Ah, Pictures!

I borrowed these from another bridesmaid off of Facebook. They will have to do for now!

Meredith's Wedding

I'm sitting with my feet propped up after a long day of heels and endless picture taking and trying to wrap my mind around the fact that my "little sister" Meredith is married!! Wow! The wedding was nice and relaxed...not too fancy schmancy so that everyone could focus on what the day was REALLY about instead of stressing over crazy details. Meredith was a beautiful bride of course. I would post pictures BUT...

I finally figured out that my camera had been stolen off my desk from school a couple of weeks ago. I've been very distraught about that because I loved that camera. One good thing was that my memory card was in my laptop at the time so at least I didn't lose that or all of my pictures. (FYI--This is my second camera to be stolen by the way...my first digital camera was stolen the day after Brandon and Amanda's wedding when my apartment was broken into a couple years ago.)Anyways, I've been trying to figure out all week how I could get my hands on a camera to be able to take pictures of this weekend, but after a picture-less rehearsal last night, I finally concluded I was just going to have to buy another one right now. I have a couple of graduations that I wanted to be able to document as well so I figured now was as good a time as any to fork over the money I shouldn't have to be spending again. So this morning I went to Wal-mart before my hair appointment to pick one out. I was running late so it was a rushed selection. Then I realized that I left my memory card at home so I had to drive all the way back to get that and drive back across town to the hair place...trying so hard not to miss anything or be late. Meredith's hair lady did my hair (and did a bee-you-ti-ful job if I do say so) and then we went to the church to get ready. I had to search everywhere for a pair of scissors to open the package and ended up shredding the pacakge trying to get the camera out. I excitedly put in the batteries and began to peel off the sticker covering the LCD screen just as Meredith was starting to get ready...and....the stinkin' screen was broken!!! ARGGHHHHHH!!!! Still no pictures!! I was so sad!! Of course there were a million other people taking zillions of pictures so hopefully they will share some with me, but there's nothing like being able to take your own.

The whole wedding weekend has been really nice. Last night at the rehearsal dinner (which was On the Border....my absolute favorite!!!!) everyone just stood up and shared really sweet things about Brandon and Meredith. It was such a random mix of people there but it was neat to see how we could all come together for one special purpose. Probably the thing I loved the most is that after the rehearsal dinner last night we all went back to the Campbells along with all their college friends who were here for the wedding and just had a devotional and prayer time for a couple of hours. We just sang and people took turns praying for Brandon and Meredith. I've been in and around a ton of weddings but I really admired their determination to maintain a spiritual focus and to put aside all the details to just enjoy their friends and family and worship together. It was really beautiful.

Meredith is just really special to me. She's always been way more wise and mature than me, even though I'm seven years older, and she has always been a great listening ear and advice giver! :-) There have been many times that I have not been a good friend or "big sis" but she never gave up on me and she fought to keep our friendship intact. She is one of the handful of people in the world that i know truly cares about me no matter what.

So anyways hopefully I can mooch some pictures off of someone so you all can see my beautiful hair do...and oh yeah, Meredith! ;-)

Exhausting Weekend!

While most people were relaxing beside barbecue grills or swimming pools this weekend, I spent the past three days in round-the-clock strenuous manual labor. I moved to another apartment this weekend and it was quite the ordeal. I think packing and moving is one of the most difficult and frustrating things we have to endure in life...it makes me wish I were my grandparents who have lived in the same house for over 50 years. It never seems like you have that much stuff until you start opening all the cabinets and closets and putting things into boxes. Then it's just embarrassing to have to ask anyone to help you. However, it must be done..ugh, ugh, UGH!!!

Saturday morning started off with our rescheduled car wash to raise money for the Wilderness Trek trip. We didn't have very many cars come through, but there were only a few of us so it was probably all we could handle. It seemed like every vehicle that came through was either a huge SUV or pickup truck...which they deserve to have their cars washed as well, but goodness!!...very tiring! After the car wash it was off for more packing. I couldn't pick up the keys until 5pm and the moving truck until early Sunday morning, so Sunday was actually the big moving day. T.A. helped me load the truck with everything except the big furniture and heavy stuff. Then he had things to do, so I recruited some kids to help me unload. The plan was to hire the moving helpers that helped me last time for the heavy stuff. (They were awesome...one of the guys carried a whole couch on his back by himself like it was a backpack). They were supposed to meet us at 3pm. The plan was to have all the boxes unloaded so they could just do the furniture. Dezeray, Raiven, Kearwon, and Rosco did an wonderful job unloading the truck (that took T.A. and I at least 4 hours to load) in about 30 minutes. They were so great!! So we took a break and sat around waiting...and waiting...and waiting for the moving helpers. Strangely, he wasn't picking up the phone and the voicemail was full. This was so baffling to me because in all my other dealings with these people, they have been very professional. Well, I finally realized that I was getting stood up and had to quickly figure out plan B. The kids didn't balk at tackling the big stuff. I have to say that Kearwon was a beast. He loaded the bed, the couches, etc. almost by himself. T.A. came back over and he and Kearwon handled the TV and a few other large things. It wasn't easy but we finally got everything in except the washer and dryer. We are going to need a big dolly (how do you spell that anyway?) and a couple of really strong people for those, so I'm still figuring that out right now. Last time the moving help handled it like it was something a kindergartner could do. How I missed those guys!!! Still don't know what happened to them. I ended up splitting the money I was going to pay the moving help between the kids because they got a lot more work put on them than they bargained for! They were really great...they never complained and just made the day fun. We also feasted our weary bodies at CiCi's before I took them home (after Pizza Hut was going to charge me almost $40 for three medium pizzas...ridiculous!!)

Monday was spent taming the chaos. My new apartment has a garage so my "crew" had just dumped a lot of stuff in there. My apartment is upstairs on top of the garage so a few zillion trips up and down between the garage and apartment have my calves mooing today. I think it will be a few days before I can actually park in there! I really like the new apartment except that the closets are TINY!! Practically non-existent. So I spent most of the day finagling my stuff trying to get it all tucked away somewhere....the garage helped with this hugely! Khris, Kearwon, and T.A. came over to try to deal with the washer and dryer and they managed to get it into the garage, but not up the stairs. I also had to go back to the old apartment and give it a through cleaning, which is never fun. Finally...after about 3 days of nonstop physical labor, I crashed in a nice, neat, super clean apartment!

I say this every time but....I'm NEVER moving again!!! ;-)

P.S. I just realized that I don't think I ever posted about the fact that I was never able to find a house/townhouse/or condo in the price range, area, or condition that I was looking for. Because I had to make a decision with the end of my apartment lease, I decided to postpone the house search for the time being. Thus...apartment life continues!

Another Quote....

"Give the world the best you have and it may never be enough. Give the world the best you've got anyway. You see, in the final analysis, it is between you and God. It was never between you and them anyway."- Mother Teresa

Plugging Away!

Well, another semester of graduate school has successfully come to a close. Grades were posted today and I was pleased to see that I came out with A's in both my classes. I was reviewing my transcript and was sort of excited to realize that I have now completed 33 hours towards my Master's and only have 9 hours left!!! When I started back in Fall 2007, I originally started with a major in Reading, so I lost about 9 hours when I changed to the library thing. (I call it the library thing because the official name of my degree is a Master of Education in Library Technology and Information Science with a Major in Library and Information Science...whew!! What a mouthful! And very redundant. I can never remember the whole thing and have to look it up every time!)

However, I recently decided that I would go ahead and take two additional classes in order to qualify to take the Master Reading Teacher certification test. The MRT program requires 3 specific graduate level reading classes and passing the certification test. I already completed one of the required classes when I was still in the Reading program, so I figured that two more classes won't kill me. I can take one of them this fall and one next summer.

SO...the plan is to take 6 hours this summer, 3 hours for Library and 3 hours for Reading this fall, take my school librarian certification test, graduate with the Master's in December, then take the remaining Reading class next summer, take the MRT test and then BE DONE!!!!

So I'll have a reading/language arts/social studies certification, school librarian certification, Master Reading Teacher certification, and a Master's degree! Surely I'll be able to keep a job in the state of Texas! :-)

Thanks to everyone for bearing with me being anti-social for the past two years. Although the programs haven't been extremely difficult, I have taken 6 hours every semester and it is quite a bit of time and work to squeeze into a full-time work schedule. I'm really looking forward to December and having weekends to spend as I please again!

The end is sight, thank goodness!!!!

Quote of the Day

"The test of the morality of a society is what it does for its children."--Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1906-1945)

Scrapblog

Well, after three hours of trial and error, I managed to create the little header thing for my blog that you see above. I did have an entire background but it was a little too much for my taste so I just stuck with the header. It was a combination of a template off of www.thecutestblogontheblock.com and some editing I did using www.scrapblog.com. Now, I'm kinda excited about my Scrapblog discovery. It is free and you can create some pretty cute little photo layouts and whatnot...if you're into the whole digital scrapbooking thing, I think this is a user-friendly site to start with.

Of course, without a camera my photo blogging attempts might be at a standstill for awhile. :-(

Experimenting

I am playing with the whole blog layout thing. I see all the other pretty blogs and I want one!!!! So bear with me until I can figure it out and get it just the way I like it! :-)

He Got a Job, He Got a Job, He Got a Job!!!

So the newest update on my friend T.A.'s road to teaching greatness is that he had an interview at Thurgood Marshall Elementary in Richardson ISD yesterday and he was offered the P.E. teaching position! Wow!! This is just such a huge blessing right now for numerous reasons. First of all, there are several hundred unemployeed teachers floating around the Metroplex right now because of all the budget cuts of the last year, not only in Dallas, but surrounding districts. Many districts are not hiring at all right now, and the few that are must be inundated with resumes and applicants clamoring for positions. Secondly, T.A. was looking for a P.E. position, and these are rarities in and of themselves. Since most schools only hire one P.E. teacher, this is not a high-demand area. Thirdly, T.A. is an alternative certification candidate and those are pretty low on the totem-pole right now. The fact that he was able to score an interview within two weeks of passing his test and then be offered the job on his first interview is amazing!!

It is really thrilling to see his goals finally coming to pass after so many years of ups and downs and disappointments. I know he is going to be an outstanding teacher and mentor!! Congratulations Mr. Alford!!! :-)

P.S. I would put a picture here of T.M. Elementary's newest staff member, but my camera was STOLEN at school and I am digital-less yet again. WHY is it that the few material possessions I have in life must always be taken from me illegally?? WHY????

What Makes an Effective Teacher?

I recently filled out an application for something (which shall remain undefined at this point in time) and was asked the following question, among others. "What makes an effective teacher?" This was my response...

There is much talk today in education circles about the shortage of teachers and the need for "highly-qualified" educators in our schools. It seems like everywhere you turn there is an advertisement recruiting college-degreed people into the teaching field. Upon closer examination of these programs and definitions of "highly-qualified" one finds a list of requirements that include GPA's, test scores, college credits, and transcript totals. But nowhere in the definition of NCLB's highly-qualified teacher do you find the requirements of being selfless...of possessing passion...of believing in the worth of each and every child...of having the ability to relate to the students in a way that makes learning relevant, exciting, and fun. Although I agree that it is important for teachers to possess the appropriate academic credentials, I believe it is equally important to possess the inner qualities that are going to enable those teachers to actually impact students' lives.

First of all, a teacher must be selfless. The needs of his or her students will always take precedence over the teacher's personal feelings or desires. The teacher must be willing to sacrifice time, resources, and energy in order to truly be effective. Teaching can never be an 8-4 job in which the employee clocks in, clocks out and leaves it all tidily behind at the closing bell...not for the most effective teachers. The demands and needs are simply too great. An effective teacher doesn't see her position as just a job or a paycheck..it is a life's work that doesn't end when the students go home at the end of the day. It isn't limited by a salary or a clock.

Teachers are able to consistently exhibit this kind of self-sacrifice because of a deeply rooted purpose and passion for what they are doing. Teachers must love WHAT they teach and WHO they teach. It can never be just a job they endure for nine months for the sake of summer vacations and a retirement plan. They must operate from a drive deep within that is greater than just having a "job." The most powerful teachers are those that are masters of what they teach...they are mathmeticians, they are scientists, they are historians, they are English language experts who choose to share their love and expertise for math, science, history and English with students. Their knowledge and love for the content they teach is reflected in engaging and exciting lessons. They create an infectious interest in these subjects among their students. Teachers also have to love kids. It is amazing to me how many teachers enter the profession with no real affection for children. It is reflected in their impatience, in their harsh comments, in their lack of empathy and understanding toward students ....the types of attitudes that breed disciplinary issues and a breakdown of students' self-confidence and motivation. The best teachers have a natural connection with kids and love interacting with them on a daily basis.

Finally, effective teachers must have the ability to know how to relate to their students in a way that makes learning come alive. They must be in touch with the culture and generational world views of their students in order to know how to make their instruction relevant and engaging. They are constantly searching for ways to help their students apply content learning to meaningful real-world situations and scenarios. These rare teachers are the ones that can inspire even the most relunctant learners to excel. These teachers understand the fine line of speaking the langugage of kids without being a kid...they know how to relate without blurring the line between teacher and "friend." This means that teachers have to be constant learners themselves. They have to constantly be striving to educate themselves on the things that matter to kids, on emerging technologies, on emerging cultural trends, on emerging educational approaches and philosophies. They're open to growing and evolving as educators. These are NOT the teachers who are still using the same lesson plans from the 1960's when they began their educational careers. Simply put, the very best teachers are voracious learners.

It is unfortunate that so many adults can walk into classrooms across our country with a spotless transcript and the highest academic qualifications on paper, yet be completely ill-equipped to be an effective teacher. In order to truly strengthen our education system for our children, I believe that inner qualities and capabilities must be scrutinized just as closely as academic standards and proficiencies in recruiting effective and powerful teachers.

Wilderness Trek Car Wash Saturday!!!

We had a fun get-together at Janet's house a couple of Saturdays ago to plan for a bi-annual trip to Colorado for Wilderness Trek with some of the teens who have been involved with Central Dallas. I had the opportunity to go with a Central Dallas group in 2004 and it was such a great experience. It was amazing to see kids who have rarely been out of Dallas, much less Texas, travel to such a completely different enviroment and be challenged in so many ways, yet come back inspired and proud of accomplishing something they never even considered doing. At that time, we always took the staff from the University of Values summer program after the camp ended, so the group already knew each other well. This year will be a little different. We will have teens that have been involved at different times and places with CDM and do not necessarily know each other. (We are also going to allow Dezeray, one of my students here at PCA, to join the group. ) We had a fun time at our information gathering getting to know each other, getting a better understanding of what the trip is about, and even having races to see who could put a tent together the fastest. I think we are definitely going to have a great group and I'm already excited about August! (For those of you who don't know what Wilderness Trek is, it is a Christian based organizaiton that guides high school students to backpack up one of the many 14,000ft peaks in the Rockies. Very challenging, but rewarding experience through which one can learn many important life lessons as well as grow spiritually).

Another important difference with this group is that we will be raising our own funds. In the past, donors always provided the trip for Central Dallas groups. However, although some teens really got a lot out of the experience, others didn't always truly value the opportunity because it wasn't something they had to plan for or invest in. Mr. Edd or Janet or others would work hard to get funds donated to cover our trip, and then some teens might decide not to go at the last minute. This year, it was decided that in order to develop more commitment from the participants, they would need to be involved in the fundraising. Therefore, the other purpose of our gathering last week was to plan some events to raise money. Each participant will need to raise $350, more if they want to do extra stuff while we are in Colorado like rafting or swimming in the hot springs in Salida. I think this is a do-able goal, but it's going to take a team effort from all involved.

Our first fundraiser will be this Saturday. We are having a car wash at the Richardson East Church of Christ from 9-12. After all the rain we've been having, Saturday would be a great day to come get your cars spruced up!! If you would like to help us wash cars, that would be awesome, but even just coming by to be serviced is helpful! So...if you can help out by providing old towels, buckets, sponges, paper towels, or tire cleaner, let me know and I will pick it up from you. If you can help with washing skills and techniques, meet us in Richardson on 9 on Saturday. If you can help with contributing funds to have your car cleaned, show up in your dirty ride and we will make it sparkle!!

Thanks for your support!

Trip to Aggieland and Down Memory Lane

When I first came to Dallas back in the summer of 2002 to do a youth internship at Highland Oaks, my host home was with the David and Sandi Campbell family. This random decision on their part to host an intern and my random decision to come to Dallas ended up leading to some of the most special relationships in my life! At the time, Meredith was either 14 or 15 years old, the same age as my little brother Dawson, so I always thought of her as the little sister I never had. :-) At the same time, Meredith only had brothers, so I was her "big sister." After the summer was over, I went to Guyana, South America for a few months and then ended up returning to Dallas to do an internship at Central Dallas Ministries. The Campbells graciously opened their home to me again for about five months and even offered me a part-time job at David's law firm. This family was such a huge blessing to me and instrumental to me getting my feet on the ground here. At the same time, Meredith has continued to be a great friend and "sister" to me. She has always been very mature and focused for her age and we have been through a lot of personal ups and downs together. It has been awesome to watch her through high school and drill team and college applications and then through college and career decisions and boyfriend uncertainties. And now, seven years later, Meredith is getting married! Whoa! I feel so old!! She met a great guy, Brandon, at her church at A&M and their wedding is at the end of May, when they will get married and study happily ever after. (He's going to med school in the fall and she is starting her Ph.D in clinical psychology at A&M).

So this weekend was her birthday and one of her showers in College Station. Now, for four years, I have been saying I was going down there to visit her. Now that she's about to graduate, I figured that it was time for me to stop procrastinating. So Saturday I hopped in Lady Yac (my car) and headed south through our very beautiful state to Aggieland! I ended up really enjoying the weekend. A&M is a really one of a kind place. Everytime I visit a big college campus like that, I'm blown away because it's such a drastic contrast to LCU. At the same time, it's crazy because the whole weekend reminded me of my college days and made me miss college a lot. Because despite the fact that our universities are completely different, the general experience is so much the same. As I hung out with Meredith and her roommates, the conversations and the camaraderie was so familiar. When you're in college, you just don't realize how much you'll miss that time in your life later. It's the only time in your life when you're so much on the same page with so many great friends and people, when you share so many unique bonding experiences with people.

Sometimes I wish I could have went to college twice. I loved LCU and I loved the small college experience. At the same time, I will always be curious what it would have been like to go to a huge university like A&M or UT with all of the traditions and history and school spirit. It would have be awesome if I could have just rewound my life back to age 18 after I graduated LCU and started over as a freshman at some big college just to see what that was like! :-) However, since I'm now knocking on the door of 30, I think I should give up my big college dreams and just live vicariously through people like Meredith!

The funniest thing that I saw at A&M was in front of Kyle Field where they have the 12th man statue and then this little roped off area where all the Revellie dogs are buried. I don't know why it is so humorous to me that these dogs get their own special roped off memorial site with special lights and plaques and everything, but it cracks me up. Only at A&M!!

Unfortunately, I can't seem to find my camera so I don't have any pics of my adventure in Aggieland, but hopefully I will find it before the wedding so I can at least post pictures of that in a few weeks!