Kendra's Kandid Korner (K3)

I will be Pampered, indeed...

2011-12-15T17:57:00.002-06:00

I just recently hosted a Pampered Chef party. As a host, I received "X" amount of dollars in free, half-price, and discounted items based on guest sales. So, the higher the guest sales (a.k.a. the more people order), the greater amount of free/half-price/discounted money I get to spend on Pampered Chef items. This was the first show I have hosted and I have only been to one other show. But I LOVE Pampered Chef products. My mom has several items that I used while growing up, so I know EXACTLY how good they are. :)

Anyway, I invited practically everyone I knew...okay, not quite, but I did mail/email/hand-out about 70 invitations. I knew from experience with my sister's wedding and other such events, that only a small percentage of people you invite actually show up. And very few people R.S.V.P, too. So I was prepared to NOT hear from everyone and NOT have that many people show up. BUT, I was excited! With those invitations that I hand-delivered, I had soo many people get excited and tell me how much they LOVE Pampered Chef products.

...I should back up a bit. My mom encouraged me to host a Pampered Chef party as a good way to get some of the items I wanted without paying full price for them. Now that I am out on my own, I have been desperately missing all of her wonderful Pampered Chef items!...

So, I sent out my many invitations and sat back to wait and see how many people would show up to my party. The day before my party, I had 15 people say they were planning on coming. Even then, I knew that for some people, something would inevitably come up to prevent them from making it. The day of my party, I had 3 people call/text me letting me know they couldn't make it. But, I also had 2 people call that day and tell me they were planning on coming, even though they hadn't RSVP'd yet! And then, that night, I had 2 people show up that HADN'T RSVP'd at all! It was soo great!! :)

Before my party had even started that night, I had at least 8 outside orders already placed. Plus, my mom and grandma had told me they were planning on ordering stuff, too! I had already started making my wish list of items....

I had no idea how blessed I was going to be! All in all, there were about 22 orders placed. Total guest sales was over $1000. I was blown away. I was able to get over 30 items for less than $100!!! (That's how much I personally spent...some items were paid for by others as Christmas presents for me:) )

The order came in today: 5, rather large, boxes. I've got it all split out into the individual orders and after gathering the remaining items up (my items), I realized how "Pampered" I am going to be in the kitchen from now on! I also realized how truly blessed I am...to have so many amazing friends and family members who would come to my party (even if they didn't order anything) and order stuff, too.

Thank you so much to those who helped get ready for the party, those who came to the party, those who ordered from the party, and those who helped clean up afterwards! A special shout-out goes to my AWESOME brother who helped park cars and watched the dogs during the party and helped clean up afterwards! :)

Let the countdown begin!

2011-12-08T21:54:00.003-06:00

I feel like December sneaked up on me this year! One minute I'm realizing it's only 9 days til December... and the next minute I realize it's 9 days into December! (almost anyway...)

My sister has started a countdown with my niece at their house. They are using the paper chain method...where each chain link is numbered with the days til Christmas and each day they take one off and see how many days are left. Yesterday when I was there, there were only 18 days til Christmas, which means now there are 17! I can't believe Christmas is so close! :)

I love Christmas. It has to be my favorite holiday of the year. When I was younger, a lot of it was because of the presents. As I got older, it still had something to do with presents, but I was more excited to give presents rather than receive them. Also, as I got older, the family started splitting up, going their own directions. This year is the first year that all of the kids are out of the house. We are all coming back to my parents' house for Christmas this year. It's a weird thought. But that is one of the reasons I love Christmas. I love being able to be with my family again. Now that we are all in our own places, it's so hard to get together. Even Kaleb and I hardly see each other and we live together. I love the camaraderie that my siblings and I have. I love how our family grows with each year. I love being able to simply sit in my parents' living room and watch the lights blink on the Christmas tree. I love watching Kaleb hit the mistletoe every time he walks by simply because he is so tall, and watching my mom run over to him to give him a kiss. I love simply watching my family members interact with each other. I love realizing over and over again how truly blessed I am. And I love remembering the true Reason for the Season: how my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, humbled Himself to my level to save me from God's wrath because He loves me that much.

How I pray that I will remember this every day, not just Christmas Day; every month, not just December; and every year, not just when my family is able to get together to celebrate. 17 days til Christmas...

Where did November go?

2011-11-22T17:27:00.001-06:00

Just a random fact I learned today...

In 9 days, it will be December.

What do you think?

2011-11-03T22:32:00.001-05:00

Someone posted this on Facebook today. I found it interesting and wanted to share it and get y'all's viewpoint/opinion on it...

Apparently the White House referred to Christmas Trees as “Holiday Trees” for the first time this year which prompted CBS presenter, Ben Stein, to present this piece which I would like to share with you. I think it applies just as much to many countries as it does to America . . .

The following was written by Ben Stein and recited by him on CBS Sunday Morning Commentary.

My confession:

I am a Jew, and every single one of my ancestors was Jewish. And it does not bother me even a little bit when people call those beautiful lit up, bejewelled trees, Christmas trees. I don't feel threatened. I don't feel discriminated against. That's what they are, Christmas trees.

It doesn't bother me a bit when people say, “Merry Christmas” to me. I don't think they are slighting me or getting ready to put me in a ghetto. In fact, I kind of like it. It shows that we are all brothers and sisters celebrating this happy time of year. It doesn't bother me at all that there is a manger scene on display at a key intersection near my beach house in Malibu. If people want a crib, it's just as fine with me as is the Menorah a few hundred yards away.

I don't like getting pushed around for being a Jew, and I don't think Christians like getting pushed around for being Christians. I think people who believe in God are sick and tired of getting pushed around, period. I have no idea where the concept came from, that America is an explicitly atheist country. I can't find it in the Constitution and I don't like it being shoved down my throat.

Or maybe I can put it another way: where did the idea come from that we should worship celebrities and we aren't allowed to worship God? I guess that's a sign that I'm getting old, too. But there are a lot of us who are wondering where these celebrities came from and where the America we knew went to.

In light of the many jokes we send to one another for a laugh, this is a little different: This is not intended to be a joke; it's not funny, it's intended to get you thinking.

Billy Graham's daughter was interviewed on the Early Show and Jane Clayson asked her: “How could God let something like this happen?” (regarding Hurricane Katrina). Anne Graham gave an extremely profound and insightful response. She said: “I believe God is deeply saddened by this, just as we are, but for years we've been telling God to get out of our schools, to get out of our government and to get out of our lives. And being the gentleman He is, I believe He has calmly backed out. How can we expect God to give us His blessing and His protection if we demand He leave us alone?”

In light of recent events... terrorists attack, school shootings, etc. I think it started when Madeleine Murray O'Hare (she was murdered, her body found a few years ago) complained she didn't want prayer in our schools, and we said OK. Then someone said you better not read the Bible in school. The Bible says thou shalt not kill, thou shalt not steal, and love your neighbour as yourself. And we said OK.

Then Dr. Benjamin Spock said we shouldn't spank our children when they misbehave, because their little personalities would be warped and we might damage their self-esteem (Dr. Spock's son committed suicide). We said an expert should know what he's talking about. And we said okay.

Now we're asking ourselves why our children have no conscience, why they don't know right from wrong, and why it doesn't bother them to kill strangers, their classmates, and themselves.

Probably, if we think about it long and hard enough, we can figure it out. I think it has a great deal to do with 'WE REAP WHAT WE SOW.'

Funny how simple it is for people to trash God and then wonder why the world's going to hell. Funny how we believe what the newspapers say, but question what the Bible says. Funny how you can send 'jokes' through e-mail and they spread like wildfire, but when you start sending messages regarding the Lord, people think twice about sharing. Funny how lewd, crude, vulgar and obscene articles pass freely through cyberspace, but public discussion of God is suppressed in the school and workplace.

Are you laughing yet?

Funny how when you forward this message, you will not send it to many on your address list because you're not sure what they believe, or what they will think of you for sending it.

Funny how we can be more worried about what other people think of us than what God thinks of us.

Pass it on if you think it has merit.

If not, then just discard it.... no one will know you did. But if you discard this thought process, don't sit back and complain about what bad shape the world is in.

My Best Regards, Honestly and respectfully,

Ben Stein

So...what do you think?

Pictures...and update!

2011-10-15T12:00:00.004-05:00

I know it has been quite awhile since I last posted...and I never did post pictures of our dining room table....so here ya go!

This is a close-up of the shower curtain I finally bought. :) I wanted to give you a good picture of the colors. We love it :)

This is a full view of our shower curtain. Isn't it great??

And here is the long-awaited pictures of our table!! This picture and the next give you a good view of the cushions...courtesy of our awesome sister, Kristen! :)

A "top" view of the table...amazing paint job courtesy of our wonderful dad! (Kristen, Mom, and I also helped sand it down before painting. Oh and if you remember, this is the same table that our parents had in their kitchen for several years. The chairs had a wicker seat. Our dad was awesome enough to take that out and replace it with a piece of wood, so the seats are solid wood now. :) Oh! And see the coasters in the middle of the table! Kristen surprised us with those, made out of the same material as the cushions!)

Another view of the table. Doesn't it just fit perfectly in the dining room? You can kind of see how the cushions are on the chairs...they are tied to the back.

Okay! Now you all can quit bugging me about these pictures....just kidding :).

Now, on to the update. Life has been pretty crazy and busy. Where to start?? I have been working anywhere from 85-90 hours every two weeks (and yes, that means some weeks I had 40 hours and other weeks I had close to 50). Since the college-aged employees left in August, we have been struggling slightly with having enough/the right people on certain shifts. Then, school started and many of the high schoolers don't want to close during the week. Plus, there are the usual school activities that keep them all busy. And then, we have had 7 people quit/get fired in the past 2-3 months. So, yeah, things have been crazy. The managers have been pretty much covering all the hours....or as many as possible. And, for the most part, I am the one that can cover hours the easiest because I don't have any kids and I'm not currently in school. Obviously, there are some times I really can't work, but for the most part, I'm pretty flexible. And, even though business has slowed down some since school started and the weather has gotten colder, we are still decently busy. Especially since at the end of September, corporate sent out coupons...which ALWAYS increases our business by A LOT. However, things have been going pretty well. We have hired 7 people (I think) in the past month or two also. So that helps, and will in the future, once we get them trained.

What else is going on in my life besides work? Well, I am still teaching Sunday School, although now I am in the 4's and 5's, instead of the 3's. Still loving it! I am also again helping out with Cubbies every Wednesday night. And on Tuesday mornings I provide childcare for the women's Bible Study. We usually have anywhere from 1-4 boys. (Yes, all boys.) And, every other Tuesday, I get to go to my sister's house and watch Ainsley while they go to small group. Then, I spend the night and watch Ainsley during the day Wednesday, so my sister can focus on work. It's been great!

Ummm....what else? I think that is pretty much it. Everything with the apartment is going great. We both love it still. :) The dogs are doing okay...Snowbelle lost 2 lbs in 2 months, which is great! Still working on losing another pound or so. Lilly is also seeming to lose weight, although she doesn't need to! We are working on figuring out why she loses weight so easily.

Anyway, hope you all are doing great!

Well....

2011-08-29T23:57:00.002-05:00

I was going to try to write something....but there are too many thoughts going through my head for me to write coherently. So, instead, I changed the look of my blog. Hopefully soon I will be able to sort my thoughts into something reasonably interesting for you all to read.

Pictures!

2011-07-21T17:28:00.002-05:00

So I finally took some pictures of the apartment! I had kind of been waiting until we got all our furniture, but I couldn't wait any longer! The only thing we don't have yet is our dining room table, which is in the process of getting painted!

Click HERE to see the pictures!

(There were way too many to put them on here!)

Update!

2011-06-22T22:24:00.002-05:00

I know you all have been waiting for an update from me, and I'm sorry I haven't gotten one on here earlier! Life has been pretty crazy this past month!

Kaleb and I officially moved into our new apartment on June 4th. We are loving it! :) Pictures to come later. We don't have all of our furniture yet, but it is coming along nicely! The dogs are here with us and although they seemed pretty confused the first night, they are also doing well, and considering they are both sacked out right now, I'd say they are comfortable here. :)

Vacation Bible School was last week. Kaleb and I were both very involved in that: Kaleb with sound/light type stuff and me with the preschool. It was an amazing week! We learned about how our Faith can take flight and how to travel with truth!

Work has been pretty consistent. Business is booming, which can make for good or bad days depending on how you look at it. :)

On the not-so-bright side, my computer crashed last week. It wouldn't turn on and stay on. Thankfully, my amazing dad was able to get my documents and pictures and music off my computer and on to their computer, so I didn't lose anything. Tonight, he and I went out and picked out a new computer for me, which I am currently using. :)

Well, I need to head to bed as I have to work at 8 tomorrow and am pretty tired. More to come later!

APARTMENT!!!!

2011-05-13T18:34:00.004-05:00

Okay, so those of you who don't know....Kaleb and I decided probably 2-3 weeks ago to move in to an apartment together. There were several reasons, but I won't go into all of that here, but we are both VERY excited!!

All of a sudden, the apartment search drastically changed. Now we were looking for a two bedroom rather than one bedroom, that allows dogs, and has washer/dryer hookups, with a different price range, too. We first tried to look at a nearby apartment complex that is fairly new, and looks really nice. Mom and Dad had looked there for my sister and her husband when they were moving back here, so they knew what they were like. At the same time, we looked into another apartment complex, that was a little farther away, but was also nice and met all our requirements. The second one, we soon found out, didn't have any openings until July 1st. So, we put that one on the back burner and started looking more closely at the first one. Through a telephone conversation with the complex, we found out that they do not allow first time renters (which we are), so that meant that place was out, too.

We were starting to get a little discouraged (or, I was, at least), but we knew that we really had just begun our search. (I was probably the most discouraged simply because I had been looking through apartment stuff for several months already.) Soon, we found a house that was 1.5 stories plus a basement. We went to take a look at it, and there were a lot of positives, but also a lot of negatives. Pretty quickly, we ruled that one out.

Then, we revisited a complex that I had looked at before, but had ruled it out due to cost. But, with Kaleb and I both contributing money, we were pretty sure we could afford it. So we went to look at an apartment a couple of weeks ago. We realllly liked it, but we just had to make sure it was going to fit in our budget. We picked up an application packet anyway, and after running some numbers, we discovered we could do it!

So, we turned in our applications (after a lot of phone conversations in which we tried to figure things out) last Thursday (the 5th). On Tuesday, I called because we had not heard anything about our applications yet, on whether we had been accepted or denied. She told me she would check on it and call me back. She called me back a few hours later and said that everything looks great and our lease was all drawn up and ready to go. She started talking about the apartment and I had to stop her and ask her if it was an upstairs or downstairs apartment. I really thought they would give us a choice, since they told us they had both available. However, she hadn't asked that question and had already drawn up our lease. So anyway, she informed me it was an upstairs. I asked if they had any downstairs ones available and she said they might be able to move things around and get us a downstairs one instead. I told her we would much prefer the downstairs apartment. So, once again, we hung up, with her telling me she would call back.

We heard nothing from her the rest of Tuesday or at all Wednesday. So I called again on Thursday asking if they found us a downstairs apartment. She informed me they had been working on it, so she was going to check to see how far they got and she would call me back. Ugh. Let me tell you, at that point, I was not a very happy camper. They seemed to not understand the concept of calling someone back. So I waited several more hours until she finally called back. They found a downstairs apartment for us and had re-drawn up the lease. Yay! She and I started talking numbers on how much our monthly rent was going to be, etc etc. After hanging up with her, I finally felt like this whole process was actually going to happen! I was beginning to get excited. :) I called my mom, and through talking to her, realized that the monthly rent that she had quoted me seemed way too high for what we had figured out. So I called back again (much to my dismay), but this time talked to a different woman. We got everything figured out, but since the monthly rent changed, our deposit was going to change, too. So she told me she would have the other lady figure it out and call us. Sigh.....let me tell you, I have been learning a lesson on patience this week...

Okay, so, she hadn't called me back by 2pm today. Oh, I forgot to mention, we set up an appointment to sign our lease on Saturday (tomorrow), at which time we needed our deposit, which had to be in a cashier's check, so we had to know the amount today so we could go to the bank to get the check before tomorrow. Whew. So, I had to call again and figure out what our deposit was going to be. Well, finally, we got it figured out, and after I got off work, my dad and I went to the bank to get the check. So, tomorrow morning, at 10am, Kaleb and I will be heading to the apartment office to sign our lease and turn in our deposit! YAY!

Our move-in date is June 4th, which is only 3 weeks from tomorrow!!!!!! :) We are both SUPER excited and thankful that God provided for us, even though there seemed to be a lot of obstacles. Thank you to all of you who were praying that we would find a place. Oh....in case you didn't realize....both Lily (Kaleb's dog) and Snowbelle (my dog) will be coming with us. :) That leaves Mom and Dad alone in our big empty house :). Even though the four of us are rarely home at the same time due to busy schedules, I know we have all thoroughly enjoyed being together this past year. I think I can speak for all of us when I say that we know change can be a good thing, but that doesn't always make it easy. Pray that God will bless us through this change and strengthen, rather than weaken, our faith in Him and our love for each other.

An Update: Finally!

2011-04-16T12:27:00.002-05:00

I know it has been a while since I've posted anything and for that I apologize. I'm not really sure where the past few months have gone!

Here's what's been going on:

--I finished my class about a month ago. It was pretty easy and it went by quickly. I got an A.

--I am still teaching the 3 and 4 year old Sunday school class and still loving it.

--I am still doing childcare for the women's Bible study on Tuesday mornings. We still only have 3 kids. It ends the first Tuesday in May.

--I am still a Cubbie leader on Wednesday nights, although that also is ending, at the end of April.

--I am still working 40+ hours at Culver's, although I did receive a promotion and a raise. I am now the co-2nd Assistant Manager.

--I am still looking for an apartment. I haven't really looked at any, except one today, but I'm having a hard time finding one that is in my price range, allows dogs, and has washer/dryer hookups.

New things that are happening:

--VBS (Vacation Bible School) is coming up quickly. I will be heading up the preschool department and teaching the lessons. I'm excited! :)

--Also, this fall, our church is starting a new curriculum for preschool through sixth grade. It is going to be a big change for everyone, but it is very exciting stuff! I will be teaching the lessons for the 3-5 year olds for that, as well.

--Snowbelle is still healthy, so to speak. Recently, the vet tested her to see if she has Cushing's Disease, like he thinks she does. The test came back a strong positive, so this past Thursday, we started her on medicine to help treat the symptoms of Cushing's Disease. The disease is caused by a tumor on her pituitary gland, which is too small and too hard to access to remove it with surgery, which leaves us with the medicine. In two weeks, I will have to take her in to have her tested to make sure the dosage of the medicine is correct. I will have to do the same thing at 1 month, 6 months, 1 year, and every year after that. I'm hoping that in a few weeks, we will notice some positive changes in her!

Busy, busy, busy...

2011-01-18T16:12:00.002-06:00

I have been keeping busy these past few months, as I'm sure you all have as well! And, as if I wasn't busy enough, I just added two more things to my schedule each week.

Here's pretty much how it goes for the next 8 weeks:

--Today marked the first day of an 8-week online class that I need to finish my Iowa certification. There are assignments due every week, by Sunday.

--Today also marked the first day of me providing childcare during the Women's Bible Study on Tuesday mornings from 9-11:30am at my church. Today was an easy day--only three kids.

--Every Wednesday night, from 6-8:45pm, I am again at church, as a Cubbie leader in AWANA. The Cubbies are the 3-5 year olds. I am a co-leader of the yellow group, which consists of 7 kids, one 3 year old boy, three 4 year old girls, two 4 year old boys, and one 5 year old boy.

--Every Sunday morning, from 9-10:15am, I am the lead teacher for the 3 and 4 year old Sunday school class. We usually have 11-12 kids each week.

--On top of all of that, I am also working 40+ hours at Culver's Restaurant as a Crew Chief (manager).

Sounds pretty crazy doesn't it?? It doesn't feel that busy....yet. Of course my class also just started....

In other news, Snowbelle had another appointment with the vet, during which they collected urine from her bladder and tested it for crystals (which eventually turn into stones) and for bacteria growth (which turns into an infection). Both tests were negative, which means, at this point, Snowbelle is completely healthy. Yay! She is restricted to JUST her dog food---no human food (which we have been following for several years) and NO treats! I think that will be the hardest part on all of us! Although, we have decided that when she would normally get a treat (after a bath, getting her nails clipped, etc), we will just give her a small amount of her dog food. We also have to soak her food in water in an effort to increase her water consumption, which will hopefully keep her bladder clear of infections and stones. She really could care less that she now pretty much laps up her food instead of chewing it...except for the wait period between when we put food in her bowl and when she actually gets to eat it (we soak it in water and she has to wait for it....which she hates!) I also have to take her in every 6 months to repeat the two tests mentioned above. Hopefully, with the strict diet, increased water consumption, and the frequent check-ups, we will be able to catch any infection or stone growth early so she does not ever need surgery again. I am not sure if the vet even would consider a 3rd bladder surgery on an aging dog (she turns 11 in May).

As far as the apartment search goes, I am still working on paying off my car (less than $200 left!) although I do have all of Snowbelle's medical bills paid off! Hopefully in the spring/early summer, I will have enough money saved up to get an apartment. I have, however, packed up a good portion of my room (all stuff that I don't need/use right now). The guest room next to my room has several stacks of boxes already! Although I will dearly miss living with my parents and brother, I can't wait to have a place to call my own!

Recovery

2010-12-12T11:07:00.004-06:00

Snowbelle's surgery last Thursday went great! I dropped her off a little after 7:30am that morning. By noon, I heard that she was out of surgery, but still under anesthesia; the vet wanted to know if I wanted her teeth cleaned as well. I said yes, then later I got another call saying she was awake and alert! They removed all of the stones without any complications (Praise God!), and the surgery went quicker than expected! I was originally told that she would have to spend the night and I could pick her up Friday. However, the vet felt so great about the surgery and Snowbelle was doing so well, that he discharged her Thursday night and she got to come home.

Considering she just had surgery a few days ago, she is doing fantastic. She is practically herself, except when it comes to eating. We think that is because her mouth might hurt some from her teeth being cleaned and having some teeth pulled. She still eats, but she just takes a little bit longer to eat than before. She is currently on 3 different medications: one for pain, one antibiotic, and one for inflammation. The antibiotic and the anti-inflammatory one are both liquids, so she takes those fine. And, even though she has been taking antibiotic pills for over 2 weeks, she really fights us with this new pain pill. Apparently it tastes horrible, and no matter how far back in her throat we try to put it, she still tries (and usually succeeds) to spit it back out. Sigh, oh well.

Anyway, I have to go to work soon, but I just wanted to let you all know how great Snowbelle is doing! Thank you all for your support and prayers!!

Snowbelle

2010-12-03T18:32:00.003-06:00

In light of the recent happenings over Thanksgiving, I feel the need to express all the thoughts and memories that have been running through my mind the past several days.

I remember the first time I heard you whine.

Mom had just transferred you from the box in the garage to the birthday bag to bring you inside.

I had already received your food container, rug, and food/water bowls, but I figured it meant I was getting a dog soon, not that day.

Then I heard you whine as Mom brought you to me.

I gasped.

I remember pulling you out of the bag.

You had a pink bow in your fluffy, white fur.

My heart melted immediately.

None of us can quite figure out how you knew you were MY dog, but you definitely knew.

Since that very first day, you have been my shadow, my puppy, my friend.

You used to sleep in my bed every night, usually under the covers, sometimes by my legs, sometimes by my arms, always tucked in close.

Now you have your own bed, due to the inability to jump up on my bed and the lack of desire to cuddle close anymore.

I love the way you get so excited to go to bed.

I love remembering how I would walk in the door to see you waiting for me at the top of the steps.

I love the fact that you would lick away my tears when I felt so alone.

I love the eagerness in your eyes as you beg for food, or a treat.

I love that you have been with me for over 10 years now.

I love remembering how you would nip my heels if I ran up or down the stairs.

I love seeing you plow through the snow to go to the bathroom, even though there is a cleared place for you.

I love remembering how you and Bashful used to play together, chasing each other around the house.

Some say that having this kind of a relationship with a dog is unreal. However, I did not work for this relationship at all; it simply happened. While others may not understand it, looking back, I feel that God put you in my life to help me through some rough times. Sometimes you were the only one that I could pour my heart out to and you would simply listen and do your best to comfort me with your presence and your kisses. I can't imagine the day when you will be gone from my life, but I hope it is a long time in coming.

I love you, Snowbelle Princess.

Christmas:)

2010-12-03T18:12:00.002-06:00

It's officially Christmas season!! :)

I am soo excited for Christmas this year...like always, I suppose! :) We put our tree up this past Monday night. I had to work til 8 (ended up getting off at 7, though), and it was cold and rainy, so just the guys went to go get the tree. (Yes, Mom and I trusted them enough to get a good one all by themselves :P) They picked out an AWESOME and BEAUTIFUL tree!! It's about 7 feet tall and about 5 feet wide at the bottom. The guys ended up putting 1500 multi-colored lights on it and it is GORGEOUS! Then, of course, we all put our own ornaments on the tree, but it was very different this year because only Kaleb's and my ornaments were put on so there are a lot more of my parents' ornaments this year!

The other exciting part about this Christmas season is that I have almost ALL of my Christmas shopping done so far! All I need is my mom's present. The rest are already wrapped and under the tree! Woohoo!! I am NEVER this prepared for Christmas.

On the not-so-bright side, my dog, Snowbelle, got very sick over Thanksgiving weekend and we had to take her to the vet. She would not eat; we had to force her to drink, and by Friday night she couldn't even stand on her back legs. I had to literally support her back end so that she could pee. :( It was pretty sad and scary. It turns out she had a really nasty fever/infection, which was quickly taken care of by antibiotics and fluids. However, they found out that her bladder stones are back again. 15 months ago, she had surgery, during which they removed too many stones to count from her bladder. She had to go on a special diet and eat this food (that is really expensive) that was supposed to prevent the stones from coming back. Now they are back, but this time there are only about 13. From talking to our new vet, it sounds like the stones last time were 90% made up of the type of stone that wouldn't come back with the food, but 10% made up of stones that some dogs (including Bichons) just naturally produce for some reason. What our vet said is that she probably naturally produces these stones (nothing we can do about that), but then her bladder gets infected and the other stones form around the existing ones. So, unfortunately, my 10 year old dog is scheduled for her 2nd bladder surgery in 1.5 years. However, it sounds like we might be able to do more to prevent them from causing problems in the future. Obviously with any surgery there are risks, and even more so with an older animal and a 2nd surgery, but I am praying that it is God's will that she survive, for a little longer anyway.

Anyway, sorry to end on kind of a bad note, but it has been on my mind a lot lately. Good news is, she is doing much, much better than she was, so she should be as healthy as possible before her surgery next Thursday.

Oh, random note....it snowed today!! Unfortunately, it didn't last long, but enough to slightly accumulate! It's soo pretty! :)

It's about time!

2010-10-15T11:00:00.002-05:00

A lot of you already know, but I wanted to make sure! :)

I FINALLY received my Missouri teaching license in the mail on Wednesday! YAYYY!!!

It had officially been 12 weeks since they told me my certificate was printed and ready to be mailed. I am still trying to figure out exactly how long it takes to put a piece of paper in an envelope, address it, stamp it, and send it out. Apparently, in Missouri, it takes 12 weeks. I'm sure they were very backed up, but I just can't imagine it taking that long to get caught up. Oh well, at least I finally have it now!

The next step is to take my Human Relations class (which I am already signed up for) and send in my application for an Iowa license! My class does not start until January, though, so it will still be awhile before I am completely and officially licensed to teach in Iowa.

Tiny Update

2010-09-03T17:20:00.002-05:00

I thought you all might appreciate a little bit of an update on things, although I really don't have a lot to update you on!

The biggest thing that I'm waiting on right now is my Missouri teaching license, which if you remember, was going to be mailed to me in 2-4 weeks from July 20. Well, obviously it has been more than 2-4 weeks and I still haven't received it! I finally emailed someone on Monday and I was extremely disappointed to learn that they are EIGHT WEEKS behind in mailing paper certificates. Sigh....so the waiting continues!

In the meantime, I have still been working at Culver's as a manager and actually last week I was promoted to the next manager level. Previously, I was called an "in-store trainer" and now I am called a "crew chief". I also received a small raise with the promotion! Oh, and I just heard today that the owner wants to give us a bonus for the first half of the year, so I will be getting that, too! Yay!

That's really pretty much all I have for now!

CLEARANCE!!!

2010-07-20T11:58:00.002-05:00

No, I'm not talking about shopping when I say clearance.....

I received a letter in the mail yesterday that states "your FBI/Missouri Highway Patrol criminal history background clearance was granted on the date of this letter." YAY!!!!! This is what I got fingerprinted for....well one of the things I was fingerprinted for. I also got fingerprinted for Iowa, but I have not heard anything from them yet.

For those who may be wondering....no, there was not any doubt in my mind that I would get cleared in the background check, but I am excited because this is one more step that has been completed in this long process of getting certified!

Next step....receiving my Missouri teaching license, applying for an Iowa license, and GETTING A JOB!

Fingerprints, Class, and New Car

2010-07-06T12:53:00.003-05:00

Well, I told you all I would update you on how the fingerprinting process went. Last Thursday, my mom and I ventured to the police department so I could be fingerprinted. I had two fingerprint cards that needed filled out, one for Missouri and one for Iowa. We were both totally unsure as to how long of a process this would be, but we were surprised! We walked in, I paid the required $10 and we sat down for about 5 seconds until a police officer came out to help me. The process, for both cards, took all of 10 minutes (yay!) and we were out of there. When we got home, I made sure everything was filled out correctly, found two manilla envelopes, inserted a fingerprint card with corresponding payment in each, and headed to the post office to mail them. So now the continued waiting begins. This should be the last step I need to receive my Missouri teaching license....YAY!!

I still have yet to find a class that works for the human relations component for my Iowa license....at least one that is not going to cost me $1200. That seemed a little steep for just the one class...

AND....the other big news this past week....I BOUGHT MY FIRST CAR!!!! Last Wednesday, my dad and I headed out for our second day of car shopping for me. We had already looked at all the interesting things in Cedar Rapids, so we headed down to Iowa City. The first place we stopped at was Toyota of Iowa City. Funny story....so it was about 11am by the time we got there, and we had brought some snacks with us, so we pulled into the parking lot, parked, and then sat in the car for a few minutes and snacked a bit. Almost as soon as we parked, a car salesman stepped out onto the sidewalk and proceeded to stand there watching us, waiting for us to get out of the car. And, as soon as we did, he was right there by us, asking if he could help us find anything. Haha. But yeah, actually he was really nice and not very pushy or high pressure, even though those first few minutes we thought he might be. The very first car he showed us was a 2005 Hyundai Elantra with a little over 33,000 miles on it. It had been owned by a single woman, who bought it new in '05 and traded it in simply because she wanted to try a Toyota. It was in prime condition....and looked very, very interesting, so we told him we wanted to test drive it. .......I fell in love with it. I ended up test driving a Nissan Sentra also, but afterwards I knew I wanted the Elantra. By the time we started the process of buying the Elantra, it was a little after noon. By the time I got home from Iowa City, it was about 3:30pm. Yeah....it was a long process....but I am so excited about my car!! It's perfect for me! Small, pretty color, drives great....oh, and it has cruise, the air works, and the radio/cd player works!!!! (the neon, what I was driving, has no cruise, the air doesn't work, and the radio is temperamental and doesn't always work).

Anyway, I thought you all might enjoy some pictures of my new car, so here they are!

And so the long, tedious, expensive process begins...

2010-06-17T11:39:00.003-05:00

As you all know, I graduated in May with an education degree. However, some of you may not know that I have not received my Missouri teaching license yet. This is because I first need to get fingerprinted and have a background check done. Ok, no big deal right? Well, first I had to make sure that I could get fingerprinted in Iowa after I got home from college. That was fine--no big deal. Ok, next step...making sure the Marion Police Department would fingerprint me. Again, fine, no big deal....except that they only fingerprint on Thursdays, and I called on a Monday. Ok, now I at least know that it can be done and when I can go. Oh, did I mention it is going to cost me over $50 for the Missouri fingerprinting/background check....and $10 to just get fingerprinted at the police department? And that's only the beginning....

Ok, so I have that part figured out, right? Well, not so much. I had read a couple of places that if a person needed blank fingerprint cards, they would send them to that person. Yet they fail to mention how a person knows if they need the cards. (Did I mention how confusing the government can be?) So, I was planning on going today, Thursday, to get fingerprinted, but I thought I should call and double check on the fingerprint card thing before I got there and felt stupid. It's a good thing I called because the police department does not provide blank fingerprint cards. Sigh....so I had to call and have blank fingerprint cards sent to me. And now I wait again.

So, I think I have all of that figured out. For now, anyway. The next step is to get certified in Iowa. Wow, who knew it could take me 6 months to finally figure out what I am supposed to do to be certified in Iowa?? (Did I mention how confusing the government is??) I started looking online, trying to find anything that would tell me what I am supposed to do. For a long time, the only helpful thing I found was an application for an Iowa teaching license. From what I could tell, it looked like I only needed to send that in. Wow, was I wrong. I was trying to find more information online and found a website that was saying I needed to get fingerprinted, have a background check done, take a class, take some tests, and pay lots of money! I was like, whoa!! Not cool! (Oh, I forgot to mention that at the beginning when I was having problems finding information I tried contacting someone....who, in turn, emailed me the application I had already found. Big help, right?) Anyway, I tried contacting someone again (this time a different person) and asked a whole bunch of questions on the class I needed to take, any tests I needed, if I had to get fingerprinted again, etc, etc. This lady was sooo much more helpful! She answered ALL of my questions this time....and it actually MADE SENSE. And....I found out I do need to take a class (ugh), but I don't need to take another test (yay!), but I do need to get fingerprinted again (yuck) and pay more money for the fingerprinting/background check (yuck, this time it's over $60).

Whew! What a process, right? The worst part, I think, (besides forking out a ton of money) is the waiting part. I feel like I have it figured out now, but I'm nowhere near being done with it all! I do feel better about it though. Those of you who know me well, know that I don't like not knowing what is going on. It has been hard over the past few months not knowing myself what I am supposed to do and also having to answer a whole bunch of questions with...."I don't really know yet." But I am glad I seem to have it figured out now! By the way, this is why I haven't posted anything recently because I did not know what to post!

Hopefully soon I can update you all with how the fingerprinting went!

Graduation

2010-05-18T10:36:00.003-05:00

Well, it's official! I have graduated from Culver-Stockton College with a Bachelor of Science degree in Early Childhood and Elementary Education!!!!

Here are some pictures from the day....

My friend Angie and I.....after graduation

My diploma!!!!

Processing in with my fellow graduates....

My friend and sorority big sis Jessi and I....before graduation

Sigma Kappa Seniors with Mom Char....before graduation

My Last Day

2010-05-12T16:21:00.010-05:00

Today was my very last day of student teaching. It was pretty strange walking out the doors after school, knowing that I will most likely never see any of those students again! :(

My second grade teacher and students were sweet enough to get me a good-bye present. She ordered an organization tote, with my name on it, and all the students brought in something to put in the bag. I received pencils, pens, paper, sticky notes, dry-erase markers, highlighters, stickers, and paper clips, along with much more! Each student also drew a picture for me and the teacher bound them into a book. How cool is that?! I tried to upload some of those pictures, but for some reason, blogger keeps turning them sideways and so it's hard to see them. But they are super sweet! I have included pictures of my bag and some of the things in it, along with pictures of a card that I received from one of the girls.

My way cool, super cute organization tote, complete with my name, "Miss G", on it

All of the stuff that was in the bag spread out on the ground...it's alot!

Another picture.....

I also received this cute plaque....

This is the card that one of the girls made for me....the front is not shown because blogger wouldn't load it right, but the front says, "Good bye Ms. G! You taught me alot! I'll miss you because..."

The other side of the inside of the card....super sweet, right?

Anyway, that is that!! I am excited to be done, yet it is weird also! Tomorrow and Friday I will be finishing packing up everything and then Saturday I graduate! Can't wait to see all of you that are coming! :)

2010-05-01T18:47:00.001-05:00

8 days of student teaching left! Also, in two weeks I will be officially graduated from college!!

The Countdown!

2010-04-24T08:38:00.003-05:00

For quite some time now, I have been conducting a countdown to my last day of student teaching and to graduation!!!!! (Can you tell how excited I am to be done??)

This is where the countdown is so far.....

13 days of student teaching left

AND

21 days til graduation!!!

YYYAAAAAAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I PASSED!

2010-04-15T16:58:00.001-05:00

Just wanted to let everyone know that I successfully PASSED the PRAXIS test, which determines if I get certified in Missouri, and my Portfolio presentation, which determines if I graduate!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Soooo excited!!!! I am basically done with everything now! I just have to finish my time in second grade and then I am DONE!

29 days, 16 hours....and counting til GRADUATION!

Random Pictures

2010-04-08T20:05:00.007-05:00

I found some random pictures that I took for the purpose of putting on my blog to share with you all....and, of course, I forgot. Haha.

But anyway, here they are....

The balloons I received from my kindergarten class and teacher on my last day, along with cookies and brownies for the entire class. It was a bittersweet day.

For BEAR club (Be Excited About Reading) in 2nd grade, we decorated eggs because it was right before Easter. However, we did not use the traditional dyeing. Instead, we simply heated up hard boiled eggs and then drew on them with crayons. (It is important to remember to hold the eggs with a paper towel because they can be quite warm!) The heat melts the crayon wax and the wax transfers to the egg shell and stays on. It is quite neat! The kids loved it because they could draw pictures or words on their eggs along with cool designs. Of course, I had a bit of fun myself...

My Sigma Kappa themed egg....

My rainbow/multi-colored egg....

2nd grade

2010-03-25T18:03:00.002-05:00

My first week in second grade is coming to a close, so I thought I would give you a few highlights of my week:

Being called "Miss G".....it sounds like such a simple thing, but for some reason "Miss G" sounds so much more appealing to me than "Miss Gehman"....one reason being that I tend to get called "Mrs." a lot and "Mrs. Gehman" is my mom....not me! But I don't know anyone called "Miss/Mrs. G" so it works great! Plus, I get quite tired of pronouncing/spelling my name for people.
One of the second grade boys telling me I had a ladybug on my....ummm, bottom. Haha, and yes, that is the word he used...and yes, he did hesitate to say it.
Being able to sit by a boy and help him work through his math and seeing his face light up when he gets it
One of the second grade boys just loves to annoy me by leaning his chair back and balancing on the back two legs. It has become quite the thing between us as I can simply look at him and he puts his chair back on the ground. Anyway, a lady comes in to help in the afternoons on Tuesdays and Thursdays and on Tuesday, this boy asked the lady if she and I were related. Now, mind you, we look nothing alike, but you want to know why he asked? Because we both tell him to put his chair down! :) Haha! I couldn't help but laugh when I heard that one....
I got bombarded today with questions about what the "ozone" is, because my teacher had them write the sentence "We must protect the ozone", to work on their spelling words. They did not know what "ozone" meant and asked her, but she refused to tell them because it wasn't important at the moment. Then she got caught up talking to another teacher for a few minutes and stepped out of the room for a bit, which is when they all turned to me and asked, "Miss G, what's the ozone?", "Are we breathing the ozone?", and, my personal favorite, "Can you walk on the ozone?" (Where do they come up with this stuff??) Needless to say, I had to make sure they wrote their sentence rather than try to explain the ozone to them, but it was entertaining nonetheless.

Anyway...those are just a few highlights of my first week in second grade. It is quite different from kindergarten, of course....no snack, no calendar time, and no quiet time, but I think I will learn to love it. I do miss my kindergarteners, though....I see some of them in the hall and after school occasionally, which is nice, especially because they almost always give me a hug. :)

Tomorrow, I will only be at school for half the day....after lunch, because we have a career/interview day on campus. I will be attending a presentation at 8:45am and then I have two interviews later that morning as well. I am quite nervous about them, simply because I have had very few interviews in my life and zero teacher interviews!! I will be glad when they are over!

Last Week!

2010-03-14T18:11:00.004-05:00

Well...it's official. This week will be my last week in Kindergarten. Friday we have class on campus and then on Monday, I will start in second grade!

This past week was spring break for the college, but I had to stay here because of student teaching. Because they closed down the Greek houses, my friends and I actually stayed at one of my friends' grandma's house in town. Other than that, it was a normal week. Oh...except for the fact that I was sick Monday and Tuesday with some sort of stomach flu or virus. I felt pretty crappy on Monday and ended up with a fever Monday night, so I ended up staying home Tuesday as well. Which was actually a good thing, because I still was not 100%. By Wednesday, I felt better and went to school, but I was still exhausted by the end of the day.

Saturday, we had to take the PRAXIS test. It is the standardized test that all pre-service teachers have to take in order to get certified to teach in Missouri. I feel pretty good about it, but I won't know if I passed or not until April 6th. At least it's not too far away!

Update!

2010-03-02T20:03:00.002-06:00

It's been awhile since I have updated you all on student teaching, so I thought you might like to see some pictures. The quality isn't very good, and I don't know if you will be able to click on them to make them bigger, but here they are anyway. :)

This is a picture of me reading a big book to the students during reading time...

This is another picture of me reading the same book...

by the way...the kids usually only sit this well and this quietly when I am reading a book...

This is a picture of 4 of the 5 ladies who are in our classroom at one time or another...

I am on the left, obviously...then Chelsea, she is a high school senior who comes every other day for about an hour to help us out. Next, in the pink, is Mrs. Schultz, my kindergarten class's teacher....next to her is Miss Summer, our aide who is in there at all times. Not pictured is Miss Carter, a Title I teacher, who used to teach part of reading for Mrs. Schultz, but now is only in our classroom for about 20 minutes every day.

As you can see, we tend to have a lot of help in our classroom usually, which is nice, because more eyes and more hands means fewer problems!! Things are going well...I am in complete control of the class all day, every day, now. It's hard to believe it's March already! I only have 12 days left in kindergarten before I move to second grade. Wow! Feels like I just started yesterday! And, I can't believe that I will be GRADUATING in 74 days!!!!! EEEeeeekkkkkk!!!!!!!!

On a side note....I just brought back to school a box of thin mint girl scout cookies and I just received a box of tag-a-longs and thin mints that I had previously ordered. YUM!

Supervisor Visit Update

2010-02-19T17:01:00.002-06:00

I told you all I would let you know how my evaluation went on Wednesday, so here it is. It went great!! I was not that nervous until lunch, which was right before my supervisor was coming. I had prepped the students by telling them my supervisor's name and explaining that she was my teacher and would be watching me. I had also told them it would be nice if they would welcome her to the classroom, so we practiced saying that a few times. I had my binder and lesson plans all laid out for her and I knew what I was doing....but, you know how it is, I was still nervous. However, once I started teaching I was fine! Which, I knew I would be, but getting started is always the hardest part.

My supervisor gave me a really good evaluation, and she said she was really impressed! Yay!

Happy Valentine's Day!

2010-02-14T18:28:00.002-06:00

Another Valentine's Day has come and almost gone, and it held a slight surprise for me this year....it's been snowing all day long! A girl and I were talking at work today, and we couldn't quite figure out why the snow was so surprising, considering it is still February, but for some reason Valentine's Day and snow didn't seem to go together. I had to listen to wintery/Christmas-y music this morning before work so that I wouldn't get mad at the snow. For some reason, listening to Christmas music makes the abundance of snow seem okay and even acceptable. Can anyone explain that??

Anyway, I did work today, as well as last night. I have been working once a week on Sundays, since I started student teaching. Last week, a girl asked if I could cover her Saturday shift for her and I said yes. Then, another girl needed someone to take her Saturday evening shift because of a birthday, so she and I switched. So I went from not working on Saturday to working from 5:30-slow down. (Slow down literally means whenever business slows down). I ended up working until about 9:30pm last night and today I worked from 10 until about 5pm. I made good money both days, as it was busy due to the holiday. We had a special going all weekend long. It was a one pound ribeye steak in the shape of a heart to be shared by two people. Each person got a choice of potato (baked, mashed, or fries), a trip to the salad bar and dessert bar. All of this only cost them $19.99. Pretty good deal, huh? We had quite a few orders of it last night...not so many today, but we still had a couple. One guy ordered it for himself, and just had us box up the second potato for him to take home. He ate the entire pound of ribeye, along with his salad, potato, and dessert. Pretty amazing, right? I thought so.

Student teaching has been going really great! I am loving the students, my cooperating teacher, and just the experience in general. I have been taking over a few things here and there, including leading them to lunch and specials. I also have been reading books to them after lunch, and just last week I started helping out with the reading time and math worksheets. Because reading is stressed a lot on the MAP tests (Missouri's standardized tests), our reading time is an hour and a half. Seems like a long time to ask kindergarteners to sit still and learn, right? Well, it is. But my cooperating teacher does a good job of making it interesting and breaking it up. They will start on the floor, return to their tables to complete part of a worksheet, then go back to their floor spots, then back to the tables, etc. The students handle it pretty well. The last two days, Thursday and Friday, I read the story to them and asked them questions about the story. My teacher keeps telling me I need to be louder....who would ever have thought I had a quiet voice??? Haha, just kidding. I know I have a quiet voice, and it is hard for me sometimes because I feel like I am shouting and I don't like to shout. But my teacher assures me that she has not heard me shout once, so I just need to learn to be louder.

This week I have my first supervision by a college professor. I am not really nervous about it yet, but I think I might be when it gets closer. I will be teaching science time, followed by math time.

This weekend, my body has been working on developing a nice cold. I have been taking dayquil and nyquil, which helps. When the dayquil kicks in, I am fine. But as soon as it wears off, I can definitely tell. Hopefully, it will not last too long. I have been trying to get some extra sleep and keep my body pumped up with Vitamin C.

School is not in session tomorrow, for me, due to President's Day. The college will still be holding classes, but since I am not taking any on campus, I have the day off tomorrow. I didn't even tell work, so I don't have to work either. :)

Well, the dayquil I took a bit ago has not kicked in yet, so my head is sort of pounding, so I will end this now. I'll let you all know how my first supervision goes!

Snow Day

2010-02-05T09:50:00.002-06:00

We have a snow day today. There is about 2 inches of snow on the ground, but it is still snowing. It is definitely weird, because I am used to going to classes no matter what (at college) and rarely getting snow days at home. However, it is simply because this area is so rural. It's amazing how location can make such a big difference. Even though I am pretty sure I would not have minded driving in this amount of snow back home, I have no desire to drive in it here, especially not all the way to school. The roads are quite hilly and curvy...not ideal for driving on when they are slick.

Anyway, I am actually slightly disappointed that I don't have school today. I wasn't even going to be with the kindergarteners today, but I am still disappointed. Yesterday, my teacher and I attended a curriculum training workshop at the high school. Although she was bored, because it is hard to apply to kindergarten and she has attended these for several years, I found it actually quite interesting. We actually talked about stuff that we talked about in college classes. It is always exciting to me to know that what we are doing in classes is actually stuff that happens in the real world and that we can take with us. After the speaker talked for a while, he let us actually work on the curriculum that everyone is developing for their grade level. It is a little confusing because the school already has a curriculum, but I think he really just wanted them to focus on what they, as teachers, thought that students at their grade level should know by the end of the year. So, for kindergarteners, they should be able to identify and describe different shapes, so that became part of the curriculum. Basically, for each part or skill that kindergarteners needed to know, my teacher created a lesson plan. Yesterday, I helped her go over them and revise them a little. Today, I was originally going to go back to the classroom, but she really enjoyed having my help yesterday, so I was going to help her finish with the curriculum.

Anyway, it may not sound like a very exciting day to anyone else, but I was looking forward to it. I was looking forward to working with an experienced teacher on stuff that happens in her classroom.

Hopefully, you can tell that I am enjoying myself. Although I am not actually teaching quite yet, I am not so nervous about it, and I really do not want to switch over to 2nd grade in 6 weeks! I am enjoying kindergarten so much that I don't want to leave! :)

First Day

2010-02-01T19:18:00.003-06:00

Today was my first day in Kindergarten for student teaching. It was a good day! The students are fairly low academically, but they are such sweethearts! Although they all said good morning to me when my teacher asked them to, by the end of the day they were calling me by name and giving me hugs! :) Although, they still have problems with my name. First off, remembering it is hard enough, but also my cooperating teacher keeps forgetting how my last name is pronounced. The past few times, she did get it right, but she would still look at me and ask, "Was that right?" So I don't really blame the students for not knowing my name yet. :) At the moment, they tend to call me "Miss Gayham", which is close enough so I do respond to it.

The students are fairly rambunctious, and like I said, fairly low-achieving, so it will be a bit of a challenge. It is still weird for me to picture myself teaching the class all day long, but I have been told that eventually it will just be second-nature. Can't wait for that day! I do NOT like being unsure of myself! I am not nervous, necessarily, just not entirely comfortable either. I guess you could say I'm not exactly "biting at the bit", so to speak.

I will keep you updated as much as I can!

Student Teaching

2010-01-25T14:12:00.002-06:00

A week from today, I will start student teaching!! Eeek!!

I am both excited and nervous. Excited--because it will be a new experience and I love working with kids! Nervous--because I get nervous with anything that I am unfamiliar with.

I will be in 2nd grade and Kindergarten. I am not sure yet which class I will be in first; that will be decided tomorrow afternoon when I meet my cooperating teachers.

It is getting quite weird to think about the fact that I will be graduating from college in less than 4 months!!

There have been many ups and downs in the past 4 years...but I feel that, overall, it has been a very rewarding experience.

Book Drive Update

2010-01-19T12:12:00.003-06:00

I was kindly reminded the other day that I still have not disclosed to everyone the total number of books that we collected for the book drive. Since they were finally picked up, and I have announced the number to my sorority sisters, I am now prepared to do so on here as well.

You already know that we packed up 76 boxes. The final number of books is...............

3081!!!!!!!!

Thanks for everyone's support in this endeavor! It was a great success!

Praise God!!

2010-01-15T14:42:00.001-06:00

The books were picked up today!!!!! :D

Prayer

2010-01-13T15:34:00.002-06:00

This may seem like a ridiculous thing to pray for at the moment, but it is causing me a lot of frustration.

As you all know Sigma Kappa conducted a book drive this past semester. Since December, we have been trying to get a truck driver to come pick up the books. The first few times it was scheduled, the driver didn't show up. When he did finally show up, everyone was gone for break, but campus safety showed them where the books were. However, the driver rejected the books because they were not packaged correctly. So, when I returned on Sunday, we shrink-wrapped the books on the pallets and scheduled another time for the books to be picked up. That was yesterday. The driver didn't show. So, it was scheduled for today. The driver actually showed up this time. However, he could not get his truck back to the loading dock where the pallets were. If I had known that they would be sending a 53' semi perhaps I would have made sure he could get back there. But I was never informed what kind of truck was coming. The driver did not have time today to stay and try to figure out a way to get the pallets to his truck.

So, almost a month after the books were originally going to be picked up, they still have not been picked up.

I would like to ask you all to please pray that we can get this all figured out and taken care of very soon. I would like to also ask you to pray that I will stay calm throughout all of this. I have been stressing about it and I am very frustrated at the moment.

Back to the Grind

2010-01-10T19:52:00.003-06:00

I am back in Canton, MO, all settled in for the semester...kind of. I'd be glad to go through the semester without the classes, but that's not going to happen...haha.

I moved my room around a bit...not much. My desk, which was by the window, is now moved out a bit, along the window wall where my bed was. My bed is now in the space where my desk was. It's different....maybe not perfect, but I needed a change. One thing that I like about it is that my desk area is not so crowded. I also like that the head of my bed is now against a wall, so I can watch TV and read better! :)

Classes start bright and early tomorrow morning...ok, not that early, 9:15am. But any time is too early for class. :)

More to come later!

NEW BELT!!!

2010-01-06T13:50:00.003-06:00

Haha, yes, you read that right. :) I am THAT excited to have a new belt. You see...we have to wear a belt at work, as part of our uniform. I found a belt I really liked last summer. It was great! It actually fit me, and I liked it. Perfect, right?

Well, not so much. This belt decided it was not going to last. I wore it so much, that I literally wore it out. For the past several months, I have literally been holding it together with masking tape. Pretty sad, right?

So, I decided it was time for a new one. And I found one that I liked today...that was NOT the same kind as the last one! Hopefully this one will last longer!

What can I say? I find happiness in the small things. :)

Christmas Weekend Highlight Reel

2009-12-28T14:14:00.003-06:00

Well, I am about to head back to work after having four days off. It was a great time with family full of cards and food and lots of laughs. Here are some highlights from the weekend:

getting to see almost everyone a day or two early because of the weather :)
and...because of the weather, having a very white Christmas
having 3 dogs in the house at one time and listening to several barking competitions as people came and went....or whenever the dogs decided they needed to bark
AMAZING food all weekend long....from pulled pork sandwiches to ham to homemade chicken pot pie to homemade chicken noodle soup and chili to lots and lots of cookies!
being so tired and in such a good mood, that, while playing cards, you suddenly burst out laughing and can't even breath anymore and you start crying....and can't stop because everyone else is laughing that hard, too....all over a really, really bad round of cards :)
receiving two kisses and a hug before every nap and bedtime from a precious little girl
bundling up an almost 2 year old girl with 2 pounds of extra clothing, just to go out and play in the snow....she looked almost twice her size in her winter clothes! But, as cute as ever!
going sledding with said precious little girl and hearing her loudly exclaim at the bottom of the hill: "Iowa!!!" and "more!"
Hearing her begin to string two words together....I tried desparately to get her to say "Ainsley, play, snow" because she can say all those words....instead she insisted on saying "Ainsley, snow" or "Play, snow". It was cute, nonetheless.
watching the longest game of copycat ever between an almost 2 year old and a 23 year old...neither one was about to give up!
being with family, at home, with nothing to do but be around each other.... :)
arguing over who used to sleep in the "yellow room"....
and much, much more!

Even though it was a short few days, they were a blast!! Hope everyone had an awesome Christmas as well!

Home Sweet Home

2009-12-20T23:10:00.002-06:00

Soo....I forgot to mention I was home now!! I have been home since Thursday, actually. I hung out with my family that night (family game night...woohoo!!). Friday night I babysat, and yesterday and today I worked my usual shift of 3 to close. Last night we got done around 11:30pm...tonight we got done before 11pm...yay!

Well, that's it, just wanted to let you all know!

I don't know exactly who all reads my blog, but I will be seeing some of you very shortly!! I am excited!! :) Safe travels everyone!

Pictures

2009-12-12T21:20:00.003-06:00

Hey all...I decided it might help your guesses if I gave you some pictures. So, here are a couple of pictures of the final number of boxes...all 72 of them! Feel free to revise your guess if need be!

Update

2009-12-11T19:53:00.002-06:00

OK....Angie and I spent ALL day today picking up the last of the books, sorting them, counting them, and packing them up! It was a long day!!

We still have a few books coming in, but I think we are pretty much at the final count. I am going to let you guess again as to the number of books we have collected! Here's your hint: we have packed up 72 boxes of books.

Good luck with your guess! :)

Sigma Kappa Book Drive

2009-12-10T22:36:00.002-06:00

I don't know if I told you all this or not, but this semester, Sigma Kappa (my sorority) has been holding a book drive on campus. It has been a HUGE success thus far. Tomorrow is the final day, and Angie and I will collect the final books that were dropped off. Tonight, we spent a good 4 hours gathering, counting, and packing books. I am not going to tell you how many books we counted yet, because only Angie and I know...and it's not the final number yet. However, let's play a little guessing game. So far, we have packed up 49 boxes of various sizes, all full of books. How many books do YOU think we have collected so far?? :) Leave a comment with your guess.

Sing For Joy ~Robert Pierre

2009-12-10T16:52:00.003-06:00

When I walk in darkness, and I can't see my hand before me
When my heart is aching, and it's all I can do to just breathe

I will sing for joy, the joy of the LORD, in the middle of it all
I will sing for joy, the joy of the LORD, in the middle of it all
I will sing for joy.

When the dawn is breaking, shining down on this valley
Blinded eyes can now see, You have always been with me

I will sing for joy, the joy of the LORD, in the middle of it all
I will sing for joy, the joy of the LORD, in the middle of it all
I will sing for joy

When I'm home in glory, with all the saints around me
The choir singing "holy", and heaven's walls are shaking

I will sing for joy, the joy of the LORD, in the middle of it all
I will sing for joy, the joy of the LORD, in the middle of it all
I will sing for joy

Why?

2009-12-07T13:31:00.002-06:00

Why is it so hard to express how you feel about something to someone else? Why is it so difficult to pass on your beliefs and views on the most important things in life? Why is it so easy to focus on the small things? Why is it so easy to simply quit rather than fight? Why is it so hard for people to see the damage they cause and change their ways?

New Layout!

2009-12-04T21:21:00.003-06:00

So I have decided I need to change my layout again....this time for Christmas!! I can't believe how fast Christmas is coming up! I am super excited for it....like I am every year, but I feel like I am missing out on the Christmas spirit excitement somewhat. Last night, I came back from work, and our house was all decked out for Christmas. I enjoyed it very much, but it surprised me a bit. I mean, I know that Christmas is coming, but I guess I wasn't quite prepared for Christmas decorations?? I honestly don't know. :)

But, it makes me very happy every time I see the decorations....and since I for some reason seemed out of the loop, I decided my blog needed to be more Christmas-y. :) So...there ya go.

It took me awhile to find a layout that I liked....one that I felt portrayed the true meaning of Christmas and not just snowflakes, or santa, or presents, or christmas trees, or....well, you get the idea. As the old saying goes, "Jesus is the reason for the season." We celebrate because God sent Jesus to become human....to become one of us.....to live here, in this world....and live a perfect life....and die....and live again....because he loves us. Notice I didn't say because he "loved" us......he LOVES us.....then, now, later, always. Yesterday, today, tomorrow, forever. He sent Jesus then, because he loves us now. It can be a difficult concept to wrap one's mind around. Mainly because it is such an un-human thing to do--to give up one's son/life for all humanity, when said humanity absolutely does NOT deserve it.

How awesome is our God?!?!?!!!!

Super Cute Purses!

2009-12-01T12:50:00.000-06:00

Check out these cute purses!

Charm Design Bags and Totes $50 gift card GUEST GIVEAWAY!!!!

Give thanks

2009-11-26T13:39:00.002-06:00

This song was going through my head last night, and those who have attended FBC will probably recognize it:

Give thanks with a grateful heart
Give thanks to the Holy One
Give thanks because He's given Jesus Christ, His Son.
And now, let the weak say, "I am strong"
Let the poor say, "I am rich"
Because of what the Lord has done for us.
Give thanks.

Home!

2009-11-21T10:56:00.002-06:00

Well, I am officially home for Thanksgiving break! I finished my 2nd and last final yesterday morning around 8:30am, headed back to my room to pack, and then headed off to Iowa and home! After enjoying lunch at Culver's with my mom, I just relaxed a bit in the afternoon. When Kaleb went to work at 4, my mom and I headed out again to do some shopping. We are re-doing the upstairs bathroom and the downstairs bathroom, so we went to find towels and other fun decorations! We went to Kohl's, Bed Bath and Beyond, Gordman's, and Walmart. We didn't find all that we wanted to, but we did finally find some pictures for the upstairs bathroom that go GREAT! We also found some wall decals (basically stickers that can go on the wall and come off easily) for the downstairs bathroom...maybe. One of them is a huge sunflower...for those of you who remember our downstairs bathroom, we had a sunflower theme going a little bit. We are sort of staying with that theme, because we are keeping the shower curtain (yay! love it!). But we are painting the walls...probably a blue of some kind. And then, we were thinking bright orange and yellow towels to match the shower curtain and help brighten up the room some.

Sounds fun, doesn't it?! Anyways, after shopping, we came back home and had chicken fajitas....yummy! Afterwards, we all just relaxed. I ended up going to bed around 10:30-11 (I know, I know, early for a college student, but I was exhausted!). I did end up having to get up around 11:45pm because my dog got sick.....when she gets over excited she has a tendency to get sick, especially if she ate during her over-excitedness (is that a word??) Anyways, no big deal, I took care of the mess and passed out again until this morning.

Today will be my first day back at Culver's...from 3-close. I also work tomorrow from 3-close, and it looks like most of next week, too, same time.

Well, that is all for now!

Puzzles

2009-11-13T16:26:00.003-06:00

As part of our sorority, each year the seniors are given "alum chums". Alumni of our chapter choose a senior to become her alum chum. It is similar to a secret santa type thing, except it goes all year long. I guess it is to help keep the seniors' stress levels down a bit. :)

Anyways, so far, I have received two boxes of stuff from my alum chum, including stuff like playdough and sticky notes and candy. This last box that I got had a jigsaw puzzle in it. How did my alum chum know how much I like to do jigsaw puzzles?? I don't know, but anyways it is a 500 piece puzzle. I started it last night and finished it today (with a bit of help from Angie Kay).

Here is the finished result!

Thanks Alum Chum!! :D

Ainsley

2009-11-11T13:11:00.004-06:00

Kristen and Ainsley came to visit us back in August, and while Ainsley was here, I got some pictures and videos of her doing some of the activities. I made it into a video with captions and music and totally did not realize I hadn't even shared it with you all!

So, here it is...sorry it's so short....and, enjoy! :)

Placement

2009-11-05T13:14:00.002-06:00

I got my student teaching placement today!!! Yay!!!

I finally found out today where I will be student teaching for the spring semester. Since I am doing early childhood, I have to spend half of the time in a kindergarten class (oh shucks :)) and the other half in an older elementary class.

I will be student teaching at Highland Elementary School in Lewistown, MO. It is about 35 mins away, but I hear that they have a really good school. For the first part (I think it is something like 7 weeks), I will be in Mrs. O'Brien's 2nd grade class. That will start (at this point) on February 1st and go til March 19th. Then, starting March 24th, I will be in Mrs. Schultz' kindergarten class until May 12th.

It is kind of scary to think about, but I am also excited to get back into the classrooms.

Well, that's all for now. I'll be sure to keep you all updated. :D

More Art! :)

2009-11-04T19:36:00.006-06:00

I thought I would share another art project that I did for my art class. Before I tell you how to make it, I thought I would show you a picture and see if you could guess how it was made.

Here you go...

Any guesses?

It is an abstract sculpture made out of....

wait for it.....

a wire hanger and panty hose!

Haha, yep, you read that right...a wire hanger and panty hose. Oh, and I guess technically, a block of wood and paint.

What we did was cut off the "hanger" part of a wire hanger to make one long piece of wire. Then, after drilling two small holes in the block of wood, we put the ends of the wire into the holes and shaped the wire how we wished. Then we placed the panty hose over the wire which created an abstract shape. Then we painted it as we wished. :)

It was quite fun, and much easier to to do than describe. :)

Here are a few more pictures...and believe me, it looks much cooler in person...

New Job!!!

2009-10-27T13:17:00.002-05:00

Guess what?!?! I got a JOB! :D

There is a new restaurant going in in town, called Saints Avenue Cafe. It hasn't opened yet, so I haven't actually started working yet. But last night, we all got together and filled out tax forms and such. We are meeting again on Thursday for an orientation of sorts. They were originally going to open on November 1st, but I think it will be later than that.

As far as what I will be doing, I believe I will be a waitress. It is a sit-down restaurant. I believe it is similar to a Golden Corral. The menu has a variety of items....from breakfast to appetizers to sandwiches to steaks, seafood...and of course salad and desserts.

I am super excited to have a job again...but I am a little nervous because it is new and I have never waitressed before.

But, just wanted to update you all!

Swing-a-thon

2009-10-17T11:12:00.002-05:00

Hey all!

Next weekend, October 23rd-24th, Sigma Kappa Sorority, here at Culver-Stockton College, is holding our annual Swing-a-thon! What is Swing-a-thon, you may ask? No, it is not a large swing dance competition. :) It is one of our fundraisers for our major philanthropies, Alzheimer's Disease Research and Gerontology (the study of aging). We have a porch swing in the back of our house that we use for this. For 36 hours, a Sigma Kappa must be sitting on that swing. In the past, we would ask for donations to get us to sit on the swing. Now, we generally just donate some of our own money for the cause, because we are all required to sit at least an hour on the swing. All of the money goes to the Sigma Kappa Foundation for Alzheimer's Disease Research.

This time, I am going to try something new. I am going to ask all of you to participate as well by donating money to the cause! I have already signed up for an hour on the swing...but there are still spots open! If you would like to see me sit on the swing for more than an hour, or if you would just like to help us out, please donate money! :) Obviously, there is not much time left before the event, but if I receive some money, I WILL sign up to swing some more. :) Please do not feel obligated to donate, but if you are interested, I would be greatly appreciative!

To give you an idea of how much fun we have with Swing-a-thon, let me tell you a bit more. First off, remember one of us has to be on the swing at all times for 36 hours straight? Well, that means during the middle of the night as well! Although I personally have never held a 3am shift (due to inability to stay up all night), I have heard those are the best times! With cold weather setting in, it is a perfect opportunity to snuggle up in some warm blankets with some hot chocolate and sisters! Oftentimes, some of the fraternity guys will come down and play football or keep us company. It is all GREAT fun and for an AWESOME cause!

So, if you feel led to donate money to help Alzheimer's Disease Research, please send a check, made out to SIGMA KAPPA SORORITY, to the following address:

Sigma Kappa Sorority

MSC #122

1 College Hill

Canton, MO 63435

Please write SWING-A-THON or ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE RESEARCH in the memo. You can also send cash to the address, if you feel comfortable doing so.

Thank you!

YAY

2009-10-08T12:26:00.001-05:00

So I forgot to include this in my last post. I got a letter yesterday saying that I have been accepted into the Student Teaching Program at Culver-Stockton College. YAY!!! I also got a bar of chocolate with the letter...that's what I was really happy about.... :)

Fall Time

2009-10-07T21:10:00.002-05:00

I officially declare it fall time. :) Not like it's really up to me at all...but I am finally willing to admit that summer is over and fall is here. The air is crisp and cool, the leaves are turning, and every time I walk out the door, it smells like fall. What does fall smell like you ask? Hard to explain. But I think you know what I mean. :)

I also got pumpkin pie tonight. Yay!!! :) Definitely a perfect fall-time treat.

Ok, so it has been cool here for several days now. However, my room was still crazy hot. We had the air on for a long time, but for some reason, our room was still crazy hot. So last night, I gave in and opened the window and turned the fan on. I left the air on...I guess just for air circulation, because it wasn't exactly cold air...outside was colder. Anyways, the window was open and the air on all day today. When I got back from economics class, I walked into a SAUNA. Holy smokes, it was HOT HOT HOT. I could not figure out why it was sooo hot when it was fine an hour earlier. But then, I knew what had happened. The school turned the heat on. Remember, this is a college. I have no control over whether our unit produces cold air or hot air. I only have control over the temperature (to an extent) and how high it is on. So when the school turns the heat on....the heat is on for good. Chances are the air won't be turned on again until summer time. Anyways, just one more way I know it is now fall time.

I am looking forward to more colorful leaves, more pumpkin pie, and Thanksgiving. :D

Check it out!!

2009-09-23T17:32:00.001-05:00

My sister is having a giveaway on her blog. She is giving away some of her homemade cards! For those of you who don't follow her blog, feel free to check it out here! :D

Art Class

2009-09-17T18:26:00.003-05:00

So I just HAD to share with you all what I did in art class today. :)

To explain a bit, this class is all about elementary art projects that we could use in our future classroom. So she teaches us how to do them, and then we actually get to do them. It's fun. :)

So today, we used something called Scratch Art Paper. It's kind of hard to explain, but you know the "scratch & win" lottery tickets and things of that nature? Where you scratch off the covering to see what's underneath. That is the basic idea of this. Except instead of "winning" words underneath, there are colors. One of the ones I did was a multi-colored background with a black scratch-off covering. So what you did was take a small wooden stick and scratched off the black to reveal the colors underneath, and then you create a picture. It was so much fun! There are also papers that only have one color underneath, and I did one of those, too! :)

So, instead of trying to explain anymore, here are pictures of my pictures! They are way cooler in person, by the way. :) But this will give you an idea. :)

The multi-colored picture I did...

a not-very-good close up picture...trying to give you an idea of how it works ;)

the single colored one I did...

2009-09-16T15:32:00.002-05:00

Last week was recruitment for all the sororities on campus. For those of you who are unfamiliar with Greek recruitment, let me explain it to you. This year was a little bit different from previous years. It started on Tuesday night with open houses. Girls that were interested in joining a house could stop by any of the houses and hang out with the girls in the house. Wednesday night we had an ice cream social where we all just hung out and ate ice cream. Thursday was another open house. These days were just to let the potential new girls get to know some of the girls in the houses and what the houses were like.

Friday night was Philanthropy Night, which means all the sororities come up with a craft of some kind to help one of their philanthropies. For example, one of Sigma Kappa's philanthropies is Gerontology/Alzheimer's Disease Research. So for our craft, we painted suncatchers for the residents of the local nursing home. The suncatchers are going to be part of our "Adopt a Grandparent" program that we will be setting up soon. Anyways, the new girls were split up into 3 different groups that rotated between the houses. Each group had 45 minutes at each house. Then Saturday night was Preference Night. This night is, for many of us, the most special. We get very dressed up and certain girls are selected to tell their stories of why they joined the house. There are also several small traditions that we do, such as a special poem written by one of our alumnae, and a song that is very near and dear to our hearts. Saturday night was the last night of recruitment, so it really was the last chance for the girls to see who we are. Sunday was Bid Day. This is the day when the girls decide which house they want to join, if they want to join. This is also the day when we find out which girls chose us. So...after a very long week of anticipation and excitement, we proudly welcomed 7 new girls into the Beta Mu Chapter of Sigma Kappa!! It was an exciting day, to be sure. :)

To celebrate and bond a bit, we went to Quincy to a place called "Going Bonkers". It is basically a big play area, kind of like the play places in McDonald's, except bigger. It was similar to the Playstation in Cedar Rapids...but the Playstation is better. :) But it was still fun!!

Well, as far as classes go, they are good. My first test is Friday and my next test is Monday. Yippee...NOT. :)

2009-08-27T22:43:00.002-05:00

I just watched the movie Freedom Writers. If you have not seen it, you need to watch it. It has made me start thinking about the impact I will have on my future students. I wanted to share something with you. I received this in an email some time ago. I hope it touches you the way it touches me.

The dinner guests were sitting around the table discussing life. One man, a CEO, decided to explain the problem with education. He argued, "What's a kid going to learn from someone who decided his best option in life was to become a teacher?"

To stress his point he said to another guest; "You're a teacher, Bonnie. Be honest. What do you make?"

Bonnie, who had a reputation for honesty and frankness replied, "You want to know what I make?” She paused for a second, and then began...

"Well, I make kids work harder than they ever thought they could.

I make a C+ feel like the Congressional Medal of Honor winner.

I make kids sit through 40 minutes of class time when their parents can't make them sit for 5 without an I Pod, Game Cube or movie rental.

You want to know what I make?"

She paused again and looked at each and every person at the table.

“I make kids wonder.

I make them question.

I make them apologize and mean it.

I make them have respect and take responsibility for their actions.

I teach them to write and then I make them write. Keyboarding isn't everything.

I make them read, read, read.

I make them show all their work in math.

They use their God given brain, not the man-made calculator.

I make my students from other countries learn everything they need to know about English while preserving their unique cultural identity.

I make my classroom a place where all my students feel safe.

I make my students stand, placing their hand over their heart to say the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag, One Nation Under God, because we live in the United States of America.

Finally, I make them understand that if they use the gifts they were given, work hard, and follow their hearts, they can succeed in life.”

Bonnie paused one last time and then continued.

"Then, when people try to judge me by what I make, with me knowing money isn't everything, I can hold my head up high and pay no attention because they are ignorant. You want to know what I make?

I MAKE A DIFFERENCE. What do you make Mr. CEO?"

His jaw dropped; he went silent.

It's that time of the year again...

2009-08-24T15:10:00.009-05:00

...to be going back to school! I am sorry for the lack of updates the past few months! Here's what's been going on...

Vacation was GREAT! It was awesome to just get away from work and home for a while! I was actually away from work for 2 whole weeks and away from home for about 10 days. It was a quick and busy trip, but we had so much fun together! :)
After the actual vacation part out east, we came back home and family time began! My cousin's wedding was that Saturday so we had family around from Thursday through like the next Tuesday I think? Don't remember exactly.
Then it was back to work for all of us. I continued to work 40+ hours each week on my usual shift of 3-close. We have been closing at 10pm in the dining room and 10:30pm for drive-thru. I think the earliest I ever got out of there was 10:53pm and the latest was a little after 11:30pm. But generally, it was right about 11pm when we would all walk out the door.
Yesterday, I moved back to school. Oh, except wait...back up a bit, story time. Around Tuesday or Thursday of last week I started packing. For those of you who know me at all, that is very rare for me. I usually end up packing the day before I leave to go somewhere. (To give you an idea of how rare this is, even my brother made a comment about how I never pack 4 days in advance.) Anyways, so I started packing. By Saturday, pretty much everything was packed except for like bedding and some other minor stuff. But, none of it was in the car yet. (p.s. remember the car I drive is the little Neon) In the past, EVERYTHING that I take to school fits in that little car. So, the time came for the car to be packed. To back up just a bit, earlier in the day I had gone shopping and got gas in the same car. My dad went out to move the Neon from the street to the driveway so it was easier to pack up. And....it wouldn't start. Wouldn't even turn over. Nothing. Ok, so understand this car sometimes has problems when anyone except me drives it, haha. But seriously, so my dad tried it, my mom tried it, AND I tried it. Absolutely nothing. Soo...thus begins the long process of trying to figure out what is wrong with the car. Keep in mind that at this point it is about 5:00pm on a Saturday evening. Long story short, my dad had the battery tested, it's not the battery and it's probably the starter. So, my car is out. So we proceeded to pack up the '97 camry which my brother usually drives. Oh, except first we had to go to his work and switch cars with him so we could pack it up. Sigh. Anyways, we got the car all packed up and it all fit just fine, with plenty of room left over. And I got to school just fine, car worked great. I am pretty much all unpacked and settled in. My roommate (Jessi) and I have our room set up as far as furniture and stuff but we aren't sure how long it will last. We like it for now, but we might change it in a few weeks. We'll see.
I had my first two classes today: Geology and Macroeconomics. They went fine...let me just say that there probably won't be a lot of excitement on my part for either of those classes. They shouldn't be hard...but they also probably won't be exciting at all.
Well, I suppose you want to see some pictures? Here are a few from our room...keep in mind nothing has been put up on the walls yet and I will do that eventually, just didn't get to it yesterday. :)

this is our door...it's a little blank right now cuz we haven't put up our white boards yet :)

this is the view from the doorway. my bed is on the right, jessi's is on the left. my desk is back in the corner by the window.

this is the "front" wall of our room (the one next to the hallway). my closet is on the left, jessi's the right. the door is on the left. jessi's bed is on the right, you can just see the corner of it.

this is a closer view of my desk area. it may seem a little cramped, but it's actually not bad. it's just my own little corner, kind of deal. again, my bed is on the right, jessi's the left.

this is the other wall. jessi's desk, plus our dressers with the tv on top. my dresser is on the left, closest to my bed, jessi's is on the right, closest to her desk.

Well, that is our room! At least as well as you can tell from pictures! Oh, for those of you who have been watching the weather craziness (or experiencing it) in Iowa this summer, here's an update on today's weather in Canton, MO.... SUNNY!!! :D Seriously, yesterday and today have both been perfectly blue skies with nice even tempertures, not too hot, not too cold. It's so awesome! I kind of forgot what nice weather was!! :) Tata for now!

Vacation!!

2009-07-21T19:46:00.002-05:00

Well, I am sitting here in our hotel room in Boston, Massachusetts!! :) We left Sunday after church and drove for about 11 hours, but time-wise it was more like 12 because of the time change. We spent Sunday night in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, and then continued on to Niagara Falls. We did the "Journey Behind the Falls" at Niagara Falls where you actually go right next to the Horseshoe Falls (Canadian Falls). It was so neat to be right next to all that water pouring over the edge!! According to the facts, 34 million gallons of water are poured over the falls every minute. Wow!!! That's a lot of water!!!

We also did "Maid of the Mist", the boat that takes you right up next to the Canadian Falls. We also did the new attraction there called "Niagara's Fury". None of us were very impressed with that though--it was just a simulation-type thing, not nearly as cool as the real thing. Let's see, that was Monday and then we drove on to Boston. We arrived late again, so we had two late nights in a row, but it's been good! Today we went whale watching; it was great!! We had several sightings of the same mom and calf humpback whales. It was really neat to be that close to wild whales! Then later we went to visit the USS Constitution and Bunker Hill Monument. The USS Constitution was really neat--lots of history! Bunker Hill was okay, we were all already tired and we had to climb 294 steps!! It was a really good work-out!

Currently we are lounging in our hotel room, just enjoying some relaxation time. I was going to upload some pictures but they are taking too long and I'm impatient! :) I will try again some other time!

What is the purpose??

2009-07-07T12:23:00.004-05:00

Earwigs. Just the name of the things creeps me out. Living in the basement of my house, I have had several run-ins with these creepy crawlers. I recently read a friend's blog that discussed how they had to "bomb" their house because of all the earwigs. I shudder just to think about that many earwigs in my house. Pondering these things, I started to tell myself that they were the worst of all of God's creation. But I stopped myself. To back up just a bit, I am scared of and hate plenty of different insects. Bees, for one. Spiders, for another. And earwigs. You will almost (almost I said) find me running from a room screaming if there is a spider or earwig present.

So, I detest the little creatures just as much as the next person. But does that give me a right to say they are the worst of all of God's creation? After all, he created everything for a purpose. For those of us who hate spiders, we remind ourselves constantly that when they are outside they do good because they catch and eat small insects. Bats keep the mosquito population down, and bees pollinate flowers. Does that make me like any of those things more? Heck no. But it does put my thinking into perspective. So, how come we never hear what good earwigs do? Personally, I think it is because there is not a single person on this earth (okay, except maybe scientists) who actually want to find some good in the things.

But, nevertheless, I worked up my courage (haha) to google the purpose of earwigs on this earth, half expecting to get no results. To my dismay, there was an answer. Sigh. Turns out we can't get rid of all the earwigs on the planet because they do serve a purpose. According to John A. Jackman, an extension survey entomologist at the Texas Agricultural Extension Service at Texas A&M University, earwigs feed "on both dead and living insects as well as mosses, lichens, algae, fungi and occasionally some growing plants." So, see, they do have a purpose in this world. Oh, and just in case you were wondering, this article also mentioned that earwigs do NOT reproduce indoors. Yay!

Anyways, I thought it was interesting that we so often fail to realize how every creature, plant, animal, and person has a purpose in this world set forth by God alone. If he even has a purpose for the earwigs that everyone hates, how much more of a purpose do you think he has for you and me?

Wow...

2009-06-29T23:28:00.002-05:00

Okay, wow, I am soo sorry to all of you!! It has been WAY too long since I updated you all on stuff!! I have been keeping pretty busy. Here's what I have been up to:

finishing an online class--went great! got an A in the class (it was a really easy class, in my opinion)
started teaching Sunday School for the 3's--absolutely LOVE it!! :) I love getting to know all the kids and spending time with them and teaching them.
helped plan, organize, and execute the preschool VBS--it was a great week! we had anywhere from 20-21 2-4 year olds with 5 adults and 2 youth workers. we did everything from play outside to playing with playdough to crafts to finger painting with pudding (which was a favorite :) )
been working anywhere from 38-42 hours every week...getting really nice paychecks!! :)

Okay, so it doesn't seem like that much when I write it out like that...BUT it has been keeping me busy! Weatherwise, last week was incredibly hot and humid (90s) and we had a couple of thunderstorms. One storm...which was mainly wind...took out one of the trees in our back yard. :( It was one of the ones we had planted when we moved in about 19 years ago. We used to call it the "big bird" tree because it had this one branch that would grow out of the very top and it made the tree look kind of like Big Bird from Sesame Street. My mom, brother, and I did a count of how many trees we have ever had in our yard...we came up with 16. Currently we have 8 left standing. So sad!!

So, at the final program for VBS last week, they made scotcharoos for dessert. They were very yummy, and of course, there were some left over. Now, having the connections that we do...Mom being the Children's Ministries Director and all...we got some leftovers. Of course, there were not nearly enough ;), so I decided to make some today. I made a single batch, which equaled out to be a 9x13" pan. I had one when they were done. Then I went to work at 3. I got home about 30 mins ago and my family was asleep. Now, mind you, I don't know the full story, but what would you think?? I went to go have another one and HALF the pan is GONE!!!! Keep in mind, it was only my mom, dad, and brother at home!! Now, they could have put some in the freezer, which would be great, but somehow I doubt they made it that far... ;) Sigh, guess I will have to make some more. Shucks, right?? :)

Anyways, guess that is it for now. I have the next 2 days off of work...yay!! I'm ready to relax a bit!

And the summer begins...

2009-05-22T17:01:00.002-05:00

Okay, so I feel kind of bad that I haven't posted much recently! Sorry about that! I've been crazy busy these past few weeks! Here's what has happened lately:

I successfully "junior marshalled" the seniors of Culver-Stockton College during Graduation this year...it was pretty exciting! Oh, and this will only mean something to those of you who have been in band...I never have to perform "Fanfare and Pro/Recessional" ever again!!! I didn't have to perform it this year because I walked in and out with the seniors....and next year I will BE a senior! (for those of you who are confused...it's the songs that are played when the seniors march in and out...it gets a little old after playing it over and over 5 different years...)
went to a 21st birthday party for one of my friends...at Hard Rock Cafe in St. Louis! good times! ... and a little scary, too, because soon I will be 21!!
FINALLY made it home, just in time for Mother's Day. Yay!
Started (and now finished) my junior early field experience for school. I needed 40 hours in an upper elementary classroom and had to teach 2 lessons. I was in a 4th and 5th grade reading/math improvement class (okay, there were actually 4 classes, but some of the kids were in 2 classes...4th reading/LA, 5th reading/LA, 4th math, and 5th math). my lessons went really well, and I enjoyed it a lot! Never thought I would ever be happy with the older kids, but I know now that I would! :)
started working again at culver's...yay!! been working about 40 hours each week...5 nights a week, anywhere from 7-9 hours at a time...always closing (which means not getting home til at the earliest 11:15pm). it's been pretty exhausting since i had to get up at 7 on the weekdays for school!
i'm taking an online class currently...it's going well, it doesn't seem like it will be too hard. 3 quizzes, 2 papers, and like 6ish discussion questions. Not bad at all for a 3 credit hour class!
i did 7 loads of laundry the other night...yes, it was all mine...no, it wasn't even all of it...hahaha.
this is totally random, but again i had someone ask me if i was engaged...haha, because of my purity ring on my right hand. :)

Well, I think that is about it...hope I didn't forget anything! :) I am really excited for the summer and all that comes with it!

Almost Done!

2009-05-07T10:43:00.002-05:00

I am almost done with my junior year of college! Craziness!!

I just have some homework items to complete for my online class, hours and paperwork to complete for another class, and then I will be considered a senior! Yay! I am also taking an online class this summer (American Government and Politics)...should be interesting.

I will also be working at Culver's over the summer, like usual. I am also helping teach the preschoolers for Vacation Bible School at my church this summer, as well as teaching preschool sunday mornings in the summer. Should be a pretty busy summer! But I am looking forward to it a lot!

I will be home for the summer on Sunday, Mother's Day. So close yet so far away!!

I am just glad that the weather is nice...makes it all seem so much better when the sun is shining!

Well, I have to go to work...more later!

2009-04-23T20:07:00.003-05:00

I received this in an email. Please read:

Guess our national leaders didn't expect this, hmm? On Thursday, Darrell Scott, the father of Rachel Scott, a victim of the Columbine High School shootings in Littleton, Colorado, was invited to address the House Judiciary Committee's subcommittee. What he said to our national leaders during this special session of Congress was painfully truthful.

They were not prepared for what he was to say, nor was it received well. It needs to be heard by every parent, every teacher, every politician, every sociologist, every psychologist, and every so-called expert! These courageous words spoken by Darrell Scott are powerful, penetrating, and deeply personal. There is no doubt that God sent this man as a voice crying in the wilderness. The following is a portion of the transcript:

"Since the dawn of creation there has been both good & evil in the hearts of men and women.. We all contain the seeds of kindness or the seeds of violence. The death of my wonderful daughter, Rachel Joy Scott, and the deaths of that heroic teacher, and the other eleven children who died must not be in vain. Their blood cries out for answers.

The first recorded act of violence was when Cain slew his brother Abel out in the field. The villain was not the club he used.. Neither was it the NCA, the National Club Association. The true killer was Cain, and the reason for the murder could only be found in Cain's heart.

In the days that followed the Columbine tragedy, I was amazed at how quickly fingers began to be pointed at groups such as the NRA. I am not a member of the NRA. I am not a hunter. I do not even own a gun.. I am not here to represent or defend the NRA - because I don't believe that they are responsible for my daughter's death. Therefore I do not believe that they need to be defended. If I believed they had anything to do with Rachel's murder I would be their strongest opponent.

I am here today to declare that Columbine was not just a tragedy -- it was a spiritual event that should be forcing us to look at where the real blame lies! Much of the blame lies here in this room. Much of the blame lies behind the pointing fingers of the accusers themselves. I wrote a poem just four nights ago that expresses my feelings best.

Your laws ignore our deepest needs,

Your words are empty air.

You've stripped away our heritage,

You've outlawed simple prayer.

Now gunshots fill our classrooms,

And precious children die.

You seek for answers everywhere,

And ask the question "Why?"

You regulate restrictive laws,

Through legislative creed.

And yet you fail to understand,

That God is what we need!

Men and women are three-part beings. We all consist of body, mind, and spirit. When we refuse to acknowledge a third part of our make-up, we create a void that allows evil, prejudice, and hatred to rush in and wreak havoc. Spiritual presences were present within our educational systems for most of our nation's history. Many of our major colleges began as theological seminaries. This is a historical fact. What has happened to us as a nation? We have refused to honor God, and in so doing, we open the doors to hatred and violence. And when something as terrible as Columbine's tragedy occurs -- politicians immediately look for a scapegoat such as the NRA. They immediately seek to pass more restrictive laws that contribute to erode away our personal and private liberties. We do not need more restrictive laws. Eric and Dylan would not have been stopped by metal detectors. No amount of gun laws can stop someone who spends months planning this type of massacre. The real villain lies within our own hearts.

As my son Craig lay under that table in the school library and saw his two friends murdered before his very eyes, he did not hesitate to pray in school. I defy any law or politician to deny him that right! I challenge every young person in America , and around the world, to realize that on April 20, 1999, at Columbine High School prayer was brought back to our schools. Do not let the many prayers offered by those students be in vain. Dare to move into the new millennium with a sacred disregard for legislation that violates your God-given right to communicate with Him. To those of you who would point your finger at the NRA -- I give to you a sincere challenge..... Dare to examine your own heart before casting the first stone!

My daughter's death will not be in vain! The young people of this country will not allow that to happen!"

Pictures

2009-04-22T20:12:00.003-05:00

So, here are the pictures from formal. Sorry they are a bit late!

YIPPEE!!!

2009-04-17T12:40:00.002-05:00

So...grrreeaattt news! It is FINALLY spring here! Yay!! Annnddd....I AM OFFICIALLY DONE WITH MY 12 WEEK CLASSES!!!! That is the most exciting news of all... :) And, I figured out last night, that I don't have to sit in a class until the fall! How cool is that?? (I have an online class for the 3 week and the summer and I'm doing a field experience in May.)

Since I am done with my 12 week classes, that means I had finals, right? Yep. All 5 of 'em. I had one Tuesday morning at 8am, one Tuesday afternoon at 1:15pm, one Wednesday morning at 10:30am, one Wednesday afternoon at 1:15pm, and one Thursday morning at 8am. Whew! But they went well...the one Wednesday morning was for my night class. Since the school doesn't schedule finals for night classes and our class consisted of only 3 people, our prof just let us choose when we wanted to take it. She actually works down at the elementary school in town, so she told us that whenever we were ready, we could just come on down to the school to her room and take the test (she works in special education). So Angie and I went down at 10:30am (actually a little after), and I think we were back by 10:50am. It seriously took us 5 minutes to take the test...no joke. It was like maybe 15-20 multiple choice questions and 5 true/false questions. It was super easy...but that was nice because the rest of our finals weren't like that. But, like I said, they weren't bad, either. I feel confident about all of them. :)

Last night we had our formal dance for Sigma Kappa. It was amazing! I wore my maid-of-honor dress from my sister's wedding. The dance was actually held outside which was amazing because the weather had been pretty nasty up til yesterday. The place that it was at overlooked the Mississippi River, so the view was gorgeous! I will post pictures later...I didn't take any with my camera, so I have to wait for other people to get the pictures to me :).

Well, that's about it for now...oh except to say that today is Coleton's 2nd birthday!! Yay! (he's the boy I babysit) Happy Birthday Coleton!!

LOVE IT!!

2009-04-07T10:07:00.002-05:00

I just heard the CUTEST sound in the world!!! A little boy, who is not quite 2, singing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star all by himself! Sooo adorable! I recorded it on my phone, but I can't transfer it to here unfortunately...I wish you all could hear it!

Where does God fit?

2009-04-03T09:57:00.004-05:00

Since when does it violate a person's consitutional rights to say marriage should only be between a man and a woman? ... Well, I guess since this country stopped following God's law and made our own.

It discourages me to think that people are still so desparately trying to get whatever they want whenever they want it. This country was founded on the basis of freedom, yes, but all too often we take that idea and stretch it to fit our own needs. Our founders wanted religious freedom, so no one is allowed to say anything about religion in any public place. Except doesn't that go against our freedom of speech?? Life in this country was supposed to be good and free and happy--and it is. People give up everything, even their lives, just for a chance to be in our country. But this country was also founded because the pilgrims did not like the government of England dictating their lives. Yet, our country is doing exactly that. Maybe not to the same extent as England, but times have changed. Nevertheless, our government believes it has a right, no a duty, to tell us what we can and cannot do. I'm not talking about laws such as the ones against murder and stealing and other various crimes. I'm not talking about traffic lights and stop signs and speed limits. Those laws are in place to protect us as citizens and I respect that. What I am talking about is our government saying kids can't pray in school, this school can have money but that one can't, etc.

Yet our government still doesn't even follow that. It seems to me our government can't decide whether it wants us to be free and do what we want or rule our lives. No one is allowed to murder anyone under any circumstance, oh, unless it is an unborn child. Then the mother has a right to murder her child. Say WHAT?? A mother has a RIGHT to murder her child? No religion is to be brought into the schools or workplace at all. However, if a company has people who practice anything other than Christianity, then they can take any days off that are for their religion. BUT, if those same people want to work on Christmas Day, then by all means, those who actually celebrate Christmas must work as well. Does that make any sense to anyone, really??

I realize running a government is a very difficult job to have. I'm not wanting to run for any office. However, I think it is high time that our government decide whether it wants us to be our own people or be puppets of the government. Honestly, I don't think it should be either. Those are the extremes. There should be laws and rules in place; they are necessary to protect us. I don't want everyone doing whatever they want; that's not the answer. Our world would be chaotic like that. But what happened to following God's law? When did it become okay to murder your own child if you felt it would cause problems?? When did it become okay to be intimate with someone of the same sex?? When did our world decide it had a better chance of happiness and success without God??

I am by no means saying that I know the right way or always do the right thing. Far from it. I mess up just as much as the next person and am constantly fighting my self. But I know and believe wholeheartedly that God does know the right way and God does know what is best for me and for you. I may not like where He takes me or how he gets me there, but in the end, it doesn't matter. God wants me, all of me. He created me. He knew who I was, what I was going to be like, how many hairs I would have on my head, before I even existed. What right have I to go against Him? What right have I to decide what should happen in my life, when my life wouldn't even exist without Him?

God is the Creator of this world and everything in it and the entire universe. You know, sometimes I think we forget that. We say, oh yeah, God created this world and everything in it. We may even say, yes, God created the stars and the moon and sun and planets. But it stops there. It stops with what we know and can see around us. But God didn't stop there. God created an entire universe full of things we can't ever hope to comprehend. Why must we always limit Him and His power? Why must we always think we can understand and comprehend God? We can't. Our minds are far too small and narrow to ever comprehend the smallest part of God. Yet, He wants to be a part of our lives. He wants to reveal Himself to us. So, where does God fit? God doesn't fit anywhere; you can't fit God into a box. But He can be a part of our lives, if we let Him. I want Him to be a part of my life...scratch that. I want Him to be my life. Do you?

Busy, busy, busy

2009-03-25T19:30:00.002-05:00

Hey all! Sorry it's been a bit since I've posted. I actually have free time today...the first time since Saturday! So here's what's been going on lately... :)

For those of you who received letters from me regarding St. Jude's and Up 'Til Dawn, the final party was last Friday night. We found out how much money Culver-Stockton raised...over $41,000!!! Pretty sweet, huh? And all of that was just from people at Culver sending out letters...we only have like 800 students total and not everyone participated! Everyone was very excited!! :)

Sunday, I did homework all day...go figure. Sunday night we had a meeting, and then an event after that, which lasted until about 11:30pm. Monday was my craziest day. Ready for this?? I had an 8am class, then I had to pick up 3 packages, then a class at 10:20, then lunch. Then I came back to my room, organized the hoodies that were in two of the packages I received, then headed off to a 12:45 class and a 1:55 class. Then I went back to my room, finished up with the hoodies, figured out what my part was for the event that night, then headed off to band. After band, I went to supper, after which, I headed straight to my 6pm class. Class got over at 7pm, at which time I came back to the house, showered, changed, and headed downstairs to prepare for the event (in which I had to have stuff memorized that I hadn't looked at yet). So I worked on memorizing my stuff and figuring out who was supposed to do what when, and then we conducted the event, which went great, by the way. Then I went to the CP and got food (good thing, right?) and then came back to my room and worked on stuff until 11:30pm. And then I crashed...like literally. I was in the middle of working on something that didn't have to be done the next day, but I was afraid I would forget about it. It got to the point where I couldn't concentrate and I was getting frustrated with every single little thing (like if my computer didn't do exactly what I wanted it to do exactly when I wanted it to do it). Soo...I made a smart choice and went to bed. Whew. It was the longest day of my life, I think, with very few breaks.

Okay, so then Tuesday (yesterday) wasn't quite as crazy as Monday, but still pretty busy. I babysat, then went to a Greek-sponsored Chapel, then tutored. Then...I went downstairs and helped set up for Initiation and worked on memorizing the parts I needed to for that night. Then I rushed back upstairs, showered, changed, and then headed back downstairs for Initiation itself. It went well, and didn't take long. But, after it was over, I was completely exhausted. And it was only like 8pm. I watched a movie, and then went to bed at 10:30pm...which is early for a college kid, but I couldn't function anymore.

Today has been pretty laid back...except I almost forgot about a meeting over lunch. Thankfully, Angie reminded me about it...yay!! :) But anyways, I don't have band tomorrow, and no class on Friday, which means the rest of the week is going to be pretty laid back and easy! I am looking forward to it :)

Can you believe March is almost over??? It boggles my mind...I mean, wasn't it just February like 2 days ago?? Only two weeks of classes left, then finals, and this part of the semester is over! So weird!!

Oh, and another thing that happened in the midst of my crazy week! I got nominated to be a Junior Marshal at graduation this year!! Woohoo! :D And, of course, I accepted. :) I had to be there anyways for band...so it works out perfectly!

Well, that is all for now...I think. More to come later...

Spring is a coming...

2009-03-17T09:58:00.002-05:00

I am sure you all will agree with me when I say Spring is most definitely welcome! Just a few more days til Spring is "technically" here...and I know we could still get snow and cold weather since we are in the Midwest...however, I won't let that dampen my spirits!! I am feeling good! :)

Yesterday was my first day back to school with classes and all. It was a very good day. :) I just got back from babysitting Coleton. According to his mom, Sara, he talked about me the entire spring break...how sweet! Apparently he somehow knows when it is Tuesday and Thursday (the days I watch him) because on Tuesday and Thursday of last week, he kept asking his mom where "Miss Kendra" was. She explained to him that I was in Iowa and then Texas. He didn't believe her because his response was, "No, Miss Kendra (is) up the hill." (they live in the part of Canton that is down the hill from the college, so I live "on the hill".) Pretty cute, huh? I can't believe how big he is getting already! In only a month, he will be 2. I started babysitting him when he was 5 months old...crazy!!

Anyways, about the rest of my break. I flew to Dallas early Wednesday morning (arriving at 8ish). Heath, Kristen, and Ainsley were all there to greet me. :) We took Heath to work then Kristen, Ainsley and I drove home. I played with Ainsley for a little bit, then she went down for a nap...and I did, too. I ended up sleeping for like 3 hours...wow. But, remember, I had woken up that morning at 4:15am so I was pretty beat. The rest of the day I just hung out with Ainsley and Kristen, until Heath got home. The rest of my time there was much the same...minus the 3 hour nap...but I did take some cat naps, I think at least 2 a day. (I got spoiled ;) ) We had some AMAZING food made by my sister. Did I ever tell you how AWESOME of a cook she is?? Well, I am telling you now. I don't remember the name of the dish she made Wednesday night, but it had chicken and rice and it was good! Thursday night we had pork...with some type of glaze on it...don't remember exactly? But also with cooked apples, and it was really tasty! Friday night was pizza night! Woo hoo! Again...amazing. Then Saturday night they took me out to eat at Olive Garden...yummy! It was definitely hard to come back to school food yesterday...

All in all a good break! And now I am back at school and suddenly the weather has turned amazing! Even though I have been waiting for spring for like FOREVER, it is still hard for me to believe that it is finally, actually here! Yay!!!

BREAK!

2009-03-10T16:14:00.003-05:00

So I know it's been a little while since I've posted anything...so here you go! ;)

I am currently on spring break...yay! I came home Friday afternoon...ended up working Friday night and Saturday night. Then Sunday night, my dad, brother, and I went to a concert in Davenport...with Third Day, Brandon Heath, and Revive. It was AMAZING!!! I know we all had a great time!

Then yesterday (Monday) I got my haircut...woohoo! It's short again! I love having my hair short :). Then I worked again...yippee...not. It wasn't too bad of a night...I guess... Because of how many people called in sick, we originally would have only had 6 people the entire night, with 3 closers. Not cool. The minimum amount of people we like to have there is 9...and that's on a slow night. Which Monday night is a slow night...so that's good. But 6 people was pushing it a bit. So the Cedar Rapids store sent 3 of their people over to help us out for the night...so that put us with 9 people and 6 closers...much better! Oh and I was the only manager there from like 4:30pm til close. So I was in charge the whole night...which was fine...but definitely different. I have been in charge before but not for that amount of time...usually there is another manager there until 8pm. But it was okay...because we were slow, we got a lot of things done early so we were done closing by 10:30pm (the store closes at 10pm) . The night went without a hitch...well, sort of... I had a young kid (probably 4) get sick and not quite make it to the toilet in time, so I had to clean up that mess. Then I had a lady yell at me for a good 5 minutes because her flavor of the day (strawberry shortcake) didn't have enough strawberries in it for her. She told me she wanted to be compensated...and then proceeded to tell me that she means she wants her money back. And I'm thinking...yes I know what compensated means...do I look that young? Anyways, then she somehow brought the bad economy into it all...I don't remember exactly what she said, but she was extremely irate. Anyways, I gave her her money back and gave her a new pint of custard, making sure that every inch of it had strawberries in it...seriously.

So that was my night last night...kind of a weird night. Today I haven't been doing much...laundry and packing mainly. Tomorrow morning (bright and early) I leave to go to Dallas to see Kristen, Heath, and Ainsley...woohoo!!...I am spending til Sunday with them :). Then Sunday I go back to school because classes start again on Monday. Fun fun. :)

"I don't know how to make good people!"

2009-03-02T20:27:00.002-06:00

This is what I said to Jessi as we were walking back to the house tonight after our Greek Life Task Force meeting. In our meetings, we have been working on a strategic plan for Greek Life based on 6 areas we felt were the most important: Recruitment, Public Relations, Scholarship, Inter-Greek Relations, Leadership Development, and Community Standards. Tonight we were focusing on the last one: Community Standards, how we hold each other accountable. Bob (the Director of Greek Life) at one point asked us all how our respective sorority/fraternity was founded. We all answered similarly: a handful of people (3-8) got together and decided they wanted to start something new, something that bound all of them together and meant something. Bob's point was that we get so bogged down in the rules, regulations, and policies that we forget the reason we are in our sorority/fraternity. We forget what this is supposed to mean to us, what it meant to our founders.

He then asked us how that is connected to Community Standards. We didn't really know what to say. One guy piped up and said we need to make sure our members know our standards and live them. Bob's next question to us was: how do you live that out? How do you get your members to live it and not just know it?

This really convicted me for a few reasons: 1) Am I living out our standards? Do I know our standards well enough to live them out? 2) What is our house doing to educate our members on our standards and how to live them out? and lastly...as he was talking about this, I felt like he was asking us to make good people, to make our members good people who uphold our standards. Through talking to Jessi about this, I exclaimed, "I don't know HOW to make good people!" While that wasn't really Bob's point, it got me thinking. How ARE good people "made"?

The first thought that went through my head was God. Living for God changes a person, changes how they act and who they are. Yet there are many people in this world that are considered "good" people, not good according to God's standards, but to man's. So how do those people become good? The next thought that went through my head: parents. The way a person is raised has a lot to do with how they act and who they become. Growing up, I heard several people comment to my parents on how good we (the kids) were, how well-behaved we were, etc. I know a lot of this has to do with their relationships with God and the love for God that they instilled in each of us. However, I believe there is more to it than that as well. My parents were AMAZING parents...still are. No, they don't do everything right, they aren't perfect, no one is. But my parents brought up four kids in such a way that has been admired by many. They made good people out of us, with God's help. I can only hope and pray to be the same kind of parent someday. So, here's to you, Mom and Dad, and to all you have done for me and my brothers and sister. Thank you for making me who I am today. I LOVE YOU!

Update

2009-02-17T14:45:00.019-06:00

Okay, so here is the promised update! Things have been pretty busy around here (obviously :) ). So here's what's been going on with me lately...

Last Thursday, I went to Springfield, Illinois, for a class trip. It was Lincoln's 200th birthday, so we went to the Lincoln Library and Museum, along with Lincoln's Tomb. We attended a session that started at 9 (I think), so we had to leave at 6am. Then we had a busy day going through the museum. The governor of Illinois was there, along with a Lincoln impersonator and his wife. After the museum we made a stop at the tomb, and then we drove back home. It was a long and exhausting day, even though we got back around 6pm. Here are some pictures from the trip...

Friday morning, the same class went on another field trip to St. Louis, and we left at 7am. We went first to the History Museum, where we sat in on some science sessions that were being presented to 9th grade students. After lunch, we had a tour on westward expansion. After that, we went to the Art Institute and had another tour. By this time, we were all EXHAUSTED. Actually by the time we got to the westward expansion tour, we were all exhausted. So the Art Institute was the longest hour of our lives, I think. After the Art Institute, we went to a pub (Drezzel's, I think?). We were all hungry and tired, but we still had a good time and the food was great. Then we went to our hotel for the night and basically all crashed, I think. Well, Angie and I watched one movie, and then we crashed at like 9:30pm I think it was.

Saturday morning...oh wait, I should back up a little bit. Friday night, our professor forgot to tell us when we were supposed to be ready to leave Saturday morning. So Saturday morning, our room of 4 girls decided to just be ready around 9:30ish. We guessed right. But we didn't leave until about 10:20 or so because our professor decided to lecture us in the lobby of the hotel. Anyways, we finally got on the road to the Science Center, where we spent the day. It was an awesome place, but we were all pretty tired, and it was a Saturday, so it was busy. Around 1pm we left to come back home. We got home around 5:15pm. Here are some pictures from this trip...

The model arch that Angie, Dr. Sherer and

I made

The model arch that Marc, Arif, and Kyle made

Saturday night, Angie and I babysat for one of our advisors, Tammy. She and her husband went to a party with the college president, so we watched their 3 boys and 1 girl. The oldest boy is in 2nd grade I think, then the next boy is 4 I think, then 2-3, and the girl is about 3 months old. It was a great ending to a long and exhausting day.

Sorority life is going well, busy, but well. Babysitting is also going well; Coleton always greets me when I arrive with a smile and a "Hi, Miss Kendra." It is the cutest thing! I don't have any recent pictures of him, but here are some old ones...

He loves Thomas the Train Engine!!!

Showing off his train table...

Also on Tuesdays and Thursdays, I am tutoring a 2nd grade boy in reading, for one of my classes. His name is Douglas and he is a sweetheart! Things are going well with him...here is a picture of us together today...

Well, that is all for now!

Coming soon!

2009-02-16T12:22:00.001-06:00

Hey all I know it has been awhile since I've updated you on everything! Just wanted to let you know an update will be coming soon! As soon as I get unbusy...haha. :)

So....

2009-02-10T18:52:00.002-06:00

...just a random (really random) comment... :)

My window is currently open...like really really open!! Oh and for the first time in like 4 months, I had to open my window in my car today to get it to be at a comfortable temperature! I didn't have to turn the heat on, no air conditioning...I LOVE this weather!!!!!

Anyways, that's it, just wanted to share my excitement on the amazing weather! :)

Coleton

2009-02-09T10:02:00.002-06:00

So as many of you know, I babysit here at school. I babysit for the chaplain and his wife. They have two boys, ages 4 and almost 2. The 4 year old is Charlie Banks (no, I don't know why they call him Charlie Banks, his name is Charles...no clue) and the almost 2 year old is Coleton. I have babysat these two boys since freshman year, so for a little over two years now. I love them! They are soo much fun to play with and interact with. This semester, I have only been watching Coleton because Charlie Banks goes to daycare.

Every time I am with Coleton, I am amazed. He is about 22 months old and is growing up so fast! He has quite the charming personality and is such a sweetheart. :) This morning I went to their house and watched Sara (mom) interact with him for one of my classes. He amazes me constantly! An example of how much of a sweetheart he is...he ran up to me to give me a hug when I got there, so I picked him up (of course :) ). He talked to me a little bit about how he and mommy (Sara) were playing outside in the wagon, etc. Then he said something and I didn't quite catch what it was, but Sara interpreted for me. He said, "Bubba's sad." For those of you who don't know, Bubba is Charlie Banks. Apparently, Charlie Banks went through a phase where he would cry every time they dropped him off at daycare, and Coleton would always say, "Bubba's sad." Lately, he has just been saying it randomly, even when Charlie Banks isn't sad. But isn't that so sweet? And he says it in such a heartbreaking, sad voice, my heart melts! Sigh...

Well, anyways, I just wanted to share with everyone the adorable little boy that I am blessed to know and be able to watch from time to time. I will post some pictures later, but I have to go to class now. :)

Been awhile...

2009-02-05T20:17:00.002-06:00

I know it has been awhile since I have posted anything...sorry for that! I've been pretty busy, and then my computer decided to be crazy and not work...but, that is all taken care of now and I have my computer back! Yay! I was only without it for about two days...much better than the last time I had to get my computer fixed and went without a computer for about a month and a half and ended up getting a new computer because of everything that happened. Anyways, that's a whole different story, and a long one at that, and I am glad to have my computer back!

So, what have I been up to? Mainly just school and sorority and work stuff. I worked last weekend, except Sunday because our meeting for my sorority got moved up because of the Super Bowl. So that was my weekend, not all that exciting. This week has just been kind of a blur. My roommate and I have been having this weird phenomenon for two weeks in a row now. Our Tuesdays always feel like Thursdays. In other words, the beginning of our weeks seem to go really really slow. However, for me anyways, by the time I reach Thursday or Friday I am always wondering where the week went.

This weekend is fairly busy weekend for me. One of my sorority's national officers is coming to conduct officer training all day on Saturday. She is spending the night Saturday and then doing individual meetings with specific officers on Sunday (myself included). Then Sunday night, as usual, we have a meeting. I also have about 4 things due in my classes on Monday.

Well, that is all for now. I need to work on some stuff.

It's official...

2009-01-27T10:16:00.002-06:00

...it is IMPOSSIBLE to keep our room at a comfortable temperature for more than a few hours. I don't know about anyone else, but I always wake up a little bit chilled. Not necessarily while I'm still in bed, but as soon as I get out of bed, I'm freezing. It doesn't matter where I am sleeping at, I am always cold when I wake up. Is there something scientific about this phenomenon? I mean I always figured something along the lines of my body didn't need to produce as much heat when I was sleeping so when I wake up it can't keep up with how warm I want to be. I guess??

Anyways, back to the room...when I wake up in the morning and am invariably cold, I turn the heater on. Makes sense, right? Well, the problem is, by the time I get back from my first class or babysitting (no more than an hour and a half later), our room is BURNING UP. So, I do the sensible thing and turn the heater off. However, by the next time I come back to our room, straight from outside where it's in the single digits, our room feels cool again and I can't get warm. So, once again, I turn the heater on. But then...I think you get the point. ;)

In our last room, it was ALWAYS hot. We turned the heater on maybe twice?? Half of the rest of the time, we had the window open...yes, in the winter, our window was open. Never for very long, but it was that hot in our room. So, needless to say, I am not used to being chilled in my room and I am definitely not used to having to mess with our heater. Oh, the other thing, we have a thermostat in our room to set the temperature, right? Well, it doesn't matter what temperature the thermostat is on; if the heater is on, it stays on til you turn it off, which is why it gets so hot in our room.

Ah, the wonders of college campuses...

My new room :)

2009-01-25T16:49:00.004-06:00

Well, I am officially moved and settled into my new room. It is a bit bigger than my last room, which is nice, and it is also on second floor, so when I come in the front door I don't even have to go up any steps to get to my room. It's great. ;)

Here is a video showing the room. My bed is the one with the multicolored bedspread; my desk is at the end of my bed. My dresser is next to the door, with my closet right next to it. Enjoy!!

MOVING!!!

2009-01-23T12:19:00.002-06:00

I AM MOVING TODAY!!! Yay! So, the whole moving process in our house is happening this weekend!! Woohoo! My roomie and I will be moving into our new room today/tonight along with some other girls and the rest of the moves are happening this weekend.

Aaannnnddd....I haven't packed up. hehe...oops! Okay, well, I did pack up my books off of my bookshelf...but that's about it...and I might actually put them back on the shelf and just carry it down as is so that I can have my boxes for the rest of my stuf...we'll see.

It's colder again today :(...yesterday it was like 45 degrees. AmAzInG!! I kept having to remind myself yesterday that it was still January...sigh, oh well.

Well, I have to go to class now, just wanted to update you all on the moving situation! :)

My schedule for the week

2009-01-19T20:27:00.003-06:00

Today we celebrated Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. As such, we did not have classes today, which was a nice little break. However, I did still have to attend three lectures for one of my classes (one at 10, one at 11, one at 1). But they weren't too bad, considering I'm not much of a fan for lectures (who is??). Afterwards, Angie and I went to the CP and got some food and I had this amazing sandwich. Want to know what was in it?? It was turkey, ham, and american cheese...yeah, I know nothing too exciting, right? But it was AMAZING!! I don't know, maybe I was just that hungry. Anyways, then we came back to the house and I worked on my room some.

For those of you who don't know, I am still in the same room I was in last semester, for now anyways. The whole room switching thing was supposed to happen last semester but we had some issues and we've been working on figuring it all out. I think everything is finally figured out, as in all of our girls finally have a room lined up (I hope). So, sometime this week we should be moving around and stuff. I am currently on third floor, and I will be moving with my roomie (Jessi) down to second floor. So anyways I came back and cleaned my room a little bit and packed up my books in boxes so it would be easier to move them. My room is clean once again :) yay.

Tonight was our first sorority meeting of the semester, with me as president. Since it was a formal meeting, I was in charge of it. Let me tell you...I was scared to death before it started. But it turned out my fear was unnecessary because I did just fine! :) It's still a little weird for me to think that I am the president, but running that meeting makes it feel a little more real.

Tomorrow, I also do not have classes (I normally don't have class on Tuesdays). So, if you think about it I have a four day weekend from Saturday to Tuesday. Pretty cool, huh? I just realized that today...I was excited! Granted, I still have to babysit tomorrow morning and then go to work and I need to meet with someone, but I still consider it a kind of day off. Oh, and then Wednesday, my 8am class was cancelled, so I get to sleep in then too! Yay!! Should be a pretty good week...

Wednesday night I have a meeting, Thursday we are having our pictures taken for our composite as a sorority, and Saturday I have a couple of meetings, but other than that a pretty easy week! Oh, one of the boys I babysit, Charlie Banks, turns 4 on Friday!! Woohoo!

Well, I think that is it...I hope! I just bought a new planner this weekend so I can keep track of everything I have going on...good idea, huh? Yeah, I thought so, too. ;)

First Day

2009-01-12T18:43:00.003-06:00

Today was a day of firsts for me. It may not seem like a lot to anyone else, but today was a busy day for me. Here they are:

1. first day back at school...5 classes today
2. first day i actually did anything as the president of my sorority
3. first time eating the school food after 3 weeks...
4. first time i've had to miss band because of another class (don't worry, it was the last, too)
5. first time i've come back to school and didn't unpack everything (actually this was last night, and i will be moving soon so thats why i didn't unpack)

You can see what a crazy day it was...and that is only half of it. I got an important call during one of my classes that of course I couldn't take, but then after class, I had an hour before my next one. My friend and I spent the entire hour going back and forth between Johnson and Johann, meeting with a couple of different women in the administration on an issue, that I hope is soon to be completely resolved.

So, it was really crazy today, but tomorrow will be more relaxed (I hope!). I do not have any classes tomorrow, but I do have to work, and I also agreed to babysit Tuesday mornings now. But that is all I have tomorrow, which will seem really light compared to my 5 (supposed to be 6 with band) classes today and all the running around I did. But all in all, I think it was a good day and I feel good about where things are heading. Although it was crazy today and a little stressful, after accomplishing so much, I always feel good at the end of the day.

2009...

2009-01-04T21:39:00.002-06:00

Anther year has passed us by and I am still trying to catch up. Where on earth did 2008 go?? I am still surprised that 2009 is already here. In sunday school class this morning, the leader asked us all to share what we were anticipating in 2009. Most people couldn't really come up with anything. I came up with something, but afterwards I was kind of like...um, is that really all I look forward to in this coming year? I said that what I was looking forward to was that at the end of this year, I will only have a semester of college left. While that is exciting for me, I realize now how anxious that makes me sound. How much it makes me sound like I am not looking forward to this year, only to it being done and over with. That is not exactly true. While I do not have any huge plans for this year yet, I should still be looking forward to it right? It is a brand new year with countless new opportunities and experiences.

One lady in class this morning made a good point--what if this year Christ returned for us? What if this is the year of the Lord's return? While we can't know for sure, it puts a whole different perspective on this year, does it not? Suddenly, all these thoughts pop into my head about changing the way I am living to be ready for the Lord's coming. Yet these thoughts only pop into my head at the beginning of a new year because a lady said something about it in sunday school class?? That's not right.

I should be living every day as if today was the day of the Lord's return. Yet all too often I find myself thinking that I can do that later, that I have plenty of time. But I have no clue when Jesus will come back; no one except God knows the day or hour or year. And it is meant to be that way. And because of that, I should--we all should--be living each and every day as if it were our last on this earth, should we not? I feel very convicted.

Celebrations

2008-12-30T15:16:00.008-06:00

Today is quite a day for celebrations. I know what you are thinking...we just got done celebrating Christmas, and New Year's Eve isn't until tomorrow, so what could be today? Well, I shall tell you. Today is first of all my mom's birthday, second of all, my aunt and uncle's anniversary, and third of all my sister and brother-in-law's anniversary. Quite a big day huh? So, here's to all of you who are celebrating something today, may the Lord bless you and keep you from now until forevermore. I love you all!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MOM!!

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY KATHY AND ERIC!!

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY KRISTEN AND HEATH!!

Family Time :)

2008-12-21T13:50:00.003-06:00

I love family time. I love hanging out with my siblings and bringing up old memories and razzing each other. I love laughing and talking and playing cards and eating food.

You know how people always ask you what your favorite holiday/time of the year is? And the usual answers are Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter, 4th of July, etc. And usually that's what I answer, too. However, I have realized that my favorite time of the year is family time. It doesn't matter if it happens over a holiday (although the gifts at Christmas are a nice bonus ;) ) or if it is in the middle of August. Family time is a special time for me.

So, all that to say, my family is here! My sister, her husband, and their daughter drove up from Dallas yesterday and will be here for a few days. My brother and his girlfriend drove over from Ames yesterday also. As for me, I came home Thursday afternoon, right before all the bad weather hit. We all made it safe and sound, although I think we all were exhausted ;).

Today is my fourth day home and I already worked two 9 hour shifts. It was good to be back at work and see everyone again and get right back into the swing of things. But...I am TIRED. I am glad I have the next few days off to recouperate a little bit before working again.

Our tree looks much different than it did the last time I was home. There are presents!! Lots and lots! Lots of big ones this year. Hmmm...

Already my 3 brothers and Kristen have started a game of cards...Pinochle to be exact. We just finished an AMAZING meal...stuffed pork chops, carrots, broccoli, crescent rolls, homemade harvest grain bread and homemade applesauce. Yummy! I am really really full now. :)

One more week...

2008-12-13T23:12:00.002-06:00

Til I get to go home for Christmas!! Yay! I've been a little under the weather lately and it has made me want to go home even more. Even though it is only a cold, I long for some of my mom's loving care. Granted, I would be consuming massive amounts of Vitamin C if I were home, but I also could perhaps weasle some jello juice out of the deal. You see, whenever one of us kids was sick, (like really sick, the flu and such) my mom would make us jello juice. Now, it is exactly as it sounds, literally just jello juice. Want the recipe? It's simple; make jello and don't add as much cold water as normal and instead of putting it in the fridge, pour it into a cup and drink it. It is amazingly good. And somehow it is only that good when you are sick and your mommy makes it for you. Anyways, I've been wishing that I had some jello juice and my mom these past few days even though it is only a cold. But I haven't had a cold in quite a while so I am not used to it. I remember now how much I dislike being sick.

It is weird to think that already two weeks have flown by and that next week will be the end of my first 3 week session. Overall, it wasn't too bad. It was kind of nice only having one class even though I had to go to 2 1.5 hour sessions each day of the same class (well, except for Wednesday). The first few days I was incredibly bored because we didn't really have homework yet and we had nothing going on for the sorority and I am used to keeping pretty busy. But things are picking up some and oh that reminds me! I haven't told y'all the news! Last Sunday, we had elections for Sigma Kappa. This past year I have held the position of corresponding secretary in the house. This next year...I am going to be President! I was elected last Sunday to be the new President of Beta Mu of Sigma Kappa. Woot woot!! Tomorrow I will get installed and then I will officially start in January (I think). It is still kind of weird and new to me but also exciting!

Well, I guess that is it for now. Oh and another random thing...it rained here today...and didn't freeze. Yeah, in December, in Northern Missouri, it rained. Crazy weather, huh?

2008-12-09T22:14:00.004-06:00

The "5 THINGS GAME" The rules are to write 5 things under each of the 5 headings, and then tag 5 other people.

10 years ago...
1. I was 10 years old
2. I had just started playing the flute
3. I had, earlier in the year, flown to Florida with my siblings...all by ourselves
4. I was in 5th grade
5. I was probably really into Point of Grace

5 Things on Today's "To-Do" List
1. Go to class
2. Find my ID (didn't happen)
3. Buy a new ID
4. Train the person taking my position
5. Try not to be bored ;)

5 Snacks I Enjoy...
1. cheese
2. Chex mix
3. fruit loops
4. chocolate covered pretzels
5. popcorn

5 Things I Would Do if I were a Millionaire!
1. Pay for the rest of my college
2. Put a lot away for later (my future family)
3. Give lots to St. Jude's
4. Travel
5. Help those I know

5 Places I Have Lived...
(umm...how long did you have to be there for it to count as living there??)
1. West Marion
2. Hiawatha
3. East Marion
4. Canton
5. ???

5 Jobs I've had/Still have...
1. Babysitting
2. Kid's Kampus
3. Culver's
4. C-SC Dining Services
5. ???

5 People I'm tagging:
ummm....i don't know 5 people....and the people i do know have already been tagged...

O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree...

2008-12-06T21:35:00.004-06:00

Earlier this week, I was contacted by a friend of mine who wanted to know if I would be willing to help one of our sorority's alumna decorate her Christmas tree. I immediately agreed because I LOVE to decorate for Christmas! Christmas is by far my favorite holiday of the year because the Christmas season lasts for so long. As soon as Thanksgiving is over, I start listening to Christmas music and we put up all our Christmas decorations as well as our tree. So when I got asked to help decorate another tree I was excited!

The tree was a fake one and was about 9-10 feet tall. There were four girls including myself and the lady the tree belonged to. One of the other girls and I put on at least a dozen strings of white lights after getting the tree all put together. Then, all four of us worked together to put the beautiful ornaments on. When we were finished, we were all very proud! It was a gorgeous tree and I wish I had taken a picture of it so you could see!

So, that was Thursday night while I was at school. Yesterday, Friday, I came home and that night the four of us (Mom, Dad, Kaleb, and I) went to the Hoffman tree farm to find our tree. It was EXTREMELY cold out so we tried to choose quickly. We found, with much help from one of the workers, the perfect tree. It is an 8.5 foot tall white pine that has a perfect shape and is amazingly full. My Dad had to cut it down slightly so that it would fit in our living room, but it still looks great! We found a new place for it in our living room. It used to almost always go in front of our window but this year, we put it in the corner next to our kitchen and we LoVe it! We can see it from the hallway, the living room, and the kitchen! So my Dad and Kaleb set it up last night to let it fluff down. It was fun to watch it slowly let its branches down and see exactly what it was like!

It reminded me of a flower that, when still in a tight bud, is not much to look at. But once the flower slowly opens up, it reveals its amazing inner beauty that could never have been guessed from looking at the bud. Strangely enough, I think people are like that, too. Often times, we are not much to look at or perhaps what others see is not acceptable or immediately likeable. Yet as soon as we start slowly opening up to people, they see us for who we really are, beautifully made in God's image. In the same way, we should not judge others before we get to know them, for perhaps their beauty is yet to be unveiled.

So, anyways, back to decorating! My Dad and Kaleb put 4 strings of lights, which added up to 800 lights. They say it is too many lights but my Mom and I say it is perfect! After all, the lights make the tree!! :) Then we went through the usual tradition of putting all of our own ornaments on our tree. Ever since we were born, my Grandpa and Grandma gave us an ornament every year to put on our tree. This happens every year until we turn 18. It is always fun to pull out all the old ornaments and reminisce of years past. Another tradition is helping my parents put up all of their ornaments since we are done putting all ours up before they are. It was slightly different this year because it was just Kaleb and I putting up our ornaments, when it used to be Kristen, Keenan, Kaleb and I putting up our ornaments. Even though Keenan is not living at home anymore, we still had his ornaments so my Mom and Grandma put his on for him.

Then my Mom and I set about to putting up the rest of the house decorations, which mainly consists of the various nativity sets she has collected over the years. I love looking at each one and seeing the differences between them in style and such, yet they all portray the same scene. It amazes me that a scene that is so widely seen and made so many ways has still stayed the same. It also amazes me that some still do not see the significance of the scene. The shepherds and Mary and Joseph are not simply greeting a new baby into the world. They are greeting God's Son. And yet, they are doing so much more as well; they are worshipping Him. For He was King then and is still King now. How often do we look at and admire nativity scenes yet miss the reality of what is occuring in each one? How often do we see without really seeing and understanding?

Well, I suppose you all want some pictures of our tree? :) Here they are...Enjoy!

Dad and Kaleb putting the lights on

Mom and I putting on ornaments

The finished product!!

(with our traditional tree skirt, of course, made by Grandpa Miskell. We love and miss you Grandpa!)

So I couldn't resist...

2008-12-02T22:59:00.003-06:00

I HAD to put some pictures up of my niece, Ainsley. I don't want to steal any of my sister and brother-in-law's thunder, so I just picked my two favorites. I took these pictures while I was at their apartment in Dallas right before Thanksgiving. Isn't she simply THE cutest and most adorable little girl EVER???

She is not quite walking yet, but she pulls herself up on everything and crawls everywhere too! She has her first two bottom teeth also!! :) They are coming up to Iowa for Christmas and I can't wait to see them all again!

Home Again At Last

2008-11-30T17:08:00.002-06:00

So I finally made it home again. And yes, I mean school, as in Missouri, not Iowa. School has become my home, at least a second home for sure. It always feels good to come back to my room after the day and definitely after vacation.

Thanksgiving break was a whirlwind of traveling, food, family, cards, and occassionally sleep :). It was so much fun to spend some time with my sister and brother-in-law and niece! I thoroughly enjoyed it!! Houston was also a blast...in several different ways. There were a total of 16 adults, 3 kids under the age of 2, 4 dogs, and a cat. All in one house at some times. Three of the adults plus two of the dogs stayed elsewhere at night, but that means there were still 13 adults, 3 kids, 2 dogs, and a cat all in one house. It was quite interesting!

I got to spend quite a bit of time with my cousin's son, Jacob who will be two in a few days. The last time I saw him was when he was 5 months old, so he was much different! I loved getting to know him more and playing with him lots! I also got to meet his sister, Kylie, whom I had never met. She will be one in a few days. And of course, I got to spend time with almost all of my mom's side of the family which is always lots of fun! We played lots of card games, had some AMAZING food, and even went to the zoo! :)

We arrived home (in Iowa) at about 2:30 this morning after a 20 hour trip that was supposed to take 18 hours. We ran into some bad weather and had to take it slow, but we made it safe and sound! And now I am back at school, all settled in and ready to tackle the last 3 weeks of the sememster!

VACATION!!

2008-11-21T01:31:00.002-06:00

So I get a whole 10 days for Thanksgiving break this year! I'm so stoked! It will be busy and crazy and fast and I probably won't get the sleep that is much needed...BUT it will be lots of fun! I will be working one night at my favorite place ever...Culver's of course! Then I will be off to Texas! I will be spending a few days with my lovely sister and her husband and their adorable daughter (YAY!!) in Dallas. Then we will head down to Houston to join the rest of our family for a great big Thanksgiving celebration! I'm super excited to see everyone again and some that I have never seen (my cousin's daughter...she's almost one and I've never met her :( ). There should be lots of good food, laughter, card games, and good ole family fun! So, all that to say, if I disappear for awhile...you know why! :)

I will get you all updated on my wonderful vacation when I return...and there will most definitely be pictures of the adorable younguns. Hope you all have a wonderful and happy Thanksgiving!

I am so thankful for my family who always supports me and loves me and is there for me. I am thankful for God who loves me even when I don't deserve it. I am thankful for kids to make us all smile in the hardest of times. I am thankful for the sun, the stars, and rain. I am thankful for the love I have for kids. What are you thankful for?

Finals, Finals, Finals

2008-11-19T15:58:00.000-06:00

So...I've had 3 finals so far...out of 5. And my brain hurts. A LOT. Two of them actually weren't that bad and the other one I think I did really well on, but I am just so ready to be done with this semester! It's very close...less than two days but it seems to be taking forever! :(

I cannot believe how fast this semester has gone though. It seemed like just yesterday it was September and I was asking myself how I was going to last another 2 1/2 months. But now it is November and I don't know where the year went! I am not quite ready for it to be winter, so I am always surprised when I actually have to wear a coat outside!

After Thanksgiving, we will be starting something new. We will have our first ever 3 week term at Culver-Stockton College. We will take a regular class (we can have up to 4 credit hours) but it will be condensed into 3 weeks! Crazy, huh? I'll keep you updated on how that goes. It should be interesting that's for sure!

Anyways, back to finals. I have one tomorrow at 3:30pm and my last one (yay!) is at 8am (yuck!) Friday morning. I am a little worried about my one tomorrow...it's precalculus. I've done pretty well so far but I tend to freeze on the exams. I would appreciate your prayers! :)

My kandid korner :)

2008-11-19T15:01:00.000-06:00

Hey all! So i decided to start a blog to record some of my thoughts, feelings, and happenings in my life! I will be as candid (hehe, kandid) and honest as I possibly can. I will do my best to keep you updated on what is going on in my life at college as well as when I go home for breaks and summer.

Hope you all enjoy!