Paula Rausch

I need to win a bed because I have an airbed that has leaked for years. We can’t sleep through the night without having to fill up one of the chambers. My great husband switched sides with me so he has to wake up several times a night and refill the air mattress and I can stay inflated! I would love to sleep through the night so I can get to work and actually be refreshed instead of crabby and in a foul mood because of my lesser quality bed. I can become an ally of the Sleep Number bed and sing its praises; after all I know what the competition is like. Who says a bed is just a bed! I think my husband deserves a new bed also because he will be 50 this year and can certainly use a full night’s sleep. You would be helping out a family, the students I teach and even our state, because my husband is a legislator and needs all the patience he can muster. So please select me as the winner of the bed, I will give it a good home. Sincerely, Paula Rausch

First… anyone else think this summer has gone incredibly fast?  It is hard to believe that we are already almost 2/3 through with July!  I have my staff meeting the first Wed in Aug!!!  I can not believe how fast this summer has gone.  It has been a busy one and will fill everyone in, I know you are waiting with utter anticipation.

End of the School Year:  As most of you know the end of the school year is very hectic for me due to the grad mass of the Sixth Grade class.  This year I was ahead of the game and it made it pleasantly managable!  I just need to make sure and have our last field trip the first week of May and get that Graduation picuture done the same time.  Once the Grad picture is done the slide show can be made (as long as God sends me a song, as he does every year).  So school was out on the  21 of May an I had my room and most of the administrative things done so I was able to check out by Tues of the next week!

First Dog show of the year:  I got to Fargo the last weekend in May and showed Hogan and Jet.  Hogan took the breed all three days and Jet was a loser but took reserve two of the three days.  We had to squeak in two weddings on Saturday so we motored home on Sat, went to the weddings, and motored back to Fargo.  The show was over 300 dogs down so it was strangly uncrowded.  It was fun to be back in the ring.  It was even funner showing Hogan in the group, even though we didn’t make the cut.  I got home in time to enjoy the Bishop’s Fishing Tourney.  Val entertained on Sunday night and then Monday he fished all day and the rest of us held down the fort to try to get everything done that needed to get done until fishing was done.  They did a great job and raised 30,000+ so that was great.

June:  Our June progressed with me  going to a Symposium in Sioux Falls and spending the week in Sioux Falls.  It was excellent and so worth the time.  I stayed with Karin and saw the rest of the family down there.  We celebrated my mom’s birthday and my sisters so that was cool.  I came home and celebrated our anniversary by prepping for a colonoscopy!  Yippee!!! No anniversary meal for me.  You can all rest assured that I was clean as a whistle!  Mid June also brought destruction to our house.  I have been trying to get the bathroom redone for two years and with a floor rotting and I knew the drywall was awful, it finally got started…  it may never get finished but it is destructed.  It is a sore subject so don’t ask unless you want an earfull.  Val just keeps saying “I knew it wouldn’t get done in two weeks”  How about now on week 5.  ….. end of subject…   I had my second dog show in Vermillion the last weekend of June and Bryce and Lindsey also got home that early Sat. morning.  Jet finally got his first point and his daddy Dante got a group 2 in Sat. and on Sunday he won Best in Show!  I was anxious to get home to see Bryce and Lindsey to I missed the best in show part.  I did get home in time to play on the band truck for the Farley Fest parade.  The week Bryce and LIndsey were home went way too fast and I told them they HAD to move way closer to home… I am sure they will get right on that.  On June 30 we drove to the cities and waited for the arrival of Quitterie Morizot.  The youngest child of Benoit and Benedicte Morizot.  We have had two of the kids already stay with us for a month and were so excited to have Quitterie come also (in case you are wondering it is pronounced key tree) she arrived at 11:40 pm and her luggage stayed in Atlanta!  Poor kid.  We did the luggage search and were assured it would be sent to our home tomorrow and headed home.  We got home around 3:30 or so in the morn and got to bed by 4 am.  Long day.  Her stay has flown by and it is amazing to think that she will be heading back in 10 days!!!

July:  The first weekend in July we moved Miles and Holli into a house and they had a lot done the night before so we were done before noon!  It is a cute house and I know they will love having four walls and nobody sandwiched around them like the apartment.  We got home in time to see Bryce a little and then the next day they were gone again.  It went too fast.  The rest of July has moved as fast as the rest of the summer.  Val and I along with Brenna and Quitterie went to the hills and did the hills thing.  We ate at Delmonico and Kelly picked up the tab (which she shouldn’t have)  The food was excellent, as always, and we headed to Lorin and Mary’s vacation home and crashed.  It was a packed four days and I was glad to be home.  Val left the next day for Atlanta and is now in Milwaukee watching a golf tourney with good friend Jim Heller and his daughter Katie.

We are now all up to date.  I am sure I maybe forgot something but you are all caught up and now I have to aline my math book to the state standards so that is done and work on my LIPS so I can tutor a student!  … and someday finish the bathroom… or at least whatever I can do.

First let me say that I started to type the title and hit a wrong button and it was posted… that quickpost is NOT KIDDING!!!

Well, the last mass of the year was on the 21st and as usual, I cried, that is a given.  The kids all look forward to it.  I told them it was tears of joy.  Every year I cry it is like they become my kids after nine months… just like gestation.  I don’t have to pay too much money on these guys at least or go through pms moments.  Thank God.

I will be done at school as soon as I get my room packed up for the summer and all the final paper work done.  I hope to be done soon.  Two of the teachers are already done and gone for the summer! That has never been me.  I was ahead of the game a little this year so that was good but the room is a disaster area.  soon I will be chucking things in file cabinets just to get it up and out of the way.  Time will tell.  I want to get done so I can spend next week getting the dogs ready for their first show of the year.

This weekend we are going to Wicked in Omaha.  I have five kids in my suv headed early on Sun morn to motor it to Omaha.  I can’t wait,that is a great show.  The next show I want to see is Shrek the Mucical.  I have the soundtrack and it is sooo good.  Is is a new show and will be in Chicago in June of 2010.  Can we say roadtrip???

My first dog show is next weekend.  I show both dogs and my friend Nancy Krumm is helping me out in case Jet wins ( please God ) Hogan will be in the best in breed competition and Pam (my breeder ) thinks he should have a good chance to get breed each day.  Now to get him and me in show form.  I will show and come home for two weddings on Sat. then back to Fargo.  Whew.  Two busy weekends.

I am going to take a week of classes the 8-11 in Sioux Falls so will get to see my kids and other family then.  I love the symposium and it is always great seeing family.  I am going to stay with Karin (way back when I think I asked her) she lives right next to the school and has tv!  Miles and Holli are  tvless and even though I know they would welcome me into their home I need my news fix!

We are excited that Bryce and Lindsey will be coming home for a visit this summer.  WE can’t wait.  They will come home sometime in the last weekend of June ( I will be in Vermillion till Sunday at my second dog show) and they will stay the week.  I am so glad to have them coming home.  It has been too long.  Watch for Bryce to update on the particulars.

We will have a visitor from France this summer.  Quitterie will be here from June 30 to July 28.  We can’t wait.  Benoit and Benedict will come in December.  We will have great visitors this coming year.

Well other than having to clean out the guest bedroom so we can get carpet down … that is a way bigger job than my classroom.  The carpet is already bought!  I am tired already.  So now, since I have told you how much work I have to do, I am going to sign off and

I was looking at the lack of posts in milesrausch.com and thought “if I want someone else to post, I better!”  So here it goes.

First:  Is anyone else sick of WINTER!  I certainly am.  I want the snow gone and then the temps will go up and then we can finally look towards spring.  Keloland said yesterday the the latest below zero temps were in watertown on April 14!  I hope we don’t break that record.  Most of the last of the lows came at the end of March, which we are slowly getting there.   I am tired of the cold.  This has been a long winter.  The drifts are so high in the back yard that Jet and Hogan got out from the big wall side!  More shoveling to downsize that drift.  Katie even looked like she was willing to try!

School is fine.  A bit of a high maintenance class this year.  Not real bad but just constantly talking or pushing and shoving.  They are a bit immature I think, and yet they are into the boy/girl thing already.  There is a lot I love about them, but I am tired by the end of the day.

We are enjoying a spring break so it has been nice sleeping in two days.  Tonight (Fri) I will go to Milbank to play guitar for the Koinonia retreat.   I enjoy the reteat but hate the schedule.  It gets so long.

You didn’t know it but I just got back  from a brief recess from the post.  I got a phone call and there was a red dog at my front door.  Seems Hogan and Jet climbed the snowbank and escaped by jumping onto the big wall (what did you name it Bryce?) and Jet was gone and Hogan was close by.   So we attacked the snowbank… again… and tried to make it more difficult.  Jet had a great escape and enjoyed his time running after rabbits who know’s where and jumped back into the yard and acted like he was so happy to be back and with us.  Hogan just looked out the window for him waiting for him to come home.  Oh boy.

Ok so, what else.  Did I already say I am sick of winter??? If not (of course I do remember I did) I am SICK of WINTER.    How are the rest of you?  Easter will be here before you know it.  I am looking forward to summer and  going to dog shows and seeing people and being warm.  I can’t wait.

Well, until later.  You guys that have blogs… blog.  videos don’t count unless they are of you.  So there.  Have a good spring.  if it ever comes.

It is a beautiful day and I thought I might as well get some vacuuming done at least on the main floor so that albatros was off my back.   Got the job done and was pleased with myself, rugs shook and put back even.    I rinsed out that dumb filter and let it outside to dry.   Now off to check out the computer upstairs and see if there was any new mail and I see the computer table is wet.  WET!!! You know what happened the last time water and a computer come close to each other don’t we???  Well, I am trying to figure out what in the …. happened and drip drip drip come the drops from the TRACK LIGHT!!! Yes we have a leak through the ceiling.  Ok, I go and get a towel and put it over the printer, shut things down, put a towel so it covers everything and look around.  Oh my goodness.  My picture of the three girls “Fairy Tale” has fallen off the wall.  FALLEN OFF THE WALL!  The drywall is wet and the nail gave way.  Ok look more… look more the window is leakingtoo !!! For God’s sake.  what else is going to leak.  Water was dripping in multiple places under the molding of the window frame.  I went into the bathroom and nothing is leaking there.  I went outside to look at the north side of the roof and there is a little snow on it but not a lot.  Evidently enough huh.

After a moment of panic I text Val hoping he will check a text during his cracker barrell.  No… so I text again.  Maybe after a second text he will  understand this isn’t just a pick up some milk kind of text it is THE HOUSE IS LEAKING kind of text.  Well I then called his phone thinking three times is a charm and left a message.  No answer no call back.  I tried Todd Cloos… no one home.  Went out to try to decide if I should try to go on the roof in gale force winds… thought again… went to Val’s garage and looked for a big ladder, nothing big enough in my opinion.  So concluded, h..l no I am not going up on that roof.  I did think that at least if I fall there is   quite a bit of snow in the front, not so much in the back.  I would fall in the back if I went up there I know it.  Common sense kicked in and at that moment I really missed Bryce.  Bryce where are you when I NEED someone on the roof.

Well, Val finally called and was on his way home.  Hopefully this will be an easy fix but I did see that there are some weird spots along the roof line where the old and new meet and paint is chipping off.  Paint chipping off the siding that is not supposed to ever chip?  Imagine that.  We may have to call the builders and find out what might be wrong.

Well better check to see if we have any other water works going.  Too bad the best day in Jan. had to be spoiled by leaking windows and light fixtures.   Good buy snow.

As I look out into the yard with it’s mounds of snow all I can say is “Thank God” the deep freeze appears to have abated!  What a crummy winter we have had so far.  I hesitate to say that because sometimes after you make a comment like that conditions turn worse!  I don’t know you can’t get much worse than -30’s can you?  We aren’t in the poles after all.  Needless to say we have endured the coldest weather since 1996.  I just hope the rest of the winter is normal or above.  Even the kids are tired of crummy weather.

Val is out trying to get the final remnants of snow off the driveway, I did snow blow on Monday but didn’t after the wind of Tuesday so it is nice and compact on the driveway.  He is succeeding and I am left in the house to watch.  Darn.  Right now it is 28 degrees, the opposite of what it was just a few short days ago.  I love positive numbers :>   I am especially glad the temperatures will moderate next week because I am outside next week.  I hate outside duty in the winter.  Oh well nothing will change from this.  Sometimes I think I need a change in employment!  Burnout is flirting with me more and more.  Too bad I love the schedule too much.

We survived Christmas vacation and have gotten back into the swing of things.  It is now just Bren and I until March.  Val is back in Pierre and the girls and I drove in crummy conditions to go out to witness the swearing in as Speaker Pro Tempor of the house.  It was neat but with the blowing snow I was glad when we were home.  We had late starts the rest of the week.  Milbank went two hours late for the first time in my 20 years of teaching in Milbank.  I couldn’t believe it.  The kids won’t know what to do with a regular week.  We have used up all our snow days so from now on we have to make them up.  I hope we have no more snow days.  Did I say that?

Well, on to cleaning.  One floor done and one more to go.  Bren gets the basement and the steps!  Have a great warm week and talk to you soon.

Christmas 2008
Rausch House

So, how long has it been since I actually sent out a Christmas letter???? In my old age I cannot remember but I can tell you that I have written Christmas letters every year and failed to print/mail them for at least that last 4 years! How terrible is that. I usually use the excuse that it is about the pictures but thanks to online ordering that is no longer an excuse, so here it goes.
Val and I are still plugging along in the married state. We haven’t killed each other, even though the thought has crossed our minds from time to time and usually not at the same time. We celebrated 26 years of bliss last summer. Time sure flies when you are having fun. Ha. Val is still enjoying being self-employed and doing cemetery lettering. He even added a friend onto the fleet so they now are a company of 2! He doesn’t have as much time to golf as he used to but sneaks it in whenever he can. He has served four years in the SD State House of Rep. and was recently re-elected to a third term and Speaker Pro Tem of the House. This means that if re-elected for his fourth and final term he will be the Speaker of the House. He has enjoyed his time in the House and he has met many great people.
I am still teaching at St. Lawrence School. I cannot seem to get out of Sixth Grade. Thanks to the economy I may never get to retire, poor students. I enjoy the people and schedule so it is all worth it. I have a new thing in my life since the last mailed Christmas letter, I started showing AKC Irish Setters. I met Pam of Windwood Irish Setters and she and Cathy (co-breeder) have been great mentors and friends. They have helped me along the way to this great pastime of dog showing. Hogan is my first and for my 50th birthday he finished his Championship in conformation in St. Cloud. My new dog Jet isn’t in the winners circle yet but we have hopes that it will come. We aren’t used to being losers but it comes with the territory. I have been having a blast and no you will never see me on TV. I am moving from kid activities to dog activities, ask me which one gives me less stress!
Miles is living in Sioux Falls and married Holli Gregg from Hawarden IA last Jan. 26 in Madison SD. They met at Dakota State and are a great fit. We are so happy having Holli as a part of the family. In case you are wondering I don’t ask her if the feeling is mutual. Some things are better left unknown. :> Miles works for Lawrence and Schiller as a programmer. Holli works for the city of Sioux Falls and is a graphic designer. They are hoping to get a house sometime and we are so happy they are close by.
Bryce is in Cleveland OH and he married Lindsey Nelson from Ortonville a year ago last July 7. They had dated since their Jr. year in HS and are also a great fit for each other. Lindsey was pursuing her masters in forensics in Philadelphia so they lived there for two years. Linds got a job with a lab in OH, so move they did. Val has gotten good at moving and gotten to sightsee at the same time. Right Val? Bryce had worked for ADP in Allentown PA while in Philly and now works for a company in Cleveland that does payroll, so he talks to people about having his company do their payroll. He seems to enjoy the work but would like to have his own business instead of making money for other people. They are too far away from home but are at least moving in the right direction. This will be the first Christmas without them so that will be a little sad. We are hoping they get a trip home sometime either in Feb or at Easter. We may try to get out there sometime this summer. Time will tell. Val does a lot of thinking out loud and I never know what is just a twinkle in his mind or a real thing… it drives me nuts.
Molly graduated from Milbank High School and is going to USD in Vermillion. She wants to be a Physical Therapist but wants to transfer next year to SD State in Brookings! She says she wants to go there because there is more to do, it has nothing to do with her boyfriend going there… right. Like Val says… it’s her life. My life has slowed down greatly since she graduated! No more basketball or track. I have more home time, phew. She has one semester under her belt and is looking forward to the next semester. I am sure it will fly by.
Brenna is a sophomore at Milbank High School. She is in cross-country, debate and golf. She manages to keep herself busy and enjoys her time at school. She is enjoying being an only child, her time frame and Molly’s never quite jived. She loves getting to school early. She keeps socially active and has managed to keep on the straight and narrow so far.
We will be getting together with the local Rausch clan at Harriet’s this Christmas eve for steak and lasagna after mass and then on to the Miles clan Christmas after Christmas day mass. My parents moved to Sioux Falls a year ago and so now that is where we gather now. You know the road only goes in one direction! We will go to my sister Karin’s for the Miles side.
Well, this letter is at least informational. Not as entertaining as some in my save file, but that’s how it goes. I guess that is what goes with age. I hope all of you are healthy and happy. Here is hoping and praying the nation becomes strong and healthy again and burdens eased. Our friends and family are a blessing to us and I will do my best to get back in the habit of the Christmas letter. I have a history of having good intentions though!

God bless you and keep you in 2009,

Val, Paula, Miles, Holli, Bryce, Lindsey, Molly and Brenna

Four legged’s: Patches, Katie, Hogan and Jet

Well the wind is howling and the snow blowing and probably falling.  I have a strong feeling I will be home tomorrow!!  Can we say “Snow Day?”  The wind is coming straignt down the street and we have a huge drift in front of the garage.  No snowblowing until the wind dies down and they say that will be in the early am.  Yoo hoo.  The week before Christmas is a good time to have a snow day.

Check out my pics on facebook.  I only have three up.  I can never seem to upload on this site.  Stay home and stay safe and warm.  Too bad we are out of eggs we could have cookies baking.  Not me baking but someone else in the house.  I only do cooking no baking.  Except maybe some cornbread muffins with butter and syrup.  Sounds good.

Hi all,  it has been an eventful month so far in December with some things happy and some not so.  We celebrate the coming birth of Christ who is light of the world and the Messiah.  Thank God he came.  Some members of the family might not get that Messiah part but we will pray for them.  He did come and that is a fact.  He also said he would never give us too much to handle and we have to trust in that.  “That which doesn’t kill us, makes us stronger.”  I truly believe that.  We just have to believe that we can live through it.  Satin is the one that tells us we can’t or shouldn’t believe.

We are slowly making our way to Christmas and Dec./Nov has been pretty good.  We  had a nice Thanksgiving at Tony and Deb’s.  Deb did a great job hosting and cooking the meat.  We had a nice get together and then that Sunday seven of us ventured to watch Wicked.  What a great show.  I can’t wait until Omaha.  It was sooooooo worth it.  If I could of I would have cried during the whole show, I would have.  It was so good and we even had a fill in for Glinda and she was great.  So much better than the fill in for Donny Osmond… but we won’t go there, right boys?

School has one week to go and I have the Christmas program on Wed, play for the school mass on Thurs. and then out on Fri.  I plan on coming to SF on Monday to finish Christmas shopping and meet with Janet Ries for lunch… Tammy you free too?  Then marathon playing for Christmas and Christmas day and to SF for Christmas Day.  Hope the weather holds.  I told Val I WAS NOT driving in the same junk as we drove in last year…..

Well until later… May the peace of Christ be with you

Well, November is slowly approaching the end and December is peaking over the horizen.  These two months  always fly by anyway but the older I get the faster they go.  We are all reasonibly healthy and the new year will bring many changes to the family in a good way.

Sunday seven of us travel to Mpls to watch Wicked.  We can’t wait.  Hopefully the snow predicted will be light or nonexistant.  The 5-7 I have a dog show in St. Cloud and will be there for the weekend.  Then it is gearing up for the holidays.  We plan on having lobster in Sioux Falls again so that should be fun.  Don’t know the place yet but doesn’t matter.  We can always keep the lobster at home and eat it once a week :>

Brenna is plugging along at school.  Soph. year is almost half over and she is busy with FFA and debate.  Debate is just starting up so she has yet to compete.  She goes to State FFA on  Dec 7-8..  we have to figure out how to get her to Imm. Conception mass in Pierre.

Molly is still going with Tyler and he is a good guy.  His family is great too so that is always a plus.  I told him early on that after being friends for four years there should be no surprises in the relationship.  The only down side is Bryce continually harrassing him!  I need to tell Tyler that if Bryce really didn’t like him he would be silent ! Right Bryce?  Be nice to Tyler.  He is like a “David.”  Don’t fret Tyler.

Speaking of Bryce… he and Linds are in Cleveland and still adjusting to life there.  Who knows maybe sometime we will be able to get there for a visit, that is if he is nice and quits bashing Tyler…  Both are gainfully employed and have; a great apartment.  All they need is a dog.

Miles and Holli are doing just fine in Sioux Falls and wish they had a house… someday.  In a week they have their first ultrasound and I told Miles to take his video camera to videotape the ultrasound.  Hope he does.  Cant wait to see it.

Val is busy he has lots of state stuff now that he is speaker pro tem and if reelected he will be speaker of the house in two years.  He has more meetings and conferences but is looking forward to it.

I am just plugging along.  Still showing the dogs and trying to walk a miles five days a week have lost a couple of pounds but not much .  Trying to cut down on food intake but it will be slow going.  I have talked about gastric bypass, lapband, lyposuction… all cost money.  oh well.  I wish you could wish fat away.  too bad hot flashed don’t melt fat.  I would be thin…

Have a great December and talk to all of you soon love pr