Update

So I guess it has been too long since my last real post. Here is a pretty concise update on the Rhoden family...

For those of you who don't know....we are moving to SEATTLE! Ok, the greater Seattle-Tacoma area. We aren't exactly sure where we'll end up as my parents and wonderful brother and sister-in-law have started a commune in Spanaway...so we will see! What we do know is that we are leaving Florida in our 2006 Kia Sedona mini van on August 1 and plan to arrive on the west-side on about August 14thish...

• I finished school! For those of you who don't know, I taught 9th grade English this past school year at Lake Region High School. It was a really rough year. Between the violent outbursts, the cell phones and ipods, and the utter disrespect, the kids really wore me down. But all-in-all, my year wasn't so bad...but I'm glad its over!






Here are my kiddos performing Romeo and Juliet

• Charles is still working hard with FX ministries at our church. He will be taking a bunch of rowdy middle school boys camping in July along the Kissimmee River. It will be pure torture, but I think boys like things like that....Girls, on the other hand like slumber parties...here is a a pic from the most recent Girls of Xcellence slumber party at my house.

Continue to pray that the Lord will direct our steps as we close things out here and prepare for our transition. Charles is planning on attending seminary and I'm looking for a job. I'm not sure if I want to teach again, so we'll see what doors open up! Seattle here we come!!!!!! Until then....we're gonna soak up some rays!

We went to Cocoa Beach to watch the shuttle blast off last weekend.

P.S. I'm so relieved to find out it was John Locke in the coffin. But how in the world will they make it back to the Island? January is so far away!!!!

You Are Aurora! (A.K.A. Sleeping Beauty.)

Thoughtful and loving. Authority figures probably have been sheltering you all of your life. Thankfully you're a very tranquil person who is content with what life has given you, but secretly you want to know how the outside world works.

Which Disney Princess Are You?

Obsession

So about a month ago, Charles and I were home on a Thursday night (strange, I know...). We were flipping through the channels and turned on LOST. Bad mistake #1. It was the first episode of the fourth season. We were so intrigued, but so "lost" (no pun intended) at the same time. So what did we do? We decided to rent the first few episodes to clear up some of our confusion. Bad mistake #2. Around this time, Charles convinced me to join him in a master cleanse (www.therawfoodsite.com/mastercleanse.htm). Mistake #3. You drink salt water and a lemonaide concoction for 10 days straight. NOTHING ELSE. No grilled cheese, no taco bell, no iced mocha, NOTHING. After about 18 hours, I about had it. So being the most amazing husband in the WORLD, he ran to the video store and rented not just the next episode of LOST, but the entire first season...24 episodes in order to distract my hunger paings and give me some sort of incentvie Mistake #4. We compared how much it would cost to rent season 2 with the cost of just buying it, but low and behold, some friends from church (way to go Will and Mandy) own not just season 2, but season 3 as well. (It costs approx. $30 to rent it, $50 to buy it, free if your friends will lend it to you). After you watch the first few episodes, you cannot rest until you find out the answers to some of life's most important questions

• how did locke end up in a wheel chair in the first place?



• does kate like sawyer or jack?



• does rose ever find bernard?



• who was flying the yellow air plane that crashed in the jungle?



• WHAT IS INSIDE THE HATCH????



• WHAT DO THE NUMBERS MEAN???

Last weekend we were planning on hosting some students who were visiting from Clearwater Christian College. I had the blow up bed all made, the house clean. We turned on LOST and waited until it was time to pick them up from the church. We got a call right before we were about to turn the TV off and found out they wern't coming. Now, I didn't blow up that bed for nothing! We moved it out into the living room and fell asleep to LOST. We woke up the next morning and spent the entire day on that blow up bed watching LOST. We finished the second season Saturday night. Sunday morning at church, Will just happened to have season 3 in his car. I am sorry to report that we watched all 72 episodes of LOST in less than one month. Mistake #5. Now that we are current, we are going through withdrawls. We have never had to wait a week, (or even an hour) to find out the answers to such meaningful questions as:

• Where did Michael and Walt end up?



• Who are the strangers from the freighter?



• Is Juliet friend of foe?



• Does kate like jack or sawyer?



• WHO IS IN THE CASKET????? (this is the question I want answered most of all)

I have a confession to make. I like to read blogs and posts about the show. I actually made a post today. What the heck. Its crazy. So if any of you out there have answers to any of my current questions let me know. (i found out about locke....can you believe that guy???? thank you, sawyer!, and cute rose and bernard!). But WHO IS IN THE CASKET? And what about Jin?! What happens to him? Is he part of the Oceanic 6? I am a mess.

So I stole this from my sister, but I couldn't resist....

8th Grade

- Who was your best friend?
Jenny Anderson...I was still trying to figure out if Shannon was friend or foe.

- What sport did you play?
Volleyball, basketball (Go NINJAS!), and track...

- Did you buy your lunch?
We all ate school lunch in the cafeteria. And I mean seriously, who wanted to eat pb&J when they could have cheese zombies? Judy and Pat were the best.

-Skipped shool?
No one skipped school. Where would you go?

Did you get suspended/expelled?
No. There was fear of consequences not just at school...but at home.

- What was your favorite class?
LA/SS with Mrs. Lynch. She made me want to be a teacher. We made commercials and read Sara Plain and Tall. I also loved art with Mrs. Johnson when she let us paint our names in the secret closet. I miss the old school with the old gym and the fire escape.

- What was your school's name?
Endicott-St. John Middle School...Gooo Wildcats!


-Would you go back if you could?
In a heart beat. Those were the days.

-Where did you sit at lunch?
Where all the kids sat...at the tables in the cafeteria.

-Who was your science teacher?
Mr. Johnson, his advice..."Go to college so you don't have to work at McDonald's for the rest of your life." He also taught woodshop. I made a bookshelf. It is still at my parent's house to this day.

- Who was your English teacher?
Mrs. Lynch...Oh man, she's great.

- Who was your social studies teacher?
Mrs. Lynch, too....that was my favorite class. She was my favorite teacher.

-Who was your math teacher?
Mr. Herd. Or was it Hurd? Gosh, I can't really remember much about him except that he had a distinct smell and that we made a game call ConMop (I think it stood for consumer monopoly) and we were in the newspaper for it. He also taught computers. Can you say Oregon Trail??? There was another game where you went into the woods and had to use a whet stone....I don't think I ever knew what a whet stone was but I loved that game...

What were your outfits in the eighth grade?
Well, if you were cool, you had stone/acid washed jeans (tapered of course...with zippers on the bottom), jean jackets, baggy t-shirts, big hair with scrunchies...

- Did you make prank calls?
Once, Jenny, Jessica (what was her last name...Larson I think) and I called Joe Gering and sang "I just called to say I love you" because Jessica had a crush on him....but that may have been before 8th grade...if we made prank calls it was because we were at Tenaya's house playing Girl Talk. I probably called Conor Kleweno but hung up as soon as someone answered.

- Who did you like?
I suppose that was during my Conor Kleweno phase....although I think Ryan Schauble ruined my relationship with Staci Garrett forever that year.

- Was it your favorite year of middle school?
Our middle school only had two years and I spent 7th grade in Wheaton, Il. 8th grade was by far the best.

-Do you still hang out with the same people that you did when you were in middle school?
Jenny is married with tons of babies in Seattle, Shannon has her hands full with twin boys back in St. John, I can't remember the last time I saw Nicole Hennigar (I don't even know her new last name!), Andee and Staci...I'm lucky if I see those girls once a year at the TLC Christmas Eve service...I don't think I've seen Mel since graduation...Dana either...did I know Tammette in 8th grade? Well, it's been years to say the least...Andee, Jenny, Shannon and Tammette made it to my wedding....I think that may be the last time I've seen any of them....

-Do you think middle school or high school is better?
Hmmm....back home, there isn't much difference. I spent 8th grade with the exact same kiddos I graduated with.

The mean Mrs. Rhoden

Today one of my students told me that my class sucks. She said that I expected too much out of them and that I grade too hard. She told me to cut her some slack. Even though it hurt my feelings, I am glad that they know I expect their best...even though they won't give it to me.

My husband, Charles

I realized that I didn't have any pictures of my amazing husband on this silly website, so I figured it was about time...

Ode to Charles, I love you very much...

Christmas with kiddos...

We spent our Christmas vacation with Charles' family.

Here is a special greeting from

Aurora, Jenna, Alexis, Trinity, Romeo & Gabe