Teacher-In-Training

I am thrilled to announce that I have received my student teaching assignment! Hooray! I am so excited! I will be teaching in a third grade classroom at a Spanish-English bilingual elementary school. I have yet to meet with my mentor teacher and determine the exact hours and days that I will be teaching. But hopefully that will be arranged soon and I will begin my 'orientation' during the month of May. Then I will be on my own (more or less) in creating the work sample that I will be teaching the class over a nine week period in the fall. The reality that I am so close to achieving my dream of being a teacher is overwhelming, exhilirating and terrifying - all at the same time. Graduate school has flown by - but that might have something to do with the fact that I was working full time and balancing motherhood and wifehood. Needless to say, I can't believe it's almost over and I am nearing the closing of another chapter in my life and the beginning of yet a new one.

I also applied for a position as an English language learner program coordinator/teacher for a school district about 30 minutes from my home. I was encouraged to do so by a friend, even though I really didn't feel like I would even be considered. But I have an interview for this position on May 7th! I was absolutely thrilled and shocked when I received the call. I will be completing my ESOL endorsement in conjuction with my Master's degree; but since that will not be accomplished until December of this year, I am terrified about the questions they may ask that I haven't been taught yet! But the lady who encouraged me to apply is very optimisitic. She has a friend who apparently has a little clout with the district and it sounds like they might be very flexible as far as my continued schooling and the balance between it and the job. We'll see. It would definitely be a challenge because this particular district doesn't have a program of this kind AT ALL. So, I would have to build it up from the bottom and create an ELL curriculum from 'scratch.' The town is small, Harrisburg, OR, and has one elementary school, one middle school, and one high school. I would oversee all three schools. Crazy! I will certainly let you know how the interview goes. It's one week away!

Sleep

It is amazing how the body can function on very little sleep! I have been behind in my classes due to the birth of my second son, and as a result, very stressed out and getting very little sleep (stress and the several instances of painful crying as my baby is wakened by the hunger pains rumbling in his tummy!) But I can proudly say that I am all caught up - and it only took me three weeks. What a relief, though. Now I can actually enjoy my "extended" weekend, since I only have one class next week. I can savor the moments with each of my children - and get plenty of sleep in between! I am so thankful that I am able to find strength to make it through each day, and I am continually in awe at the way my body has adapted to the sweet chaos that my crazy schedule subjects me to. The Lord is truly the Source of that strength, and without Him, who knows where I'd be! And to think - I used to hate taking naps!

Sunday

So, yesterday our family tried out a new church. We had gone there on Wednesday to check out, but we also wanted to see how things went on Sunday. It was very nice. I am actually a little saddened to be looking for a new church, since I really enjoyed our old one. But, sadly, the pastor is retiring and the service times were changed to the afternoon and it was difficult for us to make the adjustment. We have been going to one other church also, but I am thinking that we may have the one we'll be attending regularly. We'll see. It's called Lawrence Street Chapel, based off of Calvary Chapel Ministries. Check out the great website: http://www.lawrencestreet.org/index.php

It is truly the Lord who introduced this church to me because I was in the copy room at the school where I was doing some observation for my degree, and this woman and I began chatting. I have been bringing my newborn son with me and she had made some comments about his name (Solomon) and the name of his brother (Neftali) and how they were good biblical names. Keep in mind, I am thinking that there probably weren't many (if any) Christians at this school because Eugene is a VERY secular place. But God proved me wrong and this woman, Tamara, began telling me about her church. Next thing I knew, I was telling my husband about it and there we were, sitting in the chapel on Wednesday evening. I had attended Calvary Chapel in Corvallis when I was at Oregon State University - and I LOVED it! Lawrence Street is pretty new with a growing membership, and still getting situated. It currently meets in the old location of a Gold's Gym, so there is some obvious remodeling going on. But the people are great and very friendly, and most importantly, they preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I'll keep you posted as to whether we decide to continue attending and make this our new home church.
P.S. The pastor even has a blog that he keeps - how great is that?! :o)

TGIF

i am so glad it's friday. it has been a hectic week as i've been recovering from oral surgery. i had my lower wisdom teeth extracted two short weeks after having my second child. i'm not really sure what i was thinking scheduling the surgery so quickly after my baby's birth, except that i knew i needed to take advantage of good insurance and get it over with. indeed, i am very glad it is over.

i can hardly believe that solomon will be one month this sunday. where has the time gone? solomon is my second son, born march 16th. his big brother, neftali, will be two on may 16th. it truly is a beautiful thing to be a mother. i feel so blessed to have been given the privilege to be part of creating a life, together with my husband, and most importantly, GOD. and what an incredible responsibility comes alongside this great privilege. i pray every day that i will be the kind of mother that raises my children to be loving, generous, kind and GOD-fearing men. i guess only time will tell.

school is going well. i finished observing in a first-grade classroom at buena vista spanish immersion school. this age level is definitely a challenge, but the kids are very sweet. hopefully i'll get to see them again soon as i hope to be student-teaching at the same school in the fall in a third or fourth grade classroom. i am very excited to receive my placement and to start thinking about my work sample. september will be here before i know it!

Give it a go...

well, here i sit at my kitchen table, listening to the pitter patter of my son's feet on our hardwood floors as he continuously walks circles around me. i guess that's his way of getting his exercise on a day with questionable weather. i am thankful that he seems to have inherited his father's boundless energy and athleticism.

i am excited to try out this blogging thing. i've never been good at keeping disciplined with writing in a journal but i have a feeling that typing a blog will be much easier for me - especially since i'm at a computer sporadically throughout pretty much every single day. i should probably be working on homework right now instead of posting this first blog...oh well. the day is young and there's plenty of time for homework.

i better get going for now. lots of things to do today - including mailing of those glorious tax returns. hopefully the sun will decide to shine, even for a few minutes, maybe long enough for me to take my sons to the park nearby. but i'm not going to get my hopes up. this is oregon and the weather can NEVER be predicted.