Who would have ever thought a SE Texas girl would experience a white Christmas without having to leave the state in search of it? And not just an "Oh look, the angels have dandruff" kind of snow, but actual flakes which look like the traditional snowflakes we draw and cut out of paper for crafts - without having to be put under a microscope before they melt! Mansfield (south of DFW) received about 2 inches of snow Christmas Eve, which stayed on the ground through Christmas day and into the following day when we were loading the car to drive home. The roads and driveways became dangerous and icy on Christmas Eve and many churches and other organizations had to cancel late night Christmas Eve festivities to avoid endangering the congregations and staff because the roads did get so dangerous. I couldn't even take the dog out to potty (not that she would potty in the snow - she kept looking for grass) because the driveway and porches were so icy! Talk about an unexpected Christmas adventure slash fiasco! We had a snowball fight, built small snowmen, and reveled in the abnormal Texas weather while drinking hot cider and sitting by the fire. We pondered the thought of sitting in the hot tub while watching it snow, but (it being December and all) none of us thought to pack our swimsuits.
Mom's family all gathered in Mansfield at my aunt and uncle's home, we had a wonderful holiday. This was the first year that we'd drawn names so each person only had to buy one gift (since money is tight for all of us - and all the kids are finally 'grown'). It was a very memorable and enjoyable holiday.
My cousins, Kris and Angella, and I spent Christmas evening playing "Rabbids Go Home" on his Wii - highly recommended game. If you've played any of the Rabbids games, this one will not disappoint. It's as hilarious and annoying as the other two games, and we had a blast!
Most of you, by now, have heard that I am officially employed...or will be, come January 4 when I report to my new campus :) I'll be teaching Content Mastery at Dick Dowling Elementary in Port Arthur. I went to the campus today to see if I could get an idea of the school layout, etc. and ended up eating lunch with the staff...they are great! I felt perfectly at home and am really excited about next semester.
I visited Highland today too, where I did my student teaching. One of my angels got me a gorgeous Christmas gift! They were all so excited to see me - if I hadn't practice holding in my emotions over the past year, I would have definitely cried.
Anyway, these past few weeks have been quite exciting for me. I'm almost done with my Christmas shopping and am looking forward to the new year, while enjoying these next two weeks without worrying about a job! What a blessing indeed. God opened so many doors this year; it's unreal! Some of them felt like He'd slammed them in my face, but it was just me trying to go through the wrong ones. I've definitely learned to sit back and keep my eyes open rather than barrelling ahead and making my own decisions. It's really amazing how the path becomes so clear with faith.
I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas and holiday season!
It's official!! With mixed emotions and snow-expectant, hyped-up students, I ended my student teaching experience and have moved into the realm of highly-qualified, state-approved Texas educators. My generalist certification is still pending because I had to apply for a "Certification by Examination," but that should be available by Monday. However, the Special Education certification is a done deal. I will desperately miss my kiddos, especially my sign language buddy. It feels like the twelve weeks flew by; it's hard to image that most likely the next classroom I enter will be my own. There is one opening in a neighboring district that I will be applying for which is an elementary special education classroom. Wish me luck!
To top off the monumental transitional day for me, I drove home during a light dusting of southeast Texas-type snow flakes...the kind that look like some of heaven's angels have a bad case of dandruff. It did thicken up over the next few hours, but we received nothing compared to what the Houston area received, or remotely like what we received last December 11, but the spectacle was fun, and I was glad the kids did get to see it snow - I just hope they weren't too disappointed since it didn't compare to last years freaky natural occurrence. However, the ground was frosted this morning when I woke up. I drank my coffee while watching the sun slowly melt the frost off the roof and on the ground and watched a few disappointed birds alight on our bird bath, which was a solid frozen bird-sized ice skating rink.
I can also proudly report that I convinced my mother to let me put up a Christmas tree this year. It took most of the day, due to the fact that Mom's artificial tree had quite a few broken lights due to the rough transport back and forth to the storage building over the years. However, I successfully got all but a small section of the pre-lit tree burning brightly; I just turned the few branches that didn't light to the wall so no one would see them. I single handedly decorated the tree, though I believe my mom stayed away, not because she didn't want the tree or was tired - more likely because my anality and meticulous placing of the ornaments makes it hard for me to play nicely when it comes to decorating. Once we get the rest of the holiday decor up, I'll post some pictures of the tree. I sustained only a few minor scratches and scrapes from the branches and broken bulbs during the process. Probably the fewest injuries I've sustained in a holiday decorating endeavor, though the decorating isn't complete yet.
Well, I suppose I should finish my decorating break here and get back to it...ciao!
I carved my first jack-o-lantern this week. I've observed the process numerous time throughout my life, but, until this week, had never personally wielded the knife to maim a gourd. Alas, my innocence ended on Thursday as we had a 'non-party' pumpkin carving lesson, and let the children help scoop the pulp, vote on the expression that our pumpkin should have, and vote on the shapes of the facial orifices. They had a blast! And I did, too - probably the most fun I've had teaching. So many moments become teachable moments; a simple pumpkin carving can be morphed into sequencing, sharing and turn taking, learning new words, making choices - the possibilities are simply endless.
It's hard to imagine I have only a month left in the student teaching process. I will most likely be substitute teaching as it appears there are no reputable districts in the area with openings. It's still a paycheck even if I will still lack the health insurance I miss so much. I've had to start preparing the students for my departure, which has been tough on all of us, but I've insisted that it's very likely that I'll see them again since I'll be substituting in the district.
Anyway, everyone, have a safe and wonderful Halloween! It's a bit embarrassing to admit this is probably my favorite non-Christian holiday. I love the festivities which accompany the "spooky" season. It's too much fun to decorate pumpkins, make spider webs, and tell 'semi-scary' stories with a flashlight and the lights turned off. (And during the pumpkin carving, it was pouring outside.)
Here are a few pics of the webs we made in handwriting out of Elmer's glue and wax paper. The kids are sooo proud of them, and I think I've given the instructions and lesson plans out to EVERY teacher on the K/1/2 wing of the school. Of course, our class is right on the end of the wing, so all the kids have to walk by our class to go to music and PE - so we get "oohs" and "aahhs" when they walk by. Unfortunately due to the fact that I was instructing and because of potential liability issues, I don't have any pics of us making them.
So far all assessments and evaluations have gone fabulous. People around campus keep telling me how much they are going to miss having me around when December creeps upon us, which is definitely a nice feeling.
Today was especially fabulous. I created a lesson plan for cursive handwriting with a focus on the letter 'w'. The 'under curve' seems to be difficult for our children, and since most of our lowercase cursive letters are constructed using the under curve, I decided to work on a letter that has three of them (if you count the optional initial stroke, which isn't taught everywhere).
So today's handwriting lesson was "Wonderfully Wacky Woven Web Wednesday." Some of you probably saw on my facebook status that I was practicing and creating a model this weekend for the children to see as they created their webs. We started with wax paper and Elmer's glue and made cursive lowercase Ws all over the wax paper. Then I asked the students to draw lines to make the Ws connect - straight, curvy, etc. to make the shape of a spider's web. We followed up the web creation with iridescent glitter and then stuck little black cardstock spiders in our webs and put them in the window sill to let them dry. The idea is, once dry, the webs, which dry clear, can be peeled off the wax paper and will have a sparkly almost glow-in-the-dark feel and be a bit rubbery. We'll hang them up for Halloween decor along with the sign the kids made to go with them, written in cursive, which say "Wonderful Wacky Woven Webs". The kids listened well and worked so hard on their webs - and they had a lot of fun. The webs came out really cute, and tomorrow I'm letting them add some eyes or a red hourglass to their spiders in glitter before we hang everything up. I have to toot my own horn a bit and say it was one of my most creatively thought up lessons thus far. I was ecstatic that the kids loved the activity. I'll take some pictures tomorrow once the webs are dry. I can't post the ones with the kids, but I'll get some of just the webs alone. I'm very proud of my munchkins!
I also got to work with our sign language student again today - he is learning so quickly, he'll pass my ASL abilities up in no time. He's doing his spelling words now by sign (seeing the sign, hearing the word, then using fridge magnets to spell the word). We're trying to get him to make the signs himself, but his agility isn't quite there. He's certainly trying though.
This evenings top story; however,is that I have finally learned the purpose of the zipper, as of today. Our speech path intern and I really get along and talk a lot during our lunchtime. He told me this great story he wanted to share. He had a student with three items pictured on cards in front of him, with the objective of the lesson being to identify the commonality among the items pictured. He had a zipper, a button, and a snap on the pictures in front of him - the commonality being 'fasteners on clothing.' The student was mulling it over in his head and was quite puzzled so the SLP asked him to tell out loud what he was thinking in his head so the SLP could help. The student replied, "Well, I know the button is, like, for a button-up shirt. This [snap] thing is on top of jeans. And the zipper is on your pants so you can put 'it' in and pull 'it' out...." I should mention the student has four brothers :) So in case you ever want to know why we have zippers on our clothing....just ask our kids!!!
I find it very amusing that my 15 year old Yorkie still pitches a fit after bathtime. She loves to play in the water, but when it's associated with a bathtub - forget it! Water is apparently only fun when it's at the beach or a big puddle in front of the house. And wet grass is not the same as a good old fashioned splash in a puddle.
What happens when three fourth graders have a chance to wind down after a tough lesson and enjoy birthday cupcakes courtesy of one of their mothers? Very entertaining conversation! We helped them begin the conversation by asking if they had enjoyed the previous evening with their families. One of the boys proceeded to tell us that his brother is in special 'aide' (not special ed, mind you - special aide.) Looking at one another, the teacher and I prodded him to explain to us what special aide is - to which he replied he did not know. Mrs. Fleming explained that it is a class where some students can go during the day to get extra help (since we know what type of special services his brother receives) on school work if they need it. He remained confused by this so one of the girls decided to help by blurting out - "Duh, you're in a class like that right now!" Definitely one of those "you had to be there moments," but if you knew and loved these kids like Mary and I do, you would have joined us behind the bookshelves turning purple while trying to maintain some composure and not laugh at them trying to define "special aide."
In other news, one of our boys is getting ASL (American Sign Language) instruction for 30 mins, twice a week, and I got to join him in his first lesson - which means I get to learn as well. The two young ladies teaching are both deaf themselves and come with an interpreter, but were so sweet as I mangled my way through finger spelling and demonstrating the few signs our student knows and the ones we think would be relevant to helping us teach and assess him. I can't wait to learn more! Today we worked on letters, numbers, colors, and his personal favorite: train. (He LOVES Thomas the Tank Engine.) So fun! I hope once I get a job and an income that I can enroll in some ASL classes myself. I think it's something that I'd really benefit from knowing!
I think my nerves are officially gone with regards to being observed (at least until the principal observes me). My observations couldn't have gone any more smoothly if I'd scripted them. The first was Tuesday when Mrs. Fleming observed me in preparation for my LSCO observation the following day. My lesson that day was still "Statements versus Questions" - but each day we focused on a different question word. Tuesday was 'who.' I taught them "Who stole the Cookie from the Cookie Jar?" and put the words to the verse up on the Smartboard so the kids could each come up and manipulate the verse before we got started. I had them identify the questions and statements in the verse, highlight keywords and punctuation marks, and then fill in their names as the person who stole the cookie when it was their turn. They seemed to really enjoy it - though it was probably more the opportunity to use the smartboard than it was my lesson :) Either way, the lesson went really well, and I was quite pleased. I, of course, have things to work on - but I expect to have things to work on throughout my career. I don't ever want to stop getting better :)
Wednesday, my official eval, was perfect :) Mrs. Dixon even told Mrs. Fleming she should take a 9 week vacation and just let me have her classroom. I have to admit that felt pretty nice. She gave me a perfect score, which I'm grateful for, but don't feel I deserve. I don't by any means think I'm perfect.
However, during the whole process, I think the most rewarding part was when two of the students looked up at me during their Independent Practice and looked at me with really wide eyes, saying "Miss. Simpson - I GET IT!" And they did - going from making a 20 on a worksheet to making a 100 on a worksheet - without my assistance. That moment and many more to come are why I know I'm where I should be. I can't tell you how warm it felt to know I'd helped them understand something they'd been struggling with. They have even shown that they can transfer the knowledge to other worksheets and settings - the sign that they really did get it and weren't just memorizing answers on a worksheet. Way to go, boys!!
Well, my first official lesson as a student teacher was interrupted by a fire drill. The poor kids were out in the freshly mowed grass for 15 minutes smacking mosquitoes so much it looked like they were all dancing to the beat of some unknown music. Then there were the kids who stopped to wait in ant beds...sigh...needless to say, it took us about 10 minutes and lots of alcohol based GermX to get the kids to focus on the lesson and not the unbearable itchiness that was distracting their already uber-distractable selves. I did get through the lesson and felt it went well considering all that took place during it.
In other news, Midget has taken Gig 'Em to a whole new level. She has 'adopted,' per se, three little frogs which have taken up residence in the flower bed nearest the garage - underneath the big floodlight which illuminates the front walk (and half the neighborhood) where all the bugs fly around. She usually just 'herds' them with her nose to get them all in the same spot - in the flower bed if they've hopped over the bricks onto the sidewalk. For a reason unknown to me, she decided a few nights ago to pick one up in her mouth. I don't know if she intended to eat it, help it, or play with it, but regardless - the end result was that it peed in her mouth. Totally disgusting, but incredibly hilarious to watch her cough and sputter trying to get the pee-taste out of her mouth. It was like watching Donald Duck have a sneezing fit! I did brush her teeth and clean her face really well after we came inside (and she was furious about that!) and we didn't go back out the rest of the night. Needless to say, she has not made any further attempts to go gigging since the little froggy went wee wee wee all the way home.
Well, I have officially completed my first two "observation" weeks in student teaching. Though, my personality did not allow me much observation time; I found it very difficult to sit on my duff while there were students in the room needing help, and the two aides and teacher were helping other students. The kiddos seem to be responding very well to me, and I'm already quite attached to several of them. I still miss my kiddos from Vidor, and I need to call some of the teachers that are still there to check up on my darlings.
Anyway, I've been doing a lot of tutoring/content mastery work with them the past few weeks rather than teaching lessons. Some of the kids seem to be behind level on reading mostly though their intellect is on par with their classmates. Definitely a different world from last year with my severe and profound classroom. I'm enjoying the exposure to the different learning levels. We have several ranges of ability in the resource room so I'm getting my personal need to be challenged fulfilled daily, which definitely motivates me in a fun way.
Next week starts my official teaching schedule. I'll be teaching a Language Arts lesson everyday to our 3rd and 4th grades. Mrs. Fleming loves my ideas for the lessons - hopefully the kids will enjoy it and get something out of it. We've chosen for me to work with them on recognizing Questions versus Statements because we have several students that really struggle with that concept. I'm incorporating songs, poems, games, and jokes into the lessons to try and appeal to all of them. I'll keep you all posted!!! Should be exciting. I'll be officially observed by my college supervisor for a grade on Wednesday. Yikes!! I'm trying not to be nervous. I'll have to be observed countless times over my career so I might as well get over that!
Now for the elementary school humor of the week. We've been teaching all of the children in the school to sing a chorus of "Happy Birthday" while they wash their hands to make sure they wash the recommended length of time as per the CDC. Well, believe it or not, some of the students are actually doing this - breaking into song together with their friends in the restrooms as they wash their hands. Yesterday one of the teachers reported that she was in the hall while her class was taking their restroom break, and she overheard one of the first grade girls tell her friends, "I'm tired of singing 'Happy Birthday' - anyone want to sing the 'ABCs' instead?" Too cute!!
Alas, I must come to the end of my journey. Sunday, 9/6, was my last full day in Baltimore. We did achieve our goal to sleep in, waking around 10 am and venturing once again to Ellicott City for breakfast at Sarah & Desmond's. We watched the many people and their dogs come and go during our meal, and Matt asked one of the other guests where he might find a good bike shop. We drove over to the store that he recommended and browsed for a while before heading back to CCBC for an afternoon nap in the sun before Matt had to go to work again. I tried to sleep but couldn't - so I amused myself taking pictures of Matt sleeping and various other things within my view while he slept. Eventually we did have to leave the serenity of nature so that he could go to work. I amused myself by talking on the phone and playing on facebook while he was at work - once again unable to take a nap to pass the time. Picking him up from work proved to be an adventure, as downtown was a maze of people and police cars after the Orioles/Rangers game had ended at Camden Yards. However, I successfully evaded both in my meandering, and still have no idea how I happened across Matt - but I did, and he took over the driving as we headed to Diamondback Tavern in Ellicott City for one last hurrah. When we arrived, Matt's friend Brandon and the bartender, Mike, were the only people there - but by the end of the evening the place was quite crowded. Apparently Midnight Madness is quite popular :) Prior to the crowd's appearance, Mike entertained us by mixing his concoctions very creatively (think Tom Cruise in Cocktail). Definitely a first, but hopefully not a last, for me! I thoroughly enjoyed the evening. We played a round of shuffleboard, which I officially suck at(even after Matt and I tried to fix the leaning table), until we had to leave due to the 6am flight I had to board at Reagan International in D.C. the next morning. We bid adieu to his friends, and I held back the tears as I realized that the most wonderful weekend of the year was truly coming to an end.
3:30 am came REALLY early, and before I knew it, we were outside the terminal saying good-bye. I managed not to cry this time - a first I think, and probably only because it was 4:30 in the morning, and I was hardly conscious enough to realize what was happening. I passed through security and boarded the plane without incident - and by early afternoon collapsed onto my bed exhausted, but blissfully happy, having had a fantastic weekend. Though I knew it would inevitably end, the weekend could not have been more perfect - nor could my summer have ended and my student teaching semester began with anything more amazing than seeing my beloved friend.
Thanks to Miss Fu for making the weekend possible - I can't possibly thank you enough! And thanks to Matthew for allowing me to come visit and keeping me around for 11 years! I love you both dearly!!
Saturday was a lazy day - for me anyway :) We got up around 8ish and headed to downtown Baltimore. Matt unfortunately had to work 9-12 so we ate breakfast downtown at the Panera before he headed into work. I took the car back to the house; one thing I did learn is that parking in downtown Baltimore is a huge nightmare! Worse than trying to find parking at under the main building at USAA after the day starts if you can imagine that (for those of you who've experienced the lack of parking after 8:15 am)! So I managed to find my way back to his place with the help of his GPS - who yelled at me several times because she had to recalculate her route. I had hoped for a round of applause from her when I finally did reach the house. Alas, there was none. Anyway, I wasted away the four hours doing various things: showering and getting all girlified, chatting with friends, checking facebook, etc. Around 11:30ish I headed out to go pick him up. Getting downtown proved to be much easier - I still had to use the GPS, but she didn't yell at me. I gave myself extra time thinking I'd get lost, but between the GPS and my lead foot, I arrived early and circled around the various streets of downtown for a few minutes till he called to let me know he was waiting. I should point out that the speed limit ranges from 55-65, so for the speed demon in me who has a hard time going only 70 on a Texas highway, you can imagine how difficult it was to maintain the proper speed while behind the wheel.
Anyway, we went to Subway for lunch to take a break from the fried foods of the nightlife and then drove to Matt's campus, CCBC (Community College of Baltimore County) to eat outside. Again - outside in September in mid-day! More weekends like this and my pasty white skin might get some pigmentation and NOT glow under a black light!
Oh, and I found the sign to the left utterly amusing :) This is on the CCBC campus near a steep incline - which apparently lends itself vulnerable to college-age stupidity during the winter :) But being from Texas, it's just not something one sees every day!
We drove to Alexandria, VA Saturday night for Samantha's birthday dinner. She and a group of her friends had been wine tasting all day - with the finale being dinner in Alexandria and hanging out at her place afterward. We met them at Sam's place to carpool to dinner at Taqueria Poblano (http://www.taqueriapoblano.com/). Yes, I ate Mexican food in Virginia. Their salsa was really good! I was impressed being so far from 'the border'. I ate so many chips & salsa that all I ordered for dinner was a taco - which was pretty good, too. I enjoyed the company a lot - many, many new faces that I don't think I'll remember all their names, but lots of good company. Overall, it was a very relaxing evening. I think we left Sam's about 12:30 am and drove home. And then crashed with the intention of sleeping well into the morning on Sunday.
Morning dawned on Friday, 9/4 - beautiful! No need for A/C - in September. SEPTEMBER! No swarms of mosquitoes, a wonderful breeze blowing through the window...it was surreal. Matt had to go to class at 9, so I took my time showering and putting on the make-up...essentially being girly to pass the time. I think he got home around 10:30 or so, and we ventured back to Ellicott City for breakfast. We stopped at this really cute, bakery/cafe called Sarah & Desmond's (http://www.sarah-desmonds.com/). They had all sorts of pastries, coffees, smoothies, teas, homemade breads...and I was surprised that it wasn't pricey. I noticed that the coffee shops and cafes in the area were much more common than what I'm used to seeing and very popular and affordable. I enjoyed the atmosphere and people - everyone was relaxed, coming in from walking or biking to joining for breakfast or meeting friends. It had a very neighborly feel and was also very dog friendly just like every other place in the area that I'd noticed. We had bagels for breakfast, and I enjoyed a wonderful cup of 'Hippie Blend' coffee - which I got several times over the course of the weekend. Very yummy!! I should have taken some pics, but I distract easily :)
We spent most of the day driving around and just looking at the area - old neighborhoods, houses, and several of the state parks in the area. In SEPTEMBER, with the windows down and no A/C!!!! I don't think I can stress that enough - still shocked! The deer were also out in mid-day SEPTEMBER, which I found fascinating. We sat on the side of the road in one of the parks - I think it was Patapsco - just watching them. I think we counted four adults and two fawns. At least one was a young male with short spikes; he kept his distance. We could tell the females watched him for orders though as we got closer. They didn't seem to mind our presence though. I was able to take several pictures (some, you'll see, I forgot to turn the flash off) before they decided we were no longer welcome in their presence, and they hopped away.
Friday night we joined some of Matt's friends from the aviation program at CCBC, Dave & Jessie & Jessie's boyfriend (can't remember his name) at Illusions Magic Bar & Lounge (http://www.illusionsmagicbar.com/) in downtown Baltimore. It was apparently voted one of the top 9 bars by CNN Travel - something they mentioned during the show and are quite proud of, which considering how many bars there are in the country does seem to be a huge accomplishment. At 10 pm on Wednesday-Saturday evenings, Spencer Horsman performs a show behind the bar - card tricks and his finale of hanging upside down from the ceiling while attempting to escape from a straight jacket. I, of course, was pulled up on stage by Spencer's dad who owns the bar and was a former circus clown to assist in one of the tricks. In this 'illusion', Spencer had me blindfold him and used a sword to try and determine the cards selected by other audience members. We mixed the cards up all over the table, some of them falling on the floor, and he still found a way to get the cards. I tried to figure it out while up on stage, but noticed that there were various stab marks all over the table, so in the end, I gave up the urge to figure it out and succumbed to the entertainment of it all. It was a great night - definitely something I wouldn't have thought to do as a 'tourist'. The benefits of spending time with locals :) I noticed later that a lot of people had videoed and taken pictures during the show, so I was disappointed that I hadn't done the same, but I thought it might be a little tasteless and kind of rude to do so during a live performance in such close proximity to the performer. I did, however, find someone else's video on YouTube, so I'm embedding it here.
Kuddos to he who took the video :) It's hard to tell in the video, and in this one Spencer's hair looks like it's a different color, but Spencer reminds me of a young version of the actor who played Carlisle Cullen in Twilight - as Carlisle Cullen with the platinum hair and the fair white skin. Matt said he looked like a cross between Macaulay Culkin and Jonathan Taylor Thomas. (I gave him Macaulay Culkin - could never see the JTT resemblance. You can decide for yourself - I found his facebook page; debating on if I should 'friend' him - http://www.facebook.com/SpencerHorsman). Anyway, I was impressed by the performance, but also at the abdominal strength Spencer had to have to perform the trick with all the movement - you'll notice that in the video! Leave it to me to be more impressed by his unseen abs than by the straight jacket - but I found that just phenominal!
Anyway, it was a nice evening and fun to meet some more of Matt's new friends - I'm sure they'll be getting to know each other a lot as the start down the road of aviation together. Definitely an evening to remember!
Wow...I don't even know how to start this blog post. Labor Day weekend was without a doubt the best weekend of 2009, and I don't think it will be topped this year or any time in the near future.
For me, the weekend started out on Wednesday evening (9/2) when I went to League City, TX to spend the night with Hilary for her birthday - the big 2-9!! Wonderful dinner at Ichiban's, a hibachi grill restaurant -amazing meal! I was so glad that I got to spend her birthday with her. I spent the night there and left for Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston the next morning for my flight at 7:55 am to Reagan International Aiport in Washington, DC.
Both my flights went well - I, being as shy and reserved as you all know I am, talked to the people on the flight next to me for a bit. I was a bit disconcerted the the co-pilot's name of the flight to DC was Tim Taylor - as in Tim "the Tool Man" Taylor, but the flight went smoothly without bumps, tweeks, or male grunting over the intercom, and we landed without a hitch, about 5 minutes late.
Matt met me outside baggage claims, and we headed off to Mt. Vernon (http://www.mountvernon.org/)to meet his friend (now my friend too, of course), Samantha for a tour of the property and collection of George & Martha Washington. Sam is a cataloger/researcher there, which I found fascinating. It really made me think about how much of the nation's history still exists up there - since Texas being a fairly young state has very little of that history. Seeing everything up there made me wish I'd paid a bit more attention in the years of history the Texas public school system poured into me.
I was able to take a few pictures at the property - most everything cannot be photographed because of the damage it can do to the artifacts. However, the re-creations were available for photos...the one to the left is the kitchen. This was separate from the actual house itself. The house had been 'restored' so to speak to match the era decor of Washington's time. The main entertaining room was painted a very bright green - for those of you who knew me in high school, imagine the color of my first car. That's the wall color - bright calypso green. We were also able to see the rest of the house, huge rooms which hosted many guests, and the bedroom where George Washington died in 1799.
To the right is a photograph of the tomb which houses the sarcophagi of George and Martha Washington (bottom middle-ish) and about 25 of their other family members. The tomb was built over several years, requested by George Washington to replace the old family tomb, and was completed in 1831. The last member of the family to be buried in the tomb was in 1855.
After Mt. Vernon, Matt, Sam and I went to happy hour in Old Town Alexandria, VA and walked along the waterfront. It was SO beautiful there. We were there just before sunset, so the view was amazing. I enjoyed people watching; the whole area, Alexandria, Baltimore, & DC is very pet friendly, so people would have their dogs with them in restaurants, shops - even church! I love it!! I took several touristy photos here. I couldn't help it. With the weather not requiring shelter to prevent me from melting and the peaceful sounds coming off the water...I think I could have just stayed watching the boats, fish, and birds the rest of the evening. One of the other cool sites we visited was Gadsby's Tavern (http://www.gadsbystavernrestaurant.com/) - one of the places where George Washington had dined, which is still in operation...one of the old ice houses used during his era exists under it. So fascinating to think about how much history still exists literally right under our feet. Texas wasn't even a fathomable possibility when all of this was built. Beaumont wasn't even established till 1901...and it seems like things here are old!
Across the Potomac from where we were lies Washington National Harbor in MD (http://www.nationalharbor.com/). It was really pretty with the sunlight reflecting off of it. And it was gorgeous lit up at night!
I also took the opportunity to take a pic of Sam and Matt...and to get the first pic of Matt and me of the weekend.
After parting ways with Sam, we went to Matt's place to drop off my stuff and then we went to one of his and his friends' favorite places, Diamondback Tavern (http://www.diamondbacktavern.com/) in Ellicott City, which is near Baltimore. It's such a cute little city with a lot of old homes and buildings which have been there forever (or so it seems). The city itself reminded me a lot of Fredericksburg, TX or Main Street in Boerne - lots of shops, coffee houses and cafes. And again, very dog friendly. There was a Baltimore Ravens game that night, but I guess since it was away and preseason, there weren't many people there to watch the game...which was nice that it wasn't extremely crowded. We went to 'DBT' several times over the weekend.
Well, it looks like employment for Fall 2009 is a no-go. I will be student teaching at Highland Park Elementary here in Nederland. This is the elementary I attended as a child and will be under the instruction of my former second grade teacher, who is now the resource teacher there. God works in mysterious ways, doesn't he? I was inspired to teaching for the first time in Mrs. Fleming's class when she allowed me to teach a reading lesson. When I graduated high school, she placed a writing assignment in with my diploma that I'd entitled "Why I Want to be a Teacher." Guess she knew what it took me a while to figure out :) Anyway, despite the absence of a paycheck and insurance, this is sure to be an exciting fall. And once I'm done student teaching, I will be done with the ACE program completely and officially certified. At least I will be looking for a teaching job with a certification in my portfolio instead of just a letter of approval for certification. Hopefully that will help in the search for employment! If not, I can get a job doing something else without the worry of finishing my certification sitting heavily on my shoulder.
I'll start my student teaching on September 8, the Tuesday after Labor Day and after I return from Baltimore. Looks like the trip to Baltimore was perfectly timed :) God is so good to me! Even when I don't understand what He's putting me through!
So in spite of the stress added to my life as I desperately try to get my foot in the door to begin my teaching career, I have enjoyed going through my mom's box of videos and discovering what a little brat I was. Or, I should say - having my bratty-ness confirmed.
Some of you have already seen this from my post on Facebook, but for those who haven't - here's my second birthday :) I've saved you the 20 minute agony my family and friends went through trying to get me to open my presents - I would have much rather watched everyone open them for me so I could decide what I wanted to play with. Besides, the fun comes when it's time for cake :)
I can't help but get teary-eyed looking through some of these old videos. At least at my first few birthdays, grandparents and great-grandparents were all present - and though very much spoiled - judging by my very limited attention span, I couldn't have cared less how many presents were there as long as I had every one's attention while I was "entertaining" them by being my adorable, albeit bratty self.
One video brings to mind recent conversations my mom and I have had about my present and future. Though many conversations remain private (though some of you who are close to me have had the same conversations with me and will probably know which ones I'm referring to), I look back and realize without a doubt God does have a plan for me. And I thank my mother for hauling me to church and instilling His values in me at a very young age.
Somewhere between 12-18 months, I sing "Jesus Loves Me" and confirm "That's right!!!" on cue whenever asked. At one point, I say "I know Jesus Loves Me!!!" Mom's repeatedly told me she's known things about God's plan for me long before I did and has watched them confirmed. And many haven't happened yet, but she knows they will simply by trusting Him and having watched parts of His plan already laid out. It's just humbling and amazing to see pieces put together like this while I'm completely clueless and oblivious at times! Probably most of the time!
I love God-breathed deja-vu moments. This weekend He reminded me of the many blessings I have in my friends and prayer warriors. I love events, like Becky & Josh's and Laurie & Justin's weddings from the past few weekends, which bring together so many of the faces of comfort and familiarity that I see in my 'family' in San Antonio. With so little time spent focusing on those relationships like I want now that I'm away, those events which put everyone together give me so much joy that I can hardly stand it. Being able to talk with so many of the people I love in just a few days was such a blessing from Him.
I also see relationships I have growing. It's strange that I just now feel that I'm moving into adulthood with truly emotionally intimate relationships growing exponentially with those special friends God has blessed me with. What a refreshing feeling it is to know trust - not only to be able to trust those around me with my intimate thoughts and prayers, but to have them trust me in many aspects of their lives as well. So much of this year has been self-discovery in a more intimate relationship with God than I could ever imagine, and one of the realizations I had was a fear of trusting most of the people I love. He's show me how and released me of that fear...and what a release it is! And to be trusted is one of my heart's desires, given to me by Him - what an honor it to have been explicitly and verbally told MULTIPLE times this weekend by my girlfriends how much they trust me and my heart.
I continue to pray for patience during the job search and anxiously await this next step in my freedom. Thanks to all of you praying for me!
I'd like to introduce my weekend project. After discovering a box of photos in my grandmother's closet, I scanned and digitized each of them with the intent of making a scrapbook. Missy introduced me to http://www.scrapblog.com/ and with that, my baby photos are now in an album - so to speak.
It's no wonder why Exodus is my favorite book. Every struggle I have somehow relates back to something Moses or Israel went through. Let's talk bondage. My concordance has two words defining the term - slavery and servitude. One, servitude, can be a choice a person makes based on a personally motivating factor - be it joy, money, or obligation. The other, slavery, has never in this world's history had a positive connotation; slavery is without choice-without freedom.
Bondage to Israel came when a new Pharaoh ruled Egypt and did not know Joseph. He feared the multitude of Israel in Goshen, and, however he did it - placing taskmasters over them, afflicting them with hard labor (Exodus 1:8-14) - Israel grew. Bondage = slavery. This was no choice servitude. I can imagine what the brick pits must have been like - the grumbling against Egypt when the taskmasters weren't listening or perhaps they cursed the Egyptians in their native Hebrew tongue. But maybe not - some, if not all, of Israel continued telling the miraculous stories, from creation through Joseph, and kept their faith. Exodus 2:23 - the Israelites cried out and God heard their cries; literally "their cry for help...rose up to God." God always keeps His promises - and so it was time to call forth Moses to His plan for Moses' life.
Servitude can have a more positive meaning -depending on how the situation comes about. After all, Christ Himself told us we are his friends if we serve Him (John 15:14). In most cases I've found, a person's entrance into servitude is by choice, at least at first, due to a certain affinity to that which he (or she) serves. Many of our Biblical forefathers were regarded as servants of the Lord: Moses (Deuteronomy 34:5), Joshua (5:14), Samuel (1 Samuel 3:10), David (2 Samuel 3:18)...the list goes on much longer than this. Also, people throughout the Bible pledged their loyalty to relatives, kings, and friends by calling themselves "your servant." By choice, servitude shows loyalty, honor, even love.
Yet what happens when servitude morphs into slavery? Matthew 6:24 & Luke 16:13 - "No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God & Money." In context, this is the moral at the end of "The Parable of the Shrewd Manager." When faced with a choice between two things we "serve," we inevitably must choose one over the other - rarely can a compromise allow service to both and even more rare, and possibly non-existent - is equal devotion. Money is obviously high on the list of masters - so are fame, career, family, community, drugs, alcohol. Yet, some of these can be blessings when not placed ahead of God.
What about the moment when we are tested - asked to put God before our wealth, family, career? Failure marks slavery to something given to us as a blessing. Bondage.
Ive been there. Being asked to give up on something I thought I was entitled to because I'd worked so hard. Hardly! I'd worked myself into slavery because I feared losing that which I was at first voluntarily serving - which was a gift from God initially. I'd placed so much value in my bondage that following my true Master - my God, Father, & Creator - seemed nearly impossible.
It seems Pharaoh is not something ancient Egypt alone placed on a throne. It is a term synonymous with those thing which hold us captive today. Pharaoh was Joseph's friend, then his family's friend, and they were happy to live in his kingdom under his rule. Time passed and eventually Pharaoh became a slave master. It took God's intervention to break that bondage. And so it is with us today and whoever/whatever binds us today. Only our true Master can set us free. Serving that which God has blessed us with can lead to slavery if we focus on it rather than God. Uninhibited freedom in Christ is a gift to those who choose to leave this bondage behind.
Gone are the days when I answer "Where do you see yourself in 10 years?" with "Someone's trophy wife." Many reasons come to mind: (1) It takes WAY too much effort to keep up a figure, (2) I don't consider any part of me to be a trophy....(3) BOREDOM!!!
This summer shall forevermore be titled "The Summer of Boredom". I cannot be a stay at home wife unless it were coupled with stay at home wife. I need to use my God-given gifts beyond the home. I know my calling is to work with children, and especially those with special needs. I can only image how this gift will be used in my future. Literally, as I have not seen any indication as to where I am to go beyond this particular moment in time. As of now, my prayer is for a teaching position in elementary special ed so that I might use my summers for mission trips...however, as Christ prayed "not my will but Yours (Matthew 26:39)", I hope to find my future in Him.
My heart is burdened with all that has been revealed to me in this time of "wilderness". Per Mr. Webster, one of the many definitions of wilderness is "a bewildering situation." Welcome to this past year in Nederland (and a little prior to the actual move). Many things I will keep silent for now, as Mary did when she saw her young son Jesus in the temple, and treasure them in my heart (Luke 2:51). Suffice it to say, that revelations within my wilderness - where I've been taken away from the one place I can truly call home and placed back in the surroundings which trapped me for so many years - have dissected my heart and removed those pieces which weren't part of His plan and stitched together the pieces which do belong in whatever He has laid out for me. I can't even begin to say what that is, but He's given me glimpses into my future - I'm sure to soothe my innate curiosity and impatience.
What I can say is that my burden for my family is gone. I care about each of them deeply, but I have an amazing peace and no longer fear that I must be immediately available, perfect, wealthy, successful and silent to attain their love. Love is the first of the Fruits of the Spirit because it's basic - it exists within us. We must cultivate it and care for it if it's to grow, but it is born within us at our birth. God is love, we are created in His Image. Why it took my entire life until now to grasp that concept, God Himself only knows.
With that burden, along with the feeling that my worth as a person was based on my net worth, removed, the freedom I feel is astounding. I really am free to go where He sends me, and fulfill that which I am here for, which is.....dunno; He hasn't filled in that blank completely yet. Well, I should say, He hasn't filled it in where I can see it; it's been filled in long before I took my first breath.
My future lies before me a big blank canvas. Guess I don't have an answer to "Where do you see yourself in 1o years?" anymore...but I'm OK with that!! :)
Ok, after reviewing the situation, I've decided to reinvent the blog - only this time I won't be posting prayer requests in the event of upseting someone. So those will have to be emailed privately to those of you who are my special prayer warriors.
Since the death of "A Bed of Heather", I've been all over Texas for weddings, job hunts, and visits with friends.
I'm still unemployed, unfortunately. I guess that prayer request I can post for the world to see :) I've applied all over the place for teaching positions and am praying that God will place me where I'm needed (though my heart is in San Antonio). I do believe that working with children (and particularly with those with special needs) IS absolutely my calling, so I know it's just all in His timing to find where I'm supposed to use that gift.
Anyway, I'll be updating everyone once again on the job search and my time here. I plan on posting my wilderness study soon once I've got it updated the way I want it :)
