The water crisis in Jackson (the newspapers words, not mine) is finally over, and life is somewhat back to normal. Plus, it is so warm today...I don't even need a jacket! I am loving it.

This semester is going to be a little crazy. I am taking a Greek translation class at Millsaps. We are reading Plato's "Symposium," which is proving to be very interesting. I haven't had a Greek class since the spring of my sophmore year, so I was really really nervous about this class. But it is going well so far. Most of my Greek is coming back to me. It's also fun to feel a little like a college student again.

Lately, a lot of my friends have gotten pregnant. Several people from ABC are expecting, as well as a good friend who I worked with in Oxford. I have to admit, part of me wishes I was pregnant, too. Bech and I love kids and cannot wait to have one!

A lot of people have been asking me lately when we are going to have kids. Bech and I have decided to wait at least a few more years. Part of this reason is motivated by financial reasons. I don't have maternity insurance and babies are expensive! Another major reason is that I want to go to graduate school first. I would at least like to have my masters degree before I have a baby.

So thats our plan. But I am so excited for all of the people that are pregnant! I can't wait to buy them all baby presents so I can spoil their babies. I just started working for a few hours every Friday at a store called the Polkadot Pony. It is a childrens boutique (although it also has some really cute adult clothes, which would be why I am working there!). I am planning on using my discount to buy some cute baby presents!

I mentioned last post how cold it has been in Mississippi...this week it's actually going to be in the 50's during the day, but last week it was in the 20's and 30's during the day. The city of Jackson is not prepared for this weather, because all of their water mains and pipes are breaking. Right now, there is very little water in the city and non of it is drinkable. Bech was able to take a trickle shower this morning, but most people in our neighborhood don't have any water.

It is funny to see people freak out about this. People are rushing to stores to stock up on water, and all of the schools are being closed today. If the water went out in Malawi, it was a bummer, but nothing stopped. We had to filter or boil our water anyway, and hopefully we had some stored up. I remember trying to wash my hands at school only to realize, "Oh, they've turned the water off today," and simply using hand sanatizer instead. And here, everyone is stopping daily life because of the water situation.

Anyway, hopefully we will have water soon so that schools will open back up. And we still have gas and electricity and fast internet, so I'm not complaining!

new furniture!

We have tons of books and cds. We have a huge bookshelf from ikea, but it can't hold all of our books. We have been looking at craigslist and various flea markets, but haven't found the perfect bookshelf...this is probably due to the fact that we have a really small budget but we want it to be really nice.

Bech was off work for 2 weeks for the holidays, so he decided to build us the perfect bookcase. It turned out wonderfully. He made the middle section for cds, which I have already alphabetized into place (I know, I'm strange, but it makes me happy). The two sides are for books.

It runs along the back of our couch:

I realized as I was taking these pictures that I still haven't posted pictures of our living room, so here it is:

I know, I still have those gold trees up from Christmas...they're on my to do list for today!

The little ball thing on our coffee table is our new favorite toy. Bech's parents gave it to us, and it is a computerized "20 questions" game. It is hilarious to play with, because it really does get it right.

In the above picture, our gas heater is on. That is because it has been FREEZING here in Mississippi. It even snowed yesterday! We are lucky if it snows once in a winter, and we have already had snow (just a little yesterday) twice this winter!

Last year, we...

I have seen a few other blogs show the past year in pictures, so I was inspired to do it myself:

Last new years eve, we had a party complete with both paper games and roasted red bell pepper hummus (thanks megan!).

Here's a preview for this July...plus, I don't even remember Elijah being that little! So cute...

We spend quality time with some of our favorite people, the Joneses. (And discovered that our little apartment is NOT childproof!)

We moved on campus!

We had visitors and took them all around Malawi (or at least the central region).

We spend Valentine's Day with two people we love!

Bech met Maxjoy and became "a man of his hands."

We had another visitor and I went on a girls safari.

We spent time with Lucius and his family.

We went to Capetown and I saw penguins.

We ate mice on a stick...okay, not really, but we saw mice on a stick.

We had a ballet/band recital.

Bech channeled his inner Wes Anderson character for Field Day (Go Liwonde!).

We saw the president of Malawi, the honorable Bingu wa Mutharika.

We had to say goodbye to people and students we love!

And pack everything up.

Plus make one last stop at Foodworths to see Gama

But we got to ride to South Africa with Josh and Emily!

We made a stop in London, and went to see Blaise's Castle.

At some point, Bech decided to ruin every picture by making obnoxious faces.

I got to eat at "The Eagle and Child"!

We came home, and there were pictures taken but I don't know where they are. Plus, if I knew where they are, I wouldn't post them, because I have been on a plane for a while and have not taken a shower in a while in all of those pictures. So imagine us landing in Jackson and seeing everyone!

We went to Beale Street with Katy and Blaise then to see "Wicked' (thank you, Katy!).

We celebrated 2 years of marriage!

We spent time in Oxford and saw old friends.

And enjoyed the game!

I spent time with my kids at Millsaps.

We went to RUF fall conference.

It snowed!

We had Christmas with our families. I don't have pictures of this either so I'll just put a picture up of our tree, cause I love it.

We finished the year with a homemade meal, just the two of us. Then Bech fell asleep at 9:45...I kid you not. He had woken up at 5 that morning and then killed and butchered his first deer. But still...9:45? At least he cooked me an AMAZING steak before he fell asleep.

That was our year...amazing and wonderful. We made good friends and then had to say goodbye. We moved twice, and we lived in two different countries. Hopefully next year will be a little calmer, but I still loved 2009.