Back Home

Today I was talking to a girl from my church back home. We are good friends but we both live away from home so we hardly see each other. However, we were talking about different things at home and at church. I was thinking about my home church and I got this video off of youtube.com. Our preacher and another local precher made this video and used it in their sermons. They did a series on mythbusters and this was the introduction video. The guy in the blue t-shirt is our preacher. He was Justin's youth minister growing up and his wife and I are great friends. We all spent a summer working together at Butler Springs Christian Camp.

Family Fun

These past two nights have been great! I have spent time hanging out with my family and I have loved every minute of it. I am definitely ready for summer, for a break, and for some down time. Last night we went for a walk and then spent a majority of the night in the pooo. Tonight, we went over to my brother's house for supper and I had the opportunity to play Blues Clues memory with my neice. There are only two more days of class and I do believe that I have a majority of my work completed so I'm just trying to make it through. Here is a picture of Jocelyn on a walk that we took this weekend. She found the flowers on the ground and then sat on the bench and was ready for a picture. I also posted a picture of her brother, Wyatt. The pictures were edited in Adobe Photoshop as a part of my class work.

Blessings

So it is another Monday and only four days left of class. The excitement is hard to contain. Last week was not the best week for Justin and I, but thankfully, we have each other! I don't always understand the things that happen in my life, but I know that God does. This weekend was a refresher. Justin and I had a lot of time to spend together and to really talk about different things. We tried to focus on all of the great blessings in our life. We made a list of some of the great blessings we got to enjoy weekend:

*spending time with each other
*spending time with our family
*making new friends
*night out with friends
*hugs and kisses from our neice
*homemade cake and ice cream
*a cookout in the mountains with great friends
*hanging out at the pool and relaxing
*dinner at Craven Wings
*church
*a walk through the woods
*cuddling on the couch
*God's creation
*phone calls from friends and family in Indiana and Ohio

Best Friend of all Times

Today, I was on my way home from class and I received a phone call from the great Julie (Wood) Dunn. Julie has been my best friend since the first grade and I must say that there is none other like her. Since we were little, we have been involved in many sporting events, have taken many road trips and had many nights out. One of our greatest memories was playing softball, so it was fitting that as I was driving home and we were talking, I saw a girl and her father practicing softball. It really made me miss the old days when life was just fun. I didn't have a lot to worry about and whenever I needed someone to talk to or a great friend to hang out with, Julie was there. She has been a true friend. While Julie and I live nearly seven hours away, we never seem to skip a beat when we're together. She always enables me to truly be myself. Our conversation made my day. I was not having the best of days and I truly needed someone to talk to, so it was fitting that she called when she did. It helped me to see how God works in the smallest of situations. Before I was always the one that tried to encourage Julie to become a Christian and to live a Christ- like life. However, over the past couple of years, she is always the one that has encouraged me to live a life for the Lord. Of all my girlfriends, she is by far the one that has played the greatest role in my daily walk with Christ, and for that I am thankful.

TrUsT

Tonight, I had the opportunity to spend some quality time with my neice. She wanted to come over and go swimming. I always have a hard time saying no to a two year old, so we went swimming. She is growing up so fast and I want to make sure that I can enjoy her as much as I can. Just within the past couple of weeks she has gone from not letting go to us in the big pool to letting go of the wall in the deep end. As I watch her put her trust in me, I realize my need to trust God. She knows that as soon as she goes under the water, I am going to get her up. In the same way, I need to trust that God will lead the way. I am worried about different events that will occur over the next few years but when I really reflect upon it, I realize that God has everything in control. I have added a picture of Jocelyn from last year. When her brother was born, Justin and I kept her for a week and we took a trip to the fountains. This picture is one memory from our trip.

Friends and Family

This week I have had the opportunity to spend some quality time with some of my great friends and family. I took a roadtrip with Chelsea and Bethany to Georgia, I spent a day shopping with my mother-in-law, and my grandmother and aunt are down this week. Visitors always calls for a get together in our family. My mom made some great homemade strawberry ice cream (some of my favorite) and some chess cake (another of my favorite). While the food was great, it is a blessing to spend time with family and to relax. Since school has slowed down a bit, I have had time to relax and enjoy many great blessings that I often overlook.

My Wish

Today I went for a walk at our apartment complex. It was a great walk and great time for me to reflect and enjoy God's beauty. As I was walking, I was listening to Rascal Flatts, and the song My Wish came on. I have heard this song played a couple of times througout the past month. My cousin and aunt danced to it at his wedding and I heard it played on the morning news at West Hills on the last day of school. As I listened to the words of the song, I thought about how in two weeks, everything is going to change. I will no longer see my friends and the girls in my class on a weekly or daily basis. Life will change. I will be meeting and working with new people. I always enjoy new people, but I hate losing touch with old friends. I have not had the opportunity to hang out with everyone and get to know them as well as I would have liked, but the words of this song express my wish for all of my friends who too will be going to new places and meeting new people.

Goodbye West Hills

Today was my very last day at West Hills. I was sad to leave because I have had a great experience and was blessed to work with two wonderful teachers. At the beginning of the school year, I was dreading the fact of a year long internship. However, looking back on it, I know that I would not have had it any other way. I have learned so much through this experience and feel that because of my great time, I am able to have a classroom of my own. I loved being involved in a team teaching situation and I know that I will miss it. I always wondered how it would work but after being in the situation, I realize how successful it can be. I am sad that I probably will not be able to do it myself, but if given the opportunity, I would jump on it. I could go on and on about all of my great expereinces throughout the year, but that would take more time than I have.

Anniversary

Today is Justin and I's second anniversary. It is hard to believe that we have been married for two years. The time has gone by fast, but I have loved every minute of it. Unfortunately, we did not get to celebrate as we would have liked. Last year we took a trip to San Francisco, but this year, he had a final, I had to defend my thesis, and then we had to move everything out of the apartment. The good thing is that we did get some great things accomplished, but it was not the most exciting anniversary. In honor of today, I have added two photos from the greatest day of my life!

Ali's Graduation

This is a picture of Justin's sister. This weekend, we came up to Ohio to help her celebrate. She will be graduating tomorrow and we are all very happy for her. She will also be coming to Johnson in the fall. Justin and I are excited to have family close. It is a change, but it is also a joy. We are very busy today, so I do not have a lot to say. I did however want to congratulate Ali on her great accomplishments.

End of the Year

This week has been busy. I finally finished the IMovies and though I had troubles with them, they were worth it. The kids loved them! We watched them on Tuesday and they loved every minute of it. A couple of the parents watched with us and one mother had to leave because she was crying. It will be very difficult to leave these students. I will really miss my internship next year and working with my great mentor teachers, but it will also be exciting to have my own classroom. I am excited because I will be done with school, yet sad to leave all of the great people I have met and have become close to. Like my mentor teacher explained to me, she said that it is an emotional time of year because it's almost like you're getting fired from a job and then you have to start a new one in the fall. I never really thought about it that way, but it does make sense. However, for them, they will get to watch these students grow and progress throughout the next couple of years. Unfortunately, I will not have that opportunity, but through it all, I hope that I have planted a seed and touched their lives in some way. I hope that through my example, they were able to see the love of Christ.

It's Been Another Long Day

I've been trying to get this IMovie to work. Justin and I worked on it on Saturday, as well as today. After several hours and a trip to the media department, we finally discovered that the video was too long for the dvd. Now I don't quite understand all of this stuff, but for some reason, our dvds said that they could hold 120 minutes worth of showing, but when I tried to do 30 minutes, it wouldn't do it. I'm sure that something had to do with the amount of pictures and video we were trying to put on the dvd, but all in all, it has been a frustrating process. However, we finally did get it to work, but unfortunately, I have to burn 43 copies of this thing. I need one for each student and teacher. I am currently over half way through, but it is a long process. I have a headache from staring at the computer all day. All in all, I know that my students will enjoy the video and I will be glad to have it done!

Long Day

It's been a long day/weekend. Justin and I have been pretty busy and we are both ready for a break. Yesterday was field day at school, so that was nice. God blessed us with a great day! However, by the end of the day, we were all exhausted. Today I have been working on an IMovie for my students, and it has been a long project. Justin has helped me out with it, but it is still very long. We have taken over 1000 pictures throughout the year, so much of my day has been spent determining which pictures are important to keep, and which ones are not, while making sure that I have an equal amount of each student. Well it has been a long day, so it's off of here for me!

He Ain't The Leavin' Kind

Today has been a good day. I am very overwhelmed but I know that if I can just make it through these next couple of weeks, things will get better. I am working on an IMovie for my students, as well as trying to get moved out of the old apartment, along with all of the other stuff. I cannot complain too much because it could be worse. The other night as I was unpacking I had the ACM awards on in the background. They said that Rascal Flatts was going to perform, so I stopped to watch because they are one of my favorite bands.I heard a new song and I fell in love with it. Of course, I love most of their songs, but this was something new and it really made me think. I am grateful that when I feel as though I am alone, I have a father in heaven who will never leave! Thanks to Crystal Bailey, I now know how to put videos on my blog. I have added a video of their performance at the ACM awards. The song is called "He Ain't the Leavin' Kind," and it is a tribute to Virginia Tech. It is a very good song and I hope that you enjoy it as much as I did!

Crazy Tuesdays

It's another Tuesday. I feel like Tuesdays are crazy days for me and just like every other Tuesday, today was crazy. It was our first night in the new apartment. I'm glad to be here, but it is different than what I am used to, so I woke up early. As I got ready for school, I had time to spare. I was taking my time, and then went to get my clothes out of the dryer. I dried them last night, but for some reazon, our dryer got messed up in the move, so my clothes were soaked. I then could not find any dress clothes because they were all packed away in bags. However, everything worked out. I was about ten minutes late, but thankfully I work with two very understanding teachers. As I was driving to school in my panic mode, I thought of how blessed I am. At the time, me being late seemed like a crisis, but looking back on it, there are so many more people who are worse off than I am. I am healthy, I do have a warm home, food to eat, and clothes on my back. More than that, I have a supporting family and a Father in heaven who loves me more than I could imagine. At times, I think my life is hard, but in reality, my blessings are great! With that, I have added a picture of my husband and I. He is one of the greatest blessings in my life. His constant encouragment and love help me to make it through the rough days!

Moving

This weekend is a big moving weekend for us. It is exciting, yet kind of sad at the same time. We have lived at JBC for the past five years. That is where Justin and I met and fell in love. It will be hard to leave, but it will be great to see how God blesses us in these next couple of months/years. It is scary in the sense that for the past five years, I always knew that I would be going to school the following year. However, this year is different. We know that we want to stay around here, but where will I work and where will we move to after this temporary housing placement? We moved our couch and recliners last night and plan to move some more tonight and tomorrow. Luckily, we already have our other apartment, so we can move out gradually. It has not been too stressful, but it will be nice to be settled and moved in. So basically, that is my weekend, busy and exciting, yet sad at the same time!

Shopping for Mother's Day!

I had another great day. I went to school and then as soon as I got back, my dad and I went shopping for some Mother's Day presents for my mom. We went to see Justin at work because my dad wanted to get her a diamond necklace. I am always amazed how when I go shopping with my dad he is in the store for two minutes and he knows exactly what he wants. There is no such thing as shopping around for him. For myself, on the other hand, I have to pick out a couple of things and then ask another person for their advice before I'll actually buy something. However, we did get our goal for the night accomplished. He got the necklace and I got her some smelly stuff from Bath & Body Works and some Crocs. Her Crocs are bright yellow, which I find hard to imagine my mom actually wearing, but for the $20 difference, it was worth it. All of the Crocs were $30 with the exception of the bright yellow and red ones. The red ones were $20 and the yellow ones were $10. Of course, me being the poor college student chose the yellow ones. While it may not be her color of choice, I'm sure that she will learn to like them!

LIFE

It's been a beautiful day! I am thankful for all of the great blessings in my life! Tonight, I had the opportunity to spend time with my husband, dad, sister-in-law, and my neice and nephew. We ate dinner, went for a two mile walk, and spent time hanging out and talking at my dad's apartment. Unfortuantely, my mom has not yet moved down and my brother is in Texas. They will both be here next week, which will be a great blessing for us all. I am also looking forward to the summer. I have not spent a summer with my parents close by since I was in high school. It will be different, but I know that I will enjoy it. However, right now, I have other things to worry about, such as school, finding a job, and moving! With that, I suppose I should start packing and working on lesson plans for this week.