My Journey of God's Blessings

Housing update

2008-10-28T19:14:00.003-04:00

Since my last post over a month ago we have lived among boxes and waited for closing day to arrive. Tomorrow's the day! We had hoped for last weekend...but after Saturday's all day downpour we realized it would have been a miserable moving day.

We'd appreciate prayers as we spend the next few days getting settled in our new home.

BIG birthday present :)

2008-09-22T20:01:00.007-04:00

A little over a month ago Matt asked me what I wanted for my birthday. We both laughed as I said "a house." Here we are a little over a month later, on our way to buying our first house :)

We met with a realtor a few weeks back and thought it would just open the door to allow us to look at houses that we liked. 2 days later we looked at 3 houses. 3 days later we were putting an offer on the house. That evening our offer was accepted. Things have been moving along quickly as we look ahead to moving in the end of October.

View from the kitchen into the living room

Entry way--and a view into the dining room (which we'll probably make an office for now)

Living room

That's the big news for us :) We're excited to be entering this new adventure in our life.

first day

2008-09-04T19:54:00.005-04:00

Overall, it was a wonderful day. I have a great group of students who are already showing eagerness to learn and excitement for 3rd grade. Their eagerness and excitement began to dwindle as the day wore on. Normally, I may take this rather personally...however I realize it was the near 95 degree temperature in the room that brought about the droopy eyes and sleepy heads. Tomorrow is looking to be more unbearable, although I think the ice pops I bought tonight may help :)

About 20 minutes after the students had arrived and were hard at work one of the boys called me over and told me in a soft voice, "Mrs. George, Thank you for our morning work. Thank you for being so nice. And, you are beautiful."

About 2 hours into the morning, after we had practiced our fire drill line up I gave my students about 5 minutes to go play on the playground. One of my girls ran up to me with her arms held out wide, looked right at me and proclaimed, "Has anyone ever told you that you are the greatest teacher EVER?"

Well...how can I not be excited for what this year has in store? I pray that God can use me to change the lives of each student whom he has entrusted to my care. Please pray along with me this year as I will undoubtedly face great challenges and even greater successes.

my classroom

2008-09-02T22:02:00.001-04:00

I spent last week in my classroom preparing for the year ahead. Between last year being my first and the year's rocky start I never really felt good about the set-up of it all. This year I love it! Thought I'd share some pictures of where I spend a lot of my time...

This is the area to the right when you walk in the door. It is my writing center/sign in table/small reading carpet. I think this corner is my favorite space in the room :)

This is just a better view of my sign in table. I especially like my $2 fake plant :) There's another one by my desk.

This is the carpet area, straight ahead as you walk in the door. This is probably my 2nd favorite place in the classroom. Notice a trend? I enjoy the comfy reading areas :)

This is my desk area...I've still got some work to do here. But you get the idea. I have a window view :) Can you find the other $2 plant?

I have one more day of preparation before the kiddos come Thursday :)

why I do what I do...

2008-08-29T17:28:00.003-04:00

http://vodpod.com/watch/970676-dalton-sherman-%E2%80%94-dynamic-speaker-extraordinaire

This is why I teach.

It's a longer video...but well worth watching. This boy was gaving the opening day convocation to 20,000 Dallas teachers.

Old Time Base Ball

2008-08-28T20:14:00.006-04:00

Last Sunday we joined John and Amy for a day of base ball. It wasn't baseball the way we usually think of base ball. It was 1865 rules and attire.

I especially enjoy the touristy cooler :)

Amy and I enjoyed watching these two boys who would have fit right in with Laura Ingalls and her antics :).

They even had the little kids changing the score and outs.

a year ago...

2008-08-19T10:49:00.009-04:00

Yesterday Matt and I celebrated our 1 year anniversary :) It is hard to believe that it's already been a year! This year has been filled with blessings, challenges and growth. I love going through life with my best friend beside me...it makes all of life's moments extra special.

This weekend we were able to get away to celebrate our year together. We were so blessed to have found such a wonderful bed & breakfast.
We arrived Friday evening to find the hosts and another couple sitting on the porch enjoying the view over Seneca Lake. We quickly settled our stuff and joined them for some porch sitting. We soon learned that the hosts were originally from Rochester area then moved to their vacation area to build this beautiful home. We also found that the husband was a former RIT baseball player. The baseball conversation took off as we continued to enjoy a relaxing evening. We woke up Saturday morning to the amazing smells of breakfast. The 4 guest couples gathered around the large breakfast table as our hosts served omelets, french toast, fresh fruit, scones and endless coffee. Matt and I mentioned that we were planning to go kayaking that day and before we knew it our host had already called and made kayak reservations for us.

We spent the next 3 1/2 hours enjoying the views of Seneca Lake as we kayaked a total of 8 miles. We were sore, but the time together, the beautiful views and the workout were totally worth it!
Sorry about the last picture...you do what you can when you need to use a pile of rocks for your camera stand and the only view of the lake looks directly into the sun.

We headed back to the bed & breakfast for some more porch sitting and a round of ladder golf before we headed out for an early dinner. Our hosts had suggested a restaurant on Keuka Lake with a beautiful view. They were right...it was a beautiful view...however, the food could have been a little less greasy. By this time we were ready to crash for good after our busy day. We went back for an evening of good conversation with our hosts and a few of the other couples.

Sunday morning we woke up to another amazing breakfast: egg casserole, pancakes, fresh fruit, banana bread and coffee. The weekend was perfect. If anyone ever needs a nice get-away place let us know...we'll gladly pass on the information. You can't beat the incredible hospitality and relaxation we enjoyed.

it's been too long...

2008-08-13T08:13:00.008-04:00

I apologize for not keeping up with my blog this summer. I'll do my best to capture what's happened this summer:

*Grandma passed away on July 14th. Thank you for everyones thoughts and prayers.

*I've been able to catch up on scrapbooking :) I think I'll have our wedding album finished by the time summer's over.

*What summer isn't complete without a weekend at a cottage? John and Amy invited us to join them for a weekend at their family's cottage. It was the perfect time of relaxing and enjoying the company of good friends. Check out the pictures on Amy's blog.

*Matt has always told me about the civil war re-enactment at Genesse Country Museum. This year we were finally around for the event and spent the day wandering through the village and going back in time. It was an incredible event!

*This past weekend we traveled home for a Brown family reunion. It was a great family weekend. We spent Friday and Saturday with my family then went to Matt's parents for the rest of the weekend. Standing out to me as one of the best times was hearing Laura's laugh for *most* of the car ride home on Saturday. She loved having an audience to entertain.
This box cover helped with the entertainment. And of course, I gave it a try as well...but didn't look nearly as cute as Laura. I'm sure Andrea will make that photo known soon enough :)

*And lastly...the large beam in our apartment *almost* fell on Matt last night:
Last week I noticed the beam was slowly inching away from the ceiling. We let our landlord know, he checked it out and assured us we'd be okay until he returned from vacation. We were fine for the week. Last night they came to fix it and realized they didn't have all the necessary tools. Right after they left we went to the kitchen to get some cookies and milk, came back to the couch, sat down and CRASH! Do you see the fan cord? That's all that kept it from falling on Matt's head! Fortunately, 2 hours later the beam is fixed and secure!

grandma

2008-07-10T23:06:00.005-04:00

During these past 2 weeks I have been reminded of the great blessings of family. It started with a week long family reunion in Michigan. I'll be sure to post more about the week later, but for now something else...
The blessings continued this week as I had the opportunity to spend this week with my parents at our cottage. I planned the trip over a month ago and little did I know then that the timing of the trip would be the perfect chance for me to visit with my grandma in the nursing home. We are pretty sure she is facing her last few days here on this earth and although this brings sadness, it also brings reminders of God's promises. I know she will be going to the place God has prepared for her. She will be seeing Jesus face to face. And I know her broken body will be restored!
My mom and I have been sharing scripture and song lyrics back and forth that have been encouragement to us over the last few days so I thought I'd share some:

Christians never say goodbye
We only move to our home up high
Free from pain...with Jesus we will reign
______

When we all get to heaven
What a day of rejoicing that will be!
When we all see Jesus
We'll sing and shout the victory!
______

Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere. -Psalm 84:10
______

If you are reading this, please keep my family in your prayers at this time.

***I realized after I posted that I should mentioned this is not the same grandma who I previously posted about. She is doing better and recovering well.***

School's out for summer!

2008-06-28T22:08:00.002-04:00

It's hard to believe it's already June and I officially survived my first full year of teaching. I think when I look back on my teaching career in 30 years I may actually be able to say that the first few months of this year were the most difficult. One student made those months particularly difficult...and all it took was him slapping me and he was out. I can laugh about it now...but it truly was a test which I can now say I passed. After those trials I was able to really get to know the other students in my class and realized how incredibly blessed I was to spend this year with them.

Tomorrow morning I take off for Michigan for the family reunion. I'll be there all week, Matt will be joining us on Thursday. I'm sure I'll have plenty of memories and pictures to share when we get back next weekend! Stay posted!

our life in pictures

2008-06-18T20:25:00.008-04:00

With the end of baseball season, Matt's graduation and the end of the school year I'm not sure where time has gone. I figured a collection of pictures would be the best way to update...enjoy :)

Matt's done! He graduated!

Matt's graduation present:

Well, his present is the grill...but somehow I got a patio set out of the deal too :) We've since had to move our grill to the front porch. CrAzY Rochester winds!

June provided opportunity for yet another girls' weekend. With Beth heading off to South Korea and Karen getting married in October it was a necessary get together. We were able to pull off a surprise bridal shower for Karen. We're so excited for her! We also enjoyed the precious time of worshiping together at church.

This week we received news that my grandma had been admitted to the hospital. They discovered a tumor and an enlarged aorta. Matt and I went to visit over the weekend and I was so blessed to have the chance to pray with her and share my faith.
She went into surgery on Tuesday evening with a predicted 5% survival. As a friend of mine said "someone must have forgotten to tell God about that 5%." God had other plans and brought her through the surgery successfully. She is still in ICU under close watch.

I think that's enough for picture updates for now. Only 7 more days of school!

my teacher wanted to be the hero...

2008-05-31T17:01:00.003-04:00

I've recently been teaching my students what it means to add voice to their writing. I got this idea from my colleague and needed to share the outcome.

At the beginning of writing on Friday morning I gave each student a blank piece of paper, told them to write their name on it (a direction that is still CONSTANTLY needed) and proceeded to tell them for the next thing to work there was to be no talking, and no laughing. I walked behind my desk, pulled out a bag of fudge stripe cookies, opened the bag and started eating one in front of them. I was sure to let them know how delicious the cookie tasted and smelled. I then went back to the bag and grabbed another cookie. By this time I have some students turning their backs on me, others pleading (without saying anything) with me to give them one. I believe I became even more obnoxious with the second cookie, letting them know how great it was.

After finishing the 2 cookies I closed the package and returned it to my desk drawer. I then instructed my students to spend the next 4 minutes writing about what had just taken place.

After those 4 minutes had passed I gave them the chance to share what they had written. I thought you'd enjoy reading some of their responses:

"She didn't share. We wanted some good chocolate chip cookies and I bet they were delicious!"

"You made me feel like I wanted to explode!"

"It made me mad and angry. I will just take the cookies and hog them all!"

"Mrs. George ate cookies in front of us to make us really hungry. Mrs. George also described that they were good to make us even more hungry"

"She didn't even stop to give us one, not one single crumb! I love these kind of cookies! I felt really jealous because I don't usually get them!"

"I turned my back so I did not have to think about it!"

There were many other great responses, but on with the story :). I then went back to my desk and grabbed the bag of cookies. Upon giving the "no talking" direction again I placed one cookie on each students' desk. Their faces lit up, they were so excited...until...I informed them that they couldn't eat it. I gave them another few minutes to write again:

"My teacher wanted to be a grinch!"

"My teacher wanted to be the hero of saving us from hunger. But it's not fair she gets to eat one and we can't. I'm soooooooo made at my teacher. If I had a cookie I would rub it in her face too. I would say aha you can't have any! That's what you get! Now she's not the hero."

"This really does not bother me because I have these cookies at home all the time so when I go home I'll just have some."

"We finally got a cookie (yay!) and we can't eat it (aw man!). If you ate it why can't we eat it?"

"You are sharing with us, you are the best teacher. Except now we can't eat it! I am through with this, I am going to eat it anyways!"

"When you turn your back I will eat all the cookies in one second!"

Don't worry, I let them eat their cookies and their stories quickly changed back to my being a good teacher :) They understood my reason for our activity and now recognize the voice in their own writing! Mission accomplished!

I am...

2008-05-24T16:36:00.008-04:00

I am: a child of God, a wife, a daughter, a sister, a friend, a teacher (thanks for the great answer Amy...with one change).

I think: I'm glad God is writing my story. ("We find ourselves in the middle of a story that is sometimes wonderful, sometimes awful, often a confusing mixture of both, and we haven't the slightest clue how to make sense of it all...we try to interpret the meaning of life with only fragments, isolated incidents, feelings, and images without reference to the story of which these scenes are merely a part." The Sacred Romance)

I want: the coffee table we found today :)

I wish: that more people would accept the love of our Savior.

I hate: folding laundry.

I miss: living with my college girls. Who wouldn't want 5 additional wardrobes, 5 shoulders to cry on, 5 prayer warriors, and 5 best friends.

I fear: losing those close to me.

I feel: proud of my husband and all his accomplishments :)

I hear: NBA Live (Matt's playing).

I smell: fresh air (I love having a sliding glass door to open :)

I crave: the Olive Garden desserts we have waiting in our fridge for later (or sooner).

I search: online for houses for sale, knowing full well we're not ready to buy yet.

I regret: the years when I didn't make my family a priority.

I love: being married to my best friend.

I ache: for the children in this generation who don't know what it means to grow up in a loving home.

I care: about my students.

I always: buy sweedish fish when I drive long distances by myself.

I am not: always as confident as I want to be. I sometimes forget that I was "wonderfully made" in the eyes of God.

I believe: in the power of the blood of Jesus.

I sing: in the car. When Matt and I sing in the car it becomes a competition to see who can sing the MOST off key.

I cry: easily.

I lose: whenever I play Yahtzee against Matt (who else gets 3 yahtzees in a row on the first 3 turns?)

I never: turn down skittles.

I need: to get serious about an exercise plan.

I am happy: to be an aunt to such a beautiful baby girl.

I hope: to be a blessing to those I come in contact with.

CONGRATS!

2008-05-19T21:06:00.003-04:00

My brother called tonight and asked if I had enough practice being an aunt. I asked if my answer would change the news he was about to share. They are expecting their first baby. So exciting!!!

Congrats Kevin & Dawn! We are eager to celebrate with you in this exciting time! Love you!

new summer do

2008-05-18T18:18:00.002-04:00

For awhile I've been wanting to do something different with my hair. But well, I just didn't know what that something different would be. I figured it out:

I told my hair dresser I wanted style and less hair! Thick hair is definitely a blessing in the winter when I need a heater. But when warm weather comes, it is not fun to spend 20 minutes with a hot blow dryer attempting to style it. It's then that I give up and throw it in a pony tail.

It took me 5 minutes to do my hair this morning! I'm going to like this!

I have more to post about but will spread those out over the next few days :)

more faith and less doubt

2008-04-29T21:08:00.003-04:00

I never came to you, my friend,
and went away without
some new enrichment of the heart;
More faith and less doubt. --Grace Cowell

I found this beautiful quote on friends and feel as though it perfectly captures the way I feel after each opportunity to spend time with the friends God has blessed me with. Heidi, Beth and I have been great friends since college. We've stayed close over the years and look forward to each girls weekend we can have together. We stayed up late (ahem...I actually made it until midnight 2 nights in a row!), ate junk food, shopped, talked, laughed and even fit in a chick flick.

One of my favorite parts of spending time with my girls is going to church together. I love that it's a priority and passion we all have that helps develop our bound. These are the girls I've laughed and cried with, the girls who have seen me at my most broken times, where some would run, they have stood beside me, prayed with me and helped me grow. I love standing beside them as we worship God together. Thanks for your friendship girls!

Looking forward to the next girls weekend in June :)

On another note, my hubby is RIT's athlete of the week! I'm so proud of him! Love you babe!

Spring Break

2008-04-21T21:09:00.003-04:00

We were blessed with amazing weather last week...definitely can't complain. I returned to school today and heard endless stories of people who traveled south and had cooler weather than what we had here. What goes good with great weather? Baseball of course! Matt had games Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday. Matt's parents came up Thursday for the baseball packed weekend. We spent Friday together while Matt was at school. We went for a walk and found some great shopping deals :) That evening we met up with Bethany and decided on pizza before heading to the movies. Although we rarely choose to pay full price for movies we thought it'd be worth it to see Ben Stein's Expelled. An added bonus: a girl from Bethany's team was working the ticket window and gave us all the senior discount :) Not bad!

I'll admit I'm not usually one for watching, let alone enjoying documentaries but I highly recommend this movie! Ben Stein brings to light many circumstances in which scientists and/or professors have been forced to leave their jobs because of their belief in Intelligent Design versus Darwinism. In addition, he interviews many Darwinists who struggle to identify scientific proof for what they believe. I know I can't do it justice so please...just go see it!

On another note...prior to break Matt and I spent a weekend dog sitting for Beckett while John and Amy headed out of town for a few days. It took about 2 of the 4 days for him to settle in and realize he was stuck with us for a few days. We survived the weekend despite the endless bell ringing (his trained way of letting you know he "needs" to go outside). He's figured out the system: ringing the bell every 10 minutes on a nice day is a guaranteed way get outside and enjoy a few minutes of sunshine. No really though, he is the most well-trained puppy I've ever met. It was fun for Matt and I to have a puppy for a weekend. We did however realize that we're not ready for one of our own.

Looking forward to an upcoming girls weekend with Beth and Heidi. I'm sure I'll have more to post after that :)

can I call another blog "update"?

2008-03-31T21:11:00.002-04:00

Alright, I know I keep saying it. But I realize I need to get better at updating my blog. So hear it goes again, another promise that I'll do better...we'll see :)

It's official...Matt has a real job! We thank all of you who have been praying for us as we wait on God's plan. God made it all very clear to us about a week back when Matt received word from the White Plains job (down near NYC) that he hadn't gotten the job. Not 10 minutes later another offer was presented to him. He had interviewed 3 weeks earlier with the place he worked over the summer. Just that morning at breakfast we both commented that that particular job probably wasn't going to happen since he hadn't heard back. Ha...God had a different idea :) Matt has accepted the position and we'll be staying here in Rochester :) It was a clear answer to prayer and a clear decision to make.

Although the whole search was an emotional roller coaster I can't put to words how it helped to bring Matt and I even closer together. If that was the plan God had for all the questioning and wondering then it was well worth it.

Hmmm...what else...

Matt and I went to see the play Peter Pan this weekend. It was INCREDIBLE! The sets were immaculate, the singing outstanding and the special effects flying was unbelievable! And to top it all...the show was performed by middle schoolers. Matt's cousin goes to one of the Greece middle schools and was one of the lost boys (there were at least 50 of them, in addition to the 50 some indians and 50 some pirates!!!). We were in for a surprise when Peter Pan's entrance onto stage took him high above the stage!

Hmmm...what else...

Oh, I'm sure I'll have plenty of stories to share after this next weekend when Matt and I dog-sit for this little guy. John and Amy are heading out of town and asked us to take care of Beckett while they're away. Matt and I would love to have a dog, but can't in our apartment so maybe this will be a good substitute. We went over last night to learn all we needed to know to make sure he survives the weekend (or is it for our survival?). Amy had written her "sub plans" with Beckett's rules. I think he must have known something was up...he spent all evening trying to eat the plans. But hey, I guess you can't put too much past a dog who graduates from obedience school with honors.

Thanks for checking in.

Happy Birthday Matt!

2008-03-15T20:02:00.003-04:00

Thank you for choosing me as your wife! Everyday I thank God for bringing us together and allowing us to walk through this journey together. Thank you for loving me!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MATTHEW!!!

Beach and Baseball

2008-03-10T18:52:00.009-04:00

Last week I had the pleasure of traveling to Myrtle Beach with Matt's parents for two things:

The Beach

and Baseball

I left last Friday right after school, planning to meet Matt's parents in Pennsylvania for the trip. About half-way to PA I started driving straight into a snow storm. From Cortland to Binghamton wasn't too bad...it was when I crossed the state line into PA that I started to think that they don't even own snow plows. I couldn't see in front of me, couldn't tell where the lines were on the road and couldn't get around the crazy drivers choosing to navigate the "middle" lane at 15 miles per hour. I finally met up with Matt's parents, had dinner then we decided to drive through the night (it was already 7:30pm). We were eager to get out of the winter weather! We arrived in Myrtle Beach at 9:30 Saturday morning. Although glad we were there, we weren't quite sure what to do to fill our time till we could get into our condo at 3:00. Well, we resorted back to our reason for being there...we went to the BEACH :)

Each day included a walk on the beach followed by an afternoon of watching the RIT tigers on the field.

It was an amazing week! It was such a blessing to spend quality time with my in-laws. We made tons of great memories (and collected just as many seashells :)

Matt was able to sneak away from the team to spend some time with us.

All week we'd driven past immaculate mini golf courses (there were huge regular golf courses too...but none of us are avid golfers). We knew we had to go before we left. We had a few hours Tuesday morning before Matt had to be at practice so we ventured out to find just the right course. The one we picked was Peter Pan themed...and way better than any mini golf course I'd ever been too.

I'm not really sure who won...for some reason I can't seem to recall that memory :)

Baseball season is in full swing after this week. Matt is supposed to play next weekend in PA, but with this crazy Northeast weather I'm not sure the fields will be ready. I'm not-so-secretly hoping the games will be canceled so he'll be home for his birthday this Saturday.

Quack, Quack

2008-02-23T12:02:00.002-05:00

Although sick, my sweet niece is still adorable :)

Look to the Lord

2008-02-21T09:21:00.002-05:00

"Give thanks to the Lord, call on his name; make known among the nations what he has done. Sing to him, sing praise to him; tell of all his wonderful acts. Glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice. Look to the Lord and his strength; seek his face always." (Psalm 105:1-4)

Ever since my good friend Amy shared Psalm 105:4 with me back in my sophomore year of college (a difficult, yet life-changing year) I have claimed it as my life verse. I strive to "look to the Lord and seek his face", it's the "always" part which I find most difficult. I, like so many am better at seeking God during the difficult times, yet often forget to truly praise him during the great times, or seek him during the "in between" times.

Last Sunday in church verses 1-4 were shared as our "Good News for Seekers" and I realized how vital a piece I was missing from this Psalm. David begins this praise by lifting "thanks to the Lord and calling on his name." He is so blessed by all the Lord has done that he continues by making "known among the nations what he has done..."

God has blessed my life in so many incredible ways. I have a family who loves me. A mother and father who supported me and encouraged me to reach for my goals. They took me to church, where I discovered the love of our Savior and have accepted him as my personal savior. I live in a country where I am free to praise God. I have married my best friend who loves, cherishes and honors me. I am blessed with incredibly loving and funny brothers and sisters. They have stood by me through the many ups and downs of life. I have a beautiful new niece. I am blessed with a great job, where daily I teach and love 18 amazing 3rd graders. God has blessed me with friends beyond measure...from college, from home, from school, from church...from all walks of life. With each special friend I have an incredible story of how God worked to bring them into my life at just the right time. I, like David, must remember all of God's "wonderful acts."

Many of you know that Matt and I are in a transitional stage right now. Matt graduates in May and is now in the midst of searching for a job. So far he's applied as far away as NYC, and as close as Rochester. I've called Rochester home now for the last 6 years, obviously a move would mean many changes, for both of us. For me personally this has been an emotional roller coaster as we sort through possibilities. I am blessed to see that this adventure has been a growing experience for both Matt and I as we grow closer to each other, and to the Lord. Obviously, God has a plan bigger than we know. I strongly believe that as we continue to "Look to the Lord and his strength; seeking his face always" we'll discover what plan he has for us. Please be in prayer along with us as we look to faithfully follow God's call for our lives.

i'm still here

2008-02-19T20:03:00.006-05:00

I know it's been awhile since my last post...a trend I'm doing well at living up to :) I guess it's over due time for some random updates:

1. February vacation officially started on Friday at 3pm. We were blessed to have my parents come visit for the weekend. They hadn't had the chance to see our apartment yet and I was very excited to show off our cute place :) We spent the weekend relaxing, keeping up with their jack russell puppies, playing dominoes and antique shopping. Thanks for visiting Mom and Dad :) Love you!

2. In my last post I said I was going to post Christmas pictures...and well...I never did. So here they are:
Family Christmas :)

I love this picture of my Grandpa and I :)

HA HA, this is a GREAT picture!!! Bethany, mom and Matt were showing off their new cold weather gear.

3. This vacation is packed full of family time. I couldn't be happier with the chance to spend quality time with my family. 3 days with my parents at the beginning of the week, and I'm still looking forward to 2 days with my mom, sister, sister-in-law, niece and brother-in-law.
After this week I'll go back to school for a week, then I'm off on vacation again :) Matt's baseball team kicks off their season in Myrtle Beach. The last 3 years I've really wanted to join him as they've traveled to Florida and Arizona, and finally this year it's working out for me to go. I'm excited for the chance to get away from the cold and relax and watch baseball. I'm traveling with Matt's parents...chance to spend more time with family!!! We're staying at what looks like a GREAT place. Can't wait!!!!

I will definitely be posting Myrtle Beach photos soon after our return. :)

what a day

2008-01-30T20:52:00.000-05:00

So as I drove down Ridge Road on the way to school this morning (listening to the LONG list of school closings) I first noticed the Subway had no power, then realized all the street lights were out. As I drove closer to school I found myself hoping that they'd be out all the way into the parking lot. Sure enough...they were! I noticed all the lights off in our building, all except the emergency lights. I joined the 3 other cars in the parking lot and went inside. The 2 other teachers and custodian were waiting in the lobby with flashlights. Our principal and more teachers arrived by 7:15am. We all assumed they'd send us home and that'd be it. NOPE...word from the superintendent was that we'd be business as usual. With absolutely no direction as to what we were to do with the kids once they arrived, we went to our classrooms, opened the blinds and tried to get our day started.

Kids arrived at 7:50, screaming as they realized how dark the hallways were. They thought it was pretty cool, until they realized that the bathrooms were like a deep dark dungeon in the middle of the building, they refused to go in! News came by 8:30 that we may be moving everyone to another building in the district (we were the only ones without power). Of course, this possibility had the kids full of questions. "what school are we going to?" "will we get lunch?" "are they going to go by bus?" "are we going to have recess all day?"

I survived the many questions with my staple answer, "I know as much as you do." (I'm sure that helped them feel very safe!) At 8:55 we received news that we'd be loading the buses at 9:05 and needed to be ready to teach once we got there!

We arrived at our sister school and were directed to kindergarten and 1st grade classrooms. We had to pick up and move every hour--we were in a total of 3 different classrooms. At about 10:30 I finally had my students understanding that we were not going back to our school. By 10:45 they were coming around to tell us that power was back on at our building and we'd be loading up the buses to take students back at 12:30. UGH! Sure enough, they were full of questions again! "can we get grilled cheese sandwiches still?" "how will we pay for our lunch?" "is the power really back on?" My staple answer this time: "I know what time we're eating lunch and when we load the buses...that's it!"

We returned to our building (through the whiteout conditions) and settled the kids in for a movie. Every day at the end of dismissal we hear the announcement "All buses have been called." Today, those words were music to our ears...the day was OVER!

the "s-h" cuss word

2008-01-24T18:10:00.000-05:00

Yesterday when I picked my students up from library the librarian told me she needed to talk with my after school:

During library one of my boys went to the librarian and exclaimed that another boy had said the "s-h" cuss word. She was caught slightly off guard and asked him specifically what had been said. The "tattling student" happens to be brutally honest (sometimes to his own detriment) and whispered to the librarian "shut-up."

HA HA...one thing I love about teaching 3rd graders is their innocence.

I know it's been awhile since my last blog. I've been busy getting back into the swing of the new quarter at school. My class has taken a complete 180 turn since the difficult student was removed. My students are respectful, funny and smart! I love my job! Not too many people are fortunate enough to say that, but I really do love it! Of course, there are still frustrating and stressful times, but I am truly blessed by the 18 students God has placed in my care.

This past week I found myself on an organization fix. I've been rearranging and organizing my classroom and finally feel like it is an inviting and comfortable space for learning and fun. I'll be posting some pictures of my classroom soon :)

New Year's resolutions

2008-01-03T19:16:00.000-05:00

Normally I don't put much stock in New Year's resolutions. However, after such a tragic and eventful Christmas season I have had something weighing heavily on my heart. Within the last week I have received news of 4 tragic events in the lives of people very close to me. News of each event has brought deeper sorrow and heartache as I realize the pain those close to me are going through.

The thing weighing heavily on my heart is that I am not always the best at keeping in consistent contact with those close to me. I find that in this time of facebook and instant message it is so easy to feel connected without actually being connected.

To my dear friends and family, I love you all and thank God for you daily.

A bittersweet week

2008-01-01T21:53:00.000-05:00

Matt and I traveled home to my parents last Saturday and so began the Christmas week. We spent 2 days with my parents then traveled half-an-hour down the road to spend Christmas Eve with Matt's family. After opening presents Christmas Eve morning we piled into the car and headed to Pennsylvania. This was the first year I was able to participate in the family regifting tradition. I think Matt got the best gift...an animated shadow box nativity scene. When you pull the string it plays music as the nativity characters move back and forth across the box. Ha ha! We spent Christmas day at Grandma and Grandpa White's. We ate lots of food and enjoyed time with family!

Upon our return to NYS we went back to Matt's parent's house and did a whole lot of relaxing. Oh, we also saw "I am Legend." A highly recommended movie!

It was Thursday morning when the week took a turn. I had been in contact with my parents on a regular basis after hearing that Dad spent Christmas day in the emergency room. He was in a lot of pain, and after some tests it was determined it was gall-bladder related. When dad called Thursday morning, I thought it was for a quick update. He had other news to share:

A friend from high school had been killed in a farming accident. Collin had the greatest ability to befriend anyone, and lived life in pursuit of his dreams and goals. I believe in his 23 years he pursued and accomplished more than some will do in an entire lifetime. Regretfully, Collin and I hadn't had much contact over the last year. The last time I saw him was at a wedding in June 2006.
I spent the next few days struggling with the emotions of this tragedy. Even now I find myself struggling to understand the loss of such a great young man. I hold on to the many great memories with a great friend.
Matt and I attended the calling hours on Saturday evening and were amazed by the number of people that came...clearly showing the many lives Collin had touched in his 23 years.

Saturday night Matt and I headed to my sister's. Our whole family was together for the Brown family Christmas :). It was a great day to catch up and enjoy family time.

I'll post pictures soon...

Christmas Survey

2007-12-16T09:31:00.000-05:00

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? both, I like opening wrapped presents but using gift bags is way easier!
2. Tree: Real or artificial? real (mom, the pine scented candle never had the same effect)
3. When do you put up the tree? This was our first year with our own tree...it went up the first weekend in December.
4. When do you take the tree down? again, it's our first year...I'll get back to you on that :)
5. Do you like eggnog? in moderation
6. Favorite gift received as a child? a lot come to mind
7. Do you have a nativity scene? yes, the starter Willow Tree collection
8. Hardest person to buy for? my brother
9. Easiest person to buy for? Matt
10. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? none are coming to mind
11. Mail or email Christmas cards? I love opening snail mail cards :)
12. Favorite Christmas Movie? Elf
13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? When the calendar says December and I realize it's time to get going.
14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? Yes
15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? My mom's Christmas morning egg casserole (I'm gonna miss it this year)
16. Lights: white or colored on the tree? we decided on colored this year
17. Favorite Christmas song? Winter Wonderland and Brad Paisley's Politically Correct Christmas
18. Travel for Christmas or stay at home? A little of both.
19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeers? Yes
20. Angel on the tree top or a star? We always had a beautiful angel that mom got at a craft fair...I wanted one but knew we'd never find one like it again. We have a tin star now.
21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? Well...Matt and I will do our presents on the 22nd, then presents at his parents on Christmas Eve morning. Then presents down in Pennsylvania on Christmas day. Then Christmas with my family a week later.
22. Most annoying thing about this time of year? all the stupid drivers out shopping
23. What I love most about Christmas...Being together with family and remembering the reason for this glorious season.

That was fun :) This year I'm also enjoying having a classroom full of students that help get me in the Christmas spirit. We've been listening to Charlie Brown Christmas music on a daily basis and are looking forward to our classes upcoming Pancake Breakfast.

decorating for the season...

2007-12-01T20:07:00.000-05:00

A few pictures from today...

Thanks to John and Amy for suggesting Home Depot for a tree that wouldn't cost our life savings.

My favorite Christmas decoration :)

I love when decorations I bought at totally different times fit together so perfectly :)

i have no life...

2007-11-29T19:35:00.000-05:00

My husband just informed me that I have not updated my blog "in a coon's age" (what does that even mean?). When I told him I was just about to update he questioned what I even had to blog about...hence the title!

Well...despite what my wonderful husband thinks...I do have a life. It just most recently revolved around parent teacher conferences. Yesterday, after a full day of teaching I had a full evening of conferences. I left school at 7:30pm and had to be back at 7:30 this morning. I walked into school this morning feeling like I'd been run over by a Mac Truck, and I still had an entire day of conferencing ahead of me. Despite the fact that conferences drained every ounce of life out of me, it was very encouraging to have a few parents sing my praises after the start the year I've had.

Okay, okay, that isn't much of a life :) So I'll go back a few weekends to the wonderful girls weekend we had in Cortland. Back in August the RWC girls decided we needed an all girls weekend get-together. We started planning and were finally able to get together the first weekend in November. It was a true girls weekend...complete with late night talks, junk food and Salvation-Army shopping!
It was a much-needed weekend with amazing "faith-filled" friends :) We mentioned how amazing it was to be able to catch up on life and share all that God has been doing in our lives since we've left Roberts.
We attended Beth's church on Sunday and all left feeling encouraged and uplifted after a chance to worship together. What an amazing experience!

time for an update...

2007-11-12T21:25:00.000-05:00

First off, I appreciate my faithful readers who have checked in on me for any updates. The wait is finally over!

The start of the school year has been harder than I expected...hence the lack of blogging. I'll try to do my best to catch you all up...

Being married is GREAT! I am reminded daily how blessed I am to call Matt my husband. Matt and I have been married 12 weeks and I just realized I never even posted pictures from our honeymoon.
MINI-GOLF! And the winner was....ME!

Matt thought he had this game in the bag...little did he know I had skills I didn't even know about!

We spent a day hiking in the Poconos, overlooking the Delaware River.

Another day was spent enjoying the roller coasters and water rides at Dorney Park.

This picture doesn't do justice to the crazy thunderstorm that came through the area one night during our stay. We lost electricity and heard the constant sound of fire engines in the local community. The lightning seemed to linger over our house for hours, with only a little bit of rain. It was insane!

This was the beautiful view from our back porch! Of course, just to say we did we took the ghetto row boat out on the water...

HA HA...classic!

There it is...a 3 month old update :) Thanks for staying faithful and checking in. I figure if I update one event at a time I'll do better at catching up now.

School Update

2007-10-08T19:27:00.000-04:00

Many of you may have noticed that I haven't posted about school at all...why? Up until now I feel like I wouldn't have had much of anything good to say. The year was immediately off to a stressful start with one particular situation. Without going into much detail I can say that I have one student who has been inappropriately placed in my classroom and has therefore demanded a lot of attention and time. Unfortunately, when that happens it takes that attention and time away from my other 17 students.

Thursday was a long, uncomfortable day as I faced a parent meeting followed by Open House. After being verbally abused by the parent I was feeling pretty down about my ability to teach and be effective in the classroom. I think God knew I was in desperate need of a pick-me-up after that. Later that night at Open House I was able to spend some time talking to a very supportive parent. He made it a point to let me know that he respects my opinion about his son and will support me in any way that he can. He spent a few minutes reminiscing about the days when teachers were respected by everyone, both students and parents. It's nice to know I have at least one set of parents supporting what I do!

I was also able to have an "awwww" moment while grading some spelling papers a few weeks back that I thought was worthy of sharing...
I had asked my students to write sentences using their weekly spelling words. Some of the words were "believe" and "kneel." A few students wrote sentences like "Everyone should believe in God," "I kneel each night to say my prayers." Even just those few sentences provided me with some insight into the lives of my children.

Despite the craziness and stress of the first month of school I have felt very blessed by the group of students I have in my class. They are caring, respectful and eager to learn.

I know this wasn't the most exciting blog...just wanted to share some of what's going on in my life. Thanks for reading!

Laura Kimberly

2007-09-28T20:41:00.000-04:00

Baby Laura has arrived! Andrea went into the hospital about 2pm on Wednesday afternoon for "observation" but was told that the baby would most likely not show until late Thursday/early Friday. Laura had a different idea. I got the call at 12:45am that Andrea was in active labor. Laura arrived shortly after at 3:22am.

I was blessed with the chance to spend time with Andrea, Richie and baby Laura Thursday evening and Friday afternoon. Mom and I of course used this time to start spoiling Laura and found this perfect shirt for the day after she was born:

I am amazed by the miracle of this beautiful little baby girl. I never thought it was possible to love something so small so much. She is precious!

Congratulations Andrea and Richie! Laura is so blessed to have you as parents. You are in our thoughts and prayers!

Laura, you are so loved! Remember, God made you special and you are his precious child!

our grown-up furniture

2007-09-16T17:43:00.000-04:00

Okay okay...I'm sorry it's taken me so long to post pictures of our new furniture. In my defense...we got the furniture the night before school started for a new year. It's true what they say...a first year teacher's year is INSANE (but that's for another blog).

And...since some people (ahem...Becca...) have been checking my blog every day for these pictures I guess I owe it to them to finally post.

I feel so grown-up lately...some may think it's because I just got married...but I think a lot has to do with the new furniture. There's something about this investment that makes me realize that I'm now an adult. Maybe it's the fact that I finally had to part with the hand-me-down couch and the $10 garage sale chair that had been with me for years.

The furniture will look slightly different when we can finally add the wooden legs. We decided it best to not fight with the hand screw driver and foot long screws when we didn't get the furniture till 8:00 on the night it arrived. Those will be added in time...

Thanks for looking!

NEW furniture :)

2007-09-01T18:24:00.000-04:00

As grateful as we are for the hand-me-down furniture that has gotten us this far, Matt and I decided to step it up with some new furniture. We spent a few hours venturing around Henrietta on Friday and finally ended back at our starting place where we found this:

We got the couch and oversized chair (oversized = a normal sized chair + 3/4). It can easily fit 2 people comfortably. The online picture didn't allow us to show the color we actually got...it's more of a pearly neutral.

We'll be picking it all up on Wednesday...SO excited! :)

I'll be posting soon with some pictures of where we stayed for our honeymoon and hopefully some more wedding pics. Thanks for checking in :)

the best day of my life...

2007-08-20T21:35:00.000-04:00

This weekend could not have been more perfect! Of course the crazy fun started Friday afternoon at rehearsal. The whole crew was together and the laughter and fun began. I think the best way to guarantee a good time for a wedding is to have Pete George as the best man. Words couldn't come close to explaining all his antics :)

Saturday morning I was wide awake at 6:30 and ready for the day to begin. The day started rather overcast but turned out to be the perfect weather day...sunny, not-to-hot with a slight breeze.
The girls and I enjoyed some bagels and fruit while taking turns getting our hair done. While sitting as Shannon put what felt like millions of curls in my hair I felt the first butterflies...not nerves...more excitement knowing that I was about to marry my best friend.

The ceremony was even more amazing than I could have hoped. I felt like everything...from the first song to the last prayer brought glory to God as we dedicated our lives to each other and Him. I even surprised myself with how little I cried. If first stepping out the door was any indication I thought I was going to be a blubbering fool...but I was able to gain composure better than most.

Every bit of the reception provided endless memories. Even now I can only count 1 thing that I feel didn't go as planned...the cake! I ordered a 3-tier round carrot cake with pink ribbon. What we got: 4-tier rectangle carrot, white & chocolate cake with red flowers. HA HA...not even close! Regardless, I was still able to get it on Matt's nose :).

I could go on and on with everything that made it such a great day! God was and is with us as we enter into this journey. We are grateful for the blessing of each other and for all our family and friends who were able to celebrate with us, in person and in thought. Here's 2 of the pictures I've seen so far...I'll post more as I get them.

more Home Sweet Home

2007-08-08T22:52:00.001-04:00

The red bedroom! As you can see...no matching comforter yet :)

Master bathroom...complete with washer and dryer (possibly one of my favorite parts of the new place!) Those who have never had to spend hours at the laundry mat on Saturday mornings can never fully understand the pathetic excitement behind having laundry facilities.
The comfy, cozy living room:

There it is...our first home!

10 more days...and counting :)

Home Sweet Home

2007-08-08T22:25:00.000-04:00

I can finally say I feel settled into the new apartment. Therefore, I was able to take some photos today! Here is the kitchen (complete with a dishwasher!!!):

saying YES to God's call

2007-08-01T20:35:00.000-04:00

For those that don't know, I have spent many summers at Delta Lake Bible Camp. My duties have ranged from lifeguard to Haven Program Director. Well this year after I was turned down for 2 summer teaching jobs I felt God's call for me to work at camp...as a senior high counselor. Now...being a 3rd grade teacher I was nervous about my ability to relate well to 11th and 12th graders. I never could have imagined all the memories and lessons the week could hold.
Day one proved interesting...I don't think my campers were so sure about what kind of fun a 3rd grade teacher could have (they later admitted to me that they thought I was going to be boring! HA) By day two we were into the swing of camp and having a blast! Our cabin was on team Lemon, Ice, Ice Baby...the most spirited team at camp! We beat out all other teams and won the ice cream party at the end of the week (that ended up being a mozzarella stick party since they served ice cream at dinner :).

The best part of the whole week was the way in which God was clearly working. With each service it was more evident that God was working in the lives of these teens. It was encouraging to see a group of teens so genuinely on fire for God. The speaker for the week was a crazy, loud Canadian, Dave Overholt. His messages are so uplifting and inspire a spirit of love. Wow...I'm having trouble putting all that happened into words. God is amazing! (That works :)

One of the best memories of the week was the morning my campers and I were able to go tubing on the lake at 6am. We were able to watch the sunrise on a day that later ended up being rainy and cold.
Of course there was the oreo cookie challenge. My cabin challenged Bethany's cabin to the oreo contest (sticking half an oreo cookie to your forehead and getting it into your mouth without the use of your hands). My girls won 14 oreos to 6!

Friday's at camp are usually unpredictable and crazy fun...this week was no different! After an intense game of Ultimate Frisbee (which Lemon Ice won) it was time for the mashed potato war! What could be more fun than garbage cans filled with 80 boxes of instant mashed potatoes...all made for the purpose of throwing at one another! In an effort to get cleaned up from the mess I decided to participate in the sling shot slip and slide...BIG mistake! I sat on the disk, had the inner tube tire pulled behind me and within a matter of seconds I felt the inner tube slip across my face and I was flat on my back only about 10 feet from the start of the slide. With what felt like a slowly forming bruise on my cheek and a ringing ear I decided to give it another chance...BIG mistake! Round two proved worse than round one. I sat on the disk, had the inner tube tire pulled behind me and within a matter of seconds the inner tube came untied from the post and snapped straight back and got me in the shoulder! Needless to say...I didn't go for round three. The 3 inch in diameter bruise appeared just 3 days later. Fortunately it didn't last long.

Okay...I should probably stop there. As you can tell it was an amazing week. I am so thankful God made his plans clear and that I said YES to his call. I learned so much from God, my beautiful campers and other great counselors.

My soon to be sister and I...another great blessing of the week...being able to work alongside her :)

Wedding Rap

2007-07-04T20:12:00.001-04:00

This video is a little long but well worth the time! The lyrics are available by clicking on the "more" button to the right of the video screen. They're great! :)

Engagement Photos

2007-06-30T18:43:00.000-04:00

My sister recently took our engagement photos...thought I'd share :)

I have time to blog!

2007-06-28T21:39:00.000-04:00

So after many months as a blog stalker I have decided to delve into this adventure myself! With the fastly approaching wedding I'm sure I'll have plenty of stories and many pictures to share! Also, with my first year of teaching behind me I wish I had recorded so many of the great stories that come from 3rd graders...so I'll have wait to share those starting in the fall when I have my own class of students!

Enjoy!