... the Marines. Today is their 234th birthday and on this day I just want to say happy birthday to all Marines (I would say past and present, but once a Marine always a Marine). A huge thank you to each and every one of you for all of the sacrifices that you make for our freedom and for your willingness to stand up and fight for our country.
I'm so privileged to be married to a Marine - the finest man that I know. I'm so thankful for his willingness to serve our country and do everything that he's called to do in order to ensure that we live in a free nation. I'm also privileged to have a father who served in the Corps and in Vietnam. Thanks to both of these amazing men in my life for showing me what it means to truly be proud to be an American.
But on this 234th birthday, if you know a Marine or see one on the streets, take a minute to thank them for all that they do and to wish them a happy birthday. It's because of them that we live in the free nation that we do today.
- Jenn
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Wow...
Watch our friend Glenn Beck has to say. Crazy, scary stuff. But nothing that we haven't been warned about before....
- Jenn
- Jenn
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Sometimes Forgotten
I saw this video on YouTube today and I just had to post it. So many times we only hear the horrible things about war and we don't hear what good our men and women are doing and how they're helping others. Sometimes we simply forget the good things and choose to look at the bad. This video highlights the good things that are going on - how others are being helped by our country's men and women who have volunteered to serve us. They deserve our gratitude, not our criticism!
- Jenn
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Half Way There
As of yesterday, I am half way done with my student teaching. This means that I only have a half of a semester until I am a college graduate. This is incredibly exciting, but somewhat surreal! I can't believe I've made it this far and that I'm almost done with college. It's just crazy!
You may wonder how my first student teaching placement went for me. Well, for those of you who are wondering, I'm about to answer that question...
My first placement, if I haven't mentioned before, was teaching 5th and 6th grades in a Christian school. Overall, the experience was great and I definitely learned a lot throughout it.
I do have to say that initially I was intimidated at the thought of teaching 6th graders. In my head, they were going to have an "I don't care" attitude and were all gonna be tough guys. Once I got in the classroom I was proven wrong. Not all of them had an attitude and not one of them was a real tough guy. The class did present it's challenges, but working with my co-op and through a lot of prayer we overcame those challenges.
Looking back on the past seven and a half weeks, I can see one re-occuring theme and that theme is growth. Whether in the students or in myself, there has been a tremendous amount of growth. I've seen the students change so much over the time that I was there. God's been really working in their hearts and lives and it's quite evident. It's such a praise as well! I've also seen myself grow over this time. On the days when things seemed impossible, I've learned to rely more on Him. God's shown me that there's no way that I can do this on my own. I need His strength. I also feel that I've grown as a teacher. I've tried to take the advice of my co-op and supervisor and implement it into my life to make me a better teacher. It's so great to see how God's has helped all of us to grow over this time.
It is definitely somewhat surreal to be done with this placement. It was weird walking out of the classroom yesterday and knowing that I wouldn't be walking back into it ever again as a student teacher. It's weird to know that on Monday I'll be starting my second placement with a whole new group of kids and a whole new set of lives to pour into. It's definitely a joy and priviledge - and a tremendous responsibility- to be able to teach these students and invest in their lives.
So, looking back on this first half I guess the theme of it would be learning and growing. God's taught all of us so much and helped us all to grow in numerous ways. It's been a truly wonderful experience and I am so incredibly thankful for it!
- Jenn
You may wonder how my first student teaching placement went for me. Well, for those of you who are wondering, I'm about to answer that question...
My first placement, if I haven't mentioned before, was teaching 5th and 6th grades in a Christian school. Overall, the experience was great and I definitely learned a lot throughout it.
I do have to say that initially I was intimidated at the thought of teaching 6th graders. In my head, they were going to have an "I don't care" attitude and were all gonna be tough guys. Once I got in the classroom I was proven wrong. Not all of them had an attitude and not one of them was a real tough guy. The class did present it's challenges, but working with my co-op and through a lot of prayer we overcame those challenges.
Looking back on the past seven and a half weeks, I can see one re-occuring theme and that theme is growth. Whether in the students or in myself, there has been a tremendous amount of growth. I've seen the students change so much over the time that I was there. God's been really working in their hearts and lives and it's quite evident. It's such a praise as well! I've also seen myself grow over this time. On the days when things seemed impossible, I've learned to rely more on Him. God's shown me that there's no way that I can do this on my own. I need His strength. I also feel that I've grown as a teacher. I've tried to take the advice of my co-op and supervisor and implement it into my life to make me a better teacher. It's so great to see how God's has helped all of us to grow over this time.
It is definitely somewhat surreal to be done with this placement. It was weird walking out of the classroom yesterday and knowing that I wouldn't be walking back into it ever again as a student teacher. It's weird to know that on Monday I'll be starting my second placement with a whole new group of kids and a whole new set of lives to pour into. It's definitely a joy and priviledge - and a tremendous responsibility- to be able to teach these students and invest in their lives.
So, looking back on this first half I guess the theme of it would be learning and growing. God's taught all of us so much and helped us all to grow in numerous ways. It's been a truly wonderful experience and I am so incredibly thankful for it!
- Jenn
Saturday, October 3, 2009
Our Story... Part 5 (From Jenn's Point of View)
So the planning began. I was so thankful during those nine months that I had a wonderful, supportive fiance who was willing to help me with all of the wedding plans and details. I was also thankful for supportive and helpful family and friends. Planning a wedding was a lot of work, but also a lot of fun. By January, we had already signed a photography contract, signed a reception contract, spoke with our pastor, and had a lot of little details planned. Things were going very smoothly and I was very happy with our progress.
One fun part about being engaged, besides planning the wedding and knowing I was going to marry my best friend soon, was getting our engagement pictures done. A friend of ours, Eddie, was willing to take our engagement pictures for us. So, one cold February day we headed out to Long's Park in Lancaster to get our pictures done. That was a lot of fun for me, even though both Josh and Eddie complained that it was too cold the whole time.
The months flew by as I prepared for the wedding. Bridesmaids got their dresses, I got my dress, tuxes got picked out, limo contracts got signed, flowers got ordered, and lots of other little details got completed. I will admit that while planning this wedding at times my head began to spin. But, I quickly remembered not to stress over things,as this was supposed to be a fun time and not a stressful time. Wedding planning didn't always go smoothly. There were several bumps along the way - like being scammed by a flower company, finding out my sister was going to be eight months pregnant at our wedding after we had already bought her bridesmaids dress, realizing that my dress didn't quite fit right, and a few others. But those bumps were straightened out and things came together in the end.
I was blessed with two bridal showers during that time - one down near Lancaster and one in my hometown. Bridal showers were so exciting. As I got gifts for our new house, the whole marriage thing became more of a reality. I couldn't wait to decorate our new place and to start my life with Josh. As time went by during our engagement, marriage became more of a reality and I became more and more excited about it beginning...
One fun part about being engaged, besides planning the wedding and knowing I was going to marry my best friend soon, was getting our engagement pictures done. A friend of ours, Eddie, was willing to take our engagement pictures for us. So, one cold February day we headed out to Long's Park in Lancaster to get our pictures done. That was a lot of fun for me, even though both Josh and Eddie complained that it was too cold the whole time.
The months flew by as I prepared for the wedding. Bridesmaids got their dresses, I got my dress, tuxes got picked out, limo contracts got signed, flowers got ordered, and lots of other little details got completed. I will admit that while planning this wedding at times my head began to spin. But, I quickly remembered not to stress over things,as this was supposed to be a fun time and not a stressful time. Wedding planning didn't always go smoothly. There were several bumps along the way - like being scammed by a flower company, finding out my sister was going to be eight months pregnant at our wedding after we had already bought her bridesmaids dress, realizing that my dress didn't quite fit right, and a few others. But those bumps were straightened out and things came together in the end.
I was blessed with two bridal showers during that time - one down near Lancaster and one in my hometown. Bridal showers were so exciting. As I got gifts for our new house, the whole marriage thing became more of a reality. I couldn't wait to decorate our new place and to start my life with Josh. As time went by during our engagement, marriage became more of a reality and I became more and more excited about it beginning...
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Random Ramblings
I'm home sick from school today. I acquired a nasty cold courtesy of my students and have also been having weird stomach pains. After much persuasion on the part of my husband, I decided to stay home today to rest. I'm hoping that I feel a little bit better by tomorrow. As of right now I feel like a truck ran me over and then put itself into reverse and ran me over again.
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Student teaching is going well. Today actually marks the halfway point at my first placement. It's hard to believe that it's already halfway over. I've been enjoying it so much, and in a way I don't want to move on to a new placement. I'm definitely going to miss my students a lot, but I'm sure that God has great things in store for me next placement as well.
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Our kitten, Titan, is as feisty and active as ever. I don't think I actually mentioned him on my blog before. But over the summer we found a kitten along the road who was in horrible condition. His eyes were caked shut with dirt and manore and he was horribly malnourished. We took him in, cleaned him up, and fed him. By then we were attached to him and decided to keep him. His eyes were in terrible shape at first and looked badly infected. We knew he was going to be blind. We took him to a vet, who was very pessimistic and wanted to remove his eyes first thing. We didn't like that idea and thought that there was hope for Titan's eyes so we took him to another vet. The second vet was optimistic and wanted to give his eyes time to see what happened. Now, almost two months after that vet saw him, his eyes are almost all cleared up. He's still blind but his eyes look SO much better than before. Maybe sometime I'll post some before and after pictures of him. Anyways, by watching him you would never know that he was blind. He's as active and mischeivous as any other kitten. He gets around the house in a flash and climbs stairs well too. He's definitely adapted to being blind. We love the little guy to pieces!
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Last weekend was a great time (up until I got sick). On Saturday we went to Hershey Park with my sister, my niece, my nephew, a friend of my sister's, and her daughter. It was a whole lot of fun. It was so nice to see them after we hadn't seen them in over a month and a half! My nephew, who recently celebrated his first birthday, is getting so big! Kids grow up way too fast!
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I guess that's enough of my random ramblings for now. I guess much randomness comes when your home sick and bored. But, I'll write more later.
- Jenn
______________________________________________
Student teaching is going well. Today actually marks the halfway point at my first placement. It's hard to believe that it's already halfway over. I've been enjoying it so much, and in a way I don't want to move on to a new placement. I'm definitely going to miss my students a lot, but I'm sure that God has great things in store for me next placement as well.
______________________________________________
Our kitten, Titan, is as feisty and active as ever. I don't think I actually mentioned him on my blog before. But over the summer we found a kitten along the road who was in horrible condition. His eyes were caked shut with dirt and manore and he was horribly malnourished. We took him in, cleaned him up, and fed him. By then we were attached to him and decided to keep him. His eyes were in terrible shape at first and looked badly infected. We knew he was going to be blind. We took him to a vet, who was very pessimistic and wanted to remove his eyes first thing. We didn't like that idea and thought that there was hope for Titan's eyes so we took him to another vet. The second vet was optimistic and wanted to give his eyes time to see what happened. Now, almost two months after that vet saw him, his eyes are almost all cleared up. He's still blind but his eyes look SO much better than before. Maybe sometime I'll post some before and after pictures of him. Anyways, by watching him you would never know that he was blind. He's as active and mischeivous as any other kitten. He gets around the house in a flash and climbs stairs well too. He's definitely adapted to being blind. We love the little guy to pieces!
______________________________________________
Last weekend was a great time (up until I got sick). On Saturday we went to Hershey Park with my sister, my niece, my nephew, a friend of my sister's, and her daughter. It was a whole lot of fun. It was so nice to see them after we hadn't seen them in over a month and a half! My nephew, who recently celebrated his first birthday, is getting so big! Kids grow up way too fast!
______________________________________________
I guess that's enough of my random ramblings for now. I guess much randomness comes when your home sick and bored. But, I'll write more later.
- Jenn
Saturday, September 12, 2009
Full Swing
Well student teaching is officially in full swing (well I guess it's officially been in full swing for the past two weeks). I am loving my first placement so far! The students can, at times, be challenging but I still love them. I love the upper elementary grades and it's been so much fun teaching them. So far I've picked up teaching two subjects - 6th grade math and 5th grade science. Next week I'll be picking up 6th grade science as well. It's really been fun getting to know the students and to see how they learn best and how I can change my teaching to best fit their needs. Student teaching is definitely a very rewarding experience, despite the huge workload. It's hard to believe that I've already completed two weeks worth of it and I only have 5 1/2 weeks left in this placement. Please pray for me that I continue to do well and continue to effectively teach the students in my class. Also pray for my students, that God will continue working in each of their lives. Thanks!
Aside from student teaching, not a whole lot else is going on. That's pretty much taken up a good chunk of my time. It's been challenging trying to balance my time and to assure that my school work is done, but that I also get to spend quality time with Josh. Some nights I feel like I get back from school, sit for a few minutes, and then the rest of my night is spent preparing for the next school day. Nights like this have made me realize that I really need to get things done as early as possible so that I have time to spend with my husband. That's my biggest struggle right now, so if you think of it, can you pray for me in that area? Thanks!
I guess that's all for now. Sorry it's not a whole lot more exciting. I guess I should go now and try to get some lesson plans done. God bless you!
- Jenn
Aside from student teaching, not a whole lot else is going on. That's pretty much taken up a good chunk of my time. It's been challenging trying to balance my time and to assure that my school work is done, but that I also get to spend quality time with Josh. Some nights I feel like I get back from school, sit for a few minutes, and then the rest of my night is spent preparing for the next school day. Nights like this have made me realize that I really need to get things done as early as possible so that I have time to spend with my husband. That's my biggest struggle right now, so if you think of it, can you pray for me in that area? Thanks!
I guess that's all for now. Sorry it's not a whole lot more exciting. I guess I should go now and try to get some lesson plans done. God bless you!
- Jenn
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