WE'RE IN GRAND HAVEN

I can't believe we're back in Grand Haven again! It's almost like a dream. How great it is to see our friends from the area again! The long drive, 24 hours, was actually worth it, believe it or not.

Now, hopefully I can figure out how to fix my blog....it got messed up when we put up our picture.

Lovely, Aren't We?

Roach & Mrs. Roach

A lovely photo of the Roach family!

Are We Ready?

Tax season is in full swing, and I've finally been able to find some answers! It's not as scary as it looks at first, however the importance of these forms is very high.

Last night the Roach and I babysat one of our professor's children for the night, as a "practice" for in a couple of weeks when we have them for spring break. The kids went to bed very easily last night, promptly at 7pm! It was great! These children are pretty well behaved. However, after staying up to watch TV until 12am last night, the Roach and I were awaken to the sound of children talking in the living room at about 7:10AM!!! Now, we were warned that they would awaken at that hour, and understandably so. They went to be 12 hours earlier! Now we know that we need to go to bed probably closer to 10pm, to get sufficient sleep. So, the question is: Are we ready to be parents? While the answer is: No, not yet. We do still enjoy our sleeping in on Saturday mornings, and hope to continue to do so for at least one more year. Anyway, it was an interesting, fun, good time with those two boys!

Tax Season.....????

So, I'm trying to figure out how to do my taxes, and I'm not sure how to handle this one particular part: the Roach is Canadian! I would assume I am to file my taxes jointly, however they ask for a SSN, which the Roach does not have. He has a Canadian version of that number, called the Social Insurance Number....but I'm not sure it would be valid in the States. Anyway, if anyone in the blog world might have an answer to my question: PLEASE HELP ME!!!

Now, I have one more question (for now) which is for those bloggers from the state of Michigan: I fill out the tax forms for Federal and State taxes, right? I'll fill out the 1040 EZ form, from the IRS website, and also the 1040 form from the Michigan State website? This is the first year I've filled these forms out for myself, so I'm trying to understand.

Thank you so much to anyone who has any help for me!!!

ROACH SCORED AN AWESOME GOAL!!!!!

The BBC Blazers hockey team did lose, 6-4.....however, the Roach scored a goal while they were on a 5-on-3 penalty kill!!! IT WAS AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I AM SO PROUD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And that's all.

The Roach loves Mrs. Roach

It's true! Even though the Roach and his brother gave me whiplash on Friday, today the Roach gave me something else: beautiful flowers!!! I didn't think we were doing anything for Valentine's Day, so I didn't plan anything...however the Roach came home with 1 rose and 5 purple tulips!!! He also got me a beautiful red vase to put them in. It looks gorgeous!! I love it!

Tonight is another BBC hockey night!! I'll report tomorrow how the game comes out!

You Know You're Loved When

You know how sometimes when people say "I wouldn't pick on you if I didn't love you"? Well, I am loved....by my husband and my brother-in-law. On the way to the DeRoche house in northern New Brunswick, they decided to play a trick on us girls in the back (myself and Aza, a friend from school). side note: Jason loves to scare me, because he thinks he will scare it out of me.....there's logic there somewhere, but I haven't found it yet So, They decided that Jamie (driving) would tap on the brakes and Jason would scream....scaring us girls in the back awake. However, we were sleeping, with heads resting on the back of the seat, and when they did it, I was startled (as to their plan) and jerked my head into an upright position! I was fine for the rest of the night, but at about 6:30am yesterday morning I woke up with the most incredible pain in my neck!!! Now I know what whiplash feels like!!! I also know what a muscle relaxer does to my body! Pain relievers are beautiful things!

Sick Days

Jason caught the sickness that has been going around campus, which I said last blog...however it seems that I am having symptoms of the same! YUCK!!!!!

Anyway, we're being pounded by Old Man Winter tonight: 6" of snow, and now freezing rain! Ice covered snow is my favourite.....NOT!!! Okay, that's enough sarcasm for today.

Another Day...

It's a nice day here in Sussex. Nothing extraordinary has happened today, however the Roach isn't feeling too hot. So, if you think of him will you pray that God will heal him? I think it's just a small virus, but it makes it challenging for a college student when you're not feeling well.

As for me, I've been participating in our College's yearly Phonathon event, the past two nights, and again this Thursday. We may call again next Tuesday, but they're hoping to finish calling tomorrow night. It's been interesting for me because talking to new people isn't one of my strong points. I come home (after 4 hours) exhausted! The major highlight of this event is winning prizes for various things. I've brought home plenty of chocolate, and a couple of other things. It's fun, and an opportunity for me to give back to the college after four years here (and not participating any of those four years).

We're going to Jason's parents' home again this coming weekend, and it will be nice to be able to do laundry and not have to dig around for $1.25! Other than that it will be a nice get-away.

Other than that, life is good...life is the same. I love routines!

WE WON!!! GO BLAZERS GO!!!!!

The blazers won!!! YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!! The score was 6-4 (I believe) and it was a fun game. Roach was quite pleased afterward, so that's how I know the game was good.

It's SuperBowl Sunday!!! (I'm out for the free food)

So, I've confessed: I don't care about the game! I just want the free food! I don't care about the game, but Jason wants the Eagles to win, so that's who I'll cheer for.

It's interesting to me how God brings people into our lives. And even more interesting is who these people are. A new lady has been brought into my life, for an unknown reason, and I'm at a loss as to how to react. Part of me is scared, realizing that I am not truly equipped to help her as best as she needs. The other part of me is excited because it is another opportunity for God to love another soul through me! This realization of my lack of understanding & knowledge makes me a good candidate to love this lady, so that realization also brings with it the confidence that God is going to do it through me. Another, more honest, way of saying that is: that realization also brings with it the expectation that God better do it through me because I know myself and I love myself first and foremost before anyone else...so God's got a lot of lovin' to do.

My God is big enough for that though. I'm glad my God loves me!

Maybe Next Time...

Maybe next Monday night will be a win, who knows! But this past monday was not. The guys did have a practice last night at the local out door rink, and Jason was really excited when he came home. They worked on the basics, and I'm a bit more hopeful about a win this Monday. They're not professionals, but I do hope for some good news regarding the BBC hockey team.

Tonight, however, Jamie (Jason's brother) has come down to cook supper for us and our supper guests!! I'm excited because he is making Sushi and some thai food!!!!! Jason is always raving about Jamie's cooking abilities, and I finally get to experience it. We have invited 5 students from campus to enjoy this meal with us, and that is a special treat for them. It's great to invite people into your home! I love sharing time/life with these friends here.