Happy Birthday Grammy and Katriina!

What a bittersweet day today is! I have been constantly thinking about Grammy today, wanting to call her and wish her a happy birthday and hear her sweet voice. I miss talking to her and listening to her giggle as I tell story after story about my students. I miss hearing her call me "Amby" and telling me how much she loves me. I just miss everything about her and wish that I could talk with her just one more time. I am thinking about sweet Grampy and how sad he must be on this day. I want this to be a day of celebration though, not of sadness, and so I keep thinking about the wonderful things Grammy did for me growing up and about her sweet and thoughtful gifts and her tight hugs. This is the only picture I have of her but I think it captures perfectly how much she loved being a "Grammy". I love you Grammy and thank you for all of the wonderful memories!


On a much happier note, today is also my roommate Katriina's birthday. I am so thankful that I have such a wonderful, dear friend that I can celebrate on this special day. Going out tonight and celebrating with her and my other amazing roommate will just make this day complete for me. These two girls have become so valuable to me and I love them dearly. Katriina makes me laugh and I really treasure the three snow days last December that we got to spend together, watching Anne of Green Gables and just having some nice chats. She is a sweet person and I am so proud to call her one of my closest friends! I love you Katriina!

The two of us enjoying the snow.

MLK Jr. and President Obama

I had a great time these last few weeks talking to my kids about Martin Luther King Jr. and the pending presidential election. We had a lot of great conversations. My students wrote their own "I have a dream" speeches and they were incredible, better than I ever expected! As a class, we watched Obama being sworn in (yes, he did fumble over his words...he is human!).
A couple of questions/statements that my students said that made me proud as their teacher:

1. Obama is president because of what MLK Jr. did.
2. How was MLK Jr. able to give his speech when people hated him? That led to a great discussion!

I have to say that I am pretty excited about our new president. I admit that it is scary that so many people seem to idolize him and I am not too keen on the recent bill he signed for international abortions but I am hopeful as an American. He is a great speaker and I am excited to watch what he does as our leader. I am not worried at all. I am convinced that God is ultimately in control and has Obama in this position for a reason. I was pretty upset on election day with some friends who were just in an uproar thinking that Obama was demonic and evil. My sister reminded me of something that has stuck with me all week. Just because Obama doesn't have a "in your face" Christian faith doesn't mean that he is not a Christian. It is not required that he wear an "I love Jesus" pin or say "God Bless" after each speech. It is what is in his heart that matters and I truly believe that he does have a relationship with God, if I am wrong then maybe we should pray that He does find God. As one of my students said last fall after election day, we should pray for the president every day.

It is often frustrating working with conversative Christians, especially when politics come up in lunchroom conversations (which is more often than not because a lot of these teachers are freaking out). I just try to keep my mouth shut most of the time because when I have spoken up, I have been shot down. I do not call myself a democrat or a republican but I am hopeful and feel safe having Obama as our president.

Crazy January

Yes, this month has been a bit crazy. It has been rough getting back into the swing of things as a full time teacher and student again. It was so nice having that 3 week break over Christmas! I really am enjoying my classes this quarter though, much more interesting and enjoyable!

Right now I am sick with a nasty cold, thankfully this has been my only cold this season which is a miracle in itself. I just hope this is a short lived cold as it has knocked me on my butt.

In a few short weeks, my friend and I are going to be leading a small group within my church. I am so excited but a bit nervous as well. It is exciting to see God at work and I am excited to see who He brings to our group. I cannot believe that ECC has grown to 2500+ people! Craziness! That means that small groups are vital, I am excited to meet some new friends and be on this journey together!

Southern California Trip

For the second part of my Christmas break I made the trek down to southern California to meet up with Kirsti and her boyfriend. It was a crazy busy time of visiting different family members and just having fun! It was great to see Kirsti after not seeing her for a year and a half! We enjoyed each other just like old types and especially enjoyed our traditional pillow talk. She is the truly the best friend anyone could ask for and I am so thankful to have her in my life.
Our trip included arriving at her grandma's house at 3am, many trips to relatives houses, a 3am trip to get seats at the Rose Parade, a day at Disneyland and going to the movie with Kirsti's grandma.
While we were down there, we visited and stayed with my aunt Marlene and her family. It was great to play wii with my cousin Cole and just enjoy an evening with them. I felt bad because that was the day of the Rose Parade so we were exhausted when we arrived at their house.

My cousins Garrett and Cole showing how much they love each other.

Me and Kirsti showing our excitement (or exhaustion?) at 4:30 in the morning at the Rose Parade.

Kirsti, Jeremy and I in line for Thunder Mountain.

Modeling our awesome, sexy glasses at Disneyland.

The Magic Kingdom!

After this trip, I will never again fly Southwest. I have so many horror stories from my adventures this Christmas. My flight to Sacramento was delayed three hours after a fiasco with de-icers and such, my sweet grandpa missed his flight after a time from hell in the airport, I almost missed my flight out of LAX even when I arrived two hours before my flight. I think I might have grown a few gray hairs through these experiences. They are definitely not worth the fifty or so dollars I save by flying with them instead of Alaska. Sheesh!

The first part of my trip was spent with my parents and Grandpa at home in Auburn. It was such a nice and relaxing time. I loved every minute of being at home from shopping with my mom to going to breakfast with my dad. I love my parents and couldn't ask for more loving and supportive parents. They are truly a gift!