and to all a good night

We wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.  Enjoy time with your family, take a deep breath and relax.  When in doubt, just ask Linus about the true meaning of Christmas

The Evolution of Christmas Lights

It's that time of year again. The Christmas lights are out in full force. I've put together a few photos/videos that illustrate how I view the evolution of Christmas decoration. Enjoy.

Original post

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It's been awhile

August 29, 2009. That's the date of our last post. It seems like we have been going almost non-stop since then. Stefanie has been busy with her new 4th grade class and I've been staying busy at work. In our free time we've been on the road quite a bit. We've been to Rogers, St. Louis and Joplin all in the last several weeks. We've visited family and friends and enjoyed spending time with everyone. We finally had a weekend at home to relax a couple of weeks ago, and I did a pretty good job of making it less fun by being sick all weekend. Now that there is a little bit of a lull before holiday season starts, we hope to do some relaxing again.

A Musical History

Musical History

I've thought about putting this together a couple of different times, but have just now got around to it. Music is such an important aspect of many people's lives and I often find myself looking back at my musical past. This is in no way a complete compilation, but is pretty accurate. Sit back and enjoy as I take you on a journey through time.

1. The Basics of Life - 4 Him

2. Yakety Yak - The Coasters

Growing up we basically had two options. Contemporary Christian or Oldies. I now realize why this is. There is a lot of inappropriate material on the radio, and it makes quite a bit of sense for a parent to limit their children to one of these genres.

3. Jesus Freak - DC Talk

"Cool" Christian music, especially for youth group trips.

4. I Don't Want to Miss a Thing - Aerosmith

Main track from the movie Armageddon I went to a lot of movies in early high school. I'm pretty sure everyone saw this one. I think the soundtrack was the first CD I ever purchased.

5. Higher - Creed

The 90s rock phase

6. Tonight, Tonight - The Smashing Pumpkins

7. My Name is Jonas - Weezer

8. Lucky Denver Mint - Jimmy Eat World

I have Nathan to thank for introducing me to the foundations of my current music collection.

9. This Bitter Pill - Dashboard Confessional

Every single guy needs to sing along with Chris Carabba at least once.

10. Walls - Emery

11. Reinventing Your Exit - Underoath

In case you're curious, this is classified as screamo. It actually will grow on you, some of you.

12. Giving it Away - Mae

13. Bixby Canyon Bridge - Death Cab for Cutie

The calmer side of my college music collection.

14. The Crane Wife 3 - The Decemberists

Trying to find my corner of the indie music scene

15. Jesus Messiah - Chris Tomlin

I still appreciate a well written worship song.

I hope you enjoyed your quick glance through my musical history.

God's Perfect Timing

Wow! What a whirlwind we've been through this past week! It all revolves around my search for a teaching job.  First, a little bit of background to our story. We all are aware that our economy is not in the best of conditions. As a result, school districts are dealing with budget issues. There are several school districts in the Kansas City area, close to where we live, so we were hopeful that I would be able to find a teaching position this upcoming school year. However, most of these school districts are on hiring freezes and expanding class sizes among the teachers they already have on staff. Less than a month ago, a school district in Kansas City laid off 148 teachers. Now, all of those teachers are looking for employment and finding it nowhere. I had already determined that it was going to be alright because I would substitute this year (getting to know the principals as a part of that process). It worked in Rogers, so I assumed it would work here as well. At the end of July, I interviewed with the Assistant Superintendent at one of the school districts nearby, for a substituting position (they interview all applicants in order to screen the subs they end up hiring). As soon as I walked into the interview, the Assistant Superintendent thought my face looked familiar. He found out that I attended NSU in Oklahoma. He told me that when he was a principal, he would always travel down to Oklahoma to recruit teachers from NSU to work at his school. Anyway, long story short... I was approved to be a substitute for the district. He didn't know what I should expect, though, as far as how much I would be working. You see, all of these teachers who are looking for work are now substituting. There are more substitutes in our area than ever before, and the school districts are unsure how much we'll be able to work on a regular basis due to the overload.

Now, onto the events of this past week. A good friend of ours from church is a high school teacher in the district where I interviewed to substitute. The teacher she works with in the science department is due to have a baby in September. She found out last week that her long-term substitute had pulled out, & she wanted Jeni to contact me about possibly filling that position. Now, I have little background in Biology (other than high school and college) or high school students, for that matter. We were all unsure of whether the administration would hire me for this position because I'm not certified to teach secondary biology. Jeni's friend requested me anyway. The principal also requested that I have the job. However, by law, the administration had to approve someone certified in the subject area they would be teaching, if it was for a long-term position. I completely understood and was very relieved at the thought of not having to teach high school students (as wonderful as I'm sure they are...haha). It was an up-and-down process of I'm probably going to have the job/ no I'm not/ I might/ nope.. not going to happen. Still, I was relieved but frustrated at not knowing how much I would be working this school year. I told Jeni not to worry about a thing because I realize that God has never let me down. He has ALWAYS provided me with an opportunity of some-sort, right when it was needed. As soon as I sent her that message, I received an e-mail from the Assistant Superintendent asking me to give him a call about another position they had available. I called him immediately. He told me about a 3rd grade teacher in their district who was due to have a baby this upcoming September. She initially was going to take off just 6 weeks for maternity leave, and they still didn't have anyone to fill that position while she was out. The sad part of my story, and where I'm calling on you to keep praying, is that this teacher had her baby prematurely. The baby is in ICU as of now, and the teacher plans on working until the baby is released. She doesn't know exactly how long she'll be off....6-12 weeks or maybe the rest of the year. Very unsure right now. I hope, for her sake, that the baby will be healthy & she will just take off a regular maternity leave. She just doesn't know exactly what to expect once the baby comes home. Please keep this family in your prayers because I cannot begin to imagine what it must be like to go through something like this with your child.

Where God's timing came in is that I definitely have a long-term position for this school year. I don't know how long (again pray that everything turns out just fine & this teacher will just be off a regular maternity leave), but I do know that God brought my name into the right hands to teach in this 3rd grade classroom, if just for a short while. If it hadn't been for Jeni, the long-term high school position suddenly coming up, and the Assistant Superintendent liking NSU grads (and thinking he recognized me from somewhere), my name wouldn't have even been on the map. There are so many applicants and everyone's resume looks the same. Being in the same classroom everyday will allow me to get to know the principal and the teachers really well... which gives me hope of finding a permanent job in the next school year (that's what happened in Rogers).

I never doubted God's ability to place me where I was needed, I just doubted where I needed to go. I questioned everything about my career choice and why God had brought us here right after I had found a job in Arkansas. Now I know. We're right where we need to be right now. I need to remember that my timing is not always God's timing, and HE knows what's best for me... not the other way around.

Our first offspring

Her name is Bonnie. Bonnie McReynolds. Bonnie McReynolds, the tomato plant. We adopted her from Lowe's at the beginning of summer. She hasn't been overly fruitful in her limited time with us, but that is not completely her fault. She only received partial sun in the mornings and we failed to ever give her any Miracle Grow. We're not sure if being in a pot affected her, but it's possible. We picked her fruit earlier this week, and it will probably end up on a sandwich within the next few days. Maybe next year we will have enough to share.

A Saturday Afternoon Jaunt

When we saw what beautiful weather was forecast for this weekend we decided we had do something outside. We took the opportunity to check out the Kansas City Sculpture Park at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art. It is a great place to walk around, especially on such a beautiful day. FYI there are cameras and museum staff watching to make sure people don't touch the shuttlecocks.

Support Free Honduras

I usually try to refrain from political topics here. However, I urge you to do some research into the current situation in Honduras. Check out http://www.supportfreehonduras.com and heritage.org for more information. Below I have copied the letter I sent to my representative in the House. I encourage you to find your Congressmen/women and write them about any issue you are concerned about. You can easily do that at this website. https://writerep.house.gov/writerep/welcome.shtml

Scott

Mr. Moore, I am writing as a concerned member of the 3rd district of Kansas. Recent events in the Central American country of Honduras have created quite a news frenzy, one I believe is very misleading. Terms like "coup" and "military uprising" completely mischaracterize the situation. The Honduran Constitution clearly outlines a one term limit for the President. The people/government of Honduras were simply acting on their Constitution. There was no "coup" involved. Article 239 — No citizen who has already served as head of the Executive Branch can be President or Vice-President. Whoever violates this law or proposes its reform, as well as those who support such violation directly or indirectly, will immediately cease in their functions and will be unable to hold any public office for a period of 10 years. It would seem obvious what America's response would be. It was not that long ago that a young nation was being formed. The founders of this country envisioned a living document that would preserve the nation well beyond their individual lives. The Constitution of the United States of America is the document that gives us our freedom. Many men and women have fought and will continue to die in order to protect it. It is because of this devotion that one would assume that America would jump at the chance to uphold a similar document for a developing country. Unfortunately, our government officials have sent a completely different message. I am calling on you, Mr. Moore, as a representative of the people, to make our voice heard, by speaking up for Honduras and Constitutions across the world. If we are so quick to dismiss another country's governing document, what will happen when our own Constitution is under attack? What would happen if the roles were reversed? I urge you to consider the consequences of our actions in this matter and pass this on to your peers. Thank you. Scott McReynolds

One Year Ago Today....

I summoned up the courage to ask my wonderful girlfriend to be my wife. If you want to relive the whole story go here. We have since been married for a little over 6 months and are enjoying (almost) every moment. Plenty of things have happened in the last year and I don't know if I would have predicted any of it. We have made it through the good and the bad and I'm sure there will be more of both in the future. A couple of our friends that we have met in KC have started dating exactly one year after Stefanie and I did (Aug. 9). We were kind of hoping they would get engaged today in order to further solidify our destiny as lifelong buddies (we think things will still work out well). I guess there is still a little bit of time left in the day. As a side note, we will be getting our wedding pictures next weekend when we go to the lake to visit my family over the holiday. Be looking for those to be posted somewhere online if you'd like to see them again.

Cardinals/Royals Game

On Saturday afternoon we got to enjoy some afternoon baseball with friends at Kauffman Stadium. We had a great time tailgating beforehand, even in the middle of a few sprinkles. After about an hour and a half rain delay the game got started. Here are a few highlights. You can see all of our pictures on facebook.

We had great seats thanks to Josh winning tickets from his office.

you can't help but relish the condiment race

the sea of red

Stef is sporting her Royals give-a-way hat.

Time Warp

In case you ever wondered what happened to Zack Morris, Jimmy Fallon is about to help you find out. Test your knowledge and see how many Saved by the Bell references you pick up on. I'm sure there is probably a facebook quiz that can tell you the same thing, but this is much more enjoyable. Props to the makeup and hair people.

Summer's heating up

Temperatures are rising, bugs are biting and the smell of BBQ is in the air.  Summer time is here (although not officially until June 21st).   This will be our best summer yet as a married couple.  Yes, that's right it's our first summer as a married couple.  Anyway, we have a lot of fun already planned and I know that just as much enjoyment will come from the unplanned events.  Baseball games, relaxing by the pool, family/friend visits, cookouts, church activities and float trips are all ready planned.  Who knows, we might even make a trip to Branson.  If you are going to be in the KC area, please let us know so we can try to meet up.

Town Hall for Hope

In case you missed it, Dave Ramsey's Town Hall for Hope has been posted online.  It is an hour and a half of history, statistics, optimism and of course, caller questions.  I encourage you to make time to watch this and check out the website.

Dave Ramsey - Town Hall for Hope 2009 from Central FPU on Vimeo.

Dave Ramsey's Town Hall for Hope - April 23rd, 2009

Who Said You Can't Go Home?!

This weekend will mark our first visit back home since our move. I cannot wait!!! I really do like the Kansas City area, but the thought of returning to a place with our family and friends brings such warmth to my heart. We have some wonderful people in our lives here. Scott has several friends who live in the area, and we have enjoyed getting together with them over the past few weeks. We've found a church home where we feel welcomed and loved... already! Such great people!! Still, I am very excited about seeing some familiar faces and places. Pretty sure that I won't be ready to come back when it's time to leave... but maybe I will. Like I said, KC is starting to grow on me. :)

Stefanie

In The City

We spent Friday evening doing a little exploring downtown.  Union Station, The Liberty Memorial, and Crown Center were all stops on this initial trip.  We will definitely go back and spend more time at these places.  We look forward to discovering more about what is around our new home.

Liberty Memorial

City View

Town Hall for Hope

Town Hall For Hope

Dave Ramsey

One week and counting

Well, it's officially been one full week since we made our move to the Kansas City area. It's been pretty busy around here but a good first week. We went to church on Sunday and were able to meet up with a family that Scott used to go to church with in Joplin. They have a daughter that is my age who got married last summer (We had the SAME wedding dress! I think we're just made to be friends.) They already knew that we were moving to Overland Park, so we weren't too nervous about going to a new church since we already knew some people there. EVERYONE was so friendly & nice! We had a wonderful time at church & then went to lunch with our new (Scott's old) friends.

Scott began his first day of work at KDOT on Monday. It was a little overwhelming because of all the information he had to take in the first day, but for a first day of work it went well. He found out that he will be in charge of 7 projects in the area. He is now a supervisor of 4 people, so he'll have to take a class in April dealing with all of the fun stuff that goes along with that responsibility. And he now has his own office! YAY!!  (I'm more impressed with this fact than he is. haha) He also found out on Monday that he would be going to Topeka for a class the next day. He had to report to work on Tuesday & Wednesday at 6:30 in the morning. Needless to say, not having to be at work until 8 o'clock now seems wonderful! :) The rest of his week went really well, and he thinks that he's going to like it.

My week consisted of cleaning, unpacking, and putting away everything in our boxes. I will not complain because we were fortunate enough to have movers who packed, loaded, & unloaded EVERYTHING that we had. It was wonderful!! However, I do not like clutter, so once the movers left I was ready to start unpacking. I finished unpacking & putting away everything by Tuesday. I couldn't have been happier, but we had 36 boxes full of packing paper that needed to be broken down & taken away. WE HAD A LOT OF PACKING PAPER!!! One small box of packing paper took up 4 large trash bags. I've spent the remainder of my time trying to get all of that paper & boxes to our local recycling center. I've got about 4 more boxes left. I will probably do a somersault when all of those are gone. :)

Wednesday night we went to church and met more wonderful people. I feel very fortunate to have found a place where I feel so welcomed so early on. :) Thursday night we went to dinner at Josh & Holly's. We had a wonderful time together with a delicious meal (thanks Holly).  Now we look forward to a nice, quiet weekend at home....hopefully with as little snow as possible. Stay tuned.

We're Here

Yesterday the movers unloaded all of our stuff into our new apartment.  We have been unpacking boxes since around 3pm yesterday and have made pretty good progress.  After a trip to Lowe's, we now have an operational washer & dryer and shelf paper to install.  If anyone needs boxes or paper to stuff in them, let us know.  We are swimming in it right now.  We are excited about going to church this morning and I am anxious and excited about starting my new job tomorrow.  The apartment is a little smaller than the house in Pea Ridge, but we will adjust and in a couple of weeks we won't notice it as much.  Stefanie really likes the "coziness" of the living room.  We look forward to meeting new friends and having old ones come visit.  Let us know if you will be in the area, we would love to see you.

Moving

It is hard to believe that we are moving to Kansas City next week.  When I look back, a lot of things have changed in the last 6 months.  I now have a new wife, a new job and will be living in a new place.  The movers will be here next Thursday to pack everything up (so glad my new job is paying for this).  Friday they will come back to load it and then head out on Saturday.  I still have a lot of anticipation and anxiety about my new job, but God has shown us over and over that this is where we need to be right now.  Stefanie and I have the next week and a half to spend together at home, since neither one of us is working right now.  This should allow us to make sure everything is ready and help us to not stress out as much (I hope).  We have already had one person look at the house, which is encouraging.  As we have said before, this is a bitter-sweet time for us and we will miss it down here.  However, we know that God has plenty in store for us in Kansas and he will continue to take care of us.

Scott Speaks Geek

I have started a new blog where I can get out some geekiness.  You can follow it at scottspeaksgeek.blogspot.com.  I will still write here, but will save my tech talk for the new blog.

p.s. our house is still for sale: http://www.tinyurl.com/204Oakley

House for Sale

Last Saturday Stefanie and I went to KC to go apartment hunting.  We got to stay with Josh & Holly on Friday night and set out on Saturday to find a place to live.  After looking at six places, we settled on AMLI Clear Creek apartments in Overland Park, Kansas. 

We now have our house in Pea Ridge up for sale.  It was built in 2007, approximately 1340 square feet, 3 bed/2 bath, all brick and only minutes from Bentonville.  If you, or someone you know is looking you can send them to www.tinyurl.com/204Oakley or have them search for MLS #568760 on their favorite site for more info.

A New Leaf

As spring approaches, most of us eagerly anticipate the end of winter.  Warmer temperatures surprise us more frequently, the green color slowly returns to the horizion and the familiar chirping of birds and crickets graces our ears.  Seasons are changing for us as well.  As most of you know, I was laid off from my job with Crafton Tull Sparks on January 9.  Since then I have been looking for work and pondering all of the questions that invade your mind after a life altering event.  We have had such great support from all of those around us.  Our family, friends and church family have shown us an immessurable amount of love and we are truly greatful for that.  On Wednesday I was in Olathe, KS for an interview with the Kansas Department of Transportation (KDOT).  I have since been offered the position and have accepted.  Details are still trickling in, but I will likely start sometime in the middle of March.  Stefanie and I believe that God has answered our prayers by providing this opportunity for us.  This is a very exciting/nerve racking/sad time for us.  Change is never easy, but is often beneficial.  We will leaving an area that we both have grown to love.  We have made so many friends and we hate to create a further physical distance betweeen us, but know that you will always be in our hearts.  We plan to come back and visit when possible and will do our best to stay in touch.  We have several friends in the KC area and we look forward to being near them.  Again, we can not thank you enough for all of your prayers.  We know that without them things would have been much worse.  Please know that this is not goodbye, simply a new leaf.

Wedding Video

Here is the completed video from the big day. A big thanks to Tim for the use of the cameras and for giving me a jump start with the editing. If you would like a dvd copy please let me know. It is almost 24 minutes long and I didn't have any issues streaming it on my low end cable internet. The HD version is available if you follow the links below the video to the Vimeo site.  Sorry about the somewhat abrupt end, but I had to trim it some to meet the file size upload requirements.



McReynolds Ceremony from Scott McReynolds on Vimeo.

New Hobby

I have picked up the new hobby of geocaching. I think I might have Stef hooked, as well. What is geocaching you might ask. Here's what the website has to say:

Geocaching is a high-tech treasure hunting game played throughout the world by adventure seekers equipped with GPS devices. The basic idea is to locate hidden containers, called geocaches, outdoors and then share your experiences online. Geocaching is enjoyed by people from all age groups, with a strong sense of community and support for the environment.

Stef went with me today and helped me find my 7th, 8th, 9th and 10th caches and I'm pretty sure she enjoyed it. Check it out, you might just enjoy it.

Here's our first find of the day. (it's the little green thing next to my gps. it has a small log book inside to sign)
I've also been keeping up with my finds with a google map.

View Larger Map

Logic will get you in trouble

I want to know the answers and I don't typically like surprises.  I need logic and reason.  I also don't want to drive myself insane.

Exactly what does breed insanity is reason. Poets do not go mad; but chess players do. Mathematicians go mad, and cashiers; but creative artist very seldom. I am not, as will be seen, in any sense attacking logic: I only say that this danger does lie in logic, not in imagination.
-G.K. Chesterson

Super Bowl Crisis

Why you should watch Comedy Central instead of the national news

Thanks to Norman for leading me to this.

The Only Constant in Life is Change

Science tells us that there many constants in this world, many of which I memorized during college.  Like many things in life, there are often exceptions to these "laws" of nature.  New research will allow for refining of these numbers or sometimes even completely nullify them.  Fortunately for us there is one thing that we know will never change.  The writer of Hebrews reminds us that Jesus Christ is the same today, yesterday, and tomorrow.  With all that said, there is going to be some change taking place in our lives.  I found out last Thursday that I was being laid off, along with 27 others, from the Engineering firm I have worked for the last 2 1/2 years.  Even though the workload had made it pretty apparent that this would happen, it was still quite a shock to the system.  I am actively seeking work and we have no doubt that I will be able to find a job.  However, there are always so many unanswered questions.  When will I find a job?  Who with?  Will we have to relocate?  Will the pay be the same?  Will we have to sell the house?  As so many of you who have been through this before have shared with us, we know that it will work out and it will be ok.  God is faithful and he will take care of us.  We just ask that you pray for us during this time and that you would ask God to give us peace, and to make clear the path he has set out for us.  Thank you for all of your encouragement.  We would be so much worse off if it wasn't for our family, friends and church family.  We love you all.

The moment you've all been waiting for........Pictures!

The wonderful folks over at Scott Photography, along with the modern wonders of the internet, have prepared a wedding photo viewing location just for you to enjoy. Stop by their blog for more details or use the direct link here. After searching for our name, you will need a password and email address to view the pictures. The password was on that little card at the reception table, but since I'm such a nice guy I'll let you in on a secret. The password is ......... spreadsheet. So head on over and check it out. If you can't stand another day without that lifesize portrait of us in your living room, you can order prints directly from the website. I will leave a link on the right hand column under "photos" for later viewing as well.

Wedding Pictures are almost here

Check out the Scott Photography blog for another sneak peak at wedding photos. I have also added a "photos" section on the right hand side of the blog. Check it out. All of the wedding pictures should be up soon. We will keep you up to date on how & when you can see them.

3 weeks and counting

What's so hard about this marriage thing, anyway?  Ok, ok, so maybe we haven't quite fully experienced all the different aspects of marriage just yet.  All things considered, married life is wonderful.  There is nothing quite like sharing your life with your best friend.  (insert awwws or regurtations here)  Anyway, the first week of January will probably represent the start of what we will call "normal" life.  The holidays are over, traveling is done for a while, I'm going back to work again (I'd already been back after the honeymoon), and Stefanie is going to start another long term sub position in a pre-K class.  We are looking forward to a little more routine, but will try to keep things from getting too scheduled and dull.  As the questions and greetings shift from "how was the honeymoon?" to "when are the babies coming?" you can rest assured that we will keep you up to date and give you all the information we deem necessary.  So, stay tuned.....The best is yet to come.