Goodbye Weekend

Today's been nice - beginning with great weather as we headed out the door to church. We learned and studied in Sunday School (our first time in several weeks being with our age group instead of teaching the juniors/seniors - it was great!), and enjoyed talking with friends. The rest of the afternoon was laid back. We took Sunny to get his nails clipped, Matt left for a church meeting, and I accomplished classroom work and chores :)

I wanted to post a picture of the afghan I'm working on. I didn't get to it last night and probably won't tonight either. Sleep is beckoning me and I must be rested for all the kiddos in the morning!

Here's what I have so far... Now my husband has informed me that the original pattern won't be big enough because he wants to be able to cover up all the way with it instead of just lay it over our laps. With his 6'5" frame, this is no small task. Easy, yes, just time consuming. The colors are a deep red, charcoal grey (I would've liked something less black, but there wasn't this option at the store), and cream. I chose these colors because my bridesmaids wore charcoal grey dresses with red waistbands. I found white yarn, but thought it looked too close to being patriotic/valentines colors and went with cream instead for a softer touch.

Hopefully tomorrow I can crochet another square... maybe finish by Spring? Ok, realistically by Summer :)

It's a New Year!

I'm back and ready to set forth in the blogging world again. It's a bit embarrassing that I haven't posted since September... but I'm going to try much harder this year. My life has been crazy busy since my last post, with teaching and the holidays making time to sit and type a bit difficult. I want to record more events that happen with us Taflans because it's important and satisfying to me to have memories and thoughts stored somewhere that I can revisit in the future. So here's my enthusiastic attempt at blogging more than once every few months...

I'm not going to spend time catching up on all that's happened in the last few months because I'd like to get on to what's currently taking place. I will sum up Oct-Dec. with:

1. My kindergarten class is exciting, a blessing, challenging, and tiring - but I am learning so much as a first year teacher!

2. Married life just gets better and better. We had our one year anniversary Dec. 27th and eagerly look forward to the next year together

3. Our holidays with family in NC and OH were filled with many precious moments. God truly blessed us with amazing parents and siblings :)

You can see photos of 2009 here:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2525895&id=5123936&l=e959dc0e8f

Today was one of the most relaxing Saturdays I've had in a while. My husband and I slept in (no work for him today!) and we went looking for garage sales. We enjoy this activity although our routine is usually the same: Stop at many, many homes... ooh and ahh over odds and ends that we think we would like to have... mull over whether it's a necessary purchase... drive on to the next place and do the same :) We have actually bought things at garage sales before, but usually because a great idea comes to mind and we figure we can do some kind of project with an item. A few times we've driven away saying, "Oh, we'll come back later and if it's still there, then we'll get it." Do you know what happens when you do that? The beloved item is always gone! I passed up an amazing country style wooden kitchen cupboard once because I couldn't make up my mind. Deep down I wanted it because we could fix it up and make it so charming, but we live in an apartment and honestly had no room. We said we'd come back and it was gone. I kicked myself for it the rest of the day. Today I decided to actually go with my gut and get something if it's reasonable. I bought cute snowman accents for next year's Christmas/Winter decor. Matthew bought a staple gun for $2. We got to experience our first estate sale today as well. Very, very strange going through someone's house... we decided it was a bit creepy having so many people walking around a house buying food items, looking through linen closets, and walking out with anything they could get their hands on.

We decided to go to Wekiva Springs afterward and have a picnic lunch. I can't believe people were swimming in the spring! Yes, today the high was 76, but it was chilly in the shade and the water is only 72. We enjoyed some card games and walked the nature trail, soaking in this beautiful weather before the heat comes and sucks the life out of things once again. Last time we were there we had a new addition to our growing camera family... a Canon HG-20. Today we had our newest addition - the Canon 7D (very exciting!).

We were in need of a new camera, especially with a wedding coming up in March. Our other camera is still good, but the new Canon is great :) TaflanPictures, our videography/photography business is something we are pursuing with even more dedication. Matthew has had video gigs here and there through freelancing, and our opportunity for filming weddings on the side is becoming more numerous. I absolutely love assisting with shooting weddings! Here is a link to our latest: www.taflanpictures.com/vrbensky

Our website is getting a needed makeover and we hope to book more events in the near future. Matthew loves filming and editing, and he's been doing it for 9 years or so - definitely his niche. He's currently working here in Borders on editing a wedding we shot last weekend (a beautiful one with unique details that make me want to plan a wedding all over again!). We pray God will use us and TaflanPictures for His glory as we meet new people and produce new things.

I think I'm going to go explore the craft/diy magazines before the store closes. I only have 20 minutes! I love being inspired by neat ideas - although usually this inspiration happens late in the evening and by the time I round up supplies for a project, I'm tired and ready for bed :) I would like to work more tonight on the afghan I'm crocheting. I chose colors from our wedding and a simple pattern I found in a magazine. I'll have to post pictures soon. It takes me a while because I'm teaching myself and would like to spend more time on it in the evenings after school. Oh dear school, takes up so much of my time. I think about my classroom as I go to sleep, when I'm out shopping, as soon as I wake up (no exaggeration) - possibly because I'm a first year teacher? There's ALWAYS some cute poem or song I can research, project I can buy supplies for, and techniques I can read about to incorporate in our daily routine. Wonderful job, it truly is... a consuming one, but wonderful and rewarding!

Time to wander on over to the magazines...

2 Months in One Post!

About a week and a half ago, I was flying over Georgia during this time. I had about 45 minutes before the plane touched down in Florida and it was back to my husband (smile) and work. I had just spent Labor Day weekend in NC with my family and it was great!

So much has taken place since I last took the time to write. I spoke of a cruise with my family to the Bahamas and shortly following our return, Matthew and I boarded a plane to Ohio for a week with his loved ones. We stayed in his parents’ home, visited with many friends and family, and relaxed during our time up there. My in-laws planned a reception for us at their church that Saturday so those who couldn’t come to the wedding could come fellowship and see wedding photos, etc. It was nice to celebrate our wedding once more. We even had a small, beautiful wedding cake! Aside from seeing some of Matthew’s friends, we spent the majority of our time relaxing with family that we don’t see often. Actually, I hadn’t seen them since the wedding and that was 8 months ago! We held our three week old nephew (that makes 4! And one niece!), toured OSU where his brother attends, played card games with Matt’s grandma, and drove around Bellaire – enjoying the sights of his hometown. It’s neat to visit his side of the family because his parents live in a log cabin they built in the hills around 30 years ago. The property is the same property that his Grandma grew up on and the sidewalk, as well as the stairs from the house still remain. Also, the local high school was attended by Matthew’s dad, brother, sister, sis-in-law, and bro-in-law. Lots of family history in a small town that I find interesting because I’m married into it ☺



On our way back down from Ohio, we stopped in Charlottesville, VA for the night. It’s a city we have considered re-locating to in order to be closer to family. We drove around looking for garage sales as a way to get to know the area better. We were praying that if God wanted us there, we would know. We left feeling ok about the place. It’s beautiful and very historic – but we didn’t feel a strong pull in that direction. I don’t think God has closed the door completely, but it’s not in our near future. From there, we drove to my parents’ house for the night. It’s always so good to go home. I love being there at the house and seeing my sisters and parents. Walking around the property is exhilarating. The two of us left there with an even greater longing to move. We even considered moving things out of our apartment and into my parent’s basement starting Thanksgiving if I didn’t get a full-time teaching job… which leads me to my next news…

Driving home from NC after our Ohio trip was a long, bittersweet drive. We were sad to leave family behind and go back to life in the Sunshine State. We were happy though to know that our quaker parrot we’d been wanting was weaned and ready for pick up! Yes, we now have a new addition to our family – Sunny ☺ We decided on that name because it seemed fitting for a bird from Florida. He’s about 4 months old now and has quite a personality. Matthew has enjoyed building perches and play areas for him and we enjoy spending time with him, waiting to see what noise he’ll make next. So far he can say “step-up,” and makes a LOT of noise when we turn on the tv. Here he is:



Now, back to my news. On the drive back down to Florida, I received a phone call to come in for an interview at a local elementary school the following day. Well, I went and was called back the same day to come in again for a second interview, and then was called later that evening to let me know that I got a kindergarten position! I was so incredibly excited. It’s such a blessing! And here I thought I’d have to go back to subbing all school year… When Matt got home that evening, I waited for him to greet me with a kiss and I said, “do you know who you just kissed?” A bit confused, he said, “yes, my wife.” I then proceeded to tell him that he kissed not just his wife, but a teacher! We went out to dinner to celebrate and now I have a classroom of my very own.
I can’t believe we have been in school for four weeks now. My class of 18 is quite wonderful! The team of 8 K teachers I work with are such a blessing as well. So far, so good for a first year! It’s been exhausting and overwhelming, but each time I’m in the classroom most of that fades away. Now Matthew and I can really begin saving to move out of state, Lord willing! We discuss and pray about it quite often.



The day is coming to a close and sleep comes earlier now that I have so many little ones to care for. It feels great to post again. Hopefully once I get a better grasp on a schedule and routine, I’ll be able to post more! I look forward to catching up on my reading of other blogs…