First 2 Weeks

The first two weeks of school have been a lil crazy! Its been amazing learning under someone who loves their job. My supervising teacher is amazing! I hope to one day be as good of a teacher as she is, if not better!

     

 Lets see, we had an amazing first week (although not without incident)... and I actually got to teach during the first week. :) I taught some math and learned myself about the lattice method for multiplication which is used for multiplying large numbers... (If you struggle with it, this may be one way for you to figure it out.. just google it). I am working on learning to not just teach what the paper says, but to extend it and use examples that will help the students. This can be hard for me....

Haha!! I sure do hope this isn't true!

Today is the first day of the 2nd week that i was in the classroom... You see, on Friday, I had all four wisdom teeth removed.... BOY DID THAT HURT!!!!! Anyway, I am still dealing with the pain even today, but it is not as bad and I haven't had to take prescription pain killers since yesterday. :) :)

I guess the biggest thing right now is that I learn so much in a day that its hard to remember it all... My goal was to write on here every night... but most nights, I am just ready to crash (I am shocked I haven't fallen over already)....

I really like how my supervising teacher tries to teach me and at the same time treats me as an equal.... It makes things so much better that way... I am almost totally comfortable teaching in front of her... although today I got nervous a couple of times while reading....(Meaning, I had to reread a sentence or take a breath... LOL!).... Who I am most scared of is my university supervisor, who just so happens to be the principal of the school I work at... I am not quite sure where I stand with her.... and well, she is going to be grading me as well as the teacher... Anwyay... I am probably just worrying about nothing...

Hope your Thursday is full of joy!!
Ang

I am a terrible blogger/ What if??

I have figured out that I am terrible at remembering to get on here and blog... I always think "Oh I'll post on there tomorrow" and well.. It doesn't happen... Sorry to anyone who actually reads my blog... I know, I am terrible.

My life is a lil crazy right now due to all the "What ifs"...

Lets see, my husband may loose his job in the Air Force due to his back.. We still have no idea what is wrong... However, today (in about an hour) we go to the newest Dr. to see if he has any idea... I am hoping we get a diagnosis and treatment plan... but I don't know that that will actually happen...
"IF" he does loose his job, we have to find a new one and a place to live and all that.... probably by the end of this year... :( 

Earlier this week I went to the ER due to what felt like terrible horrible heart burn... Only it was worse than the one time I did have heart burn (I couldn't sleep, eat or drink anything without feeling like my chest/stomach were on fire). Some people were asking me if I was pregnant (I'm NOT) and that brought up all the of the feelings of "What if" I am pregnant... Will I be able to make it through student teaching etc. (The Dr. says I have acid reflux.. but i'm not sure whether I believe him.)

These are just two of the many that are on my mind... 

Anyway with all the "What IFs" its hard not to worry... I am a planner... I like to plan things out for like the end of the year... but you know what?? I can make all my plans and IF God's plan is different mine gets thrown out the window... Its hard to trust, when you have no idea what is going on or what will happen... This is what I hold on to:

Matthew 6:25-34


The name of the LORD is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are safe. Proverbs 18:10


And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. Romans 8:28

God has said, "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you." Hebrews 13:5


What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us? Romans 8:31


How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. 1 John 3:1

I know that God's got the whole world in his hands... He cares for me... He loves me as a daughter and will work all things for good. He will never leave me nor forsake me.. If God is for me, who can be against me? Everything will be ok... God will be right here with me.. to get me through it! I do NOT need to worry! Hes got it under control.....

There's my blip for today... Have a great Monday!!!
Ang

Life: God works all things for good!

This I drew during everything...

A few years ago, my family was asked to leave our church... We had been there for 4 years, the pastors family was like family to us. There were rumors spread and lies told to the pastor by people in the church. The pastor believed it and on Saturday afternoon, (after having a meeting with the deacons in secret) told my parents not to come back on Sunday morning. The whole church was told later that we had decided to leave on our own. The worst part was that we were not allowed to say good bye to the pastors children, because the pastor believed we would still be "friends". That hurt the most because I considered them as my brothers and sisters. Anyway, during this, someone else working with Satan was also at work in deceiving people. Someone was sending letters from my family and from theirs that none of us ever wrote or sent. This only made things worse... It made it to the point where my family wasn't permitted to see any of the pastors family... The pastor had received a fake email from my dad saying that if he(pastor) ever came near my family or talked to them he, my dad knew where he lived... etc. Pretty much the letter was threatening his family.... Now my dad never wrote this email.... my dad just received the response from it... My family also received another letter from them... As you can see, it was a big mess, with many people hurt, not just us, but people in the church who didn't know what to believe... Pretty much... Satan had fun trying to pull us all away from Christ.. but that didn't work!

Recently, the pastor texted my sister and apologized to her (she was the one slandered the most). He told her she could come back to the church anytime.... Pretty much for her.... its gone back to the way things were before everything happened.  While in FL, I got to visit with some of the pastors family and we kind of become friends again. It was weird..... I remembered all the hurt and all the promises I had made my younger "brothers and sisters". It made it hurt really bad... When I got back from FL, I had a total meltdown. I was scared... and reliving all the hurt again... This made me realize something, I never fully forgave them.

I say this to explain what I am going to say next...

Sometimes.... We have to be hurt by others, and to reach bottom so that we realize God is Lord over all..... When things happened back then... I remember spending days.. crying, reading the bible and writing in my journal... I didn't understand "Why" God was doing this... I mean, why would he let people betray me and stab me in the back?? Why Why Why???

During that time... I had one thing to hold on to: "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." Romans 8:28NIV

This means, what I go through... God is working for good... not evil...

After this, I met some amazing people at our "new" church who I now call family... They taught me... and I learned from them... They loved me... and that's what truly mattered... However, I learned one thing through all this...: One has to trust God... not matter what! You have to trust him, to allow others to hurt you.... He is in control of everything... I mean when I think back to everything that happened..... I learned so much about God and trusting Him through that time, than i think I had in all of my life.I learned to love, even though I might get hurt.. to trust others even though they may stab me in the back.... I learned that he will be there and will never forsake me... That it doesn't matter what others think or say... all that matters is Jesus... I learned to trust Him with everything (This can still be hard at times)...


Bottom line: He used the hurt and the pain, to make me more like him... 

When you are in the middle of a storm... its hard to see the light... but after the storm... comes the rainbow and you realize why.... 

He is still using that experience to make me more like him... When I realized i still hadn't forgiven.. it caused me to repent...
 

He truly is an amazing God, who works all things to good, for those who love Him!

Think for yourself:
If you love God, no matter whats going on, or has happened in the past... He is working it for good... 

Ang

P.S. I hope this encourages you!

There is this hurt deep down inside,
I do not want to let it outside
It has been there for a while,
So it has begun to pile
When will I finally let it go?,
When will I finally say no?
When will it stop festering?,
When will it stop pestering?
I try and try to let it out,
but nothing really comes about
I know that there is one who can,
He is there telling me he can
Why don’t I just give it all?,
So that the pile doesn’t fall
Give it to me he says,
But what if it stays?
Even if I give it away,
Will it really go away?
I know deep down inside it will,
Go away and not be here still
Yet I keep it locked away,
To fall down on me one day
Now I think the time has come,
I've decided that I'm done
I give it all to Him,,
The one who has no sin
Who will take it all away,
And none of it will stay
It will be gone forever,
Because he heals forever
Why He loves me I don’t know,
when I tell him please go
Yet he stays here by my side,
I know He'll be here till I die
I give Him all that is within me,
All that I am, was and will be
It now belongs to Him,
And I know I can trust Him
To take care of me and love me,
Because He was and is and will be,
My Lord, my Savior and my God.

Graduation and life

So today, I applied for graduation and student teaching. I graduate Dec 15th of this year. I cannot wait! I wont be walking although I kind of want to. But my school is located in Pensacola, FL and I live in AZ. My family in FL lives like 8 hours from the school so its just not worth it to me. However, I will be buying a tassel because I want one and I figured out how to buy one today without buying the cap and gown.

Its been 5 years since I graduated high school, 3 since I graduated with my AA.(If you are wondering why it is taking me so long, I changed majors so that put me behind by a lil over a year.) So I think its about time. I am 22 and 3 months after I turn 23, I will graduate with my bachelors degree in Exceptional Student Education and Elementary Education with minors in ESOL and Reading. I cant believe by Christmas I will have graduated 3 times... I am finally done!!! I am considering going on for a masters in ESE, but at the same time, I haven't decided yet...

Here are some Graduation photos from the past. :)

High School Grad June 2007

High School Grad with my parents June 2007

 A.A. in Spanish Grad May 2009

A.A.in Spanish, Grad May 2009

~LIFE~

Ok, so you are probably wondering what else is going on in my life huh?
 Well for starters, we get the keys to our new home on Wed... yes, just 6 days away. I am very excited about that, yet its driving me crazy because of all the work I have yet to complete.

Mikel's back is still bothering him.... Nothing has worked so far. They are sending him to a ruematologist (sp?), hopefully that Dr. will help...
Oh and speaking of doctors, I went to the hospital Tuesday night due to severe ear pain. I was diagnosed with an ear infections and given pain meds and antibiotics, I seem to be doing better. 

I am not really reading anything but school book as of right now due to classes and not having extra time.

My animals are driving me crazy as when I clean they are right behind me messing things up.. :(

Anyway, I hope your week has been going well! As of right now my goal is to post on here at least once a week. With everything going on, its hard for me to remember to, so please be patient with me!

Ang

The Grand Canyon

So today, we spent all day at the Grand Canyon and boy was it amazing!!! It was beautiful! I took over 300pics today. I am so happy we got the opportunity to go. I have now seen the big trees in Cali and the Grand Canyon.... Hmmm What will be next????

Other than the Grand canyon, there was lots of snow everywhere which  of course, being Floridians, we had to stop and play in.  Our puppies were funny in the snow, they couldn't decide what to do. They ate it and then played in it. It was really funny in one of the places we stopped to play in the snow, they sunk all the way in the snow. I wish they would have stayed still long enough for a picture but oh well. LOL!

 The above are just a few of the picture we took today. :)

Looking at the Grand Canyon made me meditate on God and his greatness. Seeing the "Grand" Canyon made me think about how big or GRAND my God is... I mean, he is bigger than the grand canyon which is HUGE!!!!!Sitting here writing this brings tears to my eyes. So many times I put God in a box, meaning God is somewhat smaller and can only affect somethings. He controls everything and is way bigger than any problem I have! Sometimes, that is hard to remember... How Great is our God? Greater than we will ever know or understand!!!!
Now I will leave you with a youtube video of the song "How Great is Our God" by Chris Tomlin. Pay attention to the lyrics. :)

 

Happy New Year from me!
Ang

This week: 12/9

~School~

I am out of school but have been studying for my teacher certification exams. I really want to pass the first time! I have to study about 20pages a day to get though all the material. I take my first exam in 32 days. Just a little over a month from now. I am worried, but at the same time I know God has it all under control!

~Life~

Lets see... Life right now is good. I am tired LOL! On black friday we bought a new TV. We had a 19" TV now we have a 32". There is a big difference! LOL! My hubby and I both race to the mailbox each day because we know our Christmas presents are coming in the mail and we want to be there and try to open them before the other says we have wait till Christmas. LOL! yes, we are silly.

~Pets~

My pets are their usual rambunctious selves. The cat has currently ate 3 lights off of our prelit tree. :/  He is such a silly cat! He has been taking his stocking off of the wall. Yes, we got our pets stockings. LOL! Cocoa and Jack are crazy and like to run around in circles, but thats ok LOL!

~Cooking~ 

As you have seen, I have been having fun cooking yummy meals for the hubby and I. Trying to eat healthy is hard. Lowering my carb intake makes me feel like I am starving!!! LOL!
Christmas Day: As of right now, I am planning on making a yummy ham covered in pineapples and splenda brown sugar, along with mashed potatoes and other bad for you but so yummy to eat foods. :D

~Reading~ 

I am currently reading the book Monster by Frank Peretti. So far it has my attention and I hate putting it down.

~Winter/Christmas~

Right now it is a lovely 41 degrees outside. But it actually isnt too bad. I have gotten used to it. :) The high today is 63 with the low being 37. Its pretty cold at night/early morning. But during the day the hot desert sun is out to keep you warm!

This year for Christmas I am not sure what we are going to do. As of right now, our plan is to enjoy our first Christmas together married alone. I am hoping to buy some old Christmas movies like frosty and Rudolf the red nosed reindeer to watch, or maybe we will just watch whatever ones happen to be on TV on Christmas. I will definitely miss my family!!!

~And Now a Peanuts Comic~

Stay warm and have loads of fun looking for snow flakes that are exactly the same. ;D
Ang

My Life

Study Guides for the FTCEs

My Life is going to be the above until my tests on January 11,12,&13.

Update

Ok, so I promised once finals were over I would update my blog so here goes.....

~School~

I am finally done with finals and now for the whole month of December(and part of January) I get to study for my FTCEs (Florida Teacher Certification Exam). I am taking three in January when we go back to FL for a visit... (Yes, if you didn't know, the hubby got leave and we get to go home in January from the 9th-21st. I am so excited about that!!!) OK back to the tests now... I am taking 3- Elementary Education K-6, Exceptional Student Educations K-12 and Professional Education. I really want to pass the first time, so I am going to be studying like crazy!!! For all 3 it cost me $550 and I really do not want to have to pay that again. You may be wondering why, if I am living in AZ, I am taking FL certification exams, here is the reason; I go to a FL university and the only way to begin student teaching and to graduate is to pass the FL certification exams. Plus, I hope we may live in  FL long enough so I can finish certifying there and have my professional certification to take wherever we go next.

I decided to take only twelve credits next semester instead of my normal fifteen. This is because in order to take fifteen I would have to take a class I do not need. I am taking: ELEMENTARY & SPECIAL EDUCATION INTEGRATED ARTS, CURRICULUM FOR TEACHING STUDENTS WITH EXCEPTIONALITIES, ASSESSMENT & DIFFERENTIAL INSTRUCTION IN READING ELEMENTARY SCHOOL II, and SOCIAL STUDIES FOR ELEMENTARY TEACHERS. 
  Then I have two summer classes, student teaching in the fall and I graduate!!!! I graduate Dec 2012! Whoot!!! I can't wait!!!!! :)

~Life~

I will tell you my exciting news first: We are moving on base in February. Currently we are living in a two bedroom apartment with 2 dogs and a kitten. We cannot wait to move on base to a 3bedroom/2bath house with a fenced in backyard for the puppies. I am so excited. Normally we would only get a 2/1 house, but they are running a special. Plus in January they are going to give us a list of 3 address and we get to go look and choose which house we want. :) I am so excited about...

We have decorated the house for Christmas. I am so happy Christmas is coming! Its my favorite time of year!!! I went Christmas shopping and bought almost all my gifts for the hubby. I only need to pick up three more. :) Here is a pic of our Christmas tree. :)

I recently started a new diet (3days ago), where I taking most carbohydrates out of my diet. I am not eating bread, noodles, biscuits etc. Right now, though I am still eating them with one meal a day. This has been very hard to do! I am eating them with one meal a day so that I don't shock my system and mess up my sugar levels. As you may know, I am hypoglycemic and although I do not eat an sugar, i have been eating tons of things that turn into sugar. I really want to loose weight so I am changing my diet to a more healthier one and trying to exercise more often. I am about 70pounds over weight which is a lot! My goal for now is to loose 50pounds in the next year. Staying on my diet is going to be hardest come Christmas. My hubby and I bought bicycles for ourselves for Christmas (they come in the 15th) and are going to work on training to be able to do a 30mi mountain trail. It sounds like a lot of work but a lot of fun once we can do it! I haven't rode a bike in a few years, so its going to take some getting used to. I am also trying to walk the dogs more often so I get some extra exercise when at home.

~Pets~ 

Yes, we now have two puppies; Jack and Cocoa. They are both very silly and like to get into everything! Jack absolutely loves paper, I call him my paper shredder whereas Cocoa loves plastic anything plastic. LOL! Midnight our kitty has gotten a lot bigger. He likes to run around the house chasing Jack and pouncing on him. they have both decided that they like each other because they are about the same size and are equal opponents. Cocoa however, is twice the size of them and beats them up... Oh well! Here are some cute  Christmas pictures of my pets. :)

~Cooking~

As mentioned above, I have began a new diet and therefore I am cooking a little differently. I am however still cooking carbs for the hubby because he is so skinny and would die without them. LOL!

~Reading~ 

I am currently in the book of Exodus. I kind of got behind in my reading due to everything with school, no that should not be an excuse, but that's what happened.

~Winter~ 

Well its finally getting cooler out. Last night it dropped into the 30s and I was freezing all night! We havent used the AC in over a month now. :) we saved $60 in electricity this month through not using the AC. One downside to that is that it can get chilly in the apartment like it was last night. Oh well. LOL!

~Any Questions?~

Let me know if I forgot to update on something or if you have any questions.... I am off to make dinner which is a roast with lots of veggies!

TTFN (ta-ta for now!~Tiger from Winnie the Pooh)
Ang

Long post of Random Things

Ok, So I started this post on Friday, then the computer crashed and I lost a lot of it... So here again, I am working on it. :) 

~Field Experience~

So I am now at 56.75hrs of field experience. :) That's a little over half way through. :D This week for the schools here is fall break so no field experience this week. 

In the next two months I will be teaching three lessons. I haven't decided yet whether I want to do reading, or math 5th grade, or math 4th grade. I am leaning more towards two reading lessons and 5th grade math...

This week in field experience I got to do a lot of assisting the students. I sat outside of the classroom just me and the students and helped them work on their tests and their assignments. The students we have sometimes just need to be reminded repeatedly to go back to work. Some of them have to have someone sit beside them reminding them constantly to get back to work. One of our students is really cute.. He will sit in the corner and cover up his face with the book, all the time telling me he is reading.... When I walk over to him and tell him he is not allowed to sleep.. He smiles at me (one of those big irresistibly cute smiles) and says but I'm so tired.... (Sorry, cute little boys make my heart melt... I am so afraid of having a son. LOL!) It was so hard not to smile back and to tell him he has to read his book.

~School~ 

I have midterms this week so last week was spent turning in projects and then studying... Which is why I didn't blog as much... But I thought I could take time out today to blog. :) My classes are going good, I have an A in all but one class. I am happy about that! 

~Arizona~

It is pretty cool here in AZ. It was 63 degrees when I woke up... 90 is the high for today. I love looking up at the sky here. There are sooo many stars in the sky! Also, with it being cooler the sky has been blue with white fluffy clouds. I <3 it! LOL! The skies look amazing in the evening as well! One day last week it was so much cooler out I got to wear long sleeves.

~Life~

Lets see, this past week has been a little crazy because Mikel has had to be at work at 4:30am... However this week its 7am which is a little better. (last week he was pretty grumpy because he wasn't getting enough sleep.) 

So I thought this was very cute!

 This Sunday is our families week to make the lunch for church. We are making Italian foods; a pan of baked spaghetti, baked ziti and lasagna with salad and bread and butter. Its going to be a lot of work for just me and my hubby to make all that food for the church... but we can do it! 

Last weekend... that is Sunday, we finished building our bed frame. I am so happy our bed now has a bed frame. :) 

Before and After of the wood we finished

Mikel getting ready to drill and put the screws in.

The Screws are now in and everything is attached.

Everything done

Everything done and set up in our bedroom

Set up in the bedroom

Bed all set up and made with my handmade quilt from Holloway's Country Home

 (Holloway's ~ Also known as my grandma's shop)

 ~TV/Movies~ I am excited that Psych's new season starts tonight! I really like watching that show. I really want to watch the movie Courageous.

~Pets~

Monday we got some new fish and two crabs... I LOVE the crabs they are sooo cool!!!! 

Opaline Gouramis

Algae Eaters

Gold Gouramis

Honey Sunset Gouramis

Feeder Fish (for crabs to eat)

BOB

Larry

 Cocoa was sick last week. She ate a bunch of people food... however, she is now starting to get back to normal. She was having a lot of digestion problems....

Midnight, today I found attacking one of my stuff animals... I was kind of surprised because he was eating it... I guess he thinks hes part puppy. LOL! I wish I had gotten a picture of that.. Midnight has decided that he is supposed to be on my shoulder when ever possible. The other day he jumped from the couch to my shoulder while I was standing... Silly Kitty!!!

~Reading~ 

I am currently reading through the bible using the Old and New Testament reading plan. I am also reading some out of psalms and proverbs everyday. I am only on day 13 of the old and new testament reading plan (I read Genesis 31-32 today), whereas I am on day thirty  of Psalms and Proverbs reading plan ( I read Psalm  30 and Proverbs 30 today).

You Version is awesome, it allows you to choose many reading plans and if you have a phone (any phone that allows you to download apps) or ipod you can download the app and read your bible on the go. I love it! If you want to see what I am reading here are the links:

http://www.youversion.com/reading-plans/old-testament-and-new-testament ~ Old and New Testament~    http://www.youversion.com/reading-plans/psalms-and-proverbs ~ Psalms & Proverbs  

My goal is also to read Monster by Frank Peretti and Burn by Ted Dekker. 

What are you reading this month?

~Hubby~

We went to the neurologist today.... He said that he just thinks its the scoliosis...  He said there is nothing neurological and referred the hubby to a reumatologist (in case he does have the genetic disorder). The MRI was clean. So that's good! We are still  awaiting the results of the genetic testing.. Pretty much, we got no where... He is still in pain and they don't know whats causing it. :(

So far he has been to physical therapy that helped only a little and now to a neurologist... Hopefully we figure out something soon! 

He really wanted this chair... It was super soft.

 BTW. I upload my pictures and put them on here as small... But if you click on them they will open a new window and be way bigger. Just thought I would let you know in case you didn't know. :)

Well, I think that's a total update on everything! 

Ang