Annual Cough Fest!

Well every year at some point in time I develop what I tease is my smokers cough. No, I don't smoke but at least once every year I get a really bad cough with a cold of some kind that makes me sound like I put a pack down everyday! ;) My cough started last night but I woke up around 4:00 this morning with a for sure fever. My head was burning up but my body was freezing. Luckily, the fever has subsided for now but I still feel extremely weak but do not really want to eat anything. I need to go to the store and get some gatorade or something but I am soo tired. I need to get up and moving around somehow because I am supposed to go up to Laura and Josh's house to celebrate Josh and mines birthday. I hope I feel a lot better by then. The sad thing is this means I need to stay away from my precious newborn nephew, Sam. :( Oh well. I did manage up the strength to take a shower so one victory accomplished.

I was planning on going to school today to get some serious planning done because this past week has been soo crazy!! We had a tennis match on Monday which we won 3-2. Of course on Tuesday we had our snow day. On Wednesday we had pictures and practice. On Thursday we had an away match at Eastside, about 2 hours away from us. They only had four courts to play on and we didn't get done until 8:30. We had to stop and get something to eat which didn't get us back to school until around 11:30 where I had to drive another 20 minutes to Royston to get in bed!! It has been an exhausting week and with tennis season in full swing there are bound to be more just like it! Well I am going to attempt my next task of going to the store and getting some gatorade to hopefully give me a little more energy!

Hard, Harder, Hardest

I don't complain much about Jonathan being gone in Cuba. I feel like if you were to put in on a meter the number of my complaints, the line would be at the very bottom. Sometimes, it is more how I appear. But there are times when I am by myself when I can't help but think why God has called us to go through this time. In the past year I have spent about a months worth of time with my husband. He left for training last March so it has been almost a year. We are coming up on 7 months in Cuba, 5 to go. When it is all said and done we will have spent the better part of a year and a half apart. Most days I can keep myself busy enough to not think about it too much but I can never trick myself completely because I am always well aware of the empty space beside me that should be filled. I am always aware that when I come home at the end of the day there is no one else there. I am always aware that the amount of communication with my husband that night depends on whether the internetor or the phone lines in Cuba are working. Thank the Lord for technilogical advances that allow me to hear my husbands voice and see my husbands face. Now if only there were a way to feel his touch, feel his arms wrapped around me, and tell him "I love you" whenever I want. People ask me often how I am and I usually respond with ok or fine. People ask me how is married life and I honestly do not know what they expect me to tell them so I always laugh and make a joke.

The truth is it is hard at times, harder at others, and hardest at rare occassions. The truth is that I am painfully aware that I am alone when I come home and am sadly used to it. I have wonderful family and friends that keep me busy and thanks to them and my faithful God most days are good days. I constantly remind myself that there are others who are much worse off than me. I constantly remind myself that I am no martyr be any means. God constantly reminds me that in due time even if I never see why I will forever have the knowledge that this time will bring us closer to each other and closer to Him.

Christmas Day in GTMO

0615 The alarm goes off and Jonathan and I roll out of bed.
0625 People driving by look at us like we are crazy for being at a bus stop so early in the morning on Christmas day.
0630 We notice someone else at a nearby bus stop and begin not to feel quite as foolish.
0700 Begin cooking breakfast for the guys at Jonathan's apartment that just got off work.
0900 Catch the bus back to our hotel room.
0915 Fast asleep in bed.
1000-1500 Lay around watching movies and catching up on sleep.
1900 Begin making dinner with pans we borrowed from the kitchen in the main building.
1930 Enjoy our closest thing to a home-cooked meal we will get for Christmas.
2100 Put on the movie Elf and enjoy the last few hours of our first Christmas together.

For everyone back home, we miss you and hope your Christmas was just as relaxing as ours. We love you all and wish you a happy new year as well!

Love,
Jonathan and Emily Rupard

Merry Christmas from Jonathan and Emily Rupard

In front of the GTMO huge Christmas tree.

Out to dinner.

Well I am sitting in the hotel room and figured I could update this for those few of you that read. I also thought I would put up a few pictures. Jonathan went down to the company because they told him he had a lot of mail. So those of you that sent packages early he might have gotten some of them. The weather has been a little groggy until yesterday. We did get a little bit of rain on Jonathan's birthday but it wasn't too bad. We have been enjoying our time together; swimming, bowling, and just being together. Here are a few pictures to hold you over.

Just a shot of one of the bays.

Waiting on the ferry after seeing each other for the first time in months!!!

Let the countdown begin...

Well I am officially approved to go to Cuba!! YAY! 9 more days and I will not only be in 90 degree weather but I will also be seeeing my husband for the first time since August 15th!!!! SOOOOO excited. That is pretty much it for right now!

Two Week Notice

Well my title is inspired by the fact that hopefully if everything goes according to plans that I will be on a plane to Cuba in two weeks. I am so beyond excited. I have not seen my husband in 113 days! August 15th was the last time I felt his arms around me. I miss him so much and can't wait to spend the holidays with him. I will miss my family time but I will see them when I get back.

I have to finish up the rest of my Christmas shopping today since I will be leaving early. The past few weeks have been good. Thanksgiving was a great time with family. It was tough with Jonathan not being here and I didn't get to talk to him that day either. It was a good time anyways. Jack turned 2 the following Saturday which is still hard for me to believe. Seemed like just a few days ago I was driving up to Demorest to meet my precious nephew for the first time. Now he is 2 and I will be welcoming my second precious nephew into the world end of February. Looks like Josh and I will have to share our birthday celebration with one more, but I don't think we mind! ;)

Well, I got to go make my shopping list so I know what I need to get. Hope you all enjoy your weekend and I got to get going to I can get back before 4:00 to watch the football game.

Just a Dream

Well, once again it has been a while. So sorry. Well not a whole lot has happened. I have been trying to spend more of me weekends with family since volleyball ended. We had our volleyball banquet last night and it was great to see everybody again. I love all those girls and I am going to miss them so much next year. Well I will once again be busy in the Spring because I will be coaching the tennis team at the high school. It should be a lot of fun but I am really rusty so I better start working that out. lol.

Jonathan has started night shifts now. He works from 6pm-6am so most of the time I don't get to talk to him on the days that he has to work. I still get to talk to him on his days off, so not too bad. He makes it easier on me by making sure the times we do have to talk he reminds me how much he loves me and I get to see more and more why I love this man God sent to me.

My students are still keeping me on my toes. They are amazing kids, all in their own ways- even if they do drive me nuts sometimes. I am still trying to figure out how to reach a few and praying that God will show me how.

I am getting more and more excited about Christmas break coming up because it is looking like I will be spending it in Cuba and that makes it way easier right now to think I only have one more month before I get to see him and spend Christmas and New Years with him. I am sad that we won't be toether for Thanksgiving but I know I have a lot of awesome family to spend that time with as well. I am super excited!!!