Happy New Year's Eve! :)
The past few days my college roomie from Carmel was here and on Monday some of my friends from Purdue who reside in Kansas were here with their baby boy. It was PERFECT timing to have them here and was the first time all break that I felt like I was on vacation. :) I was so incredibly grateful for that time with them!
My friend from Purdue and I spent a lot of time reflecting on this past year together and looking to '09. Neither of us are huge on New Year's resolutions especially ones that we know aren't attainable like lose 45 pounds or something ridiculous like that. :) But I did make a list of things that I want to accomplish in this coming year...
In 2009:
**Roadtrip with my friend Angela to Kentucky to visit our friend in seminary--going in January!
**Go on a cruise to the Bahamas--Going in April!
**Go to New York City--I have no plans of this but would really like to.... :)
**Learn how to knit--I know this one is funny! But I want to know how and since I'm left handed no one has ever been able to teach me well. So a yarn store here has classes and I definitely signed up for one the other day. :)
**Start my masters in June '09 and save the incredible amount of money to pay for it....
**Have my house professionally painted in the fall of 2009. I have already been saving money for that. My goal is to always do one major house project a year to keep it as up to date as possible for resell purposes. This year I put a roof on my house so this will be next year's project.
**Train for and complete the Indy Mini Marathon--May '09
**Do the Indoor Triathlon through they YMCA which starts in a week! You have to bike 112 miles, swim 2.4 miles, and run 26.2 miles but you have six weeks to do it.
**Read more books....I love reading but didn't read last year as much as I usually do.
**Get pedicures often......:) Last summer I became a little addicted to this. The funny part is two of my friends (who also are addicted to pedicures) bought me a gift certificate for my bday. :)
**Journal more.....I started journaling again last year after a long break of not. I want to continue but become a little more consistent.
**Continue finding more balance in all areas of my life....it's really easy to get out of balance in any area and that's something I've been working on really hard this year.
I'm constantly making new goals and working to achieve them but this is a good start of a lot of different things.....:)
Happy 2009!
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Friday, December 26, 2008
Florida, Anyone?? :)
The weather has been so so so crazy.......this morning we had the most ridiculous freezing rain and it took me well over an hour to get from my parents house back to my house and tonight when I left Bremen it was pouring rain and it was some of the worst fog that I have ever seen and it definitely took me an hour and a half to return home. The past few weeks we have had the craziest weather!!! It makes me want to go to Florida for a while! But I am going to the Bahamas in 4 months so I guess it gives me something to look forward to! :)
I am particularly excited about tomorrow. I am going to Chicago in the morning with my friend Rachelle who resides in Texas but her parents live in Valpo, Indiana so she's around for the holidays. We are going up and meeting a friend of ours whose parents live near Chicago. I am so glad to spend time with both of them and to get away for a day.....it will definitely be healthy for me to not worry about getting to the hospital and I'm sure will make me more rejuvenated and ready to tackle whatever is next when I return. Sometimes the Lord uses us in ways that we aren't expecting but over the past few days I have been realizing more and more why the Lord has me so heavily involved in this situation. There has been so much progress made in the past few days........not in ways that people would predict/expect but in amazing ways. As long as we can continue to speak truth over and over I am confident that it will come true. Sometimes when we pray, "Lord use me however you want" we aren't ready when He lays it out there. Over the past year the Lord has really been training me on how to discern truth and lies, which seems like a very black and white concept but it hasn't been. That has been so incredibly helpful these past few months with Grandma.
While I'm getting things ready for tomorrow I'm watching the Dateline episode about the Mistaken Identity case from the girls at Taylor University. It always makes me cry and reminds me so much of how precious our time is. We always spend so much time planning our futures but we really need to enjoy the present....
I am particularly excited about tomorrow. I am going to Chicago in the morning with my friend Rachelle who resides in Texas but her parents live in Valpo, Indiana so she's around for the holidays. We are going up and meeting a friend of ours whose parents live near Chicago. I am so glad to spend time with both of them and to get away for a day.....it will definitely be healthy for me to not worry about getting to the hospital and I'm sure will make me more rejuvenated and ready to tackle whatever is next when I return. Sometimes the Lord uses us in ways that we aren't expecting but over the past few days I have been realizing more and more why the Lord has me so heavily involved in this situation. There has been so much progress made in the past few days........not in ways that people would predict/expect but in amazing ways. As long as we can continue to speak truth over and over I am confident that it will come true. Sometimes when we pray, "Lord use me however you want" we aren't ready when He lays it out there. Over the past year the Lord has really been training me on how to discern truth and lies, which seems like a very black and white concept but it hasn't been. That has been so incredibly helpful these past few months with Grandma.
While I'm getting things ready for tomorrow I'm watching the Dateline episode about the Mistaken Identity case from the girls at Taylor University. It always makes me cry and reminds me so much of how precious our time is. We always spend so much time planning our futures but we really need to enjoy the present....
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
Our Time...
Today with Grandma was rough....I am usually very very strong but when I left tonight I cried most of the way home. I finally called my dad so that I would stop crying and replayed everything that happened from start to finish. She had an insanely rough day....words can't describe how bad her day was. She's slipping away from us but a little at a time which is not how we every dreamt it would be with her. We always thought it would be instantaneous with her but it's not that way. If you have ever been through the pain of watching someone die one day at a time and being there every step of the way you understand. I have done that with all my grandparents except one who died before I was born. This one though I have been there the most and will continue to be until her last day in this life no matter what sacrifices I have to make....it's definitely changed my life in the past few months. Every evening and every weekend I travel to wherever she is and sit with her and work with her to get better. Not exactly the typical 25 year old lifestyle but that's ok. The roommate that she has currently has a grandson who is my age who is doing the same thing and so we shared a laugh about that tonight as we continued to eat hospital food....it's all starting to taste the same that's for sure. :)
Her mind is slipping away and that's harder to watch than her body slipping away. We can fix her body slipping away a lot better than her mind but there isn't much we can do for this. She was not herself today and to the degree that she had to move rooms...that was hard. She's not the woman that I know but she doesn't know what she's doing. It's so hard because she wants to die and she is in the best position to pass away of anyone I know. She has loved the Lord and served him with all her heart for her entire life. We continue to discuss the Lord's faithfulness even in these trying times, we still pray together, read the scriptures together, laugh and cry together about how His timing is not our own. She has everything so prepared on this Earth for her to pass away when it happens. Every night she thinks it's her last night and every morning she wakes up. I'm at this point where I would love to see her live forever but our bodies are not meant to live forever and she is not living life well at this point and not enjoying it. It has always been my prayer that when the Lord takes her home that it's fast and that there is no pain/suffering and that's not happening. She's miserable and in turn in causes misery on a lot of family members.....the other day she cried and just kept saying that she wants to be with the Lord. What do you do with that? Everyday I ask her to work hard and do her exercises and eat (oh what a debate that is!) and not to give up but she is so done with this life and has nothing to look forward to from her current perspective.
I do really love how the Lord has been working in this final stage though. It is an extreme blessing by having her in this hospital because they focus on physical and occupational therapy. Her physical body is in the best state it has been in for months.....if she could just gain weight it would be set.....it's her mind that's not ok all of a sudden. The nurses bend over backwards for her. There is one in particular that Grandma adores and she would do whatever she asked. I baked her cookies the other day because we couldn't have done this without her. The new roommate that Grandma has as of this evening is not in a good position health wise but is from my hometown of Akron and has the same family physician as my grandmother.....how amazing! I sat with her and her family and talked with them a bit tonight and it was just so amazing to see how the Lord would put her with this woman that knows a lot of the same people that we do and has a very similar upbringing.
I know the truth and I know that the Lord takes us when it's our time. Sometimes in these situations though you wonder what His plan is. Clearly there's something that one of us as a family is to learn, the staff at this hospital, my grandmother, who knows. I have never understood suffering and I've gone through my share of it in my lifetime and I know that I have always learned so much from it but this type is different. She is not even well enough to leave the hospital tomorrow to come be with my family. We were going to go pick her up and take her to my parent's house for a small dinner and she can't even do that........so we're going to her. This Christmas is a little different to say the least......
Her mind is slipping away and that's harder to watch than her body slipping away. We can fix her body slipping away a lot better than her mind but there isn't much we can do for this. She was not herself today and to the degree that she had to move rooms...that was hard. She's not the woman that I know but she doesn't know what she's doing. It's so hard because she wants to die and she is in the best position to pass away of anyone I know. She has loved the Lord and served him with all her heart for her entire life. We continue to discuss the Lord's faithfulness even in these trying times, we still pray together, read the scriptures together, laugh and cry together about how His timing is not our own. She has everything so prepared on this Earth for her to pass away when it happens. Every night she thinks it's her last night and every morning she wakes up. I'm at this point where I would love to see her live forever but our bodies are not meant to live forever and she is not living life well at this point and not enjoying it. It has always been my prayer that when the Lord takes her home that it's fast and that there is no pain/suffering and that's not happening. She's miserable and in turn in causes misery on a lot of family members.....the other day she cried and just kept saying that she wants to be with the Lord. What do you do with that? Everyday I ask her to work hard and do her exercises and eat (oh what a debate that is!) and not to give up but she is so done with this life and has nothing to look forward to from her current perspective.
I do really love how the Lord has been working in this final stage though. It is an extreme blessing by having her in this hospital because they focus on physical and occupational therapy. Her physical body is in the best state it has been in for months.....if she could just gain weight it would be set.....it's her mind that's not ok all of a sudden. The nurses bend over backwards for her. There is one in particular that Grandma adores and she would do whatever she asked. I baked her cookies the other day because we couldn't have done this without her. The new roommate that Grandma has as of this evening is not in a good position health wise but is from my hometown of Akron and has the same family physician as my grandmother.....how amazing! I sat with her and her family and talked with them a bit tonight and it was just so amazing to see how the Lord would put her with this woman that knows a lot of the same people that we do and has a very similar upbringing.
I know the truth and I know that the Lord takes us when it's our time. Sometimes in these situations though you wonder what His plan is. Clearly there's something that one of us as a family is to learn, the staff at this hospital, my grandmother, who knows. I have never understood suffering and I've gone through my share of it in my lifetime and I know that I have always learned so much from it but this type is different. She is not even well enough to leave the hospital tomorrow to come be with my family. We were going to go pick her up and take her to my parent's house for a small dinner and she can't even do that........so we're going to her. This Christmas is a little different to say the least......
Monday, December 22, 2008
Christmas Break....
It's been an interesting start to vacation so far with crazy weather and arctic temps! I have received so many text messages/emails from friends who live in warmer climates like the Carolinas, Florida, and Texas reminding me that it's not cold there....I was tempted to go visit immediately! :) This always happens to me on break but I am someone who really loves being busy and going to work and then I find myself missing it. This morning after I ran I really was ready to go to work.....that's not normal I'm aware. :) Usually the first week of break is fine but the second week I have done everything under the sun I could dream of. I think this time is just different because of the family stuff going on. All my time, energy, and emotions are being poured into a woman's life who doesn't want to live anymore but clearly her time is not up. The past few days in particular have been a rollercoaster ride with her......she has been so high/low and her mind has not been right at all. One day she had no idea where she was or why she was there...yesterday I bought a ton of stuff that she wanted and then she decided she didn't want it. You just have to laugh at those situations that's for sure. It's just me today with her....my uncle who was going to come lives in Michigan and they are currently under a blizzard warning. My mom has a retirement party to attend and needs some emotional time for herself today. It' s usually ok with other people. On average the past few days we have had 3-5 people with her daily. It's typically not ok by yourself though....I think hospitals like that are on a different time zone because time goes very slowly there and it's no wonder that people don't like going to hospitals like this. She keeps changing her mind about her intentions of what to do after we can get her out of there....I'm sure I will get a different story today in fact. I almost need a score card.....:) This morning while I was running 5 miles on the treadmill I started to think about how she would love to be able to walk half a mile right now. It's a constant reminder to me to be so grateful for what I have and not for what I don't have. It's so easy in this society to focus on stuff we need but really as long as I have a body that can function properly I'm set. It really resets your priorities/focus.
On other random notes, I downloaded an audio book for Grandma--the Shack. I have been listening to it on my computer and think this may be my new favorite way of keeping up with books. I love to read but always feel like I should be doing a hundred other things. Yesterday I listened to over half the book while being "Martha Stewart" and doing all the things I never have time to do like make Christmas cookies for all my neighbors......I had to draw the line after a while because I have a lot of neighbors. Listening to it has been really interesting because I've been picking up on different things this time. One thing that really hit me is the main character was surprised about God's appearance and His comment was that it didn't really matter what He looked like because the main character wouldn't care anymore after getting to know Him well. That really hit me hard because it reminded me of how much time I spend making sure that I look 'good'. How much time I spend exercising, running, money I spend on clothes, makeup, etc. Really it shouldn't matter because people should be captivated by who I am and not what I look like. I'm not saying I am going to give up exercising and sit around and eat Twinkies all day (I don't even like foods like that...) :) but it does remind me that I have to find a proper balance. The Lord has really been helping me to find a new balance in that area of my life for about 6 months now and I have come a long long ways in that time but I wouldn't say that I am any expert in that area that's for sure. The book is helping me to really redefine my concept of God and it reminds me of how relational the Lord is. I know those things...but I need reminded sometimes.
On other random notes, I downloaded an audio book for Grandma--the Shack. I have been listening to it on my computer and think this may be my new favorite way of keeping up with books. I love to read but always feel like I should be doing a hundred other things. Yesterday I listened to over half the book while being "Martha Stewart" and doing all the things I never have time to do like make Christmas cookies for all my neighbors......I had to draw the line after a while because I have a lot of neighbors. Listening to it has been really interesting because I've been picking up on different things this time. One thing that really hit me is the main character was surprised about God's appearance and His comment was that it didn't really matter what He looked like because the main character wouldn't care anymore after getting to know Him well. That really hit me hard because it reminded me of how much time I spend making sure that I look 'good'. How much time I spend exercising, running, money I spend on clothes, makeup, etc. Really it shouldn't matter because people should be captivated by who I am and not what I look like. I'm not saying I am going to give up exercising and sit around and eat Twinkies all day (I don't even like foods like that...) :) but it does remind me that I have to find a proper balance. The Lord has really been helping me to find a new balance in that area of my life for about 6 months now and I have come a long long ways in that time but I wouldn't say that I am any expert in that area that's for sure. The book is helping me to really redefine my concept of God and it reminds me of how relational the Lord is. I know those things...but I need reminded sometimes.
Friday, December 19, 2008
Dominick the Donkey
If you are bored check this out....hilarious! My kids at school adore this song.....don't ask me why.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nQrdxtWgHbE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nQrdxtWgHbE
Updates from the Week
Here are a few updates from a crazy/wild week:
1) We ended up getting all the ice last night and have no school today. I was majorly bummed.....:( Plus I don't have electricity, which means I'm just sitting around and in 59 minutes my laptop battery will be dead and my cell phone battery is already dead. I should have been a little more prepared for this situation. :)
2) Even though my kids didn't get their Christmas party today yesterday they won a huge party and it was so fun. Every one of my kids made their accelerated reading goals and let me tell you I made their goals huge! As a class, they made 1200 points...I was so proud of them! So I paid for a pizza party and we had a reading marathon day and they got to wear pajamas and the whole bit. The best part of the day was when "Santa Claus" delivered a new bike to one of the girls in my classroom who I had let the administration know that she needed one. She was ecstatic and it made me so happy for her! She's such a sweet girl and is wise beyond her years for sure! So I guess we'll be having a Christmas party after the new year....oh my!
3) Grandma was admitted to the hospital this week and was there for 3 days and then discharged to Doctor's Hospital in Bremen. It's a rehab hospital and I'm really glad she's there....it looks like she's going to be there for a while. It was a rocky week but I think she's where she needs to be for now. She doesn't really qualify to go home yet and doesn't qualify for a nursing home so we're in limbo. The goal is to get her stronger physically and emotionally so that she can go home. I've been going to wherever she is at everyday, which is good I wouldn't want to be left alone if I was in that situation. It looks like the next few weeks I'll be with her a lot......but I will do whatever it takes to get her on the road to recovery. What a hard situation! It really makes you stop and think about all the things that you take for granted every day. In the end it's those simple daily activities that you can't do. I find myself thanking God more and more for just being able to have a body that can function properly. Needless to say, my Christmas vacation will be filled with doing rehab activities with Grandma and talking to the elderly. :)
4) One of my best friends from high school lost her dad this week to a blood clot...he was 51. The memorial is tomorrow morning and I'm planning to go before I leave for Chicago. It makes me so sad for her because there was not this process of preparing yourself mentally for change and no opportunity to start the process of grieving instead it just hit like a train. She's a very very strong person and I met up with her the other night and was amazed by her strength!
5) Our cruise for spring break is officially booked!!!! Bahamas here were come on April 5, 2009! I'm so glad that I can travel and am so looking forward to that trip!
6) I'm going to Chicago (weather permitting) tomorrow for the annual Christmas party with the Purdue RA's....oh I hope the weather is ok! I will be going to Chicago next Saturday too to visit my friend from Texas and my friend Laura.....so excited!
1) We ended up getting all the ice last night and have no school today. I was majorly bummed.....:( Plus I don't have electricity, which means I'm just sitting around and in 59 minutes my laptop battery will be dead and my cell phone battery is already dead. I should have been a little more prepared for this situation. :)
2) Even though my kids didn't get their Christmas party today yesterday they won a huge party and it was so fun. Every one of my kids made their accelerated reading goals and let me tell you I made their goals huge! As a class, they made 1200 points...I was so proud of them! So I paid for a pizza party and we had a reading marathon day and they got to wear pajamas and the whole bit. The best part of the day was when "Santa Claus" delivered a new bike to one of the girls in my classroom who I had let the administration know that she needed one. She was ecstatic and it made me so happy for her! She's such a sweet girl and is wise beyond her years for sure! So I guess we'll be having a Christmas party after the new year....oh my!
3) Grandma was admitted to the hospital this week and was there for 3 days and then discharged to Doctor's Hospital in Bremen. It's a rehab hospital and I'm really glad she's there....it looks like she's going to be there for a while. It was a rocky week but I think she's where she needs to be for now. She doesn't really qualify to go home yet and doesn't qualify for a nursing home so we're in limbo. The goal is to get her stronger physically and emotionally so that she can go home. I've been going to wherever she is at everyday, which is good I wouldn't want to be left alone if I was in that situation. It looks like the next few weeks I'll be with her a lot......but I will do whatever it takes to get her on the road to recovery. What a hard situation! It really makes you stop and think about all the things that you take for granted every day. In the end it's those simple daily activities that you can't do. I find myself thanking God more and more for just being able to have a body that can function properly. Needless to say, my Christmas vacation will be filled with doing rehab activities with Grandma and talking to the elderly. :)
4) One of my best friends from high school lost her dad this week to a blood clot...he was 51. The memorial is tomorrow morning and I'm planning to go before I leave for Chicago. It makes me so sad for her because there was not this process of preparing yourself mentally for change and no opportunity to start the process of grieving instead it just hit like a train. She's a very very strong person and I met up with her the other night and was amazed by her strength!
5) Our cruise for spring break is officially booked!!!! Bahamas here were come on April 5, 2009! I'm so glad that I can travel and am so looking forward to that trip!
6) I'm going to Chicago (weather permitting) tomorrow for the annual Christmas party with the Purdue RA's....oh I hope the weather is ok! I will be going to Chicago next Saturday too to visit my friend from Texas and my friend Laura.....so excited!
Too Cute!
Two people that I knew from Purdue just got engaged and there was an article in their local newspaper....so cute!
http://www.kokomotribune.com/local/local_story_353231344.html
http://www.kokomotribune.com/local/local_story_353231344.html
Monday, December 15, 2008
Making Every Moment Count....
So over the past few weeks I have really been reminded to make every moment count with everyone I love and to have no regrets. I feel like I have always lived my life like that but there can be times where I can find myself becoming a little selfish and especially over this last week I have remembered that it's not about me at all. Over the past day, a good friend of mine lost her precious grandmother to a battle with cancer and one of my best friends from high school tragically and suddenly lost her father to a blood clot and neither of them were there to say their final goodbyes. Today my grandmother was admitted to the hospital, which I knew would happen within the next few days but still hit me like a train... She has congestive heart failure and the main reason for having her admitted right now is to drain all the fluids out of her because she's carrying at least twenty pounds of water. We had our family Christmas on that side of the family last weekend and I am so glad that we were able to get that in before this process started. She obviously didn't feel well during it but she was a trooper. I think my fondest memory of it was after we were done opening Christmas presents I was sitting beside her on a couch and I told her how amazing of a grandmother she was and all the life lessons that her and granddad taught us. She of course said they had no idea what they were doing as grandparents but we remininisced about a few memories from the past. Grandma and I have a lot of memories because we have always been close and we have always done so much together. She always taught me that she didn't care what I did in life but to have no regrets in life and I certainly have no regrets about my relationship with my grandparents.
Thursday, December 4, 2008
Hilarious!
One of my students came in this morning declaring that she had a vision to be the new school mascot, which is a huge Cardinal designed for someone very tall at which she is not. Our principal told her that if she could make it work he would consider it so we went and dug it out of storage and put it on her and she loved it so much despite the fact that it's heavy and hot that she is now our new school mascot! :)
Sunday, November 30, 2008
Good questions to ponder...
Our church service this morning was so great and everything that was said was exactly what I needed to hear but there were a few questions presented that have me really thinking....
**How is God using my current circumstances to show himself through me?
**What is going to be 'different' about me and how am I going to choose to be different?
**How is God using my current circumstances to show himself through me?
**What is going to be 'different' about me and how am I going to choose to be different?
Saturday, November 29, 2008
Super excited!
Yay! So I found out some things that I have coming up that I'm super excited about!
One of my best friends from high school is in seminary in Kentucky and I got to see her today and rarely get to see her. Another one of my best friends from high school, Angela, and I are going to take a weekend road trip to go see her in January! She lives in a tiny tiny town but it is pretty close to Lexington but the three of us have always made everything fun. I love going and visiting people!
It was soooo good to sit and talk with her today and learn what the Lord is doing in her life.....I just love hearing about stuff like that!
One of my friends from college always has a 'Holiday Movie Extravaganza' at her house in Chicago every December and every year I have had a conflict i.e. family Christmas, staff party, etc. and this year I can go! Yay! There was a group of us that all lived together for a few years and there's like 17 people in this group and they were/are so much fun!
I signed up today for the mini marathon in Indy for this upcoming May! I'm excited about it and the process of training for it! I debated whether it was the right decision to focus my energy/attention onto that because it's really easy for me to become obsessive about training for things and that's unhealthy but I'm going to be intentional about making sure this time is way different because ultimately the Lord wants us to be healthy and active but not obsessive about those things....it took me a lot of years to figure that out and I regret it so much.
The low part of break was I discovered that I have to have a very expensive part of my heating/cooling system replaced and it will be replaced as soon as the company can get the part in.....ugh the unexpected joys of home ownership. I was going to decorate outside for Christmas......but due to this expense I decided that wasn't a responsible decision and so my great dad gave me an outside Christmas tree that is super cute and kind of big so that I had something outside because it seems like all my neighbors all going all out with lights/decorations. :)
One of my best friends from high school is in seminary in Kentucky and I got to see her today and rarely get to see her. Another one of my best friends from high school, Angela, and I are going to take a weekend road trip to go see her in January! She lives in a tiny tiny town but it is pretty close to Lexington but the three of us have always made everything fun. I love going and visiting people!
It was soooo good to sit and talk with her today and learn what the Lord is doing in her life.....I just love hearing about stuff like that!
One of my friends from college always has a 'Holiday Movie Extravaganza' at her house in Chicago every December and every year I have had a conflict i.e. family Christmas, staff party, etc. and this year I can go! Yay! There was a group of us that all lived together for a few years and there's like 17 people in this group and they were/are so much fun!
I signed up today for the mini marathon in Indy for this upcoming May! I'm excited about it and the process of training for it! I debated whether it was the right decision to focus my energy/attention onto that because it's really easy for me to become obsessive about training for things and that's unhealthy but I'm going to be intentional about making sure this time is way different because ultimately the Lord wants us to be healthy and active but not obsessive about those things....it took me a lot of years to figure that out and I regret it so much.
The low part of break was I discovered that I have to have a very expensive part of my heating/cooling system replaced and it will be replaced as soon as the company can get the part in.....ugh the unexpected joys of home ownership. I was going to decorate outside for Christmas......but due to this expense I decided that wasn't a responsible decision and so my great dad gave me an outside Christmas tree that is super cute and kind of big so that I had something outside because it seems like all my neighbors all going all out with lights/decorations. :)
...
Check out this horrible story... It makes me think a lot about where our priorities are and apparently they aren't in line with what they are supposed to be.......:( It makes me just want to buy everything online and stay out of the stores.....
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aviWbQ4bOa1w&refer=home
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aviWbQ4bOa1w&refer=home
Sunday, November 23, 2008
Mmm...vacation!
So it hit me today that I'm really ready for Thanksgiving vacation! 3 days!!!!! In my family Thanksgiving is relatively low key because we start having family Christmas parties in two weeks. But I'm so looking forward to just spending time with my family and doing the random things that we do like go shopping on Friday. Every year we claim we'll never do it again but then for some reason we show back up.....:) I'm almost done with my Christmas shopping (I'm a planner to the core) so I just go for fun! :)
Friday, November 21, 2008
Hilarious!
So I have the funniest kiddos in my classroom! The past few days we needed a little break from 'routine' so another teacher in my team and I randomly came up with the idea of "Thanksgiving Carols". We decided we would have the kids pick a Christmas Carol as a model and then write a Thanksgiving Carol instead..... They sang them today and some of them were SO funny.
At school yesterday someone else in my team discovered this AWESOME new website called
www.wordle.net
It is awesome! It basically makes a collage of words that you put into the text box and the more times you enter a word the bigger it becomes. You can play around with the fonts, colors, sizes, etc. It's fun!
At school yesterday someone else in my team discovered this AWESOME new website called
www.wordle.net
It is awesome! It basically makes a collage of words that you put into the text box and the more times you enter a word the bigger it becomes. You can play around with the fonts, colors, sizes, etc. It's fun!
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Thankful Thursday....
So it's been a rough night but it's been a rough few weeks......things can only build up for so long before they hit you all at once and that's exactly what happened. But I'm going to focus on the things that I am SO thankful for today....
**My AMAZING group of girlfriends and our Thursday night bible study. Tonight we talked a lot about vulnerability as women and I am so grateful to have girlfriends that are in a similar place in life with their walk with the Lord that I can be vulnerable around and they know where I am coming from because they know my heart. So often, I don't like being vulnerable. I love other people being vulnerable around me and I love listening to other people but for some reason it's hard for me to do it on the other end.
**The Holiday Season! I love how when I went into Courthouse Coffee today that Christmas music was playing, there are Christmas movies on tv, and my beautifully decorated Christmas trees in my home. It makes my heart happy!
**That weeks are cyclical that we get two days off work each week for a reason so that we can start new. It is a even more definite reminder of how the Lords promises are new every morning....
**The BEAUTIFUL SNOW! :)
**A warm home.....it's amazing what we take for granted
**For a friend from North Carolina visiting this weekend!
**For having an awesome Thanksgiving dinner at my house next Tuesday evening with a bunch of really really great friends
**My AMAZING group of girlfriends and our Thursday night bible study. Tonight we talked a lot about vulnerability as women and I am so grateful to have girlfriends that are in a similar place in life with their walk with the Lord that I can be vulnerable around and they know where I am coming from because they know my heart. So often, I don't like being vulnerable. I love other people being vulnerable around me and I love listening to other people but for some reason it's hard for me to do it on the other end.
**The Holiday Season! I love how when I went into Courthouse Coffee today that Christmas music was playing, there are Christmas movies on tv, and my beautifully decorated Christmas trees in my home. It makes my heart happy!
**That weeks are cyclical that we get two days off work each week for a reason so that we can start new. It is a even more definite reminder of how the Lords promises are new every morning....
**The BEAUTIFUL SNOW! :)
**A warm home.....it's amazing what we take for granted
**For a friend from North Carolina visiting this weekend!
**For having an awesome Thanksgiving dinner at my house next Tuesday evening with a bunch of really really great friends
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Life Changes....
Today must be the day for going to the doctor......I have countless family members and friends that had serious doctor appointments today... so many that I just spent nearly three hours talking to people and finding out how they all went. Needless to say, none of them were too great. Granted they could have been worse but they could have been a lot better. For all these people in my life their health has turned completely on them in the past month. It's amazing how life can change all of a sudden..... I feel so burdened for all these people because I love them so much but ultimately there isn't anything I can do for them except love them and make sure that I'm as emotionally filled as possible so that I can give as much of myself as possible. Sometimes when it rains it pours...........
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Decisions, Decisions, Decisions...
Wow, I feel like I have been making a lot of huge huge decisions lately, which is fine but this one I'm stuck on...
I'm planning on starting my masters degree next summer through Ball State University so that I can do it online...I would start sooner but I need to be pretty intentional about saving up for this so that I don't incur unnecessary debt. I can't decide what exactly to get my master's degree in....there are so many options and I can see myself potentially taking advantage of so many different options! There is a program specifically just for elementary education, which would be the quickest and cheapest way to get my masters.
But there is also a reading specialist masters program, which is just two extra classes...
A gifted and talented masters program that I could totally see myself doing as well....
Many people want me to go into the masters program for administration, which I always wanted to do and still may...
Last week my principal sent me a program option through Ball State to take a class to mentor brand new teachers.
Ultimately, I could see myself doing so many things in the future which I think is what makes this decision hard. What I would really really like to get my masters in is counseling to be a lisc. counselor but I just can't do that at this point in my life because those programs are intense and pretty much you have to quit your job, which I can't do. I LOVE LOVE LOVE my job but I want to make sure that I am very marketable in other areas too in the future because you never know what can change. Or maybe one day I'll be a stay at home mom and won't even have to worry about it.....:) HA! I just know that I definitely want to do my masters now before I have a family because I saw first hand from my parents that the two don't combine well.....:)
I'm planning on starting my masters degree next summer through Ball State University so that I can do it online...I would start sooner but I need to be pretty intentional about saving up for this so that I don't incur unnecessary debt. I can't decide what exactly to get my master's degree in....there are so many options and I can see myself potentially taking advantage of so many different options! There is a program specifically just for elementary education, which would be the quickest and cheapest way to get my masters.
But there is also a reading specialist masters program, which is just two extra classes...
A gifted and talented masters program that I could totally see myself doing as well....
Many people want me to go into the masters program for administration, which I always wanted to do and still may...
Last week my principal sent me a program option through Ball State to take a class to mentor brand new teachers.
Ultimately, I could see myself doing so many things in the future which I think is what makes this decision hard. What I would really really like to get my masters in is counseling to be a lisc. counselor but I just can't do that at this point in my life because those programs are intense and pretty much you have to quit your job, which I can't do. I LOVE LOVE LOVE my job but I want to make sure that I am very marketable in other areas too in the future because you never know what can change. Or maybe one day I'll be a stay at home mom and won't even have to worry about it.....:) HA! I just know that I definitely want to do my masters now before I have a family because I saw first hand from my parents that the two don't combine well.....:)
Monday, November 17, 2008
Love It!!
The Lord has me in an intense season of growing/changing right now, which is always an interesting journey. We are always growing and changing whether we are seeking Christ or not and the road always looks different but it seems like the road I've been on lately is looking different all the time and quickly. About a year ago the Lord kept telling me over and over again to get ready because big changes were coming...of course I just assumed they would be changes that I would pick. But that wasn't the case at all......they were changes that I would have never dreamed of and half the time don't really want but that's because they don't fit in a neat little box with a bow on top. Sometimes I get into little stages where I'm not sure if I'm ready for all the changing and growing that the Lord is doing in me but then I'm reminded that He chose me specifically. Over the past year I have been getting little snippets/previews of what this is going to look like and it has been exciting and honestly scary. Last week it hit me that either I'm in or out and obviously chose in... I love when the Lord confirms so many things because sometimes I need confirmation desperately. Tonight a great friend of mine and I went to an amazing teaching, which I honestly didn't really want to go because it was long and I have a million things I need to get done this week and just have a lot going on but the Lord started on me at about 3 in the morning last night that I would be going. It was so cool to learn amazing new things but also to receive so many amazing confirmations. So many things that have been said to me from other people, prayed over me, revelations in scripture, dreams, etc. were exactly the same as things spoken tonight. Sometimes I just need that.... My favorite thing that I was reminded of tonight is that I'm not a banana but instead an onion.....that I have layers and layers of things in my life that I have to work through with the lord to get to the center that I can't just peel everything off in one try. That right now is a perfect reminder for my life and so amazing because I have had that visual lately a lot for other people going through some rough stuff. I never cease to be amazed by the Lord!!
Sunday, November 9, 2008
Thoughts from this weekend...
I just had an extremely event/fun/emotional weekend but have a lot of thoughts from it.
I had a sleepover for my elementary small group girls on Friday night at my house. It was so much fun..definitely got a little crazy but that's ok. I'm so grateful that the Lord has entrusted me to so many different types of children. Around 1:00 in the morning they decided that it would be appropriate to have a worship time. They were awesome during it and afterwards we talked about things going on in our lives. One girl told the story of how she was adopted, which is a huge testimony of God's amazing power to save. But so many of the girls told little snippets of things that they are going through personally and it was so interesting because they were things that I didn't start dealing with until I was almost in high school. There is so much pressure on our girls right now because of media and such and it makes me so sad but I'm so grateful that I can relate and encourage young girls in the right direction.
As soon as the last girl left on Saturday I immediately left for Carmel where one of my best friends lives. The timing of going down there was amazing because there was so much on both of our hearts that we wanted to talk about. We did lots and lots of fun things but perhaps my favorite was sitting in Panera once I got down there and just processing through some of the things going on in our lives right now. I love how women always get each other and how we don't really need to tell the whole story because they already know. I love how the Lord helps give us accountability to other people in our lives for so many different areas of our lives. We did lots of fun things though like going to her church's holiday craft bazaar and took care of some Christmas shopping, went to see the movie "The Secret Life of Bees", went to Zionsville to visit her sister, brother-in-law, and their baby, frequented Starbucks, church, the mall, and Cheesecake Factory....but perhaps the best of all is that we figured out what we are going to do for spring break! We have traveled on spring break together for the past 6 years and every year we do something amazing because we both really want to look back on this season of our lives and have no regrets and know that we took advantage of every moment of it! So we are going on a cruise to the Bahamas! :) I am SO excited!! We found a good deal and instead to Orlando we are going to drive because it is going to save us a ton of money! It will be a 4 day cruise and will get back just in time for us to celebrate Easter with our families. Yay!
I went to Rochester after leaving Indy to visit Grandma and did her grocery shopping, ran all her errands, and sat with her for a while. I didn't spend the night tonight but probably will for about half this week...I'm still trying to recover my sleep from last week. I have always been one to try to invest into others/love others the best that I possibly can and watching someone go through stuff like this reminds me of how important that is. I am glad that I have a passion for serving others and trying to remain as selfless as possible.
My friend's mom was reminding me of her favorite saying this weekend that she instilled in all her kids and I think it may become my new favorite saying:
Use it up
Wear it out
Make Due
Do without
I'm definitely trying to live like that more than ever right now and not get caught up in 'stuff' because ultimately it doesn't matter at all but loving others is what really matters.
I had a sleepover for my elementary small group girls on Friday night at my house. It was so much fun..definitely got a little crazy but that's ok. I'm so grateful that the Lord has entrusted me to so many different types of children. Around 1:00 in the morning they decided that it would be appropriate to have a worship time. They were awesome during it and afterwards we talked about things going on in our lives. One girl told the story of how she was adopted, which is a huge testimony of God's amazing power to save. But so many of the girls told little snippets of things that they are going through personally and it was so interesting because they were things that I didn't start dealing with until I was almost in high school. There is so much pressure on our girls right now because of media and such and it makes me so sad but I'm so grateful that I can relate and encourage young girls in the right direction.
As soon as the last girl left on Saturday I immediately left for Carmel where one of my best friends lives. The timing of going down there was amazing because there was so much on both of our hearts that we wanted to talk about. We did lots and lots of fun things but perhaps my favorite was sitting in Panera once I got down there and just processing through some of the things going on in our lives right now. I love how women always get each other and how we don't really need to tell the whole story because they already know. I love how the Lord helps give us accountability to other people in our lives for so many different areas of our lives. We did lots of fun things though like going to her church's holiday craft bazaar and took care of some Christmas shopping, went to see the movie "The Secret Life of Bees", went to Zionsville to visit her sister, brother-in-law, and their baby, frequented Starbucks, church, the mall, and Cheesecake Factory....but perhaps the best of all is that we figured out what we are going to do for spring break! We have traveled on spring break together for the past 6 years and every year we do something amazing because we both really want to look back on this season of our lives and have no regrets and know that we took advantage of every moment of it! So we are going on a cruise to the Bahamas! :) I am SO excited!! We found a good deal and instead to Orlando we are going to drive because it is going to save us a ton of money! It will be a 4 day cruise and will get back just in time for us to celebrate Easter with our families. Yay!
I went to Rochester after leaving Indy to visit Grandma and did her grocery shopping, ran all her errands, and sat with her for a while. I didn't spend the night tonight but probably will for about half this week...I'm still trying to recover my sleep from last week. I have always been one to try to invest into others/love others the best that I possibly can and watching someone go through stuff like this reminds me of how important that is. I am glad that I have a passion for serving others and trying to remain as selfless as possible.
My friend's mom was reminding me of her favorite saying this weekend that she instilled in all her kids and I think it may become my new favorite saying:
Use it up
Wear it out
Make Due
Do without
I'm definitely trying to live like that more than ever right now and not get caught up in 'stuff' because ultimately it doesn't matter at all but loving others is what really matters.
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
Funny Kids
I have the funniest kids in my classroom! I have a major rule about saying certain words i.e. stupid, shut-up, jerk face, sucks, putting the word God in front of any negative word, etc. The list could go on forever because kids at this age say these words all the time to each other and hear it everywhere. I have a student in my class who is very academically smart but also hilarious and good at finding the loop hole in rules. Today she was mildly annoyed with another kid and she said, "You do the 'tupidest' things. It's funny to me how it drives them nuts not be able to use those words....:)
Precious...
Sometimes I think we start taking life for granted and these past several weeks have made me really re-evaluate that... I guess sometimes I need a good reminder that this is not our home and was never intended to be our home but it never makes it any easier when people are taken from our lives. I know so many people that have lost loved ones recently and I have a loved one whose health is slipping quickly. We take for granted so many ordinary things everyday that we don't even consider to be a big deal but when you can't do them anymore, don't have the energy for them, or don't remember how to do them it causes quite a dillema. I've been helping out/living with my grandma this week and it's so hard to see her ready to go but I'm so incredibly grateful that I know where her 'home' is and that she will be taken at the perfect time. My grandad suffered for a really long time when he was preparing to pass away and I don't want that for her and hope that it doesn't turn into that situation. It really makes me remember that we need to be so intentional in expressing our love towards people everyday because we don't know the plans for our lives or for others and it can be different in a moment's notice. It's always such a good reminder when people hit this stage in life that the things that we worry about on a daily basis: money, career advancement, material possessions, status, body image, etc. aren't at all important anymore whereas just doing the necessary things like eating and sleeping are at the top of the priority list... It's a good reminder that we can't add a day to our lives by worrying about those things and just how precious life is....
Sunday, November 2, 2008
Random Thoughts...
So I was on a run this afternoon, which turned more into a walk but that's ok. :) I was trying to process through some things that have been going on lately in my life and in other people's lives that I am deeply burdened for and was just really handing them over to the Lord. I realized how often in our world that we feel 'responsible' for other people's actions/decisions when ultimately it's not out fault or responsibility. Instead it's more the effect of their own personal decisions. The Lord kept bringing up times in my life when I felt responsible for uncontrollable situations that were never my responsibility in the first place. Interesteringly enough, most of those times were a result of things that people said to me that made me feel that way even at an extremely young age. I guess I was so reminded about the power of people's words especially to our kids that so often we are saying things that make them feel like things are their responsibility/faults and it's so good to become more aware of that as a whole.
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Update!
Wow, so I just realized that it's been a long time since I've updated this! I need to be more intentional about it apparently! I will hit the major points of life....
**I moved into my new house in March and LOVE it. I can't believe how much the Lord has blessed me to have this home. It is certainly more than I deserve! I also love the subdivision that it is in. When I was searching for a home I prayed a lot about my neighbors and wanting to have neighbors that would be super and that was totally blessed. I have lots of great neighbors but a few go above and beyond. They are so great to constantly watch out for me, which I totally appreciate! Dad and I put a new roof on the house this summer and that was pretty much the only thing that needed done!
**I switched to teaching 5th grade this year from 3rd grade because of enrollment numbers at school. At first, I was majorly bummed because I loved third grade but I am absolutely loving 5th grade. I love all kids but I really love the older kids and I have a super great class. They are such special special kids in so many ways. It has been so cool to see them not only grow in academic and social skills but it has been so great to see how spiritually wired they are. These past few weeks they have had a lot of wild stories of things that are going on in their lives and things that they feel are going to happen in the world. I'm not surprised at all by this as this is something that they Lord keeps reminding me that he is raising up our children right now to be leaders. I love how certain kids in my class are becoming really comfortable with telling me about things that are going on in their lives in this respect. I love how even though I don't have my own physical children right now that the Lord has put me into a place to be able to have these precious kids as part of my life. Sometimes I have to remind myself how blessed I am to have the job that I do...it's awesome.
**I'm going to start my master's degree next summer...I considered starting this spring but I want so more time to save up money so it's not a financial strain. I've been tutoring a bunch of kiddos right now and that's been so great because I'm being able to save so much better by having extra money. I'm going to do my master's through Ball State University online so I don't have to drive anywhere. :) I highly considered getting my master's in counseling to be a licensed counselor and I still really want to do that but I think that it will be later in life. When you do a counseling program you almost have to only do that and not have a job, which I can't do. Ultimately though I am using counseling skills though with my kiddos everyday. I think that later in life I will go down that road but just not right now.
**The Lord has plugged me into this awesome prayer group through my friend, Jen that has totally rocked my world. When I started to go in January I was already going through a huge season of change with the Lord. I had known for a while that a lot of things with my relationship with Him were going to change dramatically and that has certainly been the case. I still can't wrap my mind around all that the Lord is using me to do right now but at the same time it's just the beginning of a new journey with Him... So often I look at what the Lord asks me to do and think that I'm 'too young' but it's been funny that even though I necessarily didn't choose it, He chose me. :)
**About a year ago I got plugged into an awesome Thursday night bible study group and it has totally changed my world. I have friends literally all over the world from growing up and from Purdue. But when I moved here I kind of needed to start over because my large group of friends were all across the country. This group is so precious and they are so much fun. It's been so cool to see how we have all become such awesome friends. One just recently moved to Austin, Texas and I went down last week during our fall break to see her and it was SO much fun. I do really love how in this season of life that I can travel to see people...love it!
**I'm doing a Beth Moore study right now called "Stepping Up" and it is SO good! I guess that could be the theme for my life right now that I'm stepping up in a lot of respects.
**I recently read the book "Believing God" by Beth Moore and honestly think it's one of the best books that I have read in a long time...totally recommend it. I'm reading "The Shack" right now and think that it's going to be awesome as well.
**I can't believe that it's almost the holidays! Instead of buying a bunch of gifts this year for my family I'm taking each of them places they want to go because my family doesn't really need more 'stuff'. This weekend I'm taking Dad to the Purdue vs. Michigan football game and he is SO excited. :)
**I did my first triathlon this past summer and it was so great. I had been doing a lot of races this past spring and summer but have kind of been taking some time off of that because of some unforeseen medical things this summer and it was recommended that I lay off that stuff for a while. I think after my next appointment in two weeks that things are going to be back to more normal, which I'm really grateful for. Basically a lot of hormones got out of wack in my body and started doing way crazy things to me but we live in a country with awesome medical professionals that are so good. I think I'm going to do the Indy Mini next May because I've been keeping up with my running anyways and want to be able to say that I've run a mini marathon.
**My sister is a senior at Bethel College this year...how time flies! It looks like she is going to continue on with schooling after undergrad and go to Brown Mackie College in South Bend for physical therapy....so proud of her!
**I'm still a small group leader for 2-4th grade girls at church and have had the same group of girls for 3 years now. Some of the girls are gone now because they are too old but the core group of them is still the same with a few new faces. I'm having the fall sleepover for them next week, which is always so much fun. The last time I had one there were nearly twenty girls that stayed the night and sang karaoke all night and never went to bed. This time I think I'm putting a movie in at midnight for them because I'm going to Indy that next morning. :) Another small group leader and friend of mine always comes over and helps and we make homemade donuts in the morning...so fun!
**I moved into my new house in March and LOVE it. I can't believe how much the Lord has blessed me to have this home. It is certainly more than I deserve! I also love the subdivision that it is in. When I was searching for a home I prayed a lot about my neighbors and wanting to have neighbors that would be super and that was totally blessed. I have lots of great neighbors but a few go above and beyond. They are so great to constantly watch out for me, which I totally appreciate! Dad and I put a new roof on the house this summer and that was pretty much the only thing that needed done!
**I switched to teaching 5th grade this year from 3rd grade because of enrollment numbers at school. At first, I was majorly bummed because I loved third grade but I am absolutely loving 5th grade. I love all kids but I really love the older kids and I have a super great class. They are such special special kids in so many ways. It has been so cool to see them not only grow in academic and social skills but it has been so great to see how spiritually wired they are. These past few weeks they have had a lot of wild stories of things that are going on in their lives and things that they feel are going to happen in the world. I'm not surprised at all by this as this is something that they Lord keeps reminding me that he is raising up our children right now to be leaders. I love how certain kids in my class are becoming really comfortable with telling me about things that are going on in their lives in this respect. I love how even though I don't have my own physical children right now that the Lord has put me into a place to be able to have these precious kids as part of my life. Sometimes I have to remind myself how blessed I am to have the job that I do...it's awesome.
**I'm going to start my master's degree next summer...I considered starting this spring but I want so more time to save up money so it's not a financial strain. I've been tutoring a bunch of kiddos right now and that's been so great because I'm being able to save so much better by having extra money. I'm going to do my master's through Ball State University online so I don't have to drive anywhere. :) I highly considered getting my master's in counseling to be a licensed counselor and I still really want to do that but I think that it will be later in life. When you do a counseling program you almost have to only do that and not have a job, which I can't do. Ultimately though I am using counseling skills though with my kiddos everyday. I think that later in life I will go down that road but just not right now.
**The Lord has plugged me into this awesome prayer group through my friend, Jen that has totally rocked my world. When I started to go in January I was already going through a huge season of change with the Lord. I had known for a while that a lot of things with my relationship with Him were going to change dramatically and that has certainly been the case. I still can't wrap my mind around all that the Lord is using me to do right now but at the same time it's just the beginning of a new journey with Him... So often I look at what the Lord asks me to do and think that I'm 'too young' but it's been funny that even though I necessarily didn't choose it, He chose me. :)
**About a year ago I got plugged into an awesome Thursday night bible study group and it has totally changed my world. I have friends literally all over the world from growing up and from Purdue. But when I moved here I kind of needed to start over because my large group of friends were all across the country. This group is so precious and they are so much fun. It's been so cool to see how we have all become such awesome friends. One just recently moved to Austin, Texas and I went down last week during our fall break to see her and it was SO much fun. I do really love how in this season of life that I can travel to see people...love it!
**I'm doing a Beth Moore study right now called "Stepping Up" and it is SO good! I guess that could be the theme for my life right now that I'm stepping up in a lot of respects.
**I recently read the book "Believing God" by Beth Moore and honestly think it's one of the best books that I have read in a long time...totally recommend it. I'm reading "The Shack" right now and think that it's going to be awesome as well.
**I can't believe that it's almost the holidays! Instead of buying a bunch of gifts this year for my family I'm taking each of them places they want to go because my family doesn't really need more 'stuff'. This weekend I'm taking Dad to the Purdue vs. Michigan football game and he is SO excited. :)
**I did my first triathlon this past summer and it was so great. I had been doing a lot of races this past spring and summer but have kind of been taking some time off of that because of some unforeseen medical things this summer and it was recommended that I lay off that stuff for a while. I think after my next appointment in two weeks that things are going to be back to more normal, which I'm really grateful for. Basically a lot of hormones got out of wack in my body and started doing way crazy things to me but we live in a country with awesome medical professionals that are so good. I think I'm going to do the Indy Mini next May because I've been keeping up with my running anyways and want to be able to say that I've run a mini marathon.
**My sister is a senior at Bethel College this year...how time flies! It looks like she is going to continue on with schooling after undergrad and go to Brown Mackie College in South Bend for physical therapy....so proud of her!
**I'm still a small group leader for 2-4th grade girls at church and have had the same group of girls for 3 years now. Some of the girls are gone now because they are too old but the core group of them is still the same with a few new faces. I'm having the fall sleepover for them next week, which is always so much fun. The last time I had one there were nearly twenty girls that stayed the night and sang karaoke all night and never went to bed. This time I think I'm putting a movie in at midnight for them because I'm going to Indy that next morning. :) Another small group leader and friend of mine always comes over and helps and we make homemade donuts in the morning...so fun!
Friday, February 29, 2008
YAY!!!! :) :)
I closed on MY new home tonight!! I am SO excited and can't wait to get into it! :) :) :)
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Snow, Snow, Snow
Today is snow day number seven....crazy!!This winter seems like it will never end. Here's a picture of our insane snow falls of my parent's driveway. Crazy!!
Sunday, February 24, 2008
Random Thoughts...
After a week of the flu I am so glad to finally be back to 'normal'. I rarely get sick but this time I was completely miserable. I now better understand why my kids have missed so much school! I am anxious to get back to more of a regular routine this week. Last week I rarely exercised and didn't go to any of my spinning classes because I was so ill.
A huge congrats goes out to my sister, Heather, a junior at Bethel College who just qualified for the Indoor Christian Nationals Track Meet in Tennessee! :) Check it out at http://www.bethelcollege.edu/sports/Track/Game/?articleID=2386
I am very excited for her and wish I could be down there to see her!
This is another crazy busy week! Our final meeting for textbook adoption team is this week and a decision will be made this week! It has been a long and exhausting process but I feel like we have informed the corporation to the best of our abilities and are trying to lead the staff in a new direction on a reading curriculum but one that will definitely produce results!
Our staff is hosting a Teachers Vs. Parents basketball game on Friday night. Check out the article at http://www.timesuniononline.com/main.asp?Search=1&ArticleID=30614&SectionID=2&SubSectionID=224&S=1
I am excited that we are doing this and will be doing a radio blurb on it Thursday morning...as you can tell from that article I was in charge of publicity for the event.
This week is definitely going to bring many exciting and new events into my life! On Friday I close on an amazing house! I am very very excited and can't wait to make it a home. God has proved so faithful during this time and has given me so much more than what I could have ever asked for....amazing. Of course, if you know me well at all I worry about pretty much everything but Denny's sermon this morning was on not worrying as much and just giving it back to God..a message that came in amazing timing and something that I'm working on little by little. :)
I am excited to see what God is doing in me right now as a Christian, professional, daughter, sister, friend, etc. God is taking me to so many new levels and I'm really excited to see what God does during this time!
A huge congrats goes out to my sister, Heather, a junior at Bethel College who just qualified for the Indoor Christian Nationals Track Meet in Tennessee! :) Check it out at http://www.bethelcollege.edu/sports/Track/Game/?articleID=2386
I am very excited for her and wish I could be down there to see her!
This is another crazy busy week! Our final meeting for textbook adoption team is this week and a decision will be made this week! It has been a long and exhausting process but I feel like we have informed the corporation to the best of our abilities and are trying to lead the staff in a new direction on a reading curriculum but one that will definitely produce results!
Our staff is hosting a Teachers Vs. Parents basketball game on Friday night. Check out the article at http://www.timesuniononline.com/main.asp?Search=1&ArticleID=30614&SectionID=2&SubSectionID=224&S=1
I am excited that we are doing this and will be doing a radio blurb on it Thursday morning...as you can tell from that article I was in charge of publicity for the event.
This week is definitely going to bring many exciting and new events into my life! On Friday I close on an amazing house! I am very very excited and can't wait to make it a home. God has proved so faithful during this time and has given me so much more than what I could have ever asked for....amazing. Of course, if you know me well at all I worry about pretty much everything but Denny's sermon this morning was on not worrying as much and just giving it back to God..a message that came in amazing timing and something that I'm working on little by little. :)
I am excited to see what God is doing in me right now as a Christian, professional, daughter, sister, friend, etc. God is taking me to so many new levels and I'm really excited to see what God does during this time!
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Non-Fiction Unit
Wow, I haven't updated in quite some time. My class went on board with readers' workshop in November and we LOVE it. I am constantly amazed at my kiddos and how they are developing into better readers and writers. We did a huge unit on Patricia Polacco and it was a huge success. The kids loved digging into the literature and did an amazing job of making connections between the books. Of course, the party at the end complete with Thundercake was an extra motivation during the process. :)
Tomorrow we are starting a non-fiction unit. Non-fiction is one area that my kiddos need to dig into deeper. I have about 3 kids that LOVE it but the rest try to avoid it at all costs. I am hoping that this changes their perception of it. In fact, my principal is joining us tomorrow for that readers' workshop lesson. My kiddos have been extremely sick and unfortunately I have been the newest recipient....I am hoping that we are all better by tomorrow.
Tomorrow we are starting a non-fiction unit. Non-fiction is one area that my kiddos need to dig into deeper. I have about 3 kids that LOVE it but the rest try to avoid it at all costs. I am hoping that this changes their perception of it. In fact, my principal is joining us tomorrow for that readers' workshop lesson. My kiddos have been extremely sick and unfortunately I have been the newest recipient....I am hoping that we are all better by tomorrow.
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