Spending time with Jimmy

I wanted to devote this blog to Jimmy, Jeremiah's brother. We had a chance to spend time with him today, and seeing him always reminds me of how precious life is. Jimmy is so special, and although he has been diagnosed with Huntington's Disease for the past 13 years, he still has his big and beautiful smile which reminds me of God's little miracles. That smile lingers, and it lets all of those around him know that he is ok, that he is feeling good still, and it reminds us too of how precious his loved ones are to him - he loves being able to leave the hospital and come spend time with family, and I just think that these pictures truly depict something beautiful... We all love him so so much, and I'm so glad we've had some amazing time to spend with him. I'm looking forward to seeing him again when we come visit from Porterville... This picture is from his birthday this past year.


Today Jer and I spent time with his mom, Charlene, her friend Brittany, and Jimmy. It was the last time we'll probably see Jimmy for awhile because we are leaving in a week from Monday!!!! We first went to a movie...
Then later we posed for pictures (with our new camera)...our other one busted! Every picture came out purple and with lines across it. Thank goodness for Costco and its coupons!


















Here is Charlene and Brittany! Great friends! We had fun together today, but it's strange for me to think that they are the age that my soon-to-be-students are going to be! (I was told I'm going to be teaching high school... they'll be juniors this coming fall)



















Jimmy's smile is just like Jeremiah's smile here - it's why I love this picture so much. (just look at the picture listed two above this one )

The New Car

Unfortunately, my little ford escort seemed to have a painted target on that car because it was always getting hit. The car had no struts (shocks) left on the car and the air compressor was going out on the car. Oh Well! With our new teaching positions and only one car, we went all out on this vehicle. It has all the warranties too! We are so excited ,and Melissa once again feels safe driving the new 2009 CR-V.

Josh and Carin's Wedding 2009

Melissa and I went to my best friend's wedding, who is standing on the left, Josh on June 21, 2009. It was on top of a hill in fullerton, ca. The weather was beautiful and so was the wedding. I was the best man of course. Rick, on the far right, was the other groomsman. Just look at that flowing hair! Moving to Seattle will do that to you.






Who can resist looking at this gorgeous couple! This is the view from where the wedding party took pictures. My wife looks absolutely stunning, wouldn't you agree?




















The whole bridal party. From the bottom left we have Ellen and Dara, who are both Carin's college friends. The second row starts with me then Carin (I think she is the bride, jk!) The groom, Josh (look at that bald handsome man) then Rick, the other groomsman. The wedding ceremony took place right underneath this gazebo that was decorated with flowers and overlooking fullerton, ca. It was great to see and be part another wedding ordained through Christ. Amen!

This is what happens when you have an open bar at a wedding. Rick, who has the long flowing hair, gave the groom money in his mouth, which the groom grabbed with his mouth. Then of course, I put some bills on his coat. Then, it becomes a two on one. This was a great time.

ByeBye SoCal, Hello Porterville!

Two days ago, we found out wonderful news! Jeremiah has been officially hired to work for Burton School District in Porterville, the same district that I have been hired to work for! A little over two weeks ago, all we knew was that neither one of us had a job lined up for the 2009-2010 school year. Now, in God's amazing faithfulness, we both have jobs, and our schools are located only 4 minutes away from one another!

The Pictures here are: Top - Burton Middle School (Jeremiah's new school), Summit Charter Academy Redwood Campus (Melissa's new
school), and Whaley Middle School (Jeremiah's school for the 2008-2009 school year).

Silk Road Days

In continuation with the last entry, I also wanted to post a few pictures of an event the sixth graders took part in called Silk Road Days. During the Ancient China unit, the students got to participate in this outdoor event to help them have a more hands-on experience of the Silk Road. I show the classroom here to also showcase the collaborative effort in general that was used in the sixth grade classroom. But while tables seem like they would be a wonderful way to get students to collaborate with one another, they really turn into a way to keep students in constant chit-chat with one another! The usual daily conversation in class: "I need to see all students who have their backs toward me turn their chairs completely around and face me...That means I need to see your eyes looking at me...Class, I know you don't have eyes in your backs, Ok, do I need to show you how to turn your chairs around? Elyse, this includes you, and Jose, Connor, Jorge, that direction was meant for you as well.... Oh, and I didn't just mean turn them around for a moment, class... they must be turned around until I tell you that you can face your classmates again. Ok, let me show you one more time what I mean when I say to turn your chairs COMPLETELY around and face me.... Let me find just ONE student who is following directions completely... um... one student??? :) :)

Silk Road Days involved students going to different stations. At each station, they had a poster on it that showed them a map of where they were in their Silk Road journey, and also included a little information about what was so special in this area. Students had to keep a journal of each place they visited, and they also had to describe the task that they were given there. At this Beijing station, for example, students were making "glass" beaded rings... and they learned how beading was an intricate form of decorating clothing, and was only done for the great emperors... so, in turn, each student got to be emperors and empresses at this station. It was very fun, and for the most part, the students enjoyed these activities a lot.

Here, the students got to learn how to put on a sari, which was probably their favorite station (they boys especially loved this one)
And of course, students got to take part in a tea party, and eat some yummy rice! The students showcased here, Aylin, Sokbrani, Victoria, Daisy, and Noemi (facing backward) were my absolute favorites... I will miss them dearly.

Last Day Student Teaching

Now that Monday has come and neither Jeremiah or I are at school, I wanted to take the time and reflect on this past year and our teaching experiences. Jeremiah completed his first full teaching year in Compton, and I just completed my student teaching semester, a semester I dreaded since I began the credential program almost five years ago! Turns out I had such a great experience, and I learned a lot. But of course, I am sooooooooooo happy that it's all finished now! I took some pictures on the very last day, and a few of them are posted here. Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures of my 7th graders, but since I had two sixth grade classes, I generally felt more connected with them, and so I guess it makes sense that they're the ones pictured here. This first one is of me with my wonderful master teacher, Heather Valdespino. I was so blessed to have her to work with, and she gave me the confidence I needed to want to continue teaching! (Since many student teachers have horror stories attached to their master teachers, I consider myself extraordinarily blesses)


This next picture is some of my students from Period 2...just my way of capturing the cute personalities of my
11- year old 6th graders. While many had yearbooks to sign, many others, as pictured here, brought around shirts to have their freinds sign.
This is my entire period 8 class - the 6th grade class that kept me definitely energized. There were only 6 boys in the class, and the girls were all best friends with one another (as you can catch a glimpse of with some of the hugging in the picture) Girls were hugging each other daily in this classroom before they decided they should probably take their seats to see if I had any kind of interesting thing for them to do that day :) I think I'm going to miss these guys the most.
And this is my entire 2nd period class. Unfortunately the pictures are a little blurry, but I think anyone can see the monstrous size of this class...There were a total of 37 kids in this one! (not so certain if they're all in the picture or not). Notice how in both pictures, some students weren't looking at the camera....even with multiple invitations to do so.... now try and multiply that by 10, and you can begin to imagine that challenge of keeping all 37 of these kids on task all the time! :)

Porterville Visit

God is so good! On June 5th, my BIRTHDAY, the principal of Summit Charter Academy Redwood Campus in Porterville, CA called me and offered me a history teaching position for the fall 2009 school year! Even though the economy is rough right now, and even though so many people told me over and over again that Social Science teaching jobs were few and far between, God proved faithful yet again! And this was not the end of the Lord's plan in this area.... the principal helped Jeremiah get an interview for an English teaching position within the same district! These pictures were taken on Tuesday June 9th on our way back to Porterville (Jeremiah's first time there), and before the camera broke down on us, we were able to get a few pictures in of the drive up (Pyramid Lake on the 5 freeway and of my school and the grounds surrounding it) Porterville is an agricultural rural area and the school is literally on the edge of town. The town is in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains in Central California, about 3 1/2 hours North of LA.

So here is my handsome husband ready for an interview that we never had planned on! When he arrived, he was told that the principal was unable to be there, but the vice principal and superintendent were there tape recording his session instead. Two hours following this interview, HR called us and said that the principal had been on jury duty and was back. Out of all the applicants, she wanted to meet with only Jeremiah. So back he went for a private interview with her, and was hired on the spot! Now we are waiting for his reference/background check to be finalized, and for the position to be fully and legitimately offered to him. God is AMAZING!
Here is my beautiful campus. It is almost brand new. I will be teaching high school. The school has grades 7-12, and next year will be the high school portion's 2nd year. I am sooooooooo excited!

Laguna Lake

These pictures were taken on June 7th, the night we all celebrated my 26th birthday. There was much to celebrate! (So read on!). We were at Laguna Lake, our favorite place to go. We make sure to visit at least once a weekend, as it is right around the corner from our La Habra home.

The Journey Begins

Jeremiah and I got married November 23, 2008. We had just purchased a home in La Habra, California, Jeremiah had started the Masters Program at Cal State University Long Beach in Curriculum and Instruction, I was finishing my final classes in the Social Science Teaching Credential program and preparing for my student teaching semester, and Jeremiah was working as an eighth grade English teacher in Compton, California. notably one of the most challenging districts and neighborhoods to work in within the United States. We moved into our home on our wedding night, traveled to Catalina and Ensenada on a Carnival Cruise for our honeymoon, and then just as we finished our final two weeks of the fall semester, Jeremiah heard from his principal that he would most likely not have his job back the following fall. We knew the economy was in trouble, especially in California, but we had figured that Compton was a safety net for us because we assumed that they kept those that actually wanted to stay! And so as the New Year came in, we welcomed it with a bitter-sweet greeting: we loved being married, but worry started creeping in. And for the last 6 1/2 months since we've been married, we've clung steadfast to our favorite verse listed at the top of this blog - the verse straight out of Jeremiah's book in the Old Testament. And we begin this blog now to showcase God's amazing faithfulness (Lamentations 3:23) to us...He has moved mountains (Job 9:5) as He promised He would and will always do. For even though we both have been going through some tough events in these past few months, in His perfect timing, everything started coming together...in a way that only God Himself could ever ordain.

Please enjoy our blog. We will keep it updated as we begin our journey in Central California, serving students within the Burton Elementary School District in Porterville, California. The story about that coming up next!