I AM ENGAGED!

As of last night, Tuesday, March 13th, I am engaged to the love of my life, Derek Jordan Howard! I am the happiest girl in the world and am so excited to have the priviledge of spending the rest of my life with the man that I love!

Here is the story: Derek came over for supper, and then we discussed our plans for the evening. He wanted to do something, and not just stay in because it was a beautiful day out. I saw him go and talk to my dad. . . and then the thought crossed my mind, "hmmm, I know what they're talking about, but when will it happen? not tonight. It's a weeknight, and I don't think he even has the ring yet." With that, we got ready and headed down to South Street in Philly. We walked up and down and stopped at Cosi's, a cute little coffee shop. We enjoyed some desserts together and decided to walk around Penns Landing. It was getting pretty late at this point, and my feet were a bit tired from teaching all day and walking around all night. We sat down beside the river, looked at the lights on the boats and bridges and enjoyed the beautiful weather. After a little while, Derek asked me if I wanted gum. You're probably thinking, why is gum so important to this story, but you'll see why in a minute. Derek hands me the orbit gum pack. I open it up and it felt hard on the one side. I told him that there was something stuck in the pack. He looks in and realizes that the ring he tried to hide in the gum pack for me to find, I had got it stuck. Well, he got it out and got down on one knee and asked me to marry him! And of course I said yes:o)

We are getting married July 28, 2007. . . so save the date! Here are some pics of us last night and my ring!

the long awaited update

After the evening service last night, I went over to talk to some friends of whom I have not talked with in a long time. They complained that I have not updated my blog, since that is there source of information on the happenings of the world of Sharon. So here is my long awaited update, to keep my readers happy and entertained.

Since last posting, many things have happened, and I'll probably forget some of them in the midst of typing this post. Basketball season has ended, and I have notified the A.D. that I will not be able to coach next year. I have prayerfully thought this through, and I know that in order to put into teaching all that I wanted to and spend quality time in my relationships, I needed to let go of something. I will miss my cheerleaders and the fun times I had with them. I enjoyed getting to know each one of the girls, and see them grow through out the season.

Derek's family came for an 8 day visit, which went smoothly. His family met my family, and all seem to get along, which is great. I am glad that they had the opportunity to come up here to Pennsylvania from sunny florida.

My nephew, Luke Taylor, got saved, which is a huge blessing and answer to prayer! You can pray for Audrey, she has had some health issues come up, and the doctors are unsure of what is causing it. They thought it was some kind of seizure, but the tests were clear. She goes in for an MRI soon, and she has to be put under. It makes my sister a bit nervous for her 18 month old daughter to be put under, so I ask prayer for her as well.

Teaching has been going well. We started the looooooooooooooooong process of learning how to write a research report. . . You can pray for my sanity. From now until April 18th, that is all we are doing. . . learning the writing and researching process!!! At the end of it all, the effort is worth it, but in the midst of the storm it seems endless.

Well, that's a brief update on life for the past month or so. I hope that satisfies all curiousities:o)

The picture at the top is another one of Derek and myself after church one Sunday, and the picture on the bottom is of the flower Derek gave me for our 5 month anniversary. AND to answer all questions, no, we are not engaged. . . YET:o)

a scattering

Here is a little update since I am not so good at keeping my blog updated. Life has been crazy busy as usual. Between teaching, coaching and maintaining any kind of relationship outside of school, I have been completely overwhelmed at times with all that is on my plate. God has been showing me a lot of things recently. One, not to focus on my circumstances. When life seems to be overwhelming and I feel like giving up, God is always there. It's so easy to get caught up emotionally in all that is seemingly wrong in life, when I feel like there is no time to refocus. The only reason I feel like there is no time, is because I do not make the time.

Second, is learning to obey and respect those God has placed over me, when I feel like they single me out or "have it out to get you". God has people in my life where they need to be to teach me what I need to learn, I just have to trust that God knows in spite of how I feel towards them.

Life just keeps coming at me, but God knows what he is doing. He brings friends in to encourage you and His word to rebuke and exhort you. I just got to keep plodding along the path and look towards the goal, rather than the here and now.

I wanted to thank my friends for putting up with me these past couple weeks. I also wanted to thank Derek for being such a wonderful boyfriend in directing my focus back to where it needed to be!

On a lighter note, here are some pics!

This is a pic of Derek and Nathan eating ice cream at Coldstone for Luke Forman's Birthday!Look we match! Gray hoodies, and black shirts. . . we are also wearing blue jeans, but that didn't make the pic!

Derek needed assistance to reach the water fountain!Last, but not least, here is a picture of our "family". Derek and I decided we are going to adopt little "Ray-Ray" when we get married and move to Hawaii!

Christmas and New Years

It's been quite some time since I have been able to post anything here on my blog. So I decided to put off grading and post a little something.

I spent Christmas down in Florida with Derek's family where I met his family for the first time. We had a grand old time, and I enjoyed my first 83 degree Christmas! It definitely did not feel like Christmas, but it was enjoyable to see palm trees lit up with Christmas lights.

The picture to the right is on new years day about 5sh in the morning. . . we all stayed up til around 8 am playing games and cooking/eating breakfast at Jaimer's apartment. We brought in the new year down in Philadelphia watching the fireworks and Penns Landing. . . the first time I have ever done that, even though I've lived in this area my whole life!

While I was in Florida, I went with Derek and his family to Tarpon Springs, which is a little greek community on the bay. The picture to the left is Derek lifting a stingray out of the water at the aquarium in that town. . . which he got in trouble for because a little kid told on him. The picture to the right is of Derek "leap-frogging" over his brother Aaron. His dad is in the background with a concerned expression on his face.

Here is a pic of Derek's siblings and myself at the aquarium in front of the petting tank. From left to right: Aaron, Derek, me, Rachel, and Miriam.

The rest of the pictures are of Derek and myself at various places around the Tampa area. I really did enjoy meeting his family and having the time away from school.

First Christmas Party of the Year!

This past Saturday, 5 of us went down to meet Becky at her apartment in Chestnut Hill for our first Christmas party of the year. We had a grand old time, exchaning white elephant gifts, eating, playing games and watching the first "Rocky". All of us being quite tired, hit that gitty stage like when you're at a high school sleep over. . . it was quite humorous. (Don't worry we didn't have a sleepover with mixed company) I think the white elephant gifts set us off. Below are a few pics of the gifts under the tree (the brown paper bagged wrapped one is Derek's) and of us opening the gifts.

Derek, received "So You're off to College" inspirational book, which was quite humorous since he looks like he's 19! Below, Luke was excited to receive Becky's gift, a Drexel University mug. Nathan was learning "how to get dressed" from his adorable child's book that came complete with examples on how to tie your shoes, zip a zipper and button buttons.

This was only the first of many Christmas parties to come. . .

Happy Belated Birthday Jaime!

Yesterday was Jaime's birthday. I meant to post something yesterday, but I went home sick at noon, so it did not get done. Anyway, I just wanted to post a little birthday greeting for Jaimers (in Derek's words). Hope you had a great day!

Here are some other pics of the evening at Jaime's on Sunday night. We had a great time as usual, eating, watching football, and fellowshipping as usual.

Here is a picture of Derek baking cookies. . . in a rather festive apron! He was quite proud of his cookies and the wearing of the apron (not to anybody's surprise). The cookies were good, and of course I enjoyed seeing him in the apron:o)

Below is a picture of Nate staring off into space, dreaming of his future bride. . . just kidding. . . he was inraptured by the football game on TV.

Thanksgiving Highlights

Thanksgiving vacation was a bit hectic at first, but after I caught up on sleep, it proved to be quite relaxing. I had the priviledge of sleeping in the kids room at our mountain house, with a tent made of sheets for privacy. . . but I wished it was sound proof by the next morning:o)





The first picture is of Joey and his new baby brother Joshua. They belong to my sister Sarah

The second picture is of Timmy and Dana's little boy, Ryan. He is now 4 months old!

The third picture is of Audrey, Steph and Frank's youngest.

The fourth picture is of Maddy and myself. Maddy is 2 years old and a very cheerful little girl! Maddy is my sister's, Sarah, 3rd child.

The fifth picture is of Gracie and Joey, my sister Sarah's oldest two children.

The sixth picture is of Amber and Jordan, Steph and Frank's oldest two children. They put our place tags for Thanksgiving dinner on their face. . . following each other's example!

This last picture is of Derek and my nephew Luke. Luke is Steph and Frank's 3rd child. . . and the most animated!

Thanksgiving vacation was a wonderful time to spend with the family and get out of the usual routine of the school year! Only 3 1/2 weeks until Christmas vacation. . . I think I can make it! How was everyone else's Thanksgiving?

just a few more days

Just a few more days until Thanksgiving vacation and I can't wait for the rest and relaxation. In the meantime, I thought I would post a little something on my blog. On the left is a picture of Audrey, my niece, wearing an outift I bought for her. On the right, is Luke, Audrey's brother, posing for the camera as usual. These pics were taken after a teen activity we had on friday night. The activity was called "The Hidden" and it challenges the teens to be visible rather than hidden when it comes to their witness to Christ. We went through different eras and different areas of the world were Christians are severly persecuted for their faith. The final scene was modern America, and asked the teens if they had to, would they be visible for their faith or would they remain hidden. They heard clips of TV commercials and celebrities putting down Christianity in America, calling Christians irrational and other various such things. It was very emotional and brought things into perspective.

This picture is after the activity as well. . . Luke and I making our silly faces for the camera:o)

The picture of the roses is from Saturday. Derek and I celebebrated our 2 month dating anniversary. Since we could not hang out in the evening, he took me out to lunch and spent the afternoon together. That night I had to babysit, so he came over to keep me company after he was done bowling with his friend, Brian. I am amazed at how God has been working in both of our lives and how I can see God's hand in our relationship.

almost vacation. . . some random pics. . . and a lack of motivation

I am posting some random pictures because I haven't taken any too recently. The picture on the left is of Melissa thacker and myself when she was here in PA a few weeks ago. The picture on the right is of Jaime, Becky and myself at Applebees celebrating Nathan Branine's birthday.

I can tell its almost vacation time. . . the students are overly excitable and I have a serious lack of motivation to keep up with grading and other whatnot like that. Only one week to go til thanksgiving vacation! I'm heading up to our family's mountain house in upstate PA for a few days to spend with the fam. My sister, Sarah, and her family are coming in from Indiana for Thanksgiving as well. Most likely Derek will come along with me, which I am excited about:o) Frank, my brother-in-law, decided that we should play a football game while we're at the mountains. . . in-laws vs. jordans. . . yeah, the teams would be a bit lopsided. Jordans as a whole do not have an over-abundance of athletic ability to pull from (to put it nicely). What are you all doing for Thanksgiving?

Here is another pic of my nephew, Luke. It's his typical "take a picture of me" pose. I know this post is jumping from one topic to the next, but as stated in the title. . . I have a lack of motivation due to the upcoming (and well-needed) vacation. . . which leads to complete randomness and using any excuse to get of my grading for the time being.

mondays. . . blah!

This is a picture of my students this year. It was taken during Spirit Week on our class theme day (tropical theme). Front Row (left to right): Ryan, Julian, Scott and Luke. Back row (left to right): Melanie, Natalie, Steven, J. B., Deion and Seth. For the first month of school my class consisted of 8 boys and Natalie, but in the beginning of October Melanie came and made life a little more enjoyable for Natalie.

Now changing subjects, yesterday seemed to have been a downer for a lot of people. It was monday, first of all, and our grades were due for the first quarter by 8 am today. That would not have been a problem except that our computer system at school has been down for the past week and the grading program was not fixed until yesterday afternoon. I found myself perched here at school until 8 pm. . . did not even go home for dinner. Keep in mind I did have cheerleading practice to run from after school til 5. . . but then back to the classroom to enter grades. Derek was so sweet and brought dinner to me, which offered a well needed diversion from the task at hand. Derek had a long hard day at work as well, Jaime was overwhelmed with her workload, and a teacher friend of mine called with some frustrations that she was having. Today is seeming a lot brighter and I thank the Lord that monday is over, my grades are done, and that He gets you through the "downer" days and brings you to brighter ones!

this past weekend

This weekend was busy and full of many activities. Friday night, a group of us went to Applebees and then to Jaime's apartment to watch a scary movie. The pictures are of Nathan Branine's reaction to being sung to in Applebees for his birthday and the cake we all partook of.

Saturday I hung out with some of the Northland travelling team for the afternoon at Starbucks (the new one they just built down the street from our church). We had a wonderful time of fellowship and since it was the first weekend that Starbucks was opened, we all got free bags of ground coffee! That evening Derek and I went to the Nichols' house for dinner and to decorate "harvest" cookies and then off to Jaime's again to watch yet another scary movie. Derek and I got to spend a little alone time afterwards, which was nice:o)

Sunday was full of its usual activities. I took a well-needed Sunday afternoon nap, and after the evening service we went over to my sister and brother's-in-law house for a singles activity. We played games, ate food and fellowshipped.

Now its monday. . . back to the routine of school and the responsibilities of a teacher. Although my class is challenging in their behavior, I do enjoy their enthusiasm in class (makes life a little less boring). Hope I didn't bore any of you to death with the details of the weekend, and I hope you all had a great weekend as well:o)

I'm a little picture happy

Here is another pic of 3 of my 8 cheerleaders this past season. . . from left to right. . . Maggie, Alex and Nikki. I know many people make fun of me for being a cheerleader for 6 years and now coaching cheerleading, but the girls are awesome and its worth the sacrifice of time. We had a great season and I'm looking forward to what basketball season has in store for us.

This picture is of Melissa Thacker. I got to hang out with her Tuesday evening at the Totaro's house. She is travelling this semester for Northland representing and promoting the college. I know she'll kill me once she sees this picture posted on my blog, but I couldn't resist:o)

Once again I had to post another picture of Derek and myself. This was taken tuesday night at his apartment, our usual hangout (in combination with Starbucks or Barnes and Noble). I was pretty tired by this point, so we watched a movie of which I saw all of 5 minutes of before I fell asleep. Some would blame that on my lack of sleep for the past couple months. . . and I say it's all worth it in order to spend time with Derek:o)

I'm a little picture happy recently, so I hope you enjoy the pictures while I'm still motivated to upload and post them. Who knows how long this motivation will last. . . but for the time being, ENJOY!

One final thought. . . I know this is completely random, but I just wanted to say how amazing my God is! Looking back over the past couple months of my life, and my friend's lives, God has truly shown himself real to me in so many ways!! He's worked through circumstances and relationships in ways I never thought possible. A lady in my church told me a couple summers ago. . . "God is rarely early, and He's never late"

Picture Update. . . enjoy:o)

Here is a pic of Melissa Thacker and myself. It was taken over last Christmas break. . . and I haven't seen her since. BUT today I get to see her since she is travelling for Northland, and her travelling team is in our area for the next few days:o)

Of course, I had to upload another picture of Derek and me:o)

We all hung out at Luke's apartment Sunday PM for some food and fellowship. . . the pic is of Luke "sunshine" Forman.

This is Ryan Timothy Jordan (Tim and Dana's baby). He is 3 months old now and absolutely so adorable (not that I'm bias or anything)!

Here is a pic of my cheerleaders this past soccer season in our new uniforms! This was right before our homecoming pep-rally. . . they were all pumped up ready to pump up the teams!

Hope you all enjoyed the pics and the visual update on life here in Lansdale, Pennsylvania!

Because of that Blood

Earn your way, that's the lesson we are taught
But I know that things eternal can't be sold or bought
Amazing grace is something I could never hold
And I know love and mercy are outside of my control
But I'm reminded of a ransom paid beyond my worth
On a hill outside the city, where heaven kissed the earth

Because of that blood, because of that tree
Because of the mercy pouring over me
Because of that grace, I've been set free
Because of You, Jesus, I have been redeemed

Some believe that they can make it on their own
But only in the end to find they're really not that strong
But I believe that if I choose to live by faith
That God would give me strength to make it each and every day
For we are lost without a savior to save us ourselves
It's only by the grace of God that we can live to tell

Because of that blood, because of that tree
Because of the mercy pouring over me
Because of that grace, I've been set free
Because of You, Jesus, I have been redeemed

Who of us can say that we are worthy of the love of Jesus Christ
All that we can do is simply offer Him all by laying down our lives

This song is on the new Phillips, Craig and Dean CD, Top of my Lungs
I wanted to share the words to this song because they blew me away!

stress relief

This past week has been absolutely crazy. I am so glad that it is over, and that I am back to some sort of order in my life. From it being Spirit Week, to Homecoming, to being a mom for 2 teenagers last week (and not being able to see Derek), I was pretty overwhelmed with everything. God was good and brought me through the week as only He could.

This past weekend was a wonderful release of stress. Derek and I helped out with an investment activity for the teens where we raised money for missionaries. Each teen brings $2 and invests it to make more money, like the whole parable of the talents. Well, we had 5 Jr. High girls and we made candle votives with our money and made $110 by the end of the afternoon. It was awesome to see the response of the teens. In total the teens raised over $1,100 for the Hayes in Thailand. After the investment activity, a bunch of us had a bonfire at Derek, Nate, and Brent's house. Derek fire-breathed and we all roasted marshmallows by the fire. We had a grand old time of fun, food and fellowship!

Sunday was a usual Sunday. We have a missions emphasis month, so the Slobodians were here presenting their ministry. The part that always gets to me in missionary reports are the children. They showed a power point presentation on the statistics of homeless children in Russia and where they end up as adults. It broke my heart. It shows me how merciful and gracious God was to me.

This update was for you Jen! Sorry for being a little slack on updating my blog:o)

beautiful sky

beautiful sky
Originally uploaded by sharjoy18.

This sky is absolutely amazing! As I was coaching my cheerleaders during a soccer game this past tuesday, I looked up and was amazed at the beauty of God's creation. There was no question that I had to take a picture and capture the moment for all to enjoy. I can not even imagine not believing in the Creator while looking all around me and seeing evidences of His handiwork!

It was nice to take a moment and enjoy the splendor of God's creation, because these past few weeks have been so crazy busy. It has been a good busy, so that is good. This weekend I am speaking at our camp's Father/Daughter retreat, going to a wedding, and then off to babysitting/housesitting from Saturday night to next friday evening. To top it all off, it's spirit week next week at our school, and being a teacher and cheerleading coach means more tasks than usual. So life is not slowing down anytime soon. . . that is why I am thankful for the little moments where I can stop and rest in the Creator of this world!