated birthdays, Halloween, and two blizzards that brought us a couple feet of snow.

School is going great so far. I continue to love my students and have seen so much growth in their academics and their behavior. I think it also makes it easier being a 2nd year teacher instead of being a newbie. Right now my kids are where my kids were last year in January. I'd say that is pretty good. I think it helps that I know the curriculum better too. :) Ben continues to be one of the greatest teachers ever. He works so hard and I think it goes unnoticed by not only our administration, but his students as well. Although, when I was in high school it didn't even phase me to think about how hard my teacher was working to prepare lessons. Regardless, he is doing a great job!

He is still doing his "High Octane" group on Thursday nights. It's going really well. So far they have been working on a Honda and two snow machines. There are usually 5-10 young men who come each week and the best part about it is they have been sticking around for the devotional. I have started my tutoring program as well. We meet Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays from 3:30 to 5:00. It is through a program called SERRC. I love working with the 3-6th graders after school. It is kind of relieving being with them because they don't require every second of my attention. :)

Well, we've gotten snow and I'm 99.9% sure it is here to stay. Let me tell you, Moose our dog absolutely LOVES the snow. He will go and pounce through the deep snow and stick his head underneath and bring his head up full of snow. If you can imagine going swimming in snow...that is what Moose does. When we come in from being outside Moose will sit on our couch looking out the window sometimes whining to go back out. He has such a funny personality. We played pretty hard today, so Moose is currently laying on the floor looking almost lifeless. Don't worry, he's still breathing! :)

Thanksgiving is coming up and Ben and I still aren't sure what our plans will be. I'm sure we will have a Thanksgiving celebration with all of our teacher friends. As for Christmas this year, Ben and I won't be making the trek back to Minnesota. It is just too expensive and was not as relaxing as we thought it would be. We LOVE seeing our friends and family don't get us wrong, it was just too much money for too little time. Several of our friends that we teach with will also be staying in the village, so we won't get lonely. :) We are going to go into Anchorage for a couple of days and do some shopping for the spring.

Anyways, that's all for now. We think of everyone often and hope to write again soon! Speaking of writing, I have a new email address. Feel free to write me. It is anne.harvey7@gmail.com

With Love,
Ben, Anne, and Moose