Merry Christmas!
Saturday, December 25, 2010
Wow
Wow is the only word I can think of as I sit here on Christmas morning thinking about the past year. This has been an incredible year with experiences that I treasure...even though many of them I would not want to repeat! The time we've had with our kids has been so special and so precious. Our friends have been amazing and become a second family for us sharing in regular dinners and game nights. Most importantly, we have seen our family grow closer in our relationship with Christ. This has been amazing to watch the kids recite Bible verses, sing their favorite Bible stories, and get upset when we can't go to both services of church!
Without any moment for breath, 2010 started off with me switching from a stay-at-home mom to a full-time working parent trying to fulfill my student teaching role. The placement found for me was at a charter school about 45 minutes from my house in Northeast Portland. The school is very liberal which was hard for me as I don't agree with being able to express your freedom of speech by swearing at your teacher. I had 12 weeks of working 50-60 hours a week. During this time I had other obligations through school as well so the majority of my time was spent on conference calls, writing papers, and pulling out my hair. Kevin was there to graciously pick up the pieces and take care of the kids while continuing his own studies and working full-time at Costco. We also had a lot of support from my mom and Jessy! Once the student teaching was over, I realized that these students had very few boundaries set and when I expressed my desire for those boundaries they were respected (mostly) and we had an amazing learning experience. It is not a school that I would send my children to for many reasons but I think that many of the students there are being served very well and I am now teaching 9 hours a week in a HS math class and two middle school science classes.
Just before my student teacher experience ended, we were at church and right after service Chloe had a terrifying accident. She was up on the scissor lift (a big machine with wheels and a bucket that goes up and down used by my dad for hanging stage lights) and the lift lurched forward which flipped her off the back end and over the safety chain. She was about 5 feet off the ground and landed on her head and shoulder on the basketball court. Praise God the lift was all the way on the ground because they had been 20 feet in the air just a few minutes before!
I saw Chloe out of the corner of my eye and raced over to her. On my way I watched her curl up in a ball so I rolled her over and her whole body flopped. She was completely unconscious! There was a nurse in the room with us and he immediately began giving me instructions. Two more nurses surfaced from the building which was incredible because there was only about 50 people in the building. Someone called 9-1-1 and my dad recited the address and Chloe's information to the person on the phone even before he asked for it (I'm so glad he knew what questions the dispatcher was going to ask!). There was a pediatrician in the parking lot and the fire trucks were so fast they actually beat her into the building! I am amazed at how God put all the right people in the right places and just the perfect moment. Kevin was even at work in Clackamas and was only 5 minutes after us getting to the hospital which is probably 35 minutes away from his work. There was one moment where I watched the paramedics hoist Chloe, now beyond angry and strapped down, onto a gurney and start to roll her towards the ambulance. I just about lost it right then my friend Dawn spun me around, gave me a hug, shook me by the shoulders and said "you can do this, God is with you" which was exactly what I needed to hear!
Long story short, Chloe had two moments where she instantaneously improved. After regaining consciousness, she was just plain ANGRY! They actually had to sedate her because they couldn't get the tests they needed. When the sedation wore off at about 5:30 that night she just sat. She was calm, mellow, and not Chloe. Chloe spent the whole night in the hospital at OHSU throwing up and sitting. We had been told we were staying Monday night also because she couldn't hold down water. At 1:30 Monday afternoon Chloe asks to go to the bathroom and after going she raced back to her bed (IV pole and mom flying behind her), jumps around, asks to go to the play room or on a walk or to Starbucks, and wanted food. It was as if a switch in her head had been flipped from "sedated" to "Chloe". We have not had a problem since and they let us go home at 9:30 that night.
As we are getting into the car to head home, Chloe asked to listen to a CD. The one I had in my car was Travis Cotrell (he does worship for Beth Moore). Chloe immediately asked for the story which is Beth Moore telling the story Paul and Silas being sent to prison after being beaten half-to-death. My daughter, with head trauma, began quoting Beth Moore telling us that sometimes, when life is beating us, you just praise now and feel it later. Needless to say, we sang the next worship song louder than we've ever sung it before!
In May I earned my Bachelor of Arts in Mathematics Education. In June Conner finished first grade. In July Conner turned 7 (YIKES!). In September I turned 30 (DOUBLE YIKES!!!!). Chloe started pre-K and turned 5 in September. Now, we are 4 days away from Charlee turning 3.
Conner has been doing extremely well in school. He loves to learn and gets along with everyone in her class. He started playing the violin but we just recently bought him a viola on accident so he's really excited about switching to the viola now. He's really into Club Penguin (an online game for kids) and building creations or inventions.
Chloe is still doing great. She is super smart and is very ready for kindergarten next year. She loves to write and draw. Chloe has been taking ballet for a year and a half now and LOVES it!
Charlee is quite the firecracker. She is our little momma and loves taking care of her big brother and big sister. Yesterday she snuck into her bed, closed the curtain, and began opening her Christmas presents. Charlee keeps up with Conner and Chloe in just about every way. She has an amazing sense of humor and I'm sad to say she is growing up really fast both mentally and physically. She has grown from a 9 month clothes last September to a 4T this September. Her kidney stuff has all seemed to be in check. We are due for a check-up in January but last year they said her one kidney was larger than a normal kidney and functioning at 125% of a kidney.
I'm sorry this has been so lengthy (although if I had blogged all year and kept it this short it would have been a miracle!) I have been just amazed this year by my children, my friends, my family, and my God. My resolution for 2011 is to blog more so our testimony can be better charted. I pray everyone has a merry Christmas and enjoys the time they have with their families!
Without any moment for breath, 2010 started off with me switching from a stay-at-home mom to a full-time working parent trying to fulfill my student teaching role. The placement found for me was at a charter school about 45 minutes from my house in Northeast Portland. The school is very liberal which was hard for me as I don't agree with being able to express your freedom of speech by swearing at your teacher. I had 12 weeks of working 50-60 hours a week. During this time I had other obligations through school as well so the majority of my time was spent on conference calls, writing papers, and pulling out my hair. Kevin was there to graciously pick up the pieces and take care of the kids while continuing his own studies and working full-time at Costco. We also had a lot of support from my mom and Jessy! Once the student teaching was over, I realized that these students had very few boundaries set and when I expressed my desire for those boundaries they were respected (mostly) and we had an amazing learning experience. It is not a school that I would send my children to for many reasons but I think that many of the students there are being served very well and I am now teaching 9 hours a week in a HS math class and two middle school science classes.
Just before my student teacher experience ended, we were at church and right after service Chloe had a terrifying accident. She was up on the scissor lift (a big machine with wheels and a bucket that goes up and down used by my dad for hanging stage lights) and the lift lurched forward which flipped her off the back end and over the safety chain. She was about 5 feet off the ground and landed on her head and shoulder on the basketball court. Praise God the lift was all the way on the ground because they had been 20 feet in the air just a few minutes before!
I saw Chloe out of the corner of my eye and raced over to her. On my way I watched her curl up in a ball so I rolled her over and her whole body flopped. She was completely unconscious! There was a nurse in the room with us and he immediately began giving me instructions. Two more nurses surfaced from the building which was incredible because there was only about 50 people in the building. Someone called 9-1-1 and my dad recited the address and Chloe's information to the person on the phone even before he asked for it (I'm so glad he knew what questions the dispatcher was going to ask!). There was a pediatrician in the parking lot and the fire trucks were so fast they actually beat her into the building! I am amazed at how God put all the right people in the right places and just the perfect moment. Kevin was even at work in Clackamas and was only 5 minutes after us getting to the hospital which is probably 35 minutes away from his work. There was one moment where I watched the paramedics hoist Chloe, now beyond angry and strapped down, onto a gurney and start to roll her towards the ambulance. I just about lost it right then my friend Dawn spun me around, gave me a hug, shook me by the shoulders and said "you can do this, God is with you" which was exactly what I needed to hear!
Long story short, Chloe had two moments where she instantaneously improved. After regaining consciousness, she was just plain ANGRY! They actually had to sedate her because they couldn't get the tests they needed. When the sedation wore off at about 5:30 that night she just sat. She was calm, mellow, and not Chloe. Chloe spent the whole night in the hospital at OHSU throwing up and sitting. We had been told we were staying Monday night also because she couldn't hold down water. At 1:30 Monday afternoon Chloe asks to go to the bathroom and after going she raced back to her bed (IV pole and mom flying behind her), jumps around, asks to go to the play room or on a walk or to Starbucks, and wanted food. It was as if a switch in her head had been flipped from "sedated" to "Chloe". We have not had a problem since and they let us go home at 9:30 that night.
As we are getting into the car to head home, Chloe asked to listen to a CD. The one I had in my car was Travis Cotrell (he does worship for Beth Moore). Chloe immediately asked for the story which is Beth Moore telling the story Paul and Silas being sent to prison after being beaten half-to-death. My daughter, with head trauma, began quoting Beth Moore telling us that sometimes, when life is beating us, you just praise now and feel it later. Needless to say, we sang the next worship song louder than we've ever sung it before!
In May I earned my Bachelor of Arts in Mathematics Education. In June Conner finished first grade. In July Conner turned 7 (YIKES!). In September I turned 30 (DOUBLE YIKES!!!!). Chloe started pre-K and turned 5 in September. Now, we are 4 days away from Charlee turning 3.
Conner has been doing extremely well in school. He loves to learn and gets along with everyone in her class. He started playing the violin but we just recently bought him a viola on accident so he's really excited about switching to the viola now. He's really into Club Penguin (an online game for kids) and building creations or inventions.
Chloe is still doing great. She is super smart and is very ready for kindergarten next year. She loves to write and draw. Chloe has been taking ballet for a year and a half now and LOVES it!
Charlee is quite the firecracker. She is our little momma and loves taking care of her big brother and big sister. Yesterday she snuck into her bed, closed the curtain, and began opening her Christmas presents. Charlee keeps up with Conner and Chloe in just about every way. She has an amazing sense of humor and I'm sad to say she is growing up really fast both mentally and physically. She has grown from a 9 month clothes last September to a 4T this September. Her kidney stuff has all seemed to be in check. We are due for a check-up in January but last year they said her one kidney was larger than a normal kidney and functioning at 125% of a kidney.
I'm sorry this has been so lengthy (although if I had blogged all year and kept it this short it would have been a miracle!) I have been just amazed this year by my children, my friends, my family, and my God. My resolution for 2011 is to blog more so our testimony can be better charted. I pray everyone has a merry Christmas and enjoys the time they have with their families!
Saturday, January 16, 2010
Student Teaching
Believe it or not, I have finally finished enough of my school work that I was able to begin my student teaching in January. I have finished two of my twelve weeks and I am LOVING it! The school I am teaching at is a charter school in North East Portland. The commute isn't nearly as bad as I thought because I have to travel through downtown Portland during rush hour both directions. I had expected about an hour each way and it's only been about 30-40 minutes. The students are all great. They are typically kids that would have been beat up or bullied at a large, traditional school and they are all very accepting of their social differences.
My host teacher, Jess, is wonderful! She is patient and has very good skills in adapting her teaching to the needs of the students. Her classroom is arranged in a way so that the students are comfortable and feel like they are capable of learning. I think I'm going to learn a lot from her, too!
After my 12 of student teaching I should be able to finish and submit my paperwork shortly afterwards. This means that in about 5 more months I will be done with my bachelor's degree and have a teaching license in Advanced Mathematics. I'm super excited about this and I'm not really sure where we are going to go from there but I'm pretty confident that I will be working on a Master's degree in Physics afterwards. I have already earned a few credits towards this degree.
Jess and I are also going to be teaching a math and physics integrated class where there will be a lot of projects and experiments which will lead to statistics, graphing, and predictions. Our goal is to help students who have tested well in other areas of math but not as well in measurements, estimations, and basic calculations. The material taught in this class will also be used to complete the requirements of the Master's in Physics!
Kevin still has about a year or year and a half left in his schooling. He has been watching the kids while I've been working while working and doing his homework. What a great guy!! ;-)
My host teacher, Jess, is wonderful! She is patient and has very good skills in adapting her teaching to the needs of the students. Her classroom is arranged in a way so that the students are comfortable and feel like they are capable of learning. I think I'm going to learn a lot from her, too!
After my 12 of student teaching I should be able to finish and submit my paperwork shortly afterwards. This means that in about 5 more months I will be done with my bachelor's degree and have a teaching license in Advanced Mathematics. I'm super excited about this and I'm not really sure where we are going to go from there but I'm pretty confident that I will be working on a Master's degree in Physics afterwards. I have already earned a few credits towards this degree.
Jess and I are also going to be teaching a math and physics integrated class where there will be a lot of projects and experiments which will lead to statistics, graphing, and predictions. Our goal is to help students who have tested well in other areas of math but not as well in measurements, estimations, and basic calculations. The material taught in this class will also be used to complete the requirements of the Master's in Physics!
Kevin still has about a year or year and a half left in his schooling. He has been watching the kids while I've been working while working and doing his homework. What a great guy!! ;-)
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