new adventures

....whew. it's safe to say that this term has by far been the busiest and is living up to its dubbed status as "the crying term". i have now taught three science lessons at Scott Elementary & its been SO fun. my students are wonderful, we are building great friendships and mutual respect. my mentor teacher is great-she is still young, so she can relate to me but has excellent advice. mike has gone to observe at Cascade HS a few times now. we have great conversations regarding our schools and the kids there never cease to amaze :) we often say, its just the best to be in love with someone that shares similar goals and passions! what a blessing.





here is my classroom! a little messy, but hey, they're kids :)

new news in the job world: since my favorite place (Corky's Daughter) closed last Saturday, i have been in bed crying..... no, not really BUT i considered it. instead, i have interviewed for a couple jobs and will be taking on different roles. i will be working at French Press coffee & crepes which should be really exciting. **a special thanks to my neighbor Carol, who is close friends with the owner and totally set me up with a fun new job** i have no idea what to expect as it is completely new to Salem. also, i will be working with the Salem-Keizer Education Foundation! this is very exciting for me-teaching and learning are my passions, and i feel so blessed with this opportunity. still, the butterflies are forming. mike and i will both be taking classes full time and i will soon be recieving my ESOL endorsement...we are hoping we still get to see eachother ;)

wish us luck--*

christmastime :)

wow, with all of this crazy winter weather it's been kind of an anti-climactic break so far. but the best is yet to come, i just know it. i am currently on a working streak until christmas eve :) corky's daughter is filled with happy ladies and its so much fun! mike is working security on his deserted campus these few weeks as well. on monday, his car even went into a ditch!--but dont worry, good samaritans still exist and one stopped to help mike get back on the road. and what a beautiful sight to wake up to this morning. the ice is beautiful and a true example of God's creativity and control.

after our first term of school was finished, mike and i were both very anxious about our grades. he took on a full load of courses and i was in my first term of the education program. good news: the both of us did better than expected and all of our efforts paid off. we decided that it would be nice to take advantage of our new free time and go on a little vacation.




so we took a trip to bend with our wonderful friends, brock and heather. the four of us stayed in a cabin in prineville, where we had an early snow experience and a gorgeous view of the reservoir. us girls enjoyed some time to ourselves walking around the shops or reading and the boys ventured out among the great outdoors! at one point, mike and brock found themselves surrounded by 13 deer-->crazy! one night, the boys had organized to take us to a quaint, little restaurant to enjoy a nice dinner. they are so thoughtful, i knew i liked them. what a good time with people we love-everyone agreed that the vacation was very relaxed and necesarry after such a busy first term of school. (i even talked heather into reading twilight*, tehee).

so although this weather can feel like a burden, let us use it as a reminder of God's contol over our lives, especially during this Christmas season <3

finally...we are ENGAGED! :)

& so happy. here's the scoop:

we love seattle. i mean, come on, it is amazing. coffee, shopping, the water and markets, the great people and of course the pro teams! we are big fans. so what better place to propose? nowhere! friday night, we went to a show in portland-copeland is one of our favorite bands and has some special meaning so we were very excited to get to see them in concert. saturday we were in seattle, along for an adventure with one of our favorite people and friend, ben, who lives in seattle and has become our unpaid but very helpful tour guide each time we visit. ben always has some amazing, quirky places to take us to and late saturday night he suggested another. i am deathly afraid of the dark and cannot see in it for the life of me. my friends will tell you that i have a death grip on them anytime we walk in the dark. anyway, ben took us to a pitch black park late at night-not my number one favorite situation. i was cutting off the circulation in mike's arm as we made our way up a winding pathway covered by trees, begging the boys not to scare me. we walked for a few minutes up some steep hills, and as we came around the last corner, i noticed a cute little setup with glasses and candlelight sitting on a ledge which overlooked the city lights of seattle, space needle and all. my stomach did that thing-you know what i mean-when the butterflies escape and start fluttering around! what a gorgeous sight. we exchanged some kind words and mike asked me to marry him-woww. of course i said yes to my best friend! we have not yet set a date, but this blog will come in handy to keep everyone updated. thank you for loving and supporting us in this life decision-we are thankful that you share in our celebration. we will keep you posted...