I know it has been long....school has been VERY busy these past couple weeks! Hopefully after the Thanksgiving Holiday things will calm down.

As we head into this week of thanksgiving...there are SO many things that Bryan and I are thankful for. Of course we are so thankful for Bryan's brother Timothy. God has been so good to him just by allowing him to be home for the past 6 months. He recovered so well from the biopsy and has no side effects. We are encouraged by all that the Doctor has told us. He will be having the tumor removed on January 8th, so please continue to hold him in your prayers.

We are so thankful for our parents. They all live in this area and are a continual example of Godly husband and wives. Along with them we are thankful for out brothers and sisters and all 8 nieces and nephews. Both Bryan and I are very close to our siblings. At times I still can't believe the relationships we have with them. We feel so blessed to be so close!

At times I sit back and am in awe of what God has given to us, and that he has saved both Bryan and I. We are continually reminded of the sinners that we are, yet, God forgives us. I am so thankful for my husband!!

And last...but not least. We are thankful that this thanksgiving we can thank God for the little one we are expecting. :) We are due the beginning of July and already can't wait to see the miracle God created!

We hope you all have a wonderful and blessed holiday!

Time for some updates from the Atwells....

Thank you to all of you who have been praying for Bryan's brother Tim. He came home from the hospital yesterday and seems to be recovering well. We are waiting for the biopsy results, which we should have in a week or so.

On another note, my uncle passed away this past week. We are attending funerals and family functions this weekend. My parents have been so wonderful during this! I don't believe that my uncle was a christian, but maybe through this some of our other family members will turn to Christ.

School continues to keep me busy...the highlight of my week was when I finally figured out something that my little Chinese girl was saying. With every sentence she would say "awaa", and I was so confused, until it was brought to my attention that she is saying "Atwell"  in her little accent. Trying to get my attention to tell me something. She is such a joy to have in class....even though it is a new challenge. :)

Well...Have a wonderful weekend!

Well....It has been a few weeks since I posted last, so I thought since I had a few minutes I would try and catch you up on somethings.

I have been spending about 10 hours a day at school, and then bringing work home with me...it has been a long and trying couple weeks, but I think I am finally getting my head above water. I am starting to enjoy Kindergarten, although I do miss 1st grade a lot. These little guys REALLY can't do anything...which can be hard at times. I also have a little girl that was adopted 6 weeks ago from China and speaks no English. She is obviously on a completely different page from the other students, as right now I just want to make sure she is not leaving the room, eating crayons, washing her hands in the toilet, just to name a few. :)

We are still waiting to hear about Bryan's new job possibility. We are actually meeting with someone on Thursday to discuss everything!! Bryan is very ready for a change, and I know he is really excited. PLEAsE pray for this meeting! We (Bryan really:) needs to see if this is something that he can do.

Please continue to pray for us right now...it has been a very overwhelming week as we have found out bad news after another. As you may have read on my sister's page (Lisa) Timothy, Bryan's brother did not get a good report from the Doctors last week. The tumor has grown unfortunately and so he will be having a biopsy next Tuesday. He will then spend a few days in intensive care. Not only do I ask that you pray for the outcome, but also for this surgery, as anything dealing with the brain is serious.

We also found out that my Uncle is not recovering well from a recent surgery. My parents have taken on a lot taking care of him, as none of his kids live in the area. All the kids came in this weekend to spend sometime with him. Of course, he may and we pray he will pull through, but I know it will be very hard on my mom if he passes away.

And last....we were all reminded this past weekend of how quickly our lives can be taken from us. My brother Graham was in a car accident, and although he spent sometime in the ER, he walked away with nothing major, but a terrible scratch on his head and of course a totaled car. I know that we all are SO thankful that he is still here! Praise God it was nothing more serious.

So...I'm off to tutor...have a wonderful week!

The Rules:
1. I have to post these rules before I give you the facts.
2. Each player starts with 10 random facts/habits about themselves.
3. People who are tagged need to write their own blog (about their 10 things) and post these rules. (**If you're a non-blogger, you can email them!)
4. At the end of your blog, you need to choose 5 (because I thought 10 was too many) people to get tagged and list their names.
5. Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them they’re tagged, and to read your blog.

1. Today was my second day teaching Kindergarten...only 178 more to go!!!

2. I met my husband when I was in second grade, but we didn't get married until we were 24.

3. I still sleep with a blanket....but in my defense it is a huge satin blanket that is very comfortable. :)

4. I currently have 2 nieces and 5 nephews....and hopefully another niece on the way. :)

5. We have a dog named Cabo....sorry girls no baby announcements for us. :)

6. My favorite food is ice cream.

7. I hate Sushi!!!

8. I was the one in my family that was hesitant about college and didn't know what to major in....and somehow ended up with a masters. :)

9. I married my best friend's brother.

10. I made a deal with my brother Graham (when we were 5 and 10) that I would raise all his girls and he could have my boys. :)

On a different note...I am trying to keep my head above water this week. School has taken up most of my time. I feel like I get up go to school, bring work home, and go to bed. I am so thankful for a husband that is so willing to help me with dinner and laundry this week.

It was hard to say goodbye to Bryan's little brother this past week as he heading off to college. I will miss watching him play sports this fall.

Please pray for Bryan's job right now. The mortgage market is not doing so well. A number of people were let go at him company because of this. We have a few different options, one being a completely different line of work. Please pray that the Lord would make the decision very clear to us. Thanks so much!!!

What a busy couple weeks we have had. The hit of the weeks was spending sometime in Hatteras with my family. We had such a blast!!! Bryan was able to do some fishing with my brothers and dad, which they all seemed to enjoy. The big story was when Bryan and Bryce took the little 16 foot boat out into the sound. The were arriving at the wreck that they wanted to fish at when Bryce informed Bryan that they needed to head in right away. Bryan turned around and saw a 6 inch gash in the bottom of the boat and water pouring in. They were able to make it back in although it was very touch and go for a while. Other then that they were able to enjoy some surf fishing and a fishing charter one day.

We enjoyed quite a few days of sun!! Of course we would spend one day in the sun and the next in the shade, due to a little too much sun the day before. :) We rented a ocean kayak for the week and we enjoyed riding the surf in and the guys would also take it out to fish off of.

We had a total blast with Paige our niece, she is such a talker and kept us laughing the whole time. 

                                Paige LOVED running through the little "pools" that the tide would make.

                                                   Hudson and his adorable smile!!

                                                                                                    After a storm one night!

                                            On the ferry heading to Ocracoke for dinner.

                                                  Here are a few of our family pics.

Well, not too much to report on besides the beach. I have less than three weeks left before I head back to school. Lisa and the boys are here for the weekend and we are very excited to see them!! Hope everyone is enjoying their summer!!!